OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME OF EUROPA FOOTBALL CLUB
UEFA Europa League First Qualifying Round first leg Thursday July 11th 2019 8.30pm
v Legia Warszawa Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar
2019/2020
WELCOME From the President
HEAD COACH: Rafa Escobar ASSISTANT COACH: Antonio Garcia FITNESS COACH: Pedro Perez GOALKEEPER COACH: Roberto Cabezuelo PHYSIO: Pablo Perez PHYSIO: Jorge Espada
Hello Fans, For a second time in our history, we have passed the Preliminary Qualifying Round stage and we are again facing top opposition in the shape of Legia Warszawa, a classic club steeped in tradition from European football. I have to give thanks to everyone that has been helping the club organise our home games; you know who you are, and also a big thank you to all of our football family. Looking ahead to the game, we are ready and will be firing on all cylinders. It was great to see five Gibraltar players on the field in our last match; obviously the best players will be on the pitch no matter where they come from, that’s how it is at our club and worldwide.
through the ranks and break into the first-team. As President, that is all I work for to see all our youngsters one day on that pitch, playing for our club. Believe. We had a dream seven years ago as our master plan started and people all around Gibraltar criticised us, but it was the start of an unfolding history that brings us where we are now and in the next three or four years we are aiming to do the impossible - or so people tell me – which is to go into second, third and fourth round qualifiers with a peak at the group stages. We always aim high here at Europa FC and that is what keeps us going. We make dreams come true.
KIT MAN: Alberto Torremocha TEAM DELEGATE: Darren Celecia Today’s special souvenir Matchday Programme has been produced on behalf of Europa FC by
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publications Gibraltar’s Match Programme Specialists Twitter: @APEPublications Web: apepublications.wixsite.com Email: apepublications@aol.co.uk All images courtesy of: W. Gracia Photos &
Believe with us... But, as a passionate Gibraltarian, I want to see our home-grown players succeed. This opens our youth players up to the opportunity of a lifetime to come
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Thank you for your valued support. PETER CABEZUTTO President, Europa FC
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Gibraltar agents for Princess Kitchen Appliances 18 City Mill Lane, Gibraltar Tel: 00350 20078546 Email: info@popayltd.com popayltd.com
RAFA ESCOBAR Manager ready for the challenge ahead...
GOOD afternoon all and welcome to this UEFA Europa League First Round Qualifying encounter with Legia Warszawa. There is no escaping the fact that today’s match is an extremely tough one for us; at this stage of the competition, the quality of opposition increases and today we face a side that has plenty of history and tradition. I know that they will come here and play with passion. We are aiming to be solid and play the game tactically, to the best of our ability. We know that we go into the tie as the underdogs, but if we do things correctly and keep our concentration throughout then we aim to be in the game. It will also be a case of taking the chances that come our way, something that we will have to do today in order to keep our hopes alive for the second leg in Poland next week. We have done our homework on our opponents and know that they are a strong and physical team who make the transition from defence to attack very quickly. They have players who are technically very good and fast and they aim to exploit the gaps when the opposing team is badly positioned. We have worked very hard to ensure that these situations do not happen to us. Every player is in high spirits and eager for the match to start. They are excited by the challenge that they face. A game like this will allow us to gauge our potential as a team. This is an opportunity to find out where we are. As always, we appreciate the support and backing of our fans. It is so important to myself and the team and we thank you for getting behind us. Let’s hope that this will be a game that will live long in the memory. RAFA 05
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FILL UP WITH EUROPA IN SUPPORT OF THE NAUTILUS PROJECT
EUROPA FC are pleased to be able to lend our support to the Nautilus Project. It’s an initiative that is getting businesses and other organisations to join them in having taps of drinking water readily available so that the general public can fill up their bottle when they need to. There are various points already around Gibraltar and the number is increasing all of the time. Currently they are available at the following places: O’Reilly’s, Waste Management, AquaGib, Jury’s, Eroskl Mas Cafe, Gibraltar Arms, Bridge Bar & Grill, Westside School, Lord Nelson, Victoria Stadium, Bistro Point, St. Bernard’s School, Blands, The Star Bar, The Three
Owls, The Britannia Barm Alameda Wildlife Park, Jyske Bank, Abacus, Paper Cloud, University of Gibraltar, Little English, Europa FC Academy, the Lifeguard posts in Little Bay, Camp Bay, Eastern Beach, Sandy Bay, Catalan Bay and Western Beach. This encourages people to refill old plastic bottles, which in turn has a positive effect on the environment as it reduces the number of plastic bottles that are bought and subsequently thrown away and end up in our oceans. Members of the Europa FC Academy were on hand as we announced our involvement in the project as it is future generations such as this which will benefit from this initiative.
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GOOD LUCK A message from the GFA...
Dear Supporter, Welcome to the Victoria Stadium, which tonight plays host to Europa FC in the UEFA Europa League. We welcome our visitors to Gibraltar today – Legia Warsaw of Poland, a famous name in European football and arguably the biggest club in their homeland. Europa FC are our own perennial European competitors, having participated regularly in both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. Once again, they enjoyed success in the Gibtelecom Rock Cup this season and ďŹ nished as close runners-up to rivals Lincoln Red Imps FC in a keenly-fought domestic championship contest. This summer they have already disposed of UE Sant Julia of
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Andorra, beating them 6-3 on aggregate, and at times displaying some scintillating football, particularly in the second leg here in Gibraltar. Tonight therefore promises to be an intriguing and exciting contest, and I wish Europa FC the very best of Gibraltarian luck against
such tough and illustrious opposition. I hope you enjoy the game and witness, once again, history being made in our national stadium. DENNIS BEISO General Secretary, Gibraltar Football Association
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CAPTAIN SPEAKING The thoughts of skipper, Liam Walker...
HERE we are again for our latest challenge in the UEFA Europa League competition. From the whole squad, we would once again like to thank all of our fans for the amazing support that we receive; it certainly played its part in helping us get through in the previous round. It was a great result against UE Sant Julia in the second leg. We were disappointed to come away from the first leg with a defeat, but rather than let our heads drop, we worked extremely hard in preparation to ensure that we made it through. Today we will go out and give it our all again. We showed in our performance in the last game what we are capable of and whilst it’s a very tough test ahead of us, we will hopefully take away a positive result and make you all proud once more. These are the occasions that you want to be involved in; we relish the challenge and we go out there determined to enjoy it and make the most of this opportunity. A big thank you for your support – come on Europa FC! LIAM
Quality Control – In-Situ Testing – Geotechnical – Geophysical and Environmental Services Gibraltar Laboratory Devil's Tower Road, 65 A Gibraltar T. 00 350 560 01 800 gibraltar@sergeyco.com www.sergeyco.es 09
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THE LAST ROUND LATE GOAL SEES US SLIP TO FIRST LEG DEFEAT
It looked as though we would take our lead into the half-time, however, our hosts were able to level matters just moments before the break when Joel Mendez was able to equalise. We refused to let our heads drop and regained the lead early in the second period when an inviting cross from Juampe picked out the head of Fernando Velasco who was able to guide the ball beyond the ‘keeper, with the aid of a slight deflection.
UE SANT JULIA 3 EUROPA 2 27.06.2019 – Estadi Comunal (Andorra la Vella) UEFA Europa League Preliminary Round first leg A LATE goal conceded saw us slip to a 3-2 first leg defeat at the hands of our Andorran hosts, UE Sant Julia, in UEFA Europa League Preliminary Round first leg. We made the best possible start to the game when Adrian Gallardo found the net to give us an early lead. OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME OF EUROPA FOOTBALL CLUB
Mendez was on target for his second of the evening to make it 2-2 but his side were soon reduced to ten men when Fousseyni Cisse received his marching orders for an elbow on Olmo Casado. As we looked to make our extra man advantage count, Manu went close with an effort that was scrambled off the line but we were hit with a late sucker-punch when Pedro Munoz snatched a late winner for the home side to give them a slight advantage going into the second leg at Victoria Stadium. PHOTOS:
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THE LAST ROUND FOUR-MIDABLE FORM
EUROPA 4 UE SANT JULIA 0 04.07.2019 – Victoria Stadium UEFA Europa League Preliminary Round second leg EUROPA breezed into the UEFA Europa League First Qualifying Round with a 4-0 victory over UE Sant Julia last week to secure a 6-3 aggregate win over our Andorran opponents. It was a low-key start to the game as our visitors made life difficult in an attempt to try and stem our early flow. As Juampe and Tjay Debarr started to see more of the ball out wide, we began to ask more questions and the breakthrough finally came as half-time approached when Liam Walker played through Adrian Gallardo who was able to slot the ball beyond the advancing ‘keeper. It gave us a real boost going into the second period and it didn’t take long after the restart for us to double our advantage when Walker was once again at the heart of our move which saw him link up with Debarr who made no mistake.
OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME OF EUROPA FOOTBALL CLUB
With our tails up, Debarr almost added to our lead from close range before Walker made it 3-0 with just over ten minutes to go when he lashed the ball home to give the ‘keeper no chance. The goal put us well in command and our opponents let their frustration get the better of them as Jonny was dismissed for a second bookable offence meaning that they had to play the closing stages with just ten men. Making his UEFA Europa League debut in goal, Dayle Coleing had little to do but when he was called upon, he did his job well and without fuss. As the clock ticked down, the fourth goal arrived when Juampe rounded the ‘keeper after jinxing into the area before guiding the ball home. It confirmed a comfortable victory to set up tonight’s encounter with Legia Warszawa. PHOTOS: C Correa additional photography: W. Gracia Photos...
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OUR DREAMS A
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AT YOUR FEET...
IMAGE: W. Gracia Photos 15
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IN CONVERSATION Goalkeeper, Dayle Coleing, talks to Football Gibraltar So, can you explain how it felt to make your UEFA Europa League debut against UE Sant Julia in the previous round? DAYLE COLEING: First and foremost it was a great sense of accomplishment for me. Everything I have been working for has paid off in a moment like this. It was a special night for me and truthfully I won’t forget it. In fairness, you weren't overly busy against your Andorran opponents - is a lot of that down to the work done by the defence in front of you? DC: It’s done by the whole team and not just the defenders and the goalkeeper. We have been working very hard in training, moving as a team without the ball defensively. The strikers are the first line of our defence. We all worked hard to earn that clean sheet and make progress through to the next round. Would you say Legia Warsaw are potentially the biggest team you've personally played against - if you are chosen to start, of course? DC: I think so, yes. They’re a massive club with a huge fan base. It will be an incredible experience to be involved in an occasion like this regardless if I play or not. Can a good performance across the two legs act as a springboard for the upcoming League season for Europa FC? DC: It will definitely give us the confidence in our quest to go on and win the league this season. The team is still getting used to playing with each other with all of the new signings and the ways that the manager wants us to play. 17
“Everything I have been working for has paid off in a moment like this. It was a special night for me and truthfully I won’t forget it...” In the two matches that we played against UE Sant Julia I feel we showed glimpses of how well we can perform, particularly in that second leg. With more time adapting to each other’s ways I think we could comfortably beat any team in the
League for the upcoming season and we are looking forward to challenge that stands before us. Thank you for taking the time in the build-up to the game to talk to us. DC: No problem at all, it was a pleasure...
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IN OPPOSITION Welcome to Legia Warszawa...
THE FIRST players to represent the club upon their formation in 1916 were soldiers fighting with the Polish Legions in World War I. Four decades later, in the mid1950s, it was time for Legia Warszawa SA to transform themselves from a decent team at local (Warsaw) level, to a top one at national level. The first truly great year for them was 1955. The end of that season found them crowned both League Champions and Cup winners, a remarkable success that they repeated next season. The 1960s brought more trophies. Cup wins in 1964 and 1966 were followed by two more back-to-back Championship titles in 1969 and 1970.
Furthermore, the first months of the 1970s brought the Warsaw club international fame as well, reaching the semi-finals of the European Cup, the predecessor of today's UEFA Champions League. The last two Championship titles were the only ones that Lucjan Brychczy and Kazimierz Deyna won playing together. The
OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME OF EUROPA FOOTBALL CLUB
former, a formidable striker, first in both lists of leading goalscorers and matches played, was soon to retire, having served Legia for 18 years, and having been part of all teams that won the first eight major trophies for the club in the 1950s and 60s. As for legendary attacking midfielder Deyna, he stayed at Legia until 1978, winning
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another Cup title in 1973. Sadly, he died in a car crash in San Diego, California, in 1989, aged just 41. A monument honouring him and his services both to the club and Poland's national team, lies these days outside Legia's stadium. It took Legia almost a quarter-ofa-century to celebrate another Championship title, but the early and late 1980s were rich in Cup successes. Four triumphs - in 1980, 1981, 1989, and 1990 - had another presence in a European semifinal (Cup Winners' Cup, 1991) as a high-profile added bonus to the club's prestige. When they finally won their fifth Championship, in 1994, they did it in true Legia style, adding a back-to-back title next season, just like they had done in the 1950s and 60s. Actually, they achieved the double both seasons, winning in two more Cup Finals. In the first years of the 21st Century, Legia Warszawa have established themselves as a dominant force in Polish football, challenged in titles only by Wisła Kraków. Their double in the 2015-16 season, gave their impressive (both in size and passion) fan base a perfect extra reason to celebrate their historic club's 100th anniversary. Legia qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions’ League group stages for the first time in 21 years after defeating Dundalk. They found themselves in Group F with the likes of Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, and Sporting Lisbon. They finished third place after winning 1–0 against Sporting Lisbon the last 19
matchday in the group stages, sending them to the round of 32 in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. They went on to win their 12th League title in the 2016–17 Ekstraklasa season and their third consecutive Eksrtaklasa title the following year was won in dramatic fashion. Needing to win away to Lech Poznan to guarantee the title, a 3-0 victory was awarded to Legia after the game was abandoned. Lech fans threw
flares and invaded the pitch after Legia scored to make it 2-0 in the 77th minute, after which the referee called the game off. The result meant Legia won the League, finishing three points above second-placed Jagiellonia Białystok. Last term they missed out on the title and instead had to be content with runners-up spot. We extend a warm Gibraltar welcome to everyone connected to our opponents before wishing them a safe journey home afterwards.
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IN THE COMMUNITY EUROPA FC IN THE COMMUNITY
THERE is a real community focus here at Europa FC. Our engagement within the local community is going from strengthto-strength and long may it continue. Earlier this year, at Easter time, a group of players surprised a group of youngsters at a soccer camp. They chatted to the kids involved, signed autographs and had their pictures taken as well as handing out Easter eggs. We also visited the Rainbow Children’s Ward at St. Bernard's Hospital where those youngsters unfortunate enough to be in hospital over the Easter break were cheered up with the gift of chocolate. These are just a couple of the initiatives that we have been involved with and more are in the
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EUROPA LEAGUE UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE 2019-2020 . The road to Gdansk... The draw for the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round took place last month in Nyon, Switzerland, and following the completion of the Preliminary Round last week, the full draw is now known. The 94 teams involved at this stage of the competition (87 directly qualified and seven pairs of teams from the preliminary round) were divided into seven groups (groups 1 to 7) of ten teams and two groups (groups 8 to 9) of 12 teams. Within the nine groups, the 94 teams were divided equally as 47 seeded teams and 47 unseeded teams. If any club in the preliminary round had an individual coefficient that entitled it to be seeded in the first qualifying round, the winner of the preliminary round match involving that club was automatically seeded for the first qualifying-round draw. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other. Here is the draw in full: Group 1 Malmö (SWE) v Ballymena (NIR)* Connah's Quay Nomads (WAL) v Kilmarnock (SCO) Breidablik (ISL) v Vaduz (LIE) Brann (NOR) v Shamrock Rovers (IRL) Vitebsk (BLR) v KuPS Kuopio (FIN) Group 2 Ordabasy Shymkent (KAZ) v Torpedo Kutaisi (GEO) Europa (GIB)* v Legia (POL) Gzira United (MLT) v Hajduk Split (CRO) Radnicki Niš (SRB) v Flora (EST) CSKA Sofia (BUL) v Titograd (MNE) Group 3 Maccabi Haifa (ISR) v Mura (SVN) Debrecen (HUN) v Kukësi (ALB) 21
Jeunesse Esch (LUX) v Tobol Kostanay (KAZ) FCSB (ROU) v Milsami Orhei (MDA) ukari ki (SRB) v Banants (ARM) Group 4 Crusaders (NIR) v B36 (FRO) Inter Turku (FIN) v Brøndby (DEN) St Joseph's (GIB)* v Rangers (SCO) Cork (IRL) v Progrès Niederkorn (LUX)* Molde (NOR) v KR (ISL) Group 5 Levski Sofia (BUL) v Ružomberok (SVK) Akademija Pandev (MKD) v Zrinjski (BIH) FK Zeta (MNE) v Fehérvár (HUN) Shakhtyor Soligorsk (BLR) v Hibernians (MLT) Neftçi (AZE) v Speranta Nisporeni (MDA) Group 6 Olimpija Ljubljana (SVN) v R gas FS (LVA) Budapest Honvéd (HUN) v Žalgiris Vilnius (LTU) Radnik Bijeljina (BIH) v Spartak Trnava (SVK) Fola Esch (LUX) v Chikhura Sachkhere (GEO) Alashkert (ARM) v Makedonija Skopje (MKD)
Group 7 Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) v Engordany (AND)* Široki Brijeg (BIH) v Kairat Almaty (KAZ) Kauno Žalgiris (LTU) v Apollon Limassol (CYP) Ventspils (LVA) v Teuta (ALB) Cracovia Kraków (POL) v DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda (SVK) Group 8 Stjarnan (ISL) v Levadia Tallinn (EST) Cliftonville (NIR)* v Haugesund (NOR) Riteriai (LTU) v KÍ (FRO)* Dinamo Minsk (BLR) v Liep ja (LVA) Norrköping (SWE) v Saint Patrick's (IRL) Aberdeen (SCO) v RoPS Rovaniemi (FIN) Group 9 Domžale (SVN) v Balzan (MLT) Laçi (ALB) v Hapoel Beer-Sheva (ISR) Budu nost Podgorica (MNE) v Narva Trans (EST) Sabail (AZE) v U Craiova 1948 (ROU) Pyunik (ARM) v Shkupi (MKD) AEK Larnaca (CYP) v PetrocubHincesti (MDA) * Preliminary round winners
OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME OF EUROPA FOOTBALL CLUB
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE Midfield man aiming high...
THE MESSAGE is clear from Mustapha Yahaya; ‘nothing is impossible’. The talented and athletic midfield man goes into today’s UEFA Europa League first round qualifying clash with renowned Polish outfit, Legia Warszawa, determined to help us make progress. “The games against UE Sant Julia in the previous round went well for us,” said the 25 year-old who began his career as part of the FC Twente youth ranks in Holland.
end it was a convincing scoreline to set up today’s match. “In Legia Warszawa we are expecting a very tough opponent who come from a strong League. But we are only focussed on ourselves in what we have to do and how we can improve and do better. “Our visitors may be the favourite on paper, but football is 11 v 11 and it’s about what happens when you step onto the pitch, so nothing is impossible.
“We didn’t deserve to lose in the first leg because we played some good stuff at times, but we managed to get the job done here at the Victoria Stadium.
“Last season was a bit of a tough one for me personally and the team as a whole because there were a lot of obstacles that we had to overcome and a number of changes.
“It was a deserved victory; we were always in control and in the
“The fact that we just fell short in the League was a big
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disappointment and something that as a group we were not happy about. “We won two cups over the course of the season so it wasn’t all bad and that has given us the determination to go on and be even more successful during the season that lies ahead. “The immediate target is to get through this round of the UEFA Europa League. “It would be a great achievement if we could and then our aim is to be up there competing for everything domestically when the League season starts. “There is no reason why we can’t. We have strengthened the squad well over the summer and it showed in our last game what we are capable of.” 22
LUCKY SEVEN? How much do you know about the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League? Now is the time to find out... 1 In what season was the UEFA Cup, now known as the UEFA Europa League, first contested? 2 Who won the competitions first-ever single-legged Final in 1998? 3 How many Finals have featured teams from the same country? 4 Which team has won the competition the most times? 5 Who were the last champions of the UEFA Cup before it became the UEFA Europa League? 6 Which two teams have lost the most Finals in this competition? 7 Who are the current holders of the UEFA Europa League? 1 1971-72. The first Final saw Tottenham Hotspur beat Wolverhampton Wanderers over two legs. 2 Inter Milan. They beat Lazio at the Parc des Princes in Paris. 3 Ten. Italy (1990, 1991, 1995 and 1998), Spain (2007 and 2012), England (1972 and 2019), Germany (1980) and Portugal (2011). 4 : Sevilla. They have won the competition five times since its inception. 5 Shakhtar Donetsk. They beat Werder Bremen 2–1 after extra time in the 2009 Final. 6 Benfica and Marseille. They have lost three Finals each. 7 Chelsea. They defeated Arsenal 4–1 in the 2019 Final.
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Today’s special souvenir Matchday Programme has been produced by
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HOW IT UNFOLDED The story of the 2018/2019 season.
Matchday 16 of 27 Lynx FC
1 – 1 Europa FC
Matchday 17 of 27 Europa FC
1 – 1 Lincoln Red Imps FC
Matchday 18 of 27 Football Club Boca Jrs
0 – 9 Europa FC
0 – 0 Europa FC
Matchday 19 of 27 Europa FC
4 – 3 Mons Calpe SC
Matchday 3 of 27 Europa FC
2 – 0 Gibraltar Phoenix FC
Matchday 20 of 27 Glacis United FC
1 – 6 Europa FC
Matchday 4 of 27 Lions Gibraltar FC
0 – 2 Europa FC
Matchday 21 of 27 Europa FC
3 – 0 Gibraltar Phoenix FC
Matchday 5 of 27 Europa FC
2 – 3 St.Joseph's FC
Matchday 22 of 27 Lions Gibraltar FC
0 – 8 Europa FC
Matchday 6 of 27 Gibraltar United FC
1 – 3 Europa FC
Matchday 23 of 27 Europa FC
2 – 0 St.Joseph's FC
Matchday 7 of 27 Europa FC
4 – 0 Lynx FC
Matchday 24 of 27 Gibraltar United FC
1 – 1 Europa FC
Matchday 8 of 27 Lincoln Red Imps FC
3 – 2 Europa FC
Matchday 25 of 27 Europa FC
5 – 0 Lynx FC
Matchday 9 of 27 Europa FC
3 – 0 Football Club Boca Jrs
Matchday 26 of 27 Lincoln Red Imps FC
2 – 0 Europa FC
Matchday 10 of 27 Mons Calpe SC
1 – 2 Europa FC
Matchday 27 of 27 Europa FC
13 – 1 Football Club Boca Jrs
Matchday 11 of 27 Europa FC
1 – 0 Glacis United FC
GIBTELECOM ROCK CUP
Matchday 12 of 27 Gibraltar Phoenix FC
0 – 1 Europa FC
Second Round Lincoln Red Imps FC
1 – 2 Europa FC
Matchday 13 of 27 Europa FC
5 – 1 Lions Gibraltar FC
Quarter-Final FCB Magpies
1 – 9 Europa FC
Matchday 14 of 27 St.Joseph's FC
0 – 1 Europa FC
Semi-Final Gibraltar Phoenix FC
1 – 4 Europa FC
Matchday 15 of 27 Europa FC
1 – 0 Gibraltar United FC
Final Gibraltar United FC
0 – 3 Europa FC
PEPE REYES CUP Lincoln Red Imps FC (won 4-2 on penalties)
1 – 1 Europa FC
GIBRALTAR FOOTBALL LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION Matchday 1 of 27 Europa FC 2 – 1 Mons Calpe SC Matchday 2 of 27 Glacis United FC
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NEXT UP. . . OUR DESTINATION NEXT WEEK...
WE TRAVEL to the impressive Marshal Józef Piłsudski Legia Warsaw Municipal Stadium next week for the second leg.
Wroclaw when 30,787 fans watched as Legia beat the outgoing Polish Champions 5-0, sealing the title for Warsaw.
The redeveloped stadium was officially opened in 2010. The first part of building the new stadium began in November 2008 and in less than two years it was completed with three new stands.
30,786 spectators also came to the UEFA Europa League group stage game against Rapid Bucuresti, which ended in a 3-1 win.
The new stadium is situated in the same place as the old one and during the construction works Legia still played home games there but with a smaller capacity as only the old West Stand remained open. A visit from Arsenal heralded the first game at the new stadium as the Gunners ran out 6-5 winners. Work to replace the West Stand finished in May 2011 meaning that all four stands were now redeveloped and in use. The record attendance was recorded on June 2 2013 for the League game against Slask 27
The stadium site has been home to Legia Warsaw since pre-war times. The first official match was held on August 9 1930 when Legia drew 11 against CF Europa Barcelona. The first goal in this stadium was scored by Henryk Matynia from the penalty spot. It was not until two weeks later when Legia played their first Polish League game in the stadium, on 24 August 1930, against Czarni Lviv. In 1933 the stadium was officially named the Polish Army Stadium. During World War II the stadium was owned by the Nazis, which paradoxically saved it from being demolished. The Nazis used it to
organise sports competitions and football matches. The stadium suffered when the Russian Red Army entered Warsaw and had to be renovated after the war. In the 1960s the Polish Army Stadium was one of only a few in Poland equipped with floodlighting, the debut of which was on October 5 1960 during a UEFA European Champion Club’s Cup round of 32 game against AGF Arhus. Over the years many smaller and bigger overhauls were made, such as replacing wooden benches with plastic seating so the stadium’s capacity changed a few times, but it was in 2008 when major renovation work started with the final game at the old stadium taking place on November 14 2008 when Legia beat Slask Wroclaw 4-0. We are certainly looking forward to stepping out at this impressive arena on Thursday, July 18th.
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EUROPA FC
LEGIA WARSZAWA
1 Javi Muñoz 2 Ethan Jolley 4 Olmo Gonzalez 5 Ibrahim Ayew 6 Diego Portilla 7 Juampe Rico 8 Alex Quillo 9 Adrian Gallardo 10 Liam Walker 11 Tjay Debarr 14 Sergio Sanchez 15 Jason Pusey 16 Mikey Yome 17 Marco Rosa 18 Fernando Velasco 19 Manu Dimas 20 Mustapha Yahaya 21 Jayce Olivero 23 Dayle Coleing 25 Daniel Tudela
Radosław Cierzniak Radosław Majecki Cezary Miszta Wojciech Muzyk Artur Jędrzejczyk Inaki Astiz William Remy Mateusz Wieteska Paweł Stolarski Luis Rocha Igor Lewczuk Carlos Miguel Ribeiro Dias Cafú Dominik Nagy Andre Martins Salvador Agra Michał Karbownik Mateusz Praszelik Valeriane Gvilia Arvydas Novikovas Marko Vešović Domagoj Antolić Jarosław Niezgoda Carlos Daniel López Huesca Sandro Kulenović
MATCH OFFICIALS To be announced