That, Ruggerio added, meant that the ethos of the Vatican’s soccer team was at odds with FIFA membership.

“I prefer to be amateur,” he said. “To join FIFA, at that level, will be like a business.”

The chance to be part of a team trying to recapture the purest of sporting ideals was what attracted Gianfranco Guadagnoli. The players elected Guadagnoli, 58, a former goalkeeper, to be the coach because he had never been given either a yellow or a red card in his career.

“They are all deeply religious, so the whole team” goes to church, Guadagnoli said of his players as they practiced shooting. “It gives them strength when they play.”

Most of the players missed the target as the fitter and younger Monaco team ran through training drills next to them. “But watch out for Quarta,” Guadagnoli said hopefully, referring to Alessandro Quarta. “He’s the main striker and the star of the team.”

At 35, Quarta is nearing the end of his career for the Vatican team. He once played semiprofessionally in Italy’s lower leagues but is now a government clerk.

“I appreciate the sport more now playing for the Vatican,” he said. “It is a unique feeling representing a state like Vatican City. I enjoy the values more than playing for the professional team — spreading the message of our religion wherever we go and, of course, the good sportsmanship.”

The Vatican and Monaco have played each other regularly since 2011, but their first match was far from an example of good sportsmanship.