Alexander Muscat (born 14 December 1984 in

Pietà, Malta Pietà () is a small harbour town in the Eastern Region of Malta, located near the outskirts of the capital city Valletta. Etymology The name ''Tal-Pietà'' is derived from Italian, and means "Pity", referring to the pity of Our Lady of Sorro ...

) is a retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender.

Playing career

Lija Athletic

Muscat began his career as a trainee with Lija Athletic during the 2002–03 season. He made 18 appearances as he helped Lija Athletic to a 5th-place finish in the

Maltese First Division The Maltese Challenge League (referred to as the BOV Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest division in Maltese football, behind the Maltese Premier League. The First Division was the precursor of the present Premier ...

Balzan Youths

Alex joined

Balzan Youths Balzan Football Club is a Maltese football club from the village of Balzan that competes in the Maltese Challenge League, the second tier of Maltese football. The club was founded as ''Balzan Youths'' in 1937 and played in the top division betwee ...

for the 2003–04 season. The right back showed the rest of league he was more than capable of playing in the

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as 360Sports Malta Premier for sponsorship reasons with 360Sports (colloquialism, colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Foot ...

on a regular basis, and was even called up to the Maltese national team, during the season Alex made 22 appearances and scored one goal, but

were relegated to the

after finishing in 9th position.

Sliema Wanderers

Alex joined

side

Sliema Wanderers Sliema Wanderers Football Club, nicknamed "tax-Xelin" ( of the shilling), is a professional Maltese football club. It is the most successful team in Malta and hails from the seaside town of Sliema. It currently plays in the Maltese Premier Leagu ...

in 2004 and helped his new team to the title for the 2004–05 season. In his first season Alex made 22 appearances and scored two goals, he was also voted as most promising player at the Malta Football Awards that year. In his second season with

, Alex made 24 appearances and scored one goal, as

finished as runners up in the

, Alex was also involved in winning the Euro Challenge cup with

for the 2005–06 season. During the 2006–07 season, Alex continued at right back for

and helped the club to another runners up place, but this time

were well off the pace as they finished 11 points away from champions

Marsaxlokk Marsaxlokk () is a small, traditional fishing village in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta. It has a harbour, and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishing and history. As of March 2014, the village had a populati ...

. Alex made 20 appearances and scored four goals. For the 2007–08 season, Muscat hoped to bring the

title back to

, however the club finished in a disappointing 4th place, with Alex making 21 appearances and scoring two goals. Season 2008–09 was a very important one for Alex as he was chosen for the National Team under the guidance of

Dusan Fitzel Dusan may refer to: * Dušan, a Slavic given name * Dusan, a son of Ra's al Ghul * Stefan Dušan (1308–1355), emperor of Serbia See also *Doosan Group Doosan Group () is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation. In 2009, the cor ...

and continued to be an integral part of the team under the new coach John Buttigieg. He helped

to another 4th-place finish, making 27 appearances and scoring five goals in the process, he also scored three important goals and won the U*BET FA Trophy two of which in the final against

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

. In August 2009, he scored the winner in the 2009 BOV Super Cup Trophy against Hibernians at the

Ta' Qali National Stadium The National Stadium, locally also referred to as Ta' Qali, officially known as Grawnd Nazzjonali (Maltese for ''National Stadium''), is a stadium located in Ta' Qali, Malta. The stadium, which also contains the headquarters of the Malta Football ...

. On 30 July 2019, Muscat announced his retirement from football due to a series of recurring knee injuries.Sliema captain Alex Muscat announces his retirement
timesofmalta.com, 30 July 2019

Honours

Sliema Wanderers

Winner * 2003–04

* 2004, 2009

Maltese Cup The FA Trophy, currently known as the Meridianbet FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football cup competition that takes place in Malta. The cup was founded in 1933; following a match between England and Italy, played in Rome in May 1 ...

References

External links

Alex Muscat at MaltaFootball.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muscat, Alex Living people 1984 births Men's association football defenders Maltese men's footballers Malta men's international footballers Lija Athletic F.C. players Balzan F.C. players Sliema Wanderers F.C. players Sportspeople from Pietà, Malta Maltese Premier League players Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games competitors for Malta