Conference League, a historic feat of Tre Fiori

If the protagonist did not come from the small Republic of San Marino, it would only be a victory in the first leg of the first preliminary round of the Conference League with the qualification still open. On the other hand, the 0-1 with which Tre Fiori beat the Luxembourgers of Fola Esch enters the annals of football, because it is the first away victory of a team from San Marino in the European Cups, after 22 years of participation. To sign it, subverting the predictions against the third force of the top division, is Joel Nunez Mastroianni, Spanish striker from Atletico Ascoli, Excellence from the Marche, with a goal in the 85th minute.

The coach

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No high-sounding names to garnish the Tre Fiori squad, but a cohesive group entrusted to coach Andy Selva, former striker of Padua, Spal and Sassuolo and icon of San Marino football with record of goals and appearances in the national team. Selva was making his international debut at the helm of a club and this victory “gets on the podium in my memory board – he says -“, ​​where they already have a place “the goal with which we beat Liechtenstein in 2004 in what is the only success so far of the national team and promotion to Serie B with Sassuolo scoring 11 goals. But then I was on the pitch and I had to think only of running and scoring, now I manage a group of 24 players and it is much more difficult “.

yet another undertaking

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A record that for the Tre Fiori, 8 Titan Cups and 8 Scudetti in the palmares, also means becoming the only team in San Marino to have achieved positive results in the preliminaries of the three European cups: double 1-1 with the Andorrani of Saint Julià in Champions, irrelevant victory with the Welsh Bala Town in the Europa League and now this 0-1 in the Conference, waiting for the return to the San Marino Stadium on Thursday 14th.

head back

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Records that vanish when Selva goes back to thinking about the pitch, because “the team gave me excellent answers, but paradoxically it will be more difficult in the second leg. We will have to manage the enthusiasm well and be ready for the reaction of the Fola Esch, which I expect more aggressive. We want to get the next shift, the one that can be remembered as a feat “.