St. Joseph V Europa FC Saturday 14th March 2020 KO 16.00
Europa FC Proud to be involved in this project
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WELCOME From The President
MANAGER Rafa Escobar
ASSISTANT MANAGER
Hi Fans, Great game today against the strongest opponents this year in the league.
Antonio Garcia
GOALKEEPER COACH Roberto Cabezuelo
I can´t wait for this game to start. Our team is ready to go. I want to wish all our Premier team the best and to have an awesome game. Hopefully we have a great game so we can consolidate our lead at the top of the league.
FITNESS COACH Pedro Perez
PHYSIO Aaron Perales
God Bless KITMAN
Thanks
Alberto Torremocha
Peter Cabezutto President Europa FC
TEAM DELEGATE Darren Celecia
CLUB PHOTOGRAPHER Christian Correa
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RAFA ESCOBAR The Boss
Good Afternoon Everyone, For todays game it’s a very attractive and important game. I think it’s the most important game of the season. If we are capable to win the game practically we would have won the league, if we lose we will give some life to our rivals. It’s a competitive game were we know well one another, each one has its own style of play, were both styles are good in their own right to achieve the objectives of each team. It will be a very even game were the small details will be the ones that will take the balance to one side or the other. We are mentally prepared as our main objective since we started the season was to win the league title and we are on the right path and the team is hungry to achieve this aim. All of the team is geared to play this game, no injuries in the squad, players are eager to play the game and you can notice on the training sessions the intensity the players are training with. The only sad thing is that an attractive and interesting game like this will have to be played with no supporters on the stand, but it’s a major problem we have and the health of everyone comes first, so we would have to deal with this the best way we can.
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COVID-19 Affecting Football
DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL Eddie Yome QPM CPM
CLUB LAWYER Alvaro Perez
MEDIA DIRECTOR Lawrence Stagnetto
SECURITY DIRECTOR Daniel Linares
ACADEMY DIRECTOR Johnny Moreno
EVENTS DIRECTOR
Daniel Guerrero
Europa FC 39a Europa Road Gibraltar GX11 1AA E-Mail: europafc.academy@gmail.com www.europafc.gi
Following on from the advice issued by HM Government of Gibraltar regarding Covid-19, and after discussions with the Director of Public Health, the Gibraltar Football Association, confirmed that all domestic football matches are to be played behind closed doors with immediate efect. Only players, coaches and Gibraltar FA officials will be allowed to access the Victoria Stadium. Signage will be displayed around the Victoria Stadium with the necessary advice. Traditional pre match and post-match handshakes have also been suspended with immediate effect. All clubs have been advised, by the Gibraltar FA, that all training sessions at GSLA facilities are also to take place behind closed doors. The Gibraltar FA is constantly monitoring the situation and is liaising with all the relevant authorities and stakeholders. Advice and information affecting any future events will be issued in due course. We would like to thank everyone for their understanding and co-operation and urge everyone to take heed of the advice issued by HM Government of Gibraltar and the Gibraltar Health Authority. If anyone has any concerns please call the 111 Covid-19 helpline for further advice. 5
Today’s Opponents St. Joseph St Joseph’s Football Club, created in 1912, is an association football club based in Gibraltar. It currently plays in the Gibraltar National League. The club also has a few youth teams. The club was granted an official UEFA licence in 2015. Since Gibraltar became a member of UEFA, the Saints have seen 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. Last season they won their preliminary round against Prishtina from Kosovo 3-1 on agregate. Next round they played Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers losing 10-0 in aggregate. They have formed a strong squad and are a team up there challenging for the league title.
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Last Game Won 1-0 Against Bruno Magpies Line Up
Reserves
Robba
Mateo
Rojas
Torres
Robba
Garro
Delgado
Cornejo
Guirado
Hernandez
Pecci
Cano
Serra
Gonzalez
Manager: Raul Procopio
Pena Villar Ferrer
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AWAY
Mouelhi
Europa FC Supporting The Nautilus Project
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Proud Sponsors Of EUROPA FC 8
Europa FC is one of the 4 teams who are still unbeaten in Europe this season, the others are Olympiakos from Greece, Maccabi Tel Aviv from Israel & Ludogrets from Bulgaria. Liverpool & Shaktar Donetsk both lost their games this past weekend. This is been followed by press around Europe, below is an example.
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FOOTBALL GIBRALTAR Last week it was Liam Walker and this week a doublé with Dayle Coleing and Rafael Escobar. In a month which saw Europa move to within six points of winning the title, goalkeeper Dayle Coleing and manager Rafael Escobar are FG’s Player of the Month and Manager of the Month for February. FG Player of the Month – Dayle Coleing (Europa FC) Goalkeepers tend to have to do a lot to be noticed in awards, especially compared to more attacking players, but this month, Coleing stepped up to the plate and kept four clean sheets in four league games. In fact, the goalkeeper has only conceded one goal in the whole of 2020 so far, which is made more impressive now the league is split and the opposition becomes harder. His contributions haven’t just been in keeping goals out though – his distribution helped set up Europa’s game-clincher against Lincoln at the start of the month, while he generally has the ability to kick-start Europa attacks. Therefore, he edges out both his teammate Liam Walker, who scored five and assisted three in the month, and St Joseph’s striker Juanfri, who also scored five last month, including match-winning goals against Lynx and Magpies as Saints hold on to second.
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FOOTBALL GIBRALTAR (Continued from previous page.)
1) Dayle Coleing (Europa FC) 2) Juanfri (St Joseph’s) 3) Liam Walker (Europa FC)
FG Manager of the Month – Rafael Escobar (Europa FC) February was a straight-up battle between Escobar and Saints manager Raul Procopio, with both winning all four of their matches in the month. However, with Europa scoring 19 and conceding zero, including 5-0 wins vs Lynx and Magpies (two sides Saints only beat by one goal), we’ve plumped with the Europa manager. Escobar has guided his side now to 14 consecutive victories, and Europa have not been beaten in all competitions (including the Europa League) since Lincoln beat them to win the title last season. Elsewhere, both Mons Calpe and Europa Point lead the way in the Challenge Group, but this time we’ve opted for the Mons manager Luis Manuel Blanco, who has managed to maintain his sides six-point lead at the top with four games left, putting them in a commanding position to take the Challenge Group honours. 1) Rafael Escobar (Europa FC) 2) Raul Procopio (St Joseph’s) 3) Luis Manuel Blanco (Mons Calpe SC)
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EUROPA FC SE
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EASON 2019/20
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Gibtelecom Rock Cup The Rock Cup is Gibraltar's premier cup football competition, and has been organised annually by the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) since 1895. Due to a sponsorship with Gibtelecom, the cup is currently known as the Gibtelecom Rock Cup.
The Rock Cup is entered by all teams of Gibraltar's Premier League and Second League as well as the Under 15 national team, until 2015 when the Under 15s were not entered. It is played in a knock-out format with single legged ties. Second division sides enter in Round One with three randomly drawn teams receiving byes into the second round, where Premier Division sides will enter. In 2014 UEFA president Michel Platini presented the trophy to the winners.
GIBTELECOM QUARTER FINALS Mons Calpe 3 V Europa Point 1
St. Joseph 1 V Magpies 0 Europa FC 2 V Lions 0 Lincoln 6 V Boca Juniors 0 Mons Calpe, St. Joseph, Europa FC & Lincoln all qualify for the semi-finals of The Gibtelecom Cup. Semi-Finals to be played in these dates. Saturday 25th April KO 16.00 Saturday 25th April KO 19.00
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St. Bernard’s Hospital Children’s Ward
Europa FC League Games Left Saturday 14th March
St. Joseph V Europa FC KO 16.00
Saturday 4th April
Europa FC V Lincoln KO 18.15
Saturday 18th April
Lynx V Europa FC KO 16.00
Sunday 3rd May
Europa FC V Magpies KO 16.00
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20 Quick Fire Questions With Jayce Olivero 1.
Full Name Jayce Mascarenhas Olivero
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Position Left Full Back
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Whats the best player you have played against? Kevin De Bruyne, when Gibraltar played against Belgium.
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Whats the best player you have played with? Liam Walker & Joseph Chipolina in The Gibraltar National Team, Juampe in Europa FC.
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Which team do you support? Manchester United.
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Whats your favourite stadium you have played in?
Victoria Stadium, playing at home is something special for me and every time I have the chance to play at home its great and special moment. 7.
Who is your favourite player? Carles Puyol, he is an excellent example of a true leader and a role model for all. Every time he played, he left everything on the pitch and had a great passion for the sport.
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What is your favourite food? Spaghetti Bolognese.
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What other sport do you like to watch? I enjoy watching basketball and swimming, I think these are great sports.
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Do you have any habits or superstitions before a match? Every time I step onto the pitch to play I say a few words to dedĂcate my performance to god and to my family and loved ones. 16
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What type of music do you like? I don`t have any preferences, I listen a lot of Coldplay and Imagine Dragons.
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Who is your childhood hero? My family are my héroes. Each one of them have been a huge part of my childhood and I aspire to become the great and special people that they truly are.
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Who is the biggest joker in the dressing room? Adrian, he is hilarious and he is always joking around in the dressing room.
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Who is the best dressed in the changing room? I would probably say Liam, he normally comes well dressed to training and always turns up with something new on.
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Who is the worst dressed in the changing room? I wouldn´t want to single someone out, but I would have to say Ethan simply because everyone always makes jokes about his dress style.
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You are one of the players if not the most that has played more minutes in the team in the season, why do you think this has been so? Yes, thankfully I´ve been able to play a lot of minutes so far this season and I´m grateful to have been able to achieve this. I think the full back position is a position that is less common in world football, so there are always less players in this position within a team. Thankfully I have been able to fit in well within my position in accordance to the dynamics of the team and I try and give everything to help the team with every minute that i get on the pitch. Hopefully I can continue this path as this will help me impro ve and grow as a player.
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PRE LEAGUE
UNDER 6
UNDER 8
UNDER 10
UNDER 14
UNDER 5
UNDER 7
UNDER 9
UNDER 11
UNDER 16
UNDER 23 18
GARRISON GYM FACILITY Are you looking for a place to have a football party? Are you planning an event? For more information contact us at: Europafc.academy@gmail.com
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(continued from page 17, Jayce Olivero) 17.
The Coaching Staff say you are one of the strongest players in the squad, do you do extra training? I always ensure that I put extra work to become the best player that I can be. With the great support of other sporting professionals, I follow specific gym training programme which is helping me impro ve the physical aspect of my game. In addition to my football training, I also include swimming and running which helps me work on the physical aspects of my game.
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You seem you never get tired going up and down the left wing, what´s the secret? There´s no secret, it all comes down to hard work. I know that I must apply myself as best as posible both on and off the pitch to help improve my gane as much as posible and be the best player that I can be. I ensure to always give everything I have in training and in the extra trainingI do. I also make sure I take care of myself in the best posible mannerto help me perform on the pitch. Hard work is what allows players to perform on the pitch. This is a princi ple I follow in every aspect of my life.
(Continued on next page).
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How do you rate Rafa Escobar as a manager? The players say he brings out the best of every player, is this true? I completely agree. He is a great manager who has a huge experience and knowledge within the game of Football. He has a great attention to detail and spreads this throughout the team. He always makes sure that we never get comfortable and always reminds us how difficult each game is which helps the team to remain focused and concetrated on our goals. He pushes each player to their limits and ensures to bring out the upmost best of each player. I have learned a lot from him so far and he´s helped me improve my game significantly. I hope to learn a lot more from him.
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What advice would you give to any Young player coming up? Passion, Hard Work, Discipline, These are three principles that I truly believe are massively important for any Young sportsmen. In everything you do, do it with passion. This will help ensure that you do everything the best you can. Work hard to achieve your dreams. No one is going to give you anything, so you need to earn it. Work hard and you will always know that you gave everything to become the best that you can be. Always remain disciplined to what you beleive in. As a Young sportsman there will be many distractions, but you need to develop a strong level of discipline to push aside all these distractions and remain focused on your aims and goals. I do everything to ensure that in the future, I look back and I know that I gave everything not only in sport but in all other aspects of life. Thanks To Jayce Olivero for this and all the best in the future.
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Todays game has all the ingredients to be a cracker of a game. The top two sides meet one another after coming from wins in the Gibtelecom Cup Quarter Finals. St. Joseph will want revenge on the last game they played against Europa were they lost that game. Lately Saints have been struggling to find their form but they have a team that could get a win against any of the top sides as they have proved already. They have a couple of suspensions but they have a strong squad and that shouldnt weaker the team. If Saints win they are still up there with a shout to win the league as they would cut the distance to just two points from Europa. If Europa win their distance will be increased to eight points and just with just another nine points to play for, its more than a miracle St. Joseph need to claim the League. The top two goalscorers of the League also go head to head against one another, Liam Walker on Europa´s side and Pena Garcia in the St. Joseph side. Both have been scoring goals quite easily this season. There will also be another dual in the goals, Dayle Coleing who has cemented his place in Europa´s first eleven and the Gibraltar team against another Gibraltar keeper in Jamie Robba, who also has been keeping Saints up there with his heroic saves all season. All that is needed to see a great game which we hope the general public is allowed to see after the events on the last weekend were the quarter finals of the Gibtelecon Cup were played within closed doors.
BELIEVE
AMBASSADOR FOR EUROPA FC
MARCEL DESAILLY Left Desailly In Gibraltar. Right when he played for Chelsea. 23
Europa FC 1st Team Squad Season 2019-2020 1 Javi Munoz
Spain
11 Michael Yome
Gibraltar
2 Ethan Jolley
Gibraltar
12 Jayce Olivero
Gibraltar
3 Jack Sergeant
Gibraltar
14 Sergio Jimenez
Spain
4 Olmo Gonzalez
Spain
15 Juan Luis Becerra
Spain
5 Ibrahim Ayew
Ghana
16 Alex Carrascal
Spain
6 Diego Portilla
Spain
17 Marco Rosa
Spain
7 Juan Dominguez
Spain
18 Fernando Velasco
Spain
8 Alejandro Rodriguez Spain
19 Manu Dimas
Spain
9 Adrian Gallardo
Spain
20 Juan Labrador
Spain
10 Liam Walker
Gibraltar
22 Dayle Coleing
Gibraltar
Europa FC Titles
7 Leagues
8 Cups
3 Super Cups
ALWAYS BELIEVE 24