Gilbert Agius’s emotional reaction as he left the field 66 minutes into Saturday’s clash with Hibs left many wondering whether the Valletta stalwart has decided to call time on his illustrious career at the end of this season.
We were under huge pressure to retain the title and there were people who thought that we weren’t going to make it
His eyes welled up as the 38-year-old acknowledged the crowd’s deafening applause before being hugged by coach Jesmond Zerafa and other members of the technical staff.
After the game, Agius left everyone guessing, telling journalists that he has yet to make a decision about his future.
“I’m 38 and I thank God that I’m still playing,” Agius said.
“Before this game, I decided that I wanted to enjoy the moment.
“I haven’t had any discussions with the committee and my immediate objective is to concentrate on the FA Trophy. I will consider my options after the end of the season.
“Today (Saturday) I had to salute the fans who turned out in force. The supporters have always been behind me.
“I thank all those who’ve helped me come this far. I want to thank all the Valletta presidents I’ve worked with, namely Joe Caruana Curran, Charles Camilleri and Victor Sciriha.
“The same goes to all the players who have been my team-mates.”
During his career, Agius, who collected his eighth league winner’s medal on Saturday, has been part of many successful City teams, including the famous sides that achieved a clean sweep of five and six honours respectively in seasons 1996-97 and 2000-01.
On paper, the current Valletta squad must rank as one of the most formidable in the history of the club, given that most of the players are established Malta internationals plus the quality of the foreigners.
The depth of Valletta’s resources made them sure favourites to retain the title but the downside to this was that it further augmented the pressure on the team to deliver amid heightened expectations.
“Last year, we won the league unbeaten and you can’t really better that,” Agius replied when asked if he felt that Valletta have been under greater pressure this season than they had in the past. “It’s hard enough to get to the top but staying there is even more difficult because the other teams are even more motivated to bring you down.
“Hibs have been strong challengers this season. They certainly have a valid squad and their advantage is that the players have been together longer than we have.
“Our game against Hibs in the first round of the Championship Pool was decisive. It was not easy as our task was further complicated by injuries to Ian Azzopardi and myself in the first half.
“I was delighted to score the goal that brought us level before half-time. In the second half, we were a bit apprehensive but my team-mates showed tremendous concentration and won the game.
“That was the turning point of our season. We were under huge pressure to retain the title and there were people who thought that we weren’t going to make it... we’ve done it as a team.
“Normally, at this time of the year, people start throwing names of potential candidates for the MFA player of the year award but this has not happened this season because there hasn’t been anyone in particular who has really stood out.
“I have my opinion on this (who deserves the award) but this situation shows that ours has been a collective effort.”
Agius’s comments were echoed by Zerafa.
Fielding a question about Valletta’s casual performance in the 2-1 defeat to Hibs on Saturday, the coach said: “During the week, we were also kind of celebrating in training because the mood was relaxed after securing the title.
“We had had this anger inside, this determination to succeed because our players were consistently criticised for not producing good football during the season.
“We’re a team that wins honours and the players have answered their critics. It’s the results that count.”