Cup of Harmony 87 - Rosters/RPs/Results

by **Carpathia and Ruthenia** » Wed Dec 06, 2023 9:07 am

Carpathia and Ruthenia Cup of Harmony LXXXVII Squad
(Style Mod: +2)

Formation of the Starting XI

Staff
Manager: Lucia Kovács
Assistant Manager: Erminio Schmitt

Starting Lineup
GK: Federica Antonini (14 caps/0 goals)

DF: Giacomo Bakó (14 caps/0 goals)
DF: Szevér Naldi (14 caps/1 goal)
DF: Loris Kövér (14 caps/0 goals)

MF: Ödön Kárpáty (14 caps/1 goal)
MF: Ottavia Lecce (14 caps/0 goals)
MF: Anastagio Brunetti (14 caps/1 goal)
MF: Adél Alemagna (14 caps/0 goals)

FW: Clara Bassi (14 caps/8 goals)
FW: Faust Acconci^† (c) (14 caps/6 goals)
FW: Rebecca Pék (12 caps/5 goals)

Substitutes
GK: Marina Voltolini (0 caps/0 goals)
GK: Efisio Rapallino (0 caps/0 goals)

DF: Lazzaro Cino (3 caps/0 goals)
DF: Panni Verona (3 caps/0 goals)
DF: Rosalba Selmone (3 caps/0 goals)
DF: Ermanno Ruzsa (3 caps/0 goals)
DF: Delia Alinari (2 caps/0 goals)

MF: Lucia Vinci (5 caps/1 goals)
MF: Giannino Pugliese (3 caps/0 goals)
MF: Salvatore Piccirillo (3 caps/0 goals)
MF: Franciska Büki (3 caps/0 goals)

FW: Róza Crocetti (5 caps/2 goals)
FW: Annunciate Mondo (2 caps/0 goals)
FW: Terzo Fabbri* (11 caps/4 goals)

^† Penalty taker

^* Currently a substitute because of a very public spat with the manager and incredibly unlikely to be subbed on, there would have to be pretty much no other option (i.e. all other striker subs used and then needs to replace an injured striker and even then would probably think really hard about just subbing on a midfielder and playing them up top)

Other Information
Fan's Temperament: Good-natured (They will not react violently to a loss and lay siege to the host's city)
Team's Temperament: Normal (Every now and again one player might get sent off, but they are not going to hack/beat up the opposing team as a strategy)
Manager's Temperament: Even keeled, not known for many words in interviews
RP Permissions: No godmodding goals or killing my players

by **Gnejs** » Wed Dec 06, 2023 9:11 am

Killer Bob’s WCQ34 Match reports

MD5. Lovisa - Gnejs: 2-0

I actually remember watching this one as a kid. There’s no denying that things are/were looking bleak for The Dandelions. One measly point about halfway through, and while the team no doubt showed a tenacious grit, they were obviously way, way out of their depth going up against these other teams. This was very much the case here as well. I had never heard of Lovisa when I watched this game back then, and I can’t say I know any more today. But they were a superior football team. The Dandelions really did look like amateurs at times, and in all honesty it was mostly luck that kept it a 2-0 instead of, say, 5 or 6 to nothing. They had a smart plan, and they utilized their quick and nimble wingers to completely checkmate both the Dandelion midfield and defensive line. I don’t think The Union had one real attempt at goal; it was all about trying to keep up and just clear the ball whenever they managed to get a hold of it. There. Now you got something that exclusively focused on the match. Better? It’s not though, right? Pretty boring if you ask me, and what if I had done this for the past 4 match days? Regurgitation much? But I guess you could easily say that about other things as well, like a couple of hundred words of more or less coherent rambling, because in the end it all comes down to style and preference. And I guess that’s ok. Speaking of boring, I’m getting a bit tired of sitting here and plowing through these old VHS-tapes and coming up with stuff to say afterwards. Starting to run out of steam. It’s a real gauntlet, these qualifications, and I’m not even at the halfway mark! How long have I been here, come to think of it? A day? More like a week, maybe? It can’t be a month, surely? Don’t tell me it’s been a year? I wonder if the qualifications for the 95th World Cup are underway yet? I’ve got a real good feeling about Dandelion prospects this time around.

Whatever happened to Sverker Danielsson?

Part five: Meanwhile, back in Gnejs

Minutes of Operation Destiny’s Cup Task Force Post-Elimination Evaluation Meeting

Location:
Meeting Room Gneissic Banding, PUFF Headquarters, Meridian Quarter, Port Kejm.

Participants:
• Svea Vichy, Prosaic Union Football Federation (PUFF), Chairperson
• Valdemar Horn, Prosaic Union Football Federation (PUFF), Meeting Secretary
• Thom Öland, Ministry of Culture, Sports and other Charitable Activities (MCSCA)
• Dorotea Ståhl, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)
• Woman in grey suit and twintails, Ministry of The Interior (MTI)

Absent:
Sverker Danielsson, Prosaic Union Football Federation (PUFF) (MIA).

Agenda:
1. Welcome (coffee and pastry)
2. Review of Operation Destiny’s Cup (background and project objectives)
3. Achievements and Challenges (discussion)
4. Areas for Improvement

Meeting Summary:

1.
The meeting was called to order at 14.00, with Vichy chairing the meeting. Horn was appointed Meeting Secretary, and was also responsible for making sure everyone had coffee/tea and suitable pastry at hand. All summoned Task Force members were present, with the exception of Danielsson who is still very much missing and still very much believed to be held captive by «The Drake», possibly in an alternative reality but most definitely in a sentient bubble universe (an update on the efforts to locate and rescue Danielsson was brought by the MTI representative under meeting point 4). There was much commotion when Horn presented the meeting pastry, which consisted of a traditional princess cake with the words «Congratulations on qualifying for the 95th World Cup» iced on the green marzipan dome. Vichy told everyone to be silent and scolded the complaining participants for bringing up something clearly belonging under meeting point 4 during meeting point 1. All were in agreement that the intervention had been highly improper. An additional note was made to the meeting papers to revisit the subject again during meeting point 4.

2.
In a surprising turn of events, Vichy did not provide a brief historical overview of Operation Destiny’s Cup, stating that she believed all assembled were already intimately aware of the historical backdrop, since the Task Force had been at it for a few years now. Horn did customarily re-state the objective set for Operation Destiny’s Cup, namely the winning of the World Cup by The Dandelions guided by Enda Clentin, and confirmed that it had not been achieved during the 95th edition of the tournament, with The Dandelions failing to even qualify for the proper World Cup despite being the second seed of Group 18. Nobody apparently wished to dwell further on this disappointment, although Öland asked that a note be made to the minute meetings that he really looked forward to the Cup of Harmony in Delaclava.

3.
Vichy opened up the floor for discussion pertaining to project achievements and challenges. Öland pointed out that there had been a few successful aspects of the campaign, including a 4-4 draw against top seed Tumbra and that The Dandelions finally managed to beat the team from Quakmybush at least one of the two times they played. Öland felt these small feats, although not primary project objectives, should be taken into consideration when evaluating the success of Operation Destiny’s Cup. Few of the others managed to muster enough enthusiasm to either agree or disagree with Öland’s points. Ståhl (the newest member of the Task Force, only attending her second meeting) stated that no matter how you looked at it, the campaign had been a failure because the only relevant objective of Operation Destiny’s Cup had not been met. Ståhl further questioned the prudence of both the project and the task force, citing she had more pressing things to attend to than coming to PUFF headquarters four times a year and eat pastry. Ståhl motioned for a vote to disband Operation Destiny’s Cup and the Task Force, including ending all affiliations with Non-Friend foreigner Enda Clentin, as the first point of order under meeting point 4. The woman in a grey suit and twintails slammed her fist to the table, said «No», and then instructed Vichy to do the brief overview of Operation Destiny’s Cup all the same, seeing as Ståhl obviously did not understand the reasons behind the project. Vichy provided said overview, including the tribulations of the lost Cracquet delegation, the delivery of the prophecy stating that a valleyman named Enda Clentin would lead The Dandelions to winning the World Cup, the subsequent quest for Clentin and his hiring as the new Dandelion coach. Prompted by a request for clarification from Ståhl, Vichy further explained that the prophecy only said that Clentin would lead The Dandelions to winning the World Cup, but it did not say when, meaning that the project was not a failure, but only that this particular unfolding of fate had not yet occurred. The project and Clentin could therefore not be abandoned, and the Task Force was still needed in its capacity to watch Destiny unfold. Ståhl scoffed «poppycock» and was then put in a headlock by the woman in the grey suit. Ståhl was released when she promised that she now had a better understanding of how Destiny works.

4.
Seeing as most matters were already settled during meeting point 3, all that remained was the issue of the meeting pastry and updates on efforts to locate and save poor Danielsson. Öland and Ståhl scolded Horn for being so insensitive as to make a joke about qualifying for the 95th World Cup when the pain of failure was still so fresh. Horn apologized and explained that he had ordered the cake some time ago, at which point he had been certain that the prophecy would come to fruition this time around and that qualification therefore was guaranteed. Vichy joined in on the critique and said that Horn had been grossly irresponsible and that it was potentially his act of mad hubris that had perverted fate and cost The Dandelions their very first World Cup. The woman in the grey suit said «that’s not how Destiny works», but added that she appreciated Vichy’s attempt at understanding the intricacies of the matter. Ståhl made a motion for a vote to relieve Horn of pastry duties. All but one were in favor, and starting the next meeting Öland will be responsible for securing suitable meeting pastries. Vichy inquired into the sub-project of rescuing Danielsson, and the woman in the grey suit informed the members that the MTI’s agent investigating the matter had yet to make contact since he embarked on his mission about a year ago. She reassured the task force that all would be well, but that patience was a key virtue in these matters. In conclusion, Vichy proposed Horn and Öland be responsible for monitoring Dandelion progression in the Cup of Harmony, while the woman in the grey suit promised to keep the Task Force up to date on any developments in the Danielsson case.

Closing Remarks
Vichy thanked all participants for their valuable contributions

The meeting was adjourned at 15.00.

Next Meeting:
The next Task Force meeting was scheduled for late February.

Action Items:
• Horn and Öland to keep a close eye on Dandelion performance in the Cup of Harmony.
• Öland appointed responsible for meeting pastry. Horn relieved of said duty.
• The woman in the grey suit will keep the Task Force updated on any new developments concerning the whereabouts of Danielsson.

Note:
These minutes will be circulated among the participants for review and approval before the next meeting.

Prepared by: Meeting Secretary Valdemar Horn, PUFF

by **Cassadaigua** » Wed Dec 06, 2023 12:08 pm

This is the Cup of Harmony?
By Caitlyn Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

The group draw for the 87th Cup of Harmony took place recently, but the simple list of names that are taking part had a lot of people talking here in Cassadaigua. Most commonly, it was the general consensus that the Cup of Harmony field further proves the point that the World Cup needs to go to 48 teams. “You can be disappointed over not qualifying for the World Cup, but then you look at the nations that take place in the Cup of Harmony, and I have to say, who really cares if you don’t qualify for the World Cup anymore?” Jenna Kingsley of Starksville posted on social media, only to have her sentiment shared by many. Gabby Nugent of West Brattleboro was one that agreed, “The Cup of Harmony being this strong devalues the World Cup. I want you to look at the list of nations that are in the Cup of Harmony and the list of nations that are in World Cup 95 right now. How much better is the World Cup? Seriously! I am being real (expletive) serious when asking that! Who gives a (expletive) that we’re not in the World Cup!”

Cup of Harmony 87 features seven teams that are presently ranked in the top 25 (and we’re not even in that, ourselves!) The World Cup has the other seventeen, which is obviously stronger but the number seems a lot closer than it should be. Maybe it has always been like that, or been like that more recently, but how much more of an argument needs to be made that the a bid needs to be made for 48 teams in the World Cup, and that needs to be done immediately. “You want the World Cup to mean something, be sure that the best teams are there,” history professor Hailee Yarnell posted on Spacebook, “right now, you are assuring that the best ten or twelve teams are there, but then we’re just doing to take a cross-section of that next group of twelve or so nations, and send the others to the Cup of Harmony. In the long run, this makes the Cup of Harmony stronger than it should be. I am not going to say the World Cup is equivalently weaker than it should be, but it’s not as good as it could be. The fact that we’re not going to adapt to the current climate even when the World Cup Committee voted recently to allow for the possibility of 48 teams but we’ve yet to have a bid for it. Maybe CASE should.” Don’t read more into that, because CASE does not intend to bid for any World Cup in the near future, presumably, but you have to wonder now, who those nations will be that take a chance to bid on a 48 team format and then to see how the vote plays out.

The feeling that failing to qualify for the World Cup is not a big deal even reached the CASE headquarters as President Stephanie Sweeney replied, “We’re doing formats like the current one, which are always going to leave people out. Whenever you have twenty spots in a winner take all format for the group and then have playoffs after that, good nations are going to be left out. I do think that we could have been better in qualifying, but there is a sense that the group draw itself plays too big a part now in deciding who makes the World Cup. We’re in the Cup of Harmony right now, which is not what the players want but the vibe I get from the fans from failing to qualify for this one as opposed to missing out on World Cup 93 four years ago is a lot different. Even then, it didn’t seem as bad, but with this one, there’s more of a shoulder shrug.”

While the players are disappointed to not make the World Cup, it doesn’t seem to be bothering them as much you think it would, either. Defender Tiffany Brown posted on Spacebook that, “It’s not Cup of Harmony 87, it’s World Cup 95B”, and suggested that fans use the hashtag #WorldCup95B instead of any Cup of Harmony related hashtags. This has caught the attention of Cassadagan fans, and #WorldCup95B is trending almost as commonly throughout the Matriarchy as is #CupofHarmony87 or #CoH87 would be. It’s even been suggested that we call it World Cup 95B here at the Concord Heights Times, though for now we’re going to call it what it really is. Until we get a 48-team World Cup, the Cup of Harmony will always have this feel.

by **Pasarga** » Wed Dec 06, 2023 3:48 pm

Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod Scoring Events Y
RP injuries to my players N
Godmod injuries to my players N
Hand out Yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out Red cards to my players Y
Godmod Other Events Y

Pasarga Roster
Nickname: Wanderers
Ranking: 14th
Most Caps: Mór Császár (196)
Most Goals: Ingþór Auðbjörnsson (124)

Kits

Home Away Third
Modifier: +1

Manager: Michael Mueller, age 64
Assistant: Jürgen Eisenhower, age 49

Goalkeepers
GK: Tomáš Přibyl, age 32, Royal Jam FC

GK: Lukáš Hanzelka, age 29, Duke of the North
GK: Illed Chávez Sedillo, age 33, Santos Luega (F)

The keeper position is one that always brings a lot of discussions about it, yet for this cycle there can be no denying Tomáš Přibyl as the best that Pasarga has and he has been teetering on the side of elite for a few years now, having broken through at Royal Jam at an early age and has completely dominated the position there. Clean sheets at the domestic level are routine, he need only do that more often with the national team to truly cement his legacy. There is no denying his shot stopped abilities and if goals are conceded, it is most likely a defensive break down in front of him that is the cause. There are questions abound about the position behind him, with only Hanzelka having looked to have kept a consistently high level of performance over the last few years, meaning the number one shirt is pretty on lock, even if it is troubling looking further forward into the future.

Defenders
LB: Jakub Svatoš, age 32, Mar Sara FC

L/CB: Joska Szöllôsy, age 23, Aleiusia Capital

CB: Frančiška Marija Žužinjak, age 31, Stilinkeep FC (F)
CB: René Petrie, age 32, Duke of the North
CB: Vidor Kovách, age 32, Duke of the North
CB: Margo Szôts, age 25, Syneca

(F)
CB: Kamil Schneider, age 21, Sardin United
RB: Remi van Blijderveen, age 27, Sardin United (F)
RB: Veronika Fábián, age 30, Marque

(F)

It is a defensive unit that has seen a lot of turnover from the last cycle, which needed a bit of a shakeup to avoid getting too long in the tooth as was evident from time to time during various points of last cycle. On the left is a steadying force of Jakub Svatoš, who despite being on the older side continues to be quite a force on the left side of the defense and continues to be able to apply pressure in the offensive end with their crossing ability. Žužinjak earns herself a spot in the starting eleven with two seasons of amazing defensive play, at no fault for Stilinkeep's unfortunate relegation, and will be quite a tenacious force in the center, paired with René Petrie, looking to be a slightly better option than his club teammate. Margo Szôts might get a bit of a look in as the team looks to try and get younger in the coming cycle or so, which is helped out quite a bit by Remi van Blijderveen turning in a wonderful performance over the last season in the backline for Sardin United in their trip back in the top of the dual islands.

Midfielders

RW: Kat Földessi, age 28, CA Paulinthal (F)
RW: Katinka Pálffy, age 32, Tanrısal (F)
AMC: Ilona Kárpáty, age 31, CA Paulinthal (F)
A/MC: Mária Szánthó, age 32, New Bastion

(F)
MC: Muhib Bandar Ba, age 32, Stein-los Turkish
MC: Moore Lafontaine, age 29, Stein-los Turkish
D/MC: Noel Orsós, age 32, Galatica
LW: Asztrik Biró, age 27, Mâ Âlâmëómë

A/ML: Gillen Madrigal López, age 32, Raynor City United

(F)

Perhaps it is not surprise that the team is suffering with a midfield projected to have a completely domestic starting selection while at the same time that the SuperLiga has taken a bit of hit in its actual and perceived quality. By no means is the SuperLiga suddenly a bad league, but it is not up there among the elite like it was for a few seasons. Asztrik Biró who looks to have emerged as the victorious one given his completely outstanding performance with Mâ Âlâmëómë, edging out López from United. The switch in tactics makes the need for several midfielders in the center, with an emphasis on a defensive mid to play both as destroyer and the fulcrum to the defense, a role that looks to be quite a shallow spot in the pool, allowing an aging Noel Orsós to earn their way back into the team. With Ba being a big part of the midfield that lifted Turkish to the title, he gets the nod along with Kárpáty as the advanced player role in the middle. On the right is an intense battle between CAP and Tani and it is the younger Hurricane winger with her deadly crossing who wins the day.

Strikers

LW/ST: Elek Salai, age 32, Hellinic Rouge
ST: Eustacio Corral Magana, age 32, CA Paulinthal
ST: Nikolett Horváth, age 27, Marketville

(F)
ST: Nawar Taqwaa Bazzi, age 29, Stein-los Turkish
ST: Nikolina Kovač, age 30, Brigham

(F)

It is a strange thing that the Wanderers have strikers who are absolutely lethal and consistent with their domestic clubs but lack that same sort of clinical finishing and consistency in form when with the national team. On his day, Elek Salai is among the best strikers in the worth, not too tall but not too big either, just a good and balanced striker who has enough pace about them to get past average defenders individually. He likes to play a slightly withdrawn to latch onto through balls or collect headers from his striking partner and run at defenses. Magana is a slightly taller Pasargan, not really a target forward per se but can play the role if needed. Moreover, he is a clinical finisher at club level but has thus far not had that same bite at the internationally level. Turkish continues to flourish at producing good talent and former U21 international Bazzi keeps up that tradition, being the tip of the spear in Turkish's title winning season. A pair of ladies doing well in Eura earn their place in the pool but it would likely be Nikolett Horváth who will see some time between the two.

Tactics

Michael Mueller comes into the job unexpectedly, having thought he had entered into retirement after stepping down his position at Galatica at the end of last season. However when Orengo was let go following the Wanderers failure to qualify, he was on the shortlist of managers the PFA had to takeover during the Cup of Harmony. Taking the job on the condition that he is only seeing the team out through the tournament, Mueller looks to steady a ship that saw two of its three losses during their qualifying campaign unfortunately in the last two matches and ended up missing out on the Finals as a result. Orengo brought in a more attacking system but failed to utulize the wealth of attacking talent the team had effectively and so Mueller brings back a more Pasargan 4-4-2, with the attacking midfielder falling back to support on the defense. The tactics has an emphasis on pace and the ability to hit on the counter, but capable of playing a possession game against teams who in theory are inferior to the Wanderers themselves.

Captain: Jakub Svatoš
Corner Taker: Asztrik Biró
Set Pieces: Ilona Kárpáty
Penalties: Elek Salai

by **Beefsteak City** » Thu Dec 07, 2023 1:15 am

"You do not have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or don't say can be used against you in court. You do not have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, it sucks to suck."

Wow, thought Mayor Ato as the Unfree Republics police handcuffed him and put him in the back of their squad car, I see why they call it the Unfree Republics. His assistants, Jerome Salisbury and Carey Leclerc, were cuffed in the back of the car as well.

"You morons!" He yelled. "I'm the president of Beefsteak City! This is a diplomatic offense of the highest order! If you want any hope of not being immediately fired when your superiors find out, you'll let us go right now!"

"Aw, save it for the judge, pal," said the cop in the front seat. "Oh right, you don't get one of those either."

Some of the other cops who had surrounded Ato and his associates had put their guns away, and were now asking Dusty some questions about what had happened.

"Well, apparently it all had to do with my little girl," said Dusty, who seemed just as unfazed by the police raid as he had been by an ICBM launcher parking in his orchard. Dusty Pierce was unflappably cheerful, if a bit of a country bumpkin. "Apparently my little darling Emily living with her ma and pa didn't sit right with them city folks, on account of the WCC said all the players on their soccer team had to be Beefsteak City citizens."

"I think they call them Beefsteak Cityzens," said one of the cops.

The officer's colleagues seemed confused how or why an Unfree Republican would know that, but Dusty didn't seem to notice or care. "Sure," he said. "Well apparently since we live here in the F.U.R., Emily didn't count as a Beefsteak Cityzen, and since they're hoping to play in the Cup of Harmony soon, they had to get WCC approval, which meant she had to live in Beefsteak City. And since there's no houses in the city, they thought they'd just invade our place and add it to their country."

One of the police officers, who'd been jotting down some notes in his notepad, glanced over at the ICBM launcher that was parked under a cherry tree. "So that thing's not just a museum piece? They actually intended to use it."

"Seems that way, officer. To be honest, I'm just about as confused as you are. Seems a mighty overreaction if you ask me."

"Well, thanks for your cooperation, Mr. Pierce. We'll get these ruffians out of your hair, and we'll send down a tow truck to impound--whatever that vehicle is."

"Much obliged," said Dusty.

The cop with the notebook climbed into the front of the squad car that the Beefsteak Cityzens had been tossed into and turned around to face the backseat. "What's all this I hear about an invasion?" he asked.

No one responded.

"Haven't you been read your un-rights? You have to answer when I ask you a question."

"We talked about an invasion," said Ato. "We never actually did anything violent." He tried to gesture toward the missile launcher, but found it difficult with his hands cuffed behind his back. "Look at that thing over there," he said. "Does it look like we ever fired it off?"

"Well hang on," said the first police officer. "Just a minute ago you were claiming diplomatic immunity. So which is it? Are we arresting you for disorderly conduct, or prisoners of war?"

Ato looked to Leclerc and Salisbury. Both shook their heads vigorously. Ato slumped in defeat. "Disorderly conduct," he sighed.

"Alright then. You're probably spending the night in jail, but that will probably be it. As for your vehicle," said the policeman, nodding toward the ICBM launcher, "I'm afraid it's illegally parked. You need a residential parking permit in this zone, not to mention that thing's so big it's triple-parked on the street and trespassing in Mr. Pierce's orchard all at once. I'm going to impound it, but once you pay the fines and fees, you can come collect it from the lot."

Ato watched helplessly through the back window of the squad car as one of the other police officers brought a boot out from the trunk of his car and booted one of the missile launcher's wheels. It looked vaguely ridiculous, the tiny boot on one of the launcher's 16 massive wheels. But as the police began to drive off toward the jail, Ato could only watch it disappear behind him.

They arrived at the jail, and the officers hauled the Beefsteak Cityzens out of the car and trotted them into the building, where they tossed them into a holding cell. It was mostly empty, except for a college kid asleep on the floor, clearly sleeping off a hangover.

"Hey!" Mayor Ato banged on the bars. "Don't I get a phone call!?"

"Don't be ridiculous," said a cop. "This is the Unfree Republics. You don't get anything like that."

"Who would we even call anyway?" pointed out Coach Salisbury. "Someone in Beefsteak City? There's only ten people who live there and they're all at soccer practice right now."

"Wait, they're having practice right now?" asked Ato. "Why aren't you there?"

"I'm supposed to be," said the coach. "I didn't know I was going to be arrested when you told me to get in the car with you."

"Speaking of the 'car,' said Leclerc, making large air quotes as he referred to the missile launcher, "I'm surprised they had the balls to arrest us when we clearly outgunned them by so much."

"We were too far away from the launcher," said Ato. "They had the drop on us. The lesson I've learned is 'never get out of your missile launcher.' You're safer in it than anywhere else. Now, as soon as we bust out of here, we'll go break it out of the impound lot and we'll be home free."

"Hang on, bust out of here?"

"Yes, now start digging."

The mayor sat on the floor, positioning himself strategically so his rotund frame would block the view of one corner of the room. Leclerc and Salisbury crouched behind him and began scrabbling at the floor with their fingernails. The floor was tiled. Progress was slow.

"Mr. Mayor," said Leclerc, I don't want to question your judgment, but even if this does work, won't they just catch us again and slap us with a harsher sentence?"

"Where are they going to catch us, in Beefsteak City? I'm the president, they can't extradite me. And yes, we have to get home as quickly as possible. It's absolutely essential that the coach here spends every moment with the team in order to get them ready for the Cup of Harmony. We have no time to lose. Now keep digging."

"Hang on, this tile is cracked, and it sounds hollow underneath. We might actually have a chance," said Salisbury.

Ato turned around to see Salisbury smash the tile in with his heel. It fell through, clattering into the dark hole that opened up below it.

"What the hell is that," said Leclerc.

"Our ticket out of here," said the mayor. "Now shove me in there, I'm not going to fit without a little help."

It was certainly a struggle, but with all three working hard, they were able to all squeeze down into the tunnel below. It opened up into a pretty large, subterranean hallway of some kind. Two sets of rails ran along the floor.

"Hang on, this must be their subway system," said Salisbury.

"God, what a third-world country," said Ato. "Blech. Get me back to Beefsteak City."

The trio made their way along the tracks until they found a subway platform and clambered onto it. Ignoring the weird looks from commuters, they filed onto an escalator and made their way to the surface. Leclerc and Salisbury jumped the turnstile before helping the mayor over as well. With directions from a stranger, they were able to find their way to the impound lot. It wasn't hard to find the ICBM launcher. Its profile made a clearly identifiable silhouette amid the rest of the cars.

The lot was fenced off with barbed wire and the gate was chained shut. There was a guard booth out front. The lady inside looked like she could have been a librarian--she looked about 70 years old, maybe, and wore her hair in short curls and her face in a mean scowl. She had on a pair of antique spectacles over which she peered at the three Beefsteak Cityzens, standing in front of the gate in their now dirt-stained clothes.

"You made it," she said. "I got a call from the police department an hour ago that I should expect three fugitives trying to break an ICBM launcher out of the impound lot. You can have it back, but the fees come out to a hundred and sixty-five dollars. And fifty cents."

The fugitives turned out their pockets. "I've got the fifty cents," said Leclerc, and handed the lady a pair of quarters.

"This is a nickel," said the lady. "So you still owe a hundred and sixty-five dollars and twenty cents."

"Do you take card?" asked Salisbury.

"Absolutely we do not. However we do accept money orders and personal checks."

By some stroke of Maggie's favor, Mayor Ato did in fact have his checkbook in his jacket.

"Do you have a pen?" he asked.

She did, and handed it over begrudgingly. Ato wrote a check for $165.20, and the attendant, finally satisfied, emerged from the booth with a massive ring of keys. First she unlocked the padlock holding the gate shut, and then, leading the trio to the missile launcher, unlocked the boot that was still on it and removed it in remarkably deft fashion for a septuagenarian.

"Thanks," said Leclerc, apologetically.

"I hope I never see you again," said the lady. "For your sake."

Mayor Ato climbed into the driver's cab of the missile launcher. "Good to see you again, old friend," he said. He caressed the steering wheel. "Don't worry, I won't ever let them treat you like that again. I won't ever leave you." Leclerc and Salisbury climbed in on the other side and they all drove off. The parking attendant lady watched them go. They were too caught up in their disappointment over the failure of their invasion to realize that she'd placed a tracking chip on their vehicle.

by **Recuecn** » Thu Dec 07, 2023 3:18 am

The Firauts--Reçueçn's top-string goalkeeper and his wife Samantha--had descended upon a little park on the outskirts of Reçueçn City to celebrate the birthday of their only child, their daughter Rébecca. Rébecca and her gaggle of friends from CE deux, her elementary school class, were running about and laughing as they kicked around a soccer ball. Most of Rébecca's friends were other girls from the little league soccer team she was on.

Gerauld stood near a picnic table, in dad mode, with his arms folded on his chest, watching them play. "They look like they're enjoying themselves," he remarked.

"Honey, come help me with the food," said Samantha. She and Gerauld lifted a large cooler onto the picnic table, and opening it, began to pull out the lunches they'd packed ahead of time and set them out.

"Do I pull out the cake too?" asked Gerauld.

"Not yet, it's an ice cream cake, and I don't want it to melt," said Samantha.

It was a beautiful summer day, and quite warm, although not unpleasantly so. The sky was clear, dotted only by a few puffy cumulus. It was really the perfect day for an outdoor birthday party--or a soccer game. The girls' laughter rang out merrily as Rébecca led a breakaway and the others sprinted to catch up.

Rébecca Firaut, age 8

"À table, les filles," Samantha called, and the girls dropped their game and came running quickly to get their food. Rébecca was the last to leave the game, a bit disappointed to see it end just in her moment of triumph. She kicked the ball into the empty net, arching it quite precisely into the upper 90. She began to trudge over to the picnic table, before remembering that it was her birthday. That cheerful thought re-energized her, and she ran to catch up with her friends.

Gerauld was handing out lunches to the parents of the other children, many of whom had brought lawn chairs and had set them up in such a way as to be able to hold a conversation while also watching the soccer game that had sprung up as the center of entertainment. As Gerauld moved about the circle, handing out food, he spied another figure approaching.

"Franky!" Gerauld walked over to greet his younger teammate from the national team, and gave him a hug. "I'm so glad you made it!"

"Sorry I'm late," said Franky. "There was an accident on the autoroute from Genève. But hey, better late than never, right?"

Samantha approached, holding a plate of food. "Well, you made it just as we were serving lunch, so I'd say you're right on time," she said.

Franky kissed her on each cheek and took the plate she was holding. "Thanks so much," he said, "I'm famished."

Samantha looked back at the picnic table, which was crowded with children. "So were the kids, it looks like," she said. "They're almost all done eating already." Samantha led the way and the adults returned to the picnic table. "Who wants cake?" Samantha asked. The children responded with a cheer.

Gerauld pulled the ice-cream cake out of the cooler along with a big knife, and began to cut rather large pieces. Samantha scolded him. "It's a birthday!" he said. "We're celebrating!" He handed a particularly large one to Rébecca. "First one goes to the birthday girl," he said.

"Merci, Papa," said Rébecca. Then she noticed Franky. "Hi Franky!" She set down her plate of cake and ran around the table to give him a tight hug. She only came up to his waist.

"My, you're getting big!" said Franky. "Another year or two and you'll be all grown up!"

Rébecca grinned. "Sooner than you think!" she said.

Frank shook his head in wonder. Sometimes Rébecca seemed awfully precocious. "How old are you now?" he asked.

Rébecca pulled back and gave him a devilish look. "You're supposed to remember, Franky," she said. "Guess."

"I guess that's what I get for trying to make small talk," Franky said. "I don't know why I asked. I know you're seven now."

"I'm eight!" Rébecca yelled in triumph. "Look, it even says on the balloons!"

"I knew that, I was just trying to trick you." Franky gave a smile, but it was hard to tell if it was one of embarrassment or teasing. "Looks like you were paying attention though."

"I'm glad you came to my birthday," said Rébecca. "I'm going to go eat my cake now." She ran off.

Franky turned to Gerauld. "She's sharp, that one. She always gives me a little bit of whiplash."

"Tell me about it," said Gerauld. "You have no idea what it's like trying to keep up with her every day." Having ensured all the children had gotten one, Gerauld offered Franky a slice of cake, and the pair of teammates found a couple of empty camping chairs next to each other.

"Are you ready to head out to Delaclava tomorrow?" asked Franky.

"Definitely," said Gerauld. It's sort of a tradition now that Rébecca's birthday is always right around the start of either the World Cup or the Cup of Harmony. So whenever we're planning her birthday party, I know it's time to start getting into the tournament mindset." Franky nodded. "What about you?" Gerauld asked him. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," said Franky. "I don't really know what to expect. We've only ever been to Delaclava once, and that was way back before World Cup 86, before they ever moved to Sonnel. Who knows what it will be like. And the competition at the Cup of Harmony is going to be some of the fiercest we've ever seen. But I think the team really got into shape over the course of qualifying. We just have to play the same as we always do, and we can handle whatever they throw at us."

Firaut nodded. "That's true," he said. "This whole mainframe thing I keep hearing about is a bit intimidating, but I guess at the end of the day a soccer field is a soccer field. We know what to do once we're on it."

"I put it in the goal, and you keep it out," said Franky.

Gerauld laughed. "You're talking about two different goals there, but yes, I suppose you're right. Although we both want the ball to go in the same direction."

"Well, I'm all packed and ready to go," said Franky. "I have my suitcase in the car, and I'm just gonna stay in town tonight and catch the flight with the rest of the team in the morning. No sense driving round-trip in one day just to come back early tomorrow."

"Do you want to stay at our place?" offered Gerauld.

"I wish I'd thought of that," said Franky, "I would have invited myself over. But I already booked a hotel, and it's non-refundable, so it feels silly to waste it."

"Well, come over for dinner at least," said Gerauld. "I'm sure Samantha won't mind, and I can cook something up."

"I don't wanna intrude on the celebrations for the birthday girl though," said Franky.

"You know she loves you," said Gerauld. "It would make her day."

"If you insist," said Franky. He looked over at Rébecca. She and her friends had finished their birthday cake and, since Rébecca was the birthday girl, her suggestion that they return to their soccer game had been readily accepted. She was once again on the attack, dribbling past a couple of her friends who were playing defense. She cleared them and sent a long, low shot across goal. The girl in the net dove for the ball, showing far more dedication than was demanded by a casual game at the park, but it was all in vain. The ball passed past her outstretched fingers and into the corner of the goal.

Rébecca cheered and raised her arms in the air to celebrate, before running over to help up her friend who was playing goalie. "That was a really nice dive," she said. "You almost had it."

"You must be proud to have a daughter who can finish so well at just eight years old," Franky said to Gerauld.

"I'm more proud that she's a good sport," said Gerauld.

"That's just like you," said Franky.

"Well if you think 'being a good sport' is like me, then I hope Rébecca grows up to be just like me too," said Gerauld.

"Oh come on, you have to admit you're pleased that she's picking up the game so well," Franky insisted.

A faint smile creeped onto Gerauld's lips, but he shook his head. "I really wanted her to be a goalie," he said. "I still try sometimes. But she says it's too boring."

Franky rolled his eys. "She's absolutely right. I'm glad I gave her that jersey of mine a few years back. It seems like I'm the only one leading her down the right path. I hope she grows up to be just like me, a killer striker."

"Does that include the inflated ego?" teased Gerauld. "That was a nice gift though. She wore your jersey more than mine for a while. It doesn't fit her anymore, obviously."

"Don't worry," said Franky. "I got her another one. I'll give it to her when she opens her presents later. We've gotta keep her used to wearing the number 10."

by **Audioslavia** » Thu Dec 07, 2023 6:35 am

Jeremy rolled his eyes and threw his phone down on the bar.
"Who's bloody idea was this to create an Idiot Project app"
"Yours" said the barman. "You came and talked to me about it every evening for weeks"
"Nah" said Jeremy. "I haven't been here for ages. I've been training for a marathon mate" said Jeremy, peering into the bottom half of his glass. He noticed two empty glasses beside it. A useful narrative device hinting that he was probably a little drunk, and announcing confidently that the barman was terrible at his job.
"You, a marathon?"
"Yeah!" said Jeremy, nodding. "What, you think I'm lying?"
"I don't think you're lying, I think you're drunk" said the barman. "Why would you run a marathon?"
Jeremy thought about this for a second.
"Yeah, why woukd *I* run a marathon?"
"Maybe start" said the barman. He looked down at Jeremy's scrawny, 70-something year-old body. "But definitely not finish"

by **Qasden** » Thu Dec 07, 2023 8:13 am

As the inability to re-sign Valentijn Munson became clearer day by day, the Qasden Association Football Association (QAFA) knew it had to think fast to find a suitable replacement worthy of capitalizing on the boomerang back to competitive viability harnessed by the Blue-Red legend. Instead, they would end up subjecting hundreds upon thousands of children to the same kind of trauma their forefathers experienced 15 cycles ago in a silent RTS.

Rex Akimbo, a director within the QAFAcademy iconic for his violent past with the national team fandom, was tasked with either getting the team through the final hump and back into the World Cup or fail in a way that at least garnered sympathy for the team. The 'hooligan manager', despite ruining a long-standing tradition of bullying the Audioslavians for some reason, would lead Qasden to its highest finish in qualifiers since the days of David Bjarnasson, booking a playoff match against an unassuming Tanirinthia that all but certified the notion of the Vans making their grand return to the big dance for the first time in 9 attempts. 90 minutes later, however, Akimbo would find his ass beyond chewed and would presumably be boiled at some point within the coming eons. Rexball would be dealt the death blow in similar vain to that of Merritt and Munson before it, leaving the NT back into a panicked state of coachlessness.

Unknowing to the suits at QAFA, the need to fill the position became a significantly more pressing issue, due in part to an improbable invitation to the 87th Cup of Harmony, a tournament long cherished by Qad fans nostalgic of simpler, less dementia-riddled times. Thus the ascendance of assistant manager, Lori Vandelhaar, was a go, completing the fledgling background character's rise to national prominence. Vandelhaar now sees a down-on-their-luck Vans squad needing proper reconciliation with themselves if they want to continue expanding on their increasing levels of strength in competition, an even more pressing matter given the particular intensity of this CoH. Can Calcio Calico snap itself out of its funk? Will L-V go down as a hero or a footnote in the qualms of history? Stay tuned, stay updated, and stay alert for all of that and nothing else within the wiry innards of Sonnelian Delaclava!
KPB: 16.51 (45th)
Style: -3
Preferred Formation: 4-5-1
Nicknames: The Vans | Calcio Calico | The Blue-Reds
Lori Vandelhaar
Age: 44|Position: Manager|Last Known Affiliation: Qasden NT
Picking up the pieces of an office ransacked and looted by the Anti-Akimbo brigade, Vandelhaar looks keen on bringing justice to the Post-Munson Era of Qad football. Despite having previously been limited to another man's clipboards in DBC 55 and WCQ 95, Lori's clever ability to do all the strategy with none of the public ire has allowed her style of play to dominate from beyond the Blue-Red veil. Out of the shadows, however, Vandelhaar's abilities will be put to the test in a competition no manager has been able to win since the days of Jon Merritt.
Telcro DeFlummox
Age: 48|Position: Assistant Manager|Last Known Affiliation: Qasden NT
Sort of an afterthought of a managerial figure within the ranks of QAFA, DeFlummox was left bewildered after the events of Kirkham inadvertently led to the phone call that'd lead him to a publicized promotion. While not nearly as tactically infamous as Vandelhaar, nor as personable as Akimbo, Telcro's ability to keep the team united on the field is one that proved vital in the wake of a horrendous WC92 showing, which saw the team more collectively scatterbrained and hotheaded than ever. Call his abilities the 'Power of Friendship' or whatever.
Zinnia Thurstan
Age: 32|Position: Goal Keeper|Last Known Affiliation: Hawthorne Kickers
No matter how many times they looked away, Thurstan can never, ever be stopped. Consistently validated with a dedicated career at Xanneria's Hawthorne Kickers, Zinnia's know-how around the net has proven invaluable to the National Team's efforts for as long as we've started counting ages right.
Substitute Goal Keepers
Gaunting Norwood|27|WEA
Justin Allgood|20|Dalton Town FC
Cameron Allan
Age: 26|Position: Defender|Last Known Affiliation: Brantisvogan
A fierce and renowned product of the Post-Zimari era, Allan proved his worth as a dominant defender through a multitude of successes found at Brantisvogan. His avant-garde tactics have swooned the blue-red base to a point of becoming what he always wanted to be: trivia night fodder.
Carl K. Umstroke
Age: 22|Position: Defender|Last Known Affiliation: Dury FC
From a young age, Umstroke's indescribably exceptional talent at blue balling any attacker's day got him a pair of crosshairs hovering over his contract signing hand. A key factor in the DBC 55 title run, Carl waxed and wow'd at his time in Perce Town, even earning dual-citizenship. He joins Poafmersian side Dury FC as the top transfer out from the Q League this last season, becoming the 2nd Qad and 1st player to break into the market.
Aristide Quickley
Age: 33|Position: Defender|Last Known Affiliation: Blue Mountain Range
Thought to have been past his prime, Quickley found himself returning back to the Starting XI after a single campaign absence in part due to his blossoming success and a grandfather defender in Astograth's Blue Mountain Range organization, helping them dominate in a magical title run season. Aristide is an excellent fighter and tactic-savvy defender that's often sought out by newcomers for advice, but also just an all-around healthy personality to have in such a heated game.
Sang-Hun Noel
Age: 24|Position: Defender|Last Known Affiliation: Passerine
While Noel had always hung around the national team in reserves, his increasingly incredible performances at Kelssek's Passerine were becoming too noticeable to ignore. Formerly co-opting the team with star Ronin Otero, Noel now finds himself a captain abroad, eager to prove himself worthy of the title for the National Team.
Substitute Defenders
Oliver Paul|20|Champagne Night
Cora Varnham|33|Fallwich United
Mason Bentley|20|Vna-Chuhul Ravens FC
Khasan Kubo|29|Columbia
Michelle McCracken
Age: 34|Position: Midfielder|Last Known Affiliation: Brattleboro FC
Regarded as one of the most dominant faces within the Zimari generation of players, McCracken was recruited as part of a shortlist of female players drafted when developing the legendary AOCAF 62 squad. Michelle's personality is professionally competitive, being quick to assert herself as the commanding individual on the field, gaining Darsten's trust in her taking over as Team Captain. Even now in the twilights of her career, McCracken's fire still burns bright enough to keep her a staple household name within the primary eleven.
Ronin Otero
Age: 22|Position: Midfielder|Last Known Affiliation: CF Outineau
In the highly competitive midfield scene, Otero was always just one step away from making the starting XI. Now, he finds himself at the forefront of a formation coded in his honor. An incredible mind and heart, Ronin served much of his domestic career within the track of Kelssek's Passerine before excelling prominently enough to garner the intrigue of one of the nation's giants: CF Outineau. There he helped the club win a fierce season, earning 'Young Player of the Season', and finally, after all this time, getting his chance to make a mark on the Vans' starting XI.
Genivieve Orville
Age: 30|Position: Midfielder|Last Known Affiliation: Aminey CS
An S-Tier graduate of the QAFAcademy, Genivieve's successful leadership at the 2nd Jenna Raven Cup, paired with a stellar performance with Bruul Skewers, ignited her legacy as she took over the captaincy from McCracken. A well known face in the Vans, Orville's tactile approach to analytically running away with the scoreline has kept her successes high in Ko-oren, netting her a longlist nomination on the Testiculos (now Tornados), a fact highly venerated by her partner and former teammate, Scottie Kaestre.
Lor Starcutter
Age: 21|Position: Midfielder|Last Known Affiliation: Romanopolis United
In a distant life, she was a forgotten face among academy prospects, always behind the next shiny new star to flop on the field. However, her time rising through the ranks of Kelssek football began to pay in massive dividends upon her ascension to Kirkenes FC, where her uncanny ability to win just about anything has woken up more than enough analysts to her value as a player and friend to the Vans. Since joining the Red Firm, she's assisted in title runs in both the Kelssek Championship and the coveted IFCF Champions League, earned a spot on the 'Team of the Season', and has even helped lead Qasden to a DBC trophy, it's first addition to the football cabinet since CoH 70.
Alice Sauvage
Age: 26|Position: Midfielder|Last Known Affiliation: Megabrantid
Like a surprisingly large plurality of QAFAcademy products, Sauvage started her career within the East Pacific, working tirelessly to become a major player within the bowels of Mazinaw Vanorian. Such efforts eventually caught the interest of Squornshelan bigwigs, Megabrantid, where her talents blossomed into an ethereal level of a season that saw a title in the club's pockets and a 'Signing of the Season' award for Sauvage herself. Now a staple name within the mighty Superleague, Alice finds herself at the front of a line she hadn't seen coming as she readies herself and her occasional opponents-turned-teammates within Qasden's NT.
Substitute Midfielders
Marco Bruno|26|Sporting Ittuributa
Shug de la Fontaine|36|Loxthorpe Rovers FC
Lana Boreal|20|Damogran
Jaylyn Bone
Age: 33|Position: Forward|Last Known Affiliation: Algolia
A legendary forward, Jaylyn was brought about as a prodigy from the eastern border town of Chevlin. Bone's successes with Algolia have kept him front and center as one Qasden's greatest goalscorers on record, though now finds the pressure building to get the nation over the hump as his time on the XI nears its end.
Substitute Forwards
Ander Galleon|20|Østad Pillar
Cloveria No'Bell|26|Longwood Lionesses
Lacey Lane|22|Hornchurch
I Give My Opponent Permission To
Choose My Goalscorers: Y
Godmod Goalscoring Events: Y
Injure Players: Y&N (get my ok first)
Godmod Injury Events: N
Red Card Players: Y&N (get my ok first)
Yellow Card Players: Y
Godmod anything else: No major harming of my players, venues, cities, you get the idea. Other than that, it's fairly fair game.

by **Carpathia and Ruthenia** » Thu Dec 07, 2023 2:59 pm

Lookahead at the 87th Cup of Harmony in Delaclava

Group H: Audioslavia, Juvencus, Acastanha & Carpathia and Ruthenia

The Mainframe, United Republic of Delaclava Although the draw ceromony got off to a shaky start with the delegations and journalists being given the wrong time and turning up a half hour early, an open bar soothed the disgruntlement felt and I myself tried a Delaclavan drink called a "Capri Sun" which let me tell you I will be bringing home as much as Delaclavan and Carpathian customs will allow. We found ourselves seeded in Pot 4 as the second highest ranked team behind capilalizt fever dream Beefsteak City, had we perhaps turned some of our draws into wins we could have found ourselves in Pot 3.

We find ourselves with a relatively good draw in Group H with Audioslavia, Juvencus and Acastanha, none of these teams being in the top half of their respective pots. Group E looks to be the group of death for this Cup of Harmony (although an argument can be made for Group F), which houses our qualifying groupmates Cassadaigua, our arch rivals Pasarga (although someone needs to tell them that) and a Polar Islandstates that have fallen far from grace and had a truely shocking qualifying campaign spending most of it rock bottom of Group 6 and only ended up in sixth place (antepenultimate for those who need a word of the day) on the very last matchday.

A note for any travelling fans heading to Delaclava you will probably be quite overwhelmed by the The Mainframe where all the group matches will be played. There is no point of reference for it, to call it a city is a disservice to the sheer scale of it spanning hundreds of thousands of miles and not a view of the sky at all. The stadiums scheduled for our matches could fit our largest stadium (Városi Stadion) in two or three times, good news for fans wanting tickets, but bad news for anyone is row ZZZZZ. However despite it's scale the transportation links have so far been very good and reliable and there are many parks to be found in and around Pomena Station.

Group H: Teams Preview

Audioslavia - A disappointing qualifying campaign from the bulls of Audioslavia, top seeds of Group 15 they finished a distant third place a full seven points behind group winners Brookstation, and a 1-0 loss at home against them in the final game causing Audioslavia to not even get a playoff spot with rivals Qasden pipping them by a single point, (given previous results perhaps a sense of irony that another 1-0 caused them to lose to Qasden). They will be looking to defend thier honour as perenial runners-up by reaching and losing the final at this Cup of Harmony, however they do seem a team on the tilt and perhaps a chance for us to snag a point. The only non-attacking team in the group they will be a tough nut to crack, but conversely if we hold our nerve, don't over commit our attacking forces and be ready for the counter attack there is a chance of us coming out the game with something.

Prediction: Carpathia and Ruthenia [1] - [1] Audioslavia

Juvencus - As a neutral you really have to feel for the Juvencus team, storing to a playoff place with a five match winning streak to finish only 3 points behind group leader Delte, and what do they get as reward for this? A playoff match against the current World Cup, the number one ranked team in the world and with a substatitial gap between them and second placed Græntfjall. No-one told them however as they managed to keep pushing to them right to the last minute, narrowing losing 3-2 and should hold thier heads high. Another ultra attacking team with a similar formation to our own, however they seem to treat defence as a dirty work throwing anything and everything into attack. Soares, Garcia and Audiol have cut through most defences like butter during qualifying so we will need to lock them down if we stand a chance. However I believe we may push them the Juvencus may be too much for us at this stage.

Prediction: Carpathia and Ruthenia [4] - [5] Juvencus

Acastanha - On the surface Acastanha had an expected qualifying campaign as third seeds in Group 18 and finishing third in the group, however when you look closer so find that they finished behind Vdara a nation ranked 184 places lower than them. Not to take away from a brilliant qualifying campaign by Vdara with only two losses in the entire campaign but with Acastanha finishing with a drab nill-all draw against Christchurchon a team who only scraped together two points from two draws and in fact where the 4th worst team in the entire of qualifying. They may be our best chance for three points however as we all know a wounded animal is most dangerous and with Acastanha looking to lineup even more attacking than us so we need to the careful that we aren't caught on the break. A curious note about the Acastanha team, they are an explicitly single gender team an oddity in multiversal football these days.

Prediction: Carpathia and Ruthenia [4] - [3] Acastanha

Given our second half form in qualifying with us only a goal shy of an unbeaten half, we are heading into the Cup of Harmony on a wave of good form and two of our groupmates are riding in on a run of bad form. Whether this form will translate into the cup run remains to be seen, however if the past is an indication of the future we could find ourselves with a chance to get out of the group stage and into the knockouts, a second round finish would be quite a feather in the cap of Lucia Kovács and a continuing progression in us getting back to challenging for World Cup qualification.

Speaking of Kovács despite a very public feud with Terzo Fabbri he does appear in the 25-person squad for the Cup of Harmony, sources close to the management team have confirmed that until either Fabbri makes a public apology or an extraordinary series of injuries occurs he will not play a single minute of football in the competition. If these sources are correct I do worry about the atmosphere of the team, and perhaps she would have been better leaving him out of the squad given Fabbri is not known for backing down, and to be frank his replacement Rebecca Pék has not just replaced but surpassed him. But perhaps Kovács hopes leaving the door open will allow Fabbri to eat humble pie if not this tournament but perhaps by our next qualifying campaign.

By Margita Ongaro
CBC Ruthenia

by **Stevencousin** » Thu Dec 07, 2023 5:24 pm

STEVENCOUSIN TOURISM AUTHORITY

Pretihouse, The seaside town that never sleeps

First day
Morning:
Taste traditional Stevencousin dishes at Deadsprings Sanctuary, a famous cafe. You can also enjoy a traditional breakfast meal at Boneclaw Station. After breakfast, we can visit the Pretihouse Maritime Museum on Crown Watch Street. Located in Old Pretihouse, this museum has interesting exhibits about the area's maritime history.

Midday:
Lunch at Nettlepoint Mansion. Enjoy organic and creative food at this popular cafe. After that, visiting The Aklossias is also in high demand. Built only half a century ago, the obelisk in this cultural center is here to act as a reminder of how easily life can take a turn for the worst, as people experienced in the past. His position in this community is meant to represent the beating heart of this community and the way its energy flows across the region.

Tour the Old Pretihouse
Explore the architectural and historical highlights of Old Pretihouse, including Pieter Van Rooyen's College and The Wagough Garden located on Holyguay Avenue. Interlocking bushes flank a neatly trimmed lawn. A pagoda stands near the back of the garden, with one side completely overgrown. Smaller flower bushes grow without borders, not a single weed is visible; they are full of hidden potential. The bush reaches a height of 1.5m/5ft but will continue to grow in all directions if not stopped. Several short signs are scattered around the park, beckoning people to explore the park and showing them the best views simultaneously.

Afternoon:
Pilgrimage to Coldcross Park Enjoy this spacious park, complete with beautiful flower gardens and Winter Gardens, where several food and drink stalls are available.

Dinner at Flatcairn Cafe. Taste fresh seafood in a creative style at this restaurant. You can also enjoy a seafood meal at Oceanfell Point or Bellême House located in Keellisle Harbor.

Second Day:
Morning:
Breakfast at The Aresmont Kitchen. Start your second day with a delicious breakfast at this restaurant. You can also enjoy grilled honey chicken at Wramfield Cafe or a glass of ginger milk at Ofrork Bistro. Visit Pretihouse Art Gallery. Located in Orkbus Park near the city center, this gallery showcases an impressive art collection.

Midday:
Lunch at The Acoburgh Craftsman Cabin. Taste artisanal dishes with a unique atmosphere. Head to Cape Groybus and explore this beautiful fishing area with traditional colorful houses, the name Pretihouse, which was originally called prettyhouses, starts here. Don't forget to buy souvenirs at The Fishermen Quay

Afternoon:
Pilgrimage to Feyport Beach
Enjoy the sea view at Feyport Beach. You can take a walk or relax around the beach. There are many places to shop and enjoy food in the surrounding area, or to Glokgend Point where various used books are sold here.

Dinner at Silver Judburn Enjoy seafood with a stunning sea view at this restaurant. You can also order fast food at Cappadocia or Knife's Edge, as well as western food at Redwick Bush, or the Foolfood Bench.

Night:
Entertainment at The Ardshire Isle or Kraktus
- Evening entertainment at one of these nightclubs, offering a fun night experience.

Place to Stay:
Cirencester Hotel, Ferndochty Inn or Faversham Hotel
- Choose these hotels for comfort and strategic location in the city center.

Group C

Archalit (40)
Stevencousin (58)
Beefsteak City (90)
Independent Athletes from Quebec (19)

___________VMV__________

Saturday, December 9 - MD1 (Stevencousin 1-1 Beefsteak City) [head to head record: 0-0-2]
Monday, December 11 - MD2 (Archalit 4-3 Stevencousin) [head to head record: 1-0-0]
Wednesday, December 13 - MD3 (Stevencousin 1-3 Independent Athletes from Quebec) [head to head record: 0-0-0]

by **Milchama** » Thu Dec 07, 2023 7:23 pm

Alexandria Times-Tribune-Sun-Moon-Sky-Picayune-Courier-Post-Pre-Forward-Current-Reader

Sports Section

Lol Time. Who Has that?

So, yes, technically, per the IC conventions in this thing I'm full time employee of the Alexandria Times-Tribune-Sun-Moon-Sky-Picayune-Courier-Post-Pre-Forward-Current-Reader but, really, come on now, we all know this is a fiction. The Alexandria Times-Tribune-Sun-Moon-Sky-Picayune-Courier-Post-Pre-Forward-Current-Reader has not had a full time employee ever and I'm actually working doing something else most of the time. What that means for you the reader is that I am about to get very lazy. Lamerein has, obviously, been fired after that disastrous World Cup campaign and has been replaced with Fetakela Manuta from Tinhampton who we know nothing about but exists and is a foreigner which is good enough. Manuta did no research and chose the Home Team, that only played on the road, to be the starting CoH roster because as he said, "It came second and I didn't want to pick a new one."

That's good enough for us, because, again, who has time?

Here's the Milchamian roster. We play a 3-3-4 (+3) and you can do anything in a RP. Seriously, go read THE's RP from the last final, that's insane stuff and I didn't care at all.

GK: Morc Entersher - New kid on the block. His exploits for Chaialim in the league have become the stuff of legend. Takes the job over a retired Miles Inthracam.
D: Eric Hexidevorah - Not half of something but all of something. Eric is a great outside defender able to play on both wings.
D: Dervan Kelliers CB - One of the new young CBs that has risen through the ranks in Milchama. Many compare him to Wilson as young'un. Expect him to start very soon.
D: Theo Elkenstall - LB. Natural left footer known for his good crosses.
M: Kelly Filimitov - LM - Lefty dead ball specialist. Also very good at crosses.
M: Cal Kamet CM - The rare Milchamian attacking mid. Nobody really knows what to do with Kemet because they play in all sorts of weird spaces that don't traditionally exist in Milchama. Has led to them leading the goal scoring 2 of the last 3 years in the New Babylon league. They/them.
M: Amy Cekarn - RM - Defensive mid. With a new defense and midfield is in the team to provide more defensive spine.
F: Millie Kouriea - LF - Plays with Floren at club level. Her ability to link up with him on offense has led to mini revival for Floren in club football so they figured why not put her on the national team as well? It worked out so well that Floren is now on the bench and Kouriea is still in the starting lineup.
F: Avi Benbemore - CF/LF - He's the sephardic Avi Belmowitz, which makes him the Sephardic Alan Belmore. He will, probably, score all the goals.
F: Barry Thomas - Despite the generic name has been unstoppable in both the Alexandrian and New Babylonian league. His double golden boot and a silver boot in the Judaean league made him an obvious pick for the team.
F: Abby Goldshires - Outside striker who is known for her technical vision and skill. Has matured enough to finally make a starting lineup.

Subs:
GK: Fletcher Archman - The long line of Fletcher back up keepers finally seemed to be over but then a young prospect, somebody who nobody had heard of, was accidentally selected for Great Alexandria and did well. So he's here now.
D: LaDonte Carter - Also, Milchama's old second string keeper retired and the third string keeper became a left back. Now Carter plays a different kind of defense.
D: Clara Tresa - For a Milchamian defender has surprisingly good dribbling skills. Her offensive production though is stopped by her hard tackles.
D: Gal Dale - A wave of enthusiasm has been met with her inclusion in the national team. We are ready and not worthy for such a great defender.
M: David Wongstein - Started as a Discord joke. Is actually Milchama's most exciting midfield prospect. Very excited to see him get his first starts in this tournament.
M:Lars Ben Johnson - Despite the confused name, he is not a confusing player. A classic box to box midfielder who provides spine to the midfield while also ranging forward when he wants to.
F: Yoni Flominon - Incredible passing skills has led to multiple assist titles in the Karakorum League for Flominon. Moved up to Alexandria and immediately got a starting position for Jasper's Creepers.
F: Len Fleming - Very tall striker. His booming headers have become legendary. His decent movement also puts him in a good position to score some goals well. The guy Milchama go to when they need to lump it up the field.
F: Dani Kaleten - The lighting to Fleming's thunder. Very fast player who is very technical and very good at moving to get open. The lanes he creates are becoming legendary.
F: Colm Interlasskoti - RF - Was once Milchama's greatest prospect. Now an old vet on probably their last World Cup. They/them pronouns.

by **Sarzonia** » Thu Dec 07, 2023 9:31 pm

Brady Reynolds gathered his team together prepared to begin the post-mortem for the World Cup 95 cycle. After all, his Sarzonian national football team were nowhere near contention for the proper. They weren't even remotely close. He figured he'd get the call that his services were no longer required and he could settle into a colour commentator role on a streaming service or TV network.

He got a call from the Incorporated Football Federation, all right, but it wasn't the call he was expecting. Sarzonia were being invited to the Cup of Harmony.

"Are you sure?" Reynolds asked as his eyebrows arched. His team only climbed 86 spots in the KPB rankings to 144, meaning the Stars would be the lowest ranked team in the tournament by far. "We're playing?"

"Yep," came the reply. A few minutes later, with the team waiting in the dressing room to watch the group draw, the groans among the players told the tale.

"We're royally screwed," goalkeeper Carlton Sandt said. We're 30 spots below the next lowest-ranked side in this competition and we've got no one in Group F ranked lower than 45th besides us."

"A defeatist attitude never got us anywhere," defender Charlie King said, aware that his playing career was on borrowed time now. "We're going to leave it all out on the pitch, even though home isn't a short drive across the border anymore." He was right. In another life, Delaclava was just a border crossing away. Border "security" was essentially the Maytag repair person of Sarzonia's law enforcement community. Oh, sure the work was busy if you call scanning driver's licenses and playing guess which region or state the accent was from busyI.

Now? Travel to Sonnel was arduous. And the departure came from Arrosia, not Atlantian Oceania, the where Sarzonia called home for essentially its entire existence. Yes, much had changed since the halcyon days of Delaclav-Sarzonian relations.

That said, some things hadn't. After all, Delaclava invited Sarzonia to the party even though they had by far the lowest rank of the 32 countries hoping to finish 33rd this cycle. And Sarzonia was going to give everything they had.

One thing was true. As strange as it felt traveling a great distance to get to Delaclava, there was at least some familiarity once the Sarzonians finally got there.

by **Independent Athletes from Quebec** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 4:57 am

Ahead By A Century

PART 9 - Putain que ma joie demeure

The end of a calendar year - that being that of the Gregorian Calendar - was known to be a chaotic time of the year. Most Quebecois would find the week immediately after the Christmas, which was a holiday both in religious and secular terms, to be spent going out with friends and loved ones, instead of the week before Christmas, which would be spent with both immediate and extended families. And unlike the Lunar New Year, a week of traditional, Koreanophone-Indigenous customs and folklores that would be held in February, the end of the Year was a more versatile, individualistic occasion, making them suitable reflections of the urban Quebecois society.

Of course, it would easier said than done if you were a soldier who is technically on-duty, to guard an awkward client in the festive times.

This was very much what Lieutnant Sung Byeong-Joo was thinking to himself, as he lit his own pipe on the the balcony of an unused bedoom in 'Place-Enniskillen' ski chalet. It was a relatively relaxed time of the night, with the Royal Quebecois Marines officer, who was on a two-year assignment as the Songak Metropolitan Police's Chair of Protection Command, would be the one maintaining nighttime operations in the lodge, usually to help monitoring the behaviours of His Royal Highnesses Alexandre and Adelaide while based in the city of Songak.

Should be painless, as long as the boys and the girls maintain their reins, thought Lieutenant Sung, who was informed of his task for the final week of the year at the start of Decembr. For Sung this operation was supposed to be painless, with the Highnesses bound to be only around in Songak, where they would only stop for few hours, and Mont-Saint-Louis, for one week until the day after New Year. It would, for most part, only require three officers with Sung and two junior officers, who like Sung, were deployed from the RQM or the RQIS, would be covering the surrounding vicinities to Mont-Saint-Louis.

What he would instead find to be difficult was the level of challenges some of these kids would bring to the table. Every time Lieutenant Sung would do a walkaround of the twelve-room chalet, where Adelaide and Alexandre had rented from none other than Seung-Geon's uncle and mentor, a certain Judoka-turned-The Praetorian custodian Ji Gyeong-Wan, there was always something going on. In every step of the staircase, or on the individual rooms with doors open, and on largely-deserted lounge and living rooms, the mess was clear. Empty bottles, clothing items both large and small, and shoes were everywhere, everybody alternated between shouts and whispers with ridiculous frequencies, while the smell of alcohol and other substances made him feel sick.

I live by the life of secrecy, but some of the sights here do not comfort me, thought Lieutenant Sung, as he tried his best to ignore some of the details he had been seeing in the first three days of the assignment. In all fairness, he had found the company quite easy, with most letting a 6'1" physical commando in Sung, handle any awkwardness that individual partiers would have to him. And Sung, while staying straightforward with his words, would do his part by pretending not to look at some of the things that would unfold on these nighttime gatherings. No wonder the Songak Met have only been putting Royal Quebecois Marines officers on assignment for these...

'Lieutenant!' shouted a sanguine voice from the other side of the living room, as a softball would pass by him, some distance to the right. It was from young Seung-Geon, the young trombonist at the Conservatoire de Joongyeong. Standing 6'9 tall and barely weighing looked most reserved of the teenagers he had added as security entourage to protect. Not a bad pitch, like father like his son. thought Sung, remembering that he was already around the age of the teenagers' parents themselves. In this case, legendary Heo Myeong-Shin, the Mr. Baseball.

'What you need, young man?' answered Sung, briefly flashing before his eyes that Seung-Geon, if his intuition were correct, would one day end up chairing the Empire that would be the H&N Group, a multi-family group that soon would be the leading shareholders of The Praetorian. And yet, so far away from all that grime out there..

'Aren't you tired of us all?' The relaxed tone of Seung-Geon's response suggested the relaxed demeanour the college freshman, who ruled over those junior in age but greater in wealth or status, held. 'Like I'm sure you would not want to keep an eye on us at all times.'

'Not one bit,' answered Sung, his voice maintaining some form of authority, though a bit of open-ness was also felt. 'If I am not here to serve and protect, then I would have gone back to the Marines and stayed there. That's why they call this on-assignment, so to speak.'

'So I have an idea for you,' said Seung-Geon, briefly looking at the ski hill just outside the bar, before looking at the solitary pipe on the table where a tiny trail of fume was coming out. 'It involves you not having to do anything, and I promise that we will stay civil and cause no trouble.'

Lieutenant Sung looked back at Seung-Geon with interest, before giving a nod. 'Carry on...'

It was almost eleven, and yet the night was every bit early on this Friday night. Most have either already eaten their dinner an hour ago, when they were in the nearby town for steaks at Le Courcevel, or grabbed more at the nearby Drysdale Spa with a snow cave. But most had only started to come back to the chalet after another evening of rabid skiing, and were nowhere near ready to go asleep.

Claire Lundrigan, after putting her rented skis back in the storage room on the first floor, showered and got changed into sweatpants and orange sweaters back in her room. It was a large bedroom, with her, Adelaide and Madeleine Tulloch, an Erskine Collegiate senior and prefect who was a childhood friend of Seung-Geon, sharing the space.

Day three, and yet three years have passed here like a fairytale,thought she as she struggled to process the dim lights of the room. On the way to Songak via train, Claire had remembered the worried looks her mother gave back to her eldest child when they waved goodbye at Saint-John-Upon-Battersea Station, almost as if she had known about the ways in which her Lauzon-Ramaut relatives would tip about her father, who would engage in drinking bouts and fondly visits, the week before Christmas. While the whispers themselves had remained mostly harmless, with her relatives finding even greater joy in the reminiscence Claire had shared with her mother, the whispers did remind her the possible dangers, and alluded to her why the most prominent Korean-language writer of the Christinian Era was content to leave Silverhills.

And yet I feel like I'm walking straight into the fire, thought Claire, feeling strangely on her end but not wrong in intuition. She would remember the promises she had made to both of them, in which she would do no acts of wrong, and for most part had upheld them. As the new girl, the young sophomore who had really known only Adelaide and a couple of her girls, it was easier for her and her girlfriends to just hang out in the town, grab a couple of lighter slopes and just chat.

The company of about about fourteen similarly-positioned teenagers, aged fifteen to nineteen, had its benefits in that, where you would socialise who you would know. Alexandre, who she would encounter at various times but otherwise held no interaction, hang out with Seung-Geon and Madeline on the high-difficulty slopes. The two Krytenians - Georgie Northwood and Armando Sierra-Heo (dual-citizenship) - found out that their common loves lied on cheering for Stanton Town (lord knows how, considering that Rico Sierra of all persons hailed from Avidia), was doing their best to DM Layvin Son-Saka over their Back of the Net save having issues with IC Son-Saka wanting to transfer to Atletik Thessia. Sport nerds they truly were, even if Armando was busy exercising his fake ID in Joongyeongite nightclubs much to his parents' chagrin, and the current Marquess of Linford (his father being the Duke of Northwood) very much the poster head boy who would get sloshed by his peers at every possible opportunity.

And that's not to mention the Solveig Davisdottir, the Graintfjaller Princess of Cabo Azure who was planning to join them after meeting with rest of them at 'Department of Sound' of all Songakian nightclubs. The diamond of the Shingoryeoite social season just two years ago, she has spent her time alternating between the Maritime University, the sole renowned higher-education institution in this island nation of 500,000, archaeological digs of Rushmore, and in the metropolitan functions. Words were that she would be joined by Leonor McInnis Valdes once there, and then would be heading to the chalet's way by end of the night.

Back in the room, Claire could hear from the room that most of the people were in the living room. After quickly checking her phone, Claire quickly got out and walked to the hallway. Most were there, even if the lights were close to being dimmed. A certain Swangard, who had recently discovered his love for a native Farf drug off his ski trip to Squornshelous, was half asleep and fully intoxicated at his couch. On the other sofas and desks followed the boys and the girls chuckling and buzzing, while a couple of lads were shouting audibles through an open window.

'At last!' shouted the host, who quietly moved into the centre of the makeshift stage in front of th television, as he immediately noticed Claire's presence. Claire immediately recognised this to be Seung-Geon, who had quickly changed into a white polo shirt and dress pants. He was holding his trombone to the left, dominant arm. 'Ladies and gentlemen...I would like to welcome Claire Lundrigan!' addressed Seung-Geon, much to Claire's face turning red upon the moment.

'Is that a rusty trombone you are holding there?' asked Armando, who would then immediately draw a round of laughter and whistles the rest of the way.

'Dandy shiny, yes, but it's not for those with faint of heart,' Seung-Geon answered, his light frame and limbs working out awkwardly with his height. It was clear that he was the adult among all adults here. 'But we have a song to sing, one that the new girl should know if she's to head to the finest conservatoires. Is it true that you know how to sing At Last?'

'I suppose so,' Claire said, her voice slightly nervous at having to sing it.

'In that case, we must begin with the intro,' he answered. 'Addy, may you please play the intro?'

by **Juvencus** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 7:52 am

"THE CUP OF HARMONY IN HOSTILE GROUNDS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE TEAM NEEDS" MADEIROS SAYS

Despite the heartbreaking defeat against Banija, the Cup of Harmony rebound might not be so bad, after all

The Madeiros Comment: One must not be fooled by how the team ended up in the Cup of Harmony in the first place. Having played so well that they could top 12 of the 18 groups, they have outdone themselves, even if the defeats against Delte both home and away have been embarrassing. The Banija game was a testament to team vitality and its skill level and it is enough proof that Juvencus should not be underestimated even in a pool of strong Cup of Harmony sides. On top of that, Madeiros knows how to hype up his players just right, Delaclava is the right spot for a rejuvenation in the team spirit.

Audioslavia, then, now, FOREVER?: The last time Juvencus was handed a Cup of Harmony spot it was all the way back to '84. A special campaign which was cut on the semi-final by Yuezhou. The 3rd place play off was a Juvencus vs Audioslavia affair on which la squadra won with a 4-2 score in an exciting match. Both teams benefited from this, as Audioslavia can now happily say they have finished on all positions in the Cup of Harmony podium, while Juvencus broke a sports-wide streak of losing in 3rd-place playoffs.(As a matter of fact, it destroyed it, finishing 3rd on the subsequent Independents Cup and 7 Nations Cup) Now, Audioslavia is the first opponent in la squadra's way in '87 and all eyes are on this game. Juvencus is looking to break the streak of losing against higher-ranked opponents this cycle, while Audioslavia could be looking for revenge. All-out football vs Anti-football, this match deserves a lot of credit. Would this be the start of a rivalry?

Domestic football resurgence translating to team performances: While domestic football has several seasons that are hidden from the outside world and thus not recorded, last season has given rise to several talents. It is true however that the stronger domestic football becomes especially when it comes to playing internationally, the better the national team is playing and the less the reliance on talents working abroad. It is a well-known goal of the Juven Football Association that the Campionato should be the league where the majority of the Juven internationals play instead of looking for deals abroad. While in the starting stages at the moment, this could improve in latter years and we could see a new wave of internationals that will give a new golden generation for the team.

Cup of Harmony, Juvencus' tournament?: Well, while the team's most beneficial runs have always come following a good Cup of Harmony campaign. That is not to say there have been some not-so-memorable runs. In fact, Juvencus might've finished on all top 3 spots in its 3 good tournaments, but in the rest it has been lackluster to say the least. Located in a tough group with the likes of Audioslavia, Acastanha and Carpathia and Ruthenia, most of which have performed well either recently, or have a history that spans way longer than our own in the sport, we should not take victory for granted just because it is the Cup of Harmony, or because Juvencus is pot 2. However, should a good run be achieved, it will probably be going all the way.

by **Acastanha** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 9:00 am

Rebuilding the Nation

After getting through a hardship and face another taste of war, Acastanha is now ready to look back into their domestic matters. As the result of the war, several urban areas are damages including some big towns like Bandar Ketam, Baaskan, Varsayith and Praia do Emerita. The country also suffers from the loss of many soldiers and civilians. And now, in the beginning of the peace time post-Kolanos Gulf War, the country starts to rebuild themselves.
Our focus now is to rebuilds these damages towns especially Baaskan and Bandar Ketam who are the most affected during the war. Both towns were captured and plundered by Kierahan armed forces. Many buildings are razed to the ground including key buildings such as government buildings, schools, health centers and business centers. We hope by immediately rebuild both towns, the economy will be back to the area

Igor Savrando
Spokesperson to Minister of Public Works and Housing

On the other hand, the issue of Ketampi is put on hold following the involvement of the country in the war. With the central government focusing on rebuilding Bandar Ketam, Ketampi's capital, the Governor of Ketampi ask the central government to continue the process of Ketampi statehood. But back in the capital, demonstration happening on the streets of Amarelda. The demonstrators concentrate on the Parliament building and The Red House, president's residence. The demonstrators voiced their upset upon Acastanha involvement in the war which bring more harm towards the country. "Isn't it enough for them to experience Arrakan War that they need to involve in another war? Cut the military budget!" shout the orator of the protestors. The demonstrations are very orderly, but the police keep their parameter to guard the demonstration. While the government haven't made any statement regarding the demonstration.

Acastanha involvement in Kolanos Gulf War clearly bring negative image to the current government. Latest opinion polls indicating the opinion towards the government have reach critical level as it falls below 50% for the first time since the end of Arrakan War. But the support towards the opposition is also not good. As the current Conselho Popular is control by the opposition, they are also being affected with this situation. But the opposition opinion which leads by Arra Nationalis Parti (ANP) still above 50% or better than the government. Political expert, Andre Aramde stated that the government needs to do something to elevate this opinion, or an early election might be triggered if vote of no confidence is enacted by the parliament. "Although I don't think the vote of no confidence will be enacted by the Parliament. ANP who rule the Parliament is also suffered by this situation. It's a bad strategy if they do it. Both are not safe for an election," Aramde's said. But he highlighted, ANP might get a boost of opinion if Ketampi statehood process goes smoothly. It is an advantage for ANP as they support the statehood of Ketampi right from the start. ANP majority Parliament also blocked the decision from Palidas parliament who reject Ketampi request on self-determination referendum. Ketampi statehood success will bring more support to ANP and another blow towards PLDP (Partido Liberal Democrático de Palidas). PLDP is the current President's party affiliation. "Next election would be interesting," comment Aramde at the end of the interview.

by **Pasarga** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 9:03 am

This was not where the Wanderers wanted to be, it was by all accounts not where they should have ended up based on their performance throughout the Qualifiers, and yet here they were all the same in the Cup of Harmony. It was a bitter pill to swallow, knowing that they had only been defeated once in the entire qualifying campaign and yet they had been forced into the playoff, where a few fortuitous bounces saw them be upset by a Drawkland team that they had ran over for most of the match. The irony of it all for some of the fans was that their qualifying performance had been soo good that they had actually gone up in the rankings of the WCC by two and had seen their score improve by nearly nine whole points. Yet all of that meant little for having coming up short in the three games that mattered the most in the end, away to Sajnur, away on the last matchday where they could have overtaken Sajnur with a victory over the fourth placed side but drew, and then against Drawkland.

The consequences for failing to qualify were swift, with Zachary Orengo being let go the day after the playoff defeat, the Banijan having had an up and down tenure with the Wanderers, who probably could have survived the failure to qualify if his performances in the Copa Rushmori had not been completely abysmal. The team had once been the heavy favorite going into every single edition of the tournament even during perceived down years of the national team, yet they had slowly collapsed into being an also ran competitor in the very tournament that they founded (with assistance from Nethertopia, Sargossa, and C&M). The last three editions of the Copa have seen the Wanderers fail to advance out of the group stage, being upset several times by teams who on paper were quite inferior to the Wanderers and yet were still able to claim the victory. It was not a good look and likely the reason Orengo is out of a job more than the failure to qualify, as the performance was that of a team who in most other scenarios easily win their group.

The PFA acted quickly, appointing former international striker Michael Mueller, who had previously been managing Galatica for nearly two decades before having resigned from the job at the conclusion of last season. Mueller is no permanent fix however, with the former Wanderer attacking making it clear to the federation that he was only going to oversee the team during the Cup of Harmony, so that they could conduct a proper search for the next permanent appointment to the job before the Copa Rushmori and start of the next qualifying campaign. While his stay with the national team might be a short one, he has already looked to reverse some of the changes that Orengo had brought to the program, reverting to a 4-4-2 formation albeit with an attacking midfielder. There looks to be less of a high press from Mueller's team but they are not going to abandon the press entirely, the biggest change will be looking to solidify possession of the ball, retaining it when they have it until a good scoring opportunity arises.

Despite some disappointment lingering about the failure to qualify, the team is focused on the task at hand, having a good showing at the Cup of Harmony and hopefully living up to the moniker of being the favorite for the tournament. It will not start out easy though, as the team has been placed into what outside media sources have dubbed the Group of Death for the tournament, as fellow former World Cup winners Cassaigua join the Wanderers in the group. Both sides were the top teams in their pots (excluding the hosts who had been placed in pot one), giving the side an already quite top heavy pairing, this was compounded though when the group also received the third highest ranked teams in both pot three and four, Xanneria and Polar Islandstates respectively. It is quite the difficult group and one that would not look that far out of place at a Copa Rushmori, sans Xanneria, although the Wanderers will be hoping for more fortune in the group than their recent runs in the regional tournament. That begins with the only non Rushmori side of the group, Xanneria, and a victory is needed for both morale as well as to keep the chances of winning the group on high, a goal that the Wanderers have in high regard after the painful lesson from the qualifying campaign.

by **Delaclava** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 10:16 am

DELACLAVA NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM
CUP OF HARMONY 87

Gold medalists, Games of the V Olympiad.
Third Place, 18th Independents Cup.
Seven-time WC qualifiers (51-56, 91). QF at WC51. QF at CoH84
Hosts of WC55, CoH 44, 46, 84, and 87, BoF 72, AOCAF 31.
Current world ranking: 71st
Peak world ranking: 11th (post WC-53 qualifying).

Trigram: DEL | Nickname: Phoenixes | Formation: 4-4-2
Style Modifier: -2

RP permissions: Yes, but be respectful and TG/DM if you're not sure or have ideas.

Interim Manager: Ernie Davis, 48, First City
Technical Director: Christian Josquin, 41
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Daniel Witt, 43
Goalkeeper Coach: Tomasz Janaczek, 43

GOALKEEPERS
#1 GK Porfirio Bullrich - 21, 6-0, 170 - Jasmine Island Peacocks
#14 GK Nicolas Mercier - 28, 5-10, 165 - Jaglan Royals (SRS)
#22 GK Philippe Belley - 25, 6-0, 170 - Valhalla Vikings

DEFENDERS
#2 RB Toby Barker - 26, 6-3, 165 - AFC Westpike (BRE)
#3 CB Marc Champagne - 28, 5-8, 140 - Northandryun Rovers (QUE)
#4 CB Wilfrid Gouin - 27, 5-7, 130 - Couno Rangers (TMB)
#5 LB Killian Egan - 25, 5-11, 155 - Rhodes
#12 RB Cian Barry - 27, 6-1, 155 - EFS (EUR)
#16 CB Neil Bossingen - 30, 6-3, 170 - KT Itsasontziak (EOT)
#17 LB Maverick Wiseman - 25, 5-5, 125 - First City
#23 LB Minotauro Meñica - 33, 5-6, 130 - Raven River (NPH)
#26 CB Brett Riddle - 26, 5-9, 150 - Manchester Wolves

MIDFIELDERS
#6 DM Margons Kraulis - 26, 5-7, 150 - Wansan Noksaekjeonsa (QUE)
#7 LM Andrej Heilprin - 24, 5-11, 160 - First City
#8 RM Vangelis Anagnakis - 26, 5-4, 125 - Fontwell Rovers (TMB)
#20 CAM Ashley Rogers - 25, 5-10, 160 - Cleopatrana SC
#10 CAM Kent Lindblad - 32, 5-8, 140 - Farrenton Athletic (EUR)
#13 RM Kit Atkinson - 24, 5-8, 145 - First City
#15 DM Didier Brouillard - 27, 5-6, 130 - Endeavour Brenecia (BRE)
#18 LM Aidan O'Galvin - 25, 6-0, 165 - Cavalry
#19 LM Ashton Doyle - 26, 5-6, 130 - Manchester Wolves

FORWARDS
#9 ST Alibek Khautov - 31, 5-10, 155 - Coret Hawks (NPH)
#11 ST Seth Gallant - 25, 5-7, 135 - Coldwater
#21 ST Jackson Johnson - 24, 6-0, 170 - Manchester
#24 ST Kyriakos Dimellis - 28, 5-9, 150 - Ossiana FC
#25 ST Felix Houde - 29, 6-3, 170 - Coldwater

by **Cap Nord** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 3:29 pm

“I’m not in it.”

Jan Van Dijcke scanned the complete selection again, as if there was a genuine chance that they had mistakenly listed the left-footed forwards under Marzinn and the other goalies. There was not a lot of furniture in his penthouse in the outskirts of Kirkenes (that’s what Kelssek minimal architecture gets you) but it all seemed to fall on his head at once. The qualifying campaign had ran disastrously, with only a final-day victory avoiding the worst placing in Capnordic history and yet again, the gaffer vigorously held on to the same names.

A domestic title in a highly-rated competition and more importantly, even if he was only a substitute in the final, a Champions League trophy. The medal which had been handed to him by the IFCF bobo’s was one of the scarce decorations in the apartment but apparently it meant nothing to Pazron Finchley. There were twenty-six better Capnordic players in the head of the Lozhoan national coach, some of which plied their trade flirting with the relegation line of the Premier Division. The thought alone made Van Dijcke a little weak in the stomach.

“I’m not in it.”

He repeated it, almost begging for some feedback from his partner. She was not your standard Kelssecois belle and few would take a double-take for her in a nightclub. But if you sat across an office desk from her for three weeks, she would be on your mind every second of every night. It took Jan six days to fall in love with her and three months to convince her for a date. A period in which he drank an amount of caffeine drinks which heavily collided with his duties as a professional athlete, only to get a glimpse of her barista art. He himself admitted that the only reason she had agreed to go out was that her colleagues had quite enough of the scraggy type presenting himself three times a day.

“I guess the phone call did not do you much good.”

The phone call.

That highly-anticipated phone call.

For some reason, Jan had expected an apology for the grotesque oversight and a ticket back home for the upcoming international game. However, early in the conversation, Finchley seemed to turn his coat and took it on as a regular job application interview. About when the question and what do you think you can add to the selection? came up, Jan had snapped. Had words such as ‘loser mentality’, ‘favoritism’ and ‘lack of decisiveness’ been uttered in the conversation? Not in the version Jan had shared with her afterwards, but the general gist of it had been clear. For months on end, journalists had pointed to the option to include the former Noordende left-wing. First those had been subtle suggestions, next stark recommendations and at some point in time someone had called it ‘The Curse’. As no one knew who had come up with it, various variations of the Curse started to linger. Some even claimed, as an important string it the poorly-woven curse tapestry focussed on the continuously missed penalties from Simon Carstensen, that there was an element of the old Sporting - Sandfjell rivalry included. But the common denominator on all versions was that the non-inclusion of Jan Van Dijcke caused the team to fail.

As far as facts went, Jan knew that it made no sense at all and as such, he kept from commenting on the matter all-together: but even that could not avoid that there was more and more smoke around the Curse. At some point, it even felt as if former Noordende teammates such as Brymsaeter or Barrington seemed to have gotten a bit colder to him in their communication, as if Jan could help it that some wacko’s linked his absence (an absence which highly annoyed Van Dijcke, that was the only true part) to the poor results strung together by the Whalers.

Worst of all, Van Dijcke could feel through the clunky landline why Pazron Finchley had bothered to reach out. Even the coach had started to warm up about the Curse. This was not a call to include Van Dijcke on his talents, this was an attempt to control the Curse.

Well, the Curse, Van Dijcke thought, what ridiculous nonsense. But maybe Finchley was just testing the waters to see if he could control the press and attention around the Curse. Jan was not even a little pleased about that and had ended the conversation with a dry Let me know if you consider the only Capnordic to win the Champions League on his merits. At the time, Jan was rather pleased about the mic drop and in his head, he already saw the remorse from Finchley about leaving him out of the selection for so long, and the attempts from the Lozhoan to rectify his wrongs by taking him to the Cup of Harmony. Deep down, he saw a potential starting spot as Jorgen Bjerkness was going through a rough patch and was more an attacking midfielder than an actual attacker anyway.

Yeah, that had not worked out.

“I’m not in it.”

Being the third time Jan uttered it, the consequence of his words now slowly sunk in. As long as Pazron Finchley would be at the helm of the national team, Jan Van Dijcke would never get selected for the Whalers. The national coach had considered all sides to the problem and decided to stick with his initial opinion, giving the FA a confirmation: it would be Finchley’s way or the highway. Being a Campionato Esportiva winning manager, there was still a proper credit amount in the bank for him. Van Dijcke buried his head between his hands. Playing with Kelssek’s most illustrious club was a marvellous thing but wearing the (atrocious) red-yellow-blue shirt would have been the icing on the cake and that dream suddenly seemed further away than ever.

“Honey, it will all be fine.”

She meant it well, but Jan just slowly shook his head. He could not believe it.

“I’m not in it. And I’ll never be.”

He knew she stood on a tight schedule but it still felt a bit cold that she was grabbing her keys to go to work. For a second it felt as if she would leave him at that note but standing in the door post, she turned around.

“I believe in you and trust me, I will take care of it.”

It took him a second to let that sink in.

“Take care? What do you mean by that, Meg?”

But the door already had been slammed shut with a force that seemed far greater than to be found in your average short, skinny Kelssekian girl.

by **Saint Eleanor** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 3:57 pm

Style Modifier: -2.269

Notes

Shirts: visualised to your right.

Nickname: The White Stars is the historically-accepted nickname for Saint Eleanor, owing to the central symbol on their flag. Since their CoH84 win, the use of Falcons or Peregrine Falcons (previously lost in translation by Huayramarca's erstwhile Trome as "Peregrin Hawks") - a homage to the national animal, once avoided for fear of confusion with the Pink Falcons of Nova Aegis - has soared in popularity. Ahem.

Race, ethnicity and species: taFrexala and weMexala [ethnically Gladom Newion], and Faleraneta [ethnically Sochean], are black. Hollenberg is white [but half-Tinhamptonian through her mum, half-Atoccian through her dad; never mind that they are almost identical shades of white anyway]. Matsuda and Fujiwara are Squidroidian [i.e. Japanese]. All others are white [and ethnically Tinhamptonian].
Matsuda lives in a human body, but he is also one of Squidroidia's six feted Wunderbars, a victim/beneficiary of human experimentation intended - often, if not always, with success - to make the experimentees among the best footballers in the multiverse. Gentle Breeze, manager, is a pegasus (and the image of her linked towards the end of this roster was generously donated by EQS). Reniira Clevinger, co-assistant manager, is half-human, half-satyr. All others are fully human.

No drama: Eleanorians play football the way they're entirely convinced it's meant to be played. No gloves (goalies excepted), no long-sleeved thermal underthings, no obnoxiously-coloured boots, absolutely no cutting off the bottoms of their socks and sticky-taping a new one on, and no unjustified whinging, moaning or faking: just getting on with the job, having "fun," and trying to win somehow. Some call it non-league standard. Others call it dour, evangelical Christianity (never mind only 70% of the population believes it). We call it one of the best forms of football in the world. You'll note the lack of even a guesstimated number on that this time.

Additional information: The names of all players and staff in the Biography section are hyperlinks to their interviews with Jamie Rodgers, where available; they should not be treated as part of this roster.
cica.da accounts of note are also NOT in this roster, as they were in WCQ95; I've moved the list to my domestic newswire.

Players' languages: All Eleanorians speak

Terranean, it is the language of intrasquad communication, and many - including in this squad - will have a Westcountry accent. The vast majority do not know any other languages. Despite this...
--> Coombe is a de-facto fluent speaker of

Azertienne (mostly picked up from her time at Kelssek).
--> Launceston has a fairly good understanding of

Akhdari (out of bona-fide interest... and pressure on her mum's part for her 15-year-old self to learn a second language).
--> Hollenberg has a decent grasp of

Vojovitican (from years playing in front of a highly xenophobic fanbase in the Vojovitica region of Mytanija every other week) and

Azertienne (foreign language education actually exists in Atoccian schools).
--> taFrexala and weMexala are fluent in

Newion (for obvious reasons). Poor Faleraneta is a second-generation Sochean and can't speak a word of his mother tongue.

How to read my roster's short list: Every position in the short list has a colour code: goalkeepers are orange; defenders red; midfielders green; strikers blue; managers purple; assistant managers pink. Major palmares (WC, CoH, BoF ----- CAFA, AOCAF, CR, CE, IAC ----- CL/CC, ChC/GC, AT, CWC, LBCT/SBCC, RSC/YC) are in golden yellow, and - for staff - distinguished by whether won as a [P]layer, [M]anager or [A]ssistant manager.
In a new, desperate, gloriously post-Martin effort to reduce space, takers of setpieces (LCK, RCK, FK, PK) are now in very, very dark green after palmares. Simply because a player is down as the free-kick taker does not mean they take all free-kicks, however: those from wide positions, eighty yards from goal and so on will be taken by those in the best position.
Two players in this squad hold Squidroidian citizenship. Matsuda appeared at WC91 and won IAC17; Fujiwara never won a cap as far as SEFA knows. They are marked as "dual SQR" players, after any other short list tags.

Timestamp: This roster was ICly issued on 1st June 2008. Club information is accurate as of 1st December 2006 - just before TW43, which hasn't OOCly been held - and should be taken as an accurate information of the situation on that date.

Roleplay Permissions: Yes, but...

No wholesale changes of the Eleanorian squad ("wholesale" being whatever I define as wholesale - but please don't be afraid to start or bring on a few listed subs)
No more than two red cards or other forms of ruling players out per match, unless I send you a telegram (from Saint Eleanor) or Discord message (from tinhampton) to the contrary
No injuries longer than one game or beyond the last sixteen, again unless I say otherwise
Please no other violations of bodily autonomy. Yes, that means no deaths too, here or elsewhere in Saint Eleanor. Or of Eleanorians elsewhere :P
No trying to remove the manager, her assistants, or Eleanorian government officials from office (this includes no giving my staff members, named or unnamed, red or yellow cards - an area of the IRL Laws of the Game which I strongly disagree with on principle)
Absolutely no destruction of Saint Eleanor or significant areas thereof
The Eleanorian media - especially SESB and The Reporter - reserves the right to fact-check obviously false claims about the national team and those surrounding it
Eleanorians do not take part in anthem protests, taking the knee or other similar political gestures in or around matches - but can, and sometimes do, speak their minds off the pitch

THE SAINT ELEANOR FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

ROSTER FOR THE 87^TH CUP OF HARMONY
To be held in Delaclava

Home kit: All black
Away kit: White shirts with a blue sash from the bottom-left to the top-right, white shorts, white socks
Goalkeeper kit: All green

UP THE WHITE STARS!
Short list of players

Typical starting lineup (4-2-3-1):
.GK. .CoH84. Arielle RICHARDSON (she/her; Crvena Zvezda [Mytanija]; born 10th March 1981)
.LB. .VCPT. .CoH84. .LCK. Cathy WINCHESTER (she/her; Independence 1975; born 29th August 1978)
.RB. .CoH84. Exandra DAVIES (she/her; Jolbonopolis United [Quebec and Shingoryeo]; born 18th June 1974)
.CB. .CoH84. Sam NEWBRIDGE (he/him; Grand Beach; born 20th October 1974)
.CB. .CoH84. Esther LAUNCESTON (she/her; Athletic Saint Eleanor; born 30th June 1981)
.CDM. .CPT. .CoH84. .FK, PK. Bridget COOMBE (she/her; Athletic Saint Eleanor; born 2nd November 1975)
.LM. .CoH84. David NEWCASTLE (he/him; Independence 1975; born 22nd April 1974)
.CDM. .CoH84. Sylvia HOLLENBERG (she/her; Energija-Nuklearna [Mytanija]; born 29th May 1981)
.ST. Rick GOLDSMITH (he/him; Hiyashi Celestia; born 11th August 1980)
.CAM. .CoH84. Steve PILCHARD (he/him; Occidental Olympic; born 8th September 1977)
.RM. .RCK. Angelica NORTHEND (she/her; Capital Cove Defense Forces [Capital Cove]; born 23rd July 1981)

Substitutes (depth chart):
.RM. .CoH84. Tim BRANDON (he/him; Grand Beach; born 9th February 1976)
.GK. .CoH84. Georgia WOOD (she/her; Golden Unicorn; born 15th April 1972)
.LM. Graham LAWSON (he/him; Athletic Saint Eleanor; born 14th February 1980)
.CDM. .CoH84. Lydia NICHOLLS (she/her; Sandfjell Fotball [Cap Nord]; born 11th October 1980)
.CB. Christine TERRENCE (she/her; Sword and Shield; born 11th August 1979)
.ST. David KEY (he/him; Occidental Olympic; born 28th June 1982)
.CB. .dual SQR. Daiki FUJIWARA (he/him; Newbanks United; born 19th April 1980)
.CDM. .IAC17. .dual SQR. Kichirō MATSUDA (he/him; Independence 1975; created 1984 [precise date unknown])
.RB. .CoH84. Naresmet taFREXALA (he/him; Athletic Saint Eleanor; born 11th December 1976)
.LB. Tina FALCONER (she/her; Good Hope Club; born 25th March 1982)
.ST. .CoH84. Dekamela weMEXALA (she/her; Occidental Olympic; born 5th May 1975)
.GK. Carla HAWKINS (she/her; Newbanks United; born 3rd November 1977)
.CB. .CoH84. LCpl. Denise LIVINGSTON (she/her; Army and Navy; born 7th August 1981)
.CAM. Kavezalea FELARANETA (he/him; Independence 1975; born 19th September 1984)
.ST. Rachel McNAMARA (she/her; Newbanks United; born 7th April 1979)

Members of staff:
.MG. .WC83[P]; AOCAF58[P], AOCAF59[P]; CWC49[P], ChC2[P]. GENTLE BREEZE (she/her; Equestrian national; age 44)
.AMG. .WC87[P]. Reniira CLEVINGER (she/her; Nepharan national; age 39)
.AMG. .CoH84[A]. Ltn. Stephen MITCHAM (he/him; age 41)
Biographies (written by Jamie Rodgers, chief football correspondent of Saint Eleanor State Broadcasting)

1: Arielle Richardson --- position: goalkeeper --- age: 27 (born 10/03/1981) --- club: Crvena Zvezda [MYT] --- height: 6ft0in (183cm)
coffee preference: milk and one sugar --- appearance: brown ponytail; not-quite-as-brown eyes --- parental occupations: barista at an independent café in Collegiate district (father); florist (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: permanently booked to live in a library in Tsrvena
You almost certainly read the above mini-file and suspected that Richardson was a bit of a romantic. It would be accurate to call her a bookworm, but she has vouched for falling asleep at the opera, not wanting to follow her (University College) teammates to nightclubs, and - more than almost anything else - wanting to study. Whatever you do, do not hold your conversations with her during the match: she is far more likely to shake you into paying attention, actually pay attention to the proceedings herself, try to grab hold of the ball if the opposition ever thrusts it in her general direction, and move the ball where it makes most sense (rather than just kicking it out... somewhere). That Sword and Shield are semi-actively collapsing in the areas of the pitch they need to not be collapsing, which is most of them, might matter little to Richardson given the prospect of her moving at some stage. Which would contribute to the collapse itself.

2: Cathy Winchester --- position: leftback --- age: 29 (born 29/08/1978) --- club: Independence 1975 [EXT] --- height: 5ft3in (160cm)
coffee preference: milk and one sugar --- appearance: short blonde hair, but not really that short; blue eyes --- parental occupations: real estate agent (father); housewife (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: working a variety of temp jobs and internships while waiting to inherit the family business
Winchester is, by this point, a cult hero among supporters of club and country alike: a nailed-on starter for the Liberators in both good times and bad, she has also proven her worth for the national team (although some might argue that her winner against Juvencus many moons ago tips the scale well in her favour). Despite only having taken up football as a hobby aged nine, she has proven herself to be strong in making passes, cutting them out, and, of course, stopping them from ever happening. These might look like the fundamentals, but to misquote Derek Pittam, she is "a midfielder in completely the wrong place" - which is a compliment, not an insult. Ignore the fact he tried to change her mind about positions to no avail.

3: Exandra Davies --- position: rightback --- age: 33 (born 18/06/1974) --- club: Jolbonopolis United [née Winnipeg United; QUE] --- height: 5ft8in (173cm)
coffee preference: milk and two sugars --- appearance: long, super-curly, obviously-dyed-peroxide-blonde hair; brown eyes --- parental occupations: fuel station attendant (father); call centre operator (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: the guitarist-slash-frontwoman of a punk rock band that's completely unknown beyond Jolbonopolis and the Dockside
Some footballers are sensible enough to be all-rounders. Davies is crazy enough to be an all-rounder. Despite keeping to rightback, she is unquestionably competent at just about everything that could be expected, and unexpected, of her: man-marking, woman-marking, person-marking, tackling, dribbling, passing, shooting... okay, so her idea of some of those concepts might be different to yours. She has her superstitions - most infamously among them the pre-match half-satsuma - but claims "it doesn't matter if I forget about them for whatever reason." Although she does appear to have forgotten about long-time girlfriend and one-time Good Hope Club teammate Charlotte Bryant while in Quebec and is now onto Rachaelle Hernandez, one of the nation's best MMA fighters. Just don't get into too many arguments, okay?

4: Sam Newbridge --- position: centreback --- age: 33 (born 20/10/1974) --- club: Grand Beach [EXT] --- height: 5ft10in (178cm)
coffee preference: standard-issue black --- appearance: very short black hair; brown eyes; more than a bit of stubble --- parental occupations: kitchen staff at Grand Beach's Willis fried chicken shack (father); bank teller (mother)
if he wasn't a footballer, he'd probably be: voted one of the top fifteen most unemployable bouncers in Anaia
Calm, refined, more distributive than anything... not a chance. Newbridge still has his reputation as Grand Beach's enforcer for a decade - despite his best attempts to chill his style in recent seasons - with his simple-minded physicality, somewhat more complex-minded ball-winning skills, and very occasional outbursts proving to be a furiously relaxing break from the typically mellow pace of Eleanorian defending. It's not quite Enigma Armageddon or Alex Keane levels of "what the fuck?", but it gets the job done, it's worse than Paul Ferry would have ever considered, and - by some miracle - it's the secret ingredient that's keeping him in the usual starting lineup for this cycle at least, if not the next couple too. That, or the ongoing (if near-resolved) national centreback crisis.

5: Esther Launceston --- position: centreback --- age: 26 (born 30/06/1981) --- club: Athletic Saint Eleanor [EXT] --- height: 6ft2in (188cm)
coffee preference: only drinks water --- appearance: stereotypically blonde ponytail; brown eyes --- parental occupations: regular human resources employee (father); the meteorologist on Channel 4's news bulletin (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: a rising small-screen actress with a couple of horribly autotuned hit singles to her name (although she released one in 2004!)
Despite a fairly strong defensive tradition, it should have surely said enough about the parlous state of Saint Eleanor's centrebacks outside Independence 1975 that Evans had to call up a mostly-untested 19-year-old almost entirely on the grounds that she has "good fundamentals." Fast forward half a decade and Launceston is quite possibly the very best of the lot: one of Athletic's cult hero for Athletic, a not-insignificant part in the country's Cup of Harmony triumph and last World Cup qualification. While definitely imposing both aerially and on the ground, and (unlike certain other defenders) willing to tackle to win the ball if needs must, it almost feels like she just seems to know where the supporting players are when she does have possession - that and who it's best to give it to. Hardly spectacular stuff - although you would expect someone of her background to be - but it's proven.

6: Bridget Coombe [captain] --- position: defensive midfielder; actually wouldn't be that bad as a centreback --- age: 32 (born 02/11/1975) --- club: Athletic Saint Eleanor [EXT] --- height: 5ft11in (180cm)
coffee preference: green tea with a drop of honey --- appearance: brown ponytail; brown eyes; unshakable glow of positivity --- parental occupations: retired Army sergeant (father); secondary school philosophy teacher (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: a science teacher at the Parkside Community School
When people love you, they love you. Coombe is certainly loved in most circles: venerated by Olympic, skippered by Latrobe, already well-regarded by Athletic, almost idolised by the rest of her country and still one of the best midfielders anywhere in the world. Little can be said about her as a player that has not already been said, defined as she still is by her physical strength, defensive solidity, creative proficiency, pure undistilled resilience - and very occasional goals (although they are generally very big ones when they come). Where I can offer novel, substantiative comment is about her leadership abilities: it takes a very, very special person to take a nation of 550,000 that failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups almost to the last sixteen of the next one and in rather spectacular fashion as well. Better luck next time, though?

7: David Newcastle --- position: left midfielder --- age: 34 (born 22/04/1974) --- club: Independence 1975 [EXT] --- height: 5ft9in (175cm)
coffee preference: milk and no sugar --- appearance: normal, short black hair; brown eyes; clean-shaven --- parental occupations: garage mechanic (father); cleaner (mother)
if he wasn't a footballer, he'd probably be: carrying out unauthorised third-party repairs on really big and fancy electronics
Newcastle has asserted at multiple press conferences that "my parents taught me attention to detail," but it's definitely there no matter who put it in him. His ability to swing the ball into the box, swipe it across the other end, slide it across the floor a few yards, run with the ball for a few seconds, or even just try his luck from a distance is strong; so strong, in fact, that most people barely even notice them, despite the fact he's been a regular starter at all levels for what feels like aeons. Those who pay attention might - and do - call him "boring," but his big moments are either too inadvertently entertaining or far too nerve-wracking for that label to be merited in any way.

8: Sylvia Hollenberg [H.R.H. Princess Sylvia of Atoccia] --- position: defensive midfielder; roughly as good at CM --- age: 27 (born 29/05/1981) --- club: Energija-Nuklearna [MYT] --- height: 5ft9in (175cm)
coffee preference: milk and no sugar --- appearance: short blonde hair ("a break from decades of royal tradition"); blue eyes --- parental occupations: the King and Queen of Atoccia
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: representing the Atoccian royal family on business much less important than the World Cup
Some royals are born into celebrity status. Hollenberg got there through hard work, routine Challengers' Cup heartbreak, lots of coffee and bloody-minded persistence. If you think that sounds quite unlike her, you'd be right: she's more conservative as a player - and perhaps a person - in general, being adept at breaking up play (sometimes perceptively, very occasionally by force) and starting it back up again, staying away from audacious passes and one-in-a-bazillion shots... and quite possibly being tall enough to challenge for headers, too. Her position here is doubly vindicated by her status as the undisputed best player in the Energija-Nuklearna lineup, if not the one who dragged them to the IFCF's second-tier tournament in her first season there. To quote her former boss Emma Steele, "who needs a move to a big club when you can get a big move?"

9: Rick Goldsmith --- position: striker --- age: 27 (born 11/08/1980) --- club: Hiyashi Celestia [EXT] --- height: 6ft0in (183cm)
coffee preference: milk and one sugar --- appearance: relatively "neatly"-cut brown hair; only the slightest of moustaches, blue eyes --- parental occupations: corner shop shelf stacker (father); three part-time jobs (mother)
if he wasn't a footballer, he'd probably be: organising a local crime gang made out of Eleanorians dedicated to taking down the local crime gangs made out of Farves
Thankfully for Goldsmith, the job of taking down Farf crime gangs is in the safe hands of the Army - so he can get on with his real job, which is to hand around in front of goal and snatch as many good opportunities as he can. As of late, he's remained as consistent as ever, being a regular contributor to his club's attack, proving to be an effective asset in both the IFCF and the World Cup, and even demonstrating that his speed can be a serious asset rather than a fancy trinket that doesn't do anything. There are still question marks surrounding his accuracy in front of goal and whether Steve Pilchard will have to plug in for him more often, or even whether he's just the second in a long line of disposable starting strikers for the White Stars, but it's unlikely anyone will care with the new, more conservative order of things.

10: Steve Pilchard --- position: attacking midfielder (again... at last) --- age: 30 (born 08/09/1977) --- club: Occidental Olympic [EXT] --- height: 5ft6in (168cm)
coffee preference: milk and one sugar --- appearance: short but slightly unkempt blonde hair; brown eyes; almost clean-shaven --- parental occupations: groundskeeper at the Liberators' Park (father); housewife (mother)
if he wasn't a footballer, he'd probably be: part of the front-of-house staff at a trendy independent café
Now one of only two household names with the Olympic squad (with weMexala), Pilchard is by now as close as you can get to being a nailed-on starter for the national team. I could tell you the story about how this came about through Saint Eleanor's results-forced return to the good old 4-2-3-1 all the way back in 2001 again, but it's probably better to say that he's more of a natural at this position than just about any other Eleanorian who calls themself one. Secretly, he probably does want to go further forward and become a striker in his own right, and it will most likely play out like that: despite being infamously okay at dribbling, not the quality you should expect at this level, he more than makes up for it with a good eye for goal (from reasonable distances that might somehow be worthy of an eyeroll) and a well-developed sense of good and bad passing (especially from reasonable distances that actually are reasonable by international standards).

11: Angelica Northend --- position: right midfielder --- age: 26 (born 23/07/1981) --- club: Capital Cove Defence Forces [CPC] --- height: 5ft9in (175cm)
coffee preference: milk and no sugar --- appearance: short dark brown hair; blue eyes --- parental occupations: serving Army lieutenant (father); serving Army sergeant (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: a nondescript but nevertheless respected Army officer
What is this - another player called up to the Eleanorian national team on the basis of suppositions that they've done quite well with their club? This isn't quite an O'Donnell case, however: Northend, from what's been transmitted to SESB headquarters so far, has been fairly adept in scoring goals and setting them up, which is what you'd expect. She isn't the most noticeable when it comes to speed or power, but is deadly accurate with her passing, will take any chance she gets to push forward, and has attracted notoriety since her schooldays for either getting into shouting matches or plainly dismissing them as a waste of time. All told, then, a good choice and one whose vibes generally line up with the other new arrivals.

12: Tim Brandon --- position: right midfielder --- age: 32 (born 09/02/1976) --- club: Grand Beach [EXT] --- height: 5ft9in (175cm)
coffee preference: milk and no sugar --- appearance: extremely average blonde hair; brown eyes; a bit of a moustache but no beard --- parental occupations: operations manager (father); care home worker (mother)
if he wasn't a footballer, he'd probably be: Grand Beach District Council's in-house intern onboarder
The first thing you need to know about Tim Brandon is that he is fast - and speed is not a card in most Eleanorian footballers' deck. The second thing you need to know about Tim Brandon is that, of Grand Beach's widely-feted front three - Rachel McNamara is now at Newbanks United after what can be described, in short, as some transfer business - he alone has lived up to expectations so far, and outlived boss Julia Atherton at that. He doesn't have his head in the sand: he knows how to get the ball into dangerous positions and sometimes even fancies a go himself, but his balls fail to receive adequate support far too often. One would hope that, if and when he ever gets substituted onto the pitch for the White Stars, the higher calibre of striker will help him and the entire nation deliver.

13: Georgia Wood --- position: goalkeeper --- age: 36 (born 15/04/1972) --- club: Golden Unicorn [EXT] --- height: 5ft11in (180cm)
coffee preference: a lot of milk and no sugar --- appearance: short brown hair; blue eyes --- parental occupations: senior manager at Broadlands' Hiyashi factory (father); local newspaper editor-in-chief (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: an accountant, because of course
Having your dad work for the people who own your club's biggest rivals is definitely one way to tone down the volume on the derby. It's not as if Wood hasn't been doing that for her entire playing career, anyway, as one of the quietest members of perhaps the quietest team in the Saint Eleanor League. Although very slightly error-prone and a smidgen under six foot, she is still somehow heads and shoulders above most of the nation's other goalkeepers by virtue of not getting herself into too much trouble - her reputation as a teetotaller who always happens to go to sleep by 11:30pm (extraordinarily late match finishes notwithstanding) is the stuff of legend in certain Brightway circles. I mean trouble on the pitch. Most Eleanorian footballers' idea of a "party" is to order themselves a pint at the bar, get it done within a few minutes and then go away.

14: Graham Lawson --- position: left midfielder --- age: 28 (born 14/02/1980) --- club: Athletic Saint Eleanor [EXT] --- height: 5ft8in (173cm)
coffee preference: standard-issue black --- appearance: buzzed blonde hair; brown eyes --- parental occupations: Eleanorian Power electrician (father); housewife (mother)
if he wasn't a footballer, he'd probably be: working the afternoon shift at the local bottle shop
He who clocked a teenaged Brianna Austen in the face with a wayward penalty is in the squad for different, more objectively promising reasons. He's regularly starting for a resurgent Athletic and has proven to be a surprising attacking influence for them, preferring to cut inside and make his own luck if he can, as the great Jessica Martin would have, rather than simply crossing. His tactical and positional awareness is also a bonus, he isn't a bad shot - he can't be for his own sake - he's a proudly working-class voice in the Chamber of Commerce's club and he's outspoken on football too when the situation demands it. Many will lament Hugh Roanoke's departure, but he's five years older and his mission to get the White Stars ready and able at the back has long been accomplished.

15: Lydia Nicholls --- position: central midfielder; now fairly adept at CDM --- age: 27 (born 11/10/1980) --- club: Sandfjell Fotball [CNR] --- height: 6ft0in (183cm)
coffee preference: standard-issue black --- appearance: short ginger hair with the freckles to match; brown eyes --- parental occupations: line manager at the Hiyashi factory (father); actually-trustworthy car saleswoman (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: working for the First Bank of Saint Eleanor's investment banking division
In the absolutely politest sense possible, Lydia Nicholls has no morals whatsoever. Some of those who have met her insist that she is a rather nice - even wonderful - person who'll most likely leave you alone but has no tolerance for inane bullshit or otherwise veiled threats. This might be true off the pitch (please ignore the fact she has two young children already), but there is very little chance of her leaving you alone on it, especially not if you look like you might be threatening a goal. This is not to say she is indiscriminate or that stopping the opposition at all costs is her only strategy - of course she also knows how the old Eleanorian arts of distribution work, despite not being particularly fond of going forward for the most part - but it is, at least at this moment, what she is best known for. That and her lob from the halfway line against Juventud many moons ago. And maybe what she did in the IFCF.

16: Christine Terrence --- position: centreback; repentant central midfielder --- age: 28 (born 11/08/1979) --- club: Sword and Shield [EXT] --- height: 6ft0in (183cm)
coffee preference: milk and two sugars --- appearance: short, if somewhat unkempt (and fairly dark), brown hair; blue eyes --- parental occupations: the Army Engineering Corps (father); Eleanorian Post deliverer (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: the janitor for a sizable University office somewhere... and all done by 11am
Remarkable unremarkability is still somehow the hallmark of Terrence's career. On the face of it, she appears to be a perfectly normal midfield convert, somebody who knows exactly where to put herself and the ball in times of danger without going so far forward that she loses any sense of position (or purpose). Ask anybody at the University Grounds who knows better, however, and they'll most likely tell you she's somebody who's spent years sitting in defence, doing absolutely nothing of note other than going forward a bit and maybe having a few very, very good days. In an era where the national team has increasingly slim pickings in defence, however, just being a quality player who fears the consequences of even making a few mistakes may well be good enough to make the grade.

17: David Key --- position: striker --- age: 25 (born 28/06/1982) --- club: Occidental Olympic [EXT] --- height: 5ft10in (178cm)
coffee preference: milk and one sugar --- appearance: black hair; brown eyes; unreasonably thick accent --- parental occupations: bus mechanic (father); supermarket cashier (mother)
if he wasn't a footballer, he'd probably be: doing much-needed housekeeping and other estates-department stuff for Olympic
Every generation has its dynamic, playmaking and somewhat lithe Olympic striker who turns out to be good enough for a spot around the national team - and Key is this generation's striker. A Golden Backpack winner in his 1999 schooldays for getting involved in just about every goal Parkside CS scored on their way to the Charles Trump Shield, he hasn't proven any worse at the higher level of quality, regularly finding the net, working almost in synergy with his more traditionally-minded attacking partners, knowing when to time his dribbles and (unlike certain others of his ilk) being pretty much as squeaky-clean as you can get.

18: Daiki Fujiwara --- position: centreback --- age: 28 (born 19/04/1980) --- club: Newbanks United [EXT] --- height: 5ft11in (180cm) ~ Squidroidian dual national by birth
coffee preference: supermarket own-brand energy drink --- appearance: short dark-brown hair; brown eyes; no facial hair whatsoever --- parental occupations: IT technician (father); died in a car crash (mother)
if he wasn't a footballer, he'd probably be: the international technology correspondent for one of the Eleanorian papers
It's easy to see why Fujiwara was called up this time - he's clean, consistent, an actual full-time centreback, and finally eligible to represent Saint Eleanor. He's learned well from Kōji Katou, his older and rasher partner at United (the all-Squidroidian pairing a holdover from the days when it was a plaything of their government), having earned a firm awareness of when to go into tackles and interceptions, where to move the ball, and how to gauge the needs of his fellow defenders and deeper-lying midfielders. The national team is a completely different kettle of fish in terms of personnel, McNamara excepted, but Fujiwara should gel in exceptionally with them if he knows how to apply the principles he's learned in the Saint Eleanor League.

19: Kichirō Matsuda [Wunderbar Quatro] --- position: central midfielder, leaning CDM --- age: 23 (created 1984) --- club: Independence 1975 [EXT] --- height: 6ft2in (188cm) ~ Squidroidian dual national by birth
coffee preference: black, but with just a little cream --- appearance: almost-perfect black hair; brown eyes --- parental occupations: none; created in a lab
if he wasn't a footballer, he'd probably be: an engineer for some vehicle manufacturer you've never heard of. But we all know he was doomed to be a footballer
Does this man need any introduction? As it turns out, yes: one of the six Wunderbars who took Squidroidia to such places as the World Cup knockouts and the Independents Cup trophy-lift, Quatro moved to Saint Eleanor shortly after his homeland's withdrawal from international football and has arguably done better for himself than any of his peers. On his best days, he can be one of the best in the world, just as originally advertised: calm, composed, able to shift from attack to defence without a second thought, and proven quality on the highest level (including the knockout stages of both major IFCF tournaments). On his worst days, though, he can get mad - very mad - and has already clocked up a few red cards for the trouble. It's very likely you'll get the nice Matsuda when it comes to it - but it's absolutely not certain.

20: Naresmet taFrexala --- position: rightback --- age: 31 (born 11/12/1976) --- club: Athletic Saint Eleanor [EXT] --- height: 5ft9in (175cm)
coffee preference: "coffee" --- appearance: fairly short black hair; brown eyes; somewhat notable beard --- parental occupations: senior masseur (father); kitchen staff at Whitehammer's Torch burger bar (mother)
if he wasn't a footballer, he'd probably be: a fairly nondescript paramedic (now fully qualified!)
Yet another solid and reliable player who hardly anyone seems to care about - they didn't even pay attention when he set up Nightingale for a dramatic late equaliser at Raynor City United many, many Champions' Leagues ago - taFrexala was acclaimed the national team's second-choice rightback for various reasons. One of them is his bona fide desire to overlap, cross, get back and hope for the best (which is at least less scattergun than anything Exandra Davies could ever come up with). Another might be the consistency with which he seems to be able to win tackles, stop dribbles, and whatever the hell lies inbetween those two things without too much mess. And he is, of course, better than Evan Kilkenny, who is better than almost every other Eleanorian rightback.

21: Tina Falconer --- position: leftback --- age: 26 (born 25/03/1982) --- club: Good Hope Club [EXT] --- height: 5ft6in (168cm)
coffee preference: no milk, one sugar --- appearance: neat brown ponytail; brown eyes --- parental occupations: tree surgeon (father); NLF Club administrator (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: a nurse with the Eleanorian Health Services
Part of one of the best generations of footballers ever raised by the Trident Community School, Falconer has proven herself to be an eager fullback... perhaps too eager. More of a conservative, linehugging sort than most, she has slowly started to gain a reputation for pushing up as needs be when the designated wide midfielder cuts inside (and many of them do, even at GHC), while also proving herself to be hotheaded in her dealings with attacking players from the right flank even when they aren't playing for Grand Beach. Yes, she can be a fun person on and off the pitch - and often is - but her serious side is outrageously driven, even if it's relatively harder to get on the wrong side of it just through your own actions.

22: Dekamela weMexala --- position: striker --- age: 33 (born 05/05/1975) --- club: Occidental Olympic [EXT] --- height: 6ft0in (183cm)
coffee preference: milk and one sugar --- appearance: long, braided black hair; brown eyes --- parental occupations: barista at Parkside's Premium Coffee shop (father); forklift driver (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: the single most productive logistics worker in Eleanorian history
Much like the legendary Corporal Aidan Harris, weMexala is fairly slow, astonishingly strong but fair, the kind of person who'd rather get on with the job than talk about it - and one of a few members of the team who can seriously win a one-on-one header situation when necessary. It might surprise you to learn she'll be 33 by the World Cup, but she's solidly-built, likes setting up her fellow attackers when necessary (increasingly rare though this may be), takes her shots when they count, and has proven - if largely accidental - experience as a regular national team starter from the 91st to 93rd World Cup cycles. She wouldn't do that badly as an emergency back-up goal-poacher, however... and thankfully hasn't been so far.

23: Carla Hawkins --- position: goalkeeper --- age: 30 (born 03/11/1977) --- club: Newbanks United [EXT] --- height: 6ft1in (185cm)
coffee preference: milk and two sugars --- appearance: blonde ponytail; blue eyes; just a touch of natural blush --- parental occupations: interior designer (father); optician (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: the person who works the digger on every construction site you've ever seen... before 2am, I'll add
You're never too late to start, even if you probably never will. Hawkins is a decently-accomplished goalkeeper - witness her penalty shootout heroics against CASK Thorsborg - and her reflexes speak for themselves, but the most eyecatching thing about her might be her attitude. Unapologetically feisty, commanding and even out-and-out physical, she will make her feelings known when the situation demands it and has a generally good idea of where all the pieces are supposed to go (or what her opinion is of their placement, anyway). She's the angriest any good Eleanorian stopper has been for at least a few years and, if anything, she'll be an unavoidable presence in the changing rooms.

24: Denise Livingston [Army rank: Lance-Corporal] --- position: centreback --- age: 26 (born 07/08/1981) --- club: Army and Navy [EXT] --- height: 5ft10in (178cm)
coffee preference: no milk, one sugar --- appearance: short, if slightly frizzy, brown hair; hazel eyes --- parental occupations: scaffolder (father); serving Army sergeant (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: that one construction worker who thinks that still being on site working at 2am is a good idea
2000 was not a particularly good year for Army and Navy - and it was almost certainly much worse for an off-colour Ken Wilkie, which might have given Livingston an aura of competence to begin with. Don't get me started on the years after that. But perhaps it was always here: she won the Golden Backpack in '98 after captaining the Army School to just one goal conceded in five games, getting to the ball before it could get her side in trouble, jostling opposing strikers off the ball if they posted an immediate threat, and dutifully attending to all of her tasks in general - all traits which have certainly been evident during her five-year career, mediocre as they have been for her club. Although rather unlikely to get many minutes for the national team for various reasons, none of them have anything to do with her quality; you would not bet against her making a good, if not particularly shouty, impression should she get the time.

25: Kavezalea Felaraneta --- position: out-and-out attacking midfielder --- age: 23 (born 19/09/1984) --- club: Independence 1975 [EXT] --- height: 5ft9in (175cm)
coffee preference: standard-issue black --- appearance: bushy black hair; brown eyes; excessive gesturing --- parental occupations: Eleanorian Telecom engineer (father); retired Army sergeant (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: working the rest-of-the-city beat for The Northern Mail
If you think that Felaraneta is a bit of an obscure player, you have a good reason: he's been overshadowed by pretty much everyone else in the Indy squad. He is a bona-fide playmaker, at least, and one with room for growth at that - fond of feeding the ball into the frontlines and preferring to wait for a good opportunity to make things happen rather than simply push forwards, he can also drop back and work from there if needs absolutely much. He can also be readily exasperated, more so than even Pritchard, and has been known to waft his arms about to express his dismay (or sometimes just to make a simple point he thinks hasn't quite gotten though yet). Eleanorians may have little time for drama but they will probably have more than enough time for the dramatician when they finally get to see him do something here.

26: Rachel McNamara --- position: striker --- age: 29 (born 07/04/1979) --- club: Newbanks United [EXT] --- height: 5ft8in (173cm)
coffee preference: milk and one sugar --- appearance: the most generic blonde ponytail ever tied; green eyes --- parental occupations: recycling centre manager (father); advisor to Grand Beach district leader (mother)
if she wasn't a footballer, she'd probably be: handling wholesale purchases at a petrol station far, far away from Saint Eleanor's low, government-fixed fuel pricing
Until her move to Newbanks, McNamara was too often let down by underperforming superstructures at the club level (or, if you ask her, Bencoolen City's refusal to turn against the T-League plans). Since it happened, she's been their driving attacking force, a leader in all aspects, and a crucial part of the formula that's given them consistent IFCF placements. On the face of it, there isn't much to tell her apart from a generic striker in national team contention - she's fast, agile (if fairly short), accurate in front of goal, and a subscriber to the great Eleanorian ideology of meaningful and regular passing otherwise - but her record over multiple clubs and what is already a fairly long career belies it.

==========

Manager: Gentle Breeze --- former position: goalkeeper --- age: 44 --- clubs of note: Whitetail Foresters [EQS], Ponyville Galaxy [EQS], Mardi Lopunnies [NSI], Astograth University [ASG], Northbrook Diamonds FK [PIS], Dwile Warriors [APX], Celtic Noviodunum [NGD], AC Izotz Zubia [AUD], Wyvernscrest [MRN], Herzegovina City FC [BNJ] --- height: ~4ft (122cm) on four legs; ~6ft (183cm) on two legs, but would rather fly if needs must --- nationality: Equestrian
coffee preference: would much rather have a cup of tea --- appearance: yellow fur, blue mop; take a guess --- parental occupations: not known to SEFA
The record says it all, and not just because it's exhausting to read out. Priscilla Evans, Saint Eleanor's first manager, ran into one clique too far - she was taken down due to a combination of arguably the most unimpressive qualifiers in Eleanorian history, a widely-criticised failure to properly manage the "Class of 2007" on the field, and the largest player revolt in history at the end of it all. Gentle Breeze - one of the greatest Equestrians ever to play hoofball - takes on this unenviable task in her first job after retirement; for the time being, she is widely expected to complete the process of properly bringing the new players into the fold, in the hope that everything will fall into place after that. It does help that early reports out of the camp suggests that she's attracted quite a reputation for being sarcastic and is at least doing more to introduce a serious playstyle than Evans ever did. Officially, she has reportedly been given "zero expectations" for this Cup of Harmony and it's a safe bet that she won't promise to lead Saint Eleanor to the top of their next World Cup qualifying group as Evans did seemingly every cycle. I mean, she lost a Champions' League final on penalties once.

Assistant Manager: Reniira Clevinger --- former position: centreback --- age: 39 --- clubs of note: Sabrefell Athletic [NPH], Herzegovina City FC [BNJ] --- height: 6ft8in (203cm) --- nationality: Nepharan
coffee preference: "coffee" --- appearance: blue skin; massive pair of horns up top; otherwise perfectly normal --- parental occupations: also not known to SEFA
Roped into the Eleanorian setup on the behest of the new manager, and almost certainly because they both spent their final days with the Trumpeteers, early indications would appear to suggest that Clevinger's other main purpose on the team is to get it moving again. Something of a goalscoring defender in her time as a player - and I must remind you that she was still playing for Nephara when Saint Eleanor last won this tournament six years ago - Clevinger will broadly be handling the "general outlook" for the team, while Mitcham looks at tactics and Gentle Breeze at the more micro aspects of the system. Whether that means helping to plug gaps in the playbook when necessary, pushing the team to transition between roles more effectively, identifying the best interplay between different positions or telling the press what she's really thinking... well, it means all of those things. Who would I be kidding?

Assistant Manager: Stephen Mitcham [Army rank: Lieutenant] --- former position: none --- age: 41 --- clubs of note: none --- height: 6ft1in (185cm) --- nationality: Eleanorian
coffee preference: milk and no sugar --- appearance: black hair, short back and sides; brown eyes; inappropriately ginormous beard --- parental occupations: President (father); First Lady (mother)
Being Priscilla Evans' assistant was not a fun job. Serving as part of Gentle Breeze's fairly limited experiment in rule by committee will almost certainly be more exciting for Mitcham, who has indicated he will carry on serving the national team until he reaches "an inappropriate age." Having been effectively forced to learn the arts of good communication, better tactics, even higher-quality informal mental healthcare and possibly the best emergency announcements in the world in his first decade on the job, it is the Lieutenant's hope that he will be able to teach the new people the ways of handling a completely unfamiliar squad that may well not be what they're used to. Certainly they will be less stubborn than Evans was...

Hall of Captains
Liam WEST (cycles 89-93)
Bridget COOMBE (cycles 94-date)

~~~~~~~~~~

Hall of Managers
Priscilla EVANS [TIN] (cycles 89-95Q)
GENTLE BREEZE [EQS] (cycles 95F-date)

by **Cardenao** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 3:59 pm

Cardenao National Football Team Roster
Cup of Harmony 87

Official Name: The Kingdom of Cardenao National Football Team
Official Nation Name: The Federated Republic of the Kingdom of Cardenao
Country Code: CAD
Officiating League: The MegaPower League
Officiating Body: The Cardenao Football Association
Regional Officiating Body: CAFA LigAnaia
Records:
All-Time W/D/L: 41-20-38
All-Time Goals For/Goals Against: 197/190 +7
International Rank: 44
Nickname: The Blue and Golds, La Furia Azule
Style: +5.0

Primary kit:

Alternate kit:

THE ROSTER

When RP'ing, the name of my players in [i]ITALICS are the names on their kit and the name professional commentators would primarily call out when making observations. Those in BOLD are the national team starters UNLESS otherwise stated in a preceding RP.

1- Emi Parodi
Height: 6'1 - Weight: 184lbs – Age: 26 - Registry: #48 - Team: Alameda Desperados

Coming off his best season as a professional, Emi Parodi scooped out the best goalkeeper in the league award, only letting in 49 goals as the Desperados finished second place. After a promising career as the Under21 national team starting goalkeeper, he’s been selected to fill the hole left by Ray Holland’s retirement. While Parodi might not be as tall or as world-class of an athlete like his predecessor, he’s still quite agile and holds no reservations towards throwing himself at the ball, personal safety be damned. Parodi is reliable with the ball at his feet, firing off precise passess without trying anything too fancy. Off the pitch he’s quite practical, eschewing the glitzy sports cars for a reliable, high mpg compact that’s perfect for traveling around a country boasting a small but growing number of gas stations. The same age as Iñaki Pena, Parodi will be thrilled to have won the starting position over the long anointed next great Cardenaoan goalkeeper and will be doing anything he can to secure it.

Caps: 1 - Goals Conceded: 1 - Tournaments Played: None - Personal Awards: MegaPower League Season Six Goalkeeper of the Year

12- Iñaki Peña
Height: 6'5 - Weight: 206lbs – Age: 26 - Registry: #23 - Team: Sporting Club November City

26 years old, a lifetime of being heralded as Ray Holland’s successor in goal, but when the moment actually arrives in the first matchday, Iñaki Peña will be forced to watch from the sidelines. While he was brilliant playing for his boyhood club Bananada FC, the transfer to Sporting Club November City seems to have backfired while Emi Parodi’s transfer to the Alameda Desperados has seen him star in a title challenging team, who knows what the situation would be if those transfers were swapped. Iñaki is still a solid keeper, with his height, quick reflexes, and natural goalkeeping abilities making him a well-rounded tender of sticks. When he was younger, Iñaki had some form issues with long range passing and goal kicks, but after putting in the time and effort, those have become strengths for him. It isn’t over for Iñaki, keep training hard, who knows what will happen and perhaps his best opportunity for the national team is yet to come. Still though, rough situation for him.

Caps: 9 - Goals Conceded: 11 - Tournaments Played:Baptism of Fire 78, World Cup 91/92/93/94, Cup of Harmony 83/84/85

4- Diego Valenzuela Third-Captain
Height: 6'1 - Weight: 170lbs – Age: 32 - Registry: #5 - Team: Tikariot FC

A strong defensive midfielder, Diego Valenzuela commands play from his position in the heart of midfield. With fantastic passing over all distances, Val has always dictated tempo with a calm, calculating approach to the game that would lend itself well to a battlefield, let alone a football pitch. Now a veteran player, Valenzuelas defensive positioning is better than ever and his teammates can always look to him for leadership and motivation. After doing everything he could for his childhood Juacuacanos Silver Surfers, Diego V accepted a $5.5m move to the Tikariot Premier League.

Diego Valenzeula operated as a sort of defensive-minded quarterback, shoring up the midfield and pinging out accurate long range passes and keeping things running smoothly. The vice-captain of the team from the 78th Baptism of Fire through the 92nd World Cup, he was handed the Captain's armband after Dylan Mathers voluntarily stepped down from the role heading into the 84th Cup of Harmony and has now been relegated to third-captain under new manager Ramon Lamberti

When not playing football, Diego is a hobbyist racing driver. 'Something about the combination of speed, movement, changing environment, the non-stop calculations going into all of it' are what drive him to paraphrase his own words. Interesting stuff. Val recently married his high school sweetheart Selena Marchiaza and is frequently seen touring around Cardenao with her.

Caps: 74(2)- Goals: 4 - Assists: 10 - Tournaments Played: Baptism of Fire 78, World Cup 91/92/93/94, Cup of Harmony 83/84/85

8- Haritz Larrainzar Captain
Height: 5'9 - Weight: 152lbs – Age: 30 - Registry: #8 - Team: Port Rhovanyon AFC (TKT)

A complete technical midfielder, Haritz Larranizar plays defense and offense with equal elegance to such a degree that he is the singular best Cardenaoan playing the game today. While Haritz is one of the better passers from the country, what makes him so dangerous is his shooting ability from all distances; he’s regularly one of the league’s highest shooting players and it’s all paid off with back to back titles with Port Rhovanyon, three team of the year selections, and a player of the year award. Oh and X GOALS AND Y ASSITS TO GO WITH IT TO. He is quick, with a good burst of acceleration and high top speed that gets him free in the half-spaces where he is most deadly. Haritz’s slinky off the ball skills make him a nightmare to mark as he’s always active, darting around into pockets of open space.

Rating: A – Team Relationship: A – Morale: A – Form: A
Caps: 75 (2) - Goals: 8 - Assists: 26 - Tournaments Played: Baptism of Fire 78, World Cup 91/92/93/94, Cup of Harmony 83/84/85 - Personal Awards: MegaPower League Champion (Season 1)Tikariot Premier League B Team of the Year (Season 105), Tikariot Premier League Champion (Season 106/107), Tikariot Premier League A Team of the Year (Season 106/107), Tikariot Premier League Player of the Season (Season 107)

6- Lonzo Capiatelli
Height: 5'9 - Weight: 148lbs – Age: 25 - Registry: #7 - Team: Myana (CMT)

Lonzo Capiatelli has progressed from a little-known island prospect to one of the most desired midfielders in Cardenao when he became Bananada CF’s captain at the age of 19. After two years showcasing his talent in both attack and defense, Myana of Chromatika came knocking and now Lonzo runs the midfield behind Laborious Hawk. Mr. Capiatelli is a tall, athletic box to box midfielder with effective dribbling, world class vision and a passing ability to match, he’s got the flair and pace of a winger but still puts in a sharp tackle, and can mark a player out of the game. Most importantly, Lonzo knows how to make it all work together. With his skill-set, he can play in any role across the midfield, but just letting him follow his instincts has worked out very well for his club team. He’s a natural leader, a perfectionist, and the most complete Cardenaoan midfielder.

He has had a bright start to his international career, with 13 goals and assists in 25 total appearances, with the majority of those off the bench. With Giampetro Vera retiring from the national team, the starting position is his.

Caps: 11 (14) - Goals: 5 - Assists: 8 Tournaments Played: World Cup 93/94, Cup of Harmony 85

10- Jenarío Cervahir
Height: 5'10 - Weight: 152lbs – Age: 27 - Registry: #34 - Team: Real Alegria

The elegant Jenarío Cervahir displays football in all of its beauty, with picture perfect passes, impossibly curving shots, and dribbles past defenders with trickery and flair. With his extreme agility and ability to keep close control of the ball, Jenarío easily slices through defensive lines before slipping a pass through to his teammates. He can pass it short, long, in the air, driven passes, outside of the boot, everything and he’s proven it with 48 assists in 107 MegaPower League appearances. He’s got 29 goals to go with it too, able to score from close up and far out with curving precision. Jenarío is the ultimate professional, doing everything he can to make the most out of his ability and body.

Caps: 12 (10) - Goals: 4 - Assists: 7 - Tournaments Played: World Cup 93/94, Cup of Harmony 85

14- Zoltan Keidobika
Height: 5’8 - Weight: 157lbs – Age: 31 - Registry: #25 - Team: Morannon Athletic FC (TIK)

Armed with the Cardenao’s best freekick taking boot and an incredible passing range, Zoltan Keidobika burst onto the scene in the inaugural Cardenaoan MegaPower league season. Strapped with a simple yet effective array of body feints and a signature fake pass rollover move, Zoltan Keidobika’s game is built around the mastery of simple things. He has a great passing range, pinging long balls over the top or drilling short passes to his teammate’s boot, those basic and great dribbling moves, and a total mastery over the freekick arts. Keidobika can score short ones going under the ball, medium distance curling the ball left or right around the wall, and he can score long range dipping ballistic missiles, having scored double-digit freekick goals. He’s not the best defender, both from a technical and physical perspect with his lean 5’8 frame, but the 12 goals and 20 assists he’s provided for Morannon Athletic FC in Tikariot shows his strengths.

Caps: 16 (8) - Goals: 2 - Assists: 5 - Tournaments Played: World Cup 92/93/94, Cup of Harmony 84/85

19- Arrivo DeCerci
Height: 5’7 - Weight: 150lbs – Age: 19 - Registry: N/A - Team: Escuela Nacíonal DCPF

A midfield maestro since bursting onto the scene as a 16 year old, Arrivo DeCerci is elegance personified on the pitch. With immaculate close control of the ball, incredible balance, flair filled runs and great eye for a pass, he holds the potential to surpass Haritz Larrainzar as the greatest Cardenaoan midfielder. He played a large role in La Escuela’s back to back league titles as a 16 and 17 year old, but the last two seasons have produced no hardware for one of Cardenao’s top clubs. Coming in off the bench, Arrivo DeCerci will be expected to control possession and create quality attacking opportunities.

Caps: 0 - Goals: 0 - Assists: 0 - Tournaments Played: None - Personal Awards: MegaPower League Champion (Season 3/4)

21- Sven Garrison
Height: 5’9 - Weight: 174lbs – Age: 31 - Registry: #37 - Team: Alexandria United

A fantastic defensive midfielder and possession recycling asset, Sven Garrison is the perfect shield for the defensive line. Tall and strong with a powerful build, Sven rarely pushes forward from his spot in front of the defense, and prefers to simply lay the ball off to more creative players then try to produce some magic himself. Sven Garrison is nice at hitting the long long ball, able to ping it forward exactly where he wanted it. Off the field, he’s known among his friend group for being extremely punctual, always showing up to a party or event at the precise second it begins, it’s an Eastern Cardenao thing.

Caps: 1 (1) - Goals: 0 - Assists: 0 - Tournaments Played: World Cup 94

PLAYER RESPONSIBILITIES

Captain: Haritz Larrainzar
Vice-Captain: Juanma Saez
Third Captain: Diego Valenzuela

Kick Takers (in order of ability)
Free kicks: Zoltan Keidobiko, Harritz Larrainzar,
Right corners: Zoltan Keidobiko, Giampietro Vera
Left corners: Zoltan Keidobiko, Harritz Larrainzar
Penalties: Juanma Saez, Alberto Godwine, Diego Valenzuela, Chimo Ventura

Manager: Ramon Lamberti
43 years old

PRIMARY FORMATION AND PLAYSTYLE

The Blue and Golds are heading into the 93rd World Cup with a new manager and an old but new approach to tactics. Ramon Lamberti is sending La Furia Azule out in a traditional 4-3-3 with the players running with some new instructions. Overall the emphasis is on ‘aggressive possession’,’ quickly gaining control of the ball and using their passing ability to slice up the field.

In attack, Chímo sits narrow next to Juanma Saez for a double-barrel goal threat while Lonzo Capitatelli runs up and down the pitch in the right center-mid position to cover that flank as Salva Perez pushes up from right back to provide width. Out left, Kaison stays wide to stretch play, allowing Haritz Larrainzar to slip forward into an attacking midfield position to dictate offensive play. As usual, Diego V holds position behind to snuff out counterattacks and cover the two man line of centerbacks Sameual Alcatron and Odita. Leftback Hendrix Salvador pushes forward into the midfield as an inverted fullback while rightback Salva Perez uses his endless stamina to bomb up and down the right flank.

Roleplay Permissions

Choose my goal scorers: Yes.
Injury to my players: TG/Discord DM.
Hand out Yellow cards to my players: TG/Discord DM.
Hand out Red cards to my players: TG/Discord DM.
Godmod Other Events: TG/Discord DM.

by **Huayramarca** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 5:19 pm

OOC: Roster includes images generated by Dall-E 2 for illustrative purposes, those shouldn't be considered for grading.

Federación Huayramarquina de Fútbol

Official Roster for the 87^th Cup pf Harmony

About Huayramarca:

Quick Facts

Official Name: Estado Plurinacional de Huayramarca - The Plurinational State of Huayramarca.
Motto: Revolución o Muerte ¡Venceremos!
National Anthem: ¡Oh, Huayramarca! - Lyrics
Capital City: Chuquiago.
Highest Point: Nevado Inti (7,920 masl)
Currency: Inti (I$ 1 = N$ 0.33)
Languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara (main); Six other indigenous languages.

Huayramarcan Football History:

Without further ado, the starting XI and substitutes are presented in the following tables:

Starting Eleven

Substitutes

Summary


Nota bene: Only official matches are taken into consideration for current record, caps, and goals – Updated after CAFA 7.

Nickname: Los Cóndores (The Condors).
Current Record: 160-69-75 (W-D-L) – 290 matches played. – 643 goals scored, 483 against.
Most Caps: Gabriel Sayritupac (304).
Most Goals: Bryan Tello (252)
Biggest Win: 6-0 vs. Electrum / WC 91 Qualifiers, MD 16, @ Estadio Metropolitano del Guayas, Guayaquil
7-1 vs Delaclava / WC 95 Qualifiers, MD 3, @ Estadio Olímpico del Oriente, Sechura.
Most Important Matches:5-5 (4-3 PKs) vs. Cabo Azure / WC 93 Finals, Ro16, @Hawk's Nest, Lanar, Chromatika – Qualification to World Cup Quarterfinals.
1-0 vs. Ochre Islands @Stade sur la Bahie, Amahne (Aminey), Ko-oren – CAFA VII Final.

Biggest Defeat: 1-7 (vs. Equestria / AOCAF 61, MD 1)

Captain: Ian Mamani.
Second Captain: Bryan Tello.
Third Captain: Nicolás Allauca.
Most likely to score: Bryan Tello
Most likely to get red carded: Kevin Quispe.
Prone to get injuries: Gabriel Sayritupac.
The genius: Ian Mamani.
The motivating soul: Bryan Tello.
Goal Tune: "The Magic of a Goal" - DJ Chris, ft. Joshua Congo

Manager: Blâás Âgínsôgnó. (62) 
Assistant 1: Hazel van Robben. (52) 
Physio: David Choque (40) 
GK Trainer: Francisco Olmedo (44) 
Doctor: Cynthia Castro. (48) 
Tactical Analyst: Juan Jiménez (37) 
Data Scientist: Carlos Olmedo (29) 
Lead Data Analyst: Dayana Rubio (24)

Team mentality:

Huayramarcans, per se, are bold and quite diverse between the team due to the regional contrasts among them: You might note surnames such as: Condori, Mamani, Quispe, Sayritupac, etc. Those are Serrano surnames. Serranos as such are quite shy people with non-serranos, between them, great footballing societies may be made due to their complete understanding of each other, they are quite homogenous on how they act and may be predictable for each other. But, for the non-expert eye, Serranos are one on their kind and could result unpredictable for them, since they love to do things at fast pace between them, without doubt one could send 60 meters cross with complete confidence that they might find their teammate, with this, you can notice that Serranos are overconfident on themselves and somewhat dubious with Costeños and Selváticos. Other characteristic of Serranos is that they are quite easy to intimidate, being shy and short-sized doesn’t helps, but in that situation, they might opt to act even better than they do for the sake of shutting your mouth.

Costeños and Selváticos (jungle) in the other hand are confident with everybody, even if they might not receive the same treatment by their Serrano fellows. Those two groups conform the rest of the team and might do good societies on field, declining the quality of their chemistry when trying to connect with Serranos, due to the latter shy mood. Physically speaking, Costeño and Selváticos are people who boast being the tallest overall in the team.

Chemistry building has been somewhat complicated for this team during the five cycles they have competed together but has been a rather successful process that consolidated with the 79^th Cup of Harmony, the 88 ^th and 89 ^th World Qup Qualifiers, as they have been together as glue through high and lows. The regional divides topic is now outdated as the players have grown up significantly and have harnessed teamwork.

Although they work nicely as a team, there’s a moment when they can’t do that and that moment is when they have the goal in their sights, when they have a chance to score, they try to do their best to do it by themselves, even if that means avoid passing the ball to a better placed teammate, individualities have been surging from nowhere and this issue has costed valuable results for the team. This was combated successfully by Caicedo and Zelaya and Blâás Âgínsôgnó plans to continue in said route.

To finish with this part, Huayramarca is that kind of team that may be overconfident sometimes, but if you press them to their limits, they might react in unsuspected ways, be those positive or negative for their interests, you don’t know what would happen in the Serrano, Costeño or Selvático mindset. As they do on the local league, they might try to do some antics to their rivals, be it: providing beer instead of water to their rivals, or the classiest one, giving distillated “ayahuasca” (vodka-like alcohol) and pass it like water and make their rivals be drunk, taking advantage of their influence to beat the rival team. Of course, they might not abuse of this resource, Serranos might ask Inti for it.

How We Play Football? Note: Open this spoiler for the formation and game style.

Player’s description - Starting XI.

Nota bene: Caps considered after CAFA 7 - For national purposes, friendlies are never taken into consideration for official registries. Player names are clickable, displaying their portraits for visual reference.

N°1 - Juan Mamani - GK - 32 yrs - Team: Rülândéá Kôstä

- Height: 1.88 mts - Caps: 290 - Goals: 1

Mamani is an individual that believes he always is right, he tends to be creative when saving balls or creating ideas to take the ball forward, based so much in the fact that he is protective, spontaneous and loves to be independent in his actions, always a dependable guy. Currently, his mood is ecsatic, as pretty much everybody in the team right now, due to the latest performance of the team. A curious fact is that he’s brother with the creative mid of this team, Ian Mamani.

N°2 - Kevin Quispe - RCB - 27 yrs - Team: Farrenton Athletic

- Height: 1.75 mts - Caps: 290 - Goals: 9

An average guy in terms of intelligence that has no life plan, hence he left studies to make a living with football. He is very secretive, doesn't like even to tell his teammates what his next movement will be because he knows we will be wrong, Quispe has serious issues with anger management and may be rebellious, he is cold and ignores what the others might feel or think about him, he doesn't give a fu*k of anything. Anyways, he's in his best form so far with Farrenton Athletic, being nominated as one of the top defenders of the Euran League shows how his discipline and perseverance have taken him where he stands.

N°4 - Carlos Vilca - LFB - 33 yrs - Team: Valnohar Rovers FC

- Height: 1.78 mts - Caps: 290 - Goals: 12

Vilca exemplifies the stereotype of a Serrano, he is overly analytical and optimistic, with patience when a player might approach to him, he might take some minutes to make a mental profile of who he will face and how to block him in its right side. Despite being coordinated and loving to be the centre of attention, he loves to be quiet and solitary with his own personal code of conduct, he might be extremely fair while robbing balls and could try to be the surprise factor, since he tends to be a box-to-box player that loves to defend and also create offensive plays when possible. Right now, he’s in a great personal moment due to his critical role that helped Huayramarca to put a cohesive defence during the last World Cup Qualifier.

N°15 – Paolo Manco - RFB - 31 yrs - Team: Pumahuasi FC

- Height: 1.73 mts - Caps: 88 - Goals: 2

Paolo Manco has been a silent substitute of the National Team for almost 8 years, although, he has been patiently waiting up for this chance, the one that has opened in front of his eyes after the departure of Omar Caicedo. The new manager has seen Manco’s ability to project himself to attack and be a box-to-box player when needed, he has a great sense of placement and knows to be at the precise place when needed. Speed is Manco’s best attribute, one that he is sure that he can apply to provide the best results for The Condors. He is happy after proving that his inclusion, into the Starting XI, proved to be vital for the current Huayramarcan sporting momentum.

N°14 - Santiago Chumacero - LCB - 32 yrs - Team: Real Alegría

- Height: 1.81 mts - Caps: 294 - Goals: 21

Chumacero's perception of things might be out of this world, his mind might be steps forward the others and might help to anticipate to movements that may be done by the rival. For that purpose, he's always flexible, active and plays like he would be killed if he does a mistake, he's loyal with his team, faithful and gentle, hence he might be the motivator of the squad. Chumacero is an extremely dependable player, and it would be matter of time to see him departing from the Huayramarcan Liga 1 for a better place, as his athletic capabilities are too big to stagnate in an amateur-ish league.

N°17 - Orlando Mina - CM - 29 yrs - Team: Montréal Koreana

- Height: 1.95 mts - Caps: 296 - Goals: 28

One of the two defensive mid fielders of the team and, for sure, one of the best in the multiverse in his position, being the classical Costeño out there, Mina is the tallest and strongest player of the squad. Mina's attitude is being original and stubborn, giving you classical Costeño vibes, consistent in his performance and devoted to God, he cares a lot about what he does, since he tries always to correct his mistakes and not suffering on them, instead, he uses them as feedback to improve his game and abilities. Mina's a notable example on how one can benefit from football, as he helped his mother who was fired from his job when he joined to the Condors and turned her into a real estate tycoon by providing her savings. His mood is extremely positive as of now by the fact of being a key player in Montréal Koreana, for being consistent between team and national duty, and for his current status as a player.

N°11 - Ian Mamani - CF - 29 yrs - Team: Workers Union

- Height: 1.65 mts - Caps: 296 - Goals: 66

The youngest of the Mamani brothers in this team, along with Juan, Ian has what Juan might lack sometimes, creativity and brightness, although they play in various positions and roles in the team. This creative mid and captain of the team is one of the grandiose things among this team, a fast-paced and fussy person with lots of potential, euphoria that drives him to perform as what he can do, being the best of the entire nation in his role. Large crosses are his specialty, including long-range shots when playing on the highlands. Right now, his performance has been stellar, mostly because he did some adjustments to his game style, turning his role into something more offensive and smarter.

N°8 - Nicolás Allauca - CF – 34 yrs - Team: Winnipeg United

- Height: 1.80 mts - Caps: 296 - Goals: 27

Nico was a bus driver until the last three weeks prior to WC 85 Qualifiers, when he decided to enter to the amateur football world of Huayramarca, he was in luck that Caicedo watched him plat and fell in love on how he performed. Allauca is spontaneous and may not like to do training, he is a fast-moving and extremely practical (hates theories) defensive mid, that may mutate to a second creative mid with Ian Mamani and has also a decent capability to score goals while going to attack. After having a discrete performance in Chromatika, now he moves to Québec's Winnipeg United, where he expects to keep up the tone as he does with the National Team.

N°7 - Abraham Mendoza - LF - 30 yrs - Team: Pyathora Mariners

- Height: 1.63 mts - Caps: 294 - Goals: 37

Nicknamed “El Ingeniero” The smallest of the entire team, Mendoza is a mentally strong individual who loves to work hard, play hard and be a strong leader inside the team in terms of order. A competent but realistic player who may not be spectacular while playing on the wings, but pragmatical and effective when achieving his purposes. On his personal life he is the best positioned of all the group, since he just graduated in Industrial Engineering at the Huayramarcan Technical University with a deserved "summa cum laude", so no matter what happens, he could get a decent job position in any Huayramarcan enterprise to optimize their processes. You might notice how Abraham's personal discipline is, and this is shown even to football, where he tries to compliment weaknesses that he may have as his height, but he tries to compensate with decent body-building routines. He might not be a prolific scorer for the standards of a winger, but he has at least a 35% of assists for the total of Huayramarcan goals scored during the Qualifiers, hence, somebody to take care of.

N°21 - Gabriel Sayritupac - RF - 30 yrs - Team: Perce Town

- Height: 1.75 mts - Caps: 304 - Goals: 124

Sayri as he's known by many people in his native Tulcán (near the Québécois-Huayramarcan border) is an artistic person in all senses of his life. Usually, he makes a living by painting portraits of people visiting the Chimborazo National Forest Reserve, sometimes working on a local brewery, or doing football for fun. He doesn't stands being alone and might be that easy-going Serrano (which is weird, if we come to think it). He has genetic problems that makes him quite prone to injuries, and when those occur, Sayri decides to get inebriated to let frustration go away. An artistical winger, lover of uncertainty and mess that makes him be either the best or cause problems to settle where he plays. As of now, he has managed to find its way on football, winning a IFCF Champions’ League with Athletik Thessia, some championships in Mytanija and now being in Audioslavia, closer to home, but eager to win more.

N°21 - Bryan Tello - ST - 35 yrs - Team: Metropolis Alligators

- Height: 1.86 mts - Caps: 302 - Goals: 252

A decently heighted Costeño as forward is always a neat solution for your goal needs, even more if you consider that he ages like wine; that, combined with good pace, stride, and physic abilities, makes Tello is what every team may need for up front. He's factual since he studied Philosophy at the University of Cumbayá, a committed and self-confident man who might be extremely traditional to his striker role, he might seek for space to go front, use his strength and move towards the goal. Tello is a strong leader among the shadows of the Huayramarcan national team, an outgoing and straight-forward person that could sometimes aggressive since he's prone to be insensitive. Despite that he is the Legend of the team, the striker that is at the right place and moment to push the ball against the net, something that has helped him retain his position as stellar striker of Metropolis Alligators in the Valladar Liga-1.

Substitutes:

Nota bene: In order to have a deeper understanding of Huayramarcan players, take in consideration the following list of personalities for the substitutes. Take time, if you wish, to read the substitute players list posted again down here and follow the order of said list. The first player on this list, has his mindset reflected in the left of the first row, the second in the right of the first row and so on until the last one:

The Kits:

Useful Information and Stadia:
You might want to check some maps, as Huayramarca is quite a massive country in terms of surface and distances. Click here for a Biome Official Map and here for a Cities Official Map.

Before introducing the stadia, there’s some handy information for away fans who might visit Huayramarca. As said before, this nation has a quite complex geography and some long distances to travel for away fans, since there are four international airports: Huayramarca International Airport, located near Huayramarca Metropolitan District at the highlands; the Jorge Guerra International Airport in Lima, on the coast; the International Airport of the Archipelago on Puerto San Carlos (isles) and the Libertador Suárez International Airport of Sechura (jungle). Those airports might provide you with connections for other destinations such as Guayaquil, San Ignacio de la Frontera and Nauta if you want to travel safely. If you are a risk taker and lover of adventure, rent an AWD vehicle and go up mountains or driving through them which is a complete odyssey due to the risks caused by the Andean geography itself, or the safe-to drive-coasts or through the jungle, which can be desolated to drive in case of mechanic failure.

People in Huayramarca might be passional about football pretty much everywhere, but more hostile when you go down the mountains, driving to the coast. Down there, if people don’t attack you, weather might do due to the offensive humidity, mosquitoes and heat that may occur there. In Lima, despite being in the coast, the weather is mild and great to play football, but there might be some sandstorms due to the deserts located south of said city. Coastal teams usually play at afternoon, when humidity may suffocate those not used to deal with it.

Same happens at the jungle, but the mosquito issue multiplies thousand-fold, also as humidity caused by constant rains that pass there in their transit to the highlands. Water absorption made by trees cause severe issues with an extremely humid weather, hence jungle teams decide to play often at noon, to torture rival teams.

On the Sierra things get worse since the main problem up there is respiration. For a physical activity like football, people might need some weeks to acclimatize altitude and get an efficient breathing pattern that might supply their physical effort needs. Several cities are above the 2500 masl, even the capital city, which is located at 4000 masl, it doesn’t matter at which time they decide to play, if a team isn’t acclimatized, they will even faint during the game if they don’t have with them oxygen tanks to breathe before the game or if they don’t get some treatment into a hyperbaric chamber.

Stadia are distributed to have a distribution as equal as possible for regions, considering that there will be ten local games at Huayramarca, Sierra, Costa and Selva will receive three matches each one and one in the Isles. Each region will receive a high tier rival and then a randomized sort of two other teams in other matchdays. You might contact the Huayramarcan Football Federation (OOC: TG me or shout me at Discord!) in case of more information or solving some needs for your team and fans.

Sierra:

Estadio Nacional de Huayramarca - Capacity: 45,500 - Huayramarca Metropolitan District.

Tenants: Ministry of Culture and Sports of Huayramarca.
Built in: 1968.
Altitude: 4,012 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Illimani FC, Real Ebriedad, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: Built in 1968, the Estadio Nacional is the jewel in the not so well-shaped crown of the Huayramarcan sport venues, an Olympic stadium that might be a nightmare for visiting teams due to the altitude and weather of the city, which tends to be somewhat hostile every day, even more if it's played at noon due to the sun's radiation at that altitude. Despite being an Olympic stadium, people tend to set significant pressure in it, especially from the neighbouring apartment blocks which tends to be crowded for the matches being held there (they might aim lasers from there, take care!).

Also, the walls near the dressing room have curious messages as such: "Welcome to Huayramarca D.M. At 4,000 meters above sea level "is one of the first things the visiting teams will read upon entering the dressing room, perhaps to make clear the conditions to which they will be subjected throughout the game. It is still intimidating the following warning that is issued when they leave the visiting dressing room "Caution, if you have the following symptoms: Headache, vertigo, fatigue, tachycardia, nausea or vomiting, wheezing, dyspnoea or inappetence, go to the medical staff, we are at your disposal."

Will host:
MD :14 vs Cabo Azure - 20:05 - Windy, -5°C.

Estadio de la Revolución - Capacity: 40,000 - San Ignacio de la Frontera, Cajamarca.

Tenants: Ministry of Culture and Sports of Huayramarca.
Built in: 1985.
Altitude: 2,325 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Audax Cajamarca, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: The Ministry of Culture and Sports has decided to revamp the sporting infrastructure across Huayramarca to promote football among young people and form, in a near future, a strong Huayramarcan National Team. To fulfil said promise stadia were built in significant places in Huayramarca, San Ignacio de la Frontera is one of those sometimes-forgotten outposts of the nation yet relevant for trading with its neighbouring Mertagne in the eastern side of the Highlands. Home of Audax Cajamarca, this stadium promises to offer one of the most interesting fan scenes in the nation, as people are more enthusiastic than other places in Huayramarca, considering the heavy influence that Mertagnian football has caused in this place.

Not as high as another venues in terms of altitude, the 2,325 meters above sea level isn't a cipher that should be underestimated, to the contrary, it's still a problematic altitude for teams that aren't used to it, especially on ball shooting and breathing conditions. This stadium is the only one in Huayramarca that uses turf as ground to play, something that could cause issues with visiting teams and Huayramarcans that might not be used to play here.

Will host:
MD 5: vs Kewlz - 19:00, 1°C. Sleet.

Selva:

Estadio Olímpico del Oriente - Capacity: 26,000 - Sechura.

Tenants: MuniSechura.
Built in: 1945.
Altitude: 560 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Sociedad Petrolera, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: One of the biggest stadia in Huayramarca, the main hub of sports in the Jungle region is located at Sechura, a city of about 300,000 inhabitants which serves as logistical hub for operations of rubber production and for explorations into the dense jungle nearby. Sociedad Petrolera is a modest Liga 1 side, but one that tends to attract ticket sell outs every game, since people in that region tends to be quite enthusiastic of football in order to forget they’re not so good daily life. At that city, one should take care of humidity, which tends to be quite strong at times, hence teams usually play there on afternoon or night, since heat might be something difficult to stand even for locals.

Will host:
MD 3: vs Delaclava - 15:00 – Rainy, 33°C.

Estadio Municipal de Pando - Capacity: 18,000 - Pando.

Tenants: Autoridad Deportiva de Pando.
Built in: 1986.
Altitude: 150 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Asociación Deportiva Vaca Díez, Club ABH, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: Pando is located just in the outskirts of the burgeoning city of Brigadier Echeandía, part of the well-known “Cocoa Axis” serving as a gateway to some of the best plantations of cocoa in Anaia. As part of the massive development that the Huayramarcan Selva is having due to oil and cocoa, the Autoridad Deportiva de Pando decided to invest in building a significant stadium for two of the strongest and most popular clubs of the Department such as Vaca Díez and ABH, hence it was built with savings coming from taxation of those two lucrative activities.

The environment could be relaxed compared to other venues in Huayramarca, fans there tend to be supportive but more as a hobby rather than a passion… But there’s no certainty on how this could change with the Huayramarcan National Team visiting their lands.

Will host:
MD 1: vs The Kytler Peninsulae - 18:00 - Clear skies, 27°C.

Costa:

Estadio Metropolitano del Guayas - Capacity: 62,000 - Guayaquil.

Tenants: Autoridad Guayaquileña de Deportes.
Built in: 1980.
Altitude: 15 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Guayaquil Wanderers, Barcelona Sporting Club, Huayramarcan National Team.
Data: A kettle pot, that's the definition for the biggest stadium in all of Huayramarca. "El Metropolitano" is the most recently built stadium in the nation and will make the debut for international football in Huayramarca. Hosts two teams and the fan atmosphere in Guayaquil is one of the most intimidatory ones in the multiverse, fans throwing you stones while receiving, throwing flares, extremely noisy people all around and the incredibly hot and humid weather that dominates the city may be lethal for some teams when trying to visit. Rescuing a tie from here may be considered something great, since you survived the "Guayaco" hell. Hence that, teams often love to play at the afternoon, specially at 3:00 P.M. to squeeze out the rivals in exhaust.

Will host:
MD 6: vs Poafmersia - 14:30 – Sunny, 35°C.

Estadio Olímpico Universitario - Capacity: 55,000 Lima.

Tenants: Universidad Nacional Mayor de Santa Cecilia.
Built in: 1955.
Altitude: 430 meters above sea level.
Local teams: Club Universitario.
Data: Imagine a venue packed of people that has just finished their daily classes, people thirsty to watch football and leave aside, for a moment, their daily academic stress. That’s the most accurate depiction of the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, a 55,000-seater venue that will host, for the first time, the Huayramarcan National Team. This is the second largest stadium of Huayramarca, and it’s known for being built in a way that optimizes acoustics, so fans could be noisier than they really are during their fireworks receiving of the local team. To include more communities into the sport, the HFF has considered to include this venue (and the city of Lima) for this WCQ to see more local identity during the matches.

Will host:
MD 11: vs Astograth - 18:00 – Sunny, 23°C.

Isles:

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
    Godmod scoring events: N.
    RP injuries to my players: Y - Contact me first, so we can agree.
    Godmod injuries to my players: Y - Contact me first as well.
    Give red cards to my players: Y – Max 3 per match.
    Godmod other events: Y – Contact me, so we can agree.

    Style Modifier: +5

Nota Bene: Do not RP a pandemic on Huayramarcan soil nor involve any of my players on it.

by **Cardenao** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 5:55 pm

The One Where Chímo Converses

“Game today?”

“Think so.”

“Feeling good?”

“Kinda.”

“Who you playing?”

“Dunno.”

“Looks like Huayramarca.”

“Could be.”

“I like them, remember hosting the CAFA Cup with them?”

“Yeah, I played in it.”

“Ah, right. I think they beat us the last time we played them?”

“Probably, they are definitely a fair bit better than us.”

“Oh yeah I just looked it up, they killed you guys.”

“Yeah…thanks for that.”

“You see Mihaly’s gone missing?”

“Who?”

“The President or something like that.”

“No.”

“Well…seems he’s missing.”

“Unfortunate.”

“Yeah…well good luck tonight!”

“Thanks.”

by **Saint Eleanor** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 6:58 pm

OOC: Gracious thanks to the following people.

Delaclava, for letting me use the hotel as the venue for the press conference and clearing the installation of a temporary Premium Coffee outlet in Mollywood.
EQS, for reading over these roleplays and confirming he didn't object to their depictions of Gentle Breeze.
Nephara, for assuring me that I can "just post it, it's fine" when I asked if he'd similarly like to look over this roleplay as regards Reniira Clevinger.
Milchama, Tikariot, Del again and Myt for letting me use their journalists for this.
Sea Dome, for allowing me to just straight-up invent a dual national called James Valladares for these purposes in lieu of a pre-existing journalist.

Oneshot: Council of the Beasts

10:30am - Tuesday 15th July 2008

"The Grand Ballroom of the Universal Hotel, Mollywood." If you knew, Edward Young figured, you knew. If you didn't, you'd end up like his boss, James Warwick off the Reporter, bouncing around every other place on the rest of the floor while trying to find the generically grand, ornate, pretty hotel. Thank Margaret it wasn't so generic on the inside, he figured.

He had spent hours camped here since breakfast; he noticed a few other people milling about the room a while later, just fellow people with fellow press credentials. He'd been seated for about half an hour, though. So many people had descended here - a good number just taking notes and photographs rather than asking questions, though - that nothing else would make sense. Hmmmm. What did I just say?

*** "Hello." This obviously wasn't what Young was expecting. He'd been on the beat for a few years and he still didn't know that pegasi actually had wings. "This is an introductory press conference, of sorts - it's not our first, that was a few months ago; it's not the pre-match conference, that'll be in a couple of days. My assistants and I would like to welcome the international media to the Universal regardless, and hope they are not too taken about by the new order of things. Do they have any questions? I hope they do; this wouldn't be much of a spectacle otherwise."

"I'm from the Alexandria Times-Tribune-Sun-Moon-Sky-Picayune-Courier-Post-Pre-Forward-Current-Reader and I might have a few more important questions later, but I'd like to start this meeting by congratulating the team on their new manager from Saint Eleanor. I expect she will do a very good job, although not against Milchama if our heritage of proper rubber chicken handling is anything to go by."

*** "I have no idea where you got the idea that I was an Eleanorian; maybe it's from the fact your outlet's already misidentified one of the new managers as coming from there. I'm Gentle Breeze and... no, I'm actually from Equestria. My successes speak for themselves, as does my experience. And my travels, of course. I hope to bring these legacies to the Eleanorian national team as well."

*** "Reniira Clevinger - formerly of HCFC, now of SEFA, forever a Nepharan. I have time for your questions. I do not have time for your bullshit - go nag one of those other two."

*** "I'm Stephen Mitcham and I'll be staying on the national team for as long as I feel they need the help. I'll happily do whatever tactical legwork they ask of me; I'm there if the new people need help, if any of the players need help, if they need a bit of inspiration before the matches. You know the deal. I've been here for a good portion of my life now!"

"Okay, okay... so she isn't an Eleanorian. Okay. You were talking about tactical legwork there, sir. Now, I would like to ask... the new Equestrian manager, sorry, how does this work? What makes you want to bring another assis---"

*** "Tradition, balance and fairness. The understanding we've reached recently is that I will be trying to get the best out of every player - starting new players, getting them to work together, teaching a common mindset; such of the like. Reniira will be doing the bigger-picture stuff - having a look at general roles horizontally and vertically, seeing how the roles could link up, what substitutions work best, and so on. Stephen will still be working on tactics, but he'll be in more of an advisory and correcting position rather than seemingly doing everything as he used to."

"Okay. Thank you. I might have more questions later, but no guarantees!"

"Eric van der Heyden; Tikariot Sports Gazette. There have been some doubts about how you're going to get the team in order - the new manager and her new assistant, it's been repeatedly noted, have no non-playing experience at all. It's not clear how much Stephen Mitcham is going to help, either, even though he led the Eleanorian tactical line for many years. How can Eleanorians, and followers of Saint Eleanor elsewhere, be confident that you are not going to run this ship into the ground again?"

*** "There are no doubts. GB and I have been given a clear mandate by the FA: get out there and try to win. She's been doing a lot of good work trying to get the team in order. Compared to a year ago, we have a stronger mindset, a stronger vision, and much stronger bonds between the team."

*** "That's correct. The new players are good - they would not be anywhere near the national team if they weren't. The issue is that they were not properly nurtured. Over the course of my tenure so far, an ethos has been put into these players - do not be so rash to attack; do not be so scared to attack, if needs must; do not be afraid to stop the opponent's movements, within reason; do focus on beating the opponents in front of you. A misguided results culture got us to two World Cups in five attempts. It is my intention that a common-sense, game-by-game culture will reap more rewards."

*** "These ladies are smart. I've already said in a few places that our meetings are like the council of the beasts or something of the sort - there's me, the human; Reniira's 50% satyr; Gentle Breeze is 100% pegasus, I'm not making any of this up. I've been immensely privileged to work with them so far, however, and we've gotten a plan in place. More of a plan than existed before, I'd say. The ship will not 'run into the ground,' not for as long as the plan holds, we don't run around like headless chickens - sorry about that - and all the players are happy. As of right now, all of that is the case."

"I'm Daniil Fesenko. A few of my co-workers in the FenixFooty office have argued that Evans was forced out because she wasn't too hot with the new players she brought on, leading them and a few concerned old-timers to revolt. Is that correct?"

*** "Yes."

*** "I wouldn't say 'she wasn't too hot' - I was there. What happened was I tried my level best to get them following a plan - any plan, although I went more defensive for starters - and give the national team a coherent philosophy. Priscilla said they'll develop in time and my training sessions were quickly abandoned. Do I agree? Yes. Is that enough, given they're a bit more aggressive than the average? Kichirō Matsuda, most likely. The unit as a whole, no."

"Oh - Edward Young, The Reporter. As well as the onboarding scandal, something else Priscilla Evans took a lot of flack for was the organisation of a training camp in Huayramarca at the start of last year."

*** "Don't speak ill of the ousted, please. It's well-known that was Bridget Coombe's idea."

"Yes, but is it at least reasonable to assume she approved the plans?"

*** "Stephen was clear at the time that Evans was perfectly on board with it. The scheme was not the failure many people think it is: it was a strength- and character-building exercise and, even by your newspaper's account, was one of the more important factors behind Saint Eleanor getting a better result at the Yak Empire than Cassadaigua. Also note: Saint Eleanor were not forced to play in the higher altitudes of the Empire; Cassadaigua were later asked to enter a playoff in Felswyr at short notice, and lost again."

"Would you, as manager, support or approve any similar schemes?"

*** "If the purpose is for training, preparation, and adapting to new environments, then yes. The Huayramarcan camp would be a good example of this. Part of my approach to this job is that, if you can reasonably plan for an eventuality, you should do so. Saint Eleanor prepared and, to the relevant extent, claimed one of their few meaningful successes of the cycle. Cassadaigua did not - and certainly did not succeed."

"Not the answer I was looking for, but thank you."

"James Valladares here - Matriarchy of Sea Dome, Eleanorian dual nationality, does freelance work for whatever agency needs me but haven't seen too much in the way of football. How are you going to make this become a team every Eleanorian can stand behind?"

*** "I'd say 95% of the nation supports us already, no matter what. But I've been talking to a few people over the course of qualifiers and they're disappointed - they think our players aren't working hard enough, that we've forgotten how to play and so on. Repay the faith is what I say: I've been talking on and on about the wonders the new girls are working, and that should get us results in 2008. Beyond that... every single time we've failed to make the World Cup since 2000, people have been disappointed, upset and sometimes betrayed. They always seem to shut up when we make it and do well. Can't think of why."

"I'm Molly George from The Signal of Delaclava. Delighted to be in Mollywood today, of course. You've gotten a lot of questions about Priscilla Evans' legacy, which I know you might not be well-equipped to deal with..."

*** "We did perfectly fine, thank you. Even though I didn't speak much."

"...thank you, Reniira."

*** "You'll be surprised how many journalists don't pay attention to the nameplates."

"So anyway, I'd like to ask: what do you want Saint Eleanor to get out of the Cup of Harmony?"

*** "I'd expect to get out of Group G without much of an issue. After that... I'd say the last eight, minimum. I can't guarantee we'll defeat whatever team's ahead of us, but I feel confident in saying that the round of sixteen should be a good enough fight."

*** "There have been reports in a few papers - not yours - that Gentle Breeze over there hasn't been set any expectations for the Cup of Harmony. In a sense, this is correct: regardless of results, she will be staying on until the end of the 96th cycle in 2010. At the same time, though, it's not strictly accurate - every single person in SEFA is fully ready for this team to do the best that it can. "

*** "I mean... well, yes. Obviously the aspiration would be for a 100% perfect campaign. That is very rare: we had the Holy Empire two years ago and before that, I believe, it was the Main Nation Ministry - which happened so long ago as to have been the same year I won the World Cup. Still, you can't be the best when you're losing!"

"Irma Simunec. Gazeta Sporta, Mytanija - sav sport, cijelo vrijeme! Obviously Mytanija made the World Cup proper in Chromatika and Sylestone, but a good number of people in Cassadaigua have been complaining that the Cup of Harmony is so strong in relation to the senior competition. A good number of people, including at least one national team player, have gone so far as to call this tournament 'World Cup 95B' instead. How far do you agree?"

*** "Six of the top 25 was in Cup of Harmony 81, where we went after our first ever World Cup qualifiers didn't quite go to plan. We were one of the lowest-ranked teams in the entire competition and got Banija, fifth in the world and top of the CoH tree, to a scoreless draw. I didn't see anyone call it World Cup 89B at the time. As I've said, this is the Cup of Harmony - it's where we've gotten our starts, where we've made our dreams and where we've had our most important experiences, good and bad. There's no reason why we can't treat it as a serious cup."

*** "Every Cup of Harmony has some really good teams in it. What the boss and I want is for it not to keep on containing Saint Eleanor."

*** "I'm inclined to agree that this is the strongest Cup of Harmony in a while. I wouldn't say it has much to do with how qualifying worked, though - those were a bit more unforgiving this cycle, especially given how common 30-team playoffs have been lately, and it's understandable that some sides have dropped down as a result. But - but - this is one of the most promising Eleanorian teams in a while and I'm confident we can defeat any opposition that's put in front of us. If you want a short answer, though, this is not the World Cup nor am I pretending that it is - the stakes, admissions and aura are all totally different between the two competitions."

"Any last takers, please?"

"I'm Donald Rankin from the Journal. Omnibus question, this, but how do you expect to perform against Gnejs and who do you think will make the difference?"

*** "I would like a win - as I've said - but Gnejs are going to be the most challenging team we'll play for a while and they've started to tilt a bit more towards the attack since they took charge. I can't just point out one difference-maker; the match will rest on who makes the first error, and it is my intention that we will surprise them enough to force the first error."

*** "2-1 to Saint Eleanor. Newcastle has a blinder; Svendsen makes the crucial mistake. Just my take, though."

*** "If this was still Priscilla, I doubt we'd get much out of the game. New leadership, though - and I've told you at every opportunity possible how much they're focusing the team on the tasks at hand - and I'd say most likely a draw. They're a good team and both of us were seriously screwed in the qualifiers. I'd say their front three are going to be the biggest actors..."

"This is Mollywood. The biggest actors are actors, not sportspeople."

*** "Figure of speech, Don. And I was going to say if we can't stop them, then we won't get off lightly, I'm telling you that."

"I'm the Alexandrian again. Can you sum up your thoughts on the days ahead in one word?"

*** "Reinvention."

*** "Promising."

*** "No."

Young left pretty soon after that. He walked out onto the street, sat on a bench, stared up at the ginormous MOLLYWOOD and had a good, hard think to himself. All of these contributions, and the one he had to make was tabloid journalism at worst, an outright flub at best. Don't worry, he thought. It's just a flub. I didn't lie about transfer rumours like Ben Smith did a few years ago. I'll get back stronger. I'll do my best. I'll try my hardest. I'll pay more attention...

The following afternoon...

Group of Six meeting (I) --- Gnejs ?-? SAINT ELEANOR
Participants: Gentle Breeze, Reniira Clevinger, Stephen Mitcham ~ Bridget Coombe [C], Cathy Winchester [VC], Graham Lawson [ballot]
Location: Premium Coffee; Mollywood, The Mainframe, DEL

MAJOR MATCH EVENTS: None; the match is tomorrow (07/17/2008 Eleanorian). Goals in 2-0 v. Starblaydia, WCQ95 MD14, were Davies 47 and Key 75. All players are available.

INTRODUCTION: The Group of Six is Stephen's idea - much of his tactical knowledge was from the Evans days and he has more of it than most people - but he suggested to me around February that, with Reniira and I having rather more overall football experience, we could have joint tactical meetings. I suggested after a while that some players be invited to discuss their views, although only Bridget and Cathy took part in the earliest meetings.

Today, the Group of Six is: myself (the manager, who examines and implements all suggestions made), Reniira and Stephen (the assistants, who offer and critique tactical and strategic advice), Bridget and Cathy (the captain and vice-captain, who outline the potential impact tactical changes will have on the team and how it plays), and one other player selected or - in Reniira's words - balloted at random (who represents the interests of the wider playerbase).

This meeting was held at the Premium Coffee shop in Mollywood. This is a pop-up outlet serving mostly Eleanorian fans watching group matches at CoH87, which news outlets report number around 25-30k - I can't confirm this but I've met at least a couple of dozen in recent days.
Myself and Bridget did not order anything (non-coffee drinkers). Reniira asked for "coffee," as always, and was just served an espresso. Graham deliberately ordered an espresso, and got one. Stephen and Cathy both ordered a cappuccino (although she asked for a caramel shot in hers, which she called "nice and lovely").

LESSONS LEARNED: All participants immediately agreed that WCQ95 was a major failure of Eleanorian football. Cathy and Graham said it was the single greatest failure in history, outweighing even CoH82. There is a consensus at this point that the reason behind this failure was triune:
1. Evans introduced many new players to the squad. This is not an issue in itself - it was an effective strategy for her in some past cycles, such as post-90 and post-91.
2. Many of these new players had a stronger temperament. Eleanorians have traditionally been cooler and this worked for Evans' fairly hands-off style. While Key fits the old mould, many of the new players do not
3. The new players were mismanaged. They have variously complained about not being integrated properly, not having their skills recognised, and simply not being utilised enough.
Result: "majority of squad" (~ Graham) turned on Evans! Would much rather that didn't happen to me!

This was variously described as "immensely stupid" (~ Reniira) and "a betrayal of principles" (~ Bridget). Immediate consensus was that, where reasonable, these players should be given the opportunity to perform regularly at CoH87, as those of past mass-introductions were - everybody hoped that this would be the first step towards their accepting their place in the team, full squad cohesion, and consistent WC qualifications.

RECOMMENDATIONS: As an olive-branch to the new generation, it was decided to field Matsuda, Felaraneta and Key (+ Northend, who was a consistent performer in WCQ95). Tomorrow's starting lineup will be as follows: Richardson; Winchester, Newbridge, Launceston, Davies; Coombe, MATSUDA; Newcastle, FELARANETA, Northend; KEY.
All were seen to have had done well for themselves when they had their opportunities in qualifying, with the consensus being that Felaraneta had been unduly sidelined for Pilchard and needs to get high-level match experience.

Stephen noted that this Gnejs team was "completely different" to the one that defeated Saint Eleanor at CoH85: a new manager, Enda Clentin [DLT], has been introduced; many of the old players (although not Hansen, infamous for his winning goal at the time) have retired. Clentin's philosophy is a 4-3-3 with high pressing and relentless attacking.
I suggested that with, with Felaraneta affording more attacking space in midfield, the wide players drop back; the defenders stay strictly back, in case they are dispossessed by the Stoic Press and concede; Felaraneta and Key stay forwards and try to get onto long balls from the defence. All other participants agreed.
Reniira said that if there are major issues with the attack, F should be substituted out before K, with Matsuda going forwards to form a diamond. I agreed to this plan of action - Matsuda has shown himself to be adept in all areas of central midfield and it's important that we have two committed strikers ready to push up and work with the rest of the team in the event of a "tactical emergency" (~ Cathy).
The players had no suggestions of their own. Bridget said she would follow whatever was decided today.

Saint Eleanor will therefore approach Gnejs cautiously. They are the second seed in the group (we are first) and we will only get three chances to make a mark in Mollywood. A good result against Gnejs will set us up well for the knockouts.

MOVING FORWARD: We've agreed that Reniira will be chairing the next meeting, which will happen in the Universal (nb - team hotel) the morning after the match. Main differences: she'll be using pen and paper, not a typewriter; her notes will be much more disorganised; she's a "straight-talking bastard" (~ Graham). Would be all the more instructive, especially if we don't perform.

Stephen reminded us that "nobody is in trouble" and there will not be any lasting consequences for not performing up to standard at CoH87. However, Bridget said that it was "incredibly important" for the team to try as hard as they could to win every match and commended us for making a detailed plan to stand up to Gnejs.

~GB

by **Eura** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 6:59 pm

EURAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
Cup of Harmony 87 Squad

STAFF

Manager: Glen Merson (45,

Eura)

Glen Merson watched with horror like many Eurans as another disaster unfolded when Eura failed to qualify for World Cup 93. Simultaneously, his Harkdown team were getting relegated from Gold League in their first season back for many years. But Merson’s stature was enhanced by getting them there in the first place, so the EFA thought he would be worth a punt as caretaker manager for Cup of Harmony 85 – they were blocked from making a permanent appointment while the Euran government carried out a review of the EFA during the Cup of Harmony.

In line with Merson’s preferences at club level, Eura played a rather old fashioned and very Euran 4-2-2-2 formation…and it worked. Eura recovered from a poor start to the tournament to finally win it for the first time, having lost their previous three Cup of Harmony finals, defeating Eshialand. With the government review prolonged by political factors and his appointment having been seemingly vindicated, Merson was offered a full year extension.

An implosion against Naixi early in the knock out rounds of the next Copa Rushmori put a dampener on the idea that Glen Merson was going to save Euran football from nowhere, and World Cup 94 was a reminder of how far there is to go; Eura won automatic qualification from the qualifying stage – progress! – but fell short in the group stage of the tournament proper, as their sorry luck in group draws continued.

Nevertheless, Merson remained in place after the completion of the football review, which mainly targeted the domestic league for change. A Copa Rushmori run to the first Euran final appearance in nine editions offered promise, but it all unravelled after a defeat at the last hurdle to Cabo Azure. Eura blundered through World Cup 95 qualifying and, with the help of some outrageous refereeing and other misfortunes, failed to qualify for the fourth time in eight attempts. Most predicted Glen Merson would be gone straight afterwards…yet, curiously, he remains in post.

Assistant Manager: Roland Hopkins (49,

Eura)

Merson initially kept on Rose’s assistant Roland Hopkins for the duration of the Cup of Harmony but has decided to retain Hopkins for as long as he has the role. Hopkins is mainly a disciplinarian rather than much of a tactician; its Merson who runs the show.

STYLE AND PERMISSIONS

Style Modifier: -5 (yes, you read that correctly)

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:

Choose my goalscorers – YES
Godmod scoring events – YES
RP injuries to my players – YES
Godmod injuries to my players – YES, but only how the injury happens, not the extent of the injury.
Hand out yellow cards to my players – YES
Hand out red cards to my players – YES
Godmod other events – YES, provided you keep events within the realms of realism, so no deaths etc.

SQUAD
Shirt number – name (F if female) – position – age – international caps – international goals – club
Routine starters in bold

Goalkeepers

1 – Sam Norman – GK – 26 – 13 caps -

Spartangrad
13 – Tom Hammond - GK - 29 – 81 caps -

Directus
30 – David Warrington – GK – 30 – 1 cap -

Tihon (Chromatika)

Eura have decided to park the bus, meaning there are now no excuses for the endless parade of morons that seem to grace the goal line for the red and gold. David Warrington gets a call back, and Sam Norman gets the starting spot after being one of the few bright stars of World Cup qualifying (and Tom Hammond’s dire domestic form).

Defenders

2 – Ana Mason [F] - RWB - 30 – 120 caps – 6 goals -

Spartangrad
3 – Isaac Doherty – LB – 29 – 27 caps – 0 goals -

Revolutionaries
4 – Jack Menard (CAPTAIN) - CB – 32 – 230 caps – 10 goals -

Ulsa
5 – Martin Pearce - CB – 27 – 43 caps – 0 goals -

Starling (Nephara)
15 - Quentin Phillips - CB - 29 – 84 caps – 2 goals -

Holdenberg
19 – Jonathan Dennis – CB – 28 – 4 caps – 0 goals -

Spartangrad
21 – Amber Arnold [F] – RB – 24 – 0 caps – 0 goals -

Oakstone
23 – Molly Taylor [F] – LWB/LB – 27 – 46 caps – 3 goals -

Falourr
25 – Kevin Sherwood - CB – 30 – 147 caps – 3 goals -

1830 Cathair (Audioslavia)
26 - Trent Grant - CB - 23 - 3 caps - 0 goals -

Bastion
27 – Jack Dawson - CB - 23 - 0 caps - 0 goals -

Bastion

Marking the defensive shift, Eura adopted a central back three with Martin Pearce promoted and Quentin Phillips regularly starting again, having been neglected in WCC competition at great cost as Jack Bedford unexpectedly floundered. Isaac Doherty comes in for the more adventurous Molly Taylor; on the corresponding right flank, Ana Mason is too good to drop but Edwin Lafferton is out for a more defensive reserve in Amber Arnold. Jack Dawson is in line for a first cap – it really could be sink or swim for him.

Midfielders

6 - Jermaine Gates - CDM/CM - 29 – 123 caps – 4 goals -

Directus
7 – Dean Barnes – RAM/RW – 25 – 52 caps – 12 goals -

Directus
8 – Oscar Vincent - CM – 30 – 150 caps – 24 goals -

Holdenberg
11 – Owen James - RW/LW – 28 – 90 caps – 28 goals -

Ulsa
12 – Trent Roberts – LM – 29 – 23 caps – 5 goals -

Spartangrad
16 – Flora Brown [F] – CM – 30 – 63 caps – 3 goals -

Sabrefell Moths (Nephara)
18 – Laura Holland – CM – 30 – 10 caps – 0 goals –

Ulsa
20 – Lewis Coates – CM – 28 – 6 caps – 0 goals –

Ulsa
22 – Travis Coffey – RM/RWWB – 32 – 32 caps – 4 goals – Ma Alameome (Farfadillis)
24 – Marvin Cole – CDM/CM – 28 – 24 caps – 0 goals – Rene Skae (Farfadillis)
28 – Tom Hussain – CM/CAM – 25 – 0 caps – 0 goals -

Holdenberg
29 – Matty Wright – RW/LW – 20 – 4 caps – 1 goal -

Revolutionaries

Quite radical changes in the Euran midfield as the core three of Gates, Vincent and James remain with Barnes finally joining them as a designated starter, while Roberts and Brown step up the order. Otherwise, it’s an influx of defensive recalls, including the Holland-Coates duo from Ulsa, the never-say-die Travis Coffey, the underused Marvin Cole and a debutant in Tom Hussain. There’s also Matty Wright whose breakthrough season for Revolutionaries was recently capped off by a first international goal.

Forwards

9 – Alex Sharp - ST – 28 – 109 caps – 56 goals -

Directus
10 – Sophie Singh [F] - AM/ST - 28 – 118 caps – 52 goals -

Chromatik (Chromatika)
14 – Owen Holden – ST – 25 – 31 caps – 14 goals -

Revolutionaries
17 – Tess Miller [F] - AM/ST - 25 – 40 caps – 12 goals -

Brinemouth (Nephara)

Owen Holden is whacking them in at a canter at the moment, so he gets the sole starting spot. Nothing else to it.

Preferred starting lineup
Note: this does not take into account suspensions, injuries or any other change.

GK - 1. S Norman
RWB – 2. A Mason
RCB – 5. M Pearce
CB - 4. J Menard
LCB – 15. Q Phillips
LWB – 3. I Doherty
RM – 7. D Barnes
RCM - 6. J Gates
LCM - 8. O Vincent
LM – 11. O James
ST – 14. O Holden

Player Roles

Squad Captain: Jack Menard
Vice-Captain: Jermaine Gates
Direct free kicks: Oscar Vincent (Right footed)
Indirect free kicks: Oscar Vincent (Right footed)
Right corner: Oscar Vincent (Right footed)
Left corner: Oscar Vincent (Right footed)
Penalties: 1. Oscar Vincent 2. Owen Holden 3. D Barnes 4. Jack Menard 5. Owen James

Kits

by **Polar Islandstates** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 6:59 pm

SOUR CHERRIES
Chapter 2
Stina Marklund
Volume One
Bjarnarey - Jasmine - Stina
** ** ** ** **

“...to do what exactly, I’m not sure,” continued the woman, “but something.”

Alexsandr and Jasmine continued to look her up and down, slightly stunned into silence. Her suit was a deep charcoal grey and immaculately pressed, with a crisp white blouse visible beneath. Highly polished black high heels with well worn soles betrayed someone who was required to put the miles into their job, and the laptop bag and portable device suggested it was a job she was unable to just walk away from. Her black afro hair had the beginnings of white streaking through it and was pulled back fiercely into a braided bun, whilst the ruby red lipstick she wore was so vivid it could have been applied only seconds previously, and stood out against her dark skin as sharply as the only other bit of colour in her ensemble; a bright red enamel lapel badge in the shape of a star. Alexsandr caught a brief glimpse of a spreadsheet on the screen of her portable device. There were enough figures highlighted in red there to complement her outfit nicely, but he seriously doubted this was a decision led by style. Nonetheless, despite her apparent economic woes, she was smiling at the two of them as warmly as her thin mouth would let her.

When Alexsandr and Jasmine continued to sit and stare, she checked herself, held a hand to her chest, and leaned in a bit closer.

“I’m sorry, darlings, were you not aware how loudly you were talking?” she asked, in an accent that was clearly from the well-to-do of outer Franz Josef, if twinged with a colouring of local Bjarninger affectations, before breaking back into a chuckle and adding loudly; “Don’t worry, I’m not OO. Or the place would’ve been swarming already!”

Alexsandr laughed nervously. The thought hadn’t even occurred to him, to be honest. Even with Jasmine’s talk of honey-traps and being tricked out of her job. He chastised himself internally. How could he have been so stupid? So lax! Just because he was talking with someone he was already half-familiar with, he’d allowed himself to start talking loudly of resentment and dissatisfaction. The OO had made moves for far less. Increasingly less, in fact.

Even so, something about this woman made him feel like she was telling the truth. She felt trustworthy. A disarming tactic to possess if you were active in business circles the way she clearly was. He held his guard up. She might not have been OO, they didn’t tend to recruit from the black community, but anybody else in the room could have been. And he was now acutely aware that his table now featured two famous faces: his and Jasmine’s. Anybody would have good reason to stare and not appear suspicious.

He shifted in his seat and sat up a bit, nodding at the woman’s lapel badge; “Is that a Linii badge?”

“Mm?” She said, leaning backwards to look down at her own chest, “Oh, that. Yes, yes it is. Good eye! You know, I’d forgotten I was wearing that.”

“I recognised it from the Flotilla kits,” continued Alexsandr, which was true.

“Do you?” smiled the woman, “Well, that’s gratifying. That was my idea, you know. I pushed the whole thing through almost single-handed. The rest of the board weren’t so keen on the idea but I knew it would increase our brand recognition...”

Alexsandr raised his eyebrows at her. That explained the suit. And the Bjarninger twang in her otherwise textbook Valhallan. Sokhorosk Linii, with their headquarters in Bjarnarey, were one of the biggest shipping companies in the whole of Valhalla; Greater or Lesser. At one point, that possibly could have been expanded to include Oygruppen, or even the entirety of Rushmore and beyond, but thirty years of Party rule had seen to their regional dominance. Nonetheless, their domestic superiority still marked them as one of the most respected names in Valhallan business, and they were one of the most recognisable logomarks in container ports up and down the Federation. Despite moving their major shipyards and centres of operations to more appropriate yards, the company had stayed true to their Bjarninger origins by keeping their corporate headquarters in the unique floating city, not to mention sponsoring the local Divisjon One side, Bjarnarey Flotilla, as well as sinking countless sols into local causes and other community events.

Between the headquarters and their container micro-hub, which still took up over half of the permanent dockyards in Hoyer, they were the biggest single employer in Bjarnarey by a comfortable distance, and it was said that no true Sokhorosk ship would sail happily unless it made the trip ‘home’ once every few trips. Accordingly, all Sokhorosk shipnaming ceremonies still happened in Bjarnarey, no matter where they’d been built, and it was a matter of civic pride for the Bjarninger that the largest commercial fleet in the country all had ‘Bjarnarey’ painted on their sterns. If this woman worked for SL, it was no wonder she was smartly turned out.

“Or, well, ‘their’ brand recognition now, I guess,” she continued, “but then of course: your average Sven Svensson isn’t exactly sealing multi-million sol transportation contracts anyway, so, quite how beneficial to the bottom line it actually was is another question...”

“I’m sorry, you are?” asked Jasmine, slightly confused. “And what shirts? What are you two talking about?”

“Sorry, where are my manners?” muttered the woman, leaning over and extending her hand, “Christina Marklund, Contracts Director on the Superlogisticians Advisory Board. But you can call me Stina.”

“Jasmine L-”

“Lindblom, yes,” interrupted Marklund, shaking the had that had been offered in return, “I recognise you from the television. Both of you, in fact.”

“Ms Marklund’s firm sponsor the top flight team here,” explained Alexsandr to Jasmine, taking his turn shaking the vice-like grip of the businesswoman on the next table, before asking her, “or, sorry: you implied former company?”

“Stina, please. Yes, I haven’t actually worked for Sokhorosk for a long time, now. But this is where I climbed the ladder.”

“You’re not from here originally, are you?” asked Jasmine.

“Good ear, no. Franz Josef state. Waldenøya, by birth,” smiled Marklund, “but my dad was born and raised here. He worked his way up from shiphand to boardroom, and got a job in the capital before I was born. Hence, well, hence a lot of who I am, I guess! I suppose you’d call it nepotism these days, but I went to business school specifically to study economics and management and still had to start small. I go by my mother’s maiden name, as further means of distancing myself from favouritism, don’t you worry.”

“Er, wasn’t worrying, to be honest,” said Alexsandr, who had no intention of accusing a woman he'd only just met of anything like that. Whoever she was, and whatever had brought her here, it was clear that she was far too talkative to ever be a successful spy. Accordingly, his fears and worries about the long eyes of the OO began to abate somewhat.

"Okay, sure, fair point. I'm just explaining, I guess!" Smiled Marklund.

"But you said you were with the Superlogisticians, now?" Enquired Jasmine, ever the journalist.

"Oh, yes, have been for a while now." Answered Marklund, turning to face her. "It seemed the natural progression, you know? To keep moving upwards? Anyway. No sooner had we just certified our latest three-year plan than The Party indicated they'd be opening up the borders again. Well. That's kept me busy for the past few years, I can tell you!"

Alexsandr smiled weakly. He did have some sympathy for them. Like Jasmine had been saying before being interrupted by Marklund, the nation's wealth was supposedly built upon the miners and the movers. With such a hostile landscape, the early Valhallans had had to quickly learn how to tame it and extract what they needed from it, either animal, vegetable, or mineral. And with such a large amount of land and sea to cover, once they had it, they'd had to learn how to move it around the place.

Consequently, 'the miners and the movers' had gotten powerful and rich. And when you have power and wealth, you attract people who desire even more of that, so it came as no surprise that both the mining and logistics lobbies had plenty of influence in the corridors of power in order to try and keep them making as much money as possible. With sometimes unintended results.

It just so happened it was arguable that the logistics lobby was partially responsible for the rise of The Party in the first place.

Not long after formalising their interests in the form of an agreement codifying them as the aforementioned Superlogisticians Advisory Board, centrally elected representatives of SL and eight other logistics giants helped to successfully persuade the then Iversen-Eklund regime in the capital that what they really needed to extend their localised domination across the entire region was a combined air and sea 'Superhub' off the coast of Polkhan, in Külmsaar.

The powers that be in Soluca took a particular exception to this, of course, and the rest is history: an uprising was stoked, a landing force deployed, a governor was executed, a blockade was broken, and an island was ceded. From the ashes of Natalis and Agheim rose East Külmsaar, and unbeknownst to all at the time, the first flickering of Åskskur, later known as The Party.

Somehow, the SAB had managed to avoid any blame for all of this - clearly the public had a limit to the amount of butterfly effect they'd tolerate as far as feasible cause and effect was concerned - but with the Superhub left in the drawing board even after a second location was proposed, and with the Federation effectively closed to foreign business for the last three decades, nobody could say they hadn't suffered for their avarice.

Jasmine gave a look that portrayed the fact she'd quickly raced through a similar train of thought to Alexsandr, and then continued digging. "So, why the pin?"

"Mm?"

"Why are you wearing a SL pin if you're not with them anymore?" She expanded. "My understanding was that the only way they could agree to the way the SAB worked was that when you were elected on by your peers you left your previous firm entirely?"

"Oh, that, yeah..." said Marklund, "well, you're not wrong. But y'know, old habits die hard don't they. Plus, I'm in the old town aren't I? Considering who I was meant to be meeting, I thought a bit of solidarity wouldn't go amiss. So. Out came the old pin badge."

"Sorry, meant to be meeting?" Asked Alexsandr.

"Had a meeting lined up with some of the bigwigs I used to work with," explained Marklund, waving her spreadsheet and it's constellation of red cells vaguely in the direction of the pair of them "don't know if you'd picked up on recent events but despite the lifting of the border things aren't exactly going well right now. We lo- sorry, SL lost a potential contract lined up with Agrokomerc of Mytanija last week, and they wanted a plan of action sorting out. Between that and the Harther links falling through, there are a lot of grim faces at SL at the moment. I mean, across the whole of the SAB firms to be fair, but obviously I was mostly here to talk about container shipping..."

"Mm," ruminated Alexsandr, "and hence, you were eavesdropping."

"Guilty," admitted Marklund, holding her hands up in mock surrender, "but I wanted to hear what you two were talking about. I know about your own history, Alexsandr, and when I saw you talking to a journalist..."

"...you wondered if you could get in on the act?"

"In a way, sure. Like I said; there are a lot of grim faces at SL these days. And across the SAB. I wouldn't say everyone there was as outspoken as me, darlings..."

Alexsandr briefly wondered to himself if that was even possible.

"...but I think there's a growing elephant in the room that nobody dares talk about:" continued Marklund, blissfully unaware but at least lowering her voice to what passed for a whisper in her world, "that what if The Party isnt acting in our best interests anymore?"

"Isn't that what lobbyists are for?" Asked Jasmine, naturally suspicious of this businesswoman and her political influence.

"Sure but, you know what I mean. On a bigger scale. A shipping company can't enact that kind of thing. Not an open revolt... Can we?" Rambled Marklund, with a look on her face that suggested this was the first time she was hearing herself say these things out loud, or even entertain these thoughts properly.

"I'm not even sure what's possible anymore," sighed Alexsandr, "not with this vote coming up. It's anyone's guess what's going to happen after that."

Three grim faces shared a look across the table as the pallid sky outside threatened to start something more explicitly precipitous.

"Still seems convenient you being here when we are," suggested Alexsandr, still a little wary.

"Well, after the meeting was cancelled, I tried to head back to my hotel, only for my water-cabbie to cancel at the last minute. Something about a prior booking." Marklund shrugged. "Anyway, I decided to humour myself with a stroll around the old town, and rediscovered this place! Used to be docked around the SL HQ when I was last in here but, it's still the same old linoleum."

"How come your meeting didn't happen?" picked up Jasmine, still investigating.

"Oh, the CEO was due in on a flight from Agheim this afternoon but the plane was grounded after a bird strike." Answered Marklund, a little too loudly. "A big one, sadly: a goose, they think."

"From Agheim, you say? That's funny," interrupted a fourth voice from a few tables over, making the three of them jump, "I'm pretty sure I was booked on the also-now-cancelled return flight to Agheim this evening."

Alexsandr looked up at the source of the voice, and saw double.

The man who'd previously been doing such a good job of hiding behind his open laptop had leaned out and revealed himself after having overheard the conversation.

Behind him, the muted televisions had gotten as far into their recap of the Terns' recent qualifying and Cup of Harmony campaigns as the away win over Semarland, and the face Alexsandr saw in front of him now was the same one that was grimly giving Iosef Miroshnichenko some side-eye on the television behind him.

No wonder he'd tried to stay hidden...

"Thor's Beard," exclaimed Alexsandr in shock, "is that you, Federico?!"

** ** ** ** **
Bjarnarey - Jasmine - Stina
Volume One

Cup of Harmony 87 - Rosters/RPs/Results

Eleanorian national team roster for the 87th Cup of Harmony

...just to get a glimpse behind this illusion

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