Europa F.C.

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Europa FC
Europa FC logo.png
Full nameEuropa Football Club
Nickname(s)The Green Machine
Founded1925;99 years ago (1925)
Ground Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar
Capacity2,000
Head coach Michele Di Piedi
League Gibraltar Football League
2023–24 GFL, 8th
Website http://www.europafc.gi

Europa FC is a professional football club from Gibraltar that competes in the Gibraltar National League. As other clubs in the territory, Europa FC currently shares the Victoria Stadium on Winston Churchill Avenue. The club also operates a women's team which competes in the Gibraltar Women's Football League.

Contents

History

The club was founded in 1925. It was continuously active up to 1970. The club merged with College in the 1980s, going by College Cosmos until 2013, and in 2015 split again from College, changing from College Europa back to Europa FC, while College 1975 entered the Gibraltar Second Division. The name change was cleared by UEFA and the Gibraltar Football Association has granted back the honours the club lost when it folded initially.

The club saw considerable success in the late 1920s and early 1930s, where it won 4 of its 7 titles. However, against the likes of Prince of Wales, the club struggled to become a major force and won its 6th and final title in the 1951–52. After further declining fortunes, the club merged with College in 1970, although it failed to see a revival in fortunes as it would continue to move between the top two divisions of Gibraltar football for the next 40 years, last being out of the top flight in 2012–13.

Despite a 4th-place finish in the 2013–14 Gibraltar Premier Division, 2014 they were the first team from Gibraltar to play the UEFA Europa League after they finished runners-up in the Rock Cup. They lost the first match 0–3 against FC Vaduz from Liechtenstein. In the second leg they lost 1–0 at home, resulting in a 4–0 aggregate defeat. [1] In 2015 the club had Gibraltar's first player to appear at a major international tournament, with Charly representing Equatorial Guinea at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

In 2015 the club was renamed to their original name Europa FC. [2] The side entered the UEFA Europa League once again, without a manager as Dimas Carrasco had not yet been appointed. The side lost 9–0 on aggregate to SK Slovan Bratislava with a new look side that received criticism from fans due to the lack of Gibraltarian players and large number of Spanish signings. Another season in 2nd place followed, although July 2016 did see Europa win their first continental cup tie, winning 3–2 on aggregate against FC Pyunik in the 2016-17 UEFA Europa League.

Further investment in the side under Juan Jose Gallardo saw an influx of young Gibraltarians join the Greens to align them with the league's new Home Grown Player Rule, including eventual international Sykes Garro and, most notably, key player Liam Walker from title rivals Lincoln Red Imps. The investment in the side drew dividends as the title race between Lincoln and Europa went down to the final round of games. Victory against Glacis United on 21 May, thanks to goals from Liam Walker and Kike Gómez, saw the club win their first title since 1952. A week later, the Greens won the 2017 Rock Cup, completing a domestic treble of Pepe Reyes Cup, Gibraltar Premier Division and Rock Cup for the first time in their history. However, after their extra-time defeat to The New Saints in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League in July 2017, Gallardo stepped down from his managerial position to focus on his role as sporting director. Jonathan Parrado was brought in to take over management of the team.

Notable managers

The following manager(s) made at least one major accomplishment while in charge of Europa:

NamePeriodAchievements
Flag of Spain.svg José Requena2014 Europa League qualification
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Bruno Akrapović 2014–15 Gibraltar Premier Cup, Europa League qualification
Flag of Spain.svg Dimas Carrasco2015–16 Europa League qualification
Flag of Spain.svg Juan José Gallardo2016–2017
2018		2016–17 Domestic Treble, Europa League 2Q round, 2018 Rock Cup

Honours

Europa FC squad on 25 June 2015 Europa FC squad 25 June 2015.jpg
Europa FC squad on 25 June 2015

European record

SeasonCompetitionRoundClubHomeAwayAggregate
2014–15 UEFA Europa League 1Q Flag of Liechtenstein.svg Vaduz 0–10–30–4
2015–16 UEFA Europa League 1Q Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovan Bratislava 0–60–30–9
2016–17 UEFA Europa League 1Q Flag of Armenia.svg Pyunik 2–01–23–2
2Q Flag of Sweden.svg AIK 0–10–10–2
2017–18 UEFA Champions League 1Q Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg The New Saints 1–32–13–4
2018–19 UEFA Europa League PR Flag of Kosovo.svg Prishtina 1–10–51–6
2019–20 UEFA Europa League PR Flag of Andorra.svg Sant Julià 4−02−36–3
1Q Flag of Poland.svg Legia Warsaw 0–00−30–3
2020–21 UEFA Champions League 1Q Flag of Serbia.svg Red Star Belgrade —0–5—
UEFA Europa League 2Q Flag of Sweden.svg Djurgårdens IF —1–2—
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q Flag of Lithuania.svg Kauno Žalgiris 0–00–20–2
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg Víkingur 1–20–11–3
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q Flag of Kosovo.svg Dukagjini 2–31–23–5
Notes

Current squad

First team

As of 31 August 2024 [3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
1 GK Flag of Italy.svg  ITA Marco Angeletti
2 DF Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Christian Rutjens
4 DF Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg  GNB Admonio
5 MF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Jaydan Parody
6 MF Flag of Spain.svg  ESP José Galán
7 MF Flag of Ireland.svg  IRL Carlos Flood
8 MF Flag of Venezuela (state).svg  VEN Riky
9 FW Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Labra
10 MF Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Alberto Quintana
11 FW Flag of Italy.svg  ITA Vittorio Vigolo
12 MF Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Javier Esteban-Silgo
13 GK Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Chema García
14 MF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Daniel Smith
15 DF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Liam Knox
No.Pos.NationPlayer
16 DF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Aymen Mouelhi (captain)
17 FW Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Marco Marinaro
18 DF Flag of Brazil.svg  BRA Renan Bernardes
20 MF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Shay Jones(on loan from FCB Magpies)
21 MF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Jaron Vinet
22 DF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Sam Yeo
23 FW Flag of Montenegro.svg  MNE Stefan Milošević
24 FW Flag of Ghana.svg  GHA Benjamin Acheampong
25 DF Flag of Argentina.svg  ARG Ignacio Liporace
26 FW Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Julian Del Rio(on loan from FCB Magpies)
30 MF Flag of Italy.svg  ITA Vincenzo Spingola
— DF Flag of Italy.svg  ITA Giacomo Ligorio
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Chad Feingold

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
— MF Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Julian Brinkman(at Oxford Brookes)
No.Pos.NationPlayer

Club staff

PositionName
Club Management
Manager Flag of Italy.svg Michele Di Piedi
Assistant coach Flag of Gibraltar.svg Javier Sánchez Alfaro
Fitness coach Flag of Spain.svg Dani Fernández
Goalkeeper Coach Flag of Spain.svg Benjamin Parody
Board
Chairman Flag of Gibraltar.svg Patrick Cabezutto
Vice President Flag of Gibraltar.svg Peter Cabezutto
Director Flag of England.svg Guy Langton

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References

  1. ↑ uefa.com. "UEFA Europa League 2014/15 - History - Vaduz-Europa FC – UEFA.com". Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Europa FC – Timeline – Facebook". Facebook . Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  3. ↑ Europa - Squad UEFA.com. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
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