Bencini completes Floriana move

The much-travelled Graham Bencini became Floriana's second acquisition this summer after agreeing to sign a one-year deal with the Premier League club.

Last season, Bencini started with Hamrun Spartans before joining Sliema Wanderers during the January transfer window. The 28-year-old defender became a free agent at the end of May.

At Floriana, Bencini will team up with his former team-mate at Sliema Ian Ciantar who has also joined the Greens in the off-season as part of the deal which saw Claude Mattocks move on loan with the Maltese champions.

"I'm delighted to have finally agreed terms with Floriana," Bencini told The Times yesterday.

"Msida St Joseph were also interested in my services but after protracted negotiations we failed to reach an agreement. However, I'm happy with how things turned out because I always wanted to play for a club like Floriana."

Bencini trained for the first time with his new club on Wednesday where he met new coach Willie Vassallo. The latter returned to Malta this year after a long spell in Australia where he was head coach of Green Gully, to join the team with whom he made a name for himself in the 1970s.

Bencini, who also played for Naxxar and Birkirkara, is valuable addition for the Greens who have released Mark Galea, Jesmond Delia and Sandro Zammit Fava.

On Monday, Floriana will continue their pre-season training at their own Independence Arena after they were forced to use different venues due to re-seeding of the pitch. Their first friendly of the pre-season is scheduled for Thursday 'at home' when they face Birkirkara at 6.15 p.m.