Pippo Psaila must have been relieved to see the back of 2009.

In the opening weeks of last year, Psaila stunned the local sporting community when he stepped down from his post as MOC Director of Sport.

Psaila's resignation was perceived as a massive loss for Maltese sport but it was nothing compared to the loss he suffered in August when his equestrian-loving wife Jenny died tragically after falling off her mare.

Since pulling the plug on his long and fruitful association with the MOC, Psaila, 52, has been out of the big sporting picture.

His sabbatical from sport has led many to wonder whether the former Malta coach has called time on his career but after meeting Psaila for an interview a few weeks back, I was left in no doubt that his passion for sports, especially football, has not diminished one bit.

You occupied several important roles in Maltese sport, from national football coach to MOC Director of Sport. Looking back on the development of Maltese sport in the last 20 years, what advances have been made?

I believe positive steps have been made. If you were to consider the investment in infrastructure since 1992, the change has been remarkable. Many sporting associations have been awarded a legal title on their premises and others have been given the administrative capacity to carry out their mission.

There's also direct financing now. Today, the MOC and many other associations receive financial assistance from the government which, until 1993, was virtually unheard of.

True, we still have a long way to go... Were you to ask me if the results achieved were in keeping with expectations, I think that in certain sectors, we could have done better.

Here I want to talk about football. In football, we haven't improved as much as we would have liked but, whereas in many other disciplines, there is a distinction of the level of that sport through divisions, football is an open box.

When we're playing with the front-runners of world football and there's no classification, the comparison is a bit distorted. If you take waterpolo, and there's no disputing the progress made by Malta in this sport, we are not playing at the top level. How would Malta fare if we played the likes of Serbia, Hungary Italy, US and Australia?

You were national coach when Malta achieved that landmark 1-0 win over Estonia in 1993. Do you rate that national team as the best ever?

I think there are several factors that lead one to conclude that the 1993 edition was the best national team ever. In those two years, the national team collected the highest number of points until then and the highest percentage of success in the history of Maltese football.

The 30 per cent success rate for Maltese football, although for other countries is ridiculously low, was a record.

What led to this? There were many reasons. First and foremost, there was a sound administration. You can't enjoy success if you are not backed by an administration that appreciates the work that is being done.

We had an administration, under the guidance of George Abela, which was excellent.

There was also the technical sector. Fr Hilary, with his knowledge, maturity and his perspective on life, was a great asset. There was a group of players who were incredibly good. They were good not only football-wise but also in the way they interpreted the role of a footballer.

This is very important because professionalism is not gauged by the size of the pay cheque but through attitude and commitment.

During your time as national coach, the professional scheme was already in place. Lately, the debate on the merits of this scheme has been re-ignited as some clubs want their players to train more often with their coaches. What is your view?

Like everything in life, there are the pros and cons. I think the professional scheme was important when it was first introduced. We were coming from a disastrous match, a 12-1 defeat to Spain, and our credibility, not just in football but also as a nation, was at its lowest ebb.

A radical shake-up was needed. It was paramount at the time that there was a kind of revolution and it was done. We had to make sure that our aircraft carrier, our flagship, was put in a position where it could compete seriously. So we started with what we call an inverse pyramid.

Whereas everyone usually concentrates on a wide base which then expresses itself in the clubs and narrows to the national team, we were compelled to attack the pyramids vice-versa because our priority was to restore credibility to our football.

The enormous tactical mistake we have made is that we kept the pyramid upside down. We failed to strengthen the layer beneath the top which is the clubs' structure and here lies the technical deficiency and what I see as a lack of vision.

As the system is today, or the way we know it, it is anachronistic. It needs to evolve.

Nowadays, we talk a lot about burden-sharing to tackle illegal immigration. The buzzword is burden-sharing and we need to adopt this concept in football. Clubs should do their part and the MFA also has a direct responsibility.

I'm not saying that the MFA should give up all its rights in terms of preparation of the national teams but it must bolster the clubs' structure.

I think the solution is logical and I can't understand why in Malta, be it in politics or sports, we always end up having confrontations. Why can't we have preventive discussions instead of crisis talks?

Since ending your tenure as Malta coach over 16 years ago, you haven't coached a prominent club. Why?

Fortunately, I fulfilled my footballing ambitions very early. At 33, I was already national coach. That was the highlight and to step back is very difficult. I was lucky I had a very good run and everyone was going to judge me on what I did with the national team. So I stood to lose.

Working at club level is like turning the clock back, not the other way round. If anything, I need to go to a national team overseas.

At the last election for the top posts of the MFA three years ago, you filed your candidature for vice-president...

I was part of the team of Norman Darmanin Demajo (who lost narrowly to Joe Mifsud in the MFA presidential election in 2007). We're going for another election for the MFA leadership and we can't have an us-and-them philosophy.

From the last election, the (current) MFA administration learnt some important lessons because Darmanin Demajo's programme to spread football through the installation of new pitches and other infrastructural development, is being put into practice.

Yes, I take my hat off to Dr Joe Mifsud. I have nothing on the agenda against him, he has brought honour to the country.

I believe that, away from our shores, he has worked for Maltese football. Yet, I'm convinced that if we chose the way of compromise instead of confrontation in many instances, Maltese football would have progressed at a faster rate.

Do you still harbour ambitions to seek a top MFA post?

The circumstances I've been through in the last four months have conditioned my movement.

I have certain obligations which make it more difficult or more meditative where my future lies in the sporting field because I have a more difficult role to fulfil, both for my family and in other areas.

Has this difficult experience changed you as a person?

Firstly, I've seen a spontaneous outpouring (of sympathy) from the people in the immediate aftermath (of his wife's tragic death) as well as the months that followed. Wherever I go, people are so kind, so generous, so outgoing and, to be honest, I didn't expect this.

Even on the day of the funeral, I was stupefied. I expected a horse parade because she was in equestrian but the feeling in that church was that the people were there not for Pippo Psaila but for Jenny's legacy.

I think that says a lot about the Maltese people. As a nation, in the moment of need, we stick together.

I've learnt a lot. I've learnt to be more reflective. I'm normally a very impulsive person but now I have to think twice because my better half, my wife, is no longer here to keep me cool.

Is the MOC a closed chapter?

Yes.

What were the highest and lowest points of your career?

The best moment was the week of the GSSE in Malta (2003). It was incredible. Apart from the historic results achieved, there was an electrifying atmosphere in the country.

The entire nation was behind the Games... that was the highest point, more than the win over Estonia.

The lowest point... I left my post with the MFA on the day I met my contractual obligations. I was the first coach to tie myself to a contract that stipulated how many points I had to gain in the competition.

This had never been the case, especially with foreign coaches, but for me, the first Maltese coach to take over in the professional scheme era, they imposed these conditions. I vowed that, on the day I attained that target, I would leave.

Why was I so disappointed about this? The day I reached that objective with the win in Estonia, I expected someone to tell me 'well done, you've delivered and I think we were too hard on you to put it down in black and white that you had to obtain this amount of points'.

Had that been the case, I would have stayed or left as a happy man but this was not forthcoming and it hurt me a lot.