COMMENT: Next season’s Champions League is
here already and Gibraltar’s one-club hero Lee
Casciaro is hoping for glory... with a little help
from his friends
By Brian Oliver
After the departure of Xavi, it is left to John Terry,
Francesco Totti and Andres Iniesta to fly the flag
for the “one-club men” in the Champions League.
And Lee Casciaro.
Unlike the other three, Casciaro has to ask his
boss for time off from his day job and persuade
workmates to do his shifts for him in order to play
in the world’s foremost club competition. His club,
which he joined at the age of eight, is Lincoln FC,
who are embarking on their second season of
Champions League football since Gibraltar gained
membership of Uefa in 2013.
Lincoln have only one fulltime professional, the
former Portsmouth midfielder Liam Walker, and
their players will not earn in a decade what Terry
and Totti earn in a day.
Until recently nobody outside Gibraltar had ever
heard of Casciaro. He put his name in the football
record books at Hampden Park, Glasgow in March
when he scored Gibraltar’s first goal in a
competitive match, in the 6-1 defeat by Scotland.
Now he is aiming for more glory. In another
football first, the preliminaries for the Champions
League start in the same month as the previous
season’s final. Barcelona’s 3-1 win over Juventus
was on June 6, and the first qualifying round starts
on Tuesday, June 30.
Lincoln FC take on Santa Coloma, from Andorra, on
the artificial pitch at Victoria Park - Gibraltar’s
2,400-capacity stadium which is shared by all the
teams in the league. Lincoln have had barely a
week since the draw to prepare for the game.
“That’s not enough time to market it properly but
we still hope for a crowd of 1,700,” said Lincoln’s
coach, Mick McElwee.
Welcome to Gibraltar | The territory's population
was estimated at just 30,000 in 2012
“Santa Coloma’s ground only holds about 1,300,
but it will be full for the second leg (on July 7) and
the atmosphere will be good in both legs. We will
be competitive, but we are aware that they went
through to the second round last year when their
goalkeeper scored in injury time.”
That was against FC Banants of Armenia. Santa
Coloma’s keeper, Eloy Casals, went up for one last
push and fired in the goal that sent the Andorrans
through on away goals. “From now on, I will think
everything impossible is possible,” Casals said
afterwards.
In the same round Lincoln, who were making their
Champions League debut, drew 1-1 at home to HB,
of the Faroe Islands. They were pushing for an
equaliser at 2-3 in the away leg when they
conceded two late goals and lost 5-2.
“We were a bit naïve,” said Casciaro. “This time we
know what to expect. Seventy per cent of our
squad play international football for Gibraltar and
they have gained experience. This year we know a
bit more about what to expect and I’ll be
disappointed if we don’t make it into the second
round.”
Casciaro, 34, works for the Ministry of Defence in
Gibraltar and was rostered to work on Monday and
Tuesday. He can get time off for international
games but it is harder for club games unless he
has plenty of notice.
“I had to ask permission from my boss to swap
shifts, but he’s a football fan and that helps” said
Casciaro, whose younger brothers Kyle and Ryan
also play for Lincoln and Gibraltar. “I then had to
ask my friends to work my shifts, so I’ll have to do
their shifts later on.”
STADIUM | Lincoln play their home games at the
Victoria Stadium, which holds 2,400 people
Lincoln were originally called the Blue Batons, a
junior team founded by police officers so their
sons could play football. They changed their name,
and began their relentless rise to domination, in
the 1970s.
Reg Brealey, a director of Lincoln City who later
became chairman of Sheffield United, had
businesses in Gibraltar. He took an interest in the
Blue Batons, became a benefactor, and the club
changed its name in 1976.
Brealey started by providing kit. Lincoln still need
sponsors for that role, as they run 19 teams from
under-sevens upwards. The first team’s shirt
sponsors are the Gibraltar Tourist Board.
Lincoln, who have won the league for 13 straight
seasons, have a fulltime sporting director and
development officer but many roles are carried out
by volunteers, including the Uefa paperwork and
rail-and-coach travel arrangements to Andorra.
