If the Balzan Youths players needed an extra dose of motivation before the start of their crucial match against Tarxien Rainbows on Saturday, they only had to look at the VIP zone of the Tedesco Stadium.

Financial support helps but it doesn’t guarantee success. With money, you can’t buy the spirit that Balzan have

Seated alongside George Borg, Balzan’s hard-working president, was Anton Tagliaferro, the club’s Sydney-based backer who jetted out to Malta to watch the team’s ‘top-six’ decider.

Having injected significant amounts of money to support Balzan’s efforts to build a competitive squad, improve their youth sector and upgrade their facilities, Tagliaferro was keen to see the senior team set a new milestone by securing a place in the Championship Pool for the first time in the club’s history.

Tagliaferro’s commitment and vision were rewarded on Saturday as Balzan Youths ground out a 1-0 win over Tarxien to seal their top-six mission.

“It’s incredible,” Tagliaferro told The Times. “Football is not just about money, otherwise the likes of Chelsea would have won everything.

“It’s about team spirit and the dedication of the people who run the club, like president George Borg. Balzan are a united club and in just a few years, they’ve managed to go from the second division up to the top six in the Premier League.

“Financial support helps but it doesn’t guarantee success. With money , you can’t buy the spirit that Balzan have. This season, we have beaten teams like Hibs and Sliema Wanderers and that is amazing when you compare their squad with ours.”

Encouraged by Balzan’s steady progress, Tagliaferro reaffirmed his commitment to helping the club maintain their upward trajectory.

“I’m very keen to sustain my support, not just for the senior team but also for the juniors,” Tagliaferro said. “I’ve been sending over professional youth coaches from Italy, like Elio Garavaglia and Francesco Zanoncelli.

“Garavaglia will be back next week and Adrea Icardi (head coach of the Milan soccer academy in Australia) is coming over in April to have a look at the facilities at Balzan.

“We’re working to strengthen our youth section and hopefully, we can start to create better junior teams at Balzan.

“If the senior team is doing well and the youth side is in Section C, there’s something missing. You need to have a successful youth system.”

After relocating to Australia in the early eighties, Tagliaferro set up Investors Mutual Limited (IML) in 1998.

IML, now established as one the leading equities fund managers in Australia, have been Balzan’s main sponsors for the past five years.

Tagliaferro’s interest in Balzan goes back to the days when he was a youth player with the club.

“I’ve got a lot of good memories from my time as a Balzan Youths player,” Tagliaferro said. “We won our minors’ section twice. I think the passion of the Maltese for football is fantastic. I’m willing to do my part to help Balzan Youths and Maltese football in general.

“In fact, I’m working on an initiative to attract more young Australian players who have a Maltese passport, to come and train with our Milan Academy in Sydney. I’ve also spoken to the MFA about this idea.

“I believe it’d be great if we can give the boys the opportunity to fulfil their dreams but to do that, they need to be given the right training and have the right mentality.”

Launched by Tagliaferro in 2008, the AC Milan Soccer School in Sydney caters for around 300 youngsters aged seven to 16.

“The Milan Soccer School is run by two Italian coaches,” Tagliaferro explained. “Everyone knows that the level of youth coaching in Italy is very high, they’re up there with the best.

“Personally, I’m a big supporter of AC Milan. When my business in Australia started to become more successful in 2001-2002, I began to visit Milan more often. My wife’s cousin has a connection with Milan and in 2008, there was the opportunity to sign up the rights to operate the Milan Soccer School in Australia and New Zealand.

“The first contract was for four years and, before travelling to Malta, I went to the AC Milan headquarters to extend the agreement for another three years.

“I’m very happy with the way the Milan Soccer School in Sydney is going. Recently, we received a visit from Daniele Massaro and he was very impressed with the training and facilities.”

Talking to Tagliaferro, it soon becomes clear that three of his biggest passions are Balzan Youths, Milan and youth football. He’s also particularly keen on creating more opportunities for up-and-coming Australian footballers to progress and carve out a successful career.

“It’s about finding them a pathway,” Tagliaferro said. “One boy from our academy has signed for Brescia. Juventus are keen on another and Parma and Gubbio are also monitoring other players.

“All these youngsters have a European passport. This is where Malta comes into the picture. Promising Australian players who have a European passport can use Malta as a stepping stone.

“The beauty of Malta, apart from the weather, is the language factor. English is widely spoken here and this makes it easier for Australian players to come here to continue their studies and play football.

“This is also one of the reasons why we must improve the youth system at Balzan... we have to make it more attractive for these youngsters to join but I believe that it’s a feasible project.

“Many youngsters in Australia wish to have a career in football but opportunities are very limited. Unfortunately, the game in Australia is in a bit of disarray at the moment.”

European dream

Switching his focus back to Balzan, Tagliaferro is hopeful that the team’s ascent into the elite zone of the Premier League this season marks the start of a successful era for the club.

“At the start of the season, we thought that, if we could avoid relegation, that would be great,” Tagliaferro said.

“That was our main priority. To be in the top six is fantastic and it gives us more breathing space to plan for next year.

“Being in the Championship Pool also means that we will not have an easy game in the next round.”

Notwithstanding Balzan’s limitations, Tagliaferro believes that, with the right approach and direction, the club can also aspire to reach higher targets.

“My dream is to see Balzan play in Europe,” Tagliaferro said.

“I know it looks a bit far-fetched but hopefully, if we can build the youth system and get the right players, both locally and from Australia, we can go for it.”