Joe Farrugia was born on the eighth of December 1959. That year has a special link between Manchester United, Joe, and Malta. It was also the year the Manchester United Supporter’s Club of Malta was founded. And it is exactly the 50th Anniversary of the local supporters’ club which gave the final push for Joe to finally fulfill his dream.
Joe was born in the quiet village of Siggiewi, Malta. He was nurtured into his passion for Manchester United by his late father Carmelo and also by his grandfather, both Manchester United Supporters. This happened at a time when the media was totally different... there was no television, hardly any radios and certainly no internet!
The very first item Joe was given related to Manchester United was as a birthday gift by a relative for his seventh birthday. This is a wooden badge depicting the old Manchester United emblem. The badge was hand crafted by his relative. Forty three years later and thousands of other gifts later, this wooden badge has its own proud place in The Midani Collection.
Apart from being a collector of anything Manchester United, Joe has flew abroad to watch his heroes for hundreds of times, the first time being when he was twenty one. This was in 1981 when Manchester United played West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford, a game which the Red Devils won 2-1. He still has the match day programme together with many others that can be seen at the museum.
Since then, Joe’s visits to Old Trafford have seen him meeting and making hundreds of friends. These Mancunian mates also gave him his nickname, 'Midani', due to his resemblance at the time to another acquaintance. The nickname has stuck to him like glue for more than 25 years, not only in the corridors of Manchester United, The Cliff and Carrington but also among most Manchester United supporters in Malta. It was therefore obvious to name his collection 'The Midani Collection'.
