Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/464575
21 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2015 FOOTBALL Official Water MALTA MARATHON 2015 REFRESH REFRESH YOUR DAY DAY Maltese youngster inspires football partnership Confusion reigns at Parma as club misses wages deadline Maltese youngster enjoys successive spell on Wearside after impressing coaches at Sunderland AFC as part of the club's partnership with the Justin Haber Academy in Malta YOUNG Leo Agius is becoming a popular figure around Sunder- land 's Academy of Light, following a number of successful visits in re- cent months, with Leo describing Sunderland as his second home. "It's good to be back in Sunder- land. I have a lot of friends here and I see Sunderland as my second home. Since my last visit you can see that the players have improved and I have been working on my technique and feel more confident in my abilit y" said Leo. Leo who also met Sunderland AFC's latest signing, Jermain De- foe, during his visit was accompa- nied on his return to Sunderland by recently appointed head coach at the Justin Haber Academy, Michael Farrugia, who spent the week working with SAFC's acad- emy coaches. Speaking about the visit, Michael said: "It has been a great learning experience to see how an English Premier League academy runs. I have been observing training ses- sions and have spoken with the coaches about effective training methods to take back to Malta. "You can already see the benefits of the partnership with Leo and I am excited to see how this will progress and improve the academy in Malta." Although a very small country, the passion for football in Malta is strong and with the support and help from Sunderland AFC, who share the club's coaching experts and academy football philosophy, it is hoped more youngsters will have the chance to make it in pro- fessional football. Sunderland AFC's Head of Inter- national Football Development, Graham Robinson, said: "Leo has done brilliantly and represents exactly what the Justin Haber Academy and SAFC are looking to achieve. He is at a similar level to the players in his age range at the academy and is a welcome mem- ber at the academy. "We look forward to developing our relationship with Justin Haber Academy and welcoming more faces to Sunderland AFC." Micahel Farrugia (centre left) and Leo Agius (centre right) with Sunderland AFC's academy coaches CONFUSION reigned at Serie A table-proppers Parma on Tuesday as the club failed to provide any official comment on whether they had paid the players' wages by the previous day's deadline. Confusion reigned at Serie A strugglers Parma on Tuesday as the club failed to provide any comments on whether they had paid the play- ers' wages by the previous day's deadline. Players said they had no news as they arrived for training while one television network broadcast pictures which it said showed a van and car being hauled away by bailiffs on behalf of one of the club's creditors. "We don't know absolutely anything," Fabiano Santacroce, one of the players, told reporters as he drove into the train- ing- ground. "We are just hoping for some good news." The players said they have not been paid all season and had warned they would take legal action if they had not received their wages by Mon- day. Italian media reported that the club would have to file for bankruptcy if that happened. Parma have changed hands twice in the last two months. D a s t r a s o Holdings, a Cy- prus-based conglom- e r a t e , took control in December and named Ermir Kodra, a 29-year- old Albanian, as president. The club was sold again two weeks ago to Slov- enian-based Mapi group. Giampietro Manenti, the latest president, said on taking over that he was confident of sorting out the problems. Parma had one point deducted in December for breaching final regu- lations and Italian media said they could lose another five points over the latest problems Players said they had no news as they arrived for training while one television network broadcast pictures which it said showed a van and car being hauled away by bailiffs on behalf of D a s t r a s o Holdings, a Cy- Leo Agius and Jermain Defoe