Emmanuel Debattista (21 December 1929 – 2 May 2021), better known as Lolly Debattista, was 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 le ...

player and manager. A

one-club man List of one-club men may refer to: * List of one-club men in association football * List of one-club men in rugby league * List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise * List of NBA players who have spent ...

, he spent his whole career playing as a defender for

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 ...

Playing career

Club

Debattista began his career with Floriana Ajax, a youth team that was annexed in the 1948–49 season by

. After the juniors won two prestigious victories against arch-rivals

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 ...

(including a 5–0 victory), some were promoted permanently to the senior team. Debattista played for Floriana for his entire playing career, which ended in 1967. During his career, the ''Evergreens'' won the

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 ...

seven times and the

Maltese FA Trophy 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, ...

nine times.

International

Debattista played three times for the

Maltese national football team The Malta national football team ( mt, Tim nazzjonali tal-futbol ta' Malta) represents Malta in international Association football, football and is controlled by the Malta Football Association, the governing body for football in Malta. The fir ...

, including the first ever match against Austria played on 24 February 1957. His first international match was the European Championship qualifier against Denmark, which Malta lost 6–1.

Managerial career

Debattista began coaching at youth level for Floriana, and later was assistant coach of the first team under the leadership of his cousin

Lolly Borg Emmanuel Borg, better known as Lolly Borg (23 October 1931 – 10 October 2020) was a Maltese football player and manager. He was the cousin of Lolly Debattista, another famous Maltese player, and he is currently regarded as one of the most r ...

, in the 1961–62 season. In 1975, Debattista became head coach of the Ħamrun Spartans, with whom in his first season they gained promotion to the

. In December 1976, he was hired by Valletta, where he reached the cup finals twice in a row, defeating his old club Floriana on both occasions. He also won the league title for the 1977–78 season. From 1991 to 1993 he had a second spell at the helm of Ħamrun Spartans, which he led to win a

in 1991–92 and a

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 ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

. In 1994 after an unsuccessful spell with Senglea Athletic he decided to retire as a manager.

Career statistics

Honours

As a player

Floriana *

: 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1961–62 *

: 1949–50, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1966–67 Individual *

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 ...

: 1954–55

As a manager

Ħamrun Spartans *

: 1991–92

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Debattista, Lolly 1929 births 2021 deaths People from Floriana Maltese footballers Association football defenders Malta international footballers Maltese football managers