Alfred Debono only made a handful of appearances for the national team despite his success with Floriana.

Alfred Debono’s best trait as a player was his clean and steady style of play.

Quite unassuming, he gave his opponents a false impression. Beneath the calm and unruffled exterior, lay a dormant volcano which made him one of the toughest defenders of his era.

Debono was born on October 11, 1945. He started playing football at St Aloysius College where he already showed signs of a successful career in football.

In 1960, he joined Melita FC as a minor player and was immediately drafted into the Third Division team.

Settling quickly in the right-back position, Debono helped Melita win the Third Division championship in 1961-62. The following season Melita continued on the road to success, winning promotion to the First Division after a long absence.

Melita were relegated after only one season, but Debono’s performances soon attracted the interest of other clubs. From St Julian’s to Sliema was only a stone’s throw away and at the start of the 1964-65 season he moved to Sliema Wanderers.

Debono made his debut for the Blues on October 31, 1964 in a 1-0 victory over Valletta, taking the place of Robbie Buttigieg who was nursing an injury.

He kept his place in the side for the first seven matches of the season but when Buttigieg returned, Debono had to make way for the Sliema skipper.

Unfortunately for Debono, and as it turned out for the Wanderers, he did not regain his place and left Sliema to join Floriana the next season.

His short stay at the Wanderers, however, had its good points because it gave him his first of four championship medals.

Debono’s stint at Floriana was much longer and certainly more successful. During his first year, he won an FA Trophy medal and went on to add 10 major honours before he retired.

Midway through the 1966-67 season, Floriana found themselves in a difficult position when their regular centre-half, Edward Azzopardi, left the club to join Hibernians.

English coach Ted Philips handed veteran Tony Cauchi the no.5 jersey. Cauchi applied all his experience in his new role but by now he was nearing the end of his long and successful career and it was clear that Floriana needed someone to fill the position on a more permanent basis.

So, at the start of the new season, the club’s directors decided to deploy Debono as central defender.

It was a shrewd move that reaped rich dividends for Floriana. Debono gave the Greens a more solid look in defence and this was reflected in the way they dominated the 1967-68 season.

Coached by Lolly Borg and led on the field by Debono, the Greens were way ahead of the other teams. They won their 20th championship in style and Debono celebrated the occasion by winning the coveted Footballer of the Year award.

Underrated

An inspirational captain, Debono led Floriana through one of the richest periods in the club’s history. He was, however, one of the most underrated players of his era and was continually overlooked by the national team selectors. In fact, he was only picked three times to play for his country.

Debono’s consistency was second only to his great sportsmanship and between 1965 and 1974 he hardly missed a game for Floriana. In 1972-73 he led the Greens to another league title and a victory in the Independence Cup.

It was the ideal time for him to hang up his boots and although he could have continued for few more seasons, he decided to retire.

His last game in the green jersey of Floriana was on October 3, 1973 in the Champions Cup encounter against FC Bruges at the Empire Stadium.

Sadly, the old stadium had lost another of its great protagonists.