Europa F.C.

Summary

Europa FC is a professional football club from Gibraltar, that competes in the Gibraltar National League. As with all 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.

Europa FC
Full nameEuropa Football Club
Nickname(s)The Green Machine
Founded1925; 99 years ago (1925)
GroundVictoria Stadium,
Gibraltar
Capacity2,000
ChairmanPeter Cabezutto
ManagerMichele Di Piedi
LeagueGibraltar Football League
2023–248th
WebsiteClub website

History edit

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 edit

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

Name Period Achievements
  José Requena 2014 Europa League qualification
  Bruno Akrapović 2014–15 Gibraltar Premier Cup, Europa League qualification
  Dimas Carrasco 2015–16 Europa League qualification
  Juan José Gallardo 2016–2017
2018
2016–17 Domestic Treble, Europa League 2Q round, 2018 Rock Cup

Honours edit

 
Europa FC squad on 25 June 2015

European record edit

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2014–15 UEFA Europa League 1Q   Vaduz 0–1 0–3 0–4
2015–16 UEFA Europa League 1Q   Slovan Bratislava 0–6 0–3 0–9
2016–17 UEFA Europa League 1Q   Pyunik 2–0 1–2 3–2
2Q   AIK 0–1 0–1 0–2
2017–18 UEFA Champions League 1Q   The New Saints 1–3 2–1 3–4
2018–19 UEFA Europa League PR   Prishtina 1–1 0–5 1–6
2019–20 UEFA Europa League PR   Sant Julià 4−0 2−3 6–3
1Q   Legia Warsaw 0–0 0−3 0–3
2020–21 UEFA Champions League 1Q   Red Star Belgrade 0–5
UEFA Europa League 2Q   Djurgårdens IF 1–2
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q   Kauno Žalgiris 0–0 0–2 0–2
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q   Víkingur 1–2 0–1 1–3
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q   Dukagjini 2–3 1–2 3–5
Notes
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  • PR: Preliminary round

Current squad edit

First team edit

As of 12 April 2023[3]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   ARG Marcos Zappacosta
2 MF   GIB Jeremy Lopez
3 DF   ESP Alex Oñate
4 MF   ESP José Galán (on loan from Bruno's Magpies)
5 DF   ESP Domingo Utrera
6 MF   GIB Andrew Hernandez (captain)
7 MF   GIB Mitchell Gibson
8 FW   ESP Cristian Orihuela
9 FW   ESP Cipri
10 MF   ESP Alberto Quintana
11 FW   ITA Vittorio Vigolo
12 DF   GIB Liam Knox
14 DF   ESP Tete (on loan from St Joseph's)
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF   ARG Emanuel Ojeda
16 FW   GIB Tito de Torres
17 FW   GIB Adam Gracia (on loan from St Joseph's)
18 FW   ESP Labra
19 FW   GIB Julian Del Rio (on loan from Bruno's Magpies)
20 MF   ARG Federico Cataruozzolo
21 MF   ESP Antonio Bello
22 DF   GIB Sam Yeo
23 MF   GIB Jaydan Parody
24 DF   ITA Manuel Ingrassia
26 MF   IRL Carlos Flood
27 DF   GIB Jamie Serra (on loan from St Joseph's)
81 GK   GIB Gian Del Rio

Intermediate League squad edit

As of 18 September 2023

The following players are registered to play in the Gibraltar Intermediate League. Players in the senior squad may also appear for the Intermediate team.

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 MF   ENG Charlie-Jack Hardiman
4 DF   GIB James Castle
5 MF   ESP Iván Martín
9 MF   GIB Ethan Moya
10 FW   GIB Luigi Walton
16 MF   GIB Karl Poggio
17 MF   GIB Kevin Poggio
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 DF   GER Yannis Güllüoglu
19 FW   GIB Tyler Quigley
20 MF   GIB Kaydrian Martinez
27 DF   MAR Saber Bchari
26 MF   ENG Jayden Mitchell-Brown
FW   GIB Liam Thorne

Club staff edit

Position Name
Club Management
Manager  
Assistant coach  
Fitness coach  
U23 Head Coach   Javier Sánchez Alfaro
U23 Assistant Coach   Edgar Harrison
U23 Coach   Darren Celecia
Physio   Head of Coaching  
Board
Chairman   Patrick Cabezutto
Vice President   Peter Cabezutto
Chief Executive Officer   Director   John Paul Risso
Director   Guy Langton
Secretary  

References edit

  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". Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  3. ^ Europa - Squad UEFA.com. Retrieved 24 June 2019.

External links edit

  • Official Website
  • Europa F.C. on Twitter  
  • College Europa FC at UEFA.com