Willie Vassallo (14 September 1949 – 6 April 2025) 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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Club career

Born in Gżira, Vassallo started his career at hometown club

Gżira United Gżira () is a town in the Eastern Region of Malta. It is located between Msida and Sliema, also bordering on Ta' Xbiex. It has a population of 11,699 as of January 2019. The word ''Gżira'' means "island" in Maltese, and the town is named ...

before embarking on a long and successful career with

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

winning league titles and three domestic cups. He was named

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 Football in Malta, Maltese football. The award has been presented since the 1954–55 Maltese Premier League, 1954–55 ...

in 1974. In 1977 he joined Australian side

Green Gully Green Gully Soccer Club is an Australian association football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Green Gully is one of the largest clubs in Melbourne, having participated in the now defunct National Soccer League between 1984 and 1986. The club ...

, a club with ties to Floriana, on loan but made that move permanent six months later. He would make over 164 appearances for the club and played in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

for them.

International career

Vassallo made his debut for

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

in a January 1970

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and earned a total of 28 caps, scoring 2 goals. His final international was a November 1977 match in

1978 FIFA World Cup qualification A total of 107 teams entered the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 20 November 1975 at Guatemala City. Argentina, as the hosts, and West Germany, as the defending champions, qualified ...

against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Post-playing career

Vassallo worked in Australian soccer for 27 years, before returning to Malta to take charge at

in 2004. Vassallo was married to Antoinette, and had a daughter, Verlie, and a son, Brandon. He died in Melbourne on 6 April 2025, at the age of 75.

Honours

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as 360Sports Malta Premier for sponsorship reasons with 360Sports (colloquialism, colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Foot ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

Maltese FA Trophy The FA Trophy, currently known as the Meridianbet FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football (soccer), football cup competition that takes place in Malta. The cup was founded in 1933; following a match between England national footba ...

: 1967, 1972, 1976

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vassallo, Willie 1949 births 2025 deaths People from Gżira Maltese emigrants to Australia Men's association football midfielders Maltese men's footballers Malta men's international footballers Gżira United F.C. players Floriana F.C. players Green Gully SC players Maltese Premier League players National Soccer League (Australia) players Maltese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Maltese expatriate sportspeople in Australia Maltese football managers Floriana F.C. managers Maltese Premier League managers