Ħamrun Spartans coach Giacomo Modica is expecting nothing less than maximum effort from his players as they take on Swiss giants FC Lausanne in their second match from the League Phase of the UEFA Conference League at the National Stadium on Thursday night (kick-off: 9pm).
This is a historic night for the Spartans as they will become the first Maltese team to host a League Phase match from a UEFA club competition on our islands.
Ħamrun have enjoyed an encouraging start in the competition last month after putting in a solid showing and were unlucky to come away with a 1-0 defeat to last season’s quarter-finalists Jagiellonia, in Poland.
Modica is hopeful his players can build on that performance against Lausanne but the Italian coach admitted that he is expecting another very tough test against the Swiss side.
“I expect my players to be a bit emotional before the start of the match, but not too much as it could be a problem,” Modica said with a smile.
“This is a special night not just for our club but also Maltese football in general.
“We are playing in a top UEFA club competition, and these are the matches that we aspire to play in and give some great exposure to our club.
“After the encouraging showing in Poland, we are set to face another very strong side. Lausanne has enjoyed a very positive start to the competition, winning their opening away match in convincing fashion,” Modica said, referring to Lausanne’s 3-0 win over Iceland’s Breidablik.
“But our performance against Jagiellonia in Poland fills me with a lot of courage that we can put in another strong showing.”
Modica said that he was impressed by what he saw of Lausanne so far and has no doubt that the Swiss side will provide a very tricky challenge to his players.
“They are a very strong team,” Modica said.
“Lausanne has a lot of experience in Europe, and unless every player in our squad gives their 200 per cent, we will be at risk of suffering a humiliating defeat.
“Lausanne are technically very strong, and the only way we can counter their threat is that we use our physical strength and a lot of grit and determination.
“We need to show the same application and unity displayed in Poland. I have a lot of faith in my players, and the most important thing is that we give everything, and then we will see what happens.”
Asked to single out Lausanne’s major strengths, Modica has singled out the pace and ability of their forwards.
“If you look in general, they have a great group of players and boast some great individual qualities,” Modica said.
“In particular, I was impressed by their main forward, who is strong and fast and provides a lot of depth to their team. Behind him, there are players that are very dangerous with their movement, and we need to be tactically astute to not let them dictate the pace of the game.
“I expect my team to be very resilient as there were be long spells in the game where we need to suffer and be very tactically organised. We need the best version of ourselves and try to play with great intensity throughout the whole match.
“It will be crucial that we are intelligent enough to read every passage of the game and adapt to every situation. It’s going to be tough but we need to play with heart and conviction, like we did against Jagiellonia.”
For today’s match, Modica will be without winger Joseph Mbong, who is serving a one-match ban after he was sent off in the 1-0 defeat to Jagiellonia, but otherwise the Italian coach has no selection problems.
On his part, Italian defender Vincenzo Polito said that all players are aware of the difficult challenge awaiting them, but their display in Poland fills them with the courage that they can make the club and their fans proud.
“The game against Jagiellonia has injected a lot of belief in us,” the Italian defender said.
“It’s important that we reproduce the same spirit shown in Poland. This is a team that has time and again shown that it can compete at this level and can aspire to achieve even higher objectives.”
On his part, Modica ended his press conference by paying homage to the Spartans’ fans and said he hopes that they can repay their continuous backing with a strong showing.
“Our club should be proud to have a fan base that is always showing a lot of love to all the players,” Modica said.
“Since we started our European journey, in every away match we were followed by 200-250 fans and their affection towards us is something extraordinary.
“I am sure that on Thursday they will again be behind us throughout the 90 minutes and I sincerely hope that we can put on a performance that makes them proud and provides them cause for celebration.”
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