Sport 30/06/2002

Sliema had been courting Brincat for eight years

Playing for Birkirkara was always one of football’s tougher jobs – the same will apply for Sliema who have been waiting on the wings for a league title win for the last five years. Last year they were favourites to do so but failed. Will they make it this coming season after signing Malta international Joe Brincat? RAY ABDILLA spoke to the former B'Kara midfielder who says it's difficult but possible

Many still believe that Joe Brincat, despite his 32 years, is one of the best midfielders on the island. Sliema Wanderers President, Robert Arrigo and his committee are true believers who have put their money where their mouth is. They have been courting Joe Brincat for eight years and finally, last Tuesday, 25 June, they got their man.

Who knows? Maybe Brincat is Sliema's final piece of the jigsaw. But the same Brincat tends to disagree.

"I will give Sliema Wanderers my 100 per cent but that does not necessarily mean that the Blues will surely win the league. I have spoken to President Robert Arrigo and told him the same thing, and he told me that he knew how difficult it is to win the league, but he wants 100 per cent commitment from everyone, and that won't be a problem for me," Joe Brincat said.

Last season The Stripes clearly faltered while Brincat was out of the game because of injury. They did take home the Rothmans F.A. Trophy and the Super Cup but only after his return.

Brincat told MaltaToday that Sliema came back to him with yet another offer in Christmas. His reply had been that he would be free at the end of the season and would consider it only if renewal negotiations with Birkirkara failed.

"It was my intention to stick with the Stripes, even though Sliema always appealed to me. But I was happy and I always felt at home with Birkirkara.

"I loved playing for Birkirkara but I knew that one day I would have to sit down and try to get things sorted out. There were some things which I wanted to clarify before I signed a new contract.

The deal that the Stripes offered me was not enough and after speaking to Sliema, or better to Robert Arrigo, I signed, what was clearly a better deal," Brincat stressed.

The Hamrunese striker has played with the national side under practically every recent coach such and he is rated highly by everyone. He has played with some smashing players such as Carmel Busuttil, Michael Degiorgio, Ray Vella and John Buttigieg: the best there was.

His career path is strewn with cups and kudos. Yet he refuses to rest on his laurels and is always looking for the next hurdle to leap over.

For Malta, Joe Brincat recalls, "I was unlucky not to make my 100th appearance because of injury. Coach Siggi Held was keen to let me have my century but I wasn't fit enough. Perhaps this dream will become a reality very soon. Playing 100 matches for your country is no easy feat.

"Malta has been playing some good soccer in recent matches and showed that when in form we can give anyone a hard game," he said.

Now he hopes to win his hundredth cap in the game against Macedonia next month. He is also looking forward to the qualifying matches of the Euro Cup where Malta has been paired with last edition's World Cup winners, France.

Like any other player, Joe Brincat's aspirations are to win honours in the League Championship and the FA Trophy. He grants that Hibernians deserved to win the league championship this season. What surprised him was Sliema's failure, after signing so many good players.

"Hopefully we'll try to sort things out for the better in the new season. I may not be Sliema's only new player. Antoine Zahra's contract with Birkirkara also expired at the end of the season. Maybe he'll join the side. It's not my decision to make, but if he does join Sliema, it will be wonderful for me.

" I will also play with other players I already know from the national team so I won't be that new to Sliema, the Malta international midfielder told MaltaToday.

"I believe that Birkirkara, Hibernians, Sliema and Valletta are still the best four sides in Malta at the moment, and should start as favourites to win the major trophies in the new season.

"Last season it was a quite interesting season with Floriana and Marsa winning points off the big guns. But I still think that Hibernians won the league fair and square. Sliema may be the team to beat next season but we have to wait and see."

In terms of motivation, Joe said he doesn’t feel he’s lost any and feels as though he has just started playing football. "I do not really feel 32 and when I sense that it is the time to pack up – I’ll do so."

He's signed a three-year contract with the Blues and at 35 he will have to take another bold decision: whether to continue playing football at all, stick with Sliema, join another club or retire. But he said that it's still early days to take a decision.

"I hope to coach a nursery after quitting the game."

Joe has been playing football for 16 years and took the Maltese game by storm from the start. Hamrun spotted his talent first and left him no choice but to make football his career.

With the national team he's played some unforgettable matches. "The ones against Italy and England were outstanding. Now I'm hoping to add France to my list of worldfamous opponents.

I was lucky to have good coaches and players around me. It made my game," Joe said. One of the Malta games he will never forget is a Trophy Final against Valletta, having eliminated Sliema and Floriana.

The move to Sliema is a change of environment. With Birkirkara he had the benefit of thousands of supporters screaming and backing the side throughout the season. Sliema will be different.

The Blues supporters' don't pump up the team until the going gets easy. When the going gets tough, it's tougher for the Sliema supporters.

"Yes it will be a totally different kind of ball game with Sliema. Perhaps this can also improve my game because pressure is not so intense as it was with B'Kara. With Sliema players are not so hardpressed by the support, and I think that this will help.

"At Birkirkara our will to win was immense. This season we practically always played with our second team and still finished third. It shows what a great squad we had. Still the supporters weren't happy.

"We also did well at the beginning of the season qualifying for the next round in the UEFA Cup. We were unlucky to not qualify for a further round, yet the B'Kara supporters wanted more.

"I leave B'kara with an excellent relationship with the fans. In fact the B'Kara supporters club phoned me on Thursday to say how sorry they were to see me go. They wished me the best of luck.

"This is football. That's how it works in every part of the world. Players come and go and there's nothing to do about it. Life must go on," the former B'Kara star told me.

The 32-year old midfielder is married to Rita and has two girls - Beverly, seven and Mariah, three. He loves to spend time with them. What does he do for fun? He watches telly and plays bocci.