Farrugia deserves Malta chance, says Bogdanovic

Malta forward Daniel Bogdanovic is convinced that Ray Farrugia has the right credentials to coach the senior national team on the back of his achievements with the U-21s.

After guiding the Malta U-21 team to a string of positive results between 1998 and 2002, Farrugia is emulating that success in his second spell as his young guns, who take on Sweden at the Hibs Stadium on Tuesday, have gained five points from their opening six 2013 U-21 Championship qualifiers.

Bogdanovic, who completed a move to Blackpool on the last day of the August transfer window, believes that the MFA should consider the progress of the Malta U-21s in their on-going search for candidates to succeed John Buttigieg as national coach.

“In my opinion, the results achieved by Malta U-21 should be taken into account,” Bogdanovic replied when asked to give his views on the search for the new Malta coach.

“I’ve read that the MFA want to bring a foreign coach and to change the mentality of Maltese football in the long term, I think we need the influence of overseas coaches.

“However, I believe that the Malta U-21 coach deserves a chance. Ray Farrugia has already spent several years working for the Malta FA and the bottom line is that he has always delivered.

“Football is all about results at the end of the day and coaches and players are judged by their performances. This is why I believe that he should be considered for the Malta job.

“The final decision lies with the MFA and they know what’s best for the team. I’m confident that the administration will make the right choice.

“Norman Darmanin Demajo (MFA president) and Bjorn Vassallo (CEO) are doing their best to improve Maltese football. I must say that I was very pleased to hear that the Malta FA had stepped up its efforts to help young Maltese players join foreign clubs.

“This is a very positive move. The new administration has a clear vision on the way forward. From my side, I’m prepared to do my best to help promising players move to overseas clubs.”

Bogdanovic was not taken aback by the Malta FA’s decision to call time on Buttigieg’s tenure as he voiced his own misgivings about the man-management skills of the former national coach. “It’s not nice when people lose their jobs,” Bogdanovic said.

“Having said that, I think that John Buttigieg’s approach left a lot to be desired. Football-wise, I give him credit because he always encouraged us to go forward whereas under some of the previous coaches, Malta often resorted to the long ball game.

“It’s his communication, or rather the lack of it, that annoyed me.

“I’m very disappointed with the way he treated me, in particular. True, I played a lot of games under Buttigieg but that’s not the issue. He preferred to communicate by email and hardly spoke to me whenever I joined the squad.

“In August, I asked him to give me a day off as I needed to travel to England to sign for Blackpool. I returned to Malta the next day, meaning that I was here three days before the Croatia game but I was dropped from the squad.”

Bogdanovic also criticised Buttigieg’s handling of the foreign-based players.

“I believe that the professional players should be in the Malta’s first XI,” Bogdanovic claimed.

“The foreign-based players do a lot of sacrifices. Football is our job. I can’t understand how players like Luke Dimech, who is doing very well with AEK Larnaca, and Etienne Barbara, who has been in great form with his US club (Carolina Railhawks), were overlooked. And Andrè Schembri (of Panionios) was out of the first team for the last qualifier against Israel.

“It’s not like Malta has 30 players with foreign clubs, our pool is restricted. Had Buttigieg closed one eye that one player had dyed his hair or whatever, he could have saved his job.

“In football, results only come if you use your best players. If coaches don’t field their strongest teams, their chances of success are not the same.”

In reaffirming his willingness to play for the national side, Bogdanovic revealed that he’s been donating his appearance money to charity.

“Malta, the national team, means a lot to me,” Bogdanovic said.

“I was only a teenager when I moved to Malta and my family, my wife and children, are Maltese. I’m proud to play for Malta. When I walk onto the pitch before an international game, I feel like I’m going for a battle not a football match.

“Financial matters are irrelevant to me as far as the national team is concerned. I’m only thinking about doing my best to achieve something for my country.

“In the last few years, every cheque I received from the Malta FA has gone to charity.”

The 31-year-old forward will soon launch a new website, www.danielbogdanovic.com, with the aim of increasing his contribution to charity. Bogdanovic’s idea is to encourage people to donate £1 to a charity of his choice. His website will promote a different foundation every three months.

All proceeds from the online sale of football memorabilia will also go to charity.