Ernest Lowinger

Kelinu Azzopardi was one of the best central defenders of his era. He served his civilian clubs faithfully but it was with the Royal Malta Artillery that he produced his best football.

The RMA did not carry off any prizes in those days. Twice they were forced into the runner-up position in the Army League by the then all-conquering Worcestershire Regiment but theirs was a fine team indeed.

Azzopardi's duels with such great army centre-forwards like Dalloway of the Worcesters and Hill of the Queen's Regiment are legendary.

The influx of foreign players in the late 1930s led to Azzopardi having to temporarily give up his place in the Sliema Wanderers' team.

Kaburek, Freiberger, and Ivica Gayer were all tried in the centre-half position. None fitted the bill better than Azzopardi and each time, the Blues had to fall back on their old stalwart.

In 1936-37, Sliema decided to bring a foreign centre-half as a replacement for the old warhorse who, by now, was passing past his prime.

A couple of Maltese players were first deployed in that position but Sliema's desire to have a more flamboyant type filling that role saw them switching their attention towards a popular name from the continent.

At first, the Blues seemed reluctant to sign a new foreign player. Sliema felt they needed no more than one foreign player fulfiling a triple role as coach-trainer-player.

Once they came to know of the foreign acquisitions made by their rivals, Sliema changed their mind, especially when the MFA did not move to limit the entry of foreigners in the National League.

The Blues had no choice but to delve into the transfer market to strengthen their defence with the signing of a foreign player. Soon rumours began to circulate that the Blues were after the signature of a famous international centre-half.

Weeks before the start of the season, the newspapers were full of speculation about the identity of the new Wanderers' centre-half.

Reports said that Sliema's new recruit was an international half-back who had figured prominently in an Europa Cup triumph a couple of seasons earlier.

It was also said that the player had recently played a great game for his country against England in London. However, the transfer fee demanded by the French club for this mysterious player proved to be an insuperable obstacle. Much to the Wanderers' regret, the negotiations fell through.

The Blues then got in touch with Ernest Lowinger, the Austrian pivot of Mulhouse FC.

Lowinger was not a new name in Maltese football. In 1935-36, the Wanderers had nearly concluded negotiations with the Austrian but the transfer sum asked by his French club had wrecked their plans.

At the end of the season, Mulhouse gave the player a free transfer, thus paving the way for his engagement with the Sliema club.

Lowinger had a commendable CV. Before joining Mulhouse, he played for WAC of Austria and was considered one of the best centre-halves in the Austrian league.

Lowinger arrived in Malta with his wife on October 17, 1936. A week later, he made his debut for the Wanderers in the friendly match against the Royal Artillery at the Stadium. It was a very easy test for him because the Blues won 12-1.

Unconvincing performances

Despite the weakness of the opposition, Lowinger failed to shine. He seemed well below the optimum match fitness and it was obvious that he needed more time to settle down.

Lowinger was included in the team for the prestigious friendly encounter against HMS Hood on November 2, 1936.

Sliema won 3-1 but once again Lowinger failed to impress and consequently missed the first three league matches of the season against Floriana, Hibernians and St George's.

By the end of the second round, Lowinger was close to full fitness. He was named in the team for the last three matches of the season but when Sliema finished a poor third in the league, they decided to count their losses and their Austrian centre-half was sent packing.

Lowinger left behind him memories of a fine player who unfortunately came to Malta too close to the end of his career.

The general feeling at the time was that if Lowinger had moved to Malta a year or two earlier, he would have left his mark as one of the best foreign players to grace Maltese football.