An internet report by a certain Jake Cohen which appeared on Sunday evening that Valletta FC had been purchased by a former owner of Dutch club Vitesse was yesterday described as unfounded.
The former caretaker owner of Vitesse of the Netherlands is Merab Jordania from Georgia.
Paul Spiteri, executive vice president of Valletta FC, told The Malta Independent, that there was no truth about what was said in the report. “First of all, according to the club’s statute, a general meeting has to be called to inform the members of such an initiative. Then the members have to approve such a sale. Moreover, such a sale at present is definitely not possible as Valletta FC are not yet a company, though there is an ongoing process to turn the club into a company.
“I can assure you that our only agreement with them is to send us Andre Paus and Ted van Leeuwen to work alongside Mark Miller as Head Coach and Technical Director as from yesterday,” he said.
Spiteri went on to confirm the arrival of Georgia international goalkeeper Nukri Revishvili from Georgia club FC Dila Gori. One of his team-mates in the past was none other than Samuel Eto’o when he was on the books of Anzhi Makhachkala in the 2010-2011 season. A Brazilian striker has also started training with Valletta yesterday. And there is also the possibility of a Nigerian striker joining the city ranks later this week.
Spiteri assured this newspaper that the aim behind this move was to strengthen Valletta FC in the hope of getting into the Champions League Group phase one day.
What the report said
In the meantime, Jake Cohen, in his internet report, made it clear that Merab Jordania had purchased Valletta FC. Jordania is a former caretaker owner of Dutch club Vitesse who are occupying second place in the Dutch top division, two points behind leaders Ajax Amsterdam.
The report goes on to say that Paus had been working at Vitesse as head coach of the reserves squad. It also said that there were indications of an amicable parting, with Cohen referring to a Vitesse press release.
While the report’s author mentions that Paus could be the next manager of Valletta FC after Mark Miller, he also said that van Leeuwen is to help Valletta evaluate talent and choose which players to buy.
The report also revealed that Jordania does not only have connections with Vitesse. It also says that he is sponsoring Valletta FC through a company called Insignia – a company that also sponsors Vitesse in the Netherlands. That sponsorship announcement in Malta had been made in August last year.
According to the report, ‘the shirt sponsorship alone is worth more than all of the other shirt sponsorship deals Valletta has ever had combined.’
Cohen also quoted Insignia CEO Rafael Carrascosa as saying: “this is just a first step. We have big plans, and we are pledging a long-standing relationship with Valletta FC.”
According to Cohen, there is no doubt about Jordania’s ability to run a football club. He wrote: “Jordania also took over a Vitesse team in 2010 that was trying to stave off both bankruptcy off the pitch and relegation on the pitch. In three short years under his watch, the club is not only financially stable, but also now has one of the best training complexes in all of Europe. On the pitch, Vitesse currently shares the top spot in the Eredivisie table with Ajax (before the weekend results) and has a great chance of winning its first-ever Eredivisie title this season. In addition, Vitesse could also find itself in Champions League for the first time next season.”
The writer also indicated there might have been help for Jordania from, among others, Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich.
In his report, Cohen stated that Jordania was a successful man at Dinamo Tbilisi, making the transition from the pitch to the boardroom. In his career, he also managed the Georgian national team during the 2004 Euro qualifiers and earned a respectable 1-1-1 record.