NAT San Marino gearing up for home qualifying tournament

NAT San Marino – or more precisely its coaching staff – was presented a little over a month before the start of the Regions' Cup qualifying tournament, which will be held in San Marino and was also the subject of the press conference staged today at the Casa del Calcio. At the top table spoke Luigi Bizzotto, already at work in his third spell as head coach of the San Marino amateur representative side. The staff that supported Bizzotto during the last international campaign has also been reconfirmed en bloc, namely the Intermediate Round played in 2022 in Bulgaria, where the Biancazzurri drew with the Bulgarian representative team and beat the Romanian representative after losing their opener. “What we did in Bulgaria was a very positive journey,” said Bizzotto. “We achieved important results in the last two matches. The Bulgarian and Romanian sides were strong opponents, so getting a draw and a win against them was a great source of satisfaction for us. My staff and I are very happy to have been confirmed. It’s a great opportunity. We know tough challenges await us, but we’re counting on having on our side that extra boost of enthusiasm that comes from playing at home.” Also thanks to the results achieved in Bulgaria, San Marino has maintained an excellent ranking. As a result, once again they will begin their path in Regions' Cup qualifying (now in its 13th edition) from the Intermediate Round. Bizzotto and his players will face, in order, the Hungarian representative team (13 November), the Turkish representative team (16 November) and the Slovenian representative team (19 November). “It’s always difficult to form a clear idea of your opponents before the tournament starts,” admitted the coach. “There are very few images and pieces of information circulating about these representative sides. Let’s say that, as far as the opening game is concerned, we will get to know the Hungarian representative by playing them. But the main focus will be on ourselves: we’ll try to start well by relying on our strongest weapons. Afterwards, we will also have footage of the first matches to study our opponents in greater depth.” Gigi Bizzotto knows the Campionato Sammarinese inside out, of which NAT is, in effect, the expression: “In recent years the Campionato Sammarinese has undoubtedly grown and I hope NAT will be able to properly reflect this rise in level. Our aim is to involve the best players from our set-up: that’s what we will do, notwithstanding the odd natural personal issue that may arise. In any case, all of us are particularly keen to play a great tournament.” Today was the day of the formal confirmation, but in reality Bizzotto has already been working with the team for some time with the home tournament in mind. And the early feedback has been more than positive. “The atmosphere is fantastic, I must say. And that’s nothing new. The lads come to training full of enthusiasm and professionalism. For now we haven’t met often, but I’m sure that, as we continue this journey, the spirit will remain what I’ve always seen – in other words, ideal.” the coach concluded. So the date is set for 13 November and NAT San Marino’s debut against the Hungarian representative team. That match and the other two fixtures involving the hosts will be broadcast live and free of charge on Titani.TV. Below is the list of the members of NAT’s coaching and backroom staff: Head Coach: Luigi Bizzotto Assistant Coach: Mattia Rizzo Technical Assistant: Roberto Penserini Fitness Coach: Luigi Di Spirito Goalkeeping Coach: Claudio Bertoni Federation Doctor: Annamaria Ferri Physiotherapist: Tiziano Giacobbi Team Manager: Matteo Guiducci

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