Mario Azzopardi helped Valletta win several honours during the fifties.

Mario Azzopardi was born in Rabat on December 29, 1940 in the midst of a world war but when he was only one-year-old, his family moved to Valletta.

Azzopardi, therefore, kicked his first ball in the area around St Paul Street and St Ursula Street.

It was not long before he was playing football for the Boys Primary School side and for Valletta Catholic Action team.

As he grew older, Azzopardi joined amateur clubs Rovers United and Floriana Lions and from there, on the initiative of Joseph Salinos, Ic-Chief, and Leli Attard he made the natural move to the Valletta FC minors team.

In 1956, he made his first-team debut for Valletta in the league game against Birkirkara.

Azzopardi was still 15 but he soon established himself in the team and gained a reputation as a lethal goal-scorer.

He played for Valletta at all levels and it was normal for him to turn out for the first team, the Under-21s and the minors during the same week.

Azzopardi modelled himself on his schoolboy idol, the great Salvinu Schembri. He studied the style of his mentor and his ambition was to play alongside the old maestro in the same Valletta team.

His dream, however, was not fulfilled because by the time Azzopardi made his debut for Valletta, Schembri had already left to join Sliema Wanderers.

In the City first team, however, Azzopardi met another great player – Josie Urpani.

Urpani was a constant inspiration for the youngster with his clever inside-forward play and knack of scoring vital goals.

Above all, Azzopardi was impressed by Urpani’s modesty and humility which were a sign of a truly great player.

A prolific scorer himself, Azzopardi notched in a superb total of 60 goals in just 64 league matches. He was league top-scorer twice.

This record surely qualifies him as one of the greatest scorers of all time in our league.

In 1959-60, Azzopardi led the scorers’ list with 12 goals and in 1962-63 he shared the award with Valletta team-mate Frankie Zammit after both scored 20 goals.

Azzopardi donned the Valletta shirt for eight seasons between 1956 and 1962, winning the championship three times and the FA Trophy and Cassar Cup once.

He won his first championship medal in 1958-59 but his best season was undoubtedly 1959-60 when he helped Valletta win the league and cup double for the first time in the club’s history.

In the FA Trophy final, Valletta met their eternal rivals Floriana.

FA Trophy triumph

Already crowned champions, the Citizens desperately wanted to beat the Greens to win the elusive FA Trophy for the first time.

Floriana, however, dominated the first half and it seemed that Valletta were to miss out on winning the KO competition.

But Azzopardi had other ideas as he opened the scoring and set his team on the path to victory.

Valletta won the game 3-0 with another goal from Azzopardi and one from Zammit.

The sky seemed to be the limit for this great goal-scorer but in 1963 Azzopardi decided to leave for Australia where he played for Melita Eagles.

In Australia, he was selected to play for the Sydney XI in a prestigious friendly against England’s Derby County.

In 1969, Azzopardi returned to Malta and rejoined Valletta. However, after a bad fall in the friendly against Tottenham Hotspur, he decided to call it a day.

In 1970, he was persuaded to come out of retirement and sign for Luqa St Andrew’s in the Second Division.

However, after a couple of games, his old injury began to give him trouble and he decided to retire for good.