From a buffer team derided for its endless series of games without a win to the national team of the moment: the secrets of a contemporary fairy tale
The Cinderella of world football has found and put on the right boots to break the spell and shake off the role of sacrificial victim. An ascent that began last 5 September when after twenty years the national football team of San Marino returned to win a match by beating 1-0 Liechtenstein on the first day of group 1 of Nations League (League D).
The score of the last success, which was dated 2004, against the same Liechtenstein, has been updated, but in a friendly, thanks to a goal from the attacking midfielder Nicko Sensoli, born just over a year after that victory, San Marino lost 1-0 away against Gibraltar. Then they equalized in the return match and, above all, beat Lichtenstein again away to win the promotion in the Lega C.
San Marino, the homeland of Bonini and Macina and the streak of 141 games without a win
A daydream that began by breaking a streak of 141 games without ever winning; after 6 draws and 135 defeats. That day, on social media, there were those who remembered when San Marino had won its last match Cristiano Ronaldo he had scored 9 goals compared to the 900 celebrated in those hours.
A sporting miracle that will certainly have made old champions of San Marino football proud: raise your hand if you don’t remember Massimo Boninimidfielder with past stints in Cesena, Bologna and Juve e Marco Grindformer Parma, Milan and Reggiana striker. They too were finally able to rejoice with an entire population crazy with joy thanks to the work of Roberto Cevoli and his boys.
San Marino daydreams, Cevoli: “The World Cup? Why not give it a try”
“I always thought when I arrived that there were good players who needed to change their mentality and that’s what we tried to do and in my opinion we succeeded”commented the Italian coach during an interview with Fanpage.
Cevoli, speaking about his players, then explained: “In life they work and carry out very normal tasks. To come and play they are often forced to ask for days off holiday to their employer unless, when there are long trips, they can enjoy permissions sportsmen that the State gives him”.
“The locker room has always been very healthy with a mix of young and old, they started to do this by focusing on young people because the young people have enthusiasm, desire and determination, and they need to give them experience, also because they are good. Only one plays professional football, the others are amateurs and play in the Serie A San Marino, which is at a fairly low level, while others play in the championships of Excellence e Promotion and three in the Series D Italian. The World? Why not try…“.
San Marino in League C of the Nations League, the joy of captain Vitaioli and president Tura
The captain Matteo Vitaioli instead he explained directly from Zurich airport: “We celebrated in a remote hotel in the Alps. It was actually strange, we’re not used to it. Before we celebrated a few goals scored, a draw every now and then. Now we have become good-mouthed”.
Marco Turapresident of the San Marino federation, enjoys the journey: “Until seven years ago there were four employees in the federation. Now we have become sixteen and the budget has gone from 5 to 14 million euros”.
Who are the San Marino fans: discovering the “Never a joy” brigade
And the San Marino fans? He certainly doesn’t lack self-irony. The “Never a joy” brigademade up of children of San Marino miners who emigrated to Belgium can now rejoice. Vitaioli, now 36, recalled: “I know what it means to concede ten goals and do nothing, to be the victim of teasing. We often wondered what the point of our national team was.”.
Tura added and concluded: “Before, they followed us from the surrounding area, especially in the Modena area, while the brigade came for the home games. Now they have become something extraordinary, they come from all parts of the world. In Liechtenstein there were about a hundred: there were Peruvians, people arriving from the United Arab Emirates and a Saudi who speaks perfect Italian. He also followed us to Gibraltar”.
Source: sport.virgilio.it
