Fabrizio Miccoli is in line to make his first appearance for Birkirkara in the first leg of their Europa League first qualifying round tie against Armenia’s Ulisses FC on Thursday as the Italian striker has already left a very positive impression in training since completing his move to the FA Trophy winners last week.
As UEFA regulations allow clubs taking part in European competitions to add one player to the official squad list up to 24 hours before kick-off, Birkirkara are widely expected to hand that slot to Miccoli.
Fitness-wise, Miccoli is probably lagging behind his new team-mates, given that he signed for Birkirkara after their pre-season training camp in Roccaporena.
But it is believed that the former Juventus and Palermo striker has already done enough in practice to convince coach Giovanni Tedesco to include him in the squad for Thursday’s home encounter with Ulisses FC at the Hibernians Stadium.
Sources told Times of Malta that Miccoli, who turned 36 on Saturday, has shown flashes of brilliance in training, much to the delight of Tedesco who was instrumental in persuading the former Italy international to postpone his retirement in order to join him at Birkirkara.
Tedesco and Miccoli played together at Perugia and Palermo.
Slovenian striker Vito Plut, who hit 12 goals for Floriana in the Premier League last season, has also been reunited with Tedesco after penning a three-year deal with Birkirkara.
The other confirmed foreign players in Birkirkara’s squad for their Europa League games against Ulisses FC are defenders Nikola Vukanac, from Serbia, and Argentine Mauricio Mazzetti, and Brazilian striker Liliu.
Shola Shodiya Haruna is still contracted to Birkirkara but the Nigerian striker is recovering from a knee operation.
Tedesco, who last season guided Floriana to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League, is still running the rule over Adama Traore but the indications are that the Mali-born midfielder will play no part in Birkirkara’s Europa League matches.
Young striker Edin Murga, who was born in Italy and also holds a Bosnian passport, is likely to be offered a contract by Birkirkara who have yet to make a decision on whether to retain Brazilian midfielder Walker Taianan.
Birkirkara had also reportedly made an approach to sign Brazilians Igor Coronado and Emerson Marcelina but discussions with Floriana failed to lead to an agreement.
The winner of the Birkirkara-Ulisses tie will set up a potentially lucrative match against West Ham United as the English Premier League side are widely tipped to ease past Andorra’s Lusitans in the first qualifying round of the Europa League.