A product of the rich Floriana tradition

Fredu Preca was born on March 13, 1923 in Floriana. He started playing football in the streets of the locality before the war alongside his mate and future Hibs stalwart, Danny Edwards.

It was not long before the two youngsters attracted the attention of Floriana Shamrocks who in those days figured in the lower divisions of the Malta Football League.

Preca grew up in the football-rich environment of the Floriana district which produced so much talent to the game in the past. Rather big and strong for his age, Preca was marked straightaway as a future prospect for the senior Floriana XI. The war, however, interrupted his progress and like many other youngsters of his era, he had to abandon all plans, at least for the duration of the hostilities.

During the war, Preca joined the Army. It was a time when the Services teams were full of local and foreign talent. In such company, his skills improved and his performances for the RMA in the Army League soon caught the eye of the Army selectors. Preca's tackling, clearances and, above all, his headwork made him one of the top defenders of the time.

When the war finally came to an end Preca could at last join Floriana FC. He made his debut on February 4, 1945 in a 2-1 victory over Melita. It was a time of rebuilding for Floriana but Preca settled down well in his new surroundings helping the Greens to win the first post-war edition of the FA Trophy.

In 1945-46 Preca was transferred on loan to Hamrun Liberty who at that time were making a bold bid to bring First Division football back to Hamrun.

It was an exciting period for football enthusiasts from Hamrun. Liberty eventually lost the promotion battle to Naxxar Lions but they defied all odds when becoming the first Second Division side to reach the FA Trophy final. It was a pity that they had to bow to Sliema Wanderers in the final.

The following season, Preca was back at Floriana, helping them to win the FA Trophy. However, he stayed only two seasons there. On February 14, 1948 the Greens were slaughtered by their eternal rivals Valletta and in the heat of the moment, they sacked all their established players and roped in their minors' team, the Ajax.

Unfairly discarded by his favourite team, Preca moved to Hamrun Spartans. Ironically, however, it was during this period that he played his best football. He was chosen by the MFA XI to play against the famous SK Rapid of Vienna. Unfortunately, his debut for the national team was far from happy despite his generally positive performance on the day. The score was 1-1 when Preca upended the Austrian international forward Dienst inside the penalty area. The Austrians scored the resultant penalty thus paving the way for their eventual 3-1 victory.

An automatic choice for the Pick Army team, Preca stood out in a side having such fine defenders as Effie Borg and the brothers Victor and Louis Portelli. His best moment with the Army team came in 1947-48 when he helped the soldiers beat the MFA XI 2-1 in the Victory Cup final.

When Birkirkara FC were re-organised in 1950 they began to look around for a sturdy defender to bolster their chances of winning promotion to the First Division for the first time in their history. Their eyes fell on Preca who, since he was living in Birkirkara, was only too happy to join them.

Led by the famous Frankie Tabone, the Stripes not only won promotion but in 1952-53 they missed the League Championship by a whisker and lost the Cassar Cup against Floriana with a hotly-disputed penalty goal.

With Birkirkara, Preca played 31 First Division matches before he retired on May 12, 1955 after a rather short but successful career in the top sphere of Maltese football.