There are things more important than football. I join Luis Enrique in my thoughts - Ray Farrugia

Domenic Aquilina Wednesday, 27 March 2019, 17:10 Last update: about 6 years ago

Farrugia stated that he is confident of a good result against Azerbaijan. Photo © Domenic Aquilina

Many undoubtely agree that Malta's two performances in the recent UEFA EURO 2020 European qualifiers against the Faroe Islands and Spain have to be commended. The boys in red gave their all in both matches, both in commitment and talent.

The Maltese coach also hit the news in the Spanish media in the aftermath of the match against Spain. Top daily "Marca" commended the Maltese coach's comments in supporting Spain coach Luis Enrique and his family.

"I join Luis Enrique and his family in my thoughts. There are things much more important than football. I wish him all the best," were the Maltese coach's comments soon after the match against Spain in full support for Spain coach Luis Enrique who had to fly back to his country due to family reasons before the match.

Ray Farrugia's shrewd tactics ensured that Malta registered its' first win in nearly 14 years on home soil by beating the Faroe Islands 2-1 on Saturday. Spain followed, and despite the 2-0 loss, Malta still put up a good fight and performance.
In the aftermath of these two important matches, TMI spoke with the man himself, Ray Farrugia who had this to say, "The Faroe Islands win was very important. We all worked hard for it and finally we enjoyed this special moment we had been waiting for nearly 14 years.

"Everyone knows the strength of Spain, so with all respect I was happy with the 2-0 loss because the boys again proved to obey my tactical plan for this particular match. Most teams defend against the might of Spain, so we worked hard over this and implemented it. We were playing against probably the best team in the world and it is not easy playing a defensive match neither! Tactically we were good against the Faroe Islands and we followed this with another good tactical plan against the Spanish.

"Here I would like to commend the full commitment and pride the boys put up during these two matches. I would like to thank my technical stuff as well and everyone concerned (they know who they are) in connection with these two matches, but in particular I would like to mention the immense pride I have in seeing our own supporters give such a vociferous backing to our team. Here I would like to publicly thank them, and ask them always to come back and support our national team. They are our twelfth man on the pitch. As I always say the Malta national team does not belong to Ray Farrugia but to all Maltese," concluded Farrugia.