Absurd idea leads Thekentruppe to the European cup
For the first games, they simply asked "anyone under 35 if they didn't want to play football" - and nearly eleven years later, FC Bruno's Magpies are on their way to the group phase of the Conference League. The club founded in the pub writes an extraordinary story.
Louis Perry sits in Bruno's Pub in the middle of Gibraltar and can hardly believe it. "Exactly here it all started, at the bar. We were a real pub team", says the founder, former player and former chairman of FC Bruno's Magpies, in the background the glasses clink: "And now we're playing against FC Copenhagen in the Europa Cup. It's a fairy tale."
Perry is now the owner of the pub where he started a small football miracle in 2013. At that time, he was 18 years old, wanted to play football, and couldn't find a suitable club in Gibraltar, so he founded one himself - the players he found in Bruno's Pub. Eleven years later, his Magpies face the Danish champions on a Thursday (6:00 pm) in the Conference League qualification. They have already eliminated the Northern Irish representative Derry City.
The English Perry knows exactly how it all started. "I went to the association and put 500 pounds on the table for the first team and 500 for the second. They thought it was a joke", he recounts on the phone. The money came from his grandparents, who owned the pub at the time, "Bruno's" was named in their honor. Since the first trainer Mick Embleton was a loyal fan of Newcastle United's "Magpies" and a close friend of club icon Alan Shearer, the complete name was quickly decided.
Perry bets on the weather as a factor for the Magpies
Only the players were missing. "I made the selection almost at the bar. I asked everyone under 35 if they didn't want to play football", says Perry. The trial training took place on a beach in Spain, there was no room in Gibraltar. "We were such a pub team as a pub team could be", says Perry and laughs.
From then on, it went slowly uphill. In 2019, the club made its first ascent to the National League, Gibraltar's first league. Professional structures began to emerge, none of the founders play actively anymore. "Our players train five times a week now", says Perry. Third place in the previous season was enough for the Europa Cup.
The "Elstern" hope for a surprise against Copenhagen. Just like against Derry, when Gibraltar's former junior basketball national player Evan De Haro scored the decisive goal in extra time. Europa Point Stadium is sold out - with 730 people.
And then there's the weather. "It's just 32 degrees here now. That could be our chance", says Perry. And whoever didn't get a ticket goes to Bruno's Pub. There, where it all began, the game will be shown on a screen. "An honor", says Louis Perry.
The FC Bruno's Magpies, now in the group phase of the Conference League, will face the Danish champions FC Copenhagen in the Europa Cup. Reminiscing about the humble beginnings, Louis Perry, the founder and owner, shares that the team started playing soccer in Gibraltar's Bruno's Pub, where he asked anyone under 35 if they didn't want to join a team.
