SAVIOUR
DARMANIN
Date of birth: February 7, 1977
Nationality: Maltese
Position: goalkeeper
Appearances for Club: 0
Goals for Club: 0
Saviour Darmanin has spent
the major part of his football career keeping goal for
Pieta Hotspurs. In the minors he had played for St.
George's, Luqa St. A. and Floriana. He moved to Pieta H.
in 1994 and found himself in the senior team sooner than
he expected. He was Pieta's youth player of the year in
his first season with the club. Pieta were relegated from
the Premier Division that season but returned as champions
of the First Division straight away. Pieta, with Darmanin
in goal most of the time stayed in the Premier ever since.
Darmanin has given stellar service to the club and was
twice recognized with the club's player of the year award
(2002/03 and 2003/04). Midway through the 2004/05 season
he joined Birkirkara F.C. on loan.
In
the off-season, somewhat disillusioned by the state of the
local game, he decided to take time off, despite numerous
enquiries about his services. Saviour turned his attention
to coaching, something that he had stumbled upon two years
ago when Liverpool Supporters Club organized a training
camp here in Malta. Darmanin caught the eye of Liverpool
F.C. officials who invited him to their club with a view
to joining their academy. Darmanin's coaching career has
taken off since. He provides coaching services to a number
of nurseries and is well on his way to setting up his own
school.
In the
meantime, he signed with English non-league club, Vauxhall
Motors and made several appearances for them this season,
often flying over for the match and returning to Malta
soon after.
The Club
initially contacted Saviour with a view to provide
coaching for the Club's young keepers. However, the
relationship soon progressed to an agreement for Saviour
to play for the Club.
It
has not been since Freddie Mizzi kept goal for Ghajnsielem
in a 1960 friendly match against Valletta, that a Malta
international goalkeeper has played between the posts for
the Club. Saviour has played for Malta's senior and
Under/21 teams. He made his senior debut in a Rothmans
International Tournament match at Ta' Qali against
Lithuania (11/02/2002). The match ended in a 1-1 draw and
Malta went on to win the tournament. He followed this with
starts against Kazakhstan (2-2 in 12/02/03), Cyprus (1-2
in 30/04/03) and Estonia (5-2 in 16/02/04). He also came
in for Mario Muscat against Germany (0-7 in 27/05/04). His
latest appearance also was as a sub. In the February 9,
2005 friendly against Norway (0-3) he came in for the
injured Justin Haber. This match has a special
significance for our Club because it was in this match
that David Carabott, then playing with Ghajnsielem,
captained the side and earned his record-setting 123rd
appearance for Malta.