In 2008, in the last team trained, San Marino football, Varrella he comes exonerated after a couple of months of the championship. From that moment there are no traces of the “professor” for ten years, that is until 2018 when think of him at the top of the FSGC to replace Pier Angelo Manzaroli. And so Franco Varrella, as if there was a direct thread with San Marino, first he “dies as a trainer” then is reborn on the Titan with the most prestigious role and becomes the first Italian coach on the bench of the San Marino national team.

The non-negligible difference is that the Rimini-born and his staff work as professionals: also for this reason, we had to expect an overall growth from him, which numbers in hand, there has not been. 32 benches, 30 defeats, 2 draws 3 goals scored, 120 conceded, the last 3 by a national team that made its history against San Marino by obtaining the largest victory since 1996, the year of affiliation to Fifa and Uefa. The CT proposed by the then Technical director Massimo Bonini he was nominated to general amazement, precisely because of his very long absence from the bench. You are described as one of the few and have what it takes to try to change the mentality and a national team that needs a change from the top of the FSGC. Net of defeats with still decent and dignified performances, and some brilliant Nanni and Rossi ideas above all, the start of Varrella brings 6 defeats in the 2018-2019 Nations League, 10 in the qualifiers to Euro 2020, 2 with 2 draws both for 0 -0 in the 2020-2021 Nations League.

It is precisely those two consecutive useful results that save him the bench. Varrella, after Massimo Bonini’s sudden departure from the scene, finds another ally in Daniele Arrigoni which confirms it. For DT Arrigoni, the Varrella era cannot be interrupted at the best. And so in one fell swoop the FSGC was able to clearly deflate the enthusiasm of Fabrizio Costantini fresh from the Uefa A license, trust the “professor” to face the Qatar 2022 world qualifiers. It is not often in these prohibitive groups for the San Marino national team to find a so-called ‘within reach’ national team. 6 points Andorra with 5 goals made 0 conceded, heavy defeats that have brought back at least 4 years a national team that despite the increase in costs has not changed, remaining anchored to its limits. Manzaroli, after the defeat in a friendly match with the Pyreneans was “tried”. It would be neither right nor logical to place all the blame on the CT. The current feeling is that no one has the magic wand to change things. The only real possibility is that the entire San Marino football system will make the leap in quality. It is necessary to understand if this is the interest of all or only of some.