Di Bradini Cup 31/U21WC52 RP/Roster/Scores Thread

[HopNation]

Di Bradini Cup
Van Silver's Take

Well how about that Little Hopper fans a win on Match Day 1. Another nice start for our U21 National team as they look to continue some of their prior success as things got underway in the Di Bradini Cup. The match was against Ko-oren and we were listed as the home side and it was a nice game to watch. We had a live stream up here on our projector so we could see all the action. I didn’t really notice to much out of either side in this game. The first 45’ looked to be a feeling out period as the play stayed mainly in the central part of the field. The Butterflies had some good possession in the first half as Linderman, Morioka, and Gravesen seemed to control the midfield very well. However they just couldn’t get the ball into their attacking third and find either Xiaowen or Fjodorov. The Little Hoppers held strong and didn’t waiver one bit from the excellent midfield play by the opposition. The teams headed into the half locked at 0’s and it was anyone’s game at that point.

At the start of the second half it was clear that something, some inspiration, some kind of spark was given to the Little Hoppers. They came out in the second half fired up and right off the kick-off played the ball forward and to the corner. Loostin who was on the left ran onto the ball and collected it before the Litegreens defender could get to it. He shielded the ball for a moment and allowed Duerr to catch up to the play, Droimpol and Schytaing also moved into position to help the left attacking mid out of the corner. Loostin dropped the ball to Duerr and Duerr sent the ball into the box. The ball landed right at the feet of Schytaing and he immediately layed the ball off to Droimpol. Droimpol struck the ball first time and rippled the netting putting HopNation up 1-0 with only 30 some odd seconds off the clock. The Liteblues looked stunned but continued to play well and maintain possession in the central part of the field. It was 20 minutes before another goal was scored and it was HopNation again. This time off of a free kick that was positioned just to the right of the goal and at 24 yards out. Tantrum and Droimpol stood at the ball waiting for the Referees signal and for the wall to be set. Schytaing was positioned to the left of them and near the top of the 18 yard box. Droimpol, on the whistle, ran over the ball and straight at the wall. Tantrum played a cheeky chip that landed just behind the wall and with Droimpol on a dead sprint past the end of the wall he was free, collected the ball and slotted it to the corner where the Butterflies goalie Emmanuel Chanal had no chance of reaching it and the Little Hoppers were up 2-0. Ko-oren once again looked stunned by this goal, but answered right back with a goal of their own. On the restart after the goal Xiaowan played the ball back to DEF 8-447219 after it was tapped forward by Fjodorov. 8-447219 knocked the ball forward to a sprinting Gravesen, who beat to HopNation mids and entered the defensive third of the Little Hoppers. Gravesen played forward to Xiaowen who one timed it to Fjodorov who looped around Raske and evaded Lesamnal’s slide tackle as he received the ball. Fjodorov entered the box and Boehler started off his line, Fjodorov made a move and got Boehler to start a dive to which he cut the ball back and barried it in the goal to bring the Litegreens within one.

But that is where the action would end in terms of goals, the remainder of the game was once again a central battle as neither team gave much up and didn’t allow the other into their defensive third. I and the others watching here were very entertained by the match and look forward to being able to watch the rest of the Little Hoppers matches.

Well enough rambling for me today. Good luck to all teams in the Di Bradini Cup, to Group A, and especially to our Little Hoppers!

Unti next time!
Sullivan Van Silver

Group A
Plc  | Flag | Nation      | Team Nickname(s)                   | (W-D-L)
-    |   | Starblaydia |                                    | (0-0-1)
-    |   | HopNation   | Little Hoppers                     | (1-0-0)
-    |   | Ko-oren     | Litegreens, Liteblues, Butterflies | (0-0-1)
-    |   | Cassadaigua | Fillies                            | (1-0-0)
-    |   | Chiata      | Thunderstorm                       | (0-0-0)

Schedule
Day | Opponent	  | Venue				 | Home/Away
MD1 | Ko-oren	  | Ectar Traxx Stadium, Foxchester	 | Home
MD2 | Bye
MD3 | Starblaydia | Ectar Traxx Stadium, Foxchester	 | Away
MD4 | Chiata	  | Montepool Bayside Stadium, Montepool | Home
MD5 | Cassadaigua | Montepool Bayside Stadium, Montepool | Away 
Win|draw|Loss

---

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Comments:

*SquishyOne wrote: Way to go Little Hoppers! Keep boiling man keep boiling.

*Bijorn wrote: This was a good game to watch, glad I played hooky from work today to watch it.
	*PonyStar wrote: @Bijorn I did the same thing! Great game HopNation

*SPORTSYEA wrote: What the heck, that was not a good game.
                  The Little Hoppers are playing just like their name – Little. 
                  Come on get with it.
       *Futballer99 wrote: @SPORTSYEA Get with it man, that was a good game.
                             These young men are playing fine and you should just keep quite.
       *SPORTSYEA wrote: **deleted by Admin**

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[Northern Sunrise Islands]

The start wasn't exactly anything to be too enticed on. And of course, the crowd was slightly shocked. The all-feared Sunrisians went with an experimental line-up to the match against Zenic. While it seemed to be a far too stupid strategy against the Young Survivors, a team who just came from a title on the Under-15 division; the coach expected that a good result using the back-ups should create more respect to the Vaporeons' image. Only problem was that they forgot to tell that to Zenic. The Young Survivors decided to go for it with no restraint. A harsher tackle here, a quicker sprint there and they were already 2-0 over and in the second half already. Péricles quickly switched two pieces and it was pretty much sudden. Out were rather decent playing Brie and Nikki Sunshine, in were Rolando and Rolandinho Juliano. 30 minutes later, Rolando and Rolandinho were dominating the game. The earlier with never-stopping shots to the goal, the other giving a hell of a dribbling show. Surprisingly, the game ended only on a 2-2. Who were those two kids? And what were they capable of?

---

Project +90 had been going through Esportiva once again. On a rather cozy plane, the Sunrisian initiative had finally found another place to put a team at, opening a new franchise at Western Sunrise Islands, looking forward to its' addition at the LigAnaia. While a war was slowly surging inside the once united region, the Sunrisians were considered a neutral. While they never ever would change themselves to welcome the Corvidae, they never raised a hand to harm them. Well, unless you consider any possible matches between Northern Sunrise Islands and The Inevitable Syndicate that may ever have happened. But even then there were no casualties. The Sunrisians were just neutrals and expected all to treat them as much. They had nothing bar football players to offer to Project +90 to pressure them on going on that tangent, but that was it.

Before traveling to Kitsunia-Deesse, coming from the South of Esportiva after a session on Southern Sunrise Islands, the plane found out they had to make a stop at Temuco, Felix. Supposedly, they had a new player found there that could be wonderful on the squad. Time to check it out, uttered the chief of scouts on the plane, and as a result they flew to the Home of the Phoenix.

---

"So, aren't you worried they could be targetting you?" asked Ruby, from outside of their room.

"Look, madam. The point is, we don't mind that. We grew on the poorer districts, we know how to survive stuff." said Rolando, with some difficulty as English wasn't exactly his spoken language. "Plus, we're the bench players. So have a nice day while you try to face them." With that, the young Sunrisian closed the door, slamming it on Ruby's face. The Edenian started to yell, angered. "OH, THAT'S HOW YOU TREAT SOMEONE THAT CARES ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS? WELL, GUESS WHAT? THAT'S IT, I'M LETTING THEM KILL YOU AND-" Ruby felt a nudge, pushing the hand out. "Hold on a second. WHO WILL TELL YOU OF AN UPCOMING THREAT AND-" As Ruby tried to continue, she was stopped by a surprise kiss. The Edenian, still angered, was now on shock, looking at the pale, blond-haired boy. It was a quick image and as soon as she closed her eyes, the boy ran off, unnoticed.

As June walked by the hallway, Ruby quickly grabbed her, angry. "YOU!" yelled Ruby "WHERE IS HIM?". June laughed, looking at her. "What's the problem?" asked the North Edenian, smiling. "You know what I'm talking about!" yelled Ruby, angered. "I don't know what you're talking about Ruby, but you seem a bit... well, more red than the usual." said June, laughing. "I... I don't know what you're talking about, June!" said Ruby, blushing. "Someone assaulted me! It's a danger!". June laughed again, smiling afterwards. "You mean your secret admirer?" asked June. "All I have to say is that he really likes you. Though I'm not sure you share the same feelings.".

"OF COURSE NOT!" yelled Ruby.

"...eh, this is going to be fun."

[Zenic]

“Well, that went surprisingly better than expected,” said Cremona to Assendorp as they walked to Assendorp’s hotel room.

He was, of course, referring to the 2-2 draw against Northern Sunrise Islands they had just played. The team had gotten off to an amazing start with a goal by Van der Vennen in the 18th minute followed by a goal from a free kick by Mihail Quick in the 38th minute. It was looking good for the Young Survivors and even manager Assendorp cracked a smile or two on the sideline. Then they played the second half and it seemed to slowly fall apart. The opposing manager Pericles brought on two players you simply changed the game around. On defense, the team had trouble containing Rolandinho who made some of the Zenic players look like children while Rolando had a leg like a machinegun. Luckily, the defenders were able to hold out long enough for a draw, giving Zenic that all important positive result and point.

“It was going well until those name buddies came on and started destroying us. Seriously, how can two young kids suddenly play like their superstars for the senior side and nearly singlehandedly beat a team? It was mockery in the second half and we pissed away the lead we had in the first half and almost pissed away some points,” ranted Assendorp as the two made it to his hotel room. They entered and while Assendorp went to the bathroom, Cremona went straight to the table, sifting through all the folders with research on the other teams in their group and tournament. Cremona smiled as he pulled out the folder on their next opponent: the Blouman Empire.

“How’s our next damn opponent, Brutus?” Assendorp had finished his business in the bathroom and sat down across from Cremona. “Well, it looks like as tough as the last. They won the 26th edition of the Di Bradini Cup, they run a 4-2-3-1 and they won their matchup against fellow Rushmori, Darmen.” Assendorp groaned, thinking as to why they had to have such a difficult group with so many talented teams.

“Well then, looks like we’ve got work to do if we have any chance in hell of winning this game.”

[San Jose Guayabal]

www.elnacional.gu/sports/highlights

You are in: El nacional > sports > DBC 31 > Our team.

NEWS
- Di Bradini Cup 31, Group Draw
- SJG vs Northern Sunrise Islands, time to start showing our force.

Wrote by: Lourdes Amador/Mario Mancia
Follow in Feisbuc as: @Loudor245 / @Macia455
June 2nd, 2014. 11:05 A.M.

Di Bradini Cup 31, Group Draw

Now after a couple of months after the success achieved in the past WC Cycle and " mediocre" San Jose Guayabal participation in the Campionato Esportiva plus the surprise performance of the Football Federation of SJG together with its counterpart in the Schiavonia nation to place a bid to host the Baptism of Fire 56, the sub -21 SJG is prepared to dispute the Thirty- first edition of the Di Bradini Cup, to be held for the second time in Starblaydia land , territory to which SJG has also shown that when sitting on football matches, due to the recent "success" of SJG to achieve progress for the first time in the group stage which was not at all easy group, along with rivals like Mytannion, Kinitaria, Gloriax and among others , obtaining advance to round of 16, losing to The Royal Barangay at aggregated time, despite that, the national team then left a good image.

If ben are now in the year 2047 of our calendar, the development plans of our football are marching to the letter , making the classification to the toilet in time required , and to achieve at least advance to the next phase of the DBC 30, SJG is now thinking a little high and no longer wishes to be a simple part of the statistics of the tournament, this time the national team comes with the approach of looking for sneak between the protagonists of the tournament, not by chance, but way that deserved a lot more experienced now and formed by the absolute imporant parts such as Leonidas Bregoo and Árbol Saucedo, players who are called to be the stars of this team selection selection, plus they also incorporates the newly discovered talent Pekka Kalehmainen, Player of AC Sibirskaya Gavan team that was the pleasant surprise of the domestic tournament San Jose Guayabal curiously was stopped by a rare atmospheric phenomenon that swept the country and prevented international participation of teams SJG , now this team looks promising as we stated certain fans.

" Good morning dear fans, they think about the national team in the DBC 31 ? " Asked Lourdes Amador

" Look, at least I think they look strong on this occasion , I wish you an easy touch gupo and so proceed without mishap ," said one of the optimistic tone that encontraabn fans there.

" What tactical system should use the national team ? " asked Lourdes

" Definitely a 3-3-4 , it sounds risky but think of the benefits , more offensive power , more ability to retreat and defend , besides you can harness the talent of Pekka , that looks to be a very promising player and who knows what is the future star and logo of our national team, " said another fan .

" Thanks for your time " Lourdes said.

Already at the stage of selecting the groups held in Jhanna , one of the major cities of Starblaydia , the draw was made , SJG appeared with the following rivals.

Blouman Empire

Who we have here, well, a former champion of this tournament, specifically for five editions back Blouman Empire features attract talent from an early age to make them excel in their national team, which is known for being blunt when make attacking moves, but with a fragile defense that can seriously affect them, especially if they have the facility to use up to four front of base current form and, although his style is conservative and moderate to playtime, this team is certainly not give up at any time.

Prediction: Will be a tough rival, but his defence is fragile, something that will affect them hardly, we expect a win of SJG here, maybe a 2-0.

Darmen

The team that comes of The Westlands, are definitely an old known for our national team, this team is at most occasions we have faced in our history, this occasion will be the seventh between the two sides and unfortunately the time series has been on the side of Darmen with six wins and only 5 goals against, they have problems in midfield, but despite that have a variety of players available for use and meet their shortcomings in midfield, despite that, they have strength in the area of attack.

Prediction: The seventh time will be the charm? we don't know but we expect that, so a 3-2 win will be fair enough.

Northern Sunrise Islands

The Vaporeons despite being from the same region, are a team to which we have apnas met twice in our history, the series is in favor of The Vaporeons with a win and a draw to SJG, they are definitely a team to be reckoned with, because they want to take the trophy back to Esportiva, something very good and definitely support them as good neighbors, but we want to savor the glory, so a close match between the two we seem a solid team, especially if they have a style of play very similar, both without defect, especially with a very sure and certain defense.

Prediction: This one could be a sure lose for us, so a 2-1 against us will be good.

Zenic

Although they are newbies, this team has the reputation of having won almost everything in which has participated since its inception, have started with the revolutions over than the expected level, but have a vital flaw, experience, due to their inexperience and overconfidence, SJG can take some advantage of that and use it in your favor, especially if they tend to fail in the defense.

Prediction: Why not a win? a 1-0 will be fine.

Resume:

SJG has everything going for it to seek to achieve something important in this issue, experience and talent are on your side, but whether luck will be too, so it seems that SJG classified second in this group, ufrida but so is also possible that he takes on rivals like Equestrian States or New Sideburn are accurately as superior to us, but we do not have any reason to fear him.

SJG vs Northern Sunrise Islands, time to start showing our force.

In tomorrow's game, SJG will face his neighbor Northern Sunrise Islands in what will surely be the decisive mpas duel by the group, NSI has players militate SJG, giving you a wide knowledge of the game that SJG used, but according to plans of coach SJG, seeks to use a different way to attack this team surprise because of how fast and elusive that tends to be, especially with Yuna Nagai, front CD Barrio El Niño, an important part of the team with its spectacular campaign last season.

Despite all that, SJG plans to perform the feat of beating NSI and begin to establish itself as the strength of the group, in addition to thinking about the next round, to meet the objectives set in advance, you can tune the game through channel 114, Ratastan TV, in the area of channels of GuAlSa Federation, from 8:00 PM.

[New Sideburn]

THE STORY OF PROJECT +90 NEW SIDEBURN - Part Two

"The first season it was just a matter of getting our feet on the ground," asserts Pallister. "Promotion was never on the agenda for most of the other staff. But we felt we needed our lads and lasses in the third tier as soon as possible. Not to patronise the Conference - it's hardly a walk in the park, as our early form showed - but it was always gonna be best for the team's development if we could face Second Division opponents."
But promotion seemed far away in the first games played. Project +90 NSB played its first game away to Vermillion Spite. "We had a very technically gifted group of players, but Spite were too physical and too quick for us, going very direct. I hadn't had long to try and imprint anything on the squad - they'd grown up playing in the Sunrisian styles, their instinct was patient possession, but they weren't good enough to make it stick. Alix [Ashurst] had a great game to keep them to one goal in a game they dominated, but I'm still happy with our equaliser." Recordings agree - Raelene Marinello, who emerged as one of the stars of that season, finished off a great bit of short passing around the field with a long through ball along the ground. Spite's number five, a 40-year old veteran who'd played in the First Division, was no match for the pace of Fernanda Everton, who smashed it past Vermillion goalkeeper Cheney Rorschach, a 32-year old carpenter by trade.
So a 1-1 draw away in their first game, but next up was a formidable opponent in Falston City, who regularly drew five-figure attendances at home and were favourites for promotion. They'd be playing the first match at Michigan Road, a 6,500-capacity park in Treason that used to belong to Treason Warriors, who folded in the regional league three years prior. "They were favourites," says Pallister blandly, "and they played like it. Pumped us 3-0."
That, Pallister asserts, was a wake-up call. Project +90 won their next four matches. Senway Town went down 3-2, Long Lake and Gridlock East put down 2-0 and Brookway Town were the victims of a Pamala Croft hattrick, losing 5-2 at Michigan Road. "And more important than the results was the way they was playing. After beating Senway they lost their fear, started taking the fight to our opponents. We passed quick and weren't afraid to go direct when we had to, backing our pace to beat their defenders."
But the performance Pallister claims he's proudest of came in the first round of the NSFA Cup. Project +90 had, by then, attracted some actual support from unlikely corners. "A smattering of AFC Treason fans were starting to make the trip for home matches when Treason played away," Pallister confirms. "It's just two blocks down from the Gauntlet, after all." But it was the old Treason Warriors fans who were starting to accept the Project like their new team. "Four hundred of them made the trip for the cup match, and we would've considered forty lucky. Iron's not that far, but even so... we owe everything to our fans."
Buoyed by a surprisingly robust travelling support, Project +90 still had to deal with the prospect of facing Iron United - a First Division team, just a single step removed from the Premiership. And United were at home.
Pallister grinned. "Best 2-0 loss I ever had."

[Starblaydia]

Matchday Two
Scores & Tables

Group A
Ko-oren 2-2 Starblaydia
Cassadaigua 1-0 Chiata

Group A                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD    Pts 
1 Cassadaigua             2    2   0   0     3    0   +3     6
2 HopNation               1    1   0   0     2    1   +1     3
3 Ko-oren                 2    0   1   1     3    4   −1     1
4 Starblaydia             2    0   1   1     2    4   −2     1
5 Chiata                  1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0

Group B
Darvale 0-1 Hutt River
Felix 1-2 Schiavonia

Group B                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD    Pts 
1 Hutt River              2    2   0   0     4    1   +3     6
2 Schiavonia              1    1   0   0     2    1   +1     3
3 Taeshan                 1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
4 Darvale                 2    0   1   1     1    2   −1     1
5 Felix                   2    0   0   2     2    5   −3     0

Group C
Gregoryisgodistan 1-3 Farfadillis
The Royal Barangay 2-0 The Licentian Isles

Group C                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD    Pts 
1 Farfadillis             2    2   0   0     5    2   +3     6
2 The Royal Barangay      2    1   0   1     3    2   +1     3
3 Furellum                1    1   0   0     2    1   +1     3
4 The Licentian Isles     1    0   0   1     0    2   −2     0
5 Gregoryisgodistan       2    0   0   2     2    5   −3     0

Group D
Yttribia 1-2 Nassau-Hessen
The Kytler Peninsulae 3-1 Jeckland

Group D                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD    Pts 
1 The Kytler Peninsulae    2    2   0   0     6    1   +5     6
2 Yttribia                 2    1   0   1     4    4    0     3
3 Nassau-Hessen            2    1   0   1     2    4   −2     3
4 Eura                     1    0   0   1     2    3   −1     0
5 Jeckland                 1    0   0   1     1    3   −2     0

Group E
Equestrian States 2-0 Ceni
New Sideburn 3-2 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec

Group E                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD    Pts 
1 Equestrian States              2    2   0   0     5    1   +4     6
2 New Sideburn                   2    1   1   0     4    3   +1     4
3 Ceni                           2    0   1   1     1    3   −2     1
4 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec    1    0   0   1     2    3   −1     0
5 Kernansquillec                 1    0   0   1     1    3   −2     0

Group F
Blouman Empire 2-2 Zenic
Northern Sunrise Islands 3-2 San Jose Guayabal

Group F                     Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD    Pts 
1 Northern Sunrise Islands    2    1   1   0     5    4   +1     4
2 Blouman Empire              2    1   1   0     4    3   +1     4
3 Zenic                       2    0   2   0     4    4    0     2
4 San Jose Guayabal           1    0   0   1     2    3   −1     0
5 Darmen                      1    0   0   1     1    2   −1     0

Group G
Mizuyuki 2-1 Vettrera
Polar Islandstates 1-0 Gloriax

Group G                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD    Pts 
1 Polar Islandstates      2    1   1   0     2    1   +1     4
2 Super-Llamaland         1    1   0   0     2    0   +2     3
3 Mizuyuki                2    1   0   1     2    3   −1     3
4 Vettrera                2    0   1   1     2    3   −1     1
5 Gloriax                 1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0

Group H
The Inevitable Syndicate 1-1 Pasarga
Nouvel Ecosse 1-2 Audioslavia

Group H                     Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD    Pts 
1 Pasarga                     2    1   1   0     3    2   +1     4
2 The Inevitable Syndicate    2    1   1   0     2    1   +1     4
3 Audioslavia                 1    1   0   0     2    1   +1     3
4 Svengarda                   1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0
5 Nouvel Ecosse               2    0   0   2     2    4   −2     0

[Kernansquillec]

KERS U21s SUFFER ANOTHER DEFEAT

The Green Stallions seem to struggle to perform on their opening game of the group. After the 3-2 disappointment against Darvale in qualifying, this time it was Equestrian States who came away from their clash with the Kers with three points. It must be said that The Little Ponies are one of the better sides in the group, but still Kernansquillec will fell as if they could have done better, especially as this defeat means that no further slip ups can happen if they want to qualify for the last sixteen. In the group of five teams, only the top two qualify. Still, four match days remain and the table still has the potential to change. The Green and Whites will still be looking for much improved performances in the games to come.

The young players get a rest for the next match day, but will then have to kick on with three crucial fixtures, the first of which is against Ceni who drew their opening game 1-1. They will prove a decent test for the Green and Whites, who will need to beat them if they are to hope of qualifying.

In other news the World Cup Committee have released their new ranking and the Kers jump strait back in at 108. The good news will bring hope to the nation as the preparations for WC69 qualifying heat up. But before then the new domestic season is set to kick off soon. Guingamp are once again favourites for the title, however some pundits are hoping for an upset.

[Mizuyuki]

None of the below is to be taken as OOC criticism. All points are made in an IC capacity.
Note that all comments on individuals or teams are based off the IC author's assessment, and are not to be taken seriously or construed as godmods!

---

Di Bradini Cup 31 - Previewing Group G
An insider's take on the Little Novas' group

---

Opinion piece - Kiriyama Fuu, Mizuyuki U21 manager

Thirteen days have elapsed since the Little Nova first took to the field in Starblaydia to contest the most prestigious U21 football tournament in the multiverse. I, along with my childhood-friend-cum-managerial-colleague Shirazaka Kaede, have been leading the Little Nova in their search for glory in the Di Bradini Cup. From the Vaporeons of Northern Sunrise Islands to the rough-and-tumble New Sideburnese, we will be taking on some of the multiverse's best under-21 teams in our valiant effort to lift the Di Bradini Cup - a feat which we have yet to achieve despite several cycles of regular participation.

Before I move on, I would just like to take a moment to express my disappointment at the state of Mizuyukian football at an international level. As a matter of common knowledge, Mizuyuki has never been a traditional footballing power steeped in history - the two footballing accolades to our name thus far, in over a century of professional competition, are the now-defunct Market Cup and the hardly significant Aurora Cup. I trust that many will agree with me when I say that these competitions are hardly the equal of the likes of the DBC, the U15 WC, or - dare I say it - the Runner Cup.

Winning a minor tournament does not equate success on a multiversal scale - it goes without saying, really.

As such, I am forced to arrive at the conclusion that Mizuyuki has not been dining at the top table of football in terms of footballing success. This lack of international success can only be attributed to Shirakiin's insistence on fielding a team chock-full of youngsters - hardly a match for the grizzled, experienced veterans that are a permanent fixture at the WC Finals. The one factor that might have had a mitigating effect on performance over a sustained period, consistency, also proved to be notoriously hard to come by. One only has to look at the Mizuyukian performance for the last two World Cups to be assured of that fact. A strong qualifying performance in WC67 saw the senior team tipped for great things, and when they managed to pull off a stunning victory against bookies' favourites Andossa Se Mitrin Vega in the first group match, the team seemed destined to go places. However, a disappointing one-all draw against Kinitaria, in a match where they were tipped to win, saw us exhibit the first signs of vulnerability, before a strong Turori dismantled Shirakiin Kurumi's inexperienced side 4-1 in an uneven contest, qualifying at our expense in the process.

In comparison to WC67, however, WC68 was infinitely worse. It lay Mizuyuki's Achilles heel bare for all to see and ultimately exploit - a lamentably poor consistency. Against lower-ranked opponents such as Neu Engollon and Karditan, Shirakiin's side managed to drop a frankly embarrassing number of points - especially against opposition perceived to be inherently inferior. Their costly lapses in concentration against these 'inferior' sides proved to be their undoing, as Neu Engollon stepped up their game and pulled off one of the most memorable and significant upsets in recent times, ousting Mizuyuki from their top spot by the halfway mark and consolidating their hold on the position for the rest of qualifying, before a complacent Mizuyuki crashed out in extra time against Osarius when a scoreless draw in ET would have been sufficient to ensure their qualification.

Our job, as U21 managers, is to rectify that situation with immediacy. Without adequate prior preparation, Shirakiin's charges performed credibly, but failed to step up when it mattered the most - barely missing out on qualification last cycle by conceding two quick-fire goals in extra time of their tie against Osarius, billed by many as a vulnerable sleeping giant. The previous generation is far from a wash; but we aim to perfect the next batch of youngsters; we aim to toughen them up, both physically and mentally, for the long and arduous trek ahead; we aim to make them serial winners.

We all know that the sweet, sugary taste of success is a potent nectar - once a player gets her first sip of it, she'll be hungering for more. It is our job to lead the next generation of Mizuyukian stars to the legendary starfire flower, as it were; to hand them their first sip of its nectar, and we will do all within our power to secure Mizuyuki's footballing future for decades to come. A solid foundation is the basis of all success; I'm sure many of you will be familiar with that old adage.

But I am rambling. Let us return to the topic at hand, which is the 31st edition of the Di Bradini Cup.

Now that the first matchday has come and gone, I feel that I am sufficiently able to offer an informed opinion on the group of interest - Group G - of this cycle's DBC.

We have been here thirteen days - a period that was needlessly prolonged due to some wildly erratic match scheduling by the Starblaydi footballing authorities, leaving us with precious little to do save for twiddling our thumbs and cooling our heels in our allocated lodgings. It is no exaggeration to say that we could have been done and dusted with the qualifying section of the competition - which took all of three matchdays - over four days. Hardly impossible, given that a given team only played a grand total of two matches over the first seven days, and were left hanging for another six before the first match of the DBC proper was played.

All this waiting has allowed me to do some stealthy scouting of my own, though, so it's not all bad. There's a silver lining to every cloud, though in this case the silver lining can probably be measured on the quantum scale.

The first team we've gotten stuck with is the Wild Herd of Vettrera. Not all that hot of a team name if you ask me, but the Vettreran FA are of course entitled to their own opinion. Perish the thought of my imposing my personal aesthetic views on the benighted Vettrerans. They are used to playing a fairly standard 4-3-3, with an overload attacking style. Normally, I would be inclined to applaud their offensive play, but in this case I can only label them as 'hot-headed', 'misguided', and altogether 'too clever for their own good'. Up against a decidedly neutral group in terms of playing style, the wise option would have been to select a similarly neutral team flexible enough for a strategy alteration mid-game; or to have an abundance of tactical options to the extent that one could easily make the required changes either by way of formation changes or substitutions. However, it is appreciably more difficult to make players suited to an attacking style to conform to a defensive strategy, and with conventional football tournaments allowing a maximum of three substitutions during the course of a match, Vettrera could find it difficult to adapt with ease to their opponents' tactical manoeuvres. More power to them if they manage to pull it off. I don't see them doing at all well, even if they did manage to hold Polar Islandstates to a one-all draw in their opening match.

Next team in line is Super-Llamaland, whose U21s are also known as the 'Royals'. The first team to keep a clean sheet against us in this edition's DBC, they are a fairly standard team, with no particular individual standing out, nor a favoured strategy or playing style. In short, a team most suitable for the archetypal tinkering manager. We've already seen how several of their seemingly unspectacular players tore our Little Novas to shreds in last night's 0-2 defeat. Midfielder Michael McKenzie applied the finishing touch to a goal that smacked of some fortuity, before his half-time replacement, the dynamic Aidan Ferguson, made sure of the result by taking a cute pass from Player in his stride and blasting it past Kashiwagi in goal. This was an excellent example of the Royals' tactical flexibility - having made note of the Little Nova's mostly-defensive and languid play in the first half, they took off goalscorer McKenzie and replaced him with the more technically adept and energetic Ferguson. The devastating combination between Ferguson, Player and Valdevic, remarked upon by a host of commentators and pundits, proved to be too much for the Little Novas to handle, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that the astute substitution from the Royals manager altered the entire game. The official line is that McKenzie somehow managed to choke on a grape seed and was rushed to a nearby Starblaydi medical facility, however, but I suspect this is only Super-Llamaland leaking ridiculous stories to the mass media in order to fake their tactical incompetence or the player injury. They are definitely a team to watch out for, as we learned first hand.

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you about the Little Nova themselves. The long of short of it; they play a fluid defensive game, which may sound like an oxymoron. Defensive playstyles are supposed to be rigid, aren't they? But we do that, and to see how we do it, watch us play some time. It didn't work that well against SLL, but we're confident that with a little tinkering the Little Nova will be back in top gear. We have our star individuals, Shirane, Uryuu, Steiner, Iseya and Kihara; we have an actually competent coaching setup; and our team has top notch chemistry, the likes of which you'll never find elsewhere. The result of playing with a virtually unchanged team for three years at a stretch. I'd say we're in with a shout of winning the entire thing outright despite our opening match hiccup. Get some patriotism if you don't think we are.

There must be some kind of conspiracy against us, because we've landed in a group together with the U21s of reigning WC champs Polar Islandstates, whose name I like to shorten to just PIS, like so many others do. It's only a pity that the alternative PISS never gained much popularity among my contemporaries, despite my game efforts to push its case. But I digress. Polar Islandstates' junior team, sporting a rather unconventional 3-3-2-2 formation, are nothing to be sniffed at, but it doesn't deserve anything remotely close to the level of respect its senior team gets from its opponents on the pitch. It's almost like they're afraid of going toe-to-toe with the multiverse's so-called 'best' team. But in the case of the Chicks, they don't exactly have an embarrassment of riches in terms of individual talents. What they do possess is a smattering of capable, competent and professional footballers, the likes of which you'll never find choking on a grape seed. They're well-covered in the goalkeeping department, with the solid Vincent Mohr handed the coveted #1 jersey and the dependable Brandt-Caledon deputising for his more illustrious colleague. In defence, they can call upon the services of captain Olaf Strauss, mature beyond his years, and a handful of promising youngsters such as Kalle Oien of the storied FC1. Surtsey Island Gulls and Alexei Brannstrom, who plies his trade at Licentian club SC Montfort. There are also several competent players holding the fort in midfield, as the up-and-coming Boris Jenssen - one of the best individual talents in this Polarian team - and capable Eidur Gunnlaugsson join vice-captain Ulrich Mortenson in the engine room. Leading the line will be the dynamic duo of Rauno Bickermann and Finn Kirkkegaard, who will be relied upon to plunder as many goals as humanly possible with the service from midfield. All in all, Chicks manager Ole van Jendrisen has a reasonably talented squad and a host of options at his fingertips - as would be expected of the multiverse's champions - but they are, like any other team, susceptible to defeats against the run of play. Polarian sportnyheter.vu calls this batch of players a 'seriously talented' one. It remains to be seen how they will live up to domestic expectations, as the Chicks played out a fairly disappointing one-all draw against the Wild Herd (previously mentioned) in their first match of the DBC.

Last up, we have the GloColts - which is apparently the very same squad which represented Gloriax at the recently-concluded Campionato Esportiva X in Felix and German American States. Incidentally, they're also the same batch of players who played for Gloriax last WC. With head coach Paul Hunter at the helm, this youthful side has a neutral playing style - you'll rarely find them overcommitting in attack the Farf way nor building the next Great Wall in the back of the shop. This particular Gloriaxian senior squad - for that is what they are - has a philosophy that will be familiar to avid followers of Mizuyukian football - they have a very young makeup. Facing up to the challenges and rigours of the WC is not an achievement to be sniffed at for an entire squad below the age of twenty-one and, as such, still qualifying to participate in the DBC. Then again, our own senior side is constructed in much the same mould. It is clear that Gloriaxian head coach Hunter places a lot of stock in the promise of youth, as does our own Shirakiin Kurumi of the senior side. Gloriax can also call upon the services of a multitude of players with experience of playing in foreign leagues; no fewer than thirteen players of their twenty-three man squad are currently playing abroad, with ten of those thirteen making the starting eleven. A team to watch out for; but I sincerely doubt that they have the staying power and the talent to make it far in this DBC.

Group of death or not? Let's find out, shall we?

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

The score was 2-2. The game against the Blue Wave (though playing on green) wasn't exactly surprising, but their opponents, just as Zenic, had been rather resilient to a loss. The coach could only hear people asking for the duet to come back. Rolando and Rolandinho made wonders at the game against the Survivors and it seemed rather certain that after so long, Péricles would break hold of whatever kept him from making that change. However, he only gave a smile, waved his hand slightly for Ruby to see it. Ruby shook her head up and down, before passing the ball to a dashing Martinho. It was the plan all along.

Martinho lobbed the ball over to Yuna Nagai. Nagai smiled, faking a dribble to the left, a dribble to the right until rolling the ball with the heel to Hanna. The cat-like creature ran, shooting the ball with enough strength to hit the back of Sonny Blade. What seemed to be like a fool play was, however, a way to adjust the ball for the upcoming shot. Tsunami Storm ran from outside of the box, kicking the ball to the back of the net. The picture would later appear on the net, drawn like a manga, with what seemed to be a powerful wave emanating from the ball. It was that powerful and that certain. The keeper was overwhelmed and while he tried to grab the ball, he could only notice himself already inside, behind the bar. A goal. Three to two.

The rest of the team went to celebrate with the number 11. Ruby ran to her and gave her a hug, only for in a couple of seconds later, Ruby would once again be in the same situation as the other day. Until she finally opened her eyes. "Kaene?" asked her, surprised.

---

"So..." asked June, laughing. "Your admirer is Kaene, huh? The Sole Sunrisian to ever play at Wight?". Ruby blushed, uneasy. "Y-y-yeah... And... it came out of nowhere. Plus, he hasn't even said a word or anything."

"Well." June started to talk again, laying on her bed. "Some say that after what happened on Wight and now that he's playing at Felix, he has changed immensely. Gone is the cocky child, here is the silent kid who doesn't need words to express his feelings. Though I got to admit, that was weird. Shouldn't he, at least, have tried to talk with you before that?"

Ruby sighed, calm. "I'll talk with him right now. Let's put this on the right gears."

[HopNation]

Di Bradini Cup
Van Silver's Take

Not much to report today, at least as far as our Little Hoppers are concerned. The did after all have the day off. They did get a light training session in and some rest after that so they should be ready to go for the next match. There also hasn’t been much chatter about our group in general so I’m unclear what to expect from the next match, I wish I could give you a worth while preview but alas I’m just coming up short here.

There were two games played by the other teams in our group and we saw one 1-0 game and one 2-2 game. So it seems the members of our group are close together in terms of ability. We’ll have to watch to see how things play out and if anyone starts to get an edge on the others. The side from Cassadaigua was the victor and that put them in the driver seat so far of our group with 6 total points. We didn’t lose any ground with both other teams drawing, so that even after our day of rest we are in second on the table. Next we have Ko-oren who just edged out Starblaydia on GD to sit in the third spot. Then the last group member, Chiata, fell in it’s opening game and sees them holding down the bottom of the group.

Next up for our Little Hoppers is the host Starblaydia. They just scored their first goals of the tournament and I’m sure will be looking to continue against us, however if we can play like we did against Ko-oren I feel we’ll be just fine.

Unti next time!
Sullivan Van Silver

Group A
Plc  | Flag | Nation      | Team Nickname(s)                   | (W-D-L)
4    |   | Starblaydia |                                    | (0-1-1)
2    |   | HopNation   | Little Hoppers                     | (1-0-0)
3    |   | Ko-oren     | Litegreens, Liteblues, Butterflies | (0-1-1)
1    |   | Cassadaigua | Fillies                            | (2-0-0)
5    |   | Chiata      | Thunderstorm                       | (0-0-1)
Advanced|Eliminated

Schedule
Day | Opponent	  | Venue				 | Home/Away
MD1 | Ko-oren	  | Ectar Traxx Stadium, Foxchester	 | Home
MD2 | Bye
MD3 | Starblaydia | Ectar Traxx Stadium, Foxchester	 | Away
MD4 | Chiata	  | Montepool Bayside Stadium, Montepool | Home
MD5 | Cassadaigua | Montepool Bayside Stadium, Montepool | Away 
Win|draw|Loss

---

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[Furellum]

Margaret screamed suddenly, startling everyone. Before they could react, she ran to the edge of the table and threw herself off. A moment later, her head reappeared as she began to grow again, until she was once again the giant woman in the middle of the round table of game boards. "Another game here, another game there. So much time, and so little to waste!" she yelled, at no one in particular. Then she looked over at the Furellum team, and her voice was sweet as honey. "i'm afraid I don't have the time to play with you anymore. As you can see, I already have a set of you, so you are surplus. I can't have any surplus running around and interfering with things." She reached out a giant hand, which grew until it encompassed the whole team, and swept them up in her palm. They could hear Margaret's voice as they were lifted up into the sky. "It's nothing personal, you understand, but I don't need you. So, I dispose of you, thus!" The team were thrown, rather like dice, onto a shelf. They tumbled about, bouncing off each other as they spilled off the giant hand. Zhenya bumped into the chicken foreman who had guided them from the train station. Zhenya grabbed him and pulled him out of the path of Viddar Stefanovich. The heavy-set frame of the hippo carried on past them and hit Boris Funar, who went flying into the air and almost went off the edge, saved only by Mihajlovic, who took a flying leap to catch the stoat by the tail as he disappeared from view.

Funar rubbed his sore behind ruefully, saying to his rescuer, "Good to see you've still got your goalkeeping skills. I would have been a gonner otherwise."
"I wouldn't be so confident you've cheated death today." The cheerless voice belonged to the chicken, who shook his head sadly. "We've been sent here to die. Look!" The team's eyes followed the line of his outstretched wing. At one end of the shelf was a tower, squat and wide. The shelf entered into a hole at the base, and from the hole came forth the flicker of flames and an intense heat. "That is the furnace." said the chicken sadly. "It's where She melts down the pieces who are no longer required." Lievin had been watching the furnace while the chicken was speaking. Now he spoke. "Guys, I don't want to worry, you, but that tower seems to be moving towards us."
"Or us towards it!" shouted Mordecai. "We're on a conveyor belt!" He was right. The shelf that they were on was in fact moving, quite rapidly, towards that fiery abyss.
Ezra tried to run the other way, but no matter how fast he moved, the tower still got closer. "To the edge!" cried Moisey, running to the side. But a quick glance showed that escape that way was impossible. They were so high up, Moisey had thought the white clouds below was the floor until he saw it billowing. While Moisey tried to make up his mind over wether death by falling would be preferable to death by burning, the rest of the team sat in silence, defeated and hopeless. Some of the players wept openly. Ezra just stared at the furnace, growing ever closer, and thought about his father. He wished, just once, to see Eleazer's face again. They were almost at the furnace edge now. Ezra could feel the heat singeing his whiskers. As the tower loomed overhead, he saw something strange. Perched on the top of the tower, staring down at them, was a raven. "That wasn't there before." thought Ezra. "Perhaps it is true what they say: the raven is a bird of death. Well, I've seen a raven, and I'm about to die; but am I to die because I've seen it, or seen it because I am to die?" As that last thought crossed his mind, he saw the end of the shelf give way to the burning pit, and taking one last breath he closed his eyes as he passed over the edge...

[Starblaydia]

Matchday Three
Scores & Tables

Group A
Starblaydia 0-2 HopNation
Chiata 1-3 Ko-oren

                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 HopNation               2    2   0   0     4    1   +3     6
2 Cassadaigua             2    2   0   0     3    0   +3     6
3 Ko-oren                 3    1   1   1     6    5   +1     4
4 Starblaydia             3    0   1   2     2    6   −4     1
5 Chiata                  2    0   0   2     1    4   −3     0

Group B
Hutt River 2-1 Taeshan
Schiavonia 2-2 Darvale

                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Hutt River              3    3   0   0     6    2   +4     9
2 Schiavonia              2    1   1   0     4    3   +1     4
3 Darvale                 3    0   2   1     3    4   −1     2
4 Taeshan                 2    0   1   1     2    3   −1     1
5 Felix                   2    0   0   2     2    5   −3     0

Group C
Farfadillis 1-3 Furellum
The Licentian Isles 2-4 Gregoryisgodistan

                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Furellum                2    2   0   0     5    2   +3     6
2 Farfadillis             3    2   0   1     6    5   +1     6
3 The Royal Barangay      2    1   0   1     3    2   +1     3
4 Gregoryisgodistan       3    1   0   2     6    7   −1     3
5 The Licentian Isles     2    0   0   2     2    6   −4     0

Group D
Nassau-Hessen 1-1 Eura
Jeckland 2-0 Yttribia

                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 The Kytler Peninsulae    2    2   0   0     6    1   +5     6
2 Nassau-Hessen            3    1   1   1     3    5   −2     4
3 Jeckland                 2    1   0   1     3    3    0     3
4 Yttribia                 3    1   0   2     4    6   −2     3
5 Eura                     2    0   1   1     3    4   −1     1

Group E
Ceni 0-3 Kernansquillec
The Royal Kingdom of Quebec 1-4 Equestrian States

                               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Equestrian States              3    3   0   0     9    2   +7     9
2 New Sideburn                   2    1   1   0     4    3   +1     4
3 Kernansquillec                 2    1   0   1     4    3   +1     3
4 Ceni                           3    0   1   2     1    6   −5     1
5 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec    2    0   0   2     3    7   −4     0

Group F
Zenic 2-1 Darmen
San Jose Guayabal 4-3 Blouman Empire

                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Zenic                       3    1   2   0     6    5   +1     5
2 Northern Sunrise Islands    2    1   1   0     5    4   +1     4
3 Blouman Empire              3    1   1   1     7    7    0     4
4 San Jose Guayabal           2    1   0   1     6    6    0     3
5 Darmen                      2    0   0   2     2    4   −2     0

Group G
Vettrera 0-1 Super-Llamaland
Gloriax 1-2 Mizuyuki

                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Super-Llamaland         2    2   0   0     3    0   +3     6
2 Mizuyuki                3    2   0   1     4    4    0     6
3 Polar Islandstates      2    1   1   0     2    1   +1     4
4 Vettrera                3    0   1   2     2    4   −2     1
5 Gloriax                 2    0   0   2     1    3   −2     0

Group H
Pasarga 2-0 Svengarda
Audioslavia 3-3 The Inevitable Syndicate

                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Pasarga                     3    2   1   0     5    2   +3     7
2 The Inevitable Syndicate    3    1   2   0     5    4   +1     5
3 Audioslavia                 2    1   1   0     5    4   +1     4
4 Nouvel Ecosse               2    0   0   2     2    4   −2     0
5 Svengarda                   2    0   0   2     0    3   −3     0

[Kernansquillec]

CENI BLOWN AWAY IN MUST-WIN GAME

Kernansquillec's under 21s put in a solid performance to win 3-0 against a Ceni side that are now all-but-out of the Di Bradini Cup. An opening defeat to Equestrian States had put a dampener on Kernansquillecan hopes of making the knock-out stages after a qualifying campaign where the team had yet to really gel, but this performance shows that the team are slowly getting there. It's fair to say that Ceni didn't provide the toughest of tests but the morale boost should not be underestimated.

Prolific forward Peter Lilac added to his solitary goal against Equestrian States with a close range header after half an hour of play in Starblaydia. At half-time the score remained one nil in favour of the Green Stalions but after the break Hugo Gashotov scored his first ever goal for the under 21s, finding space down the left wing, cutting inside and firing in a sweet strike from 25 yards out. Substitute Kéziah Carrac who replaced Marie Iris soon after the second goal finished off the job after 71 minutes of play, taping in from close range after a goal-mouth scramble where a Poutre corner wasn't cleared.

The 3-0 sees Kernansquillec climb into third place in group E. Bottom of the table The Royal Kingdom of Quebec will be up next, Quebec needing a win to hope of making the knockout rounds. Meanwhile there will be a top of the table clash between Equestrian States and New Sideburn. A win for Equestrian States would seal their qualification, while a defeat for New Sideburn or draw could see Kernansquillec jump up into second place.

In other news the Kernansquillecan FA (KERFA) have confirmed the list of clubs to qualify for UICA competitions this season. League champions Guingamp make the Champions' Cup for the third season in a row, while Rennes, St Marie and Rennes du Nord make the Globe Cup. Rennes also make the Cygnus Cup after winning the National Cup, beating Guingamp on penalties in what was one of the greatest finals to date. Two bids have also been put forward to host the finals of the Champions' Cup and the Series B Champions' Cup by the KERFA: The National Stadium has bid for the TQCC while Guingamp's Stade du Roudourou has bid for the SBCC final.

[Super-Llamaland]

Vettrera 0, Royals 1: Llamanean U-21 side continues unbeaten run

STARBLAYDIA -- Another day, another win: the Royals of Super-Llamaland are on an absolute roll.

Things got out to a slow start for our home side as the Royals prepared to face the Wild Herd of Vettrera. The Bermudan Triangle of Valdevic, Player, and Guzmán, but this time it was Aidan Ferguson playing to unite them all. The Wild Herd, who were playing as aggressive as Farves set on fire, began to attack the Royal defense. It was Malvoy playing the best on the left striker side, attacking Herman at will. But it wasn't until the eighth minute until a cross-field shot hit an attacking Christie Pratt, who pounced and slapped it off the crossbar and into the ready hands of Jared Finch.

Vettrera continued to play aggressive ball until a turning point somewhere in the vicinity of the thirteenth. Valdevic took one from Pratt and went along the left side, drawing defenders and then slapping one upfield to Anthony Player. Player continued to charge up the field before going across to Ferguson, whose header barely missed the mark. A botched goalkick later and the 5-1 part of Llamanea's 4-5-1 were swarming across in waves.

It was Valdevic, playing far past midfield, who recovered the kick. From there, shoddy defense by the Wild Herd allowed him to go back-and-forth with Player through the defense, but it was Carter who made it back in time to send his shot flying off a shin guard and into the stands.

Cartwright and Alexion then drove through the left, but around minute twenty, Vettrera began to push back, lead by Carter, advancing up the field and peaking in two brilliant plays by Finch to block shots from each Pratt sister in turn.

Things quieted down, with neither midfield really allowing ground and the ball never hitting the final third. Each team got another run out of the first half, but in the end it was nothing that really happened, a nil-nil standfast after forty-five plus two.

And then came the second half. It began as the first half had ended. Boring, midfield-centric play, with a slight edge to the Royals and their bigger, better halfbacks.

They broke through in the sixty-eighth, Valdevic running up and passing to Player, who continued up the left side and slammed one off the eighteen-yard over the hands of DeMare and into the goal.

Code: Select all

Player 68' (Valdevic assist)

From there on, it was the Royals keeping it on their offense and passing around, with Vettrera only a handful of times getting it out to their offense. Finch was on all night as the Royals continued their winning streak with a one-zip victory.

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

It was early on the morning, but the hotel where the Little Vaporeons (or Eevees, if you may) was already... well, noisy.

"KAENE!" yelled the Southern Edenian, outside of said person's room. "Get out! We need to talk!" With her, was a still very sleepy June, complete with a little Kaza plushy. "Yawn... do you really want to solve this now? I mean, we have the entire day." Ruby was still pretty vocal and with that typical Southern Edenian confidence. "We already delayed it for yesterday, June! Kaene, open the goddamn door!" While Ruby kept knocking with strength at the door, June laid on the door behind them, before said door opening, causing her to fall over both Anthro Cats, the Sunshine Twins. "Ow, get off, fatty!" yelled Brie, the one under both. "I'm not... zzz... fat..." said June, still sleepy, hugging her plushy. "Not you, you dimwit! My sister!" answered Brie, causing both Brie and Nikki to start some sort of fight, while June kept sleeping.

After knocking on the door for god knows how long, it finally opened with nobody inside in the end. Ruby walked inside the room, looking through the window of the room, finding Kaene to be training some strange sort of Martial Arts near an artificial beach the hotel had, decked on only simple pants and sandals, with his roommate, Felipe Pato, near him. The three other players already sort of awake followed her, trying to peek from the window as well. "Huh, that's Kaene?" asked Brie, confused. "Yeah, Ruby's little boyfriend." said Nikki, laughing. "Wait, what?" asked Ruby, angry. "Why are you saying that?" June, starting to wake up, leaped onto Kaene's bed, stretching her arms. "Duh, he kissed you on international television, Ruby! It's expected that people would know about it."

"Kaene, we got to go back to our room, man." said the team's goalie, while closing a book he was reading all the time along, which title was unidentifiable from that far. "People will wake up soon, we gotta move and-" "OLHA A BOMBA!" yelled a voice behind the duo. A small group of players, mostly the good old folks from Carnival or Juliana, like Rolandinho Juliano, Rolando, Roallase, Roberto Uchida and Zezinho, the latter one being the leader of the group of Sunrisians, diving like a cannonball to dive from a platform inside the water, throwing water everywhere, including a bit over Kaene. The two twins blushed a bit, while June giggled a bit from the reactions. "Hahah... You people. Good thing we're not on Edenia back when they trained a huge army near the beach!". When it was noticeable they were leaving to return to their room, the four girls ran away as quick as possible.

---

"Huh. Kaene, didn't know you liked Radio Esportiva." said Felipe Pato, handing the Kaza plushy that was on Kaene's bed to him. Kaene raised an eyebrow, confused, before looking on Kaza's little navy blue hat, where a certain name was on it. "June Gardot."

[New Sideburn]

THE BRINEMOUTH HERALD
SENATE PASSES REFERENDUM FOR NATIONAL NAME CHANGE
by Richard Malbranque

Rook Barker's most ambitious project yet, to rename the nation to 'Nephara' and in doing so 'complete the national transformation into a true nation', is just a popular vote away from becoming law.

Margrave Barker put forward the proposal only early last month, initially to heavy opposition. It has largely been carried through due to his compelling rhetoric, and the referendum is now expected to pass. "Nephara," he argued, "takes its root from 'nephilim'. The word itself means many things - 'sons of God'. 'Giants'. 'Violent ones', even. It is a name that befits a nation of warriors and soldiers, ready to act against the rise of the fascist states."

The Traditionalist party backed it unanimously, and while the Progressive Democrats were ambivalent about the change overall they supported it being put to referendum. The one concern held by some ProDems was that a religious root word could affect New Sideburn's/Nephara's status as a secular nation. But Margrave Barker was quick to dismiss any such concerns. "In law, this goes no further than a change to the nation's name - one reflecting a unified, progressive state with roots in our own Catholicism, yes, but still maintaining the seperation of church and state. New Sideburn," he continued, "reflected a fractious collection of states brought together purely out of hatred for the old, ousted monarchy. It was a name that looked to the past - the Sideburn that once was. This nation has no need for that, as now with the progress that started, I am not afraid to admit, with a Progressive leader in Margravine Ironripper, this nation only has eyes for the future."

In foreign fascist circles, Barker has often been dismissed as a 'centrist reactionary', a label he has quietly accepted. Whether it's true or not, or negative or not, doesn't seem to matter - his compelling narrative of Nepharim banding together has caught the heart of the nation.

THE STORY OF PROJECT +90 NEW SIDEBURN - Part Three

Iron United were a First Division side. They were in the middle of a fight to avoid relegation, granted, but still a far stronger team than the Project. "Most First Division and Premiership teams sort of expect to roll over Conference opposition, and justifiably at that," explained Pallister. "The very least they expect is for teams to go on the defensive against them. They were the toughest opponents the Project had ever faced - so I told the lads to go out there and give them hell."
The away team took the fight to United, successfully playing their fast passing game, and they got the first shot on target just four minutes in. That said, their inexperience could cost them at times - Iron United's first goal came just about against the run of play, first with a defensive error from Luque to let United forward Martain in on goal, then the weak shot slipped through Ballin's hands. From that point, United got their foot back in the game, with a 'no messing' approach - Martain's second goal came from a cross, headed firmly past Ballin. But Project +90 continued to have chances late into the game, and it took an outstanding save from United goalkeeper Natasha Vaughan to keep the clean sheet. "We didn't flinch, we just took the fight to 'em. But then the gap in quality was always going to be a lot to deal with."

The rest of the season went more or less smoothly - unexpectedly smoothly. The Project managed to hover in the top five for the rest of the season, and actually lead the league for a few matches. And by the final matchday, when the dust had settled, they'd inched past Kensey Town and South Parrhesia into second place. And promotion.

All that remained was the task of building for the future.

[Ko-oren]

Don't know if promising

The Butterflies collected one of each match outcome with the win over Chiata. One loss, one tie and one win, and the team is in third place with four points. One game remains, and that must be a win or else it is game over for the youngsters already. Even with a win, things get difficult as all other teams play another game after that.

Currently, Ko-oren are one of the more scoring and more conceding teams. Six scored (only two teams scored more) and five allowed (only eight teams have conceded more than we have). This is partly because of youth and inexperience, but on the other hand, why are other teams not conceding as much? Nevertheless, these stats are completely unKo-orenite and we can ask ourselves what this generation will add to Ko-orenite football. A few players have earned themselves spots at the more prestigious clubs in Ko-orenite football: with Kaldirim, Blanke, 8-447219 and Tekeli, almost our entire defense plays in the top of KNL. Furthermore, Morioka and Fjodorov played Champions' Cup football with their clubs (Mazaj and Alara, respectively). Is this generation of players, the ones currently 19 and 20 years old, up to the task? Will this mean an end to traditional defensive football? Have we just been unlucky for three games?

Behind the starting XI, we have a set of 10 players coming from Project +90. Schiavonia and the Pony Lands are the main destination of young players, with just one of them making the starting XI (Chanal, goalkeeper). We understand they are younger, but expectations will be insanely high due to them being the first generation 'raised' outside of Ko-oren, at least in the football sense. What does this mean for our traditional tactics?

Anyway, Cassadaigua is our next opponent. Anything less than a win means it's over for us already, and even then we have to hope for an upset on our bye day.

[Starblaydia]

RP Cutoff!

[Starblaydia]

Matchday Four
Scores & Tables

Group A
HopNation 2-2 Chiata
Ko-oren 3-1 Cassadaigua

                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
1 Ko-oren                 4    2   1   1     9    6   +3     7
2 HopNation               3    2   1   0     6    3   +3     7
3 Cassadaigua             3    2   0   1     4    3   +1     6
4 Chiata                  3    0   1   2     3    6   −3     1
5 Starblaydia             3    0   1   2     2    6   −4     1

Group B
Taeshan 1-2 Schiavonia
Darvale 0-1 Felix

                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Hutt River              3    3   0   0     6    2   +4     9
2 Schiavonia              3    2   1   0     6    4   +2     7
3 Felix                   3    1   0   2     3    5   −2     3
4 Darvale                 4    0   2   2     3    5   −2     2
5 Taeshan                 3    0   1   2     3    5   −2     1

Group C
Furellum 4-1 The Licentian Isles
Gregoryisgodistan 1-2 The Royal Barangay

                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Furellum                3    3   0   0     9    3   +6     9
2 The Royal Barangay      3    2   0   1     5    3   +2     6
3 Farfadillis             3    2   0   1     6    5   +1     6
4 Gregoryisgodistan       4    1   0   3     7    9   −2     3
5 The Licentian Isles     3    0   0   3     3   10   −7     0

Group D
Eura 1-2 Jeckland
Yttribia 1-3 The Kytler Peninsulae

                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
1 The Kytler Peninsulae    3    3   0   0     9    2   +7     9
2 Jeckland                 3    2   0   1     5    4   +1     6
3 Nassau-Hessen            3    1   1   1     3    5   −2     4
4 Yttribia                 4    1   0   3     5    9   −4     3
5 Eura                     3    0   1   2     4    6   −2     1

Group E
Kernansquillec 4-0 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec
Equestrian States 1-2 New Sideburn

                               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
1 Equestrian States              4    3   0   1    10    4   +6     9
2 New Sideburn                   3    2   1   0     6    4   +2     7
3 Kernansquillec                 3    2   0   1     8    3   +5     6
4 Ceni                           3    0   1   2     1    6   −5     1
5 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec    3    0   0   3     3   11   −8     0

Group F
Darmen 2-2 San Jose Guayabal
Blouman Empire 1-3 Northern Sunrise Islands

                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Northern Sunrise Islands    3    2   1   0     8    5   +3     7
2 Zenic                       3    1   2   0     6    5   +1     5
3 San Jose Guayabal           3    1   1   1     8    8    0     4
4 Blouman Empire              4    1   1   2     8   10   −2     4
5 Darmen                      3    0   1   2     4    6   −2     1

Group G
Super-Llamaland 4-1 Gloriax
Mizuyuki 2-2 Polar Islandstates

                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Super-Llamaland         3    3   0   0     7    1   +6     9
2 Mizuyuki                4    2   1   1     6    6    0     7
3 Polar Islandstates      3    1   2   0     4    3   +1     5
4 Vettrera                3    0   1   2     2    4   −2     1
5 Gloriax                 3    0   0   3     2    7   −5     0

Group H
Svengarda 1-1 Audioslavia
The Inevitable Syndicate 2-1 Nouvel Ecosse

                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 The Inevitable Syndicate    4    2   2   0     7    5   +2     8
2 Pasarga                     3    2   1   0     5    2   +3     7
3 Audioslavia                 3    1   2   0     6    5   +1     5
4 Svengarda                   3    0   1   2     1    4   −3     1
5 Nouvel Ecosse               3    0   0   3     3    6   −3     0

[Polar Islandstates]

Down time in a large tournament often meant boredom, particularly if you had no partner travelling with you. Ole van Jendrisen could remember all too well the days spent playing endless games of pool with similarly single team-mates on off-days or free afternoons during large international tournaments. One World Cup, he'd ended up beating Alexsandr van Sorensen in a tournament-long pool competition by the odd frame in one hundred and eighty-five. He could also remember the awkwardness that would arise whenever one of the coaching staff were around as well. He liked Kirkkegaard and Yarbin, both were excellent people that he was proud to have worked with, and now he would greet Kirkkegaard like an old friend. He'd done just that at Yarbin's funeral, in fact, and on every occasion they'd met at since. But whilst he was still in the Terns suad there was no getting away from the fact that they had been Ole's bosses, and there was always a hint of withdrawal in their interactions on days with nothing to do at tournaments.

It had been a part of managing the Chicks that Ole hadn't been looking forward to, but as luck would have it, these u-21s tournaments more often than not were held during the regular football season, and as such there was always plenty for the young players to do on days off. Even if that meant just watching football.

The football on offer this particular evening, a free timetabled period between the hard fitness training of the morning and the light tactical work the next day before their deciding match against Super-Llamaland the day after that, was the UICA Diamond Jubilee match between Nithgard GU of Earent and the Griffons of SK Franz Josef City. The two SK boys in the squad, Amyr Rosenmeyer and Oleg Borisenko, were by far the most enthusiastic of any of the assembled players, though Ole estimated more than half the squad was choosing to spend their afternoon off watching football. Sipping his coffee from the hotel bar, he sat down in an empty seat next to FC Axel Heiburg midfielder Eidur Gunnlaugsson and right behind the red, green, and white clad Rosenmeyer and Borisenko.

"Afternoon, Boss," said Eidur with a nod, barely taking his eyes off the television.

"Hello, Eidur. What's the score?" asked Ole.

"Still nil-nil, but it's been a decent match."

"Yeah? Learning anything?" Ole asked light-heartedly.

"Kinda," came the unexpectedly serious reply, "I feel bad for the goals we conceded last match. I didn't play particularly well."

"Well, you're learning," said Ole measuredly as the pair in front of them nearly leapt off their seats as Kolehmainen headed a ball just wide, "your positioning wasn't all that on point all match, no, but we're doing tactical work tomorrow so we'll go over it then."

"I don't understand though," said Eidur, turning to look at Ole, "that's always where I'm at my best for my club, but the other day I just wasn't effective at all. I was barely in it. Thank goodness for Bickermann's double. Saved our skins."

"That's because you play a different system at Axel Heiburg," explained Ole, patiently, "look at me, for example. I never played for Axel Heiburg, or SK. I started my career at Surtsey, back when Surtsey were nowhere near winning titles, and then went to Mytannion and Erathore to win titles there. You think I'd have retained my starting position for my new clubs and the Terns if I wasn't versatile? That's what you need. Versatility."

"Hmm," said Eidur, taking it on board.

"I know you're used to operating without a partner for your club, but for my system, you have Boris playing alongside you. You need to learn," said Ole again, pointing at the television, "just like Bjorn learnt."

"Bjorn?" said Eidur, flicking his eyes back to the screen to see who his manager was talking about, "on, Konigstein?"

"Yeah, look at him," said Ole, leaning back in his chair so the players ahead of him wouldn't hear him, "how many players come through at SK and still keep out the best of the Multiverse that SK can afford to buy? Only the best players manage that. Only the best players that are willing to learn and adapt do that. And look at Konigstein; he started out like you, doing one particular role, and now he's winning trophies for SK and the Terns in a wide variety of roles. Attacking, defensive, box to box, on his own or with a partner next to him. He can do it all."

As if to emphasise his point, at that moment in Paripana, Bjorn Konigstein arrived late in the box, took a hooked clearance down on his chest, played a quick one-two with Drummond, and volleyed it into the top corner to put SK in the lead.

"Wow," said Eidur, puffing out his cheeks and raising his eyebrows in recognition of the quality of the goal.

"Yeah," agreed Ole loudly, trying to be heard over the sounds of Oleg and Amyr celebrating in front of them, "now that's something you need to add to your locker. Arrive late. You don't always have to take it there yourself."

Eidur nodded, as if he really had learnt something, and Ole took the chance to excuse himself and go for a walk around the grounds of the hotel's accompanying woodland. Young players didn't want their coach hanging over their shoulders all the time. He just hoped he'd made an impression on Gunnlaugsson. He had the potential to at least reach Konigstein's level of attainment, as did a half dozen or so others in the squad. Terns in the making, for sure. He embraced the Starblaydi sunshine and went for his walk. First, though, he had to get these players to perform against a Super-Llamaland team that was already through. Only a win would do.

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

Tweets from the Blatter account of SO-KP (Soccer Organisation of the Kytler Peninsulae), @SOKPsoccer.

THAT'S THAT! #NewKytlerians through to the #DBC31 last 16 with a game to spare after beating Yttribia 3-1! Congratulations!

Winding down the time with substitutions - this is all but over for the #NewKytlerians, 3-1 up with five minutes left plus stoppages. #DBC31

GOAL! 3-1 #NewKytlerians! Anderson Sandro comes on for Schrijnemakers and taps in a Weaver cross with his first touch! #DBC31

After that scare, Yttribia haven't had the ball in the #NewKytlerians half for five minutes. Cruise control back on. #DBC31

MYSTERY MAN NUMBER 14 HITS THE POST! Maybe it was #doubletrouble after all, 25m strike stuns Izorigor but stays out! #NewKytlerians #DBC31

In answer to last tweet - apparently not, as Mystery Man Number 14 is booked after two minutes. #DBC31 #NewKytlerians #doubletrouble

Yttrbia make a half-time substitution, replacing Mystery Man Number 7 with Mystery Man Number 14. #doubletrouble for #NewKytlerians? #DBC31

Half-time in Corinth, the #NewKytlerians 2-1 up and cruising after that early own goal. #DBC31

GOAL! Rademaker steps up himself and tucks the penalty away to put the #NewKytlerians 2-1 up and in position for the #DBC31 last 16!

PENALTY for #NewKytlerians! The Yttribian patience snaps, Rademaker bought down on edge of box, ref points to the spot! #DBC31

The #NewKytlerians haven't taken the lead, or created a big chance, but they've taken control. Yttrbia can't get the ball. #DBC31

Two bookings for Yttrbian players in quick succession as the #NewKytlerians start to take control of possession. #DBC31

The last seven minutes were not as exciting as the first. 1-1 with a quarter of an hour played in Corinth. #NewKytlerians #DBC31

GOAL! #NewKytlerians equalise instantly! Schrijnemakers beats two before chipping the Yttrbian goalie! Back to square one at 1-1! #DBC31

GOAL - and the #NewKytlerians trail after four minutes! A teasing Yttribia cross deflects off Andrews and past Izorigor, poor thing. #DBC31

We are under way in Corinth! The #NewKytlerians are 90 minutes from a place in the #DBC31 last 16!

Not many empty seats in this 65,000-seat Silverlands stadium in Corinth, Starblaydia - big crowd for the #NewKytlerians to impress! #DBC31

The Yttrbian XI isn't known. We're told that's a good sign for the #NewKytlerians. But nothing's guaranteed at international level!

Starting #NewKytlerians XI: Izorigor, Vilhjalmsson, Darby, Abel, Andrews, Cottee, Weaver, Fletcher, Muir-MIlls, Rademaker, Schrijnemakers.

A win here against Yttribia, and the #NewKytlerians will be in the knockout stages of the Di Bradini Cup! #DBC31

[Ko-oren]

Miracle of Foxchester!

The Butterflies have done it! After a poor start, two straight wins send the Ko-orenite U-21 national football team to the second round of the Di Bradini Cup. After falling short (third instead of second) in last DBC, and finishing fourth overall in the edition before that, at least the team will be among the final 16.

It is not immediately apparent we are through, so if you have missed the team cheering right after the game ended, here is a breakdown. First of all, this is the group right now:

1. Ko-oren
2. HopNation
3. Cassadaigua

Chiata and Starblaydia have been eliminated already. Judging from this standing, you would say we have the best chance of reaching the next stage. But then look at this:

1. Ko-oren     - 4 pld
2. HopNation   - 3 pld
3. Cassadaigua - 3 pld

Both HopNation and Cassadaigua have one more game to play. As we have played all our games already, we need to factor in the lead we have over the other teams:

1. Ko-oren     - 4 pld - 7 p
2. HopNation   - 3 pld - 7 p
3. Cassadaigua - 3 pld - 6 p

And then you would think we hardly have a chance. Both teams still play a game, and we have virtually no lead at all. In fact, the goal difference does not make much of a difference either. Both the Butterflies and the Little Hops have a goal difference of +3. Cassadaigua has +1.

Now you need two more pieces of information. 1) What are the fixtures of the last match day, and 2) what are the consequences of that match day.

One game is Chiata - Starblaydia. And that leaves us with Cassadaigua - HopNation. Yes, the two play each other on the last day. And here is where you should see the genius of winning 3-1 against Cassadaigua. We have three scenarios from here.

1) HopNation wins: HopNation gets 10 points, Ko-oren sits at 7 and Cassadaigua falls short with 6.
2) Cassadaigua wins: Cassadaigua gets 9 points, Ko-oren and HopNation have 7. Now HopNation has beaten us, but the first thing the officials look at, is goal difference*. And that means that we just barely edge out over them: both of our goal differences are +3 now, but imagine what happens after a HopNation loss.
3) Tie: HopNation first with eight points, Ko-oren and Cassadaigua both second with six points. In this case, we are in just because we both have the better goal difference (because that's the one number that never changes after a tie) and because we have the better H2H.

And this is the miracle behind the 3-1 win. Had it been a 2-1 win, Ko-oren and Cassadaigua would both have had a +2 goal difference. This might not have made the difference between Cassadaigua and Ko-oren if we both got seven points, but we would still have the H2H. No, a 2-1 win and a +2 goal difference would have been deadly when comparing us to HopNation, who could just beat us on a combination of goal difference and head-to-head record after a Cassadaigua win. A two-goal difference was the very least we needed, and our defensive team still produced three goals.

Xiaowen opened the score after 15 minutes. Fjodorov scored the 2-0 after 35 minutes, and both teams took a break at 2-0. At this point, the Butterflies had their two-goal lead, effectively eliminating either Cassadaigua or HopNation. The Cassadagans obviously did not like this, and Dempsey scored the goal the Fillies needed. A stupid foul by Cardinale, 25 meters from goal, would be the chance the Butterflies could use. Free kicks are a mandatory part of any Ko-orenite football team training, and a good part of goals in the KNL come from carefully practiced free kicks. Linderman lines up to kick, Morioka tries to open up a spot in the wall, and both Xiaowen and Fjodorov position themselves for a tap-in near Kubinova, the 'experienced' goalkeeper. Blanke and Gravesen help flood the box: Blanke is the target man for a header, Gravesen is there with Morioka and Linderman to direct any deflected balls back into the box. Linderman passed the ball low to Gravesen, who now has a more or less clear shot on goal. Kubinova had a good initial save, but with the ball in front of Xiaowen, she had no chance and conceded her third goal of the evening, in Foxchester, Starblaydia.

*as far as we know.

[Zenic]

“Good goal from that Colin Miron kid. Obviously not as good as the goals from Jani and Gurutz but still good goal for Darmen,” Cremona commented before taking a swig from his bottle of water.

“It was good and that’s a problem: we shouldn’t have even let him get into position for that shot. A top team would have held onto the ball long enough for the clock to run out and get the 2-0 win. We cannot afford to do that against better teams or we’ll lose games in the last minutes,” complain manager Assendorp, despite the fact that his team had won the game. Ljubo Jani and Joaquin Gurutz had scored early at the 9th and 23rd minute marks respectively while the lone Darmeni goal had come in the 86th minute. Assendorp had seen plenty of games that ended up in ties or loss after the opposing team got momentum from a late goal and scored more in the last remaining minutes. It made him a bit nervous for their final group stage game against San Jose Guayabal at The White Tower.

“Give it a rest, Rumen: you’ll give yourself a damn ulcer. Is it really impossible to be happy for your team at least once? These kids are doing great out there and have one game left to make it to the knockout rounds,” retorted Cremona, a little irked by the lack of joy coming from the manager. “Don’t confuse my worry with displeasure, Brutus: I’m proud of what the kids have done so far. However, it doesn’t mean we can let our guards done and think we’ll get through San Jose Guayabal with ease.”

Cremona sighed, rubbing his temple before taking another swig from his water bottle. “I’m aware of that and I’m sure the kids are aware of it too. They probably more nervous than you are and it doesn’t help that you don’t show as much confidence as you should and do. Just take my advice on this: show them you are confident in them and we’ll get through. Trust me on this, Rumen,” Cremona spoke.

Assendorp sighed. “Fine, I’ll do it your way. Now hand me the scouting report before I beat my head in with a hammer from all this mushy-gushy stuff.”

[Felix]

"I am going to start a Free Felix rebellion in Indos."

"Are you crazy?!"

"The Kaji people have had enough of these Nationalist quotas and how they can and cannot run themselves, they will rebel with or with out Free Felix help. If they don't receive our aid, they will be massacred."

This was the dilemma facing the leaders of the Free Felix movement that was currently taking arms. The movement itself was a concoction of different races, political views, religions (or lack there of depending who you ask), and languages. But the force wasn't that strong. It was 300,000 men and women with only 50,000 available for full scale fighting and even those 50,000 had minimal training and the guns? Old, not suitable for combat that called for rain, snow, or anything that isn't a bright and sunny day.

Self proclaimed, General Gilbert Förstner of Dusseldorf, Felix was the leader of the armed forces of the Free Felix force. He was studying to be a general when Felix did a programme with the Northern Sunrise Islands and Brenecia. When the coup happened Förstner quickly defected, he loved the military but he didn't like the Nationalist Party. He was even one month away in becoming a 1 Star General by the Felixian military service but soon dropped out now he is the only almost general of the Free Felix Army. The rest? Officers, cadets, and military enthusiasts. The 34 year old was the only one ready for war honestly and everyone knew it.

Gilbert was the man against the proposed rebellion assistance, not because he disliked the Kaji but he knew it would be a horrible move for the Free Felix Army and would risk the capacity to rebel later. So who was the kid for it? 23 year old Lieutenant General Miguel Bolívar of Santander, Felix. He is Lieutenant General is just a name just like his superior, General Gilbert Förstner. Originally Miguel was training to be officer. He is the only one that graduated from the military programme that joined the Free Felixians. The rest were either dropouts before the coup or refused to finish the programme after the coup.

"Look, Miguel, we aren't ready for a full scale open war. Do we have jets? No. Do we have naval support? No. Do we have the latest weapons? Of course not, we have old rifles. And lastly, our numbers are limited. 50,000 troops. Out of those half a hundred thousand troops only 10,000 have sufficient training. And what does the Felixian Corvidae forces have? 143,294 troops. 100,000 ready for combat. I mean, we aren't in position for anything. We need recruitment and we need financial aid."

"I know, I know but these poor Kaji won't stand a chance. The good news though is that they have numbers, roughly 70,000 men and women ready to rebel if they can get some support, they can form a base for u-"

"No, no, no. Look, the best thing we could do is absorb the Keji force and have 120,000 men. We are still outbumbered but we can start doing sabotage operations and weaken the growing Corvidae state. Finally, when the two forces are even then we can begin our assaults and start the liberation of Felix."

Miguel, being absolutely told by his superior nodded and saluted. He then left. Miguel's assistant, Joey Hamilton joined him and asked him, "Are you still going to support the rebellion in Indos?" Miguel scratched his beard covered chin and nodded, "Probably, I am going to sneak a 1,000 troops towards Indos." He paused, "I hope Gilbert didn't message the Kaji leader no to rebel. We need every man we can get."

Meanwhile Gilbert Förstner sent a message to Kaji Underground leader, Nuvant Mejuvi it read like this,

To: Nuvant Mejuvi
Encryption Level: Very High
From: Gilbert Förstner
RE: On Rebellion

Hello Nuvant, the head military leader of the Free Felix force is advising your armies not to openly rebel. I know your people have had enough of the quotas and restrictions, but freedom can't go out yet and fight. We both know we aren't ready for it. Just join up your forces with mine and together we can start the war in the near future.

Godspeed,

General Gilbert Förstner of the Free Felix Army

Nuvant Mejuvi soon received the message and after hours of deliberations with other Kaji generals they decided to agree to the plan Gilbert Förstner proposed. Mejuvi soon sent a reply and basically said that yes, they are cancelling the full scale rebellion. Although the message was delivered to all local generals and warlords in the Kaji territories 10% of the forces did not obey the order and started to gear up for the rebellion. To the younger generals they wanted to rebel and Loustance Ios was one of those generals. He had a force of 7,000 and he was going to join Miguel Bolívar's force and start a rebellion and attack the military HQ in Kaji territory. If that Corvidae base is knocked out the Felixian Army will not have eyes and be vulnerable to further attack. Will they successfully attack? Who knows.

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>> News Bulletin: U-21 Players On Strike:

Tabeck, Starblaydia

Players in Felix's U-21 team have openly revolted against Antonio Leggièri the reasons aren't known but it is widely accepted that they are Free Felix supporters. For those that don't know who they are, the Free Felixian movement is a domestic terrorist group attempting to undermine the glorious Felixian state. We will update you continuously as soon as we get the updates.

[Blouman Empire]

OOC: To my group (though you are probably glad that my RP score would increase by zero) sorry for not RPing a few things have come up which has taken away my time in writing RPs as well as some minor burnout. I knew I had some good consistent RPers in my group and I always enjoy reading and RPing back with you but as I said time coupled with writers block (which means I need more time) just slowed me down. Same to you as well Star I know you put a lot of time and effort in hosting and I think it's a shame and annoying that people sign up and then never participate and now I'm one of those people. If I decide to enter next time and get accepted I will be ensuring that I can write suitable RPs.