San Marino Super Cup: Virtus-La Fiorita kicks off the 2024-25 season

In just over twenty-four hours the 2024-25 football season will officially get under way on the pitch. The curtain-raiser is the San Marino Super Cup, scheduled for tomorrow at the San Marino Stadium, with kick-off at 20:45. Battling it out for the trophy will be Virtus and La Fiorita: the former, reigning league champions, will be looking to repeat last year’s success, when they defeated Tre Penne. The coaches on the touchline will be the same, as in the meantime Stefano Ceci has taken over on the bench of the Montegiardino club: the Gialloblù won the most recent Coppa Titano final precisely against Virtus and are aiming to hand a second disappointment to the side led by Luigi Bizzotto. "We have gained a different dimension and greater awareness," assured the Neroverdi coach. "Over the summer we played important matches in European competitions which allowed us to grow even further. Facing Stefano (Ceci, ed.) is a pleasure for me; although he is a very tough opponent, above all he is a friend and I am happy that he too has the chance to compete for a trophy." Respect and admiration are fully reciprocated by La Fiorita’s new head coach, who stresses how it is "very enjoyable to be here, at a club like La Fiorita, which I consider among the most important in San Marino. I wanted to get back into the game because it was the right thing to do after so many years. The pleasure lies in playing against Gigi – in quotation marks – and above all against Virtus, who are currently the holders of the most important trophies. La Fiorita are used to being at the top, and we are now in a rebuilding phase and there is a lot of enthusiasm". Also speaking at the press conference were Manuel Battistini and Matteo Vitaioli – respectively Virtus defender and La Fiorita forward, as well as pillars of the San Marino National Team. "Looking back at last year, the club’s decision to keep the core of the squad together proved a winning move," admitted Battistini. "There have still been new additions of real quality this season as well, so we are curious to see how we will perform at the start of this new campaign. Playing a match with a trophy at stake – even though, inevitably, neither side can be at peak condition – is always an extra motivation. That said, I am not expecting a very high tempo, given the time of year: rather, a game similar to the Coppa Titano final, where it will be difficult to break the deadlock. Managing our energy will be crucial because the league kick-off is just around the corner and every point can make the difference – as we have seen over the last two years." No one knows the San Marino Stadium better than Vitaioli, the player who has represented the San Marino National Team the most in official matches: "The Stadium is considerably bigger than the pitches most players, even those involved in San Marino competitions, are used to. We will be playing in a special period, with few training sessions in our legs and temperatures still quite high – even if the match is in the evening. For this reason we may have to expect a less spectacular contest, with teams becoming more stretched as time goes by. From our point of view we will have to stay focused and limit Virtus’ individual talents, who are capable of top-level plays. In this respect we will need to show quality going forward, but also balance and compactness when the ball is not at our feet. We certainly want to make life difficult for Virtus and make the match as attractive and interesting as possible. I cannot claim that La Fiorita are already a well-gelled, fully bonded group – after all, we have gone through a major overhaul – but we will try to build on the enthusiasm the coach referred to." In weighing up tomorrow night’s encounter, Stefano Ceci will have to do without suspended players Affonso, Jacopo Semprini and Ambrosini. On the other side, Virtus already know they cannot count on Vallocchia – who can play both in midfield and as part of the attacking trio. For both coaches, there is the unknown factor of a demanding summer (both sides reached the Second Qualifying Round of the UEFA Europa Conference League) and limited time on the training pitch ahead of the fixture that will uncork the new Sammarinese football season. Yet, on the eve of the match that will award the 2024 San Marino Super Cup, what dominates the thoughts of the two coach-friends are the curiosity to see how their teams respond on the pitch and the enthusiasm of starting a new season in which Virtus and La Fiorita aim once again to be leading protagonists. The match will be broadcast free-to-air on San Marino RTV (DTT channel 831) and live-streamed on TITANI.TV.

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