The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Jakob Cioffi: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Hamrun Spartans have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Hamrun Spartans
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michele Carboni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Cabralzinho wants to go home
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Hamrun Spartans know it.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
No hiding place for Jake Grech
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jake Grech, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Oct 2026
14 new faces, and Hamrun Spartans are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Lucas Covolan wants one last season at home
Every long career reaches the week the last one is thought about. He would like it to be where he started, and Hamrun Spartans know now that the thought has arrived.
Market12 Oct 2026
A stepping stone, not a home, for Ayodele Akinyemi
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Hamrun Spartans were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Rafael Compri gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Rafael Compri is on it.
Market12 Oct 2026
The Damir Céter story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Damir Céter signs something — a contract at Hamrun Spartans or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
- Market Ayodele Akinyemi joins Hamrun Spartans to strengthen the squad
- The dugout A door opens for Lucas Covolan
- Looking ahead Looking ahead: Zabbar St. Patrick at home