Maltese football is not among Europe’s elite. The lack of success achieved at international and at club level gives the image of a modest football which struggles to improve as it floats in the lower rungs of the European circle.

Throughout its long history, however, Maltese football have enjoyed some memorable moments in particular when it comes to crossing paths with Hungarian opposition.

On a national team level, Malta ended a 24-year wait for a win in the European Championship qualifiers when they beat the Magyars 2-1 at the National Stadium in 2006. Last year, the U-21’s managed to defeat their fellow counterparts in the qualifying campaign with the same identical scoreline.

At club level, Floriana had recorded a famous 1-0 victory over giants Ferencvaros - the only victory of a Maltese team over the Fradi – in the 1972 European Cup Winners’ Cup.

Tomorrow, Valletta will be looking to emulate their neighbouring rivals when they take on Ferencvaros in the second qualifying round of the Champions League.

Two Maltese players who have a lot of knowledge of Hungarian football and in particular Ferencvaros are Malta goalkeeper Justin Haber and striker Andre Schembri.

In fact, both Haber and Schembri shared the dressing room at Ferencvaros when joining the 30-time Hungarian champions in season 2010-11.

At Ferencvaros, the Maltese pair were tasked with helping the club to return to European football after an absence of six seasons, three of which saw the club play in Hungary’s second-tier as well.

The Maltese duo enjoyed a fine season as Haber produced some solid performances in goal while Schembri ended up as the team’s leading scorer with 16 goals to help the team to finish third in the league and secure a place in the Europa League.

Those performances have helped Haber and Schembri to gain a lot of respect in the Ferencvaros circles, something which fills Schembri and Haber with a lot of pride.

“Ferencvaros was one of the biggest sporting moments for me,” Schembri told the Times of Malta.

“I was playing with a big team like Ferencvaros, which is equivalent to Juventus in Italian football, always in front of a sold-out stadium in particular against rivals Ujpest in one of Europe’s fiercest derbies.

“I scored 16 goals with them and that helped me establish a magnificent relationship with the supporters.”

It was not immediately all roses for Schembri as after joining the club in January 2010, he did not have a very positive first six months there.

“Honestly, my first six months at the club were a bit difficult but thankfully, Ferencvaros were convinced in giving me a one-year contract and I was determined to repay their trust,” Schembri said.

“In fact, prior to the pre-season I returned to Malta where I trained with my father for a whole month because in my head I had only one ambition – make my season count at Ferencvaros.”

All those sacrifices were worth it as Schembri found the net several times including two hat-tricks against Vasas and Lombard Papa.

“The weight of the Ferencvaros shirt was a great source of motivation, as it represented a huge club with passionate supporters and I really wanted to do well with this club,” Schembri added.

Ferencvaros will be hosting Valletta in their newly built 22,000 capacity Groupama Arena, a stadium which Schembri is eager to visit in the near future.

“Having played in the old stadium, I am really happy for Ferencvaros in having a modern stadium, one which I really hope to have the chance to visit,” he explained.

Asked about his relationship with Haber during the Ferencvaros time, Schembri spoke fondly of his Maltese colleague describing him as a valuable person in moments where he need a simple push to motivate himself.

Haber, on his part, also heaped praise on Schembri’s attitude during his time in Hungary.

“I am older than Andre (Schembri) so I was really happy to have him by my side and share my experience with him,” Haber said.

The current Gżira United goalkeeper explained how he is still in contact with the Ferencvaros president and the latter has also invited him to meet once the Hungarian side arrive in Malta for their Valletta tie.

“To be honest, the Ferencvaros president contacted me because he wants to meet me and I really appreciated his gesture because that means that I managed to stamp my mark during my time there,” the former Floriana goalkeeper said.

Haber played a key role in helping Ferencvaros clinch a European spot having been mostly a regular starter for the team.

“I am very proud to have had the chance to don the Ferencvaros colours, and although we had a lot of pressure on our shoulders due to the high expectations imposed on us, we still managed to place third,” Haber explained.

“During that period, Hungarian football was very competitive, for example we had also ties against a Debreceni side who the previous season were in the Champions League group stage against the likes of Liverpool and Fiorentina.”

Despite his legacy with the Hungarian club and his Floriana roots, Haber is still hoping that Valletta can qualify to the third qualifying round.

“I am fond of my Ferencvaros memories but despite that, in addition to me being from Floriana, I still hope that Valletta can go through because at the end of the day they are representing our country and our football,” the goalkeeper said.

Fradi aim big

Hungarian football writer Tomasz Mortimer has good memories on when Schembri and Haber were on the books of Ferencvaros and said that the striker enjoys a hero’s status with the Fradi fans.

“Justin Haber was a great servant to the club but Andre Schembri was without doubt the most popular between the two due to the fact that he scored a lot of goals for the club in what was a very important season,” Mortimer, founder of HungarianFootball.com said.

“After a turbulent few years, Schembri was one of the few shining lights in a very cloudy landscape and in his one full season, he was so important in helping the club getting back into Europe.

“He is still loved by the fans and over the last few years, you would see comments from the supporters urging him to come back!”

Asked about how the club is looking to restore its historical pride, Mortimer said that they want to get back among Europe’s elite.

“They want to stamp their mark on European football - the appointment of Serhiy Rebrov as coach and their frequent big money investments are further evidence of this ambition,” he said.