Under-21: Cecchetti confirmed as Head Coach

San Marino’s Under-21 National Team will continue under the guidance of Matteo Cecchetti. The Head Coach of the Biancazzurrini, who took over from Fabrizio Costantini – appointed to lead the senior National Team last November – has been confirmed for the next two-year international cycle, which will unfold in the qualifying phase for the 2025 UEFA Under-21 European Championship. Previously technical assistant to Costantini until autumn 2021, he then stepped up as head coach and led the Biancazzurrini through the March and June fixtures, achieving an historic home draw against Latvia. For some, the decision might have seemed a foregone conclusion: "I was hoping for it, but until the FSGC formally confirmed the appointment, it did cross my mind that I might not be the Under-21 coach for the next two years," Cecchetti admits. "Fortunately, things went as I hoped and I am extremely happy about it." The confirmation is anything but accidental for the Sammarinese coach, who has been part of the Under-21 technical staff throughout the previous two-year cycle and Head Coach since the final months of 2021. Adding value to a project built up over time was the 0-0 draw on his home debut as head coach: "I imagine the renewal of my contract was also influenced by what we managed to show on the pitch and is closely linked to how the team expressed itself. Although the result came in March, I would rather we didn’t refer only to the last six months. I prefer to take a wide-angle view of the previous two years, for what they truly were: I was part of a technical staff that carried out a collective effort, which proved fruitful and was able to deliver a point in international competition. The confirmation – Cecchetti continues – is first and foremost down to the players and the entire Under-21 national team staff: it was a genuine team effort. The greatest satisfaction has been seeing the players, once on the pitch, trying to put into practice what they absorbed in training, applying the concepts we focus on while preparing for matches. Without ever forgetting, of course, what the mission of the Under-21 side is – namely to initiate a path of growth and development that can prepare players for the step up to the senior National Team." Only those who live the pitch and the dressing room know how reassuring and motivating it can be to actually hit a target, beyond individual and collective progress: "No matter how well you work and grow session after session, nothing provides certainty and motivation like actually reaping the rewards of so much effort and dedication. It inevitably makes it more difficult for the staff – who are aware of the players’ progress – to keep motivating them when there are no tangible results. The draw with Latvia was certainly no fluke because throughout this two-year period we have always seen positive signs: from the very first matches of the group we recorded improved data and metrics. Every player, however, needs to experience this upward trend first-hand, and nothing serves as a lever quite like a positive result to make them believe even more in the work being carried out together with the coaching staff." That need was fully met by the team last March, when an excellent performance in Hungary – albeit without the reward of a result – was followed 4-5 days later by that extraordinary night against Latvia. "In fact – recalls Cecchetti – it unlocked the team from a mental point of view as well. And to think that, while our defending against Latvia was probably the team’s best expression, we did not exactly shine in the opposition half. We did that better against Poland, for example, where – despite the 0-5 final scoreline – we created a lot and produced an offensive phase of real substance. It is yet more proof of how, in some respects, results are indispensable: the technical staff and the FSGC do everything to keep the players fully engaged and provide them with everything they need, pushing and encouraging them in every possible way. It is clear that being able to secure a result helps to consolidate the whole journey." The next technical project for San Marino’s Under-21 National Team will be entirely under the responsibility of Matteo Cecchetti: "Taking over the group mid-cycle was certainly easier: the path had been built by and together with Fabrizio (Costantini – Head Coach of the San Marino National Team, ed.); although I tried to add something of my own, the route was already mapped out and in some ways I simply accompanied that group to its destination. Now a completely new journey lies ahead, with many players who have already had this experience and some who will be approaching the Under-21s for the first time, and whom we will need and want to follow. My first objective is to ensure every player feels that the doors of this team are open to each of them; the coaching staff will monitor them closely and our choices will be as carefully considered as possible. Then will come the work on the pitch, where we will build on the positives from recent months with the aim of reaching the end of the next two-year period having improved further. I cannot say whether by a lot or a little, but what we will certainly be pursuing is further growth." When will work on the pitch begin? "I would like to start in good time; our next official fixtures will probably be scheduled for spring or shortly afterwards. I would like to meet the players already this autumn, taking advantage of the two breaks for the senior National Team’s fixtures, and start a series of training sessions without the pressure of an imminent match. This could be useful to begin working on the concepts and principles of the Under-21 side, which are often quite different from those adopted at club level. The biggest difficulty for players lies precisely in moving from the methods used at their clubs to different content, developed also in professional terms – because those are the kinds of matches we will be facing. The players will have to understand straight away that when they pull on this shirt they must bring something extra; otherwise, the gap between us and the professional sides we will meet would become unbridgeable." The staff that will assist Head Coach Matteo Cecchetti in the qualifiers for the 2025 UEFA Under-21 European Championship is still being put together. The draw, if UEFA confirms the same format as in the previous cycle, will take place in the new year. The matches will be played in the international windows of March, June, September, October and November. The fixture list, once compiled, could see the Biancazzurrini begin later than next spring: taking the current two-year period as an example, San Marino did not play their first match until September 2021.

---