Northern Ireland v San Marino Official Match Programme

SANMARINO PLAYERS TOWATCH

VETERAN DEFENDER The 6’ 1” central defender made his international debut in 2006. 4PE]IH EKEMRWX 2SVXLIVR -VIPERH MR E ;' UYEPMƤIV MR 7ER 1EVMRS MR *IFVYEV] [LIR KSEPW F] +EVIXL 1G%YPI] +VERX 1G'ERR ERH 'LVMW &VYRX WIGYVIH E ZMGXSV] % VIKYPEV MR XLI REXMSREP XIEQ since 2006, he is the twin brother of ‘keeper Aldo Simoncini. Played MR ƤZI )YVS UYEPMƤIVW Along with his twin brother Aldo he holds a unique record: They are the only twins to have scored own goals in the same international match, when San Marino lost to Sweden in September 2010 in a )YVS UYEPMƤIV On 12 minutes, in attempting to clear a low cross from Sebastian Larsson, Davide knocked the ball past brother Aldo. Then Aldo pushed the ball into his own net as he jumped with Pontus ;IVRFPSSQ QMRYXIW PEXIV %PHS TVSXIWXIH [MXL WSQI NYWXMƤGEXMSR ɄXLEX LI LEH FIIR MQTIHIH KSMRK JSV XLI FEPP FYX -VMWL VIJIVII (EZMH McKeon awarded the goal. Sweden went on to win 6-0. Like his goalkeeper brother, Davide works as an accountant. His comment after the game: “Although I had to pick the ball out SJ XLI RIX XMQIW MX [EW SRI SJ XLI LETTMIWX HE]W SJ Q] PMJI %JXIV having been told that I might never play football again, I was just glad to be part of an unforgettable occasion against one of the greatest teams in world football.” Outside football he works as an accountant. THE KEEPER The 6’ 2” keeper played in eight of his country’s 10 Euro 2016 UYEPMƤIVW ERH MR XLI ;' UYEPMƤIV EKEMRWX %^IVFEMNER PEWX month. Made his debut for the national team in 2006 but his career EPQSWX QIX ER YRXMQIP] IRH [LIR EX XLI EKI SJ ũ LI [EW [MXL 7IVMI & GPYF 1SHIRE EX XLI XMQI ũ LI WYWXEMRIH LSVVMƤG MRNYVMIW MR E car accident when his pelvis and left elbow were shattered. It looked unlikely that he would ever play football again. However, after four months in hospital and more than a year VIGYTIVEXMRK LI [EW TEWWIH ƤX ERH WMRGI XLIR LEW FIIR XLI VIKYPEV choice for his country between the posts. After his miraculous recovery he made his debut for the senior MRXIVREXMSREP XIEQ EKEMRWX +IVQER] MR E LSQI )YVS UYEPMƤIV MR 7ITXIQFIV [LIR LI GSRGIHIH KSEPW 7ER 1EVMRSŭW FMKKIWX ever defeat.

ALDO SIMONCINI GOALKEEPER Libertas %KI 'ETW Goals 0 'PYF

DAVIDE SIMONCINI DEFENDER

'PYF

Libertas %KI 'ETW 42

Goals 0

46

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