Salvinu Schembri (19 October 1923 – 15 December 2008) was a 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

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

Ħamrun Spartans Ħamrun Spartans Football Club is a Maltese professional football club based in Ħamrun. Since being founded in 1907, Ħamrun Spartans have won 11 league championships, the latest one being in 2025, while being runners-up eleven times. One of t ...

. He also played in full international matches for the Malta national team.

Club career

Schembri joined

in 1943 where he spent two seasons. Schembri joined

for the 1945–46 season. With Valletta he 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 ...

twice and between 1945 and 1948. In January 1947, in a tribute match between MFA XI and Yugoslav club Zaboversky played in his honour, Schembri sustained a serious injury. The injury kept him out of action for three months, after which he returned for an important league match against rivals

on 11 May. He scored the decisive goal to win the match for Valletta. In 1953, Schembri returned to former club Sliema Wanderers. In his second, seven-year spell at the club, he contributed to three championships, a

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 ...

, a Cassar Cup and two Scicluna Cups. Schembri played one season with Ħamrun Spartans before retiring in 1961 due to a knee injury.

International career

Schembri made 35 appearances for the MFA XI. On 24 February 1957, he captained the Malta national team in its first official international 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 ...

which ended in 3–2 loss. He earned two further caps.

Style of play

, Schembri was known for his positioning and awareness, passing and goal-scoring ability.

Personal life

Schembri is the father of former

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 ...

international striker Eric Schembri and the grandfather of former Malta international

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

André Schembri André Schembri (born 27 May 1986) is a Maltese former professional footballer who played as a forward. Schembri started his professional career with local clubs Hibernians and Marsaxlokk, leading the latter to their first league title in the ...

. He was inducted into the

Maltese Olympic Committee Maltese Olympic Committee () is the National Olympic Committee representing Malta. It is also the governing body responsible for Malta's representation at : * the Olympic Games, Summer and Winter * the Youth Olympic Games, Summer and Winter * the ...

's Hall of Fame in 2004. Schembri died on 15 December 2008 at

Mater Dei Hospital Mater Dei Hospital (MDH; ), also known simply as '' Mater Dei'', is an acute general and teaching hospital in Msida, Malta. It was opened in 2007, replacing St. Luke's Hospital. It is a public hospital affiliated to the University of Malta, offer ...

Msida Msida (, ) is a harbour town in the Eastern Region, Malta, Eastern Region of Malta with a population of 7,623 (2021). Location The town is located just west of Valletta on the northeast coast of Malta. The neighbouring towns of Msida are Ta' ...

, at the age of 85. His funeral was held two days later on 17 December 2008.

Honours

Valletta *

: 1945, 1947 Army & RAF * Cassar Cup: 1950 Sliema Wanderers * Maltese Premier League: 1953, 1955, 1956 *

: 1955 * Cassar Cup: 1956 * Scicluna Cup: 1955, 1957 Malta XI * Victory Cup: 1945 Individual * Maltese Premier League top scorer: 1948 – 14 goals

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schembri, Salvinu 1923 births 2008 deaths Maltese men's footballers Men's association football forwards Malta men's international footballers Sliema Wanderers F.C. players Valletta F.C. players Hamrun Spartans F.C. players Schembri family