Arrigoni: "Speeding up the integration of young players into the National Team is a calculated risk, the win over Liechtenstein is only a starting point"

The progress made by San Marino’s National Teams, whose impact has echoed across the world’s main media outlets, above all thanks to the UEFA Nations League victory over Liechtenstein, is there for all to see. To the less attentive observer, however, recent developments might appear occasional and episodic, whereas in reality they have their roots in technical projects launched some time ago in the Republic. This is underlined by the National Teams’ Technical Coordinator, Daniele Arrigoni: "What has recently hit the headlines of international sports news comes from far back, starting with the cycle entrusted to Franco Varrella. In the same vein, credit must go to the important and fruitful work carried out by Fabrizio Costantini and now by Roberto Cevoli, who is reaping the rewards of an ambitious turning point, adding so much of his own to it. Winning the match against Liechtenstein – Arrigoni is keen to point out – must not be seen as an end point. In fact, everyone within San Marino’s football system must be fully aware that we have only just begun: this obliges us to raise the bar even further, aiming for a further qualitative improvement in all components of the San Marino football pathway. From the top, represented by the National Team – for which all technical decisions are taken – down to the youth national teams and San Marino Academy – which provides the talent pool. In particular, with regard to the Academy’s youth sector, I do not claim any merit: I was fortunate to find a system with great potential, the culmination of a positive journey that started many years ago". Returning to the technical decisions taken primarily for the benefit of the San Marino National Team, Daniele Arrigoni clarifies: "The increased pace in promoting players to the highest level of our national teams has inevitably resulted in the current weakening of the youth selections, including the Under-21s themselves. It is a calculated risk we felt was worth taking, in the hope of reaching a stable balance in the coming years across all age groups that will wear the biancazzurro shirt". Focusing on one key fact, it is worth recalling that a large number of the players involved in San Marino v Liechtenstein would, by age, have been eligible to play for the Under-21s or even the Under-19s. "Also in this light – Arrigoni concludes – some of the results of our youth national teams should be interpreted, as they are deprived of key individuals who have already proved ready to contribute to Cevoli’s National Team".

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