Micallef parts ways with Pembroke Athleta

Pembroke Athleta will be in search of a new coach for the coming season after the departure of former mentor Thane Micallef on Tuesday.

Micallef, who led the side to a second-placed finish during the 2020/21 season, announced the news  on his socials where he thanked president Alex Calleja, his coaching staff and his players who he said “started off as individuals, we became a group and we ended up as family”.

“It was an honour to work with such a group of dedicated players and I will always keep close to my heart the experiences and emotions which we shared over the past months,” Micallef said.

“I would have loved to have had the opportunity to celebrate promotion with you on the fielf of play and hug and thank each and every one of you for what we achieved throughout the season. Nonetheless, what we did is here to stay, and no one can ever take it away from us.”

Under Micallef – now one of a number of local coaches who earned the UEFA PRO license this year – the club finished second with 47 points in 22 games, before the halt of the league. The side were held back from promotion as runners up to Marsa because of approved regulations for when football has to stop due to a force majeure that stipulate that the league standings will be used if championship is stopped with less than 25 per cent of the fixtures still need to be played. In the case of the Challenge League, Marsaxlokk had not achieved this after having played only 19 games.

Micallef had joined from Gudja United, having served as an assistant coach in the season which led the club to promotion into the Premier League.