by Mgarr United and Mtarfa will conclude the first weekend and today’s double-header at Dingli Ground starting at 20:30. Mgarr United’s Ryan Vella is keen on his team starting with a win, playing a brand of football that reflects the work put into pre-season. On the other side, while under no illusion of the strength of their opponent, Mtarfa’s new leader Gaetano Papaleo is seeking to inject a new life into the team.
Two Teams Looking To Build A New Identity
Mgarr United and Mtarfa will be the ones to close out the first weekend of the Assikura Women’s League. Both teams come into this season with a different feel. Mgarr United’s Ryan Vella had a few months to get to know his team last season, during which the side earned their first points against the top four rivals following the split. However, he now takes the official role and appears to have utilised the off-season to continue shaping the identity of his new team.
Noting also that the Greens were among the busiest in the transfer market, Vella was probed about what one is to expect from Mgarr United under his tenure. He said, “One of the main aspects we worked on (during pre-season) was building a team identity and play style. Even though we’ll always try to play attractive, attacking football, we’ll be ready to adapt if need be, to gain as many wins as possible during the league campaign.”
On the other side, Gaetano Papaleo will be leading Mtarfa, in search of starting afresh and injecting a new life into a team that has consistently struggled. Mtarfa’s new leader is seeking a step-by-step approach, starting by a change in mentality, “The first objective is to make it clear that it is totally wrong to face more experienced teams, with more trained players, with eight players in the box. In this way, players will never learn how to hold the field and above all you don’t need a coach to play that way.”
Underlining his philosophy, Papaleo said, “l’m not interested in winning or losing, l want to teach to take risks, not to be afraid. We are going to war, to be proud to play against strong teams and put ourselves to the test. It is not a failure to try to change and struggle to do so, the failure is to complain without trying push that change.”
The Blues managed to hold on to the core group, but lost one of their first key starters in Corinne Deguara. Asked about how he managed pre-season with his new team and his expectations from them, Papaleo replied, “For many of them it was a physical and mental shock. They were used to doing possession, which l still don’t understand what it’s for (considering the team often had the lower amount of possession in matches).”
The Italian hinted at the approach of taking a leaf out of Zdenek Zeman’s work, “They only went 2km warm-up before, therefore, patience is needed. Zeman’s methods are the nightmare of every footballer in the world, let alone girls who want have fun.”
However, Papaleo appears clear on the road ahead, and spoke passionately about taking Mtarfa upward, “Coaching young people is an honour and there are three to four players that you’ll hear about in a while. It’s just a matter of practice and time.”
Match Expectations
Mgarr United’s Ryan Vella was clear that he will give minutes to several of his new signings, but kept cards close to his chest on who and how many. On the other hand, the Greens new coach is seeking an opening victory, but aware that first matches offer different challenges to navigate.
He said, “The first game is always tricky as usually. A lot of changes happen during the summer window for all teams. Our goal is to get our first three points while sticking to the principles we trained on during the past weeks.”
Meanwhile, Mtarfa’s Gaetano Papaleo is not under any illusion of the strength of Mgarr United, but is inspiring his troops to take the opportunity of battling against strong opponents with both hands. He said, “l m not a dreamer, l’m a realist. l know that all predictions point toward an Mgarr win. We are building, waiting for players from abroad. Some have to return from their studies abroad and in the last fifteen days there have been cases of COVID. However, these are not justifications. l repeat, you learn and improve by playing against the most experienced teams, from the players on the national team’s roster.”
The Italian is rallying his troops to bring passion and a determination to fight, “The truth is that, as in life, courage does not mean having the strength to go on, but to go on even when you have no strength. Otherwise everything is easy.”
The two teams will kick-off at 20:30, following the encounter between Birkirkara and San Gwann.
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