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November fourteenth, nineteen-ninety, a child stands barefoot, cold and solitary in the middle of a small cemetery holding a crumpled photograph carefully in his left hand. His face a picture of pain and anguish. His parents were gone; dead. They said it was an accident, someone told him a motor collision but he had been too young to understand. Everyday he’d return to the same spot and just gaze, frozen on the hillside. He fell to the floor and cried.
Later in the day, by now back in his room at the hostel, he strained his eyes to watch the small television he had been given as a present on his birthday. It was a monumental occasion for both himself and the country of his birth as San Marino were playing Switzerland in their first official international. The picture was appalling but through a haze of distortion and fuzz he could just about make out the movement of the figures on the screen, he watched intently; football had taken extra precedence in his life now he was an orphan, it mattered not that his country had lost by four goals to nil, he simply just wanted to be amongst them - it was his dream because it gave him the belief of a better future.
Every spare moment he had would be spent training, nearly always on his own. Dribbling up and down and in and out of empty side streets at pace, stopping and turning, doing all the drills he could think of. Some days he’d go and watch the local teams play to pick up tips but he would always shy away from talking to the players or management, they were like gods to him. He felt as if he was nothing, he felt embarrassed. Years passed with him continuing to work hard and train on his own, eventually he was spotted by a youth coach in his native San Marino and began to play in the local leagues, eventually graduating into regional selection. He had shown promise and at the age of fifteen was approached, trialled and subsequently signed by Fiorentina.
In nineteen-eighty-seven his world had fallen apart. At the age of just eight, he suffered an unimaginable horror, an experience no other could ever comprehend unless they'd lived through every harrowing moment. While his peers across the Western hemisphere were playing with their computer games and action figures, he was waking in his native San Marino with the realisation that his life had changed forever. His parents were gone; both killed in an unfortunate accident. And with their deaths had departed his innocence, naivety and boyhood dreams. Instead, he was left facing a new life in an orphanage and eventually a two-hundred and forty-one kilometre move to Florence, Italy - a country where he knew not a soul.
Sitting alongside Jamie Waggett today, it's hard to image he suffered such childhood trauma. To those who don't know him, he may appear serious - reticent even. But the seventeen-year-old is neither. He speaks softly and slowly, as if taking every word through self-analysis, and although he can be deeply thoughtful, he is not without good humour. He breaks into a wide smile when he chats about playing football, but his tone becomes darker when he recalls the death of his family.
"Things happen - sometimes you can't explain them," he says. "Losing my parents has taught me that you can never take anything for granted. You can have everything and then the next day it can be taken away."
Though his eyes must hide a thousand stories, behind that laid-back, cool exterior, inner ambition burns. To get a glimpse of his real self, you need to look at his prowess on the pitch. The youngster, whose position is that of a striker or an attacking midfielder, though he is best known for playing as the trequartista (or second striker), a compromise between the two positions where the player acts as a link between midfield and attack, is part of a Fiorentina youth set-up which can only be described as 'blossoming’. Jamie has been an integral part of the team's success with his maturity and leadership skills ensuring his appointment as captain of the Primavera side at the start of this campaign in a year which has just seen him lift the Coppa Italia Primavera, however the youngster's real strengths lie with the ball at his feet, and it is here that the full potential of his vibrant talent will undoubtedly be uncovered.
Often he can prove to be the catalyst for the team; producing a moment of sumptuous skill as he dances over the grass, leaving a trail of bewildered opponents in his wake. But more often than not he is the epitome of the team-player, using his talent to help create a combined goal; three points for his side. This is a view enforced by current Fiorentina manager Claudio Ranieri, who stresses that coaches and team-mates alike only realise how valuable Jamie is when he doesn't play.
"He has a great appetite for the game. He's technically accomplished on the ball, has pace and strength, and has a tremendous attitude. He lives, eats and drinks football and that can only bode well for a successful future."
With Raneri’s side recently winning the Coppa Italia having defeated Atalanta three-nil on aggregate the Florence club look to have a bright future.
He went on to make his debut for Fiorentina late in the 1996/97 Serie A season, as a substitute but despite playing in a unfamiliar role on the left wing he showed his class by laying on a goal for forward Francesco Baiano within ten minutes of his arrival on the pitch. Nut-megging his marker and playing a whipped cross into the six yard box for the diminutive striker to poke home. He went on to play a further three times that season, scoring twice in the final game of the season. Things were looking up and he was promoted to the first-team over the summer the 1997/98 season, still only eighteen years-old, and given the squad number fourteen. He was a regular in the friendlies Fiorentina played during that pre-season and featured three times in the opening four games of the season, scoring a further two goals.
The media were purring over this young attacking sensation and his impressive form also alerted the selection committee for the Italian under-twenty-one squad but having earned a call up he declined the offer on the grounds that he wanted to play for San Marino, something for which he was declared foolish by many pundits, had he no ambition? After all former San Marino international Massimo Bonini, once of Juventus and a hero of his, had played for the Italian under twenty-ones himself. However, that was a different time and he felt his loyalties lay firmly with the country of his birth.
A car spun out of control and ploughed through the guard-rail into the concrete wall that lined the tunnel. Its front was crumpled with the sheer force of impact thrusting two-foot of cracked, twisted metal back into the car. The windshield imploded, showering the insides with slivers of glass. Both the driving wheel and dashboard compacted into one mangled mess. The body continued to roll against the wall before slowly shuddering to a halt with a final metallic groan like a wounded beast. Then all was silent for a while.
Inside the driver was still alive, barely, from such an impact many would have thought their chance of survival was almost nothing, but here they were, breathing, although only just. Their face, covered in cuts, was crushed into the airbag and the driver’s seat belt had cut savagely into their torso. The stench of smoke and oil hung in the air. Opening their eyes for a small while, attempting as they did to open the door handle but in their shocked state they struggled and could barely move as the car began to fill with dark fumes. They began to cough as each lung filled with burning air, their throat began to feel sore and their eyes, now red raw, streamed uncontrollably. They felt their body beginning to slow and the light begin to fade, then nothing. Overcome and mentally exhausted they had passed out.
Jamie Waggett faces a lengthy lay-off after suffering serious injuries in a car accident on Sunday night. The Fiorentina youngster has broken his left leg in several places, and may have also damaged his other in the incident which happened just outside Florence.
The San Marino-born attacker, nineteen years-old, was taken to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. A spokesperson there confirmed he had broken his left leg but would not go into any more detail about his injuries.
They said: “His condition is satisfactory. He is comfortable and receiving the best care he can get.”
Club officials and players are understood to have visited the promising youngster in his private room at the hospital but his club would not comment on the extent of his injuries but the Serie A side have issued a statement in which they promised to give the player their full support during the recovery process.
“Everyone at the club is deeply concerned about the incident involving Jamie Waggett. At this stage our thoughts are with Jamie and we wish him a speedy and full recovery. He will be given the best possible care to aid his recovery.”
Police rushed to the scene of the crash after his car had spun out of control and smashed into a concrete wall that lined the tunnel he was driving through. Waggett, the only occupant of the car, was said to be unconscious upon their arrival and was believed to be driving back to his home having been out of the city to watch his former youth-team mates play in a Primavera match.
The incident is likely to put his place in the Fiorentina first-team in doubt as many are speculating that this could be the end of his promising yet brief career.
"Jamie was travelling home and lost control of his vehicle due to the slippery conditions caused by recent heavy rains in the area. The accident happened at approximately ten pm last night but it was not until eleven pm that he was freed from the wreckage of his car by the emergency services. An operation was carried out soon after midnight." a Police spokesman said.
His left leg had been completely shattered in the crash. When he woke up in hospital he almost immediately knew the extent of the damage and he couldn’t even begin to describe the pain. Although he was lucky to be alive his immediate concern was whether he would walk again. He didn’t care about being able to play football or even about running. At that stage, he would have been happy just walking again, just to be able to move his legs without the searing pain. In his first week after the accident he had eight operations and was admitted to over six different hospitals as he was seen by different specialists all during the first month. The first step was to repair the nasty break in his left leg. They did it by putting a rod along his shin to set the bone, he also had pins inserted in his ankle but his knee ligaments were left to heal. He was left with a gaping wound in his leg that couldn’t be stitched so he had to have plastic surgery, veins and arteries had been damaged which lead to internal bleeding. In the end a plastic surgeon had to remove a muscle from underneath his arm and plumb it into the front of his leg. It looked a mess but it gave him hope.
A few months later he began to do weight work in the gym and at the six months point he started jogging again, even though he was initially told it would take a year to get to this stage. He was ahead of schedule but every time he tried to get further he broke down. Some days he’d cry because he was in such physical pain but he was determined to play again and the doctors and physiotherapists at the Fiorentina pushed him to his limits. Soon his leg was strong enough to start training with a ball again, sometimes it hurt like mad but he gritted his teeth and got on with it. He had come so far and didn’t want to let anyone down, football was all he had. Eventually he recovered enough to start training with the youth team, still only nineteen years-old, he potentially had his whole career ahead of him but after his first training match he felt a sharp pain. Worried, he consulted the clubs doctors but they told him it was just a flare up because he’d been working so hard and it calmed down after a couple of days. A small time passed but soon it was happening with every training session, again and again and again - his knee was showing signs of rapid deterioration, the clubs doctors told him he could try to continue playing but it was likely that he’d be running the risk of disability later in life and the possibility of amputation - it was over. In May nineteen-ninety-eight, having made just seven appearances for Fiorentina, he was forced to call an end to his playing career.
"He can start with the Under-15s and Under-17s and with me. He's a good person, so it's a good opportunity for him and for Fiorentina. It’s a shame he won’t be able to play again but Jamie has the possibility to manage at a high level because he is a leader.” remarked Claudio Ranieri.
With his playing career over Jamie was fortunate to be offered a coaching role at Fiorentina. Although still only nineteen years-old himself he began by helping out with the youth teams and didn’t waste his time away from the club by gaining a rash of coaching qualifications with the help of the courses at Coverciano. He was gutted that his playing career was over but he eventually came to love coaching and found it took his mind off things. He felt if he could develop others it would take the pain away and for a while it worked but before long it became too much as the realisation that many of the players he was looking after and helping to progress just a little younger than him. He wanted to be playing but he loved the game too much and having completed his courses at Coverciano he finished the season with the club and decided to leave. Quite simply he’d had enough, it was just too upsetting to watch others progress while he would always be stuck on the same level. He had spent several months disillusioned with life and after having spent a few weeks in hospital following a minor nervous breakdown returned to home to San Marino with the millennium just a few weeks away.
The decision to move back to his home to San Marino, where he felt his roots were, wasn’t an easy one to make. He’d made friends in Florence and would miss the atmosphere of being involved at the club, although he’d quit coaching he’d still occasionally helped out with scouting and with youth administration, however, it was the right time to leave. He had to put the bad memories behind him and move on. So much had happened in the twenty-one years since his birth that he felt the need to restart from scratch.
Finding himself a small apartment in Serravalle he quickly settled in and soon found work in an administrative role with the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio, the governing body of football in San Marino. He answered directly to president Giorgio Crescentini and was involved in the organisation and daily running of the Campionato Sammarinese, Coppa Titano and Trofeo Federale. He liked the job, it was simple, paid well and allowed him to be close to football without having to be too involved, for the first time in a long while he felt safe and more importantly happy.
After a few years a technical role appeared within the infrastructure of the San Marino national team at youth level, due to his extensive coaching qualifications he was invited to apply for the position by senior members of the selection panel and unsurprisingly was awarded the post. It was an unexpected turn about in fortunes for Jamie, by now twenty-three, but his previous pain had succumbed to a hunger and love of the game that he’d first showed as a teenage prodigy. It felt right to be giving something back again and he was told that there‘d be room for him to progress up the ladder should he do well in the role, something which pleased him greatly. He felt reinvigorated and any pain, pangs or regret that he’d previously felt about the end of his playing career had ceased to exist.
Sammarinese football started to develop in the late nineteen twenties. The first club was S.P. Libertas, founded on the fourth of September 1928 with the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio (FSGC) emerging three years later, in 1931. It took some time to organize an official competition, but eventually, in the summer of 1937, four teams - S.P. Libertas, La Castellana, S.P. La Fiorita and US Titania (now S.P. Tre Penne) - contested the inaugural tournament called the Coppa Titano, which was designed with a league format.
All the matches were played at the Borgo Maggiore stadium, at that time the only one in the country, and Libertas were the first winners with nine points from their six matches. They confirmed their top-club status by winning all of the next five titles up to, and including, 1961, there having being a suspension of play during the war years.
One year earlier, however, in 1960, something very important had happened. A club called S.S. Serenissima was founded by the FSGC with the declared intention of playing their football in Italy. The first president was Carlo Casali, and the team was initially placed in the second division of the Italian amateur league, achieving their first promotion in 1962. In 1973, following a merger with another club, there was a name change to AC San Marino, and then in 1988, with the team by now in Serie C2, a further alteration to San Marino Calcio.
In 1963 the federation founded the NAGC - Nucleo Addestramento Giovani Calciatori - the first official youth academy of the Republic led by Guglielmo Giovannini, a genuinely passionate and respected figure in national football. A further development occurred in 1970 when, due to the ever-increasing number of clubs involved and the subsequent longevity of the tournament, the Coppa Titano changed its format by dividing the teams into two groups.
The year 1979 saw the birth of the Republic's youngest club, S.P. Cosmos. By way of imbuing the team with an identity of their own, the founders decided to use the name of the last club in which the great Brazilian attacker Pelé had played, the New York Cosmos, as well as adopting their main colour, green, for the squads strip.
In 1980 the FSGC began to develop ideas for a domestic league, a necessary step if the country was to gain official recognition from the international football bodies. Over the next five years the competition was played in an experimental way, and then in October 1985 the first Campionato Sammarinese began in earnest and was won by S.C. Faetano. That same year also witnessed the birth of the Trofeo Federale, a type of Super Cup in which the championship winners play the holders of the Coppa Titano, although all are strictly amateur competitions.
The Campionato Sammarinese, whose winners enter the UEFA Cup preliminary, although this was due to change in 2007 with the victors gaining a spot in the preliminary phase of the Champions League, currently consists of fifteen teams split into two groups or gironi, as they are known. The brackets behind each team denote the municipality, known locally as castelli that make up San Marino, which each club belongs to.
In Girone A, which houses seven teams, are S.P. Cailungo (Borgo Maggiore), S.S. Cosmos (Serravalle), S.P. La Fiorita (Montegiardino), S.S. Pennarossa (Chiesanuova), S.P. Tre Fiori (Fiorentino), S.P. Tre Penne (Serravalle) and S.S. Virtus (Acquaviva).
Girone B holds the other eight; F.C. Domagnano (Domagnano), S.C. Faetano (Faetano), F.C. Fiorentino (Fiorentino), S.S. Folgore/Falciano (Serravalle), A.C. Juvenes/Dogana (Serravalle), A.C. Libertas (Borgo Maggiore), S.S. Murata (San Marino), S.S. San Giovanni (Borgo Maggiore)
Sammarinese teams don't have home grounds of their own so instead, venues are randomly chosen for every match between the Campo Sportivo di Chiesanuova, Campo Sportivo Di Dogana, Campo Sportivo di Fiorentino, Campo Sportivo di Fonte dell'Ovo and the Stadio Serravalle "B", which situated just a few hundred yards from the Stadio Olimpico di Serravalle. Sometimes the Stadio Olimpico in Serravalle is also used although that is mainly reserved for San Marino Calcio, who play in the Italian league and the national team, as well as other sporting events. Since there aren't many grounds, matches are played on two days of each week, usually Saturday and Sunday. The play-off finals and the European fixtures are always played in the Stadio Olimpico.
One of the most successful sides in Campionato history is F.C. Domagnano who have won four Campionato Sammarinese, three in the last five years. S.P. Tre Fiori can also claim four titles, although they have failed to lift the trophy since 1995. Of the fifteen clubs who make up the Sammarinese league only S.P. Cailungo, S.P. Tre Penne, S.S. Virtus, A.C. Juvenes/Dogana and S.S. San Giovanni have never lifted the title. S.S. San Giovanni are in fact the least successful of any team in San Marino having failed to gain a single honour since their formation in in 1948. The current title holders are S.S. Murata.
As well as claiming four league titles F.C. Domagnano have recorded eight Coppa Titano successes, while A.C. Juvenes/Dognana have seven, however both achievements are somewhat dwarfed by the success of the oldest club in San Marino - A.C. Libertas who have lifted the trophy ten times since their formation in 1928. the most in the history of the competition. Domagnano and Libertas also hold three Trofeo Federale each and are joined by S.S. Cosmos as one of the most successful sides in the completion since it’s inception.
The most notable players in the history of Sammarinese football are former Juventus player Massimo Bonini, who I will come to later, and Marco Macina, born on the 30th of September 1964, he was the first Sammarinese footballer to appear in the Italian Serie A, playing alongside Roberto Mancini with Bologna. He also played for Arezzo, Parma and A.C. Milan but was never able to fully show his potential and left professional football in 1988, after a Serie C season with Ancona. Macina played six times for his country, playing in all four of their opening games and in two European Championship qualifying matches for San Marino during 1990.
Having been founded in 1931, the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio (FSGC) was finally affiliated with UEFA and FIFA in 1988 which was a historic event, and also represented the start of a great transformation and tremendous development in Sammarinese football. Prior to this the nation, managed by Giulio Cesare Casali, made their unofficial debut on the 23rd of August 1986 with a one-nil defeat against the Canadian Olympic side in Serravalle. In 1987 they took part in the Mediterranean Games in Syria, drawing nil-nil with Lebanon in their first fixture before losing three-nil and four-nil to Syria and Turkey respectively. Their competitive debut came four years later, a four-nil UEFA European Championship qualifier defeat against Switzerland.
In January 2002 a www.uefa.com article claimed that the San Marino national team was ‘the most consistent national team in Europe,’ this was because they never won games and hardly ever scored. At this time they were ranked one-hundred-and-fifty-eighth in the FIFA World Rankings - the lowest position of any UEFA nation and were said to hold the primary objection on the pitch of ‘damage limitation’ something that was backed up by national manager Giampaolo Mazza.
Mazza is Mr San Marino and could be said to know more about the minnows than almost anyone else after managing the Under-18s, Under-21s and now the full national side. Mazza is tasked with protecting one of the most fragile institutions in football: San Marino's goals against column.
“Our aim is to concede as few goals as possible and score a few back I will be happy with that,'' he said. “It is impossible for us, we cannot compete with the other countries.”
He had a point, at that moment in time defeats by just one or two goals were greeted as triumphs as with more than fifty international matches under their belt since joining FIFA in 1986, San Marino had only managed to avoid defeat twice, drawing goalless with Turkey at home in 1993 in a 1994 World Cup Qualifier and a much celebrated one-one draw in Latvia in April 2001 during qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
The 1992 UEFA European Championship Qualifying, coached by Giorgo Leoni and in their first ever competitive campaign, brought eight defeats as the team were by some way worst in the qualifying phase, letting in thirty-three goals and only scoring once, a Waldes Pasolini penalty in a three-one defeat to Romania at the Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle in March 1991.
This was followed by the 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifying which saw the nation pick up it‘s first point with a goalless draw in Serravalle against Turkey, who they had earlier scored against in a four-one defeat in Ankara through Nicola Bacciocchi. The campaign also saw San Marino create little piece of history by netting the fastest goal ever in World Cup history when striker Davide Gualtieri scored after just 8.3 seconds to give San Marino a shock lead against England at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara in Bologna, although the team then went on to lose seven-one. England had the kick-off, and passed the ball back to Stuart Pearce, who then attempted a back-pass to goalkeeper David Seaman. Pearce's horrendous pass was under-hit, and Gualtieri ran through the defence to lash the ball past the confused Seaman. However, having lost their opening game ten-nil against Norway in Oslo, a record defeat for the nation, they again finished bottom of a strong group which also contained the Netherlands and Poland. Overall, they scored just twice and conceded a mammoth forty-five goals in ten games.
The 1996 European Championship Qualifiers was the last campaign under manager Giorgio Leoni who’d been in charge since a four-nil defeat against Switzerland in European Championship qualifier in November 1990. Placed in Group Eight of the competition they faced Russia, Scotland, Greece, Finland and the Faroe Islands losing all ten games. They scoring just twice with goals from Pier Domenico Della Valle in a four-one defeat against Finland and Mauro Valentini in a three-one home defeat against the Faroe Islands while conceding thirty-six at the other end.
Leoni’s replacement as manager of the national team was San Marinese legend Massimo Bonini. However, he lasted just eight games as the team struggled through the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers failing to score in eight games and conceding forty-two goals against the likes of Wales, Belgium, Turkey and the Netherlands in what was one of their poorest showings to date. Starting with a five-nil defeat against Wales in Serravalle during June 1996 and ending with another five-nil defeat in Serravalle, this time to Turkey, in September 1997
Bonini resigned soon afterwards but in 2004 was named as San Marino’s Golden Player after each national association was ask to nominate it’s outstanding player of the last fifty-years to help UEFA mark it’s Jubilee. Bonini was the undoubted choice, a tireless defensive midfielder during his playing days, he was perhaps less flamboyant and somewhat of an introvert in comparison to his more illustrious team-mates at Juventus, but he certainly did a priceless job on the pitch for his club. His tireless running in midfield, collecting balls and riding rough tackles, often made it easier for his colleagues to manufacture chances and avoid trouble. And his bulging trophy cabinet bears testament to the fact that hard work eventually does pay off being the only Sammarinese footballer to have lifted the European Cup, with Juventus in 1985 as well as also lifting three league titles, one Coppa Italia, one Cup Winners' Cup, one European Super Cup and one Intercontinental Cup between 1981 and 1988 in which he played two-hundred-and-ninety-six matches and scoring six goals for the club.
His international career was somewhat strange. In the early 1980s he played nine times for the Italian Under-21 team, as the San Marino Football Federation (FSGC) had yet to be affiliated to UEFA and so their players were considered to be Italian. When the rules changed, however, Bonini was no longer allowed to play for Italian national sides any more, and therefore had to wait until 1990 to appear in the colours of his home country. Between 1990 and 1995 he made 19 appearances for San Marino, many as captain, before assuming the coaching duties of the national team after retiring as a player. Maybe the best way to honour Bonini and demonstrate the high regard in which he was held as a footballer, is to relate this short story. When Juventus club president Giovanni Agnelli saw team-mate Michel Platini smoking a cigarette, and consequently expressed his disapproval, it is said that the French star replied, "The thing that really counts is that Bonini does not smoke."
Taking over from Bonini in 1998 was former San Marino international Giampaolo Mazza who was promoted from his position of assistant manager in time for the beginning of qualification for the 2000 European Championships. Alongside Spain, Israel, Austria and Cyprus in Group Six of the competition they fell to another eight defeats conceding forty-four times and scoring just once through a penalty from striker Andy Selva, the countries only professional player at the time, in October 1998 against Austria in a 4-1 defeat at the Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle. The goal was only San Marino’s sixth-ever at international level.
Mazza was also in charge as the country fell to a close one-nil defeat at home to Moldova in a rare friendly in April 2000 before residing over the eight qualifiers for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. These brought seven defeats with three goals scored and thirty conceded, including a ten-one defeat against Belgium, Andy Selva the scorer, who also scored in a four-one home defeat later in the series. However, the qualifiers also yielded the countries second ever point in the competition when they drew 1-1 with Latvia in Riga. The match against Lativa begun in familiar fashion when the Latvians romped into a first-minute lead through Marian Pahars and then spent the rest of the match threatening more but somehow goalkeeper Federico Gasperoni bravely kept them out and then - amazingly - Nicola Albani grabbed an unlikely equaliser with a close-range header in the 59th minute from which the Sammarinese hung on for the draw.
If success for San Marino is keeping their goals against column as low as possible then encouragement can be gleaned from their performances over the past four years. In the qualifying competition for EURO 2000 they scored just one goal and conceded forty-four whereas in the World Cup campaign they managed three goals, shipping just thirty - and of course they got that precious point against Latvia. They also picked up confidence from the fact despite the ten-one defeat against Belgium, no one else had managed to score more than four times against them. Scotland beat them two-nil and four-nil while Croatia were limited to two four-nil victories with Latvia stumbling to a one-nil win in the other group game.
March 2002 brought a historic day for San Marino when it’s under-seventeen national side became the country’s first team to win an official competitive match with a dramatic two-one win over Andorra in Group Four of the 2001/02 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. Nicola Ranocchini gave San Marino the lead on 28 minutes, but it seemed that three points could be beyond them when Somoza Losada equalised five minutes later for Andorra. However, the San Marinese teenagers were determined to grab their moment of history, and Matteo Valli was twice denied by great saves from the Andorran goalkeeper before with just four minutes left, substitute Stefano Semprini converted a free-kick to send San Marino into the uncharted territory of triumph which ended a barren one-hundred-and-thirty match spell for San Marinese teams.
Following on from the victory May 2002 saw another close friendly defeat for the full side as they fell one-nil to Estonia at the Stadio Olimpico in preparation for the 2004 European Championship Qualifiers. Placed in Group Four alongside Sweden, Latvia, Poland and Hungary they failed to score in any of their eight matches, conceding thirty as they lost each game. However, all was not as it seemed from first glance as San Marino had been unlucky not to pick up their first-ever point in the UEFA European Championship against Latvia as they lost via a last-minute Carlo Valentini own-goal to fall to a one-nil defeat.
Shortly before the end of that campaign, in an friendly during August 2003, San Marino scored two goals in a game for the first time in their history. It was during a match against Liechtenstein in Vaduz, as their new manager Walter Hörmann looked for a victory in his first game in charge, however Giampaolo Mazza ‘s side had other ideas. The hosts got off to an excellent start, as Mario Frick and Franz Burgmeier sent the Rheinpark stadium into raptures, putting Liechtenstein two-nil up with goals in the sixteenth and twenty-third minutes respectively. However, San Marino refused to accept defeat and, thanks to goals from midfielder Alex Gasperoni and striker Nicola Ciacci, on his international debut, managed to pull level before half-time. Then, with victory looking within their grasp, San Marino had Michele Marani dismissed twelve minutes from the end for a second yellow card.
San Marino began their preparations for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign with another friendly against Liechtenstein, although this time it was played at the Stadio Olimpico, it was to produce the most memorable result in the nations history to date. On Wednesday the 28th of April 2004 five minutes were all that were needed to show that it was going to be a magical night for the Sammarinese players and their supporters. The Maltese referee, Lawrence Sammut, blew for a free-kick when debutant midfield player Marco Domeniconi was fouled just outside the area. Striker Andy Selva, who wore the number ten shirt and was named captain for the first time, was aware, as he placed the ball on the spot, that Michel Platini was watching proceedings from the Serravalle stand. Perhaps this thought crossed his mind for a second, but it is probably best that we do not know.
What everyone was able to witness, however, was the perfect shot that Selva unleashed with his right foot in executing the free-kick, one that Platini himself would have been proud of. The next thing that Liechtenstein goalkeeper Peter Jehle knew was that the ball was in the back of the net, while Selva literally disappeared under a heap of ecstatic team-mates. Then it was up to San Marino's goalkeeper Federico Gasperoni to stop Liechtenstein's attempts to force an equaliser, a task he accomplished to perfection. At the final whistle, an entire nation was able to express their joy after achieving a result they had awaited for years. Selva, too, was conscious of the significance of the occasion which saw San Marino gain their first-ever full international win after fourteen years and more than seventy attempts.
“I am delighted to have scored the winner, It's a historic goal for San Marino and also for me." he said.
Post-match celebrations were kept to a dignified minimum said manager Giampaolo Mazza: “We didn't do anything special actually, we went to our usual restaurant after the match. Obviously the atmosphere was a bit different this time as it's our first win ever and, even if it was just a friendly, it made us extremely happy. We were too used to losing games and now we almost can't believe we won. We have been dreaming of celebrating a win for such a long time.”
Doubtless reinvigorated San Marino faced Spain, Belgium, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Lithuania in their Group Seven of the qualifying competition. However, despite their recent victory they remained perennial losers falling to defeat in all ten of their group games, scoring twice and conceding forty. The goals came against March 2005 in a two-one defeat at home to Belgium and then in June of the same year in a three-one loss to Bosnia-Herzegovina, both goals coming from striker Andy Selva, who was by now some way the nations record goal-scorer at international level with six goals in twenty-nine caps. It was during the loss to Belgium that they came close to causing a monumental upset as they held their opponents at half-time. The Belgians took the lead thanks to a Timmy Simons penalty after eighteen minutes only for Selva to equalise with a left footed volley after hesitation in the Belgium defence four minutes from the break. Belgium then responded with a second goal through Daniel Van Buyten after sixty-five minutes.
The campaign ended with San Marino yet to win a game in any competitive fixture. The qualification round for the FIFA World Cup has provided more success in terms of points won but also has provided San Marino with their heaviest defeats in competitive international football. In their thirty-six matches to date in the qualifiers, San Marino have secured two points – a nil-nil draw at home to Turkey on 10 March 1993 and a one-one draw away to Latvia on 25 April 2001. Next on the agenda is the start of the qualifying round for the 2008 UEFA European Championships although to date San Marino had played thirty-four matches in the competition and lost all of them. In that time, they had scored four goals while conceding one-hundred-and-three times.
By now the country had five national teams; the Nazionale A, B, Under-21, Under-19 and Under-17s all involved in European and World Competition. This was real progress and allowed Sammarinese players whose football education had been exclusively in their own country, to compete honourably against world-class opponents. The type of experience that is such an important aspect of national football, and of which significance should not be underestimated. Another vital factor for the development of football in San Marino concerned the grounds and facilities. The FSGC was working hard with the objective of upgrading stadiums and football facilities throughout the whole country, and thanks to the help of UEFA and FIFA were expected to be able to increase their efforts in this regard over the next few years.
President Giorgio Crescentini said: “The world of San Marino football is a healthy one. Our federation is fully aware of the importance of its work, and the responsibility it has to ensure that future expectations are fulfilled. It also remains proud when it sees the fruits of its labours, with everyone in the FSGC working together to continually improve the sport and strengthen the links between itself and all affiliated clubs.”
Despite the almost continual losses most important for Mazza is that his players continue to develop.
“We work a lot on the psychological aspect involved because it can bring you down getting beaten all the time. We have many problems because we are a small nation with not many players available. It is also hard knowing that we are likely to lose but we know our limitations and we are realistic about our possibilities. It is a young squad and most of the players are amateurs. We tend to focus on the defensive line in training as we must carry on improving although my main aim is to install a different attitude in our players so that they don't think that they have to defend all the time. They must feel that they can attack a few times as well, otherwise you won't win any football games."
Of course the world’s smallest and oldest republic is impossibly hampered by having a population of around just twenty-eight thousand which boasts a mere twelve hundred players. Indeed a rough analysis of the population figures suggests that if you are male and aged between fifteen and thirty-five years-old you have about a one-in-two-hundred-and-fifty chance of being picked for the national squad. San Marino will probably never reach the heady heights of near neighbours Italy, who they’ve met only once during a four-nil defeat in February 1992 at the Stadio ‘La Fiorita’, Cesena, but Mazza doesn't really care about that.
“I think it is a wonderful experience for the players to play amongst giants and to be able to be part of international competitions. Our aim isn’t always to win, but to give the best possible account of ourselves while defending our nation’s colours.”
La Serenissima: stella del mio destino 
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