Di Bradini Cup 47/U21WC68 Everything Thread

[Bears Armed]

Bears Armed vs. East Ares
Venue: Duran Palace, Valanari, Valanora.
Score: 2-0. (Bears Armed wins.)

Goals
Bears Armed (2): Thunderbolt (#10) @ 28’ (assist: Norr-Vurra [#5]); Grearh’hratch (#7) @ 51’ (assist: Lightning [#6]).
East Ares (0): (none)

Red Cards
(none)

Substitutions due to Injury
(none)

_______________________________________ _______________________________________

Location: Valanora _ Valanari _ the hotel in which the Belles are currently staying.
Time: Early morning, a little while before what most people would probably think of as ‘breakfast time, on the day after the match that’s reported above.

_______________________________________

Karra Brent had woken up a few moments ago, and was now considering whether to take a few more moments of rest or to get out of bed and get ready for the day. Somebody knocks, definitely but quite gently, on the outer door of her room…

(Karra) “Just a mo’.”

She scrambles out from under the duvet and to her feet, throws the duvet roughly back into place, pulls on a robe, walks across to the door, and opens it. Standing in the corridor just outside, facing her, is former ‘Belles’ player — and Karra’s best friend since before they had even reached their teens — Lurrsee Fane, with her young daughter Errisabearr sitting on her shoulders and peering over to the top of her head — onto which she’s holding — from behind.

(Lurrsee Fane) “Surprise!”
(Errisabearrh)“S’prise, Ka’ha!”

(Karra) “Lurrs’! Hrarroom! ⁽¹⁾ This is a surprise! I thought that you and Jammy⁽²⁾ were going to be busy with that job in the ‘New Territories’ ⁽³⁾ for around a couple more weeks…”

(Errisabearrh) “Hrarroom, Ka’ha!”

(Karra) “and, of course, ‘Hrarroom! to you, as well, princess…”

(Lurrsee) “Ayyuh, well, that job had to be left unfinished for now… for ‘reasons’, “need to know”, and all that… so here we are, instead, after all. Jammy’s just completing the check-in, and getting our luggage brought up, so that we can do some hrrecoverring from the journey today, here, before everybody moves on to Gladerial…
“And as I haven’t seen you in ages, I decided that we would stop by and catch up — if you are awake enough, that is — hwhile he’s doing that.”

(Karra) Ayyuh, of course I’m wake enough. If you set Errie down in the middle of that couch then we can sit on either side and stop her wandering off hwhile we talk… Ur’rmm, unless maybeso she’s started flying ⁽⁴⁾ by now, anyhows?
“Let’s sniff⁽⁵⁾, the last time we spoke was before I got offered this ‘Apprentice Coach’ job and hwhile I was still living in LakePort… Hrright?”

Lurrsee carefully lifts Errisabearrh over her head and lowers her onto the couch, then sits down herself with a sigh of relief.

(Lurrsee) “No flying, not yet anyhows, thank the Good Spirits… My little princess can be hard enough to keep in one place as it is! Her wings seem to act as stabilisers, so that she can run on two feet than most other cubs of that age, and she gets curious about things.
“Ayyuh, that’s hrright. So, ‘Apprentice Coach’ now, and relocated from LakePort to Khamm’s-den⁽⁶⁾, hwhat’s the story behind that? Are you even still on the Lionesses’ team hrrolls at all?”

(Karra) “Hokay, you do hrremember me talking about a possible move into coaching eventually, hrright? Well, so hwhen I was offered the chance to start training for that rrole early, hwhile I’m still playing in the Belles’ senior team, and the rreasons for the offer hwhere explained to me, accepting smelled⁽⁵⁾ like a good idea… but combining these two rroles meant that I’d have to spend more of my time at Wimbley, so moving closer to it made sense… and means that I wouldn’t have been able to do much playing for the Lionesses anyhows, so that trying to hold onto a place in the main squad wouldn’t have been fair on the other players. I’m still on the team hrrolls as a possible hrreservist, but that’s hrreally just for serious emergencies… and in case the World Cup Committee ever decides to insist that every player in anational team must be hrrgeistered with a club as well in order to qualify for inclusion.”

(Lurrsee) “Caught it. Hrright, that makes sense, I guess. And they wanted you to start training as a Coach now, because?”

(Karra) “Firstly, simply so that I’m more likely to be hrready if the Belles actually need another Coach while we’re too far from home to borrow an established one from a local club; secondly, so that I’ll be in better a position to help evaluate the new hrrecruits from a “younger” viewpoint than that of the other coaches; and thirdly, because the bosses hope that as I’m hrrather closer in age to the current crop of ‘U-TwentyOne’ players than the “proper coaches are I’ll be able to help as an intermediary between those two groups.”

She notices that Errisabearrh has slipped down from the couch while this conversation was passing over her head, and is now wandering towards the nearest window.
“Heyy, Errie, come back here!”

Lurrsee gets up, and runs towards Errisabearrh who hears her coming, giggles, and turns rapidly to run around the back of the couch instead. Karra gets up as well, goes around the other end of the couch, and crouches down so that she’s in position to grab Errie when she gets that far. Lurrsee catches up, and takes the child gratefully from Karra’s arms.

[/size](Errisabearrh) “Ka’ha!”

(Lurrsee) “Thanks. As I said, all it takes is an instant not giving the princess full attention and off she’s likely to go… Still, I think that she must be getting tired by now — you probably wouldn’t have caught her that easily otherwise, believe me — so hopefully she’ll sleep through this morning hwhile Jammy and I are sleeping too.
“An ‘intermediary’ between the hrrregular coaches and the players, uh-huh? Ayyuh, I can smell the usefulness of you having that hrrole… especially with three of the ‘Holy Terrors’⁽⁷⁾ in this squad… At least those should hrrespect you, as an ‘Old Terror’⁽⁷⁾ yourself and one hwho’s already earned such a rreputation as a player…”


(Karra) “Ahh, they’re all three of them good girls hrreally… just like we were…”

(Lurrssee, apparently remembering some incidents from their schooldays) “Hrright…”
She yawns.
Errisabearrh copies her, giggle, and then yawns again more genuinely.[size=120]

(Karra) “Sounds to me as though both of you are hrready for a nap. Just give me a couple of moments to freshen up, and then I’ll walk you to your room before going for my breakfast…
“We can chat some more on the train to good old Gladerial this afternoon, hokay?”

(Lurrsee) “Ayyuh, that smells good to me.
“Heyyuh, talking of Gladerial and “good”, isn’t it nice that the Belles have the verry same stadiums for their group-stage games in this Cup that we had last time around… Good omen, maybeso?”

(Karra) “Ayyuh, maybeso: We hope so, anyhows…
“But of course we aren’t going to hrrely on possible omens, we’re pushing the new girls to give it nine-eights in the yonkh⁽⁸⁾ as well.”

(Your view of this discussion, as an observer from beyond the ‘Fourth Wall’, fades to black…)

_______________________________________

OOC Footnotes

1. [i]“Hrarroom!” is an Ursine greeting.

2. “Jammy” is Lurrsee’s husband (and Errisaberrh’s father), Jamms Bearthorromew ‘Jammy’ Urrsen, who has already earned renown as a camera-bear despite his own relative youth. He appears to be their native reality’s counterpart to the person on another version of Earth — and in comic-books published on the Belles’ version of Earth’s comic-books — who has the same name and is also widely known as “SuperBear’s Pal”… and he recognises this fact.
(If you don’t get the reference, google ‘Jimmy Olsen’…)

3. Bears Armed is in the [NS] region called [region]International Democratic Union[/nation]: OOC, this acquired a new map late last year and various of the region’s member nations were then retconned as having been located in that reality all along… but the Bears IC still have their original lands back on the original map, with their holdings on the newer map just a newer acquisition (a few years ago) — which hasn’t yet been fully explored — instead. Some of the Bears, especially among those who (like the Belles) have travelled most widely, recognise that the other nations have been moved: Others don’t, and think now that those nations were “always” on the same world as the Bears’ ‘New Territories’.

4. Supernatural intervention turned the Belles into ‘Ponies’ (basically as per MLP…) for a few days during the WC84 qualifying stage. Lurrsee was already pregnant then, although she hadn’t yet recognised the fact, and when she became a ‘pegasus’ that change must also have affected the foetus… but, for some reason, the process that restored the Belles to their original forms didn’t work completely on Errisabearrh-to-be so — a few months after her birth — she sprouted a pair of small wings!

5. “Let’s sniff” = as we would say, “Let’s see”; “smelled” = “looked”.

6. Khamm’s-den is a former village that is now a suburb of Council Groves (this nation’s capital city), situated within that city’s administrative district and on the railway between the city itself & Wimbley. Khamm was a leader in the forces that defended that part of the country during the ‘Demon War’, a generation after the overthrow of the ‘Purple Empire’ that I’ve already mentioned in fairly recent RP.

7. “Holy Terrors” is a common nickname for the pupils of Holy Ternian’s School, which both Karra and Lurrsee attended, and hence is used [more specifically] for the members of that establishment’s own Soccer team; “Old Terrors”, therefore, is a colloquial term for the school’s former pupils.
(That school is basically an Ursine version of St Trinian’s…)

8. You remember that the Bears typically use base-eight arithmetic, rather than base ten? A ‘yonkh’ is eight squared, so “give it nine-eights in the yonkh” is basically comparable to the RL injunction to “give it 110%”…

_______________________________________ _______________________________________

Important Note
As the Cup’s present holders the Belles have, of course, brought it along with them. Unless the organisers object, they will be displaying it triumphantly during their pre-game ‘harrdiharr’. It has got some reliable Bears assigned for its protection.

[Cassadaigua]

A Special Opportunity,
by Sarah Giles, Midfielder

One of the greatest soccer tournaments in the World has begun, none other then the 47th Di Bradini Cup, and it is a privilege to be a part of it for many different reasons. I was excited to get the chance to play here, since CASE has recently preferred the trend of developing players in the Sporting World Cup under the guise that they prefer the age restriction of that tournament. I get that, after all once most Cassadagans have reached my age, you’ve taken the next step from being a prospect to being in the infancy of your career. Whether it’s playing collegiately or whether you’ve skipped the college route and jumped directly in the professional rankings, when you are twenty, you have advanced your career to the next stage.

I am honored to be a part of what I believe is a special group of players. I get that you will probably hear everyone say that about their teammates, and they would all probably be right in their own way. For this group, our timing might just be perfect as many players on the senior team are going to need to start passing the torch. Not that I want to push them out, as they are my idols, after all. As a fan, I wanted to see them have a better run in the World Cup, given it was such an honor to be able to host the games as a nation. I personally was able to attend the game against Turori at the Dagan Airways Stadium in Concord Heights, and we got no preferential treatment in as far as getting tickets before the general public. I was seated in section 132, not a bad place to watch the game with other members of the Rutland College soccer team. I have now heard that the University of Concord Heights and the Concord Heights Beauty School were able to land either good seats or even a luxury suite, but that was as far as extra perks went. We didn’t have many people immediately recognize us, but fans sitting around us soon began to notice that there were a lot of Rutland College soccer jackets right in front of us. That got a few people talking, and there were some that asked us for an autograph in case we got famous. We didn’t really tell them where we were heading, and I was not about to gloat that I was expecting to play in the Di Bradini Cup, as at that time, I only thought strongly that I would, but did not get the official call.

Watching the game against Turori was bittersweet. It can be hard to watch a game like that, because you start second guessing the decisions that are made out there by those you are rooting for, and start thinking about what you would do differently. Just while you start having those thoughts is the next realization that you know it is much harder out on the field then it is to watch the game. Turori is a good team, of course, and they showed it, and we never had the chance to root on a goal in the loss. We came back at least, but the loss in the round of sixteen was very bitter sweet.

The next game that was played at the Dagan Airways Stadium was Valanora vs Eura, and we went to that one too, and were able to get better seats in section 116 for that one. Sure, we weren’t playing, but how could anyone who loves this sport not want to watch Valanora and Eura play a soccer match, given the illustrious history that each of them have. This was an easier game to watch, as I was not really rooting for one of the teams. I was able to sit back, and enjoy the play of the teams, including the immortal superstar, Laborious Hawk. It is a name that any fan of the international game has to have pinned to their mind, and while I am here in Valanora, I can appreciate the legend that he is even more. It was not a good match for the Vanorians, though, as Eura proved to be the dagger that sent both of our nations home, just at different points of the tournament.

After the World Cup was over the anticipation of being named to the Di Bradini Cup roster grew and grew. I kind of expected it, but was not going to start celebrating it until it was declared. What came first was the announcement that Jessica Curran was going to be leading the team, one of the greater World Cup players in our recent history, that is, the history since the matriarchy returned to international competition, and that was exciting to me. Sure, part of me wanted to play for Stephanie Sweeney, but that will come in due time, I surely hope. Curran would also be able to manage the Sporting World Cup team, and the announcement of that team would come first. It took longer then I thought it would to get that call, but I never really worried, knowing that Jessica was focused on the other tournament first. It was sad to see them get knocked around in the way they did, but if there was any concern that I might not be a part of this team, it was probably erased since you knew that Jessica was going to go with a different group of players. It was two days later, after that elimination, that I received the phone call, tell me that I was selected to the roster, and asked if I was interested. Technically, I guess she has to ask that, right? Absolutely, I was interested.

Our first meeting was that next Saturday, and it was in Concord Heights. I never minded making that trip east, and it was a thrill to meet her not as a player I would watch on television or in person, but as my coach. In the same room were many other players near my age, most of whom I had played against in my collegiate career. Through the course of these competitions, and in the age of social media, you can keep up with a lot of your peers even if they do go to different schools, and to get a chance to know these ladies closer was surreal. Even better was the chance to be able to play with them, instead of against them. We had a lot of practices before heading to AO, as Jessica Curran was concerned that a big reason the Sporting World Cup team did not play well as they were just a group of good players, but as a unit, did not gel together. We’re older, and know what it is stake, and I think we have done that.

With all that said, it was off to Valanora, and the announcement of our first opponent, the one and only Starblaydia. It was such an honor to be named to this team, and now we would be taking on a team of their stature. The players representing them, much like us, wanting to follow in the footsteps of the legends that wore their jerseys before them. After a grueling match, we ended up getting a 1-1 draw, and I think the impression a lot of us had after that is that we both had our draw, now we’re going to take down the other two teams in the group. That is what I am hoping for, anyway. Appalachian Nation is next, as a country they were the runners up in the last Baptism of Fire, so their history is much shorter then that of Starblaydia, but it doesn’t make them any less of a threat. I look forward to playing this match!

[Trolleborg]

Neither days nor nights was easy for Hendrick Kerr. Daily he works with the team, and at night mainly analyze opponents' games and his own efforts in past. It's all because one's own concsience is a really tough judge and even if no one else put a blaming finger on you, it can throw you into the abyss of despair. Match with the national team of Sarzonia, the (relatively) new star of world football, ended in a draw. This is a good result. Despite the fact that Trolleborg team has been assembled recently and not all players even know each other, they played quite well. They do everything coach asked them to do, making only one error in defense, but in the attack they acted with due determination, compensated the weakness of teamwork by sheer zeal and dedication. Is it enough for a game with Terre Septentrionale? Question of the questions right now, which give Hendrick painful headaches many tims every day.

Today is the second match of the Group Stage of Di Bradini Cup. The opponents of our team will be old acquaintances, Terre Septentrionale, we played in the same qualifying group WC84, and each team won away game. This is the first meeting for youth teams, and things does not look too good for our lads. You can judge the seriousness of the situation just by fact, that in the first round our opponents make a draw with the group’s favorite, Mriin.

We are not the favorites of the group, and no one is betting us, so the team should not be burdened with the need to ensure a positive result at all costs. The entire editorial team wishes our guys success, we believe in you, but do not let the responsibility put pressure on you seriously.

Fans of the Trolleborg team are already on the stadium, densely fill the designated section of the stadium, warming up with chants and songs, and are preparing to greet their favorites with a traditional enthusiastic roar.

FTST85
And here we are at our sixth tournament. Valanora is perhaps one of the most amazing places we have been traveling after the team. We met here real elves, as in our beloved legends about Bango! And then there are such gardens and parks that you can faint from acute bouts of delight, just walk in them for about ten minutes. We need to learn from the locals how to achieve such a result. Yes, our parks are also very good, but there is something to learn for yourself.

Terre Septentrionale, nation with the mentality perhaps closest to us among those with whom we met in world football, is one of two countries where they translated into their own language and showed in their country our film about Trolleborg national team, which won last BoF. We all highly appreciate it. I am glad that we met many friends who visited each other in the qualifying tournament, and, as usual, invited them to visit our field camp in the city after the game. In the meantime, we are on different sides of the stadium, and our fans have prepared a fiery performance. Real fiery one!

[Pasarga]

"Well that was a little too close for comfort, the Young Wanderers nearly slipped up there against a complete unknown team in the opening match. Maybe showing the flaws that come with calling up such a squad that Srđan Jakšić has for this tournament. Luckily two of the experienced players on that are in the squad managed to bail the team out, but you are kidding yourself if you believe that sort of effort is going to be good enough against the likes of the Free Republics. They looked far more convincing in their win over Oberour Ar Moro and look the more likely of the two of us to end up topping the group."

"The defensive lapses by the young defensive unit are a bit of a concern, I will concede to you on that point and agree that the team should have done better in their opening effort against an unknown team in this avenue. However, as we are all too aware, wins are more important than what the style or substance of the match provides. For all the beautiful play a team might provide, if there is not the wins and points to show for that effort, then it has been wasted energy and just a show for the eyes much like a magic trick. If you are all style and no substance to your play, if there are no dividends for the investment put into the team or tactics, then you are playing a falseness that will give you nothing in terms of results nor progression of that talent. At the end of the day, the squad was able to put the opening matchday jitters behind them and still persevere enough to grab the needed three points, which was what the expected and required result of that interchange with The Golden Lotus. Nothing more and nothing less than that sum."

"I suppose but being so sterile in style also is not attractive to fans, both domestic and abroad. You still need that fan support, especially here are the youth level, the players need something to see that their hard work is being appreciated. There has to be a bit of give and take, a little bit of style on top of having that need for results, let us not forget that progressing their talent is also one of the main reasons most of these players are here. Even for the older players or those who are in their club's first team and getting regular minutes, these are still kids and prospects for the most part. This is some needed high level game time for them to thrive or see where they need to work on their game on the training pitch. As much as it is about results, it is also about that improvement for both staff and player."

"Quite true, though the next match against the Free Republics in Artani is going to one of the most high level matches that the squad will be able to play in at a group stage level of the tournament. It's a scenario where the winner of the match already will have one foot in the knockout stages while the other squad will still be needing a result in their last group stage match to ensure their survival. As you said, the Republican team looked quite a bit better in their match than the Young Wanderers did and though Rosales did get a brace, the attack lacked some of the same threat that one is used to seeing from both the senior team and here at the youth level. My hope is that it was just a first game of trying to get used to playing with everyone but tournaments like these offer very little in margin for error, it is like standing on the edge of a sword and having to maintain ones balance. We are not allowed to stray even a little if we wish to see both progression in the player talent as well as the team into the heart of what makes international football interesting, those crazy knockout matches."

"I suppose there is a truth in that high pressure situations will have the cream rise to the top and if there is another Alexander Jager or Mór Császár in this group of players, they are going to have to start showing that promise sooner rather than later. A footballer's career is only so long, though we do our best at trying to extend them as long as possible with all the breakthroughs in medical and training regiments. This would be as good as time as any to show some of that promise and why our Youth League is scouted heavily by the best teams and leagues in the footballing world."

Pasarga - 3
Rosales (31', 44')
Lörinc (70')

The Golden Lotus - 2
Unknown Striker (10', 53')

[Valanora]

Can you keep your results from being a failure?

Matchday 2 cutoff

Group A
Bolgano 0–0 Starblaydia
Appalachian Nation 1–3 Cassadaigua

P Group A                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Cassadaigua                 2   1  1  0    4   2  +2    4
2 Appalachian Nation          2   1  0  1    4   3  +1    3
3 Starblaydia                 2   0  2  0    1   1   0    2
4 Bolgano                     2   0  1  1    0   3  −3    1

Group B
Savojarna 3–4 Nephara
Filindostan 5–3 Sajnur

P Group B                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Nephara                     2   2  0  0    6   3  +3    6
2 Filindostan                 2   1  0  1    7   6  +1    3
3 Savojarna                   2   1  0  1    6   6   0    3
4 Sajnur                      2   0  0  2    3   7  −4    0

Group C
Siovanija and Teusland 1–4 Schottia
Kita-Hinode 2–1 Darmen

P Group C                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kita-Hinode                 2   2  0  0    6   2  +4    6
2 Schottia                    2   2  0  0    5   1  +4    6
3 Darmen                      2   0  0  2    1   3  −2    0
4 Siovanija and Teusland      2   0  0  2    2   8  −6    0

Group D
Terre Septentrionale 1–4 Sarzonia
Mriin 3–0 Trolleborg

P Group D                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Mriin                       2   1  1  0    6   3  +3    4
2 Sarzonia                    2   1  1  0    5   2  +3    4
3 Terre Septentrionale        2   0  1  1    4   7  −3    1
4 Trolleborg                  2   0  1  1    1   4  −3    1

Group E
Equestria 0–2 Imperial Joseon
Baker Park 2–0 Mavinet

P Group E                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Baker Park                  2   1  1  0    3   1  +2    4
2 Imperial Joseon             2   1  0  1    3   2  +1    3
3 Mavinet                     2   1  0  1    2   3  −1    3
4 Equestria                   2   0  1  1    1   3  −2    1

Group F
The Golden Lotus 1–2 Oberour Ar Moro
Pasarga 5–2 Free Republics

P Group F                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Pasarga                     2   2  0  0    8   4  +4    6
2 Free Republics              2   1  0  1    5   6  −1    3
3 Oberour Ar Moro             2   1  0  1    3   4  −1    3
4 The Golden Lotus            2   0  0  2    3   5  −2    0

Group G
Banija 2–3 Hapilopper
Chromatika 3–2 Huelavia

P Group G                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Hapilopper                  2   2  0  0    9   4  +5    6
2 Banija                      2   1  0  1    6   5  +1    3
3 Chromatika                  2   1  0  1    5   6  −1    3
4 Huelavia                    2   0  0  2    4   9  −5    0

Group H
East Ares 0–0 Taeshan
Bears Armed 6–2 Geektopia

P Group H                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Bears Armed                 2   2  0  0    8   2  +6    6
2 Taeshan                     2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
3 East Ares                   2   0  1  1    0   2  −2    1
4 Geektopia                   2   0  0  2    4   9  −5    0

[Imperial Joseon]

MBS (문화방송국)
Hatire Memorial, Valanora (하티르 기념관, 발나로라)
===========================================================================================

Joseon 2 - Equestria 0

Jo Sae Min 17'
Kim Tae Sung 37'


Imperial Joseon obtains their first victory in Di Bradini Cup tournament as they win 2-0 over Equestria. Jo Sae Min buries a rebound made by Kim Sang Hueh's kick that went off of the Equestrian goalkeeper's hand and right on Jo's foot. In addition, at the 37th mnute, Kim Tae Sung buries a strong, right mid-air kick that beat the Equestrian goalkeeper. For having a lack of experience in any tournament and missing key players who are currently playing in the Sporting World Cup 10, Imperial Joseon is doing well so far, and the credit can be attirbuted to the head coach Hwang Yong Geun. Hwang's specialty is to not reveal the entire lineup until the start of the match, and his strategy made his players brace themselves for any kind of unexpected start. He makes sure he uses all of the substitutions to give all players a chance to play, which makes him worthy as a football head coach.

A win over Equestria put them in the second place in Group F, but do not be rest assured. Imperial Joseon needs a victory against such a powerful football team to secure their spots into the Round of 16. The U-18 team has beaten Baker Park 1-0 in the Sporting World Cup 10, but the U-21 team seems to be slightly weaker than the U-18 team. A must-win situation is at hand, and we wonder what card Hwang will bring to the table, once the match begins.

According to various analysts, score predictions against Baker Park have been submitted. This is a blind disclosure, meaning that the names of the analysts will not be covered: 0-0 tie, 1-0 win, and 2-2 tie.

Joseon is looking forward to defeat them once again in football, but there will be no complacency, as Baker Park is a top-notch team full of football accolades. In fact, they were the defending champions of Sporting World Cup, having won in its ninth season.

[Sarzonia]

To the untrained eye, Sarzonia Under 21 national team manager Nathan Hanifer was cool, calm, and collected before Sarzonia's match with Terre Septentrionale. He looked like he had all the glib answers. He looked assured, like it was just another match in a long slog of qualifying contests and he was managing the senior Stars national team against an unheralded foe.

It was only with assistant manager Colton Longley that Hanifer dropped the veneer of cool. Hanifer looked across the desk in Hanifer's hotel room at Longley as the two were going over tactics for the next night's match against Terre Septentrionale.

"I'm really fucking nervous," Hanifer said in what might be described as a stage whisper as he leaned toward Longley.

"It's an important match," Longley said, nodding his head. "We've only got three matches and we already have one draw, so qualifying for the knockouts isn't going to be easy."

"It's not just that," Hanifer said before leaning back and pausing for a moment. He looked down for a moment and then looked back at Longley again. He looked for all the world like he was struggling to admit something, but Longley looked at his boss with a look that told Hanifer he didn't have to say the words. Hanifer's mouth moved slightly, like it was trying to form a smile until he suppressed it, but the flash of recognition in his eyes told Longley that he knew he understood his assistant manager and friend.

"You're doubting whether you're up for the job," Longley said, almost as a question, but more as a statement of fact. He saw Hanifer nod slightly, then said, "look, Nathan," before Hanifer put his right palm up."

"Please, call me Nate," Hanifer said. Longley's eyes widened ever so slightly. He knew Hanifer only allowed people really close to him to call him Nate. It was usually Coach Hanifer or Nathan. After pausing for a second or two to consider the implication behind being given the green light to call his boss Nate, he continued. "The IFF hired you for a reason. They felt you had the right temperament to be the manager of these young players, to guide them not just in terms of being a football team, but to go on in life. It's an enormous responsibility to manage young people. You don't just mold them to the national team's tactics and churn out football players. You teach them about being part of something bigger than themselves. You teach them to share responsibility win, draw, or loss. You teach them how to be better people."

"All of that's true," Hanifer said. "Still, if we don't get a result against the Northmen," he said, trailing off.

"If we don't get the result, we'll have a much more important match against Mrinn," Longley replied. "We know we need a good result because we don't want to be three points down with one match remaining and need to watch the scoreboard. But there are far greater concerns than playing football."

The two men soon resumed their tactics, such as deciding whom to use to mark Krystyna Walczykiewicz or Zvonimir Kordic or whom to substitute in specific situations. The time to consider what was going to happen in the aftermath would be at a later time.

As for the match itself, Suzi Calderon made quick work of the Northmen defence, torching it for two goals and an assist on a goal by Thurman West. Rick Hadley had the other tally as the Stars jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the 66th minute. The Northmen could only answer in the 78th minute when Kordic chipped the ball over the outstretched hand of Glen Baker. The goal did little but strip a clean sheet away from the scarcely-tested Baker, who only had to make two rather routine saves en route to Sarzonia's 4-1 victory. Meanwhile, the match with Mrinn remains a vitally important one for the Stars, as they rolled Trolleborg 3-0 to set up a battle for the Group D title.

With Mrinn previously drawing Terre Septentrionale and the Stars drawing Trolleborg, neither of the defeated sides in Group D were eliminated from knockout round contention, although a draw would do the trick. However, Hanifer dismissed the idea that the Stars would play for a draw against Mirinn.

"If you play for a draw, you're more likely to lose," he said. "We're going to play to get the victory. We'd rather control our own fate and have to settle for a draw if it comes down to that."

But for one night, Hanifer's self-doubts were temporarily put aside and he and the rest of his coaching staff could celebrate a night that saw the Stars (1-1-0) extremely well prepared.

[Mavinet]

Mavinet Broadcasting Company (MBC)
Nightly news

....

"Coming up last in 24/7 Sports News: Mavinet U21 humbled by Baker Park in Di Bradini Cup 47.

Welcome back everyone for the last piece of new in 24/7 Sports News. News from Valanora: Mavinet U21 team was disappointingly defeated by Baker Park in their second group stage match in the 47th Di Bradini Cup. Coming up against a superior opponent both in strength and experience, Mavinet U21 team did not have much chance, but that did not mean our boys went down without a fight. Utilizing a 5-man defense and some fast players up front, the Mavinese team were a consistent threat on counter-attacks, despite being pressed into their half for much of the first half. In one instance in the 30th minute - one that perhaps could have altered the flow of the match in Mavinet's favor, 20-year-old attacking midfielder Vu Viet Minh's shot was blocked by the post after curving out of Baker Park's goalkeeper Rob Callaway's reach. Continued pressure from Baker Park's relentless attacks forced defender Hoang Van Ha to foul Tim Cassel inside the box in the 38th minute. The penalty was converted by Cassel with a bold Panenka-style chip. The first half ended 1-0 for Baker Park.

Hope was still alive for Mavinet at the beginning of the 2nd half to find at least a point from this match. The team changed to a more offensive approach, which in retrospective, might have been the single biggest mistake made by Head Coach Nguyen Phuc Quang. Mavinet U21 did create some more shots on goal in the second half, but the quality of the finishing left much to be desired. A higher defense left the Mavinese back line vulnerable to Baker Park's counter attack. With a turn for the worse in the 66th minute, vice-captain Tran Phan Anh Duc, being the last man to defend against a well-played long ball counter from Baker Park, commited a professional foul on Kyle Baum who would have been clear on goal otherwise. A red card for Anh Duc was protested by his teammates, but it was clear what the referee's decision was going to be. With only 10 men on the field, Mavinet U21 were forced to play on their half for the rest of the match, and the 80th-minute goal from Amber McFairlaine, who had had a brilliant performance, ended any Mavinet's hopes for a favorable result.

Speaking to the media after the match, Head Coach Nguyen Phuc Quang refused to blame anyone for the defeat: "We knew coming into the match this was going to be tough. Baker Park have a stronger team, a longer history and a lot more to prove. The boys did their best and to be honest, I believe results like this are necessary for their development. As young players, they need to know what they can improve on, which mistakes not to make. There are a lot to learn from this match and from an opponent like Baker Park."

This result pushed Mavinet down to 3rd place in the group after Imperial Joseon convincingly defeated Equestria 2-0 to claim the second spot. Mavinet will need at least a draw with Equestria to continue the hope to progress. Whether or not Mavinet can make the next stage, we can be optimistic that the spirit shown in Valanora so far will be something we can expect from the national team in the coming years.

That's the last news for tonight's 24/7 Sports News. Coming up is the weather forecast for the next 7 days. As always, thank you for watching and have a good night. I'm Pham Minh Nhat, MBC's news anchor."

-----------------------
MAVINET - 0

BAKER PARK - 2
38' Tim Kassel (P)
80' Amber McFairlaine

Red card: 66' Tran Phan Anh Duc

-----------------------
Lineup against Equestria

[Bears Armed]

Bears Armed vs. Geektopia
Venue: The White Fortress, Gladerial, Valanora.
Score: 6-2. (Bears Armed wins.)

Goals
Bears Armed (6): Grearh’hratch (#7) @ 01’; Charpentaye (#11) @ 09’ (assist: Grearh’hratch [#7]); Thunderbolt (#10) @ 16’ (assist: Norr-Vurra [#5]); NorthWalker (#12) @ 39’ (assist: Lightning [#6]); Grearh’hratch (#7) @ 52’ (assist: Norr-Vurra [#5]); O WestWater (#26) @ 84’ (assist: Daye [#21]).
Geektopia (2): Myriodufact (#N) @ 43’ (assist: Joyce [#06]); Trooprovi (#11) @ 82’ (assist: Granieri [#48]).

Red Cards
(none)

Substitutions due to Injury
(none)

(Jammy Urrsen: reporter’s notes…)

Geektopia — Another nation whose teams none of ours have ever faced before on the field of play. Yet another Human, nation, it seems, players mostly but not all male.
Not many fans accompanying them here… Even fewer than for urrs, and noticeably quieter man-for-bear.
They win the toss and take the kick-off. Quintibaddom passes the ball [slightly back down the field) to Trooprovi, who apparently panics when he sees several Bears advancing towards him: He tries returning the ball to Quintibaddom, but Grearh’hratch manages to intercept it and then runs elegantly through the Geeks’ defences (Their formation is almost as forward-centred as ours “traditionally” was…) to slot the ball into the top right corner of the net while GK Quintiquadralum responds to her feinted move by going for top left instead: 1-0 to the Belles, and it’s still within the game’s first moment — It’s even [just] still within the game’s first ‘minute’, as it seems most Human-run nations measure time!
Geeks seem a bit stunned by this, while our girls are encouraged: No signs of hesitation now, such as some of them showed in the early stages of their game against the “faceless” side from ‘East Ares’ on this contest’s opening match-day.
Only a few moments later, Grearh’hratch runs a long way down the right side and then, when the defences are focussed on her, arches the ball high in a long kick to Charpentaye who’s at the front left corner of the 18-yard box and powers it in from there…
And only a few moments after that, Norr-Vurra blunts a Geek counter-attack by dispossessing Quintibaddom of the ball about halfway between the midline & our 18-yard box — clears it away upfield—and sees a gust of wind carry it almost to their box where Thunderbolt runs in, heads it down to her feet, and powers home a third Belles goal — this time with Quintiquadralum managing to get fingertips on the ball as it crossed the line, but not with enough force to deflect it. Less than a quarter of the game played, and already a 3-0 lead for our girls! A few of the Geeks seem a little bit scared, but more of them seem to be so curious about meeting intelligent Ursines that they’re concentrating more on what our girls are than on what they’re doing with the ball…
A tight crowd inside the Geeks’ penalty area. Lightning gets the ball away from Trultep, before he can clear it away: Geeks call for a free kick, but the referee agrees that it was a fair tackle. Seeing her own path to shoot clearly now blocked, and with more defenders closing in, Lightning flicks the ball high towards the goal, but sufficiently off-target that GK doesn’t have to worry about that… and then NorthWalker leaps up to head it inwards & down, so that it hits the ground about a foot in front of the line before bouncing — between Quintiquadralum’s legs! — into the net. 4-0, surely the game now can’t be anything but a win for the Belles!
Quintiquadralum is taken off, and replaced by Lyric Westen, presumably in the quite understandable hope that this change will help them…
And, just after that, the Geeks manage to claw back a goal and so cut the Belles’ lead to “only” three. LW speaks with some of their other players as he’s arriving in goal, presumably relaying their manager’s instructions. They disperse down the field, he kicks the ball out in a long pass which Trooprovi grounds… A complex pattern of relatively short passes between among the large number of players whom they’ve sent forwards (Evidently they’ve now decided that with the current score-line there’s nothing to gain from keeping defenders back) who actually outnumber the Belles present in that half of the pitch… It’s four-on-three in the box, now, although both Karrchrra’s-daughter and Norr-Vurra are rapidly closing back in as well... Quintibaddom to Dimenbolplexdex, back to Quintibaddom, out to Joyce, she feints at a pass to Dimenbolplexdex but then pivots and flicks the ball out to Myriodufact — who’s actually about five yards further from the face of the goal (mostly out to the right, but also slightly further back) — instead… and he sends it straight along the ground into the far corner of the goal.
So now it’s “only” 4-1 in the Belles’ favour, with just over half of the game left to play. Our girls obviously aren’t disheartened at all by this, they’re ready to go back on the attack, but several of the Geeks do appear cheered up.
Three-and-a-half minutes of added time, the Geeks playing with renewed energy, the ball mainly in the middle third of the pitch.
Whistle blows for half-time.

Geeks use the break to make their other two substitutions, both like-for-like: Granieri replaces ‘Bisuperior Grand Megahugetrixul’ (And some outsiders dare to make jokes about ourr names?!) in defence, while ‘Terrible terrible terrible tethritriterator’ (Again, I say it!) replaces Dimenbolplexdex in their front line.
I’d really like to know what the Geeks’ manager said to them in break: Anyhows, they “come out fighting” for the second half and throw just about everybearry quickly forwards… but this time the Belles’ defences are ready for them, and they get only one chance to shoot — which Orchards easily gathers in before it crosses the line.
Orchards to Norr-Vurra, Nor-Vurra high to Lightning who chests it down to her feet and runs upfield, Norr-Vurra runs as well and is in place to receive & then return the ball to Lightning (confusing the defence, similar technique to the one that gave the Geeks their only goal so far in this game…), Lightning high towards the far goal-line where Grearh’hratch is “lurking”… It’s a difficult angle, but she takes the shot anyway… and it’s in! With the score now at 5-1 the Belles four-goal lead is restored, and surely this game can’t — barring Chaos, touch wood — be anything but an Ursine victory now!
Both sides adopt more defensive tactics, the Belles evidently feeling the win secure enough now that they don’t need to leave themselves possibly open by continuing on the attack while their opponents mostly seem to have just given up… At the sixtieth minute, probably as arranged during the break (? Ask Karra, she’ll know…), the Belles make two like-for-like substitutions as well: O WestWater for NorthWalker on the right wing, with Daye for Lightning at Midfield Left behind her… Bringing these young & relatively inexperienced ‘debutantes’ (who are obviously being given a chance to gain some experience now, when victory seems assured) on at opposite sides of the pitch to each other might maybeso be a deliberate choice to spread potential weaknesses rather than to let them form a straight “hole” through which a determined pponent could make a run…. Play remains “balanced” for almost the next TwoEights moments, anyhows…
The game’s into its final eighth of normal time.
Thunderbolt shoots, but has to do so too soon & at the wrong angle to get enough force on the ball: Lyric Westen smothers it quite easily, although even so he touches his chest carefully — as if the impact hurt him — afterwards. He kicks it away on a long shot, the wind (in their favour, for this half, of course…) catches it and takes it almost to Trooprovi who has slipped behind the Belles’ midfielders; he pirouettes and runs in towards the Belles’ goal, dodging Karrchrra’s-daughter and between the two Backs as well; he shoots, but it’s going high… It’s going to go over the bar… It’s dipping slightly… It bounces off the crossbar, but continues sideways… It bounces off of the right post... Fleas-&-fur-loss, it’s a goal! He’s actually scored! What a fluke…
5-2, with the Belles’ lead cut to “only” 3 goals (again) and eight minutes of normal time — plus whatever gets added for stoppages — left to play: Surely the Geeks can’t turn the game right around now? They don’t seem to think so, anyhows, because it’s back onto the defensive — although now, admittedly, defending a slightly more “respectable” goal difference for this match — they go.
But our own substituted-on players evidently feel that they have something to prove, as well, because — with the nod from Norr-Vurra, I saw that — when Daye receives the ball from Orchards she heads upfield, with both Charpentaye and Fairbearrn advancing ahead of her… while O WestWater takes advantage of the opposing defence’s concentration on this threat to slip almost un-noticed up the opposite flank as well. They’re all four approaching the 18-yard line, there’s almost a “wall” in front of the trio who’ve brought the ball that far, and then Daye sends a low pass to O WestWater who steps forwards quickly — just inside the box, now — and taps the ball cleanly into the net from only just inside the box. 6-2 in the Belles’ favour, their four-goal lead restored for a second time…
And that, basically, was it.

Afternotes
This win puts the Belles on 6 points, topping Group ‘H’ and guaranteed passage into the knockout rounds regardless of the score for their MD43 game against Taeshan (some past meetings for various Belles squads with their teams, back in “the old days”, but no special friendship nor rivalry…) which will simply decide whether we continue to head the group (with a win or even a draw) or end up only in the second place (for a loss0 and thus affect which team our girls face next after that: Taeshan’s place in the next round isn’t as certain, because their ‘Young Purple Knights’ only drew in their game against East Ares today: Combined with their own [MD1] win over Geektopia that puts them on 4 points, but if we beat Taeshan on MD3 while East Ares beats Geektopia then E-A will equal them on that factor and it will come down to tie-breakers (with the first one, HTH wins, also equal…).
Group ‘E’, from which the Belles’ first knockout-stage opponents will come, is still more open.
Several other teams in this contest match the Belles on current points., Our girls’ total of eight goals scored ‘for’ so far is also matched by one team, Pasarga (whom we beat in the cup Final last time around…) and beaten — with nine goals, so only one more —by the team from Hapilopper (no past footballing history against urrs at all). The Belles’ goal difference, at +6, is the current — & unmatched — best here, though.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

© Sporting Times Weekend 2020
Order restored, BP look to move ahead
by Fiona Devlin, National Soccer Writer

Following the 2-0 victory over Mavinet at the Rose Gardens in Kareen, the Commonwealth Under 21 National Team will be seeking to finish out Group E play on top of the table when they return to Hatire Memorial in Capri for the match against Imperial Joseon. Manager Jen Prescott knows that a point should see the Bees through, but would rather the side put in another performance like the one on display against the DBC new boys.

"Except for a few stretches, I thought we played exceptionally well. It seems as though they (Mavinet) panicked a bit at times on defense, which is why you saw a penalty and the red card from them. Whether that was inexperience, or just not being 100% confident I don't know. They have some really excellent talent, it'll be interesting to see how much they develop over the next year."

Prescott also knows the forthcoming opponent will bring a set of challenges that will need to be handled deftly. "I spoke with Darren (Kirby, U18 manager) on the phone and we ran through a couple of scenarios about tactical adjustments. Obviously these are different players, so it's difficult to make direct comparisons, but he made some observations of things he felt worked and where he might've changed up, in hindsight."

At present, the group is still anyone's for the taking, although Equestria seemingly have the most work left to do for advancement after falling to Imperial Joseon. Victories by the Ponies and BP will see both outlast the rookie sides, but will require them to get the sluggish offense into gear.

______________________________________________________________________________
meanwhile, closer to home


Scott to take Sabbatical following WC disappointment
Terry Glover
The Daily Mail Soccer Writer

After a rocky leadup to the World Cup and an inconsistent performance during the Finals, Pamela Scott confessed that she felt that she did a "terrible" job with the National Team during the cycle. FAC Executive Director David Carlson has feared that Scott may be burning out and convinced her, with the help of her family, to accept a sabbatical leave to allow time to recharge and get away from the pressure of the position.

She was gracious enough to speak with The Daily Mail via telephone to discuss the break.

DM: Pam, thanks for taking the time to talk. First off, is there anything you want to say to dispel any rumors or speculation about your job, your health or the reason behind this leave of absence?

PS: I just want people to understand that I'm basically being very critical of myself and the job I did, at least how I see it. I had very specific goals for us to achieve and most of the problems we had in meeting those goals boils down to my work and how I made decisions along the way. We have the structure and all of the things we need to be a successful soccer nation, but if you make a bad choice somewhere along the line and then you try to fix the problems that arise from that, you can make the problems worse by compounding situation with more bad, or faulty, choices.

DM: So there is no truth that some of the dressing room began to tune you out or lose confidence?

PS: I hope not! I would hope that if anyone in the NT pool had issues with me or the staff and started to have concerns they would come to me and say so. We have always had—Trevor and myself—a policy that we are open to any concerns that a player or players might have about the day to day operation of the team. To flip that idea on its head, I had occasions where I thought that I wasn't getting the message across and that people might be having a problem with the selections, the tactics, the overall spirit. From the talks I had with some of the squad that I knew had a good feeling for the pulse of the team, I never found that to be a legitimate cause for concern.

DM: Final question, because I don't want to take too much of your time. Could you see yourself staying out through the AOCAF and returning before the next World Cup cycle, or would that be too long for you?

PS: Oh, well, that seems like a long time. (laughs) That's not a sabbatical, that's unemployment. David said when I was ready to come back, when Brian and the kids felt I was ready to go back, that we would pick up and get back to work.

lineup vs Imperial Joseon:
McCormick; Allen, Hardwick, Hughes (C); Grimaldi, Vuckovic, Eichorn, Aguilar; Diaz; Harris, Mack

[Nephara]

Order and Chaos. East and West. Red and Green. Karena Braham, Orpheus Clement, Alicia Cleveland, Gareth Corvine, Alysia Dorne, Alexa Ferryman, Daniel Fitzmarten, Kurtis Fitzmarten, Daniel Kruse, Harry Grimm, Robyn Lauren, Theo Michaels, Darren Parrett, Lind Pressinger, Markus Rhein, Snowy Sleet, Lukas Strongnesse; Valencia Ashburner, Nevaeh Cathar, Rook Cathar, Sasha Christener, Gudrun Crowley, Kirsten Cliving, Juergen Evans, Michael Kellard, Ashley Kresinger, Catheline Marchant, Scheherazade Meier, Rona Morgantrau, Cheney Rosewood, Tawny Shone, Everard Tawney, Carsten Thunder, Lux Vicelich, Tess Wyclif and James Yorke.
Come to think of it, probably easier to stick with the metaphors.
Yes, the twin giants of Sabrefell, Athletic and the Moths, were also its most acclaimed academies. Anyone west of the Macambre would object, of course, extolling the virtues of an upbringing in Treason (Reinhard Armstrong, Diandra-- oh, you get the idea), but nobody west of the Macambre had an opinion on anything worth listening to.

First, picture Sabrefell. The city looks like the name sounds. It is a fortress, first and foremost, low-slung and yet somehow looming over the flatlands around it despite it. In the wastelands that comprise the Long Marches, Sabrefell was a natural convergence long before it acquired the name. There was water, there was a relative high ground, there was hemi-arable land. It became a natural place for foreign merchants to try and find safety and something worth buying and someone worth selling to, worth the long trek south down the freeroads. In turn, the southeastern Nepharim picked up and favoured the trade language of English.
Sabrefell ultimately became a republican city-state, its proud elected rulers glowering from their high walls, its proud and diverse people pressed into service as longbowmen and halberdiers and miners. It was coveted and threatened many times during the Wars of the Long Marches, but after decades of focusing solely on maintaining what they held, the sleeping giant awoke under Rook Aries' leadership and swept aside the rest of the Marches, secure in the knowledge that his home was essentially unassailable.
Foreigners tend to think that Nepharim are overly proud, warlike, promiscuous, ambitious and arrogant. Other Nepharim believe this of Sabremen. It was their culture that shaped and formed what would, eventually, become a nation.

The city is divided by layers of thick walls and split in half by the largest of a series of canals, the Raven River on which the club of the same name is perched. Nephara National University also looms over the divide, Diamondqueen's little stadium in the vicinity. North of the university is the upscale part of the city; northwest North Sabrefell for the bohemians, northeast Belgrave for what passes for high society. Somewhere tucked into the southwest is Sheridan, a glorified slum pressing against the outer walls. The occasional unexploded cannonball still gets found. Its mirror in the eastern section has a roughly similar past and a lot of Licentians, and has done far better at shaking it off; the Inner-East is now a glowing unofficial immigrant quarter, represented by Aries Chariots. And a number of other minor clubs slip into the cracks here and there.
To the south, outside the walls but with its own little overgrown moat-and-bailey arrangement, is Southfell; a town in its own right according to people from Southfell and nobody else. These days it is trying to avoid becoming a mere commuter city, but a business set has taken up residence there, and gentrification is the new plague.
Sabrefell Moths will say that everything west of the River is theirs. Sabrefell Athletic will say that everything east of the River is theirs.

Agrotis viatorem - the traveller moth or, as most foreigners call them at first, "Oh, God, what is that thing and why is it in my hair?" - is a curiosity of southern Nephara. Moths are attracted to light, and there's more than enough in Sabrefell. The locals get used to them, and learn to look where they're treading at night. Mostly, though, the moths stay out of the way, preferring the warm, enticing lights set up in the cool breezes, where they can feast on flies and other tiny insects to their hearts' content.
Things mysteriously disappear around Nepharim moths. Not just clothing or paper. If a serious infestation gets into your house, you have problems.
Nobody's entirely certain why the pests got to have a giant club named after them, but one way or another, it happened. Tight-knit with the strong unions of Sabrefell's west, there was no shortage of muscular men and women willing to kill time bashing folk from around the city. As long as there have been competitions in Nephara to win, the Moths have been out winning them.
Western Sabrefell is a rough place, the kind of 'colourful' neighbourhoods that middle-class people glorify, move into, gentrify and systematically destroy. Fortunately, in a manner of speaking, a number of socially conscious politicians have ensured that much-needed regeneration efforts have actually been about regeneration. Most of the walls have graffiti on them, and while gang-tags quickly cover one another, murals and genuine art tend to get left alone. If they're good, at least.
Most of the Moths' academy came from these streets, playing on asphalt and scrubby grass, knowing which alleys tended to have the broken shards of glass in them. Football was a way to express themselves, a way to stand out for the right reasons. For some, it was an alternative to a darker path. The Moths' scouts at their academy, the Proving Grounds, have seen just about everything, had just about every conversation with every parent. And if what the child told them was cause for sufficient concern, three large men in green tracksuit jackets might well show up at a door informing someone coldly that their child was being saved from their home situation.
It was technically not abduction if proof could be provided. They had an understanding with the City police.

On the east side, they're acutely aware of this. The eastern academy is very close to the red fields of the Barbarossa and its defiant high spires, towering over everything in sight. It gives their youth something to aspire to, looking up from their academy pitches.
Easterners might not have much more in the bank than Westerners, but they consider themselves to have dignity. It's the most prolific recruiting area for the military, full of fiery youngbloods eager to prove themselves in a structure. One could argue that Athletic are almost another arm of the military; certainly, there's an association going back decades, all the way back to their founding by officers eager to stop their bored soldiers trashing the place when back home.
Being with the Moths is like finding a family, a hard family with high, unrelenting expectations of you, but one that is ultimately looking to squeeze the best from you. Do right by your mates and they'll do right by you. And if you fail - and, of course, almost all prospects fail - they will be there to give you as safe a landing as they can. Being snapped up by Athletic is like joining a machine, becoming another cog to be assessed and honed and assessed again. Keep your head down, bite back your instinct to push back, accept the criticism that will come your way and trust that everyone involved wants you to make it and is doing everything in their power to make it a reality. The system will work.
"And that's why you can't give those bastards an inch. Right? Not even here."
Silence reigned for a while, before Petria Brincat politely cleared her throat. "Yeah, boss, I... I knew that. I'm literally-"
"I know you play for them!" Ivy Herrick exploded. "That's the trouble! But you say you want to room with Vivica?"
"Yeah, I like her a lot-"
"You should hate the bitch! What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"Nothing, I just... you know, forget it." Brincat shook her head, a little dazed. "It's fine, boss. It's... whatever."
Herrick clicked her tongue as Brincat slipped away, tail between her legs. Kids these days... if there wasn't a knife pulled between the three of either faction by the knockout rounds, there'd be hell to pay.

[Cassadaigua]

Two down,
by Amanda Clayton, Fullback

Two games have played in the 47th Di Bradini Cup, and so far things are looking pretty good for us. After drawing the mighty Starblaydia, and defeating Appalachian Nation, only Bolgano stands in the way of us reaching the round of sixteen. We hope to do much more then just make that round, but you have to get there first. Now, before anyone wants to joke that Starblaydia has not been mighty in this tournament, maybe they have not just yet, but a nation with their history will always be mighty. Growing up as a young soccer player, I was far more impressed with their players then I was with players from Appalachian Nation and Bolgano. The former had not even participated at this level yet.

Starblaydia was an interesting tale, and it provides an amazing life lesson for all of us. When we might think that one year in one country equals one year in another, that is not always the case. I do not understand the semantics of that yet, but it just happens, I suppose. In World Cup 82, we played Starblaydia in the qualifiers of that tournament. Our future star, Rachel Schanke, was 19. Their future star, Sutter McCloud was 19. The Cassadagan media, knowing what McCloud was doing for the Purple Peril caught on to that and played it up the best they could. In the first game, McCloud was shut down, but in the second game, he went on to score a hat trick in a particularly ugly game for our team that was very rare during that tournament. In the end, both nations had extended run to the quarterfinals of the tournament, and in World Cup 83, that just continued again. Now here we are, a little bit of time after World Cup 84, and Schanke is 23 and McCloud is 27. How did that happen, exactly? Like I said, I don’t know the semantics. Either way, both have flourished in their roles. For me, I was 15 during that World Cup, so old enough to enjoy what I was watching and somewhat understanding what each of them were going through. It doesn’t matter then I play in the back, I can appreciate what everyone goes through regardless of their position. By that time, my career (for lack of a better word) was advanced enough to know that international junior teams could be in my future, so I became all the more motivated to make sure I could reach this level.

When the Sporting World Cup 9 team was going to be announced, I checked my email every day for a letter from CASE, or from Stephanie Sweeney, or from someone telling me that I was going to be a part of that team. I felt I had a very good chance, and I was told that I was being considered for the roster. Then, that letter from CASE came,

Code: Select all

Dear Amanda,

I just want to let you know that we have completed putting together our roster for the ninth Sporting World Cup.  We have had many promising candidates that we have evaluated, and not all of those candidates can be a part of the team.  I regretfully inform you that you were not picked for the team.  Do know that this does not mean we feel that you are not a capable player, and feel that you can become a part of future international teams in the future.   We wish you the best of luck in the future, continue working hard and growing as a player.  Just getting as far as you were able to get in this decision process is an outstanding achievement.

All the best,

Stephanie Sweeney, Manager

When I got that email, I didn’t read past the third sentence for a week. I turned off my computer, and laid down to cry about it. As a 17, soon to be 18 year old player, that was a crushing blow to my dreams. Who were these people that were selected to be a part of this team, and why were they better then me? By that time, I had accepted a scholarship to play soccer for Brattleboro Tech. My GPA was high, and I was highly regarded. Getting that scholarship from a school of that caliber meant a lot, but still, I felt like I was not good enough. Nothing else mattered to me at that point. I have never been rejected to play on a soccer team for my whole life. Maybe that got me spoiled. They say, and it’s true, that professional athletes, no matter what sport they play and no matter what nation they play it in, were the queens and kings of the playground, unbeatable as kids, and having nothing but accolades thrown their way while they were young. They say that’s a reason why some young athletes flame out when they go to college or the pros, because they never had sporting rejection in their lives and were not prepared to deal with it.

For about a week, I couldn’t deal with it either. People told me much what the rest of that email said, when I eventually read the rest of it, that I should just keep working hard and maybe I can make it in the future. In due time, I realized that’s what I needed to do. Playing at Brattleboro Tech helped me get better as now I was needing to defend players with skill levels that I had never dealt with before, and I was excited about that. That did help me get better as a player, and when I got the call to be a part of this Di Bradini team, it all worked out, at least for now. I do dream of playing for the senior team one day and hopefully being a teammate of Rachel Schanke and other players I have looked up too. I don’t know where my professional career will take me, as there are a lot of opportunities to explore throughout the world.

For now, it’s all about taking on Bolgano. Things look good on the table right now for us, but that doesn’t mean anything. It can all come crashing down in an instant, and I and the rest of us will work hard to make sure that does not happen!

[Hapilopper]

Turmondale Grounds, Raynor City, Valanora
Leading up to Di Bradini Cup Match 3: Hapilopper v. Chromatika
It was several hours before the last match of the group stage of the Di Bradini Cup, a group stage that had proven very fruitful for the Junior Haps. In this so-called “Group of Death” involving four very strong teams, the Haps had gotten off to a magnificent start, taking a decisive 6-2 victory over HUElavia, a match that saw Claire Randall score four goals, while Fernie Fairburn and Calvin Pettigrew scored the other two. The second match, against the heavily favored Banija, saw the Haps take a 3-2 victory in what some considered an upset. But all was not well within the Hapilopper Football Association.

Max Greenwell, the interim head of the Hapilopper Football Association, was in a meeting with head coach Larry Johnson, where he was explaining that changes were indeed having to be made. One of those changes concerned the number of tournaments the HFA would send a team to.

“We lost a lot of money last year sending teams to these tournaments,” Max explained. “While I understand Dom Probst wanted us to gain international glory in some form or fashion, the fact is we couldn’t afford it. We couldn’t get the sponsorship for the Under-18 team or the Under-21 team the same way we did the senior team.”

“So you’re saying you’re pulling the plug?” Larry asked.

“Not yet,” Max said. “I want to see how we fare in this tournament. You’ve coached this team very well, and if we can get out of this group undefeated, it will be a massive accomplishment. HUElavia, Banija and Chromatika are three very competent opponents, and if you can get past all three of them, it will be a feather in your cap.”

“But…”

“But, we lost a ton of money last year competing in these tournaments,” Max continued. “We might lose even more this year. For some reason, we haven’t been able to attract sponsors to the junior teams the same way we were able to attract them to the senior team after we won the Baptism of Fire. I mean, if we had a result similar to the Baptism of Fire…”

“So, what you’re saying is we need to win this tournament outright.”

“That’s not entirely what I’m saying, but it’d be nice,” Max said. “This team can win it, too. You’re a great coach and you’ve got a great group of players. A few of them will probably be on the senior team before long along with Fernie, Kendrick and Claire. This is a team that has the talent to win this tournament outright.”

“And if we don’t win?”

“Who knows. But we’re trying to attract sponsorship.”

“Has the Hapiloppian government helped at all?” Larry asked.

Max chuckled.

“Let me tell you a little story about why Parker Mathis was on the Under-18 team,” Max started. “It wasn’t because he was any good or anything. It was about politics. You know who Parker Mathis is, right?”

“Well, I know the name Mathis, that’s about it,” Larry responded.

“That’s all you need to know,” Max quipped. “He’s President Mathis’s son. Not too long ago, we went to the Hapiloppian government asking if we could get some support for our junior teams the way they support the senior team. I even met with President Mathis himself, and he started whining about how his son didn’t get the recognition he deserved at Vincent Welch High and we could get that support if we could put him on the national team.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, and he had to be a starter, too, and he had to start every match too, otherwise we wouldn’t get the support,” Max explained. “When I explained it to Rufus Hartley and Oral Roundtree that they would be riding the bench in favor of the President’s son because of who he was, man, they were pissed. That’s what I had to do to get government support, and even then, I’m not entirely sure I made the right decision. God, we were dogshit in the midfield.”

A few hours later, as the Under-21 team was suiting up, Larry looked somewhat downcast as the team got ready for the last match of the group stage. It was clear that what Max had told him had been painful to take in. But, he couldn’t let his team know what was going on. There was a match to play and a match to be won. Hapilopper had a very real chance of getting out of the Di Bradini Cup’s Group of Death undefeated, and that, in of itself, would be a major accomplishment.

“You all know what to do,” Larry said with a determined tone in his voice. “We can win this match. And then afterwards?”

“Let’s win the whole fucking thing,” Fernie Fairburn responded. “I don’t care who it is. We can win this whole fucking tournament.”

Larry turned and looked at Fernie, who had a devious-looking smile on his face.

“I was in here earlier today and I overheard what you and Max Greenwell were saying,” Fernie said. “Whatever happens, I just want to win this whole tournament. Period.”

“We all do,” Larry responded.

[Chromatika]

Part 1: Dimitri

Vasiliy Marten Kuznetsov.
A footballing life
Part 2: The Selection Process

One year ago

"And that... is from Chromatik City College University, making it all sixteen out of sixteen colleges in the Chromatik Collegiate Football Association that have offered you scholarships to come play for them.

On the floor of the living room of the Kuznetsov household, Stanislav Kuznetsov looked at his middle child, Vasiliy, a look of pure joy and pride on his face. Vasiliy's mother, Nadzieja, had tears in her eyes, as his younger sister Alenka stood in the periphery of the background, her face a mystery as usual.

All. Sixteen. Universities. When he had started playing football with his elder brother, he had never thought it'd be a career; then, he had tried out for Lorentine Central on a dare from a friend, and become one of the better Chromatik footballers in the high school level; it also helped that for some reason, Chromatika seemed to lack left midfielders on a decent level. Jazmin Dragana was the one that was cited the most often, but she was more of a winger; there were rumblings of few others deeper down the Chromatik pipeline but none had become visible quite yet.

Football wise, it made sense to go to the likes of Deprí Sanar University, Eyrods Tech, or Felwyr State - three schools that prided themselves in scoring goals and creating opportunities left and right.

However, Vasiliy had already done his research, talked to his parents, and made his decision. He had mostly just stayed put from making a decision to be respectful toward the rest of the schools.

And so it was that Jeffrey Keithley, head coach of Urrheddiao State, got the phone call that changed the fortunes of his program for one season.

Vasiliy Marten Kuznetsov was headed to Urrheddiao State.

[Schottia]

---

Darmen 0–1 Schottia @ The Tar Pit, Char Sara
Line-up: Prichard, Del Duniun, Ayouby, Hellhauer, Christie, Robb, Úisge (Ramsey), Nicholson, Arniston (Holstad), Simonsen, Enrico (Hunter)
Goals: Simonsen

---

Schottia began their 47th Di Bradini Cup campaign against fellow Rushmori side, Darman, at the Tar Pit in Char Sara. It was a much changed side from the one that missed out of the round of sixteen two years ago, and hopes would have been high that the Schotts could go one better this time round. Schottia got out the blocks quickly, with Michael Robb causing opposition left-back, Eardwulf Chaves, problems with his pace in the opening stages. Enrico missed headed chance, and Rachael Arniston had a shot well saved by Konrad Joseph, as Grey Holden’s side applied some early pressure. Darmen needed to come up with something, and in the second half, manager Isaiah Atwater, clearly got the response he was looking for. With Schottia penned in, Charles Frederickson was unlucky to see a shot cleared off the line by Michael Christie, and Malachy Aartsen had a decent appeal for a penalty turned down as Jojo appeared to have brought the Bloomer winger down just inside the box. Schottia lived to fight another day however, and grabbed the winner after substitute, Ingrid Holstad, picked out Freja Simonsen, who slotted the ball under the outstretched Joseph.

---

Siovanija and Teusland 1–4 Schottia @ Metropolis, Ibini
Line-up: Prichard, Del Duniun (Hellhauer), Ayouby, Meerfeld, Christie, Robb, Úisge, Nicholson, Arniston (Maitfield), Simonsen (Holstad), Enrico
Goals: Simonsen, Enrico (2), Christie

---

The big matches were coming thick and fast in Group C, as rising footballing nation, Siovanija and Teusland, lay in wait for Schottia in matchday two. Sarah Meerfeld was given a chance to show what she could do at centre-half, but other than that, Holden went with the same side that defeated Darmen. With a game under their belts, there was more fluidity to Schottia this time round. Their opponents, by contrast, were perhaps still feeling the affects of their heavy defeat at the hands the Hinodejin Empire. Lewis Nicholson was a commanding figure in the centre of the park for Schottia, and the Breakers man showed real strength and determination to set up Simonsen for her second goal in two matches. The Auks asserted their control on match, and Úisge-Aonàranach went close from a tight angle, before Enrico finally doubled their lead. The Manechester City star found himself in the right place at the right time to prod home a Simonsen pass for a proper striker’s finish. Despite a good showing from Schottia, Siovanija and Teusland were never totally out of it, and a rare defensive slipup from Hiro Del Duniun allowed them to reduce the deficit. Any reprieve was short lived, however, as Enrico restored Schottia’s two goal cushion, with his second of the match. Jojo found Holstad at the end of a surging run, and while the Soessch attacker’s initially shot was saved, it fell right into the path of Enrico, who doesn’t miss from four metres out. With the three points, and qualification, all but guaranteed, Christie made extra sure as he headed in a Maitfield corner for Schottia’s fourth.

---

Metropolis, Ibini
Tess removed her headband and slung it into her kitbag, as she continued to pace the dressing room at the Metropolis Stadium. After having only spent twenty minutes on the pitch, she was still buzzing with built up energy. She’d replaced Rachael Arniston with the score at three-one, and still didn’t feel as if she’d powered herself out. “Take the sting out of the match…” The gaffer had instructed, whereas she just wanted to run at the opposition, snap at their heels, and really go in for the kill. She had to do what she was told though; it was important to make the most of this opportunity. This was her first appearance at under-twenty-one level, it was another box ticked on the way to the top. At nineteen, she’d get a chance again next year, and a starting position would surely be hers for the taking. With qualification already in the bag, there was also a decent chance she could start the next match: not that the Hinodejin were an ideal side to cut your teeth on…

Tess had been quick up the tunnel, but rest of the team were now filtering in, with the noise level rising accordingly. There were a few pink cheeks on some of the players who’d gone the full ninety minutes in the Vanorian summer, and of course, this was the logic in taking the sting out of the game. A lot of these players had had tough domestic seasons, and two weeks of DBC action would be taking its toll. Michael Robb played every week for Kings Park, as did Lewis Nicholson at Dundee. She often wondered if doing something like that would have been the right idea for her: get some real game time, training at a poorly lit community centre, playing on the ploughed fields of the lower tiers. That kind of stuff built character. She was a bit of a pampered princess in that regard - Polaris > Lammerton > Willox Street Pirates > Real Azuris – sometimes it felt as if she hadn’t really lived yet. Whereas, someone like Robb had probably played about a hundred senior matches already. Oh well, different horses for different courses.

‘You played well Tess.’ Nicholson said, before drinking heavily from his water bottle and sitting down on the bench next to her. Compliments came easier after a performance like that, and having just found out that you’d qualified with a game to spare helped too. Players and fans alike lived for these moments. It was why you put up with all the shit - all the heart-breaking results, the defeats that just sucked the wind straight out of you – these oases of unbridled joy made it all worth it.

‘Thanks.’ She answered, trying to make it look casual as she sat down beside him. Nicholson had never played for a big club, but you could see the difference his first team experience made. Was he as technically tight? No, of course not. But he had a grittiness to him, and he seemed impressively comfortable in competitive games. ‘You too, she added at last.’ Trying to emulate his collectedness.

Maybe she would have a chat with Jim Reid – her Azuris gaffer – about the possibility of going out on loan…

---

Starting XI vs. Kita-Hinode: Prichard, H.Hanson-Conavacio, Kincorick, Meerfeld, Christie, Robb, Ramsey, Arniston, Maitfield, Hunter, Enrico

[Kita-Hinode]

Shigekatsu Amasawa was probably the biggest incognita of the Hinodejin national team. It wasn't too shocking if you thought about it, Amasawa was the only player of the entire tournament who was plying his trade for an institution that took part in the League of Athena. To some, the League of Athena was a rather curious creation, one that seemed rather weird in the mindset that allowed things such as the Intercollegiate Hinodejin Football League and the Insular Intercollegiate League to trade blows for relevance in the football world.

The League of Athena was created as a rather interesting ramification from the establishment of both rival leagues, formed exactly at the same time the Insular League announced their start of play. When the Imperial Hinodejin Football Association mandated that the higher learning institutions such as universities and colleges should work together to set up a top league in order to help in the development of Hinodejin football talent, there were two sides on the coin of opinion: institutions that were very much eager to form their own league and institutions that were fairly happy with the compromise they had for football, sending teams to play every once in a while without placing some sort of support behind it.

Some of the more vocal institutions that were very comfortable with what they had were the Kintobor College and the Prower College, both institutions with fairly small student bases that prided themselves in being the finest academical institutions on their own states. Interestingly enough, they were in a sort of vocal agreement where they only played against a selective group of teams that represented colleges and universities in the very same style of theirs, which was denominated the "League of Athena". The League of Athena was based after the Sunrisian conference known as the Athenian Conference and ran by more or less the same fundaments that were behind the Sunrisian group.

Of course, the students weren't very happy about it. Not that they were considering the idea of playing football professionally buy secluding themselves from other institutions was deemed "not very fun" for the common student and instead of expulsion (which was something actually considered by the Hope's Peak University, another institution of the League of Athena), they chose to come up with a thing to alleviate the problems: establish a league of their own in the same vein of the recently introduced (at the time) Insular Intercollegiate League and then take part on the Bow of Artemis, a domestic cup where they could face other institutions until eventually going down.

Suffice to say, the League of Athena isn't known for their amazing footballing talent and so far found only a boogie run by the College of the Gardens that was deemed a massive surprise when you consider their roster wasn't really all that good even for the League of Athena's low standards. And yet, here he was. Koji Kagonami was an idiot, wasn't he?

[Filindostan]

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NATIONAL | BUSINESS | PROVINCIAL | INTERNATIONAL | SPORTS | ENTERTAINMENT | SPORTS PORTAL

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FOOTBALL
Di Bradini Cup: Five goals from Filindostan saves them from elimination; advancing still unlikely

Editor's note: Erratum - Filindostan's match after the 3-2 loss to Savojarna was against Sajnur, which was reported in the previous article as facing Nephara.

VALANORA - The under-21 team of the Pula Garuda have given themselves a chance to fight for the right to advance to the knockout stages of the Di Bradini Cup.

An eight-goal thriller and a 5-3 win over Sajnur have given Filindostan their first three points of their campaign and sit above Savojarna by virtue of a better goal difference. Despite Ella Ciuru's hattrick for Sajnur in the first half, the Esportivans scored three goals in the first half as well, courtesy of three different sources - Intan Zakaria, Muhammad Herawan, and Gerry Woudenberg. The first half was a mess of multiple missed chances, and six goals scored between the two teams.

However, the second half did not provide that type of entertainment as Filindostan started to defend against Sajnur's potent attack, only allowing them one shot on goal the entire second half. Zakaria scored his second goal of the game in the 66th minute, giving the Filindos the lead which they never lost and substitute Margaretha Bria scored one goal in the dying minutes to secure the three points for the Pula Garuda, despite not being to take home the match ball.

Filindostan will face Nephara next, and a win can secure them a spot in the round of sixteen. However, a loss would certainly eliminate them from the competition if Savojarna can match their result when they face Sajnur.

Written by FSNA Staff.

[Valanora]

Who is still far away from the title?

Matchday 3 cutoff

Group A
Cassadaigua 4–2 Bolgano
Starblaydia 5–4 Appalachian Nation

P Group A                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Cassadaigua                 3   2  1  0    8   4  +4    7
2 Starblaydia                 3   1  2  0    6   5  +1    5
3 Appalachian Nation          3   1  0  2    8   8   0    3
4 Bolgano                     3   0  1  2    2   7  −5    1

Group B
Sajnur 3–2 Savojarna
Nephara 0–1 Filindostan

P Group B                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Filindostan                 3   2  0  1    8   6  +2    6
2 Nephara                     3   2  0  1    6   4  +2    6
3 Savojarna                   3   1  0  2    8   9  −1    3
4 Sajnur                      3   1  0  2    6   9  −3    3
*Filindostan ahead of Nephara on GF

Group C
Darmen 4–3 Siovanija and Teusland
Schottia 1–1 Kita-Hinode

P Group C                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kita-Hinode                 3   2  1  0    7   3  +4    7
2 Schottia                    3   2  1  0    6   2  +4    7
3 Darmen                      3   1  0  2    5   6  −1    3
4 Siovanija and Teusland      3   0  0  3    5  12  −7    0
*Kita-Hinode ahead of Schottia on GF

Group D
Trolleborg 2–1 Terre Septentrionale
Sarzonia 1–1 Mriin

P Group D                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Mriin                       3   1  2  0    7   4  +3    5
2 Sarzonia                    3   1  2  0    6   3  +3    5
3 Trolleborg                  3   1  1  1    3   5  −2    4
4 Terre Septentrionale        3   0  1  2    5   9  −4    1
*Mriin ahead of Sarzonia on GF

Group E
Mavinet 1–0 Equestria
Imperial Joseon 1–0 Baker Park

P Group E                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Imperial Joseon             3   2  0  1    4   2  +2    6
2 Mavinet                     3   2  0  1    3   3   0    6
3 Baker Park                  3   1  1  1    3   2  +1    4
4 Equestria                   3   0  1  2    1   4  −3    1
*Imperial Joseon ahead of Mavinet on GD

Group F
Free Republics 5–3 The Golden Lotus
Oberour Ar Moro 2–4 Pasarga

P Group F                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Pasarga                     3   3  0  0   12   6  +6    9
2 Free Republics              3   2  0  1   10   9  +1    6
3 Oberour Ar Moro             3   1  0  2    5   8  −3    3
4 The Golden Lotus            3   0  0  3    6  10  −4    0

Group G
Huelavia 0–2 Banija
Hapilopper 2–1 Chromatika

P Group G                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Hapilopper                  3   3  0  0   11   5  +6    9
2 Banija                      3   2  0  1    8   5  +3    6
3 Chromatika                  3   1  0  2    6   8  −2    3
4 Huelavia                    3   0  0  3    4  11  −7    0

Group H
Geektopia 4–1 East Ares
Taeshan 2–4 Bears Armed

P Group H                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Bears Armed                 3   3  0  0   12   4  +8    9
2 Taeshan                     3   1  1  1    5   6  −1    4
3 Geektopia                   3   1  0  2    8  10  −2    3
4 East Ares                   3   0  1  2    1   6  −5    1

Round of Sixteen Fixtures
Cassadaigua v Sarzonia @ Castle de Mot, Wexax
Filindostan v Schottia @ Duran Palace, Valanari
Kita-Hinode v Nephara @ Donna Cathedral, Mar Sara
Mriin v Starblaydia @ Artani, Mar Sara
Imperial Joseon v Taeshan @ Lathal, Ianisle
Pasarga v Banija @ Hatire Memorial, Capri
Hapilopper v Free Republics @ Metropolis, Ibini
Bears Armed v Mavinet @ Miner's Haven, Goldsan

[Imperial Joseon]

MBS (문화방송국)
Hatire Memorial, Valanora (하티르 기념관, 발나로라)
===========================================================================================

Joseon 1 - Baker Park 0

Kim Seong Jin 56'


Joseon faced Baker Park, which was supposed to be a rematch after Baker Park, the defending champion of Sporting World Cup (U-18), lost to them 0-1. Joseon players braced themselves for a difficult game, as Baker Park players have more experience in youth tournaments than our players do. However, the latter was awarded a hard-fought game, a 1-0 victory against the former to clinch a ticket to the Round of 16 as the first seed in Group E. Kim Seong Jin, a Joseon defenseman, scored a header after a corner kick was awarded to his team in the 56th minute of the game. First and foremost, Hwang Yong Geun, the Joseon head coach, congratulated the players on playing assiduously to clinch the berth to the knockout stage, but also praised the offense of Baker Park players.

Above all, now the concern for Joseon is their opponent in the Round of 16, Taeshan. Although Taeshan clinched the berth as a second place in Group H, they have a productive mixture of offense and defense and should not be taken lightly. Even if Joseon advances to the quarterfinals and then to semi-finals, they are bound to face high-scoring teams. They have to be on alert defensively at all times, an emulation of what the U-18 squad did in Sporting World Cup: Allowing only two goals throughout the tournament, and allowing none in every knockout match.

[Mavinet]

Mavinet Broadcasting Company (MBC)
Nightly news

....

"Coming up last in 24/7 Sports News: Mavinet U21 through to the knockout stage of Di Bradini Cup 47.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Our last news for the day in 24/7 Sports News comes from our U21 team currenly playing in the 47th Di Bradini Cup in Valanora. The last match against Equestria was a great test of nerve and determination for both teams, as the group's 2 qualification spots were still open to everyone. Mavinet came into the match knowing that they needed at least a draw and hope results elsewhere went well for them, but no doubt a victory was the ultimate goal. Reverting back to a 4-2-3-1 formation after a less-than-successful experiment with 5-man defense against Baker Park, Mavinet's intention was clearly to play more offensively than they had been up to that match. This change resulted in a higher number of chances created in the first half. Equestria was no minnow: if anything, the former world champions were a real force to be reckoned with. Responding to Mavinese's attacks with composure and experience, Equestria made several clear-cut chances, despite not having the majority of possession.

In the end, it was determination and a bit of luck that helped Mavinet defeat the giant. In a 62nd-minute play, 19-year-old Truong Cong Linh, who was given his first start in the competition, broke the offside trap and defeated the Equestrian goalkeeper with a deft finish to the lower right corner. Equestria pushed higher up after to try to get back into the game, but Mavinet U21 kept their focus. Learning from their mistakes in the Baker Park's game, the young Mavinese defenders effectively contained Equestria's forwards and prevented a comeback from the former champions. The game ended 1-0 to Mavinet, and the newcomers had made it to the next round.

Speaking to the media after the match, Head Coach Nguyen Phuc Quang praised his team's resolve: "I'm absolutely ecstatic! It was wonderful to see a positive reaction from the boys. They really showed their characters in this match. It's only gonna get harder from now but we are happy that we get to extend our stay in Valanora to a few more days."

Meanwhile, Baker Park fell 0-1 to another newcomers' team, Imperial Joseon in their final match. Group E is perhaps the biggest surprise in this year's Di Bradini Cup when 2 new teams advance to the knockout stage while favorites like Baker Park and Equestria are eliminated. However, finishing 2nd in the group means that Mavinet are faced with an even more difficult task in the Round of 16. Awaiting them is another former champion, Bears Armed, a team that, as their name suggests, are made up of Ursines. Faced with such a force of nature, Mavinet will need to play at 200, even 300% of their abilities to have any hope of advancing further. But with what the U18 and this U21 team have shown so far, defeating superior opponents is not totally beyond our reach. It has been a promising year for Mavinet's football, and we will hope that the U21 can continue to impress not just the people of this country, but friends and opponents across the multiverse as well.

That's all for tonight's 24/7 Sports News. Coming up is the weather forecast for the next 7 days. As always, thank you for watching and have a good night. I'm Pham Minh Nhat, MBC's news anchor."

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MAVINET - 1
62' Truong Cong Linh

EQUESTRIA - 0

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Lineup against Bears Armed

[Sarzonia]

If you play for a draw, you're more likely to lose.

Those words rang in Nathan Hanifer's mind during the entire first half of Sarzonia's 1-1 draw against Mrinn that saw the two teams both punch their tickets into the knockout rounds of the 47th Di Bradini Cup, also known as the 68th Under 21 World Cup.

The Stars started the match intent on attacking the Corsairs, but it was Mrinn who had the Stars on their heels after a "lucky" goal just three minutes in from the left boot of Tobiáš Chance. The teenage striker hit the ball rather poorly and began to betray frustration on his face until his eyes lit up with a mix of apparent astonishment and delight when the ball skipped past Sarzonia goalkeeper Glen Baker.

The goal gave new urgency to the Stars, who knew they would have to at least stay ahead of Trolleborg, whom they drew on the opening night of the Di Bradini Cup to ensure they would advance to the knockout rounds. Still, however, aggressive defending by the Corsairs kept the Stars from utilising their possession-based offence to its full effect. Finally, the halftime whistle sounded, and it was up to Hanifer to develop adjustments.

"They're attacking our possession game," Hanifer told his charges. "They're making nigh on impossible to string passes together, so we're going to have to adapt. Start utilising some long passes and see what that does for us."

The Stars came out in the second half determined to find a way to equalise the match, and they finally did in the 79th minute courtesy of a Corsairs failed clearance. Centre back Liana Lemuur tried launching a bid by Stars forward Suzi Calderon out of the 18-yard box, but the ball inadvertently hit the backside of Jeret Odaal where reserve striker Nick Raiden was waiting. He hammered the ball with his right boot with all its might and it rocketed past a diving Ryyl Drænor into the net for the equalising goal.

Hanifer knew he had two options with his final substitution: Either go with a defender in the hopes of preserving the draw and going through with Mrinn, even if the tiebreakers favoured the Corsairs as group winners or send on Nestor Royce as an offensive substitution in the hopes that he could spark the team to another goal. If you play for a draw, you're more likely to lose, he remembered saying. He then decided he was going for broke and sent Royce on in the 81st minute as a fourth striker. Suddenly, the Stars were playing a 3-3-4 formation with the intent of peppering Drænor and hoping the teenaged satyr netminder would crack under the intense pressure.

Unfortunately for the Stars, Drænor was up to the task, turning aside three of his seven saves overall in the final 11 minutes of the match, including a point-blank effort by Raiden that came just as the LED display showing two minutes of stoppage time shut off. For Sarzonia, the feeling when the referee blew the final whistle was one of relief. They'd faced the eventual Group D winners and earned a hard-fought draw. They would then face an opponent who was once very familiar in Cassadaigua. The two teams had a definite history in sport in years past, but with Sarzonia in a longer period of isolation from the sporting world than even The Great Isolation, that history could almost be considered ancient.

For their parts, the Corsairs' reward for winning Group D would be a team long considered a nemesis of the Stars. Starblaydia. The other matchups of note in the Round of 16 for Stars supporters includes Imperial Joseon v. Taeshan in a matchup of the team that beat the Baby Stars in the Sporting World Cup vs. the country that hosted it. Pasarga would face Banija, a team that had become very familiar to Stars supporters in the team's return to international football. Bears Armed will face Mavinet in the other match involving a team the Stars are familiar with.

[Cassadaigua]

My decision,
by Danielle Cotter, Goalkeeper

Good whatever time of day it is wherever you are reading! It’s Danielle Cotter, the starting goalkeeper for the Di Bradini team out here in Valanora and I have been asked to provide some insight into whatever it was that I wanted to talk about. The floor was left wide open on that, so I thought a good topic would be what actually makes someone decide to be a goalkeeper? It’s a difficult position, obviously, and if you do it well, you will be rewarded. However, if you don’t do it well, or just it do it satisfactorily, chances are you are going to hear a lot of scrutiny.

I didn’t wake up one morning and decide that I wanted to be a goalkeeper. Some keepers get into it because they have an older sibling who was a forward or a midfielder, and they wanted to practice their shooting, so as the younger sibling, you were obligated to go out there and play goal for them. That can be good training for the position, because no one wants to allow their older sister or brother to score on them and have you look bad, so you do what you can to learn how to play the position. As you get older, it’s only natural then that the player in this example because interested in playing this position. Some goalkeepers become keepers because they weren’t very good anywhere else and this position was the last result. None of that was the case for me.

In fact, growing up, I didn’t even play soccer. I never played on any form of organized soccer team until I played 13, and that is considered pretty old. I had a thing for volleyball. Absolutely my favorite sport when I was a little girl, but there were not a lot of leagues that I could join. It was really just something that I could play in school, or sign up for some 6-8 week program somewhere. I loved it though. My sacrifice had to be playing basketball instead. My parents tried to get me into baseball too, and even signed me up for a three week baseball camp hosted by Jenna Bailey, who was part of our World Baseball Classic team at the time. I could not have been any more bored. Baseball was too slow, and simply not for me. One of the coaches there suggested that if boredom was my biggest problem, that I could be a catcher, but boredom was only one of my reasons why I didn’t enjoy that camp. So, I tried basketball. I enjoyed the defensive aspect of basketball as the rebounding part of the game was somewhat like volleyball, which was still my true love. I wasn’t terrible at the game, and had a pretty decent jumper, and could make free throws, but I didn’t just want to be average. Soon, basketball also became boring to me. And those volleyball programs I could join were just not long enough.

When I was 13, and my first year of middle school, I started hanging out with a group of girls from the other side of Starksville, and they became good friends. They liked volleyball, too, so that was cool but they were also going to try out for the school’s soccer team. I wished them good luck on that but neither of them were going to let me not try out as well. I figured I had nothing to lose, it was only a middle school soccer team, so no one would really pay any attention to it, so I would try out, hang out with them, and not make the team. Once I didn’t make the team, I would just go about my way with my friends knowing that I at least made the effort to try out.

It was then that I met coach Gryder, and she would change my life. She asked everyone what they were most interested in and what they wanted to get out of this team. Thankfully, I was honest. I told her that I was most interested in volleyball, that I loved volleyball, but was really only trying out for this team because my friends wanted too. Some coaches might have been taken aback from that, but not coach Gryder. She smiled and said, “Danielle, get in goal.” I obliged. As the kids began to lineup to take some practice shots, she walked over to me with the soccer ball in her hand. “Pretend this is a volleyball, but one that can you catch,” she told me. The kids started taking shots, and I stopped some, missed others. After the first few shots though I was really beginning to enjoy this. This was fun. Up to this point whenever I had played soccer with friends, I had never tried to be a goalkeeper, but this was fun.

I still had to get better, though. Coach Gryder could see that I was enjoying what I was doing and I let her know how much I was. She gave me advice but also more information on how I could go about learning more about this position. She had connections with youth programs in the area, and I signed up with them to learn more about the position. I wasn’t an overnight sensation, but I did make the team and did become that starting goalkeeper for two years, and this carried into my high school career. As a freshman, I only played on the junior varsity team, but the coaches told me then that the only reason I didn’t make varsity is that they felt it would be better for me to start in JV then be a sub on varsity. There was a senior on the varsity roster who they felt loyal too. In high school, I continued to get better, and worked on different elements of the game to become a complete goalkeeper. This earned me a scholarship with the University of Starksville, and I was honored to be able to play at home.

I was never considered for the Sporting World Cup roster, but that was never really something I thought about. I felt that every year of my life I have gotten a little better at the position then I was the year before. That’s the important thing, one can never stop improving. My main objective has been to play professionally and have success in that. Playing for the national team, when you are goalkeeper, is much more difficult because there is only one of you. I thought the Di Bradini roster could be possible, and was honored to get the call to be a part of this team. This is a good team, and I don’t know what it will lead to in as far as getting to play on the senior team, so I am just going to enjoy it to the fullest right now.

Enjoying it to the fullest means making the most out of the Di Bradini Cup. It has been a great experience to travel out here to Valanora and be a part of this team. I have made lifelong friends, regardless of where our careers take us. Right now, my focus is on Sarzonia, who is the next obstacle in the path that we hope leads to a title. Historians tell me that they have some history in international sports, but all what to do is make them history from this Cup.

[Nephara]

THE HERALD
DBC GROUP STAGE OVERVIEW
Anders Sonnett

Nephara have traditionally underachieved at the Di Bradini Cup despite having a number of advantages peculiar to age group football - chiefly, a reliance on physical strength that is disproportionately effective at youth level. A fairly strong, if not exactly electric, opening phase has ensured that at the very least Ivy Herrick has reached par again, though perhaps one might expect a very talented side to go to the very end.

Since the Nephara U21s returned from their hiatus, much has changed. For one, most obviously, a new and faintly psychotic manager, but other things as well. One is curiously due to an economic factor, kit maker ediraf's insistence that all age groups wear the same design. This was not usually the case in the past, with Nepharim tending to 'graduate' into the senior strips, but it has to be conceded it was an odd look.

It sits better, for Nephara's next generation to be eased into the same kits - and for those who might not ever make the step up, it means the experience is not cheapened. It is a subtle, symbolic change, one supported by the NFA and youth staff, and one which just lets the players have that little bit more pride.

Perhaps others would say 'arrogance'. This age group is comprised of strong players who know it, and Herrick seems in no hurry to over-drill them. There's a sense in their play that they consider themselves superior, confident in possession and eager to wrest it back through fair means or foul. This isn't one of the guileless sides of the past, either. They want to win at any cost.

That shift of mentality can probably be credited (blamed?) for the sight of Chantal Kalevi's blatant dive against Sajnur, trailing a leg and letting herself drop over Kahala Murje in the eighteenth minute as Nephara sought a breakthrough. Nepharim aren't meant to dive, right? But there was a refreshing lack of hand-wringing on these shores. If we should define ourselves by our conquests, why pretend we're playing a different sport?

Victory against Sajnur was secured by fair means in the end, Nephara weathering attacks with relative ease before a fluid passing move let Anselm Koerner set up Latona Basilisk for a crisp opener, a forceful header from Reniira Clevinger finishing them off at a corner. Sajnur had their moments, but rarely seriously threatened Provost, who stood up to the pressure when called on.

Savojarna proved a different sort of challenge, when a frankly spectacular effort gave them a seventh-minute lead. You can have all the defensive stability you like when Eino Kiivala hoofs in a speculative cross that Midtjaer springs on and scissor-kicks violently into the top corner. From there, it was a matter of catch-up; Basilisk got her second of the campaign, but Sergey Nweke scuffed a scrappy goal on the edge of half-time. Shortly after returning from the break, Stonemoore slammed a strike against the post and Flaxwood pounced on the rebound, but a vicious strike from Lapanen restored the Savojar lead.

And then something happened. As the Savojars tired, the Nepharim redoubled their efforts, refusing to drop or lose their heads. And yet at the end the leveller was the most ordinary of things, a long throw from Brincat, bodies slamming into each other before Latona Basilisk clambered over three men to fire low and hard, only for Virulainen to parry, only for Koerner to desperately, off-balance, scuff the rebound back into the middle, and Lukas Stonemoore to sweep out a leg and slam it between Virulainen's legs. Winning it on a screamer from Koerner just seemed the decent thing to do after that.

Less to talk about, however, in the final game, and not only because the Nepharim lost. It was a dull match, but one that the Filindostani needed to win. A heavily-rotated Nephara were probably safe - in the event, they were, as Savojarna lost to Sajnur - but even so, they got sucked into Filindostan's way of playing, failed to meaningfully challenge their defensive discipline, and all it took was one beautiful, inch-perfect pass from Seoi to Wulung, and a rather more pedestrian but still well-timed cutback to Wulung, and strong low finish from there, to seal a deserved win for the Garudas.

Both sides go through, but Kita-Hinode represent something of a nightmare draw in youth football, always have and probably always will. Not that the Schottia U21s - and Kendra Ramsey with them - represent a much easier draw for the Filindostani. Any sceptics that you can raise a decent footballer through a university system should probably look to Lukas Stonemoore for proof - he'll probably be the one the Hinodejin look to in turn. It'll be the usual battle of artists versus artisans. It will, as always, be one to watch.

[Schottia]

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Kita-Hinode 1–1 Schottia @ The Tar Pit, Char Sara
Line-up: Prichard, H.Hanson-Conavacio, Kincorick, Meerfeld, Christie, Robb (Campbell), Ramsey, Arniston, Maitfield (Holstad), Hunter, Enrico (Palermo)
Goals: Hunter

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As both Schottia and the Hinodejin Empire came into game with two wins from two, the only thing left at stake was the honour of topping the group. With a choice of Nephara or Filindostan lying in wait, there seemed no massive incentive for grabbing all three points; and it was perhaps fitting that this dead-rubber of sorts ended in a 1-1 draw. With the knockouts in mind, Schottia took the opportunity to rest Lewis Nicholson, who had been outstanding in the engine room of the midfield. A slight reshuffle meant that five players got their first starts at this level, as Grey Holden made the most of his last chance to experiment.

Based on the first half, it would be fair to say that the Hinodejin players are a little further along with their development than ours, and they seem to have benefited from their participation in the Intercollegiate League. Without Nicholson to boss the midfield, Schottia lacked that physical presence, and found Takuma Mishima, in particular, difficult to deal with. Other than a couple of set piece chances, which fell to the head of Hazel Hanson-Conavacio, Schottia had very little to show for their first half efforts. Therefore, it was somewhat surprising when the Auks took the lead, through Kinnel Hunter, just on the stroke of halftime. After winning the ball just inside her own half, Corvistone midfielder, Rachael Arniston set Michael Robb scampering free down the right flank. The Royals winger did well to hold of the challenge of Shigekatsu Amasawa, before whipping the ball into the path of Hunter, who drilled her shot low under Arata Yamaguchi.

After weathering a storm at the start of the second half, Schottia finally managed to establish a foothold in the match. Despite John Prichard being called into action to tip a Yasunobu Hattanda shot over the bar, Schottia actually looked as if they might see the game out. With ten minutes left on the clock however, disaster struck. Isla Kincorick found herself the wrong side of Nitara Heshimakage, and, unable to get tight with the winger, she was forced to look on in despair as the Hylia University star slid the ball past Prichard for the equaliser.

On the balance of play a draw seemed like a fair result, and both sides should be feeling confident ahead of their last sixteen matches.

---

The Tar Pit, Char Sara

Tess accepted the drinks bottle, but refused the offer of a tracksuit top, as she grabbed her seat towards the back of the dugout. A couple of her teammates leaned over to offer high-fives, and she was good enough not to leave them hanging. A first start, and sixty minutes of high-tempo football, against a strong opposition. It was a little bit of a nothing match, but the players on the pitch didn’t see it that way, and were eager to impress the manager, with a starting place in the knockouts potentially up for grabs.

‘Played, Tess.’ The camaraderie kept coming, as Jojo was the latest player to offer a hand, reaching back from his sedentary position, a row in front. Tess always remembered Jojo as a little kid. He was two years younger than her, but had always been a bit ahead on the development curve, hence the reason they had been part of the same age-bracket at Willox Street.

‘Thanks.’ She replied, sitting back and getting ready to focus on the rest of the match. It was a noisy atmosphere inside the stadium, and Tess was slightly surprised by how many Schottians had made the journey to support them. It was testament to the popularity of the tournament in general, and the special place it occupied in Schottia’s collective heart. She was just hoping she’d done enough. An assist in the last match from a corner, and a decent shift here, Tess really wanted to prove she could compete at this level.

‘Reckon we’ll hold on..?’ Asked Kerr Campbell, sat to her right. He was still in his tracksuit, the poor guy was yet to get his bum off the bench, and would be getting nervous, waiting for the nod to start warming up. In Tess’ experience, the longer you waited the worse it got. She had sat on the bench a lot, as a seventeen-year-old, the first year the Pirates had been in the SPL. It got to the stage where you weren’t sure if you were excited or dreading it…

‘Always got to say yes…’ Tess offered with a shrug. Kinnel Hunter had put them ahead just before the break, actually taking her goal really well. (Was it bad that Tess felt jealous?) She’d won a move to Directus in the summer, and you’d imagine, was going to go from strength to strength. ‘You..?’

‘Not much in it, I’d say.’ Campbell was characteristically blunt. ‘That number-six, Mishima, looks like a player.’ He added, without taking his eyes off the match.

‘Yeah,’ Tess conceded, having just spent an hour going toe-to-toe with him. ‘Not a hundred percent sure who he plays for actually.’

‘Miishima Polytech.’ He answered with the confidence of a man who had looked it up.

‘Kerr.’ Assistant coach, Lewis Beardie, cut them off. ‘Get yourself down to the bottom of the track, go and get yourself warmed up.’ The Tar Pit was one of those stadiums that came complete with athletics track. ‘Have s stretch. You might be coming on for the last ten minutes.’

Tess gave Campbell a double thumbs up, as the Pirates winger got to his feet, raising his eyebrows as if to say: Don’t expect too much.

[Filindostan]

Filindostan have never advanced past the group stages of the Di Bradini Cup. Making their debut in the 41st edition of the tournament, the Esportivan side finished fourth in Group A, only managing one win and two draws in a group won by Cosumar. The squad that time included Bochog San Lupe, and Yish Sta. Lucia, who were both part of the 66th Baptism of Fire winning team, as well as Tonyo Vera, current number 1 keeper of the Pula Garuda, and Kartio Weici, currently the best Filindostani player in the multiverse and the heir apparent of the Empress of Defence, Dina Satyawan.

They would enter the 42nd edition again, and were placed in a group including Banija, Schottia, and Northwest Kalactin. Despite beating Gitonga Kahara and Banija in the final matchday, inferior goal difference against Schottia meant that the FIlindos would miss out by goal difference. Failing to beat Razenthuria in the next edition meant that after another heartbreaking exit in the 44th one despite beating both Sharktail and Cassadaigua, the young Pula Garuda have yet to be featured in the Round of 16.

Add the 45th edition to that list, with heavy losses to Abanhfleft and HUElavia eliminating them from contention. The federation rethinked their strategy, missed the 46th edition, and sacked longtime U21 manager Bernadeth Encarnado with Martinus Alfian Salma. Salma as he is known to the players, has demanded effort this time to the players and show the grit and grind.

This was evident in their match against Sajnur, winning 5-3, and then despite Nepharim media describing the last matchday game as a 'dull match', it was the Filindos who wanted the win more, with Merpati Wulung receiving a brilliant pass from Soei to give the Pula Garuda the 1-0 win, and with it, the Group win.

Filindostan next face Schottia in the Round of 16, the players today may have forgotten what happened in the 42nd edition, but history will not. They will be out for redemption this time.