The trophy of the 18th San Marino futsal championship goes to Fiorentino, as it did for the 17th. Michelotti’s team, in a final that has now become a classic of our futsal, plays in pursuit for a large part of the first half, managing to put their head forward close to the interval and protecting their success at the end of the match thanks to goal number 82 in the season by Danilo Busignani, a double winner of the evening like Maiani. Folgore, which was playing its eighth consecutive final (San Marino record: beaten the Tre Fiori of the 2014-2017 period), fails to reach the goal treble seasonal (so far no one has ever succeeded), but she can still say she is satisfied with her season, during which two trophies out of the three available were placed on the Falciano showcase.
The final takes about ten minutes before taking off. The episode that breaks the first balance is a penalty kick awarded for a hand by Maiani (who was also booked on the occasion) on an attempted turn by Pellegrini. Pellegrini himself goes from the spot, making no mistakes. Less than a minute passes and Maiani himself puts everything back in place. Busignani, on a free kick, serves the number 6 who is very quick in controlling and shooting: ball in the bag and everything to do again for Bernardi and his teammates. Folgore goes back up with a gang combination between Chezzi and Pasqualini: the former, with a sole, arms the latter’s powerful left-footed foot, but Protti is alert at the near post. Fiorentino’s reply is entrusted to a quick counterattack: Cevoli looks for Maiani at the far post with a “greedy” serve, but the scorer of the 1-1 is not where he should be. Just before the middle of the half, Folgore takes a new lead, which is all Biordi’s work. The player born in 1995 starts from the front, surpasses Busignani with momentum and anticipates Maiani’s closing intervention with a precise ‘punch’ into the corner. A great play, which gives further enthusiasm to the Folgore. Chezzi immediately tries to make it 3-1, but Protti’s gloves are there to defuse his violent right foot.
Once these yellow-red storms have passed, Fiorentino becomes sharp again. Maiani and Cevoli miss the target from a corner. Then Geri’s hands are needed to keep the 2-1 intact following Busignani’s shot. In the 24th minute a scene already seen is repeated: the Folgore pivot (this time Pellegrini) who plays in the band for the arrival of Pasqualini. The left-handed diagonal of the number 6 is very sharp, but also off target by a few centimetres. On the other front, another save from Geri was needed on Busignani’s attempt, this time directly from a free kick. The action continues: Busignani goes to the ground, the referees don’t blow the whistle and Pasqualini gives Pellegrini a 1 vs 1 with Protti, won by the Fiorentino goalkeeper who touches just enough. In the event, more than one yellow card was waved due to the vehement protests of the rossoblù bench. We get to the 30th minute. Here the Fiorentino wins another free kick which, as before, is taken by Busignani directly towards the goal. Geri saves but the ball continues to stay in the red zone, where Maiani is very quick to turn it under the crossbar, giving himself the brace and the Fiorentino the equalizing point. The Folgore does not absorb the blow quickly. And so the Fiorentino took advantage of the opportunity to complete the comeback in injury time. At the origin, here, there is not a free kick, but a lateral foul. Zafferani serves Busignani, who goes left-footed and produces a razor shot that slips into very narrow spaces before finishing his run just behind the post.
After two advantages, therefore, Folgore goes into half-time with the need to recover. Chezzi tries to do it immediately at the dawn of the second half: on the 9th he challenges Cevoli in the squad and then kicks with power, missing the target by a hair’s breadth. Chezzi again in action in the 3rd minute: this time his action starts from the opposite side, the left, and ends with a much more interesting right-footed shot, on which Protti has to work overtime. Biordi’s off-target shot is the precursor to Chezzi’s third attempt, once again defused by Protti. The Fiorentino sees themselves again on a corner: Maiani for Cevoli, who misses the target, also because he is unbalanced. In the 42nd minute Fiorentino lost one of the best on the pitch: Maiani exaggerated in holding Biordi back, even ending up “tackling” him. The second yellow for number 6 was inevitable, as he ended his match prematurely. However, Folgore does not exploit its numerical superiority. New thoughts for Protti arrive when Rossini has already entered the field: Bernardi centralizes and tries to hit the goal – or obtain a friendly deflection – with a ‘punch’ which instead goes harmlessly towards the back.
The period between the 51st and 52nd is the one in which Folgore comes much closer to equalizing. The first situation arises from a restart: Ercolani anticipates Cevoli and starts a 2 vs 1. The young number 15 – who scored in both the Super Cup and Titano Futsal Cup finals – goes all the way, dribbling past Busignani and presenting himself in front of Protti, who hypnotizes him on the way out. Less than a minute later, Chezzi hits a sensational post; the ball bounces precisely off the head of Bernardi, who could have put it into an empty net but instead incredibly sends it to the back of the net. Before the Folgore changes the movement goalkeeper, there is time for a restart led and concluded by Cevoli, who just misses the target, and for a close-range left-footed shot from Biordi, on which Protti lowers the shutter again. The tactic of the extra man in the opponent’s half of the field does not bring the desired results. A couple of times Folgore risked scoring with the goal unguarded (in one case Pasqualini replaced the goalkeeper), ending up conceding it in the 2nd minute of added time. It was Busignani who closed the contest and scored his 82nd goal of the season. The Fiorentino therefore once again breaks the European pass, “avenges” the defeats in the Super Cup and Titano Futsal Cup and achieves a broader objective: that of becoming the most successful club ever in San Marino futsal. The overall triumphs (six Scudetti, two cups and one Super Cup) become nine, one more than their “cousins” of the Tre Fiori.
The latter had trod the Multieventi parquet in the first evening, challenging Murata in the “final” for third place. The Juventus team largely imposed itself, even if the first half was very balanced. Murata’s lead comes after less than 2 minutes of play: Mattioli kicks hard to the far post where Alessandro Casadei is ready for the winning correction.
Tre Fiori’s equalizer came in the 8th minute and was the result of a personal play by Morini, who returned on the left foot and exploded a powerful shot, with the ball under the crossbar. Rizzo hits the post shortly after the quarter of an hour, giving evidence of a 2-1 which Murata actually achieved in the final minutes of the first half. The signatory is Belloni, who challenges Toccaceli in the line-up and surprises Andreani at the near post. Before the break there was time for the expulsion of El Attar, guilty of having loudly uttered a blasphemous expression. In the second half Murata was between +2 with Mattioli, who within a few seconds first saved on his own goal line, then reversed the action and beat Amati with a sharp left-footed shot. The 4-1 goes to De Angelis, although much of the credit goes to Rizzo, who disorientates his opponent with a series of feints and then serves his teammate with precision to the far post: from there, De Angelis all he has to do is support. And Paoletti’s tap-in, on Albani’s serve, is also convenient for the 5-1 that closes the games.
Photo FSGC
