retired_brittni10

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.”

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


Overall:

Nazionale “A”
Played: 79 Won: 1 Draw: 4 Lost: 74 For: 14 Against: 317

Nazionale “B”
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)

retired_brittni10

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.

retired_amyslack

A great piece of research Wag :thup:

retired_brittni10

Thank you BobBev

retired_brittni10

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.

retired_brittni10

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.”

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.

retired_brittni10

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.

retired_brittni10

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?”

retired_brittni10

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 “speculation”.

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.”

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.

retired_brittni10

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.