World Cup 62 - The RP thread

by **Astograth** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 4:53 pm

ROLEPLAY

Useful links
Scores thread
Rosters thread
Referees thread
Bid thread
Signup thread

Qualfying is over and the World Cup proper is here! In this thread you can go ahead and write up all your roleplays, big or small, presumptuously verbose or spartanly laconic. Your roster, however, should be submitted to the dedicated rosters thread in order to keep everything nice and neat.

WORLD CUP GROUP STAGE DRAW

Group A
Starblaydia (40)
Carpathia and Ruthenia (34)
Aguazul (19)
Jeru FC (9)

Group B
Yesopalitha (32)
Pasarga (14)
Swartaz (25)
The Babbage Islands (4)

Group C
Michael VII (50)
Akbarabad (22)
Vilita (15)
The FSSO (5)

Group D
Polar Islandstates (7)
Taeshan (16)
Licentiapacisterra (31)
Kiryu-shi (21)

Host cities in Carpathia and Ruthenia

Group A Stadiums
Városi Stadion, Veszprém - Capacity: 82,000
Merse Park, Harkány - Capacity: 68,500
ZTF Aréna, Veszprém - Capacity: 62,700

Group B Stadiums
Cavaliere Campo, San Donato - Capacity: 76,800
Stadio dei Sogni, Rivalto - Capacity: 68,700
Università Stadio, San Donato - Capacity: 58,100

Group C Stadiums
Fossa dei Leoni, San Donato - Capacity: 80,000
Via Torretta, San Donato - Capacity: 68,200
Stadio Kárpáthy, Cozzano - Capacity: 64,500

Group D Stadiums
Gyémánt Stadion, Porva - Capacity: 73,400
Arany Stadion, Porva - Capacity: 67,000
Pokol Kapui, Harkány - Capacity: 52,100

Group E
Legalese (29)
Valladares (11)
The Holy Empire (2)
Cosumar (41)

Group F
Wight (26)
Bears Armed (8)
The Archregimancy (30)
The Sylvanaes Queendom (6)

Group G
Qazox (17)
Mytannion (20)
Chenkorya (42)
Valanora (1)

Group H
Astograth (12)
Gyatso-kai (10)
Carmadin (37)
New Montreal States (24)

History & Geography
Culture & Getting Around
How To Football

Group E Stadiums
Ituraitz Sporting Ground, Ituraitz - Capacity: 63,000 (MD1 - Valladares v The Holy Empire; MD3 - The Holy Empire v Legalese)
North Point Stadium, Olarria - Capacity: 44,270 (MD2 - Cosumar v The Holy Empire; MD3 - Valladares v Cosumar)
The Deathbowl, Ituraitz - Capacity: 32,460 (MD1 - Legalese v Cosumar; MD2 - Legalese v Valladares)

Group F Stadiums
Silanes Park, Echegoyan - Capacity: 55,140 (MD2 - The Sylvanaes Queendom v The Archregimancy; MD3 - Bears Armed v The Sylvanaes Queendom)
Castle Hill, Gesterlake - Capacity: 38,630 (MD1 - Bears Armed v The Archregimancy; MD3 - The Archregimancy v Wight)
Ximun Orieta Sporting Ground, Echegoyan - Capacity: 34,000 (MD1 - Wight v The Sylvanaes Queendom; MD2 - Wight v Bears Armed)

Group G Stadiums
New Beltzura Stadium, Basabe - Capacity: 46,000 (MD1 - Qazox v Valanora; MD3 - Mytannion v Valanora)
The Enclave, Antiguoko - Capacity: 32,700 (MD2 - Valanora v Chenkorya; MD3 - Chenkorya v Qazox)
Goyaingerua Stadium, Arexa - Capacity: 31,810 (MD1 - Mytannion v Chenkorya; MD2 - Qazox v Mytannion)

Group H Stadiums
Knights' Stadium, Rumiatzi - Capacity: 70,000 (MD1 - Astograth v New Montreal States; MD2 - Astograth v Gyatso-kai)
Arritzola, Rumiatzi - Capacity: 36,350 (MD2 - New Montreal States v Carmadin; MD3 - Gyatso-kai v New Montreal States)
Cherketzo Arena, Urbizania - Capacity: 34,500 (MD1 - Gyatso-kai v Carmadin; MD3 - Carmadin v Astograth)

KNOCKOUT DRAW

Round of 16
In Carpathia and Ruthenia
R1: Aguazul v Yesopalitha (Merse Park, Hárkany)
R2: Vilita v Polar Islandstates (Stadio dei Sogni, Rivalto)
R3: The Holy Empire v The Archregimancy (Via Torretta, San Donato)
R4: Valanora v New Montreal States (Arany Stadion, Porva)
In Astograth
R5: The Babbage Islands v Jeru FC (Knights' Stadium, Rumiatzi)
R6: Taeshan v The FSSO (Ximun Orieta Sporting Ground, Echegoyan)
R7: Bears Armed v Valladares (Castle Hill, Gesterlake)
R8: Carmadin v Mytannion (New Beltzura Stadium, Basabe)

Quarterfinals
In Carpathia and Ruthenia
Q1: Yesopalitha v Vilita (Cavaliere Campo, San Donato)
Q2: The Holy Empire v Valanora (Gyémánt Stadion, Porva)
In Astograth
Q3: The Babbage Islands v Taeshan (Ituraitz Sporting Ground, Ituraitz)
Q4: Bears Armed v Carmadin (Silanes Park, Echegoyan)

Semifinals
S1: Vilita v The Holy Empire (Fossa dei Leoni, San Donato, Carpathia and Ruthenia)
S2: The Babbage Islands v Bears Armed (Grand Duke's Stadium, Rumiatzi, Astograth)

Third Place Match: Vilita v The Babbage Islands (Városi Stadion, Veszprém, Carpathia and Ruthenia)
Final: The Holy Empire v Bears Armed (Grand Duke's Stadium, Rumiatzi, Astograth)

SCHEDULE
(Numbers indicate position from top to bottom in the above list)
Tuesday 13: 1v4, 2v3
Thursday 15: 4v3, 1v2
Saturday 17: 2v4, 3v1
Monday 19: Round of 16
Wednesday 21: Quarterfinals
Friday 23: Semifinals
Saturday 24: Third Place Match
Sunday 25: World Cup Final

Carpathia and Ruthenia will scorinate the first half of qualifying, while Astograth will take charge of the second half. All cutoffs will be at midnight GMT, which is also midnight UTC and 7PM for the Eastern USA. The World Cup will start on the night of Tuesday the 13th.

THE WORLD XI CHALLENGE
Squad announcement
Result

Original text
Imagine the best players from each national team, gathered together for an all-star charity match against the hosts of the World Cup. Awesome, right? An exhibition for the ages. Well, you needn't imagine any longer, because once the qualifiers are over this will be exactly what happens!

All nations are henceforth invited to submit football players from their national team to be part of the World XI - though depending on demand there will be up to three teams that will take on a combined host team and the individual hosts. To do so, competitors must write RPs centred on - or which predominantly feature - one of the players included in their roster, with a small and unobtrusive note that this should count towards the Challenge. When the qualifiers are over, the hosts will select the best-roleplayed footballers, which is to say that ridiculously godmoding one of yours will not give you any special advantage. The match (or matches) will be held prior to the start of the World Cup proper.

Multiple RPs about one player will certainly be taken into consideration, and you may submit as many players as you like - though in the interest of variety it is highly unlikely that more than one will be chosen. National team managers may also be submitted, although it will be the hosts who decide upon things such as formation, depending on what is available.

Also note this won't grant any extra RP bonus other than what the posts would normally score - the incentive here is coolness, bragging rights and not much else.

by **Qazox** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 7:16 pm

Hello, all NSverse nations, both within this current spatial-linear time frame and in all availible adjacent space-time frames that are able to receive this message. My mostly used name across the space-time continuum is Dr. John Laeter. As anyone with the average 5th grade education can tell you, that there are other universes out there, besides the one in which you currently occupy. If this is a shock to you, I apologize for you, though your space-time continuum may need to get off it's ass in terms of scientific research. Simply the "Many-Worlds" interpretation of the space-time continuum is true. And in many of these, there is a way to travel between universes. I know many of you might have used the portals to travel to/from the Dreamed Realm or other devices to travel betwixt worlds; but my latest invention, will reduce the usage of these items.

Until now, most travel between universes needed:(a) A large power source that needed at mininum 49.78 TetraWatts of power to force open an artifical trans-universal singularity or (b) A class-3 natural singularity seeded with Hexadamantum-tribarium crystals vibrating at exactly 1.5687 attoseconds (or in the case of the Dreamed Realm, something beyond our understanding). But I've found a shortcut that doesn't need such a large power source nor crystals that take almost 1000 years to create in controlled laboratory condtions. Using just a random microwave generator, 3 kilos of liquid Vibranium, 2 osmium-laced steel conductors and a titanium tuning fork, I've created a stable universal viewer. Unfortunately, one cannot travel to or from a universe, but once locked in on a specific nation, person or item; it will show all the universal probabilities of that nation, person or object. By tuning the microwave generator to a specific frequency of microwaves, one can fully view any 'alternate' universe one can wish for.

For example, in one of my first viewing, I watched an alternate universe in which the long-lost nation of Dancougar had not fallen victim to a random expolsion. In that universe, Dancougar has conquered 74% of the known Earth it resides upn and has become a totaltarian regime ruled by Voltronic-like mechas. Taking a quick look at their sporting history, Dancougar had won the last 17 World Cups, mainly because there were no other nations to compete with them in football, other than a tiny island of ex-pat Starblaydis and Krytenians called StarKry.

As there are a few niggling problems with my device, mainly certain nations are resistant to the scanning process and somehow I can never lock onto Simeone Di Bradini; I am willing to allow any nations that will play Qazox this World Cup cycle a chance to find out about their nation in any of the alternate realities. A word of caution, I cannot directly find a universe in which your nation is a galactic power or have won 189 World Cups, my machine doesn't work like that. If you do not want to have your nation's alternate history to be known, that is fine as well. But I hope that most of you will take this unique oppertunity to learn.

by **West Angola** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 7:56 pm

Former King August II and William Danforth Sr. stood on a hill overlooking Namibe, contemplating the implementation of their plan. Danforth coughed, then looked at August, "Really? Isn't a hill just a little cliched? Why couldn't we have just stayed in the lab and planned things there, instead of ramming the "big evil plans for the future" thing down everyone's throats?"

"Everyone? Who will ever know about this?"

"You never know, sometimes I feel like someone's watching us, reporting everything we do to some audience in a virtual world somewhere..."

(Quickly, the author realizes what is going on and rewrites his character's personalities into people who would never realize they are merely pawns of his imagination.)

Danforth continued, "But who cares anyway. I still think the hill thing is stupid."

August frowned, "Perhaps, but I find it helpful to look at the city. It helps to focus my mind on what I lost and why I want it back. And especially why I want to kill those who took it from me."

Danforth nodded, then returned to looking at the city. The plan was nearly completed, and soon August would be back in power and he would have his experiments back. After replenishing their funds with the sale of some lesser equipment, August had purchased an army to retake the capital with. However, he needed a distraction for the people. Once again, August had elected to use the football team. He would use an agent on the team to create a massive distraction for the people, which would keep them from noticing as August launched his coup. The plan was nearly complete, just a few more weeks...

by **Azox** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 8:08 pm

Azox football HQ:

John Holsten: We did better than I expected, and with sentient shapes, imagine how good we could have been with humans.

Abby Dearborne: That's still my fault sir. No one had responded by the deadline, I panicked...

John Holsten: Well, that's my fault, giving you just a day to get the team together.

Abby Dearborne: but at least we found a full roster for the World Cup, and maybe we'll get a break an get an easy group.

John Holsten: Perhaps. What's the status of our home stadium? The qualifers begin in a month, and we don't want to play in a mud pit.

Abby Dearborne: It's almost done, sir. Holsten Field just has the South grandstand and East press box left to be completed. Our estimates will see the stadium complete by this time next week.

John Holsten: Holsten Field? Why is it named after me?

Abby Dearborne: Uhm, It's not. It's named after your sister, Terri Holsten. She's the one who's funding the stadium.

John Holsten: Great. I get to be placed in charge of the Azox Soccer Federation, our nation's first internation sporting team; and my sister, the owner of the largest construction company just happens to get the contract to build our stadium?

Abby Dearborne: To be fair sir, Holsten Construction is the only construction company in Azox that had the personnel and equipment to not only build this stadium, but to do it in less than 18 months. I know it seems like nepotism, but everyone knows that you two don't get along.

John Holsten: Just as long as we don't have to share a suite during the first game. get me tickets behind the bench or something.

by **Saugeais** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:00 pm

Saugeais Secures Citiz Skipper

It's been a long, long time off of football for the Knights, who by all rights should been playing quite a lot of it in the past few months. Of course, we all remember the atrocious World Cup qualifying campaign last time out, which ultimately led to the firing of long time manager Iarliath Mag Aonghusa. That was prompted with the reluctant announcement that Amaechi Olsen would be taking over as the caretaker manager until the FA could find someone suitable. But you could see that Olsen did not want to be there, but after doing his nation a huge service during his playing career, how could he say no? Well, apparently "saying no" meant to nearly run the program into the ground by coming up with the worst performance in the Copa Rushmori ever by a Saugeain team. Not a single, solitary win was recorded in that competition, as the Knights were unceremoniously chucked out of the Copa by Mashiki(?), Queer Poco el Mono Ara, and hosts Falconfar. Oh yeah, there also was the little thing called the Cup of Harmony that played out before it. And no, we didn't advance out of the group stage on that one, either, being knocked out on the last match day.

So after the last match of the disastrous Copa run, Olsen announced his retirement from management, stating "While I never asked for this, it was something I had always wanted to try my hand at. It became very apparent that it was not something I was meant to do. I can play pretty damn well, but trying to coach others how to play as well as I did just didn't come natural to me. And because of that, I feel the need to formally retire as a manager." This led the FAS scrambling to find a new manager in time for the World Cup. Announcements were given out to every domestic coach and foreign national team manager to try and persuade them to become the next Knights manager, but sadly none came calling back. Hell, when the rosters were originally submitted, the spot for manager was listed as "vacant"; not a good sign for anyone related to the national team. But at the eleventh hour, a call came across the FAS board from a very well known manager....

... and that manager was Powell Pieran!

The legendary Citiz and Astograthian manager's application was accepted on the spot, and the Knights have someone to give them direction again. The 56 year old Pieran had been out of a job after being sacked from the Astograth national team position one World Cup cycle ago. Sébastian Kamin stated in a press conference that he has high hopes for Powell in the Saugeain system. "Much like Mag Aonghusa before him, the national team was turning in a direction we didn't want to go, and needed someone to get us back on course. Pieran has a long list of accomplishments in both Civil Citizenry and Astograth footballing circles, and I speak for everyone involved with the national team when I say that I hope he continues achieving those goals here in Saugeais." Those accomplishments Mr. Kamin mentioned were the Cup of Harmony and Brevity Cup while working with the Astograth national team, as well as being a two time winner of the Golden Championship while at the helm of Eastern Chase in Civil Citizenry.

Powell comes in to a Saugeais squad that has seen better days. Most of the squad have been around since the Mag Aonghusa days, and with Amaechi Olsen afraid to chop and change the lineup, let the old system rollover to very poor results. Pieran made a few subtle changes after seeing the lineups and inspecting each players strengths and weaknesses, "Its something I like to do" he stated. He left the starting lineup unchanged, but brought on some younger, better backups to complement them. But with the squad's average age slowly getting older, and with Kuzman Ruslan showing a severe lack of determination on the international stage, Pieran may have his work cut out for him from the word "go". The FA have made it clear that with the squad as is, they expect to get back into the World Cup Finals. If that goal is not reached, it'll have to take a great cup of Harmony run then for Powell to keep his job.

by **Wight** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 2:35 am

by **Lymantatia** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 8:55 am

http://thefootballguy.bloghost.co.lym
Lymantatians prepare for WC62
The Lymantatian football team has prepared for WC62.
What position will it finish:
Eliminated: 7,636,883
Group Stage: 22.873,902
Second Round: 28,873,892
Quarterfinals: 36,884,017
Semifinals: 54,792,913
Finals: 100,994,194
No idea: 118,890,113

by **Carmadin** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 5:26 pm

Scoreline
World Cup 62

Chapter One: An Easy Day

0045 Hours, Cētana Island, Mehnsihn Bay, Carmadin

Beep. Beep. Beep. The man's hands drew back from the intricate work they were doing as a small red light blinked twice. The pinprick of light seemed like a headlight in the pitch blackness.
"There's one done"
The darkness seemed to answer, and dim, shadowy figures, barely discernible against the midnight backdrop, crept from the trees, and made their way into the small city, each one coming to a halt at a predetermined spot. The dozen-or-so shadows crouched, working on something on the ground.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Another light stabbed the blackness.
"That's two"
Soon, the city was alive with miniature pinpricks of red light, and a high-pitched beeping filled the air in the island. The shadows crept back towards the trees, and one stood fully up, dwarfing the building he stood next to. The, he too ran into the treeline.
"They're all planted"
A new shadow responded
"Brilliant. Get to the boats"
The shadow looked at his hand, and, tapping it twice, ran down through the trees, and down the rocks to where a speedboat, painted all black, lay waiting. The engines revved once, then hummed, and carried the shadows away from the beach. As they left, one hurled a slab of stone onto the sand. Thirty seconds later, the intricate, expansive, model of the city of Seendok exploded, with an enormous fireball and a noise to wake the dead. On the boat, the single headlight reflected against the white teeth of the leader, upturned in a grim smile.
"Perfect. Now, let's get out before the cops show up."

***

0230 Hours, Cētana Island, Mehnsihn Bay, Carmadin

The first feet since 2 hours previously to hit the sand of Cētana Island did so now, accompanied by a grunt and a beam of light as a flashlight bit through the darkness. A second pair of feet, then a third, and a fourth made contact, and three more flashlights cut their beams onto the trees, then up towards the sky, where smoke was still rising. The four members of the Mehnsihn Police unconsciously touched the top of their pistols, before returning their attention to the eerie, pitch, dark beach before them. A large lump caught all of their eyes, and it was to this that they turned to to begin their investigation. It was the rock that had been thrown ashore by the shadowy figures who had last visited the deserted island. One of the officers, a fit man in his low thirties, crouched to inspect the slab. On it was carved the following symbol:

"What the hell is this??"
But the man's colleagues were already on their way up the beach, and the man hurried to keep up with them. They talked in hushed, scared voices.
"What was that?"
"Dunno, probably some relic. Had some upside-down Shihn'Dohm letters on it, but nothing important."
"Take a picture anyway, it might turn out to be important"
"fine..."
He returned to photograph the "relic" that sat on the beach, while his fellow officers continued their investigation, working slowly upwards to the clearing, where the charred wood and melted plastic still smoldered in a heap. As the four reunited to look at the smoking mess, a sound behind them made them all jump nervously. Two shadowy figures had just leapt nimbly out of a black boat on the shore, and were walking towards the policemen.
The two, seeing the men's discomfort, smiled and showed badges, which glinted in the predawn light.
"Gentlemen, I appreciate your response and skill, but I'd prefer you left this up to us."
The policemen needed no further telling, and jogged back to their boat, the one staying back a little to show his photograph, and the positioning, of the relic to the two newcomers. Then, the Policemen headed off to the mainland, happy to return to the relative safety of their homes.
"Now, let's start an investigation."

***

0900 Hours, Undisclosed Location near Mehnsihn

The two men, soaked, sweaty, and exhausted, looked utterly out of place in the gathering of sophisticated men and women, all in suits, ties, and expensive dresses, milling about, and sipping daintily on expensive drinks. And yet, as they stumbled through the door, all activity ceased, and all eyes in the room turned to them. A handsome, middle-aged man pushed through the crowd.
"Do you have the report"
"Yes, of course, Swift. God, you got anything to eat?"
The handsome one, called "Swift", simply snatched away the manila envelope handed to him, and, sitting on the nearest empty chair, began reading the scrawled carmadese intently. The two men looked around, bewildered.
"Hey, anyone got anything to eat?? I'm famished over here"
A voice right at his shoulder startled him
"Why, yes, Fox, we do have something to eat. We've got some wonderful dead chicken over here, a nice flavorful deceased duck, or, if that doesn't please you, we've got some nice, rolled-up slices of cattle flesh, as well as a turkey that recently kicked the bucket. If you're still not interested, perhaps a pig that just snuffed it would be more in your taste?"
Fox turned to see his best friend, grinning happily at him.
"Reaper, good to see you. I'l have the dead cattle, if you please."
"Coming right up. Now, what the hell were you doing? We were all bewildered"
Twenty minutes later, when all were fed and watered, the agents assembled to hear just what was going on. Swift, Fox, and Claw (The man with Fox) stood in front, with Swift addressing the people first.
"So, er, as you know, we were called into action at a slightly unorthodox time of day"
"0200 hours. Unorthodox is right!"
"Shut up, Agent Blade. Anyhow, we were called into action at this time, and, of course, for the Carmadin Council of Intelligence, the most prestigious, top-secret group in the nation, 'action' means going to the city nearest the issue, and sending Fox and Claw to do all the work, while we eat, what was it, Reaper, deceased duck, and drink fancy wine. So, we arrived at our Mehnsihn base at 2 in the morning, and Fox and Claw went to check things out. Now, you may be asking why we've assembled the most elite group of agents in the world for an explosion on a deserted island. Well, it seems that Kati Emem Bi, or at least an offshoot of them, are back in action."
At the mention of the name "Kati Emem Bi", most of the senior agents either shifted uncomfortably in their seats, or leaned over to whisper nervously to their neighbors. Meanwhile, the majority of the group, the junior agents, simply looked around, bewildered as to why Mr. and Mrs. Bi named their daughter "Katie Emem". When Swift saw that further clarification was needed, he furtherly clarified.
"Kati Emem Bi is a pretty strange group...their name isn't the only thing. The simple explanation is, they seem to love causing widespread destruction in Carmadin, and they do so without a cause. They're loosely based on the Shihn'Dohm, but are nothing like those kind people. They've been classified over the years as a cult, a terroristic group, and other thing, but really fit none of those descriptions. They can best be described as a public nusciance, multiplied by 20, and sent to the millionth power. Now, it seems that they've returned, or at least a group is using their logo. Could be nothing. Could be serious. Though why they're blowing up deserted islands barely a square mile big is beyond me"
Again, the assembly shifted uncomfortably. Then, Spirit, a young, attractive female agent, spoke the question on all of the junior's minds.
"How the hell did they get the name "Kati Emem Bi"?"
Swift smiled, nodding his head.
"I was wondering when somebody would ask that. As I said, the group is based loosely off the Shihn'Dohm people. The group has a rather morbid philosophy- 'darkness-death-light', and the three letters in Kati Emem Bi's symbol represent those. Now, the motto is "ಕತ್ತಲೆ ತೆರೆದಿಡುತ್ತದೆ ಮರಣ ಮೂಲಕ ಬೆಳಕು" (Kattale terediḍuttade maraṇa mūlaka beḷaku), which roughly means "darkness brings death through light". The transliteration is, of course, KTMMB- Kati Emem Bi. And now, I believe Fox and Claw have something to tell us about events on Cētana Island this morning."
"Yes, well, once we delivered the matter from the hands of the Mehnsihn Police, we found two incriminating bits of evidence. First, a large slab of rock with this (here, Fox taps dramatically on a small device, and the area in front of him is lit up with a picture-the sign of Kati Emem Bi)

, and we also found evidence of a black motorboat, an explosion, and a man with an oversized stomach and bad gastrointestinal problems."
"Erm, that's 4 pieces of evidence, and only one actually proves anything"
"Yes, but we also found, amid the carvings of religious things on trees and stone, this carving on a tree:

ವಿಶ್ವ ಕಪ್. ಈ ದ್ವೀಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಕೋರ್ ಪಟ್ಟಿ, ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಮುಷ್ಕರ. ಮೊದಲ ಗುರಿ ಕಾಣಬಹುದು.

"'World Cup. The score of the island, according to the strike. The first goal can be found at'? That makes no sense at all"
"hey", Fox replied, "I went to bed last night thinking it would be an easy day."

Da da daaaaa....

by **19th Century Beards** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 6:20 pm

The clock struck midnight. In the hotel where the 19th Century Beards team were having a 'getting to know you' weekend, everyone was fast asleep. Except for Room 21, where Ross Burke and Andrew Milne were wide awake, in total silence. Milne was the first to strike up conversation

"What's the worst lie you've ever told?"

"Define worst," Burke said. "Worst as in you felt horrible about it, or worst as in led to the death of five children?"

Milne couldn't help gaping in surprise. "You've told a lie that killed five kids?"

"No!" Burke said, sounding defensive. "It was only two, and they should've been smart enough to realize they weren't really going to get candy if they stepped in front of that speeding bus."

"I can't believe you, man,"Milne said, shaking his head. "Every time I think you can't get any worse, somehow you do."

"Milne, it was a joke." Burke shook his head

"Okay, let's get back to the question I asked," Milne said.

Burke looked pensive. "The worst lie?"

"Yeah," Milne said.

"Well, there was the time I said I was a woman on my boarding school application in the hopes of getting a female roommate," Burke said.

Milne smiled. "You did that? Really?"

"It didn't work," Burke said. "Somehow the name 'Ross' was a dead giveaway."

"But that kind of move takes guts. I mean, it's something I would do," Milne said.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better about it?" Burke asked, sounding as if he were about to be ill.

"So I'm not supposed to say how terrible you are, but it's okay if you say it to me?" Milne asked.

"I just don't see any benefit in comparing my behavior to yours," Burke said.

"I'm trying to be friendly! Why can't you ever bring yourself to do that?"

"Maybe it's not in my persona," Burke said, "and once you have one of these personae, you never change."

"Is that bad?" Milne asked.

"Of course it's bad. It's terrible! I'll be like the fat horrible uncle who always tells the same joke every time he comes to visit, and everyone's too polite to tell him they've heard the joke a million times before," Burke said.

"Don't worry, Ross. I'm not polite. I'll tell you," Milne said.

"See? Why do you do that? I'm trying to have a serious conversation, and you have to throw in a punchy one-liner," Burke said.

"I'm being serious," Milne said. "I don't think you're a fat uncle, Ross."

Burke sighed. "Well, anyway. What about you?"

"No, I'm not a fat uncle either," Milne said.

"I mean what was the worst lie you ever told?" Burke asked.

"You didn't tell me yours yet," Milne said.

"I told you one; I told you about the boarding school application form. I'm not going to tell you everything I've ever done while you listen and take notes," Burke said.

Milne thought for a minute. "Well…once I told me grandmother I was going out drinking with some friends."

"What did you actually do?" Burke asked.

"I went to the library." Milne said, "There was this girl I knew who helped out there. She used to take me into the children's room and we'd…"

"I don't want to know!" Burke interrupted. "That's horrible."

"It's not like there were any kids in there," Milne said. "The worst thing that ever happened was the time I rolled over on the puppets. I got a marionette in the wrong place and couldn't sit down for a week."

"So let me get this straight," Burke said. "You lied to your grandmother about going drinking when you were really doing a librarian."

"That's basically it, yeah," Milne said.

"You are a very strange man," Burke said.

"Okay, Mr. Normal, time for another one of yours," Milne said.

Burke was unnaturally silent.

Milne peeked over the edge of his bunk; maybe Burke had fallen asleep. "Ross?"

"I said I didn't need any help fixing the gas mains," Burke said, "I almost killed 20 people that day"

Milne hadn't expected an answer so personal. "What?"

"The boss didn't want me doing it alone. Actually, he didn't want me to do it at all, but I begged him to let me take on more responsibility, and he finally agreed. He said since you were in stasis I should get someone to come with me and make sure I did it right." Burke paused. "I knew what everyone thought of me, that I was a mental incompetent who couldn't find his way out of a paper bag with a chainsaw and hedge trimmers. I wanted to do something to prove them wrong. I wanted to fix it alone so they'd see that they'd misjudged me. And I wound up proving their point. The boss saw me later and he asked me if I'd gotten someone to help me with the repair, and I said yes."

"What would've happened if you'd said no?" Milne asked.

Burke shrugged. "Who knows? They might've found the problem, but they might not." Burke made a sound that was almost a laugh, but not quite. "Just another example of how everything goes wrong for me."

"Sorry," Milne said, trying to come up with a personal story of his own that might make Burke feel a little better.

"I blame the chain of command," Burke said.

Milne frowned. "What?"

"They knew what kind of person I was. Somebody should've been dispatched to check my work," Burke said. "It would be easy enough to find out whether I'd gotten someone else to help me. All they had to do was ask. Then none of this would've happened."

Milne could feel his sympathy for Burke ebbing. "Do you realize how crazy that sounds?"

"Please, Andrew. It's not as if you know anything about it," Burke said.

"What is it with you?" Milne asked. "Why can't you just admit you screwed up? Everybody does—maybe not as much as you, but still. You were supposed to get help. You didn't get it. You repaired the pipe badly and you know it."

"Stop it," Burke said, but he sounded shaken and uncertain of himself.

"You can't blame anyone else for this, man. It's entirely your fault," Milne said. He had gone too far and he knew it, but he wanted Burke to take responsibility for something he'd done instead of trying to weasel out of it.

"I'm going to tell you why I hate you," Burke said, his jaw working. "I'm going to explain to you why I absolutely cannot stand anything about you. Do you know why?"

"No," Milne said.

"Because you lived," Burke said, his words quiet and icy.

"That's it?" Milne asked.

"That's it?" Burke asked, looking incredulous. "Don't you think that's enough?"

"Can we call a truce for the night?" Milne said

"All right," Burke said. "Does that mean we have to continue shouting at each other in the morning?"

"I think so," Milne said, making sure there was enough humor in his voice for Burke to know it was a joke. "But not in front of the boss, he'll kick us off the team

Burke nodded. "Well, as long as that's settled." He climbed back into his bunk. "Goodnight."

"Night," Milne said.

But neither of them got much sleep that night.

by **Kingdom of Phoenixia** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 5:41 am

Cameras were clicking all over the room as three persons re-entered the pressroom. Minister of Sport Maximilian Espen, Markus Thor, President of the Phoenixian Football Association and Kristoffer Raske coach of the National Team were the star guests today after a long debate over tactic, sport and players. Now the reporter would have the chance to ask their critical questions.
" Ladies and Gentleman, thank you for your numerous appearance and welcome to the last press conference before the group draw. You can find the formation of our Team in the map that waited for you on the chairs."
Agreeing murmur occur. Then a voice fired the first question.
" Phoenixian Standard, Mr. Raske what do you say to the accuse that your team is not ready for the Worldcup ?"
" That's bullshit but I don't expect anything else from your so called 'Newspaper', we had problems in Slembana I admit but Training is only half of the rent. All of the preparing matches and friendly cups were organized by the president and not me.
We don't have any problems with fitness or endurance."
Before anyone could ask another question Thor raised his voice.
" Coach Raske has the full support of the PFA and yes we want to make sure that the team is capable to survive a stressful season trust me your newspaper is not the first one to critic us. Are their other questions that have nothing to do with this topic ?"
" Evelyn Green, New Hope Courier, Mr Raske why do you use the same Team that also played the last Qualifications, causing a last place in the group ?"
The coach smiled at this question.
" Ms. Green, if I recall correctly it was the New Hope Courier who was the first to gratulate the team after the last Matchday. We had a hard group, the last match against Akkarabad shows that more than anything else.
We are a new Team, barely out of our Baptism, now we are back with a better and more skilled team. 9 Points are better quote than many of our fans expected."
" However, Mr. Thorn you were the first one to voice critic on coach Rigerson, leading in his retreat two weeks later."
" Yes Ms Green but that was a complete other history, Rigerson was a old school coach, not capable to the changes that are going on in the modern football world. Mr. Raske is a complete other kind of coach."
" Felix Knudsen, New Hope Times. Minister Espen what do you say to the sport situation in the Kingdom in general ? We have nearly no professional leagues, our National Teams are second class at the maximum and the budget is..."
" Exactly, the budget is miserable, we do what we can to solve this problem. We are founding 10 sport boarding schools by now and the last U-15 Cup show the potential of that. Rome was not build over night why do you think that a National Sport would be different ? We are the number one Sporting Nation in the Aluveans Seas, give it 10 more years and we are one of the top teams."
" That doesn't solved my question."
" Oh it does, we are on a good way, it will be a long stony way but we are on a good way."
Silence regained after that.
" Any more questions ?"
No hand raised up.
" Then, thank you for your attending. My team is waiting and you can't imagine how impatient a captain could be."

by **Yelvoldia** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 1:51 pm

YBC Sports - Football - Yelvoldia 4-0 Gaveo

Written by Aaron Bearven

In our first friendly before World Cup 62 qualifying, we have thrashed Gaveo 4-0 at home. This means that we have scored 23 goals in our 8 internationals so far, which is just under 3 goals per game (rounded to two decimal places - 2.88 goals per game).

We took the lead early on, with Roger McLeod, our star striker, firing a low 20 yard shot under Gaveoan goalkeeper Joaquin Cádiz. This goal is McLeod's 9th in 8 internationals. This was in the 3rd minute.

Gaveo tried to hit back immediately, with Sebastian Cádiz smashing against our crossbar from the kick-off.

However, Gaveo's chances of equalizing were dented in the 7th minute, when midfielder Bru Yo Chan went down injured. He had to be taken off the pitch, and was replaced by Septimus Greene. Scans on Chan revealed that injury wasn't that serious - it's only a pulled hamstring, which, luckily for him and Gaveo, won't keep him out for long.

After McLeod and Connor Evans (our other striker, and a badger) had come close, the latter doubled our lead in the 37th minute. Aaron Bïndel, our playmaker, played a lovely through ball into Evans, who fantastically lobbed the ball over the head of Gaveo defender Michael Blue, jinked inside fellow Gaveoan defender Alex Orloa, and smashed a low shot from 12 yards out to give us a 2-0 lead. 2-0 to us was a good half-time score, as you'd expect.

The second half started brilliantly us. Sophie Carpet, our right-winger, sped into Gaveo's penalty area. She was brought down by Orloa, which resulted in a penalty to us, and a red card for Orloa. McLeod stepped up to take it - and scored, cooly slotting the ball past Joaquin Cádiz to score his second of the game, and his tenth overall on the international stage. There might have been 43 minutes of the match (plus added time) left, but it looked like McLeod had put the game to bed, as we were comfortably leading 3-0.

There was still time for more goals, as McLeod lobbed the ball over Cádiz in the last minute to make it 4-0 to us. This completed McLeod's hat-trick, with the goal being his 11th in 8 internationals.

by **Sicoutimont** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 2:17 pm

Les Royales Draw Slembana in Pre-Qualifing Friendly Match
World Cup 62 Qualifing is still a few weeks away, but Sicoutimont's national football team were still in action today. Taking on a team from Slembana at Stade Nationale in Lac-Drouin, the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Slembana's top striker, Val Kylx, beat Pier-Luc Dion early on, in just the 4th minute. "Kylx is a dangerous player in the first few minutes, we'll need to be sure to not lose confidence if he gets them on the board early," said Sicoutian Manager Marc Denis. Kylx dribbled into the 18-yrd box, and was able to get the ball behind Dion. Kylx had another opportunity early on, in the 13th minute on a corner. He tried to score with his head, but the ball hit the top bar. Still in the first half, Sicoutian striker Girard Giroux almost put home his 15th international goal, but just missed the net on a penalty. After an altercation in the 46th minute, Defense Yves Savard was handed a yellow card. Jumping to the second half, Girard Giroux picked up the ball after a save by Dion. He chipped it over the Slembanan forward contingent, up to Georges Allonts. Allonts managed to chip the ball over the Slembanan goaltender, and evened the score. The game stayed even, although Giroux and Kylx tried their hardest to change that. The game ended in the 93rd minute of gameplay, tied 1-1. After the game, Giroux adressed rumours he was leaving Lac-Drouin St-Pierre to join a club in Valladares, Club Atletico Popular de Los Chorros. On the matter, Giroux stated: "I will be playing at a UICA tournament, hopefully for CAP. This club expressed interest in me, and I feel honoured to be considered able to play in the second best football league in the world." Sicoutiansportsnow.scm reported earlier this week that the Valladar club, CAP had approached Giroux. A decision on Giroux's transfer should come soon; the UICA tournaments start later this week. Next up for Sicoutimont is the nation of Free South Califas, in another pre-qual friendly. This game will take place in Free South Califas, at Rose Bowl Stadium. Football fans, World Cup Qualifing starts later this month. Will Giroux, Allonts and the other lead Sicoutimont to qualification? Tune in to find out!

by **Kingdom of Phoenixia** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 2:42 pm

In the first pre-qual friendly match Phoenixia made a easy against the Republic of Gaveo from the Region of Tanos, notable for housing the fourth place of the Baptism of Fire Cup #49.
The Eagle doesn't have a chance against the Phoenix, causing 4 goals in the first half, including a hat trick of Andreas Stenko in the Minutes 9, 20 and 34 and a goal from Karl Gudmer in Minute 40.
Neither the defense nor the goalkeeper from Gaveo made a good impression but thanks to the average show, more goals could be prevented.
After the first half Stenko goes under the shower, replaced by Jens Holgerson who complete the devastation of Gaveo with goals in minute 58 and 69. After that Gaveo earned a bit respect with a surprising counter attack, leading to 1-6 in minute 85.
The Team shows a good condition and together with the reaching of the quarterfinal in the Slembanan Invitational Cup against the Luna Republic Isles tomorrow the Team proved all critics and pessimists wrong.
No one knows what the coach will have in stuff for this qualifications but it don't seem likely that the team will be the last one in the group again.

by **Audioslavia** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 6:07 pm

"This is hardly worth the effort" said a disgruntled Sue Dysos.
"You were all for it, yesterday" said Rubio, not taking his eyes from the road or his hands from the wheel.
"No I wasn't"
"Yes you were. You said, and I quote, 'It'd be great to have a look at the new place. Great to get accustomed to it so I know where everything will be when I get back'"
"No I didn't"
"You di.."
"And even if I did.." interrupted Sue, "A girl can change her mind. A heavily pregnant woman can change previous events to suit her mood. I feel like arse today."
"Well you don't have to stay for long. There's a train back to the flat every hour. I can hardly just stop and turn us round, I'd be late for work myself"
"I thought you were *always* late for work"
"That was before the money issues and the new owners. They're clamping down on tardiness"
"Well just this once..." said Sue.
"Just stay until mid-day. That's all. You'll feel fine later. Anyway, six months is not 'heavily pregnant'".

Rubio's car rounded the corner into the car park, where he eased it along to where his designated parking space usually was.
"Well fuck" said Rubio with a disbelieving smile. Sue turned to look at him. Rubio brought the car to a halt.
"That's my parking space. See the sign? 'Cy'un Staff Parking: Rubio Sanchez'. You know who's car that is sitting in it?"
"I can take a guess. Not like Jeremy to be early"
"Not like Jeremy to be in at all. I heard he hadn't been taken on. This calls for an investigation. If only I had an investigative journalist next to me who's skills I could use"
"Fine. A half day's work. Then I'm going home and eating icre-cream until November, and I can get this cretin out of me"

The Cy'un's office buildings were shinier and more garish than the old Emberton Post ones had been, but then so was the paper. Rubio had been penning sports articles for the tabloid Cy'un for a while now, always with the thorough intention of jumping ship as soon as the Emberton Post brand, got a new owner willing to start the paper mills rolling again.

He hadn't expected the Post to have been bought out by the Cy'un. Now there was no getting away from the place unless he wanted to be unemployed.

The contract that the Cy'un had signed when it bought the old broadsheet was the size of a phonebook. it included various assurances, such as the new Post remaining editorially seperate from the reactionary, rather right-wing Cy'un, and with no change to the Post's logo or style. In return, the tabloid got to chose the initial staff that the broadsheet would hire, and open up a series of small, ground floor, backroom offices at the Cy'un's headquarters to be used as the broadsheet's de facto home, allowing the buyers to save money *and* keep an eye on its leftie elitist cousin. Rubio had been allowed to jump ship, taking up his new position as sports editor of the Emberton Post, reporting to Cleo Phillips who had made the jump to deputy editor of the entire paper. Rubio had been allowed to pick Sue Dysos, his pregnant 'colleague' (Sue had forbidden him from using the term 'girlfriend' within fifty kilometres of the nearest journalist. Their relationship wasn't a secret - Sue was merely anxious not to appear as an 'accessory'. She had insisted on interviewing for the sportswriter role despite being certain of getting the position in the first place), as part of his team. Rubio had made a play to make Jeremy Jaffacake his number two, but that didn't work for two reasons: A, the Cy'un wouldn't have Jeremy Jaffacake in its building in a million years and B, Jeremy was unlikely to appreciate position junior to the much younger Rubio. The rest of the Rubio's team in the sports section were handpicked by the Cy'un's HR department, and they'd been left with those too wordy, pensive or thoughtful for the tabloid Cy'un, along with a few young, cheap graduates. Jeremy had been given a 'retainer' contract which made him somewhere between a staffer and a freelancer. The Cy'un/Post would pay him a modest salary, a 'retainer fee', and Jeremy would be exempt from writing for any other publishing company in the entirety of Rushmore; very much a case of 'we'd rather have him on the inside of the tent pissing out'.

And yet. Here was his car in Rubio's space. Rubio helped a grumbling Sue out of the car and attempted to hold her hand on the way to the doors, unsuccessfully. They entered the building and wound their way through the shiny, open-plan offices to a small white door at the back, opening it to reveal a badly painted white corridor with 'Emberton Post' written on it. The corridor took an immediate right and then looped back round the arse end of the building to the fire exits at the side. The corridor was specked with doors, each branching off to various subsections of the newspaper. Each of the rooms had originally been used for records and paper filing, but had lain dormant for years with the advent of the computer age. No heating, no amenities, very little natural light, cables everywhere taking advantage of what little power outlets there were. They had been assured that upgrades and redecoration would be forthcoming, though Rubio doubted much money would be spent on the place if the paper didn't immediately fly from the shelves. The door to the sports section was halfway down the narrow corridor. Blocking their path was an argument. Cleo Phillips wearing a frown on her face, pointing out various things about the offices that she thought needed changing.

"That's Cleo, it'll be nice to talk to her again" said Sue, "who's that she's talking to?"
"Her father"
"Oh. OH."
"Yup"
"Handsome chap"
It was Rubio's turn to frown. Cleo broke off from her rant to beam a smile at Rubio and Sue. Her father, Rami Niblick, turned to greet the approaching couple.
"Sue! I wasn't expecting you in until..." - Cleo checked her watch - "...next February. You look great by the way, the wee baby's coming along..."
"Yes, thanks" said Sue, "just a few more months. I wanted to pop in and see where I'll be working, first. I hear your kid is coming along well, too..."
"Hah, oh *him*, well with *him* it's more of a surprise, of course..."
Rubio, having exchanged a nod and a handshake with Rami Niblick, with whom he had managed to maintain a friendly working relationship despite his best friend, Jeremy Jaffacake, being Rami's mortal enemy, pondered as to what Sue meant by referring to Cleo's 'kid'. Then it struck. Ah, of course. Danny Phillips. Twenty-five years old. He's inherited a modicum of the footballing talent of his father, one Jerome Jaffacake-Phillips (bastard son of Jeremy Jaffacake and former Krytenian journalist Ffion Phillips, husband of Cleo Phillips (nee Whealdon), son-in-law of Rami Niblick (formerly Daniel Whealdon), yet despite the distractions of such an awkward family tree he had become a handy professional footballer, representing Krytenia on a few dozen occasions) and had been playing in the lower leagues for all of his career, which had involved a fair few clubs. Two hot seasons in a row had seen him score enough goals to get noticed by the big teams, and a middling Krytenian Premiership club had offered him a tasty contract. He's be a backup striker, and most doubted his ability at the highest level, but it was a great chance for the lad.
"He had a great year last year" said Rubio, trying to join the conversation, "you never know, he's got enough time to make it in the big leagues..."
"Well I hope so" said Cleo, "it'd be nice. He'll try his heart out, anyway, always does."
"The kid'll come good, he's got Niblick blood inside of him" said Rami, with a smile. He hadn't noticed a dark mysterious figure behind him.
"The only kid that comes good while Niblick is inside of it..." said the figure, throwing half a cigarette onto the ground, "...is the goat that..."
"YES THANKYOU JEREMY" said Rami and Cleo in unison. Sue and Rubio tried not to grin.
"What are YOU doing here?" asked Rubio, "I thought you'd been given that cushy retainer job, you don't need to be here at all. Ever. How did you even get past security?"
"Rami let me in" said Jeremy, matter-of-factly.
"Rami wouldn't let you into a whirring lawnmower" said Rubio, giving Rami Niblick a frown that seemed to ask 'surely this can't be true'.
"He's right" said Rami. "I signed him in."
"What? Why?" asked Rubio. Sue looked equally confused. Cleo excused herself, evidently already knowing the story.
"Bit of a long story" said Jeremy.

---

Marroq. Three months earlier.

---

"One way or another I'm getting off this plane" said Jeremy, staring at the cabin door, trying to figure out how to make it open.
"Sir, we've been instructed not to let anyone off. We'll only be refueling for another forty minutes or s..."
"Then let me have a cigarette *inside* the plane, then"
"We really can't allow that, sir"
"Hey" said Jeremy, in a gruff whisper, "Miss Flight Attendant. Listen. I'm not your average annoyed customer. I'm not the guy who kicks up a fuss and then yells at you because he can't get what he wants. I am a master, a master at fucking with people. Only... I play the long game. I don't take out my anger on you. I wait. I bide my time and then, like *that*", Jeremy clicked his fingers, "you'll start to notice your quality of life has gotten slightly worse. That aint chance. That's me. I will find your name, find where you live and fuck with you. What I'm saying is, lady, that If you don't let me off this plane you're gonna regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life."
"Sir, I..."
"Ah" interrupted Jeremy. "Figured it out" he said, clicking a latch on the door and pushing it open.
"Sir, no, if you leave now, the plane will have to take off without you"
"Not listening" said Jeremy. He threw out a large, soft suitcase onto the tarmac and, taking a deep breath, jumped down after it, the bag doing a lot to stop his landing being too dangerous.
"We're going to have to leave you, sir!" called the attendant, ten feet above him, admirably remaining calm and polite despite Jeremy being an unmitigated arse.
"I'll just have to get tomorrow's plane, won't I?" said Jeremy, lighting a cigarette, not caring that he was just feet away from the people refueling the plane.
"Why not just get today's plane?"
"Well" said Jeremy, taking a big drag of his cigarette "...we'll always have Qazox."

to be continued

by **Farfadillis** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 6:56 pm

"So it's a new world cup.", Dandalleion said.
"Yeah, the cup everyone wants to win.", replied Tuzzio.
"Do you think we can fare as last time?", asked Dandalleion doubting.
"Well, we haven't had our best play lately, you've performed average for Cednia and I only managed to score three goals for Kiiarana.", replied Tuzzio.
"And the national team did badly in the AOCAF, the Di Bradini and the Cup of Harmony.", said Dandalleion hesitantly.
"You know? I think there's a reason for that."
"Reason? Please tell me."
"Numbá. Ever since he left us, we've been performing worse and worse. Fortunately, he's come back.", said Tuzzio.
"Well, I don't know if it's so "fortunate", seeing why he's back.", replied Dandalleion.
"Yeah, depressing, but so is life, and it continues. I'm worried about him, will he perform as before? I know that Rossizzo isn't considering him for the starting eleven, which is understandable seeing as Johans has been destroying defenses lately."
"I'm worried too, he's in a horrible state right now, noone wants to lose such a close familiar. It must be impossible to move on."
"Yeah, I know. Anyways, what I had to do isn't that far. I moved at the age of 17 to Farfadillis from my hometown all alone and then at the age of 19 moved to Vilita. I mean, I haven't seen my parents ever since that last friendly against Dandillis.", said Tuzzio, showing his sad-self.
"It must feel horrible, but you'll have to sacrifice things to have a football career. However, can't your parents move to Vilita?", asked Dandalleion.
"No, there's a new law that started two months after I moved. I don't even want to talk about it."
"Fine, you know what? I think we should talk about something a bit "happier". Like, you being the top scorer last qualifyings!"
"You mean our top scorer? Yep, it felt good, but it would've felt better if we had qualified. Now, how does it feel to have started your professional football career at the age of 18 without previous experience in a youth team and getting so quickly to the national team?"
"It's all too good. Swamp football gave me an opportunity I'll always thank it for. Nevermind we lost the final in penalties last time."
"Oh, look at the hour, we've got to sleep. Tomorrow's the first training!", said Tuzzio.

*Tuzzio turned off the lights*

The following day....

"Well, here we are at training.", said Tuzzio to Dandalleion. He was getting to become his best friend. They were almost exactly the same age, they both lived in the same nation, they both loved football. Well, they both didn't suck at football too.
"Yep, I wonder what this new manager will tell us to do. Rossizzo.... Never heard of him before he was assigned the job last week.", wondered Dandalleion.
"Neither did I. I hope he's good, though. We seriously need to perform well this qualifyings."

As they were speaking, they heard Rossizzo calling.

"Well, you two, I need to talk to you in private.", said Rossizzo. All of a sudden, the new manager they didn't know wanted to talk to them in private, it was weird to say the least.

"Don't worry, guys. It's just about our future tactic."

Tuzzio and Dandalleion both nodded silently, in sign of approval.

"The things is, I'm not going to ask you for what Matino asked you. We're going to try a whole new style of play. You guys probably don't know me, but that's the main reason why I was chosen.", said Rossizzo.
"Any previous experience?", asked Tuzzio, timidly.
"None, at least none professionally. Anyways, I feel that you guys are going to like me eventually.", said Rossizzo.
"Anyways, let's cut to the point: You guys are gonna have to change your way of playing here, specially you Tuzzio.", continued Rossizzo, before getting interrupted.
"May I ask why? I've been performing well, at least in my opinion.", said Tuzzio, rather angrily.
"Seconded.", said Dandalleion firmly.

Rossizzo continued.

"It's not about performance, it's about style of play. Anyways, what I was going to ask you is to play a more "playmaker" late midfielder role. I've seen you in Kiiarana, you scored three times less than last time's qualifyings and still got to perform with an average of over 7. I saw how you playmade, and I honestly can't believe that here you almost always choose to shoot or dribble.", said Rossizzo.
"Well, but ain't this game about scoring?", asked Tuzzio.
"Yes, it is. And that's what I'm going to try to do with you guys. The next thing is, you must defend this time, and I mean it. We'll have O'rosso and Johans up, but will have you down to prevent counterattacks. They're like a nightmare to us.", he took a deep breathe.
"And you Dan, may I call you Dan?"
"I don't mind it.", answered Dandalleion.
"Well, you're going to have to defend quite a lot, your task will be to be a semi-defensive left midfielder, who will only attack on counterattacks. You will have to join the attack too, but not as you used to. For god's sake you used to leave your zone unattended and attack like a centreforward."
"And look how far we got that way", pointed out "Dan".
"Hardly. In my opinion, you guys have got the potential to make this national team great along with some other young talents, but will need someone to lead you that way. You shouldn't take that last third place as a victory, but just as a minimum objective for the next world cup, which is about to start. That meaning, you can't perform worse now, you just gotta keep it up.", said Rossizzo.
"Well, tell me exactly why you believe that we should be guided?", said Tuzzio, who was angry after hearing that.
"Because you've just reached 19, in your case. You can't possibly think you know everything."
"You know, saying that isn't a good way to win your players' trust, right?", said Dandalleion.
"Anyways, let's get back on-topic. You guys are great, how many players get to be starters at foreign clubs at the age of 19 and 20? Not many, you guys have. And in those clubs you don't play as you used to here, I'm just asking you to repeat what you do at your clubs."
"This season was awful for me, there's no way I'll repeat it.", said Dandalleion, impatiently.
"You think? No, it wasn't to my eyes, you just played more defensively, it may have been more boring, but it certainly wasn't bad.", clarified Rossizzo.
"Fine, you know, I think we've heard enough for today, at leats I know I have.", said Tuzzio.
"Agreed, I think we already understood.", added Dandalleion.
"Good to know then, join your teammates on that passing excersize they're doing, I have to talk to my assistant.", said Rossizzo.

As Tuzzio and Dandalleion were walking towards where their teammates were, Dandalleion deliverately asked rather rhetorically:

"We're not gonna obey him, right?"
"Needless to say.", replied Tuzzio without even looking at him.

They continued walking, Rossizzo hadn't made a good impression to Dandalleions and Tuzzio, probably the most influential players of the team. That certainly could backfire at any time.

by **Darmen** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 7:43 pm

For some background info.

Four walls. All Grey.

A tray. Filled with terrible looking food.

Noise. The terrible noise. Screaming, banging, crying, muttering.

He was begining to wonder how long he'd last. Not just staying alive kind of lasting, but mental competence kind of lasting.

Footsteps. Lots of footsteps. Coming his way.

The jangling of keys, one of which was being inserted into his keyhole. The door slowly opened, and the light blinded him. He held his hand up to shield his eyes.

"Get up!"

"Where are you taking me?"

"Shut up!"

He walked towards the voice of the guard, still shielding his eyes from the light. That didn't work too well, as he walked into the wall. The guard grabbed him.

"Idiot," said the guard as he placed the handcuffs around the hands of the inmate. They were extremely tight and the inmate winced in pain.

"They're a bit tight, could you loosen them up?"

"No! Besides, we've only got to walk a short way. Mike! Arn't you forgetting something."

"Oh, woops," said a second guard the inmate hadn't realised was there. Suddenly a hood was placed over the inmates head, pluning him once more into darkness. It was a relief to his eyes, yet at the same time it suddenly made him fearfull as well. One of the guards pushed him in the back, and the inmate began to walk. The guards nudged him every once in a while, and the inmate made sure to turn in the direction he was being led.

"Stop!"

He heard a door open, and one of the guards pushed him in. They pushed him into a chair, and then punched him, at the same time removing the hood from his head. The door shut, and a bright light was turned on, shining directly into the inmate's face. He tried to use his hand to shield his face, but he realised that they were still handcuffed.

Suddenly a loud buzzing noise filled the room, so loud that the inmate thought his ear drums would errupt in a firery explosion. The noise quickly subsided however, and the bright light was also turned off.

A man and a woman were now sitting in front of him. He couldn't quite make out their faces, as their faces were hidden in the shadows, but he could definately tell that they were young.

"Who are you, and what do you want from me?"

"Lets get one thing straight," said the man, "we're the ones asking the questions, and your the one giving the answers. Got that?"

The inmate didn't respond.

"Let me explain. 'Got that?' is a question, and you respond to a question with an answer. Some answers are as simple as 'Yes' or 'No', while other require some expanded vocabulary and critical thinking skills..."

"Your sarcasim isn't needed," said the inmate.

"Oooh! Feisty!" said the female agent.

"Quiet Angela!" said the male agent, clearly not happy with the action of his fellow interogator. "Now, let us get started. May I inquire as to what your name is, Inmate 0098209? That's a question by the way."

"I don't know what you people want, but I'm not giving it to you..."

"Well Mr. Johnson, I don't think you really have a choice."

"How the..."

"Mr. Johnson, are you even aware of where you are. Your currently being detained at the Advanced Naval Base Detention Center, commonly known to the Darmeni Public as Point Canada. Both of us, that'd be me and my fellow agent, work for the IG-2. And yes, we do know everything."

Mr. Johnson was speachless.

"So lets try this again. May I inquire as to what your name is, Inmate 0098209?"

"Mr. Andrés Johnson."

"And is it true that you are, or rather were, a member of the Darmeni Society of Footballing History?"

"I think..."

"That question requires a 'Yes' or 'No' answer, and I expect one, Mr. Johnson."

"Yes, I was."

"And is it true that their was a conspiracy by the members of the Society to install Mr. Mikael Gibbons as the first inductee into the World Cup Hall of Fame?"

"Don't you..."

"Actually Mr. Johnson, no, no we don't know, and that's why you're here."

"Oh, so you don't know everything."

Angela snickered, and the male agent was clearly frustrated. He stood up, slamming his chair to the ground, begining to pace back and forth. Angela sunk a bit further into her chair."

"Mr. Johnson, I'd like an answer, and it'd be in your best interests to give it to me."

"Well, yes. There was a 'conspiracy' if you can call it that. Mikael Gibbons came to one of our society meetings, one of the overseas ones. There were several of us Society members there that he trusted quite a bit, we had all been involved quite a bit with the All Greens during his tenure as Manager. He came forward with an offer of four million Babas for each of us if we voted for him. Half a million would be paid up front, and the rest would be paid after the induction ceremony. We said we'd think about, and that was it. Then about two days later, he came back to us. Offered us six million Babas. One million up front, and the rest when the results were announced. We just couldn't refuse, so we accepted the offer. There was seventeen of us in total. Obviously the results show that three of those seventeen must've received bribes of some sort from somebody else, cause only fourteen first place votes were given to Gibbons."

"Where did these meetings take place?"

"Some place called Hrrick's, or something like that. Just don't ask what country it was in, I was too drunk most of the time to know what was going on."

"And the money?"

"We only got the million that Gibbons offered up front. Most of us still have, as far as I know."

"Thank you Mr. Johnson, you've been a great help. I'll make sure that your released as soon as possible, and secure transportation back to Darmen. Once you arrive however, you'll be taken into custody by the local authorities, and will most likely have to stand trial in a civil court for accepting a bribe. Nothing major, you might serve some minor jail time, probably pay a pretty large fine, but after that you'll be able to live the rest of your life in peace. Well, except for the death threats you'll receive daily from angry fans since the DSF has officially decided to allow Gibbons to remain as the inductee."

The two agents left, and the door was slammed shut behind them, but Mr. Johnson's handcuffs were taken off by someone behind him. He couldn't quite turn his head far enough to see who it was, his neck was still sore from being punched. The guard, or whoever it was, lifted him out of the chair and directed him out of the room. Once again the bright light made him shield his eyes from the light, but it was different this time. The light came from the sun, and Mr. Johnson sould smell the ocean. He was free. For now at least.

by **Andossa Se Mitrin Vega** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 12:02 am

Alwhaes Gett'It looked out over the rain-soaked landscape of Shalerix and sighed deeply. There was nothing here to do in this backwater town that boasted itself to be a thriving western city. Bah! Thriving for a bunch of lumberjacks and stonecutters maybe. He missed the posh life he had been living in Errion Vega, selling houses to those with plenty of money to burn. Damn that damn Tolkein Wightling guy. If he had done his job properly rather than trying to put his own agenda into play, Alwhaes would be sitting now on a literal pile of gold.

But things had gone awry, as most of his endeavors usually did, and Wight’s appearance in AO had been quite the catastrophe. And that had put him on the run. Bua would have his head if he managed to catch him. And thus his presence in perhaps the most unlikely place in the Empire.

He glanced in the mirror. Gone were the frosted blonde tips in his hair. And he looked rather gaunt. What else could he expect with the food these people ate? And finally filling out were the beginnings of what would be a nice beard with a bit of luck. He would soon be able to leave this cesspool behind.

A slight knock at the door let him now that she had returned. She being the lady Akyra who had helped him to escape Wight Spit and return to the Empire. Somehow she seemed to know everything that went on in the Empire, or at least it seemed that way to Alwhaes. He waited for the news he hoped was coming.

“WIQ is looking for you and our beloved Presidente Commandante has granted them permission to place an agent within the Empire. Looks like it is time for you to take a little trip.”

Alwhaes felt a surge of giddiness. “I can go home? Errion Vega?”

“No you twit, That is the first place they will be looking. You are going to Eros.”

His eyes went wide with horror and his skin lost nearly all color. “Er,,,Eros? Are you sure I need to go there?”

“Yes. Man up and let’s get going”

“Hey hey hey! Listen, if we're going, shouldn't I have a gun?”

“No”

To be continued…

by **Slembana** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 1:57 am

DBK Sports - Football - Sicoutimont 1-1 Slembana

Written by Pierre Darezi

In a friendly match before qualifying for World Cup 62 qualifying, we have drawn 1-1 away to Sicoutimont. This is our first warm-up friendly for our qualifying campaign.

We opened the scoring in the 4th minute, when Val Kylx, our star striker, sped into the penalty area. and smashed a 15-yard shot past Pier-Luc Dion to give us a 1-0 lead. This was typical Kylx - yet another goal for the 19 year-old striker. The player could have scored a second in the 13th minute, only to head a Yuppë Tárnix corner-kick against the crossbar. The striker was very unlucky not to score.

In the 32nd minute, Sicoutimont won a penalty, after Christopher Savard had brought down by Dennis Valfern in the penalty area. Girard Giroux, Sicoutimont's star striker, almost scored his 15th international goal, only to see the spot-kick palmed away by Toby Gapman, our goalkeeper. This save kept the score at 1-0 to us. Sicoutimont had a player go into the referee's book in the 1st minute of first-half stoppage time, with defender Yves Savard seeing yellow for a naughty tackle on Kylx.

In the 52nd minute, Dion made a save from a Tárnix shot from 30 yards. He bowled it out to Giroux, who lobbed the ball over our strikers, and all the way up to Georges Allonts, his strike partner. Allonts chipped the ball over Gapman to level the score at 1-1. Despite the efforts of Kylx and Giroux, the game ended even at 1-1. After the match, our manager, Gavin Stockwell (who is a former captain of us), said it was an "OK" start to his reign, but "not the best".

by **Northern Sunrise Islands** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 4:00 am

It is a huge pride to represent your country. Is it? You will be playing your best for your nation to come out on top. The little problem is that, aside from you, there are lots of people with the same intention. And sometimes, you are not even facing people. Dwarves, Ponies, Demons... The list could go on and on. But when you are so innocent, you don't worry that much on who you are going to face and what kind of twisted, non-explained place you will play. This was the only thing on Nagatomo's mind as she reached the hotel at Davencreek, as the national team's players would gather at the building to train before going to Apox for a friendly to start their small "Pre-Qualyfing Tournament". In general, some had a reason to be very happy and some didn't. Jamesson was the champion of Campionato Esportiva di Campeones as a part of the roster of the Matthew City Senators, which also had an Apoxian player, Ken Rickwright. Travis was debuting for Northern Sunrise Islands following a transfer and a nationality request that allowed her to play for NSI. But no other face was as happy as Nagatomo, who was replacing Crawford's reserve position as Leminski decided to not come to play the qualifiers and left the spot for Crawford, who had stellar participations at the tournament too.

It is a huge pride to represent your country. Yeah, it is. Considering that you spent a lot of time playing outside of the country, played well for a long time and the coach finally noticed you, is a little. She could've noticed Carvalho's star right away. But to be fair, it was hard to find him. Sporting Fluminense wasn't that much of a place to show your skills as the team's sole big opponents were Raimundo Nonato and Andarahy Clube. And playing up against Jogalama wasn't that much of a surprise participation. It was something you expected to do. Anyways, Carvalho was at last playing as a Marill. If things looked down, he would try to move to another country to be accepted. Thankfully, he didn't as the Campionato Esportiva III could prove.

It is a huge pride to represent your country, but not when you have something else to do. That was what Michael Leminski used as an argument. The offensive midfielder left the national team due to a sister of hers being very ill. According to the doctor, it was the best of his interest to stay near his sister, because he couldn' tell how long would the little child survive. Not what Leminski wanted to do, but he had no choice. The Marills better play decent without him.

Is it a huge pride to represent your country? Let's see how will the Marills play and then we can talk about it.

by **West Angola** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:52 am

Phillip Garren and Isaac Warren stood on the sidelines of West Angola's practice pitch, watching the team in their final practice before departing for the World Cup. Michael Larssen had just scored, but the defense was looking very good, almost better than they'd been in the Cup of Harmony. The only concern was, of course, Jacob Kerys, the keeper. Kerys had long been the weak link on the team, but the stingy defense had essentially made him a non-factor all throughout the Cup of Harmony, allowing only eight shots throughout the tournament. Sadly, Kerys had allowed five of them to go in, and was a constant source of worry for those in the higher echelons of West Angola's sporting elite.

Garren turned to Warren, "We need a new keeper, but the backup's no better, and Kerys is too volatile for us to bring in someone else. If we sign a new keeper before the tournament, he could go ballistic on us."

"True, but we can't let the team's weakest member hold the rest hostage. He hasn't made many friends on this squad, and I doubt we'd get much resistance if we replaced him. What would really help would be if you could get back out there."

"Yeah, but that's as likely as my growing a third nostril in my ear. You saw the surgeon's reports, I'll never play again, unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Well, I've been thinking, Danforth had a lot of chemicals in that lab-"

Garren was interrupted by a sudden commotion out on the pitch. The entire team was clustered around someone near the center circle, and one of the team members was lying on the ground. Garren and Warren rushed onto the pitch as the trainer sprinted into the group. The cluster parted, revealing Rory Unist lying motionless on the grass.

"What happened, Thomas?"

"I don't know, Coach. He was running, and suddenly he jerked like he ran into something and fell over backwards. I have no idea what's wrong with him."

The trainer ran a quick diagnostic, "He's concussed, but he'll recover. No more football today for him, but he should be fine tomorrow."

Garren and Warren looked at each other, they knew who was most likely behind this, but they didn't want to say anything in front of the team. Walking back to the sidelines as the medical staff carted Unist away, they engaged in a low-voiced discussion.

"It has to be August, but how?"

"I don't know, but if he's back, we'll need to be on our guard throughout the tournament."

"Do we tell Luke?"

"No, he's got enough to worry about with elections coming up and the oil crisis just ending."

"Yeah, and with the nuking, he's got a lot on his plate."

"Agreed, we can handle this, no need to bother him about this."

King August II withdrew into the shadows. His neuron rifle had worked perfectly, transmitting a blow to the neurons in the brain that resulted in a concussion, the rifle had been grudgingly developed by Danforth, who had expressed regret at creating a weapon that didn't either kill or cause extreme pain. August planned to use the weapon periodically throughout the tournament, knocking out West Angolan players at key moments while those reporters and analysts still loyal to him began calling for a ban on football in West Angola as a result of the "high concussion risk." With the people distracted over this and Parrish's recent blunder over the island in Vortropolis, it would be relatively easy to seize power. By the time his army marched down Mondlane Avenue to take the palace, it would be too late, and his return to the throne would be assured.

As August drove down the street in his blacked-out car, he tuned the radio to one of the station's controlled by his loyalists. He had instructed them to fill the airwaves with agitation for a change in government, blasting Parrish for his handling of the Oil Shortage, the Vortropolan War, and the nation in general. His minions would wax eloquent about the days of his reign and that of his forefathers, calling for a return to the days of old. On West Angolan AM1200, George Stephanopolopholopagus was currently doing his part to bring the King down:

"It's been over a hundred years since the House of Jan hasn't held the throne, and look where we are! Nearly three million of our sons and daughters were just killed by a Vortropolan nuclear missile, coming on the heels of the worst oil crisis in history! Benguela is a toxic waste dump thanks to our wonderful majesty engaging us in a pointless war against the Koreans over the execution of people we had nothing to do with! I still remember when August was in charge, and his father before him. Things weren't perfect, but we weren't sending our children off to die on some unnamed island while we at home wonder if we'll be able to buy gas to get to the funeral! August, if you're out there, I'm asking- no, I'm begging you to come back to us, to lead us back to prosperity, like a king should. The phone lines are open, I'd like to hear your thoughts."

August flipped off the radio with a grin. That had sounded perfect, just enough emotion to convince those who were calming down now that a few years had passed. All he needed now was a little drama in the football team, and he would be King once more...

by **Branta Island** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 10:27 am

Inside the FBGC home office

"Hello, I'm Edoardo Gaspari, director of the Federazione Brantolano Giuoco Calcio, as well as the appointed manager of the Branta Island national football team. To the press, I'd like to thank you all for coming out. All.....3 of you. Well, I guess someone has to report upon this, right? Nonetheless, please fire away with any questions you may have."

"Signore Gaspari, is it true you chose these players on a whim? I mean, looking at your roster, only one person is considered a full-time footballer. Is the talent pool really that lacking?"

"Well, you tell me. We have a population of only 100,000 people here, compared to the 90 million that currently occupy our neighbors Saugeais. So yes, the talent pool is limited. We are very fortunate to have at least one full time footballer, Orsino Rocca, who currently plays within the Saugeain system. Sure, it may be for Delta FC in the bottom of the pyramid league, but whatever experience he's gathered playing full time will help immensely for the rest of the team. I'll be looking to him as sort of an assistant manager for tactics and training. Next question?"

"Hello, Simone Meddici of the Isola Times. How do you rate your chances in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers?"

"Well, I don't want to be too negative in my assessment, but overall it doesn't look good. I can assure you we won't be last place though, but qualification will certainly be a stretch with the team I have gathered."

"You were once ranked as high as 107th in the world before the national organization went on hiatus for a few years. Now that the national team has been restored, you sit near the bottom of the rankings in 262nd. Does this affect your team's mentality at all?"

"Hardly. Like I said before, we won't be last place in whatever group we are placed in. There are always worse off teams than us, even with the fact that most of the players on my squad have full time jobs in something other than football. I hope to give the fans something good to watch, be it the players on the field, or in the case someone like an Astograth or Aguazul come to town, the view of Lake Branta from the stands is absolutely spectacular. Well, if that's all the questions you have, I bid you good day, and I hope to see you all at the stadium when the qualifiers begin."

by **Sicoutimont** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 1:05 pm

Breaking News: Girard Giroux signs with CAP of Valladares

The game at Rose Bowl Stadium in Free South Califas wasn't that great for Sicoutimont. Losing 1-0 to a team a little higher in the rankings isn't too great, but the team will take it; it's but a friendly. But the big news came after the game. With UICA Championship matches taking place this week, right after the game, Marc Denis and Girard Giroux both were supposed to fly back to Lac-Drouin for Lac-Drouin St-Pierre's first match. However, Girard Giroux touched down in Los Chorros, Valladares, just outside the Valladar capital of Metropolis. CAP, known as Club Athletic Popular de Los Chorros, are also in a tournament, the Series B Champion's Cup. CAP have moved on to the preliminary round, where they will play Cardiff FC from The Babbage Islands.

So, Who Are Club Athletic Popular de Los Chorros?
You might be a guy from Lac-Drouin, and hate Girard Giroux for leaving your team at this time. You could be from Lac-Drouin and love him for leaving your rivals team. You could be from Val-Maurice, and only care that he's leaving to play in the second best league in the world. Good for him. But what's the back story on CAP? Club Atheltic Popular de Los Chorros are a football club based in Los Chorros, in the Valladar Mainland. The city is near the capital of Metropolis. The team was brought to the city 2 seasons ago, by the city mayor, also team chairman. After playing in the Valladar version of Ligue-2 for 1 season, the team was promoted to the Valladar Super League, the 2nd best in the world. According to our sources, the Valladar league had had interest in Giroux since he led the team to a 3rd place finish at Copa Rushmori X, held in Valladares. No team had a hole on midfield for a striker, but after Manager Denis changed Giroux to forward and he flourished, scoring 28 goals in the recent AmpiSport Champion's League season, CAP, moving up to the Super League, found room for him. Giroux recently stated, "It would be an honour for me to play in the Valladar Super League. The 2nd best football league in the world, I will be playing with the best strikers in the world. I'm hoping this will help me improve as a player, to lead CAP into the future, and also lead Team Sicoutimont into the future." Playing in the VSL, as Giroux stated, will hopefully bring Giroux into the class of elite players, becoming one of the best in the world, and like he himself said, leading Team Sicoutimont far. Going far at the Series B Champion's Cup will help in this current World Cup, as well. Who would have imagined the 22 year old from St-Simeon would end up being the first Sicoutian to leave the nation to play club sports?

by **Cuboneland** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 1:39 pm

Thomas Pon watched another rerun of Cuboneland's loss against Ogedai in the Baptism of Fire 49, wearing a sinister smile. he knew that Jordan Hannibal might have been able to prevent it, but that was all part of his plan.

He turned from the TV to see Hannibal bound to a chair and gagged with the dirtiest rag Pon could find. He was, as usual, staring at Pon with the most menacing look he could muster.

If looks could kill, Thomas Pon would be dead.

Pon was glad, however, that Hannibal was sitting there. He had been lonely for a while, after he left his old team to join the Raging Cubones, their national team. He KNEW he was better than anyone else on the team. However, Ace had kicked him out, because she said he lacked "synergy" with the team. She said he caused "conflicts" with the team.

Now Pon was showing her a conflict. And he was only getting started.

He turned, grabbed a small pistol, shoved the weapon into his jacket, and headed for the door.

"Don't worry, Hannibal," he smirked, "You'll have company soon."

by **Kinitaria** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 2:46 pm

"Litora are in trouble," grunted Kristijan Evinov over the top of his newspaper.

"Are they, dear?" came the voice of his long-term (and long-suffering) wife, Libena.

Kristijan Evinov had been, for the past eight months, the manager of Taimanesta, in the Kinitar B-League. A long and difficult season had culminated in his charges losing their grip on the summit of the B-League, slumping into sixth place, and finally losing the playoff final 4-1 to Atletika Vanuku. It was a fruitless and ultimately disappointing climax to a campaign for a team which had been hoping to bounce straight back following relegation from the Premier Division just one season ago. Before that, he'd been at the financially desperate East Mi'ato United for two years, completely turned their fortunes around, and got them promoted into the second tier. They remain there - barely - to this day. Prior to his career in management, he'd spent time as a center-back at Junulara in what was then the Southern League, one of the most prestigious leagues in the country before the National League System was set up.

Libena Evinova, his wife, couldn't see why he didn't just drop all this management stuff and settle down already.

Meanwhile in Mi'ato, the board of the Kinitar Football Federation were locked in discussions. The term "discussion" here is one which means "an event at which large amounts of coffee - and, later, alcoholic beverages - are consumed, while the theoretical point of the meeting is forgotten". They were supposed to be convening to discuss the appointment of the next Kinitaria manager, following the resignation of Yurovič and then the departure of two caretaker managers in quick succession.

"What about, um, Bilin, at Damaciu?" asked one voice, belonging to a grey-haired old man in a suit

"Not interested," responded another grey-haired old man in a suit.

"Klinič, Mi'ato City?" chimed in a third.

"He doesn't want to leave City, we'll never get him here."

"Lupi Maer, at Mi'ato."

"Well, there's no question of the talent, five trophies in two years... problem is, he's Chyri."

Assorted mutterings and nods from around the table. A national team manager who hailed from Chyr would be received with much the same enthusiasm as someone passing gas in a crowded elevator.

"Levinič?"

"Retiring."

"Amil?"

"Facing criminal charges."

"Well, come on. There's got to be someone up for the job. Hasn't there?"

"...and they tried to say that it's because our fans threw one smoke bomb in that Amzaberg match, sure they had to call the players off for a few minutes, but when it happens with one of the big clubs, when City were involved in that business up in Serenberg, you watch the Federation--"

Kristijan Evinov was ranting again. He was ranting to the extent that he failed to notice his wife leaving the room to take a phone call - although, the newspaper positioned directly in front of his eyes might also have contributed. It took him a few seconds to notice that Libena was actually handing him the phone.

"Yes?" he said into the receiver. "Yes, this is Kristijan Evinov. Yes, I'm the manager of Taimanesta. Yes, I keep an eye on the national team. You've what? You sound drunk. Are you? Who is this really? You're taking the piss, aren't you? Go away, and don't waste my f**king time again."

"Some smart-ass thinking it's funny to say they're from the Federation, saying I'm the new national manager," he ventured by way of explanation to Libena.

by **Jedi8246** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:51 pm

Theme
Fenris Sports Corner

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is your head anchor, Logan Dale, bringing another edition on the Fenris Sports Corner on Fenris Network. We are Jedi8246's number one sports broadcast and our proud to have been for the past twenty years. We bring you in depth looks at the players, coaches, and staff, as well as all the behind the scenes looks at what goes into making a sports team a champion.

I'll start with what we have all been waiting for. Yes, that's right the World Cup. Everyone knows how our nation came to join the World Cup six years ago. Since then, it has been a slow but steady rise to become an elite member on the international scene. Last year, we suffered a mild recession which unfortunately meant that the international team did not receive any funds and could not compete. However, Coach Hemlock is ready to come back and prove that the year off has not weakened the team in the slightest. The domestic league this year was a very tough season consisting of multiple teams that all were championship worthy.

The Wyverns roster features some small changes this year, with the hope that team that plays better together is formed. Instead of one that is all filled with all stars. Training has been taking place for the better part of two months and now the Wyverns are ready to play. With the World Cup starting only a week from now, the tapes are rolling in the Wyverns training camp as they prepare to face their international opponents. More info on the World Cup will be released throughout the day. After the break, we'll talk about what to look at as we head into the football season. Stay tuned.

World Cup 62 - The RP thread

World Cup 62 - The RP thread

Important message for World Cup 62 nations

WC-62 Pre-Q1

Scoreline 1: An Easy Day

Press Conference

6-1 easy win against Gaveo

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