FC Santa Coloma is an Andorran professional football club based in Santa Coloma, parish of Andorra la Vella, that competes in the Primera Divisió. It is the most successful team in both Primera Divisió and Copa Constitució, having won both titles thirteen and ten times respectively.

FC Santa Coloma
Logo
Full nameFútbol Club Santa Coloma
Nickname(s)FCSC
Colomencs
Coloma (Dove)
El Don (The Lord or Sir)
Blues
Founded1986; 38 years ago (1986)
GroundAndorra Football Federation stadiums
ChairmanDaniel Milstein
ManagerDmitri Cheryshev
LeaguePrimera Divisió
2023–24Primera Divisió, 4th of 10
Websitehttp://www.fclubsantacoloma.net/?lang=ca

History

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Fútbol Club Santa Coloma was founded in 1986 through the efforts of a group of football enthusiasts who represented the village of the same name that belongs to Andorra la Vella in the National Football Tournament (the former amateur league of Andorra).[1] Later on FC Santa Coloma became one of the founder members of Primera Divisió in 1995.[2] Since 2001 the club has enjoyed a great success in all Andorran competitions standing with all the records in the Premier Andorran League (13)[2] and Andorran Cup (10).[3]

At the end of 2017, the Spanish La Liga Villarreal CF team announced a collaboration agreement with the Andorran club at grassroots football level.[4]

In July 2022, Gold Star Sports Management Group, led by Ukrainian-American entrepreneur, Daniel Milstein, completed the acquisition of the club. With Milstein as chairman, he announced Alex Lubyansky as CEO and Annabel Llevot as the General Manager. [5] FC Santa Coloma and Gold Star FC Detroit are both under the Gold Star Football Club group of clubs.[6]

FC Santa Coloma in Europe

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FC Santa Coloma has two unique achievements for an Andorran team in European competitions: it was both the first team from Andorra to win a match in any European competition and the first team from Andorra that did not concede a goal in a match in a European competition.

Both of these feats were achieved on three occasions: the first match in the 2007–08 UEFA Cup qualifying round against the Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv, in which FC Santa Coloma won 1–0 at home with a goal scored by Juli Fernandez, then in the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round when they beat Banants of Armenia 1–0, and in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying, in which FC Santa Coloma won 1–0 at home against Valur of Iceland. On the first and last occasion, in the return leg they lost 4–0 to Maccabi and 3–0 to Valur, thus FC Santa Coloma were eliminated from the tournament.

Against Banants, they lost the second leg away in Armenia 3–2, however the game finished 3–3 on aggregate and FC Santa Coloma won by the away goals rule, thanks to a last minute goal by goalkeeper Eloy Casals.[7] It was the second time an Andorran club won a two-legged tie in Europe after Sant Julià.

The 2023–24 season saw FC Santa Coloma claim another first - becoming the first Andorran team to navigate two European two-legged ties in the same season. Entering at the first qualifying round of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League, they eliminated Welsh club Penybont F.C., then Montenegrin club FK Sutjeska Nikšić, to reach the third qualifying round against Dutch club AZ.

Colours and badge

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FC Santa Coloma dressed in all white all the seasons since the creation of the Andorran Premier League, alternating the home kit with red or blue. Traditionally, the away kit has been all blue and third kit all red. However the original first kit at the beginning of the foundation of the club was blue and gives the nickname of Blues. In the club crest feature the colours of Andorra and the Holy Dove that gives the name of the Santa Coloma d'Andorra town[8] and therefore the name of the club.

Period * Kitmaker Kit sponsor
1994–10 Joma Don Pernil
2010–13 Pidasa
2013–15 None
2015–17 Don Denis
2017–present Vall Banc

* Since the Andorra Football Federation affiliation.

Club rivalries

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El Clàssic

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The main rival of FC Santa Coloma in Primera Divisió has been always Sant Julià playing in a derby called El Clàssic. Both teams are strong in the Andorran Premier League and since the creation of the championship the clubs have been competing for being the champion of the top flight.[9][10][11]

El Derbi Colomenc

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The local rival of FC Santa Coloma is actually their neighbour's hometown football team UE Santa Coloma. The rivalry between these two teams has increased since the 2009/10 season when those teams were competing for winning the Premier Andorran League.[12]

Honours

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League history

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Season Division Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P
2011–12 Primera Divisió 2 20 11 5 4 56 17 38
2012–13 Primera Divisió 2 20 10 9 1 30 15 39
2013–14 Primera Divisió 1 20 13 3 4 50 12 42
2014–15 Primera Divisió 1 20 13 3 4 64 14 42
2015–16 Primera Divisió 1 20 14 5 1 44 8 47
2016–17 Primera Divisió 1 27 18 6 3 57 21 60
2017–18 Primera Divisió 1 27 18 4 5 62 20 58
2018–19 Primera Divisió 1 27 15 9 3 41 18 54
2019–20 Primera Divisió 2 24 15 7 3 48 12 51
2020–21 Primera Divisió 3 20 8 8 4 28 19 32
2021–22 Primera Divisió 5 27 15 7 5 64 34 52
2022–23 Primera Divisió 3 28 15 8 5 55 19 53

European results

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In 2014, Santa Coloma advanced for the first time in a knock-out round after beating FC Banants on the away goals rule. The deciding goal was scored by Coloma's goalkeeper in the 4th minute of added time.[13]

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2001–02 UEFA Cup QR   Partizan 0–1 1–7 1–8
2003–04 UEFA Cup QR   Esbjerg fB 1–4 0–5 1–9
2004–05 UEFA Cup 1Q   Modriča 0–1 0–3 0–4
2007–08 UEFA Cup 1Q   Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–0 0–4 1–4
2008–09 UEFA Champions League 1Q   FBK Kaunas 1–4 1–3 2–7
2009–10 UEFA Europa League 2Q   Basel 1–4 0–3 1–7
2010–11 UEFA Champions League 1Q   Birkirkara 0–3[A] 3–4 3–7
2011–12 UEFA Champions League 1Q   F91 Dudelange 0–2 0–2 0–4
2012–13 UEFA Europa League 1Q   Osijek 0–1 1–3 1–4
2013–14 UEFA Europa League 1Q   Breiðablik 0–0 0–4 0–4
2014–15 UEFA Champions League 1Q   Banants 1–0 2–3 3–3(a)
2Q   Maccabi Tel Aviv 0–1 0–2 0–3
2015–16 UEFA Champions League 1Q   Lincoln Red Imps 1–2 0–0 1–2
2016–17 UEFA Champions League 1Q   Alashkert 0–0 0–3 0–3
2017–18 UEFA Champions League 1Q   Alashkert 1–1 0–1 1–2
2018–19 UEFA Champions League PR   Drita 0–2 (aet)
UEFA Europa League 2Q   Valur 1–0 0–3 1–3
2019–20 UEFA Champions League PR   Tre Penne 1–0
  Feronikeli 1−2
UEFA Europa League 2Q   Astana 0–0 1–4 1–4
2020–21 UEFA Europa League PR   Iskra Danilovgrad 0–0 (3–4 p)
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q   Mons Calpe 4–0 1–1 5–1
2Q   Hibernian 1–2 0–3 1–5
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q   Penybont 2–0 (a.e.t.) 1–1 3–1
2Q   Sutjeska Nikšić 3–0 (a.e.t.) 0–2 3−2
3Q   AZ 0–1 0–2 0–3
Notes
  • PR: Preliminary round
  • QR: Qualifying round
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  1. ^
    Match forfeited, result set to 0–3 by UEFA

Current squad

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As of 1 March 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
1 GK   AND Josep Gómes
2 DF   ESP Robert Ramos
3 DF   ESP Gerard Gómez
4 DF   COL Jilmar Torres
5 DF   ESP Álex Sánchez
6 MF   ESP Daniel Toribio
9 FW   ESP Marc Nierga
10 FW   ESP David Virgili
11 FW   ESP Rufo
13 GK   ESP Adrià Collet
14 MF   ESP Hamza Ryahi
15 DF   ESP Sergio Rodríguez
16 MF   ESP Víctor Alonso
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 DF   ESP Guillem Jiménez
18 MF   ESP Miguel López
20 FW   AND Jordi Aláez
21 MF   VEN Octavio Páez
22 DF   ESP David Crespo
23 DF   AND Moisés San Nicolás
24 FW   VEN Christian Novoa
26 DF   UKR Andriy Markovych
30 MF   ESP Eloy Gila
31 GK   ESP José Bejarano
32 FW   ESP Mario Mourelo
FW   ESP Mikel Bueno

Managers

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References

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  1. ^ "HISTÒRIA – F. C. Santa coloma". Archived from the original on 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  2. ^ a b "Competicions : Lliga Nacional de Futbol (1ª divisió)". Faf.ad. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  3. ^ "Competicions : Copa Constitució (futbol)". Faf.ad. Archived from the original on 2020-04-13. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  4. ^ "Fútbol base, amistosos, prioridad en fichajes…éstas son las claves del acuerdo entre Villarreal CF y Vallbanc FC Santa Coloma – la Jugada Financiera". Archived from the original on 2018-03-04. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  5. ^ Club, Gold Star Football. "GOLD STAR SPORTS MANAGEMENT GROUP COMPLETES ACQUISITION". Gold Star Football Club. Archived from the original on 2023-02-04. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  6. ^ Club, Gold Star Football. "Gold Star FC announces the acquisition of FC Santa Coloma". Gold Star Football Club. Archived from the original on 2023-02-04. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  7. ^ "Europe's goalscoring goalkeepers". 9 July 2014. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  8. ^ "Iglesia de Santa Coloma – Hotel Andorra Patagonia". Andorrapatagonia.net. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  9. ^ "Andorran Football Federation-News". Fedandfut.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  10. ^ "Diari digital d'Andorra BonDia – Notícies d'última hora, cartellera, meteorologia, horòscop, informació..." Bondia.ad. Archived from the original on 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  11. ^ "Notícies Futbol". Faf.ad. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  12. ^ "Diari digital d'Andorra BonDia – Notícies d'última hora, cartellera, meteorologia, horòscop, informació..." Bondia.ad. Archived from the original on 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  13. ^ "Keeper Casals edges Santa Coloma past Banants". UEFA. 8 July 2014. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
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