Silvio Vella (born 8 February 1967) 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 ...

who played for

Rabat Ajax Rabat Ajax Football Club is a Maltese football club based in Rabat. The last promotion to the Maltese Premier League was achieved in the 2011–12 season, when they earned promotion after finishing second behind Melita. In the 2020-21 National ...

and Hibernians as a defender. Born in Canada, he played for the Malta national team.

Career

Born in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Vella has dual nationality, Maltese and Canadian. His family moved to Malta in 1970. He started playing football with

and when he was promoted to the senior team, he soon became an invaluable asset, and rarely missed a game. Silvio Vella was chosen as Malta's Footballer of the Year in the 1993–94 season, in spite of Rabat Ajax' relegation as the first (and to date only) player from a relegated team to win that award. This was at the height of his career, and to keep on playing in the Premier Division he joined Hibernians. Although it was initially a loan deal, it became a permanent transfer later on, and he remained a Hibernians player for the rest of his career. After his retirement in the summer of 2002, he joined the

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 ...

's coaching staff for the various national teams. He served as assistant coach for the Maltese U21 national team until October 2009, when he became U19 national team coach. In June 2010 Vella joined his former club Rabat Ajax as their new manager. He became head coach of the U21 team in March 2014, and held that position until January 2021, when he was replaced by

Gilbert Agius Gilbert Agius (born 21 February 1974) is a former professional Maltese footballer, currently head coach of Malta national under-21 football team. Playing career Agius was the captain of his hometown club side Valletta F.C. and is one of the mo ...

Club Management

On 7 February 2023, Hibernians announced that Silvio Vella will be the club's new coach, replacing Andrea Pisanu.

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 ...

: 3 :: 1985/86, 1994/95, 2001/02 *

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, ...

: 2 :: 1985/86, 1997/98 * MFA Super Cup: 3 :: 1985, 1986, 1994 *

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 ...

: 1 :: 1993/94

References

External links

*
Biography-Times Of Malta

Silvio Vella Appointed New Rabat Ajax Coach
1967 births Living people Soccer players from Toronto People with acquired Maltese citizenship Men's association football defenders Maltese men's footballers Malta men's international footballers Rabat Ajax F.C. players Hibernians F.C. players Maltese Premier League players Maltese Challenge League players Maltese football managers Rabat Ajax F.C. managers {{Malta-footy-bio-stub