Emilio De Leo feels strong sense of responsibility after being appointed Malta coach

Emilio De Leo said that apart from being proud, he felt a strong sense of responsibility after being appointed Malta coach. New Malta national teams head coach Emilio De Leo was presented to the media on Tuesday.

De Leo takes over from Davide Mazzotta who served as interim coach since mid-September following the dismissal of Davide Marcolini. Mazzotta, meanwhile, has been appointed Malta Under-21 coach.

A UEFA Pro Licence holder, Emilio De Leo worked for many years alongside the late Sinisa Mihajlovic at renowned clubs, including UC Sampdoria, AC Milan, Torino FC and Bologna FC. De Leo was also part of Mihajlovic’s coaching staff during the latter’s spell in charge of the Serbia national team in 2012-2013.

Malta FA President Bjorn Vassallo spoke in detail about the recruitment process which led to the appointment of Emilio De Leo as national teams head coach.

The association had launched a recruitment process throughout the month of December in order to be able to announce the new appointments for the vacant roles within the technical sector, namely the Head Coach and Technical Director, the staff of the national A team, the Under-21 national coach and technical coordinator for the youth development sector.

After the November international window which marked the expiry of the previous contracts, the association short-listed what were considered to be the ideal coaches who could reach the technical objectives. The candidates were eventually short-listed to two by a technical advisory panel, made up of three officials of the Malta FA, a former national coach, a former national team player and a international technical consultant. The candidates were provided with a technical guide explaining the association’s technical project over the past four years and then they were asked to present what methodology were they ready to use to reach the association’s technical objectives.

Vassallo explained that this was a similar process to the one adopted by The FA which led to the appointment of Thomas Tuchel as England coach.

“Although we are one of the smallest football associations, this was one of the most transparent processes which led to the appointment of Emilio De Leo as head coach. The recruiting process did not consist of just interviews or reading CVs but after we presented the short-listed candidates a voluminous technical guide which highlighted the association’s technical objectives, they were asked how with their methodology, the way how they work and experience, they would be able to reach these objectives – not only at senior national team level but also developement with the pathway from grassroots to youth development up to the elite.”

Emilio De Leo will be assisted by Pietro Matafora and Mirko Valdifiori together with Ivan Woods, who had been serving as Under-21 coach for the past campaign. Woods will be replaced by Davide Mazzotta following his spells as assistant coach of the senior national team and eventually as interim coach.

At the end of the current football season, the association will be appointing a technical coordinator while the contracts of the other coaches of the youth national teams will be evaluated between May and June by the head coach, leading to either the confirmation or the appointment of new coaches.

Therefore apart from Emilio De Leo who will be responsible over all the national teams sector as technical director, as from June, there would be a technical coordinator, Pietro Matafora will be focussed on the grassroots, meaning that there will be experienced personnel in each sector to lead the strategic aspect which the association has been running since 2020.

The Malta FA President revealed that the association has been following Emilio De Leo for a number of years.

“Emilio De Leo has been on our target list for a number of years, following the expiry of his contract at Bologna. Now it was the right time for him to join us together with his technical staff to start this adventure with the Malta national team.”

Vassallo said De Leo enjoyed huge respect in Italy as a young and modern coach who managed to reach important objectives, both on a personal and at a club level apart from gaining valuable experience from the people he worked with.

“It is an honour for our association to welcome within its fold such a high-profile coach and to have a coach which worked at top clubs, along with a spell with the Serbian national team, to have him embrace our project which does not focus only on the senior national team but also long-term development to make sure of investment in our youths for the years to come.”

Vassallo added that women’s national team. Coach Manuela Tesse’s contract was extended as the senior women’s national team would be aiming for promotion once again. Tesse will now be assisted by Piero Panzanaro who had already been working within the Malta FA technical sector.

The Malta FA President concluded that these coaches and the rest of the technical staff have what it takes to lead the various national teams in obtaining the desired results and achieving the set objectives.

“As from February 1st, Emilio will have a challenge as we know our limits and therefore one needs to work much harder to achieve the targets and objectives. However, he is looking forward to this new challenge and said that respect was the key. Hopefully with the expertise of the technical staff, we will be able to achieve the results we aim for.”

Emilio De Leo thanked the Malta FA and Bjorn Vassallo in particular for showing a lot of respect and trust towards him.

The Italian coach said that this was appreciated by him and was decisive in the choice he made. He said the recruiting process was very long and complex – something which he met for the first time but said that this showed seriousness, professionalism and transparency.

De Leo said he was proud to be here and happy of this opportunity to work with the Malta national team.

“I very very happy with this opportunity that has been given to me but at the same time, there is a strong sense of responsibility because leading a national team does not only mean representing it in a technical and sporting sense but also from an ethical and moral point of view because we represent a nation full of history,” said De Leo.

The new Malta coach said that it wil be the field of play who will prove his qualities.

“My work is quite recognized at the clubs where I worked. My career kicked-off twenty years ago and spent around ten years ashead coach. Then, I had the luck to meet a great personality like Sinisa Mihajlovic and we started a long collaboration together for ten years where we were in close contact. I focussed mainly on work organization, conducting training on the field of play and was then forced to take on additional responsibilities, not only with regards to the tactical and technical aspect, but also managing the emotional aspect (due to the illness which Mihajlovic was going through). That was the most important training ground for me. It was a particular and engaging period and it was a further step in my growth.”

“Football is a form of art because it can generate emotions in players and supporters on the stands. We have the duty to keep the passion alive and make sure football remains an appetizing product. Fans have to enjoy themselves when they go to see a match.”

“I am sure there will be difficulties from the technical aspect when considering opponents who are much more experienced but we need to have certain game principles, technical and tactical principles and also moral principles. Principles which could be adopted throughout all national teams down to the grassroots.”

“Having a single system of play is against my ideas. We have to build players who know how to interpret different game situations, who know how to decide and take responsibility, who know how to face obstacles with their heads held high and bounce back when there are negative moments and defeats. This is the line we must follow from the senior national team downwards.”

“I would like the team to express good football. The focus will be on the players’ talent because I think that the technical management is what ignites the passion of everyone.”

With regards to having all national teams playing a similar style of play, Emilio De Leo said that considering this was a very long and complex process, he did not rule out the possibility of having teams at different age groups at youth level playing a different style, saying he was against hindering the qualities of players just for the sake of having a single style of play.

“We aim at having players who are able to take responsibilities, know how to recognize spaces … because in football what is required of us at an international level is to grow the personality of a team … players who know how to interpret football in different ways, know how to play in different positions, this will be our challenge. We know that there must be patience from our side, from the players from whom there should be a lot of predisposition,” added the new Malta coach.

When asked whether he had any particular objective as Malta national team coach, Emilio De Leo said that as a national coach, the point of reference is always the objective set by the association.

“The President and the association set the objectives, I will find the way how to reach these objectives and the players must make themselves available. We discussed the UEFA Nations League play-off and the ranking but only as part of a process. We should lay the foundations with regards to the methodology and the structure.”

“What warms my heart is when you understand how you can help someone improve his performance, manage to push someone’s limits. If this happens I am happy and satisfied. I consider myself a very empathetic person and I have to be myself with the characteristics of creativity, empathy and sensitivity. We must share this common path.”

“I was interested in a project focussed on building, determining and achieving certain objectives. Set long-term targets, something which the president and I agreed on immediately.”

Bjorn Vassallo added that the short term targets would remain promotion to the UEFA Nations League C and a higher FIFA Ranking within the next two years. As regards the UEFA Nations League, Malta has two chances in 2026 – the play-off against Luxembourg in March and then the actual tournament later that year. On the other hand, FIFA Ranking could improve with positive results throughout the forthcoming European Qualifiers.

On the other hand, with regards to long-term objectives – development remains on the forefront. He said that there was a strong base as the association believes in the talent and qualities of players. The pathway leads players from schools to youth development and eventually the Under-21 side and the senior national team. Vassallo said that this can only be achieved with specialised coaches and staff who have the know and are able to lead the association to achieve the targets. Something which he believes is being done with the appointment of these new coaches.