St Joseph's F.C. Explained

Clubname:St Joseph's
Upright:0.8
Fullname:St Joseph's Football Club Gibraltar
Nickname:The Saints
Ground:Victoria Stadium,
Winston Churchill Avenue, Gibraltar
Capacity:2,000
Owner:Mike Garlick
Mgrtitle:Head coach
Manager:Abraham Paz
League:Gibraltar Football League
Season:2023–24
Position:GFL, 2nd
Website:http://www.stjosephsfcgib.co.uk
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St Joseph's Football Club is a professional football club based in Gibraltar. Founded in 1912, it currently plays in the Gibraltar Football League. The club also has two futsal teams and more than 10 youth teams.

History

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

1

1995–96

10

1956, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1992, 1996, 2012, 2013

2

2013, 2024

1

2007

Current squad

First team

[3]

Club staff

PositionName
Club Management
Manager Abraham Paz
Assistant coach Eloy Bolaños
Fitness coach Juan Carlos Galindo
Goalkeeping coach Félix Romero
Head physio Jaime Rojas Boy
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

Accurate as of match played 18 July 2024

Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.
SeasonCompetitionRoundClubHomeAwayAggregate
2017–18UEFA Europa League1Q AEL Limassol0–40–60–10
2018–19UEFA Europa LeaguePR B36 Tórshavn1–11–12–2, 2–4 (p)
2019–20UEFA Europa LeaguePR Prishtina2–01–13–1
1Q Rangers0–40–60–10
2020–21UEFA Europa LeaguePR B36 Tórshavn1–2
2021–22UEFA Europa Conference League1Q FCI Levadia1–11–32–4
2022–23UEFA Europa Conference League1Q Larne0–01–01–0
2Q Slavia Prague0–40–70–11
2024–25UEFA Conference League1Q Shelbourne1–11–22–3
Notes

Notes and References

  1. https://gibraltarfootballtalk.com/official-st-josephs-statement-re-gfa-betting-rule-breaches/ Official St Joseph's Statement Re: GFA Betting Rule Breaches
  2. https://www.chronicle.gi/former-burnley-fc-chairman-takes-over-st-joseph/ Former Burnley FC chairman takes over St Joseph
  3. https://twitter.com/StJosephsFCGib/status/1701855523136528553 2023/24 Squad