Mifsud whets appetite of Maltese-Australians

Maltese-Australian football fans Down Under are at fever pitch over Melbourne Heart’s seemingly imminent signing of Malta’s record scorer Michael Mifsud. Sydneysider Luke Sammut, 28, said he switched his allegiance from Western Sydney Wanderers to Melbourne Heart as soon as he heard Mifsud was signing. “Michael is my favourite player. Maltese people will get behind Melbourne Heart now for sure,” Mr Sammut said. “My brother is also jumping on board. Ever since we were young we would stay up at stupid hours of the morning just to see Michael Mifsud and the team play.” Despite living over 700 kilometres from Melbourne, Mr Sammut, whose grandparents are Maltese, vowed to go to as many Heart games as possible in the coming season. Known as ‘the Mosquito’ because of his diminutive stature and tendency to pest defenders, Mifsud flew to Australia last Sunday to undergo a medical and sign a one-year contract if all goes well. Speaking to Times of Malta last week, the 32-year-old striker said: “I’m delighted to be going to a city where there is a large Maltese community. Provided that everything goes to plan, I’m banking on their support.” Matthew Galea, 22, a Shepperton News sports...