Malta was represented by three clubs – Valletta Subbuteo Club, Bormla Subbuteo Club and Valletta Lions – in the Champions League and Europa League competitions, played in Rome late last month.
All teams had to go through the qualifying rounds on matchday one to determine the competition they would be playing in 24 hours later.
Thirty-two teams were divided into eight groups of four with the top two qualifying for the Champions League and the others going into the Europa League.
Valletta SC, the Maltese champions, topped their group after wins over FTC Issy 4-0, Bologna Tigers 3-1 and Triburones 4-0.
They extended their winning form into the Champions League group, chalking up two other victories – 2-1 over Glide, Slide, Chip & Dip (England) and 1-0 against Pisa (Italy) – and a 2-2 draw against Italy’s Perugia.
Valletta SC’s progress, however, was halted in the quarter-finals where they lost 2-1 to Mattersburg, of Austria. The City team were eventually classified seventh after losing to Charlerloi (Belgium) 2-1 before beating Falcons (Greece) 2-1 in the play-offs.
Bormla SC played in the Europa League after a third placing in the qualifying phase.
They won their group following wins over Athinaikos (2-1), Proteas (3-1) and Scarlet Battalion (3-1) to progress to the quarter-finals where they were ousted by Bologna on better goal difference.
In the classification matches, Bormla SC lost to Portugal’s Maio de Tires 2-1 but finished better after a 3-0 win over Germany’s TSG Rain to settle for seventh place overall.
Valletta Lions registered a marked improvement on last year’s showing when finishing ninth in the Europa League.
The Lions went down to Austrian favourites Wiener Nuestadt 4-0 and suffered another defeat (1-3) to TSG Rain. They won their first match after overcoming French side FTC Issy 3-1.
The Lions qualified for the 9-16 place play-offs and ended the tournament on a bright note following three successive wins over Dundee United 3-1, Scarlet Battalion 3-1 and Athinaikos 4-0.
In addition to the three Maltese sides, there were other players from our country representing foreign teams including Massimo Cremona (Reggiana), Hansel Mallia (Fiamme Azzurre), Angelo Borg (Napoli Eagles) and Jean Carl Tabone (Stembert).
The Champions League final was an Italian derby, Fiamme Azzurre vs Reggiana, with the latter retaining their title.