This week we are back on the sunny island of Malta where we pick up on our theme of inter island rivalry. In the first part we looked at Valletta FC and their near neighbours Floriana.
This week we cross the Valletta harbour for a visit to one of Malta’s most successful clubs, Sliema Wanderers. Then it is the turn of Hibernians from the small town of Paolo.
SLIEMA WANDERERS
Formed in 1909 Sliema Wanderers were founder members of the first ever Maltese League. In that first season they finished second to Floriana. The club had been formed out of an amalgamation between the old teams of Sliema Rovers, and Sliema Amateurs.
After a period of playing in yellow and green they decided to adopt light blue as the new club colours. This was in recognition of the sea which surrounds the harbour town, and the Our Lady Of the Sea, parish church colours.
A keen rivalry quickly grew between Sliema Wanderers and Floriana, from across the harbour, as both teams rose in prominence often battling against each other for trophies.
Sliema Wanderers' first league title came ten years later in 1919-1920. In their history they have added a further 25 titles, including three on the trot between 2003 and 2005.
They won their first FA Trophy in 1935 beating Floriana 4-0 in the final. A further 18 Trophy wins added to the impressive honours list for the Sliema club.
Their first foray into European competition came in the 1963-64 UEFA Cup Winners Cup where they hardly distinguished themselves losing 0-2 on aggregate to the now defunct Borough Town, of Wales. Huge defeats, including a 0-6 loss to Denmark’s Randers Freja in 1969, 1-5 to IFK Norrkoping of Sweden, and 0-8 to Portugal’s Boavista, highlighted the gulf that existed for Maltese clubs.
However, in 1981 they were narrowly beaten by Spanish giants Barcelona in the UEFA Cup, losing 0-2 at home, and 0-1 away in the Nou Camp. This was, without doubt, a major achievement by a Maltese side. Any hope gained from those heroics were quickly quashed when they suffered further heavy defeats to European opposition.
In the UEFA Cup of 1983 they were thrashed 0-5 at home to Swansea City of Wales before losing the second leg by a humiliating 0-12. In 1982-83 they were relegated after a terrible slump in form. They quickly bounced back by winning the championship and have remained in the top flight ever since.
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