Striker Michael Mifsud has hailed the impact of new coach Pietro Ghedin after the Malta captain scored two goals to inspire Malta to a 2-0 victory over Luxembourg in Saturday’s friendly.
“The team’s performance was very positive,” Mifsud said after the squad’s arrival from Luxembourg at lunchtime yesterday.
“It was a collective effort, we played as a team and with a big heart.
“Above all, we were confident in our abilities. The motivation was high, also because this was our first match under Pietro Ghedin. The coach has introduced some new ideas in training, mainly technical things.
“He’s the kind of person you enjoy working with. You also want to learn from him because he’s such a knowledgeable and experienced coach.
“I’m happy that we’ve won in Ghedin’s first match as Malta coach. It’s also 19 years since Malta last won a friendly match away from home, so the satisfaction is even greater.”
Mifsud looks to be making a habit of scoring a double in the first match of a new coach.
In fact, in August 2009, he struck twice in a 2-0 friendly win over Georgia, John Buttigieg’s first game in charge after replacing Dusan Fitzel, and last February, Mifsud also hit two in a 2-1 win over Liechtenstein when Malta were led by interim coach Robert Gatt.
More importantly, Mifsud’s scoring deeds cemented his position at the top of Malta’s all-time scorers’ list with 34 goals in 90 appearances, 11 more than Carmel Busuttil.
“I’m delighted to have scored two goals,” Mifsud said.
“I always try to do my job with the help of my team-mates. The most important thing for me is the team’s performance and result.”
Looking ahead to the friendly in San Marino on August 14 and the opening World Cup qualifiers at home to Armenia (Sept. 7) and away to Italy (Sept. 11), Mifsud hopes that Malta not only sustain the good stuff shown against Luxembourg but also learn from their mistakes.
“I believe that, after every game, you can learn a lot,” Mifsud said.
“We played well against Lux-embourg but, as in every match, we also committed mistakes. But, overall, it was a good outing for us and a morale-booster ahead of our up next commitments.”
For the first time in many years, Mifsud has just spent a whole season in the domestic Premier League after joining Valletta last summer.
His first full campaign for the Citizens was an up-and-down affair as, despite missing a host of games due to niggling injuries, Mifsud still scored some vital goals to help Valletta retain the title.
His scoring contribution in the Luxembourg win not only demonstrated that his injury prob-lems are behind him but also dispelled scepticism that his return to Maltese football may have blunted his pace.
“My game at club level is different to that in international football,” Mifsud remarked.
“In international matches, I have more freedom and space to make runs but in the Premier League, it’s more difficult because there is no room where to man-ouvre as teams defend a lot against us (Valletta). But, I also do a lot of dirty work for my team.”
At this time of the year, stories about interest from foreign clubs in Mifsud abound.
Last week, he was linked with a move to Ludogorets Razgrad but rejected internet reports yesterday that he has signed for the Bulgarian champions.
Although Mifsud is happy at Valletta, he remains open to the possibility of contuining his career overseas but, in his own words, his immediate future “lies with Valletta FC”.