Emmanuel Debattista (21 December 1929 – 2 May 2021), better known as Lolly Debattista, was a

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager. A one-club man, he spent his whole career playing as a defender for

Floriana Floriana ( or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a Floriana Lines, fortified town in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014 ...

Playing career

Club

Debattista began his career with Floriana Ajax, a youth team that was annexed in the 1948–49 season by

. After the juniors won two prestigious victories against arch-rivals

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 ...

(including a 5–0 victory), some were promoted permanently to the senior team. Debattista played for Floriana for his entire playing career, which ended in 1967. During his career, the ''Evergreens'' won 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 ...

seven times and the

Maltese FA Trophy The FA Trophy, currently known as the Meridianbet FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football (soccer), football cup competition that takes place in Malta. The cup was founded in 1933; following a match between England national footba ...

nine times.

International

Debattista played three times for the

Maltese national football team The Malta national football team () represents Malta in men's international football and is controlled by the Malta Football Association, the governing body for football in Malta. The first official game played by Malta was a 3–2 defeat in ...

, including the first ever match against

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

played on 24 February 1957. His first international match was the European Championship qualifier against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, which Malta lost 6–1.

Managerial career

Debattista began coaching at youth level for Floriana, and later was assistant coach of the first team under the leadership of his cousin Lolly Borg, in the 1961–62 season. In 1975, Debattista became head coach of the Ħamrun Spartans, with whom in his first season they gained promotion to the

. In December 1976, he was hired by

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 ...

, where he reached the cup finals twice in a row, defeating his old club Floriana on both occasions. He also won the league title for the 1977–78 season. From 1991 to 1993 he had a second spell at the helm of Ħamrun Spartans, which he led to win a

in 1991–92 and a

Maltese Super Cup The Maltese Super Cup is an annual super cup tie held in Malta between the champions of the previous Maltese Premier League season and the holders of the Maltese FA Trophy. If the Premier League champion also won the FA Trophy, the league runners-u ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

. In 1994 after an unsuccessful spell with Senglea Athletic he decided to retire as a manager.

Career statistics

Honours

As a player

Floriana *

: 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1961–62 *

: 1949–50, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1966–67 Individual *

Maltese Player of the Year The Maltese Player of the Year Award is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in Football in Malta, Maltese football. The award has been presented since the 1954–55 Maltese Premier League, 1954–55 ...

: 1954–55

As a manager

Ħamrun Spartans *

: 1991–92

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Debattista, Lolly 1929 births 2021 deaths People from Floriana Men's association football defenders Maltese men's footballers Malta men's international footballers Floriana F.C. players Maltese Premier League players Maltese football managers Ħamrun Spartans F.C. managers Valletta F.C. managers Senglea Athletic F.C. managers Maltese Premier League managers