It all started way back in mid-July, with a 4-1 aggregate victory over Albania's KF Tirana, shortly followed by a hard-fought 1-0 win over Swiss champions FC Basel. The playoff proved to be a bit easier, where we booked our place in the group stage with a 6-1 aggregate victory over Cypriot side Anorthosi Famagusta.
So far so good, but what was to follow was out of this world. Being drawn against English Champions Manchester United, Italian Champions Inter Milan, and Scottish Champions Celtic would be a daunting task for many a top side in Europe, let alone a Maltese side. However, a trip to San Siro to face Inter Milan in our first group match turned out to be a walk in the park, easily beating the Seria A champions 0-2. This was then followed by another 2-0 victory, this time at home to Celtic.
A double header against Manchester United followed, and after we were brought down to earth with a massive crash after losing 4-1 at the Theatre of Dreams, we fought back at the Mdina Knights stadium to emerge 3-0 winners on the night. When Inter then came seeking revenge, they found out we were no pushovers, and we emerged 2-1 victors in what was a tough match.
A Manchester United loss to Inter in the final round of matches meant that we would top the group no matter the outcome of our match against Celtic, since we had a better head-to-head record against United. The final match was a bit of a disappointment, losing 4-1 in a snowy Celtic Park, but it did not dampen spirits at all, having proved our worth by finishing top in the toughest group of them all - the Group of Death.
Hopes were high after we avoided the big names in the Last of 16 draw, and they were even more so after we defeated our opponents Sampdoria 0-1 in their own back yard. But perhaps in the end lack of experience and a touch of overconfidence proved to be our downfall, succumbing to a Sampdoria onslaught and losing 0-3 to end our magnificent run against Europe's big boys.
No need to mention, domestic tradition was respected, as we bagged a sixth consecutive Premier League and FA Trophy double, reaching 100 unbeaten league games in the process, although a 45 match winning streak was ended in mid-november with a 1-1 draw at home to Msida SJ.
Despite all these recent successes, Mdina Knights is still considered a small club, and thus, we are still not attracting big names to our club, having to resort to scouting the globe for young talent, and then waiting for them to develop, only for them to leave for want of greater glory. Such was the case when, following this season, we lost three of our four best players; two of them on a free transfer, not wanting to sign a new contract, and the third had just one year left on his contract, so I decided to cash in on him since he also did not want to renew.
In the rankings, the Maltese Premier League dropped 11 places to 73rd, while Mdina Knights bore the fruits of the successful European campaign, soaring up 105 places to 56th. Malta also rose in the Nation Rankings, up 9 places to 19th.
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