NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC - Late but now ready to go. Work sucks.

IC.

Welcome to Andossa Se Mitrin Vega for the 4th Edition of the Draggonnii Inviyatii. It is good to have each one of you here. The past tourneys have been very good and we now look to see who will leave ASMV as Champions this time around. Will it be NMS that defends their Championship? Will Sarzonia return to form and take the title? Will Starblaydia live up to their ranking? Will Casari or Jeruselem make some noise?

Or perhaps it will be someone like Dorian and Sonya, Geisenfried, or Qazox that hoists the trophy. Perhaps Ariddia is primed for a run at the top spot. Maybe even ASMV can do well in their own tourney. Nah - that wont happen.

OOC - Post your rosters and begin your pre-tourney RP. Group draw will be announced tomorrow after I hear back from some people who havent missed a DI yet. Play will begin on Friday after I get off of work.

IC -
Good luck to everyone who has entered.


GROUP 1 GROUP 2 GROUP 3 GROUP 4

Starblaydia Casari The Archregimancy Milchama
ASMV New Montreal States Jeruselem Sarzonia
McPsychoville Wentland Bequerelia Schiavonia
Ariddia The Islands of Qutar The Lowland Clans Haraki
Qazox Bazalonia Tessan Hypocria
Quakmybush Tynelia Dorian and Sonya Tilean Free States


MD1 1vs6 ; 2vs5 ; 3vs4
MD2 1vs5 ; 2vs4 ; 3vs6
MD3 1vs4 ; 2vs3 ; 5vs6
MD4 1vs3 ; 2vs6 ; 5vs4
MD5 1vs2 ; 3vs5 ; 4vs6

The top two squads will move to the Championship Bracket
The middle two squads will move to the secondary Bracket
The bottom two squads will move to the Consolation Bracket

Seeds were determined as per Star's suggestion in the WCDT for combining pools and placing two from each into a group.

The Bazalonian Federation of Soccer Associations will submit the following team to participate in the 4th Dragonnii Invitational, our A team is currently recovering from the semi-finals of the Cup of Harmony. As such we will for the first time in our Draggonni Invititational history be sending our B-team to perform at this DI.

Bazalonian BazaB Team

Style: -1 (5-3-2)

Jason Kents F
Richard Elete F
Michaela Dent M
Zack Wellington M
Walter Young M
Hector Ralph D
Frank Recc D
Ken Dinnal D
Andrew Jakings D
Simon Gilliard D
Paulk Kanga K

Substitutes:

Trent Iullo F
Adam Rocherford M
Kane Tent M
Kevin Kingston D
Hayden Peterson D
Paul Stravyionous K

Infighting for the Blue and Silver

Team, Ministry clash over coaching; Villeneuve: "Committee, my ass."

NEW MONTREAL - The ongoing battle over William Branstone's successor as head coach of the Paladins has entered it's first year with no sign of abating as passions rise on both sides of the debate.

After William Branstone's treason trial in absentia returned a death sentence for the Audioslavian, the Ministry of Morale announced that the fourth Draggonni Inviyattii would be used as an "open audition" for the coaching position, with a different candidate coaching each two of the guarenteed matches and the best coach being selected.

In reply to this fairly unorthodox method of coach selection, the team took an equally unusual step: side captains Paul Chasson and Gilles Villeneuve, along with forward Hubert Labranche and midfielders Charles Pilon and Jacques Toussaint held a press conference to declare that the Ministry's plan was "unacceptable" and would "promote instability and infighting within the organization", with the rest of the team standing behind them in a gesture of support.

Now, with Hubert Labranche recovering from an ACL injury suffered during club play, the coaching position situation has become even more critical than before, with a controversy brewing over the second forward spot. Will Hugh Faulkner come up and back to his original position? Will André Darcy step off the bench and get his chance to shine? Will the talented young fireball Billy Corcoran step up and get measured for Villeneuve's shoes after his probable retirement at the end of WC30?

Nobody will know for sure until the Paladins take to the pitch in ASMV.

This Time Qazox will send a squad of its best FEMALE Collegian players to the Dragonnnii Inviyatii and here's the roster (a +3 if possible)

Starters in BOLD
Goal Keepers-
Sallie Swopes -Bruxen State University
Aimee Schacher- Rockport State University
Tammie Dang- Iguana State University

Defense-
Adriana Stumbaugh- Iguana State University
Mindy Carbajal- Gothika State
Lois Eichler- Gothika State
Etta Delreal- Univ. New Recife
Dorthy Canale-

MIDFEILDERS
Cara Mullaney- Iguana State University
Adriana Mcgeehan- Univ. New Recife
Annika Speight- University of Fromburg
Aurora Maas- University of Bruxen
Aurora Grosse- Vogg University
Francisca Politte- Vogg University

FORWARDS-
Kerri Wind- Iguana State University
Dixie Thrift- Iguana State University
Dorthy Cropper- Univ. New Recife
Cara Glantz- Porter College
Hyppolite- Iguana State University
Ronda Mcevoy- Univ. New Recife

Do what ever you want... just don't kill them or god-mode them.

I Give My Opponent Permission
(and actively encourage them) To:
====================
Choose My Scorers
GodMod Any Goalscoring Events
Yellow Card Players
GodMod Other Events for Humourous Intent
====================

Style: +1
Starblaydia's Style (even if it's not used, it gives you an impression of how they play) will be +1: vaguely attacking

Notes:
1) Many of these players can be found in The 'Starblaydi Sports' Category (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Category:Starblaydi_Sports) on the wiki. If they're anybody, they're linked to their article in there. Plus you get grammatical lessons in this note too, this time, so good for you, hope you learned something!

2) The best starting eleven are, thankfully, numbered 1-11 and are in bold

3) I actively encourage, nay nearly demand, that if you RP first you pick my scorers (if any).


http://www.starblaydestudios.co.uk/Images/SFA-Logo.gif
Starblaydi Squad Announced
The warm-up for Khim's last chance?

The Staff
KA. Khim Azanulbizarn (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Khim_Azanulbizarn), Manager, 65
58 Caps, 6 Goals (10 Caps, 4 Goals at Under-21 Level (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Starblaydia_Under-21s))
Probably the most-famous football-playing Dwarf in the world, Khim's long reign as Under-21 Manager put him in good stead after his upgrade to the senior side in the wake of Nikola Lazerevski's retirement after World Cup 25's glory, finishing Third in World Cup 27 and winning World Cup 28. Players who have served him well in the Under-21s and the testing ground of the Draggonnii Inviyatii and Ylompics have formed this solid core of his team.

GE. Geraint Evans (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Geraint_Evans), Assistant-Manager, 65
46 Caps, 8 Goals (17 Caps, 4 Goals at Under-21 Level)
The manager who brought the fifth AOCAF title home in a historic World Cup/AOCAF double, Geraint makes a fine assistant to Azanulbizarn in the World Cup stage, tempering the Dwarf's more... 'outlandish' ideas into something akin to normal.

JO. Jaime Oberlander (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Jaime_Oberlander), Coach, 41 - World Cup 25 & 28 Winner
68 Caps, 84 Goals (14 Caps, 1 Goal at Under-21 Level)
Starblaydia's only two-time World Cup Winner, Jaime became coach of the Under-21 side immediately after the glory of World Cup 28.

The Goalkeepers
1. Paola Mendez, GK, 29 - Huntress United - AOCAF14 Winner
12. Balin Grimzabar, GK, 32 - Karak Ungor Chiefs - World Cup 28 Winner
19. Ely Proudfoot, GK, 35 - Akisa Surta (Vilitan Declasse) - AOCAF14 Winner

The Defenders
2. Tabitha Di Bradini, RB, 25 - Daii Raiders - AOCAF14 Winner
3. Yattaro Serviché, LB, 21 - Iskara Daii
5. Stephen Adams, CB, 24 - Francopolis Coastal (Legalese) - AOCAF14 Winner
6. Darijo Cravex, CB, 19 - Jhanna City
13. Magdalena Ruiz, LB, 26 - Tabeck Lightning - AOCAF14 Winner
14. Herge Costa, C/RB, 26 - Hallad Reavers - World Cup 28 Winner
20. Christian Averette, R/CB, 23 - Hersch Albion

The Midfielders
4. Tara Niodonna, C/DM, 28 - Daii Raiders - AOCAF14 Winner
7. Petyr Kaminsky, R/LM, 29 - Internashionale - World Cup 28 Winner
8. Fillipo Zinaldi, Captain, AM, 27 - Vecchio Victors - World Cup 28 Winner
11. Rajko Dakic, LW, 20 - Internashionale
15. Talenii Karo, D/AM, 22 - FC Farça
16. Donii, CM, 25 - FC Farça - AOCAF14 Winner
21. Marissa Cortez, C/LM, 28 - Lightbringers - World Cup 28 Winner
22. Matteo Prizzoni, C/RM, 24 - Vecchio Victors - AOCAF14 Winner

The Forwards
9. Lawrence Asante, CF, 23 - Snowcroft City (Legalese) - AOCAF14 Winner
10. Jacqueline Maitland, SC, 27 - Tuncastle Rovers - AOCAF14 Winner
17. Janica Rocca, SC, 28 - Daii Raiders - World Cup 28 Winner
18. Johan Keifner, CF, 30 - Tabeck FC - World Cup 28 Winner
23. Kaza Matranga, SC, 18 - Oatka United (Legalese)

The Formation
http://www.starblaydestudios.co.uk/Images/StarDI4.jpg

Home And Away Kits:
Kits created by:
http://www.starblaydestudios.co.uk/Images/ediraflogo.jpg
http://www.starblaydestudios.co.uk/Starblaydia/Kit1.jpghttp://www.starblaydestudios.co.uk/Starblaydia/Kit7.jpg

The Tilean National Soccer team would like to announce their application to this tournament, which will also be there first tourney outside of Tilea.

The team will be as follows

GK: Nikas Milakana
DF: Juno Karachi
DF: Ryan Ecredi
DF: Ali Ibn Sayid
DF: Jakob Irons
MF: Escran Dilapo
MF: Tohok Ugrana
MF: Ichiro Nakumi
MF: Lukas Rodek
ST: Eric Neil
ST: Markus Inkaro

Coach: Lutern Mikaranik
Sub list will be provided as appropriate.

OOC) I give permission for opponents to pick scorers and goal style, but not injuries. Yellow cards may be godmoded but Reds must not

The Tilean National Soccer team would like to announce their application to this tournament, which will also be there first tourney outside of Tilea.

The team will be as follows

GK: Nikas Milakana
DF: Juno Karachi
DF: Ryan Ecredi
DF: Ali Ibn Sayid
DF: Jakob Irons
MF: Escran Dilapo
MF: Tohok Ugrana
MF: Ichiro Nakumi
MF: Lukas Rodek
ST: Eric Neil
ST: Markus Inkaro

Coach: Lutern Mikaranik
Sub list will be provided as appropriate.

OOC) I give permission for opponents to pick scorers and goal style, but not injuries. Yellow cards may be godmoded but Reds must not

There is a sign-up thread and sign ups for the 4th Dragonni Invitational have closed. If you are not one of the 20 nations that are listed in the first post then sorry but you cannot play in the DI. If you want to play soccer then I'd recommend signing up for the 30th World Cup http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=489617

The official Jeruselem C--- team because everyone else is training for the World Cup or Women's World Cup, or the clubs refuse to release players. Last DI3 players were not available due clubs thinking they were actually useful unlike the current "mob".

Formation: 4-4-2 (0)

Coach: John Jerk

Brother of ped-Joe Jerk, but is nothing like him. Aiming to emulate Harry Kool's amazing effort pushing Jeruselem 6th despite a really crappy team. Doesn't realise his team is even worse.

GK - Finn Fumbles 15. Conceded 10 goals in games once, against a bunch of girls but one of those girls was Dazza Dallas.
GK - Sabe Fass 16. Guy with a bad attitude and never gets on with his defenders either.

DEF - Deif Lepard 20. Been around but totally useless. Plays best when in a wall.
DEF - Mohemmed Kaif 17. Parties too much and skips far too much training. Could be good if he applied himself.
DEF - Denni Kosh 14. Sort of player who loses the ball when she forgets where it is.
DEF - Leon Sash 16. Promising player but being perenially unfit has left him out of teams.
DEF - Saffa Eboni 15. Lazy player, really lazy!

MID - Kimmie Reeves 15. No relation of Keanu Reeves the WC28 and WC29 player and nowhere near as talented or useful.
MID - Salma Silverstein 18. Mainly a reserves player because she never commits to anything. Claims to be better than Dazza Dallas for some odd reason.
MID - Jackie Jones 16. She really tries but has no real talent. Got to feel sorry for her.
MID - Iman Habat 14. Calls himself a free kick specialist but likes to aim the soccer ball at the moon instead.
MID - Fezz Dafa 17. Plays dirty, too dirty. Has more red cards than a confetti display.

STR - Grommie Hoza 16. Named the "Phantom" because he's never around when you need him
STR - Sammie Smith 15. The sort of person who misses goals at one foot, but can score them at 10.
STR - Pierre Paz 17. Likes corners, including firing shots into corners.

(Y to everything but within reason please eh?)

((OOC- anyone else still not able to log in? still can't log as Tynelia))

<a herald comes forth from the Royal Palace with a document in hand>

“By order of His Most Noble, Righteous and Benevolently Beloved Majesty King John IV the following Lords and Knights of the land shall represent the honor of Tessan against the best the world can offer. No doubt these brave and virtuous men shall bring glory and renown to our kingdom and His Majesty. In addition His Majesty wishes to make it known that the knight who does indeed slay the dragon will be rewarded with a barony of their own. Even the commoners accompanying the knights will be knighted if by some fluke it is they who strike the deathblow upon the mighty dragon.”

Style 2-1-7 (style +5)- naturally adjust down to whatever the max offensive styles is if its less than +5

Coach/Player-Sir James Kenmore age 33- still the epitome of knighthood and leading Tessan scorer in the first WC try. Hopes to slay the dragon to ensure his status as the greatest knight of all time. Was named coach over the prince because King John doesn’t want his son getting the blame if things go badly.

F- Sir James Kenmore age 33
F- Sir Borrus Black- age 22 one of the younger knights who dreams of rescuing a princess and winning her hand in matrimony. On a lesser note he is a good passer.
F- Royal Prince Jeffery Pierson age 24- second son of His Majesty, plays well and was the second leading scorer in the WC. Is here against his father’s orders who feels dragon slaying is too dangerous for one of his own
F- Squire Jacobs age 18- youngest player on the team and squire to Sir James. In game terms that means he will 8 times out of 10 be passing it to Sir James
F- Sir Garrad Colton age 32- first mentioned to the king about the sport and got a spot on the team as a result
F- Sir Brian Dallas- age 34- probably the most skilled of the forwards even though getting a bit old for dragon hunting some say
F- Sir Dashon Boonermann age 31 – Prince Jeffery’s personal guard and stays on the team to keep an eye on him
Reserve F- Squire Damon League age 18 rumored to be the best player in the country in a few more years he must work his way up the ranks if he is going to start at some point.
Reserve F- Goodman Fredrick Lee age 29 the token commoner of the World Cup who is not expected to play much if at all despite playing reasonably well in limited action.
Reserve F- Sir James Pierce age 22- the King’s squire newly knighted and thus his spot on the team, currently serving the Prince

M- Baron Gordon Kingsfoil age 29 has built his own soccer field on his lands at the king’s command which has served as the team’s training area and was given a spot on the team as a result. The only other true noble left on the team
Reserve M- Yeoman Karl Peters- age 24 part of the King’s new plan to add commoners to the mix so that way if the team plays badly he can blame the commoners. Has some ball control skills
Reserve M- Sir William Kendricks age 23 best ballhandler of this team but too junior to be a starter, knighted since the World Cup and probably would start if not for the Baron’s rank.

D- Sir Jacob Allensworth age 34- picked up the sport very quickly and is a very good defender which leads to some mocking by the younger knights who prefer the flashiness of goal scoring
D- Sir Justin Crey age 29 actually knows what’s he’s supposed to be doing out there and ironically this means the defense is probably the strong point of the team, lost his barony by decree of the king for failing to defend the crown prince’s net properly during the WC
Reserve D- Merchant Tim Tommons age 24 his father bought him a spot on the team after a good performance in the local league. Good stay at home defender and rumored to be a cautious man in the trade as well.
Reserve D/M- Freeholder Mark Mallus age 20 forced to sell off some of his inheritance, Mallus hopes to do well here to gain a reward or a rank which will allow him to keep the rest and support his wife and three children without having to sell more. Fortunately he is a natural at the sport despite only starting the sport a year ago.
Reserve D- Squire James Williamson age 19- due to be knighted next year Squire James hopes to gain glory here to ensure his knighting with proper glory.

Keeper- Yeoman Carl Martin age 30- the man who should have started last Cup according to some, very quietly and out of the king’s hearing. He got the start after the King announced that the Crown Prince had no more time for such frivolity and had to get ready to rule some day. The same whispers claim the king didn’t want to see his son embarrassed again like last time.
Reserve Keeper- Goodman Alan Jones age 25- another local player of some skill who picked up the game rather quickly but still must prove himself on a bigger stage.

My opponent, if they RP first, may:
Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod Scoring Events Y, but don’t make me look too bad
RP injuries to my players N
Godmod injuries to my players N
Hand out Yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out Red cards to my players N
Godmod Other Events Y

Several players will be unable to attend due to club commitments abroad, and hence Ariddia is only sending sixteen players. Granville, Mataitai, Finnan, Zandberg and Smith have temporarily been promoted to starters. Also, substitutes Gikenyi and Collins have been called upon from the women's national team, in order to have enough backup players.

This is the first time ever that Ariddia's entire starting midfield is composed only of women (Kyaw, Eosh, Finnan and Zandberg). Nine of the sixteen players are women.

Roster:

GK: Cécile Granville (11)
DEF: Eot Ja (20); Aush Song (7); Selan Mataitai (23)
MID: Hanifah Kyaw (capt, 3); Wol Eosh (6); Jeanne Finnan (18); Keshet Zandberg (14)
ATT: Michelle Dru (2); Nathalie Simon (5); William Smith (15)

Substitutes:
GK: Damien Dhiver (1)
DEF: Eo La (17); Kanika Gikenyi (12)
MID: Christophe Argentier (19); Marjolaine Collins (4)
ATT: Dave Rider (21); Trevor Komu (10)


OOC: You can hand out cards to my players, and injure them as long as it's not severe, but please do not choose my goalscorers. If applicable, Ariddia will play with a +4 style modifier.

The Unicorns Come Back For More Fun


Dorian and Sonya Mystical Unicorns Roster.

Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod Scoring Events Y
RP injuries to my players N
Godmod injuries to my players N
Hand out Yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out Red cards to my players Y
Godmod Other Events Y Nothing Too Extreme

Style -1. Formation 3-4-3

Nickname:Mystical Unicorns
Colors: Pink, Black, & Lime
Home Field: Elanesse Tulcokelume (White Hall)

Head Coach: Luthien Oronar, 32
Forwards Coach: Lessien Arnatuilë, 28
Midfield Coach: Sunni Oganyan, 27
Defender Coach: VI Sanpaolo, 29
Keeper Coach: Ettie Stibbins, 25
Trainer: Fransisca Centore, 24

Roster

Starters
Pos # Name Age Race
GK 18 Daniella Riskin 19 Human
RB 11 Tisa Laos 18 Halfling
CB 21 Nessa Elendil 22 Elf
LB 44 Taunya Skursky 20 Halfling
RM 30 Tári Falassion 17 Elf
OM 33 Maurita Deni 19 Human
DM 31 Brigette Deteso 19 Human
LM 38 Nátulcien Eluch`div` 21 Elf
RF 14 Avril Auerswald 18 Elf
CF 01 Zana Jablon 17 Human (Islander)
LF 40 Altáriël Telperiën 21 Elf

Reserves
GK 13 Alassea Sáralondë 22 Elf
RB 10 Deetta Torris 16 Halfling
CB 54 Elidia Spika 17 Elf
LB 20 Sixta Nommay 15 Elf
RM 7 Lashay Niesman 16 1/2 Elf
OM 12 Bethey Cangiano 18 Human
DM 49 Burma Krzak 17 Dwarf
LM 26 Carlita Botwinick 18 Human
RF 3 Ghislaine Suggett 19 Dwarf
CF 9 Makeda Kuwahara 20 Dwarf
LF 99 Neida Garrington 16 Halfling

http://http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/DSWC29kits.png
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/DSPitchChart.gif

Ready and waiting for the groups

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/SylMedCen.png

Queen Sonya Sabre sat in her chamber awaiting the group draw for the 4th D I which is to begin on Friday. The D I was a favorite tourney of the Queen and the Unicorns, both the squad and queen love to visit ASMV and don’t really get to many chances to do so with all of the different squads and sports going on everywhere .

But now we are here and its almost time to start the tourney so all the sight seeing and visiting will be coming to a halt soon , but until than the Unicorns will be visiting with all our friends and enjoying the wonderful sights of ASMV.

This years tourney is not as full as some of the others we have noticed that some of the favorites in the tourneys before are not here (maybe not yet at least) such as Milchma, Tadjikistan , Krytenia, The Archregimancy, Cuation , Mr Chuck Norris, Spaam, just to name some of the few that have not shown for the tourney , they all will be greatly missed and I hope to see all of them again soon on fun grounds of relaxed play like we have with the DI. Now we love to compete with all the different squads in the WC
But sometimes you just need to relax and have lots of fun with no pressure on how you finish .

So that being said we are more than ready to begin the fun and hope to play some good matches against the wonderful squads that have come to play. Win or lose we don’t really care right now we will just enjoy the nice quiet matches playing with some of the best squads out there. And yes ASMV gets in some of the Top Dogs of the WC here so the level of completion is very will paced which give us a chance to train-up on new things .

Queen Sonya sat back an thought for a moment maybe I had better go talk to the squad and get some new training added to the girls schedule while we wait on the group draws.

MFA Offices Alexandria

"Hey the Draggonii Invitational has started."

"Well what Milchama team are we sending there, are we going with the U21s again?"

"Ummm... we didn't sign up."

"What!? How could we not sign up?! Whoever was in charge of this I want fired!"

"Ok sir, we could always ask ASMV for an exemption of some sort."

"Sure, we could try that but I doubt it will work."

"Well do something to rectify this wrong or else there will be consequences."

"Ok, sir! I'll get right on it."

"Good boy"

OOC: Sorry for not signing up, I would still like to participate if I could but since I'm getting internet access for only the 2nd time this week on a really really really slow hook up in the Zion Canyon Lodge I don't think I'll be RPing much if at all.

THE MONASTIC TIMES

ARCHREGIMANCY ENTERS DI AT LAST MINUTE
Nation Represented by Steam-Powered Robots

By Fr. Nicholas the Scribe

The Monastic Football Association today announced that it was, at the very last minute, accepting an invitation to enter the fourth Draggonnii Inviyatii tournament.

Due to pressing commitments elsewhere, and the fact that trials are currently underway to put together an entirely new team for World Cup 30, the Archregimancy will not be represented by real players in this tournament.

Instead, the MFA will be sending a squad of eleven steam-powered robots, all called 'Eusebius'.

"It's not an ideal solution" said a senior archimandrite, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Personally, I would have preferred some more technologically modern artificial intelligence technology, but the more conservative monks thought that smacked of 'playing God', and gave me a stern lecture on the rebellion in Eden. So steam power it is."

Sources close to the team are concerned that bugs still exist in the Eusebius robots, which may lead to the squad underperforming in the DI - though others have pointed out that the nation traditionally underperforms in the DI anyway.

"So long as the coal doesn't run out, and the 'players' regularly stop by the sideline to have their furnaces stoked, there shouldn't be too much of a problem" said yet another senior archimandrite, also speaking on condition of anonymity. "And besides, anyone trying to hack one of them down is likely to break their foot."

Other nations are said to be concerned over the injuries that may be caused to their players should a Eusebius fall on top of them, but the MFA have promised that said injuries should not be life-threatening unless an opposition player's head is crushed underneath the robot's furnace.



OOC - all Archregimancy squads play an Orthodox 4-4-2 formation, +0.

RP instructions: Do as thou wilt is the whole of the law.

A special note from the Draggonnii Inviyatii Selection Committee -
To Participants of the 4th Edition DI.

Milchama and The Archregimancy have signed up for the DI, albeit very late. After much consideration, it has been deemed that both nations will be allowed to compete due to the very important fact that neither nation has missed a DI in the past.

Since the addition of these two nations now puts the DI at 22 rather than 20 entries, it has been decided to add 2 more nations to the participants list. Tynelia would have signed up if they were able to access the forums themselves. Thus they have been entered and specific posts made for Tynelia through the nation of Tessan will be allowed. But that still leaves us one nation short of being able to offer even groupings. For that reason, and that reason alone, Tilean Free States has been added to the entry list and groupings. Though it will be very hard for an unranked nation to be competitive, we do like their spirit and strongly encourage them to enter WC30 as well.

MD 1 will be posted around this time on Friday. So RP away and let’s have some fun.

The Group Draws can be found in the first post of this thread along with information you might just need.

"Great.. just Freaking Great... I was the best Coach that Qazox ever had and now I'm coaching a bunch of freaking girls from college in a tourney that don't mean ****." Jason Bourne, former coach of the national team muttered to himself. "Just becuase of that last freaking game against Bostopia I'm outta cushy job and now becuase now one else in that freking-ox loving country has international expierence coaching I'm hired.. Just Freaking great."

A fax machine went off somewhere and Bourne went to take a look, 'Maybe Its a QFL team looking for a new coach..' he thought.. but it turned out to be the Group draw and schedules for the 4th DI. "Lets' get this train wreck over with' he mumbled to himself and "Hmmmm... This just might be doable after all...."

(his notes are scribbled after each team)
Match Day 1- ASMV (they just stink in thier own tourney... a possible win)
Match Day 2- Starblaydia(probably gonna send a B or C team)
Match Day 3- Quakmybush (upstarts.. time to show them the pecking order around here)
Match Day 4- McPsychoville (over-acheviers)
Match Day 5- Ariddia (under acheviers)

[QUOTE=Andossa Se Mitrin Vega]A special note from the Draggonnii Inviyatii Selection Committee -


Tynelia would have signed up if they were able to access the forums themselves. Thus they have been entered and specific posts made for Tynelia through the nation of Tessan will be allowed.
QUOTE]

((OOC- actually i had zero plans to sign Tynelia up for this because i have no desire to try to keep up RPing two nations outside the WC proper and thought Tessan would be more fun here. In the interests of keeping things moving i'll stay but after this post to give the other teams some names to work with in their RP i won't be RPing Tynelia at all in this))


IC-
Coach- Bill Jones age 60

Formation 4-5-1 style (-5)

Roster

F- Jim Michaels age 24
Reserve F- Joe Anderson age 29
Reserve F/M- Mike McWilliams age 21

M- Tina Allens age 25
M- John Marshall age 22
M- Karl Marsis age 33
M- Hillary Doe age 19
M- Jared Ferris age 28
Reserve M- Milt Thompson age 22
Reserve M/D- Nathan Norris age 20

D- Colin McNeal age 22
D- Justin Davis age 35
D- Adrianne Baltos age 28
D- Kyle Collins age 26
Reserve D- Mia Mills age 22
Reserve D- David Grant age 38

G- Tom Braddock age 25
Reserve G- Richard Harrison age 18

<Tynelian Soccer Federation HQ located in the capital city of Tyr>

“Mr. President. Why didn’t you tell me that we have a team at the Draggonnii Inviyatii?”

“What are you talking about Jane? We’re not sending a team there this year. We have booked the World Cup squad on a national tour to take on all our local teams to try and change our luck in the WC. Coach Billington feels that the team has put too much effort in the DI and they fall apart in the WC because of it.”

“But Sir, its right here!” Jane replies showing TSF President Miles O’Hara a copy of the newspaper with Tynelia listed in group 2.

“What?!?! Who sent in an entry form? I told my secretary to make sure that ASMV was sent a message declining the invitation due to our conflicting schedules!”

“I don’t know what she sent sir but I do know that someone from ASMV just called wondering where exactly our team is at since the tourney begins tomorrow and .The call got forwarded to me since I’m the Director in charge of scheduling all our international travel arrangements and I know no one said anything to me about this!”

“Great.” Miles sat back sighing in disgust as he knew he had to come up with some sort of squad on short notice. “Wait a second, wasn’t there some sort of quarterfinals league match here today?”

“Yes sir, the Varrik Beachcombers beat the Tyr Ferrets 4-1 in a shootout, the match just ended.”

“Great call the Ferrets’ ownership and tell him to get his team to the airport, they’ve just been nominated to represent us at the DI.”

“But sir, the Ferrets just won the ‘Most Boring team in the country’ award for the third straight year. Their record of 18 straight 0-0 matches may never be broken unless they do it themselves next season. Why would you want them representing us in the DI?”


“Dammit Jane, we don’t have time to be choosy, the Ferrets are here right now and they don’t have any other engagements planned so they’ll have to do. We still need to find new hosts for the TSW show after we had to fire Spikeman and Dalespin for screwing up the names of every nation in the world so I have no idea who will even cover these matches! Now don’t just stand there, get on the phones, get the Ferrets to the DI and tell that ASMV rep that the team is on the way. Then after that’s done find out who the hell sent in an acceptance reply without my approval! Heads will roll for this!”

“Yes sir, right away.” Jane replied leaving quickly as President O’Hara shook his head in despair knowing nothing good will come of this.

John Jerk looked at his "team". He recognised most of them as they were the players club teams tended to avoid. Most Jeruselem teams ATTACKED in the World Cup and Women's World Cup also the Under 21 World Cup, but Harry Kool did some odd during the Draggonnii Inviyatii 3 - he created a defensive team. In that case, he had very few strikers but it worked! They finished 6th and scored lots of goals for defensive team.

John looked at records of his strikers - not something to inspire confidence in a coach so the 4-4-2 formation was the best bet as the defenders weren't exactly stellar performers either.

First training session, the boys whined like girls and the girls acted like thugs. He needed some divine help now. Even Moses would have given up in this mob.

When he received the Group draws, he was thankful he avoided Starblaydia. It was Group 3, the same one given to Women's World Cup 3 team - which was a good omen except he would have prefered the women's team.

He took down some notes
The Archregimancy - Favourites in group.
Jeruselem - God help us
Bequerelia - Dangerous
The Lowland Clans - We beat them everywhere so far, hope it stays that way.
Tessan - No idea, but optimistic
Dorian and Sonya - We'll loose against them, the boys will be distracted by good looking chicky babes.

((OOC- Tessan's RP. bah i hate using one acct for two different personalities...))

“Majesty!” the herald cried as he ran into the throne room, “The list of competitors also seeking to slay the dragon along with our knights have been received!”

“I see, hand me the list.” King John demanded. Given the group list the King studied it very carefully frowning at times as the nervous herald awaited before laughing out loud.

“This will be child’s play. I do approve of the idea of holding a tourney to see who is worthy of the right to go hunt the dragon. It IS fitting that only the mightiest set forth on the hunt. It is perfectly clear that the valor of my knights is indeed famous throughout that world that the creators of the event have stacked the deck in order to ensure our triumph in this group stage.”

“Majesty?” the confused herald replied questioningly.

“Bah it is as plain as the ink on this paper. Look at the teams we are facing. The Archregimancy, a nation of monks. Naturally they have been sent to us in order to pray for the souls of my valiant knights that they may triumph gloriously over the foul dragon threatening the land.”

“But sire, don’t you remember? We failed to defeat them twice in the world cup?”

“Fool!” The king boomed. “Obviously the stakes are far higher here with a terrible dragon lurking in these far away land than winning some petty chalice. Obviously they will pray for our success and step aside giving us an easy triumph to aid our progress. And look at the next team- Jeruselem. Why I’ve lost count how many times brave and just knights have travelled there under the banner of the church to free the holy land from its miserable oppressors. One look at our valiant knights and Jeruselem shall fall once more to our righteous ways and the holy city shall once more be freed from foreign taints!”

“Um sire I don’t think that’s…” the herald tried before being cut off.

“Of course you do not think, that’s why I am your king. A man worthy to hold the great burden of rulership with fair and just ways to make him beloved of all his people, even the commoner trash that serves no purpose in the kingdom. Who else? Ah yes the unwashed masses of the Lowland Clans. Clearly a bunch of semi-civilized barbarians that no doubt discovered the sport after kicking around the head of some kinsman that they beheaded because he stole the other’s keg of beer or some nonsense like that. The superior discipline of my knights shall set an example for the squires and possibly even the commoners if they possess any wit whatsoever. Before such steely discipline these Clansmen will be no match for my knights.”

“And the other two nations?”

“Why no doubt Dorian and Sonya will instantly fall smitten to the brave and shining visage of my knights once they step onto the field. While my knights are the most chivalrous of people and would not seek to take advantage of the fair maidens this country sees fit to place in danger by even entering them in such a tourney and risk their certain death against the dragon. You DO know that this nation is ruled by a woman don’t you? Hmm perhaps she might consent to become my eighth wife if she’s still unwed, that my knights can better protect her frail damsels under our unified banner. In any event, the women shall swoon before my knights and we shall carefully triumph without harming the maidens who will no doubt reward the chivalry of my knights personally after the match. After all women have no place in battle.

“The last nation is rather odd. Bequerelia. No doubt they were included so other nations would not see how clearly things have been arranged to ensure our triumph. Probably some low ranked squad that will not be a serious threat but my men should be aware that they are not part of the fix and not be caught by surprise. See to it.”

“But sire I think you may have misjudged…”

“GO I SAID! And send in the Crown Prince, he is still vexed that I forbid him from joining this tourney but a dragon fight is no place for my heir. I would have barred my other headstrong son as well from going along but he reminded me that someone needed to keep the knights in line and I decided this would be good command experience for him for the future. For the heir however it is his own people he must rule and so I have scheduled this progress through the nation to meet with my Dukes so he may gain valuable experience.”

“Yes sire, as you command.” The herald replied sighing in defeat that he could not get his monarch to understand the competition is far more dangerous than the King believes. Privately the herald felt they would not win a single match after the rumors he heard of these other nations. He could only hope that the king’s legendary temper would not be kindled by repeated defeats but he wouldn’t bet any tessas on it.

Gazetta de'Esporte

V&I watching closely.

Even though the V&IFA declined the opportunity to participate in the Draggonnii Inviyatii 4th edition, the event will not go unnoticed by V&I football professionals, as well as by V&I football lovers.

Indeed, the DI, albeit a non-WCC tournament, is considered to be one of the most exciting tournaments, and one that can show a nation's level for the coming few years. Many people know how a good DI can be a boost for the team's morale, and help them to new heights in the WCQ and the WC Proper. But V&I made a rather average participation in the 3rd edition, and it's with sadness that the Whites and Azures will not come back.

Stephen Fitzsimmons - "It's sad we'll not be back for the Draggonnii Invee (sic), because it's really a chance to measure ourselves to the big footballing nations out there. When we went in last time, we were far outside the top 40, and dispite there being only two or three teams ranked lower than us, we managed to end up above five or six teams. And it's by building on the success we had there that we've come to the end of a successful CoH, back-to-back with a great WCQ. The advantage of the tour of New Cyberia is that we'll be able to rest ourselves more in preparation for the WCQ, but I'd love to be part of the DI5."

Harrp Dynamique - "The DI is very interesting, because it's full of good teams playing good football. If I have enough time, I'll be following a lot of matches on TV, and I might even go to ASMV to be there."

O'Connor, Lidon and Marc also expressed their dissapointment at not going to the DI, all recognising that it is becoming "perhaps more a major tournament than the CoH"... The DI has surely become the most important non-WCC tournament out there, and V&I cannot ignore it. After impressing in successive CoHes and being one of the biggest loosers in the WCQ, V&I will surely prepare their dates for 4 years time with the DI in mind.

Channel 1, Unita 3 and RD2 have all negociated rights to have highlights from the DI, and RD2 and Channel 1 are still in talks with ASMV companies to acquire live feed of some matches, and have delayed feeds of others. But why such interest from a tournament that will clash with sevral dates of V&I's tourney of New Cyberia?

Johny Haleedai, 53, butcher - "Why the DI's better? Oh yea, I'll tell you. It's because there are top teams there! Oh yea! In New Cyb, there's only V&I that are any good at football now. Last time we played against a New Cyb side was a 4-0 win over Rox with almost none of the players that went to the WCQ or the CoH! Yea! The DI, ye've got Starblaydia, The Archreg, Casari, NMS, Jerusalem, Milchama, Sarzonia, ASMV, Schiavonia, Haraki, Arridia, McPsycho... Euh... Qutar, Wentland... And there are just... Too many good sides! I don't think there'll be many or even any boring games in the DI, whilst if V&I lose a single game in their tour of New Cyb, it'll be a joke... I mean, I didn't even know that Sekoku had eleven footballers until V&I announced they'd be playing each other... It'll be Sekoku's first ever international, man! It's just too big a difference between the competition of the DI and the boringness of the New Cyb tour to need a real explanation, in fact..."

Lohree Lahpoot, 21, pop singer and renouned fan of Dingam-Gué - "I'll watch the New Cyb tour because there'll be good players from Dingam-Gué there, but I'll watch the DI because there's more competition... And perhaps a couple of players will shine and Dingam-Gué will try to buy them!"

So it would seem that there's a real divide between the fans and the V&IFA administration, who maintained the tour of New Cyberia and turned down the possibility of entering the DI.

Romaqn Asd-bukr, V&IFA spokesperson - "The tour of New Cyberia is important for the V&IFA because it will allow us to promote football in New Cyberia, and as such, enhance competition within our region, and will help V&I become a better team on the long term. The tour of New Cyberia has been planned since 3 years now, and after deliberation with all parties involved, the V&IFA decided to maintain the tour, so that the players will be in optimal form to start the WCQ. We all know that the DI is a grand event, but we have concerns for the physical and mental states of our players, and we believe that they would be best served by a calmer and more relaxing event such as the tour of New Cyberia, rather than by a competition as intense as the DI when the WCQ loom merely months away."

Anyway... One thing's for sure : we at the "Gazetta de'Esporte" will follow both the DI and the tour of New Cyberia with lots of interest!

"BazaB's to duplicate the A Team Performance?" by Nev Gould

After managing to fight and dominate Spaamian Plijous in the quarter finals of the Cup of Harmony the Bazalonian A team was the first Bazalonian soccer team to reach the semi-finals of any tournament.

The BazaB team, the B soccer team for the Bazalonian national soccer association, the BFSA, had less success as expected in the 15th AOCAF, even though it was a home tournament. The home crowd expected to push the BazaB team into the quarter finals. However they just squeeking into the round of 16 where they managed to keep the number 1 Atlantian Oceania team, Starblaydia to a 2-1 score.

During a recent interview with the team that are currently in preperations for the tournament the team would no way let the A team hog all the glory "The AOCAF was our first international experience and now we've got that under our belt but now it is the time for us to show the world we can do." When asked about the prevous performance of the team in the DI the squad replied.
"Easy. over work, with club commitments, Cup of Harmony, the world cup qualifiers, AOCAF and DI. It was all just too much. But with just AOCAF, DI and club commitements we believe that for once we will not languish in the losers bracket."

There you have words from the team. We have still to wait to hear from the Hosts of the Draggonnii Invitational about the draw and fixtures. All that we know about what will happen during the DI is that The BazaB's are excited

I give my opponent permission to:
====================
Choose Scorers: Y
GodMod Goalscoring Events: N

Injure Players: N
GodMod Injury Events N

Red Card Players: N
Yellow Card Players: N
GodMod Other Events: N
====================

Sarzonia Stars

Coach: Mark Wingate (53 years old). With the sudden resignation of Brett Hancock as the national team's head coach, Wingate was the surprise selection of Dave Wilson as the team's manager. He looks to institute a return of "Sarzonian football," and intends to return the team to its winning ways.

Assistant Coach: Brian Wilson (42 years old). The only member of the former Stars teams to remain with the team after a phenomenal shakeup, Wilson was viewed by many as the heir-apparent to his father Dave. However, he turned down the Incorporated Football Federation's offer to take over the team.

ROSTER (starters in bold)

GOALKEEPERS
1 Frank Talbot (6'3, 195 pounds), FC Praeton, Praetonia. This 30 year old made a name for himself as the Stars surprised most experts by advancing to the second round of World Cup XXIX, where they took eventual runners up Audioslavia to penalties.
30 Travis McAndrew (5'11, 180 pounds), Bristol Braves. Spends a lot of time in the weight room and on the training pitch to improve his physique, which already forced him to get an unlisted telephone number. At 26 years old, he'll likely be fending off the advances of admirers for years to come.

DEFENDERS
2 Jerry Wagoner (5'10, 155 pounds), Tyrol Tigers. This 25 year old has great speed from the left side of the pitch. Often marks the opposing team's best forward, especially if he's a pacey sort. Doesn't do as well with more physical forwards, so he may be taken out of matches or moved to defensive midfield late.
3 Harold Donovan (6'0, 190 pounds), Wilmington Wanderers. At 27 years old, Donovan is one of the main cogs behind the youth movement instituted by Wingate upon his ascention to the coaching ranks. Donovan provides more of a physical presence than Wagoner and can play left back in a 3-5-2 formation.
4 Jose Yancy (6'4, 205 pounds), Woodstock Wild. A consummate sweeper, Yancy is improving quickly in his role as one of two central defenders in a 4-4-2. Should the team play a 3-5-2, the 31 year old Yancy will likely remain at sweeper because of his lack of speed.
5 Gene Campo (5'9, 145 pounds), Portland Timbers. Another pacey player, he's improving as a man-marker but is more famous for being an offensive-minded defender. He turned 24 years old so he has enormous upside. Wingate may consider playing him in midfield in future World Cups.
6 Jesse Leahy (5'10, 170 pounds), Nicksia Knights. He's 25 years old but as the son of a university league coach, he is known for more savvy than most players his age. His speed isn't that impressive and he's prone to make physical mistakes when trying to dribble out of danger.
14 Bobby Rauch (6'1, 175 pounds), Rochester Raiders. With diplomatic relations between Sarzonia and Pacitalia now non-existent, the 30 year old Rauch left a contract with Puntafora in the Pacitalian league and has since made his home in Rochester.
15 Daniel Shelley (6'2, 200 pounds), New Jerusalem Nobles. Shelley is known as one of the most physical defenders in the Sarzonian Football Confederation. He led the league with seven yellow cards and three red cards. At 24 years old, he has plenty of time to learn to curb his temper.
19 Louie Rhyne (5'7, 135 pounds), Woodstock Wild. This 34 year old gets under the skin of a lot of playmaking midfielders or strikers and is one of the tightest man-markers in all of Sarzonia. Will likely be participating in his last World Cup.

MIDFIELDERS
7 Chris Tunstall (5'8, 140 pounds), Joe Gibbs University. Just came off a championship winning season at the nation's premier university and was preparing to go to medical school when Wingate called and asked him to come to training with the national team. He turned 25 years old the last day of training camp. Plays a determined defensive midfield.
8 Richie Griego (5'11, 165 pounds), Woodstock Wild. A powerhouse on the left flank, Griego is also a tenacious defender and has enormous upside at 27 years old.
10 Brad Clausen (5'8, 150 pounds), Portland Timbers. Team captain. This 32 year old has it all: Dribbling skills, passing skills, leadership, the ability to stay focused for up to 120 minutes if needed. The only thing he doesn't do well is penalties, going four for nine.
11 Adam Purvis (6'1, 190 pounds), Izistan City F.C., Izistan. The 28 year old can score off headers or from the right flank and is often the designated corner kick man from the right side.
12 Marco Lee (5'9, 145 pounds), unaffiliated. Played in The Beltway's football league until the country fell into civil unrest, the 26 year old Lee was called up to the national team and left Thurgood Marshall International Airport before the civil authority shut down the airport. His dual citizenship gave the national team pause until they confirmed he never earned a cap for The Beltway. Known for being a solid central midfielder.
13 Brian Hall (6'3, 195 pounds), Saugerties Snakes. Hall is somewhat lanky, but he's also very physical in midfield. The 27 year old has a bit of a temper (four cautions in 22 league matches last year) and isn't the fastest player on the pitch, but he brings toughness to the team.
16 Allan Knutsen (5'10, 152 pounds), Rochester Raiders. The 23 year old Knutsen is known for being a sparkplug on the pitch when he comes in after the 60th minute. He can disrupt opposing defences with his speed and his left-footed shot, but he loses pace if he plays longer than 50 minutes.
17 Clayton Weisel (5'7, 130 pounds), S.C. Georgestown, Inkana. At 26 years old, Weisel has played a full schedule in Inkana five times, scoring a total of 62 goals in six seasons. He earned a starting job last season with his dangerous play from the left side.

FORWARDS
20 Steve Jacobson (6'4, 205 pounds), Woodstock Wild. An excellent target player, the 32 year old Jacobsen led the SFC with 29 goals in 31 league matches last season. He's got a combination of power and deft touch, but is especially deadly with headers.
23 Larry Cornwell (5'11, 165 pounds), Rochester Raiders. With the Raiders' recent success in international club competition, Cornwell has a chance to make an even stronger impression as a withdrawn forward or attacking midfielder. He turns 27 years old the first day of the Draggonnii Inviyatti.
24 Hugh Baker (6'1, 180 pounds), Portland Timbers. More of a finesse forward, Baker led the Timbers with 24 goals. After being injury plagued for several seasons, he has only missed one game the past two seasons for a death in the family.
26 Lance Wachowiak (5'8, 158 pounds), Saugerties Snakes. Wachowiak perhaps should be a playmaking midfielder, but the logjams at midfield have him playing forward for both the national team and his club team. The 29 year old scored nine goals in two thirds of the season, so he does have the touch.

The Title Defense From - Maybe Not Hell, But Someplace Close

World Cup Champs just the top of the iceberg

ANDOSSA SE MITRIN VEGA - With a coaching controversy and an injured star, the Paladins are quickly stumbling into a very difficult title defense. With the group draw announced, there's not much left to do except close our eyes, grit our teeth and pray like the dickens:

Casari - World Cup Champions. Home of Bob the random drunk. Highest profile match of the group stage, and liable to be highly unpleasant for us.

Wentland - Perpetual underacheivers will challenge for a championship bracket spot, probably at our expense.

The Islands of Qutar - Same vintage as Wentland, and same sort of challenge.

Bazalonia - It's been a while since we've faced the Bazalopes in the DI, and we're sure they've improved remarkably and will demonstrate it amply on our sorry selves.

Tynelia - A last minute addition to the tourney. We suppose it's better than having Arch or those dang Milchamans dumped in our group, but still.

As for a roster - nobody'll know for sure until the side takes the pitch.

To the organizers of the Draggonnii Inviyatii, we must regretfully announce that unforeseen consequences means the Royal Federation of Geisenfried must withdraw from the tournament. Our apologies.

Gazetta de'Esporte

Draggonnii Inviyatii endangered?

Giesenfried made an announcement that stunned many footballing enthusiasts around the world, when instead of announcing a list of players, they announced that they wouldn't be able to participate in the tournament.

However, for DI organisers ASMV, this comes at an unfortunate time, since the groups have already been drawn. And since the groups were all seeded, it's probable that the team that replaces Giesenfried will need to be in a different pot, and as such might require new groups...

But the problem is more than just organisational. With the DI almost starting, many people in ASMV are also feeling that such a withdrawl reveals something is wrong with the DI. Some newspapers have promised full-depth enquiries into the internal problems of the DI, so that they can suss out why Giesenfried are pulling out so late, and why the ASMVFA had to plead with The Archregimancy and with Milchama to assure as high a standard in this fourth edition as in the previous three.

When the DI started out, it was a tournament for "the best". ASMV didn't hide it's ambitions to challenge the best there were, and teams in the top 10 that didn't accept to be part of the DI1 were rare. The DI2 retained all the prestige of it's illustrious predecessor, with almost all the teams within the top 30 in the world rankings, and no side outside the top 80. But come DI3, the level suffered a bit. Almost all the teams were powerbrokers, but there was already a few darker patches on the report... V&I were in it dispite being nothing like one of the best teams, and even teams in the top 20 hesitated to join. Now, with DI4, it seems that the powerful teams have become bored with the DI, allowing for much lesser sides to join, and many of the big names either absent or in only because of ASMV's insistance... But now even the smaller sides have begun to snob the DI. V&I's FA caused domestic quibbles when they opted for a tour of New Cyberia instead of DI4, and now Giesenfried have dropped from the running... Dispite having requested to enter.

So why is the DI in such lack of interest? Well, perhaps the main elements to understand the problem lie within the DI themself. Situated only one year before the beginning of the WCQ, and only months after the end of the CoH or World Cup Proper, the DI is seen by both federations, managers and players as "one tournament too many". With players ranking up 40 or 50 games in their domestic leagues, a competition as intense as the DI would prevent them from regaining top form after long sequences in the CoH/WCP and preparing a good qualification campaign. And right from the start, many of the "big" sides understood that. Why risk the WC? Send the B team or the juniors to the DI. From then on, it could only be downhill. Since they were only B teams, there was no continuity between one champion side and the side that would defend the crown in the following edition, since most of the players had changed. This lead to instability, but also to the impression for "smaller" sides that if they sent a mix of A and B players, they might get some silverware... If the team is ranked outside 60th, chances of going to the WCP are slim, so why not send a strong side as to earn experience and perhaps silverware? But if smaller sides are in it, then many of the more renowned sides won't feel like the competition is worth it. Why send a B side to a competition where they'll be playing against the B sides of other top nations, and A sides of much weaker foes?

The DI wanted the greatest teams there were... And it seems to be going the other way. However, this is only the 4th DI, and should ASMV handle the siuation well, they might set the DI back on the tracks of glory with Giesenfried's withdrawl... Or it could be a massive nail in the DI's coffin.

The training camp for the offseason Draggonnii Inviyatii was a very lighthearted place- After all, a miracle run to the World Cup and having a trophy smiling at you out of the case doesn't leave much pressure for a friendly tournement.

Except for Nina Lear, of course. Getting run over by a car left her as the token teammate they could take the cup to in the hospital and such, and to be honest, that sucked. That sucked hard.

But now, thanks to the help of a freakishly large medical congolomerate, 8 doctorate-holding Chairs of Medicine and Robotics from 5 different Universities, and another good part of the Casaran Soccer Authority budget, Leir was back. It took the replacement of one leg below and one above the knee with a lot of roboticy-bionicy crap that she didn't understand, but as long as it worked, she was good to go.

She walked into the training field with noone to great her and walked all the way into the dressing room where the team was sitting around. Robert Scoir was the first to see her. Blinking a few times, he went through a mental checklist trying to comprehend what he was seeing before coming up with a reasonable conclusion.

"Coach Hill? You never said we were playing with a robot."

Casari Plays a 3-1-2-1-3 Formation with a style modifier of 0. Please try not to kill anyone, particularly the attractive ones.

Name Age Pos Prior Experience
Vivica Hill 46 General Manager WC24-29
Vivica Hill 46 Head Coach WC24-29
Greg Ruhlman 46 Assistant Coach WC27-29
Edward Roe 40 Offense Coach WC29
Giancarlo Fivialli 48 Defense Coach WC24-29
Bri Norman 46 Goalkeeper Coach WC24-29
Salvidore Rooney 41 Head Scout WC29
Nickolas Veran 51 Head Trainer WC24-29

The Starters
No. Name G Club Age Pos Prior Experience
19 Nina Leir F Prescott FC 24 LF WC29
34 Scott Edmonds M West Baronies SC 25 CF WC29
78 Kyle Reimar M Shelby FC 25 RF WC29
4 James Leriani M Cornerian 29 FM WC28-29
7 Cid Awisan M Tyrellia City 24 LM WC29
5 Anna Eri F Tyrellia City 23 RM WC29
84 Will Seirori M Presscot FC 25 HB WC29
66 Will Samson M Tyrellia City 32 LB WC27-29
43 Scott Nermeier M Factory Row SC 30 CB WC27-29
72 Cari Alls F Winton Market SC 25 RB WC29
2 Mina Darcosi F Presscot FC 25 GK WC29

The Backups
No. Name G Club Age Pos Prior Experience
77 Lee Deo M United Arcadian FC 23 LF Rookie
9 Robert Scoir M Tyrellian International 32 CF WC28-29
11 Lari Elsise F Cornerian 31 RF WC27-29
41 Patrick Ride M Brooks FC 24 FM WC29
21 Leonard Fillmore M United Arcadian 29 LM WC27-29
19 Reginold Edson M Shelby FC 32 RM WC27-29
8 Javis LeMurry M West Baronies SC 37 HB WC25-29
22 Oscar Swanson M Shelby FC 33 LB WC27-29
50 Terry Isar M Queenstown SC 33 CB WC27-29
72 Cari Alls F Winton Market SC 25 RB WC29
14 Richard Yons M Leyton FC 23 GK WC29
98 Fredrick Els M Brighton Hill FC 24 GK WC29

"DI Groups Announced - BazaB's could struggle" by Nev Gould

With the following list of the nations the BazaB's are going to face hopes of getting at least into the secondary bracket are facing a large amount competitors.

Casari - Ranked 8th in the world, we expect to lose, but hopefully not by too much. The Casarans had reached the semi-finals but only that they won their co-hosted tournament. They may be a bit tired and the BazaB's may just be able to exploit that. Despite this all gambling organisations are putting the short odds on this team to get into the Championship bracket

New Montreal States - It has been a while since we faced the NMS Paladins, we have improved since then, but we are not sure about the Paladins. Whether we have improved enough to be able to win against them is looking doubtful but in soccer you never know.

Wentland - Wentland, we knew thee well, Well, we did at one point. The Wentland team was ahead of us from day 1 in the competition but they seem to be stagnatting around the 40's while we are continuelly improving ourself. This is a game we could certainly win or draw ... or lose.

The Islands of Qutar - Probably a bit harder to win against than Wentland but we still have a decent chance. IF the BazaB's are going to progess into the secondary bracket we are going to have to either win against one of these or draw against both...

Bazalonia - It is really hard to predict where we are going to finish the tournament we are just so close in the group. If we can get to the secondary round we'll probably end up on the bottom of it but that is better than the top of the consolation bracket.

Tynelia - A list minute addition but they where in our Cup of Harmony group and they may be looking for retaliation against us for our win and trip to the Cup of Harmony semi-finals. Whether they can achieve this is another matter all together.

The Islands of Qutar National Football Team

Team Roster


Name Position Age Caps Goals

Peter Stone GK 32 71 1
Peter Turner GK 31 3 0
David Wright GK 25 0 0
Nick Saunders DEF 32 72 1
Dominic Kelly DEF 34 74 0
David Howell DEF 33 73 0
William Lemkes DEF 31 72 2
Peter Swan DEF 23 0 0
Mark Froggatt DEF 21 0 0
Nick Daynes DEF 22 0 0
Harry Paget DEF 22 0 0
Sam Tomlin MID 33 63 1
Sam Wildgoose MID 29 28 2
John Gordon MID 33 67 3
David Parker MID 32 72 1
Nick Rogers MID 33 21 0
Oliver Smith MID 33 7 0
Rhodri Morgan MID 21 0 0
Damien Orban MID 22 0 0
Ali ATK 34 71 77
Tom Siese ATK 32 63 23
James Lemkes ATK 35 11 3
Stefanos Armaos ATK 19 0 0


Qutar Sports News Network

Today a press conference was called by the QFA about the team being sent to the Draggonnii Inviyatii, with Qutar progressing through to the Second Round, Philip Davies was true to his word he brought us to the next stage of the World Cup, and in various newspapers across The Islands of Qutar he has stated his desire to win the Draggonnii Inviyatii. Well the President of the QFA; Alonso Valvona along with the Minister for Sport George Hall, are coming out now, so we'll take you live to the conference;

Alonso Valvona: Hello and thank you all for coming hear today, I'm delighted to say that of course Philip Davies' contract has been extended for the next two World Cups, and we here at the QFA are delighted with what he's done for the team, so I'll hand you over to him

Philip Davies: Thanks Alonso, I really think that we can win this, we have a squad at its peak with very expierenced and still very talented players at the helm, with the young talent give us an edge should we need it. Here is my ideal First XI team for the qualifying matches, we'll be playing the 4-4-2 formation that has worked for us so well recently

First XI


Name Position Age Caps Goals

Peter Stone GK 30 71 1
Nick Saunders DEF 30 72 1
Dominic Kelly DEF 32 74 0
David Howell DEF 31 73 0
William Lemkes DEF 29 72 2
Sam Tomlin MID 31 63 1
Sam Wildgoose MID 27 28 2
John Gordon MID 31 67 3
David Parker MID 30 72 1
Ali (c) ATK 32 71 77
Tom Siese ATK 30 63 23


Substitutes


Name Position Age Caps Goals

Peter Turner GK 29 3 0
David Wright GK 23 0 0
Peter Swan DEF 21 0 0
Mark Froggatt DEF 19 0 0
Nick Daynes DEF 20 0 0
Harry Paget DEF 20 0 0
Nick Rogers MID 31 21 0
Oliver Smith MID 31 7 0
Rhodri Morgan MID 19 0 0
Damien Orban MID 20 0 0
James Lemkes ATK 33 11 3
Stefanos Armaos ATK 17 0 0

Allow opponents to select goalscorers: Y - infact, I insist on it. If you roleplay before I do, choose my scorers
Allow opponents to godmod goalscoring events: Y
Allow opponents to injure players: check with me first
Allow opponents to godmod injuries: see previous answer
Allow opponents to hand out yellow cards/red cards: If a red, check with me first
Allow opponents to godmod anything else under the sun: Y

The Lowland Clans Stars - The ASLC National Team
Manager: Casey Dellet
Staff:
Assistant Manager - Luke Meltiot (TLC)
Striker Coach - Paulo Devinho (TLC)
Midfield Coach - James Fenworth (BED)
Defence Coach - Ulli Lopitenkov (TLC)
Keeper Coach - Larry Maceuwen (TLC)
Chief Trainer - Kim Ji-pak (UCS)
Press Secretary - Jean-Jacques Marceaux (OLI)
Manager of Football Operations: Daniel Davies (TLC)
Formation: 4-4-2 - Style +1
* denotes starters
C denotes Captain

Starting XI:
GK - Darien Santander, Okehampton Citizen
DR - Garry Delvecchio, Heartland Central
DL - Yuri Kvendazi, Graham City FC
DC - Ryan O'Rory, Dublin Clovers
DC - Kellen Markoff, Hearts United
MR - Elliott Deldier, Graham City FC
ML - Krotos Daganopolis, Highlanders
MC - James Kingston, Grand Captiva
MC - Iska Djukashenki, Heartland Central
ST - Jonathan Kavanagh, Vancouver FC
ST - Ryley Bloudin, Limassol United

Substitutes:
GK - Paulo Mentinari, Highlanders
GK - Mark Kali, Liverpool City
DR - Illia Yukevno, Northampton FC
DL - Adam McKinley, Limassol United
DC - David Wentworth, Old Quebec
DC - Popa Kantopolis, Highlanders
MR - Michael King, Okehampton Citizen
ML - Darryl Mekij, Liverpool City
MC - Dorian Carrick, Fort Manchester
MC - Terry Maceuwan, Nottingham Forrest
ST - Christopher Landry, Hearts United
ST - Colin McClintock, Sheppard's Well

National Team Kit Providers: JMC Sportswear
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/Krytenia/TLC3.png

Hyppos To The Rescue


That’s right folks. Several years after their self imposed international sporting exile the Hyppos have returned. Mere hours after receiving a call for help from our friends up north in Andossa Se Mitrin Vega the Autocracy’s finest, eager to get back into action after the recent quarter final exit in the AOCAF, touched down in ASMV ready for DI action. And no, we’re not simply gate crashing the party. We’re on the list. Geisenfried’s last minute withdrawal left a hole which needed to be filled quickly, so here we are. And in Group 4, apparently.

Having been preparing for Geisenfried Group 4’s other teams may not be entirely happy about having a brand new side thrust upon them. Although, given the Hyppos record in past DI tournaments they could well be delighted. Certainly Milchama won’t be shaking in their collective boots at the prospect. But after the Warriors stole our place in the finals of World Cup 27 the men in blue and white have been itching for a rematch. And then there’s Sarzonia. We’ve actually lost track of how many times we’ve faced the Stars before. And, aside from a couple of wins over second string Sarzonian teams in the AOCAF, it’s been largely one way traffic. We’ve never played the talented Schiavonia or hugely experienced Haraki before so maybe the element of surprise will help level the playing field somewhat. And as for the Tilean Free States . . . not a clue.


Draggonnii Inviyatii 4th Edition

Special Guest Nation: Hypocria


The Squad

Coach

Marcus Baxter
After Alex Santoro blew the final whistle on his long tenure in charge of the national side following the AOCAF defeat to Krytenia, Baxter finally had the opportunity to go it alone. The former midfield maestro is a legend in the Autocracy having made 145 appearances for the Hyppos. After a brief spell in charge of the Under-21 side Baxter became Santoro’s assistant with the seniors and was at his side through the recent tournament in Bazalonia.



1. Alexei Lomaia (GK)


2. Evan Hunter (RB)

3. Bruno Espartero (LB)

5. Tony Webber (CB)

6. Nestor Drago (CB)


4. Adam Bassano (CM)

7. Hernan Ferron (MR)

11. Robert Bercali (ML)


8. Carlo Molinari (RW)

9. Rafael Dudamel (CF)

10. Alex Sousa (LW)


Style

A wildly attacking +4

Formation

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i142/Hypocria/4-3-3.gif


Kit

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i142/Hypocria/HypposHome.png http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i142/Hypocria/HypocriaAway.png

Quakmybush will send its national team.

4-2-4

-1 playing style

Defenders Age Goals Caps
Greg Hughes (s) 24 0 17
Bob Hughes (s) 24 0 17
Jorge Valez (s) 21 0 17
Harry Gait (s) 32 0 17
Cameron Juteer (r) 23 0 0
Gary Tertes (r) 37 0 0
Frank Manu (r) 19 0 0

Midfielders
Jon Fields (s) 24 6 17
Ryan Fret (s) 25 2 17
Chris Bricking (r) 30 0 0
Travis Gerts (r) 31 0 0
Joey Sturm (r) 29 0 0

Forwards
Darrel Ralegigh (r) 39 0 3
Cory Sorley (s) 18 2 17
Ben Miller (s) 21 1 17
Andrew Plett (s) 22 2 17
Mike Martin (s) 24 1 14
Micheal Dets (r) 27 0 0
Owen Targreeev (r) 24 0 0

Keepers
Cam Carroll (s) 21 0 0
Andy Berard (r) 22 0 0
Hubert Yurt (r) 45 0 0

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod Scoring Events Y
RP injuries to my players Y (no one dead)
Godmod injuries to my players Y (no one dead)
Hand out Yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out Red cards to my players Y
Godmod Other Events Y

Woodstock Daily Mail
Ryan Calvin

Stars look to improve on disappointing showing

The mood surrounding Stars training camp for the fourth Draggonnii Inviyattii tournament is considerably different from how the team marked its last match in the third tournament.

After an all-new Sarzonian national football team earned a surprising second round appearance in World Cup XXIX, the Stars have set their sights on reversing the decline the team experienced after losing the third place match in World Cup XXV.

"The bar has always been set pretty high," said Sarzonia Coach Mark Wingate. "When you have a team that has always been in play for the World Cup finals, even in the three World Cups the team has failed to advance to the final 32, you don't expect to just compete."

Competing may have been the only thing left for the Stars after back to back group stage eliminations in the World Cup finals dropped the team's ranking to 19th in the world, but Sarzonia won a Group 7 that included Rejistania and took eventual World Cup finalists Audioslavia to penalties in the Round of 16 match before finally bowing out. Even so, the team cautions against proclaiming its return to the football elite.

"We haven't advanced past the second round since when, World Cup XXV," goalkeeper Frank Talbot asked. "Until we can make another run at the top and bring the World Cup back to Sarzonia where it belongs, we aren't back where we need to be."

"We had a good series of results in the last World Cup," forward Steve Jacobson said. "But we need to be able to take it to the next level and keep improving. This tournament will be a good place to start."

Indeed, the one salve in the decline for the Stars has been the Draggonnii Inviyattii. Sarzonia won the first two tournaments, rallying from a mediocre 1-1-1 record in the group stages to capture the first-ever trophy. They then rolled through the schedule to take the second trophy. The team finished ninth after defeating Hypocria in what was to be their last-ever full international match.

However, the Hyppos have returned at the behest of Andossa Se Mitrin Vega due to Geisenfried's withdrawal. Hypocria will be among the opponents the Stars are expected to face in Group 4 play. In fact, the Hyppos will open the schedule for the Stars.

"It's going to be interesting to watch," Wingate said. "I don't think there's going to be anything significant about it besides the fact we expect a very good match."

The other opponents will be a Haraki side the Stars have never faced, along with a Schiavonia side that Sarzonia have also never faced, and a newcomer side in Tilean Free States.

"I've got [assistant coach] Brian [Wilson] scouting Haraki and [goalkeeper coach Horace Sandt] scouting Schiavonia," Wingate said. "I've chosen to scout Hypocria myself. Hor's going to scout Tilean Free States."

However, the team will save its most strenuous efforts for the top seed in its group, Milchama. Besides being a sporting rival, the Stars and Warriors plain don't like each other.

"We all are going to scout Milchama. We've already got the tapes ready to go and it'll likely be a marathon session," Wingate said. "I've already called the couch [to sleep on]. Hor's probably going to bring sleeping bags for him and Brian."

Besides Hypocria, the Stars have the most familiarity with the Warriors. Unlike the Hyppos, the team also has contempt for Milchama.

"The feeling's mutual. They don't like us, we don't like them," Jacobson said. "That's all I'm going to say about it."

The Vegan Fubori Liaga and the Draggonnii Inviyatii Selection Committee would like to issue the following statement concerning reports from certain unnamed media sources regarding the status of the DI and the situation surrounding the withdrawal of Geisenfried as well as the absence of nations normally present.

The DI is not in the apparent danger that some may think it is. Reports have made us out as “beggars” looking to fill the tournament. But one can look at the number of entrants, and the DI is stronger than ever. Still here are the likes of Starblaydia, Casari, NMS, Jeruselem, Sarzonia and so many more. The absences of Tadjikistan, Krytenia, and Cuation are merely events that will happen as other things take precedence over participation in such an event. The withdrawal of Geisenfried is something we have become accustomed to in AO. It happens.

At no time could our actions have been construed as begging for the entry of Milchama or The Archregimancy. There was a courtesy extended to regular DI entrants that had not signed up as of the deadline. Others were sent as well but did not reply. This should be constued as common courtesy - not begging.

We are pleased to announce the arrival of good friends Hypocria to fill the void. What would a DI without the Hyppos present be anyway. Someone has to challenge Ariddia and ASMV for biggest underachievement in the tourney.

But seriously, with Hypocria replacing Geisenfried we feel little need to redraw the groupings as the two are similar in their rankings and Group 4 also boasts an unranked side.

The Draggonnii Inviyatii is now open and scores for MD1 will be available shortly.

Oh Yeah. My roster would be helpful
Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod Scoring Events Y
RP injuries to my players Y
Godmod injuries to my players Y nothing severe
Hand out Yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out Red cards to my players Y
Godmod Other Events Y nothing that keeps my players from playing very long

Style:(-1). Formation:3-2-1-2-2 Tidal Surge

Team info:
Team Name - Sea Dragons
Team Colors - Columbia Blue & Yellow
Home - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea

Coaching Staff
Edgar Moroni - 65 - GM
Pao St Martinique Head Coach. Age:39
Isabella Toni- ASST Coach - Offense. Age 35
Unami Banta-N'bai - Asst Coach - Defense. Age 43
Roberto Ricci - Director of Scouting. Age 40
Sara Burnsides - Head Trainer. Age 37
Kellan Kildan - PR Director. Age 61

Starters:
#1 - GK Shaun Conarky, 36

#51 - RB Micah Swift, 36
#50 - CB Genesis Galluccio, 24
#59 - LB Fidal Vianal, 24

#40 - RWD Allyson Shade, 34
#42 - LWD Anika Milosavic, 25

#38 - CM Arobi Khazir-Zarazoroba, 21

#22 - RWM Jenni Ulrich, 30
#23 - LWM Evan Evans, 37 - Captain

#10 - RF Porche Alexander, 32
#13 - LF Pablo Iglesias, 34

Reserves:
#4 - GK Jenna Jaffray, 25
#55 - D Bok Werizky, 22
#44 - WD Kasey Kurzinski, 15
#30 - M Marlin Altreche, 24
#00 - WM Kendrick Pu, 25
#12 - RF Leena Draghi, 22
#15 - LF Ali Devincenti, 24

Sea Dragon Hall of Fame:
Pao St Martinique; Forward injured in WC25 opener turned friendly. Has become world-class coach. Original 11.
Malachi James; Began career at forward, switched to wing midfield. original 11.
Unami Banta-N'bai; Leader of the feared ASMV defense. Original 11.
Unori Banta-N'bai; Brought pure speed to the ASMV defense.
Kristov Kirelenko; Center Midfielder for 4 World Cups. Origianl 11.
Tomas Carrington; Left Wing defender that made the transition to the Sea Dragon's "Tidal Surge" style possible.

MD1 Scores


Group 1
Starblaydia 4:0 Quakmybush
ASMV 2:0 Qazox
McPsychoville 1:1 Ariddia

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Starblaydia 1 1 0 0 4 0 4 3
Asmv 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3
McPsychoville 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
Ariddia 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
Qazox 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0
Quakmybush 1 0 0 1 0 4 -4 0

Group 2
Casari 3:0 Tynelia
New Montreal States 7:0 Bazalonia
Wentland 0:3 The Islands of Qutar

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

New Montreal States 1 1 0 0 7 0 7 3
Casari 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 3
The Islands of Qutar 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 3
Wentland 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0
Tynelia 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0
Bazalonia 1 0 0 1 0 7 -7 0

Group 3
The Archregimancy 3:1 Dorian and Sonya
Jeruselem 2:0 Tessan
Bequerelia 2:0 The Lowland Clans

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

The Archregimancy 1 1 0 0 3 1 2 3
Jeruselem 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3
Bequerelia 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3
Dorian and Sonya 1 0 0 1 1 3 -2 0
The Lowland Clans 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0
Tessan 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0


Group 4
Milchama 2:0 Tilean Free States
Sarzonia 2:1 Hypocria
Schiavonia 1:1 Haraki

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Milchama 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3
Sarzonia 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 3
Schiavonia 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
Haraki 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
Hypocria 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0
Tilean Free States 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0

Jason Bourne sat in his office after the 2-0 loss to the hosts of the Draggonnii Inviyatti.

"@#$* &&*&* @#^@&*# #@&@^*#^!!!!!" was all the girls he was coaching heard through the walls.

"I don't think I've heard that many cuss words even on the Tenors or even LIVETREE." said Kerri Wind after dressing. "I think the coach is pretty steamed at us."

"Well what do expect?" replied Aurora Maas, "We're a bunch of college girls going up against guys about 5 or six years older than us."

"I think he's pissed off because Tammie let in 2 penalty kicks" said Ronda Mcevoy.

"Go play with your vibrator" Tammie Dang replied. "Ain't my fault that Mindy twice kicked that guy in the nuts!!"

"HEY!!! That Summabitch was trying to feel me up.. what else should I have Done? Strip and give him a lapdance??" Mindy Carbajal answered.

The recriminations bounced back and forth until a low voice spoke...

"Who really cares? We lost. We're not expected to win anyway, that's why they sent us. The national team's too busy trying to qualify for WC 30, the Women's team is in the 3rd World Cup. Let's just forget about this one loss and consentrate on Starblaydia. Let's do the impossible. a team of girls beating one of the best teams in the world." Said Hyppolite.. who until that moment hadnot spoken more than a few words ever in her life.

When Jason Bourne came in to talk with the girls, he noticed that somehow they seemed more focused, and ready to take on anyone.

'Hmmm..' He wondered "i should have cussed them out in my office before the match.."

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/SylMedCen.png

Unicorns Struggle in DI Opener

Queen Sonya Sabre sat quietly in her suite in an ASMV hotel. The result today had been expected. The Unicorns were little match for The Archregimancy. But the match had been better than expected. Altariel Telepren had managed to score in the 30th minute to pull even at 1 all. But the Monks had pulled away in the end. As said, that had been expected.

The biggest surprise of the day was the arrival of the Hyppos to the DI. Supposedly retired from international sport, it was wonderful indeed that the squad made the trip to ASMV after Geisenfried pulled out at the last minute without regard to the tournament organizers. But we would rather see the Hyppos anyway, so all is fine from our perspective.

Unfortunately the Hyppos played Sarzonia on MD1. A very close 1-2 loss could probably be attributed to jetlag as much as the difference in rankings. But we are glad to see them here and in competition again.

It was two nights before the opener against Bazalonia. The team sat in its luxury charter on the runway at Pierre Laporte Intercontinental Airport in New Montreal. The only caveat was that no coach had yet been appointed.

Gilles Villeneuve and Paul Chasson were the last men aboard the aircraft. "Gentlemen," said Villeneuve, "good evening. We'd like to introduce our new coach..."

"On behalf of the Ministry of Morale. Just kidding! Those bastards couldn't find a guy this good in a million years," said Chasson.

"We're sure he'll be acceptable...to us, at least. And now..."

"Without further ado..."

"No introduction needed..."

"Nor explanation required..."

"The one..."

"The only..."

"SHUT THE F*** UP AND GET TO THE POINT!" Charles Pilon weighed in from the bar.

"I was about to, before we were so rudely interrupted by ginbreath over there," said Chasson. "And now, I give to you..."

"...Mr. Hubert Labranche!" Villeneuve and Chasson shouted in unison as Labranche stepped on board. A round of applause came from throughout the plane.

"Too kind, really," said Labranche. "And my first executive order - you," he gestured towards rookie forward Billy Corcoran, "fetch me a G&T." He posted a sheet of paper at the front. "And here's my lineup for the Bequerelia game."



Coach: The Studly Genius Hubert Labranche

GK Paul Chasson

D Yannic Laurier
D Mitch Broughton

MF Fabrice Labranche
MF Marc Tessier
MF Charles Pilon
MF Jacques Toussaint
MF Albany Plattsburgh
MF Petr Hunyadi

F Gilles Villeneuve
F Billy Corcoran



--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The team basked in post-victory glory in the locker room. Labranche was smiling. He turned to the rookie who had taken his spot in the lineup.

"So, Billy, how'd it feel to be a hero?"

Billy Corcoran smiled from the other end of the locker room. "Feels good. Do I get a gin and tonic of my own now?"

"Sure, Billy. I'll go get some ice from Hell, right after it freezes over. For that - you get to make me another one. Right now."

"Yessir."

Even a hat trick didn't disqualify the rookie from the duties of the post.

Labranche's cell rang. The locker room fell silent as he called: "Gentlemen, it's the Ministry of Morale. Let's hear what they have to say."

The next few minutes was silence, punctuated only by Labranche's occaisional neutral replies. As he closed his phone, he smiled. "They're letting me stay on a part-time basis." He put the phone in his pocket. "Either that, or there's nobody who'd dare come out here and steal my job."

PALADINS 7 - Corcoran 13, 55, 57, Villeneuve 18, 40, Faulkner 30, Tessier 38
BEQUERELIA 0

TOURNAMENT SCORING

Corcoran 3
Villeneuve 2
Faulkner 1
Tessier 1

John Jerk was talking to his team after team had beaten Tessan TWO NIL

"Great game team. But there's a few things we have to work on. Watch the back passing! We don't have Jeruselem World Cup keeper on our team and the keeper is not clairvoyant as well. When you back-pass, make sure the keeper knows or they'll be own goals as a consequence. Another thing is we should keep formation a little better. Some of the defenders are dropping off far too quickly and sometimes oppositon see this as an opportunity to attack. Don't be lazy and drop off to quickly. This isn't a training run, it's real games - we're here to win. The worse thing is, stop arguing with yourselves. Sure people make mistakes but everyone here seems to make the same mistakes. Being a big mouth does not help. Remember, play as a team but a bunch of individuals. Great skills level, but guys - we need application. Not 45 minutes of effort, I WANT 90 MINUTES. Some of you need to lift the game still as you go missing for part of the game. Other than that, 3 points and 2 goals. We were lucky we didn't concede any goals as Finn made some strange decisions. OK guys. No letting up. The other favourites won their games and everytime we lose, it's dangerous. I may not be the World Cup coach but your effort here might help you with your careers. You guys are on the slide and I'm here to correct it. I want to play regular games in JPL but before that happens, you must show yourselves as worthy here. If 14 year old schoolgirls can beat some of you girls into the Women's World Cup team, then you are not trying hard enough OK?"

<the team look around and think>

"Tomorrow, I want 110% effort in training. Some of you are unfit and some look fat. Soccer is about mental and physical fitness. We need both to succeed. For now, get cleaned up and we're going back the hotel. Think about your careers in soccer now. This is your last chance to show the world you are worthy to make the real Jeruselem team. It's not what you say, but what you do. Use your head, not your mouth."

King John IV sees his herald arrive with the latest results from the first of what was certainly a token gesture by the other nations in the DI which would allow his knights to advance and win the right to slay the great dragon the tourney was preparing for.

“Yes my good herald, please tell me. How much of a token effort did our first foes present before falling nobly to defeat at the hands of my brave knights?”

“Um sire. I see I’m the first to bring you the news but..”

“Yes, yes out with it man. 6-0? 7-0? Or did we take opity and win by a narrow 5-1 score or some such thing?” the king demanded impatiently wondering why this herald was so fearful of bringing news of their glorious triumph. If of course defeating a squad which was rolling over like a well trained pup to allow his knights to advance.

“We, lost sire.” The herald replied haltingly.

“What? Who dared to ruin our glorious progress? It was those fiends from Becquerlia wasn’t it? I knew from the start they were a ringer in this group.”

“No your Majesty. It was Jerusalem.”

“What? Those thrice damn unbelievers! How many times do our noble and righteous knights go forth in glory for the church and the freedom of the Holy City and this is the thanks they show us. Hurting our chances to slay the great dragon threatening the world? Talk about ingrates! See if any of MY knights go forth the next time they start crying about foreign invaders trying to crush them and need help. Make a note of it.”

“Yes sire.”

“Bah, well our next match will certain return things to their proper role I am certain. Who are we playing next?”

“The Archregimancy sire.”

“Ah good, the monks will no doubt step aside for us after we nearly bested them but instead settled for a draw in our last match against them. Surely they will be fasting and whatever else monks do to purify themselves or something so they may better aid my knights with their prayers after my knights prepare themselves to face the dragon.”

“I hope so sire. I just hope they don’t side with the infidels because we make the sign of the cross backwards from how they do it.”

“WE make it backwards? You mean THEY make it backwards from our correct version.”

“Yes sire, forgive me.”

“Yes yes, whatever, you may go now and return with better news next time.”

“Yes your Majesty.”

Woodstock Daily Mail

Stars leave Hyppos hungry 2-1

By Ryan Calvin
Daily Mail Staff Writer

By all accounts, the Hypocrian national football team had retired from full on international football. Sarzonia played the Hyppos in what was billed as the finale for the Hyppos, defeating Hypocria in the ninth place match at the third Draggonii Inviyatii tournament in what has been described as a disappointing finish for the Stars.

But here it was, the kickoff of the fourth quadrennial tournament that Sarzonia's football organisation uses as a measuring stick for its national team and their opponent was Hypocria. The Hyppos agreed to fill in for Geisenfried, which withdrew from the tournament at the last moment. Even though the Stars had minimal time to prepare for their last-minute opponent, forward Steve Jacobson scored two goals en route to Sarzonia's 2-1 victory.

"The one thing we had in our favour was our familiarity with the Hyppos," Coach Mark Wingate said. "We know generally how Hypocria are going to play even if they have a completely different squad from any of their World Cups. Perhaps the jet lag may have been a factor. I don't train that team. But we knew going in they were going to work hard. We just had to ratchet it up against them."

Sarzonia stumbled out of the gate, looking like it was the team that signed up at the last moment when Carlo Molinari's shot sputtered past goalkeeper Frank Talbot into the net in the eighth minute.

"My mistake," Talbot said. "I should have had that shot."

The goal stunned a largely pro-Sarzonia crowd that had weeks to purchase tickets while only a smattering of Hyppos supporters were able to buy their way into the grounds. However, Jacobson made a deft run after midfielder Chris Tunstall stole a midfield pass. He buried the ball in the back of the net, drawing the match level 23 minutes in.

"I wasn't thinking about atoning for anything," Jacobson said. "I was just thinking 'put the ball in the net'. That's all you can think."

Sarzonia went into the halftime locker room with the match level at 1-1 despite three point-blank bids from Brad Clausen. Wingate told the team to relax and play Stars football in the locker room, according to Clausen.

"He told us we were pressing and he's right," Clausen said. "We just decided to go out there and play a fluid match and things got better."

The Stars took the lead for good in the 74th minute after they finally gained control over the attacking style of the Hyppos. Sarzonia played for possession, probing until they finally cracked through the Hyppos back four. Clausen fired from long range and Jacobson skied for it and banged a shot past goalkeeper Alexei Lomaia for the game winner.

"We knew they'd be applying the pressure after Jacobson's goal," Clausen said. "We just had to withstand it."

The Stars (1-0-0) did so by making a defensive substitution, removing Jacobson for defender Louie Rhyne and defender Gene Campo for midfielder Brian Hall. The team's 4-5-1 confounded the Hyppos in the 87th minute when Clausen cleared a ball out of danger.

The team's next test will be against Haraki, which played to a 1:1 draw against Schiavonia. Hypocria will face Milchama in their second match. The Stars have gone on record saying they will support the Hyppos.

"We still sort of like Hypocria, no matter what happened between [Dave Wilson] and them," Talbot said. He didn't elaborate on his quote, but anyone who heard him could read between the lines.

Group 1
Starblaydia 4:0 Qazox
ASMV 2:1 Ariddia
McPsychoville 3:1 Quackmybush

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Starblaydia 2 2 0 0 8 0 8 6
Asmv 2 2 0 0 4 1 3 6
McPsychoville 2 1 1 0 4 2 2 4
Ariddia 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1 1
Quakmybush 2 0 0 2 1 7 -6 0
Qazox 2 0 0 2 0 6 -6 0


Group 2
Casari 6:0 Bazalonia
New Montreal States 1:1 The Islands of Qutar
Wentland 0:0 Tynelia

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Casari 2 2 0 0 9 0 9 6
New Montreal States 2 1 1 0 8 1 7 4
The Islands of Qutar 2 1 1 0 4 1 3 4
Wentland 2 0 1 1 0 3 -3 1
Tynelia 2 0 1 1 0 3 -3 1
Bazalonia 2 0 0 2 0 13 -13 0

Group 3
The Archregimancy 4:0 Tessan
Jeruselem 3:1 The Lowland Clans
Bequerelia 2:0 Dorian and Sonya

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

The Archregimancy 2 2 0 0 7 1 6 6
Jeruselem 2 2 0 0 5 1 4 6
Bequerelia 2 2 0 0 4 0 4 6
Dorian and Sonya 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0
The Lowland Clans 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0
Tessan 2 0 0 2 0 6 -6 0


Group 4
Milchama 4:0 Hypocria
Sarzonia 3:0 Haraki
Schiavonia 5:1 Tilean Free States

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Milchama 2 2 0 0 6 0 6 6
Schiavonia 2 1 1 0 6 2 4 4
Sarzonia 2 2 0 0 5 1 4 6
Haraki 2 0 1 1 1 4 -3 1
Hypocria 2 0 0 2 1 6 -5 0
Tilean Free States 2 0 0 2 1 7 -6 0

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/SylMedCen.png

Too Much Partying = D&S Loss

Queen Sonya has once again received a migraine from the play of the Unicorns. So much for a peaceful vacation. Damnable wimpy ass girls. Today they couldn’t even manage a goal against Bequerelia. What a bunch of horse crap. Well that’s it. Time for the girls to be reigned in a bit. No more parties in ASMV. The damn Vegans always buy too many drinks for squads from other lands. Maybe they should all just go home. For just a moment she actually considered trying to have drinking banned during the DI, but dismissed the thought. If she were only the ruler here……

But oh well. The Unicorns would benefit from the very early curfew and the early morning drills before the matches. After all, this is a WC30 warm up. No time for slacking off now. You know what my grandfather says?……BACK TO WORK!.

John Jerk was addressing his team after their fantastic 3-1 over The Lowland Clans

"Great game guys! That's what I want to see. More teamwork and less dithering. Firstly, no starting like a bunch of cows. You can't start a game real slow and expect the opponent to do nothing! Come on, they scored then you guys woke up. You got to be awake for all the game, and I'm still seeing that dropping off players stuff. Everytime the opponent has the ball, be awake and try to get it off them. Don't wait for them to make a mistake because they won't OK? OK strikers, great finishing. It's good to see people not missing at 1 foot for once. But I still have some issues. No fighting over the ball when we have advantage - it doesn't matter who scores as long as it happens guys. We work as a team and work together. If you can't score, don't shoot that long shot which flies ten miles wide - pass it to someone who can score. They gave us a lot of chances so be thankful. Now, the final thing - watch that back-passing again. Poor old Finn could not stop that first goal before some dill, we know all who this person is, got lazy and back-passed to an opponent striker and they scored. When defenders get a ball, they pass to FORWARD to a midfielder, not to the keeper unless you want to waste time or something. When we attack, pass forward OK? Last thing, can the midfield keep possesion for a little longer. Long passes are great when there's no defenders around, but if they stack the defense keep possession and look for weakness. You don't have to attack immediately - attack the weak points, not the brick walls."

<pulls of a stack of calendars, shows one to the team>

"OK, guys. That super hot soccer chic Rachel Kool who also happens to be wife of the World Cup coach has donated these to us. No one ever gives stuff to C teams, but Rachel is hot and generous too. It's her first bikini calendar so it's not for this year, OK? This should motive some of you less-than-motivated boys to play better. If you play well, you might attract fan girls and you might get yourself a partner one day. And girls here, this is what a fit body looks like. I hate so say it, but some of you girls are chubby. You want muscle not fat OK? If any of you girls can look anything like Rachel, you'll have no trouble getting a man either."

GRAHAM CITY SUN - Sports Section: Draggonnii Inviyatii Coverage

Stars Stumble In First Two Matches

ANDOSSA SE MITRIN VEGA - Well, after Oliver Doig's resignation after the disaster at the Cup of Harmony and his blanket condemnation of the players for their poor performances, most of the players are still around, but the support system is entirely different. After the roster was announced, Doig scoffed at what was being done by the Football Federation of the Lowland Clans to try and stop the bloodletting that occured. "They did everything but get rid of the source of the problem, the players. They should've dumped that lot for the way they were playing." After that disaster and the hiring of the new staff and selection of new players, Tom Hall, head of the FFLC and Daniel Davies, Director of Football Operations hoped that the Stars could open the Draggonnii Inviyatii well. But unfortunately, they were disillusioned in that respect.

The Stars bombed out of their first game against Becquerelia, with the players looking as if they hadn't even showed up at the game. Many of the players looked out of shape, despite the recent completion of the season of the Allied States Premier League. Trainer Kim Ji-Pak said that he was sorely disappointed with the team. "They have trained much harder than this, I cannot explain what could make them perform so badly." Many other pundits and fans believe that no matter how good the Stars actually are, that there is currently a psychological hurdle to be broken, and if it doesn't break, then the Stars will continue languishing in the almost-famous, and the not-quite-good-enough group.

This couldn't have been more apparent when the Stars took on Jeruselem today in the second matchday of the Draggonnii Inviyatii. The Stars opened well, scoring quickly off of a miscue by the Jeruselem defence, allowing veteran and captain Ryley Bloudin to score in the 5th minute, getting the Stars their first goal of the tournament. They dominated, with Jeruselem looking agonizingly slow. The Stars were able to dominate, coming close another two times before the Jesubites finally got going. But even, they looked remarkably beatable as the Stars defence, helmed by vets O'Rory and Markoff, whose jobs are looking increasing vulnerable after allowing several cheap goals in both the Harmony and Inviyatii. "It's like bloody quicksand," said an anonymous ASPL manager. "They play great until something goes wrong, and then it's like some wanker blew off their bloody knee with a .12 gauge. They fight and fight, but they just looked uglier and uglier till you've got to turn the damn tele off because your gonna cry with the pathetic display being put on."

JERUSELEM - 3

THE LOWLAND CLANS - 1

[OOC: I should be in second place in Group 4 with a 2-0-0 record. You have me in third behind Schiavonia despite six points to his four.]

Woodstock Daily Mail

Stars return to form in dominant win

By Ryan Calvin
Daily Mail Staff Writer

After struggling to beat Hypocria, the Sarzonian national football team made some of its more nervous observers recall the team's dismal showing in the previous Draggonnii Inviyatii tournament heading into a match against the group's fourth seed Haraki. After a dominant performance in Sarzonia's 3:0 win over Haraki in the first meeting between the teams, even the most nervous of supporters realised this wasn't the same team that finished ninth.

Frank Talbot made four saves and three Stars players scored goals en route to the dominant win that set up Sarzonia's first-ever matchup with Schiavonia. A win by Sarzonia in the match keeps the team on pace to go into the final group stage match against Milchama with the group title on the line.

"We have to continue to focus on one match at a time," said forward Steve Jacobson (one goal, one assist). "We can't afford to get ahead of ourselves. Schiavonia is too good a side to overlook them. We've had too many rough performances against teams we should beat in our recent past to take anyone lightly."

Even so, the Stars (2-0-0) will likely rue their missed chances to bury Haraki. Jacobson could have scored three goals in the first nine minutes, but didn't dent the scoreboard until the 36th minute. Midfielder Brad Clausen finally broke his goalscoring drought -- and the team's -- with a laser shot from 24 yards out at the 14 minute mark.

"That goal took a lot of pressure off of us," Clausen said. "Once we got it, we started to play with a little more flow. Chris Tunstall won a head ball in the box that just eluded the Haraki goalkeeper at the 22 minute mark that gave the Stars more breathing room.

"Even if they score on one of their counters, we're still ahead," Tunstall said of the team's approach after his goal. "We got more into our brand of football after that and really kept the pressure on Haraki."

When Jacobson finally scored his goal, the rout appeared to be on, but the Stars missed several more chances to score goals and walked away from the match knowing they could have put up a touchdown. With a two point conversion.

"We can't afford to let any more chances go by without capitalising on them," Coach Mark Wingate said. "When the opponents get harder, the chances are going to be more rare. We've got to do a better job of taking advantage of the chances we have."

More DI Heartache



It may have been quite a while since the Hyppos last appearance in the Draggonnii Inviyatii but it’s as if they’ve never been away. In fact they’re carrying on exactly where they left off. In fairness the men in blue and white put up a good fight against mighty Sarzonia. Carlo Molinari brought his excellent form in front of goal from the AOCAF into this tournament with the opener on eight minutes, although it was a shot the keeper should have held. But giving a side as good as the Stars eighty two minutes to recover is probably not a good idea and a goal in each half from striker Steve Jacobson helped the former World Champions on their way to three points.

It may have been yet another defeat to Sarzonia but a least the Hyppos emerged from the match with some credit. The same could not be said of the game on matchday 2. In fact nothing will be said of the game on matchday 2. Ever.

Next up is a bottom of the table encounter with a side we’ve never actually heard of. The Tilean Free States is their name and they are the only thing in between the Hyppos and bottom place in Group 4. And a good way of making sure they stay in between the Hyppos and bottom place in Group 4 would be to give them a footballing lessen. Simple really. We just need to pretend we’re not actually cursed when it comes to this tournament.

"BazaB's DI Hopes thrashed but not dead"

A 7-0 thrashing by New Montreal States followed by a 6-0 thrashing by Casari have totally demoralised the BazaB's, the BFSA has made a public release that stated that the unexpectedly large losses where a freak of nature but the team did expect to lose against these 2 teams. To add insult to the 7-0 injury the New Montreal States major international publication has stated the New Montreal States Paladins did not play against the BazaB's but played against BECQUERELIA. The next matches are more likely to result in at least draw, but it seems the BazaB's are doomed to languish in the consolation bracket.

........

Simon Gilliard had missed his daily Bazalope Burger tradition... He decided to go and wonder around ASMV trying to find a shop that sells them. There was a "Prancing Bazalope", but that was a Bar for Bazalonians in ASMV. Where all the Bazalonians in the area congregateds and had a Forhey's. Simon Gilliard had a talk to the guys there and they suggested that they might be one in Carrington, you know, the site of that bombing 2 Invitationals ago.

Simon had gone without a Bazalope burger for many days and the team was being demolished by their opponents. Simon internally theorised that it was the lack of the Bazalope Burger that caused the slump. After the next match the team was going to visit the memorial for the Carrington bombing. Simon is certainly looking forward to his Bazalope Burger

The Islands of Qutar unbeaten....... So Far!

Yes on the high after reaching the second round of the World Cup, which all in Qutar will remember for the simultaneous hallucination/dream of beating Starblaydia 5-4 on penaties after a 1-1 draw in normal and extra time. But alas this was not to be, but Philip Davies did promise us to go to the next round and we did, this time he says we can win the Draggonnii Inviyatii. Perhaps we should listen to the man before we dismiss what he says. The Draggonnii Inviyatii got off to a good start for the men in blue and white, notching up a 3-0 victory over Wentland and holding NMS to a respectable 1-1 draw with chances to finish the game 2-1 to the good. Things are looking good for us at the moment, and although many have said that the age of some of the older members of the squad might be a problem its not being much of a problem with Ali getting all of Qutar's goals so far. Our next match pitches us against World Champions: Casari. Some of the world's press have pointed out that Casari was on home ground and that gave them an extra man in the World Cup, but many have been sure that after the World Cup the bubble will burst for the World Cup winners but so far we're not seeing any of that. Comfortable wins over Tynelia and Bazalonia have seen them notch up nine goals with none conceeded, there not looking half bad and in the form they're in at the moment our next match should be a tough one.

The DI was going quite well for Miss Nina Leir. Although some had wondered what exactly made it sane, legal, or safe, many of those questioning her participation in the national team were influenced by her 2-goal effort against Tynelia to shut their stinking holes.

And the Bazalonia slaughter didn't exactly raise any concerns either. A solid performance by some who already have her marked as the Greatest Casaran Striker ever, even before the accident. Another two goals, an assist, and a penalty kick definately drove home the point.

But one of the more interesting problems of having a bionic striker on the field only came up in training.

Leir had been running around the field all day and had just taken a particularly hard shot at the goal, turning into it and putting it solidly into the corner.

"That was a great shot, Nin-" Nermeier said, before tripping and falling flat on his face. Among the laughs and pffts from the rest of the team came the cry of Hill from the sidelines.

"Damnit, Scott, how can you play if you can't freaking stand?" Hill said, walking out onto the field.

"It's not my fault, there's a hole!"

"How can there be a fucking hole, it's not like we're on a damn cricket ground." She said, walking up. In the ground was a slanting depression about an inch and a half deep on one side, flush with the rest of the pitch on the other, with some of the grass scraped away. With Cleats.

Hill looked at the hole for a while. "Nina, what kind of cleats do you wear now?"

"Hydras, size nine. Why?" Nina said, scratching her head.

"Let me see... the left one."

Shrugging, Nina quickly pulled the shoe off the foot and handed it to the coach. After looking at it for a second, Hill squatted down and fit it into the hole, perfectly.

By this time, the rest of the team had crowded around and was watching silently. Someone at the back muttered "holy shit."

Hill looked up at Nina and blinked a few times. "Maybe you need one with shock absorbers, Nina."

Jason Bourne was furious after the 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Starblaydia

"What do you mean they are the best team in the world???" He bellowed. "You girls are some of the best soccer players in Qazox and through 2 games we have no goals and only ONE??? ONE??? ONE F***ING shot on goal??" and with that he stormed out of the room.

As usual Kerri Wind was the 1st to speak. "Well any other bright ideas?"

"We could take a page out of Dorian and Sonya's playbook and play in bikinis or nude??" replied Mindy Carbajal.

"That is soooo not gonna happen..." said Tammie Dang. "Besides I see you all naked enough already in the showers and i don't think a couple of you will be distracting anyone...(Cough....Annika....Cough)

"HEY.... Just becuase i got a tattoo of a ox having sex with a goat on my back don't mean I'm ugly." Answered Annika Speight.. "besides, at least my boobs are even. Ms. Lopsided!"

The yelling increased again this time but with Annika and Tammie almost coming to blows. just then Jason Bourne came back into the locker room

" HEY HEY HEY quit it you two right now or else you're benched for the rest of the tourney.!!!!" He yelled. "Now that i got you attention again. I got a surprise for you girls. but to get it you just have to score a goal next game. ONE GOAL... we don't have to win.. but if you score just one goal. you'll get the surprise."

MD3 Scores


Group 1
Starblaydia 5:1 Ariddia
ASMV 2:0 McPsychoville
Qazox 4:0 Quackmybush

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Starblaydia 3 3 0 0 13 1 12 9
Asmv 3 3 0 0 6 1 5 9
McPsychoville 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
Qazox 3 1 0 2 4 6 -2 3
Ariddia 3 0 1 2 3 8 -5 1
Quakmybush 3 0 0 3 1 11 -10 0



Group 2
Casari 1:1 The Islands of Qutar
New Montreal States 3:0 wentland
Bazalonia 1:1 Tynelia

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

New Montreal States 3 2 1 0 11 1 10 7
Casari 3 2 1 0 10 1 9 7
The Islands of Qutar 3 1 2 0 5 2 3 5
Tynelia 3 0 2 1 1 4 -3 2
Wentland 3 0 1 2 0 6 -6 1
Bazalonia 3 0 1 2 1 14 -13 1

Group 3
The Archregimancy 2:1 The Lowland Clans
Jeruselem 1:0 Bequerelia
Tessan 0:2 Dorian and Sonya

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

The Archregimancy 3 3 0 0 9 2 7 9
Jeruselem 3 3 0 0 6 1 5 9
Bequerelia 3 2 0 1 4 1 3 6
Dorian and Sonya 3 1 0 2 3 5 -2 3
The Lowland Clans 3 0 0 3 2 7 -5 0
Tessan 3 0 0 3 0 8 -8 0


Group 4
Milchama 2:1 Haraki
Sarzonia 3:0 Schiavonia
Hypocria 5:1 Tilean Free States

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Milchama 3 3 0 0 8 1 7 9
Sarzonia 3 3 0 0 8 1 7 9
Schiavonia 3 1 1 1 6 5 1 4
Hypocria 3 1 0 2 6 7 -1 3
Haraki 3 0 1 2 2 6 -4 1
Tilean Free States 3 0 0 3 2 12 -10 0

Jason Bourne waited for the girls to come out of the locker room after their 4-0 win over Quakmybush.

"All right girls.. here's your surprise.." as he opened the back door to his office.

"WHAT?!!!!!" the girls all exclaimed upon looking at an empty room.

"there's your surprise" Bourne said. " I needed some thing to movatiate you and I guess it worked. Now for the real surprise. Since you all did so well. no practice tonight. And when you get home you'll have brand-new Q-Pods!! And to Kerri Wind and Dorthy Cropper since both of you scored 2 goals each, your curfew is 1:00am instead of 11:30 pm. Have a good night girls and get Mcpsychoville!"

The Tilean coach was not angry or disapointed, he was unusually optimistic about their next game, training sessions were going on every day leading up to match and the coaches press release was as follows.

"The people of Tilea are fanatical about their countries international side, but they are also realistic. No one expected Tilea to come here and win anything, we are merely proud to be the first men to represent our country at international Soccer. We don't expect to come away with anything in the next few matches, but we can assure all Tilea that we will play with our hearts and do our best the make you all proud"

It was true that Tilea had never had an International squad before and the very fact that they were scoring goals was enough to drive the Tilean "Fanatics" Insane with joy

John Jerk addressed his players after a sloppy 1-0 win over Bequerelia

"That was awful guys. We were playing Bequerelia, not some do-hicky team from over the hills. You guys were learning discipline and then you muck it all up because you're not scoring goals. Guys, guys. Work on the problem! We were damn lucky Bequerelia couldn't score despite those defensive blunders you keep repeating. Haven't you heard about patience? Sure, they were really hard to break down but work on it. Look for some weakness instead of trying stupid tricks. It's good to see Finn not dropping the ball in front of the goal for once. He saved you guys from losing 6-0 because he tried and learns. As for the defense, not this kiddy tackling because the opponent is bigger and tougher. Tackle hard and fair, but don't overdo it. Guys - MODERATION. Anyway, he start early and work hard - real hard. Finn can start late because he did try hard and he worked on this game. From now on, no more dumbos here. I'm going drop people who don't make a real effort on the field. This is what happens in the real World Cup. Slackers get tossed away and lose games for their teams."

"I have mention Jackie Jones tonight too. Not because she had an awful game like some here would like to believe, but she showed some heart too. They double-teamed and triple-teamed her but she fights on for the team. Some of the midfields just get tackled, lose the ball and stand there sulking. Jackie got up and chased again. OK, she didn't do much in scoring department but she make life hard to the opponent. That's the key guys. Makes their life hard, don't give things on plate. Some of you run and stop because you have no ideas. Stop and think, then run again - and while running think ahead."

Everyone in the castle did their best to stay out of the King’s sight as word arrived that his knights had fallen yet again. First falling to the unbelievers, then the monk and now…to the ladies of Dorian & Sonya. And not one goal scored despite their overly aggressive offensive style as befit brave knights seeking glory. In fact rumor had it that even the ultra defensive last minute Tynelian team which doesn’t even believe in attacking have outscored them to this point. King John was furious with his knights and the cursed laws of chivalry which prevented them from performing at their best as they had to ensure none of the fair damsels were placed in positions of harm through their actions which observers claimed allowed huge holes to open up on the field for the D&S squad. Ironically the king for once found it fortunate that it was a commoner playing keeper and not bothered by the laws of knighthood and actually tried his best to thwart the women or the score could have been something like 20-0 instead of 2-0.

As servants and heralds dove for cover at the sounds of his thunderous approach only one person dared to get in his way.

“What are you doing here son?” the king asked the Crown Prince John.

“You know father, if I was on the team we’d be doing much better than we are. The team was inspired at the thought their future king was there battling along with them. When you kept me from playing the team probably thought you had no faith in them. I mean Jeff is ok I suppose.” The Crown Prince said with only reluctant half hearted support for his brother and main rival to the throne if something were to happen to the Crown Prince. “But we wouldn’t be dead last with me there.”

Spinning around in fury, the king longed to teach his brat some manners. Preparing his son for the kingship was far more important than some dragon slaying ritual that could get him killed. And here the same brat dared question his decisions; perhaps the Crown Prince was seeking to overthrow him and was trying to plant the seeds of doubt in his father’s mind. Gathering himself the king replied “Son, I know it bothers you that your brother got to go along this time while you have ‘boring’ politics to deal with. But he is just a spare prince anyway and if this sort of thing keeps him busy then so be it. If it makes you feel any better you may rejoin the team for the next world cup thing whenever that is. They are having another one aren’t they?”

“Yes father they are.” The Crown Prince replied wearily as once more his father grew wrathful over something he barely keeps track of but still sees insults everywhere. “And thank you, I shall make sure I inspire your knights to far greater glory than what they are achieving right now, you may count on it.”

“Yes, I’m sure you will son. Now go fetch a herald, I must find out which nation shall insult us next by failing to realize my knight’s perfect fit at this dragon slaying business. Perhaps if enough of the others are eaten by the beast it shall straighten their heads out some.”

“As you wish father.”

Solid Results Bode Alright for DI

Although we beat the stuffing out of Bazalonia, not Bequerelia

ANDOSSA SE MITRIN VEGA - The Paladins had a good day out on the pitch yesterday, taking down Wentland in a solid 3-0 performance that featured Hubert Labranche solidifying his control over the side against an increasingly desperate Ministry of Morale.

Meanwhile, a surprising Islands of Qutar side drew Casari 1-all, keeping the States in contention for the top spot in group 2. "They're a good side," said Labranche, "and they're out to drag us down out of the Championship Bracket into the nether regions, and they'll do it, if we're not careful."

But back to the political infighting. The Ministry of Morale appointed Reginald Burrows, head coach of the Fort Constantine All Greens, as provisional Head Coach. Burrows immediately resigned the post, claiming that he had "neither sought nor desired the post." The Ministry then did the same thing to Jean-Claude Morel of Beaconsfield Athletic, who replied with the same prepared statement as Burrows, word-for-word. U21 coach Loic Perron, ostenably head of the program, has gone on "vacation" and has been unreachable since the crisis broke, although the Ministry, with bigger fish to fry, seems not to notice or care. Meanwhile Labranche remains wholly in control in ASMV, not bothered by any of the debacle swirling around him.

And Billy Corcoran has come onto the scene so effectively that Labranche is considering either resigning or benching himself, putting an end to the duo that has dominated NMS footie since WC26. Gilles Villeneuve, the other half of the duo, has no comment on the matter. Neither does the third co-captain, keeper Paul Chasson.

PALADINS 3 - Corcoran 8, Villeneuve 65, Hunyadi 77
WENTLAND 0

TOURNAMENT SCORING

Corcoran 4
Villeneuve 4
Faulkner 1
Hunyadi 1
Tessier 1

Thirteen-to-One
Starblaydia cruising through Group One

Having conceeded only a single goal - to Ariddia in their latest match - Starblaydia's relatively young squad for the Fourth Draggonnii Inviyatii have slaughtered each and every single one of their opponents, crushing Quakmybush, Qazox and Ariddia by four goals in each match played.

Quakmybush (4-0): Niodonna, Serviché, Maitland & Kaminsky
Qazox (4-0): Zinaldi, Maitland, Asante & Dakic
Ariddia (5-1): Cravex, Kaminsky, Maitland, Asante & Keifner

Jacqueline Maitland has netted in each of the three games, taking her international tally to thirty, while Johan Keifner notched up his thirty-seventh of his career by bagging the fifth against Ariddia. Around four or five of the starting line-up from the team performing so admirably in the Inviyatii so far will surely earn shirts for the first eleven come Schiavonia/Qutar in the upcoming thirtieth world cup.

As for now, though, Starblaydia will be facing McPsychoville in their next match, with the McPsychoville fans banned from travelling to the match after an anti-Vilitan racist tirade from a national spokesman. Good job, too, as that would surely have lit a touchpaper in the mixed seating around the stadium, with Starblaydi and Vilitan fans' ties so close.

Woodstock Daily Mail

Stars pull plug on Schiavonia

By Ryan Calvin
Daily Mail Staff Writer

Mark Wingate knew one thing about the Schiavonian national team. The Sarzonian coach was well aware that a relatively new football side had made a mockery of what was normally a long and winding road to the World Cup finals by earning results. He was determined not to let his Stars take Schiavonia lightly.

After the final whistle sounded and Sarzonia had secured a 3:0 win over Schiavonia, the Stars could look at the day as an encouraging barometre of the team's efforts at improving depth, for the only regular starter to play the entire match was goalkeeper Frank Talbot. Wingate said Talbot would rest against Tilean Free States with a mixture of first- and second-choice players getting starts.

"We want to make sure that everyone has some experience in this tournament," Wingate said. "If it weren't for the fact Schiavonia was the third seed coming in, we would have sat Frankie for this match."

However, Wingate said the team was not taking Tilean Free States lightly.

"We need to make sure we get the full three points in that match. The biggest danger we can have in playing against the lowest seed with the top seed on deck is that we look past them to the match against Milchama."

When a reporter asked Wingate if he was planning to start the full first team 11 against Milchama, he scowled and said, "what do you think?" Even though the Stars know that Milchama is on deck, Wingate said he hoped Schiavonia gives them a tough match.

"We're going to lay it all out on the line against them, but we have to remember that Tilean Free States isn't exactly going to lie down for us." Even though the teams have the opposite records (Sarzonia at 3-0-0 have all but wrapped up a trip to the championship bracket, while Tilean Free States are still in play for the secondary bracket in spite of their 0-0-3 mark), Wingate said he was going to coach the match "with every vein popping out on my forehead."

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/SylMedCen.png

So Much For The "Damsels In Distress" Theory

“Why no doubt Dorian and Sonya will instantly fall smitten to the brave and shining visage of my knights once they step onto the field. While my knights are the most chivalrous of people and would not seek to take advantage of the fair maidens this country sees fit to place in danger by even entering them in such a tourney and risk their certain death against the dragon. You DO know that this nation is ruled by a woman don’t you? Hmm perhaps she might consent to become my eighth wife if she’s still unwed, that my knights can better protect her frail damsels under our unified banner. In any event, the women shall swoon before my knights and we shall carefully triumph without harming the maidens who will no doubt reward the chivalry of my knights personally after the match. After all women have no place in battle.




Queen Sonya Sabre sat impatiently awaiting the match with Tessan. The self-absorbed nation that had made statements concerning their lack of respect for the Mystical Unicorns. In fact, it rather seemed as if the cocky bastards expected the women of the Sylvanaes Kingdom to just roll over for them. They thought wrong.

Since the article had been released, the Unicorns had been chomping at the bit for the chance to shove those words right back down their throats - and that day was finally here at last.

The Queen was rather pleased as the Unicorns came out to prove a point early. The squad was fired up and ready to make a statement. That statement was simple - “It’s going to be a very long day for you.”

Minute #1 saw Tisa Laos earn a yellow for a very hard tackle, while minute #2 saw Taunya Skursky earn one for an elbow to the face of the Tessan attacker. The Knights of Tessan simply fell apart after that. Nothing could be done to turn the tide of the match in their favor. One Tessan player kept streaking across the pitch trying to slow the Unicorn’s down, but that mostly drew laughter from the D&S sideline.

Avril Austral (23) and Zana Jablon (50) did the scoring for the Unicorns. After that it became more of a game of cat and mouse as the Unicorns would allow Tessan to move the ball close only to take it away again.

The highlight of the match was made in the 87th minute when reserve forward Ghislaine Suggett was sent off for literally pulling the pants of two Tessan players down to their ankles. Surprisingly, the Tessans were not wearing anything underneath their uniforms which did bring some very unmentionable noises from the crowd. The referee himself was laughing so hard that he dropped the red card he was showing and took several moments to find composure enough to retrieve it.

So much for all the “swooning” we were supposed to be doing. Now just who belonged in this battle?

MD4

Group 1
Starblaydia 6:1 McPsychoville
ASMV 1:0 Quackmybush
Qazox 0:1 Ariddia

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Starblaydia 4 4 0 0 19 2 17 12 Qualified for Chapmionship Bracket
Asmv 4 4 0 0 7 1 6 12 Qualified for Championship Bracket
Ariddia 4 1 1 2 4 8 -4 4
McPsychoville 4 1 1 2 5 10 -5 4
Qazox 4 1 0 3 4 7 -3 3
Quakmybush 4 0 0 4 1 12 -11 0 Relegated to Consolation Bracket



Group 2
Casari 3:0 Wentland
New Montreal States 0:0 Tynelia
Bazalonia 0:3 The Islands of Qutar

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Casari 4 3 1 0 13 1 12 10
New Montreal States 4 2 2 0 11 1 10 8
The Islands of Qutar 4 2 2 0 8 2 6 8
Tynelia 4 0 3 1 1 4 -3 3
Wentland 4 0 1 3 0 9 -9 1
Bazalonia 4 0 1 3 1 17 -16 1

Group 3
The Archregimancy 0:1 Bequerelia
Jeruselem 3:1 Dorian and Sonya
Tessan 1:3 The Lowland Clans

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Jeruselem 4 4 0 0 9 2 7 12
The Archregimancy 4 3 0 1 9 3 6 9
Bequerelia 4 3 0 1 5 1 4 9
The Lowland Clans 4 1 0 3 5 8 -3 3
Dorian and Sonya 4 1 0 3 4 8 -4 3
Tessan 4 0 0 4 1 11 -10 0 Relegated to Consolation Bracket


Group 4
Milchama 0:0 Schiavonia
Sarzonia 4:0 Tilean Free States
Hypocria 2:2 Haraki

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Sarzonia 4 4 0 0 12 1 11 12 Qualified for Championship Bracket
Milchama 4 3 1 0 8 1 7 10 Qualified for Championship Bracket
Schiavonia 4 1 2 1 6 5 1 5
Hypocria 4 1 1 2 8 9 -1 4
Haraki 4 0 2 2 4 8 -4 2
Tilean Free States 4 0 0 4 2 16 -14 0 Relegated to Consolation Bracket

(OOC: i thought i was to play McPsycoville next.. oh well...)

As the team lined-up for their next match, Head Coach Jason Bourne was now where to be found...

"Figures.. he extends the curfew and oversleeps. Now What???" asked Adriana Stumbaugh.

"I guess we just play with out a coach... like that drunk obnoxious ass really coaches." replied Aurora Maas.

Just then the referee came up to the team.

"Umm.. where's your coach? You do know that if you don't have a coach, it's an automatic 2-0 forfeit?" he said to the nearest player, who happened to be Hyppolite.

"I'm the coach." quietly spoke Hyppolite.

The whole match the team played relaxed and loose, like a bunch of kids, but with then one minute left in the match....the girls were holding their own against Arridia.. but then Jason Bourne came running out of the locker room tunnel and raced up the sidelines. His appearance caused a momentary laspe of consentration in the team, allowing Ariddia to score.

'WHAT THE F*** WAS THAT!!!!" he bellowed from the side lines as the team gathered around the bench after losing a hard fought game 0-1. "I'm gone for the whole match and you couldn't score a freaking goal? I knew that not having practice was gonna cost us. Tommorrow a double!!!" as the girls groaned.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/SylMedCen.png

Unicorns Fall To Jeruselem
Final Day Will Offer Much Excitement

Queen Sonya knew better than to expect a solid result from the Unicorns today. The opponent was not Tessan but rather the powerful Crusaders of Jeruselem. Enough said.

And in the end, that train of thought had been correct. The Mystical Unicorns had fallen 1-3 to the much more disciplined competition. Altarial Telepren had scored the Unicorns only goal in the 44th minute.

To make matters tough for the Unicorns was the fact that The Lowland Clans had won their first match of the DI today as well. The Clansmen and the Unicorns were now even in points while the Clansmen were one goal better on differential. Neither side is now able to qualify for the elusive Championship Bracket, but the match does have some major implications. The winner will move into the Secondary Bracket while the loser will hope to avoid Dead Last in the Consolation Bracket. One catch - even a draw will drop our Unicorns to the lower bracket.

Sides have come and gone in the DI. Some return while others play hooky. But one thing is certain every single time we come to ASMV - Bring your “A Game”. The competition level is fierce. No skating by on free rides here.

In other news from the DI, several sides have already qualified for the Championship Bracket. Starblaydia has been Rawwwrr Crushing squads like little bugs while Milchama and Sarzonia have made the connection as well. Could Milchama prove to be the Dark Horse or will Sarzonia recapture the title.

And ASMV has finally managed to defy the odds-makers and win some matches in their own tourney. That is a shock all by itself.

Casari has looked nearly as dominant as Star, but hasn’t solidified their Championship Bracket slot due to a tough group with NMS and The Islands of Qutar. The NMS vs. Casari MD5 match could be key in which side moves on should Qutar win theirs.

Jeruselem is all but in the Championship Bracket. The Archregimancy has done well thus far but slipped today against Bequerelia. That could cost the monks as they play Jeruselem next. Bequerelia might just steal their spot if they can beat Tessan.

The Consolation Bracket has some entries as well. Quackmybush hasn’t lived up to the hype while Tessan has struggled against tough competition. Tilean Free States also drops into the bottom group, but they have done better than expected against some of the world’s best.

That really leaves a lot to be decided on the final day. Four Championship spots, All eight secondary spots, and five Consolation spots. Let’s have another great day at the DI.

“So Chancellor, do you think my father is taking this soccer fad a bit too seriously?” Crown Prince John asked Chancellor Vellis. “I mean so what if we don’t get to fight some dragon, that just means our knights will stay alive longer to defend the realm.”

“But Your Highness, surely proving our worth in all fields of battle is essential to cementing our place among the great nations of the world.” The Chancellor replied nervously. There had been signs that both the Crown Prince and the King were drifting apart and the king’s decision some thought was more to keep an eye on his headstrong son than to protect him from some dragon hunting. The king had also been shamed of late by the team’s performances in this tournament, especially of the repeated highlights of the pantsing incident which sent the king into a frothing rage with loud declarations of declaring war and spanking the D&S queen for her team’s disrespect. Following that with a loss to what the King declared was “a bunch of hairy barbarians” and the king had locked himself away in his quarters seeing no one. Now the Crown Prince openly questions his father’s will.

“No one cares if kicking the ball into some net will actually change the world’s vie of a nation. Only through force can we stand tall among other lands. Sure if I was there we’d do much better but in the end who cares? Father is too sensitive to let such things roll off his back like the unimportant events that they are. When I’m in charge we won’t be so worried about these matters. I might even send a whole team of commoners just to show how insignificant these soccer events truly are. Tessan’s knights have better ways to spend their time than kicking some ball around.” The Crown Prince stated confidently.

“Well the peasants will like that I am sure, hopefully they will bathe before they take the field or don’t tear the field apart trying to plant crops.” Vellis answered cautiously.

“Oh they’re not quite that bad, the riff raff that went with me last time did learn from their betters and were actually hygienic in the end. Hmm perhaps I will need some sort of older knight or two along to teach the team some sort of class, older knights, useless on the field of battle but too loyal to just toss into the dung heap.”

“A very wise idea your Highness.” Vellis agreed, “But perhaps you should try to calm your father down again. The whole castle is treading on eggshells.”

“Oh very well, it does make a mess anytime a servant hears footsteps and drop whatever they’re carrying leaving the floors a mess. I’ll deal with father.” The Corwn Prince assured the Chancellor.

John Jerk addressed his chargers after beating Dorian and Sonya 3-1

"Guys! That's it. OK we conceded a goal because Finn lived upto his name again, fumbling a ball into his own goal but then I think he was dealing playing a bunch of girls. The last time he did, he conceded 10 goals, but he had a great game apart from that foobar. Today guys is what I wanted to see! People running to right places and thinking ahead! You made sure the opponents had a hard time and did not have any free time to think how to attack us. Not much slacking around and dropping off either which is good. This is the best game so far, but win the next game and we'll be sure make the next round OK? One more win guys, don't let me down here. I think I know what you played so well. The boys enjoyed playing those chicky babes eh? Chasing girls around in soccer as a job sound really good eh? I bet the boyus paid a lot of attention to opposition girls! That's all and you can relax today and maybe go talk to some girls boys. I want this next game! No slacking and we are safe. It's all up to you guys. I see some you have weird phone numbers to ring but I don't care. Enjoy today!"

<looks at the piece of paper>

"Oh yes, Harry Kool the Jeruselem coach rang to say he's watching you guys. Some of you might just get his attention and hey, you might be in the World Cup 30 team. Think about that, playing in the REAL World Cup! It's real! The man is watching and you are here to show what you can do, not what you can't. Hey Finn, Rachel Kool said you're cute so be happy too."

The Wentland FA caught up on reports of the Draggonnii Inviyatii. "One point from 4 games...what has been going on?"

"Er, there was a bit of a misunderstanding, sir...the women's B team were sent instead as a reward..."

"You mean we have women playing?"

"Yes, sir...seems that it was thought that the women's team needed something for their World Cup struggles..."

"Wait a minute...there is a women's world cup?"

"Yes, sir...we reached the semi-finals last time..."

"Women playing football? They'll have the vote next."

Squad:

1 Kirsten Cassidy, g/k, 16, Oldhill

2 Jane Anderson, defender, 18, Westree

3 Conchita Quddus, defender, 22, Petersfield

4 Carol Leader, midfield, 35, Atworth

5 Zoe Pike, centre-half, 16, Petersfield

6 Chloe Ashcroft, centre-half, 38, Esford

7 Sally James, midfield, 39, Atworth (pioneer of women’s football)

8 Alison Bettles, forward, 16, Oldhill

9 Sonali Gold, forward, 16, Newchurch

10 Anna Boulter, 31, midfield, Oldfield

11 Debbie Flint, midfield, 37, Oldfield

12 Katy Torpenhow, goalkeeper, 33, Petersfield

13 Lynn D. Layton, utility, 16, Oldhill

14 Leigh Fraser, utility, 16, Oldhill

With one day of the DI4 Group rounds left, V&I viewers continue to express passion for the tournament in ASMV.

After extensive questioning, polling and othering, here are the opinions people in V&I have of the DI :

To Win :
Starblaydia - 14%
Asmv - 8%
Ariddia - 2%
McPsychoville - 2%
Qazox - 1%
Quakmybush - 0%
Casari - 9%
New Montreal States - 5%
The Islands of Qutar - 2%
Tynelia - 1%
Wentland - 1%
Bazalonia - 1%
Jeruselem - 11%
The Archregimancy - 8%
Bequerelia - 3%
The Lowland Clans - 1%
Dorian and Sonya - 1%
Tessan - 0%
Sarzonia - 13%
Milchama - 9%
Schiavonia - 4%
Hypocria - 2%
Haraki - 2%
Tilean Free States - 0%

That’s More Like It



After picking up a grand total of zero points from their opening two matches the Hyppos roared back into life and hammered the Tilean Free States in the process. And having watched their team bag twenty goals in six games in the AOCAF the blue and white army were not entirely surprised by their side’s exploits in front of goal. In fact it was the third team in the last seven games that the Hyppos have bagged five goals. 2% chance? Pfft.

Molinari once again showed his goal scoring prowess with two goals in the rout of the clueless Tileans. Sousa, Dudamel and Bassano also netted as the Autocracy’s finest finally found some semblance of form in the Inviyatii. The win lifted Hypocria into fourth place in Group 4, clear of the Tilean Free States and above Haraki.

Which is a position in which they remain after a battling draw with veterans Haraki on matchday 4. Unusually Molinari did not find himself on the score sheet but he made up for it by setting up Dudamel for the equaliser. And when Dudamel latched onto Bercali’s through ball to double his and the Hyppos tally it looked like the men in blue and white might actually win a second DI game in succession. But such thoughts are the mutterings of lunatics and crazy people and true to form Haraki bagged an equaliser to ensure one point apiece.

Group 4 P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Sarzonia 4 4 0 0 12 1 11 12
Milchama 4 3 1 0 8 1 7 10
Schiavonia 4 1 2 1 6 5 1 5
Hypocria 4 1 1 2 8 9 -1 4
Haraki 4 0 2 2 4 8 -4 2
Tilean Free States 4 0 0 4 2 16 -14 0
With one group game lift it will be Hypocria versus Schiavonia for third place.

"I was hoping to use the Draggonnii Inviyatii to prepare a team for the next World Cup. Sound like a plan?" That was the question Becqurelian Black Cats head coach Mark Crescentini posed to his two assisstant coaches, Peter Constantine, and the newly retired David Deneen.

"Sounds fine to me." said Constantine. Deneen nodded his ascent.

Peter Constantine looked around the office. It was big, and full of Crescentini's knick-knacks from a long career. The TV on the opposite wall was playing the World Cup Third Place Game. There had been some talk that Peter himself might follow Crescentini as the National Team's head coach. So he might be looking at his own office...

"Peter?"

"Wha!" Peter was shot out of his reverie by a question from the Heac Coach.

"What changes do you think need to be made to the roster?"

That's a question with a obvious answer, Constantine thought to himself. "We need more offense. We scored, what, one goal during the World Cup proper? The midfielders and forwards were better at playing in neutral or reverse. We need some players with drive."

"Like who?"

"There's that Dotan kid, who scored about half the goals in the Puntaforia Invitational." suggested David Deneen. "He's a natural forward, but he'll fit in as a midfielder in this style of offense."

"I'd go with Leo De Grenier too, as a back-up forward." added Deneen. "He played well in a U-21 tournament, and paired up with Arik in the Invitational."

"Hm." Mark Crescentini made some notes and grunted in agreement. He turned to Deneen. "As a goalkeeper, how do you think Tyrannio Licausi did?"

"He's made leaps and bounds. He on a heck of roll, and if we can just get his head all the way there, he'll be great." answered David. Peter rolled his eyes, he thought David considered himself Tyrannio's parent almost, and cheerleaded him a bit too much. But he wasn't as terrible as he was.

"Is Wainwright coming back?" asked Crescentini. Both Deneen and Constantine nodded their heads at the same time.

"He won't be retiring for a while I'm sure. Who knows how long he'll stick around? We might have to deal with Zombie Ambrose Wainwright after a while." Constantine answered with a laugh.

Crescentini shook his head then continued. "Lessee what else we need to adress..."

---

http://www.geocities.com/becquerelia/images/bnff.gif
BECQUERELIA
National Football Team

Formation: 5-3-2

HEAD COACH
Mark Crescentini, age 52

ASSISTANT COACHES
Peter Constantine, age 39
David Deneen, age 38

FORWARDS
#8 Gregory Conveniencia, age 27, Starter
#5 Razak Khalef, age 31, Starter
#17 Leo De Grenier, age 28

MIDFIELDERS
#22 Niceaus Annunziata, age 29, Starter
#23 Paul Annunziata, age 29, Starter
#18 Arik Dotan, age 26, Starter
#21 John Chiaravalle, age 26

DEFENDERS
#12 Thomas Strazzabosco, age 34, Starter, Captain
#17 Tychon Wuestenberg, age 30, Starter
#10 Ziyad Al Abtah, age 26, Starter
#4 Daniel Riske, age 28, Starter
#11 Ambrose Wainwright, age 37, Starter
#9 Phillip Trentacoste, age 28
#16 Felix Weltzin, age 28, Starter

GOALKEEPERS
#19 Tyrannio Licaussi, age 29, Starter
#1 Serapion Petchulis, age 28

Vuami Know Where It's At
Starblaydia thrash Psychos, set up for Group-decider with ASMV

As Starblaydia became favourites - in the public's eyes - to take the title at their fourth attempt, they were busy demolishing McPsychoville, in front of thousands of Starblaydi and Qazoxian fans. With no McPscyhoville fans present, it appears some from Qazox turned up with tickets expecting to see their own nation face some Psychos, despite 'Starblaydia Vs McPsychoville' printed in big letters on them.

Jackie Maitland struck her first senior international hat-trick, blasting home after strike partner Lawrence Asante had headed beyond the McPsychoville 'keeper early on. Stephen Adams, up from the back for a corner, slotted home in a goalmouth scramble that saw Starblaydia take a 3-1 lead before Half Time.

The second half saw a goal for Christian Averette - on for Tabitha Di Bradini - that he struck low and curling past the 'keeper, his fifth in only nine appearances. The attacking right-back nearly had his goal claimed by Yattaro Serviché, but replays showed that the ball didn't touch the Iskara Daii left-back on it's way into the net, and that Averette's incredible scoring feat goes on.

A brace from Maitland before the end saw her rack up her thirty-third goal, taking her above Menecrates to fourth in the all-time Starblaydi goal-scoring lists. At just twenty-six years of age, the new Tolkacheva (who was the new Tumunzahar, who was the new Simeone Di Bradini, who was the new Lazerevski, who was... the first Starblaydi, at least) is well on course to top Tolkacheva's fifty-two, a record set just three years ago in Bazlonia in the fifteenth AOCAF.

Bring on the Sea Dragons!

Woodstock Daily Mail

Stars will 'pull out the stops' after rout

By Ryan Calvin
Daily Mail Staff Writer

Even though Sarzonia fielded most of its second choice 11 throughout against Group 4's bottom feeders Tilean Free States, the Stars looked for all the world like a team that was ready to take the next step. They manhandled Tilean Free States 4:0 while Milchama played to a scoreless draw against Schiavonia.

Thus, the matchup between two teams that have developed clear dislike for one another could result in Sarzonia taking the group title if the Stars win or draw. For Milchama to capture the the group championship, they'll have to beat Sarzonia outright, even though the identities of the group's first and third place teams has yet to be set in stone.

"Winning the group isn't that big a deal," Coach Mark Wingate said. "However, playing Milchama is a big deal."

Wingate said the team would return its full starting 11 including goalkeeper Frank Talbot, who sat out the match against Tilean Free States. Sarzonia would take the match against Milchama as seriously as if the team needed to win to stay in the championship bracket.

"There's no taking a half or a match off against the Warriors," Talbot said. "Even if we had the group title well in hand, we'd still lobby to have the entire starting 11 out there against Milchama. That's just how the rivalry is between our nations."

So observers can very quickly add Milchama to a select group of nations such as Bedistan, Starblaydia or Rejistania against whom Sarzonian teams always work harder to beat than others. Even though the Warriors have a much shorter sporting history than Sarzonia's three traditional rivals, the disdain for Milchama has built up quickly.

"Time can develop rivalries," Talbot said. "But sometimes, rivalries can come out of nowhere and develop real fast. This is one of those."

That's why the only substitutions you'll see in tonight's match will be strategic. And that's why Wingate will be stalking the sidelines rather than giving assistant coach Brian Wilson or goalkeepers coach Horace Sandt an opportunity to run the show.

"This isn't the time to take a game off," Wingate said. "Not against them."

Qutar Sports Weekly
Qutar's #1 Sports Magazine

The Islands of Qutar have done well so far in this edition of the Draggonnii Inviyatii, and although the more patriotic observers have glossed over the bad details of the campaign you won't see that in this magazine. We should have made the last match in the group stage easier, we had a fine chance missed by an ageing Tom Siese in the game against New Montreal States which would have given us a three point cushion of New Montreal States going into this game. Although New Montreal States are facing the very in form Casari, and we are facing the bottom seeded Tynelia. Things could go wrong for the boys in blue and white, Casari may back off the pedal in the last game and Tynelia has put on a great performance so far and could take points of Qutar. If Davies is aiming to live up to his word, his team must win convincingly of Tynelia finshing top of the group would stand us in better stead in the next stages and would show to the other team that Mr. Davies meant what he said.

Diego Phillips - In ASMV

THE MONASTIC TIMES

MFA 'PLEASED' WITH PERFORMANCE OF ROBOTS
Steam-Powered Automatons Lose to Unspellable Opposition


The Monastic Football Association today declared itself 'pleased' with the performance of the steam-powered robots entered into the DI as a stop-gap measure while trials are held to find a new human squad for World Cup 30.

"Well, three out of four ain't bad" said a senior archimandrite, speaking on condition of anonymity. "If only we hadn't forgotten to clean out the steam vents, we might have beaten Becque... Beqe... Becquera... Becqera.... erm, the team we were playing overnight."

Sources close to the MFA have said that the Eusebius robots' engineers would "dearly love to get one over the crusaders of Jeruselem" as a way of "extracting revenge for the crusades", but that MFA officials have urged staff not to get carried away.

MD5 Scores

Group 1
Starblaydia 5:1 ASMV
McPsychoville 1:3 Qazox
Ariddia 7:0 Quackmybush

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Starblaydia 5 5 0 0 24 3 21 15 Qualified for Chapmionship Bracket
Asmv 5 4 0 1 8 6 2 12 Qualified for Championship Bracket
Ariddia 5 2 1 2 11 8 3 7 Qualified for Secondary Bracket
Qazox 5 2 0 3 7 8 -1 6 Qualified for Secondary Bracket
McPsychoville 5 1 1 3 6 13 -7 4 Relegated to Consolation Bracket
Quakmybush 5 0 0 5 1 19 -11 0 Relegated to Consolation Bracket



Group 2
Casari 1:0 New Montreal States
wentland 2:2 Bazalonia
The Islands of Qutar 2:1 Tynelia

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Casari 5 4 1 0 14 1 13 13 Qualified for Chapmionship Bracket
The Islands of Qutar 5 3 2 0 10 3 7 11 Qualified for Chapmionship Bracket
New Montreal States 5 2 2 1 11 2 9 8 Qualified for Secondary Bracket
Tynelia 5 0 3 2 2 6 -4 3 Qualified for Secondary Bracket
Wentland 5 0 2 3 2 11 -9 2 Relegated to Consolation Bracket
Bazalonia 5 0 2 3 3 19 -16 2 Relegated to Consolation Bracket

Group 3
The Archregimancy 0:0 Jeruselem
Bequerelia 3:0 Tessan
The Lowland Clans 1:4 Dorian and Sonya

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Jeruselem 5 4 1 0 9 2 7 13 Qualified for Chapmionship Bracket
Bequerelia 5 4 0 1 8 1 7 12 Qualified for Chapmionship Bracket
The Archregimancy 5 3 1 1 9 3 6 10 Qualified for Secondary Bracket
Dorian and Sonya 5 2 0 3 8 9 -1 6 Qualified for Secondary Bracket
The Lowland Clans 5 1 0 4 6 12 -6 3 Relegated to Consolation Bracket
Tessan 5 0 0 5 1 14 -13 0 Relegated to Consolation Bracket


Group 4
Milchama 1:2 Sarzonia
Schiavonia 4:0 Hypocria
Haraki 2:1 Tilean Free States

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Sarzonia 5 5 0 0 14 2 12 15 Qualified for Championship Bracket
Milchama 5 3 1 1 9 3 6 10 Qualified for Championship Bracket
Schiavonia 5 1 2 1 10 5 5 8 Qualified for Secondary Bracket
Haraki 5 1 2 2 6 9 -3 5 Qualified for Secondary Bracket
Hypocria 5 1 1 3 8 13 -5 4 Relegated to Consolation Bracket
Tilean Free States 5 0 0 5 3 18 -15 0 Relegated to Consolation Bracket


Championship Bracket Day 1

Starblaydia vs Milchama - Inferii Domei, Tua Monafu
Jeruselem vs Bequerelia - Carrington Championship Arena, Carrington
Casari vs ASMV - Errion Vega Stadii, Errion Vega
Sarzonia vs The Islands of Qutar - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea, Errion Vega

Secondary Bracket Day 1

The Archregimancy vs Tynelia - Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse, Meldenburg
Ariddia vs Dorian and Sonya - Lighthouse Stadium, Amarillo
Schiavonia vs Qazox - Pandemonium Domei, Panderros Que
New Montreal States vs Haraki - The Bull Ring, Radiance

Consolation Bracket Day 1

Hypocria vs Tilean Free States - Las Cruces Stadii, Las Cruces
Wentland vs Bazalonia - Beachfront Arena, Isla De Marte
The Lowland Clans vs Quackmybush - The Assylum, Millsport
McPsychoville vs Tessan - The Venue, Kelsey

“HOW DARE THEY!?!” King John demanded once word of the consolation bracket reach him. “Of all the insults, placing us a against a group of deranged lunatics these Mcpsycho people, don’t these fools see that might knights are best suited for slaying the great dragon and yet they toss us aside to face these dregs of whatever society they come from. An outrage!”

“But sire, we did perform rather poorly once again.” Chancellor Vellis offered.

“WE!?! I was not part of this team Chancellor, my son has a great deal of explaining to do when he returns after such a sorry showing. Why my spies even claim that my knights are the favorites to win the, how do they call it, the ‘Wooden Spoon’ A disgrace even greater than the ones placed upon my knights at the moment. Do such brave and noble knights run around in search for some cook’s stirring instrument? Nay they are to face only the greatest challenges. Perhaps the common riff raff accompanying them may be inspired to win this spoon, perhaps it will be the first eating utensil for most for them but still we do not go out to please the peasants do we?”

“Well to some degree sire, you don’t want them revolting because of ill treatment after all.”

“Ill treatment? My peasants are treated just fine, do my knights not stand over defending their pathetic lives granting them the safety to toil for the kingdom? Do I not graciously allow them their monthly festivals when they should be working on the fields? And have I not allowed this soccer thing to spread to their miserable hovels so that they may state that in their own insignificant way they may actually do something even nobles partake in. In fact I have even granted them the right to stand as near equals with their betters in this tourneys if they can prove themselves skilled enough.”

“Of course sire, forgive my ill thought words. I shall send a herald with word that this Spoon is not to be returned to the kingdom and to sue any means possible to avoid gaining its possession.”

“Very well you may go now.”


((ooc- woohoo Tynelia's "take the air out the ball" approach didn't land them last! i think this covers everything for them now, first try in the consolation bracket, second try in the championship bracket and now the middle bracket))

Edgar Bluff was fearful for the Little Tits. It had been a learning experience for them but he hoped they would not be too shattered by crushing defeat after crushing defeat. The point against Tynelia was an uinexpected bonus but 2-0 down against Bazalonia's B team meant that the best chance of a win was beyond them.

Or was it? With five minutes to go Alison Bettles pulled one back from a tight angle. And in injury time Ashcroft got her head to a corner to make it 2-2. Time for a third? No - the whistle went before the game could re-start. But that goal meant that Wentland was not bottom of the group.

Time to recover for the consolation bracket. First opponents? Erm...oh.

The Jeruselem team were rather tired and sore after playing a scoreless draw with The Archregimancy who put on a team a steam-powered robots. The draw helped Bequerelia into the Championship bracket and ironically Jeruselem played Bequerelia next game. The Archregimancy finished 3rd and had to settle into the Secondary Bracket.

John Jerk addressed his players who didn't look very happy
"Actually you guys did pretty well against them robots. OK, no one scored but at least we kept them out of our goal. Remember, The Archregimancy are ranked ahead of us and should have been the better team. In fact, they should have beaten us! So, don't be disappointed guys. We topped out group and are in the top 8 of this tournament. We could have won but playing a bunch of robots isn't something you normally do so it's alright. Now, this game is a demonstration of next game though. We play Bequ..., you know, that team. We beat them last time but this time it's going be harder. It's a Championship game - you got to throw everything into these games. The good news these Bequ ... err are people so you're not tackling tanks on the field. We do get some time between this and the Championships so if you've got any injuries, tell us now. This is so we can fix things real quick. I don't play injured players because it's not good for you. Soccer is showed playing injured players too often does not work, so let's all get fit for next game. They will be some R&R time for those aren't feeling so good. That's all guys. I'm getting in the physio now as most you seem to need some attention. I would have not finished out there at my age, but you guys are tougher than I."

And we turn back around to see what's behind us:


Becquerelia's Current Results and Upcoming Schedule
WIN DRAW LOSS
MD01: Becquerelia - 2 The Lowland Clans - 0

It was a game of contrasts in the Draggonnii Inviyatii opener. The Lowland Clans National Team came out looking sloppy and out of step, while the Becquerelians looked surprising prepared and ready to play. A fully solid effort all across the board earned the Black Cats the victory.

The goals were scored by Niceaus Annunziata in the 32nd minute, and Arik Dotan in the 50th minute.

MD02: Becquerelia - 2 Dorian And Sonya - 0

The Mystical Unicorns helped the Becquerelians out alot by coming to the game hungover from excessive partying the night before. They seemed unable to deal with large amonunt of running and excessive shouting involved in the game, and Arik Dotan scored twice.

One moment of excitement came when Defender Daniel Riske appeared to hit on Dorian And Sonya Brigette Deteso during the match, earning him a slap to the face away from the sight of the referees. Riske would publicly apologize for his cheekiness after the match.

MD03: Jeruselem - 1 Becquerelia - 0

It seemed like it was more that Becquerelia lost than Jeruselem won. Jeruselem played what they themselves considered a sloppy game, and Becquerelia had several good chances to score wasted throughout the game.

MD04: The Archregimancy - 0 Becquerelia - 1

Heard before the game:

"Robots? We're playing robots?"

"Automatons. We're actually playing automatons."

"Oh."

It was later revealed that the "automatons" we're actually suffering from dirty steam vents, leading to sluggish "play." Though they played well enough to get Ambrose Wainwright angry enough to peg one of the Eusebius' with a carefully aimed shot in the general head area, leading to the golem falling to the turf, starting a small grass fire, and earning Wainwright a red card.

Said Wainwright coming off the field: "How can I get a red card? They're robots! They can't feel pain!"

Forward Gregory Conveniencia scored the Black Cat goal in the 23rd minute.

MD05: Becquerelia - 3 Tessan - 0

The intrepid, and long-suffering Knights of Tessan were dissprited coming into the match, and came out of it feeling only worse. Arik Dotan scored twice, in the 11th and 34th minute, and almost earned a hat trick in the 57th minute, but his shot was deflected away by the Tessan goalkeeper. Paul Annunziata finished off the scoring in the 67th minute.

The Becquerelian win, plus the Jeruselem-Archregimancy scoreless tie catapaulted the Becquerelian Black Cats into the Championship bracket, and a rematch with Jeruselem.

Woodstock Daily Mail

Stars win 'war' against Milchama

By Ryan Calvin
Daily Mail Staff Writer

The one rivalry match the Sarzonian national football team had to look forward to in the group stage of the fourth Draggonnii Inviyatii tournament couldn't have gotten off to a worse start for the Stars.

After Sarzonia essentially made mincemeat of the other teams on its schedule, it was group top seeds Milchama who struck first and who dominated the first half. But Sarzonia stormed back with two goals in the final 10 minutes of the match to defeat the Warriors 2-1.

"We looked really flat out there," Coach Mark Wingate said. "I'm disappointed. I thought we'd play with a lot more spark."

The Stars needed a fiery speech from forward Steve Jacobson, who could have had a legitimate gripe about poor service from the midfield leading to only one scoring chance. However, he set up his own scoring chance before being fouled in the box by a Milchama defender. Forward Larry Cornwell converted the penalty to draw the match level in the 80th minute.

"That play was huge," Cornwell said. "Without it, we lose the game."

Wingate had already used his three substitutions for the match to bring attack-minded players, but said even if he had all three substitutions available, he wouldn't have played for the draw.

"A draw is too much like kissing your sister," Wingate said. "Truth be told, I wanted to see us play with some fire, which we hadn't until about the 60 minute mark."

With injury time creeping up on the Stars, midfielder Chris Tunstall surprised most of the Warriors by electing to shoot rather than pass the ball to midfielder Brad Clausen or Jacobson. His shot tricked into the net past the Milchaman goalkeeper and gave the Stars a lead as the clock reached the 90th minute.

"I just thought I had a good opportunity to shoot it," Tunstall said. "I'm glad it went in."

Despite a late flurry from Milchama, the Stars finished the group stage as one of only two teams to sport a 5-0-0 record. Only Starblaydia in Group 1 has a better mark due to more goals scored and greater goal differential than the Stars. For Wingate, however, the important part of the job isn't done yet.

"We want to win the tournament," he said. "And we're probably going to have to go through Starblaydia to do it."

Qutar Sports News Network

"We want to win the tournament," he said. "And we're probably going to have to go through Starblaydia to do it."

First they're going to have to get through us, and believe me they've seriously underestimated us. Sarzonia have been in decline since World Cup 26, once a powerfull force in football, they managed to slow the decline slightly in the last World Cup making it to the Second Round along with us. We've gone from strength to strength in the Draggonnii Inviyatii so far, with an unbeaten run so far.

We shouldn't make the same mistake Sarzonia are making, we know it will be a tough match but the lads are in great form and with new talent like Stefanos Armaos. The new Ali playing with the old, should be a formidable match.

Jason Bourne gathered the team together after the 3-1 win over McPsychoville.

"girls, even thought we've not seen eye-to-eye I'm proud of ya. To finish in the top 16 at this tourney is something to be proud of. But I'm not proud I want us to finish in the top 10 and the only way to do that is beat Schiavonia tommorrow. Get a good night's sleep.. you're gonna need it tommorrow morning."

(just posted before yours ASMV.. so i'll just add it)

QSPN NEWSBREAK
After the 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Schiavonia, Jason Bourne was last seen banging his head aginst a brick wall. What motavation for the next match against Haraki is unknown, but Coach Bourne was taken to a local hospital with a mild consussion. Iit is uncertain as to his abilty to coach the next game.

Championship Bracket Day 1

Starblaydia 5:0 Milchama - Inferii Domei, Tua Monafu
Jeruselem 2:0 Bequerelia - Carrington Championship Arena, Carrington
Casari 2:0 ASMV - Errion Vega Stadii, Errion Vega
Sarzonia 1:1(2:1 AET) The Islands of Qutar - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea, Errion Vega

Secondary Bracket Day 1

The Archregimancy 1:0 Tynelia - Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse, Meldenburg
Ariddia 6:1 Dorian and Sonya - Lighthouse Stadium, Amarillo
Schiavonia 4:1 Qazox - Pandemonium Domei, Panderros Que
New Montreal States 2:0 Haraki - The Bull Ring, Radiance

Consolation Bracket Day 1

Hypocria 6:2 Tilean Free States - Las Cruces Stadii, Las Cruces
Wentland 2:1 Bazalonia - Beachfront Arena, Isla De Marte
The Lowland Clans 2:0 Quackmybush - The Assylum, Millsport
McPsychoville 4:0 Tessan - The Venue, Kelsey



Championship Bracket Day 2


Starblaydia vs Jeruselem - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea, Errion Vega
Casari vs Sarzonia - Lighthouse Stadium, Amarillo

Milchama vs Bequerelia - The Venue, Kelsey
ASMV vs The Islands of Qutar - The Assylum, Millsport

Secondary Bracket Day 2

The Archregimancy vs Ariddia - Carrington Championship Arena, Carrington
Schiavonia vs New Montreal States - Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse, Meldenburg

Tynelia vs Dorian and Sonya - Beachfront Arena, Isla De Marte
Qazox vs Haraki - Inferii Domei, Tua Monafu

Consolation Bracket Day 2

Hypocria vs Wentland - Errion Vega Stadii, Errion Vega
The Lowland Clans vs McPsychoville - Pandemonium Domei, Panderros Que

Tilean Free States vs Bazalonia - The Bull Ring, Radiance
Quackmybush vs Tessan - Las Cruces Stadii, Las Cruces

The herald bearing the word of Tessan’s last crushing defeat trembled as he neared the throne room. King John was even more unpredictable than usual and shorter tempered than ever after the team’s pitiful showing to date in the “great dragon hunt” as the King called it. Entering the throne room he saw the king sitting atop the throne was a smile on his face. Feeling relived the herald opened his mouth to speak.

“Your majesty i…” but the king cut him off.

“Yes yes I know, we were defeated by the lunatics and lost again. At least these fools who run this event have shown their apologies for the treatment of my squad to set up an enjoyable exhibition next.” The king replied relaxedly.

“Exhibition sire? The tourney is sill going on.” The herald pointed on perplexed.

“Ah but look who is next, a bunch of ducks. Clearly the hosts wish to allow my knights some sport and entertainment as apology for my knights not getting to slay the dragon.”

“But Your Majesty,” the herald dared, “ I do not think that Quakmybush is a bunch of ducks, some say they have even done what our team could not and qualified for the Cup event on their first try when our knights failed.”

“Don’t believe everything you hear my good herald, this is obviously a code name to make things look good. I hope my knights have kept up their archery skills. Duck hunting should be good practice for when they return. Pity I forgot to send along some hunting dogs to fetch the kills from the waters, but there are commoners with the squad, they should be able to fill in for the dogs one would think.”

“Um, yes sire.” The herald answered defeated knowing that nothing save another defeat might convince the king that he was in error. Then again knowing the king he would no doubt put the blame on the poor herald who dared remind him of petty details like facts. Bowing, the herald turned and left quickly hoping that the king hadn’t spread his misunderstanding any further in the castle.


((OOC- puts in a request to not have my teams play the Archregimancy for a LONG time, between the WC and here i think my two nations have played them about 6 times now...))

"The Wentland fans have started whistling already...there are fully three minutes plus injury time to go...but they can smell a belated first victory...Gold's goal looks like the winner...

"The Bazalopes are pounding away but they are not looking like breaking through...indeed, Layton has cleared it and Gold is chasing...can she make it three? One on one...no, she's taking it to the corner flag...quad habemus tenemus indeed...and now Bettles has joined her...they're playing one-twos with the corner flag...the Bazalopes can't get it off them and there's a foul, free-kick to Wentland...now a posse of Wentland players is around the ball...there's no-one between them and their own area where the defence remains...into injury time now...the referee has had enough and blows the final whistle...the Wentland bench erupts in joy as the Little Tits have done it...a narrow victory, but victory nonetheless...Wentland 2, Bazalonia 1..."

John Jerk was addressing his team after they beat Bequerelia 2-0 to make into the top 4 of the Championship bracket

"Great game. Last time we played Bequerelia, we played like crap - real crap. Today, that was much better and guess what? We are not far away from being the champs, really. That's the good news, but I have real bad news. We play Starblaydia next ..."

<everyone moans>

"I know, I know. We ALWAYS seem to lose to Starblaydia. In the World Cup, Women's World Cup, under 21s, and etcetera. Harry's team for the invitational 3 lost to Starblaydia as well in the last game although it was for 5th spot and we finished 6th. Never mind, you guys can change this. OK, they beat the living daylights of our Milchama FIVE NIL and we only won TWO NIL but think positive."

<everyone moans>

"This game against Starblaydia. It's really important. In fact, just two more wins would do the job. Beating the mighty Starblaydia is going to harder than beating Casari or Sarzonia, as well, we can beat the other two while Starblaydia is our real bogey team. If we do lose, we will still be 3rd and 4th which isn't bad. So train hard tomorrow and maybe we can the impossible! On the other hand we might need some divine intervention as well, but anything that helps will do."

Too close. Too fucking close.

Mark Wingate looked bitterly at the scoreboard as the clock inched ever closer toward penalties. The Sarzonian national team's luck with penalty kick tiebreakers had run out three years ago, when the Stars lost to eventual World Cup finalists Audioslavia in penalties and Wingate didn't exactly relish the thought of the whistle sounding after a second scoreless 15 minute extra session with no one scoring.

However, forward Larry Cornwell, playing as the target player when strike partner Steve Jacobson was subbed out at the 100 minute mark, finally found his range after four near-miss bids during regulation and overtime. His goal in the 118th minute finally gave Sarzonia the break it needed to defeat The Islands of Qutar 2-1.

Now Wingate and his charges would face the defending world champions in the semifinals of the Draggonnii Inviyatii. If Sarzonia wants to reclaim the throne in this invitational tournament, they'll have to depose the World Cup champions to do it.

"This was one hell of a game," Wingate said as he made the deliberate walk from the field to the press room inside the Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea. "Remind me never to open my mouth about predictions again," he said as he addressed assistant coach Brian Wilson. Wilson only grunted in response, well aware that Wingate was still somewhat in learning mode even though he'd already had one World Cup under his belt.

When Wingate crossed the threshold into the press room, he saw four members of the Qutar Sports News Network, some with pens in hand, while others had recording devices of some kind. He could tell by the looks on their faces they had every intention of calling him on the comments he made in the Woodstock Daily Mail.

He also felt himself turn bright red as an expected question about whether or not the Stars underestimated The Islands of Qutar came his way.

"It's hard to underestimate a team that won the Baptism of Fire Cup and advanced to the World Cup finals in its first go," Wingate said. "I made the cardinal mistake that any manager should never make, and that's look past an opponent. In fact, I made the mistake of looking past the defending world champs.

"Look, we knew going in it wasn't going to be an easy match. Now we know things are going to get even tougher from here on out. There isn't a patsie in the bunch now that we're in the final four teams in this tournament."

That still didn't go over real well, Wingate thought. Fuck.

No-One Anywhere Near Close
Starblaydi streak continues to Semis

Officially the best-ranked team in the world, with the best-ranked regional team in Atlantian Oceania, they're the former World Champions and have been described - by people other than Starblaydis - as the greatest team in the Universe.

Six games. Six wins. Six awe-inspiring, ass-kicking, breath-taking and record-making wins. Two four-nils, a pair of five-ones, a five-nil and a six-one. Twenty-nine goals in those six games, with World Cup 30's 'keeper Paola Mendez letting just three past her, even scoring one herself in the process.

In the Quarter-Final match, the first of the championship bracket games, Tabitha Di Bradini scored the second goal, setting a little landmark that every outfield player in the starting eleven had scored in the tournament. Just one remained, of course, the goalie. Nothing unusual about that, of course, a 'keeper not scoring. In fact only one Starblaydi 'keeper has ever scored an international goal and that was the half-mad (or all-mad, if you listen to Rejistanians) Corominas, who scored in the Semi-Final of AOCAF10 against Vilita, in Extra Time.

With Starblaydia 4-0 up near the end of the game against Milchama, Mendez decided to try and get herself on the scoresheet. Not a difficulty, judging by the Milchaman defending, so when a corner came along, Mendez ran up for it and headed in, at an acute angle, her first goal for her country. Probably her only and last, but never mind that.

Starblaydia now face Jeruselem in the Semi-Final, with either Casari or Sarzonia in one of the final placing matches for the top four of the fourth Dragonnii Inviyatii. Can Starblaydia do it? The odds are massively in their favour, what with the current winning streak, but can anyone stop them? Jeruselem, surprise World Champions and neighbours Casari and the ever-dreaded Sarzonians all could stand in STarblaydia's way, but with a record of 6-0-0 and 29-3, will it even be possible to stop the purple reign?

National Disgrace

Labranche removed from coaching position, St-Gilbert to assume role

NEW MONTREAL - With the Paladins crashing out of the championship bracket for the first time ever in the DI - and, most embarassingly, during a supposed title defense - Hubert Labranche's control of the team has officially ended, as the Ministry of Morale finally found enough popular support to remove Labranche from power. This left the side with no coach, and nobody particularly enthusiastic about stepping into the breach - leaving the spot for Armand St-Gilbert, a little league coach from St-Norman-les-Hautes-Parages, a suburb of Valdemont. The only catch is that St-Gilbert coached baseball.

So with the future of the team, at least for the interim, in the hands of a little league baseball coach, the team took to the pitch for a match against the Hawks of Haraki, low ratings guarenteed. And indeed, the match against Haraki garnered a mere 5.3 - the lowest every for a national-side playoff by a large margin, and less than the crucial Montrealais League Central Division matchup between Valdy and Sorel. Said commissioner Hugh Blackmoor: "Shows that baseball really is cooler than watching our national side suck it up."

TILEANS ECSTATIC AT 2 GOAL GAME

Tilea didn't come into this competition as anything like favourites and the people of Tilea knew that their soccer side wouldn't do very well. The news that Tilea had scored 2 goals in a single game was enough to send Tilean soccer fans wild with joy.

Tilea was also becoming famous for their wardance, not unlike the Haka done by the New Zealand rugby team, it was designed to immediate the opposition, so far it had failed to do anything of the sort but it had served to fire up the Tilea people and the Soccer team.

Championship Bracket Day 2


Starblaydia 1:0 Jeruselem - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea, Errion Vega
Casari 2:2(2:2 AET Casari 3:2 Pens) Sarzonia - Lighthouse Stadium, Amarillo

Milchama 2:1 Bequerelia - The Venue, Kelsey
ASMV 1:2 The Islands of Qutar - The Assylum, Millsport

Secondary Bracket Day 2

The Archregimancy 5:1 Ariddia - Carrington Championship Arena, Carrington
Schiavonia 0:2 New Montreal States - Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse, Meldenburg

Tynelia 1:2 Dorian and Sonya - Beachfront Arena, Isla De Marte
Qazox 0:3 Haraki - Inferii Domei, Tua Monafu

Consolation Bracket Day 2

Hypocria 2:3 Wentland - Errion Vega Stadii, Errion Vega
The Lowland Clans 2:1 McPsychoville - Pandemonium Domei, Panderros Que

Tilean Free States 0:3 Bazalonia - The Bull Ring, Radiance
Quackmybush 0:1 Tessan - Las Cruces Stadii, Las Cruces

Championship Match
Starblaydia vs Casari - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea

3rd Place Match
Jeruselem vs Sarzonia - Errion Vega Stadii

5th Place Match
Milchama vs The Islands of Qutar - carrington Championship Arena

7th Place Match
Bequerelia vs ASMV - Inferii Domei

9th Place Match
The Archregimancy vs New Montreal States - Meldenburg Mountain fieldhouse

11th Place Match
Ariddia vs Schiavonia - Lighthouse Stadium

13th Place Match
Dorian and Sonya vs Haraki - Beachfront Arena

15th Place Match
Tynelia vs Qazox - Pandemonium Domei

17th Place Match
Wentland vs The Lowland Clans - The Bull Ring

19th Place Match
Hypocria vs McPsychoville - Las Cruces Stadii

21st Place Match
Bazalonia vs Tessan - The Venue

Dead Last Match
Tilean Free States vs Quackmybush - The Assylum

Jason Bourne sat in his office.. "not Tynelia again.. We've played them too much lately."

THE MONASTIC TIMES

STEAM POWERED ROBOTS TO PLAY NEW MONTREAL STATES
Ariddia Crushed

Monastic sport fans took a moment to shift their attention from the Olympic team's first medals in Casari to notice that the steam-powered 'Eusebius' robots would have the unenviable task of facing the Archregimancy's co-hosts from Cup of Harmony 16 and World Cup 28.

"But we don't want to beat New Montreal States!" said a senior archimandrite, speaking on condition of anonymity. "They're our friends! They're virtually the only country in NationStates sport we actually get along with! Them and Magnus Valerius, anyway."

The Monastic Football Association are said to be investigating whether or not it's worth throwing the match.

The steam-powered robots have achieved the honour of playing off for a mighty ninth place after crushing World Cup founders Ariddia 5-1 in a match mainly notable for the automatons demoralising (to the Ariddians) total indifference to the Ulek.

John Jerk was addressing his team after losing to Starblaydia 0-1. The team were very disappointed they did not make the final.

"Guys, guys. It's alright! OK, we lost the game but we lost to Starblaydia. The Women's World Cup 2, our girls lost to one team - Starblaydia but still became World Champs. You guys were unlucky, we could have played Casari or Sarzonia. Starblaydia always beat us - but we have one more game left. We play Sarzonia for 3rd. One more game. OK, it's not the final but you weren't expected to make it this far at all. There's nothing wrong with you guys, we just had a bad today against a team Jeruselem never seem to beat. Losing 0-1 is not bad, we didn't get trashed but showed them we can make a challenge of it. I think you've done enough already to impress your critics. Remember, we are playing national teams here although maybe not quite upto World Cup class but they are proper national teams. No one expected you to make it here, so you are not losers. Top 4 team ... we've only ever done done that in the under 21s and Women's world cup and one Cup of Harmony and maybe a futsal tournament. BE PROUD"

<John pulls out some cheques>

"Now, I didn't tell you something. You guys get a bonus if we bettered Harry's teams 6th placing and well, here it is. All of you get a bonus! And you've helped me. With this performance I can try for the position of World Cup coach after Harry decides to retire. Now, it is possible for me and you to be at the World Cup. Maybe not 30 but 31."

<John hands the cheques to happy players>

Deju Vu in DI

After a surprising run in group play where despite being the lowest seed in the group, the hastily summoned Tyr Ferrets filling in for the national squad managed to avoid the consolation bracket. While not winning one match the team's three draws was enough to finish a distant fourth thanks to some strong defensive work and excellent keeping from Jim Michaels considering what he was up against. In their bracket they fell to the Archregimancy, ironically faring better than the national squad did their first time against the monks. Then dropped the next match to Dorian and Sonya.

Now like the last DI, the squad finds itself playing Qazox, just as the national team did in the final match of DI play. This time however both teams are playing to avoid being last in the second bracket rather than the championship one.

((OOc- yeah i know i said i wasn;t going to post again but i actually managed to sign in as Tynelia for a change so figured what the hell. i do find it ironic that my 60th ranked Tynelia team couldn't beat then unranked Quakmybush in two tries but now that they're in the top 50 my barely in top 100 puppet takes them out.))

"So we will come 17th or 18th? In the world? Wow, we weren't that high as women 2 World Cups ago!"

The Little Tits' spirits were soaring despite nearly throwing away an easy-looking win over Hypocria in Errion Vega. The home crowd had clearly taken to the Wentland girls and many had inflatable tits in the crowd. Edgar Bluff was seen to approve.

The team responded to this unexpected support and were three-up by half-time with Alison Bettles proving deadly in the six-yard box from a corner for the first and the tall Jane Anderson glancing home a second from a Leader free-kick. Gold made it three when pouncing on a back-pass.

The second half was a different affair as Hypocria came out with a vengeance and pegged it back to 3-2 with twenty minutes to go. With Cassidy looking beleagured in goal Bluff decided to risk a goalkeeping substitution and Torpenhow came on to add some experience. It worked - she pulled off a couple of excellent saves to ensure another win for Wentland and the possibility of winning the Consolation Cup.

PALADINS OVERCOME SLOTH

States also defeat Schiavonia 2-0

ANDOSSA SE MITRIN VEGA - In a match that hardly drew more attention than domestic baseball's lineup for the night, the Paladins overcame their friends the Schiavones 2-0 in a solidly played match that amply demonstrated new coach Armand St-Gilbert's aptness to head up the national program.

Although St-Gilbert's training program had come under intensive questionning before the match by reporters who doubted that having the team take a baseball-style pregame fielding drill was appropriate as a warm-up, St-Gilbert seems to have won the day for now.

The Paladins will face their friends, brothers in Christ and erstwhile co-hosts the Archregimancy, who have experienced remarkable success with their steam-powered Eusebius robots, despite an incident in which the field was light afire after one malfunctioning robot was knocked to the ground in the penalty area. St-Gilbert, himself a devout Orthodox Christian, expressed his hope that the match might be played "in a spirit of fellowship and brotherhood."

Hyppos Gunning For . . . Um . . . 19th Place


That’s right. It’s been another less than impressive DI display but hey, it could be worse. We could be the Tilean Free States. Bless them but the Tileans don’t seem to have quite got the hang of the beautiful game. Twice now the Hyppos have played them in this tournament and have netted an impressive ELEVEN goals in those two games. The men in blue and white hit five in the group game and then went one better with six in the first round of bracket play. Molinari showed once again how he enjoys playing against the Tileans. He bagged a brace in the first game and netted a hattrick in the second. Sousa, Dudamel and Webber also contributed in the rout. Although being the generous souls we are, it was only fair to let them have a couple of goals to boast about, and boast they did.

Unfortunately, when faced with a side that actually knew what they were doing the Hyppos slipped up. Giving Wentland a three goal head start was possibly a little too generous. And although the Autocracy’s finest did pull two back it wasn’t enough. The fact that we lost to a side of women calling themselves the “Little Tits” will be stricken from the record.

That defeat sets up a titanic encounter with McPsychoville for the monumental privilege of finishing 19th in the Draggonnii Inviyatii. Las Cruces Stadii will be the venue for the Hyppos match with a side whose fans and media alike were banned for several rounds after a bizarre outburst against the nation of Vilita. Meanwhile, spare a thought for those poor Tileans. The men from the Free States take on Quackmybush (or something) in the Dead Last Match. We wish them luck.

Championship Match
Starblaydia 2:2(2:3 AET) Casari - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea

3rd Place Match
Jeruselem 0:1 Sarzonia - Errion Vega Stadii

5th Place Match
Milchama 1:2 The Islands of Qutar - carrington Championship Arena

7th Place Match
Bequerelia 1:0 ASMV - Inferii Domei

9th Place Match
The Archregimancy 1:1(1:1 AET NMS 3-1 Pens) New Montreal States - Meldenburg Mountain fieldhouse

11th Place Match
Ariddia 5:3 Schiavonia - Lighthouse Stadium

13th Place Match
Dorian and Sonya 1:0 Haraki - Beachfront Arena

15th Place Match
Tynelia 2:1 Qazox - Pandemonium Domei

17th Place Match
Wentland 0:0 (0:1 AET) The Lowland Clans - The Bull Ring

19th Place Match
Hypocria 3:0 McPsychoville - Las Cruces Stadii

21st Place Match
Bazalonia 4:0 Tessan - The Venue

Dead Last Match
Tilean Free States 1:1 (1:2 AET) Quackmybush - The Assylum


Thanks to everyone for another great DI. Congrats to Casari for their DI Championship.

Jason Bourne sat in his office after the 2-1 loss to Tynelia, placing Qazox in 16th place at the 4th Draggonnii Inviyatii.

"I gave it my best shot." he thought as he cleared out his desk. "I'm glad we didn't finish dead last but this ain't gonna help my chances of being a coach again. I blew 2 chances on the last matchday to get into the World Cup, finished 16th here this time, 10th in the 2nd one, 2 embarrassing CoH's. What's next coaching college or high school soccer?"

Just then a soft timid knock on the door interuptted his thoguhts. "Come In"

A woman he had not seen before came into the room.

"Mr. Bourne.. I have a proposition for you.. but you must come now...."

(OOC: I really didn't do to good in this one... saving my good stuff for WC XXX.... GL to all in qualifing and congrats to Casari for the double)

Certainly We Remember Dancing in September

Paladins tip slightly malfunctioning Eusebiuses amidst blamefest at Ministry

ANDOSSA SE MITRIN VEGA - The stress of tournament play proved too much for the steam-powered Eusebius robots of the Archregimancy as their forward units broke down during the penalty shootout. After Gilles Villeneuve scored on the first shot to put the States up 1-0, the two Eusebius-forwards who were in spots numbers one and two for the Archregimancy broke down and began performing an Earth, Wind and Fire number. This potentially embarassing moment turned into a demonstration of international Orthodox footballing brotherhood as a triumphant Gilles Villeneuve sprinted out onto the field to join them, with Gilles singing harmony and one of the Eusebi sythesizing the brass while the other kept going on lead. All was well with the world, until the referee ran up, threatening to disallow the goal if Gilles didn't get off the field along with one of the Eusebi.

And so baffled technicians led off the still-singing robots, with Gilles following right behind, and the robots who weren't programmed as forwards missed several key shots, giving the States 9th place. This result, though welcome after a complete letdown during the initial qualification stage, still was not enough to satisfy the "fan in the street" who now seem to be demanding the resignation of the Minister of Morale, Spiro Phelps, in larger and larger numbers.

[[And congratulations Casari, and thank you ASMV for yet another masterful effort]]

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b20/Casari/4sport.png
It seems it can be done
Extra-Time victory over Starblaydia

Starblaydia's had the Schneid on us, we'll admit. We've met twice in the WC Octofinals, and we lost both times. Starblaydia also went to win the damn thing both times as well. So matches with Starblaydia have in the past tended to not go well for us.

Of course, belief that we're going to lose causes two reactions- acceptance of our inevitable fate, or dressing up in your kit, grabbing that stupid hat with cat ears on it from 4 world cups ago, and singing your ass off like an idiot in one final explosion of false hope.

While we maintain a decent number of the second each match against a Starblaydia or a Bedistan, it's hard to say who actually believes there is some kind of hope after all.

So two-nil down at the 60th minute on goals by Zinaldi and Maitland, one might dismiss a Robert Scoir goal as a freak accident. One might have another, similar reaction to a Lari Elsise goal 10 minutes later.

The break between the end of regular time and extra time, most people would say that it was a spectacular effort to take the best team in the world to extra time. But honestly, who believes Nina Leir would put the bionic leg to good use and put the winning goal in the net, especally against a team that murdered most of the competition on the way to the same match?

At least eleven, we'd say.

((Thanks to ASMV for the great tournement, and particularly for the trophy. :p Now the case won't seem quite so empty.))