A one-club man, he spent his whole career playing as a defender for Floriana.
His first international match was the European Championship qualifier against Denmark, which Malta lost 6–1.
In 1975, Debattista became head coach of the Ħamrun Spartans, with whom in his first season they gained promotion to the Maltese Premier League.
[5] In December 1976, he was hired by Valletta, where he reached the cup finals twice in a row, defeating his old club Floriana on both occasions.
In 1994 after an unsuccessful spell with Senglea Athletic he decided to retire as a manager.