20 years and 143 games without a win
Waiting 20 years to win a football match is an unbearably long time for any team, even if you are officially the worst team in the world. But for San Marino, those two decades of pain made the joy of victory all the more special.
At FIFA Days in September 2024, there were many notable events with the world's top names. But the story of a "tiny" country attracted attention in a rather special way. That was the San Marino team winning 1-0 against Liechtenstein. It was not the shock of the little guy defeating the giant that is often seen in football. It was a matter of time and waiting.
The concept of long-suffering fans has become something of a cliche in football, but San Marino's supporters might consider themselves the longest-suffering of all.
The tiny nation of just 33,000, completely surrounded by Italy - one of the world's most successful men's football nations - has an unenviable and unenviable record of going two decades without a win. Before September 2024, the team's last victory was a friendly against Liechtenstein in 2004.
That series of results has left Titani “solidly” at the bottom of the FIFA rankings (210/210). The harsh reality for San Marino is that most of their matches are against teams from the same European Union (UEFA), so there is little chance for them to win.
But nothing has deterred a super-unique group of San Marino fans called "Brigata Mai 1 Gioia" (Brigade Never Happy). Primarily from Italy, they have supported San Marino at every home game and many away games since the group was founded in 2004. They have never seen their heroes win.
Change
But San Marino have quietly shown some promise. In their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, San Marino scored in three consecutive games against some relatively illustrious opponents, including Denmark, Kazakhstan and Finland. A goal at any stage of any San Marino game would have prompted a fan invasion and celebrations, but it is gradually becoming less of a shock.
When San Marino booked two home friendlies against Concacaf (North, Central America and Caribbean) side St. Kitts & Nevis in March 2024, hopes began to rise that this could be the moment to break the curse of a 140-match winless streak. However, just as they did away to minnows St. Lucia, which ended in a draw and a loss, things did not go as planned. San Marino took the lead, but St. Kitts & Nevis won 3-1 and then drew 0-0 in the second match, failing to quench the Sammarinesi's thirst for victory.
A change of coach may have been a factor. Fabrizio Costantini was surprisingly replaced by Roberto Cevoli. At the same time, not one but two goalkeepers retired, freeing themselves from one of the most gruelling tasks in international football. Coupled with two more defeats in June, the changes were a welcome departure for San Marino, who are in Group 1 of League D in the UEFA Nations League, alongside Gibraltar (ranked 198) and Liechtenstein (199).
Moment of “glory”
For countries like San Marino, the Nations League is a blessing because it offers competitive matches against teams of equal calibre, so when they are in the same group as Liechtenstein, the only team they have beaten before and a team on a 39-match winless streak, it is clearly a great opportunity to claim ‘glory’.
Matches at the Stadio Olimpico in Serravalle are usually played in a hushed atmosphere, with spectators lulled by a sense of inevitability, but on Thursday (5.9) the atmosphere was different. The crowd was significantly larger than in recent games, despite not filling the stadium’s 6,600 capacity. There was a sense that this could be their night.
Liechtenstein started more strongly, and after half an hour Fabio Luque Notaro took advantage of a defensive lapse by Sammarinese to score for the visitors. However, just as the hope was starting to drain from the home crowd, VAR intervened to rule out the goal for offside. That energised San Marino, and shortly after the break their big moment arrived. Nicko Sensoli charged towards goal and capitalised on a hesitant Benjamin Buchel to slot the ball into the Liechtenstein net, carving his name into Titani history forever.
Boom
For San Marino, the lead was an unusual position. The tension grew and became unbearable for the fans who had waited so long. When the seven minutes of added time were announced, even the Brigata group, who had been cheering since the first minute, fell silent for a moment. But despite some fear, San Marino persevered. When the final whistle blew, the players were devastated by the magnitude of what they had achieved. The announcer on the stadium's sound system kept shouting "San Marino 1 - 0 Liechtenstein", unable to maintain neutrality in the face of such an important result.
"It was a perfect evening," said coach Cevoli, "We scored one goal and could have scored more, and didn't concede. I couldn't have expected anything better. I'm happy for the players and for the federation, they deserve this."
The winner, Sensoli, wasn't even born when Andy Selva scored in San Marino's last win over Liechtenstein in 2004. But the 19-year-old, making only his fourth international appearance, has now taken his country one step further with his first competitive win.
In the stands, there was a “crazy” feeling among the San Marino fans, eager to cheer on the underdog. Fans from as far away as the UK, the US and even Argentina celebrated together. Among the locals, still confused by the appearance of a group of foreigners in the crowd, a few tears were shed.
The Unseen
"I'm an old man," said Alessandro, a loyal San Marino fan. "I always say you can see anything happening if you watch enough football. But I have to say, I could never see this." It's fair to say that the gap between San Marino's two wins is 7,435 days.
At the other end of the age spectrum, two breastfeeding mothers can boast a 100% lifetime winning record as San Marino fans. The state provides all newborns with a national team shirt to encourage them to take up the task of supporting one of the world’s least successful teams.
Five Liechtenstein fans travelling with the team lamented the defeat as they prepared for the 375-mile journey back to their tiny principality in the Alps between Switzerland and Austria, where they will have a chance to make amends in November's return match in Vaduz.
As the fans left the Olimpico, with lights illuminating the majestic Monte Titano, the members of Brigata 1 Una Gioia packed up their flags and headed outside, almost in a daze. “We’re going to have to change our name,” said one of the group’s members, Marco Brigoli, with a grin. “From now on, we’ll probably just be Brigata San Marino, because this is definitely a real joy.”
