It would be of football’s great ironies if, after all the hullabullo of this week, that La Fiorita caused something of an upset this week.
The San Marino side travel to Belfast to play Linfield on Wednesday night in the first leg of their UEFA first round qualifier, with the expectancy being that David Healy’s side will not be overly troubled by the minnows.
La Fiorita were thrashed 7-0 last season in the Europa League qualifiers by Hungarian side Debrecen and while little is known about the San Marino side, there is one name that may resonate.
Andy Selva, still playing at the age of 41, has been a mainstay of the national team for two decades and the experience that he has gained in an extensive career could well be what La Fiorita pin much of their hopes to.
Selva is the top scorer for his country with eight goals at international level but in reality, few would expect either the striker or the team to pose too many problems for Linfield.
La Fiorita are the best team in San Marino but they have never won a European qualifier. Furthermore, the extent of the weight of the aggregate scorelines against them every year suggest that they are little more than cannon-fodder at this stage of the tournament; two seasons ago Swiss side FC Vadus walloped them 10-1 on aggregate to dispel any notions of them making inroads, no matter how early, on the competition.
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