# Valletta F.C.

Valletta F.C. is a professional football club based in Valletta, the capital city of Malta. They compete in the Maltese Challenge League, the second tier of Maltese football, following relegation from the Maltese Premier League in 2024. The club was founded in 1943 after a merge of Valletta Prestons, Valletta St. Paul's and Valletta United, the latter being a two-time league winner before the Second World War.
Considered one of the most supported and successful clubs in Maltese football, the club has won 25 league titles, 14 FA Trophies and a record 13 Super Cups. During the 2021/22 season the club was sponsored by Meridianbet.

## History

There is no clear evidence on when Valletta F.C. started, hence the fact that Valletta possessed two clubs at that era. The foundation of Valletta F.C. was laid with the creation of the Valletta United team. Valletta United was known as the "team of the square" since the club was located in St. George's Square. Valletta United represented the city from 1904 to 1932.
The city of Valletta in Malta has a long footballing history, between 1886 and 1919 at some point or another, around fourteen teams had competed representing the city. Amongst these early teams included the popular Boys Empire League, Valletta College, St. George's Square, Dockyard Albion and Malta Athletic Club.
An early step in the history of the current club was the founding of Valletta United Football Club in 1903 by local youngsters. Despite their enthusiasm for the game which had been brought to the island by the British, the youngsters had a rough start with limited supplies. They cut their white trousers into long shorts and dyed their shirts into that of the club colours (brown, with yellow sleeves) for their uniforms.
The Ditch at Porte des Bombes, which itself had been the scene of the first ever recorded Maltese football match in 1886, was chosen to host Valletta United's first match on 9 January 1904. United faced off against a team from the Collegiate School and won 1–0 with a strike from a forward named L. Agius. The full Valletta United team that day included;
| M.H. Laferla (Captain) P. Ferrante E. Galea | E. Vella L. Agius L. Preziosi | C. Vella V. Casolani R. Vadala | V. Camilleri L. Castaldi |
The club soon found a more permanent home at St. George's Square, just opposite the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta; they gained the nickname "the team of the square" because of this. Valletta first gained silverware during the 1914–15 season, when they won both the Cousis Shield and the Maltese League championship, it was only the fifth season the league had been competed in Malta.
Much of Maltese football was dominated by Floriana and Sliema Wanderers up until the Second World War, Valletta attempted to upset the status quo several times; they won the Cousis Shield for the second time in 1920–21 and finished as runners-up in the Maltese League during both 1925–26 and 1926–27. During their last season, Valletta United upset the two main clubs in Malta of the time, by winning the Maltese League in 1931–32, however they did not enter the following season.
Although Sliema and Floriana dominated the local scene in those times, by winning these trophies it was Valletta United that started to break into this duopoly and induce greater competition. Valletta United were very active in the Championship of the first division and in fact played 97 games.
During the period that Valletta United played within the Malta Football Association (i.e., from 1909 to 1932), Valletta United won the championship in 1931–32. However, for some reason in the following season, Valletta United disappeared from the football scene and thus the monopoly of Sliema and Floriana football clubs recommenced.
Valletta United was not the only team from the city that played in the highest Division of the M.F.A. In the 1925–26 and the 1926–27 seasons there were Valletta Rovers who played in the highest Division of the M.F.A., then in the season 1937–38 and 1938–39 there was Valletta City.

### The winning of five cups in one season

In 1996–97 Valletta F.C. won all five competitions that the Maltese football offers. This was done by succeeding to win the Premier League, Rothmans Trophy, Super Five Cup, Lowenbrau Cup and Super Cup.

### The historic season – 2000–01 – Six cups in one season

In the season 2000–01, Valletta F.C. succeeded in breaking their own record from 1996 to 1997. This time they won the six competitions offered by the M.F.A. This particular season there was an additional one, namely the Centenary Cup. It had been added to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the M.F.A.

### 2007–08: Champions again

Hope for their first trophy in seven years was a huge thought running through Valletta fans in the summer of 2007. Valletta spent a lot of money in the transfer market and expectations were high. Valletta began the season in the worst possible fashion, with a 3–2 defeat to Eternal rivals, Floriana. Valletta's poor start continued with a 1–1 draw against Hibernians, defeat to Sliema, a 0–0 draw with Hamrun Spartans and Msida respectively. However, eventually Valletta hit good form with a 1–0 win over Birkirkara, a 7–0 trashing over champions Marsaxlokk and they gained revenge over Floriana with a 4–0 win on 8 December. After wins over Msida, Mqabba, Hamrun, Sliema and Marsaxlokk the club showed its winning pedigree. Valletta headed to the final round of the season on a high note.
Valletta won their 19th Premier League title after Marsaxlokk failed to beat Birkirkara on Saturday 3 May after a very successful Championship Pool campaign. However, with the title in the bag the long unbeaten streak soon came to an end, and the season ended with a number of defeats. The team also failed to reach the U*Bet F.A. Trophy 2008 final, after losing 4–2 to rivals Birkirkara in the semi-final. But except for the early stages and the post-championship games, Valletta had been the most consistent side.

### 20th Title

Valletta won the 2010–11 BOV Premier League as an unbeaten team which brought the 20th title to Valletta FC's history.

### 21st Title (3/4 cups)

Valletta won The 2011–12 BOV Premier League with two matches still to go after beating Sliema Wanderers 3–0, this was the 21st title in the history of Valletta.
They won three cups out of four cups in the domestic league: The 2011–12 BOV Premier League, The 2011–12 Maltese Super Cup, and the Euro Challenge Cup. They were champions of Malta again in 2013–14, 2015–16 and 2 year in a row 2017-18 and 2018-19 for a total of 25 titles

### Relegation

Valletta were relegated for the first time in the club's history in the 2023-24 Maltese Premier League season. Valletta spent most of the season in the bottom half of the league. Towards the end of the season, a 1-1 draw against Ħamrun Spartans and a 1-0 win against Balzan showed a glimmer of hope for salvation. This did not happen however and a 4-0 defeat against Naxxar Lions condemned Valletta to relegation.

## Players
### Current squad

    As of 22 January 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 3 | DF | COL | Juan Bolaños |
| 6 | DF | ARG | Enzo Ruiz |
| 8 | MF | ARG | Fernando Barrientos |
| 9 | MF | ARG | Santiago Ferraris |
| 11 | MF | POR | Gonçalo Vieira |
| 14 | DF | MLT | Christian Gauci |
| 16 | GK | MLT | Jake Galea |
| 18 | MF | MLT | Sheldon McKay |
| 20 | FW | ARG | Federico Falcone |
| 21 | MF | MLT | Klose Conti |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | MF | MLT | Brandon Paiber |
| 23 | DF | SRB | Milan Jezdimirovic |
| 24 | MF | MLT | Rowen Muscat |
| 26 | GK | ITA | Alessandro Guarnone |
| 30 | DF | BRA | Victor Luiz |
| 44 | DF | ARG | Federico Vega |
| 66 | DF | MLT | Neil Micallef |
| 77 | FW | BRA | Jhonnattann |
| 80 | MF | NGA | Silas Alfred |
| 88 | FW | NGA | David Garba |
| 93 | FW | BRA | Diego Cardoso |

### Youth Players in use

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 13 | MF | MLT | Jake Azzopardi |
| 15 | MF | MLT | Keyon Ewurum |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | FW | MLT | Zak Barbara |
| 28 | DF | MLT | Peter Ohaka |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |

### Retired numbers

* 7 – Gilbert Agius, FW, 1990–2012

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

| Position | Staff |
| Manager | Thane Micallef |
| Assistant Manager | Jesmond Zerafa |
| Goalkeeping coach | Romeo Schembri |
| Team manager | Gerard Ellul |
| Training assistant | Jason Galea Lucas |
| Physical trainer | Karl Sciortino |
| Physio | Oscar Alonso |
| Kit manager | Clint Mizzi |

### Managerial history

| Dates | Name |
| 1949–1950 | Harry Tedder |
| 1958–1959 | Bob Gilmour |
| 1959–1960 | William Dingwall |
| 1962–1964 | Carm Borg |
| 1968–1970 | Tony Formosa |
| 1970–1972 | Josie Urpani |
| 1973–1975 | Tony Formosa |
| 1976–1977 | Terenzio Polverini |
| 1977–1978 | Lolly Debattista |
| 1978–1982 | John Calleja |
| 1982–1984 | Joe Cilia |
| 1986–1988 | Tony Formosa Joe Micallef |
| 1989–1990 | George Busuttil |
| 1989–1990 | Eddie Vella |
| 1991–1993 | Tony Euchar Grech |
| 1993–1994 | Lawrence Borg |
| 1994–1995 | Joe Cilia Edward Aquilina |
| 1995–1998 | Edward Aquilina |
| 1998–2001 | Krasimir Manolov |
| 2001–2002 | Georgi Deanov |
| 2003–2004 | Atanas Marinov |
| 2004–2005 | Joseph John Aquilina |
| 2004–2009 | Paul Zammit |
| 2009–2010 | Ton Caanen |
| 2010–2012 | Jesmond Zerafa |
| 2012–2013 | Mark Miller |
| 2014 | André Paus |
| 2014–2015 | Gilbert Agius Ivan Zammit |
| 2015–2017 | Paul Zammit |
| 2015–2017 | Zoran Popović |
| 2017– 2019 | Danilo Dončić |
| 2019 | Gilbert Agius (Caretaker) |
| 2019–2020 | Darren Abdilla |
| 2020 | Giovanni Tedesco |
| 2020 | Jesmond Zerafa |
| 2020 | Gilbert Agius (Caretaker) |
| 2020-2022 | Tozé Mendes |
| 2022 | Danilo Dončić |
| 2022-2023 | Thane Micallef |
| 2023-2024 | Enzo Potenza |
| 2024 | Juan Cruz Gill (Caretaker) |
| 2024- | Thane Micallef |

## European record

    As of 10 August 2020
| Competition | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | GF | GA | GD | Win% |
| European Cup / Champions League | 45 | 8 | 6 | 31 | 37 | 112 | −75 | 017.78 |
| Cup Winners' Cup | 14 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 54 | −48 | 000.00 |
| UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League | 36 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 35 | 80 | −45 | 013.89 |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 000.00 |
| Total | 99 | 13 | 17 | 69 | 75 | 255 | −180 | 013.13 |
Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 1963–64 | European Cup | PR | Dukla Prague | 0–2 | 0–6 | 0–8 |
| 1964–65 | European Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | Real Zaragoza | 0–3 | 1–5 | 1–8 |
| 1972–73 | UEFA Cup | 1R | Inter Milan | 0–1 | 1–6 | 1–7 |
| 1974–75 | European Cup | 1R | HJK Helsinki | 1–0 | 1–4 | 2–4 |
| 1975–76 | European Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | Haladás VSE | 1–1 | 0–7 | 1–8 |
| 1977–78 | European Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | Dynamo Moscow | 0–2 | 0–5 | 0–7 |
| 1978–79 | European Cup | 1R | Grasshopper | 3–5 | 0–8 | 3–13 |
| 1979–80 | UEFA Cup | 1R | Leeds United | 0–4 | 0–3 | 0–7 |
| 1980–81 | European Cup | PR | Budapest Honvéd | 0–3 | 0–8 | 0–11 |
| 1983–84 | European Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | Rangers | 0–8 | 0–10 | 0–18 |
| 1984–85 | European Cup | 1R | Austria Wien | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–8 |
| 1987–88 | UEFA Cup | 1R | Juventus | 0–4 | 0–3 | 0–7 |
| 1989–90 | UEFA Cup | 1R | First Vienna | 1–4 | 0–3 | 1–7 |
| 1990–91 | European Cup | 1R | Rangers | 0–4 | 0–6 | 0–10 |
| 1991–92 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | Porto | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–4 |
| 1992–93 | UEFA Champions League | PR | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| 1993–94 | UEFA Cup | 1R | Trabzonspor | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–6 |
| 1994–95 | UEFA Cup | PR | Rapid București | 2–6 | 1–1 | 3–7 |
| 1995–96 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | QR | Inter Bratislava | 0–0 | 2–5 | 2–5 |
| 1996–97 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | QR | Gloria Bistrița | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 |
| 1997–98 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR | Skonto Riga | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 |
| 1998–99 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR | Anorthosis Famagusta | 0–2 | 0–6 | 0–8 |
| 1999–00 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR | Barry Town | 3–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 |
| 1999–00 | UEFA Champions League | 2QR | Rapid Wien | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–5 |
| 2000–01 | UEFA Cup | 1QR | Rijeka | 4–5 | 2–3 | 6–8 (a.e.t.) |
| 2001–02 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR | Haka | 0–0 | 0–5 | 0–5 |
| 2002 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1R | Teuta | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| 2003–04 | UEFA Cup | 1QR | Neuchâtel Xamax | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 |
| 2005 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1R | Budućnost Podgorica | 0–5 | 2–2 | 2–7 |
| 2008–09 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR | Artmedia | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 |
| 2009–10 | UEFA Europa League | 1QR | Keflavík | 3–0 | 2–2 | 5–2 |
| 2009–10 | UEFA Europa League | 2QR | St Patrick's Athletic | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| 2010–11 | UEFA Europa League | 2QR | Ruch Chorzów | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 (a) |
| 2011–12 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR | Tre Fiori | 2–1 | 3–0 | 5–1 |
| 2011–12 | UEFA Champions League | 2QR | Ekranas | 2–3 | 0–1 | 2–4 |
| 2012–13 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR | Lusitanos | 8–0 | 1–0 | 9–0 |
| 2012–13 | UEFA Champions League | 2QR | Partizan | 1–4 | 1–3 | 2–7 |
| 2013–14 | UEFA Europa League | 1QR | Fiorita | 1–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 |
| 2013–14 | UEFA Europa League | 2QR | Minsk | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 |
| 2014–15 | UEFA Champions League | 2QR | Qarabağ | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–5 |
| 2015–16 | UEFA Europa League | 1QR | Newtown | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 |
| 2016–17 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR | B36 Tórshavn | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 (a) |
| 2016–17 | UEFA Champions League | 2QR | Red Star Belgrade | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 |
| 2017–18 | UEFA Europa League | 1QR | Folgore | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| 2017–18 | UEFA Europa League | 2QR | FC Utrecht | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| 2018–19 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR | Kukësi | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 (a) |
| 2018–19 | UEFA Europa League | 2QR | Zrinjski Mostar | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| 2019–20 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR | F91 Dudelange | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 (a) |
| 2019–20 | UEFA Champions League | 2QR | Ferencváros | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–4 |
| 2019–20 | UEFA Europa League | 3QR | Astana | 1–5 | 0–4 | 1–9 |
| 2020–21 | UEFA Europa League | 1QR | Bala Town | 0–1 | — | — |

## Honours

| Competition | Titles | Seasons |
| Maltese Premier League | 25 | 1914–15, 1931–32, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1947–48, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1962–63, 1973–74, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19 |
| Maltese FA Trophy | 14 | 1959–60, 1963–64, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1990–91, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2017–18 |
| Maltese Super Cup | 13 | 1990, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019 |
| Cassar Cup | 4 | 1943–44, 1958–59, 1965–66, 1967–68 |
| Super 5 Lottery Tournament | 4 | 1992–93, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2000–01 |
| Cousis Shield | 2 | 1914–15, 1920–21 |
| Scicluna Cup | 2 | 1960–61, 1963–64 |
| Independence Cup | 3 | 1974–75, 1979–80, 1980–81 |
| Malta Cup | 1 | 1943–44 |
| Testaferrata Cup | 1 | 1979–80 |
| Centenary Cup | 1 | 2000–01 |
| Maltese National League 100 Anniversary Cup | 1 | 2009–10 |
| Euro Challenge Cup | 6 | 1983–84, 1987–88, 1989–90, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15 |
| Löwenbräu Cup | 6 | 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2000–01 |
| Coronation Cup | 1 | 1953–54 |
| Sons of Malta Cup | 2 | 1974–75, 1978–79 |
| Olympic Cup | 1 | 1962–63 |
| Melita Cup | 1 | 1911 |
| Ranger's Cup | 1 | 1914 |
| Poppy Day Fund Cup | 1 | 1960–61 |
| BetFair Cup | 1 | 2008 |
| Mare Blue Cup | 2 | 2010–11, 2011–12 |
| Doubles: League & Trophy in the same season | 8 | 1914–15, 1959–60, 1977–78, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2013–14, 2017–18 |
| All Cups in the same season | 3 | 1996–97 (5/5 Cups), 2000–01 (6/6 Cups), 2017–2018 (3/3 Cups) |