Futsal, the Super Cup returns: Folgore face Tre Fiori in the season’s opening clash

Yesterday saw the draws for the league and the Titano Futsal Cup. This morning it was the turn of the press conference for the San Marino Futsal Super Cup final, a competition that will once again update its roll of honour after a two-edition absence. In short, within just a few hours futsal has completed its last formalities and is now truly ready to let the pitch do the talking. The task of kicking off the 2022-23 season falls to Folgore and Tre Fiori, who met in last season’s Titano Futsal Cup final and will now battle it out in Fiorentino on Tuesday evening for the first trophy of the campaign. At the press conference table sat the two coaches, Massimiliano Spada and Alex Bugli, flanked by captains Massimiliano Bernardi and Lorenzo Boschi. Folgore, fresh from last season’s trophy haul, can only set their sights on the treble. For Spada, however, the match will also serve as a test to gauge how far the team has already settled after the summer changes: "First and foremost, on Tuesday we’ll try to understand where we are at. We have a new team and at this stage we are very focused on regrouping as a unit. I’m curious to see how we will respond to this first major occasion. The Super Cup final will be an excellent test to understand who we are today." Alex Bugli also dwelt on the changes to his Tre Fiori side: "In recent months we’ve lost some important pieces. But we’ve brought in players who are equally promising. We’re starting again too, although obviously not from scratch. We need to rediscover the feelings and strengths we had last year. We’ve worked hard over the past month and we’re curious to see where we stand. We’ll see how this final goes." Max Bernardi has been feeling very much at home in finals for some time now. The last two – both won – have all borne his stamp. The assist for Mainardi in the Titano Futsal Cup final and the opening goal in the Championship final (as well as the assist for Busignani’s second) are a highly eloquent calling card on the eve of this new title showdown and the new season. All the more so given that this year the home-grown yellow-and-red player will also be wearing the captain’s armband. "This extra responsibility I’ve been given is not a problem for me." – Bernardi assures – "I’ve been at Folgore since I was a child and it’s an honour for me. In fact, I’m happy to have taken over the baton from a golden, exemplary lad like Giacomo Mainardi. We have a new team which has already started to get to know each other during the European campaign, but which still has to fine-tune its understanding. In any case, we’re ready for this final." Tre Fiori are the only one of the two contenders to have already won the Super Cup. Becoming the first San Marino club to lift this trophy more than once is a prospect which, according to Lorenzo Boschi, can provide extra motivation for the yellow-and-blues: "There’s no doubt that this objective within the objective can give us an extra boost. As the coach said, the squad has been renewed. We’ve brought in some young but very talented players. I’m convinced that over the course of the year they’ll prove to be an added value for us." The date is set for Fiorentino on Tuesday 27 September, with kick-off at 21:00.

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