sport interview

Building a family atmosphere at Floriana

The new Floriana FC President, Dr Hugh Peralta, tells RAY ABDILLA that the club can return to its days of glory if all its fans lend a hand

Are you from Floriana?
No, I was raised in Balzan but my fatherwas from Floriana and was an avid Floriana FC supporter.

So how did you become a football lover?
My father had a big influence here as well. He used to take me to watch football matches when Floriana used to play. From Balzan we used to go by ‘karozzin’. Those were good times, especially with Floriana having names like Lolly Debattista among their players.

Were you in football before?
When I was young I used to play for the school side of St Aloysius, but I also played third and second division football with Melita and Balzan Youths. I remember playing my last competitive match for Balzan against Lija.

So you never played for Floriana. How come?
It is simple; I wasn’t good enough to play for the Greens. In those days it was really difficult to play for such a side. Their standard was very high - they were amazing.

You are a lawyer, while the presidents of most of the Premier Division clubs are mainly businessmen. Do you think this is unusual?
Yes, maybe that is true at club level. But when one looks at the hierarchy of the Malta Football Association one realises that way back, there was Dr Guze Mifsud Bonnici, then Dr George Abela took his place and eventually Dr Joe Mifsud became President after Dr Abela's resignation. These were all lawyers, so lawyers are involved.

Will it be difficult taking over from Leslie Burke?
Well it is not easy. But when I decided to run for president, after many Floriana FC supporters and even residents approached me, I said that if I took the post there would be no significant changes and that I wanted everything to keep running smoothly. But I also want to address the major problems the club has at the moment, such as the lack of finance.

So will you help financially?
I will not fork out thousands of liri from my own pocket. I can’t simply do that. What I want is for all Floriana FC supporters to help a little. If that happens we could make it. There are some people who can donate money, others who can’t, but are as important, if not more. If all Floriana supporters, around the country help, even by giving some of their time to the club, then together we would have a bright future. Another thing that I want to see at the club is a ban on politics.

This is only a football club and should be run like one.

Although Maltese football is not fully professional, money is needed to run a premiership side and there is talk about a club spending thousands of liri to survive. How do you take this into consideration?
Like I said if supporters, sponsors, committee members and the team get their act together, I see no reason why we can’t make it. The trouble may be that there are other clubs which spend more than us and try to lure away the best players. But one can cite the Chievo-Milan set-up. The newly promoted Italian side are doing wonders without forking out millions of liri. Yes one might say that in the end it is the likes of Milan that win, but determination is the key to success. We need to treat our players fairly and well. We need to tell them what our position is and for that we will be rewarded.

What are your ambitions this season? Do you think you will make it through to the Championship Pool?
That is difficult question to answer. I cannot comment much about it at this stage, but obviously we will do our best.

You must have been pleased to beat Sliema, regarded as one of the best squads in the country and a the contender for the league title this season.
Yes it was good to beat Sliema who are a very solid side. But this win could have come about because of different factors. It could be that we played our best game of the season with Sliema playing their worst. It could be that Sliema thought that they had a win in the bag and were very relaxed. We will have to see whether we maintain the momentum.

Will you strengthen your side this season?
We are not interested in signing new players. But on the other hand there is no player for sale. So I appeal to all other teams to leave our players alone. I feel that with the present squad we have we could do well.

What are your aims for the future?
That together with the committee we will work as a team for the good of Floriana. I would like the club to build a harmonious, family-like environment for the good of Floriana.

Do you think that football in Malta has improved?
To answer such a question one has to measure things with like situations. We can’t compare ourselves with big countries that population-wise have got millions. But we could compare ourselves with countries such as the Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Cyprus and Iceland.

When we played these kind of countries recently we did not do well. I think the problem is that our players do not take football seriously as foreigners do. Our players should live for football and be determined to succeed. If not then why bother to compete?

Which do you regard as the best Floriana sides?
I think the 1950’s one of Lolly Borg stands out as one of the best, if not the best. But the 70’s side of Louis Arpa was also a very good side. The recent 1993 edition was also good.

What about this season. Who is your tip for the League title?
Hibernians, Sliema and Birkirkara are three good sides and one of the three is likely to clinch it.

Do you agree with the Rothmans Premier League format?
I have no opinion on it.

Who do you regard as the best ever-Maltese footballer?
I am a great fan of Lolly Borg, so I have to go for him. But I could not leave out Carmel Busuttil.

Who do you think is the best local footballer at present?
Michael Mifsud.

Do you watch any international football and who do you support?
Yes, I watch international football and I support Chelsea, Milan and the England national team.

Who is your favourite foreign footballer of all time?
Franco Baresi of Milan. He was simply magic. The way he used to control the ball was amazing.