Balzan’s superb start to the season has gone some way towards justifying their billing as title contenders but coach Oliver Spiteri has poured cold water on suggestions that his team are now surefire favourites to win their maiden championship.
With seven games played, Balzan are the only unbeaten side in the BOV Premier League with six wins and one draw, establishing an early six-point lead at the top in the process.
“We have enjoyed a very positive start,” Spiteri told Times of Malta.
“The players we signed in the summer have fitted into the squad well and the dressing room is very united.
“Things are looking good but we know that there is a long way to go and our journey will not always be rosy.”
Bankrolled by Australian-based president Anton Tagliaferro, Balzan have been steadily reinforcing their squad over the past three years with the aim of boosting their prospects of challenging for the title.
After finishing fourth in the league and reaching the final of the FA Trophy last season, where they lost to Sliema Wanderers on penalties, Balzan again delved into the transfer market this summer, recruiting a host of players, the likes of Brazilian defender Bruno, Tunisian winger Abdelkarim Nafti and Italian striker Matteo Piciollo, to enhance the depth of their squad.
“Club president Anton Tagliaferro has invested a lot in this club,” Spiteri said.
“The current squad has been built over the past two-and-a-half years and Tagliaferro is the mastermind of this project. He believes that these investments will reap the desired rewards and, every year, we are getting stronger as a team.
“While we believe in our potential, we are also aware that the difference between us and the other title hopefuls is not as big as the table might suggest at present.
“Needless to say that our bright start has further heightened expectations about our title chances but it’s up to us to deal with this situation.”
Heading into the international break, Balzan have good reason to be upbeat after tightening their grip on top spot with a routine 3-0 win over St Andrew’s while the teams behind them, namely Birkirkara, Hibernians and champions Valletta, all dropped points.
Difficult league
In Spiteri’s mind, the latest results only serve to underline the difficulty of this year’s top-flight championship.
“It’s a very tough league,” the Balzan coach said.
“Last week’s results show that most of the teams are on a par. There are no weak sides in the Premier League this season.
“It depends on us at the end of the day. We just need to focus on ourselves and try to improve our level of performance.
“And what you do during the week is crucial because if you don’t prepare well, you will encounter problems on matchday.”
While Balzan have been the stand-out team in this early phase of the season, the likes of Valletta, Birkirkara and Hibernians have had their fair share of ups and downs. Their early-season struggles have fuelled suggestions that they might find it hard to keep the pace with Balzan but Spiteri expects the traditional heavyweights to up their title challenge as the season moves on.
“There are four to five teams that are well-equipped to challenge for the top positions,” Spiteri said.
“These teams will battle it out for the European spots but you can’t discard the others. I mean we have already had several games where unfancied teams had the better of more-quoted opponents.”
Balzan boast a pool of talented foreigners, especially in attack with the likes of Nafti and Piciollo joining Bojan Kaljevic and Alan Da Silva Souza, but they also have a nucleus of strong Maltese players.
Three of them, midfielder Paul Fenech, who turned in another man-of-the-match display in the St Andrew’s victory, and forwards Alfred Effiong and Lydon Micallef have been named in Malta coach Pietro Ghedin’s provisional squad for the 2018 World Cup away qualifiers against England this Saturday and Lithuania today week.
Spiteri would not be drawn into commenting on Ghedin’s selection but stressed that being part of the national squad is a source of pride not only for the players but also the coach and their club.
“We have three players in the national squad but those choices are made by the national coach,” Spiteri said.
“Every player dreams of wearing the national team’s shirt. Being part of the national squad is a source of motivation not only for the players but also the club coach and club administration.”