Malta champions Valletta are bracing themselves for a daunting challenge in the second qualifying round of the Champions League when they face Hungarian giants Ferencvaros at the Groupama Arena, tonight (kick-off: 20.00).
The euphoria generated by their two-legged victory over Luxembourg side Dudelange is still fresh in the minds of the Valletta players and fans as the team was showered with praise after managing to oust a side who last season played in the group stages of the Europa League.
So far, Valletta have already managed to improved on last year’s European showing when they were eliminated after the first hurdle in both the Champions League and the Europa League at the expense of Kukesi, of Albania, and Bosnia’s Zrinjski Mostar.
However, the upcoming task awaiting the Malta champions will bring something different to the table.
Luxembourg’s Dudelange were by no means an easy team to face, but Ferencvaros are a far more high-profile side who are trying restore their place among the elite of European football by clawing their way back into Europe’s biggest club competition. Their last showing in the Champions League group stages dates back to the 1995-96 season.
This is not the first time that Ferencvaros have faced Maltese opposition having already managed to go past Floriana, Birkirkara and Sliema Wanderers.
Surely, the Hungarian side, coached by Ukrainian legend Serhiy Rebrov, will be already looking beyond Valletta, eyeing the third qualifying round which would mean to move just two steps away from the proper competition.
Yet, the Valletta players, in particular forward Mario Fontanella, are more than eager to embrace the underdog role and give the Fradi a run for their money, if not pulling an upset as well.
“As a Maltese team, we always start as underdogs,” Fontanella told the Times of Malta.
“To be honest, I don’t really understand why the Maltese clubs are given this treatment, in the sense that the level is improving, therefore I feel we deserve more respect.
“Just taking a look back at our result against Dudelange and Gżira United’s stunning qualification at the expense of Hajduk Split is something that should improve the image of Maltese football.”
Despite the strength of the opponent, the former Floriana striker is confident that his team can play their normal game even though they will be facing a hostile environment in Hungary.
“We are ready to hit the ground running in a fantastic stadium and in front of over 20,000 people,” Fontanella said.
“Maximum respect towards our opponents, but we know what we are capable of and this game will be a perfect opportunity to gauge ourselves at this level.”
Valletta’s Champions League dream looked in serious jeopardy when trailing by two goals against Dudelange in Luxembourg earlier this month.
Fontanella quickly pointed out that the team’s willingness to keep fighting and to make things right in every match helped them rescue a valuable draw on away soil.
“Heading to the first round, we wanted to qualify because we wanted to make Valletta and Malta proud,” Fontanella said.
“Obviously, things did not started well but we managed to make sure that we return to Malta with away goals and eventually we negotiated the second leg in a brilliant way, even though we suffered a lot from a physical point of view.”
Valletta’s qualification to the second qualifying round is even more impressive when one considers that they had to do without some key personnel.
In fact Jonathan Caruana and Bojan Kaljevic were both ruled out of the tie by injury while the team lost another two key players for the return leg as Santiago Malano suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury while Rowen Muscat was suspended.
But Valletta could rely on talented youngsters in the form of Jean Borg, Nicholas Pulis and Shawn Dimech as the trio produced telling contributions that helped the team remain competitive over the 180 minutes.
“We had a lot of important players missing for both games, but the youngsters showed all their value and helped us to qualify to this round,” Fontanella said.
“As I always say, Valletta’s strong point is that even though the rivals make sure to buy the best players on the market, the best transfers are the ones that the Citizens do – keeping the best players in the squad and that is a huge advantage for us of course.”
Italian job
In his second year at Valletta, Fontanella will be playing under his third coach after Darren Abdilla has been appointed at the start of the season.
“Fortunately for us, Gilbert Agius is still here with us as an assistant coach and he gives us a massive helping hand,” the Naples-born player said.
“As for Darren Abdilla, he is very intelligent – to explain it in an Italian way, I would compare his personality with that of Carlo Ancelotti.
“He is really quiet but when it is time to be serious and focused on the important tasks, he is always there to remind us of our responsibilities.”
Crossing swords with Fontanella will be fellow Italian midfielder Davide Lanzafame, once dubbed the ‘new Ronaldo’ during his early years in Italy’s Serie A and Serie B due to his number of goals and assists.
Most of the time, such nicknames do not bring luck to the players involved and Lanzafame was not an exception as he failed to reach his potential.
Now 32 and with various spells across Italy including Bari, Palermo, Parma and Perugia, Lanzafame seems to have revived his career with Ferencvaros as he has already found the net on 17 occasions in 36 games.
He is one of the weapons that the Fradi will be looking to bank on against Valletta, but Fontanella is not fazed by the names of his opponents.
“Of course, I know who he is and I know about him,” Fontanella said.
“I know that he is doing really well and he also won the top scorer award a few years back there.
“But there is no need to be scared – as my father says, your opponents have two legs and one mind, just like you, therefore these games are always decided on the field and not on paper.”