There was absolute euphoria on the pitch and in the dressing room as the Malta players celebrated their 1-0 win over Armenia in Yerevan on Friday evening.
This victory has arrived after a long 20-year wait and it was only the second competitive (World Cup) win away from home. The first one was another 1-0 win against Estonia in Tallinn way back in 1993.
MFA president Norman Darmanin Demajo described the victory as one of those rare beautiful moments for local football. “Let us all enjoy this moment, but let us also not forget that it has taken us 20 years to get here. And we still have a long way to continue registering more good results such as this one.
“The win does not mean that we have reached our targets. Far from it. That is not what football is all about. But I sincerely feel that apart from the drubbing in Bulgaria (6-0), our team has produced some good football in this difficult group. Our players have shown they are capable of playing defensive and attacking football and are playing with much more confidence than before.
“This, I feel, is the result of the hard work being put in by the technical staff under coach Pietro Ghedin and Robert Gatt, who have concentrated their work on the physical, mental and tactical side,” said the MFA boss.
Darmanin Demajo went on to say that more work still has to be done. “When we agreed to employ Ghedin, I made it clear to him that we needed a team not just to win, but to win the respect of our opponents on the field of play. I now firmly believe that we are doing exactly that. The match against Bulgaria apart (there were several factors that led to that 6-0 defeat), I think our players are showing more determination and commitment these days, as was the case on Friday night. But even in the matches against Italy and the Czech Republic, our players showed they could also face the giants with confidence,” he added.
Darmanin Demajo added: “I believe we are firmly on the right track. I would be crazy to say that we now have to wait another 20 years for another win. That is certainly not our intention. Ghedin and Robert Gatt have established a group which is showing unity and are playing with great serenity and that is what should lead us to maintain our progress in future.”
I also asked the MFA boss, a former player himself, what will happen when certain players call it a day. Are there any substitutes ready to take their places, I asked? And he promptly replied: “Today’s game is not based on stars such as Ray Vella, Gianni Rivera, Bobby Charlton and others. Today’s game is mostly based on the technical preparation and physical fitness of all the players in a squad. This means that today’s game does not require individual stars, but more or less it is a collective effort.
“In this sense, Ghedin and Gatt have done an excellent job so far and I am very happy with the team’s performances. They have created a very nice environment within the national team squad and this is now spilling out onto the field of play. Let us enjoy this rare glorious moment, but we must keep our feet on the ground,” commented Darmanin Demajo.