Floriana F.C.

Floriana
Full name Floriana Football Club
Nickname(s) Tal-Irish, Greens, tal-Qaghqa (of the Ring-cake[1]
Founded 1894 (1894)
Capacity 3,000
Chairman Riccardo Gaucci
Manager Belgium Luís Oliveira
League Maltese Premier League
2016–17 Maltese Premier League, 5th
Website Club website

Floriana Football Club is a professional Maltese football club in the city of Floriana that currently plays in the Maltese Premier League. It has one of the largest fan followings on the islands and remains the most successful club in Maltese history, along with Sliema Wanderers. In all, Floriana F.C. has won 25 national leagues and 20 FA Trophies. It is also the only team from Malta to have qualified from the qualifying rounds to the first round proper of the UEFA Champions League, in the 1993–94 season.

History

Floriana Football Club was founded in 1894 with the inauguration of the football ground officiated by Queen Alexandra.[2] The site was a cricket ground from 1890 till its conversion project.[2] Together with St. George's FC, is one of the two oldest clubs in Malta.[3] 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.[3]

The club is affiliated to the Malta Football Association which in turn is a member of both UEFA and FIFA.[4] The teams colours were green and red but after a friendly match against the Royal Dublin Fusiliers which plays in green and white, Floriana FC changed its colours to green and white. The teams nicknames are: Tal-Irish and Greens.

Floriana Football Club has won the major Maltese League championship 25 times and the FA Trophy 20 times.

Formation

Football was introduced in Malta at the end of the 19th Century by the British troops stationed on the island.[2] 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.[3] The forces' barracks, which were strategically located around the island of Malta, enjoyed large areas that were used as parade grounds, training areas and for sporting activities.[2]

The sports practised by the soldiers were mainly cricket, hockey and football.[2] The British forces in Malta were mainly stationed in Floriana, Cospicua, Mtarfa, Marsa and Sliema.[2] The locals who were influenced by the soldiers stationed in the area were introduced to these sporting activities.[3] The most popular sport amongst the residents of Floriana was football,[3] however some also practised cricket and hockey.[2] Floriana still has its hockey club, carrying the name Floriana Young Stars Hockey Club.

Club colours and mascot

Between 1894 and 1905 the club's colours were green/red quartered shirts, black shorts with green and red socks.[3] 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.[3] At that time the Royal Dublin Fusiliers were stationed in Floriana.[3] During that year, three friendly matches were held between this regiment and FFC.[3] At the end of the final match both teams exchanged their shirts and later the FFC changed their official colours to their green and white shirts.[3] The regiment left the Island for India in that same year.[3] 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".[3]

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".[5] 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 history of Floriana.

First attribution is to the coat-of-arms of the Grandmaster of Order of St. John, Manoel de Vilhena, which has the lion on it.[5] 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.[3] He even ordered the construction of a lion statue fountain, with his Grandmaster code of arms being held by the lions hand, in the centre of Floriana's main square, St. Anne Square, which is still there today.[5]

Second attribution to the lion is the statue of St. Publius who is the patron saint of Floriana. The St. Publius' statue has a lion with it which shows how Publius was killed for his Christian preachings.

The first game won by the team was confirmed on the feast of the patron's village St. Publius, on 13 April 1910, which is to some considered as a divine confirmation.[5]

Domestic successes

Since the foundation of the Malta Football Association, in 1909,[6] (fiv)and local competitions the club won a total of 107 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 League
  • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  • Fairs Cities' Cup
  • UEFA Europa League
  • 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.[7] 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 won a 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 the Floriana Youth Nursery.

Rivalries

During their history Floriana had two main rivals Sliema Wanderers and neighbors Valletta.[3] The rivalry against Sliema is very old but today has lost much of its legacy.[3] The rivalry was at its peak from 1910 and till the late 1970s when the two sides dominated the Maltese football scene.[3] Football hooliganism between supporters and direct conflicts were something usual.[3]

Today the rivalry has declined. Recently Floriana won the 20th FA Trophy against Sliema. This triggered again the rivalry between both clubs as Floriana won 9 finals in this Cup Competition against The Blues. [8]

The rivalry against Valletta City is still alive.[8] The fact that the two cities are near each other's the rivalry continues to persist and it is one of the most classic derbies in Maltese football.[8] The matches between the two sides always attract big crowds to the stadium and the fans treat these clashes as cup finals.[8]

Colours

Floriana' s official colors at the beginning of the century were green and red quartered shirts with black shorts.[3] Later on these were replaced with Green and white striped shirts and white shorts.[3] These colors were adopted after a game played at the Floriana Parade Ground against the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.[3] This regiment of the British army was stationed at Floriana.[3] The two sides played three times against each other in 1904–05.[3] The Fusiliers won the first two games while the third one ended all square.[3]

A fourth game was organized between the two sides and this time Floriana won 2–1.[3] As a symbol of friendship, the players swapped their shirts.[3] 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.[3] The Florianites are still called 'Ta' l-Irish' meaning 'The Irish'.[3] In the early 1920s which went something like this:[3]

In plain English, this translates as 'The Irish are always as strong as metal; they decide if to inflict harm or not'.[3]

Honours

From 1900 to date, Floriana FC won 108 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 – 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52 and 1952–53.*In 1961–62, 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 1912–13, 1921–22, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1949–50, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1957–58 and 1992–93.*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.During Season 1952–53 Floriana FC was the first Local Club to obtain SIX HONOURS in one season,League Champions-FA Trophy-Cassar Charity Cup-Infantile Paralyses Cup-Schembri Shield and Poppy Day Fund Cup (During this season another Cup was playeed the Coronation Cup but was won by Floriana FC arch rivals Valletta FC)

Maltese Premier 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 (12):

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 (1):

1985–86

MFA Knock-Out Competitions (26)

National Ground Cup (MFA Cup) (1):

1910–11

Gaelic Whisky Cup (MFA Cup) (1):

1912–13

Cousis Shield (3):

1921–22, 1922–23, 1930–31

Empire Sports Ground Cup (MFA Cup) (2):

1927–28, 1928–29

Maltese FA Trophy (20):

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, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2010–11, 2016-17

FA Trophy Finalists (12):

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 (2):

1992–93, 2017-18

Cassar Cup (10):

1920–21, 1922–23, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1949–50, 1951–62, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1957–58, 1960–61

Independence Cup (7):

1966–67, 1968–69, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79

Sons of Malta Cup (6):

1967–68, 1968–69, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78

Super 5 Cup (4):

1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98

Testaferrata Cup (3):

1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78

Schembri Shield (3):

1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55

Scicluna Cup (3):

1958–59, 1961–62, 1962–63

Poppy Day Fund Cup (3):

1952–53, 1.953–54, 1954–55

Christmas Cup (2):

1968–69, 1969–70

Malta Playing Field Association Shield – MPFA (2):

1951–52, 1953–54

Partisans Cup (1):

1909

Amateurs Cup (1):

1911

Mtarfa Cup (1):

1912

La Gloire Trophy (1):

1921

Prince of Wales Cup (1):

1921

Malaya Congress Cup (1):

1924

Marian Congress Cup (1):

1949

Infantile Paralysis Cup (1):

1953

Lowenbrau Cup (1):

1993–94

AME Cup (1):

2013

Joma Cup (1):

2018

DIMBROS Summer Tournament (1):

Players

Current squad

As of 20 July 2018

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

No. Position Player
4 Liberia FW Patrick Wleh
5 State of Palestine DF Mohammed Saleh
6 Argentina DF Enzo Ruiz
7 Malta MF Steve Pisani
8 Malta MF Clyde Borg
9 Argentina FW Ignacio Varela
10 Italy MF Maurizio Vella
11 Brazil FW Juninho Cabral
12 Malta GK Ini Etim Akpan
13 Malta MF Clayton Failla
15 Malta MF Mattia Zarb
No. Position Player
17 Malta DF Jurgen Pisani
21 Malta DF Jake Stensen
22 Malta DF Alexander Cini
24 Malta GK Matthew Grech
26 Brazil DF Arthur
30 Malta MF Dylan Grima
91 Brazil MF Emerson
96 Malta FW Daniel Agius
Malta FW Terrence Vella
Bosnia and Herzegovina MF Goran Galešić
Slovenia MF Ivica Guberac

Non-playing staff

Administration

PositionName
PresidentRiccardo Gaucci
SecretaryDione Borg
TreasurerMario Cilia
Vice SecretaryRuth Brincat
Vice TreasurerPeter Agius
Vice PresidentAnthony Grech Sant
WebmasterAlan Michael Vella
Club CuratorPaul Xuereb
MFA Club DelegateRiccardo Gaucci
Floriana FC Supporters Club OfficialsClive Schembri & Ryan Agius
Floriana FC Nursery RepresentativeNigel Holland
Committee MemberAnthony Stellini
Committee MemberClive Schembri

Managerial history

Name Nat From To
Karim Bencherifa Morocco July 1, 2000 June 30, 2002
Ziya Yildiz Bosnia and Herzegovina 2002 2004
Jimmy Briffa Malta 2005 2006
Joseph Grech Malta 2006 2007
Danilo Dončić Serbia July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008
Zoran Popović Serbia July 1, 2008 Jan 9, 2009
Antonio Carlos Vieira Brazil July 1, 2008 March 24, 2009
Roddy Collins Republic of Ireland July 1, 2009 Dec 15, 2009
Zoran Popović Serbia 2009 2010
Todor Raykov Bulgaria July 1, 2010 Feb 21, 2011
Michael Woods Malta 2010 2012
Joe Brincat Malta March 20, 2012 2012
Mark Wright England Aug 18, 2012 Oct 18, 2012
Stephen Azzopardi Malta Oct 18, 2012 Jan 25, 2012
Iain Brunskill England Jan 29, 2013 May 8, 2013
Ian Dawes England May 9, 2013 April 8, 2014
Giovanni Tedesco Italy April 8, 2014 May 8, 2015
Luis Oliveira Belgium June 14, 2015 May 8, 2016
Giovanni Tedesco Italy June 15, 2016 December 4,2017

European Record

Matches

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1961–62 European Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary round Hungary Újpest 2–5 2–10 4–15
1962–63 European Cup Preliminary round England Ipswich Town 1–4 0–10 1–14
1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup First round West Germany Borussia Dortmund 1–5 0–8 1–13
1966–67 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Netherlands Sparta Rotterdam 1–1 0–6 1–7
1967–68 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Netherlands NAC Breda 1–2 0–1 1–3
1968–69 European Cup First round Finland Lahti 1–1 0–2 1–3
1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup First round Romania Dinamo Bacau 0–1 0–6 0–7
1970–71 European Cup First round Portugal Sporting CP 0–4 0–5 0–9
1972–73 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Hungary Ferencvárosi 1–0 0–6 1–6
1973–74 European Cup First round Belgium Club Brugge 0–2 0–8 0–10
1975–76 European Cup First round Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Hajduk Split 0–5 0–3 0–8
1976–77 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Poland Śląsk Wrocław 1–4 0–2 1–6
1977–78 European Cup First round Greece Panathinaikos 1–1 0–4 1–5
1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Italy Internazionale 1–3 0–5 1–8
1981–82 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Belgium Standard Liège 1–3 0–9 1–12
1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Scotland Dundee United 0–0 0–1 0–1
1991–92 UEFA Cup First round Switzerland Neuchâtel Xamax 0–0 0–2 0–2
1992–93 UEFA Cup First round Germany Borussia Dortmund 0–1 2–7 2–8
1993–94 UEFA Champions League Preliminary round Lithuania Ekranas 1–0 1–0 2–0
First round Portugal Porto 0–0 0–2 0–2
1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Qualifying round Republic of Ireland Sligo Rovers 2–2 0–1 2–3
1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group 11 Austria Tirol Innsbruck 0–4 N/A 5th
Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva N/A 1–1
France Strasbourg 0–4 N/A
Turkey Gençlerbirliği N/A 0–3
1996–97 UEFA Cup Preliminary round Israel Beitar Jerusalem 1–5 1–3 2–8
1997 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group 12 Austria SV Ried 1–2 N/A 5th
Georgia (country) Tbilisi N/A 0–5
Russia Torpedo Moscow 0–1 N/A
Greece Iraklis N/A 0–1
1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup First round Wales Aberystwyth Town 2–1 2–2 4–3
Second round Finland Jokerit 1–1 1–2 2–3
2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup First round Norway Stabæk 1–1 0–2 1–3
2011–12 Europa League Second qualifying round Cyprus AEK Larnaca 0–8 0–1 0–9
2012–13 Europa League First qualifying round Sweden Elfsborg 0–4 0–8 0–12
2017–18 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round Serbia Red Star Belgrade 3-3 0-3 3-6

References

  1. ↑ Cassar Pullicino, J. (1956). "Social Aspects of Maltese Nicknames" (PDF). Scientia. 22 (2): 92.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Armstrong, Gary; Mitchell, Jon P. (2008). Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanization on the Fringes of the EU. Routledge. pp. 23, 29, 68. ISBN 9781134269198.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Armstrong, Gary; Mitchell, Jon P. (2008). Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanization on the Fringes of the EU. Routledge. pp. 43–46. ISBN 9781134269198.
  4. ↑ Armstrong, Gary; Mitchell, Jon P. (2008). Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanization on the Fringes of the EU. Routledge. p. 31. ISBN 9781134269198.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Armstrong, Gary; Mitchell, Jon P. (2008). Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanization on the Fringes of the EU. Routledge. pp. 44, 47, 50. ISBN 9781134269198.
  6. ↑ Armstrong, Gary; Mitchell, Jon P. (2008). Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanization on the Fringes of the EU. Routledge. p. 13. ISBN 9781134269198.
  7. ↑ Armstrong, Gary; Mitchell, Jon P. (2008). Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanization on the Fringes of the EU. Routledge. p. 81. ISBN 9781134269198.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Armstrong, Gary; Mitchell, Jon P. (2008). Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanization on the Fringes of the EU. Routledge. pp. 48–50. ISBN 9781134269198.
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