MICHAEL MIFSUD has a long history with Manchester United.
The former striker went from being on trial at Old Trafford to scoring twice against them in a famous Coventry victory within eight years.
In 1999, as one of the hottest prospects in Maltese football, the teenager was invited to train alongside United’s Treble-winning stars at The Cliff — their old complex.
And while he was unable to sign a permanent contract with Malta not in the European Union at the time, those two weeks helped shape his career.
Mifsud, 42, told SunSport: “I trained with the first-team. Gary Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Roy Keane were all there, the legends.
“Just entering the dressing room, seeing all the kits, you’re getting changed with Beckham’s boots next to you, it was surreal. It was a dream come true.
“I spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson a little bit, even though everyone was scared of him.
“It showed me what real football was like and made me even hungrier. I wanted to be like Beckham and to be scoring goals like Andy Cole.”
Mifsud, famously nicknamed The Mosquito by a rival, did eventually make his way to English football — via spells in Norway and Germany — when he joined Coventry in January 2007.
And he could hardly believe his luck eight months later when the Sky Blues drew United away in the League Cup third round.
Against a Red Devils team that included the likes of Gerard Pique, Anderson and Nani, he wrote his name into Coventry folklore.
Having scored the opener, Mifsud sealed the tie 20 minutes from time with a memorable second.
In front of the 11,000 travelling Coventry fans, he left the great Pique on his backside before rifling home.
He said: “I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it.
“You never get sick of something nice. I was so grateful and lucky to achieve what I did. We were like a family, so it was a real team effort.
“The game and my performance was fantastic. I could have scored a hat-trick with my backheel hitting the post, but my second goal was so nice.
“I went to celebrate with our fans, they were behind the goal and it was a really special feeling.
“All of Malta were behind me. Half of Malta supports United but on the day they were supporting me. I received so many messages, my phone was like ping, ping, ping.”
Among those United fans were Mifsud’s mum, although she was not at the game.
Early on in his career, he banned her from coming.
He explained: “Sometimes as a striker you have to dive to win a foul and my mum would go nuts and say, ‘Is he hurt, is he hurt?’.
“So, I said mum, ‘Please don’t come and watch, I do it on purpose’. So, she always watched games on TV.”
Mifsud smiles when asked about making a mockery of Pique.
At the time, the Spaniard was a rookie but he went on to enjoy a trophy-laden career — one the striker takes responsibility for.
He said: “My friends sometimes joke about what I did to him, and I say to them, ‘I pushed his career up, he won the league, the Champions League and the World Cup after that’.”
The ex-hitman has flown over for the semi-final at Wembley.
But does he think the current Cov crop can replicate the Class of 2007? Mifsud said: “Yes, I believe they can.
“It is a good time to play them. Manchester United are not enjoying a good spell, so it’s a good time to achieve and win the game.
“I’m buzzing to be there with the fans. I’m so grateful for them, it’s like going back in time.”
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