Lija Athletic F.C.

Lija Athletic Football Club (Commonly referred to as Lija Athletic) is a football team originating from the village of Lija, Malta. The present club was founded in 1949 and has competed in the Maltese Premier League five times. The 2019-20 campaign saw Lija Athletic back in Malta's top flight the Maltese Premier League after finishing in 2nd place.

Lija Athletic F.C.
Full nameLija Athletic Football Club
Nickname(s)Tal-Larinġ, Tan-Nar
Founded1949 (1949)
GroundLija Athletic Complex
Capacity500
ChairmanPeter Fenech
ManagerJoseph Galea
LeagueMaltese Premier League
2019–20Maltese First Division, 2nd
WebsiteClub website

History

Although the first team in Lija is believed to have been formed in the 1930s, the first team to take part in the competitions organised by the Malta Football Association were Lija Amateurs. Lija Amateurs were founded in 1944 and in season 1944–45, they took part in the Second Division. The team was disbanded after three years.

In 1948–49, the present club, Lija Athletic were founded. The club joined the MFA and played in Division Three. The team was gaining momentum, until during a Third Division league match against Qormi Youngsters in March 1957, the referee abandoned the game due to fighting between the players. The MFA suspended the club from all football activities. However this decision was reviewed and the team was back in 1958.

The club tasted its first success when winning the Third Division Championship in 1962–63. The team was relegated in 1968–69 and it took Lija Athletic nine years to regain promotion to the Second Division, once again winning the Third Division title. The introduction of the Premier Division by the MFA in 1980 meant that all clubs were promoted by one division. Lija Athletic found themselves in the First Division. After a rather good performance during the first season in Division One, Lija were relegated in 1981–82.

The club won promotion to the First Division in 1987–88, but after one year they were back to Division Two. In 1990–91, Lija Athletic were relegated to the Third Division. After three years in Division Three, the Athletic won three consecutive promotions way up to the Premier League after winning the championships of Divisions Three and Two and placing second in Division One. In the Premier League for the first time ever, during the season of 1996–97, Lija Athletic had a very hard time with the big guns of local football, and were relegated after placing last.

Lija Athletic regained Premiership status after placing second in season 2001–02, and after a quick return to Division One, they managed to regain promotion thanks to the runner-up position obtained in season 2003–04. Once again the Premier Division challenge was too much, and with 3 wins, 2 draws and 19 lost games, Lija finished in last place. In 2005–06 Lija Athletic continued the habit of leaving their division after one year, but this time the destination was the Second Division, after finishing 9th with 18 points in 18 games. In 2006–07 the team obtained a position in mid-table, finishing 7th place. In spite of a poorer record, the team climbed to 6th place the following season. In 2008–09 Lija Athletic were able to challenge for promotion, although they had to settle for third place behind Melita FC and local rivals Balzan Youths, thereby just missing out.

The 2009–10 season saw Lija Athletic strengthening the squad with several experienced players and some talented youngsters. From the early stages it was obvious the team would again be challengers for promotion, and with 48 points Lija Athletic won the Second Division championship and secured promotion to the First Division.

In Season 2013–14, Lija Athletic reached a new milestone when qualifying for the FA Trophy Semi-finals for the first time in the club's history, following exceptional wins including one against Premier giants, Floriana F.C. Lija Athletic were eliminated from the competition with a narrow 0–1 loss to Qormi F.C. in the FA Trophy Semi-final.

Following seven (7) seasons in the First Division, Lija Athletic regained promotion to the top flight, the Premier League, for the fourth time in the club's history, this time winning the First Division League with a total of 54 points. This is the first time in the club's history that Lija Athletic won the First Division Championship, with a relatively young squad.

Players

Current squad (2020–21)

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 Dylan Galea
12 GK  MLT Luke Bonnici
18 DF  MLT Clayton Giordimaina
2 DF  MLT Carl Cassar
4 DF  MLT Leon Muscat
5 DF  MLT Ishmael Borg
13 DF  MLT Clinch McAllister
14 Mf  MLT Ryan Dalli
20 DF  MLT Luca Sacco
25 DF  ENG Jordan Wells
8 DF  MLT Neil Micallef
22 DF  ARG Juan Cruz Gill
No. Pos. Nation Player
85 DF  POR Valdo Alhinho
6 MF  MLT Daniel Scerri
10 MF  MLT Antione Borg
15 MF  JAM Chevaughn Mclaren
4 MF  MLT Leon Muscat
23 MF  MLT Aiden Galea
11 MF  ENG Harry Wood
99 MF  MLT Gianluca Zammit
N/A FW  BOT Kabelo Seakanyeng
19 FW  COL Miguel Jimenez
N/A FW  MLT Clifford Gauci
7 FW  ALB Erjon Beu

Current Staff (2020-21)

Records

Club Top Scorers
PlayerGoalsApps
Erjon Beu121181
Beppe Antignolo49241
Ige Abdullahi Adeshina42131
Abubakar Bello-Osagie1956
Jorge García1647

History (2000-2020)
Season League Top Scorer Knockout/Cup Youths
Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Name Goals Div. Pos. Cup
2000–2001 2nd 2nd 18 10 4 4 36 20 34 Alan Tabone 9 First Round Section B 9th First Round
2001–2002 1st 10th 24 4 3 17 21 70 11 Ilir Pelinku 6 Second Round Section B 7th Quarter-Finals
2002–2003 2nd 5th 18 6 6 6 21 24 24 Glenn Barry 10 First round Section B 4th Winners
2003–2004 2nd 2nd 18 9 5 4 31 24 32 Glenn Barry 7 Second round Section B 9th Preliminary Round
2004–2005 1st 10th 24 3 2 19 13 60 8 Glenn Barry 5 First round Section C 2nd Preliminary Round
2005–2006 2nd 9th 18 5 3 10 20 33 18 Michael Gatt 5 First round Section B 6th Second round
2006–2007 3rd 7th 22 8 6 8 27 25 30 Anthony Gera 8 Quarter-Finals Section B 2nd Winners
2007–2008 3rd 6th 22 8 4 10 25 29 28 Beppe Antignolo 6 First Round Section A 8th Preliminary Round
2008–2009 3rd 3rd 22 15 3 4 35 17 48 Chris Pace 8 First Round Section A 10th Quarter Finals
2009–2010 3rd 1st 22 14 6 2 48 22 48 Antoine Sacco 10 Quarter-Finals Section B 10th Preliminary Round
2010–2011 2nd 5th 18 7 3 8 24 25 24 Admir Dzanovic 7 First Round Section C 8th Preliminary Round
2011–2012 2nd 7th 22 8 5 9 26 25 29 Gilbert Camilleri 6 Fourth Round Section C 8th First Round
2012–2013 2nd 4th 22 13 3 6 42 30 42 Erjon Beu 12 Semi-Finals Section C 9th First Round
2013–2014 2nd 7th 24 9 6 9 44 44 33 Kiril Aleksandrov 15 Third Round Section C 10th Third Round
2014–2015 2nd 9th 26 12 2 12 45 43 38 Ige Abdullahi Adeshina 10 Third Round Section D 1st Second Round
2015–2016 2nd 5th 26 12 5 9 40 27 41 Erjon Beu 9 Fourth Round Section C 2nd Third Round
2016–2017 2nd 1st 26 16 6 4 63 34 54 Erjon Beu 24 Fourth Round Section B 2nd Third Round
2017–2018 1st 14th 26 1 3 22 23 84 6 Erjon Beu 11 Quarter-Finals Section A 8th Second Round
2018–2019 2nd 7th 26 9 8 9 49 50 35 Erjon Beu 20 Fourth Round Section A 10th Second Round
2019–2020 2nd 2nd 19 11 3 5 47 31 36 Erjon Beu 25 Third Round Section B 2nd Second Round
2020–2021 1st - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - Section A - -
gollark: Also perhaps that LoRa thing for slow but robust data communications.
gollark: Maybe you could use really directional antennae or something.
gollark: Simply buy a megaphone.
gollark: I too want Google to have all my communication data, what a great idea.
gollark: Anyone know how to get TempestSDR to work? I finally made it compile for Linux with RTL-SDR drivers but I just get a fuzzy black and white screen. Perhaps my hardware is bad somehow but I don't know.

Official website
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.