Today marks the 33rd anniversary of Malta's humiliating 12-1 defeat against Spain, in what remains one of the lowest points in local footballing history. 

The score at the end of the 1984 European Championship qualifier is still Malta's biggest-ever defeat in an official fixture, and the match is so notorious that it has its own Wikipedia page.

The headline in Spanish sports daily As said it all.

Malta were bottom of their qualifying group and had no hope of qualifying when they stepped on the turf at Seville's Benito Villamarín stadium on December 21, 1983. 

The 18,000-odd Spanish fans who had braved the cold were not exactly brimming with hope either. With just this final game to play, Spain had to beat Malta by at least 11 goals if they were to qualify for the following year's European Championship.

Despite an opening goal within 15 minutes, it seemed an impossible task for the Spaniards. Then Malta striker Silvio Demanuele levelled the score at 1-1 less than 10 minutes later, and locals cursed their luck and braced themselves for a summer without international football. At half-time the score was 3-1. 

But in an astonishing second-half flurry, Spain managed to put nine goals past hapless keeper John Bonello, with the crucial 12th goal two minutes from time sending the entire Spanish nation into raptures - and cementing Malta's reputation as a footballing minnow for the decades to come. 

The incredible result prompted many raised eyebrows, although no impropriety was ever proven.  

And while local football historians are not overly keen to relive those 90 minutes, the match has become part of Spanish football folklore, with a museum dedicated to the Spanish national team hosting several exhibits related to the game.

The gloves worn by Spanish keeper Paco Buyo during the match are on display at the Spanish nation team museum in Madrid. Photo: www.sefutbol.com