Hello and buongiorno!
It is October 2021 and I’m back in San Marino.
As you may know I am mildly obsessed with the San Marino national football team
and their 35-year quest to win a competitive football match.
3 years ago I came here to make a video about their
32-year quest to win a competitive football match,
and if you haven’t seen it yet,
well there’s no point watching it any more because I’ve just spoiled the ending.
It is now 35 years, 158 competitive games,
and they still haven’t won a single one.
So can you imagine what the party will be like when they finally do it?
And I know I said this last time, but it could be tonight!
And here’s why.
Tonight, right here in Serravalle, they take on Andorra in a World Cup Qualifying Match.
Andorra. At Home.
It might be the biggest chance San Marino will ever get to win a World Cup Qualifier.
And there’s no way that we were going to miss this.
San Marino versus Andorra.
I’ve had the date in my diary ever since the draw was made and the fixture was announced.
And it turns out I’m not the only one!
So which bit of San Marino are you guys from?
- The Copenhagen area,
- the Paris area,
- the Melbourne area,
- the Buenos Aires area, of course
So all about as local as I am
- We’ve all been fans for many many years
This is Alexander
- Uriel
- Sergio
- Juliette
And we all met on the bus yesterday
- Yes!
And we’re going to the game!
So why is tonight’s match especially exciting?
Well the short answer is:
it is very rare for San Marino to play a team anywhere near as small as they are themselves.
San Marino is, and I cannot stress this enough, really REALLY small.
This is a nation that could fit 18 and a half times into Luxembourg,
so nearly any team they play against is bigger than them.
And in case you don’t know,
European qualifying groups are deliberately weighted to keep the micronations apart
– each group must contain one team from these six different pots
and that makes sure everyone gets an even spread of strong and weak opponents.
But Andorra have broken the system;
thanks to a heroic 1-0 win against Moldova a couple of years ago
they’ve made it out of the bottom pot of the seedings,
and up to the dizzying heights of second bottom,
and by sheer luck,
they have been drawn in the same qualifying group as San Marino.
And here we are.
San Marino may never get a better chance to win a World Cup qualifier.
But they’re not the only ones who could make history tonight.
- So apparently, Andorra never actually won an away match.
It’s true – Andorra have never won away.
So whatever happens in the next 90 minutes,
we are guaranteed to see history being made.
Er, unless it’s a draw.
But that’s not going to happen is it?
The ref blows his whistle,
Nicola Nanni lays it back to Filippo Fabbri,
he punts it straight to an Andorran defender,
and we’re underway in THE BIG MATCH.
Can San Marino finally get that first ever competitive victory?
Can Andorra win their first ever away game?
Will either side manage to string more than two successful passes together?
You got a prediction Alex?
- Erm... I do. I do.
- I’m going to say 2-1.
To San Marino?
- In the favour of San Marino.
Wow. Big call!
- But I think it’s going to happen: one to Andorra first.
And then a comeback win?
- And then they get an equaliser. And then a surprise second.
- It’s going to be an amazing game.
- 2-1 San Marino.
2-1 as well?
- 1-0, last minute, San Marino.
Oof that would be incredible!
- and all the Stadium goes crazy,
- we jump into the stadium,
- we hug with the players...
- I’m going to say 1-0 as well.
1-0, wow.
It’s unanimous, San Marino are going to win!
And 2 minutes in, it’s looking good,
as San Marino go upfield and win the first corner of the match.
It’s a decent chance, and while they didn't make it count this time,
our optimism is looking well placed…
for about 9 minutes.
- And as we predicted…
You said they were going to score first!
- We all said that was going to happen.
Oh man. They nearly made it to 10 minutes…
- We just need San Marino to hold up their side and get the extra two goals
- and they’ve got a whole 80 minutes to do it!
That’s true. At least there’s a long time to come back.
And there you go.
It’s only taken 10 minutes of supporting San Marino
to drive two members of our group to alcohol.
And Andorra are now very much on the front foot.
By this point San Marino are lucky to be only 1 behind
but then they get a free kick in a promising position.
Ok they didn’t exactly make the most of it
but now suddenly for the first time in the game,
San Marino are genuinely on top,
they’re creating chances,
and they’re putting Andorra under real pressure.
But every cross
and every shot
just seems to go straight to the Andorra goalkeeper.
It is encouraging though
and as half time approaches the fans can sense an equaliser.
Ooof!
- Congratulations…
Should have been two.
- You dodged a bullet
Should have been two!
PEEP!
And with that it’s half time with the score remaining at 1-0.
And you know what?
We’re still in this lads!
It’s only 1-0.
This is a strong Andorra side but they are not unbeatable.
I mean, they're *really* not.
Come on San Marino!
A big second half and you can do this!
* disappointed noises *
Ok I’ll admit that is not what we wanted,
but you have to say it’s a well worked corner
and a thumping finish from Sergi Moreno
and it’s 2-0 to Andorra.
“VARELA!”
The local fans politely ask manager Franco Varela to do something about it
and he duly responds with a substitution,
bringing on the number 10 Matteo Vitaioli
and to be honest at this point we’ve decided to cheer wildly for any player coming on
in the desperate hope that it might inspire them to change the game.
MATTEO! MATTEO! MATTEO!
But what actually happens is that Andorra nearly make it three.
Time to make some more substitutions!
San Marino substitution: numero 4, Davide Tomassini con il numero 20, Adolfo Jose Hirsch
JOSEEEEE!
E del numero 3 Luca Censoni con il numero 18, Luca Ceccarolli
LUCAAAAAAA!
Unfortunately though, all that cheering doesn’t really seem to have the desired effect...
You put too much pressure on him!
As the minutes tick away, the game starts to get quite scrappy,
with more and more mistakes creeping in.
And with only 10 minutes to go now,
it’s beginning to look like victory is slipping away from San Marino
(for the 159th time).
- even the camera guy's given up!
But come on lads!
At the very least there’s still time to score a goal!
No NOT YOU ANDORRA
Oh dear.
"Goal for Andorra scored by number 19, Ricard Fernandez."
So just to recap:
we’re now 3-0 down
to Andorra
at home.
But on the plus side, this this a genuine achievement for San Marino,
because it’s the first time any team has managed to concede 3 goals to Andorra.
And at this point the referee decides he’s seen enough,
blows the full-time whistle,
and it’s all over.
And you know what, congratulations to Andorra.
You could see what it meant to them, it’s their first ever away win,
and that third goal means it’s also their biggest ever victory.
It has been a truly historic night.
Just not for San Marino.
- We came from Paris
- It was a long trip but it was worth it
- From Cambodia
- From Cambodia and Copenhagen
It was worth it?
- It was worth it.
- You win some, you lose 159… or 160...
- Next time!
Cheers guys, lovely to meet you all
- Yeah lovely to meet you too
And see you at the next game, right?
- Maybe! Who knows
Ciao!
Ah man…
I really thought they might do it tonight, and they’ve gone and lost 3-0.
But Andorra played very well,
they wanted it more,
they…
yeah…
I don’t know what to say.
San Marino lost.
What was I expecting?!
If you’d like to visit San Marino
and support their legendary quest to win a football game,
you’ll need to get yourself to Rimini in Italy,
where you can catch one of the 8 buses a day that will take you up to San Marino.
The nearest stop to the stadium is in Serravalle
but to be honest nearly anywhere in the country is within a half hour walk of it.
A ticket to this match cost me €20,
there didn’t seem to be any reductions for kids or seniors
but if you’re a wheelchair user that 20€ will cover a person accompanying you too.
And as always thank you all for watching
and I will see you soon.