Club Season 2014/2015: Serie A
League & Cups Results
View attachment 208894View attachment 208895View attachment 208896
First season in Serie A for San Marino and the results were very promising for sure. We played decently until the winter break, defence wasn't so solid but our excellent home form and some vintage performances by striker
Bruno Veiga kept us consistently in top 10 positions. Second half of the season was simply fantastic: new signings were gelling well, defence played with more confidence and the whole team generally performed much better. We finished 5th thus gaining a spot for Europa League, and also scored more goals than any other team in Serie A. Not too bad if you compare our team salary to our fellow Serie A clubs.
The Italian Cup was quite disappointing this year: we used to cause big upsets beating Serie A clubs when San Marino played in lower divisions, but this time it was Titani's turn to suffer defeat from Serie B side Catania. We fielded a young, inexperienced team and to be fair we were deserving to win that game, hopefully this will teach our youngsters a lesson for the future.
Best 11 & Key Players
View attachment 208897View attachment 208898View attachment 208899View attachment 208900
A few San Marino players enjoyed individual success after an excellent season for the club:
Eric and
Bruno Veiga were selected for Serie A Team of the Year. The striker also finished 2nd Top Scorer only behind Napoli's world class forward Edinson Cavani.
Davide Petrucci won Serie A Young Player of the Year.
My honorable mentions for 2014/15:
Marco Amelia: it all starts with a good keeper. Amelia has been very consistent through the season and his performances were often the difference between a win or a draw. A top class goalkeeper and an excellent role model for our youngsters, don't expect Marco to lose his place in goal anytime soon.
Nelson Rivas & Paulo André: Paulo André really changed the look of our defence since he joined San Marino in January, his strength and aerial ability were a key to improve the whole defence. He also scored 7 goals from set pieces, while our team had scored a grand total of ZERO goals from corners/indirect free kicks before his signing. Nelson Rivas was the other first choice CB and his quickness was simply vital to keep up with serie A pacey strikers. Also he seemed to injure his direct opponent almost every game, which I admit I liked a lot...
Lorenzo Crisetig: the young midfielder was still first choice after a fantastic season in Serie B, and I was very pleased with his Serie A performances as well. Crisetig is improving day by day and is quickly developing into a complete midfield general. Touted as the next Daniele De Rossi, Lorenzo could very well become an Italian international sooner or later, as well as San Marino club captain.
Eric: I can't believe he was playing Serie C1 football for San Marino only a couple of seasons ago. Eric was always a quality player who could make the difference for most Serie A sides, and finally had the chance to prove it. King Eric had another great season scoring 11 goals and delivering 14 assists, thus earning a place in Serie A Team of the Year. Fans' Player of the Year for 2014/15 as well. O Maestro.
Bruno Veiga: our first choice striker, Bruno had an impressive start with San Marino as he was scoring for fun in the first half of the season, leading all scorers in Serie A and looking one of the most effective players in the league. His form worsened a bit towards the end of the season, and Bruno was often looking more like a playmaker than a goal hunter, which is not good for his role at least in my tactics and my idea of football. Nonetheless Bruno was 2nd Top Scorer in Serie A with 19 goals and was also selected for Team of the Year.
The Future
After an excellent first season in Serie A my goal is to confirm our position as a top half club, and hopefully qualify again for European competitions. Europa League will be a good chance to give playing time to our promising young players, and will also bring some extra money to the club which is always nice.
View attachment 208901
With the signing of Brazilian striker
Ailton already confirmed we can now concentrate on other areas: Paulo André and Nelson Rivas have formed a good partnership at CB but they're both 32 and slighlty declining so a new, younger centre back is certainly in my plans.
Giampiero Pinzi and Lucas Rimoldi retired at the end of the season while Giacomo Zappacosta was released, so at least one quality central midfielder is going to be a priority for San Marino.
Upgrades at DR and AML are also a possibility, though not a pressing concern.
Next update should be here soon after I complete pre-season and summer transfers. Any other screen you'd like to see, feel free to ask.