Copa Rushmori 45 [RPs/rosters/results]

[Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland]

Team name: Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland
Trigram: SWR
Demonym/adjective: Schutzenphalian*, Schutzi (colloq.)
* Technically, players such as Srðan Verdnik are Ruhntuhnkuhnlander, but in practice, ‘Schutzenphalian’ is used as an omnibus descriptor for everyone from the United Iron Principality.
Team nickname: Mountaineers

Staff

Head coach: Julian Menger
Assistant coach: Aaron Pfeifer

All players play in the Schutzenlige unless otherwise stated.

Goalkeepers

1. Niklas Kaplan ( Steinaux)
12. Sebastian Pfeifer ( Deportivo Launia)
21. Thomas Bauer (Lengenbrück Gudenfeld)

Defenders

2. Max Spielmann (Obernbrück)
3. Xaver Bruckner ( Sporting Transvers)
4. Kilian Vorgrimler (TSV Stralschau)
5. Emil Keppler (SV Klagenzell Vólkerheim)
6. Justus Rosenberger (Sankt Margrethe’s)
13. Benjamin Schlager (Mistlestein 1882)
16. Willi Holthusen (Vöcklaweil FV)
23. Laurenz Hassler (Tischler Gladenkamp)
24. Christoph Vogl ( Hagejoki)

Midfielders

7. Srðan Verdnik ( Caralanian Caralania)
8. Kaspar Engel (Saalstein Freihöring)
10. Gunnar Kasparsson ( Hinteram)
14. Robin Ehn (Tischler Gladenkamp)
18. Linus Oberhauser (Saalstein Freihöring)
20. Mathias Ehrenfest (Lengenkamp SC)
22. Noah Frankenberger (Saalstein Freihöring)
26. Lukas Scharff (Mistlestein 1882)

Forwards

9. Tommy Bernauer (Lengenbrück Gudenfeld)
11. Daniel Reiter ( Maigburg)
15. Theodor Hammesfahr (Sankt Margrethe’s)
17. Lucas von Wolfberg ( Rosenpfelblatz City)
19. Emilio Schmid (Tischler Gladenkamp)
25. Joel Manz (Vöcklaweil FV)

Captain: Bruckner
Penalties: von Wolfberg, Scharff
Free-kicks: Oberhauser, von Wolfberg
Corners: Spielmann, Oberhauser

RP PERMISSIONS
If my opponent role-plays first they may:
Choose my goalscorers: Y
Godmod scoring events: Y
RP injuries to my players: Y
Godmod injuries to my players: Y
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Y
Hand out red cards to my players: Y
Godmod other events: Y, but no violence, and no photographs of my players

Style modifier: 0

[Norrhem]

GK	Kirsti Sundgren			21	Athletic Saint Eleanor (EXT)
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LB	Birgitta Jakobsson		28	Skarrsholms IFK
CB	Thomas Bauréus			23	Fort Viljan Northern FC (TKT)
CB	Christer Thelander		22	Varnryds SK
RB	Joanna Swärdh			21	Pearlham SC (XAN)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------			
LM	Päivi Grönvall			20	Tovaca Thunder FC (TKT)
CM	Veronica Hamrén			26	Fort Viljan Northern FC (TKT)
CM	Kent Skyllkvist			19	Emerald Coast Raiders FC (TKT)
RM	Jöns Arrheka			32	Emerald Coast Raiders FC (TKT)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------			
FW	Andreas Vikström		20	Alcassar 1896 FC (TKT)
FW	Christoffer Nordenskjöld	23	First FC of Avanaroch (TKT)

GK	Kristofer Stiller		22	Varnryds SK
GK	Märta Widgren			26	Sundvikens AIF
------------------------------------------------------------------------------			
LB	Pirkko Abraham			19	Fort Viljan Northern FC (TKT)
LB	Theodor Rajala			21	Arlsfara IF
CB	Oscar Bergström			31	Snövargar Svartstrand
CB	Knut Ehn			25	Bergvalls BK
CB	Miriam Söderlind		28	Jarnviks BK
CB	Gurli Åberg			21	Arlsfara IF
RB	Carl-Johan Faltsetas		19	Kyethas Rivermen FC (TKT)
RB	Michelle Melander		28	Brattsjö FF
------------------------------------------------------------------------------			
LM	Alaa Jakobsson			28	Amiral Brattsjö
LM	Leif Danielsson			21	Skarraborg Fotboll (TKT)
CM	Cristian Rehnberg		31	Bergvalls BK
CM	Joni Lindgaard			31	Crester Wanderers (CNR)
CM	Satu Grönberg			25	Sundvikens AIF
CM	Agneta Bergmark			29	Hervangers IF
RM	Magdalena Åkerblom		26	Frithjofsdalen FF
RM	Melissa Åslund			26	Snövargar Svartstrand
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FW	Sigritt Rydberg			21	Athletic (SRS)
FW	Alexandra Kullberg		23	Arlsfara IF
FW	Gerd Säll			25	Arlsfara IF
FW	Nicholas Engström		27	Korfholms AIK

Style modifier: +3

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes (just please be reasonable)
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes (again please be reasonable)
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes (same deal)
Godmod other events: Maybe? (Please TG in this case)

[Tikariot]

A one-time winner of the Copa Rushmori, the Snowy Owls are back for more, traveling north of the border. They are hungry. Their talons are sharp.


The fans of the Snowy Owls also deserve particular mention. Not only are they renowned for their chants, but they are also bringing the Thunder Clap (Click here for example) to the stadium, something that the players join in as a pre-game ritual that has left an impression on the opponents and opposing fans more than once (OOC: similar to the Haka of the New Zealand All Blacks). The players will form a triangle near the kick-off circle and lift their arms, which the fans do as well. Then a lone drum will start to signal the rhythm and both players and fans alike will move in unison, each clap accompanied by a loud cry, the claps (and cries) speeding up, creating an overwhelming sense of impending doom.


Brian McAllister - 53
With the victory at the Copa Rushmori 42, Brian McAllister now has three trophies under his belt after winning twice it twice with Sargossa before. He is generally a proponent of the same flexible 4-3-3 setup that his predecessor Stuart Ekstrom had almost perfected to a point, which can fluidly be morphed into a 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 to either adjust to the situation or just to screw with opponents' tactics.



GOALKEEPER

GK	Vincent LITMAN		30	Parakleion Firebirds FC		 40	  0	 0

DEFENDERS

LB	James WINTERSHAM	28	Khalgarh Valley FC		 13	  0	 0
CB	Caitlyn ARRAKAN		22	Tovaca Thunder FC		  0	  0	 0
CB	Tanis HEMINGWAY		20	Carathyr Emeralds FC		  5	  1	 0
RB	Anders SKOGENSBERG	27	Tikariot City FC		 20	  0	 3

MIDFIELDERS

LM	Sérigne AYANBADEJO	25	Miruan City FC			  5	  0	 2
CM	Michael GAFFIGAN	31	Eivora Athletic FC		 45	  5	12
RM	Chiara CASTLETHWAITE	26	Ceramadhion Lynx FC		  5	  4	 2

FORWARDS

W	Morris NIGHTHORSE	29	Port Rhovanyon AFC		196	122	71
CF	Daniel SANKALIN		22	Fort Viljan Northern FC		 31	 12	 6
W 	Adrian GRIMAUD		34	Port Tacassam FC		114	 44	26

GOALKEEPERS

GK	Conrad HURST		29	Carathyr Emeralds FC		 21	  0	 0
GK	Magdalena VON YXKULL	22	Viathyn Park AFC		  0	  0	 0

DEFENDERS

LB	Orismon PASSAIC		20	Viathyn Park AFC		  0	  0	 0
CB	Sebastian KARLSBAKK	25	Fort Viljan Northern FC		 26	  4	 5
CB	Callia CANTERBURY	22	Crimsonhawke FC			  0	  0	 0
RB	Jonathan MORRETTA	27	Carathyr Emeralds FC		 40	  1	 2

MIDFIELDERS

LM	Parris LANGLEY		32	Tikariot City FC		 53	  6	11
CM	François DAGENAIS	30	Vantanoch FC			  6	  0	 2
RM	Duncan CAIRNCROSS	24	Tovaca Thunder FC		  0	  0	 0

FORWARDS

W	Hamish STAINTHORPE	29	Tikariot City FC		 61	 20	12
CF	Forlaith MHIC GILLE UIDHIR 23	Emerald Coast Raiders FC	  0	  0	 0
W	Alan CASTANHEIRA	33	Avanaroch White Wings FC	 31	 11	 6

Home Jersey:


Away Jersey:

+4

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes-ish (TG me and I can give you the names for scorers, assists and more, but we'll figure this out one way or another)
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes (just please be reasonable)
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes (again please be reasonable)
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes (same deal)
Godmod other events: No

[Eura]

EURAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
Copa Rushmori 45 Squad

STAFF

Until recently the manager and assistant manager:
Glen Merson (46, Eura)
Roland Hopkins (50, Eura)

Wankers. Fucking embarrassing. Waste of my time. Fucking waste of my time!

And the manager now is…

Uh…oh, I don’t know. The Creator hadn’t thought about this. After the Cup of Harmony debacle it’s not clear that Eura actually have a professional football team as such.

Ok, 66-year-old Chris Waller can do it. Ulsa were likely to sack him anyway, the ungrateful swine(s?). 157 caps for Eura. What could go wrong with hiring yet another beloved former international to the poisoned chalice of the Euran national team?

With a sensible experienced manager like Chris in, and the EFA escalated from the naughty step to the disreputable gallows, Eura will revert to a reassuringly normal 4-2- oh no hold on he’s going with a 4-3-3, what?!

STYLE AND PERMISSIONS

Style Modifier: +3 (turns out defending is for nerds after all)

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 – 27 – 14 caps - Spartangrad
13 – David Warrington – GK – 31 – 3 caps - Tihon (Chromatika)
30 – Mark Trott - GK - 24 – 0 caps - Ulsa

Sam Norman was the only goalkeeper to come out of the Cup of Harmony without receiving death threats on social media. As you can imagine, he will be starting every game unless he really Biffs it. Hammond has been singled out for the Krytenian kerfuffle and despatched back to the pool; Mark Trott gets a first callup in his place.

Defenders

2 – Ana Mason [F] - RWB - 31 – 122 caps – 6 goals - Spartangrad
3 – Molly Taylor [F] – LWB/LB – 27 – 48 caps – 3 goals - Falourr
4 – Jack Menard (CAPTAIN) - CB – 33 – 233 caps – 10 goals - Ulsa
5 – Martin Pearce - CB – 28 – 44 caps – 1 goal - Starling (Nephara)
15 - Quentin Phillips - CB - 30 – 87 caps – 2 goals - Holdenberg
19 – Jonathan Dennis – CB – 29 – 7 caps – 0 goals - Spartangrad
21 – Amber Arnold [F] – RB – 25 – 1 cap – 0 goals - Oakstone
23 – Isaac Doherty – LB – 30 – 29 caps – 0 goals - Revolutionaries
26 - Trent Grant - CB - 24 - 3 caps - 0 goals - Bastion
27 – Jack Dawson - CB - 24 - 1 cap - 0 goals - Bastion

It’s time for the floundering fullbacks to step up as Eura take the unprecedented step of not normally fielding wingers, which we can only assume is some kind of foreign magic. Jack Menard is a great player but, in truth, does not deserve to be one of the most capped Eurans of all time – he was likely facing the drop but the arrival of his former club boss has perhaps given him an opportunity for one last ride. Martin Pearce has seized the second spot by his side as Eura revert to four at the back. Kevin Sherwood is gone – likely for good – but otherwise Eura’s defence from the Cup of Harmony is surprisingly unchanged. This is perhaps a consequence of a worrying lack of depth at the back, which has somehow come at the tail end of a decade of international misery rather than during.

Midfielders

6 - Jermaine Gates - CDM/CM – 30 – 125 caps – 4 goals - Directus
7 – Dean Barnes – RAM/RW – 26 – 55 caps – 13 goals - Directus
8 – Oscar Vincent - CM – 31 – 152 caps – 24 goals - Holdenberg
11 – Owen James - RW/LW – 29 – 92 caps – 28 goals - Ulsa
12 – Matty Wright – RW/LW – 21 – 5 caps – 1 goal - Revolutionaries
16 – Lewis Coates – CM – 29 – 6 caps – 0 goals – Ulsa
18 – Marvin Cole – CDM/CM – 29 – 26 caps – 0 goals – Rene Skae (Farfadillis)
20 – Tom Hussain – CM/CAM – 26 – 2 caps – 0 goals - Holdenberg
22 – Roy Champion – CM – 24 – 12 caps – 0 goals - Holdenberg
24 – Kieran O’Grady – AM – 25 – 0 caps – 0 goals - AFC Corvistone (Nephara)
28 – Harry Anderton – AM/ST – 23 – 0 caps – 0 goals - Mountainside

Real change takes place for the second tournament in a row in midfield. Owen James and Dean Barnes find themselves cast aside by a change in formation and philosophy as the Euran car crash veers wildly from one lane to another once more. Indicating? HAH! The hour of the central midfielders and flexible attacking midfielders is at hand which means Trent Roberts and Travis Coffey are out. A quality trim also means that time Is finally called on Flora Brown, and Waller’s club player Laura Holland (ouch!). Oscar Vincent holds on – but for how long after that disastrous red card against the Kytler Peninsulae? The incoming players are mostly a mix of box-to-box types and more versatile attacking midfielders, but expect Barnes and James (and their alternate Wright) to still play a role to mix things up, or give the front three more width. Roy Champion is trusted with the likely third starting spot.

Forwards

9 – Alex Sharp - ST – 29 – 111 caps – 57 goals - Directus
10 – Sophie Singh [F] - AM/ST - 29 – 118 caps – 52 goals - Chromatik (Chromatika)
14 – Owen Holden – ST – 27 – 34 caps – 15 goals - Revolutionaries
17 – Tess Miller [F] - AM/ST - 26 – 41 caps – 13 goals - Brinemouth (Nephara)
25 – Kate Archer [F] – ST – 30 – 40 caps – 14 goals - Crossroads (Chromatika)
29 – Tina Long [F] – ST – 28 – 0 caps – 0 goals – Ok hold on, when did we last have a Darmen based player in the…what do you mean you can’t find it? Hurry up, someone’s reading! - Royal PFC (Darmen)

The Cup of Harmony defensive experiment has now given way to the exact opposite kind of thinking. Chris Waller has decided to double down on Eura’s striking talents rather than using just one or two of them. Thank the lord Euran football has finally woken up just as our glut of strikers hit their peak age! Sharp-Singh-Holden looks to be the main three (Singh surprisingly did not feature at the CoH), with Miller, the recalled Archer and uncapped wildcard Tina Long challenging them.

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
LCB - 4. J Menard
LWB – 3. M Taylor
CDM – 6. J Gates
RCM – 22. R Champion
LCM - 8. O Vincent
CF – 10. S Singh
RS – 14. O Holden
LS – 9. A Sharp

Player Roles

Squad Captain: Jack Menard
Vice-Captain: Jermaine Gates
Direct free kicks: Oscar Vincent (Right footed)
Indirect free kicks: Roy Champion (Right footed)
Right corner: Oscar Vincent (Right footed)
Left corner: Oscar Vincent (Right footed)
Penalties: 1. Oscar Vincent 2. Owen Holden 3. Alex Sharp 4. Sophie Singh 5. Roy Champion

Kits

[Graintfjall]

Kit credit (IC: Ferideia; OOC: Tikariot)

Team name: Græntfjall
Trigram: GRÆ [GRF when not available]
Demonym/adjective: Græntfjaller
Team nickname: Snow Wolves

Coach: Janina Spjällesdóttir
Assistant coach: Ketilbjörg Aunosdóttir

The first Græntfjaller woman to coach the NT, and the first Græntfjaller of either sex in 2 decades. Those years saw the Snow Wolves soar to the heights of winning a World Cup and a Copa Rushmori; by those, unreasonably high, standards, the last five years have seen a slight tail off. Janina Spjällesdóttir, who made her name as a manager in Chromatika, has no international experience and no background as a professional footballer, so she's called in former Snow Wolves defensive midfielder Ketilbjörg Aunosdóttir to help forge links with the team. Janina is calm and analytical, but taking on the NT is obviously a huge step up with very big, Thor-sized shoes to fill.

Squad: A 26-person squad has been named for the tournament, with the expectation of using 5 substitutions in 3 windows + half-time/full-time per match. You can generally assume numbers 1-11 will start (except Járngrímur ahead of Benjamín and Bogi ahead of Svandis) but you and I are both free to vary from that.

• Names. -son names are men, -dóttir names women. Græntfjallers are comfortable having their first name used instead of their surnames, though there’s no consistent standard on this. Harmony and Líf are Kamdyr women (a nomadic minority population who do not conform to patronymic naming standards). Hanif is sometimes referred to as Hanif Anwar, and Hermione as Hermione Hui, in preference to their clunky forced patronymics.
• Sex. The Græntfjaller Premier League is open and it is seen as uncontroversial for men and women to play alongside each other.
• Transfers. The financial status of football in Græntfjall is declining because of successive IFCF bans. Most quality players are fleeing the country. I normally conduct transfers through the Transfer Window but if you have a desire to sign a player I am usually open to arranging a transfer outside that; send a TG/DM. I am particularly open to such deals when linked to an ongoing RP story.
• Style of play. The Snow Wolves were historically stereotyped as “BFGs” (Big Fucking Græntfjallers), relying on defensive strength and feeding a lone striker on the counter-attack, with a high proportion of goals from set pieces. There still are some big and tall players among the squad, but over the years the influence of foreign managers has seen the team adapt to a more fluent playing style.
• Captaincy. The retirement of Sara K prior to the World Cup has shaken things up, and Kæja Finnvarðsdóttir has been named as a distinctly reluctant captain.
• Timing. In my timeline this occurs 2 years after the last CR, 1 year after the WC, and just before TW43; players on foreign teams will be assumed to be given leave.

Goalkeepers

1. Ásólfur Nilsson (29) Northern Union
12. Hanif Anwarsson el-Said (31) Liria
23. Annabella Kristvaldsdóttir (23) Fliserboding

Defenders

2. Hermione Báisdóttir Xiǎo (25) Wirr Tsi
3. Aríela Hjörleifsdóttir (21) Steinaux
5. Asbjørn Vilbjörnsson (32) Brinemouth
6. Svandis Marcosdóttir (29) Frenei Tor
16. Glóa Karvelsdóttir (23) Partisan Sjoedrhavn
17. Ástríður Arndórsdóttir (19) Eyrods
18. Bogi Brimison Mâ Âlâmëómë
25. Klængur Ulfarsson (30) Anomalies
26. Harmony Serpentmane (30) Korsbach

Midfielders

4. Hrútur Melkíorsson (23) Urrheddiao
7. Sara Vatnarsdóttir (27) Serrapince
8. Charlotte "Lotte" Leonardsdóttir (28) Raynor City United
10. Kæja Finnvarðsdóttir (~28) Bastion
11. Rebekka Kajsdóttir (22) Sabrefell Athletic
13. Líf Autumnfollower (21) Real Alegria
14. Varða Vígsteinsdóttir (23) Alnio
19. Harald Skæringsson (23) Lok. Cassia
20. Aríana Brandsdóttir (21) Auprussia NF
21. Kristmar Raknarsson (30) Stilinkeep FC
24. Kórekur Efraímsson (22) Catamulina Catarollas

Forwards

9. Benjamín Ísarsson (25) Pesub Ubung
15. Eiður Leonsson (21) Darmen City United
22. Járngrímur Náttúlfsson (24) Crisisbless

Penalties: Kæja, Járngrímur
Free kicks: Kæja, Sara V
Corners: Kæja, Hermione

RP permissions:

Choose My Scorers: Y
Godmod Scoring Events: N
Hand Out Yellow/Red Cards: Y, but be sensible; I use a self-enforced rule of a 1 match suspension for 1 red card or 2 yellow cards, but I won’t apply this to your players without your permission.
Injure My Players: Y, you can say they are injured but let me decide the severity and consequences.
Godmod Other Events: N, but if you ask first I’m open to any roleplay angles you have in mind.
Additional permissions:

• Please don’t have my players, staff, or fans engaging in violence without my permission.
• If you use non-photoshopped photographs, please don’t say they’re my players without asking.
• In general I’m open to most things so long as you ask.

Style modifier: -1

[Eura]

18 Euran years
written by an anonymous Euran

Something came to me in a dream last night. An ever so quiet voice, slightly inflected with the tune of a certain snow-bothering people. It asked me what has changed in Eura since this very day 18 years ago. An apt - and very specific - question. We will have to cast aside the timey wimey distortions of how years pass between different countries. Audioslavians are old. We get it!

18 Euran years.

I won’t bother you with details of my gender or what part of the country I’m from, and a host of other trivia, but I will tell you I’m middle aged and, just shy of 18 years ago, I became a parent. A lovely baby boy called Tommy. (Its Eura. What were you expecting him to be called, Ósvaldþór Símonarson? Blaze Turbodude? Pickle?)

Tommy was born into a Eura that was still in the mindset of fighting an existential threat. The great defining event of all our lives was the Great Endemian War. The great struggle. Our almighty date with destiny. The war to end all wars. And boy, we don’t half bang on about it.

My partner and I had lived through the entire thing. Both of us served in our separate ways. We lost friends and family; soldiers mainly, and a farmer cousin butchered by Gartanzo’s thug in some field somewhere. When it started 27 years ago (!), the first six months were an uncertain hell. We thought we might actually lose. Then came the counteroffensive, the victories, Michael Judge smiling on TV for the first time all year…

By the time little Tommy came bouncing into the world, it was all coming to an end. Finally, the Sameban menace had crumbled. A decade of attrition was at an end. It was a bright new world we had to look forward to, and the most memorable figure to lead us there would be, of course, Amy Yarley. Our very own woman of the hour. Re-elected with a landslide majority that year, I remember it well. I voted for her and to be honest it felt like everyone else had too.

A few more years of hardship followed with the winding down of rationing, demobilisation and a stuttering economy. There was political upheaval too – Yarley kept winning, but gradually the bastards in her ranks cut her down. We tried not to pay too much attention to any of that. Wars started to become a thing that happened overseas again, until someone won, or we showed up. There’s been a lot of that.

Things were slowly getting better, and Tommy was growing into a curious young boy. They say those are often the best years of parenthood and it’s true. He was adorable, our rosy cheeked little treasure, a whole world laid out in front of him.

We’re all raving mad football fans naturally. And what a time that was! Ok, Eura had recently blown World Cup 78, but back then it seemed like we’d be back on top before long and were still getting to the later stages of tournaments. There was always the Copa…and what magic it was when we won Copa 34! We still reminisce about watching the final on the telly, Tommy running screaming around the front room when Brian Bond pinged in his free kick.

As that passed, I started to notice a hardness in Tommy. We had a good life and hadn’t been near any fighting, but it had been passed on to him somehow, a kind of survival mechanism, dulled to what was happening around him in order to cope with it. We had some bereavements and hardship – even, briefly, my partner and I separating before hastily returning to one another. Tommy just seemed to troop on through it all without so much as a blink.

It wasn’t just him. Eura as a whole had grown more serious, harsher, and more bloody paranoid, that’s for sure! We got a Ministry of Phenomena that no-one is allowed to ask questions about, a drawn out squabble over how to govern post-war Sameba in which everyone with a slightly different name was getting funny looks, a slew of international crises in which Euran hands dabbled, schemes that were either plotting for or against the federation (depending on who you’d ask).

The population shrank by a tenth and no-one really talked about it – well, we talked about the murdered, but not the vastly larger number who simply downed tools and left. Suddenly there was a glut of housing; our flat dropped in value by 20%. Only through its post-war Sameban reconstruction boom did the Euran economy seem to tick along and return to something approaching normal, but most of us felt poor. Public services were starting to crumble. I used to rely on the city bus, but then it stopped coming. I asked the council – when will it be back? Nothing.

Still…we were Euran, and the world was our oyster, so it was our job to be grateful and power through.

Eventually, the Liberal hegemony collapsed as it surely had to. 11-year-old Tommy didn’t quite appreciate the ins-and-outs of democracy yet, but he liked which football team Harry Barnham allegedly supported, so Social Party it was. Us parents, we’re both a bit progressively minded, so we were glad too. It was a relief! The country was going to get better, to heal, after all. And it did for a bit, quite spectacularly in fact. Our family benefitted a lot – I got a job in the new health service restructure. My partner works for a booming defence tech firm. What’s not to like?

I could never quite shake the feeling that something still wasn’t right. Sure, we’ve never had it so good, and the war is long enough ago that our baby has become a man since it ended.

But under the surface there is a rumbling, a dark drumbeat that is tapping into everything. The world around us is becoming more chaotic and unstable and, despite every graph and chart telling us otherwise, Eurans have become anxious. What used to be the preserve of political magazines and late night talk radio has become the chatter of the supermarket and the school run. No-one can quite articulate why, but there’s a missing part here.

In the past Eurans have generally resolved to ignore the pang of insecurity and got on with it. Carry on. Stiff upper lip. Now we…emote. I saw a man walk up to the local youth centre last week and throw a brick through its front window. No reason given, he just did it. A few passers-by went up to him, challenged him, “what the hell do you think you’re doing?!” He just stared back for a moment and then, of all things, started crying. “What else is there to do?”

‘Brick man’ walked off and we were left none the wiser. But none of us called the police like we might have done before. I pitched in with others, helped the youth centre volunteers clean up the glass. By the time I was leaving, I noticed the others were starting to argue and shout at each other, and I don’t really know why. Weren’t they on the same side?

I’m no philosopher or sociologist or whatever else so I don’t know how to tell you what is going on. Is it just a particularly Euran type of nihilism in vogue at the moment? Is it just the classic Euran paranoia and repressed tension finding a way out? Is it even a kind of boredom?

Our new political settlement seemed to be keeping a tight lid on such disillusionment. Yet even that is falling through. We go to the polls again in a couple of years and the Unionist-Capital alliance – way, way off to the extremes of the Capital Party I remember – have surged in the last year. The Liberal vote share has crumbled and even the Social’s are losing votes. Its scary. People I know have started to talk about what it would be like if these people were in charge.

What’s amazing is that they’re doing it when the country has been doing well on the face of it, like I said. The Prime Minister is popular, and the economy is solid. A revolution in Austroslovakia has gone our way and every other foreign policy area has been more or less a win (that matters much more here than it does in many other countries). So how have they managed it?

Bloody football!
The EFA are a farce and the national team have become a source of embarrassment, which is a timely cover for the Euran football league also going downhill. They have all the money and resources and expertise they could possibly need, yet we’ve been subjected to years of humiliating rubbish. The mighty Eurans laid low by sheer, self-inflicted incompetence.

These headbangers in the alliance have taken advantage, screaming that the football-hating luvvies in the Social government have undermined the national game through reviews and interventions. The phrase they use is that those in charge have “cut our boys down”. Shameless references to the war dead aside, it’s nonsense, and most people realise the problems go much deeper than anything the government has done.

Most.
Its like a crowbar has pried something open in the national consciousness. In the last few months, all of these little disputes and grievances have come to the fore, and people are allocating themselves to different sides of a kind of cultural battle with “how do we fix the footy” as a bizarre starting point for political debate. Everyone is yelling at each other on social media, on a billion different platforms now that twii.tur one is gone.

Now it has reached my family. My boy is about to go to university, and we went to a pub the other day to celebrate, with his 18th on the horizon as well. And we got into a massive argument. It started about (you guessed it) the state of national football, only to quickly evolve into a debate about four other things. About what kind of job he could get in a country of billions, or housing for that matter. Whether Terranean should just be called Euran. About Sameba, which really tested our patience, he wasn’t even born when-

…I digress. The point is this came from nowhere. At least I thought it did. But Tommy is hardened, angry, and looking for someone to blame for growing up in a country that isn’t at ease with itself. And it made me think back to something he said a year ago now, when we were watching that Cup of Harmony game with the dodgy penalty, when Oscar Vincent got sent off:
“They’re against us. It’s always them and us.”
I just thought it was typical moaning about the ref at the time – hell, I’d just used some choice words about the fellow. Maybe I should have been paying closer attention to what was coming from my own flesh and blood.

18 Euran years. A country that was relieved, if a little battered, and looking to a brighter future, with some struggles on the way.
How has it changed?
I’m sorry to say that Eura has not changed for the better in my view. No matter Bastion being run by relatively likable politicians, or how many treaties Eura signs, or how much the balance sheet improves, even how quickly the doctors’ appointments arrive and how smoothly the buses flow again…hundreds of millions of Eurans are saying to themselves, I am not happy and I don’t know if I want to be. That, I think, is what a collective national trauma does to a country, in the end. We just didn’t know it at the time.

I look at my son and I realise for the first time that what he doesn’t have is a fascist baddie like Emile Gartanzo to hate, or a useless snake like Prime Minister Smith or even a disappointing hero to blame his problems on. He has nothing in this country but a row of smiling faces telling him he ought to be happy and never to ask for more, because they won the war, and that was that.
If that isn’t enough - if he can’t just be happy – then he is going to look elsewhere to find someone to blame. That’s what a lot of Eurans are doing and it scares me.
They’re against us. It’s always them and us.

[Tikariot]

-- The Copa Rushmori 45 is covered by Yarinda Parrish --

The 45th edition of the Copa Rushmori is about to start in the White Winter Queendom of Græntfjall just north of the border. Three editions ago, the Snowy Owls managed to win their first major trophy and have been hungering for more ever since. Brian McAllister would love to get a fourth Copa Rushmori title under his belt, so we got in touch with him before Tikariot's first game against Northern Natanians at the Grand National Arena in Gunzlach to get a bit more information about the plans for the CR.

Yarinda Parrish: Brian, thank you for taking the time for us tonight.

Brian McAllister: Always.

Yarinda Parrish: It feels as if Tikariot are always very close to making this next step but often end up falling short. Is there a glass ceiling you keep running into?

Brian McAllister: Hah, it could give that impression, but no. I am still convinced that we have the quality to go all the way, just look at the last World Cup qualifiers where we won an extremely difficult group. We did win the CR42, so I think it has more to do with bad luck or just not showing the best performance when it matters.

Yarinda Parrish: How can you stop that from happening?

Brian McAllister: Well, if I knew that, I would have stopped that a long time ago, but alas, here we are.

Yarinda Parrish: So, what is different for CR45? There are a lot of inexperienced players, at least as far as the national team is concerned, ten players with less than ten caps and six outright debutants. Is this not another risky move?

Brian McAllister: It depends on how you look at it. Is it better to nominate experienced players that may not be playing their best game or relatively inexperienced players that have shown during the season that they are the best player in the league? Sure, it's a risk up to a point, but it's a risk the other way around, too, so it's a lose-lose, or hopefully a win-win, situation.

Yarinda Parrish: Would you have called up the same squad if it was the World Cup?

Brian McAllister: Yes. I can clearly say yes. I know that generally, the Copa is seen as a lesser or easier tournament. While it is not on the same level as the World Cup, it definitely is not easier. Look at the teams we have here in Rushmore. Græntfjall, Cassadaigua, Cabo Azure, Sargossa, Mytanija, Naixi, Eura, Elmyia, Oberour Ar Moro, Gnejs, Yuezhou and more. If anything, we have a higher density of high-quality teams that make groups a lot denser and it doesn't make it any easier to win.

Yarinda Parrish: Our group is, for a change, not being labelled as a "group of death." Do you agree?

Brian McAllister: Oh, this is always so hard to really predict. Strictly on paper, it feels like a more doable group than, for example, 1, 3 and 4, but it's also dangerous because in a way, it might be easier to underestimate some games and you could look worse for not qualifying than if you are in a really difficult group.

Yarinda Parrish: Will Tikariot go through?

Brian McAllister: Of course. If I didn't think so, I would not be coach anymore.

Yarinda Parrish: Fair enough. So, could you talk us through the roster a bit?

Brian McAllister: Sure. Vincent Litman in goal is one of the two successors of Brian Merson, together with Conrad Hurst, and he's on a great trajectory to win the title with the Firebirds. In defence, we have two surprises on centreback, with Caitlyn Arrakan and Tanis Hemingway, who are two young and very strong ladies that have the tenacity to shut down the opposition but also the grace to initiate counter attacks. On the outside, James Wintersham has been carrying a good part of Khalgarh's revival in the second half of the season, and Anders Skogensberg are seeing a bit of a revival, especially Anders who has had some torrid years and now with Tikariot City is finally hitting his stride again.

Sérigne Ayanbadejo has been showing a lot of leadership qualities for Miruan and I think that she is a future captain. Michael Gaffigan is probably playing the season of his life and it says a lot that a Dagenais is only on the bench. Chiara Castlethwaite is maybe the biggest surprise here, because Ceramadhion are battling against relegation, but she has been outstanding.

And finally upfront, no surprises. Nighthorse - Sankalin - Grimaud, how much more can I really say here?

Yarinda Parrish: Good point. Last hoorah for Old Man Grimaud?

Brian McAllister: Haha, we've been saying this for years, but he's still going, so I won't make any predictions here. But I'm not complaining about it.

Yarinda Parrish: So, I can see some of your staff members signalling that you should probably attend to the team rather than talking to me, but what's the plan?

Brian McAllister: For starters, I'd say winning is a good start.

[Zenic]

Another cycle, another shot at regional glory.

I am writing this article from a lovely hotel here in Altendalur, the Northwest port hub of Graintfjall, the host of the 45th edition of the esteemed Copa Rushmori. On duty once again covering The Survivors as they aim for Futbol glory on Rushmore’s grandest stage, I am reminded of the days of yore; a peaceful time when the largest worry was whether the harvest would be large enough for mass export or what a far off neighboring country was doing rather than children growing with the fear of whether your next step outside would be your last.

Two decades of civil war amongst yourselves can tear apart even the strongest of bonds yet here the Empire stands almost the same as it was before the turmoil began. A major factor for this was the steadfast and direct leadership of our latest leader, Emperor Santiago Cuauhtémoc. Our map now looks the same as it has for at least a century thanks to several of his decisions upon his ascension that slowly but surely turned the tides in the Empire’s favor. Now, children are about to walk to school, play outside, and go to bed without fear of death knocking at their home for someone they love. Our beloved athletes can realize their dreams and play on the grandest stages around the world for fame AND fortune. Industries can boon once again and revitalize even the hardest hit areas of our Empire.

But those decisions, and the success that came with it, bears some unfortunate side effects. The percentage of people having been forced into conscription into the armed forces went from around 15% pre-conflict to 70% current day without any solid word from the Capital on whether there will be a winding-down of such policies in the immediate or long term future. Everywhere you go, military checkpoints are still up every major entryway into the larger metro areas and most of the smaller entryways are blocked off to this day. Even travel has significant restrictions for both citizens and visitors.

But there is a reason our motto is: “Steady and Focused, we shall thrive.” Whenever we Zenicians put a well-researched plan into place, we are determined to see it through until the end, no matter how bumpy the ride gets. And nothing is more symbolic of that than our national team’s endeavors. Despite some stumbles in our first competitions back from hiatus, we have a plan in place that we will see through to its final conclusion: ultimate victory. And for this edition of regional futbol, that plan starts with a battle against Kirungabi here at the Florus Stadion.


-- Koralia Dev

Koralia Dev is one of our newest and most enthusiastic writers at The Leinz Herald. A graduate from the prestigious New Citium University, Koralia graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and has been working for the Herald covering foreign and international sporting events. We are excited to have her cover the Empire’s return to sporting events, both domestic and international.

[Darmen]

National Football Team of Darmen
presented by the
Darmeni Football Association

Record (Modern-era only, since Copa Rushmori 24): 564 matches, 259 wins, 112 draws, 193 losses, 1137 GF, 981 GA, .525 Win %

Caps
 1 Hyman Campo          284
 2 Silver Abbey         267
 3 Craig Blackwood      255
 4 Víedharr Svendsen    215
 5 Riley Mac Pharlain   212
 6 Alberich Goldschmidt 204
 7 Aurelio Di Stefano   169
   Feliciano Espinosa   169
 9 Juanito Stafford     165
10 Bill St. John        164

Goals
 1 Craig Blackwood      168
 2 Felix Lucanus         80
 3 Skylar Hurst          49
 4 Víedharr Svendsen     48
 5 Kennard Hale          46
 6 James January         42
 7 Darnell Halle         42
 8 Daniel Norton         38
 9 Riley Mac Pharlain    33
10 Brian Firmin          30

Coaching Staff

Position          Name            Age
Manager           Denis Foss      50
Assistant Manager Grahame Vangson 33
Goalkeeping Coach Piers Fulton    43
Psychologist      Aron Simonson   35

26 Player Roster

#  Pos Name              Age Club                   Caps Goals
 1 GK  Ori Poirier       35  Scott City FC          45    0
 2 LB  Philip O'Hara     31  Olympique Chuckio      92    3
 3 LCB Stefan Ryer       30  Rogerton Whitecaps     21    0
 4 RCB Ferdinand Kruse   32  MTK Kingsville         89    2
 5 RB  Markus Thomasson  25  Tempala United Saints  18    0
 6 LM  Fabricio Tobias   31  Scott City FC          51    6
 7 CM  Dwayne Loritz     24  Tempala United Saints  21    2
 8 RM  Kayden Aleshire   31  Olympique Chuckio      63    6
 9 LF  James January     29  Scott City FC          81   42
10 CF  Marianne Lee*     28  Tanques AOE (KOR)      55   21
11 RF  Torger Woodward   24  Sportklub Palerma      11    1

12 GK  Ildefonso Daube   29  Romanopolis United      4    0
13 LB  Cándido Adler     28  Romanopolis United     19    1
14 LCB Amias Shelby      23  Royal PFC               0    0
15 RCB Fulke Eriksen     31  Johnho United          32    0
16 RB  Dixon MacFarlane  30  Atlético Augusta        9    0
17 LM  Delma Russell*    23  Tempala United Saints   1    0
18 CM  Emerson Weaver    29  Menomonie United       15    2
19 RM  Kara Falkner*     31  Olympique Chuckio      20    0
20 LF  Idonea Santiago*  24  Rogerton Valladar CF   11    5
21 CF  Truman Ryley      29  Scott City FC          12    2
22 RF  Sylvestre Emmitt  32  MTK Kingsville          7    2

23 GK  Corina Mendoza*   27  Rogerton Valladar CF    0    0
24 RB  Galvão Kneib      33  Johnho United          23    0
25 LM  Kerr Park         34  Johnho United          84    9
26 LF  Dorian Kinnaird   32  MTK Kingsville         59   23

Tactics
Formation: 4-3-3
Style Mod: +2.5
In attack, Darmen will employ one of two tactics: the first involves the team playing down the flanks while the second is a possession oriented short-range passing style that closely resembles tiki-taka. The later tactic is normally only employed against weaker opponents or when Darmen has a multi-goal lead and involves connecting many passes together to slowly advance the ball towards the opponents 18-yard box. It is not uncommon for 30+ passes to be completed in the sequence, especially against weaker opponents.

Darmen's primary tactic however is a heavy emphasis on flank play, with the wide midfielders (also referred to as flankers in Darmen) being the linchpin of Darmen's attack. Upon gaining possession, Darmen will look to distribute the ball to one of the two wide midfielders as quickly as possible. After receiving the ball, the wide midfielders will look to advance the ball as far down the flanks as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the forwards and the central midfielders will crash the box, hoping to be on the receiving end of the wide midfielder's cross. The wide midfielder (or sometimes even the fullback) on the opposite flank will linger behind waiting to collect the cross should it overshoot the box. While scoring via headers is the primary goal, a player may also look to score by volleying or half-volleying the ball if they're in open space. Should the first attempt at goal not be collected by the goalkeeper, Darmenis are more than willing to take advantage of the ensuing chaos in the box and poach a goal as well. If the wide midfielder's path forward down the flank is blocked, they are not averse to cutting inside and taking a shot on goal themselves.

Defensively, the defenders have one job... to defend. They rarely venture out of their own half, but if they do it will only be one of the fullbacks (see above). Darmen will employ zonal marking when facing the counter-attack and man marking in all other situations.

Team Roles
Captain: Ferdinand Kruse
Vice-Captain: Philip O'Hara
Left Corner: Stefan Ryer
Right Corner: Kayden Aleshire
Penalties: James January
Free-kicks: Kayden Aleshire

Team Personality
The Darmeni team will never argue with the referee. Indeed, if anything needs to be brought to the attention of the referee it will be done by either the Captain or Vice-Captain in a respectful manner (or to the fourth-official by the Manager). With regards to foul/dirty play, the Darmeni team will not provoke, or retaliate against any opposition player. Darmeni's expect each team to keep to itself and deal with its own trouble makers; any opposition player who attempts to prevent a conflict by pushing or pulling a Darmeni away from the scene will be promptly told off, as that is the duty of the Darmeni Captain.

Nonetheless, Darmen will play in a relatively aggressive manner. Tackles will be conducted in a way which ensures the opponent ends up on the ground, but causing injury will be avoided as much as possible. On set pieces, Darmenis will stand their ground and will not be easily pushed around. However, they will not engage in hugging. In fact, if any opposing player tries to push past them, it is not uncommon for the Darmeni player to feign resistance before simply stepping aside and watching as the opposing player stumbles past on their way to ground. This occasionally backfires however, as the referee may mistake the incidence as having been a foul in the box.

RP Permissions
Choose my scorers: YES PLEASE! If you name your goal scorers, please also name mine.
Choose my scoring events: YES
Godmod scoring events: YES. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
RP injuries to my players: YES, no more than one per match. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Godmod Injuries to my players: NO
Give Yellow Cards to my players: YES, no more than two per match. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Give Red Cards to my players: YES, no more than one per match. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Godmod other events: MAYBE. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Style Modifier: +2.5

If you need to contact me, TG's are preferred over Discord DM's.

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

THE KYTLERIAN NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM FOR COPA RUSHMORI XLV
Manager: Andrew PATTERSON
Assistant manager: Jay JENNINGS
 # Name (SHIRT NAME)			Age  Position	Club
 1 Kuno ZEELEN				 23  GK		Bravin Rangers
 2 Teun DONK*				 22  CB/LB	FC Alaer
 3 George McINTYRE*			 31  CB/RB	Capitolians
 4 Shrifflu MOCKS			 21  CDM/CB	FC Alaer
 5 Álfar JVARSSON			 22  RB/RWB	Zeiven City
 6 Finn MURPHY*				 25  CDM/CM	Ranford & Willsbrook
 7 Vicente Bautista Oleandro (VINCENT)	 19  CM/CAM/LM	Real Santa Mordana
 8 Wiremu HEMI*				 31  CM/RM	Vengife Town
 9 Danny MARKUSSON*			 20  ST		Bravin Rangers			 
10 Emrys FLOYD				 26  LW/ST	Borlfield Town
11 Josip ACEBES Rodriguez		 24  LM/LW	Real Santa Mordana
12 Jonas JVARSSON			 20  GK         Zeiven City
13 PARK Si-Woo*				 20  LWB/LM/CM  Capitolians
14 John FISH				 30  CB/CDM	Bay City United
15 Wecoisus GACKBANG			 26  RB/CB	FC Alaer
16 Zachary EDWARDS-HILLIER*		 20  CDM/CM	Benton Town
17 Clituleng TAKLIK			 30  CM/CAM	Capitolians
18 Marwin MIKKELSEN*			 25  RM/RW	Roddens City
19 Rick FLASH				 21  RW/CAM/ST	AFC Edencliff
20 Oliver VANDOME*			 19  CB/RB	Ranford & Willsbrook
21 Zachary ELLIS-JOHN*			 26  LB/RB	Capitolians
22 Tim DAVID				 32  RW/ST	FC Alaer
23 Jonathan MURPHY-COATES		 31  GK		FC Alaer

NOTE: Players with an asterisk* are considered the more aggressive on this team. They are more likely to pick up yellow cards, and are the only players who should pick up red cards.

Projected starting XI (4-2-3-1): Zeelen; Jvarsson, McIntyre, Donk, Ellis-John; Mocks, Murphy; Mikkelsen, Vincent, Floyd; Markusson. This is subject to potentially significant change, especially if the formation does.

Kits (all shorts and socks are the primary colour with a thin hoop in the contrasting colour at the bottom of the shorts and top of the socks)

If my opponent RPs our match first, I give them permission to:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes, but tread carefully and perhaps TG/DM first.
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes, but mostly to the players marked.
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes, but only to the players marked.
Godmod other events: No

Style modifier: -1.093

Team notes
Patterson typically plays a possession-based 4-2-3-1 and likes to keep to that structure when he does - though he's been known to mix it up at times too. This Kytlerian team is generally on the smaller side anyway (bigger-bodied Kytlerian athletes often ending up in baseball, gridiron, or {insert random sport the Kytlerians do well in at the Olympics here}) so the direct approach would potentially struggle. Besides, this is still a young team, with a significant foundation in the DBC side that Patterson managed to a quarter-final spot (a success that earned him the national team job), so there is optimism that this team may grow metaphorically and perhaps even literally yet.

The biggest strength of this team isn't their technical ability, though, but their endurance. Long-distance running, cycling, and (increasingly) swimming are all popular in their own right here, so the pool of smaller-bodied Kytlerian athletes are long on cardiovascular capacity at least (and, cynics would say, at most). Many can outmuscle this team, quite a few can outplay it, but hardly any can outrun it.

Individual player notes
It all starts with Vincent. Already anointed as the figurehead of the entire "Returning Generation" of Kytlerian sport, he has cleanly transcended modest support for both club and country, and has been nothing short of an assist machine for both, with a fair few goals (often from distance) thrown in. Historically a central player, he increasingly loves operating in the left half-space, from which he can cut inside and unleash curling strikes as well as any inside-forward, or whip in dangerous crosses with either foot. If the team need a goal, he'll often be paired with the fast-rising Flash, who has been part of a prolific front three for mid-table Edencliff, and loves drifting into a dangerous position from the right half-space. Markusson is the main option on the right though, with a penchant for the low cross.

Zeelen has taken control of the goalie job following the relative struggles of Reggie Foster at AFC Carroll Lewiston, though Jvarsson's impressive season at Zeiven City has given him an unexpected sniff sooner than expected; he wasn't even in the WC95 qualifying squad and was backup to Foster at the DBC. The back four had a veteran leader in McIntyre but he may not be the automatic first choice he was, Oliver Vandome impressing for NSL surprise package Ranford & Willsbrook and Wecoisus Gackbang a cleaner, faster player also capable of playing centrally. (If the Kytlerians deviate from a back four, he could easily fit in on the right side of a trio of centre-backs.) While Jvarsson may be a Græntfjaller dual national, he's anything but a BFG - in fact, fans at Zeiven (where he's formed part of an excellent wide tandem with South Newlandian Matias Vaz in Zeiven's 5-2-2-1) have called him the "SFG" given his diminuitive stature.

[Gatchingerrak Union]

Football Federations of the Gatchingerrak Union of Nations (FFGUN)

Gatchingerrak Union Football Team
Trigramme: GGU
Denonym: Gatchin/Unionian
Nickname: Seven Stars

---

Gatchingerrak Union of Rushmori nations, shortened as the Gatchingerrak Union, is a cultural and political alliance of four countries of the Quebecois Commonwealth located in mid-southern Rushmore (Norrskie Zasousti, Norrehavn, Gatchinovo and Novopetrograd). The three kingdoms and the citystate, while independent nations of own, do have the Gatchingerrak Union as a way to establish their common zone, where their main goals are to advance co-operation in military, cultural, economic and energy matters. It shares land border with Vaugania and Norrhem to the west, while bits of the east touch Phoenigetzusta. Combined population of the union are estimated to be around 81 million.

While its trio of nations have always fought with one another for centuries, Gatchingerrak Union is a culturally diverse nation with growing importance outside to that of the Quebecois Commonwealth. Its population is ethnically diverse, with the eastern, Novopetrogradian half of the realms primarily Slavic, while the Western half is divided to primarily Nordic Norrehavn on north and slavic Norrskie Zasousti on the south. Somewhere in middle of the lake, which faces all of the three nations, stands the island that is nowadays known as the citystate of Gatchinovo, the ancient place known for its significance on trades and diplomacy among the Rushmori realms of the Quebecois Commonwealth. It is where the Accord between the 4 states were signed in year 2030 (around the time of WC78), to promise co-prosperity among the rivalling states whose cooperation is needed more than ever. Its economy is a mix of natural resources and heavy manufacturing for it.

A no stranger to international sport, Gatchingerrak Union does have a past history of international football and hockey, where its western realms were represented as Norrehavn. It has hosted a Copa Rushmori and a World Cup of Hockey, and both sports are extremely popular. Unfortunately, the long years of absence from the international sporting circuit does mean that it is expected to be a long way back to relevance for the seven-stars.

---

Formation: 4-4-2
Style Modifier: -3

Manager: Levi Gazdanov, 58 (NPG)

Major Stars: GK J. Furman, DF M. McGrath, FW V. Sharipov
Emerging Stars: GK P. Belohlavek, DF S. Romanchouk, MF B. Kaniatarii, MF S. Gouseff, FW C.M. Nygaard
Playing style in nutshell: Slow-paced, long-ball. Mid-block engagement and low defensive line. Strong on counterattacks. Fullback use is strong. Goalkeeper stays on more traditional role with Julien Furman serving those functions.

Captains: GK Julien Furman -> DF Mary McGrath -> FW Anatole Zubok
Penalties: A. Zubok, C.M. Nygaard, K. Nam, S. Goussef, M. McGrath
Free Kicks: K. Nam, E. Kjaer, S. Romanchouk
Corners: P. Ssekendi, V. Sharipov, A. Zubok

No. Pos. Nat. Name                 
Age  Nat. Team
01  GK    NPG  Julien FURMAN C          32  QUE  Montreal City
12  LB    NPG  Gennadiy POLUNIN         24  QUE  CSKA Quebec
03  CB    NHV  Jan SIGURDSSON           33  QUE  Zenit Attawapiskat  
04  CB    NHV  Mary McGRATH             29  TKT  Port Rhovanyon AFC   
06  RB    ILY  Stepan ROMANCHOUK        26  ILY  Armada Petrograd
08  LM    NHV  Marina HARALDSSON        32  NHV  Österby FF
05  CM    NPG  Serguei GOUSEFF          23  NPG  Armada Petrograd
07  CM    GVO  Kiril NAM                27  GVO  Gatchinovo IFK
19  RM    NPG  Vyacheslav SHARIPOV      29  QUE  BK Klampenborg
11  CF    NHV  Corneille Marcus Nygaard 20  NHV  Boldklubben 1946 - NEW
17  SS    NPG  Anatole ZUBOK            29  QUE  Olympique de Rimouski
--
20  GK    NZS  Patrik VELOHLAVEK        25  NZS  Sokol Deblín
29  GK    NHV  Marianne SJOLUND         27  NHV  Boldklubben 1947
02  LB    GVO  Vassili SCHMIDT          32  NPG  Partizan Ivangorod
22  CB    ILY  Davide MOZIC-PRIAMO      22  ILY  Belmorets Palmyra
30  CB    NZS  Patrik ZAGODORNIY        21  QUE  St. John's Arsenal - NEW
06  RB    NHV  Rasmus PETTERSON         31  QUE  Nakdong Athletic
18  RB/DM NHV  Beka KANIATARII          24  NPG  Partizan Petrograd
16  DM/CM NPG  Karina SUNG              30  NHV  Boldklubben 1947
24  CM    NHV  Filip GRANBERG           33  NHV  IF Kristiansund
15  CM/CB NHV  Diderot HJALMARSSON      21  QUE  Zenit Attawapiskat - NEW
13  LW/AM NZS  Svita LASKOVA            25  NZS  Atalanta Lubossa
21  CF    NHV  Jules KABONGO            24  NHV  Boldklubben 1947
-----
15  DF    NPG  Andrei SCHNEIDER      28  NPG  Club Avangard
23  MF    GVO  Claudio BARRETA       28  NHV  FC Langeland
09  CF/RW NHV  Emilia KJAER          27  QUE  Wansan Noksaekjeonsa

RP Permissions
Choose my scorers: Duh
Choose my scoring events: Y
Godmod scoring events: N
RP injuries to my players: Y
Godmod Injuries to my players: N
Give Yellow Cards to my players: Y, 5 at very most
Give Red Cards to my players: Y, 2 at very most
Godmod other events:N

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

Eighteen years is certainly a long time in life. But for Kytlerians, and certainly Kytlerian sportspeople, it can be split up pretty easily into two sections: the last four years, and the fourteen before that.

Following the Pyrrhic victory of hosting the Olympics - an expensive endeavour marred by terrorism - some of the most insular tendencies of the Kytlerian nation started to gain traction. As usual, this started with separatists in the energy-producing southern state of Varn, who had protested against Olympic hosting from the beginning, but when the centre-right National Unity Party (NUP) took a harder-right isolationist turn under leader Thomas Anderson soon after the Olympics, Varnian separatism effectively got absorbed by federal politics in Zube anyway. When Anderson became PM amidst a tide of moral panic over drug abuse and media linking it to Recognised Performance Drugs (RPDs) - a class of performance-enhancing substances, such as RP-inin and the stronger Verbosita, noted for being legal and in fact encouraged in international sport - the Kytlerians simply withdrew from international sport. And, a couple of brief hiatuses aside, that was where they stayed for generations.

The kids born eighteen years ago were born into a Kytlerian nation where aspirations for international sport simply didn't exist. That didn't mean sport was unimportant to the country, of course; it's still freaking Rushmore, there is still a passion for sport. But it was contained entirely to the domestic scene, and often involving sports that hardly had international traction to begin with. Babbageball. Triathlon. Darts, notwithstanding those who would argue that's not a sport. Sure, soccer was still the biggest sport in the country, but it was most popular as either a spectator sport, or a casual participation sport. What did you do if you were a runner and/or cyclist and/or swimmer, or for that matter a dancer or singer, and wanted to do some "active recovery" cardio activity? Or if you wanted to have fun joining in with your friends who fit the above in physical activity? You got a ball and kicked it around. (Sure, you could go play Babbageball with them. But that also required finding some flags, the right number of people for each binary gender, and ideally the right size field - and ultimately that's barriers to entry that soccer doesn't have. So recreational Babbageball became almost entirely a social league thing, mostly in the summer.)

The problem with this was that the country was almost in a state of suspended animation in some regards - missing the one thing anyone knew it for, all over a moral panic that had largely subsided. But fear of crime still loomed, especially in the northern peninsula and in some of the biggest cities, but also in the increasingly populous Eastern Corridor Expansion - the land the Kytlerian nation expanded into with the collapse of Albundania in the years pre-Olympics. That land shares a border with Græntfjall, and as the White Winter Queendom started to become less isolationist itself, that border became less of a closed door and more of a trading corridor, with quite a few Græntfjallers ending up moving into the prosperous, sprawling towns and cities of the Eastern Corridor Expansion. Naturally, they bought some of their social attitudes with them - like a more religious conservatism than most Kytlerians (who, even in paranoia, tend to be more secular about it), which could have reinforced the anti-RPD stance. But also an enormous enthusiasm and often aptitude for soccer, which didn't.

One of those migrants was Jvar Magnusson, a man who didn't make it as an aspiring soccer player but did quickly make it as a successful manager in the cloud computing business, a field where Græntfjall was a regional leader owing to their combination of low taxes and lower temperatures being ideal for data centre operations. His son, Álfur Jvarsson, was said to be conceived during a business trip to Zube, to which he took his wife Agnes Álfursdóttir; it was her dad whose name was granted to the new son. And she did play soccer, also not at the highest level, but she was still more active about it than her husband given how busy the latter was with his career, not to mention the small matter of her being 28 and him 40. When the family moved to the Eastern Corridor Expansion city of Carroll Lewiston eighteen years ago so Jvar could take up a senior role at the Kytlerian division of Qardinal Web Services (who are still the largest provider of Kytlerian cloud computing capacity), Álfur was four years old, and there was little prospect of Kytlerians playing international soccer any time soon. But with the combination of financial security and relatively benign climate, his parents set about encouraging him into the alternate universe family business.

Four years ago, Álfur was eighteen years old, his father had just moved into semi-retirement as a consultant, and Clituleng Giisost - a former manager of FC Alaer - had just swept the Workers' Party to their most comprehensive election success ever with the help of a platform explicitly encouraging the return of Kytlerians to international sport. And Álfar Jvarsson - who had spent some of his teenage years in the AFC Carroll Lewiston youth setup, but was now a full-time player at Zeiven City - had developed into the kind of wing-back, small but full of speed and stamina, who might have just been a full-time triathlete or marathon runner if he had been born in Kytlerian land to Kytlerian parents. But he wasn't. He was the "SFG" foil to the gigantic, infamous "BFG" Græntfjallers, and here he was, about to join a Kytlerian international setup that was seen as unlikely to even exist when he was born over the border.

[Graintfjall]

Cutoff for MD1.

MD2 prompt

Prompts are completely optional and are just there to provide inspiration. You can gain full RP bonus from RPing your own thing.
This tournament features many new stadiums that weren't featured in CR36. How have stadiums developed in recent years in your nation: have notable new ones been built, has the record for max capacity or attendance been broken, what kind of sponsors have been attracted, have any famous stadiums changed their name, have any stadiums been demolished or burned down?

RP bonus stats

Average roster bonus: 78% of max
Average MD1 RP bonus: 84% of max (note: as I didn't post an RP I did not award myself this as a host bonus)

Group 1
Kirungabi 1–3 Zenic
Polar Islandstates 1–4 Pasarga
Graintfjall 1–3 Oberour Ar Moro scorinated by Tumbra

  Group 1                                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Pasarga                                    1   1  0  0    4   1  +3    3
2 Oberour Ar Moro                            1   1  0  0    3   1  +2    3
  Zenic                                      1   1  0  0    3   1  +2    3
5 Graintfjall                                1   0  0  1    1   3  −2    0
  Kirungabi                                  1   0  0  1    1   3  −2    0
6 Polar Islandstates                         1   0  0  1    1   4  −3    0

Group 2
Norrhem 3–2 The Kytler Peninsulae
Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland 3–2 Elmyia scorinated by Tumbra
Tikariot 3–1 Northern Natanians

  Group 2                                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Tikariot                                   1   1  0  0    3   1  +2    3
2 Norrhem                                    1   1  0  0    3   2  +1    3
  Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland   1   1  0  0    3   2  +1    3
4 Elmyia                                     1   0  0  1    2   3  −1    0
  The Kytler Peninsulae                      1   0  0  1    2   3  −1    0
6 Northern Natanians                         1   0  0  1    1   3  −2    0

Group 3
Astograth 0–0 Isle Noire
Eura 1–0 Olastor
Naixi 0–1 Glazgo

  Group 3                                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eura                                       1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
  Glazgo                                     1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
3 Astograth                                  1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1
  Isle Noire                                 1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1
5 Naixi                                      1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0
  Olastor                                    1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0

Group 4
Brannfjord 1–2 Mytanija
Gatchingerrak Union 2–0 Savojarna
Darmen 2–1 Cassadaigua

  Group 4                                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Gatchingerrak Union                        1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    3
2 Darmen                                     1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3
  Mytanija                                   1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3
4 Brannfjord                                 1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0
  Cassadaigua                                1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0
6 Savojarna                                  1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0

Group 5
Pridnestrovia 2–3 Rea San Vegas
Cabo Azure 3–3 Gnejs
Qusmo 1–2 Captina Island

  Group 5                                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Captina Island                             1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3
  Rea San Vegas                              1   1  0  0    3   2  +1    3
3 Cabo Azure                                 1   0  1  0    3   3   0    1
  Gnejs                                      1   0  1  0    3   3   0    1
5 Pridnestrovia                              1   0  0  1    2   3  −1    0
  Qusmo                                      1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0

Group 6
Eastfield Lodge 0–1 Valladares
Sargossa 0–2 Southwest Eastnorth
Yuezhou 0–1 Mandhya Pradha

  Group 6                                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Southwest Eastnorth                        1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    3
2 Mandhya Pradha                             1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
  Valladares                                 1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
4 Eastfield Lodge                            1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0
  Yuezhou                                    1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0
6 Sargossa                                   1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0

[Cabo Azure]

Cabo Azure 3–3 Gnejs

Starting XI: Gomez | Soares, M'Bah-Pinho, Furtado, Branco | Gontijo, Bastos, Florencio (goal 88')| Cardoso (goal 19'), Mendonca (off 45'), Gouveia (off 45')
Subs: Santos (off 45'), Rathbone (on 45'), Ventura (on 55', goal 69')
A decent result against an opponent that has been a consistent thorn in Cabo Azure's side. Coach Zanetti, to say nothing of the players, will be happy to have gotten this particular matchup out of the way and a result besides, given the last matchup between these sides was a Cabo Azure loss during the bedeviled WC94 qualifying campaign. As to the match itself, it was a standard back-and-forth, with all the usual first-match jitters. Zanetti trotted out his starting XI from the WC finals, likely to have a look at them, and made a couple of late offensive subs looking for the win, but couldn't find it. Cardoso scored early, his typical rocket from outside the box, and Tiago Ventura got a good look off the bench, while Florencio scored late to preserve the result.

Projected Starting XI vs. Pridnestrovia: Gomez | Soares, M'Bah-Pinho, Araujo, Branco (c) | Gontijo, Bastos, Florencio | Cardoso, Santos, Mendonca

The second-largest island in Cabo Azure is officially known as Sao Marco, a name which dates back to the days of Sebastien di Portelo, Diego Silva, and the Knights of St. Simon, six hundred years before Sebastien’s descendant Manuel Fonseca was crowned king. It is unknown from where the name “Dulce Muerte” originated, but the first written record of it is in a letter from Princess Alexandra to her father King Adolfo I, when she was a teenager in Braga being wooed by the much-older Marquess of Sao Marco, Venancio Dominguez. The name was something of an inside joke with courtiers on Portelo which became widely used during the reign of Alexandra’s younger brother Adolfo II. Contemporary official maps of Cabo Azure give the island’s name as “Sao Marco (Dulce Muerte)”.

Alexandra later married Dom Venancio, but they never had children, and her accounts to her brother of the decadence and corruption of her husband’s family are thought to have influenced his decision to strip the Azurean peerage of the right to levy taxes. Having lost their primary source of revenue, taxes from the island’s sugarcane growers and sugar producers, the Dominguezes built a sugar mill of their own and became the second-largest producers on Dulce Muerte after the Reyes family. While the other sugar-milling families resented the competition, the Dominguezes were instrumental in the construction of the “Camino Asucar”, the canal which connects Lagostim, the largest town on the island and the center of sugar milling, to Braga, its main port, opening up overseas markets for Dulce Muerte sugar.

With the end of the Dominguezes’ sovereignty over the island, King Adolfo II created the Empresa Real de Cana-de-Açúcar, ERCA, a cartel which regulated prices and sugarcane production to prevent the sugar-producing families from killing one another. ERCA lasted almost one hundred years in its original incarnation before being forcibly disbanded by the junta known as the Conselho de Governo de Transição at the behest of Raul Dominguez, great-great nephew of Dom Venancio and one-seventh of the CGT’s infamous executive council. The three decades of O Interregno were characterized by backstabbing and price instability, which ended when King Manuel, acting on a promise made by his mother Queen Abigail, reinstated ERCA using the original, one-hundred-and-fifty-year-old charter drafted by his great-great-grandfather as its governing document.

The charter defines the ERCA council as consisting of the patriarchs of the Dominguez and Reyes sugar milling families, an elected representative from each of the sugarcane-growing villages in Dulce Muerte, an elected representative from the refineries in Braga, and the patriarch of the Silva family, ostensibly to represent the sailors who ship the product overseas. The process for altering the charter or making major changes to the sugarcane industry’s structure is intentionally bureaucratic and difficult. As a result, the full ERCA council has not convened since the cartel was reinstated, preferring to defer most day-to-day decisions to its operating committee, a body consisting of the chief operating officers or equivalent of each constituent body, which is empowered to make decisions not explicitly awarded to the full ERCA council by its charter.

This tournament features many new stadiums that weren't featured in CR36. How have stadiums developed in recent years in your nation: have notable new ones been built, has the record for max capacity or attendance been broken, what kind of sponsors have been attracted, have any famous stadiums changed their name, have any stadiums been demolished or burned down?
Stadiums in Cabo Azure are kind of an "it is what it is" thing, since they require real estate and capital, two things that are in chronically short supply in Cabo Azure. With that said, one outfit that has no shortage of either is Silva Holdings, the umbrella company that oversees the diverse portfolio of Cabo Azure's last noble family, the Silvas of Aho. As a result, the family's club, Villa Silva, plays in a brand-new, 10,000-seat stadium in the newly desirable Villa Silva neighborhood of Sao Simone. Built originally as Stadio Villa Silva, it was renamed recently to Stadio Carlos y Carlotta in honor of Dom Carlos Silva, patriarch of the Silva family and his twin sister Carlotta, grandmother of King Manuel and onetime queen consort to King Reinaldo I.

Most other football venues in Cabo Azure would be more accurately described as "pitches", and this hasn't changed, although the FAF has made grant money available for the resurfacing of playing surfaces, especially for those clubs that were involved in hosting the Copa Rushmori Juvenil.

[Savojarna]

Savojar Roster for Copa Rushmori 45

RP PERMISSIONS

STYLE: -1.25

Choose Goalscorers: Y
Godmod Scoring: N
Injure Players: Y (no longer than the rest of the tournament)
Godmod Injuries: N
Yellow Cards: Y
Red Cards: Y - not more than one
Godmod other events: N

I am open to discussing all RP permissions via TG or Discord, if you have a specific plan.

TEAM

STAFF
Coach: Victoria Maersk
Age: 49 // Coach since: WCQ 92
A legend of the Savojar game, Victoria Maersk has been playing for the relatively unknown women’s team of Amazonia Valdhavn, when two things happened at the international level: The Savojar Women’s National Team won the Copa Rushmori 31 with a 23 year old Maersk playing a relevant role as a utility sub in the midfield, and Savojar pro football was fully integrated, resulting in the dissolution of her team. As a result, she was picked up on a free transfer by North Sabrefell in Nephara, the first player to move from Savojarna to the then Premiership. From then onwards, she captained the Savojar National Team at two World Cups and wore the armband for Vermillion Rage in the Zenith - and after her retirement, went into coaching training, being called up surprisingly to the Northlights now. Tactically somewhat of a wildcard, she works together with a large batch of the team that followed her when she did her coaching training in the Rotor Värstjö youth system and the Högvald national academy and is likely to employ a solid, flexible 4-4-2 relying on quick vertical play.

Coaching Team: Ingmar Söderby, Nicolai Kruul Jensen, Knut Sörensen, Lasse Tjoer, Valtteri Andersson
Ages: 58, 46, 49, 57, 64 // Special functions: Head Scout, Video analyst, Technical coach, condition trainer, GK Coach

Ingmar Söderby has been working in the system of Libertas Bergheim for a while, where he has found gems such as Knud Vingegaard and Jakub Jaranski. He changed over to the SFFB to work at Högvald, where he was working with Maersk during her coaching education. He has been taking a more active role in the selection committee as well as strategic coaching alongside Maersk.
Nicolai Kruul Jensen and Knut Sörensen have been co-coaches with Maersk at Rotor, and for Sörensen also at Högvald. Having been signed away from the SFFB after being a technical coach at the Academy, he now returned to the national federation alongside his friend and head coach Maersk. Kruul Jensen has been the video analyst at Rotor and a former striker in the SFS B, taking a somewhat more active role in the offence while Maersk orients her focus more on the work off the ball.
Lasse Tjoer is the physical coach and condition trainer, and has previously worked for multiple SFS A teams. He places a lot of emphasis on discipline, but gives the players a large amount of freedom to tune their practice regime to their own tastes as long as they stick to the targets. He is quite popular in the team, and a good motivator.
Andersson was a long-term goalkeeper for Energie Thorsborg and got directly transferred into the club's youth department when he retired at age 33. Following some good work with the club's youth department, he got trained as a GK coach and worked with the first team and the U21 of Energie for a while before being brought onto the squad of the NT early on. He still works with Energie on the side and is reputed to be very good at developing a goalkeeper's weaknesses.

SQUAD

1	GK	Olga Valujev		CASK Thorsborg		F	30
2	LB	Tom Krogstrup		Directus (EUR)		M	24
3	CB	Hedvig Riksdal		Tihon United (CMT)	F	22
4	CB	Kenneth Röysveit	AFC Treason (NPH)	M	25
5	RB/LB	Gudjohn Magnusson	Ulsa (EUR)		M	31
6	DM	Vadim Bryzgalov		Admiral Storevik	M	26
7	LM/RF	Ruslan Novikov		Starling (NPH)		M	28
8	CM	Roman Sadianov		Lokomotive Jarnstad	M	26
9	ST	Rasmus Medberg Hansen	Tihon (CMT)		M	27
10	CM/OM	Knud Vingegaard		Partisan Sjoedrhavn	M	28
11	LM	Antonia Nygaard		Partisan Sjoedrhavn	F	32
12	GK	Jonas Hilde		Libertas Bergheim	M	26
13	ST/OM	Lasse Holtby		CASK Thorsborg		M	24
14	CM/OM	Jelena Tretjakov	Dynamo Sjoedrhavn	F	30
15	RB	Alvin Strid		Lokomotive Jarnstad	M	31
16	DM	Jakub Jaranski		CASK Thorsborg		M	29
17	CM/DM	Anton Vitol		Libertas Bergheim	M	22
18	CB	Kristian Thelander	Libertas Bergheim	M	24
19	ST	Lars Alvesen		Stahlburg City (NPH)	M	28
20	GK	Konstantin Pavarenko	SK Cuprum Grennvik	M	33
21	LF	Juha Säteri		Libertas Bergheim	M	22
22	OM	Valtteri Silverberg	FK Torpedo Pawlograd	M	25
23	RM	Kaisa Gyldenström	Sabrefell Moths (NPH)	F	32
24	CB	Brynjar Hatun		CASK Thorsborg		M	31
25	LB	Johanna Zetterberg	Dynamo Sjoedrhavn	F	25
26	RM	Fredrik Helmsvald	SK Cuprum Grennvik	M	21

STARTING XI:



TACTICS

ROLES
Captain: Tretjakov - Hatun - Novikov - Medberg Hansen
Free Kicks (direct): Tretjakov (left, centre), Gyldenström (right)
Free Kicks (long): Tretjakov
Corners: Novikov (left), Gyldenström (right)
Penalty Kick: Medberg Hansen, Tretjakov, Alvesen, Novikov, Hatun, Gyldenström, Röysveit, Vingegaard[also progression for shooutouts]

KITS

Designed and manufactured by NDCS

[Rea San Vegas]

Greetings, citizens of Rea Sea Vegas! This is Romeo 'The Bull' Rado (Ex RSV National Player), reporting to you on behalf of Al RSV Chronicle, the esteemed state media organization owned by Rea San Vegas. Today, we bring you momentous news as our beloved nation has achieved a resounding victory on the football field against Pridnestrovia, with a final score of 3 goals to 2.

In a riveting clash that captivated the hearts of our nation, Rea Sea Vegas displayed unparalleled determination and prowess, securing a well-deserved win against a formidable opponent. The echoes of celebration reverberate across our great land as we unite in pride for our national team's remarkable achievement.

The Al RSV Chronicle is dedicated to providing you with comprehensive coverage, offering insights into the strategy, moments of brilliance, and the collective effort that led to this exhilarating triumph. We invite you to join us in celebrating this victory, a testament to the dedication and skill of our athletes who have made Rea Sea Vegas proud.

Stay tuned to Al RSV Chronicle for in-depth analyses, exclusive interviews, and extensive coverage of the jubilant festivities that follow this historic win. Rea Sea Vegas, revel in the glory of our triumph, and together, let us continue to write the story of our nation's sporting excellence!

Rea San Vegas 3-2 Pridnestrovia

Line Up

Match Summary

Stadium: TQG Langvöllur Arena, Hofvinger

Rea San Vegas – 3
Goals:
Gottfried Sigurd (20' minutes, 57' minutes)
Gaëtan Malicki (79' minutes)

Assists:
Gaëtan Malicki (20' minutes)
Luis Mendoza (57' minutes)
Arrigo 'Mad Hatter' Pico (79' minutes)

Substitutions:
Zechariah 'The Bat' Greaver Wilfried Sascha (46' minutes)
Jørg Izan Everardo 'Venom' Emma (67' minutes)
Carlos González Miguel López (80' minutes)

Bookings:
Luis Mendoza (13' minutes)
Jørg Izan (45+3' minutes)

Pridnestrovia – 2
TOA (19' minutes)
TOA (73' minutes)

In the heat of the group stage battle, Pridnestrovia and Rea San Vegas collided in a football extravaganza that etched its place in the tournament's lore. The face-off brought with it the kind of intensity and drama that only a group stage match could muster.

Pridnestrovia seized control early on, stunning the crowd with two breathtaking goals. The fans, draped in the colors of their homeland, erupted in joy as their team seemingly asserted dominance on the pitch. It was a display of skill and precision that had everyone on their feet.

Yet, in football, the script is never set in stone. Enter Gaëtan Malicki, the enigmatic forward for Rea San Vegas. With time ticking away, Malicki showcased his brilliance, breaking through Pridnestrovia's defense to score a stunning goal. The stadium trembled with excitement, the pendulum of anticipation swinging wildly.

As the clock wound down, tension hung thick in the air. It was in those final moments that Gottfried Sigurd emerged as the hero Rea San Vegas needed. His first goal, a masterclass in precision, drew them level. The stadium roared with disbelief and ecstasy. But Sigurd wasn't done. In a dramatic twist, he netted a second goal, securing a 3-2 victory for Rea San Vegas.

The crowd erupted in jubilation, fans of both teams acknowledging the sheer brilliance of the spectacle they had just witnessed. Rea San Vegas had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, leaving Pridnestrovia and football enthusiasts around the globe in awe.

The group stage had witnessed a clash that transcended the boundaries of fiction, turning the football pitch into a stage for heroes and legends. As the tournament progressed, the echoes of this unforgettable encounter lingered, promising more thrills and unpredictability in the matches that lay ahead.

In the heat of the group stage battle, Pridnestrovia and Rea San Vegas collided in a football extravaganza that etched its place in the tournament's lore. The face-off brought with it the kind of intensity and drama that only a group stage match could muster.

Pridnestrovia seized control early on, stunning the crowd with two breathtaking goals. The fans, draped in the colors of their homeland, erupted in joy as their team seemingly asserted dominance on the pitch. It was a display of skill and precision that had everyone on their feet.

Yet, in football, the script is never set in stone. Enter Gaëtan Malicki, the enigmatic forward for Rea San Vegas. With time ticking away, Malicki showcased his brilliance, breaking through Pridnestrovia's defense to score a stunning goal. The stadium trembled with excitement, the pendulum of anticipation swinging wildly.

As the clock wound down, tension hung thick in the air. It was in those final moments that Gottfried Sigurd emerged as the hero Rea San Vegas needed. His first goal, a masterclass in precision, drew them level. The stadium roared with disbelief and ecstasy. But Sigurd wasn't done. In a dramatic twist, he netted a second goal, securing a 3-2 victory for Rea San Vegas.

The crowd erupted in jubilation, fans of both teams acknowledging the sheer brilliance of the spectacle they had just witnessed. Rea San Vegas had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, leaving Pridnestrovia and football enthusiasts around the globe in awe.

The group stage had witnessed a clash that transcended the boundaries of fiction, turning the football pitch into a stage for heroes and legends. As the tournament progressed, the echoes of this unforgettable encounter lingered, promising more thrills and unpredictability in the matches that lay ahead.

Post Match Interview

Reporter: "Ármann Éber, congratulations on a thrilling victory against Pridnestrovia! Your team's comeback was nothing short of spectacular. What are your thoughts on the match and the incredible performance by your players, especially Gaëtan Malicki and Gottfried Sigurd?"

Ármann Éber: "Thank you! It was an incredible match, a rollercoaster of emotions. Pridnestrovia gave us a tough challenge, and going down by two goals early on was a real test of character for the team. I have to commend every player for their resilience, but Gaëtan Malicki and Gottfried Sigurd were absolutely exceptional today. Their determination and skill were pivotal in turning the tide in our favor."

Reporter: "Gaëtan Malicki's last-minute goal was a game-changer. Can you walk us through what was going on in your mind during those crucial moments?"

Ármann Éber: "Absolutely. In football, every second counts, and as the clock was winding down, I could sense the urgency among the players. Gaëtan is a seasoned player, a true maestro, and we knew if anyone could pull off something special, it was him. When the ball hit the back of the net, it was a surreal moment – a mix of relief, joy, and pride in the team's fighting spirit."

Reporter: "And then Gottfried Sigurd's two goals sealed the deal. What was the tactical approach that led to such a remarkable turnaround?"

Ármann Éber: "We made some strategic adjustments during the match, focusing on exploiting the spaces we identified in Pridnestrovia's defense. Our players executed the game plan brilliantly, and Sigurd's goals were a result of teamwork, precision, and seizing the opportunities when they presented themselves. It's a testament to the players' adaptability and commitment on the field."

Reporter: "This victory puts Rea San Vegas in a strong position in the group. How do you plan to build on this momentum for the upcoming matches?"

Ármann Éber: "While this win is a fantastic boost for our morale, we remain focused on the larger goal. Every match in the group stage is crucial, and we'll analyze our performance, learn from both our successes and challenges, and continue refining our strategies. The key is to stay humble, stay hungry, and approach each game with the same intensity and determination that brought us success today."

Reporter: "Thank you, Ármann Éber, and best of luck in the rest of the tournament!"

Ármann Éber: "Thank you. We'll give it our all, and we hope to make our fans proud in the matches to come."

[Cassadaigua]

CSL’s Wild Ending: Starksville or Starksville?

After 45 matchdays, we still did not know who the champion for Season 113 of the CSL would be. For a while, it looked like Starksville United was cruising, opening up by as many nine points on then second place Brattleboro FC after 33 games. At that particular point, you had to say that United looked good, and surely no one thought Starksville Coastal was going to come into contention. At that point, Coastal trailed by 13!

1 Starksville United              33   23   6   4   105   36  +69    75
 2 Brattleboro FC                  33   19   9   5    64   23  +41    66
 3 Concord Heights City            33   18   8   7    56   33  +23    62
 4 Starksville Coastal             33   19   5   9    44   31  +13    62

Maybe Brattleboro FC had a shot still, as it looked like it would be a two horse race to the finish with the others trying to hang on to IFCF spots. There were only 13 games left, but maybe this is where we throw in lucky, or unlucky 13 quotes. 13 games left. 13 points out. Season 113. I mean, if you’re superstitious about that, knock yourself out!

Then, the collapse of United began to happen.
MD34: Grande Mountain Men's Club 4–2 Starksville United
MD35: Concord Heights Suburban 3–1 Starksville United

That’s not regular Grande Mountain. That’s the Men’s Club having a typical Men’s Club season where they were positioned in the upper teens on the table. Concord Heights Suburban is better, but after losing to the Men, that loss could not happen. At the time Lexi McGregor, the superstar United forward did not seem all that concerned, “Every now and then you’ll lose a game that you should win. It’s not a big deal. We’re fine!” Meanwhile, as that was going on:

MD34: Starksville Coastal 10–0 Columbia
MD35: Brattleboro FC 0–2 Starksville Coastal

The defending champions from Starksville Coastal were getting the job done, with a thrashing of Columbia at home. Columbia was in the relegation danger zone, running 22nd on the table and trying not to fall one spot further down, but Coastal certainly was not going to let them off the hook. It was the game that came after that a 2-0 win away against Brattleboro FC that made the intentions of the side very clear: they were not out of this yet. That 13 point lead at Matchday 33 was suddenly just seven points, but with eleven games to go that was still a comfortable advantage. For Brattleboro FC, that loss dropped them to third.

Surely, Starksville United was going to stop the bleeding. They had been playing too well for 33 games to suddenly fade away.

MD36: Starksville United 1–2 Brattleboro Westside
MD37: Victoriaville South End 2–2 Starksville United

Another loss for United, once again having troubles in the bigger cities against that city’s “lesser” team. Westside was 15th on the table at the time of the game. United did get a draw against a solid Victoriaville South End team, but the slump was real and very concerning.

Meanwhile....
MD36: Starksville Coastal 2–0 Concord Heights City
MD37: Starksville Coastal 2–1 Grande Mountain Men's Club

Coastal kept getting results. Their win over Concord Heights City meant that they had recorded consecutive 2-0 wins over Brattleboro FC and Concord Heights City, something that would have seemed to be difficult to do. It was Coastal, and not United that had the tougher schedule, but somehow, it was them that was making the move. After matchday 37, United’s lead on Coastal was just two points.

After both teams won on MD38, Coastal’s charge was complete, the teams were even at 80 points.
MD39: Starksville Coastal 5–0 Jefferson United
MD39: Winchester Traditional SC 0–0 Starksville United

The pressure was being felt with United, as the confidence of Lexi McGregor was nowhere to be seen. Not only was her team collapsing right before our eyes, it was to the in-city rivals from Coastal. The defending CSL champions from Coastal. No way United could let this happen. It wasn’t just these two at this point, Brattleboro FC and Concord Heights City were still in the mix as well. Afterwards, United did seem to find their footing, and when Coastal dropped a 1-0 decision to Winchester City on MD45, United was back up by a point.

With one game to go, the table looked like this:

1 Starksville United              45   28   9   8   137   56  +81    93
 2 Starksville Coastal             45   29   5  11    77   37  +40    92
 3 Concord Heights City            45   26  11   8    78   39  +39    89
21 Sterling Heights                45    8   6  31    15   49  −34    30

All Starksville United had to do was win their final game. However, that was not an easy one, as it would be against Concord Heights City. They’d be home at Cocoabo Stadium for it, but Concord Heights City had plenty of reason to want to play spoiler, and they had played very well over the second half of the season. At the midway point, they were 11-6-6, and eleventh on the table. That’s just not acceptable for that side and fans were talking about needing to fire manager Amanda Bowman and simply tear apart the roster. But Concord Heights City was excellent in the second half, going 15-5-2 to put themselves in the thick of the race. They wouldn’t be to win the CSL title and they would lose the tiebreaker to Coastal for being able to get the second Champion’s Cup in the IFCF, so theoretically, they had nothing to play for. However midfielder Emma Woodward said the opposite, “We’re Concord Heights City, we have everything to play for. When you play here, you play to win and we’re going to go all out. It’s not really to play spoiler. We know we can, but it’s about us and about winning a game.” Meanwhile, Coastal had a much easier game, playing on the road at 21st place Sterling Heights. Coastal’s captain Tiffany Brown told the local media, “It’s fun to be in this situation. I am grateful for everyone that we are in this situation. All we can do is take care of our own business and hope we get the help. But if we don’t take care of Sterling Heights, the other game won’t matter.”

The games began at the same time, and the fans at Cocoabo Stadium were making tons of noise in support of their team. Just 14 minutes into the contest, Lexi McGregor put United up 1-0 off a nice set up from Alexandra Carabali and hoped that there would more to come just like that. The Coastal score was displayed on the large scoreboard, there was no sense in hiding it, and fans could see that it situated at 0-0 for a little longer than expected. Sterling Heights is a defensive team, so maybe they could get the help, but maybe it would not be needed. Alessio Roda tied the game up at one for Concord Heights City in the 33rd, and not too long after, Coastal had scored to make it 1-0 in their favor. If that stood, United was out and Coastal was champion.

Early in the second, Kayla Carras, who Starksville United had acquired from Sterling Heights a couple of seasons ago beautifully placed a shot by Erica Knapp to make it 2-1 in favor of United, but just four minutes later, Kaitlyn Millikan had tied the game. It was getting intense for these fans at Cocoabo Stadium, as they watched that Coastal score and hoped Sterling Heights could get the equalizer. It was still 1-0 so certainly Sterling Heights was doing all they could.

In the 76th minute at Cocoabo Stadium, it looked like United had clinched it as the Valladar combination of Kiara Rodgers and Alexandra Carabali clicked again to make it 3-2. Fans cheered, but after just a couple minutes, Coastal’s second goal was put up on the board. That game was in the 73rd, and with it being 2-0 in favor of Coastal, fans had to concede that they were not going to get help there. As fans of Starksville United watched the game at the stadium, fans of Starksville Coastal were at the local bars rooting on their team. Their win was in the bag at this point, as Sterling Heights was also a player down due to a red card. Coastal fans watched and hoped Concord Heights City could get an equalizer. United fans, obviously naturally not as the minutes ticked into the mid-80's. Concord Heights City was not backing down, in the 88th, Tumbran Adrian Hewitt set up Taylor Jordan with a beautiful cross that Jordan would place just underneath the crossbar for the equalizer. The crowd was stunned as Concord Heights City had tied the game. United had let it slip away, and even worse for them, Coastal was going to win the title. Coastal fans couldn’t be any happier.

Unless, United could get that last goal. Try as they might, Erica Knapp, the Concord Heights City goalkeeper made the saves she needed to, and when the whistle sounded, it wasn’t just any 3-3 draw. It was a result, that when coupled with Coastal’s win, meant that it was Coastal, for the second straight year, winning the CSL title.

Starksville United fans could only bow their heads in disgust. They had a 13 point advantage on Coastal with 13 games to go. And lost the Season 113 title on the last day.

[Oberour Ar Moro]

STROLLAD AR MORO
Rushmore's Toughest National Teams, and Oberour Ar Moro

The draw for the forty-fifth Copa Rushmori went about as poorly for the Oberour Ar Moro national team as it seemingly could have. Group 1 features rising nations like Zenic and Kirungabi. Three-time Copa Rushmori champion and current Cup of Harmony title holders Pasarga. Five-time Copa Rushmori champions Polar Islandstates have returned from a hiatus and are growing in strength. And Graintfjall, Copa hosts and the top-ranked nation in Rushmore.

And then there's Oberour Ar Moro, somehow the 12th ranked team in Rushmore and a Pot 3 team in this years Copa. Considering the Dragoons' performances in every Copa before CR 42, the current ranking could feel somewhat fraudulent. And that feeling of imposter syndrome strengthened as Oberour Ar Moro met to play Graintfjall at Fjlarkfjall Arena in Þingsnitz. The grand opening of the entire tournament.

And somehow, Oberour Ar Moro started the tournament with a win. Járngrímur Náttúlfsson, the Crisisbless forward, scored first for Graintfjall, but then David Guivarch scored once, then twice, and then third before the first half even ended. The second half saw the Oberours try to hold off the furious Graintfjall comeback attempt and try to increase their lead. There were no more goals for the Dragoons, but there were no more goals for the Snow Wolves either.

Oberour Ar Moro now wait to face Zenic's Survivors, who started their tournament with a big victory as well. Two wins in two for either side would be a huge step towards advancing to the playoffs.

[Gnejs]

Today’s News

---

Sports - Copa Rushmori

Union fans return to northeast Græntfjall for Copa opener

By: Theodora Anckarström/Eleonora Snöflinga, Waltenberg, Græntfjall

There was ample Union representation down here in Waltenberg as The Dandelions prepared to do battle against «Island Rivals» Cabo Azure at the quaint Poets Park Stadium yesterday. Union fans are no strangers to northeastern Græntfjall, and many still speak fondly of «The Maiburg Miracle» from the 85th Cup of Harmony, where The Dandelions managed to defy all odds and proceed to the Round of 16 after a hard-fought draw against Drawkland on Maiburg’s VG Arena in the last game of the group stage.

The experiences from that particular Union outing to The White Winter Queendom were not all celebratory though, as it coincided with the arrest and incarceration of multiple (two) Union citizens. While both of those cases were eventually resolved through diplomatic channels, Union authorities have been very determined to not let history repeat itself. A comprehensive «Græntfjall Awareness Campaign» has been under way for months, aiming to enlighten the public and highlight important cultural sensitivities and societal idiosyncrasies in the host nation. Every Union man, woman and child who have traveled down to take part in the Copa festivities have been handed assorted pamphlets with key bullet points, travel recommendations and a handy guide to engaging with locals (avoid eye contact, don’t flaunt your «foreignness» and refrain from using words like «proletariat», «dialectics» or «surplus value»). The Unionist government has even gone as far as banning prominent environmental activist Gretchen Tunfisk from departing The Union, thwarting her plans on protesting against græntfjaller whaling practices during the opening ceremony.

Luckily there have been no incidents of great note involving Union citizens, and fans from both Union and Cabo Azure participated in adding appropriate gaiety and flair to the streets of Waltenberg before and during the opening game. The two nations have developed a friendly rivalry over the years after crossing paths in most of the available international football competitions, and while fierce competitors on the pitch the fans have always made a point about being civil and amiable towards each other. So too on this day.

As for the opening bout against the Azureans itself, the pre-game consensus amongst pundits naturally seemed to favor reigning Copa Champions The Maçaricas, and its fair to say that the southron islanders thoroughly looked the more convincing side in an all together entertaining game. Hard work and a bit of luck had it at a draw in the end, and there’s no doubting that Coach Clentin will be satisfied with that result. The fans on the ground we spoke with were clearly pleased as well, and seemed to have a positive outlook going forward while engaging in cautious and culturally acceptable celebrations.

«I’m surprised the points were shared, but I’ll take it,» remarked Stordal native Elsa Åkesson , who has travelled down to the Copa with her book circle and left her intricate hammer and sickle embroidery at home out of respect for the hosts. «Rock knows we’ve struggled against The Maçaricas enough times, but the boys looked determined out there,» she continued.

«It’s always nice to have the biggest on-paper-hurdle out of the way early, and even better when you’re able to snag a point,» Kristoffer Hansson of Segeltorp explained over pints in a local public house. «The upcoming games against Qusmo and Captina Island will be very important, but it looks like Clentin knows what he’s doing this time around, so I have faith,» Hansson’s Friend Åke Claesson filled in, before exclaiming «I even hear old «Drunk Paal» actually left his house for this one, so all bets are off now!»

Comments from the Dandelion coaching team have been sparse, but assistant coach Timotej Hansson briefly expressed contentment over the effort and results after opening game, and said the players felt confident going into their second game against Qusmo. For that game The Dandelions return to their «beloved» VG Arena, so let’s hope that’ll give them the edge needed to bring home all three points.

Our other top stories:

• Gretchen Tunfisk gathers large following protesting traveling ban. «Mostly singing as of now, but we’re ready for any shenanigans,» say local Chief Constable.
• Local elections coming up - what party suits you?
• Updated rankings show Union better than Baggieland at Cracquet «Cosmos clearly out of sync,» remarks local teen blogger.

[Pasarga]

Stadiums in the dual islands are place of near reverence, a place for where an hour and a half the rest of the world does not exist and there is only you, the rest of the crowd, and the players playing the game out on the pitch. However, there has been almost no new stadiums built since the last major wave of expansion clubs forming nearly forty years ago, as most clubs have been quite content with their stadiums. There have been minor renovations of course and the usual routine maintenance to keep the grounds up to date with regulation and to be the best experiences fans of their respective clubs can have when visiting the locations, but new stadiums have mostly have not been a thing in the dual islands for several decades now.

The biggest stadium in the nation remains the Stade de Torgos and that is not likely going to be eclipsed any time soon, with the national stadium coming in with a reported capacity of ninety thousand, six thousand more than the Stadium of the Moon in Lunas and eighteen thousand more than Kilmonarch in Stein-los and Telathron in Targas, who share a tie for third place in the nation. Most people would give the nod ahead though to Kilmonarch, as the stadium gets a higher average amount of attendance thanks to it being the home ground of Tanrısal, and the Stein-los giants routinely sell out their home matches both for the league as well as the cup, in addition to any potential international fixtures that the team ends up end through qualifying for the IFCF or regional championship. There is still some expansion capacity with the Stade de Torgos and it would likely see a want or need to expand if any of the other stadiums that are near it would expand beyond it reported capacity, as a sense of pride and the wish for the city council for the national stadium to be the biggest one in the dual islands.

There has been talk off and on over the last decade or so about the intrusion of foreign companies into the domestic game, as almost all the clubs in the SuperLiga have seen sponsors from around the region be put onto their kits as a new source of revenue to expand their ability to better compete in the transfer market and IFCF in general. Some of that talk has then seen the idea of perhaps allowing those sponsors to be able to then sponsor the stadium as well, amending the name for the duration of the sponsorship contract. There has been quite a bit of push back however to this idea, with many people claiming that it goes against the traditions and values of the Pasargan game and oversteps what is already a precarious issue with having kit sponsors. However teams like Tani and Galatica are rumored to be interested in pursuing this, if they could manage to figure out the right way to persuade public opinion that it would be for the good of the clubs and the game within the nation itself, a process which at the time seems like quite the uphill battle which will keep the stadiums with their original names for the time being.

---

If there was any doubts that the Wanderers were not going to play for national hero Ingþór Auðbjörnsson as he took charge of the national team, they were quickly and heavily erased following the opening match for the side in the Copa Rushmori, as a return to form saw the Wanderers slam a mighty hammer down upon their once political allies of Polar Islandstates. The Polarians have garnered quite a bit of their former strength in their return to the international game and it seemed that they were poised to be a real thorn in the side of Group 1's top teams, helping shape the perceived difficulty of the group from top to bottom. However either through the inspiration of having a hero of the nation at the helm, running off the amazing form that the team found in the Cup of Harmony, or merely a return to a system that most of the players were more comfortable in than what had been the case over the last few years with Zachary Orengo from Banija, the Wanderers made their case that their time of being down in the regional competition should be coming to a swift and immediate end.

The return to the two striker system saw a spark to the Wanderers' offensive capabilities with both starting strikers putting the ball into the back of the net, aided by goals from Ilona Kárpáty and Asztrik Biró, as the side race out to a four goal lead before the hour mark and was seemingly cruising through the rest of the match. Not keeping their foots on the throats of the Poarlians did end up costing them though, as their northern foes did grab a goal back but it was ultimately of too little too late with the Wanderers nabbing an emphatic four to one win to open up the group stage. Couple this victory with Graintfjall falling to Oberour Ar Moro and there is a renewed sense of hope among the fans of the Wanderers that the regional hex might actually be at its end. While it was only a single game, the team played quite beautifully under Thor and made light of an opponent that was supposed to give them quite a bit of trouble and be in contention for a qualifying spot of the group. It is still quite the difficult group to try and navigate but the spirits are quite high within the Wanderers camp and it is easy to see why and should Thor continue to motivate as has been his way for his entire managerial career, who knows what might actually be possible for this team. The test ramps up in the next fixture though, as the side takes on the host, number one team in the region, and Thor's old side in the White Winter Queendom, who will be sure to want to bounce back after their stunning opening loss. Any result here would be huge and put the side in prime position towards escaping out of the proverbial Group of Death.

[Trans-Dniesters]

THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF THE UNITED SOCIALIST STATES OF PRIDNESTROVIA
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL TEAM

The Democratic People's Republic of the United Socialist States of Pridnestrovia is a lot of things, but one thing it is not is tolerant of failure. Basil Santa Cruz was brought in to be the manager of the Pridnestrovian national football team in order to win the Copa Rushmori, and while he came very close in his first two attempts, everything else after that has been nothing but failure. The Pridnestrovian Football Union had had enough of this tomfoolery and decided to sack Santa Cruz and replace him with a manager who actually follows the classic Pridnestrovian footballing ethos of "defense wins."

BASIC INFORMATION
Name of nation: The Democratic People's Republic of the United Socialist States of Pridnestrovia
Demonym: Pridnestrovian
Team colors: Green and red
Style modifier: -3.00 (beautiful attacking football didn't work out so now it's time to go back to the tried and tested method of defensive and counterattacking football)
Formation: 3-5-2
Head coach: Oleksii Cheryshev (42 y/o, Pridnestrovia)

STARTERS
GK: Kuzma Filippovich BOGACHYOV 35 y/o, Thereisnogodistan (Abanhfleft)

RCB: Jonas Heinrich BÖDEKER 31 y/o, Bierburger SV

CB: Lavrentiy Rostislavovich YEVSEYEV 26 y/o, Vay Deg Eels A.F.C. (Copper Cuprum)

LCB: Timofey Vissarionovich ASSONOV 30 y/o, FK Traktor St. Paulsburg (Estorvipa and Estorpiva)

RWB: Christopher Maria Josephus UNGERER 31 y/o, Dinamo Macaresti

RCM: Vasiliy Akhmetovich OGORODNIKOV 32 y/o, Bananas FC (Abanhfleft)

CM: Temirlan Timurovich ZHOLDASOV 31 y/o, Sarvusadalamoive (Abanhfleft)

LCM: Oleg Maksimovich SIYASINOV 30 y/o, Vay Deg Eels A.F.C. (Copper Cuprum)

LWB: Vladislav Timofeyevich KUZNETSOV 32 y/o, Rotor Dnistrosh

CF: David Andreyevich NEDELYAYEV 29 y/o, Admiral Novorossiysk

CF: Viktor Fyodorovich ASTANKOV 31 y/o, Pasargad Manitogoro (Sultanate of Oontaz)

RESERVES
GK: Valeriy Igorevich FALIN 37 y/o, Atletico Bed Deg (Copper Cuprum)

GK: Yevgeniy Semyonovich KRASNOV 36 y/o, Mah Deg Diamonds (Copper Cuprum)

DEF: Andrey Dmitriyevich SHCHEDROV 26 y/o, Paulsen FC (Abanhfleft)

DEF: Mykyta Valeriyovych STASIUK 23 y/o, FK Mamai Ihorivtsi (Estorvipa and Estorpiva)

DEF: Osip Petrovich KOVALENKO 34 y/o, FK Spartak Rybolovlev (Estorvipa and Estorpiva)

DEF: Maksim Ruslanovich RODCHENKO 29 y/o, Bierburger SV

MID: Genadi Todorov RAICHEV 24 y/o, Metallurgist Beledor on loan from CSKA Tiraspol

MID: Timofey Timurovich SALAGIN 33 y/o, Fortuna Novonikolaysk

MID: Levon Mehmet PEKKOR 33 y/o, Gryphons Nubalochi (Sultanate of Oontaz)

MID: Aleksey Dmitriyevich MEKHANTYEV 28 y/o, CSKA Tiraspol

FW: Andrey Timofeyevich YUSUPOV 25 y/o, Dynamo Ja (Abanhfleft)

FW: Foma Filippovich ZYUGANOV 27 y/o, Rotor Dnistrosh

STARTING LINEUP (Massively Outdated)


KITS (by Adidulas)


IMPORTANT STATISTICS
Win-loss record: 57-20-57 (penalty shootouts are counted as draws regardless of final result)
First international match: VS Aynard (W 6-0)
First win: VS Aynard (6-0)
First loss: VS Fratton (0-1)
Biggest win: VS Nurkama (9-0)
Biggest loss: VS Pasarga (2-6)

BOF 58: 6-1-2 (lost to The Hakifao Isles in the final)
WC 71: 6-2-6 (fifth in Group 12 of qualifying)
COH 63: 1-1-2 (knocked out by Zenic in round of 16)
CR 22: 1-0-2 (third in Group A)
CR 23: 3-0-3 (knocked out by Saintland in round of 16)
CR 24: 1-0-3 (knocked out by Valladares in round of 16)
WC 75: 6-4-7 (fourth in Group A of finals group stage)
CR 25: 1-0-3 (knocked out by Pasarga in round of 16)
CR 26: 2-0-3 (knocked out by Eastern Sunrise Islands in quarterfinals)
GCoS 2: 4-2-1 (lost to The Redvale in the final)
CR 27: 3-2-3 (lost to Nephara in third place playoff on penalties)
GCoS 3: 6-2-0 (champions, defeated Rhineland Sued in the final)
CR 28: 1-2-1 (lost to Sameba in the Round of 16)
WC 79: 5-0-13 (8th out of 10 teams in Group 1 of qualifiers)
CoH 71: 1-1-2 (4th out of 5 teams in Group F)
CR 29: 5-0-2 (runners-up, lost to Valladares in final)
CMC 1: 2-2-0 (lost to Terre des Gaules in Round of 16 on penalties)
CR 30: 3-0-2 (lost to Valladares in quarterfinals)
WC 82: 1-8-9 (10th out of 10 teams in Group 9 of qualifiers)
CR 31: 1-0-2 (3rd out of 4 teams in Group C)
CR 32: 0-1-2 (4th out of 4 teams in Group A)

SCHEDULE
WIP

HOME STADIUM (NEW ARMY STADIUM, TIRASPOL)

New Army Stadium in Tiraspol is the home stadium of CSKA Tiraspol and can comfortably seat over 80,000 spectators following a three-year capacity expansion project.

RP PERMISSIONS
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes (but I decide the severity and length)
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes (maximum of 5 per game)
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes (only 1 per 2 games)
Godmod other events: Yes (TG me first before posting anything)

Style modifier: -3.00 (Negative three point zero zero)

[Elmyia]

Joe Conti starred intently at the mirror. His concentration was at the point of giving way to panic, there really wasn't much time left. He formed two fists and squeezed and exhaled. On the fourth time of trying, the tie formed into an adequately neat enough knot and he could fold his collar back down. Six months on from starting at work, this was the first time he'd done it himself. He'd made his dad tie him three on his first day and had rotated between them, loosening and refastening until they all looked ratty and tangled. Of course, this being the first time he'd meet Elmyia's Premier, he had felt it time to bite the bullet and make an attempt at looking neat. Maybe a clip-on would be a worthwhile investment.

Whilst the ties remained constant, the blue, the red and the stripey, everything else about his outfit had changed since day one. He remained unsure if his baby face was a blessing or a curse, but he'd figured there might be another way to get around being asked if he was the son of some parliamentarian or other, and if he needed directing to their office. Out had gone the standard charcoal suit and shiny black shoes, they made him look like an eccentric posh child. He'd replaced them with an abundance of browns and tweeds, including a herringbone jacket that was fraying in places, and a brown pair of brogues that looked scratched and battered. He now looked like an eccentric child playing the role of Sherlock Holmes, or perhaps a professor. Either way, it was a trade up

His face remained a running sore however, especially with his beard coming through patchy and ginger, a poor compliment to his shock of wavy brown hair. He'd tried taking up smoking to age his skin somewhat, and heavy drinking. Sadly the drinking hadn't done much besides make his weekend mornings a slog and he'd found smoking made him feel nauseous beyond belief. Can't even catch cancer correctly.

He stepped out of the threshold of his flat. 5 floors up it had a view across the street to the back of a similarly concrete slab. The spring morning air felt reasonably fresh, but by midday the air would sit like soup. Thank god for office air conditioning. He trotted down the stairwell and trampled the pavements. He'd taken it as it was cheap, walkable to work and he could have it to himself. He wouldn't have minded sharing, but his friends had all skulked home to the anonymity of Corsacre. But that would've been a train ride to work. His neighbourhood sit in the netherzone. Neither properly central to Beaucester and its beautiful architecture, nor to the leafy prosperity of Citacaldo. It was quite possibly the only area of Beaucester you'd struggle to describe as actively nice. Rich in concrete blocks and dog shit, lacking in bars, restaurants and ambience. Still, crime isn't that high, this wasn't Mosfleet.

Before long he'd hit the river, and there it was, the government quarter. All beautiful sandstone and sharp right angles, it sat facing across the Mosse river, far more clear and gentle than it gets towards the sea. He turned into the department of Education and Skills. His first year out of university and he'd hit the jackpot, an area he was interested in advising Sophie Greenwood, the Communist Minister heading it up. He'd hit at a busy time, the Communist government's attention had swung towards improving the parlous state of schools. Sure money had been put in, and the school leaving age bumped to 16. That was easy, anyone could've told you that was a good idea. Now came the difficult bit, deciding what to do about all the religious schools.

Personally, he had no great love for these institutions. His own, back in Corsacre, hadn't been anything too bad, but he had resented some of the religious hectoring. Some in the party wanted them gone for ideological reasons, they really weren't fans of religion. Sophie clearly leaned that way, but wasn't ardent. The health minister, Andreas Kostas, was far more strident. This wouldn't usually have mattered, Giovanni Lazarri liked his ministers to stick to their own domains. But they'd hit a tricky point, sex education.

He trundled into the office, Greenwood was there and present "ready?" He nodded and swallowed awkwardly "you won't need to talk too much in fairness, but this might get heated."

They sidled into the conference room. Lazarri and Kostas were already there, the air was thick with pipe smoke, Joe stifled a cough. Before he could get a bearing on things Greenwood and Kostas had descended into a full throttle argument. Both loud and clear without shouting, exchanges on the merit of their points, the obtusity of the others point and various appeals to the proletariat. But Joe barely took this in. It was the first time he'd been in a room for Lazarri and he was transfixed. Transfixed by just how normal he was. Shorter than average, he was sat down in a pale grey suit. His grey hair was holding up well for a man in his 60s, but clearly receding. His skin looked dull, some small liver spots seemed to be showing through. His eyes were a washed up blue, sat behind thick, square glasses. He sat stock still with his index fingers pressed either side of the bridge of his nose, he barely seemed to be paying attention to the shouting match playing out in front of him. Eventually he looked up "Sophie, you haven't introduced me"

"Fuck, I'm really sorry Giorgio, this is Joe, he's my advisor."

Giorgio nodded "your thoughts Joe?"

Thankfully Joe was prepped within an inch of his life "well" his voice cracked slightly and he cleared his throat. "Um... Ultimately I think we think we just need to be incremental here..." fuck that barely makes sense "by which I mean, maybe start with at 16 and let some parents insist on an opt out, we can always run public health messaging elsewhere..."

Kostas rounded on him before he could finish "fucking great, department of education going to abdicate it's responsibility then?"

"Well no, just... We think it's important to remember that these schools remain popular and we need to carry them with us, otherwise we risk alienating our voters"

"Giorgio, Sophie, I beg of you, are we going to let some wet behind the ears, petit bourgeois, pot smoking student tell us what the proletariat is?"

That's harsh, only three quarters of that is true

"Andreas, that was really fucking rude," snapped Sophie

"Enough" Giorgio leaned back "while I see the point of the department for education, I have to agree with Andreas. We're going to push ahead with sex ed from 14, all schools, no exceptions."

Sophie huffed, nodded and they said goodbye. As they shuffled back into the office she turned to Joe "sorry, Kostas is a dick. He gets shit done, but he IS a dick."

"Should I consider doing something? Change how I dress?"

"Not you'd look a wanker in a flat cap. Either way, I'm not surprised about how that went, I think he thought that was the best course anyway."

"We could be fucked with the electorate now"

"True, but not all policy is about elections Joe. The real issue is that Andreas will feel he's won. That can only be bad news."

[Mytanija]

BRANNFJORD 1-2 MYTANIJA

MYT: Papic-Papratovic 33’, Seslar 57’

MYT: 1. Vasilevski; 2. Beganovic (sub. Slomsek 62’), 3. F. Mlinarevic, 4. Mbala-Ekakia (c), 5. Gjuricik; 6. Issatsenko (sub. Zuzek 74’); 7. Stanoev (sub. Mujezinovic 82’), 8. Prosev-Prlicko; 10. Ovsyannikov (sub. Atsev 62’); 9. Seslar (sub. S. Mlinarevic 62’), 11. Papic-Papratovic

SPP-LENDID!
NEW LOOK STRIKE PAIRING SCORE A GOAL APIECE AS MYTANIJA SNEAK PAST BRANNFJORD

by Nevenka Planinc

Mytanija beat Brannfjord in their Copa Rushmori opener thanks to goals from Aljoz Seslar and Goran Papic-Papratovic, the new-look strike pairing which is already being referred to as ‘SPP’ due to their good interplay and complementary skills. Aljoz Seslar’s wiry physicality and presence combines well with Goran Papic-Papratovic’s energy and creativity and the pair appear to have breathed some life into an area of the pitch where some commentators have felt that the Hoops have grown a little stale in recent matches. Drazen Skara has been out of form and it felt for a while as if Mytanija were searching for a player or players who could cover for him until he rediscovers his mojo. Ivica Svok may now have the answer with this pairing.

Other forwards have done okay when coming into the squad previously, with youngster Blaz Kovacec being especially impressive given his limited experience, but we haven’t had a partnership which has fired on all cylinders together for a while. It’s early days with Seslar and Papic-Papratovic, and you feel that the pair are only being thrown together because of the limitations placed on Svok in only being able to select domestic based players for this Copa Rushmori, but the duo worked well together. Seslar did the aerial duels and Papic-Papratovic did the running. Seslar got in the face of the opposition defenders whilst Papic-Papratovic ghosted away from them, dropping into midfield positions to allow Mytanija to achieve numerical superiority and create overloads. It worked well, albeit against rather limited opposition.

Bigger Mbala-Ekakia captained the team in his 140th appearance for the Hoops and for just over an hour this unfamiliar team looked excellent. Alekso Vasilevski barely had anything to do for the first 45 minutes, Mytanija dominating possession and territory, keeping Brannfjord penned in and looking to establish the possession game which Svok used to good effect in getting out of the World Cup 95 qualifying stage against all the odds. The first chance of the half fell to Seslar as Papic-Papratovic dropped off the front line to vacate space in behind the Brannfjord centre-half who dutifully followed him, Stoja Stanoev noticed the space and played his 1923 Esca teammate Seslar in, with the big forward putting his shot narrowly wide.

His colleague did not need a second invitation and after Denis Ovsyannikov rattled the crossbar Goran Papic-Papratovic must have decided he had seen enough, picking the ball up midway into the Brannfjord half, skinning one defender, palming off another before unleashing a fierce shot from all of 25 yards out which flew into the top corner before the Brannfjord goalkeeper even had time to move. It was an excellent effort and Papic-Papratovic didn’t stand around to admire it, jogging away towards the Mytanar sector of the ground and pointing at himself as if to tell everyone he had truly arrived on the international stage. Papic-Papratovic has been excellent at club level for a while, but had been a little inconsistent for the national side, albeit still scoring at a clip of one goal every three matches. This goal will be a major confidence boost and brings him to 5 goals in 13 appearances for Mytanija.

The Hoops nearly went 2-0 up just before half-time after Filip Mlinarevic met Pere Prosev-Prlicko’s corner, the Liria pair nearly combining in a way they did a handful of times in their 1. Prvenstvo title-winning push this season. Mlinarevic’s header went centimetres too high, however, and Ivica Svok’s team would only go into the break with a 1-0 lead – perhaps not quite what they would have wanted after exerting so much pressure and dominance during the first 45 minutes.

After half-time they got the job done, though, generating further chances for Stoja Stanoev and Papic-Papratovic going very close to a second, before Aljoz Seslar finally gave Mytanija some breathing room in the 57th minute. A good ball from Eduard Issatsenko found Papic-Papratovic in a wide-right position, Ovsyannikov made an underlapping run to draw a defender away and Papic-Papratovic drove inside before hitting a low cross into the corridor of uncertainty – effectively freezing the goalkeeper and forcing the defenders to scramble to try to clear the cross. No defender reached it, but Seslar stole in to poke home from close range – almost a trademark Seslar goal inside the six-yard box and one which demonstrated the solid combination play the pair had been providing throughout the game.

Svok decided to make some changes merely five minutes later, comfortable with the 2-0 lead and the possession the team were putting together. Idris Beganovic, Ovsi and Seslar were withdrawn and on came Miha Slomsek, Gavril Atsev and Stipe Mlinarevic. The shape remained the same with Stoja Stanoev pushing into the number ten position and Mytanija continued in the same vein, Stipe Mlinarevic going close with a scruffy effort under pressure from two Brannfjord defenders. Further changes came not long after, Eduard Issatsenko substituted off for Rasid Zuzek as Svok changed shape to a 5-3-2 and then Stanoev removed for Ajdin Mujezinovic in the last ten minutes.

Brannfjord did manage to pull one back in the last ten minutes to provide Mytanija with something to think about and a slightly nervous conclusion, but the Hoops managed to come through that relatively unscathed, retaining possession well, winning fouls and running the clock down wherever possible. They got through to the final whistle with a 2-1 win and three points to start the group phase, perhaps not a perfect start but a result which meets expectations and could provide the springboard to a successful group performance. Mytanija meet Cassadaigua on matchday two, the team many expected to rival the Hoops for top spot in the group. The Dagans lost out to Darmen on the opening matchday and will be looking to get back on track and damage Mytanija’s hopes of emerging from the group at the same time. As we know all too well, matches against Cassadaigua are always tricky and this group of inexperienced players will have to be particularly street-smart to ensure a positive outcome.

“We are happy with the three points,” Ivica Svok said following the 2-1 victory over Brannfjord. “We have to be better in terms of the performance, there’s no question about that. But three points is a good start and we can look at what we can improve for a tough match against Cassadaigua and it’s the perfect opportunity for some of these players to show me what they can do. These are the matches we have to start to win if we want to be a successful team. The group of players I had at the World Cup showed we could do it against Chromatika and I class Cassadaigua as part of that same group of top national teams, so now this group – a lot of different faces – get their chance to show that they can do it as well and that can help them make a case for a spot in future squads and starting line-ups. It’s an exciting opportunity for them, it’s important for this Copa Rushmori, so hopefully they can take it and put us in a really strong position after our first two group games!”

[Polar Islandstates]

SOUR CHERRIES
Intermission
Press Clippings
Volume One
Bjarnarey - Jasmine - Stina - Federico, pt1 - Federico, pt2 - Lightbulbs and Headlines
** ** ** ** **

Different lights cast different shadows. Federico Aalto was learning that now. Not just on the surfaces around them, but through the person they were shining on as well. Sitting in almost total darkness, only the digital display from the bedside alarm clock he'd brought with him from the Federation was offering any company to the little red lights of various appliances in sleep mode that dotted the hotel room. It was late, and the courtyard his window looked out onto - a 'room with a view', indeed - was now absent of all other sources of light, meaning the only illumination that came in past the wafting net curtains was the light of the Altendalur street-lamps, reflecting off the low clouds that hung over the city like a blanket and sulking reluctantly into his room and bringing the very last remnants of their warmth with them. An orange hue flickered half-heartedly up the wall beside the window. There was a vague hint of brightness, as if someone had described what light pollution was to someone, and they weren't really into the idea of impersonating it anyway, thank you very much. It was the dregs of light. Incandescent backwash.

Sitting at his desk, Federico looked around at the constellation of red lights that peppered the darkness, wondering how it was that even the tiniest LED bulb shone like a beacon against that backdrop of grey, slightly-orangey-grey, and black, and then obliterated the whole scene by turning on the cheap lamp besides him.

He flicked it on and off a couple of times, not letting his eyes adjust to the darkness before turning it back on again. Off, on, off, on. His eyes began to see spots, even it was a far cry from the flashbulbs of the press pack that had started trailing him around the Federation after he'd made his way back from Bjarnarey. Alexsandr had been spot on with the predictions he'd made in the Ocean Café: it had only taken a few weeks after that trip for the rumours to start accelerating. Iosef Miroshnichenko was pictured going in and out of the VFA offices, and then the Executive for Sport and Culture, and then the Ensign Tower. Speculation was rife, and nobody was telling him anything, although he was sure he'd noticed an increase in the number of completely unrelated strangers sitting, walking, or driving past him during that time.

Consequently, in what he was sure was an entirely coincidental sequence of events, in the same week that the run-up to the national referendum began in earnest, the news that Miroshnichenko had been relived of his duties was the only thing anybody had wanted to talk about. Mention was made in the press release of the VFA wanting to go "with a more attack-minded coach", and, well, they knew what they were doing when they wrote that. The heat on him had tripled, and in the end he'd stopped going out at all.

Two days before the referendum, a car pulled up outside his house that he knew was something from the way the press photographed it so intently. Sure enough, the vice-president of the VFA and the the junior minister at the ESC stepped out of the car and walked up his unassuming garden path. They rang his doorbell, and all hell broke loose from that point onwards.

He didn't really remember the conversation, it was all a bit of a blur, but he remembered not really being given a choice. "You're going to be the new manager," was about the gist of it, as far as he could recall. They both told him they'd be in touch, the minister saying as such with a knowing look that they both understood the real meaning of it, and that was that.

Mainly, Federico just remembered the flashing of the cameras.

You get used to the shadows in your own home. The positions of the lamps and furniture rarely changes, and you just take for granted that that part of the room is always a little gloomier than the rest. Or else, you understand how the sun tracks across the sky, or doesn't as the the case may be, and you get to know the time of day from which floorboards were being warmed and which were marked by the pattern of the window frames. Only flashes of lightning or passing cars tended to interrupt this status quo, sending a shadow from a tree in the garden arcing across the lawn to the south of it for the first time since the last storm or reversing saloon.

At that moment, Federico saw parts his house lit up dazzlingly bright for split seconds at a time. Flashes overlapped, giving him an instant three-dimensional understanding of where he needed to do a better job of cleaning the trailing spiderwebs and dust bunnies from his ceilings, and a detailed comprehension of how well his curtains were made.

Fizz. Pop. Clatter. Little mechanised whining had replaced the chunk and slam od the older cameras, but the whirring and staccato bursts of sequential shots gave the proceedings a strobe effect, appearing to happen in slow motion.

He wondered what kind of shadow he was casting into his house as he opened the door to let the pair of officials out, standing dazed and blinking in his doorway like a fox in the headlights. He'd offered a small wave to the assembled press, hoping that would satisfy them. A clamour of questions came his way, overlapping in a cacophony that could still somehow be heard over the demanding urgency of the cameras. He chose not to engage further, and closed the door.

Turning in his entryway, he could almost still see the outline he'd cast into the rest of his hall. It was probably the burn on his retinas playing a trick on him, but he blinked and could've sworn it was there. A silhouette laden with danger? Or a chalk outline waiting to happen? He wondered what kind of shadow he'd go on to cast over the Terns.

The next day, whilst everyone waited for the official news to come out, he was the headline on every news outlet: "Will he or won't he?", "Aalto Years Ahead?", and so on. The final debates on the referendum that was coming the next day were consigned to being nothing more than an afterthought.

And then, just in time for the papers to write about it the next day, the news broke. Federico stayed up far later than he should have done that night, glued instead to his television screen. He'd woken up and come downstairs for a drink in the middle of the night, feeling his way comfortably through the familiar darkness, and then against his better judgement had turned on the rolling news, 'just for five minutes'.

Two hours of his spectre being cast against the back wall by the lurid lights of the television, he'd finally dragged himself away to prepare for what he was sure would be a busy day. Two hours he'd stayed, and had seen nothing about the referendum at all save for a trickle of sentences on the ticker at the bottom once every five minutes or so. Alexsandr was being proved more and more right by the hour.

He remembered even fewer tangible details about that day than the ones before it. A whirlwind of interviews, demands for an already-worked-out tactical plan, handshakes, photographs, suit fittings, and scout briefings... He didn't even have time to vote.

Not that it mattered.

The front page of the Daily Zenith the next day was a masterpiece of tragicomedy:

"AALTO TO BRING ATTACKING VERVE BACK TO TERNS" ran the headline in the biggest blackest font available, accompanied by a picture of a smiling but grimly determined looking Federico outside the Nasjonale Stadion and the first few paragraphs of the story. And then, in an almost apologetic sized insert between the barcode and an advert for some foot spray, "National Unity Referendum Projected to Pass in Landslide". A sentence extracted from a press conference that wasn't even news for anyone with half an understanding of Saari football, versus the elimination of democracy in the Federation. It would've been funny if it wasn't so depressing.

Regardless, he'd asked for a proof copy of that front cover to be framed and hung in his office at the VFA, if only to remind himself of what he knew that they didn't; the reason he was looking so determined.

He'd thought of that front cover as he took that first team talk, seeing the shadow of his arms waving around on the wall in front of him and wondering vaguely why he was quite so backlit.

And he'd thought of that front cover as he stood on the sidelines watching Pasarga ruthlessly tear through his Terns set-up like wet tissue paper. If he'd thought the flashbulbs of the press had offered him nowhere to hide, then the floodlights of the Winter Queens on were even less forgiving. He remembered looking down at his feet and seeing... no shadow at all. Which was the whole point of a week designed floodlight system, to be fair, but still left him feeling cast adrift. Directionless. Floating in space in a universe where his first game saw him four-nil down.

But he wasn't thinking about that moment as he flicked his hotel lamp on and off. He knew he should be opening his laptop to work on the plans for the game against Kirungabi, but his mind was elsewhere. He wasn't here, illuminated by one sad energy saving bulb. He was back at the Ocean Café, mercilessly lit by those egregious fluorescent tubes; talking to Alexsandr and the others, forming their plan, preparing their contingencies, wondering what was going to happened next.

Well, this was it. This was what was happening.

No more time for making plans. It was time to see if they withstood the first meeting with the enemy. It didn't against Pasarga, but against The Party? This was a different kind of battle altogether, of course. It needed more than a simple tactical grid, and it would last a while lot longer than ninety minutes, but there were some similarities. Not least amongst them that some good results were essential.

Federico thought about the club scarf he had in his bag. In amongst a mountain of football shirts, bibs, and jackets, not one of the OO staff that had screened his luggage had picked up on the scarf as being anything out of place. That was part one. But to wear it, he needed a reason to. He needed a result. He needed to make the other part of the plan work. He needed to perform.

Turning his head sideways, Federico looked out at the multi-tonal grey void that was the hotel courtyard, with its apologetic halo of 'almost orange' behind it, and wondered briefly what the headlines would've been like back home. He doubted he'd want to frame any of those ones, but knew also that it didn't matter one bit to The Party whether he did well or not. Just so long as he was generating headlines. But thinking back to what they'd discussed in that dingy café in Bjarnarey, he knew it mattered to him. To them. To potentially the nation itself.

He had to perform. Not just in front of flashbulbs, or under floodlights, but in darkness as well. He had to cast no shadow as far as the OO were concerned, but also needed to operate entirely within shadows when the time came.

But it all started on the pitch.

Federico thought about the scarf in his bag one more time, and pulled his hand off the lamp for long enough to open his laptop up in front of him. Charts, stats, notes, and videos were presented to him in oppressive technicolour. He turned down the brightness with a hasty jamming of a button, and started listing his actions for tomorrow's training sessions. Finally, catching sight of his own reflection in the ever so slightly glossy sheen of the laptop screen, he recognised the same grim determination from the front cover of the newspaper.

"All in good time, Federico," he said to himself, "all in good time."

First; results.

Reaching out to the lamp for the last time that evening, Federico Aalto turned out the light.

** ** ** ** **
Bjarnarey - Jasmine - Stina - Federico, pt1 - Federico, pt2 - Lightbulbs and Headlines
Volume One

[Eura]

Friendlies have been out of fashion in Eura. The Euran Football Association had failed to commit the national team to such a fixture since before World Cup 91’s qualifying stage. Three Cup of Harmony appearances later, popular opinion had decisively come down on the pro-friendly side, convinced it had a role to play in the Euran malaise. After the latest un-Harmonious implosion – a complete failure at the tournament, unprecedented in recent memory – one of the first things the Association did was schedule a pair of games to pass the time until the next Copa Rushmori and ensure new manager Chris Waller didn’t start his tenure with immediate competitive football.

The 66-year-old new man had rebuilt his beloved Ulsa, only to jump before being pushed as their revival reached its limits. Now he was the latest Euran (whatever happened to foreigners having a go?) to be given the reigns of a side that was rapidly becoming a punchline. He didn’t have much choice over these two friendlies and would simply have to make do.
As Eura’s second goal skidded in at Crown Row, Waller’s smile suggested that might not be such a bad thing. He glanced up at the scoreboard: “BRE 0 – 2 EUR”.

Brenecia have a proud history as one of Eura’s toughest repeat opponents and an even more treasured heritage of home weather that had ruined many Euran days. This modern, 65,000 seater stadium in Rozelle had failed all of its value for money assessments and it was no wonder why – the lashing Brenecian rain was pounding the pitch, reshaping it into a dismal swamp, overwhelming the undersoil drainage system that had probably been procured from some dodgy, ironically Euran contractor. In times gone by such conditions would have produced injured Eurans and most likely a shithouse, hoofball winner at the death for the Patriots (or one of their clubs).

Not on this occasion; no, the Falcons had actually benefitted from the overhead onslaught, prospering as a mix of newbies and regulars strove to prove themselves to the new boss after hitting rock bottom in Delaclava. Each player pursued that extra ambitious pass that went further and quicker than usual on the lubricated field, which remained just hard enough not to bring the game to a standstill. Left back Molly Taylor had regained her place in the side, undoing the Isaac Doherty interregnum, and rewarded Waller’s faith in the 7th minute with an incisive through ball that split the Brenecian defence and set up the first goal.

Normally one of Ruadri Wheater or Hamish Jeong Harcourt would have got there, but on this deck? No chance. The ball slipped between them quicker than either could react to stick a leg out. Alex Sharp was quickest off the blocks, breaking away to calmly dink the ball over a flailing Cessair Meade.
It would only be ten minutes later when Sophie Singh rattled in a second, the ball staying low to the ground and beating Meade’s dive.
Kieran O’Grady had a fine debut, assisting a Kate Archer third before drawing a tackle out of Wheater for a penalty, seizing the ball himself in order to score Eura’s fourth. It wasn’t every day that Eura would go 0-4 up in Brenecia, that was for sure.

Yet few Eurans there on the day would have thought of this game having any particular significance. It was just a friendly after all; an exciting and fun start to a new era, the latest roll of the dice, but everyone watching would have been nervously thinking about how much honeymoon there would be to enjoy before it all inevitably fell apart. Mor-Rioghain Stokes belated but brilliant overhead kick was perhaps the best consolation goal you’d ever see…and it was enough to set off some totally irrational nerves. Eura obviously saw out the game. They had played like the Patriots on a good day.

Within a week Eura were moving on from Brenecia to Brenecia’s former masters and got the return to mortality they would desperately need before anyone got carried away. Nephara have only been a competitive rather than hostile rival to Eura, but maybe more than any other country they have got the better of us over the years, and this seemingly innocuous friendly would be the latest episode in that story. A rare Astrid Swain strike from range livened things up after a dreary start at the Farham Arena, though Eura quickly rebooted and were arguably the better side for most of the match.

We’ve got them this time, many of us Eurans thought, as Owen Holden stroked home a tidy equaliser to complete a patient, well executed build up from the back straight after half time. And why not? Eura’s record has been better against the Nepharim in recent times.
Well, the reason “why not” this time would be Felixe Vetiver. It had to be really. The obscenely talented Spartangrad hitwoman took down Madita Brewer’s visionary long ball from her own half just outside the Euran area and made both Martin Pearce and club teammate Jonathan Dennis look positively amateurish as she turned both to get a shot at goal, firing past a fellow Spartan, the desperately unlucky Sam Norman.
2-1. They’d done it again. The Cormorant and the Falcon had tested each other one more time, and the latter had got the last laugh.

Soon enough, these games were memory-holed in the Euran consciousness. Even the playing squad hadn’t learned anything new. If an AI chatbot could come up with a scoreline for your typical Euran game against Brenecia and against Nephara, these are the results and events it would have given us. The world moved on. Much more important was Eura’s first game of the Copa – Waller’s first competitive tie in charge.
It was a dire affair that failed to even meet the low expectations one could have for a game against Olastor. The massive Estadio Fútbol De Musarañas De Oro – yes, in Graintfjall, they know – was most appropriate to house Eura’s first game, packing in the huddled Euran masses. Every single one of them would bear witness with the Olastor opposition fans and Graintfjaller neutrals a game that consisted of Eura retaining possession, and occasionally putting in a fairly poor cross to be headed away with ease.
But one hit the mark. Champion from the left, Miller with the header, bam! Eura 1, Olastor 0.

The headlines made it sound more significant than it was. No matter. The Waller era was off to a winning start in the kind of game that apparently mattered. Brenecia 1, Eura 4, and Nephara 2, Eura 1? They were just memories now.
Little did they know, eh? Oh well.