OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE: MYTANAR SQUAD FOR CUP OF HARMONY 74
Lev Repin has named his twenty-three player squad for the Cup of Harmony following the team's failure to qualify for the World Cup. Mytanija finished 5th in Group 11 with 27 points from 18 games and a goal difference of +3, the team won more games than they lost in qualifying: with 8 wins and 7 losses. A poor run of form in the first half of the qualifying cycle is what did for the Hoops' chances of an unlikely World Cup spot, they lost five straight games from Matchday 3 to Matchday 7 and only won two through the first nine games. It was a different story entirely in the second half and the Hoops nearly made what would have been one of the all-time great comebacks, they secured 6 wins and a draw through the second half of qualifying and only finished two points behind Group 11's eventual runners-up (and second qualifying team), Qusmo. One more win would have been enough for Mytanija to qualify and that poor run of form in the first half of qualification now only serves to raise questions about what might have been. The Cup of Harmony is an important tournament for Mytanija, with it being the first international trophy a Mytanar lifted in the 56th iteration. Current national team manager Lev Repin was a part of two successful CoH winning teams and it is understood he will treat this edition with a high level of respect and look to add a third to the national team's trophy cabinet.
## Pos. Name Age Caps/Goals Club Notes
01 GK Pedja Kasun 26 31/0 Ararat Severyan
02 DL Srdan Vukovic 26 34/1 1896 Ebor
03 DC Mojmir Anac 26 43/2 Olympic Thessia
04 DC Zelimir Apostolov 29 14/0 Ararat Severyan
05 DR Petr Isaev 28 56/1 Northern Stallions [BRE] (C)
06 DMC Branko Brkljacic 27 30/0 Atletik Thessia
07 MC Tahir Fejzuli 27 49/4 Sabrefell Moths [NPH]
08 AML/R Brajko Gavrilovic 24 11/1 1896 Ebor
09 ST Jezdimir Ocokoljic 24 52/25 Newrook City [NPH]
10 AMC Jasno Odonelec 24 41/12 1912 Stelburg [STL] (VC, PKs)
11 AMR/L Boris Kalinic 27 14/3 Directus [EUR]
12 GK Zafer Muminovic 23 4/0 Tekstil Ibon
13 DL/R Patrik Odonelec 19 6/0 Atletik Thessia
14 DC Niksa Obadko 28 37/1 Liria Prizren
15 DC Kamil Jernejec 25 11/0 Olympic Thessia
16 DMC Predrag Vukomanovic 24 11/0 Energija-Nuklearna
17 MC Grigor Todorov 31 45/2 Pikemouth [BRE]
18 MC Alen Hrdaljko 22 15/1 CDSA
19 MC Vilim Kupresak 24 16/3 Olympic Thessia
20 AML/C Dalibor Vlahovic 24 7/1 Ararat Severyan
21 ST Nebojsa Aleksic 28 31/7 Tekstil Ibon
22 ST Zlatan Andrijasevic 22 7/5 Atletik Thessia
23 GK Jasmin Savic 30 31/0 Atletik Thessia
Player Information.
Team Roles.
Captaincy: Petr Isaev is the team's captain and most-capped player. Following his influential performances during qualification Jasno Odonelec has been elevated to the position of vice-captain, a decision which has been welcomed by much of the squad given his popularity. If neither of them are on the pitch the captaincy would pass onto the likes of Pedja Kasun, Mojmir Anac or Grigor Todorov.
Penalties: Odonelec is now the team's first-choice penalty taker, after than the responsibility would fall to Ocokoljic. In a penalty shoot-out the order would be something like: Odonelec, Ocokoljic, Fejzuli, Brkljacic, Anac; then the likes of Aleksic, Andrijasevic, Hrdaljko, Kupresak, Todorov would come after or replace those they are substituted for if they are on the pitch by that point (some of them usually should be after 120 minutes of football!).
Corners: Essentially anyone I've noted as a good passer or crosser of the ball: Fejzuli, Kalinic, Odonelec (who'll take them grudgingly due his being a reasonable aerial threat), Vukovic etc.
Short free kicks: Ocokoljic or Fejzuli, basically. Ocokoljic is more likely to take them from the left as he's right-footed and Fejzuli more likely from the right as he's left-footed. Odonelec would be next choice and Branko Brkljacic would offer a different method of taking it which mainly involves just hitting the ball as hard as he possibly can. If none of those are on the pitch, the likes of Kalinic or Kupresak are options. Failing that pick someone at random.
Long free kicks: Usually whoever's playing at left-back or right-back will take our long free kicks and try and punt it into the box and take advantage of having quite a tall team.
Things worth noting:
• Lev Repin (aged 48), has taken over the national team job from Robin Hjik after Hjik chose to move on to manage Euran club Bastion. Repin is a Mytanar footballing legend (as is Hjik!), and played for the national side 177 times, scoring 14 goals from full back, winning Copa Rushmori XVII and Cup of Harmony 56 and 59 along the way. He managed the under-21 squad at the Di Bradini Cup and took them to a runners-up finish. Repin is known as a bit of a schemer tactically and this was evidenced during qualification for World Cup 82.
• TACTICAL INFORMATION: Repin has introduced a 4-6-0 formation that some in Mytanija consider innovative and others consider stupid and it is this formation that the Hoops will use as their 'default' formation during the Cup of Harmony. It utilises a false nine and a trequartista as well as wingers that play very high and wide in order to stretch the opposition and create spaces around the pitch. In the 4-6-0 Ocokoljic and Odonelec will rotate between playing as the false nine and the trequartista.
If ahead in a game Repin will often switch to a 4-2-3-1 or occasionally a 5-3-2; introducing a more defensive midfielder (usually Vukomanovic or Hrdaljko) at the base of midfield and an additional centre-half if switching to the 5-3-2. If the team are chasing a goal then Repin will switch to a more narrow 4-3-1-2 formation, introducing a more attack-minded central midfielder (Todorov, Kupresak or Hrdaljko - the latter being a very versatile player), and an extra striker. The full-backs will be instructed to push-up when in possession to provide width going forwards.
Whatever the formation, the team will endeavour to play a more possession-based, risk-free approach in tournament football than they would during qualification. They will keep the ball and probe a little more rather than the more free-flowing, constantly moving style attempted during WC82 qualification.
• Mytanija has qualified to 11 World Cups, reaching the quarter finals in World Cup 68. Mytanija has won the Copa Rushmori once (XVII), to go with two victories in the Cup of Harmony (56 and 59); and a Di Bradini Cup win (DBC40). Some of these achievements were made under the names Mytannion/the Mytanar Region, Mytanija is ICly the exact same place.
• Mytanars are renowned for being passionate and therefore will not be afraid of confrontation if they feel they're on the end of a particularly rough tackle. At the same time Mytanars are not afraid of gamesmanship and may perform some questionable tackles of their own, along with tactical fouls to prevent the opponent from gaining momentum. Furthermore, diving, crowding referees and even intentional handballs (OOC: so Maradona's Hand of God and Suarez for Uruguay versus Ghana, that sort of stuff), to influence the game are not beyond Mytanar players. They will argue that winning is the most important thing and will do anything they can to achieve victory. Some might call it dirty, Mytanars don't, that won't stop them complaining when things go against them naturally.
• Mytanar fans are well-known for being hooligans, causing problems wherever they go and being prone to violence. They also make outstanding choreographies for their domestic sides and occasionally the national team (if they aren't fighting each other), so pyrotechnics, flags and lots of noise and alcohol are common place. Corteos (organised marches from a specific place to the stadium), are also common, these can lead to areas being shutdown as the sheer numbers of fans walking along roads block traffic and can lead to issues as police attempt to marshal supporters too. Given the ongoing political situation in Mytanija, whether ultra groups are able to put aside differences regarding politics, ethnicity etc for the national side is a pertinent question and the answer to it may change even from game to game.
RP PERMISSIONS
If my opponent role-plays first they may:
Choose my goalscorers: Y
Godmod scoring events: Y
RP injuries to my players: Y, you may comment on severity although I shall have final say
Godmod injuries to my players: N
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Y, Mytanars are notoriously passionate and prone to gamesmanship so may accumulate these at an extremely high rate
Hand out red cards to my players: Y, see above, although no more than two in one game please
Godmod other events: Y
Style modifier: +0.5