Gilbert Agius

Gilbert Agius (born 21 February 1974) is a former professional Maltese footballer, currently head coach of Malta national under-21 football team.

Gilbert Agius
Personal information
Full name Gilbert Agius
Date of birth (1974-02-21) 21 February 1974
Place of birth Valletta, Malta
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–2012 Valletta 453 (183)
2001–2002 → Pisa Calcio (loan) 4 (0)
2013–2014 → Xewkija Tigers (loan) 9 (4)
Total 466 (187)
National team‡
1989–1990 Malta U16 5 (0)
1990–1992 Malta U18 5 (0)
1990–1995 Malta U21 16 (3)
1993–2009 Malta 120 (8)
Teams managed
2012–2014 Valletta F.C (Assistant Manager)
2014 Valletta F.C
2014 Valletta F.C (Assistant Manager)
2019 Valletta F.C (Caretaker Manager)
2020 Valletta F.C (Caretaker Manager)
2021 Malta U21
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 November 2010
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 November 2010

Playing career

Agius was the captain of his hometown club side Valletta F.C. and is one of the most well known and highly respected figures in Maltese football history. He is hailed as a hero by the Valletta F.C. fans, due to his loyalty to his hometown club, where he played since 1990, bar a short spell during the first half of the 2001–02 season which he spent on loan to then-Serie C1 club Pisa. His number 7 shirt is retired in respect of his loyalty and great service to the club.[1] He is the most capped player and the all time goal scorer at Valletta F.C.[2] Agius is also the player who won the most honours in Valletta F.C. history. He also holds the record of top Maltese scorer in European games with 10 goals.

Gilbert Agius has received three Malta Football Association Player of the Year awards. The first was won in 1996–97, the second in Valletta's successful 2000–01 season, the third in 2006–07.[3]

At the start of the 2007–08 season Agius was on trial with Enköpings SK, but later he opted to stay with Valletta. At the end of 2007 Agius was out with a thigh injury for several months. He returned just as the team started fulfilling its potential, and led Valletta to the first title since 2000–01. He won a single Player of the Month award during the season (September 2007) and was chosen as Best Local Player in the Maltese Football Awards at the end of the 2007–08 season.

At the beginning of the 2012–13 season Agius was named to be Assistant Manager of Valletta, with new Manager Mark Miller. He later left this role and came out of retirement to play for Gozitan side Xewkija Tigers[4] helping them to win the Gozo League.

Coaching career

After his short spell with Xewkija Tigers, Agius came back to Valletta F.C., where he took again the place of assistant manager. In such role he had the chance to replace the head coach several times. In 2019 he replaced Danilo Doncic as a caretaker manager of the citizens, and led the club to win the title after beating Hibernians F.C. in the decider match.[5] On December 2020 Agius came back in help of his club, taking the role of caretaker coach again after the resignation of Jesmond Zerafa.[6] At the end of the year he was replaced by António Cardoso Mendes, coming back to his role as assistant manager.[7]

On January 2021 Agius was appointed as new head coach of the Malta national under-21 football team.[8]

Achievements

Player
1991/92, 1996/97, 1997/98, 1998/99, 2000/01, 2007/08, 2010/2011, 2011/12
1994/95, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1998/99, 2000/01, 2009/10
1994/95 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 2000/01 2007/08 2010/11
  • Löwenbräu Cup: 6
1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 2000/01
  • Super 5 Lottery Tournament: 4
1992/93 1996/97 1999/00 2000/01 2007/08
  • National League 100 Anniversary Cup: 1
2010
  • Centenary Cup: 1
2000
  • BetFair Cup (Exhibition Match) : 1
2008
  • Mare Blue Cup 1
2010 2011
1996/97, 2000/01, 2006/07

Manager
2018/19

International career

Malta

Gilbert has recorded a remarkable 120 caps for his country, making him the third most capped player in Malta's history.[9] For the national team, he has often been used a defensive midfielder in recent years. Not due to exceptional defensive skills, but due to his ability to distribute the ball. He has scored 8 goals for the national team.[10] At club level he has played primarily as a supporting forward. Gilbert was captain of Malta for many years until he stopped being called up for international duty, but is loved by fans and remembered to be a very passionate player who loved to play for his country.

Agius' goal in a 1–1 friendly game against Austria was voted Goal of the Season in the 2006–07 Malta Football Awards.

International goals

Malta Goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.14 August 1996Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland Iceland1-01–2Friendly
2.8 June 1997Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Faroe Islands1-01–21998 FIFA World Cup qualifying
3.6 February 2000Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta Azerbaijan2-03–0Rothmans Cup
4.6 February 2000Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta Azerbaijan3-03–0Rothmans Cup
5.5 September 2001Na Stínadlech, Teplice, Czech Republic Czech Republic2-22–32002 FIFA World Cup qualifying
6.11 February 2002Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta Lithuania1-11–1Rothmans Cup
7.15 November 2006Hibernians Ground, Paola, Malta Lithuania1-31–4Friendly
8.7 February 2007Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta, Malta Austria1-01–1Friendly

References
  1. Busuttil, Antoine (7 October 2013). "VALLETTA FC WEAR PUTTINU CARES LOGO ON SHIRTS". MaltaFootball. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  2. "Gilbert Agius". Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  3. Di Maggio, Roberto; José Luis, Pierrend (16 December 2020). "Malta - Player of the Year". Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  4. "Gilbert Agius joins Xewkija Tigers". 31 October 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  5. Busuttil, Antoine (4 May 2019). "VALLETTA CROWNED BOV PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS AFTER PENALTY SHOOT-OUT". MaltaFootball. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  6. Camilleri, Valhmor (2 December 2020). "Agius appointed interim coach at Valletta FC". Times of Malta. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  7. Camilleri, Valhmor (28 December 2020). "Portuguese coach Cardoso Mendes takes over at Valletta FC". SportsDesk. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  8. "Mark Gatt confirmed as Malta women's coach". Malta Football Association. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  9. "National "A" players apparences". Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  10. "National football team player Gilbert Agius". Retrieved 30 December 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.