Carmel Busuttil - TheSportsDB.com

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Name
Carmel Busuttil

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Born
1964 (60 years old)

Birth Place

Rabat, Malta

Position
Centre-Forward

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_Retired Soccer

2nd Team

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Carmel Busuttil MQR (born 29 February 1964), nicknamed "Il-Bużu", is a Maltese former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Regarded as one of the best Maltese players of all time, he began his career with his hometown club Rabat Ajax winning two Premier League titles, two Super Cups and an FA Trophy. After a year spell with Verbania in Italy, Busuttil joined Genk in 1988. He was a prominent figure in the Belgian side, where he served as club captain and was the team's top scorer for three consecutive seasons. Busuttil returned to Malta to join Sliema Wanderers where he won another Premier League title. He finished off his career in 2001 as one of the highest goalscorers in Premier League history with 93 goals.

At international level, Busuttil made his debut for the Maltese national team in 1982. He was capped 113 times, scoring 23 goals in the process. He is the nation's fourth-most capped player of all-time, and his top goalscoring record stood until it was broken in March 2010. In 2004, he was selected by the Malta Football Association as the country's "single most outstanding player" in the last 50 years as part of the UEFA Jubilee Awards.

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 his fifth cap with the senior side, Busuttil scored a brace in a 2–3 defeat against Spain played on 15 May 1983. His goals gave Malta a momentary 2–1 lead but were outdone by a late winner from Rafael Gordillo. On 15 December 1984, Malta hosted West Germany at the National Stadium in a 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifier. 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. 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.

During the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Malta played against Hungary in a home match on 11 December 1988. 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. In the reverse fixture played at the Népstadion on 12 April 1989, Malta took the lead after seven minutes: John Buttigieg won the ball inside his own penalty box and after beating the challenge of a number of Hungarian players, fed the ball to Busuttil who overcame Ervin Kovács and slid the ball past Disztl. The match ended in a 1–1 draw with Imre Boda scoring from the penalty spot.

On 19 December 1992, in a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier, Malta hosted Italy in a packed stadium. Following a first half with no goals, Italy scored twice in three minutes. 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. This ended up to be a consolation goal as Malta were defeated 1–2.

Busuttil was named captain for the first time in the 0–3 defeat against Scotland on 17 February 1993, fulfilling this role for 36 games in his international career. On 16 February 1994, Malta faced Belgium for the first time on a senior level, the latter using this match as preparation for the 1994 FIFA World Cup finals. Busuttil, who at that time was plying his trade in Belgium and had arrived in the same aircraft as the Belgian party, collected a pass from Raymond Vella (this was also Vella's last match with the national side following his retirement) and scored what would be the match winner. Returning to Genk, Busuttil rode the same plane as the Belgian squad.

His 100th cap arrived on 6 February 2000 in the 3–0 win against Azerbaijan, the first Maltese national to achieve this feat. His final Malta appearance came on 25 April 2001 in a 1–4 defeat against Iceland, ending his international career amassing 113 games and 23 goals. His 23 goals were the highest scored with the international team up till 3 March 2010 when Michael Mifsud scored his 24th goal in a 1–2 defeat against Finland.

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. Heese managed Busuttil during the latter's time playing with Malta's national team and was an important figure in pushing for Busuttil's transfer to Genk. At the end of 2005, Heese made aware his intentions of not extending his contract and the MFA began discussions with Busuttil to take the helm. When Busuttil rejected the association's offer, Dušan Fitzel was engaged on a two-year contract.

On 17 November 2005, Busuttil was presented as the new coach for Third Division side, Santa Luċija, signing a season-long contract. His first game in charge was a 2–1 win over Siġġiewi. Santa Luċija finished fifth in the league which wasn't enough for a promotion place to the Second Division. In November 2006, Pietà Hotspurs announced Busuttil as their new coach. At the time, Pietà Hotspurs were lingering at the bottom of the Premier League table with only two points from eight games, and although he had a slow start the team's form recovered and by the end of the season they confirmed their top-tier status with games to spare. The following 2007–08 season, Pietà Hotspurs ended their 12-year stay at the top level when they finished second to last and were relegated to the First Division.

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. Following a two-year spell which gave only two wins from 21 games and with criticism over the players' selection, Buttigieg and Busuttil were relieved of their duties. 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.

Busuttil is a holder of the UEFA A Licence, and on 6 July 2011, he obtained his Category 1 UEFA Pro Coaching Licence at Coverciano.

Busuttil is married to Julie, who he met while playing for Rabat Ajax, and they have two children: Kelly and Gary (the latter named after English striker Gary Lineker).