San Marino Player Dante Rossi Bursts Into Tears After They Avoid Defeat For Second Competitive Game In A Row

There were emotional scenes yesterday as San Marino avoided defeat for the second competitive game running.

The minnows, with their dentists, accountants and bankers in the starting XI, have been the whipping boys of international football for years now.

They lost 147 out of the first 150 games and conceded a whopping 669 goals overall. But now, for the first time in their history, Frank Varella's side have achieved back-to-back goalless draws in consecutive UEFA Nations League matches, drawing against Liechtenstein and Gibraltar.

The result at home yesterday was made even more impressive given San Marino had captain Davide Simoncini sent off four minutes into the second half and yet they still managed to keep group leaders Gibraltar at bay with ten men to go two games unbeaten.

Consecutive clean sheets meant so much to the players, with centre-back Dante Rossi overcome with emotion when giving a post-match interview. This is what football is all about.

Remarkably, San Marino now have the same amount of clean sheets as Manchester United since the start of October courtesy of their recent results.

Just imagine the absolute scenes that would ensue if they managed to win a game. The nation haven't tasted victory since April 2004 when they beat Liechtenstein 1-0 in a friendly.

Topics: Football News, Football, International Football, San Marino

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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