Nenu Mizzi excels for St George’s

[attach id="259849" size="medium"]Nenu Mizzi, St George’s.[/attach]

Nenu Mizzi was born in Cospicua on November 12, 1930.

Like many other youngsters of his generation, Mizzi did not have much to occupy his spare time.

The only hobby boys had in those days was football, and Mizzi and his friends spent their days kicking a ball from morning to night in the streets and the wide open spaces on the fringes of the old city.

It was a rough but effective way to learn how to control and kick a ball and, from these primitive conditions, many fine footballers emerged.

At the age of 15, Mizzi joined his hometown club, St George’s FC. His skills were evident and he was immediately drafted into the minors’ team which, incidentally, was named Florid Lions.

Mizzi quickly developed into a clever and skilful inside-forward and not before long, he was promoted to the third and second division teams.

By 1949-50, when he was only 19 years old, he was ready to play in St George’s first team. He made his first division debut in the game against Floriana but the occasion was not a happy event for the youngster as the Saints were beaten 5-0 by the league leaders. The Greens had a great team in those days, winning the league and cup double that season.

Despite his difficult debut, Mizzi soon settled down and it was not long before he became a popular figure with the Saints’ supporters. The 1950s, however, were turbulent years for the Cospicua club from which it never really recovered.

Between 1949 and 1959, the Saints were relegated four times.

During this period, St George’s won the second division championship in 1953-54, 1956-57 and 1958-59. They also won the second division cup in 1958-59. Mizzi featured prominently in these successes.

Between 1959 and 1961, the Saints enjoyed an uninterrupted stay in the first division and it was during this period that Mizzi showed his true worth, to the point that Sliema Wanderers made a bid to sign him.

Mizzi was happy with St George’s but the temptation of joining a club with the reputation of the Wanderers was too much to resist.

He told the Saints’ committee that he wanted to join the Blues but they refused to let him go and eventually Sliema lost interest.

It was ironic that the following season, St George’s agreed to let Eddie Mizzi join Sliema and, a few years later, they sold their great prospect Freddie Delia to Hibernians.

Despite being denied the chance to join the more ambitious Sliema, Mizzi remained loyal to St George’s and kept on playing until 1964 when he finally retired from the game.

In all, Mizzi played 109 games for St George’s in the first division, scoring 20 goals. He also played a good number of league matches in the second division.

His best moment was perhaps the 1959 Christmas Tourney match against AK Grazer when the Saints, against all expectations, beat the Austrians 1-0 with a penalty goal scored by Eddie Mizzi.

Nenu Mizzi literally owed his life to football. In September 1961, he was due to travel with the Royal Engineers to Libya but St George’s asked the Army authorities to give him permission to play in the season’s opening game against Floriana.

Mizzi missed the trip and his life was saved as the plane carrying the Engineers crashed on its way back to Malta from Libya, killing most of the soldiers aboard.

It was a traumatic experience which left its mark on Mizzi but at least he could thank God and football for rescuing his life.