Copa Rushmori XVII - Everything Thread

[Mytannion]

Mytanar National Team.

Manager - Marius Sadowsky - 55 - Mytannion.
The former Atletik Thessia manager has had a few cycles in charge of the national team now and whilst he hasn't perhaps garnered the success he has wanted, he now has this side moulded into his image, moulded into the shape that he wants and the players have been together in this same shape for a few years now with the national side. Sadowsky has heralded the change from efficient, counter-attacking football to a more offensive style where the team presses across the pitch and moves the ball forward quickly when it is in their possession. It results in moves which the opposition cannot deal with as the ball is just moved at such speed that defenders do not have time to position themselves properly to prevent goals/clear-cut chances. The last couple of World Cups have been massive underperformances for the Hoops. A group stage exit and then failing to qualify, but a second Cup of Harmony victory did go some way to brighten what has been a slightly dark period in Mytanar footballing history. Sadowsky has announced he will be leaving this role following the Copa Rushmori, so this will be a last chance for him to get some real glory that the Mytanar public really wants.

Starting XI.
#1 - GK - Stefan Wallinaar - 28 - Liria Prizren - 36 caps.
With the lack of an experienced goalkeeper following the retirement from international football of Demy de Zooijt, Stefan Wallinaar is the nearest to an experienced goalkeeper that the national team has. Wallinaar is a two-time Globe Cup winner with club side Liria Prizren and his acrobatic performances between the sticks for them have finally earned him the starting gig here. He's arguably still the best goalkeeper in Mytannion, despite some spirited challenges from those behind him, Kadyrov and Schindler.

#2 - DL - Lev Repin - 34 - FC Ararat Severyan - 145 caps, 11 goals - Captain.
One of the most reliable defenders you will ever meet, he doesn't make many mistakes and this is evidenced by the amount of appearances he has made for the international side and the enormous number he has made for his club team too. He's tough and no-nonsense, getting the job done and giving his all for the team. He has top fitness levels and still shows a desire to bomb on down the wing and provide another option going forward with his pinpoint crossing. He's always a danger from set pieces because of this ability, both when crossing and shooting. He's still keeping Rob Fridrich out of a place in the national side and he could do so until the end of the younger man's career, if he keeps going at the rate he is doing.

#3 - DC - Narek Berozhserkovsky - 29 - Dinamo Esca - 95 caps, 5 goals.
Berozhserkovsky has to be considered one of the better centre backs in the world right now, in the prime of his career and still improving on his top class performances that have been made consistently for years. Questions surrounding a possible move away from Dinamo have been cooled dramatically recently although there is always the rumour in the air that he may fancy a move to the Polar Islandstates. He certainly has the ability to ply his trade outside the Mytanar Top League, his physical attributes combining well with exceptional tactical awareness, aerial ability and tackling. Could be given the captain's armband once Repin retires.

#4 - DC - Tim Dalgaard - 26 - Atletik Thessia - 42 caps, 1 goal.
Dalgaard has developed brilliantly over the years. He's now one of the top players in Mytannion and therefore the world too and he will combine beautifully with Narek Berozhserkovsky in the national team set-up to make a top class defensive partnership that any national team will find difficult to breakdown. Dalgaard is a tall centre back, again showing top level tactical awareness and good anticipation so he can read the game and work out where the ball will be. He breaks the play up and is one of the new breed of ball-playing centre backs, his passing is good and he can set-up play right from the back, often playing diagonal balls to the wing players in order to get the ball forward quickly, working well with the tactic employed by this side. He has now moved on from Arka Snezhnaya, a big move to die Stadtbewohner perhaps being what he needs to revitalise his career a little.

#5 - DR - Dennis Adkvissen - 32 - SK Aasiaat Harbour (Polar Islandstates) - 157 caps, 7 goals.
Already a legend in terms of Mytanar football and he still has a good couple of World Cups in him, he could easily surpass the record total for national team appearances set by the legendary Robin Hjik. Adkvissen is a good defensively. He deals with any attacking threat from the opponent quite solidly, his tackling is good and he uses his pace to good effect to keep up with quick wingers. He doesn't offer too much going forwards - though his crosses from deep are effective and he's decent from set pieces too - his footballing intelligence is one of the best and he anticipates the play well. His physical attributes are good too, being tall and strong. He's the second most capped player in Mytanar footballing history and is now only 26 off the all-time record, it's not something he's bothered about though as he just wants to keep putting in the performances that have cemented his position as a Mytanar footballing legend and a legend for his club side too.

#6 - DMC - Tikhon Voronin - 30 - Ituraitz FC (Astograth) - 130 caps, 10 goals.
He's regained his starting spot for the national team following a good season for Liria Prizren which also rewarded him with a change of scenery and a move to Ituraitz FC of Astograth. He's a tough tackling, no nonsense player who - as he's got older - has learnt to play a bit as well. He's always had a bit of a poor disciplinary record, picking up yellow cards and red cards for fun, but he's improved on that too. He's the sort of player that just keeps the game ticking over, breaking up the play and moving the ball on but he's added a knack for a killer pass recently and it's an attribute which will be invaluable for the national team now.

#7 - DMC - Dobroslav Stojanovic - 30 - Atletik Thessia - 135 caps, 38 goals.
Stojanovic has transitioned from a dynamic forward-thinking midfielder to an experienced, creative and most importantly, solid leader on the field. One of the strong contenders for the captaincy when Repin eventually hangs up his boots. He doesn't put a foot wrong in the centre of the park and keeps things ticking over, making all the right decisions and then when a chance presents itself - whether it be in providing an assist or scoring a goal - he is lethal and effective. Stojanovic is a top player and in the prime of his career, expect a big World Cup cycle from him and a few goals too. He's the more offensive of the pairing that shield the defence and will often be found almost alongside the attacking midfielder in the formation.

#8 - AML/AMC - Stanislav Navratil - 27 - Directus (Eura) - 23 caps, 4 goals.
His lack of caps may make him appear inexperienced but that doesn't show the amount of games he has played both in Mytannion and over in Eura. He's versatile too, being able to play on the wide left or right, or through the middle and even in a more withdrawn role. His passing is excellent, he gets involved in the assist charts regularly in the Euran league and chips in with a few goals too. Sadowsky will be hoping for both to be brought into this side, especially with the absence of Ismet van Huijgevoort now. Navratil will be playing primarily off the left, but will be given licence to roam a little.

#9 - AMC/ST - Mikkel Kohlemainen - 23 - FC Axel Heiburg (Polar Islandstates) - 63 caps, 30 goals.
He has an excellent eye for goals, is extremely pacy and always wants to be taking players on. His interplay with his team mates is what makes him most lethal however and when him, van Huijgevoort, Iivari Kaitanen and Kristian Haugen get going, it will be near unstoppable. Stop Kohlemainen, you could be stopping Mytannion. His team mates and manager may not be too happy with him given the way he engineered a move away from Arka Snezhnaya this summer. Sadowsky especially was rumoured to be unimpressed by his antics and did give some thought to perhaps replacing him with Ildar Patrelyak for the Copa Rushmori, Kohlemainen is a great player, but players need to be able to work together to win games.

#10 - AMR - Iivari Kaitanen - 26 - Urbizania Wanderers (Astograth) - 137 caps, 51 goals.
The poacher has moved out to the right-wing to utilise his speed and interplay. He'll play in an advance role though and will get involved with most of the attacks going down the left, which will allow him to drift inside and add another man in the box. He is a classic goal poacher though and he'll be extremely dangerous in that part of the game. His crossing should be useful too, he loves to hit a low cross and any good forward will take that. Kaitanen will roam a fair bit, moving inside and forward and will use his clinical finishing to the best of its ability when possible too. His speed will be crucial in counter attacks - where he will be most useful. His movement and good heading ability for a 5'9 forward will also be important.

#11 - ST - Kristian Haugen - 26 - Energia-Yaderny Miago - 55 caps, 37 goals.
A real complete forward these days, Haugen captains his club side and delivered on promises he made last year by taking them to the league title. He is quite simply a natural born goalscorer, whichever way you look at it, that's what he does best and he has a proven record of doing it time and time again, for both club and country. He can score from anywhere, his aerial ability and finishing being equally clinical. He doesn't care how he scores either with a determination meaning he will bully defenders and storm past them with equal contempt. He's not an overly physical forward, but he can be if necessary, he can mix it with the best.

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Substitutes.
#12 - GK - Rizvan Kadyrov - 23 - South Factory (Astograth) - 5 caps.
Kadyrov will be a future national team goalkeeper, no doubting that. His performances at Lermendia impressed many and now he's at South Factory and impressed there too. He's a reliable, no-nonsense 'keeper. He doesn't bother with acrobatics or 'camera saves', he just gets the job done and makes the saves that are needed. His reflexes allow him to stop shots from close range as well as having the technical ability as a goalkeeper to prevent those from further out too.

#13 - DL - Rob Fridrich - 29 - Atletik Thessia - 40 caps, 2 goals.
He's a solid player who will offer a sturdy and reliable replacement. He's good going forward too, offering a more attacking option at the back if there is any transition needed. He's becoming a top quality player and has helped Atletik no end both domestically and when playing in UICA competitions around the multiverse. He'll be the eventual replacement to Lev Repin, we'd imagine, although he should carry on for a few more years. Fridrich is good defensively too and has definitely improved that side of his game.

#14 - DC - Benjamin Lautner - 23 - Energia-Yaderny Miago - 7 caps.
He's big and hard and nasty and that is fairly commonplace among Mytanar defenders but Lautner is set apart by the fact that he can actually tackle without breaking somebody's leg. He's exceptional in the air and the youth system at Miago will have worked hard in ensuring his tactical awareness and reading of the game is up to scratch. He'll be getting regular substitute appearances in order to get him up to the world class level, but give him a couple of years (and the whole Energia-Yaderny Miago team, in fact), and he'll be right up there and they should be challenging for UICA titles.

#15 - DMC/MC - Filip Wachsmuth - 21 - Energia-Yaderny Miago - 7 caps, 2 goals.
Wachsmuth is yet another Miago player in the squad. One position where we have a wealth of talent across the country is central midfield and though Wachsmuth may be relied on to play a more deep-lying role than what he is used to he'll still be excellent, that much is known. His passing is excellent and he's a real deep-lying playmaker. He's calm when on the ball and makes good decisions in the middle of the park, mentally, he's probably the best player ever produced. He's intelligent on the field, is concentrated on every minute of the game and really creates chances for any team he plays for.

#16 - MC - Yuri Matveyev - 23 - Liria Prizren - 24 caps, 6 goals.
Matveyev has been talked about since he was aged 16 and he's been a real top talent ever since breaking into the Di Bradini Cup squad a couple of cycles ago, despite being one of the youngest players in that team, he captained it. Many would have expected him to be in the starting eleven for the national team by now, but he's had a bit of a slow spell ever since Liria Prizren won their second Globe Cup, the form of his club side seeming to rub off on him as well. He's back now though and his flair and creativity should be on show for all to see once again. He's definitely back in form, has his eye for a killer ball back and his dynamic playing style seems to have made a return.

#17 - AML - Thorkil Bechinie von Lazan - 17 - CDSA Decraa - Uncapped.
And here is one of the few surprise inclusions in the squad for the Copa. Bechinie von Lazan is 17, one of the youngest picks since Robin Hjik himself (if not the youngest, but the FSM is notoriously poor at keeping that sort of record). He's a flying winger, often found dribbling past a defender or whipping a dangerous ball into the eighteen-yard box. He's real old school, he likes to hug the touchline, get to the byline and deliver a good cross. However, he's not completely one-dimensional. He's ever so good at cutting inside and getting a good shot off, a knack which meant he contributed regularly with goals for Pretia Prizren and that form gained him a move to CDSA Decraa. Sadowsky's a big fan, it remains to be seen if that is justified.

#18 - ST - Ildar Patrelyak - 24 - Directus (Eura) - 15 caps, 9 goals.
The former Atletik player worked well with Marius Sadowsky when he was at the club, but couldn't work with Kislasson who came after him. His bad boy image within Mytanar football not suiting Kislasson's new vision for the club, but Directus of the FSSO were happy to snap him up and his relationship with fellow Mytanar Navratil has given him a new lease of life as his goalscoring record has continued on from where it left off for Atletik Thessia before he was forced out from die Stadtbewohner. He's a strong forward, quick and good at holding the ball up, but is often lazy. Has the ability to create a goal from nothing or get sent off. His mood usually is what it depends on. He does seem to be willing to give a bit more for the cause with the national team and if he teams up with club mate Navratil and former manager (and confidant), Sadowsky to good effect, he could be tough to play against.

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Reserves.
#19 - GK - Kevin Schindler - 22 - Atletik Thessia - 3 caps.
He's one of the few goalkeepers that could be considered a real quality player in Mytannion. It's one position that the nation has a real deficiency in. Schindler needs some more games before being considered truly top level though and will probably never be more than a back-up for the national side. But even so, he has enough quality to fill that particular role.

#20 - DC - Agil Ojdanic - 25 - 1896 Ebor - Uncapped.
Ojdanic has truly had a meteoric rise through Mytanar football. Only two years ago was he clogging around the muddy pitches of Mytanar Second Division football, now he has won the Champions' Cup, the Mytanar Top League and has earned a call-up to the Mytanar national side. Ojdanic is a good centre back, old-fashioned and hardened by years of playing in the lower leagues. He is strong in the tackle and good in the air, a real all-round talent. He's not so good with the ball at his feet, but thankfully he'll be partnered with players who can help him out with that.

#21 - DR - Kevin Fuhrmann - 23 - Energia-Yaderny Miago - 7 caps.
Reliable is a word often used to describe Mytanar footballers. They're fairly consistent and they normally get the job done. Fuhrmann is another player that continues this trend. He's part of that Energia-Yaderny Miago side that won the Top League title this season. He's a more attacking option than we have probably ever had before at full back and is often seen marauding up and down the wing for E-Y Miago. He'll do that for the national side if necessary and will whip a few dangerous crosses in every time he plays. He's not too shabby defensively either, but definitely needs work on the aerial side of his game.

#22 - DR/DMC/MC - Marat Averyanov - 24 - Atletik Thessia - 10 caps, 3 goals.
He was originally called-up due to his versatility, but over the years he has developed into a top class player because of his actual qualities. He plays fair, but he plays tough and many have come up against him and picked up a war wound or two. He's a good passer of the ball and boasts a very powerful shot, which, whilst tough to deal with, isn't always that accurate. He is reminiscent of Musa Kiril, not just because of his versatility, but because he was one of few players to be called-up from a middling squad (Litala '93), Averyanov is one of few that that has happened to.

#23 - AMC - Omet Drazaal - 21 - Energia-Yaderny Miago - 14 caps, 3 goals.
A creative midfielder, boasting good interplay, he picks up the ball and can create something when he has it at his feet. He's a good dribbler of the ball too and his close control makes him a menace for defenders to deal with. He can pop up with a goal or two every so often as well, as shown with his one goal every two games for the national team (granted only in the four games he has played so far). He's a good talent and his silky skills are a good change to what we currently have in the side. He's not a typical Mytanar player and does really bring something a little different to the table.

#24 - ST - Rasmus Sovak - 23 - Olympic Thessia - Uncapped.
Sovak is one of the surprise call-ups and to be fair to the man, he probably shouldn't be. He's actually very similar to Haugen, a real complete forward, although he lacks some of the more physical attributes of his fellow striker. Sovak is pacy, clinical when shooting and actually quite good in the air. He's of average height and it is sometimes surprising when you see him rising above defenders or getting ahead of someone to nod home, but he's good at it and he has a real knack of being in the right place at the right time to nab a goal. A good asset to this team.

#25 - ST - Juha Pentanen - 26 - Sparta Torspeda (Buyan) - Uncapped.
Pentanen offers something different really. He's a true goal poacher, only truly effective around the six yard box - sometimes even the penalty spot! But no seriously, Sadowsky does like using some unfancied players and Pentanen is definitely one of them. He's a true journeyman but he seems to have found his feet in Buyan and he's a regular feature in the top goalscorer charts there. He'll be brought on late in games to add a weapon who can act on anything put in the area.

Kits.


With thanks to Kirola Sportswear.

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Fans.





The fans are renowned for being violent, hooliganism is a huge, huge problem in Mytannion and this continues when their fans follow the national team overseas. Fans will cause trouble and light up flares, set off fireworks and carry massive flags with them. The ultras scene is quite vibrant in Mytannion too, often the club team's fans will band together to create 2-3 impressive choreographies per qualifying campaign.

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Formation: 4-2-3-1. May revert to a 4-4-2 with a 'narrow diamond' (1 DMC, 2 MC, 1 AMC).
Style Modifier: +2.5
Permissions: Assume yes to all. Just don't kill any players and try to adhere to realism as much as possible. This team is physical and will put in some tough challenges so yellow and red cards may occur fairly often. Feel free to make use of the fan's bad behaviour if you wish, that's fine.

[Mytannion]

BREAKING: Male's body found at Ismet van Huijgevoort's Esca apartment.

The body is believed to be the SK Franz Josef City and Mytanar national team attacking midfielder. The body has been identified as a 29 year old male, suggesting strongly that the man is in fact van Huijgevoort. The body was found early this morning by an electrician who had been carrying out repairs on the footballer's home. There is no indication as to how the man died as yet nor is there a clear answer regarding who the man actually is, right now, the limited information available points to the idea that this may well be Ismet van Huijgevoort. If that is the case then this is truly a sad day for Mytanar football because despite his flamboyant and sometimes controversial lifestyle he has 119 caps and 32 goals for the national side and is one of the greatest players to grace our country. We will have updates as we get more information.

UPDATE #1: Ana Kuliskova, Ismet van Huijgevoort's girlfriend has been seen entering University Hospital Esca, perhaps confirming the fact that this body is Ismet van Huijgevoort.

The 25 year old model was seen entering the hospital at around 2 PM local time and with the University Hospital being the one that is closest to van Huijgevoort's apartment it seems logical that that would be where the body would have been taken. It seems like too big a coincidence for Ms. Kuliskova would be going to the hospital anyway, given that she has been very active recently, appearing on television shows in Mytannion and catwalks around Rushmore over the past couple of weeks - it does not seem like she was going because of any personal ailment. It seems extremely likely that she is going to identify the body and then the news may well be confirmed. The pair have been in a relationship for the past couple of years and even though there have been many allegations of van Huijgevoort being seen with other women in this period, Ms. Kuliskova has remained with the footballer. This will be a devastating time for her if worst fears are confirmed.

UPDATE #2: Ana Kuliskova has left University Hospital Esca and a spokesman for herself and his family has confirmed that the mad found dead is in fact Ismet van Huijgevoort.

"Ms. Kuliskova has confirmed the identity of the male found at Mr. van Huijgevoort's apartment to in fact be Ismet van Huijgevoort. It is with great sadness that Ms. Kuliskova has decided to make this public and she has kindly asked the assembled media to respect her and his family's grieving and give them time to come to terms with the loss of a much loved boyfriend, son and brother." The spokesman said outside the hospital. He added the fact that the body had been identified and nothing more and that the cause of death was being investigated. It was also stated that van Huijgevoort had been dead for at least 34 hours before his body being discovered and that Ms. Kuliskova had not heard from her boyfriend for around five or six days, with him making his trip back to Mytannion from the Polar Islandstates a week ago ahead of the Copa Rushmori, with him being included in a preliminary squad for that. The wait is now for the coroner's report, which will tell us exactly how van Huijgevoort died.

UPDATE #3: The coroner found that Ismet van Huijgevoort died somewhere between three and four days before his body was found, but notes he cannot be completely precise. The cause of death was acute cocaine poisoning.

Everybody knew about Ismet van Huijgevoort's flamboyant lifestyle and everybody knew about his clashes with Atletik manager Marius Sadowsky when he played there and also with the national side. There have always been reports of van Huijgevoort doing things he perhaps should not and keeping the company of people that were less than desirable. It was reported that when Domeka Iriarte considered taking him to SK Franz Josef City he had reservations over his actions outside football and despite his prodigious talent it was nearly enough to scupper the deal. This must come as a bit of a surprise even with the player in question, though. Nobody seems to understand why van Huijgevoort would do this given the success he has enjoyed recently, winning two Champions' Cups and the Cup of Harmony twice on top of that in recent years. The real investigation will be the media one into Ismet van Huijgevoort's death and how it came about, how he spiraled out of control up until this point.

There must be reasons behind him taking so much cocaine to poison himself and although both his girlfriend and the family have issued statements asking for privacy and the story being left to lie, that just won't happen. With so much public interest in the story the media will dig as deep as they need to to find the information they want. They want to know why this situation has come about and with Ismet van Huijgevoort leading such an interesting life up until this point anyway, the story should be a good one.

[Saugeais]

It was a bright and sunny day as the Saugeais team bus driving down an Ossidiacquan highway. Most of the players weren't paying attention to the surroundings whipping by as the bus made it's way into a good sized town. They were focused on Franco Delgado, head coach of the squad, and the speech he was in the middle of. I say most, because, well, one player was alone in his own thoughts as he stared out the bus window. Amable Deniau's mind wandered back to the last Copa Rushmori, how he was a near unstoppable force in the tournament. How not even an early goal from Euran Tom Riley in the championship match could quell the onslaught brought upon them by him and his teammates, and how a retaliation brace subdued the former World Cup champs in the grand final, 4-1, giving Saugeais their first taste of success in the regional competition. Deniau was transfixed on that memory, focused on it....."OI!" Deniau turned to look at the front of the bus. "You coming or what?" It was coach Delgado, making sure all were off the bus, as it arrived at its destination. Deniau didn't notice, but he complied, picking up his gear and headed towards the front of the bus.

Deniau was getting off the team bus in to their hotel in Sant'Elia. It's been a long three years since he raised the Copa Rushmori trophy with the rest of team, a team that has remained unchanged since that last Copa for the most part. But after falling short in the last World Cup qualifiers, after being completely overlooked by the Cup of Harmony panel and missing out on a chance to repeat as champions in that tournament, Deniau had thoughts about how he could help the team more than what he is doing now. He has brought it up to coach Delgado numerous times, several of those occurrences ending in "You're doing fine" or "The team is happy with exactly what you are doing." Deniau hasn't returned those feelings as of late, as the recent previous failures has led him down this road.

Setting his bags down in the room, he flipped on the television to a local sports station, talking about the Copa, of course, but also alluding to the upcoming Winter Olympics taking place in his hometown of Arçon. Deniau couldn't make out the language, but the image that flashed on the screen were slightly nerve-wracking. The Olympics were to begin in three weeks time, but outside of the sports buildings, much of the international housing wasn't finished. construction crews were racing around the clock to finish the exterior on half of the erected buildings, while in others there were faulty wiring and horrendous plumbing jobs that still needed to be tackled. Arçon wasn't destitute by any means, as it's forest and ski resort were prime summer and winter tourist attractions, but the government looked like it wasn't using it's funding correctly. Deniau sighed at the pictures as his hotel phone rang. "Mr. Deniau, it's Damien Roncero, the Curate for your team while you stay in this fair country. Please meet in the lobby. The team is going to a press conference." Of course, media day before opening kick, how could he forget. The team was to have an open session with the media in one of the hotel banquet rooms, and Deniau was the first to take the stand.

"So how about your home stadium getting expanded for the Olympics? That'll bring in more people next season, right?" Deniau turned towards the reporter and answered curtly, "If there even is a next season." Deniau wasn't happy with the situation back at home, as the domestic league has been in financial disarray for the last few years. It had finally gotten to the point were the FA had completely shut down all footballing operations, barring the national team, leaving several domestic players out in the cold and looking for a place to ply their trade. Deniau was one of those players, but no one answered his call. Not even after the multiverse-wide transfer window opened did he gain even a remote chance of being taken. "I've always thought I was a big fish in a small pond," Deniau said, responding to a question about his international status. "But after that window came and went, it was clear that wasn't the case, with people outside the country telling me I had acquired these delusions of grandeur somehow. I'm 29, and I realize my time at the top isn't going to go on for much longer. I just hoped that somewhere along the line I would've played at a big club overseas, like at a Royal Rumiatzi, an FC1. Surtsey Island, a Bayern-Algaer, an Olympique de Fontvielle. Teams like those."

Deniau was reluctant to answer any more questions and retreated back to his hotel room, thinking about how to better himself in the upcoming tournament. He's only faced one team out of his group, Eastfield Lodge, back when Saugeais hosted the Copa, and with their lineup unchanged as well, he feels he knows how to deal with their strengths while exploiting their weaknesses. The other two, however, Deniau has no recollection of facing before. Coach Delgado has devised some initial plan, but Deniau knows he'll deviate from it when the situation calls for it. A tweak here, and pass there, and a shot off yonder, he'll find a way to get past their defenses. After all, if Deniau wants to see that trophy again, the trophy he's been fixated on, he'll need to find a way.

[Eura]

Eura: Copa Rushmori XVII Squad

Manager: Kelly Sporadic (Audioslava), 62 years old

Kelly Sporadic first rose to stardom as a young playmaker for the Silexhera national football side, back in the qualifiers for World Cup 46, and quickly made his name as a star player for XXV de Maio in Cafundeu, where he would spend most of his career. He retired after helping Silexhera qualify for their first and only World Cup finals in cycle 48.

Kelly became manager of the Audioslavia national team for the World Cup 59 cycle, aged just forty-four thanks to the slower Cafunduese time compared to that of Audioslavia, and with a modest history of management and coaching in Cafunduese club football. His first four months brought a level of success that utterly flabbergasted his employers, reaching the final of AOCAF 34 with a bare-bones team of amateurs, including his half-Cafunduese, half-Silexheran son Weverton, who qualified for the Audioslavia national team through means unknown. He followed the AOCAF 34 final with victory in the Baptism of Fire, but could only lead the Bulls to a modest 3-3-6 record in qualifying for WC59, finishing a disappointing 6th from 7 teams, following that with a first-round exit in the Cup of Harmony.

Kelly bounced back for cycle 60, and lead a rejuvinated Audioslavia team to AOCAF 35, where they went one better than their previous foray in the tournament and emerged victorious, beating Andossa se Mitrin Vega 2-0 in the final. World Cup 60 qualifying would prove to be another steep learning curve, as the Bulls finished mid-table in their group, but the side would record their best Cup of Harmony run later on, reaching the semi-finals before falling to Taeshan.

Kelly had lead a fledgling, mostly amateur Audioslavia to two championships, a final and a semi-final in his first two cycles in charge of Audioslavia - a fantastic feat - but things would begin to turn sour for the Silexheran in cycle 61.

The Bulls failed to get out of the group in AOCAF 36, failed to improve on their previous performance in World Cup qualifying, and were all-but ousted from the Cup of Harmony after a heavy defeat to Kinitaria and a subsequent draw at Sargossa. The Audioslavian media, always quick to jump on NT managers, jumped on Kelly, and the Silexheran decided to call it quits before the final game of the tournament, thanking the supporters, players and FFA for ten eventful years as manager.

Kelly became manager of Audioslavia's former BoF rivals Licentiapacisterra for cycle 62, finding immediate success with a championship in the form of the Campionato Esportiva. Kelly then did with the cyan what he couldn't do for the Bulls - take them to the World Cup finals, qualifying via a playoff. The side amassed a paltry point in the finals, but the side would take heart from their position at the top table of world football, and had high hopes to retain their CE title but, in a battle between two former-champions, lost out in the first round to the awesomely named - if modestly talented - THRILLEDGE.

From here, like in Audioslavia, things would turn a little sour. The cyan struggled in their WC63 qualifying group, finally finishing second before entering into, and losing, a playoff with eventual runners-up Starblaydia. The Licentiapacisterran FA decided they'd seen enough of the Audioslavian as NT boss, and announced his contract would not be renewed after the next Campionato Esportiva.

Now 60, Kelly tends to play a solid, defensive style of play focused on technique and maintaining possession, no doubt moulded that way after years of having to get a bunch of amateur Audioslavians to avoid humiliatingly large defeats. His 4-5-1 formation he used at Audioslavia has been retained by the claret and green and used to great effect in the WC championship winning cycle, while Kelly's own interpretation of the system, at Licen, has morphed into a more fluid 4-1-4-1.

He signed on as Euran national team manager with a three year contract to the great surprise of commentators after the Copa Rushmori that preceded the qualifying stages of the 64th World Cup, when Eura were 13th in the world and attempting to regain the sort of form that propelled them to the final of the 60th World Cup. Three years senior of the man he replaces, Ben Randall, Sporadic has to prove now that he can work his magic again with a team that plays a free flowing, attractive style that he would appreciate – but with a higher tempo and a more attacking nature. Perhaps his biggest problem will be tightening up the defence.

After one contract renewal, two World Cup campaigns and a Copa Rushmori tournament, Kelly Sporadic is sitting in a fairly secure position as Eura manager. World Cup 64 qualifying was an underwhelming debut for Sporadic and Kallstrom as they got used to the system, before an embarrassing finals performance saw them out at the group stage after failing to win a single game. But Sporadic rung some changes before the World Cup 65 campaign and this qualifying campaign went better, recovering from a shaky start to give Eura the second best record in qualifying of any team that year.

His side recovered from a disappointing performance against Mytannion in the opening game of the finals to record a legendary victory over Audioslavia, a notable personal victory for Sporadic that possibly saved his job, before another win over the Licentian Isles. Eura went out in the round of sixteen, but only after the Holy Empire parked the bus to earn a 0-0 draw and win on penalties. Poor results followed in Eura’s long awaited return from exile in the Copa Rushmori and in Olympic football, but progress is being made and only a failure to qualify put Sporadic’s position in jeopardy. In his four years as boss, he has built a big rapport with not only the team but the Euran fans and people, who almost treat him like one of their own – a surrogate for Ben Randall. That love was cemented by the greatest achievement of all; a World Cup win. These are truly great times for Euran football and Kelly Sporadic. The mood was tempered slightly by a 4-1 defeat in the final of Copa Rushmori 16, after a hard fought campaign, but a respectable third place finish at the following Confederations Cup against the same opposition got Eura back on track. Being unable to retain the World Cup title, beaten at the hands of the Polarians, was a blow but Kelly marches on regardless.

(Credit to Audioslava for writing up most of this biography.)

Assistant: Johannes Kallstrom (Polar Islandstates), 49 years old

Signing his contract on the same day as Sporadic, also for three years, Kallstrom is the latest Polarian import to Euran football, reflecting the close admiration by Eurans of their hardy island nature and going the other way an admiration of a culture where football is deeply ingrained as a passion rather than a sport. He will be working in close conjunction with his subordinate and Head Coach, Louis Watson. Kallstrom’s role is important covering for Sporadic on occasion and playing perhaps a more pivotal role than most assistant managers do in relation to their main men. Much like in his time assistant managing the Terns, he has a big say in selection, tactical chemistry, discipline, maintaining extremely high fitness levels and a superb ability to judge the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition.

Head Coach: Louis Watson (Eura), 48 years old

Watson has been on the coaching staff for over a decade, and plays a key role in squad selection and maintaining discipline. He has been approached by top foreign clubs for vacant manager positions several times, yet he continues to act as Sporadic’s enforcer and motivator. Largely credited with Eura's fantastic new generation of youth talent, despite a poor showing at the last Di Bradini Cup.

Styles and Permission

Style Modifier: +2

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:

Choose my goalscorers – YES
Godmod scoring events – YES
RP injuries to my players – YES
Godmod injuries to my players – YES (But only how the injury happens, NOT the extent of the injury)
Hand out yellow cards to my players – YES
Hand out red cards to my players – YES
Godmod other events – YES, provided you keep events within the realms of realism, so no deaths etc. If I have to RP one of my goals as coming off a goose in mid-air or anything else I deem ridiculous I will eat your fucking soul. Generic last minute supergoals from 500 yards/goalkeepers scoring hat-tricks will be given the same distasteful reaction. In fact, I should probably just say ‘fuck you’ in advance. Suck it world!

25 man squad

Shirt number – name – position – age – caps – goals – club

Goalkeepers

1 – Chris Waller – GK – 27 – 38 – 0 – Ulsa
13 – Carl Brommis – GK – 26 – 2 – 0 – Directus

Defenders

2 – Nick Feeney – RB – 33 – 184 – 8 – Revolutionaries
21 - Weylon Churchilli – RWB – 24 – 18 – 2 – Spartangrad
4 – Michael Robertson – CB – 34 – 142– 7 – Directus
5 – Lyle Heath – LCB – 30 – 76 – 2 – Ulsa
15 - Craig Gilbert – CB – 22 – 18 – 0 – Directus
19 - Mark Rogers – CB – 22 – 9 – 0 – Revolutionaries
25 - Gavin Madison - CB - 23 - 4 - 0 - Ulsa
3 – Tim Curren – LB – 26 – 8 – 0 – Preussen Kitzbuhel (Mytannion)
23 - Andrew Watson - LWB - 21 - 4 - 0 - Lajuno

Midfielders

16 - Mike Adams – RW – 24 – 12 – 3 – Spartangrad
22 - Ryan King - AM - 24 - 5 - 0 - Ulsa
6 – Gareth Blackthorn – CDM/CM – 23 – 32 – 2 – Revolutionaries
8 – John Spartan – CM/CAM – 23 – 37 – 10 – Revolutionaries
24 - Tom Riley – CDM/CM – 35 – 136 – 12 – Northbrook Diamonds (Polar Islandstates)
18 - Glenn Anderson – CM – 25 – 39 – 3 – Directus
20 - Joe Robel – CM/CAM – 24 – 3 – 1 – Lajuno
7 – Craig Sinclair – AM – 21 – 51 – 20 – Dinamo Esca (Mytannion)
11 – Chad Parsons – LW – 33 – 111 – 26 – Spartangrad
12 - Toby Hayes – LW – 23 – 6 – 0 – Falourr

Forwards

10 – Skorji Oslograd – ST - 30 – 79 – 47 – FC Axel Heiburg (Polar Islandstates)
9 – Sam Ashtree – ST – 26 – 19 – 8 – Royal Rumitazi (Astograth)
14 – Sam Thomas – CF – 32 – 70 – 29 – Spartangrad
17 – Liam Allen – CF – 25 – 6 – 1 – Brigham

Preferred starting lineup

Note; does not take into account suspensions, injuries or any other change. At the end of each RP I post, I will give a team for the next match and formation type. If no such lineup is posted, assume that there have been no changes and use the lineup below.

GK - 1. C Waller
RB - 2. N Feeney
RCB - 5. M Robertson
LCB - 4. L Heath
LB - 3. T Curren
RW - 7. C Sinclair
RCAM – 8. J Spartan
LCDM - 6. G Blackthorn
LW - 11. C Parsons
CF - 10. S Oslograd
ST - 9. S Ashtree

Subs

13. C Brommis
21. W Churchilli
15. C Gilbert
19. M Rogers
16. M Adams
24. T Riley
22. R King
14. S Thomas
17. L Allen

Player Roles

Captain: Michael Robertson
Vice Captain: Nick Feeney
Direct free kicks: Craig Sinclair, John Spartan
Indirect free kicks: Nick Feeney (Right), Mickey Smith (Left)
Right corner: Chad Parsons (Inswinging), Craig Sinclair (Both), Nick Feeney (Outswinging)
Left corner: Nick Feeney (Inswinging), Chad Parsons (Outswinging), Craig Sinclair (Both)
Penalties: John Spartan, Chad Parsons, Craig Sinclair, Skorji Oslograd, Gareth Blackthorn

Kits

[Ossidiacqua]

Just a small reminder, that the first cutoff will be tonight, in roughly eleven hours. Thank you.

[Ossidiacqua]

Valentin Rohr was rushed off his feet. This Copa Rushmori was causing havoc at Sant'Elia International Airport. The Polarian had long ago agreed to the management and upkeep of an international airport in Ossidiaacqua as part of a treaty of cooperation signed by the two nations. The locals were, in general, petrified by technology and the idea of anything where they couldn't see the gears and levers that made it work, so there was a posting of around two hundred Polarians to the city that made it tick over. And, for the most part, it was an easy job. Dry, hot weather, a relatively light workload given the lack of enthusiasm for airflight from the Acquans, and as much top quality coffe as one could drink.

Until this Copa thing was announced, anyway. Planes from all over Rushmore were queueing up up there, lining up in the sky waiting to land on the airport solitary runway, and the staff were struggling. Double shifts had started as the rush to get ready for the tournament had begun. Even the Grand High Cardinal himself, Giocomo Re, had visited in a publicity bid. The place made him uncomfortable, that much was clear, but aside from that it was almost as if he had no idea what was going on.

But as the delegations trickled in, and the fans started arriving, it was clear that the Polarian workforce was never going to be enough. So it was that they put out adverts for help from the local community. Any Acquan accepting such a position would no doubt immediately find themselves starring on a Magisterium watch-list, but for the few progressive Acquans out there, with minds more capable of adapting and accepting technology, it was the perfect job.

They were hard workers, he had to admit. Even if, bar a handful of particularly enthusiastic and obsessive devotees, they needed a lot of hands-on guidance when it came to the technology. The enthusiastic ones aside, therefore, most of them had been given the stewarding positions. The skilled ones were being trained how to do the more complex jobs though, putting them in full change of some pieces of kit on the airport side. As yet, no Acquans had been certified to work with the aircraft themselves.

On this particular afternoon, a couple of the more enthusiastic Acquans were there in arrivals with Valentin when a plane full of Djocorangans arrived from Mtoville. Ossidiacqua was one of the few nations that still maintained close ties with the wartorn central Rushmori nation, and so the plane was packed.

"Okay, first up over here!" called Valentin, beckoning at once for the first in the queue of arrivals to join him at the desk, whilst bringing one of the Acquan apprentices over to help. "Passport, please."

The Djocorangan held over his passport and smiled. Valentin operated the equipment, noting that the guy and his friends back in the queue had a huge assortment of oddly shaped luggage with them.

"Your luggage looks interesting?" said Valentin, in Acquan.

"Ah, yes," answered the man at the desk, whose passport identified him as Kossi Traore, in broken Acquan, "we are the Mtoville Central Police Force All-Stars Band. We are here to entertain at the Copa."

"The Copa, eh?" said Valentin, "so you all speak Acquan?"

"Oh, oh yes. All very good speakers." asked Kossi.

Valentin looked at the queue forming behind the band, no doubt packed with people without such a grasp on the local language as Kossi's band. He looked at his Acquan apprentice.

"These guys all speak the lingo, you think you can handle them," he looked at the apprentice's badge, "Domenico?"

"Yeah, should be able to, Valentin. Thanks."

"No problem, I'll help Markus get cracking on that other line," said Valentin, completely missing the eye contact between Domenico and Kossi as he shuffled his paperwork, "you know how the machines work?"

"Oh, yes. I'll be fine, sir."

"Good, good. On you go then." said Valentin officiously, before walking over to the other completely rammed passport desk, full of hollering Djocorangans and his stressed-out colleague, leaving a smiling Domenico in charge of the other desk on his own.

"Welcome to Ossidiacqua, Kossi."

"Thank you, Domenico."

And in the huddle over by the other desk, Valentin never had the chance to check his apprentice's appraisal sheet off. Had he done so, he would have discovered that passports were never asked for. Smiled were exchanged. Handshakes were offered. Bags were never checked. The Allstars Band entered the country unchallenged.

[Falcus]

Nickname: The Falcons
Manager: David Radic, of Audioslavia
Formation: 3-4-2-1
Style: +0.5 (Though, for RP Purposes, can show shades of their old +2.5)

(Kits provided by Kirola Sportswear of Audioslavia)

(Blue means male, Green means female)
Starting XI:
ST Spyridon Jovanovic -- Canalave Dragons (Valladares) -- #16 (Quick and Accurate)
LW José Abelló -- Reedring FC -- #9 (Flank Threat)
RW Stanislava Hertz -- Wingipeg Wingers -- #10 (Crossing Master)
LM Severi Næss -- Iturributa United (Iturributa) -- #5 (Swing Man)
CM Edwardo Baez -- Urbizania Wanderers (Astograth) -- #8 Captain (Flow Controller)
RM Hans Elliot -- FC1. Surtsey Island Gulls (Polar Islandstates) -- #22 (Unpredictable Winger)
DM Aukusti Regenbogen -- Marriet -- #6 (Sweeper-ish)
LB Yvonne Gyuappo -- Marriet -- #3 (Big Back)
CB Atticus Koenigsted -- Iturributa United (Iturributa) -- #7 (Play Caller)
RB Ásbjörn Tachibana -- Marriet -- #2 (Fast Back)
GK Chris Lockwood -- Umber Lumber -- #1

Substitutes:
F Zdenko Aleshire -- Wingipeg Wingers -- #11 (Unreliable, but has strokes of brilliance)
F Sigmund Illic -- Northern Log -- #20
M Svidga Svendersson -- Pays de Croix (Saugeais) -- #15
M Taru Gensch -- Falcus FC -- #14
M Darry Kouzmanoff -- Kaje Football (United Gordonopia) -- #4
D Sergey Grzeskiewicz -- Directus (Eura) -- #21 (First-choice extra defender)
D Palmer Winters -- Umber Lumber -- #19
D Joaquin Pelletier -- Nestingham FC -- #18
D Ulrika Ingesson -- Marriet -- #17
GK Marissa Anthony -- Nestingham FC -- #12
GK Somer Lann -- Falcus FC -- #23

RP Permissions:
Choose my goalscorers: Y
Godmod scoring events: Y
RP injuries to my players: N
Godmod injuries to my players: N
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Y
Hand out red cards to my players: Y
Godmod other events: Y

[Eura]

OOC: It's cultural insensitivity time, complete with a hamfisted reference to this song.

Light glowed down on Chris Keen as he woke upon the cold concrete floor. His head throbbed as he picked himself up from the floor and a pile of vomit just to his side, before realising a police officer and another individual was stood over him with a torch aimed right at him. 'You alright mate?'
'Yeah I...where am I?'
'This is the service area for the fourteenth terminal of Bastion Fairways International. What the hell are you doing here?'
'No I mean, you know, where in the, uh, place thing?'
'...the airport, you knob. Get up and show me some papers.'
'I'm the press bloke, you know, Euran team. I know Kelly Sporadic!'
'Yeah mate, and I'm the fucking Prime Minister. Give me some ID, now.' The other individual, a young woman looking down at Chris sternly, decided to intervene. 'Excuse me officer, I can vouch for this man.'
'Eh? Who are you?'
'A colleague, here.' She handed him some identification and a batch of paper that looked suspiciously like a few hundred Euran pounds. 'You've seen nothing here today officer, have you?' The police officer nodded politely and walked off, leaving them to it.

---------------

A few hours later and Chris was (almost) sober, sat in the passenger seat of a car that was going way too fast for his stomach to deal with. His colleague Dana was sat next to him, looking very unimpressed. She tipped his head up with her thumb and then let go, annoyed as his chin slumped down again. 'You need to cut down on the whiskey Chris. You're in a position of responsibility and, well, if it wasn't for me? You'd have missed the flight and been out of a job.' Chris nodded with a guilty look on his face. 'I know, I know, I'm sorry alright? It was fun though, have you ever been to the clubs on Tranquility Square? It's insane. There was that pop band who did that 'De De Dean' song from a while back, you know, 'De De Dean Dean, Dean Green, lover of the Brigham Queen. Oh, and I got to know this girl called Amy right, she was great and, get this, had the hair recoloured with the blue and gold of the federal banner on her-'
'Oh god, stop right there! Too much information Chris! Look, all I need to know is if you're ready to go or not. If Kelly smells drink on you again you're in the shit.'
'Yeah no, I'm good. All my stuff's already been sent on right?'
'Absolutely, we've got the VIP treatment and all.' Chris took an opportunity to smirk as Dana turned away and looked out of the window. 'We have? That's interesting.'

'Yes.' A moment of silence passed and his grin didn't fade, and her patience was tested once more. 'Oh come on, what?'
'You're still mounting Captain Fantastic Mr Riley then?'
'Leave it.'
'He's like, old! 35! You're nearly a decade younger than him!'
'So what, jealous are we?'
'Just saying, it's not very professional.' Dana looked more amused than angry now. 'Say's the guy who spent the best part of last night with his face in the patriotic paradise of the bottle and some very questionable other areas of, erm, curiosity.'
'Hey now, what I get up to in my own time is entirely my prerogative.'
'Not when you're running press for the national football team. Now perk up will you? We're here.' They both got out of the car and found themselves already on the runway, with a EurAir airliner ready to go ahead of them. It was decorated in the beautiful red and gold livery of the Old Royal Banner which had been traditionally symbolic of Euran football. Most of the squad had already made their way to Ossidiacqua, and this plane would be carrying some of the players who had extra club commitments in the summer as well as backroom staff and media personnel. Amongst them on this chilly day would be Chris and Dana, who were really quite late. Their boss, the General Media Co-ordinator, was stood on the steps with a disapproving look on his face. Dana walked by with a guilty smile yet uninterrupted, but Chris had no such luck. 'You.'
'Morning Mike! Can I just say, your suit looks fantastic today and-'
'Shut up. We're heading to a country with a strong religious identity, in fact it's generally a bit old fashioned if you will. If we catch you on the booze or the pussy, not that you'll find any there, you'll be on the first plane home and clearing out your desk at the FA. Now get on board, we're late.'

---------------

Once they'd got away from the airport, it had become very clear very quickly that Chris was going to despise this godforsaken country. Everything seemed fine when they landed at the suspiciously Valhallan airport in Sant'Elia, but since then it had all gone a bit odd. The water was practically black and had to be put through special purifiers, and while being taken around in horse driven coaches was a nice change of pace it was far from luxurious. It also happened to take bloody ages to get anywhere. Dana was enjoying it, taking photos of the arid but strangely beautiful sights, though there was only so much they got to see as the team was based near Sant'Elia anyway. The team camp was at least quite decent, clearly based around some old buildings and a pitch of questionable quality, but the mighty Euran footballing spirit would overcome such issues where other nations 'prima donna' players would go into hysterics. Of course, Chris was just as bitchy. He and Dana had ventured into the city in the evening, and found themselves at a restaurant eating some sublime fish. It was the first thing that had gone right for Chris all day, but even then he still found time to complain. 'I need a drink.'
'What? You already bought a pint.'
'Yeah, but it's not doing it for me. I need some whiskey.' Dana sighed and gesticulated towards a waiter for the bill. 'Look, you can go without some of the Banger for a couple of weeks can't you? It's not that hard. And anyway, why aren't you focusing on enjoying the place when we're going to have to get to work in a day or two? You might as well enjoy it, this place is fabulous! The Bauci Osservatorio, the fine old architecture, the Grand Cathedral!'

'Boring old shite. Where are the skyscrapers? The highways? The strip clubs?''
'Believe it or not, you philistine, not everywhere has to be like the east side of Bastion. Aren't you glad to get away from the madness of it, the dense population, the noise, the lights?'
'No, I'm not actually and...oh here we go.' The waiter came over, and made the mistake of addressing Chris in his native tongue. Dana was about to answer him with her own skilled grasp of the language when Chris leaned over to her. 'Alright, what do I say?'
'The phrase is 'Potrei avere il conto'. Emphasis on the 'e' in the il, I think.'
'That's can we get the bill right?'
'Yes.'
'Do they even have bills here? It all seems a bit commune-y to me, with a touch of classical architecture. How do I say "fuck off, commie" in Acquan?' Dana decided to give him a slap, sending Chris back off his chair to the floor. She turned to the waiter and addressed him, getting the bill and apologizing for causing a fuss. She dragged him up, and they began to turn for home. 'I've got a coach ready for us already. Compliments of Kallstrom.'
'Oh good, the nordic nonce has decided to stop being so tight for once and pay for something. Praise the lord!' Seemingly out of nowhere, Dana put her hand over his mouth. 'Shut up. You know the rules are a bit...different here. Let's just go home.'

[Polar Islandstates]

"It's a long way down. Isn't there a lift?"

"...you twerp."

"Or an escalator or something?"

Jorgen Kirvesniemi took his newspaper and thwapped Bjorn Konigstein over the head with it.

"It's Ossidiacqua, Bjorn. They don't have those things here."

"But, that stadium is in a crater. A crater. How the hell do we get down there?"

"We walk."

"All of us?"

"If you ever get your ass out the way, sure."

"But... it's a crater." said Bjorn, flapping his hands in exasperation.

"That's just Ossidiacqua for you, Bjorn. Things are different here. In, yeah, in weird ways."

"I mean, what the hell even caused this thing?"

"I don't know, Bjorn," whined Jorgen, "I'll ask Antonio. Just get moving, yeah?"

"Fine, fine..." said Bjorn, turning and finally starting the descent from street level down into the sun-baked bowl of Il Cratere, in the centre of Sant'Antioco.

"Well, Antonio?" asked Jorgen of the Diplomatic Curate the Magisterium had provided the team, who was walking behind him, with the rest of the team and the staff following on.

"Nobody knows. Or can remember. We don't know, in short."

"The Magisterium has no notes on it?"

"The Magisterium has few notes."

"Hm."

"Yes. Hm."

They proceeded down a few more steps in awkward silence.

"So," prompted Jorgen, "You like, being a Curate? Living here?"

"It's okay. I enjoy my job."

"And what about the country? Anything happening? How's the excitement for the Copa?"

"Well, there's been a lot of fuss, as you can imagine. But, oddly enough, one of the first things we noticed was a lot of Djocorangans coming in to fill the entertainment and hospitality employment contracts that the Magisterium out-sourced. I'm not sure why we didn't have enough locals here to-"

"Hey!" interrupted Bjorn, yelling from the front in his nervous excitement about being in his first Terns squad, "aren't we in a giant bowl here?"

"Pretty much," yelled Antonio back, "why?"

"Well, what if it rains?"

"You know, I don't think that'll come up, somehow..."


EDIT, OOC: You have roughly half an hour til I read all the RPs and cut you off.

[Ossidiacqua]

"Haven't we been here before, Rodriguez?"

Rodriguez, who of course wasn't really called Rodriguez, but was called Rodrigo Perea, smiled dutifully on the outside and cursed the stupidity of the man who'd have had him sacked and killed just two years ago.

"Of course, Your Excellency," he hissed through a grimace, "this is Il Colosseo. The home of football."

"Yes yes, but I mean, haven't I been here before? To watch the team?"

"Several times."

"But, to make a speech?"

"You make a speech at every Trofeo final, Your Excellency, remember?"

"Yes but that's not the national team! Or is it? I don't know this sport, really..."

"No, you're right, that's not the national team. Not in the Trofeo."

"Well. Then why have I got the feeling I've been here before?"

Perea smiled. He weighed up the plan in his head. The Tecnominati's tendrils had infiltrated every level of Acquan society, but only the inner sanctum of the organisation knew that the Chief Priestess had personally recruited the sacked Personal Deacon of the Grand High Cardinal to be an inside agent and go back to work for the man under a disguise. He'd replaced himself in his own position, effectively saving the now officially 'missing' Rodrigo Perea from execution following the termination of his duties - the usual way of enforcing the confidentiality and secrecy of the Grand High Cardinal's inner affairs. That the name of 'Rodrgio Perea' was still at large was a cause of embarrassment for Re, of course, and should he ever work out that the man stood beside him at the national stadium was none other than the man who'd previously been stood there, well, Perea would find himself sentenced to death twice over. And if anyone knew how to find a way to kill you twice, it was former assassin Re and his cronies.

The Tecnominati's plan was simple in aim, but ultimately would be phenomenally complicated to pull off. From their base of operations in the caverns beneath the Valhallan-run airport - a mecca for the technophiles in the nation - the Tecnominati had set about bring their plan to fruition, and Perea was a crucial part of that. When the time wall of the Oasiricans had gone wrong and created the Pause Time around the nation, the people had gotten angry. Once the nation had rebuilt, the Magisterium, haters of technology since way back when the Oasirican scientists threatened their belief system, had found it easy to gain power. The belief system had long since been forgotten and replaced with one that prayed to the goddess of machinery, of course, with only her apparent benevolence intervening when another crucial condenser broke down, but the Magisterium was still as against technology and if anything even more powerful than they had ever been. The technophobic priests who ran that institution benefitted greatly from the lack of technology. It served their goals well, and their goals only. It kept them in power. Chief amongst them, Grand High Cardinal Giomoco Re. It suited him just fine.

Well the Technominati wanted to put a stop to all that. They wanted to remove Re from power, overthrow the Magisterium, reignite the trust of the people in the technological possibilities that would be open to them if they didn't have such a backwards set of individuals in charge, and bring about a second technological revolution, bringing Ossidiacqua into the modern world as an integral part of Rushmori society. They were forward thinking, they were open to progress, and they were dead set on it.

So dead set, in fact, that when the ramifications of removing Re from power were worked out, the Chief Priestess didn't even blink. There really was only one way to remove a man like him from office. Perea would have to kill him.

But only when the timing was right.

The Copa offered the perfect opportunity for such a large event, and the Tecnominati had been getting their representatives in positions of power at the airport in order to smuggle in Djocorangan militia for months now. The Tecnominati would be ready, when the time came.

But before that time, the complex chain of events would need to be set in motion, and until that signal, the utmost secrecy must be maintained. They'd come close to pushing that first domino once before, until the plan changed, and that moment had been at the last time Re had been asked to give a speech in front of the national team - the play-off first leg against Northern Sunrise Islands.

So, when Re asked about that moment, Perea had to stop and think. How much had already been revealed to Re on that occasion? Would any answers here give anything away? His mind raced through the plan, long since changed to accommodate and take advantage of the hosting of the Copa Rushmori.

He evaluated his options, and decided he was fine.

"...Rodriguez?" prompted Re.

"Oh, erm, because you have been, Your Excellency. You gave a speech ahead of the first leg of the World Cup Playoff against Northern Sunrise Islands."

"Ah, ah yes. I remember now. Did we win?"

"No. We lost."

"Ah, I see. Ah well, best get this over with then." said Re, standing up and reaching for his speaking cone, "silence them for me would you, Rodriguez? I've got a speech to give."

Perea stood up and held his arms out, the signal that the ushers in every section of the crowd had been waiting for. The message got around, and the huge structure fell into revered silence, choking with anticipation.

Re stood up, looked at his sheet of parchment, and cleared his throat. He held up the cone to his mouth, and as loudly as he manage, he bellowed.

"Ladies, gentlemen, my Acquan brothers and sisters, and our wider Rushmori cousins... Welcome to Ossidiacqua!"

There was the sound of a gunshot. A gunpowder crackle reverberated around the stadium. Splintered wood rained down on Re and Perea, who both ducked instinctively. Guarda Magisterium swarmed around them, coming from seemingly nowhere, and a shocked but unharmed Grand High Cardinal was quickly led from his balcony into his private quarters. Police suddenly swarmed over the stadium, looking for the assailant who'd attempted to take the Grand High Cardinal's life, whilst Perea ran his fingers over the whole the pellet had made in the balcony just above where Re had been standing a moment earlier.

Thoughts racing through his head, he turned and leant on the balcony, looking around the stadium that was now a frantic hive of activity. Way down below, the referee took the initiative to start the match and give the people something to look at rather than obsess and panic about, but Perea wasn't interested.

Instead, he tried to think who'd have tried to kill the Grand High Cardinal. Was this someone else? Or a member of the Tecnominati. And if so, wasn't that meant to be his job?

Either way, the Copa had started with a bang.

[Ossidiacqua]

Group A
Ossidiacqua 6–2 Alitaba
Taeshan 1–0 Falcus

  Group A                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Ossidiacqua                   1   1  0  0    6   2  +4    3
2 Taeshan                       1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
3 Falcus                        1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0
4 Alitaba                       1   0  0  1    2   6  −4    0

Group B
Filopines 0–1 Eura
Polar Islandstates 1–0 Cassadaigua

  Group B                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eura                          1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
2 Polar Islandstates            1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
3 Cassadaigua                   1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0
4 Filopines                     1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0

Group C
Mangolana 0–0 Dixhuitiles
Pasarga 1–1 Kitsunia-Deesse

  Group C                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kitsunia-Deesse               1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
2 Pasarga                       1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
3 Dixhuitiles                   1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1
4 Mangolana                     1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1

Group D
Charruterra 2–0 Sargossa
Irad 1–3 Darmen

  Group D                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Darmen                        1   1  0  0    3   1  +2    3
2 Charruterra                   1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    3
3 Irad                          1   0  0  1    1   3  −2    0
4 Sargossa                      1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0

Group E
Astograth 1–1 Queer Poco el Mono Ara
Valladares 2–3 Mytannion

  Group E                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Mytannion                     1   1  0  0    3   2  +1    3
2 Astograth                     1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
3 Queer Poco el Mono Ara        1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
4 Valladares                    1   0  0  1    2   3  −1    0

Group F
The Royal Kingdom of Quebec 1–3 Eastfield Lodge
Sicoutimont 2–5 Saugeais

  Group F                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Saugeais                      1   1  0  0    5   2  +3    3
2 Eastfield Lodge               1   1  0  0    3   1  +2    3
3 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec   1   0  0  1    1   3  −2    0
4 Sicoutimont                   1   0  0  1    2   5  −3    0

OP has been updated with roster links, as well as ongoing scores/tables.

[Taeshan]

Knights Open Copa With Win

Group A starts off the action of any competition, and the Knights were glad to get off to an early start. With the hosts getting the earl game the Knights came out for the later affair raring and ready to go in their first battle of the season. It was a big moment for starting striker Tyler Pantoum who got to start his first game as Captain and hand over to the Falcunian captain the banner of the nation of Taeshan. Pantoum also got to decide the direction of the first half of play with the coin toss. Trivial matters, but for a player so young it was a real big moment. Speaking of big moments the festivities continued for the host nation as the opening day saw them roll out the red carpet for such illustrious international personalities that the team brought with them, former national team captain and manager Brian Ying Uing, and Taeshani Vice-President Vladimir Kraskalnikov.

But let's not worry about politics and big moments any more, i'm here to write about soccer. It was a rather good game between the two eastern Rushmore sides. As opposed to the previous article the Knights and the Falcons have met before, but this is the first meeting of the two under their new guise of Falcus, as opposed to Falconwhereveryouare. The Falcons are the Knights western neighbors by general direction. The two were meeting for the fifth time in team history. And for the third time in team history it was the men in Purple who won the day. Behind a brilliant strike from Captain Tyler Pantoum in the 23rd minute, and the relentless defense of the back four the Knights were able to win the day.

[Darmen]

Decline, huh?

According to Iradian striker Faredin Pozenel, the Darmeni national football team is in decline. Apparently that decline isn't enough for us to lose to tiny little minnows like Irad, who were defeated 3-1 by the All Greens in the opening match of this 17th Copa Rushmori.

It was Pewejeman Tahernejead who scored the lone goal for Irad. The goal, which came in the 49th minute, was the first of the game. Darmeni Manager, William von Kriesler, not wanting to lose his first game in command, was visibly upset at his defense (when aren't we mad at our D). He even sent Terrence Sinapati to warm up, but when the time came to make the substitution, von Kriesler thought against it.

Nur al Din Lambert, making his All Greens debut, scored Darmen's first goal by heading home a corner in the 56th minute, equalizing the scores at one a piece. Bryan Faulkner added another goal in the 63rd minute, and Tor Tong Lee finished everything off with a superb goal in the 84th minute.

All in all it was a good performance from the All Greens. Aside from allowing the single Iradian goal, which wasn't that big of a deal, the Darmeni defense was overall fairly solid, allowing only six shots all game. Most of those shots came in the first half. On the attack, the All Greens' offense was methodical, taking their time to explore the Iradian defense before striking, finding holes and exploring weaknesses.

Darmen's next match is against rivals Sargossa. Darmen has a 3-3-4 record against the Corsairs in ten matches, and the scoring is tied up at 23 apiece. It should be a very even match when the two teams lineup opposite of each other on the pitch at the 93,300 seat Estadio Acqua. A win against Sargossa will most surely secure Darmen's advancement to the Round of Sixteen.

[Filopines]

A 'meh' on Matchday One
by Belpait Lorsene, Filopines' top sportswriter

Filopines 0-1 Eura

The seventeenth Copa Rushmori has finally kicked off and in Filopines' first match of the tournament, we were matched up with who else, but World Cup 66 champions, Eura. Just our luck.

Wait a minute, aren't they called something else? Not Eura? Maybe I'm just showing my age. I'm not really that old. Trust me.

Back on topic, the team travelled to the beautiful El Imperio in Sant'Elia. It was almost as good as Filopines' stadiums. I think that's quite an achievement considering the quality of Filopinian stadium. Anyway, we were up against Eura and obviously they were going to be extremely difficult to defeat, let alone score a goal against the former World Cup champions. In my opinion, we didn't do so bad. Sure, we conceded one goal, but that was all. Just one. Especially with Sierra Haleze's heavily attack-oriented strategy. It is definitely a positive sign for the young manager, the team and the entire nation. It was a mighty effort.

However, it was still a loss and someone must be blamed. Once again, I blame Nuno Luna.

Goalscorers - Sam Ashtree (Eura or whatever they're called) 49'

So I lied about the name of this article. It was far from a 'meh' and it's more of a 'promise'.

[Irad]

Sporting World

Our loss to Darmen was a Fluke
by: Faredin Pozenel

So, Darmen decided to show up the other night in our Copa Rushmori opener, for the first time in many years and it seems that their media is even covering their team for once. According to their press, "[Darmen's undeniable] decline isn't enough for us to lose to tiny little minnows like Irad." So, a colony of the Federation of Free Republics, the Greatest Nation in the Multiverse and the home of the greatest National Team in the multiverse, is a minnow? Sorry, but last I checked Irad wasn't located in Esportiva, the Region of Minnows. Irad is part of Rushmore, a region that is the present of the World Cup. As we all know, Atlantian Oceania is the past and World Changers is the future (and Esportiva will never be anything more than a bunch of minnows), but Rushmore is the here and the now.

Apparently, many people back home in the mainland sent letters and emails to the editor of Sporting World, wondering why I, a member of the Republican National Team, would "lower myself" to play for a Colonial Team. I'm not lowering myself in the slightest. I am Irad's captain and I am the leader of the team. By participating in the Copa Rushmori, I have the opportunity to get a closer look at the present of the World Cup. This will hasten the arrival of the Era of the FFR, an Era that will be never-ending as we all know. Even if we don't advance out of the group stage Ossidiacqua, I will be staying for the duration of this tournament to get a chance to see Eura and the Polar Islandstates, the 2 best soccer teams in the multiverse right now.

Besides, we will be advancing out of the Group Stage, even though we have suffered a temporary setback at the hands of the Darmeni. We've got Charruterra and Sargossa coming up and both of them are even weaker than Darmen. We should beat them both handily and move out of the group stage. Then, we can begin our efforts to prove that our loss to an overrated Darmen team was a fluke because that is exactly what it was. I said that we're going to win this tournament and I stand by that statement because we are Irad, a colony of the Free Republics. Even though Irad isn't as great a nation as the Greatest Nation that Is, the Greatest Nation that Was and the Greatest Nation that Ever Will Be, but we are a colony of that nation, which makes us greater than anybody whom we may face.

Some of my teammates suggested that I stop writing articles like these for Sporting World, but I signed a contract with the most comprehensive and reliable sporting news publication in the multiverse and, according to my contract, I am expected to cover the Copa Rushmori for Sporting World. With all of the money I'm making, I'm going to be able to renew my subscription to the RWC Network in a few months and I'll be able to purchase some of the great new games coming for the RepublicSoft Saint. That's reason enough to write for Sporting World and I personally want to thank Mr. Chuter for the opportunity. As we all know, money talks and what the Invisible Hand wants, the Invisible Hand shall get. Who am I to turn down a great career opportunity?

The one thing that irritates me about Ossidiacqua is the priest that follows our team around everywhere. While I have mostly ignored Giuseppe the Priest and have had little interest in hearing about Ossidiacqua's bizarre religious beliefs, he still keeps following me everywhere. I also hate how this nation seems to use horses for transportation. Come on Ossidiacqua. Even the Sanctii have a railroad where the trains actually run on time! Why can't the government of this country just spend some money on their transportation infrastructure? I'm normally not one to advocate for government spending, but without infrastructure a nation will be nothing more than a backwater. Why did this country get awarded the rights to the Copa Rushmori? They're even more unprepared to host this event than the Sanctii were to host 30 ice hockey games a day, under their ridiculous single round-robin format, not that anybody really cares about ice hockey other than the lesbians that follow the women's game for some reason.

Ossidiacqua needs to get with the times. While I'm glad that the Republican Internet Satellites work here, just as they work everywhere in our multiverse, there is no excuse for a country in this day and age having a technology level that is stuck in the Stupid Ages. Why are international soccer tournaments being held in a country that thinks that the internal combustion engine is a demonic creation? Seriously, that's about as stupid as allowing Gregoryisgodistan to host an international baseball tournament. Oh wait, that actually happened and was the disaster you'd expect it to be. Speaking of Gregoryisgodistan, last I heard they were committing several murders in Saintland and the Sanctii were hanging so many of their murderous agents that they broke their gallows. But, more to the point, what exactly do these Ossidiacquans have against modernity? At least the Sanctii are practical enough to recognize that God created modern technology and that embracing it is embracing the Will of God and pushing the boundaries of technology is what Republicans do best, one of many reasons why the FFR is the Indispensable Nation. If our Federation is the Indispensable Nation, then the great land of Irad is our Indispensable Colony and I will do everything within my power to win one against Charrruterra for my ancestral homeland. May God Ever Bless the FFR and its colony Irad!

Faredin Pozenel is a starting striker for Rule Theriault's National Soccer Team. He is also a starting striker and the captain of the Iradian Soccer Team, which competes on behalf of the Rushmori colony in the Copa Rushmori. Although he was born in the mainland FFR, Pozenel is of Iradian descent. While he has not been as high profile as some of his teammates in the past, Faredin has been a starter for the National Soccer Team since their debut at the 27th Di Bradini Cup. Now, he will lead Irad against Rushmore's best.

[Alitaba]

Part 1

Itakam, Senippilihp

The communication between Datu Anikban Apilantok and Oniuqa Ongineb, also known as 'Yonyon' has come to a close, and while the Onipilif government at Alinam are scrambling their defenses, the troops of General Tonio Dimacurut were preparing for their next move. which is to attack the area surrounding Alinam. Despite the warning of Anikban to the Senippilihp president that they will attack the capital in twenty four hours, the troops were given clear instructions not to attack any part of it. Now, General Dimacurut planned to wait for reinforcements, who are already making their way from the military base of Kabundukan Apat in Matiwasay. Tonio established initial communication with Liutenant Brigino Dimatule. leader of the 87th Alitaban special troops.

"Hukbong Serpyento, indicate location of troops."

"Hukbong Agila, this is Lieutenant Dimatule. We are traversing southern Malibog, and will be in Itakam in roughly four or five hours."

"That long? You should pick up pace, lieutenant, or we'll be delayed in our plans of taking over this country quickly."

"Roger, general, I'll order them to hasten up their pace, that should reduce your waiting time to three hours at least."

"Sounds good."

"We will proceed..."

(radio cutoff)

Tonio was surprised when he heard an enormous signal distortion that almost destroyed his hearing. He knew that it was not a good sign. He tried to contact Brigino, but no response was ever heard from the lieutenant.

"Damaso, go to Malibog, quick! Bring this radio with you, Contact me immediately if you sighted the Hukbong Serpyento."

He ordered a soldier of his, Private Damaso de Lucas, half-Alitaban, half-Barangayan, to scour the area where the last contact was made. Damaso went north to the woods, with Tonio hearing his private's feet slush the grass, hoping that the troop of Liutenant Dimatule is in safe condition. Minutes later, a loud explosion was heard in the forest, the exact place where Damaso ran into. Then Tonio heard gunshots. A lot of them, followed by a loud scream by a voice familiar to Tonio.

It was Damaso.

"TROOPS. POSITION!! NOW! WE ARE POSSIBLY UNDER SIEGE. FOLLOW MY ORDERS. DON'T YOU FUCKING GIVE UP IN FRONT OF ME. DIE FREELY FOR THE PRIDE OF ALITABA!"

Tonio was panicking now. He did not know what to do. Suddenly, a signal came in to his radio. It was Yonyon.

"Fools. you are now surrounded by my troops. Attack Alinam my ass. Prepare to be annihilated, pipsqueaks. Surrender or let your bodies rip to pieces.

Now I'll give you a twenty-four hour warning. This time, I'll be serious."

Tonio's troops, around three thousand of them, are in deep trouble. Unless reinforcements arrive, they'll be dead meat in a day.

[Ossidiacqua]

Turning away in shock from a stadium full of shocked football fans gradually turning their attention to the football, Perea went in search of where the Guarda Magisterium had sequestered Re away. He had gotten barely two yards however when a rattling buzz against his ribcage told him that someone was trying to contact him using the device the Tecnominati had smuggled him. He attempted to ignore it. He knew it would be the Chief Priestess, and what would she be able to ask him that he had the answers to? He was as clueless as she would be. The rattling was insistent however, and eventually he relented, and found a little alcove in which to hideaway. He lifted the earpiece to his ear.

"And just what in the name of all that's silicon was that?!" hissed the Priestess from the other end of the crackly line.

"I don't know, you tell me!"

"That wasn't your idea?"

"No it bloody well wasn't my idea," hissed Perea back, furtively looking around to make sure nobody was stood wondering why he was talking to his sleeve, "I'm sticking to the plan, make sure the guys on your end are as well."

"There's nothing wrong with my guys. What about your guys?"

"My guys? I don't have guys! I'm a lone operative, remember? And I'm following your orders!"

"Right, right..." said the Priestess, thoughtfully, "just, try and keep Re out of trouble, yeah? At least until the time comes. We can't afford to be premature with this action. We're still way off being ready in the caverns underneath the Magisterium."

"Okay, how's the stadium?"

"Not bad, I'm watching from a Valhallan televisual at the airport; Finiguerra's just put la Renaisssance two up after five minutes so they're not really thinking about the shooting anymore."

"Okay, good." Perea breathed a sigh of relief, looking over his shoulder, "That's good."

"Now, go and find Re. Keep on him. We need him alive, for now. I'll put my men on it, see if we can't figure out who that was."

"What about the Djocorangans? There must be a small army of them in the country by now."

"Hopefully."

"Well, what do I do with them?"

"Nothing. They're all heading out to Pico de Vincenze, with the rest of us. They don't know who you are or that you're undercover. You shouldn't have to interact with them though, so just let them get on with it."

"Okay. Got it. We'll talk later."

"Bye." whispered the Priestess, terminating the communication with a click.

Shoving the device back down into his robes, Perea stalked away, looking for Re. Descending the flights of stairs in Il Colosseo with as much speed as he could, he reached one floor near the bottom and almost ran headlong into a horde of Guarda Magisterium. This, of course, was as close to a great big shining arrow illuminating the sky that said "Re is here" as possible. Perea saw a lot of unfamiliar faces; there'd been a recruitment drive in the run up to the Copa, and plenty of men and women were still learning the ropes.

"Where is the Grand High Cardinal?" asked Perea, officiously.

"Who wants to know?" sneered one of the Guarda back.

"I'm his Personal Deacon, Pe- eh, um, Rodriquez," spat back Perea, puffing out his chest, "where's your sergeant?"

"It's true," said a man laconically from the back of the hall, evidently the commanding officer, "that's the Deacon. Let him through."

Lifting their axes smartly at the confirmation of authority, the Guarda parted, and Perea swung open the heavy oak doors.

"Ah, Rodriguez!" called Re from somewhere inside the room, "nice of you to join me!"

"Your Excellency?" called Perea, "Where are you?"

The smiling head of the Grand High Cardinal poped his head out from behind a curtain. Perea frowned, and walked towards him slowly. He certainly didn't look too upset for a man that had just been shot at.

"Your Excellency? Are you okay?"

"Never better!" answered Re cheeerfully, adjusting his change of robes and stepping out from the curtain.

"Are you sure?" pressed Perea, playing the part of the concerned servant perfectly, "Your Excellency, I promise that I will not rest until we find out who did this! I will put the best men of the Guarda on it, straightaway! We won't stop until we bring the felon responsible to justice, and we wi-"

"Oh, no, no, no..." interrupted Re with a dismissive wave of his hand, "there's no need for any of that, Rodriguez."

"Your Excellency?" said Perea, confused.

"It was an inside job, Rodriguez." said Re, his tone impossible to read.

Perea's blood ran cold. Surely not? How? How had Re figured it out? His heart beat so fast he thought it was going to fly out of his chest.

"E-erm, Your Excellency?" stammered Perea, trying not to give away the cold sweat flooding over him.

"I hired someone." said Re flatly.

"You... you what?" repled Perea, not sure how to react.

"Come, Perea, you know as well as I that my approval ratings have been in freefall recently."

Perea just stared.

"Ever since the preparations for this damn Copa started," continued Re, "and all taht technology had to come in for the Rushmori organisers. I mean, really, who'd've thought that hosting an international football tournament would require us to grin and bear the presence of so much blasted silicon witchcraft?!"

"Well, yes Your Excellency, bu-"

"And, well, I've been made to look like a fool, haven't I? All this stuff about technology and all this stuff about we can never go back to the days of the Pause Time, and that had worked. But now this stuff is in the country and look at the weather!"

"The... weather?" said Perea, not quite following.

"Have you seen the weather the last few days?"

"Erm, it's been the same as it always has?" said Perea.

"Exactly! No firestorms, no coming of the night, no earthquakes, no end of the world as we know it!"

"And that's... bad?"

"Of course it's bad! It's damaging my credibility! All over the nation right now, anyone within any distance of a football stadium is watching this Rushmori clowns going about their work, and thinking they know better. They'll watch these guys, and they'll think that hey, this technology isn't so bad after all. Perhaps we can use some of it."

"Your Excelle-"

"And they're WRONG, Rodriguez. They're wrong!"

"Of course, Your Excellency, but I don't se-"

"Because it's a slippery slope, Rodriguez! First the internal combustion engine. I can just about tolerate those. Fuel goes in, explosions happen, explosions make stuff move. That's logical, right? So as they've got a thingy, erm, a crank shaft, obviously. Steam engines. We have trains, don't we? Those okay. But then where next? First some people think televisual devices are okay. Then its those big machines that make televisuals of people's insides at the hospitals. Then we start killing people with them. Then we try and pause time to cure people and before you know it the whole nation is stuck. Again."

Perea paused, unsure what to make of Re's outburst.

"So you see, I needed the people back on my side." said Re, calmly running a comb through his hair, "They needed to like me. To come back around to my way of thinking. The only true way of thinking. So what better way to get them feeling sorry for me than a false flag assassination attempt? They'll feel sorry for me, they'll rally round me, and they'll drop this preposterous notion that technology and the silicon chip might be good for the nation. Because it won't be."

"Then, you organised it, Your Excellency?" asked Perea, slightly stunned.

"Yes."

"Why didn't I know about this?"

"Because you'd have tried to stop me, Rodriguez. I know you would."

Internally, Perea was wondering who he'd have had to slip a few obts to to get the marksman to aim a little more accurately, but he remembered his part in the Tecnominati's plan, and he held his tongue. "Well, of course, Your Excellency."

"Dismissed, Rodriguez, I'll be fine from here. I just need to perfect my 'shaken and worried' look for the news-etchers when we allow them in."

"Your Excellency," said Perea, bowing humbly and turning to leave. He got as far as the door before a thought occurred to him. "So, who else did know?"

"Just me, the marksman, and my family."

"Your family, Your Excellency? You've never mentioned a family."

"Well, my sister's all that's left really. But I had to let her know so she wouldn't try and seize power if she thought I'd died. Which she would."

"Oh, I see," said Perea, slightly stunned at all the revelations being revealed to him this evening. He opened the door and turned to walk out the door, when Re piped up again.

"And the Patriarchal Sheriffs, obviously."

"...Obviously? Your Excellency?" said Perea, pausing again and turning around with confusion written all over his face. The Patriachal Sheriffs were the priests in charge of security in each of the individual Patriarchates of Ossidiacqua. They were vastly inferior in rank to most in the Magisterium; well below the Patriarchs of each region, and significantly below a position such as the Grand High Cardinal's Personal Deacon. "Why 'obviously'?"

"Well, because of the security arrangements, of course?" said Re, "Remember?"

Perea closed the door again. "What? No, I don't, Your Excellency, what security arrangements?"

"Oh, well, maybe we put them together before you were hired. It was after my last guy, Perea, was ex-communicated, I think."

"And what are they? Your Excellency, I'm your Personal Deacon, I should be knowing these things."

"Well, you know how rumours get in this country, by the time the story of my assassination attempt reached the outer states there's always a chance the story will have changed to 'I've been assassinated for real'."

"Why does that matter?"

"Because the contingency is that should anything happen to me, the Patriarchal Sheriffs will instigate a lockdown across the nation. Each Patriarchate will be cut-off, the people will be under curfew, nobody will move. Complete lockdown until my killers and swiftly and brutally brought to justice."

Perea stood, his mouth open, forgetting where he was an only thinking of the Chief Priestess and the Tecnominati. If he'd known about this contingency earlier, then perhaps... but as things stood there was no way he'd be able to do anything about it. The Tecnominati would be slaughtered. The plan had to change.

"Okay, Rodriguez?" asked Re with an oblivious smile.

"Um, yes, of course Your Excellency," said Perea, remembering himself, "I'll see you back at the Magisterium tonight."

Perea showed himself out, and closed the door behind him, sweating slightly despite the descending chill of the evening. This was a disaster.

Things were going slightly better out there on the pitch by the sounds of it, as another long, loud cheer indicated to Perea that la Renaissance had scored for a third time. Home advantage was quite useful, clearly. In the meantime, Perea headed off to relay the information to the Priestess. This would change things somewhat.

***

Two days later, and as la Renaissance got ready to play their second match of the tournament with all eyes on Il Colosseo, the Tecnominati prepared to meet again in the caves beneath the airport.

The Priestess stood up. A hush fell over the assembled members.

"Greetings, all."

"Greetings, Chief Priestess." they chimed back.

"Listen guys, change of plan..."




HOST ANNOUNCEMENT.
Scorination tonight will be delayed by at least an hour, so it'll be about the same time the also-delayed MD1 cutoff came at.

[Astograth]

“Those don't look like Acquans.”

“That would be because they're Polarians, Your Majesty. They run the airport.”

“Polarians?” Lastur leaned closer to the window. “The hell are Polarians doing running an Acquan airport?”

“Well, as Your Majesty knows, the Magisterium consider modern technology unholy - airplanes included - but they allow this one airport to operate for convenience so long as it's not them operating it.”

Lastur grunted, before pausing and turning from the window to look at his aide with a frown. “Why do you even know this stuff?”

“Because Your Majesty pays me to.”

“I do.” The Grand Duke slumped in his seat and huffed. “Bloody Valhallans. Can't get rid of them any which way you turn. Must be damn good business for Polair as well.” Not that carriers affected him majorly - his private jet, the Lehoi One, would carry him wherever he liked whenever he liked. He looked out the window again, his personal aide Hori Elgazabal remaining quiet unless spoken to. Bright lad, that one, hired by recommendation of his Chief Advisor, High Lord Gaskon Ugarte. Not that Ugarte was actually lord of anything, since he was a lowborn commoner that former Chief Advisor Maskochea had announced as his successor, shocking everyone and provoking something of a scandal... but that was an unpleasantness Lastur hoped to leave behind - in a literal way, for so long as he was in Ossidiacqua.

But whereas in Astograth his word was the law, at least where the High Lords' Council wasn't concerned, in this strangest of strange lands the Grand Duke wasn't much more than a glorified tourist.

He stepped off the jet and down the staircase without stopping for pictures or anything else - according to Elgazabal’s figures there were several thousand Astograthians living in the land of obsidian water, but none had seen fit to receive the monarch at Sant'Elia's international airport, nor had any local authorities. All the better. Even though it was his first time in the country it wasn't an official state visit; he had neither the time nor patience for the pomp of it, and he suspected the Grand High Cardinal was in a similar situation. Lastur had come with no companions but his aide; his wife Odara the Grand Duchess had excused herself with a bout of flu, while their daughter the nine year-old Princess Nerea was off with her aunt and cousins - including sixteen year-old Prince Gaxan the Heir Apparent (long story) - on their own cultural learning trip to the Winter Olympics in Arçon. FAF President Eneko Gandiaga was with the team.

Grand Duke Lastur had come to watch the football, and watch the football he would. Not that he had any lack of football back home, what with regularly attending Royal Rumiatzi's home matches plus the World Cup qualifiers plus the hosting of World Cup 62 and the Baptism of Fire plus being required to personally hand over the Royal Cup to the winners every year... but it had been years and years since he'd seen a Copa Rushmori live, not since the eighth edition held back home and overseen by his father Aitor IV. He hadn't been in Franz Josef City for that glorious night when Astograth at last conquered the Nasjonale. Aye, that was an itch he needed to scratch, and it might as well be here and now considering the national team had returned from incompetence.

It wasn't true that nobody had come to receive the Grand Duke; several cars had pulled up next to the jet, and he was greeted by the grinning Astograthian ambassador and his staff, the official photographer capturing the moment for posterity. Once in the ambassador's vehicle, a luxurious dark blue Lantzia that must've cost an absolute fortune to import, the first order of business promised to be slow, much to the Grand Duke's chagrin. The bustling thoroughfares of Sant'Elia at least proved entertainingly scenic, though he was less amused by the curious Acquans peering at his tinted window and blocking his view of the Río Lago.

The talkative chauffeur, originally from some hamlet in Olarria Province that Lastur had never heard of, made his way down the river's east bank, through the thick Zaira Selva and into Theodora, from where they veered further east and stopped at the embassy, closer to the Río Elia than the Lago. The Grand Duke would be staying there, as the palace had technically remained his family's personal property upon being granted to Astograthian sovereignty by the Oasirican government, and re-granted by the current Acquan authorities after the Pause Time. Plus, he preferred it to whatever exotic accommodations an Acquan hotel could afford him. As they neared, he vaguely recalled what he'd been told lay at the entrance, and the impatience vanished to be replaced by solemnity.

A white marble statue of a man held by a kneeling woman, with an olive branch held aloft, was mounted on top of a pillar from whose sides cascaded water, forming the centrepiece of a large fountain. A memorial to the Astograthians trapped by the time wall and claimed by la Plaga; they had left no known descendants for the embassy to contact, but the old embassy's records had been maintained relatively intact by the Djocorangan-Acquans and it was then possible to inscribe the names into the outside of the circular base. He paid his respects and left flowers, as the Astograthian national team had done on their first visit to Ossidiacqua... an occasion best remembered by being that when they stuffed the local side eight-nil at Il Colosseo.

He was having a late lunch of finely poached conger eels with the ambassador and his wife when Elgazabal burst in unanounced. “They've shot Re! The Grand High Cardinal!” he blurted out before he could be admonished.

The ambassador choked on his food, coughing loudly before a drink of wine settled him. The other two sat in shock while Elgazabal placed an old pocket radio on the table, tuned in to an English transmission for those expats who owned such artefacts. The commentators, one with a Euran and the other with a Darmeni accent, were in a frenzy telling how there had been gunfire at Il Colosseo, with at least one shot striking immediately above where Grand High Cardinal Giacomo Re stood delivering his welcoming address. There were conflicting reports as to whether there had been more than one shot and where they'd come from, with the Euran confident that he'd heard multiple shots fired from multiple directions, and that the way the wood had cracked was not consistent with the single-shot theory... all while Ossidiacqua versus Alitaba had already kicked off.

It was some more minutes before it was officially, completely and undeniably confirmed that the Grand High Cardinal was alive and unharmed. The Astograthians breathed a sigh of relief, before Lastur caught Elgazabal's gaze and cut him off before he could speak. “I'm still going to the match.”

“Your Majesty, there has just been an att-”

“-empt on the Grand High Cardinal's life. But I'm not the Grand High Cardinal, I'm the Grand Duke of Astograth. I'm nobody here! And I doubt anyone would confuse us, Grand as we both may be. The embassy guards will keep me safe in any case.”

“Your Majesty, there has been a gun fired at a football match. With all due respect, Your Majesty calls that safety?”

“Oh don't be a bore, Hori. If this place wasn't safe how could the CRF award it the Copa?”

“I'm led to believe the CRF isn't very stringent.”

“Regardless. I'm not missing this match, or any of the others we're involved in for that matter. Now take us to this Stadio Branco, it's getting late and the whistle doesn't wait.”

“I must insist, Your M-”

“Your sovereign commands. You comply. I'm the bloody Grand Duke of Astograth, what's the worst that can happen?”

[Mytannion]

Ismet van Huijgevoort, eh? Well, what a life he had while it lasted, he certainly gave us lot enough to fill the column inches. He was a mainstay of both the tabloids and the broadsheets, stories of his flamboyant lifestyle being splashed across the pages of the former – usually with an outrageous headline screaming out at you – or in a deeply analytical piece in the latter, putting the question forward that many who were truly interested in the more complicated parts of the sport wanted answering. Was it worth having a player with so much baggage in your team?

Sure, he was a player with bags of ability and the lovely habit of turning a game on its head within a few seconds, but he came with tonnes of baggage no matter where he went. He caused rifts with team mates, arguments with his fellow players over infinitesimally small things and this wasn’t just on the odd occasion, it was a regular occurrence. He spent nights out on the town rather than living a quiet life like many would have preferred him to. He was photographed with girls, lots of them, some of them probably being better known in the backstreets of Esca rather than on the front pages of the Esca tabloids.

He was an absolute nightmare for managers, ever since he burst onto the scene with CDSA Decraa that has been the case. First it was Jan Hovmana, the man from Decraa, but there it wasn’t such a big issue. They were looking to cash in on the youngster no matter what happened, so they just needed to keep him healthy, make sure he played well and make sure the stories in the press were kept to a minimum. For them, it wouldn’t be such an issue if a few stories were leaked though; it may even increase his notoriety and therefore make him a little easier to sell.

There were a couple of stories though, one in particular threatening the club’s ability to sell him more than any other. One day, the story broke that van Huijgevoort had spent the night in a Decraa bar following a home game. He had apparently drunk in excess, well into the early hours, eventually leaving the bar at 7:30 AM and instantly waving down a taxi. Paparazzi followed and arrived at his apartment, where the player was witnessed smashing a window to get in and then seen rushing back out to the taxi with a bag and a pair of football boots.

The paparazzi followed van Huijgevoort to the CDSA training ground, where he was witnessed stumbling in at around 8:30, yelling at the secretary and then jogging out onto the training pitch, falling over, getting into a scrap with a youth team player and then finally screaming at the manager, squaring up to him and being escorted from the training ground. The paparazzi caught all of this and of course, the stories were splashed across the back pages of the newspapers the next day, but this was just the first time of many. At this time, managers were not to know, they did not for one minute believe that this was a player that would go down the road he would. They thought it was a youngster, new to it all, not really knowing what to do with all the money that had been thrown at him and had made one mistake.

And that is why Atletik Thessia and a certain Marius Sadowsky took a chance on him.

He scored 12 goals in that season for CDSA Decraa, leading the team in goals and chipping in with a fair few assists too. So die Stadtbewohner took a £10 million risk on him. He moved north to Thessia and never really looked back to his humble roots in Decraa, everything changed after that. The people who believed that it was just a one-off, just a young guy getting it wrong, well, they were to be proven wrong. They were going to learn that Ismet van Huijgevoort was not a kid on the straight and narrow, but somebody who was prepared to try everything and anything that was put in front of him, anything new, anything at all. He had a problem and it was a quite simple one, he just needed to say no a bit more.

Marius Sadowsky had a feeling that this was the player he was getting when he signed Ismet van Huijgevoort. He's probably the man who had the most experience with him, having coached him for four seasons with Atletik and then for a further four years with the national side. Sadowsky knows the ins and outs of van Huijgevoort's character and is a man who could perhaps shed some light on the attacking midfielder's antics for us. Sadowsky probably knows him better than anybody else in a professional capacity does and he can tell us just how hard it was to work with him, so when I was told that the national team manager had agreed to give me an interview, I was understandably over the moon. A chance to get some real information from a man who would understand nearly everything about the man who sadly passed away too soon.

Would he tell us a story of a man who was misunderstood? A man who was completely different to how he was portrayed by the media? Or would he just confirm everything we know about the man already? A footballer who was talented but had some severe issues away from the game? A footballer who could not deal with the things that were opened up to him because of his huge talent? A man who had problems with both alcohol and drugs, as well as enjoying women from across Rushmore and a lifestyle that meant he was in and out of the newspapers on both the front and back pages?

I couldn't be sure, but that uncertainty was one of the reasons why I approached the meeting with Marius Sadowsky with trepidation. I was nervous, for the first time in my journalistic career was I meeting someone who had granted me the interview personally rather than being forced by their press officer and for the first time there was no script for me to follow. I was setting the agenda and asking all the questions and it was on a subject that was rather well... touchy. It wasn't one that could be skirted around with any ease and it was one where if you wanted answers, you would have to ask probing questions. Probing questions about dead people weren't always greeted with happiness.

I would have to be delicate.

Marius Sadowsky was not renowned for being the best at answering media questions either. When managing Atletik Thessia he had been one of the most feared managers by most journalists. He responded to uncomfortable questions with fierce ripostes and was often one of the most deadpan interviewees, refusing to give an inch to any reporter. This could easily turn into an absolute mess of an interview and it was one that I simply could not afford to mess up, we could gain information on Ismet van Huijgevoort that few could give us. Sadowsky may not have been good with journalists but he was a great man-manager, he had put an arm around both van Huijgevoort and Ildar Patrelyak and they were players who had both said they felt most comfortable when teamed up with Sadowsky. Sadowsky would be able to tell us things nobody else could. I needed to make sure he wasn't going to go off on one, as he was known to.

The interview was happening in the offices of Novosti Sporta, Sadowsky was doing an interview there on television and the important people there had given us the okay to interview him on their premises following his part on TV, talking about the squad selection and how big an affect Ismet's death would have on the squad and why the FSM had decided to continue with competition despite the death. All very interesting I'm sure, but not really what we wanted to talk about. The newspaper wanted something a bit deeper, they wanted the more personal stuff, to do with Ismet himself and how he acted whilst he was alive - to try and build up a picture of what he was like a few years, then a few months and finally a few weeks and days before his death.

Sadowsky would be a big part of that and would shed some light on the subject for us.

As Marius Sadowsky entered the small room I picked my bag up from the floor and took out a notepad and my phone, the notepad was already open to the first page with my writing scrawled across it. These would be the questions I would be using as the basis for the interview, though of course, if anything branched off from it I would be quite happy to explore that too - anything that was relevant was pretty much fair game. I stood up and greeted Marius, shaking his hand warmly and then gestured towards the phone.

"Do you mind if I use that to record this, Marius?" I asked.

"No, no problem at all." He replied.

"Great. Okay, so, we'll get straight down to it I suppose," I said, pointing to the chair across the desk from myself, Sadowsky sat down and faced me with a stern expression. I wondered how he would take it, some of the questions were rather personal, both for Sadowsky himself and into Ismet's own life. I turned to Sadowsky, taking a deep breath and then let it begin. "So, Marius, what are your initial feelings on Ismet van Huijgevoort's death?"

"Sadness, obviously. Sad that such a young man has wasted his life by getting involved in the sort of thing that Ismet got himself involved in. Then there's anger at that same thing, but most of all, overriding everything else, there is just sheer frustration. Ismet had so much to look forward to and had so many chances to get help - he was in such a fortunate situation, he could have asked for help whenever he wanted and he would have got it, other people don't have them same chances and it's just frustrating to see him do that to himself."

"Was he addicted to the drugs?"

"I wouldn't know. I honestly do not know, I did not know he was even taking them up until it was proven in the coroner's report. The newspapers like to lie sometimes and that's why I take the attitude I do to the media at-large, I always believed the photos were staged, trying to frame Ismet, especially when he was at Atletik and I had day-to-day contact with him. Maybe I was wrong, seems that way now and I wish I had been able to help him more."

"So did you not notice anything when he was at Atletik, nothing different about him?" I asked and Sadowsky started to laugh.

"There was always something different about Ismet!" He chuckled, "He dressed differently, listened to different music, he did pretty much everything differently. He was different from the other players, he was one of a small group that would roll in from a late night the night before but he was the only one who came in still drunk. He got reprimanded for it, but that was all. If you actually went out and punished Ismet he would go and do it again and that would perpetuate the problem. You had to tell him he was wrong, maybe threaten him with real punishment, but never actually go that extra step. He only did a couple more times after that while I was at Atletik." Sadowsky said, shrugging it off.

I instantly had a problem with this answer. It was untrue, it simply had to be, there were plenty of times when van Huijgevoort had made the headlines at Atletik Thessia - sometimes it was for game changing goals or outstanding performances, but countless other times it was for misdemeanours outside the world of football. Sadowsky surely couldn't believe what he was saying?

"Are you sure it was only a handful of times that Ismet did that again? You don't remember the newspaper reports almost one every week reporting how he'd had a heavy night out on the tiles?"

"I don't read the newspapers," Sadowsky shrugged. "Ismet was reported on all the time and a lot of the time it was in the red-tops, I don't need to tell you that they are extremely unreliable in terms of the honesty of some of their reports. I was told about these by coaches, directors, those that had an interest in making sure the club had a good image - I even had a visit from some of the ultras! When I investigated a few of them, I found that Ismet had perhaps been out for a few drinks with a couple of team mates or hadn't been out at all. I don't trust tabloids."

"The ultras?" I asked, that being the bit that interested me the most, "What did they want to say?"

"They came in and spoke to me about how Ismet's actions were not upholding the traditions of the club, he was apparently employing workers and paying them under minimum wage to look after his house and all that sort of thing. Obviously the ultras have a political stance and they felt that was wrong, they said they'd leave it in my hands and it was soon put in order."

"What was done?"

"Ismet was told to pay the workers the correct wage and he did so, no problem."

"Surely there was an issue in the first place there, though, the newspapers were right."

"Aye, a rare occasion, they didn't follow it up though, the PR department ran a nice feature on how Ismet invited them to a game and they were all happy enough with that."

"Doesn't that seem equally dishonest?"

"I don't think you can call it that, Ismet was leading a pressurised lifestyle and it was tough on him, they heaped extra stress on the boy and nobody can blame him for making a few mistakes."

"Surely not paying the people working for him is a little more than 'a few mistakes'?"

"I think it's unfair to say so, it has to be an honest error, Ismet isn't, wasn't, the type to do that sort of thing."

"Okay, well we will move along. So whilst Ismet was at Atletik would you say that he was put under pressure by the media because of past events at CDSA Decraa?"

"I would, definitely. They saw a young player with some talent who had a few issues away from the game and pounced on it, they always like a bit of a scandal surrounding someone who is in the limelight and Ismet had that when he came to Atletik. It was unfair and I think it sort of prompted some of his future decisions."

"What do you mean by 'future decisions'?"

"Well, his future lifestyle choices, I think it gave him a taste of that 'bad boy' lifestyle if you understand what I mean? I think he enjoyed that persona and he took it on and went with it, to the point where it became his entire personality and character and it caused some of the issues we heard about when he played for SK Franz Josef City and of course when he was with the national team."

"Would you take it as far as the newspapers being at fault for perhaps driving him to do drugs, drink alcohol to the excesses he did et cetera?"

"The former, yes, definitely. The latter, no, he already had the capacity to do that and he did sometimes. I do think they played a role in him eventually turning to drugs, he felt like that would add to the image they had given him a sample of, they have to be partially at fault there."

"Would you then, go as far as to say that the tabloids played a part in Ismet van Huijgevoort's death?" I asked. The room was completely silent for around ten seconds, Sadowsky considering his answer.

"Not actively, no. They obviously didn't force him to take the drugs he did and it was a long time before his death that they caused him to join this... way of life, I guess. I would argue they have to be part of the reason when it is all said and done, though, they put him under stress and caused him grief and he saw this attractive lifestyle and went with it."

It wasn't exactly a straight answer, but it was one that I'd have to accept for now. I didn't want to push him too much, after all.

"Okay. So when you were managing Ismet with the national team, what had changed, what was different since he had been at Atletik?"

"He had just changed. He seemed very much image conscious, I didn't know if it was because he was playing in the Polar Islandstates or if it was just him looking after the appearance, the persona, that he had built for himself over the years. He was just different."

"It always seemed to be less well reported when he was with the national side, but there were some small snippets of information leaked to the press about things that may have happened when he was on national team duty. So, can I ask you them one by one and you can tell me if they were true?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"So, is it true that he once had a bust-up with Elvir Buljina when he was assistant manager of the national side?"

"Yes."

"Oh right?" I asked, slightly surprised. I had actually believed that one to be a tabloid rumour, but evidently not. "Do explain."

"He came in one day, to training and was absolutely horrendous. He was clearly over tired, he had got on the flight to Esca from Franz Josef City at the night there time, arrived in the morning our time and then spent the whole day boozing with a couple of team mates and then came into training the day after that, on time and all, but straight from a club." Sadowsky paused, picking up the glass on the table and sipping the water, "Elvir went to approach the trio who came in worse for wear and was greeted with abuse, mainly from Ismet and then Elvir responded with something and then it kicked off, Ismet pushed Elvir and then the two had to be separated."

"And that was the end of it?"

"Yep."

"And who were the other two players?"

"I'm not at liberty to say really, sorry."

"Okay. Did he play a friendly for Mytannion with alcohol in his system?"

"I couldn't possibly know that."

"Did you have a suspicion though?"

"It depends which game you're referring to."

"A friendly against Oppland, not so long ago, couple of years."

"Ah. Oh, I think I may have had a small suspicion yes. It was actually a tough game and partially because Ismet wasn't in top form, for whatever reason."

"Finally, was he found with cocaine in his kitbag at the training centre in Esca?" I asked. The most candid of all questions I could ask, perhaps and Sadowsky certainly shifted uncomfortably with the scrutiny.

"Sadly," Sadowsky sighed, "He was found with cocaine in his kitbag, yes. It wasn't at the training centre in Esca and it wasn't something I substantiated with my own two eyes, but a team mate and Elvir found it and saw it and told me and I am inclined to believe the two people who told me to be honest."

"Did you not feel it would have been appropriate to take some action against Ismet right then, maybe have checked yourself or told someone higher up within FSM?"

"I don't know, I didn't want to cause any problems, I wanted to look after Ismet myself really and try and help him deal with it. Confrontation wasn't the answer and after everythign I said to him about trust it would have been wrong of me to go and tell someone about it, I feel. I didn't think it would have been the right way to deal with it, really."

"Do you not think by ignoring the issue that almost allowed him to continue using cocaine?"

"I.. I really don't know, to be honest." That question had clearly taken its toll on Sadowsky, the line of questioning had him shaken and I felt I had to sort of diverge off onto a different topic. One which would finalise the interview and almost get a full, rounded view of Ismet van Huijgevoort.

"Final question, what sort of person was Ismet van Huijgevoort?"

"He was a nice lad. He always meant well and when he was sober and hadn't been influenced by the people he hung around with in the later stages he was a kid who was just the same as any other twenty-something in Mytannion. He liked a laugh with his mates and when he had a football at his feet he liked to show off a bit. He was funny and caring, I'm sure the latter will definitely be proven in your later interviews with people closer to him than I, like actual relations. From my experience, he was a great footballer, a nice guy, who was simply exposed to stuff he was too easily drawn into. He wasn't the most intelligent, but I don't think that was the issue, he was put under pressure and fell in with the wrong crowd. That's my view."

"Well, thanks Marius, it's been great." I said, putting my hand out to shake Sadowsky's.

"Thanks." He said, smiling slightly as he shook my hand. It was certainly an interesting interview and I had a lot to think about. Sadowsky knew more about Ismet's drug issues way before it was identified for definite. That was quite worrying and the sort of thing he could lose his job over, he was lucky that my final article was being written after the end of the Copa, when he was rumoured to be leaving anyway. There was obviously some things that were just allowed to go under Sadowsky's reign. The problems with Elvir Buljina were quite surprising, some of the photos that had been posted following van Huijgevoort's death were ones of him and the assistant manager sharing a joke, laughing together at a training session. That said a lot though, if he'd been sober then he could have a laugh with someone who it sounded like he did not like at all, not from what Sadowsky had said. When under the influence it seemed like there were more issues, though of course that was with alcohol involved.

It showed how much the creature had an effect on Ismet and that was one thing that could be gleaned from the meeting with Sadowsky. I'd be talking to Ana Kuliskova, the pair's relationship had publicly gone downhill in the months before van Huijgevoort's death. She would be able to shed light where Sadowsky hadn't, his personal life. Stuff at home. It would be completely candid and could result in tears but it would be a fun interview, now to go and arrange it.

[Charruterra]

A random Charruterran man was walking on Ossidiacqua's streets on his way to the stadium when he found a paper on the floor. Inevitably, it had to be something opportunistic for the one writing his story to drug the Charruterran players in order for them to perform better. He found a confidential file from his government!

[Pasarga]

Torgos Tribune ~ Reset

After one day of matches in this Copa Rushmori, Group C saw it fit to be tied and nothing decided between the four nations heading into the second matchday. In fact, it is something of a defensive stalemate in the group, as the only two goals scored where between the Wanderers and their foes in the one all draw that left the side feeling as if the poor luck that had plagued the side during the Qualifiers of the World Cup was still lingering over them like a storm cloud. Not that the results from the Cup of Harmony would have been any indication, but perhaps the need for vindication for the squad has passed in the months between the two tournaments.

However, with Mangolana unable to find the back of the net against Dixhuitiles, it means that the opening matchday disappointment is not a crippling blow, and presents all sorts of scenarios and opportunities moving forward through the two remaining matches. This is the full strength side of the Wanderers, not some half strength or reserve side, so these players are all the best that the nation can throw against their opposition. They are the experienced ones and most of them have seen the knockouts of the World Cup, the Final of the Cup of Harmony, as well as the triumphs over the Polarians and Sargossans last Copa. They should be favored to win these two matches and still advance from this group, as they are the best of the four sides even if they have not played like it in the past year or two.

That being said, the lingering amount of doubt about the players abilities and their own seemingly downed self confidence after two years of hardship is a bit of a worry. This may be becoming something of a self fulfilling destiny for them, as they play afraid of dropping points and not up to their full potential and thusly drop points to opponents they otherwise would have been able to overcome. The more this happens, the more it becomes a trend and the more likely it is to happen in any given match, dropping the players confidence in themselves and the team anymore, a very dangerous and dark cyclical event.

What the team needs is a bit of uplifting and relaxation, something to get their minds back into the positive and not in the negative. A players' psyche is vastly important to how they are able to play the game and contribute to their teams efforts towards victory. As such, I suggest that our dear manageress give the players a day off from training and organized team activities in the lead up to the next match. It has been seen to work wonders for teams like Valanora and Starblaydia in the past and on far bigger occasions, perhaps such a little thing will be the perfect spark for a side that desperately needs to get its mojo back.

[Polar Islandstates]

Bjorn, Artemiusz, and Yann-Erik sat in stony silence, trying to avoid each other's gaze. Several hours old empty glass sat on the table in front of them, three half finished and long-stale beers among them, evidently the current round. So long as your interpretation of the word 'current' was fairly liberal.

The death of Ismet van Huijgevoort had sent a ripple through Divisjon One. One of the most influential players from perhaps the best SK side the nation has ever seen, had died. As the three players in the squad from SK Franz Josef City, the three of them in the hotel bar had been supporting each other since the discovery of their Mytanar team-mate, dead in his apartment in his home country. They had left after the last days training of the season with a playful exchange, each promising to beat the other's side in the Copa Rushmori final, but of course, Ismet van Huijgevoort never even made it that far. For his friends, shock had turned to grief. Grief had turned to sadness. Sadness had turned to a bitter-sweet appreciation of all the good times he'd brought them before his passing. That, now, had turned back into shock, depressive thoughts, and despair.

"I just, I don't understand it." said Yann-Erik, "he was someone we all looked up to."

"Aye, he was." agreed Artemiusz.

"I had his poster on my wall at the academy when he first signed," said Bjorn, who had perhaps been closest to him out of the three, "I just can't imagine being at SK without him."

"Those times on the podium at the Champions' Cup, Bjorn," said Artemiusz, wiser than the two younger players before him, "think of those times. It'll help."

Bjorn took a swig of his now warm beer, grimaced at the taste, and looked at his club goalkeeper. "You know about his drug habit?"

"I had my suspicions. He explained it away as just liking a drink but there were times in training where you did wonder whether he genuinely wanted to kill you in the tackle. Some said it was competitiveness, but it looked like something more than that to me. Always did."

"But, did you ever think it would kill him?" asked Yann-Erik.

"Kill? No. Never."

"Any word from Domeka?"

"Nothing apart from the text you both received as well. The club are supposed to be furious, though."

"Yeah?" asked Bjorn.

"Yeah," said Artemiusz, "I mean, it was no secret that he was on shaky ground with the club, right? One too many headline, perhaps, but the signings of Dardan and Drummond weren't by mistake. I think they were going to try and sell Ismet before next season. Palm him off to somewhere else. Maybe back to Thessia, I don't know."

"And now?"

"Well, not likely to receive any big bids now, are they? Word is that the club are desperately trying to work out whether he was on international duty with the FSM at the time he died or simply just on holiday. The lawyers will be raking it in if its the former."

"That's... that's horrible" said Yann-Erik in almost disbelief.

"That's football the SK way." sighed Artemiusz, "if it's true, of course. But anyway, look at us. Sat in the bar drinking again, and so soon after a minor fluff from the guys that played against Cassadaigua. Let's get these down us before we turn up bleary eyed to training tomorrow."

Yann-Erik nodded, and held up his glass. "To Ismet."

"To Ismet." said both Artemiusz and Bjorn in unison, raising their glasses to chink with Yann-Erik's.

All three of them grimaced at the warm beer, but welcomed the stupefying effect of the alcohol within it.

"Now, let's get the bill and get up to our rooms. We can get in the team if we train hard." said Artemiusz, asking charge of the situation and trying to take his younger team-mates' minds a little further away from their own mortality. He waved a hand, trying to catch the waiter's attention.

"You think they'll retire his number?" mused Yann-Erik.

"Wouldn't surprise me, mate," said Bjorn, "I hope so."

The waiter caught their eye and walked over. "Another?"

"No, thank you," answered Artemiusz on the behalf of all three, "actually, can we get a coffe? Might as well try and sober up before training tomorrow morning. It's what Ismet would have tried to do..."

[Djocoranga]

The plan had seemingly come in from nowhere. Briefly worrying the Valhallans in the tower and sending them into a panic, they would discover soon enough that the plane had every intentions of following the correct protocol. Just, without having been planned, or invited. Small, but larger than it needed to be, the plane wasn't particularly 'chatty' over the airwaves, as if they were doing their best to get in without much attention being brought to them being there.

This being an international airport, of course, that wasn't really possible, and by the time it had landed, a welcoming committee of immigration staff from both Polar Islandstates and Ossidiacqua was waiting for it on the taxiway.

When the doors finally opened, three men, Acquan in appearance, came out in black suits with earpieces in. They looked around furtively, and stepped aside to allow a man in bright tribal robes to walk down the steps and straight towards the welcoming party.

"Good morning!" shouted Valentin, "Welcome to Ossidiacqua! Do you have your passport?"

"Here," said the man, being followed out of the plan by three more men in suits, "these are my security detail."

"Thank you Mr.... Boku," said Valentin, looking at the passport, "wait, Olawele Boku? Don't I know you from somewhere?"

"Think of me in green khakis, my friend," said the man.

"...General Boku?" said Valentin, his mouth agape.

"Yes! Now, this is not an official state visit, but I have been invited by the Grand High Cardinal's sister. Could you point me in the right direction?"

"Uhhh, yeah." said Valentin. Slightly unsure of protocol, he pointed at the Acquans behind him that had joined him on the tarmac. He watched as the flamboyantly dressed warlord walked towards them, his smile hardening. Unheard to the Acquans and Boku, he pulled out his mobile phone and called his boss at the Polarian embassy. "Hey, boss, just phoning something in I thought you'd like to know..."

Meanwhile, the smile of Boku had dropped entirely by the time he got to the man in the robes. They shook hands in a business-like manner.

"Welcome to Ossidiacqua," said the Acquan.

"Take me to the Chief Priestess." said Boku, and the mixed party of Acquans and Djocorangans walked briskly off the tarmac and into the terminal building.

[Ossidiacqua]

Group A
Alitaba 5–1 Falcus
Ossidiacqua 0–1 Taeshan

  Group A                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts  
1 Taeshan                       2   2  0  0    2   0  +2    6
2 Ossidiacqua                   2   1  0  1    6   3  +3    3
3 Alitaba                       2   1  0  1    7   7   0    3
4 Falcus                        2   0  0  2    1   6  −5    0

Group B
Eura 1–0 Cassadaigua
Filopines 1–3 Polar Islandstates

  Group B                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Polar Islandstates            2   2  0  0    4   1  +3    6
2 Eura                          2   2  0  0    2   0  +2    6
3 Cassadaigua                   2   0  0  2    0   2  −2    0
4 Filopines                     2   0  0  2    1   4  −3    0

Group C
Dixhuitiles 1–0 Kitsunia-Deesse
Mangolana 1–4 Pasarga

  Group C                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Pasarga                       2   1  1  0    5   2  +3    4
2 Dixhuitiles                   2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
3 Kitsunia-Deesse               2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1
4 Mangolana                     2   0  1  1    1   4  −3    1

Group D
Sargossa 3–3 Darmen
Charruterra 0–0 Irad

  Group D                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Darmen                        2   1  1  0    6   4  +2    4
2 Charruterra                   2   1  1  0    2   0  +2    4
3 Sargossa                      2   0  1  1    3   5  −2    1
4 Irad                          2   0  1  1    1   3  −2    1

Group E
Queer Poco el Mono Ara 0–2 Mytannion
Astograth 2–2 Valladares

  Group E                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Mytannion                     2   2  0  0    5   2  +3    6
2 Astograth                     2   0  2  0    3   3   0    2
3 Valladares                    2   0  1  1    4   5  −1    1
4 Queer Poco el Mono Ara        2   0  1  1    1   3  −2    1

Group F
Eastfield Lodge 1–2 Saugeais
The Royal Kingdom of Quebec 0–1 Sicoutimont

  Group F                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Saugeais                      2   2  0  0    7   3  +4    6
2 Eastfield Lodge               2   1  0  1    4   3  +1    3
3 Sicoutimont                   2   1  0  1    3   5  −2    3
4 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec   2   0  0  2    1   4  −3    0

Many apologies for how late this is, but there comes a certain point at night where you have to give up on your internet connection and get some sleep, so score are being posed first thing this morning. Touch wood, this won't happen next time.

[Filopines]

Please fix our windows
by Belpait Lorsene, Filopines' top sportswriter

Please fix our windows. I beg of you to fix our bloody fucking windows.

After losing the latest match against Polar Islandstates, our window is once again, truly closed. But for some reason, it never even opens up in the first place.

For years, Filopines have been flying under the radar. Once upon a time, we were extremely close to reaching the World Cup finals. That was closest we ever got to getting out windows fixed.

New manager, new hope and hopefully new windows. Nup. Not yet, though. Sierra Haleze is an experienced manager but not to this extent. Your first three official matches all against World Cup champions. Can't fault her for trying though. That is pretty bad luck. To become a footballing superpower, we need slightly better results than this.

I believe Haleze can fix the windows that previous manager Harley Reid started to fix but ended up breaking. Nuno Luna also contributed to the breaking of the windows.

Effort shown or match thrown?
by Stephen Carver, Filopines' near the top sportswriter

Filopines 1-3 Polar Islandstates

With every loss come many questions, and the one I will focus on today is 'effort shown or match thrown?'

Filopines lost their second Copa Rushmori XVII match against multiverse number one Polar Islandstates by two goals. Sure, they're the best in the multiverse, but we CAN beat anyone. Once upon a time, we defeated the then number two team, The Holy Empire if I recall correctly.

So, was this match thrown?

I say no. Lol, just wasted your time, pretty much with an unnecessary question and an unimportant tidbit.

Getting on with the match, I believe it was a great effort from the Filopines national football team.

The Terns turned (yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) an attack from the Filopinian midfield into a Valhallan counter and Torsten Wolff scored in the nineteenth minute. Two minutes later, Wolff scored again and Filopines was in the deep end despite all their efforts to control the opponents' minds attacks.

Five minutes into the second half, Ahmed Dibay managed to get one goal back for Filopines but less than two minutes after, Wolff completed his hat-trick. Canines and their tricks.

Goalscorers - Torsten Wolff (PIS) 19', 21', 52'
Ahmed Dibay (Filopines) 50'