May 2001

Thu 31

• FIFA informed Malta international David Carabott that he is yet to join FIFA`s exclusive club of 100 matches as the Libya-Malta friendly played in 1988 is not taken into consideration since it was abandoned after 42 minutes due a tragedy at the stadium in Tripoli. Therefore Carabott has to wait a couple of months before he plays his hundredth match - either in a friendly match which will be played in August or in one of the World Cup qualifiers which will be held in September. Carmel Busuttil's total was also reduced by two matches to 111. Busuttil played the same game against Libya and also played a friendly match against England B which is not being considered as an A international. The MFA is expected to appeal from these decisions.

Wed 30

• National coach Josif Ilic tipped Gilbert Agius as the ideal player who could follow Carmel Busuttil's footsteps. He confessed that Agius will be taking the number 7 national team shirt. Meanwhile now that Busuttil retired from the international scene, David Carabott becomes the national team captain but since he is injured, the captain for these two matches will be Joe Brincat. In case, Brincat will be unfit, Ilic will hand the captain's arm-band to Agius or Brian Said, whom he described as very responsible and dedicated footballers.
• Under 14 Knock-Out Final Paola H. vs Pietà H. 3-2 golden goal

Tue 29

• National coach Josif Ilic named a 20-man squad which will be travelling to Iceland on Wednesday in view of Saturday's World Cup away qualifier against Iceland and which will also meet Denmark on Wednesday 6th June. Antoine Zahra had to be dropped from the squad as he is still unfit. The other player to be dropped was Digger Okonkwo. Goalkeeper Saviour Darmanin was retained since Mario Muscat has already a yellow card and Ilic did not want to risk playing the game against Denmark with just one goalkeeper at his disposal. Darren Debono will miss the game against Iceland due to a suspension. The senior squad is therefore made up of goalkeepers Ernest Barry, Saviour Darmanin, Mario Muscat; defenders Darren Debono, Luke Dimech, Chris Okoh, Brian Said, Michael Spiteri, Daniel Theuma; midfielders: Joe Brincat, David Camilleri, Stefan Giglio, Jonathan Holland, Nicholas Saliba, Hubert Suda, Noel Turner and strikers: Gilbert Agius, George Mallia, Michael Mifsud, Chucks Nwoko.
  Under 21 coach Ray 'Zazu' Farrugia also named the squad for Malta`s Under 21 UEFA Championship qualifiers against Iceland and Denmark. The squad is made up of goalkeepers Matthew Camilleri and Justin Haber; defenders: Ian Azzopardi, Mark Anthony Bonnici, William Camenzuli, Rennie Forace, Massimo Grima, Carlo Mamo, Kenneth Scicluna and Aaron Xuereb; midfielders Etienne Barbara, Victor Bellia, Joseph Farrugia, Matthew Galea and Kevin Sammut and strikers William Borg, Andrew Cohen, Anatole Debono, Michael Galea and Miguel Mifsud.

Sun 27

• Under 16 Knock-Out Final Paola H. vs Pietà H. 2-1
• Gilbert Agius is leaving a good impression in his trial with Italian Serie C1 side Pisa. Agius, who is expected in Malta early next week, played a friendly match for Pisa against Rondinella in which he was unlucky to hit the posts.
• Naxxar midfielder Nebjosa Jankovic was voted Rothmans Footballer of the Month for April. Twenty-nine year old Jankovic started his career with the nursery of Red Star Belgrade, moving to Malta in season 1994-95 when he joined Birkirkara. After a short period with the Stripes, he signed for First Division side Tarxien Rainbows. In season 1996-97, he was voted Best Player of Division 1. This season, he joined Naxxar Lions, helping them to avoid relegation.

Sat 26

• National coach Josif Ilic named the squad for the World Cup away qualifiers against Iceland and Denmark in the first week of June. Apart from Carmel Busuttil who has now retired from the international scene, the only player who is missing from the squad is Valletta's David Carabott. Carabott is currently suffering from a groin injury. Antoine Zahra and Joe Brincat, both not 100% fit, are also part of the 22-man squad which will be reduced to 20 before the departure to Iceland. Darren Debono, who is also part of the squad is unavailable for the first game against Iceland in Reykjavik. The senior squad is made up of goalkeepers Ernest Barry, Saviour Darmanin, Mario Muscat; defenders Darren Debono, Luke Dimech, Chris Okoh, Digger Okonkwo, Brian Said, Michael Spiteri, Daniel Theuma; midfielders: Joe Brincat, David Camilleri, Stefan Giglio, Jonathan Holland, Nicholas Saliba, Hubert Suda, Noel Turner, Antoine Zahra and strikers: Gilbert Agius, George Mallia, Michael Mifsud, Chucks Nwoko.
  Under 21 coach Ray 'Zazu' Farrugia also named a 21-man squad for Malta`s Under 21 UEFA Championship qualifiers against Iceland and Denmark. Floriana midfielder Claude Mattocks was left out due to injury. Two new players, Hibernians striker Andrew Cohen and Floriana defender Ian Azzopardi were included in the squad which is therefore made up of goalkeepers Matthew Camilleri and Justin Haber; defenders: Ian Azzopardi, Mark Anthony Bonnici, William Camenzuli, Rennie Forace, Massimo Grima, Carlo Mamo, Kenneth Scicluna and Aaron Xuereb; midfielders Etienne Barbara, Victor Bellia, Joseph Farrugia, Matthew Galea and Kevin Sammut and strikers William Borg, Andrew Cohen, Anatole Debono, Michael Galea and Miguel Mifsud.
• In order to prepare for their UEFA Cup commitments, Sliema Wanderers will be playing a friendly match at Ta' Qali against Serie A side Vicenza. The date has not yet been confirmed but this could be August 5th.

Wed 23

• Valletta striker Gilbert Agius will be leaving Malta on Thursday for a trial with Italian Serie C1 side Pisa. Scouts from other Italian Serie B and Serie C clubs will be following Agius during this trial. It seems that another Valletta player, Chris Oretan is attracting the interest of foreign clubs and will be invited for trials in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Tue 22

• Youths A Knock-Out Sliema W. vs Floriana 1-0

Sun 20

• Super Cup Valletta vs Sliema W. 2-1
• Second & Third Division Knock-Out Final Zebbug R. vs Vittoriosa S. 4-1

Sat 19

• The Civil Courts upheld a request by former Floriana FC president Anthony Grech Sant to freeze the assets of Floriana FC as he claims the club owes him the sum of around Lm 90,000. Floriana Football Club filed a protest against this decision claiming that they were not informed about the case and therefore were not present in court to defend themselves.
• Marsa midfielder Simon Aquilina tested positive in one of the random doping tests the MFA holds from time to time in Premier League and First Division matches. Aquilina tested positive in a test after the game Qormi-Marsa. The player could face a suspension ranging from six months to two years. Meanwhile in a statement issued by Marsa, the club claims that the player tested positive only due to 'over the counter' treatment against hay-fever, taken on the prescription of his doctor. The club will be taking their case to the MFA Medical Committee.

Thu 17

• Rothmans Trophy Final Birkirkara vs Valletta 0-3
• Sliema's golden-boy Michael Mifsud is on trial with top Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern. When he left Malta, last Sunday, it was reported that he has joined Borussia Monchengladbach. However not it has been confirmed that the club with whom he is having a trial is the former Bundesliga champions who reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup this season. Meanwhile Floriana goalie Justin Haber, who had joined Bulgarian First Division side SK Dobrudzha on loan till the end of the season, has now been invited for a trial by Premier side Spartak Varna. The latter were one of the clubs who were initially interested in his services. Difficulties to obtain a work permit made it difficult for him to make league appearances for Dobruzha but he did quite well in a number of friendlies for the club.

Wed 16

• Malta dropped eight places in the FIFA World Rankings as published on Wednesday. Malta moved from the 122nd to the 130th place after last month's 1-4 defeat to Iceland. Just ahead of Malta lie Mauritius, Fiji, Faroe Islands, Panama, Sudan, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Hong Kong and Swaziland. Malta still lies in the 47th place among the other European countries. The Faroe Islands are in the 123rd place while Luxemburg (142nd), Andorra and Liechtenstein (joint 143rd)and San Marino (165th) all lie behind Malta.

Mon 14

• Second Division Attard vs Gzira U. 1-2, Dingli S. vs Siggiewi 2-2
• Michael Mifsud left Malta on Sunday for a trial with a German club. Mifsud will be having a one-week trial with Eintracht Frankfurt. He is accompanied by MFA Technical Director Horst Heese. Last year, the young Sliema striker had a trial with Borussia Monchengladbach.
• Former Birkirkara striker Chucks Nwoko expressed his anger at the way he is treated at CSKA while speaking at a press conference after the Bulgarian club's 9-2 record league win over Hebar. Quoted in the Bulgarian newspaper "Standart", Chucks Nwoko said that together with Moke (a Congolese player who joined CSKA this season) he is given very few chances to show his real qualities in the Army team. "You cannot decide upon one player's qualities after 30 minutes of play. That is exactly the time I have played altogether in the official games of the team. I had no opportunity to show off at my best in the last games because I was nervous. Moke and I have had real problems with climate adaptation, but I think that we have now passed beyond that period. The only thing I want is a chance for realization in CSKA. However, my stay here was in no way a waste of time. My contract is till the end of the season but so far there has been no word of signing a new contract with CSKA."

Sun 13

• Manchester United defender, Gary Neville, has chosen Malta as the venue for the Gary Neville Soccer Schools between the 25th June and the 7th July. Four hundred children, aged 8 to 15, are expected to take part in this mini-summer camp at the Hamrun Ground. A group of coaches led by Ray `Zazu` Farrugia will be supervising the children. Besides Neville, another two English players will be contributing to this initiative. Carmel Busuttil, Joe Brincat and Michael Mifsud will be joining in as well. Meanwhile Gary Neville has signed an agreement with AirMalta and the Malta Tourism Authority thanks to which, he will be promoting Malta as a destination for tourists.
• Second Division Balzan Y. vs Sta. Lucia 6-0, Zebbug R. vs Luqa SA 2-0
• Third Division St. George's vs Sirens 1-0, Birzebbuga SP vs Senglea A. 3-7
• Gozo - Super Cup Ghajnsielem vs Zebbug R. 2-1 golden goal

Sat 12

• Second Division Mellieha vs Melita 4-1, Sta. Venera L. vs Mqabba 0-0

Fri 11

• Rothmans Trophy Valletta vs Floriana 2-1
• As Valletta qualified for the Rothmans Trophy final, Birkirkara assured themselves of a place in the UEFA Cup qualifying round next season. The other team in the UEFA Cup is Premier League runners-up Sliema Wanderers. Hibernians will be representing Malta in the UEFA Intertoto Cup in June against Polish opposition.
• Mark Anthony Bonnici was suspended for one game by the MFA Disciplinary Commissioner.
• Gozo - Super Cup Zebbug R. vs Nadur Y. 1-0, Ghajnsielem vs Xewkija T. 1-0

Thu 10

• Rothmans Trophy Sliema W. vs Birkirkara 1-2 (after extra-time)

Wed 9

• As Malta rejoices for the beatification of Dun Gorg Preca, Nazju Falzon and Adeodata Pisani - the first Maltese to be beatified, it is interesting to note that it was the story of the MFA's masseur Tony Gambin which led to the beatification of the venerable Nazju Falzon. After undergoing surgery in June 1981, surgeons discovered that Tony Gambin was suffering from a malign tumour in his stomach and that he had only three months left to live. Gambin's uncle gave him a holy picture of Nazju Falzon and told him to pray to him and that's what Tony Gambin did. More than a year later, Gambin went to England for some tests and he was found perfectly healthy. Another employee of the MFA, Ta' Qali works manager Joe Azzopardi is also convinced that thanks to the intercession of Nazju Falzon, his son healed from a very rare and serious illness. Both of them presented their cases to the vice-postulator for the beatification of Nazju Falzon and these cases were in turn presented to the Curia and then the commission for the Causes of Saints of the Holy See. Finally Pope John Paul II declared that Gambin's healing through the intercession of Nazju Falzon cannot be explained through medical science.

Sun 6

• Rothmans Trophy Sliema W. vs Pietà H. 4-0, Birkirkara vs Hibernians 2-0. The draws of the semi-finals resulted as follows: Sliema W. vs Birkirkara and Valletta vs Floriana.
• Second Division Siggiewi vs Zebbug R. 0-1, Gzira U. vs Dingli S. 1-3
• Third Division Birzebbuga SP vs Sirens 1-1, Senglea A. vs St George's 2-0
• Gozo - GFA Cup Ghajnsielem vs Kercem A. 0-0 (4-2 pen)

Sat 5

• MFA president Dr Joe Mifsud blamed players for the recent disappointing performances by the national team. At a meeting of the MFA Council the point of discussion was the national team. In particular he said that the performance of the two players currently playing for CSKA Sofia, Chucks Nwoko and Stefan Giglio, left much to be desired. Mifsud defended the professional scheme adopted by the association claiming that the national team set-up compares very well with that of European clubs. He went on by saying that firing Ilic at this point would do more harm, especially since Malta will be playing two delicate away games to Iceland and Denmark in a month's time. He said that after leaving the national team, Pietro Ghedin became assistant coach to Giovanni Trapattoni while Milorad Kosanovic went to China leading his club to the championship. Therefore coaches were not to blame. Mifsud announced that the national team will be going for a training camp in Germany in the last week of July while an away friendly match is scheduled for the 15th August.
• Rothmans Trophy St. Andrews vs Floriana 0-4, Marsa vs Valletta 0-5
• Second Division Luqa SA vs Sta. Venera L. 0-6, Sta. Lucia vs Attard 0-0
• The council of the MFA decided that the Rothmans Premier League 2001/02 kicks-off on the 18 August and finishes on the 5th May. The draws will be held on the 16th July. The dates for the other competitions were also decided. The Lowenbrau Cup will be held on the 31st July, 2nd and 4th August, the Rothmans Trophy starts off on the 23rd December with the final being played on the 23rd May while the Super Five competition will be held on the 22nd and 29th December. The Rothmans International Tournament will be held between the 9th and 13th February.
• The Malta Football Association is considering the possibility of changing the formats of the Second and Third Division. Among the possibilities which are being considered is the reduction of the number of teams in Divisions 2 and 3 to ten teams and the introduction of the Fourth Division.
• Under 18 coach Mark Miller had his contract extended for one year by the MFA.

Fri 4

• The money which clubs taking part in UEFA competitions received will be deposited in a bank account and any debts with other clubs will be settled from these accounts thanks to a new UEFA policy. Therefore if the four clubs who took part in UEFA competitions, Valletta, Sliema, Birkirkara and Floriana owe other clubs money, they will be paid from the money these clubs receive for their participation in Europe.
• Second Division Mellieha vs Balzan Y. 0-2, Melita vs Mqabba 0-1
• Balzan Youths were found guilty of the incidents which led the HSBC Youths Knock-Out game against Sta. Venera to be abandoned. The match has now been given as a 3-0 win for Sta. Venera. Balzan Youths were also suspended for one year from the competition. Balzan coach Alfred Attard was earlier suspended for seven years.

Tue 1

• Second Division Dingli S. vs Sta. Lucia 0-2, Zebbug R. vs Gzira U. 0-0
• Gozo - GFA Cup Nadur Y. vs Ghajnsielem 0-2, Kercem A. vs Oratory Y.