David Carabott (born 18 May 1968) is a former 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 le ...

who played for as a defender or

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Born in Australia, he was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

122 times for the Malta national team, making him second most capped player in Maltese football history.

Club career

Carabott was born on 18 May 1968 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, and his family moved to Malta at an early age. He joined local club

Marsaxlokk Marsaxlokk () is a small, traditional fishing village in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It has a harbour, and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishermen and history. As at March 2014, the village had a population of 3,534. The ...

in 1979 and made his first team debut in the Third Division match against

Mellieħa Mellieħa ( mt, il-Mellieħa ) is a large village in the Northern Region of Malta. It has a population of 10,087 as of March 2014. Mellieħa is also a tourist resort, popular for its sandy beaches and natural environment. Etymology The name ''M ...

in the 1981–82 season. He slowly became a regular fixture with the team, and in 1987 he joined

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side Hibernians. In 1993, with the arrival of new coach

Brian Talbot Brian Ernest Talbot (born 21 July 1953) is an English former football player and manager. He was capped six times for the England national team. Talbot played in midfield for Ipswich Town, Arsenal, Watford, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, ...

, Hibernians soon transformed to a title-challenging side, winning two league titles in the 1993–94 and 1994–95 season. Carabott during this time established himself as one of the best wing-backs in the game.

International career

Carabott made his first appearance for the Maltese senior team on 15 November 1987, a 1–1 draw against

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. A year later, on 23 November 1988, he scored his first international goal, the opener in a 1–1 draw against

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. In total he played 122 times for the national team and with 12 goals, Carabott was at one point one of the highest scorers. One of these was a goal in a friendly against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, played on 3 June 2000, which temporarily equalised the game, although England went on to score the winner later on. Carabott also had a chance to score a second equaliser late on when Malta were awarded another penalty, but this effort was saved by Richard Wright.

Statistics

International

International goals

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

References

External links

David Carabott at MaltaFootball.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carabott, David 1968 births Living people Soccer players from Melbourne People with acquired Maltese citizenship Maltese men's footballers Malta men's international footballers Marsaxlokk F.C. players Għajnsielem F.C. players Hibernians F.C. players Valletta F.C. players Msida Saint-Joseph F.C. players Sliema Wanderers F.C. players Balzan F.C. players FIFA Men's Century Club Men's association football defenders Maltese people of Australian descent