The international footballer who’s now a computer salesman: Davide Gualtieri reveals how he left football for a normal life
Davide Gualtieri scored one of England's most humiliating goals ever – now he works with computers
FourFourTwo has met the computer shop owner like no other: he scored the fastest international goal of the 20th Century.
Davide Gaultieri was the opening scorer when England visited Bologna to play San Marino in 1993, needing to win by seven clear goals to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. Other results didn't go their way that day – but the Three Lions "only" won 7-1 in the end.
"These days, I’m a computer salesman with a small company and a shop," Gaultieri says. "Things turned out well, and many of my team-mates from that England game are doing fine. Our goalkeeper, Pierluigi Benedettini, has a bus company. He was at the wheel in 1993 – he drove from San Marino to Bologna and back!
"Nicola Bacciocchi has a hardware store with his brother, Mirco Gennari works in the pharmaceutical industry and Loris Zanotti has a construction company. Mauro Valentini is an accountant, Massimo Bonini is an estate agent, Claudio Canti works at San Marino Mail and Pier Domenico Della Valle is employed by the San Marino state electricity company.
"William Guerra is a painter, while Pierangelo Manzaroli is the manager of a local football academy. I also coach San Giovanni, a small futsal club here. There are 30,000 people in San Marino and even now, 30 years on, everyone remembers me and my goal.
"I did something unique – a feat that locals directly associate with their country. My pals and I still talk about it when we go out for dinner; they show me pictures of me 30 years ago, when I still had all of my hair.
"They joke, 'Eight seconds – exactly how long you last in bed!' and 'That watch must have been damaged!'"
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Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.