Campionato Esportiva XXI - Everything Thread

[Filindostan]

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FOOTBALL
Campionato Esportiva: Pula Garudas into the Round of 16 as they beat South Covello and Ethane

FHULGAMOUS PENINSULA - Along with the co-hosts, Filindostan is yet to be taken points off.

The Filindostanis remained perfect in the group stages of the Campionato Esportiva after their latest 1-0 win over the Ethanese that also ended their opponents' hopes of sneaking into the Round of 16. Bienvenido redeemed himself from a poor performance against the Taiyouese that kept him benched for the crucial match against South Covello, which the Pula Garudas won 1-0 courtesy of a late goal from MMM. That latest result put them four points clear of Buyan, who are yet to concede a single goal after being held to a draw against Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva, which confirms the latter as the fourth placed team of Group B with all their matches played.

The match started slowly for the Filindos, with the Ethanese able to put their attacks into dangerous shots. However, Gerry was able to parry those away and keep the match goalless, until Bienvenido scored in the 48th minute. Catching a good through ball from King that beat the offside trap, the Perokojak striker was able to evade the remainder of the defense, and blasted a half-volley just at the edge of the penalty area, giving the goalkeeper no chance. The rest of the match had Filindostan looking for a second, but the experience of Ethane proved to be key to avoid going another goal down. They also had their chances, but Gerry was able to get Filindostan's fourth clean sheet of the tournament, going to their last group stage match against Buyan. The Buyanese need to win this match, or allow South Covello to usurp them to second if the latter beat Noboru Taiyou.

In Group A, things are looking good for the hosts, who secured top spot, and remained unbeaten in the group stage, also with a perfect record. They will face NAAZE in the Round of 16. Filindostan's opponents though are yet to be determined, as four teams are close together for three remaining spots in the round of 16. The hosts close their campaign against a hapless Asiana side who are rumored to exit the Esportiva region after the tournament. Tumbra faces Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison, while Mattijana took their talents to the field against Natanians and Nosts. The Pula Garudas will look to closely monitor the results of the match - three of the four contending teams have already faced the Filindos in the previous Campionato Esportiva, and will most likely to challenge them again for a quarterfinal spot.

In the other hosts' groups, Copper Cuprum leads Group C and will face Saint Pierre Islands on the last matchday. Unlike Groups A and B, Group C is still wide open, with three teams possibly can take top spot. However, a miraculous goal difference swing can only put Vangaziland on top, with FC Vang facing juggernauts Apox, who need to win to avoid being eliminated by 2nd Brazilian Empire who are pitted against Damukuni, who struggled for points this season, yet to log a single point in five matches.

The four teams that will come from Group D have been long decided. However, it was a big surprise to see the Brenecians eliminated this early. They play the last game of their campaign against a Newmanistan team hoping to take top spot from Kita-Hinode; the Hinodejins are also looking to get top position in the group when they face Islana Lunigo, and only a big Newmanistani loss and a enormous goal swing can have the Islanders get top spot in their monumental campaign. Super-Llamaland hope that the Islanders lose and they beat Kalactin B team to snatch third.

Back to the match at hand, coach WIlly is expecting to rotate his starting lineup against Buyan, resting his key players ahead of the round of sixteen.

[Kita-Hinode]

ECONOMY
'Espo is under consideration' says Queen Taki
MISEI, HINODEJIN GATEWAY 1 - Queen Taki's first ever appearance in the Hinodejin enclave formed at formerly claimed Kitsunian lands acted as a perfect opportunity for the monarch to refer to the region of Esportiva, whom so gracefully served as hosts for the Hinodejin's gateway into their dimension. The Queen chose to be very detailed with the answers that had been presented to by foreign media, starting with a heartfelt thanks, with her in a short mention referring to her first ever trip to this realm, under the guise of Lady Snowblood, the manager of one Northern Sunrisian Copa Rushmori side. "It was such an eye-catching experience that, once I was granted the status of Queen, resulted in me working towards a massive, proper produced gateway. We, of course, can not undernote the contributions of one Professor Hachigo Muyami, even if under clandestine terms."

A major question that had been brought up over was whether or not the Hinodejin would join the Esportivan Community, including, of course, the use of the Espo. This would be a major business for the Espo, as the Hinodejin realm would certainly cause a massive rise in the importance of the coin and the Queen knew that however interest wasn't exactly as high to join them. "My court of advisors have been looking at this with interest... however, we can't really see the Esportivan Community being anything really helpful for us. We're a realm of our own, not like we need help or anything, plus if we were to give out help, we'd probably be interested in turning them into puppets or something of the like. Best, for their independence's sake, that we don't mingle."

It wasn't all losses for the Espo however. "We are, however, taking the Espo under consideration for use at the Hinodejin Empire. While the crown has been pretty useful so far, the idea of having to deal with foreign coins plus the fact we're not very interested in having any major foundations at any current or future Interdimensional gateway could make the Espo a pretty handy coin to have."

The trip also served for the Queen to officialize the Misei City as Hinode's first ever Official Interdimensional Gateway, with the intentions of soon adding more, while also presenting the intentions of the Hinodejin of claiming the lands that were, at once, declared of Kitsunia-Déesse's possession. Whether or not these lands will be inhabited or not remains to be seen, however, as the Queen herself plans to make it a sort of Royal Forces' conundrum.

The Queen's next trip is to visit the region of Placid Ocean, where the territory of Kanran-Riku has been bought up for a fair sum. The territory, as has been planned by Hinodejin officials, should be used as a sort of giant Tourist Central, presenting to the rest of the multiverse the wonders of the Hinodejin realm in a shorter and sweeter package.

[Buyan]

Pawlo had stopped caring that the guys called him gramps when he roamed through the dressing room, quiet and mopey. Instead, he took it as a badge of honour – after all, in nearly a decade and a half he had seen it all. His bag of experiences included it all, from international success with the Heelers do the daftest depths with the Hedgehogs and by now, he knew that there should be little left that made him fuming. But then again, this did.

They had kept themselves quite focussed during the tactical – if only because the gaffer came across as one of the chaps but would be furious if they went through it as if it were a joke – but then again it had been the shortest of them all. Partly, this could be excused by the fact that the Pula Garuda had decided that they would rest their first string – and rightly so, as they had clinched the group stage with a series of applaudable victories and the kind of form which manoeuvred them from the position of a dark horse into a dangerous candidate to go home with the title.

But it was out on the pitch when Pawlo got quite enough of it. Yes, the qualification was ensured and indeed, as there was nothing said about Group A yet, one couldn’t foresee the implications of South Covello leapfrogging into second position in our squad. But he just despised that ‘dead rubber’ mentality that made the running sluggish, the shots off target and the passes backheels. The thought alone made him shiver. And so he did what he should do as a captain.

“Auwtch, you twat!” Svante Bjorklund looked both angered and blitzed over the fact he just had been steamrolled by his own goalie in what should be a calm exercise.
“I yelled mine, idiot,” Pawlo grumbled between his teeth before tossing it wide – just a little bit too deep so Nyberg would have to sprint to reach it.

A few seconds later, another Buyanese was down. Gustloff had tried, instead of simply passing or turning, to lift it over his head. However, by the time he was about to perform his retro, Marciak went up and over him to grasp the leather.

“Heeey! What’s your problem?” Ekhard complained.
“Goalie’s boss in the box – and you’re too slow.”

From that point, things went… Well, some bystanders would use awry. On the next situation, Algiris Micaukis decided to make the sort of tackle on Bjelland that assured he hit something if not everything and some people might have interpreted his next move as a clothesline on Povilas Kaukenas – although the oldschool defensive mid insisted it was a simple case of obstruction. By Kaukenas, of course. Ichi Tuzzio stood by and simply smiling from the sideline. For the remaining twenty minutes, he saw something which held the middle between a pub brawl and a schoolyard match and if he wouldn’t be fearing heavier injuries, he would have let them to it.

Walking back to the shower, Algiris caressed his black eye – one does not simply bring down Kaukenas – with the biggest of grins as he strolled past Pawlo Marciak.

“I hate it when you’re right about stuff,” he spoke under his breath, “but only half as much as when they’re not using their potential. Sometimes they need a kick in the rear.”
“Well… Let's hope they don't need another one tomorrow,” Pawlo laughed, "let's hope for them."

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS SHUT OUT TIGERS

by Taylor Larson,

When you read a final scoreline of Newmanistan 1, Super-Llamaland 0, you expect to start hearing about a classic pitching duel. In baseball, the two nations have, arguably, the best two pitching rotations in the world. Perhaps it was Courtney Duvall tossing another gem and doing so over Justin Zheng. But this is not baseball, and soccer seems to be the only other possible sport where the two nations could possibly oppose one another. The baseball rivalry is getting fun to watch, but on the soccer pitch, it was really just a topic of discussion for fans of the teams. Rocket fans can gloat about their title in 41. Tigers fans can gloat that they are still alive to get it in 42. If Super-Llamaland wins, the two nations will combine for 10 titles in the World Baseball Classic. There was plenty that the fanbases could talk about in Copper Cuprum.

Super-Llamaland, as the defending champion of this tournament, has more of a traveling fanbase for the team, but there was a surprisingly high number of Rockets fans in attendance, despite very minimal, at best, achievements from their team. One fan, who declined to be named unless we revealed the name of a player (which we can’t do), told us that, “I love soccer. It’s a shame they do not go back to the World Cup, even though I hope they decide to, since it would make perfect numeric sense to rejoin in 80 when they began in 40, so the Campionato Esportiva really is our only chance to watch them. I am excited that they are playing as well as they are, and what else is there for us to watch right now?” Another fan, from Pocono City, also wishing to remain anonymous told us, “Met some people from Super-Llamaland, watched game 5 of their series against Cassadaigua in a sports bar in addition to going to this game. Since Justin Zheng was pitching (Justin plays domestic baseball for Pocono City in Newmanistan), I had to root for the Tigers. Glad to see him dominate so well.”

Speaking of domination, that is what the backfield of the Rockets did to the Super-Llamaland team here. The chemistry by the unknowns in the backfield was amazing, and while the Tigers controlled most of the possession in the game, the Rockets were stout in the defensive third, and really prevented the Tigers from getting more then two or three solid chances on our goalkeeper. Nemanja Vesley picked up a yellow card in the 80th minute, which appeared to be out of frustration that the team was having with the Rockets defense, with a two-handed shove to the back of the Rockets player wearing #3. No, fans of the Putnam Lake Eagles, I am not going to say who that is, but he is ok, so you should not have to worry about any surprising additions to your teams injured list.

With one game to go, the Rockets are tied for 1st in the group with Kita-Hinode. Who knew, when they drew on opening day, that the draw would still be the only blemish on each team’s record heading into the final match. Newmanistan has a tough task against #3-ranked Brenecia, who was a ton to prove in their last game, as they have not performed to their ranking in thie tournament. Newmanistan probably can’t finish lower then second in this group, since third place Islana Lunigo is playing Kita-Hinode in the final. If Islana wins, and the Rockets lose, then there would be a three way tie, and I think the Rockets come out ahead in that, having beaten Islana and drawing Kita-Hinode. If Kita-Hinode wins and the Rockets lose, then Newmanistan is second.

Newmanistan wins the group if: 1) both them and Kita-Hinode win, or both draw, and the Rockets end up with a higher goal differential (that is tied right now). 2) they win, and Kitoda-Hinode losses or draws. 3) I believe in the three-way tie scenario: if Kita-Hinode loses and Newmanistan loses, Newmanistan is on top of that tie.

[Fhulghamous Peninsula]

It's time to bleed it out and see if your team will either squeeze into the round of 16 or set themselves up for a better matchup or if you'll fall just short of the goal.

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Green = qualified for Round of 16

Group A
Natanians and Nosts 2–4 Mattijana
Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison 1–1 Tumbra
Asiana 0–2 Fhulghamous Peninsula

  Group A                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Fhulghamous Peninsula                    6   6  0  0   20   8 +12   18
2 Mattijana                                6   3  1  2   18  12  +6   10
3 Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison           6   3  1  2   10  10   0   10
4 Tumbra                                   6   2  2  2   12  15  −3    8
5 Natanians and Nosts                      6   2  1  3   10  11  −1    7
6 Boring Paradise                          6   0  3  3    6  10  −4    3
7 Asiana                                   6   1  0  5    3  13 −10    3

Group B
Filindostan 3–2 Buyan
Racing 1–0 Ethane
Noburu Taiyou 0–0 South Covello

  Group B                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Filindostan                              6   6  0  0   12   3  +9   18
2 Buyan                                    6   3  2  1    9   3  +6   11
3 South Covello                            6   3  2  1    5   1  +4   11
4 Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva   6   2  2  2    3   4  −1    8
5 Racing                                   6   2  0  4    2   8  −6    6
6 Ethane                                   6   1  1  4    1   5  −4    4
7 Noburu Taiyou                            6   0  1  5    0   8  −8    1

Group C
2nd Brazilian Empire 1–1 Damukuni
Vangaziland 2–0 Apox
Saint Pierre Islands 2–6 Copper Cuprum

  Group C                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Copper Cuprum                            6   5  1  0   22   7 +15   16
2 Vangaziland                              6   4  1  1    9   5  +4   13
3 Coldfield                                6   3  2  1   14   9  +5   11
4 Apox                                     6   2  1  3   11  10  +1    7
5 2nd Brazilian Empire                     6   1  3  2   11  17  −6    6
6 Saint Pierre Islands                     6   1  1  4    7  15  −8    4
7 Damukuni                                 6   0  1  5    5  16 −11    1

Group D
Islana Lunigo 0–1 Kita-Hinode
Newmanistan 1–0 Brenecia
Kalactinians are better 0–2 Super-Llamaland

  Group D                                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Kita-Hinode                              6   5  1  0    9   1  +8   16
2 Newmanistan                              6   5  1  0    9   1  +8   16
3 Super-Llamaland                          6   3  1  2    7   3  +4   10
4 Islana Lunigo                            6   3  1  2    4   2  +2   10
5 Thalamascia                              6   2  0  4    5   9  −4    6
6 Brenecia                                 6   1  0  5    2   5  −3    3
7 Kalactinians are better                  6   0  0  6    1  16 −15    0

Kita-Hinode ahead of Newmanistan on coin toss (OOC: RP bonus)

[Copper Cuprum]

CAMPIONATO ESPORTIVA XXI
ROUND OF 16 MATCHES

Fhulghamous Peninsula vs Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva
@ Arena Marinos, Port Thimpodopoulos, Fhulghamous Peninsula

Mattijana vs South Covello
@ Richard Dawkins Park, Thereisnogodabad, Fhulghamous Peninsula

Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalison vs Buyan
@ Charalambos Karagounis Field, Charalambos District, Port Thimpodopoulos, Fhulghamous Peninsula

Tumbra vs Filindostan
@ Stade de Nou Philippopolis, Nou Philippopolis, Fhulghamous Peninsula

Copper Cuprum vs Islana Lunigo
@ Princess Hawana Stadium, Bed Gon, Copper Cuprum

Vangaziland vs Super-Llamaland
@ Chief Gon Stadium, Wa Gon, Copper Cuprum

Coldfield vs Newmanistan
@ Ons Gon Stadium, Ons Gon, Copper Cuprum

Apox vs Kita-Hinode
@ First Copperite Bank Stadium, Wa Gon, Copper Cuprum

[Filindostan]

OOC Note: This episode is taped the day after the last group game, and two days before the current RP line here, which will also be the airing date.

Tonight's Episode:
"Filindostan vs Tumbra - Rematch of the Filindos' very first match"

BHOY: Good Evening, Filindostan. My name is Tito Bhoy, and tonight, we will discuss the performance of our beloved Pula Garudas in the Campionato Esportiva in Fhulghamous Peninsula. We will also discuss the chances of the team to win their first regional trophy, and with me to discuss this is a former Filindostani national team player, who played right-back for the Pula Garuda in the last World Cup cycle. Please welcome, Enzo Matienzo!

(camera focuses to Enzo as he enters the studio, and shake hands with Tito Bhoy)

BHOY: Good evening, Enzo.

ENZO: Same to you, Tito Bhoy.

BHOY: Now, let's go to our topic at hand. Filindostan had a stunning group stage, winning all of their matches in the group stage, earning the top seed for Group B. Were you surprised at this development for the FIlindos?

ENZO: I was dearly surprised at the 1-0 win against Esportiva's top team. They did their best at keeping four clean sheets during the group stage, props to the team for their relentless attack and not giving their opponents any opportunity to strike back. I'm a bit concerned though on the game the second team had against Buyan, almost surrendering an unassailable lead late in the match.

BHOY: And that ended... three-two, right?

ENZO: Yes! I saw the TV screens in the first thirty minutes and seeing Filindostan ahead by three goals meant that they had room for errors in the second half, but that didn't mean that they can ship two easy goals into the back of the net. You don't do that against a two-time Campionato winner in Buyan. Tonyo had a great first half, and either him, and Abram, who featured in the defeat of Noboru Taiyou are capable deputies to Gerry, who asserted his goalkeeping dominance over the two understudies.

BHOY: Now tell us about the defense.

ENZO: You have Dina Satyawan who is hands down one of the best defenders in Filindostan. Has control of the ball and command of area. Not physically tall and gifted but she uses her intelligence to good effect, and complements the height and physicality that Alex Jampang brings. Casimir on the other hand, he had nervy moments as one of the center backs, often caught off-position. If he cuts the unnecessary mistakes, I'd tell you that there will be more clean sheets coming to this team.

BHOY: You haven't talked about your replacements at the right back position.

ENZO: I have high hopes for both of them. You see Graci in his performances for Venividicci, pacey right back, can play the overlap, but often caught off position. You can't have both him and Casimir as the wingbacks, they'll be caught napping. And that's why Mila is so important at the left back position in cases Graci gets a nod, we can make 4-5-1, or 4-2-4, depending on the situation. Leomarie has not gotten her groove back to the national side, as seen in the complacency she showed, particularly the culprit in Buyan's first goal. But she has room to improve, now that she's signed to Fortunas, that will be a big boost to her confidence, and will make Fortunas more suitable to reclaim their lost glory last season.

BHOY: Now let's talk on the dynamics of the midfield. How do you see the partnership of Yakob and King on the central midfield, and how do you see the right midfield position in the future, more Domo, or more MMM?

ENZO: Can I really say that first, Damaris is just a lock in the starting eleven? He can look forward to moving to a better club though. He's getting nowhere at Perotapam. He unlocks the potential not only of the forwards, but also of the rest of the teams. He has the speed, awareness, and the brains. He can be a good captain in the future, and I think he should take the captain's armband in the future. For the dynamic, I think we just saw it from the start of the partnership, and that was not possible if King wasn't banned for so long. Sometimes the absence of a player highlights the rise of a new one, and we've seen that in Yakob, or Manyakol if you were fans from the start of the Filindostani journey. As for the right wing, MMM has been the revelation FIlindostan needs - a dynamic winger, can deliver dangerous crosses, as we saw against Ethane, and can make a solo run to goal as we saw against the Nova Anglicans, the second goal in a scorcher of a first half. Domo's still a serviceable winger in her own right - she can cover for Graci when the latter makes his overlap, and I think coach Willy has to make her a starter if they opt for a 4-4-2, a 4-5-1 or any four-at-a-back lineup involving the Venividicci man.

BHOY: The forward situation has been so-so to the Pula Garudas. Twelve goals in six matches.

ENZO: That's perfectly fine. They were able to score half of their tournament's goals in two matches, against Racing, and Buyan. It's the distribution of who scored the goals for the Filindos. If we tally the scorers for the group stage, we can see that the list, as you can see, well, in our win against the Nova Anglicans, MMM and Yakob scored; Dina twice and Yakob again versus Racing; Fizzy and Alex Jampang the next one; MMM again and then Bienvenido scoring the next games; then we have Siharto, Bochog, and Mohd Safri scoring against the Buyanese. We don't see Yish scoring in any of the games she played, and sat the last game. If you're coach Willy, then you have to start worrying for the attacking unit, what if we don't get a goal from these midfielders and defenders then? I'd like to see a 4-3-3 next game against Tumbra.

BHOY: Okay, if you're Coach Willy, who do you field against Tumbra? This is a rematch of the opening match of last Edition's Campionato for the Filindostanis, where they lost 1-0.

ENZO: It will be a different Filindostan side, primarily because instead of the black kits we used on that tourney, we will use the red kits instead. Hahaha. (laughs with Bhoy) It's also a completely different lineup than we ran. If we're taking 4-3-3, I'll put Gerry at goal, then the back four of Mila, Dina, Alex, and Graci. Midfield of King, Mohd, and Yakob, then the two wingers, Damaris, and Domo, supplementing Bienvenido as centre forward. For substitutions, I'd still like to put my faith at Yish to come on first, then have MMM sub in for Domo, and finally get Casimir in for Mila, on the premise that the Fortunas left-center back does not make too many mistakes in a potential 3-5-1-2 formation with Graci being a makeshift RM, and MMM or Yakob a makeshift forward. Filindostan 3-1 Tumbra for me.

BHOY: Okay, we have reached our time limit. We won't be able to do fast talk today, maybe next time, Enzo.

ENZO: Sure. Thanks for having me here at your show.

Remember folks, God Bless you, make your mama proud, and Good Evening Filindostan.

[Kita-Hinode]

"This is the game." Sacheverell van Cann started to talk, his smile contrasting with the team's more bitter faces. The Hinodejin had several lines representing the knowledge the Sunrisians passed down to them after 100 years. And right up there with the saying of "The region they call Rushmore is a wartorn disaster" was "Apox is to be blamed for everything". This saying was near gospel at Hinode and, because of this, the Platypus nation was apparently the one they were the least keen on.

"Honestly, sir" said Kagomi Kurosawa, probably one of the few that weren't so much deadset on bringing blood out of the rivals, "Just tell us what you want us to do and it'll be done", her hair covering one of her eyes. "Preferably, tell us to slam their everliving heads down!" The yell came from the usually peaceful Koru Simishi. Worries were simple, to get the team to work like a proper team and not like a slaughtering squad, the thundering herd that the Hinodejin would often refer to as why they formed such an empire on their own realm and also why they didn't make much of the protection offered by the Esportivan Community's invites.

As he told them to go to the training pitch, a couple of players stood behind. Suijin Minami, Cherry Whitecastle, Nuan Mee-Song, Sang Kyun-Ja, Taria Shimikage and Iori Saitou. "Ahem... Why are you guys still here?" Suijin smirked. Iori got up. "Sir, we're here to tell you to play us next game." He rose an eyebrow. A coup? Is that what they just tried? And why did they need to do so? With Shimikage as the exception, the other players saw action in pretty much almost all matches. "We're not... well... we're not very into breaking Apoxian bones." said Saitou, smiling. "Look, we all believe in the Sunrisian learnings of yore, but we've seen the guys. They're not... well... Giratina incarnate."

"To be fair with you, as far as I know," van Cann replied, shrugging as he recalled the past, "You just had a rivalry. In fact, Nephara were the main rivals of the Sunrisians before they... well, poof."

"Oh, the mad guys that left Esportiva for the war-torn region?" Kyung-Ja asked, before breaking a laugh. Iori wasn't so much amused. "I play there and it's not like that..." Van Cann laughed. "I'm more of an Anaia guy myself." They all rose eyebrows. "The thing that almost dried Atlantian Oceania, right? The nuclear thing..."

Van Cann sighed, trying to explain it. He pondered what exact sort of thing the Sunrisians thought of pretty much everyone. And to think they were such nice people back then...

[Copper Cuprum]

Are you countries ready for some major league rejection? I know some who aren't, but they're going to go home anyway!

---

Fhulghamous Peninsula 3–0 Nova Anglicana Admin Zone of Esportiva

Mattijana 2–2 South Covello (3–2 AET)

Cheetahs and reptiles Coalison 0–0 Buyan (0–0 AET) (4–5 pen.)

Tumbra 1–4 Filindostan

Copper Cuprum 2–2 Islana Lunigo (3–3 AET) (2–3 pen.)

Vangaziland 1–2 Super-Llamaland

Coldfield 2–2 Newmanistan (2–2 AET) (5–4 pen.)

Apox 0–2 Kita-Hinode

---

CAMPIONATO ESPORTIVA XXI
QUARTERFINALS MATCHES

Fhulghamous Peninsula vs Mattijana
@ Charalambos Karagounis Field, Charalambos District, Port Thimpodopoulos, Fhulghamous Peninsula

Buyan vs Filindostan
@ Stade de Nou Philippopolis, Nou Philippopolis, Fhulghamous Peninsula

Islana Lunigo vs Super-Llamaland
@ Ons Gon Stadium, Ons Gon, Copper Cuprum

Coldfield vs Kita-Hinode
@ First Copperite Bank Stadium, Wa Gon, Copper Cuprum

[Filindostan]

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Matienzo Residence, Hidup Lebih Baik Subdivision
Bandariyan, Filindostan

Enzo Matienzo posted a tweet for his appearance at Bhoy Abundat's show:

Enzo Matienzo #21 @enzofidrb21

I'm live at @FNTV right now for #TheBaseline with the one @titobhoyabundat. Good luck #PulaGarudas #CE21 #FIDvsTMB

As Enzo was watching the taped episode of The Baseline, he can hear the siren of police cars heading to their vicinity. Seconds passed, and it kept getting louder. The level of the siren remained stationary for a few minutes. It persisted for minutes, until when the siren stopped; but the police lights were still visible, blinking, and he already knew what's up. Police cars at the front of their residence.

Meanwhile, the police officers in one of the two cars were Aneric and Kardo, watching the same show in their tablets via streaming. Their chief scolded them for using their phones while on a police operation. "Hey kids, stop with the phone." Sabelo said with a stern look in the rear view mirror. The two junior officers scrambled to place the phone on one of their pockets. "R-R-Roger."

"Keep on the lookout, you two. Our target might escape." Sabelo said as he, with two more of his assistants, neither of them playing for Polisi Pilindo and do not give a damn about sports, accompanying the senior officer.

Back at the house, Enzo was looking for Nolo. "Nolo? Where the hell are you? Nolo?". After a minute of pondering, Nolo appeared in the hallway just near to the main door of their house, looking very lethargic. "Bro, why did you wake me up?"

"It's the police."

"Police?"

"Peek at the window..."

Before Nolo could even go to his room and peek, the door slammed open. The police were able to get into the house of the Matienzos. "Hold it right there, people. We're looking for a Manolo Marvin Matienzo here. Is he around?" Sabelo asked, with a dead cold tone.

"I am Nolo, why?"

"We're doing our anti-drug operation, and we saw proof of your involvement in one of the drug dens here in Bandariyan. For this, we're issuing a warrant of arrest to you."

When Sabelo was to present the document, Nolo started turning away to begin his escape. However, before he can even start running away, one of the officers shot him in the leg. It was precise, like a laser machine. Nolo started to hobble down as he clutches his right leg, which was hit by the bullet. One of the officers held his arms and punched him to the face. The other officer, upon noticing that another person is inside the house, began briskly and quietly walking before getting a hand on the internationally-retired footballer.

"Sir, we have another person here."

"Get a hold of him."

"Okay."

Distracted by the officer's hold of Enzo, Nolo endured the pain in his leg, stood up with the wall supporting him, and attempted to get the gun placed in Sabelo's belt. The other officer was able to see it, and without hesitation, shot the guy three times, one with a fatal blow to the head.

"NOLO!!!" Enzo shouted as he saw his own brother dying at the hands of the poilce.

"Why the fuck did you do it? That gun I have has no bullets in it."

"Sorry Chief. Had to protect your life." Officer 1 said. Officer 2 butted in to the conversation.

"What do we do to the other one?"

"Dispatch him. We do not want anyone seeing our botches."

"Okay boss."

Outside the house, Kardo and Aneric heard four gunshots, a minute separating the first from the other three. A few minutes later, another two gunshots were heard, few seconds from each other. By that time, Sabelo was already out of the house, telling the two officers to go inside and look for evidences. They saw their other two comrades, soaked in blood.

"What happened?" Aneric asked Officer 1.

"Nanlaban sila." (They tried to resist arrest.) The two officers took the stairs to gather evidences. Meanwhile Aneric and Kardo continued to go inside.

Upon entering the hallway, the two was shocked to see two bodies lying on the floor. One of them, presumed to be the target, was already dead. The other one, was still moving, and he raised his head to recognize that the policemen he's seeing now is very familiar to him.

"Kardo?"

"...Enzo! Aneric, help me bring him to the hospital." Aneric held Kardo, and upon the latter turning to the former, Aneric shook his head.

"No, I know my time's up. Please... give this to my bro over there. My post... car.. doo... uhh..."

Enzo's body draped to the floor, with the postcard soaked in blood still in his hands. It was the postcard coach Willy required them to make during their qualification campaign. Kardo remembered it well. He was part of that pool.

"Aneric."

"Yes?"

"Can we pursue our careers in football?"

"Sure."

"Let's quit the police."

"Okay, just place the placards Sabino provided to us here. Then we leave police."

The two left the scene after placing the placards "DRUG ADDICT AKO WAG TULARAN" (TN: I'm a drug addict, don't emulate) to the two bodies. The very next day, Aneric and Kardo handed their resignation letters after completing their duties that night, which was approved by Sabino. The two swore to the police that they keep the rubout secret from anyone.

Meanwhile, in Fhulghamous Peninsula, the night Enzo was slayed, the Pula Garudas were celebrating their 4-1 win over Tumbra to advance to the quarterfinals of the competition for the first time. Joy would quickly turn to agony and sorrow in a few seconds time...

[Islana Lunigo]

Melody by Teller Fortues

Strum a little melody,
On that stringed box.
Sing a little tune to me,
Help me free the locks.
Wash away the worry and
All the heartbreak.
Never shall you feel again,
That same mistake.

Strum a little courtesy,
Something like my style.
Sing a little song to me,
One I haven’t heard in awhile.
Wash away your carried sins,
Just go to the bay.
Never shall you feel again,
That feeling of dismay.

Oh, how you’ve felt your life,
Tearing the wretched waves.
Oh, how you’ve felt your life,
Enlarging those caves.
Oh, how you’ve felt your life,
Drunken by the sea.
Oh, how you’ve felt your life,
Never to experience glee.

Strum a little melody,
I think I am done.
Sing a little tune to me,
Now pass me that gun.

[Kita-Hinode]

Sang Kyung-Ja was an interesting player for Hinode, even if she had been having a lot of trouble to show it with her current team, the Kanshiro Lopunnies. However, this was a nice opportunity for her to show her craft, given how her team had a good couple of good players against an Apoxian team that didn't exactly light the world on fire.

She watched as Imhotep Jekyll dashed towards her, being met with a simple but effective nutmeg. As she noticed him coming back, she simply heeled the ball between his legs, repeating the nutmegging. She smirked, noticing another defender on her way, although she couldn't really tell who. She dragged the ball back, finally shooting it to the side where Suijin Minami waited. The "Lady on the Water" simply did what she did best, hoofing the ball into the net, finishing the game, pushing it to a two-nil score.

But more important than that, it was possibly one of the first ever great showings of how deadly Sang Kyung-Ja could be. The dribbler from Kanshiro had made the Platypuses a bunch of victims without ever needing violence. Her plans actually counted on that. Not too long after, a message was broadcasted from the team with Kyung-Ja centred, talking about how they shouldn't mistreat foreigners based on what the Sunrisians had as gospel. With suspicion yes, but with enough of an open arm.

Maybe she'd be able to make them understand with a trophy, who knows.

[Fhulghamous Peninsula]

Who gets to stay and who has to go off at the quarterfinals bus stop?
CUTOFF! for the quarterfinals of Campionato Esportiva XXI.

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Fhulghamous Peninsula 2–3 Mattijana

Buyan 1–2 Filindostan

Islana Lunigo 6–0 Super-Llamaland

Coldfield 0–1 Kita-Hinode

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CAMPIONATO ESPORTIVA XXI
SEMIFINALS MATCHES

Mattijana vs Filindostan
@ Richard Dawkins Park, Thereisnogodabad, Fhulghamous Peninsula

Islana Lunigo vs Kita-Hinode
@ Chief Gon Stadium, Wa Gon, Copper Cuprum

[Mattijana]

What's Going on Now?

MFO SPORT

With the 13th Winter Olympics in Electrum and the WGPC going on and providing both thrilling action as well as a significant level of Mattijanan success, it would be easy to overlook the fact that there's some football on at the moment.

Many people have promptly managed to forget that, but the Campionato Esportiva in Fhulgamous Peninsula and Copper Cuprum has been a wonderful tournament so far and reaches a climax in the coming days.

If you have been preoccupied by some people going down a snowy/icy hill, going very fast/making pretty movements on skates, pushing rocks around, flying way too far off the ground to guarantee their own safety or moving very quickly around a tarmac track in a motorised projectile, do not fret. We'll get you up to date with what's been going on on the pitch.

What has been going on on the pitch?

Lots is the short answer. A 28 team group stage eliminated all but 16 teams, with the 12 teams going out including 3rd-ranked team Brenecia and 7th-placed Ethane. Damukuni were also surprisingly abysmal, claiming only one point in their 6 matches.

However the award for outstanding ineptitude goes to only one side, the somewhat ironically-named Kalactinians are better. As karma for their excessively cocky name, inability to use proper grammar or the fact that no-one really knows what their purpose in Esportiva is, or perhaps all three, the team lost all 6 of their group match games, the only side to acheive such a feat.

That wasn't all though. Not only did Kalactinians are better ship an impressively dreadful 16 goals, they also only found the back of an opponent's net once, in a 3-1 defeat to Thalamascia. Only fellow newcomers Noburo Taiyou fared worse in front of goal, failing to find the net and they would have rivalled the apparently superior Kalactinians had they not burgled a 0-0 draw with South Covello in what must have been one of the most boring, insomnia-curing games in Campionato history.

At the long-wavelength end of the ability spectrum, two teams in particular made a big statement ahead of the knockout rounds. Hosts Fhulgamous peninsula won all of their matches in group A, scoring 20 goals in the process. Over in group B, Filindostan also kept their 100% record going with a more modest 12 goals, but a solid defensive record. Kita Hinode and co-hosts Copper Cuprum also topped their respective groups, with 5 wins and a draw apiece.

The pick of the round of 16 matches was Copper Cuprum's battle with Islana Lunigo, which finished 2-2 after a tense extra time period in which both sides added an additional goal. Islana Lunigo eventually eliminated the home favourites 3-2 on penalties.

Onto the quarter finals, the most recent installment of the tournament. Arguable favourites Filindostan beat Buyan 2-1, Islana Lunigo thrashed last tournament's champions Super-Llamaland 6-0 to end their title defence whilst Kita Hinode nicked a second-half goal to beat Coldfield 1-0.

What About Mattijana?

Mattijana have had a very eventful tournament, but remain in position to improve upon their third-place performance on home soil at the 20th tournament. They got off to a defeat in their opening game, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Cheetahs and Reptiles Coalison, but got back on track on matchday 2 with a 4-1 win against Asiana in which Andreas Weiss got his goalscoring record underway with a brace. Things would then get crazy on matchday 3 as they went down 6-4 to hosts Fhulgamous peninsula.
Another brace from Andreas Weiss, as well as goals from Jessika Struna and Mathilde Lekarisa were enough to hand Mattijana the lead with 15 minutes on the clock, but missed chances in the final half-hour cost them dearly and the hosts made a tired defense pay as substitute Salvatore Pelucci scored a 16 minute hat-trick to condemn the Mattijanans to a second defeat in three games.
They hit back in their fourth game, hitting the region's 4th ranked team for 6 of their own and although Weiss only scored one, Lekarisa bagged a hat-trick and midfielders Marko Hojbjerg and Katarina Jakupovic both scored long-range strikes.
A 0-0 draw with Boring Paradise brought the forwards back down to earth, but they recovered for their final game, winning 4-2 against Natanians and Nosts to see them into the last 16.

A late goal from Sofiane Bisrali allowed Mattijana to pull off a big shock to knock out number one side South Covello in order to make the quarter finals.

Fhulgamous Peninsula were the only side between them and the semis and despite going behind early on, goals from Jakupovic, Struna and another late header from Andreas Weiss earnt Mattijana a dramatic 3-2 victroy to knock out the hosts.

Mattijana face Filindostan in their semi-final in a bid to make their first ever Campionato final. Islana Lunigo and Kita Hinode bid to be the other team in the championship decider.

[Kita-Hinode]

The Quarter-Final was brutal. Simply brutal. Hard-knocking, knee crushing football.

And the Hinodejin quite liked it. To feel someone trying to take them down the hard way, even if they themselves were mostly unbreakable (or at least built to not be broken) was somewhat inspiring. The tournament felt lacklustre overall, something that the Sunrisians themselves referred to as well in the past, though the criticism was usually not towards the Esportivan tournament, the Hinodejin were having a blast against the competition.

Kyung-Ja was in her best mood, dribbling all over the field and making sure to pass the ball to the forwards with the idea that they could make it work. Iori Saitou was on the ball as well, shooting but not quite making it as James Miller made it hard to get through Coldfield's defence towards the net. Alas, Suijin Minami wasn't restricted by their defence, striking gold in the 47th of the second half.

Only four teams remained, the Hinodejin included. Could the descendants of the Hinodejin be the ones that would finally bring regional gold to this glorious empire?

[Filindostan]

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FOOTBALL
Campionato Esportiva: Enzo's death fuels Pula Garudas into emotional 2-1 win over Buyan; faces a grudge match against Mattijana

FHULGAMOUS PENINSULA - "For Enzo".

This is what was printed in King's undershirt when he scored Filindostan's winning goal against Buyan in the quartefinals of the Campionato Esportiva here in Fhulghamous Peninsula, with the Pula Garudas sealing a place in the semifinals where they face the last edition's hosts, Mattijana, who were the same team to eliminate the Filindos from the tournament last edition after a penalty shootout ended in favor of the Mattijanans. Ex-national team member Enzo Matienzo, who played in the team's loss at the round of 16 in Mattijana, was killed along with his brother in what was believed to an anti-drug operation in their own residence in Bandariyan.

Back to the quarterfinals match, the two Esportivan nations were almose foot to foot in their offense, with the Blue Hedgehogs' Emil Eklund scoring the opening goal in the 25th minute. Since then, Filindostan's attack were in full gear, having Yakob advance the ball into the box for Bienvenido and Yish to feed from, but their attacks came into naught before the team clad in all-red finally pulled one back. Simen Haukland made a crucial error in his clearance, allowing King to pick the ball, pass it squarely to his girlfriend to shot a diagonal low ball past Pawlo Marciak.

The two teams exchanged chances in the entire second half, with neither team able to break the other team's defenses. It was until in the 85th minute when Yakob was fouled just outside the penalty box by substitute Antek Zych, and the resulting direct free kick slotted in by King. This was when his celebrations earned him and early bath - he had already picked up a yellow in a professional foul when the Buyanese midfield tried to punish the Filindostani defense who were pushing too forward.

Despite going down to ten players, the Pula Garudas managed to hold on to a famous 2-1 win. They'll miss King however due to suspension in their grudge match, and will likely be replaced by Siharto.

[Copper Cuprum]

"Knock knock.

"Who's there?"

"Hakeem."

"Hakeem who?"

"Hakeem in like a WRECKING BAAAALLLL!!!!"

Who's gonna get wrecked in the semis? (OOC: Knock knock sauce)

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Mattijana 0–0 Filindostan (0–1 AET)

Islana Lunigo 0–1 Kita-Hinode

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CAMPIONATO ESPORTIVA XXI
GRAND FINAL

FILINDOSTAN versus KITA-HINODE
@ Princess Hawana Stadium, Bed Gon, Copper Cuprum

THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF

Mattijana vs Islana Lunigo
@ Arena Marinos, Port Thimpodopoulos, Fhulghamous Peninsula

[Copper Cuprum]

Friendly reminder that the third place playoff will be scorinated 24 hours from now, and the final 24 hours after that (or 48 hours from now).

[Fhulghamous Peninsula]

Who gets to call themselves the third-best team in Esportiva?

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CAMPIONATO ESPORTIVA XXI
THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF

Mattijana 0–0 Islana Lunigo (1–0 AET)
@ Arena Marinos, Port Thimpodopoulos, Fhulghamous Peninsula

Congratulations to the winner and commiserations to the loser.

Another friendly reminder that the CE XXI final will be scored 24 hours from now so finalists, get those RPs up!

[Kita-Hinode]

SPORTS
Queen Taki to attend Campionato Esportiva XXI's final; Hinode vs. Filindostan
RIKUSHIMA, KANRAN-RIKU - The Hinodejin efforts at the Campionato Esportiva have not been left unnoticed by authorities as Queen Taki I confirmed she'd make the trip from Placid Ocean, where the Hinodejin Colony of Kanran-Riku is, to visit the Princess Hawana Stadium tomorrow as the Polteirgheists from the Hinodejin Empire take on Filindostan, in which could be the first regional laurel for the Hinodejin Empire, in both its' current state or as the Sunrise Islands from the past.

Under the name of Kita-Hinode, the Empire remains undefeated throughout the competition, having only failed to beat Newmanistan as the clearly weaker opponents managed to squeeze out a draw against the team. So far, the name of the team has to be Kanshiro Lopunnies' Sang Kyung-Ja, already noted for her talents that have only increased as each season passed. Alas, she has yet to reach gold in anything beyond a Di Bradini Cup win, the Lopunnies having been passed over by the Mashu duo last season in the KiHi-League.

This too is the last opportunity for some of the national team's players to obtain a trophy, the most notable one being experienced forward, Kagomi Kurosawa. Already reaching the age of 35 in a couple of months, the Hinode Supernova star admitted to feeling the pressure of age and being very aware that foreigner manager Sacheverell van Caan plans to reinvigorate the national team after last World Cup's blunder in the group stages. Only a single game remains between glory and failure for her (and other players as well). Will the Gheists come out with a win to finally correct this injustice that the Sunrisians have never been able to do?

[Filindostan]

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FOOTBALL
Campionato Esportiva: 'Revenge is a dish best served cold' - Filindostan overcomes Mattijana in extra time; faces Kita-Hinode in Campionato Final

Thereisnogodabad, Fhulghamous Peninsula - They have finally gained their revenge.

Yish's 111th minute goal sent the Filindos watching in the Richard Dawkins Stadium and on the screens into raptures, as the Pula Garudas broke the deadlock that lasted through normal time, and earns the right to be in the finals of the Campionato Esportiva. The Filindostanis beat Mattijana, 1-0 after extra time. The Filindo defense held on their own after the Mattijanan offense was not able to penetrate their defense, with the best chances coming from Jessika Struna, the right midfielder drove a shot that had Gerry tipped with his fingertips into the bar in the 78th minute.

Filindostan made their own chances though, and the best of them came from King in the 42nd minute, when his chip just was a bit too strong for Lucija Handanovic to save, but the ball just went to the top of the net. The two teams exchanged attacks, that pleased both managers Dukan Vukoja and Willy Gurnawan, but neither side were able to score a single goal in the first ninety minutes, thus extra time, and possibly penalties, were needed.

Neither were able to threaten the two opposing goalkeepers, until the 111th minute goal by Yish, who received a picture perfect pass from substitute Siharto, who replaced the injured Yakob, who twisted his knee in an awkward fall in the 86th minute. Mattijana had one last chance to level the scores in extra time, but substitute Sophia Velezia's low shot too tame for Gerry to save.

Filindostan will be travelling to Copper Cuprum to face Kita-Hinode in the final, whereas the Mattijanans stay in Fhughamous Peninsula to face Islana Lunigo in the third place playoff. Willy will be keeping a close eye on Yakob's fitness for the final match, though the injury did not look like serious and Willy made the final substitution as precaution to not aggravate the injury further. Both nations are gunning for their first Campionato Esportiva title, with the Hinodejins the favorites in this clash - the nation inhabited people then known as the Sunrisians already tasted international glory in numerous sporting tournaments, including the World Cup.

Coach Willy wants the Filindos to win the final and keep a perfect record for this edition of the Campionato Esportiva. After all, they'll dedicate their performance to Enzo Matienzo.

[Copper Cuprum]

Since both finalists have finally put in their RPs, I see no reason to delay the final even further. Who will win the 21st Campionato Esportiva?

CAMPIONATO ESPORTIVA XXI
GRAND FINAL

@ Princess Hawana Stadium, Bed Gon, Copper Cuprum

Filindostan 0–0 Kita-Hinode (1–1 AET) (4–5 pen.)

Congratulations to the winner and commiserations to the loser.

All in all, that was a great tournament. The Colony of the Fhulghamous Peninsula and the Chiefdom of Copper Cuprum bid the participants goodbye and wish everyone luck in the next edition of the Campionato Esportiva. Governor-General Petrarchos Kulbano and the newly-crowned Chief of Copper Cuprum, Chief Deg, offer their congratulations to the winner and their commiserations to the loser. So long and thanks for all the fish!

[Kita-Hinode]

Gonna leave this here for a bit, peace.

[Copper Cuprum]

CRESCENT NEWS NETWORK
SPORTS CHANNEL - OFFICIAL WEBSITE
ABANHFLEFT • PRIDNESTROVIA • OONTAZ DERT LI NG • COPPER CUPRUM • TRENDSTART • FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA

COPPER CUPRUM TO INITIATE NATIONAL RENAMING PROGRAM FOLLOWING CORONATION OF CHIEF DEG
By Malik Qazizadah


The newly crowned Chief Deg of Copper Cuprum looks over his subjects and countrymen. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

WA DEG, COPPER CUPRUM - The people and the government of Copper Cuprum are bracing themselves for a new round of renaming cities and businesses and entities bearing the name of the late Chief Gon to reflect the change in leadership and the transition of power to the country's new leader, Chief Deg.

Chief Deg, who was crowned Chief only a day after the conclusion of the 21st Campionato Esportiva in Bed Gon in which Kita-Hinode triumphed over Filindostan on penalties, stated that he wanted the renaming process to start immediately so that sports teams playing in Copper Cuprum could begin play bearing their respective cities' new names.

Changing the place names bearing the name of the Chief of Copper Cuprum from the previous Chief to the current Chief has long been a tradition in the country since supposedly its founding as a unified state in the 1400s, but the actual reasoning for the name changes following the transition to a new Chief has been largely forgotten by now with only theories and speculation providing possible explanations for said tradition.

Chief Deg, a well-known soccer fan and board member of the Copperite National Football League, stated that his desire to accelerate the tradition renaming process for Copper Cuprum's place names was so Copper Cuprum's major sporting leagues the CNFL, the Copperite Rugby League and the Copperite teams participating in the Rugby Coalition could start play under their new names immediately and not have to register a name change in the middle of the season.

The capital city of Copper Cuprum has already passed local legislation approving its renaming from Wa Gon to Wa Deg, and athletics and sports teams based in the capital have also renamed themselves to reflect this name change, from football clubs Athletic Wa Deg and Wa Deg Giants AFC to Rugby Coalition side Wa Deg Carabiners.

Copper Cuprum's second-largest city has also made its name change to Bed Deg, with the city's biggest football club Atletico Bed Deg following suit. The rest of the cities and sports clubs in Copper Cuprum are all expected to complete the renaming process within the month.