Charlie Schembri

February 2015 was not a happy one for old-timers like myself.

Referee Joe Cassar Naudi, one of the greatest personalities in the history of local football, passed away in February. His death was a great loss but February has also taken from us a renowned player from the 1950s and 1960s era – Charlie Schembri.

Schembri, ‘Il-Kinnie’, was born in 1937 in Paola. He started his career in the Third Division with Little Rainbows in the early fifties. Those were the good old days of the old Paola venue and Schembri was certainly one of the great protagonists of that era.

A fast and bustling centre-forward, he delighted the Schreiber crowds with his dangerous forays into the penalty areas and his uncanny knack of scoring vital goals.

As a young man, I used to spend my weekends at the Schreiber Sports Ground from dawn to dusk, watching those interesting matches from the Third Division League which attracted thousands of supporters from all over the island.

Schembri was one of our heroes. He was not the only one but he was surely one of the best.

In those days, Little Rainbows were a sort of nursery club for Hibernians.

Many Hibs’ players started with the Tarxien club before moving to Paola. It was, therefore, inevitable that Schembri would move to Hibs and in the summer of 1955 he signed on the dotted line for the senior side.

Schembri made his debut for Hibernians on October 9, 1955 in the first league match of the season against Floriana. He could not have had a better start to his career, scoring one of the two goals with which Hibernians beat the Greens.

That was no mean feat in those days. Floriana were the team to beat and victories against them never came easily for Hibs.

That season, Schembri was ever-present in the team and ended the campaign with four goals. He stayed with Hibs until 1962.

This was the first glorious period in the history of the Paola club. After many years of trying, the Paolites finally won the championship for the first time in 1961 and Schembri was an important member of that memorable team.

The next year Hibs took part for the first time in the European Cup and they crowned another great season with victories in the FA Trophy and Cassar Cup. Once again, Schembri was a vital cog in that side.

In all, Schembri spent seven seasons with Hibernians during which he played 74 matches and scored 18 goals.

Then, in 1962, he felt that he needed a change and at his request he was transferred to Valletta.

For some reason, the move did not work out and Schembri only figured in two league games for the Citizens, just enough to earn him another championship medal.

After that season, Schembri retired but he was never forgotten by the Hibs supporters as reflected by the big crowd of mourning supporters that filled the Paola church for his funeral.