Tonight I made my managerial debut in the Maltese Futsal League and we got a real banana skin out the way. The league kicked off tonight and we’ve taken our first three points, despite missing our three foreign signings due to international transfers not coming through in time. All three, Leo, Maxi and Dusan are back next week.
I knew it would be a hard game and the biggest challenge was motivating the Maltese players who, in the past, have heavily relied on foreign players. Today we only had player/coach Bobo as the foreigner, so the Maltese had to step up, and that they did.
The upside to not having the foreign players is that I could get to know more about the players who we will need to step in at vital moments in the league. Today we won, and I learnt a lot.
Let’s enjoy the victory, because we’ve had a very hard pre-season that paid off today when Pieta tired and we got a few goals in front. Tomorrow we get back on the court and prepare for next week’s match against Birkirkara.
Just leaves me to say good luck to Valletta in Slovakia, representing Malta in the Main round of the UEFA Champions League.
WEEK 1 LEAGUE FIXTURES (Corradino Indoor Hall)
Monday – 20.15 Swieqi United vs Pietà Hotspurs
Tuesday – 20.15 Luxol St Andrews vs Birkirkara FC Futsal
Thursday – 20.15 Tarxien Rainbows vs Luxol U-19
Friday – 20.15 UM Futsal Academy vs UOM Students Futsal