Shelbourne F.C.
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| Full name | Shelbourne Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Shels | ||
| Founded | 1895 | ||
| Ground | Tolka Park, Drumcondra, Dublin | ||
| Capacity | 9,681 | ||
| Chairman |  Finbarr Flood | ||
| Manager | Pat Fenlon | ||
| League | Eircom Premier Division | ||
| 2005 | 3rd | ||
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Shelbourne F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the Football League of Ireland. Founded in Dublin in 1895, the club joined the league in 1905 and have 12 league titles to its name. The club colours are primarily red and white, with home jersies being predominantly red. The club currently play their home matches at Tolka Park, in the Dublin suburb of Drumcondra. 'Shels' is the clubs most common nickname, an abbreviation of Shelbourne. In terms of international recognition, Shelbourne are considered one of the biggest Irish clubs, mainly due to the exposure gained with fantastic perfomances in European competition in recent years. On a domestic level, Shelbourne are considered a serious force to be reckoned with, winning 4 league titles since 2000. The club is managed by former player Pat Fenlon, who has an incredible record since taking over the managers position; leading the club to 2 league titles, and incredibly never failing to cross the finish line outside of the top 3.
History
Shelbourne FC came into existance in 1895, founded in Ringsend by a group of 7 individuals, including James Rowan and 2 Wall brothers (John and Michael). But for the toss of a coin, Shelbourne FC might be non-existant, and we would be watching 'Bath FC' today. Shelbourne registered with the Leinster Football Association, and initially played their home games on a waste patch of land close to Lansdowne Road. ...
Current Squad (2006 Season)
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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International Players
Several of Shelbourne's current squad have represented their respective countries at senior level:
European FootballShelbourne have a long, illustrious history in European competitions, taking on teams such as Sporting Lisbon, Barcelona, Rangers, Steaua Bucharest, Atlético Madrid, and Brøndby. Early European AppearancesShels first European appearance was a brief unsuccessful one, losing 5-1 away and 2-0 at home to Sporting Lisbon in the 1962/63 European Cup. In the 1963/64 Cup-Winners' Cup, Shelbourne faced Barcelona and despite battling bravely were beaten 2-0 and 3-1 (having taken the lead in the latter). Then in the following season's Fairs Cup, Shelbourne faced Portuguese side Belenenses and after two drawn games won the replay 2-1. Facing Atlético Madrid in the second round, they were beaten 1-0 in both legs. In 1971/72, Shels played Hungarian side Vasas in the UEFA Cup but lost 1-0 away and drew 1-1 at home. 1992 - 2003Shels next European appearance was over twenty years later in the European Cup of 1992/93. Despite dominating the home leg, Shels could only draw 0-0 with Ukrainian champions Tavria Simferopol and lost the away leg 2-1. The following season Shels extracted revenge on Ukrainian football by knocking out Karpaty Lviv 3-2 on aggregate in the Cup Winners Cup. The home leg which Shels won 3-1, saw Brian Mooney score a stunning 35 yarder on a glorious night for the Reds. Shels then lost to Panathinaikos 5-1 on aggregate in the next round. In 1995 and 1996 Shels suffered disappointing defeats home and away to Akranes of Iceland and Norwegian side Brann. In 1997 Shels were drawn to play Scottish side Kilmarnock. Over 600 fans made the trip for the first leg and despite taking the lead through a fantastic goal by Mark Rutherford, Shels lost 2-1 to an injury time goal. Despite dominating the second leg in Tolka, it finished 1-1 and Shels were out. In 1998 Shels came up against Rangers in the UEFA Cup. The home leg was moved to England for security reasons and despite taking a 3-0 lead, Shels ended up losing 5-3. The return leg in Ibrox finished 2-0 to Rangers. In 1999, the opposition was Neuchâtel Xamax and the competition was the Intertoto Cup. The home leg finished 0-0 and after missing some great chances early on in the away leg, Shels lost out to two late goals. In 2000, things started looking up for the Reds in Europe. A late Richie Baker goal gave Shels a 1-0 away win against Macedonian side Sloga Jugomagnat in the Champions League qualifiers, and Shels progressed to play Rosenborg after securing a 1-1 home draw. In the second round, 10,000 fans crammed in to Tolka Park, but Shels lost 3-1 despite an excellent performance. The away leg finished 1-1 after Rosenborg grabbed a late equaliser. Brøndby were Shels opponents in the UEFA Cup in 2001/02, and the Danes advanced to the next round after winning 2-0 in Brøndby Stadion and 3-0 in Tolka Park. The following season saw Shels back in the Champions League qualifiers, but after drawing 2-2 away to Hibernian of Malta, conceded an injury time goal at home and missed out on a second round tie with Boavista. 2003 saw Shels play Slovenian side Olimpija Ljubljana, but Shels lost 1-0 away and 3-2 at home. Champions League 2004/05-UEFA Cup 2004/05In the 2004/2005 European season, they made history, becoming the first Irish club to reach the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. They won on away goals against KR Reykjavík, won 4-3 against Croatian team Hajduk Split, only to lose against Spanish giants, Deportivo La Coruña 3-0, having achieved a 0-0 draw in Lansdowne Road in front of 25,000 fans. That season they also had the longest European run in Irish history, being entered into the UEFA Cup, only to lose 4-2 to French side Lille on aggregate, having made it a 2-2 draw in Lansdowne Road having been two goals down. Champions League 2005/06In 2005 in the Champions' League First Qualifying Round, they overcame Glentoran F.C. of Northern Ireland 6-2 on aggregate, 2-1 to Shels in the Oval and 4-1 at home in Tolka Park. Jason Byrne scored four of those goals, Glen Crowe and Owen Heary getting the others. They were drawn to play former European Champions Steaua Bucharest in the Second Qualifying Round of the Champions' League. The home leg took place on Wednesday 27th July in Tolka Park in front of a sell-out crowd and ended in a 0-0 draw. The away leg, on Wednesday the 3rd of August saw Shelbourne defeated 4-1 in the Ghencea Stadium in Bucharest, mainly due to a number of individual errors. Jason Byrne was, once again, the goalscorer for Shelbourne. Intertoto Cup 20062006 saw Shelbourne participate in the UEFA Intertoto Cup. They initially played FK Vėtra in the first round, recording a 5-0 aggregate victory. Shelbourne won 1-0 in Lithuania, curtosey of a Sean Dillon headed goal just before the interval. The second leg took place in Dublin on 24 June, with Shelbourne romping to an easy 4-0 home victory over the Lithuanians (with Jason Byrne adding 2 more goals to his impressive European tally), whose severe discipline problems resulted in the visitors ending the match with only 8 players left on the field of play. Shelbourne played Odense BK of Denmark in the Second Round, starting with a 3-0 away defeat in Denmark on the 2nd of July which was also the club's 50th European tie. Shels won the home leg 1-0 thanks to a goal from Cameroon international Joseph Ndo, and are now unbeaten in their last eight home European matches. Honours
Records and Trivia
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