Reputation
San Marino's dismal record gives them a lowly reputation in world football. The republic have never won a competitive fixture, a 1–0 friendly match win against Liechtenstein being their sole victory to date. With the smallest population of any UEFA country, the talent pool is small. Players are predominantly amateurs; only a small number of players such as Andy Selva and Aldo Simoncini are professionals. Their 13–0 defeat at home to Germany is a European Championship record, and they have conceded ten goals on four other occasions. In the FIFA World Rankings, San Marino usually have the lowest rank of any UEFA country. Since the creation of the FIFA rankings in 1992, San Marino's average position has been 159th.
Opponents anticipate easy wins in matches against San Marino, and failure to win comfortably can reflect poorly on a team. In 2001, Latvia manager Gary Johnson resigned after failing to beat San Marino in a World Cup qualifier; The Republic of Ireland's 2–1 win in February 2007 (due to a last-second goal) resulted in scathing press criticism.
San Marino set a European record when they went over 20 games without scoring between October 2008 and August 2012.
Read more about this topic: San Marino National Football Team
Famous quotes containing the word reputation:
“From the moment a child begins to speak, he is taught to respect the word; he is taught how to use the word and how not to use it. The word is all-powerful, because it can build a man up, but it can also tear him down. That’s how powerful it is. So a child is taught to use words tenderly and never against anyone; a child is told never to take anyone’s name or reputation in vain.”
—Henry Old Coyote (20th century)
“You know what the critics are. If you tell the truth they only say you’re cynical and it does an author no good to get a reputation for cynicism.”
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)
“I am sorry to say we whites have a sad reputation among many of the Polynesians. The natives of these islands are naturally of a kindly and hospitable temper, but there has been implanted among them an almost instinctive hate of the white man. They esteem us, with rare exceptions, such as some of the missionaries, the most barbarous, treacherous, irreligious, and devilish creatures on the earth.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)