retired_paulo28

Fantastic story Faramir, I'll stay tuned for this!

retired_destiny1124

Radiomen- thanks, glad you like it and are tagging along...

***

13.11.04
Qatar (3) San Marino (1)
Qatar- S.Medjbel 44 S.Ballan 63 M.Al-Moobarki 67
San Marino- A.Selva 6
MOM- Salman Ahmed Ballan, Qatar

It was a performance to build on at least, but we lost again 3-1. The lesson that I hope we take from this match is that we have to play a full 90 minutes of determined football. We lost because the club didn't put forth enough effort at a key moment in the match. We started quickly in the match and took the lead with a beautiful, textbook passing sequence that saw Andy Selva free to drive it in for the goal. We survived a penalty kick when Federico Valentini, making his debut in the net, stopped the penalty and then jumped on the rebound. They managed to get back to even just before halftime when we lost coverage on Medjbel and he had time to blast past Valentini from close in. We had other good chances in the first half and second half, but just couldn't get the second goal. They scored the second goal, a real backbreaker, when we botched a throw-in on their end and they sent the ball into space on the right. I was absolutely furious as only one defender of the backline made it back and was left trying to challenge the man on the ball, which left two Qatar players unmarked in front- with obviously painful results. Then the backline didn't do enough to clear the ball and they scored on a rebound to make it 3-1 shortly after. We played a very good first 45 minutes, but a terrible second 45. There were encouraging signs, but the result was still another loss.

retired_destiny1124

17.11.04
San Marino (1) Lithuania (2) World Cup Qualifying Group 7
San Marino- M.Marani 79
Lithuania- E.Jankauskas 16,76
MOM- Dainius Lapeikis, Lithuania

We gave ourselves a chance against Lithuania, but our backline play killed us once again. We played fairly well in the midfield and up front, but watching Jankauskas score his two goals was enough to give me a bad case of heartburn. Jankauskas just turned on the speed and easily split Ivan Matteoni and Federico Pelliccioni before firing a shot past Federico Valentini to score his 1st goal. We managed some decent chances in the first half, but their strong tackling inside the area thwarted our best opportunities. Jankauskas' 2nd goal left me furious. Despite instructions to stay back, Mirko Gennari (starting at leftback because Alessandro Della Velle was suspended for a match) and Alex Gasperoni both went far forward and then neither even tried to come back when we lost possession on a throw-in. This resulted in virtually a repeat of the Qatar 2nd goal- Nicola Albani trying to cope with two attackers and unable to and the Valentini was left all alone against Jankauskas- with predictable results. It was even more damaging when we scored moments later as Manuel Marani scored in his debut on a nice header (he had come on for an ineffective Mattia Valli). The loss leaves me going back to the National pool to see if I can find any defenders that might be able to actually play. Nicola Albani has played pretty well at right back, and Alessandro Della Velle is a competent left back- but our problems in the middle are huge. I also need to try and find a midfielder 'stopper'- someone who can tackle and play well enough positionally to help the backline. I hoped that Ermanno Zonzini could do this- but his complete lack of pace is another problem- and I don't believe I can afford to play him because of that.

retired_destiny1124

Our first match of 2005 will be a daunting trip to face Spain in another World Cup Qualifier match. After looking long and hard- we don't have any defenders that are better than the ones on the squad at present, so we will just have to cope as best we can. In comparing back to some of the French sides I have managed, only 3 players on this National side would even have been considered for their lineups- Alessandro Della Valle, Andy Selva and Mattia Valli. Possibly Nicola Cavalli might have seen time, but for comparison purposes most of this National roster is not even up to the quality of some of the French non-league sides.

***

9.2.05
Spain (6) San Marino (0)
Spain- Raul 4,8,45 A.Luque 6,55-P D.Villa 43
San Marino- None
MOM- Raul, Spain

True to predictions in the press, Spain dominated us in an easy 6-0 win for them. Our backline had absolutely no ability to handle Raul today. We missed tackles, failed to cover, and failed to clear loose balls. Because of that Spain's forwards ran rampant against us. Raul overpowered Federico Pelliccioni several times and it sure seemed like we didn't win a ball in the air all day- though that is exaggerating. The only encouraging thing that I took from the match was that occasionally we were able to move the ball up the pitch. Our passing attack is slowly getting better and more effective, but we continue to be doomed by poor backline and keeper play. Federico Gasperoni had no excuse for missing a 40 yard shot from David Villa- and I will have to think hard about whether to keep using him. Gasperoni made a couple good reaction saves early in the match, but really mishandled several balls and didn't help his backline out with his inconistent play. Nicola Albani's handball in the area gave them a penalty in the second half and none of the backline- Albani, Alessandro Della Velle, Pelliccioni or Ivan Matteoni played anywhere close to a respectable match today. It was a long flight home after this rout.

retired_destiny1124

The injury to Luca Gobbi allowed me to make a move I had been considering, as I added 18 year old DMC Andrea Dominiconi to the National side. Considering our lack of midfielders who even have the potential to be stoppers, the time to take a look at the youngster is now at hand.

***

30.3.05
San Marino (0) Belgium (3)
San Marino- None
Belgium- W.Sonck 4 L.Pieroni 34 M.Mpenza 90
MOM- Gregory Dufer, Belgium

It may look like a better performance than the Spain match on paper, but in reality we didn't play any better- they just missed more shots. Our backline couldn't cover a buried rock is my studied conclusion after today's performance. The first two goals they scored were down to the fact that we have virtually no height- Sonck headed in a cross from Bart Moor and Pieroni headed in a cross from Gregory Dufer AFTER Alex Gasperoni just quit on the play. It looked like the ball might go over the backline and Gasperoni just stopped, which allowed Dufer to reach the ball just before it crossed the line. Their last goal was due to Federico Pelliccioni and Simone Della Balda (on for injured Matteoni) looking at each other as a loose ball rolled between them. Mbo Mpenza never stopped and burst between them to pick off the loose ball and he fired it past Federico Valentini to cap the 3-0 win. Sonck and Walter Baseggio each missed other good scoring chances as the final score could easily have been much worse.

retired_destiny1124

After the latest performance, I made the decision to bring more youth on to the National side. The new additions were 17 year old DLC Nicola Chiaruzzi and 19 year old DC Nicola Ranocchini. If we are going to keep getting beaten in the middle with our experienced players, it is time to give the youth a try. This means I am planning on starting a 'kiddie' backline against Bosnia in June- Della Velle, Chiaruzzi, Ranocchini and Carlo Valentini. It can't be any worse in my eyes and if we start now with this group together- possibly they can develop together into a cohesive unit that may pay dividends in the future. Critics are going to have a field day with this though...

***

Chiaruzzi picked an imopportune time to injure his neck. He will be out a month, so I will have to put Ivan Matteoni into the starting backline spot- to hopefully settle the youngsters. Michele Marani also was injured and Michele Moretti was my choice to replace him.

retired_destiny1124

4.6.05
San Marino (0) Bosnia (2)
San Marino- None
Bosnia- E.Bolic 24,90
MOM- Elvir Bolic, Bosnia

Another match of missed chances for a possible better result. Elvir Bolic scored both their goals on corners, where he overpowered our defenders. The first one saw him create space due to lousy marking on our part and he headed home a cross. The second one saw him swoop in from outside the area and drive past Raffaele Morini to blast the clincher past Federico Gasperoni. We had a few good chances, but none as good as the penalty kick that could have evened the match at 1-1 at 75 minutes. Instead Kenan Hasegic made the save against Alessandro Della Velle and it was just another thing that went wrong for us. To their credit, the backline played a bit better today, but it was the midfield who kept giving the ball away on bad passes that hurt us the most. It will be scary if we can ever put together a match where all the elements of our play come together.

retired_bootcamp_nat

Keep your chin up faramir.

This is one of the ultimate underdog stories. I played a game with Luxembourg for an unsuccessful couple of seasons. Hard work.

shannon2007

I went San Marino once, I think we got a draw with Spain or something. Its a thankless task, good luck doesnt even cover it

retired_destiny1124

haze- It is going to be difficult to get a good result, but I knew that going in- trying this is mostly for fun, not for results- so mostly just enjoying the experience

PM7- If you got a draw against anyone with them- you are doing pretty well

***

As we held our first training camp of the summer in early July 2005 (a mini-camp for 7 days, since club training will be starting soon), we introduced a few more new faces to the club. This was our current roster at that point:

GK
Federico Gasperoni (28)
Federico Valentini (23)
Michele Ceccoli (31)

DEF
Alessandro Della Velle (23)
Nicola Chiaruzzi (17)
Paolo Cupi (20)
Carlo Valentini (23)
Nicola Albani (24)
Nicola Ranocchini (20)
Ivan Matteoni (34)
Simone Bacciocchi (28)
Federico Pelleccioni (28)

MID
Alex Gasperoni (21)
Raffaele Moroni (23)
Nicola Cavalli (18)
Andrea Domeniconi (18)
Lorenzo Moretti (25)
Ermanno Zonzini (31)
Damiano Vannucci (27)
Marco De Luigi (27)
Andrea Mosconi (19)

FOR
Andy Selva (29)
Matteo Valli (18)
Nicola Ciacci (22)
Manuel Marani (21)
Antonio Cardinale (19)