Josef Mifsud (born 7 September 1984 in

Sliema Sliema ( ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Districts of Malta#Northern Harbour District, Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

) is a former 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 ...

and an accredited physical education teacher. As a footballer, he played as a defender.

Playing career

Sliema Wanderers

Mifsud began his career in the Sliema Wanderers youth team before making his senior debut during the 2001–02 season. He made two appearances that season but did not score, as Sliema Wanderers finished third in the Maltese Premier League. In the 2002–03 season, he made one more appearance but again failed to find the net, though Sliema Wanderers went on to win the league title. Struggling to secure a regular spot in the team, Mifsud was loaned to Lija Athletic to gain first-team experience. Overall, during his time with Sliema Wanderers, he made three appearances but did not score any goals. Msida Saint-Joseph In the summer of 2003, Josef Mifsud moved to Msida Saint-Joseph in a bid to play more first team football, he began the 2003–04 season slotting into the Msida Saint-Joseph defence well and made 17 appearances, but failed to score any goals, as Msida Saint-Joseph narrowly avoided relegation finishing 8th 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 ...

. Mifsud established himself firmly as a first team regular for the 2004–05 season, making 23 appearances, but again failing to score. His contribution helped Msida Saint-Joseph to another 8th-place finish as the club avoided relegation once again. With the profile of Josef rising, he entered the 2005–06 season hoping to gain a mid table finish with Msida Saint-Joseph, and get them away from the dreaded relegation group, and he managed to do so, as Msida Saint-Joseph finished in the championship group, in 6th position. During the season Josef made 24 appearances, without finding the net. Mifsud hoped to build on an impressive season with Msida Saint-Joseph, and continued to perform with a string of fine performances for Msida Saint-Joseph, as the club again finished in the championship group, in 6th position, with Mifsud making 27 appearances and again failing to score. Josef's performances didn't go unnoticed and was given his chance to play for the Maltese national team and made his debut in 2007. Mifsud played for Msida Saint-Joseph for four seasons and in total made 91 appearances, but failed to score any goals.

Valletta

With Josef being branded as one of the best home grown

defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: * Defense (military) * Defense (sports) ** Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre Film * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The D ...

in the

, he joined

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 the summer of 2007, for the 2007–08 season, Mifsud made 25 appearances and scored two goals, as

won the

title. For the 2008–09 season, first-team chances diminished in his second season, mainly down to the signing of Luke Dimech, Mifsud made 13 appearances during the season, but failed to find the net as

missed out on the title to Hibernians. During his time with

, Josef made 38 appearances and scored his first two goals in the

Sliema Wanderers

In June, 2009, Sliema Wanderers announced their first signing of the close season, securing the services of the

defender Josef Mifsud, with the player signing a five-year contract. Mifsud made his

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

debut for Sliema Wanderers on 30 August 2009 in a 1–0 defeat to

Qormi Qormi (, , ), also known by its title Città Pinto, is a city in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta, southwest of Valletta in the centre of the island. It has a population of 16,324 (as of March 2018), making it Malta's fifth-la ...

International career

Malta

Josef Mifsud made his international debut for

during his time as a Msida Saint-Joseph player. He was used in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

on 12 September 2007, however Malta lost the match 1–0.

Honours

Sliema Wanderers

winner: 2002–03

Valletta

winner: 2007–08

Career statistics

''Statistics accurate as of match played 1 August 2013.''

References

External links

Josef Mifsud at MaltaFootball.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mifsud, Josef 1984 births Living people Maltese men's footballers Malta men's international footballers Sliema Wanderers F.C. players Lija Athletic F.C. players Msida Saint-Joseph F.C. players Valletta F.C. players Tarxien Rainbows F.C. players Sportspeople from Sliema Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Men's association football defenders Mediterranean Games competitors for Malta