AOCAF 38 (EVERYTHING)

by **Yelvoldia** » Tue Dec 04, 2012 9:13 am

(OOC: This was written on the Yelvoldian FA's website (www.yelvoldianfa.ylv) after Yelvoldia's match with Kinitaria in the 38th AOCAF.

Yelvoldian team update

We have two matches to tell you about in this update. They are our first two matches in the 38th AOCAF Cup, which is the international football tournament for nations in the region of Atlantian Oceania. The current edition of the AOCAF Cup is being held in Farfadillis. Atlantian Oceania, or AO for short, is the oldest - and arguably the best - sporting region in the NS world. This is a pretty long intro, so let's get on with the matches! In addition, some of our players are badgers. We will be adopting an-all badger squad for World Cup 63.

Our first match in the AOCAF Cup (which is sometimes known simply as the AOCAF) was against Pacitalia. The game kicked off at midnight Farf time (which is 11 pm in our time). Pacitalia won the 36th and 37th AOCAF Cups, and were going into this AOCAF Cup as the best team in Atlantian Oceania rankings-wise. These two facts meant that it was going to be a very hard game for us. Before the match, we thought that we would lose 6-0, or something like that. In the end, we did lose as expected, but not by much. We lost the match 2-0. Pacitalia's first goal came from Demi Santos, their star striker, who side-footed the ball into the roof of the net after a fatal error by our captain, Xavier Jules. This was in the 59th minute. Ten minutes latter, Pacitalia killed the game off, with captain Michelangelo Mascagnano cheekily dinking over Herman Barton, our goalkeeper, to score.

Our next, and most recent, match was against Kinitaria. We recorded a slightly surprising 2-0 win. Striker Connor Evans, who is a badger, gave us a 64th-minute lead by curling a fantastic shot high past the unnamed Kinitarian goalkeeper. Twenty minutes later, our star striker, Roger McLeod, sealed the win by knocking a penalty into the top corner of the net. The penalty was awarded for a foul on Sophie Carpet, our right-winger, by a Kinitarian defender. The defender was sent off for his foul.

Our next match in the AOCAF will be against Wight. They are a good team, so we'll have to watch. We predict a 3-0 loss for ourselves.

by **Audioslavia** » Tue Dec 04, 2012 1:44 pm

Andre-Luis Partico remembered the last time his side had faced Svengarda. A short 'Eternal Flame' competition that had taken place during Audioslavia's futile attempt to qualify for World Cup 62. Audioslavia had taken to the field against the Svengardans fresh from an appearance in the previous AOCAF final. Audioslavia's then-manager, one Txo Morea, had strode into his dugout with his head high, his chest out, almost with a sort of swagger, before a ball had even been kicked in anger. Audioslavia were supposed to be the favourites, were supposed to swat aside the fledgling Svengardans who, despite being then-BoF champions, were too green, too wet-behind-the-ears to cope with an Audioslavia side that felt like it was finally finding its feet at international level.

The plucky Bulls, however, would play badly. Woefully badly. Their tails firmly between their legs after they left the pitch, comfortably defeated. The excuses had started. "It was a good run-out for the team, helped me highlight some possible problems before the real competition starts, the World Cup qualifiers" Txo Morea had said, after the game. When asked whether he was anxious about just how poorly the Bulls had performed, he had shrugged his shoulders, declining even to answer. The next question, 'Can Audioslavia qualify for the next World Cup with this team?" had become infamous for the answer that Morea gave. A cocky smile, another shrug. "Yes. Forget about it. Don't worry about it. We have every chance"

A few weeks later, after Audioslavia left another field, having failed to defeat the minnows of R.K. Quebec, the realisation had begun to set in that there was something seriously, deeply wrong with the side. Some onlookers described Txo Morea's exit from his position, a whole eleven months and ten matchdays later, as a 'quick exit'. After that game, and the traumatic run Audioslavia would go on to have in the group, it had been anything but.

To come away from this game, then, a meeting with Svengarda in the AOCAF, with a win, was a massive boost for Andre-Luis Partico. Van Wildernis's name on the scoresheet had also vindicated the selection of a young playmaker that many thought was too young, too naive for the step-up to international football. Six points from two games, joint-top of the group, with capable yet beatable opposition to come before 'D-Day' loomed.

It dawned on Andre-Luis that he could win every game in this group, bar one, and still be sacked. Matchday Five. New Montreal States. The only must-win game of the campaign, according to the FFA. Lose that one, and he was out of a job. Win, and he'd be a national hero, if only until the next game. Draw? Apparently, that wouldn't be enough, according to the FFA's conditions, but he figured that a decision to axe him after qualifying from the group and taken a point from New Montreal States would martyr him at the very worst. The second the next manager started to slip up, the papers would be calling for A-LP to return. He wouldn't, of course, and he'd still be out of a job, but his reputation would last. People might even forget about that horrendous CoH knockout defeat to Cuboneland.

Might.

by **Kinitaria** » Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:51 pm

(OOC: Apologies for the late roster, but I haven't been around much.)

Kinitaria National Football Team
For the 38th AOCAF

Manager: Kristijan Evinov (age 58)
The first permanent manager of the national side following Tofiq Yurovič's departure prior to the last Cup of Harmony. His managerial experience so far has been with East Mi'ato United and Taimanesta in the Kinitar B-League, with both of his teams enjoying moderate success. Although his appointment raised some eyebrows around the country, he immediately set about hushing the doubters, and Kinitaria put on a fantastic spectacle for their fans, defeating former world number one Krytenia twice and coming back from 4-0 down to beat Yesopalitha 5-4 in Mi'ato. Sadly, it was not to be. Second place in the group sent Kinitaria through to their first ever shot at the playoffs, but that was as far as they would go. After crashing out at the playoff stage, Kinitaria entered the Cup of Harmony and got as far as the quarter-finals.
Tactically, the norm at Taimanesta, and the formation he has adopted for Kinitaria, was for him to use an attacking 4-4-2 formation, which could become a 4-2-4 if necessary, the two wide midfielders pushing up to support the attack. If desperately clinging onto a lead, the plan seems to be one of all out defence, with as much time-wasting and hoofs into the stands as it is possible to cram into the end-game.

Players

1. Costin Petran - GK - age 31 - 1. Maja - 82 caps - 0 goals
Petran is by far the overwhelming choice for the goalkeeping position, having held the #1 jersey almost permanently since the team played its first match. A superb shot-stopper, he is likely to consider each goal conceded as a personal insult. He played a key role in many of Kinitaria's victories in the past, and it is unlikely that he will be ousted from his position in this tournament.

2. Karl Sala - LB - age 26 - Mi'ato - 67 caps - 1 goal
Sala has been an established member of the team right from their first game. An old-fashioned sort of left-back, he aims to make life hard for oncoming attackers, and will always stand his ground. He has been known to put in some harsh tackles, and this is shown by his disciplinary record, since he's been sent off six times in 67 appearances.

3. Doran Lupei - CB - age 28 - Litora United - 74 caps - 2 goals (Captain)
The loyal, talented defender is great at marking, sticking closely to his man and breaking up attacks through the middle. He's proven himself to be the anchor of a Kinitar back line which has often been criticised for being fragile, and his performance will likely be crucial if Kinitaria are to make a name for themselves here. He's earned the captain's armband for both club and country through his loyalty, sticking with Litora United at a time when the club was going into meltdown.

4. Sebastien Sykora - CB - age 27 - AFC Damaciu - 67 caps - 1 goal
Maybe not the most technically gifted of defenders, Sykora has nevertheless established himself as a regular in the national side. He's no stranger to the occasional error, having cost Kinitaria crucial goals on at least two occasions during qualifying, and was part of the Damaciu side which slipped down the league in the latter half of last season. Despite this, he is versatile and can drift into new positions as needed, and he has also been known to notch a few goals himself, mainly headed efforts from corners.

5. Anton Spirlea - RB - age 25 - Mi'ato City - 76 caps - 0 goals
An accomplished team player and capable of performing under pressure, Spirlea is known for his excellent distribution of the ball, able to pick out a team-mate and start a counter attack with ease. He never panics when pressed and prefers to play his way out of trouble rather than hoofing the ball upfield. It's very rare to see him make a mistake and if he does have a flaw, it would be that he tends to let his complacency get the better of him. Expect to see him perform during the tournament.

6. Sergiu Vacarestič - LW - age 24 - Avnani Athletic - 70 caps - 16 goals
Vacarestič is now an established member of the Kinitar squad, one of the first names on the teamsheet. He is an attacking-minded winger who slots perfectly into Kinitaria's formation, and he's just as likely to cut inside and have a go at goal as well as sending in a cross from the left - preferring to cross early and attempt to beat the offside trap.

7. Paulo Naoumov - DM - age 29 - AFC Farnworth (LCP) - 55 caps - 10 goals
Due to incidents in the Premier Division, Naoumov has always been a divisive figure for Kinitar fans, but he's made a lot of progress towards winning them back with some fine performances for the national side. In his preferred DM role, the determined Naoumov refuses to back down from a challenge and can often be seen making life worse for oncoming attackers. However, he didn't make as many appearances as he would have liked during qualification, and he has had difficulty fitting into Evinov's system.

8. Kristijan Preda - CM - age 27 - Jan Mayen Islanders (PIS) - 56 caps - 9 goals
Another player who's mounting a strong challenge to a first-team place, Preda is an accomplished free-kick taker and can also head a ball well. After some time in the wilderness, he has impressed new boss Evinov in training and has won himself a spot in the first team. He might not be able to run a game himself, but his hard work and determination can make all the difference.

9. Lupan Mihalcič - SS - age 29 - Mi'ato City - 71 caps - 42 goals
One half of the greatest strike partnership in Kinitar football, Mihalcič has proven his quality over and over again. His best position is just behind the main striker - typically Sabčot - from which he can both score and create goals. He can time his runs perfectly to cut through the opposing defence, and prefers to hit a first-time shot rather than using a few valuable seconds to bring the ball under control. Certain to be hungry for more goals during the upcoming tournament.

10. Luka Sabčot - CF - age 28 - Mi'ato City - 78 caps - 70 goals
The man himself. The talisman, the hero, the legend of Kinitar football. Sabčot scores goals for fun, is an outstanding finisher and excellent in one-on-one situations. He's also a bit of a playboy and a joker, and likes to show off in an attempt to impress his many fans. In fact, some might say he's a bit too cocky. But then, with a record like his (including 68 goals in 75 games for his club, Mi'ato City), then he can afford to be. There's nothing he enjoys more - in footballing terms - than embarrassing a goalkeeper to set himself up for a tap-in from close range.

11. Emil Pročazka - RM - age 32 - 1. Maja - 70 caps - 13 goals (Vice-captain)
Pročazka is an excellent partner to Vacarestič. It's not uncommon to see the two wingers surge forward to bolster an attack, with Pročazka being the better of the two at crossing, but he's also capable of scoring a good goal, and contributed to Kinitaria's qualification efforts with six of them. He has enough pace to beat any defender and remains a crucial part of Kinitaria's attacking plan.

12. Cyril Novak - LB - age 28 - Mowling City Tigercats (NSI) - 24 caps - 0 goals
Novak has established himself as one of the top defenders in the Premier Division since a return from a horror injury suffered last cycle. The bruising left-back plays hard but fair with no quarter given to opponents, a great sense of timing allowing him to stop attacks dead with a perfectly executed tackle. He's not the fastest player in the world, and will hoof the ball clear rather than playing his way out of trouble.

13. Vitya Jelen - GK - age 32 - Amzterdam FC (CYB) - 6 caps - 0 goals
Kinitaria's number two finally got a chance to show himself off during qualification, as Petran served a three-game suspension, and now hopes to get an extended run in the team. Having put some inconsistency problems behind him, he's proven to be excellent at stopping 1-on-1 shots and has shown great distribution of the ball. He tends to flap at crosses, but is a determined and reliable team player.

14. Milan Beskid - CF - age 23 - Universita Tirinthea - 14 caps - 3 goals
The talented young striker can finish like no other and functions best with a strike partner to spur him on to greater heights. He's not one for spectacular goals, instead, he's a consistent threat to opposition defences if he gets so much as a sight of goal within the penalty area. He's getting noticed in the national setup now, and scored two goals during qualification, including a close-range winner in the dramatic 5-4 against Yesopalitha.

15. Samuel Costica - CM - age 21 - Inovita - 11 caps - 0 goals
An inexperienced midfielder, one of the few youth team players to feature in Evinov's squad, he's still developing as a player and didn't really play much of a role in qualification. There's a chance he might get more of a run-out in the upcoming tournament. If he does come on, expect him to try to use his pace to beat his marker before spreading the ball out wide to launch an attack. Distribution is definitely one of his strong points.

16. Vadim Reneiči - CM - age 20 - Mi'ato - 3 caps - 0 goals
The youngest player to be named in this squad, and well known to Evinov from his time at Taimanesta before his big-money move to Mi'ato, Reneiči was part of Yurovič's famous youth team which held Polar Islandstates to a 0-0 draw away in World Cup 61. Since then, he's shown incredible improvement and was snapped up by the cup holders in the last transfer window. Only two substitute appearances for him in the last campaign, but there's some promise there.

17. Čyran Malpomir - CF - age 31 - Mi'ato - 29 caps - 6 goals
Malpomir is an outstanding striker, but the dominance of Mi'ato City's strike partnership makes it difficult for him to force his way into the team. He might play a role in a 4-3-3, which Kinitaria have been known to use if they desperately need goals, but otherwise will mainly act as backup to the two main strikers. He's very gifted as a technical player, and will often tend to try to beat players in the penalty area and open up a clear path for a shot on goal.

18. Ciprian Marin - CB - age 21 - Universita Tirinthea - 10 caps - 0 goals
Marin came to the attention of former boss Yurovič after a solid performance for Tirinthea, and has continued to impress in training since then. Billed as a talent for the future, Marin has impressed in his two friendly appearances, but is unlikely to make a huge impact on the national game straight away. He still has much to learn, and if given a game, is likely to think rashly and dive into challenges without thinking. Might get half a game as a sub if Kinitaria are dominating.

19. Vikenti Andonov - RB - age 30 - Litora United - 31 caps - 0 goals
Andonov has been constantly in and out of a first team spot since his first call-up, but has been frozen out of the squad fairly often. Whether he'll get a chance in the future remains to be seen, because he didn't in qualification. The tall, well-built defender has been known to intimidate opponents with both his stature and his playing style, given that a trick he likes to use on opposing players involves a sneaky foul on the blind side of the referee. He's a physical player, not a skilful one.

20. Leon Cantacuzino - LM - age 29 - Litora United - 51 caps - 10 goals
Litora are lucky that they managed to keep Cantacuzino, because he is an effective all-round player, able to score and create goals in equal measure. When he plays, he'll be the team's corner taker, since he can swing in a good ball from either the left or the right. He prefers to stay wide, use the flanks and cross from the byline, and he can do this very effectively to slice open an opposing defence. Kinitaria's super-sub, in a way. He can change the direction of a game almost single-handedly.

21. Jaren Kozak - GK - age 27 - Mi'ato - 0 caps - 0 goals
What does a third choice keeper actually do? They're just there to take up space, really. A decent keeper for Mi'ato, but... third choice nationally. So he almost certainly won't feature. He's dependable enough, but not the most skilful of keepers. At least he'll get into all of Kinitaria's games for free.

22. Alfonsa Surilev - CB - age 30 - Mi'ato - 0 caps - 0 goals
Surilev has to step into Yulian Kovačev's old role, and those are some big shoes to fill. He's a mainstay of the title-challenging Mi'ato side, which is a team that traditionally places its emphasis on defence. He's had a standing national reputation for some time thanks to his no-nonsense attitude and hard tackles which Evinov seems to favour. He'll likely get a chance to showcase what he can do during the Cup of Harmony.

23. Polin Blanarič - RM - age 23 - Mi'ato - 0 caps - 0 goals
An unknown quantity on the international scene, Blanarič has also largely gone unnoticed domestically, but has earned his place in the Kinitar squad thanks to a series of consistent performances in the Premier Division. The sort of player who you might describe as a workhorse - he works hard, and he's steady, but not spectacular. He'll run and tackle and generally put himself around, making a nuisance of himself to the opposition.

Kits

Kinitaria continue the policy of keeping the same kits throughout one cycle

Left (home): Halved shirts are a common sight on the field of play. Halved shorts... not so much. Someone at the FFK thought it was a good idea.
Center (away): An unusual design incorporating the national colours on the sleeves. If the team win anything in it, it'll become a cult classic kit, otherwise, consigned to the scrapheap.
Right (goalkeeper): National goalkeeper Costin Petran wears a striking orange and black outfit for this cycle.

Fans

Kinitar fans burn flares during the 4-1 Cup of Harmony 53 victory over Audioslavia

Kinitar fans are known for their passion. They're also known for burning down a significant portion of the Tricorn Arena in Wight during the last Cup of Harmony, and are sure to be delighted of the chance to return. Naturally, the FFK has naturally disavowed all responsibility, and supporters' groups maintain that the shoddy construction of the host stadium was to blame. Either way, lighting flares is a part of fan culture in Kinitaria, and there's always the possibility that a Kinitaria goal will turn the air thick with smoke. During the match, the team are typically roared on by 70,000 home fans screaming themselves hoarse non-stop throughout the game, which creates an intimidating atmosphere for visiting teams - although the fact that the aforementioned flares, among other things, are sometimes thrown at visiting players or fans might also contribute to this. The fights which characterise some of the most fierce club matches, such as the cross-capital derby between hated rivals Mi'ato City and Mi'ato, have yet to make their way to international level, although some say that this is merely because they haven't found the right spark yet. The FFK has been somewhat reluctant to take action against such matters, because "it's all part of the game, isn't it?"

Style mod: +2
RP permissions: Generally, you can do what you want, but send a TG first if you want to godmod something.

by **Kinitaria** » Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:11 pm

Anyone who claims that the Federation don't take regional tournaments seriously, or that they're too busy planning for the World Cup, just has to look at the display put up so far in the current AOCAF. Never mind the youth players getting a run out, or the willingness to experiment a little tactically, or the fact that they've failed to record a win in the opening two games, this is a tournament Kinitaria take seriously... honestly. It was all manager Kristijan Evinov could do to watch helplessly from the sidelines as his side crashed to a 0-2 defeat against Yelvoldia. He had marked his first game in charge with a 5-0 friendly win against the very same team at the start of this cycle. So what was going wrong? Standing on the touchline and yelling a lot failed to cure it, whatever it was. The team spirit looked plainly lacking - they weren't being positive enough, they weren't prepared to take risks, and they looked as offensively dangerous as a soggy paper towel.

As such, the team found themselves in the dressing room, on the end of one of Evinov's rants. He wasn't widely known as a manager with a short fuse, but when he did blow up, it was guaranteed to be spectacular. He took the time to tear into each of his players, letting them know that they were letting their country down in front of a regional audience, they were damaging their chances at silverware, the usual kind of thing you'd hear from an angry manager. Then it was time to tactically dissect the Yelvoldia game, which was a little like an animal's dissection - gory and generally unpleasant. None of the team dared to speak up as the manager railed against shoddy defending and limited attacking threat. He made it plain to them that he expected better in their upcoming games. The "or else" could safely be left unspoken.

So, preparations began for their clash against champions Pacitalia. Everyone knew the strengths of the regional champions. They should, their manager kept reminding them. The main question was, how to actually beat them? It's fair to say that Evinov wasn't sure if he had the answers there, but this was not something he was going to admit publicly. As far as the press were concerned, this was just a blip, and Kinitaria were going to pull themselves out of it and put on a show for everyone with a spirited display of football against Pacitalia. The public face of the Federation has always been that they're there to win every game, and Evinov wasn't about to depart from that, even if it meant that they did sometimes appear to be chasing lost causes. He was determined, at least, to make the team feel like they'd been well and truly put through their paces by the end of the week. They'd achieved some great victories in the past, and Pacitalia were by no means invincible. A shock result wasn't completely out of the question, and it might even restore some public confidence in the team. Just maybe, the dream would happen...

by **Farfadillis** » Tue Dec 04, 2012 5:16 pm

The Ferdullaele Tabloid

Compliment Rain for the FFFF's organization of the AOCAF

There's really good news for every Farf out there! Many nations from all throughout Atlantian Oceania have been congratulating the FFFF for its perfect organization for the 38th edition of the regional championship: the AOCAF. Many teams have said that the "matches at midnight are really pleasant" and that "playing at 5am did really good for the spirit" as well as the Pacitalians saying that "the minor accident with the referee was something that we'd be willing to overlook because of how fascinating Farfadillis is" or maybe the Falcanians as well with their compliments about the lack of violence in Farfadillis, specially in Ruland. Many players have also congratulated the FFFF bcause of the varied landscaped in which they play their matches. With Jay Industries' players saying that the murdering of half their team by Farf fans was just a "minor set-back" and the 95X team saying that the hot air of the desert in which they played was extremely pleasant. The most notable of the compliments came from 95X's superstar player: Xi Foureleven. She said she found Farf reporters to be really pleasant to talk to and that she found the security in Farfadillis to be fantastic, although maybe we'd owe that to the horriblie dictatorship back at 95X where their citizens are barely allowed to breathe, just as in any other nation that we here in The Ferdullaele Tabloid don't like.

About our matches, all our players have been fantastic, nevermind that they couldn't defeat unranked, half-murdered team Jay Industries. They still managed to win against a really horrible team with a depressing style of play called Savski Venac, which is in war with everyone and oppresses its citizens. Anyways, Juárez, Dandalleion and Tuzzio are the players we'd like to highlight today, as they've been saving us a bit. We're top or our group along with New West Guiana so far, a nation that wasn't allowed to host the AOCAF because of its insecurity and lack of organization, in which our nation excels.

by **Farfadillis** » Tue Dec 04, 2012 5:17 pm

(I apologize for the unexpected excess of randomness here.)

Group 1

Valanora 3-0 Blouman Empire @ Jardin Norte, kicked-off 8:45 (AOTC -0200)
The Inevitable Syndicate 0-1 95X @ Ján Rülán Dêrmáá, kicked-off 12:45 (AOTC -0200)
Undisputed Atols 0-3 Starblaydia @ Adar Jak, kicked-off 17:20 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                          P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 Valanora                      3  3  0  0 10  1  +9  9
 2 Starblaydia                   3  2  1  0  5  1  +4  7
 3 95X                           3  2  1  0  4  1  +3  7
 4 Blouman Empire                3  0  1  2  1  6  -5  1
 5 Undisputed Atols              3  0  1  2  2  8  -6  1
 6 The Inevitable Syndicate      3  0  0  3  0  5  -5  0

Group 2

Audioslavia 0-1 Mantwenic @ Adar Jak, kicked-off 02:20 (AOTC -0200) (must be freezing cold to play in a desert at 2am, just saying...)
Svengarda 0-1 Thatius @ Gra Aguaviva Mitologica, kicked-off 22:45 (AOTC -0200)
Urbis Tractus 0-4 New Montreal States @ Naš Stadion, kicked-off 07:45 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                     P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 New Montreal States      3  3  0  0  9  1  +8  9
 2 Thatius                  3  2  0  1  3  3  +0  6
 3 Mantwenic                3  2  0  1  3  3  +0  6
 4 Audioslavia              3  2  0  1  4  2  +2  6
 5 Svengarda                3  0  0  3  1  4  -3  0
 6 Urbis Tractus            3  0  0  3  2  9  -7  0

Group 3

Pacitalia 1-0 Kinitaria @ Estadio d'Onor, kicked-off 17:00 (AOTC -0200)
Naitpyge 0-1 Hutt River @ Ján Rülán Dêrmáá, kicked-off 22:45 (AOTC -0200)
Yelvoldia 3-1 Wight @ La Gran Avenida, kicked-off 12:45 (AOTC -0200)

---Team            P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 Pacitalia       3  3  0  0  5  1  +4  9
 2 Yelvoldia       3  2  0  1  5  3  +2  6
 3 Wight           3  2  0  1  5  4  +1  6
 4 Hutt River      3  1  1  1  2  3  -1  4
 5 Kinitaria       3  0  1  2  0  3  -3  1
 6 Naitpyge        3  0  0  3  1  4  -3  0

Group 4

Vilita & Turori 0-4 Falcania @ Naš Stadion, kicked-off 10:45 (AOTC -0200)
Maklohi Vai 0-3 Leorudo @ Gra Aguaviva Mitologica, kicked-off 14:45 (AOTC -0200)
Secundus Kasius 2-2 Kiryu-shi @ La Gran Avenida, kicked-off 20:00 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                 P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 Falcania             3  3  0  0  9  1  +8  9
 2 Kiryu-shi            3  1  2  0  5  3  +2  5
 3 Leorudo              3  1  1  1  4  2  +2  4
 4 Secundus Kasius      3  1  1  1  5  7  -2  4
 5 Vilita & Turori      3  1  0  2  2  6  -4  3
 6 Maklohi Vai          3  0  0  3  0  6  -6  0

Group 5

Farfadillis 2-3 New West Guiana @ Farf Fragar Firschendujmal I7'snerra, kicked-off 17:00 (AOTC -0200) [Scorinated by Saugeais]
Savski Venac 3-3 Legalese @ Naš Stadion, kicked-off 22:45 (AOTC -0200)
Jay Industries 1-0 Osarius @ Gre Drrena, kicked-off 22:45 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                    P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 New West Guiana         3  2  1  0  6  2  +4  7
 2 Legalese                3  1  2  0  4  3  +1  5
 3 Farfadillis             3  1  1  1  8  7  +1  4
 4 Jay Industries          3  1  1  1  2  4  −2  4
 5 Osarius                 3  1  0  2  1  2  −1  3
 6 Savski Venac            3  0  1  2  6  9  −3  1

Group 6

Andossa se Mitrin Vega 1-0 Lymantatia @ Adar Jak, kicked-off 06:00 (AOTC -0200)
Burchadinger 0-1 Geisenfried @ Farf Fragar Firschendujmal I7'snerra, kicked-off 06:30 (AOTC -0200) (There was a black-out and the match had to be postponed by an hour, with the people waiting inside the stadium.)
Warkus 0-1 The Sylvanaes Queendom @ Jardin Norte, kicked-off 12:00 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                        P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 Burchadinger                3  2  0  1  3  1  +2  6
 2 The Sylvanaes Queendom      3  2  0  1  3  3  +0  6
 3 Geisenfried                 3  2  0  1  3  2  +1  6
 4 Andossa se Mitrin Vega      3  2  0  1  4  1  +3  6
 5 Lymantatia                  3  1  0  2  2  2  +0  3
 6 Warkus                      3  0  0  3  0  6  -6  0

by **95X** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:50 am

Standing at the top of the skyscraper, looking out over the clouded skies and ground of Pacific City, our hero puts her right fist in the air, jumps off the roof, and begins to fly.

Then her eyes open, realizing she is actually still in the hotel room. It's 5 AM, time to get up anyway. Unlike most, she immediately leaps out of bed and begins warm-ups, waking up her would-be-new-best-friend, MacKenzee.

"It's early, and practice isn't for another few hours," she says.

Xi simply ignores her at this point.

"Oh I get it, you've been up for a while?," MacKenzee tries again.

Xi realizes she will have to open up a bit, and starts talking while in the middle of push-ups.

"Talking takes mindpower," Xi says. "I have to prepare my mind."

"Well, let me at least get you breakfast downstairs," MacKenzee offers.

"Food is weakness entering the body," Xi replies, not missing a beat of her morning regime. "It's why so many are fat and broke. I have a custom-processed thing I eat. It's scentless, tasteless, and contains every nutrient I need."

Realizing Xi's mind is like trying to unlock an electro-magnetically-sealed door without a clue as to what to do next, MacKenzee asks one more thing:

"Xi, are you human?"

Xi stops, gets up, and looks out the window for a moment, an absolute rarity for her at this stage of her life.

"Sadly, yes."

Later that day, 95X wins 1-0 over The Inevitable Syndicate. Lyle Russell scored the only goal of the game for 95X.

by **Farfadillis** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 7:11 am

He went into the pitch, they couldn't miss this opportunity. Not at the I7'snerra, as hosts of the AOCAF. They were facing New West Guiana, team he thought they'd be able to beat, or tie at the very least. The match promised to be exciting. Both teams were decent in all lines, with Farfadillis being just a bit more attacking, but the difference was barely noticeable, anyways. Farfadillis and New West Guiana were currently topping the group, so the match could be something really interesting for anyone. Farfadillis had a responsibility to do well as hosts.

When the referee blew his whistle indicating the start of the first half, it was really clear what the fans wanted: a win like the one against Savski Venac. The team started playing a bit better, but they soon found themselves with two hazardous strikers from New West Guiana. Soon, in just seven minutes, New West Guiana got a 2-0 lead that no-one was expecting. The I7'snerra was silent. The two strikers had struck Farfadillis in just seven minutes, with two consecutive chances, and "La Verdheroja" already had it too difficult, even for a tie. He felt really let down, seeing as they really had high hopes for this match. The team did, however, continue gambling with an even more attacking style, despite the possibility of an international embarrasment. However, New West Guiana wold soon strike them with the finishing blow. In the seventy-fourth minute, a long shot from a Guianan midfielder bounced off Chinsúa's head and left Lisdiren in an awkward position. The shot was still tremendously powerful and he couldn't do a thing to stop it. Bad luck combined with the power of the shot was enough to allow another goal for the Guianans. The Farves soon found themselve sin a stadium with only a few Guianans chanting while their fans were as silent as the Sortheners right now. They found themselves waiting for the relief that the sound of the whistle indicating the end of the first half meant. They played a bit defensively until it finally arrived.

They went into the second half much better, with him leading the attacks down the left flank. Dandalleion finally started to get some trascendence. He got a through ball in the fifty-second minute that eventually meant a goal for "La Vherderoja". He stopped the ball and dribbled a player down the flank. He then dribbled another one and feinted a shot to the goalkeeper. Instead, he dribbled him and found himself with no angle to shoot. With his last effort, he sent a cross towards Tuzzio, who was waiting patiently at the penalty spot. When the ball arrived to Tuzzio, instead of heading it he decided to chest it. He then stopped the ball and looked at the upper-right corner of the goalkeeper. He then shot there. The ball went slowly and in a beautiful way to the corner, where it entered and meant a goal. Farfadillis was still 3-1 down and there wasn't much they could do. Afterwards, Mêndêlöíndçêl also got a goal, that gave the Farves some hope. But it was too late, already in injury time. His goal was out of a rebound, he got the ball at the box's edge, more at the left angle, and shot powerfully in a diagonal way, straight to the goal. The shot was difficult for the Guianan to see, and even more difficult to stop as it was headed right to the upper-right corner, once again. This time, the goal was even more beautiful, but to no use: the referee would blow the whistle just as the Guianans kicked-off. A serious upset from New West Guiana, but Farfadillis still had some hope, he thought that the match against Osarius would be really important, just as the game against Legalese. But they didn't have much chances, even of going through as one of the best thirds.

by **Vilita** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 7:43 am

Eel-Cat Things on the Brink

Falcanian Thrashing leaves Vilita & Turori facing Elimination

Mikala Abellan's time as the Vilita & Turori Eel Cat Things regional manager seems to be on very thin ice after a disastrous start to the AOCAF 38 campaign in Farfadillis that has seen the #2 ranked team in the region drop matches to unranked Secondus Kasius and a Falcania team that could barely tell the difference between positions on the field. The 0-4 thrashing against Falcania was the worst defeat ever for the combined team of Vilita & Turori, and the worst defeat overall for Vilita & Turori in the AOCAF since Vilita's 6-1 defeat against Starblaydia during the first knockout stage of AOCAF III.

Abellan and the Vilita & Turori players walked off the pitch with their heads down after the embarrassment at Naš Stadion that has left the Eel-Cat Things with just two goal in 3 games. Yves Gadois' 87th minute winner against Maklohi Vai the only 'bright spot' of the campaign thus far - but the reality is, the Vilita & Turori side has looked extremely poor. After losing to unranked Secondus Kasius, the Eel-Cat things were held for nearly the entirety of the 90 minutes by unranked Maklohi Vai before Yves Gadois stepped up to seemingly save the Vilita & Turori campaign with his winner 3 minutes from time.

Then came the demolition against Falcania which will certainly strain relations between the two nations who currently work as partners in the World Grand Prix Championships funding the Vilita & Turori Motorsports Grand Prix side with a funding package that includes the support of two Falcanian companies.

The result leaves Abellan fearing for his job and tricky matchups against AOCAF buster Kiryu-shi and an increasingly more experienced Leorudo side as the Eel-Cat things will look to climb out of the hole they've built and back into AOCAF fray. Vilita & Turori have already lost control of their own destiny, however, victory over Kiryu-shi and Leorudo, coupled with any point-dropping by Secondus Kasius, should see the Eel-Cat Things through to the knockout round, where anything is possible.

	Maklohi Vai
:: Goalscorers :: :: 87' Yves Gadois	:: Goalscorers :: :: None
:: Best Player: Moia Fliporta :: Worst Player: Raso Tareak :: Shots on Target: 4 :: Corner Kicks: 2	:: Best Player: Rumoto Noramanai :: Worst Player: Tilao Palarutani :: Shots on Target: 2 :: Corner Kicks: 4

Vilita & Turori Eel Cat Things (3-(1-4)-2) ::
[GK] Nycflala Kater, [D] Ritopa Simafela, [D] Kadi Molali, [D] Moia Fliporta, [DMC] Retiso Buran, [ML] Jomur Hulyer, [MC] Kiroki Mitaroka, [MC] Vrotaoa Lorasoiba, [MR] Raso Tareak, [FC] Yves Gadois, [FC] Sirkii Moliaudo
BENCH::
[FC] Liinai Zakazaka, [FC] Viji-mara Lawaai, [M] Riksa Valjariia, [M] Steffyn Siazzu, [U] Kristofer Kilpter, [D] Lioniaa Tana, [GK] Aranora Jaded

Vilita Substitutions::
(45) - Jomur Hulyer >>> Riksa Valjariia
(66) - Raso Tareak >>> Viji-mara Lawaai
(72) - Retiso Buran >>> Kristofer Kilpter

	Falcania
:: Best Player: Kristofer Kilpter :: Worst Player: Kadi Molali :: Shots on Target: 3 :: Corner Kicks: 2	:: Best Player: Thax Akirax :: Worst Player: Yrion Kork :: Shots on Target: 8 :: Corner Kicks: 8

Vilita & Turori Eel Cat Things (3-(1-4)-2) ::
[GK] Aranora Jaded, [D] Ritopa Simafela, [D] Lioniaa Tana, [D] Kadi Molali, [DMC] Retiso Buran, [ML] Jomur Hulyer, [MC] Steffyn Siazzu, [MC] Astara Daiili, [MR] Vrotaoa Lorasoiba, [FC] Kristofer Kilpter, [FC] Yves Gadois
BENCH::
[FC] Viji-mara Lawaai, [FC] Xcnaio Bansoa, [M] Raso Tareak, [M] Kiroki Mitaroka, [U] Lita Adjei, [D] Moia Fliporta, [GK] Hooizo Nuakoi

Vilita Substitutions::
(45) - Ritopa Simafela >>> Lita Adjei
(73) - Lioniaa Tana >>> Raso Tareak
(78) - Astara Daiili >>> Kiroki Mitaroka

by **The Inevitable Syndicate** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 7:57 am

95 X 0 = 0 For The Inevitable Syndicate!
The Inevitable Syndicate 'Celebrate' another loss today in the AOCAF, this time losing to 95X 1-0. The match kicked off at 2:45IST at Ján Rülán Dêrmáá, Farfadillis. Ján Rülán Dêrmáá is supposedly one of the least safe stadiums in Farfadillis, and the 95X team really didn't seem to happy about this. That didn't stop them from putting on their A-Game, though, and the 95X team had possession of the ball for most of the game. No goals were scored until the 36^th minute though, when Lyle Russell cleanly span a shot straight past Dominic Archer into the back of the Syndicate's net. That's the fifth goal that Dominic has conceded this tournament, and the team itself hasn't even scored one! That's alright though, as the defensive play by The Syndicatian team was almost flawless. If we were to award anyone Man of the Match, it would have to be Nick King, as he managed to do a fine job of keeping the 95X forwards off target during the match.

The 95X fans were unforgiving in their chanting - so much so that even native Farfadillis residents were joining in with the jeering. Things like ' Your loss is Inevitable!' and 'You've played three, scored none! You may as well go home!' were flying about the stadium during the match. It's going to be difficult for the team to pick up their morale in coming days.

Now, I know what you're thinking: That holiday goer we interviewed a few days ago was right, and that we aren't going to last a week. All may look bad now, but we can still get through to the final 16! If The Syndicatian Team wins their next two games, then we might just scrape through as one of the four best third place teams. It's a long shot, but when haven't we stepped up to the plate and given it a go?

Tomorrow's match is versus Undisputed Atols. Can the Syndicate actually score a goal? Maybe even win? Only time will tell.

Song of the moment: Still Grey - Pendulum

Freddie Johnson
ILN Sport

by **New Montreal States** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 10:51 am

"Up next on The Nature Channel, why does the dog lick its balls? We'll be speaking with some of the 'States finest dog trainers, animal biology researchers, and veterinarians to answer a question that has baffled mankind since prehistoric times..."

*click*

"NOBODY BEATS OUR PRICES! NOBODY! IF A COMPETITOR IS OFFERING A LOWER PRICE, BRING US PROOF, AND WE'LL MATCH IT! THEN GIVE YOU ANOTHER TEN PERCENT OFF! AND THEN WE WILL AVENGE OURSELVES UPON THE CHEEKY BASTARDS..."

*click*

"...and now the latest from AOCAF 38, where the only thing that hasn't gone wrong so far is the Paladins' play, right, Doc?"

"That's right. The Paladins just defeated Urbis Tractus 4-0 in a match that kicked off at 7:45 A.M. local time in a nearly empty stadium. The citizens of the floating city seemed to be still asleep for most of the first half, and by the time they started to fight back, the Paladins had taken an insurmountable 3-0 lead. Here's Hugo Leclercq opening the scoring with a butterfly kick off of a corner from Fred Nguyen."

"And the bizarre kickoff times aren't the half of it, right?"

"Absolutely. More alarming than that are the incidents of unprovoked, wanton violence against visiting fans, referees and even players from The Jay Corporation, with little to no response from the authorities. Most NMS fans have come home early, or cancelled plans to visit, after the recent murders of sisters Hilarie and Anne-Marie Poisson in a dispute over a cab, followed by the shooting of Jean-Theodore Lagarde at a local burger joint by a fellow patron who violently disagreed over his choice of condiments for his double cheeseburger. The Foreign Ministry has reccommended that all Montréalais in Farfadillis leave immediately if they cherish their lives, and it turns out that most of them do."

"What a string of unspeakable tragedies, Doc. Up next in happier news, a little league team from Sorel, angry over how awful the Red-Tailed Hawks have been this season, have challenged their professional counterparts via internet video! More details after the break..."

*click*

by **Secundus Kasius** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 11:04 am

It was a half hour after the end of the match, and the Secundus Kasius team had left the dressing room for a well-earnt trip to the local bar - a 2-2 draw was not to be sniffed at, especially after the embarrassing loss to the Falcanian team (Castus Caudex was still sporting a black eye and a slight limp from the post-match scuffle). Turner and Holt were carried out on the shoulders of their teammates, and moods were high, leaving Johnny Hall, Daily Dove news alone on the benches with his broadcasting gear, still breathing heavily from exhaustion.

"Gooood morning to all you viewers out there, this is Tyrone Taylor with the 9am news! With us today is Johnny Hall, our sports reporter, who we hope has a very vivid memory of the match against Kiryu-shi yesterday -"

Johnny looked up at the video camera in shock, "Yesterday?! You mean this isn't going out live? I could be at the pub right now!"

"So Johnny, we hear you've managed to pull back from the disappointment after facing Falcania, and left the pitch with a draw - how do you think the game went?" Those watching at home could clearly see the torment on Johnny's face, though hopefully they would attribute it to post-game fatigue. He could be with his teammates celebrating goals and becoming generally very merry, and instead he was giving up his time to pre-record a session which could, in all honesty, have been done the next morning. He set his face, took a deep breath, and sunk into news reporter mode.

"Well, it seems we've definitely upped our game once more, especially now we're not fighting bloody avian supermen." He attempted a smile, but his heart clearly wasn't in it - the team had suffered at the wings of the Falcanians, both on and off the pitch. "As I'd imagine all you at home can see, I am exhausted; we played hard, we played fast, and it paid off. There was a resounding effort from all of our players, but special mentions have to go to Caudex, who valiantly played on despite his beating yesterday, and of course those who won us the game - Turner and Holt!"

"No more wild goals from Gallus Haxtes, then?" asked Tyrone, the amusement plain in his voice, "And it appears it was not all good news, what was the final score again?"

"Sadly our opponents also made a sterling effort - I feel like I've run a marathon today! They managed to slip the ball past Brick on two occasions, though the unfortunate men didn't come back close to the net afterwards, I can tell you that for a fact."

"...I'm sorry, Brick?"

Johnny paused, looking slightly embarrassed, "Well, we've taken to calling Freddy Arkwight "Brick" cos y'know, he's built like a brick s**thouse..." He cleared his throat, "Anyway, moving on, I can't give you the names of our opponent's scorers this match, because as you can see I'm in the dressing room and haven't had time to look them up yet. But they played well, and us here in Farfadillis feel we've had a good'un today - not fantastic, but a good'un. And there's always time for us to improve!"

"Yes Johnny, yes there is. And that's all for the sports this morning...Our national team has drawn with Kiryu-shi 2-2, and seems to be in high spirits - let's hope they're ready for their next match against Maklohi Vai! Now to Harriet with the weather..."

by **Audioslavia** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 4:52 pm

"Boss, boss... wake up boss"
"Mmmf"
"Boss... boss wake up"
"Mmmmfwhz"
"Boss..."
"Whz?"
"We've made a terrible mistake"

Ten minutes later, Andre-Luis Partico was down in the hotel lobby, his FFA blazer on back-to-front, tie dangling round his neck, fly barely buttoned up on his trousers, hair looking like he'd just been thrown through a bush. Around him were most of the Audioslavia national football team, in various states of 'dress', with some angry looking FFA boss-types being as passive aggressive to A-LP as possible.
"We specifically told you, Andre-Luis, that the match started at oh-two-thirty hours."one specific suit kept telling him. Andre-Luis rolled his eyes rather than offer his explanation one more time. Oh-two-thirty indeed. Andre-Luis had never been in the military, how did he know that simply putting an 'oh' before a time changed it by a whole twelve hours? And in any case, what kind of sodding football match starts at two o'clock in the sodding morning? He'd had his team retire to bed at eleven o'clock, ready to rise at eight, breakfast at eight-thirty, team meeting at ten followed by free-time and then a lunch of pasta and fish and tuna and rice at 11 and on the way to the game at noon. Out on the pitch to warm-up at ten-to-two, back into the changing room for a briefing and then out back to the pitch for a two-thirty kickoff. It was all planned out. All of it. And now it was all ruined.

"Where's the bus-driver" said one FFA suit, entering the front door. Andre-LUis took a look around. He'd recognise the fat Farfadillian local on sight and he certainly wasn't here, although on the bright side, all twenty-two Audioslavian footballers were. That was a start at least.
"Think he might be on the, ahen, 'old' schedule" said one of the many passive-aggressive FFA suits. "I have to admit, Andre-Luis, that when we gave you the ultimatum, the instructions to beat New Montreal States and to hell with everyone else, that I wasn't expecting you to give me an excuse to fire you that was quite so... creative, as forgetting the time of the game.
"Look..." started Andre-Luis, but the FFA suit cut him off before he could make any kind of defence
"I don't what it is they taught you over there, Andre-Luis, but back here in civilisation we make knowing the time of the game an absolute priority."
...over there? thought Andre-Luis, ..back here in civilisation?.
"Yes" said another suit, "that Cafunduese temperament. One of the reasons I voted against you becoming our new manager" said another suit, an older one, arms folded, certainly less passive-aggressive than the others. Andre-Luis narrowed his eyes. He'd been brought up in Cafundeu, the son of a former Silexhera national team player who'd stayed in the country after spending most of his career in the Cafundeu league system, qualifying to play for Audioslavia through the grandfather rule. He was proud of his dual-heritage, proud to have garnered sixty-three caps for Audioslavia over twelve years proud to have worked his arse off for the team, to have lifted the AOCAF and BoF championship trophies, and equally proud now to lead the claret and greens to as much glory as possible. And now it had come to this? Jibes about his 'ethnic' background. Well sod this for a game of soldiers.
Andre-Luis marched past the FFA suit and through the front doors, leaving the group with one sentence:
"How's this for Cafunduese temperament?"

The Audioslavia players and officials filtered through the front door to see the vision of Andre-Luis Partico finding a large, heavy rock and throwing it through the driver's-side door of a nearby bus. It wasn't the bus Audioslavia were supposed to use, it was merely a coach that would most likely have carried some tourists to the hotel. It was, it appeared, now Audioslavia's team bus. Andre-Luis ripped off his blazer and wrapped it round his arm, clearing away the rest of the shattered glass from the window, reaching in and opening the door, before climbing onto the seat, apparently hot-wiring the engine, and opening the front door, all in only sixty seconds.

His head appeared through the door. "Get in then!" he barked at the team, who quickly trotted to the open door. Two minutes later, the bus was away and careering down the Farfadillian city streets, Andre-Luis trying to find the highway out of the city, into the desert, to a game at the most ridiculously-situated stadium in the world, at the most ridiculous time for a football match in the world, in probably the most ridiculous 'team bus' seen for many a year.

The FFA suits watched the bus disappear into the distance. Watched as the final *snap* of photographers flash ended. It had all, apparently, been caught on camera.

For most football associations and chairmen, the most difficult argument of all was trying to convince the media, and the public, exactly why manager 'x' had been sacked from position 'y'. For the FFA, their most difficult task in recent years was to justify the continued employment of men who appeared on the verge of nervous breakdown at all times.
We could probably get away with not sacking him, thought one of the suits, as long as Audioslavia win...

by **Farfadillis** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 5:04 pm

Group 1

95X 1-2 Valanora @ Jardin Norte, kicked-off 08:00 (AOTC -0200)
Starblaydia 6-1 Blouman Empire @ Adar Jak, kicked-off 20:00 (AOTC -0200)
Undisputed Atols 1-6 The Inevitable Syndicate @ Adar Jak, kicked-off 17:00 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                          P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
 1 Valanora                      4  4  0  0  12   2  +10  12
 2 Starblaydia                   4  3  1  0  11   2   +9  10
 3 95X                           4  2  1  1   5   3   +2   7
 4 The Inevitable Syndicate      4  1  0  3   6   6   +0   3
 5 Blouman Empire                4  0  1  3   2  12  -10   1
 6 Undisputed Atols              4  0  1  3   3  14  -11   1

Group 2

Thatius 2-1 Audioslavia @ Ján Rülán Dêrmáá, kicked-off 12:00 (AOTC -0200)
New Montreal States 2-1 Mantwenic @ Gra Aguaviva Mitologica, kicked-off 22:00 (AOTC -0200)
Urbis Tractus 1-1 Svengarda @ Jardin Norte, kicked-off 17:00 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                     P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 New Montreal States      4  4  0  0  11  2  +9  12
 2 Thatius                  4  3  0  1   5  4  +1   9
 3 Mantwenic                4  2  0  2   4  5  -1   6
 4 Audioslavia              4  2  0  2   5  4  +1   6
 5 Svengarda                4  0  1  3   2  5  -3   1
 6 Urbis Tractus            4  0  1  3   3 10  -7   1

Group 3

Hutt River 3-0 Pacitalia @ Gra Aguaviva Mitologica, kicked-off 12:00 (AOTC -0200)
Wight 1-1 Kinitaria @ Ján Rülán Dêrmáá, kicked-off 19:00 (AOTC -0200)
Yelvoldia 0-3 Naitpyge @ Gre Drrena, kicked-off 20:00 (AOTC -0200)

---Team            P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 Pacitalia       4  3  0  1  5  4  +1  9
 2 Wight           4  2  1  1  6  5  +1  7
 3 Hutt River      4  2  1  1  5  3  +2  7
 4 Yelvoldia       4  2  0  2  5  6  -1  6
 5 Naitpyge        4  1  0  3  4  4  +0  3
 6 Kinitaria       4  0  2  2  1  4  -3  2

Group 4

Leorudo 0-1 Vilita & Turori @ La Gran Avenida, kicked-off 20:00 (AOTC -0200)
Kiryu-shi 2-1 Falcania @ Farf Fragar Firschendujmal I7'snerra, kicked-off 08:30 (AOTC -0200) (There was a problem at the entrance and many died, witnesses say it had to do with a "really, really large truck and an alcoholic driver, no-one's really sure. Match postponed by 2 hours to honour the victims, as the FFFF found it the most sensible option to do a 2 hour tribute to them previous to this match. Looooong story.)
Secundus Kasius 3-1 Maklohi Vai @ Jardin Norte, kicked-off 22:00 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                 P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 Falcania             4  3  0  1 10  3  +7  9
 2 Kiryu-shi            4  2  2  0  7  4  +3  8
 3 Secundus Kasius      4  2  1  1  8  8  +0  7
 4 Vilita & Turori      4  2  0  2  3  6  -3  6
 5 Leorudo              4  1  1  2  4  3  +1  4
 6 Maklohi Vai          4  0  0  4  1  9  -8  0

Group 5

Legalese 1-2 Farfadillis @ La Gran Avenida, kicked-off 10:00 (AOTC -0200) [Scorinated by Astograth]
Osarius 0-0 New West Guiana @ Jardin Norte, kicked-off 02:00 (AOTC -0200)
Jay Industries 1-0 Savski Venac @ Gre Drrena, kicked-off 12:15 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                 P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
1 New West Guiana         4  2  2  0  6  2  +4  8
2 Farfadillis             4  2  1  1  10 8  +2  7
3 Jay Industries          4  2  1  1  3  4  −1  7
4 Legalese                4  1  2  1  5  5  +0  5
5 Osarius                 4  1  1  2  1  2  −1  4
6 Savski Venac            4  0  1  3  6  10 −4  1

Group 6

Geisenfried 0-2 Andossa se Mitrin Vega @ Estadio d'Onor, kicked-off 17:00 (AOTC -0200)
The Sylvanaes Queendom 3-2 Lymantatia @ Naš Stadion, kicked-off 07:00 (AOTC -0200)
Warkus 1-1 Burchadinger @ Estadio d'Onor, kicked-off 12:00 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                        P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 Andossa se Mitrin Vega      4  3  0  1  6  1  +5  9
 2 The Sylvanaes Queendom      4  3  0  1  6  5  +1  9
 3 Burchadinger                4  2  1  1  4  2  +2  7
 4 Geisenfried                 4  2  0  2  3  4  -1  6
 5 Lymantatia                  4  1  0  3  4  5  -1  3
 6 Warkus                      4  0  1  3  1  7  -6  1

------ = Through
------ = Out

by **Audioslavia** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 8:05 pm

He'd had an excuse for the Mantwenic game. The lateness of the hour, the lack of sleep, the colossal mix-up. There were no excuses here. Audioslavia had been dire. Dreadful. The momentum picked up over those first two games, first two wins, completely gone. Thatius 2-1 Audioslavia. Andre-Luis Partico had considered resigning right there and then, in the dressing room, watching his team get changed. Now, a day later, he was mulling the situation over in his mind. How to keep his job. Whether he actually wanted to keep his job. Whether he wouldn't be happier on a beach somewhere being fed grapes by hired waifs. He'd probably be happier if he was lying in lava being fed mace by squirrels.

First of all, the FFA's proclamation that he'd be fired unless Audioslavia won their match against New Montreal States. That didn't make so much sense at the time, but did now. A loss and Audioslavia were definitely out, consigned to fourth place in a group that was, it had to be said, one of the 'easiest' of the six. Draw and they had a minute chance of finishing third, but no chance at all of being one of the four third-placed teams to qualify for the second round. A win and they stood a 'chance' of making it through. Thatius would have to lose to the unfancied Urbis team, they would need Mantwenic not to beat a disappointing Svengarda team, but they had a 'chance' of getting second place. If not, they had a small chance of being on of the few third-placed teams to progress.

Either way, the bottom line was thick and clear. Beat New Montreal States.

First things first, then. Research. He'd had his 'people' put together a dossier for him.

Bulls/Paladins: A history

WC14 Qualifying
Audioslavia 3-1 New Montreal States
New Montreal States 0-2 Audioslavia

WC29 Quarter Final
Audioslavia 4-0 New Montreal States (played in Krytenia)

WC59 Qualifying
New Montreal States 3–1 Audioslavia
Audioslavia 1-1 New Montreal States

AOCAF37 First Round
New Montreal States 4-0 Audioslavia (played in Geisenfried)

WC62 Qualifying
New Montreal States 5-2 Audioslavia
Audioslavia 0-2 New Montreal States

Total record versus NMS: P8 W3 D1 L4 F13 A14

Not the most inspiring of records. Audioslavia had lost all but one of their games with NMS in recent years, and hadn't won since that glorious week in the summer of World Cup 29, where the seven day span saw a quarter-final victory over NMS followed by a win in the semi-final against Krytenia, in their own stadium, in their home World Cup no less.

Ah yes. World Cup 29. William Branstone, an Audioslavian, managing the New Montreal States national team. Branstone had been a laughing stock in Audioslavia, yet somehow had found himself working wonders Paladinside, getting the unfancied NMS outfit into four straight finals tournaments. There was an excerpt from his diary somewhere, wasn't there? Andre-Luis checked the dossier. Ah yes:

It had been 20 years since he'd gotten run out of Audioslavia on a rail after attempting a coaching coup d'etat against Vilitian Helmut Vilkaos. Twenty years after being ridden out of town on a rail. Twenty years after taking a post at some nation that hadn't been great in about a century after their coach went on a postgame shooting rampage.
Boy, had the tables ever turned. Five world cups. Four outright qualifications, and one hosting gig on top. He was batting 1.000, perfect record, sixth in the world, still looking up. And a good 12 years or so to enjoy the spoils.
But now he had people to show up. Lessons to teach. He would turn the Bulls into steers, and laugh it up all the way to the Finals. He'd show them all who's who.

William Branstone. The only person who could write his diary in the third person. Little did Branstone know at the time, of course, that he'd be ridden out of town himself after the game, sacked after NMS's embarrassing four-nil defeat by a Bulls side on their way to that fourth fateful World Cup final. Andre-Luis scanned through the other documents. There was a report here from World Cup 14:

Despite taking an early lead against a resurgent NMS side, Audioslavia again found themselves with their backs against the wall in their own stadium. A goal from the NMS number 9 equalised on thirty minutes, and after rattling the crossbar five minutes later, Audioslavia looked like having another bad day at the office.
Fortunately, two unbelievable errors in the New Monty States defence saw Audioslavia pull into possibly the least-deserved two-goal lead in NS history... if the historians keep such boring records like that.
First of all, a back-pass by an NMS defender, completely free at the back, bobbled between the goalkeepers legs and into the goal. The stadium erupted in laughter, and had barely stopped their hysterics by the time a harmless Jensen cross was flicked onto the goalkeepers face by a hapless defender and ricocheted into the roof of the goal.
Audioslavia held on til the end to leapfrog the Montreal States and pull themselves up to third place - a brilliant achievment in light of their awful recent home form.

Not exactly what you'd call 'well written', the article hinted at a more bizarre game than the writer could do justice to. A lucky Audioslavia win. There were precious few of those, these days. Never mind. Andre-Luis didn't need a two-bit hack to describe the last few encounters. The 5-2 defeat in World Cup 62 had been seared into the memory of most people watching, if only for the sad, forlorn figure of Txo Morea in the dugout, seemingly lost, uncertain of what to do. The 2-0 defeat six months later had crushed a resurgent Bulls side that were as desperate for a measure of revenge as they were now.
Before that, his memories of NMS matches had been as a player. He'd been helpless to stop the NMS side thrashing three goals past his defence in the Paladin Dome in World Cup 59 qualifying, had received a hearty congratulation from then-boss Kelly Sporadic after the Bulls held the Paladins to a 1-1 draw a few months later - unexpected considering the strength of that Audioslavia side, the first one in a World Cup qualifying campaign for a hundred years. The 4-0 defeat in the AOCAF... he'd pretty much put all of that debacle out of his mind.

The statistics said it all. New Montreal States were the sort of team the old Audioslavians made light work of back in the day, but modern times had seen the auld enemy win out on almost every occasion, a 3-1, a 4-0, a 5-2, it wasn't as if the gap looked like closing. Win this match and, even if it was to be the final game of Audioslavia's campaign, it might instil just that iota of belief in the Audioslavians that one era, the era of their shaky return to the world stage, was over, and another era - one that saw the Bulls take on the resemblance of an aspect of their former selves - had begun.

Beat New Montreal States. It did, at this moment in time, feel like that was all Audioslavia needed to do.

by **The Inevitable Syndicate** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 12:29 am

Victory Was Inevitable, But It Came A Little Too Late
The Inevitable Syndicate put on an amazing performance yesterday, winning 6-1 to Undisputed Atols at Adar Jak, Farfadillis. It seems all the anger and frustration the players had at losing three times in a row was let out this match, with Luke Mitchell seemingly on the warpath. The Atols kicked off, but couldn't seem to keep the ball, thanks to a solid defence by Sutler and Hill. Within six minutes, Mitchell was bombing past the Atols defence, and sent a beautiful shot right past Dmitry Kharlamov, bringing the score to 1-0. Cheers erupted across the stadium, as The Syndicatian team had scored their first International Goal. But the brilliance didn't stop there, as in the 18^th minute, Powell had an attempt at the Undisputed Atols goal. The ball whistled right past the defence and this chalked up another goal to The Inevitable Syndicate.

No other goals were scored until the second half, when Mitchell pocketed another two goals within five minutes of the second half starting! With the score at 4-0, and Mitchell with a Hat Trick, The Undisputed Atols seemed to up their game, and Guy Larivière scored a goal in the 56^th minute. After this, our very own Bradley Birch made a bold move to be more attacking, and managed to score a goal in the 66^th minute! With so many goals being scored by us this game, the fans that hadn't gone home went wild, and I'm sure they were glad they stayed to watch this. Just to please the crowd, Powell scored another goal two minutes before the end of the game.

Unfortunately, this victory wasn't enough to see us to the next round. It's now impossible to finish 3^rd in Group A, so it looks like that holiday maker at the beginning of the week was in fact, correct. But, that didn't stop the Syndicatian Team from really putting up a fight. We played some of the best teams in the region this tournament, and we didn't lose too much. For that, we should be proud. Today's Match: Blouman Empire. Let's try and end this on a high note.

Song of the moment: Clash - Caravan Palace

Freddie Johnson
ILN Sport

by **Wight** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 1:19 am

by **95X** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 7:05 am

Ejection, Loss, Put 95X on Brink
FERDULLAELE, FARFADILLS—95X lost more than a chance at second place in their 2-1 loss to Valanora in their fifth match during the AOCAF 38 Cup.

Annoyed at something, Xi Foureleven pushed the referee to the ground 12 minutes into the match, receiving an immediate red card.

Valanora took the lead 1-0 on the penalty kick, and scored again 21 minutes later to lead 2-0, which would hold for most of the remainder of the match.

Few saw Conner Threesixteenth's late goal, as most of the drunken rabble in the stadium passing as "fans" had either passed out in the stands or returned to their lives well before.

"As always, we are reviewing the situation and if further disciplinary action is taken the first person you will hear it from is me," 95X Head Coach Vance Cook stated on the Foureleven incident following the match.

The loss puts 95X in a familiar position, where they could finish in third place and not advance despite a winning group stage record. It also gives the final 95X opponent, Undisputed Atols (0-1-3), a chance to play a spoiler role.

Valanora 2, 95X 1
(Fresco :12, Aerataur :33; Threesixteenth :82)

by **Secundus Kasius** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 9:22 am

It was early morning in the main hall of Nexus High, and the schoolchildren were sitting shivering on the wood floor whilst around them the television crews set up their equipment. Each child looked cheerful and awake despite the hour and temperature - though that may be due to the large cans of Columba each was holding. The centrestage was filled with a large projector screen, and a hush fell as the headmaster was signalled onto the stage.

"Good morning children, and of course all those watching from their homes as well - why don't you give them a wave, kids? We'd all like to welcome you to Nexus High, top-class educational establishment and home to the nation's very own Hayden Jones!" Out of sight from the cameras, other teachers were directing the children in an enthusiastic cheer. "Here at Nexus High, we encourage both physical and mental fitness and strength, and nothing demonstrates this more than the performance of Mr Jones in the Atlantia Oceania Confederation of Association Football Cup. So far the team has played fantastically, losing only to the Falcanian national team, and beating the highest ranking member of our group, Vilita & Turori! Today, we've brought the children into school two hours early so everyone can share with us the thrill of watching Secundus Kasius hopefully show Maklohi Vai what for - Are you ready, children?"

The hyperactive shouts and cheers take a few moments to calm down, but at least it looked good on the cameras. Once everyone was seated again, the lights were dimmed and the glow from the projector illuminated the room. The children ooh-ed and aah-ed as the crowd began to set off flares before the match, and a resounding cry filled the air as Hayden Jones stepped out into the floodlights and onto the pitch.

Silently, Sean Morrow thanked the stars for an interesting game - Maklohi Vai were playing defensively, which meant plenty of work for the forwards and midfielders, with few chances for Jones to make any major mistakes whilst the children watched (and were watched). It also meant the children would not be picking up "tactics" from Freddy Arkwight - he did not want a repeat of yesterday's playtime on national television.

At half time, Mr Morrow could not keep the grin from his face - Numatao Makai had apparently not had a good evening. Allowing Ben Turner to knock in a ball wasn't unheard of - the man was an incredibly good shot - but from Gallus Haxtes? The staff had intervened quickly when the children started imitating his previous goal against Vilita & Turori, it wouldn't look good to see a member of the Haxtes family mocked at his school. However, the children were in high spirits and clearly enjoying the match, nothing controversial had yet occurred, and his school was looking amazing.

After another can of Columba and a short break for breakfast, and the children were seated (with no small effort on the teachers part) once more. Mr Morrow was busy congratulating himself over his morning coffee when he heard an outcry from the children - there was an initial cheer from the children as their Mr Jones came onto the screen, then a shout of disbelief...Makao Rulopanai had ignored the children's hero and sprinted straight past him towards Arkwight! There was a shocked silence as he ran through the penalty box with the ball, made a concerted effort not to notice the angry man in front of the net, and tapped the ball into the net - Arkwight was so shocked at such a direct challenge he didn't even move. It wasn't until play began once more that he realised what had happened, and Mr Morrow was beginning to feel the need to call for a bit of a fast-forward...exposing the children to violence in media was not yet part of the curriculum.

Laura Jackson was the unlikely saviour of the match - she looked back, saw the expression on Arkwight's face, and (perhaps relying on her previous experiences with wild animals) sent the ball flying back to the irate goalkeeper. Arkwight caught it with ease this time, and booted it upfield with one kick from his enormous boot. The Kasian team breathed a sigh of relief (and some children muffled cries of disappointment) as the match was back into Kasian hands. Eager to press home their lead, Harris and Holt formed an unlikely partnership to dominate over the opposing defence, and accompanied by a resounding cheer Holt knocked the ball back into the net, bringing the score to 3-1. As the match came to an end, Mr Morrow joined in with the children as they shouted and screamed their excitement.

The children were all ushered back to their lessons, except for Milly - the posterchild of Nexus High. She was small, blonde, utterly adorable, and highly intelligent for a child her age.

"Now Milly, what did you think of the game today?"

She beamed up at the camera - she had already been briefed on what to say, " I thought our team did fan-fantas-fantastically! We showed those other people what for, din we?"

The reporter could not help but smile back at the girl, and bent down a little so he could talk to her properly, "Do you know what us winning means, Milly?"

A look of intense concentration filled Milly's face, and she began to hold up fingers to the camera to help with her numbers, "Well...we have 7 points now, which puts us at number 3 in our group, soooo we need to win tonight, or we won't be able to play anymore..." Her lip quivered as the prospect.

The poor reporter wasn't accustomed to comforting children, and panicked slightly, his hand awkwardly patting the young girl's shoulder, "Don't worry dear, I'm sure we'll win - Mr Holt wouldn't let you down now, would he?" He stood, the camera panning up with him, and addressed the camera once more, "And that's all for now viewers, I'll be seeing you soon to cover our match against Leorudo, in which we'll have all to play for!"

by **Pacitalia** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 10:00 am

Mascagnano and Pennachetti trudged down the dark cinder-block tunnel at match's end, both in visibly subdued moods. A three-nil loss to Hutt River surely was a shock to everyone outside the tunnel, but these two men were wiser and knew the reasons for the defeat. That didn't make the loss any easier to take, but it was at least some consolation.

This press conference is going to be hell, Pennachetti thought to himself. Pacitalia's first loss in... well, I can't even remember. But surely it's been ages since we've lost this badly...

Mascagnano, himself defeated — the outline of a pear-shaped bruise gradually appearing around his eye — looked over at his manager and wondered what the wily-haired man walking beside him was thinking.

The tunnel reeked of rotting garbage, stale beer and the faint hint of rodent droppings. The two men discovered why upon reaching the end of the hallway and turning right into a large trash corral with rusty loading docks. Stray dogs were picking at piles of discarded stadium food, while raccoons tore apart paper and cardboard and hissed at the assembled press waiting to interrogate the Pacitalian manager and captain.

Neglected rat traps with a substance that probably, at some point long ago, resembled cheese, had been cast in large numbers around the area. Lead paint was chipping off the walls and big, dim pot lights hanging from wires above flickered relentlessly. The acrid cigarette smoke of some of the foreign press corps hung in the air as if restrained by a forcefield.

Typical that the organizers couldn't even give us a proper room for this damn press conference, Pennachetti thought. This tournament is a god damn joke.

The camera lights from the press crew were positively blinding after being in a tunnel with almost no light; Pennachetti reflexively winced, and Mascagnano covered his eyes with a trembling left hand. Immediately, the torrent of questions started, it was all an already frustrated Pennachetti could do to not immediately lose his cool.

"Signore Pennachetti, do you think this is the beginning of the end of Pacitalian football? Are the Blue Foxes a dead species, so to speak?" a breathless Farf journalist with a Cheshire cat grin shouted above the din. Pennachetti managed to make out the young man's face and realised he was no doubt thinking he was the cleverest investigative reporter on the planet with a line like that.

"It was one loss," he replied. "One. As far as I know that didn't eliminate us from the Cup, nor has it necessarily eliminated teams in the past. Next question."

"Why do you think your team lost today?" another journalist, who sounded Vegan, asked. "Do you think there's anything the Foxes could have done differently, perhaps?"

"Yeah, win," Mascagnano interjected, to a chorus of laughs from the press corps and a chuckle from his boss.

Next was a question from a Starblaydi reporter: "What do you have to say about the tournament thus far? Do you think that some of the criticism from other participating nations about AOCAF Cup 38 is valid? Or does the responsibility for one loss lie with you and your squad?"

"Look, the organisation of this tournament has been absolutely ridiculous," Pennachetti retorted, before he could stop himself. "One need only look at the fact that my boys are playing matches at 4:00, 5:00 am Pacitalian time, as if there has ever been a precedent for this kind of crap... or that referees have been dying on their way to the stadium, or spectators have been caught in crushes, bomb threats, you name it. I'm thoroughly disgusted with the lot of it. So, no, if you want to look at why we lost today, I don't think it has anything to do with a decline in this squad. We certainly could have done more, but it's hard to play an international football match against a good side like Hutt River when you're not only playing matches at a time any normal person would be asleep, but also playing matches once every 24 hours or less, in a completely unqualified environment."

"We're in a position now that we have to win that final match. Have to. That's on us, I'm not going to make excuses for one loss. So that's what we're going to focus on. We need to win and get back on track. But I'll say I think at this point we're bloody lucky to be 3-1 after the way this tournament has been run, and run into the ground. I'm just glad the Pacitalian federation didn't vote for these guys to host, otherwise it'd be just as much our fault as the Farfs'.

"Goodnight, everyone, you'll have plenty of time to interrogate us again tomorrow."

With that, Pennachetti turned swiftly on his heel, followed by Mascagnano, whose cleats clacked methodically on the concrete floor of the tunnel as the two headed back to the dressing room.

by **New Montreal States** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 10:37 am

"And that's it from Sorel: another crushing defeat for the Red-Tailed Hawks as they fall to Valdemont 14-3. And the fans are pelting the relief corps with beer cups as they sprint for safety from the bullpen towards the dugout and then down into the clubhouse and safety; clearly they're not happy with the prospect of Sorel setting a new record for losses in Montréalais League Baseball history..."

*disgusted click*

"Thokk, what happened to the kitchen?"

"Me wash double-headed axe in dishwasher!"

(laugh track)

"But it didn't fit! The whole kitchen is flooded."

"Me wash one head now, wash the other head later."

(overly insistent laugh track)

VOICEOVER: "Two men and a half-orc will be right-"

*even more disgusted click*

"...joining me from Farfadillis with the latest from the ongoing shitshow that is AOCAF 38 is former professional scout Doc Lagacé. Doc, you've got some gumption heading into the maw of beast after everything that's happened so far; how are you keeping body and soul together?"

"Thousands and thousands of NMS's finest. Soldiers. Sailors. Airmen. SWAT team members, firefighters - you get the picture. As most of the average Paladins fans decided to skip this violent hellscape of a tournament, our nation's best, brightest and most physically fit snapped up their tickets on the cheap. They're going to join a handful of college-age kids with more booze than sense in cheering on the Paladins as they try to keep up their recent run of success against Audioslavia."

"And they're not at all concerned by the complete breakdown of civilized society apparent through this tournament? Just yesterday, a drunken tractor-trailer driver plowed through a crowd of fans outside the Kiryu-shi/Falcania match. These may be brave, physically fit men, but they're still vulnerable to a dozen tons of metal driven by a drunken maniac."

"The Ministry of Blowing Shit Up and the Ministry of Morale have jointly announced that a second battalion of NMS Special Forces Rangers has been sent as reinforcements for the original bodyguard as this tournament continues to spiral downwards. This battalion is reportedly equipped with high-end anti-tank weaponry, which we've been told will be just as devastating against any incoming semis. Most of the soldiers have brought their service weapons with them, and it's my understanding that a few airmen who couldn't get tickets will be providing close air support with A-10s. Furthermore, the carrier NMS Bonaventure and a handful of support vessels are just over the line between Farfadillian and international waters ready to evacuate fans and players if needed."

"Will the Farfadillis government care?"

"Both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Blowing Shit Up have communicated to every level of the Farfadillan government that these are purely defensive measures only, and that the NMS forces will be shooting last, not first. That said, nobody I've spoken to believes the hosts are suddenly going to start caring about people bringing firepower to football matches."

"Hardcore."

"Quite."

"You're a braver man than I, Doc. How is Coach Kirkkegaard preparing his side for the upcoming matches?"

"After Audioslavia's recent debacle, where coach Andre-Luis Portico made the mistake that his side would be playing Mantewic at a reasonable hour in a normal location, Coach Kirkkegaard is assuming the worst. Two nights ago, he woke up his side at 3:30 AM and had them conduct a walkthrough in their sleepwear while his assistants and equipment managers bombarded the players with squirt guns loaded with cat pee and vinegar. Sources close to the team indicated that one of the squirt guns was spiked with LSD. They also indicated that, at Kirkkegaard's request, a few of the soldiers were firing off their weapons into the air and detonating grenades at random intervals, and others were pelting the team with rotten produce."

"Doubly hardcore. Did this help the side get ready for what was an unusually late kickoff against Mantewic?"

"I spoke with Fred Nguyen and Sam Flowers outside the locker room after the match, and they both said that Kirkkegaard has done a fantastic job of getting them ready to play under unusual circumstances, and that this was really useful against a strong Mantewic side that took three points from Audioslavia and was determined to do the same to the Paladins. Flowers added that 'we need to be ready for anything, at any time - axe murderers, bee attacks, flocks of ten-year-olds looking to kick us in the happy sacks.' Pretty tense situation out here right now."

"Sure he didn't get a blast from that LSD squirt gun?"

"Doubtful. It's not paranoia if the tournament really is out to get you."

"True that. How's the Audioslavia match shaping up?"

"They've got their backs to the wall, and after the bus-jacking incident from the other day it's likely that Portico will get the boot unless he brings back some kind of result. A win, on the other hand, would have the Bulls in excellent position to advance, either through one of the third-place wild cards or by sneaking into second place in the group."

"The Paladins have already clinched a spot in the finals; will this be affecting Kirkkegaard's strategy at all?"

"Not in the slightest. He's said that he won't ease off the gas until the Paladins are champions or have been sent home."

"Doc Lagacé, from an undisclosed safehouse somewhere in Farfadillis. Stay safe, Doc. Up next..."

*incredulous click, followed by a determined search for whiskey*

Apparently I signed up for WC14?! I don't remember that at all.

by **Hutt River** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 1:53 pm

It was a bright Saturday morning when the Hutt River and Pactalia teams stepped out onto the pitch. With a win Pactalia would have all but sealed qualification, and a win was expected from the nine-time AOCAF Champions, who had won the past two editions. Hutt River, captained and managed by the self-described 'curryaholic' Dave Lister, were fighting to stay in contention for the next round.

Lister knew they didn't stand a chance. He and the rest of his human teammates had taken quite a hit from having to play matches once every 24 hours or so, and were all visibly exhausted as they sat in the Indian restaurant after last afternoon's training session.

Lister, after swallowing a piece of his chicken vindaloo, spoke up, "Right guys, let's talk about tactics." He produced a small blackboard and some chalk from the plastic bag underneath the table. "There's no easy way of putting this, we're going to lose. If we manage to draw I would be delighted." Lister drew on the blackboard.

"Pactalia play a 2-3-2-3 tactic" he held up the blackboard, showing the formation to the others. "I think if we have a fast winger to combat number 4 here," he pointed to the right wingback position," we could be able to get a couple of low crosses to Talkie. So Cat, your moving to the right wing, I'm going to take Rameses off and throw in another Defender, and Kryten's moving to the middle." Lister said all this while drawing on the blackboard, the result of which was a 6-2-1-1 formation.

"Everyone clear?" The team nodded. "Good."

The teams lined up and shook each others hands. Lister and Mascagnano met in the centre circle and shook hands. The referee tossed a coin. Heads. Pactalia would kick off.

***

It was approaching the end of the first half and Pactalia had dominated the game, but scored no goals. Lister had no idea how that had happened. There must have been around 6 clearances off the line within the first 25 minutes. He was just waiting for another corner to be floated in. He waved to the Cat and Kryten to stay upfield, there was more than enough defenders in the box. The corner was floated in as usual, and Lister rose above everyone to catch it. Without waiting, Lister immediately booted the ball upfield, then turned his back and walked to the goalline, ready for another barrage of shots. He then heard a cheer. Kryten had run onto the ball and completely caught the 'keeper off guard. It was then a simple matter of passing it to the Cat who tapped it into the open goal.

The Smegs went out into the second half buoyed by the late goal. The 6 man defence actually started to defend and Lister made some brilliant saves to deny an equalizer. Then amazingly they scored again, then a third. By now the chanting had started. Choruses of "Nine time winners, you're havin' a laugh" rung around the ground for the rest of the game. When the full time whistle blew, the Pactalia player trudged down the tunnel, and their few remaining fans quickly made their exit. The Smegs decided to stay out a little longer and enjoy the appreciation. After another 5 minutes they reluctantly walked down the tunnel into the dressing room.

by **Farfadillis** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 4:48 pm

They all headed for the pitch. They had to win, or else there would be no hope to get through, at all. In fron of them they had Legalese, team that were already famous, while they weren't. Their federation was also famous for trying to impose the "Casaran System", a system famous for how losers get to win, or something like that. Still, the players were none to punish for the silly proposals of their federation. They were ones to punish in order to get the much sought-after three points. When they all entered the pitch, they were received with the deafening sound of thousands of Farf fans chanting for them.

Mêndêlöíndçêl won the coin toss-up and Farfadillis would kick-off. Juárez and Tuzzio would be the ones to do so after the referee blew the whistle. He did. Juárez gave the ball to Tuzzio and the game officially started. Surprise would strike quickly. Juárez started to run like lightning towards Legalese's goal. Tuzzio gave the ball to O'rosso and did the same. However, while the Legalese were a bit confused, O'rosso sent an aaerial through ball to Juárez. The result? The ball ended up in Juárez's head. He headed it violently from the box's edge and it went in like a missile. The goal had been scored in just ten seconds, and the Legalese just couldn't believe it. They still didn' understand. Had they scored already? It seemed like a plan Rossizzo had been practising all week, and it apparently worked. O'rosso's perfect long pass followed by Juárez's perfect header. Tuzzio also helped a bit by distracting players while running towards the goal as well, as the Legalese feared him more than Juárez. Horrible error there.

Legalese would, however, recover quickly. It took them approximately ten minutes to get back on their game. They soon found a golden chance in a free kick. Chinsúa had found himself in a situation which was either foul or goal. He was sent off and Legalese now had a free kick. The shot was so precise that Lisdiren's incredible, superman-like dive was an effort just not worth it. Now, all of a sudden, Farfadillis went from surprisingly winning 1-0 to tying 1-1 and having a defender sent off. However, Rossizzo didn't sub any player, he just changed a bit the tactics to make Mêndêlöíndçêl, the captain, go back a bit and become centre back.

After the first half finished and they went to rest on half time, to come back recovered for the second half, Rossizzo decided to change the formation a bit. Mêrí would go in instead of Wanderis. Now they were going to go on an all-out-attack formation with one less player. They had to perform well and get the three points. Luckily, the substitution was perfect. Mêrí got to score the winning goal on minute seventy. He got the ball on the flank, feinted a cross and then shot from the box's corner, the ball went straight into the goal and sent the Farves wild. Mêrí scored his first international goal on fashion. Farfadillis was now on a very good position to get through, but the match against Osarius would be fierce. The team hid inside the box for the remaining twenty minutes and go the three points.

Now everything was set. The FFFF had (on purpose) set Osarius' match against the team topping the group, New West Guiana, at 2am. They'd be exhausted, while the Farves would be in perfect conditions. They just needed to not screw up...

by **Farfadillis** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 5:40 pm

Group 1

Valanora 0-4 Starblaydia @ Naš Stadion, kicked-off 08:00 (AOTC -0200)
95X 1-0 Undisputed Atols @ Gra Aguaviva Mitologica, kicked-off 17:00 (AOTC -0200)
Blouman Empire 0-2 The Inevitable Syndicate @ Gra Aguaviva Mitologica, kicked-off 12:00 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                          P  W D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
 1 Starblaydia                   5  4 1  0  15   2  +13  13
 2 Valanora                      5  4 0  1  12   6   +6  12
 3 95X                           5  3 1  1   6   3   +3  10
 4 The Inevitable Syndicate      5  2 0  3   8   6   +2   6
 5 Blouman Empire                5  0 1  4   2  14  -12   1
 6 Undisputed Atols              5  0 1  4   3  15  -12   1

Group 2

Audioslavia 2-0 New Montreal States @ Farf Fragar Firschendujmal I7'snerra, kicked-off 20:00 (AOTC -0200)
Thatius 0-0 Urbis Tractus @ Adar Jak, kicked-off 17:00 (AOTC -0200)
Mantwenic 2-1 Svengarda @ Adar Jak, kicked-off 09:00 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                     P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 New Montreal States      5  4  0  1  11  4  +7  12
 2 Thatius                  5  3  1  1   5  4  +1  10
 3 Audioslavia              5  3  0  2   7  4  +3   9
 4 Mantwenic                5  3  0  2   6  6  +0   9
 5 Urbis Tractus            5  0  2  3   3 10  -7   2
 6 Svengarda                5  0  1  4   3  7  -4   1

Group 3

Pacitalia 1-0 Wight @ Ján Rülán Dêrmáá, kicked-off 07:00 (AOTC -0200) (Just when things couldn't turn worse. Guess what? Hint: It has to do with a meteorite and casualties.)
Hutt River 2-2 Yelvoldia @ Gre Drrena, kicked-off 15:15 (AOTC -0200)
Kinitaria 1-2 Naitpyge @ Gre Drrena, kicked-off 12:15 (AOTC -0200)

---Team            P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 Pacitalia       5  4  0  1  6  4  +2  12
 2 Hutt River      5  2  2  1  7  5  +2   8
 3 Wight           5  2  1  2  6  6  +0   7
 4 Yelvoldia       5  2  1  2  7  8  -1   7
 5 Naitpyge        5  2  0  3  6  5  +1   6
 6 Kinitaria       5  0  2  3  2  6  -4   2

Group 4

Vilita & Turori 5-0 Kiryu-shi @ Naš Stadion, kicked-off 08:00 (AOTC -0200) (Whoops, same time as Valanora-Starblaydia. I wonder how this could happen...
Leorudo 2-1 Secundus Kasius @ Estadio d'Onor, kicked-off 16:00 (AOTC -0200)
Falcania 0-0 Maklohi Vai @ Farf Fragar Firschendujmal I7'snerra, kicked-off 16:00 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                 P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 Falcania             5  3  1  1 10  3  +7 10
 2 Vilita & Turori      5  3  0  2  8  6  +2  9
 3 Kiryu-shi            5  2  2  1  7  9  -2  8
 4 Leorudo              5  2  1  2  6  4  +2  7
 5 Secundus Kasius      5  2  1  2  9 10  -1  7
 6 Maklohi Vai          5  0  1  4  1  9  -8  1

Group 5

Farfadillis 1-1 Osarius @ La Gran Avenida, kicked-off 20:00 (AOTC -0200) [Scorinated by Polar Islanstates]
Legalese 1-1 Jay Industries @ Ján Rülán Dêrmáá, kicked-off 19:00 (AOTC -0200)
New West Guiana 0-2 Savski Venac @ Gre Drrena, kicked-off 17:20 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                   P  W  D  L For Ag +/- Pts
1 Farfadillis             5  2  2  1  11 9  +2  8
2 New West Guiana         5  2  2  1  6  4  +2  8
3 Jay Industries          5  2  2  1  4  5  −1  8
4 Legalese                5  1  3  1  6  6  +0  6
5 Osarius                 5  1  2  2  2  3  −1  5
6 Savski Venac            5  1  1  3  8 10  −2  4

Group 6

Andossa se Mitrin Vega 1-1 The Sylvanaes Queendom @ Estadio d'Onor, kicked-off 12:00 (AOTC -0200)
Geisenfried 0-1 Warkus @ Naš Stadion, kicked-off 12:00 (AOTC -0200)
Lymantatia 2-3 Burchadinger @ Naš Stadion, kicked-off 22:00 (AOTC -0200)

---Team                        P  W D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 Andossa se Mitrin Vega      5  3 1  1  7  2  +5 10
 2 Burchadinger                5  3 1  1  7  4  +3 10
 3 The Sylvanaes Queendom      5  3 1  1  7  6  +1 10
 4 Geisenfried                 5  2 0  3  3  5  -2  6
 5 Warkus                      5  1 1  3  2  7  -5  4
 6 Lymantatia                  5  1 0  4  6  8  -2  3

------ = Through

(I'd like to apologize to the many of you who didn't get through today, despite of your efforts. There's a few that I would've really liked to see go through, but Margaret was there, apparently, with her middle finger raised high, as always.)

by **Farfadillis** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 6:25 pm

Round of 16

Brought to you by RANDOM.ORG, ICly because of the FFFF's terrible organization. OOCly because I couldn't think of a better way to get such a complicated format to move on (EDIT: Really I've got no idea why I wrote this, I was actually going out, unexpectedly, on a camping with my school because the date had been moved after I won the bidding and play-offs weren't an option because of that. Hence the two bye-days instead of one between group stage and knock-out stage.). Also, consider it as a bracket.

Jay Industries - The Sylvanaes Queendom

Falcania - Audioslavia

Pacitalia - Valanora

Farfadillis - Burchadinger

Andossa se Mitrin Vega - 95X

Starblaydia - Vilita & Turori

Thatius - Hutt River

New Montreal States - New West Guiana

AOCAF 38 (EVERYTHING)

AOCAF 38 MD3 RP

ILN: AOCAF MD3

AOCAF-38 MD-4

AOCAF 38 MD5 RP

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