DAVIDE GUALTIERI might not be a household football name but he is a cult hero in San Marino and Scotland.
This is down to him scoring after just 8.3 seconds in a World Cup qualifier in 1993 against who else but England.
Gualtieri, now 52, latched on to a poor back pass from Stuart Pearce and slotted the ball under goalkeeper David Seaman.
The goal went down in folklore in San Marino as England needed to win the game by seven clear goals in order to qualify for the tournament in the USA.
Graham Taylor’s side would go on to win the game 7-1 but it was in vain as Holland beat Poland to seal the second automatic qualifying spot for the World Cup.
And Gualtieri’s strike was partly responsible for England’s failure to reach the tournament despite reaching the semi-finals four years earlier.
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The Sammarinese ace admitted that it was a moment that he would “never forget”, especially as the goal came against England.
The goal was celebrated immensely in San Marino but also in Scotland as they took great pleasure in seeing England miss out on the finals in the USA.
Gualtieri now works a 9-5 job in the computer shop, Micronics, which can be found off of a dual carriageway near Monte Titano in San Marino.
Recently he revealed that he was visited by Scotland fans who had made t-shirts celebrating his achievement against the English.
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In an interview with The Athletic, Gualtieri said: “It hasn’t changed me.
“But for San Marino, that goal was like winning the World Cup.
“When Scotland played here a few years ago, their supporters made T-shirts in my honour.
“Across the back, it had my name, and, for the shirt number, it was 8.3.
“They came into the shop because they wanted to congratulate me for scoring against England.
“Even now, nearly 30 years later, I seem very popular with Scottish people.”
Gualtieri spent his whole career in San Marino and his most prolific spell came at Tre Penne as he netted 50 league goals in 168 appearances.
He featured a handful of times for the national side, but only scored that one famous goal.
The 52-year-old retired from international duty in 2000 due to injury but continued to play domestically.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
