‘Valley of the tigers,’ proclaims a banner in front of the Birkirkara FC clubhouse, as elderly people talk football and gather for tea.
Valley Road in Malta’s largest town is testimony of the anticipation building up ahead of tomorrow’s return match against English team West Ham United.
Only last week, Birkirkara lost 1-0 in the dying moments of the match after putting up a spirited performance at the Boleyn Ground to leave their fans hopeful for the return at Ta’ Qali tomorrow.
There is a sense of cautious optimism among some of Birkirkara’s more famous supporters.
Nationalist MP Tonio Fenech will be at the stadium “hoping for the best” but he is under no illusion at the daunting task facing his hometown team.
“We have to keep our feet on the ground because, after all, West Ham are a Premier League club and they will definitely come here to win,” Mr Fenech says.
But football is football, he adds with a glimmer of hope that his favourite club could become the first Maltese team to pass two rounds in any Uefa competition.
“Away, we gave them a good game and a fast counter-attack could produce a goal that could easily change the mood of the game,” he says.
Statistics show there is no comparison between the two teams. Club rankings provided by Uefa, the European football body, place West Ham 118th, with 12.756 points, based on European performances over the past five seasons. Birkirkara languish at 356th, with 2.366 points.
Tomorrow, 11 men will enter the stadium and I am sure 11 heroes will walk off the pitch at the end, whatever the result
But while on the table the English Barclays Premier League club is miles ahead, none of the distance between the two teams was visible at Upton Park last week.
For Birkirkara FC president, Adrian Delia, the 1-0 defeat came as a frustrating experience given the players’ performance and the last-minute goal.
“Had somebody told me before the match that we would have lost 1-0, I would have said God willing but we played a determined game and the result is frustrating because we could have come out with more,” Dr Delia says.
He refrains from venturing a prediction but assures fans the players are all fired up for the return match. The players want to give their all in front of the home crowd, he adds. “Tomorrow, 11 men will enter the stadium and I am sure 11 heroes will walk off the pitch at the end, whatever the result,” Dr Delia says.
Tickets for the match are going like hotcakes and, by yesterday morning, more than 8,000 were sold. The Malta Football Association had to print more tickets and the south side had to be opened after the enclosure and north side sold out.
Some 400 West Ham fans are also expected to travel to Malta for the game with ticket in hand. The team is expected to arrive today.
“There was a festive atmosphere at West Ham and their supporters congratulated the 300 or so Birkirkara fans who travelled with us and I anticipate a similar cordial and festive atmosphere at Ta’ Qali,” Dr Delia says.
For many veteran fans the margin of defeat in London rekindled memories of the match against Dinamo Moscow in the 2001/2002 season.
Birkirkara had progressed to the second qualifying round to meet the Russian giants. The team lost its first leg in Moscow 1-0 and secured a 0-0 result in Malta.
Veteran Labour MP Joe Debono Grech will not be at the stadium to cheer on the yellow-reds.
“It’s been a while that I have not seen Birkirkara in action. I suffer from heartburn, and seeing the red and yellow shirts running on the pitch does me no good – I get too excited,” he says.
Still, he will be getting an almost minute-by-minute update from his granddaughter at the stadium via mobile phone texts.
“I will be on edge and in constant contact with my granddaughter, who will probably get annoyed and tell me that I should have gone to watch the game,” he chuckles.
His daughter, Joanne Debono Grech, the locality’s mayor, will be at the stadium to cheer on the team.
Birkirkara’s football team has always enjoyed a strong supporter base but there seems to be renewed interest among a wider section of the community for this game, she says.
“Expectations are high and I hope we could win.”
Football talk will remain high on the agenda of many supporters over the next 48 hours. The big question will be: can Birkirkara make history and advance to the next round?
Only 11 players will be able to answer that question tomorrow after 90 minutes of gruelling football in the July heat. And thousands will be there to cheer them on and hope for a ‘tigerlicious’ performance.
kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com