Raith Rovers
| Raith Rovers | |||
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| Basic data | |||
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| Surname | Raith Rovers Football Club | ||
| Seat | Kirkcaldy , Scotland | ||
| founding | 1883 | ||
| president |
 Dave Somerville
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| Website | raithrovers.net | ||
| First soccer team | |||
| Head coach |
John McGlynn
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| Venue | Stark's Park | ||
| Places | 10,104 | ||
| league | Scottish Championship | ||
| 2019/2020 | 1st place, League One | ||
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The Raith Rovers (officially: Raith Rovers Football Club ) are a Scottish football club from Kirkcaldy . The club currently plays in Scottish League One , the third-highest division in Scottish football . The Rovers play their home games at Stark's Park . The stadium was opened in 1891 and can seat 10,104 spectators.
Club history
Beginnings
The club was founded in 1883 and has nothing to do with the Raith Rovers of the same name, which merged with Cowdenbeath FC in 1882 . The name Raith is derived from the Gaelic rath for fortress .
1902/03 the club played for the first time in the Scottish League. After two successful years in the Scottish Football League Second Division , he was promoted to the Scottish Football League First Division in 1910 . In 1913 the team was in the final of the Scottish Cup for the first time, in which the team lost 2-0 to FC Falkirk .
Record years
The most successful league year was 1922 when the team was able to occupy third place in the table behind the Old Firm . The team was able to set an all-time record when the team scored 142 goals in 34 league games in the 1937/38 season. The consequence was promotion to the First Division. To date, those 142 goals are a record in British football. Also at this point in time you could set a club record among the spectators. 25,500 spectators came to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup to watch the game against East Fife . For the first time the final of the Scottish League Cup could be reached in 1949. There the team met the Glasgow Rangers and lost 2-0. After 1913, the team was able to reach the semi-finals of the Scottish Football Cup for the second time in 1951, but lost to Celtic 2: 3 at Hampden Park .
Up and down
The 1960s began with a disastrous season. At the end of the 1962/63 season, the club found itself in last place in the First Division after the club had conceded a total of 118 goals in 34 games.
In 1968 relegation to the next lower division could be prevented thanks to Gordon Wallace . He became the first player to be voted Player of the Year and not from one of Glasgow's major clubs. He scored 27 goals in 34 league games. From the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, the team was able to consistently place in the first division in the front ranks, before relegation to the third division occurred in 1984 . Under coach Frank Connor, he was promoted back to the First Division in 1987 .
Glorious years
In the 1992/93 season , the Rovers won under player-coach Jimmy Nicholl the championship title of the Scottish Football League First Division and rose again for the first time in decades in the top division of Scotland. The most successful phase in the history of the club began. The club rose straight away, but on November 29, 1994, the team reached the final of the Scottish League Cup. There, the team beat Celtic Glasgow 6-5 on penalties. This victory in the final qualified for participation in the UEFA Cup . The club started in the qualification. Ultimately, they made it into the second round of the competition, in which the Scottish club faced FC Bayern Munich . The first leg was lost 2-0 at Easter Road in Edinburgh , in the second leg at the Munich Olympic Stadium , the Rovers, accompanied by numerous fans, led 1-0 at halftime, but lost 2-1 in the end and were eliminated. It was the first time that a sub-class Scottish team was able to qualify for a European Cup competition. In the same year, the immediate return to the House of Lords of Scottish football succeeded. One point ahead of pursuers Dunfermline Athletic and Dundee FC , the team won the championship in the First Division .
The income from the UEFA Cup enabled the Rovers to renovate their Stark's Park stadium into a fully seated stadium. The new stadium was opened in 1996 with a friendly against Bayern Munich.
End of the fairy tale
1996/97 marked the end of the successful times of the last decade. At the end of the season, the club was relegated from the first division and in 2003 even moved into the third division. Before the start of the 2004/05 season, Claude Anelka, Nicolas Anelka's brother , offered any club that hired him as a coach £ 300,000. The Raith Rovers accepted the offer and Anelka signed mostly players from the lower leagues of France. The project failed, Anelka resigned mid-season and the Rovers finished the season bottom of the table with 16 points. In 2008, the team finished 3rd and reached the promotion round. In the first round, the club lost to Airdrie United . In the same year the club celebrated its 125th anniversary.
In the 2008/09 season, the Raith Rovers were champions of the third-class Second Division and thus rose to the First Division . On March 13, 2010, the team reached the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup for the first time since 1963 with a 2-1 away win at FC Dundee .
successes
- Scottish First Division
- Scottish Second Division :
- Scottish Division Two :
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Scottish Cup :
- Finalist (1): 1912/13
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Scottish League Cup :
- Winner (1): 1994/95
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Scottish League Challenge Cup :
- Winner (1): 2013/14
European Cup balance sheet
| season | competition | round | opponent | total | To | Back |
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| 1995/96 | Uefa cup | qualification |
 GÍ Gøta
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6: 2 | 4: 0 (H) | 2: 2 (A) |
| 1 round |
 ÍA Akranes
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3: 2 | 3: 1 (H) | 0: 1 (A) | ||
| 2nd round |
 FC Bayern Munich
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1: 4 | 0: 2 (H) | 1: 2 (A) |
Overall record: 6 games, 3 wins, 3 defeats, 10: 8 goals (goal difference +2)
Player and coach
Coach chronicle
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Notable players
useful information
The most famous supporter of the club is the former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown , who grew up in Kirkcaldy.