The 8th of September is a traditionally historical date for the Maltese. The day is connected with a memorable chapter in our island’s history - a particular episode in 1565 when we proudly commemorate victory over the Turkish Fleet after a three-month siege which our forefathers finally staved off.

Almost five and a half centuries later that battle will be renewed on Maltese soil on Saturday, this time on a sporting platform. Malta are facing Turkey in a return tie of the European Championship 2008 Group C qualifying round. Coincidence deemed that the day falls on what we now celebrate in our history as ‘Victory Day’.

And very much like in those long gone days when Malta stood little chance of defeating the Turkish fleet, our football team will be playing the role of the underdogs when they pit their strength against Turkey.

There is little doubt that our opponents’ football level is higher than ours, to the extent that they enjoy the respect of the very top football nations in the world. We have learnt to live with tag of underdogs, and the clash against Turkey will be no exception.

However, occasional plucky performances over the years backed by some prestigious results have helped our countrymen to continue believing in our national team.

Turkey are aiming at upsetting top-of-the-table Greece, who are also the defending champions, to obtain a berth in the Euro 2008 finals, while Dusan Fitzel’s target, as he stated prior to taking up the reins of the national team, is avoiding the bottom place and obtaining the highest ever points’ tally in the group matches. So far Malta’s four points have equalled this total.

It will be great to make a breakthrough in terms of points, and hopefully our team will summon all the confidence and concentration to get a positive result.

An almost minimal 2-0 defeat at the hands of Turkey on neutral German soil on 6 September last year in the first leg clash, should provide us with a sense of self-belief in our capabilities.

Whether or not we can emulate the feat of our forefathers remains to be seen. At this point in time our national team needs all our support. On Saturday, the National Stadium at Ta’ Qali will hopefully provide the right setting for vociferous backing from the stands for the boys in Red.