Di Bradini Cup 40/U21WC61 (Everything Thread)

by **Spaam** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 2:13 am

Elzeros Sacked From National Team

Star forward and second best Spaamanian goal scorer Orinos Elzeros has had his national contract sensationally torn up this week. SFA president Gabath Mialee put out a statement yesterday claiming that "...while we thanks Orinos for his service to the nation,
his attitude towards other key members of the team have made his position untenable." While it is no secret that Elzeros has for a long time harboured ill-feelings towards Spaam's number one player Merlara Sehelin, currently playing in and captaining the Under 21 World Cup team, this has not been seen to be a problem up to this point. Our sources have told us that there have been issues of blatant racism and bullying towards former Guayabalenese players who have become naturalised Spaamanians, most notable star midfielder Sebastián Núñez. With qualifying for World Cup 78 starting next year, there will be a lot of pressure to find a forward that can support Sehelin, as expectations for the national team are at an all time high. Continue reading...

Sehelin Ready To Star

Like her ancestor, Mela Sehelin, the star of Spaam's famous World Cup VII campaign, Merlara Sehelin has already accomplished alot in her short career. Qualifying for a World Cup and three-time golden boot all before she was 20, she has become a household name in a still fledgling nation's football story. So it is rare that a player who has already done so much can still play in the Under-21 World Cup, and some would think that the pressure would have its toll. Yet, as Spaam begins its first ever campaign for the Di Bradini Cup, any signs of that pressure have yet to turn up. Sehelin seems to thrive in her role as captain for the junior team, steering the forward pack around the ground, along with her sister Liltora, who seems to have also inherited the football gene. Interviewed before the team flew out last week, Sehelin was quoted as saying "...I have the best job in the world, and Margaret has blessed me with being good at my job. How can you feel pressure when you're doing what you love?" Continue reading...

by **Ethane** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 8:42 am

Ethane Red Kites

Ethane's Kits and logo have been kindly produced by JMC Football Kit Store of Krytenia.

Nation: Ethane
Team Nickname: Red Kites
Style Mod: -3
Trigramme: ETN
Formation: 4-1-3-2

Management Team

Adam Grimlock - 62 - Manager
Henry Stevens - 51 - Assistant Manager
Carley Reynolds - 42 - Offensive Coach
Perry Walker - 39 - Defensive Coach
Oswald Barnley - 45 - Goalkeeper Coach
Lewis Havesham - 37 - Physio
Farley Egrill - 31 - Medic

Team:

Starting Team
Pos   Name               Age  Team
GK    Nelson Delamora    22   Briston Rovers
LB    Jacob Walker       19   Birdingstone United
CB    David Welder       21   Cardnid Town
CB    Steward Daniels    21   Free Agent 
RB    Frankie Thames     15   Rhayader
CDM Andrew Heller    18   Free Agent
LM    Benjamin Fickley   17   Mansestra
RM    Alexis Bendez      18   Letson Town
ST    Graham Deloite     19   Merseyshore City
ST    Samuel Mitchell    23   Mansestra
ST    Wilmer Jaurequi    23   Free Agent
Substitutes
Pos   Name               Age  Team
GK    Louis Wilson       22   Carnwale
LB    Sammy Newton       22   Dovertown
CB    Etien Stevens      16   Free Agent
CB    Jude Rebb          23   Briston Rovers
RB    Anthony Campbell   23   Carnwale
LM    Edward Harris      16   Free Agent
RM    Richard Kester     21   Merseyshore City
ST    Dickon Wake        19   New Sarum
ST    Kristian Harper    20   Old Sarum

The only roleplay restrictions you have on me are the roleplay restrictions I have on you.^*
If I am not allowed to choose your scorer, you are not allowed to choose mine.
If I am allowed to injure or card your player, you are allowed to injure or card my players.

^*I reserve the right to fire the ignore cannon at any RP, or modify any RP written by someone else which doesn't fit in with my storylines or the persona of a player.

by **Ethane** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 10:37 am

Explosive News: Sports
Di Bradini Cup 40

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Strongest side to face strongest group
Sam Heath - Sports Commentator

The strongest ever national Under-21 football team for Ethane is set for a challenging group stage as it faces its toughest ever group.

Ethane will be looking for a high finishing position in this Di Bradini Cup. After finishing in fourth, defeated by Nephara in the third-place-playoff, the Red Kites will be looking to improve on their position with an increased number of youth being signed by top clubs and a number of stronger young players coming to the fore, along with the already established young players.

The current Ethanian squad has been billed the 'strongest ever Under-21 national team Ethane has ever fielded', and the lineup certainly supports this narrative. In attack, the lineup includes the strong strikers in Wilmer Jaurequi and Samuel Mitchell - two strikers who have already made their mark, and continue to make their mark on the official national football team of Ethane. Alexis Bendez has emerged as a key Under-21 player in midfield, strong in his domestic club and looking strong in practice for the Under-21 national team. And the likes of David Welder and Nelson Delamora look to strengthen the team and provide the Red Kites with a rock solid defence.

However, the claim is a very strong one and perhaps places too much pressure on the team to perform, which would hinder the team (look at England on RLStates). It also doesn't serve to speak of the squad in the last edition; if this team doesn't reach the 3PPO at least, then surely this squad is not the strongest ever, or has underperformed what it should have managed to do, and then shouldn't the manager be fired for underperforming expectations?

This cannot be claimed to be the case this edition. With the group the Red Kites have to face before even reaching the playoff, a fourth place finish would not be devastating because of the calibre and strength of the other teams.

The Iron Syndicate

A new team to the Di Bradini Cup, the Iron Syndicate is dressed to impress. Fully armed with the brightest of their young stars from the National League and The Forge, the Black Arrows will be looking to make a strong first impression in the Under-21 World Cup and make a reputation for their youth developmental system. Guided by Chase Dekker, a 29-year-old from Silvershire Sporting who is the latest in a rising group of young and innovative managers, the team is in the right hands to make a strong debut.

The Black Arrows use tempo and pace to make plays. The Syndicate team makes a number of passes, possessively holding the ball not dissimilar from the tactics of Ethane, before surging forward after exhausting the defenders to strike the final blow. They play a hybrid of the aggressive possessive and aggressive attacking styles of play, looking to keep it slow in midfield in their possessive phase, before ramping up the pace and blasting the defenders with a surge of strikers attempting to get the ball into a dangerous position once they have broken through in the attacking phase. The players place a heavy focus on quick movement, quick thinking, and conditioning, and so will be a real challenge for the Red Kites to face with their defensive possessive style of play.

Nephara

A well-established team in a well-established tournament, Nephara is not a nation to be taken lightly in international football. Their national team is ranked ninth, and the strong youth side comes with their international recognition. With one of the strongest leagues in the world as well - internationally recognised as such - and a hub for transfers, the people choosing who will represent Nephara have probably had a tough time selecting the players. The team is managed by Escher Speare, who at 63 years of age, is far from his youth. Despite this, he is the perfect man to run this Under-21 team, with a strong belief in the youth and in the usage of some analytics.

The Magpies focus on physicality and solidity. After flirting with flowing football, they have moved back to asserting their strength on the field. Calling it the 'new style', there is a solidity in defence and fluidity down the wings. The team is hard-pressing, hard-running, and hard-tackling, always aiming to keep on moving forward and not looking back - an aggressive attacking style of play, but with a sense of strength and assertion in defence. They strongly focus on short, fast passes, but are not afraid to use the odd long ball to catch the opposition off guard.

Abanhfleft

This page will be updated when more information on the teams is available.

With all four of these teams facing off in one group - a typical dosage of Margaret - there is sure to be some well-deserving teams exiting this DBC early. Even though the Red Kites do have the 'strongest team ever' for this DBC, there is no guarantee that the team will make it out of this group. It's going to be bloody. It's going to be competitive. And the result will be highly anticipated. Let us begin the 40th edition of the Di Bradini Cup.

by **Farfadillis** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 11:18 am

Manager
Ñó Minduruguatzel

Assistant Manager
Américo Marino

Nickname
La Vherderoja
The nickname is a reference to the colours of the kits, though the nickname itself is in Farf.

Style Modifier
5.0
Farfadillis will attack, and whenever they find themselves needing to park the bus, they will attack more.

Kits
Provided by Mons

GOALKEEPERS
#1 - GK - Joona Jussilainen - Age 18 - Dor Frío
#12 - GK - Julio Salazar - Age 20 - Avenida Victoria
#23 - GK - Gër Gôstô - Age 20 - Mâ Âlâmëómë

Joona Jussilainen's already a starter for Frionite club Dor Frío, so great things are expected of him. He likes to play dangerously at times, leaving his box more often than advised. He's also a very dirty player. Salazar and Gôstô are also talented keepers, though not as much as their teammate, even with the two-year handicap.

DEFENDERS
#2 - LB - Gyarmati Taksony - Age 19 - René Skaé Colonels
#4 - CB - Josué Dorno - Age 19 - Ferdullaele
#6 - RB - Fonás Filosufé - Age 21 - Gorfalle Town
#13 - LB - Pînô Dâo - Age 18 - Dí Maozöxê
#14 - CB - Kósa Bajnok - Age 20 - René Skaé Colonels
#17 - RB - Jugoslav Radonjic - Age 18 - Prostran I Forzuda

A pretty mediocre DBC squad, as far as the defense goes. None of these players have got the pedigree needed to get to the senior national team, even as defenders. However, they're still not terrible. Gyarmati Taksony's the best of the bunch, with a lot of talent bombing forward and reasonable defensive capabilities. Josué Dorno and Fonás Filosufé could use some more pace, but they make up for that by staying back more than other Farf defenders. In the bench, Pînô Dâo's actually a pretty exciting prospect from Dí Maozóxê's youth academy, but he's much too green at the moment to be starting. He's got a suicidally offensive playing style. Bajnok and Radonjic are your typical DBC-filler player from whom you shouldn't expect too much.

MIDFIELDERS
#3 - CM - Salvador Maes - Age 19 - Avenida Leal
#5 - LM - César Fonseca - Age 21 - La Nueva Avenida
#7 - RM - Mérlínô Bílísô - Age 19 - Mâ Âlâmëómë
#8 - OM - Dîmás Ósîn - Age 20 - Mâ Âlâmëómë
#9 - OM - Enrique Delrío - Age 21 - La Nueva Avenida [C]
#16 - CM - Fernando Chávez - Age 21 - Avenida Principal
#15 - LM - Matí Faroleró - Age 21 - Libertarian Ferdullaele
#18 - RM - Jâáko Rikhódkó - Age 19 - Dí Maozöxê
#19 - OM - Juan Caségaré - Age 21 - Gorfalle Town
#21 - OM - Ratimir Peric - Age 20 - Prostran I Forzuda

The midfield's not that talented this time around, either. To be fair, though, it's not bad. Salvador Maes, whose brother Trejo Maes is a starter for the senior NT, will be in charge of keeping defensive cohesiveness by organizing the midfield with his top-notch tactical awareness. He's pretty good at tackling, and physically very adept. He's certainly not very Farf-ish, since offensively he leaves a lot to be desired. On the wings, César Fonseca and Mérínô Bílísô run-of-the-mill Farf wingers with the skillset that that implies. Fast, nimble, good dribbling, good crossing. The offensive midfield duo this time around is reasonably exciting. Dîmás Ósîn's not Fôrté Wínrôuge, but Mâ Âlâmëómë's fans are still excited about this new offensive midfielder their academy's spawned. Great vision and dribbling, some incisive passes, pretty fast. He's got everything he needs to make it far. Some questions have already been raised over his discipline, though. His partner in crime will be Enrique Delrío. Enrique's description is very much Dîmás', with the only difference being that he plays for La Nueva Avenida. Also, he's been made captain. Yeah, no idea either. While the starters are all reasonably talented players, the bench is wholly unexciting.

STRIKERS
#10 - ST - Oskar Holst - Age 17 - Ausharmuj Marusi
#11 - ST - Xíxì Êns - Age 18 - Dí Maozöxê
#20 - ST - Carlos Escamilla - Age 19 - Avenida Principal
#22 - ST - Kândé Üjíkân - Age 20 - Mâ Âlâmëómë

While the defense and the midfield do not give Farves lots of hope for the NT's future, the striker partnership that will be starting this DBC does. Both of them are the best players in this squad, despite also being the youngest. On the left, Oskar Holst is an all-rounder. He's tall, strong and fast. He's got great dribbling and finishing. A goalscoring machine in every sense, and a defender's nightmare. He's got problems with his selfishness, though. His partner, Xíxì Êns, on the other hand, is very much unlike him. A very short player, Xíxì does not rely on his strength or stature at all. He relies exclusively on his speed and dribbling skills. He's not as good at finishing as Oskar, but he's very good at creating chances in the final third, so you will see him dropping a bit, as a sort of false nine. He's extremely selfless. He's also considerably better than Oskar at dribbling, even if Oskar would never admit it. Escamilla and Üjíkân are pretty talented strikers, both very typical in their skillsets. They've been a bit unlucky, as you don't get an Oskar and a Xíxì every DBC.

by **Schottia** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 11:53 am

OOC: I've decided to use this tournament to catch up with what a few of my characters are doing now, since a lot has happened since the WC.

Gary Corsie & Chloe Rudden

Chloe Rudden hadn't known what to expect really, as she made the long trip from Sabrefell to the secluded moorland in Laith. She hadn't been back to this part of the country since her move to The Reds, not that she ventured far from Kensey itself in her time with North Laithland. Chloe had always resisted any masochistic urges to visit Gary Corsie's "valley." They way she saw it was that no good could come of it. As curious as she was to see the supposed spectacle, the risk that he would become attached again was just too high. Gary was like a leech... no wait leeches were too pleasant... Gary was like a vampire, feeding off the slightest bit of attention or affection that came his way, sucking it dry. What came across as warmth and sycophancy at first, was quickly replaced with clinginess and text messages in the wee small hours. Standing on the ridge high above the valley, the fact that it looked impossible to get a phone signal down there seemed like the first positive Chloe could take.

As she gingerly descended the steep valley walls, a glance the signal bar on her phone confirmed her suspicions. Although she could clearly see the path that Gary must have normally trodden, negotiating it was surprisingly difficult. There were no steps, or gradual descent to speak of, and grass and heather had been worn away leaving a layer of slippery mud. It might have been the summer offseason, but the sky was a particularly murky grey, and it could most certainly have been a touch warmer. After a few hairy moments, where her hiking boots almost failed to grip the loosened topsoil, Chloe was safely at the bottom of the slope. She had caught a glimpse of what must have been Gary's hut in the distance, from the top of the ridge, but down on the valley floor she needed a moment to re-find her bearings.

It was funny how a few days of summer rain could bring everything to life; she could already hear Gary's voice in her head, most likely complaining about the weeds sprouting up. The area was dense with ferns, shrubs, and other small bushes, but there was one obvious path leading south into the valley - where the grass was kept short by frequent walking. Chloe straightened her long, bottle Green fisherman's jacket, swept her fringe from her face, and headed into the unknown.

As she emerged form thicket of gorse bushes, Chloe was actually taken aback, by just how permanent the arrangement looked. There was getting on for a quarter of a hectare of land, which wasn't quite a garden, but not quite a smallholding either. There were trees of apple, pear, and plum. Raised beds and barrels, with green bushy tops of carrots, parsnips, and potato shaws. Runner beans and peas clung to frames, reaching up to head height. Everything, everywhere, was beginning to bloom, and somehow the modesty of it all made the entire thing seem all the more spectacular.

Chloe walked slowly up the slab path, tufts of think green grass and daisies sprouting up between them. In the centre of the garden sat a quaint little hut, oddly taller than it was wide, a gentle plume of smoke issuing from the chimney can. Although at first the building appeared to be windowless, as she began to draw near the other side, a skylight, and a small window on the far wall became visible. The occupant must have seen her approach, as Gary was already stood by the door when she arrived.

'You're... eh... pretty well set up here.' Said Chloe, after pulling back out of what had been a slightly awkward hug; one which lacked any real warmth. She placed her hands on her hips, taking in the garden, which on closer inspection was more extensive than she had thought. A length of white string, strung between various knee height canes, marked out herb gardens, flowerbeds, and a strawberry patch. A length of twine, also stretching from the end of the house to a nearby apple tree, held an assortment of clothing that had little chance of drying on a day like this. There was a sweet smell of pollen, which filled the lungs, accompanying the scent of summer rain.

'Getting there... getting there.' Gary shrugged a little awkwardly. 'Must say, it didn't come without a lot of hard work.' He placed his hands on his own hips, mirroring her action. 'But yeah, I'm pretty happy with how it's coming along. The idea is to be entirely self reliant by the end of the summer.'

Chloe pursed her lips and nodded her appreciation. 'Is that a chicken?' She pointed to what was quite clearly a chicken.

Gary resisted the temptation to say "no," remembering how his ex-partner had hated sarcasm. 'Yeah yeah. I've got three. Want to have a look at their enclosure?'

Chloe nodded and followed him over the other end of the garden, where a small wooden coop, on stilts, immediately came into view. 'Are they, like, for the eggs?' She asked, genuinely excited to see the chickens.

'Aye,' Gary answered, trying not to let a proud smile creep into the corner of his mouth. 'Totally free range. They each lay one a day.' Gary lifted a hatch at the back of the coop, and removed a small brown egg from the straw, passing it to Chloe.

'Wow!' Chloe held it tentatively. Somehow, with feather attached, it seemed more precious than the ones she bought in the shop. 'So you're not carrying on with that vegan thing then - I mean - is you're eating eggs?' Garry couldn't help noticing that Chloe had lost a little of her bounce, then again she was in her late twenties, she had probably just grown up.

'I was never vegan,' Garry shook away the assertion. 'It just wasn't really practical to have dairy products in the hut with no refrigerator. This way, at least, it provides me with the protein I need for training. I'm also waiting for a bee handler to come by; I'm going to see about getting my own swarm.' The two of them moved to the side, as one of the chickens tried to get past them. Chloe came close to excusing herself, before realising it was only a chicken.

'So you're still staying at Chatswood then?' Chloe asked, a little sad to have to change the conversation back to a more sombre topic. 'I heard you, Harold, and Maeon were all for the chop since you guys went down?' She watched Gary's posture stiffen - his resolve no doubt doing the same.

'I'm under contract, am I not?' He didn't wait for an answer. 'This is my home, I've built I life here. Does being a footballer mean we are not afforded the same job security as anyone else?' He turned and headed back towards the cabin. Chloe, stuffing her hands in her coat pockets, followed behind.

'You know how it goes though..?' She waited for an answer, which didn't come. 'They'll not be overly happy with you -- again.'

'Well...' Gary turned round, his cheeks inflating as he looked for the right kind of response. 'Bugger them! I don't care what they think. Besides, there was only one bid, from Triffendeath Alliance, and I'm not going to live in Ceni.'

'Cosumar...? No?'

'Huh?'

'Treftadaeth Alliance, are a Cosumarite side. They're not from Ceni.'

'Well...' Gary's cheeks reddened. 'Well I don't want to live in Cosumar either, so it wouldn't have made a difference. Not one blind bit.' Gary lifted the latch, and opened the front door to the former lambing shed. 'Not one blind bit!'

Chloe followed him into the building's only room, which was full, rather than cluttered. Some water was beginning to simmer on the stove, and a chopping board with herbs and fruit lay ready to make an infusion. The place was reasonable tidy, but all the same, Chloe could tell he hadn't been expecting visitors.

'So what about you?' Gary gestured towards the only chair, while he crouched over the chopping board and set to work. 'How are things going at North Laithland?'

Chloe opened her mouth, as a long sigh past her lips. 'I've. I've not been there for a while now Gary.' She watched his puzzled look. 'I was at Sabrefell Athletic all of last season.'

'Oh, is that a step up?' Gary offered a friendly smile.

'Eh, yeah. I mean, I guess it is.'

'Then congratulations.' Gary added quite genuinely.

'But...' Chloe tilted her head, as she raised an eyebrow. '...I mean, you knew that though, right?'

'Ha! No one, tells me anything.' Gary laughed to himself. 'It's not exactly like I'm kept in the loop of what's going on. I just go in, play football, and come back here.'

'But, you played against me... twice!' Chloe had forgotten this about Gary. When Gary said that he had no interest in football, they literally meant no interest. None, not one bit. Chloe's three-year-old cousins had better footballing trivia than he did. 'Why did you think I was on the pitch, in a Reds top, at The Barbarossa stadium?'

Gary put a little bit of anger into his chopping; he didn't like being pushed into corners. 'I... I... I just assumed we were playing play North Laithfield...'

'Laithla...'

'LAITHLAND! LAITHLAND!' Gary corrected himself loudly, before Chloe could do it for him.' Okay... god forbid I should make simple error.' This probably wasn't the best time for him to tell her that he had actually thought the play-off final was another league game, until half an hour after it had finished. Had Desdemona not told him, he possibly still wouldn't have ever known. He actually thought they were already relegated - and had he known the importance of the match, then he would have tried much harder.

When Gary had finished preparing the fruit and herb infusions, they headed back outside, and stood quietly by the edge of the garden. Gary had presented them both with thin metal camping mugs, and Chloe had to clutch the handle though her sleeve to avoid burning her fingers against the hot metal. Gary was having no such problems however, further proof for Chloe, that her former lover wasn't human. It was just then, as the conversation had levelled out, that Chloe noticed some movement on the other side of the small river, which intersected the valley.

'Who's that over there?' She enquired, pointing with her mug towards two unkempt individual walking on the other side. They - a man and a woman - immediately turned and waved. Chloe in her ignorance waved back.

After a long sigh, Gary answered. 'That's Amanda, and... Stick.'

'Stick?'

'That's what he call's himself.' Gary half raised a palm in greeting to the newcomers, but it was largely half-hearted. 'He said he didn't want to go by his old name anymore, said he was trying to leave that life behind. The funniest part of it was, when he came up with the idea, he was failing to hammer a stick into the ground.'

Chloe laughed. 'So he's named after something he failed to do? It'd be like you changing your name to Top Flight Survival.' As soon as the words passed her lips, she regretted it, remembering how sensitive he could be. However, much to her relief he didn't seem to rise to it.

'Quite.' Stick and Amanda were still waving from the other side of the river, but Gary turned and headed back towards the hut. 'Or maybe just Life would be more appropriate.

by **Mytanar Region** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 6:07 pm

MUSA.

“That’s a wrap for today guys, have a good weekend, we’ve done well this week.” Musa Ilić shouted across the room. “Rest well and then be ready for another five day slog!” There was a rush of noise as everybody started gathering their things, ready to leave the office and go home for a weekend with their families and friends.

Musa was telling the truth, too, when he said this week had been a good one. They had done well this week. Crime in Mytannion was one of the biggest issues. Criminal gangs had wide-ranging influence and in some cities they were effectively the law, but one of the major goals for the Provisional Government was breaking that and therefore investment into police operations was high. The monetary help Musa was receiving was better than ever, the Provisional Government had to be seen to be building a better society post-Kalinina and an effective police force was a major sign of that.

The all-powerful state police under Kalinina had crumbled and the new organisation was limited in how it could achieve its results – but Musa accepted that, the methods of the secret police were questionable in their ethics to say the least. In a modern country there was no place for some of the things that happened and Musa was proud to be a part of the new organisation and the developments that were taking place.

The past week had been successful because his team had successfully seen three of the ringleaders of a crime family from Miago sent to prison for twenty years apiece. Their work of around two years was all proven worthwhile. They had been involved in the intimidation and eventual assassination of local governmental officials, running protection rackets and installing officials that would be happy to turn a blind eye to their drugs business in the city. It had led to the arrest of those officials too, so the week had been a successful one, results wise they couldn’t have hoped for much better.

Musa was excited about their next task, too, in the sense that he really wanted to send the criminals behind it behind bars for a very long time. They would be looking into a crime family that were involved in the abduction of young Mytanar girls that were then trafficked abroad and sold into prostitution, slavery and who knew what else. It would be satisfying to shut them down for both professional and personal reasons. Musa had two young nieces himself and the thought that they would be abducted and sold abroad terrified him, it was the sort of thing that sickened all of Mytannion when the story was run on the news.

The issue with the case was that those behind it were completely unknown to the police. Musa’s team had no information on them and the snippets of information they did have just depicted them as shadowy figures, puppet masters pulling the strings behind the curtain. Whether it was one person or a group was even a bit of a mystery.

Musa shook his head. That was for next week. He had turned 35 a few days prior and because it was mid-week he hadn’t really celebrated the birthday. He’d gone for a meal with his wife, but with it being a week night he hadn’t wanted to drink any more than a couple – he knew he’d have to be sharp the next day and he didn’t want a hungover mind clouding his judgment in the office, where he had to be seen to be doing the job properly. Leading by example and all that. Jasmina had insisted that they do something to celebrate properly at the weekend, so he had reluctantly agreed to have a bit of a party at home with a few friends. Thoughts about work were not allowed, though, Jasmina had said.

In fairness, he was quite looking forward to it. His old university pals Vuksan and Zdravko were coming for it and his mates from back in Thessia too, it would be fun to see everybody. And, Musa knew that he did need to take his mind off the job at least sometimes as well. The weather was good, too. Musa had always counted himself lucky that his birthday was in Mytanar summertime, but Jasmina had insisted on buying half the meat from the butchers because the weather had been good – she reckoned a barbecue and booze was a great idea and whilst Musa did agree to an extent there was a part of him that just couldn’t be bothered with celebrating turning 35. He wondered how he’d feel in another 5 or 10 years.

“See you later, Musa.” That was Milana. She was the co-leader of the team along with Musa and he got on very well with her. She was a couple of years younger than him and a witty Avnali. Whenever there was a work party and Jasmina came along she always complained about Milana, but Musa was always quick to make sure she knew there was no reason to be worried.

“Yeah, see you Milana.” Musa smiled back. “Hopefully more of the same next week, eh?”

“Absolutely. We’ve come a long way from squabbling about how best to deal with farmers siphoning fuel from each other!” She laughed. That had been a slightly comedic case, but it had been a huge problem at the time when the pair had worked on a team that focused more on local issues.

“Ha! Don’t get me started on that, I’m still bitter about ruining the shoes I wore when we had to get them all to meet and agree to stop doing it.” Musa chuckled.

“Oh wow I had completely forgotten about that! When you stepped in the cow shi—” Milana threw her head back with laughter as Musa interjected.

“Exactly that! Let’s not go into it.” He laughed.

“Wow. I guess we have come a long way.” Milana sighed. “Happy birthday, by the way. Fancy going for a drink to celebrate?” She asked, tugging furtively at a bit of hair.

“I can’t.” Musa said. “I’ve got plans already I’m afraid. Jasmina has organised a bit of a party at home and a few friends are coming, should be quite fun.” Whether Musa missed Milana rolling her eyes at the mere mention of Jasmina or not, he didn’t show it outwardly, still putting a few documents into his bag which was sat on his desk.

“I would have thought I’d have been invited,” Milana smirked. “After all this time working together I thought I’d have been classed as a mate!” Milana shot, letting out a hollow laugh.

Musa knew for a fact that Jasmina would kill him if Milana turned up at the party, she didn’t like her and saw her as threat – which was completely wrong, but all the same, he didn’t want to give his wife any reason to think she actually was. But he couldn’t really not invite her either, not now. And he did get on with her, she was a nice girl, funny. He’d have to say she was free to come just to be nice, but he sure as hell hoped she didn’t. She had just asked him to go for a drink, though, so she obviously didn’t have plans. He couldn’t not invite her though, she could take it the wrong way and then working together in the office would be a hell of a lot harder.

“Hey, you’re welcome to come if you want.” He offered, smiling.

“Nah, you know what, it’s alright Musa.” She clapped him on the shoulder as she started to go towards the door. “I’ve just remembered I have some stuff to do. We’ll go for a drink sometime though, an even later celebration…” She winked as she turned to leave.

“Ha, yeah. See you later Milana.”

“Laters, Musa.” She said, raising her hand and giving a little wave without looking back as she went. Musa wondered what she remembered, then wondered if he was being naïve to think she did actually remember anything at all. Hell, maybe Jasmina was right.

***

Musa had got into a habit of drifting out of consciousness on the journey home, it was a journey that was pretty much imprinted into his entire being, and he could probably make it blindfolded. Getting from the office to the metro station, boarding the train, getting off at the right place. Getting on the overground to make the short journey to his leafy suburban home. It was a new build, a modern housing estate with most of the homes belonging to professionals – their neighbours were doctors and lawyers. The perfect place to raise a family, Jasmina had always said. The commute was annoying, but it was a nice place to live and meant he didn’t have to deal with the hustle and bustle that would come with living in an apartment in central Esca.

One thing that was different today was the presence of a few other shiny new cars outside the house other than his own and Jasmina’s. He smiled to himself. His friends had evidently arrived. He just knew that little Ivica, his son, would be driving Vuksan and Zdravko mad trying to get them to show him their cars. Ivica loved cars. Musa wasn’t sure where he had got the fascination from because it wasn’t something either he or Jasmina were particularly interested in. Musa liked football and sport generally, whereas Jasmina was into film and photography. Ivica was able to recite entire specifications for super cars to Musa and half the time his feigned interest worked but other times boredom would out and Ivica would ask: “Hey dad, are you even listening?” Then he’d have to listen to it properly and lose a good ten minutes or so because of that. Still, he was happy his son was passionate about something. And he did at least share his father’s support for Atletik Thessia, too.

Musa walked in, he assumed they’d all be in the garden, the sun was still out and it was pleasantly hot, too. Jasmina would be taking advantage of it to the full, she’d probably have everyone on a cocktail and have the barbecue going even before he got there. She loved hosting things. He could hear the hubbub of it all before he had even got to the kitchen, at the back of the house. He set his bag down in the hallway and took his jacket off. As he walked into the kitchen he untied his tie and let it hang loosely against his shirt. Jasmina walked in and a wide smile broke across her face.

“There you are!” She exclaimed as he walked in, bounding across to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and planting a kiss on his lips. “I thought you would have been home a bit earlier, everybody is here.” She said as Musa held her in his embrace.

“Yeah, I think the train was a delayed by a few minutes or something.” He said. “Should I get changed before seeing everyone or?”

“No! You’re fine as you are,” Jasmina said, pulling his tie off. “More than presentable.” She giggled, letting go and taking a beer out of the fridge. “Here!” She said.

“Ha! Thanks.” Musa said. “Well then, let’s see what’s going on.” As he stepped out into the sunlight through the patio doors. A little cheer went up as everybody turned to greet him, before a chorus of happy birthday broke out. Musa sheepishly grinned, thanking them all with a wave. Ivica ran over and gave him a high five.

“Dad! Dad! Zdravko said he’d let me have a drive in his car and Jelena said that if I’m lucky he might actually let me drive it!” Ivica shouted. Musa grinned at his son, Zdravko had let Ivica sit on his knee in the driver’s seat before as he drove the car and Ivica had never forgotten the experience. Jelena, Zdravko’s wife, always teased him with the prospect of it whenever she saw him. Musa laughed.

“Have they been getting your hopes up again?!” He asked with mock indignation.

“No Dad! Zdravko said we would do it again this time!” Ivica shot back, failing to recognise the sarcasm. Musa laughed as Zdravko and Vuksan walked over, their wives coming with them too.

“Lads. Glad you could make it.” Musa said, grinning as he shook hands with them both before giving Jelena and Vara a hug and kiss on the cheek each. “Going to be painful greeting everyone you know,” he said after doing so with a wry smile.

There were more people there than he had expected, he mused, Jasmina had said something small. But he saw his sister there and her boyfriend and numerous other friends and acquaintances. Ah well, it’d be nice to let his hair down for once. The smell of charred meat on the air was promising, too, his stomach rumbled almost in expectation. He had a sip of his beer and felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. For a brief moment he thought about leaving it, Jasmina had made him promise that he would ignore any calls or texts for the night and just enjoy it – he didn’t often get to because of work, but a little voice in the back of his head said he couldn’t – and so he took his phone out from his pocket.

It was Milana. Work. He nearly didn’t answer, but he knew he had to. It could be important.

“Hello, Milana, what is it?” He said after putting the phone to his ear.

“Sorry Musa. It’s important. They’ve just rang me saying it’s urgent, a 22 year old male has been arrested today driving a lorry into the port at Trunca. The customs workers checked the truck and it was full of girls from the age of 14-19 – almost 25 of them. They’re trying to work out where it was going now, but we need to interview the guy. They want you here.” Milana said, trailing off.

“Fuck’s sake.” Musa said, Jasmina had walked over and the look of annoyance on her face was palpable. “Is there no way you can do it by yourself?” He asked, simultaneously making a face at Jasmina.

“No, sorry Musa, they want us both there.” Milana said, simply.

“I only got home twenty minutes ago!” He shouted.

“There’s nothing I can do, Musa.”

“Alright.” Musa said, resigned to the outcome already. Jasmina was motioning with her hands, something along the lines of ‘no’, he assumed. “Right, I’m on my way. Is the guy in Esca?”

“No!” Jasmina interjected, but Musa waved his hands dismissively. Zdravko and Vuksan were looking and little Ivica looked downcast.

“No, we’re going to interview him by video link for now.” Milana said.

“Okay, see you soon, I’ll try be as quick as I can but you know my journey is like forty minutes right?”

“Yeah, just get here as quick as you can.”

“Alright. Bye.” He finished.

“See you soon Musa.” Milana said as Musa put the phone down. Jasmina was shaking her head, hands on hips.

“What are you doing?” She asked, exasperated.

“I can’t do anything about it Jasmina, it’s work, they’ve got a suspect and we need to interview him. I’m sorry I need to go.” He said, putting his beer down.

“You promised Musa!” Jasmina shouted. People were looking.

“I can’t do anything about it.” Musa said, looking around. “Sorry guys, I have to go, enjoy the rest of this. Sorry again.” He said, dejectedly. There wasn’t anything he could do. “Hopefully a few of you will be here later on, I’m going to try and get back as soon as possible.” He knew that he probably wouldn’t be back at a reasonable time and everyone but those who were staying over like Zdravko and Jelena and Vuksan and Vara and close friends and family who were staying late anyway would be gone. But what could he do? The powers that be deemed it necessary that he was there to interview this guy, it was urgent, he had literally been caught driving a lorry with girls in to a port. It looked like human trafficking, it almost definitely was. This was important.

Jasmina was angry and undoubtedly would be for a few days. He hoped everyone still managed to have a half-decent time, though. He knew that his mates would try and make sure everybody enjoyed themselves. They understood his job and its commitments. They would put effort into trying to make the best of this bad situation.

Musa walked inside and pulled his jacket back on. He left the tie on the kitchen island and walked into the hallway, picking up his bag as he went. Back to work.

by **Chromatika** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 8:30 pm

THE CHROMATIK FOOTBALL FEDERATION PRESENTS:

ROSTER FOR DI BRADINI CUP 40

Kits Credit: Kirola, Logo Credit: Vulpine Sportif

Formation: 3-3-4
Style Modifier: +4.5

Manager: Mario Jankovich, 42, University of Myana
Assistant Manager: Liana Anderson, 33, University of Myana

Players numbered 1-11 are starters.

Goalkeepers
#1 Mia Ria Age: 19 Height: 5 ft 10 in Team: Myrmidon (Ceni)
#12 Pietr Diovech Age: 18 Height: 5 ft 10 in Team: Alnio (Chromatika)
#21 Victoria Anna-Hoven Age: 18 Height: 5 ft 11 in Team: Z'ai'ai (Chromatika)

Defenders
#2 Valence Ilya Age: 19 Height: 5 ft 10 in Team: AC Holmenkollen (Cosumar)
#3 Lina-Maria Andhoven Age: 18 Height: 5 ft 7 in Team: Myana (Chromatika)
#4 Cierra Anderson Age: 18 Height: 5 ft 9 in Team: Portus Indepdendent (Iron Syndicate)
#13 Maybell Milner Age: 21 Height: 6 ft 3 in Team: Deprí Lanar (Chromatika)
#14 Nicole Friedman Age: 19 Height: 5 ft Team: Urrheddiao (Chromatika)
#15 Pauline Eros Age: 19 Height: 5 ft 8 in Team: Felswyr (Chromatika)

Midfielders
#5 Ga-yeong Han Age: 19 Height: 5 ft 1 in Team: Sporting Ceres (Iron Syndicate)
#6 Molly Thorben Age: 18 Height: 5 ft 10 in Team: Tihon (Chromatika)
#7 Herlinda Sterling Age: 20 Height: 5 ft 11 in Team: Crossroads (Chromatika)
#16 Delilah Anisov Age: 21 Height: 6 ft 3 in Team: Crossroads (Chromatika)
#17 Ji-yeong Lee Age: 16 Height: 6 ft 2 inTeam: Pùr (Chromatika)
#18 Mimi Kuzami Age: 19 Height: 5 ft 2 in Team: Myana (Chromatika)

Forwards
#8 Miranda "Lightning" Gail Age: 20 Height: 5 ft 1 in Team: Tihon (Chromatika)
#9 Whitney Kelly Age: 20 Height: 5 ft 11 in Team: Port Patrick United (Schottia)
#10 Aide Mehdizade Age: 21 Height: 6 ft 2 in Team: Slateport Bulls (Valladares)
#11 Kaytlyn Victoriane Age: 21 Height: 5 ft 8 in Team: Lammerton (Schottia) CAPTAIN
#19 Rowena Sierra Age: 19 Height: 5 ft 7 in Team: Anomalies (Chromatika)
#20 Réné Éason Age: 19 Height: 5 ft 11 in Team: Tihon (Chromatika)

RP Permissions: No godmodding of any kind, TG me for red cards/injuries/more than three yellow cards.

by **Ceni** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 8:40 pm

CENIAN ROSTER FOR DI BRADINI CUP 40>>>

OVERALL INFORMATION >>>

Ceni's senior team has consistently gained the reputation of being a very attacking side - send the ball up the field and try to score on it. However, during the World Cup qualifying campaign, this strategy - which emphasized heading up to the goal, no matter what the cost - proved to be Ceni's undoing as lesser-rated sides took advantage of overextensions and lack of credible threats in the midfield. In the 35th Di Bradini Cup, Manager Corran Artis decided to, instead, look into developing more competent midfielders and defenders on the youth side of the coin in order to rectify this glaring problem. Indeed, during training camp, Artis urged his team to be smart about their attacking play - go when there is an opportunity, not just when they have the ball. He realized that opportunistic play would be the best way for Ceni's football to further develop, and he has taken that ideal to heart when training Ceni's first ever Di Bradini Cup team and selecting their formation. Many football observers have noted that it was among Ceni's best crop of youngsters, with several young and emerging talents present on this team. Because these players know each other - and, indeed, have played with each other, as part of the Pinnacle Project - they have developed strong bonds of friendship and teamwork. The Cenian Football Federation hoped that the combination of the talent and Artis's innovative football strategy would produce a good run for Ceni's team at the Di Bradini Cup. They did have a good run, with Kira Koromin declared the best player of the tournament as the Cenian team reached the finals, losing to fierce rivals Cosumar.

Artis, however, was forced to retire from his post due to health issues, and the Cenian Football Federation, in keeping with their new adoption of the System Takil principles, appointed a new manager to head up the Cenian Di Bradini Cup team: Peter Petrossian, a Cenian of Armenian descent, who was one of the initial promulgators of that principle within the CFF itself. He takes to the team an aggressive strategy that tries to pressure the opponents and allows the team to convert off even the slightest of opportunities. He has also selected a fairly flexible 3-3-3-1 formation for this tournament, with the midfield able to easily convert from offense to defense. Despite playing down the importance of the defense, Petrossian has focused his efforts on the midfield as well as the forwards, believing that any success must come from the midfield; strikers can't create chances without help from the midfield, he believes. The team recorded an undefeated group stage before losing in an upset to Quebec in the Round of 16. While the team was unable to avenge their loss to Quebec directly, the team recorded an outstanding campaign in DBC 38; despite a group-stage loss to Schottia, the team came in first in their group again and lit up the elimination rounds before winning on penalty kicks against San Llera to take home Ceni's first title in football, of any kind. They entered DBC 39 as the defending champions, and were one match away from being only the second nation to successfully defend their title when they lost in the final to Pasarga. They now vow revenge on the Pasargans and hope to reclaim the most prestigious youth football title.

Manager: Peter Petrossian
Style: +3

GOALKEEPERS >>>

Joshua Kosokhan GK (19)

Tir Snake Strike
Joshua Kosokhan was an instrumental part in Polaris's title victory at the Youth Cup - conceding only eight goals in ten games, including four clean sheets, including two against heavily attacking Farf teams La Nueva Avenida and Mâ Âlâmëómë, in the quarterfinals and final, respectively. He was second choice goalkeeper at Polaris, behind Javier Quintanilla, after that excellent performance, before moving to be a first-choice goalkeeper with Tir Snake Strike, a big risk for the team, and he looks like he has a valuable future ahead of him. Good reflexes, excellent vision, smart play - all the characteristics you would want in a good goalkeeper, except for experience and youth, of course; with former first-choice goalkeeper Khasek aging out, Kosokhan was chosen to lead the U-21's defense this time around.

Omar Najoqui GK (20)

Occidental
Omar Najoqui (pronounced Na-hockey) proved to be an outstanding goalkeeper in Cenileague, conceding just 30 goals in 30 games with the title-winning side Occidental. He is young and a bit inexperienced, so Petrossian chose to put him third in the DBC lineup in order to help improve his skills (through team trainings) and his reactions under pressure. Whether his improvement will produce some playing time, however, is still uncertain.

Bella Ozuar GK (16)

Pinnacle Project
A youngster working her way up through the ranks, Bella Ozuar currently trains with Pinnacle Project. Seeing as she's only 16 and has a long way to go in training, it's unlikely that Ozuar will see any playing time, but Petrossian has chosen her to make the trip to Valanora in case something happens to either Kosokhan or Najoqui.

DEFENDERS >>>

CJ Djetei LB (18)

Cenial Liberty
CJ Djetei came out of the poorer parts of town in Northern Cenial near the port and airport -
but he hasn't let that stop him in pursuing his dream of a football career. Playing on the streets, Djetei learned the ropes and grew in stamina and consistency on the defense. His job as a messenger for the past two years has also helped to develop those important characteristics in this defender. In short, his pace, stamina, and dribbling made him stand out among his peers, and he was picked up by Pinnacle Project and subsequently Cenial Liberty, where he's now earning a steady paycheck and sending some of it back to his family back in northern Cenial.

Ariana Guri-Montague CB (19)

Olympic Nassau Bay
Playing as the starting center back for Royal Queenstown for two seasons, Guri-Montague showed promise very early on, being named to the first team and making UICA football. Last season, she transferred to Olympic Nassau Bay, helping to seal up their defense. They reached the quarterfinals of the Globe Cup, where Guri-Montague performed admirably, as the team only conceded one goal to 25th ranked Sabrefell Moths of Nephara. Although the team was disappointed at their loss, Guri-Montague showed her worth to her team and to Ceni, as her showing prompted Petrossian to name her starting center back for the U-21 team. Guri-Montague is quick and nimble, always comfortable in possession; she makes very few defensive errors.

Will Keothavong RB (18)

Cenial United
Cenial United poached Keothavong from Pinnacle Project when they had a need for a stellar right back and noticed his skills during training two seasons ago. After that, he has been an integral part of the Cenial United team, seeing UICA football in both the Champions' Cup and the Globe Cup; his resume includes an octofinal finish in the Champions' Cup, a good performance for the team overall. Keothavong, who grew up in a Laotian-British family, was raised on the value of hard work, and he has applied that value to his defense, never letting the ball out of his sight and always marking the ball and the man with the ball.

Giovanni Soto LB (20)

Pinnacle Project
Sami Wystalin CB (20)

Pinnacle Project
Pablo Altamirano RB (20)

Pinnacle Project

Peter Petrossian finds himself relying on three Pinnacle Project 20-year-olds for the core of the backup defense at this DBC campaign: Soto, Wystalin, and Altamirano, at left, center, and right back, respectively. They should have pretty good chemistry with each other, should they make it onto the field as one unit - thanks to their living together, and playing together, at Pinnacle Project. These players are solid, if not spectacular, and should do a pretty good job at plugging up the gaps in Ceni's defensive lineup, should they occur and need a replacement defender to replace the (somewhat) inexperienced three making up Ceni's defense right now.

MIDFIELDERS >>>

Karen Garamond LM (18)

Whitehaven Triumph
Karen Garamond has really grown as a player and a person under the tutelage of Robert Arkes and his coaches at Pinnacle Project. She has changed from a timid left midfielder to a more assertive one, ready to play her part in both the offense and the defense. This flexibility has allowed her to fit in perfectly with manager Petrossian's strategy for the midfield that can quickly transition from the defense to the offense and back again. Garamond works really well with her midfield partner Therian, and has a similar skillset to him; she's a true box-to-box midfielder, as she'll be involved in setting up offensive plays one moment and involved in a defensive tackle the next. This combination of skills could really take her to the next level.

Asher Koromin (C) LAM (18)

Tir Snake Strike
Asher Koromin is only eighteen but he has the markings of the successful attacking midfielders that have come before him, such as Jacen Xasan and Jaime del Olmo, as well as younger ones such as del Toro. He harks back to other Koromins, such as cousins Kira and Kel, as well, and reminds many people of Andrew Arrowsword - the Cenian youth prodigy only a couple of years older than him. Although he has no Drawkian blood, he does have famous Koromin blood running through his veins - his father, Douglas, is Kirk Koromin's brother. Although his father works in Cenian academia, his family quickly realized that he had potential on the levels of Kel and Kira, and sent him to training sessions with Pinnacle Project early on; he played on the Polaris team that won the Youth Cup and moved to Tir Snake Strike along with teammate Gilead Val'Tor, where he will hope to revitalize the club which has seen better days. Although Asher is small, he has great stamina and speed, with excellent dribbling and finesse as well. He shoots with the same style as his cousins, taking chances whenever the opportunity arrives.

Nova Kymeri DM (19)

New Island
Nova Kymeri is one of the most versatile players on Peter Petrossian's squad, able to plug almost any hole in the midfield. In the last Di Bradini Cup campaign, she played left midfield, shifting into defensive mid, but with Petrossian believing Karen Garamond capable enough of handling the left midfield spot and needing an extra defensive hole to be plugged, he decided to shunt Kymeri into this position, knowing that she would excel in her position, as always. She recently earned a move to Schottic side New Island after the demise of the Project +90 organization, which unfortunately suffered some difficulties back in the Sunrises, but hopefully, she will take what she has learned and apply it well there.

Gilead Val'Tor CAM (18)

Tir Snake Strike
Gilead Val'Tor might have come from a Quebecois background (although he didn't), for he's volatile like some of their major stars: calm and collected one moment, enraged and angry at the next, often at the drop of a pin. Nonetheless, Petrossian has noticed his talent, and has worked with this youngster to calm his mood swings and develop him into a more consistent threat. Rakishly thin and handsome, Val'Tor is extremely tall for a Cenian player, standing at over six foot five, and despite this height, he is extremely fast and agile on the field. Val'Tor played for Polaris in their Youth Cup victory run two cycles ago, and was picked up by Tir Snake Strike recently, along with Cenian and Polaris teammate Asher Koromin, as part of their revitalization efforts, and his chemistry with his friend Koromin is unrivaled, which should help the team at this point.

Xavi Caldera RAM (19)

Portus Independent
Xavi Caldera originally attended the Tomás Hernádez Academy as a youth before being picked up as a 16-year-old by Polaris - only then developing its own youth academy. He played a couple of rounds in the Youth Cup before being promoted to the main starting lineup, having convinced manager Miran Stane of his place in a revamped Polaris lineup. He then took a big risk by agreeing to play in the nascent Iron Syndicate league for the promise of a fat paycheck, but it's unknown whether he will truly develop there. As a result, a lot of his training has come from Petrossian in the youth setup since his move, but he's progressed nicely. Xavi (short for Xavier) is a fully capable winger, who often plays as an attacking midfielder (at Polaris, he complemented Tim Maitfield, who did the same thing on the left side). Caldera, who is extremely versatile and can play in the center, plays in the wings even better than in the center, as he has the important attribute of being two-footed (with the left being dominant, allowing him to reside on the right, as he does currently).

Gavin Therian RM (19)

Whitehaven Triumph
Gavin Therian is a young up-and-comer on the Cenian scene. He was just recently promoted to Whitehaven Triumph's first team after coming from its academy, and he will partner Karen Garamond there as well (as he will partner her on the U-21 national team as well). Therian has really developed as a player in the past two years, developing both the defense and offense that allows the team to be quite flexible. He provides a "wide presence" on the flank to receive and send off passes, and he's proven particularly effective in the passing game; he's also able to pull his own weight on the defense, able to beat the opposing wingers with both speed, pace, and skill, helping to promote the team's defense as well.

FORWARDS >>>

Iain Cyn-Penzag FW (17)

Nassau Bay Independence
Picked up last season by the Gelderlish team Nassau Bay Independence from a Cenian youth academy, Cyn-Penzag has been stellar with his adopted team ever since, leading the team from being recently promoted to the top flight of Terranean League West football to getting within the top 10 of the league, earning his team a spot in the Globe Cup. Although they went out early this time, it was a valuable experience for this youngster, named one of the best TLW youth players last season. For a seventeen-year-old, Cyn-Penzag has a strong game, with a delightful cross, wonderful passes, and, being a forward, a sublime finishing shot. Although he doesn't have any Drawkian blood in him, he bears many similarities to the wunderkind Andrew Arrowsword, and many hope that he turns out to be a stalwart of the Cenian national team and a good club team, just like Arrowsword.

Chase Ziegenhorn FW (16)

Whitehaven Triumph
Chase Ziegenhorn has the raw talent to succeed at football, yet he just needs the experience and the fine-tuning to turn into a real beast on the international scene. Ziegenhorn is lanky, fast, and powerful, with strong muscles and stamina that allow him to torment opposing defenders. His ball tricks are really something to watch, with excellent dribbling and moves to avoid opposition defenders. He really needs more improvement in consistency and shooting, however, as sometimes, he tends to go for the trick shot and doesn't make the ball into the goal; Peter Petrossian and Whitehaven Triumph should help him to develop into to a strong all-around player, with some time and patience.

RP Permissions: No killing/severe injuries/excessive godmodding without TGing me. Thanks.

by **Osarius** » Mon May 01, 2017 2:01 am

Osarius U21 Squad for Di Bradini Cup 40

Nickname: "The Flying Sparks"
Style modifier: +1.5 (counter-pressing defence; possession-based attack)

Head Coach: Connor McCarthy
Assistant Head Coach: Marc Johannes (SEM)
Captain: George Simpson
Vice-captain: Evelyn McIntosh
3rd captain: Emily Henderson

I have a pretty clear tactical philosophy in mind for my team so I recommend at least skim-reading the next section, or the wiki page on the "Osarian 4-3-3", if you intend to RP the match in detail. The Under-21s follow this same system -- it's the whole point of the national football development plan, and splitting the national team into specific age-based "units" -- though of course, most of the squad will be (a little) less polished than their senior counterparts, so expect more errors. Both tactical and technical. Some players have senior experience, though -- most notably Koren Udowu, Miguel Caraballo and to a lesser extent, Andrew Ford and Chikelu Emeagwali -- so expect them to be among the more consistent (and influential) players in the squad.

The team will generally attempt to control possession rather than engage in consciously defensive play; and "parking the bus" is a cardinal sin. When out of possession, the team will generally press high up the pitch to compress the available space -- because they are largely comfortable playing the ball under pressure -- and try to win the ball back as quickly as possible, sometimes over-committing, and leaving themselves vulnerable to a swift counterattack. Generally pacy defenders help to alleviate this problem somewhat.

Against stronger opponents, or when it's hard to be sure what to expect, the team will probably take on more defensive positioning, though. Fullbacks will be less likely to bomb forward, and the team tends to be more conservative in possession, often playing backward to draw the opposition in, before launching a devastating counter attack with pace. They will also slow down when ahead later in the game, but only so they don't unnecessarily provide opportunities to lose possession and/or concede. This doesn't mean they wont take the opportunity to score if it presents itself...

Defensively, Osarian centre-backs are typically pacy and expected to have strong aerial ability and good positional awareness. The latter part is less important if a player is particularly quick, though. Almost certainly, one of the centre backs or the goalkeeper will be good at organising the defence. In cases where there is a notable lack of organisational skill -- typically in situations lacking experience -- there is a clear knock-on effect on the rest of the team. With that in mind, don't expect starting centre backs to be among the younger or less experienced members of the team.

The fullbacks typically overlap a lot -- considering how often the wingers change sides and become "inverted" (i.e. cutting inside the defender on their stronger foot, rather than pulling wide) -- and seem to operate almost as advanced as wingbacks (or even midfielders against considerably weaker teams) a lot of the time, making the system a sort of like a 3-4-3 when Osarius attack, due to the deepest central midfielder dropping back to a position right in front of the defence, to counter against a potential playmaker "in the hole" for the opposition. This can be a potential weak point, and not just if this player is small in stature, as they will often get drawn into the backline and thus, potentially mismatched against forwards. The lack of experience at this level will make this player more susceptible to being drawn out of position, for example.

If you did read the spoiler above, thank you! You don't have to stick to all of that, it just fits in better with the way I intend to RP my team (when I can).

Set piece preferences (in order):
Corner kick takers: Caraballo, Saunders
Penalty takers: Udowu, McIntosh, Ford
Free kick takers: Ford, mostly. But feel free to "surprisingly" use Udowu (I'll explain later)
Long free kicks: Saunders, Dawson, Duane Barnes

NON-PLAYING STAFF                        
Manager	            OSR Connor McCarthy
Assistant Manager   SEM Marc Johannes

Coaches
General             OSR Sergio Estevez
                    SEM Jerome Mosange
Attacking           OSR Kristen Rees
                    OSR Ashley Allen
Technique           OSR Damian Fonseca
                    OSR Toby Drummond
Goalkeeping         OSR Matthew Rose

Medical
Team Doctor         OSR Dr. Hernan Blanco
Physiotherapist     OSR Dr. Thiago Santos

The OFA have not released a performance analysis team, though Titus Johnson and Alessandro di Corradi will be present in their capacities as scouts, in order to feed back to the Developmental Program. Dr. Eva Soranno and Dr. Mika Katurigo will also be present with the squad as medical support, though Dr. Blanco and Dr. Santos will take point.

The Squad


No  Pos Name                  Age     Current Club                     Rating*  Archetype**           
01  GK  Emily HENDERSON       19 y/o  [QAD]  Real Qad City             ★★★★☆   Shot stopper
02  RB  Isaac SAUNDERS        20 y/o  [OSR]  Hastmead Diamante         ★★★★☆   Lateral fullback
03  LB  George DAWSON         20 y/o  [OSR]  Firewood City             ★★★★☆   Balanced fullback
04  CM  DUANE Barnes          19 y/o  [OSR]  Dynapolis United          ★★★★☆   Deep-lying playmaker
05  CB  Chikelu EMEAGWALI     20 y/o  [OSR]  Dynapolis United          ★★★★★   Warrior
06  RCB George SIMPSON        19 y/o  [OSR]  Burningham City           ★★★★★   Cultured defender
07  RW  Miguel CARABALLO      19 y/o  [USI]  Aurora Sylveons           ★★★★★   Expert crosser
08  CM  Evelyn McINTOSH       19 y/o  [OSR]  Hastmead Diamante         ★★★★★   All-rounder
09  ST  Koren UDOWU           20 y/o  [VIL]  Marine Coast United       ★★★★★   Natural athlete
10  AM  Andrew FORD           20 y/o  [EFL]  Norrion Rovers            ★★★★★   Shadow striker
11  LW  Luke McBRIDE          19 y/o  [OSR]  Grasshoppers Turic        ★★★☆☆   Defensive winger
12  GK  Evie PRICE            19 y/o  [OSR]  Callisto City             ★★★★☆   Shot stopper
14  CF  Zoe DAWSON            20 y/o  [OSR]  Cartagena Desert Foxes    ★★★★☆   Balanced forward
15  CB  JOEL Barnes           19 y/o  [OSR]  Rapid Hearthlands         ★★★☆☆   Warrior
16  CB  Kire TURAGORO         19 y/o  [OSR]  Kyoshiku Island           ★★★☆☆   Balanced defender
17  WG  Scott BRYANT          20 y/o  [OSR]  Kyoshiku Island           ★★★☆☆   Pace merchant
18  CM  Rachel COYLE          20 y/o  [OSR]  Dynapolis United          ★★★★☆   Box-to-box midfielder
19  FB  Sean CONNORS          19 y/o  [OSR]  Kyoshiku Island           ★★★★☆   Balanced fullback
20  CM  Suzanne TREMBLAY      18 y/o  [OSR]  Grasshoppers Turic        ★★★☆☆   Long-range passer
21  CM  Maro FUTOMITO         18 y/o  [OSR]  Kyoshiku Island           ★★★★☆   Powerful shooter
22  FW  Hyrum YARIKH          19 y/o  [OSR]  Alissar Phoenix           ★★★☆☆   Versatile forward
23  CM  Andreas HALE          19 y/o  [OSR]  Utica United              ★★★☆☆   Metronome
24  GK  Sean KANE             19 y/o  [OSR]  Real Jraxville            ★★★☆☆   Sweeper keeper

 * an approximation of current and potential ability
   a sort of "how likely is this player to earn senior caps for Osarius"

** over-simplified summary of a player's strengths and playing style
   for example; "warrior" implies a physical, combative player

Usual starting lineup: [ 4-3-3 ] Henderson; G. Dawson, Simpson, Emeagwali, Saunders; Duane, McIntosh, Ford; Bryant, Udowu, Caraballo

by **Boring Paradise** » Mon May 01, 2017 3:55 am

Boring Paradise's
Under 21 Squad

Thanks to Kinitaria for supplying this Logo

Manager: Agostinho De Mequites (age 46)
Main Coach: Anders Skagestad (age 47)
Second Coach: Sylvan Hills (age 43)
Goal Keeper Coach: Vasili Seleznev (age 57)

Choose my goalscorers: Y
Godmod scoring events: Y
RP injuries to my players: Y
Godmod injuries to my players: Y (Not career ending or tournament preventing)
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Y (Only Three Cards)
Hand out red cards to my players: Y (1 Max)
Godmod other events: Y (No Killing, No rest of life injuries)

Style Modifiers: +3.1

works? · by **Abanhfleft** » Mon May 01, 2017 8:40 am

Young Guns, Part Seven

Anglatia vs Abanhfleft
Mount Crown Stadium
Burningham, Osarius
Final of the 3rd Sporting World Cup

"It's happened again, it's happened again
Oh Abanhfleft, it's happened again"

Indeed it has happened again, and there was no use denying that from Rashad Dammam's point of view. The simple truth of the matter was that Anglatia had gotten the better of Abanhfleft once again, and Abanhfleft were now runners-up in the Sporting World Cup for the third time running, despite the intentions of the Samahang Futbol ng Abanhfleft when they brought in both Dammam and Heinrich Wurzmann of the Alternative Football Program to run this under-18 side for this third attempt to win it all.

It was familiar faces coming back to haunt the Young Young Revolutionaries all over again. Names very familiar to Fleftic fans during the last time the two sides met and some who became known in the intervening period. Katie Drysdale-Fox, scorer of the penalty of the previous final (and also the deciding goal) opened the scoring this time from within the box as well but not from the spot. Remy Ladipo (not really the most familiar of faces among the Fleftic faithful but the fact that he had appeared a few times for the senior Anglatian national team raised the eyebrows of a fair few) then gave Anglatia the lead back after Kelly McGinnis' equalizer for the Explorers to end the first half on a high. Goals from the Williamson siblings, Gareth and Charlene, then looked to have secured the title for Abanhfleft, but as things always were in football, it's never over until the final whistle blows. And that was exactly what happened.

First, Jaakim Hanokssen, younger brother of Britt Hanokssen, nodded home Anglatia's second equalizer with five minutes to go. And then, with the three minutes of added time ticking down, Sive Vacek, half-sister of former Sporting Ceneisis star Allie Vacek, launched a rocket from long range which ended up beating Guildenstern Cardew for the simple fact that Sive had hit the ball on the half-volley and Guildy was wrong-footed by the curve of the ball's flight path. So, at the death, Anglatia won their second Sporting World Cup title, and Abanhfleft were forced to walk up the stadium first to receive their "good work getting here, boys and girls, but tonight you're just shit" medals for the third consecutive time.

Perhaps it was always meant to be, Rashad Dammam pondered as he shook the hand of the head of the Osarius FA on his way to receiving his runners-up medal as the manager of the losing side in the final. It was his second silver, having also gotten one after Abanhfleft lost in a penalty shootout to Schottia in the final of the 9th Under-15 World Cup, which was hosted by the eventual winners of said tournament. Some of the players in that losing side had been called up for the new under-18 team like Bronwyn Churchill and Elene Liner (who had by then made the decision to become an outfield player, a striker, after that fateful penalty shootout where she firmly believed that she should have saved at least one of the penalties) while others who had performed really well had been promoted straight to the under-21 team like Georgine Baum, Cecily Segovia, and Arkady Rozier among the lucky ones.

Rashad Dammam accepted the medal and let the Osarian hang it on his neck. Oh, well, he thought to himself. There's always next year, next campaign. A new opportunity to bring in new players and quite possibly lose another final with them once again. Rashad had to smile at that particular thought. It would be the most Abanhfleft thing to do, lose a fourth consecutive Sporting World Cup final. Of course, they had to get there first, but that was another challenge for another time.

Meanwhile, as the Fleftic players filed down the stands and watched the Anglatian players raise the Sporting World Cup trophy for the second time in two attempts, Gareth Williamson had to laugh. He wasn't laughing at the fact that Abanhfleft lost again or Anglatia won again; what he found funny was the fact that he felt that surely, the Vacek sisters must be feeling very vindicated right now. Gareth had made no secret of his disdain for both Allie and Sive, and he was sure that they were feeling very happy that their country won because this proved that the Anglatian system was superior to the Fleftic one. Truth be told, all Gareth could see in his mind's eye was an image of Allie Vacek smiling as her half-sister helped her and her country take its revenge upon the country that had wronged her as a Valerian and hurt her career as a pro footballer.

Meanwhile, at the other end of their line, Kelly McGinnis was slowly beginning to doubt her own decision to try to sell herself to the teams of the multiverse. She'd had an entire tournament to show that she was worth the investment, scoring every game bar one (the quarterfinal against Osarius which went all the way to extra time and was saved only by a very late and lucky goal from the not-so-aptly-named Will Luckless) but still, no one had come forward to come to take her in, even on a loan. it was then that she began fearing that maybe she wasn't meant to move in circles beyond that of the Fleftic sphere of influence. It was almost tempting her to accept the offers from Gareth and his Copperite buddy Douglas Jameson to accept the offer to come over to Throckmorton Bridge and be the striker that Sporting Ceneisis deserved. Almost.

Kelly was just considering walking up to Gareth and telling him that she was indeed signing for Ceneisis when she was approached by Heinrich Wurzmann, head of the Alternative Football Program (the footie program which looks for talent ignored by the SFA simply because they weren't playing in the top leagues) and also basically Rashad Dammam's assistant manager for this cycle of the Sporting World Cup. "Kelly, can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked.

"Sure, coach, what's it about?" Kelly asked in reply.

"You know that thing that you asked me about before the start of this tournament?" Since Kelly was just 16 years old, she didn't technically have an agent just yet, but before the start of the tournament, when she hoped that she would be pursued by international clubs for her goalscoring talent and prowess, she had agreed to have Wurzmann make pitches, hence making Wurzmann basically Kelly's agent.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Something's come up. Someone's finally picked up my pitches and said that they're willing to take you in."

Already, Kelly could feel her heat beating much faster. "Really?" she asked, fighting to keep her tone even. "Who is it?"

"You should understand that this is just a season-long loan and that they'll assess your performance at the end of the season to see if they should make the move permanent or not..."

"Yeah, yeah, coach, I got that, don't worry," Kelly said with an impatient wave of the hand. "Who wants me?"

"I'm not sure if this is the team you really want but since this is from a country not within the sphere of influence..."

"You're giving me a heart attack, coach. Spit it out!"

"It's Hoventon and Corlington Town, over in Mercedini. I don't know much about them other than the fact that they look like a decent enough midtable team..."

"Coach, I don't know how to say this, but right now, I couldn't care less if they're champions or relegation fodder," Kelly said. "I'm in."

"Just like that?" Wurzmann looked skeptical. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, coach, of course I'm sure."

"All right, I'll finalize the deal then."

Kelly watched as Wurzmann walked away, phone to his ear. It's finally happened! She's going abroad! Sure, it was to Mercedini and not one of the big names like Nephara, Osarius, Semarland, or Cosumar, but she didn't care. She was off to another country! She could finally prove herself in another league other than the standard fare for the Fleftics like the Prdnestrovian Super League, the Oontaznik First Division, the Fhulghamousian Premier League, or even the Copperite National League. This was her chance to shine someplace other than the usual spots for Fleftic stars to strut their stuff. She was going to set herself apart already...

"Looks like someone's happy," Gareth Williamson asked as he walked up to Kelly.

"Huh, what?" Kelly blubbered. "Oh, yeah. It took until the end of the tournament, but it's finally paid off. I'm off to Mercedini."

"Mercedini, huh?" Gareth nodded his head, looked like he was rolling the word around in his head. "I can't say that that is where I would have expected you to go after such a good performance here, but hey, didn't you say that you'd go anywhere as long as it's nowhere near Abanhfleft or the sphere of influence?"

"Uh, yeah, and that's why I just finished talking with Coach Heinz back there," Kelly said with a smile. "He's finalizing the deal. One year loan with an option to buy at the end of the season. Of course, it all depends on whether I can do there what I did here which is score in every game except one but that one doesn't count because Osarius had a defense that was the shit--"

"Yeah, yeah, I think I got it," Gareth said, holding up his hand to stop Kelly's mouth from getting the better of her. "Good for you, Kel. I'm happy for you that you got that move that you really wanted. No, really, I really am happy for you. Heck, I'll even say that I'm proud of you."

"Aw, really? Is that true?" Kelly asked teasingly.

"Of course it is," Gareth replied. "Why would I lie to you?"

"Come here, let me give you a hug." Kelly reached out and wrapped her arms around Gareth, and Gareth's arms automatically went around Kelly's waist as well. "You're a really good friend, Gareth Williamson, you know that?" Kelly then planted a light kiss on Gareth's cheek and walked away, leaving Gareth extremely confused. He had just been friend-zoned, and yet Kelly still kissed him. What kind of message was she sending him? You're my friend, Gareth, but if you really want, maybe we can make something happen.

"Ah, women," Douglas Jameson said, surprising Gareth completely as the Copperite striker walked up behind him. "Can't live with them, can't live without them."

"Goddammit, Doug, don't do that!" Gareth said, punching Doug's arm. "You made me jump out of my skin right there!"

"Yeah, you did," Doug said with a grin. "I think you're in orbit right beside Mauro's free kick right now."

"God, don't remind me of that free kick," Gareth muttered.

"So, looks like you're moving forward, Kelly and you," Doug said.

"We're definitely moving somewhere," Gareth said. "Whether it's forwards or backwards though, I can't really tell."

"Eh, don't worry about it, big guy," Doug said, patting Gareth's shoulder. "I have faith in you. You'll figure her out sooner or later."

On yet another part of the field, while the Anglatians were celebrating their second under-18 trophy, Prince William Luckless pondered what was and what could have been. He thought he had proven nominative determinism to be just a mere construct of man to deal with the coincidences of people having jobs or doing things which fit their names. But now, Will couldn't help but think once again that maybe nominative determinism really was a thing.

Or maybe Abanhfleft just wasn't meant to win games in which someone running down the left flank had a golden opportunity to tie up the game with only seconds to spare. Cecilia Johnson couldn't do it against Barunia; Zakarya Bergkamp couldn't do it against Nephara, and now Prince William Luckless couldn't do it against Anglatia. Maybe there was something about Fleftic players running down the left and trying to fire over the keeper which always makes them find the crossbar instead of the back of the net. As they say, once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action. But there was no enemy at work here, except perhaps for themselves. Not having the confidence to make the shot after seeing it fail twice before could do a number on anyone trying the same thing. Sure, there were videos showing the shot could be done, but the guys doing the videos weren't under the pressure of trying to win a game or a final like CeCe, Zakarya, or Will were.

Still, it could be worse. CeCe Johnson and Zakarya Bergkamp hadn't gotten one of their teammates pregnant.

It was difficult to tell to whom it was harder to break the news: Poppaea Fleet-Street, Prudence Woodward's girlfriend; Rashad Dammam, the under-18 manager; or Prudence's parents. The less said about their reactions, the better; the point was that Will managed to survive the barrage and live to play another day. He almost wished he didn't, though, not after that shot of his hit the woodwork. But he felt sure no one would really blame him for that. No one blamed Cece Johnson and Zakarya Bergkamp either.

"Well, looks like we both survived this one," Prudence said as she approached Will. She was wearing a blue Abanhfleft hoodie as well as black track pants. And while the bump was small and covered up by the baggy hoodie, one could tell that she was already beginning to swell a little.

"Yeah, we did," Will replied.

"So, are you ready to start a family with two mommies and one daddy?"

"I'm not sure I could survive that. Poppaea's still giving me the evil eye over there. Look at her."

"Don't mind Poppy, Will. I'll take care of her. What matters is that I know that you'll be here to stay."

"Of course I will. Daddy Luckless didn't raise no coward."

"Good to know. Because this job ain't for the faint-hearted."

To be continued...

by **Soltsteed** » Mon May 01, 2017 3:52 pm

Jie lese des pagine af Soltsteedisch — You are reading this page in Soltsteedish
KÖNINGLIK SOLTSTEEDISCH FOOTBALLSBUND
JONG SOLTSTEED
Landecode: SOL
Öknaam: The Colts (De Völen)
Nationaallied: March of Triumph (Triomphemarsch)
Personeel
Directör: Maria Katsaros
Hjaupendirectör: Alexander Michelssen
Medicaalleider: Janmat van de Dalen

Starting Euve
Portegaarder №1 Robert-Jan van Daal (auddöm 21, Köninglik Veelheim)
Verdediger №2 Otto Alting (auddöm 20, Spartans)
Verdediger №3 Madeleine Waus (auddöm 20, Spartans)
Verdediger №4 Emmet le Duc (auddöm 21, Ōtachi Audfort)
Verdediger №5 Änders Hanssen (auddöm 19, Royal Michaeltown)
Verdediger №6 Ryan Watkins (auddöm 20, Cherrgrove City)
Midfeuder №7 Christin-Marie Stephenssen (auddöm 20, Ōtachi Audfort)
Midfeuder №8 Marcus de Skool (auddöm 17, SIS FC)
Midfeuder №9 Fransien Larssen (auddöm 21, Köninglik Veelheim)
Midfeuder №10 Mark Blaas (auddöm 20, FC Nyvedorf)
Onfaller №11 Ayana Bailey (auddöm 21, SIS FC)

Ytspilern
Portegaarder №12 Walter Davis (auddöm 19, SIS FC)
Portegaarder №13 Kurt Broderick (auddöm 18, St George University)
Verdediger №14 Orestos Martinus (auddöm 18, Royal Michaeltown)
Verdediger №15 Maxime Crabshaas (auddöm 18, Ōtachi Audfort)
Verdediger №16 Johann Forrest (auddöm 18, To Be Determined)
Verdediger №17 Carle Arkes (auddöm 19, Sant-Claudie)
Verdediger №18 Simon Holst (auddöm 21, Royal Michaeltown)
Midfeuder №19 Kenneth Keane (auddöm 21, St George University)
Midfeuder №20 Ann-Claudie Uristssen (auddöm 21, Köninglik Veelheim)
Midfeuder №21 Elise-Marie Audershof (auddöm 21, Royal Michaeltown)
Midfeuder №22 Taylor Irvine (auddöm 20, St George University)
Onfaller №23 Orestos de Marcht (auddöm 20, Ōtachi Audfort)
Höchstwärscheinlik tö …
Fylen: Emmet le Duc
Werden fylen: Änders Hanssen
Werden vängen: Marcus de Skool
Vörvängen: Ann-Claudie Uristssen
Schöten: Ayana Bailey
Scoren van när: Ayana Bailey
Scoren van fjär: Mark Blaas
Vörsöken de spectaculär: Marcus de Skool
Spilersrolln
Taamsleider: Robert-Jan van Daal
Viz-taamsleider: Emmet le Duc
Second viz-taamsleider: Fransien Larssen
Venster cornern: Christin-Marie Stephenssen
Recht cornern: Mark Blaas
Direct friekicken: Fransien Larssen
Indirect friekicken: Fransien Larssen
Penaltien: Ayana Bailey
Formatie (5-4-1)
——————————————————— Bailey ———————————————————
—— Stephenssen — De Skool — Larssen — Blaas ——
— Alting — Waus — Le Duc — Hanssen — Watkins —
—————————————————— Van Daal ——————————————————

Jie lese des pagine af Englisch — You are reading this page in English
ROYAL SOLTSTEEDISH FOOTBALL FEDERATION
YOUNG SOLTSTEED
Country code: SOL
Nickname: The Colts (De Völen)
National anthem: March of Triumph (Triomphemarsch)
Personnel
Manager: Maria Katsaros
Assistant Manager: Alexander Michelssen
Medical Lead: Janmat van de Dalen

Starting Eleven
Goalkeeper №1 Robert-Jan van Daal (age 21, Köninglik Veelheim)
Defender №2 Otto Alting (age 20, Spartans)
Defender №3 Madeleine Waus (age 20, Spartans)
Defender №4 Emmet le Duc (age 21, Ōtachi Audfort)
Defender №5 Änders Hanssen (age 19, Royal Michaeltown)
Defender №6 Ryan Watkins (age 20, Cherrgrove City)
Midfielder №7 Christin-Marie Stephenssen (age 20, Ōtachi Audfort)
Midfielder №8 Marcus de Skool (age 17, SIS FC)
Midfielder №9 Fransien Larssen (age 21, Köninglik Veelheim)
Midfielder №10 Mark Blaas (age 20, FC Nyvedorf)
Striker №11 Ayana Bailey (age 21, SIS FC)

Substitutes
Goalkeeper №12 Walter Davis (age 19, SIS FC)
Goalkeeper №13 Kurt Broderick (age 18, St George University)
Defender №14 Orestos Martinus (age 18, Royal Michaeltown)
Defender №15 Maxime Crabshaas (age 18, Ōtachi Audfort)
Defender №16 Johann Forrest (age 18, To Be Determined)
Defender №17 Carle Arkes (age 19, Sant-Claudie)
Defender №18 Simon Holst (age 21, Royal Michaeltown)
Midfielder №19 Kenneth Keane (age 21, St George University)
Midfielder №20 Ann-Claudie Uristssen (age 21, Köninglik Veelheim)
Midfielder №21 Elise-Marie Audershof (age 21, Royal Michaeltown)
Midfielder №22 Taylor Irvine (age 20, St George University)
Striker №23 Orestos de Marcht (age 20, Ōtachi Audfort)
Most likely to …
Foul: Emmet le Duc
Be fouled: Änders Hanssen
Be subbed out: Marcus de Skool
Be subbed in: Ann-Claudie Uristssen
Shoot: Ayana Bailey
Score from close range: Ayana Bailey
Score from long range: Mark Blaas
Attempt the spectacular: Marcus de Skool
Player roles
Captain: Robert-Jan van Daal
Vice-captain: Emmet le Duc
Second vice-captain: Fransien Larssen
Left corner kicks: Christin-Marie Stephenssen
Right corner kicks: Mark Blaas
Direct free kicks: Fransien Larssen
Indirect free kicks: Fransien Larssen
Penalties: Ayana Bailey
Formation (5-4-1)
——————————————————— Bailey ———————————————————
—— Stephenssen — De Skool — Larssen — Blaas ——
— Alting — Waus — Le Duc — Hanssen — Watkins —
—————————————————— Van Daal ——————————————————

by **Chromatika** » Mon May 01, 2017 5:37 pm

Five Storylines for DBC 60

1. Pressure on the Staff

With the results of the last DBC not being so great (Round of Sixteen exit for a Top 10 team is not acceptable), there is some talk that this will be the last chance for Jankovich and Anderson. Silian Parker is one for progress always, and there is talk that two University managers are not able to handle professional U-21s. Nothing short of a Quarterfinals finish or further will do.

2. Molly Thorben's Psyche

With her older brother having left the country for good, it should be interesting to see how Molly Thorben handles things. It was true that the two were never that close, but still, they were the only family they had... She will be called to do more this tournament, and her mindset will be tested.

3. Kaytlyn Victoriane: How will she handle success?

With Lammerton having taken her, Victoriane finally gets to be in the spotlight. Keira might be the striker of the national team, but Kaytlyn is definitely a key piece of the Chromatik future. She will be called up on to be the Captain this time and lead the team to victory.

4. Lightning

One of the brightest prospects of the country is Miranda "Lightning" Gail, who's just been signed by Tihon to replace Kaytlyn. Lightning has also learned to read of late after being held back at birth, and is one of the most avid readers the country has seen. Somehow, Chromatika has become a hotbed of strikers, and Lightning is one of them.

5. Who is Aide Mehdizade?

Who is Aide Mehdizade, and how did he get signed up by Slateport Bulls, a Valladar team? He is the best male prospect after Trenn Rien, and will try to complement Kaytlyn and Lightning up front.

As it can be seen, the strikers are the players to watch. Mia Ria will try to do her part, but it'll be all about how many goals they score...

by **Qasden** » Mon May 01, 2017 6:12 pm

The Ocelotius Tribe and Where they came from

Qasden, a world-renowned sports haven, has been a face of modernness of the new generation for AO. From sprawling cities to beautiful beaches, to the mountainous ski resorts and the humble farm towns, the 'pality has become a sports-lover destination on the rise. Generic Travel Magazine ranked Qasden as the third most romantic place within Qailpyme, behind Islana Lunigo (1st) and Mercredi (2nd). More to that here.

But what most people don't know about the nation these days is its origin. Pre-Qasden, Pre-Qasdonia, Pre-Feline Dynasty, the subregion that Qasden occupies was inhabited by a group of cat worshippers, also known as the Ocelotius Tribe today. In BCE times, the Ocelotius Tribe once thrived in the subregion, with good parent-to-child education and relationship, trade with one another, and overall tranquility. Together, they grew crops such as cat tails and maize, as well as fished for fresh salmon in many of Qasden's once-rivers. The Ocelotius Tribal Empire lasted for what seemed like eons before the arrival of the "foreign tourists".

Ancient rumors depict the idea that foreign settles arrived in the southern portion of the empire (around today's Port Harston) from the northern lands of Nojika and Nellietopia, whom soon grew to vast kingdoms compared to their size now. While a few skirmishes did occur between the Ocelotius and the settlers, they rather maintained a healthy relationship for many moons.

Decades had gone by before the Ocelotius officially fell into the influence of the foreign settlers, and soon began to radically transform their entire equilibrium. Thus, the Feline Dynasty was born. As the power of the tribe diminished over time, more and more natives began to protest the foreigners' treatment of their land. In Medieval Qasdonian times, the Ocelotius often acted as peasants or fools, desecrating their beliefs of good heart and loyalty to one's land.

As the Qasdonian times came to an end, the Ocelotius became the butt of every racist joke of the wealthy, and soon an uprising began, urging for the equality of all people in the newly formed Principality. Prince Frederick-Hans, the second prince of Qasden, saw the people's suffering to the wealth, and soon created the prime minister position as a way to give a more reasonable say from the lower classes.

20 years later, Shoto Jamankanantogotoa became the first Ocelotian prime minister of Qasden, giving many rights to the forgotten tribe and allowed them the land they have today.

Want more info on the Ocelotius Tribe? Check out our website right here.

by **Ceni** » Mon May 01, 2017 7:03 pm

DI BRADINI CUP 40 PREVIEW

Anglatia and Abanhfleft always thought that their teams were the best of the lot. The Valhallan Union (the larger entity containing famed footballing nation Polar Islandstates), Mytannion, and Darmen expected immediate success upon their return to international football. The Iron Syndicate felt that their fancy schmancy technology would set them above and beyond the mere muggles who didn't have access to twenty-seventh-century era technology. Pasarga hoped, but by no means expected, to win back-to-back titles that they denied Ceni the last edition around.

Ceni sought to disprove them all. Although they didn't have to worry so much about Anglatia (as the team didn't enter this edition) or the Redvale (the team that upset Ceni in the group stage last time around) this time, they are stuck in the hard top half again - in a group containing the Valhallan Union, Darmen, and Mytannion, teams with pedigrees dating back from before Ceni ever got out on the international sporting scene. If the team makes it out of this tough group stage, they can expect to face the legendary Iron Syndicate, envy of the seven suns (or not, depending on how you look at it), or, failing that, multiverse powerhouse Nephara, who aren't too shabby of a side themselves. If they manage to get out of the first elimination round, assuming they get out of the group stage in the first place, they should have a decently easy time in the quarterfinals, with teams from either Groups A or D such as the mighty Union of Socialist Alpine Republics or Gim, who apparently have impenetrable defenses that absolutely nobody can penetrate. In the semifinals, they could face another Group B team or even a Group C team, but let's cross that bridge when we get there.

And in order to get there, we have to get past the group stage. The team plays Darmen on the first day, and this team should be the easiest of the three that they will play in the group stage. They really don't have too many hot stars obvious from the get-go, and Ceni would be extremely disappointed to lose or draw to this team. Of course, considering Ceni's poor luck against these types of teams, it wouldn't be much of a surprise, although Cenian fans would, of course, be triggered at this development, and some pundits would argue that Ceni's team needs some serious reforms in case of a loss. They would probably be wrong, but an adverse result against Darmen would still be something that is not the best outcome for Ceni's team.

Ceni plays the Valhallan Union on the second day of the group stage, and this team gives the most worry to the Cenian team. With players like Arno Ziegenhagen, not to be confused with Ceni's own Chase Ziegenhorn, the team has a solid offensive base to draw upon. It's rumored that a Farf team is after Ziegenhagen, after many Farf commentators have simply gushed over the boy; players like Oscar Voss and Otto Nilsson are nothing to scoff at, either. The team plays a similar formation to Ceni, too, which means they may be able to attack Ceni where it really hurts and get right in the top spaces. Conversely, this means that Ceni could get right in with the Valhallan Union team as well, exploiting their weaknesses. This could be an interesting match, but definitely one to watch out for.

The Mytanar Region (known to most people simply as Mytannion, after the former nation that occupied its place) also has a fairly decent team. Zlatan Andrijasevic is a tall, pacy forward; Jezdimir Ocokoljic (believe me, this author did not type that name himself; he just copied it from the Mytanar football organization's website) who, according to the said website, will "find space where your defence believes there is none" and ruthlessly exploit said space. Of course, considering Ceni's defense isn't the hottest, people like however-you-spell-it will be finding plenty of space, and believe me, Peter Petrossian will probably know where it is. Then again, their fancy schmancy website doesn't say one word about their defense, so we can safely assume that Ceni's offense will penetrate it at least once.

Speaking of Ceni's team, this author thinks they actually may have a somewhat decent chance at doing alright this tournament. The team is heavily midfield-based, with only one forward (gasp! shock! it certainly is unusual for Ceni), but they make up for this with a stacking of resources in the midfield, and of course one of the beastest strikers playing in the tournament, at least in this author's opinion, Iain Cyn-Penzag. The midfield is pretty stacked too, with Asher Koromin and Xavi Caldera already having Cenian national team experience and caps. Gilead Val'Tor, if he can get over his inconsistency and easily angering, can be a beast attacking midfielder as well. However, the defensive midfield and defense is less stellar than the offense, but Ariana Guri-Montague and Joshua Kosokhan at least have some promise - if they can get to a league that has defensive play as its heart and soul, which can develop them even further.

So, Ceni's team could actually be somewhat decent. Probably not as decent as the Fleftic or Syndicate team make themselves out to be, but decent enough to make it out of the group stage. At least we think - who knows with all of these nations coming out of retirement seemingly JUST to challenge Ceni at this tournament. (OK, well, that probably isn't the real reason, but some people would still like to think that.) It seems, then, that only time will tell how Ceni does at this edition of the Di Bradini Cup.

by **-Anthor-** » Mon May 01, 2017 7:35 pm

Match Predictions
A Expectation and Preview of the Upcoming Performance; Anthor v Qasden

Well folks, in just a few hours we are going to be treated to international debut of the our own U21 National Team, which has declined to perform on the largest of all stages in the last few years because of the massive rebuild it was undergoing due to manager Vin Thurstan's large reforms that came sweeping in when he was hired three years ago. Thurstan really, when looking at this team is the reason for the large new, fresh look we get to see; if you've followed their open sessions for practice, you can see it follows the untraditional form of football in Anthor, a uniquely controlling team who won't outright barrage you with offense like Senades or Dienville, but rather they seek to dominate their performance in the possession they're allotted; they do strive to get that ball and get it moving forward, but in the matches they've won in the last 2 years, possession was either equal, or they had it the least, and yet still performed with what their gaffer calls "maximum efficiency in the time we're given."

Sounds like a man making the best with what he's given, which is a odd line to go with when one could argue with that he is gifted with some of the best Anthorans in generations; I mean first off, we can't even begin this conversation without mentioning Jack McCourt, the nineteen year old from the out of the way town of Yampwood has soared over any football fan's radar in the last two years when he was signed onto the second tier Silvermoor Rovers, and my gosh did he dominate with his Evans Cup performance this year; for the first time in hundreds of years of Anthoran football, the final in the Cup was between two lower tier teams, and while McCourt didn't walk away with the win in that battle, he certainly fought his best; capped in every game, at least 2 assists in each with the exception of the final, it was a very nice display.

And of course now, you also have Aneirin Masters, whose made some headlines as he fights across the pitch for Northborough, whose recently signed an affiliation contract with Ashingdon so depending on his performance in the coming weeks, you might see him get a senior cap sooner rather then later. Will also curious to watch Jessica Kelley and Maria Rye, the only two female starters in the starting eleven; while the sport has been integrated gender wise for 4 years now, the balance of female and male players is still heavily in favor of males, despite the legendary streak of Evesham's Jennifer McKenzie; she might be giving Jason Rigsby a run for his money in the Best Forward of the Century argument, but she's going to need fellow female superstars to help balance out the sport, and we might start to see the rise or beginnings of a few here in this international tournament.

The U21 team has their first fight on the Duran Palace pitch against Qasden, one of the newest rising international sensations; their senior national team shocked the world last year when they won the Cup of Harmony, amidst some tough competition, and their U21 is modeled around the typical model of being set to feed players directly into the national team, so it's safe to say these kids, like a certain Valenjin Munson are going to give Thurstan and his band a tough run of things, but the unusually stoic Kirkwaller has said he's more then comfortable with his team's performance, and has every confidence they're going to come away with a good battle in this showing - I guess we'll see about that won't we?

by **Pasarga** » Mon May 01, 2017 8:02 pm

Torgos Tribune ~ Fighting the Field

Two years ago in Valanora, a very much unheralded squad arrived for the DBC as something of a statement from the manager to those domestic managers back at home, that the young players of Pasarga deserved their time to play over foreign imports. That message was sent clearly as the Young Wanderers somehow went on a tear through the tournament and dispatched the holders in Ceni in the title match, much to the dismay of the world and especially the holders themselves who had believed the title was theirs when faced off against the Young Wanderers. Ironically it was one of the five foreign based players on that squad that was the catalyst for the Young Wanderers' success, as Claudio Romano burst onto the scene during the tournament, leading the squad's offensive line with a lethal force in front of net that once was foreign to Pasargan strikers but seems to be becoming increasingly common, with Romano and Jager two examples of this in the current squad. It certainly brought eyes to the striker as this summer he was bought from Quebec and to the strong Zozi side in Audioslavia where he looks to be the third choice striker.

The squad that comes to Valanora now two years later is mostly unchanged, with the exception of a few players who had grown to old, as well as Jager forcing out Arcuri from the quartet of strikers that was brought. However this squad is now two years older and many are now playing either as starters for their club's reserve sides or in the first team proper, in addition to having the experience of last tournament where they emerged as the champions. Though saying that, there is a difference as this tournament they arrive not without expectations but with a heavy burden of them, as many are now expecting the side to once more be a strong force in the competition and look to get to the semifinals at the least if not retain the crown. It is a task far easier to say than do though, with the Ceni side claiming they will have their revenge, as well as for the fact that the Young Wanderers showed that same Ceni squad exactly how difficult and tall a task of retaining the crown in the U21WC truly is.

The entire field of thirty-two that have made the trek to Valanora have a solid target for their sights and that target is squarely on the back on the Young Wanderers. It is a fair target and one that has been well earned, with the side winning two of the last three editions of the tournament and on paper having one of the most complete and talented sides of those assembled in the Eternal Empire. The last time the squad came in with such targets though, they crumpled under the pressure and did not even make it into the top three, where as Ceni was at least able to return once more to the title match even if they did fail in the ultimate goal of retaining the title. This is also a problematic trend not just for the U21NT but the senior team as well, as they have been unable to win back to back titles in either the regional competition nor the World Cup, despite having the best team in those tournaments after having won it the previous edition. While winning a title at all is something is to be celebrated, those who are truly great are those who find a way to defend their successes and that is something Pasargans have been unable to do in the international arena.

Their first hurdle though comes in the form of an interesting group, as the legendary side of Spaam has decided to send their squad into the fray and have been drawn with the Young Wanderers in Group G, which will see the group matches played in Raynor City and Longview. Joining Pasarga and Spaam in the group is HUElavia, a side who continues to participate but does not seem to be making any headway into becoming a force within the game or community, though one can not call into effort their determination for continuing despite the lack of success, as well as Soltseed, a name which is very unfamilar to those of us in the dual islands. That could prove to be the very thing that is the squad's undoing, for knowledge is half the battle and is quite a handy tool regardless of ones profession. The lack of knowledge here could undermine the staff's ability to prepare the side for their opposition, in that case they need to rely on the players themselves and the ability that they possess. With a title won and being made the bookie's favorites, that is a very handy fallback, yet can talent alone when not given a solid direction? Luckily the squad begins the tournament against HUElavia and will have scouting reports from the Spaam-Soltseed match to look after, which makes the outcome tip nicely back into the balance. The Angelotic Temple awaits the Young Wanderers and for the tournament to get underway in earnest,

by **Valanora** » Mon May 01, 2017 8:26 pm

Matchday 1

Group A
Boring Paradise 0–0 Taeshan
Union of Socialist Alpine Republics 2–2 Farfadillis

Group B
Ethane 3–3 Abanhfleft
The Iron Syndicate 3–2 Nephara

Group C
Ceni 1–0 Darmen
The Valhallan Union 0–3 Mytannion

Group D
Nellietopia 3–2 Eastfield Lodge
Eshan 0–1 Gim

Group E
Mercedini 2–2 Semarland
Damukuni 1–2 Super-Llamaland

Group F
Cosumar 2–0 Eura
Savojarna 0–5 Schottia

Group G
Soltsteed 1–2 Spaam
Pasarga 6–2 HUElavia

Group H
Anthor 0–1 Qasden
Chromatika 3–4 Osarius

by **-Anthor-** » Mon May 01, 2017 11:46 pm

Home Team Clubhouse, Duran Palace, Valanor
After the Match, 9:17 PM

Jack's deep blue eyes were solely focused on his locker, grabbing the charcoal colored button up shirt off of the lone hanger and threw it over his shoulders, slipping his arms through the sleeves and buttoning it up as his head was mostly trying to clear and settle itself after a match; regardless of the result, he also enjoyed the thrill of being on the pitch, the exhilerating pump of energy for ninety straight minutes, it was his favorite feeling in the world and he absolutely loved every second he was on the pitch. As he was half way through his buttons, he felt a hand clap him on the back and squeeze his shoulder and he briefly paused as he half turned his torso around to face his giant team-mate who played left wing for them, Benji. The man had already changed into his very causal clothes, though his beard and long hair were still shining underneath the lights, a testimony to the long showers they all took to briefly soothe the sore, tired muscles. "Good game Jack, I'll see you at practice tomorrow!"

Jack smiled "Yeah, maybe we can win next time too!"

Jack turned back to dressing himself and Benji stalked his way towards the doors out of the clubhouse, however as he got closer he noticed someone leaning up against the right door that was still shut, the left propped open. It was a woman, with fair white skin and flowing long hair half way down her torso, the deep brown color standing in contrast to the white colored door. He smiled as he walked closer to her, taking the time to stop and talk "Hey Jo! Waiting on Jack still? That man sure knows how to take his time getting dressed, he's nearly the last one to leave"

Jo looked up from the red smartphone she had been reading and smiled, and greeted Benji with a quick hug "Hi Benji, nice to see you. Nah, it's not because he's slow, he just doesn't want to leave."

Benji chuckled and shook his head "You know, most players would run out after a loss."

Jo let out a small laugh "Yes, but Jack isn't most players. He truly enjoys and absorbs every moment he spends here, because he had to fight so hard to get here. Most of you are fighting hard for spots on the national team or big clubs, but you get to know Jack, you realize that the man's already fought three wars to make it here."

10 years earlier
82 Beywold Hollow, City of Yampwood, Province of Steelmoor

Typically, even despite the conditions in the city of Yampwood, the sun would find a way to cast it's rays on the desperate denziens below; however, Mother Nature apparently wanted to further add to the dismal mood so rife across the city, and the dark clouds belched out their heavy rain on the cracked and ill-maintained roads, the half-dirt yards, the roofs with missing tiles, the shuttered buildings or those left in a half-finished state; no matter were you were in the city, you saw it. Much like the mood of most of the residents of Yampwood.

Our story travels back to a lonely two lane street, though you couldn't tell that because the line markers had long faded off, that branched off off a more trafficked county road, past a general store whose sign could no longer proudly declare what it was thanks to a lack of means to pay for new bulbs, vandalism and damage from weather systems so common to the Steelmoor province. The first you notice on this street, Beywold Hollow as one could half make out from a stop sign that had been cut down and now lay discarded and partially covered by the now forming mud, is that every house is painted the similar color; something that was once clean, pure white, but now replaced by cracks in the stone walls, removal of the exterior wood paneling, stains from weather damage, vandalism, or in the case of the two abandoned houses on the left, covered thoroughly in gang grafitti.

The particular house that is important to our story is the one at the end of the street, near where the road curves again so you could loop out of the street; the squat house would be your typical house in a middle income area, with the exception of it's dirt-grass yard, though the balance was heavily in favor of the dirt in less then recent years, the leafless trees on the property, the driveway occupied by a mud-stained red sedan, whose paint was fading into the realms of brown. All of these things played up to the realm of poverty that was reality for a majority of the residents of the city, but especially for the residents of this house; a Piers de Vere, his wife Kate and their young, seven-turning-eight today as he reminded everyone he could son, Jack. Despite the bleakness of their situation, Jack was one of the gems of the city, a ray of brightness much like the sun that was currently being blocked, and generally looked upon his life, however the quality, with cheer. His parents loved him dearly, his mother a nurse by education and housewife by economic situation, and his father who was a upper level employee with the local power plant that was a few miles outside of the city.

Today was Jack's eighth birthday, something that had him excited from the minute he woke up just five hours into the day, to get ready so he could smile his way through a silent car ride as his father drove him without a word to the brown brick building that served as a elementary school; that is, on the days the Piers came home from work, which wasn't often. However, today was and Jack was excited that he got to share his birthday with his friends at school, Nick, Jason and Paul, who all lived on the other side of Yampwood. They were a close group of boys, spending their time on the dirt yard by kicking around a heavily tattered leather ball that didn't really zip across the ground like it should, but it served it's purpose for keeping the idle group occupied as they briefly tossed it around at their hangout spot on the fallen tree, at the back of the yard where the fence was broken from the tree's fall. Nick in his typically crafty ways had managed to score himself a single soda bottle, from Mr. Yeager's desk no less! A high risk indeed, the principal was notorious among the children, but Nick claimed it was worth it for his friend's birthday; after all, you were eight now, a very important age.

Indeed, Jack was looking forward to sharing his day with his mother, Kate, when he walked the nine blocks along the shuttered and disparate city streets, past all the storefronts, smashed windows and gated yards; oh, his mother. He loved both of his parents, or at least he did in his heart, but it was his mother who he truly connected with. Her warm brown eyes just seemed to come out and hug you every time, and her hugs to say the least, were of top notch stuff. He liked his father, or at least he tried to; every one of his friends loved their dads, but he found the cold, quiet and often absent man....off putting in an eight year old's sort of way.

As he round the corner to his street, his dark blue eyes were busy taking in the revealing, rolling cracked sidewalks, the large and wide slabs often covered in dozens of cracks that were then filled in with green weeds or dirt, and he found all the combinations of color interesting. He hoped in his head that the oven was working, and the power on, because all of last week it had been out; it was cool getting to use candles everywhere, and his mom just said it was a issue that the power company was working on, but for some reason his dad always glared at her when she said that.

As he approached his house, he left the sidewalk, leaving his feet in their black canvas shoes to crunch across the yard, leaving behind footprints in the mud that were quickly filled in with water, and soon brought himself before the faded brown-painted oak door, the golden handles long worn to a much darker color. As his hands reached up to grab the handles, his ears immediately picked up on the shouting coming from inside, at first a confusing jumble of noises so he slowly opened the door and quietly tip-toed inside, and snuck behind the half wall near the door to listen to what was coming from the living room just through the hallway and down, picking up on his mother shouting in that odd language that he heard his father spoke from time to time; mother said it was the language from where his dad's family came from, but he found it odd on the ears "Piers! Regarde moi! Regarde moi! "

His father's shouting ceased for a moment, ushering in a what he knew to be a misleading period of silence; their fights usually went this way, loud, quiet, loud, a bad cycle. Now, he could hear his mother trying to speak calmly "Piers, shouting won't fix anything, and little Jack will be coming home soon, we don't need him to hear about this in this way."

Despite what he knew was his mother's best efforts, his father resumed shouting, per usual "Well damnit Kate, he might as well know! I mean the whole bloody street can find out for all I fucking care! We're officially in the same mess as the rest of them! His life is gone, our life is gone, OUR WHOLE FUCKING WORLD IS GONE!"

A crashing noise was heard, something Jack would much later find out was his father kicking a table across the room for it to hit the wall and break, and his mother was quickly responding "Hey! Okay, so the plant is closing, but you can find something else, we can move somewhere or you can go out and find the job and we'll join you there once you can afford it, or can't they transfer you? You've been a manager there for years, surely they value that!"

"They don't FUCKING CARE that they're ruining our lives Kate! Fuck the people, fuck the workers, we're just going to close the plant, lay every one off and heehehe, continue with our fancy parties in clubs in Tharsius or our lavish offices in Vaumort."

Another sound, this one Jack knew well, as it was another instance of his father's favorite move; chucking something out of a window.

" Stop that Piers!"

" Stop what?! We might as well, who fucking cares, I'm sure the bank is already sending someone for the house, that shitcan we call a car, there's no fucking way out of this Kate!"

This fight unfortunately resulted in the usual rhythm of Jack's parental fights, which they thought they hid from him, either because he was "at school", or "surely sleeping", but no, Jack saw or heard these fights, or often, was involved in them. The fights never solved much, and usually went the way of his father complaining of something, without offering solutions or rejecting any his mother offered, and a whole lot of shouting, physical fighting, or destruction. This particular one was interesting, that his father no longer had a job after many years of hard work; as Jack would learn when he was older, the power company had built a fancier, nuclear power plant in the neighboring province and shuttered all "conventional" plants, laying off hundreds of workers in the already economically depressed province.

The result of this fight was that Jack spent his birthday celebrating with himself, and the half finished glass bottle of soda in his dark room, as the lights had mysteriously turned off a few hours into the night; his mother had quietly slipped a candle into his room, but that night, staring long at the shaggy carpet or the red painted walls, he made himself a promise; once he grew up, he was going to be better. He would never live like this again, and nor would his family.

A week later, his father reportedly took a job in a town called Chesterfield with a local government service, but his mother and him were to stay at the house until his father could afford to move them out there, as it was two provinces to the north.

by **Savojarna** » Tue May 02, 2017 5:42 am

SavojarSports.sj - inside reports from all Savojarna
SSA reveals roster for the 40th Di Bradini Cup!

ROSTER
Style: -1.5
Formation: 4-2-3-1

STARTING XI
GK #1 Mikael Gustafsson (21)
LB #19 Alexander Mikhailov (20)
CB #5 Anton Jacobsen (21)
CB #4 Juha Teronen (20)
RB #2 Sigurdur Arjonsson (19)
DM #6 Valentin Ljungberg (20)
DM #8 Viktor Antonsson (21)
LM #14 Valtteri Perkka (21)
OM #10 Henrik Palmkvist (21)
RM #23 Roman Debreshenko (21) - C
ST #3 Joni Virtanen (20)

SUBSTITUTES
CM #7 Harald Barnerud (20)
ST #9 Arvid Jotansson (19)
RM #11 Sergey Razin (21)
GK #12 Esko Nurminen (19)
CB #13 Terje Landman (17)
DM #15 Pavel Malakhin (21)
LM #16 Kasperi Lehtonen (18)
RB #17 Balder Storberg (21)
CB #18 Matias Rydman (19)
OM #20 Andrey Ishkurin (20)
GK #21 Johan Jacobsson (17)
LB #22 Lars Jensen (20)

ROLES
Captains: Roman Debreshenko - Anton Jacobsen - Valentin Ljungberg
Direct free kicks: Valtteri Perkka
Long free kicks: Valtteri Perkka (left/center) / Valentin Ljungberg (right)
Corner kicks: Alexander Mikhailov (left) / Roman Debreshenko (right)
Penalty kicks: Joni Virtanen

RP PERMISSIONS
Scoring Events: Y
Godmod Score Events: N
Injure my players: Y (not more than 2 per game and not more than one game-missing injury per match, none for longer than rest of tournament)
God mod injuries: N
Yellow Card my Players: Y (with reason)
Red Card my Players: Y (telegram me first)
Godmod any other events: N
Violence against Savojar fans: Y, but be assured that we fight back hard and no Savojar will ever use dishonest fighting technics. Savojars love a good face-to-face brawl, but everyone who keeps battling a beaten opponent or attacks an unsuspecting person is seen as the lowest of the low in our culture.

Generally, (light) exemptions of these permissions are granted if you TG me beforehand. I'm open to collaborative RP if you ask about it as well.

by **Gim** » Tue May 02, 2017 6:01 am

The goal highlight showcases the skill level of Ha Bo Hyeon, a 14-year-old, a top prospect.

by **The Iron Syndicate** » Tue May 02, 2017 7:38 am

Generation Next

Chapter Two: Villains

“Who knew that people could have so much hate for someone that they don't know?” asked Owen de Vos, as the Ironite flight landed in Valanora and the players started through the airport to the sight of both fans and protesters waiting for them. The protesters, of course, were here against Owen because of his controversial selection, and the way that he would be representing the nation while being under investigation by the police for domestic violence and after previously being arrested for involvement with a murder that hadn't happened far from his home. The talented national academy attacking midfielder had been selected regardless, and the groups that were protesting against him were diverse.

There were normal fans who didn't want to see this kind of person representing the country to the rest of the world, there were feminists who already didn't like the masculinity of the national sports that the Syndicate had invested in recently, who were here to protest both that and his selection, and who were using Owen as a living example of why they thought that sports weren't a good thing for the country to support and invest in, and there were also media members standing with the protesters and taking pictures during the whole thing, and gathering statements that would soon be published on the front pages of the news sites. It was impossible to keep a low profile, but Owen had never been the type to try.

Of all of the protesters, the few that were actually dangerous were definitely the ones associated with the Feminist League, which was linked with terrorist group Pink Front, the one that had already caused havoc for the Syndicate by kidnapping star rugby union player Shaun Draco, who had been used as a bargaining chip to attempt to convince the government to release the Pink Front prisoners that were being held in a maximum security prison. They were not just normal protesters but were dangerous and had been labeled a terror organization because of it, but it looked like they hadn't went away completely. No, the black shirts and pink jackets of the people that were gathering in the airport and waiting for the Syndicate team to head to their train identified them as either being members of that group, or sympathizes of them, and they were definitely here because of Owen.

There were others, too, including some people wearing black shirts saying ‘De Vos For Prison’ on the front in white lettering, and there were also other protesters who weren't tied to one group but who were still mad about this boy being called up and apparently given a starting role with the new youth team. “Just keep your head down and ignore them. Last thing you want to do is provoke them further, knowing how dangerous they are,” said goalkeeper Chiara Altera, keeping her own head down and pulling a hood over it as she walked next to Owen. “We don't want any repeats of the Rugby Union World Cup, and we don't want any more controversy…”

“You've known me long enough to know that I don't do that,” said Owen, and as they were walking by and the protesters were shouting at him and making themselves visible to the cameras, Owen turned to them and held up two middle fingers, staring down the person who he believed was the leader of those protests. There were heated words exchanged and the group of players stopped and watched as their teammate went back and forth with the crowd that had assembled and as things grew closer to turning into a real and physical confrontation, and some of the players got ready to step in. But then, Owen made eye contact with the Iron Sport reporter that had run the segment that condemned him before there was even a trial, Thea Daems. “Hey, Thea! You still think that I'm guilty with no trial and no process? You want to say that to my face?”

“I do think that you're guilty, because it doesn't take a court ruling to show that you did what you were accused of! The evidence is right out there for everyone to see!” claimed Thea, and that was when Owen dove towards the crowd and had to be held back by Chiara, who felt responsible for keeping her friend out of more controversy and trouble. “You can't avoid justice forever, Owen!”

“Justice isn't condemning someone based on a few pictures with no context or background!” Owen shouted back, and the war of words was going strong once again. “If it wasn't for Chiara being here and holding me back, I'd make you look way worse than Hailey did in those photos!”

“Hey, let’s calm it down over here!” shouted Alexis Valente, who would likely be the main striker of the team when it was all said and done. The small striker pushed herself in between Owen and the crowd and tried to break things up and keep them from escalating anymore, and she gestured to settle things down. “Thea, maybe you should consider that when you accuse people of crimes on national television without a solid basis, they're going to get upset and it might not be a good idea to show your face to them. Owen, hitting someone and proving them right about you is the worst thing that you can do in this situation, and you don't need any more controversy than you already have. Let's all walk away, before this gets any worse than it has to be.”

“I don't like letting someone get away with slander like this. She's not just saying this now, she said the same things on TV on a station watched by millions of people,” Owen said, even though he finally started walking away, flanked by the rest of the players that were finally heading towards their train outside. The protesters kept shouting, but the players ignored them this time and kept going towards the outside of the airport, and they didn't have to wait far to reach the train that was heading further into the city, where they would be staying for now.

“It's a lose-lose situation for you,” sighed Chiara, boarding the train behind him and sitting down next to him by the window. “Sure, you could have knocked her on her back and made a point if you really wanted to, and you could have argued back and forth with the protesters, but if they're trying to call you a violent criminal, it's going to hurt you more to prove them right than it would hurt you to let them keep talking and repeating what they keep saying, regardless of the truth. You think I like Thea Daems more than you do or something? Because the answer is hell no. She wrote a hit piece on me about a week ago because of my association with you. But giving her more ammo to work with isn't a good idea.”

“God, I hate these people,” muttered Owen, as the players finished boarding the train and the doors closed, with the vehicle beginning to move slowly and picking up speed. “Don't they realize how haunted I am every day by the past? They feel the need to keep reminding me of how things went, for some reason? I'm trying to move forward and do better, but they sure as hell aren't helping me by trying to use the past to condemn me before they even hear from a judge… I hope someday, they're in the same position, where the whole story isn't out there and everyone's set on attacking them anyway.”

~

There were many positions on the staff of the new youth national team that was arriving in Valanora for the fortieth Di Bradini Cup, but one of the most peculiar was the position of Priest. More specifically, it was the position of Iron Church Priest, because even though the nation was officially not religious, there was still a clear largest church and there was still some connection between church and state. And because of that connection, there was a Priest and his assistant accompanying the team on their travels, for the reason of making sure that the players and the staff felt at home while they were away with the team.

According to Chase Dekker, the game was more mental than it was physical and the team that had the mental advantage was usually the one that would get a result, no matter what the odds actually said. But while every manager would claim to care about the mental side of the game, most weren't willing to go to far lengths once they realized that it was harder than they had initially thought to get the mental state of their players to a good place, and they didn't want to make it their main philosophy. Chase had always been different in that he prioritized his squad harmony and mental ability over more simple things such as tactics and athleticism, and that was how he had consistently achieved better performances in Silvershire and taken them to the upper mid table.

Now, his philosophy had led to the Iron Church being linked to the team, and the arrival of two staff members. Priest Randall Zavaleta, and Junior Priestess Fenna Blok. Randall was the more experienced of the two and had formerly worked in the hills of northern Ceres and in the rich suburban branch of the church that was located there, and Fenna was a younger college student from the heights of Southwest Portus, the area near the ports that saw a very large amount of people crammed into an amount of space that wasn't that big, in high rise apartments and even some underground housing. Randall knew more of the traditions and practices of the church and Fenna was more relatable for the young players of this squad, and so it turned out that she was the first one to have a player come to her about something.
That player wasn't who she expected. She never expected the now famous villain of the team to come to her hotel room less than a day after they had arrived in this country, asking her if she had time to sit down with him and run one of the memory sessions, as they were called by the church. More commonly, however, the sessions were known as therapy, because that was what the sessions were in their purest form. Fenna Blok had never expected Owen de Vos to come to her door and ask her if she had time for that, but even though she found herself almost star struck by the star attacking midfielder, she managed to nod and wave him inside. “Are you with the Iron Church, or…?”

“No. My sister, Mia, has been with it for awhile though and she told me that you guys are good with… She called it therapy, said that it was some kind of memory session that's supposed to put me at peace with the past,” Owen replied, walking in and setting his backpack down at the door, and sitting down at one of the chairs behind Fenna’s desk by the window, where there was some kind of machine set up. That was where they did the therapy, he believed, and he was right.

The machine was pretty simple, with two metal rods that were connected to it by cables, and a screen on either side that showed the readings from the rods. It looked advanced in a way, but really, it worked with a simple method, the rods picking up an electric current when gripped that moved a needle on the screens. According to the church, the needle could read emotion, and was used to tell if someone was able to successfully move past negative thoughts and memories. “She sent you to the right place. Our specialty is self improvement through the curing of traumas. Do you need me to explain how it all works?”

“No, Mia told me the basics. I'm just going to sit down and you're going to ask me some questions and look at what that machine does, right?”

“Yes, that's the procedure. The machine is called a meter, and to put it simply, it measures the mass of your thoughts when you hold the rods,” said Fenna, and then she sat down across from Owen, smoothing her blonde hair back and looking over the boy that was in front of her. “When you're ready, just pick the rods up, and I'll start with some basic questions. Oh, and it’s standard procedure for you to close your eyes during this.”

Owen closed his eyes, and picked up the two rods. He wasn't sure about how accurate the science was, but he had promised Mia that he would have an open mind, and so he didn't say anything. “Ready.”

“Alright. Well, Owen… Let’s begin with an easy question. What bothers you the most? I know you've had a lot of trouble with different things throughout your life, but right now, what's the one thing that bothers you more than anything? You don't have to answer immediately.”

There were a few seconds of silence, and Owen kept his eyes closed as he pondered the answer. “Love. I would say that love bothers me more than anything, because I had it in the past and now I'm missing it.”

“Why do you say that you once had love and that you're missing it?”

“Because… I was sure that me and my ex, Hailey Maren, were going to be together forever. We were as close as a couple could be for a bit, and then it all blew up in our faces and we both did things that we regret. I'm not the best when it comes to keeping relationships good-”

“Wait a minute, stop. The needle just picked something up, and it looks like it wasn't because of what you just said. What did you think about just now, when you mentioned losing relationships?”

Owen paused, searching his own mind for the answer. “I just thought of my family, and not having good relationships with my parents or most of my other relatives. You might have heard, but I left home early and I hadn't returned there for a long time, not until a little while ago, in fact, when we had an off day at the Forge.”

Fenna nodded, and took a few notes. “Okay, let's talk about that. Because it looks like deep down, some of your problems lie in the past and have roots in your family. We’ll see if that's the case, and we can try to remove those memories from your reactive mind, which means that they won't come back and affect your behavior without you realizing it. A lot of our bad decisions and troubles are because of our reactive minds dredging things up from the past and letting it affect us without us knowing, but that's why we have the church. We heal people by moving those memories back from the reactive mind, the one that brings problems back up, to the analytical mind, the one that lets you think clearly. And while it will likely take multiple sessions, we can try to do that with you…”

“Right, let's get to it, then,” said Owen, finally opening his eyes and making eye contact with the girl across the desk from him for the first time since starting the session. With the Nephara match looming on the horizon, the last thing that Owen needed was to be in a bad state of mind for it, and hopefully this would have some effect… He wasn't the religious type of person and he didn't have much experience with this church, but if this was supposed to help him move on and if it was supposed to clear his mind before the match, he was willing to give it a chance. After all, it was a lot of pressure going onto the shoulders of a nineteen year old academy player, and even while being stars because of the media coverage of them, the players of the youth team and of the Generation Next team were still human.

~

While Owen was with Fenna after training, the rest of the star group of players were gathering in the room of Chiara Altera, for a late lunch and a few moments of relaxation before they would soon be thrust into the spotlight when they went out to play Nephara in their opening match. These players had formed, based on knowing each other outside of the national team, something of a clique of some of the best and most gifted, that was also made up of players who were looked up to as leaders in some means. And Chiara, she was the unofficial head of this group. “I see Silas, Jon, and Alexis, but where's Owen?” she asked, looking away from the television at her teammates that had just entered the room.

“No clue, he ducked out of training a little bit early,” shrugged Alexis Valente, setting down her backpack and pointing it out to the others. “I do know that I brought the ‘refreshments’ though. Coach doesn't want us getting turned up on game day, but he said nothing about the couple of days before the match. I have Luxus Grass, and some things that are more acidic if that's what ya’ll prefer.”

“Perfect,” said Silas de Jong, who had his own bag that had food instead of drugs and drinks. “Oh, and Chiara, I believe Owen said he was going to see that Priestess that's traveling with us, Fenna something. He said he was going to try to clear his mind because he couldn't get focused for the match, and that his sister Mia told him that the church could help.”

Chiara raised an eyebrow, looking momentarily upset before her face returned to its normal calm expression. “The Iron Church is pseudoscientific bullshit,” she stated flatly, rolling her eyes slightly. “Of course he decides to hang out with the cute blonde, too… And of course he doesn't bother to tell me that he's doing that, he acted like he was going to come here with the rest of us. What a great friend, eh?”

“Jealous much?” asked Jon Laxalt, taking this as a chance to sit down next to Chiara on her bed and caress her shoulder. “And the church isn't as bad as people say. Yeah, they have some weird theories, but I know people that genuinely feel better because of their teachings and practices-”

Chiara smacked his hand away from her shoulder, folding her arms and clenching her teeth. “Owen is just so frustrating sometimes. I stick with him through the accusations and controversy and stuff and he can't even repay me by hanging out like the rest of you are doing-”

“There's more fish in the sea, Chi,” Jon said, before Chiara elbowed him hard in the stomach and glared at him.

“Leave it, Jon. Can't you see that she's feeling betrayed right now? It doesn't seem like a big deal to you, but she's in pain,” Alexis replied, somewhat defensively of her friend, and she found a bottle of vodka in her bag and tossed it across the room to Chiara. “Catch!”

The keeper looked up just in time to see the bottle flying towards her, and snatched it out of the air with one hand before cradling it close to her body as if she had just made a big save. “Your aim is shit, Lex,” she said, before uncapping the bottle and taking it to the head, only lowering it after a few seconds and then coughing from the way that it burned her throat.

“How can you do that?” Silas asked, sounding genuinely curious. “That bottle is from Red Hill… Shit’s strong, yo. It's impressive that you lasted that long before coughing.”

“How do I do it? Well, to start off, I've had a lot of disappointments,” Chiara replied, taking a few more sips before capping the bottle and setting it down on the floor. “Yeah, it burns, but at some point the vodka will ease more pain than it causes.”

Alexis shot Chiara a sympathetic look, with an understanding that the others didn't seem to have. This, of course, was because of their history before Chiara was with the Forge and before Alexis had moved to Independent for big money, and even before Alexis was a player in the youth system of Central Portus. No, they knew each other because of growing up in the same bad neighborhood and playing for the same elite junior team, the Portus Park Harlequins, who were the junior affiliate of Academy United. “Chi, if you never get going with Owen like you obviously want to, remember that I'm always here for you and remember that I swing both ways,” she said, causing a few snickers among the others.

“Feeling thirsty, Alexis?” asked Jon, still sitting next to Chiara on her bed. “All of you from Portus need to pick a side and stick with it,” he added, referring to the way that Portus had a certain kind of urban liberalism that saw the city behave very… Libertarian. Not only was it the head of the Minarchist Party, but the city was known for being very open to a lot of different things, ranging from different sexualities to the legalization of almost every substance to freedom of speech that often went to extremes and had on some occasions in the past protected actual terrorists.

“Says the guy who had a boyfriend for a couple of years before coming to fame in Mezina. You seem interested in a Chloe Catori, and yet it's not that hard to find pictures of you with your old boyfriend… What do you know about picking a side and sticking with it?” Alexis fired back, her voice razor sharp. If a cutting tone could actually cut, Jon likely wouldn't have survived that remark.

“Pictures can be taken out of context, and at least I'm not taking advantage of my good friend feeling down about her crush so I can make moves on her-”

“Then why were you just sitting on her bed and rubbing her shoulder?”

“Oh my god, shut the fuck up!” Chiara snapped, tired of hearing her friends going back and forth. “You guys don't even know for certain if I like Owen like that or not, and it's not going to make me like you more if you go back and forth with each other over stupid shit like this and try to fight over me! Alexis, you have a nice body and you're one of the most confident people I know, but just because I'm from Portus doesn't mean I swing both ways. Jon, you're hilarious sometimes and you have a good heart if someone is willing to look past the occasionally annoying exterior, but also remember that I would be embarrassed to date someone with a body like yours. You're practically a skeleton, and a very short one at that. Anyway, the point is, I like both of you and it hurts to see you taking shots at each other, so please don't do that. Understood?”

“Crystal clear,” Alexis said, while Jon was silent and seemed insulted by the description that Chiara had given of him. “Let's talk about something else then, something that's not about Owen or about you. The match, let's talk about that. Because right now, that's the only thing we should be worrying about…”

~

The atmosphere when the Black Arrows came out to face Nephara in their opening match was much more intense than anything most of the players were used to, as youth prospects. The Iron Guard had brought about ten thousand traveling fans from the islands and the first thing the players noticed when they came out was the amount of banners hanging over the advertising boards at the closest goal, and the noise and color of the fans. There were flags being waved, copper colored smoke drifting from the stands to the pitch and giving the whole area a ghastly appearance because of the thin level of smoke on the pitch, and the fans had been banging at the drums since before the players entered the pitch.

And when they did enter, the place erupted. The stars of the Syndicate were met by applause and song, as the self proclaimed Orange Army picked up the noise levels and made it sound like it was the middle of the match, not before. When the players started their warmups, the fans went into another chant, a call and response one between two groups, and it made it feel like the stands were going to shake down. “Who are we!? Who are we!? We are the boys! WE ARE THE BOYS! We're from the Iron Guard and we’re gonna make some some noise! MAKE SOME NOISE! You're our boys! YOU’RE OUR BOYS! And you will see! AND YOU WILL SEE! We’ll sing the famous Arrows onto victory! TO VICTORY!”

As if the stand wasn't already rocking from the supporters, the whole group by the front of the stand started jumping too, making an interesting visual effect. The chant turned into a bunch of oles and jumping, and some of the players, including Chiara Altera, turned to the stand and applauded, because for them, this was all new. Soon enough, they would finish their warm up and they would line up for the anthems, before the captains shook hands and both sides returned to their ends of the pitch and got in formation for kickoff. The crowd was in full voice, the game was being broadcast on public television, and all of the friends and the families of the players would be watching.

No pressure.

When the match kicked off, it began with the Syndicate taking their game to the opponent and not letting the Nepharim team get settled at all. They chased Kubala and Aschenbach all over the midfield when they had the ball and didn't allow them to look for chances to pass to their teammates, and while Nephara was known for their strength and for their strong tackling, that was what the Ironite players used against them early on. The first real chance of the match came only five minutes after it began, when Juna Shine took on Starling prospect Evangeline Aschenbach in a one on one battle and won the ball before lobbing it over the top to Silas de Jong, who wasn't able to turn and strike the ball with the front of his boot to keep it from hitting the crossbar.

Still, the crowd applauded and acknowledged the effort that their team was putting in early, and the players fed off of the energy and doubled down as the adrenaline continued pumping early and the clock continued to tick up. It would be eight minutes into the match when Nephara finally got off a shot, but it was a far out one from Tristan Lovelock that would easily be parried out to the back line by Chiara Altera, who then pointed out where the center defender should have been and made sure that everyone knew about her disappointment. She was like a general, moving around her three defenders and making sure their spacing was perfect to make up for the lack of a fourth defender, and even during the times when Chloe Catori shifted position as a libero and left her with two true defenders, she stayed perfectly calm.

And that calm was what would get them their first goal. Tristan Lovelock had another chance after winning the ball between the midfield and defense, and he would pass a through ball behind Chloe Catori to Coppinger, taking advantage of Chloe not being able to turn her body in time to pick up another mark and block the ball. Coppinger would fire a shot off of the hands of Chiara, but as the two forwards charged in to try to pressure her as she went to collect the ball, she was able to pull off a skillful trick to get away from Lovelock before sending the ball into the midfield with a long kick.

Reinhard Li Fonti won the aerial duel with Ferenc Kubala, and then held off the box to box midfielder before passing to Ibrahim Mertens on the left flank, who went forward while the three main attackers also started to set up in and around the box, spreading out to challenge the defense. The Nepharim team was only just now getting back from their earlier attack, and Ibrahim was able to whip a low cross into the box that at least one player would get too….

And that player turned out to be Alexis Valente, who was able to keep the ball down and strike it just under the bar to go up one to nil, eleven minutes in. She looked shocked that her shot had made it into goal, and upon hearing the roar of the crowd behind them, she crossed herself and pointed to the sky, celebrating simply and walking back to the center circle as if she had been here and done this many times before. “Lex… Lex will tear you apart, again!” the fans in the Iron Guard shouted, as the celebration died down and the players returned to their positions.

“Nice goal,” remarked Owen de Vos, who had went for the cross but who hadn't been able to reach it before Alexis did. “Let's get another one before the half and put this thing on ice before they can gather themselves…”

But he didn't know that they wouldn't be the ones striking before the half. The next stretch of the match would see them reverting to their possession based style and would see them keeping the ball away from their opponent, but they wouldn't be able to break down the defense when it was in position and they would struggle to connect the midfield and forwards. Their opponents would be the ones to draw blood next, and it would be another pass from Lovelock to Brigitte Coppinger. Except this time, she would turn on her heel and shoot around Chloe Catori and into the corner of the net, where Chiara couldn't reach.

“Step it the fuck up, Chloe!” Chiara shouted, grabbing her central defender by the shoulders and shaking her as she stared into her face, glaring at her. “Enough mistakes! If we lose this match, all the blame is going on you for all of these stupid mistakes and bad positions that you keep putting yourself in. Is it that hard to stay in position and pick up the forwards on time?”

“She's trying hard, Chiara,” said Jon Laxalt, Chloe’s club teammate. “Sometimes she's practically on an island against two forwards, there's bound to be mistake-”

“Try harder!” Chiara demanded, shoving Chloe hard in the chest and stepping back between the posts as the others watched the encounter. It was this disagreement and this disunity that would allow them to concede their second goal of the game. The first for Nephara had come in the thirty eighth minute, but the second would come close to stoppage time, in the forty fourth.

Chiara would once again have a back line that wasn't in the mood to listen to all of her instructions, and Harper Smekel would charge forward far too far on the attack, allowing Kubala to win the ball and set up Aschenbach to make a pass downfield to Lovelock, who trapped the ball in space and then shot the ball from the edge of the box before anyone could close down on him, with Harper not being in position. Chiara had gotten a hand on the shot but hadn’t been able to keep it out of the back of the net, and suddenly, the Black Arrows were down for the first time in the match. “I've got no words for you all! If you three want to be the reason that we lose, so be it! Harper, you weren't in the right position, and a Chloe and Julius should have covered when they saw that you weren't there. We're never winning anything playing like this…”

And so they would go into halftime down 2-1 after their great early performance, and they would receive a team talk from Chase Dekker about none other than unity and playing like one team, not a bunch of individual players who happened to be wearing the same shirt. This wasn't street football, he had told them. Teamwork was important and if everyone continued to do their own thing, they would get torn to shreds in the second half by a higher ranked team that was now motivated well after getting two goals somewhat easily to go up at the half. When the players came back out, they were determined to apply the points from that team talk and play like they had in the early match: as one unit, one aggressive unit that never let their opponents get comfortable with the ball and that was always looking for the big chance to score.

That was how they would have to play if they were going to win, and that was how they came out in the second half, pressing again and trying to control all of the possession by cutting off angles and using their large midfield to hold the ball for long stretches before getting it upfield. Early in that half, they had a number of different chances despite their possession phase being slower and keeping them from getting the ball forward too quickly. Owen de Vos had hit the bar, Silas had put a shot wide of goal, Alexis had been brought down in the box without a penalty. But the golden chance that would result in a goal would come from a moment of brilliance from Owen.

He found himself with the ball at his feet in the area around the box, and Konrad Vornander coming after him, but he would knock the ball through the legs of the center back and surge forward, before taking advantage of the defense keying in on him to make a pass to Silas, who was just onside and who was able to rush for the ball and tap it into the goal as Rustwyth focused on coming out to stop Owen from walking the ball into goal. That was an impressive looking sequence that had gotten the crowd on their feet, and now, it looked like they had a game on their hands once again. The Arrows were making less mistakes that hurt themselves, and now, they were the side that could sense the reluctance and doubt in the opposition as the more famous nation failed to put them away.

The winner, however, would come late. It would be the seventy eighth minute, and Chase Dekker would finally send his team forward after having them control most of the possession since their goal, pressing when the other team had the ball and trying to win it back and get it back into the midfield as soon as possible. But there weren't obvious cracks in the defense to exploit, and Chase had told his team to step up the attack late and spend less time trying to possess the ball, because in this match, a win would be a much better result for them in the standings than a draw would be.

And that was how Owen de Vos once again found himself in an attacking position, after receiving a pinpoint pass from Juna Shine on the other side of the pitch that forced the defense to rapidly switch to cover the other end. He was matched up against the older Lux Vicelich, and he approached slowly, not revealing what he planned to do with the ball. And when the left back lunged in for a hard tackle, he knocked the ball to the inside and chased after it, managing to evade the tackle completely and setting himself up with a good chance to shoot or pass. But seeing that Vornander would be able to block a potential shot, he waited for the defender to commit to the block before pulling the ball to his other foot and rifling a left footed shot into the upper corner of the goal, that would once again send the crowd into a frenzy.

While the crowd went crazy and his other teammates looked for him for a celebration, he just ran to the sideline where the cameras were and posed for them, before turning and saluting the crowd. “Goal, for the Iron Syndicate!” announced the stadium addressor. “Scored by number eight… Owen de Vos!”

The Iron Guard cheered, and some of the neutral fans and a lot of the opposition fans whistled because of his reputation, and even some of the Syndicate fans that weren't there under the banner of the Guard whistled him. But he just waved his arms upwards, telling them to jeer louder. He was turning into a villain, yes, and maybe one of the biggest villain figures in the tournament, but that was fine. Because he was also a leader, and he was also a winner.

by **Nellietopia** » Tue May 02, 2017 1:29 pm

"The Hatchery is working at 34% efficiency. We are experiencing such a shortfall in nellyings that if this continues, with the present mortality rate among established adults, we may actually have a population decrease for the first time in our history." The nurse was clearly distressed as it explained the predicaments. Its frustrations were so borne out that its fuzzy spines began to fall off spontaneously without any leg rubs. The air became thick with irritating spines. "And you're recommending that we spend extra time to raise nellyings that play football? I thought that experiment was halted! It cost us too many nellies, and for what gains? So we could send priceless younglings to fight a battle of balls against hairless bipedal apes?!? WITH SPIKEY FEET?!?" The nurse calmed down. "Apologies for my outburst. I just find our efforts to raise the next generations sometimes - ignored by the mainstream. They little realize how much effort it takes to find healthy stocks of nellies to lay eggs and raise our young."

"No worries." The voice spoke with eloquent calm. "I think you will find in us extreme support for your endeavors. Indeed, there is an expatriate community with fertile genes that have adapted to the stomping feet of anthropes. This program will succeed on their contributions."

"Begging your pardon, but the last time I found 'fertile genes' from outside the Enclave was years ago, and it was easily snuffed out when we invaded the goats on boats. Or whatever mess that was. The Hatchery has benefited from our combined intellect of the past centuries - the finest hatching techniques, the most excellent facilities to nurse our nellyings, and the most engaging formation to educate and mature our young for the mainstream community. You can't just convert any part of our faculty to accommodate a new program, 'fertile genes' or not." The nurse scuttled along to adjust the eggs, settled into neat rows upon soft purple silk. A natural hazy glow of sunlight permeated the thin strands. That light had likely traveled miles form the solar farm where silk fibers transmute the energy to other places around the whole Enclave, from the highest high to the lowest low. The nurse turned back to face the mysterious visitors. "Even so, to have any sort of program, you'd need to select the prime candidates, and there's really no time to make the choice."

"Such a program is already in play. We merely need your acquiescence. Your experience is essential to ensure our success. We can have constructors build the new annex where the newest Nellies shall be bred for football success. The next and brightest of Nellietopian glory awaits us."

"Another thing - why is it that we send nellies to play footy, when it's clearly more suited to the birds or the goats?"

"Nurse - do not question the intentions of the Ministry of Sport. It is one thing to utilize AFLAC for military matters, but we cannot resort to military sports again. We tried that and it was an abject failure - laughable in the least and humiliating in the highest. No, we must have an elite Nellie squad, and this is the crop from which we shall harvest the sportiest nellies. These shall be our future."

"What future is that?"

The mysterious nellie crawled closer to the young eggs. It waved its first set of limbs to intercept the light, so warm were the rays. "You are familiar with the anthrope stories of warrior societies? There were the few who were glorious in battle and planted their seed into the conquered - and from them gave rise a new empire - an empire that lasted a thousand years. Of course, these stories are always so exaggerated, but the ultimate story remains true for conquest. The strongest survive and reproduce - but to find the strongest, we must have some crucible of strength. And we need strong warriors to lead our civilization forward."

"And you seriously think footy is the way forward? Seriously. This was the problem last time."

"No," the mysterious visitor said, assertively demanding a hushed silence for the first time. "Last time, the fault was to pick random nellies. But this time, we have our selection process. We will assured the finest for breeding program. The Hatchery shall guarantee the greatest success for our nellyings this time. Things will be different, our plans for the future imbued with the lessons of the past." The visitor turned his primary ocelli to the nurse. "I will have your support, whether you will it or not. I ask you once more - what say you?"

There are few moments in sport that are greater than the first time. This was technically not the first time. For years, nellies had been competing abroad in international competitions, mostly of the regional sort. There was even once a time when the Nellies went out and competing in a World Cup. But for this crop of player, this was genuinely the first time - and for them, the thrill of the experience was just as good as if it were Nellietopia's first time.

In some sense, it was - this was the first official DBC match featuring Nellietopian younglings, even though by some mere technicality, there are no such nellies in excess of 21 years. Indeed, purple-stinging nellies are not the same as the ageless, peerless elves. They regarded these mystic beings with awe, they who lived many ages of men, and of men, many ages would pass even for them among the nellies. It was hard to fathom the idea that one could exist for more than 10 years, let alone ten times ten times that! But this crop was perhaps aware somewhat of this chronological aberration - that creatures could live for so many years. Indeed, none of the nellies on the Nellietopian national squad were even born in Nellietopia itself - many of them hadn't even been in Nellietopia. For them, the majestic halls of purple silk seemed just as farfetched as the elves' unending lives. But they had been selected - not because of any particular football talent, but because they could survive among men.

Indeed, there are hazards far worse than mere steps or cans of RAID (which, as we can all recall, is actually rapid anti-itch dispersant). To start, there are more than just men out there - birds that could feast upon each nellie as a tasty cookie, cats that could toy with nellie legs as tempting toys, many other things that could have killed them. But they survived the hazards of the world outside Nellietopia. They had become hardened against such novelties - they were more immune to its troubles. Somehow, this made the most fit to survive a 90-minute battle of feet and ball.

Against Eastfield Lodge, it seemed a foolish mistake at first. Within the first 10 minutes, they were already 2 goals down - both Stepan and Parsa proving devastating in the attack, and the anchor Latif proving effective and delightful in his ability to cut out passes as well as initiate the attack. The game could have 5-nil by halftime, but for some acrobatic heroics of the nellie keeper, who finally got to using every one of its eight legs to stop the ball. It took heroics on the field to turn around the score, as it proved extremely (and excruciatingly) difficult to dribble (even with eight legs) an object that was basically the same exact size as itself. But then, they realized that there were more paths to victory than to play the ball the way that everyone else played - indeed, why play the game according to the way that the tall people would play? It proved much easier to bounce the ball off their opisthosomae, akin to a person heading the ball around and playing the game tennis-style. This habit proved too unusual for the Eastfielders, and they poorly adapted to the bouncing ball and the leaping nellies that would precede or follow them. It was enough to bring a goal back at the hour-mark, but still Eastfield Lodge held the advantage going into the final minutes. It was to pass with a narrow loss for the nellies but a careless mistake in the back by Hampton, who passed back to keeper Persson. A nellie demonstrated its speed to zip past the defender, who was probably unaware of how close the little arachnid was, and knocked the ball past the despairing lunge of the keeper - all even at the 90th minute. In the intervening, the defeat was completely snatched away by a rampant nellie attack that swarmed (literally) the penalty area, an errant knock of the ball, and an embarrassing nestle of the ball into the far corner. Persson had to be restrained by his captain, who remained composed throughout the shambolic final ten minutes.

From the chaos of the final whistle, both teams left the field with new experiences - it is certainly the first time that Eastfield Lodge had contended with a team of bugs, but they will certainly grow into mature players - long after these nellies have since perished. But for these fast-starts, the journey had only just begun - and there was no telling just how far these nellies would eventually go.

by **Taeshan** » Tue May 02, 2017 2:56 pm

Nation Name:Taeshan
Demonym: Taeshanis, Taeshites, Taes
Team Nickname: Purple Knights
Modifier: -5
Manager: Peter Wiggin
Captain: Jamie Fasnacht
Vice-Captain: Edison Trueblood

Jerseys

Elvis	Pacabel	GK	1	20	Atlantea Hurricanes
Everett	Prichards	LB	2	20	New Capetown Falcons
Edison	Trueblood	CB	3	21	Mt Ceabring Thunder
Johnson	Pern	CB	4	20	Ojian Orangemen
Jamie 	Fasnacht	RB	5	20	Mt Ceabring Thunder
Sahler	Moon	RM	6	20	Real Atlantea
Randall	Abl Bakr	CDM	7	19	Tintown Terrapins
Geoffrey	Klingenberg	LM	8	18	Knightspurs
Kevin	Talbot	CAM	9	21	Mt Ceabring Thunder
Orlando	Jiminez	RS	10	19	Fadron Flight
Ben	Quan	LS	11	21	Knightspurs
Seth	Green	DF	12	19	Knightspurs
Theodore	Elliot	ST	13	16	Yaton United
Wallace	Kepler	MF	14	16	Tintown Terrapins
A.J.	Karlsbad	ST	15	19	X Island
Coswalt	Kline	MF	16	19	Los Riosa Monstas
Alson	Figueroa	MF	17	17	Fadron Flight
Karl 	Pryce	DF	18	19	Celtic Rangers
Karl 	Kahn	ST	19	19	1093 Club de Atlantea
Nelson	Cartwright	DF	20	19	Fadron Flight
Aston	Shelby	DF	21	18	Los Riosa Monstas
Greg	Vanderweil	MF	22	18	Bayern Phoenix
Orson	Vanderbilt	MF	23	19	Real Atlantea
Isaac	Calvin	GK	24	18	Fadron Flight

--Pacabel--
--Fasnacht--Pern--Trueblood--Prichards--
--Abl Bakr--
--Moon--Klingenberg--
--Talbot--
--Jiminez--Quan--

by **Mytanar Region** » Tue May 02, 2017 7:15 pm

Following on from this.

VASILY.

Vasily shook himself awake, but as soon as he was fully aware of his surroundings again he began to wish he hadn’t. Sleep was the only freedom from the thoughts that were rushing through his mind at an alarming rate. He wondered how exactly he had got himself into this situation, but that was the thing, he hadn’t actually done anything wrong. When he was awake, the frustration that that caused in his mind was just another thing to think about along with the maelstrom of other emotions. Right now, all he wanted was to get out. But he knew that that wouldn’t be achievable for a long time. Right now, he was a suspect in a serious crime. Vasily nearly screamed when the same thought ran through his head for what could have been the thousandth time. He had only been doing his job.

Only a few hours prior, he had been happily driving his lorry towards Trunca. This was a normal day for him. He was a long-distance haulage driver, often making trips to other nations around Rushmore taking whatever it was that was in his trailer at the time. It could be near enough anything: car parts, food, clothes, lots of different things really. Many companies sub-contracted the transport of their goods to the haulage company Vasily worked for and whatever they sold, he would take to wherever they wanted it to go.

This hadn’t turned into a normal day for Vasily. Half the time he took no notice of what was in his trailer, just driving it to where it was needed and letting the workers there deal with it. Half the time he didn’t even bother looking in the trailer. This was one of those times, when they connected everything up and made sure he was ready to go Vasily allowed the workers at the site he picked the trailer up from do all the work. He relaxed in the cab of his lorry as they did so, reading the newspaper and listening to the radio. There wasn’t a second where he actually even thought to look in the trailer, he often didn’t, but boy did he wish he had done now. How things could have been different.

But he didn’t. And now he was in a police holding cell in the port at Trunca. Arrested on suspicion of human trafficking and god only knew what else. Vasily held his head in his hands and wondered how it had even come to this.

He knew it was stupid to think about such things, but the reality of the situation was horrible and he was thinking about anything and everything that he could have done differently to avoid reality. What if he had seen his degree through a few years ago? What if he was pursuing an altogether different career? That way, he wouldn’t have even been in the lorry, it would have been some other poor sucker and he’d be sat in a nice office somewhere doing some mundane job but he would at least be free and not a suspected human trafficker. He knew it was stupid, he was driving himself mad, but he just wanted out. This grey cell, the bench he was sat on, everything about this he hated and it hadn’t even started yet. He knew he’d be questioned, he knew they wouldn’t believe him, but what could he do? He could only tell them the truth because the truth was that he wasn’t involved.

Once they checked everything up with the company he worked for they would be able to see who had hired the lorry to take this particular trailer and then they would be the ones the police would go after. That realisation comforted Vasily and he breathed out heavily. He hadn’t realised that he had been almost hyperventilating for a good couple of minutes. The magnitude of the situation made that almost seem a normal reaction to him, though.

Then the thoughts started rushing through his head again.

MILANA.

Milana hadn’t been planning to do anything that evening anyway. Getting called back to work was actually something to do, for her. She probably would have ordered a takeaway, drank a bottle of wine and watched a shitty film and felt sorry for herself. So this was better really. She lived in central Esca, so the trip to work wasn’t even that difficult. She did feel bad for Musa, though, he had to re-run his daily commute yet again. She did feel a bit bad that he was missing his party thing, too, but part of her was quite glad that he was getting asked to come away from his wife again.

Milana had met her a few times and she had always struck her as uptight and cold. Not like Musa at all. Milana had never got on with her and part of her was quite glad that Musa would be spending the night with her rather than his wife. She smiled to herself, her girlfriends had always said she was secretly the most vindictive person they knew. She didn’t really even mind.

Besides, it was more about the job at hand than point scoring against a colleague’s wife. She felt strongly about the next case they were working on and when she had received the phone call she was only too ready to get to work. This was an enormously unexpected breakthrough. They had not even been meant to start on the case until next week, but literally catching a potential trafficker red-handed was huge. Any information this guy had, whether he knew what he was involved in or not, could prove crucial later on. The severity of the crime he was involved in meant he’d have to have a very good story in order to get himself off the hook. Milana very much doubted that he would be a major player, though. The major players never did any of the dirty work. They were always the very last person to be caught.

Milana was confident in her ability to do the job, though. One thing about Mytanar culture was that there was no real difference in the way men and women were treated in any job role. Women were considered just as able as men to do any job and that meant Milana hadn’t faced the same problems women from other nations did in the workplace. She hadn’t had to work a million times harder than her male counterparts to reach the position she had. She was thankful for that. But she was confident that she would have reached the position no matter what – her ability and the results she generated spoke for themselves.

A result here would do her career trajectory no harm. She was already the co-leader of a team in the police force that investigated the most serious crimes in Mytannion and she wasn’t really sure where she would go from that position, but she knew that the seriousness of this case would merit a promotion or two. Of course, putting the people that were trafficking these young girls around Rushmore behind bars would be immensely satisfying in its own right. Everybody had ambitions, though. Milana’s were just a bit more naked than other people’s.

Milana had been quite ruthless career wise, results in policing were after all the single most important thing and she was known as a high achiever. She had been known as a bit of a slave driver and had also occasionally been known to break the rules in order to catch criminals. She had received more than one disciplinary in her time. Working with Musa had curbed that side of her, though. He was altogether more a fan of procedure than she was, but they worked well together and it did reap results, too. Their list of achievements was impressive and Milana planned for it to grow further.

Part of her existence that wasn’t as high achieving was in getting a relationship. She had been on many dates with lots of different men that worked in a string of high-flying jobs in Esca. Hell, a lot of the men would probably have made perfectly good partners, a lot of them were funny and interesting. Some were even good-looking. But none of them had that extra something. Milana’s mother often criticised her, she could hear her voice now: “Oh Milana you won’t be young forever! There’s only so long before you can have kids, you’ll have to find a husband soon!” Milana didn’t really know if she particularly liked kids anyway, but it wouldn’t be to please her mother that she would have one.

There was a time that she had thought something may have happened with Musa, he was good-looking, clever, funny and well, there was certainly something about him. That was before Milana had realised he had a long-term girlfriend who eventually became his wife. She had moved on from those thoughts quite quickly after realising. But when she was alone at the weekend at night she did wonder.

Milana shook her head, she’d had enough of those thoughts. She would have to get herself back on the market.

MUSA.

Musa swiped his card and sighed. The door popped open after a loud buzz and a whirr. He pulled it open and swept through the door, striding towards the room where all his work happened. It was a standard grey room, grey carpet, tables, a few banks of computers, a large screen on one wall and various whiteboards with photos of suspects and maps on. In this room there was some of the most sensitive information available about the most serious criminals in the whole of Mytannion. There was also Milana. Musa smiled as she turned, hearing his footsteps pound the floor as he arrived into the room.

“Hey Milana, any idea how this will take?” Musa asked, exasperated.

“I have no idea, I’ve been corresponding with them in Trunca and they have the suspect ready via video link for an interview.” Milana explained. “They said we both need to be present for this interview, though.”

“Any idea who the guy is?”

“The police down in Trunca seem to think he genuinely is a lorry driver. All his information checks out. But we need to see what he knows about all of this.”

“But he quite literally could know absolutely nothing…” Musa said. Half a question, half a statement, the look on his face was enough for Milana to see that he was increasingly annoyed at the situation that he found himself in.

“I know!” Milana protested. “There’s nothing we can do, though. They wanted us both here, so we need to try and get it done as quickly as possible. They said to contact them as soon as you arrived and then we could get it up and running as quickly as possible.”

“Okay, go ahead. I have places to be.”

“Hey, at least this way you know I can’t use any unorthodox methods to get information out of the suspect.” Milana grinned as she began tapping keys on the laptop sat in front of her. The large screen on the wall flashed white as she did so.

“Ha, don’t even get me started. We’d have another disciplinary case on our hands and that’s the last thing we need this early on.”

“I won’t be getting into another one of them in a hurry, don’t worry about that one Musa. The last one may be the most draining thing I have ever been involved in in the police, you know.” Milana said, Musa nodding his agreement. He moved over to the wall where there was a row of cups and a kettle. Musa knew it’d be full as he flicked the switch to boil the water. He had instated an office policy of making sure it was full after being used because of the sheer amount of times he had come to an empty kettle. Milana was the only one who still didn’t follow the rule.

“What approach are you thinking of taking here?” Musa asked, filling his cup with coffee granules as the water boiled. He hated making coffee this way, but the police’s budget hadn’t stretched to a proper barista style service as of yet. Still, needs must. He’d treat himself to a coffee over the weekend at a nice café, perhaps after a walk or something. He missed Thessian coffee, it was a reminder of home that he couldn’t get enough of.

“Well, I think we just need to ask him to confirm that he was driving the lorry and then ask him about how much knowledge he had about the situation.” Milana spoke quickly, tapping the keys even faster as she tried to get the video link set up as fast as she possibly could. “Undoubtedly he’ll say he’s completely unaware and he probably is, but we can see what he knows about where he picked the trailer up from and the people he met whilst picking it up.”

“Sounds good to me.” Musa replied, filling up his cup with the now boiled water and stirring the liquid with a teaspoon. The screen suddenly flashed into life, with a grainy image of an unshaven man – probably in his mid-twenties – sat on a chair, next to a more bookish looking man in a suit, presumably his lawyer. After a few seconds, the image shifted into focus and the man’s features could be distinguished altogether more clearly. He had a long, crooked nose and his hair was a set of messy brown curls, falling across his vision from time-to-time – when he’d have to move it out of his eyes with his hand.

“Hello, the suspect is ready for interview.” Came a voice at the other end of the video link, likely an officer from behind the camera.

“Thanks. Please can you confirm your name please?” Milana asked, before mumbling: “Hey, are you gonna make me one of them?” Pointing towards his coffee.

“Ha! Piss off!” Musa whispered. Not a chance. Not after the continuous breaking of his policy on filling the kettle. Milana smirked back at him.

“Hey, uh, Vasily Petrenko.” Came a shaky voice from the younger man with the curly hair.

“Okay Vasily. I’m sure the officers there have ran you through your rights and everything and the lawyer next to you has probably guided you as well. What we’re going to need you to do today is cooperate with us as much as possible, is that okay?” Milana asked.

“I guess.” The young man shifted nervously in his seat, anxiety etched across his features in a painfully obvious fashion.

“You will get out of here much faster.” Milana said. As long as he’s not done anything, thought Musa. “First of all who do you work for?” She asked.

“Stanchev Haulage based between Esca and Pozrozhdeny. The guy here has all the information.” Vasily said.

“I’m sure he’ll pass that on to us. Can you explain where you picked the trailer up from that had the girls in that were found at the port?”

“I had a normal day. I drove to the office, picked up my forms and then hit the road,” Vasily said, jittering on his seat as he did so. “The forms said to drive to an industrial estate on the outskirts of Pozrozhdeny – which was good for me because it’s nearer to Trunca, it’d be a faster journey than having to head somewhere north first, for example.”

“Okay, I’m sure the guys in Trunca will pass us the address.” Milana said, before being interrupted by the same police officer who had spoken before.

“Just to let you know, the address has no connections with any previous criminal activity, guys.”

“Ah, alright.” Milana replied. “So did you meet anybody at the industrial estate?” She asked.

“I did, there were two— No, three of them.” Vasily stumbled.

“Two or three?”

“Definitely three.” Vasily nodded. “I can’t really remember what any of them looked like, really. I sat in my cab after doing my bit driving the lorry and lining it up with the trailer and they finished off connecting it once I reversed onto it. They did the rest.”

“Did you have any conversation with them whatsoever?”

“Not anything more than just chatting about getting the trailer on, if I’m honest with you.” Vasily said. “Look, I’m just a driver, I don’t know anything about these girls and I just want to get out of here.”

“I understand that, Vasily.” Milana said. “But we need to ask you these questions. Did you overhear anything?”

“I had the radio on.” He replied. “I can’t think of anything right now, but I was listening to that.” Vasily said. Musa had had enough, this guy clearly did not have a clue about anything in this case. He was a lorry driver who had unfortunately been given the task of going to that industrial estate that day and that was why he was here right now.

“Okay, look, Vasily the authorities in Trunca are going to keep you overnight and ask you again tomorrow if you know anything then. If you overheard anything, we need to know, okay?” Musa said quickly.

“My client cannot be held overnight if you do not have grounds to do so,” the lawyer interrupted.

“I do have grounds to do so!” Musa shouted, angered he had been brought away from his friends and family for this. “We will need to speak to him again once we have contacted the company he works for as we will need to ask him if he knows anything about the people who hired the trailer and various other things. I’m sure the guys with you there will explain exactly why we are keeping your client in custody.”

“What?!” Vasily shouted, the realisation that he would not be free dawning on him. Musa got up and moved to the keyboard in front of Milana and punched a button, with the white screen turning to black as he did so and the image of Vasily in Trunca disappearing.

“Bloody hell.” Milana laughed. “And they say I use unorthodox methods sometimes?”

“I can’t be bothered with this shit Milana! I was meant to be with my family tonight and this has been pointless!” Musa fumed. “Right, we’re going to come in tomorrow and we’re going to find out more about who hired this clown to drive that trailer to Trunca from Stanchev Haulage. Then we’re going to get someone to speak to the girls who were in the trailer and see what they know.”

“Alright then. He was meant to be a suspect, he could have been useful, what if it was all him trafficking those girls?” Milana said, taken aback by Musa’s sudden seriousness.

“Do not be so stupid! We both know he has absolutely nothing to do with this, he is a haulage driver, he was just unlucky it happened to be his lorry that was sent on this job. His company will verify all of this for us, did you see him? He was no human trafficker!” Musa argued. “Look, I want these people caught ASAP but I was meant to be with my family and friends tonight and I’ve been dragged away for the most useless lead I have ever had.”

“Hey, finding those girls is a huge lead. We could trace someone here.” Milana replied.

“The people running this trafficking thing won’t be stupid enough to have put their fucking names on the forms getting Stanchev Haulage to take them to wherever it is they’re going,” Musa said. “You know that as well as I do. Our best hope from this is that one of those girls knowing something, or Vasily miraculously pulling some intel from somewhere.”

“He might surprise you. He was nervous just now, maybe he’ll remember something.” Milana shot back, Musa huffing unimpressed.

“We’ll see,” He said. “Right. I’m going to ring Stanchev Haulage now and see what details they have, hopefully there’s still someone there. You get onto the guys down in Trunca and see if they can talk to those girls and see what they’re saying.”

“Whatever.”

??????

A man in a black leather jacket walked into the room, his footsteps echoing around the room off the polished floor. There were five men sat at a table, an ashtray in the centre with two cigarettes perched inside, slowly burning out as wisps of smoke coiled and curled in the air – snaking around beer bottles whose contents was long stale. The table had fallen silent as the man approached, with everybody sat at the table turning to see who the newcomer was.

“Boss. We’ve been compromised.” The newcomer said directly to the oldest man sat at the table, a man of around forty, possible a bit older. The others all turned to see the man’s response, as the newcomer continued: “One of our shipments was seized at the port in Trunca.”

“What was the contents?” The older man asked.

“Girls. I haven’t got full detail on where to as of yet.”

“That’s unimportant right now.” The older man replied tersely, it was evident he was in charge here, with everybody else in the room waiting for his response. He was currently in thought, as he picked up one of the cigarettes from the ashtray and took one final drag before stubbing it out completely, its orange-red soul destroyed in a second. “Okay.” He had finished thinking. “Which associate was in charge of this shipment?” He asked.

“I believe it was Darko, sir.”

“Get on the phone to Darko and tell him to take his guys and make sure that that company reveal no details about his group to the police. I know Darko won’t have been stupid enough to put his name on any forms but a member of his group will have had to do so and we can’t afford any links back to Darko and most importantly through him back to me.”

“Okay sir I will do it straight away.” The man in the leather jacket turned, beginning to leave.

“Wait.” The older man said, suddenly. “Tell Darko I want the driver of that lorry dead. He may have seen some of Darko’s associates when picking the trailer up, he could have seen something, heard something, anything. We need to nip this in the bud.”

“Absolutely sir.” Leather jacket said before leaving.

“Okay guys. This is not good news. The police are going to be investigating this now. We will have to use Istocna Obala and Port Jarko instead for a while. See to it please.”

“What about the girls?” Asked a man at the table.

“What about them?” The older man laughed. “These girls have no family, no friends. The precise reason we get away with this is because nobody cares about them – the same with running brothels here. It’s just this way we’re getting paid a lot more. Auctioning them off is lucrative don’t you know.”

“You seem awfully relaxed about all this boss.”

“I have a plan, boys, don’t you worry. Don’t I always have a plan?”

“I guess, boss,” said one of the younger lads sat at the table as the older man stood up, stretching his arms high above his head and cracking his fingers, circling around the table before standing behind him.

“‘I guess, boss’ he says,” the older man laughed. “‘I guess, boss’!” The man’s laugh turned into a roar as he picked the younger man up out of the seat and threw him down to the floor. “Do you not trust me boy?!” He yelled.

“N—no, no I do sir,” The younger man yelped in terror. “I absolutely trust you sir, please, please!” He protested.

“Ah shut the fuck up.” The older man said picking him up and clapping him on the shoulder. “You better had trust me because you know what happens to those who don’t. Now lads get to work, we have some more girls to auction off and they aren’t going to get sent out of the country themselves. Get them sent to our local groups so they’re away from our names and so we get paid sooner. Hurry!”

Di Bradini Cup 40/U21WC61 (Everything Thread)

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