VINCENT
GALEA
Date of birth: June 30, 1951
Nationality: Maltese
Position: inside-forward
Debut: April 7, 1968
Last match: May 8, 1976
Appearances for Club: 69
Goals for Club: 13
Vincent
Galea's career with the Blacks was short but packed with
glory. He won the minor league championship in 1965/66 and
two years later won the reserves league championship. Both
these triumphs were first for the Club and were
accomplished in the company of team mates that would form
the backbone of the seventies legendary Blacks team.
Vincent was a versatile player and could play in every
department whether as a full-back, inside-forward or
striker.
He
made his first team debut late in the 1967/68 season. He
more or less won a regular starting job the following
season. His first goal arrived at the end of the season
against newly-crowned champions S.K. Calypsians. He was
present in the side for all of the first three of the
five-year reign by the Blacks at the top of Gozitan
football. He won a championship and three other
competitions in each of those seasons. He emigrated and
missed the last two championship campaigns. Vincent
returned briefly midway through the 1974/75 season and
made one last appearance in the final match of the 1975/76
season.
Vincent
Galea's most famous goal arrived in a league opener
against Nadur Youngsters in the 1971/72 season. The
Club had just been eliminated from the Galea Cup and had
lost Karmnu Cutajar to suspension. Up stepped Vincent into
the breach and scored one of the two goals that defeated
Nadur Y. To make matters a little more sweet at the time,
the Youngsters had Toni Buttigieg in net, the veteran
goalkeeper they had just acquired from the Club.
Along
with Raymond Buttigieg and Karmnu Cutajar, two other great
Blacks that had to leave our shores before the Club's
amazing feats were completed, Vincent's value to the Club
may at the time have been underestimated. It is true that
the loss of these players was marked with sadness and
apprehension, but the Club's inexorable march to uncharted
heights was accomplished in their absence. However, upon
close scrutiny it results that the Blacks' squad of the
first three years packed much more thunder than the team
that nonetheless emerged triumphant in the last two years.
This is the case in terms of trophies won, winning
percentage, scoring rate and defensive record. This is
surely in part attributable to the adjustments made by the
opposition to counter the Blacks juggernaut. But the
departure of players like Vincent played a much more
significant part in this. Vincent's technical abilities,
athleticism and fiery determination enabled the team to
function efficiently even in the occasional absence of
one, two or more regular players from the side.
Vincent's
value to the Blacks went beyond his tangible contribution
on the field of play. His effusive character played foil
to the much more serious demeanor of his brother captain,
Loreto. He was reputedly responsible for many a prank with
his partner-in-crime the other Vincent on the team (Cutajar).
He kept the players loose before the match and was
indispensable as far as team culture was concerned.