20 Years Without a Win. Until Now.
San Marino has the worst soccer team in the world. Finally, they’ve won a match.
The last time San Marino won a soccer game was 20 years ago. In fact, that was the only time the country has ever won.
Nicko Sensoli, the team’s 19-year-old midfielder, wasn’t even born yet.
But last week, everything changed. It’s one of the most unlikely results in the history of soccer. Against Liechtenstein in the UEFA Nation’s League, Sensoli poked a ball towards goal. When it hit the back of the net, he, his teammates, and all of San Marino erupted at once.
San Marino had the lead in a soccer match.
Then the country ranked dead last in FIFA’s rankings—210 out of 210—held onto that lead, and won.
At last, the longest losing streak in the history of international soccer had ended.
“Slowly but surely, it’s starting to sink in," Sensoli told a reporter the day after Wednesday’s game. "It’s not easy to hold back your emotions. I still feel like I’m on top of the world.”
We should back up a little. Starting with a question I found myself asking: “Where is San Marino?” It’s a tiny country—the fifth smallest in the world—right in the middle of Eastern Italy. Only 33,000 people live there (the same population as Helena, Montana), but for decades, the country has fielded a national soccer team that competes in European tournaments against monsters of the sport like Italy, Germany, and England. Its players aren’t even semi-professionals. They’re plain amateurs: mechanics and delivery drivers. One player works in a jewelry factory. A defender builds toys. The team captain is a graphic designer. When it’s time for a game, most of them have to request PTO.
It would be easy for San Marino’s soccer federation to offer eligibility to players from other countries, promising future stars looking for experience, or old veterans who want one last chance at the field. Almost every federation in the world recruits these “dual nationals.” But San Marino plays 100-percent with players born in San Marino.
“It's difficult, but of course we are proud, even if we are at the bottom of the FIFA ranking,” captain Matteo Vitaioli, told ESPN. “We are here. We are one of the smallest countries in the world, but we play with 100 percent, and it is just us, no other nationalities. Even Italy uses players from other countries, but we are just San Marino, so we are very proud of that.”
And so, with their small nation cheering them on, the San Marino national team lost and lost and lost and lost. The supporters group changed their name to Brigata Mai 1 Gioia—meaning, “The Never Joy Brigade.” They became the subject of international fascination, known everywhere as, “the worst team in the world.”
Last week, San Marino hosted Liechtenstein in a UEFA Nation’s League match. In previous Nation’s league matches—considered the easiest of UEFA’s many tournaments—San Marino had nonetheless gone winless in 14 tries. In total, it had been 140 games since they had last won a match—20 long years. Their all-time record before the game was 1 win, 10 draws, and 199 losses.
Nicko Sensoli, the 19-year-old midfielder, happened to be wearing the no. 20 jersey—the same as the years since the last win—when he flicked that fateful goal forward. Fans at San Marino’s Stadio Olimpico (the country has neither an airport nor train station, but they do have a soccer stadium) had to hold their breath through nearly 10 minutes of added time. But at final whistle, the score was true. 1-0, San Marino. The supporters group, “The Never Joy Brigade,” wrote on social media, “This day changes all our lives.”
"I'm an old man," a San Marino fan named Alessandro told a reporter after the match. "I always say that you can see anything happen if you watch enough football. But I have to say, I thought I might never see this."
Two decades in the making: victory at last.
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