BEFORE Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and David Villa and the rise of the Spanish national team, Joaquin Sanchez was touted as the biggest talent in Spain.

Before Lionel Messi dazzled the world with his exploits, Javier Saviola was touted as a possible successor to Argentine legend Diego Maradona. In the first decade of the new millennium, Bayern Munich brought two exciting youngsters from South America — Paraguay hitman Roque Santa Cruz and Argentina defender Martin Demichelis.

The common factor amongst these players is Spanish club Malaga.

The Costa del Sol side are enjoying a dream debut season in the UEFA Champions League and on Wednesday, welcome German giants Borussia Dortmund for the first-leg of their quarter-final tie.

After they secured a 2-1 aggregate victory over FC Porto in the last-16 round, regional newspaper Malaga Hoy screamed “Wembley is the limit” referring to the venue for this season’s final.

And for their afore-mentioned stalwarts extending the club’s remarkable run in Europe’s premier club competition would help them reach the heights which at the start of their careers seemed a certainty.

Lauded as national treasure after Spain’s rather disappointing 2002 World Cup despite missing the crucial penalty in the quarter-finals, Joaquin was a star for his hometown club Real Betis.

He was destined for success with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester United all trying to sign him. Instead, in 2006, he joined a rather modest Valencia.

It would turn out to be a disaster for the pacy right-winger. In the preceding years, he couldn’t settle at Valencia and lost his place in the Spanish national team, which started on a remarkable run of success following Euro 2008.

Then in 2011, Qatari-owned Malaga came calling.

Five years ago, the club couldn’t have imagined signing a player of Joaquin’s calibre with the side competing in the second-division in Spain.

But with the investment coming from the new owners, they took a chance on the winger.

He didn’t disappoint. The blinding pace might have gone but the vision for a pass and the eye for goal has remained with Joaquin scoring the winner in a 1-0 win over European aristocrats AC Milan in the group stage.

“We’re already dreaming [of the Dortmund tie],” Joaquin told Spanish daily AS earlier this week. “It’s different with Malaga than with other clubs, the dream is different, it’s the first time in the history of the club and it’s happening in an incredible way.”

He isn’t the only one who’s enjoying a late career boost.

Saviola was once regarded the best young talent to come out of Argentina which persuaded Barcelona to sign him up in 2001.

But he failed to live up to the hype, his career stalling somewhat at Monaco, Sevilla and Real Madrid respectively.

A three-year spell at Portuguese giants Benfica helped him regain his scoring touch and after joining Malaga in the summer, he scored their first-ever Champions League goal in a 3-0 win over Zenit St Petersburg.

Santa Cruz’s career has almost had the same number of stops as Saviola’s and is the only Champions League winner in Malaga’s team although he was an unused substitute in Bayern’s final victory over Valencia in 2001.

In an eight-year long spell in Munich, the Paraguayan was mostly a bench-warmer in a side known as FC Hollywood at that time for the number of stars who were in the team.

Similar was his fate at Manchester City, whom he joined in 2009 following two solid seasons at Blackburn Rovers, before he joined Malaga on loan in the summer and scored the decisive goal in their last-16 tie against Porto.

Three years ago, Demichelis suffered the agony of losing the Champions League final when he was a part of the Bayern team which lost to Inter Milan in Munich.

After joining Malaga in 2011, he has been a rock at the back in their run to the quarter-finals this season.

“Getting to the quarter-finals with Malaga is a dream turned into reality. We must maintain our humility and stay grounded now,” he told UEFA.com after Malaga’s victory over Porto.

Dortmund, Champions League winners in 1997, present their toughest challenge but they can look up to another very experienced man on their bench —manager Manuel Pellegrini.

The Chilean guided an unheralded Villarreal side into the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2006 and three years later was the first piece of Fiorentino Perez’ second ‘Galacticos’ jigsaw at Real Madrid.

He joined Malaga a year later after Real sacked him to appoint a certain Jose Mourinho as their new manager.

Financial irregularities over the last two years have meant Malaga have been handed a one-year ban from European competitions by UEFA, although the club have appealed that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Despite all the strife, Pellegrini has kept his team outperforming expectations and taking Malaga to the semis would arguably be his biggest achievement.