Valletta president Claudio Grech insisted Valletta will be a Premier League force again soon as he vows to build a competitive side after securing promotion back to Malta’s top flight.
The City supremo was speaking to the Times of Malta after on Saturday they were crowned as BOV Challenge League champions following a 3-0 win over Marsa at the National Stadium.
“We’re building a powerful team for the Premier League,” said a visibly passionate Grech.
Grech hints that a reshuffle was not an appropriate term to define Valetta’s plans for the coming season.
“When we took over a year ago, we committed to building on the positives we found while addressing the areas that needed improvement,” Grech said.
“Our goal has always been to create a sustainable project. Next season, Valletta will field a highly-competitive team – one that will do justice to both the club’s proud legacy and the capital city it represents.”
Their clash against Marsa on Saturday was no more than an occasion to kick off their celebrations. This was their coronation match after they had clinched their promotion with three games to spare.
Before the match, the fans unfurled a banner that read: “NEVER AGAIN” – a defiant yet hopeful declaration that Valletta’s rightful place was at the pinnacle of Maltese football.
Their season in the Challenge League – a kind of purgatory – was to be a one-time aberration, never to be repeated.
Valletta president Claudio Grech speaks to the Times of Malta.
“Valletta had never played in the second tier before, but there was no shame in it,” said Grech.
“We saw it as an opportunity to regroup, strengthen the club’s foundations, and start building a truly competitive team for the future,” he explained.
Promotion was the only aim for Valletta this season when they re-appointed Thane Micallef as their coach.
Yet, they have decorated the Challenge league with some beautiful football and emerged from it with a blaze of goals and glory after they finished the league with 19 wins out of 22 matches.
Valletta coach Thane Micallef gives his views.
Fittingly, promotion was sealed in style with a commanding first-half performance against Marsa – a team ironically led by former City captain Ryan Fenech, who had lifted many trophies with the club during the glory times.
A beautifully executed triangular passing move between Andrea Zammit and Enoch Mushagalusa set up the Congolese wingback to open the scoring after 17 minutes.
Marsa’s goal was breached again within minutes when they had no answer to Zammit’s right wing advance before hitting a diagonal shot behind Ryan Caruana.
When Paul Lapira made his entrance in the 63rd minute, he could never have imagined scoring with his very first touch.
After finding the back of the net, the striker ran directly toward the supporters, lifting his shirt to kiss the club’s emblem in a heartfelt display of love and loyalty.
At the final whistle coach Thane Micallef embraced his staff, but said that there was still work to be done from his team this season.
“The season is not yet over for us. We have the possibility to land more silverware for the club,” Micallef said, in reference to Valletta’s quarter-final fixture in the Challenge Cup when they face Lija Athletic on Saturday.
Valletta skipper Brandon Paiber gives his comments on the season.
Asked about his future, Micallef flashed a big smile and exclaimed, “I have a contract in place, my wish is to stay, and I’m already planning for next year alongside the club’s administration.”
“Paiber, Paiber, Paiber…” roared the enclosure of the National Stadium as the Valletta captain indulged in a low-key lap of honour on his way to the VIP gallery, arms aloft, waving to the supporters on both sides, before being handed the Challenge Trophy by MFA president Bjorn Vassallo and BOV Chief Officer Ernest Agius.
It was a clear mark of affection for a man known for his competitive intensity, with whom, in the past, the relationship hadn’t always been the easiest.
Yet, he is the man recognised as the technical leader, the one tasked with lifting the team back to its former glory.
“When I joined Valletta three years ago, the club was at its lowest ebb. But now, the future looks bright, and great times are ahead. We will enjoy them together,” Paiber stated with confidence.
A prolonged flirtation with relegation – fuelled by years of poor management – finally became reality this season. Yet, Valletta’s loyal supporters fully embraced the experience, standing by their team with unwavering pride.
On Saturday, the National Stadium was a ‘mecca’ of football as thousands of supporters turned the national park into an open-air carnival.
Hours before the match, Ta’ Qali gradually become flooded as waves of white and red flowed towards the stadium. The Valletta followers again crowded the stadium sections allotted to them as they filled every corner of both sides of the enclosure.
Indeed, the National Stadium was impressively eye-catching. Last Saturday’s attendance set a season record across all divisions, with 3,206 spectators filling the stands – a figure unmatched even by any single match in the Premier League.
Celebrations reached their peak in the evening, as Republic Street echoed with chants ‘Lil tal-Belt ħadd ma jista’ għalina’, as the Valletta’s players, coaches, and club officials made their way slowly toward the Law Courts, where thousands of ecstatic fans welcomed their heroes in a sea of red and white.
It was a crowd perhaps larger than those that gathered even in times of major trophy triumphs – a powerful testament to how deeply the supporters have embraced the club’s renewed identity and vision.
