Happy Days Remembered

In the summer of 1966, I applied for a teaching post with the Department of Education. During the interview I was told that I had been accepted as a Visiting Master but that I would have to be posted to Gozo. I accepted, though rather reluctantly. Little did I know that this was to be the start of one of the happiest periods of my life!

When I reported for duty in October I found that I formed part of a group of six teachers from Malta assigned to the Gozo Lyceum/Secondary Technical School in Victoria. We soon settled in and rented a house in Marsalforn, living there from Monday to Friday and returning to Malta for the weekend.. After school we used to walk down to Marsalforn for lunch and then back again to Rabat in the evening. We often went to the Oratorju ‘Don Bosco’ where we used to join in informal football matches. I also played football with my pupils at school during break.

The first scholastic year passed like a dream thanks to the pleasant staff and pupils at school, the easy-going life and the tranquillity of Marsalforn in the winter months (our group was practically 50% of the population!). It was to be the foundation of my love for Gozo. During the following summer, I was asked by the Education Department whether I would like a posting in Malta. Without hesitation I replied that I preferred to remain in Gozo!

One of my colleagues at school, Horace Mercieca had been noticing my footballing activities. Horace was the Nadur Youngsters goalkeeper and Captain and was held in awe by many of the schoolboys. For some reason he thought I was good enough for a trial with the Youngsters and when school resumed in October 1967, he invited me to participate in a couple of training sessions with the team. I gladly accepted but was very apprehensive as I had never played competitive club football, my experience being limited to the occasional friendly game with a team of my friends from Sliema. I was soon invited to play in a trial friendly match in which I did rather well. The club President and coach, Peter Paul Camilleri, drafted me into the team and I was soon playing my first competitive match for the Youngsters against S.K. Calypsians in the Galea Cup semi final, on the 1^st November 1967. The match ended in a draw 0-0. We went on to win the replay 1-0, a goal scored by Anton Mercieca.

After that, I was regularly selected in the left full-back position. Again I was initially doubtful about this as I am naturally right footed and would have preferred to play on the right. However it paid off and I started to give a valid contribution to the team. Later in the season, one of my fellow teachers from Malta, John Demanuele (who used to visit Gozo for P.E. lessons at the Lyceum) was also engaged as Trainer. He had a lot of experience in Physical Training and his efforts certainly helped improve the general fitness of the team. Towards the end of the season, Tony Formosa, one of the foremost coaches in Malta, who also coached the National team, also conducted some training sessions.

After a disappointing start to the season (we lost to Għajnsielem F.C. in the Galea Cup Final 0-2 on the 12^th November 1967) we started doing well in the League, winning the first 2 matches (against Victoria Hotspurs and Sannat Lions) and drawing the next 2 matches (against S. K. Calypsians and Għajnsielem) in the 1^st round. We won the first 3 matches of the 2^nd round (vs Victoria Hotspurs, Sannat Lions and S. K. Calypsians), drew the last match (vs Għajnsielem) and remained unbeaten, winning the Championship with 13 points (3 more than runners-up Ghajnsielem). This was Nadur’s First Championship and happily it came on the10th Anniversary of the club’s foundation.

The team was a mix of experienced and young players, the “stalwarts” being Horace Mercieca in goal, central defender Maurice Borg, Joe Camilleri Cassar (il-Grigal), Frankie Mercieca (il-Gardell), Toni Mercieca (tax-Xelina), Paul Camilleri and Joe Attard (in-Nini). Three of my students at the Lyceum were the real “youngsters” and young stars playing with great energy and skill – Louis Camilleri, dribbling on the wing, Joe Bartolo bustling forward and Charles Camilleri. I was “il-full-back Malti”. I also remember the great support by the fans – including many of the female sex! I was a rather defence minded full-back and the closest I ever came to scoring was when I hit the crossbar with a long range effort in the Independence Cup Final against Ghajnsielem, which we won 2-1 after extra time. To round up the season Maurice Borg was also honoured by the G.F.A. as ‘Player of the Year’.

At school I became very friendly with the English Master, Joe Debono, a great Nadur supporter, and like me a keen Manchester United fan. On Monday we would carry out a post mortem on Nadur’s weekend match, and Joe would give me some very frank and useful advice, pointing out my weaknesses, but also praising my (admittedly few!) better moments.

During the summer of 1968 I was awarded a 3-year scholarship at Imperial College, London, by the Ministry of Agriculture, so regretfully I couldn’t play for Nadur Youngsters in the following season. On arrival in London I played in a trial match for the College but the competition was very strong and I wasn’t selected. Instead I switched to Hockey and Waterpolo and made the College first team in both sports. My previous waterpolo experience was also in Gozo where I had played in goal for Dolphins in the League organised in summer at Marsalforn.

One day in London I was very surprised to run into my friend and Nadur supporter Joe Debono! He too had been awarded a scholarship at London University to read for a Ph.D. Amazingly, we discovered that we had been living for several months a few hundred metres away from each other in Westbourne Grove without ever meeting! Of course our talk soon turned to football, Nadur Youngsters and Manchester United and we fondly recalled the joys of the previous season’s achievements (Nadur’s Championship and United’s 4-1 European Cup Final victory over Benfica).