THE VALLADAR SUPER LEAGUE PRESENTED BY CHOCOMILK
TWENTY-FIFTH SEASON (REVIEW*)
*A shorter than ever, Astrogothic-esque kind of review
TWENTY-FIFTH SEASON (REVIEW*)
*A shorter than ever, Astrogothic-esque kind of review
Season Review
And once again, as happened in the four most recent Super League seasons, "Super-Impact" dominated the season, even breaking historic records with 28 victories in 38 matches, including a record 34-match unbeaten streak, only losing to Nacional and TFC in Rounds 35 and 36, respectively. With those numbers (and 92 points), there was little doubt that the rest of teams would have a virtually impossible mission to snatch the Crown from the Impact at the end of the playoffs. Well, let's change the topic, as we already know Fontvielle Impact are the best team in the multiverse. End of.
There was an interesting fight for second place between two of the most regular teams throughout the season (aside from we-already-know-who): Edmonton and the Alligators. The Monties remained in second place for most of the season, except at halfway point, when they were ousted by the Dragons, however, the Blue-Blacks were unable to keep up the good work and succumbed to the pressure from the Alligators, who had to come from behind in order to snatch second place with Edmonton (and secure a more accesible path to the Canalave Crown) after a slow start. Once again, Marinos managed to do an outstanding campaign which was enough from them to finish in fourth place, and Nacional finished fifth after they realized they had to stop giving points away to their direct rivals. Bezieres had to suffer a lot of problems this season: their most flamboyant acquisition for this season (Iturributan striker Artzeiz Zornoza) got injured in just his second game with the team (and first at home, 1-1 draw with Pumas) thanks to the dismal condition of the pitch at the Stade de Charmillot (where Les Rouges initially decided to host their home games after the Stade Jules Picot was closed for remodeling works), which eventually forced them to alternate home games between Gatineau and Montreux. Nevertheless, Les Rouges managed to overcome all those difficulties and ended up grabbing the sixth and last direct berth to the playoffs.
It seems that neither Canalave Dragons nor Olympique de Fontvielle have learnt the lessons taught to them by the previous Super League seasons: both had brilliant starts (even the Dragons went to the summer break in second place, although far away from the leaders), however, they were unable to manage successfully their savings of points and eventually the excellent comebacks from teams like Nacional and AS Bezieres doomed both teams to play an extra game in order to access the post-season. Slateport finished in ninth place but were never really close to end in a higher place or in danger of being driven out of postseason play. All that interests us now is the fight for the 10th and last ticket to the postseason...
...which was booked by...PRADERA! Yep, Pradera. All that investment on "Los Verdiblancos" finally gave its first results, as Pradera were able to qualify to the play-ins again, over teams like the Stars and TFC, who disappointed their already disappointed fans once again. Even Gatineau was closer than Eterna and Tannenberg to get the tenth and final berth! Meanwhile, the Rovers, Caimanes, and Cerro can be happy with their main goal accomplished: saving themselves from the drop, while the other four teams are ruing their bad luck and clouded judgements throughout the season: HAC are waiting for their rival from the B-League in the special promotion/relegation playoff, while Chiquito, Corania, and Pumas will return to the second division of Valladar football once again.
Final League Standings:
Team P W D L For Ag +/- Pts
1 Fontvielle Impact 38 28 8 2 85 23 +62 92
2 Metropolis Alligators 38 22 6 10 68 41 +27 72
3 Edmonton United 38 20 9 9 67 37 +30 69
4 Marinos Metropolis 38 19 11 8 65 39 +26 68
5 Nacional 38 17 13 8 60 36 +24 64
6 AS Bezieres 38 18 9 11 57 41 +16 63
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7 Canalave Dragons 38 18 8 12 54 40 +14 62
8 Olympique de Fontvielle 38 16 13 9 63 43 +20 61
9 Slateport Bulls 38 17 8 13 57 52 +5 59
10 Pradera FC 38 15 9 14 49 54 -5 54
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11 Eterna Stars 38 14 9 15 50 57 -7 51
12 Gatineau UC 98 38 12 15 11 43 51 -8 51
13 Tannenberg FC 38 14 8 16 45 49 -4 50
14 Hoxford Rovers 38 12 8 18 38 55 -17 44
15 SC Caimanes 38 11 10 17 51 64 -13 43
16 AD Cerro 38 8 14 16 38 56 -18 38
17 Hamanos Athletic Club 38 7 10 21 31 58 -27 31 P-O
18 Chiquito FC 38 9 4 25 33 80 -47 31 REL
19 RC Corania 38 7 3 28 18 56 -38 24 REL
20 Pumas Maldonado 38 5 7 26 36 76 -40 22 REL
Valladar Super League Final Play-Offs
Play-In Round:
Canalave Dragons (7) 3-1 Pradera FC (10)
Olympique de Fontvielle (8) 1-0 Slateport Bulls (9)
Quarterfinals:
AS Bezieres (6) 5-1 Edmonton United (3)
Edmonton United (3) 1-0 AS Bezieres (6) (2-5 agg)
Canalave Dragons (7) 1-1 Metropolis Alligators (2)
Metropolis Alligators (2) 2-0 Canalave Dragons (7) (3-1 agg)
Nacional (5) 2-2 Marinos Metropolis (4)
Marinos Metropolis (4) 0-0 Nacional (5) (2-2 agg) (Marinos Metropolis wins on away goals rule)
Olympique de Fontvielle (8) 0-2 Fontvielle Impact (1)
Fontvielle Impact (1) 2-1 Olympique de Fontvielle (8) (4-1 agg)
Semi-Finals:
AS Bezieres (6) 1-2 Metropolis Alligators (2)
Metropolis Alligators (2) 3-0 AS Bezieres (6) (5-1 agg)
Marinos Metropolis (4) 1-0 Fontvielle Impact (1)
Fontvielle Impact (1) 1-0 Marinos Metropolis (4) (1-1 AET, 1-1 agg, 3-2 PKs)
The Canalave Crown (Sponsored by UltraTeam):
THE CANALAVE CROWN: Fontvielle Impact vs Metropolis Alligators
Dragon Stadium - Canalave (Att: 34,932)
Fontvielle Impact 1-0 Metropolis Alligators (Gignac 85')CHAMPIONS
Fontvielle Impact (8th title)
Valladar B-League Final Standings
Team P W D L For Ag +/- Pts
1 AS Vaud 38 20 4 14 50 36 +14 64 CH - SBCC
2 AC Tallin 38 17 12 9 64 47 +17 63 P - SBCC
3 Nord Energie FC 38 17 9 12 52 34 +18 60 P/O
4 FC Fauxham 38 16 12 10 56 40 +16 60 P/O
5 Servette FC 38 18 6 14 63 55 +8 60 P/O
6 Dynamo Metropolis 38 17 7 14 58 55 +3 58 P/O
7 AS Montreux 38 14 13 11 46 37 +9 55
8 RC Belfort 38 15 10 13 57 53 +4 55
9 Carloburgo Phoenix 38 14 11 13 45 43 +2 53
10 Deportivo Aguablanca 38 14 11 13 48 55 -7 53
11 FC Columbus 38 13 13 12 62 53 +9 52
12 Club Osum 38 14 10 14 44 46 -2 52
13 Ajax Carloburgo 38 13 11 14 52 48 +4 50
14 FC Sillimus 38 13 11 14 41 45 -4 50
15 Bohemians Metropolis 38 13 11 14 48 54 -6 50
16 Bretford Royals 38 12 13 13 61 70 -9 49
17 Universitario de Maldonado 38 12 10 16 48 54 -6 46 REL
18 Tessano FC 38 11 12 15 45 61 -16 45 REL
19 Newcastle Town 38 6 12 20 45 70 -25 30 REL
20 Stanford United 38 5 14 19 39 68 -29 29 REL
Valladar B-League Final Play-Offs
Semi-Finals:
Dynamo Metropolis (6) 0-1 (3) Nord Energie FC
Nord Energie FC (3) 2-1 (6) Dynamo Metropolis
Agg: Nord Energie FC 3-1 Dynamo Metropolis
Servette FC (5) 1-0 (4) FC Fauxham
FC Fauxham (4) 0-0 (5) Servette FC
Agg: FC Fauxham 0-1 Servette FC
Final:
Nord Energie FC (3) 3-0 (5) Servette FC
Promotion-Relegation Play-Off: Hamanos Athletic Club vs. Servette FC
Servette FC 0-3 Hamanos Athletic Club
Hamanos Athletic Club 2-0 Servette FC (5-0 agg)
Thus, Hamanos Athletic Club keep their place in the Valladar Super League for next season.
The Fifteenth King's Shield:
FINAL @ Alexander I National Stadium, Swangard-Metropolis (Att. 79,228)
Marinos Metropolis 0-2 AS Bezieres
Congratulations to AS Bezieres, who won the fifteenth King's Shield and qualified to the Cygnus Cup!
SUMMARY OF THE SEASON:
Regular Season Premier: Fontvielle Impact
Canalave Crown Champion: Fontvielle Impact
Canalave Crown Runner-Up: Metropolis Alligators
King's Shield Winner: AS Bezieres
Relegated Teams: Chiquito FC, RC Corania, Pumas Maldonado
Promoted Teams: AS Vaud, AC Tallin, Nord Energie FC
Top Scorers:
1. Jean-Pierre de Roux (Fontvielle Impact): 28 goals (Golden Boot)
2. Yoan Gignac (Fontvielle Impact): 27 goals (Silver Boot)
3. Ricardo Villa (Erathore, Fontvielle Impact): 26 goals (Bronze Boot)
4. Pedrinho (Metropolis Alligators): 24 goals
5. Edwin Aguilar (Marinos Metropolis): 22 goals
INTERNATIONAL QUALIFICATION:
Champions' Cup 40:
Fontvielle Impact - Canalave Crown Winners
Metropolis Alligators - Canalave Crown Runners-up
Marinos Metropolis - Valladar Super League best-placed playoff semifinalist
AS Bezieres - Valladar Super League playoff semifinalist
Globe Cup 37:
Edmonton United - Valladar Super League best-placed non-semifinalist
Nacional - Valladar Super League second best-placed non-semifinalist
Canalave Dragons - Valladar Super League third best-placed non-semifinalist
Series B Champions' Cup 37:
AS Vaud - Valladar B-League Champions
AC Tallin - Valladar B-League Runners-up
Nord Energie FC - Valladar B-League Final Play-Off Winners
Servette FC - Valladar B-League Final Play-Off Runners-up
Cygnus Cup 15:
AS Bezieres - King's Shield winners
Copa de los Príncipes:
Slateport Bulls - Valladar Super League highest non-UICA qualifier *
Pradera FC - Valladar Super League second highest non-UICA qualifier
* Olympique de Fontvielle are actually the highest-placed team which did not qualify for a UICA competition in this cycle, however, they have a ban on attending Copa de los Príncipes editions until VSL 28.
