Andrei Agius (born 12 August 1986) is a 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 ...

who plays as a central defender for Hibernians.

Club career

Early career

Agius began his career with Santa Lucija, his hometown club, before joining the youth nursery of

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 Leag ...

, the most decorated club in Maltese football. In July 2003, Agius was part of the Sliema Wanderers under-16 squad that participated in the Nikola Kotkov Tournament, organised by the Academy Lokomotiv 101. On 19 December 2003, aged only 17, Agius, who started out as a midfielder, made his senior debut for Sliema Wanderers in a Premier League match against

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

but his determination to pursue a professional career meant that, just weeks after his first senior appearance, the then teenage defender left for his first overseas challenge.

Serbia

Agius headed to Serbia to join first-division club

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...

on an initial six-month contract but played mostly for Zemun's youth team, scoring two goals in the process.

Italy

In the summer of 2004, Agius moved to Italy after catching the eye of Sicilian club Sporting Mascalucia who offered him a contract. In his first season with Sport Club Mascalucia, Agius scored three goals and was voted as the most promising midfielder in the Italy's regional championship. Following another positive season with Mascalucia, Agius secured a contract with then

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

club

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

, where he became a regular in the reserve squad. In his first season with Messina, Agius switched from midfield to defence. In February 2006, Agius featured in the Torneo Mondiale di Calcio Coppa Carnevale and scored two goals, one against

Pistoiese Unione Sportiva Pistoiese 1921 is an Italian association football club, based in Pistoia, Tuscany. Currently, Pistoiese plays in Serie D. Originally founded on 21 April 1921 and later restored after bankruptcy, the team plays their home games ...

and the other against

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

. In May 2006, Agius was among the Messina substitutes for the Serie A match against

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...

. After his initial one-year spell with Messina, Agius was loaned to Serie C side Martina during the August transfer window in 2006. In season 2006–07, Agius faced intense competition for first-team places from experienced and seasoned players but still managed to make some appearances for Martina in the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

. In season 2007–08, Agius moved to Igea Virtus, regarded as the second team of Messina Calcio. In his first season with Igea Virtus, Agius played 34 league matches and one in the Coppa Italia. His performances with Virtus earned him a four-year contract with Messina in March 2008 but the following summer, financial difficulties forced the Serie B club to file for bankruptcy. Agius was freed from his contractual obligations with the club and rejoined Igea Virtus where he was an automatic choice in their first team. Later on in the 2009–10 season, Agius signed for Serie C team

Cassino Cassino () is a ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Southern Italy, at the southern end of the region of Lazio, the last city of the Latin Valley. Cassino is located at the foot of Monte Cairo near the confluence of the Gari and Liri rive ...

in a co-ownership deal with

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919, commonly referred to as Salernitana, is an Italian football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recentl ...

. In January 2010, Agius was loaned to

Melfi Melfi (Neapolitan language, Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geographically, it is midway between Naples and Bari. In 2015 it had a population of 17,7 ...

, and eventually signed a two-year contract with the club. A year later, it looked as though Agius was going to sign for Serie B side

Triestina Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to as Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Originally founded in 1918, the club has been re-established several times in its history. As of the ...

, and also played for the team in a triangular tournament, but nothing came of it. In January 2011, Agius joined Maltese Premier League club

Birkirkara Birkirkara (abbreviated as B'Kara) is a city in the central region of Malta. It is the second most populous on the island, with 24,356 inhabitants as of 2020. The town consists of five autonomous parishes: Saint Helen, Saint Joseph the Worker, Ou ...

on a short-term loan deal. On 31 August 2011, Agius signed for Italian side

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, and was part of the squad that won promotion to Serie B as well as winning the 2012–13 Coppa Italia Lega Pro. US Latina's promotion to the second division of Italian football led to a squad overhaul in the summer of 2013 and Agius opted to join Sardinian club

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Return to Malta

In the summer of 2014, Agius returned to Malta to join Hibernians, his hometown club. With his current club he won two

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as BOV Premier League for sponsorship reasons with Bank of Valletta (colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Football Associa ...

titles (in 2014–15 and 2016–17). Agius was also in the Hibs team that caused a shock by beating Israel's

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

2–1 in the first leg of their

2015–16 UEFA Champions League The 2015–16 UEFA Champions League was the 61st season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 24th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona were t ...

second qualifying round tie at the

Hibernians Stadium Tony Bezzina Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Paola, Malta. The Hibernians football ground was inaugurated on 9 November 1986. Hibernians became the first Maltese club to have their own football pitch. Nonetheless, Hibernians play most of their ...

on 14 July 2015. In 2019, he won the award as

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 Maltese football. The award has been presented since the 1954–55 season and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst th ...

International career

Agius earned his first call-up to Malta's under-21 squad, then coached by Mark Miller, in August 2003 for a friendly match against Italy under-21. Agius has represented Malta 37 times at under-21 level. In 2005, he formed part of the Malta under-21 team that participated in the

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...

, held in

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

, Spain. In February 2006, Agius, then aged 19, was named in Malta's senior squad for the biennial Malta International football tournament. The other participating nations were

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

. On 4 June 2021, he played his 100th match for Malta in a 2–1 loss in a friendly match against

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Malta's goal tally first.''

Honours

US Calcio Latina * Coppa Italia Lega Pro: 2012–13 Hibernians *

: 2014–15, 2016–17 2021-22 *

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. In the event that the Premier League champion also won the FA Trophy, the ...

: 2015 Individual *Malta Football Players Association Team of the Year: 2014–15 *

: 2019

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Agius, Andrei 1986 births Living people People from Pietà, Malta Maltese footballers Association football defenders A.S.D. Cassino Calcio 1924 players FK Zemun players A.C.R. Messina players A.S.D. Martina Calcio 1947 players A.S.D. Igea Virtus Barcellona players A.S. Melfi players Birkirkara F.C. players Maltese Premier League players Maltese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Serbia and Montenegro Expatriate footballers in Italy Maltese expatriate sportspeople in Italy Maltese expatriate sportspeople in Serbia and Montenegro Malta under-21 international footballers Malta international footballers Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games S.E.F. Torres 1903 players F.C. Aprilia Racing Club players Mediterranean Games competitors for Malta FIFA Century Club