Steely Agius aims for bold Malta showing in Latvia

Andrei Agius’s steely determination has not only enabled him to achieve personal goals, it has also had a galvanising impact on the national team’s defence.

Since bursting to prominence as a gifted and fearless defender, Agius has established himself as an automatic choice, racking up 23 caps in the last three years.

In his last international outing, the 25-year-old underlined his importance for the national team with another indefatigable performance as Malta broke their duck in Euro 2012 qualifying Group F following a 1-1 draw at home to Georgia.

As the squad jetted into Riga yesterday ahead of tomorrow’s qualifier against Latvia, Agius is hopeful that Malta will carry on where they left off against Georgia.

“We must try to build on our performance against Georgia and to do that, we must show the same focus and determination,” Agius told The Times.

“Latvia is our last away test and our challenge is to replicate the confident display we produced in our last match.

“Our performances away have not been as good as those at home but this is a limit we should try to overcome.”

Agius believes that Malta can look forward to their final qualifiers with renewed confidence.

“The atmosphere is positive,” he observed.

“The situation is better now that we have won our first point, it has boosted our morale.”

Malta lost 2-0 to Latvia at home but the result provided a rather distorted picture of the game as our national team held the initiative for long stretches and created several chances to level matters before conceding a second goal late on.

“Our match against Latvia was good, possibly one of our best in this group,” Agius said.

“Although over a year has passed, I think that our memories of that qualifier could give us added motivation because we didn’t deserve to lose that one.”

Jonathan Caruana has been Agius’s regular partner in central defence since their days with the Malta U-21 team but a hamstring injury has put paid to the Valletta man’s hopes of playing in Riga.

“Jonathan and I have been playing along each other for various years now,” Agius said.

“We know each other inside out but his absence gives another player the chance to come into the team and show his qualities.”

Bar a short spell with Birkirkara in the second half of last season, Agius has been plying his trade abroad since the age of 16 when he left to join the youth squad of Serbian club Zemun.

Agius was courted by a number of Maltese clubs, including champions Valletta and Birkirkara, last summer but he opted to sign for AS Latina Calcio in Serie C1.

The move represented a step-up for Agius as, in the previous two seasons, he had been on the books of AS Melfi who play in the fourth tier of the Italian game.

“I’m happy to have joined Latina,” Agius said.

“The level of football in Serie C is higher as the standards in the lower leagues in Italy have diminished in recent years, mostly for lack of funds.

“Latina have a competitive team and they have two strong defenders but I’m never scared of new challenges. So, I’m working hard to gain a place in the team.”

Turning his attention back to the group qualifier, Agius declared himself cautiously upbeat about Malta’s chances.

“I’m always optimistic because I’m a positive person by nature,” Agius said.

“That said, we always have to look ahead. This is going to be another difficult game but there is no reason for us to be disheartened.”

A rousing showing in Riga could have multiple benefits for Malta as, besides strengthening the players’ confidence ahead of their concluding Euro 2012 qualifier against Israel, it would also encourage more people to come to the National Stadium on Tuesday evening.

“A good result against Latvia would help to attract a bigger crowd against Israel,” Agius said.

Meanwhile, the Malta squad, headed by coach John Buttigieg, landed in Riga yesterday afternoon after a long journey that featured a stop-over in Vienna.

After checking into the Hotel Radisson Blu Daugava, the players were given time to rest.

This evening, Malta will train at the Skonto Stadium, the venue of tomorrow’s qualifier.