St Joseph's F.C.

Summary

St Joseph's Football Club, created in 1912, is an association football club based in Gibraltar. It currently plays in the Gibraltar Football League. The club also has two Futsal teams and more than 10 youth teams. The club was granted an official UEFA licence in 2015.

St Joseph's FC
Full nameSt Joseph's Football Club Gibraltar
Nickname(s)The Saints
Founded20 January 1912; 112 years ago (20 January 1912)
GroundVictoria Stadium,
Winston Churchill Avenue, Gibraltar
Capacity2,000
OwnerMike Garlick
ManagerAbraham Paz
LeagueGibraltar Football League
2022–23Championship Group: 5th
Overall: 5th
WebsiteClub website

History edit

Formed in 1912, St Joseph's are Gibraltar's oldest still existing football club, with the next oldest, Manchester 62, formed 50 years later. They have consistently competed in the Gibraltar Premier Division in that time. However, they have only won the title once: in the 1995–96 season. They have seen considerably better fortunes in the Rock Cup, however, with 10 titles in their history, including a league and cup double in 1996. Their last Rock Cup triumph came in 2013. In 2013, they established links as a feeder club to Real Balompédica Linense.

Since Gibraltar became a member of UEFA, the Saints initially endured more mixed fortunes, including narrowly avoiding relegation in the 2013–14 season, ending up in the relegation play-off and narrowly beating Mons Calpe to retain their Premier Division status. Since that near miss, they have consistently finished in the top half of the league, and in 2017 qualified for the UEFA Europa League for the first time with a 3rd-place finish, after Gibraltar had been given an additional spot in the competition. However, their maiden campaign would be short-lived as they suffered a resounding 10-0 aggregate defeat to AEL Limassol of Cyprus. In August, the club were hit when two players, club captain Esteban Montes and Alberto Montaño, were imposed with five and three year bans from football in Gibraltar, respectively, for breaching rules on betting. Both players were immediately released from the club.[1]

The club quickly established themselves at one of the "Big Three" of Gibraltarian football in the UEFA era before running into financial difficulties in early 2022. As a result of this, in June that year, former Burnley owner and chairman Mike Garlick purchased the club, with Weymouth owner Mark Palmer also joining the board.[2]

Achievements edit

1995–96
1956, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1992, 1996, 2012, 2013
2013
2007

Current squad edit

First team edit

As of 13 September 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   GIB Bradley Banda
2 DF   GIB Ethan Jolley
3 DF   GIB Jayce Olivero
4 DF   ESP Javi Paul
5 DF   ESP Bauti
6 MF   ESP Manolín
7 FW   BRA Lucas Gaúcho
8 MF   ESP Manuel Caballero
9 FW   ESP Pablo Rodríguez
10 FW   ESP Boro
11 FW   GIB Michael Yome
12 MF   ESP Christian Aznar
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 GK   ESP Álex Navas
14 DF   GIB Erin Barnett
16 DF   GIB Aymen Mouelhi
17 MF   GIB Kevagn Robba
18 FW   ANG Alberto Lubango
19 FW   GIB Dylan Borge
20 DF   URU Gabri Cardozo
21 MF   GIB Alain Pons
22 MF   ESP Juanma González (captain)
23 FW   ESP Álvaro Rey
30 GK   ARG Gonzalo Paz
35 MF   GIB Ahmed El Ouahabi

Out on loan edit

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
25 FW   GIB Adam Gracia (at Europa)
No. Pos. Nation Player
DF   GIB Jamie Serra (at Europa)

Intermediate team edit

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF   GIB Samuel Hook
4 DF   ENG Jordan Barker
5 FW   GIB Cameron Botterill
6 MF   GIB Nassim Xiberras
7 MF   GIB Sebastian Diaz
8 FW   ESP Álvaro Sánchez
10 MF   GIB Jesse Segui
11 MF   GIB Omar Errouas
12 FW   ENG Marley Hills
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF   ESP Juanma Marcelo
15 MF   SCO Duncun Lamont
16 DF   ESP José Luis Castillo
17 DF   SCO Ross Gray
19 MF   ENG Charlie Holland
21 DF   GIB Julian Correa
23 GK   ESP Elio Gómez
34 FW   GIB Bryce Gomez
GK   GIB Soufiane El Morabet

Club staff edit

Position Name
Club Management
Manager   Abraham Paz
Assistant coach   Eloy Bolaños
Fitness coach   Juan Carlos Galindo
Goalkeeping coach   Félix Romero
Head physio   Jaime Rojas Boy
U23 coach   David Wilson
U23 Assistant coach   S Debono
Head Analyst
Coach
  Fernando Rosado
Kit manager   Christian Hook
Board
Chairman   Mike Garlick
President   Stuart Rodriguez
Technical Director   John Paul Hendrick
Secretary   David O'Flaherty
Head of Youth   Kane Forster
  Chisum Sanchez
Youth co-ordinator   Christopher Gonzalez

European record edit

Accurate as of match played 28 July 2022
Competition Played Won Drew Lost GF GA GD Win%
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League 9 1 3 5 6 25 −19 011.11
UEFA Europa Conference League 6 1 2 3 2 15 −13 016.67
Total 15 2 5 8 8 40 −32 013.33

Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 1Q   AEL Limassol 0–4 0–6 0–10
2018–19 UEFA Europa League PR   B36 Tórshavn 1–1 1–1 2–2, 2–4 (p)
2019–20 UEFA Europa League PR   Prishtina 2–0 1–1 3–1
1Q   Rangers 0–4 0–6 0–10
2020–21 UEFA Europa League PR   B36 Tórshavn 1–2
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q   FCI Levadia 1–1 1–3 2–4
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q   Larne 0–0 1–0 1–0
2Q   Slavia Prague 0–4 0–7 0–11
Notes
  • PR: Preliminary round
  • 1Q: First qualifying round

References edit

  1. ^ Official St Joseph's Statement Re: GFA Betting Rule Breaches GibFootballTalk. 17 August 2017.
  2. ^ Former Burnley FC chairman takes over St Joseph Archived 7 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine Gibraltar Chronicle. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  3. ^ 2023/24 Squad Archived 2 November 2023 at the Wayback Machine St Joseph's FC. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.

External links edit

  • Official website