The waterpolo summer season has been consigned to the record books. The various teams are now in the process of evaluating their performances against their pre-season aspirations. The resultant post-mortems would then help the teams in planning their future.  

No doubt it has been a season replete with tense encounters, exciting play and, above all, a spirit of camaraderie which was not easy to generate and sustain, given the volatile nature of the game.   

This, of course, must be looked at against a background of unprecedented equilibrium that prevailed among no fewer than four teams this year. There was very little that divided Marsascala, Sirens, Sliema and Neptunes. In fact, any of these four teams was still in with a chance for the league title with two matches to go for the end of the competition.   
   
Success for M’Scala   

The honour eventually went to Marsascala for the first time in the club’s history. Success for them was the result of the committee’s resoluteness when deciding it was time to turn the tide in their favour as far as engaging fully-fledged players was concerned.   

There had been a time when this team from the south supplied their top players to other teams who then went on to win the honours. That trend had to be stopped. Over the last three years players from Neptunes, Sliema, San Giljan and Valletta were lured down south.   

The 1997 season turned out to be a golden one for the southerners. The possee of top individuals they engaged were turned into an efficient outfit thanks to the work put in by coach Guzi Attard and his assistant, Anthony Farrugia. The jackpot was hit. Consistency, steely nerves, skill and a thick bench helped them outpace opponents in the final straight.   

Alex Tanti and Charlie Zammit produced super stuff at crucial moments, Dorian Pisani, Ian Azzopardi, Anthony Galea and Leonard Cachia the variety and muscle, Mario Zammit and Pierre Borg the alternating punch in the hole and Anton Privitera, John Licari and Joe Cremona useful contribution as constant substitutes. Alan Farrugia and Reuben Bonnici provided extra width when needed.   

It was a momentous year for these lads thanks to whom the Cisk Lager championship title went down south for the first time ever. Their task should be a more onerous one next year as they will naturally make a bid to withstand the stiff challenges forthcoming from other teams.   
Indeed it is harder staying at the top than getting there!   

Marsascala faced this reality when they were bundled out of the knock-out competition by Sliema, the team they had unseated as champions.   

The Blues, whose season was marked by some inconsistencies, picked up the bits at the end of summer when they went on to win the knock-out for the 17th time after eventually disposing of Valletta and then Neptunes in a momentous final.   

In so doing the Blues managed to win back some of their spurs in a season during which they put their younger faces into the fray more and more often.   

The promise in the Sliema camp is there and the blend of youngsters with experienced faces should guarantee the team a bright future.   

Sirens were again hit by the summer jinx that had been dogging them in the previous years when they missed out by a whisker on the league title. A team with fine balance and the right qualities to strike success, almost disintegrated in the final stages with some of their stalwarts suddenly losing their polish.   

At least there was a silver lining in the club’s clan since their youths, some of whom play in the senior team, made a clean sweep of the U-19 honours.   

Neptunes did not really get out of their ‘transition’ tag. They introduced more fledglings this year to add to the number of up-and-coming names they launched the previous summer. Theirs was the youngest and arguably the most promising squad in the top division.   

They were led by John Paris who ended the season on a better note than he had started it. Once again, he finished top goalscorer with 39.   

What the team needed was a little more crunch and muscle, elements which are acquired through experience. Otherwise their credentials were as good as those of the other top contenders for the honours.   

If there was a team which performed reasonably well despite the wholesale defections of some of their established players in the past two seasons, this was Valletta. The team’s sights were primarily set on retaining their top class status after which they strove to be as competitive as possible against the more quoted outfits.   

Their first aim achieved, the City team had mixed fortunes in their second objective. Following a fairly good start to their performances they slumped in a couple of matches. A slight improvement in their play towards the end of the season brought some relief back to their clan. But where are the budding players in the team?   

Better teamwork and staying power from Exiles, did not prevent this Cindirella side from avoiding last place. Their tactical sense was definitely more refined, with new coach Dirk Dowling getting almost the maximum out of his squad.   

Cautious strategy based on playing out the full possesion period before going for an opening, could have affected the spectacle, but, given the team’s limitations, the utilitarian aspect was foremost in the minds of the team’s coach.   

Some more steadiness in their crucial matches against Valletta could  have helped Exiles dodge relegation. However, results were generally satisfactory for them.   

Second Division   

The Second Division championship race turned out to be restricted between San Giljan and Ta’ Xbiex. The Saints outpaced their opponents and then went on to clinch the double after beating the same team in the knock-out final.   

There was little doubt San Giljan had the best element among the five contestants in this category. But one has to see whether their squad  would be strong enough to compete with credit in the top division next summer, that is, if they do not again renounce to their newly-won status.   

Of the other teams, Ta’ Xbiex and Marsasxlokk tried to make a fight of it with the former only coming a cropper in the second leg match against the eventual champions. The south seasiders were unable to make a comeback after an early stumble.   

Barracudas and Otters were clearly out of their depth against the others. It was obvious that these sides’ agility, depth of strength and staying power were at a premium despite some fighting qualities they showed.   

General analysis   

A general analysis of the top competitions will reveal that the absence of foreigners was partly made up for by the excitement sparked off by the predominating balance  among the chief contestants. Matches were thus open to any result every time the top teams met.   

Lack of individual virtuosity, usually coming from foreigners, was also brought about by the teams’ higher propensity to play press. Thus, personal faults were very numerous.   

Approximative statistics show that Sliema and Marsascala had the best man-up records followed by Sirens and Valletta. Exiles and, surprisingly, Neptunes bring up the rear.   

Conversely, the teams’ man-down statistics reveal almost identical standings with Marsascala slightly ahead of Sliema and Sirens. Then come Valletta, Exiles and Neptunes.   

Spectacular goals added some flavour to the excitement of several tight contests.   

Many will agree that the best goal of the season was that scored by Niki Lanzon against Sirens in the first round of the league. In my view Jonathan Valletta’s thunderous goal against Sliema in the second round match comes next, with John Paris’s flicked goal against Sirens in the KO semi-final following suit.   

The top contenders for the Player of the Year award could well be Alex Tanti and Charlie Zammit, two players who, in my opinion, contributed mostly to Marsascala’s success.   

Most improved players: John Licari, Walter Degiorgio, David Cutajar, Chris Cauchi, Clint Debono, Francesco Cutajar, Edwin Pisani, Niki Lanzon, Christian Gialanze, David Camilleri, George Attard, Silvio Borg, Antoine Sciberras.   

Promising faces: Reuben Bonnici, Alan Farrugia, Karl Montfort, Neil Cassar, John Soler, Malcolm Azzopardi, Edward Cachia, Ivan Muscat.   

Best squad: Alex Tanti, Joe Caruana Dingli, Marco Manara, Ian Azzopardi, Charlie Zammit, Dorian Pisani, Chris Sladden, George Attard, Silvio Borg, John Paris, Jonathan Valletta, Niki Lanzon, Patrick Cachia. Coach: Joe Attard.   

Future prospects  

In conclusion one can say that the summer season just over may not have been so arid as some might have expected, keeping in mind certain shortfalls resulting from the ban on foreign recruits.   

Interest was maintained at adequate levels despite a visible fall in attendances. Certainly the ASA will do well to take stock of a situation which could bring the game face to face with the red light of the club’s financial plights, and their difficulties in luring and grooming more and more youngsters to the game.   

The ruling body itself is confronted with a none too rosy situation in its efforts to improve the standard of waterpolo in general and that of the national team in particular. Financial constraints are foremost.   

Indeed these are the future challenges which are to be faced as waterpolo approaches new horizons.