Maltese football fans are in for a festive treat this evening when Italian clubs Catania and Torino and BOV Premier League sides Hibs and Qormi play in the Trofeo Portomasolive at the National Stadium.
Serie A side Catania and Torino, the Serie B leaders, are doing a week-long training camp in Malta as part of their preparations for the second phase of the season which gets under way next week.
The two Italian clubs accepted an invitation by the Malta FA to take part in a quadrangular tournament which will see Torino meet Qormi in the opening 45-minute match at 6.30 p.m. In the second game, Hibs face Catania with the winners contesting the final which will be preceded by the play-off for third place.
Torino captain Rolando Bianchi told a news conference yesterday that they were looking forward to today’s tournament as it will serve as a barometer to gauge the team’s preparations before the resumption of the Serie B campaign.
“The tournament represents an interesting challenge for us,” the towering striker told reporters at the Centenary Hall.
“We have very little information about the Maltese teams competing in the tournament but I’m sure they will offer a strong challenge as they will be keen to do well in front of their fans. We are treating the tournament very seriously as, hopefully, it can give us a taste of what we will experience next season in the Serie A, provided that Catania and us win the semi-finals.”
Asked to comment on their Maltese experience so far, the former Manchester City striker had words of praise for the hospitality Torino have received so far.
“We are very happy with what we have found in Malta,” Bianchi said.
“The people here have been very friendly, providing us with everything that we needed. The facilities are very good and that has certainly helped us to step up our preparations for the league campaign.”
The visits of Torino and Catania to Malta come at a delicate time for Italian football as fresh match-fixing allegations have further dented the image of the game.
Bianchi admitted that the calcio scommesse (football betting) scandal has dealt another severe blow to Italian football.
“There is no doubt that the image of Italian football has been tarnished significantly with the facts that have emerged lately,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the reputation of Italian football is not very positive at the moment and it’s a pity as there are a lot of people in the Italian game who sacrifice their lives to ensure that the Beautiful Game prospers in our country.
“As players we have an added responsibility to ensure that our actions, on and off the field, contribute towards portraying the game in a better light and I hope that this dark episode in the history of our sport finishes as quickly as possible.”
For his part, Antonio Barile, Torino’s communication manager, expressed hope that the team’s visit to Malta will turn out to be a good omen for a successful end to the season as was the case with other teams who held training camps here in the past.
“We have been told that Malta proved to be a lucky charm for a number of teams who came here for a winter training camp, namely Liverpool and Milan,” he said.
“I hope this tradition continues as our goal this season is to gain promotion. Although we are in a very good position, there is still a lot of work to be done and we need to keep our momentum going.”
As far as Qormi are concerned, they will be led by Edward Micallef, the nursery head coach, for today’s tournament as coach Stephen Azzopardi is overseas.
Goalkeeper Matthew Farrugia said Qormi were excited to be playing a team with a great tradition like Torino.
“Facing Torino is a great challenge for us,” Farrugia said. “After a few days’ rest, we returned to training this week. We are determined to produce an honourable perfor-mance against Torino.
“For us it’s a great motivation to do well against a stronger team and we are hopeful that this tournament will boost our preparations for the league which restarts next week.”
In today’s second fixture, Hibs meet a Catania side who have enjoyed a strong start to the Serie A season and are currently eighth in the standings.
Torino goalkeeper to play for Hibs
With first-choice goalkeeper Mario Muscat unavailable for family reasons, Hibs have reached an agreement with Torino to call on goalkeeper Lys Gomis for their match against Catania.
“Gomis will be in goal for the match against Catania only,” Hibs coach Mark Miller said.
“We reached an agreement with Torino (about Gomis) a few days ago. For the second match, we will make use of Luke Bonnici who played against Pembroke (Trophy).
“Besides, Brazilian striker Alex Pedrosa, who is on trial with us, will also be involved. Another positive news is the recovery of Brazilian defender Diego Balbinot who, I’m hoping, will be available.”
Programme
National Stadium: 18.30 Qormi vs Torino. 19.30 Hibs vs Catania. 20.30 Third place play-off. 21.30 Final. (In case of a draw, the first two matches and the final will be decided by penalties).