– Andre’ Schembri
in Europe, Malta. After some time, I accomplished my dream of playing in one of the best leagues in the world, that of Portugal’s “Primeira Liga”. And now I will also compete in the Europa League group phase.
I will always remember the time I spent at Ferencvaros, Omonia Nicosia, Boavista and now Apollon. All lovely memories to treasure.”
Can Malta shock England?
Can we really shock England was the big question handed over to Schembri. “I believe we can shock any team in the world. Unfortunately our country still has that colonial mentality complex. If we start feeling inferior from the English team before even kicking a ball then we have already lost. If we think positive we can overcome the English team.”
Bottom of Group F
The Malta Independent also caught up with some Malta players and the main question attributed to them was why Malta is still pointless and rooted at the bottom of Group F after six matches.
Hibernians central defender Andrei Agius had this to say: “Our main objective remains that of obtaining the best number of points. We know that this will be difficult as this has been our story for years but we have got to keep going, in particular when we play at home. We have got England and Lithuania coming up at Ta’ Qali. I reckon the game against Lithuania will be very important for us to notch a point or more but we look forward to getting more points”
“I would not look at it as a disappointment not getting points to date because the level of our opponents in this group has been quite high. Of course this is no excuse. That is the position of our opponents; maybe we could have done a bit better against Lithuania away from home. We have to keep working hard in order to achieve points in these last four matches.”
“We have to get some points from the last four games,” stated Malta’s number one goalkeeper Andrew Hogg of Hibernians. “All of them remain difficult games. We have the Lithuania home game, which remains our main target to win some points. Obviously we know that the next two games against England and Scotland will be very difficult but we know that if we tr,y we can do something good.
“Against England we have to give everything so that at least we can bring pride to the public.”
Arezzo stalwart Zach Muscat also participated with his views about Malta’s last four matches. “What is sure is that we can gain experience from these games. We have to be frank about our bottom place. We cannot change that and we have to look forward. There is a lot of young talent coming up and it is important that we amalgamate together as a team and develop ourselves to give a real identity to the Malta national team which in my view is lacking at the moment.”
Floriana’s Steve Pisani chuckled when asked if Friday could be Malta’s moment of glory. “England will be difficult opponents but if we hit form and are disciplined on the day, anything can happen over the 90 minutes. You cannot predict what can happen. You feel that air of disappointment knowing that you are still pointless. There were performances where we could easily have got that point or two but you feel disappointed because when you look at the table we are still without any points.”
Jean Paul Farrugia is also enjoying a new lease of life with Swiss second tier club FC Chiasso. He spoke about life in Switzerland and the England big match. “I regard my move to FC Chiasso as a new challenge in my career. It has always been my dream to move and do well away from our shores. I do regard this match against England as another normal match just like any other. I concentrate about what I can do myself and let my opponents think about their plans. Everyone is saying that England is England. Yes for me it is another match just like the others.”
Who’s next?
Pietro Ghedin’s term in office will expire after these last four World Cup qualifiers and clearly the Malta FA will be looking into fresh ideas and a new face. So the big question pops up automatically. Who will be the next Malta coach?
Clearly Malta needs a “new” motivator in charge.
Just like the English saying “We have to wait and see!”