'Winning six trophies is our goal' - Joe Caruana Curran

Valletta FC President, Joe Caruana Curran, has a hectic time co-ordinating his many different roles. As a football president he has won the lot, but he is still eager for more. He loves not only his team, who has been labelled as the best side on the island for the last decade, but also the team's supporters. He is a fan of Antoine Zahra, Michael Mifsud and Adrian Ciantar. He speaks to RAY ABDILLA about this year's success.

Discussing football holds the same passion as dining out, especially when the talk is about Valletta FC. For Valletta Football Club President Joe Caruana Curran, the Citizens are his life. Is-Sur Joe, as he is famously known by many sports enthusiasts, will soon begin relaxing his efforts away from football. Come May, the football season will be over and winning the title last Monday after surrendering it to Birkirkara last season is definately a relief. But now he is thinking about winning the last two remaining honours: the Rothmans FA Trophy and the Super Cup. So relaxing may be a bit of an understatement, but winning the league is by far a major achievement that has earned the man at least a little rest.

But once summer comes around, he will once again be eating lots of ice cream, as. I have heard, he eats some five or six a day.

So what's next I asked? Isn't it boring winning all the time, or has it become a way of life? "I can assure you that for me it is not boring at all. Ask the thousands of Valletta supporters if they are bored winning again, again and again. Yes, we have won four trophies at the moment but the pinnacle will be winning the two left and that will be a record that could only be broken a 100 years from now,î Mr Caruana Curran explains.

But that's not all. Mr Caruana Curran is already hoping to strengthen the side for next season and last summer he had some hectic moments doing just that. He vividly remembers an important phone call from Hibernians President Tony Bezzina about the transfer of David Carabott to Valletta FC for Lm19,000...they agreed on all the details and the player from Marsaxlokk joined Valletta after spending practically his entire career at Paola.

Despite being a very busy man, the Valletta President allows himself time to watch his player's train. During pre-season, Valletta start training in mid-June at around 7.30 pm. He is always there to assess what is happening on the training grounds in Marsa and to watch the boys' progress. Last season the League started on 20 August and this time round it will be 10 days earlier. So training might come earlier this year but still, together with Mr Caruana Curran, several interested supporters will watch the team train. Such is the spirit of Valletta's fans.

Regarding some of the best Valletta performances, the Valletta President said that the European games against Barry Town, when Valletta got through, was one of the best. Then there was also the Skonto Riga match in which Valletta were unlucky to have suffered elimination, as barcelona had beaten Riga in the following round by just one goal.

He said that last season Valletta did Malta proud against tough opponents from Rijeka. "Every round you pass in UEFA, you get Lm25,000, so participating is valuable to the club, qualifying is better. Hopefully we will do it again this year.

"The Croats eliminated us in extra time, then they were unlucky to bow out against Spanish giants Celta Vigo in the following round."

I asked him why, on a national base, we're doing so badly while club-wise we're performing adequately. I told him that at the beginning of the season Valletta lost to Rijeka in extra-time, whilst Sliema performed well to beat crack side Partizan Belgrade at home 2-1.

He explains, "That is something for the national team to answer. Motivation holds the key to everything in life and it looks as though the clubs are being motivated. We went down to Rijeka only in extra-time. In the next round Rijeka confirmed what a good team they are when they were eliminated by Spanish side Celta Vigo by just one goal.

"It is important not only to have good players but also to make them play. That is something that the coach and administration should be doing all the time. An example is that while the Malta national team is getting attendencas of around 2,000, when we played B'Kara recently there were around 8,000 spectators. So that means that the clubs are doing something right and the national side is not."

The Valletta President said that despite the fact that his club are winning everything that comes in their way, they always need to bolster the squad. Last season they bought future prospect 19-year old Charlon Pace for Lm7,500 from Gzira and, from watching his first training sessions, it's clear the Champions made a good investment.

But undoubtedly one of the best buys Caruana Curran made during his career as a Valletta President was the purchase of Nigerian striker from Naxxar Chris Oretan. But now with all the players he brought over and with the new Champions being the envy of every side in Malta, will there be any more transfers?

"Yes, why not? A team has to improve all the time. We need a few more players to strengthen our squad for Europe and for next season's domestic league. Although the first thing we have to do is to convince two of our foreigners to sign a new contract. Pavel Mraz and Kamil Dvorak will both be out of contract at the end of the season and we want to keep them.

"We are very satisfied with our foreigners, but we have to convince Mraz and Dvorak to stay. I know they are eager to wear Valetta's white jersey for next season but with the transfer season heating up during the summer, other clubs might move for them," the Valletta President said.

Regarding local players. Is it still too early to say? Yes it might be he said. But, to put it in another way, which non-Valletta players that have impressed you the most this season, which would you like to see playing for Valletta.

Mr Caruana Curran said that the latter question is difficult, because he knows that their respective club's won't let them go.

"My number one is Antoine Zahra of Birkirkara. He is a complete player. I also like Michael Mifsud of Sliema Wanderers. He is fast and intelligent and has an eye for the goal, I never tire watching him play Then there is also Adrian Ciantar of Hibernians."

Mr Caruana Curran again spoke about Valletta's supporters and praised them for the support they had given throughout the season. He said that even when the chips were down, they continued to support them. "I remember we lost against Hibernians and morale was a bit down but, instead of staying away for the following match, the numbers increased. That is truly unbelievable," he said.

Recently Valletta launched a telecard to commemorate their Centenary Cup win. Mr Caruana Curran had also paid tribute to the Valletta Supporters Club for their initiative, which is generating more funds for the clubs. The card, truly a collector's item, was on sale before last Monday's Valletta - B'Kara match.

"Despite the difficult financial situation, the Supporters Club always generates money and despite the fact that the players get their pay cheque a bit later than usual, they still get what they are owed by the club.