Heese plans to alter Malta

By Domenic Aquilina

As the qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup approach, few face a harder task than Malta coach Horst Heese. Without a victory in their last 20 competitive games, Malta have not won a major qualifying game away from home since beating Estonia in May 1993.

Known quantity
However, the 60-year-old German cannot say he did not know what to expect as he prepares his side for the qualifiers. He was coach of Malta between February 1988 and May 1991, leading his side to celebrated wins against Finland and Tunisia, before returning to take the reins again in 1999.

No pushover
Now chief technical director at the Malta Football Association (MFA), Heese is prepared for a mammoth task in Group 8, where Malta will face Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland, Sweden and Croatia, but he is aiming to ensure that none of their more famous opponents will see his side as a pushover.

Winning mentality
"My immediate aim and that of my assistant Carmel Busuttil is to find the right blend of players for this big challenge," he told uefa.com. "We do not want players with international experience who have a losing mentality. I think it is better to play inexperienced players who believe in their abilities."

Success-starved
The draw has not been particularly kind to Heese as he aims to balance the realities of managing one of Europe's smallest footballing nations with the demands of the Maltese public who are, after so many years of hardship, hungry for success.

Mighty opponents
"Malta are in a very difficult group even though there are no big nations like England, France, Germany or Italy," Heese said. "I am sure that Sweden, Croatia and Bulgaria play as well as these big nations but a defeat against Italy would pass by with a lot less fuss than a defeat against Croatia."

'No excuses'
Having lost 8-0 to the Netherlands during his first spell as Malta coach in 1990, Heese is aware that heavy defeats are an occupational hazard for his side. However, he is determined to succeed: "There will be no excuses this time. We need to get good results."

Friendly challenge
Malta are thinking big in preparation for the qualifiers, and MFA president Dr Joseph Mifsud has helped Heese piece together a challenging series of friendlies. Malta will face Belarus, Estonia and Moldova in a friendly tournament before taking on Finland and Germany later this year.

Youth commitment
"We will assess all the players during these friendly matches, and then formulate our World Cup squad," he said. "We are committed to injecting new blood into the Malta national team. It will be very hard of course, but these first eight months of preparation will be crucial."

Final hurrah
Heese's determination to succeed is perhaps down to the fact that the World Cup will be his last campaign as a coach before handing over the reins to his assistant, former Maltese international Busuttil. "When my contract ends in 2005, I will definitely end my coaching career," he said.

Homeward bound
And more than anything else the former Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburger SV player is looking forward to a good rest. "Since I started my professional career I have had no regular home," he said. "It will be time to settle down for good in a nice house I have in Belgium." A good showing for Malta in the qualifiers would be a perfect farewell to football.