On a humid Thursday night in the hills of Serravalle, with 914 lucky fans watching, a momentous moment in history took place that sent shivers through the entire football community.
Tweets and replays started coming in quickly. What channel is this on? How can I watch it? Are you watching this?
Fan accounts began posting frantic and largely unintelligible updates, live streams refreshed frantically, and suddenly San Marino fans simply couldn’t sit still. That was it: finally, after 34 long years of waiting, they were going to win a competitive match.
There was even a breaking news bulletin from Sky Sports at the final whistle, which took pains to underline the gravity of the occasion.
In the 53rd minute of a previously under-the-radar Nations League clash against Liechtenstein, Nicko Sensoli scored the most famous goal in San Marino’s history to seal their first three points in competitive football.
Thursday night’s 1-0 win over Liechtenstein marked a historic milestone for San Marino.
Nicko Sensoli’s goal sealed their first competitive win after more than 200 games in their history.
Sensoli capitalised on a defensive error to lift the ball past Benjamin Buchel and seal the win.
It wasn’t a Puskas Award-worthy goal (the teenager took advantage of a defensive error to kick the ball into an empty net), but it meant absolutely everything to every one of San Marino’s 33,000 inhabitants – not the worst way to open a scoring account.
“When I saw my teammate kick the ball into the box, I saw that there was no one next to the defender,” explained the hero of the moment, speaking to Mail Sport about his goal.
‘At that moment I initially thought he had headed the ball wide, but I immediately heard the goalkeeper shouting at him.
‘Even though I don’t speak German, I took a gamble that he had asked me for a back pass. I accelerated towards the ball to get there at a good pace and get a little ahead of the goalkeeper.
“The only way to beat them would have been with a lob because we were so close. When I saw the ball bounce towards the goal I started celebrating like crazy.”
For most viewers, San Marino is not a team that is always on the mind. It is an opportunity to sign some youngsters, to boost the statistics a bit and to get six points in the qualifying group.
In their entire history, San Marino had only won one match before Thursday night. One win in 205 matches, curiously also 1-0 against Liechtenstein. But speaking to the players involved after a historic night, one realises that they represent all the reasons why we all fell in love with this game.
“It means everything,” explains the captain of the night, Alessandro Golinucci.
Sensoli’s goal came on his competitive debut for San Marino, with the 19-year-old having only played in friendlies before Thursday night.
Captain Alessandro Golinucci revealed the anxiety he felt as the game approached its climax
“Everything I always dreamed of since the first time I wore the shirt of my national under-17 team. From then until now, it has been the ultimate goal I have always pursued in my football career. We achieved it and we are very proud of this achievement!”
‘It’s an incredible, ultimate emotion, a joy that will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. These three points will always be part of our team’s history. It’s hard to find words that can describe what we felt and what we continue to feel after the final whistle.
“I remember being on the bench with my brother, Enrico. We were hysterical in the final part of the match: standing, cheering on our teammates on the pitch, frantically walking in front of the bench.
‘It was very hard to live those moments off the pitch and feel the anxiety of the final minutes, but at the end of the day the final whistle gave us great relief. We exploded with joy, and having the opportunity to share that moment with my brother doubled the pleasure.’
Never before had La Serenissima won a competitive match, until Roberto Cevoli’s future national heroes stepped up; it may have been Sensoli’s goal that sealed the result, but you’d be hard pressed to find a team so built on collective effort and team spirit as San Marino.
Needless to say, having had to wait so long to celebrate their first three points, San Marino have plans to mark the occasion.
“We celebrated it at a local club here in San Marino, but we are planning a special event this weekend to properly celebrate such a historic event,” Golinucci revealed.
Sensoli, who was not even born the last time San Marino won a match, added: “We ‘destroyed’ the dressing room, fully enjoying a well-deserved victory!” Touching images later posted on UEFA Nations League social media backed up this claim.
The team celebrated their victory at a local club in San Marino, but have plans for an event this weekend.
Sensoli began to walk away celebrating as he watched his shot bounce back towards the goal.
Of course, it’s worth noting that while for some the Nations League is simply another competition on the international calendar, for nations like San Marino, Gibraltar and Liechtenstein, it is much more.
Instead of suffering thrashings at the hands of England (10-0 in 2021), Germany (13-0 in 2006) and Belgium (9-0 in 2019), La Serenissima have the chance to test themselves in truly competitive clashes and really grow as a team, trying out new ideas and giving players valuable minutes.
“As you can imagine, I am really proud of this victory, of the overall performance of the team and the players against Liechtenstein,” adds Cevoli, now San Marino’s most successful coach in history.
‘What I am most proud of is that our players showed great mentality, fighting for any possession of the ball and focusing on the opportunity to win the match. Minute by minute they realized that they could compete against Liechtenstein. This is the result of the effort they put in over the last nine months.
‘Coaching is a difficult job, but the rewards are enormous. These emotions erase all the negative periods or previous defeats; moments like this, which will last a lifetime, are the reason why we love football. I am enormously proud to coach the national team of my own country; for any coach, this is without a doubt the best opportunity they can have.’
It was an achievement that was long awaited, there is no doubt about it, and of course the long-awaited victory tastes even better. But it is also the vindication of a new approach by the national team that has finally borne fruit.
Admittedly, there have been no wins along the way, but the last 12 months have been very positive for San Marino. Their fortunes on the pitch have improved with five goals in their previous seven games, including their first in competitive action in two years against Denmark last year.
That may not sound like much, but it’s a huge improvement on the 36 games it took him to score that amount before that.
Roberto Cevoli said leading his country to its first ever win was “the best opportunity” for any coach
Golinucci described the victory as a “once in a lifetime” moment in his international career.
San Marino Football Federation President Marco Tura said the result came after putting emphasis on developing young players.
“Everyone involved in San Marino football, from those who play on the pitch to managers, employees, supporters and football fans, feels fulfilled today after this success,” said Marco Tura, President of the San Marino Football Federation.
“We are all extremely satisfied to have earned our first three points in San Marino’s international history, fully aware that this is the fruit of a magnificent job carried out mainly in recent years by investing in young players.”
Sensoli, the all-time top scorer, is only 19, as is Matteo Valli Casadei, who played the full 90 minutes in midfield. The Benvenuti twins, Giacomo and Tommaso, are 18; in total, there were 13 players in Cevoli’s squad aged 23 or younger.
After all, you can’t be marked by past defeats if you didn’t play them. The addition of new and hungry faces has given Cevoli’s San Marino a vigour that the casual fan might not expect from a team that had previously failed to win in over 200 competitive matches.
Instead, Cevoli and company are building a team that can bring a new definition to international football in San Marino.
They may not be able to compete with the talent and wealth of some of Europe’s best hitters, but why can’t they achieve a similar result when Gibraltar visit Serravalle in November? Why can’t San Marino top their Nations League group, or at least give it a run for its money?
Of the 22 players on the team, 13 were 23 years old or younger, which demonstrates the spirit of San Marino.
For many, the achievement of finally overcoming adversity and ending the wait for an incalculably large three points may be enough, but for San Marino and President Tura, who have continued to fight like no other country in the face of numerous setbacks, it is only the beginning.
“It is a historic achievement and we are fully aware that we have reached a record of which we are incredibly proud. However, this should be seen as a starting point, not a finish line.”