Rainbows aim at "moving a step further"

Tarxien Rainbows presented their new signings during a press conference which was held at the club premises on Saturday. The Rainbows have eight new players in squad, including three new Brazilian players who join Everton Antonio Pereira, Daniel Mariano Bueno and Ricardo Costa who were confirmed from last season.

The three new Brazilian players are Rodrigo Galvao, Roberto Saraiva Fagundes and Caio Garcia Suguino. From the local market, Tarxien secured the services of Nicky Vella, Adrian Carabott, Carl Sammut, Karl Pulo and Stefan Giglio.

President Tony Cassar explained that due to the new format which means a longer championship campaign, the club had to strengthen the squad.

After managing to avoid relegation for the first time in season 2008/09, the following season, Tarxien secured a place in the Championship Pool and reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy. Last season, Tarxien once again placed fifth but ended the first phase in second place behind Valletta.

Cassar said the club’s objective was now to move one step further and he believes that this goal could be achieved with the players at the club’s disposal.

Coach Noel Coleiro said that this season, he had by far the most competitive squad ever. A squad of twenty-two players meaning that on the bench, he would be having players that could fit in easily in the first eleven.

In fact, although only four foreign players could be fielded at any time, Tarxien have six Brazilian players in their squad and therefore he has the opportunity to make tactical changes during games by introducing more quality players.

Coleiro said that Tarxien were a small club with a big heart and is confident that with the players at his disposal, the club could move a step further than it has achieved so far. He admitted that last season, the team only finished fifth although finishing second at the end of the first phase was an achievement in itself for the club.

The Tarxien coach expressed his satisfaction over these years at the club. He said that he had joined the Rainbows after they had missed out on promotion twice. They won promotion to the Premier League and managed to stay there.

Coleiro described the club as a family and stated that he would never opt to leave the club. He concluded by promising supporters that the team will be doing its very best to achieve more than it had achieved so far.

Meanwhile Tarxien president Tony Cassar said the club’s focus was not only on the first team but also on the nursery and the premises. He revealed that around three hundred children were now registered with the nursery. He went on to speak about some of the projects at the club’s premises which include the building of a gym and dressing rooms, furnishing of the administration offices and the building of a new hall which would help the generation of income for the club. Cassar said that the club is currently in discussions with the Malta Football Association about how it could help the club in obtaining funds for these projects.

Cassar thanked the volunteers who give their time to the club and expressed his wish that in future more products of the nursery will make it to the senior squad.

Rodrigo Galvao is the more experienced players among the new Brazilian players, having played in Brazil, Portugal and China. Roberto Saraiva Fagundes, who is a former Under-18 international, played for top-level clubs in Brazil before playing in Saudi Arabia and Denmark. Caio Garcia Suguino, who holds a Spanish passport, played in Brazil and Spain before moving the Moldova last year He started this season with Milsami in Moldova where he also played in the UEFA Europa League.

A product of San Gwann, Nicky Vella joins the club from Valletta where he spent the last few years as the second goalkeeper. Adrian Carabott joins Tarxien on loan from Valletta after a fine season with Zejtun Corinthians in Division 2.

Carl Sammut, formerly of Pietà Hotspurs, signed for Tarxien on a one-year loan from Vittoriosa Stars while another former Pietà player, Karl Pulo joins the club from Birkirkara. The other new signing is veteran Stefan Giglio who played for Valletta, CSKA Sofia, Lokomotiv Sofia, Sliema Wanderers and Qormi before joining the Rainbows.