Floriana F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = Floriana


fullname = Floriana Football Club
nickname = Tal-Irish (The Irish)
The Greens
founded = 1894
ground = Independence Ground (Ix-Xagħra Tal-Furjana)
Malta
capacity = Terraces 3,000
chairman = flagicon|MLT Joseph Cauchi
manager = flagicon|SRB Zoran Popovic
league = Maltese Premier League
season = 2007/08
position = Maltese Premier League, 5th
pattern_la1 = |pattern_b1 = _green_stripes_green_sholders|pattern_ra1 =
leftarm1 = 009A30 |body1 = FFFFFF |rightarm1 = 009A30 |shorts1 = FFFFFF |socks1 = FFFFFF
pattern_la2 = _greenlower |pattern_b2 = |pattern_ra2 = _greenlower
leftarm2 = ffffff |body2 = ffffff |rightarm2 = ffffff |shorts2 = ffffff |socks2 = ffffff

Floriana Football Club are a Maltese football club from the town of Floriana, which currently plays in the Maltese Premier League.

History

Floriana Football Club was founded in 1894, and together with St. George's FC, is one of the two oldest clubs in Malta. 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.

The club is affiliated to the Malta Football Association which in turn is both a member of UEFA and FIFA.

The team, which plays in green and white, is nicknamed The Irish, after having adopted its colours following a friendly match against the Dublin Fusiliers who were stationed in Malta at the time.

Floriana Football Club has won the major Maltese League championship for 25 times.

The Club has recently formed a partnership with Irish side, Shamrock Rovers.

Formation

Football was introduced in Malta at the end of the 19th Century by the British troops stationed on the island. 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.

The British forces in Malta were mainly stationed in the three cities, Mtarfa, Tigne', St Andrews and in Floriana. The forces' barracks, which were strategically located around the Island, enjoyed large areas that were used as parade grounds, training areas and for sporting activities. The sports practised by the soldiers were mainly cricket, hockey and football.

Obviously, the locals who were influenced by the soldiers stationed in the area were introduced to these sporting activities. The most popular sports amongst the residents of Floriana was football, however some also practised cricket and hockey. It is worth noting at this juncture that Floriana still has its hockey club, carrying the name Floriana Young Stars Hockey Club.

Formation of the second team

It is said that at the end of the 19th Century a group of youngsters from Floriana, assisted by soldiers based in the area, formed the second football team. It is understood that this team held football matches against another team formed in Cospicua, the St George's. There is also historical proof that both teams were the first football teams in Malta. However there is evidence that FFC was established in 1894, which makes it the second team to be born on the Island (because St. George's FC was established in 1890).

History of club colours and mascot

Between 1894 and 1905 the club's colours were green/red quartered shirts, black shorts with green and red socks. 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. At that time the Royal Dublin Fusiliers were stationed in Floriana. During that year, three friendly matches were held between this regiment and FFC, at the end of the final match both teams exchanged their shirts and, the officials of the Dublin Fusiliers expressed their wish that FFC changed their official colours to their green and white shirts. Incidentally, this regiment left the Island in that same year.

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".

The club's mascot is the lion, which features prominently on the club's badge together with the Latin motto "Ex Ludis Virtus", meaning "virtue out of the game. In this regard the club's badge represents the fierceness of the lion together with the virtues of sportsmanship.

Domestic successes

Since the foundation of the Malta Football Association (1900) and local competitions the club won a total of 98 major honours, which include 25 league titles and 18 FA Cup knock out competitions. The club has also achieved a number of impressive feats, such as four consecutive league championships, ten doubles (League plus FA Cup) and a League title with maximum points.

1936 Algiers invitational tournament

In something of a pioneering trip in 1936 Floriana competed in a four team invitational tournament in Algiers. With Algeria then under French colonial rule the official programme [Back cover, 'Through the lens glimpses of Old Queen of the South', published by Dumfries and Galloway Libraries, Information and Archives with Queen of the South Museum, 1998] listed the venue as "Stade-Velodrome Municipal d'Alger" and the participants as:-

Le Queen of the South - La Belle Equipe Ecossaise de Première Division

Racing-Club de Santander - Favori des Championnats d'Espagne

Floriana F. C. de Malte - Champion Officiel et Vainqueur de la Coupe

R.U.A. - Champion de l'Afrique du Nord 1935

The match days were Thursday May 21 and Sunday May 24.

Home side Racing Universitaire d'Alger (R.U.A. for whom Nobel Prize winning author/philosopher Albert Camus had played in goals for their junior team) had already won both the North African Champions Cup and the North African Cup in the 30s (R.U.A. would win each twice by the decade's end). Goals by Willie Thomson and Joe Tulip saw Queens book a place in the invitational tournament final with a 2 - 1 victory against them.

In the final Queens faced a Racing de Santander side who had just finished 4th in Spain's La Liga notching home and away double victories agains both Real Madrid and F.C. Barcelona. Racing had seen off Floriana in their semi final. Norrie Haywood's goal and a 1 - 0 scoreline saw victory for La Belle Equipe Ecossaise. The trophy can still be seen in Queens' club museum today. [ [http://www.qosfc.com/qanda] ]

UEFA competitions

Over the years FFC participated in the various competitions organised by the European football body, UEFA, such as the:

*UEFA Champions Cup
*UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
*Fairs Cities' Cup
*UEFA Cup
*Intertoto Cup

In 1962, the club was the first to represent Malta in UEFA competitions in its Cup Winners' Cup against the Hungarian side Upjest Dozsa. Over the years, FFC had the opportunity to meet some renowned European football clubs with the likes of:

*Ipswich Town (UK)
*FC Internazionale (Italy)
*Sparta Rotterdam (Holland)
*Panathinaikos (Greece)
*Ferencvaros (Hungry)
*Dundee Utd (Scotland)
*FC Porto (Portugal)
*Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

On two occasions FFC made it to the next round, 1993/4 Champions Cup and Intertoto Cup 1999/2000.

Youth sector

In 1987 the club founded its youth sector, Floriana FC Nursery (FFCN), which is affiliated to the Malta Youth Football Association. 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 managed to win a good number of league titles organised by the Association. The following are some of the major honours won by FFCN.

*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 FFCN.

(www.florianafc.com)

Rivalries

During their history Floriana FC had two main rivals Sliema Wanderes and Valletta City. The rivality against Sliema is very old but today has lost many of its legacy. The rivality was at its peak during the 1920's and till the late 1970's when the two sides dominated the Maltese football scene. Fighting between supporters during the direct conflicts were something usual. Today the rivality declined due to Floriana's lack of good performances in the domestic scene were in the last 30 years they won only two leagues in 1977 and in 1993.

On the other hand the rivality against Valletta City continued. Despite the fact that it has been a long time since Floriana were in their hey days, the fact that the two cities are near each others the rivality continued to peresist and it is one of the most classic derbies in the Maltese football. Especially during the 1960's and 1970's the fixture against Floriana FC as Valletta's most difficult match.The 2007-2008 season also started with a bang as Floriana hosted Valletta FC at the Ta' Qali Stadium. Both sides played their role but at the end the team that won with 3 goals to 2 was Floriana.

Colours

It has already been remarked that Floriana's official colours at the beginning of the century were green and red quartered shirts with black shorts. Later on these were replaced with green and white striped shirts and white shorts. Tradition has it that these colours were adopted after a game played at the Floriana Parade Ground against the Royal Irish Fusiliers. This regiment of the British army was stationed at Floriana. The two sides played four times against each other in 1904-05. The Fusiliers won the first two games while the third one ended all square.

A fourth game was organised between the two sides and this time Floriana won 2-1. As a symbol of friendship, the players swapped their shirts. From that moment onwards, Floriana Football Club adopted the colours of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, i.e. green and white stripes and white shorts.

It must be noted that the Florianites are still called 'Ta' l-Irish' meaning 'The Irish', hence the title of this site. Moreover a hymn was composed in the early 1920s which went something like this:

'Ta' l-Irish minn dejjem hadid,Jaghmel li jrid, deni Jew gid.'

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

(www.florianafc.com)

Honours

From 1900 to date, Floriana FC won 103 honours. 29 of them were won before the second war, that is, between 1900 and 1940. The other 74 honours were won from 1940 to date.

Floriana FC holds the following records:

*Won four consecutive championships - 1949-1950, 1950-1951, 1951-1952 and 1952-1953.

*In 1961-1962, 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 a record 10 times in seasons 1912-1913, 1921-1922, 1927-1928, 1928-1929, 1930-1931, 1949-1950, 1952-1953, 1954-1955, 1957-1958 and 1992-1993.

*Between 15th February 1976 and 22nd 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.

Maltese Football League: 25 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

League Runners-up 1922/23, 1925/26, 1935/36, 1937/38, 1953/54, 1955/56, 1965/66, 1968/69, 1971/72, 1975/76, 1993/94

First Division Champions 1985/86

MFA Knock-Out Competitions (25 times):

National Ground Cup (MFA Cup) 1910-11

Gaelic Whisky Cup (MFA Cup) 1912-13

Cousis Shield 1921-22, 1922-23, 1930-31

Empire Sports Ground Cup (MFA Cup) 1927-28, 1928-29

FA Trophy (18 times) 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, 1980-81, 1992-92, 1993-94

FA Trophy Finalists 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 (Once) 1992-93

Cassar Cup (10 times) 1920-21, 1922-23, 1935-36, 1936-37, 1949-50, 1951-62, 1952-53, 1953-54, 1957-58, 1960, 61

Independence Cup (7 times) 1966-67, 1968-69, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1977-78, 1978-79

Sons of Malta Cup (6 times) 1967-68, 1968-69, 1973-74, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78

Super 5 Cup (4 times) 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1997-98

Testaferrata Cup (3 times) 1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78

Schembri Shield (3 times) 1952-53, 1953-54, 1954-55

Scicluna Cup (3 times) 1958-59, 1961-62, 1962-63

Poppy Day Fund Cup (3 times) 1952-53, 1.953-54, 1954-55

Christmas Cup (2 times) 1968-69, 1969-70

Malta Playing Field Association Shield - MPFA (2 times) 1951-52, 1953-54

Partisans Cup (once) 1909

Amateurs Cup (once) 1911

Mtarfa Cup (once) 1912

Prince of Wales Cup (once) 1921

Malaya Congress Cup (once) 1924

Marian Congress Cup (Once) 1949

Infantile Paralysis Cup (once) 1953

Lowenbrau Cup (Once) 1993-94

MFA Centenary Commemorative Cup (once) 2000

Players

Current Squad

Out on Loan

Transfers for 2008/09

In:

Out:

"For recent transfers, see List of Maltese football transfers Summer 2008."

Current staff

Administration

Notable Maltese former players

;flagicon|Malta Malta

1900-1930
* Ruggieru Friggieri * Fredu Friggieri * Alex Semini
* Salvu Samuele * Guzi Samuele * Salvu Tabone
* Jack Holland * Salvu Tabone * Jack Herbert
* Guzeppi Alamango * Gejtu Psaila * Fredu Chetcuti
* Charlie Hedley * Salvu Grima * George West
* Harry Samuele * Emmanuel Azzopardi

1930-1950
* Emmanuel Azzopardi * Kaneni Cauchi * Pawlu Friggieri
* Censu Friggieri * R.Pisani * Emmanuel Cauchi
* John Bennetti * Emmanuel Azzopardi * Andrew Bartolo
* Effie Borg * Alfred Preca

1950-1970
* Lolly Borg * Lolly Debattista * Pullu Demanuele
* Tony Cauchi * Guzi Alamango * Leli Zammit
* Frans Xuereb * Zaren Alamango * Tony Dalli
* Frankie Busuttil * Tony Vella * Horace Herbert
* Benny Camilleri * Charles Azzopardi * Joseph Grech
* Alfred Vella James * Charles Galea

1970-1990
* Louis Arpa * Anton Camilleri * George Ciantar
* Alfred Debono * Willy Vassallo * Raymond Xuereb
* Frankie Micallef * John Holland * Dorian Holland
* George Xuereb * Ray Farrugia * Edwin Farrugia
* Alfred Mizzi * Silvio Demanuele * Hugh Caruana
* Charles Farrugia * Poey Miccallef * Charles Grech

1990-2010
* David Cluett * Pierre Brincat * Richard Buhagiar
* John Buttigieg * Dennis Cauchi * Albert Busuttil
* Joe Brincat * James Brisco * Jesmond Delia
* Mark Marlow * Martin Gregory * Justin Haber

Foreign players (Since 1909)

;flagicon|England England
* Yala Bolasie
* Michael Greeno
* Mark Miller
* Ted Philips

;flagicon|Ireland Ireland
* Brian Crawley

;flagicon|Bulgaria Bulgaria
* Ivan Vassilev
* Todor Zaytzev

;flagicon|Brazil Brazil
* Bizú
* André Rocha da Silva
* Wendell Gomes

;flagicon|Republic of the Congo Congo
* Riad Gango-Rsta
* Rufin Oba

;flagicon|New Zealand New Zealand
* Kim Wright

;flagicon|Macedonia Republic of Macedonia
* Darko Krsteski

;flagicon|Serbia Serbia
* Igor Stefanovic

;flagicon|Croatia Croatia
* Zoran Levnaić

References

External links

* [http://www.florianafc.com/ Floriana F.C. official Website]
* [http://www.florianafcsupporters.vze.com/ Floriana F.C. Supporters Club Website]
* [http://www.maltafootball.com/index.shtml Malta Football Leagues Website]