The
Équipe Nationale de Reçueçn de Football is a relative unknown, but if it's known for anything, it would be for its defensive style. This is partly due to the large influence of Reçueçn FC on the team—the most popular domestic club in Reçueçn plays about as defensive a game as you can imagine. This is balanced out to some extent by the players from other teams with more attacking philosophies, but the league as a whole tends towards defense, and it shows in the national team. Furthermore, Gerauld Firaut, the team's #1 goalie, is the best player on the team by a solid margin--likely the only truly world class player. He and his defense form the foundation for the whole team. The team plays in a 4-3-3 formation, but sometimes the wings drop back, almost making it a 4-5-1. In general, the team's strategy and tactics are solid--Jacques Tremblay, the coach, knows his stuff despite his age. The weakness would be the quality of the talent on the team—Reçueçn has not yet had the opportunity to develop or train true world class talent.
The ENRF's mascot is the Unicorn; thus another name for the team is "les licornes" ("The Unicorns"). The fantastical creature has been a symbol of Reçueçn for almost two millennia and is also the national animal, appearing as the supporters in the national coat of arms.
The team's kit represents the colors of the flag in a quite literal fashion. This kit was first one
les licornes ever wore, dating back to the 59th Baptism of Fire. Today it is unpopular with fans, who think it is old-fashioned, badly designed, and ugly. Although the FNRF secretly admits that the fans are right and aims to replace the kit soon, they tout it as 'traditional' and promote its value as a connection to the team's past.
Reçueçn has only one stadium in which its national team plays, located in the capital city (also named Reçueçn). Never having been given an official title, the national stadium is usually simply referred to just that: The National Stadium. Capacity: 30,000.
RosterJacques TremblayManager, 71 years old.
Old and wise, and known for his eternal ability to surprise and innovate, Jacques Tremblay is often seen as the father of modern Reçuecian football. He was once the coach of Associated Savoie, and during that period they performed much better than they had before or than they have since. His new method brought great players to the team, and when he retired, it hurt the team greatly. Despite his retirement, when asked to coach the national team for the Baptism of fire, did not refuse. He and Gerauld Firaut hold together the national team, oft riven with tension. Really, Tremblay is too old to still be coaching a soccer team, especially at the international level. Yet his players still hold a lot of respect for him, both as the Reçuecian footballing legend that he is, but also now as a coach and mentor--even if sometimes they wish he'd let them unwind a little more.
Bonheur ReliéAssistant Manager, 45 years old.
The only new face on this roster, this cycle marks the first time the ENRF has published the name of any of its assistant coaches with its roster. Relié is fierce and passionate, and acts as a bit of a foil to the older, more reserved Tremblay.
StartersGerauld Firaut
Goalkeeper, 25 years old. Team captain. Jersey #1. Plays for Reçueçn FC.
Responsible and mature for his age, Firaut is widely considered the best player in Reçeuçn. His star status does not extend outside the country as of yet, however. Of course, as a goalie, it may be hard to compete with the international fame that strikers often achieve. His goal-tending skill, however, is unparalleled. When he's not putting up a wall in the net, Firaut acts as his team's moral compass off the pitch. Level-headed and perceptive, Firaut is a wonderful leader for the team, both in and outside the game. His tactical instincts are not bad, and it's not uncommon to hear him yelling instructions to his defense. Firaut is happily married and has a three-year-old daughter.
Leo Beck
Sweeper, 29 years old. Jersey #2. Plays for Reçueçn FC.
During the regular season, Beck plays on the same team as his goalkeeper, Gerauld Firaut. Thus on the national team as well, they work well together. Although older than Firaut, he looks up to him as a leader, and is very protective of him, as well as Reçueçn FC's reputation. Beck is a stellar player and helps fill out his team's defensive capabilities.
Ägidius Heissler
Left back, 35 years old. Jersey #3. Plays for Itrino.
Heissler is getting a bit older, but he can always find a way to trap an attack in the corner, and then win the goal kick. A very tall man, he's come in useful for
les licornes in many a set piece where he's headed away a dangerous corner kick or free kick. His phlegmatic personality is an asset to a team largely full of high-strung starlets fighting for attention.
Norman Bright
Center back, 33 years old. Jersey #4. Plays for Renwyll.
Bright was widely credited for Renwyll's high performance in the Globe Cup 56. He has good spacial awareness and an ability to control the center of the box without letting his mark slip. When paired with a strong goalie, Bright really shines, and has the potential to turn that pair into a duo to be reckoned with.
Oliver Spencer
Right back, 25 years old. Jersey #5. Plays for Brinemouth [NPH].
Sold by Reçueçn FC for 8M to Brinemouth. After one season, Brinemouth says: 'Nobody really expected Oliver Spencer to hit the ground running, despite a chunky fee. And in fairness, he took some time to acclimatise to the physicality and stamina required of him. He spent a little time around midseason hovering in and out of the team, but it did not pass unnoticed that they always suffered without him, and by the final stretch Blackthorn had declared to hell with easing him in. He played every minute of the last fifteen league games, and the Dwile Invitational knockouts.'
Luc Pélissier
Left midfielder, 31 years old. Jersey #6. Plays for Heldingen 1919.
With Clint Soto's retirement before IAC 7, Pélissier was promoted to a starting position for the team. Although his spot as a national team starter isn't undeserved, he doesn't have quite the same level of talent as some of the other stars.
Grégoire Leclair
Defensive midfielder, 29 years old. Jersey #18. Plays for Association Genève.
A while back Leclair began seeing more playing time as Tremblay switched him onto the starting list for Saunders. This was seen as a shift towards defense, as Saunders plays in more of an attacking role than Leclair does. But in training leading up to qualifiers, it seems that Tremblay is doubling down on this strategy and leaning on Leclair in particular.
Maynard Hebron
Right midfielder, 26 years old. Jersey #8. Plays for Assalto Alpino.
The unsung hero of Assalto Alpino (one of the lowest ranked teams in domestic competition in Reçueçn), Hebron is a great proponent of football development across the nation, especially on behalf of smaller amateur teams who want to join the LNRF. This has lead in the past to a resentful attitude on his part towards some of the larger clubs--clubs who provide most of the players on the national team. Hebron's sports activism, however, is smiled upon by most people in Reçueçn, and with the advent of the new Ministry of Sport, he hopes for more opportunities for him to promote soccer throughout the country. World cup qualifications are a wonderful stage on which he can gain visibility.
Hippolyte Lavigne
Left wing, 32 years old. Jersey #9. Plays for Hawthorne Kickers [XAN].
Lavigne can make great crosses, but can tense up under pressure if he has to score himself. His best skill is his ability to take the ball from the midfielders, get deep into attacking territory, and feed it to a striker. Lavigne is very tall, which is probably what is responsible for his position as a leading figure on and off the field.
Frank "Franky" Adams
Center forward, 20 years old. Jersey #10. Plays for Association Genève.
Young, extremely talented, and rather cocky, Franky, who plays for Association Genève in the LNRF, really makes their team. When he has a bad shooting streak, his team has a losing streak, and vice versa. Franky knows this. At Association Genève, the team and the fans love him. At the national team, they tolerate him--his rivalries with Reçueçn FC's players have caused tension in the past, putting more responsibility on Tremblay to defuse the situation. Tremblay, incidentally, thinks Franky is a bit conceited, but is also keenly aware of his talent. Franky is the national team's all-time leading scorer (33 goals in 67 games). Still a teenager, it looks like he will be one of the faces of Reçuecian football for a while, and he's couldn't be more thrilled about it--if anything's bigger than his talent, it's his personality. Besides Firaut, he is probably the most well-known player on the team. The recent run of relative success
les licornes have had allowed him to overcome some of his rivalries with his teammates, but it doesn't look like he'll ever settle down to become the sort of spiritual leader a player like Firaut is. He will probably continue to clown around for years.
Freeman Lebo
Right wing, 27 years old. Jersey #11. Plays for Pelethas United [COS].
Lebo can score goals, is highly motivated, and persevering. Like some others, however, he is a bit high-strung. He was happy to go his own way and become one of the first Reçuecian players who played abroad. Lebo found a spot playing for Cosumar's Klyde FC for a few seasons, making a few decent globe cup runs along the way. He's now very happy to have found another Cosumarite club in Pelethas United. He hasn't been home for Christmas in a few years.
ReservesJannick Bechtholdt
Goalkeeper, 32 years old. Jersey #12. Plays for Association Genève.
Association Genève's starting keeper has to alternately put up with being a goalie on a team where it's all about the attack, and being goalie on the national team where he is constantly outclassed by Gerald Firaut. Often ignored, he is still a great player.
Emanuele Cutrona
Sweeper, 21 years old. Jersey # 13. Plays for FC Harrim.
Cutrona is one of the two latest callups for the national team, first playing during IAC 7. He is the only Italian-speaking player on the team (although others are from Italian-speaking clubs). He is the second youngest player on the squad, besides the precocious Franky. He and Franky, of course, get along pretty well, constantly joking around and pulling pranks. Sometimes next to Franky, even Cutrona seems older and more mature. But Franky has also been on the team for years, so sometimes it's obvious that he's the one who knows the ropes--even if he doesn't always respect the rules.
Paulin Bourguignon
Left back, 22 years old. Jersey #14. Plays for Stomford 1904.
Bourguignon is the kind of defensive player who is always trying to clear the ball by booting it up the field as hard as he can. That is, at least, when he's not in the opponents' box on a corner kick trying to score. Big on counter-attacks, he sometimes outpaces the mid-fielders, usually to his coach's dismay.
Lukas Kayserling
Center back, 21 years old. Jersey #15. Plays for Herzegovina City FC [BNJ].
Kayserling sometimes has difficulty communicating as he doesn't speak English or French as well as most of the other team members, and most of them don't speak German. However, at press conferences, he's great at sitting there and looking somber. A tall, intimidating figure, he takes his job very seriously; he takes everything seriously.
Klaus Klemm
Right back, 29 years old. Jersey #16. Plays for Hôtel Chapelle-Pré.
Plays defense, but as if he were a mid-fielder. He plays for Hôtel Chapelle-Pré, a team from the same city as Reçueçn FC, but with a much smaller fan-base. This bothers Klemm. Since the national team games are played in the capital too, he's always insisting that it's his turf and that he won't be made a second-class citizen. Nobody else thinks he is; he's a solid player.
Raoul Lavigne
Left midfielder, 22 years old. Jersey #17. Plays for Monmouth Park [CBP].
No relation of the slightly more well-known Hippolyte Lavigne who starts for the team, Raoul is the other of
les licornes' two latest callups besides Emanuele Cutrona. He caught the NT's scouts' eyes after helping Bonneville Sporting to a couple good seasons. Still a newcomer on the team, he hasn't perhaps 'clicked' yet, but given the chance to play, should be able to distinguish himself.
Harold Saunders
Attacking midfielder, 28 years old. Jersey #7. Plays for Association Genève.
Saunders is synonymous with an aggressive style of play, especially in the midfield. He seems to always be able to find a way to give the ball to Franky. One of the leaders of the team, he is emotionally well-balanced on and off the field. He plays less often now that the team is shifting even further towards defense.
Thomas Büchel
Right midfielder, 31 years old. Jersey #19. Plays for Reçueçn FC.
Büchel is a very fluid player, who doesn't let himself get locked into the same rut. His best trait is his situational ability, which, when coupled with his dribbling and passing skills, makes him a formidable force when trying to maintain possession or get the ball forward.
Per Tegeler
Left wing, 24 years old. Jersey #20. Plays for Marketville [EUR].
Good at receiving the ball from the defense or mid-field, trapping it in general, and taking it into the 18-yard box and shooting. A possible weakness of Tegeler's is passing: either he doesn't, or it's long air balls.
Ly Nasser
Center forward, 23 years old. Jersey #21. Plays for FC Zimmerich.
Nasser loves to shoot from far out, and often shoots high. Despite this, he makes up for it with his sheer number of shots. Incredibly aggressive, and loved by Zimmerich fans. Personally, he is of the opinion that he is one of the best strikers in the world. He is certainly an asset to the team, although his attacking style doesn't always mesh well with their more defensive method of play.
Jean-Baptiste Brochard
Right wing, 27 years old. Jersey #22. Plays for Lampadaires Associés.
Brochard is incredibly fast, and having the ball doesn't slow him down hardly at all. Although Brochard is weaker in set pieces and organized attacks, he is strong on the counterattack and the breakaway, where he can outpace the opposing team's defenders.
Helies de Malhortye
Goalkeeper, 35 years old. Jersey #23. Plays for FC Zimmerich.
De Malhortye has noble blood and is rather high-strung--but then, what football player isn't? A lot of other goalies, I guess. De Malhortye is still a solid choice for a back-up goalie, but on a team with Firaut, there's little call for him. His one particular strength is blocking penalties.