Local champions Marsaxlokk face a tough debut in the UEFA Champions League this evening at Ta’ Qali as they take on Bosnia Herzegovina’s Sarajevo in a first qualifying round first leg tie.
The local champions face the prospect of a trip to Belgium to face KRC Genk if they go through to the second qualifying round.
Genk are well known locally after local hero Carmel Busuttil played for them in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
But Marsaxlokk coach Brian Talbot and his boys know that they face a very tough job as Sarajevo are perhaps the best of the seeded teams in this round.
It is the third time Marsaxlokk are playing in Europe, however. On their first venture, they lost 4-1 on aggregate in an Intertoto Cup clash with another team from Bosnia Zrinjski Mostar. Last year they lost to Primorje of Slovenia in the UEFA Cup.
The Marsaxlokk team has had some changes to that of last season even in the administration. The Sciriha family is no longer at the helm as father Victor is now president of Valletta FC while his son has not been allowed to remain at the helm of Marsaxlokk as that goes against MFA rules.
Not only, but Talbot has lost the services of his two main strikers, Andre Schembri to Germany’s Eintracht Brunschweig and Daniel Bogdanovic, as well as goalkeeper Justin Haber and Luke Dimech.
All four are hoping to play abroad this new season with Haber already committed to Haidari of Greece, Schembri to Eintracht and Dimech and Bogdanovich undergoing trials in England, the latter with Championship side Stoke City.
Brian Talbot will probably make use of the same players who were on duty in the Euro Cup matches where the southern seasiders could not go beyond two draws – 3-3 against Hibernians and 1-1 against Sliema W.
With no Bogdanovich and Schembri, Talbot is forced to make use of just one striker, and that is the club’s only newcomer this season, Daniel Webb, from England.
At the back and in midfield, Talbot seems to have no problems as he will be able to field the same players he had available last season, though between the posts, Reuben Gauci is expected to start the match.
Otherwise, despite a slight injury, captain Carlo Mamo is expected to be declared fit for this evening’s clash.
Talbot is expected to field the following formation tonight:
R. Gauci, M. Licari, S. Wellman, C. Mamo; K. Sammut, C. Frendo, J. Pace, S. Tellus, S. Bajada, D. Webb.
The match kicks off at 8pm and will be controlled by Mario Vlk from Slovakia. His assistants will be Radomir Sluk and Tomas Mokos. The fourth official is Jozef Pavlik.
The public will only be able to enter the stadium at the Millennium Stand.