[FM16] San Giovanni - A Sammarinese youth only challenge

[Bedese]

My biggest ever domestic win!

[Bedese]

Youth Intake Day!

You have my attention...

What a player! We finally have a defensive minded midfielder, and it's one with 16 aggression, decent physicals and relatively decent technicals for this level. I'll be moving to a 4-3-3 with just one striker, so his arrival means that one of Michele Zafferani (YP2) or Marco Gatti (YP15) will have to make way for him. I'm really excited to have him on board.

Tagged purely for his pace.

He actually looks like a really good RB. Good tackling and good pace. Result!

We have a new third choice striker, and 14 finishing is pretty impressive.

Two decent CBs round out this year's intake - and what a fantastic one it was! That's two great ones in a row, and I'm hopeful that we might be starting to make some real progress on that front now.

[Bedese]

Oh yeah.

[Bedese]

Season Review

Campionato Sammarinese:

Table

Schedule

We drew a ridiculous number of games, but thankfully picked up our form in the playoffs to win it.

Coppa Titano:

Table

Schedule

Just like the league we were too inconsistent, and my attempt to use our new youth players here in a 4-3-3 backfired, going out in the first knockout round, and helping me decide to stick to a 4-2-4.

Key Players:

Highest Average Rating:

Giacomo Mancini (YP9) - 8.02

Our highest ever average rating.

Top Goalscorer:

Marco Gatti (YP15) - 31

Youth prospects:

31 goals, but he had another spell of ten hours without one.

Marco Bernardi (YP1) - As good as always.

Michele Zafferani (YP2) - A blood clot kept him out for a large part of the season, but he played well when he returned.

Nicola Romanelli (YP6) - Solid at the back.

Fabrizio Lo Russo (YP7) - I gave Luca Conti a large run of games to help develop him, but Lo Russo showed why he should still be my #1. A great season.

Giacomo Mancini (YP9) - Absolutely outstanding.

Christian Pelliccioni (YP11) - A 7.79 is outstanding, but I might be dropping him next year.

Mattia Guidi (YP14) - I'm going to release him.

Marco Gatti (YP15) - Needs to stop going on goal droughts.

Manuel Gentile (YP16) - Finding gametime hard to come by.

Matteo Valentini (YP17) - An absolute rock at the back.

Michele Pelliccioni (YP18) - His stats are improving, so he might well have a future here.

Pier Marino Valentini (YP19) - Did well in his first season at RB.

Giacomo Rosti (YP20) - Likewise, did well in his first year at LB.

Luca Conti (YP21) - I gave him a lot of gametime, but he's not as good as Lo Russo, and he'll be my backup again next year.

Marcello Manfredi (YP22) - He'll need to patiently wait for his chance.

Jacopo Bernardi (YP23) - He'll be competing with Christian Pelliccioni (YP11) for that second CM spot.

Gabriele Cirelli (YP24) - A backup RW with intriguing pace.

Andrea Polini (YP25) - An excellent backup RB, who may well get a chance in the first team sooner rather than later.

Thomas De Angelis (YP26) - I can't believe someone with 14 finishing won't get a first team spot, but he could easily take Marco Gatti (YP15) or Michele Zafferani (YP2)'s spot if either of them drops off.

Massimo Zafferani (YP27) - A solid backup CB.

Andrea Bacciocchi (YP28) - With good size and some good mentals, he may start soon.

Special mention:

Nicola Rattini - He's absolutely incredible, but I think he may have reached his potential already.

Mattia Arzilli - It could be a long time before San Marino produce someone this good again.

Aims for next season:

I don't think we're yet good enough to make the third round CL qualifying, so I'll settle for another first round win before a decent performance in the second. Hopefully the money might finally allow us to turn Semi-Pro? I'll be sticking with my 4-2-4 for now, but I have some competition for places now - mainly at CM, where I think I might go to a BWM (D) and use Jacopo Bernardi (YP23) there, while using Giacomo Mancini (YP9) as a DLP (S), which would mean Christian Pelliccioni (YP11) would have to settle for a spot on the bench. Decisions, decisions...

Other teams:

League Winners:

Cup Winners: Pennarossa absolutely destroyed Libertas 8-0 in the Semi Final before beating Folgore Falciano 2-0 AET in the final.

How the team in CL qualifying did: We absolutely destroyed Lusistans, but Maribor were too good for us.

How the teams in Europa qualifying did: Juvenes Dogana lost 6-0 to AEK Larnakas of Cyprus, Libertas had a hard draw and lost 8-0 to AaB from Denmark, and Cosmos lost 4-1 to Shkendjia of Macedonia.

San Marino National team:

2026 Results --- 2027 Results

We fared better this season, getting a 2-2 draw vs Moldova and keeping the scores of some other games respectable.

Caps for our players:

Marco Bernardi (YP1) has 61, Nicola Romanelli (YP6) has 25, Christian Pelliccioni (YP11) has 24, Giacomo Mancini (YP9) has 21, Nicola Rattini has 20, Michele Zafferani (YP2) has 18, Marco Gatti (YP15) has 12, Manuel Gentile (YP16) and Pier Marino Valentini (YP19) have 8, Ernesto Di Donato has 6, Matteo Valentini (YP17) has 3, and Giacomo Rosti (YP20) and Fabrizio Lo Russo (YP7) have 2.

[Bedese]

He's no Martin Odegaard, but this is pretty cool nonetheless.

[Bedese]

What was our reward for another dominant first round win?

Uh oh...

Surprisingly, this is Cluj's first CL appearance for ten years, as they've mainly finished runners up in the league and therefore gone into Europa Qualifying. It's still a pretty impossible task, because they actually made the Europa group stage last year. If I can keep it close, I'll be happy.

[Bedese]

We defended poorly at home, so I changed it up away, going to a counter attacking style and aiming to get the ball out quickly to the wings. We got an impressive draw in Romania, but there was no chance we were making up the deficit.

[Marios1999]

hey mate, would you mind uploading your save file, because i really want to have a look at the players' CAs and PAs!

[Bedese]

hey mate, would you mind uploading your save file, because i really want to have a look at the players' CAs and PAs!

http://www.mediafire.com/download/wm4a2f61ck4y3s3/San_Giovanni.fm

Let me know if that works

[Bedese]

San Marino's long suffering CB Mattia Arzilli finally had some reward, scoring an absolute peach of a goal to get his first for his country.

[video=youtube;1NFVr7nbaf0]

Even though he's being forced to play alongside amateurs, this goal should give him all the reward he needs, right? Well, sort of. He got injured about ten minutes later, and we lost 5-1. Oh well. Swings and roundabouts.

[Bedese]

He was a good servant for us over the years, but as we got better defenders through the youth academy he became surplus to requirements, and wanted to go somewhere that he could get gametime.

[Bedese]

Youth Intake Day!

We now have a real keeper competition, with three of roughly the same ability. 16 handling! He's not particularly awful at any one area either, so Marco Pedini (YP29) could be our starter next year.

Another small CB who'll be retrained at LB, he looks fairly decent.

It's always useful to have a striker with a physical presence, although he'll be quite low down the pecking order.

Some decent defending stats combined with some very nice mentals, he looks like a solid backup and possibly a future starter.

I've needed some depth at CM, and he provides it excellently with some good mentals and technicals.

All in all, it's another solid intake. I wish our best player hadn't been a keeper, but I can't really complain with how things are going.

[sherwinriga]

It's getting better in your youth players, but the remaining thing is that should be prepare for the 2028 qualifications. If there's a miracle happened in your national side, it will be more awesome.

[Bedese]

It's getting better in your youth players, but the remaining thing is that should be prepare for the 2028 qualifications. If there's a miracle happened in your national side, it will be more awesome.

Haha, I'd consider not coming last as a miracle, I think we're a long way off qualifying for anything yet

[Bedese]

[video=youtube;gMNXaJg9HBg]

I think Marco Bernardi (YP1) forgot he was from San Marino...

[Bedese]

Season Review

Campionato Sammarinese:

Table

Schedule

This was far from comfortable at times, but we were able to win it again regardless.

Coppa Titano:

Table

Schedule

This one was comfortable, but we threw away the final.

Key Players:

Highest Average Rating:

Giacomo Mancini (YP9) - 8.14

His second year in a row, and our new highest ever rating.

Top Goalscorer:

Michele Zafferani (YP2) - 27

Youth prospects:

No blood clot to slow him down this year, as he dominated domestically.

Marco Bernardi (YP1) - Still great, but he might not have that many years left in him.

Michele Zafferani (YP2) - My assistant might not rate him, but he's superb.

Nicola Romanelli (YP6) - Absolutely superb for us - he's gotten better each year.

Fabrizio Lo Russo (YP7) - He'll be second choice next season.

Giacomo Mancini (YP9) - Terrific.

Christian Pelliccioni (YP11) - Played well, but sporadically.

Marco Gatti (YP15) - Not bad, but he'll need to improve to keep his place in the team.

Manuel Gentile (YP16) - A great role player to have.

Matteo Valentini (YP17) - A great CB, despite only having 4 heading.

Michele Pelliccioni (YP18) - Will hopefully see more gametime next year.

Pier Marino Valentini (YP19) - Has fantastic stats for a defensive FB.

Giacomo Rosti (YP20) - 16 tackling is unbelievable, and I'm really excited for his long term prospects.

Luca Conti (YP21) - Only played two games (coincidently, the league Semi-Final and Final after Lo Russo got hurt), and he'll be my third choice next year.

Marcello Manfredi (YP22) - Didn't feature in a proper game for us.

Jacopo Bernardi (YP23) - Won our second CM spot, but he'll have to play well to keep his place.

Gabriele Cirelli (YP24) - Didn't feature.

Andrea Polini (YP25) - Saw a bit of gametime.

Thomas De Angelis (YP26) - Played well, but he's going to remain a backup for now.

Massimo Zafferani (YP27) - Didn't play in a proper game.

Andrea Bacciocchi (YP28) - Didn't impress when he played.

Marco Pedini (YP29) - The starting GK spot is his to lose.

Massimo Cevoli (YP30) - Should be a solid backup LB.

Paolo Tessarin (YP31) - Decent striker, but he's our fourth choice.

Simone Maiani (YP32) - Decent backup RB.

Pietro Buscarini (YP33) - Looks like a pretty good CM, but he'll be fourth choice for now.

Special mention:

Nicola Rattini - Once again, one of our key players.

Mattia Arzilli - Got a deserved first international goal.

Aims for next season:

I'd love to make the Third Round of Qualifying, but that depends largely on the draw and then luck over the two legs.

Other teams:

League Winners:

Cup Winners: We lost to Cosmos in the final.

How the team in CL qualifying did: We beat Santa Coloma, but Cluj were just too strong for us.

How the teams in Europa qualifying did: Juvenes Dogana lost 7-0 to Lechia from Poland, Folgore lost 4-0 to Torpedo of Belarus and Domagnano got destroyed 9-0 by Romanian side AFC Astra.

San Marino National team:

2027 Results --- 2028 Results

A draw against Bermuda was the only game we didn't lose, but we didn't get destroyed all that often.

Caps for our players:

Marco Bernardi (YP1) has 69, Giacomo Mancini (YP9) has 30, Nicola Rattini and Christian Peliccioni (YP11) have 29, Nicola Romanelli (YP6) has 27, Michele Zafferani (YP2) has 23, Pier Marino Valentini (YP19) has 17, Marco Gatti (YP15) has 13, Matteo Valentini (YP17) and Giacomo Rosti (YP20) have 11, Manuel Gentile (YP16) has 9, Jacopo Bernardi (YP23) has 5, and Fabrizio Lo Russo (YP7) has 2.

[Bedese]

I was wondering when this would happen. An Austrian club's come in for one of our players, and I don't think there's much chance he chooses us over a better league and a professional contract.

We need to turn Semi-Pro ASAP

[Bedese]

TNS came second for the fourth time in a row (Connah's Quay won the league last year), and we have the newly crowned Welsh champions Bangor City. They're usually around the top of the table but don't usually win it, so I'm hoping this is fairly easy.

[Bedese]

I rotated my squad after a heavy first leg win, but there's no excuse for the second legs result. Still, it's a good thing we aren't facing a massive club off the back of a loss, right?

Oh.

[Bedese]

At least we get a year with him...

[Bedese]

I'm gutted about this one to be honest. They might have had 39 shots, but almost all of them were from long range, as we stayed deep and didn't allow them in behind us. If we hadn't been beaten by a header from a free kick, we'd be facing them at our place on level terms. As it is now, we're heavily the underdogs.

[Bedese]

We had an absolute nightmare. I bought Andrea Polini (YP25) into the team at RB, but subbed him off after he conceded two penalties in 33 minutes. I starting desperately chasing the game after that, and things went downhill from there.

[SoloTitano]

Wow, thank you so much! Can I ask how you go about researching the San Marinese league? There's next to no information out there about it on the web, so is most of it done first hand by going to the games?

Hi Jupjamie.

There's no so much info on-line (and some stuff are even wrong), so the most is provided directly from players (Matteo Vitaioli is a huge FM fan, for example), clubs, FA, journalists and personal connections.

If you're interested in watching some highlights (are you sure? Level is quite low ), national TV has a weekly programm (TeleStadio) with results, video, interviews, etc.

http://www.smtvsanmarino.sm/video/programmi/tele-stadio/telestadio-12-puntata-15-12-2015-15-12-2015

For every suggestions, criticts and so on, feel free to contact me again

[Bedese]

Oh for **** sake...

[Bedese]

Hi Jupjamie.

There's no so much info on-line (and some stuff are even wrong), so the most is provided directly from players (Matteo Vitaioli is a huge FM fan, for example), clubs, FA, journalists and personal connections.

If you're interested in watching some highlights (are you sure? Level is quite low ), national TV has a weekly programm (TeleStadio) with results, video, interviews, etc.

http://www.smtvsanmarino.sm/video/programmi/tele-stadio/telestadio-12-puntata-15-12-2015-15-12-2015

For every suggestions, criticts and so on, feel free to contact me again

I watched a bit of that highlights show, and I feel like the in studio stuff would be awesome if I actually spoke Italian The highlights were pretty interesting though - it's hard to get a feel of the quality from just highlights, but the pitches just looked like slightly nicer parks than you have in England for Sunday League games

Is the football they play quite competitive, or is it more of a hobby that they're pretty relaxed about - they didn't really seem to be celebrating that much. What are the European games like there? Do a lot of people turn up, how do the matches usually go, what's the atmosphere like etc.

Thanks!

[sherwinriga]

Where's Mattia Guidi? And what a new rivalry between your team and SV Grodig! This will begin a signing rivalry between those! It's so sad to lose short-term players.

[SoloTitano]

I watched a bit of that highlights show, and I feel like the in studio stuff would be awesome if I actually spoke Italian The highlights were pretty interesting though - it's hard to get a feel of the quality from just highlights, but the pitches just looked like slightly nicer parks than you have in England for Sunday League games

Is the football they play quite competitive, or is it more of a hobby that they're pretty relaxed about - they didn't really seem to be celebrating that much. What are the European games like there? Do a lot of people turn up, how do the matches usually go, what's the atmosphere like etc.

Thanks!

Level is improving year by year, but it's still quite low and best Sanmarinese players still prefer playing in corresponding Italian amateur leagues, especially for training reasons.

Clubs choose good quality players (even former pro or semi-pro) as "foreigners" (a limit of 6 per team), while the local guys - having a secure spot in the squad - are at a Sunday League level.

It's an hobby for everyone, some local derbies and play-off stage are usually a bit more passionate. Only Tre Penne have atm a new group of "ultras", the rest of the crowd is composed by people and old men from the local town. Finals and european matches reach a 500-1000 attendance.

Pitches are (almost) all artificial, thanks to UEFA money, but they're not enough for all the teams, so there's a rotation for matches and trainings too.

[Bedese]

Where's Mattia Guidi? And what a new rivalry between your team and SV Grodig! This will begin a signing rivalry between those! It's so sad to lose short-term players.

I released him at the end of last season, and he's currently with Tre Penne.

Hopefully, it's only a short term rivalry. I could really do with not losing any more players

[Bedese]

Level is improving year by year, but it's still quite low and best Sanmarinese players still prefer playing in corresponding Italian amateur leagues, especially for training reasons.

Clubs choose good quality players (even former pro or semi-pro) as "foreigners" (a limit of 6 per team), while the local guys - having a secure spot in the squad - are at a Sunday League level.

It's an hobby for everyone, some local derbies and play-off stage are usually a bit more passionate. Only Tre Penne have atm a new group of "ultras", the rest of the crowd is composed by people and old men from the local town. Finals and european matches reach a 500-1000 attendance.

Pitches are (almost) all artificial, thanks to UEFA money, but they're not enough for all the teams, so there's a rotation for matches and trainings too.

Where are most of the foreigners from? I'd imagine mostly Italian ex Serie D players or around that level? How often do the teams train, and when do they do it? I'd imagine them all having full time jobs make it a bit hard.

Sorry for all the questions, but where are the managers from? Are they just local guys passionate about football?

Thanks

[MikeH84]

This is a top quality thread, very enjoyable read. Don't post all that much but needed saying. How's your game speed, do you focus on getting through seasons in a hurry once you've settled on a tactic/starting 11 etc?

[Bedese]

This is a top quality thread, very enjoyable read. Don't post all that much but needed saying. How's your game speed, do you focus on getting through seasons in a hurry once you've settled on a tactic/starting 11 etc?

Thank you so much! That's really awesome to hear

In terms of game speed, now that I've established myself as a pretty dominant domestic team, I usually go on holiday for a chunk of the season in order to speed up the game. What I'll usually do is play my European games and then play the league games up until the transfer window ends, which is usually around the 18th of September. I need to do this because otherwise other teams might be able to steal some of my players away - if I'm not there to offer them new contracts, they might see it as me not wanting them around and leave.

I'll then sim from September 19th - January 8th, which is when the transfer window reopens. Before I go on holiday, I'll pick my preferred lineup (regardless of injuries, if I want them in my ideal first team lineup I'll put them in there) and subs bench. I'll then tick the boxes "use current tactic", and "use current match selection when available." This means that my assistant manager will use the lineup that I've chosen, and only change players around when they're injured or unfit. This is pretty handy, as it means that I don't have my best players leave on a free, upset that my assistant has ignored them.

January 8th usually sees us about halfway through our cup group, and through 12 or 13 out of the 20 or 21 league games. This is a pretty good place to be, as if my assistant hasn't been picking up terrific results, it gives me plenty of time to try and turn things back around. I'll then keep playing from here on out, and only go on holiday once the September transfer window has closed again.

All in all, this setup works for me pretty well. It may not be for everyone, but it lets me go through seasons quickly, while still keeping control over everything important and not missing any crucial league games. The only downside I have at the moment is that I skip over some international games, but to be honest watching the constant batterings would wear me out pretty fast - once we start improving, I'll probably stop my holiday just for them.

EDIT: Something that I forgot to add is that the database is only San Marino, plus then players from clubs in Continental Competitions in Europe. This means it's a nice small database, which helps the game run pretty smoothly.

[Bedese]

He wasn't fantastic, but I'd still rather not have lost him.

[Orikoru]

Grödig signing no less than three of your players!

[SoloTitano]

Where are most of the foreigners from? I'd imagine mostly Italian ex Serie D players or around that level? How often do the teams train, and when do they do it? I'd imagine them all having full time jobs make it a bit hard.

Sorry for all the questions, but where are the managers from? Are they just local guys passionate about football?

Thanks

Yeah, they've not professional contract, so all "foreigners" live in neighbouring cities (most italian players who have played at level 4-5). Italian citizens living in San Marino (obtaining residence is quite hard...) are not considered as foreigners.

Trainings are usually twice a week, in the evenings after work. Furthermore, since last NT managerial change, national players meet (almost) every Monday and Tuesday.

Managers are indeed local guys, sanmarinese or italian, passionate about football. Coaching level is improving thanks to collaboration with Italian federation and now all manager should have a continental B licence.

[Bedese]

Grödig signing no less than three of your players!

I'd never heard of them before, but they're my new enemy

[Bedese]

Yeah, they've not professional contract, so all "foreigners" live in neighbouring cities (most italian players who have played at level 4-5). Italian citizens living in San Marino (obtaining residence is quite hard...) are not considered as foreigners.

Trainings are usually twice a week, in the evenings after work. Furthermore, since last NT managerial change, national players meet (almost) every Monday and Tuesday.

Managers are indeed local guys, sanmarinese or italian, passionate about football. Coaching level is improving thanks to collaboration with Italian federation and now all manager should have a continental B licence.

Would you say that Sanmarinese football is improving then? What is the game like for youngsters/youth players?

[Bedese]

Youth Intake Day!

Let's take a look at the best player:

14 passing is excellent, but we've got a lot of CMs, and he might not get enough gametime for his liking.

He's a decent winger, but it's a pretty disappointing intake.

[Bedese]

[Bedese]

Season Review

Campionato Sammarinese:

Table

Schedule

We weren't dominant by any means and really struggled in the final, but a goal in extra time gave us the win.

Coppa Titano:

Table

Schedule

We can't seem to win this one at the moment.

Key Players:

Highest Average Rating:

Giacomo Mancini (YP9) - 8.00

He dominates the centre of the park.

Top Goalscorers:

Michele Zafferani (YP2)/Paolo Tessarin (YP31) - 27

Youth prospects:

We had a tie here, but it wasn't good news for Michele Zafferani (YP2).

Marco Bernardi (YP1) - Played well.

Michele Zafferani (YP2) - He hurt his cruciates midway through the year, and he's still out for another 2-4 months. He'll probably miss Europe, and his stats have decreased pretty badly, to the point where he's now my fourth best striker. Unfortunately, this might be the end of his dominance for us.

Nicola Romanelli (YP6) - Still getting better every year, and he was superb in this one.

Fabrizio Lo Russo (YP7) - Got a lot of gametime because I basically ignored Marco Pedini (YP29).

Giacomo Mancini (YP9) - Such a good player for us.

Christian Pelliccioni (YP11) - Not playing much for us, and I think he'll leave soon.

Marco Gatti (YP15) - As good as he's been for us, he's going to have to make do with being third choice striker next season.

Manuel Gentile (YP16) - Useful as a rotational player.

Matteo Valentini (YP17) - He's good domestically, but I worry about him in Europe.

Michele Pelliccioni (YP18) - I gave him one game against an easy Bangor side, and he played horrifically. I've given him lots of chances, and now I'm not sure he'll ever play another game for t

Pier Marino Valentini (YP19) - Has fantastic stats for a defensive FB.

Giacomo Rosti (YP20) - He'll be great for the national side, but I'm gutted that he left. For a 19 year old from San Marino, his stats are insane.

Luca Conti (YP21) - Backup keeper next year, but if his one on one stat doesn't go up he's pretty useless.

Marcello Manfredi (YP22) - Played well in limited time.

Jacopo Bernardi (YP23) - Didn't do badly, but I think he's capable of better.

Gabriele Cirelli (YP24) - Played badly in limited time.

Thomas De Angelis (YP26) - He'll start as my second choice striker next year, but he'll need to play very well to keep Marco Gatti (YP15) out the team.

Massimo Zafferani (YP27) - Started 12 games after not playing in any last year, but he didn't do overly well.

Andrea Bacciocchi (YP28) - Played excellently.

Marco Pedini (YP29) - The best GK we're likely to have in a while, but he's leaving to bloody Grodig in a couple of months.

Massimo Cevoli (YP30) - Not content with taking my first LB in Giacomo Rosti (YP20), they then had to take his replacement.

Paolo Tessarin (YP31) - My new first choice striker, he had an insane season, and looks really good.

Simone Maiani (YP32) - I can't remember why I tagged him, to be honest.

Pietro Buscarini (YP33) - He's good, but we've got a lot of CMs.

Marco Battistini (YP34) - He's one such CM. Probably my third choice, above Christian Peliccioni (YP11).

Simone Podeschi (YP35) - Good depth at LW.

Special mention:

Nicola Rattini - He's so good I'm expecting Grodig to sign him in summer.

Mattia Arzilli - He's playing in Serie A! He played badly, but San Marino have a Serie A player!

Aims for next season:

Same as last year - hoping, but not expecting to make the Third Round of Qualifying.

Other teams:

League Winners:

Cup Winners: Virtus beat Libertas in the final.

How the team in CL qualifying did: We destroyed Bangor, but didn't fare quite so well against a very strong Viktoria Plzen side.

How the teams in Europa qualifying did: Libertas lost 7-1 to Beroe of Bulgaria, Domagnano lost 18-1! to Hadjuk Split of Croatia (in fairness, that's an insanely hard draw) and Virtus lost 8-0 to Inter Baki of Azerbaijan.

San Marino National team:

2028 Results --- 2029 Results

We were given an insanely hard Nations League group.

Caps for our players:

Marco Bernardi (YP1) has 77, Giacomo Mancini (YP9) has 38, Nicola Rattini and Christian Peliccioni (YP11) have 35, Nicola Romanelli (YP6) has 30, Michele Zafferani (YP2) has 25, Pier Marino Valentini (YP19) has 23, Matteo Valentini has 18, Marco Gatti (YP15) and Jacopo Bernardi (YP23) have 13, Manuel Gentile (YP16) has 11, Thomas De Angelis (YP26) and Fabrizio Lo Russo (YP7) have 2, and Paolo Tessarin (YP31) has 1.

[Bedese]

YESSSSSSSSSSS!

[Bedese]

This should be easy. They're the Maltese Champions but it's somewhat of a shock, as they hadn't won the league since 1993 and so have never played in the Champions League. In fact, they only qualified for the Europa league twice, losing in the first round in both 2018 and 2019.

[SoloTitano]

Would you say that Sanmarinese football is improving then? What is the game like for youngsters/youth players?

Yeah it's improving. Maybe from a very poor to a poor level, but that's an improvment after all. They should do many things to get more competitive (re-allocation of UEFA money, youth policy, a program for NT players, ..) but that's a good beginning.

Youth system is a bit complicated, like everything in San Marino. Clubs have usually U10 and U12 teams (often 2-3 clubs join together for numeric reasons), then youth activity is managed centrally by FA, which have many teams at different level (against professional clubs in co-operation with San Marino Calcio, regional and provincial level for less skilled prospects). Later players come back to their clubs or continue in Italy.

[sherwinriga]

Things went well for them to make their future dominant than before! Congratulations on promoting this team to semi-professional! Can you see the whole squad of the San Marino NT and who are the champions from other leagues from your appointment to recent promotion to semi-pro?

[sc91]

Yeah it's improving. Maybe from a very poor to a poor level, but that's an improvment after all. They should do many things to get more competitive (re-allocation of UEFA money, youth policy, a program for NT players, ..) but that's a good beginning.

Youth system is a bit complicated, like everything in San Marino. Clubs have usually U10 and U12 teams (often 2-3 clubs join together for numeric reasons), then youth activity is managed centrally by FA, which have many teams at different level (against professional clubs in co-operation with San Marino Calcio, regional and provincial level for less skilled prospects). Later players come back to their clubs or continue in Italy.

How much influence does Italy have on the policies of San Marino?

Hopefully progress can be made, we saw this year in the Euro 2018 qualification process with Faroe Islands (and also Iceland to a lesser extent) that significant investments in football can reap the dividends for the smaller nations.

[SoloTitano]

How much influence does Italy have on the policies of San Marino?

Hopefully progress can be made, we saw this year in the Euro 2018 qualification process with Faroe Islands (and also Iceland to a lesser extent) that significant investments in football can reap the dividends for the smaller nations.

In football terms? Well, there are few agreements between the two FA (partecipation of San Marino Calcio in italian leagues, partecipation of Sanmarinese Youth club in regional italian divisions, possibility for players to compete in both leagues at the same time, ...) which are quite important. On the other hand, San Marino FA is financially independent and could build some interesting projects on their own, but ... but well, they'll never do.

[Bedese]

Things went well for them to make their future dominant than before! Congratulations on promoting this team to semi-professional! Can you see the whole squad of the San Marino NT and who are the champions from other leagues from your appointment to recent promotion to semi-pro?

The San Marino NT squad isn't that interesting really, it's basically just Mattia Arzilli, the best of our players and then a few players who've left us, with one or two players at other Sanmarinese teams filling out the squad.

I can see the top three of every league that the game has, so let me know if there's any you want to see!

[Bedese]

In football terms? Well, there are few agreements between the two FA (partecipation of San Marino Calcio in italian leagues, partecipation of Sanmarinese Youth club in regional italian divisions, possibility for players to compete in both leagues at the same time, ...) which are quite important. On the other hand, San Marino FA is financially independent and could build some interesting projects on their own, but ... but well, they'll never do.

Why don't they ever make any of their own projects, out of interest? What are the training facilities like for the youth teams? Are there any teams, either youth or senior who aren't one of the 15 that play in the league? As you can probably tell, I'm quite interested

[Bedese]

We got the job done, but it wasn't as comfortable as I would have liked.

This isn't the hardest draw, but it's certainly not the easiest. Trencin have turned into a Slovakian powerhouse in my game, winning the league 12 times since 2015. I'm not quite sure why they've emerged out of nowhere, but they've never been knocked out in the Second Qualifying Round, so here goes nothing.

[Bedese]

I'm so disappointed with this. We destroyed them for the first 20 minutes and went 1-0 up, but just threw it away with an awful defensive performance.

[Bedese]

Maybe next year.