Factfile
Founded: 1959
President: Luca Mancini
Manager: Salvo Fulvio D’Adderio
Colours: Blue and white
Stadio: Olimpico San Marino
Nickname: Il Titani
It may be a bold statement, but lets throw it out there anyway. Is there any other third division team in the world that has or had as many players play on the International stage as San Marino Calcio.
Currently the club from Europe’s second smallest nation (Vatican City Samllest) has three internationals. Two are pretty straight forward, but the origin of the third is somewhat peculiar, the African nation of Mozambique.
Getting back to the club itself, San Marino were founded back in 1959 under the name Società Polisportiva Libertas Tre Penne. The following year the club changed its name Società Sportiva Serenissima. Names changes would become a theme of San Marino’s existence.
Having started at the very lowest rung of the Italian game, the club, who play in the Italian leagues yet are not Italian, slowly began there ascent. Promotion from the Seconda Categoria Emilia-Romagna (Emilia-Romagna being the region that surrounds San Marino and as such there natural fit in the lower leagues) was soon followed by promotion to the Prima Categoria and eventually Serie D.
In 1973 the merger with a smaller local team, Juvenes, prompted another name change this time to Associazione Calcio San Marino ( Further name changes would come in 1988 and at the turn of the Millennium). The following ten year period would prove very Topsy turvy for the club, suffering numerous relegation’s and promotions.
By 1988 however a watershed moment had been reached, the club had won promotion to the professional ranks. There stay would be the minimum of one year but they would return, bigger and stronger.
Having spent the 90’s plodding around the lower regional leagues, the club finally made there return to Serie C2 for the 2000/01 campaign.
Since then it has been 15 years of uninterrupted professional football, not bad for a club from a nation that is only home to just over 32,000 people, whilst also sustaining a league of its own separate from the Italian structure.
Sadly though this long remarkable streak is in very real danger of coming to an end this season with the club sitting bottom of Lega Pro Girone B and in great pearl of dropping back into the semi-pro ranks of Serie D.
While the history of the club may not be the most riveting of stories, the fact that the tiny nation of San Marino is able to sustain a club in the Italian league system is endlessly fascinating. Don’t forget this is a country who’s International top scorer has eight goals (Andy Selva-Has played for the club coincidentally) and has won one match against fellow minnows Liechtenstein. Yes many players are Italian imports but the very fact that they can be competitive in an Italian league speaks volumes of the club.
Small and insignificant, Nah, proud of where they come from and what they represent, most definitely.
Stadium:
The club currently plays at the Stadio Olimpico San Marino which is also home to the the National side. An all seater stadium, its 7000 capacity far outstrips the need of little San Marino Calcio.
Fans:
Naturally due to size attendances at matches are quite low, ranging from the low hundreds to a maximum of a thousand.
Next week will see the turn of a personal favourite the tiny and I mean tiny Fidentina.
The post The Calcio nerd’s guide: San Marino appeared first on Italian Football Daily.
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