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SANMARINO
THE COACH
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coach of the Under-21 squad from 2010. His best
result as U21 coach had been a 1-0 victory in a
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The goal was scored by Fiorentina defender Juri
Biordi.
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against England at Wembley, before they gained
their only point of the campaign with a 0-0 draw at
home to Estonia.
San Marino lost their six remaining matches but
did manage to score - it was their solitary goal of
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from a free-kick just outside the box.
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troops, playing a 5-4-1 formation, lost by a headed
goal seconds before the break in front of 1500
spectators in the national stadium (Serravalle). It
is likely San Marino will play a similar formation
against Northern Ireland, with the emphasis on
holding the hosts and relying on breaks from
defence.
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career in the summer of 2008.
It certainly appears a daunting task coaching the
national team rated 211th in the FIFA rankings, with
a record of just one victory in their entire history
(1-0 in a friendly at home to Liechtenstein in April
2004), however the coach has his own opinion
about his charges’ ambitions.
He said: “Our primary aim is different from that
of other teams: our main objective is damage
limitation, and that can be psychologically draining.
Most of our players earn at the most £240 a month
as players, and most have full-time jobs, training in
the evenings. In other countries playing football is a
job, in San Marino it is a hobby, a passion.
“Sport to me means giving everyone the chance
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are much stronger. Don’t forget Brazil conceded
seven goals at home to Germany in the World Cup
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improve in every game.”
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