Carmel Busuttil

Regarded as one of the best Maltese players of all time,[2][3] he began his career with his hometown club Rabat Ajax winning two Premier League titles, two Super Cups and an FA Trophy.

[7] Starting from the Third Division, Rabat Ajax earned two successive promotions, making a return to the top tier of Maltese football for the 1982–83 season after a 17-year wait.

Busuttil made his debut in European competition in the 0–10 defeat against the Czechs of Inter Bratislava, played at the Rabat Ajax Football Ground on 11 September 1983.

[10] Following Rabat's relegation, Busuttil expressed interest in leaving the club and Adelmo Paris, who at that time was with Żurrieq, invited him to join him at semi-professional Verbania.

[11] Playing in the Promozione, at that time the fifth level in Italian football, Verbania finished second in the Piemonte and Aosta Valley regional division, gaining promotion to the Interregionale (today's Serie D).

The following season, Busuttil found his first European goal, scoring the winner in a 2–1 win over Partizan in the first leg of the qualifying round of the 2000–01 UEFA Cup.

[7][28] Busuttil's last official match came the following week, in the second leg qualifier of the 2001–02 UEFA Cup, a 2–1 win over Matador Púchov in which he left a mark with his final goal.

[28][29] Following his early exploits with Rabat Ajax, Busuttil made his debut for Malta on 5 June 1982 in a 2–1 win against Iceland in a UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying match played at the Stadio Giovanni Celeste.

In a record crowd of 35,000, Busuttil gave Malta a ten-minute lead after avoiding the challenge from a German defender and scoring with a low shot to the left corner.

[32][33] Malta ultimately ended up losing 2–3, with Busuttil completing the second half carrying an injury following a first-half stamp from Hans-Peter Briegel where he had to be given a painkiller during half-time.

The Hungarians took a 1–0 lead before the break, but at the start of the second half, Busuttil scored the equaliser after receiving a through pass from Raymond Vella and rounding goalkeeper Péter Disztl.

As Hungary regained their lead with a József Kiprich penalty, a minute into stoppage time Busuttil struck again from a Silvio Vella freekick to equalise the scores.

After a penalty miss from Kristian Laferla following Franco Baresi's handball offence, five minutes from time, Malta reduced the lead when Busuttil collected a Charles Scerri through ball and fed Martin Gregory for the goal.

[42] He also ventured into the futsal game, playing for Konica Minolta Gunners which included in its roster a number of former Maltese international players like John Buttigieg, Silvio Vella, Ray Farrugia, and Martin Gregory.

[7] Busuttil took part in numerous local charity events, consisting of friendly-style football matches against teams made up of former professional players and one-off selections.

[45][46][47][48] On 21 October 2003, the Malta Football Association announced the appointment of Horst Heese as the new head coach of the Maltese national team, and Busuttil would serve as his assistant with the aim to take over in two years' time.

[57] In July 2009, Dušan Fitzel stepped down from his coaching role of the Maltese national team due to health problems and was replaced by John Buttigieg, with Busuttil returning as assistant, and both officially signed a five-year contract starting from 1 August.

[59] Between August 2012 and June 2018, Busuttil formed part of Melita's coaching staff, assisting both the senior amateur team in their first-ever season in the Premier League as well as heading the youth academy.