Sliema Wanderers cruise to 25th title after taking top spot in January...

The stakes were high, very high. Maltese football's two best clubs, Sliema Wanderers and Birkirkara, were engaged in a cut-throat tussle for top spot while their coaches studiously pondered their strategies to outwit each other as if they were playing a game of cards.

The prevailing view was that Edward Aquilina and Stephen Azzopardi, of Sliema and Birkirkara respectively, both had 'strong hands' and therefore a good chance of taking the honours. That was until Aquilina unleashed his trump card... Michael Mifsud.

Reports that Mifsud's dearth of first-team opportunities at Bundesliga club Kaiserslautern may lead to an anticipated return to Maltese football as early as January alerted virtually all our leading clubs.

Marsaxlokk, an increasingly popular destination for established Maltese players these past two seasons, immediately offered a contract to Mifsud but the Wanderers, his former club, also declared their intentions to take him back on board.

Sliema's decision in January to jettison four valid players like Daniel Bogdanovic, who was sold to Marsaxlokk, and Jamie Pace, Massimo Grima and Nenad Veselji who were allowed to join Valletta on loan till the end of season, was seen as undermining their ambitions to leapfrog Birkirkara in the standings but when news broke that Mifsud had chosen to rejoin the Blues, such notion was quickly dispelled.

Four months after marking his first Premier League appearance in three years with a man-of-the-match performance and a goal in the 3-0 dismissal of Valletta on January 10, Mifsud's decision to re-sign for Sliema has been fully vindicated. His arrival coincided with the team's rise to the top of the standings, a position they maintained till the end of the season.

Suggestions that the acquisition of Mifsud was the one main reason behind Sliema's success are exaggerated, considering that the team had not lost a game since November, but his blistering pace and goalscoring ability certainly gave the Blues an extra push in the title race.

"I am over the moon," Mifsud replied when asked how he felt about winning the first Premier League title in his career.

"I am very happy as this means that I have won the main domestic honours in Maltese football. Winning my first title with my home team makes this success all sweeter. The atmosphere last night (Sunday) was electrifying... so great that I did not want the party to end."

Sliema fans were very happy when they learned that Mifsud had chosen to join their team but his decision to dissolve his contract with Kaiserslautern did not win the approval of the critics. His was a regressive step, was the general feeling.

Mifsud is well aware of the cynicism triggered by his return to Malta but he says that this league title is the main positive aspect to come out of his move.

"When I came back to Malta, I made it clear that my no.1 priority was to win the championship. That objective has been fulfilled," he said.

"I didn't find it hard to re-adjust myself to the realities of Maltese football after my spell in Germany. The training here is different but the atmosphere in this squad is great and my team-mates helped me to settle straightaway.

"My contract with Sliema has another year left to run and I have no immediate plans to join another club overseas. I still have good contacts abroad but my wish is to stay here another season."

His impact at Sliema was such that Mifsud was named MIA Player of the Month for January after only a handful of appearances in the top flight.

"I am reasonably satisfied with my performances but I always believe that the best of me is yet to come," the 23-year-old added.

Mifsud is also determined to guide his team to success in the FA Trophy which is bad news for the other teams still in the competition.

"The double is a target. I firmly believe we can beat Birkirkara on Thursday and go on to win the trophy. It has been a long time since Sliema won a double... it would be nice if we do it this year."

Although thrilled by Sliema's title success, Mifsud admitted that scoring his first goal in a Bundesliga match against Hansa Rostock last season remains the highest point in his career.

"Scoring in a tough league like the Bundesliga is my biggest personal achievement so far. Winning the league with Sliema also ranks as one of the highest points of my career."

It is believed that Maltese players who re-join local clubs after enjoying spells abroad ought to find it very hard to return to a foreign league but Mifsud thinks differently.

"No, I don't think it will be hard to secure a transfer abroad. As long as I keep myself in good trim, I know that I can do it again abroad because I have established many contacts during my time with Kaiserslautern."

Mifsud has weighed in with eight goals since January but his tally could have been better had a flying ball not grazed his retina in Sliema's FA Trophy quarter-final win over Msida St Joseph.

The seriousness of the injury forced Mifsud to skip two Championship Pool matches, raising fears of a long-term absence from competitive football. Much to his and Sliema's relief, on the eve of the Championship Pool match against Marsaxlokk, Mifsud received the go-ahead to play again, albeit by wearing protective glasses.

"The condition of my injury has improved but I'm still not 100 per cent rehabilitated," he remarked.

His desire to lead Sliema's fightback after Birkirkara had taken a two-goal lead in Sunday's last league match saw Mifsud playing without his now trademark glasses for the entire second half.

"I decided to make do without them at half-time. My vision is still a bit blurred... I can see clearly from short distances but that diminishes when I look at things from afar. The problem will be healed with the passing of time," he said.

In spite of his eyesight difficulties, Mifsud has been a decisive figure in Sliema's relentless march in the last three matches.

Coming on as a substitute in the second half, Mifsud won the penalty that led to Sliema's second goal in the 2-0 victory over Marsaxlokk, hit two opportunistic goals in the 3-1 success over Hibs despite starting on the bench and was one of their best performers in the second half of the 2-1 upset to Birkirkara.

This lad is surely something beyond the norm as far as Maltese talent is concerned... Kaiserslautern's loss has been Sliema's gain.