Gilbert Agius (born 21 February 1974) is a former professional 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 le ...

, currently head coach of

Malta national under-21 football team The Malta national under-21 football team is the under-21 football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. The team is sponsored by Givova Givova is an Italian manufacturing company located in Scafati. The company, fou ...

Playing career

Agius was the captain of his hometown club side Valletta F.C. and is one of the most well known and highly respected figures in Maltese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

history. He is hailed as a hero by the Valletta F.C. fans, due to his loyalty to his hometown club, where he played since 1990, bar a short spell during the first half of the 2001–02 season which he spent on loan to then-

Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football (soccer), football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1 ...

club

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. His number 7 shirt is retired in respect of his loyalty and great service to the club. He is the most capped player and the all time goal scorer at Valletta F.C. Agius is also the player who won the most honours in Valletta F.C. history. He also holds the record of top Maltese scorer in European games with 10 goals. Gilbert Agius has received three

Malta Football Association The Malta Football Association (MFA; mt, Assoċjazzjoni tal-Futbol ta' Malta) is the governing body of football in Malta. The Association organises the Maltese Football League and several other competitions, including a knockout competition ...

Player of the Year awards. The first was won in 1996–97, the second in Valletta's successful 2000–01 season, the third in 2006–07. At the start of the 2007–08 season Agius was on trial with Enköpings SK, but later he opted to stay with Valletta. At the end of 2007 Agius was out with a thigh injury for several months. He returned just as the team started fulfilling its potential, and led Valletta to the first title since 2000–01. He won a single Player of the Month award during the season (September 2007) and was chosen as Best Local Player in the Maltese Football Awards at the end of the 2007–08 season. At the beginning of the 2012–13 season Agius was named to be Assistant Manager of

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

, with new Manager Mark Miller. He later left this role and came out of retirement to play for Gozitan side Xewkija Tigers helping them to win the Gozo League.

Coaching career

After his short spell with Xewkija Tigers, Agius came back to Valletta F.C., where he took again the place of assistant manager. In such role he had the chance to replace the head coach several times. In 2019 he replaced Danilo Doncic as a caretaker manager of the ''citizens'', and led the club to win the title after beating

Hibernians F.C. Hibernians Football Club is a Maltese professional football club based in the town of Paola. History The club played one season in 1922 as Constitutionals FC, representing the pro-British Constitutional Party. They started up again in the 19 ...

in the decider match. In December 2020 Agius came back in help of his club, taking the role of caretaker coach again after the resignation of Jesmond Zerafa. At the end of the year he was replaced by António Cardoso Mendes, coming back to his role as assistant manager. In January 2021 Agius was appointed as new head coach of the

Achievements

Player

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 ...

: 8 :: 1991/92, 1996/97, 1997/98, 1998/99, 2000/01, 2007/08, 2010/2011, 2011/12 *

Maltese Cup The FA Trophy, currently known as the IZIBET FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football cup competition that takes place in Malta. The cup was founded in 1933; following a match between England and Italy, played in Rome in May 1933, ...

: 7 :: 1994/95, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1998/99, 2000/01, 2009/10 * MFA Super Cup: 7 :: 1994/95 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 2000/01 2007/08 2010/11 *Löwenbräu Cup: 6 :: 1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 2000/01 *Super 5 Lottery Tournament: 4 :: 1992/93 1996/97 1999/00 2000/01 2007/08 *National League 100 Anniversary Cup: 1 :: 2010 *Centenary Cup: 1 :: 2000 *BetFair Cup (Exhibition Match) : 1 :: 2008 *Mare Blue Cup 1 :: 2010 2011 *

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 ...

: 3 :: 1996/97, 2000/01, 2006/07

Manager

: 1 :: 2018/19

International career

Malta

Gilbert has recorded a remarkable 120 caps for his country, making him the third most capped player in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

's history. For the national team, he has often been used a defensive midfielder in recent years. Not due to exceptional defensive skills, but due to his ability to distribute the ball. He has scored 8 goals for the national team. At club level he has played primarily as a supporting forward. Gilbert was captain of Malta for many years until he stopped being called up for international duty, but is loved by fans and remembered to be a very passionate player who loved to play for his country. Agius' goal in a 1–1 friendly game against Austria was voted Goal of the Season in the 2006–07 Malta Football Awards.

International goals

Malta Goals

References

External links

*
Gilbert Agius at MaltaFootball.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Agius, Gilbert Living people 1974 births Maltese footballers Malta international footballers Maltese Premier League players Serie C players Valletta F.C. players FIFA Century Club Maltese expatriate footballers People from Valletta Xewkija Tigers F.C. players Association football midfielders Maltese expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy