Baptism of Fire 46 Everything Thread

[Yesopalitha]

Baptism of Fire 46

Welcome, welcome, welcome to the 46th edition of the Baptism of Fire, a sporting competition designed specifically for nations just embarking on their quest for eternal glory! We of the Unbidden Communist Republic of Yesopalitha, along with the Republic of Aguazul, humbly welcome you to our lands for this prestigious competition. Sure, you have a chance to win the World Cup every time it rolls around, but each nation only has one try to become BoF champions. Will it be you? Let's find out!

Groups: (Group winners get byes, all second place and best third place for play-in)

Group A (Yesopalitha)
Blackbone Bay
Ajaundar
Kanslavia
Audioslavia
Felbah

Group B (Aguazul)
Ang Grung
The Icemark
Meshkete
United Soviet Countries
Bacopa

Group C (Yesopalitha)
Lukquarel
Bloodbath Generation
Cowardly Pacifists
Karditan
Carddy

Group D (Aguazul)
The Enornkian Isthmus
Licentiapacisterra
Crosstoon
Montory
Von Kopsho

Group E (Yesopalitha)
Novikov
Fribberdy Gimlets
Radiatia
Planet Irk
Merfurian

Scorination Schedule

Teams in the Yesopalitha Regional will face an RP cutoff at 7PM PST (2AM UTC Day after).

Teams in the Aguazul Regional will face an RP cutoff at 8PM-11PM CST (1AM-4AM UTC Day after).

Tentative Schedule:

Monday, March 12th, 2012 Matchday 1 (2v5 3v4 1 BYE)
Tuesday, March 13th, 2012 Matchday 2 (5v3 1v2 4 BYE)
Wednesday, March 14th, 2012 Matchday 3 (3v1 4v5 2 BYE)
Thursday, March 15th, 2012 Matchday 4 (1v4 2v3 5 BYE)
Friday, March 16th, 2012 Matchday 5 (4v2 5v13 BYE)
Saturday, March 17th, 2012 Scheduled Off Day
Sunday, March 18th, 2012 Play-In Round
Monday, March 19th, 2012 Quarterfinals
Tuesday, March 20th, 2012 Semifinals
Wednesday, March 21st, 2012 3rd Place Match (Yesopalitha)
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012 Championships (Aguazul)

Feel free to start posting Rosters and to start RP'ing. Also, feel free to start collaborating with others - some of the most intriguing RP's come when you work with someone else.

With your roster, please include a style modifier, a number ranging from -5 to 5. This shows whether your team is more focused on attack or defense; teams with high (positive) modifiers will both score more and give up more goals, relatively speaking, while teams with very negative modifiers will tend to score and concede less. If you do not post a modifier or a roster, this will default to zero.

You should also give RP permissions to your opponents, letting them know whether, for instance, they can roleplay about injuries to your players, give your players yellow or red cards, or "godmod" (roleplay in a very unrealistic way).

For examples of information to include in rosters, you can look through the roster thread for the previous World Cup. One sample of a permissions box is:

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers Y/N
Godmod scoring events Y/N
Roleplay injuries to my players Y/N
Godmod injuries to my players Y/N
Hand out yellow cards to my players Y/N
Hand out red cards to my players Y/N
Godmod other events Y/N

Just choose which of these your opponents can or cannot do RPing against you. For more information about these specific labels, check out this link in the World Cup FAQs.

The Baptism of Fire emphasizes roleplaying--writing posts about individual matches or the tournament as a whole. Roleplays, or RPs, could be anything from news articles about a game your team just played to your manager's halftime talks. RPing does not guarantee success, but it will increase your chances of doing well.

Aguazul and Yesopalitha reserve the next two posts for stadia and other relevant information.

Welcome, and may Margaret be with you!

[Yesopalitha]

Welcome to Yesopalitha!

Welcome to the Unbidden Communist Republic of Yesopalitha! We hope you will enjoy your stay here in our nation. Here are the relevant stadia information for the Baptism of Fire:

Group A

Group A will be located in Western Yesopalitha, at the city of Wolvesbane. For every matchday, the first listed match will be held at The Boneyard (Cap. 26,000), a popular stadium used for state championship games in high school. The second match will be hosted by Les Larmes (Cap. 25,124), which the Yesopalithan national team trains in during the off-season.

Group C

Group C's matches will be held in the Capital of Yesopalitha, Freedom's Altar. The first match will be held in The Sacred Heart (Cap. 144,000), the crowning jewel of Yesopalithan sports. The second match of each matchday will be held in La Jumbotron (Cap. 31,200), a place that holds the Yesopalithan Sports Festival every year.

Group E

East Yesopalitha will host Group E. The City of Denal-Ithorn will host the first Match of every Matchday, at The Palace of Past at Present (Cap. 55,000), a stadium built in honor of Tarahal, the White Knight of Denal-Ithorn. The second match will be hosted by the city of Hansbrough at The Turtle Shell (Cap. 44,400).

Playoff venues will be decided at a latter date.

[Aguazul]

¡Bienvenidos a Aguazul!

As you might guess from clicking the blue and green flag, Aguazul is a corrupt military dictatorship. Economic freedom is about the only kind there is, here, despite an obsession with calling ourselves a republic. The government would like to keep a tighter hold on the population, but is too busy fighting doomed wars to actually enforce all its laws. For more information, check out our NSWiki article or ask me.

Most sane people, for very good reason, would not want to visit here (top one percent of the world for most avoided!). However, the government is legitimately trying to be welcoming to the visiting teams, even if they will be called commies/monarchists/other things behind their backs, and won't hold visitors to quite so many laws as they expect from their citizens. Don't commit any violent crimes, but the government has given its word not to arrest foreigners for being strange so long as they leave when the tournament's all done.

Our geography is kind of weird, as far as cities go; the vast majority of cities are in the south central part of the country, and their suburbs have all grown into each other. The result is a huge area known as the "Supercentro," where all of the group stage games will be held.

Estadio Prosperea, Ciudagua (70,000) The country's largest stadium. Its best bathrooms are, men's, first floor, behind the away stands, which have more stalls than usual so you can get in and out quickly, and women's, third deck, behind Timoteo's really smelly barbeque thing.
Estadio Aramis Peralta, Ciudad Peralta (68,000) Named after the national "libertador". Full of fans who really, really love setting stuff on fire.
Estadio Peluque, Ciruelas (40,000) A new stadium for this tournament, which has a retractable roof.
Estadio Valor, Dénprade (38,000) Another new stadium, although far away from the long-abandoned university of Dénprade (the club team that plays there, Universidad de Dénprade, was long ago linked with the school, but we're 32nd Stupidest in the world now so not a lot of university education going on).
Estadio Jodevi, Villago, (35,000) And yet another new stadium. This one is rather multipurpose and will work for lots of different sports, although obviously just football at the moment.
Estadio Paridos, Mapabore (34,000) The site of a Globe Cup final for professional football teams many seasons ago, which prompted us to enter the World Cup once we realized we were mature enough to host more games successfully. Fingers crossed...
Centro Deportivo Nacional, Blén (33,000) Is not, in fact, particularly central for sports in the nation. But don't tell the fans, they're very proud of it.

Group B: first game listed in Mapabore, second game listed in Blén.
Group D: first game listed in Ciruelas, second game listed in Dénprade.
Play-in match: Villago.
Knockout stage information to follow.

Any questions, just telegram me! Good luck to all teams!

[Radiatia]

(OOC: I'm hoping I'm doing this right.)

TEAM RADIATIA:

Style Modifier: +1

Home Kit: Gold shirt with black sleeves and black shorts
Away Kit: Red shirt with gold shorts.

Home Stadium: The national team tends to base itself at the Engel Dome in Das Engel, Amentra - Radiatia's second largest city, and spiritual home to Radiatian Football.

Usual Tactics: Radiatia usually plays in a 3-4-3 formation, however it occasionallyu swaps to 4-4-2 if that doesn't work out for them by the end of the first half.

Staff:

Manager -Hugo Breisacher:
Hugo was selected to manage Radiatia's national team after leading his own team, Jingyurin, to four consecutive victories in the Radiatian Football League (RFL), making them the most successful team in Radiatian football history. It is believed that he will instill the same discipline and techniques into the national team.

Assistant Manager - Isaak Markovic:
Isaak Markovic was a "wild card" choice, as former coach of Polaris. Although he successfully transformed Polaris was a relegation-zone team into a top-tier team in one season, he is often criticised for his bizarre tactics although the hope is that by forming a duo of discipline and creativity, he and Hugo Breisacher can together lead Radiatia to glory.

Starting Players:

GK - Alf Oppenheimer (Drachensgard)
RB - Kaleb Pechaček (Radii City)
CB - Ivan Lieberenz (Exegrad United)
LB - Indiana Sappington (Luntzbusch)
RM - Mykhailo Kohler (Chongluntz State)
CM - Ralf Keir (Das Engel United)
CM - Malachi Simonson (Jingyurin)
LM - Launo Hristov (Jingyurin)
ST - Ross Navrátil (Northern Alayenia)
ST - Semyon Shriver (Amentra State)
ST - Eoin Matveev (Jungyurin)

Bench:

GK - Sanjin Schumacher (FCT Xerconia)
DEF - Davey Meier (Das Engel United)
DEF - Rab Georgeson (Exegrad United)
DEF - Athol Stuber (Northern Alayenia)
MID - Aapeli Booner (Amentra State)
MID - Jep Baker (Radia)
MID - Slava Perko (FCT Xerconia)
MID - Ronny Mlynarik (Drachensgard)
ST - Jáchym Christopher (Mus)
ST - Arata Dixon (Northern Alayenia)
ST - Nigellus Moors (Jingyurin)

RP Permissions:

Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes within reason
RP injuries to my players: No
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes within reason
Hand out red cards to my players: No
Godmod other events: No

(OOC: Sorry if I'm too strict... first time doing this)

[Montory]

Montory Morning

BoF squad announced

The national coach announced today the squad he will be taking to the BoF cup. This being the first international tournament which Montory has qualified for, the eyes of the entire nation were upon the coach's home town of Hincklo, where he held his press conference. He announced the following squad:

Coach: Adam Whitewell
GK: Mark Busnitch
SW: Jimmy Gray
LB: Andre Gerv
CB: Richy Dunne
CB: Paul McGrath (Captian)
RB: Paulo Turb
LM: Stevie Duke
CM: Franko Trent
CM: Sid Jones
RM: Diego Mchuck
ST: Kenny Powers

Subs Bench:
GK: Pier Noir
CB: Calvin Mars
CB: Serbi Reed
LB: Tony Green
RM: Liam Tappin
CM: Adam Peterson
RM: Gary Ives
ST: Max Boxwell
ST: Sam Steinbruck

Whitewell has admitted that playing using a sweeper in a 5-4-1 formation is inviting opposition teams to attack. Some media outlets have already written Montory off becuase of this planned formation and playing style, while Whitewell claims, "We will soak up the pressure of the oppostion and hit them on the counter attack." He also went onto praise Power's and the amazing form he is currently in, "although we're playing the lad (Kenny Powers) upfront on his own, he's so good he counts as two strikers." Captain McGrath was also at the press conference and said he had faith in the coach and his playing style, "we have players good enough to put the ball anywhere on the park, and plus with a sweeper its an insurance policy. If we get anything wrong at the back, its not a disaster as we know that Jimmy (Gray) is there to clean it up for us." The coach did go on to say however that is the 5-4-1 was not working then he was prepaired to change tactics mid-tournament. "We have good enough players on the bench to totally change the formation if need be, but I can't see our system failing." With Montory putting their faith in what some have called an "out dated system" only time will tell who is right, the critics or the coach.



Style Modifer: -3

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod scoring events Y
Roleplay injuries to my players N
Godmod injuries to my players N
Hand out yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out red cards to my players N
Godmod other events Y

[Audioslavia]

Code: Select all

#  Pos Name                  Age    Club                 Born
1   GK Henry Charlestone     34     Silica City          Silexhera
2   CB Cassio Di Rossiverdi  19     Cedrus Soundgardia   Starblaydia
3   LB Gaetano Quagliarella  24     Cedrus Soundgardia   Starblaydia
4   CB 'Ted' (c)             32     Los Riosa Prison     Taeshan
5   CB Delain Colgan         20     Riailia Village      Vilita
6   RB Andre-Luis Particle   19     Unaffiliated         Cafundeu
7   RW Calaexa Jeroen        20     Riailia Village      Turori
8   CM Torsten Ibsen         19     F.K. Ørken Okser     Audioslavia
9   CF Marc Vauvenargues     20     Silica City          Silexhera
10  AM Weverton Spradic      18     Unaffiliated         Cafundeu 
11  LW Mantzio Janssens      18     Sporting Iturributa  Astograth
12  GK Mo McAdam             35     Cedrus Soundgardia   Starblaydia
13  LB Ruven Del Toro        25     Silica City          Silexhera
14  LW Jussi Makkinnen       22     Cedrus Soundgardia   Starblaydia
15  CB Murray Quealie        30     AFC Thistled Ridge   Audioslavia
16  RB Jurk Jaffacake        16     Unaffiliated         Errikesh
17  CF Claudio Monza         24     Cedrus Soundgardia   Starblaydia
18  CM Daniel Cleverly       33     1830 Cathair         Audioslavia
19  CF Xavi-Luis Pantera     22     Silica City          Silexhera
20  CM Mauro Calvino         21     Cerdus Soundgardia   Starblaydia 
21  CM Vava Cezathazacera    18     DDM Dunas Secas      Audioslavia
22  CB Dave Pegg             34     1830 Cathair         Audioslavia     

Formation: 4-4-1-1

                 1
            Charlestone

    6         4     5         3
 Particle    Ted  Colgan Quagliarella
                 
              8
   7        Ibsen                14
 Jeroen             11       Makkinnen
                  Janssens
         10
       Sporadic     9
              Vauvenargues   


Manager: Kelly Sporadic (Silexhera)
Assistant Manager: Abel Tirame (Cafundeu)

Style Modifier - 0

Audioslavia: The Bulls Rejoin the Parade
Audioslavia's presence in the Baptism of Fire tournament is a bit of a strange one. Unlike most of our competitors, Audioslavia has a bit of 'previous' in world football.

Audioslavia's first foray into international football was way back in World Cup 4 (1930 by the Audioslavian calender, which has the first tournament being played in 1918 and the next one, World Cup 59, in the future-tastic 2150), taking part in the qualifiers and earning a berth in the World Cup finals, bowing out in the second round.

Since then, the 'Slaves (The true origins of the nickname 'Slaves' has been lost to time, but a popular theory states that the term 'Slavers', a shortening of the term 'slave drivers' and a pun on the 'slavering' drool of a hungry beast, was shortened as an ironic nod to former collonial overlords and neighbours Lemmitania. A reclaiming of a word, if you will) qualified for every World Cup bar one between World Cup 4 and World Cup 29, reaching the final on four occasions and losing every time. Audioslavia hosted World Cup 7 alongisde Lemmitania, and World Cup 25 alongside Kaze Progressa.

Audioslavia were also the inaugral winners of the Under 21 World Cup (now known as the 'Di Bradini Cup') and was home to the 'Jeremy Jaffacake Invitational Trophy', a tournament commemorating 100 years of the World Cup. This 'Jeremy Jaffacake' character is one that most football afficionados will be familiar with. Jeremy, a two-bit Audioslavian journalist, has been a fixture of international football for hundreds of years (his ability to remain alive for this time is not a mystery: Not only does has he been known to take advantage of his home in the 'Dreamed Realms' and its slower time in comparison the rest of the world, but its a well documented fact that, simply, time moves slower in a plot hole. Jeremy is infamous for being somewhat foul-mouthed and jingoistic, a love/hate figure in tabloid journalism. He is an opportunist, a practitioner in the art of one-upmanship and, at times, a machiavellian schemer. However, whule he may share the occasional insight of a Sherlock Holmes and the cold, calculating malevolence of a Moriarty, he has never quite been cunning or intelligent enough to truly win out over his foes. In recent years he has taken a low-key job at Krytenia's 'Emberton Post' broadsheet and has noticeably calmed over the years, but it is surely only a matter of time before he goes back to his old ways...

Old Audioslavia's disappearance from the international football scene supposedly coincided with a devastating civil war in the country. Nothing at all is known of this conflict other than what it left behind. Audioslavia was a huge, sprawling nation home to billions upon billions of citizens (think of a nation the size of Mongolia, but with the population larger than China), but is now mostly an irradiated, arid desert. One hundred or so years after the conflict there are, however, signs of life. The city of Cathair survived relatively in tact and is home to 200,000 citizens. There are population centres in the Sierra Herradura as well as some signs of civilisation in the south of the country.

Modern Audioslavia decided to enter World Cup 59 in an attempt to recapture those youthful days. The nation wears the same colours as that of their ancestors - the instantly recognisable claret and green stripes - and takes on their old nickname of 'The Bulls' ('Slaves' having been dropped around the time of World Cup 20), but has only a meagre talent pool to chose from, no world ranking and zero status in the world of modern football - hence our appearance in the Baptism of Fire cup.

Audioslavia will be seen as favourites for the competition by virtue of being one of the only recognisable names in the tournament, but those in the know, - those who have seen the shoddy condition of our players - will know it isn't quite so simple.

Most of the players on the Audioslavian roster are amateurs, or journeymen, or has-beens or never-will-be's, with only a couple of exceptions. Cafunuese-born Weverton Sporadic has been on the books at a couple of lower-league teams in Cafundeu, while Mantzio Janssens is regarded as something of a hot prospect in his home nation of Astograth. Defenders Colgan and Particle, and striker Marc Vauvenargues, are seen as possible diamonds amidst the rough, but whether they can live up to the expectations remains to be seen.

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod scoring events Y
Roleplay injuries to my players Y
Godmod injuries to my players N
Hand out yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out red cards to my players Y
Godmod other events Y (if funny)

[Licentiapacisterra]

Licentiapacisterra Lions

Kits:

Home Kit – White shirt with a blue star on each shoulder, Blue shorts, White socks
Away Kit – Blue shirt with a white star on each shoulder, White shorts, White socks

Manager – Tom Lucan:
Tom Lucan is one of the best football managers in Licentiapacisterra. He led the Montfort Wanderers from obscurity to being one of the best teams in the country, and has been hired as the national team manager to make Licentiapacisterra known in the world of football. He is known for his slightly strange tactics, with the 4-5-1 Umbrella known to be his favourite.

Starting Lineup:

GK – Nathan Gardiner (C) – 37 years
LB – Toby Bishop – 17 years
CB – Gordon Harrison – 32 years
CB – Billy Walters – 23 years
RB – Ellis Sanders – 29 years
DM – Louis Atkinson – 26 years
LW – Lewis Naylor – 19 years
RW – Jacob Patterson – 21 years
AM – Ben Miller – 27 years
AM – Lewis Hunter – 22 years
CF – Dylan Knight – 25 years

Bench Players:

GK – Alex Stewart – 18 years
CB – Harvey Morrison – 22 years
FB – Joe Long – 31 years
DM – Nate Parkinson – 19 years
W – Lewis Slater – 24 years
AM – Elliot Hayward – 30 years
CF – Jack Kerr – 33 years

Style Modifier - +1

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers - Yes
Godmod scoring events - TG me
Roleplay injuries to my players - Nothing serious
Godmod injuries to my players - No
Hand out yellow cards to my players - Yes
Hand out red cards to my players - No
Godmod other events - TG me

Tom Lucan was nervous. Not only was he preparing for the biggest game of his career, Licentiapacisterra's Baptism of Fire opener against Von Kopsho, he had been called into the Grand Duke's palace, something that only usually happened when you were about to have your head cut off for treason.
He sat down and waited for the Grand Duke. He was bricking it, to use a turn of phrase. Just then, the Licentiapacisterran monarch arrived in a flurry of trumpets. He sat down and spoke.
"You need to win this tournament, Tom. You have an amazingly talented team out there, that some of the other coaches would kill for. You can win this tournament, and I expect you to. Licentiapacisterra must become a power in the sporting world."
With that, the Grand Duke left, in the same flurry of trumpetry as before. Tom breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, he had to win the tournament, but at least he hadn't been executed...

[Audioslavia]

The AOCAF - the regional football tournament for Atlantian Oceania - had been over for a week. Audioslavia, in their first international tournament since World Cup 29 - all of 117 years ago - had made a decent enough showing, somehow managing to shock the favourites with a 1-0 win, before scraping enough points of their next four games for a respectable mid-table finish. That tournament, however, was simply a dress-rehearsal for the real thing: The World Cup. Nationstates' oldest and most prestigious football tournament. Rejoining after such a long hiatus meant elligibility for the ]i]Baptism of Fire[/i] tournament; a tournament Jeremy Jaffacake wanted, nay, demanded Audioslavia win.
"The world will be expecting it" he had told Kelly Sporadic, Audioslavia's choice for manager of the new national team. "Look at the rest of the entrants for the B.o.F. Recognise any of the nanes?"
"Well of course not. That's the whole point of the tournament, Jeremy"
"Aye, but we've got that advantage. Everyone knows who we are. We're the Bulls, the Slaves, the Claret and Green Machine, Los Toros Marron de le Dunas Secas. The earliest surviving footage of the inaugral World Cups? Its of us. WC9 Spaamgate scandal that changed the face of the sport? We were there. Rejistania reveal Karela to a world audience? It was against us. The 25th World Cup final? it was held in our very own Silver Jubilee stadium. Starblaydia's first triumph? Same day. The cup's 100th anniversary was celebrated with a tournament held by Audioslavia, in Audioslavia and won by Audioslavia. We helped make Football the game it is today. We're a name. People will be expecting us to win", Jeremy had said. Kelly had waited patiently for the old crone to reach his point.
"Jeremy, what you just said was the biggest crock of shit I've ever heard" said Kelly. "No-one calls you the Claret and Green machine. In fact, if I remember correctly, the phrase was Claret and Green must Never be Seen. Oh, and that's the first time I've ever heard the term Toros de le Dunas Secas. You just made that up on the spot, didn't you? World Cup 4 has the earliest surviving footage of football games, but most of it isn't of your team at all, and barely anyone remembers who Rejistania were playing in that final, the name 'Audioslavia' having been usurped by the Rejistanian tactical terms 'Karela', 'Taqil', 'Jenji' and the like in the popular football lexicon. Oh, and as for hosting the World Cups? You were picked because you had decent sized stadiums and people liked your co-bidders' country. No one actually wanted to go to Audioslavia..."
"That's because they knew we'd beat them" interrupted Jeremy. "And in any case, what does it matter if you go through my every point and try to pick it apart? The fact remains: The football world will be expecting a strong performance from us."
"Not those who've seen us play, of course..." Kelly had retorted. He was right. He was manager of the national team and even he would have to admit that, with Audioslavia's small talent pool and 'foreign legion' of overseas players with apparent Audioslavian backgrounds, he had very little to play with in terms of talent.

That conversation had been two days ago, before Jeremy had flown out to Krytenia with a view to making his way to the Baptism of Fire tournament four days afterwards. He had, finally, been given a work-space at the Emberton Post for when he wasn't wearing his 'ambassador for the Football Federation of Audioslavia' hat, and was visiting for a couple of days to get himself bedded into his new desk.

On the evening of his second day in Krytenia, he met up with one Rubio Sanchez for coffee (or wine, for Jeremy). Rubio was a young, keen, earnest sports reporter for the Post. The two had met at the World Cup 58 finals and Jeremy had taken the young journo under his wing, teaching him everything he could, from reporting and feature-writing to lockpicking and bribery; everything a decent journalist should know. It helped also that the kid was smart, It had been Rubio whom had called Jeremy during the Cafundeu game and suggested the tactical change that, eventually, won Audioslavia the match. The guy obviously had a football brain, and ifthere was one thing Jeremy liked picking it was the brain of someone clever. Followed by his own nose.

"So, are you going with the same formation as the AOCAF?" Rubio said, taking a sip of his coffee.
"I've heard tell of us being a bit more offensive, actually.." said Jeremy
"I didn't think you could be more offensive"
"Oh, I can, Rubie, I can..." Jeremy said, in a line that drew the imagination close to places it very much did not want to be.
"I'm sure, but the formation..?"
"4-4-2, or thereabouts" said Jeremy. "We'll still haive have Sporadic Junior and Marc Vauvenargues up front, but we'll have a diamond midfield. More like a 4-1-3-1-1, really, but that just looks silly on paper"
"Good" said Rubio, "those overly-defensive tactics are what cost you in the Atlantian Oceania Cup last month". Jeremy folded his arms and smiled wrily at his colleague.
"You like 'attacking' football, don't you Rubie?"
"I just think, y'know, it's how the game should be played. The crowd wants to see goals. I want to see goals."
"That's kind of the point" said Jeremy, drawing a frown from Rubio, "attacking football.. it's a very... Krytenian thing to do. Very Atlantian Ocreanian. Look at Starblaydia and Vilita and those kinds of teams. It's all very foreign". Rubio looked confused.
"Foreign?"
"Yeah. And before you start, I appreciate that implying Karelan tactics is in any way Audioslavian is laughable, but it's just the way we Audioslavians think. We have to be different. Go against the grain. We liked being a big old isolationist country, back in the old days. We liked being gargantuan and well-off, and a bit bolschy, a bit arrogant, defensive, speaking our own weird languages, or Anglo or Hispanic with strange accents and refusing to change"
"But why?"
"It's just the way we are, son, just the way we are"

The old hack swilled the remaining few ounces of wine round his glass and necked it with a satisfied burp. He raised his left hand and gave it a *click*, beckoning the waitress over. Rubio you looked horrified.
"Jeremy! That's... that's considered rude over here, man. Clicking your fingers at a waitress like that. I know you Audioslavians like to be 'different' but still..."
"Oh, this is frowned upon in Audioslavia, too" replied Jeremy.
"So.. why do it?"
"Watch". The waitress came to the table wearing an annoyed frown.
"You don't need to click your fingers, sir, she said, spitting the word sir like it was burning a hole in her tongue.
"Oh I know," replied Jeremy, "I just wanted to see if I could make you come with two fingers. More wine, please, red for me and white for my friend, here"
Rubio was too busy desperately suppressing a laugh to correct Jeremy on his choice of drink. Normally, beahviour like this from a colleague would cause a serious amount of disappointment or dissent in Rubio, but coming from the old man... it just seemed like part of the parcel. He allowed himself to make an annoyed "Tsk" sound that Jeremy ignored. The waitress, who had walked briskly away from the table as soon as Jeremy had said his ridiculous, offensive line, came back very quickly with two full glasses and a knowing smile.
"One glass of white for the young gentleman, and one glass of red for you. Enjoy" she said, before walking away.
"I'll wager" said Rubio, "that your glass of red has a small lashing of... let's see, spit, or something altogether worse.."
"I wouldn't take that bet, because I'm sure you're right" said Jeremy, taking the glass of white wine from in front of Rubio and pouring a good finger and a half down his throat.
"Hey.."
"I didn't actually buy this for you, Rubie" said Jeremy, putting the glass back down. "You've got your coffee, and you said you don't drink before six in the evening, wet behind the ears as you are. The 'probably adulterated' wine is for someone else". Jeremy leaned over and, subtly, got the attention of a different waitress by the ancient semaphore of eyebrow-waggling and head-nodding. The waitress came over. "I just ordered the glass of red, madam" began Jeremy, doing his best impression of a winning smile. Rubio had to admit it was a good one. A good honest smile was a valuable weapon in the armoury of the average journalist. "..only, I had meant it to be given to the lady on table twelve, over there, by the window. A present, if you will. I was wondering if, unless you're busy, you could give it to her, with my compliments of course..."
"Certainly sir!" beamed the waitress, her smile partly through her pleasure at being party to such a warm gesture, but partly due to a bemusement at witnessing the courtship rituals of the old man. She took the wine and made her way to the table by the window.
"What are you doing?" Rubio hissed at Jeremy, leaning forward and trying to catch Jeremy's eye which was firmly planted first on the arse of the waitress and then at the woman in the window. She looked to be about forty-five, maybe fifty, primly dressed, fairly tall for a lady at about five-foot nine and had, twenty minutes earlier, arrived to the cafe wearing a long, plain, chocolate-brown designer coat, which was now folded and hanging from the window-sill next to the chair opposite hers.
"Just.. just something I need to do. Holy my seat, will you?"
"What? Where are you going? You're not going to..."
"I'm not going anywhere for, ooh, fourteen seconds yet. Be patient.."
The woman gave the waitress a confused glance. The wairess began speaking. The woman at the table looked at the glass of red, and then across the room. She saw Jeremy looking across at her, raising his glass into the air and giving her his 'winning' smile. The woman smiled, shyly, and turned away demurely, thanking the waitress, who walked away with an embarassed smile.
"Fourteen seconds" said Jeremy, who got out of his seat, taking his glass of white with him over to the lady's table.
Rubio was glad he had his back to that particular table, and set about staring at his coffee with as much concentration as he could muster. He heard a polite, female giggle from behind him and, for the first time in his life, Rubio honestly wished he hadn't any ears. Or an imagination. Oh god, he thought, Hexagenarian hanky-panky... rustling... folds.. oh god Rubio STOP THINKING. Naked middle-aged tomfoolery. RUBIO STOP IT. THINK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT ISN'T QUITE SO HARROWING. Animal cruelty, child soldiers, the continued misrepresentation of the views of minorities in popular right-wing media, Jeremy Jaffacake naked, nuclear holocaust, manifest destiny, exploitation of the working classes during recession, Jeremy Jaffacake naked oh GOD..
Rubio heard a sound behind him. He almost thanked the lord it wasn't the sound of more middle-aged flirting before he realised it was the sound of a barrage of expletives in an upper class mid-Krytenian accent. He turned to see the woman storm out of the cafe. Jeremy was smiling a peturbingly maniacle smile, and appeared to be covered in white wine. Rubio caught his eye and tried to mouth a quick 'What the heck?!' to him. Jeremy beckoned Rubio over.
"I got us a better table" the Audioslavian said. "Right by the window. And it comes with a bonus too."
"What? and... what?"
"It is a very, very nice coat. I mean, it's a woman's coat but, look, it's really plain, no frills, and I like the colour and she's about the same height as me. Long, flowing, swooping, it's perfect!"
"You... Jeremy... I don't understand". Rubio certainly didn't. He was looking at Jeremy as if the Audioslavian had just tried to tell him the moon was actually a mile wide and reachable with a big stick.
"What's there to understand? We have a better table and this lady's coat. Granted, I am now covered in white wine, but I got my own back"
"Through... through stealing the woman's coat?"
"No, no I was always going to steal the coat. I got my own back by having the waitress spit in her drink. I made sure she drank at least half of it before she left. A little feng-shui and table-manipulation and I ensured the only wine poured over me would be mine. Hence why I bought white wine. Doesn't stain like red."
"She's probably going to come back and look for her coat, you know, once she's calmed down... we should really get going, Jeremy"
"Nonsense. You haven't finished your coffee. If she comes back I'll say the staff put it behind the counter for her"
"And then?"
"And then the staff will ask about her unpaid bill, and while they keep her busy we'll make a run for it, leaving a note saying 'thanks for taking care of the bill, Maude. Maude is her name."
A waitress approached. Rubio hoped she hadn't overheard the words 'make a run for it'.
"Is.. is everything OK sirs?"
"Yes, absolutely fine m'lady. The lady here just had to pop out to 'powder her nose', or whatever it is that ladies of 'social standing' do. Would we, perchance, be able to order another glass of red wine and, for my friend here, another... what was it?"
"Jeremy, I really think..."
"Another cappuccino. Thankyou very much m'lady"
"You.. your face is wet, sir"
"Yes, indeed it is. Hopefully the lady will be bringing some of that powder back with her. I have a notoriously poor complexion."
The waitress departed with a hesistant 'o...k..'. Rubio spent the next minute and a half giving Jeremy the most incredulous stare he could. Jeremy ignored it, simply smiling to himself and occasionally mopping wine from his collar. The waitress returned with a glass of red and another coffee. Rubio plunged a spoon in and stirred it, absent mindedly.
"Have you always been like this, Jeremy?"
"For as long as I remember. I proved my worth as a sneaky, slippery, manipulative bastard a long, long time ago. I was offered a job at the old Caylderden Flame as a result."
"As a result of what?2
"That, my friend, is a story for another time. We've got, by my watch, about ten minutes until the lady returns looking for her coat. How much do you reckon this bill comes to?"
"Oh, Jeremy, we aren't going to leave her with our bill, are we?"
"Why not?"
"Because it's dishonest"
"So?"
"And we've already stolen her coat"
"We, eh?"
"I mean You"
"With you as an accomplice, Rubie. I tell you, if I'm going to the chair for this pre-mediated overcoat-larceny I'll make sure you fry with me"
"I'm serious, Jeremy, and you made sure she drank someone else's spit, I mean, these are very messed up things to do to a person, let alone a complete stranger."
"Her fault for sitting in this window seat. I like this table."
"So you poisoned her, ensured she'd be cold on her way home because she undoubtedly will have no change for a bus by the time she pays for our drinks, on the basis that her act of sitting on a table in a cafe was forbidden by the arbitrary rules of a complete lunatic?"
"She won't have any money at all" said Jeremy, rifling through the pockets of the coat, "this is her purse". Jeremy opened the purse.
"Right, f*** this, I'm leaving. You are one messed up sonofa..."
"Relax, relax Rubio, relax. Sit down. Come on, sit down." Rubio, who had stood up and almost kicked his chair away in disgust, leant over and put both palms on the table in front of Jeremy, looking him squarely in the eye.
"You take that purse and you put it behind the counter, for the lady to collect when she comes back. You do that, or you can make damn sure I'll... I'll..."
"You'll?"
"I'll do something. OK? I haven't thought of it yet, but I'll do something. You won't like it." Jeremy smiled a warm, friendly smile. He gave Rubio a pat on the arm and, again, asked him to sit down.
"So, there's the line, eh? That's where your morals are? That's good, Rubio, shows you aren't a sociopath, although I think it's fair to say that most people would have wanted to stop at the point I tried to give her contaminated wine, let alone stealing her coat, table and making her pay for our bill"
"I wasn't happy with any of that!"
"No, but you were going to go along with it, weren't you? You were going to make it absolutely clear to me that you stood on the moral high ground, that you didn't agree with what I was doing, and you'd chastise me for it for a number of days, but you'd have gone along with it all the same. Not only was it exciting, it also saved you a few quid and, in any case, she's obviously rich, how is she going to miss a coat she can replace easily?" Jeremy gave Rubio an empathetic smile. "It's good to know how far you can push yourself, not to mention how far someone else can push you. You're a good kid, Rubio, but to get ahead in this game, to get the stories you need, when you need them, before any of the other hacks have had a sniff, you need to be ruthless. It's not enough to just be clever, you have to be a clever bastard. That's why everyone knows who Jeremy Jaffacake is."
"Everyone hates Jeremy Jaffacake. Your public standing is two notches below Judas and Brutus and one above Satan himself."
"The people that matter, though, people like you and your bosses, know how useful I am, though. They make sure I get paid the big-bucks and, in return, I act as a bastard in their favour."
"That's not how I want to be"
"Then that's not how you will be. I made this decision and only regret it once every few years or so."
Rubio finished the last of his coffee and nodded towards Jeremy's half-full wine.
"Can we go now?"
"Sure" replied Jeremy, finishing off his own drink with a satisfied gulp. "I'll just go and pay"
"Oh, so you're paying now, are you?" said Rubio, slinging his jacket over his shoulder and standing up.
"That's what I'm going to make you believe, yes". Jeremy stood up, put the woman's coat over his shoulder and, her purse in hand, walked up to the counter. Rubio watched as Jeremy handed the purse over and pointed outside. The waitress nodded, Jeremy left. Rubio followed quickly behind.
"You didn't pay, did you?"
"Nope. Told them the lady was coming back to pay, and that she'd left her purse as collateral." Jeremy smiled at his colleague. Excersises like this did tend to test the friendship they'd built up over the past twelve months, but Jeremy saw it as necessary to Rubio's development as a professional. One thing was sure; he'd need to keep an eye on the young Krytenian if he began learning too much. If there was anything he'd learnt from the movies, is that if the apprentice protagonist wants to usurp his evil master, chances are he will.
"I have a confession to make" said Rubio.
"The teaspoon, You stole it"
"I.. didn't think you saw"
"I did. I was strangely touched. I saw it as a flattering homage"
"It wasn't. I just keep losing my teaspoons at home"
"Sure you do"
"They.. I dunno, they get chewed up by the dishwasher or something"
"Sure they do"
"I'm.. I'm not like you."
"Sure you aren't"

[Ajaundar]

Ajaundar Football Association Squad to the 46th Baptism of Fire
(Bold is the name they're known as)

Goalkeeper: Lúcio Flávio Elías Zamorano de Christeas
Shirt Number: 1 Club: AS La Coruna Age: 21

Rght Back: Celestino Teódulo Desidério San Nicolas
Shirt Number: 3 Club: Layabana Age: 18

Centre Back: Felipe Domingo Rosendo Lopez
Shirt Number: 12 Club: Layabana Age: 17

Right Back: Cosme Zezé Ambrosio Magalhães
Shirt Number: 8 Club: Pan Alta ASFC Age: 19

Left Midfield: Leoncio Guilherme Ricardo D'cruz
Shirt Number: 7 Club: AS La CorunaAge: 18

Centre Midfield: Fito Pepe Teódulo Veríssimo Duarte
Shirt Number: 13 Club: Layabana Age: 16

Right Midfield: Tomás Rodolfo Jorge Aritza
Shirt Number: 19 Club: Barcãlona Age: 20

Attacking Midfield: Maximiano Severo Diego Gonzalez Ronaldinho
Shirt Number: 9 Club: Pan Alta ASFCAge: 17

Left Striker: León Jerônimo Goyo Maxi Alves
Shirt Number: 11 Club: Barcãlona Age: 19

Centre Striker: Marcos Santos Felipe Busto
Shirt Number: 8 Club: AS La Coruna Age: 16

Right Striker: Augusto Geraldinho Sereando Pepe
Shirt Number: 30 Club: Olivierás Age: 17

Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod scoring events Y
Roleplay injuries to my players Y (be reasonable)
Godmod injuries to my players N
Hand out yellow cards to my players Y (max 5)
Hand out red cards to my players Y (max 1)
Godmod other events Y

[Lukquarel]

Lukquarel will be playing a 4-1-3-2 Formation.

Starting Lineup:
GK: Rêsi Jsennen
LB: Pastil Weun (Captain)
LCB: Garte Ēimally
RCB: Andrēas Kórt
RB: Zach Diev
Stopper: Vorduī Porutter

LM: Rolando Lyup
CM: Demetri Széuréùr
RM: Avrûs Cayh

LW: Semme Vab
RW: Casey Hyatt

Subs
GK: Orōrallyé Juye
RCB: Fyeárs Quarn
RM: Sam Dros
CM: Curraj Eāillo
LW: Jason Tadding

Head Coach: Ghōruyt Neë
Asst. Coach: Laks Eúrundo

Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes
Roleplay injuries: Yes
Godmod Injuries: Yes
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes (max 5)
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes (max 1)
Godmod other events: Yes

[Fribberdy Gimlets]

Goalkeepers
1. Mr. Tickles the third
12. Cuddles

Defenders
2. Little Jimmy Greaves
3. Mr. Pickles
4. Pancake
5. Bibble McDunk
13. Dumpsy
14. Tin-Tin

Midfielders
6. Zebby-Peddy-Doo-Dah
7. Carrots the third
8. Timmy in the bag
9. Tiny Todds
15. Little Geoff
16. Blubby

Forwards
10. Gherkin
11. Donald Gump
17. Worzel gummidge
18. Little Forrest Gump

SO Fribberdy Gimlets have entered the BoF, probably not a wise choice. For one thing there are only 277 people in the country, and a lot of them live on remote islands streaming off of the main group, some islands only have one house on them. In fact one is like 10 meters by ten meters and is inhabited by a man in a tent who spends his life shouting at passing shipping for a living. So basically it is very difficult to get a team together, however the Capionato Esportiva squad is still there minus Muffin who caught a kidney disease and had to be put down. He was replaced by Zeeby-Peeby-Doo-Dah, a young human who is noted for his participation in promoting the rabbity-conservatives, headed by honorable President Hibby-Jurk-Jurk and helping them crush the rabbity-liberals (also headed by Hibby-Jurk-Jurk). So on we head for the baptism of fire, where the humans hope to earn their carrots. Now you can either carry on watching for a political debate between president Hibby-Jurk-Jurk and Governor Hibby-Jurk-Jurk, or if you've realised your living in an Orwellian dictatorship put jeans on your head and stick socks in your ears and jump in the sea!

Novikov
Fribberdy Gimlets
Radiatia
Planet Irk
Merfurian

[Blackbone Bay]

The Blackbone Bay National Football Team

Style: +2

Manager - Granny O'Male
So the pirates of Blackbone Bay have discovered that playing football is a great pastime for their idle periods on shore, and have been intending to put together their best to play in an international tournament for quite a long time. It was only recently pointed out to them that settling things via armed duel was perhaps not the best idea, however, and they then turned to the venerable Granny O'Male, widely regarded as the most knowledgeable non-player of the game amongst all the pirate crews. Though she's old and wrinkly and spends all her days on dry land now, she's still very smart, quick and ruthless, playing a daring 4-2-3-1 formation. For the first-ever national team, at the inaugural Campionato Esportiva, she gathered the best crew captains from across the loose nation and made them play together, which yielded some surprisingly good results as Blackbone Bay finished fourth in the region. Now they've signed up for the World Cup and will be looking to start off their campaign with a bang at the Baptism of Fire. Probably a literal bang too, since the crewmates cheering for the team might well bring their cannons to the stands...

Starting XI:

GK - Blue Bart Robson - Age 38 - Final Fortune
Hugely successful pirate,which by Blackbone Bay standards means he's plundered maybe three or four ships in his lifetime. Due to this, Blue Bart lives a fanciful lifestyle, and was definitely chosen as keeper for his impeccable eyesight (no patches!) and not for his reluctance to muddy his gloves.

LB - Etzar Ituraitz - Age 23 - Larken
An Astograthian pirate from what was once a major haven in the Modraine Sea, Etzar hasn't been anywhere near his homeland in years. Rather short but left-handed and a very fast runner, so he was a natural choice for the difficult position of left-back.

CB - Yaruj of the Red Beard - Age 29 - Paradise Lost
A boulder of a man with a giant red beard and older brother of Haradin, he was chosen for his size and brute strength. He may not be talented, but he is menacing enough to intimidate all but the bravest of strikers and is not above getting in a low blow when the referee isn't looking. Or even when he is - when his anger mounts there's not much else he cares about.

CB - Haradin of the Red Beard - Age 25 - Royal Grace
Younger sibling of Yaruj, he is smaller in size and temper and doesn't actually have that much of a red beard - the name stuck when he was his brother's first mate. Smarter and more tactically minded than his centre-back partner, though it is [i]very[/i] hard to relay orders to teammates who have all probably tried to kill you once or twice before.

RB - Jimmy Narwhal - Age 31 - The Steel Breeze
Hailing from the frozen realm of Polar Islandstates, Jimmy Narwhal is the fiercest pirate to ever captain an icebreaker. In that at least he sets himself apart from his teammates - his ship is a more modern engine-powered vessel, and he scoffs at the notion of continuing to use the wooden frigates of his circumstancial comrades. His skill with the ball is above average, which means he can play as a versatile right-back.

DM – Rutherford "Silver-Eyes" Bromleigh - Age 23 - The Modraine Marauders
Captain of one of the most feared ships prowling the Modraine Sea, Silver-Eyes hails from Civil Citizenry. Ironically, he is neither very civil nor a citizen of any nation other than the defiantly independent (if anarchic) Blackbone Bay. Can recover the ball better than he can keep it, but pirate pride will probably see him doing the latter more than the former.

DM - Steve Boddet - Age 39 - Gentleman's Caper
Unusual in that he was already well over thirty when he chose to become a pirate, to escape from the dreadfully boring life of the upper class. Talented and spirited, but age sees him relegated to a less technical role as one of the 'water-carriers'. He may look like a pansy, with his powdered wig and pastel dress clothes, but he is as ruthless a pirate as they come.

LM - María Reda - Age 28 - Herradura
Maríah has dressed and acted like a man her whole life, which has proven vital to her survival in the man's world that is piracy. Captured by corsairs, she was mistaken for a boy and allowed to join the crew; years later she commands her own ship and can put any decent right-back to shame with her darting runs down the wing.

RM - Ana Bonía - Age 21 - Venganza
Ana ran away with her pirate boyfriend as a teenager, and adapted amazingly well to the cutthroat lifestyle. So well, in fact, she did away with her boyfriend and became captain of his vessel. Fast, agile and not afraid of anything, an excellent winger who has also forged a strong friendship with María Reda, the only other woman on the team.

AM - Chang Paosai - Age 26 - Forbidden Treasure
A fisherman turned pirate, Chang is the team's playmaker and most technically talented player. Capable of dribbling, passing and shooting with equal skill, he is truly one to watch out for - when he isn't trying to steal anything and everything worth more than a couple of pieces-of-eight of course. On second thought, that may actually be the best time to watch out for him...

CF - Eddie Blackbeard (C) - Age 36 - Concord
He may not be the most gifted player, but Eddie's the captain of captains. There's no arguing that, as several men learned too late, lead or steel already stuck in their bellies. The most feared pirate in all of Blackbone Bay, Eddie Blackbeard is, physically, a beast of a man who boasts a real poacher's instinct and a thunderous right boot. All-in-all a good-natured guy most of the time, but questioning him or his status is a death sentence.

There are no substitutes. Ship captains wouldn't agree to sit on the bench, and the starting line wouldn't agree to being on the same team with someone of lesser rank. So they'll just carry on with peglegs, crutches or pure iron will if necessary...

Colours
The home kit of Blackbone Bay, as modelled by Deckhand Barry, consists entirely of unbleached calico, with the away kit being the same in black. Some players may also be inclined to wear their own hats, eyepatches and firearms to the pitch.



YES to all RP permissions. Should you need any information about Blackbone Bay don't hesitate to TG me or my master nation Astograth.

[Karditan]

The Karditan Robber Barons, as shown by its name, is a team of crooks. Soccer is illegal in Karditan and very few Kards have even heard of the World Cup, much less the Baptisim of Fire. The only real practitioners of the "sport" (blech) are criminals already on the lam, and it's mostly used as a way to gain underground connections as well as a way to bring together like-minded people (and some ponies. The occasion goat, as well.) The work of Silveen Eleco (see below) brought this team together and will take them out onto the international stage; they are banking on the extreme ignorance of soccer in Karditan to keep this undertaking under wraps domestically.

Starting 11:

GK- Emanuel Portico. One of the most successful petty thieves in all of Karditan, he is incredibly agile and specializes in predicting the movements of adversaries. This helps tremendously in stopping shots, espicially PKs.

DL- Left Wing. A Pegasus hitman who's wanted on several charges of vandalism and arson, suspected of using small tornados and lightning to destroy the rival businesses of his clients.

DLC- Dorian Berard. One of Wing's clients, Berard runs Hardcore Cola, Karditan's leading soda distributor (at least since Popsi Cola's headquarters mysteriously burned down.)

DRC- Carnac Carson. The biggest personality in Karditinian crime, Carnac is the guy you go to when you need a hookup. Everyone who is anyone has grabbed a beer with him at one point or another.

DR- Ivory Hilt. A freedom fighter from Vashameer, a county on the disputed border between Karditan and the semi-autonomous state of Ibex, he's actually most famous as the finest goat model; his horns are nothing short of magnificent. However, his fame hasn't stopped him from personally leading the resistance movement to officially sever Ibex from Karditan and take Vashameer with it.

ML- Pierre Le'viore. Runs the largest brothel in Sinsinatti, which isn't illegal by itself, but also traffics incredible amounts of 'hard stuff' below the floorboards. Considering Karditan is pretty lax when it comes to drugs, that's saying something.

MC- Gordan Blaire. A disgraced politician who commited the ultimate sin; accepted bribes from foreign countries. Karditinian officials are only supposed to take bribes from domestic corporations and local interest groups. He was governor of Fillydelphia for seven years before the scandal broke.

MR- Sweet Swing. The one member of the Robber Barons who isn't actually a criminal, Swing is the daughter of famous Karditinian golfer Tyre McIron. She has some suspicions about her teammates, but doesn't have enough proof to draw any conclusions.

FL- Billy the Kid. A young ibex who has been terrorizing the loosely-settled western territories of Karditan. He's been running around with a six-shooter robbing everypony blind, and he's taking a break to compete with the Robber Barons as all of his usual targets have smartened up, hiring more guards and installing bulletproof glass.

FC- Silveen Eleco. The Man in Karditan. He runs Eleco Industries, Karditan's largest electronics company. He inherited the moderately-sized business from his father, Sylvester, and grew it to enoromous proportions with brilliant economics and some underhanded business practices. He organized the Robber Barons and put together their entry into the World Cup and Baptism of Fire.

FR- Korzado. One of the few Zebras in Karditan, Korzado runs the Illineigh Mafia. His influence can be found in almost every succesful business venture in Illineigh, as well as many in Detrot and Sinsinatti. A legion of all types of creatures serve him, and he might be the only thing richer than Eleco in Karditan- but he doesn't flaunt his wealth like Eleco does. Almost all of it is re-invested, whether in businesses or bribes.

Manager- Sucker Punch. A unicorn who's special ability is illusions of the nefarious kind, Punch is a stragetic genius who plans to bring Karditan to the top. He runs the most successful corporate advertising/propaganda firm in Fillydelphia.

Subs:
(Mostly petty criminals, murderers, and Korzado's henchmen. No parenthesis following a name indicates humanity.)

GK- Kroze (Zebra)
D- Mark Cheez
D- Jack Howitzer
D- Pick Pocket (Unicorn)
D- John Bum
M- Lightning Heart (Buffalo)
M- Ron Ferret
M- Rain Out (Pegasus)
F- Mario Cansetta
F- Hired Hoof (Earth Pony)
F- Lawrence Arabia

Style Mod: -2.5

RPing preferences:
Choose my goalscorers: Y
Godmod scoring events: Y
Roleplay injuries to my players: N
Godmod injuries to my players: N
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Y
Hand out red cards to my players: Y
Godmod other events: Y

[Planet Irk]

Roster
Style Modifier: +2

Starting XI:
Goalkeeper - Lurdge - #1 - Male - Irk Age 17(Earth Age≈169)

Right Back - Mot - #2 - Male - Irk Age 17(Earth Age≈169)

Center Back - Raze - #4 - Female - Irk Age 17(Earth Age≈169)

Center Back - Kor - #5 - Male - Irk Age 15(Earth Age≈149)

Left Back - Zek - #13 - Male - Irk Age 13(Earth Age≈129)

Center Defensive Midfielder - Fuu - #6 - Female - Irk Age 15(Earth Age≈149)

Right Midfielder - Rin - #7 - Male - Irk Age 15(Earth Age≈149)

Center Attacking Midfielder - Mez - #10 - Male - Irk Age 16(Earth Age≈159)

Left Midfielder - Aya - #8 - Female - Irk Age 12(Earth Age≈119)

Right Forward - Jin - #9 - Female - Irk Age 14(Earth Age≈139)

Left Forward - Tantor - #11 - Male - Irk Age 16(Earth Age≈159)

Substitutes:
Goalkeeper - Ririn - #12 - Male - Irk Age 16(Earth 159)

Right Back - Yooj - #3 - Female - Irk Age 16(Earth Age≈159)

Center Back Thar - #15 - Male - Irk Age 14(Earth Age≈139)

Center Defensive Midfielder - Van - #18 - Female - Irk Age 15(Earth Age≈149)

Center Attacking Midfielder - Kand - #16 - Male - Irk Age 16(Earth Age≈159)

Left Midfielder - Iven - #14 - Male - Male - Irk Age 13(Earth Age≈129)

Forward - Ursa - #17 - Female - Irk Age 17(Earth Age≈169)

Manager:
Pen - Male - Irk Age 33(Earth Age≈328)

Kit

RP Info
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod Scoring Events Y
RP injuries to my players Y
Godmod injuries to my players Y*
Hand out Yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out Red cards to my players Y
Godmod Other Events Y*

*TG Planet Irk or the master nation of Azrael if you want to do these

[Karditan]

The Robber Barons met up at Silveen Eleco's extravagantly luxurious Fillydelphia mansion. The entire complex was built out of solid silver, though in the morning light it seemed like the golden palace of Everwood lore that would make Daring Do and Indiana Jones foam at the mouth. The fresh sunlight bent around the majestic, four-story mercury fountain to create a dazzling rainbow that held every hue from jaffa orange to plum purple. The team assembled on the billionaire's personal pitch ran the gamut of criminals, from the petty to the goons to the bosses; every one of Karditan's five most wanted made an appearance. Eleco mounted his diamond-encrusted hummer and erected a mobile podium from which he would address the assorted scum of society, to unite them for one purpose: to play soccer.

"We gather here, Gentlemen, to prepare for an unprecedented event in Karditinian history. Change into your sporting clothes and lace up your cleats, as we boldly go where no citizen of Karditan has gone before- an international soccer competition. We have been hiding our passion for this wondrous game for so many years, with many of us playing it to continue centuries of family tradition despite government oppression. Once we have made a name for our nation on the international soccer scene, we may finally start the long and arduous process of civilizing these barbaric 'sportsmen' that are sent out under the Crescent Star. And perhaps, along the way, we can work out some deals as well? I'm sure that there are many benefits to the network of contacts formed among us. Let's get down to business!"

Several of the wealthier businessmen who had shown up in suits were escorted inside the mansion to change, while the prepared and the poor who came in clothes they didn't mind getting dirty started kicking the ball around. The smell of freshly cut grass wafted through the air as the sun climbed, while a scrimmage game started to get everyone in the right mindset. Men and ponies strove side by side in the warm summer air, up and down the field partaking in the ancient joy of sport and camaraderie that brings all of us together.

[The Icemark]

TEAM INFORMATION
Nation Name: The Kingdom Of The Icemark
Country Code: KOI
Nickname: Bears Of The North!
Motto: Blood! Blast! And Fire!
National Anthem: Glory Of The Icemark
Officiating League: The Kingdom Of The Icemark Football League
Titles: 0
Ranking: Unranked
Formation: 4-4-2
Tactics: Counter-Attack

RP Permissions

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod scoring events Y
Roleplay injuries to my players Y
Godmod injuries to my players Y
Hand out yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out red cards to my players Y
Godmod other events Y

Be as creative and/or bizarre as you wish

Style Modifier: 0

[Kanslavia]

Outside Vostok Stadium

The doors of the luxury vehicle closed shut, "Well, looks like he took the deal, Mister Nazarenko, but are you sure he's a good candidate? I mean, he's got the entire Aria Aces in that stadium running their legs off, and I'm not exaggerating that either, we saw two guys get carted off by ambulances for dislocated bones in their legs. He seems a bit... aggressive..." Nazarenko ponders the trench coated man's words while staring down at his walking cane in his lap and looks up after a short pause. "Aggressive? No. Just extremely determined. Adrian may be a sadist at times, true...but in all my years, in all my sleepless nights of studying this game I have never seen a player more dedicated to the sport than Mr. Novak. This season alone for example, any elementary school soccer team could have crushed the Aces before Novak, the rest of the league might as well have been the Gods of football compared to them... but Novak... he did the impossible. He made the Gods bleed."
"Well let's just hope the rest of your candidates are compatible with his unorthodox practices."
"Don't worry, I'm the best manager this country has, I've specifically tailored this team to be compatible both on and off the field."
"I just don't see Novak taking well to anyone below his professional standard, some of these players, like Mr. Mager, are fresh out of high school and his mother in particular was pretty serious about his safety. If Novak ends up hurting anyone our benefactors will throw you to wolves, you know. Or in Mager's case his mother, and having dealt with her let me tell you, you'd rather it be wolves."
"Relaaaaax~, I can keep him and everyone else in line. Now let me enjoy my last few days off before the prep for the Baptism of Fire starts."
The trench coated man sighs, "As you wish sir..."

---

Kanslavian National Team

Manager: Viktor Nazarenko

Starting Players:
AM: Adrian Novak
LW: Peter Denikin
RW: Pavel Kudryashov
CF: Foma Ruchkin
LM: Daniel Ekel
RM: Anton Yazov
DM: Ilya Zherdev
RB: Gora Jorgenson
LB: Feliks Golovkha
SW: Nikolai Likhachyov
GK: Oleg Mager

Bench:
ST: Vlad Belenko
ST: Yuri Melnik
ST: Leonard Cerny
ST: Edik Svoboda
MID:Taman Kriz
MID: Osorio Dusek
MID: Radman Zelenka
DEF: Danick Skala
DEF: Ladio Kraus
DEF: Kiril Kaspar
GK: Merek Beran

Uniforms:

Tactics: 4-3-3 formation, extreme focus on offense and keeping the pressure on the other team, defense is an afterthought.

Style Modifier: +5

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod scoring events Y
Roleplay injuries to my players Y
Godmod injuries to my players N
Hand out yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out red cards to my players Y
Godmod other events Y

[The Icemark]

[Cowardly Pacifists]

The Armed Republic of Cowardly Pacifists
Frightened Chickens

Home Uniform: Pink shirt with a White flag on the back, White shorts with a chicken on the right side, White socks, White shoes.
Away Uniform: Pink- and Red-striped shirt (horizontal) with a White flag on the back, White shorts with a chicken on the right side, White socks, White shoes.
Goalie: Yellow shirt with a white bulls-eye on the front, Yellow shorts with a chicken on the right side, White socks, White shoes

Play Style: The Chickens play a purely defensive game, utilizing a 5-5-0 formation with very slight adjustments. Their overall strategy is to frustrate the opponent with defense and hope to capitalize on small mistakes. Scoring is quite an ordeal for the Chickens, since the players are rarely brave enough to venture very far into the opponent's side of the field - much less take a shot at the goal. The Chickens do score on occasion, much to their surprise.

Style Modifier: -5

Starting Lineup:

GK – Frank Faste
SW – Adam Hyder
CB – Brian Craven (C)
CB – William Fleeman
WB – Ryan Duckler
WB – Dennis Peacefield
DM – Craig Wimpson
CM – Mathew Shivrson
CM – Steve Flinchmun
WM – Michael Yeller
WM – Nathan Nuetralle (AC)

Substitute Players:

GK – Max Rundoff
DEF – Bertrand Wylee
DEF – Gregory Quieter
MID – Samuel Sprinter
MID - Michael Cur

Coach: David "Duck" Encover

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers - Yes
Godmod scoring events - Yes
Roleplay injuries to my players - Yes
Godmod injuries to my players - Yes
Hand out yellow cards to my players - Yes, but keep in mind we're cowardly pacifists - so keep it to delaying the restart of play, leaving the field without permission, etc. You know, things a coward might do
Hand out red cards to my players - Yes, but only for non-violent offenses
Godmod other events - Yes

[Von Kopsho]

The Borderlands of Von Kopsho

Yes, yes, yes! The Borderlands of Von Kopsho is proud to send its own last minute configured national football team following a quite disappointing, boring and above all short independence war against the invading Baleyaroh government troops, that is to call them something. Historians are still deciding whether to declare the conflict a war, as the autonomous region didn't barely find any opposition or even reaction whatsoever, and since there weren't any weapons involved, it was more a disagreement between one single party.

In order to demand self autonomy and raise some international attention, during the last couple of weeks Von Kopsho citizens have been rioting in the cities of Jasebat, Toretia, Eruos, Tekota, Noinmaen and Houm. The manifestations had escalated into the regions adjacent to the Borderlands, which Von Kopsho law-abiding and peaceful citizens had been invading, thus compeling Baleyaroh government to react in order to take control and face the confrontation. But let's face it, a government in which each clerk has a vote and decisions are taken only in case of unanimity of the entire administration wasn't going to react quickly. And so, having in mind that Baleyaroh's citizens are quite peaceful and support any demonstration of freedom and rights claims, Von Kopsho rioters found themselves in the major cities of Baleyaroh with no opposition at all and with the government still debating the course of action to take. Therefore the rioters decided to do some sightseeing and touring while they where waiting for the repression of the manifestations. Finally Baleyaroh sent its finest. That didn't change the situation much. In a country with no military and enforced nudity actually not much was to be expected, but the rioters had hoped for some proper efforts of their new carnal enemies. With more chances of taking over the whole country than receiving a hard agression to use before the international community as propaganda, Von Kopsho heroes decided to just forget the whole thing, go home and declare the independence by themselves.

And now, having in mind that Von Kopsho league is only in its second matchday, a team has somehow been configured under the management of current leaders Siosque Miners coach and his staff.

Manager: Santo Abina

Tactics: 4-4-2
Style Modifier: +2

Starting 11:
GK: 1- Florinda Freniere (Toretia Rockets)
RB: 2- Hilma Bourlier (Houm Ravens)
DF: 3- Wally Brah (Siosque Miners)
DF: 4- Jae Pacholec (Siosque Miners)
LB: 5- Lonny Beauparlant (Tekota Kamikazes)
MC: 6- Jewell Gelineau (Peteq Pilots)
MR: 8- Malcom Lecaros (Peteq Pilots)
ML: 7- Koterba von Calderson (Jasebat Dynamos)
AMC: 10- Toney Ardaly (Eruos Legends)
FW: 11- Korey Cushen (Gesios Rebels)
FW: 9- Casie Makhija (Houm Ravens)

Bench:
GK: 13- Glady Marinoni (Lurefimi Tornadoes)
RB: 17- Titus Casuat (Siosque Miners)
DF: 14- Buck Har (Tawom Dragons)
LB: 16- Janett Germinaro (Toretia Rockets)
MC: 18- Halina Monasterio (Akisu Buccaneers)
AMC: 21- Andreas Blasenhauer (Eruos Legends)
FW: 23- Marcellus Aiporlani (Tekota Kamikazes)

Reserves:
GK: 26- Filiberto Lucash (Gesios Rebels)
DF: 15- Jerrell Dien (Tawom Dragons)
MR: 20- Isreal Munet (Houm Ravens)
ML: 19- Hyman Pagni (Houm Ravens)
FW: 22- Graig Hevessy (Tivabise Geckos)

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod scoring events Y
Roleplay injuries to my players Y
Godmod injuries to my players Y
Hand out yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out red cards to my players Y
Godmod other events Y

[Cowardly Pacifists]

The C.P. Sports Report
The First Publication Dedicated to Sports News in the Armed Republic of Cowardly Pacifists


FRIGHTENED CHICKENS PREPARE TO COMPETE IN THE 46th BAPTISM OF FIRE TOURNAMENT

Sunday, March 11th - Freedom's Altar, Yesopalitha.

Having just arrived in Yesopalitha after a grueling 47-hour flight from the Armed Republic, our very own Frightened Chickens are wearily preparing for tomorrow's opening match against the Karditan Robber Barons. Coach Encover had this to say: "Obviously we're terrified to face such an imposing squad as the Barons. But we're going to do our best, play solid defense, and hope to make everyone back home proud of us." Team Captain Brian Craven and Assistant Captain Nathan Nuetralle were unavailable for comment at press time. Both men were busy leading a late day practice and reviewing the team's game plan for the tournament.

Tomorrow's match will be held at La Jumbotron stadium in Freedom's Altar. The Frightened Chickens have been placed in Group C of this year's tournament, which also contains the Lukquarel FC, the Bloodbath Generation FC, the Carddy FC, and the Karditan Robber Barons. To ensure a place in the championship rounds, the Chickens will need to take 1st place out of the Group C teams. Any lesser showing would (at best) force the Chickens to compete in the play-in round - and placing less than 3rd would disqualify the team outright. Considering the importance of winning Group C just for a shot at the title, Coach Endeavor said "a win in tomorrow's match against the Barons is particularly important to set a precedent for future Group C matches."

Coach Encover continued: "The Robber Barons can put on a good defense, but tend to be a bit less effective on the offensive end of the pitch. Since football is illegal in Karditan we're hoping that their opportunities to practice leading up to the BoF may have been a bit erratic. Of course, facing a team with flying horses, ibexes, and zebras presents its own unique challenge - but I have faith in Brian [Craven] to keep the Chickens focused enough to overcome anything this team throws at us. Considering the... uh... unsavory character of many of the Robber Barons, I've told our players to be on the lookout for dirty play. I'm sure the refs also know what to expect from these ne'erdowells, so I'll be counting on them to keep the game honest."

Other notable participants in this years BoF include the Audioslavia Slaves (Group A), the Icemark Bears of the North (Group B), the Montory Morning (Group D), and Team Radiatia (Group E). We'll bring you up-to-date coverage of the results from every group as they become available.

Lets all wish our Frightened Chickens the best of luck in tomorrow's opening match!

[Bacopa]

Here is Bacopa's roster for the BoF:

Coach: Bruce Vargos

Starters:
GK - Arnold Sykes
RB - David Zruc
CB - Chanron Estes
LB - Nathan Brazil
CM - Kevin Santos
CM - Edwin Khertouh
LM - Leonard Rice
ST - Charles English
ST - Sansmir Obreg

Bench
GK - Davis Erich
DEF - Conrad Farmer
DEF - Raymond Harris
DEF - Dennis Hurli
MID - Altun Ha
MID - Paul Hernich
MID - Earl Itzebegovic
ST - John Moraad
ST - Klen Asmri
ST - Wayne Perkins

Style Modifier - +3



My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers Y/N - Y
Godmod scoring events Y/N - Y
Roleplay injuries to my players Y/N -Y
Godmod injuries to my players Y/N - N
Hand out yellow cards to my players Y/N - Y
Hand out red cards to my players Y/N - N
Godmod other events Y/N - Y


GO GOATS!!!

[Karditan]

Left Wing was perched on a nearby building while the Frightened Chicken's coach was being interviewed.

"He thinks we're weak on the offense? They don't have any forwards. I'm sure Billy will be able to bull through them- no one wants to mess with horns like that. I wonder where I can buy a chicken... we'll get Kroze to bite it's head off right before the game. Hehehe, that will scare them back into their coop before they even take the field. Brilliant."

He went off to see if anyone in Freedom's Altar was selling a chicken at this hour.

[Cowardly Pacifists]

The C.P. Sports Report
The First Publication Dedicated to Sports News in the Armed Republic of Cowardly Pacifists


BAPTISM OF FIRE, GROUP C - ROBBER BARONS V. FRIGHTENED CHICKENS - PRE-MATCH REPORT

Monday, March 12th - Freedom's Altar, Yesopalitha.

The first matches of the Baptism of Fire (BoF) tournament will be held today, and the Frightened Chickens are ready to play in their first contest against the Karditan Robber Barons. The C.P. team left their hotel early this morning to get in an easy practice at La Jumbotron stadium. Team Captain Brian Craven (CB) had this to say before this morning's practice: "The team got a good night of sleep after yesterday's flight and everyone seems eager to get on the field this morning. I'm really encouraged to see how alert our guys are - especially considering the jet lag we're dealing with. I'll be leading an easy practice this morning and we'll see how everyone holds up. Some of the younger guys have been acting a little nervous about tonight's match, so hopefully a light practice will get their heads on straight and we can go into the game without any butterflies."

Our reporters caught up with the team at lunch time. Captain Craven was unavailable for a follow-up interview, having been invited to a private goodwill luncheon with other BoF team captains. However, Assistant Captain Nathan Nuetralle (WM) did comment on the practice results as he exited the La Jumbotron cafeteria. "Our guys looked great on the practice field earlier," Nuetralle said, "[starting Wing Back Dennis] Peacefield and [Defensive Middle Craig] Wimpson were experiencing some pre-game anxiety and lost composure a couple times, but you kinda expect that from the younger guys. Our new Sweeper, Adam Hyder, had to sit out the middle part of practice with a tight calf muscle, but he was running on the side-lines by the end and should be good-to-go for the match. And [Center Back] Brian Fleeman accidentally collided with [Center Middle Mathew] Shivrson at the end of drills. Both guys seemed fine afterwards, save some slight bruising and a small cut on Shivrson's left shoulder.

Nuetralle went on to say: "I am a little more concerned about Frankie [Goal Keeper Frank Faste], who told me at lunch that he was experiencing a mild headache. He said he's gonna play no matter what, but the pain definitely seemed to be distracting him a bit. I told him to go see the trainer. Hopefully it's something a couple aspirins can fix."

This afternoon - just before the team headed to the locker rooms to prepare for the match - we received this statement from Coach Encover: "All our guys are healthy enough to compete tonight and we are looking forward to a good match. We're going to stick to the traditional defense-heavy strategy that the Frightened Chickens are famous for and try to make the best of any mistakes by the Robber Barons. Our guys seem a bit braver than usual tonight, so we might even see our boys take a shot at the goal. It's probably just a bit of pre-tournament jitters and I expect everyone to calm down and play like Cowardly Pacifists once this match really gets going."

Coach Encover added: "I should say that I've received some interesting reports from the Freedom's Altar poultry industry. Apparently members of the Robber Barons have been looking for a live chicken for tonight's match. Rumor is that one of the Karditan players intends to bite-off the chicken's head right before the game in an effort to disturb our players. We have no doubt that these rumors are unfounded, since Karditan is a WA Member Nation, and biting off the head of a live chicken would be a flagrant violation of the Animal Cruelty Prevention resolution. Nonetheless, I've made sure that our team's mascot, Mrs. Cluck-n-Peck, is in a safe, undisclosed location for tonight's match, and I've notified the local Yesopalithan authorities of the rumors. While Yesopalitha is not a WA member, I would expect the Yesopalithan law enforcement to apprehend any Karditan player who violates GA # 145 and promptly extradite that person to Karditan for trial."

Tonight's match will begin at 7 PM. Good Luck Frightened Chickens!

[Karditan]

Oh boy, where the Barons having a laugh in the locker room before the game. Carnac Carson was finally able to stop gasping long enough to inform some of the late arrivals what was going on. "The Chicken's coach is threatening to call the cops on Kroze if he bites the head off a chicken! To be tried in Karditan! H-h-he's not even a citizen, he just happened to be born on one of their outlying islands! Bahahahaha!"

Kroze stepped up in front and, stifling a few leftover giggles, made an announcement. "Don't worry, anyone- though I doubt any of you were. If they're serious about this I can just claim it's a religious practice meant to please my god so we may succeed in the game- the WA Resolution they are quoting clearly states any animals used for religious practices are exempt from the cruelty laws. Who's going to dispute the oddities of a Zebra's religion? Really, the gall on these guys..." He proceed to pull out a cage with a nice, plump hen. "I'm ready for a pre-game snack!"