All eyes on City celebrations

The waiting is over. Valletta will rubberstamp their status as the undisputed kings of Maltese football this evening when they will be presented with the coveted BOV Premier League trophy at the end of their final league match against Tarxien Rainbows (4 p.m.).

An electric atmosphere is expected as thousands of Valletta fans will pour into the National Stadium to savour their team’s 20th title.

Famed for their colourful celebrations, the City faithful will be relishing the prospect of upholding their reputation as the most fervent supporters around by throwing a massive party at the stadium and in the capital later in the day.

Although Valletta have sealed the title with plenty to spare, this afternoon’s game can’t be described as a mere formality as the cham-pions are bidding to end their league season unbeaten.

Besides, the City players will be aware that a negative result in their final outing would cast a shadow over their celebrations.

“This match is very important for us,” Valletta left-back Ian Azzopardi told The Times.

“We want to preserve our unbeaten record. For us, this game is like the rest so we’re not approaching it with an air of over-confidence.

“The coach has been telling us not to get distracted by what’s going on around us during the match. We just want to focus on the game... we will have time to celebrate afterwards.”

Azzopardi, 28, is delighted to have won his first championship in his first season with Valletta, the club he joined from Sliema Wanderers last summer.

“I’m very happy, especially as this is my first Premier League title,” the unassuming Azzopardi said.

“It’s been a long time coming but I hope it’s the first of many.”

As a former Floriana player, Azzopardi knew he had to prove his worth in his first season with Valletta to win over the fans.

Like many before him, he struggled initially to cope with the burden of expectation but it didn’t take him long to adapt.

Regarded as one of the unsung heroes of the team, Azzopardi made the left-back position his own thanks to his consistently solid performances as the season progressed.

“On the whole, I think I’ve had a good season, one of the best in my career,” Azzopardi said.

“It was not easy at first because the environment at Valletta is different to that of the other clubs I’ve played for before but with the help of the players and coaches, I settled in quickly.

“I always look ahead. In this team, you have to give your 100 per cent in every training session and every game to keep your place because the competition is very strong.”

After missing out on the title in the previous two years despite being widely considered as the best team, Valletta were on a hiding to nothing this season.

“Valletta have the best support in Malta,” Azzopardi said.

“The expectations are always high because this is a club that is regularly fighting for the honours. The fans badly wanted us to win the league after failing to do so in the past two seasons.

“For the Valletta people, foot-ball is like religion.”

Azzopardi, who has three years remaining on his contract, singled out the 3-0 win over Floriana in the first round of the Cham-pionship Pool as the moment he really believed Valletta had the title in their grasp.

“When we beat Floriana 3-0, I was really optimistic that we would go on to claim the title because we had a sizeable lead at the top. I said to myself that we can’t fail after pulling clear of all the other teams.”

Meanwhile, Tarxien have no pressure going into today’s match as they have nothing to lose.

They are the underdogs but, with the FA Trophy semi-final against the same Valletta only a week away, Tarxien coach Noel Coleiro knows that a good result this afternoon would significantly boost the team’s morale.

Brazilian forward Sergio is out for Tarxien as he must serve a one-match ban.

Coleiro is unlikely to field Orosco Anonam and Gianluca Calabretta as both are on three yellow cards, meaning that another booking would rule them out of the semi-final. Defender Everton is doubtful.

Results so far: Valletta vs Tar-xien 5-2, 2-0, 1-0.