Kris Laferla (born 23 March 1967) is a former Maltese

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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

during his career.

Club career

At the age of 16, Laferla got his senior team debut for St. Andrew's on 12 December 1983 in a 0–0 draw against Birżebbuġa St. Peter's. Following his exploits in the Third Division, Laferla joined

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 ...

side

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 ...

on loan for the 1985–86 season. He made his debut against

Żurrieq Żurrieq ( ) is a town in the Western Region of Malta. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, and has a population of 11,823 inhabitants as of March 2014. Żurrieq is one of the 10 parishes to be documented in 1436 and is dedicated to S ...

on 1 September 1985, and his first goal arrived from the penalty spot in the match against Tarxien Rainbows on 6 September 1986. After joining permanently, he soon became a regular figure with Valletta, even becoming

club captain The captain of a football/soccer team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team; they are often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavily influ ...

. With the ''Citizens'', Laferla won 25 honours, including six in the 2000–01 season, making him one of the most decorated players in Maltese football. In December 2002, Laferla moved to

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 ...

, making his debut in a 5–0 win over Marsa. He finished his career by playing over 500 games in the top-tier of Maltese football.

International career

Laferla made his debut with the Maltese national team in the 0–5 defeat against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. In total he made 65 appearances, scoring six goals in the process, including the winner against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Laferla also captained the national team on 16 occasions, amongst them being the game against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

played in 1993 where he missed a penalty in the 1–2 defeat.

International goals

:''"Score" represents the score in the match after Laferla's goal.''

Personal life

Laferla, having retired from football, now owns a nightclub in

Paceville Paceville ( sometimes abbreviated PV) is a district in St Julian's which is the main nightlife hub in Malta, being heavily populated with nightclubs, bars, strip clubs, pubs and restaurants. It is hence also known as 'Malta's Sin City'. Pacev ...

. He is married, and has three children; Jessica, Matthew and Juliana.

References

External links

* 1967 births Living people People from Swieqi Men's association football midfielders Maltese men's footballers Malta men's international footballers St. Andrews F.C. (Malta) players Valletta F.C. players Sliema Wanderers F.C. players Maltese Premier League players {{Malta-footy-bio-stub