Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Victor San Marino, better known as Victor San Marino, is a

Sammarinese Sammarinese () are citizens and people of the Republic of San Marino. Language San Marino recognizes Italian as the official language. The indigenous language, known as Sammarinese, is a variety of Romagnol spoken by approximately 83 percent o ...

professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in the city of Acquaviva, that competes in the Serie D, the fourth tier of Italian football, since being promoted in 2023. The original club was founded in 1960 as S.S. Serenissima (''Società Sportiva Serenissima''), before merging with S.S. Juvenes in 1973, changing its name to A.C. San Marino (''Associazione Calcio San Marino''), after which it changed its name to, San Marino Calcio in 1988, and again in 2021 to its current name, A.S.D. Victor San Marino (''Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Victor San Marino''). It is the only

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

based in the Republic of San Marino authorized by the FIGC to compete in the Italian football league The club colours are sky blue and white, reminiscent of the Sammarinese flag. Historically, the highest level reached by the club was the Italian third tier, with a highest finish of tenth place. This makes it therefore the only Sanmarinese football team to have played in a professional league, as the national tournament of San Marino is amateur-level. Since the club is a full member of the Italian league system, it would hypothetically represent Italy in continental competitions, rather than its home country. On 4 July 2019 the sports title of the San Marino Calcio is transferred to the Cattolica Calcio, which takes the name of "Cattolica Calcio San Marino" and which is admitted to the Serie D championship. The company retained its legal and administrative headquarters in the Republic of San Marino, but sporting activity took place in Cattolica and the colors become yellow and red. In 2021, the team was refounded to represent San Marino in the Italian league system. After which, they got promoted to Serie D, which they will be competing in the 2023–24 season.

History

The club was founded as Società Sportiva Serenissima in 1960 by the San Marino Football Federation, in order to have a team representing the Republic of San Marino in the

Italian league The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

. The club was later purchased by Sammarinese and Italian entrepreneurs. The foundation year is still disputed, mainly due to another team sponsored (but not owned) by the San Marino Football Federation, called

Libertas Libertas (Latin for 'liberty' or 'freedom', ) is the Roman goddess and personification of liberty. She became a politicised figure in the Late Republic, featured on coins supporting the populares faction, and later those of the assassins of Jul ...

Tre Penne S.P. Tre Penne, lit. 'S.P. Three Pen', is a football club based in the City of San Marino. The club was founded in 1956, and currently plays in ''Girone B'' of Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio. The team colors were blue and white when home, and ...

, having taken part in the Italian championship in 1959. The crest of

is still visible on that of San Marino Calcio. Serenissima also inherited Libertas-Tre Penne's colors. San Marino Calcio is the only professional football team in the Republic of San Marino that is allowed to play exclusively in the Italian football league system. Since the San Marino Football League is completely amateur, the club is also the only professional team in the Republic. Another team from San Marino, A.C. Juvenes/Dogana, competed in both the amateur levels of Italian football and in the Sammarinese league in the past, but has since withdrawn from the FIGC.

Early years

A.C. San Marino began playing in 1960 in the Seconda Categoria, since the Terza Categoria did not exist in the Italian football league system at that time. After being promoted from the Seconda and Prima Categoria, the team began playing in the higher level, the

Promozione The Promozione (, "promotion") is the sixth level in the Italian football league system. Each individual league winner within the Promozione level progresses to their closest regional league in the Eccellenza level. Depending on each league's lo ...

before being relegated to the Prima Categoria in the 1976–77 season. They continued to play in the Prima Categoria for the next four seasons until they won the championship and were promoted to the Promozione again in the 1979–80 season. A.C. San Marino's stay in the Promozione was short lived, however; within two seasons they were relegated to the Prima Categoria. The team established themselves as a yo-yo club as they were once again promoted to the Promozione as champions in the 1984–85 season. The team then saw back-to-back championships as they won the Promozione the following season, and were promoted for the first time to the Serie D, the highest amateur league in Italy. San Marino's success continued as they finished in second place in Serie D in the 1986–87 season, a championship they went on to win in the following year. In the 1988–89 season, the team appeared in the lowest level of the Italian professional league (

Serie C2 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of 2 ...

) for the first time. In 1988 A.C. San Marino became a

joint stock company A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders are ...

and changed its name from A.C. San Marino to San Marino Calcio. The renamed team was relegated to Serie D in the 1989–90 season after finishing second-last in Serie C2. After finishing 17th in the 1991–92 season San Marino Calcio were relegated again, this time to the Eccellenza, but were again promoted to Serie D in the 1992–93 season. In the 1995–96 season San Marino Calcio were relegated to the Eccellenza again after a three-year stay in Serie D, but they were again promoted in the 1996–97 season. The club's success was due in part to the appointment of the San Marino national football team manager

Giampaolo Mazza Giampaolo Mazza (born 26 February 1956) is a former manager of the San Marino national football team. Mazza was in charge of the San Marino national team between 1998 and 2013. When not managing the team, Mazza works as a PE teacher at a school n ...

, who led them to two non-consecutive Eccellenza championships. In the 1999–2000 season San Marino Calcio were promoted to the Serie C2 as champions of Serie D.

Post millennium

San Marino Calcio began the new millennium in the fourth level of Italian professional football, receiving a major boost with the arrival of the legendary San Marino international

Andy Selva Andy Selva (born 23 May 1976) is a Sammarinese former footballer and current manager of Tre Fiori. During his playing career he played as a forward and captained the San Marino national team, finishing his career as their record goal scorer ...

. Napoli (old Napoli which bankrupted in 2004) also takeover the club as investor in 2000 but re-sold in November 2002. San Marino Calcio consolidated their place in

by finishing in the top half of the league standings for the next three seasons. The team was able to reach the 2003–04 play-off final, but was defeated, and remained in Serie C2 after finishing fourth in the league. San Marino Calcio's 2004–05 season was more successful: they were victorious in the play-off final, and thus reached Lega Pro Prima Divisione (formerly Serie C1) for the first time. The team was relegated again to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione during the 2006–07 season. In December 2006 Werther Cornieti, the chairman of the club, left due to controversial allegations and criticism during a sports broadcast. Daniele De Luigi was later confirmed as the new chairman of San Marino Calcio. In the season 2011–12 it was promoted from

Lega Pro Seconda Divisione Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of 2 ...

to Lega Pro Prima Divisione. The club stayed at that level for three seasons, but got relegated to Serie D after a last place finish in the 2014–15 season. In 2023, the club was promoted back to Serie D after finishing at the top of the Eccellenza Emilia-Romagna Group B.

Colours and badge

The club's home

kit Kit may refer to: Places *Kitt, Indiana, US, formerly Kit * Kit, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province * Kit Hill, Cornwall, England People * Kit (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kit (surname) Animals * Young animals: ...

consists of a light blue shirt with white and black inserts, black shorts, and black socks. Their away kit consists of a white shirt with dark blue inserts, white shorts, and black socks. San Marino Calcio released a third kit for merchandising, which consists of a red shirt with dark blue inserts, red shorts, and red socks. The golden frame of their badge contains the team name and the phrase "''Titanus aggressurus Olympum''", which refers to the Titans in Greek mythology. Pictured in the center of the badge is a Titan. In Italian, the word "''Titan''" signifies both the race of mythological gods and

Monte Titano Monte Titano ("Mount Titan") is a mountain of the Apennines and the highest peak in San Marino. It stands above sea level and is located immediately to the east of the capital, San Marino. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 ...

, the highest point in San Marino. The left-hand circle represents the badge of

, one of San Marino Calcio's two founding teams, and the right-hand circle represents the old San Marino Calcio badge.

Home stadium

Stadio Olimpico

The Olympic Stadium was the home of San Marino Calcio (currently Victor San Marino) until 2019. The stadium is located in Serravalle and was constructed in 1969. It is also home to the San Marino national football team and, in the past, to the Serravalle-based football club A.C. Juvenes/Dogana. The Olympic Stadium is an all-seater stadium and has a capacity of 6,664.

Stadio di Acquaviva

Players

Current squad

Honours

:''Updated 8 May 2012.''

:*Champions: :*Runner-up: 2011–12 :*Promoted by Play–offs 1: 2004–05 ( it)

:*Champions: :*Runners-up 1: 2011–12 (promoted) :*Promoted by Play–offs: Serie D :*Champions 2: 1987–88 ( it), 1999–2000 ( it) :*Runners-up 1: 1986–87 ( it) Eccellenza Emilia-Romagna :*Champions 2: 1992–93 ( it), 1996–1997, 2022-23( it)

Emilia-Romagna :*Champions 1: 1985–86 ( it) Prima Categoria :*Champions 2: 1979–80, 1984–85

References

External links

* . . {{DEFAULTSORT:San Marino Calcio Serravalle (San Marino) Association football clubs established in 1960 Football clubs in Italy Football clubs in San Marino Serie C clubs Expatriated football clubs 1960 establishments in San Marino