Futsal, the chase for Murata begins: league kicks off tomorrow

The Givova Supercup final has officially opened the San Marino futsal season. But it was, naturally, a private affair between just two clubs: Murata and Pennarossa. All the others – apart from Cosmos, who sit out immediately – will start their campaigns tomorrow evening on Matchday 1 of the Campionato Sammarinese. There will be no postponements and no indoor fixtures: all seven matches will be played on the same evening, split across the traditional time slots of 20:15 and 21:45. The venues involved are Acquaviva (outdoor), Dogana, Domagnano and Fiorentino, the latter being the only facility scheduled to host a single game. Here Murata – fresh from their near miss in Europe and the emphatic victory in the Givova Supercup final, which allowed Spada’s men to complete the treble in 2025 – will begin their title defence, one of the two trophies secured last season. Looking to rein in the Bianconeri – who looked in superb shape in their last outing – will be a significantly reshaped Folgore compared to a year ago, starting from the dugout, now entrusted to Antonio D’amico. Massimiliano Spada welcomes back Alex Mattioli, absent last Monday. Speaking of teams embarking on a new technical cycle, Libertas, now in the capable hands of Roberto Levani, clearly fall into that category as well. The coach from Reggio Emilia will immediately come up against one of his former sides: La Fiorita. The Granata and the Gialloblù will face off at 21:45 in Domagnano. On the same pitch, but in the earlier time slot, it will be up to Domagnano and Fiorentino to chase their first points of the year. Fabio Gasperoni remains on the Lupi bench for a third season in yellow and red, while at Fiorentino the reins have now passed to Marco Screti, tasked with lifting the former dominant force of the Titano after an underwhelming campaign, albeit one that began with a historic first European win.

At the helm of that Fiorentino side who overcame Welsh outfit Pro Futsal Cymru was Gianni Galli, now in charge of Tre Fiori. The Rimini-born coach’s new “baptism” will be the clash with Tre Penne, who, after their brilliant run last season, have raised the bar in terms of ambition. The Biancoazzurri have not changed head coach, with Roberto Penserini still firmly in charge. Their meeting will be the second game in Dogana, following on from the match on the same synthetic surface between San Giovanni and Faetano. There is a common thread here: a complete overhaul compared to last season, with almost entirely revamped squads and brand new coaching teams. Leonardo Palermino, like Gianni Galli, has switched benches but not Castello: after a largely disappointing spell at Libertas, the coach from Forlì has chosen to relaunch his career at San Giovanni. Faetano, meanwhile, move from the tutelage of Elmiro Corbelli to that of Matteo Selva, who after years working in the San Marino Academy youth sector returns to the Campionato Sammarinese, a stage where he celebrated a double triumph in 2015, the year in which, in charge of Pennarossa, he completed the Scudetto–Futsal Cup double.

Speaking of Pennarossa, Chiesanuova’s men have had only a few days to process the heavy defeat suffered in the Supercup final. But it is also true that, in many cases, playing again straight away can be a positive factor. Juvenes-Dogana will be tasked with resisting Monesi’s side’s desire for an immediate reaction in the match that will close the evening on the Acquaviva synthetic, back in the spotlight after a long absence. And on the subject of comebacks, the wonderful news of the evening will be the return to the bench – as Juvenes-Dogana head coach – of Gabriele Cellarosi, following the terrible road accident that, just under a year and a half ago, had raised serious concerns for his wellbeing. In the opening match in Acquaviva, Virtus and Cailungo will go head to head. The Neroverdi intend to start in the right way on a path which, in the view of many observers, could see them emerge as one of Murata’s main rivals. As for Cailungo, the arrival of Pollini on the staff adds a touch of romance to the occasion: the new assistant to Matteo Venerucci was in fact Virtus’ head coach before the appointment of the current Neroverde manager, Matteo Michelotti.

Here is the fixture list for Matchday 1 of the league: