Some fifteen miles from the Adriatic seaside resort of Rimini..........

Daz the Imp · June 29, 2004

..........lies San Marino, an enclave in northern Italy.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>

San Marino - Federazione Sanmarinese Gioco Calcio(FA)

Year Founded: 1931

Joined FIFA: 1988

San Marino, Liechtenstein and Andorra are Europe's weakest three nations. Indeed, San Marino is not so much a nation, rather it is an enclave within Italy, some fifteen miles from the Adriatic seaside resort of Rimini.

The principality's history dates back to the tenth century, but a football federation was set up little more than seventy years ago. Even then it was not until after the election of Giorgio Cresenti as president in 1985 that the possibility of full international independence was realised.

UEFA and FIFA membership ultimately followed in the summer of 1988. The first official match played by San Marino was a friendly against the Danish club, Odense BK. This was staged in the 7,000-capacity "national stadium" at Serravalle, in 1985 and ended in a 1-1 draw.

San Marino has produced only one top-class footballer: Massimo Bonini, a Champions Cup-winning midfielder with Juventus in 1985 who later became San Marino's national coach. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Records

Highest Win - n/a

Highest defeat - 0-10 vs. Norway (Sept 9, 92)

Most appearances - William Guerra, 34(1987-97)

Daz the Imp · June 29, 2004

..........lies San Marino, an enclave in northern Italy.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>

San Marino - Federazione Sanmarinese Gioco Calcio(FA)

Year Founded: 1931

Joined FIFA: 1988

San Marino, Liechtenstein and Andorra are Europe's weakest three nations. Indeed, San Marino is not so much a nation, rather it is an enclave within Italy, some fifteen miles from the Adriatic seaside resort of Rimini.

The principality's history dates back to the tenth century, but a football federation was set up little more than seventy years ago. Even then it was not until after the election of Giorgio Cresenti as president in 1985 that the possibility of full international independence was realised.

UEFA and FIFA membership ultimately followed in the summer of 1988. The first official match played by San Marino was a friendly against the Danish club, Odense BK. This was staged in the 7,000-capacity "national stadium" at Serravalle, in 1985 and ended in a 1-1 draw.

San Marino has produced only one top-class footballer: Massimo Bonini, a Champions Cup-winning midfielder with Juventus in 1985 who later became San Marino's national coach. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Records

Highest Win - n/a

Highest defeat - 0-10 vs. Norway (Sept 9, 92)

Most appearances - William Guerra, 34(1987-97)

Daz the Imp · June 29, 2004

Venue W D L For Ag

-----------------------------------

Home 0 1 30 4 101

-----------------------------------

Away 0 1 29 5 147

-----------------------------------

Neutral 0 0 2 1 14*

-----------------------------------

Total 0 2 61 10 262

*Both Neutral games played in Bologna, Italy</pre>

Random Facts

<LI>San Marino have taken part in the FIFA World Cup qualifying competition since 1994, but have yet to come within range of qualifying for the finals. Of their 26 qualifying games to date, they have lost 24.

<LI>San Marino are the holders of an extraordinary record. In their 7-1 defeat by England in November 1993, Davide Gualtieri scored the fastest goal in the history of the FIFA World Cup. His goal in Bologna gave San Marino an early lead and came in the 9th second.

Daz the Imp · June 29, 2004

*Forgot to mention - the table in my previous post is San Marino's international match record to up until the end of Euro '04 qualifying. That is not official, reasons why stated below*

Notes : This game uses the Finnish league only, and a .ddt file to retain players of San Marinese nationality.

The Finnish league was selected as it has a start date of March 2004, and this meant that the European Qualifiers had be played. For the record, the two games that would not have been concluded had I started on an earlier date both resulted in five-nil defeats for San Marino, true to real life.

Also, San Marino have actually now recorded an international win thanks to the defeat of Liechtenstein, but this is not included in the game, and is therefore not included in the overall match record. Neither is the two-all draw between the same teams in another friendly not 'recognised' by the game

Enjoy

Wag · June 29, 2004

Good Luck!

Daz the Imp · June 30, 2004

WORLD CUP 2006 QUALIFYING DRAW - EUROPE

(Number in brackets denote Countries official FIFA Ranking as of 29.3.04)

Group One looks likely to go the way of Engalnd, who are strong favourites, but most people feel that the runner's up spot could go to any one of Switzerland, Croatia or Scotland. Northern Ireland and Armenia will battle it out for the right not to finish last

Group 1

P W D L F A PTS

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Armenia (106) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Croatia (28) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

England (7) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

N.Ireland (107) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Scotland (56) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Switzerland (47) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0</pre>

Group Two has drawn together Italy and Denmark, two extremely talented teams on their day, and it will be hard to see past these two teams for who finishes in the top two places. Poland will have to perform well to take the place of one of the two favourites whilst Liechtenstein, Moldova and Georgia will all be likely to take points off each other

Group 2

P W D L F A PTS

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Denmark (14) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Georgia (92) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Italy (11) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Liechtenstein (141) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Moldova (104) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Poland (35) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0</pre>

Group 3 is the group that we have been drawn in. The favourites for the group are sure to be Turkey, with Norway likely runners up. Slovakia and Macedonia will probably contest the third and fourth places in the group, whilst ourselves and Malta will probably play for the final two places in the group

Group 3

P W D L F A PTS

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Macedonia (88) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Malta (124) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Norway (22) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

SAN MARINO (157) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Slovakia (55) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Turkey (6) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0</pre>

We will start with two away games, the first a tough tie at Norway, followed by a tricky trip to Macedonia. Within our group, we have never met Slovakia, Malta or Macedonia, but we have had meetings with Norway and Turkey in the past. Turkey are one of only two teams who have failed to defeat us in a game and Norway are the team the made us suffer our heaviest ever defeat.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>

Norway - San Marino

FYR of Macedonia - San Marino

San Marino - Turkey

San Marino - Malta

Slovakia - San Marino

San Marino - FYR of Macedonia

Turkey - San Marino

San Marino - Norway

Malta - San Marino

San Marino - Slovakia <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Daz the Imp · June 30, 2004

Like Group Two, Group Four has two favourites for the top two positions in Belgium and Sweden. Hungary, familiar opponents for Sweden due to the Euro 2004 qualifying games they played, are likely to be the team most capable of troubling the Swedes or the Belgians. Iceland will do well to finish in the top three whilst Andorra and Cyprus are the teams likely to occupy the last two positions.

Group 4

P W D L F A PTS

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Andorra (138) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Belgium (18) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Cyprus (86) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Hungary (49) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Iceland (52) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Sweden (20) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0</pre>

Group Five sees the Czech Republic as clear favourites to automatically qualify for Germany was group winners, with either Russia or Finland to finish in the runner's up spot. Latvia may battle their way to third, as may Bosnia, with Azerbaijan favourites to finish in last place

Group 5

P W D L F A PTS

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Azerbaijan (113) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Bosnia (75) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Czech Republic (12) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Finland (43) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Lativa (74) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Russia (39) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0</pre>

Group Six is similar to Group Five, one clear favourite in France, with two teams, Ireland and Ukraine, battling for the runner's up place. Israel will probably finish top of the teams below these three, with Estonia and Azerbaijan contesting the last two places.

Group 6

P W D L F A PTS

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Estonia (59) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Faroe Islands (111) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

France (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Ireland (13) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Israel (44) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Ukraine (48) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0</pre>

Spain are the team who will probably finish top of Group Seven, with any one of Slovenia, Bulgaria and a rejuvenated Wales to finish in the runner's up spot. This leaves Kazakhstan as weakest team in the group and therefore the most likely to finish in last.

Group 7

P W D L F A PTS

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Bulgaria (37) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Kazakhstan (122) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Slovenia (33) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Spain (3) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Wales (51) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0</pre>

Group Eight sees Holland as the favourites of the five teams within the group top finish at the top, with either Serbia & Montenegro or Austria to grab the runner's up spot. Lithuania and Albania are the group's weakest team and they will compete for the fourth and fifth places.

Group 8

P W D L F A PTS

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Albania (90) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Austria (50) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Holland (5) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Lithuania (94) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Serbia & Mont. (32) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0</pre>

Greece, Portugal and Romania are all more than capable of finishing top of Group Nine, but Portugal are slight favourites over Romania and Greece. Belarus will be more than happy to finish in the top three, but will likely finish fourth with Luxembourg finishing last in the group.

Group 9

P W D L F A PTS

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Belarus (80) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Greece (30) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Luxembourg (148) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Portugal (16) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Romania (19) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0</pre>

Daz the Imp · June 30, 2004

FIFA World Rankings

These selections are taken from the official FIFA World Rankings as of 29.3.04

FIFA World Top Ten European Top Ten Teams Ranked 150-59

------------------ ---------------- ---------------------

1 - Brazil 1 - France (2) 150 - Hong Kong - 252

2 - France 2 - Spain (3) = - Maldives - 252

3 - Spain 3 - Holland (4) = - Palestine - 252

4 - Argentina 4 - Turkey (6) = - Tanzania - 252

= - Holland 5 - England (7) = - Vanuata - 252

6 - Turkey 6 - Germany (9) 155 - Cape Verde- 244

7 - England 7 - Italy (11) 156 - Ant & Bar - 240

= - Mexico 8 - Czech.Re(12) = - SAN MARINO- 240

9 - Germany 9 - Ireland (13) 158 - Dom. Rep. - 232

= - United States 10- Denmark (14) 159 - Eritrea - 226</pre>

Terk · June 30, 2004

good luck think you're going to need it

displaced_seagull · June 30, 2004

I like the look of this

Did you NEED to mention 'that' game though

binny · June 30, 2004

I thought it was timed at 7 seconds

Good luck - I think you'll need it. Even PM couldn't qualify (although he did win in Spain)

Daz the Imp · June 30, 2004

Cheers Wag, Terk, binny and d_s. I thought it was around seven seconds as well, so I checked and theFIFA website says it was nine seconds. I reckon we should just say eight seconds. A few seconds doesn't make it any less embarrasing

Daz the Imp · June 30, 2004

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>

San Marino Squad Announced

2.9.04

San Marino have announced a twenty-four-man squad for the World Cup qualifying games away at both Norway and Macedonia.

With the first match against Norway just over a week away, they have selected the players they feel will give San Marino the best chance of progressing through Group 3 of the qualifying campaign for Germany 2006. It is, however, a relatively inexperienced group of players. Indeed, just six of the twenty-four players have represented their country before, and only two of those have more than one appearance in the blue of San Marino.

The squad is listed in full below. Numbers show caps/goals <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

M. Bollini - GK - 0/0 F. Gasperoni - GK - 24/0

N. Giardi - GK - 0/0 M. Mancini - SW/D/DM C - 0/0

F. Bollini - D R - 0/0 R. Gasperoni - D RC - 0/0

E. Gerini - D RC - 0/0 M. Giacobbi - D R - 1/0

P. Cupi - D LC - 0/0 A. Della Valle - D LC - 1/0

A. Gasperoni - D LC - 0/0 D. Selva - D C - 0/0

A. Francioni - DM C - 0/0 A. Raschi - DM C - 0/0

N. Chiaruzzi - M LC - 0/0 R. Gasperoni - M L - 0/0

D. Rapanelli - M/FL - 0/0 M. Gasperoni - M C - 0/0

R. Moroni - AM RLC - 0/0 M. Mariotti - AM LC - 0/0

M. Zanotti - AMC - 1/0 G. Gatti - F LC - 0/0

A. Selva - F LC - 16/3 M. Marani - S C - 0/0</pre>

glamdring · June 30, 2004

Good luck

Daz the Imp · June 30, 2004

Julian Aliaj - M C - 1 U-21 cap - Moved from U-21 squad to replace the injured Marco Gasperoni

Norway vs. San Marino - World Cup Qualifying European Section Group 3

UllevÃ¡l Stadion, Oslo

Norway - 4-5-1

J. Carew

^ ^ ^

| | |

| | | Subs:

| | | P. Kristiansen

J. Riise M.Andresen D. Berg Hosted E. Bakke O. SolskjÃ¦r T. Ã˜ren

A. Karadas

M. Hoesth

B. Hangeland

T. Helstad

T. Flo

A. BergdÃ¸lmo R. Johnsen A. Muri V. Riseth

E. Johnsen</pre>

San Marino - 4-1-3-2

A.Selva M.Marani

^ ^ ^

| | |

| | | Subs:

N. Chiaruzzi R. Moroni M. Zanotti G. Gatti

M. Mariotti

A. Raschi

D. Selva

E. Gerini

A. Francioni M. Bollini

M. Mancini

A. Della Valle P. Cupi A. Gasperoni F.Bollini

N.Giardi</pre>

Daz the Imp · June 30, 2004

It was us who kicked off to get the game and the qualifying campaign started. The opening couple of minutes saw a cautious start from us, understandable, considering it was blatantly obvious that Norway wanted goals they way they had started. An early mix up between the central defensive pairing of Cupi and Alex Gasperoni nearly saw Andresen steal in to score, but his shot was high and wide. Our first couple of forays forward towards the Norwegian goal ended before we managed to get a shot in. However, there were promising signs, as only last-ditch tackles from both Johnsen and Riseth stopped Manuel Marani from testing the Norwegian keeper.

Unfortunately, we took a big blow just after ten minutes of play when Riise put the home side ahead, to the delight 25000+ crowd, many of whom had turned up to see goals. Our defending had been cagey, but we had managed to keep the Norwegians at bay by hacking the ball anywhere we could. Gasperoni put the ball out for a corner that Andresen took, swinging the ball away from goal. Our defence was caught ball-watching and Riise executed a well-struck volley that fired into the roof of the net.

We took another big blow immediately as our main goal-scoring threat, Andy Selva, took a knock and was forced off through injury. After just thirteen minutes, we had fallen a goal behind and lost one of our best players. Not the start I had had in mind. Norway carried on putting our team under immense pressure by forcing a succession of corners, but the defence had learned from the mistakes of Riise's goal, and we held out through no less than five straight corners. There was a brief respite as well, as we made a rare break into our opponents half, but a good move resulted in a poor shot by Selva's replacement, Gatti, which went well wide.

It wasn't long before we were made to pay for not taking our chances when BergdÃ¸lmo put his side two goals ahead. Riise had the ball out on the left wing, and he drew Bollini towards him before sliding the ball down the wing for SolksjÃ¦r. SolksjÃ¦r had plenty of time to pick out a good cross before he swung the ball towards BergdÃ¸lmo at the far post. Paolo Cupi tried to win the ball in the air but BergdÃ¸lmo jumped the highest and got his first international goal with a well-taken header.

We now had a mountain to climb and we were doing ourselves no favours, losing the ball by giving it away, not stringing any sort of passing move together. Riise and Carew both came close to adding to the two goals already scored by Norway before half-time, but we defended the last ten minutes resolutely and made sure the score remained two goals to nil at half-time.

Neither team made any substitutions at half time, us having already been forced to make one early on, but Norway still picked up where they left the first half, producing attack after attack to put us under pressure. We had defended well to keep the score down to two before half time, but within the first five minutes of the second half, we were three down. Nicola Chiaruzzi brought down BergdÃ¸lmo around twenty-five yards out and the resultant free-kick was promptly dispatched into the top corner of the net by John Arne Riise, his second and Norway's third of the game.

We then started to come into the game a little bit, whether this was down to Norway slowing down a little I don't know, but we started to create a couple of chances of our own. Zanotti hit a shot over the bar and Marani brought out a brilliant save from Espen Johnsen in the Norwegian goal, and it appeared as though we were having slightly better of the play. This seemed to rile and frustrate our hosts however, and they wasted no time in streaking up the pitch to score a fourth. Right-back Fabio Bollini seemed to have cut out an attack down the left flank, but a quickly taken throw meant Riise had the time and space he needed to supply a telling pass. Riise fed Hoseth who elegantly brought the ball under his control before squaring the ball to SolksjÃ¦r, who was left with a simple finish, which he easily took.

The fourth goal brought frustration into our team and we started to produce late, unnecessary challenges which we causing us problems of our own making. Alessandro Francioni started to foul a little to often for referee Lars Gerner's liking and he was shown the first and only yellow card of the game with just six minutes left. One of the free-kick given away through frustration led to the fifth and final goal of the game, a fitting end to the game for our hosts, but not really for us. Substitute Paulsen Hangeland got the ball from fellow substitute Tommy Ã˜ren after a quick free kick and he wasted no time in smashing the ball home from around twenty five yards, similar to Riise's free kick.

The final whistle was blown just moments later, and despite having played well for some periods of the game we ended up on the wrong end of the five-nil score-line, a disappointing start to our qualifying campaign. I had just four days to lift the players for our game in Macedonia.

Daz the Imp · June 30, 2004

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>

San Marino Spring No Surprises

11.9.04

Norway 5-0 San Marino (World Cup Quals (EUR) Grp 3)

San Marino's first game of the qualifying campaign to a rather disappointed end as they we ended up losing by five goals to nil.

The game was true to form, and goals from Riise (11, 48), BergdÃ¸lmo (35), SolksjÃ¦r (79) and Paulsen Hangeland (90) helped the Norwegian side outclass the San Marinese team.

San Marino showed at time they could live with the home side with some good football in places but, in the end, the San Marinese rarely posed a threat and they were deservedly beaten. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

|No. | Name | |Rat|Gls||No. | Name | |Rat|Gls|

|-----------------------------------------------||-----------------------------------------------|

| 1 | Espen Johnsen | | 7 | || 1 | Nicola Giardi | | 4 | |

| 2 | Vidar Riseth |(sub 62)| 7 | || 2 | Fabio Bollini | | 5 | |

| 3 | Andre BergdÃ¸lmo | | 8 | 1 || 3 | A. Della Valle | | 6 | |

| 4 | Andre Muri | | 7 | || 4 | Alex Gasperoni | | 5 | |

| 5 | Ronny Johnsen © | | 7 | || 5 | Paolo Cupi | | 5 | |

| 6 | Ole Gunnar SolskjÃ¦r | | 8 | 1 || 6 | Alessandro Francioni | Booked | 6 | |

| 7 |* JOHN ARNE RIISE | | 9 | 2 || 7 | Raffaele Moroni © | | 6 | |

| 8 | Eirik Bakke |(sub 73)| 7 | || 8 | Mirco Zanotti | | 6 | |

| 9 | Daniel Berg Hestad | | 7 | || 9 | Nicola Chiaruzzi | | 6 | |

|10 | Martin Andresen | | 7 | ||10 | Andy Selva |(inj 15)| 4 | |

|11 | John Carew |(sub 73)| 7 | ||11 | Manuel Marani | | 6 | |

|-----------------------------------------------||-----------------------------------------------|

|12 | Per Morten Kristiansen | | | ||12 | Gianluca Gatti | (on 15)| 4 | |

|14 | Tommy Ã˜ren | (on 73)| 7 | ||14 | Massimo Mariotti | | | |

|15 | Azar Karadas | | | ||15 | Andrea Raschi | | | |

|16 | Magne Hoseth | (on 73)| 7 | ||16 | Davide Selva | | | |

|17 | Brede Paulsen Hangeland| (on 73)| 7 | 1 ||17 | Elia Gerini | | | |

|18 | Thorstein Helstad | | | ||18 | Michele Bollini | | | |

|19 | Tore Andre Flo | | | ||19 | Michele Mancini | | | |

</pre>

Daz the Imp · July 1, 2004

FYR of Macedonia vs. San Marino - World Cup Qualifying European Section Group 3

Gradski Stadion, Skopje

FYR of Macedonia - 5-3-2

<------ D. Janevski V. Grozdanovski------>

A. Sakiri K. Kostovski V. Trayanov

^ ^

| |

Z. Jovanovski G. Micevski Subs:

Z. Toleski

I. Jovanovski

D. Nikolov

K. Milosevski

G. Ristovski

V. Hristovski

<---D. Micevski B. Grncarov A. Micevski---> B. Jovanovski

I. Kostovski</pre>

San Marino - 4-1-3-2

A.Selva M.Marani

^ ^ ^

| | |

| | | Subs:

N. Chiaruzzi R. Moroni M. Zanotti G. Gatti

M. Mariotti

A. Raschi

D. Selva

E. Gerini

A. Francioni M. Bollini

M. Mancini

A. Della Valle P. Cupi A. Gasperoni F.Bollini

N.Giardi</pre>

Daz the Imp · July 1, 2004

Confidence was surprisingly high considering the defeat to Norway and there was a sense of belief amongst the players that we could secure a point in Skopje away at Macedonia. Andy Selva had recovered from the knock he picked up from in Norway and this meant I was able to name an unchanged side for this match. We started a lot more confidently that we did in the Norway game, and within a couple of minutes the Macedonian defence was under pressure from Moroni, but Grnacov superbly blocked his effort.

Macedonia suffered a low in the shape of an injury to Vancho Trayanov and they were forced to make a change to their side after just five minutes. They did, however, start to come into the game more. Micevski forced a corner off Della Valle after some good work on the wing, and Grnacov connected with Sakiri's cross to volley just over the bar. This chance woke up the home crowd who got behind their team and Macedonia wasted no time in giving them a goal to cheer about.

We were actually on the attack when the Macedonian attack started. Francioni lost the ball to Dejan Micevski who played it forward to Janevski. Janevski turned very skilfully on the ball and passed it back to Dejan Micevski who knocked a lovely ball to Sakiri. Sakiri took the ball in his stride and slammed the ball low into the bottom-left corner past the helpless Giardi in goal.

This was a big blow to us after the good start we had made, alternatively it was a major lift to the home side and they started to put us under more pressure. Della Valle tried to dribble the ball away from the box after heavy Macedonian pressure, but Aleksandar Micevski robbed him of the ball. Aleksandar Micevski played the ball into the space now vacated by Della Valle and Goran Micevski latched onto it. He played a cross-field pass to Grozdanovski, but Fabio Bollini managed to turn it behind for a corner, which was duly taken and cleared.

Goran Micevski had a couple more attempts to extend his side's one goal advantage before we managed to have another attempt at goal. Kire Kostovski earned himself a yellow card with a foul on Zanotti and the free kick was lofted forward by Alex Gasperoni. Andy Selva jumped highest in the penalty area to get his head on the ball, but Igor Kostovski easily stopped the header.

Half time came and went with no change to either team, no player changes anyway. Macedonia seemed to come out with a more attack-minded mentality and this was shown early on in the second half when they got another goal to go two-nil ahead. We conceded possession after a lapse of concentration from a throw-in and Kire Kostovski flicked the ball to Janevski. Janevski turned on the ball played a wonderful ball through to an unmarked Sakiri, who composed himself before slotting the ball home for his second of the game.

We had just over half an hour to try and get ourselves back in the game, and with Macedonia dropping slightly in terms of attacking football, we started to venture forward to try and get one of the goals we needed. Grozdanovski picked up another yellow card and conceded a free kick to the left of the box. Unfortunately, it seemed to be an exact replica of the last time we had a free kick in this position. Selva was the player who won the ball in the air from the cross, but Igor Kostovski easily gathered the ball to safety.

We were running out of time to get the goal and Macedonia were showing no weaknesses in their defence and not giving us any chances to pull ourselves back into the game. We couldn't find a way through the stronghold in the defence in the last few minutes, and we took another blow in the last few minutes when we lost Alex Gasperoni through injury. The final whistle went and the players trudged of the pitch after our second defeat in a row.

There were good things to come out of the game however. Alessandro Francioni, apparently wanted by Aston Villa, and Raffaele Moroni both had good games, despite not playing regular football due to being without a club. Andy Selva, showing no signs of the injury he sustained in Norway, also had a very good game and it gives us some hope for our next game at home to Turkey.

Daz the Imp · July 1, 2004

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>

Poor Finishing Costs San Marino Dear

15.9.04

Macedonia 2-0 San Marino (World Cup Quals (EUR) Grp 3)

San Marino followed up the defeat in Norway with a better performance in Skopje, but still ended up losing to Macedonia by two goals to nil.

The game was quite evenly contested between both sides despite the home team being clear favourites to win the match, but in the end a brace from West Brom's Artim Sakiri (15,57) was enough to claim victory for the Macedonians.

San Marino will probably look back to the fact that they failed to show the same level of ruthlessness in front of goal as their opponents and they ultimately paid the price. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

|No. | Name | |Rat|Gls||No. | Name | |Rat|Gls|

|-----------------------------------------------||-----------------------------------------------|

| 1 | Igor Kostovski | | 8 | || 1 | Nicola Giardi | | 7 | |

| 2 | Aleksandar Micevski |(sub 82)| 8 | || 2 | Fabio Bollini | | 6 | |

| 3 | Boban Grnacov | | 7 | || 3 | A. Della Valle | | 7 | |

| 4 | Dejan Micevski | | 8 | || 4 | Alex Gasperoni |(inj 88)| 5 | |

| 5 | Goran Micevski | Booked | 7 | || 5 | Paolo Cupi | | 6 | |

| 6 | Zoran Jovanovski | | 7 | || 6 | Alessandro Francioni | | 8 | |

| 7 | Vancho Trayanov | (inj 5)| 5 | || 7 | Raffaele Moroni © | | 8 | |

| 8 | Kiri Kostovski | | 7 | || 8 | Mirco Zanotti | | 7 | |

| 9 |* ARTIM SAKIRI | | 9 | 2 || 9 | Nicola Chiaruzzi | | 7 | |

|10 | Vlatko Grozdanovski | | 7 | ||10 | Andy Selva | | 8 | |

|11 | Dragan Janevski |(sub 82)| 7 | ||11 | Manuel Marani |(sub 81)| 3 | |

|-----------------------------------------------||-----------------------------------------------|

|12 | Zoran Toleski | | | ||12 | Gianluca Gatti | (on 81)| 6 | |

|14 | Illija Jovanoski | (on 5) | 6 | ||14 | Massimo Mariotti | | | |

|15 | Dejan Nikolov | (on 82)| 6 | ||15 | Andrea Raschi | | | |

|16 | Kire Milosevski | (on 82)| 6 | ||16 | Davide Selva | (on 88)| 6 | |

|17 | Goran Ristovski | | | ||17 | Elia Gerini | | | |

|18 | Vanco Hristovski | | | ||18 | Michele Bollini | | | |

|19 | Blagoja Jovanovski | | | ||19 | Michele Mancini | | | |

</pre>

Daz the Imp · July 2, 2004

*Cheers glamdring*

----

So far this group is going as expected. Norway and Turkey have both won their opening games to secure a 100% record so far. Slovakia and Macedonia have both won and lost a game out of their opening two, with us and Malta yet to record a point. We are also the only team yet to register a goal in the group.

Group 3

P W D L F A PTS

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Norway 2 2 0 0 9 0 6

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Turkey 2 2 0 0 8 1 6

FYR of Macedonia 2 1 0 1 2 4 3

Slovakia 2 1 0 1 2 5 3

Malta 2 0 0 2 2 6 0

SAN MARINO 2 0 0 2 0 7 0</pre>

Results so far: | SAN MARINO QUALIFYING RESULTS

Saturday 11th September 2004 |

| Norway 5-0 San Marino

Malta 1-2 Slovakia | FYR of Macedonia 2-0 San Marino

Norway 5-0 SAN MARINO | San Marino - Turkey

Turkey 4-0 FYR Macedonia | San Marino - Malta

| Slovakia - San Marino

Wednesday 15th September 2004 | San Marino - FYR of Macedonia

| Turkey - San Marino

Norway 4-0 Slovakia | San Marino - Norway

FYR Macedonia 2-0 SAN MARINO | Malta - San Marino

Turkey 4-1 Malta | San Marino - Slovakia</pre>

Daz the Imp · July 2, 2004

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Two Changes To Squad

7.10.04

San Marino have been forced to make two changes for the World Cup qualifying game at home to Turkey in a weeks time.

Julian Aliaj, a late call up last time, and Nicola Moretti, capped at u-21 level, have been moved into the squad to replace Michele Mancini and Roberto Gasperoni. Both Mancini and Gasperoni have suffered injuries at club level, but neither figured in the last couple of international games, so it should be no big loss.

The squad is listed in full below. Numbers show caps/goals <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

M. Bollini - GK - 0/0 F. Gasperoni - GK - 24/0

N. Giardi - GK - 2/0 F. Bollini - D R - 2/0

R. Gasperoni - D RC - 0/0 E. Gerini - D RC - 0/0

M. Giacobbi - D R - 1/0 P. Cupi - D LC - 2/0

A. Della Valle - D LC - 3/0 A. Gasperoni - D LC - 2/0

N. Moretti (U21 caps) - D C - 0/0 D. Selva - D C - 1/0

A. Francioni - DM C - 2/0 A. Raschi - DM C - 0/0

N. Chiaruzzi (U21 caps)- M LC - 0/0 D. Rapanelli - M/FL - 0/0

J. Aliaj - M C - 0/0 M. Gasperoni - M C - 0/0

R. Moroni - AM RLC - 2/0 M. Mariotti - AM LC - 0/0

M. Zanotti - AMC - 3/0 G. Gatti - F LC - 2/0

A. Selva - F LC - 18/3 M. Marani - S C - 3/0</pre>

Daz the Imp · July 2, 2004

San Marino vs. Turkey - World Cup Qualifying European Section Group 3

Olimpico, Serravalle

San Marino - 4-1-3-2

A.Selva M.Marani

^ ^ ^

| | |

| | | Subs:

N. Chiaruzzi R. Moroni M. Zanotti G. Gatti

M. Mariotti

A. Raschi

D. Rapanelli

E. Gerini

A. Francioni M. Bollini

M. Giacobbi

A. Della Valle P. Cupi A. Gasperoni F.Bollini

N.Giardi

</pre>

Turkey - 4-4-2 Attacking

^ S. Tuncay A. Serhat ^

| |

Hasan Sas Tayfun Tugay Nihat

Subs:

B. Recep

B. Okan

Y. Sergen

Ãœ. Davala

F. Sonkaya

Ãœ. Karan

H. Ãœnsal A. Emre Mustafa Dogan A. Fatih H. SÃ¼kÃ¼r

R. RÃ¼stÃ¼

</pre>

displaced_seagull · July 2, 2004

I'd forgotten how much Olympico is like the Withdean

Superb stuff though. COME ONE A GOAL

Daz the Imp · July 2, 2004

The first home game of our qualifying campaign was upon us, and our opponents would be Turkey, runners-up in the 2004 European Championships held in Portugal. They had a 100% record whereas we were yet to score a goal, so nobody expected much of a surprise.

Within minutes of the first whistle, we were under considerable amounts of pressure but we were battling hard to keep out the visitors. We tried to force some pressure of our own, but we kept losing possession in the vital areas of the pitch. We had won a throw-in quite close to the Turkish penalty area, but we gave the ball straight to Turkish right back, Akyil Fatih. He played a long ball forward that Della Valle failed to cut out, and this released Sanli Tuncay through on goal. He took it into the area before striking a venomous shot into the back of the net to give the away side the lead.

This gave Turkey a lift that they didn't necessarily need and they started to put us more and more pressure. Nihat and Tugay fired a couple of long range shots that brought out quality saves from Giardi, but it seemed only a matter before they would score a second. We were rarely on the ball and when we were, we were over-hitting the passes, just hacking away to relative safety. However, we were getting the ball, and we managed to get it right once, to score a shock equaliser.

Moroni had a free kick, and he hit a pass across the pitch to Francioni. Francioni tried to take on Mustafa Dogan, but couldn't get past him. He in swung a low cross anyway, and Andy Selva lost his man to latch onto the ball. He took one touch before hitting a scuffed shot, a shot that fooled the goalkeeper and sent him the wrong way, the ball trickling in the bottom right corner of the net. That was Selva's fourth goal for his country, only the countries eleventh goal ever, and it re-affirmed his status as the leading goal-scorer in San Marinese international football.

I was in shock, and unfortunately the players were in shock as well. So much infact, that within five minutes of levelling at one-all, we had gone three-one down. Mustafa Dogan robbed Selva and played an inch-perfect through ball to Nihat, who had all the time in the world to finish, which he did with great composure for Turkey's second goal. The third came just minutes later when Tuncay bore through the defence and drew the goalkeeper before sliding the ball to Akin Serhat, who had the easy task of putting the ball into an empty net, despite slight pressure from Della Valle and Paolo Cupi.

Half time came and went, and we had lost all belief in securing a point in the game. We sat back and let Turkey come at us, which was the downfall that led to the fourth goal. We had a chance to break through Marani, but he just hacked the ball away, giving it back to substitute Hasan Sas. Sas won a corner and Sergen took it, crossing for Tuncay, who rose above our own substitute Rapanelli to head home his second goal of the game.

We lost even more confidence after that goal, and Turkey scored an all most exact replica that allowed Tuncay to complete his hat trick. This time Dogan won the corner, and Sergen again crossed for Tuncay, who again beat Rapanelli in the air to score Turkey's fifth goal.

Turkey seemed to lost interest in the game after the fifth goal, and this allowed us have one more shot, the last attempt of the game. Rapanelli played a great ball through to Della Valle and he crossed it first time to Andy Selva. He jumped higher that Fatih in the box and powered a header at goal but RÃ¼stÃ¼ managed to save and hold the ball.

In the end, it was a slightly disappointing end to a match that had at one point, provided us with an amazing high. We now had a long wait before our next game, but it would be a game that we felt we could get at least a point from.

Daz the Imp · July 2, 2004

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>

San Marino Outclassed By Turkey

15.9.04

San Marino 1-5 Turkey (World Cup Quals (EUR) Grp 3)

San Marino continued on their run of defeats, suffering at the hands of a rampant Turkey side.

There were no surprises at the Olimpico stadium in Serravalla, as the far superior Turkey overcame San Marino by a resounding five goals to one. Sanli Tuncay hit a hat-trick (6, 64, 77) with Nihat (23) and Akin Serhat (27) adding to the tally. Andy Selva (21) scored the goal for the San Marinese.

The game went true to expectations as San Marino were, in the end, nowhere near a match for their opponents, Turkey. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

|No. | Name | |Rat|Gls||No. | Name | |Rat|Gls|

|-----------------------------------------------||-----------------------------------------------|

| 1 | Nicola Giardi | | 6 | || 1 | ReÃ§ber RÃ¼stÃ¼ | | 6 | |

| 2 | Fabio Bollini | | 5 | || 2 | Akyel Fatih | | 8 | |

| 3 | A. Della Valle | | 6 | || 3 | Hakan Ãœnsal | | 8 | |

| 4 | Alex Gasperoni | | 6 | || 4 | Mustafa Dogan | | 7 | |

| 5 | Goran Micevski | | 6 | || 5 | Asik Emre | Booked | 8 | |

| 6 | Alessandro Francioni | | 6 | || 6 | Nihat |(inj 56)| 7 | 1 |

| 7 | Raffaele Moroni © | | 6 | || 7 | Hasan Sas |(sub 56)| 7 | |

| 8 | Mirco Zanotti | | 3 | || 8 | Tugay © | | 8 | |

| 9 | Nicola Chiaruzzi |(sub 45)| 4 | || 9 | Tayfun | | 8 | |

|10 | Andy Selva | | 6 | 1 ||10 | Akin Serhat |(sub 65)| 7 | 1 |

|11 | Manuel Marani | | 6 | ||11 |* SANLI TUNCAY | |10 | 3 |

|-----------------------------------------------||-----------------------------------------------|

|12 | Gianluca Gatti | | | ||12 | Biler Recep | | | |

|14 | Massimo Mariotti | | | ||14 | Buruk Okan | | | |

|15 | Andrea Raschi | | | ||15 | YalÃ§in Sergen | (on 56)| 7 | |

|16 | David Rapanelli | (on 45)| 6 | ||16 | Ãœmit Davala | (on 56)| 7 | |

|17 | Elia Gerini | | | ||17 | Fatih Sonkaya | | | |

|18 | Michele Bollini | | | ||18 | Ãœmit Karan | | | |

|19 | Michele Giacobbi | | | ||19 | Hakan SÃ¼kÃ¼r | (on 65)| 7 | |</pre>

July 2, 2004

There's only one........

Andy Selva

one Andy Selva..........

There's only............

Come on the the San Marinoese???

(Is that right? )

July 2, 2004

Are the Gasperoni's related?

Five brothers in one squad . Can you imagine it?

Daz the Imp · July 3, 2004

*d_s - GGGGGOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!! *

*jimbokav71 - It's San Marinese and I have no idea whether they are related. It would be pretty cool if they were though *

--

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>

Experimental Squad Announced For Friendly

7.2.05

San Marino have announced an experimental squad for a friendly against Greece, a game which will provide the San Marinese players with much-needed international experience.

Players such as goalkeeper Federico Gasperoni, Marco Gasperoni, Andy Selva and Gianluca Gatti have all been forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury, which allows Michele Mancini and Julian Aliaj to return to the squad, with goalkeeper Stefano Guerra and two new strikers in Daniele Conti and Gabriele Muratori earning their first international call-ups.

Coming off the back of a 5-1 defeat to Turkey, San Marino will look for a confidence boosting result against Greece, but not much is expected. The most that they can probably hope for is to score another goal, the solitary strike against Turkey the first goal since a four-one defeat against Belgium in a World Cup Qualifying game on 6th June 2001. However, even a goal looks unlikely as, with Andy Selva not in the squad, no-one in the squad has an international goal to their name.

The squad is listed in full below. Numbers show caps/goals <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

M. Bollini - GK - 0/0 N. Giardi - GK - 3/0

S. Guerra - GK - 0/0 M. Mancini - SW/D/DM C - 0/0

F. Bollini - D R - 3/0 R. Gasperoni - D RC - 0/0

E. Gerini - D RC - 0/0 M. Giacobbi - D R - 1/0

P. Cupi - D LC - 3/0 A. Della Valle - D LC - 4/0

A. Gasperoni - D LC - 3/0 D. Selva - D C - 1/0

A. Francioni - DM C - 3/0 A. Raschi - DM C - 0/0

N. Chiaruzzi - M LC - 3/0 R. Gasperoni - M L - 0/0

D. Rapanelli - M/FL - 1/0 J. Aliaj - M C (U-21 Caps) - 0/0

R. Moroni - AM RLC - 3/0 M. Mariotti - AM LC - 0/0

M. Zanotti - AMC - 4/0 D. Conti - F LC - 0/0

M. Marani - S C - 4/0 G. Muratoria - S C - 0/0</pre>

Daz the Imp · July 3, 2004

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>

San Marino Take Full Advantage

16.2.05

San Marino 3-2 Greece (Friendly)

San Marino recorded their first ever win, albeit in a friendly, with a three-two victory over a highly unlucky Greece side.

San Marino took full advantage of Greece's bad luck, bad luck which cost them both of their goalkeepers in the warm up, meaning striker Zisis Vrysas and later Vasilis Lakis were forced to go in goal. It showed that they weren't goalkeepers, and by half-time, Raffaele Moroni (33), Daniele Conti (38) and Manuel Marani (45) had put the San Marinese three goals up at half-time. Greece fared a lot better in the second half and goals from Ioannis Amanatidis (50) and Fanouris Goundoulakis (pen 88) meant they came back into the game, but San Marino held out for the win.

People in San Marino are split as to whether this is infact a great occassion or whether they should wait until they win a competitive, or non-comeptitive match, where the opposition have a goalkeeper.

As a sidenote, congratulations should be given to San Marino's defensive midfielder Alessandro Francioni, who has just secured a move to Spanish club Espanyol. He is the only player to play outside of Italy/San Marino, and everyone at his previous club San Giovanni wishes him well. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

|No. | Name | |Rat|Gls||No. | Name | |Rat|Gls|

|-----------------------------------------------||-----------------------------------------------|

| 1 | Nicola Giardi | | 7 | || 1 | Zisis Vrysas © | | 7 | |

| 2 | Fabio Bollini |(sub 45)| 5 | || 2 | Loukas Vyntra |(sub 50)| 7 | |

| 3 | Alessandro Della Valle | | 7 | || 3 | Traianos Dellas (Bkd) |(sub 74)| 7 | |

| 4 | Alex Gasperoni |(sub 45)| 6 | || 4 | Nikos Dabizas (Bkd) |(sub 65)| 6 | |

| 5 | Goran Micevski | | 8 | || 5 | Christos Patsatzoglou | | 7 | |

| 6 | Alessandro Francioni | | 8 | || 6 | Vangelis Tsiolis |(sub 65)| 7 | |

| 8 | Mirco Zanotti | | 8 | || 8 | Giorgos Karagounis | | 7 | |

| 9 | Nicola Chiaruzzi |(sub 45)| 7 | || 9 | Dimitris Petkakis |(sub 65)| 7 | |

|10 | Daniele Conti | | 7 | 1 ||10 | Ioannis Amanatidis |(sub 65)| 7 | 1 |

|11 | Manuel Marani |(sub 45)| 7 | 1 ||11 | Demis Nikolaidis |(sub 74)| 5 | |

|-----------------------------------------------||-----------------------------------------------|

|12 | Gabriele Muratori | (on 45)| 6 | ||12 | Dimitris Salpingidis | (on 74)| 7 | |

|14 | Massimo Mariotti | | | ||14 | Anestis Agritis | (on 88)| 6 | |

|15 | Andrea Raschi | | | ||15 | Panagiotis Lagos | (on 50)| 7 | |

|16 | David Rapanelli | (on 45)| 6 | ||16 | Vasilis Seretis | (on 65)| 7 | |

|17 | Elia Gerini | | | ||17 | Tasos Thanos | | | |

|18 | Michele Bollini | | | ||18 | Ilias Eleftheriadis | | | |

|19 | Michele Giacobbi | (on 45)| 5 | ||19 | Paraskevas Antas | (on 74)| 7 | |

|20 | Roberto Gasperoni | | | ||20 | Giourkas Seitaridis |(sub 88)| 7 | |

|21 | Davide Selva | (on 45)| 5 | ||21 | Fanouris Goundoulakis | (on 65)| 7 | 1 |

|22 | Michele Mancini | | | ||22 | Nikos Arabatzis | (on 65)| 7 | |

|23 | Julian Aliaj | | | ||23 | Vasilis Lakis | (on 65)| 7 | |

|24 | Ricardo Gasperoni | | | ||24 | | | | |

</pre>

*I'm not quite sure why they had no goalkeeper, so I wasn't really interested in writing a full match report due to the fact it was highly unfair.

Wag · July 3, 2004

Still, a wins is a win

Gooders86 · July 3, 2004

They never have a goalie in my game, its kinda strange.

Tyrone the Magazine · July 3, 2004

I come back from holiday and find this very interesting story, well done on the win and keep it up

Daz the Imp · July 4, 2004

*Wag - Yep, a win is a win And I thoroughly enjoyed it*

Dan - I've checked a couple of my other games, and they have no keeper in these either, but they still seem to win a lot of games *

*Tyrone - thanks a lot

----

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>

Few Changes For Malta And Slovakia

24.3.05

San Marino have confirmed that they will keep mainly the same squad for a two qualifying games against Malta and Slovakia, a reward for the players that recorded the tiny nation's first international victory.

There are two changes however. One change comes with experienced goalkeeper Federico Gasperoni coming back into the squad to replace uncapped Stefano Guerra, the other change sees Marco Gasperoni finally fit to take a place in the final squad, replacing the injured Julian Aliaj.

Even without Andy Selva, still injured, the squad is confident of getting victory in the game against Malta and hopefully at least a point away at Slovakia. This confidence was lifted when they defeated Greece, scoring more than one goal in a match for the first time ever. The question remains though, can they continue this sudden goalscoring form and get some points on the board in Group 3 of Qualifying?

The squad is listed in full below. Numbers show caps/goals <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

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

M. Bollini - GK - 0/0 F. Gasperoni - GK - 24/0

N. Giardi - GK - 3/0 M. Mancini - SW/D/DM C - 0/0

F. Bollini - D R - 3/0 R. Gasperoni - D RC - 0/0

E. Gerini - D RC - 0/0 M. Giacobbi - D R - 1/0

P. Cupi - D LC - 3/0 A. Della Valle - D LC - 4/0

A. Gasperoni - D LC - 3/0 D. Selva - D C - 1/0

A. Francioni - DM C - 3/0 A. Raschi - DM C - 0/0

N. Chiaruzzi - M LC - 3/0 R. Gasperoni - M L - 0/0

D. Rapanelli - M/FL - 1/0 M. Gasperoni - M C - 0/0

R. Moroni - AM RLC - 3/0 M. Mariotti - AM LC - 0/0

M. Zanotti - AMC - 4/0 D. Conti - F LC - 0/0

M. Marani - S C - 4/0 G. Muratoria - S C - 0/0</pre>

Daz the Imp · July 4, 2004

The above caps are not updated after the Greece game, so ignore them

Daz the Imp · July 4, 2004

San Marino vs. Malta - World Cup Qualifying European Section Group 3

Olimpico Stadium, Serravalle

San Marino - 4-1-3-2

A.Selva M.Marani

^ ^ ^

| | |

| | | Subs:

N. Chiaruzzi R. Moroni M. Zanotti G. Gatti

M. Mariotti

A. Raschi

D. Selva

E. Gerini

A. Francioni M. Bollini

M. Mancini

A. Della Valle P. Cupi A. Gasperoni F.Bollini

N.Giardi</pre>

Malta - 4-4-2 Defensive

J. Fenech M. Abela

J. Buttigieg M. Mizzi D. Galea K. Scerri

\

Subs:

Z. Toleski

M. Farrugia K. Farrugia S. Faizan K. Farrugia I. Jovanovski

D. Nikolov

K. Milosevski

G. Ristovski

V. Hristovski

B. Jovanovski

I. Kostovski</pre>

Daz the Imp · July 4, 2004

A second qualifying game at home for us, and our visitors were Malta, the other team in our group yet to record a point. I decided to keep the same team that had beaten the Greeks, seeing no need to change a winning side and I hoped that they could win again. Malta got the game underway and the game started poorly, as you may expect from two of the worst team within the European Qualifying section, not a lot a skill shown within the first twenty-five minutes and not one chance of note for either side.

The game came to life just before the half-hour mark when Francioni pulled the first save from Maltese keeper Debono, then Conti burst through the defence minutes later to hit a strike on goal which was, unfortunately for us, turned behind brilliantly for a corner. This didn't rouse either side into much action and the first half petered out into nothing.

I told the players that we needed to go out in the second half and get an early goal, which I believed would kill off our plucky visitors. I didn't believe we would score as quickly as we ended up doing. I replaced Marani with Muratori at half time and he took the kick-off with new strike partner Daniele Conti. Conti took the ball forward and played it square to Zanotti who hit the ball first time to Moroni. Moroni played the ball left to Della Valle and he showed great control before playing the ball in behind the Maltese left back Kevin Farrugia. Conti out-paced him to get the ball to the by-line and he played it to the edge of the side-yard box where Mirco Zanotti was waiting unmarked. He had enough time to open his body and side-foot the ball into the far corner of the goal to cap a wonderful, flowing move with a high quality finish.

We had taken the lead within twenty-nine seconds of the second half and I know felt that we were sure to win, and could possibly get more than the one goal that we had. Muratori came close to putting us even further in the lead when he hit a rasping volley just over the bar after good work on the wing by Moroni, but Malta then reminded us that they were still looking to get a result when Michael Farrugia capped an excellent move by the visitors with a superb header which was saved equally superbly by Nicola Giardi in our goal.

I wanted us to push forward for another, more decisive goal but we found ourselves under pressure that we didn't feel we would ever be put under in this game. We had to defend for our lives at the back with Bollini and Cupi both having to make brilliant last-ditch tackles to keep the Maltese strikers from getting shots in on goal. Michael Farrugia was looking more and more dangerous as the game went on, having more shots on goal and managing to bring another good save from Giardi before our attack provided some relief for our defence with a move that, after good one touch passing, culminated in a Francioni header that skimmed the top of the crossbar.

Time was running out for the visitors however, and they started to tire as the game neared the end. This meant we were now seeing more of the ball and after successfully defending two corners from the Maltese we hit them on the counter attack with a move that was unlucky to end with Della Valle spooning his shot over the crossbar. It didn't matter much in the end however, as it proved to be the last action of the game, seeing us record our first ever competitive win on the back of our first ever win.

Daz the Imp · July 4, 2004

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>

San Marino Edge Out Opponents In Close Encounter

2.4.05

San Marino 1-0 Malta (World Cup Qualifying (European Section) Group 3)

San Marino recorded their first competitive win with a hard fought victory over Malta at their home Olimpico stadium in Serravalle.

In a tightly-contested afternoon game, neither side had a chance within the first half but Mirco Zannoti (46) gave San Marino the lead early in the second half, and they did just enough to hold on and secure the win.

They go into Wednesday's game away at Slovakia now with a chance of going into third place in the group with a win, and with confidence as high has it is, no-one is ruling the victory out. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

|No. | Name | |Rat|Gls||No. | Name | |Rat|Gls|

|-----------------------------------------------||-----------------------------------------------|

| 1 | Nicola Giardi | | 8 | || 1 | Joseph Debano | | 7 | |

| 2 | Fabio Bollini | | 8 | || 2 | Kevin Farrugia | | 5 | |

| 3 | Alessandro Della Valle | | 7 | || 3 | Michael Farrugia | | 7 | |

| 4 | Alex Gasperoni | | 7 | || 4 | Stephan Falzon | | 7 | |

| 5 | Goran Micevski | | 7 | || 5 | Kevin Farrugia |(sub 79)| 6 | |

| 8 | Mirco Zanotti | | 9 | 1 || 8 | David Galea |(sub 72)| 7 | |

| 9 | Nicola Chiaruzzi | | 7 | || 9 | Mark Mizzi | | 7 | |

|10 | Daniele Conti | | 7 | ||10 | Michael Abela | | 7 | |

|11 | Manuel Marani |(sub 45)| 5 | ||11 | Joseph Fenech |(sub 72)| 4 | |

|-----------------------------------------------||-----------------------------------------------|

|12 | Gabriele Muratori | (on 45)| 6 | ||12 | Stephen Bartolo | | | |

|14 | Roberto Gasperoni | | | ||14 | Kevin Borg | | | |

|15 | Andrea Raschi | | | ||15 | Joe Attard | | | |

|16 | Marco Gasperoni | | | ||16 | Roderick Attard | (on 72)| 7 | |

|17 | Elia Gerini | | | ||17 | Michael Gatt (Bkd) | (on 72)| 7 | |

|18 | Michele Bollini | | | ||18 | Joseph Camenzuli | (on 79)| 7 | |

|19 | Michele Giacobbi | | | ||19 | Jeffrey Farrugia | | | |</pre>

displaced_seagull · July 4, 2004

A win!

Another Win!

Thoroughly enjoying this

July 4, 2004

Would you care for a cigar young man? .

Brian of Nazareth · July 4, 2004

good sh*t this Daz, keep it flowing in San Marino. 2 wins for that tiny rabble's bloody good.

Daz the Imp · July 4, 2004

*D_S - That's two now *

*Jimbo - Keep that cigar for yourself mate*

*Just realised by the way, that whilst the formation vs. Malta was correct, the players in it were not. It doesn't really matter, but the following layout is the same formation with the correct players*

Slovakia vs. San Marino - World Cup Qualifying European Section Group 3

Slovakia - 4-4-2 Attacking

^ R. Vittek T. Oravec ^

| |

M. Breska V. Janocko M. Karhan Z. Strba

Subs:

M. Gadjos

R. Konecny M. Kurty S. Varga M. Petras M. Stano

J. Pavlik

P. Petras

T. Vencel

J. Petras

J. Halenar

J. Hrncar</pre>

San Marino - 4-1-3-2

D. Conti M.Marani

^ ^ ^

| | |

| | | Subs:

N. Chiaruzzi R. Moroni M. Zanotti G. Muratori

R. Gasperoni

A. Raschi

M. Gasperoni

E. Gerini

A. Francioni M. Bollini

M. Giacobbi

A. Della Valle D. Selva A. Gasperoni F.Bollini

N.Giardi</pre>

Raptor · July 4, 2004

And we have a new Story of the Week

Brian of Nazareth · July 4, 2004

and congratulations

Wag · July 4, 2004

Thoroughly deserved

KUTGW!!

Daz the Imp · July 4, 2004

*Cheers B_o_N, Rap and Wag - obviously, I'd like to thank my parents, my producer...blah blah blah. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to celebrate the only way that San Marino knows how

----

We took to the field in Slovakia full of hope and confidence, almost certain we could come away with at least a point. Indeed, some of the players were confident that we could take all three and if we could do that, there was a possibility that we could go up to third in the group behind group leaders Norway and Turkey. However, after just one minute of play, the hopes of third place were no longer there.

Gasperoni looked to play a long ball forward out of defence but Konecny cut it out. He played the ball to Vittek and Vittek jinked past the now out-of-position Gasperoni and chipped the ball into the area for Oravec. Oravec showed good movement to make himself the space he needed and he hit the ball left-footed on the half volley for the opening goal in the opening minute.

We couldn't so much as a touch on the ball in the opening stages and we barely had time to recover before things got worse sooner rather than later. Martin Petras played a wonderful ball forward for Marian Kurty, who showed good control before aiming a cross from the right towards the near post. The ball evaded the head of Gasperoni, desperate to clear the danger, and Breska flicked the ball onto Vittek. Vittek drove the ball first time right footed and the shot went in the bottom corner, just out the reach of Giardi in goal.

Things picked up for us almost immediately when Daniele Conti showed some quality to have our first shot of the game. He ran from the centre circle, skipping past the challenge of Strba on his way to the edge of the area. He continued his run, taking the ball into the box, before hitting a shot hard and low towards goal and he was highly unlucky to see the shot go inches wide of the post.

That was one of our very few highlights in the game however, and Slovakia showed us minutes later they were more than happy to continue attacking to add to the two goals they had already. Chiaruzzi slid in on Karhan with a superb tackle to win the ball in midfield but Kurty nicked in to win the ball with Chiaruzzi still on the floor. Kurty played the ball to Oravec and he played it into the six-yard box, but Gasperoni was on hand to clear the danger. Or so I thought. Breska took control of the loose ball and crossed the ball straight back into the area and Oravec headed towards goal. Selva, in the team only because Cupi stubbed his toe in the warm up, swung at it to hack it clear and sliced the ball straight into the top corner of his own net to give the home side a three-goal lead after just twenty minutes.

I was now hoping to just survive until half time and for ten minutes we held our own on the pitch, having more than our fair share of possession, but we failed to create ourselves any chances to get back in the game. Slovakia then went up a notch to get a fourth goal and to make all our possession meaningless. Varga hit the ball forty yards forward to Martin Petras who took one touch before playing a defence-splitting pass to Vittek. Vittek had plenty of room, plenty of time and was left with a simple finish to cap an excellent move and get his second of the game.

We got to half time, but we were four down and I couldn't see anyway back in the match. I just sent them back out with the instruction to try and keep the score as low as possible, but this seemed near impossible as soon as the second half started. Only a fantastic last-ditch tackle by Gasperoni denied Vittek and Giardi did well to keep out a header from Petras but it seemed only a matter of time before we were to concede the fifth. Unfortunately, it was.

Davide Selva beat Oravec in the air to clear for a throw-in that Petras was to take. He took it quick to Oravec, putting him in behind Della Valle, and Oravec cut inside before hitting a ferocious left-foot shot for his second and Slovakia's fifth of the game. There were now only minutes left and I either wanted us to score one, or not concede again. We came close to both but got neither in the end.

Right back Fabio Bollini elegantly controlled a pass from Francioni before going forward and hitting a pass to Raffaele Moroni. Moroni went out to the right wing before cutting back inside and chipping the ball into the area. Della Valle was the player who got onto the cross and he headed towards goal, but was unfortunate to see his effort come of the post and then off Kurty for a corner. From the corner, Bollini was beaten in the air and Oravec hacked the ball clear from the edge of the area. Halenar was the only player forward but he out-muscled Gasperoni to get free and he broke into the area to score Slovakia's sixth of the game, his first international goal.

Before the game was up we had hit the post again, this time through Conti, after a good move but we had taken a battering from a rampant Slovakian side. It had put our previous win against Malta in perspective and saw us remain on three points in the group, our next game at home to Macedonia seem longer than just two months away.

Daz the Imp · July 4, 2004

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>

San Marino Suffer Heavy Defeat

6.4.05

Slovakia 6-0 San Marino (World Cup Qualifying (European Section) Group 3)

San Marino were rather harshly brought back down to earth, their recent historic results momentarily forgotten as Slovakia gave them a severe six-nil thrashing.

They got off to the worst possible start by conceding in the very first minute and despite having a fair share of possession, they could not create any chances. Slovakia however, took there chances when they came across them and Tomas Oravec (1, 78), Robert Vittek (10, 32) and Juraj Halenar (82) all helped themselves to goals. The other one came in the form of an own goal from the unfortunate Davide Selva (22).

Six goals to nil may not have been a fair reflection of the how the game went, San Marino matching there more 'illustrious' opponents in some periods of the game, but in the end it boiled down to chances created. Slovakia created whilst San Marino did not. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

|No. | Name | |Rat|Gls||No. | Name | |Rat|Gls|

|-----------------------------------------------||-----------------------------------------------|

| 1 | Jan Hrncar | | 7 | || 1 | Nicola Giardi | | 4 | |

| 2 | Martin Petras | |10 | || 2 | Fabio Bollini | Booked | 5 | |

| 3 | Roman Konecny | | 8 | || 3 | Alessandro Della Valle | Booked | 6 | |

| 4 | Stanislav Varga | | 7 | || 4 | Alex Gasperoni | | 6 | |

| 5 | Marian Kurty | | 8 | || 5 | Davide Selva |Own Goal| 6 | |

| 6 | Zdeno Strvba |(sub 74)| 7 | || 6 | Alessandro Francioni | | 6 | |

| 9 | Vladimir Janocko | | 7 | || 9 | Nicola Chiaruzzi | | 6 | |

|10 |* TOMAS ORAVEC |(sub 78)|10 | 2 ||10 | Daniele Conti | | 6 | |

|11 | Robert Vittek | Booked | 9 | 2 ||11 | Manuel Marani | | 4 | |

|-----------------------------------------------||-----------------------------------------------|

|12 | Martin Gajdos | | | ||12 | Gabriele Muratori | | | |

|14 | Marian Stano | | | ||14 | Roberto Gasperoni | | | |

|15 | Jozef Pavlik | (on 74)| 7 | ||15 | Andrea Raschi | | | |

|16 | Peter Petras | | | ||16 | Marco Gasperoni | | | |

|17 | Tomas Vencel | (on 74)| 7 | ||17 | Elia Gerini | | | |

|18 | Jan Petras | | | ||18 | Michele Bollini | | | |

|19 | Juraj Halenar | (on 78)| 7 | 1 ||19 | Michele Giacobbi | | | |</pre>

glamdring · July 4, 2004

Still good stuff

Terk · July 4, 2004

thoroughly deserved story of the week great stuff so far and nice to see you back on the losing trail

Tyrone the Magazine · July 4, 2004

shame about the thrashing but a well deserved SOTW. Keep it coming

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Some fifteen miles from the Adriatic seaside resort of Rimini..........

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