Author: Carmel Baldacchino Publisher: Progress Press Year of publication: 2004 ISBN: 999-09308-9-9 Number of pages: 462 Cover: hardcover Dimensions (mm): 207 (height), 152 (width), 18 (thickness) Weight: 700 g. Statistics, tables: yes Colour: no
Description: The story of football is not simply a collection of facts and figures. It is part of the social history of a nation. The never-ending drama played out in our football grounds reflects the boisterous character of our tiny but colourful nation.There are many characters in the drama. The main roles are of course played by the players themselves but coaches, referees, and other officials play important roles too. I have been following the game for the best part of my life. Being brought up at Tal-Borg Street in Paola, only a few metres away from the Schreiber Sports Ground, has given me the opportunity of seeing in action many of the old-timers covered in this volume.My real football education started around 1958 when I was old enough to go to the Empire Stadium in Gzira to watch the big games. I have watched thousands of matches and seen in action all the big stars of Maltese football of the last 50 years. This has helped me a great deal in choosing the best of these times. I have studied carefully all that has been written about pre-World War Two stars and managed to interview, throughout the years, some of them in order to get a feel of their playing careers and of the football environment of their time.When I came to compile my list of one hundred of the best, I based my selection on criteria that covered specific times. I did this to ensure that I would not just choose from the times I know best.