Di Bradini Cup 19 (RP/Rosters/Scores)

[Starblaydia]

Matchday One

Group A
Starblaydia 2-1 Wadomia
Civil Citizenry 2-3 Cyborg Holland

Group B
Kernansquillec 1-0 Krytenia
Dorian and Sonya 2-2 Cafundéu

Group C
Bears Armed 2-0 Queer Poco el Mono Ara
Pasarga 1-0 Mytannion

Group D
Cassadaigua 0-2 Di Lianzio
Stuffed Taxidermists 1-0 Darmen

Group E
Rustika 1-0 Delaclava
Andossa Se Mitrin Vega 2-1 The Kytler Peninsulae

Group F
Kalumba 2-0 Carasatoga
Kagdazka and Pazhujebu 3-4 The Golden Tamarind

Group G
Chenkorya 1-1 Bergnovinaia
Southern Cynocephali 2-1 Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk

Group H
Osarius 1-3 Sargossa
Saugeais 2-1 Mangolana

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

Kytlerian squad for Di Bradini Cup 19

1. Caine Falamoe (GK)
2. Daniel Ortega (RB)
3. Alfie Nix (SW/CB)
4. David Callow (CB)
5. Dean Wickens (LB)
6. Armin Hassani (DM/CM)
7. Marius Debus (CM)
8. Norbert Naugle (RM/AM)
9. Izorigor Minanad (LM/CM)
10. Derek McIntyre (LF/CF/ST)
11. Guy Stamp (CF)
12. Sytrobes Jing (GK)
13. Bruno Zotti (RM/RW)
14. Angufams Dustele (CB/DM)
15. Jacob Monkhouse (CM/AM)
16. Seb Madru (LB/LM)
17. Santiago Torres (ST)
18. Wayne Bolt (LM/LF)
19. Chav Sturrock (CB)
20. Duncan Drury (RB/CB)
21. Arnal Gil Marín (CM)
22. Pitama Pere (CF/ST)
23. Arapeta Vaifale (GK)

Style modifier 0. Basic formation 4-4-2 diamond. Usual starters 1-11.

[Darmen]

Darmen U-21 looses to Stuffed Taxidermists in First Game of DBC19

16 year old Kevin Crable, of Stuffed Taxidemists, was somehow able to score against Kimi Siesman. The goal came in the 43rd minute. Overall, the Darmen U-21 squad didn't perform all that badly, they just weren't able to convert on their scoring chances. ST Goalkeeper Gary Holes was able to make spectacular saves on all four of Darmen's shots on goal. Darmeni Manager, William von Kriesler, said, "I think that we have lots of work to do, but we really didn't play that badly. I think that we need to create better scoring chances more often, and convert on our shots. We also need to work on the back line, we don't want to have the same problems the senior team had in the World Cup."

Darmen plays Cassadaigua next. Kriesler's thoughts, "Cassadaigua will be a tough opponent. If we can eliminate the problems we had today though, we should be able to get the win. I think we have avery good chance to win."

[Cyborg Holland]

Magic comeback from U-21s seals amazing first win at the DBC

Match overview

Civil Citizenry: 2

Unknown 13"
Unknown 45+2"


Cyborg Holland: 3

M. Leknei 76"
C. Krez 79"
O. Canter 88"

The match started with the Citiz players dominating the pitch, getting several shots on target in the first ten minutes. In the 13th minute, William van Couvenhaven slid in on a Citiz player just outside the area, and it was curled in from 20 yards. The rest of the half was dull with few chances for either side until, late into first half stoppage time, a Citiz player made a run down the left wing, expertly weaving his way into the box, where it was pushed across goal, and tapped in from two yards. Cyborg holland came out a different side in the 2nd half, not letting Civil Citizenry out of their own half, and in the 76th minute, a corner was played in by van Couvenhaven, and defender Leknei got his head on it and it flew into the top corner. Then, three minutes later, attacking midfielder Cameron Krez broke through the defence and chipped the keeper from 15 yards, levelling the game. In the 88th minute, Meitzer shot at the goal from long range, and it rattled the crossbar, and Canter latched onto the rebound to slot it home for the win. It is a fabulous win for the guys in silver, and we are hoping to advance further in the tournament

[Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk]

Southern Cynocephali 2, Abcdefghijklmnoprstuk 1

Al Grieger performed well today, slotting a goal in his debut for the national team at any level, but the Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk could not prevent a loss against Southern Cynocephali, dropping them to the bottom of the group table.

Les Briards played well, dominating the first half, but could not score versus Walter Dukes. The second half brought more action. The Southern Cynocephali team struck in the second half after substitute Lossémy Karaboué set up Léon Lafontaine on a tap-in in the 56th minute. Karaboué was brought in after Eugénie Lachapelle suffered an injury in the 33rd minute. Lachapelle appeared to take a hard fall on an Abdian corner kick, after missing a header. It did not look very serious, but she seemed spacey, and complained of dizziness and mild headaches, so she was taken out as a precaution. Test results have not yet been revealed, but she should be ready to go for les Briards next match. The Cynocephalian team was dominating ABK with their sharp, crisp passes, making use of give-and-go passing, but they were hurt by ABK's speed up front, which led to ABK's only goal by Al Grieger.

Léon Lafontaine just missed a goal in the 8th minute, after he was left wide open on a breakaway. Walter Dukes pulled off a miraculous save, and the ensuing Cynocephalian corner yielded no scoring. ABK seemed powerless against the SCY team, but did have a good chance in the 26th minute, when Karl Fox hammered a free kick that was tipped away over the top bar. Early substitute Karaboué headed a corner kick by from Frankie Vejarano off the top bar in the 39th minute, where it was promptly cleared by Henry Ward. Few chances happened for either side in the last 5 minutes, and the ref whistled them off for the half.

After the SCY goal in the 56th, the ABK team rallied together, and finally played up to potential. Vincent just missed on a cross from Mark Brown. However, Grieger soon equalized in the 64th, after receiving a pass from Karl Fox. Grieger turned, and fired a firecracker past Achraf Drif, who was recently signed by Abdian First Divison champions Lalard Tanks for $3,000,000. Drif turned in a sub-par performance for SCY, but it was enough for them to get by. ABK continued on its good performance, but Grieger failed to seize a 1-on-1 opportunity with the goalkeeper, shooting wide right. Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk's momentum was crushed when René Adamo struck in the 79th minute off a corner kick. Adamo was whistled for a yellow card due to his celebration, in which he took off his shirt, and did some sort of strange dance, presumed to be part of the Cynocephalian culture by the Abdian media. This was the only card given out during the game. The rest of the game was dominated by SCY, who had two more shots off of the post. The Man of the Match was Lafontaine. After the game, the Abdian team was not available for press conferences.

Southern Cynocephali

Scorers:
Léon Lafontaine 56'
René Adamo 79'

Starting 11:
Achraf Drif
Dominique Carlton
Octavio Siegel
Zéphyrine Reynder
Damien Gregorini
Shon Hillegass
Eugénie Lachapelle off 33'
René Adamo Y
Frankie Vejarano
Yong Schweiss
Léon Lafontaine off 87'

Substitutes:
Violette Guenièvre
Christian Rachid
Junior Joachim
Lossémy Karaboué on 33'
Nienke Laurent
Massadio Haïdara
Alexandre Cuvillier on 87'

Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk

Scorers:
Al Grieger 64'

Starting 11:
Walter Dukes
Henry Willis
Henry Ward
Charles Tate
Lloyd Miller
Karl Fox
Wendell Minor
Mark Brown
Harley Kent
Al Grieger
Kenny Vincent

Substitutes:
Sean Strickland
Dennis Harris
Slade Checavez
Dennis Zick
Richard Morris
Jeff Thompson
Edouard Beaubien
Al Keeran
Louis Grant
Edouard Beaubien
Marty Locks

[Southern Cynocephali]

Injury overshadows victory

Last night saw the opening matches of SBC¹⁹, and Southern Cynocephali was in action against Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk. An exciting second half eventually concluded with Les Briards on top, courtesy of a late goal from Adamo. His performance was marred by a yellow card for his enthusiastic celebration; even local viewers will perhaps not realise that the dance was the Lalliette Farm Jig. Rumoured to have started during the 1st Cynoceph War, the dance was reportedly created by drunken Southern Cynocephalian militiamen after the defeat of Prince Phillipe Lebenair in 1810, near Laliette Farm. Whilst not a common dance these days, it is still performed in parts of the mountainous regions that run through the centre of the nation.(thanks to one of our readers, indicanporchmonkey, for the information on the Lalliette Farm Jig).

Eugénie Lachapelle
in recovery training today, wearing
protective headgear after her
concussion against ABK.

An injury to Eugénie Lachapelle proved to be the main talking point at half time, after the young female was substituted with a suspected concussion. Looking dazed and confused, she was taken for scans and cleared of long term damage. She seems to not be seriously affected as Eugénie was spotted in a light training session/press photo opportunity today wearing a new piece of headwear (pictured).

The injury did give the youngest member of the squad a chance to shine. The sixteen year old Lossémy Karaboué almost became the youngest goal scorer for Southern Cynocephali but was denied by the frame of the goal, having beaten Ward with his header. Certainly a player to watch in the future, the reasons why he was included in the squad were on display at the Ectar Traxx Stadium, Foxchester.

Team manager Léon D'Lote answered a few questions about the match, the performance of his team, and specific questions about Lachapelle and Karaboué, at a post-match press conference:

---

Mr. D'Lote, how would you describe the overall performance?
Well, *clears throat*, I think the squad can be pleased with the victory. We worked hard and came away with a win which sets us in good stead for the rest of the group stage.

Don't you think you were lucky to come away with all three points?
You could look at it that way, they certainly did open us up on a few occasions but weren't able to capitalise. That said, we were also unlucky when for example Karaboué hit the post. Credit must go to our opponents, they kept pushing us hard even when they went behind a second time. Did they deserve to get something out of the game? *pauses* I don't know.

Speaking of Lossémy Karaboué, you would have to be happy with his debut? Will he feature in your starting plans in the future?
Lossémy can be pleased with his performance, but will still need to earn his place with hard work at training as well to get into the starting team. His assist for the first goal was commendable though, and shows just what this young man is capable of.

Will he be replacing Lachapelle in the short term? Don't you feel it would be prudent to rest her in light of her head knock?
We will have to see just how serious the injury is yet. We are lucky in that we have a bye next round, which will give Eugénie a chance to recuperate. I am confident that she will be back to one hundred percent in a few days time.

In Montepool, Chenkorya drew 1-1 with Bergnovinaia. Chenkorya take on ABK in the next match up, how do you see that playing out?
I don't want to speculate on other matches. Will the whole squad be watching that match? Of course. *cough* We will use the match as part of our pre-match preperation for our next match which is against Chenkorya.

Do you agree you will have the advantage, having the bye and also playing again in Foxchester? On the other hand your opponents will be making their first trip to Ectar Traxx Stadium.
I don't think that will give any sort of advantage. Our players will be invigorated by the rest, but Chenkorya will have momentum. I certainly don't expect to get any benefit from it, and the players know they have to work just as hard as in any match throughout the competition. The level of competition is so great that any team can beat another on their day, which makes for exciting football. Ok, thanks guys, that's it for now. Catch you all later.

[The Golden Tamarind]

Introducing Achazar

On the connecting train ride from Jhanna to Yanataurë the Young Tamarins had a test of will and etiquette, encountering for the first time in their lives some Starbladistani Elves returning to their home city. The Tamarindo reminded themselves privately not to stare, recalling that time in the Beach Cup when they first played women opposition and were thrashed for paying too much attention to the women's sport tops. So they averted their eyes from the elves in order not to make them uncomfortable or angry, although José Frederick forgot his manners and might have swallowed a fly for his jaw was agape for much of the journey. Even though she had introduced the subject of others to the team, Isabella de Llanura privately scoffed at this concept of elves and dwarves and such, because she did not believe in faeries, and felt the truth was, that although they did have pointed ears – no-one could deny it (in-breeding, perhaps, or cosmetic surgery) – auricular features apart, they were not so different that a good red-meat diet – for they were pale and skinny, in her opinion - and a haircut wouldn't sort out.

Turambar Hotel, Yanataurë

At the team hotel the tour manager General Hans Klaus introduced the Young Tamarins to another advisor and they had yet another acclimatisation meeting. This time General Hans was pleased to introduce ex-Starbladistani footballer Achazar Kreider who, like many of the Purple Folk, had a remarkable facility for languages. Isabella de Llanura wondered if he thought of himself as an elf or a dwarf or a lepredoodle, but it seemed according to Starbladistani mores and traditions he was a plain and simple human. Achazar himself did not think he was best described as plain and simple however, for he spent several minutes outlining his glittering career for Starblaydia and his club Tournetas, and very quickly the team came to realise that here was a legend of Starbladistani football come to translate for them during their stay in this remarkable and surprising country. General Hans, and Coach Lars, who had both read his CV on the plane during the trip here, raised an eyebrow and exchanged glances, though nobody else noticed. Achazar explained to the team that he would always be on hand to translate anything for them, or to give cultural guidance when required. José Frederick put his had up to ask if Achazar believed Simeone Di Bradini was managing a football team of deceased Catholic Popes in Heaven and after a moment or two of tense silence was told never to mention SDB again in Achazar's company.

Training Pitches, Telecontarë FC

After a light meal, a nap, and a rub down from Nurse Imogen of Mangolana with a couple of hired helpers to ease away the lag of their long flights from Tamarindia, the team were taken to the training ground of local club Telecontarë where they were to be based for the group stage of the competition. Achazar Kreider had come along too, of course, to help out with translation and cultural assimilation, and was quickly earning his corn when he spotted that Andres Durán had a purple jockstrap that he was planning to use in the kickabout. He immediately intervened to advise that it was a sin and a deep offense to put purple against the cojones and insisted Andres must not wear them. With anyone else this would've been fine but Andres does not take orders easily and there was friction between the two men. Achazar would not back down and reminded Andres of his status and experience, and after some posturing and harsh words Andres agreed to go commandero for the training session. Chu Mango was sent off to acquire a new jockstrap for the young Tamarin. On the training pitch the translator decided to join the kickabout – he just happened to have his old national training kit with him - and surprised everyone with his general fitness and perhaps overly enthusiastic commitment. Mike Viola and Joel de la Hoz both had to step out after picking up knocks from him. One might say Achazar was helpful in the training session, for he was full of tips and helpful ideas, although Coach Lars and Au Pair Isabella de Llanura thought perhaps it was a little too much from the team translator. José Frederick asked the Coach if Señor Kreider would be leading on all the training sessions, but Coach Lars did not reply.

Tactical Meeting

On the morning of the first match the team had a carb-rich breakfast, a light run around the Hotel Turambar grounds, and then settled down for a tactical meeting and a briefing on the first opposition of the competition, no lesser team than Kagdazka and Pazhujebu, a tough start against The Urchins, or Los Erizos. Isabella de Llanura noted that “with the up-front pairing between Angels' Hridayaja Durai and Gimnasia's Lyonya Filipov (the latter being the team's captain), goals ought to be scored by the Urchins without too much trouble.” Achazar Kreider, who was at the meeting though no-one had seen him arrive and his presence was not really needed, did not agree. He felt their threat could be disregarded, and described how, with the strike force hobbled, Los Erizos were weak at the back. And then he described an attacking attitude that the team ought to adopt, which most of the team, knowing what a legend he had been, thought perfectly sensible. A small vein in Isabella de Llanura's temple was throbbing, and she was grinding her teeth. Coach Lars exchanged a look with the security advisor, Aluki, who was on familiar terms with Isabella and coaxed her away for a glass of water while Achazar delivered his tactical masterplan. José Frederick put his hand up to ask how many languages, exactly, the team translator could speak.

Touchline, The White Tower
Kagdazka and Pazhujebu 3-4 Tamarindia

Using the key points of Achazar's tactical plan, the Young Tamarins soon fell disastrously behind as the twin strike-force of Durai and Filipov tore the Tamarindo defence to pieces. Coach Lars found himself on the touchline issuing competing commands with the Starbladistani legend, who's reception from the locals that had come to watch the famous Urchins against the unknown Tamarins was notably cool. Perhaps Elves didn't hold with human legends, thought José Frederick. In any case, by half time Tamarindia were 0-3 down and all but sunk, which would make it six defeats from six tournament opening matches, so if nothing else, Achazar Kreider had brought consistency to the camp. Isabella de Llanura was in the stands being soothed by Aluki, for she was near homicidal by the time Durai had laid on Filipov for his first half hatrick. But Aluki, General Hans and Chu Mango the fixer had hatched a plan, and when Achazar got accidentally locked in a toilet cubicle at half time, Lars and Isabella delivered their verdict on the match so far, changed to a familiar defensive holding pattern based on fear and confusion, and peppered the halftime oranges with Tamarindo Crispy Locust Flakes for extra concentration (Chu had got them from the Chiabutu boys along with a bunch of 'elven-blessed' jockstraps). By the time Achazar had worked his way out of the toilet and back onto the touchline, Yancey Ortíz, Jansel Ortega and Kwesi Ferrer had all scored to bring the match level. He was just in time to see substitute Daniel Magnín strike what proved to be the winner from a thirty-yard free kick in the third minute of stoppage time. Afterwards, José Frederick asked him what the Stari equivalent of a Locust Flake was and Achazar told José that he didn't like him all that much.

Team Bath, The White Tower

In the team bath at the end of the game, the boys celebrated grabbing an unprecedented win at the beginning of a tournament for the first time ever, and wondered just how far they could go. There was plenty of laughing and cheering and splashing and throwing of soap and singing of traditional songs, and no-one was singing louder than Achazar Kreider, who was enjoying this team bath as much as he had ever done, for he missed the camaraderie of football. And he was delighted that his tactics had worked out in the end, even though there had been some doubters when things didn't start out quite as planned. He was just sorry that he'd accidentally locked himself in the toilet and missed the comeback. José Frederick asked Andres Durán if he thought he could match Achazar in a wrestling contest, and Durán fixed the Starbladistani with a steely eye and said that he was sure he could.

[Osarius]

AcademyDropout.osr | Blog

Ikuzashiburo!

Yeah, a bit of islander speak for you guys. It means "long time no see". Fancy, eh? Anyway, if you haven't guessed, I've been really busy lately. I was preparing a special report for BSRN over on Kyoshiku Island this weekend, and I've been here in Lasft for the past week covering the Olympics, so I haven't been able to do much updating for you guys. No time for it really. But, I finished up my special report on the islanders just in time to catch the Di Bradini Cup coverage here in Cafundeu.

But wow... Lots of changes! Montblanc is no longer in charge since he took over the seniors after di Corradi's resignation -- we have Ishmael Walker instead? Never saw that one coming to be honest -- and so many player changes because of the Olympics and the Cup of Harmony... in fact, I'm not sure any players are returning this time around. I missed our opening match against Sargossa, but I now have time to do a squad review and a bit of talking. I have the squad here in front of me as I type this, so I'm going as I read. It's not gonna be indepth, but its a start, right?

Okay... firstly the goalkeepers.

Shaun Robinson is the first choice, and the backup is Andrea Broderick. Robinson is an alright 'keeper. He tends to flap at crosses a bit at the moment, and is vulnerable to the deep cross toward the back post, but otherwise I think he's a solid choice. Can't say much about Broderick as she's still primarily used in the reserves, rather than the seniors or the academy squad. I remember seeing her briefly a few times in the academy league and she's agile. Great reflexes. Not very good command of her area though, so she'll need protecting.

The defenders are interesting too. The starting fullbacks are Michelle Rowland and Gillian Reade. I know them both from the academy leagues a couple seasons ago, and this might come as a shock to some readers but they're actually very solid defensively. Reade in particular reminds me of Georgina Carsley, with her tough tackling approach, while Rowland is a bit more pacy and athletic. Neither looked too good going forward from what I remember though. The backup fullbacks are Laurence Foster -- who's probably a decent lad, he's at Firewood after all -- and Gaetano Mancini, who we almost signed for Turic last year. He's great getting forward and has enough pace to drop back if needed. Centre backs are a mixed bunch. Harry Quinn is an aggressive stopper, just get stuck in and win the ball like.
He's looked alright alongside Holland for Cymrwell in the few games he's had. Brent Steele is a typical Burningham defender, he reads the game and then acts. He's not very quick but he doesn't really need to be. The two backups are actually Utica's academy starting pair from last season. Very solid unit. Not sure how they will fare against elite opposition every week, or if they are split up, but they work very well in tandem.


Midfield is the important bit for me. A bad midfield will set the defence up for a fall, and with all the first choice central players unavailable, Walker has had a tough one here. He seems to have gone for technique over toughness, though. His starting duo are Guinevere Baird and Ana Menendez. Menendez is deceptively skillful and will sometimes break from her usual holding position and catch teams off guard. Baird has a remarkable engine and considering her age, an outstanding proficiency for one-touch passing. Ahead of them, he's got Roberto Telo. Now, I've spoken with Dean Atkinson not too long ago, and he's really keen on Telo. Thinks he'll be good enough to replace Fernandinho soon, which is a big ask. Might be a biased opinion of a manager talking up his youth players, but Deano knows his stuff. The backups are all a bit average in my opinion. But they're the best available choices, probably. I know he can't take Gonzalez, or di Corradi, for example. He does appear to have a couple of bruisers in the ranks though, in Ealy and Eldridge. Not very good technically, but they'll go through a man if they have to. Particularly Ealy, who would have trained with Vegan tough guy Mace Kinoz'gh in his teens. I wouldn't train with that guy in full body armour, so yeah...

Up front we always look dangerous, and even with all the best guys unavailable, we're looking at a great trio. Cameron Stern is going to be invaluable to Hastmead soon. Bethany Martin won't be able to bang in goals for them forever, so they'll need someone to step up. Stern has everything Speranzo had at the same age, and arguably a better coach and a better team around him. Expect a few moments of magic. The two backups... there's not much between them. Although I'd expect Guardado to feature more often -- probably as a pacy partner to play off his clubmate Stern in a 4-4-2 or something similar -- Rojas is probably a bit more clinical.

The defeat against Sargossa was probably a result of most of these guys never playing at anything like this level before, so I'm not gonna read too much into it. In the highlights I saw, we looked a bit disjointed at times, with too much of a gap between attack and defence. Walker will probably have picked up on that, and will no doubt address it. In his six years of coaching, he's really come a long way. I spoke to him last season when we sent a couple of our younger guys to the national academy, and he apparently shares my enthusiasm for tactical analysis, so don't expect that kind of problem to stick around too long.

I better get some rest though, I gotta be up early to get to the studio for Olympic coverage in the morning. There's a squad list attached at the end of the post if you're interested, and hopefully I'll be back soon with some proper stuff for you guys.

Till next time, people!





Full squad recap:

#   Pos	Name			Age	Club
01  GK	Shaun Robinson		21 y/o	Cymrwell FC
02  LB	Michelle Rowland	21 y/o	Callisto City
03  RB	Gillian Reade		20 y/o	Bowsston United
04  CB	Harry Quinn		20 y/o	Cymrwell FC
05  CB	Brent Steele		19 y/o	Burningham City
06  CM	Guinevere Baird		18 y/o	Hastmead Diamante
07  RM	Brett Hendricks		19 y/o	Grasshoppers Turic
08  CM	Ana Menendez		17 y/o	Junipa Athletic
09  ST	Cameron Stern		19 y/o	Utica United
10  AM	Roberto Telo		21 y/o	Trelagstad FC
11  LM	Roderick Ambrose	20 y/o	Greeningham City
12  RM	Leo Arnold		19 y/o	Arcaea County
14  ST	Antonio Rojas		20 y/o	Bowsston United
15  CB	Alvaro Vermudo		19 y/o	Utica United
16  CB	Vittore Zavaglia	16 y/o	Utica United
17  LM	Brooklyn O'Hara		16 y/o	Lanismel Village
18  AM	Miguel Rapinato		19 y/o	Burningham City
19  CM	Carl Ealy		21 y/o	Charleston Athletic
20  CM	Keith Eldridge		19 y/o	Real Jraxville
21  RB	Laurence Foster		16 y/o	Firewood City
22  ST	Nicolao Guardado	17 y/o	Hastmead Diamante
23  GK	Andrea Broderick	18 y/o	FC United of Dynapolis
24  LB	Gaetano Mancini		21 y/o	FC United of Dynapolis

[Bears Armed]

"That's a serious-looking scar, Harrashia, I'll bet that the injury involved hurt a lot until it healed up: Didn't get it from an accident or incident of some kind on the football field, did you?!?"

"Oh no, Beorra, it wasn't from an accident of any kind, I took this wound in BATTLE!"

"Hwat? Out near the border with your Clan's militia, were you?"

"Out at Marrfehk-Ing in the Wilderlands, with the Scouts -- because I was a 'Tiger Scout' myself, and won a place on that trip in a raffle -- to celebrate the three-eightSquared's-th anniversary of Lord Barrdenn-Pale's achievments there, last summer, actually..."

"Ah, ayyuh, I've heard about that fight hokay even though I didn't know until now that you were there: About halfway through the camp and you lot got jumped by a mixed force of Boorkhs and Woozles, hrright?"

"That we did, for true. It was the evening of our first full day there: We'd held the first of the two planned ceremonies of commemoration during the previous afternoon, had a big sing-song that evening, and then spent this day split up on various 'Proficiency Badge' exercises. I was working towards the 'Expedition Leadership' challenge myself, and had led a group of five other scouts -- one more 'Tiger', and a quartet of 'Boars' -- out on a lengthy hike that day to collect a set of markers that had been pre-positioned at various map coordinates around the area -- and then we were camping-out overnight, a few miles from Marrfehk-Ing itself, too -- so I wasn't actually there when the first attack began, but anyhows my little patrol had just finished our supper and started damping-down the fire when we heard a lot of shouting and drumming coming from around the general direction of the fort..."

"Harrashia, Beorra: Dinner's ready!"

[Kagdazka and Pazhujebu]

a magazine

CHEATING TAMARINS USE AGE-OLD LOCK-TRANSLATOR-IN-TOILET TRICK; BEAT K&P!

Despite a stellar first-half hat trick from the sharpest young player in the Federation, Lyonya Filipov, the world-class Young Urchins have been felled four goals to three by Tamarindia! Their squad was clearly at a loss to break down the amazing tactics of our tricky Pazhujebi manager Ghavbhu Vhi, as was apparent during the first half when they wandered around aimlessly, making attempts at some weird attacking thing that just made them look like amateurs.

But when the joy of all fans of the Federation team was at its zenith, all hopes were struck down as the Tamarins used one of the most cynical tricks in the book: the famous (or, should we say, infamous) Lock Your Translator in the Toilet Move. Predictably, left wanting for cultural anecdotes and let alone to focus on football, the Tamarins unfairly stole no less than four second-half goals to deny Kagdazka and Pazhujebu a hard-earned three points at the DBC!!

We at Pazhujebi Sport have obtained undeniably accurate footage of our honorable translator standing respectfully on the sidelines for all ninety minutes, shouting advice on social niceties, irrelevant tactical observations, and Starblaydi idiosyncracies at the players. Like a translator is supposed to do. Rest assured, dear reader, that complaints have been filed with the relevant tournament organizers. There will be justice.

Be sure to read the next edition of Pazhujebi Sport; by the time it's released, the Federation will have played its next game in the Di Bradini Cup, and probably have won!

TODAY'S FRONT PAGE BROUGHT TO YOU BY: BORIS SOLOVYEV, COSMETIC SURGEON!

With the upsurge in many interesting new fantasy stories, such as That Time After Dusk, Hairy Bopper, and The Warden of the Rings, any parent can tell you that there is a world-wide prevalence of conversations that go something like this:

"Hey Mom, can I get cosmetic surgery so that I look like an elf?"

"What? I don't think so. That sounds quite dangerous, honey! And expensive!"

"But Mom, what if I told you there's a sort-of licensed doctor who can make sure that it's both easy on me and easy on your wallet?"

"Oh? Who might that doctor be?"

Meet Boris Solovyev, MD. He's been practicing legitimate medicine in Dyurtyuli for nineteen years now! (And he's been practicing illegitimate medicine in Gelendzhik for even longer!) Stop by his office in the Karpov 8B tower block in Gelendzhik for a consultation and check out his sweet new place. While you're looking at crappy art in his waiting area (a hallway), you'll have the opportunity to read his impressive resume!

Many different entertainers and celebrities have in the past called upon his expertise in the cosmetics field. Where do you think Peregrina Thašighi got her perfect nose? But nose jobs aren't the only thing you can obtain over at Dr. Solovyev's Fun House, as he likes to call his clinic. You can also see him about re-envisioning your sad, small human ears as the proud pointy aural receivers of a Starblaydistani elf, just as soon as you figure out where the hell Starblaydistan is!

5250 SEASON OPENER DAYS AWAY! OLYMPICS IN FULL SWING! BUY MORE SHIT!

(OOC: It probably hardly bears mentioning, but everything said in this newspaper is very IC. Tamarindia, I thought your RP was great, I'm just responding from the perspective of a sensationalist borderline-tabloid rag.)

[Taeshan]

X Island Inquirer

And so it Begins

So the first day of the 19th Di Bradini Cup is now over, and the Knights still have a week to wait for their first game. On day one there were two games. The first saw Kernasquillec defeat Krytenia in a somewhat surprising result 1-0 which puts them top of the group. Tied for second as of now are Dorian and Sonya and Cafundeu who tied 2-2 in the second match. The Knights used these games as a scouting oppurtunity to get ready for their matches in the upcoming days, hopefully they learned something.

[Rustika]

Rustik fans cheered their team not only from the stands, but from home as they watched the match on their television, and they were surely satisfied with the results of the match even though the two teams were neck and neck at 0-0 for most of the game.

The game started with Rustika dominating the field, they swiftly pushed back the Delaclavan team sufficiently for Palmiro to get a shot in, unfortunately the ball almost entered the goal, as the Delaclavan goalie would have not blocked it, yet the ball hit the post and a goal kick was ordered by the referee. Fortunately Orlondo got a goal in at the 79th minute after bypassing the defense with a clever pass from Palmiro. And so it seems that we shall be advancing to the next match after emerging victorious from the first.

[Kernansquillec]

George's View - Girls playing football?

Stalker's notes to readers: These stories are the story of a certain George, a not so normal Kernansquillecan who seems to hate everything, yet love it at the same time. Some topics in here can be offensive to some people (mayby even YOU) but please take it with a pinch of salt. Some other topics can also be classed as lies but the Kernansquillecan Football Association, or any other football, gouverment, or publishing authority or association takes any responsability for these lies.

So yes these stories are George's life in a corner of Kernansquillec as he follows (or doesn't follow) a sporting event. He last saw the Rugby Union World Cup and got involved in stealing a shirt, getting evicted, meeting the love of his life, and getting drunk (a lot). Our profesional team of hackers, stalkers and that guy who's hiding just behind you (did you actualy look? haha) have followed him, hacked into his stuff, put cameras in his house in order to bring these tales of this guy. Enjoy!

It was Sunday morning. George had just woken up. He'd moved in with Emily (well moved in, he didn't have anywhere to life before) a week or so ago but she had to go up to Kernansquillec City for a training course or something so he was on his own. She had a nice flat in central Trégrom and it was nice not to have to roast a rat for breakfast now.

As usual he grab a bottle of larger and a croissant and sat down on the sofa. He then grabbed the TV remote and had a look what was on. As usual a load of junk about the Olympics. Who wants to see some woman who looks like King Kong pick up a bar with two things on the ends? "I could do that" he thought to himself.

He got fed up with the Gaelic Football after a while, he just couldn't understand the rules. He decided to go for a nap. He woke up around 3 o'clock after the cat jumped on his team and mistoke his hair for a ball of string.

He grabed an other couple of beers and went over to the TV again. A football match was just about to start and George loved the stuff. He'd spend tons of time watching every single World Cup game. He couldn't wait for the Cup of Harmony to start.

This match was in the Di Bradini Cup between Kernansquillec and Krytenia. But George couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the lineups: "What! Is that women in the team? Do they even play football? I thought there was laws against it!" Despite this he decided to stay on and see the match as it would take more than a few girls to put him off watching his beloved football.

The game was very even thought out. But about half way thought the first half one of the ladies in the team scored. Nicole Sharp. Aparently she was the top goalscorer at the Women's World Cup. "God they've even got their own World Cup, how long was I asleep for?!" Krytenia or as George prononced it "Cry-ten-aa" played well and had chances to score as did the Green and Whites but in the end Kernansquillec won the game.

George heard the commentator say that Kernansquillec were top of Group B ahead of Dorian and Sonya and Cafundéu who drew 2-2. Kernansquillec's next game was against Cafundéu who won the last 2 Di Bradini Cups. And as he drunk about his 8th beer that afternoon he feel asleep on the sofa.

OOC: To Starblaydia and others teams, my team roaster is availible in my first post on this thread which is a RP/Roaster post. Can you link it on the starting page Star? Thanks. (And I actualy like women's football in real life)

[Queer Poco el Mono Ara]

Queer Poco el Mono Ara DBC 19 Squad

Coach – Dean Bowyer. The former Pythons/ Skyte City and Queer Poco el Mono Ara international led the Whites all the way to the final in the previous edition and will be hoping to guide his new look side into the knock-out rounds.

Starters in bold

Goalkeepers.

01. Ron Southgate. 19 years old. Racing Cruzeira. Racing will be delighted to have this young man coming through the ranks with Zuiverloon on his way out of the club.
13. Erastos Regan. 19 years old. Ridgemont Town. Skinny, skinny little thing who gets knocked about in the box, but exceptionally agile.

Defence - Wingbacks

02. Nathan Smith. 21 years old. Augustus. Another talent emerging from their already well stocked youth academy. Quick, good tackler and he’s got a decent left peg.
03. Áedán Prescott. 19 years old. Pythons. Made his league debut for the Khaldoon club as they claimed the league title. One for the future. Quick up and down the wing and exceptionally strong.
14. Ezequiel Georgiev. 17 years old. Real Minanda. The Minanda reserve signed from Al-Alikhad for less than $10,000 and is yet to make a league start for the club but people in the know say he’s pretty good.
15. Juste Bonheur. 18 years old. Villa Ortiz. The afro-ed wingback has caused a splash in League I with his outlandish hair, however it should be his excellent performances that has tongues wagging.

Defence – Centre

05. Cassidy de Witt. 18 years old. Royal Khaldoon. Proving once again they don’t just buy good players but the Royal academy is doing a pretty decent job. Headed to MS Leighton for a season long loan. *CAPTAIN*
06. Stefan Dirchs. 17 years old. Athletic Khaldoon. Plays across the river from de Witt, but seems to be his fit nicely. A strapping lad for 17, but his distribution needs work.
12. Roman Narváez. 18 years old. Salaga F.C. Scored five times from corners last season. The lad stands at a gangly 6ft 8 and gets up to head the ball pretty well.
17. Daniel Horvath. 21 years old. Skyte City. Picked up from Palampas last season and was part of Skyte’s League I winning side. A decent centreback who could develop into a quality centreback with enough games.

Midfield – Wingers

07. Alessandro Pelcheccia. 21 years old. Valengren Rovers. Left footed but prefers being on the right so he can cut inside, if forced to play on his right foot he occasionally makes a t*t of himself and his cross goes astray, if he works on that he could be quite the attacking force.
11. Chuy Masin. 18 years old. Garrincha F.C. Garrincha’s hottest prospect. The winger exploded last season into the reserve team and is set to make his debut in the first team this season after a three month loan spell at Barbossa.
22. Masaru Laurent. 19 years old. Valengren Rovers. There are a dozen clichéd phrases we can use to describe the winger so we wont bore you with them.


Midfield - Central

04. Lionel Johnson. 17 years old. Augustus. The “jungle boy” is potentially the greatest player to ever grace the Pocoan national team or the biggest let down since sliced brown bread. The scintillating god-mod super player doesn’t have a defined position yet and will just run about being “awesome”.
08. Billy Gibson. 19 years old. Augustus. The attacking midfielder is currently in the reserves, but may make his break through this season
16. Winton Sedlak. 20 years old. Villa Flumineiro His dad is from Mytannion and his mum from QPeMA, expect there to be iffyness when the two sides meet in the group stage. A holding midfielder who should be playing in a better division.
21. Muhammet Heppenheimer. 19 years old. Atletico Palampas. Distantly related to the royal family. His grandfather’s brother’s sister-in-law is the Queen.

Strikers

09. Marshall Sutherland. 19 years old. Salaga F.C. This poacher has been pushed into the first team with his predecessors coming of age. He doesn’t stray far from the box.
10. Vinny Landolfi. 18 years old. Skyte City. Came through for Skyte last season to help them back to promotion hitting the back of the net 17 times. Likely to catch some admiring glances this season.
18. Moritz Dunst. 20 years old. Ajax Khaldoon II. Short and stocky and likes to get stuck in. Although he’s registered with Ajax he has never played for them, spending last year playing in the ERPL for West Rodallega Centurions. A good showing here could get him some playing time.
19. Télesphore de Witt. 17 years old. Royal Khaldoon. Brother of Cassidy, another one of the team who has been on loan elsewhere, made a decent showing playing for East Khaldoon Park last season. His finishing under pressure has let him down, pretty good in the air though.

Style Mod = +2.25

RP Permissions

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers Yep
Godmod scoring events Nope
RP injuries to my players Yep
Godmod injuries to my players Nope
Hand out yellow cards to my players Yep
Hand out red cards to my players Yep
Godmod other events Yep

Kit A


Kit B

[Queer Poco el Mono Ara]

King Ahmed coughed gingerly into a handkerchief he had been grasping for some time. There was a speckling of blood on the white silk. He didn’t have long left and had been secretly planning his funeral behind his family’s back. They knew he was ill, it had been obvious for some time, they were just left in the dark as to the severity of his illness.

He coughed once again into the handkerchief and leaned over for his scotch. Glugging it back he refilled his glass and knocked that one back, at this rate he would polish off the bottle, alone in his study.

His study in the palace was a mahogany filled room painted dark red and reeking of cigar smoke. He hadn’t always smoked in the study but as his health declined he had decided he was tired of having to smoke in the lavish gardens. The scotch was now below the label and had flowed so freely King Ahmed was beyond tipsy. He coughed again and the handkerchief was looking worse for wears.

-----
“And that’s the final whistle, as Dean Bowyer’s young under 21’s team struggle against a physically dominant Bears Armed team.”

“They never looked up to it at all did they Bret.”

“No Hoyte, no they didn’t.”

“Those not so cuddly Bears now sit top of the group and with three games to go and the top two going into the knockout rounds, the Whites can’t afford any more slip ups.”

“The under 21’s world cup has been kind to the Whites in the past and hopefully they can bounce back after this and push on.”

“Disappointed with the performance of Lionel Johnson, the young lad from the jungle looked out of his comfort zone.”

“The jungle Hoyte?”

“Figure of speech Bret.”

“Those two early goals really dampened the Pocoan spirits didn’t they.”

“They certainly did. You expected them to be a little more gutsy after the break but they just seemed really lackluster.”

“Really lackluster. We’re gonna head on over to Dirk Groening who has the under 21’s coach Dean Bowyer with him.”

“Coach, what are you gonna change for the next game?”

“We’re not going to change anything. This team is good enough as it is. They just need to take their chances and not have a referee who is deliberately against them, perhaps they are just sick of seeing us perform well here and they had to screw us over with nonsense penalty decisions, and how, how they managed to miss that deliberate handball when it was 1-0 I’ll never know. The linesman had an off day too and as for the jerk off fan who threw a melon at Lionel, I’m disgusted and shocked that somebody managed to sneak a galia melon past the security. Which brings me to my irritation at the Starblaydi authorities poor policing of the event, there were several incidents which should have never occurred like the over weight streaker just before the half time break, he managed to remain on the pitch for seven whole minutes before one of my own players had to subdue him and then HE was shown a yellow card. The entire game is a travesty and I’ll be making a complaint to the organizers about the officials and the stadium security. So, yeah. We shan’t be changing anything for the next fixture, we’ll just be crossing our fingers we aren’t lumbered with a useless referee.”

“Thanks.”

[Starblaydia]

Matchday Two
Tables Coming Tomorrow
I don't have an Auto-Table-Thingy, so do them by hand. Too late now tonight.

Group A
Cyborg Holland 2-1 Starblaydia
Wadomia 2-2 Cosumar

Group B
Cafundéu 1-2 Kernansquillec
Krytenia 0-2 Taeshan

Group C
Mytannion 1-2 Bears Armed
Queer Poco el Mono Ara 2-1 Astograth

Group D
Darmen 1-0 Cassadaigua
Di Lianzio 0-2 Swartaz

Group E
The Kytler Peninsulae 3-1 Rustika
Delaclava 0-2 Erathore

Group F
The Golden Tamarind 4-1 Kalumba
Carasatoga 0-1 Thatius

Group G
Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk 2-1 Chenkorya
Bergnovinaia 0-0 Socialist States Owen

Group H
Mangolana 0-1 Osarius
Sargossa 2-1 Sportgirls

[Cyborg Holland]

Another Amazing win at DBC, U-21s look unstoppable!

Match Report

Cyborg Holland: 2

O. Canter 26"
van Couvenhaven 59"

Starblydia: 1

Unknown 42"

A repeat of last years round of 16 match, except this time with a reversed scoreline. Last time round, Starblydia won 2-1, but it was a different story this time. A very rough match, with 6 yellow cards, four for Starblydia and two for Cyborg Holland. In the 26th minute, Frederik Larsen laced a beautiful ball into the box, straight to the feet of 20 year-old Oliver Canter, where he rounded the keeper and slotted it home. However, in the 42nd minute, after sustained pressure from the Starblydian team, a defender got his head on the ball and put it past Edwin Alexis. But in the 59th minute, something wonderful happened. A Starblydian midfielder tackled Dan Anderson and brought him down, giving the team a 30 yard free kick. Step up 21 year old captain William van Couvenhaven. He stepped up and the ball rocketed past the keeper and slammed into the top corner. The team then locked the Starblydian players out of their box, and eventually winning the game.

Team:

E. Alexis

M. Leknei
W. Orange
T. von Kreisler
R. der Sleter II

W. van Couvenhaven
D. Anderson II

C. Krez (Off 86")
F. Larsen

H. Meitzer (off 86")
O. Canter

Subs:

GK: Sam von Ersten
CD: Dragaan Lemer
LD: Elliot Smeltser
DM: George Harett
AM: Quentin Alexis (On 86")
CST: Jake Amsterdam (On 86")

[Thatius]

Jader Barbahlo Stadium


Five Thatian National Security Service guards stood around President Todd Corinthos as he made his way to the royal box inside the Jader Barbahlo Stadium in Jhanna, Starblaydia. President Corinthos took a seat next to some lesser-known Sports Director from Thatius.

"Mr. President." said the Director.

"Ahh...you must be?" replied President Corinthos

"I'm Jack Novinski, the Director of Soccer in Fajaravik."

"Yes, that's it. Jack. Good to meet you. Now what can you tell me about this match-up today?"

"Only that it's against Carasatoga. We're not too familiar with the team, and it's Thatius' first time in the Di Bradini Cup." said Novinski. He shook his head then started, "I also can tell you that we're in a tough group. The other nations we face soon include Kalumba, Kagdazka and Pazhujebu, and the Golden Tamarind. All formidable teams."

The President nodded his head and consulted a few other members in the box. A few passerby's wanted a picture with him, but his security entourage shooed them off. They took a few snapshots anyways. Eventually both teams came out. The Thatians was led by Team Captain Scotty Toral, and followed him came the other members of the squad. Arradov, Ballik, Gullivit, Lestop, Lionali, Michelski, Oshinsky, Rensenberg, Savorini, and lastly Stoichokov.

The match started out quick. Forward Rob Rensenberg, the "Eagle of Thatius" passed the ball to Toral, who then tried for a shot from the circle. It flew over the goal, and some in the box booed as it was giving away the ball. Director Novinski whispered in the president's ear about some half-time event, and the President would have none of it. He didn't want to be the antics of the crowd. Soon President Corinthos became tired of watching. No progress had been made, and every shot was a miss or seemed like a whiff. Finally, five minutes after half-time was over, the goal was made that gave Thatius a 1-0 lead over Carasatoga. A stunning few passes and dribbling between some Carasatogan players enabled Petr Oshinsky to pass to Mark Lestop who headed the ball into the goal. Everyone in the Thatian Royal Box stood up and cheered loudly after the goal. Soon, the game was over. It seemed like Carasatogans picked up their pace after the goal, and the Thatians matched it with their excitement. The whistle blew. Thatius wins! President Corinthos shook Director Novinski's hand and said:

"A good game. Let's hope they can duplicate success."

Novinski replied: "They are able to do it. How about a nice press conference Mr. President?"

President Corinthos sighed. "After just getting elected and having to get through all those press conferences in Thatius, you would think the press would have enough. It seems not. Well. I'll support my team any day, and I think they deserve a few words of encouragement from their leader."

He walks away with Novinski and a few other members of the Thatian delegation. The security guards swoop in as President Corinthos exits the box.

[Taeshan]

X Island Inquirer

Knights Win in Opener

One day in and the Lil' Purple Knights are already on a fast track to doing well in the tournament. On opening night they defeated the little Cyan's 2-0. Thats right the mighty Krytenians (who lets face it aren't very mighty) went down for a second straight match. In the other game Kernasquellic went top of the group with a 2-1 victory over Cafudneu. The off team on the day was one of the main competitors with the Knights in the Group Dorian and Sonya. After two days the K's sit atop the group with 6, second is the Knights at 3, and third and fourht are the tied Cafundeuns and Sonyan's...And Krytenia just sucks.

It was a good day on both sides of the field for the Lil' Knights. In goal Jacob Martin showed some nice hands stopping 7 shots on the day. The defensive line was also very steady only letting one good chance on goal which Martin pushed behind for a corner. The Wingers, Fasnacht and Longwaters pushed the ball forward throughout the day making it hard for the Krytenian defense to get a grip on the field. Marshall Murgatroyd scored the first Taeshani goal in the 26th minute off a Fasnacht assist. At the half he would cede play to Tyler Pantoum. also coming in in the second half were Marcus Bauer for Olliver Doogood and Flynn Parker for Tyler Provyay after the second goal which was scored by the other Striker Brian Ibrahim.

[The Golden Tamarind]

There is no Stan in Starblaydia

Nargothrond Café, Yanataurë
Regarding reports from the Pazhujebi Sport

The General slapped the pinkish newspaper of dubious quality on the café table with a hrumph, which is a high ranking aristocratic military man's way of swearing in a public place. The Coach cursed the hairy river dolphin and invoked the jumping monkey, which is the Tamarindo way. The Au Pair stared at the Translator while her dark thoughts stoked a fire in her eyes, and she lashed him with her silence, which is her way. The Translator thrust out his chin, which is the Starblaydi way of demonstrating defiance.

Coach Lars, Au Pair Isabella de Llanura and General Hans the Spitfresi were engaged in a rather heated exchange over double espressos with Achazar Kreider their translator and cultural attaché, regarding reports from the Pazhujebi Sport. It had been the attack of the wysterions that had annoyed them so much. They were all four agreed, after hearing Achazar's translation of the incendiary report about the Young Tamarins first match, that it was sensational, and founded not in fact but in bluster, and thinner on journalistic merit than the extremely thin paper it was printed on. What they couldn't agree on was how the paper had found out that the traditional Tamarindian word for Starblaydia was the same as a Starblaydi insult for another Starblaydi. They had all tried very hard to correct four hundred years of miseducation, and yet this had happened. Wasn't it a translators job to make sure these cross-contaminations didn't happen? Achazar responded arrogantly, and not without an accusatory inference, that he could do his job much better if he wasn't locked in a lavatory. And besides, he said, had he not rescued two of their compatriots from detention that very day, by smoothing over a cultural misunderstanding?

Silverlands, Corinth
The superfans, the militiaman and the Galia Melon

Wherever the Tamarins went, superfan Keston Demmin and his good friend Alexi of Ateo followed. And wherever Keston and Alexi went, Bosch the Darmenicanian militia man was not far behind. It had all started after the Johzian Amateurs Cup last season, when Keston and Alexi turned left out of Johz on their way to Mangolana instead of right, and ended up in wartorn Darmen involuntarily running drugs for the militia. One thing led to another, and well, now Bosch had dedicated his life to taking Keston and Alexi's.

They thought all that was behind them when they came to Starbladistan for the Di Bradini Cup. After enjoying the surprise and altogether deserved win over the Punjabi Khazaks, Keston and Alexi got the Fluid Time Express up to Corinth to take in the Queer Poco match against the bearlike folk of, um, Bears Armed. The superfans had a soft spot for the Pocos, after being rescued off Khaldoon when Bosch sank the ferry they were on last year. The match wasn't going well, however, as the Bearfolk stormed into a two-goal lead, and things got considerably worse. It was Alexi who spotted him first. The man from Ateo had just taken his shirt off to show the yellow cross he'd painted on his generous belly to the cameraman, hoping to get on the big screen display, when suddenly he let out a horrified yell, and pointed to the figure coming up the stairway toward them. Jumping monkeys! It was Bosch! And boy, did he look slightly irritated. Instinctively Keston threw his melon at the militiaman, but the Darmenicanian brushed it aside, and it flew on to the pitch. Did a player go down? Neither Keston nor Alexi were concentrating, by now. Keston ran for the exit, but Alexi, in blind panic - for he was a sensitive soul - ran straight by the militiaman headed pitch-ward. They clashed, tumbled, rolled, wrestled and scrambled, until Alexi came up on top, and broke free, losing his pants to Bosch's iron grip. He could not tell how long he ran in circles, in blind fear, on a grass field full of bears. It may have been an hour, it may have been seven whole minutes. When he was finally subdued, reunited with Keston and placed in custody, the small cell and iron bars seemed a comfort.

Hotel Turambar, Yanataurë
The tactics of naïvety

In order that things be quite clear, Coach Lars took Achazar Kreider the translator and cultural attaché to one side to explain the tactical plan of the Young Tamarins for this tournament, so that he might best understand how they achieved good results, and how they avoided bad ones. Achazar was sceptical, of course, for he was a legend of Starblaydi football, and Starblaydi football is the legend of the world. Coach Lars then explained that when the Starblaydi authorities had telegrammed to say that Achazar had been appointed to the team, they had copied his CV and, well, it wasn't exactly Simeone, was it? The ex- Tournetas midfielder went white, and then red, and then a patriotic shade of purple, but said nothing and stuck out his chin defiantly.

After a year of honing their play to best fit with the strengths of the squad, the Tamarindian coaching team, advised by tactical prodigy and au pair Isabella de Llanura, had settled on a defensive approach to the game, principally motivated by fear of a good shellacking. The keeper and defence would at all times assume a backs-to-the-wall last-man-standing mentality suffused with a wartime blitz spirit and employing the hunkered-down formation with the flexibility to change to blind panic or hoof-it whenever necessary. For the midfield, a combination of naïvety and permanent retreat would suffice for the most part, with the strikers asked to defend-defend-defend from the front and run about like headless chickens when not in possession of the ball. So far, it had worked out jolly well and whatever the legend of Tournetas might think, they were sticking to it. Achazar agreed that it did indeed seem to appropriately play to the strengths of the Young Tamarins, particularly the bit about panic, naïvety and headless chickens. José Frederick sprang to mind, he said.

The SDB Museum, Jhanna
Pilgrimmage to the shrine

After a highly Tamar-like tactical meeting, the Young Tamarins travelled to the capital for their next game, and decided to take in the sights of this great city ahead of kick-off. Achazar was on hand and proved an excellent guide with a wealth of knowledge and interesting anecdotes about Starblaydi culture, always there to advise on appropriate gestures in public places, and as they say in the Khazak Punjab, shout advice on social niceties, irrelevant tactical observations, and Starblaydi idiosyncracies at the players. It was, they all agreed, a wonderful morning out in scenic Jhanna.

With kick-off not due until the evening, the highlight of the day's programme was surely the afternoon trip to the Simeone di Bradini Museum. The team enjoyed a wonderful visit to what seemed a shrine to the world's most famous footballer, and bought posters, replica Daii and Kiiarana shirts (nobody wanted an Alan City shirt, naturally, because of the meaning of Alan in Tamarindo), miniature Simeones and tarot packs. Where the avowedly atheistic Tamarindians really needed help was in the Holy Empire Room, which all seemed quite bizarre and unintelligible, but it was only then that the Tamarindo noticed the absence of Achazar Kreider the translator and cultural attaché, who, it seemed, had not accompanied them to the SDB Museum.

Jader Barbahlo Stadium, Jhanna
Tamarindia 4-1 Kalumba

It is fair to say that for all his peculiarities the squad missed Achazar Kreider at the SDB Museum, even Andres Durán with whom he had clashed, and José Frederick to whom he had taken an obvious dislike. And so everyone was delighted to see him at the impressive Jader Barbahlo Stadium that evening for the football match with Kalumba, even Coach Lars with whom he disagreed on tactics, and Chu Mango, about whom he had yet to express any opinion. After a quick discussion with Coach Lars and Aluki the peacekeeper from the Civil Citizenry, Achazar agreed to remain seated on the coaching bench for the duration of the game and only direct his tactical observations at Assitant Coach Kevin Trim quietly and without consternation in order for the coach to pass it on if deemed useful. After a pleasant morning in his company in the city, the subs and coaches were delighted that he was able to join them on the bench for the game, even Assistant Coach Kevin who would have to deal with his observations and especially Iván Encarnación who was a great admirer of the Starblaydi legend.

But not Isabella de Llanura, who had yet to be convinced that Achazar Kreider the Translator and cultural attaché was not simply a rum pettifogger.

And yet he was the perfect gentleman during the game, and his observations, directed to Assistant Coach Kevin, were both respectful and useful. For he said early on that the main trait of the Kalumbébes would be their remarkable disinterest in the game, and indeed it appeared to be true, so that Yancey Ortíz was able to score twice without much resistance, and Daniel Magnín with his first ever start won the man of the match and scored one without barely a challenge, and Hannibal, the scourge of the midfield, was permitted to make a sweeping run forward without so much as a by-your-leave, and to score from it. Indeed, the Kalumbébes looked so disinterested that they could barely celebrate a late consolation, scored without emotion by Mobisbo Abraham the Destroyer.

[Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk]

Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk 2, Chenkorya 1

The Abdian team just dominated Chenkorya today, and Coach Lakan was very pleased. Karl Fox had a goal, and substitute Louis Grant had a goal in injury time to win the game.

The Abdians came out firing, Karl Fox shooting one of the left post from just outside the box, in the 8th minute. A Chenkoryan forward hit one that was pushed away by Walter Dukes, but that was as close as the Chenkoryans got to a goal at the beginning of the game. Lakan seemed happy during this point of the game, and it seemed like ABK scoring was imminent. But in the 31st minute, a Chenkoryan Forward received a pass from the Chenkoryan central midfielder. He raced up the sideline and shot. Well, at least everyone thought he had shot. But he had really used the move known as the Ellefson here in Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk, and slipped past his defender. The Ellefson is a move that has become common due to Jonathan Ellefson, hence its name. In the move, the player fakes a shot, and turns around and slips past the defender. Well, while the defender was off looking at the "shot", the Chenkoryan was in a one-on-one versus the DUkes. He chipped the ball past Dukes' right shoulder and ran to celebrate. Score: 1-0 Chenkorya. The Abdian fans in the stadium sat stunned, as the Chenkoryan supporters went nuts. On the ensuing kickoff, the Abdian team had a good start, but lost the ball on a hard tackle by a CHenkoryan defender. While Grieger called for a card, the Chenkoryan team entered a 3-on-3 against the ABK defense. A potential goal was stopped by Lloyd Miller who stepped in and passed the ball out. The first half ended at 1-0 Chenkorya.

The Abdian team had the kickoff at the start of the second half, and they put it too good use. Grieger kicked off to Kenny Vincent, both players who seem likely to get called up to the national team soon. Vincent chipped the ball into the far left corner of the field. Mark Brown, who had lined up on the half way line and sprinted straight downfield. It lloked like Vincent overhit it, and the Abdian fans groaned. However, by some miracle, Brown was able to reach the ball, and hit a pop-up ball into the middle of the box. The Chenkoryan Goalkeeper came out lazily, as it seemed like an easy grab. However, Karl Fox had a different idea. Fox sprinted into the box and leaped over the surprised goalkeeper. The Chenkoryan defenders tried to stop him, but it was too late. Fox headed the ball into the back of the net. The Abdian fans erupted. Both sides got a few more chances in the game. However, both sides failed to capitalize, despite some close chances. Chenkorya nearly missed on a ball that sailed just over the crossbar. Grieger nearly headed in a corner, and a volley of the foot of Minor went just wide of the left post. The game seemed doomed to overtime.

Louis Grant was subbed on in the 86th minute, along with Marty Locks. He received a few passes. However, his shining moment came in the 2nd minute of injury time. Grant ran up the side of the field. Minor had just stolen the ball He slunk up, trying not to be noticed. It looked like Chenkorya would steal them ball. But wait! Minor passed to Fox Grant waved his hand for a through pass, and he got it. Fox hit a beautiful ball right past the Chenkoryan defense. Grant raced up and tapped the ball ahead. It was him versus the goalie. Grant deked left, and the goalie totally fell for it. He then shot right, hitting it off the post with a clunking sound and past the touchline. Suddenly, his teammates were mobbing him. ABK had won the game.

Chenkorya

Scorers:
Chenkorya Forward 31'

Starting 11:
Chenkorya Goalkeeper
Chenkorya Defender
Chenkorya Defender
Chenkorya Defender
Chenkorya Defender
Chenkorya Midfielder
Chenkorya Midfielder
Chenkorya Midfielder
Chenkorya Forward
Chenkorya Forward
Chenkorya Forward

Substitutes:
Chenkorya Goalkeeper
Chenkorya Goalkeeper
Chenkorya Defender
Chenkorya Defender
Chenkorya Defender
Chenkorya Defender
Chenkorya Midfielder
Chenkorya Midfielder
Chenkorya Midfielder
Chenkorya Forward
Chenkorya Forward

Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk

Scorers:
Karl Fox 46'
Louis Grant 90+2'

Starting 11:
Walter Dukes
Henry Willis
Henry Ward
Charles Tate
Lloyd Miller
Karl Fox
Wendell Minor
Mark Brown off 86'
Harley Kent
Al Grieger
Kenny Vincent off 86'

Substitutes:
Sean Strickland
Dennis Harris
Slade Checavez
Dennis Zick
Richard Morris
Jeff Thompson
Edouard Beaubien
Al Keeran
Louis Grant on 86'
Edouard Beaubien
Marty Locks on 86'

[Darmen]

Darmen wins Game Two of DBC
Group D

Team		       GP	W	D	L	P	F	A	D
Swartaz		        1	1	0	0	3	2	0	2
Stuffed Taxidermists    1	1	0	0	3	1	0	1
Di Lianzio		2	1	0	1	3	2	2	0
Darmen		        2	1	0	1	3	1	1	0
Cassadaigua		2	0	0	2	0	0	3	-3

So Darmen isn't exactly in the best place in the Group Table, but they did beat Cassadaigua. The one nil victory came after a Gene Turko goal in the 73rd minute. Darmen will play Group Leading Swartaz next. Here is what Turko had to say about the upcoming match, "All I can say is that we are going to whoop their asses."

Manager William von Kreisler took a different approach to the upcoming game. "Swartaz is a very talented squad, and we can't let our guard down when we play them. We need to keep the game close through the first half, and in the second half we need to get aggressive and hit em hard."

With a win over Swartaz, Darmen hypotheticly could move into first, depending on the goal differential. Even a draw would help Darmen, as it could put more distance between Darmen and the bottom of the table, which would be a welcome gift after the disapointing finish in DBC 18.

[Erathore]

OOC:This is Part 1 of 2 on the U-21s win against Delaclava. The second part will appear tomorrow in a separate post.

---

Isidoro Nao was the man of the match in the game against Delaclava as the youngster nabbed 2 goals to increase his U-21 tally to 4 in 5 appearances, along with 8 goals in 6 appearances for the senior side. The whole team performed flawlessly against Delaclava. We're going to take a look at the squad members and review how they performed in this match.

First up is Roberto Bennedetto. As expected by one who has won 53 caps for the senior squad, he had no problems at all handling the opposition, only having to make a handful of saves. He looks good and is definitely a mainstay for the senior squad and for FC Mildrid, where he has made 284 appearances. There have been a few rumors of him wanting a transfer but he and FCM management have since denied those rumors.

Piqué was solid. Nothing got by him. He controlled the ball wonderfully and it was fun to see him push up the pitch before distributing. He will fit in at any top club in the world. The current starting defenders for the national team are quite young so Piqué is going to have to fight to earn a place in the starting lineup. He has confirmed rumors that he is looking for a transfer away from Tinuviel FC, where he has made 80 appearances and found net twice.

Moving onto Ramos. He did a good job but he was too eager to push up the pitch and attack. This lead to a hole on our right side at times but Piqué and Carvalho were able to compensate for that. Still it caused several near goals. On the plus side, I was thoroughly impressed at his ball control and dribbling skills. He pulled some fancy moves that left the opposition on their asses at times so that was good to see. He's enjoying his time with Volerander FC in Swartaz.

Perido Carvalho did a good job as well. He was content to be the last man back and not push up the field. Nothing really to report here. He is content with playing with AF Mildrid, although he would like them to do better in Seria-A instead of the promotion-relegation routine they've been doing lately.

Seeing Wesley Hensen play was a real treat. The defender is capable of playing RWB/RB, CB, LB/LWB, LM, RM, LW, and RW. He has wonderful ball control and dribbling aswell as a strong and accurate shot as evidenced by him rattling the crossbar 3 times in the game. He turns 16 soon and will be eligible for professional ball. With the squad at Royal Vosaroni Antenelli being young, fit, and definite title challengers, there isn't much room for Hensen as a starter. And he is very much at that level of skill. Therefore he is looking to move abroad.

Marcello Alonoso, recently subject to a transfer to Hastmead Diamante as part of a deal for TBI starting winger Bethany Martin, played brilliantly today. He did a wonderful job of protecting the back 4 and transitioning the ball between the defense and offense. He is sure to impress in Osarius.

[Southern Cynocephali]

Léon D'Lote looked up from his notes at the sound of a soft knocking on his hotel room door. Rising from the small hotel desk he crossed the room to the door and looked to see who it was. He was greeted by the distorted face of his assistant, Stephanie Voiture, who looked up and down the corridor suspiciously. Opening the door, Léon greeted Stephanie with a nod and quickly ushered her into the room.

"You look good tonight Steph" spoke Léon as Stephanie entered the small hotel suite.

"Thanks Léon, but I'm not here for that. We have a problem." Stephanie replied cooly, keeping the tone professional.

"Eugénie is acting strangely. First it was just not finishing sentences, and forgetting what she was doing, but at dinner I caught her talking to her cutlery. I think that knock in the game against ABK has done something."

Léon sighed. This was just what he needed. Eugénie Lachappelle was a shining example of the talent that females could bring to the side. The fact that her father was on the board of the SCPA meant there was strong pressure from above to include her in the squad. Léon knew what the press would make of this, they'd say it was another example of the gender discrimination inherent in our sporting culture blah blah blah. He needed Lachappelle - including her in his squad did not weaken the midfield significantly in his mind.

"Where is she now?" Léon asked his assistant.

"In her room. Violette helped me get her back there before many people noticed. I think we should pull her from the squad for the match against Chenkorya."

"Very well. I'll contact the SCPA and tell them as well, so they don't get any surprises."

Léon turned, and returned to his desk. He picked up a stack of papers and handed them to Stephanie. She clasped the stack and sat down on the bed as Léon picked up the phone in his room and began to dial.

Looking over the papers, Stephanie found the team sheet and match information for the next match, against Chenkorya. She looked over their results and stats from the tournament so far, and recalled their match against ABK which the whole squad had watched. Despite being in last place, albeit at this early stage, they had been unlucky not to pick up a point in their last matchday. Stephanie realised the importance of the next match - even though they were on top and their next opponents on the bottom of the group, it was so early in the stage that a win for Chenkorya could move them to the top of the table. Stephanie made a mental note to push this point home with the squad later.In the background Stephanie heard Léon having a difficult time with the SCPA. *Yes, I know sir, but she is injured*. Smiling to herself, she looked over the notes again and began noting some suggestions for the next match.

Group G                   Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Southern Cynocephali      1    1   0   0     2    1   +1     3
2 Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk    2    1   0   1     3    3    0     3
3 Bergnovinaia              2    0   2   0     1    1    0     2
4 Socialist States Owen     1    0   1   0     0    0    0     1
5 Chenkorya                 2    0   1   1     2    3   −1     1

Satisfied, she returned the papers to a neat pile on the bed, as Léon hung up the phone. Visibly flustered, he looked at Stephanie with a look of anguish on his face.

"What did they say?" Stephanie inquired.

"They said we have to get a point from my next match or I'm gone. That's ju..."

As Léon began to lament his situation, a voice outside the room interrupted the conversation. Starting softly and growing louder like a passing vehicle, the cry of "NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRDDDDD" rang out from a frenzied female voice. As the noise passed the door of their room, Léon and Stephanie heard a follow up cry from a distinctly different female voice; "Eugénie! Eugénie! Come back here now!" and the sound of footsteps running down the hotel corridor.

Léon looked at Stephanie as she rose to investigate the commotion. Léon almost let out a small laugh before turning to the mini bar to drown his sorrows.

---

Line Up vs. Chenkorya

GK - Achraf Drif
RB - Dominique Carlton
CB - Octavio Siegel
CB - Zéphyrine Reynder
LB - Damien Gregorini
RW- Shon Hillegass
CM - Lossémy Karaboué
CM- René Adamo
LM - Frankie Vejarano
CAM - Yong Schweiss (c)
ST - Léon Lafontaine

[Bears Armed]

"So anyhows, Harrashia, please would you finish telling us about your experiences out at Marrfehk-Ing last summer?

"Hokay. Hwere had I got up to already before we were called for dinner yesterday?"

"It was an evening -- you and a few others were camping a few miles from the fort -- you heard a lot of noise from around it..."

"Ayyuh. Hwell, at first we all thought that that was just from some more of the celebrations going on there, and looked into the sky over that way in case there were any fireworks too as a surprise (although we wouldn't have seen much of them at that distance, of course, although sound was travelling well in the clear air up there on the shelflands...), even when Birren o Wirrenne -- the other Tiger Scout who was in my group -- said that the drums sounded less like Ursine ones to him and more like the Boorkish drums that he'd heard when his Clan's militia used captured gear for doing a re-creation of the famous fight at Boorkh's Rift for their annual pageant instead... but then several of us thought that we could make out the sound of gunfire, too, and didn't know what to make of that. We were talking about it, and about whether we should try to sneak closer to the fort so that we could get a better view of what was hrreally happening, when a badly-wounded Bear staggered out of the darkness and into the clearing where we'd pitched our tents!"
"Don't go any nearer to Marrfehk-Ing tonight," he gasped out: "Boorkh attack there, for true!"... and then he collapsed to the ground, unconscious."

"Uh-oh!"

"Hrright. So anyhows, we checked his wounds -- which included a serious cut deep into the right thigh, which either he himself or somebody else had already tried binding but hadn't done a very good job with, as well as various gashes elsewhere -- and gave him what first aid we could by lamp-light, because obviously we couldn't risk building the fire up again in case it attracted hostile attention. I recognised him, then, as one of the patrol from the 'Rangers of Iffurrien' who'd come along to scout -- in the military sense, rather than the youth organisation one -- for our expedition."