JOHN PACE
Date of birth: April 23, 1978
Nationality: Maltese
Position: defender
Appearances for Club: 64
Goals for Club: 0
At a very
young age, John Pace was the Club's brightest defensive prospect. Strong,
quick, fearless and completely immersed in football. He was a key figure
in every honour won by the Club's youths in the early nineties: the
Under/14 championship (1990/91), the Under/16 double (1991/92), the Under/16
repeat as champions (1992/93) and the Under/16 knock-out win (1993/94). The
senior team was beckoning. Then a horrendous leg injury sustained in a
traffic accident brought a halt to his progress. While he was going
through rehabilitation wondering, first whether he will walk properly
again, then whether he will play again, his peers were running away with
the Under/18 championship in 1995/96 and making their first appearances for
the Blacks' first team. John finally returned to the training ground and
in 1997/98 he made his senior debut coming on as a substitute in the
Blacks' 1-3 loss to Xaghra United. He made one more appearance that
season. More importantly he established himself as a regular in the
Under/21 team. With this team he tasted more glory in the form of
back-to-back championships in 1997/98 and 1998/99.
In the 98/99 season the
Club was playing in the First Division (premier format) and John saw a lot
of action mostly as a substitute playing in the stopper position. He
played an important part in the Super Cup triumph over Xaghra United. In
the following seasons, John gained even more experience. He was part of
the team that won the treble in 2000/01, playing complete games in the
G.F.A. Cup and Super Cup Final. He also featured in several matches
in the 2001/02 season before quitting the Blacks' first team for personal reasons.
He returned to football in 2003/04 when he played
brilliantly for the Under/21 team and collected a handful
of first team appearances including a starting role in the
Super Cup final win over Victoria Hotspurs.
John was part of the
Blacks' 2004/05 championship winning squad. He was a
regular starter in the first half of the season; his
appearances were restricted late on as the Blacks
strengthened the team in the push towards the title.
