Big crowd will motivate our players, says Fitzel

Much of the talk in the lead-up to Malta's eagerly-awaited Euro 2008 Group C qualifier against Turkey has been on the marketing-tinged parallelism between the Great Siege and today's football match.

In 1565, our ancestors showed remarkable resilience in repelling wave after wave of attacks by the Ottoman Empire fleet.

While the link between today's Euro 2008 fixture and the Great Siege smacks of hyperbole, our elite footballers would do well to derive inspiration from that glorious chapter in our country's rich history as they gear up for another daunting challenge, football-wise of course, against a strong Turkey team this evening (kick-off 7.30 p.m.).

Elevated to the top bracket of European football nations on the back of their significant progress in the last decade, Turkey have to be regarded as favourites to prevail in their encounter with 'little' Malta.

A meagre return of one point from their last two qualifiers - a 3-2 defeat in Bosnia and a 2-2 draw against Norway, has multiplied the pressure on Turkey to beat Malta.

Nevertheless, Turkey's lofty reputation and their win-at-all-costs situation have done little to dampen the spirits of the Maltese fans who, excited by the prospect of seeing our team lock horns with the Turks on Victory Day, are expected to pack the stands of the National Stadium today.

Commendable showings and results by Malta in recent home qualifiers, most notably in the famous 2-1 victory over Hungary and the narrow 1-0 defeat to Greece, have also contributed towards enhancing the fans' feel-good factor. The Maltese players are well aware of the soaring expectations among home fans but the prospect of taking on the Turks in front of a bumper crowd doesn't scare coach Dusan Fitzel.

"A large crowd will motivate the players," Fitzel told The Times.

"There have been several occasions in the past when the Maltese team performed better in front of big crowds. A good attendance at the stadium has a positive effect on the players, especially at a home match."

Almost a year ago to date, Malta went down 2-0 to Turkey in Frankfurt. Prior to that 'away' qualifier, Fitzel had labelled the Turks as the Brazil of Europe.

The Slovakian-born mentor, who will remain in charge of the national team until the end of the qualifying round for the World Cup 2010, has not changed his opinion.

"I still consider Turkey as the Brazil of Europe because they have skilful players who like to play flowing football," Fitzel remarked.

"Turkey's unsatisfactory position in the standings has made our task more difficult. I think we would have had a better chance of gaining something from this match if Turkey had more points but after taking just one point from their last two games, they cannot afford to lose more ground."

Greece are top of Group C with 18 points, five more than Bosnia, Turkey and Norway who have 13. Hungary have six points from seven matches, two more than Malta who lead bottom-placed Moldova by two points.

Fitzel is expected to keep faith with the core of players who have figured regularly in this Euro 2008 Group C qualifying trek.

"The formation will be more or less the same as in previous qualifiers," Fitzel commented. "Over the last few months, I expected the other players in the squad to step up their challenge for a first-team place but I haven't been impressed by their efforts.

"There are players who are disappointed at being dropped from the 18-man squad but they have to realise that they need to do more to be rewarded. My squad selection is dictated by the commitment and performance of the players over a long period of time, not just in the days before an international match."

Coventry City striker Michael Mifsud, Malta's most feared player, has been closely monitored by Malta FA doctor David Attard over the last three days after he complained of abdominal pain in midweek.

Fitzel is hopeful that Mifsud will be fully fit to lead Malta's attack today alongside Andrè Schembri who joined up with his international team-mates on Thursday.

Schembri, who is on a one-season loan deal with German club Eintracht Braunschweig, has been mostly deployed as an adjunct striker by his new team and that might induce Fitzel to encourage the former Marsaxlokk forward and Mifsud to swap positions during the game.

In midfield, captain Gilbert Agius, who will be making his 103rd appearance for Malta, and Jamie Pace are definites to occupy the two central roles with Roderick Briffa and Ivan Woods likely to get Fitzel's nod to play on the wings.

The experienced duo of Brian Said and Luke Dimech will man Malta's barricades in the centre of defence and Kenneth Scicluna is set to be confirmed at right-back.

Left-back dilemma

There's a question mark over who Fitzel will pick at left-back after Ian Azzopardi and Steve Wellman picked up slight injuries in training this week. Both defenders have been included in the squad but Fitzel was expected to wait until yesterday evening's final training session before deciding who to play at left-back.

Hibs' Mario Muscat is the favourite to guard Malta's goal.

Malta's build-up for today's encounter featured a week-long training camp in Slovakia and a friendly match away to Albania.

Asked if the 3-0 loss to Albania has had any effect on the players' morale, Fitzel replied: "I cannot go through the match against Albania again because our performance was so poor.

"I have told the players that they cannot compete in international football if they think that they can perform like they do in the local league.

"For Malta to have a chance of gaining a good result, the players must press their opponents non-stop. Maltese players need to bring more aggression to their game.

"We certainly need to improve our performance from the Albania game by 100 per cent if we want to offer Turkey a stern challenge."