Five men of many talents

The photograph which accompanies this article today was taken on February 3, 1971 at the end of the memorable European Championship qualifier between Malta and England at the Empire Stadium.

England won 1-0 that day but after the jibes in the UK newspapers, for the Maltese this was a moral victory. The photo shows a happy scene in the Malta dressing room at the end of that encounter.

However, it was not so much the occasion but rather the people in the picture which tickled my memory cells. It is not often that five persons of such diverse football talents are captured together in one go.

Standing to the left, somewhat in the background, is the late Eddie Brooks.

Brooks spent more than 50 years in football administration, first with Sliema Wanderers and then for the MFA. He served Maltese football from 1961 right up to his death under presidents Henry Copperstone, Maurice DeCesare, Eugenio Bonello, Giuseppe Mifsud Bonnici, George Abela and Joe Mifsud.

The second figure which dominates much of the photograph is the portly Joseph Muscat. Born in Mdina, Dr Muscat was the foremost authority in sports medicine.

Always interested in sport, he turned his attention to the important task of promoting the issue in Malta. Trained at the famous CONI Institute in Rome, he soon became a household name among Maltese sportsmen who referred to him as the 'Sports Doctor'.

In 1970, Dr Muscat received international recognition when in the Athens International Congress he was elected 'Fellow of the International Federation of Sport Medicine'.

Many other honours and awards followed and throughout a long and successful career he enhanced his reputation by holding courses, delivering lectures to various associations and clubs, writing in newspapers and by publishing books on the subject.

In the centre of the photo is Joe Griffiths. Born in Cospicua but bred in Sliema, Griffiths's name is linked forever with that of Melita AFC. A great amateur player and clubman, he spent his entire career with the Amateurs, first as a player and then as club secretary.

The war interrupted his career and when football resumed in 1944, he only managed to play a handful of First Division matches for Melita. The visit of British coach George Duke prompted him to take up coaching. It was the start of another successful career for Griffiths who was also a talented cartoonist and journalist.

An early believer in organized coaching, he lobbied for a foreign tutor to hold courses in Malta. Later on he went to Loughborough College in England, attending successfully an FA coaching course.

He coached several clubs including Rabat Ajax, Sliema Wanderers and Hibernians. He became the first coach to be employed by the Malta FA and later served on the Technical Board and, on several occasions, as Director of the National Team.

For his services to the local game he was awarded the MFA's gold medal 'For Merit'. With others he helped to form the Malta Football Coaches Association, of which he was also honorary president. He ended his career after serving as chairman of the 'Football for All' committee at the Ministry of Sport.

To the left of Griffiths is Ronnie Cocks.

Cocks was one of the greatest wingers in the history of Maltese football. His long and glorious career with Sliema Wanderers, Ħamrun Spartans and Malta needs no introduction.

Last but not least, we have Leli Micallef.

Micallef was a giant in more ways than one. He was a master in the penalty area. Micallef first started as a striker but later on he was pulled back into defence where he became one of the best central defenders of his era.

Micallef was one of the most popular players of the 1960s and 1970s and then, after he hung up his boots, he gave sterling service to the game in Malta where it is most needed, that is in the youth sector.