Di Bradini Cup 30/U21WC51 RP/Roster/Scores Thread

[Pasarga]

Torgos Tribune ~ Finding Footing

After the initial stumbling block in the draw to Chiata, the Young Wanderers had their bye and seemed to get back on track after toppling Ceni on the third matchday of the group stage in a three to nil stomping. It was the sort of rebound performance that needed to happen for this young squad if they were to try and get their hopes of advancing out of the group back into a realistic measure. The win did exactly that, propelling them to third in the group despite having only played the two matches, behind only Yttribia and their methodical maneuvering of their pair of games and victories. However Svengarda is also nipping on the heels in third after a common three to nil drubbing, but this was over Chiata and not Ceni, though both were not expected to contend for the group.

Moving forward though will be a challenge for the side, with only the four points out of the expected six they were to pick up in these first two games. While it is not detrimental by any means, it is a set back, the like of which can prove very troublesome to overcome, especially with a group of youth players. If even their adult and professional counterparts have troubles overcoming initial setbacks and disappointments, you can be sure that it is going to be more than a challenge for these group of youths. However, their blind optimism and not knowing any better may just be the edge to overcome any such mental blocks that the Chiata draw and upcoming tough fixtures will hold for them.

The biggest of the matches is obviously the one against Svengarda, as a win over them will clinch the Wanderers passage through to the second round. However with their high flying offense, they are not to be taken lightly and are sure to pressure the back line. Those defenders have been the strength of the squad, having kept a clean sheet in both of the matches thus far, though they have not heavily tested, nor has the keeper. It is imperative for the side to stop that powerful attack that in order to have a shot in the match and make the last match against Yttribia nothing more than the opportunity to win the group outright. Yet we can not be overly cautious, as the Svengarda side has shown cracks in their own defense, letting in three goals in their first match, showing they are prone to a good sustained attack or counter themselves.

On the home front, the players agents have been hard at work promoting their players for the new Pasargan SuperLiga. With several clubs in new found waters of sustained professional football, as well as top sides looking for the next gem to keep their status as a great power in Pasargan football, the youngsters are getting offers. However with the international transfer window just a few short weeks away, it is suspected that none of the players who are without a club as of right now will accept a deal until they also have a chance to hear what foreign clubs are offering. With a record numbers of Pasargans plying their trade overseas already, it seems the prudent and smart choice for this next generation of players, who will be looking to sustain or improve upon the "golden generation" of Pasargan talent.

[Starblaydia]

OOC: Apologies for this being a bit early today, I have an art exhibition opening in Dubai to get to at the same time scorination is required. But at least you've had 43-ish hours to RP. Also my xkorinate has decided to not open any of the table generation files I've saved after MD3, so no tables right now. This is, of course, a great opportunity to do penultimate MD tables yourself, and the closest one(s) to the style I like best gets a Bonus RP Bonus^TM for their troubles.

Matchday Four

Group A
Jeckland 1-3 The Inevitable Syndicate
Taijan 2-0 Ko-oren

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Taijan                      4    3   1   0     6    2   +4    10
2 Starblaydia                 3    2   1   0     9    3   +6     7
3 The Inevitable Syndicate    3    1   0   2     3    3    0     3
4 Ko-oren                     3    1   0   2     2    5   −3     3
5 Jeckland                    3    0   0   3     1    8   −7     0

Group B
The Licentian Isles 1-2 Eura
Angela Islands 2-3 Huelandia

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Huelandia               3    3   0   0     9    4   +5     9
2 Eura                    3    2   0   1     7    5   +2     6
3 The Licentian Isles     3    1   1   1     5    5    0     4
4 Angela Islands          4    1   1   2     6    8   −2     4
5 Nassau-Hessen           3    0   0   3     1    6   −5     0

Group C
Pasarga 2-2 Svengarda
Chiata 1-1 Yttribia

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Yttribia                3    2   1   0     5    3   +2     7
2 Pasarga                 3    1   2   0     5    2   +3     5
3 Svengarda               3    1   1   1     7    5   +2     4
4 Ceni                    3    1   0   2     2    5   −3     3
5 Chiata                  4    0   2   2     2    6   −4     2

Group D
Mangolana 2-1 Dutzenderland
Felix 2-2 Polar Islandstates

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Felix                   4    2   1   1     6    4   +2     7
2 Mangolana               3    2   1   0     5    3   +2     7
3 Polar Islandstates      3    1   1   1     5    5    0     4
4 Scoutimont              3    1   1   1     3    3    0     4
5 Dutzenderland           3    0   0   3     2    6   −4     0

Group E
Northern Sunrise Islands 2-1 Vettrera
Mizuyuki 2-3 Taeshan

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Equestrian States           3    2   1   0     7    5   +2     7
2 Northern Sunrise Islands    3    2   1   0     6    4   +2     7
3 Taeshan                     3    1   1   1     3    3    0     4
4 Vettrera                    3    1   1   1     2    2    0     4
5 Mizuyuki                    4    0   0   4     4    8   −4     0

Group F
Farfadillis 4-1 Darmen
Cassadaigua 3-0 New North Aqmuland

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Farfadillis             3    3   0   0    10    3   +7     9
2 Darmen                  3    2   0   1     5    6   −1     6
3 New Sideburn            3    1   1   1     6    7   −1     4
4 Cassadaigua             4    1   0   3     5    6   −1     3
5 New North Aqmuland      3    0   1   2     3    7   −4     1

Group G
Free Republics 1-1 Kinzar
Super-Llamaland 2-2 The Royal Barangay

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Free Republics          3    2   1   0     4    2   +2     7
2 Super-Llamaland         4    2   1   1     6    5   +1     7
3 The Royal Barangay      3    1   2   0     5    4   +1     5
4 Kinzar                  3    0   2   1     3    4   −1     2
5 Gregoryisgodistan       3    0   0   3     3    6   −3     0

Group H
San jose Guayabal 0-0 Gloriax
Mytannion 0-2 HopNation

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 HopNation               3    3   0   0     8    2   +6     9
2 San Jose Guayabal       3    2   1   0     6    2   +4     7
3 Gloriax                 3    1   1   1     4    3   +1     4
4 Kinitaria               3    0   1   2     4    8   −4     1
5 Mytannion               4    0   1   3     2    9   −7     1

[Taijan]

Retraction: Taijan U-21s with One Match Still to Play
An article than ran in the Sentinel yesterday erroneously reported that the under-21 squad from Taijan had completed its group stage matches and secured advancement in the thirtieth Di Bradini Cup, being hosted by Starblaydia. In fact, the Junior Ibexes had one match still to play and did not secure advancement with their 1-0 win over The Inevitable Syndicate. The Ibexes faced Ko-oren's U-21 squad in a match today; the full report is included in today's edition of the Sentinel

Taijan Defeats Ko-oren in DiBradini Cup, Secures Advancement to Playoff Rounds
The Junior Ibexes, Taijan's team of footballers under the age of twenty-one, have completed the group stage in the thirtieth Di Bradini Cup, Taijan's first foray into the world of international junior football. The Taijanis secured advancement in matchday four of five with a resounding win over Ko-oren and will have a bye for the final matchday as Starblaydia plays The Inevitable Syndicate to determine whether it or Taijan will advance in first place, and Ko-oren plays Jeckland in a mostly meaningless match between two eliminated teams.

Today's match started slow for the Junior Ibexes as they were unable to contain the Ko-orenites, who had several shots on goal before the momentum finally tipped the other direction. Defender Tracy Davidson, the only female on the team, managed to break through around twenty-five and scored on an oddball kick from the corner of the eighteen-meter box, her first international goal. The tempo of the match slowed considerably from there, with Taijan more concerned with preserving the win than driving the Liteblues into the ground. Lloyd Kaspirisin, a rising star for the Nocturnals of the Red League, played outstanding containment football, keeping the ball away from the net and Maroons goalkeeper Leonard Xhang.

The second goal came just ten minutes into the second half as Vishnu Corvallis took possession of a long ball from defender Michael Reardan and drove hard to the goal, catching Ko-orenite keeper Keir Blayne off guard and taking home his third goal of the tournament to bring the score to 2-0, its final status.

With an unlikely win by The Inevitable Syndicate over Starblaydia tomorrow, Taijan will advance to the round of sixteen as the winner of Group A and likely face either Eura or fellow Esportivans The Licentian Isles. The more probable course is that Taijan will advance in second to face the winner of Group D, which at this point has a roughly equal chance of being any of the four teams remaining in that group, those being senior world champions Polar Islandstates, Mangolana, Sicoutimont, or fellow Esportivans Felix.

Meanwhile, several Taijani stars took to Twitter after their victory over Royal East America in the Campionato Esportiva IX to congratulate their junior counterparts. In particular, Maroons stars Paul Yamamoto and Alex Kim were vocal about their young teammates playing for the Junior Ibexes.

"Proud of my little bro Leo X," said Kim in a post, "Represent NA and Taijan to the fullest!"

Meanwhile, defender Chris Nguyen, currently playing for Altomare of Felix, expressed surprise at the inclusion of Tracy Davidson to the team, as well as her scoring a goal, introducing a touch of his signature irony as he said, "When I left Taijan, I felt like a certain group of people was being excluded from Taijani football. When I heard about today's U21 match, I was glad to know that may no longer be the case. Congratulations Ms. Davidson; DEFENDERS are on the up-and-up!"

Lastly, Paul Yamamoto was by far the least verbose in his praise, simply saying "I see you, Vishnu," referring no doubt to his young teammate Vishnu Corvallis, already dubbed "Paul Jr." by fans.

[Darmen]

Darmen set to play New Sideburn for inclusion in Round of Sixteen

Darmen has done surprisingly well (at least going by their record) during this edition of the Di Bradini Cup, and with a record of 2-0-1, Darmen sits in second place of Group F, three points behind Farfadillis, and two in front of New Sideburn. If Darmen wants to advance to the Round of Sixteen though, they'll at least need to play well enough to secure a draw against New Sideburn in their final group stage match. Lets take a look at what they've done (or haven't done) so far.

Darmen 2-1 New North Aqmuland
In the first ever game for most of the players at the Under-21 level, the eleven starters and three substitutes for Darmen shined. Andrew Tome scored the opening goal, which greatly increased the confidence of the Darmeni team and seemed to relax the defense substantially. Before the match, even Manager Rudy Jaramillo had expressed concerns about how the back four of Maxwell, Ramirez, Chevrolet and Delacruz would handle the attack, having had limited experience in international play. His concerns seemed to be confirmed when New North Aqmuland equalized easily just before the half, but with Tome playing exceptionally well, the rest of the team didn't seem to be too worried.

Darmen started fast in the second half, pouring on the attacks. Tome missed from just outside the box, then Aaron Glover and Willy Donovan both missed wide. But the constant attacks performed by Darmen were tiring the New North Aqmuland defenders. Andrew Tome connected on a long pass with Willy Donovan, who forced his way past an Aqmulandi defender and scored through the goalkeepers legs, giving Darmen a 2-1 victory. After the game, Jaramillo seemed more than pleased with his teams performance, despite wanting a little more assurance about the defense.

Darmen 2-1 Cassadaigua
The test against Cassadaigua was much harder, but once again, Darmen was able to pull off a 2-1 victory. It was Aaron Glover this time who scored the early goal, freezing Dagan Goalkeeper Danielle Mazzotta in her place, while sending the ball into the upper left hand corner. But once again Darmen allowed their opponents to equalize, and once again it came easily just before halftime.

Chelsea Schaffer took control of the ball from Andrew Tome following a skillful tackle near midfield, and proceeded to run right past Defensive Midfielder Jean Carr. Carr was only able to look on as he watched the Darmeni back four panic, and Schaffer made an easy through pass to striker Maddie Kerwin, who sent the ball past Claudio Straus. Straus, who already knew that their was nothing he could do to stop Kerwin's shot, was already complaining towards his defenders when Kerwin made her shot. Rudy Jaramillo was not to pleased with Straus' having not even made an attempt to save the shot, and replaced Straus at halftime with Raúl Kistlet.

Kistlet made several wonderful saves in the second half, holding Kerwin and Courtney Benson at bay. Meanwhile, Tome was leading the charge on the other end of the pitch. It would be Colin Miron who would send the ball home for the game winning goal, although this time Mazzotta was able to get a finger tip on the ball before watching it go in.

Darmen 1-4 Farfadillis
Falling apart is not something that happens quickly. Unless of course that's how it happens. After an Eddie Underwood Weiss goal halfway through the first half, Darmen was sitting nicely with a 1-0 lead going into the dressing room at halftime. That was the end of it though.

It took only nineteen seconds of the second half for José Torino Fuego to find an almost open net (Kistlet, who made his first start in goal, had punched a long ball out of the box straight to Fuego) and score La Vherderoja's first goal. Risko Kâí put Farfadillis ahead only two minutes later, and was followed by Matías Delafuente and Vanessa Pfeiffauf in finding goal within ten minutes.

Rudy Jaramillo was clearly upset on the bench, and Kistlet, Miron and Donovan all made their way off the field to be replaced by Brians, Gates and Reynell. Now playing in a 5-2-2-1, Darmen seemed to absorb the Farfadillian attacks much better, but couldn't keep the ball on the other side of the field for very long. And with only three offensive players, you'd kind of expect that.

Darmen vs. New Sideburn
For Darmen's match against New Sideburn, it will be Etienne Brians who will start in goal, the third starter for Darmen so far this tournament. Darmen will revert back to a simple back four, although Ainsley Maxwell will be replaced by Barrie Reynell and Jaques Dominique will take the place of Bobby Delacruz. In addition, Willy Donovan will sit on the bench, as he watches Mohamed bin Borislow play in Midfield.

The 4-1-4-1 will look something like this:

------------------Brians------------------
--Reynell--Ramirez--Chevrolet--Dominique--
-------------------Carr-------------------
---Tome---Glover---bin Borislow---Miron---
------------------Weiss-------------------

[Free Republics]

Tables after Matchday 4

  Group A                   Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Taijan                      4    3   1   0     6    2   +4    10
2 Starblaydia                 3    2   1   0     9    3   +6     7
3 The Inevitable Syndicate    3    1   0   2     3    3    0     3
4 Ko-oren                     3    1   0   2     2    5   −3     3
5 Jeckland                    3    0   0   3     1    8   −7     0

  Group B               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Huelandia               3    3   0   0     9    4   +5     9
2 Eura                    3    2   0   1     7    5   +2     6
3 The Licentian Isles     3    1   1   1     5    5    0     4
4 Angela Islands          4    1   1   2     6    8   −2     4
5 Nassau-Hessen           3    0   0   3     1    6   −5     0

  Group C               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Yttribia                3    2   1   0     5    3   +2     7
2 Pasarga                 3    1   2   0     5    2   +3     5
3 Svengarda               3    1   1   1     7    5   +2     4
4 Ceni                    3    1   0   2     2    5   −3     3
5 Chiata                  4    0   2   2     2    6   −4     2

  Group D               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Felix                   4    2   1   1     6    4   +2     7
2 Mangolana               3    2   1   0     5    3   +2     7
3 Polar Islandstates      3    1   1   1     5    5    0     4
4 Scoutimont              3    1   1   1     3    3    0     4
5 Dutzenderland           3    0   0   3     2    6   −4     0

  Group E                   Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Equestrian States           3    2   1   0     7    5   +2     7
2 Northern Sunrise Islands    3    2   1   0     6    4   +2     7
3 Taeshan                     3    1   1   1     3    3    0     4
4 Vettrera                    3    1   1   1     2    2    0     4
5 Mizuyuki                    4    0   0   4     4    8   −4     0

  Group F               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Farfadillis             3    3   0   0    10    3   +7     9
2 Darmen                  3    2   0   1     5    6   −1     6
3 New Sideburn            3    1   1   1     6    7   −1     4
4 Cassadaigua             4    1   0   3     5    6   −1     3
5 New North Aqmuland      3    0   1   2     3    7   −4     1

  Group G               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Free Republics          3    2   1   0     4    2   +2     7
2 Super-Llamaland         4    2   1   1     6    5   +1     7
3 The Royal Barangay      3    1   2   0     5    4   +1     5
4 Kinzar                  3    0   2   1     3    4   −1     2
5 Gregoryisgodistan       3    0   0   3     3    6   −3     0

  Group H               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 HopNation               3    3   0   0     8    2   +6     9
2 San Jose Guayabal       3    2   1   0     6    2   +4     7
3 Gloriax                 3    1   1   1     4    3   +1     4
4 Kinitaria               3    0   1   2     4    8   −4     1
5 Mytannion               4    0   1   3     2    9   −7     1

OOC: The qualifiers are in Bolded Purple, in honor of our host.

---

Karak D'Ragh, Starblaydia

The Free Republics now needed just a draw to ensure themselves first place in Group G. First place in Group G meant a matchup against the second-placed team in Group H, which would probably be either San Jose Guayabal or Gloriax, neither of whom they considered a particularly tough opponent. Either way, they knew that a victory would likely set up a quarterfinal showdown with either the Equestrian States or the Northern Sunrise Islands. A showdown with either the animals that had stolen DBC 27 right out from under the FFR or with the paper champions who had only won because Polar Islandstates is a much more formidable team in semi-finals than in finals. Seriously, Rule Theriault thought, the only reason why Polar Islandstates had actually won World Cup 67 was because they were facing Audioslavia, a nation of even bigger chokers than the Polarians. Rule Theriault and everybody associated with the Republican U-21s considered their U-21 program the best in the multiverse and this year, while a down year in terms of talent on the side, was to be their return to their rightful place as Di Bradini Cup champions. This, just about everybody in the Republican locker room expected, was the year when they would win their second DBC title and cement their place as one of the most dominant U-21 programs ever in the Di Bradini Cup, a dominance that, they hoped, would not end anytime soon.

Rule Theriault took a momentary leave to speak with his friends from the World Changers Regional Scouting Bureau (WCRSB), an organization based in the Free Republics. The WCRSB was all over Starblaydia, trying to evaluate players for the upcoming (unauthorized) Di Bradini Cup DLC for the Real Soccer Simulator, RepublicSoft's handheld soccer game that was marketed as being an authentic and true-to-life soccer experience. However, Rule Theriault wanted them to provide him with in-depth reports on HopNation, San Jose Guayabal and Gloriax, along with whatever secret information they could obtain from their practice sessions. The WCRSB was notoriously skilled at sneaking into practice sessions and at bugging practice facilities with audio and visual recording devices.

With Theriault gone, the Republican U-21s began to have a conversation amongst themselves.

Faredin Pozenel - Did you guys hear about the new RWC game yet?

Paul Anisimov - What did Tunnel Vision do this year?

Faredin Pozenel - They added in a new Steel Cage Ladder Match mode.

Ayub Sandstrom - Which version of that match? The one where you have to escape the cage, run up the "bad guy" ramp and climb the ladder or the one where you have to climb the ladder to retrieve something hanging from the roof of the cage?

Faredin Pozenel - Both. They've also added in a new Matchmaker mode, where you get to make the matches!

Marius Christofferson - I hope that mode is better designed than it has been in the past.

Faredin Pozenel - It is. According to GameNews, the story of the mode will involve the RWC breaking up into separate organizations, each initially owned by a member of the Sagese family. As the mode goes on, you can start your own company and wrestlers can also start their own company if they want.

Marius Christofferson - Will there actually be enough wrestlers in the game to make it viable?

Faredin Pozenel - Yes, actually. Firstly, everybody under RWC contract will be included and every new wrestler will be available as DLC, for a few SaintPoints. A season pass will be available as well. In addition, in Matchmaker mode, wrestlers will age and their abilities will dynamically increase or decrease as they age. Randomly generated wrestlers will replace them.

Sachiya Inoue - Randomly generated? How will that work?

in the past year, Sachiya Inoue's English had finally improved to the point that he was actually half-fluent in the language. He was considered a leading candidate to captain the U-15 team this year. Should he be chosen by Mr. Abdullahi to captain the team, he would likely be the captain for 2 years. Regardless, he was considered one of the most promising U-15s in the Republican organization and was traveling with the U-21s to get some much-needed experience.

Bernard Lukic - Sach, if you've played the last few RWC games, you'd know about the Random CAW feature. If you don't feel like actually creating your own wrestler, the game will create one for you.

Sachiya Inoue - Will Zen Taiyou Pro-Wres be included?

Jan Beranek - I doubt it, but you'll be able to create or download CAWs of all their top stars. There are enough people like Kieran [Hancock] in our Federation who like watching Taiyouese wrestling, probably just because they like being different!

Sachiya Inoue - Republican wrestling about entertainment. Taiyouese wrestling about competition.

Sachiya still had some difficulties with the English language and they were showing here (OOC: Maybe Gregoryisgodistan should send a "Grammar Enforcement Officer in-training" to the U-15 if he enters it again...).

Zrina Martinovic - I don't understand why you guys are so interested in wrestling. Soap operas are so much more better because they don't have all that gratuitous violence in them. Its too bad that the network is canceling "Pleasant Falls" and replacing it with some show about cooking. I'm sick of those men who run the television networks deciding what I want to watch. Maybe they should actually talk to some women before they start canceling our favorite shows!

Bernard Lukic - Please stop, Zrina. Now is not the time nor the place for this kind of stuff.

Omar Asbergsson - Yeah, Zrina. You've already undermined the performance of our U-15 team 2 years ago with your incessant complaining. I don't want to hear it again.

Zrina Martinovic - For the record, Omar, you're the one that was thinking with the wrong head. You cost us a game when you decided to stare at some bimbo in the stands instead of actually paying attention to the soccer match.

Bernard Lukic - Zrina, your attitude is out of line and I'm not going to let you be a detrimental influence upon my team. That kind of **** may fly on the U-15 team, but it doesn't fly on the U-21 team. If you don't start behaving yourself, I'll have to have a talk with Mr. Theriault.

Zrina Martinovic - Go right ahead. I'll just tell him what a sexist pig you are.

The older guys on the team, who knew Mr. Theriault, laughed.

Berto Marcelo - You don't understand, do you Zrina? Mr. Theriault is no Progressive and you'll find out fairly quickly that he expects you to treat your teammates with respect.

Zrina Martinovic - Make me.

Roberta Villalobos - Zrina, you're going to stop this right now. You are not bigger than this team and I'm not going to let your attitude get in the way of our team cohesion. Besides, unlike you, I enjoy getting to hang out with the guys all the time.

Zrina Martinovic - Roberta, why would you side with them and betray the Sisterhood?

Roberta Villalobos - Sisterhood? I don't know about you, but I like guys, not other chicks!

Zrina slapped Roberta. Soon, a catfight broke out as the guys on the team stood back and let the 2 girls go at it, none of them doing anything whatsoever to interrupt the fight. The fight went on and on. Although neither of the girls showed any sign of gaining an upper hand over the other, they also had seemingly no desire to stop fighting with one another. After 15 minutes of the 2 girls fighting with neither gaining an upper hand, Rule Theriault walked in.

Rule Theriault - What in the blue **** is going on in here? Zrina, Roberta, why were you fighting?

Zrina Martinovic - After a few of THEM, not naming names, decided to be sexist, I told them to knock it off and SHE decided to defend them!

Roberta Villalobos - Zrina was undermining team cohesion and I'm not going to let her pull the same nonsense she pulled 2 years ago at the U-15 World Cup.

Zrina Martinovic - Roberta, tell Mr. Theriault what you said about me. Since you aren't talking, I'll do it. Roberta called me a lesbian!

Roberta Villalobos - So what if I did? Your bizarre behavior definitely isn't endearing you to any of the guys.

Rule Theriault - Enough already! Why did I ever let Massimiliano talk me into allowing girls on the team? All you girls are is nothing but trouble. Bernard, what happened here?

Bernard Lukic - We were trying to have a conversation about the RWC and Zrina decided to interject herself into it by whining about her favorite soap opera being canceled and replaced by a cooking show. From there, it just escalated as several of us told her she was out of line and she insisted the opposite.

Rule Theriault - Zrina, you WERE out of line. If you want to stay on this team, you have to learn some respect for your teammates. Since you started all of this by complaining about a cooking show replacing your favorite TV show, I think it is only fitting that you be required to make dinner for everybody tonight to make up for your bad behavior.

Zrina Martinovic - I'm not gonna do that.

Rule Theriault - If you don't do what I tell you to do, I'll kick you off of the team. That's how things work around here.

Zrina Martinovic - But, its not fair!

Rule Theriault - What isn't fair is the fact that horses and bears are allowed to compete in international soccer competitions, but there's nothing we can do about that. Get used to it, Princess. Life isn't fair.

Zrina Martinovic - OK, I'll do it.

Rule Theriault - To make sure you don't do anything you're not supposed to do, I'm going to be personally watching you tonight. Now, we need to prepare for our upcoming game against the Barangay. They may be Esportivans, but that doesn't mean that they can't beat you if you take your eyes off of the ball. Kinzar just stole 2 points from you, so don't be taking anything for granted out there.

Theriault had put his foot down, making it clear that any behavior that undermined team cohesion would not be tolerated and had quickly shifted gears to preparing for his team's upcoming match, for a chance to win their group for the 4th straight DBC and advance to the Round of 16 once again. Theriault wasn't about to let anything get in the way of that, especially a backup CB with an over-sized ego.

[HopNation]

Results
MD1: 3-0 v Kinitaria (A)
MD2: 3-2 v Gloriax (H)
MD3: bye
MD4: 2-0 v Mytannion (A)
MD5: San Jose Guayabal (H)

---

Win|Draw|Loss

NA Hops keep clean sheet after bye. That’s right the youth team suffered no ill effects from having a day off, so the rest must have done them some good. They didn’t score their typical three goals, but managed to knock two into the ol’onion bag. Their first goal came just after the halftime break in the forty seventh minute as play started from keeper Boehler who rolled the ball to his right. Raske collected the distribution and turned up field, he took a few touches forward then played the ball inside to Duerr, who played back to Lesmnal. Lesmnal one timed it forward past Duerr to Droimpol. As this ball was played Raske continued forward along the touchline and Tantrum moved in towards Droimpol, seeing this Droimpol played the ball to Tantrum who one timed it back to Droimpol. Droimpol dumped the ball over the outside back for Mytannion as Raske was just about even with him. Raske collected the ball near the corner and moved the ball in toward the edge of the eighteen. Schytaing, Tantrum, and Droimpol were all crashing into the box while Loostin stayed wide on the opposite side as Raske played a low driven ball to the penalty mark. Tantrum dummied as the ball past him to a waiting Schytaing who easily knocked the ball to the back post and in. This really was a nice set up and showed good control and counter attack from the NA Hops after Boehler collected a bad cross from the Mytannion side. The youths maintained possession for most of the second half and struck again in the seventy fifth minute. This time Droimpol scored off a free kick from twenty yards out, just to the left of the arc atop the eighteen. The free kick was awarded after a vicious foul on Loostin, which looked to injure the attacking midfielders’ right ankle. He would be replaced by Grotusque Blaster after the free kick goal. The remainder of the game would be rather lack luster as the NA Hops simply looked to eat up the clock and maintain possession. So, overall it was a good match for the NA Hops as they looked refreshed after their bye the prior day. Next up for them is the team sitting in the second spot of Group H, San Jose Guayabal.


In other news from HopNation, it’s been a frantic few days as heavy snow in The Hallertautops closed both roadways that cross them. This mountain range is extremely dangerous anytime it gets snow, but with two to three feet falling in some areas of the mountain range it made things extremely dangerous. The closing of the only two roadways caused major backups at the train stations and airports, but luckily the nation has these alternative methods of getting across the mountains, and the train tunnels were unaffected by the snow fall. Thankfully we have no accidents or incidents of any kind to report of due to this weather as the advanced warning system and the GAM got messages out to Hoptonians in plenty of time. There are still avalanche warnings in effect and control methods have been deployed so that the roadway can remain open once cleared, well until the next heavy snow fall.


Here we go, match preview time.

NA Hops Likely Starters
GK – Boehler
RB – Raske
CB – Lesamnal
CB – Kranz
LB – Carran
DFM – Duerr
DFM – Stuber
AM – Blaster
AM – Droimpol
AM – Tantrum
F - Schytaing

SJG Likely Starters
GK: Quintanilla
DF: Moreira
DF: Côçô
DF: Salume
MF: Pâlazýüs
MF: Núñez
MF: Pantoja
MF: Mô
FW: Brêgoô
FW: Jarvís
FW: Saucedo

Match Day 5 Prediction

---

NA Hops 3-2 San Jose Guayabal - at Albion Arena in Hersch

The battle of one and two, as number one in Group H (HopNation) takes on number two in Group H (SJG). This will no doubt-idly be a great game and a good test for the NA Hops side before going into the next round, as no matter the result they will be going to the next stage of the Di Bradini Cup. We see the game staying close but HopNation again scores three and hold off the on slot of the SJG attack to win. This game however has some heavy implications for SJG as for them to make it past the group stage they need a few things to happen, especially if they lose. With a win or a draw versus HopNation, SJG will advance but with a loss they will be at the mercy of Gloriax and how that side’s outcome for MD5 turns out. Gloriax will need to win by four goals or more to see SJG being knocked out of the competition. Because, as it looks they would both have 2-1-1 records with an SJG loss and Gloriax win, but Gloriax will have to overcome a three goal +- (at least before MD5) in order to force a tiebreaker.

---

Gloriax12-0 Kinitaria – at Foundation Road in Jhanna

This game could bring Kinitaria up to a tie with Gloriax if they win and coming off of their bye they should have plenty of energy to do so, but we don’t feel this will be enough to overtake the Gloriaxian side. Gloriax will have a momentum boost after a draw with a good San Jose Guaybal side and put in two unanswered goals. If the result of 2-0 is true then Gloriax puts them in a situation where SJG would have to lose in order to force a tiebreaker. Depending on the score in the NA Hops v SJG game and the tiebreaker system Gloriax could be moving on with this predicted win.

---

Mytannion – Bye

With another loss Mytannion currently sits in fifth position in the group and has no chance at moving on. So, will they remain in the cesspool number five position or will Kinitaria loss by enough to let them finish just out of the stink in position four of the group. If the prediction for the Gloriax v Kinitaria game is true then they will remain in the bottom spot.

[Super-Llamaland]

What's Happened So Far

If you missed it, our U-21 team isn't faring poorly in the Group Stage of the thirtieth Simone di Bradini cup, U-21 World Cup if you'd like to be boring. Let's get right to it! But first, our group standing.

Group G               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Free Republics          3    2   1   0     4    2   +2     7
2 Super-Llamaland         4    2   1   1     6    5   +1     7
3 The Royal Barangay      3    1   2   0     5    4   +1     5
4 Kinzar                  3    0   2   1     3    4   −1     2
5 Gregoryisgodistan       3    0   0   3     3    6   −3     0

Gregoryisgodistan and Kinzar are both eliminated, so nobody will really be looking at the Gregoryisgodistan-Kinzar game, for obvious reasons. Everybody will be looking at the Free Republics-The Royal Barangay win, including our Royals, who will have to watch their fate play out on a big screen.

IF FREE REPUBLICS WINS: Free Republics first, Royals second
IF ROYAL BARANGAY WINS: Royal Barangay first, Free Republics second
IF THERE'S A TIE: Free Republics first, Royals second

In other words? Please win, Republicans.

Now that we've looked forward, let's look back. REWIND!

GAME ONE: Free Republics 1, Royals 0

This game looked dead even until Paul Anisimov broke wide-open in the eighty-third minute and got a shot by Henry McNeal, who had been brilliant up to that point. The offense never got anything going in the team's DBC debut, but the attendance was record for a Royals DBC game

GAME TWO: Royals 1, Gregoryisgodistan 0

Gulp. The two nations' dealings hadn't been rainbow-y. But Peter Masters got a PK early on and put it in the back of the net. Once again, Henry McNeal was great, and the nation that worshipped Greg was defeated one-zip as the Royals got their first 'W' in international play.

GAME THREE: Royals 3, Kinzar 2

The first game that didn't end up 1-0 for us, but luckily still victorious. Lou Canamic shot six times but managed to score twice, an inefficient display that put the team up 2-0 in the first half. But in five minutes from minute 67 to minute 72, it all changed as Kinzar put up two almost in a row, shattering confidence. In the eighty-eighth, however, Peter Masters surged up the right sideline and put one into the corner, sealing a 3-2 confidence building win for the team.

GAME FOUR: Royals 2, Royal Barangay 2

Another high-scoring game, but this time a pair of first-twenty minute goals put the nation once known as "Sangti" up 2-0 before the manager could pull anybody. But the Royals recovered in one of their best performances yet, taking a pair of goals in the eighty-first and eighty-sixth by Jacob Brennan and Alex Ford, the latter a brilliantly positioned header off a cornerkick and the former a miracle kick from well outside the box over the goalie and looping in on a breakaway. The team has established astounding confidence, but the Republics-Indios game will determine whether they'll need it for the Ro16, or for consolations on the flight home.

GAME FIVE: Bye

A two-day break before the Ro16 may prove troubling, but we've had a very good first DBC group stage. A very good DBC Ro16 qualification would be much better, though.

[Polar Islandstates]

Ole van Jendrisen and Gregorz van der Riise were standing, hands in pockets, watching a training match from the sidelines. Deliberately saying nothing, they'd left it up to the captains of each side to do the organisation on the pitch. First choice goalkeeper was off doing some personal drills with the goalkeeping coach, but other than that it was eleven versus eleven.

There was a shout, a look up, and Bjorn Konigstein pulled back his boot and let fly with a thunderous shot that left Mohr with no chance. Gregorz sniffed. A good finish, certainly, but hardly the point of the exercise. What had he learned about the team then? Nothing. He hadn't even learned that Konigstein had a wicked shot on him - he already knew that in the first place. Playing in back to back Champions' Cup finals tends to bring you to the attention of your national coaches like that. He'd maybe learnt that Mortensen wasn't quite adjusted to tracking down players in the midfield yet, but that's it. Konigstein looked to his coaches for feedback, instinctively. Non was forthcoming, which probably told him everything he needed to know.

The restart came, and the team with the bibs on set about trying to level things up under the watchful gaze of their coaches.

"What do you think of this new lot then, Gregorz?" asked Ole, making notes on a clipboard.

"Decent, yeah. Where'd you find them?"

"Oh, I have my ways, you know that."

"I don't know how you have the energy for all that scouting, Ole," said Gregorz, "my sleep patterns can't take the travelling anymore. You know I fell asleep watching a Latitude Cup semi-final this year?"

"So you've said, yes."

"Ah, it's a game for a younger man than me, this. That's why I had you pick the new players in the squad this time, Ole."

"It is?"

"You'll be getting my warm recommendation to the FPIFA for the job when I retire after this tournament."

"Oh..."

"Assuming you want it, of course."

"Oh, no, of course I do! I was just taken aback, that's all. To be honest, I had assumed it was mine already, recommendation or not."

"Well, it probably is," said Gregorz, "but you know me. I like to do things the proper old-fashioned way sometimes."

"In that case, thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"Really though."

"Well, don't look too happy, you might be in charge quicker than we thought if we don't win this next match. Who's impressing you so far?"

Ole looked at his clipboard, "I have a few players in mind, yeah."

"Who are we playing?"

"Mangolana."

"Hm."

Their conversation was interrupted by a passage of impressively fluent play from the team with the bibs. A defender and a midfielder knocked it back and forth, creating one-twos around the attackers of the other side and making use of the space. A long ball up to the forward, who touched it down for a second midfielder to play another one-two with the first midfielder, who dropped off and around up the wing, received the long through ball, beat Konigstein all ends up, and slammed a low drive across the box that the forward couldn't help but tap in to level the score.

"Woh, decent move, that!" said Gregorz out loud, forgetting about the lack of feedback rule temporarily.

"Yeah. Nice."

"Who were those kids? Some of yours?"

"Yeah, they weren't here last time. I've called them up. Seventeen year olds. Strauss at the back there, and Jernemyr and Geirsson in the midfield. Then Bickermann up top."

"They seem to understand each other already!" said Gregorz, visibly impressed. "Seventeen you say?"

"Aye, well, they ought to know each other." said Ole, flicking through his papers to find the relevant notes.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Strauss and Jernemyr are cousins, and Strauss grew up on the same street in Severny as Geirsson and Bickermann. They're friends from childhood, only breaking up when Geirsson was scouted by Torshavn last year."

"On the same street, really?"

"Yup."

"Hmm," contemplated Gregorz, "and we're playing Mangolana?"

"That's right."

"Sod it. Put them in."

"All of them? You think they're ready?"

"You're not the boss yet, Ole," joked Gregorz, "yeah, sure. Throw them in. Let's see what happens. We've got nothing to lose, right?"

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

The Vaporeons were once again in the field, prepared for war, but only found a complacent opposing side on the shape of the Under-21 squad of Vettrera. Followed by their good luck against AOians at youth stuff (Furellum, 95X...), the Vaporeons tried to look at the match without much worry. And maybe being calm was the trick to beat the squad after all. With one goal scored by the "veteran" Alvaro Lozano, later equalized by MaryLeen Foster; finally, Alcouin was able to score a goal. Cleanly. No water pulses, no water guns, no swim and more importantly, no splash. And as soon as she scored, she could hear that voice again saying "Congratulations" and a wink from the trainer afterwards.

---

"You know, there's something about us hanging around at the lobby that never sounds... you know, common." said Sarracena, once again walking at the hallway of the hotel, being the partner-on-crime of Brittany Cleese, now also accompanied by Alcouin. After their last encounter, they were sort of aware that Madam Bourbon had something special. At least according to Hannah Alcouin, Bourbon had been giving her "messages", acting as her conscience. While other people would probably be freaked out, the Sunrisians seemed to be fine about it. "It's sorta like one of those movie plots that everyone has seen once." muttered Alcouin, giggling. "What? Us as an adventure trio?" asked Cleese, while looking for the coach's room, before adding a remark to it. "Don't get used to it, though. Once we get to our proper squads, I'm so beating you up at the league."

"Well, that... Madam Bourbon's messages..." said Alcouin, as they finally found the coach's room. "Well, this is it. Let's see if she's in fact... something different than what we thought she was." declared Sarracena, as he knocked at the door. From only one knock on the door, it opened, revealing no one inside, but a bunch of files thrown around the bed where they could imagine Bourbon should sleep at. The files featured many faces, some known and some not so known names that ranged from the Sunrise to many other lands. Some files even related to players from colonies. As the trio looked at the files, Madam Bourbon ushered from the bathroom, dressed like and with some similarities on herself to a Gardevoir.

"I suppose you found my project."

[Dutzenderland]

Dutzenderlandisch Sportnews - Di Bradini Cup XXX Matchday 4
January 29, 2013 at Victory Park in Vecchio, Starblaydia - Once again, the team has lost, and this time, it was 1-2 to Mangolana. We may have lost all the games, we really have (I'm not kidding for real), but we can not give up, so we will not give up! The team can win even one game and will win one game! However, I'm pretty sure we might not be able to.
Score: Mangolana 2-1 Dutzenderland
Goalscorers
Mangolana: Rudy Bungle (1), Frank West (1)
Dutzenderland: Isao Hōjō (1)
Current Goalscorer Statistics
Tomokazu Nishimura - 1
Isao Hōjō - 1

[Farfadillis]

Passing the ball was ok to him. He was never the big star because of it, but all his passes seemed kind of magical. Nobody failed to spot his talent with the ball, but few would ever rate him as the most important part of a team, even though he probably was close to that all the time. He dictated the tempo, his passes were sometimes more eye-catching than most goals. He tore apart defenses with just one pass. With just one second. He was a defender's nightmare.

Yet his job was hard. After all, he barely got to keep the ball. It was always stop, look up (which he usually skipped), pass and maybe help celebrate too. It was somewhat uncommon for him to attempt to dribble someone - he did it only when his teammates were incompetent enough to not let him pass the ball because of terrible positioning. He sometimes attempted to score from afar, but it was only when it was the best option. Yet his talent relied on his passing skill and his stunning vision. Those two would never let him down.

Thinking of it, he was always told he was a fantastic player. He was just slightly relegated to a supportive role. Or completely relegated to a supportive role. While his teammates would go on to make the most out of the chances he created - not hard, considering he was a fantastic playmaker - he would go on to just be written down as the one who assisted the scorer. Or worse, the one who started the goal but got no credit whatsoever.

He was hoping to one day find a worthy teammate, trying to not really be a dick or anything. But yeah, he was looking for a teammate striker that would make him feel good about being relegated to the supportive role. One that could steal the show, but justifying it. One that did not rely on him. One that could destroy defenses without realy needing him. Delafuente had failed in that struggle. He was young, though, there was plenty of time. He was hoping to be promoted to La Nueva Avenida's first team to finally find that player. Though, as many told him, he was likely to end up being one of the best of that team too. Many went as far as saying he was the direct replacement for Ichi Tuzzio.

Needless to say he was surprised to find that exact striker in the Di Bradini squad. He was called up, as everyone expected, as a starter. He was going to share the pitch with Risko Kâí, he was told. "If only he played as a striker.", he thought. Risko was no doubt worthy of the "this guy deserved it" medal in Delafuente's mind but, alas, he played as a left midfielder. He would not be the main goalscorer.

But then there was these two strikers up front. Vanessa Pfeiffauf did not catch his attention too much. She was a good player, and admirable for reaching mild success as a female footballer in Farfadillis. He did find her surname confusing, but that was another matter altogether. But the real deal seemed to be the other one. José Torino Fuego was his name.

He had heard of him. Playing for Flamagua - saying that team was bad is an understatement - he had achieved quite a lot at the age of sixteen. Quite unexpected. He was the brother of a capped player, Lorenzo Fuego, who had played in the Di Bradini squad the previous edition. He did wonder how good he would be. He did not expect anything beyond "a bit better than my teammates at La Nueva Avenida". However, he soon found out how wrong he was.

Fuego seemed to not rely on him at all. Delafuente often found him creating his own chances instead of needing him in the practice matches. Whenever he assisted him, Fuego would never fail. Yet Fuego also scored when Delafuente did not assist him. He dribbled like a monster, and finished all the chances he created flawlessly. Naturally, his competition was the U-21 Farf defense, but it was evident that this guy was meant to be big.

He had found him. The player worthy of getting the credit over him. And now he felt empty. Now he had finally found someone who was better than him. Or maybe just as good? Probably better, but who knows? He soon heard that Fuego had a preliminary deal with... fucking Liria Prizren.

Ok, he was definitely better. He did not need him, but surely he was going to dictate the tempo for the team anyway?

Yes, he was going to. And so he did against Darmen, tearing apart the opposing defense in ten minutes.

[Pasarga]

"I am not sure if this is progress or not. Everything seems to be... well a bit of the same really."

'How do you mean? New players and faces both on the national teams and the clubs, new chances to prove your worth and earn that contract or transfer. Show the nation that the crest on the jersey is more important than the name on the back and all the jazz."

"How many players actually think that way though? Aren't most of them just in it for the money and or who will give them the guaranteed playing time? Especially at this age for those on the Yong Wanderers, who are hitting the point where they should no longer be on the youth or reserve teams but hitting the ground running in the main team and making the contributions. It is the age where players have to put themselves first, isn't it?"

"For some yes, but not for all. There is still a few out there who want to play to be the best or to do their country proud. Ours have never been the egotistical sort, looking out for me and mine more than the team as a whole, or who did not want to play for the national team shirt instead of the club. While we may not be world beaters or produce world class talent on a consistent basis, there is still talent there and a whole lot of pride of what our teams have been able to achieve."

"Perhaps so, but back to the point. The Young Wanderers are in trouble of falling out after drawing with Svengarda. That result honestly is not something to stick your nose up at, with them having such a good attack, but yet it was that first matchday draw that looks to doom the side unless they can somehow overcome what is proving to be quite a strong side in Yttribia. While it is a task we can and should accomplish, I would hope, it is not the situation at all that you want to be in going into the final day. It feels too much like what happened with the senior team and how CAP was able to glide effortlessly into the Champions' Cup group stage but could not do anything when they got there. It is as if there is this wall that the players hit, whether it be overconfidence or in awe of their opponents, but the Pasargan sides continue to let their fans and themselves down. It is a worrying trend, especially with this supposed best generation of Pasargan footballers. I do not want to see the national program take anymore step backs but results of the past two years on all levels have me greatly concerned that is is happening already."

"If it is, then so be it, if it is not, then all is well and shall be well. The whims of fate ebb and flow and getting the mistress that is luck to stay ever at your side is more difficult than attracting flies to oil. The players and teams may not perform at their peak at every chance that is presented to them, nor maybe even the majority of the times, but they perform well enough to get high hopes and expectations. And at the end of the day, it is but a game, the fortunes of the world do not change or the balance between good and evil be decided because of a game. It is entertainment and nothing more, passionate entertainment, but still just that."

"To think you can get so wrapped up and worked up over a game, that you feel your heart strings being pulled and go through soo many emotions. It is as if it takes on a life of its own and we as fans live vicariously though it. Heartbreak and joy, so extreme on the emotional roller coaster. I guess that is the risk you take though when you become a fan of something..."

[Sangti]

An Open Letter to Rule Theriault
by Edric Conciso

To Rule Theriault, manager of the Free Republics Under-21 team, it is our pleasure to face the top placed team in Group G. But your remarks about the region will not be missed by the citizens of The Royal Barangay.

First of all, let me show you what implications would an Agilang Dilaw win gives after matchday five. But before that, let me show you the table for Group G prior to this showdown:

  Group G               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts   Notes        Next opponent
1 Free Republics          3    2   1   0     4    2   +2     7                The Royal Barangay
2 Super-Llamaland         4    2   1   1     6    5   +1     7                ---
3 The Royal Barangay      3    1   2   0     5    4   +1     5                Free Republics
4 Kinzar                  3    0   2   1     3    4   −1     2   Eliminated   Gregoryisgodistan
5 Gregoryisgodistan       3    0   0   3     3    6   −3     0   Eliminated   Kinzar

If the U21 Agilang DIlaw manages to beat your side, then we will take away top position from you, Mr. Theriault. We are also hoping that goal difference (and goals for) will be the main tiebreaker over head to head to see the Llamaland side overtake you and send your side out of the competition.

However, should head to head be the main tiebreaker, then congratulations, Mr. Theriault! You are already at the Round of 16. However, we are sending a direct message to your squad not to be complacent. Remember what happened in Falcus in the Cup of Harmony 58?

A Milchama side who are already secured a Round of 16 berth lost to the Agilang Dilaw, 3-2 to snatch second place from Chiata, who lost to Filopines at that time. You now get the scenario, Mr. Theriault? Similar scenario, but this time, we have a chance to take top spot.

If you do not want to have a similar scenario, then you want to prepare your squad to a match that you wouldn't want to regret.

[Starblaydia]

Well done to Taijan, who was the closest of the entrants to my favoured table style, though I would rather you (and others) have placed it in the RP thread than via pasetbin and TG. Appropriate extra-bonuses for all who entered have been applied, too. Anyway, on with the games, with tables shortly when xkorinate co-operates:

Matchday Five

Group A
Ko-oren 2-0 Jeckland
The Inevitable Syndicate 0-1 Starblaydia

____________________________Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Starblaydia                 4    3   1   0    10    3   +7    10
2 Taijan                      4    3   1   0     6    2   +4    10
3 Ko-oren                     4    2   0   2     4    5   −1     6
4 The Inevitable Syndicate    4    1   0   3     3    4   −1     3
5 Jeckland                    4    0   0   4     1   10   −9     0

Group B
Huelandia 3-2 The Licentian Isles
Eura 2-0 Nassau-Hessen

________________________Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Huelandia               4    4   0   0    12    6   +6    12
2 Eura                    4    3   0   1     9    5   +4     9
3 The Licentian Isles     4    1   1   2     7    8   −1     4
4 Angela Islands          4    1   1   2     6    8   −2     4
5 Nassau-Hessen           4    0   0   4     1    8   −7     0

Group C
Yttribia 2-3 Pasarga
Svengarda 2-1 Ceni

________________________Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Pasarga                 4    2   2   0     8    4   +4     8
2 Svengarda               4    2   1   1     9    6   +3     7
3 Yttribia                4    2   1   1     7    6   +1     7
4 Ceni                    4    1   0   3     3    7   −4     3
5 Chiata                  4    0   2   2     2    6   −4     2

Group D
Polar Islandstates 2-0 Mangolana
Dutzenderland 3-1 Scoutimont

________________________Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Polar Islandstates      4    2   1   1     7    5   +2     7
2 Felix                   4    2   1   1     6    4   +2     7
3 Mangolana               4    2   1   1     5    5    0     7
4 Scoutimont              4    1   1   2     4    6   −2     4
5 Dutzenderland           4    1   0   3     5    7   −2     3

Group E
Taeshan 0-1 Northern Sunrise Islands
Vettrera 2-2 Equestrian States

____________________________Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Northern Sunrise Islands    4    3   1   0     7    4   +3    10
2 Equestrian States           4    2   2   0     9    7   +2     8
3 Vettrera                    4    1   2   1     4    4    0     5
4 Taeshan                     4    1   1   2     3    4   −1     4
5 Mizuyuki                    4    0   0   4     4    8   −4     0

Group F
New North Aqmuland 0-4 Farfadillis
Darmen 3-0 New Sideburn

________________________Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Farfadillis             4    4   0   0    14    3  +11    12
2 Darmen                  4    3   0   1     8    6   +2     9
3 New Sideburn            4    1   1   2     6   10   −4     4
4 Cassadaigua             4    1   0   3     5    6   −1     3
5 New North Aqmuland      4    0   1   3     3   11   −8     1

Group G
The Royal Barangay 1-0 Free Republics
Kinzar 1-0 Gregoryisgodistan

________________________Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 The Royal Barangay      4    2   2   0     6    4   +2     8
2 Super-Llamaland         4    2   1   1     6    5   +1     7
3 Free Republics          4    2   1   1     4    3   +1     7
4 Kinzar                  4    1   2   1     4    4    0     5
5 Gregoryisgodistan       4    0   0   4     3    7   −4     0

Group H
HopNation 0-0 San Jose Guayabal
Gloriax 2-1 Kinitaria

________________________Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 HopNation               4    3   1   0     8    2   +6    10
2 San Jose Guayabal       4    2   2   0     6    2   +4     8
3 Gloriax                 4    2   1   1     6    4   +2     7
4 Kinitaria               4    0   1   3     5   10   −5     1
5 Mytannion               4    0   1   3     2    9   −7     1

Second Round Fixtures

Match 2R1: Starblaydia v Eura at Montepool Bayside Stadium, Montepool - Home club Montepool Waves (32,000)
Match 2R2: Pasarga v Felix at Hallad City Stadium, Hallad City - Hallad Reavers (49,000)
Match 2R3: Huelandia v Svengarda at Victory Park, Vecchio - Vecchio Victors (48,000)
Match 2R4: Polar Islandstates v Taijan at Nemyan National Stadium, Hecia - Hecia (27,000)
Match 2R5: Northern Sunrise Islands v Darmen at Jaffacake Memorial Arena, Cedrus - Cedrus Soundgardia (33,000)
Match 2R6: The Royal Barangay v San Jose Guayabal at Ectar Traxx Stadium, Foxchester - Foxchester Raiders (28,000)
Match 2R7: Farfadillis v Super-Llamaland at Bekkside Arena, Tabeck - Tabeck FC (33,000)
Match 2R8: HopNation v Equestrian States at The White Tower, Yanataurë - Telecontarë (18,000)

[Super-Llamaland]

Group G
The Royal Barangay	1-0	Free Republics
Kinzar	1-0	Gregoryisgodistan

________________________Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 The Royal Barangay      4    2   2   0     6    4   +2     8
2 Super-Llamaland         4    2   1   1     6    5   +1     7
3 Free Republics          4    2   1   1     4    3   +1     7
4 Kinzar                  4    1   2   1     4    4    0     5
5 Gregoryisgodistan       4    0   0   4     3    7   −4     0

Match 2R1: Starblaydia v Eura at Montepool Bayside Stadium, Montepool - Home club Montepool Waves (32,000)
Match 2R2: Pasarga v Felix at Hallad City Stadium, Hallad City - Hallad Reavers (49,000)
Match 2R3: Huelandia v Svengarda at Victory Park, Vecchio - Vecchio Victors (48,000)
Match 2R4: Polar Islandstates v Taijan at Nemyan National Stadium, Hecia - Hecia (27,000)
Match 2R5: Northern Sunrise Islands v Darmen at Jaffacake Memorial Arena, Cedrus - Cedrus Soundgardia (33,000)
Match 2R6: The Royal Barangay v San Jose Guayabal at Ectar Traxx Stadium, Foxchester - Foxchester Raiders (28,000)
Match 2R7: Farfadillis v Super-Llamaland at Bekkside Arena, Tabeck - Tabeck FC (33,000)
Match 2R8: HopNation v Equestrian States at The White Tower, Yanataurë - Telecontarë (18,000)

Let's look around the Ro16, in which Super-Llamaland is included...but Free Republics is not! That's right, Rule Theriault's Republican team lost 1-0 to The Royal Barangay, and thanks to host Starblaydia and ourselves' dislike of H2H as first tiebreak, we're moving on! To play Farfadillis. Dang. Anyway, let's look at what went down!

1 The Royal Barangay      4    2   2   0     6    4   +2     8
2 Super-Llamaland         4    2   1   1     6    5   +1     7
3 Free Republics          4    2   1   1     4    3   +1     7

That's right, we escaped by the skin of our teeth, winning the third tiebreaker by two goals. Now we play...

Farfadillis. One of the world's best, Farfadillis closed out a undefeated group stage with an easy win today. With stars like goalie Rôhj Tzâín, a brilliant offense lead by the midfield (think O-21 Tigers, but better) and the midfield lead by left mid Risko Kâí, and the tactical brilliance of Hector Rossizzo, Farfadillis easily holds the lead over us.

But with enough Rubber Chickens from RubberChick Inc., I have confidence we'll give them a run for their money, despite the fact they're heavily favored. With a two-day rest, it might not be easy, but we can do it!

[Huelandia]

HUEHUEUHEHUEHUEHUEUHEUHEUEHHUE

HUEHEUHEUEHEHUEUEUEHEHHEHEHU

The Hue prevails!

And now, for something completely different...
CAPTAIN PSICOPASA: ROAD TO DBC30
The revenge! (for what?)

MATCHDAY 1: Rival for the starting position!


MATCHDAY 2: The ball, his friend!


MATCHDAY 3: Psicopasa's plan in motion! Aim for the top!


MATCHDAY 4: The new Hueland starter!


KNOCKOUT STAGE: Hope springs eternal in Hueland! The future king of football!

[San Jose Guayabal]

EL NACIONAL

Guayabalense players aiming high in the multiverse

Yesterday was a very special day at the Multiverse football, for the Third Ever UICA Transfers deadline where motley movements were seen, whether they be of lower quality leagues prestigious leagues was performed.

With regard to San Jose Guayabal yesterday was a splendid day it begins to observe the talent of our players begins to convince even the most demanding of the best leagues in the world, as yesterday's export players showed that import these, leaving a margin of 5 exports more than imports as only one player was performed, which did Alianza FC when hiring Maati Järvinen, from the IF Oljestaden (Audioslavia) in the amount of $ 26.5 million dollars.

The top winners in terms of exports to best leagues were Sean Fraser, Daniel Côçô and Sebastián Núñez, three of them will play in the Divisjon one of Polar Islandstates which is named as the best league of the Multiverse, Fraser will play in the mid table team FC1. Bjarnarey Flotilla, while the last two will play in the newly promoted Nasjonale Hauker.

The surprise move

Just yesterday it started the event became known one of the most important movements in the history of football Guayabalense because the sprinter forward, Sean "Panther" Fraser was sold to FC1. Bjarnarey Flotilla of Polar Islandstates, in the amount of $ 1m, which stunned all and sundry, including the very Fraser who said "I am admired by this new opportunity in my career, that the party uses to the maximum in order to help the Bjarnarey to achieve higher positions in your league and who knows if international level. "In social media speculated that his fate would Vilita, but after incessant rumor that would go to a high quality team, it was clarified that this team will go to the Divisjon one.

Pantoja starts with a promising future

The player of the U-21, Oscar Pantoja was signed by surprise by the three-time champion of the Liga Federal de Valladares, Nacional, who wishes to rise from the ashes with the help of his young Guayabalense prospect, because after being champion, has fallen quality in a rut that has been struggling to remain in first division, Pantoja external that "I am happy, but if you go to a champion team tradition that is suffering a lot, I would help the team to come out of that bump and reach back to its former glory "

Daniel Côçô, from the 5th division of SJG to the Polarian Divisjon one

Daniel, another interesting prospect for Guayabalense Football has been considered for a large project like Nasjonale Hauker, the team won the second division of PIS which amounted to the Divisjon One, Daniel has taken a big leap in quality, as part from the fifth division of SJG to the best league of the Multiverse, Daniel could not hide his joy, that even caused him tears of joy for his new adventure in Polarian lands, "I never imagined this, I consider myself lucky, because I go to a high level team in the Multiverse, but I'll never forget Sonsonate, as they are my heart. "

Núñez in the same team as Côçô

Considering the fact that Sebastian Nunez and Daniel have known children, as played in the same football academy before they took different paths, it is now their paths back together, they both go to Nasjonale Hauker, unlike Daniel, Núñez played in the first division of SJG, with Alianza FC, ​​Núñez said "Feeling grateful to the leadership of Nasjonale for having taken into account in your plans, and you want the team to fight for the top positions in the league and avoid Relegation. "

Quintanilla goes to The Royal Barangay

Javier Quintanilla also received a call from Balompie Mogya, a team that is fighting relegation in the league in Barangay, Quintanilla has been selected to defend the goal of Mogya to avoid relegation to the second division so Quintanilla says "Try to save the team, but it may be difficult as there are good competition in this league, and hopefully everything goes well".

Lorenzo Quiñónez to Tropicorp FC

Lorenzo had since secured in the holder of Santa Tecla FC, ​​but it turns out its continuity with the "elves" will not follow more because Tropicorp FC of Vilita (Tropicorp is autonomous territory) hired him for a more active participation in the local league, it is first time participating in the league and not expected to do something that not embarrass his followers, so have reinforced Lorenzo and several players from Zwanzug, The Inevitable Syndicate, Audioslavia, etc.. so Lorenzo said "The team promises a lot, hopefully we achieve important goals and who knows we achieve interesting things"

With the end of the event, has confirmed that SJG has potential for future because these players depict future promises to be in the national team, such as the case of Daniel and Sebastian, or Fraser who is already a high quality player hopefully I can improve on your new adventure in Polar Lands, hopefully this is the start of a generation that reap success achieved in the near future and thus put up our country.

[Taijan]

Junior Ibexes Advance to DiBradini Playoffs
With a bye on the final day of the Di Bradini Cup group stage, the Taijani Junior Ibexes have won advancement to the round of sixteen as the second-placed team in Group A, behind the hosts Starblaydia, who defeated The Inevitable Syndicate today to secure the top placement in the group. Taijan will advance to play Polar Islandstates in the second round. Polar Islandstates's senior national team is the reigning World Cup champion, though as with Taijan, none of the U21s are capped at the full senior level. The Polarians finished their group stage with two wins, a draw, and a loss, with the latter two coming against second-placed Felix and Sicoutimont, respectively, while Taijan finished undefeated with a single draw against Starblaydia in Matchday One.

In other U21 news, the recent UICA transfer window saw a few of the Taijani juniors move on to bigger, better clubs in other nations. Jordan Lovato, midfielder for the Felix Maroons and starter for the Junior Ibexes, won a lucrative contract with Brynag GU of Earent, the second-ranked association in the UICA standings. Lovato could not be reached for comment. Additionally, Ryan van der Wall signed with FC St Jermaine as expected, Michael Reardan was picked up by Lumberjacks, and Vishnu Corvallis was called up from Felix to Nova Algiers to play for the Maroons' first squad. Furthermore, two U21 internationals will join Taijani clubs this coming season; goalkeeper Melissa Clarke of The Inevitable Syndicate, and forward Treta of Huelandia will join Green Star.

[Farfadillis]

He was a very good goalkeeper. He was heralded as Lisdiren's replacement. The goalkeeper that had been defending the Farf goal since football became a thing in the craziest of countries. He was given one of the biggest weights to carry. He was doing fine. At such a young age, he was already a starting goalkeeper for the Di Bradini squad, as well as Mâ Âlâmëómë. He had a Champions' Cup round of sixteen appearance under his belt. He had shared the pitch with countless phenomenal players, though little did it matter, he was a goalkeeper. Little could he learn from their playing patterns. Well, beyond how to stop them, but he was far from being the analytical kind of guy.

He kind of liked to go with the flow. Never really caring about studying the way the opponents shot, executed penalties, free kicks and the like. He also was not the kind of goalkeeper who liked ordering the defense. It was not his job, it was the manager's. This, of course, meant he was not a perfect goalkeeper. It was a great disadvantage that he held when competing with other goalkeepers for the starting spot. Yet... well, he always got the position.

To put it simply, no matter how many drawbacks he could have, he was fantastic. He could stop just about any shot in a good day, and he was not one to allow many rebounds. He rarely committed an error, and was very solid when it came to going one-on-one. He was pretty good when it came to stopping crosses, too, as he was always determined to take any risk and go for the ball. His splendid physical state almost always allowed him to get the ball. He was not the most fantastic goalkeeper when it came to stopping penalties, but he was alright. Scoring free kicks against him was pretty hard, too. The only thing that caused him problems were shots with tremendous bending, but that caused problems to just about any goalkeeper anyway.

He was experienced, though not as much as other goalkeepers. He was young, that was a huge advantage. He was great, that was another huge advantage. He was not someone to cause many problems beyond his laziness, that was another huge advantage. A very good prospect.

Lisdiren's reincarnation had finally arrived. Many goalkeepers had come and gone. Many good goalkeepers. Sifé Rigutti, Alessandro Jalkán, Fabrifé Lastá, Nikita Guldbrandsen and a few other goalkeepers had always looked like Lisdiren's eventual replacement, but they were all either not good enough or just too old. Rôhj Tzâín, coming from Ruland's most dangerous city, was the perfect replacement. Yes, he had been found. Mâ Âlâmëómë had once again brought up a star. Risko Kâí was the first, now Rôhj Tzâín could be the second. It was within his capability. Nobody could question it.

Fuego shot violently to the upper-right corner. He dove, punched it out, fell to the floor and promptly got up looking as calm and stoic as always. The entire squad looked at him astonished. Rossizzo laughed a bit. He knew he was covered for quite some time.

[Dutzenderland]

Dutzenderlandisch Sportnews - Di Bradini Cup XXX Matchday 5
January 31, 2013 at Silverlands in Corinth, Starblaydia - While we won and did not make it past the group stage, there is always a chance. It is their choice, not ours.
Score: Dutzenderland 3-1 Sicoutimont
Goalscorers
Dutzenderland: Isao Hōjō (2), Tomokazu Nishimura (1)
Sicoutimont: N/A (1)
Current Goalscorer Statistics
Isao Hōjō - 3
Tomokazu Nishimura - 2

[Sangti]

Sports Hall
Karak D'Ragh
Starblaydia

The two sides walked into the pitch knowing that a loss could derail their hopes of a Di Bradini Cup title this season, With their old kits, The Royal Barangay stepped into a war zone, knowing that only a win would count. A draw is not enough. Thanks to two successive draws, the victory against Gregoryisgodistan was forgotten. Now they must beat the Republicans led by the loudmouth, Rule Theriault.

Opening minutes, and it was Free Republics who attacked first, with their crisp passing made the defenders of the Agilang Dilaw look stupid. Faredin Poeznel was the attacker to watch out for, as his shots looked dangerous, but Marion Celebrado was alert all night. He would be the busy man early on, he doesn't want to lose this fight early on. And then, the counter attacking of the Barangayans looked to take them by surprise, but Marius Christoffersen denied a great opportunity that was for Marco Escuro.

Minutes have passed. The two sides exchanged shot after shot. But no one grabbed the lead as the referee blew his whistle for halftime. At the dressing room, there was utter silence. Aldrich Sing was standing just there waiting for some of his players to give their teammates a bit of a morale boost. After a while, he started to talk.

"You guys know what to do, go on the field and kick some Republican arses there."

The second half was more of a physical battle. With Miroslav Bozek and Wenefrido Oliva manning the penalty box, there were penalty claims here and there for both sides. But the referee just told them to stand up. Shot after shot, Celebrado was a busy man again, keeping the shots of Poeznel and company at bay.

However, the captain, Sam Magsombol, thought, 'enough is enough', as he shot a furious half volley on target, just for Christoffersen to tip it over the bar. Corner for the Barangayans in the 88th minute. At that stage of the game, the Agilang Dilaw knew that if the scores stayed the same at full time, then they would go home. But then, a moment of magic.

Nino Leron flew a drilling corner from the right side corner of goal, with six players jumping for the ball. However, Josue Amio outjumped them, and his head met with the ball. Christoffersen was too much off position to catch the ball, and the ball bounces slowly into the back of the net. The Republicans protested the goal when they thought Amio gained an unfair advantage, but the referee saw it clearly. A perfect timing of a jump from the CF Sangti man.

After three minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew his whistle. The Agilang Dilaw have sent the Republicans home.

[HopNation]

Results
MD1: 3-0 v Kinitaria (A)
MD2: 3-2 v Gloriax (H)
MD3: bye
MD4: 2-0 v Mytannion (A)
MD5: 0-0 v San Jose Guayabal (H)
MD6: Equestrian States (H)

---

Win|Draw|Loss

The NA Hops have finished up their first international competition, well the group stage at least. The last game of qualifying was only played to see if they would be #1 or #2 coming out of Group H, so the NA Hops made some changes during this game. Not really in regards to playing style but rather personnel. This was the first match, besides an injury, that subs were placed into the match. The other side of this match, San Jose Guayabal was however fighting to remain in one of the two top spots, but their fate was more in the hands of Gloriax especially with a lose. With the game ending in a tie this secured the second place spot for SJG even though Gloriax did win, that win didn’t come into play with the HopNation/SJG match ending in a draw. This also kept the NA Hops in the first spot and will pit them against Equestrian States who finished second in their group, more on that to come. SJG was the first team to keep the NA Hops scoreless, so we see them doing well in the next round even though they are playing The Royal Barangay, the first place team coming out of Group G. As for the game, it was a good game, a close game that saw a possession split of 55% to 45% in favor of the NA Hops. SJG keeper, Quintanilla, had an excellent game keeping out all 12 shots on goal that the NA Hops had. It seemed that Mô, one of SJG’s midfielders was the player to watch for the opposition. He had multiple forward passes that left the NA Hop defenders scrambling to cover the forward trio, Brêgoô, Jarvís, and Saucedo. For NA Hops Coach Charles Moe made some big changes and all during the first half as well. Perhaps he was looking to rest some key players, knowing they would be playing at least one more match. He took out both Droimpol and Schytaing at the twenty third minute mark and put in Tiedemann Sommer and Keelan Oran Daly. Both had good games trying to make up for the skill of Droimpol and Schytaing, but seemed to have some troubles with the SJG side. Moe then took out Lesamnal and Raske in the backs and put in Vaugh Jeikrom at RB and Erik Samson at CB. These two had great games matching the forward attacks of SJG, so we see them possibly having some more game time in the future. Overall good things were seen from the subs, but definitely a little lower quality off the bench than one might hope for. Next up, The Little Ponies from Equestrian States, a side the NA Hops cannot take lightly even if they are a bunch of ponies with rainbow colored mains or whatever it might be. They did finish second in Group E behind Northern Sunrise Islands who catapulted past The Little Ponies on the final game day as the wee ponies couldn’t get a win and settled for a draw. The Equestrian State side knows how to put a good youth team on the field as well with a Championship back in DBC 27 and a third place finish the year before that. They are also no strangers to the round of sixteen making it to this point on a number of occasions. So we’ll have to see what comes of this and hopefully the NA Hops are ready for the hoofed opposition.

The Prediction…

NA Hops Likely Starters

GK – Boehler
RB – Raske
CB – Lesamnal
CB – Kranz
LB – Carran
DFM – Duerr
DFM – Stuber
AM – Loostin
AM – Droimpol
AM – Tantrum
F - Schytaing

Equestrian States Likely Starters

GK: Stop
DF: Redtooth
DF: Bailey
DF: Rumble
MF: Cobbler
MF: Nightwing
MF: Tyler
MF: Youngheart
FW: Shine
FW: Rosewing
FW: Kicker

Match Day 6 Prediction - Round of 16

---

NA Hops 4-2 The Little Ponies - at The White Tower, Yanataurë - Telecontarë (18,000)

---

This will be a great match with both teams trying to show their dominance on the pitch, however the NA Hops will come out on top and sending the wee ponies packing. The NA Hops, listed as the home side, will be in their whites while we expect The Little Ponies to be in their orange kits as they are listed as the away side. Superb Stop will do everything she can to keep the likes of Droimpol and Schytaing from getting on the score board but in the end she allows four and could possibly come from other NA Hop players as The Little Ponies could be to worried about the well knowns on their squad. We think Cloud Kicker and Pristine Shine will notch the two predicted goals for The Little Ponies as they will make good strides, along with good play from the midfielders behind them to take advantage of a few gaps in the NA Hops back four. However we don’t see this happening before the NA Hops have a commanding lead in the match. In the end NA Hops Advance and The Little Ponies go home.

[Starblaydia]

Second Round

Second Round Results
Starblaydia 3-2 Eura
Pasarga 3-2 Felix (AET, FT 1-1)
Huelandia 0-1 Svengarda
Polar Islandstates 1-2 Taijan
Northern Sunrise Islands 6-3 Darmen (AET, FT 3-3)
The Royal Barangay 2-1 San Jose Guayabal
Farfadillis 2-1 Super-Llamaland
HopNation 2-1 Equestrian States

Quarter Final Fixtures
Starblaydia v Pasarga at Foundation Road, Jhanna - Iskara Daii (75,000)
Svengarda v Taijan at Silverlands, Corinth - Corinthian Spirits (65,000)
Northern Sunrise Islands v The Royal Barangay at Sports Hall, Karak D'Ragh - Karak Ungor Chiefs (60,000)
Farfadillis v HopNation at Jhanna City Recreational Ground, Jhanna, - Jhanna City (51,000)

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

Ever since Giratina appeared centuries ago, Arceus has been looking for a chance of actually giving the Sunrise a chance of protecting themselves without the need of its' own powers. Sadly, it couldn't lower super powers on the islands for no explained reason like that. Nor it could lower to the lands solely to explain us that we needed to protect ourselves. And that was when Arceus found the perfect idea. With a couple of genetic mixtures here and there, it messed around with people's genetic codes that didn't leave the Islands at any moment.

Obviously, a good way to not make people notice was to scramble with a small number of people. So slowly, Arceus is forming a guard of warriors that aren't aware of their use. Whenever evil strike our lair again... evil won't stand talL... but while we're on peace, they should live their own lives normally. When time comes, we will be prepared. Until then, the process will continue.

---

"Eh... wouldn't that affect... you know, bandits, mobsters?" asked Cleese. "Eh." shrugged Bourbon, laughing. "I think that Arceus has found a way to give powers to good people." "So... am I this?" asked Alcouin, curious. "Well, I'm not sure." said Bourbon, calm. "If only I could find the "destined leader" of Arceus' forces... Then I would be able to come up with data that could explain your case."

Alcouin looked at her, a bit sad. Sarracena gave her a hug, trying to help her a bit. "Don't worry, Hannah. I'm pretty sure that you're the leader." said Yupanqui, smiling. Hannah got a bit happier, until Yupanqui continued "Though I'd rather have a leader that is... well, more modest.".

[Huelandia]

CURSE YOU, MARGARET!!!