Said revelling in Sliema's flying start

Profile...
Name: Brian Said.
Nationality: Maltese.
Date of Birth: 15-05-1973.
Role: Defender.
Former Club: Floriana.

Brian Said could not have hoped for a better Christmas. His team, Sliema Wanderers, are four points clear at the top of the Premier League tree, thanks in no small measure to Said's two-goal contribution in their 3-1 success over Mosta which also earned him recognition from the journalists who voted him player of the match.

"We have made a very good start to the season. Our level of consistency has been excellent and that is what has pleased us most," Said told The Times.

"The spirit is excellent. This is largely reflected in the team's performances. There were games when we were staring defeat in the face but we showed true character to hit back and emerge with a point or three.

"Our squad has strength-in-depth and that enables Edward Aquilina, the coach, to rope in more-than-valid replacements when we have injuries or suspension problems," Said remarked.

Said has firmly established himself as an automatic choice for Sliema since he joined them from rivals Floriana in the summer of 2001. In the last matches, he has continued to cement his reputation as one of the most reliable defenders around but was it not so long ago when questions were asked about his form and fitness?

"My performances in the first weeks of this term were not exceptional. The team had endured a very disappointing end to the previous season and I sustained an injury which held me back for some months.

"In my case, the rehabilitation from injury took more than usual for the reason that I cannot devote all my time to football due to work commitments," Said added.

His performances of late suggest that Said is close to his best. "At present, I feel I have reached the peak of my physical condition and the injury is now behind me," the 29-year-old defender acknowledged.

In Malta, most of the players must work to supplement their income and Said, like some of his fellow national squad members, has ventured into the business world to secure a financially-better future.

Said is a director of a company importing non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages like Fitgar, WKD vodka ice and blue and Don Simon bio-juices.

While the bulk of the players in Europe are paid exorbitant wages just to play football, in Malta, our players, even those who turn out for the national squad, cannot focus exclusively on their football.

"For me, it's very difficult to find the time to train in the morning because that means that you have to put aside your job duties for a while. I have no doubts that my fitness and level of performance would benefit if I were to train twice a day but the reality of life is different in Malta. It's a question of striking the right balance between football and work."

As a regular player in the Maltese national team, a fact testified by his 38 international appearances, Said will have been disappointed with the team's results of late and the harsh criticism that followed. The Sliema centre-half's verdict of the national team is that the performances were not as bad as the results suggest but he also believes that it's time that efforts are made to lift the image of the local game.

"The performances of the national team in recent qualifiers were acceptable. It's a pity that the results do not reflect the effort put in by the team. Against Cyprus, we could have emerged with a point had we converted the chances that came our way.

"The opening qualifier against Slovenia when we lost 3-0 also comes to mind. In that game, we offered bold resistance before we conceded a goal," Said remarked.

"Having said that, there's no denying that Maltese football is blighted by problems and the situation calls for a concerted effort to try and pep up things.

"Attendance figures for domestic league matches have continued to dwindle and the reason for that is likely to be found in the format of the league. The first two rounds are not capturing enough interest because the fans know that honours are decided after the teams are split," Said opined.

"The standard of the league leaves much to be desired and that is the chief cause for the national team's troubles in international competitions. There is room for improvement but to achieve that we must tackle every level of the domestic game."

As if Maltese football does not have enough problems to contend with, speculation of rampant bribery is only helping to add to the scepticism.

"Rumours about matches being riven by corruption only cast a shadow over Maltese football," Said exclaimed.

"The attitude towards Maltese football and the players is very negative. We have to face accusations of corruption and are pilloried for one bad game or one error.

"Imagine if a goalkeeper here commits the same blunders as those made by Jerzy Dudek, the Liverpool 'keeper, in the crunch game against Manchester United. He will be condemned but what was the reaction of the Liverpool fans? They stood by their goalkeeper," Said continued.

"Well, here it's the same old story of match-fixing and so on. But if football is so corrupted, why don't the people who make such accusations take concrete action and produce the evidence," Said maintained.

As our conversation drew to a close, I asked Said to outline his ambitions.

"In football, I want to win my first league title with Sliema. On a personal level, I am looking to progress in my business and start a family in the near future," Said, who tied the knot a few months ago, concluded.