Malta U-21 coach Ray Farrugia has agreed a new two-year deal with the MFA.
The members of the Malta FA’s Executive Committee on Tuesday paved the way for Farrugia to stay at the helm of the U-21s until 2014 after rubber-stamping a proposal to extend his contract by another two years.
Having steered the Malta U-21s to a string of positive results in his first spell between 1998 and 2002, Farrugia accepted the MFA’s offer to return to his old job in January last year.
Under the guidance of Farrugia and his assistant Ronald Vella, who has also been awarded a new two-year contract, the U-21s collected five points in the 2013 UEFA Cham-pionship qualifiers.
“I’m grateful to the Malta FA for showing faith in me,” Farrugia told The Times.
“I’m happy to continue as Malta U-21 coach for another two years.”
Farrugia admitted that the decision to return for a second stint as U-21 coach was not easy after ending his first four-year spell on a top note but feels vindicated by the performances of his team over the past 20 months.
“It was a massive challenge for me as I knew that emulating the results achieved by the Malta U-21 team in my first spell in charge was not going to be easy,” Farrugia said.
“Furthermore, we were drawn in a difficult group but the boys managed to gain five points.
“We could have done better, especially in the latter stages of the competition, but I’m satisfied with the efforts of the players and the technical staff who have been equally superb.”
After completing their UEFA Group 2 qualifiers with a 5-1 defeat in Ukraine in October, the U-21s are now preparing for their next competition.
On-field results aside, Farrugia is also pleased that some of his protegees, the likes of Terence Vella and Rowen Muscat, made their debut for the senior side in the 1-0 win over Liechtenstein earlier this month.
“As U-21 coach, one of my priorities is to help our up-and-coming players mature and gain international experience in order to improve their prospects of making the breakthrough with the senior squad,” Farrugia said.
“I also believe that, in every age category, it’s essential for our teams to gain commendable results to boost confidence and enhance the profile of our game.”
Farrugia is optimistic that the new crop of U-21 players can do well in the next qualifying campaign but warned that squad selection will be based on commitment and form.
“There is an interesting group but we’re keeping our eyes open for emerging talents who may show us that they also deserve to be in the squad,” Farrugia remarked.
“This is an on-going process. Those players who are not prepared to work hard and dedicate themselves fully to the team are not worthy of a place in my squad.”
Farrugia spoke in glowing terms about his relationship with national coach Pietro Ghedin.
“The co-operation I have with Pietro Ghedin is exceptional,” Farrugia said.
“He is a great coach, someone you can learn from and work with.
“Continuity is very important at national team level. The great relationship I have with Pietro Ghedin is helping me a lot.
“I also believe that I have a very good rapport with the club coaches. We try to adapt the right balance between the demands of the U-21 team and those of the clubs.”
As part of their build-up for the 2015 European U-21 commitments, the Malta U-21 side will host Austria in a friendly match on February 6.
On the same day, Malta’s senior team will meet Northern Ireland in a warm-up game at the National Stadium.
The match will be the first time the two sides have played each other since a 1-1 draw in a 2005 friendly, when David Healy scored Northern Ireland’s goal and Keith Gillespie was sent off.
Ivan Woods scored and was later dismissed for Malta in that match.
Meanwhile, UEFA have established a co-efficient ranking list for the U-17 and U-19 categories ahead of the qualifying round draws for the 2013/2014 competitions.
Malta U-19 are 49th in the list with a UEFA co-efficient of 0.333, the same as Luxembourg.
As Malta will host the UEFA U-17 tournament in 2014, our U-17 side qualify automatically for the finals. Malta U-17 ended 2011/12 with a co-efficient of 1.500.
The Euro U-17 and U-19 qualifying round draws will be held at UEFA’s Nyon headquarters next Wednesday.