Balzan
Full nameBalzan Football Club
Founded1937 (1937)
(as Balzan Youths)
PresidentAnton Tagliaferro
Head CoachOliver Spiteri
LeagueMaltese Premier League
2022–23Maltese Premier League, 4th of 14
WebsiteClub website

Balzan Football Club is a Maltese football club from the village of Balzan that competes in the Maltese Premier League, the top tier of Maltese football. The club was founded in 1937 and has been playing in the top division since 2010.

Balzan has qualified for the UEFA Europa League for five seasons in a row between 2015–16 and 2019–20. The club finished as runners-up in the Malta Premier League in the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons and were finalists of the 2015–16 Maltese FA Trophy, which they lost on penalties to Sliema Wanderers after a goalless draw in the regular time. In May 2019, the club finally won its first major honour, the 2018–19 Maltese FA Trophy, after defeating Valletta on penalties in the final.[1]

Players

First-team squad

As of 14 September 2023[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
2 DF Serbia SRB Ivan Božović
4 DF Brazil BRA André Fausto
5 DF Malta MLT Samir Arab
6 MF Malta MLT Marcus Grima
7 MF Malta MLT Tristan Caruana
8 MF Malta MLT Paul Fenech
9 FW South Sudan SSD Manyluak Aguek
10 MF Malta MLT Jake Grech
11 MF Malta MLT Benjamin Hili
12 GK Malta MLT Niklas Vella
14 FW Nigeria NGA Oluwatobiloba Awosanya (on loan from Domžale)
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF Japan JPN Ryohei Michibuchi
19 DF Serbia SRB Nikola Žerjal
21 FW Serbia SRB Aleksandar Katanić
22 MF Malta MLT Jake Grech
24 MF Montenegro MNE Nikola Braunović
27 DF Montenegro MNE Momčilo Rašo
42 FW Brazil BRA Leonardo
44 MF Malta MLT Eric Atkins
77 MF Serbia SRB Aleksa Andrejić
80 FW Nigeria NGA Peter Olawale
99 GK Serbia SRB Danilo Golović

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: Oliver Spiteri[3]
  • Assistant Coach: Jean Paul Desira
  • 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 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 teams also commenced training at St Aloysius' College ground, after the ground underwent a major upgrade.

In 2019, Balzan FC started the construction of an additional two-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

Honours

Balzan players celebrating the club's first major title in 2019, after defeating Valletta 5–4 on penalties in the Maltese FA Trophy final.

European record

Balzan players and supporters celebrate the club's historic qualification to the UEFA Europa League following a 3–1 victory over Hibernians on 26 April 2015.

All results (home and away) list Balzan's goal tally first.

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 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 4−1 1−2 5−3
2Q Slovakia Slovan Bratislava 2–1 1−3 3−4
2019–20 UEFA Europa League 1Q Slovenia Domžale 3–4 0–1 3–5
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q Slovenia Domžale 1–3 (a.e.t.) 4–1 5–4
2Q Belarus Neman Grodno 0−0 0–2 0–2
Notes
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round

Managerial history

Manager Period
Malta Paul Barbara1989–90
Malta Jimmy Briffa1990–93
Malta Alberto Cristiano1993–94
Malta Ronnie Cocks1994–95
Malta France Scicluna1995–97
Malta Joe Attard1997–98
Malta Stephen Azzopardi1998–02
Albania Fatos Daja2002–03
Malta Jimmy Briffa2003–05
Malta Mario Monreal2005–06
Malta Charles Borg Sant2006–07
Malta Alfred Attard2007–08
Malta Ivan Zammit2008–13
Malta David Carabott2009–10
Italy Riccardo Tumiatti2013
Malta Jesmond Zerafa2013–14
Malta Oliver Spiteri2014–17
Serbia Marko Mićović2017–19
Malta Jacques Scerri2019–20
England Mark Miller2020–21
Malta Paul Zammit2021–22
Malta Oliver Spiteri2022–present

References

  1. ↑ Camilleri, Valhmor (18 May 2019). "Effiong scores four as Balzan win first-ever FA Trophy". Times of Malta. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  2. ↑ "Senior Team – Season 2023/2024". Balzan F.C. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  3. ↑ Camilleri, Valhmor (5 June 2022). "Balzan FC appoint Oliver Spiteri as new first-team coach". Times of Malta. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
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