Floriana’s opponents in the 1975-76 UEFA Champions Cup were none other than the famous Hajduk Split, of Yugoslavia.

In those days, memories were still fresh in the minds of our old-timers of the great Hajduk teams that had thrilled the local fans in the pre-war era of Maltese football.

This was Hajduk’s fourth visit to the islands. They played Floriana on September 17, 1975.

Flashbacks of past encounters were revived when the visitors produced some of the best football seen at the stadium for many a season.

However, despite their brilliant play, Hajduk only scored once in the first period.

Then, five minutes into the second half, Surjak scored the second and three minutes later Buljan made it 3-0.

It was now all Hajduk as they went about to give Floriana a football lesson. Five-nil was the final score but with a little bit more luck Hajduk could have easily doubled their tally.

In Yugoslavia, Floriana played their usual defensive game as Hajduk Split, assured of their place in the second round, rested most of their regulars.

This gave the Greens the chance to keep the result down to a ‘respectable’ 3-0 scoreline.

In the UEFA Cup that season, Sliema Wanderers played the first leg against Sporting Lisbon on September 24, 1975.

The Portuguese side were widely known in Malta and memories were still fresh of the 4-0 drubbing they had handed Floriana a few years earlier.

A sizeable crowd attended the match and they were not disappointed.

Sliema played a fine game and, despite losing 2-1, they deserved a better fate.

The Wanderers dictated play from the first kick of the ball. They dominated midfield and after only 13 minutes, Richard Aquilina released Loporto but the latter hit over the Sporting Lisbon goal from an inviting position.

Luck, however, favoured Sporting who, much against the run of play, took the lead. Marinho advanced on the left and beat keeper Charlie Sciberras with a shot from an angle.

Sliema hit back immediately and a low cross by Bajada was intercepted by Loporto who saw his well-aimed shot blocked in time by a Sporting defender.

In the second period the Wanderers continued to dominate the proceedings.

Time and again they went close to an equaliser but somehow the Sporting Lisbon defence managed to clear the danger. The Blues, however, were not to be denied on 66 minutes.

Eric Schembri beat two defenders before passing to David Azzopardi who hammered the ball home past the bewildered goalkeeper.

Heartened by Azzopardi’s goal, Sliema increased the pressure.

Four minutes later they could have scored again but Fabri’s shot just missed the target.

Only seven minutes were left for the end of the game when Loporto found himself in an ideal position to put Sliema in front but he blasted the ball off target.

Sliema paid dearly for that miss because a minute from time Fraguito crossed into the Blues’ penalty area and Fernandes hit home with a volley.

In Lisbon, Sliema continued with the good work. They lost 3-1 but, considering the level of their opponents, this could be regarded as an-other satisfactory result for them.

Hungarian test

The other Maltese team playing in Europe that season were Valletta. They played the first leg of the Cup Winners’ Cup in the sticky heat of the west Hungarian town of Szombathely against Haladas.

The crowd of 20,000 spectators roared its approval as their team surged forward into battle.

A taste of things to come arrived after only three minutes when Farcas’s shot scraped the bar.

Haladas then scored their first goal but Valletta managed to stem the tide up to the half-time whistle. A minute after the break, however, the dam burst.

Fedor placed the ball in the City net after his shot had rebounded off the goalkeeper. After that, the Hungarian machine kept scoring regularly for them to win 7-0.

The return match at the Gżira Stadium was a different story as everyone expected another Haladas massacre.

Valletta, however, had other ideas and, playing a cautious game, they held the Hungarians to a respectable 1-1 draw.

The depleted Valletta defence, with regulars Ciantar, Borg and Galea all missing, was good enough to keep the Hungarians at bay for long stretches.

Haladas grabbed the lead just before half-time when Kereki hit the upright before the ball ended into the net. However, 10 minutes into the second period, Tony Giglio hit in a grounder past keeper Bekei.

This goal spurred Valletta to further efforts but their enthusiasm was not enough to obtain a prestigious victory.

Scene from the UEFA Cup game between Sliema Wanderers and Sporting Lisbon in 1975.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.