La Serenissima: stella del mio destino

[Wag]

La Serenissima: stella del mio destino

November fourteenth, nineteen-ninety, a child stands barefoot, cold and solitary in the middle of a small cemetery holding a crumpled photograph carefully in his left hand. His face a picture of pain and anguish. His parents were gone; dead. They said it was an accident, someone told him a motor collision but he had been too young to understand. Everyday he’d return to the same spot and just gaze, frozen on the hillside. He fell to the floor and cried.

Later in the day, by now back in his room at the hostel, he strained his eyes to watch the small television he had been given as a present on his birthday. It was a monumental occasion for both himself and the country of his birth as San Marino were playing Switzerland in their first official international. The picture was appalling but through a haze of distortion and fuzz he could just about make out the movement of the figures on the screen, he watched intently; football had taken extra precedence in his life now he was an orphan, it mattered not that his country had lost by four goals to nil, he simply just wanted to be amongst them - it was his dream because it gave him the belief of a better future.

Every spare moment he had would be spent training, nearly always on his own. Dribbling up and down and in and out of empty side streets at pace, stopping and turning, doing all the drills he could think of. Some days he’d go and watch the local teams play to pick up tips but he would always shy away from talking to the players or management, they were like gods to him. He felt as if he was nothing, he felt embarrassed. Years passed with him continuing to work hard and train on his own, eventually he was spotted by a youth coach in his native San Marino and began to play in the local leagues, eventually graduating into regional selection. He had shown promise and at the age of fifteen was approached, trialled and subsequently signed by Fiorentina.

[Wag]

La Serenissima: stella del mio destino

November fourteenth, nineteen-ninety, a child stands barefoot, cold and solitary in the middle of a small cemetery holding a crumpled photograph carefully in his left hand. His face a picture of pain and anguish. His parents were gone; dead. They said it was an accident, someone told him a motor collision but he had been too young to understand. Everyday he’d return to the same spot and just gaze, frozen on the hillside. He fell to the floor and cried.

Later in the day, by now back in his room at the hostel, he strained his eyes to watch the small television he had been given as a present on his birthday. It was a monumental occasion for both himself and the country of his birth as San Marino were playing Switzerland in their first official international. The picture was appalling but through a haze of distortion and fuzz he could just about make out the movement of the figures on the screen, he watched intently; football had taken extra precedence in his life now he was an orphan, it mattered not that his country had lost by four goals to nil, he simply just wanted to be amongst them - it was his dream because it gave him the belief of a better future.

Every spare moment he had would be spent training, nearly always on his own. Dribbling up and down and in and out of empty side streets at pace, stopping and turning, doing all the drills he could think of. Some days he’d go and watch the local teams play to pick up tips but he would always shy away from talking to the players or management, they were like gods to him. He felt as if he was nothing, he felt embarrassed. Years passed with him continuing to work hard and train on his own, eventually he was spotted by a youth coach in his native San Marino and began to play in the local leagues, eventually graduating into regional selection. He had shown promise and at the age of fifteen was approached, trialled and subsequently signed by Fiorentina.

[Wag]

In nineteen-eighty-seven his world had fallen apart. At the age of just eight, he suffered an unimaginable horror, an experience no other could ever comprehend unless they'd lived through every harrowing moment. While his peers across the Western hemisphere were playing with their computer games and action figures, he was waking in his native San Marino with the realisation that his life had changed forever. His parents were gone; both killed in an unfortunate accident. And with their deaths had departed his innocence, naivety and boyhood dreams. Instead, he was left facing a new life in an orphanage and eventually a two-hundred and forty-one kilometre move to Florence, Italy - a country where he knew not a soul.

Sitting alongside Jamie Waggett today, it's hard to image he suffered such childhood trauma. To those who don't know him, he may appear serious - reticent even. But the seventeen-year-old is neither. He speaks softly and slowly, as if taking every word through self-analysis, and although he can be deeply thoughtful, he is not without good humour. He breaks into a wide smile when he chats about playing football, but his tone becomes darker when he recalls the death of his family.

"Things happen - sometimes you can't explain them," he says. "Losing my parents has taught me that you can never take anything for granted. You can have everything and then the next day it can be taken away."

Though his eyes must hide a thousand stories, behind that laid-back, cool exterior, inner ambition burns. To get a glimpse of his real self, you need to look at his prowess on the pitch. The youngster, whose position is that of a striker or an attacking midfielder, though he is best known for playing as the trequartista (or second striker), a compromise between the two positions where the player acts as a link between midfield and attack, is part of a Fiorentina youth set-up which can only be described as 'blossoming’. Jamie has been an integral part of the team's success with his maturity and leadership skills ensuring his appointment as captain of the Primavera side at the start of this campaign in a year which has just seen him lift the Coppa Italia Primavera, however the youngster's real strengths lie with the ball at his feet, and it is here that the full potential of his vibrant talent will undoubtedly be uncovered.

Often he can prove to be the catalyst for the team; producing a moment of sumptuous skill as he dances over the grass, leaving a trail of bewildered opponents in his wake. But more often than not he is the epitome of the team-player, using his talent to help create a combined goal; three points for his side. This is a view enforced by current Fiorentina manager Claudio Ranieri, who stresses that coaches and team-mates alike only realise how valuable Jamie is when he doesn't play.

"He has a great appetite for the game. He's technically accomplished on the ball, has pace and strength, and has a tremendous attitude. He lives, eats and drinks football and that can only bode well for a successful future."

With Raneri’s side recently winning the Coppa Italia having defeated Atalanta three-nil on aggregate the Florence club look to have a bright future.

[Wag]

He went on to make his debut for Fiorentina late in the 1996/97 Serie A season, as a substitute but despite playing in a unfamiliar role on the left wing he showed his class by laying on a goal for forward Francesco Baiano within ten minutes of his arrival on the pitch. Nut-megging his marker and playing a whipped cross into the six yard box for the diminutive striker to poke home. He went on to play a further three times that season, scoring twice in the final game of the season. Things were looking up and he was promoted to the first-team over the summer the 1997/98 season, still only eighteen years-old, and given the squad number fourteen. He was a regular in the friendlies Fiorentina played during that pre-season and featured three times in the opening four games of the season, scoring a further two goals.

The media were purring over this young attacking sensation and his impressive form also alerted the selection committee for the Italian under-twenty-one squad but having earned a call up he declined the offer on the grounds that he wanted to play for San Marino, something for which he was declared foolish by many pundits, had he no ambition? After all former San Marino international Massimo Bonini, once of Juventus and a hero of his, had played for the Italian under twenty-ones himself. However, that was a different time and he felt his loyalties lay firmly with the country of his birth.

[Wag]

A car spun out of control and ploughed through the guard-rail into the concrete wall that lined the tunnel. Its front was crumpled with the sheer force of impact thrusting two-foot of cracked, twisted metal back into the car. The windshield imploded, showering the insides with slivers of glass. Both the driving wheel and dashboard compacted into one mangled mess. The body continued to roll against the wall before slowly shuddering to a halt with a final metallic groan like a wounded beast. Then all was silent for a while.

Inside the driver was still alive, barely, from such an impact many would have thought their chance of survival was almost nothing, but here they were, breathing, although only just. Their face, covered in cuts, was crushed into the airbag and the driver’s seat belt had cut savagely into their torso. The stench of smoke and oil hung in the air. Opening their eyes for a small while, attempting as they did to open the door handle but in their shocked state they struggled and could barely move as the car began to fill with dark fumes. They began to cough as each lung filled with burning air, their throat began to feel sore and their eyes, now red raw, streamed uncontrollably. They felt their body beginning to slow and the light begin to fade, then nothing. Overcome and mentally exhausted they had passed out.

[Wag]

Monday 1st October 1997

La Gazzetta dello Sport

Viola player injured in car crash

Jamie Waggett faces a lengthy lay-off after suffering serious injuries in a car accident on Sunday night. The Fiorentina youngster has broken his left leg in several places, and may have also damaged his other in the incident which happened just outside Florence.

The San Marino-born attacker, nineteen years-old, was taken to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. A spokesperson there confirmed he had broken his left leg but would not go into any more detail about his injuries.

They said: “His condition is satisfactory. He is comfortable and receiving the best care he can get.â€

Club officials and players are understood to have visited the promising youngster in his private room at the hospital but his club would not comment on the extent of his injuries but the Serie A side have issued a statement in which they promised to give the player their full support during the recovery process.

“Everyone at the club is deeply concerned about the incident involving Jamie Waggett. At this stage our thoughts are with Jamie and we wish him a speedy and full recovery. He will be given the best possible care to aid his recovery.â€

Police rushed to the scene of the crash after his car had spun out of control and smashed into a concrete wall that lined the tunnel he was driving through. Waggett, the only occupant of the car, was said to be unconscious upon their arrival and was believed to be driving back to his home having been out of the city to watch his former youth-team mates play in a Primavera match.

The incident is likely to put his place in the Fiorentina first-team in doubt as many are speculating that this could be the end of his promising yet brief career.

[Wag]

"Jamie was travelling home and lost control of his vehicle due to the slippery conditions caused by recent heavy rains in the area. The accident happened at approximately ten pm last night but it was not until eleven pm that he was freed from the wreckage of his car by the emergency services. An operation was carried out soon after midnight." a Police spokesman said.

His left leg had been completely shattered in the crash. When he woke up in hospital he almost immediately knew the extent of the damage and he couldn’t even begin to describe the pain. Although he was lucky to be alive his immediate concern was whether he would walk again. He didn’t care about being able to play football or even about running. At that stage, he would have been happy just walking again, just to be able to move his legs without the searing pain. In his first week after the accident he had eight operations and was admitted to over six different hospitals as he was seen by different specialists all during the first month. The first step was to repair the nasty break in his left leg. They did it by putting a rod along his shin to set the bone, he also had pins inserted in his ankle but his knee ligaments were left to heal. He was left with a gaping wound in his leg that couldn’t be stitched so he had to have plastic surgery, veins and arteries had been damaged which lead to internal bleeding. In the end a plastic surgeon had to remove a muscle from underneath his arm and plumb it into the front of his leg. It looked a mess but it gave him hope.

A few months later he began to do weight work in the gym and at the six months point he started jogging again, even though he was initially told it would take a year to get to this stage. He was ahead of schedule but every time he tried to get further he broke down. Some days he’d cry because he was in such physical pain but he was determined to play again and the doctors and physiotherapists at the Fiorentina pushed him to his limits. Soon his leg was strong enough to start training with a ball again, sometimes it hurt like mad but he gritted his teeth and got on with it. He had come so far and didn’t want to let anyone down, football was all he had. Eventually he recovered enough to start training with the youth team, still only nineteen years-old, he potentially had his whole career ahead of him but after his first training match he felt a sharp pain. Worried, he consulted the clubs doctors but they told him it was just a flare up because he’d been working so hard and it calmed down after a couple of days. A small time passed but soon it was happening with every training session, again and again and again - his knee was showing signs of rapid deterioration, the clubs doctors told him he could try to continue playing but it was likely that he’d be running the risk of disability later in life and the possibility of amputation - it was over. In May nineteen-ninety-eight, having made just seven appearances for Fiorentina, he was forced to call an end to his playing career.

[Wag]

"He can start with the Under-15s and Under-17s and with me. He's a good person, so it's a good opportunity for him and for Fiorentina. It’s a shame he won’t be able to play again but Jamie has the possibility to manage at a high level because he is a leader.†remarked Claudio Ranieri.

With his playing career over Jamie was fortunate to be offered a coaching role at Fiorentina. Although still only nineteen years-old himself he began by helping out with the youth teams and didn’t waste his time away from the club by gaining a rash of coaching qualifications with the help of the courses at Coverciano. He was gutted that his playing career was over but he eventually came to love coaching and found it took his mind off things. He felt if he could develop others it would take the pain away and for a while it worked but before long it became too much as the realisation that many of the players he was looking after and helping to progress just a little younger than him. He wanted to be playing but he loved the game too much and having completed his courses at Coverciano he finished the season with the club and decided to leave. Quite simply he’d had enough, it was just too upsetting to watch others progress while he would always be stuck on the same level. He had spent several months disillusioned with life and after having spent a few weeks in hospital following a minor nervous breakdown returned to home to San Marino with the millennium just a few weeks away.

[Wag]

The decision to move back to his home to San Marino, where he felt his roots were, wasn’t an easy one to make. He’d made friends in Florence and would miss the atmosphere of being involved at the club, although he’d quit coaching he’d still occasionally helped out with scouting and with youth administration, however, it was the right time to leave. He had to put the bad memories behind him and move on. So much had happened in the twenty-one years since his birth that he felt the need to restart from scratch.

Finding himself a small apartment in Serravalle he quickly settled in and soon found work in an administrative role with the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio, the governing body of football in San Marino. He answered directly to president Giorgio Crescentini and was involved in the organisation and daily running of the Campionato Sammarinese, Coppa Titano and Trofeo Federale. He liked the job, it was simple, paid well and allowed him to be close to football without having to be too involved, for the first time in a long while he felt safe and more importantly happy.

After a few years a technical role appeared within the infrastructure of the San Marino national team at youth level, due to his extensive coaching qualifications he was invited to apply for the position by senior members of the selection panel and unsurprisingly was awarded the post. It was an unexpected turn about in fortunes for Jamie, by now twenty-three, but his previous pain had succumbed to a hunger and love of the game that he’d first showed as a teenage prodigy. It felt right to be giving something back again and he was told that there‘d be room for him to progress up the ladder should he do well in the role, something which pleased him greatly. He felt reinvigorated and any pain, pangs or regret that he’d previously felt about the end of his playing career had ceased to exist.

[Wag]

A history of Sammarinese football

Domestic

Sammarinese football started to develop in the late nineteen twenties. The first club was S.P. Libertas, founded on the fourth of September 1928 with the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio (FSGC) emerging three years later, in 1931. It took some time to organize an official competition, but eventually, in the summer of 1937, four teams - S.P. Libertas, La Castellana, S.P. La Fiorita and US Titania (now S.P. Tre Penne) - contested the inaugural tournament called the Coppa Titano, which was designed with a league format.

All the matches were played at the Borgo Maggiore stadium, at that time the only one in the country, and Libertas were the first winners with nine points from their six matches. They confirmed their top-club status by winning all of the next five titles up to, and including, 1961, there having being a suspension of play during the war years.

One year earlier, however, in 1960, something very important had happened. A club called S.S. Serenissima was founded by the FSGC with the declared intention of playing their football in Italy. The first president was Carlo Casali, and the team was initially placed in the second division of the Italian amateur league, achieving their first promotion in 1962. In 1973, following a merger with another club, there was a name change to AC San Marino, and then in 1988, with the team by now in Serie C2, a further alteration to San Marino Calcio.

In 1963 the federation founded the NAGC - Nucleo Addestramento Giovani Calciatori - the first official youth academy of the Republic led by Guglielmo Giovannini, a genuinely passionate and respected figure in national football. A further development occurred in 1970 when, due to the ever-increasing number of clubs involved and the subsequent longevity of the tournament, the Coppa Titano changed its format by dividing the teams into two groups.

The year 1979 saw the birth of the Republic's youngest club, S.P. Cosmos. By way of imbuing the team with an identity of their own, the founders decided to use the name of the last club in which the great Brazilian attacker Pelé had played, the New York Cosmos, as well as adopting their main colour, green, for the squads strip.

In 1980 the FSGC began to develop ideas for a domestic league, a necessary step if the country was to gain official recognition from the international football bodies. Over the next five years the competition was played in an experimental way, and then in October 1985 the first Campionato Sammarinese began in earnest and was won by S.C. Faetano. That same year also witnessed the birth of the Trofeo Federale, a type of Super Cup in which the championship winners play the holders of the Coppa Titano, although all are strictly amateur competitions.

The Campionato Sammarinese, whose winners enter the UEFA Cup preliminary, although this was due to change in 2007 with the victors gaining a spot in the preliminary phase of the Champions League, currently consists of fifteen teams split into two groups or gironi, as they are known. The brackets behind each team denote the municipality, known locally as castelli that make up San Marino, which each club belongs to.

In Girone A, which houses seven teams, are S.P. Cailungo (Borgo Maggiore), S.S. Cosmos (Serravalle), S.P. La Fiorita (Montegiardino), S.S. Pennarossa (Chiesanuova), S.P. Tre Fiori (Fiorentino), S.P. Tre Penne (Serravalle) and S.S. Virtus (Acquaviva).

Girone B holds the other eight; F.C. Domagnano (Domagnano), S.C. Faetano (Faetano), F.C. Fiorentino (Fiorentino), S.S. Folgore/Falciano (Serravalle), A.C. Juvenes/Dogana (Serravalle), A.C. Libertas (Borgo Maggiore), S.S. Murata (San Marino), S.S. San Giovanni (Borgo Maggiore)

Sammarinese teams don't have home grounds of their own so instead, venues are randomly chosen for every match between the Campo Sportivo di Chiesanuova, Campo Sportivo Di Dogana, Campo Sportivo di Fiorentino, Campo Sportivo di Fonte dell'Ovo and the Stadio Serravalle "B", which situated just a few hundred yards from the Stadio Olimpico di Serravalle. Sometimes the Stadio Olimpico in Serravalle is also used although that is mainly reserved for San Marino Calcio, who play in the Italian league and the national team, as well as other sporting events. Since there aren't many grounds, matches are played on two days of each week, usually Saturday and Sunday. The play-off finals and the European fixtures are always played in the Stadio Olimpico.

One of the most successful sides in Campionato history is F.C. Domagnano who have won four Campionato Sammarinese, three in the last five years. S.P. Tre Fiori can also claim four titles, although they have failed to lift the trophy since 1995. Of the fifteen clubs who make up the Sammarinese league only S.P. Cailungo, S.P. Tre Penne, S.S. Virtus, A.C. Juvenes/Dogana and S.S. San Giovanni have never lifted the title. S.S. San Giovanni are in fact the least successful of any team in San Marino having failed to gain a single honour since their formation in in 1948. The current title holders are S.S. Murata.

As well as claiming four league titles F.C. Domagnano have recorded eight Coppa Titano successes, while A.C. Juvenes/Dognana have seven, however both achievements are somewhat dwarfed by the success of the oldest club in San Marino - A.C. Libertas who have lifted the trophy ten times since their formation in 1928. the most in the history of the competition. Domagnano and Libertas also hold three Trofeo Federale each and are joined by S.S. Cosmos as one of the most successful sides in the completion since it’s inception.

The most notable players in the history of Sammarinese football are former Juventus player Massimo Bonini, who I will come to later, and Marco Macina, born on the 30th of September 1964, he was the first Sammarinese footballer to appear in the Italian Serie A, playing alongside Roberto Mancini with Bologna. He also played for Arezzo, Parma and A.C. Milan but was never able to fully show his potential and left professional football in 1988, after a Serie C season with Ancona. Macina played six times for his country, playing in all four of their opening games and in two European Championship qualifying matches for San Marino during 1990.

[Wag]

International

Having been founded in 1931, the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio (FSGC) was finally affiliated with UEFA and FIFA in 1988 which was a historic event, and also represented the start of a great transformation and tremendous development in Sammarinese football. Prior to this the nation, managed by Giulio Cesare Casali, made their unofficial debut on the 23rd of August 1986 with a one-nil defeat against the Canadian Olympic side in Serravalle. In 1987 they took part in the Mediterranean Games in Syria, drawing nil-nil with Lebanon in their first fixture before losing three-nil and four-nil to Syria and Turkey respectively. Their competitive debut came four years later, a four-nil UEFA European Championship qualifier defeat against Switzerland.

In January 2002 a www.uefa.com article claimed that the San Marino national team was ‘the most consistent national team in Europe,’ this was because they never won games and hardly ever scored. At this time they were ranked one-hundred-and-fifty-eighth in the FIFA World Rankings - the lowest position of any UEFA nation and were said to hold the primary objection on the pitch of ‘damage limitation’ something that was backed up by national manager Giampaolo Mazza.

Mazza is Mr San Marino and could be said to know more about the minnows than almost anyone else after managing the Under-18s, Under-21s and now the full national side. Mazza is tasked with protecting one of the most fragile institutions in football: San Marino's goals against column.

“Our aim is to concede as few goals as possible and score a few back I will be happy with that,'' he said. “It is impossible for us, we cannot compete with the other countries.â€

He had a point, at that moment in time defeats by just one or two goals were greeted as triumphs as with more than fifty international matches under their belt since joining FIFA in 1986, San Marino had only managed to avoid defeat twice, drawing goalless with Turkey at home in 1993 in a 1994 World Cup Qualifier and a much celebrated one-one draw in Latvia in April 2001 during qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

The 1992 UEFA European Championship Qualifying, coached by Giorgo Leoni and in their first ever competitive campaign, brought eight defeats as the team were by some way worst in the qualifying phase, letting in thirty-three goals and only scoring once, a Waldes Pasolini penalty in a three-one defeat to Romania at the Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle in March 1991.

This was followed by the 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifying which saw the nation pick up it‘s first point with a goalless draw in Serravalle against Turkey, who they had earlier scored against in a four-one defeat in Ankara through Nicola Bacciocchi. The campaign also saw San Marino create little piece of history by netting the fastest goal ever in World Cup history when striker Davide Gualtieri scored after just 8.3 seconds to give San Marino a shock lead against England at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara in Bologna, although the team then went on to lose seven-one. England had the kick-off, and passed the ball back to Stuart Pearce, who then attempted a back-pass to goalkeeper David Seaman. Pearce's horrendous pass was under-hit, and Gualtieri ran through the defence to lash the ball past the confused Seaman. However, having lost their opening game ten-nil against Norway in Oslo, a record defeat for the nation, they again finished bottom of a strong group which also contained the Netherlands and Poland. Overall, they scored just twice and conceded a mammoth forty-five goals in ten games.

The 1996 European Championship Qualifiers was the last campaign under manager Giorgio Leoni who’d been in charge since a four-nil defeat against Switzerland in European Championship qualifier in November 1990. Placed in Group Eight of the competition they faced Russia, Scotland, Greece, Finland and the Faroe Islands losing all ten games. They scoring just twice with goals from Pier Domenico Della Valle in a four-one defeat against Finland and Mauro Valentini in a three-one home defeat against the Faroe Islands while conceding thirty-six at the other end.

Leoni’s replacement as manager of the national team was San Marinese legend Massimo Bonini. However, he lasted just eight games as the team struggled through the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers failing to score in eight games and conceding forty-two goals against the likes of Wales, Belgium, Turkey and the Netherlands in what was one of their poorest showings to date. Starting with a five-nil defeat against Wales in Serravalle during June 1996 and ending with another five-nil defeat in Serravalle, this time to Turkey, in September 1997

Bonini resigned soon afterwards but in 2004 was named as San Marino’s Golden Player after each national association was ask to nominate it’s outstanding player of the last fifty-years to help UEFA mark it’s Jubilee. Bonini was the undoubted choice, a tireless defensive midfielder during his playing days, he was perhaps less flamboyant and somewhat of an introvert in comparison to his more illustrious team-mates at Juventus, but he certainly did a priceless job on the pitch for his club. His tireless running in midfield, collecting balls and riding rough tackles, often made it easier for his colleagues to manufacture chances and avoid trouble. And his bulging trophy cabinet bears testament to the fact that hard work eventually does pay off being the only Sammarinese footballer to have lifted the European Cup, with Juventus in 1985 as well as also lifting three league titles, one Coppa Italia, one Cup Winners' Cup, one European Super Cup and one Intercontinental Cup between 1981 and 1988 in which he played two-hundred-and-ninety-six matches and scoring six goals for the club.

His international career was somewhat strange. In the early 1980s he played nine times for the Italian Under-21 team, as the San Marino Football Federation (FSGC) had yet to be affiliated to UEFA and so their players were considered to be Italian. When the rules changed, however, Bonini was no longer allowed to play for Italian national sides any more, and therefore had to wait until 1990 to appear in the colours of his home country. Between 1990 and 1995 he made 19 appearances for San Marino, many as captain, before assuming the coaching duties of the national team after retiring as a player. Maybe the best way to honour Bonini and demonstrate the high regard in which he was held as a footballer, is to relate this short story. When Juventus club president Giovanni Agnelli saw team-mate Michel Platini smoking a cigarette, and consequently expressed his disapproval, it is said that the French star replied, "The thing that really counts is that Bonini does not smoke."

Taking over from Bonini in 1998 was former San Marino international Giampaolo Mazza who was promoted from his position of assistant manager in time for the beginning of qualification for the 2000 European Championships. Alongside Spain, Israel, Austria and Cyprus in Group Six of the competition they fell to another eight defeats conceding forty-four times and scoring just once through a penalty from striker Andy Selva, the countries only professional player at the time, in October 1998 against Austria in a 4-1 defeat at the Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle. The goal was only San Marino’s sixth-ever at international level.

Mazza was also in charge as the country fell to a close one-nil defeat at home to Moldova in a rare friendly in April 2000 before residing over the eight qualifiers for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. These brought seven defeats with three goals scored and thirty conceded, including a ten-one defeat against Belgium, Andy Selva the scorer, who also scored in a four-one home defeat later in the series. However, the qualifiers also yielded the countries second ever point in the competition when they drew 1-1 with Latvia in Riga. The match against Lativa begun in familiar fashion when the Latvians romped into a first-minute lead through Marian Pahars and then spent the rest of the match threatening more but somehow goalkeeper Federico Gasperoni bravely kept them out and then - amazingly - Nicola Albani grabbed an unlikely equaliser with a close-range header in the 59th minute from which the Sammarinese hung on for the draw.

If success for San Marino is keeping their goals against column as low as possible then encouragement can be gleaned from their performances over the past four years. In the qualifying competition for EURO 2000 they scored just one goal and conceded forty-four whereas in the World Cup campaign they managed three goals, shipping just thirty - and of course they got that precious point against Latvia. They also picked up confidence from the fact despite the ten-one defeat against Belgium, no one else had managed to score more than four times against them. Scotland beat them two-nil and four-nil while Croatia were limited to two four-nil victories with Latvia stumbling to a one-nil win in the other group game.

March 2002 brought a historic day for San Marino when it’s under-seventeen national side became the country’s first team to win an official competitive match with a dramatic two-one win over Andorra in Group Four of the 2001/02 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. Nicola Ranocchini gave San Marino the lead on 28 minutes, but it seemed that three points could be beyond them when Somoza Losada equalised five minutes later for Andorra. However, the San Marinese teenagers were determined to grab their moment of history, and Matteo Valli was twice denied by great saves from the Andorran goalkeeper before with just four minutes left, substitute Stefano Semprini converted a free-kick to send San Marino into the uncharted territory of triumph which ended a barren one-hundred-and-thirty match spell for San Marinese teams.

Following on from the victory May 2002 saw another close friendly defeat for the full side as they fell one-nil to Estonia at the Stadio Olimpico in preparation for the 2004 European Championship Qualifiers. Placed in Group Four alongside Sweden, Latvia, Poland and Hungary they failed to score in any of their eight matches, conceding thirty as they lost each game. However, all was not as it seemed from first glance as San Marino had been unlucky not to pick up their first-ever point in the UEFA European Championship against Latvia as they lost via a last-minute Carlo Valentini own-goal to fall to a one-nil defeat.

Shortly before the end of that campaign, in an friendly during August 2003, San Marino scored two goals in a game for the first time in their history. It was during a match against Liechtenstein in Vaduz, as their new manager Walter Hörmann looked for a victory in his first game in charge, however Giampaolo Mazza ‘s side had other ideas. The hosts got off to an excellent start, as Mario Frick and Franz Burgmeier sent the Rheinpark stadium into raptures, putting Liechtenstein two-nil up with goals in the sixteenth and twenty-third minutes respectively. However, San Marino refused to accept defeat and, thanks to goals from midfielder Alex Gasperoni and striker Nicola Ciacci, on his international debut, managed to pull level before half-time. Then, with victory looking within their grasp, San Marino had Michele Marani dismissed twelve minutes from the end for a second yellow card.

San Marino began their preparations for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign with another friendly against Liechtenstein, although this time it was played at the Stadio Olimpico, it was to produce the most memorable result in the nations history to date. On Wednesday the 28th of April 2004 five minutes were all that were needed to show that it was going to be a magical night for the Sammarinese players and their supporters. The Maltese referee, Lawrence Sammut, blew for a free-kick when debutant midfield player Marco Domeniconi was fouled just outside the area. Striker Andy Selva, who wore the number ten shirt and was named captain for the first time, was aware, as he placed the ball on the spot, that Michel Platini was watching proceedings from the Serravalle stand. Perhaps this thought crossed his mind for a second, but it is probably best that we do not know.

What everyone was able to witness, however, was the perfect shot that Selva unleashed with his right foot in executing the free-kick, one that Platini himself would have been proud of. The next thing that Liechtenstein goalkeeper Peter Jehle knew was that the ball was in the back of the net, while Selva literally disappeared under a heap of ecstatic team-mates. Then it was up to San Marino's goalkeeper Federico Gasperoni to stop Liechtenstein's attempts to force an equaliser, a task he accomplished to perfection. At the final whistle, an entire nation was able to express their joy after achieving a result they had awaited for years. Selva, too, was conscious of the significance of the occasion which saw San Marino gain their first-ever full international win after fourteen years and more than seventy attempts.

“I am delighted to have scored the winner, It's a historic goal for San Marino and also for me." he said.

Post-match celebrations were kept to a dignified minimum said manager Giampaolo Mazza: “We didn't do anything special actually, we went to our usual restaurant after the match. Obviously the atmosphere was a bit different this time as it's our first win ever and, even if it was just a friendly, it made us extremely happy. We were too used to losing games and now we almost can't believe we won. We have been dreaming of celebrating a win for such a long time.â€

Doubtless reinvigorated San Marino faced Spain, Belgium, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Lithuania in their Group Seven of the qualifying competition. However, despite their recent victory they remained perennial losers falling to defeat in all ten of their group games, scoring twice and conceding forty. The goals came against March 2005 in a two-one defeat at home to Belgium and then in June of the same year in a three-one loss to Bosnia-Herzegovina, both goals coming from striker Andy Selva, who was by now some way the nations record goal-scorer at international level with six goals in twenty-nine caps. It was during the loss to Belgium that they came close to causing a monumental upset as they held their opponents at half-time. The Belgians took the lead thanks to a Timmy Simons penalty after eighteen minutes only for Selva to equalise with a left footed volley after hesitation in the Belgium defence four minutes from the break. Belgium then responded with a second goal through Daniel Van Buyten after sixty-five minutes.

The campaign ended with San Marino yet to win a game in any competitive fixture. The qualification round for the FIFA World Cup has provided more success in terms of points won but also has provided San Marino with their heaviest defeats in competitive international football. In their thirty-six matches to date in the qualifiers, San Marino have secured two points – a nil-nil draw at home to Turkey on 10 March 1993 and a one-one draw away to Latvia on 25 April 2001. Next on the agenda is the start of the qualifying round for the 2008 UEFA European Championships although to date San Marino had played thirty-four matches in the competition and lost all of them. In that time, they had scored four goals while conceding one-hundred-and-three times.

By now the country had five national teams; the Nazionale A, B, Under-21, Under-19 and Under-17s all involved in European and World Competition. This was real progress and allowed Sammarinese players whose football education had been exclusively in their own country, to compete honourably against world-class opponents. The type of experience that is such an important aspect of national football, and of which significance should not be underestimated. Another vital factor for the development of football in San Marino concerned the grounds and facilities. The FSGC was working hard with the objective of upgrading stadiums and football facilities throughout the whole country, and thanks to the help of UEFA and FIFA were expected to be able to increase their efforts in this regard over the next few years.

President Giorgio Crescentini said: “The world of San Marino football is a healthy one. Our federation is fully aware of the importance of its work, and the responsibility it has to ensure that future expectations are fulfilled. It also remains proud when it sees the fruits of its labours, with everyone in the FSGC working together to continually improve the sport and strengthen the links between itself and all affiliated clubs.â€

Despite the almost continual losses most important for Mazza is that his players continue to develop.

“We work a lot on the psychological aspect involved because it can bring you down getting beaten all the time. We have many problems because we are a small nation with not many players available. It is also hard knowing that we are likely to lose but we know our limitations and we are realistic about our possibilities. It is a young squad and most of the players are amateurs. We tend to focus on the defensive line in training as we must carry on improving although my main aim is to install a different attitude in our players so that they don't think that they have to defend all the time. They must feel that they can attack a few times as well, otherwise you won't win any football games."

Of course the world’s smallest and oldest republic is impossibly hampered by having a population of around just twenty-eight thousand which boasts a mere twelve hundred players. Indeed a rough analysis of the population figures suggests that if you are male and aged between fifteen and thirty-five years-old you have about a one-in-two-hundred-and-fifty chance of being picked for the national squad. San Marino will probably never reach the heady heights of near neighbours Italy, who they’ve met only once during a four-nil defeat in February 1992 at the Stadio ‘La Fiorita’, Cesena, but Mazza doesn't really care about that.

“I think it is a wonderful experience for the players to play amongst giants and to be able to be part of international competitions. Our aim isn’t always to win, but to give the best possible account of ourselves while defending our nation’s colours.â€

[Wag]

Managers:

Giulio Cesare Casali (born 13th February 1942, San Marino, San Marino)

The first manager of the Sammarinese national team. He was an accomplished midfielder with Libertas and San Marino Calcio before retiring and becoming coach of the youth team at San Marino a role he was soon promoted from into assistant manager before becoming coach of the national team in January 1986.

Played: 4 Won: 0 Draw: 1 Lost: 3 For: 0 Against: 8

Giorgio Leoni (born 4th September 1950, Fiorentino, San Marino)

Began his career as a defender who played for Tre Fiori, S.S. Serenissima, Juvenes and A.C. San Marino. He later managed Tre Fiori, Cosmos, San Giovanni and Juvenes before becoming an assistant at A.C. San Marino then progressing from the role of San Marino under-20 manager to under-21 and onto the full national team.

Played: 29 Won: 0 Draw: 1 Lost: 28 For: 5 Against: 119

Massimo Bonini (born 13th October 1959, San Marino, San Marino)

Regarded by many as the most talented player in the history of Sammarinese football, Bonini was a midfielder who played for Bellaria, Forlì, Cesena, Juventus and Bologna during his career. He played for Juventus between 1981 and 1988 winning three Scudetti, one Italian Cup, one European Cup, one Cup Winners' Cup, one European Super Cup and one Intercontinental Cup. He played nineteen times for the full national side of San Marino, many as captain, before retiring and have a brief and unsuccessful spell as the teams manager.

Played: 8 Won: 0 Draw: 0 Lost: 8 For: 0 Against: 42

Giampaolo Mazza (born 26th February 1956, Genoa, Italy)

The current manager of the national side has extensive experience of the international game. He began his career in Serie C as a midfielder with Santarcangiolese, also representing Riccione, Cattolica, Forlimpopoli, Calcinelli, Murata, Tre Fiori and Cosmos before joining A.C. San Marino, where he played for several years before retiring in 1987 and trying his hand at management.

His international playing career was limited as San Marino was neither a member of FIFA or UEFA but he did take part in the Mediterranean games in Syria, as well as the countries first ever game against Canada, whetting his appetite for international football during his four caps.

His managerial career has been extensively in the lower reaches of Italian football. His first job was as a manager of San Marino Calcio during the 1989/90, a season which saw the side relegated from Serie C2. He then moved to Riccione in 1990 and spent six seasons there before rejoining San Marino Calcio for the 1996/97 season. However, after leading the club to first place in the Eccellenza and subsequently promotion to the Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti, he was soon on the move again and had spells at Argentana Capca (1997/98), Cattolica (2000/01) and Misano (2001-2003) before settling in Verucchio, where he is still in charge today as he combines his role with the national team. During his career he has achieved five promotions with first with San Marino Calcio, then Riccione, followed by one with Cattolica and twice with Dilettanti side Verucchio.

He become manager of the San Marino national team in 1998 having spent years progressing through all levels of the national organisation and has been involved at every level the nation has. He has worked hard to help develop Sammarinese football and takes pleasure from every little step of improvement. In 2002 he told www.uefa.com that:

“I know we can’t realistically hope to win matches against stronger opponents and we know we have little chance of collecting points from competitive fixtures so we live with defeats in a philosophical way, but don’t forget that it is a great honour for our team to play in the biggest stadiums, against world-class players. Every time we play, we always try to do our best - that’s what keeps me and the players enthusiastic. When losing games against the better teams it can be very easy for a player to become discouraged during a game. In these situations, we usually fix 'alternative targets' before matches: these help us maintain concentration and motivation, in spite of huge defeats. For example, in these types of matches, our goal can be to improve our ball possession, or to try not to concede goals in the closing minutes, as often happens to us. Success is when we reach these goals, or every time we show signs of a improvement.â€

Played: 38 Won: 1 Draw: 2 Lost: 35 For: 9 Against: 148

Overall:

Nazionale “Aâ€

Played: 79 Won: 1 Draw: 4 Lost: 74 For: 14 Against: 317

Nazionale “Bâ€

Played: 15 Won: 1 Draw: 0 Lost: 14 For: 6 Against: 36

Nazionale Under-21

Played: 53 Won: 0 Draw: 0 Lost: 53 For: 19 Against: 234

Nazionale Under-19

Played: 35 Won: 0 Draw: 1 Lost: 34 For: 5 Against: 199

Nazionale Under-17

Played: 12 Won: 1 Draw: 1 Lost: 10 For: 5 Against: 58

Current position in FIFA World Rankings: 191 out of 208, lowest of all UEFA affiliates.

Highest Ranking: 18 - September 1993

Lowest Ranking: 191 - July 2006

World Cup record

1930 to 1990 - Did not enter

1994 to 2006 - Did not qualify

European Championship record

1960 to 1988 - Did not enter

1992 to 2004 - Did not qualify

Notable results

16-Sep-1987 - Lebanon vs. San Marino 0:0 (Mediterranean Games)

10-Mar-1993 - San Marino vs. Turkey 0:0 (World Cup qualifier)

25-Apr-2001 - Latvia vs. San Marino 1:1 (World Cup qualifier)

20-Aug-2003 - Liechtenstein vs. San Marino 2:2 (friendly)

28-Apr-2004 - San Marino vs. Liechtenstein 1:0 (friendly)

[Wag]

Player Records:

Most Capped: Mirco Gennari; 48 international caps between 1992 and 2003.

(born 29th March 1966 in San Marino, San Marino)

On his day Gennari was a solid, combative defender, mostly deployed as a left back. He made his debut at the age of twenty-five in the four-nil friendly defeat against Italy and played his last match at thirty-seven in a five-nil defeat to Sweden in a European Championship Qualifier. Altogether his international career spanned eleven years and one-hundred-and-ninety-nine days although the side lost forty-seven of the matches he played in scoring just seven times and conceding two-hundred-and-two, drawing just one game, when the side kept a clean sheet in a World Cup Qualifier against Turkey in March 1993 at the Stadio di Serravalle. He started his career with G.S Dogana, then had spells with Domagnano and Cosmos before he began winding his career down with Juvenes/Dogana, the team he still plays for today.

Top Ten:

01. Mirco Gennari (1992-2003) 48 caps

02. Ivan Matteoni (1990-2003) 44 caps

03. Federico Gasperoni (1996 onwards) 41 caps

04. Luca Gobbi (1990-2002) 41 caps

05. William Guerra (1987-1999) 40 caps

06. Paolo Montagna (1995 onwards) 40 caps

07. Simone Bacciocchi (1997 onwards) 38 caps

08. Pier Angelo Manzaroli (1991-2001) 38 caps

09. Damiano Vannucci (1996 onwards) 38 caps

10. Andy Selva (1998 onwards) 35 caps

Of the list, only Pier Angelo Manzaroli, now manager of Libertas, wasn’t active at the beginning of the 2006/07 season. However, it was highly unlikely that Juvenes left back Mirco Gennari, now forty-one years-old, would add to his caps so it looked likely goalkeeper that Federico Gasperoni, currently with Italian side Cattolica, would soon over take him at the top of the list. Also unlikely to add to their caps were thirty-six year-old Tre Penne defenders Ivan Matteoni and Luca Gobbi while another defender William Guerra, now thirty-nine years-old and clearly in the veteran stage of his career was currently looking for a new club. In the case of thirty-year-old Juvenes striker Paolo Montagna, twenty-nine year-old Libertas midfielder Damiano Vannucci and twenty-nine year-old Domagnano defender Simone Bacciocchi they all had realistic hopes of gaining more caps if they had a good domestic season. However most likely to add to his tally was thirty-year-old Sassuolo striker Andy Selva, the current captain of the national team and only Sammarinese professional player, who would no doubt continue to play for the national team for a couple of years yet.

Top Goalscorer: Andy Selva; six goals in twenty-nine caps from 1998 to the present day.

(born 25th May 1976 in Rome, Italy)

He began his career in 1994/95 with Roman side Latina, scoring five in twenty-six games in Serie D before a move to fellow Serie D side Civita Castellana brought him ten goals in thirty-one games during the 1995/96 season and a move to Serie C2 Fano. However, in the two years he spent there he failed to find his previous form and scored just once in thirty-two appearances before he was moved on to Catanzaro, also of Serie C2. In his two years here he had slightly more success but again failed to score with any regularity, hitting six in forty games. The 1999/00 season saw him drop back into Serie D but it proved to be a good move as he struck fifteen times in just twenty-four games for Tivoli, earning himself a move to San Marino Calcio. However, back in Serie C2 he again failed to find his form played just twenty-six times scoring four in two years at the Stadio Olimpico. During this time he also had two spells away from the club on loan, first at Serie D Maceratese, scoring once in five games, and then Grosseto, two in fifteen. He then moved to Serie D Bellaria and scored an impressive twenty-two goals in thirty games during the 2002-03 season. Due to his form on both the domestic and national scene he was in the media spotlight and he was soon snapped up by Serie C1 Spal where he enjoyed his most successful time to date. Scoring twenty-two goals in fifty games from 2003 to 2005. From here he moved onto Serie C1 Padova but couldn’t find his previous form and after just two goals in twenty games moved onto Sassuolo, also in Serie C1, in time for the 2006/07 season.

Often hailed as the greatest player in the current San Marino national team he made his debut in a five-nil defeat against Israel on the tenth of October 1998 at the Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle at the start of the 2000 European Championship Qualifiers. He scored his first goal in his second game with an eighty-first minute strike in a four-one defeat at home to Austria. His second came in the ninetieth minute of a ten-one defeat against Belgium in Brussels during a 2002 World Cup Qualifier. Belgium were also the opponents for his third strike in a four-one home defeat during the same competition. His forth and perhaps the most important goal he has scored to date came against Liechtenstein in the one-nil victory during a friendly on the 28th of April 2004. To date he is the only player to score a winning goal for the San Marino national team with the strike, the match also had extra significance for the player as he captained the side for the first time, a role he continues to fulfil. Goal five came in a narrow two-one defeat against Belgium during qualification for the 2006 World Cup in Serravalle, his third against the nation, while his sixth arrived in the very next game as he struck against Bosnia-Herzegovina in a three-one defeat in Serravalle.

Top Ten Goalscorers:

01. Andy Selva (1998 onwards) 29 caps/ 6 goals

02. Nicola Bacciocchi (1991-2000) 32/1

03. Alex Gasperoni (2003 onwards) 13/1

04. Nicola Albani (2001 onwards) 27/1

05. Mauro Valentini (1991-1999) 23/1

06. Pier Domenico Della Valle (1991-2000) 20/1

07. Waldes Pasolini (1987-1996)17/1

08. Davide Gualtieri (1993-1999) 9/1

09. Nicola Ciacci (2004-onwards) 9/1

10. +

Of the nine players on the list, Mauro Valentini has retired from football completely while four are retired from international football; thirty-four year-old attacking midfielder Nicola Bacciocchi still turns out for Domagnano. Midfielder Pier Domenico Della Valle, thirty-five years-old, is currently a player/coach at Faetano and fellow midfielder Waldes Pasolini, now thirty-four, is currently on the look-out for a new club. Pasolini will always be thought of fondly as his twenty-ninth minute penalty in March 1991 against Romania in a three-one defeat in Serravalle during a qualifier for the 1992 European Championship was the first San Marino had ever scored. Nicola Bacciocchi then had the honour of claiming the first from open play when he struck in a four-one defeat against Turkey in Ankara during a qualifier for the 1994 World Cup. Striker Davide Gualtieri, now thirty-five years-old who scored the famous goal after just 8.3 seconds of a 1994 World Cup qualifier against England in Bologna, is currently with Tre Penne.

Of the four players on the list who are still active, all are currently regulars for the national team. Striker Andy Selva is currently at Sassuolo and as captain of the national team will be expected to lead the line for a few years to come. Twenty-two year-old midfielder Alex Gasperoni, who scored in a two-two friendly draw against Liechtenstein, is currently without a club after leaving Italian side Tolentino, while Nicola Ciacci, a twenty-four year-old striker who scored the other goal during that match, is currently with Pennarossa. Nicola Albani, a twenty-five year-old right back, who plays for Murata will always be remembered for his fifty-ninth minute header against Lativa that brought the nation only it’s second ever point in a competitive fixture when they drew one-one in Riga during qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

*all records correct up until the start of the 2006/07 season

+San Marino have only had nine players find the net in a full international to date.

[BobBev]

A great piece of research Wag

[Wag]

Thank you BobBev

[Wag]

Having been appointed in 2002 Jamie had been involved in what some might say was a golden era in the short history of Sammarinese football. Under manager Giampaolo Mazza they’d continued to improve, albeit in minute steps, and had begun scoring goals, although mostly against the weaker nations they came up against, as well as winning their first ever game at full international level. Worryingly they were still conceding vast amounts of goals, although the team never shirked it’s responsibilities and always accepted defeat with grace and humility.

The players were a determined bunch who wore the national shirt with immense joy, pride and sportsmanship as they defended the nations colours, but the continual defeats and occasionally hammerings, this was something Jamie didn’t’ like. He hated to lose games and as every strike breached the Sammarinese net he winced in pain, after matches he‘d often feel humiliated. Although he realised this was part of parcel of what football at international level for a nation like San Marino would probably always be like he still felt that the country weren’t making the most of it’s meagre resources. However, he felt he could change all that, he just needed the right opportunity.

[Wag]

Thursday 1st June 2006

San Marino Oggi

Nicoletti u-turn

Walter Nicoletti has resigned as manager of San Marino Calcio less than a week after taking charge.

The fifty-three year-old is said to want to take a break from the game. A statement on the club's website said:

"Walter Nicoletti has offered his resignation with immediate effect and this has been accepted by the board."

Nicoletti was set to replace Roberto Alberti after signing a contract to take over the Serravalle based club having watched them to stave off relegation following their promotion to Serie C1/A the previous year from Serie C2/B after a play-out victory against Pro Sesto.

Nicoletti reflected on his short time in charge: “I'd like to think we would have been successful, people would maybe say that I have left the club in the lurch but if I have then so be it. This is the right time for both parties to move on - the decision for me to leave is by amicable agreement.â€

The club would not be drawn into speculation with regards the next manager but it is thought current assistant manager Antonio Gespi, forty-years-old, may be in talks with the club.

[Wag]

Monday 12th June 2006

La Tribuna Sammarinese

Where now for Titani?

Following the decision by Walter Nicoletti to resign from his contract to be appointed manager of San Marino Calcio we have decided to take a look at the speculation concerning those who could be about to step into the managerial gap left by him.

Nicoletti was a popular choice to lead the club into this seasons Serie C1/B campaign but whoever takes over faces a tough task due to the clubs well known lack of funding as well as a large squad that currently possesses several new players signed with the blessing of the man who had been set to take charge. With time running out before the season starts the club would do well to act fast but here we’ll take a look at the leading contenders to take over at a club already thought to be facing an uphill battle to survive:

Giampaolo Mazza

(former San Marino international, fifty-years-old, current manager of San Marino national team)

Giampaolo Mazza is the popular choice for many supporters of San Marino Calcio having played and then managed the club during three spells at the Stadio Olimpico, included in his second spell was promotion to the Campionato Nazionale Dilettanit after finishing first in the 1996/97 Eccellenza season, as well as being a continual heroic figure as manager of an ever improving national side. At fifty years-old he’s currently in charge of Serie D Verucchio and has an extensive knowledge of both Italian and international football although it’s unknown whether he’d be interested in leaving his current postings to take up a role with a professional side having ploughed many years and so much energy into improving and developing the national team and Verucchio.

Antonio Gespi

(Italian, thirty-nine years-old, current assistant manager of San Marino Calcio)

Antonio Gespi is a well known and highly regarded figure at San Marino Calcio having been with the club since July 2000. Prior to that he’d played as a forward in Serie A for before spells with Rimini, Lupa Frascati, Turris and Castel San Pietro amongst others. He’s rumoured to be very interested in taking over as manager and is currently the favourite after being a coach and assistant at the club during his six years at the club so far and has been involved in taking the club from Serie D to Serie C1. However, whilst he’s undoubtedly a good coach should he be appointed he’s likely to be viewed with a modicum of scepticism by the fans due to his lack of management experience and could be viewed as somewhat of a risk or alternatively the cheap option.

Luca D’Angelo

(Italian, thirty-four years-old, current member of the San Marino Calcio squad)

Luca D’Angelo is a vastly experienced central defender who arrived at the club with the blessing of Nicoletti. Born in Pescara he began his career with Chieti in 1988, spending seven years there before moving to Sora and then a season later to Castel di Sangro, where he enjoyed two seasons in Serie B. From then on he spent three years with Fermana and a loan spell at Alzano before spending a season in Serie C1 with Giulianova and joining Rimini in time for the 2001/02 season, where he’d been a regular until joining the Titani. Despite being quoted as saying he’d like to move into management once his career ends it is thought that this position may have come too soon and reports are about that although he’d be a popular choice amongst many supporters because of his leadership skills it’s thought that D’Angelo himself has moved to distance himself from the position as he just wants to concentrate on playing football for the time being.

Sereno Uraldi

(San Marinese, fifty years-old, current manager of Domagnano and San Marino under-21s)

Sereno Uraldi is a highly respected figure in Sammarinese football having won four Campianato Sammarinese titles and reached twelve Sammarinese cup finals in ten years with S.S. Folgore and then his current club F.C. Domagnano. Between those spells he also briefly managed Faetano. A humble man off the field, Uraldi is unassuming in person, but every player who has worked with him will attest to his absolute determination, passion and hunger as a coach. He is also the current manager of the San Marino under twenty-one side and although not thought to be interested in the post of manager at San Marino Calcio his name has been doing the rounds with some Titani supporters.

Giuseppe Canini

(San Marinese, forty-eight years-old, current manager of Pennarossa and San Marino under-19s)

Giuseppe Canini is an outspoken manager who has been successful on the Sammarinese domestic scene in recent years as part of a coaching staff that has won one Campionato Sammarinese, two Coppa Titano trophies as well as one Trefeo Federale in with Pennarossa in the past three years. He was a squad member of the San Marino national team for their first few internationals and is currently involved with the national set-up as manager of the under-nineteen side having previously worked with the under-twenty-ones. His forthright views on the game and passionate approach make him an intriguing character although whether he’d like to leave the relative safety of his position with either club or country is another matter.

[Wag]

I looked up from my notebook and out over the lush green neatly trimmed playing surface of the Stadio Olimpico di Serravalle. The sun was bright and smothered the roof of the stand opposite my own in an almost luminous hue of white light. I glance my watch attentively, still another two hours to go, I sigh. Dotted sporadically alongside me were a small group of men, ranging from middle-age to those slightly older, some way into the veteran stage of their lives. They sat in the stand with nothing to do except talk amongst themselves about politics, women and sport, occasionally turning to watch the players train and commenting on their performances or shouting encouragement. Mostly the players just ignored the gestures but from time to time they’d greet them with a response like a raise of the hand, a smile or share an in-joke with them. Despite this being the first week of pre-season training the atmosphere was relatively relaxed although it was clear that those out on the field were due to begin some hard-work. With the loss of Walter Nicoletti, the manager the players thought they’d be playing under, before start of pre-season, organisation of training had been split between the wiry figure of assistant manager Antonio Gespi, who barked orders at the players to run faster and try harder whenever there was a moments silence, and the slightly more reserved Marco Ragini, a slim, tall man who had once been a goalkeeper at the club.

I liked Ragini, I’d worked with him for a number of years previously as we were both members on the staff of the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio, his ethic was to concentrate on the fitness side of the game first and then the technical as he felt the healthier the body the better it would respond during skilled games with a ball. He also possessed a great deal of tactical knowledge and I felt he was somewhat wasted in his current role of goalkeeping coach and in this training session as Gespi’s lackey. I have to be honest and say that Gespi irritates me. We’d run into each other several times over the last few years or so at various coaching courses and seminars, on his day he was a nice enough guy but sadly he just didn’t have enough of these moments and spent the majority of his time hurtling around in a state almost akin to a pre-teen sulk. However, he’d been with San Marino Calcio for some six years now, first as a coach and latterly as an assistant manager, so someone, somewhere obviously felt he was doing something right.

He barked another order, the players were to undertake a slow jog around the running track surrounding the pitch which would slowly build up into a sprint after an innumerable numbers of laps. There were a few groans but a few sharp bursts of his whistle and the dispatch of bottles containing water and sports drinks soon quietened the players and they begun. The old men continued to talk and I listened intently to what they were saying. According to them new goalkeeper Emiliano Dei was overweight, defender Simone Berardi was still the fittest member of the squad and new signing Luca Ceccarelli was lazy. As the players ran past their section of the stand they quietened to a hushed tones waving at some members of the squad and wishing last years top scorer Alberto Villa well for the new season, a move he greeted with a hand in the air in their direction. Pleased by the recognition they returned to picking apart the squad piece by piece, it was interesting to listen into the group and left me wondering just what they’d do if they were in charge and more importantly what I would do myself.

Time passed quickly and when I looked at my watch again my meeting was only ten minutes away. I took another look out onto the field and noted that the players had begun doing some light drills with a ball, mostly small sided games involving one or two touches with points being awarded to the side that managed to dispossess the opposition. It looked hard-work but they seemed to be enjoying it so I left my seat and moved inside of the stand, walking down some stairs and through a series of corridors until I found myself in the main reception area. A petite young secretary greeted me as I went to the small desk set against the back wall and informed me that the person I was here to meet; director Germano De Biagi, was running around ten minutes so late. I didn’t mind so took a seat and waited.

De Biagi arrived soon afterwards, he apologised for his delay and hurried me inside the boardroom, situated just off the reception area. A large glass and metal table sat at it’s centre with four chairs spread around the far end and one, for myself, at the edge closest to the door. He invited me to sit down and we were soon joined by three other men. Chairman Werther Cornieti, managing director Glauco Spadaro and general manager Pierluigi Gambarara. They welcomed me in turn then asked me how I was and if I knew why I had been asked to come to meet them. I said I wasn’t sure although would be lying if I said that thoughts of the vacant managerial position hadn’t crossed my mind at least once or twice in the days preceding. However, I wasn’t foolish and doubted they’d go for someone of my age so instead just felt it would likely to be something to do with administration or the next batch of youngsters the club would be receiving from the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio. We made small talk for a while about the state of the game, youth football and the facilities available before they revealed their intentions. Spadaro was the one to break the ice:

“Jamie we’d like you to become the new manager. We’ve been impressed with your progress and qualifications since joining the FSGC in 2002 and feel you are the right man for the job. This is a major project we are hoping to undertake and we want a strong man like you in charge, you’ll be charged with overhauling the entire way the football club works, it needs a new culture on and off the pitch. There’s one thing though, we’d like you to build a squad of predominantly Sammarinese players, that’s not going to be a problem is it?â€

[Wag]

Monday 26th June 2006

La Tribuna Sammarinese

Mazza plays down Titani link

San Marino manager Giampaolo Mazza has dismissed reports linking with the vacant San Marino Calcio manager’s post as mere “speculationâ€.

Mazza told La Tribuna that no contact had been made between the club and himself nor had any been made with the Federazione Sammarinese Giucco Calcio. He said:

"I can conform that there has been no approach from San Marino Calcio, or any other club for that matter, for my services so the speculation continues to be simply that. I am happy in charge of the national team and also with my other job managing Verucchio."

He continued to say: “San Marino Calcio are a good club with a lot of potential but I’m not interested in a role their at the current time. I’ve put in a lot of hard work as a player, coach and manager for San Marino and it’s in that final role that I aim to continue working in as long as I’m wanted. The standard of football in our young set-up is improving all the time and I want to be here to help that development continue.â€

The move is likely to come as a blow to the Titani who had reportedly earmarked Mazza as the top candidate for the vacant managerial position. With Antonio Gespi also out of the running it’s though the club may now turn to Domagnano manager Sereno Uraldi, who is also manager of the San Marino under-21s.

[Wag]

He lay awake pondering several imponderables. He had a good job, was he prepared to give it all up to become a manager, if he failed he’d find himself out of work. Back on the football scrapheap like so many others. He’d lose his security, he valued his security - his freedom. His mind wandered, he could see the glare of streetlights. Then bang like a bomb. A crash of pain searing through his left leg. Then nothing but the screams and hideous twisted contorted faces like gargoyles, haunting his every moment of sleep. A waking nightmare. Then nothing, he opened his eyes and turned the light on, if only to reassure himself that it was just a dark recess of his imagination. He stretched, took a breath, the freshness of the air whooshing through into his lungs with a crispness that left a feeling of calm, and turned the light back off before burying his head into a pillow. He’d spent days like this, he needed to make a decision. He took a deep breath, turned to his left and picked up his mobile phone and a piece of paper with a number scrawled on it. He dialled slowly before listening to it ring, nerves coursed through his body before the person at the other end picked up. They greeted him like he was an old friend though he simply said. Yes.

[Wag]

Monday 26th June 2006

La Tribuna Sammarinese

Titani snub Gespi

San Marino assistant manager Antonio Gespi did apply for the manager's job at the Stadio di Olimpico, according to reports.

It is believed he put his name forward for the vacant managerial post after six years at the club. However, the San Marino board, headed by chairman Werther Cornieti reportedly rejected the forty-year-olds application because the Serie C1 Girone B side wanted a fresh approach.

Gespi said: "I'm deeply disappointed to have lost out on the job as I felt that I could really take this club places but unfortunately the chairman doesn't seem to see things as I do."

It leaves the future of Gespi unclear with the club set to announce it’s new manager within the next few days.

[Wag]

Tuesday 27th June 2006

San Marino Oggi

Titani release pre-season dates

Despite being without a manager San Marino Calcio have announced their pre-season fixtures for the forthcoming season.

The Titani will begin their pre-season programme with Belgian side KAS Eupen visiting the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday 15th July. French side AC Ajaccien will then journey to Serravalle on Tuesday 18th July. Then German side SV Wacker Burghausen will play at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday 25th July. Monday 31st July sees Serie B Cesena at the Stadio Olimpico before the club visit Serie C1/A Pizzighettone to complete their schedule on Friday 4th August.

[Wag]

Wednesday 5th July 2006

La Tribuna Sammarinese

Waggett takes the reins

In a shock move San Marino Calcio have appointed Jamie Waggett as their new manager following a prolonged stage of interviews after the resignation of previous manager Walter Nicoletti.

Waggett, a former Fiorentina player, will officially take charge of his new club on Friday 14th of July 2006 and said on hearing the news of his appointment: "I am absolutely delighted to be getting the chance to become involved with San Marino Calcio. I feel honoured to be asked to be a part of the club and will do my utmost to do everything I can to insure my time at the club, which I hope will be long, is a success. I am looking forward to the challenges and responsibilities that I will face."

Chairman Werther Cornieti said: "As soon as we began talks with Jamie we could sense we were onto something special. We have real plans for this club and he isn't afraid to get stuck in on or off the field. We feel we've made the best appointment we could at the present time and hope this is the start of a new and exciting period in the history of San Marino Calcio. When we began our search, we had a set of criteria we needed to fulfil. The most important factor for us was to appoint someone who recognises the importance and potential we have at San Marino Calcio and Jamie fills all the criteria we were looking for.â€

At just twenty-seven years-old Waggett becomes one of the youngster managers ever in professional Italian football as well as one of the youngest in the history of world football. He has recently been involved with coaching, scouting and player recruitment at all levels for the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio having been forced to retire from football at the age of nineteen after severely breaking his left leg in a car accident.

He said: “The offer came as a shock to me and I imagine my appointment will have raised a few eyebrows because of my age, but the board felt I was the first choice for the job. I am under no illusions that it‘s going to be an easy first season but I believe that we can start to put things in place to allow us to progress in the ones that will follow. I have to make sure I sign the right people and make the right decisions both on and off the pitch.â€

Waggett said the decision to accept the position as manager wasn’t an easy one:

“I had to make sure everything was absolutely right. That it felt right for myself and the future of the club. I know the implications of failure, I could potentially undo years of good work but I don‘t think I will, we have a lot of potential left unfulfilled here although other factors may slow our development in the short-term. Financially we're not secure yet and it's going to be a very difficult year off the field but I know the mechanics of how a football club works and I know how much hard work has gone into this football club to date and what is required to keep the club safe and take it forward.â€

One of the new managers first tasks will be to assess his squad, much of which has already been assembled for the new season as well as try to keep the side in Serie C1/B.

"I already know some of the players so not I’m coming into the job completely blind but I will need a honeymoon period to assess them and I will have to learn quickly how individuals work in order to get the best out of them. While there may be an exodus of some players everyone who is currently at the club will be given a chance to impress and I will be talking to each player individually during my first few days here. I cant wait for the season to start. I may be regarded by some as inexperienced in the transfer-market but I don‘t feel that it will be a problem when it comes to signing players. I think they‘ll understand that I want to be a success and in order for myself to achieve that I need to have players that want to be a part of it. If they don‘t that‘s their decision and I will wish them well with what they may find elsewhere.â€

The club has announced that Waggett will officially be unveiled as manager tomorrow in a brief press conference at the Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle.

[Wag]

Thursday 6th July 2006 am

Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino

I arrived early on my first day in charge. I couldn’t sleep, even the sleeping pills I tried didn’t do the trick so instead I’d risen early, shaved, had a light breakfast then prepared myself for the day ahead. I expected it to fly by. Upon arriving at the stadium I was given a brief tour, something I’d already undertaken, but it all helped to familiarise myself with a place I’d been several hundred times before but never really learnt off by heart. I realised in the coming season I would begin to know this place and the training ground like the back of my hand due to the sheer number of hours I would be putting in here. The minutes ticked by faster than expected and soon it was time for the press conference.

I made my way down a small corridor into a large white and blue room that was full of expectant local journalists, spokespersons from the supporters group and a few members of my former employers the FSGC. I was invited to take a seat at a table that had been laid out and was positioned in the middle of five seats, flanked on my left side by chairman Werther Cornieti, managing director Glauco Spadaro whilst to my right sat general manager Pierluigi Gambarara and director Germano De Biagi.

General manager Pierluigi Gambarara stood up and began to speak…

“Good morning and welcome to the Stadio Olimpico, we appreciate your attendance for today’s press conference at what is an exciting time in the history of San Marino Calcio. Without much further ado I’d like to hand proceedings over to chairman Werther Cornietiâ€

“Thank you Pierluigi. Today we celebrate another milestone in the history of San Marino Calcio. I’d like to introduce you all to our new manager Jamie Waggett, but before I hand over to Jamie I’d like to tell you a little bit about him. He represents, from my perspective, a new breed of manager in the game today and one of a number of the next generation of San Marinese coaches. He brings extensive coaching experience and credibility, as well as tremendous leadership qualities to the sidelines. He’s been with the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio for six seasons, coaching at all levels of the national organisation as well as being involved in scouting, player recruitment, player development and administration. He is also a holder of the highest qualification available to professional coaches; the UEFA Pro Licence. He was born in San Marino on the sixth of October nineteen-seventy-eight and began his professional football career with Fiorentina in nineteen-ninety-three at the age of fifteen, graduating from the youth team, where he’d captained the side to a Coppa Italia Primavera during the 1995/96 season, into the first team at eighteen years-old before a serious injury forced his retirement from the game a year later.

He’s got the qualities that epitomise a coach today and the qualities that we look for in a leader. Character, compassion, experience and above all a commitment to win and develop Sammarinese football. Nothing attracted us more to Jamie than his commitment, determination and competitive nature. The experience he gained during his tenure with the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio will be extremely valuable as the club look to the future and a new, fresh era at the heart of San Marinese football. He’s going to be a great asset to our team and a great asset to the community as a whole.â€

He turned to me and said “Welcome to San Marino Calcio.†it was my now my turn to talk…

“Thank you, first I’d like to say this is wonderful, it‘s so nice to see so many faces, some familiar and some not so familiar. I’d like to thank the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio for allowing me to grow as a coach under their tutelage and also for their willingness to allow me to come to San Marino Calcio once they became aware of the clubs interest. I’d also like to thank the chairman and the rest of the board for giving me this wonderful opportunity. I feel San Marino Calcio have the potential to be a very successful club in years to come, not only on the pitch but also off it. I’m very excited. Apart from what Werther has already said I will be bringing enthusiasm to the club. I’m thrilled and honoured to be part of this club.â€

Pierluigi Gambarara then took over again before handing proceedings to managing director Glauco Spadaro…

“Today marks not only the arrival of a new manager but also the renewal of a link which has been allowed to whither away into a mere thread in recent seasons but will now grow strong and vibrant again. With the vision, support and financial backing of both the Federazione Sammarinese Giuocco Calcio and San Marino Calcio board we intend to greatly improve San Marino’s role in the future of Sammarinese football. When the club was formed in nineteen-sixty it’s intention was to allow San Marinese players the chance to play in a higher standard of league but over the years our squads have been diluted with Italian and other foreign players. Many rightly state that the clubs achievements of reaching Serie C1 have been remarkable considering where we’ve come from but we feel we can go further and our wish is to do this with Sammarinese blood throughout the squad. There is a lot of potential in this country and with a dedicated youth policy and a new transfer strategy I’d like to feel we will see fast improvements to the club both on and off the pitch. What we are aiming to do could and should improve the prospects of San Marinese football players for many generations to come.â€

He paused to take a sip of water before continuing…

“In recent times we feel the club has fallen away from it’s primary objective but with our new exciting appointment we’re going to go back to our roots. We’re dedicated to improving Sammarinese football on the whole. The aims and objectives from now on will be to produce talented, well disciplined young footballers for San Marino Calcio and ultimately the San Marino National team. To achieve this objective we are in the process of setting up a recruitment and development strategy within the local region that will provide the opportunity for talented youngsters to play in the best possible environment and be coached by qualified and motivated coaches who are aware of the culture and philosophy of the club…"

He continued…

“…This initiative will provide a major step in the club’s development and is seen as an essential link between the expanding youth set up of the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio and San Marino Calcio. It is a major undertaking, which will involve a lot of extra work for a number of people in the club but will also offer outstanding opportunities to many, especially for younger players. Very importantly, it has the full support and involvement of Jamie Waggett, who will take overall responsibility for the playing staff and back room staff at every level of the club. This we feel will guarantee continuity between the youth system and the first-team, which can only provide a healthy culture to the club on the whole. I am convinced that we will succeed with this ambitious plan by a combination of professionalism, determination, team spirit and solidarityâ€

With Spadaro finished Pierluigi Gambarara opened the floor up for questions…

A journalist from the San Marino Oggi was first: “Jamie, how do you expect to bring success to the club relying on San Marinese footballers? And what impact do you think this will have on the national team? with the exception of one or two individuals we’ve always been a weak nation when it comes to producing players and often find that many just don’t have what it takes to make the step up.â€

“You forget that the majority of San Marinese players are strictly amateur. It’s no wonder the international side often fares so badly against professional players when you consider this important factor. Here at San Marino Calcio the players will be training in a professional environment and that will improve their game and subsequently the national side greatly. I feel this will be reflective in the clubs progress on the field. I intend to bring in the best players from the current national team, they already play their home fixtures at the Stadio Olimpico so it makes sense to me that the club is utilised to it’s full to potential to help and bring players through for the benefit of not only and most importantly the club side but also the national team. If the best players from a nation play together regularly at club level this will rub off on the international scene so the benefit is two-fold. I aim to bring the best in and bring the best out of those already here, judge me from day one. I am looking forward to the opportunity to develop young players so that they can challenge for a place in our first team squad as well as the national team. It is often very difficult for young San Marinese players to break through in professional football but by coming here they will be given the ideal opportunity they need to develop the extra strength and experience that is needed to make that next step. For a nation of our size I think it’s the correct decision to exploit our small resources, both human and financial, in the best way. Sammarinese youngsters that participate in the Italian youth leagues, will invariably be better prepared for professional and subsequently international football than those that haven‘t had this opportunity. This is an exciting initiative that I’m sure will reap a number of benefits in the next few seasons and, more importantly, will set standards for the club in the years to come. I want to take the team to new heights.â€

Next a member of the supporters club: “What style of play and type of team will you try to mould here?â€

“When I myself was a player I liked to play attractive passing football and that will be no different here. I want a determined, hard-working group of players but they must also have the ability to use the ball and not be afraid to graft when they don‘t have possession. I am expecting everyone to want to die for one another and shall attempt to foster a strong team spirit and work ethic throughout the club. People have to remember that this club is not only representative of those involved but also the Republic of San Marino itself. Every time we go out on the field I shall be expecting my players to defend the honour and pride of their nation, even those not born in San Marino.â€

Then a journalist from La Tribuna Sammarinese: “Werther, how important was it for you to appoint someone with the experience of San Marinese football that Jamie has? What are your aims for the season?â€

“Obviously it was vital, this is the next step in the development of not only the club but how the game is played in San Marino. Naturally with any managerial appointment you‘re taking some risk but with Jamie we think we have found someone who will ensure the club is in safe hands, we could have gone for someone not from San Marino but felt they might find it difficult with some of the pressures in place, although nothing was concrete. To answer your second question, in this first season we‘d like to consolidate our position in Serie C1 and build from there onwards. We have a long-term strategy in place and need to improve things both on and off the field to achieve that. Some may say that by giving Jamie just a one-year contract we‘re only looking at him as a short-term arrival but we have made it quite clear that he‘ll be offered a longer deal provided the club are performing to the standards we desire towards the end of the season. We don‘t see him as a stop-gap, we want a long and successful tenure from him.â€

Questions continued for around twenty-minutes more before the press conference was ended. Although some felt it was perhaps hoping a bit too much for the club to find a golden generation or five of talented Sammarinese youngsters many believed it was the right time to invest in both the club and national team. Provided we could succeed on and off the pitch there would only be positives for both sectors of the sport. After a short time having photographs taken with the board and various sponsors I was allowed to retreat to the relative quiet and safety of my office. It was a small room, decked out in modern looking furniture - a couple of chairs, a sofa, a smart desk with a laptop on it and two sets of blinds; one which looked out onto the Stadio Olimpico pitch and the other onto the training ground. A prime position indeed.

Having been informed that the San Marino board of directors were looking forward to a long and successful era under my management and that they were satisfied with the club’s current financial status I decided it was time to take a look at matters on the field as well as my backroom staff. Having been told that I was expected to lead the team to at least safety, although a brave fight against relegation was expected, something which was echoed by many of the supporters, survival would be the key and I’d need to know everything about those currently involved at the club to get off to the best possible start. I felt the only way we’d get this was with a strong backbone in my side and a strong backroom staff, but what did I currently have at my disposal?

Something else with gave me heart was the welcome I’d received from those from the ultras group Nucleo 2000. They told me that although I was inexperienced due to my background with the national team they and many other supporters were cautiously optimistic about my arrival as well as that they were happy to see a Sammarinese national in charge for the first time in a number of years. However, I didn’t have much time for reflection, procrastination or to day dream as I had much work to do before my first official day in charge on Friday the 14th of July but first I would immerse myself in some historical research.

[Wag]

The history of San Marino Calcio

San Marino Calcio is a Sammarinese football club, based in Serravalle. It was founded in 1960 as S.S. Serenissima (Società Sportiva Serenissima) by the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio with the purpose to have a professional side representing the Republic of San Marino in the Italian league, but was then later purchased by Sammarinese and Italian entrepreneurs although the FSGC still retained a stake in the club.

The first president was Carlo Casali, and the team was initially placed in the Seconda Categoria, which is the ninth level of the Italian amateur league and at the time the lowest in the Italian structure because the Terza Cateogria did not exist, achieving their first promotion two years later in 1962.

In 1965 the FSGC and Casali passed control of the club to Carlo Tonolli and later to Giancarlo Ghironzi, an ex-Libertas player, who oversaw the merger between S.S. Serenissima with the old S.S. Juvenes in 1973 to create A.C. San Marino (Associazione Calcio San Marino). As the club had gained promotion from the Prima Categoria during this time they began the 1973/74 season in Promozione, the seventh tier of Italian football, finishing sixth. The next year they finished tenth before suffering relegation back to the Prima Categoria in 1975/76. Back in the Prima Categoria, they finished tenth, fifth and third before in 1979/80 gained promotion back to the Promozione after winning their regional league. In the next two years they battled hard against relegation, surviving in their first year, with a fourteenth place finish but were sadly relegated back to level eight of the structure the following season after finishing fifteenth. The 1982/83 and 1983/84 seasons brought two sixth placed finishes before the club entered what is considered to be a golden period in it‘s short history.

Under the stewardship of manager Gabriele Lucchi and president Germano De Biagi the club achieved two successive promotions as they finished first in both the 1984/85 Prima Categoria and 1985/86 Promozione campaigns. By virtue of the second they gained entry to the sixth level of the structure, Eccellenza, for the first time in their history and subsequently gained a third promotion in a row to the last non-professional level in Italy, Serie D. With promotion the club changed it’s name to San Marino Calcio with many feeling that they had perhaps gone too far too soon but another promotion was to follow as the swept all before them to claim top spot in their regional Gironi during 1987/88 and with it acceptance in the Serie C2 for the first time. Sadly the 1988/89 season brought what many had felt might happen before as the club were relegated back to Serie D after a single season, finishing seventeenth amongst the professional players.

Many tipped the club for promotion during the 1989/90 season but they failed to find any consistency towards the end of the season and finished a disappointing fifth under future San Marino national team manager Giampaolo Mazza, then ninth in 1990/91 before capitulating in the 1991/92 season to finish seventeenth and suffer relegation to Eccellenza. However, the clubs stay at the sixth level of Italian football lasted just a season as they were promoted back into Serie D as champions. They then recorded sixth and seventh place finishes before again succumbing to relegation with a seventeenth place finish in 1995/96. Much like their previous recent experience of the Eccellenza, they only needed one season to get back into Serie D though and with Giampaolo Mazza back in charge for a season before leaving to take over the national team, finished as champions. The 1997/98 saw a four place finished at the fifth level and was following by another of sixth in 1998/99 as the club looked to solidify it’s position just outside the professional ranks.

The 1999/00 season saw former Sansepolcro manager Sauro Trillini appointed as manager but after promising so much at the start of the season a string of defeats saw him replaced by Franco Bonavita who saw his side go seventeen games unbeaten with twelve wins and five draws in the second half of the season to secure promotion from Serie D as champions of Girone F and back into Serie C2 for the first time since 1988/89. A late goal from striker Ignazio Damateo securing the title of the last day of the season, only his fourth in thirty games that year.

Bonavita and the talismanic presence of captain Mirko Fabbri helped lead the club to a tenth place finish in Serie C2 Girone B during the 2000/01 with forty-four points from their thirty-four games, which included eleven wins and eleven draws. The following season saw the club better the tally as eleven goals in thirty games from striker Andrea Tedeschi helped the club to secure fifty-five points and a then high of sixth place in the league, just missing out on the play-offs. 2002/03 saw a difficult season for the Titani as they had not one but three managers. Gabriel Morganti started the season on the bench but was then replaced and Claudio Regno and finally Massimo Morgia as the club slipped in the standings to ninth place.

The 2003/04 saw the club finish fourth and suffer the heartbreak of a play-off defeat as they fell three-two on aggregate to Cisco Roma over two legs. However, this only made the team more determined and the following year, another fourth place finish saw them progress into the play-offs where they were victorious and in doing so secured promotion to Serie C1 for the first time in their history.

The club start the season under the management of Francesco Bulgio but they quickly found Serie C1 Girone A difficult and eventually he is replaced by Roberto Alberti. The club pick up just thirty-five points from thirty-four games of the course of the season to finish seventeenth and subsequently face a relegation play-out against Pro Sesto to secure their survival. Away from home in the first leg they defeat their opponents by a single goal from Federico Piovaccari, a young forward on loan from Inter Milan who scores eleven goals in twenty-nine games that season. The second leg sees Pro Sesto throw everything they can at the San Marino goal but largely thanks to a heroic performance from goalkeeper Roberto Colombo and defender Mirko Taccola, the captain of the side, they keep a clean sheet to secure a place in Serie C1 for the 2006/07 season. Striker Alberto Villa leads the clubs scoring charts with thirteen goals in thirty-one games.

San Marino Calcio are the only Sammarinese team allowed to participate at the professional level in the Italian football league, although A.C. Juvenes/Dogana, who also play in the Campionato Sammarinese, compete in the Promozione, the seventh level in the Italian league structure. Because the Campianato Sammarinese di Calcio is completely amateur, San Marino Calcio are also the only professional football team in the Republic.

The clubs nickname is Titani (Titans) because the republic of San Marino is situated on the slopes of Mount Titano, on the Adriatic side of central Italy between the Emilia-Romagna and Marche regions and surrounded on all sides by the Republic of Italy. Although they are often also referred to as the Biancazzurri due to the team's traditional colours being white and light blue.

The club play at the Stadio Olimpico di Serravalle which is also home to the national team and other sporting events. It was constructed in 1969 and was originally just known as the Stadio di Serravalle or Stadio Municipal. However, since 1985 it’s been known as the Stadio Olimpico because it hosted the first edition of the “Olympic Games of the Little Countries of Europeâ€. The stadium is owned by the FSGC and is situated in San Marino’s largest city Serravalle, which has a population of around 8,700. With a capacity of just seven thousand it is currently one of the smallest stadiums in the Italian professional league but those who make the journey to see it are treated to a picturesque setting as the stadium is primarily flanks by landscape which is for the most part green and dominated by rolling hills and tree-lined banks. A large running track surrounds the pitch while both ends, neither of which contain areas for fans, are open to the elements. Instead the stadium consists of two large stands that run the length of either side of the field. The covered northern main stand, known as the Tribuna Centrale, holds around 3,500 spectators and is faced by a another stand on the south side, called the Tribuna Coperta, which has a covered section holding around 1,500 people and is also flanked by two smaller uncovered sections which hold around 1,000 fans between them. Adjacent to the stadium is a building that overlooks a baseball field and houses an Olympic standard swimming pool, gym, indoor training facilities as well a basketball court.

The club has one group of ultras called Nucleo 2000, they are a small group of fans who have been in existence since the last game of the 1999/00 season and travel the length and breadth of Italy to support the biancuzurri.

The motto of San Marino Calcio is ‘stella del mio destino’ which means ‘star of my destiny’ in English.

[Amaroq]

In bocca al lupo!, Wag - great start, and I hope this story has a long and glorious life!

[Wag]

crepi il lupo!

Thank you very much Amaroq

[Wag]

A history of San Marino

The Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino) is a small country situated on the slopes of Mount Titano, on the Adriatic side of central Italy between the Emilia-Romagna and Marche regions and surrounded on all sides by the Republic of Italy. It is the smallest independent state in Europe after Vatican City and Monaco and, until the independence of Nauru (1968), the smallest republic in the world. San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe at an estimated 28,000.

According to tradition, San Marino is the oldest constitutional republic in the world still existing: it was founded in the year 301 by Marinus of Rab, a Christian stonemason fleeing the religious persecution of Roman Emperor Diocletian. San Marino has the oldest written constitution still in effect, dating back to 1600

San Marino has an irregular rectangular form with a maximum length of eight miles (thirteen kilometres), northeast to southwest. It is crossed by the Marano and Ausa (Aussa) streams, which flow into the Adriatic Sea, and by the stream of San Marino, which falls into the Marecchia River. The landscape is dominated by the huge, central limestone mass of Mount Titano (2,424 feet [739 metres]); hills spread out from it on the southwest, whereas the north-eastern part gently slopes down toward the Romagna plain and the Adriatic coast. The silhouette of Mount Titano, with its three summits crowned by ancient triple fortifications, may be seen from many miles away.

The climate is mild and temperate, with maximum temperatures of 79 °F (26 °C) in summer and 19 °F (-7 °C) in winter. Annual rainfall ranges between about 22 inches (560 mm) and 32 inches (800 mm). Although traces of human presence from both prehistoric and Roman times exist in the territory, Mount Titano and its slopes are known to have been populated, with certainty, only after the arrival of St. Marinus and his followers. San Marino citizens, or Sammarinesi, make up more than four-fifths of the country's population, with Italians composing most of the remainder. Thousands of Sammarinesi reside abroad, principally in Italy, the United States, France, and Argentina. Nearly nine-tenths of San Marino's citizens are Roman Catholics, though there is no official religion. The official language is Italian. A widely spoken dialect has been defined as Celto-Gallic, akin to the Piedmont and Lombardy dialects as well as to that of Romagna.

San Marino is divided into the nine municipalities, known locally as castelli or castles (singular castello), each on a different hill, as depicted on the republic's coat of arms). The City of San Marino (Città di San Marino) is the eponymous capital, set high on the western side of Mount Titano beneath the fortress crowning one of it‘s summits, and has a population of around 4,500.

There are also eight minor municipalities the largest of which are Borgo Maggiore, situated at the foot of Mount Titano and with a population of nearly 6,000 and for centuries the commercial centre of the country, and Serravalle, which has a population of around 9,400 inhabitants and contains in Dogana, the largest city in the country. Dogana is situated in the north-eastern corner of the country and due to it’s population of roughly 7,000 has asked split away from Serravalle and become it’s own castello, although as yet this has not happened.

With around 2,865 inhabitants Domagnano, previously known as Montelupo (mountain of wolves) after its coat of arms, is the next largest municipality and is located on Monte Titano. In terms of number it closely followed by Fiorentino with 2,245 then Acquaviva, named after a local source of water, with 1, 812 inhabitants. Faetano has a population of around 1,132 and is just a bit larger than Chiesanuova, who have a population of 1,029 while Montegiardino is the smallest of all the castilli with a population of just 818.

A network of roads connects San Marino with the surrounding regions of Italy. Motor coach services connect San Marino city with Rimini, Italy, and, in summer, directly with the Adriatic coast. The main airport serving San Marino is the Federico Fellini International Airport in Rimini. There are no railroads, but the capital is reached from Borgo Maggiore by means of a cable railway.

[Wag]

Friday 14th July 2006

In the days before my official start date as manager I had been hard at work, most days I arrived early at the stadium and didn’t leave until the late evening as I wanted to be well prepared for the season ahead of me, which was starting now. I’d met with everyone at the club and here was what I had at my fingertips.

The Club

San Marino Calcio are currently in Serie C1. Serie C is the name given to the third and fourth highest levels of the Italian football league structure. It is broken up into Serie C1 (third tier) and Serie C2 (fourth tier). Serie C1 consists of two divisions: Serie C1/A and Serie C1/B, both of 18 teams. At the end of the season, four teams (two from each division) go up to Serie B and six teams (three from each division) go down to Serie C2.

Serie C2 consists of three divisions: Serie C2/A, Serie C2/B, and Serie C2/C, all of them composed of 18 teams. At the end of the season, six teams (two from each division) go up to Serie C1 and nine teams (three from each division) go down to Serie D. In both Serie C1 and C2, teams are split into gironi (divisions) by geographical criteria.

San Marino spent last year, their first at this level, in Serie C1 Girone A, which is mostly composed of northern team, but have been moved into Girone B, featuring predominantly teams from central and southern Italy, for the coming season. It isn’t uncommon for teams to find themselves switching between the girone at this level because of the geography involved but if you’re a club in a central area you could end up with some rather long trips in your away schedule.

The club, which is completely professional, is at the highest it’s ever been in the league structure and will this year start only it’s second ever at this level. We currently have £188,129 in the bank, with £143,862 available for transfers. Fifty percent of any revenue I bring in from transfer will also be given to me to boost the second figure. This season sees us starting the second and final year of a two year sponsorship deal worth £7,500 a season.

Stadium and Facilities

Although the Stadio Olimpico was on the small size, the capacity of 7,000 would do just fine for now. If, in a few seasons time, we were to say gain promotion then it appeared that we would have no problem with increasing the capacity due to the space and size of the area surrounding the ground. I liked the stadium, it had a lot of character and the picturesque setting also helped. In the past few days I’d been here I’d often found myself gazing out of my office window and into the trees and hillside beyond that lay behind the open end towards my left.

We also had the most basic of training facilities and similarly basic youth facilities although by virtue of the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio we had something that vaguely resembled a youth academy that regularly produced young players for the club. Both of these would need improving but with funds on the short side we’d either need a very large grant to appear from somewhere or for the club to get some serious investment or to suddenly start bringing in a great deal of money and fast for that to happen. With this the case for the time being at least I would have to just work with what I had.

[Wag]

The Staff

The Board:

Chairman: Werther Cornieti

Managing Director: Glauco Spadaro

General Manager: Pierluigui Gambarara

Director: Germano De Biagi

Hierarchy:

Jamie Waggett (Manager)

Coaching Staff:

Antonio Gespi (Assistant Manager)

Stefano Neri (Coach)

Gianluca Lucchetti (Coach)

Marco Ragini (Goalkeeping Coach)

Ermes Morini (Goalkeeping Coach)

Medical Staff:

Claudio Muccioli (Physio)

Simone Grana (Physio)

Diego Ghinelli (Physio)

Anselmo Bravaccini (Physio)

Marco Benedettini (Physio)

Scouting Network:

Massimiliano Righi

One thing I had noticed in my short time here was that the club had a full retinue of coaches, scouts and physiotherapists. Speaking of the coaching staff, I wasn’t particularly impressed by what had been assembled by those before me.

Goalkeeping coaches Marco Ragini, who also had the unenviable responsible for training the goalkeepers of the San Marino national team, and Ermes Moroni were the by far best and most accessible, they would be kept but as I had previously noted I felt that Ragini was wasted in his role so immediately set about talking him into taking over a different coaching role at the club where he‘d have access to outfield players.

Assistant manager Antonio Gespi and coaches Stefano Neri and Gianluca Lucchetti would be given a small period of grace but time looked to be running out for the Italian trio who I just felt lacked the professionalism and adaptability that would be needed to play in a part in the culture I was intending to introduce into the club. Another small bone of contention I had the amount of physiotherapists currently in employment, I see the sense in perhaps two or three but we had five, they’d spend their days chatting and drinking coffee in the medical room, occasionally treating the odd player when it suited them. This was unacceptable and once I had properly assessed the fives credentials I would be lightening the load of those I felt were not what I needed.

As well as Ragini and Moroni, the only other person on the my staff to impress me was our only scout; Massimiliano Righi, a thirty-seven year-old, who was born in San Marino. Righi had a wealth of experience and knowledge, both locally and abroad, and was responsible for finding many of the young players who made up the clubs youth academy. He would no doubt play an important role in any future player recruitment we would have, especially in the local market as the club looks to tap into the potential of the Campianato Sammarinese.

Overall, I wasn’t particularly happy with what I had been given and felt it was time to call in reinforcements. Marco Ragini and Massimiliano Righi were both offered and accepted new long-term contracts with the club as I also sounded out several other people about potential roles within my new coaching set-up.

[Wag]

The Squad

Total Wage Budget: £22,785 per week (including youth grant income of £0 per week)

Current Wage Total at 14/07/06: £20,033 per week

San Marino Calcio, for their level of professional football in Italy, have the rather large number of fifty-two players currently on their books. Twenty-two of these players compete in first team squad with the other thirty making up the clubs under-twenty side. Thankfully the board and previous management of the club have been diligent and kept the club under budget so I have some room to manoeuvre within the current wage budget structure meaning new signings, provided they’re eventually offset with departures, should be manageable.

The squad has an average age of twenty-six years-old and with the media predicting a finish of 14th both the board and supporters were expecting the team to fight bravely against relegation.

Squad Average Age: 26

Squad Personality: Determined

Having watched the team in training and gained information from the current staff at the club here are the profiles of those players who are part of my first team squad at this point in time.

[Wag]

Portieri

Emiliano Dei (GK, ITA, 185 cm, 78 kg, 35 years old)

An experienced goalkeeper who joins the club having spent much of his career playing in Serie C1 with Benevento (1998-2002) and Varese (2002-04) before joining Rimini and helping them into Serie B, where he played thirty times last season. Looks a solid goalkeeper for this level and will probably start the season as first choice, it’s important he perform well as he will have an important role to play helping us avoid relegation. He also has the dubious honour of being the oldest player at the club, if he doesn’t perform time wont be on his side and I will be look to bring in a slightly younger goalkeeper as first choice.

Tommaso Merola (GK, ITA, 183 cm, 85 kg, 19)

Our current backup keeper is a young Italian who looks to have a little potential but doesn’t appear ready for the a first-time place at the moment. He’s a graduate of the San Marino youth academy and joined the professional ranks in 2003 before spending two seasons out on loan, first, in 2004/05, with Savoia, where he made five appearances, and then at Nuovo Campobasso, where he played thirty-one games last season.

[Wag]

Difensori

Simone Berardi (D/WB R, M C , ITA, 174 cm, 67 kg, 26)

Whilst predominantly a right full back Berardi also has the ability to play in the centre of midfield and with a bit of coaching could potentially fill any number of other defensive positions. Born in Rome, he began his career with Roma before spending a few seasons at Pescara and then moving to Nardò. The 2002/03 season saw him join San Marino and he’s been a regular ever since with one-hundred-and-nine appearances in four years. He’s highly capable at this level and is an excellent man-marker so I expect him to be a regular in my side.

Samuele Buda (D/WB RL, M L, ITA, 183 cm, 70 kg, 20) *on loan from Cesena until 30/06/07

Right-footed young full back or midfielder whose versatility could prove useful in the coming season. He is reasonably quick and determined but not very talented when it comes to defending which means he’ll probably only get games when we’re desperate. He spent last season on loan at Serie C2/B Bellaria scoring once in twenty-four games.

Luca D'Angelo (SW/D C, ITA, 188 cm, 86 kg, 34)

A tall and powerful central defender or sweeper who lacks pace but is vastly experienced and remains a talented hard working player. His main strengths are his positional play, aerial ability and bravery. I imagine he will be my captain, in what is his first season with the club, as I hope he’ll be an inspirational and influentially member of the first-team, at the age of thirty-four he is also the second oldest member of the squad. A native of Abruzzo, he was born in Pescara and began his career with Chieti before going on to represent Sora, Castel di Sangro in Serie B, Fermana, Alzano and Giulianova before joining Rimini in 2001/02. That season his new side were in Serie C2/B but, with him in defence and a regular starter, had eventually progressed some five years later into Serie B, where he played twenty-times and scored two goals last season.

Roberto Di Maio (D LC, ITA, 188 cm, 88 kg, 23)

Tall talented Naples born central defender or left back, despite being right footed, who played for Castelnuovo and Fucecchio before joining San Marino in 2004/05. Since then he’s scored three goals in sixty games for the club and I expect him to be a first-choice this season. His best assets are his tackling, heading and marking abilities which should give him the edge over a lot of attackers at this level.

Salvatore Ferraro (D LC, ITA, 181 cm, 72 kg, 22) *on loan from AC Milan until 30/06/07

Right footed central defender or left back who is on loan from AC Milan for the season. He was born in Catanzaro and started his career with Internazionale, where he played once in three seasons, before spending time out on loan at Prato, Pavia, Rimini, Vittoria and Lumezzane before joining his present club. Reasonably solid and fairly quick he’ll start the season as a first choice although I might terminate his loan deal if I feel the club no longer require his services or he fails to perform. I doubt he has the potential to make it in the top flight but he could develop into a very strong player at this level and possibly Serie B in the future.

Michele Florindo (D LC, ITA, 185 cm, 90 kg, 26)

Left footed left back or central defender who played for Padova, L’Aquila and Spezia before joining San Marino at the start of last season, going on make thirteen appearances and score one goal. Although not blessed with pace he appears solid and I feel will provide good cover for Di Maio and Ferraro in the coming season.

Devis Nossa (D C, ITA, 181 cm, 75 kg, 20) *co-owned by Internazionale until 30/06/08

A talented central defender who I expect to feature heavily this season but will start the season providing cover for captain Luca D‘Angelo. Although possessing next to no pace the standard of his tackling, aerial ability and decision making should allow it not to be too much of a hindrance at this level. I doubt he has much of a future at Inter but he looks to have potential and could have a bright future in the game if he impresses this season.

[Wag]

Centrocampisti

Luca Ceccarelli (AM RC, ITA, 183 cm, 70 kg, 23) *co-owned by Cesena until 30/06/08

Quick technically gifted right winger who is a new-comer to squad having arrived on co-ownership from Cesena under the old management. Very composed on the ball he is also a good dribbler and has the ability to play telling passes which means he’s likely to be my first choice on the right wing as I think he’s too lightweight for a central position.

Davide Faieta (AM LC, ITA, 176 cm, 70 kg, 30)

Creative attacking midfielder who can play in a number of positions on the left despite being predominantly right footed. He has experience but somewhat chequered past having played for Vicenza, Chieti, Perugia, Catania, Fano, Jesina, Teramo, Sora, Foggia and Viterbese before spending last season at Sambenedettese. This is his first year at San Marino and he should be a regular starter in the centre of midfield.

Francesco Giorgetti (M C, ITA, 185 cm, 75 kg, 20) *on loan from Lecce until 30/06/07

Hugely talented and highly rated young central midfielder who has arrived on loan from Serie A Lecce, where he has yet to make an appearance in five seasons since coming through their youth set-up in 2001/02. Although he lacks pace he is extremely gifted in most other respects which leads me to think that despite his young age he’ll be a big player for us this season. I expect he’ll play the role of deep sitting midfield playermaker and stopper, if he was quicker he’d be an almost perfect central midfielder, but, if guess if he was perfect he wouldn‘t be playing for us.

Tiziano Mottola (AM L, ITA, 165 cm, 70 kg, 20) *on loan from Roma until 30/06/07

Tenacious young left winger who I expect will take on the role of back-up for this season although he could get some games if he progresses well in training. Looks to have some potential with respect to his dribbling, finishing, flair and crossing abilities but question marks remain due to his diminutive size and lack of strength on the ball. He’s yet to play for Roma and has spent the last two seasons out on loan, first at Ostiamare and then last year in Serie B with Pescara.

Nicola Napolitano (DM, ITA, 178 cm, 68 kg, 23)

Former Internazionale youngster who has spent the last few seasons appearing sporadically at Spezia, Pavia and Cremonese. Like so many others this is first season with the club but I hope it will be the first of many because of his undoubted ability. Looks fairly solid for his position; reasonable pace, very determined, hard working, extremely good level of personal fitness and above all strong on the ball and a decent tackler. I hope he’ll be our version of Rino Gattuso, a lower league destroyer.

Matteo Nevicati (M RC, ITA, 181 cm, 75 kg, 21)

A young midfielder who prefers to play in the centre than on the right having arrived from Riccione just before my arrival at the club. Although he‘s determined and a decent passer of the ball I don‘t think he‘s physically or potentially capable of making it at this level and he looks to be the weakest player in terms of ability in the current first-team squad. However, he‘ll have a chance to show me what he can do but looks likely to be consigned to a role on the sidelines for much of this season with a move away from the club following in the non to distant future.

Davide Tedoldi (AM R, ITA, 180 cm, 75 kg, 30)

Experienced right winger who is another in his first season with the club. Previously with Catanzaro but has also played for Sambenedettese, Cesena, Cosenza, Messina, Avellino, Treviso and Gualdo in what has been a somewhat nomadic career. He’s perhaps the best crosser of the ball in the squad and looks a solid professional, his experience could prove useful as the season progresses and were it not for the presence of Luca Ceccarelli I’d expect he’d be in my first eleven, as it is though he’ll provider cover.

Alessandro Turchetta (AM L, ITA, 177 cm, 74 kg, 23)

A former Lazio youth player who has also played for Carrarese, Fiorentina, Gubbio, Frosinone, Gresseto before joining us this season from Serie B Vincenza. He has talent and should make the left wing spot his own if he can add consistency to his game. His pace, passing ability and technique are his best assets and I’m expecting him to not only create but also score a few goals for us this season.

[Wag]

Attaccanti

Giovanni Abate (ST, ITA, 179 cm, 73 kg, 25)

Despite being a new arrival at the club having just joined from Gela I expect Giovanni to be an extremely important player for us in the coming season as he looks to be one of the best players in the squad. Abate is reasonable fast, technically solid and also a useful target-man but what stands out is his sheer finishing ability which with the right service I feel could lead us to safety provided other areas of the team do their jobs. He will be my first choice to lead the attack. Started his career with Palermo before spells at Avellino and Viterbese.

Richard Jose Blanco Delgado (ST, VEN, 182 cm, 80 kg, 24)

A bulky Venezuelan who is in his first season at the Stadio Olimpico having signed after impressing the club when appearing for it’s five-a-side team. He had been placed on the transfer list by the previous regime but I’ve taken him off it and will give him a chance to stake a claim for a regular spot in my squad. His main strength is his ability in the air but apart from that he doesn’t appear to possess much talent at all so unless he can prove otherwise it appears he could be one of the first players to leave the club.

Luca Ferrari (AM/F C, ITA, 179 cm, 81 kg, 20) *co-owned by Empoli until 30/06/08

Former Bologna junior who is in his first season at the club having appeared three times last year in Serie B. He is a neat skilful player with decent technique and a good shot on him but lacks pace and is someone I feel who could struggle to make an impact this season.

Federico Ligori (ST, ITA, 184 cm, 75 kg, 24) *on loan from Spezia until 30/06/07

Despite being just twenty-four years-old Ligori has already played for six clubs - Varese, Biellese, Prato, Spezia, Vittoria and Pro Vercelli, which suggests that either there’s not been much faith put in his ability by his previous clubs, he has attitude problems or he has problems hitting the target with great regularity - thirty-five goals in one-hundred-and-thirty-seven appearances during the course of last seven years however says it might be the first or second of the three. He appears to be a decent striker for this level so I expect him to get some games and goals for us this season, especially as he’ll be looking to show his parent club, who are in Serie B, just what they are missing.

Alberto Villa (ST, ITA, 176 cm, 72 kg, 27)

A former Bologna, Faenza, Imolese and Pistoiese striker in his third year with San Marino. He was the clubs top-scorer last year after hitting thirteen goals in thirty-one games and is well liked by the supporters. Although Abate is my current first choice for the lone striker position Villa looks a similar, albeit slightly slower, player who I expect to provide back-up and score goals whenever he’s given the chance this season.

[Wag]

Overview:

I was happy with the club and facilities but as it was results on the playing field that I’d be judged for more than those off it obviously the squad was the most important aspect of the analysis that I had put the club through. Overall, I felt we had a decent squad for this level and we should be able to survive and hopefully at least meet or improve on our predicted finish of fourteenth.

Of the twenty-two who currently make up the first-team pool question marks definitely appear regarding the goalkeeping situation. Emiliano Dei looks solid enough and as stated before will start the season as first choice but I feel he’s coming towards the final years of his career so could become a liability if he’s not up to the job while I fear that his young understudy Merola just doesn’t have what it takes to make the step up at the moment in time if ever. Both will need to prove their worth to me but for the time being I will definitely be looking to bring in another goalkeeper who is a) experienced and b) ready for first-team football but not necessarily at the stage where he’ll demand to be a regular.

Our defence looks solid although we could perhaps do with a quick centre back as neither Devis Nossa and Luca D’Angelo are particularly blessed with pace. D’Angelo, who I imagine will be team captain, looks like Dei to be in the final stages of his career although I feel he’ll probably got at least two or three more years in him if he can stay free from injury. I will be looking for a long-term successor to him but as I’m well stocked for the centre of defence this isn’t a priority. As far as fullbacks go I feel those at the club are up to the job but we could perhaps do with someone as cover on the right hand side.

The midfield is another area I’m relatively happy with, I have a nice selection of wingers and creative midfielders to chose from while central midfielders Nicola Napolitano and Francesco Giorgetti look to be equal to anything else in this division. One thing that does worry me here is that we’re perhaps lacking a bit of strength in depth but I expect to bring in a couple of players in the first few weeks of the campaign so don’t envisage this being a problem area.

If we’re to achieve our goals this season then we’re going to have to find the target with some regularity. Giovanni Abate looks promising and should score around ten to fifteen goals provided he stays clear of injury, gets decent service and retains his form while Alberto Villa should also get amongst the goals. However, apart from those two question marks remain over the rest of my attacking options - neither Delgado nor Ferrari look like goal-scorers while for all the bustling play of Ligori, he often flatters to deceive. Another weakness is that we lack pace, although Abate and Villa aren’t slow by any means they don’t have that extra yard or two which could make the difference between a clear goal scoring opportunity and a half-chance. As at any level a player with pace is a deadly asset if used correctly.

A number of players currently at the club are in their first seasons here having been signed by the previous management regime or at least with his blessing. This is unfortunate but all those currently here will be given a chance to push for a first-team place although I expect there to be a settling in period as the players adjust to my tactics, training drills, those around them and life in Serravalle. One major concern of mine is that although the squad appears to be solid on paper we’re perhaps a little lacking in depth and may have to dip into the youth team to provide cover should we get hammered by any major injuries of suspensions. Overall, I think we’re strong enough to stay up provided I can add three or four quality players to the side so will be looking to bring in a goalkeeper or two, midfielders and a striker before the season starts.

My transfer strategy for the coming season will be to sign a mixture of young inexperienced Sammarinese players for the future and others with experience to make an impact now. One option that is open to me in the short-term is the signing of former and current internationals such as Mirco Gennari, Davide Gualtieri and Damiano Vannucci amongst others. They have the experience and knowledge which should help them settle into the club quickly and also bring on young players but would they have enough quality to make the kind of impact I desire? Alternatively I could bring in younger players who you’d think would be hungrier to make a name for themselves having come from the amateur status of the Campionato Sammarinese to the professional realms of Serie C1. I expect a mix of the two would probably give me the best success but as always with any transfer there are risks. Eventually, although this will take time, I’d like to make the squad entirely Sammarinese, or at least ninety percent. I think it’s important the club acknowledges the domestic and local market and by exploiting it I feel we’ll develop a club culture that will not only succeed on the field but also boost the national team to new highs. I want Sammarinese players who will live and die for the shirt and I want them fast.

Another important aspect of my analysis was the backroom staff. As I have already touched upon several people currently at the club could be said to be on borrowed time. Hopefully they can adapt and fit in with what I have planned but if not I shall have no hesitation in cutting them loose and bringing in my own personnel. I fear we do need a major restructuring of the club at this level and a new broom, as it were, is definitely needed. I want to make the club the envy of those around us and provide the best possible coaching and facilities to my players.

I’m planning to start the season with a 4-1-4-1 or 4-5-1 formation due to our lack of pace and real striking options although if this struggles during pre-season and the opening month or two of the campaign then I may look to move to something a little more conventional such as a 4-4-2 or a 3-5-2 formation. This could however all change if I’m able to bring in players of better quality that those we already possess although with funds tight and a slight unwillingness to dip further into the loan market signings may be few and far between in my first season at San Marino.

I will be looking for several of those players currently in the squad to develop to a level in which they’re being looked at by bigger clubs and hoping that I’ll be able to bring through a few youngsters from the youth set-up during the season as a I feel long-term continuity is a key to success. Hopefully long gone will be the days of the club fielding a next to new squad every season although I feel the current team does need a little surgery to be definitely assured of maintaining our place in Serie C1.

I will probably look to trim the squad of some of the loan and co-owned players during the season as currently very few of them are in my short or long term plans, this could however change as the season progresses though at the moment it’s good to have some back-up players who aren’t costing the club anything. I am also aiming to re-introduce San Marinese players into the squad with the hope of one day fielding a team predominantly made up of players who can benefit the national team although I will not be operating a strict policy and will instead be looking at quality rather than quantity.

I feel this will be a difficult season for the club and one in which I and many players will have to find their feet quickly in order for the goal of staying in Serie C1 to be realised. I am hopeful we can go some way to disprove many who feel we’ll be relegated and an aiming for a mid-table finish. I feel this will be a transitional season onto which we’ll be able to build for a brighter future.

Formation:

(Playing with a 4-5-1 formation)

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Emiliano Dei

Simone Berardi Luca D’Angelo © Roberto Di Maio Salvatore Ferraro

Nicola Napolitano

Luca Ceccarelli Francesco Giorgetti Davide Faieta Alessandro Turchetta

Giovanni Abate

Substitutes:

Tommaso Merola (gk), Michele Florindo, Devis Nossa, Samuele Buda, Davide Tedoldi, Federico Ligori, Alberto Villa</pre>

I have chosen this style of play, which will be implemented throughout the club because I feel it offers us defensive solidarity as well as the attacking option of becoming a 4-3-3 quickly and effectively. Much will be expected of the midfield to support the lone striker when we’re on the attack.

[Damien77]

Love ur attention to details. Would be looking forward to your updates.

[Wag]

Thank you Damien77

[Wag]

The Youth Team

The majority of young players who arrive at the club have come through the youth recruitment and coaching network provided by the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio. Once with the club players compete in group four of the seven regional groups that make up the Campionato Nazionale Dante Berretti and also compete in the Coppa Italia Primavera, both of which are for players aged twenty years-old and under. As there is no reserve league in Italian football this level is extremely important to a club the size of San Marino Calcio as the youngsters that come through the system will be expected to provide support for the first team and hopefully eventually become regulars. Currently no one at the club is directly responsible for the running of this side so I am looking to bring in a dedicated youth team manager who will look after the day to day running and coaching of the players at this level.

The current squad looks like this:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Matteo Gaudino | GK | SMR | 177 cm | 82 kg | 18

Fabio Ricci | GK | ITA | 174 cm | 76 kg | 17

Luca Gianessi | SW, D C | SMR | 192 cm | 91 kg | 17

Christian Ercolani | D RC | SMR | 188 cm | 90 kg | 18

Marwan Grottoli | D RLC | SMR | 192 cm | 94 kg | 17

Andrea Vangelista | D R | SMR | 178 cm | 80 kg | 17

Michele Zanotti | D R | SMR | 178 cm | 80 kg | 16

Luca Del Prete | D RC, WB R | SMR | 174 cm | 73 kg | 15

Francesco Indirli | D LC | SMR | 183 cm | 84 kg | 18

Cesare Dionigi | D C | SMR | 180 cm | 85 kg | 18

Alessandro Ligi | D C | ITA | 192 cm | 89 kg | 16

Roberto Rinaldi | D C | SMR | 174 cm | 76 kg | 16

Lorenzo Camosetti | D/WB L | SMR | 170 cm | 74 kg | 16

Maicol Berretti | M RC | SMR | 183 cm | 85 kg | 17

Marco Paci | M R | SMR | 175 cm | 81 kg | 19

Angelo Cangialosi | M C | SMR | 174 cm | 75 kg | 17

Guglielmo Pellegrini | AM R | SMR | 189 cm | 88 kg | 18

Francesco Amantini | AM L | SMR | 182 cm | 85 kg | 18

Andrea Angelini | AM L | SMR | 181 cm | 82 kg | 17

Stefano Gioia | AM LC | SMR | 171 cm | 72 kg | 18

Michele Rastelli | AM LC | SMR | 181 cm | 83 kg | 18

Achille Della Valle | AM C | SMR | 172 cm | 75 kg | 17

Alessandro Bianchi | ST | SMR | 173 cm | 72 kg | 17

Ricardo Ceccoli | ST | ARG/SMR | 178 cm | 81 kg | 18

Mauro Del Zingaro | ST | SMR | 176 cm | 75 kg | 17

Gesuino Gesuele | ST | ITA | 177 cm | 79 kg | 18

Giordano Napolano | ST | ITA | 181 cm | 81 kg | 18

Lorenzo Sacchi | ST | SMR | 179 cm | 80 kg | 16

Michael Simoncini | ST | SMR | 181 cm | 80 kg | 19

Matteo Vitaioli | ST | SMR | 178 cm | 77 kg | 16

</pre>

The youth academy is the future of the club but I wonder just how many of the current crop of young players will break through to make appearances for the first team this season and in the coming ones. Some of the youngsters certainly look like they have potential and I expect a few could even gain international recognition at youth level before the season is over.

The pick of the thirty players look to be defender Francesco Indirli, winger Stefano Gioia, attacking midfielder Achille Delle Valle and striker Michael Simoncini. One player I haven’t mentioned until now is defender Luca Del Prete. At fifteen years-old Luca is the youngest player on the clubs books and appears to be a star in the making, well as star like as you get in the current state of Sammarinese football. He is right sided full back who I believe could potentially develop into a central defender; he can pass, tackle and is reasonable quick so I will be pushing him to make his debut for the first team before the season is over.

[Amaroq]

Still loving this - can't wait for Opening Day! The squad write-up was a thing of beauty. In particular I love the subtle scattering of Italian throughout; it really leads versimilitude, without feeling overdone. KUTGW!

[Amaroq]

Still loving this - can't wait for Opening Day! The squad write-up was a thing of beauty. In particular I love the subtle scattering of Italian throughout; it really leads versimilitude, without feeling overdone. KUTGW!

[Wag]

Thank you again Amaroq, that's a very kind thing of you to say. I just hope the rest of the story lives up to the expectations

[Wag]

The sun was bright and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Serravalle was looking pleasant. The home of San Marino Calcio is at Via Rancaglia – 47899 Serravalle. The Stadio di Olimpico Serravalle. It’s set slightly back against the road with a main entrance down one side. One of the goals backs onto a small hillside and the other can be seen from the road as the small mesh perimeter fence keeps unwanted visitors out and the players in so it’s not hard to miss. The floodlights tower over the two stands from each corner of the pitch and are on the horizon for miles, around peering through the trees and housing that surrounds it like iron giants from some frightening future.

Today the stands are empty. There are but a few cars in the small car-park, scattered about the spaces with no sense of pattern or co-ordination. The pitch gleamed as the sun reflected off it’s lush green surface, freshly laid and lovingly prepared during the off season. As far as manager Jamie Waggett was concerned, today, Friday the 14th of July was the start of the new season. The players had been back for a few weeks now, mainly working on their fitness under the watch of assistant manager Antonio Gespi and coach Marco Ragini, but today would see them start properly under the watchful eye of their new boss.

A door swung open and fifty-two players, all in sparkling clean new black training kit slowly walked out onto the pitch. Thirty of the fifty-two soon separated from the main group and made their way to the far end of the pitch. This was the under twenty squad, they waited a little, making small talk, doing stretches and generally warming up before coaches Gianluca Lucchetti, a thirty-eight year-old who had previously done the job of fitness coach at the club, and Stefano Neri, a thirty-nine year-old born in Catanzaro, joined them to take their session for the day.

The rest of the players, the twenty-two who made up the current first-team squad, waited patiently at the other end of the pitch in one of the penalty areas, for the rest of the coaches to appear. The ten of those who knew each other talked amongst themselves in little groups while the other twelve who had been at the club for just a short waited nervously, looking a little rough around the edges compared to those who had already settled into the life at club and were used to the surroundings. First out was assistant manager Antonio Gespi, followed shortly afterwards by coaches Marco Ragini and Ermes Moroni. Gespi and Ragini instructed the players to run around the track surrounding the pitch while the lithe figure of Moroni would take all the clubs goalkeepers away for some position specific training. The players lingered slightly as they waited in hope that new manager Waggett would make an appearance, they’d each been introduced to him upon his arrival and had brief interviews with him about the season ahead but none of the players were quite sure what to expect, after some gentle persuasion by the abrasive Gespi, who decided to elect himself pacesetter, they eventually began their first exercise of the morning.

Midway through the run the new man made his way onto the pitch, the players noticed immediately and slowed their pace slightly. Everybody eyeing the manager up but trying not to make it noticeable. Waggett could have been mistaken for a player had it not been for the training shirt he had on with Allenatore printed on it’s back. He was short, around five foot eight inches, but relatively slim and his twenty-seven year-old body was still clearly toned from the years of training he himself had gone through before his horrific injury and subsequent retirement. His hair was closely cropped short in an attempt to disguise a thinning widows peak which he’d had since he entered his twenties and he wore tracksuit bottoms despite the hot weather to cover up his scarred legs. He moved to the centre of the half and waited for the players to finish their run, chatting briefly with Ermes Moroni and Marco Ragini who had been preparing grids on the pitch with cones and other apparatus ready for the rest of the training session that lay ahead.

The players stood, some breathless, all perspiring and glistening in the sunlight, waiting for the mister (the manager/coach of a side is often called this by the players, apparently this stems from the British introduction of football to the country at the turn of the century) to say something. Although Waggett had already spoken to every member of his squad he felt it necessary to give a little talk, welcoming everyone to the training and setting out the aims of the season to come as well as the need to develop a culture within the club. He wanted them to do a series of exercises with the ball, intricate team games and passing moves. They did this for some time before breaking for lunch, the afternoon session would involve a couple of practice matches between the first-team and the under twenty squad. It had been a gentle introduction but the new manager was pleased with how it had gone and eager for the season to start although he realised times would be tougher than they were now.

[Wag]

Friday 14th July 2006

La Tribuna Sammarinese

Titani to trial two

San Marino Calcio manager Jamie Waggett has wasted no time in getting to work at the Stadio Olimpico with the news that he is set to run the rule over two potential new signings in the coming week after inviting a goalkeeper and a striker to join the club for training.

Goalkeeper Omar Saponi, twenty-seven years-old, and striker Manuele Muraccini, thirty years-old, are both from San Marino and are currently playing for amateur sides in the capital.

Waggett said:“They’ve both been recommended to me by scout Massimiliano Righi so I felt it only right to have a look at the pair. I’m looking to bring in players who will improve the squad and they are just one of a number of options.â€

Another player Waggett is thought to be looking at is Campianato Sammarinese side Folgore’s San Marino under-twenty-one international defender Andrea Ottaviani. Although his side have refused to comment on the speculation Ottaviani himself reacted positively to the link:

“I’m flattered to be linked and hope it comes true, the opportunity to play for a team of San Marino’s stature doesn’t come along too often and if the chance did arise then I would definitely give it serious consideration.â€

Ottaviani previously played for San Marino Calcio between 2002 and 2004, making just one appearance.

[Wag]

Saturday 15th July 2006

La Tribuna Sammarinese

Titani restructure coaching staff

San Marino have moved quickly to follow up their recent statement about staff restructuring with the appointment of four coaches.

The most high profile name of the four is that of Marco Macina, thirty-seven years-old, who was the first San Marino born player to appear in Serie A whilst with Bologna. Macina, who was capped six times by his country and also played for Arezzo, Parma, AC Milan, Reggiana and Ancona, said:

“I'm quite happy to come and work at Serie C level. It’s harder because of the financial constraints but it's the same at all levels; if you do the right groundwork, get on the training field and work hard then you‘ll get the results you want. I‘m here to be part of something very special and want to be part of developing future Sammarinese footballers.â€

Also arriving are Ivan Guerra and Marino Righi,, forty-four and forty-one years-old respectively. Guerra is principally a fitness coach whilst Righi, who was formerly with S.P. Libertas will look after some tactical areas of coaching. The final appointment is that of Stefano Marinelli who at thirty-nine years-old will combine his job working for the FSGC (Fedarazione Sammarinese Giucco Calcio) as an Accompagnatore Ufficiale (Official Companion) for the Nazionale “B†team with a technical coaching role at the club.

Manager Jamie Waggett said: “These appointments mark just the start of my restructuring of the coaching hierarchy at the club. We’ve bought in four very different personalities who each specialise in certain aspects of training as well as bringing a wealth of experience to the club.â€

Leaving the club is thirty-eight year-old coach Gianluca Lucchetti who spent two years with Titani. It’s not known if others will follow but it has been confirmed that Antonio Gespi, a recent contender for the position of manager at the club, will continues in his role as assistant manager, as will coach Stefano Neri, for at least the time being.

The club also announced a restructure of their academy staff for the new season with thirty-eight year-old Fabio Fantini, who has arrived from the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio, taking on the dual role of youth team coach and academy manager.

Fantini said “I'm looking forward to getting stuck in and helping develop players for this club. There's an aura about the place at the moment, everyone's buzzing and looking forward to the coming season.â€

Manager Jamie Waggett said of the change: "I'm delighted with the new youth structure, Fabio is an excellent coach as well as tutor and is definitely the right man to help the clubs young players progress.â€

It was also revealed that San Marinese scout Massimiliano Righi, thirty-seven years-old, had signed a new contract with the club until June 2010.

“I’m very pleased Massimiliano has agreed to stay on at the club, he’s got a wealth of experience and his knowledge of football in Italy and San Marino are second to none. If we’re to succeed on the pitch I need to be sure that my scouting network is solid and I feel he is someone I can count on to not only give me important feedback on opposition teams but also find potential gems for the club.†Waggett revealed.

Also arriving at the club is Stefano Conti. The thirty-five year-old San Marinese scout has spent time in France and Spain in recent seasons and was recommended to the club by Righi.

[Wag]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Saturday 15th July 2006

SanMarinoRTV.sm

Gasperoni in Titani talks?

San Marino Calcio are close to signing San Marino international Alex Gasperoni according to the players agent Giovanni Beglio

Beglio said that the Serravalle based club had been in talks with the player for a number of days now and hoped that a move could be resolved shortly. Once touted as one of the brightest prospects in the history of Sammarinese football the midfielder, now twenty-two years-old, began his career playing youth football in his native country before a moving to Italian amateur side Centese in 2002. He then had a two game spell at San Marino Calcio in Serie C2/B during the 2004/05 season which was followed by a season at semi-professional Tolentino, where he played nine games.

Gasperoni, who has scored once in thirteen games for his country, is thought to be keen to sign although his reported wage demands could be a stumbling block. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Alex Gasperoni was indeed someone I wanted to sign. I remembered watching him play for the San Marino national team at all levels and had followed his career with interest when my own ended. He possessed good pace, an excellent left foot and above all was determined to make his mark on the training field as well as the pitch. He was also versatile and could play virtually anywhere in midfield and I felt he’d be a vital asset to my side. I just hoped I’d be able to convince him to sign.

[Wag]

Saturday 15th July 2006

Friendly

Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle

San Marino Calcio came back from a goal drawn to draw one-one with Belgian Second Division side KAS Eupen in Jamie Waggett’s first came in charge of the Titani.

After near continuous first-half pressure Eupen opened the scoring when striker Marc Keller met a right-wing cross from Stefano Bongard in the twenty-third minute with a header from ten yards out that looped over Emiliano Dei and in.

The home side didn’t have to wait long for an equaliser though as they hit back less than twenty minutes later. Right back Simone Berardi picked up the ball on the right flank and played a deep cross into the area ahead of Giovanni Abate, the lone striker took a touch then struck the ball firmly into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the box for a fine goal.

Eupen 1-1 (Giovanni Abate 41)

Attendance: 366

MotM: Giovanni Abate (San Marino)

San Marino Calcio:

Emiliano Dei, Simone Berardi, Roberto Di Maio, Luca D’Angelo, Devis Nossa, Nicola Napolitano ©, Davide Tedoldi, Alessandro Turchetta, Francesco Giorgetti, Davide Faieta, Giovanni Abate

Having only taken half a days training session I was pleased with the performance of the players in what had been little more than a training match.

[Wag]

Monday 17th July 2006

La Tribuna Sammarinese

Gespi sacked!

Long-serving San Marino Calcio assistant manager Antonio Gespi has been sensational sacked by the club just days after being told his position was safe.

General Manager Pierluigi Gambarara read a prepared statement: “Following the recent appointment of Jamie Waggett and our agreement that the best way to move the club forward would be to review and then restructure the clubs coaching staff an internal decision was made to terminate the contract of Antonio Gespi with immediate effect. We wish Antonio all the best for the future.â€

Gespi, thirty-nine years-old, had been with the club for six years and was assistant to both Francesco Buglio and Roberto Alberti in recent seasons having previously served as a scout and a coach for the club under the previous regimes. He was unavailable for comment but is understood to be furious with the club for going back on their word, he had been in the running for the managerial position following Walter Nicoletti’s unexpected change of heart and was said to have been disappointed not be appointed.

In other news the club also revealed that it had offered a week long trial to Manuel Molinari, a nineteen year-old striker and that talks with San Marino international Alex Gasperoni were on-going despite reports that the midfielder had turned down an approach by the club.

[Wag]

Tuesday 18th July 2006

Friendly

Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle

An almost capacity crowd of 6,971 saw San Marino Calcio fall to a two-one defeat against French Ligue 2 side Ajaccio.

The game started slowly but the French side took the lead after just ten minutes when Czech attacking midfielder Martin Kolar found some space in the area and struck a powerful shot passed Emiliano Dei.

Ajaccio then doubled their lead in the thirty-second minute when San Marino defensive midfielder Nicola Napolitano planted what was surely meant to be a defensive header behind firmly into the bottom left hand corner of the net from a Kolar cross from the left.

Two goals down the home side began to enjoy some better possession but didn’t make their mark on the game until the closing stages and were eventually rewarded for some persistent attacking with a goal in the ninetieth minute. Giovanni Abate netting his second goal in two pre-season games as he cleverly flicked a right wing cross from Napolitano beyond a stranded goalkeeper from four yards out.

Ajaccio 1-2 (Giovanni Abate 90)

Attendance: 6,971

MotM: Martin Kolar (Ajaccio)

San Marino Calcio:

Emiliano Dei, Simone Berardi, Roberto Di Maio, Luca D’Angelo, Devis Nossa, Nicola Napolitano ©, Davide Tedoldi, Alessandro Turchetta, Francesco Giorgetti, Davide Faieta, Giovanni Abate