World Cup 91 [roleplays]

by **Krytenia** » Sat May 21, 2022 3:22 pm

The Sign Of Four
By Rami Niblick in Walton

WITH six points on the board from their recent matches against Reorganized Portugal and Armbruster, Krytenia have put the Balls-Up In Bellflower behind them and can now look forward to their next set of games.

I will admit here that I'm using the term "look forward" somewhat liberally, as their next four matches are against the rest of the top five in Group Ten. It goes almost without saying that this is the most important section of Krytenia's qualifying campaign. I will admit that a full complement of points is probably a bit much to ask for, especially as one of those matches is against the utter bulldozer that is this cycle's Kandorith team, but regardless, this will be the true test of BXE's new philosophy and the team's newfound winning mentality.

First up on the docket, we have a trip to New Hind City to face Indusse. On paper, at least, this should be the most winnable game; there again, the Flocking Blues gave us one hell of a game in Caversham. Krytenia will need to take the game by the scruff of the neck, ignore the passionate home fans, and suffocate their opposition out of the game.

It's back home a few days later for the biggest game of the lot, as Kandorith come to the Isserson. On the face of it, this looks an impossible task given the form the Mekahi have been in. Remember this, though; Krytenia went to Tenkyo earlier in the campaign, and were only downed by the odd goal in five. With the wall of noise that is the Cyan Army behind them, there might just be a surprise on the cards. Or at least a draw. We'll take a draw.

There'll be a few weeks R&R to get over what will be an intense match in Emberton before the team travels to South Newlandia to face the Elephants on their own turf. Savannah. Jungle. Whatever. The important thing here is to pile a fresh dungpile of misery on a side that will feel they should be closer to the top three than they are right now. A win here could as good as eliminate South Newlandia from proceedings, and that is what BXE's charges will be aiming for.

Last, but most assuredly not least, is the home return against Saint Eleanor. The black-clad side shut out the Dragons on their patch, but dropped points elsewhere has meant that the two sides are currently separated only by a sliver of goal difference. The crowd at Avidia United's New City Stadium will be absolutely buzzing for this one, and it would well be make or break for both sides. This game, above all, is the one Krytenia must get three points from to help make their World Cup dreams a reality. Onward!

by **Cabo Azure** » Sat May 21, 2022 4:04 pm

Al Qurija 1–2 Cabo Azure
Starters: Gomez | de Lima, Moniz (goal 37'), Medeiro, Branco | Maciel, Ferreira (off 60'), Rathbone| Silveira (goal 62'), Corte-Real, Gouveia
Substitutes: Lobo (on 60')

An important win on the first return fixture of qualifying, though arguably closer than either fans or Paulinho would have liked. Nevertheless, the Maçaricas got the job done, maintaining their playoff placement in a group that has proved to be more competitive than expected.

Graintfjall-based centerback Adão Moniz opened his scoring account for the national team in his third qualifying cycle with a powerful header off a Rathbone-delivered corner, capping a first half characterized by missed chances from both sides and some impressive saves by both goalkeepers. Backup striker Nursultan Dimitrov would equalize not long into the second half by capitalizing on a poorly-placed pass from Medeiro to Rathbone and punishing with a strike from just outside the area.

With the teams on level terms, the second half quickly heated up, with fast counterattacks and even faster scrambles by defenders. Both keepers stood on their heads a few more times before Silveira got into a perfect position with runners in the box. Faraj Han committed to closing down Gouveia, who simply laid the ball off to the team captain for the score.

Renegade, Act II, part 3
Cabo Azureans have always held a bone-deep (some would say unsettling) reverence for widows, treating them far different and on the whole, far better than they treat other unmarried women. Anthropologists and historians offer two distinct explanations, both of which likely have at least some truth to them. The former group says that it likely developed as a way to encourage mariners to leave their families and go to sea with the knowledge their families would be taken care of should they perish. The latter, meanwhile, points to the governing documents of the Knights of St. Simon, the chivalric order from which the Azurean polity emerged, which also called for the widows of members to be cared for.

Those documents also lay the foundation for the widow houses, among the only public housing available in Cabo Azure. Since the days of the Knights of St Simon, a woman whose husband dies before her has been entitled to room and board in a widow house. The houses themselves have changed shape many times over the centuries, but most are large nineteenth-century manor homes in decent but shabby repair, staffed with underpaid civil servants and inhabited by a wide variety of women from all walks of life. The most famous widow house is in Sao Simone, a handsome five-story brick building downtown. The wait list for rooms is quite long, and many of the residents have been there for decades.

One of the most interesting residents was Carlotta di Portelo, the king’s maternal grandmother and the one-time queen of Cabo Azure. In her nineties, Doma Carlotta was lucid and vibrant, a blunt-speaking woman whose social life had not been dimmed by: her marrying the king and bearing a daughter, her husband the king dying, her stepson annulling her marriage and stripping her and her daughter of their royalty, her daughter leaving for school in Cassadaigua and returning incognito, or the monarchy being reinstated with her grandson on the throne. Carlotta had been around through it all, happily ensconced in her one-bedroom apartment in the widow house with a tight circle of friends and a routine that included the gym, the beach, and dinners at swanky restaurants around Sao Simone.

Neither King Manuel nor Princess Veronica had ever felt any obligation toward Carlotta, and the queen mother had never forgiven her mother for not contacting her while she was in Cassadaigua. Princess Alexandra had looked up the former queen soon after finding out who her mother really was, hoping the former queen would have some perspective that would bring her world back into alignment. Carlotta had candidly informed her granddaughter at their first meeting that she held no such wisdom, but the two women had remained in contact besides.

by **Delaclava** » Sat May 21, 2022 5:17 pm

Phoenixes admit struggles with pressure after shock defeat

Delaclava's unexpected emergence as a World Cup qualifying contender has been a joy to watch, with very little downside - until now.

Just days after a dominant 6-2 victory over Nyowani Kitara in Quinniville, the Phoenixes never got going against last-placed Football Tiger, and a 64th-minute own goal by Marc Champagne allowed The Tiger to take their first victory of the qualification process.

"That sucked, plain and simple," said manager Boris Ishutin. "I don't even know what to learn from today. We just need to regroup and move on. Good on them to put some pressure on us and get the win."

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak and a nine-game unbeaten streak.

Delaclava, the highest-scoring team in Group 1 entering the game, was in fine form, scoring thirteen goals in the previous three games, including five against Southwest Eastnorth (Gretler x2, Meyer, Lindblad, Torres), two against Equestria (Bartoš, Gretler), and six against Nyowani Kitara (Meyer x3, Torres, Kovalev, Muldowney). They still controlled possession for much of the first half, but looked sluggish and struggled to create space and quality scoring chance. They fell behind 1-0 after Champagne headed home a cross trying to clear it away, and thereafter showed more urgency but no aptitude, with increasingly desperate shots blasted well off the mark.

Champagne was distraught at his mistake both at the time of the goal and in his post-match press conference, and left his conference after just a few questions. Before then, he alluded that he had found it difficult to handle both the increased expectations following his team's success as well as the scrutiny of his play amid a center back battle with Rahmonberdi Zhusupov.

Captain Lukas Meyer made it clear that the team placed no blame for the defeat on Champagne. "It was an error, for sure, but it really didn't matter because we couldn't even get started on the other end. We should have had three points and we had plenty more time to make that happen."

Meyer also admitted that the team was nervous heading into the game as a result of their recent run of form. "We've shown that we weren't a fluke, and that's great. But now it's a position where we're one of the top teams, and so we should be winning the games against the teams who aren't really in that position anymore. And that's not something we were prepared for entering this year, it's a tough adjustment. I think we were afraid to make mistakes today, didn't have the same confidence and relaxation that we've usually had.

"And it's not just in games, we're getting a lot more attention, both from our own fans and from the rest of the world. Some of it is good and very supportive, but I know there have been a few threats and nasty comments coming in. I've already seen the things people are saying about Marc, about me and all of us, and it's not okay, but this is what it's like to be successful... I don't know how we find that zone again where we put all of that aside and focus on our gameplan and our training, staying mindful and present, but hopefully we find that again and just get back to playing our best."

George Ross, who has been with the team from the very beginning, added, "The success is great, it's what we've wanted for a long time. But it really has changed the dynamic in our camp. It's more serious, more tense. I wouldn't say it's been hostile or anything like that, but there's less patience to go around these days, more frustration when we make mistakes instead of getting past it. It's been like this since a few games ago, I think... it's on all of us to support each other, be compassionate, remember that we're in this together. It's a new position for the veterans and the leaders but we need to lead that change."

And Mathias Gretler, one of the youngest players on the team, said, "I know for a lot of us it's our first World Cup and it's been so much fun playing at a high level. These last few weeks have been really stressful, not fun and we should keep in mind what we're able to do right now and get back into that headspace."

Delaclava's shock loss didn't cost them much in the standings; they remain second in Group 1 with 29 points, remaining clear of the chasers as Nyowani Kitara and Sharktail drew 5-5 and Poafmersia lost 2-0 to Ko-oren. However, the Phoenixes lost an opportunity to draw further clear of the other top teams and closer to Ko-oren, whom they now trail by four points. Although finishing top-three gives the Phoenixes a chance at qualification, only that top spot ensures it.

There's a quick fix up ahead, as Delaclava will return home to face that Ko-oren team at Golden Phoenix Field. One or zero points doesn't necessarily ruin Delaclava's chances of qualifying, especially since the chalk pick is likely the Dragonflies, but would end the prospects of an automatic spot. But three points would be a major boost in the standings and for the Phoenixes' morale.

"This is a good match for us," Meyer said. "The fans have mostly been really positive and it'll be cool to play a big match in front of a sold-out crowd. And I think playing Ko-oren, it puts us back in the space where we're the underdog and we're trying to give it our best shot. So let's do it."

by **HUElavia** » Sat May 21, 2022 5:31 pm

HUElavia 1-2 Saterun
(Lopes 28' | Esparza 78', 90')
San Ignatius, Itio, HUElavia

Cabo Azore 1-2 HUElavia
(Ferreira 68' | Nascimento 88', Chanca 90+4')

XI vs Stresia:
D-Team will Play
Home Alternative Uniform will be worn

XI at Kimi-Suomi:
Casillas (C), Arroyo, Pillpe, Ardance, Larrangoz, Mayordomo, Duarte, Aveiro, Noffke, Balderas, Lopes
Home Uniform will be worn

A Chef's Voyage

Bulking in Bolovets

"Hi, my name's Antoine Brousseau. For several years, I've been a chef for many years, working in various restaurants throughout HUElavia. The sights and smells of cuisine have been a part of my life since I was very young. But now, it's time for a new change in my life. It's time to travel throughout the country and sample the various dishes this country has to offer. I don't know what's ahead for me, but I got the appetite to find out."

"This is A Chef's Voyage."

The sun shines over this city. People go about enjoying the beach and restaurants, drinking expensive alcoholic drinks, and just trying to get their tan. You can hear some English and Spanish being spoken, but there is one language that dominates this city (and region): Russian. The city of Bolovets is home to over 12.5 million people, mainly Rus-HUElavians, descendants of Rus immigrants that came to the country in the mid 20th century, looking to escape from oppressive Eastern Euroan governments. Today, they've made not only a whole city, but an entire state, where Bolovets is the state capital of Dubnia, the only state in HUElavia that is not of Western Euroan origin. The buildings have this Rus and Modern aesthetic mix to it, which can really tower over you if you look up for a long time. Here, I've arrived to enjoy not only the cuisine of the Rus-HUElavians, but also the beaches and culture of the region.

After waking up in the morning, I decide to take the local trolley to a popular restaurant in the city, named Luzniki, where locals love to go for their regular meals. I feel a bit of thirst this morning, so I decide to enjoy a traditional Rus dish: Borscht. A sour soup common in Eastern Euroa Its made of broth, beets, and tomatoes with various vegetables, including onions, cabbage, tomato, carrots, and celery, with some sour cream and chopped chives put on top. Time for a bite and slurp. *Takes bite and slurp* Mmmm, what a soup! The taste is just sweet and sour, fantastic mix of both of the flavors. The carrots are nice and soft, the celery is softened up, but has a nice crunch to it, and the onions have a soft texture to it. Of course though, the sweet taste comes from the beets used to cook up this dish, and man, it's sweet and good. Very great dish to have, especially with the morning being temperate now. Having some Medovukha, a Slavic honey-based alcoholic beverage very similar to mead, really hits the spot.

I go about exploring the city, seeing the signs in Crylic, English and Spanish. People go about their day, enjoying some shopping (the Rus-HUElavians are one of the biggest spenders in the country), enjoying food, and taking the trolley to the coastline for the beach. Thus, I follow along, getting on one of the trolleys. I enjoy the beaches by Jaguar Bay, which has the deepest point in all of HUElavia, taking in the rising sun, getting a bit of a tan, and still slightly buzzed and satisfied from the breakfast. After a while of sun and swim, I decide to hit up a street vendor for a nice meal. I decide on having a traditional comfort food of the Rus-HUElavians: Pirozhki. It's a baked or fried yeast-leavened boat-shaped buns with a variety of fillings, where in this one, I'm having some meat, mushroom, rice, and onions. *Takes bite* Mmmm... Ahhhh, it's so good... The meat is soft, seasoned just right and it just feels so good in your mouth. The mushroom has this earthy flavor and spongey texture that feels great to chew on. The onion is also soft and easy to eat. The rice has this oily flavor, which I presume it was made with some olive oil, and the bread crust has a bit of a hard outside, but the inside is soft and just nice to chew. All in all, this is some great stuff, and I can definitely see myself eating this after a hangover.

Once more, I go through the trolley, exploring the city and the many sights there are to see. Since it's a weekend, despite it being the daytime, people are hitting up dance clubs with drinks, looking to have a great time. I visit a museum, this one talking about the history of the Rus people in HUElavia, with the first wave of immigrants and the different influential people in the history of the country, including the much disliked (but liked over here) former President Thomas Chyrinski, various football and ice hockey athletes, business people and many actors and actresses that have appeared in HUElavian media. Overall, they are proud people that really have kept their traditions in tact while still mixing in well with the rest of the populace.

Finally, I'm in the mood for a nice snack, and I opt to a local bakery, and I decide to purchase some Blini. A pancake traditionally made from wheat or (more rarely) buckwheat flour and served with smetana, tvorog, butter, caviar and other garnishes. I decide to garnish it with Smetana, a type of sour cream from Eastern Euroa, and some butter. *Takes bite* Mmmmm... Yes... What a great dish. There's this subtle sweet taste to the Blini, which I guess comes from the batter, while being very soft to eat and chew. The butter adds this salty, fatty taste to it, while the Smetana adds the creamy texture and sour taste to it. God, this is some good stuff. I really could see myself eating this for breakfast.

Once again, I'm amazed at what HUElavia has to offer. Bolovets is a wonderful city that, while it is a bit more homogenous compared to the rest of the country, they do have plenty of great spots for people to enjoy, whether as a Rus-HUElavian or as a tourist, and there is wonderful places to eat. Even though Bolovets is overshadowed by the larger and more influential San Rafael to the north, it's still a city worth visiting and enjoying the many sights, sounds and flavors the city has to offer.

by **Fort McKinley** » Sat May 21, 2022 7:43 pm

(OOC--two-parter since I missed the last cutoff. Does help to tie the story together however)

The trip to Reorganized Portugal wasn't particularly eventful for the Fort McKinley National Team, with a listless 0-0 draw the result at the stadium and the presence of the wives & girlfriends of the squad making the trip on the charter flight.

Lee-lee Gray's appearance with David Guy Allen was seemingly as routine as the rest of the women on the plane, but she would have something definitely not routine to accomplish while in the nation.

The players generally had their passports collected after check-in by the Party Information Council's security detail who went everywhere with the team; in Mertagne the women arrived after the tournament was already underway, and nobody thought about confiscating the passports from them (the PIC were pretty inept when it came right down to the basics of a secret police organization and they were one of the more susceptible government entities to bribes for looking the other way), so it didn't dawn on the Agent-in-Charge to include that among his checklist of things that occurred upon arrival.

Step one for Lee was acquiring access that would make it possible to have contact with other nations and in other nations; she bought four regular smart phones—for herself, Dave, Kate and Jason—plus half a dozen burner 'dumb phones' from a cell phone provider; that was preceded by a trip to a post office to convert F^5000 into a postal money order and a visit to a bank branch to exchange another F^5000 into local currency as well as open an account to use for stashing more money offshore.
While it may sound like a lot of money, in reality the value of F^10 was only about 55 to 60% of NS$10—she'd gotten a 58.5% exchange rate to the escudo at the Primero Banco de Portugal Reorganizado.

She'd spoken directly to the branch manager about not wishing to have attention drawn to herself by having her passport verified with the McKinley authorities—in fact she'd brought 4 pieces of ID to verify her citizenship in hopes of avoiding such a problem; the manager understood the need for discretion and said he would arrange things accordingly.

Her tasks completed, she returned to the hotel while the team were still at training, giving her plenty of time to dispose of all the packaging for the phones and place them in the false bottom of David's carry-on bag, where the money had been hidden.

Arriving back in Fort McKinley following the trip, the two couples met for dinner at Kate's flat in Curundu, where they tested the phones. By a strange coincidence, one of the frequencies assigned to the RP national cell provider fell within the same band that Ft McKinley used for it's own domestic cellular network, so they actually could use them in the country, although they agreed to limit it to specific instances.

The next phase was set for the trip to Saint Eleanor.
_______________________________________________________________________________

Saint Eleanor was everything that Ft McKinley was not—free-wheeling capitalists that worshiped at the altar of laissez faire open market economy.

Dave & Lee and Kate & Jason had been making small withdrawals from their bank accounts over the previous several months to build up a tidy sum that could be spirited out of the country by the national teamer on one of the away trips during qualifying. The problem that needed to be overcome was having someone on the other end who could be trusted to get the money into a bank or converted into a widely accepted currency so that there would be funds to live off for a short period of time following their seeking of political asylum in a foreign nation.

After the return from Reorganized Portugal, he'd used the smart phone to do research on the web, and came across the interview with the Eleanorian captain, Liam West who had expressed his feelings about the People's Republic in the most direct way. Guy Allen wondered if this person might be someone to approach about doing something to strike a blow against the nation he'd criticized so harshly?

He'd been extremely lucky to have found a Sarzonian NT player who was willing to help out in Jabal Akhdar during the AOCAF and honest enough to not just keep the F^25,000 for himself.
“I need your help desperately”, he said as they shook hands after the match. “There's a package at the front desk of the hotel where we stayed. Ask for a package for David Allen. There's a note explaining everything. Thanks, and good luck.” In the note that accompanied the 25 bundles of 1000 Brass Tacks each, Dave had spelled out the scenarios the reader could take--take the notes to a currency exchange in JA and convert it to local money, then take that to a bank to get a cashier's check or money order for the amount (of course deducting whatever the bank charged for it) and returning to Sarzonia with it to deposit in the player's account. The confirmation would be the player picking up a yellow card in the Round of 16 match that the Stars had advanced to.

The question was how to get in contact with someone in Saint Eleanor prior to him arriving so he wouldn't have to hope luck was in his favor twice. The ability to have open access to the internet meant that Dave could set up an email account that wouldn't be under possible scrutiny from The Party, and could also make an account on twii.tur to use. That's where he would begin his hunt for a way to contact West in hopes of convincing the Anaian that he had honest motives and needed assistance.

@DaleNicholas1030
@LWest_IND75 DM me for info on your cold breakfast in FTM

by **Pemecutan** » Sat May 21, 2022 7:50 pm

Part 4.7

This morning is quite calm. The morning ray fill his hotel room as he open the curtain. Ampenan is indeed not as bustling as Pemecutan Puri. It has a different atmosphere. A different vibes than Pemecutan Puri. Both cities have their own uniqueness. He goes to the pantry and take a breakfast that he has order before. As he take one spoon and another, he remembering what's happen yesterday. The first day of the referendum. It is quite a relieve that everything went smoothly.

But today, he will inspect another city. Selaparang. After what happens before, he is a little alarmed. Although he is still hoping that everything will be done without any obstacles. But he still have to be prepared for the bad. The intelligent have informed him that there is no movement yet from the hardline nationalist group. It is definitely a good sign. But as the quote say, a big hazzard can come after a great silence. He has to be cautious.

He looks at the clock hang on the his room's wall. It's almost 8 am. His chaperone will be arrive soon. Partayasa sip his morning coffee and make his last preparation. He makes sure that nothing is left. As he getting ready, a knock on the door make him aware.

'Yes?' he answer.
'Your car have waiting outside, Sir. We have to catch a flight to Selaparang,' inform the man outside his room.
'Oh, alright. Wait a second.'

Partayasa grab his suitcase and walk hastily to the door. In front of the door, he see a tall man in black and white attire. He looks like an intelligent rather than a driver. But Partayasa already know this guy. The same man who become his driver yesterday.

'Shall we?' ask Partayasa.
The man slightly nod and both of them walk out of the hotel. Their next destination is Selaparang.

Into the Lion's Den

Kusumajaya rise his eyebrow. His forehead twitch as he read the E-mail he received today. Although the date of the E-mail is yesterday, he just got the time to check it today. So he assume that the E-mail is sent today. He sighing heavily as he read it thoroughly.

'This guy is really serious about this,' he thoughts.
'What would the name will be? Melayu is good, right?' he murmured.

Kusumajaya looks at the window for a second.
'Nusajaya?' he exclaim. He exhale deeply. 'This guy really make things difficult,' he become grumpy.

He then pick up the phone and call his secretary. 'Informed Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Education and Culture. Ask the Minister or their Deputy to present immediately. We have some issue to handle,' say Kusumajaya with a firm tone.

He come back to his laptop and re-read the E-mail. 'Well, it looks like another trip to Eraman.'

Basubala Anggarjahia feels uneasy when he meet King Karsiyuha II. As the Prime Minister of Soracana Islands, it is a good choice for the King to consult with him. But abdication, he is not ready.

'Your Majesty, are you sure about this?' Anggarjahia reassuring.
King Karsiyuha II nod slightly. 'I've been thinking about this for the past few years. I think the country and our people are not ready yet to have a homosexual King. I just want to stabilize the country. Until now we are holding up just because we are still under the auspices of Pemecutan. But after referendum? You do know that the people demand us back to our sovereignty as the poll suggested. The coup earlier was because they feel disgrace of me. Of having me as their King,' explain King Karsiyuha II.
Anggarjahia let out a heavy breathe. 'But Your Majesty do realize that the next in line is your uncle. The Duke of Uyuri. Your Majesty do realize his nature, right?' remind him.

King Karsiyuha II lean back. He do realize who his uncle is. The Duke of Uyuri is his father's younger brother and youngest sibling. And he is envy with the King's family. He never approve of the Queen, now Queen Mother, just because she is a commoner. And the Duke is craved for pride. King Karsiyuha II is not very close to his uncle family. Although the Duke has a strong ally after his daughter married to Duke of Nehu's son.

'I believe you can handle him. Besides, as a King in this period of time, he won't have much power. The country is mostly run by you,' King Karsiyuha II seems optimistic.

Anggarjahia let out another heavy sigh. 'I think there is nothing that I can do to change your mind, Your Majesty?' ask Anggarjahia.
'This is for the best. At least to prevent another coup after the referendum,' answer the King.
'Your Majesty, you do know that some of the people love you,' remind the Prime Minister.
'But the opposition don't. The coup leader and their followers don't,' say the King. Anggarjahia become silent. 'The opposition grow stronger because they use me as the reason to gain their followers. Clash might still happen if I am still as King. I don't want my people to suffer from countless coups and wars. Don't drag down the country just because you want to protect me. But protect the people and let them live in peace in harmony. If I have to sacrifice for the sake of my people and my country peacefulness, then I am glad to do it,' adviced King Karsiyuha II.

Anggarjahia is lost in words. He really sad with the King's decision. But as what the King's say, it is for the sake of Soracana's peacefulness. He walk out of the palace with a shaking body. Not because of the weather but because of his sadness. The country will lose one of their great King.

'Hello Mr. Partayasa. It's an honor to meet you here,' greet a white clothed man who is startled Partayasa.
He is quite surprise with the greet. But he can't avoid it as the man is the Governor of Selaparang Province, Ali Akbar Hambali. He is very noticeable because of his fancy of white color. He always seen to wear an all white clothes.

'It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Hambali,' greet Partayasa.
'I hope you enjoy your stay in Selaparang,' say Hambali.
'I just arrived this morning though. And have been here all day. Watching this referendum process,' explain Partayasa as he look around. People are still coming to this voting place to cast their votes.

The vote is still counted manually. All of the votes will be counted several times. First at the voting places, right on the spot. Second at the election center in province's capital. Then third in the main election building at Ampenan, the country's capital. Although realtime tabulation can be track online from the election committee official website.

'Oh that's too bad. You have to look around the city or the province after this voting process ended. There are many exotic places that you can visit here in Selaparang,' promote Hambali.
Partayasa give a wide smile. 'I definitely will do that,' he say.
'That's great. Hope you will enjoy it,' say Hambali excitedly. 'Excuse me then. I have to greet other guests. Nice to meet you,' add him.
'Yes, please. Nice to meet you too,' answer Partayasa.
He look at the back of Hambali as he walk through the crowd. He is vanished in an instant. Partayasa is still in surprise with the meeting. But he try to avoid his thinking and focus on the referendum process. That's what he is here for.

While on the other side of the building, Hambali is talking with the delegation from local human rights group when someone is approaching him. He whisper to Hambali's ear. For a moment, he excuse himself.
'What's the problem?' Hambali ask the man.
'You've seen him?' the man ask him back.
'Yes. He is sitting near the voting booth. Keep an eye on him,' command Hambali.
The man nodded and immediately gone from his sight. Hambali turn himself to greet a random person. While in the corner of his eye, he is watching Partayasa from afar.

by **Saint Eleanor** » Sat May 21, 2022 8:14 pm

OOC: In my headcanon, Saint Eleanor vs Fort McKinley takes place on Saturday 11th December 1999; "Fri[day]" in Exandra Davies' Twii means 10th December. Any reliable taxi driver will know where "Trident's NLF Club" is - and public transport is free anyway. I'll get the Georgia Wood and Hugh Roanoke interviews up tomorrow. And yes, that is Monique Wright off of Australian daytime television-ish.

Fort McKinley wrote:
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@LWest_IND75 DM me for info on your cold breakfast in FTM

by **Xanneria** » Sat May 21, 2022 10:18 pm

Xanneria tops off 2-0-1 streak with win over Gnejs
excerpt from http://www.xtrasports.xan

XANNERIA - The aftermath of the Nyowani Kitara game is still ringing in the ears of many citizens in Xanneria. Many people have hotly contested over what should be done to Wang Jiahui if anything. Jiahui made a cuthroat maneuver towards Xannerian leader Commandant Pillar a few weeks ago and the reaction to it from the press has been split down the middle. SOme saying he should not be punished for showing that he has deferring opinions, but others who are considered political hardliners have said it goes against the laws and would should. For context it should be noted that official Xanneria stance on "free speech" is that any form of "communication is allowed as long as no direct threats or any admittance to a crime or an implication of intended crime is made nor any direct hate speech is made." Many are divided as to whether or not what Jiahui did, was an act of communication. Commendant Pillar was not available for comment and he has been busy trying to negotiate an economic deal with Tumbra.

Meanwhile the team had pulled of a fairly safe and dominant 3-1 victory away at Football Tiger, the Maroons took down the Tigers 3-1 behind two goals from Gil McKenna and David Iowa's solid defense. People have been really starting to buy into the David Iowa hype. while he doesn't come off as flashy or stylish, he's been seen as the next big deal. He's a fundamentally sound player who plays flat and not flashy, kind of boring, and really like corn on the cob. He's gonna be a big star for who ever picks him up. Meanwhile Ko-oren was the next opponent. The previous the prior game had been sloppy. a lot of turnovers deep in Xanneria's territory lead to issues and Ko-oren won 4-2 a really big score for the dragonflys given their known defensive nature. Alas this game ended 1-0, a more traditional score for the D-flys as a penelty kick in the 40th minute turned intot he only score for either team.

lastly came the game versus Gnejs. Gnejs had lost to Xanneria 4-0 at their home and was looking to grab revenge. Well it didn't happen as the Maroons took a 3-1 win at home. Allison Burns got a hat trick as the young lady from Austin City, again used her low to the ground size to sneak around several members of the Gnejs defense. This marks here second time she's scored her first hat trick against Gnejs and returned for a second one at home. Now the Maroons are stuck in a bit of no mans land with them in 6th place and are a full game ahead of Gnejs in 7th but on the flip side they are 8 points behind fifth.

(Unkown 58' Football Tiger 1-3 Xanneria (McKenna 33' 40' Burns 4')

(yCinrhadd 39' (PK) Ko-oren 1-0 Xanneria (NONE)

(Burns 20' 67' 90+1) Xanneria 3-1 Gnejs (Nes 39')

World Cup 81/82/83/84

Baker Park [West (2) 11', 57'; D'Amico 31', Flowers 40', Craig 63', Syzmanski 81'] 6-2 Gortolekua [Mäkinen 20', Berge 76']
Collins Park, Oceana--44, 919
BP: Johnston; Flowers, Wiseman, Hughes; Eichorn (Park 60'), D'Amico, Nolan (C) (Syzmanski 77'), Reynolds; Craig; West, Pryor (Moorman 72')

Possession: B-59 G-41
Shots (on goal): B-15 (10) G-6 (3)
Fouls: B-9 G-11
Corners: B-8 G-2
Yellow Cards: B-Hughes 67', Pryor 70' G-Saarinen 49'

Baker Park [Harris 13', Freeman 18', Moorman 40', Vetter 68'] 4-1 Britonisea [Amédée 58']
CONAGCO Stadium, Shirley--34,810
BP: Callaway; Hutchins, Freeman, S Knight; Rizzo, Vetter, Syzmanski (Buxton 70'), Altman; Moorman; Wadsworth (C) (Price 77'), Harris (Diaz 73')

Possession: BP-62 BR-38
Shots (on goal): BP-11 (6) BR-4 (1)
Fouls: BP-7 BR-9
Corners: BP-3 BR-0
Yellow Cards-none

Potenzia 0-0 Baker Park
León, Potenzia--N/A
BP: McCormack; Allen, Kucera, Hughes; Park, Myers (Olivera 61'), Shanahan, Aguilar; A Knight; Garvey (C), Engels (Bruce 61')

Possession: P-36 B-64
Shots (on goal): P-3 (0) B-9 (4)
Fouls: P-8 B-7
Corners: P-1 B-3
Yellow Cards: none

Baker Park [Vuckovic 31', Mack 37', Milton 80'] 3-2 Jeruselem [Calliope 48', Meme 70')
BBP National Stadium--73,818
BP: Vickers; Brooks, Rasanamira (C), Bauer; Grimaldi, D'Amico, Milton, Boyle; Vuckovic (Freeman 83'); Gibson (Cassell 66'), Mack

Possession: B-55 J-45
Shots (on goal): B-8 (5) J-7 (3)
Fouls: B-9 J-6
Corners: B-4 J-2
Yellow Cards: B-Brooks J-none

Wadsworth joins Century Club while retaining humility
Scott McCrae
The Mail on Sunday Chief Soccer Writer

The 5th Under-18 World Cup in Abanhfleft seems like only yesterday to Lainey Wadsworth, who was a 17 year old trainee at Ridge Raiders academy when she joined the squad that was the first mixed gender team in Baker Park soccer history, going on to defeat the host nation in the Final to earn the Championship that propelled the FAC National Team setup along the road it travels today as one of the top 10 nations in the sport.

The “big blonde girl” made her mark as a substitute who changed the course of the matches she entered, earning the nickname “Late Game” from her teammates and subsequently the co-captaincy for the following U18 tournament.

Her genuinely infectious personality has made her one of the most popular members of the BPNT since she joined the senior side for World Cup Qualifying 83, scoring her maiden goal off the bench in her second ever appearance followed by another tally in the next match in her first start.

Her move to Anomalies FC in Chromatika's Red League sent her career trajectory higher than anyone could've expected—three consecutive league titles, a Player of the Year award and elevation to cult status among the club's supporters, in addition to the AFC captaincy—which in turn pushed her up the pecking order at home as Sabrina Patton, Missy Tilton, Jessica LeClair and Angelique Underwood wound down their respective international careers.

Now the ninth player in Baker Park history—and only the second pure striker—to achieve 100 caps, she's never stopped thinking of herself as “Late Game” (she ranks fifth on the all time NT list for appearances as a substitute with 26).

SM: “You told me once that you've not really changed at all since you left East Orange (Ezra, where she grew up).”
LW: “In a terms of my thinking, my overall way of looking at life, no. I'm not much different than I was before I left (to join Raiders after her sophomore year of high school) despite everything I've experienced, the process of maturing and being exposed to the wider world.”
SM: “Most people become a bit jaded, less idealistic as they get older, almost as part of a process of coping with changes in their life.”
LW: “I've always believed on a fundamental level that I stumbled into the life I have today. One random afternoon altered the path I was on and from there it's been me navigating that path the best I can with the information that I gather as it comes.”
SM: “That's a very Zen way of thinking about it. Very higher consciousness oriented.”
LW: “There are a lot of different ways that you can justify to yourself why you've gotten to a point in life based on where you started. I've never thought of myself as 'blessed' or 'destined' or even lucky to have gotten a chance to do what I've done, or even thought that I earned my place—obviously I've applied myself to the work that being a professional athlete entails, but it wasn't like I got to the starting line by devoting everything in life to that goal.”

Wadsworth admits that soccer was only her third favorite sport in high school behind softball and basketball, that if forced to make a choice to give one up that soccer would've been almost a no-brainer.

SM: “I want to read you a quote someone said about you. 'Lainey never realized until after she left how good she was going to be. I think the sport bored her a little bit because she was a softball pitcher and they have the ball and the game in their hands at all times. Not that she was selfish or needs the attention focused on her all the time, but just because of her competitiveness.' Sound like a fair observation to you?”
LW: “Yeah, except for the boredom thing it's pretty much right on. There's so much in soccer that's about patience and knowing how spot your chances, not waste energy needlessly. Of all the things I learned at Raiders those were the most important lessons."
SM: “That was your coach Bob Sizmore who said that about you, by the way.”
LW: “Of all the things I hated about leaving E.O., not being able to play for him was one the most important to me. Liam (Sullivan, her U21 coach) reminded me of him in the way he explained things and noticing little details.”
SM: “I've got the rest of what he said I want to read. 'We had a real belief in Lainey, and had ideas of how far we could go with her in the starting lineup the next season. I joked to Larry Bigelow (the Raider scout that spotted Wadsworth) he cost me a state title when he kidnapped her off to Harrisville.'”
LW: “Hah! That's kinda what he said to me also. We would've had a strong team the next—they in fact did have a strong team, I should correct myself—but I don't know if my being there would've changed the outcome of the season.”
SM: “You got to Raiders just in time to have lunch with AB before she moved to Middletown...”
LW: (laughs) “The first time I was in the senior camp (ahead of WCQ 83), the first thing I asked her was if she was going to run away from me again like at Raiders? (more laughter) Little did I know I would be her red-haired stepchild for the rest of the time as a cappie. (laughs).”
SM: “She doesn't seem like someone you'd get a chance to get the drop on very often. How long did she exact her revenge for that?
LW: “Infinity. (laughs) She called me Elaine the whole first week, and would take pleasure in reminding me that (shifts voice to emulate Westmoreland's distinctive Jamestown idiom) 'I'm right here Elaine, not going anywhere. Be here all day.' (laugh) She'd sneak up behind me and do, or she'd yell from halfway across the training pitch.”
SM: “That was very good, by the way. Felt like I was back at home.”
LW: “Oh yeah, you're from J-Town too, I forgot that. She still texts me with that every so often, and she whispered it in my ear after putting the armband on me once.”
SM: “Kelly O'Connell was your teammate and roommate on the SWC 5 squad, anything you'd like to share about her?”
LW: “I could tell you a lot of things about her, but you wouldn't be able to print any of them. (laugh) When she first went to Nephara, she started smoking, because apparently that's something a lot of Nepharan domestic players do. We don't have a long list of things we're told not to do, but smoking is one of them, because some people smoke weed but Pam didn't want it done during camps.
So Kel's trying figure out ways to steal a few minutes to smoke without anyone knowing while we're rooming together on some away trip.”
SM: “Which would be unusual anyway...”
LW: “Exactly. And I'm thinking 'why is this b**ch making excuses to leave the room every five or six hours?' So I rifle through her stuff—I mean she could be doing drugs, right?--and I find the pack of smokes, but right next to it I find a...um, unusual feminine hygiene accessory. So I put both of them out on the nightstand between the beds and she comes back after a bit. I pay her no mind but she speaks up 'why are you going through my stuff?' and I said why are you using the said item, are you crazy? (laugh) She knows I'm teasing her, but she's like 'don't say anything about the smokes. I should've just told you'. So of course I say I was worried you might be doing something far worse, so yeah, you should've told me.”
SM: “So you going through her things ended up not being a big deal?”
LW: “No, because we borrow from each other all the time. Usually we'll say right up front, I borrowed such and such. I think we are at the point that if we're trying keep something from one another we wouldn't be carrying it around in our suitcases or shoulder bags.”
SM: “Let's talk about Chromatika for a bit. Although the club has had a few down years, you are still a popular overseas player in the Red League, and you are exempt from the foreign player limit because of the amount of time you've been there.
LW: “It's a really great nation to play in, the fans are very passionate, the rivalries are intense. After Foxchester, I really didn't know how things were gonna play out. Alan (Wiseman) and I talked about every other day to each other, wondering if the players from AO nations were going to be expelled, whether the FAC was going to tell us to come back.
When they explained how the “resident player” would work out, I felt a sense of relief because I really enjoy Chromia, the club and would've hated to have to leave over political circumstances.”
SM: “Of course the country's more recent history was dominated by political turmoil, how much does the past play in the every day life of folks there?”
LW: “I didn't know anything about the Rainbow Revolution when I first arrived in the country, but I was told that some clubs had hostile relationships with others based on old loyalties. I've learned quite a bit more about the people and how they pulled down the old social order and replaced it with something democratic and equal. As for the daily impact, it's getting farther behind in the rear view mirror to the under 30 generation but you still read about isolated grievances from the old days popping up occasionally.”
SM: “You face (Wiseman) twice a season and of course he's tall centerback so the two of you probably have some epic battles and you were both part of the Under 18 Championship...
LW: “I still have a hard time getting my around the fact that there's only half a dozen or so of us left from that team. Sam was 18 but the rest of us were 17's on that squad.”
SM: “Is there anything about the other in terms of playing style that you don't know?”
LW: “He's always been a big oaf, never been able to stay with me for long. (laughs) I love Alan, as we both have the same frames of reference to view our Chromatik experiences through. He's a middle child of the opposite sex like me, he was at Corries Academy at 17, obviously we have the same cultural upbringing. Even though we play in different parts of the country, we stay in touch pretty regularly, mainly because we have known one another for a long time. If he was 3 or four years younger, I don't know if we'd have the same close off the field relationship.”
SM: “There's talk that you might see your role at Anomalies changing, that you won't start as many matches in the coming season?”
LW: “We've talked about that, and if it's something that's better for the club, then I'm all for it. It'd be nice to win another title, or get back to the Champions League, and if me playing off the bench more will get us there, so be it. I am 'Late Game Lainey' after all (laughs).”
SM: “Thank you for taking the time and congratulations on 100 caps, best of luck the rest of the tournament.”
LW: “You are very welcome Scott, it has been a blast.”

Lineup vs TotoMishin:

Kelley; Edmonds, Wiseman, Harrison (C); Ryan, Logan, Buxton, Altman; Price; Baum, McDavid

Lineup vs Ranoria:

Johnston; Hutchins, Onikambe, Freeman; Eichorn, Wiley, Vetter, Reynolds; Craig; West (C), Pryor

by **Adab** » Sun May 22, 2022 1:36 am

Tuesday, December 21, 2038
Sajnur 0-1 Adab
Adab scorers: Yargab (87’)
Tuesday, December 28, 2038
Adab 0-2 Ceni
Adab scorers: None

A Dance with Football
Snapshots of the lives of the people involved in Adabian football and those associated with them
For a full list of chapters click here. To read all the chapters in one go click here
For an (incomplete) list of major/prominent characters in this story click here and scroll down to the ‘Football’ section

Chapter 65: Crossroads

Taymour Frangieh’s house
Adab City

“You ever think it would come to this?” Taymour Frangieh slid his phone across the table to a contemplating Enlilbani Yargab, who silently – with the flick of a finger – slid it right back at Taymour. There was no greater reason for their sliding the phone back and forth; they simply had little else to do. Eni’s eyes did not stay in one place, moving constantly and restlessly between Taymour, the table, the wall towering over them, and all the furniture around them, wordlessly admiring the amenities as if he intended to purchase the house.

“No,” Eni shook his head in the midst of looking around. His head craned back, his eyes were now rising to the ceiling, retracing the path up the wall he had taken time and time again in the midst of his pondering. Taymour slid the phone yet again at him; without looking back, Eni moved his finger to the phone, and pushed it back to its owner.

“You know, Eni, if you want out of this, then it’s your choice,” Taymour continued, looking at the wandering face of his friend who hadn’t even bothered to look back at him for some time now. “I know the price I – we – have to pay if we continue on with this.”

“I think it’s a bit too late for that, isn’t it?” Eni chuckled almost sarcastically, shifting around on his chair and running his hand down his cheeks to the jaw, rubbing the skin softly. “It’s a bit like asking if you want a commutation of your sentence when the firing squad is aiming at you.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Taymour nodded with a closed smile. “I don’t know if we can do anything more, to be honest. We’ve done all we could, now we need the people’s support to push us to the finish line.”

“I still can’t believe we’ve actually caused protests, riots,” Eni managed a little smile himself, turning his head to check the time on that clock on the wall. “I just wanted to be a footballer. But now we are swept along in… whatever this is.”

“We are only the match that lit the fire,” Taymour said. “This is a long time coming, and we are not alone. We got this.”

“All because of those two,” Eni’s lips parted just enough to show the teeth under his smile. He shook his head rapidly, his smile growing somewhat brighter. “Ah, love.”

“Love is what makes life meaningful,” Taymour continued, lowering his head, shuffling his legs as he looked at the floor under the table.

“Do you have any regrets about, you know, all this? Getting involved in all this?”

“No,” Taymour replied, clicking his fingers on the table as his other hand gripped the phone and slid it into the pocket of his trousers. After a moment of silence, he resumed. “I couldn’t stand up for myself, Eni, when it was my time, you know that. Now I must stand up for others.”

Eni offered no reply, nor did his expression change. He understood; nothing more needed to be said on this subject. “Do you think we will succeed? They’ve got quite the amount of supporters too.”

“I don’t know if we’ll succeed or not,” Taymour’s eyes rose back to the table and to Eni, still restlessly shifting on his chair and taking in the furniture, “but we’ll make it succeed.”

A gentle knock on the door interrupted the conversation. From the other side, Taymour bade him come in. It was his housekeeper, looking confused as his eyes rapidly scanned his employer and the guest. They could see he had something important to say. “Mr. Frangieh, there’s a phone call downstairs. I think you should pick it up now.”

“Who is it?” Taymour inquired.

“It’s Amarutu Tabira, sir.”

“Him? That politician?”

“Wannabe revolutionary,” Eni dryly added.

Emma Arthur and Alulim Sinmuballit’s house
Adab City

“Emms, can I come in?”

“Sure,” said that voice from the inside softly. The door creaked open and Alu leaned forward, wondering what kind of scene he would come across in the room. But it wasn’t that much of a scene; Emma was sitting on the edge of the bed, but she wasn’t crying like he feared and did not appear distraught or anything. If anything, she was calm and serene, staring at the wall.

“Hey, uh, you alright?” Alu slipped in through the half-open door, stopping as soon as he was fully inside. As much as he wanted to sit next to Emma on the bed, he did not dare to, sensing that he would be intruding too much on her personal space at the moment. So he stood there, looking at Emma looking at the wall.

“I’m fine,” she flashed a smile. “I’m… sorry if that was, uh, inconvenient or I was-“

“No, no, Emms, it’s fine,” Alu said, then quickly raising his hand. “No, don’t talk anymore for now. Look, I owe you an explanation. I love you, Emms, you know that. I always will. It’s just that… these recent events have taken a toll on me, on you, on us… so I just feel that, uh…”

“It’s not the right time.”

“Well, uh, I wouldn’t put it that way. It’s just… you know, things are obviously not really under our control right now, and it’s not your fault. It’s not… look, we’re just kinda taken along for a ride in all this and it’s been hard on you, on me, on us. I know it’s been hard on you.”

“Hey, it’s fine,” she still fixed her eyes on the wall, although the smile had faded. “I know it’s been hard on you, too.”

“When was the last time you called your mother anyway?”

“Two days ago.”

“Do you miss her?”

“Well, a bit I guess, but you know what they think about you and me. No, don’t ask me to choose again. You know the answer already.”

“Well, actually Emms,” Alu said slowly, “I’m hoping I won’t have to make you choose or anything. Look, it’s been hard on both of us, but particularly on you. I know you don’t want any part of this circus and the media is, well, the media. So, what I’m saying is, maybe, how about if for now, maybe I can leave this place, go back to my place, maybe it’ll lessen the pressure-“

Emma turned her head sharply at him. Where the smile once was, there was now a look of confusion. “Are you saying we should break up?”

Alulim and Rashid Abbas’ bungalow
Adab City

“It’s nice seeing him comfortable here,” Rashid told Sabiha and Maria with a relieved smile, looking over Sabiha’s shoulder at the new staff member just exiting the living room. “And that cook, don’t forget to tell him to cook exactly what my dad likes. As you know, familiarity is what he needs now.”

Sabiha and Maria nodded in understanding. “Alright,” Rashid nodded back and clenched his lips. “I’ve got to go now. I need to attend to some business. Hopefully it won’t take too long.”

As Rashid turned around and made his way past the open door and out of the bungalow, passing the ordinarily-dressed group of security personnel furnished by the Sovereign Prince, he breathed in the open air deeply and took stock of his surroundings. The chaos and inferno of yesterday had died down somewhat, although there were still (peaceful) protests at several points in the city. Yet everyone knew – and Rashid just knew – that this was the lull before the storm. The rebels in the national team would be fired. Staff members might also be shown the door. They might also be banned from club football, but obviously at this point this was mostly speculation. But everyone knew what was going to happen. The end times would come before Naram-Sin ever considered resigning.

All the signs did not bode well, but he knew he had to try. He was on a mission from the Prince.

He must talk to Naram-Sin.

Adab lineup for World Cup Qualifiers MD16 (January 11, 2039 vs. Eshialand away)

Starting lineup: Chandrasekar, Altun, Enmerkar (C), Issou, al-Maliki, Arthur (VC), Samanu, Emmita, Akaptaha, Yissakar, Barzani

Substitutes: Shulgi, al-Tikriti, Akshak, Thomas, al-Muntar, Orlev, Uhwan, Zambiya, al-Kufa, Yargab

by **Mytanija** » Sun May 22, 2022 5:09 am

EPISODE 1: DIRTY OLD TOWN
EPISODE 2: START AGAIN
EPISODE 3: BEYOND THE SEA
EPISODE 4: STEP ON
EPISODE 5: I’M FEELING IT (IN THE AIR)

The title music begins to play and a video montage of footballers playing on muddy pitches whirs across the screen. The camera images are grainy, these are clearly some old-timey footballers, the programme is clearly set at some undefined point in the future looking back on the past. Images of the Mytanar port city of Severyan are interspersed between the football, along with street scenes from Severyan and the supporters of the only football club in the city, Ararat. Above all there is a focus on the legendary manager, Misel Ravnjak, he can often be seen drinking or smoking or even on a television chat show. Finally, the montage settles on the title image.

EPISODE 6: BLUE MOON

“Our discussions were mainly around what we would need to make sure that winning the league, or trophies in general really, wasn’t a once in a blue moon experience for Ararat Severyan. We knew we were going to lose players, that was a given, success brings that for clubs of our size, but the gaffer was very clear that he wanted to ensure we could come back – give international and regional competitions a good go – and then possibly challenge for more domestic honours as well. We knew that it would be hard work, but Misel Ravnjak had this knack for identifying talent, he was confident.” Mateja Stojkovic, the player who won two titles under Ravnjak and then became his assistant manager perhaps understood that knack better than anybody.

“Was he concerned when losing half of the spine of his team? Dordo Urbanc being picked up by Spartangrad in Eura and Bosko Pestotnik heading over to Mipojoseon in Quebec to play alongside Semir Besak. They were big losses, surely?” The interviewer asks.

“Definitely, there was no doubting that. We knew, the players knew, but these were young players who had given their all for the team and had delivered something incredible. It wasn’t like Omer Kuhar-Arh, where they perhaps left a year too early, I’m not sure anybody could have predicted what came afterwards. The gaffer had confidence, he always did, but I’m not sure even he would really have believed we could go on to do what we did.”

“The move for Radovan Pogaenik came early in the window, you said you had a role in that?”

“Yeah. The manager had heard that he had one year left on his contract, but we didn’t know for sure and apparently Radovan’s agent was being a bit evasive on the subject too, the gaffer thought it was about trying to drive up the wages and then the fee he could collect. So in the end he asked me to speak to Radovan directly. I had played alongside him a few years before, in between the two titles I won with Ararat. Radovan emerged from the youth system and was a fantastic talent, but he left for Liria, the wages were better there and their prospects were generally better. He won a league title with them too, so I don’t think it was a bad move for him.”

“And when you spoke to him, what was the response? Did he have a year left? Was he open to a possible move?”

“Aye, he did only have a year left and yes he was open to a move. Liria looked to be restructuring their midfield, Radovan was getting a bit older and they’d brought in Emil Kitinov from NK Dyka to play alongside Bruno Ozmec and Davor Mahovlic. Radovan was 30, had a year left and he wanted to play regularly. He knew Dordo Urbanc was probably going to move on and that we’d need a slightly more attacking-minded player to go alongside Jonatan Rebernik in that midfield two. Plus he wanted to return home, he was from just outside Severyan and had two kids and they’d never stepped foot in Rauchnya. It was an ideal move for both us and him.”

“And Liria? Were they open to it?”

“Of course, with a year left on his contract they needed to either sell him or they would lose him for free in 12 months. We had a 13.5 million corun [around NSD 4.5 million] on the table from Spartangrad for Dordo Urbanc so we actually had a bit more money to play with than usual and we knew there were other clubs looking at Radovan so the gaffer was pretty aggressive and told the board to go straight in with a 2.25 million corun [around NSD 750,000] bid.” Mateja pauses for a second, sipping some water. “I think they normally might have balked at that sort of money being spent so hastily, but Misel had worked with Radovan before and knew what he was about. Once he had his heart set on a player coming in he didn’t really want anybody else and he didn’t want another team swooping in for him. The board put the bid in, Radovan agreed personal terms himself over the phone, I’m not sure his agent was too pleased. Then he came up to Severyan for his medical the next day and signed the contracts. Job done.”

“Wow, that quick?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty rare for it to happen that quickly.” Mateja laughs. “I’m glad it worked out though, Radovan was a superb signing for the whole group, international experience, the right attitude. All of that sort of thing.”

“And then the Goran Stojkov move happened a couple of days later?”

“Yeah, now this one was all the gaffer. I didn’t even know this was happening until literally a few hours before it was announced.” Mateja laughs again, the haphazard nature of it all rather unusual in what can often be quite a hardnosed market in Mytanija. “Similar circumstances, CDSA were changing their style of play and the gaffer spotted an opportunity. Hit them with a take it or leave it offer and they needed to raise some funds so they went for it.”

“Was Stojkov intended to come in as a starter originally?”

“No, not at all, although I didn’t know that originally. Stojkov had had a few difficult seasons with CDSA, at one time he was thought of as a potential national team player but he never really reached that standard. The gaffer knew that Ermin Urankar would be leaving, a Chromatik side had made a lucrative bid for him, but he also trusted young Asmir Milosevic to come into the side as Urankar’s replacement. He was going to start new full-backs on both sides for the new seasons, both academy products, Neo Susec was the right-back.”

“So why was he bringing Stojkov in?”

“He still needed a left-back, Urankar was leaving, so he wanted another option for the position and he wanted one who had Top League experience. Goran Stojkov had just turned 28, but he had plenty of that over the years. He wasn’t going to be a world beater by any means, Goran would say the same himself, but he was another hard-working player. He would do a job in domestic games, unlike what I did sometimes in my last season. But most importantly it would allow Asmir the chance to ease himself in, if the kid made any errors then Stojkov could take over for a couple of games and the gaffer could say it was in the name of rotation. Following in Ermin Urankar’s footsteps was always going to be hard for a young lad from Severyan, Ermin was a hero in the city and it was big shoes to fill, so the boss wanted to reduce the pressure on him.”

“Is that why the same didn’t happen with Neo Susec at right-back?”

“More or less, I don’t think Belmin Kodrie would mind me saying that he wasn’t the same level of player as Ermin Urankar was for Ararat Severyan.” Mateja chuckles. “Honest, never stopped trying, but he didn’t have the quality Ermin had. Neo had less pressure from the start because of that.”

“And then I guess it was the biggest move of them all, the most expensive one, Chloe Koppenol arriving?”

“Yeah, absolutely. The pressure certainly was on that transfer and it was one Misel, myself and all the coaches discussed at length. We looked at a few domestic options, but Top League clubs knew we had a bit of cash burning a hole in our pockets so the options we were looking at were out of the price range we wanted to pay—”

“Had Urbanc, Urankar and Pestotnik all left the club at this point?” The interview interjects.

“Yeah, they had, a total of 34.5 million coruns [around NSD 11.5 million] for the three of them. A ridiculous amount of money in Mytanar football at the time and it allowed us to spend a fair bit to replace them and the club then used what was left on facilities, improving the training ground and that sort of thing. There were some renovations to Korecky Road too, much needed at the time.”

“How did you end up choosing Koppenol?”

“The gaffer was the one who ended up choosing, of course, but we had seen her get relegated with Brisara in the Red League and whilst sometimes that is a major red flag for defenders we decided differently. She was positionally solid, really important in a Misel Ravnjak system, plus her underlying stats were strong. We felt we could mould her into a solid defender with some time. She was only 25 too, so still yet to hit her peak as a central defender and the fact she was Licentian was a bonus. Mytanar clubs usually go for Rushmori players, people know it’s a slightly less difficult challenge for them to acclimatise to Mytanija, but Licentians had done well in the country in recent seasons and we knew from a few Mytanars in the Red League that Koppenol had something. She could be a good player with the right coaching.”

“Was a 3 million corun [NSD 1 million] fee off-putting, at all?”

“I don’t think the gaffer was as keen on spending that kind of money on Chloe at the time as he was on spending a similar amount on Radovan Pogaenik. But that was just because we’d seen Radovan play in Mytanija, we knew what he could do. It was a bit more of a gamble, but we needed a centre-back and if it paid off we could have a partnership between Mingrong Yuan and Chloe Koppenol which would see us through the next five seasons at least. As long as we could keep hold of the pair. The gaffer liked a gamble from time-to-time, so he went for it.”

“Did this move hit any snags, at all?”

“Not really, I think Brisara might have liked slightly more, they had been relegated and probably needed a bit of cash as a result. So that side of it was fine. Chloe’s decision took a little longer. She had clubs from a few different countries interested and I think she wanted to make sure the decision was the correct one. I’m pretty sure she spoke to Anne-Linde van Oers to hear about what life was like in Mytanija, it was a big move for her, but whatever Anne-Linde said to her must have been okay because a few days later we got the word. She would be joining us too. The only other business was Petra Hall, a young Tumbran midfielder who some scouts recommended to us, I watched some video and told the gaffer he had to take a chance on her. She might not start for us this season but she could become a talent.”

“You felt you could work with her?”

“Of course, being a midfielder I thought there were things I could help her develop. We got her on a free, what a bargain that was. All of those transfers that summer ended up being such excellent value for money.”

“And you held a press conference for all four, despite them being announced over several weeks?”

“Yeah, the gaffer always liked to do that, I think it was to show that the players were all part of the team rather than individuals. I know the likes of Atletik and Liria loved to do big press conferences for their signings but for Ararat it was always about the group more than any single person. It was very much in keeping with that ethos.”

“Well we’re gathered here for Ararat Severyan to introduce their four new signings to us,” One sports reporter says to the camera in an extremely serious manner. “It’s been a busy summer for the club after their fairy-tale title win last season, their starting line-up has been broken apart but they’ve been hard at work in finding replacements and they’re all here now.”

The montage starts up again, showing Bosko Pestotnik being introduced at Mipojoseon, Semir Besak there as part of his presentation. Two young Mytanars playing for one of the strongest clubs in Quebec. Pestotnik, still only 18, looks very much like a kid who is making his first trip overseas. Besak is there, along with the Mipojoseon suits, to put an arm around him. The footage them flashes to Ermin Urankar joining Anomalies, playing alongside Damir Milcic and taking up a slightly more advanced position to the one he had become used to with Ararat. Milcic and Urankar can be spotted sharing a joke as they run through their warm-up exercises. Then the footages moves on to Dordo Urbanc, the most high-profile of the moves, joining Euran giants Spartangrad. The young midfielder is seen shaking hands with his new manager and the club chairman, holding up the famous shirt to a chorus of flashbulbs and shutter clicks.

“Three huge losses for Ararat Severyan no doubt,” A radio presenter laments. “And look at who they’re bringing in to replace these players! Goran Stojkov is a mid-table full-back; Radovan Pogaenik has been good but is arguably on the decline; Petra Hall is fresh out of some Tumbran youth team; and Chloe Koppenik? Koppenool? Chloe Koppenol, is that it? Well, apologies Chloe, but she’s just been relegated from the Chromatik league! What is Misel Ravnjak thinking???”

The footage flashes back to the presentation of the four players and they are undergoing the same rigmarole which the departed players had to go through at their new clubs. The four can be seen side-by-side, holding up their new red and white shirts and shaking the hands of Misel Ravnjak and Mateja Stojkovic. Their new manager and assistant manager. There are less flashbulbs than Dordo Urbanc’s presentation; none of them look as nervous as Bosko Pestotnik at his; and there’s a few more laughs than even Ermin Urankar alongside his fellow Mytanar Damir Milcic during his first training session with Anomalies. The atmosphere seems – on the whole – a lot more relaxed.

“What do you say to the charge that you’re replacing some proven top-class, title-winning players with players who are either not to the required standard, on the decline, or unproven in Mytanija?” A particularly brave journalist asks Misel Ravnjak. Goran Stojkov and Radovan Pogaenik can be seen muttering to one another, both smirking. Mateja Stojkovic puts a defensive arm around Petra Hall.

“I think you have some gall to sit there and ask that question before any of these players have kicked a ball for us in this new season.” Misel Ravnjak shot back. “I signed these players because I think they can add a lot to our group, I think they’re up to the standard we have set at this club over the past couple of years and I think they’ll more than prove that over the course of this season.”

The footage fast-forwards to the players filing out of the press conference, Mateja Stojkovic and Misel Ravnjak following them out. Just as Ravnjak appears to be leaving the room he turns to the assembled reporters. “Sorry, I was wrong about one thing, Radovan Pogaenik actually has kicked a ball for this club before and he was fucking sensational!”

by **Cassadaigua** » Sun May 22, 2022 7:58 am

What the heck is going on?
By Kelsey LeClair, Concord Heights Times, Current Events

In most of Cassadaigua, you may have woke up Friday morning thinking it would be just like any other day, wondering about your weekend plans and perhaps talking with your co-workers about Princess Brianna’s claim to the throne. That alone, is very interesting. If you lived anywhere near Northbury, in the north central part of the nation, or in East Amherst, in the northeast part of the country, then it was not an ordinary day.

“I woke up this morning and there was a tank going down my usually peaceful road in front of the house. Yeah, traffic can be busy, but you never expect to see a tank,” said East Amherst resident Julie Anderson, “My eight year old saw it, and thought it was cool. You would expect that from an eight year old child, but it was very weird.” Anderson said that she was ready to write off seeing the tank as probably just one being relocated from one part of the country to another, and she was just opportunistic to see it as it was being transported. “Then, there was another one. And another one. They just kept coming, it went from being pretty cool to wondering what the hell is going on. Should I be concerned? Obviously I turned on the news immediately but nothing was being said. I didn’t understand.” Many residents of East Amherst reported the same kind of thing, wondering why all of this military equipment was being seen in the city. East Amherst is the biggest city in northeast Cassadaigua that is outside of the Concord Heights metro area. In Northbury, with is a more central location along the northern edge of the nation, there were more reports of military equipment being moved to the city. Sources there say that it seemed as though a lot medical tents were being set up about 15-20 miles to the east of Northbury. “I drive on Highway 112 every morning to go to work in Northbury,” said Matthew Van Zandt, a resident of the very rural town of Andover, 25 miles east of Northbury, “It’s usually a very tranquil ride with open fields, I like taking that route instead of hopping on the interstate. So, I am driving along the road where I would see those fields, but there were medical tents all over. Then, a few miles down the road, I saw tanks. It really freaked me out. I stopped listening to the song I was enjoying, and turned on the radio, and there was nothing being said other than some increased traffic on nearby roads. Something is obviously going on, then you remember that the Queen significantly increased military spending this year.” Safe to say that Friday was not an ordinary day, and it certainly has not been an ordinary period of time here in Cassadaigua, with Brianna I making the claim to the throne and the Royal Court still, apparently, discussing the matter.

At the moment, there is no new news to report in regards to Brianna’s claim. A few rallies have popped up in different portions of the country, with the New Lakeland area emerging as the hot spot for those wishing to see Brianna I be the next Queen of Cassadaigua, and not Cassie III. They were not large rallies, and there were no reports of arrests or any violence. Within Concord Heights, there was a similar rally to show support of Cassie III. As in New Lakeland, there was not any issues that came about with them. All of that might be on the back burner now as people wonder, “What is up with the tanks?” All together, it seemed as though the movement of military equipment went north from Concord Heights to East Amherst, while the medical equipment went north from Grande Mountain and/or Winchester to the Northbury area. There has always been a military base to the west of Northbury, but it has mainly been an air force base. There are plenty of planes at the base right now, so we did not see much activity in that regard, at least not yet.

Rachel LaSalle, a top military advisor to the Queen said in a statement, “We want to first advise all of our citizens to not be alarmed by what you are seeing on the news, and if you live in the areas around Northbury and East Amherst, to not be alarmed by what you are seeing with your own eyes. The Queen has been in contact with the leadership of Sicoutimont to assure them that this has nothing to do with them. And I absolutely promise you, this movement of military equipment has nothing to do with Sicoutimont. No other Rushmori nation should have any concern with what we are doing. You are fine. And of course, out of Rushmore nations should not be concerned, either.” That statement might make foreign countries feel better, especially Sicoutimont, since a lot of this movement is near to their nation (which some say has ceased to exist). We have had an extremely peaceful relationship with our eastern neighbor over the years and nothing has happened recently for that to change. It, however, does not do anything for Cassadagans who want to know what the heck is going on. Queen Cassie II has not made any comment as to what is going on, either. But this is certainly a great talking point for those wondering about the odd decisions being made by the Queen as she gets older in age, and thinking that she should be stepping down because of it.

Princess Brianna posted on social media that she does not know what is going on specifically but did know of an order by the Queen to movement equipment north of Grande Mountain. She does not believe that this has anything to do with her claim to be the next queen, but did mention that the timing of this was pretty interesting. Princess Cassie III only made a short statement that, “I have talked to my mother about what is going on, and understand her rationale behind it.” Nothing more was said by her so clearly everything now is, “top secret”. We’ll just have to sit and wait, but I can’t remember a time in my life where the Cassadagan military was showing this much activity. If this was something as simple and basic as moving equipment from one location to another and that was the end of it, then the Queen and Cassie III would have just come out and said that, as would Rachel LaSalle, who we think is the General in charge of all of this, but even on that, we don’t know for certain.

What do we do now? Just sit back and wait, I guess, and maybe enjoy World Cup qualifying or something like that. Chelsea Dufresne, our sports writer can tell you a lot more about what is going on in that regard but we can all see where the Fillies stand in the very competitive Group 5. They are 10-1-2, and in second place within the group. They could be said to be in a virtual tie with Sarzonia, who is three points behind them but has a game in hand. Morgan Rosenblatt has been hot, with four goals in the last two games, and the team will need her to continue to be like that. All of that seems a little secondary right now to the questions that are going on within the nation. We need answers, and I imagine there will be interesting developments in the very short term.

by **Acastanha** » Sun May 22, 2022 8:26 am

A Question of Diplomacy

Just a few days ago, Bendahara of Eraman, Tun Rendra Usin, made a controversial statement about changing the region's name, Acastanhada government make their official stand to remain neutral on the issue. Bendahara of Eraman however took the suggestion made by Acastanhada government to bring the issue to AMAN, the region's association of nations. President of Acastanha, Joao Makarin, gladly accepted the invitation from Honorable Tun Rendra Usin.

The meeting however will not just resolve about the naming issue. As the region's is getting unstable, the AMAN's meeting is regard as an appropriate decisions. Although the possibility of Cakranegaran government to join the meeting is probably low as the country is undergoing their referendum.

The government delegation will consists of the Vice President, Mrs. Miranda Garbuno. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Cezar Weilako. Minister of Defense, Mrs. Anna Hostana and Minister of Economy, Mr. Felix Gujarda.

The political experts are in a fuss when they mention Minister of Economy in the delegation list. As the meeting is about the security of the region, it is a questionable move to bring along Minister of Economy. Opposition leader, Benigno Karpanyo, said that the government use the meeting as a place to gain economic agreement. Their taking advantages from the meeting, he stated. Although it is not 100% wrong, but Karpanyo's statement have raise another issue in the country, economy.

With their large landmass, Acastanha economy can be said mediocre compare to the other countries in the region. Much of the country's economy is still relying on farming and forestry with a small scale industry and mining. They are one of the biggest CPO exporter in the region with Pemecutan is their main trader. But the government effort to bring industrialization to the country have been criticized.

This meeting is the best place for our government to make an economic agreement with other countries. We can strengthen our relationship to other countries through trade. As of now, our main trading partners are Springmont, Kayangan, Sendhang and Pemecutan. But we can broaden our partners to others.

Catarina Barkaro, political expert

Barkaro also despise Karpanyo's statement who somehow looks like a mockery. In the recent days, Karpanyo's have been voiced strongly his opposition to many of the government policies which he deemed have create more and more segregation to the country. Something that he wants to stop. But no matter what the opposition say, the government is still continue their plan to attend the AMAN's leader meeting at Daulapura, Eraman. This will be the meeting of the year as this is the first time that the region's leaders meet again after the Thousandsfork meeting which created AMAN.

by **Squidroidia** » Sun May 22, 2022 8:45 am

"All of that training, all of that determination and yet you STILL don't win against SOLDERA!"

Okay, maybe it wasn't Moliza, but the Soldera national team were the thorn in this Squidroidia side. They appeared to be an easy going team if it wasn't for them being in the hunt for a playoff spot, but for whatever reason, time and time again the Squidroidians were just dumbfounded by their opposition. First a loss at home, baffling enough, but now a draw. In Soldera. To put Drawkland in the driver's seat towards an automatic spot for Farfadillis and Græntfjall. This was SQUIDROIDIA, a team that, as the top seed in the group, was expected to qualify automatically and not worry about a 2 legged tie to make the show. And yet, here they were, the team having a bad mood to them as they looked at their manager Adam Johnson.

"What part of Soldera don't you UNDERSTAND? You're out there for 90 minutes and yet you couldn't even get a GOAL against them? Not even that, you couldn't get a GOOD chance! This isn't Drawkland, this isn't Vilita, this is SOLDERA!" Adam's face turned red from the frustration that he had. His team could do better, surely. "That's 2 more points down the drain. 2 points. 2 points that could make a difference on who leads the group. And guess what you did? You messed up EVERYTHING!" This went on for quiite a while. Yeah, Johnson didn't have any of it. Some of the players felt dejected after that talk.

Others, well, they stepped up.

Squidroidia 2, Togonistan 0
Inkopolis City Stadium, Inkopolis, Squidroidia
Wunderbar Quatro '32, Wunderbar Seis '78

The 15 year old Wunderbars, whoever they may be, had a barnstorming day against Togonistan. First Quatro, then Seis, they did it all. It seemed like Squidroidia didn't need the team that they had anymore, at least for this one game. But the Wunderbars wanted more. They needed...

More playing time. More opportunities. If they can carry a team to a victory when it was certainly needed, they thought, they could do anything. Their light blue eyes slightly glew as they ran through training with ease, better than any other of the players. A figment of chaos dragging in order into the Squidroidian team. Uno wanted to replace Akiyama. Dos and Thres to replace Bertolini and Korin. Cinco to replace Brooks. It was a game of replacements.

Johnson said no. At least, until next cycle.

They didn't have any of it. They started fighting the Squidroidian team. 6 v 17. Chaos in its purest form. They wanted their opportunity, and they weren't taking no for an answer. As long as they all didn't start, they would keep doing this. Every day. Fighting and raising alertness and fear within the team. Was it the secret formula to take Squidroidia over the top?

Only time will tell.

by **PotatoFarmers** » Sun May 22, 2022 9:36 am

Poafmersia 4–1 Football Tiger
Poafmersian Goalscorers: Michael Jackson 20' (assisted by Magreta Rym); Agapito Murphy 45' (assisted by Seet), 84' (assisted by Jackson); Onesimos Jain 90+3' (assisted by Murphy)
Poafmersian Lineup (4-3-3): Nicole Potts (c); Mac Rojas, Huangdi MacRae, Diamond Byan, Zak Kaloyanov; Michael Jackson, Min Berg, Magreta Rym; Tessa Bjarnesn, Agapito Murphy, Leontiy Seet
Poafmersian Substitutes: Onesimos Jain (Seet 60'); Erle Sartini (Berg 71'); Nacro Astro (Byan 85')

Ko-oren 2–0 Football Tiger
Poafmersian Goalscorers: None
Poafmersian Lineup (4-3-3): Nicole Potts; Mitchel Rosales, Ali Berger, Nacro Astro, Zak Kaloyanov; Michael Jackson, Min Berg, Lesia Astrauskas; Janelle Frederick, Jordan Huerta, Onesimos Jain
Poafmersian Substitutes: Liina Williamson (Frederick 73')； Aapeli Shea (Jackson 80'); Leontiy Seet (Jain 88')

Editor's note: In this series on youth football in Poafmersia, there could possibly be some tear in the time fabric. Changes about the Poafmersian youth football happened in the IFCF 10/PDL 15 season, which happens around 2-3 years prior to the current World Cup Qualifiers. This was made following the cancellation of the 14th season of the PDL which happened alongside IFCF9, following a series of low quality matches and player pool issues. As part of the reforms, the PDL was reformed to reduce the number of academies, pooling the resources to allow the up and coming players to be more well developed. Furthermore, clubs are now given more incentive to run the academy well using a revised carrot and stick approach that really punished teams for ther poor performance. Every section of the RP, separated by a horizontal line, will indicate to you when it was published, to facilitate movements in the time fabric.

Time: Professional Developmental League Season 15, Matchday 5 weekend

You can't say that Aleksandar Malloye was in a really happy mood going into Matchday 5. Many people had put the blame of the early results on the Dalaris City Juniors captain, who was simply not in form for any of the first 4 games. The first game was a trip to Madaris, where he fumbled the ball for a few times and resulted in a bunch of mistakes, leading to a 4-1 defeat. SImilar problems happened against Fiskadaha FC U19s, especially with the defence failing to stop Elliott Teo from scoring a hat-trick. The pace of Teo was simply to much for the defence, and Malloye knew very well how hard it is to stop his shots. On this occasion, Teo was absolutely dominant against his fellow Under-18 team keeper, and Malloye let 3 through. Therefore, first two matchdays in, and Dalaris City Juniors was rooted to the bottom with the worst goal difference. Mathcday 3 wasn't exactly his fault, but he did well to stop May Person from executing his magic from the left side of the field. Of course, we do have to mention Tate Maynard, the 18-year old holding midfielder. Looking back, we would have known that Maynard would be in and out of injury stints, putting his position as the replacement for Min Berg into serious question, but at that time, nobody knew that. Maynard did come back from an injury stint that caused him to miss the first 2 fixtures, and his return to the starting lineup was well received. In general, the defence did improve, holding FC United to a goalless draw, but there wasn't much other positives to take away from the game. And game 4, during the Dalaris derby against Dalarsi Sports U19s, similar things could be said. Of course, as goalkeeper, you couldn't expect Malloye to contribute to offense, but, oh well, as the captain, the performance of your team tends to be the issue.

Anyways, we go into Matchday 5. Dalaris City Juniors was up against Kistina Galaxy U19s, who were at the top of the table going into Matchday 5. Table wise, it is indeed top versus the bottom. But Kistina Galaxy had a bunch of relatively easier fixtures, and that meant that the result was more or less expected. It was a battle of defence. But nevertheless, there was a really strong up and coming striker in the opposition team, Taliah Alcock. At that point, Alcock and Malloye has never met before, but they have always been part of a shortlist for a possible Di Bradini Cup team, which will happen once Poafmersia regroups and restarts its youth team structure. And so, Malloye vs Alcock would have been the key part of this match for what its worth.

12th minute. By this time, both sides already had 2 shots, though none of them was anywhere close to target. For 2 teams who would prioritise safety and posession, this was a really different from the expectations. Both teams are clearly thinking of the same thing - a goal would be what that should go first, and after that, the team could easily put 10 players behind the ball. Probably that, but both sides were also equally determined that the other side wasn't supposed to get close to goal. Alcock was having none of that. Just like how Alcock has been doing it in the past 4 wins, he made light work of the chasing defenders, pulling a nice trick to get the ball out of reach of the defender, than ran forward to catch the ball coming down. A nice trick, something that is, by now, a trademark of Alcock. As Alcock got closer to the box, Malloye was certainly nervous. He certainly didn't want to take the blame for the Young Rhinos' fifth consecutive winless game. But he also heard of Alcock's prowness in front of goal, and therefore, he knows he needs to be extremely careful in front of the really skilled and pacy young individual. The first time round, he opted to stay back and predict where Alcock was aiming for. Alcock saw how Malloye was not taking the bait to run up, and then decided to aim for a low corner, on the opposite side of Alcock. But at 1.91m, together with a decent dive, Alcock could reach for the ball and grab it nicely within his reach. One danger averted.

37th minute. A number of shots, corners and everything had passed, but both sides still remained goalless. Other players had been at play for the previous shots, but a mistake by one of the defenders meant that it was a penalty shot for Kistina Galaxy. And Alcock was the player to take the penalty. While Alcock was good in utilising weird opportunities for goal, he wasn't exactly the best in terms of one-on-ones. But this Kistina Galaxy had a policy for giving the guy who got the penalty the penalty kick, and so, Alcock took the penalty kick. Again, it was all the mindgames at play. Alcock looked at Malloye and pointed left. Malloye simply ignored Alcock - he knew that from the penalty kicks he watched since young, that whatever the opposition player tell you is simply all psychological plays at play. Ignoring the surroundings, he looked closely at Alcock. Alcock walked up to the ball from quite some distance out, and then, make a quick sprint before hitting the ball to the top left corner. Guess what - Malloye was indeed diving in the correct direction, and simply pushed the ball over the crossbar and out for a corner.

44th minute. Trust the Dalaris City defence to make yet another cock up - this time, it allowed Ashlee Torres, the right winger, to get the ball across the field and find Alcock. (Like, what in the world was that? Malloye thought.) But that was simply no opportunity to think about it, the two of them were engaged in a one-two and was heading straight for goal. Malloye knew it was a matter of mindgames once again. Just need to predict which player is the one taking the shot, and then go for that particular player. The defence was nearby trying to get towards the box to help, but Alcock took the ball and decided to go for it. Malloye stuck out his right foot, seeing it was a relatively low ball. But his foot wasn't necessary - the ball just bounced off the post and went out. Another danger averted.

The second half was equally as challenging, but certainly, after the many heroics of Alcock, the Dalaris City team was determined to go for the goal and grab their first win. They fought really hard, and for a whole 30 minutes, Alcock didn't really get bothered with many shots on target. Some were simple low-effort saves. Others simply missed the goal. And in the 75th minute, striker Rhodri Haworth managed to get a goal in for Dalaris City U19s, giving them a 1-0 lead, the first time they ever led a game in 5 PDL matches. After that, it was back towards defending, though Dalaris City did make a few brilliant counterattacks that were defended quite well. In the end, the match looked to end in the first win for Dalaris City.

91st minute. The fourth official indicated 2 minutes of stoppage time, so this was the last attack of the game. This time, it was Torres who was leading the charge with the ball, and the Dalaris City defenders were closely marking Malloye. But Malloye's speed was insane, he shot out of nowhere to beat the offside trap and got the nice cross from Torres. After finding the correct angle, he then proceeded to get the shot past Malloye. Malloye was taken slightly aback by this - he expected Torres to make the direct shot, and everything went really quickly past his eyes. Malloye went straight for the centre - he believed Alcock would dive to save the ball. But Alcock's reaction time was also really quick, he stabled himself to grab the ball from Malloye.

The whistle blew. The scoreboard writes:

Kistina Galaxy U19s 0–1 Dalaris City Juniors

by **Saterun** » Sun May 22, 2022 11:07 am

The Promised Land: A Journey Through Saterun Football
By Kalvin Hsemer

Part 2, Chapter 1: A New Beginning

It's fast-forward time. The end of Part 1 and the beginning of Part 2 happen quite far from each other. You would need to go decades from the end of the first season of the ECL to where the A Liga was first conceived. But here we are.

Unlike the previous part, in which I had to dig through old records to write about, much of this chapter will be firsthand knowledge. The A Liga has only run for a season, and I watched most of the games, including all of the games from my home team, Ias Club Football. But this first chapter is mainly comprised from two sources. One is Raymond Rairnes's journal, which he later published. The other is a fantastic article by Eliza Montrado, See You At the Gate. Both of these sources were immensely helpful, and a delight to read. Hopefully, I did the information they contained justice.

Our story starts in Daxler. Daxler's main claim to fame was being the nation's second historic capital, after Tsear and before Anasb. It was not much of a football city, although it does house the largest Saterun stadium, the Adam Antwerp Arena, which is used for WCQ and the Copa Nacional Final. You wouldn't think of this as somewhere that would start the idea of a new domestic system. But it was. The A Liga was conceived way before its initial first season this year. For a while, there had been five main leagues: The Eastern Cities League, Liga 1 West, The Northern Championship, Central Premiership, and the South Coast League. As you can probably tell, there was a main league for each part of Saterun. The amount of teams in this league varied, but most had around 8-14. The top few teams from each league (as well as the best independent teams) would play in the Island Cup each year. Yes, that was still a thing.

Raymond Rairnes was the SFF's coordinator in Daxler. His job was to regulate the Taça's (more about those in Part 3) and to help run the Central Premiership. In many ways, however, he was like Richard Austin. Primarily, it was his calling of meetings. One day, he left for Tsear on an administrative trip for the SFF. He stayed at the Siźien Hotel. Football magic tended to happen there. According to him, he was talking about the regional leagues when, all of a sudden, it hit him. Saterun really should have a domestic league. It seems sort of rushed, but, as he himself said, "It just appeared in my mind. One minute it wasn't there, the next it was." He quickly called all of the SFF leaders and booked the meeting room at the Siźien. He needed backing for the first step of his plan.

Ten people gathered at the meeting room. They were varying SFF officials. Rairnes made his presentation short and sweet. There was no extra fluff for me to write on and on about. He didn't manage to get a definitive answer. Part of the reason was because the leagues were mid-season. He needed to wait at least until the end of the Island Cup.

But it gave him time to plan and work for this. And work he did. He had several more meetings at the Siźien (quickly becoming a favorite SFF meeting spot). He also met with club executives. Most of them wanted to work with him. They were big clubs, and wanted to play other big clubs. The end of the Island Cup came and went. And Rairnes got his answer: No.

At first, he was devastated. He had put more work into it than my miniscule paragraph explains. But he had a plan. He had hoped the SFF wouldn't have forced him to play this card, but he needed to. He knew domestic Saterun football would be better with it. On January 14th, he called the leaders and executives of 16 of the best clubs he had talked to. He gave them the news: they were breaking off to form a new league. One that was higher and better than any of the regional leagues. And Rairnes would head it. All sixteen clubs agreed. You see, Rairnes was the type of person who could inspire faith. The club executives were very impressed by his meetings, and were willing to follow him. The idea of a bigger league with more fans per game and, consequently, more money, appealed to them. This new league would certainly be the top professional domestic league in Saterun. Again, however, this took a lot more work than I can explain.

Rairnes also traveled around the country, looking for potential partners of his new league. He realized that something this big would need financial backing. He looked at a few different businesses and corporations, but finally decided on the Trout Trade Federation. The TTF was easily the largest corporation in Saterun. They would pay somewhere around the five-figure mark to be the league's official partner for the first season. The exact number wasn't disclosed by Rairnes, but I suspect it was somewhere around §50,000. But right when it was all coming together, disaster struck. Two teams left. They had decided they didn't want part in this venture. So Rairnes had to schedule more meetings. It was certainly a test to his endurance. Rairnes managed to get one of those teams back, but had to find another team to fill that last place. The team he settled on? Ihaas Club Football. Rairnes had worked immensely on this project. But his endgoal was still not completely clear. Obviously, he wanted to have a top-flight professional league. But how was he going to get around the SFF?

Rairnes's endgoal was not to run a non-SFF sanctioned league. That would at the very least be extremely hard and possibly illegal. What he wanted was for the SFF to recognize that the clubs were willing to do this, and for the SFF to allow it. The now sixteen biggest clubs in Saterun had some power. The SFF realized they were slightly outmatched. On March 10th, they agreed. The new league could be formed.

*******

Glenn Lundquist stood over the corner flag. In the last minute of regular time, Saterun had won a corner. After Thiago's equalizer in the 78", the Claws had been high-tempo. They continually attacked, and this was their chance to win the game. Only a minute would be added on. Glenn brought his foot back. He swung a beautiful in-swinger right to Thiago. But...the kick hadn't been perfect. It was a little high over Thiago's head, and slightly behind him. So Thiago did the only thing he could. He turned around, jumped up, and slammed a bicycle kick into the top right corner. Saterun had taken the lead. Thiago ran over the away section and threw off his shirt, the crowd going wild. A minute later, the whistle blew. Saterun had just beaten the reigning Independent champion.

A few days later, they hammered Saltstead 4-1 at home to claim their sixth straight victory. Thiago got another goal in the 13th, before Hans-Jürgen Becker got a hat-trick. Abbas Yousafali was seen running on to the pitch at the final whistle. He congratulated all of his players. Six straight wins, headed by Thiago, Kaka, and Mitzinho. The Claws are quite low in the goals scored catagory, actually, but they don't concede much either. Their defense is the unsung hero of this campaign, really.

But they're biggest challenge will come next. They had drawn Pemecutan in the first fixture between the two. Now riding on the high of six straight wins, would they be able to add a seventh? They would also be facing their previous 1-goal demons against Raspotochje. The AAA would be itching to get revenge. Because of this recent surge in performance, Saterun sits 4th in its group, a point behind Cabo Azure. If the group keeps up the recent trends, it could come down to a climatic MD20 contest at Cabo Azure to decide who gets that second play-off spot. During an interview, when asked whether Saterun had expectations to qualify for their first ever WC, Abbas Yousafali said this: "If we hold on to fourth, or even fifth, it will be an immense achievement. This is a very hard group, and I am so proud of the lads. If we do finish in the top three, our job will be complete. I would call it a completely successful campaign for us to finish in the top three, even if we lose the play-offs. If we do make the actual World Cup, it would be more amazing than words can describe."

by **Tjorl** » Sun May 22, 2022 11:15 am

How can De Frostkjemper improve?

As the Qualifiers' end looms near, third spot in Group 2 is still up for grabs. With Nephara having a commanding lead in first place and Valentine Z in great form placed in second, no point must be wasted in the closing phase of the Qualifiers' group stage. Seven teams are within three points of the crucial position, with Tjorl being one of those teams. Despite all the chances they've had to jump a few places, Tjorl has squandered most of them. This has seen them only hover around sixth or seventh place, not a position they'd want to be in. So let's analyze what exactly De Frostkjemper is doing right and wrong.

First, their defense. While they haven't conceded the most goals, the Tjorlish defense has to realize that the offense might not get as much chances as they'd like, so a clean sheet is top priority. However, there have been various times where the defense just fell apart, leading to a goal for the opposing side. Exhibit A: Valentine Z's third goal on Matchday 1. An aggressive charge through the Tjorlish defense saw Holly Annemiek Gerrieke Van De Hoogte score the equalizing goal for the Valentians. Exhibit B: Nephara's second goal on Matchday 3. Out of all people, the Cormorants' left back Radeka Lind was the one who put the Tjorlish defenders to sleep en route to the goal that would give Nephara the lead. Other than that, the poor defense has lead to a couple of blowouts—results you DON'T want if you like qualifying to the World Cup. Therefore it is clear to coach Viktor Mandel that he has to somehow switch up De Frostkjemper's defensive tactics in a positive way.

Second, their offense. To quote a frustrated fan after the 4-0 loss against Nephara on Matchday 14, the Tjorlish offense has been "quite rubbish at times you don't want them to be rubbish". There have been quite a few chances here and there for the forwards, yet they haven't been clinical enough, hurting Tjorl's chances. Combine that with the regularly collapsing defense, and you have a recipe for disaster. Currently, they are tied with North and South Vietnam for second-least goals scored in the group. The dropped points become all the more frustrating when it is realized that De Frostkjemper had their chances to at least salvage some points. For example, Tjorl drew 0-0 at home against North and South Vietnam, a team that at the time, had zero points and sixteen conceded goals. Of course, the offense hasn't been all bad, as shown in some games where a tight match-up was decided by a crucial single goal.

Lastly, their consistency. It is quite odd that Tjorl is in decent form in one game, then completely forgets to show up in the next one. Momentum is something they should take advantage of, yet aren't. Despite the blowouts and painful defeats, the close victories (such as both wins against Mercedini) have been pivotal for Tjorl. There isn't much more to comment regarding Tjorl's consistency other than they should improve on it. However, De Frostkjemper's consistency would probably only become better if Tjorl also improves on other aspects of the game, mainly the defensive aspect.

SDP on course for a landslide electoral victory

After the May 2022 poll was conducted, it was reaffirmed that the Sosial Demokratisk Parti remains as the frontrunner for the 2022 Tjorlish federal elections. It wasn't surprising that the SDP was on top again, what was surprising was the margin of their lead. Currently, around 43.9 percent of the Tjorlish populace supports the SDP. Meanwhile, the Union Samfunns Nasjonal, the closest challengers to the SDP, only had 22.3 percent of the population supporting them. Another shock was De Grönnen's sudden contention for second, as their popularity increased from 18.5% last March to over 21.6%. The Primzahl Liberal Union remains in fourth with 8.6%, while the Kristien Solidaritet Parti (6.0%) stays above the Gemainsam Arbeid Parti (5.3%). Lastly, the Tradisjonell Mättlig Parti neither outperforms nor disappoints as they stay in seventh, while the controversial Forenet Tillid Union is at last. This month's polls have probably been the most interesting conducted survey so far, as new questions have arisen only weeks before the election. Can De Grönnen steal second from the USN? By how much will the SDP win? Will the GAP overtake the KSP?

by **Hapilopper** » Sun May 22, 2022 11:28 am

The Team Hapilopper Headquarters, Hapilopper City
After World Cup 91 Qualifying Match 13: Hapilopper 2-2 Euran Oceania Territories

For the first time since the match the EOT, Thom Perkins ran into Nathan Ellis, and to put it mildly, he wasn’t all that pleased to see him. Nathan had been suspended for the match after receiving a straight red card for leveling that poor kid from East Murbley. Without Nathan holding down that crucial position in goal, the EOT was able to take some points away from the Haps, and Thom knew exactly who was to blame.

Due to the suspension, the Hapilopper Football Association asked Nathan to stay away from the Team Hapilopper headquarters for the entire week leading up to the EOT match, and that he was prohibited from stepping foot on the Capital Stadium grounds. However, Dom Probst, head of the HFA, reminded Nathan that modern technology existed and that he should use it to his advantage. In other words, Dom was indirectly suggesting to him that he should continue calling in tactical ideas and advice to the team, all the way up to the start of the match.

So Nathan went to his apartment in Hapilopper City and spent the entire week “using modern technology for the greater good,” as Dom put it. But it still wasn’t good enough, and the Haps could only muster one point, rather than three, from the EOT, and boy was Thom furious about it.

“Ellis, you’re a fucking idiot sometimes, you know that?” Thom snapped at his assistant coach. “We needed you out there yesterday, but you got yourself suspended. Was it worth it? Tell me, Ellis, was it worth it?”

“You’re pissed about the red card?” Nathan asked. “God damn it, Perkins, I felt like that was the best thing I could have done at the time. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But I wasn’t worried about it because we’ve got a good team and good backups that can step in for situations like that. Maybe, rather than blaming me, just accept the fact that we just got caught with our pants down.”

“We got caught with our pants down because you pulled them down, you schmuck!” Thom shot back. “We needed you and we didn’t have you. We had Ashley Stanford and quite frankly she’s not the uniter like you are. She doesn’t have that dynamic personality the way you do.”

“So?” Nathan asked. “There’s 10 other players on the pitch on this team. We win as a team and we lose as a team. I don’t lose these games by myself, I don’t tie these games by myself, and I don’t win these games by myself. Drop the attitude, drop the anger, we’ve got games to play, we’ve got games to win and we sure as shit ain’t gonna win them if we’re trying to delegate blame for tying.”

Thom shook his head and said nothing further.

“Let me ask you something, Perkins, what do we have in place for Kelssek?” Nathan asked. “I’m not here to delegate blame for a tie. I’m here to look forward to the next match. What do we have in place for Kelssek?”

Thom looked at Nathan for a second and snapped back to it.

“Feels like what we had against Kelssek worked the first time,” Thom started. “But we might want to tighten it up a little bit, I’d like to get that goal differential up a little bit. It’s not where I want it to be.”

“OK, that’s what I wanted to hear,” Nathan responded. “I don’t want to come in and we’re delegating a blame. Let’s just move ahead.”

So, for the next few days before it was time to travel to Kelssek, the Haps took a modified version of their strategy they used to beat the Kelssekians in their first meeting. When the team went to Exhibition Place in Kirkenes, the Haps felt ready – as ready as they’d ever be to play one of the toughest opponents in the group. Robson scored twice – in the 9th and the 38th, while Northrop scored one in the 74th to put the match away for Team Hapilopper, and for the team to maintain its four-point advantage over Valanora in the lead for Group 15.

But just like that – even as the team was flying home from Kelssek, the team quit thinking about their last opponents. Almost in a businesslike manner, the team turned their focus to Savigliane, the third-place team in the group. This was one of the biggest hurdles the team was concerned about for the second leg of the qualifying campaign, and they had to focus their entire energy on it, rather than worry about what went wrong or what could have gone better.

by **Valentine Z** » Sun May 22, 2022 11:34 am

Part 6 – A Turn of Events.

The Valentians have enjoyed their fair share of victory until the match against the Tjorl, the one that started it all, except that it would be the Kittens this time playing at their home stadium. For both of the matches, especially for the former one, the Kittens got 3 goals against the Yuezhou’s team (The Dragons) who was unable to get a goal in, possibly in thanks to the Kittens’ impregnable defense, what with the new and fresh goalkeepers doing their jobs. The second match against Tjorl’s team (De Frostkjemper (The Frost Giants)) was a relatively close one, with the Valentians getting that last goal they needed to net a 3–2 for the team. And that was the most dominating presence that the Kittens have had in their bracket, 6 wins in a row. Of course, with the skills and perhaps the luck playing a part, so it must change for the other team, as the Valentians have lost recently to both matches soon after – one against the national team from United Adaikes, and another against Kamisato Ayaka Nation’s Swordswomen. The second match was especially a sting, considering how the Valentians were playing in their own stadium; home advantage was not on their side for that day. And that was it for the Valentians, for now. With a record of 8-2-3 (W-D-L), and 37-25 (GF-GA), the Kittens realised that they have been scoring goals in such a numerous manner, but at the same time were unable to keep them from going in and prevent scores. Next match being against the Mercedini team, the Valentians get the second chance of playing against their CoH opponents. Will it be a draw again?

Or will one of the teams win?

by **Valanora** » Sun May 22, 2022 11:47 am

The People of the Eternal Empire
Part 3: The Templara

Unlike most of the species that inhabit the Eternal Empire zthe origin of the Templara remain something of a mystery even to do this day. What is known of the Templara is that they were originally a nomadic species, a tradition that still mostly carries on to the modern day, and wound up in Arrosia roughly four to five hundred years ago. Upon their arrival in the Vanorian homelands, they were met with the elven population who were wary of another outside species after having repelled invasions from humans over the centuries. However the leader of the Templara met with Zeratul Raynor, the Great Leader at the time, and swore an oath of fealty to the Raynor household in exchange for his people having the right to range in the northern half of the continent and allowed to govern themselves. As part of the agreement tha was struck between Zeratul and the Templara, they would provide warriors to aid in the defense of the Vanorian homelands as well as a smaller force that became part of the Raynor household guard. This was the establishment of the rumored "Dark Bows" who are allegedly the Raynor's personal military.

The Templara are a very unique species, as they have no mouth and as a result communicate telepathically with one another and others. This also has lead to them sustaining themselves through a similar process to photosynthesis, whereby the absorb energy through their skin and transform it into the nutrients and materials that they need tonsustain themselves and give themselves energy. They have a natural camouflage, which when they activate it helps them nearly seamlessly blend into their environment, with only heavy movements showing a rippling in the space around them to give a hint to their presence in the situation. This made the Templara experts in subterfuge as well as other covert operations, making them favored agents for clandestine ops by military and intelligence officers.

Physically the Templara are a varied species, with skin tones range from light brown to onyx. Like elves, the templara are a slender species when compared to other bipedal and humanoid appearing species. It is believed to be a result of their nomadic lifestyle as well as their unique way of creating the energy to sustain themselves, compared to direct nutritional intake as most others species have. They are rumored to be psychically gifted as well beyond their telepathic communication but like the elves alleged magic, it has not been documented enough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt to its validity. They make up the second smallest population of the five most well known species of the Empire, although there have been estimates lately that they are the third most populous but the seminomadic nature males it difficult to have an exact number. Being a semiautonomous people inside the Empire, it is rare to see them in governing positions outside their own tribes and towns, although they are often seen as high ranking officers within the military, as they keep to the deal that was brokered centuries before.

by **Brookstation** » Sun May 22, 2022 11:53 am

I||II||III||IV|V|VI

The 20 is a blog series where authors of Brookstation's biggest football blog, The Beautiful Game documents the lives of some of the best players to have played in Brook soil. Aimed at inaugurating the 50th edition of the Harrison Shield, we document the lives of the players who define the top 20 football clubs in Brookstation.

MITCH BAILEY:THE UNSUNG HERO OF BROOK FOOTBALL

The Dreamland City club that won the 3rd Twin Premier League was one of a kind. A team that struggled through the initial seasons of the TPL, suddenly made an impressive run for the Twin Premier League. The squad had worked hard to work their way up and it wouldn’t have been possible for the team to achieve this feat unless they had a leader contributing significantly to the club’s win. Dreamland City’s triumph was remarkable but none of it would’ve been possible without the heroics of Mitch Bailey.

Mitch first gained success in 2010 when Dreamland City won the title, giving Mitch his first major title. His performance against clubs like Other side of Paradise and Halebid Warriors in which he stopped numerous goals were a crucial asset to Dreamland’s victory. Not to mention his stunning performance in Dreamland’s final game against Clube de Norwegian wood where he stopped Hadlam’s penalty. That was the tournament which first made him stand out among the rest and marked the beginning of his brilliant career.

Although Mitch didn't play for any big club prior to Dreamland City and spent his teenage years playing for local Other side of Paradise sides, he had a marvellous career and is one of the most successful goalkeepers in the Brook league. Due to this fact, Mitch's arrival to Dreamland in 2006 wasn't marked with much fanfare. Dreamland's manager Liam Moore had been a part of the club for 5 years but had very little to his name. Little did he know that the last few years of his career would be memorable due to the efforts of Bailey.

Bailey was born in Crotwell, an area that lies on the border between Other side of Paradise and Dreamland but as a kid, he supported the latter side, Dreamland City. He was thus obviously delighted to play for the side he supported since his childhood. In his first few seasons, he wasn't the first choice goalkeeper of Dreamland but whenever he got his chance, he made the most of it. After Tom Dawson's exit from the club in 2009, Mitch would gradually settle to League football providing stellar performances throughout.

Dreamland didn't win the league until 2010 but that remarkable title win would lay the foundation of Dreamland's dominance in that decade. Mitch was a fearless figure and this enabled him to single handedly take on any striker in his way. Mitch also liked to cooperate with the fellow defenders. He was often seen discussing tactics on the field and cheering his teammates. This was a quality that would eventually earn him the captaincy of the club.

“When we see Bailey guarding the goal, the goal suddenly keeps shrinking. Just imagine seeing a stout, agile, fast goalkeeper standing like a monster, ready to eat the fucking ball.” Leon Michael Robes (Other side of Paradise captain 2019-2023)

Dreamland started the next season with high hopes but the hopes soon began to die off following frequent losses towards the beginning. Dreamland did manage to retaliate to the top of the table towards the end of the season but unfortunately, Dreamland couldn’t shield their title. It was also rumoured at that time that coach Liam Moore and Mitch Bailey had a misunderstanding that led Bailey to get snubbed for a few matches. Bailey on the other hand explains it as a break due to injury. This short break brought positive news as well as Bailey would get called up by the national team as their substitute goalkeeper.

Dreamland’s dominance in the domestic football scenario meant that the club had to improve in terms of their performance. In the 2012 season, Dreamland found themselves in a difficult situation and their position at the top of the table was under heavy breach from clubs like AC Dason and Essidise Titans. Every point mattered a lot. Dreamland was up against the Other side of Paradise, an opponent that wouldn’t be easy to defeat at any cost. This match would also be their last “difficult match” and securing a win in this match would be equivalent to securing the title. Steve Dickson scored an early goal giving Dreamland the lead. But keeping Other side of Paradise goalless for an entire half would be a burden. However it was Bailey’s wonderful save of Reddy’s header from Mackintosh’s corner that secured the win along with the title for Dreamland .

Another match where Bailey saved the match for his team was when Dreamland faced Red Tube Volint in 2014. The much more experienced Dreamland side initially struggled against the amateurs but a Dane penalty would give Dreamland their first goal. Volint had surprisingly been really active in the offense creating chances after chances. Bailey had been busy throughout the match, clearing the numerous attempts of the desperate Volintians. Peter Black approached the goal unmarked towards the end having no one but Bailey to beat. Bailey rushed forward and covered Black who eventually lost track and ended shooting way above the post. It was in 2014, Bailey won his first Brook Player of the Year Trophy.

But these are just isolated examples of Bailey’s marvellous career. His best performance however came in 2015 and it was a match that had been entirely saved by one man’s brilliance. Vincent del Aqua replaced Moore as the manager in the summer of the 2015 season and in order to prove his abilities, del Aqua had to rely upon Bailey. John Skara’s Halebid Warriors side on the other hand had an entertaining season and after a period of hibernation, it seemed that Halebid once again chased the title. Thus the encounter between Halebid and Dreamland would be a crucial and interesting one. Halebid played the match in their aggressive style and their first attack would strike as early as the 5th minute. Riley would flick the ball to Deuche who would control the ball on his way towards the ball creating distance between him and the Dreamland defenders with relative ease. He would then unleash a mighty shot from close range. Bailey could anticipate this for a long time and he readily pounced and blocked the ball with his fists. Deuche would strike once more, desperate to maintain his goal scoring streak but Bailey wouldn’t allow it in his presence. Skara’s men would be bamboozled by Bailey’s brilliance. The team that gained confidence by overcoming the fiercest goalkeepers of the time and scoring heavily in matches couldn’t manage to surpass Bailey’s sight. Bailey made many more miraculous saves throughout his career in Dreamland but his single handed efforts in this match giving Dreamland a three pointer in the Krishnadeva Stadium that night is truly remarkable.

Bailey instructing his Dreamland teammates

The 2017 season would perhaps be Bailey’s worst as he spent the majority of the season off the pitch owing to a massive shoulder injury. This would have a frustrating impact on Dreamland City as well and the club would see themselves struggle in the league. This was also an indication for del Aqua to rebuild his team . Bailey focused completely on his fitness and returned as fit as a flea the following season. Bailey started his job as soon as he approached the field again and soon impressed del Aqua. Del Aqua rewarded Bailey the captaincy of his club after Blades’ retirement from the game and this was a job that was smoothly performed by Bailey. Under his captaincy, the club excelled and found tough times but throughout all situations, he stood by his players and shared their feelings. He always remained active on field and stayed serious about matters of the team.

“As defenders we usually roam around when the ball isn’t in our half and the goalkeeper usually relaxes but Mitch always keeps talking to us, He doesn’t get tired ever and that is why we all respect him.” Oskar Graves (Dreamland City defender 2017-2023)

Bailey is a genius, a game changer and a captain. Bailey has never received success at the international level. He also announced his resignation from the national team but his efforts for the one club he loves throughout his life is worthy of appreciation. At the age of 37, he still starts for his club and there is no doubt that once he leaves his club, there will be a massive gap created within the club, a gap that can never be filled again, But as of now, Bailey is a living legend in Dreamland and believed to be the greatest captain and goalkeeper to have protected the nets of Glass Animals Park.

MORE FROM THE BEAUTIFUL GAME :

Dreamland City and the tale of the remarkable TPL campaign
Robes hat-trick earns Brookstation three points
"The match against Sargossa is going to decide our fate." says Browne
Former Kars Club defender Johan Fumes passes away aged 72

by **Flavovespia** » Sun May 22, 2022 12:14 pm

Flavovespia 4 - 3 Gadria

A dominant display in the first half gave Flavovespia the 3 points in this tie, even if they made a clumsy finish to the game to make the final score look closer than the game expected. Gadria had drawn against Turori in their previous game, so Flavovespia will be pleased they didn’t trip over this potential banana skin.

Flavovespia’s only change came with David Lyons replacing Kishan Rees after his absence via a red card suspension. Other than that, it was the same starting eleven that was on a five game unbeaten run in these qualifiers. It took just 6 minutes for Flavovespia to open the scoring. Jonathan Bagshaw’s cross into the box wasn’t cleared with much conviction, and it fell to Kieron Player coming in. A first time shot was well taken, with too much power for the goalkeeper, and 1-0 it was. 6 minutes later, it was 2-0. Michael Cole cut in and took a shot towards the near post, it didn’t seem too threatening, but a poor attempt by the goalkeeper to block it saw the ball squirm over the line.

The dream start continued on in the 20th minute. This time a good through ball by David Wassell took most of the defenders out of the game, as Scott Coleman sprinted towards goal. Nobody could get back in time as Coleman finished off the move with a ball lofted over the goalkeeper and into the net. Maybe Flavovespia were dreaming too much, in the 23rd minute a corner was headed in by a tall centre-back, leaving the Flavovespian players to debate what had gone wrong with their marking. Flavovespia would finish the half the strongest, and capitalised. Scott Coleman played in Michael Cole to his left, who then shot across goal to score, making it 4-1 just before the break.

Flavovespia couldn’t replicate their first half start on their second half, with Gadria putting plenty behind the ball to try and avoid a rout. Michael Cole was close to a hat-trick on the hour mark, but a good save denied him the landmark goal. Not long afterwards, Gadria then got a second goal. A good cross in, and the striker got ahead of Daniel Lansdell to head it in. 4-2, and Gadria had the faintest glimmer of hope. Flavovespia defended resolutely almost to the end. Substitute Paul Taylor, in the final moments, clipped the heels of Gadria’s pacey striker, to give away a penalty. Aarif Muhammad didn’t guess right, and it was 4-3. However, Gadria wouldn’t win the ball back from the kick-off, and Flavovespia, after a late scare, took the 3 points to keep themselves in the hunt for at least a playoff spot, and extend their unbeaten streak to 6.

Forbidden Territories 0 - 4 Flavovespia

Forbidden Territories put in a solid effort in the first half, but a red card meant it was all for nothing as they then fell to a fairly heavy defeat. Flavovespia will be pleased with the margin of the victory, although an injury to Scott Coleman and a somewhat underwhelming first half performance will be on a few minds.

On a streak of 6 games without a loss, many would expect Flavovespia to press their positional advantage, but in the early stages Forbidden Territories looked stronger. Only a combination of a few decent saves by Aarif Muhammad, and some poor passing in decisive moments kept the scoreline goalless. At the other end of the pitch, Flavovespia had a fair bit of possession, but found Forbidden Territories a stubborn outfit, not afraid to put in challenges. Tony Gardner came closest in the first half, nearly heading in a corner, but it floated just wide of the post. At the break, it would be 0-0 in a close contest.

The moment that changed the game came in the 61st minute. Michael Cole played a diagonal ball into the path of Scott Coleman. Coleman got the ball before Klein Harowitz slid in with a high challenge, clattering into the striker. Coleman was left in a heap with a leg injury, and the referee didn’t hesitate to show the red card. From there, it was all one way traffic, and the Forbidden Territories side with 10 men had no answer. The opening goal came from Jonathan Bagshaw’s looping cross, which Adrian Jones rose highest to head into the goal. The Langmere Green Rovers connection continues, when a quick one-two between Jonathan Bagshaw and Adrian Joens set up a tap-in for the former after 72 minutes. Then, for the second game in a row, Michael Cole got two goals. The first was a diving header from the cross of David Lyons, before a solo run from just inside the opposition half to make it 4 goals in 16 minutes for Flavovespia.

In the end, the 0-4 scoreline flattered Flavovespia somewhat, but they took the chance when their opponents presented it. However with Starblaydia, Savojarna and Turori next, Flavovespia have a real gauntlet of games coming up to keep that unbeaten streak, currently at 7, continuing on.

Flavovespia’s Obscure Eleven: Nigel Humphries (CM)

A player with quite the presence in midfield at 1.92 m (around 6’4), Nigel Humphries is a name who unfortunately left little impression on the national team, or in the minds of Flavovespian football fans. Being one of the earlier capped players, spending time laying domestic football abroad, and having a relatively unsuccessful return to Flavovespian shores, likely caused his obscurity for the national time.

Nigel Humphries began his career at Hadford Hill. In the turbulent years of 18AU and 19AU, culminating in relegation, he saw little game time, but he was something of a breakout star in the Challenge League season of 20AU, which saw Hadford Hill immediately return to the top flight. Hadford Hill could’ve spent on a replacement, but Nigel Humphries had done enough to impress and then stepped up at Super League level. Despite his size getting his associated with ball winning midfield play, he was also adept at playing good short balls to teammates, as well as generally slotting in to most midfield positions.

After some impressive seasons for Hadford Hill in the mid 20’sAU, Nigel Humphries was one of 7 reserves not in the official squad for the first Flavovespian squads of World Cup Qualifiers 83 and Cup of Harmony 75. At the age of 28, he was then named to the 23 man squad for World Cup Qualifiers 84. The manager who called him up, Nick Cole, however was sacked before Nigel Humphries debuted, in the final minute as a sub in a 0-1 loss against South Covello. Nigel Humphries would start the next game away at Qasden and at home to Filindonstan, but a 3-0 loss and a 1-2 loss respectively didn’t set the right impression. Nigel Humphries got his one and only international goal in Mustardy. A corner sent in by Ian Johnson, and Nigel Humphries ran in to head the ball home. The opener in a 3-4 win for Flavovespia was largely the highlight of his international career.

10 international caps and 1 international goal in the World Cup Qualifiers 84, and Nigel Humphries stayed in the squad for Cup of Harmony 76. He’d make 3 substitute appearances, against Mercedini, Tamgu and Mattijana. However he was dropped for AOCAF Cup 60, and didn’t make the extended 30 man squad for World Cup Qualifiers 85. At that point, Hadford Hill fell down the table, into eventual relegation in 29AU. Nigel Humphries left the club he came through the ranks at, and signed for Stanmorn. However the move was not a great success, Humphries unable to consistently make the starting eleven, and he’d travel to Sylestone and Avondale Beach SC. His career was by no means a flop, but it didn’t do enough to get anyone’s attention for a national team callup. He’d return to Stanmorn for one last season in 36AU, but it ended in disaster, with a first relegation for the Outer Waldster side in over 2 decades. Rather than inevitably spend time in the lower leagues to finish off his career, Nigel Humphries retired.

In terms of on the pitch performance, it’s hard to make much of a case for Nigel Humphries unfortunately. World Cup Qualifiers 84 wasn’t a high point in the history of Flavovespia, and the improvement next time around meant few were clamouring to get Nigel Humphries back in the squad. In some respect he hit the peak of his form and abilities at the right point to get the caps and goal he did. He served as a useful utility player from the bench, but never really showed enough more than that to continue on. Now recently retired, if he doesn’t go into coaching, he’ll likely spend some time as a pundit, likely back in his native Hadford Hill.

by **Pasarga** » Sun May 22, 2022 12:20 pm

Torgos Tribune ~ An Untimely Tragedy

During the World Cup Qualifiers, most of the population has their focus on the progress of the Wanderers, hoping that the national football team can put a good showing on and have an outside chance at the title. The nation has always had something of a fascination with the sportnand it was duly rewarded in the early 70 World Cups where the team progress to the championship game three straight tournaments and managed to win a title during that time. It started early though, as when Pasarga broke from its international isolation, it was quickly entered into regional championships at the national team as well as club level, in addition to the World Cup and the world's club championship. From that point in time, Pasargans from all walks of life and all across the dual islands have been keenly attuned to the fortunes of the national team and their favored clubs.

It then comes as a huge shock to all but the most observant of citizens that King Jakob has been announced to have passed away last night in his sleep. The King had been suffering for a few years now with an unannounced disease and had been receiving medical attention to combat the disease, having believed to have sent it into remission a few months prior. However that is not the case as the monarch apparently needed emergency medical treatment a fortnight ago when the diseases symptoms reappeared and made the King bedridden. Despite the best efforts of the medical personnel on hand, Jakob was unable to recover from.the re-emergence of the disease and succumbed to it during the late hours of last night.

A state funeral is already being planned, as Jakob did not follow the national religion of Zoroastrianism, where he would instead have been cremated at a fire temple. A national holiday will be announced for the day of the service so that all citizens of the islands will be able to attend or to watch the services from home if they so desire. Jakob's family from across all the corners of the world are expected to attend the services, as well as the majority of the ruling Majistar family, despite Jakob having been an adopted member of the family. The ceremony may be a way to try and smooth over relations within the family, with some of the other branches still holding a grudge that an adopted member was able to ascend to the throne instead of a blood relative.

That was a concern that former queen Julia had before her passing, urging Jakob to marry a cousin to give further claim to the throne for their children. Jakob ended up marrying Sophia, an extended cousin from the main main Majistar family line and had two children with her. Their youngest, İskender, is expected to be named the succor, although his older sister Azra would traditionally be the first in line for the crown, being the oldest child of the monarch. It is a tragedy for the royal house, as it was an untimely passing and could plunge the dual islands into a potential succession crisis if a diplomatic resolution can not be found. Jakob's own will named Azra as his heir, but many in the parliament are wishing for İskender to be crowned the new king of the dual islands.

by **Chromatika** » Sun May 22, 2022 12:44 pm

The Interlude - The Alphabet - Part 2

By: Joyce McAdams

J is for Justice, something that the Chromatik football team has been a proponent of since the very beginning of the team. The team was instrumental in the days of the Rainbow Revolution, and then in getting the nation's very first free elections a while later. Chromatika goes as the team goes.

K is for Knowledge, something that Chromatika has really tried to glean through thick and thin. It is only through the mastery of the events of the past and of the present that the nation can move to bigger and better things in the future.

L is for Luuk Aart, the man whose plight became the focus of the Rainbow Revolution. How Aart was accused of hiding his birth colour in the Chromatik colour caste system, how he was defended, and how the entire thing carried the flames of the Rainbow Revolution cannot be understated. Now, he's the husband of the only two-time Premier in Chromatik history.

M is for Mainstream, something that Chromatik football has become. Rather it be because of the Red League being elevated to a level never seen before, or because of the Chromatik stars being played in the EuraLeague, the Zenith, the National League, or the S-FPL, Chromatik football has earned its spot in the limelight.

N is for Nationalism. For some, that is a negative term that can lead to people being racist or holier-than-thou; for a people like Chromatika that have had to deal with so much outside influence in their past, it's all about the pride - and you can't have too much of that.

O is for Obsession. Football is the nation's obsession now, and it's too late to go back.

P is for Prestige. Chromatik football was two wins away from reaching that level once, and it has the potential to get there again.

Q is for Questions, something that Chromatika continues to make a point to ask. Only by questioning the mistakes of the past and looking to the future can the nation improve, and Chromatika has made a point of making that a part of their identity.

R is for Resilience, a moniker of the Chromatik brand. Chromatika has always been a nation of hardworking people who have seen things that they didn't agree with, or been put under scenarios that they didn't feel that they deserved. It is the resilient nature that the team will need to continue to meet the challenges put forth.

Next interlude, the rest!

by **Cardenao** » Sun May 22, 2022 1:03 pm

“Tell me what you see baby.” such sweet words left his mouth on the beach, traveled into the ConectaNos brand cell phone he was holding, bounced a the cell tower in New Cardenao, shot across the Strait of Cardenao, phased through a seagull, was captured by a cell tower in Comal (a small oceanside village on the west side of East Cardenao), beamed down to the small beach, was picked up by another cellphone and transmitted into her ear. 666 miles covered in a fraction of a second.

“I see the sun setting over the rolling waves. There’s a pod of dolphins cutting through the sea, the sky is really clear, not even the faintest wisp of a cloud in the sky. It’s beautiful my Miguel, it could only be more perfect if you were here my love,” the girl spoke back into the phone, restarting the entire process of jumping across the Strait of Cardenao.

‘By the Gods I love him so much, I want to be with Miguel forever!,’ she thought to herself.

‘By the Gods it would be so cool if we built a huge bridge linking me in West Cardenao to my love Kaitalyna in East Cardenao. I can’t believe the national football team beat Tikariot, we could maybe finish fourth!!’ he thought to himself.

The young couple was not alone in having their life split by the 666 miles expanse of temperate salt water that made up the Strait. It stretched from East Cardenao on the Nova Calania and West Cardenao on Lurhautsia, separating the Ocean of Ayes and Itsasoan Sea in half. The Strait of Cardenao boasted temperate, warm waters that were generally quite shallow, rarely hitting more than 100ft deep. There was no coral, no interesting or ornate rock formations, no underwater volcanoes or anything remarkable like that. What the Strait did have though, was a lot of big, very high quality fish and other aquatic sea life.

Warm temperate water is only part of the equation for quality fish life, the other big factor coming from high nutrient content in the waters. More nutrients floating around meant more plant growth and higher concentrations of plankton. More plants and plankton meant more food for smaller fish to grow big which, in turn, meant more bountiful and bigger meals for larger fish. Which, in its own way, lead to bigger meals for even bigger fish and so the cycle continued all the way to the apex predators. Nutrient rich, warm waters was the perfect combination for the world class fishing Cardenao was slowly starting to develop a reputation for, and indeed it was a national requirement to being Cardonian to spend a fair amount of one's life on the water.

The couple continued their conversation, staring across the void of the ocean to each other standing on distant shores, blissfully unaware of their existence as a convenient plot-advancing device. The young man Miguel pondered the construction of a great bridge between where he and his lover stood, one that stretched for 666 miles across the Strait of Cardenao that they both stood at opposite ends of. The origin story of the Strait was the single most important moment in Cardonian history and significantly less romantic than the honeyed words the couple was exclaiming for each other, no, the beginning of the Strait was a source of great national pain to Cardenao.

The reason why that particular stretch of water is so full of nutrients and shallow in depth was because a great portion of those 666 miles of land used to be bountiful farmland. Yes, what is now covered by a crushing expanse of saltwater had up until 100 years ago been a veritable Cardonian cornucopia of agriculture, inhabited by the same families that had been living there for generations. Seasons came and went, yet for whatever reason that particular soul was so fertile it could hold growth for 365 days of the year, and it was there that the richest and most sophisticated of Cardonian society lived. It was a plentiful and prosperous place, cultivating more than enough of pretty much everything and ensuring that every mouth in Cardenao was fed and that surplus food silos were always filled to the brim. It had been a beautiful sight, with historical accounts lingering on the rolling hills that gave birth to every type of flower, fruit, vegetable, and growable item the prosperous country could want.

The wealth and prosperity that grew in that region flowed to the rest of Cardenao, with roads, sewage, universities, cities all growing in areas outside of those bountiful hills. It came to be a golden age for Cardenao and her people were healthy, educated, and largely free to indulge in the interests that they held.

The key to this glorious age for Cardenao was clearly this prosperous stretch of land, but there was a brilliant key to that key which made everything possible: a lot of sand, dirt, and an otherworldly amount of clay that combined constructed a massive system of dikes, dams, and seawalls that kept the Ocean of Ayes and Itsasoan Sea safely sealed away. The construction of this seawall system is a story for another time, but it was through the work of many generations after that that mounds of earth were built and shaped into the farmland that formed the foundation of that golden age for Cardenao; it almost went without saying that any breach of these seawalls could potentially prove to be very, very disastrous.

Roughly 98 years ago the Kingdom of Cardenao was invaded by the Republic of Eshan. They were a particularly aggressive breed of people, who weren’t content with their islands in the Atlantian Oceania and engaged in a great deal of colonial conquest in the rest of the multiverse, with Cardenao being one of the unlucky many to be subjugated to Echani rule. That whole story is most certainly one for another time, but the end result was the total control of Cardenao by a foreign entity, and a rather ruthless one at that. At that point in their history, the Cardonians were a proud people and fought back in a variety of different ways against the invaders, persisting in causing a great number of minor inconveniences to the Echani force. Unfortunately, however, they proved to be too successful in being a pain in the ass, and some subjugation was in order.

96 years ago, the Echani Republic committed an unconscionable crime against humanity and the world on a fateful summer day. It had been early in the morning but the sun was already beating down on Cardenao, baking the people with a deep heat. Nobody was quite sure when exactly the crime was committed, but at some point that fateful morning the seawalls were breached and the Flood of Tears commenced. By the time a week had passed, that once prosperous stretch of land sat under 100 feet of ocean water and the land bridge between Anaian continents was lost.

It’s impossible to quantify the damage that was done the moment the order to flood the region was executed. Countless lives lost, the fertile soil that formed the heartland of a prosperous kingdom gone, the fate of an entire people changed forever. The impact was immediate, Cardenao lost her most populated and bountiful region while simultaneously being cut in half by the Ocean of Ayes and the Itsasoan Sea, the capital city Cardonia flooded and lost to the sea; in that moment the Cardonians went from a prosperous educated folk to a broken, backwater people who’s will to power was so crushed that for nearly a century fishing was all they cared about.

What was once a whole nation was now broken, split in two by water and the tales of how the nation survived in the dark years after will be told in good time, but now the focus shifts to a new national desire: reuniting the new East and West Cardenao back into one beautiful country. That posed, of course, massive logistical challenges as that 666 mile stretch of land was covered by several billion tons of water and marine habitat so simply rebuilding the seawall system wasn’t viable although it did prompt several rather hilarious repair attempts throughout the decades that followed. Eventually it became accepted that rebuilding was out of the question, for the moment at least, so the national focus fell on the next best alternative: bridging the gap.

Yes, a massive bridge that would stretch across the new Strait of Cardenao and link East and West Cardenao. Yes, a 666 mile long bridge. No, that didn’t seem like a sorta…unfeasible feat of engineering to any Cardonian why would you even suggest that? Logistics and reality be damned, this bridge had to happen. And so the nation pondered and craved for generations, seeking a way to bridge the gap and reunite the nation. It was a national obsession for lack of a better term, and while several attempts had been made at making it a reality, the impossibility of the task always won out in the end, but that didn’t deter the Cardonians. No, one day there would be a solution but until then patience was needed.

Which finally brings us to the current moment.

A couple standing on two beaches, staring at each other over a stretch of water that once was the crown jewel of a Kingdom now sitting silently at the bottom of the sea, wishing a bridge would be built to reunite a once proud nation.

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