Luke Anthony Dimech (born 11 January 1977) is a former Maltese professional

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 ...

defender.

Club career

Sliema Wanderers

Born in

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 ...

, Malta, Dimech began his career playing for

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 ...

. Luke's first season was the 1995–96 season and instantly gained silverware when the club 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 ...

. Luke spent seven seasons with the club and even managed establishing himself in the Maltese national team in 1999, in total Dimech made 133 appearances and scored on three occasions during his time with the club.

Shamrock Rovers

After many impressive displays Luke moved to Ireland to join

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

for one season, making his debut on 2 September 2002. He was sent off in his fourth appearance. He proceeded to make a total of 16 appearances, but after falling out of favour with the club, Luke left Dublin. He played in the 2002

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

Final.

Birkirkara

Dimech returned to Malta joining up with

Birkirkara Birkirkara (abbreviated as B'Kara or BKR) is a city in the Eastern Region, Malta, Eastern Region of Malta. It is the second most populous on the Malta (island), island, with 24,356 inhabitants as of 2020. The town consists of five autonomous pari ...

in 2003, and made 10 appearances with the club, and won the F.A Trophy.

Mansfield Town

Another good season in the Maltese League saw Dimech on the move again, this time he joined

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

side

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

in August 2003. Dimech initially signed a one-year deal with the club but at the end of the 2003–04 season, Dimech enjoyed some very dominant displays, scoring once against Leyton Orient, but the season finished with disappointment when

were beaten in the League Two play-off final on penalties to

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

. Despite the disappointment Luke was rewarded for some very impressive displays with another one-year contract. Dimech's second season with Mansfield Town was quite indifferent in the early part of the season;

Keith Curle Keith Curle (born 14 November 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player, who was most recently the manager of National League side Hartlepool United. He played as a centre back from 1981 to 2005, notably in the Prem ...

was sacked and replaced by

Carlton Palmer Carlton Lloyd Palmer (born 5 December 1965) is an English football manager, former footballer and football television pundit whose last management role was as manager of Grantham Town. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1984 to 2005, play ...

. Dimech carried the good form he enjoyed the following season and cemented a place in the heart of the defence, Dimech did not enjoy the best of second halves of the season and after falling out of favour with

, Dimech was released at the end of the 2004–05 season. In two seasons with Mansfield Town, Dimech made 45 appearances and scored one goal.

Chester City

His next move was onto another English club, Chester City on a free transfer in July 2005 on a one-year contract. His manager was once again Keith Curle and his central defensive partner was

David Artell David John Artell (born 22 November 1980) is a association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former professional Football player, player who is head coach of club Grimsby Town F.C., Grimsby Town. He began his caree ...

, who moved with him from Mansfield. Dimech was a regular in the heart of the Chester City

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

and made 30 appearances during the 2005–06 season. Having only a one-year contract at the club and an indifferent second half to the season meant that Luke was released when his contract expired.

Marsaxlokk

Dimech then returned to his homeland joining

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 ...

in 2006 in time for the new season. He has also captained the side during the season, in the absence of

Carlo Mamo Carlo Mamo (born 23 April 1979 in Tarxien, Malta) is a retired professional footballer, who played as a defender. Playing career Tarxien Rainbows Carlo began his career with his home town club, Tarxien Rainbows, in the 1997–98 season. Mamo ...

. He was also still a major part of the Malta national team setup, forming a strong partnership alongside veteran

Brian Said Brian Said (born 15 May 1973) is a Maltese football manager and former player who manages Maltese First Division side St. Andrews, and captain of the Luxol St Andrew's Veteran Team, where he plays as a defender. Club career St. Andrews Brian S ...

. Following Marsaxlokk triumph in the league, and the end of the players contract, Dimech decided not to renew and instead decided to search for a club elsewhere in Europe, thought to be England.

Macclesfield Town

On 19 July 2007, Dimech signed a one-year deal with manager Ian Brightwell to join League Two side

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an association football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 and from 1891 played home games at Moss Rose. It competed in the short ...

Macclesfield bag defender Dimech
/ref> and was re-united with Carl Regan who he played alongside in Chester City's defence. Dimech made his

debut on the opening day of the League Two season away to

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

on 11 August 2007, in which the game finished 1–1. Three days later Luke made his home debut in the first round tie of

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

against League One outfit

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

, the game finished 1–0 to Leeds, thanks to 78th-minute goal from

Ian Westlake Ian John Westlake (born 10 November 1983) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Cheltenham Town, Oldham Athletic, Wycombe Wanderers, Montreal Impact and Ne ...

. On 31 January 2008, Dimech and Carl Regan's partnership came to an end as Regan joined former Macclesfield-manager

Paul Ince Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince (; born 21 October 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently manager of Reading. A midfielder, Ince played professionally from 1986 to 2007, starting his career with West ...

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

. As one of Dimech's former Chester teammates left the club, another one arrived in the shape of

Sean Hessey Sean Peter Hessey (born 19 September 1978 in Whiston, Merseyside) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who played as a defender. Career During a career which spanned eighteen years, Hessey played for Liverpool, L ...

who joined the club on a season long loan from Chester City, and is likely to fill the void left by the departing Regan. On 18 May 2008, Dimech and four other Macclesfield Town players were released by manager Keith Alexander. During his time with Macclesfield Town, Dimech made 26 appearances, but did not find the net.

Valletta F.C.

On 20 May 2008, Dimech signed for Valletta F.C. On 24 May 2010, Dimech was released by Valletta F.C following an incident in a Championship Pool game against Sliema Wanderers in April. Some Valletta supporters were critical towards him when the players were leaving the pitch at half time, and he responded by taking off his shirt and putting it on the pitch. This earned him a second yellow card in the game, and a club suspension before the club eventually decided to release him. In all he made 47 appearances and scored 2 goals. Dimech rejoined Valletta for a loan spell from Mosta fc in the January transfer window Season 2012/2013.

AEK Larnaca

On 25 June 2010, Dimech signed for

AEK Larnaca AEK Larnaca FC (, "Athletic Union Kition (ancient state), Kition of Larnaca") is a Cyprus, Cypriot professional association football, football club based in Larnaca. The club was formed in 1994 after a merger of two historical Larnaca clubs, EP ...

. He was a well regarded and important player for the team. In August 2011, Dimech helped his club AEK Larnaca to reach the group stage of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, after beating Rosenborg 2–1 on aggregate, and was the first Maltese player to play in the group stages of a major competition.

International career

Malta

Dimech is a regular in the Maltese national team and to date has 78

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with one goal. He began playing for Malta on 28 April 1999 when he made his debut against

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. When John Buttigieg took over the Maltese national team in 2009, there was apparently some sort of disagreement over Dimech's hairstyle, leading to Dimech being excluded from the squad. Later in the season he officially retired from the national team. In 2012, he came out of international retirement and joined the national team again.

International goals

Malta Goals

Personal life

Dimech has a younger brother, Mark, who plays in England for Basford United in the

Nottinghamshire Senior League The Nottinghamshire Senior League is an English football league. The competition is a feeder to the Northern Counties East League and the United Counties League. The league has five divisions – the Premier Division (which stands at level 11 o ...

, and is also the team's captain. His older brother, Kris Dimech, used to play for Gedling Southbank and is now the team manager.

Honours

Sliema Wanderers *

: 1995–96 * F.A. Trophy: 1999-00 Marsaxlokk *

: 2006–07 Valletta *

: 2013–14 *

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

: 2013–14

References

External links

*
Luke Dimech at MaltaFootball.com

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dimech, Luke Living people 1977 births Men's association football central defenders Maltese men's footballers Malta men's international footballers Sliema Wanderers F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players League of Ireland players Birkirkara F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Marsaxlokk F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Valletta F.C. players AEK Larnaca FC players English Football League players Maltese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Maltese expatriate sportspeople in England Maltese expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Maltese expatriate sportspeople in Ireland People from Floriana Maltese Premier League players Cypriot First Division players