A study, carried out by sports psychologist Adele Muscat as part of her PhD degree, provides a fascinating insight into the challenges encountered by Maltese players when they join a foreign club.

Maltese players are often accused of lacking the willpower to make the grade abroad.

In spite of the long-held belief that the level of the national team can only improve if more Maltese players are exposed to professional football, only a handful have made a name for themselves in foreign leagues.

Carmel Busuttil had a successful spell with KRC Genk in Belgium between 1988 and 1994, Michael Mifsud’s popularity soared during his stint with English club Coventry City and, more recently, André Schembri had two excellent seasons with AC Omonia in Cyprus before sealing a move to German second division side FSV Frankfurt this summer.

While these players and a few others, including Malta defender Andrei Agius, who has been playing abroad since he was 16, have shown perseverance in mustering a myriad of challenges, others were less willing to make the sacrifices needed to thrive overseas.

Malta being a small country, not many up-and-coming players have the physical and technical attributes to cope with the rigours of professional football but other factors, like the laid-back attitude of the Maltese and homesickness, have only exacerbated the problem.

Leading sports psychologist Adele Muscat has delved into this subject as part of her PhD studies in the migration of players.

Muscat, who was roped in by the Malta FA to work with the Malta Under-17 squad before and during the UEFA U-17 Championship, staged here in May, has interviewed 12 Maltese footballers, past and present, who have played overseas.

Her paper, called ‘Uncomfortable journeys: Migratory experiences of elite level footballers’, sheds a compelling light on the challenges faced by Maltese players at foreign clubs.

Eight of the 12 players admitted to feeling homesick, especially in the early weeks and months of their overseas experiences.

“The first three months I couldn’t settle down... I used to feel very homesick. But after six months I kind of started settling down a bit... I started making a lot of friends and started getting used to the language but also I was spending a lot of time on my own... sometimes we used to have two days off, I wouldn’t go out of the house, I was so homesick,” one of the players said.

Some of the interviewees also found the changing-room dynamics at foreign clubs intimidating.

“In England, the mentality is very much... deal with most of it yourself,” one of the players said.

“If you’re not particularly in the right frame of mind, you’d be an easy target,” he added of the dressing-room banter.

One player who went abroad at a young age has come to regret his decision to return.

“I went there at a young age and I didn’t know what being a teenager in Malta was about,” he said. “I wanted to try it but now I regret not staying there because I believe it would have been life-changing if I stayed there.”

Living independently and far from their families was also something of an uphill task.

Cooking was an issue with one player recounting how his incompetence in the kitchen gave him a food poison.

“I wasn’t comfortable,” he recalled.

“Lots of gas in the stomach and I said well I have to do something. I started looking on the internet... seeing how to cook pasta and I began experimenting. The first couple of times it was very bad... spaghetti. I took out one and all the rest came out.

“But then, time after time, you know... so I spent about two weeks eating pasta because it was the only thing I knew how to cook.”

My mother used to call every day, (telling me) do you want to come back

Overprotective mothers represent another stumbling block for players striving to settle in their new environs away from home.

“My mother used to call every day, (telling me) do you want to come back?” one player said.

“Sometimes, it used to make me angry but there were also times when I wanted to come back. I used to tell myself I want to go back but the parents just have to (adapt).

“If you want the children to make it, you can’t just keep them back from something they are really good at.”

“Malta is a comfortable nation to live in,” another player said.

“You have to have a lot of will and drive to do it, especially if you’re leaving the country.”

Being from Malta is another handicap as our country is not exactly famed for its footballing brilliance.

“To go and play abroad, in Malta at the time, it was very difficult because they saw us as foreigners,” one player said.

“They prefer someone from Africa and they get him for free... and the Maltese? What has this nation ever done (in football)?”

No support

Some of the players claimed that they received little or no support from local clubs when a foreign team showed an interest.

“The club... says if someone gets a chance we will not stop them but at the time they asked Lm70,000 (€169,000) for me to go ,” one player said.

Players contracted to local clubs face insurmountable hurdles to move overseas.

“I always found someone who stopped me in Malta, it was difficult,” another interviewee said.

“I was under contract and the Maltese contracts, to get out of them, you need the best lawyer in the world.”