Stats by Interista93 and gurkenjoe93

Name: Salvinu Schembri




Country: Malta
Club: Sliema Wanderers F.C.
Position: *AMF, SS, (optional WF)
Side: RF/RS
Age: 30-35 years (19/10/1923)

Height: 175 cm *
Weight: 71 kg *


Attack: 77
Defence: 44
Balance: 73
Stamina: 81
Top Speed: 81
Acceleration: 82
Response: 78
Agility: 82
Dribble Accuracy: 84
Dribble Speed: 81
Short Pass Accuracy: 82
Short Pass Speed: 80
Long Pass Accuracy: 78
Long Pass Speed: 79
Shot Accuracy: 78
Shot Power: 82
Shot Technique: 76
Free Kick Accuracy: 76
Curling: 85
Header: 66
Jump: 68
Technique: 82
Aggression: 80
Mentality: 84
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 83

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition: 5
Weak Foot Accuracy: 6
Weak Foot Frequency: 6
Consistency: 7
Growth type: Late/Lasting

CARDS:
P14 - Free Roaming
S01 - Marauding
S02 - Passer
S06 - Outside Curve

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Dribbling - Positioning - Reaction - Playmaking - Passing - Scoring - Outside

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Attack Minded


INFO:
Salvinu Schembri was a midfielder or striker, who played as right inside, even though he was used also as right winger. His career began in 1943 at Sliema Wanderers. He joined Valletta after a few years and won twice the Maltese league in 1944-45 and 1946-47 and became league top scorer with 14 goals in 1947-48. He then came back to Sliema Wanderers in 1953, winning three times the national league in 1953-54, 1954-55 and 1955-56, the FA Cup in 1954-55, the Scicluna Cup in 1954-55 and 1956-57. An automatic choice for the national team for years, he capped 35 times for Malta FA XI and 3 as captain for the official Malta team, scoring once in a prestigious 3-0 win against Denmark in 1958. He won the Victory Cup with Malta XI in 1945. He retired in 1961 due to a knee injury after a few seasons at Ħamrun Spartans.
In possession of rare qualities, Schembri is considered as one of the finest ever Maltese players and arguably the most complete. Due to his unmatched tactical intelligence, it was figuratively said that his mind could be heard ticking. Arguably, Malta never had a more clever player than Schembri, who could read the game in a flash before waiting until a teammate was positioned before opening the defence with a perfect through-pass or a deadly shot. He was a master of the "running off the ball", triggering an attacking play with a fast pass to a winger or the centre forward and then positioning himself to receive the ball back. He scored many crucial goals, some even directly from corner kick. Those who saw him playing, recall his scoring ability, his mastery in dribbling, his creative midfield work, his clever and accurate passes, his tireless efforts in every match, his class and spectacular performances that mesmerized everybody, his clean playstyle that made him respected by friends and opponents. Everything he did looked so easy and eight times out of ten his shots ended inside the net. He probably could've played well in any team from bigger leagues but he was quite unknown outside Malta due to football's low status in the country. When he rejoined Sliema Wanderers, his was more mature and skillful than ever and one of the most successful player of his era. Even during the last two-three seasons of his career, he kept showing his skills, great positional play and touches despite being much slower than he was during his peak.
Schembri had perhaps his greatest match in a 3-1 win against Czechoslovakian club Žabovřesky on 12th January 1947: he was playing for a Floriana/Valletta selection and during this encounter, he showed skills and talent to beat the team at their own game, moving yards faster than the opposing players, having an impeccable footwork and setting up two of the three goals scored by his squad. The two teams had another match seven days later but he unfortunately got injured after a reckless tackles from an opposing defender. Schembri was forced out for three months and Valletta lost the Cassar Cup final against Ħamrun Spartans. He was luckily cleared for the last league game despite the Army was reluctant because they feared the injury could get worse. Schembri played carefully from behind, testing his injury, and waited for the right moment to score the winning goal. The best performance with the national team was arguably Malta's official match against Austria in 1957: his team was losing 3-0 but thanks mainly to Schembri's intelligent play, the final result was 3-2 after a memorable second-half that could've ended with a draw at any moment.