SAN MARINO NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM

:''For the club that competes in Italy's Serie C, see San Marino Calcio.''
The 'San Marino national football team' is the national football team of San Marino, controlled by the San Marino Football Federation. The team has enjoyed very little success, due to the tiny population.
The first official game played by a San Marino team was a 0-4 defeat in a European Championships qualifier to Switzerland in 1990. Previously, a San Marino side had lost 0-1 to a Canadian Olympic team in 1986, but this was not an official match.

Contents

History

Stadium

Minnow reputation

Notable results

World Cup record

European Championship record

Current squad

References

External links

History

Though the San Marino Football Federation formed in 1931, the federation did not establish a national team until 1986, when a team representing the Federation played Canada's Olympic team in an unofficial international. San Marino gained affiliation to governing bodies FIFA and UEFA in 1988,^[1] allowing the team to participate in major championships. Prior to this, Sammarinese players had been considered Italian in international football contexts.^[2]
San Marino's first match in a FIFA sanctioned competition was against Switzerland on 14 November, 1990 in a qualifier for the 1992 European Championships. San Marino lost 4–0, and went to lose all eight qualifiers. The team particularly struggled in away matches, losing every one by at least four goals. San Marino scored only one goal, a penalty in a 3–1 defeat at home to Romania,^[3] and conceded 33 goals in total.
San Marino has only ever won one international game, a 1–0 win over Liechtenstein in a friendly in 2004. Andy Selva got the winner.
Despite the lack of success at international level, San Marino holds the record for the fastest ever goal in World Cup history. In a World Cup qualifier against England in 1993, Davide Gualtieri scored after just 8.3 seconds, though the team went on to lose 7–1.
Arguably the best performance by San Marino came in another World Cup qualifier on 10 March 1993, when they held Turkey to a 0–0 draw in Serravalle. The worst defeat inflicted on the team was a 13–0 defeat to Germany in the qualifying to Euro 2008, on September 6, 2006.

Stadium

San Marino play home matches at the Stadio Olimpico, a municipally owned stadium in Serravalle. It has a capacity of 5,387.^[4]
San Marino have also played two "home" matches outside their borders. For World Cup qualifiers against England and the Netherlands in 1993 the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara in Bologna was used.

Minnow reputation

San Marino's dismal record gives them a lowly reputation in world football. The republic have never won a competitive fixture; a 1–0 friendly match win against Lichtenstein is their sole victory to date.^[5] With the smallest population of any UEFA country, the talent pool is small. Players are predominantly amateurs, only a small number of players such as Andy Selva and Aldo Simoncini are professionals. Their 13–0 defeat at home to Germany is a European Championship record,^[6] and they have conceded ten goals on two other occasions.

Notable results

★ 16-Sep-1987 - vs. 0:0 (Mediterranian Games)

★ 10-Mar-1993 - vs. 0:0 (World Cup qualifier)

★ 25-Apr-2001 - vs. 1:1 (World Cup qualifier)

★ 20-Aug-2003 - vs. 2:2 (friendly)

★ 28-Apr-2004 - vs. 1:0 (friendly)

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''

Current squad

'Goalkeepers': ★ Aldo Simoncini ★ Federico Valentini ★ Michele Ceccoli 'Defenders': ★ Nicola Albani ★ Carlo Valentini ★ Matteo Andreini ★ Damiano Vannucci ★ Simone Bacciocchi ★ Davide Simoncini ★ Alessandro della Valle ★ Mirko Palazzi ★ Fabio Vitaoli ★ Alberto Celli ★ Luca Nanni

'Midfielders': ★ Marco Domeniconi ★ Michele Marani ★ Giovanni Bonini ★ Matteo Bugli ★ Alex Gasperoni ★ Riccardo Muccioli ★ Paolo Mariotti ★ Michele Moretti ★ Giacomo Maiani ★ Christian Negri ★ Federico Nanni ★ Mattia Masi ★ Roberto Selva ★ Bryan Gasperoni 'Forwards': ★ Manuel Marani ★ Andy Selva ★ Alan Toccaceli ★ Nicola Ciacci ★ Marco de Luigi

References

1. Il Calcio Sammarinese Si Organizza
2. Just rewards for modest man
3. Romania National Team 1990-1999
4. Does Size Matter? (pdf)
5. Euro Qualifying Preview: San Marino - Czech Republic
6. San Marino 0-13 Germany: Record breakers

External links

★ RSSSF Archive of international results 1986- (list of results)

★ RSSSF Archive of international Goals and Caps

★ Archive of World Cup Qualifiers 1992- (in Italian)

★ Archive of European Championship Qualifiers 1990- (in Italian)

★ Archive of friendlies 1992- (in Italian)

★ UEFA match report on their only win

★ National Governing Body