Mons Calpe S.C.

Mons Calpe
Full name Mons Calpe Sports Club
Nickname(s) The Calpeans
Founded 2013
Ground Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar
Capacity 5000
Owner Reygadas Sports Group
Manager Luis Manuel Blanco
League Gibraltar Premier Division
2017–18 Gibraltar Premier Division, 5th
Website Club website

Mons Calpe S.C. is a professional football and sporting club from Gibraltar. Founded in 2013, the club's first team plays in the Gibraltar Premier Division.[1] Mons Calpe also has a U-23 squad, a youth academy program, futsal teams and darts.

History

Mons Calpe was formed by Kieran Alman, James Read, Phillip Debono, Richard Lavagna and Adrian Ballestero in 2013 after Gibraltar's admittance to UEFA sparked a boom in interest in football on the Rock. After an impressive maiden season in the 2013–14 Gibraltar Second Division, the club finished second in the league. However, the club succumbed to a 2–0 defeat to St Joseph's in the promotion/relegation playoff that year. The following season saw the club struggle to emulate the same form, against much stronger promotion contenders, which saw the club lingering in mid-table for much of the season and eventually finishing 8th.

After a significant rebuild over the summer of 2015, Mons Calpe led a title charge against Europa Point, who swept the title, giving Mons Calpe a second chance at promotion through the end of season play-off against Premier Division side FC Britannia. A victory in that game saw the young club seal their first ever season in the top flight of Gibraltarian football.

The summer after gaining promotion, Mons Calpe's football structure went through a total reconstruction to further professionalise the club, highlighted by a majority-share investment by a US-based group led by Jose Alfredo Reygadas. The Calpeans then appointed Brazilian coach William Amaral de Andrade as first team head coach and former Gibraltar U19 Manager Terrence Jolley as his assistant manager for the 2016–17 season. After a bad run of form in winter saw them slip from 3rd to 5th, William was sacked on 16 January and replaced by Jolley on an interim basis. On 17 March, Italian manager Mauro Ardizzone was appointed head coach, with Jolley returning to his role as assistant. Ardizzone eventually saw the Calpeans to a 5th place finish in their maiden Premier Division season, including a notable 2–2 draw with Lincoln Red Imps in the penultimate round.

At the start of the 2017–18 season, the Calpeans named Albert Ferri as their new manager. However, poor results led to his dismissal in December 2017, and renowned Argentinean manager Luis Manuel Blanco replaced him as first team head coach. After Blanco's arrival, the club won 14 of their next 22 matches in all competitions, finishing with a club-high 44 points in the top-flight and reaching the Rock Cup final, losing 2–1 to Europa.

Seasons

Season Division League record Rock Cup Notes
P W D L GF GA Pts Pos
2013–14 Second 2213365029422nd First round Lost in the Promotion/Relegation play-off
2014–15 Second 26103136263338th First round
2015–16 Second 2217238212532nd Second round Promoted via the Promotion/Relegation play-off
2016–17 Premier 27133114435425th Second round
2017–18 Premier 27142114835445th Runners-up

First Team squad

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

No. Position Player
1 Argentina GK Marcos Zappacosta
2 Argentina DF Juan Carlos Léon
3 Gibraltar DF Ethan Britto
4 Argentina DF Leonardo Vela
5 Mexico DF Francisco Gil-Zúñiga
6 Gibraltar MF Graeme Torrilla
7 Argentina MF Manuel "Manu" Camacho-Onega
8 Gibraltar MF Jaron Vinet
10 Spain MF Dieguito
11 Argentina MF Jonathan Di Toro
13 Colombia GK Diego Castro
14 Argentina MF Jonathan Nahuel Pereyra
No. Position Player
18 Argentina FW Leonardo Carboni
20 Gibraltar MF Kevagn Robba
21 Argentina DF Miguel Londero
24 Argentina DF Federico Villar (captain)
25 Croatia DF Karlo Kešinović
26 Argentina FW Lautaro Fernández
27 Spain MF Juanse Pegalajar
28 Gibraltar MF Ayoub El Hmidi
32 Gibraltar MF Kevagn Ronco
33 Gibraltar MF Rafael Bado
39 Argentina FW Juan Pablo "Pibe" Pereira-Sastre
Spain GK Christian Fraiz

Intermediate League squad

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

No. Position Player
2 Gibraltar DF Jude Furby
3 Gibraltar MF Isaac Vinet
5 Scotland DF Scott Ritchie (captain)
7 Gibraltar MF Kevin Poggio
8 Gibraltar MF Giovanni Villa
9 England MF Jack Smith
11 Gibraltar MF Luke Bautista
14 Gibraltar MF Zane Holgado
18 Gibraltar DF Nick Busto
No. Position Player
19 Gibraltar FW Alex Gonzalez
20 Gibraltar FW Haytam Terrack
23 Gibraltar GK Dion Danino
25 Gibraltar MF Jansen Dalli
27 Gibraltar MF Houssam Ohassan
28 Gibraltar DF Luke Evans
Colombia GK Diego Castro
Gibraltar MF Andres Martinez
Gibraltar FW Tyler De Soto

Club staff

Position Name
Club Management
Manager Argentina Luis Manuel Blanco
U-23/Academy Team Coach Scotland Lewis Fraser

References

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