retired_destiny1124

Uffe- you will soon see more mention of the youngsters

PM7- Thanks for the encouragement, but I was really hoping for at least one other minor club in the draw

Supa- Backline and a few other things...

Thanks guys for the comments

***

8.2.06
San Marino (0) Ethiopia (1)
San Marino- None
Ethiopia- S.Hagemann
MOM- Rajeev Mikaeili, Ethiopia

It was an interesting display of two clubs trying to play ball control with limited attacks. Neither side really attacked all that well as both sides were putting up a good effort on defense. Ethopia scored the only goal of the match when Svyjatoslav Hagemann outleaped two defenders and then scored on a fluke header as he misjudged his placement and looped it just over Federico Gasperoni. Our best chances saw their keeper Jamal Flavius stop Andy Selva and Matteo Valli from just inside the edge of the area. With Raffaele Moroni again ineffective, I had a chance to try Andrea Bollini and he played pretty well in the midfield. Neither side was crisp in their passing and that led to a dearth of scoring chances.

retired_destiny1124

29.3.06
Cape Verde (2) San Marino (0)
Cape Verde- P.Cupi 57-OG S.Faneca 74
San Marino- None
MOM- Jeronimo Portugal, Cape Verde

We had the wind taken out of our sails when Paolo Cupi directed his header past Federico Gasperoni for an own-goal. The match to that point had been a spirited battle, with them having the better of chances and us showing a dogged defense. We had a few chances of our own, but our shooting wasn't on target today- something very wasteful when you consider we don't get a lot of chances anyways. I have yet to really discover a midfield grouping that can flourish together and that is really been a problem. We just can't get the quick passing flow we need to generate better scoring chances. We might make one or two good passes, but then we tend to give the ball away. We are still very much a work in progress, but I am gaining more confidence in our backline with each match and the unit of Luca Della Velle- Paolo Cupi- Nicola Ranocchini- Carlo Valentini continues to demonstrate the determination and hard work that is needed of them. If we can cobble together enough of a midfield to give the ball to our forwards in places to shoot- we may surprise somebody yet.

retired_destiny1124

MD note- For those of you following along on my Harrow Hill story (A Harrowing Misadventure), a quick comparison of Harrow Hill and San Marino would yield that Harrow Hill should beat this club 7 out of 10 matches. The Harrow Hill keepers are much better than San Marino, the backline is a shade better, the midfield is significantly better, the forwards are a bit better and Harrow Hill has a lot more speed (pace and acceleration) than San Marino. That fact makes my task of gaining a favorable result all the more satisfying, well if I ever get one that is

***

With both Carlo Valentini and Nicola Cavalli out with extended injuries, newcomer Marco Domeniconi (22 year old MRC) was called up from Under-21 side and Roberto Selva will make his reappearance on the National roster. It will hurt us badly losing those two to injury as they have provided solid right side play for us since I made them both starters.

retired_destiny1124

6.9.06
San Marino (0) Lithuania (0)
San Marino- None
Lithuania- None
MOM- Federico Gasperoni, San Marino

We finally earned a point in European play as we survived a late scrare to score a well-earned scoreless draw against Lithuania. It helped that our Lithuanian nemesis- Edgaras Jankauskas- wasn't on the squad. Our best chances to score came twice in the first half when Matteo Valli was set up nicely by Andy Selva- but he missed over the net on both chances. They had one good chance over the net in the first half, but their golden chance came in second half injury time. Andrea Domeniconi went to the sideline for treatment and the flow of play meant that we couldn't bring a sub on for him. Deividas Galeckas momentarily escaped Nicola Ranocchini's marking and was in free on Gasperoni, but Gasperoni made a great save to preserve the draw for us. Given our injury problems for the match, the draw was a very good result for us.

retired_destiny1124

Injuries came in bunches in advance of our trip to face Russia. Losing Marco Domeniconi wasn't too bad- I didn't expect to play him. Losing Roberto Selva hurt a bit- since he had filled in admirably for injured Carlo Valentini in the draw with Lithuania and that had earned him another starting nod- that he won't be able to take. The worst by far was the loss of Nicola Ranocchini who has rapidly become one of the linchipins of our young backline. We will be hard pressed to replace his backline leadership.

***

7.10.06
Russia (3) San Marino (0)
Russia- R.Gusev 12 D.Alenichev 15 A.Kerzhakov 90
San Marino- None
MOM- Alexandr Kerzhakov, Russia

The press was pretty much correct in stating the 'Minnows were overpowered by the Russians.' Still, we gave a pretty good effort and didn't give up- though the last goal at the end disappointed me. We did managed to get three excellent scoring chances during the match, but Vacheslav Malafeev was equal to each chance and kept the clean sheet. The Russians first goal saw them execute a play nicely on a free kick. The ball went to Ruslan Gusev on the far side and after Luca Della Velle missed the tackle in the area, Guslev beat Gasperoni with a shot to the far side of the net. Minutes later, Della Velle was beaten on the dribble by Guslev again, but this time he crossed sharply to Dmitry Alenichev, who snapped a rising shot past Gasperoni. We played solid defense in staying down only 2-0, but they added a late marker when Gasperoni made a good save on a blistering shot by Sergey Semak, only to see unmarked Alexandr Kerzhakov pound the rebound into the net to finish off the 3-0 win for Russia.

retired_destiny1124

11.10.06
San Marino (0) Italy (3)
San Marino- None
Italy- F.Miccoli 7,21 A.Gilardino 90-P
MOM- Fabrizio Miccoli, Italy

Italy outclassed us by quite a margin at Olimpico and easily won 3-0. Fabrizio Miccoli was too slippery for us to stop when he scored his first goal after slipping coverage by Paolo Cupi. Miccoli added a 2nd goal with a booming 25 yard free kick midway through the first half. We played pretty solid defense from that point on, but never really threatened offensively. I would have been happy with a 2-0 defeat, but was instead frustrated by Alessandro Della Velle holding Alberto Gilardino in the area for a late penalty. Gilardino had little problem beating Federico Gasperoni on the penalty to cap their 3-0 win. I remain encouraged by our improving showing defensively, but we won't manage much until we figure a way to generate at least a little offensively- like we did in our match in Russia.

retired_destiny1124

27.10.06
For our November friendlies against Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan we will bring another couple youngsters on to the National roster for the first time. 18 year old DMC Fabio Guerrera and 19 year old Fabio Guidi were overjoyed to be included in the training. Not only the training, but I expect to take first looks at both of them during these friendlies.

***

As expected there was a lot of comment on our squad of youngsters. My approach at this point is try to look at marginal youngsters in the friendlies, so I can at least gain an idea if they might belong in the future. We have a pretty set lineup (barring injuries) for our Qualifying matches, but I need to discover where (or if) we have much depth at all. The older players not included in the roster- ex. Roberto Selva- are not happy, but at this point I have seen them play and most of them just aren't going to be able to contribute to how we want to play. The ones that can are already regulars on the National Roster.

One key aspect I continue to explore is if Matteo Valli can fill the role of the forward playing behind the strikers. He hasn't performed particularly well in past trials, but he also remains the best fit of abilities for the role. The problem we have is that we don't (or I haven't found yet) have true midfielders who seem suited for the role. Raffaele Moroni is the only midfielder we have with any whit of the abilities needed, but he also hasn't played well in trials there. Despite many questioning his inclusion on the roster- I need to look at Nicola Mularoni as a central defender. Fabio Guerra likewise drew many comments, but he is absolutely the most tireless and strongest player of any available- because of that I need to get a sense if he can play our defensive mid role- because if he could it would give our defense another leg up on dealing with some of the overpowering forwards we have been seeing.

shannon2007

Is it not a hopeless task really, as in reality there is nothing you can do as national team manager to improve the standard of player coming through?

Well done anyway on perservering, many would have given up. Makes an interesting change from the normal, We won, we won, we won that most stories seem to be

retired_destiny1124

PM7- Well, what you are saying has a lot of truth- in that I have little influence on player's developing. What I do have some influence over- and haven't been shy about- is to include some non-signed players on the club (if I think they might be worth seeing in the future). For example Raffaele Moroni was unsigned until he showed a couple good performances for the National side- then there were several clubs bidding for his services and that ultimately has helped him develop somewhat.

As to success, well you know as well as I that good stories aren't always about success. I had no expectations going into this- it was just something I have wanted to do for awhile and am writing about

***

With an injury to keeper Federico Valentini, I stunned the press by calling up 15 year old keeper Andrea Moroni. Moroni, currently just in his first professional season, has impressed me and I think it is very possible he is the keeper of the future for the National side. I don't believe I will play him in the friendlies- this is more just an opportunity to give him exposure to the training and players of San Marino.

***

The injury to Nicola Cavalli means another first timer- Andrea Toccaceli- will be on the squad. Toccaceli is a 19 year old AMC who had been under consideration for inclusion, but hadn't made the final selection. I am not sure if I will start him yet or not.

***

Nicola Chiaruzzi, our young DLC, was also injured. To replace him, I chose versatile 26 year old DRLC Gianluca Bollini. Bollini hasn't yet capped and I might give him the opportunity in the friendlies.

retired_destiny1124

11.11.06
San Marino (0) Azerbaijan (0)
San Marino- None
Azerbaijan- None
MOM- Federico Gasperoni, San Marino

Our reputation as scrambling defensive side may have grown with the scoreless friendly against Azerbaijan, but it really shouldn't have because it wasn't deserved- for this match at least. They had much the better of chances, and it was more down to their poor shooting keeping them off the scoreboard than our defensive work. As I expected, our lineup didn't play as well together as the one we have generally been featuring. Their pace advantage yielded some excellent scoring chances, but the ones that they put on net were soaked up by Federico Gasperoni. We only managed a couple good scoring chances and we weren't able to put our shots on net either. The draw was a decent result for us- given that we didn't play to our best. Alex Gasperoni injured his leg, so I called up 25 year old AMC Michele Moretti as his replacement.

***

Moretti was injured the day after being called up, so I brought up 24 year old AML Luca Bonifazi to take a look at. Bonifazi had seen Under-21 action, but had not yet been on the National roster