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Floriana F.C.

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Floriana F.C.
Logo
Full nameFloriana Football Club
Nickname(s)Tal-Irish, Greens
Founded1894
GroundIndependence Ground,
Floriana, Malta
Capacity3,000
ChairmanEngland Stephen Vaughan, Jr.
ManagerMalta Stephen Azzopardi
LeagueMaltese Premier League
2011–123rd

Floriana Football Club is a Maltese football club in the town of Floriana that currently plays in the Maltese Premier League. It has one of the largest fans following on the islands and remains the most successful club in Maltese history, along with Sliema Wanderers. They are well known for their magnificent history, always remembered as one of the best clubs in the Maltese History for the titles won and player produced. Floriana FC in all their history won 25 national leagues and 19 FA Trophies.

History

Floriana Football Club was founded in 1894 and, together with St. George's FC, is one of the two oldest clubs in Malta. During that period, football in Malta was introduced by the British Servicemen who were stationed on the island which was then a colony of the British Empire.

The club is affiliated to the Malta Football Association which in turn is both a member of UEFA and FIFA.

The team, which plays in green and white, is nicknamed The Irish, after having adopted its colours following a friendly match against the Dublin Fusiliers who were stationed in Floriana Malta at the time.

Floriana Football Club has won the major Maltese League championship 25 times and the U*BET FA TROPHY 19 times.

Formation

Football was introduced in Malta at the end of the 19th Century by the British troops stationed on the island. At that time Malta formed part of the British Empire and, the Island was the base of British forces in the heart of the Mediterranean.

The British forces in Malta were mainly stationed in Cospicua, Mtarfa, Tigne', St Andrews and in Floriana. The forces' barracks, which were strategically located around the Island, enjoyed large areas that were used as parade grounds, training areas and for sporting activities. The sports practised by the soldiers were mainly cricket, hockey and football.

The locals who were influenced by the soldiers stationed in the area were introduced to these sporting activities. The most popular sport amongst the residents of Floriana was football, however some also practised cricket and hockey. Floriana still has its hockey club, carrying the name Floriana Young Stars Hockey Club.

History of club colours and mascot

Between 1894 and 1905 the club's colours were green/red quartered shirts, black shorts with green and red socks. The official colours of the club as we know them today, green and white vertical striped shirts, white shorts and green/white horizontal striped socks, were introduced in 1905. At that time the Royal Dublin Fusiliers were stationed in Floriana. During that year, three friendly matches were held between this regiment and FFC. At the end of the final match both teams exchanged their shirts and the officials of the Dublin Fusiliers expressed their wish that FFC changed their official colours to their green and white shirts. Incidentally, this regiment left the Island in that same year.

The ties between Floriana and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers were so strong that the people hailing from Floriana were nicknamed after the Irish, "Tal-Irish".

'THE LION' The club's mascot is the lion, which features prominently on the club's badge since 1936 together with the Latin motto "Ex Ludis Virtus", meaning "virtue out of the game". In this regard the club's badge represents the fierceness of the lion together with the virtues of sportsmanship. The lion was chosen as the clubs mascot for two general reasons attributed to Floriana civilization. First attribution is to the code of arms of Grandmaster of St.John Manuel De Vilhena which has the lion on it. Grandmaster Manuel De Vilhena was the mastermind behind the construction of a fortification suburg of Floriana (originally known as Borgo Vilhena) to defend the capital city of Valletta from land attacks. He even ordered the construction of a lion statue fountain, with his Grandmaster code of arms being held by the lions hand, in the center of Floriana main square St.Anne which is still there today. Second attribution to the lion is the statue of St.Publius who is the patron saint of Floriana. The St.Publius statue has the lion on it which shows how Publius was killed for his Christian preachings.

Domestic successes

Since the foundation of the Malta Football Association (1900) and local competitions the club won a total of 103 honours, which includes 25 league titles and 25 Cup knock out competitions. The club has also achieved a number of impressive feats, such as four consecutive league championships, ten doubles (League plus Cup) and a League title with maximum points.

UEFA competitions

Over the years FFC participated in the various competitions organised by the European football body, UEFA, such as the:

  • UEFA Champions Cup
  • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  • Fairs Cities' Cup
  • UEFA Cup
  • Intertoto Cup

In 1962, the club was the first to represent Malta in UEFA competitions in its Cup Winners' Cup against the Hungarian side Ujpest Dozsa. Over the years, FFC had the opportunity to meet some renowned European football clubs, including the likes of:

On two occasions FFC made it to the next round, 1993/94 Champions Cup and Intertoto Cup 1999/00.

Youth sector

In 1987 the club founded its youth sector, Floriana FC Nursery (FFCN), which is affiliated to the Malta Youth Football Association. The club's youth sector may also be considered as one of the most successful organisations of its type on the Island; not only has it produced a number of some of the finest footballers, but it has also managed to win a good number of league titles organised by the Association. The following are some of the major honours won by FFCN:

06 / 07 UNDER 14 Knock out competition

  • U/14 League Champions – twice
  • U/16 League Champions – six times, four of which in a row, 1993 to 1997
  • U/18 League Champions – six times, four of which in a row, 1996 to 2000

Today all the major six Premiership clubs in Malta have at least two players forming part of their squad, which have been raised by FFCN.

(www.florianafc.com)

Rivalries

During their history Floriana FC had two main rivals Sliema Wanderers and neighbors Valletta. The rivalry against Sliema is very old but today has lost many of its legacy. The rivalry was at its peak during the 1920s and till the late 1970s when the two sides dominated the Maltese football scene. Fighting between supporters during the direct conflicts were something usual. Today the rivalry declined due to Floriana's lack of good performances in the domestic scene were in the last 30 years they won only two league titles, in 1977 and in 1993.

On the other hand the rivalry against Valletta City is still alive. Despite the fact that it has been a long time since Floriana were in their hey days, the fact that the two cities are near each others the rivalry continued to persist and it is one of the most classic derbies in the Maltese football. The matches between to two sides always attract big crowds to the stadium and the fans treat these clashes as cup finals.

Colors

Floriana ' s official colors at the beginning of the century were green and red quartered shirts with black shorts. Later on these were replaced with Green and white striped shirts and white shorts. Tradition has it that these colors were adopted after a game played at the Floriana Parade Ground against the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. This regiment of the British army was stationed at Floriana. The two sides played four times against each other in 1904–05. The Fusiliers won the first two games while the third one ended all square. A fourth game was organized between the two sides and this time Floriana won 2–1. As a symbol of friendship, the players swapped their shirts. From that moment onwards, Floriana Football Club adopted the colors of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, which are the green and white stripes and white shorts.

The Florianites are still called 'Ta' l-Irish' meaning 'The Irish'. In the early 1920s which went something like this:

Tal-Irish minn dejjem hadid,
Jagħmel li jrid, deni jew gid.

In plain English, this translates as 'The Irish are always as strong as metal; they decide if to inflict harm or not'.

Honours

From 1900 to date, Floriana FC won 105 honours. 30 of them were won before the second war, that is, between 1900 and 1940. The other 75 honours were won from 1940 to date.

Floriana FC holds the following records:

  • Won four consecutive championships – 1949–1950, 1950–1951, 1951–1952 and 1952–1953.
  • In 1961–1962, Floriana FC won the league without losing a single point. Played and won 14 games, scored 43 goals and conceded 10 goals.
  • Made the League and Cup double for a record 10 times in seasons 1912–1913, 1921–1922, 1927–1928, 1928–1929, 1930–1931, 1949–1950, 1952–1953, 1954–1955, 1957–1958 and 1992–1993.
  • Between 15 February 1976 and 22 May 1977, Floriana played 37 consecutive games without losing a game. During this period, the Greens scored 99 goals and won seven major honours, which are the League, Trophy, Independence Cup, twice the Sons of Malta Cup and twice the Testaferrata Cup.

Maltese Football League: 25 1909–10, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1921–22, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1992–93

League Runners-up 1922/23, 1925/26, 1935/36, 1937/38, 1953/54, 1955/56, 1965/66, 1968/69, 1971/72, 1975/76, 1993/94, 2010/11

First Division Champions 1985/86

MFA Knock-Out Competitions (26 times):

National Ground Cup (MFA Cup) 1910–11

Gaelic Whisky Cup (MFA Cup) 1912–13

Cousis Shield 1921–22, 1922–23, 1930–31

Empire Sports Ground Cup (MFA Cup) 1927–28, 1928–29

FA Trophy (19 times) 1937–38, 1944–45, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1980–81, 1992–92, 1993–94, 2010–11

FA Trophy Finalists 1934/35, 1935/36, 1955/56, 1959/60, 1964/65, 1973/74, 1976/77, 1977/78, 1978/79, 1987/88, 1988/89, 2005/06

Super Cup (Once) 1992–93

Cassar Cup (10 times) 1920–21, 1922–23, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1949–50, 1951–62, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1957–58, 1960–61

Independence Cup (7 times) 1966–67, 1968–69, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79

Sons of Malta Cup (6 times) 1967–68, 1968–69, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78

Super 5 Cup (4 times) 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98

Testaferrata Cup (3 times) 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78

Schembri Shield (3 times) 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55

Scicluna Cup (3 times) 1958–59, 1961–62, 1962–63

Poppy Day Fund Cup (3 times) 1952–53, 1.953–54, 1954–55

Christmas Cup (2 times) 1968–69, 1969–70

Malta Playing Field Association Shield – MPFA (2 times) 1951–52, 1953–54

Partisans Cup (once) 1909

Amateurs Cup (once) 1911

Mtarfa Cup (once) 1912

La Gloire Trophy1921

Prince of Wales Cup (once) 1921

Malaya Congress Cup (once) 1924

Marian Congress Cup (Once) 1949

Infantile Paralysis Cup (once) 1953

Lowenbrau Cup (Once) 1993–94

MFA 100 years Commemorative Match Cup (once) 2000

Players

Current squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Trinidad and Tobago TRI Tony Warner
3 DF Malta MLT Kane Farrugia
4 DF Malta MLT Jermain Brincat
5 DF Malta MLT Owen Bugeja
6 MF Malta MLT Thomas Paris
7 MF Malta MLT Trevor Cilia
8 MF England ENG Aman Verma
9 FW Portugal POR Valdo Gonçalves Alinho
12 GK Malta MLT Jonathan Debono (on loan from Mosta)
13 MF Malta MLT Mark Spiteri
14 FW Brazil BRA Igor Coronado
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 DF Malta MLT Duncan Pisani
17 MF Malta MLT Joseph Borg
18 FW Malta MLT Ryan Darmanin
19 MF Brazil BRA Haygnner Henrique Celestino
22 DF Malta MLT Tyrone Farrugia
24 MF Malta MLT Clyde Borg
29 GK Sweden SWE Mario Mairena Eriksson
33 DF England ENG Carl Tremarco (on loan from Macclesfield Town)
99 GK Malta MLT Jurgen Borg
TBA DF Malta MLT Sacha Borg
TBA DF Malta MLT Francesco Gusman

Current staff

Position Name
Head Coach Malta Stephen Azzopardi
Assistant Coach England Alan Keeling
Team Manager England Stephen Speed
Team Doctor Malta Dr. George Grech
Team Doctor Malta Dr. Mark Aquilina
Physiotherapist Malta Karl Naudi
Kit Manager Malta Neville Spiteri
Assistant Kit Manager Malta Alan Briffa

Administration

Position Name
President Justin Attard
Vice President Frank Agius
Secretary Dione Borg
Club Director Paul Xuereb
Assistant Treasurer Paul Xuereb
Treasurer Mark Frendo
CEO Stephen Speed
Member Mark Frendo
Member Lyton Debattista

Managerial history

See Floriana F.C. managers

Manager Period
Morocco Karim Bencherifa 2000–02
Malta Jimmy Briffa 2005
Malta Joseph Grech 2006–07
Serbia Danilo Dončić 2007–08
Serbia Zoran Popovic 2008–Dec 08
Brazil Antônio Carlos Vieira Dec 2008–July 09
Republic of Ireland Roddy Collins July 2009–Dec 09
Serbia Zoran Popovic 2010
Bulgaria Todor Raykov July 2010–Feb 11
Malta Michael Woods 2010–12
Malta Joe Brincat March 2012–May 12
England Mark Wright Aug 2012–Sept 12
Malta Stephen Azzopardi Oct 2012–

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

Season Competition Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
1961–62 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary Round Hungary Újpest FC 2–5 2–10 4–15
1965–66 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1. Round West Germany Borussia Dortmund 1–5 0–8 1–13
1966–67 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1. Round Netherlands Sparta Rotterdam 1–1 0–6 1–7
1967–68 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1. Round Netherlands NAC Breda 1–2 0–1 1–3
1972–73 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1. Round Hungary Ferencvárosi TC 1–0 0–6 1–6
1976–77 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1. Round Poland Śląsk Wrocław 1–4 0–2 1–6
1978–79 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1. Round Italy Internazionale FC 1–3 0–5 1–8
1981–82 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1. Round Belgium Standard Liège 1–3 0–9 1–12
1988–89 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1. Round Scotland Dundee United 0–0 0–1 0–1
1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Qualifying Round Republic of Ireland Sligo Rovers FC 2–2 0–1 2–3

UEFA Intertoto Cup

Season Competition Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group 11, game 1st Austria FC Tirol Innsbruck 0–4
Group 11, game 2nd Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva FC 1–1
Group 11, game 3rd France RC Strasbourg 0–4
Group 11, game 4th Turkey Genclerbirligi 0–3
1997 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group 12, game 1st Austria SV Ried 1–2
Group 12, game 2nd Georgia (country) FC Tbilisi 0–5
Group 12, game 3rd Russia FC Torpedo Moscow 0–1
Group 12, game 4th Greece Iraklis FC 0–1
1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1. Round Wales Aberystwyth Town FC 2–1 2–2 4–3
2. Round Finland FC Jokerit 1–1 1–2 2–3
2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1. Round Norway Stabæk FC 1–1 0–2 1–3

Europa League

Season Competition Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1. Round Romania Dinamo Bacau 0–1 0–6 0–7
1991–92 UEFA Cup 1. Round Switzerland Neuchâtel Xamax 0–0 0–2 0–2
1992–93 UEFA Cup 1. Round Germany Borussia Dortmund 0–1 2–7 2–8
1996–97 UEFA Cup Preliminary Round Israel Beitar Jerusalem FC 1–5 1–3 2–8
2011–12 Europa League 2. Round Cyprus AEK Larnaca 0–8 0-1 0–9
2012–13 Europa League 1. Round Sweden IF Elfsborg 0–4 0-8 0–12

UEFA Champions League

Season Competition Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
1962–63 European Cup Preliminary Round England Ipswich Town 1–4 0–10 1–14
1968–69 European Cup 1. Round Finland FC Lahti 1–1 0–2 1–3
1970–71 European Cup 1. Round Portugal Sporting CP 0–4 0–5 0–9
1973–74 European Cup 1. Round Belgium Club Brugge 0–2 0–8 0–10
1975–76 European Cup 1. Round Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia HNK Hajduk Split 0–5 0–3 0–8
1977–78 European Cup 1. Round Greece Panathinaikos FC 1–1 0–4 1–5
1993–94 UEFA Champions League Preliminary Round Lithuania FK Ekranas 1–0 1–0 2–0
1993–94 UEFA Champions League 1. Round Portugal FC Porto 0–0 0–2 0–2

Notable Maltese former players

1900–1930

1930–1950

1950–1970

1970–1990

1990–2012

Notable Foreign players (Since 1909)

References


Template:UEFA Europa League

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