Sardinia national football team<\/h3>
The Sardinia national football team (Sardinian: Natzionale sarda de B\u00f2ciacode: srd promoted to code: sc ) is the official football team of Sardinia. It is organised by the Sardinian National Sports Federation (Federatzione Isport Natzionale Sarducode: srd promoted to code: sc ), founded in 2012. The team has been colloquially referred with the name Sa Natzionalecode: srd promoted to code: sc .\n<\/p>
The first official documented appearance of a Sardinian national team dates back to 1990. The England national football team was in Sardinia for a training camp in order to prepare the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, where, among other things, it would have played two of the three matches of the group stage in Cagliari (against Egypt and Ireland).[2] Therefore, it had been set up a XI formed by the best Sardinian players caught between Serie C and Amateurs to face the Lions in their first friendly match. The first players to wear the jersey of the Sardinian national team, under the orders of Mariano Dess\u00ec, dean of the Sardinian coaches of that time, were Nioi as goalkeeper, Spano, Moro, Bortolini and Tomasso in defense, the future sporting director of Cagliari Calcio Francesco Marroccu, Martinez, Tolu and Ennas in the midfield, Corda and Gianfranco Zola, the only professional and at that time militant in fresh Scudetto's winners S.S.C. Napoli. In the second half, Toffolon, Laconi, Carta, Nieddu, Di Laura, Mura, Napoli, Fara, and Angioni also entered. The game ended 10\u20132 for England: curiously, Sardinia went ahead, but only thanks to a voluntary own goal by Steve McMahon in the first minute before the island players still touched the ball. This gesture metaphorically symbolized what would have been any violent actions of the Hooligans, the most frenzied fringe of English fans, at the time feared throughout Europe. After this demonstration, given the imbalance of power, the game was dominated by England who scored with McMahon himself, a hat-trick by Neil Webb and one by Peter Beardsley, a double by Steve Bull and a goal by David Platt. However, for Tomasso there was the glory of scoring the first goal in the history of the Natzionale.[3][4]<\/p>
Seven years were needed before watching again a Sardinian selection in a football field. In July 1997, at the Stadio Quadrivio in Nuoro, thanks to the Sardinian leader of the Sardinian separatist party Sardinia Nation Francesco Cesaraccio, a friendly match was organized between the national teams of the sister Islands, Sardinia and the Corsica national football team. Compared to previous calls-up against England, the roster contained several professional players and essentially the best of Sardinian football at the time. The manager was Gustavo Giagnoni who called Gianfranco Pinna and Giuseppe Nioi as keepers. In defense Gian Battista Scugugia, Vittorio Pusceddu, Gianluca Festa and Salvatore Matrecano. In midfield Pier Giovanni Rutzittu, Marco Sanna, Pietro Garau, Massimiliano Pani, Alessandro Manca, Igor Marziano and two sons of emigrants: the Sardinian-German Sergio Allievi and the Sardinian-Dutch Daniel Agus. In attack Gianfranco Zola, Tomaso Tatti, Roberto Manca, Roberto Cau, Emanuele Matzuzzi and another emigrant, the Sardinian-Belgian Antonio Lai. The goalkeeper Nioi and Zola were the only ones called in both appointments, thus becoming record holders in the caps ranking. The game itself had been balanced and Sardinia won by 1\u20130 with a goal at the twentieth minute of the second half by the future Chelsea F.C.'s striker Gianfranco Zola.[5]<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n