[FM20] [FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge

[FoxGe1994]

@duesouth

 

Achievement:

Qualify for Group 1 of the 2nd stage of the league season:

Win Group 1:

Qualify for the Champions Playoffs

Edited December 8, 2019 by FoxGe1994

[FoxGe1994]

@duesouth

Achievement:

Qualify for Europe

Win the Champions Playoffs: 

 

[duesouth]

17 minutes ago, FoxGe1994 said:

@duesouth

Achievement:

Qualify for Europe

Win the Champions Playoffs: 

 

All added - well played!

[FoxGe1994]

5 minutes ago, duesouth said:

All added - well played!

Thanks. 
Just noticed that we only have 2 teams in Europe next year....

Gonna be difficult to progress with the league - but a nice challenge 

[duesouth]

San Giovanni 2021 European Adventure

And an adventure it was!  10 games - 3 competitions - and lots of prize money!!

We kicked off in the Champions League qualifying mini tournament in Gibraltor against HB of the Faroe Islands.  I started off in a 4-1-2-2-1, but was getting pegged back, so went 4-1-4-1 and got back into the game.  It was 0-0 until the 81st minute, when we got the winner from a cross to the far post and our right winger nodded home!  The problem then with only a few training sessions before the game, we had a game 3 days later against F.C. Santa Coloma of Andorra.  I elected to make 9 changes as most of the starters from the HB game were still tired.   This one I stayed in my 4-1-2-2-1 for most of the game - we scored on 10 minutes, and it stayed that well to put us through to the next round.

That gave us a North Macedonian team in the next round - and after a 0-0 home first leg, we went 1-0 down after 63 minutes in the away leg.  Just as I was about to change tactics and go more aggressive - we scored!  We then kept it tight and got through!  The little run was over as soon as F.C. Basel came out of the hat - and so it was - thumped 0-8 overall.

That pushed us down in the Europa League - and Qarabag.  We only lost 0-3 overall - but never caused them much in the way of problems.  The same for the Europa Conference League game against Slavia Sofia - although we did score in the away leg!

In the bank now: £2 million   However, at my first attempt to turn pro, the board said no.  Perhaps semi-pro first...

[duesouth]

5 minutes ago, FoxGe1994 said:

Thanks. 
Just noticed that we only have 2 teams in Europe next year....

Gonna be difficult to progress with the league - but a nice challenge 

I had the same - but hopefully with my little run, we might get another next season.

[FoxGe1994]

21 minutes ago, duesouth said:

I had the same - but hopefully with my little run, we might get another next season.

Yeah we really have to win the league if we want to progres 

[FoxGe1994]

Damn...

Second season just started - and no of the other teams registered their players... 
First season this was not a problem - anyone who knows how to fix this....? 

 

[duesouth]

11 hours ago, FoxGe1994 said:

Damn...

Second season just started - and no of the other teams registered their players... 
First season this was not a problem - anyone who knows how to fix this....? 

 

I believe it was a bug with the pre-game editor - they register them in the January window.  I guess that's sorted now, but it didn't help saved files.  I was looking at claassen's file last night and it won't load in the current version of the game - not sure if it needs re-validating or something.  Not sure quite what to do myself...

[viney]

First season done and it was a good one with Cosmos. Just one defeat but unfortunately it came in the league playoff final. With the San Marino national team I have no wins yet but a couple of draws is a sign of progress I hope.

 

Challenge Goals Completed:

Qualify for Group 1 of the 2nd league stage

Win Group B in 1st league stage

Qualify for Champions Playoff

Win Group 1 of the 2nd stage

Qualify for Europe

Win San Marino Cup

 

Screenshots:

Cosmos Results

San Marino Results

San Marino League 1st Stage

San Marino League 2nd Stage

European Qualification

San Marino Cup Win

 

Edited December 9, 2019 by viney

[FoxGe1994]

8 hours ago, duesouth said:

I believe it was a bug with the pre-game editor - they register them in the January window.  I guess that's sorted now, but it didn't help saved files.  I was looking at claassen's file last night and it won't load in the current version of the game - not sure if it needs re-validating or something.  Not sure quite what to do myself...

I made a new file yesterday - so its not an old file. 

So i really can't see myself play this file if the other teams dont register their players...

[duesouth]

31 minutes ago, FoxGe1994 said:

I made a new file yesterday - so its not an old file. 

So i really can't see myself play this file if the other teams dont register their players...

Have you opted into the Editor beta?  I think you have to do that for validation to work - not that I'm an expert with it!

[FoxGe1994]

9 minutes ago, duesouth said:

Have you opted into the Editor beta?  I think you have to do that for validation to work - not that I'm an expert with it!

Not sure how to do it with the Editor... 

But will try and see if i can find a solution.
Are other databases allowed in this challenge? 

 

[duesouth]

45 minutes ago, FoxGe1994 said:

I made a new file yesterday - so its not an old file. 

So i really can't see myself play this file if the other teams dont register their players...

You could give this one a go:  https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1923638745

He's also put up an Italian leagues down to Level 7.

[FoxGe1994]

1 minute ago, duesouth said:

You could give this one a go:  https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1923638745

He's also put up an Italian leagues down to Level 7.

Will try that one. 

 

Will soon be back in the game. 

[duesouth]

Just now, FoxGe1994 said:

Not sure how to do it with the Editor... 

But will try and see if i can find a solution.
Are other databases allowed in this challenge? 

 

It's just a case of finding a database that works.  I'm testing the Italian L7 database shortly.  I was waiting on claassen, but he hasn't logged on here for 2 weeks, so not sure if he's given up...

[FoxGe1994]

3 minutes ago, duesouth said:

It's just a case of finding a database that works.  I'm testing the Italian L7 database shortly.  I was waiting on claassen, but he hasn't logged on here for 2 weeks, so not sure if he's given up...

I dont hope so... 

Edited December 9, 2019 by FoxGe1994

[FoxGe1994]

I made it work! 
Or atleast for now 

unsubscribed and subscribed to Claassens - and now they registrered their players. 

[FoxGe1994]

And its gone again...

[refusodelpasso]

C.C. San Marino: 21/22 Season

The 2021/22 season has now been completed, and my word... It has been dreadful. Following from our 4th placed finish in Serie C last season I had hoped to kick on and push for the title this year, but it was not to be. I signed some top class players for this level to fit my tactic, however we started terribly losing game after game. I feel like the latest patch may have impacted my tactic, but I'm not sure, and I spent the rest of the season experimenting to try and find the right one to move forward with. Last season we were trying to make our way out of this league, while this season we were trying to stay in it. In the end we clinched survival and a mid table finish, and a massive rethink lies ahead for the Summer. 

On the plus side, the Serie C Cup has been a shining light in our gloomy season - lifting the trophy and granting ourselves a Playoff 3rd Round ticket for doing so. I knew we weren't going to win the playoffs but it was nice to be involved at least.

We entered the playoffs in the 3rd Round, matching up against Padova. A tight 2-1 away win set us up with the advantage, and a 93rd minute winner in the home leg sealed our passage into the Quarter-Finals. Here we would meet Cesena, and ultimately our exit from the competition. We did manage a 1-0 at home, however we were unable to protect it when we played the away leg losing 3-0 to the eventual winners of the Serie C Playoffs.

San Marino NT: 21/22 Season

We began the year with the World Cup Qualifying, which as you might expect, didn't go well at all. Our group was extremely difficult and we couldn't manage a single point. The National Team side is currently in an awkward phase, with a lot of old and experienced players being replaced by kids who have little to no experience. All I hope is that they can learn and develop from these games.

We also received our Nations League Div. C group which again, hasn't been kind to us. Some tough games throughout but hopefully we can beat Cyprus or Macedonia to survival and remain at this level. I think Czech Republic will be the clear winners of this group.

[TacticalGenius]

Reached Serie A with Cattolica Calcio SM. We won the Serie B league, even though we spent half the season lingering in mid-table. It was like no one wanted to win it. We took the title on the last day by 2 points after everyone else drew or lost. 
 

We’ve been given €5m budget and €80k wage budget, but I think I’ll be shifting much of the transfer budget to wages and have a good look for frees and loans to stay up rather than buying, unless a deal comes up that I can’t refuse. 
 

Youth intakes have been abysmal, literally no one even worth trying to train, and that’s saying something given the state of the current NT players... 

On that subject... There’s not too much to report about the NT. Currently 179th in the rankings, finished one from bottom in our WC qualifying group and have been placed in a pretty difficult Nations League C group, where I can only hope we don’t get relegated... I’ll add the actual group teams when I get to my PC, I’m currently at work. 

Edited December 10, 2019 by TacticalGenius

[duesouth]

I decided long before FM20 was released to wait on claassen's Serie D database for this challenge.  However, I assume due to the Editor bugs, we've not seen anything from him and he's not logged on here for over 2 weeks.  So, I'm not sure if/when he's planning on producing content.  I'm off for 2 weeks over Christmas, and I want to be "into" my main save by then, so I can put some quality time into it.  With the challenges in game of getting this challenge off the ground, I liked the appeal of bringing back San Marino Calcio from the dead, as I very much connected with the club in FM19.  I thought Serie D might be a little unrealistic though - but then I saw this database:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1923615601

Italian leagues down to Level 7.  That felt a lot more realistic to me in terms of a "Phoenix" club.  Now, with the huge amount of regional leagues in the Italian league system, if you load all 7 levels it does make it slow going.  However, I have holidayed through to 1 July 2020 and checked promotions and relegations are working (took 2 evenings on my slow PC!) - and I'm delighted to report they are.  I'll also be using the same content author's San Marino League database so I have that league also active ( https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1923638745 ).

I've made the following changes to the Italian L7 database in the pre-game editor:

Made San Marino Calcio un-extinct;

Changed San Marino Calcio to amateur status as L6 and L7 are all amateur levels;

Removed Le Torri Castelplanio from Prima Categoria Marche Girone B (they are joint bottom irl);

Added San Marino Calcio to Prima Categoria Marche Girone B (which seems to be the most logical geographic fit).

I'll kick this off tonight or tomorrow night - and I won't select the "Add Players to Playable Teams" option, therefore starting the save with no players or staff.  The goal is to build the club from nothing and move up the leagues early in the save - and then to start thinking about the international side of it down the road.

[Brother Ben]

6 hours ago, duesouth said:

I decided long before FM20 was released to wait on claassen's Serie D database for this challenge.  However, I assume due to the Editor bugs, we've not seen anything from him and he's not logged on here for over 2 weeks.  So, I'm not sure if/when he's planning on producing content.  I'm off for 2 weeks over Christmas, and I want to be "into" my main save by then, so I can put some quality time into it.  With the challenges in game of getting this challenge off the ground, I liked the appeal of bringing back San Marino Calcio from the dead, as I very much connected with the club in FM19.  I thought Serie D might be a little unrealistic though - but then I saw this database:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1923615601

Italian leagues down to Level 7.  That felt a lot more realistic to me in terms of a "Phoenix" club.  Now, with the huge amount of regional leagues in the Italian league system, if you load all 7 levels it does make it slow going.  However, I have holidayed through to 1 July 2020 and checked promotions and relegations are working (took 2 evenings on my slow PC!) - and I'm delighted to report they are.  I'll also be using the same content author's San Marino League database so I have that league also active ( https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1923638745 ).

I've made the following changes to the Italian L7 database in the pre-game editor:

Made San Marino Calcio un-extinct;

Changed San Marino Calcio to amateur status as L6 and L7 are all amateur levels;

Removed Le Torri Castelplanio from Prima Categoria Marche Girone B (they are joint bottom irl);

Added San Marino Calcio to Prima Categoria Marche Girone B (which seems to be the most logical geographic fit).

I'll kick this off tonight or tomorrow night - and I won't select the "Add Players to Playable Teams" option, therefore starting the save with no players or staff.  The goal is to build the club from nothing and move up the leagues early in the save - and then to start thinking about the international side of it down the road.

This is a great Idea, gives it that phoenix club feel

Is there any chance you could you upload your starting save file?  

I'd also suggest that it would make a great addition to the opening post

[Bartrcm]

20 hours ago, Brother Ben said:

This is a great Idea, gives it that phoenix club feel

Is there any chance you could you upload your starting save file?  

I'd also suggest that it would make a great addition to the opening post

Would be great to have that file. Always fancy a San Marino challenge.

[duesouth]

I'll have to get permission from the original creator - don't want to publish his, slightly edited work, without it.

[Bartrcm]

43 minutes ago, duesouth said:

I'll have to get permission from the original creator - don't want to publish his, slightly edited work, without it.

I totally understand this.

[duesouth]

San Marino Calcio Rising from the Ashes 2019/2020 Season Part 1

With the first game not until mid-September, we had time to build the squad - which of course we needed as the club started with no players or staff.  Trials were numerous - but my initial concern we wouldn't find good enough players who were unattached was soon put to rest.  We signed 37 players (first XI, backup XI and then a mix of U20's and U18's) - and the squad looks pretty good for the division.  We are 1/5 favourites to win the division.  Most of our signings are Italian.  Although the San Marino League is activated in the save - those players don't won't to take a step down to sign for us in the Prima Categoria.  However, San Marino Academy was pillaged for anyone under 18 and of promise!  There were a couple of unattached players in the San Marino NT U19 who I've signed as well (I'm not NT manager from the start in this save).

Most of the signings were under 23 as per the club vision - but I struggled to sign backup players in defense, so I went with a couple of older players.  In FM19 with San Giovanni I had an inverted left winger, Riccardo Dragoni, who played 169 games for me and scored 57 goals - he's now at Verucchio - but I was able to sign him as a backup, so great to be reunited with him.

Our first game didn't start well - we went 0-1 down to a counter attack goal - but we got back to 1-1 quickly and managed to win 2-1 - having 41 shots to their 4!!  Team cohesion is poor, as you would expect - but hopefully that will come together soonish and we'll start to click.

[Bartrcm]

On 12/12/2019 at 15:15, Bartrcm said:

I totally understand this.

Did you already received feedback from the Original creator?

[duesouth]

15 minutes ago, Bartrcm said:

Did you already received feedback from the Original creator?

I DM'd him a couple of days ago, but no response yet.

[duesouth]

On 09/12/2019 at 17:48, FoxGe1994 said:

Not sure how to do it with the Editor... 

But will try and see if i can find a solution.
Are other databases allowed in this challenge? 

 

I've got this San Marino League database running in the background of my Calcio save - and it looks like teams register their players perfectly - so give it a go:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1923638745&searchtext=san+marino

[duesouth]

6 hours ago, Bartrcm said:

Did you already received feedback from the Original creator?

I've just received permission to publish the edited file on here.  This is the work of @FMRevolution and the source is the facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/643019436087539/  - please do check this out!

Italy - 4062 clubs, 7 league levels (Serie A-D, Campionato Eccellenza and Promozione, Prima Categoria, Primavera 1,2,3)..fmf

[mattboy_slim]

So I've decided to give this challenge a go - first time choosing a team outside the UK to manage, so I'm sure it's going to be an interesting challenge.

Decided to manage SS Pennarossa

For no other reason than I like the kit/colours . Seems to be a fairly average squad, with former Juventus youth prospect Alessandro Conti being the one notable standout. However it would appear I only have 2 defenders in the senior squad, so this will need to be addressed before the season starts!!

My plan is to put a good few years focusing on improving the club, hopefully aided by a few european appearances before attempting to manage the national team - don't relish the thought of getting destroyed every game! Will try post regular updates with any progress

[mattboy_slim]

First target met

[Bartrcm]

15 hours ago, duesouth said:

I've just received permission to publish the edited file on here.  This is the work of @FMRevolution and the source is the facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/643019436087539/  - please do check this out!

Italy - 4062 clubs, 7 league levels (Serie A-D, Campionato Eccellenza and Promozione, Prima Categoria, Primavera 1,2,3)..fmf 345.3 kB · 1 download

Great. Thank you very much!!! And I will check facebooK;

 

[duesouth]

San Marino Calcio 2019/2020 Prima Categoria Marche B - Part 2

So far, this has been pretty easy.  Played 15... won 15 with a goal difference of +64!!!  We are only 6 points ahead of 2nd though - beating them at home with a 94th minute direct free kick, so we do have to guard against complacency.

[parkin90]

18 hours ago, mattboy_slim said:

So I've decided to give this challenge a go - first time choosing a team outside the UK to manage, so I'm sure it's going to be an interesting challenge.

Decided to manage SS Pennarossa

For no other reason than I like the kit/colours . Seems to be a fairly average squad, with former Juventus youth prospect Alessandro Conti being the one notable standout. However it would appear I only have 2 defenders in the senior squad, so this will need to be addressed before the season starts!!

My plan is to put a good few years focusing on improving the club, hopefully aided by a few european appearances before attempting to manage the national team - don't relish the thought of getting destroyed every game! Will try post regular updates with any progress

I played as them last year! Tried a game breaking tactic to see how good it was.....I got them to the Europa league group stages at the end of the second season 😂

[TacticalGenius]

A quick update: It’s February 2023. Cattolica Calcio are doing well to avoid relegation in Serie A. Reached the Coppa Italia quarter final, beaten by Torino 2-1 AET. New stadium being planned, upgrades to training and youth facilities in progress.

NT are 179th and have been relegated to Nations League D after we lost a relegation playoff vs Kazakhstan 7-1 on aggregate. Many of our better players were suspended or injured. 

[mattboy_slim]

So perfect first season all round!

Finished first in Group A, won the playoff and San Marino cup:

Finding the league a little easy at this level but a lot of fun to play! Hoping for more of the same over the next few seasons. Plan is to try and scrape a few results in European qualifying rounds, get some much needed funds and then hopefully turn the club semi pro and ultimately pro. Gonna be a long tough slog building the club to the point where we start producing some half decent newgens, but looking forward to the journey!!

[parkin90]

Finally finished the second season of the game!

I blogged about it in two parts:

here https://stratmangaming.wordpress.com/2019/12/10/a-serene-rebirth-3-massive-overhaul/

and here https://stratmangaming.wordpress.com/2019/12/15/a-serene-rebirth-4-anonymous/

In terms of the challenge, nothing really to report. I didn't get promoted, I didn't do anything incredible or pull up trees with the national side we just kind of existed haha

[FoxGe1994]

6 hours ago, parkin90 said:

Finally finished the second season of the game!

I blogged about it in two parts:

here https://stratmangaming.wordpress.com/2019/12/10/a-serene-rebirth-3-massive-overhaul/

and here https://stratmangaming.wordpress.com/2019/12/15/a-serene-rebirth-4-anonymous/

In terms of the challenge, nothing really to report. I didn't get promoted, I didn't do anything incredible or pull up trees with the national side we just kind of existed haha

Was following your last blog with San Marino - will look forward to see how this turns out 

[viney]

Just a quick update from me...

2020 saw me get my first 2 wins with the San Marino national side. Both of them were 4-0 in the Nations League against Andorra.

[Jwards8]

Alright, Not my first San Marino challenge but my first time writing about it.

Came real close to perfection in FM 17 winning everything at club level and everything at national level aside from the world cup so looking to improve upon that this year.

I've went with the C.C. San Marino database change and put myself straight in charge of the national team, build the foundations early and so on.

I've also decided to limit myself to youth players, the caveat being that my HoYD can bring in players he sees fit, not an exact youth academy challenge more like a HGC challenge but should still make for a little extra challenge.

Eyebrows have been raised etc etc. Will kick on with Pre Season and update from there.

[parkin90]

1 hour ago, FoxGe1994 said:

Was following your last blog with San Marino - will look forward to see how this turns out 

Haha thanks man! Hopefully well!

[Jwards8]

1 hour ago, Jwards8 said:

Alright, Not my first San Marino challenge but my first time writing about it.

Came real close to perfection in FM 17 winning everything at club level and everything at national level aside from the world cup so looking to improve upon that this year.

I've went with the C.C. San Marino database change and put myself straight in charge of the national team, build the foundations early and so on.

I've also decided to limit myself to youth players, the caveat being that my HoYD can bring in players he sees fit, not an exact youth academy challenge more like a HGC challenge but should still make for a little extra challenge.

Eyebrows have been raised etc etc. Will kick on with Pre Season and update from there.

Tactics are ready to go. 

Two systems set up, The Shake is my more defensive (still quite attacking, think Keegan-esque score 4 and concede 3) which I will be using with the national team too. The Shuffle is my league approach, trying to maximise the shots on goal on this version of the ME, found myself in previous saves this year having 20+ shots on target and no goals so its essentially an attempt to maximise our quantity, perhaps at the expense of quality.

Well aware that these systems are asking a lot of what is essentially Sunday league (at club level anyway) players but they are basically slightly tweaked versions of my really successful systems from FM19 and i'm hoping they can stand me in good stead here.

[duesouth]

San Marino Calcio 2019/2020 Prima Categoria Marche B (Level 7) - Part 3

So, the first hurdle was pretty easy as we were crowned champions with 3 games to spare.  We went undefeated in a 30 game season (no cup competitions) - with just 2 draws - one of them being the last game of the season with a very young team out.  I'm going to keep the core of the starting XI for next season as they can handle the next level.  However, I'm going to replace my keeper who is just average (not that he had much to do) and I had a B2B midfielder on loan (my only loanee) who finished with 13 goals, 15 assists and an average rating of 8.01 (!).  He's out of contract with his parent club Clodiense at the end of June, but as at end of season, he doesn't want to sign for us permanently.  I'll keep an eye on him.  I might also need an upgrade at left back, but the fans like the current player and he did average 7.65 with 7 assists, so I might stick with him.

It's onto the Promozione next season - with the board expecting another title win - no pressure then!

First Youth Intake

Considering we were Level 7, I thought I might get one or two 4/5* CA players - but as it is we did get several 4/5* potential players.  A few got games at the end of the season - and some are already in the San Marino NT system at U19 level (2 U21 and 9 U19 call ups).  All but 4 were signed.  The best 3 are a keeper, left back and centre midfielder.

[parkin90]

Solid in take there mate! Good to see them in the national team already!

[mattboy_slim]

SS Pennarossa - Season 2020/21

So another successful season which included our first taste of European football!

This was followed by wins against Glentoran and Spartaks Jamala, before ultimately losing to Qarabag over two legs. However this run provided a much needed boost to our bank balance, netting us best part of 2 million!

Domestically, managed to win the treble fairly comfortably.

Which was shortly followed by the news the club is turning semi professional. Hoping this will provide a boost to our reputation and allow us to keep some of our better players, having lost our star player Alessandro Conti to a Serie C film for nothing

[parkin90]

So my latest campaign with the national team was pretty bad......we got a tough group and only picked up a single point at home to Azerbaijan. Still a good effort with a poor squad.

 

[duesouth]

San Marino Calcio - 2020/21 Season - Promozione Emilia-Romagna Group A (L6) - Winter Break

We made just 2 new major signings going into the new season.  17 year old keeper Alberto Vaccaro was better than our keeper last year - and came in and has started all 17 games.  In midfield, to replace our loanee last year, we took the chance to sign Sammarinese international Michele Moroni, who was released by a certain Cattolica Calcio San Marino.  He should be able to deal with Eccellenza (L5) should we get promoted.  His work rate is good, and I'm using him as a B2B midfielder.

Our form at the new level early in the season was uneven - to the point I was getting concerned - but we got on a roll and moved up the table.  We are 2nd - 3 points off the leaders, so all to play for.  I'm hoping we avoid injuries, as a lot of our backup players have been subject to interest from other clubs - and on amateur contracts, some have left.

[viney]

2021 Update

New Completed Challenge Achievements

Club

Win a European Qualifying game

Win the San Marino Super Cup

Country

Beat a team ranked in the top 50 in the World

Summary

Club

The 2020/21 season with Cosmos was disappointing failing to win the Champions Playoff again after just one defeat in the first two stages. We also lost the San Marino Super Cup Final in our first match meaning that a 3-1 win after extra time in the San Marino Cup Final led to our only silverware of the season and giving us qualification for the Europa Conference League. In the off-season the side turned semi-professional hopefully meaning that better players will be attracted to the club leading to dominance domestically and progress in continental competitions. During the off-season, the board also announced plans to build a new stadium as well as upgrading both the youth and training facilities.

We started the 2021/22 season getting knocked out of the Europa Conference league in our first qualifying round after losing on away goals to Kalju (4-4 on aggregate). We bounced back from the disappointment with a 3-0 win over Folgore in our next match to secure the club’s first San Marino Super Cup victory under my management. We carried on our good form domestically and are undefeated going into the new year.

Country

The San Marino national team recorded another win (San Marino 4-0 Faroe Islands), our first in a World Cup qualifier. Matteo Vitaioli reached 74 caps in our first match against Northern Ireland to set a new appearance record. In September we got our 2nd victory of the World Cup Qualifiers, a 3-2 home win against Albania. It was total dominance from Albania in the stats for 93 minutes but unfortunately for them we scored in the 1st and 95th for a real smash and grab victory. Being 59th in the world put them just short of the ranking that was needed for another achievement in the challenge. In October we completed a double over the Faroe Islands, winning 3-2 away from home. We then beat Greece 2-1 in our 2nd game of the window in a sensational result and our first win against a top 50 ranked nation (Greece ranked 26th in the world at kick-off). We ended the international break 3rd in the group, 4 points behind Greece who were in 2nd. A 0-0 draw away to Northern Ireland coupled with a win for Greece ended our very slim hopes of finishing 2nd in the qualifying group but meant that 3rd place was guaranteed. Our final game of the year saw us suffer a disappointing 4-1 defeat to Albania but despite this I still think it was a successful year overall. We ended the year ranked 175th in the world.