Max Chesson, 24, has traded supporting his native England for minnows who had the longest winless run in football – until they FINALLY won a competitive last week
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Max Chesson and Imogen Howse and Andy Gilpin
12:00, 13 Sep 2024
Max Chesson at a viewing point on Monte Titano in San Marino(Image: No credit)
Meet the English footy fan who has spent thousands of pounds travelling across Europe watching – San Marino.
Max Chesson, 24, has traded supporting his native country for the minnows – who won their first ever competitive game last week.
San Marino beat Liechtenstein 1-0 in the Nations League to break the longest winless run in football.
Their losing streak lasted 20 years and 140 games, stretching back to when they won a friendly back in 2004 – also against Liechtenstein and by the same scoreline.
Journalist Max, from Sittingbourne, Kent, was there for San Marino’s win on September 5.
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And he said: “Being there for the moment when San Marino finally claimed victory has been something of an obsession for me. And watching the win was a euphoric experience – one I’ve never really felt following the England team.”
“Perhaps it’s why I find myself ditching my birth country to go on trips to San Marino every chance I get.”
(Image: No credit)
To get to San Marino’s matches, Max has to take a flight to an Italian airport – as the landlocked European country is so small it doesn’t even have an airport.
If he’s lucky, he can fly to Rimini and take a bus into San Marino. But Rimini is a seasonal airport, meaning this isn’t always possible.
At other times, he has to fly to Bologna or even Ancona – and catch an hour and a half train to Rimini.
“For 10 euros, it’s fantastically priced,” Max said. “The UK could learn a lot from the way things are done over there.”
He then hops on the bus up the hills – a journey which can take between 30 minutes to an hour.
This is the route he took for last Thursday’s game. For the reasonable price of £10.50, Max was one of the 9900-or-so-strong crowd at the Stadio Olimpico di Serravalle who witnessed “history in the making.”
(Image: No credit)
He said: “We took the lead in the 53rd minute and held on to win 1-0 – our first-ever competitive victory. The roar around the stadium when the final whistle was blown could silence a crowd 10 times the size. I was on edge throughout the game as the reality of what I was witnessing hit me.”
“It’s taken me years to finally see the team win. But that’s nothing compared to the two decades of torment endured by long-suffering supporters.”
Max says his love for San Marino began with two things. Firstly, the comfort of knowing that England would beat them.
Secondly, the challenge of playing as San Marino on the video game Football Manager.
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He said: “Part of my love for the micronation was down to seeing England take on San Marino in qualifying games years ago, where it was certain the Three Lions would get goals. Nowadays, I pray the score is respectable.
“But another part of it was thanks to the video game Football Manager, where one of the hardest challenges put together by the avid fanbase is winning the World Cup with the world’s lowest-ranked football team.”
From there, Max dedicated himself to finally being there to see the team’s ever-elusive first win – although his fandom isn’t ending now that they have secured the victory.
Max said: “Will San Marino’s historic victory stop me from going again? Not likely I’ve already booked myself in for the next three games.”
“So roll on Gibraltar away in October and the return leg in Liechtenstein in November. Let’s hope the wait for another win isn’t another 20 years.”
Source link : https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/im-english-ive-spent-thousands-33662350
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Publish date : 2024-09-13 07:00:00
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