Carmel Busuttil (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.
Club career
Rabat Ajax
Born in Rabat, Malta, Busuttil was introduced to football when he played with the neighbourhood children next to his parents’ house. He joined Rabat Magpies Amateurs at the age of ten, and following financial and administrative problems a new club was formed under the name of Rabat Ajax. Spotted by former Malta international and head coach of Rabat Ajax, Lolly Borg, Busuttil made his debut at age 14 against Għaxaq. 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. In their first season back, Rabat Ajax finished a respectable second place, tied with Valletta, which gave them access to the 1983–84 UEFA Cup. 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.
After two runner-up finishes in their first two seasons back, in which Busuttil was awarded the first out of his two Player of the Year awards, Rabat Ajax won the Premier League title for two seasons in a row; the second was part of a double with the FA Trophy. The high point of the previous seasons was followed by the low of the 1986–87 season as Rabat Ajax surprisingly suffered relegation. Busuttil finished as the league top scorer with 10 goals.
Verbania
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. In late August 1987, a season-long loan deal was agreed, with an additional clause added that following the season, in the event that a higher-level Italian club showed interest in Busuttil, Verbania would act on behalf of Rabat Ajax and receive 30% of any deal struck. 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). Busuttil ended his first stint outside his home country with eight goals to his name, and nowadays is still regarded with high esteem at the Piedmontese side.
Genk
During the summer of 1988, Belgian side Genk started negotiations with Rabat Ajax for Busuttil's signature. Rabat Ajax were hesitant to sanction the sale due to Busuttil's importance to the team and the lack of agreement on the transfer fee; in turn, Busuttil was suspended by the club for his stance on leaving the club and did not play for three months. Ultimately, the Malta Football Association (MFA) president (and future President of Malta) George Abela interceded on behalf of Rabat Ajax and in September 1988 an agreement was reached for the transfer of Busuttil. The sum agreed was Lm 45,000 (€104,821) and he joined the club after a 15-day trial.