Bologna win inaugural San Marino Talent Cup

The inaugural San Marino Talent Cup, an event organised by the FSGC as part of the “Talent Development Scheme” project promoted by FIFA, ended with victory for Bologna. Over the course of a week, fixtures were staged on the pitches of Dogana and Acquaviva, with the San Marino Academy Primavera side also taking part. The latter began their campaign with defeats to Ravenna (3-1, goal by Deronjic) and Bologna (4-0), before making amends in the 5th-6th place play-off, where they ran out 3-2 winners over Forlì thanks to goals from Markaj, Canarezza and Pasolini. Group A, featuring the Titani, was dominated by Bologna, who won both of their matches, while Ravenna had to settle for second place in the first phase of the tournament. Group B also had a side finishing with maximum points: Perugia, followed by Cesena (3 points) and Forlì (0 points). Yesterday was reserved for the finals and the presentation of team and individual awards. As mentioned, Brocchini’s San Marino Academy defeated Forlì and finished 5th overall. Cesena, meanwhile, were rampant in the 3rd-place play-off: Berardi’s goal for Ravenna proved in vain, overwhelmed by the five goals scored by the Bianconeri through Malafronte, Frisoni, Tonti, Ricci and Giunchi. The final itself was the only evening kick-off of the entire tournament. At the Ezio Conti Stadium in Dogana, Bologna defeated Perugia 3-2, with the Umbrians attempting a comeback after falling three goals behind to strikes from Mioli, Lo Monaco and Buikus. Goals from Ciani and Dottori (from the penalty spot) were not enough for Perugia to take the contest to a penalty shoot-out. The tournament’s final evening – which saw the attendance of the federation’s top officials, just as in the afternoon during the 5th-place and 3rd-place finals – also provided the opportunity to honour the outstanding individuals: Bologna’s Matteo Franceschelli was named best goalkeeper, while Claudio Giardino of Perugia (3 goals) and Luca Lo Monaco received the awards for top scorer and best player respectively.