Floriana F.C.

Floriana Football Club is a semi-professional Maltese football club in the town of Floriana that currently plays in the Maltese Premier League.[2] In all, Floriana F.C. has won 26 national leagues and 20 FA Trophies (present and longest surviving main knockout competition). 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.

Floriana
Full nameFloriana Football Club
Nickname(s)Tal-Irish, Il-Greens[1]
Founded1894 (1894)
ChairmanRiccardo Gaucci
ManagerVincenzo Potenza
LeagueMaltese Premier League
2019–20Maltese Premier League, 1st

History

Floriana Football Club was founded in 1894 with the inauguration of the football ground officiated by Queen Alexandra.[3] The site was a cricket ground from 1890 till its conversion project.[3] Together with St. George's FC, is one of the two oldest clubs in Malta.[4] 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.[4]

The club is affiliated to the Malta Football Association which in turn is a member of both UEFA and FIFA.[5] The team's 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 team's nicknames are: Tal-Irish and Greens.

Floriana Football Club has won the major Maltese League championship 26 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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[3]

The sports practised by the soldiers were mainly cricket, hockey and football.[3] The British forces in Malta were mainly stationed in Floriana, Cospicua, Mtarfa, Marsa and Sliema.[3] The locals who were influenced by the soldiers stationed in the area were introduced to these sporting activities.[4] The most popular sport amongst the residents of Floriana was football,[4] however some also practised cricket and hockey.[3] 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.[4] 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.[4] At that time the Royal Dublin Fusiliers were stationed in Floriana.[4] During that year, three friendly matches were held between this regiment and FFC.[4] 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.[4] The regiment left the Island for India in that same year.[4] 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".[4]

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".[6] 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 club's 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.[6] 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.[4] 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.[6]

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.[6]

2020 Win and COVID-19 national outrage

On the 25th of May 2020 Floriana FC were crowned champions of the BOV Premier League. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the season was ultimately stopped earlier and Floriana was crowned champions of the league.

Celebrations were then hosted in the Fossos in Floriana where a mass gathering of supporters broke social distancing rules and broke several Maltese laws by not staying in groups of six of less. The event sparked national outrage within the public in Malta and was featured on nearly all Maltese national newspapers.[7]

Floriana FC fans celebrate 2020 win

Domestic successes

Since the foundation of the Malta Football Association, in 1909,[8] (fiv)and local competitions the club won a total of 108 honours, which includes 26 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.[9] 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.[4] The rivalry against Sliema is very old but today has lost much of its legacy.[4] The rivalry was at its peak from 1910 and till the late 1970s when the two sides dominated the Maltese football scene.[4] Football hooliganism between supporters and direct conflicts were something usual.[4]

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. [10]

The rivalry against Valletta City is still alive.[10] 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.[10] The matches between the two sides always attract big crowds to the stadium and the fans treat these clashes as cup finals.[10]

Colours

Floriana' s official colors at the beginning of the century were green and red quartered shirts with black shorts.[4] Later on these were replaced with Green and white striped shirts and white shorts.[4] These colors were adopted after a game played at the Floriana Parade Ground against the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.[4] This regiment of the British army was stationed at Floriana.[4] The two sides played three times against each other in 1904–05.[4] The Fusiliers won the first two games while the third one ended all square.[4]

A fourth game was organized between the two sides and this time Floriana won 2–1.[4] As a symbol of friendship, the players swapped their shirts.[4] 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.[4] The Florianites are still called 'Ta' l-Irish' meaning 'The Irish'.[4] In the early 1920s which went something like this:[4]

Tal-Irish minn dejjem ħadid,
Jagħmel li jrid, deni jew ġid.

In plain English, this translates as 'The Irish are always as strong as metal; they decide if to inflict harm or not'.[4]

Honours

From 1900 to date, Floriana FC won 96 honours (official honours). 30 of them were won before the second war, that is, between 1900 and 1940. The other 66 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 7 times (Only arch rivals Valletta and Sliema Wanderers are better with 8 doubles) in seasons 1921–22, 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 played the Coronation Cup but was won by Floriana FC arch rivals Valletta FC and 3 of these honours were friendly tournaments). The league of season 2019-20 was won by votes with 6 games to go, 18 points to be won and lost and other potential winners of the league.

Maltese Premier League (26):

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, 2019–20

League Runners-up (13):

1922–23, 1925–26, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1965–66, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1991–92, 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, 1975–76, 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, 2016–17

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):

2019

Challenge Cup (1):

Players

Current squad
As of 15 January 2020[11]

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  MLT Andrea Cassar
5 DF  SEN Moustapha Beye
6 DF  ARG Enzo Ruiz
7 MF  BRA Francisco Silva
8 MF  MLT Clyde Borg
9 FW  ITA Kristian Keqi
10 MF  ARG Ulisses Arias
11 MF  MLT Brandon Paiber
12 GK  MLT Ini Etim Akpan
14 MF  ITA Stefano D'Agostino
15 DF  MLT Isaac Galea
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 MF  MLT Bradley Sciberras
17 DF  MLT Jurgen Pisani
20 MF  ARG Matías García
21 FW  ARG Augusto Cáseres
22 DF  MLT Alexander Cini
23 DF  MLT Kurt Theuma
24 GK  MLT Justin Spiteri
77 DF  MLT Alejandro Garzia
94 DF  MLT Ryan Camenzuli
99 FW  BRA Tiago Adan Fonseca

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
32 DF  MLT Edward Herrera (at Sirens until 30 June 2020)
— MF  ARG Gaston Cesani (at Sirens until 30 June 2020)
— FW  BRA Romarinho (at Sirens until 30 June 2020)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF  MLT Neil Spiteri (at St. Lucia until 30 June 2020)
— FW  MLT Daniel Agius (at St. Lucia until 30 June 2020)

Non-playing staff

Administration
PositionName
PresidentRiccardo Gaucci
SecretaryDione Borg
TreasurerMario Cilia
Vice SecretaryRuth Brincat
Vice TreasurerFrank Camilleri
Senior Vice PresidentJoseph Cauchi
Vice PresidentPeter Agius
WebmasterAlan Michael Vella
MFA Club Delegates Frank CamilleriPeter Agius
Events and Media OfficerRyan Agius
Floriana FC Nursery RepresentativeMark Piscopo
Committee MembersMark Victor CamilleriAnthony Grech Sant

Managerial history
Name Nat From To
Karim Bencherifa 1 July 2000 30 June 2002
Ziya Yildiz 2002 2004
Jimmy Briffa 2005 2006
Joseph Grech 2006 2007
Danilo Dončić 1 July 2007 30 June 2008
Zoran Popović 1 July 2008 9 Jan 2009
Antonio Carlos Vieira 1 July 2008 24 March 2009
Roddy Collins 1 July 2009 15 Dec 2009
Zoran Popović 2009 2010
Todor Raykov 1 July 2010 21 Feb 2011
Michael Woods 2010 2012
Joe Brincat 20 March 2012 2012
Mark Wright 18 Aug 2012 18 Oct 2012
Stephen Azzopardi 18 Oct 2012 25 Jan 2013
Iain Brunskill 29 Jan 2013 8 May 2013
Ian Dawes 9 May 2013 8 April 2014
Giovanni Tedesco 8 April 2014 8 May 2015
Luis Oliveira 14 June 2015 8 May 2016
Giovanni Tedesco 15 June 2016 4 December 2017
Nicolas Hernan Chiesa 15 December 2017 27 August 2018
Luis Oliveira 28 August 2018 14 November 2018
Guido Ugolotti 14 November 2018 15 May 2019
Vincenzo Potenza 15 May 2019[12]

European record

Matches
Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1961–62 European Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary round Újpest 2–5 2–10 4–15
1962–63 European Cup Preliminary round Ipswich Town 1–4 0–10 1–14
1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Borussia Dortmund 1–5 0–8 1–13
1966–67 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Sparta Rotterdam 1–1 0–6 1–7
1967–68 European Cup Winners' Cup First round NAC Breda 1–2 0–1 1–3
1968–69 European Cup First round Lahti 1–1 0–2 1–3
1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup First round Dinamo Bacau 0–1 0–6 0–7
1970–71 European Cup First round Sporting CP 0–4 0–5 0–9
1972–73 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Ferencvárosi 1–0 0–6 1–6
1973–74 European Cup First round Club Brugge 0–2 0–8 0–10
1975–76 European Cup First round Hajduk Split 0–5 0–3 0–8
1976–77 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Śląsk Wrocław 1–4 0–2 1–6
1977–78 European Cup First round Panathinaikos 1–1 0–4 1–5
1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Internazionale 1–3 0–5 1–8
1981–82 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Standard Liège 1–3 0–9 1–12
1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Dundee United 0–0 0–1 0–1
1991–92 UEFA Cup First round Neuchâtel Xamax 0–0 0–2 0–2
1992–93 UEFA Cup First round Borussia Dortmund 0–1 2–7 2–8
1993–94 UEFA Champions League Preliminary round Ekranas 1–0 1–0 2–0
First round Porto 0–0 0–2 0–2
1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Qualifying round Sligo Rovers 2–2 0–1 2–3
1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group 11 Tirol Innsbruck 0–4 N/A 5th
Hapoel Petah Tikva N/A 1–1
Strasbourg 0–4 N/A
Gençlerbirliği N/A 0–3
1996–97 UEFA Cup Preliminary round Beitar Jerusalem 1–5 1–3 2–8
1997 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group 12 SV Ried 1–2 N/A 5th
Tbilisi N/A 0–5
Torpedo Moscow 0–1 N/A
Iraklis N/A 0–1
1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup First round Aberystwyth Town 2–1 2–2 4–3
Second round Jokerit 1–1 1–2 2–3
2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup First round Stabæk 1–1 0–2 1–3
2011–12 Europa League Second qualifying round AEK Larnaca 0–8 0–1 0–9
2012–13 Europa League First qualifying round Elfsborg 0–4 0–8 0–12
2017–18 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round Red Star Belgrade 3–3 0–3 3–6
2020–21 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round CFR Cluj N/A N/A

League and cup history
Season League Top Scorer Cup Youths
Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Name Goals Sect. Pos. Cup
2000–2001 1st 5th 28 13 4 11 54 48 27 Rufin Oba 12 SF A 3rd RU
2001–2002 5th 28 10 6 12 39 38 25 Eduardo 'Bizu' Do Nascimento 9 R2 1st SF
2002–2003 8th 24 8 6 10 32 34 20 Grigol Gvazava
Nicolò Baldacchino		 6 SF 1st R1
2003–2004 6th 28 8 7 13 41 51 18 Eduardo 'Bizu' Do Nascimento
Nicolò Baldacchino		 8 QF 2nd W
2004–2005 6th 28 7 7 14 28 39 16 Nicolò Baldacchino 6 QF 4th SF
2005–2006 7th 24 6 9 9 36 37 18 Adrian Mifsud 15 RU 6th QF
2006–2007 7th 24 9 7 8 41 30 22 Adrian Mifsud 9 R1 5th QF
2007–2008 5th 28 10 6 12 40 42 22 Ryan Darmanin 10 SF 6th QF
2008–2009 6th 28 7 6 15 25 44 16 Ryan Darmanin 10 QF 8th RP
2009–2010 7th 24 10 6 8 35 41 25 Ryan Darmanin 17 R2 4th RU
2010–2011 2nd 28 14 5 9 46 32 34 Daniel Nwoke 13 W 4th SF
2011–2012 4th 32 16 6 10 47 35 33 Christian Caruana
Andre Grabowski		 7 QF 5th SF
2012–2013 7th 32 14 10 8 48 38 38 Igor Coronado 13 R4 7th R2
2013–2014 7th 32 14 5 13 50 48 30 Igor Coronado 14 R4 9th R2
2014–2015 5th 33 13 11 9 58 51 36 Matteo Piciollo 14 R4 B 7th R3
2015–2016 5th 33 18 4 11 60 42 39 Mario Fontanella 20 QF 4th SF
2016–2017 5th 33 15 9 9 51 37 54 Mario Fontanella 14 W 7th R2
2017–2018 5th 26 12 10 4 48 18 46 Mario Fontanella 17 R3 9th QF
2018–2019 8th 26 9 5 12 28 25 32 Arthur Oyama 5 R3 C 4th R3
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References
  1. Cassar Pullicino, J. (1956). "Social Aspects of Maltese Nicknames" (PDF). Scientia. 22 (2): 92.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Armstrong, Gary; Mitchell, Jon P. (2008). Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanization on the Fringes of the EU. Routledge. p. 31. ISBN 9781134269198.
  6. 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.
  7. "Charges expected against Floriana fans over mass celebration". Times of Malta. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  8. Armstrong, Gary; Mitchell, Jon P. (2008). Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanization on the Fringes of the EU. Routledge. p. 13. ISBN 9781134269198.
  9. Armstrong, Gary; Mitchell, Jon P. (2008). Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanization on the Fringes of the EU. Routledge. p. 81. ISBN 9781134269198.
  10. 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.
  11. "Squad". Floriana FC. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  12. "Floriana appoint Potenza as coach". Times of Malta. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
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