The Valletta Chronicle
Match29 Aug 2026
A hiding for Valletta
Beaten 0‑4 by Sliema Wanderers, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market31 Aug 2026
Neil Micallef puts it in writing
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Valletta, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Shaft Brewer beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Boardroom31 Aug 2026
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Valletta
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Door shut on Sadeeq Abubakar
Valletta asked and Wikki Tourists said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market31 Aug 2026
One of our own: Roderick Gatt joins the Valletta first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Roderick Gatt is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market31 Aug 2026
Valletta promote Oliver Buttigieg from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Oliver Buttigieg has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market31 Aug 2026
Matteo Caruana steps up from the Valletta academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Matteo Caruana has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
Alex Tanque gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
In brief
- Squad 200 appearances for Maringá
- Squad Andrew Tutte falls out with a teammate over standards
- Boardroom Inquest at Valletta