# Allen Bula > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Allen_Bula > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Allen_Bula.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Bula > Source revision: 1356531363 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Allen Bula** (born 4 January 1965) is a Gibraltarian [football](/source/Association_football) manager and former player. He was notably the first manager of the [Gibraltar national football team](/source/Gibraltar_national_football_team). ## Playing career As a player, he played for [Gibraltar United](/source/Gibraltar_United_F.C.), [St Joseph's](/source/St_Joseph's_F.C.) and [Glacis United](/source/Glacis_United_F.C.).[1] ## Coaching career Between 2006 and 2010, he was the head of football development and academy manager at Slovak first division club [MFK Košice](/source/FC_VSS_Ko%C5%A1ice).[1] While in that role he discovered several talented players, most notably [Nemanja Matić](/source/Nemanja_Mati%C4%87), who subsequently played for [Chelsea](/source/Chelsea_F.C.) and [Manchester United](/source/Manchester_United_F.C.).[2] Bula was appointed as the manager of the [Gibraltar national team](/source/Gibraltar_national_football_team) in November 2009. Between 2009 and 2013 Bula managed the national team in 47 matches, against professional teams from Spain's 2b & 2a leagues, and English [Championship](/source/Football_League_Championship) & [League One](/source/Football_League_One) teams. Bula's success rate was 78%, with victories over teams such as [Portsmouth](/source/Portsmouth_F.C.), [Notts County](/source/Notts_County_F.C.), England C, [Bury](/source/Bury_F.C.) and [Real Balompédica Linense](/source/Real_Balomp%C3%A9dica_Linense). Most notable was the 3–0 win over the [Faroe Islands](/source/Faroe_Islands_national_football_team) in 2013 prior to UEFA membership. Bula managed the national team in their debut as a Uefa member against [Slovakia](/source/Slovakia_national_football_team), and earned a draw which sent shock waves around Europe. That was followed by a 1–1 draw away to [Estonia](/source/Estonia_national_football_team) and Gibraltar's first win as Uefa member, against [Malta](/source/Malta_national_football_team). For political reasons, though, it was decided that Gibraltar would be kept apart from [Spain](/source/Spain_national_football_team) in qualification draws.[3] Bula's tactical approach to the [Euro 2016](/source/UEFA_Euro_2016) [qualifier](/source/UEFA_Euro_2016_qualifying) against World Cup holders [Germany](/source/Germany_national_football_team) resulted in a 4–0 win for Germany, a creditable result for Gibraltar as many people were expecting Germany to come away with a much heavier victory. Only one goal was scored in second half and that was an own goal by Gibraltar.[4] On 18 January 2015, Bula arrived in England to partake in the UEFA Pro-Licence course at the [St George's Park National Football Centre](/source/St_George's_Park_National_Football_Centre), alongside coaches such as [Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink](/source/Jimmy_Floyd_Hasselbaink), [Phil Neville](/source/Phil_Neville) and [Scott Parker](/source/Scott_Parker).[5] However, after a poor start to Gibraltar's Euro 2016 qualification campaign, combined with Bula's defensive approach, he was sacked in March 2015, receiving a settlement shortly afterwards. [6] After a short spell as Director of Football at [Lynx](/source/Lynx_F.C.) in 2016, he took over management of the club in June 2017 after chairman/manager Albert Parody decided to step back from on-the-pitch activities. However, he would only last just over 4 months in the role as he left in October that year, after a disastrous start to the club's campaign. On 19 December 2018, he was appointed manager of [Boca Gibraltar](/source/F.C._Boca_Gibraltar) after the departure of Juanjo Pomares.[7] He had previously served as a director at the club, along with his son Allen Bulla Jr, who works as head of youth development at the club. On 19 June 2019, he was appointed manager of [Europa Point](/source/Europa_Point_F.C.).[8] On 17 May 2022, he was appointed manager of [Mons Calpe](/source/Mons_Calpe_S.C.) after the departure of Leo Fuentes. ## Personal life His nephew is former [footballer](/source/Association_football) [Danny Higginbotham](/source/Danny_Higginbotham).[9] ## Managerial statistics Goal statistics for Gibraltar pre-UEFA membership unknown. Team From To Record Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA Win % Gibraltar (unofficial) November 2009 May 2013 47 34 7 6 ? ? 72.34 Gibraltar May 2013 March 2015 Lynx June 2017 October 2017 Boca Gibraltar December 2018 May 2019 Europa Point June 2019 Present ## References 1. ["Gibraltar given full Uefa membership at London Congress"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/22657481). BBC. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013. 1. [Nemanja Matic's football father plots demise of world champions Germany from the depths](https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/allen-bula-nemanja-matic-football-father-plots-demise-of-world-champions-germany-from-the-depths) Sportskeeda. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2019. 1. ['I would be proud to play against Spain'](https://www.elmundo.es/deportes/2013/11/18/528a31a361fd3d563f8b4579.html) El Mundo. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2019. 1. [Why Gibraltar are now better than Brazil](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/row-zed/gibraltar-now-better-brazil-4633219) The Mirror. 15 November 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2019. 1. [Hasselbaink and Sampson start Pro-Licence journey](http://www.thefa.com/news/st-georges-park/2015/jan/pro-licence-begins-at-sgp) TheFA.com 1. ["GBC | Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150402104939/http://www.gbc.gi/news/5780/gfa-and-allen-bula-reach-out-of-court-settlement-following-dismissal). Archived from [the original](http://www.gbc.gi/news/5780/gfa-and-allen-bula-reach-out-of-court-settlement-following-dismissal) on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-04-02. 1. [Welcome Allen Bula](https://twitter.com/BocaGibraltar/status/1075468720217182208) Boca Gibraltar on Twitter. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018. 1. [Bula Takes Charge](https://twitter.com/EuropaPointFC/status/1141697318854508545) Europa Point. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019. 1. ["Danny Higginbotham: Gibraltar availability confirmed by defender"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/24158900). *[BBC Sport](/source/BBC_Sport)*. [BBC](/source/BBC). 19 September 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013. ## External links - [Allen Bula](https://twitter.com/allenbula3) on Twitter - [Sport Careers profile](https://sportcareers.co.uk/profile.php?id=445) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Allen Bula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Bula) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Bula?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.