Young Malta team out to prove its worth on Fitzel's debut

Dusan Fitzel will be searching for answers to a multitude of questions occupying his mind when Malta take on Moldova in today's curtain-raiser of the 2006 International Football Tournament.

A victory for the home team would make for a happy start to Fitzel's reign as Malta coach but the 42-year-old Czech is not giving much weighting to the result.

At a news conference earlier this week, Fitzel made clear his intention to rely on the younger members of the squad for the clash with the Moldovans, classified 107th in the latest FIFA rankings.

His designs have been conditioned by the presence of Moldova in Malta's qualifying group for Euro 2008 and a willingness to gauge the potential of the country's upcoming players.

"The idea is to see how the players perform in a match," Fitzel, who was unveiled as the successor to German Horst Heese on January 16, said.

"It will also be an ideal opportunity for me to value the difference between the standard of the domestic league and that of international football."

In his meetings with the press, Fitzel had pleaded for more time to form an opinion on Maltese football.

More than a month from his appointment, he now feels more at ease to offer his initial views on his new working environment.

"After one month here, I believe that one the biggest problems is fitness," Fitzel said.

"We need to work hard to improve the physical condition. If players don't have adequate fitness, they struggle to keep up with the pace and lose concentration.

"Endurance and power are two areas that deserve immediate attention. I feel that because players here are not fit enough, they are suffering more injuries.

"My training sessions so far have not been longer than one hour and 15 minutes," he added.

"The players have been working hard but they are not yet ready to cope with a certain level of intensity during practice. I have focused mainly on tactics so far.

"It has not been easy for them to take everything on board because tactical cleverness in football is not easy to attain. I understand their difficulties but we must improve in every aspect if we want to compete at international level."

Fitzel's preliminary assessment of the limitations of Maltese football is unlikely to cause shock because this is not the first time that an expert has singled out stamina and tactical awareness as the two cardinal weaknesses of Maltese players.

For a coach with 10 years' experience in the youth sector of a fine footballing nation that is the Czech Republic, Fitzel must have been taken aback by the complexities of Maltese football but he insists this hasn't been the case.

"I came into this job with an open mind," Fitzel remarked. "My attitude has not been changed by what I have seen. I want to work towards improving every aspect of the Maltese team through serious training.

"The players want to work to get better which is very important."

Malta's young guns and other fringe players will get an early chance to impress their new coach today but Fitzel would not be drawn into revealing his formation for his debut match.

"I don't want the players to read the team in the newspapers before I announce it to them," Fitzel insisted.

One of the few certainties is that of Malta's foreign-based players, young midfielder Andrei Agius, on the books of Messina, is the only one available for today's match as Michael Mifsud, Luke Dimech and goalkeeper Justin Haber will not join their team-mates before tomorrow.

Judging by Fitzel's promise to pick a young team, the likes of Agius, Floriana winger Trevor Cilia, Sliema's flank defender Alex Muscat and Birkirkara striker Etienne Barbara look solid bets to start.

Cilia, Agius, Muscat and Birkir-kara's reserve goalkeeper Bernard Paris are the youngest members in the squad but more are likely to follow suit in the coming months.

"We need the country's best young players to feel part of the national team's set-up," Fitzel said.

"In my first days in Malta, I was told that the current squad is a young one but the average age is 24 to 25 years.

"I was surprised that there were no 20- or 21-year-olds in the group. After obtaining the names of those who had done so well for the U-21s in the last few years, I promoted some of them to the 'A' squad.

"Having younger players forming part of the 'A' squad or an older age-group can only increase their motivation, knowing that the coaches are keeping a close eye on their progress.

"This is how I intend to work with the collaboration of Mark Miller. I have a good relationship with him and we have very much the same mentality about football."

Veteran goalkeeper Mario Muscat will collect his 58th cap for Malta today but his first in 17 months after he was ditched by Heese in September, 2004.

The 30-year-old Hibs netminder and Birkirkara's William Camenzuli are the only two members from the so-called old guard to have gained a recall to the squad since Fitzel took over.

While Muscat is widely expected to start today, Camenzuli will be spared for the second and final match against Georgia on Wednesday.

Valletta midfielder Claude Mattocks and Shaun Bajada, of Marsaxlokk, are surely out of contention today because of injuries.

Fitzel had also hinted at a call-up for Birkirkara striker Michael Galea, the leading scorer in the Premier League with 15 goals, but the latter asked for more time to consider his options in view of his pressing work commitments.

Marsaxlokk striker André Schembri is 'on standby' for national team duty this week while Sliema midfielder Stefan Giglio has also appeared on Fitzel's radar.

Grilled about his strategy, Fitzel reiterated his loyalty to 4-4-2, adding that a four-man defence is the foundation of most tactical philosophies.

"A defence with four players is a must," Fitzel said.

"I have observed countless teams during my time with the Czech FA and most if not all of them, had four men at the back.

"There can be many variations and my idea is to have Malta adopting a 4-1-4-1 formation for this match."

Whatever Malta's tactical ap-proach, Fitzel will be judged on the team's performances and results on the field of play, especially in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.

While results in the tournament do not rank high on Fitzel's priority list, a good showing from Malta ought to strengthen the positive vibe about the national team following the commendable 1-1 draws against Croatia and Bulgaria last year.

Malta's probable formation: M. Muscat, K. Scicluna, P. Pullicino, B. Said, A. Muscat, A. Agius, R. Briffa, T. Cilia, G. Mallia, I. Woods, E. Barbara.

Referee: L. Silagava (Georgia).