The 4-0 defeat in Guimaraes against Portugal last Wednesday was the end of another era for the national team – definitely one of the worst in Maltese football history in so far as results, goals and points are concerned.
It would be unfair to state that our standards have gone backwards. It was certainly not the case. We were all aware from Day One, that is, when the group draws were made, that this would be the toughest group we had to play in probably since we started taking part in these competitions.
Having three of Europe’s top dogs and another close behind in a group of six was certainly not an easy task. It was sheer bad luck that we were drawn in such a tough group so soon after we had registered our best performance in group competition in the previous European Championship qualifiers.
Considering everything, our team’s performances were not below par compared to those in previous editions. Our boys always played their hearts out, but their best was certainly not enough against players accustomed to play at the top levels in European football.
That was how it was in the past, it still is today and will remain in future. We have to admit that we have our own big limitations in this beautiful game of football and it will remain difficult for our players to make an impact at international level. Perhaps even if we get the best coaches in the world
What was bad in this qualifying group was that we did not manage to score a single goal in 10 whole matches. We were unlucky on several occasions but that was the destiny of this Malta team, first under the hands of Dusan Fitzel from the Czech Republic and later, in the last two matches, under the charge of John Buttigieg and Carmel Busuttil.
These two former Malta stalwarts now have the onus to try and produce something better in the forthcoming European Championship qualifiers – the draws are to be made early next year.
And it is already clear that they have a big challenge ahead of them.
Their first big problem or headache is the fact that our top player, striker Michael Mifsud, is still without a team. Since the end of last season, he has not played any competitive matches except those with the national team.
I sincerely hope that Mifsud’s recent statements that his place is not in Maltese league football will soon become reality by joining a club abroad. But at present, there seems to be little or no interest at all from foreign clubs eyeing his services. It is a real pity, especially because he is such a good goal-scoring talent.
Buttigieg also has to come to terms with another problem – whether to call back Valletta’s central defender Luke Dimech. During the summer, a dressing room problem erupted between the two personalities and till Wednesday’s match, Dimech has always been excluded from the list of players in the squads named by Buttigieg for the matches against Georgia, Sweden, Angola and Portugal.
This case seems to be a replica of the Lippi-Cassano issue in Italy where the Italian coach still refuses to include the Sampdoria star in his squads, despite the player’s run of brilliant form with his club. Of course, Cassano’s case must be linked with his past – his conduct on the field of play was unreliable, especially while still at Real Madrid in Spain. But after two years at the Marassi, he is a completely changed young man enjoying his playing days with the blucerchiati. He has become the darling of the Italian press who have been clamouring for his services in the Italy team, now more than ever before as the World Cup finals are approaching fast.
The same can be said of Dimech. We have not been told officially by Buttigieg that it has been a disciplinary case. It could have been – and probably was – a dispute over the colour of Dimech’s hair. But even now, that the Valletta defender has returned to having natural hair colour, he still remains out of favour.
Yet, Buttigieg has said repeatedly in news conferences since he was appointed to the post that the national team is open to every player eligible to play for Malta, and that, of course, also includes another player, Daniel Bogdanovic, who also seems to be out of favour with our national coach, despite that he plays for Barnsley FC in the English Championship, even if not a regular.
Other problems – and perhaps the most important at present - include the complaints by the clubs who release their players three times a week for national team duty. I wonder whether this system should be retained in future, seeing that despite the hard work put in by the players both during their training sessions and during the matches, all has been in vain.
The clubs are always asked to give their best in the Premier League so as to attract bigger crowds to our football venues and therefore make the game more popular. Yet how can any MFA member complain about the present state of local Premier football when team coaches like those of Valletta and Sliema, who provide the bulk of the national team players, only see their players once or twice a week?
Their standards have become so low that we have even lost one team from the compliment of three until this year for the Europa League. That is because our co-efficient had dropped considerably – so much that we are very close to the bottom rung nowadays. It is a pitiful situation which needs to be taken care of.
The MFA is there to help the clubs and this should be the first opportunity for it to show that it leads by sheer example.
Something must be done to rectify this problem as quickly as possible. It is evident that all coaches – including Buttigieg – want to have their players at their disposal as much as possible. But with clubs having much more fixtures to contend with than the national team, it is obvious that first preference should be given to them to work with their players. Moreover, it is the clubs who pay the wages (or salaries) of the players. And therefore it makes more sense for the club coaches to complain.
Having said that I have my own suggestion to make. And I make this suggestion in the hope that it is used as an experiment.
The national coach should be given a sort of new role, not just the training of the national squad. The training of the national team players would be limited to just two whole weeks before competitive matches and one week for friendlies.
His new role would include continuous supervising of his squad players while training with their own teams. If there are certain players available for training in the mornings, they could also join Buttigieg at Ta’ Qali for separate sessions. I think his new role should also include supervision of the youth sector, especially the U-19s and U-21s, from where our future players will be selected.
We all have football at heart and we all want the best for our clubs and the national team. Whether this idea is feasible or not I cannot say, because it has to be given a trial to see whether it works. But I believe it would get the national coach and the coaches of the clubs closer together – to give their best in the interests of Maltese football.
Before the new era starts, all these problems will have to be resolved if we are to move ahead with purpose. If not, even if we are drawn in a relatively favourable group, it will remain difficult to once again achieve what our team achieved under Dusan Fitzel two years ago.
Henry Brincat
Sports Editor
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