Balzan F.C.

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Balzan
Balzan FC logo.jpg
Full nameBalzan Football Club
Founded1937; 84 years ago (1937), as Balzan Youths
GroundSt Aloysius' College (Malta)
ChairmanAnton Tagliaferro
Head CoachPaul Zammit
LeagueMaltese Premier League
2020–21Maltese Premier League, 10th
WebsiteClub website

Balzan Football Club is a Maltese football club from the village of Balzan, which currently plays in the Maltese Premier League. The Club was founded in 1937 and has played top-level football since 2010.

The club has been one of the top teams in Malta for the last 5 seasons and because of this qualified for the Europa League for the last 5 seasons in a row. Balzan finished runners up in the Malta Premier League in seasons 16/17 and 17/18 and were finalists in the 15/16 FA Trophy Final, which they lost on penalties 5-4 to Sliema, after the game finished 0-0 after extra time. In May 2019 the Club finally won its first major honour, conquering the Maltese FA Trophy[1] after a classic final versus Valletta which finished 4-4 after extra time, but which Balzan won 5-4 on penalties.

Balzan FC First Team 2021-2022

Players[]

Current First Team[]

As of 3 November 2021[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Malta MLT Rudi Briffa
3 DF Netherlands NED Augustine Loof
4 MF Malta MLT Erick Atkins
5 DF Malta MLT Samir Arab
6 MF Malta MLT Marcus Grima
7 MF Serbia SRB Milan Đurić
8 MF Malta MLT Paul Fenech
10 MF Brazil BRA Lecão
11 DF Malta MLT Steve Bezzina
15 DF Malta MLT Michael Johnson
16 DF Malta MLT Isaac Buhagiar
18 MF Serbia SRB Uroš Ljubomirac
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 DF Serbia SRB Milos Zlatkovic
20 FW Netherlands NED Suleiman Jalu
22 DF Malta MLT Gary Camilleri
21 MF Malta MLT Neil Frendo
23 MF Serbia SRB Miloš Mijić
30 MF Brazil BRA Pedro Augusto
77 MF Serbia SRB Aleksa Andrejic
83 GK Serbia SRB Vukašin Vraneš
86 FW Montenegro MNE Bojan Kaljevic
88 MF Malta MLT Sean Cipriott
— GK Malta MLT Jake Galea

Club officials and coaching staff[]

Club officials[]

  • Honorary Presidents: George Borg, Dr. John Zammit Montebello MD
  • President : Anton Tagliaferro
  • Vice President: David Melillo
  • Secretary: Joseph Agius
  • Sporting director: Vladimir Simović
  • Treasurer: Peter Cipriott
  • Club Doctor: Dr. John Zammit Montebello MD
  • Executive Committee Members:
    • Alex Bezzina
    • Clifford Cipriott
    • Louis Ebejer
    • Paul Meilak
    • Diane Cassar
    • Mario Nappa
    • Robert Tagliaferro
    • Frank Vella Bardon
    • Anton Vidal
    • Alex Attard
    • Eric Galea

Coaching staff[]

  • Head Coach: Paul Zammit[3]
  • Assistant Coach: Joe Grech
  • Nursery Head Coach: Ludvic Bartolo
  • Goalkeeping Coach: Edward Bartolo
  • Kit Manager: Anthony Lanzon
  • Team Manager: Peter Cipriott
  • Assistant Kit Manager: John Borg

Club facilities[]

The Club's Administration Building ‘Solerville’ is located at Main Street, Balzan. A bar and garden restaurant on the ground floor are open to the public. The Club’s modern training facilities, located at Robert Mifsud Bonnici Street, Lija, include a clubhouse and a full size pitch with synthetic turf. The clubhouse includes a conference room, a bar and a gymnasium and was officially opened on 13 March 2011. From September 2015, Balzan F.C. teams also commenced training at St Aloysius' College Ground, after this ground underwent a major upgrade.

In 2019 Balzan FC started the construction of an additional 2 storey clubhouse at its Lija ground which feature additional changing room facilities, as well as accommodation for visiting teams. The building was completed in late 2021.

St Aloysius' College ground
"Solerville"
Training Centre
Balzan FC President Anton Tagliaferro and MFA President Bjorn Vassallo inaugurate new facilities on 28 November 2021.













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Honours[]

Balzan F.C. wins its first major honour by winning the Maltese FA Trophy against 2017–18 champions Valletta 5-4 on penalties, after the thrilling final had ended in a 4-4 draw after extra-time on 18 May 2019.

Maltese FA Trophy

Maltese Second Division





.

European record[]

Balzan F.C. players and supporters celebrate their Club's historic qualification to the UEFA Europa League following a 3 -1 victory over until then unbeaten 14/15 champions Hibernians F.C. on 26 April 2015.
Balzan F.C. players and officials celebrate their Club's historic qualification to the second round of the UEFA Europa League, after winning against Keşla FK 5-3 on aggregate at Dalga Arena, Baku Azerbaijan on 19 July 2018.

Matches[]

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2015–16 UEFA Europa League 1Q Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar 0–2 0–1 0–3
2016–17 UEFA Europa League 1Q Azerbaijan Neftçi PFC Baki 0–2 2–1 2–3
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 1Q Hungary Videoton 3−3 0−2 3−5
2018–19 UEFA Europa League 1Q Azerbaijan Keşla FK 4−1 1−2 5−3
2Q Slovakia ŠK Slovan Bratislava 2–1 1−3 3−4
2019–20 UEFA Europa League 1Q Slovenia NK Domžale 3–4 0–1 3–5
Notes
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round

Managerial history[]

Manager Period
Malta Paul Barbara 1989–90
Malta Jimmy Briffa 1990–93
Malta Alberto Cristiano 1993–94
Malta Ronnie Cocks 1994–95
Malta France Scicluna 1995–97
Malta Joe Attard 1997–98
Malta Stephen Azzopardi 1998–02
Albania Fatos Daja 2002–03
Malta Jimmy Briffa 2003–05
Malta Mario Monreal 2005–06
Malta Charles Borg Sant 2006–07
Malta Alfred Attard 2007–08
Malta Ivan Zammit 2008–13
Malta David Carabott 2009–10
Italy Riccardo Tumiatti 2013
Malta Jesmond Zerafa 2013–14
Malta Oliver Spiteri 2014–17
Serbia Marko Mićović 2017-19
Malta Jacques Scerri 2019-20
England Mark Miller 2020-21[4]
Malta Paul Zammit 2021

References[]

  1. ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (May 18, 2019). "Effiong scores four as Balzan win first-ever FA Trophy". Times of Malta. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  2. ^ "Balzan | History | UEFA Europa League".
  3. ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (2021-10-23). "Paul Zammit named new Balzan FC coach". SportsDesk. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  4. ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (22 June 2020). "Miller named as new Balzan coach". Times of Malta. Retrieved 23 June 2020.

External links[]

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