New Malta national coach Tom Saintfiet of Belgium, was introduced to the press during a news conference at the MFA offices at Ta’ Qali this evening.
In a brief introduction, MFA president Norman Darmanin Demajo said Saintfiet, 44, who has been awarded a two-year term, was a preferred candidate, giving the impression that talks (contacts) with the Belgian had started much earlier than this week, that is, soon after Pietro Ghedin resigned.
Darmanin Demajo went on to say that selecting a national coach was not an easy process. “There were several issues to be considered, for example, we did not want our new coach to play the role of a traditional coach, that is preparing and training the selected players for international commitments,” he said.
The MFA boss added that the association’s executive wanted the new coach to assume more duties and responsibilities, outlining the following points to which Saintfiet had agreed:
1. A direct involvement in youth coaching and scouting of players.
2. Collaboration with the Technical Director and the coaching staff of the MFA in all aspects.
3. Supervising training sessions, even those of the boys of the National School of Sport.
4. Establishing a strong relationship with the presidents and the technical staff of the clubs.
5. Training and preparing the national team players for international commitments.
Darmanin Demajo confirmed that Saintfiet’s first big commitment will be the friendly against Estonia at Ta’ Qali next month. The MFA boss also thanked Pietro Ghedin for his dedication and service to the association during the past six years.
Saintfiet’s first words were: “I am proud and happy that I am the new coach of Malta. I am here to do a good job for Maltese football, but let us also not forget what my predecessors did for the local game.”
He said becoming Malta coach was a long term ambition. “My first interest was in 2010 though I had my first personal contact in 2005. Now that I have the job, I am very happy to be here and looking forward to the task. I will not be working alone. In fact, I will be insisting that it has to be complete teamwork, and that includes the players, the Technical Director and all his technical staff – we have to work together,” he said.
Saintfiet added that football was his passion. “I am an ambitious person and hope to be able to do well here, possibly becoming the best coach with the best record.
“I am willing to open discussions with the clubs on how we can help them and their players. I am sure we can work together to see an improvement overall,” he added.
The Belgian mentor said he was not worried by already mounting criticism on Facebook. “In this sense, I can only say that it is still early, but I simply hope to prove all critics wrong. We will take a good look at the results at the end of my term. I did my work before coming here. In fact, I have already watched several teams in action – Slovakia-Malta, Slovenia-Malta, England-Malta (at Wembley Stadium), Malta-Lithuania, FC Utrecht-Valletta in the Netherlands, as well as all the Premier League clubs. I also watched on the Internet the 1-0 win against Ukraine last August and that was simply fantastic,” he added.
He also spoke about the facilities saying that they are top class. “I firmly believe that there are several richer nations who dream of having the MFA’s infrastructure especially those existing but also that which is planned for the future,” he said.
Finally, asked whether he intends to play to win, Saintfiet said: “I always play to win, whether it is the world champions or whether it is the lowest ranked nation in the world. Yes, this is a dream come true for me,” he concluded.