Captain Gareth Sciberras retires

by Ayrton Galea - 10th May 2017

Birkirkara FC organised a farewell to Captain Gareth Sciberras on Tuesday evening, as well as a recognition to his excellent service towards our Club, after the thirty-four year old midfielder announced his retirement from football.

Gareth will be remembered as one of the most exemplary players, thanks to his dedication and affable character. On the field, he was rated as one of the best midfielders on our island, thanks to his stamina that helped him to be among the most hard-working players.

With our Club, Gareth made no less 176 appearances. He won all domestic honours, as he won one BOV Premier League title, one FA Trophy and two BOV Super Cups. Gareth also captained his side during the historic qualification to the third round of the UEFA Europa League.

During this reception, Club's president Dr. Adrian Delia thanked Gareth for his sterling service with our Club, while wished him all the best of luck in his personal life. Senior Team players, technical staff and committee members attended to this event.

'I am extremely honoured that I have captained Birkirkara FC'

We spoke with Gareth in his farewell as we discussed his decision and his in-general adventure with our Club.

Why did you decide to retire?

I had been thinking of the possibility of retiring for the last few seasons as I always wanted to leave the game whilst still performing at a high level, since maintaining a high level of performance at such a club & at national team level requires a lot of sacrifices and effort, I decided that my time was up as my commitment was slowly being strained with other pressures of my other personal commitments and especially my growing young family.

Therefore, following a lot of discussions with my wife, at the beginning of this season I discussed my thoughts with the President, Dr Delia, and promised him that I will give one more full season of total commitment and then I will call it a day.

Birkirkara FC leapfrog to the third place in the final fixture. What are your comments? What has made this possible?

“This season has once again been an extremely long and emotionally difficult journey. We have had so many fantastic moments and some very disappointing moments on and off the pitch. These instances had obviously taken its toll on the players and therefore ending the season in 3rd place should be deemed as more than satisfactory in view of all the circumstances faced.

“I must thank my teammates for remaining concentrated and professional in their day to day efforts, whilst at the same time having so many constant distractions around the squad.”

How do you describe your in-general adventure with Birkirkara FC? What was the most memorable moment with our Club?

First of all, I have to stress that I am extremely honoured that I have captained Birkirkara FC. I look back and recognise many amazing moments especially with every honour we have won. Birkirkara FC has a very special place in my heart and I will forever be a supporter of this great club. If I had to pinpoint certain episodes, obviously winning the league in the decider against Hibs and our back to back successes in Europe with the highlight being the record breaking achievement in the Europa League at the beginning of this season will remain in my memory forever!.

What is your final message?

The Club in general is now facing a very difficult time in light of the recent UEFA Licence rejection, however this gives us all the opportunity to reflect, stand up and be counted, admit our failures but more importantly make us all stronger to fight even harder to achieve bigger and greater things. I'm sure Birkirkara FC will come out of this situation stronger than ever before.

I would also like to take this opportunity and start off by thanking all my teammates that I have had the pleasure to play with and together defend the badge we wear on our chest with pride. I have made so many friendships that I will cherish forever. To all the technical staff, medical team, support staff and committee members that I have had the opportunity to collaborate with, thank you for your unlimited efforts in everything you did and continue to do in making this club better and greater and finally to those true supporters that have backed the club and players through the difficult moments as without your backing in those moments we wouldn't have managed to pull through and achieve all our successes.

Finally, I would like to wish Birkirkara FC many more sporting successes in the future as it truly deserves!

Zerafa & Vukanac reach landmark of appearances

During the same event, Club's vice-captain and Club's third-captain, Joseph Zerafa and Nikola Vukanac were both given a recognition after they surpassed the 300 and 200 appearances respectively.

Zerafa, who captained the Stripes in the last match against Floriana, reached the 300 appearances with our Club, while on the other hand, Vukanac, who also captained the team for a number of times, reached more than 200 appearances with our Club.

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