Interview with Johan Scicluna, Women Team's Coach

by Ayrton Galea - 23rd December 2011

For this week's interview we decided to talk with somebody who might not yet be well known to our readers, Birkirkara Women's Team Coach, Mr. Johann Scicluna. Throughout this interview he told us more about himself, the current situation of the Women Team and explained to us the difficulties and satisfactions of his role.

Tell us something about yourself.

My name is Johann Scicluna and I'm 37 year old. As profession, I work as a nurse in the Cardiac section of the I.T.U at Mater Dei Hospital.

I have two kids .The young one, Yana, is 10 years old, and is Neil is 12 years old.

Tell us about your typical day

As daily routine I work on shift basis on a day, night, rest, off duty. So, I have plenty of free time which apart from giving me time for coaching, I cal also fulfil my hobbies, like going for a walk, driving my motorbike and also watching DVD's.

Who is your favourite team abroad?

I'm a Brazilian fan and I support Flamengo, but in Europe I have two favourite teams which are Tottenham Hotspurs in England and Inter in Italy. But as a coach who likes watching modern football, I prefer watching Barcelona who are on top of the tops at the moment.

Who is your favourite coach?

My favourite coach is Mourinhio who, like Guardiola, has got all the qualities to make a perfect coach.

How did you start your coaching career?

I started my coaching career around 16 years ago, by coaching youngsters in the Qormi youth nursery. I also coached Qormi's women team in the beginning of women's football in Malta.

It was a bit hard for me to play football and coach teams at the same time. I played for 18 years with my hometown's club of Qormi owning the caps record of the club with 256 matches and winning lot of honours in the Maltese football game.

I also played international games as I was part of the national teams from the under 14 to under 21 category.

Why did you decide to be a women team's coach?

I decided to become a women s team coach as at first I wanted a new adventure in football coaching. Nowadays, coaching women gives me more pride because after the work we do in training we obtain results in the field, as they always give their maximum.

Till now I was in charge of 56 games with Birkirkara Women's team losing only one game and winning a super cup, a league and two knock outs.

I also competed in the Champions League with the Birkirkara Women's team, which was a great experience for me and for my players.

Why did you decide to join Birkirkara F.C.?

I returned to Birkirkara after two seasons as the persons I work with in the club, like Tommy Camilleri, Raymond Parnis, Tracy Camilleri and Doreen Parnis are serious in their work, which is something I look for in a club.

Previously I had experience as an assistant coach with the premier teams of Msida and Sliema, and I gained great experience with them. In the past I had also coached the senior teams of Luqa and Qrendi.

What can you tell us about the improvement of women's football?

During a seminar in Coverciano in Italy, with clubs from other European countries, we discussed women football and we concluded that although all teams are improving, they do not have adequate support of their respective clubs.

Do you agree that women's football is not given enough importance in the media?

In Malta, although we started women football around 12 years ago, it is only lately that the media is giving us some attention. They give much more coverage in other big countries like Italy, Spain, and England. There's a local newspaper that publishes two pages on Friday about women's football and a local TV show that on Sunday gives us some coverage.

How important do you think is the role of a coach?

The coach needs to first of all be disciplined himself in everything he does at work, in his private life and in his coaching. He has to treat every player the same in any occasion. The coach needs to do a whole program with adequate training to be well prepared for every game with his squad.

What are the difficulties of this job?

The difficulties that I meet in coaching girls is that they are a bit more sensitive than boys in general, and so, sometimes you have to count not till ten but to twenty before you act, but otherwise they give you their best on the field.

Which are your best and worst memories as a coach?

My best memories in coaching Birkirkara F.C. was winning the treble which had never been achieved before, but the worst, which is still a nightmare, was losing my only game till now.

How do you motivate players for important matches?

Having important matches is the cherry on the cake because we wait eagerly for these games to test ourselves. We always work hard and do lot of sacrifice and sometimes we even train on Sundays before a good game. I always work on group and focus on every game like it is a final and the players are well motivated knowing what result they achieve. As a coach, to say the truth, I prefer playing these types of games.

How do you describe this season so far?

So far, so good. We are leading the league without losing a game conceding only two goals and making use of 9 players who are still 15 years old which is something I'm working on as a head coach giving a chance to young players which no other club has done since now.

What are your comments on the last match?

Last match we were unlucky not taking 3 points from the match against our rivals Mosta. We were pressing them in their half pitch the entire game but we couldn't score. We hit the post and their goalkeeper performed good saves from our shots.

We are ending 2011 as the only team that is unbeaten. What does this mean to you?

Being unbeaten in the league for the year 2011 is an achievement for us and makes us always look forward to continue our record even in the year 2012.

What can improve in the next year?

The improvement in our game is always a must as our team is still young and so there's always room for improvement.

How important are the supporters? Do you have a message for them?

The few supporters we have are always behind us and it's a pity we don't have a bigger amount knowing that in the club we are the team that won the most cups and honours.

I will finish off by thanking the committee and players for believing in me, and I promise them the league title, as with the work we all are doing we deserve it.

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