Salvu Troisi at the peak of his career.

There were three of them and they came from Msida… Ġużi, Anthony and Salvu.

The surname Troisi is quite rare in Malta but these three stalwarts from the early years of football in our country really deserve to be given homage.

The least known of the three brothers was Ġużi who, in his short career, played for the three Msida clubs, St Joseph’s United, Msida Rangers and Msida United.

Ġużi’s main distinction was that he turned out for St Joseph’s in the first ever Maltese football league way back in season 1909-10.

Anthony Troisi was the youngest of the three brothers.

His career took off in 1910, when he featured for Msida United in the first ever Maltese Cup competition, and came to end in 1920 when he donned the Floriana shirt.

Anthony also played for Ħamrun Spartans and was selected in the MFA XI squad for prestigious friendlies against some of the best service teams of that era.

However, there is no doubt that the best known of the three brothers was the eldest, Salvu Troisi.

The word ‘great’ is used very loosely in football.

Many times it is used to describe quite ordinary players. This is especially true in Malta where truly great players can be counted on one’s fingers.

One player, however, who really deserved this superlative was Salvu Troisi.

Born in Birkirkara on April 23, 1892, Troisi started playing football with Msida United in 1908. He soon developed into one of the best inside-forwards of his generation. He was much in demand and many teams were after his services.

In 1909, Salvu Troisi played for St Joseph’s United of Msida in the newly-formed Civilian Football League.

His exploits soon caught the eye of Floriana FC and the following season, he joined the champions. With the Greens he was an instant success. He made his debut for the ‘Irish’ on November 6, 1910 against the Army Service Corps, at inside-right, taking the place of the great Salvu Samuel who was away from the island on duty for the Dockyard.

With Floriana, Troisi stayed for two seasons. In 1910-11 he was part of the team that won the first-ever Maltese Cup final.

Floriana beat Valletta United 2-0 at the old National Ground. The next season he helped the team to win its second consecutive championship.

At the end of the league competition, he returned to St Joseph United, forming part of the team that lost 0-3 to St George’s in the final of the Mile End Cup.

Between 1912 and 1919, Salvu Troisi played for the Spartans but he punctuated his stay at Ħamrun with visits to nearby Italy where he played for Napoli in the Italian league.

In 1916, he formed the club of Birkirkara United. During the First World War, he was also part of the famous KOMRM team.

Premature death

In season 1921-22, Salvu Troisi had a brief spell with St George’s before migrating to Tunis where he joined the local police force.

He died prematurely during the Spanish flu epidemic which claimed many lives in Europe.

It is unfortunate that the records during Salvu Troisi’s era are very sketchy.

This makes the career of this great player rather incomplete.

Nevertheless, the legendary figure of Salvu Troisi stands out as a symbol of the pre-World War One era of Maltese football, which is considered by many as the golden period of the game in our country.