Di Bradini Cup 37/U21WC58 (Everything Thread)

[Anglatia]

OOC: I was saving this for the World Cup but screw it, I really want to advance so I'm going to pull out this series early. Hopefully ya'll will like this long running dramatic series about a club trying to reach the top tier.
The Mighty Jacks - Part One

What happened next in this meeting was going to change Erik Hanokssen’s career, and both he and the man who he was talking to knew that. They were in opposite positions, with Erik being the manager who was on the hotseat and the man on the other side of the desk, Casper Raptis, being the wealthy team owner who had the power to remove him in an instant if he decided that it was time for a change.

“Look, Erik. When you got here four seasons ago from the Ross United staff, we laid a plan out. You said that we’d win the Valerian First Tier within four seasons, and now that time frame is up and we still don’t have a chip. Why should I give you an extension when you couldn’t live up to your original promise?” asked Casper, leaning back in his office chair and looking up from his laptop. Everything about the office screamed wealth, from the meticulously cleaned carpet to the desk that was made from some kind of hard to get wood, to the various achievements hanging on the walls.

“It’s hard attracting players to Hunsen, and it’s even harder keeping them here,” complained Erik. “I don’t think my performance as manager has been bad, compared to our location. We aren’t like the teams from Underfell or Rasmyra, attractive places that can draw big name free agents. Are you going to be able to find another manager who can give you finishes in fourth, second, third, and second place like I have? Plus you have to consider that our team can only sign women, while other clubs have a larger talent pool because they sign both genders.”

“You say your performance hasn't been bad, except for the fact that it is. You promised a trophy, and I'm getting tired of waiting for it,” remarked Casper. “Some clubs are happy with second place, and we aren't one of them. I'm aware that our market is smaller than others, but you haven't seen that stopping other successful small market clubs. Look at what South Valeria has been able to do in the Imperial Second Division in recent years despite being in a small market. Why should I keep you as manager instead of bringing in someone who is better at keeping their promises?”

“Because you won't find someone as invested in this team as me. I'm from the area, I know what the Hunsen Loggers mean to the town. My family has settled in here in the last four years and I know they would have a hard time moving… My wife teaches at the college here, my daughter is a player for our youth team, and my sons both are popular at their school. I'm willing to go all out this season to make sure that things can stay this way.”

Casper took a deep breath, folding his arms and staring across the table at Erik. He was using what he called his poker face, the face where he made it impossible for others to see what he was thinking, and eventually, he spoke again. “I'm willing to give you one more year to win the title. I was on the phone with people from the Imperial League, and they said that if we win the Valerian title, we can probably join their league next season if WFC Valeria pulls out of the expansion race like everyone is expecting. If you can get us in, you'll get a big extension and a pay raise, but only if you can make that happen.”

Erik breathed a sigh of relief, his body relaxing a bit. “Thank you, Casper. I'm not going to let you down, we’ll be playing in the Imperial Leagues next season for sure.”

He stood up, smoothing out the forest green hoodie that he was wearing, the one that said “Hunsen FC Loggers” on the front in neon green lettering. It was time to get to work, time to start the roster cuts for this latest season and work on transfers. It was a championship or bust year, but Erik had a great feeling about what would happen this season. They had their strongest team in years and were fresh off of a second place finish, where they bottled the title on the second to last day of the season by losing to a team that would be relegated the next week.

Of course, if they wanted to win it all this season, they would have to avoid making the same mistakes. Mistakes that still haunted Erik down to this day…

======

“How was school?” Erik asked, breaking the silence with his daughter, Britt. They were in his SUV, driving towards the Loggers training ground where Erik was going to start the first training session of the preseason and finish putting together the training camp roster, including the cuts from last season’s team.

“Alright, I guess. My grades are still the best in most of my classes, but I'd rather be hanging out with my friends right now,” Britt sighed, folding her arms. “They're taking the train down south and going shopping at the giant mall in Underfell and I can't come because I have to help you.”

“There will be other shopping trips you can go on,” replied Erik. “Besides, I thought you wanted to be a coach if your playing career doesn't pan out? You have to start learning the ropes early, you know.”

“The season hasn't even started yet,” complained Britt. “I was under the impression that I had at least the offseason to spend with my friends.”

“Don’t you have friends on the team? The players love it when you stop by the training grounds. I think the ones who are too busy with their careers to have their own kids see you as a daughter of sorts to them.”

“You’re planning to cut my best friend on the team,” Britt remarked, rolling her eyes. “I actually liked coming to training and hanging out with Erin, but now you want to kick her off the team for problems that aren’t even on the pitch… Problems that are out of her control, no less,” she added, referring to Erin Jensdottir, the playmaking twenty year old midfielder who was soon to be released from the squad because she suffered from addiction problems.

“First of all, her problems do matter on the pitch. They matter because it hurts our team every time she shows up late for a practice or misses it altogether because of her addictions. And second, it’s not out of her control that she blows her paychecks on drugs,” sighed Erik. Of all the players his daughter could get attached to, why did it have to be the drug addict? “Her unstable personality isn’t good for the dressing room atmosphere, either. That’s the real reason why she’s getting released and not transferred.”

“Dad, how much have you actually talked to her? She doesn’t want to be an addict, but her parents were both like her and that kind of thing runs in families,” argued Britt. “She can’t help it, it’s not fair to release her for that.”

“No offense, Britt, but you’re only eighteen years old. If you had more experience in life, you’d know that your genes don’t decide who you are. Do you know who else had parents who were junkies and went on to be successful? Casper Raptis, my boss. If he could do it, why can’t Erin?”

“How do you know she can’t recover if you release her and put her out on the street? She’s my friend, Dad, would you do that to any of my other friends?”

Erik paused, knowing that getting his daughter’s help with the team would be much harder if he acted wrongly. “Your other friends don’t play for the club that it’s my job to manage… But, if you really insist, I’ll let her stay on the roster past the first round of cuts. If she causes trouble before round two, she’s out. Got it?”

“Yeah, thanks. I won’t let her do anything stupid,” Britt said, grinning. A few minutes later, they arrived at the training center and parked, Britt following her father to the pitch where the players were assembling.

“Alright, girls, it’s time to get to work for the first time this season,” Erik announced. “I can assure you that the rumors of my sacking have been greatly exaggerated, and that I will indeed be returning as your manager for at least until the end of this season. With a new season comes a new roster, and all of you unfortunately can not fit onto our roster for the actual season. Today is the first round of cuts, and when you finish training, you’ll see if your name is on the cut list or not. We’re trimming the roster size down from thirty eight players to thirty, and while the assistants handle training, I’m going to work on the list along with the scouting department.”

“Boss, why can’t you just tell us who is safe and who isn’t?” asked one of the players, and Erik smiled and shrugged in response.

“That way wouldn’t be very dramatic, would it?”

[Pasarga]

Torgos Tribune ~ Blazing Ahead

Schottia proved to be quite the stiff competition indeed, as the Young Wanderers had to fight tooth and nail to come away with a very feisty three to three draw. In front of a sellout crowd of seventy-eight thousand, the two sides fought in a very entertaining and competitive match, with both sides showing why they have won this competition in the past, though Schottia has the more recent title having won it in Starblaydia eight years ago. This six goal affair perhaps should have been expected, given the nature of Schottia's formation and players, so high up the field with a pressure game and a very attacking style. It is slightly troublesome that the defenders were not able to cope well enough with Schottia's attack to earn the Young Wanderers a victory, yet the display of the midfield was superb in creating attacking chances when they presented themselves.

All credit should go to Melanie Ünterhausen, as her first half brace really got Schottia off on the right foot and put our squad in a bit of trouble from the outset. The way the striker was able to pressure the backline into poor passes and emergency clears goes to show that her talent is there, even if the striker herself might feel like she is perpetually on loan. I am sure that in the next year or so that we will be seeing her lining up for the first team of FC Soessch and lighting up defenses the same way she seemed to against our own. However she was not alone, as support from the midfield trio of Cross, Bernman, and L'Attue assisting in making the backline of the side look more like fresh out of the academy players rather than the professionals they truly are.

However the Wanderers' first break would come on the edge of halftime, when Ivanović and Sankt played a quick one-two to bypass Birch and Bishop, as Sankt was allowed to run at the space vacated by the Schottian defender. Kirkland tried to cover for his defensive pair but that allowed Auðbjörnsson to come in off the wing and gather up Sankt's diagonal. Taking the ball in strike, the young striker took two paces before unleashing the shot from just inside the box and putting it beyond the reach of Gould in the Schottian net. The first of what many will hope to be a bountiful amount of goals in the national team shirt for Auðbjörnsson and a lifeline that helped soften the blow coming from the manager during the half time speech.

The Young Wanderers' came out of the locker room with a pep in their step and this time it was Schottia's defense that was under pressure with Sankt and Ivanović getting the better of their Schottian counterparts in the midfield. With support from Fodor and Mihaljević out on the wing, the side began to run the opposition ragged and creating scoring chance after scoring chance, but Gould was standing tall in net and preventing the equalizer. It was inevitable that it would come though and it did when Tomić dispossessed Kirkland after a lazy pass from Gould put the defender in an uncomfortable position. The Duke of the North striker had no problem them rounding the keeper and slotting home the equalizer to a roar of nearly thirty thousand Pasargans who made the journey to Raynor City.

Schottia thought they had won it though when Granton Vale got his head on the end of a corner in the eighty-first minute, rising above the shorter Jana Matić, who had been subbed in a few minutes earlier after Fosse picked up a yellow card. Time was ticking away and the Schottia pressure was keeping the Young Wanderers hemmed in their own half, even as the clock rolled past the ninety and three minutes of added time was indicated. Tar Hunor would break the pressure and send Fodor down the wing in a desperation heave that the winger was able to latch onto and run with. The entirety of the Pasargan midfield and attack flowed into the box as Fodor lofted a cross towards the six. Both Sankt and Mihaljević missed their headers and the ball bounced wildly inside the six until a late oncoming Ivanović dove into the mixer and connected, sending the ball ruffling into the back of the net and earning the side a pivotal point.

Now the Young Wanderers have to prepare for Anglatia, although they have the added benefit of having their match in The Battleground once more, negating any need for travel, even if it was to only be inside the city itself. Anglatia surprised everyone when they fought Flardania to a draw, meaning that the group is all even still after the first matchday, making this match even more important. As Anglatia looks better than they first appeared, you may see some lineup changes as Hunor is expected to start for Sankt while Kristian Friedmann is likely to start as the leftback, in hopes of solidifying the backline after Schottia put it through its paces. A win is vital for the Young Wanderers success, especially with Flardania yet to come, thus they can not allow themselves to be surprised as Flardania was by Anglatia's vivacity and ferocity.

[Ceni]

---

MAR SARA, Valanora - Sitting in a café in Mar Sara, Andrew Arrowsword looked like just any other high school sophomore - huddled over his books, furiously studying for his final exams while juggling extracurriculars and sports while massaging his tired eyes from the lack of sleep, wearing the jersey of his favorite football players. As we get in closer, though, he's no ordinary high school student - in with all the cram packets and school books, I could see that the jersey he was wearing was not just any jersey; it was his jersey. This precocious wunderkind did not juggle just your ordinary high school sports; he represented Club 24, playing full-time professional club football, for most of his sophomore year, starting at the age of 15, and now he has moved on to bigger places: the Cenian international Di Bradini Cup team and Real Azuris, last season's Cosumarite league champions.

When he saw me coming, he stood up - as if stretching - before reaching over to offer me his hand. "Nice to meet you, finally," said the medium-height, handsome striker with a medium build, short, black hair, and insightful hazel eyes. I sat down, and ordered one of the famous Vanorian wine brownies - recommended to me by friends who have visited. He passed on ordering anything save a soda, and quickly put away his books. He isn't one for small talk, and insisted I call him Andrew during our conversation with each other. At first glance, Arrowsword is a gregarious, likable individual with a lot of intelligence and maturity for his age - and also a desire to improve. He tells me that he was a bit nervous about agreeing for the interview but his teammates urged him to face his fears and come here to meet with me. "Before the Terranean League success, nobody really cared about what I did, and I actually liked it that way. But now there are so many reporters coming to me, asking to be interviewed, and I guess I haven't been too used to throngs of journalists and paparazzi peppering me with questions." But perhaps he deserves all the attention.

His achievements so far are not only a bit anomalous and surprising in the world of football, but also quite amazing. The two-footed striker scored a total of thirty-two goals during the last season of the Terranean League, winning the league's Golden Boot award in the process and showing a remarkable amount of maturity for a football player his age. He was the youngest person to score in the Terranean League ever (in the league which also featured Giancarlo Conte, a prodigy from Osarius who performed well for Vaduz Portcullis in the first season of the Terranean League), and definitely the youngest person ever to score the Golden Boot in that league, beating out some of the more experienced players that had begun to populate the ranks of the Terranean League. Born in Cenial, Ceni, the son of a visiting Drawkian named Seth Arrowsword, who was, at the time, studying at the University of Ceni, and Syrena Cors, another student there, Arrowsword's mother and father ended their relationship amicably after Seth decided to move back to Drawkland. Although Syrena was a single mother, Arrowsword says she was very loving and kind to him: "My mother, despite having a bit of a rough time after my father left her, always tried to help me achieve whatever I wanted to do." She put him in training for football, not because she wanted to become one of those "soccer moms," but because she wanted to get rid of him at the house. "I think she wasn't really thinking about that decision too well, because before she knew it, I was out of the house too much for her liking."

He discovered then that he had a passion for football. "I didn't know why at the time, but I felt at the time that I was born to play football." Having no memories of his father, he had no reason to doubt that Seth was anything but a normal human. "Boy was I wrong... The Drawkian physiology is a bit different than the human one. I actually have 48 chromosomes, instead of the normal human 46, because Drawkians actually have 50, two more than the human counterpart." The doctors predicted that, at birth, he would have quite a number of genetic defects - but the Drawkian physiology, and the mating of the two vastly different species, proved the doctors wrong, and Arrowsword had won the genetic lottery, in a sense. "It's a bit crazy, I don't understand it myself, and I don't think the doctors do either, but besides the fact that I inherited my father's skills for endurance play on the pitch, I'm almost physically the same as a normal human. So I don't really think about it that much... It's not something that worries me to death." He continued moving up and up the Cenian football ladder, eventually going to Pinnacle Project for two years and training with their U-17 team before being spotted by Club 24. "They had a need and I supplied it... Their scouts were very impressed with my shooting and with my stamina, but it seemed I had always been like that, so I was surprised when they plucked me from Pinnacle Project a year ago to play with their first team." The rest, they say, was history, with his impressive goalscoring achievements and all.

He does admit, though, that it is a bit hard being sixteen and a top prospect for many clubs, despite all the attention that he's been given. "Maybe it is the attention and the pressure that's been getting to me, putting a lot of stress on me... I can't go anywhere without being mobbed by scouts and reporters, and all the practices and such for Club 24 were a bit schedule-draining. It was hard to keep up with my studies [he studies most of his classes electronically, through Ceni's excellent online education system] with all these pressures on me, and sometimes I think I was losing my grip on my education." Arrowsword knows he won't be a football player forever, though, and did take a bit of a sabbatical to finish up his classes and take final exams, and he plans to do so at the end of the season, and continue to do so while he's still studying. "I look up to Tyro [Solaris], who was still able to complete his university training in architecture while playing first-team football at the same time. I know it can be done, yet it will take a lot of focus and drive to do so."

Nobody doubts that he can, though, as he has been touted far and wide by all who have known him, not in the least Peter Petrossian, the Cenian Di Bradini Cup coach. "He's probably one of the most intelligent players I've seen in a while... Probably the only people who can compare are the Koromin siblings and Jaime del Olmo." Petrossian also is impressed with his shooting ability, with both foots, and his intelligence - both on the pitch and off it. "In addition to being a great athlete, he's also a scholar - not something I can say for some of our DBC players, who are more gifted athletically, but Andrew was given a blessing to be able to play football at a high level while still continuing to make great grades in hard, advanced classes." For all of those reasons, he gave Arrowsword a starting position in Ceni's roster for this Di Bradini Cup - and the risk paid off, as Arrowsword scored a goal and notched an assist in the game against Farfadillis. "The goal was even a contender for goal of the tournament - a beautiful left-footed shot right into the corner off a pass received on the right foot. Andrew has the ability to pull out these amazing shots and goals and help his teammates do it as well. He's a great player and teammate, and I'm glad Club 24 was able to pick him up."

In addition to being aware of his strengths, though, he's also quite aware of his weaknesses, and actively hopes to correct them. "I know I'm not the most social of people, and I'm actively working to make more friends, interact with the world outside of football." He also is pretty self-deprecating: "Sometimes I think I'm a bit too arrogant talking about myself and my accomplishments, and sometimes I think I should talk about something else besides football, knowing someone will bring that up with me in the room." On the pitch, Arrowsword says he wants to improve his left-footed shooting and his dribbling ability while continuing to improve on the right foot and with passes and teamwork. I asked him what his goals were in relation to football and the rest of the world. In response, he gave me a short but pithy quote about his goals for the year, and one I thought I'd end the article on: "Become the best person that I can be, both on and off the pitch." While perhaps it isn't a goal that perhaps the teacher will laud, it's still a worthy goal to pursue, especially in the highly competitive world of international football.

Moira Sunrider is a sports correspondent for the Cenial Tribune who covers international football all over the world. She enjoys traveling and eating new cuisines. When she's not doing that, she's enjoying her Cenial apartment and watching football with her cat, Sunny.

[Valanora]

Who is using Words as Weapons before this Matchday 2 cutoff?

Group A
Hasznia 0–3 Dainer @ Castle de Mot, Wexax
Garifunya 2–0 Holy Philippine Empire @ Aranfield Bridge, Everlin

P Group A                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Dainer                       2   1  0  1    6   4  +2    3
2 Garifunya                    2   1  0  1    4   3  +1    3
3 Holy Philippine Empire       2   1  0  1    4   5  −1    3
4 Hasznia                      2   1  0  1    3   5  −2    3

Group B
Eshan 4–2 Osarius @ Metropolis, Ibini
Ethane 1–0 Sangti @ The Tar Pit, Char Sara

P Group B                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eshan                        2   2  0  0    5   2  +3    6
2 Sangti                       2   1  0  1    2   1  +1    3
3 Ethane                       2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
4 Osarius                      2   0  0  2    2   6  −4    0

Group C
Semarland 2–1 Taeshan @ Lathal, Ianisle
Brigantii 2–2 Devonta @ Miner's Haven, Goldsan

P Group C                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Semarland                    2   2  0  0    6   2  +4    6
2 Devonta                      2   1  1  0    5   2  +3    4
3 Brigantii                    2   0  1  1    3   6  −3    1
4 Taeshan                      2   0  0  2    1   5  −4    0

Group D
Cosumar 0–1 San Llera @ Rose Gardens, Kareen
Nephara 2–4 Unified Sunrise Islands @ Hatire Memorial, Capri

P Group D                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Unified Sunrise Islands      2   2  0  0    5   2  +3    6
2 San Llera                    2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
3 Cosumar                      2   1  0  1    5   5   0    3
4 Nephara                      2   0  0  2    6   9  −3    0

Group E
Ceni 3–0 San Jose Guayabal @ Donna Cathedral, Mar Sara
Farfadillis 1–0 West-East Timor @ Artani, Mar Sara

P Group E                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Ceni                         2   2  0  0    6   0  +6    6
2 West-East Timor              2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
3 Farfadillis                  2   1  0  1    1   3  −2    3
4 San Jose Guayabal            2   0  0  2    1   5  −4    0

Group F
Pasarga 4–2 Anglatia @ The Battleground, Raynor City
Schottia 8–0 Flardania @ Hellgate, Raynor City

P Group F                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Schottia                     2   1  1  0   11   3  +8    4
2 Pasarga                      2   1  1  0    7   5  +2    4
3 Anglatia                     2   0  1  1    3   5  −2    1
4 Flardania                    2   0  1  1    1   9  −8    1

Group G
Abanhfleft 3–1 Chromatika @ Turmondale Grounds, Raynor City
Kirisaki 3–1 Leperconia @ Angelotic Temple, Longview

P Group G                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kirisaki                     2   2  0  0    4   1  +3    6
2 Abanhfleft                   2   1  0  1    3   2  +1    3
3 Chromatika                   2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
4 Leperconia                   2   0  0  2    1   5  −4    0

Group H
Amazonesta 2–4 Azrea @ Duran Palace, Valanari
Quebec 0–0 Tumbra @ The White Fortress, Gladerial

P Group H                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Tumbra                       2   1  1  0    4   3  +1    4
2 Quebec                       2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
3 Azrea                        2   1  0  1    7   6  +1    3
4 Amazonesta                   2   0  0  2    2   5  −3    0

[Farfadillis]

Manager
Ñó Minduruguatzel

Assistant Manager
Américo Marino

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

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

KITS

GOALKEEPERS
#1 - GK - Lafayette Tifoxé - Age 21 - FC Jansberg [C]
#12 - GK - Lars Serregé - Age 20 - Gorfalle Town
#23 - GK - Gabriel Loscagne - Age 20 - Avenida Victoria

DEFENDERS
#2 - LB - Jülí Mâsârí - Age 21 - Dí Maozöxê
#4 - CB - Enrique Resurrección - Age 21 - Avendia Victoria
#6 - RB - José de la Batalla - Age 21 - Avenida Leal
#13 - LB - Ricardo Ortega - Age 21 - Avenida Victoria
#14 - CB - Süns Söh - Age 18 - Mâ Âlâmëómë
#17 - RB - Loís Morsukre - Age 20 - Dor Frío

MIDFIELDERS
#3 - CM - Cornelio Nová - Age 21 - Tifón De La Costa
#5 - LM - Lauro Sor y Varcen - Age 21 - Fryi Frêndê
#7 - RM - Lázár Eleonóra - Age 18 - Holdenberg
#8 - OM - Nahuel Loscampos - Age 20 - La Nueva Avenida
#9 - OM - Corsario Martinelli - Age 21 - Avenida Leal
#16 - CM - Joan Nonhagatte - Age 17 - Dí Maozöxê
#15 - LM - August Szabolcsi - Age 21 - René Skaé Colonels
#18 - RM - Marios Loizou - Age 19 - Flying Jellyfish
#19 - OM - Friekder Sifoní - Age 20 - Libertarian Ferdullaele
#21 - OM - Ignacio Rodríguez - Age 19 - Flamagua

STRIKERS
#10 - ST - Stiin Siorrha'Asione - Age 18 - Libertarian Ferdullaele
#11 - ST - Fvêt Rôwé - Age 20 - Mâ Âlâmëómë
#20 - ST - Elías Ruiseñor - Age 18 - Gran Faro 70
#22 - ST - Des Lopiño - Age 16 - Flamagua

FORMATION

Siorrha'Asione   Rôwé

Martinelli   Loscampos
Sor y Varcen                 Eleonóra
Nová

Mâsârí   Resurrección   de la Batalla
Tifoxé

[Anglatia]

The Mighty Jacks - Parts Two and Three

Of course, things weren’t going as simply as planned. Britt had the job of putting notes in the lockers of all the players, notes that said whether they were in or out after the roster cuts, but Erin wasn’t present at training again. That was why Britt was driving her father’s SUV towards the outer part of the city, to head to Erin’s house to see if she could be found there.

The house was away from the training ground, which was on the north side of the city and closer to the downtown area, and instead it was by the forest at the edge of town, on a street that was sparsely populated. The nearest house was far down the road, and unlike in the city, there was plenty of room for Britt to park on the street outside.

After parking, she knocked on the door and waited a few minutes before getting no reply. She could hear music playing inside, but there was no response from Erin. She knocked again, and again there was no response. Eventually she tried to just open the door and found out that it was unlocked.

“Erin, you home?” asked Britt when she walked inside, looking around. What she saw shocked her, and she nearly fell down in surprise. Erin was lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood, apparently caused by cuts from glass that came from a broken coffee table that was on either side of her, as if she had fallen through it. There was white powder around her, though her blood had touched some of it and turned it from white to scarlet, and she was quite obviously unconscious. “Oh my god…”

Britt dashed over to Erin, shaking her shoulders. She was breathing, but she didn’t look very good. “Please wake up…” she said, and at that, Erin coughed a few times and sat up.

“Britt… What are you doing here?” asked Erin. “I told you to call before you come over…”

“I came here because you missed practice and my dad wanted me to tell you that you’re still on the team for now,” sighed Britt. “He was going to release you and I convinced him not to. How long have you been here?”

“I don’t know, I remember doing coke on this table last night but I can’t remember anything past that. I never wanted you to see me like this…”

Britt took a deep breath, running a hand through Erin’s hair to get a better look at the cuts on her head. “Better that I see you like this than my dad. He would cut you right now if he saw you this way. Let me help you get this blood off your face… I think it’s stopped for now, but it’s dried.”

“I don’t need your help,” Erin said halfheartedly, but she didn’t complain when Britt got up and found a cloth from the kitchen, wetting it in the sink before returning to the living room and pressing it to the biggest cut on her head. “But now that you're here, can you get my phone? I need to see if anyone called me while I was out.”

Britt nodded and picked up Erin’s phone from the charging station across the room, tossing it to her. She caught it with one hand and scrolled through her messages, nearly dropping it when she saw one that surprised her. “You need to go, Britt. I just remembered that I have some friends coming here soon, I need to clean up around here.”

“Actually, you need to come with me… Dad wants to see you at the training ground,” Britt sighed. “Can't you tell them to come later?”

“Maybe. If I go, do you promise to help me clean up later?”

“Yeah. Besides, you need help from the team doctors. I only soaked up some of the blood, I didn't do anything to clean your cuts.”

Erin folded her arms, shaking her head. “I'm not going to them, they're going to want to know how I got hurt. Can't you do that?”

“I'm no doctor, I've only watched the physios do it from a distance…” Britt said, letting her voice trail. “I wouldn't do this for anyone else, you're lucky that we’re best friends.”

Erin grinned softly and shrugged. “What can I say? Luck is my best attribute.”

=====

Erik fully expected to have players visiting his office to complain about being cut, but it started sooner than he had expected. And the first player to enter was the last one he wanted to see right now, Alysha Hakala. The twenty five year old winger who was being released because of her constant injury problems, despite being the team’s brightest young prospect. “Coach, I respect whatever decision you make, but I want to make my case for one more season with the team,” she said quietly, sitting down in front of him. She had always been one of the quieter ones on the team, and Erik was surprised that she had the courage to approach him. It made him feel bad for putting her on the waivers list.

“Alysha, I hope you realize that this decision wasn't made lightly, nor was it made because you aren't a great player,” Erik started, speaking cautiously. “We put you on waivers because, while you have been one of our top wingers, your injuries mean that we’re paying you a much larger amount of cash than what your actual production has been. It's nothing personal, it's just a business decision.”

“Look, I know better than anyone that my production has been down. It was the worst day of my life when I broke my leg last season… But I spent all my time since then in the gym, recovering, and I think I can come back without suffering another injury like that one. All I want is one more season to prove that.”

Erik sighed, looking her in the eye. “You said the same thing when you broke a vertebra the season before, and when you tore a knee ligament before that. How can we know that this will be the time that you don't get hurt?”

“I'm asking you to take a chance on me. My boyfriend and parents both live here in the city with me, and you're going to put us out on the street if I don't make the roster,” explained Alysha. “If you really want me gone, can you at least transfer me instead of releasing me, so my family doesn't have to suffer?”

It wasn't that Erik didn't think Alysha was worthy of a new contract. But compared to the rest of the team, her body was quite fragile, and the coaches were sure that she would be injured again by the halfway point in the season, and it would be a terrible investment to keep her around for a long time. “Well… I suppose we can give you a six month contract until we can work out a transfer with another team,” Erik said eventually. “The other coaches aren't going to be happy, but I can relate to caring for a family. Last night, I was in the same position as you. Fighting for an extension. I'd feel hypocritical if I didn't help you.”

Alysha flashed a relieved smile, standing up. “Thanks, Erik. I'm not going to let the team down again, I have a feeling that this will be the best season of my career.”

“If you can take care of your body this year and avoid taking bad risks, I agree,” Erik nodded. “Good luck, Alysha. I know that you'll find some way to succeed… Even if it's not with us in six months.”

=====

As was the tradition in Anglatia, the second training session of the day was at night, and the supporters came out in full force to see the team for the first time during the preseason, popping flares by the sideline and practicing their songs for the upcoming games.

That night practice was also when the team was welcoming a few transfer targets who were considering signing for Hunsen, and the most recognizable of these was Ryoto Taguchi, the polarizing winger who had played as a poacher and playmaker for the Armeian national team and Mara Fuller’s Strathaven team that had exceeded expectations. Surprisingly, she kept a fairly low profile, lurking the sideline and wearing a backwards black baseball cap that had a gold V on the front, one of the logos of Voltage Sports.

While the other visiting players interacted with the team more, Ryoto hung back and watched everyone cautiously, avoiding eye contact. That is, until the team captain, Indah Nystrom, approached her by surprise. “Hey, the staff around here wanted me to formally introduce you to the club. I'm Indah Nystrom, our top defender and our captain until at least the start of the season, and I was told that you were considering signing for us this week.”

“Yeah. Everything has been bad since I moved away, and I think playing for another small market club can get my career back on track. I'm recovering from a breakup and I just want to hide from everyone… My old teammates, the media, my friends, I need a break from them all,” Ryoto said, briefly making eye contact with Indah before looking down. If someone was skilled in reading others, they might have noticed the underlying anxiety in her body language.

“We can certainly provide that. Hunsen used to be a booming city, but when the big companies moved to oil drilling around Underfell and Calovice, we were left with the logging and the mining business… It's the reason why our team is nicknamed the Jacks, and also the reason why our population shrunk,” explained Indah.

“Is the team any good? Your club seems like Lionesses. Always second place, but never the champs. I don't want to play in a big city but I don't want to play for a loser either.”

“We haven't actually won anything,” admitted Indah. “But you can be a part of changing that. Our attack is going to be the best in the league this season and the defense was already solid. We led the league in goal ratio last time, and we would have the title if we didn't choke during the final month. Besides, whether we win or not, I think you’ll do good in our locker room. We need another young ambitious player to push everyone to play harder down the stretch. That used to be my job, but now that I'm thirty one years old, it's harder to stay in touch with the young players.”

“I don't want to be a locker room leader… I just want to get away from my old teammates and avoid attention.”

Indah paused, trying to figure out a reply. “I'll make sure that Erik is aware of that. You know, if you want to meet the rest of the team, most of us are headed to a bar downtown to watch the wrestling match tonight. Do you want to come?”

Ryoto shrugged, staring at the ground. “I guess it's better than sitting at the hotel, alone. I'm in.”

=====

Walking into the locker room the next day, Britt was surprised to find her father waiting for her. “I want to talk to you about Erin,” he stated. “She showed up at the training grounds with cuts on her head and neck that opened up as soon as she started playing, and I want to know what she did to get herself hurt.”

Britt leaned against the wall, folding her arms. “If I explain, you have to promise to let her stay on the team.”

“I'm not promising, but I'll try to keep my word from earlier. This is a big deal, Britt. We can't have players showing up to practice with mysterious injuries that may have been gained under bad circumstances.”

Britt paused and decided to start explaining, but she was leaving out some details. “I went to get her like you asked, and I found her passed out. Apparently she fell and crashed through a glass table… She couldn't have been out for long, because there was still a pool of blood around her.”

“Were there drugs involved?” asked Erik, point blank.

“There was white powder next to her, yes,” Britt sighed. “I think she passed out from an overdose.”

“Jesus Christ,” muttered Erik, throwing his arms in the air in a gesture of frustration. “You're telling me that she couldn't get through one day of the preseason without ODing? I want to keep her on the team, I really do, but she's making it damn hard by doing shit like this.”

“She's had a bad life, Dad. Everyone copes with that differently. We can't all be overachievers. She's never going to get better if you kick her out. If you ever want her to stop doing things like this, you need to let someone like me help her.”

“We’ll deal with this later,” Erik said, turning to the door before glancing back at Britt. “The team should be done with their warm ups and I want to see who looks the best in scrimmage.”

=====

Scrimmage didn't go as planned either. While Indah was the captain and star defender, her understudy was a very rough 24 year old from Piranha, Shae Victoria. And as a younger player fighting for a spot in the rotation, Shae wanted to prove her worth and was prone to going too hard in training.

She brought practice to a stop when she roughly brought down the team’s starting striker, Hanna Nylis, and as soon as Hanna hit the ground, it was apparent that she was injured. The twenty nine year old center forward from Calovice immediately cried out in pain and grabbed her knee, tumbling to the ground and rolling onto her side. Her hands were still on her knee, and by now, others were running over to see what was going on.

“Fuck off, Shae!” shouted midfielder Reka Bacsik, shoving Shae onto the ground in retaliation for the tackle. Before Shae could react, Reka was on top of her, delivering punches to her face until Erin pushed her away, prepared to start a full brawl.

“Hey, that’s enough!” said Cedric Cress, the head assistant of the team. He ran in between the group of players who were trying to fight, as others helped to separate them. By now, Shae’s face was covered in blood from a pair of cuts below her right eye, Hanna was still on the ground and holding her knee, and Reka was struggling against Indah, who was holding her back. “Have you lost your fucking mind, Reka? What did you think you were going to achieve by beating up a teammate?”

“Fuck off, Cress. That was a dirty as fuck tackle and you know it,” snapped Reka, elbowing Indah in the face to get her off. She would have attacked Shae again if Ryoto didn’t run from the sideline to grab her by the shoulders and distract her, speaking to her in another language.

“Damn it guys, we really couldn’t get through a week of training without someone trying to start a brawl?” sighed Erik, before moving to the pitch and kneeling next to Hanna. “I’m assuming that your knee is injured?”

“I think… I tore something,” Hanna said through gritted teeth. “I felt something pop when Shae tackled me…”

“We’ll have the medical staff do an MRI scan, we should get you indoors for now,” Erik replied. He looked back to Cedric, who was talking to the physios while Reka stormed off of the pitch and Indah cleaned Shae’s cuts. “If we’re lucky, it might just be a sprain… If you really did tear something, then you’d be out for most of the season.”

=====

Hanna would indeed be out for the season, and the Hunsen Loggers would be moving into next season with no clear option at starting striker. Erin was an option if she worked on her shots, but they needed a real striker, someone whose only job was to get goals.

“Do you think it would be a wise move to recall your daughter from her loan with VIK?” asked Erik, sitting across the table from Cedric in one of the team offices and staring at the depth chart, which was written out on a dry erase board.

“I’m not sure that Lily will fit in with the other players,” stated Cedric. “She still doesn’t speak fluent English, or Swedish for that matter. That’s the reason why we sent her to VIK in the first place, so she would be able to adjust to Valeria without worrying about carrying a team.”

“But we don’t have many other good options… The question isn’t if this is the best move, but if it will work at all. Do you think she can play or not?”

Cedric nodded. “I’m mostly worried about what it will do to her off of the pitch. You are right though about us not having many options. I don’t want to blow our transfer money on a striker, and we were all expecting to have Hanna up front for most of our games.”

Erik nodded, spinning around in his chair. “Well… I’ll call up Valeria IK about recalling her. She’ll do good playing in tandem with Ryoto, I think. Speaking of her, has she agreed to sign yet?”

“I don't think so. She hasn't taken a liking to Indah, I think that she reminds her too much of her ex,” said Cedric.

“Wasn't her ex another player, a teammate?”

Cedric chuckled, recalling what he had learned from listening to the players who had met Ryoto. “Not a player. A coach. Apparently she swings both ways, and she developed a crush on her team’s manager, Mara Fuller. When they were ready to get serious, Fuller freaked out and ran off to another country to try to play again, and Ryo is heartbroken because of it.”

Erik paused, running a hand through his hair and shifting his chair until it was facing the picture on his wall that showed his daughter sitting on Erin’s shoulders, both of them holding youth league medals. “It might help to bring Britt up to the first team for a bit… Her and the other young players can convince Ryo to sign.”

After checking his phone for messages from the other coaches, Erik texted Britt to tell her about his plan. But he wouldn't be getting a reply soon…

=====

“What the hell is happening, Erin?” Britt asked, as her friend dragged her by the arm out of the locker room to the parking lot. “You're not making sense, are you sure this isn't because of drugs?”

“We need to leave,” Erin repeated, hyperventilating as she found her keys and rushed to her motorcycle, picking up her helmet and tossing it to Britt. “I can't… Explain right now but… We both need to lay low…”

“Are you high?” Britt asked, staring at the helmet but not putting it on just yet. “You sound high…”

“No!” snapped Erin, nearly tackling Britt when she took her by the shoulders and leaned towards her face. “Look at my eyes! Do I look like I'm high? No! You have to believe me when I say that we need to go.”

“You're scaring me, Erin,” Britt muttered, making Erin sigh and back away to move to her motorcycle. “What's going on?”

“The wrong people are pissed with me and they're minutes away from here right now,” Erin blurted out, climbing onto the back of the motorcycle and motioning for Britt to follow. “Come on, we’ll head to Underfell and crash with Lily for a night or two.”

“This is crazy,” Britt sighed, despite putting on the helmet and climbing behind Erin, holding on as the two left the parking lot. But she didn't know yet if this was the right choice, or if she should have went to her father…

[Kirisaki]

"You have got to be kidding me ... "

A vein began to throb angrily on my brow as I surveyed the scene before me with narrowed eyes.

This wasn't a room, this was a goddamn pigsty. There was so much debris scattered around the tiny apartment that I could hardly make out the damn floor beneath it. Empty soft drink cans, cup ramen containers and candy wrappers were everywhere. What little of the morning light that streamed through the half-closed windows only accentuated the filthy state of the place, throwing the little mounds of rubbish that were to be found here and there into stark relief.

By the seven tails of Tsukihi, I could even see a couple of cockroaches scuttling away down there, making rustling sounds as they brushed past the shit ton of cartons and plastic bags littered on the floor. Now I knew why the air in here smelled really disgusting. And when I say disgusting, I mean that in every possible sense of the word. If I hadn't had business with the occupant of this damned dumpster, I would have left there and then. As it was, I tried to pick my way past all the garbage blocking my path - and almost immediately recoiled like I'd been shot as I felt the cold touch of a cockroach's carapace beneath my foot.

"There's no way I'm wading through all this filth barefooted. Absolutely no way."

I picked up my sneakers from the front door and roughly stuffed my feet into them.

"Fuck, I'll probably have to get her to sterilise the entire place before it's even remotely habitable again. I swear, I'm gonna give her a real thrashing ... that is, if I can find her. Knowing her, she'll probably be buried somewhere beneath all this garbage, snoring her head off without a care in the goddamn world."

Bitter thoughts assaulted me as I took aim at a lone aluminium can standing in way, sending it crashing amongst its fellows piled up in a corner. I hadn't gotten out of bed early for this. I could be lying in my fluffy bed, dreaming of piping hot tea, delicious pastries and cute plushies right now. I hadn't exactly been expecting my trip to Shizure to be a walk in the park, but even I had trouble believing the sheer absurdity of the situation I found myself in at the moment. It would be an understatement to say I wasn't in the best of spirits.

Clearing a path through the sea of garbage on the floor, I made a beeline for the kitchenette, switched on the lights, and rummaged through the cabinets and drawers, in the hope that I would find something that I could use to clean up this almighty mess. Luckily for me, the idiot living in this apartment hadn't yet run out of cleaning supplies - I managed to find a half-full bottle of cleaning liquid, two pairs of disposable latex gloves, and even, thank Kirigiri, a plastic bag full of black garbage bags. More than enough for me to get started on the massive cleaning job that awaited.

"But before I start, I'm going to look for the idiot who's managed to turn her apartment into a breeding pen for vermin in the space of two days ..."

Slipping on a pair of gloves, I scrabbled in the midst of the piles of discarded packaging while trying my best to breath through my mouth. The air even had a sour taste to it; something had definitely gone rotten. It was lucky that I'd dropped in when I did, another two days and the place would be overrun with rats. We would have the local health authorities in then, and the little fool would no doubt get hit by a hefty fine. Not like she didn't have the means to pay, though; knowing her she'd just cough up and be back to treating her apartment like the municipal landfill in no time at all.

With some difficulty, I managed to clear a path through the debris to her bedroom. I chuckled wryly as I read the crude handmade sign that was tacked onto the door with strips of masking tape, slightly askew - "MY ROOM", written in flaring block capitals in marker. Beneath that was yet another line - "do not disturb under penalty of lingering and painful death."

I cracked my knuckles as a wolfish grin spread across my face.

"We'll see who gets to dish out lingering and painful punishments in a second, buster."

I didn't bother with the conventional way of entering a room. Knowing her, it would definitely be locked. Instead, I took a few steps backward, shifting assorted pieces of debris out of the way with a foot, and assumed a slight crouching position as I eyed the flimsy wooden door.

"Shoulder ... CHARGE!"

My legs pistoned furiously as I accelerated towards the door with all the force I could muster. I could feel the wood splintering, giving way under my shoulder from the impact, before crumpling like so much tissue paper with a sound like a gunshot. The momentum from my run took me right into the middle of the room, where my advance was brought to a halt as I lost my footing on an empty ramune bottle and landed on what appeared to be ... a giant plushie of a hamster. Or so I thought; the giant plushie stirred underneath my weight in apparent discomfort, before it did a barrel roll and chucked me headfirst into a pile of dirty underwear.

"Fuck!" I cursed freely as I tore a piece of lingerie from my hair and flung it back from whence it came. The odour of neglect was actually even more overpowering here than it had been outside, where the open windows had at least made it bearable; here, a combination of decomposing food and - for some reason, peach air freshener - mingled to create a noxious odour that was enough to make my head spin where I stood.

Well, I knew what I had to do. I nudged the giant hamster plushie with my foot, and when that didn't elicit any sort of response, I leaned back and slammed my instep right into the hamster's stupid golden-brown arse. I grinned in satisfaction as the hamster leaped a good three feet in the air, landing with a crash on the ramune bottle I'd slipped on just minutes earlier.

"Oww! What was that for?!"

"What was that for? You have the gall to ask me that, you little punk?!" I reached forward with both hands and pinched the hamster's cheeks with all the force I could muster.

"Owowowowow!"

I enjoyed the single best moment of my shitty morning thus far as I stretched and pulled her cheeks this way and that.

Yes, revenge was sweet, very sweet.

[Tumbra]

One Chance
The Story of a Fourth Division Player

Ilcaster, Tumbra

"Mr. Ganson, I'd like to thank you for letting me into your house at..." Harris looked at his watch. "...11.20pm. Mr. Foster..."

He gestured toward the door. Gordon heaved a heavy sigh, got off the chair and began lumbering towards the door, but Edward held him back.

"Mister Harris," he said with a sneer whose effect unfortunately did not wash off on Harris. "You speak to both of us or none of us at all."

Harris was seething on the inside but relented. "Fine. We want your son at Thurmond City, Mr. Ganson. We see great talent in him and think he would do better at a club with world-class facilities rather than the field next to the Twofields Stadium."

"We feel that Thurmond would be the best city, given that it is only 40 miles away from Ilcaster. We also feel that joining us would be superior to the other Thurmond club, as they have not won a league title in 6 seaso-"

"An' ye finished eighth. Whatchu got to say? Ye got tha Blues cap'n on yer side - on' who's lit'rally a goal scorin' machine and ye manage to bottul it and finish eighth? Wha' kind o' football club finishes eighth an' wants people tae join it?" Foster interjected.

"-six seasons. We also have a rich history of footballers, including current national team skipper Henry Pandon, amongst other famous players." Harris continued, seemingly oblivious to Foster's interjection. "Phillip Parkes, John Morgan-Davies, the list goes on and on."

"Oi, didn' cha hear wot I said, young man? I SAID YOU FINISHED EIGHTH --"

"Obviously I know the decision will be very hard for you and young Oliver to come to a consensus, but feel free to call me or contact the club at this number." He slipped a card onto the table. "I shall be going - it seems that my presence isn't..." He cast a cautionary glance at Foster, who now looked like he wanted to punch the living daylights out of Harris "...very welcome here. Thank you once again for giving me this opportunity to speak to you. If you have any further enquires, like your son's future education, contact me at that number." He jabbed a finger at the tabletop as he gathered his belongings and coolly walked out of the house.

Edward looked as Harris strolled out of the room.

"Ignorant prig. Tosspot. Ever since they got taken over by those Slimanian bastards --"

"Gordon, sit down and I'll pour you a drink. Then we'll talk."

"I've go' one chance tae prove why ye should stay wif Ilcaster, don't I?"

-***-

Somewhere in Valanora

The team had just left the White Fortress following their second game against Quebec and were preparing to head off to the Duran Palace in Valanari for their last group game against Amazonesta. We'd done all right given the circumstances, but...

The mood was testy. The game against Quebec - one the team had been expected to lose, not win - ended in a draw. A goalless draw, but who gave a shit? Now we were top of the group on goals scored.

But somehow Hartwidge and Rhys-Stevens had gotten sent off and Lawro was now facing a suspension for defiance. Robin nearly got a touchline ban as well.

But we had done it! We've f-u-c-k-i-n-g done it! Neutralised 3MHG or whatever the hell that stoner's name was, and brought those Quebecois down to a 0-0 draw!

Somehow nobody shared my enthusiasm. After all, I hadn't gone on.

The train carriage (buses were banned in this country) rattled on in a tunnel. I caught glimpses of what everyone was going.

Andrew Carr - once again the first-choice goalkeeper after Alex Hudson's dreadful debut - was sleeping. Couldn't blame him. Carr was the Man of the Match, and deservedly so. Having lost a linchpin in defence and our main defensive pivot in the midfield, Carr pulled off a triple of spectacular saves in the dying seconds to deny Quebec a goal.

Tumbra's having a terrible game defensively - never mind the sending-offs, they were dreadful before that! Here comes Mvouba...Andrew Carr with a world-class save! Here they come again! Mvouba down the middle again! He shoots, it's on target but it's deflected off Carr's shoulder and off the bar! Picked up by Hussein and passed on! What a save lad, what a save.

And the whistle blows for full time and it's 0-0 here at the White Fortress. I don't know what Quebec was doing, they could have easily taken this 2-0 or 3-0...

Tristan Hale, along with his buddies Byrne and Hodsgon were talking, casting glances at me from time to time. Lawro, who was in the seat in the aisle opposite, was pensively looking out of the window.

Tristan Hale's having yet another bad game today. Can't seem to find the back of the net. Where's his father's famous finishing foot gone? Maybe Robin Stoff should let Ganson have another go, I mean Ganson's scored more goals than Hale...It's down to Aerial Almar to lead the offense, really. That potential he showed in the Premiership - was it all a flash in the pan?

Rhys-Stevens sat alone, staring stonily at the floor. Normally he would be listening to music or reading a book, but today was different. He'd been sent off for the first time in his career.

And Hartwidge is off - he's already picked up a yellow card this game, so that'll be...yep! There's the red card, boos from the Tumbran supporters! Look at his face. He wants to knock the ref's bloody block off, doesn't he! That was a bad tackle, but it certainly didn't merit a red card...a warning would do.

Rhys-Stevens certainly agrees with us! He's with the ref, shouting at him...the ref certainly doesn't like it! He takes out his book...seems to be jotting something down here...IT'S A RED! A RED CARD FOR JOHN RHYS-STEVENS! THE CROWD LOOKS LIKE THEY COULD ALL GO ONTO THE PITCH AND STRANGLE THE REF! And that's something we here in the broadcasting box wish we could do as well...

Robin Stoff is on his feet and gesticulating wildly! He's not going to be happy! Two of his best players sent off like this...And Lawro too? Is it going to be Lawro? It IS Lawro! He's off as well! The ref seems card-happy this game! That's definitely appeal-worthy.

The train pulled up at Valanari. Wearily, sloppily almost, Robin Stoff roused the team and we all huddled in the middle of the station.

The odds were against us, definitely. We were in the second closest group, and we needed just one more win to advance. If we drew, Quebec had to lose against Azrea. If we lost, we were out.

We had to win by who knows how many goals to get out of the group on top, and hopefully avoid Kirisaki, Ahbanfleft or any other of the top seeds, really. It was like my studying method for the exams - "Let's hope that doesn't come out tomorrow".

It never worked.

Almar Hussein, the one who kept us in the game with his headers, had been anointed the new captain by Stoff. It wasn't permanent - Rhys-Stevens would still be the captain when he returned - but there was a sense of finality that Hussein would keep the armband.

It was Rhys-Stevens' last tournament as a U21 member, after all.

Once we reached the hotel, Stoff passed a piece of paper around.

FORMATION AGAINST AMAZONESTA

FIRST XI

GK 12 ANDREW CARR
LB 13 IVAN ELLIOT
CB 3  JOEL TYLER
CB 16 QUENTIN GARDNER
RB 15 CHARLIE LESTER
LM 8  STEPHEN ATKINS
CM 19 NATHANIEL HODSGON
RM 17 JOHN SANGFORD
LW 9  ALMAR HUSSEIN
ST 11 TRISTAN HALE
RW 10 EDWARD RICHARDSON

SUBS

GK 1  ALEXANDER HUDSON
CB 14 HARRISON LEE
LB 2  THOMAS KRABB
LM 18 LEWIS HOLT
CM 20 FRANKIE VALENTINO
CM 21 BENNIE DALTON
ST 22 OLIVER GANSON

NOT SELECTED
GK 23 JOHN BYRNE
CB 4  GALE HARTWIDGE
RB 5  SEBASTIAN LAWRENCE
CM 6  KYLE SANDERS
CM 7  JOHN RHYS-STEVENS

I was starting, once again, on the bench for the last match.

It was expected, of course, but given that I had scored one goal to his zero, I certainly expected a bit more than the sub's bench again.

I went to my room, awaiting what would happen the next day.

I have one chance.

-***-

Earlier that morning, Gladerial, Valanora

Jealousy didn't come often to Tristan Hart. Often it would be others who were jealous of him.

But now he found himself staring the green-eyed monster in the face, in the form of a Northern scumbag called Oliver Ganson.

He thought he would be first choice, all games, every game.

But he was facing competition (!) from Ganson, and he was slipping up under the pressure.

Two games in, Ganson had scored one, Hart had scored nil.

God, he fucking hated that guy. Waltzing into the team like that and scoring his goals, his opportunities... and to think there were some who wanted to get rid of him as first-choice striker, and put Ganson in his place instead! Fucking unbelievable.

Hart had been destined for greatness the moment he scored for the Under-Twelves for his local comprehensive. Soon afterward, he was taken to Thurmond United, his father's club, and was quickly taken under the wings of his father - then forty and retiring - and was signed up for the team at the age of sixteen, making his first professional appearance that same year, scoring in his third game...

He hadn't looked behind after that. While he still played games for the U21 Thurmond United side, he hadn't faced any competition there. So why should he be facing competition now? It was but a roadblock on his path to success...

But if it were a roadblock, everything he was trying to do was turning out like the Cones Hotline. (The Cones Hotline was an initiative set up by the Walter Reid government in 2009. It would allow people to phone in and report fallen cones on the highways. Unsurprisingly, it was barely used and was closed in 2012 when the current Fitzooth government entered office. It has since entered Tumbran lexicon, sometimes as sarcasm, but mostly means something that is useless.) Whatever the fuck he tried to do, Ganson had an answer. It didn't help that his attempts to unnerve Ganson weren't working.

He picked up his phone, and dialed a number.

"Hello, Tristan. How's Valanora?" Tristan's father, the pre-eminent legend Stephen Hale, picked up the phone.

"It's alright, I guess. I'm facing some...troubles."

"Is this about that new kid? Ganson, his name was it?"

"He's competition."

"Tristan, you're eighteen now. I'm forty-seven, and I can't go on solving your problems forever."

"Thanks very much for those kind words, Dad."

"I'm going to be honest here - you played like wank last time out against Quebec. Even against Azrea you played like wank. You're playing like an absolute wanker now, and not like someone from a Forth Division side who's playing like he's up against Alianza FC every game he gets in the national team! He doesn't squander chances, he communicates, he works with his team..."

"The team which is supposed to be MINE!"

A silence came from the other end. Tristan began to talk but he was cut off by his father.

"Son, I don't think you're cut out to be playing for the senior team just yet. I'll get Keith (the manager of Thurmond United) to arrange a loan for you this transfer window. You're not just mature enough yet. You haven't realised what it's like to have one chance, that one last chance to get back into the game, before the whole world shuts its door on you and you're out. Goodbye, son. Good luck."

Several minutes of unintelligible shouting followed before the elder Hart hung up the call.

What if this IS my last chance?

Tumbra 0-0 Quebec

Tumbran Goals: NIL                                                 Quebecois Goals: NIL
Tumbran Bookings: (Yellow) Hartwidge 43'                           Quebecois Bookings: NIL
                  (Red) Hartwidge 67', Rhys-Stevens 69', Lawrence 70'

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

Shuffling the squad didn't seem to work at all for the Sunrisians, what with the Nepharim taking control early on the match. That being said, however, Lynette showed no worries. Her experience as a manager had already seen that tactic go both ways, either with a surprising win or an overwhelming loss, but that was the thing: this squad had way more fire inside it than they expected.

She saw it beforehand as during a training session two groups of the squad, one composed of Wu World Order alumni against the other one with River City Bob-ombs alumni, decided a scuffle via a showdown of sorts. In fact, one of the players, however, caught her eye. A pint-sized girl who had just recently left Centre for Excellence's remains to join Doherty on Rotschwarzland. Knives Chau had the ball, staring up towards Trajan Bruyne, approaching fast. On a couple of seconds, Chau finally pulled something appropriate of a River City Bob-omb, booting the ball up, taking speed, dashing to the side to avoid the defender. The sphere still on air, Knives took the ball again, before unselfishly passing the ball to the left. Kimberly Pine followed behind, striking the ball towards the left side of the goal. Fairweather couldn't stop the first goal of the Sunrisians on that match.

Not too long later, Pillgrim (not benched as he clearly declared to be fit for another match straight away) rolled the ball down the right side of the field. He then passed back to Wallace Wells, who was now unmarked and more or less free to do whatever he wished. Finally, however, he found Envy on the end of a cross right in the middle of the box. The chance finished on a great header.

The River City alumni would go on to guide the Teenagers from Mars to a 4-2 win.

[Dainer]

Seven players are returning from Dainer's previous DBC-winning squad. They were nicknamed the Real Daineri 7 by a subset of the press who were trying to play up drama between them and the newcomers. The nickname stuck even though the drama never actually happened.

Who are the Real Daineri 7? How did they fare since their last international outing? And how are they going now, after two DBC matches?

Gerçon
Firmly established as the starting goalkeeper for University, he was helping his team ascend back to the Super League following an humiliating relegation. Since then, he has been the most accolade-filled player of this current national team, with one Golden Glove, one Silver Glove and a Sky Ball (best young player award). His team won the "junior double crown" (Conference and DLA) and managed to stay in the top division.

Ffwc
Transferred to Korriga after the DBC win, he has landed a starter place almost immediately. It wasn't his fault that what once was the most dominating side of the country felt a sudden dip in quality with the departures of Onze Letras and Lluvatar. Finishing in tenth place in the DSL and stopping at the semi-finals of both Conference and Cup felt like a tragedy for a team that hasn't been missing a title or at least a UICA spot for many years now. The latest season saw Korriga achieve a GC spot after narrowly missing the trophy, and the backline where Ffwc has the company of players like Red and Iron Iris was a big part of that.

Nacuruçu
The diminutive but strong and feisty defender proved his mettle when Zill won the Dainer Cup the last season in a campaign that included an emphatic victory over their greatest rivals, Tommy-Atkins.

Fagudes
Still pursuing his medical studies, Fagudes has nevertheless continued to play excellent football. He was the best player of a Sun Coast side that won a promotion back to the DSL and stayed there against all odds. As his contract is still ongoing, he'll keep playing for the Cidade Pupidu minnows this season as well.

Sho
Sho, who was a reserve to Lluvatar in the DBC36 winning squad, is still playing for Cachimbo Amplo. The team's fortunes, however, have taken a nosedive since then. Cachimbo Amplo was relegated from the DSL following Sho's return, and have languished in the DLA mid-table since. Humiliating defeats in elimination matches at the Conference and Cup didn't help matters any. That's why a player that wanted to be the second coming of the great Hwan is playing second fiddle to Yamaxanadu, a newcomer fresh from the youth teams.

Haylanri
Haylanri is suffering from a problem of a different quality than some of his teammates. While he has gone from starter to reserve in Sport Wios, it wasn't as much for a lack of quality in himself, but rather because Sport Wios has a surplus of exceptional attacking players. Sport Wios' current starting lineup features three Emerald Boot winners, leaving no space for the gifted youngster.

Frogfucios Jr.
Acropolis hasn't capitalized on the talent of the DBC36 top scorer at all. Failing to move from mid-table in the DLA, reaching the Conference semi-finals and even missing a Cup spot, they have found it more and more difficult to keep a player that many feel destined to success around. He threatened to leave the country altogether, but Eclipse jumped to make an offer to him. Now, adding to the pressure of succeeding his father, he also has to show the Eclipse faithful he's worthy of filling the shoes of Economiakis - a challenge he welcomes with open arms.

...

Video games. Oh yeah. Sorry, this time they were indeed playing football games. I'll leave it for the next time. By the way, the best player in the squad is Uiqy, and her favorite team is Blades ex Magnaeus. Go figure.

[Chromatika]

Part 1

Exclusive Interview with Kéirâ Andìsorì
By: Jordan Lawless, DBl, Chromatik City Courier

Part 2: Revelations & History

I stared at Kéirâ intently. What? Janna Henry and Rowena Anders were both false names for Kéirâ? But that would mean that she was a genius, a fantastic artist, and one of the fastest human beings in Chromatika. That was almost impossible, was it not? Yet, when I looked into her eyes, and remembered how calmly she had stated the fact, I realized that I was in the presence of one of the most intricate specimen in Chromatika. How, though, did she become this way? And why the false names? The realization brought up more questions than answers, and I was left hoping that she'd be in a mood to share more about herself.

"Yes. I decided a while ago that I'd rather not be known for much else other than football, because football is what I am passionate about. However, when you're really good at something, and have natural tendencies to explore more in the area, it's stupid to not do anything. So, in my free time, I either make an art piece, or some science experiment. And I publish it under those pen names. There are a few people that know that it's actually me, but they are my confidants, and they haven't said anything about it as far as I know. Let me make something clear, however - none of the other titles matter as much as being a football player. That's what I want to be known in history for."

All this, said in the same confident, assuring, tone, made it impossible to argue against any of her points. This was a damn good orator, I mused to myself; she knew what she wanted to say and how she wanted to say it, and she wasn't afraid to use any of her faculties in getting her point across, from the way her eyes looked straight at you to the way her hand naturally moved just enough to make her animated yet not distracting to the way that she didn't breathe loudly. I regathered my thoughts around the purpose of my visit - getting information about her past and about what made her into who she was.

"So you wish to know where I come from? About my parents, my childhood, and whatnot?" was her reply after I thanked her for the information and reminded her of the purpose of my visit. Her eyes stared into the wall behind me for a minute, and I could tell she was struggling with something. "All right," she whispered, "Just know it's not all sunshine and butterflies. I'll tell you what happened and you can tell your readers what you want to tell them." I assured her that my style was to say exactly what happened, never downgrading nor sugarcoating anything. That made her laugh, mostly out of nervousness, I think.

"It's been a while since I told this tale. Every time I say it, I feel like I'm trying to audition for a 'My life sucks' show or something. But I assure you this is not the case. I'm just recollecting what I remember from back then. I was born to two people who became parents in their early twenties. I don't know either of their names. My mother supposedly died in childbirth, some sort of complication that I don't really care to know too much about. My father supposedly drank himself to death after that, and so all I have of them is my name. No family of any kind picked me up, which the government declared as 'weird', so I went into the foster care system."

It's hard to mistake the lack of emotion in her voice as she states her tale, as everything is done in a monotone. It's a stark difference between the way she used to speak before, how I'd almost thought she was an orator. This was definitely something she didn't like to talk about much, and I couldn't help but admire her courage. I silently nodded at her to continue, thinking that it'd be the wrong time to interrupt.

"The foster care system was... Hell, I don't know if any nation's foster care system is great. I bounced around from family to family until I was five, when word got out that I had mastered three languages and mathematics up to the high school level. I guess I was lucky that the government got to me before the press did. They had some plans for me, and didn't want it going out into the public. So it was that at age five, I went to a top secret facility where they kept a lot of the smart prodigy. I am allowed to tell you this far, but not where it is."

She then looks at me apologetically, as if she wants to say more; but we Chromatiks know that when it comes to what the government wants, the government gets. Also, I can't help but be sympathetic as to not wanting to have the national spotlight at a young age of five; I would've eaten that story alive, as would many journalists. I motion for her to continue, thinking it best if i don't ask any questions until she's done.

"So it was that I grew up having everything I need to prosper. Biochemistry doctorate by age eleven, art pieces in big art fairs by age twelve. But I was never happy. It wasn't a sense of not belonging or anything like that, I was just not content in life. That was until I watched a game of football being played. I already knew I was really fast during the time when we were allowed to be outside, and so I asked if I could learn to play. There were some concerns - mostly with security and whatnot - but they agreed to let me try. When my foot first touched a football, that was when I knew what I wanted to do. That was what made me happy, what gave me the most joy. I started to pursue it with reckless abandon, but there was just too little here. I don't belong in high school leagues, or collegiate leagues, because I already have what they offer academically. The CFF doesn't allow Chromatiks to compete in the League Chromatiks system until you're eighteen. So, I looked around the world, and Ethane is where I ended up." When she started to talk about football, the glint was back in her eyes, and she looked more at ease.

I mention the art pieces that are around her house, how they have the initials K.A. Were those for her sake only, I inquire. She responds with a casual, "Yeah, I don't want to sell those, they're my favorites. So I put my own name, not Rowena Anders. Not many know the connection between my name and that name, so it should be all right." Now I am able to put words behind what I saw in the eyes of hers. Those are eyes of someone who's seen a lot in her life, someone who's grown up way too fast, someone who has been an outcast and thrived. I wonder about the loneliness she must have felt growing up, what she thinks about not having a family, what her goals are of the future.

"Letson Town is where I'll be heading to," she continues, "They've decided to give me a chance for at least a year. They're the title holders, and looking to stay that way; I am very excited to play for them and to prove that their confidence in me is well founded. Sure, they don't quite know all this about me, but I hope that they don't consider me to be any different than anyone else, and treat me all the same, just based upon my football skills. It'll be nice to be just considered one of the players."

Someone who's wanted to be considered normal all her life. That made Andísorí look so... human. I couldn't help but feel a lot of compassion and sympathy for her. I asked her next about her being named to the Di Bradini Cup squad, what that meant to her, and whether she had any friendships among the players that she would be traveling with.

"Oh, they all know about me by now, of course," she admits, "And some of them have been a little aloof. Sascha (Kristine) and Trenn (Rien) have been very kind, while Jillian (Nier) has just been a dear. Manager Lina (Amos) has treated me well so far, and training has been fun. I'm the youngest in the squad by a lot, and I catch glimpses from a lot of the University players from time to time, but it's nothing I can't handle. I'm excited to travel to Valanora and play there. That country has so much footballing history... I love watching their league." No matter how much I press, she won't declare whom her favorite team is, saying that it's her secret.

It is at this time that Butler, the robot that I can only guess she made herself, comes to us, bearing a cup of water on each hand. "You've been talking an awful long time," he quips to Andísorí, and adds, "This gentleman hasn't said much, especially for someone of the press variety. Why don't you let him ask some more questions?" Then, without an answer from her, he just walks away. As I stare at his retreating figure, Andísorí laughs, breaking the silence.

"Sometimes I think I wrote the software a little too well to make him appear human," she states, "It's given him such a distinct personality, don't you think?" I nod and agree, adding that I have never seen a robot like that my whole life. "Of course not," she adds, "I made him myself, he's one of a kind."

She takes a sip of the water, and then stares at me once again, "So, what more do you want to ask me?"

---

Young Anomalies Fall to Young Revolutionaries

Kéirâ Andísorí's strike in the forty-fourth minute was the lone bright spot in a match where the Young Anomalies were thoroughly dominated by the Young Revolutionaries in Raynor City, Valanora.

Kareem Dagen opened the scoring at the sixteenth minute, and the Fleftics scored twice more as Mabel Finnemark found the net in a free kick and Arkady Rozier capped the scoring for the Young Revolutionaries. It was very clear from the very get-go that the central midfield for the Young Anomalies had nothing against their counterparts; Joseph Renn and Princeton Ethan both had abysmal performances after a bright outing against Leperconia, and were pulled early in the second half for Nicholas Sendor and Bryce Schoven.

"It was a total off game by most of the squad, we got thrashed out there," admitted Manager Lina Amos, "There was no cohesion at all in the midfield, which meant our scoring chances were few and far in between. Sascha (Kristine) and Carrol (Liam) tried to carry, but the void in the central midfield was far too much to handle. Joseph (Renn) and Princeton (Ethan) will be starting against Kirisaki, but we will be looking to make the switch early again if need be. We'll need to press early and often if we want a chance at defeating the Group-leaders and having a shot at the Round of 16, as the Fleftics are favorites against Leperconia."

When asked about the overly aggressive nature of Jillian Nier's goalkeeping, Amos stated, "Mostly, that helps her. It's helped her block shots that she had no business of being near in the past. It just came back to bite her today. I guess that's just how her style of keeping goes. Hopefully she'll learn, not take the loss too hard, and get back out there to perform at the level that we all know that she can. She's still a leader on this team, someone we are relying on, and she'll need to have a hell of a game if we are to beat Kirisaki."

There is a way for the Young Anomalies to advance if both squads lose, but it would involve the Young Revolutionaries giving up more goals than the Young Anomalies, and given Leperconia's form, that is simply not happening. So, it's win-or-go-home for the Young Anomalies, and perhaps even win-and-go-home.

[Brigantii]

The number of people watching Brigantii's under 21's pick up their first ever under 21's World Cup point was so few, that, a suitable metaphor was hard to come up with. The lack of interest was overwhelming and fortunately, unless through some miracle, the next game was likely to be Brigantii's last at the cup and regularly scheduled programming could return to television.

It's a shame really, the point against Devonta at Miner's Heaven was a far more impressive performance than the first game, with Byron Samuels, the Moorledge left back stealing the show with an assist and a goal of his own. The 18 year old wing back has already attracted admiring glances from some teams in the Brigantii Premier League, with both Brierthorne and Torkingham Wanderers supposedly lining up bids for the defender. His assist set up a second goal in as many games for Saxton Avery who will be hoping his performances are being monitored by Landfell's first team coach. The first, in the previous fixture against Semarland was a towering header from the 6ft 3ins striker while his latest against Devonta was a well taken volley on the edge of the box after a cross from Samuels.

Defensively, not conceding four is an improvement, but the Brigantii team's defence needs to pull it's self together, even if its just for the sake of pride, and perhaps a switch between Royle Burke who has now conceded six and sub keeper Shannon Brook is in order. The 3rd choice Bishopbury keeper has looked out of practice throughout the 180 minutes played so far, however can't be held wholly accountable as another Bishopbury player, Mark Windham, has been letting the side down with some poorly placed passes and missed tackles.

It may be too late now for the team to go through an overhaul, with them relying on MATHEMATICAL IMPROBABILITIES to secure a second round spot, but it's an opportunity for Windass to asses his team and possibly scope out who will be here for the next tournament (age depending).

So elsewhere, rather than watching Brigantii grab a point, people tuned in to watch Spookhunt. According to the makers of Spook Hunt Brigantii is a hive of paranormal activity and their aim is to prove this. This week's episode came from Trevelyan House in Albertpool, former home of Lord and Lady Trevelyan, a 16th century mansion that has seen its fair share of drama. That drama has left the corridors and halls of the house haunted by restless spirits. The one they were mostly hoping to uncover evidence of was that of Elizabeth Peony Trevelyan, daughter of the Lord and Lady. Elizabeth was only 20 when she met her demise at the hands of her father who was enraged when he discovered the handsome young lady was having an affair with one of the stable hands. Worried that she would bring disrepute to the family for consorting with a commoner, the Lord who had given her an ultimatum to leave the boy or be cut off, despatched of his daughter when she flatly refused. Bumping her off with a blow to the head one dark October night he fed his daughter's body to his hunting dogs and claimed that she had taken a vacation in Pays de Horreur.

Of course there was no real evidence of Elizabeth stalking the halls of Trevelyan House, looking to be reunited with her beloved stable boy but any strange sound, a creaking floorboard or a door being blown shut was attributed to her. How else would the team behind Spook Hunters not keep the guilable audience at home engrossed?

[Schottia]

SBCNews online...
Class of DBC-33 | Where are they now? - Part Two

---

SS. Lenard Koor - Herman Park

---

Koor went into the Di Bradini Cup as a 19-year-old on the way up in his footballing career. A young player, already commanding a starting berth at Port James Athletic, back when they were at the sharp point of the league. With a glut of strikers in the squad however, Koor never really got much of a chance to prove what he was capable of, much to his frustration. Unfortunately for the young player things only got worse from here, and as John Hume was sacked as manager at Athletic, he was deemed surplus to requirements and was released by the club. Three year on, Koor is busy trying to rebuild his career and his reputation with Herman Park in Schottia's Regional Division B where he will be hoping for a move back to the big time.


ACM. Eoin Killanen - Mâ Âlâmëómë

---

No one in the triumphant class of DBC-33 (and not many Schottians for that matter) have gone on to experience quite the same success as Eoin Killanen. Few people will now remember that Killanen came into this tournament as something of a wayward child, and was only included in the squad because he had been dropped from the senior team. Jock Sonny, in a remarkably show of faith named the former Lammerton Wonderkid team captain, slotting the player into the unfamiliar central midfield role. At the time Killanen was at Acrean club FC Zürich, where the young player was working hard to change people's perception of him, being considered a selfish and arrogant player. In several interview since then, Killanen has commented on how his three seasons at the club transformed his career, bringing him back into line. Few analysts would be in any doubt that it was the central midfielder's goals and stunning performances alongside Kim Coultan and Thio Crillin, which made the difference in Starblaydia, yet it would be another two years before he made the real breakthrough in his own career. Killanen's $12 million move to Kingsgrove in Brenecia, which coincided with debut in the World Cup finals, was the pivotal moment for the player. He followed on from scoring in each of Schottia's three group matches, with a tally of 18 goals and a player of the year award in the A-League, to announce his arrival on the world stage. Two years later Killanen continued on from his World Cup debut with another four goals in San Jose Guayabal & Valladares, catching the eye of Mâ Âlâmëómë in Farfadillis who snapped the player up for an undisclosed fee.


CM. Thio Crillin - Olympic Nassau Bay

---

"Big" Thio Crillin is a solidly built, battling central midfielder, who brought a steeliness to the middle of the park for Schottia in Starblaydia. For most of his early career, the player was constantly compared to Schottia's then captain, Colin Donaldson and was widely considered his long-term replacement. Despite being a good all-round player, most of Crillin's performances in white and green have been confined to the holding role, and as a midfield anchor. At the time of the Di Bradini Cup win, Crillin was playing for his hometown club Hollin, but like many of his counterparts, his performances en route to lifting the trophy would soon change that. Despite interest from both Handon United and FC Soessch, Crillin opted for a move to Myrmidon in Ceni, where his performances received critical acclaim. After four successful seasons with the Cenian club the player won a move to Olympic Nassau Bay, where he will team up with fellow countrymen Anna Kurovski and Mark Allen.


LCB. Davy Keates - Port Patrick United

---

Davy Keates was a bit of a surprise inclusion in this squad, being the only player from the Schottic second tier to make it on to the plane. Since then, Port Patrick United have of course gone on to win promotion and if fans didn't know who he was then they certainly know now. Keates' career started off at Handon United, where he was labelled a bit of a carthorse. After being released from the club as a teenager, he had to work hard to get back into the fold, making his inclusion in the Di Bradini Cup squad a big moment for him. Incredibly now, Keates might even be on the verge of a full-international call-up, and with Port Patrick riding high in the SPL, few would be overly surprised.


CF. Jane Swanson - Port Patrick United

---

Jane Swanson was the second woman named in the squad alongside Kim Coultan, back when she was playing for Handon Ladies. The achievement was all the more remarkable considering that she was playing in the Woman's Super-League at the time when she was called up, a feat that very few players have repeated. Although she never made a single appearance during the championships, the call up did wonders for her reputation, and Swanson went on to become one of the highest paid female players in the Schottic game. Something of a late developer, Swanson only moved over to mixed football two seasons ago, signing on with Port Patrick, after the side won promotion to the SPL. The player has made a solid start to her time with the club scoring twenty-nine goals in her first two seasons, and helping the Breakers to a sixth place finish in the process.


RM. Craig O' Maramy - New Belfast Warriors

---

For Craig O'Maramy it has been a career of ups and downs. The player from the Belker region of Schottia was a big part of the DBC-33 winning side - a natural right-sided player with a lot of pace, he caused all sorts of problems for the opposition in Starblaydia. Coming into the tournament on the back of New Belfast Warriors' SPL title win, it was he the fans were hoping would make the difference. While he didn't exactly steal the show, O'Maramy didn't did disappoint either, with goals against The Equestrian States and Estenia. It was onwards and upwards for the youngster after lifting the trophy, who went on to win his first of twenty-two senior caps soon after. O'Maramy's slide however, has coincided with his club's change in fortunes, and with the Warriors struggling to make the top four, the little winger was also left out of the most recent Schottia squad for the World Cup in San Jose Guayabal & Valladares. The player has seen a recent upturn in fortunes at least at club level, with Graeme Collins replacing Grant Nean at The Warriors, and he will hope this continues into the new season.


CF. Glen Stephen - Fransborg set Njilkaer

---

One of the biggest mysteries about Glen Stephens, is how the player isn't leading the line for the senior team by now. Over forty appearances and thirty-one goals for Handon United, Di Bradidni Cup winners medal, and all before he had turned twenty-one - how could he fail to strike on from there? It would actually be hard to pinpoint where it all went wrong, although one might consider Nik Konstidios' arrival at the club as pivotal. Much to the surprise of everyone (no doubt including Stephens) the signing from Hillstreet, Konstidios, went on to establish himself as number one choice in the loan striker role. By the time that current United boss Carl Sorensen arrived at the club, Stephens was little more than an underused substitute, and was one of the first pieces of deadwood jettisoned to free up funds. The striker was offered a lifeline however, when he was picked up by Semarlandic R49 club Fransborg set Njikaer, where Stephens will at least get plenty of game time as he looks to get things back on track.

---

---

Schottia 8-0 Flardania @ Hellgate, Raynor City

Line-up Gould 6, Ma.Ünterhausen 7, Killanen 8, Bishop 6 (45-Conjure 7), Kirkland 6, Birch 7, Deleuze 7, L'Attue 9, Bernman 8 (45-Eckernesy 7), Cross 8, Me.Ünterhausen 10 (80-Koppel 8 )

Goals: 9' 15' 58' Me.Ünterhausen, 41' 60' L'Attue, 56' Eckernesy, 87' Koppel, 90' Killanen

---

Melanie Ünterhausen had her scoring boots on once again, as the FC Soessch striker added to her brace against Pasarga with a hattrick in her side's stunning 8-0 victory over Flardania at Hellgate. The 19-year-old, on loan from Arsenal de Releinthi Ladies, was one of five players on target as Schottia recorded their biggest ever win in an international match.

Schottia stamped their authority on the match from the offset, going close with an Aya Bernman strike after only three minutes. Fuelled, no doubt, by what was a good showing against a top side like Pasarga, Kagami Ikeda's players looked in a determined mood, and it wasn't long before they broke the deadlock. Caitlin L'Attue, cutting in from the right played an intricate ball just inside the left full-back, giving Billy Cross something to run onto. The Arsenal de Releinthi player then looked as if he might go for goal himself, but instead he squared the ball for his teammate Ünterhausen who only needed to side foot the ball into an open net. This new, free-flowing style of football seemed to be suiting the Schottians well so far here in Valanora and this crisp attacking move was to be typical of the way they set themselves up in this game.

Schottia were two goals up inside the opening fifteen minutes, virtually from consecutive attacks. Bernman it was this time, who left two Flardanian defenders for dead, before ghosting inside the box to set Ünterhausen up in an almost carbon copy of the first goal. The striker, who is proving to be a real predator inside the box, was quick to congratulate the Handon United winger for what was an excellent assist. Schottia were, to the surprise of few people in the stadium, three goals up by half time, the third coming courtesy of a set piece, as their opponents seemed to be sinking without a trace. San Jose Sharpedoes star Mark Deleuze floated a tantalising ball in towards the back post aiming for the head of Mark Ünterhausen. The Jansberg defender was perhaps impeded as he went for the ball, but in the end it didn't matter as L'Attue was able to pounce and stab the ball home past the outstretched keeper.

Something was very much amiss for Fladiania during the match, and they looked a pale shadow of the team which battled their way to a draw in their first match with Anglatia. Whatever the problem was, they struggled to get any sort of a foothold and even a double change from Schottia at half time, did nothing slow the side's march. Ikeda's side added a fourth shortly after the break, when substitute Gordon Eckernesy was first to react to a stray back-pass, connecting well to fire in his first goal at this level from 20-yards-old. The New Oxford Nucleus midfielder's goal was the pick of the bunch, and the first of a quick fire treble for his side. With Flardania still shaken, Schottia struck again, this time Melanie Ünterhausen was on hand to complete her hattrick. A cunningly disguised Billy Cross pass left the teenager through on goal once again, and she didn't disappoint, chipping her shot over the advancing keeper, to go home with the match-ball.

It was only to be a matter of minutes until the Schottians found goal number six, as captain L'Attue struck Flardania hard on the counter attack. The Hollybrent winger was on fantastic form once again as she exploited a massive gap in the opposition defence before finishing in a calm and composed manner for her second of the game.

With the score at 6-0 you couldn't really blame Schottia for winding down through the gears. In a twenty minute period in the second half, well ahead, they were just content to sit back and pass the ball in the middle of the park. With Flardania completely out of sorts however, Schottia always looked dangerous when they were able to break with pace. As the game entered the closing stages, jet-heeled East Vormsi born striker Kaija Koppel entered the fray, and with the kind of pace that could make even L'Attue blush, she set about compounding the Flardanian fans' misery in a ruthless display. First the Port Sebastian girl skipped a challenge on the edge of the box, before cutting the ball in from a tight angle. The 21-year-old wasn't done there however, and with just seconds left on the clock, she picked the ball up just inside her own half - with the Flardanian defenders clearly on their last legs - it wasn't much of a race as the forward burst free of her marker. After sprinting all of fifty yards, she was able to slide the ball across for Molly Killanen, who was forward from the left back position, and took the chance to convert a rare goal.

It was an emphatic victory which will turn Kagami Ikeda and her players into heroes overnight - and arguably Schottia's best sporting display to date. The crule truth however, is that with Pasarga sweeping aside Anglatia at The Battleground, Schottia will need to secure at least a draw in their next fixture in order to progress.

[Abanhfleft]

Keeping Secrets, Part Eight

Aeroflot Stadium
Highbury, Rosenpfelblatz, Mezaladbyi, Abanhfleft

Carlos Cuvimi leaned back on his black leather chair, which was behind a large oak desk in his office. His hands were locked together on his abdomed. He was contemplating what he was going to say next to the person in front of him.

The person seated in front of him was Isa Tangemen, and she had just told him that she had failed a random drug test from the SFA, and that that was going to result in her being suspended for one game, as well as paying a small but substantial fine. Tangemen was silent, and her hands were on her lap. She was looking at the ground after she had finished her announcement, and after she had apologized to him for taking the venlafaxine that had resulted in her failing the test.

To one side of the room sat Matthew Cave. He had a poker face on, but inside he was seething. You really had to take the fucking venlafaxine today of all days, he thought, directing his thoughts at Tangemen. It was like the Armeian was doing her best to get on Matt's bad side. She had finally grown out of her homesick phase, thank God, but now this had been replaced by... something that was making Tangemen do all the things that Cave hated in a football player. First, just hours after she had signed a contract extension, she had hinted at a move away from Rosenpfelblatz on social media. And then the club that Tangemen had called out to sign her had indeed made an offer for her, an offer that Matt had suggested that the club should accept so they could finally get rid of Tangemen. And now this, taking controlled substances just days before a league game when she knew that her fellow senior team keepers were injured. The girl just reeked of immaturity and irresponsibility. Matt would be more than glad to see the back of her.

Cuvimi finally sat back up in his seat and said, "All right, Isa, I accept your apology. But only because to not accept it would be a bigger mistake than accepting it. I hope you have learned your lesson, Isa. You will serve the ban, and you will pay the fine, and then you will come back for training for next week's game. Also, either you get a prescription for your medicine or lay off the venlafaxine altogether. It's simply not good for you."

"Thank you, Mr. Cuvimi," Isa said. "I will do as you said."

"All right, you may go." Once Isa had gone out of the office, Cuvimi turned to Matt and said, "I can just hear the gloating going on in your head right now, Matthew."

"While I am happy that I am being proved right, Carlos, I can't gloat because her actions are now affecting the whole club, not just you and me," Matt said. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I will be more than glad to see the back of Tangemen come the end of the season. That girl has been nothing but problems for us!"

"Yes, it is a shame that it has come to this," Cuvimi said softly. "She had such potential, didn't she? It seems such a waste to give her up this easily."

"Look at it this way, Carlos: you may have a great keeper in your roster, but she's not playing for the club; she's only playing for herself. Do you want someone like that playing for you?"

"No, of course not," Cuvimi replied. "That would send entirely the wrong message to the young players all throughout the multiverse. But I will still be saddened by her departure."

"I wouldn't," Matt said in a moment of bare honesty.

"So, you think Blaze is now ready for Premier League football?" Carlos asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, I do think so," Matt replied. "She's been performing very well for the under-18s, and then when I let her play a few games for the under-21s, she was just as good. This girl has got a very bright future ahead of her. A Prem game should do wonders for her, even though it could get to her head a little bit. It's just a shame that she chose to idolize someone like Isa Tangemen."

"How is the process of leading her away from Isa going then, Matthew?"

"I could be doing better, but I also could be doing worse. I've planted some seeds of doubt in my mind, and surely this incident must serve as a warning to her that sometimes, your heroes don't live up to what you imagined them to be." The two men shared a short laugh at that.

Cuvimi's cellphone rang. "Carlos Cuvimi," he said in greeting. And then whatever the person at the other end of the line said made him stand up. "What?!" he asked. "What happened to Aunt Nedwig? Difficulty breathing?! Of course I'll be there! Yes, yes, I'm going right now. Thank you. Goodbye."

Cuvimi ended the call and tossed his phone onto the desk. "Aunt Hedwig was rushed to the hospital," he told Cave. "Apparently, she had trouble breathing and then felt a pain in her chest, so she was rushed to the hospital. I have to go there and keep her spirits up."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Matt said, meaning it. "Send my best wishes to her, will you?"

"Of course, of course," Cuvimi muttered. "Matthew, do you mind managing the senior team in my place, even only for tomorrow's game?" he asked. "I don't think I will be back before that time."

"Of course," Matt replied. "It will be my pleasure to manage the team."

"Thank you," Cuvimi said, laying a hand on Matt's shoulder. "Now, I must go. My Aunt Hedwig needs me."

---

Saturday

Blaze Chrzanowska's head was literally in the clouds. She was starting a Premier League game for Rosenpfelblatz City! Sure, it was a shame that Isa had tested positive in her drug test despite the advice of her friends, but if it weren't for Isa's suspension, then Blaze wouldn't be here, wearing a purple keeper's kit with her name and number 99 printed on the back.

Blaze was standing beside some of the biggest names in the club and the league: Alex Rousseau, Elena Migdvorak, Claudine Samaniego, and Karen Villegas of Rosenpfelblatz, and Lillian Prescott, Regina Mesbros, and Isa's friends Kameron Hamsik and Pandora Reimfeller of Riuwiee United Women.

The referee waved them forward, and they walked out of the tunnel and onto the pitch of the Aeroflot Stadium. Now Blaze was feeling butterflies in her stomach. It was one thing to start for an under-15 team in an international competition. It was quite another thing to be starting for a team in the top flight of its country's football, even if the men's and women's leagues were segregated here in Abanhfleft.

The fans were cheering loudly, and they were waving sky blue scarves. There was a small corner of the stadium in which fans of Riuwiee United were seated, and they were waving a mix of dark blue and black scarves. United were wearing their black away kits now to prevent a clash with Rosenpfelblatz's sky blue kits.

"And there she is, ladies and gentlemen. Blaze Chrzanowska, on loan to Rosenpfelblatz from Anglatia's Underfell FC, is now the youngest ever player to start a Ladies' Premier League match at just 16 years and 19 days old, beating the old record of none other than Riuwiee United's Regina Mesbros, who made her first LPL start at 16 years and 134 days old. It is a testament to Chrzanowska's prowess playing for Rosenpfelblatz's under-18 and under-21 teams, but perhaps it should also be noted that Blaze Chrzanowska is starting for the Lady Sky Blues only because both Yannie Redborne and Marfa Kirilenko had been sidelined by injuries, and Isa Tangemen has been suspended following her failing a random drug test."

The game started with Riuwiee kicking off, and almost immediately Blaze saw that she was playing in a league far, far above the under-18 and under-21 leagues, both here and in Anglatia. Here, the women had no compunctions with tackles and fouls, and while there had been no bookings, the tackles that the Rosenpfelblatz and Riuwiee players were committing would get them carded and even dismissed in the Imperial Super Leagues.

Rosenpfelblatz's defense was working hard, but Blaze couldn't tell if they always played that way or if they were just protecting Blaze from any embarrassment. But that question almost became moot when Claudine Samaniego lost Kameron Hamsik, and the Armeian-born striker had a clear shot at goal. Kameron fired a shot into the top left corner from Blaze's perspective, and she stretched out her arms to tip away the shot. She felt leather touch against the leather of her gloves, and then she heard a disappointed groan from both sets of fans. The groans then turned into applause, even as Blaze discovered that she had conceded a corner to Riuwiee.

Lilly Prescott took the corner kick. She sent the ball straight into the middle of the box, and there was a scramble from players from both teams as they struggled to reach the ball. But somehow, Blaze found her hands catching the ball from the air, and this elicited another round of applause from the Rosen fans.

Blaze took the ball and then rolled it to Claudine, who passed it to Elena Migdvorak through a long ball. Elena took just one touch to control the ball, and then she tricked her way away from two Riuwiee defenders before laying off the ball to Karen Villegas, and the net behind the opposing keeper bulged from the impact. The cheer from the fans was loud and thundering, and Blaze couldn't help but feel happy that she had helped set up the goal.

But that wasn't the end of the game for her yet.

---

CRESCENT NEWS NETWORK
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ABANHFLEFT • PRIDNESTROVIA • OONTAZ DERT LI NG • COPPER CUPRUM • TRENDSTART • FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA

DI BRADINI CUP 37: ABANHFLEFT VS CHROMATIKA
By Malik Qazizadah


Abanhfleft's Kareem Dagen celebrates his goal against Chromatika. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

RAYNOR CITY, VALANORA - Abanhfleft recovered from their close defeat against Kirisaki in fine fashion by comprehensively beating Chromatika.

Eikborg Club's Kareem Dagen scored his first goal in five months after his long distance shot curled at the last moment to beat Jillian Nier, who had flung herself to her right in an attempt to block the shot.

Kéirâ Andisori completed a rare Chromatikan counterattack and turned the chance into a goal by rounding past Ursula Qatintiki and tapping the ball in.

But after a brief ten-minute spell of sustained pressure from the Young Anomalies, Abanhfleft went back into the driving seat courtesy of Mabel Finnemark's well-taken free kick, and Arkady Rozier closed out the contest with a composed finish against Nier that belied the fact that the striker of Pridnestrovian descent was only just 14 years old.

The Young Anomalies who faced off against the Young Revolutionaries were a shadow of the side that beat newcomers Leperconia in fine fashion at the Angelotic Temple, but there was a brief scare at the start of the second half in which it looked as if Chromatika might edge out the Fleftics through a sheer attacking display.

Sascha Kristine almost set up Trenn Rien to take the lead with a through ball that sliced through the Fleftic defense, but Rien looked to be a bit shaky and allowed the ball to roll slowly into Qatintiki's hands.

Aside from that, the Fleftic midfield absolutely dominated the contest, and Lucjo Kleinmann was there to provide cover for his defensive line as well as set up the attacks for his forwards.

Abanhfleft are now second place in Group G, below Kirisaki on head-to-head. They will have a chance to secure their place with victory over Leperconia.

Abanhfleft under-21 manager Celerino delos Reyes: "The team did well to bounce back after the defeat against Kirisaki. We controlled the game, absolutely controlled it, and we reaped our just rewards.

"Chromatika's dominance in the second half had me worried, but our boys and girls did well to return control to us. Another performance like this and we are through to the round of 16. Now let's hope that I did not jinx us."

     ABANHFLEFT 3 - 1 CHROMATIKA
    DAGEN (16')       ANDISORI (44')
FINNEMARK (70')
   ROZIER (89')

CHROMATIKA
GK: 01 Nier
RB: 20 Horiksen
CB: 28 Aart (O'Neal - 77')
LB: 04 Anamoso
RM: 12 Kristine
RCM: 27 Ethan (Sendor - 56')
LCM: 30 Renn (Schoven - 77')
LM: 18 Liam
RW: 16 Rien
LW: 11 Marie
ST: 10 Andisori

ABANHFLEFT
GK: 01 Qatintiki
RB: 02 Popov (Onyu - 60')
RCB: 03 Hartin
LCB: 04 Gibson
LB: 05 Fuller
RDM: 06 Levin (Segovia - 88')
CDM: 07 Kleinmann
LDM: 08 Bolin
CAM: 10 Finnemark
RS: 09 Dagen
LS: 11 Sabado (Rozier - 75')

MATCH STATS
Possession
Abanhfleft: 51%
Chromatika: 49%
Shots
Abanhfleft: 18 (7 on target)
Chromatika: 12 (7 on target)
Corners
Abanhfleft: 6
Chromatika: 2
Fouls
Abanhfleft: 9
Kirisaki: 5

[Pasarga]

Torgos Tribune ~ Beating A Dead Horse?

The Young Wanderers went into their match with Anglatia fully expecting it to be a tough match but not nearly as tough as the match they would have to end the group with, as Flardania was still left to play. However shortly after the Pasarga-Anglatia match had finished up, both sides looked at the scoreboard in shock to see that Schottia not only had defeated Flardania in their match but had utterly humiliated the side in an eight to nil drubbing that is up there in the record books as one of the most lopsided scores in DBC history. Suddenly the Young Wanderers felt as if the first two matches they had had during the group stage had been their ultimate tests and it was not that ever fearful third, as Flardania surely could not recover the morale needed after such a thorough beating to give Pasarga a true go at it. Which, if proven true, means that regardless of what had transpired in the match between Anglatia and themselves, the Young Wanderers were almost assuredly through.

That however is just a flight of fancy and one that only comes from such momentary lapses in sanity and grasps of reality. The truth of the matter is that it does not matter as the Young Wanderers were able to beat Anglatia in a match that was probably closer than the final scoreline would suggest. What is becoming abundantly clear is that this tournament is proving to be the launching point of the career of Ingþór Auðbjörnsson, as the striker grabbed a brace in the match to add on to the goal he already had in the first match. Auðbjörnsson is showing the pace and the footballing knowhow for players ten years his elder, knowing exactly where to be and how to move without the ball despite still being in his teenage years. There is no telling how good this young striker might be, especially consider the facilities and teammates he will have to work with at Zozi in Audioslavia.

Auðbjörnsson was not the only Young Wanderer to impress, Franko Ivanović put in another solid performance and collected his second goal of the tournament while Vladimir Filipović also got a goal coming off the bench and showing those in Stilinkeep that there might be some help on the way in terms of the league. That being said, Auðbjörnsson and Hunor were definitely the two players that the scouts were keeping their eyes on and for good reason, as the two Zozi players are playing at a level one would not expect of those in the U21 World Cup, more along the lines of those who were playing for the full national team side. While Hunor might have trouble breaking into the Wanderer midfield, the striker position has had some questions raised as of late and Auðbjörnsson may see action this coming fall, though I would expect next cycle to be the more likely to see this talented young striker to put on the kit for the full team.

Which brings us to the matter of Flardania or what remains of their resistance following the thumping that Schottia gave to them. To be completely honest, I do not expect anything resembling a full strength side and one could wage and U18 squad might even be enough to defeat this demoralize shell of a squad. The only fighting chance I give to Flardania to keep the Young Wanderers from getting at least the sole point they need to progress is the matter of pride and how wounded that might be after such a result against Schottia. No sportsman wants to be remembered as the person or squad on the wrong side of history and that is certainly how it is shaping up for Flardania, especially given the lethality of the Young Wanderers attack in the first two games. Considering the beating they just received, a normal person would wager our own side to put a further three or four goals past them, yet pride to show that one result may just be a fluke still remains. Can determination trump pride though, that is the key question to as whether or not the match between Flardania and ourselves will be competitive or another footnote in history.

[Ceni]

---

LESSONS FROM TWO GROUP STAGE WINS
Strong wins over Farfadillis, San Jose Guayabal

---

There was always a lot of confidence with the new crop of Cenian youngsters that manager Peter Petrossian had selected for the team in the 3th Di Bradini Cup, but there had seemed to be a lot of confidence in players elsewhere in the multiverse - in Kirisaki, Abanhfleft, and Schottia, to name a few major powers in this event, that Ceni might end up having to face in the Round of 16, while the top half of the draw seemed a bit easier for a team to come in and dominate. Nevertheless, the Cenian team aimed to have the best possible record in the group stage, and they would face teams which, on paper, seemed to be quite difficult teams (at least if you counted the WCC rank) - Farfadillis and San Jose Guayabal. However, the team dispatched the first and second with ease - a portentous sign for the team that they would have a better time than they expected.

Farfadillis, as usual, fielded a team with a heavy attacking bent, with six attackers, the striker Stiin Siorrha'Asione described as the best of whom by Farf media. They would aim to press at the Cenian goal and attack as much as they could - making a challenge for the famously leaky Cenian defense, which nonetheless has undergone some improvement in the past two years, with Pinnacle Project leading the charge on several aspects of the improvement in the defense. While the Pinnacle Project defenders (Kavos, Lorechian, and Torabi) did play a role in this important match with Farfadillis, Miri Windtide, the central defender from Whitehaven Triumph. also played a huge role in keeping Siorrha'Asione, Fvêt Rôwé, and Des Lopiño out of the goal. Even more important, though, was the performance of Juan Pablo Morales in goal; his involvement in the heavily attacking Cenileague, which has a lot of world-class strikers, has prepared him for tough moments like these, and he certainly performed admirably in keeping a clean sheet against Farfadillis, a side with the heavy proclivity to attack. Ultimately, a more well-prepared defense did well in snuffing out many of their chances.

The striking team, while not having much improvement from the Di Bradini Cup two years ago, still managed to impress against both Farfadillis and San Jose Guayabal. Andrew Arrowsword, the 16-year-old, half-Drawkian player who, with Club 24, scored the most goals over in the neighboring Terranean League, excelled in both games, scoring one goal in each and assisting two others in a capable performance. Arrowsword looks like a player who may eventually score a World Cup winning goal for his team, and the team does place a lot of hope on the improvement of this player, despite his obvious skills right now; more refinement may be necessary for him to thrive on the senior stage. Nico Asturias, who is finishing his development as a player in his home country, at the club Cenial United, also scored one of his first international goals in this DBC; Tyro Solaris has been extremely helpful along the wings as well, cutting several incisive passes to help his peers. While this striking squad may not be as obviously talented (or as numerous!) as the squad two years ago, it still has an innate capability to score goals for the team, receive and send passes, and work seamlessly together to create opportunities for each other.

But most important for Cenian future prowess in the sport is likely the midfield. Peter Petrossian has opted for a more flexible formation with two attacking midfielders and two more central midfielders, and it has appeared to work well so far. Tomas Fierro, a player who recently stood out in the Schottic Premier League with his side New Belfast Warriors, winning a Player of the Month award, along with his partner Sendoa, who also plays in Schottia, form the core of the midfield in the attacking zone. Fierro scored one of the team's six goals during the past two games, while creating several opportunities for his teammates in the striking box. In the central part of the midfield, Ceni also has two good players in the form of Petro Valles and Jasper Valaran. Valles did well for his team, Lexington Victory, which won the Terranean League title, as a defensive mid, helping to coordinate the activities in the offense and the defense. Meanwhile, Jasper Valaran won the Cenileague title with 1860 Azoth as a playmaker, helping to get around defenders and opposition midfielders while setting up goal opportunities for his compatriots up front. This midfield prowess is important because Ceni now has the ability to send the ball up the field quickly and easily and recover from any defensive deficits, while still maintaining control and being able to have quite a bit of strength in the offense as well. So in the view of Peter Petrossian, the midfield both supports and protects the strikers and the defense, allowing for a more free-flow game and one that ends well (hopefully!) for Ceni.

The team truly put their game plans to the test against these two strong opponents, on paper at least. However, in practice, the Cenian team proved to be too strong for both opponents, as they totally crushed both teams' defenses and blocked out any goals from the offense. Although many have credited the excellent performance of Juan Pablo Morales in both games, as much credit, or more, goes to the midfield, which was the pivot for both of these games. Both Fierro and Sendoa sent off excellent goals and assists, while Petro Valles did well to dispossess the dangerous Farf attack and defuse the pressuring style of San Jose Guayabal; Jasper Valaran got several looks at the ball, sending it forward for excellent plays, while also doing well on the defensive side. So it seems like the midfield will be key to the Cenian strategy for the remainder of the Di Bradini Cup, as it does well in helping the defense and the offense, as Petrossian stated about his midfield. Andrew Arrowsword, though, should not be overlooked, with his excellent performances giving great hope to the future in Ceni.

The two wins were a far cry from the group stage two years ago - where the leaky defense surrendered quite a few goals (four to be exact) to Lymantatia in their first game, even more to Zenic in a loss in the third game (a good five goals in total!) before finally trouncing Devonta by the score of six to two. In the semifinals, too, the defense was rather leaky as well, conceding four to San Llera. In all, the team, in their entire campaign, never conceded any less than two goals in a game. In that campaign, on the other hand, the offense was stellar - with Kira Koromin, Javier del Olmo, Eric Garcia, and Tyro Solaris all leading the offense, the team scored a total of 29 goals in just seven games, with an average of just over 4.1 goals per game, never scoring less than two in a match. Several lessons can be learned from this comparison: one, that Ceni's offense is still excellent, while the defense is more watertight than the run two years ago; two, that this balanced style is still effective; and three, Ceni, with a better goal difference this season, can still have a good chance to perform well in this Di Bradini Cup.

Meanwhile, Peter Petrossian has been laboring for a while in the sidelines, working to meld together all the varying personalities and styles into one team, and perhaps he should deserve some of the credit for its revival as well. It seems, ironically, that each manager's area of expertise has extended into areas opposite of what they hope to focus on. Corran Artis, for example, focused on the midfield and the defense while encouraging the attack, and the opposite has been true for Peter Petrossian: focusing on the attack while actually stimulating the defense and midfield more than he would like. Whatever his goals, though, Petrossian has somehow managed to combine all these varying aspects of the Cenian team into one unit, which has somehow proven to be successful. He's also proven that a balanced style is indeed the best way for Ceni to move forward, as it not only nurtures the most lacking units of the Cenian game (the defense) but also nurtures the most prolific: the striking force and the attacking midfield. If we have read all the signs correctly, this should be a very good Di Bradini Cup for the Cenian team, with their new manager and the new and improved defense, midfield, and striking force. It's already been an excellent experience for these young players, and we're confident that it will continue to be.

[Ethane]

Ethanese Youth System

The youth system of Ethane has long been criticised by many high profile football figures, not just internationally, but by many key clubs as well. The youth system has been criticised, mainly for the inadequacies presented by the system, which fails to develop strong, young players for the local teams, and for the international team.

Many players who passed through the youth system have also been critical of the system, with Rigby Headley, current national team superstar, saying that there are ''fundamental flaws that need to be addressed if we wish to have a competitive youth team, and national team in the future. He, and many key players who have come through the youth system say that they feel the youth are being neglected in favour of the older teams, and this risks creating a system where there is no one to replenish the older teams, leaving a wide void, with no way of plugging the hole.

This debate has not only been re-ignited recently, but has accelerated to a level beyond belief that is almost leading to a deadlock between those who want reforms in the youth system of Ethanese football, and those who wish to maintain the status quo. The head of the federation in Ethane has recently stated that ''this long running argument needs to come to a conclusion, and once it does, we must stick with that conclusion, whether it is the right or wrong one, whatever.''

The arrival of Andísorí has sparked a widespread dissent towards the leading sports officials and teams amongst those at the grassroots, who scout out new young players, and develop them into superstars, as they feel that their positions and roles in Ethanese football is being starved in favour of importing strong youth players from leagues abroad. Adam Walker, a scout that goes round local schools looking for promising youth players, recently said in a interview on ENTV that he was ''extremely disappointed with the status quo. The young people in Ethane who show promise are being starved of their chances in football, in favour of players from youth systems abroad. Don't get me wrong, you do need a bit of both, but I fear that the current leaders of Ethanese football are leaning too far towards foreign imports and are neglecting home-grown talent.
The big question to be asked is: if other nations can develop strong youth systems, which grow young people into world class players, then why can't we? The example of Andísorí is incredible, and one that shows that there may be hidden talent wherever you go, and that is something you can't ignore. I think we need to be looking at the bigger picture here. Why are we scouting at players from abroad, such as Andísorí, when we have talent in the young people in Ethane as good as her in football? Why do we just ignore them?''

There is growing anger about the way in which the system is managed, and the federation will shortly be meeting to decide on where they go from here, and whether it would be beneficial to think about pumping more money into their own youth system, rather than looking abroad for strong youth players.

[Valanora]

Who shall prove to be a Bastion of their team, of their group?

Group A
Holy Philippine Empire 4–3 Hasznia @ Castle de Mot, Wexax
Dainer 4–2 Garifunya @ Aranfield Bridge, Everlin

P Group A                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Dainer                       3   2  0  1   10   6  +4    6     Q
2 Holy Philippine Empire       3   2  0  1    8   8   0    6     Q
3 Garifunya                    3   1  0  2    6   7  −1    3
4 Hasznia                      3   1  0  2    6   9  −3    3

Group B
Sangti 2–5 Eshan @ Metropolis, Ibini
Osarius 2–6 Ethane @ The Tar Pit, Char Sara

P Group B                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eshan                        3   3  0  0   10   4  +6    9     Q
2 Ethane                       3   2  0  1    7   3  +4    6     Q
3 Sangti                       3   1  0  2    4   6  −2    3
4 Osarius                      3   0  0  3    4  12  −8    0

Group C
Devonta 0–3 Semarland @ Lathal, Ianisle
Taeshan 1–5 Brigantii @ Miner's Haven, Goldsan

P Group C                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Semarland                    3   3  0  0    9   2  +7    9     Q
2 Brigantii                    3   1  1  1    8   7  +1    4     Q
3 Devonta                      3   1  1  1    5   5   0    4
4 Taeshan                      3   0  0  3    2  10  −8    0

Group D
Unified Sunrise Islands 4–0 Cosumar @ Rose Gardens, Kareen
San Llera 0–1 Nephara @ Hatire Memorial, Capri

P Group D                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Unified Sunrise Islands      3   3  0  0    9   2  +7    9     Q
2 San Llera                    3   1  0  2    1   2  −1    3     Q
3 Nephara                      3   1  0  2    7   9  −2    3
4 Cosumar                      3   1  0  2    5   9  −4    3

Group E
West-East Timor 0–3 Ceni @ Donna Cathedral, Mar Sara
San Jose Guayabal 2–3 Farfadillis @ Artani, Mar Sara

P Group E                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Ceni                         3   3  0  0    9   0  +9    9     Q
2 Farfadillis                  3   2  0  1    4   5  −1    6     Q
3 West-East Timor              3   1  0  2    2   5  −3    3
4 San Jose Guayabal            3   0  0  3    3   8  −5    0

Group F
Flardania 0–7 Pasarga @ The Battleground, Raynor City
Anglatia 1–0 Schottia @ Hellgate, Raynor City

P Group F                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Pasarga                      3   2  1  0   14   5  +9    7     Q
2 Schottia                     3   1  1  1   11   4  +7    4     Q
3 Anglatia                     3   1  1  1    4   5  −1    4
4 Flardania                    3   0  1  2    1  16 −15    1

Group G
Leperconia 0–4 Abanhfleft @ Turmondale Grounds, Raynor City
Chromatika 1–0 Kirisaki @ Angelotic Temple, Longview

P Group G                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Abanhfleft                   3   2  0  1    7   2  +5    6     Q
2 Kirisaki                     3   2  0  1    4   2  +2    6     Q
3 Chromatika                   3   2  0  1    4   3  +1    6
4 Leperconia                   3   0  0  3    1   9  −8    0

Group H
Tumbra 2–0 Amazonesta @ Duran Palace, Valanari
Azrea 1–2 Quebec @ The White Fortress, Gladerial

P Group H                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Tumbra                       3   2  1  0    6   3  +3    7     Q
2 Quebec                       3   2  1  0    3   1  +2    7     Q
3 Azrea                        3   1  0  2    8   8   0    3
4 Amazonesta                   3   0  0  3    2   7  −5    0

Round of Sixteen Fixtures
Dainer v San Llera @ Lathal, Ianisle
Eshan v Brigantii @ Metropolis, Ibini
Semarland v Ethane @ Miner's Haven, Goldsan
Unified Sunrise Islands v Holy Philippine Empire @ The Tar Pit, Char Sara
Ceni v Quebec @ Angelotic Temple, Longview
Pasarga v Kirisaki @ The White Fortress, Gladerial
Abanhfleft v Schottia @ Artani, Mar Sara
Tumbra v Farfadillis @ Hellgate, Raynor City

[Tumbra]

One Chance
The Story of a Forth Division Player

Valanari

The match had come too soon. We were still recovering from the ban of three of our best players.

The appeal from the authorities had come to naught. We were stuck without Lawro for the game, and had to push Charlie (Lester) to the side to compensate. While he wasn't as good as Lawro, he got the job done, and that seemed to be enough for Robin. The loss of Rhys-Stevens and Gale had hit really hard too.

Amazonesta were an extremely attacking side, but had nothing to play for - they had already been knocked out. We, however, had everything to play for. We were only top of the group on goal difference, and if the results didn't go our way, we could find ourselves on the next excruciatingly long flight back to Tumbra.

Robin made sure we didn't forget that. After the narrow win over Azrea and the goalless draw against Quebec, he wanted to prove to the supporters that we weren't just getting through on lucky goals and forcing opponents down to draws. Training that day was tough, but we still felt like we were missing crucial elements of the team.

And yet, we were told to not worry by Robin when we began warming up.

While the first eleven - vastly different to the actual supposed first eleven jogged onto the pitch, I took the seventh seat on the substitutes bench. Again. For the third match in a row, Tristan Hale was starting and I was on the bench. I considered going to Robin to convince him to change his mind but eventually decided against it, before I got relegated to watching the game from the hotel.

Gale...he took his red card extremely seriously. He faulted himself, even when Rhys-Stevens and Lawro went over to his room and assured him that it wasn't his fault.

I don't think he cared, though.

Lawro was looking considerably smaller at breakfast, and upon receiving the appeal result, seemed to shrink even more. He looked like he was taking the ban okay, however.

Rhys-Stevens was stoic throughout the entire matter. He didn't seem to have any hard feelings, either. He was all smiles at breakfast, and wished Almar the best of luck as he handed the captain's armband over to him.

I'd seen him in his hotel room, however. He was a complete mess, and seemed to think his banning had thrown the entire team into disarray.

As the match started, the familiar cheers of Tumbran football supporters wafted through the air...

-***-

Ilcaster, Tumbra

Some nights ago

"I'm telling you this, Ed. Your son will be taken in by the academy with false promises of first-team opportunities, then be swallowed up by the youth system as a whole, then he'll be sent out on endless loans before his contract expires and he's forced to play in some obscure league. Though, in Ollie's case, that might not happen at all." Gordon's Lackland accent had faded and his voice had returned to the regular, pristine English spoken by the upper classes.

"If that's so, then what will happen to him?" Ed asked while staring at the muted television that was now showing a re-run of the 2008 season review.

"Amateur. Non-league football. Three hundred and seventy-five pounds a week, their wage cap is."

"That's not much less than what you're paying him. Two hundred, the last time I heard? Eight hundred a week isn't the most sustainable in a country which has one of the highest costs of living within Esportiva, Rushmore or the AO."

"That's not an issue. We can always raise his salary. I'm already giving him first-team football, and I'm going to hand him a contract to match that."

"You'd better. A thousand a week could be decent."

"I was thinking nine-fifty but a thousand can't hurt."

"Gordon, you are such an israddol that it hurts."

"I'm sorry Ed, I speak English. Artumoan is completely out of the picture."

"It means cheapskate, dimwit!" Ed looked up at the clock. It's nearly midnight, Gordon. You'd best be going. I'd hate for you to face Maud when she's angry.

"Very well."

-***-

Valanari

The match was starting to cool off. While we were obviously the better team - no question about that - the Amazonestans were resisting our every attack, and Mendes, their goalkeeper, seemed to be deflecting every single ball.

In the eighteenth minute, however, a massive tackle by Vasconcelos on Hale left Hale on the floor, screaming and Vasconcelos with a yellow card. Stoff threw done his clipboard - he obviously thought the tackle merited a red. Breathing heavily, he signalled for me to begin my warm-up and go onto the pitch at any moment.

The physios carted Hale off the pitch, but as his stretcher passed me, he began moaning incomprehensibly and started resisting against the stretcher. I cast him but one glance as he looked up at me with a look of intense hatred in his eyes.

The moment I stepped onto the pitch, I felt at home again. We were playing much better than in our first outing against Azrea, and certainly much better than the match against Quebec.

We were a team.

Almar, Ed Richardson and I worked seamlessly as a front three, all awkwardness gone, a partnership that ended up in a brace for me.

The first came on the half-hour mark. Almar passed another sensational header over to me, which I chested down and booted into the net. Simple finish that was quite technical, but pleasing to see.

The second came at the end of the first half, when a ball launched deep into the Amazonestan front lines was picked up by Tyler, and the resulting passing game that resulted in me chipping the ball past the keeper was classic Tumbra, and harked back to a time when football was a game of grit. It still was in the North, just to a lesser extent.

It felt good. By the end of the match, we were secure in the knowledge that we had secured a place in the round of 16, and when we heard that Azrea had lost to Quebec 1-2, we celebrated, knowing that we had secured top spot and managed to avoid the dangerous ones - Ahbanfleft and the undefeated Cenians, to name a few.

What would happen next would be up to fate, I guess.

-***-

Dear Robin,

Below is a selection of headlines from Tumbra's newspapers about your performances. You can tell they are not...extremely pleasant and/or positive. Should the Junior Blues exit this tournament at this stage of the cup from this strong a position, your contract is as good as over.

Yours,

Derek Godwinson

Assistant Head of the TFA.

The Tumbran Herald
WUNDERKID SCORES ONE, RICHARDSON SCORES TWO AS JUNIOR BLUES SCRAPE PAST AZREA

The Tumbran Times
JUNIOR BLUES EKE OUT NARROW WIN AGAINST AZREAN EAGLES - SHOULD ROBIN STOFF KEEP HIS JOB?

The Daily Star
ABSOLUTE DISGRACE! 0-0 DRAW WITH STONERS PUTS US TO SLEEP!

The Tribune
STOFF JOB UNDER SCRUTINY AFTER GOALLESS DRAW WITH QUEBEC

Tumbra 2-0 Amazonesta


Tumbra Scorers:  Ganson 30', 45' + 1'                           Amazonesta Scorers: NIL
Tumbra Bookings: Nil                                            Amazonesta Bookings [Yellow]: Vasconcelos 18'
Tumbra Injuries: Hale 18'                                       Amazonesta Injuries: NIL

[Osarius]

After a woeful showing in the Di Bradini Cup, Ayanna Barca-Carthy, Head of the Osarius Developmental Unit, has blasted the OFA for not protecting young players. "This squad is talented, and three defeats is not representative of their ability. This is a matter of us overworking our young players, and they came into this tournament too tired to maintain a reasonable level of play throughout." She told reporters gathered after a crushing 6-2 defeat to Ethane last night. "I don't think we're making the best use of the system, the whole thing was designed to prepare these players for senior international football, but we can't even prepare them for underage football at the moment with such a congested fixture list at club level."

Former Osarius national team manager Jermain Lewis, whose idea it was to reform the national setup some ten years ago, weighed in on Barca-Carthy's comments, noting that she "has a point" when remarking on the failure of the OFA to make the best use of the system. "Ayanna is passionate. She knows we want these guys playing football, and winning. But she is also a vastly experienced player and coach. She knows when players are being stretched too thin." Lewis said. "It's like a few years ago when Ryan Watson broke through, and his grandfather was a bit cautious about playing him often for Hastmead. He had the ability, we all knew it. But Benni's reluctance to throw him, and other guys like Gentile, Constantini and so on, into the fray too often meant we reaped the benefits at the AOCAF and other tournaments."

Others have suggested that Barca-Carthy is merely making excuses. Almost half of her squad for the Di Bradini Cup plays outside LigAnaia, suggesting that the congested fixture list might not necessarily be the problem. "I see where she's coming from, but I think that's a poor excuse. At the end of the day, they just weren't prepared." Remarked OSN's Andrea Cossu. "That's her job, isn't it? To prepare her team?" Cossu would go on to express his admiration for the former Jraxville and Osarius captain, but stressed that she needed to "do better" as head of the developmental unit. "Ayanna is a superb coach, don't get me wrong. But if she selected these players knowing that they had been through a gruelling season, she made a bad call. If she selected them without knowing, she didn't do her homework. Either way, she has made a mistake, in my book. Hopefully she will learn from that, because I don't think there is a better option to lead the developmental unit, but it won't do to have her make excuses like that."

Chief Scout for the Osarian national team, Roberto Cormega, noted that Barca-Carthy's reasoning had some merit, but that in truth, the problem was that her squad suffered from a lack of experienced defenders. "She took four centre backs, one of which has significant experience at senior level, for a team that in truth, as much as it hurts me to say this about my club... should have been relegated last season." Cormega noted, referring to Turic's Bonifacio Muscolino. "The fullbacks are a bit better, and have all just earned big moves to strong leagues, but I suspect they won't be starting regularly there just yet. So it's no surprise the team struggled to keep goals out." The highly-regarded analyst went on to discuss how Prieto, Grana and Estevez were incomparable to the protective running of Bailey, Mancini or Mitchell ahead of Pearce, which limited the Jraxville playmaker's ability to exert control on games in midfield. "The system relied on Samantha Pearce being able to pull the strings, much like Ayanna herself did when she was a player, albeit in a slightly different system. But you can't really compare Prieto and Grana's more technical approach to the physicality of Bailey, or sheer athleticism of Mancini or Mitchell. Going further back, Ayanna had Jayson Dhanda next to her a lot of the time for Osarius, for example. This is no slight on Prieto or Grana, who are both superb footballers... they're just not the same."

If there is a positive to take from the Flying Sparks' failures in Valanora, it is that they are still threatening up front, no matter what. "I was really impressed with Allen and Perea in particular. Quinn Doherty looked sharp whenever he was on the pitch too." Noted attacking coach Dean Richards. "They're not going to be pushing the likes of Johnson, Crespo and Puntoriero for now, but they have the raw ability. The tools are there." Assistant manager Autumn Phelps added to this, pointing to the considerable threat posed by Osarius' wingers in the tournament. "We all know what Ryan can do, but I think some people were surprised at how dangerous James [Warwick] was from a deeper starting position, or how effective Laura [O'Sullivan] can be in that defensive winger role." She said. "Under ideal circumstances, we might have gone with Ryan and Raimondo [Montanari] for most games, with their pace and eye for goal... but we were under a lot of pressure when out of possession, and needed to strengthen the middle. This meant we had to pick a more balanced side a lot of the time, so we often chose deeper sitting wingers, like Laura and James, and it paid off sometimes."

Senior Osarius manager Azarai Robinson was spotted in the crowd at two of the Flying Sparks' games, presumably keeping tabs on a few of the under-21s who are likely to make a breakthrough during the upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign. Ahead of the reinstatement of the Exhibition Tour next month, which was announced yesterday, Robinson answered a few questions regarding his squad selections. "There will be chances for fringe players, young players, you know... this is what the exhibition tour is for." He explained. "Of course I want to test systems, and get my better options on the field, together, building chemistry... but there is more to it. This is a chance to impress. I have another ten to fifteen meaningful games after the tour, so I need to have options. Injuries and suspensions happen, players will get older and retire... so I need depth. I need to know the next player up is ready. This is what friendlies are for."

[Brigantii]

The morning after the night before there was a collective groan in Brigantii as everyone picked up their newspapers and saw the remarkable turn around the young lads had made. Needing to swing an almost insurmountable goal difference and for things in the other game to go their way it seemed highly unlikely they were going to reach the round of sixteen.

But thanks to a stellar performance from Saxton Avery who bagged a hat-trick and goals from both Jamey Irvin and Zack Wilbraham they eased past Taeshan in convincing fashion, much to the disappointment of the people back home.

Coach Andrew Winadass' team has developed over the last few games and are finding a good rhythm and with a game in the last sixteen to now look forward to will be hoping this progress continues. The lads, despite not garnering much attention back home with the fans were turning in displays that were catching the eyes of the scouts. Again young Byron Samuels was garnering attention and not just back home in Brigantii, with teams in Tiburtina, notably Borghese FC, casting an admiring glance his way. And with five goals in three games Saxton Avery was looking like a suitable acquisition for newly promoted Skyte City, but with his performances in Valanora it was likely his price tag set by Landfell was increasing.

Back in Brigantii the F.A was trying to drum up interest in the boys in Valanora with advertisements on the television and the radio and highlights being shown on Brigantii's weekly football round-up, but it was failing, people didn't want to watch the fringe players and the young lads playing in the first division, they wanted to watch Can I Mock The News This Week, a panel show about the week's news or the latest episode of Brigantii's top sitcom Mr. Simms, a show about a high school teacher and his unruly class.

Instead, live on the BNBC 3 would be Brigantii's under 21's taking on Eshan who had a clean sweep in the group stage, winning all three games and taking all nine points. The two would be meeting in Ibini at Metropolis, where Eshan played their last game and won comfortably 5-2 against Sangti. It would be a difficult ask for Brigantii to overcome a team in such resounding form and collectively the fingers of the populace back home were crossed that this was finally the end of the road and regularly scheduled programming would be returning to the Brigantti National Broadcasting Company.

[Dainer]

Moving to Ianisle, the players felt less like playing video games because Ianisle's environment is more hospitable than either Char Sara or Wexax, more similar to Dainer's. They spent their free time going around the city instead and gathering a support crowd of locals for their next match.

Speaking of match, what to say about the remaining five starting players, the newcomers to the DBC? These are players looking to prove themselves, and some are yet to play in an adult team. It would do good to know a bit about them.

Rhakan
Draconites are an unique non-human people native to Dainer and Space Dragonites. With physical abilities that differ vastly from regular humans, their placement in sports competitions was a matter of debate until it was decided the Draconite Country government itself would have the final say. Football is one of the sports where humans and draconites can play on the same teams as of today. Rhakan quickly made a name for himself in the youth system for allying his impressive physicality with talent, and landed on DFC as their flagship starter even though he was so young. Unfortunately for the draconite fans, their team was unable to hold him for long and he departed for mighty Xistrumbigonça... where he went under the tutelage of the current most popular draconite player in the league, two-time All-Star Yiazma.

Bicicleto
By this time, anyone who's been reading these profiles for long enough may have noticed that it's common for Daineri youngsters to start their professional careers at smaller clubs before finding a place upstairs. Some of them already show their star power by them, like Haylanri did - or Bicicleto, who ended up being highly sought after with his antics last season. His tricks and attention-grabbing first-time touches are a nice addition to him being an above average side-back, one whose aggressiveness fits well with Tommy-Atkins' proposed 5-3-2 backline.

Nildäo
The current sub to indefatigable Xandäo on the Zill midfield comes from the same neighborhood of Cidade Pupidu and, like him, also started out on Estrela D'Alva's youth team. Like it's common for Daineri youngsters, he made a move to the pros in a new team. Xandäo made a name for himself at Urdutown, Nildäo chose Zill. Like his senior neighbor, he is a defensive midfielder and a dogged marker, but the similarities end there. Nildäo is much more physically imposing and fades into the background instead of leading the team.

Yamaxanadu
When asked about the prospect they pulled out of the youth leagues, Sukatora Sassa coach Tillius Ganderre called her simply "the future of Daineri football". Her deft passing, vision and leadership led some to compare her to a young Onze Letras, but she herself says her style is inspired on pre-UICA legend Tenma. She has a tendency to act as another coach in the field and lecture other players on what to do, which has led to conflicts with actual coaches in the past - but she's often right, which mitigates the problem sometimes.

Regerse
With his wiry physique, bright green bangs and habit of always walking around shirtless and wearing sunglasses when not playing, Regerse looks like an oddity for the foreign press, and his status as the attacking midfielder of the Daineri team means he gets requested a lot. His thick accent and cryptic responses to questions don't do much to dispel the impression. To his fellow players, however, he's just another guy. The neon green dye on his hair marks him as a Skëdar chieftain, and they're expected to adopt quirks that separate themselves from the common folk. He has made a reputation in youth teams as an athletic, fast and powerful midfield prodigy, but in terms of professional experience he's entirely green.

[Abanhfleft]

Aeroflot Stadium
Highbury, Rosenpfelblatz, Mezaladbyi, Abanhfleft
Rosenpfelblatz City Ladies vs. Riuwiee United Women
Abanhfleft Ladies' Premier League match

The first half had ended 1-0 to Rosenpfelblatz, and Blaze Chrzanowska was surprised to find that she had managed to keep a clean sheet against opposition like Riuwiee United. They had such a potent attack in Kameron, Pandora, and the Fleftic football stars Lilly Prescott and Regina Mesbros.

Blaze had fully expected to concede on the first sign of a Riuwiee attack on her, but somehow she had managed to keep out Kameron's shot, which was aimed straight at her. The defense was doing a good job of protecting her from any of Riuwiee's attacks, but Blaze had a feeling that her good luck in her debut Premier League game wasn't going to last long. But she was going to enjoy the good feeling while it lasted.

Matthew Cave, the manager of Rosenpfelblatz's youth teams, was sitting in the hot seat for Carlos Cuvimi today, who had to go to Calfragilis to take care of his sick aunt. Many of the players were familiar with Cave as one of Rosen's better players; not exactly world-class, but he wasn't deadwood either. Other players were familiar with Cave as the team's scout, the one who had recommended them to the club.

"There's nothing much else to talk about, really," Matt said to start off the half-time team talk. "We're a goal up, but we're still attacking like we're 4-0 down. That's good. That's a positive sign. And the defense is working well as well. Now, I'm not sure if that's just to protect the ego of our baby sister Blaze, but a good defense is just as good as a good offense. I can't say anything else except that I feel proud of your performances."

---

Matt Cave wasn't known for his half-time team talks, at least not yet. There will come a time when Cave will do something during half-time that would forever make its mark in the Fleftic footballing psyche, but that wasn't to happen until sometime in the future. For now, he was still the quiet, mild-mannered man who happened to be sitting in for the main manager.

Before the second half kicked off, Matt had pulled Blaze aside for a private word. "I know some of what you're feeling right now, Blaze," he told her, "but I cannot say that I truly understand what you're feeling right now. You're a goalkeeper, and I was an attacking midfielder when I started playing. It's different to be the guy trying to find the pass that will lead to a goal while you're the girl who's trying to stop every shot that's coming your way. I can only tell you that while the defense has worked well in keeping you relaxed, you have to be proud of yourself for saving that shot and then setting up the move that got us the goal."

"I've scored a goal before, Mr. Cave," Blaze said, "but I haven't had the opportunity to set one up before."

"Oh, yes," Matt said, nodding appreciatively. "That goal against Walkany. I remember that now. It was just like Maradona and the Hand of God, wasn't it? And it was also the game when you fainted because of your condition, right?"

Blaze nodded her head silently. "I'd really rather remember my goal than the other thing."

"Oh, of course, of course," Matt muttered. "Anyway, off you go now. We've still got 45 minutes left to play."

The second half got underway with Rosenpfelblatz kicking off, and there was a brief scare just after the kickoff when Alex Rousseau had a chance to score from a very tight angle against Riuwiee's Elena Santiago, but her shot curled just wide of the post to the relief of the Riuwiee fans and the disappointment of Rosen fans. After that came a twelve-minute period of calmness in which no one really tried to push the attack or get the opposing keeper working. Riuwiee mostly passed the ball around to deny possession to Rosenpfelblatz, and that was getting the players a little bit frustrated. Once Teleya Inara had been booked for a little-bit-hard tackle on Lilly Prescott, it was as if something woke up within the players, and they began pushing for the goal once again.

It all happened so quickly. One moment, the ball was in the midfield, and the next moment, Pandora had crossed the ball into the box. Teleya Inara, since she was already on a yellow card and didn't look like she wanted to risk a second booking, backed away a little from Regina Mesbros. That little space was more than enough for Mesbros to get a good touch on the ball before sending it straight to the middle of the net. Blaze leaped up to block the ball, but Mesbros had given it just enough lift to make it fly away from Blaze's outstretched hand before striking the underside of the crossbar and nestling in the back of the net.

The cheers from the Riuwiee fans sounded much louder than the cheers from the Rosen fans when their team had scored. Blaze sat down on the pitch, staring as the ball rolled out towards her. She took the ball and held it in her hands. She had been doing so good, and then, like the snap of a finger, she had conceded a goal. Blaze didn't know what to feel. As a keeper, she knew that there were always times that she would give up a goal or two, but for her, her dream Premier League start involved a clean sheet.

"Hey," a voice called out. It was Claudine Samaniego, one of Rosen's four defenders. "Chin up, Blaze!" she said. "It's just one goal. It's not the end of the world."

"Yeah, I always imagined that my league debut would have me keeping a clean sheet," Blaze replied.

"Well, sometimes, you can't have it both ways," Claudine said. "Some people are lucky to make their Premier League debut and keep a clean sheet, and others aren't so lucky. It just happened that you were part of the latter camp."

"Oh, but what if it costs us the three points?"

"Don't worry about that. Let Alex, Karen, Elena, and the attacking players worry about that. Your job is to make sure Riuwiee don't score again."

"Thanks for the words of encouragement," Blaze said, albeit a little sarcastically.

"You'll get the hand of this league, if you stay long enough," Claudine said before walking away.

"Substitution for Rosenpfelblatz City," said the stadium announcer. "Number five, Teleya Inara, off; number three, Myra Elsasser, on."

It didn't go like that as well. Just three minutes after Mesbros had scored the equalizer, Riuwiee were through on the attack again, and this time it was Pandora who was through on goal after Kameron's pass cut through the Rosen defense once again. Pandora, the goalkeeper-turned-winger who was playing her first game for the Blue Amazons after reportedly showing up drunk as a skunk for her first training session with the club, received the pass from her fellow Armeian, looked at Blaze with both eyes, muttered something that looked like, "Sorry," and then she smashed the ball into Blaze's top right corner. Blaze reached out to save the shot, but it was too powerful and she had positioned herself too low to swat the ball from the air, and she couldn't help but pound the ground as the deafening cheers of the Riuwiee fans engulfed the Aeroflot Stadium.

"The dream Premier League debut is rapidly turning into a for Blaze Chrzanowska. She kept a clean sheet for all of fifty minutes, and then two quick strikes from Riuwiee United have seen them equalize and then take the lead within the span of only three minutes. You have to wonder about what's going on in Chrzanowska's mind right now, and whether she's good enough for the Premier League now."

"It's not the end, girls!" Matt shouted from the dugout. "We've got more than half an hour left to claw our way back! Don't give up, and don't give in!"

Stuff became end-to-end after that, with both teams getting chances to score. Riuwiee's best chance to put the game to bed was a long shot from Lilly Prescott from 30 yards that thankfully blazed over Blaze and the bar, pun intended. Meanwhile, Rosen's best chance for an equalizer came when Elena Migdvorak got a good hit on the ball with her head following Karen Villegas' corner, but the ball was well-saved by Elena Santiago.

And then things became heated. It wasn't the players' fault that tensions began to heat up, but people could tell that either another booking or a bad injury was about to happen. And happen it did, in the 77th minute. While chasing Migdvorak's cross, Alex Rousseau collided heads with Santiago, and because of that, the back of Santiago's head with the crossbar of her goal. The ref stopped play immediately and called over the doctors of both clubs, but it was clear that the Riuwiee keeper was in more pain than the Rosenpfelblatz forward. Rousseau lay in a daze on the grass, while Santiago was grabbing the top of her head and moaning and gritting her teeth from the pain. The Riuwiee team doctor turned back to Georges Leblanc, manager of the Blue Amazons, and shook his head. Elena Santiago wouldn't be able to continue playing.

"Substitution for Riuwiee United," the announcer called out. "Number one, Elena Santiago, off; number thirteen, Valentina Bova, on."

After receiving an ice pack for the bump on her head, Rousseau then received a yellow card for her role in Santiago's injury, even though she had no intention of causing it. Play restarted with a goal kick for Riuwiee, and Bova struck the ball strongly, resulting in it ending in the opposite box. Blaze watched the ball as it flew towards her, and then she lifted up a leg and controlled the ball with one touch. She could feel a breeze blowing against her face, which was probably one reason why the ball had flown straight toward her.

The academy at Rosenpfelblatz had taught her that sometimes, the wind could be her enemy, and sometimes it could also be her friend. Right now, Blaze didn't know if the breeze was friend or foe, but she knew that if she kicked the ball outfield, the ball wouldn't go as far and could end up being taken by a Riuwiee player.

Ah, screw it, she thought as she punted the ball.

Marivanna Henson of Rosenpfelblatz caught the ball after a brief aerial duel with Cindy Shughart of Riuwiee. She passed it to Migdvorak, who ran with the ball for a few yards before passing the ball on the ground, between two Riuwiee defenders, towards Villegas' forward run. The Fleftic under-21 starter and national team regular took the ball and raced towards goal. Suddenly, she was cut down from behind by Wilma Wilson, and the ref blew her whistle and pointed at the spot. The tackle, which showed signs of being a studs-up tackle, had happened inside the box, and the ref had awarded the penalty to Rosenpfelblatz. They now had a chance to get back on equal terms with the Blue Amazons.

Rousseau took the penalty kick. She smashed the ball into the bottom right corner. Valentina Bova guessed the right direction, but she got the height wrong and therefore she was too high to block the ball's flight into the back of the net. This time, it seemed as if the cheers of the Rosen fans could be heard to the ends of the earth, all the way to Copper Cuprum. Matt Cave could be seen throwing his hands up into the air in celebration while George Leblanc merely shook his head and sat back down in his seat in the dugout.

Blaze also pumped her hands in the air. Once again, she had set up the sequence that got Rosenpfelblatz their equalizing penalty. Sure, she no longer got the clean sheet, but at least she was involved with the team, helping them get chances to score. She really felt like she was part of this team now.

Things only got crazier after that. Both teams ramped up the attack now that they were both level once again, and this eventually led to one of the most unbelievable things ever seen in Fleftic football history. Some kind of miscommunication happened between Bova and Maggie Varshavsky, a Riuwiee center back, and Varshavsky ended up having to jump over Bova as the latter rushed out to grab the ball. But Varshavsky, as it turned out, didn't jump high enough, and her right foot landed right on the gap between Bova's thigh and knee.

"Oh, no, not again," Georges Leblanc could be seen muttering from his seat, even as the team doctors rushed out to treat Bova. Two goalkeepers injured in the span of a single game... Who would ever believe it if they haven't seen it with their own eyes? It was too improbable to even be written in a work of fiction.

The curse of the Rosenpfelblatz City goalkeepers looked like it was rubbing off on Riuwiee United's goalkeepers as well.

There was only one option left for Riuwiee now, and they were thankful that she had finally sobered up enough to be able to play a Premier League game. Pandora ran over to the away team's dugout and took off her shirt. One of the staff members then handed over a green keeper's shirt with Pandora's name and number on the back. She put this on, and then she waited for the other keeper to be stretchered off the pitch before she came back on.

"Substitution for Riuwiee United. Number thirteen, Valentina Bova, off; number thirty-two, Samara Ekblad, on."

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we are witness to something new to Fleftic football. Pandora Reimfeller, Riuwiee's January signing from Anglatia, is now suiting up to be a goalkeeper. Reimfeller originally played in that position before deciding to play as a winger in order to get games and experience under her belt. It's not uncommon for some of our youth players to play in positions other than their natural ones, but mostly it's just to improve some areas of their game. Never have I seen someone make the shift from a keeper to an outfield player just to get some game time. But it seems as if Reimfeller has adjusted well to her being a winger, but we will see now if she can still play at being a keeper."

Little else happened after Pandora assumed goalkeeping duties for Riuwiee, sadly, but there was still one final twist in this game. There were eight minutes of stoppage time to account for all the injuries and substitutions, and six of those minutes had already passed with the two teams still locked on equal terms. Rosenpfelblatz had won a corner, and every player wearing sky blue was forming up inside the Riuwiee penalty area. Blaze was standing at the edge of her own penalty area, and she was practically jumping around just waiting for the opportunity to go forward.

If Carlos Cuvimi had been managing this game, then Blaze wouldn't even be given the chance to go forward. But Matthew Cave was not Carlos Cuvimi. He looked over to Blaze and shouted, "What are you waiting for? Go forward!"

"Thanks, boss!" Blaze shouted as she flashed a thumbs-up at Cave before running up towards Riuwiee's box. Henson waited for the go-ahead before taking the corner. She curved the ball into the box, and then yet again there was another scramble as players from both teams struggled to get to the ball.

And, as luck would have it, Blaze's head met the ball, and her forward run meant that the ball flew straight towards goal. Pandora had not been expecting Blaze, and so she just stood still and barely even lifted a finger to stop the shot; that was the level of surprise that Blaze had achieved. The volume of the cheering from the Rosenpfelblatz fans was now impossible to describe.

"Well, wouldn't you know it! Denied a clean sheet in her Premier League debut, Blaze Chrzanowska has decided to score her debut goal instead! Isn't it wonderful when keepers take the initiative into their own hands and create something out of nothing? Oh, the scenes both in Riuwiee and Rosenpfelblatz!"

Through it all, Matthew Cave watched the end of the game with a smile on his face. Blaze Chrzanowska really was one for the future, he thought to himself. Now, whether Underfell would allow them to keep her was another matter altogether...

---

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DI BRADINI CUP 37: LEPERCONIA VS ABANHFLEFT
By Malik Qazizadah


Abanhfleft's Lucjo Mihaelo Kleinmann celebrates his goal against Leperconia. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

RAYNOR CITY, VALANORA - Abanhfleft moved to the top of Group G following a 4-0 drubbing of Leperconia and Chromatika's narrow victory against Kirisaki.

Malabon's Lucjo Mihaelo Kleinmann opened the scoring with a snap shot from outside the penalty area before Kareem Dagen added a second before half-time.

Annamarie Sabado finally found her shooting boots and scored her first goal of the tournament by side-footing Billy Bolin's cross, and then Dagen closed out the contest with an impressive header that not even a world-class keeper, let alone the Leperconian custodian, could keep out.

Abanhfleft arrived into this contest believing that three points is the bare minimum that they must gain, and they came away with a 4-0 drubbing of an unmotivated and uncaring team as well as the top spot following Kirisaki's defeat against Chromatika.

The Leperconians were mathematically out of the tournament coming into the game against Abanhfleft, and their languid play reflected their mentality.

Ursula Qatintiki had little to do as any and all Leperconian attacks were swept aside by both the defense and the midfield, and the space afforded by the Leperconians allowed the Fleftics' creativity and attacking flair to come out and be recognized.

But for all Leperconia's weaknesses, Abanhfleft could have won this game by at least seven goals were it not for the efforts of their keeper.

Abanhfleft will face off against Schottia in the round of 16 of the Di Bradini Cup. Schottia notably defeated Abanhfleft in the semifinals of Di Bradini 33 on their way to winning that particular tournament while the Young Revolutionaries had to settle for third place. The team will be looking to avenge this loss tomorrow.

Abanhfleft under-21 manager Celerino delos Reyes: "We have begun following the mentality exhibited by our counterparts in the under-15 national team, and let me tell you that we are beginning to reap the rewards. We think only of the next game, and never get ahead of ourselves.

"So we face Schottia tomorrow. They beat us before, and who knows who will be the winner tomorrow? The team will think of nothing else except Schottia, and we only have to execute our game plan right to have a shot at success."

LEPERCONIA 0 - 4 ABANHFLEFT
                 KLEINMANN (25')
                 DAGEN (45+1', 80')
                 SABADO (57')

ABANHFLEFT
GK: 01 Qatintiki
RB: 02 Popov (Onyu - 65')
RCB: 03 Hartin
LCB: 04 Gibson (Baum - 88')
LB: 05 Fuller
RDM: 06 Levin
CDM: 07 Kleinmann
LDM: 08 Bolin
CAM: 10 Finnemark (Toksvig - 82')
RS: 09 Dagen
LS: 11 Sabado

MATCH STATS
Possession
Leperconia: 40%
Abanhfleft: 60%
Shots
Leperconia: 2 (0 on target)
Abanhfleft: 22 (13 on target)
Corners
Leperconia: 0
Abanhfleft: 8
Fouls
Leperconia: 3
Abanhfleft: 18

[Schottia]

With ten points in terms of goal difference to overturn there was only realistically going to be one outcome in Group F. Of course finishing the group on top was an incentive, as it had the potential to yield an easier draw - but with the unpredictable nature of football at this level, it possibly wasn't as important as on other occasions. The thing was that over such a narrow age band (realistically 18-21) there is absolutely no reason why a team who have a strong senior team would necessarily be as good at youth level. San Jose Guayabal were a good case in point, similarly with Osarius, and even world champions Nephara limped out with one narrow win over San Llera. One top side who do seem to be pretty good however, are Pasarga, and as the group developed Schottia's 3-3 draw with the Young Wanderers began to look like a pretty good result. With a forward like Izotz Zubia's Ingþór Auðbjörnsson in their ranks, keeping pace with the Rushmori side was a great achievement for Kagami Ikeda's players, one which inevitably secured their progression.

Schottia rested a couple of players for the final fixture with Anglatia, which had ended up becoming something of a nothing game. Unless Schottia were going to lose by five goals, then it was more or less a forgone conclusion. The way that Group G was shaping up, it didn't really matter to Ikeda and her players whom they faced: Abanhfleft, Chromatika, of Kirisaki - it was like a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea (even though a Tyranian derby would be interesting).

In the end the side rode out a 0-1 defeat, and while it was a funny feeling going off the pitch happy after losing, progression was still progression. It would have been unfair to say that Schottia weren't trying - far from it - but their massive win over Flardania had taken the sting out of the game. Was there a way back from here for Fladania? You had to wonder what had happened to youth development in the nation from the Atlas region. Schottia had beaten them 5-2 in the U-15 World Cup, and now they had recorded back-to-back 8-0 7-0 defeats at U-21 level. Undoubtedly they would bounce back, but what legacy this would leave for the side trying to qualify for the World Cup in Audioslavia and Krytenia remained to be seen.

Estelle Conway felt an anger welling up inside her ready to burst. She was probably the one person on the team unable to look forward to the last-sixteen match right now. The young Kings Park striker had been determined to make an impact at this level, and she knew that the half hour she had been given here was her best chance got grab a goal. Estelle was not entirely of the same mould as most young Schottic people, who were renowned for... Well let’s just face it, not exactly being cutting edge. Obviously that couldn't be said for all of them, and one would only need to spend a few moments in the company of either Ünterhausen twin, to realise how much personal success meant to them. That said, with senior team stars such as Chloe Rudden, who had inherited a somewhat Gylian attitude towards sport, it was easy to see why the Schottians had so often failed at the final hurdle.

With Schottia's utopian socialist outlook on the world, there was almost a feeling that diehard competiveness and single minded drive had been replaced with attitudes along the lines of: It's the taking part that counts. and You can still succeed without being competitive. Estelle on the other hand, had been competing pretty bloody hard.

'Unlucky Estelle...' Gordon Eckernesy placed a long skinny arm on his teammate's shoulder. 'That was a great chance late on there to tuck one away.' The beanpole New Oxford Nucleus midfielder was of course referring to Caitlin L'Attue's cross, which had bounced wide off of Estelle's shin. 'If only you'd connected with that a bit better.'

The Kings Park striker looked up at him with one eyebrow raised. 'Y'don't say.'

Gordon slapped his hands against his hips and slouched his shoulders in defeat. What he had meant as a complement had obviously fallen short of the mark. The point wasn't that Estelle had missed a good chance - but since she was unlikely to get the nod for the match with Abanhfleft - she had in effect missed her only chance. Ikeda would be almost certain to go with Melanie Ünterhausen up front for that match, and the fact that she had been rested for this game made it all the more likely. Melanie was actually signed for a Fleftic club, not that many people would know that; the teenager hadn't so much as kicked a ball in anger for Arsenal de Releinthi since signing for them, and had spent the last four years farmed out on lone.

'Well fine, be like that.' Gordon attempted a little reverse psychology but if fell on death ears. 'Your nineteen though, you're going to get more chances. All probability suggests that your future is going to lie somewhere other than the SPL anyway. Two years time you'll come back here all the stronger -- probably playing somewhere on the East Terranean coast the way things seem to be going.' Gordon tried to inject a little humour, referring to the number of Schottic players now playing in Ceni, Electrum, and New Gelderland.

'Well, we'll see.' Estelle answered a little too sharply. 'I'm pretty happy where I am at the moment anyway.' She lied. 'Besides, I'm not interested in what's going to happen two years down the line; I'm interested in helping us get into the last eight, and I'm interested in trying to help Kings Park win the league next season.'

As Gordon watched her storm off, he couldn't help but think to himself just how unlikely the latter was to occur. Alright, he had featured a fair bit this time round, but he knew what it was like to travel with the squad full of hope, and go home feeling like you hadn't contributed anything. It was inevitable that there would be some players in the side that you called up, hoping you would never have to play them. Now Gordon wasn't claiming that Estelle Conway was that kind of player, but there were four strikers in the squad, and she was probably fourth out of four. There was a firm pecking order established based on a whole host of things (age, experience, the level they played at) and whether Estelle liked it or not, she was at the bottom of the heap. She had probably thought that this was her only chance, and if she didn't grab it, then her tournament was over. Well... it was best to never say never, however if a scuffed shot from two metres out was all she had to show for thirty minutes on the pitch, then her chances were slim.

Gordon needed to focus on his own game however, and he would be lucky to get a game himself. The midfield was a competitive area, and Abanhfleft were going to be a stiff test, just like they always were. Abanhfelft and Schottia had climbed the world rankings almost side by side over the last ten or twelve years, and in terms of rank there was little between them. And despite Schottia having a Di Bradini Cup and a U-15 World Cup under their belt, their records were remarkably similar. Schottia had come out of a tough group, and they were in a tough half of the draw. There was no way they were going to repeat their title triumph unless they were up for the fight, and that fight started here.

[Kirisaki]

Kaede Shirazaka was not a happy bunny.

Coming off the final game of the group stage against Chromatika, she was left with more questions than answers, more problems than solutions. The team certainly hadn't played too badly; as always, they had given all they could out on the pitch, but it just hadn't been enough against a resolute, regimented Chromatika side. Quite why the Little Nova hadn't managed to play as Kaede knew they could was a real head-scratcher. True, she had changed things up to try and tactically outmanoeuvre Lina Amos, but things hadn't quite panned out as Kaede envisaged.

The performance her players turned in could only have been described as average. Wobbly in defence, uninspiring in midfield and ordinary in attack just about summed it up. In an attempt to improve her team's defensive solidity, Kaede had chopped and changed her defensive lineup, going with a three-man defence in lieu of the more conventional four-man. Tachibana, Ryusaki and Kirisaki, the latter coming into the back three as a makeshift defender, hadn't really looked confident at any stage in the game - Kasugano and Iseya left them far too exposed defensively, and Kéirâ Andísorí, together with her partner in crime Trenn Rien, had much joy running directly at them. The duo's movement pulled the Kirisakian defence all over the place.

Case in point, an incident coming late in the first half - receiving the ball from a clearance after a botched Kirisaki attack, Rien had acres of space to run into down his flank, with Iseya stranded further upfield. Tachibana had been forced to go out wide to close him down, but this opened up more space for Andísorí in the middle, who was able to exploit it to good effect, forcing Shigure into a good save after receiving a flicked pass from Rien. Kaede had immediately reverted to a four-man after that, but she couldn't stop her shaky defence from conceding early in the first half, Andísorí tucking away the simplest of chances after Sascha Kristine had put her clean through. Perhaps her defence had been unnerved by the Chromatik forwards' dynamic running, because they gave up a hatful of chances after that. Only some good goalkeeping from Shigure, as well as profligacy on the opposition's part, had kept the score down to 1-0.

Midfield play was perhaps the one area where Kaede's team hadn't been outfought and outplayed. Chromatika's midfield core wasn't what you would call exceptionally talented, and Kaede had it on good authority that the Chromatik midfield was composed of university players that weren't dedicated pros. Which was why Kaede had started Narita in tandem with Asahi, aiming to dominate the midfield. But it had been an exercise in futility; Kirisaki did manage to dominate midfield, but only because Chromatika allowed them to. Lina Amos had recognised her opponents' one major strength and taken the appropriate steps to nullify them; she had her team bypass midfield, taking a more direct approach by pumping long balls up to their forwards. And her plan had worked well. Narita and Asahi had huffed and puffed in midfield, trying to create something from what little they had of the ball, but their effort wasn't enough to compensate for the team's collectively anaemic play on the day.

Speaking of the score, Kaede was more than aware that the Little Nova had had the luckiest of escapes. Her postmatch press conference had started off with a bang - with a nosy journalist asking her if she was aware that had Chromatika scored another goal, it would have been them qualifying from the group instead of Kirisaki. She hadn't needed to be reminded of that particular nugget of info. Once Andísorí had put Chromatika in front, Kaede had been on tenterhooks, praying for dear life that Kirisaki would either manage to score a goal or two, or keep the opposition from running up the score. From being the dominant force in their group and overwhelming favourites to secure qualification, to hanging onto second place for dear life, all in the space of ninety minutes. Thank Kirigiri Chromatika hadn't managed to score a second goal, else they would be the ones slated to face Pasarga in the round of sixteen. And Kaede would be on a plane back home with her players, reflecting on what could have been for the Little Nova. Premature elimination certainly hadn't been part of the plan.

At any rate, Kaede was relieved that her team had somehow hung on by the skin of their teeth. She had learned a few valuable lessons from the match against Chromatika, and recognised mistakes that she should not have made. The players too would have learned from the chastening experience, learned how easily they could be countered, how a good team could ruthlessly exploit their inherent vulnerabilities. And if they hoped to defeat Pasarga, if they hoped to advance further into the latter stages of the tournament, if they hoped to ultimately lift the coveted trophy - all of them, including herself, would have to get their shit together - and fast.