Ħamrun Spartans F.C.
Ħamrun Spartans Football Club is a Maltese professional football club based in Ħamrun.[2] Since being founded in 1907, Ħamrun Spartans have won ten league championships, the latest one being in 2024, while being runners-up eleven times.
| Full name | Ħamrun Spartans Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Tas-Sikkina, Ta' Werwer |
| Founded | 1907 |
| Ground | Victor Tedesco Stadium |
| Capacity | 2,000 |
| Chairman | Joseph Portelli[1] |
| Manager | Luciano Zauri |
| League | Maltese Premier League |
| 2023–24 | Maltese Premier League, 1st of 14 (champions) |
| Website | Club website |
One of the stalwarts in the club history, Stefan Sultana, has scored a total of 252 goals in his career (225 of them while playing for the club), which makes him Malta's top-scorer (per 12 May 2007). In 2014 they were charged with match fixing and relegated to the first division.
History edit
Ħamrun Spartans were founded in 1907. By season 1913–14, Ħamrun Spartans were already an established team on the local scene winning the title during that season thanks to a better goal-average than St. George's. Their second League success came four years later when they finished again in joint top-spot with St. George's. This time the Spartans were crowned Champions of Malta by beating them in a playoff. Ħamrun's top player at that time was Gejtu Psaila, known as il-Haċċa. In the 1920s and 1930s, the club went through a difficult period as most Ħamrun players left to join other clubs.
A new team, Ħamrun Liberty was formed and in just a couple of years, Ħamrun Liberty was among the elite of Maltese football. On their return to the First Division in 1946–47, the club changed its name to Ħamrun Spartans. They were soon a hit as they won the Johnnie Walker Championship Trophy, winning also the Cassar Cup. They won the Cassar Cup again in 1948–49 season. For four times between 1947 and 1952, they were four times runners-up.
The team started dwindling down in the 60's until they were relegated in the season 1969–70. After returning to the First Division, they were relegated once again in 1973–74. However, after two years in the Second Division, they were back in the First Division.
On the 75th anniversary, exactly during the season 1982–83, the club was back at the top winning the title after an absence of 36 years. Ħamrun also won the FA Trophy during that season. That was the beginning of an era under the guide of president Victor Tedesco. The team was strengthened with top players like Gigi Salerno, Raymond and George Xuereb, Edwin Farrugia, Raymond Vella, Joe Brincat and Carlo Seychell. Alfred Cardona was their coach. After a lot of disputes with the Immigration Division, Victor Tedesco signed two foreigners, Englishmen Peter Hatch and John Linacre – the first foreigners to play on the island after a long period of time.
The Spartans set a new record being the first local team to win both the home and away legs in a UEFA competition after beating Ballymena of Northern Ireland. In just under a decade, from season 1982-83 till season 1991-92 Ħamrun have won the Maltese Premier League four times, the Maltese FA Trophy 6 times and the Maltese Super Cup 5 times, amongst others.
After such successful campaigns, the Spartans faced financial difficulties. The team had to transfer its best players until finally they were relegated to the First Division in 1998–99. After one year, they were promoted back to the Premier League after winning the Division 1 title. Financial difficulties persisted and they were relegated back to the Maltese Challenge League (First Division at the time) at the end of season 2003–04, winning promotion as First Division champions in 2004–05, being relegated in 2005–06 and winning the First Division championship once again in 2006–07.
Following the promotion to the Maltese Premier League the Spartans finished in 6th place during the 2007–08 campaign, and also made their way to the final of the FA Trophy against Birkirkara FC losing the cup to a last minute goal. This season was also a great success to its supporters after winning the Malta Best Support Award.
Ħamrun Spartans faced more difficulties and albeit staying in the top division for some years, they were relegated to the Maltese First Division in the 2012–13 season, and to the Maltese Second Division during the 2013-14 campaign – the worst ever placing in their history. Ħamrun Spartans gained promotion from the Second Division by placing second during season 2014–15.
The 2015–16 season ended successfully for Ħamrun Spartans FC. The team finished in second place in the First Division and was subsequently promoted to the Premier Division after an absence of four years. In this period the administration of the club improved greatly and many difficulties, mainly financial, were surmounted. New enthusiasm and optimism embraced the club. The supporters were looking forward for a fresh start.
The 2018-19 season was a very positive one where the team, led by Italian coach Giovanni Tedesco defied the odds and finished in 4th place after getting a 94th minute equaliser in the last match of the season against arch rivals Valletta F.C. which result forced the latter to play a decider for the Championship title. Hamrun fans hoped that European club football was once again in reach after an absence of 26 years, however Balzan beat Valletta in the final of the FA Trophy, which meant that Balzan won the 4th and last Maltese berth for European football during the next season.
During the 2019-20 season, Italian coach Manuele Blasi took control of the team. The team performed well initially but due to financial difficulties had to release key players. Blasi was replaced by Andrea Ciaramella in early 2020 with the team ending in 9th position when the league was suspended due to the Covid pandemic in March 2020 with 6 matches left to play.
In the summer of 2020 intense negotiations took place to find solid financial backing for Hamrun Spartans F.C. These proved successful when J. Portelli Projects agreed to take control of the club. The club immediately signed three of the most promising young Malta National Team players - Juan Carlos Corbalan, Joseph Mbong and Matthew Guillaumier. A professional corporate image was given to the club and it began the 2020–21 season strongly, sitting top of the league at the end of 2020. After the halt of the league decided by the Malta Football Association during April, the Spartans were declared champions of the league, 30 years after winning their last title.[3]
On 9 June 2021, the club was excluded from participating in the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League for being involved in a match fixing scandal back in 2013.[4]
On 11 August 2022, after a victory over Levski Sofia on penalties, Ħamrun became the first ever Maltese side to reach the play-off stage of a UEFA club competition; where they played against the famous Serbian club Partizan, who proved too strong. Having lost 4-1 in Belgrade in the first leg, Ħamrun managed to achieve a highly respectable and entertaining 3–3 draw in the second leg back in Malta. The Spartans had beaten Alashkert, Velež Mostar and Levski Sofia in the first three rounds of qualifying to set up a meeting with the Serbian side.
Club officials edit
Technical staff edit
| Management edit
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Current squad edit
- As of 22 January 2024[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Youth players edit
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan edit
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Former players edit
Recent managers edit
- Michael Degiorgio (2005–06)
- Atanas Marinov (2006–07)
- Marco Gerada (2007–08)
- Steve D'Amato (Oct 2008–11)
- Jesmond Zammit (2011–12)
- Stefan Sultana (Feb 2012–13)
- Giuseppe Forasassi (2013–14)
- Steve D'Amato (2014–16)
- Jacques Scerri (2016–18)
- Giovanni Tedesco (2018–19)
- Manuele Blasi (2019–20)[6]
- Andrea Ciaramella (2020)
- Mark Buttigieg (2020–2022)
- Branko Nišević (2022–2023)[7]
- Luciano Zauri (2023–)
Honours edit
- Maltese Premier League
- Maltese FA Trophy
- Winners (6): 1982–83, 1983–84, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1991–92
- Maltese Super Cup
- Winners (6): 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 2023
- Euro Challenge Cup
- Winners (4): 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992
- Cassar Cup
- Winners (2): 1947–47, 1948–49
- Super 5 Tournament (Quadrangular Tournament)
- Winners (1): 1991–1992
European record edit
| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983–84 | European Cup | 1R | Dundee United | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–6 |
| 1984–85 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | Ballymena United | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| 2R | Dynamo Moscow | 0–1 | 0–5 | 0–6 | ||
| 1985–86 | UEFA Cup | 1R | Dinamo Tirana | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| 1987–88 | European Cup | 1R | Rapid Wien | 0–1 | 0–6 | 0–7 |
| 1988–89 | European Cup | 1R | 17 Nëntori | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 |
| 1989–90 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | Real Valladolid | 0–1 | 0–5 | 0–6 |
| 1991–92 | European Cup | 1R | Benfica | 0–6 | 0–4 | 0–10 |
| 1992–93 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | QR | Maribor | 2–1 | 0–4 | 2–5 |
| 2022–23 | UEFA Europa Conference League | 1QR | Alashkert | 4–1 | 0–1 | 4–2 |
| 2QR | Velež Mostar | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 3QR | Levski Sofia | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 (4–1 p) | ||
| PO | Partizan | 3–3 | 1–4 | 4–7 | ||
| 2023–24 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR | Maccabi Haifa | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–6 |
| UEFA Europa Conference League | 2QR | Dinamo Tbilisi | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | |
| 3QR | Ferencváros | 1–6 | 1–2 | 2–8 | ||
| 2024–25 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR |
Youth Nursery edit
Hamrun Spartans Youth Nursery was founded by Tony Bajada in December 1987. At the time the Nursery catered for around 40 players.
Further reading edit
- Armstrong, Gary; Mitchell, Jon P. (2008). Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanization on the Fringes of the EU. Routledge. pp. 58–105. ISBN 9781134269198.
References edit
- ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (5 March 2020). "Watch: Joseph Portelli appointed new president of Ħamrun Spartans". SportsDesk. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (9 April 2021). "Ħamrun Spartans declared as Malta champions as MFA halt Premier League". SportsDesk. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ "AB: Hamrun Spartans FC admission criteria". UEFA. 9 June 2021.
- ^ Hamrun Spartans squad list 2019-20 season, facebook.com, 21 August 2019
- ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (3 February 2020). "Spartans sack coach Blasi". Times of Malta. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (15 February 2022). "Branko Nisevic agrees terms to take over as Ħamrun Spartans coach". SportsDesk. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
External links edit
- Team profile on Malta's Football Association website (mfa.com.mt)