Europa F.C.

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 (1925)
GroundVictoria Stadium,
Gibraltar
Capacity2,000
ChairmanPatrick Cabezutto
ManagerMario Pérez
LeagueGibraltar National League
2022–23Championship Group: 2nd
Overall: 2nd
WebsiteClub website

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:

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

Honours

Europa FC squad on 25 June 2015
Winners (8): 1928–29, 1929–30, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1937–38, 1951–52, 2016–17, 2019–20
Winners: 2012–13
Winners (11): 1938, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1952,1956, 1958, 1961 2017, 2017–18, 2019
Winners: 2014–15
Winners (4): 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021

European record

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

Current squad

First team

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 Argentina ARG Marcos Zappacosta
2 MF Gibraltar GIB Jeremy Lopez
3 DF Spain ESP Alex Oñate
4 MF Spain ESP José Galán (on loan from Bruno's Magpies)
5 DF Spain ESP Domingo Utrera
6 MF Gibraltar GIB Andrew Hernandez (captain)
7 MF Gibraltar GIB Mitchell Gibson
8 FW Spain ESP Cristian Orihuela
9 FW Spain ESP Cipri
10 MF Spain ESP Alberto Quintana
12 DF Gibraltar GIB Jayron Negron
14 DF Gibraltar GIB James Parkinson
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF Argentina ARG Emanuel Ojeda
17 DF Gibraltar GIB Jared Buhagiar
18 FW Spain ESP Labra
19 FW Gibraltar GIB Julian Del Rio (on loan from Bruno's Magpies)
20 MF Argentina ARG Federico Cataruozzolo
21 MF Spain ESP Antonio Bello
23 MF Gibraltar GIB Jaydan Parody
26 MF England ENG Jayden Mitchell-Brown
27 DF Morocco MAR Saber Bchari
28 DF Gibraltar GIB Stefan Thorne
81 GK Gibraltar GIB Jordan Perez

Intermediate League squad

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
1 GK Gibraltar GIB Denzel Navarro
2 DF Gibraltar GIB Nicholas Cano
4 DF Gibraltar GIB Kaylan Livingstone
5 DF Gibraltar GIB Sam Yeo
8 DF Gibraltar GIB Jordan McGrail
9 MF Gibraltar GIB Ethan Moya
10 MF Gibraltar GIB Aidan Enriles
14 MF Spain ESP Yeray Vazquez
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF Gibraltar GIB James Castle
16 MF Gibraltar GIB Karl Poggio
17 MF Gibraltar GIB Kevin Poggio
19 FW Gibraltar GIB Tyler Quigley
20 MF Gibraltar GIB Kaydrian Martinez
23 DF Gibraltar GIB Liam Knox
DF Spain ESP Francisco Reyes

Club staff

Position Name
Club Management
Manager Spain Mario Pérez
Assistant coach Spain Ángel Espinosa
Fitness coach Spain Daniel Fernández
U23 Head Coach Gibraltar Javier Sánchez Alfaro
U23 Assistant Coach Gibraltar Edgar Harrison
U23 Coach Gibraltar Darren Celecia
Physio Spain Vanessa Sánchez
Head of Coaching England Jeff Wood
Board
Chairman Gibraltar Patrick Cabezutto
Vice President Gibraltar Peter Cabezutto
Chief Executive Officer Gibraltar Eddie Yome
Director Gibraltar John Paul Risso
Director England Guy Langton
Secretary Gibraltar Clive Reed

References

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