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Rewind to November 16, 1993, Bologna, Italy.

It’s the qualifying match for the World Cup. England versus San Marino. England kicks off the game with a back pass and suddenly BAM, interception by forward David Gualtieri. Mere seconds later, the score is 1-0 to San Marino.

Within 8.3 seconds, San Marino scored, setting the record for the fastest goal ever scored in a qualifying match. It happened so fast that it memorably caughtJonathanPearce, the sports announcer, mid sentence.

That would be the first and last goal scored by San Marino that day as San Marino would later go on to lose 7-1 to England. Despite the loss, Gualtieri's goal would go on to be internationally celebrated and a national hero to Scotland.

Fast forward to 2009 in the Czech Republic.

Blesk, a Czech tabloid, makes a proposition. If San Marino beat Slovenia in the qualify match for the 2010 World Cup, the Czech Republic would reward the team with $55,000 or "all the beer its players could drink" (The New York Times, 2011).

San Marino lost 3-0. Said San Marino coach Giampaolo Mazza, "I knew it was beer I would never drink."

Speed up to the present.

If you’ve sporcle-ed (specifically geography of Europe), you are probably familiar with the Republic of San Marino. No? Let’s pause and catch up.

Here are some quick facts:

San Marino is not part of Italy, it’s a country. (Think of it as the Pluto of countries, Pluto pre-2006)

 Along with Italy, San Marino entered WWI, but forgot to show up when peace treaties were signed.

Despite not having a military, San Marino has declared war on other countries (Italy’s got their back). They are currently “at war” with Turkey, but have most likely forgotten about it by now.

 San Marino had the first democratically elected Communist government.

San Marino is Europe's smallest recognized soccer nation (sorry, Monaco).

With few professional players (the team is mostly comprised of the working class, they only moonlight as soccer players), a lax practice schedule (a mere three nights a week), and less than impressive record (out of the past 108 games, they have one win), one may wonder, why go through the disappointment?

According to San Marino coach Giampaolo Mazza, it gives them a sense of identity. “Football gives us an opportunity to participate in big events with big nations,” says  Mazza. “Without football, maybe everybody thinks San Marino is some island in the middle of the Mediterranean.” Adds Giorgio Crescentini, the president of the San Marino soccer federation, “Basically, our main goal is to demonstrate that we have dignity. I think we are on track."

It's so easy to get caught up with the statistics of wins and losses, but San Marino, a place where every goal is so precious it deserves a national bank holiday, knows how to savor each little victory.

Fast forward one year.

It's beginning of the qualifying matches for the 2014 World Cup. As the ultimate underdogs, the odds of qualifying are against San Marino.

Nonetheless, San Marino will approach this game with the same assiduous attitude they bring to every game. As team captain Andy Selva says, “Every match is always 0-0”.

Let that be a reminder, my friends. No effort is futile. Best of luck, San Marino, Falling Whistles is rooting for you!

Stay hungry,

President of CENI (Congolese electoral Committee) Daniel Ngoy Mulunda

Hey Guys,

Welcome to another round of Congolese news. This time around, I am focusing on the elections because as some of you already know, the election date is set for November 28th which is less than a month and a half away.  At the end of this month, Congo will be plunged into massive electoral campaigns throughout the country.  The population will be voting for the lower house representative and the head of state. Currently, around 19,500 individuals are running for the House of Representatives and 11 others for the Presidential seat. As I informed you guys in a previous post, several tones of electoral materials are still arriving in the Congo and being distributed in centers throughout the country. The Ceni (electoral committee) and the monusco (UN) are facing a serious deadline with the distribution of the electoral material in all provinces. I would like to remind everyone that Congo is a country four times the size of France and lacks the infrastructure such as roads and railroads to reach every corners of the country. In an interview on La prosperite (Congolese newspaper), a Congolese politician part of the opposition movement expressed concerns with the electoral committee (CENI). His first point was that the CENI had yet to locate the 62,000 voting centers; his second point was that the list of voters still had not been published. Lastly, he proclaimed that the law states that if a voter possesses a voting card but is not on the voting list, the entire elections have to be canceled.  The CENI has reassured everyone including the international community that the elections will go on as planned but serious concerns are being raised every day.  The questions being raised are; should Congo go to the elections with possible deficiencies and face post-election backlash from the losing side? Or should they reports the elections, and take care of every single element to provide a fair and transparent election?

Peace for all,

In a recent Op-Ed about Steve Jobs in The New York Times, "Against Nostalgia", Mike Daisey ended his brutal analysis by stating, "Jobs always believed passionately in brutal honesty, and the truth is rarely kind. With his death, the serious work to do the things he has failed to do will fall to all of us: the rebels, the misfits, the crazy ones who think they can change the world." I'm a little biased, I deeply admire Steve Job’s business and marketing strategy, but was that not an unfairly spiteful Op-Ed?

Daisey is correct that Apple is not at the forefront of fair labor (Apple is one of the many electronic companies guilty of exploiting Congo for resources), but harping on the negatives is unnecessary and does not change the fact that Steve Jobs is one of the most influential figures for the rising workforce that will be running the world in the years to come. As one of the "crazy ones who think they can change the world", I ask why waste time disparaging flaws when we should look at criticism as a platform on which to improve? 

In 2005, Steve Jobs gave a speech called "How to Live Your Life Before You Die" at the Stanford University graduation ceremony. He recounts dropping out of college, getting fired from his own company, and being diagnosed with cancer, and how those pivotal moments shaped his outlook on life. This is how we should remember Steve Jobs, not just as the man behind the Apple, or the innovative wizard of our time, but as a man who found opportunities in every nook and cranny and didn’t just see the world as it is, but how it could be.

Jobs is right, the future does require sacrifice and boldness, so who is willing to gamble on failure and step up to the plate? Batter up.

And now, as a nod to Steve Jobs, I urge you, my friends, to stay hungry, stay foolish.