SAN MARINO

Goalkeeper 1999/00

Matchworn by Federico Valentini 10.10.99 ENG U18 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 : SMR U18 🇸🇲 0-9

Manufacturer: Virma

Source: Collector

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THE TEAM

Being a goalkeeper for San Marino’s national team may very well be the most unrewarding job in European football. As I pointed up in my other San Marino article, the national team’s goal difference is somewhat poor: In their thirty-year history, the team has scored merely 24 goals, while conceding 730 – all within 174 matches. In comparison: the German national team has conceded 1127 goals in 961 games, which equals an average of 1,2 goals conceded per game – compared to San Marino’s 4,2. A rather unfair comparison, I have to admit…

On October 10th 1999, Federico Valentini had to get the ball out of his own net nine times, when San Marino’s U18 played England during the U18 EURO qualification campaign.

THE SHIRT

At least, Valentini could perish in style, wearing this glorious photo printed goalkeeper jersey by Virma – the Italian manufacturer that never released a bad shirt in their (sadly) short period as a producer of international shirts.

I obtained the shirt thanks to former Welsh international goalkeeper and England youth goalkeeping coach Martin Thomas, who worked for England’s U18 during the late 90’s.

Besides this banger of a shirt, Martin also sent me the pennant from the game and was overall an extremely helpful and friendly guy with an amazing collection of international matchworn shirts.

San Marino in 2000.