Brian Said

Brian Said

File:Said, Brian.jpg
Personal information
Full name	Brian Said
Date of birth	(1973-05-15) 15 May 1973
Place of birth	Valletta, Malta
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	St. Andrews
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989–1994	St. Andrews	49	(10)
1994–1995	→ Birkirkara (loan)	17	(1)
1995–2001	Floriana	119	(6)
2001–2008	Sliema Wanderers	181	(14)
2008–2009	Marsaxlokk	25	(2)
2009–2011	Floriana	38	(2)
2011–	St. Andrews
International career‡
	Malta U16
	Malta U18
	Malta U21	22	(0)
1996–2009	Malta	88	(5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 June, 2013 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 June, 2013

Brian Said (born 15 May 1973 in Valletta, Malta) is a professional footballer currently playing for Maltese First Division side St. Andrews, where he plays as a defender.

Brian is tall and strong in the air, and is generally able to compensate for his lack of speed with his ability to read the game. Said is also well known for his contribution to goal scoring, and is often a threat from set pieces.

Playing career

St. Andrews

Brian Said started his career with St. Andrews, playing regularly in the first team from the 1991-1992 season. Early in his career he was used both as a midfielder and even as a striker.

In total Brian Said recorded 51 appearances with St. Andrews, and scored ten goals.

Birkirkara

Said spent the 1994–1995 season on loan with Birkirkara, where he made 17 appearances and scored on one occasion.

Floriana

Next for Said was a move to Floriana in 1995. Now firmly settled in a central defender, his performances eventually earned him a call-up to the Malta national team.

Brian spent six successful seasons with Floriana from 1995 to 2001, where he recorded 119 appearances and scored six goals for the club.

Sliema Wanderers

In 2001, Said moved to the ambitious Sliema Wanderers. Brian now an integral member of the Maltese national team produced some great performances during his time with Sliema Wanderers, and even became the teams captain, taking over from Sliema Wanderers legend Noel Turner.

During seven successful seasons spanning from 2001 to 2008, Brian made 181 appearances for The Wanderers, and scored 14 goals.

Marsaxlokk

In July 2008 it was confirmed that Marsaxlokk had signed Brian Said from Sliema Wanderers. It is possible that Said will form a partnership with another former Sliema Wanderers defender, in the shape of Carlo Mamo.

Brian made his league debut for Marsaxlokk on 24 August 2008, where the side played newly promoted Qormi. Said played the full match, in which both sides shared a 1-1 draw.

During one full season with Marsaxlokk, Brian made 24 appearances and scored two goals.

Floriana

Following Marsaxlokk's relegation to the Maltese First Division, a clause in Said’s contract was activated, allowing him to leave the club for free.

On 28 September 2009 it was confirmed that Brian Said had joined Floriana for the second time in his career.

International career

Brian Said is a very well regarded international player for Malta. He has been capped 22 times for the Malta national under-21 football team, before he was promoted to the senior team. He currently has 88 caps and has scored 5 goals for Malta. He was also the vice-captain of the national team for a number of years. He is remembered for scoring a famous goal against Turkey for Malta, with the game ending 2-2.

International goals

Malta Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	8 September 1999	Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta	Republic of Ireland	1-2	2-3	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
2.	16 February 2004	Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta	Estonia	2-1	5-2	Rothmans Cup
3.	8 June 2005	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	Iceland	1-2	1-4	2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying
4.	8 September 2007	Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta	Turkey	1-0	2-2	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
5.	26 March 2008	Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta	Liechtenstein	7-1	7-1	Friendly

External links

• Brian Said at MaltaFootball.com
• Brian Said career statistics at Soccerbase
• Brian Said at National-Football-Teams.com