The Schembri dynasty

By Domenic Aquilina

Sliema Wanderers FC midfield player Stefan Giglio might have been voted Malta's Footballer of the Year at the weekend, but the overall honours went to an 18-year-old prospect and his 81-year-old grandfather.

Family members
The island's annual football awards ceremony saw two members of the Schembri family take the podium. The younger, teenager André, was named Malta's most promising youngster after a fine season with Hibernians FC, while the elder, Salvinu Schembri, was handed a lifetime achievement award.

Famous grandfather
If his grandson is proving a big hit in a Hibernians shirt, Schembri Sr was a star of the Sliema and Valletta FC sides of the 1950s. More importantly, he captained the national team when Malta played their first official match on 24 February 1957.

First international
Schembri Sr led Malta on to the pitch at the old Gzira Empire stadium for the international against Austria. The game ended in a 3-2 defeat but marked a new high in the island's footballing history.

Emotional night
"I felt so emotional having that special picture taken with my grandad at the end of the awards night," Schembri Jr told uefa.com. "Both of us also won our first individual honours here - yet it seems ironic that despite a great career, my grandad had to wait so long to pick up an individual award."

Young prospect
The hope now is that André Schembri will become as important a presence in Maltese football as his grandfather was in his day. Having progressed through the Under-17 and U19 national squads, the midfield player marked another stage in his development this season by scoring his first European goal in Hibernians' UEFA Intertoto Cup tie against NK Slaven Koprivnica.