Mixed results for national team

Up to the 1970s, the Maltese national team was still widely considered by many among the weakest in European football.

Football facilities in Malta were still primitive. The level of preparation of the national team was way below that of the other nations.

Yet, despite the difficulties which hindered our progress as a football nation, there were still moments our modest national team raised its head in defiance of its critics.

In 1976-77, Malta played six international matches under the guidance of coach Johnnie Calleja. Four of these matches were in connection with the 1978 World Cup qualification.

It was very early in the season when Malta travelled to Izmir to play against Turkey at the Olympic Stadium. The venue of the 1971 Mediterranean Games had a fearsome reputation among European teams. No team cherished an encounter with the Turks, especially in their own arena.

It was, therefore, an awesome experience for the Maltese players as 80,000 frantic fans shouted for their blood!

'Bexix, bexix....five, five' the crowd screamed in an attempt to lift the spirits of their team and cower the opposition. The Maltese battled bravely enough but at the end the Turks won by four goals to nil.

In the circumstances, however, the Maltese deserved much better. They were surely to be commended for their creditable showing.

Tunisia friendlies

In November 1976, the Malta FA accepted a request from the Tunisian FA to play a friendly match at the stadium.

In those days, Maltese football was still considered to be superior to that in North Africa.

The Tunisians, however, had made significant progress. Vincent 'Maxi' Magro opened the score for Malta but as the game wore on, the Tunisians took command of the proceedings.

The visitors were unlucky as they hit the woodwork three times before justice was finally done when Kanel equalised in the dying seconds of the game.

The following March, Malta played Tunisia in the return game at the Tunisian Olympic Stadium.

The home team were favourites to win but the Maltese rose to the occasion and managed to break the Tunisians' three-year unbeaten record. Raymond Xuereb scored the only goal in a very tense encounter.

On April 2, 1977, Malta hosted East Germany at home in another World Cup qualifier. The Germans were here with victory as their only objective.

The Maltese, on the other hand, were looking to keep the score as low as possible.

At the end, a goal by Streich in the 54th minute was all that separated the two teams but in the circumstances, both teams left the stadium happy.

Taking everything into consideration, season 1976-77 was a good one for the national team. Some commendable results were obtained and, on the whole, the team played very good football.

The only disappointment came in April when Malta suffered a 9-0 defeat to Austria in Salzburg. The Austrians were after a high-scoring victory after a hard-earned 1-0 victory in Malta in December 1976.

By contrast, Malta's only target was to keep the score within respectable proportions.

Now we know what usually happens in such circumstances. As long as the score is low, the team's spirit remains high but once the goals start flowing, the morale goes down and the game becomes a nightmare.

Unfortunately for Malta, Hans Krankl produced arguably his best performance on that occasion in Salzburg. The Austrian striker single-handedly destroyed Malta's defensive wall, scoring six goals in the process.