NationStates Jolt Archive

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Welcome one and all to Valanora for the Ninth edition of the Di Bradini Cup. For only the second time in its' history, the competition will be held outside of Starblaydia. Good luck to everyone.

The Draw

Group A
Valanora (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14676083&postcount=15)
Yafor II (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14676045&postcount=14)
Cassadaigua (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14675845&postcount=13)
Krytenia
Lovisa

Group B
Candelaria And Marquez (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14675614&postcount=12)
Bears Armed (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14676760&postcount=17)
Sarzonia (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14673518&postcount=4)
Norwellia (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14677179&postcount=18)
The Han Empire

Group C
Sorthern Northland
Starblaydia
Kura-Pelland
Cafundéu (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14674759&postcount=9)
Nethertopia

Group D
Secristan (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14673689&postcount=5)
Taeshan (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14673210&postcount=3)
Newmanistan (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14674728&postcount=8)
Peisandros (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14674504&postcount=6)
Dancougar (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14674548&postcount=7)

Fixtures
MD1: 4v5, 2v3, 1 bye
MD2: 1v2, 3v4, 5 bye
MD3: 3v5, 1v4, 2 bye
MD4: 4v2, 5v1, 3 bye
MD5: 1v3, 2v5, 4 bye

* It was a complete random draw apart from Valanora being placed in first in Group A as hosts.

There always comes a time when a great thing must come to an end. 7 years ago a band of 14 year olds from Atlantea School District's East Greenville Middle School began a 7 year treck into the World of High Level football. Though they missed the second addition of the Di Bradini Cup they have been longg together and are a tight nit team. As they are the Under 21 National team and they are all except Jamie Spenser 21 they have ended ppossibly there football careers international as they come into this the ninth addition of the Di Bradini Cup and will look to have one final harrah at a Worl Championship.

Isaac Newton 43 21 GK Ranju(Daehanjeiguk)
Chuck the Duck 7 21 LD Laketown Pythons
Alan Pearsin 77 21 CD New Capetown Falcons
Rickys Meyerse 11 21 RD Wannum(Daehanjieguk)
Axe Lewis 8 21 RM Atlantea Hurricanes
Jake Del Rio 33 21 RCM Capetown Crocs
Zack the Geek 17 21 LCM Capetown Crocs
Myan Inca 44 21 LM None
Alan Gregory 42 21 LS Pyeonyang Gukjei
Jamie Spenser 23 18 CS Ying Jing Yankees
Ricky Zellefrow 14 21 RS Wiechester FC
SUBS
Argentin Royal 2 21 GK None
Zeke Rogers 3 21 D Wolfin Wolves
Steve Komen 4 21 M Bayern Phoenix
Theo Aztec 5 21 S None

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/SarzHome4.jpghttp://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/SarzAway4.jpghttp://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/SarzThird4.jpg
Note: Home kits have a primarily navy colour scheme; away kits are primarily white; keeper kits the third set shown.

I Give My Opponent Permission To:
====================
Choose Scorers: Y
GodMod Goalscoring Events: N

Injure Players: Y (within reason)
GodMod Injury Events N

Red Card Players: Y (within reason)
Yellow Card Players: Y (within reason)
GodMod Other Events: N
====================

Sarzonia Junior Stars

Manager: Chris Merrill (50 years old)
Merrill's tenure as the manager of the Stars completes a stunning turnaround for the former Rockets assistant. Shortly after manager Brian Carson fired Merrill, then-Junior Stars manager Brett Hancock tapped Merrill to be manager-in-waiting. With Hancock's promotion to technical director, Merrill now assumes matchday responsibilities.
Assistant: Matt Matthews (37 years old)
Matthews only retired from playing for the Portland Timbers three years ago, but he still has the fitness to play a match if needed for a Sarzonian Football Confederation side. His youth will be counted on to relate well to younger players.
Goalkeeping Coach: Troy Perkins (57 years old)
The return of Perkins to the Sarzonian football fold is another major surprise. After Perkins was supplanted as the Stars all time goalkeeper by Horace Sandt, most figured Perkins would simply ride off into the sunset. The return of the team to respectability in its first qualifying effort in 13 Cups brought Perkins out of retirement.

Squad Listing
(Note: Starters in BOLD. Team plays a 4-4-2 alignment with a plus-one modifier.)

No. Name Position Height Weight
1 Mike Henshaw GK 5'11" 165 pounds
Henshaw, 16, was strongly considered to wear the captain's armband even as a goalkeeper and despite being by far the youngest player on the Junior Stars squad. His maturity likely comes from being the son and grandson of goalkeepers who suited up for the Woodstock Wild.

2 Cullen Maxwell D 6'1" 180 pounds
Maxwell, 20, is the actual Junior Stars captain. He has a mental toughness that comes from having a father and an uncle serving in the Incorporated Sarzonian Navy. Maxwell declined an invitation to join the ISN, something that never happens in Sarzonia. However, he signed a contract with Radyukevich CSC in Candelaria and Marquez.

3 Skip Prossett D 5'9" 190 pounds
Prossett, 19, is nearly as physical as Spencer Hicks is on the senior Stars side. However, he doesn't have the reputation for playing dirty football that Hicks does. He is considered the most aggressive player in the weight room for either Stars side, but also runs religiously.

4 Liz Lewis D 5'5" 130 pounds
Lewis, 20, owes some of her ferocity to being the half sister of Hicks. She is not someone even the largest Stars male player would want to be caught with in a back alley. Led her league in send offs for fighting.

5 Jon Putnam D/M 6'1 180 pounds
Putnam, 18, can play both midfield and defence almost equally well. He's better in the midfield because of his ball skills, but takes great pride in shutting down offensive players when he plays defence. He does well with positioning and reading opposing forwards and playmaking midfielders.

7 Erik Murdock D 5'10 157 pounds
Murdock, 20, plays for Woodstock Junior College, where he just began classes even though he graduated from A levels at 17. He has the ball skills to play midfield and the striking ability to play forward, but he excels at shutting down opposing forwards and defenders with speed and anticipation.

8 Elise Raven M 5'7 140 pounds
A daughter of Jenna Raven, Elise Raven maintains some of her mother's ball skills and her leadership abilities. She's 19 years old.

9 Bob Graham M 5'11 169 pounds
An emigre from the former nation of The Lowland Clans, his parents escaped Graham City during the massive war in Atlantian Oceania to an isolated Sarzonia. The 17-year-old said he finds playing for the Sarzonian Junior Stars a "perfect fit" because the Lowland Clans sides were also called the Stars.

10 Jody Nichols F 6'1 210 pounds
The 20-year-old younger brother of Reese Nichols grew up watching Reese score goals and learned from him. He will be counted on to start for the Stars and hopes to bring some offensive punch to the team. Signed a contract with Shuukyuu Kishin of Dancougar's D-League.

12 Esther Ciccone D 5'6", 127 pounds
Ciccone, 19, nearly made the Woodstock Justice in a rare open tryout for the Sarzonian Football League side. As it stands, she stars on her university's women's football side and is their captain. She has been named the first alternate captain on the Junior Stars.

13 Jared Clayton M 6'3", 200 pounds
The 20-year-old Clayton uses his size to shield the ball from smaller midfielders and defenders and can draw players to him and send excellent through balls to his team's forwards. Sometimes gets too cute with the ball, however, though Radyukevich CSC of Candelaria and Marquez's national league will work on that.

15 Terry Wood M/F 5'11 175 pounds
The only leftfooted player on the Junior Stars, he turned 20 before the eighth Di Brandini Cup began. With his blinding speed, he often is a deadly second half substitute.

16 Joey Alvin M 5'10" 180 pounds
This 18-year-old is another weight room denizen, but uses that more to play a rugged defensive midfielder than for offensive purposes. Could take over playmaking midfielder in an emergency.

17 Tony Chester F 6'3", 210 pounds
He's 20 years old and has high leaping ability, which makes him deadly in the box on high crosses. Known more as a cherry-picker than someone who can create his own offence.

18 Brianne Walker GK, 6'0, 170 pounds
Extremely burly for a goalkeeper, particularly a female goalkeeper, the 19-year-old nearly won the starting job until Henshaw earned a clean sheet in a match against the Wild. Hancock will not hesitate to turn to her if he feels it's necessary.

When Secristan won Di Bradini Cup 7, the parents who bid on the spots for their teenagers were taken aback by their kids rebelling and making friends with the enemy, which then was Cassadaigua (which they are again glad not to see entered). Because they won the title, they were invited back for Di Bradini Cup 8. With a couple of these kids starting at age 13, they remain eligible for this team (Tollisen & Cardona), but it is otherwise a new group. A new group again with parents bidding on spots for their kids with complete disregard to whether or not they are actually good enough to play at this level. All so they can live out their own sports fantasy.


***- Denotes player signed to international contract. Players are very eager to receive international contracts, because in Secristan they have to PAY to be a part of a team. So they like to go somewhere where they can be compensated. No transfer fees apply.

Starters:
GK: #1 Jeremy Sellers (18)
LB: #2 Anthony Caruso (16)
LCB: #4 Benoit LaFontaine (16)
RCB: #5 Tyson Cadrette (17)
RB: #3 Marcus Pericone (16)
LM: #15 Scott Tollisen *** (21)- One of two returnees from the DBC7 and 8 teams.
CAM: #9 Amanda Mattiske (16) – Becomes the first female to play on any Secristani soccer team.
CDM: #7 Richard Golden (19)
RM: #12 Terrence Loftman (17)
LS: #11 Michael Cardona*** (21) (CAPTAIN)- Appeared on the DBC 7 and 8 teams, as well as the national senior team.
RS: #10 Kevin Polinski (15)

Substitutes:
GK: #20 Erwin Kelly (16)
CB: #23 Daniel Brindisi (18)
CB: #6 Patrick Delsignore (16)
MID: #8 Michael Altmeyer (17)
MID: #17 Stuart Nellhaus (17)
ST: #14 Louie Rayman (17)
ST: #16 Scott Polacek (15)

Reserves:
GK: #21 Garrett Holt (15)
CB: #22 Tim Roschko (20)
MID: #18 Peter Firman (16)
ST: #13 Scott Hansbury (15)
Util: #19 Abraham McNulty (18)

Coach: Ryan Fullerton*** (52)

Style Mod: +2

RP Permissions:
Select my scorers — Yes
Give out yellow cards to my players — Yes
Give out red cards to my players — Yes, only one per game and if you do, make it exciting!
RP injuries to my players — Yes only say they are hurt though.
Godmod injuries — No
Godmod scoring events — Yes
Godmod other events — Yes, ONLY if you are going to do something which incorporates our players or fans doing something extremely arrogant or snobbish. No deaths.

Peisandros roster for 9th Di Bradini Cup.

This is the Sandrians second attendence at the U21 cup. In the 8th edition they finished fourth in their group and have been drawn with two of those teams again; Newmanistan who thrashed them 3-0 and Taeshan, who was the Sandrians only victory, 1-0. Also of interest will be Secristan who the Sandrians have met a few times along the way in international fixtures. Dancougar are a relative unknown. They will be hoping for an improvement in this Cup, as the Peisandros Football Association looks to build on the great success of the Cup of Harmony played out last year. Everyone eligible from Di Bradini 8 and WC45 return this year, with seven new players making up the squad. Of real interest are the strikers, all of whom had a part to play in DBC8. Lefteris Diakos has been in scintillating form and is a real player to watch.
(ooc: the WC is played out in a two year cycle for Peisandros)

The Roster:
Starters in bold, newbies italicised.

Goalkeepers:
Ektor Athanasiadis, Age: 19. WC44, DBC8, WC45.
Panagitos Aggelis, Age: 15.
Andreas Mavromichalis, Age: 20. DBC8.

Defenders:
Alexander Maximos, Age: 17. DBC8.
John Tarasios, Age: 16.
Luke Erasmus, Age: 21. WC44, DBC8, WC45.
Grigoris Stergiadis, Age: 19. DBC8.
Vincenzo Kononos, Age: 15.
Theokleia Ypapanti, Age: 17
Nikos Maximos, Age: 17. DBC8, WC45.
Panagiotis Aggelis, Age: 21. DBC8.

Midfielders:
Carsten Jasper, Age: 15.
Petros Zaimis, Age: 18. DBC8, WC45.
Soteri Pipinelis, Age: 19. DBC8.
Praxis Nikolaidis, Age: 20. WC44, DBC8, WC45.
Zoelle Cornelius, Age: 16.
John Leventis, Age: 20. DBC8.
Myron Lias, Age: 14.
Terronious Vourloumis, Age: 19. DBC8.

Strikers:
Lefteris Diakos, Age: 20. WC44, DBC8, WC45
Odysseas Adraktas, Age: 17. DBC8, WC45.
Gregory Roufos, Age: 16. DBC8.
Keith Smith, Age: 19. DBC8.

Management:
Coach: Alketas Alketas.
Assistant coach: John Voskopoulos.

Style:
While sticking with a 4-4-2, the coaching staff has decided to go in a completely different direction style wise. Instead of the usual intense defence, this Sandrian team will be attacking. Hence, the modifier will be +3.

RP Permissions:
Select my scorers — Yes
Give out yellow cards to my players — Yes
Give out red cards to my players — Yes (one per game max)
RP injuries to my players — Yes (but I'll decide the severity)
Godmod injuries — No
Godmod scoring events — No
Godmod other events — No.

"Takeuchi-kun, you do realize what registration deadlines are, correct?"

"I know, sensei. I know that it's my fault that I missed them. But there were things back then that I couldn't avoid! I couldn't plan ahead for the things that I wanted... the way that I wanted. I know there are limits, but please... if you understand my situation, I beg you... let me take this class!!"

"Well... I suppose it would be all right... if there weren't eighty people before you on the waiting list! Muwahahahahahahahaha!!!"

University had been over thirty years ago, and yet he still had the strangest dreams. Shigeru Takeuchi sat up in his bed with the laughter of the teacher and students still ringing in his ears. What nonsense was this, to still have to put up with these dreams. Except... wait. That ringing. No, something in his room was ringing. That's what woke him up. He fumbled for the source in the dark and his hand fell on his cellular phone. He glanced at the clock. What was so important that it couldn't wait until sunrise?

"Hello?" he muttered in the phone, as he threw on his nightrobe and left the room to avoid waking his wife.

"Coach, this is Mr. Wannamaker from the FA, we talked the other day about the Di Bradini Cup," the man replied. Oh, right. The tournament that Dancougar had been late to. Apparently the FA guys had been off on one of their weekend escapades and returned to find out that registration had come and gone. "We just got word from the organizers that they'd decided to accept several latecomers, and we're in that boat!"

"Wait, what about my..." Takeuchi stuttered. When it had turned out that the Wings would miss the tournament, he'd looked forward to a break where the tournament would otherwise have fallen. Except now...

"We'll work something out after the tournament's over," Wannamaker answered. "In the mean time, we need to start preparations immediately. We've short-listed around eighty players and had their packets shipped over to you, and you should get them around nine this morning, and..."

Wannamaker continued to gab, but Takeuchi wasn't really paying attention. He had just a few days to review and assemble a team and then it was off to Valanora. And he'd be expected to improve on that dismal one-point performance in the last one, even though his job wouldn't be at risk unless he pulled some nonsense like that with the senior team.

Oh, and he hadn't been paying attention to college football. That would not help.

Kingdom of Dancougar Black Wings
2039 Di Bradini Cup 9 College All-Stars

At the last Di Bradini Cup, the Wings were humbled. Humiliated. Embarassed, even. A draw and three losses didn't look good, and the draw came courtesy of an own-goal. Then again, Stefan Rosberg came out of that class, and a few other players made the senior reserves, so perhaps there's motivation yet to send another team of college all-stars to challenge the rest of the world's up-and-coming talent. Shigeru Takeuchi will play a more aggressive +2 style with 3-5-2 as the preferred formation.

Starters are bolded. Age and class status is as of the upcoming fall (e.g. someone listed as 20 Jr just finished their sophomore season as a 19-year-old).

GK Brandon Millman (20 Jr - Bremley College)
GK Kensaku Nakama (20 Jr - Cyert Technical Institute)

D Don Clattenburg (19 So - Wightman College)
D Luis Cussen (21 Sr - Cyert Technical Institute)
D Tomas Forslin (19 Jr - Shapiro State University)
D Jeremy Haffner (20 Jr - Shapiro State @ Dawes Pointe)
D William Kabacinski (21 Sr - South Kotaru State University)
D Yasunobu Matsukata (20 Jr - Akiba College)
D Shinzo Ogura (19 So - Konoha Academy)

M Denis Demerson (20 Jr - Monroeville College)
M Lynn DiMino (20 Jr - Pollock College)
M Satoshi Iguchi (21 Sr - Ouran College)
M Bryon Isachsen (21 Sr - Morewood Technical Institute)
M Atsumori Kaneko (20 Jr - Kishin Academy)
M Lincoln McFarland (19 So - Amesborough College)
M John Schiermeier (20 Jr - Dancougar Royal Academy)
M Tatsui Shindo (21 Sr - Kotetsu Tech)
M Aiko Yoshida (19 So - Hinata Academy)

F Hajime Kuniyoshi (21 Sr - Fujiwara State College)
F Noboru Funakoshi (21 Sr - Hazuki State University)
F Justin Sellick (20 Jr - Dancougar Royal Academy)
F Ivan Marchak (20 Jr - Vasco College)

Notes: No players from the national champions, Monagham State University, were selected to the roster... Three players were on teams that did not quality for the 2038/39 tournament: Brandon Millman, Denis Demerson, and Ivan Marchak... Lynn DiMino and Aiko Yoshida are the first women other than Karen Stadler to play internationally for the Wings.

RP Permissions
Select my scorers — Yes
Give out yellow cards to my players — Yes
Give out red cards to my players — Yes
RP injuries to my players — Yes
Godmod injuries — Yes
Godmod scoring events — Yes
Godmod other events — Yes
* Please limit the number of injuries plus cards to at most four.

OFFICIAL DI BRADINI CUP 9 ROSTER

With a new coach and a new system, the Empire is hoping to re-establish itself as an elite U-21 team. Only time will tell.

Style Modifier: +2

If my opponent RP’s first they may:

Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: Yes, but just to the extent of saying so and so was injured. I’ll determine the severity.
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes, but no more then 1 per game.
Godmod other events: TG your idea for approval first. No deaths or crazy sci-fi stuff.

**** COACHING STAFF ****

Name: Nelson Yaschter (Head Coach)
Age: 57
Club Team: Galaxia (Cafundeu)
Bio: Took over the head coaching position midway through qualifying for World Cup 45, and led the Rockets on one of their traditional second half charges, going 5-1-1 down the stretch. If only that was good enough. He did, however, lead the nation to the Cup of Harmony 37 title. They say he’s great with young players. So we’ll see if he can live up to that reputation here.

Name: Michael McCafferty (Assistant Coach)
Age: 46
Club Team: Brighton Bulls
Bio: McCafferty has all the makings of being a long-time assistant of Yaschter, because Michael also tends to prefer younger players. With Brighton, he took a “B” League team, and made them to a mid-pack NPL team with younger players. Starting senior team defender in World Cup 40-42.

Name: Jeremy McAllister, Sr. (Assistant Coach)
Age: 39
Club Team: Sporting Lakeport (Dancougar)—as a player
Bio: The great J-Mac joins Nelson Yaschter’s staff for the Di Bradini Cup. McAllister led the team to the 4th Di Bradini Cup title, and the final appearance in the 5th. He has retired now from international football, and begins the next phase of his career. Coaching!

**** STARTING LINEUP ****

GOALKEEPER:

Name: Jennifer Bennett
Pos: GK
Age: 19
Jersey #: 1
Club Team: Seminole Bay Gators
Bio: Jennifer became the first female goalkeeper ever to make any national side when she was named as the third string keeper to the Di Bradini 8 team. She got more experience training with the best when she was named the third stringer for the Cup of Harmony. Now, she gets her chance to sign. Yaschter is a big fan of hers. By playing for a weak NPL team, she faces a lot of shots per game, and that should make her very battle tested for this Cup.

DEFENDERS:

Name: Keith Capstraw
Pos: CB
Age: 20
Jersey #: 7
Club Team: Daytopia Racers
Bio: Keith appeared as a substitute on the last Di Bradini roster as then coach Brian Carson was concerned about his issues with composure. Nelson Yaschter has no worries about that and believes that the hard-nosed and physical defender will be a great asset to the team’s back end.

Name: Shawn Loughran (ALTERNATE CAPTAIN)
Pos: LCB
Age: 20
Jersey #: 4
Club Team: Gamsuk FC (Daehanjeiguk)
Bio: Loughran is a future superstar who made the jump from sub to starter under Yaschter very impressively, and became the first Newmanistanian to sign with a club in Daehanjeiguk, which is quite an honor. He can be physical, but is very smart about it and has remarkable defensive awareness. Loughran has tremendous speed and agility, and is one of the first people to get to practice every morning and one of the very last to leave. Many feel that he was the biggest beneficiary out of anyone with the coaching change. Yaschter loves this kid, and if he hadn’t been already under contract with Gamsuk FC, he’d bring him to Cafundeu with him.

Name: Matthew Coulson
Pos: RCB
Age: 20
Jersey#: 2
Club Team: Stroudsbourg Panthers
Bio: Coulson is average defender in terms of his appearance and height, but not in terms of heart. He is future captain material who does his best to lead by example. He has played one year in Stroudsbourg, a low-level NPL team, so he has gotten plenty of time defending star forwards. Also started in Di Bradini 8. After being bypassed by Brian Carson for the national team, Nelson Yaschter named Coulson to the Cup of Harmony squad as a substitute.

Name: Chris Poole
Pos: RB
Age: 15
Jersey #: 6
Club Team: Hampton Bulldogs
Bio: The highly impressive young defender was expected to be named to the team, but not necessarily to be put directly into the starting lineup. Scouts are impressed by his defensive awareness, and the amount of heart he plays with. He might not exhibit it much yet, but reports are that as he gets older, he may become one of those fiery energetic leaders that every clubhouse likes. Yaschter defends this decision by reminding us that the purpose of the Di Bradini Cup is to develop players of this caliber and has a ton of confidence in him.

MIDFIELDERS:

Name: Brittany Prescott
Pos: MID
Age: 18
Jersey #: 71
Club Team: Dover City Mountaineers
Bio: The scary thing for the world, perhaps, is that the great Brett Prescott has more then just one kid. The second of Brett Prescott’s three children, Brittany also appeared on the 8th Di Bradini Cup & the Cup of Harmony rosters as a reserve, but did not see any action in either. Don’t think for a moment either, that just because Brittany is female that she is any less of an aggressive agitator then her father and her older brother have been. In fact, Brett jokes that as Billy’s younger sister, and his only daughter, Brittany may have become the toughest of the three of them.

Name: Meghan Vilardi
Pos: CAM
Age: 21
Jersey#: 10
Club Team: Southport Tigers (OOC: Jeruselem, I can’t remember if we had her follow the other Vilardi’s or not)
Bio: Meghan is the younger sister of our well known set of twins, Jennifer and Shannon Vilardi, who each played in the Di Bradini Cup and are presently with the senior team. Meghan probably will not be quite as good as them, but she will be looking to make a name for herself too. Because the Vilardi twins often made Meghan be the goalkeeper when they practiced their shooting as young girls, Meghan picked up some pretty good defensive instincts, which she would build on, she’s become a midfielder while the twins are strikers. Graduates from being a reserve in the 8th Di Bradini Cup.

Name: Adam Benjamin
Pos: CDM
Age: 17
Jersey #: 13
Club Team: Loudon Leopards
Bio: A tall and aggressive midfielder who will be right at home playing between the two Prescott’s. His defensive prowess makes this a perfect spot for him but he can sneak into the offense somewhat if you forget about him. He makes his national team debut.

Name: Billy Prescott (*** CAPTAIN ***)
Pos: RM
Age: 20
Jersey #: 17 (just like his dad)
Club Team: Tel Aviv Sharks (Jeruselem)
Bio: His father is a legend. Most people somewhat familiar with our senior team know all about Brett Prescott, the aggressive enforcer who is assigned to the opponent’s top forward to rough them up and get in their head. Well, Billy has been watching and learning from the best.. Now it is his time. Is Billy as good as his dad? We’ll see, but he sure plays like him, and he got off to a great start in qualifying, and played very well in the Cup of Harmony. And he has that often forgotten thing his dad could do too, having a very good accurate shot. Oksana Ferris of Jeruselem is his girlfriend. He is very saddened not to see Jeruselem entered in this Cup.

FORWARDS:

Name: Jeremy McAllister, Jr. Nickname: simply, “Junior”
Pos: LS
Age: 14
Jersey #: 20 (of course)
Club Team: Putnam Lake Eagles
Bio: Here he is. Little J-Mac is the oldest of son of the great Jeremy McAllister, the most prolific goal scorer in Newmanistanian history. Junior would love to do what his father did and win the Di Bradini Cup in his first ever international appearance. He possesses much of the same skill that made his father famous. Yes, he is still young, but when you got the bloodlines, does it matter? He’s been playing against older kids his whole life, so this will be no different.

Name: Matthew Turner
Position: RS
Age: 20
Number: 11
Club Team: Loudon Leopards
Background: Who? Well, Matthew did play in Di Bradini Cup 8 as a starting forward and was expected to lead the team in scoring. That didn’t exactly happen, and Brian Carson seemed to lose interest. Not Nelson Yaschter. He believes that Turner is an amazing talent and gave him a shot in the Cup of Harmony. He delivered, now he returns for the Di Bradini Cup. Turner will hold an interesting distinction of having been a forward partner of both big J-Mac (in the Cup of Harmony) and little J-Mac (here).

**** SUBSTITUTES ****

Name: Kirk O’Brien
Position: GK
Age: 18
Number: 21
Club Team: Portsmouth Whalers (B League)
Background: Kirk relies mostly on his ability to read shooters, and is quite amazing in penalty shootouts, having just an uncanny knack for being to predict what the shooter will do. His response is always “I didn’t guess,” showing his confidence. He tends to struggle at times with his positioning, and when he is bad, he can be real bad. Which is why he doesn’t start.

Name: Scottie Morton
Position: CB
Age: 17
Number: 5
Club Team: Tundra Falls Mariners
Bio: Morton is the son of Shawn Morton, who has hit and miss with his appearance on various national teams. One team his father did play for was the Di Bradini 4 Cup winning side. Scottie has the same kind of tall physical stature as his father, and is very well rounded player. Yaschter won’t hesitate to put him in the game..

Name: Trevor Marshall
Pos: CB
Age: 21
Jersey #: 3
Club Team: Centralia Cougars
Bio: Centralia just keeps producing the young defenders, and in Marshall, they have one very rough and aggressive player. Though just having average height, Trevor makes up for it by excellent strength. He had a tough time choosing becoming a hockey player or a football player, a decision that Centralia helped him make with their big contract offer and the prestige that comes along with playing in their system. Also appeared in Di Bradini 8 and the Cup of Harmony squad as a reserve. He was the player that most expected to be in the starting lineup over the young Chris Poole, but reports are that he doesn’t hold any grudges, or at least doesn’t air them out in the open.

Name: Brian Prescott
Pos: MID
Age: 15
Jersey #: 77
Club Team: Dover City Mountaineers
Bio: The final of Brett Prescott’s three kids now makes his debut onto the Di Bradini side, and he is expected to see considerable playing time. It is assumed that Yaschter will try to have all three of them out there at the same time when the opportunity presents himself. Brian plays the same way his siblings play, he’s just a little more raw right now at his young age.

Name: Michelle Clausen
Pos: ST
Age: 21
Jersey #: 12
Club Team: Thumbria Bay Sharks
Bio: When Thumbria Bay signed Clausen, they had no idea they were getting a Di Bradini caliber player. In her two years with the team, she has progressed greatly, showing nice chemistry with their star midfielder, Brian Rafferty. Clausen is a finisher and plays the game with a fearless attitude. Starter in Di Bradini 8, actually takes a bit of a demotion. Yaschter would really like to see Michelle toughen up, she can be a little soft.

Name: Thomas Lipinski
Pos: ST
Age: 14
Jersey #: 9
Club Team: Nashua Timberwolves (B League)
Bio: An intriguing selection by Yaschter. Lipinski can score goals, let’s get that out of the way first. He’s got a very strong finishing touch. However, not many people in Newmanistan know a lot about the kid, playing for a mid-table B-League team that has never seen the NPL, or even been on the radar for a promotion. The coach believes in him, so we’ll see if he can make it pay off or not. If nothing else, Lipinski will probably attract the interest of some NPL teams during the tournament.

**** RESERVES ****

Name: James Hargrove
Position: GK
Age: 16
Jersey #: 22
Club Team: Ashland Oilers (on loan from South Tier)
Bio: Talented youngster, but known for being very streaky. His time on the team could be as preparation for Di Bradini 10, but don’t lock that in just yet. He has some work to do to show he would deserve that.

Name: Robert MacPherson
Position: CB
Age: 16
Jersey #: 8
Club Team: Centralia Cougars
Bio: A physical defender, and the latest young stud turned out by the incredible defensive system that they have in Centralia. Shows outstanding skill, but needs to become more of a complete package. After four more years in Centralia, that will probably happen. But for now, don’t expect to see much of him.

Name: Michael Litton
Position: CB
Age: 16
Jersey #: 18
Club Team: Centralia Cougars
Bio: Much like his club teammate MacPherson, but not as physical.

Name: Andrew Draper
Pos: MID
Age: 20
Jersey #: 14
Club Team: Putnam Lake Eagles
Bio: Draper is a defensive midfielder who figures to be used only when the team is looking to preserve a late lead. Due to great speed, Andrew is a pretty tough player to have to go up against, and he doesn’t mind being an aggressive one himself. Downgraded from a sub in Di Bradini 8 to a reserve here due to having significant injury woes that have derailed his progression.

Name: David Grasso
Pos: ST
Age: 19
Jersey #: 19
Club Team: Springfield Thoroughbreds
Bio: Also a reserve in the 8th Di Bradini Cup, Grasso has developed into a pretty good scorer. He has great agility, and can do amazing things with the ball. Sometimes prone to “disappearing” during a game, and that was enough to keep him from getting more playing time based on Yaschter’s original plans.

CCFM RELEASES ANOTHER LIST OF UNKNOWN PLAYERS
TO PLAY ANOTHER U-21 COMPETITION

Style: Very Offensive

Here is the list of 23 players (number-name [age, team, rating]):

Use the BOLDED names of my players, but not in all capitals, when RPing

Goalkeepers:

1- TOM Silva Prado (20, Rio Bonito, B)
12- Edgard GARRIDO (21, SC Lasft, B)
22- Derek Soares "CURUPIRA" (18, Ranca Toco, C)

Full-Backs:

2- JÚLIO CÉSAR Andrade Fagundes (19, Porto Lacruz, B)
6- Armando Capixaba Mathias "BATORÉ" (20, Galáxia, A)
14- GUSTAVO de Melo ALVIM (20, Internacional, C)
16- Dênis Valente PEDROSO (21, Galáxia, C)

Defenders:

3- Ulisses LEMOS (21, Soldarian FC [ESF], A)
4- Antônio Louzada Viana "TONHÃO" (18, Carandirú, B)
13- BRUNO Mendonça Schiffer (20, América, B)
21- Fernando ISIDORO (20, Faculdade de Medicina, C)

Defensive Midfielders:

5- WERNER Costa Gausmann (21, Albrecht Turkish [C&M], A)
10- Manoel Figueira "MANÉ" (19, Petardos S/A, A)
15- Nico LEWTON (15, Serrano, B)
20- Jorge Hassok ZATTE (20, Aliança, C)

Offensive Midfielders:

7- ANDRÉ Flávio Costa DINIZ (20, Clube Imperial, A)
8- MIGUEL Duarte SILVA (21, Galáxia, A)
17- Luís da Costa Figueroa "LUISINHO" (18, Central United, B)
23- Gérson AGOSTINHO (18, A.F.F., C)

Attackers:

9- RAFAEL Borges de NUNES (20, Cafundó do Juta, A)
11- JEAN CARLOS Alvorada Gimenez (20, Atlético Jutense, B)
18- Alexsandro RUIZ (19, SC Lasft, C)
19- Júlio Barros Kardim AMATE (19, Galáxia, B)

Coach: Waldenyr Caldas (Porto Lacruz)

Formation (offensive 4-4-2):

------------------------------Tom------------------------------
-----Júlio César-----Lemos----------Tonhão----------Batoré-----
-----------------------------Werner----------------------------
----------Miguel Silva--------Mané--------André Diniz----------
----------------Jean Carlos----------Rafael Nunes--------------

Kits (which I almost [actually, I did] forgot were made - thanks Star!):

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/CafHome4a.jpg (home)
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/CafAway4a.jpg (away)
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/CafThirda.jpg (third)

Jeremy McAllister was walking around the hotel parking lot, preparing for his first game as an assistant coach when a mysterious man walked up to him.

Man: Hey, Jeremy.

McAllister: Good morning, sir.

Man: I have something for you.

(McAllister pulls out a “Sharpie” expecting that this is simply an autograph seeker).

McAllister: Excellent, so are you from Newmanistan?

Man: No, not exactly. I hear you really wanted to qualify for the World Cup.

McAllister: Well yes, but I have begun to accept the fact now that it wasn’t meant to be.

Man: Jeremy, I have something for you that can make you almost ten years younger, and revitalize your career so you can play in World Cup 46, and maybe even 47. And maybe even play side by side with your son. Wouldn’t that be great?

McAllister: I don’t think this is something I want any part of.

Man: Relax, here, just take these pills as directed on the label.

McAllister: Steroids?

Man: Steroids is such a derogatory term, Jeremy. It’s more of a career re-vitalizer. Call it, Human Growth Hormone. All the great baseball players use it, and I see no reason that with your wonderful workout regimen that it can’t have the same benefit for you.

McAllister: I’m not a cheater. Sorry, I am not interested.

Man: There is no drug testing in the World Cup. You’re not cheating anything. How do you think that Belmore guy scored so many goals way back when? Or some of these other prolific goal scorers who seemed to play in way too many World Cups.

McAllister: It’s illegal in Newmanistan, that’s enough for me. And it is also illegal in the D-League. (OOC: assuming, Dancougar)

Man: Well that is where you learn the ways to make sure it does not get detected when you are tested. I have a whole bunch of information about that. Here, take it. (forces it into Jeremy’s hands. J-Mac takes it with the intention of dumping it into the nearest trash can when he has the moment).

McAllister: Sir, I’ve never been a cheater. I’m accepting of that fact now that me in the World Cup was not meant to be, but I can do the right thing and get there as an assistant coach, and teach my son the difference between right and wrong so that he may experience it as well.

Man: Very well. (stuffs bottle in J-Mac’s jacket pocket). My number is on the paperwork I gave you. Hopefully this foolish ethical side of you won’t ruin your dream of playing in the World Cup and giving it one more try. Jeremy, Sr and Jeremy, Jr on the same attack line. Man, wouldn’t that be historic and wonderful for the both of you. Well, I have to run. Best wishes, J-Mac.

(The man leaves. Jeremy takes the bottle of pills out from his pocket and curiously begins to look at the label. He clenches his fist around the bottle and stops to ponder, “Wouldn’t that be great though. Me and Junior. Playing together. One more chance at the World Cup.” Suddenly from behind, defender Keith Capstraw greets him).

Capstraw: Hey Jeremy, you enjoying Valanora so far?

McAllister: Yeah, cool place.

Capstraw: All the World Cup history here. Man, it’s so amazing how great they do in the World Cup time and time again. That must be such a thrill for their players to know that they have a chance to win the Cup every time they take to the field.

McAllister: I’m sure it is.

Capstraw: I hope that we can eventually (suddenly stops as he realizes he shouldn’t go there with J-Mac). Sorry. I know how hard you tried.

McAllister: It’s alright, Caps. You’ll make it one day, and hopefully when you do I will still be part of the coaching staff. Nelson is going to do great things for us.

Capstraw: Yeah hopefully the next one! How many times did the Jeruselem media remind us that it took them seven tries? It’s try number seven.

McAllister: Yeah. Lucky try seven.

Capstraw: I’ll see you at practice later.

McAllister: Sure, see you then!

(McAllister walks slowly back to the hotel, and returns to his room. He places the bottle on the stand next to the television and stares at it. “Lucky try seven,” “Playing with Junior,” he thinks. He looks at the paperwork and begins to read the techniques for avoiding its detection on drug tests. He stares back up at the bottle. His whole life he’s prided himself on doing things the right way. He’s been a role model for young kids, and a national icon. But there, sat the bottle. He knew it was wrong. But if he got away with it, who would know? Questions, questions……)

SDOS: “GROUP DRAW IS PERFECT”

The Secristan Department of Sports will not have any difficulty selling the 9th Di Bradini Cup to the people, even though the team had a disappointing showing in their effort to defend their title the last time out. The group draw has been very favorable, as far as the SDOS is concerned, in drawing opponents that will interest our people. Newmanistan is the opponent the immediately draws your attention. We will meet our rival on the final matchday, which will only add to the hype surrounding the event. It may have a whole lot of meeting as the five teams in Group D battle for two spots. But the Rockets are not the only team that excites us. A showdown with Dancougar will also be very exciting. Ever since the Millionaires pulled off a stunning upset of the Black Wings in the group stage of World Bowl 4, the intensity between the two nations has picked up. With several of our players from the Di Bradini 7 Cup championship team having signed on to professional contracts in Dancougar, our players will be sure to be at their best to hope to entice teams from that country to sign them to a professional contract as well. Then, we have Taeshan. A rivalry has also emerged between the Millionaires and the Purple Knights, or whatever it is they call their Di Bradini team. This is a rivalry that also had it’s beginnings in the World Bowl, but has also branched out to include baseball, and the very sport that we will be playing in Valanora, soccer. Finally, there’s Peisandros. While the rivalry with them may not be super hot yet, there is something there. The SDOS continues to hype up on every opportunity that when Peisandros had their amazing World Cup 44 run, that we beat them twice in the group stage. Both nations were recently semifinalists in the Cup of Harmony, but they did not meet. Altogether, that’s four very marketable games with no duds on the schedule. Katie Simpson, our SDOS rep loves it, “I really don’t think the group draw could have been any better for us to try and generate revenue from the Di Bradini Cup. All of our opponents excite our people, and we don’t have to exaggerate anything about any of them. I can’t think of any better team we could have had in the group. Seriously. Maybe Cassadaigua, due to our history with them from our victorious Cup run, but I wouldn’t trade any of our opponents. It’s perfect.”

Speaking of Cassadaigua, many parents of our athletes were disappointed to see that country will be a late addition to the Di Bradini Cup due to what happened in Di Bradini Cup 7. It was in that meeting where their kids rebelled against their parental authority and actually made friends with their opponent. This was not supposed to happen because of what had happened in Baptism of Fire 30 between the nations. Instead, teenage boys and teenage girls forget about what should of national pride and used it to forge relationships, including that of Eric Fraser and Stacie Kerrigan, who each now play for their country’s national teams. The two recently announced their engagement. Jack Loftman, who bid five million rusas for his son Terrence to start in the midfield hopes they never meet, “Cassadaigua is evil for a competition like this. They should not be allowed to compete because of the way they distract our kids. Fortunately they are not in our group.”

Candelaria And Marquez National Under-21 Football Squad for the Ninth Di Bradini Cup

The slightly-new, wordy, still not really finished yet, C&M Under-21s wiki page (http://www.nswiki.net/index.php?title=Candelaria_And_Marquez_National_Under-21_Football_Team)

Squad:

Manager: Aaaaaaand following in the footsteps of Lloyd Donnelly, Adam Williamson, Andy Le Lan, Jerry Huntick, Trevor Organ, Mark Baker (sort of), Matt Sampson and Jay Zabojnik comes Jaon van Deene.

Apparently following an unwritten rule that the under-21 coach’s name must get sillier with every passing tournament, Van Deene arrives out of the blue with a whole bundle of pressures on his shoulders and the task of delivering the senior world champions a first under-21 gong in six tournaments.

Frankly, the poor sod’s on a hiding to nothing. A former right-back, his initial experience at management with Candelaria-Allemali ended in ignominy and, after half a dozen attempts at resurrecting his career in the lower leagues, he ended up working with the country’s kids under the auspices of the CAMAFA, impressing his new bosses sufficiently to earn this role. If he doesn’t fail miserably we’d be stunned, frankly.

His chosen squad certainly favours age over beauty, with just three nineteen year-olds included, and the likes of Ricky Archer, Jerome Cotton, Jesse Nakatsuru and Luís Sáez inexplicably left at home. With the country seriously struggling to produce strikers at the moment (Abdul Ibadulla is going to have to carry the can for a looooong time, at this rate), a 4-5-1 seems the most probable formation. As usual, just about anybody might be used – but Van Deene’s expected set-up is more than likely going to look something along the lines of Stockley – B. Palmer, Plunkett, Hitapot, Wilkinson (c) – McKenzie, Smith, Hawker, González, Oliveira Tavares – Chinn.

Goalkeepers:
1. Ciaran Stockley, 21, Riverton Olympic [on loan from Green Island]
13. Drake Malan, 21, Albrecht FC
23. Alan Davis, 20, Maidment SC [on loan from Candelaria-Allemali]

As usual, our other problem position is between the sticks. To give you some idea – Riverton are odds-on to be relegated from the CMSC2, Maidment are struggling in the Patton-Carmichael Candelarian Premier League, and Malan has played no more than half a dozen games of professional football for Port of Clotaire and Albrecht FC alike. Stockley certainly looks the better prospect, however, even if he is all arms and legs still, while the floppy-haired Davis is barely five foot and Malan clearly thinks the sun shines out of his arse. It don’t.

Defenders:
2. Ben Palmer, 21, Candelaria-Allemali, Right-Back
12. Alex Palmer, 20, El din Marbles, Right-Back

Absolutely no relation whatsoever, these two couldn’t be more different. The Marquezian Alex is the more accomplished footballer, able to knock it about very pleasantly and possessing a handy long throw, but Ben is just a monster – an absolute bruiser whose bulk disguises a decent turn of pace and solid defensive abilities.

5. Jono Plunkett, 21, Caires Sports, Central Defender
6. Blake Hitapot, 20, Sanghae [Daehanjeiguk; on loan from Green Island], Central Defender
20. Jacob Davies, 19, Marquez-Onwere, Central Defender

The very solid Plunkett has been a bit of a revelation since Keron Alhrem plucked him from Albrecht Independent and moulded him into a curiously pale Yaforite. His anticipated partnership with Hitapot could prove a natural pairing, with the Zapata native lacking in size but possessing a springiness more obviously at home in the Olympic women’s gymnastics. Davies is surely the best of the lot however, lacking match sharpness but sneaking into the squad ahead of MN Smith’s Chris Stewart and Galactica’s Edwin Ramm on talent alone.

3. Oliver Wilkinson, 21, Arrigo Portuguese, Captain, Left-Back
18. Love Cummins, 21, KT Hotspur, Left-Back

Wilkinson, the one truly bright spot in a lousy season for Portuguese, is handed the captain’s armband and jolly good thing too. Quick, physically solid, intelligent, good on the ball and a fine passer, he’s got everything, really. As for Cummins, he’s got an unusual name. And that didn’t hold God’s Power Adekunde back, did it?

Midfielders:
7. Lee McKenzie, 21, Mar Sara FC [Valanora], Right Midfielder
19. Bethany Nicholls, 20, Candelaria-Allemali, Right Midfielder

Can’t say we know an awful lot about McKenzie, who came through at Green Island before a surprise transfer to Mar Sara saw him play his part in their run to a Globe Cup position in the EPL. He might as well have pointy ears by now, to be honest. Nicholls, meanwhile, doesn’t have pointy ears but does have breasts and that, and is the first female Small Blue to be drawn from the ranks of the CMSC rather than Jeruselem. A rare plus in a poor year for the Shining Sons, though it’s worth pointing out that even Van Deene had to admit he was scraping the barrel for half-decent right midfielders.

16. Jordan Hawker, 19, Cathedral City, Defensive Midfielder
4. Ogus Kures, 19, Turks’ Club [on loan from Albrecht FC], Defensive Midfielder

We aren’t exactly over-supplied with holding players either, but that must take nothing away from this pair. Hawker in particular is an exceptional player, destined for a big move away from Catedral within weeks and a long future in the game. Kures is a more lightweight and less gifted player all-round, but in any other generation would have this role down pat for the under-21s and may well force his way into the Scorpions first team on his return from loan.

8. Salvador González, 20, Cathedral City, Attacking Midfielder
14. Robin Smith, 21, KT Hotspur, Attacking Midfielder
17. Darren Robinson, 20, Albrecht Turkish, Attacking Midfielder

What we do have quite a lot of is these guys. Robinson, all galloping limbs and unnervingly top-notch final product, has impressed massively for Turkish in recent weeks but may well miss out here; such is the quality of his peers. González should be the next great Hispanic hero for C&M, bringing a bag full of tricks with both feet and the mind of an artist. As for Smith, he isn’t fit to lace the others’ boots in terms of innate quality but brings exceptional amounts of effort and finishes out of nowhere that have made him indispensable for the Spur since his return from finishing school in Land de Wood.

21. Macario Oliveira Tavares, 21, Marquez-Onwere, Left Midfielder
11. Todd Garrett, 21, Port of Clotaire, Left Midfielder

Oliveira Tavares’ presence could easily be overlooked, with the left winger having comfortably established himself in the MarquezOW first team for quite some time now. Quick and tricky, if hopelessly lightweight, MOT has improved his crossing of late as well as his defensive work, making him a much more fearsome prospect than before. Garrett, meanwhile, hasn’t quite lived up to his early potential as yet and his place in the squad is something of a surprise, but he adds a tad more strength down the left than might otherwise have been the case, and has energy to burn.

Forwards:
22. Simon Chinn, 21, Albrecht FC
9. Taylor Vostakova, 20, Albrecht Turkish
10. Kim Gihyeon, 21, Arrigo C.d.F.
15. Carlos Cabrera, 21, Char Sara FC [Valanora]

As for the strikers, this is a motley bunch indeed. With Luke Perry struggling to make an impact at Caires City and Gabriel Macanás out injured, all hopes rest on Chinn. Highly rated though he be, a big lad with a natural finish, he’s barely been given a chance at the Scorpions and badly lacks match fitness. As for the rest, Vostakova’s versatility could stand him in good stead after many months as part of a front three for Turkish, while Cabrera’s experience of life in these here parts appears to be the only reason why he’s in the squad. Kim, by the by, is the CMSC2’s top goalscorer this term – a worthwhile feat for his struggling club.

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w175/candelariaandmarquez/CAMHome4.jpg http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w175/candelariaandmarquez/CAMAway4.jpg

RP Permissions: Yeah, gowon then. Poke me if you want to kill anyone.

Here is our roster! Since we didn’t do the last one, this an entirely new roster!
Thanks for finding a spot for us!

Starters in Green -- Starters are positioned left to right on the field how they are ordered here.
Subs in Blue
Reserves in Red

Goalkeepers:
#1- Brittany Paxson, Age: 19
#20- Natalie Cullen, Age: 16
#21- Amanda Gaither, Age: 18

Defenders:
#2- Tori Pleiman, Age: 18
#4- Kiersten Raschke, Age: 17
#6- Kylee Havlik, Age: 19
#3- Hailey Moeller, Age: 19
#7- Kara Bellomy, Age: 20
#5- Nikki Hedlund, Age: 17
#22- Allison Sandifar, Age: 18

Midfielders:
#8- Pamela Linscott, Age: 19
#9- Katie Cincoski, Age: 20 (TEAM CAPTAIN)
#12- Kamisha Poston, Age: 21
#14- Brianna Pierson, Age: 17
#15- Stacey Boraski, Age: 15
#16- Shannon Jankoswki, Age: 19
#17- Carlie Scallion, Age: 20
#23- Meghan Engles, Age: 18

Forwards:
#10- Jillian Halsey, Age: 18
#11- Jessica Schanke, Age: 16
#18- Hannah Barton, Age: 16
#13- Erica Washburn, Age: 19
#19- Erin Messano, Age: 20

Style Modifier: +1
RP Permissions: Have fun. Just don’t kill anyone or seriously injure someone.

I'll be going with a 5-1-3-1-1 (a 5-4-1). Defensive. -1.
Do whatever you like. Just remember that all these Caires Sports players will bring an ANGRY FACE C&M down on your head.
* - starter. Order is goalie, left defender -> right defender, defensive midfielder, left midfielder, right midfielder, attacking midfielder, striker.
+ - female
A note: most of the females will be starting later in the tourney (except for Jaria, who's clearly starting now).

The Silver Wolves

Following on the success of the last time around, the same manager, very much the same lineup.

Manager: Damien Dulars. Ohmigod, it's a DBC roster from the Yaforites that was actually posted in time. I know, I'm dying as well. Anyway, the first thought regarding Damien Dulars is "who are you?", followed swiftly by "oh, yeah, weren't you a random striker on that Baptism of Fire squad that failed to get out of the group stage?". That would be correct. As it happens, he's also the manager of a side called IYC Kaltar, who are having a rather informative and good LIDYT season (which is a short way of saying that he's the only manager who would spend his World Cup break teaching youngsters how to kick a ball straight). He was a relatively unremarkable striker and tends to be relatively unremarkable anyway. Yeah. Until he, you know, came third in the DBC. Worth putting into a signature. So, anyway, Dulars is a really good manager and probably the next national team manager. Oh, and in the interest of time, shorter bios for the players, this time.

*1) Goalkeeper: Matthew Kawahara. Club: IYC Hadaris. Age: 11. Wait, what? His old club, Chelmar City, were a LIDYT-B "Andrei Arshavin Honorary Division" side! How did the fifth club in Chelmar manage to get a player on this list? Well, in all honesty, he's pretty good, but excluding that for a second, it's also a bit of a proof that we actually have Asian-descended-people in Yafor 2 (Kawahara being partly from Kanami). So, erm, yeah. Affirmative action in action. Or something. That's what brought him to Hadaris, donchaknow. He lead them to a finish of third. That's why he's starting.

2) Goalkeeper: Maeshal Abid. Club: Chelmar FC. Age: 18. He's the heir-designate to Joel Sbaiz (yes, yes, sorry about the lack of umlauts Joeliboy, but I'm too lazy to go and copy and paste it), and has a lot of ability. Like most of the squad, though, he's quite an unknown property and, as a result, it is somewhat in the air whether he will succeed. His performance last time around was good, but not great, so I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't all that good in reality.

*3) Left/Left Center Defender: Corlan T'saal. Club: IYC Toralen. Age: 18. Wow. He's just really good, I have to say. At the age of seventeen, having had very little youth team experience, the quick and intelligent T'saal is already a mainstay on the starting squad for the side that leads the league. He has excellent awareness and a very good idea of where the ball needs to be - what he needs to do now is bulk up a fair bit and become stronger, both of which he intends to improve on while a part of the Under-21 squad.

4) Left/Left Center Defender: Jyolt Soluun. Club: IYC Kaharan. Age: 18. Kaharan's last useful part that is not on the other side of the world in Candelaria and Marquez, Soluun is also the highest-ceiling player in the Kaharan youth system. Scouts look at him and they love his bog body and power, his strength and his speed. However, at this point, he's really just raw talent - he has never shown that he can succeed or that he is anything but a good-looking young player who, like so many others, will never pan out.

*5) Left/Left Center Defender: Acatur Vandirgan. Club: IYC Hadaris. Age: 19. Another surprise. Hadaris are banking on him to continue to improve as, if he does, they will not have to search abroad for depth in their defense. He's a solid player like so many Yaforite defenders before him, but he also has the added element of speed, so he can mark top-level strikers or move up and down either the center of the field or the sideline, making him a threat for the other team when the Yaforites have the ball as well.

6) Left Center/Center Defender: Tarenin Kalinkir. Club: AAC-Dimrar FC. Age: 19. One of many AAC-Dimrar players. Like much of their team, he's a solid, stolid, intelligent player. He knows where the ball is supposed to be, who is supposed to be holding the ball, and where that person is supposed to be. Like many AAC-Dimrar players, though, his talents physically are limited and it takes his good field vision and intelligent play to keep him on the field instead of other players.

*7) Left Center/Right Center/Center Defender: Turan Actarish. Club: Caires Sports Club [Candelaria and Marquez]. Age: 19. Another player with an insanely high ceiling. He has seen little action for Caires Sports yet, but his versatility in the defense and the fact that he is fully ambidextrous make him a very pleasing prospect for many scouts. On the other hand, Actarish lacks some speed, and while he makes up for it with his size, some doubt whether he can hole the line or not.

8) Left Center/Right Center/Center Defender: Nalaan Agmorin. Club: AAC-Dimrar FC. Age: 18. Another solid backup. AAC-Dimrar have a reputation of cultivating players who might not have a lot of potential but have a lot of intelligence, and thus don't require ability. Agmorin is certainly another player in this mold and the fact that he is backing up Actarish makes an interesting contrast between the two of them, especially if one or the other is substituted off.

*9) Right/Right Center Defender: Ataral Vagerin. Club: AAC-Dimrar FC. Age: 17. The darling of the AAC-Dimrar side, he is the reason that much of their new found wealth will be going to the midfield. He's just really, really, good. He fits the mold of an AAC-Dimrar player in that he is very intelligent, but he is also like a Kaharan or Uharan player in that he has the body and ability to succeed. The reason that he is starting now, as opposed to last cup, where he did not, is his age - he should be starting by ability, but it is not possibility that defines what players start where, but ability now.

+10) Right/Right Center Defender: Macora Havenian. Club: Some female LIDYT club. Age: 17. Havenian finally becomes the first female to make it onto the U21 side. All right, all right, she's only the first because we go from the defense to the offense, but she's still the one who's leading off the charge. It's a cryin' shame she's not starting, but that doesn't really matter, because if Dulars has any sense, all the women should be starting now. She's a powerful attacking defender, with a lithe frame, but dribbling and anticipation skills like so many of the female LIDYT players have. Mark her down as a future national teamer and, as far as I can see it, the future is now.

*11) Right/Right Center Defender: N'shaal Vadernin. Club: Ajer FC. Age: 18. A rarity in Yafor 2 in that he is an outside defender who is so thoroughly an outside defender that he ranges up and down the sides of the field. He can pass a bit and cross as well, but his abilities really come in the fact that he can overlap the winger and take a shot in, but otherwise he's basically like any other Yaforite defender.

+12) Right/Right Center Defender: Alara Denoran. Club: Some female LIDYT club. Age: 17. Another one. God, they're everywhere. Anyway, Alara's a really good-looking young player (that's a description of both her talent and her figure, perv). Lots and lots of speed along the outside, which matches her up well with the increasing emphasis a lot of other nations have been putting on players who only use speed as a weapon (LE, I'm not talking about Emiliano Bonifacio. It was against the Nationals, I mean COME ON, sample size anyone? *joke*). Anyway, she should also be starting and probably will.

*13) Defensive Midfielder: Atoras Riegan (Captain). Club: IYC Toralen. Age: 21. Riegan is the younger brother of Yaforite national team captain Lhatis Riegan, and he already has people telling him that he's far better than his brother. Lhatis also began his career as a defensive midfielder, but, while Lhatis became a center defender as his career progressed, Atoras has, instead, taken the center midfield position as his own. Regarded as one of the greatest talents to ever emerge from the city of Chelmar, Atoras has strength, power, intelligence, speed, and determination in his bag. If there is a criticism, it's his lack of experience in high-stress situations, and it remains to be seen whether he can succeed there.

14) Defensive Midfielder: Aranar Made'er. Club: Caires Sports Club [Candelaria and Marquez]. Age: 18. Another very high-ceiling player, in that Made'er can spell in the defensive midfield, provide a strength and ferocity that very few other Yaforites can give. However, at the same time, he really is all potential, so there is no reason to celebrate him or to look at him as a great player, even if he looks like he will be really good. I liked that goal against the other team in Caires, though.

*15) Left Midfielder: Alager Adirondu. Club: IYC Uharan. Age: 20. IYC Uharan have big hopes for the lad - their club's greatest weakness is on the wings, with the aging Ago'il and Aldunya as their wingers. Adirondu has done exceptionally well with the youth team and, once he turns eighteen, it is expected that he will immediately take a spot on the Uharan starting team. Now the next question is whether he can consistently perform at that level.

16) Left Midfielder: Makerin Vandiir. Club: IYC Caralian. Age: 18. A Caralian local, Vandiir looks to balance the ultra-attacking Mijak on the other side of his club team by injecting some safe defense into the defensive midfield. Yes. We really don't know if he's any different from the legions of other Yaforite wingers, but here he is backing up others.

*17) Right Midfielder: Masherin Adoried. Club: Chelmar FC. Age: 17. Enalla's eyes, this kid can run. He's a beaut on the track or on the field chasing a football. He's not much for crossing or passing or shooting, but as a dribbler he's just so seductive because of that speed. Mmmm. Speed. Otherwise, he's not really much, at least at this point. He continues Chelmar's tradition of coming up with randomly good wingers.

18) Right Midfielder: Tukmerir Vantilicoor. Club: IYC Vanan. Age: 18. Poached from the Chelmar FC side, Vantilicoor is really nothing special, especially in comparison to the person in front of him. Like Vandiir, he's a defensive-ish Yaforite who is playing on the wing. Like so many before him, we expect him to not really have an impact on anything.

*19) Attacking Midfielder: Sorin Acraan. Club: Caires Sports Club [Candelaria and Marquez]. Age: 21. Another player to once be touted as the next great thing to don a Yaforite uniform, his experience in the CMSC has brought him crashing back down to earth. While he hasn't really been "absent" in the manner of someone like Robbie Sinjinir or Josh Belmore, his impact has been rather negligible, although he's begun to show his teeth in recent matchdays. Hopefully that continues this U21WC. Or DBC. Or whatever it is. Yeah. This season, he's been a lot better. Scoring far too much for a Yaforite, of course, but he's been good. Future star? I think it's too early for that, really.

+20) Attacking Midfielder: Samara Darahavin. Club: Some female LIDYT side. Age: 18. She's another one who should be starting, but they're giving Acraan the nod due to experience or summat. She's much better than him. Much better than Danilo Silva, too. Really, the only person who she's worse than, at her person (or even overall, if you are so inclined) is Ilsinha. But everyone's worse than Ilsinha.

*+21) Striker: Jaria Soradrin (Vice-Captain). Club: Some female LIDYT side. Age: 21. One of the few females on the squad, most of whom are better than their male counterparts, but Jaria's the only one who can prove with reckless abandon. Let me lay it out for you: she's the best striker in the Grand Democratic Duchy. She comes from a line of female football stars who were a part of those Q-Cup and Women's World Cup sides that are so revered in my signature. Yeah. She's better than anyone in her family. She can run, shoot, dribble, do lots of other basketball skills, and even play some soccer too. And she's on the National Team next year.

22) Robbie Sinjinir. Club: Caires Sports Club [Candelaria and Marquez]. Age: 21. Oh god, not him again. Anyway, the half-Candelarisian former wonderkid finds himself backing up Ya'haan. Once he was the hope of the under-21 side, just as he was once the hope of the Caires Sports Club side. A big kid, Sinjinir has shown occasional flashes of brilliance, but like most of the Caires Sports, this season has been a massive disappointment after sky-high expectations once in the future. Up until this season, of course. Wherein all the expectations have come back. Oh, and he's scoring, too!

From the offices of the VSC does the Marauders information come.

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod Scoring Events Y
RP injuries to my players Y (be reasonable)
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

Modifier = +1

Kits

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/ValHome4-2.jpg http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/ValAway4-2.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/ValThird4-2.jpg

Home Away Third
For those players listed without Academies, please assume that they are free and open to transfers.

Manager
Tanidur Falavathar
Age: 12,988
A tenured manager who has spent time at all different levels of Elven football with all different amounts of talent available to him. He has various levels of success, enough so that the VFA is entrusting him with the current crop of youngsters. This could be his shot to get another gig in the topflight and it is expected he will approach the tournament with the serious attitude that the previous managers did not.

Assistant
Melfortien Ealovathar
Age: 7,542
Still trying to make the transition from player to manager after an elongated career that spanned over four thousand years, which is by far the record in that regard. His tactical sense is somewhat lacking, as is his motivation skills. Yet disciplinary matters are his expertise, and likely why Falavathar picked him to be his right hand man on this venture.

Keeper
12 Fallaiiel Galadiir, Wexax Academy ^
Age: 21
Sex: F
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 143 lbs
Despite being petitioned to use invisibility dampeners, like the Starblaydi did last tournament, Galadiir and his kin will still be on the squad. While the issue of whether their innate invisibility will be able to be put into use or not is still being debating, and likely wont be resolved until the opening matchday, Galadiir is an exceptional keeper regardless of age, race, or sex. Just a fine physical specimen that is polished enough at the ever growing important Wexax Academy.

Defenders
23 Mátaanien Haerina, Valanari Academy
Age - 19
Sex - M
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 167 lbs
Haerina makes it so that the entire back three is full of that rough and tumble attitude, a physical presence that has never been seen before for the Vanorians at this level. He is still developing his game, but the amount of raw talent this youngster has is frightening.

13 Raina Runendthor, Night Academy ~
Age - 20
Sex - F
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 144 lbs
One of two new starters on the backline for this term, Runendthor is your classic centerback. Good in the air, decent marking, exceptional tackling, and decent pace makes her a solid force in the back.

3 Uruviel Eärfalas, Char Sara Academy ~
Age - 21
Sex - F
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 142 lbs
If you ever wanted to get your teeth punched out by a red headed lass, then Uruviel is just the right woman for you. Tough, bad attitude, and one heck of a knack for defending makes this lady a firecracker.

Midfield
8 Lólindir Culnámo, SC Lasft (Cafundeu)
Age - 21
Sex - M
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 162 lbs
What do you get when you put an extraordinary amount of speed into the chiseled frame of a defensive stopper? Well, I'm not exactly sure, but it's bloody scary mate, and that is what Culnámo is to a point! He doesn't speak too much, but when you look like you can tear an arm out of it's socket, you don't need much use for words.

16 Landamáron Yraunae
Age - 21
Sex - M
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 143 lbs
Your prototypical winger who will be looking to spread out the opposition and then feed in his teammates. Not flashy or overly skilled, but will give you a consistent performance in every match.

19 Melira Yrausumé, Night Academy ~
Age - 21
Sex - F
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 137 lbs
Melira is anything from your typical Vanorian center midfielder, with her short stature. Still, she has the flair going forward that has made those like Soldarian and Totez world class stars for their respective clubs. If she can channel some of that sort of talent into and keep the cohesion with Culnámo, this could be a feared threat for the opponents of the Mini-Marauders.

5 Erufindon Weranta
Age - 20
Sex - M
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 157 lbs
Weranta's best attributes are his first touch and pace, both of which are suberb and make up for the lack of an all around game. If he is going to be the link up between the rest of the midfield and the strikers, he will need to work on his through balls more, but his work ethic and knack for the miracles is worth the risk.

4 Eredhien Isilianrin, Hondo Academy ^
Age - 21
Sex - M
Height: 6"0"
Weight: 156 lbs
Isilianrin wasthe first Dark Templar to ever suit up for any Valanora national team by playing in the last DBC. It is still unclear whether or not he and his kind will be allowed to play at the senior level, with several people complaining that they have an unfair advantage at being invisable, of which was rendered void last tournament with invisible dampeners. Eredhien does not care one way or the other, as he merely looking to fit into the Vanorian society, and football seems the best way to go about it.

Strikers
21 Valtheldorien Ealovaul, Green Island (Candelaria And Marquez) ~
Age - 21
Sex - M
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 159 lbs
The young man is learning his trade out there on Zapata, where soo many Vanorian stars have been born. While he is struggling to get playing time behind his countrymen, just being able to train with the likes of va Drake and Durosa have made him a better striker than Tathvir, who is still in the Academy system.

11 Arawen Kevaeredal, Kareen Academy ~
Age - 21
Sex - F
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 144 lbs
We have not seen a striker of Arawen's capabilities since Calla Soler was on the team. Granted that many a fine strikers have played for the under twenty one side, but Arawen is the complete package at such a young age. Enough pace to get by most defenders, a deft first touch, and a nose for goal that is second to none.

Reserves
GK: 1 Menamorion Faladel, age 18, Wexax Academy (M)
GK: 0 Landasidhdil Norodiir, age 17, Char Sara Academy (M) ^
CB: 2 Losanaiadhiel Nartanonel, age 18, Valanari Academy (F)
CB: 6 Adanis Neltanmae, age 19, Capri Acadmey (M) ~
CB: 15 Harcaelien Kevayalal, age 20 (M) ^
LW: 7 Cuillinniel Dlardragdren, age 19, Hondo Academy (F) ~
RW: 17 Lothrauniel Ealosumé, age 21, Capri Academy (F)
MC: 14 Aemethiel Elereth, Valanari Academy, (F)
MC: 18 Idhrenphenion Rhuimin, age 19, Mar Sara Academy (M)
AMC: 10 Filnenniel Lassthalmae, age 18, Night Academy (F) ^
ST: 9 Aelaithnûn Ondovaul, age 17, Night Academy (M)
ST: 22 Lona Tathvir, age 19, Mar Sara Academy (F)

Galadiir
Runendthor Haerina Eärfalas
Yraunae Yrausumé Culnámo Isilianrin
Weranta
Kevaeredal Ealovaul

Captain: Eredhien Isilianrin
Left Corner: Eredhien Isilianrin
Right Corner: Landamáron Yraunae
Set Pieces: Eredhien Isilianrin
Penalty Taker: Arawen Kevaeredal

~ Denotes Vyintanese
^ Denotes Templara

Bloody adverts!

(As far as Bears Armed is concerned, this is happening in the year after WC45 which means that [if I've calculated this correctly, according to the revised (4-year) cycle] it's now 2015AD in this nation.)

_____________________________________________________

Team: Bears Armed (alias "the Bear-Belles"...).

Yes, this country's 'U21' team is still another all-female one, like those that we've sent to the BoF & WCs, but not for the same reason that certain other nations seem to field those. As I've already explained before this, it's because the main ball-game that's been played in BA so far is actually a form of Rugby, but [for several reasons] the professional league for that sport is all-male and so in recent years there's been a drive to establish Soccer as a sport of comparable status to that on behalf of the female players & prospective players.

National football organisation: ‘Bears Armed Association for Soccer’ (= ‘BAAS’).
(Chairbear: Urra-Harrlo o Westfells [Chairbear of Wiston Wanderers S.C.])

National anthem: ‘Peace’.
U21s' Manager/Chief Coach: Harrya o Herrchaum _ female Ursine _ Clan = Herrchaum, Soccer experience = 12 years; age = 35, left-pawed, fur = light brown. (She was #24 in the team for B0F31/WC44, and saw action several times then as a substitute, as a Striker; then was #6, as a starting Midfielder, during WC45.) She’d probably have been offered the job of ‘First Deputy Coach’ for the actual 'Bear-Belles', before WC45, if Marra SunDaughter — with whom she’s still friends — hadn’t accepted it.
Deputy Coach: Gerranya Redwood _ female Ursine _ Clan = Redwood, Soccer experience = 17 years; age = 37, left-pawed, fur = medium brown; coach of the 'King's University Konquerors' for the last five years...

U21s' Nickname: (not yet decided...)

Home ground = 'Plumtrees Park', at Council Groves (our capital city). Its capacity has been doubled since the qualifiers for WC44, to roughly 40'000 for Ursines: Fitting about 30’000 humans into the visiting fans' half should be possible, and so that's as many as we'll let into the country. Accommodation for visiting teams & their staffs will be provided in the 'Hotel Exodus', about a mile away, which is used to housing Human visitors. Accommodation (at a fairly basic level) for up to 15’000 supporters will be available, at reasonable prices, in students' residences for the adjacent National University: if more foreigners than that want to attend any particular game then there’s limited hotel space available — say 1’000 to 1’500 places — but otherwise they’ll have to borrow space in the nearby Army camp instead...
There are no direct inter-regional flights into Council Groves, visitors will have to travel by way of one of our neighbours and then continue onwards by one of the limited number of "local" air-flights or by rail. (People planning to arrive by rail will have to come via the nation of Mikitivity, but extra services will be organised on that route...)


Roster

Nobody who has already played in the "main" national team will still be young enough for this team now.
Most of this team is drawn from that of Kings' University, which is currently the top 'Honeysuckle League' side. Almost all of the players will be actual Ursines (i.e. anthropomorpic, bipedal Bears), but there is also one member [so far] who belongs to the Harr'aynau people -- who are physically human (more-or-less, although inclined towards heavy builds & hairyness) but spiritually & culturally Ursine -- instead.


Usual Starters

(#1) Urratharra o Redwood _ Clan = Redwood, home team = 'King’s University Konquerors', category & usual position = Goalkeeper, 4 years experience of Soccer; age = 19, left-pawed, fur = medium brown, decidedly tall; studying Veterinary Medicine.

(#2) Marrradorra o HighPeaks _ Clan = Redwood, home team = 'King’s University Konquerors', category = Defender, usual position = Left Back, 5 years experience of Soccer; age = 18, left-pawed, fur = medium brown & quite long; studying Law.

(#3) Urrthra o Herrchaum _ Clan = Herrchaum, home team = 'King’s University Konquerors', category = Defender, usual position = Right Back, 3 years experience of Soccer; age = 17, right-pawed, fur = light brown; studying Medicine.

(#4) Jerra-Dawn o Redwood _ Clan = Redwood, home team = 'King’s university Konquerors', category = Defender/Midfielder, usual position = Midfield Centre or Defensive Centre, 5 years experience of Soccer; age = 17, left-pawed, fur = medium brown; studying Natural Philosophy; younger sister of Marra-Urra o Redwood, who plays in the nation’s “main” team.

(#5) Urratharra o Redbank _ Clan = BlackBear, home team = 'King’s University Konquerors', category = Midfielder, usual position = Offensive Midfielder, 4 years experience of Soccer; age = 17, ambidextrous, fur = black; relatively small, and very fast; studying Linguistics.

(#6) Berrtice orn Borr-Vurra _ Clan = Borr-Vurra [‘Free Sept’], home team = 'King’s University Konquerors', category = Midfielder, usual position = Midfield Right, 4 years experience of Soccer; age = 17, right-pawed, fur = medium brown with a slight reddish tint; studying Law; a member of what would be the ‘Royal Family’ if Bears Armed hadn’t abolished the monarchy over two centuries ago, nickname [within the team] = “Princess”.

(#7) Sarrla o Jherrantor _ Clan = Jherran Habbar, home team = 'King’s University Konquerors’, category = Winger/Midfielder, usual position = Left Winger, 2 years experience of Soccer; age = 15, left-pawed, fur = ginger; rather small, but very talented; studying Philosophy & Metaphysics, and is a “kid genius”.

(#10) Karrtla Redwood _ Clan = Redwood, home team = 'Greyfurrrers’ Academy for She-Cubs', category = Winger, usual position = Right Winger, 6 years experience of Soccer; age = 16, right-pawed, fur = golden-brown, has good eyesight.

(#11) Jerra o Redwood _ Clan = Redwood, home team = 'King’s University Konquerors’, category = Forward, usual position = Left Forward, 4 years experience of Soccer; age = 17, left-pawed, fur = medium brown; studying Dentistry.

(#12) Marrorreena o Redwood _ Clan = Redwood, home team = 'King’s University Konquerors', category = Forward, usual position = Centre Forward, 8 years experience of Soccer; age = 18, ambidextrous, fur = medium brown; studying Medicine.

(#13) Jerrannya OldWood _ Clan = Redwood, home team = 'Greyfurrrers’ Academy for She-Cubs', category = Forward, usual position = Right Forward, 5 years experience of Soccer; age = 16, right-pawed, fur = greyish-brown, has good eyesight.


Usual Substitutes

(#14) Marra-Jerra Thunder _ Clan = Gunnar, home team = 'National University Tigers', category & usual position = Goalkeeper, 6 years experience of Soccer; age = 17, right-pawed, fur = medium brown; studying Engineering; younger sister of Urra Thunder, who plays in the nation’s “main” team.

(#15) Harroya o Redwood _ Clan = Redwood, home team = 'Queen Ammabarra Academy', category = Defender, usual position = Left Back, 6 years experience of Soccer; age = 15, left-pawed, fur = medium brown; big, strong, and quite fast.

(#16) Sunnarra o Redwood _ Clan = Redwood, home team = 'The Citadel', category = Defender, usual position = Centre Back, 4 years experience of Soccer; age = 16, right-pawed, fur = light brown; quite fast; studying Military Science.

(#20) Elga ‘the Leopardess’ Lightning _ Clan = Gunnar, home team = ‘PassPort Athletic’, category = Midfielder/Forward, usual position = Midfield Centre or Right Forward, 6 years [2 years as a professional] experience of Soccer; age = 17, right-pawed, fur = light brown; very keen eyesight, not as heavily built as most other Ursines, very agile & quite fast on her feet; the only member of this team who plays professionally in the [adult] Leagues.

(#21) Marwerna ar Gerran _ Clan = Arttorran, home team = 'Merlchester Babes' [which is a ‘Junior League’ team, as a feeder for ‘Merlchester Rovers’…], category = Midfielder, usual position = Midifeld Right, 5 years experience of Soccer; age = 17, right-pawed, fur = light brown; not as heavily built as most other Ursines, very fast on her feet, has good eyesight.

(#25) Herrona o Redwood _ Clan = Redwood, home team = 'King’s University Konquerors', category = Winger/Forward, usual position = Right Winger, 7 years experience of Soccer; age = 19, left-pawed, fur = medium brown, looks a lot slower than she actually is; studying Mathematics.

(#26) Marressa o OldWood _ Clan = RedWood, home team = 'King’s University Konquerors', category = Forward, usual position = Centre Forward, 6 years experience of Soccer; age = 20, left-pawed, fur = greyish-brown; studying Law.


Reserves

(#17) Marraya RedRose _ Clan = RedRose [‘Free Sept’], home team = 'Mighty Redwoods’ [junior side], category = Defender, usual position = Right Back, 5 years experience of Soccer; age = 16, left-pawed, fur = medium brown with reddish tint; relatively small, but strong and quite fast.

(#22) Marra-Harroya o Herrchaum _ Clan = Herrchaum, home team = 'Harr-Herrath Academy', category = Midfielder, usual position = Midfield Left, 3 years experience of Soccer; age = 15, left-pawed, fur = light brown with a greyish tinge.

(#23) Irritti Redwood _ Clan = Redwood, home team = 'Harr Burran Heroines', category = [Defensive] Midfielder, usual position = Midfield Centre, 5 years experience of Soccer; age = 16, left-pawed, fur = medium brown; attends ‘Harr Burran Grammar School’.

(#24) Elsa Marra o EastDale _ Clan = BerryGlades, home team = 'King’s University Konquerors', category = Winger/Offensive Midfielder, usual position = Left Winger, 4 years experience of Soccer; age = 18, left-pawed, fur = medium brown; studying Medicine.

(#27) Harrya ‘Wolfsbane’ o Herrass _ Clan = The Borderers, home team = 'King’s University Konquerors', category = Forward, usual position = Left Forward, 3 years experience of Soccer; age = 18, left-pawed, fur = medium brown & quite long; studying History.

(#30) Urrsa SunBlesséd _ Clan = Sun, home team = 'Greyfurrers’s Academy for She-Cubs', category = Forward, usual position = Right Forward, 4 years experience of Soccer; age = 14, right-pawed, fur = ‘wheaten’; very good eyesight, and accuracy at long ranges as well as shorter ones.

(#31) Marra Riverfarer _ Clan = Zarruorr, home team = 'King’s University Konquerors', category & usual position = Goalkeeper, 7 years experience of Soccer; Harr’aynau humanoid; age = 19, right-footed, hair = deep red; studying ‘Economics & Business Administration’.




Style: Offensive, modifier = +3.. "A good offence is the best defence"...
Their usual formation will include a front row of at least 5 (normally as 3 Strikers & 2 Wingers), with 2 Midfielders, 2 Backs, and a ‘Defensive Centre’ whose starting position will be at the midpoint of an imaginary cross drawn between those other four non-forwards’ positions: However in some matches they may replace the latter position with either a third Midfielder or a third Back, instead.

________________________________

Opponents may _

Choose my goalscorers: Y (but the Strikers, and then the Wingers, are likeliest to fill this role...)
Godmod Scoring Events: Y

RP injuries to my players / Godmod injuries to my players / Hand out Yellow cards to my players / Hand out Red cards to my players: Y to all, at least to start with, but remember what I've written here and keep it in limits accordingly... Any serious offences by my players would probably result in injuries to your players, and causing any serious injuries to my players would probably require such obviously-deliberate attacks that your players would get yellow or even red cards as a result too.

Godmod Other Events: Y, I suppose, at least as long as you do so in an AMUSING way... but please remember that Ursines are fully sapient beings, as much as Humans are (well, almost so, anyway....), NOT instinct-driven animals. Oh, and of course female Ursines are NOT sexually interested in Humans (of either sex), and it's very unlikely that female Harr'ayanau would be either. Please don't have them run amok or outright revert to animality, without checking by TG first, don't make assumptions about their views on politics or religion, and don't do anything that would make more than one of them incapable of playing in their next game...

______________________________________________________

Kit (home) = lime-green shirts with bear's-paw emblem (as on the national flag) in pale brown on both front & back; pale brown shorts, with trimming & side-stripes in bands of black, gray & white (representing the other Ursine stocks...); socks = lime-green.
Kit ('away') = white, with emerald-green (or what I call 'emerald-green', which seems to be a rather darker shade than some other people do, anyway...) bear's-paw emblem & trimming.
Kit (goalkeepers) = emerald-green, with the bear's-paw emblem in white.
(Identifying numbers will be in black, except on the goalkeeper's emerald-green where they'll be in white instead: Bears Armed has traditionally used base-8 arithmetic, for several reasons, so the sequence used here will be _ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, etc...)
You can get some idea of what the kit looks like here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14329918&postcount=139), although those designs currently use a lighter green than we meant the term 'emerald' to cover and lack the black/gray/white side-stripes & trimming on the shorts...


NOTES

Ursines may tend to be a bit less agile & slower to accelerate than humans on average, but this team's members were carefully selected so the gap between them & their opponents in this respect should be narrower than some people might expect. They do tend to have slightly poorer eyesight than humans, on the whole (although the Sun Clan's members are generally an exception to this rule and their eyesight is often at better-than-human levels instead), so long-distance passes & shots at goal will tend to be rarer behaviour for them than they are for human teams... but their typical size & strength mean that when they're running with the ball it will probably take a very brave human -- as well as a very skilled one -- to tackle them successfully, which should balance that factor pretty well. They don’t jump very well, but then they (especially ,e,bers of Clan Redwood) are generally rather taller than most Human players to start with.
They're physically robust, of course, which means that they're much less likely than humans to suffer injuries in falls or collisions. The females of this species are more even-tempered than the males, and the team's members will try to stay on their best behaviour not only in order to do well in this contest but also to impress upon the watching humans that Ursines aren't just "dumb beasts"... although their youtrh may leave them a bit more impetuous than the senior team...
They will [i]not 'dive', or feign injury in other ways, because suggesting that they could be harmed so easily goes strongly against the grain.
Cold weather should pose no problem to them, even if there's snow or ice on the pitch, but tropical heat might prove awkward...


At 'home' games, and at 'away' ones too unless their hosts there object, the team's members -- including the designated substitutes for that match -- will perform a [fairly short] ritual that's called the 'harrdiharr' (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14300633&postcount=34) on the pitch just before play begins... This is a traditional war-dance, meant to over-awe opponents, that has come to be a customary prelude for team games as well (similar to the [RL] New Zealanders' 'haka'...). ;)
As has been seen during previous international competitions, some of our fans like to take drums — and possibly cow-horns, or other "musical instruments", too — along to the matches...

The Rainbow Warriors of Norwellia

2009 Di Bradini Cup

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/Krytenia/NOR45.png

Home kit is white with rainbow stripe; away is red and yellow.

Permissions Box
----------------------
Choose scorers: Y
Godmod scoring: Y (Rare scoring events are okay as long as they're really, truly rare)
Injure my players: N
Red cards: Y (Within reason; this should simulate real life)
Yellow cards: Y (Go nuts)
Godmod other events: N
----------------------

Style: Attacking, direct football

Roster

Nota bene: All club and college teams listed are on the top flight within the professional or college pyramid of Norwellia, respectively. The professional pyramid is represented by the three divisions of the NFL, while the college pyramid's top flight includes three separate leagues (Hunt, Chastain, Arantes) of equal standing. Winston is the defending NFL championship team. The college leagues have not begun play yet on any official scale.

Starting Formation


홍해모 권이진 Loreta
Parker Janamerikana Souta
손복사 Kelly Scezes Thust
[문용철]



8 홍해모 (Hoŋ Hā-mo)
Position: LF/LM
5'10" 165#
Age: 20
Voltaire College (Arantes League)

20 권이진 (Gwon 'I-jin)
Position: CF
6'0" 190#
Age: 20
Oceanview United (NFL)

15 Salvadora Loreta
Position: RF/RM
5'11" 165#
Age: 20
University of Bear Mountain (Arantes League)

9 Adam Parker
Position: LM/LF
5'10" 165#
Age: 18
Sapir College (Chastain League)

14 Iniheu Janamerikana
Position: CM
5'11" 155#
Age: 18
Walter College (Hunt League)

11 Abela Souta
Position: RM
5'8" 145#
Age: 18
University of Ripollet (Hunt League)

4 손복사 (Son Bog-sa)
Position: LD
6'0" 165#
Age: 18
University of Bookchin (Arantes League)

13 Jayden Kelly
Position: LCD
5'10" 180#
Age: 19
Geschwind University (Arantes League)

2 Pranasik Scezes
Position: RCD/CM
6'0" 165#
Age: 20
Universidad de la Cooperativa Regional de Españita (Chastain League)
[Official English name: Españita Spanish Regional University or ESRU]

16 Markus Thust
Position: RD
5'11" 180#
Age: 20
University of Murray Grove (Chastain League)

1 문용철
Position: GK
6'4" 205#
Age: 18
Winston (NFL)

The Bench

In no particular order:

12 Ivelmore Janjal
Position: CF
5'10" 176#
Age: 18
Forest Glen (NFL)

3 Demelza Venton
Position: CM
6'2" 165#
Age: 19
Merseault Strangers (NFL)

19 Victor MacDonald
Position: D
5'9" 155#
Age: 18
Rabelais College (Hunt League)

6 Doshese Phanzus
Position: CM/CD
6'2" 185#
Age: 19
Oceanview United (NFL)

17 홍몽안 (Hoŋ Moŋ-an)
Position: CF
6'1" 170#
Age: 17
Geschwind University (Arantes League)

10 Ισαβέλλα Κετιμέ (Isavélla Ketimé)
Position: M
5'9" 145#
Age: 20
University of Port Julia (Hunt League)

18 Daki Itera
Position: GK
5'11" 175#
Age: 18
University of Murray Grove (Chastain League)

21 Anna Bauer
Position: GK
6'3" 195#
Age: 20
Sebeok College (Chastain League)

5 채순혜 (Çā Sun-hye)
Position: CM/D
5'11" 155#
Age: 19
Sapir College (Chastain League)

7 Merryn Oates
Position: M
5'11" 172#
Age: 20
Rabelais College (Hunt League)

THE ROCKET REPORT

TEAM/GROUP ANALYSIS

Valanora- Ever since bursting onto the Di Bradini Cup scene in the 4th edition, the Rockets have slowly declined. It wasn’t noticed right away, but each Cup has been a slight step below the Cup previous. In Di Bradini 5, the Rockets lost the final to Daehanjeiguk, then in Di Bradini 6, they were defeated in the final by Valanora. The difference there is that many in Newmanistan felt the Di Bradini 6 team was better then #5 and should have won that title. Then in Cup 7, another step back as the team lost in the quarterfinals, leading up to the ultimate embarrassment, failing to advance out of the group stage. For a nation that didn’t even lose a group stage game ever, in the previous Di Bradini Cups, to fail to advance out of the group was a major disappointment and unacceptable. Brian Carson was not the scapegoat, but Chris Merrill was. The assistant was fired by Carson after the first two games, and it just ruined the career of the Dover City head coach. No, actually, it was a blessing in disguise for Merrill as he quickly signed on to be an assistant coach of Sarzonia’s team. The team that won the Cup. Now, Merrill is the head coach of Sarzonia and Brian Carson is watching on TV in Tenderville, Nethertopia. The Rockets need a boost to get going again in the right direction, and the man for that is Nelson Yaschter. We hope.

Yaschter brings Newmanistan’s junior team to Valanora making the first time that any football team from the Empire has made an appearance here. The hockey team was here recently, and perfomed horribly. This is seen as an important Di Bradini Cup for Newmanistan, not just to get back to where we once were, but because the senior team needs it. Jeremy Brooker and Jeremy McAllister have retired. Chris Kusler and Corey Hennis will not be back, something recently confirmed by Kusler. No Alex Parnett. No Shawn Drummond. Players need to be developed to take their roles, and while that is occurring, we need to realize that it needs to be done quicker.

The starting goalkeeper for the Rockets will be Jennifer Bennett. This is considered the biggest wild card on the team. The 19-year old has played well with Seminole Bay, but has not played at this level yet. Note, we said played, because she has appeared. Being on the roster as a reserve for the last Di Bradini Cup as well as the Cup of Harmony should serve her well. It’s also quite an opportunity for the team, because it is in net that will be the greatest question mark for the senior team when World Cup 46 qualifying starts. Kusler and Hennis, the starter and sub from the senior team, as mentioned aren’t returning. Neither is the logical #3 man Kurt Allwine, who is also retiring. After them, the Empire has struggled to produce a real good quality goalkeeper. (You ever notice all the foreign keepers on our club teams?) 24-year old Andrew McClure, some think is the front runner, or perhaps Justin Graham. Make no mistake, a big Di Bradini Cup by Bennett will allow her to bypass both of them and punch her ticket to starting for the Empire in World Cup 46.

Bennett will benefit from playing behind a strong group of defenders, which is likely the strength of this roster. 20-year old Shawn Loughran is the leader of the group, and this Cup will represent his chance to take that next career step. He has already proven himself given his great performance under Yaschter in the second half of qualifying for World Cup 45. Now it is time for him to show he can become a true international star, and a leader. He is the assistant captain and very excited to be that. Some feel that he should be the captain over Billy Prescott, but that’s not an issue for Shawn. Left-back Keith Capstraw and right center-back Matthew Coulson are in big spots for their careers. Right now, each of them are seen as being on the bubble of potentially making the senior team. Yaschter will be watching both very intently here to get a feel of what they may do for him in the World Cup. 15-year Chris Poole is seen as a future star, but is probably not auditioning for the World Cup just yet. But then again, we could be wrong.

The midfield will see two Prescotts as well as Meghan Vilardi and Adam Benjamin. Billy Prescott is the captain of the team and has been very impressive in the early stages of his career. Even though the team overall was a disappointment in Starblaydia four years ago, Billy had a very good tournament, showing that he possesses the same talent that his father has. Billy continued this into the World Cup, and is someone that coach Yaschter really loves. It helps that Nelson had some familiarity with Brett Prescott since Brett played in Cafundeu for the longest time. Now his little sister, Brittany takes to the field. Just because she is a female and younger doesn’t mean that she will be less intimidating. With these two patrolling the wings, Yaschter hopes to own the midfield. At the junior level especially, the Prescotts should really be able to get in the heads of the young hopeful leaders of their opponents. Vilardi should get heavily involved in the offense, while Benjamin is a defensive midfielder, who will be positioned about halfway between the other midfielders and the back end.

Up front, the Rockets will be lead by Matthew Turner and Jeremy McAllister, Jr. Even though we are all excited to see what little J-Mac will do at this level, it will probably be Turner that is the leading goal scorer of the team. Matthew played in Starblaydia four years ago, but did not do much. It was after that, particularly in the Cup of Harmony that Turner shined, as he took advantage of playing with big J-Mac. It’s a bit ironic now that he goes from playing with Senior, to playing with Junior. Little J-Mac is one of Jeremy’s three kids, and the first to make an appearance at this level. He is the reason that the Empire is very excited about the tournament. He is the reason the Empire is hopeful to regain their Di Bradini Cup glory. Nelson Yaschter knows this, and he knows that is an unfair amount of pressure to put on a young 14-year old. Junior will be allowed to be himself, and should benefit from having his father be an assistant coach. A decent showing should allow Junior to at least, find a bench spot on the senior team for the upcoming World Cup.

Newmanistan will be in Group D, and is one of five teams in it. Our opponents, in order, will be Taeshan, Peisandros, Dancougar, and Secristan. The bye will occur following the Dancougar match. The Rockets have the biggest profile amongst these nations at the junior level, even though the Millionaires have won a title more recently then we have. We expect for it to be highly competitive though, between us, Dancougar, and the Millionaires. And perhaps even Peisandros, too. Taeshan has not, historically, done well in the Di Bradini Cup, but maybe this is their year too. Still, the team of college all-stars from Dancougar have a lot to avenge from four years ago, and Secristan isn’t too far removed from their championship. It will make for a tough road, and time will tell, if the ladder has another downward step, or if we begin climbing once more.

Fixture Venues

Group A
MD1: Battleground | Hatire Memorial
MD2: Artani | Duran Palace
MD3: Battleground | Hellgate
MD4: White Fortress | Hatire Memorial
MD5: Battleground | Artani

Group B
MD1: Artani | Hellgate
MD2: White Fortress | Aranfield Bridge
MD3: Duran Palace | White Fortress
MD4: Artani | Hellgate
MD5: Duran Palace | Hatire Memorial

Group C
MD1: White Fortress | Aranfield Bridge
MD2: Angelotic Temple | Hellgate
MD3: Artani | Hatire Memorial
MD4: Angelotic Temple | Aranfield Bridge
MD5: White Fortress | Hellgate

Group D
MD1: Angelotic Temple | Duran Palace
MD2: Battleground | Hatire Memorial
MD3: White Fortress | Aranfield Bridge
MD4: Duran Palace | Battleground
MD5: Angelotic Temple | Aranfield Bridge

Quarterfinals
A1vB2: Battleground
B1vA2: Angelotic Temple
C1vD2: White Fortress
D1vC2: Hatire Memorial

Semifinals
SF1 ((winner of A1vB2) v (winner of C1vD2)): Artani
SF2 ((winner of B1vA2) v (winner of D1vC2)): Hatire Memorial

3PPo
SF1 Loser v SF2 Loser: White Fortress

Final
SF1 Winner v SF2: Battleground

OCC: For more information about the stadia, go to this link (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13993582&postcount=4), as well as a map (http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r56/kelchek/valanora-newmap-v1.png)

Matchday 1

Group A
Krytenia 1-0 Lovisa
Yafor II 3-1 Cassadaigua

Group B
Norwellia 0-2 The Han Empire
Bears Armed 2-2 Sarzonia

Group C
Cafundéu 2-2 Nethertopia
Starblaydia 0-0 Kura-Pelland

Group D
Peisandros 0-3 Dancougar
Taeshan 1-1 Newmanistan

Unlike the hockey team, the Sarzonian Under 21 national team hadn't had the opportunity to work through the nerves required.

They were facing bears. Granted, intelligent ursines. But bears, nonetheless.

The team was looking forward to their first match with newly named manager Chris Merrill at the controls after he finished a whirlwind period that saw him fired as the scapegoat for Newmanistan's Under 21 national team, then hired as an assistant manager by the Junior Stars.

Now, his former boss Brian Carson was unemployed while he was managing the defending Under 21 World Cup champions. He tried to downplay it, but he allowed himself some brief inward vindication.

In his first match as the manager of the Junior Stars, it seemed as though his side were down two-nil before he could look up. The ursines made very quick work of the Junior Stars defence and sported their lead before the ninth minute. He stood up from the bench and walked out to shout instructions to his team.

Instead of a critical tactical switch or sending out a substitute, he shouted three words.

"Wake up, lads!"

Ten minutes later, they did. Jody Nichols got the goal back after the Taeshani referee called for a penalty when Tony Chester tripped over Marrradorra o HighPeaks. Even Merrill extended his arms parallel to the ground as if to ask, "bloody Hell?" That said nothing for the ursines, who were livid over the call. They had more of a reason to be livid when Nichols' paceless shot caromed off the outstretched paw of Urratharra o Redwood and into the goal.

"I was trying to give [Redwood] a shot he could handle easily," Nichols said, nodding his agreement when asked if he did so in an effort to promote sportsmanship. "I really don't know what happened there, to be honest."

Sarzonia would earn its next tally 20 minutes on as Chester fed Bob Graham, who sent a blistering shot past Redwood to equalise before the first half ended.

In the dressing room, Merrill exhorted his side to play with more passion and aggression, but he also challenged them to play smarter football. They compiled, but neither team could then dent the score sheet. All in all, it was a deserved draw, though it left the Stars two points off the pace set by The Han Empire, their opponents in the previous Di Bradini Cup final.

The time to concern themselves with standings would be later. Right now, they were simply relieved to be finished with the match against bears.

Already better than last time

It only took one match for the Dancougar Black Wing juniors to top the performance of their predecessors, and the 3-0 win over Peisandros will do much for the team's confidence. Having only come together a few days before traveling to Valanora, the Wings showed plenty of skill and spirit in piecing together the win. They also benefited from a bit of confusion on the Sandrian side, as coach Alketas Alketas came out in a highly-aggressive 4-4-2, a great departure from tactics for which the team is known. The team didn't look ready to run the kind of offense Alketas wanted, and as a result, goalkeeper Brandon Millman was hardly tested. Passes weren't connecting, runs weren't finding space, and with no build-up to speak of, shots weren't flying on target, either.

The Wings cruised into the lead thanks to a dominant five-minute stretch early in the first half. Justin Sellick opened the scoring with a 19th-minute volley that Ektor Athanasiadis had no chance at saving, as it was well-placed in the top corner. But the next goal was more of a fluke, with Lynn DiMino's shot deflecting off a defender in the 24th. The change in direction was just enough to beat Athanasiadis, and suddenly the Wings were up 2-0. They weathered a few Peisandros attacks and put the game away in the 58th through Sellick's Royal Academy teammate John Schiermeier.

Coach Shigeru Takeuchi, who's only just finished his first tournament with the team, World Cup 45, was pleased with his team's performance.

"I was expecting us to come out flat, to be honest, since we were very late entrants in the tournament and therefore hadn't been able to get everyone together until about a week ago. But the kids worked very hard in training because they know what a great opportunity this is for them. To be selected to the national team at any level is very special, and you have to think about the business end, too, with the draft coming up. I think the kind of facilities you have in college football now, the resources and drive of some of these players, made it a lot easier to get the team ready than I thought.

Overall, the performance was a complete one, although our defense wasn't thoroughly tested and I'm not sure how they'll respond against the heavier teams in this group, like Newmanistan. I liked the way we were able to move the ball around. We had a lot of good things from John and Justin, because they're teammates, but we also need to worry about the two of them trying to play the game by themselves instead of learning our system."

Schiermeier weighed in on his coach's comments and offered his own perspective.

"I think our decision-making process was accelerated a bit because Justin and I are really familiar with how we play, and if we tended to play off each other too much, I'd say it's just from habit. Now that we have a game under our belt, our practices are going to flow a little better and we're going to start to learn how to better complement each other despite coming from different schools with different styles. It's not like we're complete strangers. There are conference rivalries here, like Lynn and Aiko [Yoshida], and the tournament just had guys going at each other one game after another. So I think we have a healthy respect for each other as well as that baseline understanding."

Full Schedule
First Round
vs Peisandros. 3-0
vs Newmanistan.
vs Secristan.
vs Taeshan.

KURA-PELLANDI UNDER-21 SQUAD

1. Onyi VOGELSBERG (GK, 20, Parwood City)
Already a first-choice at one of the country's top clubs, and seen as the natural successor to Paul Hodgson in some quarters despite the fact Hodgson's own career has a long time left to run. Sometimes caught out of position, but an assured handler and excellent shot-stopper.

2. Rögnvaldur ÖRLYGURSSON (CD, 19, FC Northwood)
With the big Kura-Pellandi clubs facing financial difficulties after the collapse of Corganen, smaller clubs like League One (second division) FC Northwood are suddenly now much more able to hold onto their top talent. This giant centre-back from the Icelandic mountain town of Isetkilde is 6'9" (208cm) and 17st (108kg) of sheer brute force. And flowing blonde locks for some reason. A ruthless, very quiet individual who is a man of actions, not words.

3. Barend WIJNGAARDE (CD/RB, 19, FC Helma 1495)
A useful foil to Örlygursson, with a good first touch and an excellent footballing brain. Plays more like a 29-year-old than a 19-year-old at times, and likes to play simple passes out of the defence instead of long balls whenever he can.

4. Ali AL-FAYYOUMI (RB/RWB/DM, 19, Grayton City Wolves)
Becomes the first Muslim to play international football at any level for Kura-Pelland. A speedy, industrious player with an excellent tackle, although his first touch is arguably lacking and he has been known to make bad decisions on the field.

5. Alex LOOVENS (DM/CD, 20, United Trilan)
Equally capable either in the heart of the defence or in front of it, but at 5'8" (175cm) he is generally used for the latter. An excellent athlete, with plenty of speed, strength and stamina - known as "Pocket Rocket" by the fans.

6. Lionel RACHUBKA (LWB/LB, 21, United Trilan)
The left-back position has been a problem for Kura-Pelland of late, but Rachubka could be the man to fill it long-term. Full of pace, an excellent tackler and though he loves to run with the ball, he puts his defensive duties first and is always willing to track back. The only 21-year-old in the squad.

7. Jimmy DAILLY (AM/CM, 18, Grayton City Wolves)
There were a few calls for him to join the full squad for WC45, and rumour has it he was offered a place but refused. A speedy box-to-box midfielder with creativity, agility and an accurate shot. And a dodgy spiked haircut.

8. Yves LaGUERRE (LW/AM, 20, Deportivo del Erapucera)
A devastatingly fast winger with a great first touch and plenty of crossing ability, but questions remain about his mental fortitude and his penchant for scandal.

9. Samuel DOCHERTY (RM/AM, 19, AS Basicas)
Pace, crossing ability, dribbling ability, dodgy hairdo. What more could you want in a winger, honestly? Oh, a penchant for scoring the odd outrageous free-kick? Yeah, you've got that too. Oh, and he wears red shoes. What's not to like?!?

10. Richard ROTHEROE (CF/ST, 18, Deportivo del Erapucera)
He's got a cultured left foot, in every sense - he was briefly a member of a top ballet school before focusing on football. He's still called 'Twinkletoes' by the fans, but that's largely a consequence of his startling agility and superb first touch. Definitely not an aerial target at 5'9" (177cm) but in a tight spot in the box, he can make something out of nothing.

11. Kim-Hock PALANIAPPAN (CF/ST, 16, X.Y.C. FC)
A freak of nature with Indian, Filipino and Kura-Pellandi blood, 'Pal-Pal' is the most controversial teenager in the country; allegedly abused by poor immigrant parents desperate for him to make the family money in sport, regularly accused of doping given his strength for his size and age, but an undeniably prodigious talent. He almost single-handedly took tiny immigrant-run X.Y.C. to League One last season at the age of 15 and a major international transfer, perhaps to Paripana, is already rumoured.

12. Duncan PERCIVAL (GK, 19, Harrington Lakeside)
The goalkeeping talent in Kura-Pelland is well and truly overflowing; Percival is first-choice at a top club renowned for defensive ability. Probably misses out through being essentially the same as Vogelsburg but slightly less good and with a slightly more boring name.

13. Kenny ELLENDER (DM/SW, 19, Grayton City Wolves)
A playmaker some days, a last line of defence on others, Ellender prefers not to play as a straightforward centre-back due to a lack of physical presence, but this slight figure (5'9"/177cm and 10st/64kg) is a real master at reading the game, winning the ball cleanly then distributing it quickly down the field.

14. Michael DRAISEY (CM, 19, Delta Force Cardim)
A local boy done good, Draisey's range of passing is exceptional and his team play superb. A pivotal part of his club side already.

15. Antonio Ruben Gelavert MARGUEÑO (LB/CD, 17, Deportivo del Arapucera)
A product of El Arapucera's poorest Hispanic district, Margueño is a quick runner and an even quicker thinker, happy to run or pass out of defence but never one to hesitate or dwell on the ball.

16. Jason RAPPAPORT (ST/CF/LW, 17, United Trilan)
Although still too wayward with his finishing, his speed and agility makes him a handful for any defence. A devastating impact option off the bench for club and now country.

17. Bradley COPPINGER (RB/RWB, 18, FC Bargoiten)
A hugely determined player who will huff and puff through an entire game at high intensity. Not the most skilled member of the team, but his attitude to the game is flawless and inspires others.

18. Koenraad JEKABSONE (RWB/RM/RB, 18, Oteha Freedom)
The son of asylum seekers from a war-torn Dutch colony, as best we know, Koenraad is a huge cult favourite at Freedom, a club that has gone from local gay community project to League One side in ten years. His statements on homosexuality and the media have made him a magnet for right-wing criticism, but his devastating pace speaks for itself on the field, as do his crosses.

19. Edwin VAN MOURIK (ST/CF/LW, 19, Club den Hagen)
Because this team realllly needs another left-footed striker who can pull wide, yeah? Yeah. Why this guy's in the team instead of Rappaport is beyond anyone, as basically they play the same way but Van Mourik is worse. A couple of National Democrats have screamed 'quotas!' and 'positive discrimination!' (Van Mourik's a mixed-race guy from Noorde) and to be honest they have a point.

20. Lionel SHURTI (DM/CD, 18, Club den Hagen)
And why this guy has a higher squad number than his club-mate is even more mystifying. An industrious ball-winning midfielder in the Ellender mould, but slightly quicker and slightly less good at passing. And with a better football brain. Lawks, deciding between these two will be tough...

21. Joe JACK (CM/AM, 19, Sullivanstown Black Wings)
A quick, technically superb player with a handy long-range shaot, but often drifts out of games due to a lack of focus, so probably won't get to play.

22. Iain FAULCONBRIDGE (GK, 20, Isetkilde FC)
A third world-class goalie in the making? Yes! Taller and better at crosses than the other two, which is probably why he got chosen over Pascal Molyneaux. Yes, FOUR world-class young goalies in one nation. Good grief.

A bore-draw of the greatest kind for Kura-Pelland, as Onyi Vogelsburg's superlative performance and no lack of support from Ali Al-Fayyoumi secured a goalless draw with Starblaydia.

In midfield, there were too often signs of being over-run, but Al-Fayyoumi mopped up almost anything on his right flank, causing attacks to move predictably to the other side and down the middle. This helped Lionel Rachubka - although he had plenty to do, he knew what was coming. The best Starblaydi success came from through passes down the middle - you don't do long balls down the middle when a beast like Örlygursson is playing at centre-back, unless you like getting hurt - but two world-class reaction saves from Vogelsburg in one-on-one situations, plus several other non-trivial saves, denied Starblaydia success even there.

The few chances the strikers did take - mostly coming after the introduction of Michael Draisey with half an hour left - were thwarted similarly, although substitute Jason Rappaport should have buried a one-on-one chance from eight yards twelve minutes from time instead of shooting wastefully wide. Richard Rotheroe was particularly helpless against the goalkeeper.

Kura-Pelland (4-1-2-1-2); Vogelsburg; Rachubka, Wijngaarde (Shurti 76), Örlygursson, Al-Fayyoumi; Loovens; Dailly, Docherty (Draisey 63); Docherty; Palaniappan, Rotheroe (Rappaport 63).

Snorthern national U21 team for the 9th Di Bradini Cup
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/5357/snfald4.png

Number, name, age, position (n/a for goalies and forwards), club

Goalkeepers:

1: Piran Hean, 21 y/o, Rothsbere Athletic
13: Matthew Edwards, 18 y/o, Areck Furness
23: Tamer Reed, 17 y/o, James Connolly SC

Defenders:

2: Margh Bastian, 19 y/o, right back, East Reading
12: Pantelis Iliopoulos, 18 y/o, right back, Little Greece Olympia
3: Aedan Clague, 21 y/o, left back, 17th of October
22: Santiago Fuentes, 18 y/o left back, Castorgrad
5: Ean Faragher, 21 y/o centre back, Areck Furness
6: Judicaël Bihan, 20 y/o centre back, CF Sept. de Finistère
15: Candelario Oliveira Tavares, 18 y/o centre back, Cobre Andandala
16: Tim van de Huevel, 18 y/o centre back, East Reading

Midfielders:

7: Roparzh Hoëdic, 21 y/o, right winger, Eastlands
17: Nicola Morini, 18 y/o, right winger, Castrograd
11: Timm Holtz, 17 y/o, left winger, Eastlands
21: Tim Albrighton, 17 y/o left winger, James Connolly SC
4: Peter Hale, 17 y/o, central midfielder, Fenians
8: Marek Krofcky, 21 y/o, central midfielder, Baile an Fheirtéaraigh
14: Frank Vroon, 18 y/o, central midfielder, St Patrick's
18: Joe Fielding, 18 y/o, central midfielder, Rothsbere Athletic

Forwards:

9: Zulfiqar al-Khattab, 20 y/o, Larne Valley Rovers
10: Iñaki Arrigorriagakoa, 18 y/o, St Patrick's
19: Hu Peng, 16 y/o, FC Juahzhou
20: Francisco Manuel Sánchez Garciá, 18 y/o, St Patrick's

Manager, Chicão Trombada

Formation is 4-4-2 with a maxed out style modifier.
Numbers 1 to 11 for game are the usual starters.
Feel free to make a couple of changes to the line up though.

Kits

Home/Away
http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr245/SorthernNorthland/Asal%20eide%20spoirt/sno_46.png

RP thingy

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod scoring events N
RP injuries to my players Y
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 (although PM me about it first)

(OOC: The story centering around J-Mac’s consideration of steroids is going to be moved to the Empire Charity Cup thread, where there will be more options due to no roster restrictions).

(Post-game)

Yaschter: Well done everyone, strong defensive effort. Jennifer, you did wonderful in net. Mark has a couple things to go over with you, but overall you did a fantastic job.

Bennett: Thanks coach.

Yaschter: The defense. Caps, way to play Zellefrow there in the 28th minute, in particular. I don’t know how Taeshan keeps producing so many Ricky Zellefrow’s, but your positioning on him was outstanding. You also made some great plays in the second half too. Very happy with your performance. Lough, you just keep amazing me, kid. Keep that up and you’ll be a star, even more then you already are.

Loughran: Thanks coach.

Capstraw: Yeah, thanks.

Yaschter went one by one for every player that took to the field and told them how much he appreciated the great plays that they made. He applauded them for their effort and urged them to bring more of the same into the next match. The entire post-game meeting was nothing but praise, to make you think that Newmanistan had just won the game 5-nil or something, instead of a very disappointing draw. He dismissed the team, gave them a day off tomorrow, and told them when the next practice would be. The players left, a little surprised that they weren’t yelled at or lectured, but happy and feeling good. The assistant coaches, Jeremy McAllister, Sr. and Mark McCafferty stayed behind.

Yaschter: What did you guys think about the game?

McCafferty: I would have liked to have seen us win, for starters, I think they could have done a much better job in the midfield, this is where we should have a large advantage.

McAllister: We played very well on defense. Jennifer showed good talent in net. I thought that Junior seemed a little nervous, I hope we aren’t rushing him. Turner did a good job on his goal, but it’s rather disappointing not to get three points.

Yaschter: I thought we played great.

McCafferty: We did some things well, but we must play better then this if we are going to advance out of the group.

McAllister: Yeah, we still have some strong opponents coming up, this is a wasted opportunity.

Yaschter: Wasted opportunity? Not in the slightest.

(The assistants seem puzzled by that statement)

Yaschter: Guys, the Di Bradini Cup is not about winning. Or points or even winning the Cup. The Di Bradini Cup is about the development of our youth. Letting them know early what it takes at a highly competitive level so they are not in shock when they play at the senior level.

McCafferty: That’s a good point, but players learn better when they are winning.

Yaschter: Do they? Let’s compare Newmanistan and Cafundeu in the Di Bradini Cup. Jeremy, please take no offense to what I am about to say.

McAllister: Ok.

Yaschter: Newmanistan had a great history for the longest time in this. Cafundeu, not as much. But who does better at the senior level at the present time?

McCafferty: Well, I don’t know if that’s really a fair comparison.

Yaschter: Of course it is. Both nations come here to develop their young talent. Newmanistanian players have had great successes, but the Cafundeu players have learned the trials and tribulations. Starting off the Di Bradini Cup with a draw, you know what it does right now?

McAllister: What?

Yaschter: Few, if any, of the players are having a good time right now. They are disappointed with having started off with a draw. If we won, they’re all out having a good time. They know they need to do more.

McCafferty: I suppose.

Yaschter: We’ll have a very studious bunch at our next practice, I guarantee. Because I know they would be disappointed, you notice I did not point out any of their bad plays during the post-game talk.

McAllister: Yes, I noticed that.

Yaschter: No athlete needs to be told about their bad plays by their coach. They know what they did. Instead of snapping at them, you suggest things that they could have done differently in that situation, which is what we will focus on in our next training session. The kids tried. They played hard, and I am very satisfied with that.

McAllister: True.

Yaschter: We’re here to make them better players for the bigger things that have laid out in front of them. Wins don’t matter. I’d rather be four and out and have the players learn a ton then win the Cup and have them essentially coast through it and be the same players they were before.

McCafferty: But the media ---

Yaschter: (interrupting): Screw the media.

(The conversation then turns to their dinner plans for the evening)

Thrashed.

One game in and already coach Alketas Alketas is questioning his new aggressive style. The Sandrian U21's were hammered by a slick Dancougar team who inflicted the biggest winning margin of the first match day. Peisandros rarely looked like troubling the defense as the midfielders attempted to push forward too early and without a solid base. The two men upfront struggled with poor ball and were never that likely. 3-0 was a fair representation in the end with Dancougar deserving the goals and the three points for the win.

Captain Praxis Nikolaidis spoke of the confusion and lack of cohesion after the game.

"It's always hard with a new approach and we found that out the tough way today. It just didn't click and it's our fault, not the coaching staff. It worked well at training and we were feeling confident. I do think we can get it right on the field, but this early loss will make it tricky. We will stick with the attacking mentality though. There has been word from Alex (national head coach Alexander Pappas) that he'll be looking to employ a similar strategic change with the top boys, so it's important to see if we're capable of pulling it off.

I'm pretty disappointed with my personal effort today. It was my first game as captain of the 21's, so it's obviously not a great place to start. I think we were a little eager to get the ball forward but we didn't have a very stable midfield, which is obviously on me. We just need to slow down and look for appropriate times to really press forward. Lefteris Diakos is in stunning form, so getting good ball up to him is the number one aim. Hopefully he can score a few goals and maybe win us a few games. We've got some special talent in this squad so it would be good to get as many as them on to the field. Obviously qualifying is the aim, but experience is very important building up towards World Cup 46."

Next for the Sandrians is the ridiculously difficult task that is Newmanistan. Most still remember the 2-0 loss at the Cup of Harmony final and that could be the basis for a growing rivalry, as the Newmanistan team is a mere .08 points ahead in the latest rankings (for national teams). It will be tough, but the Sandrians will be looking to avenge their top teams loss in Delphi.

The Spacebook chatroom returns: (I apologize for the teenage girl chatspeak, but that is what this is, after all)

Any Similarity between these made screen names and an actual person that may have the name is coincidental and really pretty freaky if that person noticed. I will change it if so!

<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: (Kiersten Raschke): We got killed.
<Daganhunni0000500>: (Pamela Linscott): No shit, really?
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Like yeah we better do better next time.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: (Brianna Pierson): Our hockey team went to the final here. Did you watch it?
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: I wuz there!!
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Noooo way!!!!
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Ya my parents took all of us it wuz fun.
<Daganhunni0000500>: I thought you hated you parents?
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: I do. Just not when dey r nice 2 me.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: lol
<Daganhunni0000500>: U hippocrit. I dunno how 2 spell dat.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: (Katie Cincoski): Hypocrite. And you certainly are, Kiersten.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Hi Katie!!!
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Hey Katie! So like how are we gonna win our next game?
<HotDBC9captian4U>: We’ll win. I think.. As long as you stay focused.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Is Brittany Paxson here?
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: I don’t think so.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: She sucks itz all her fault we lost.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: OMG!!!
<Daganhunni0000500>: KIERSTEN DAT’S MEAN!!!
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Kiersten don’t u ever say that again.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Itz mean but u like know dat itz true.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: True or not u don’t say that about a teammate.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: So u agree dat itz true.
<Daganhunni0000500>: I’m stayin outta this.
<JessieShankeyCD11>: (Jessica Schanke): Sorry I’m late. Some guy was hitting on me. Took him 2 long 2 get the point dat I didn’t want him.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: She had a bad day, everyone has them.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Hey Jess!
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Hey Schanky you stanky.
<JessieShankeyCD11>: Who iz Katie talking about.
<Daganhunni0000500>: Kiersten said that Brittany Paxson sucks and is the only reason we lost.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: I mean it 2 I’m not taking it back.
<JessieShankeyCD11>: Well…
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Jessica if u don’t have something nice to say please don’t say it.
<JessieShankeyCD11>: Ok den I wont.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: LOL
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Look this isn’t cool, ladies. We can’t be picking on one player and blaming her for the loss.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Yeah I mean Kiersten it was your man that scored their second goal.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Bite me. Brittany should make that save newayz!
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Alright enough of the finger pointing. It doesn’t solve anything. Ok, yes, Brittany was not at her best, but she is not on this team because she is bad. She is a very good goalkeeper and she will be better in our next game.
<JessieShankeyCD11>: Yeah Katie’s smart. That’s why she iz da captain.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Well she better be better, Or play Natalie.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Brittany is our best keeper. I have an idea for changing this subject.
<JessieShankeyCD11>: Wut?
<HotDBC9captian4U>: I say you all come on up 2 my room and we get started on these drinks I got up here!
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Hellz yeah!
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Such a great captian you are! Be right there!

You have permission:

to do anything to my players except kill them (without my permission);
to RP about anything, anytime, anywhere (preferably on a computer);
to make no sense at all (in moderation...);
to invent a new story about anything so as to make reading this junk more enjoyable;
to change the goal-scoring margin by as many disallowed goals as you'd like;
to play by the rules that I will make up in 48 days;
is this thing still on?
to play a 13-0 scoring margin, just as long as your don't %$#^ up the scorinator...
TO HAVE FUN!



http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t156/daehanjeiguk/Football/daehanjeiguk.png

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t156/daehanjeiguk/Football/kit-youth.png

Playing Style: +2

Manger: Yu Giheung [유기흥]
You should know by now that we have a stick-whacking ex-convict who's staying with the U21 team.

GK
Kim Seungho (Goryeo University, 20, M)
Yi Manchoe (Armed Forces FC, 17, M)

DF
Kim Iljun (Shaolin FC, 20, M)
Go Seonghan (Yonsei University, 19, M)
Yi Taeyun (Bokgeon, 18, M)
Yi Myeongae (Goryeo University, 18, F)
Baek Sonjo (FC Samseong, 19, M)
Jang Yongmin (Goryeo University, 19, M)
Kim Hanae (Dongguk University, 19, F)

MF
Gang Donghyeok (Buddhist FC, 19, M)
Han Jungan (Goryeo University, 20, M)
Pak Jiseong (Armed Forces FC, 17, M)
Yim Gwangdae (Dongguk University, 19, M)
O Sunghwan (Armed Forces FC, 17 M)
Yi Sunae (Goryeo University, 19, F)
Wang Cheondu (Shaolin FC, 20 M)
Yim Hwanseok (Shaolin FC, 18, M)

ST
Pak Taehwan (Dongguk University, 19, M)
Kim Gyeongan (Armed Forces FC, 18, F)
Jeong Seonnam (Manju, 20, M)
Yi Junggyeol (Cheonghwa University, 18, M)

Di Bradini Cup 9 - Group B
MD1: 2-0 vs Norwellia (@ Artani, Mar Sara - 74,000)
MD2: vs BYE (@ the PUBS!, wherever - as many people as fits in a Vanorian pub)
MD3: vs Sarzonia (@ Duran Palace, Valanari - 51,000)
MD4: vs Candelaria And Marquez (@ Hellgate, Raynor City - 54,000)
MD5: vs Bears Armed (@ Hatire Memorial, Capri - 60,000)


Hwang: We're late!!!

Wang: What do you mean? We've been waiting for two days at this damned computer!

Hwang: No, I mean the team! They're so late!

Shim: What's the cause for the delay?

*** Somewhere in Atlantian Oceania ***

Coach Yu: Man, this plane flight is taking a long time. I don't remember it ever taking as much time to get to Starblaydia...

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: We're flying to Valanora.

Coach Yu: Oh... that's probably it then. Same region, right?

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: Should be. But then again, there are so many islands, that it's impossibly incomprehensible how many there are and how vast this place is truly.

Coach Yu: So poetic... you should have taking up writing.

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: How ironic you should mention that. That's how I ended up behind bars in the first place.

Coach Yu: Well, considering that we have all of the time in the world until we get to Valanora...

*a loud thunderous explosion*

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: What was that? *flight captain runs out of cockpit and jumps out of the plane* Whatever that was, that wasn't good.

Han Jungan: *screaming* OH NO! THE ENGINE IS ON FIRE!

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: Get to the controls! Children! To the controls! *whacks his stick on the ground of the aircraft - children rush to the controls while Stick-whacking Ex-convict comes up behind them* Land this plane, dammit! *whacks his stick*

Coach Yu: I really don't think that this will work. Maybe for football, but not for landing a plane.

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: You'd be surprised what a good bamboo stick hitting the ground can do.

Coach Yu: Yes, well, this isn't the ground either...

*** Control Room ***

SUPER: Good news and bad news!

Shim: Bad news! The Han players aren't even on the pitch! And they've got 6 minutes before they forfeit the match!

SUPER: Well, actually close. Bad news is that the U21 team crashed somewhere in the remote places of Atlantian Oceania. In the meantime, the IFA has submitted a substitute team to arrive soon.

Hwang: Substitute team? I never knew that we had a substitute team.

SUPER: Well, officially this place doesn't exist, remember?

Wang: Of course. We've known that from day one.

Shin: And yet someone still insists on buying delivery food...

SUPER: Well, officially you people do exist.

Shim: Okay... so what?

SUPER: Well, officially you people are the substitute team.

Hwang: WOOHOO! We're going to kick up some footy ass!

Wang: Umm... us? Have you ever seen us play footy, Supervisor?

SUPER: Nope. I never thought that you guys would be called up for duty. So I guess we're going to have to vacate the box. In the meantime, I've called up your replacements to work while we're gone.

Wang: I don't want to seem like this is pointless, but couldn't the replacement team go in our stead?

SUPER: You're thinking logically, Wang. But then the IFA is going to wonder why you aren't out there. Besides, it'll be fun to get out of here for a while.

Shim: Don't we need at least 11 people to play on the pitch?

SUPER: Actually, you only need at least 6. And not to worry! We have those two other people with us already!

Shim: Oh goody. Because I love to play footy while 5 players down...

*** Crash in AO ***

Coach Yu: Well, that was a pleasant landing.

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: Thankfully, that marsh softened our landing.

Coach Yu: Yes, thankfully...

Han Jungan: AHHHHHHHHHHH! *screaming* SPIDERS!

Yim Gwangdae: There are a lot of spiders here. And they're all purple...

Coach Yu: Please tell me that I'm dreaming... *sting* OW! What was that for?

Stick-whacking Ex-Convict: What?

Coach Yu: You pinched me!

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: You can't tell when you've been stung?

Coach Yu: ACK! The spiders are stinging us!

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: You don't think that we've noticed that already?

Coach Yu: *running away with the children behind him* SAVE US!

*** Artani ***

Hwang: These places all sound so familiar. Raynor City, Mar Sara, Duran Palace...

Shim: I think that Vanorians play too much Starcraft.

Hwang: Or not enough. Where are the zerglings? The hydralisks? The ultralisks? The zealot armies? The templars? Those cool carriers?

Shin: On our behalf, I'm glad that they didn't play any more...

Hwang: And what's up with all of these elves?

Shim: Apparently, they're playing LOTRO with Starcraft auxiliaries...

SUPER: Okay, crew! This is Gang and Gong. They're joining us as civilian auxiliaries, so it's important to remember what you say around them. Not to mention we're in a foreign country, so you'd best keep your mouths shut while we're here. That is, no talking to the media. In fact, don't talk to anyone, because they might be media agents in disguise.

Wang: *shuddering* I'm hearing voices inside my head...

SUPER: Shut up and pay attention. Our first opponent is Norwellia. I haven't heard of them before, and I really don't know how to manage a football team. So you guys just go out there and have fun.

Hwang: WOOHOO! We get to whip some Norwellian ass!

Wang: What happens if we get... um...

Shim: Injured?

Wang: Oh... no... um... sweaty?

SUPER: There are showers here if you need to get not-so-sweaty.

Wang: Which means?

SUPER: Yes... you will have to. But not that that should be on your head anyway, because you're here to play a game of footy, not worry about getting sweaty.

Gang: Are these people normal?

SUPER: No. They're special.

Hwang: WOOHOO!

SUPER: Especially him. Gong! You look like a big guy! Go in front of that big net thingy over there and stand like those people normally do in front of that big net thingy over there.

Shim: It's called a goal, Supervisor. Don't you watch footy?

SUPER: I watch it. Doesn't mean I understand it. All I really know is that we don't want them to get into that net. But we want to get into theirs.

Shim: Well, that's all you really need to know, I suppose...

"Hokay," said Harroya o Herchaum adressing the team after their first match of the contest: "That could have been a lot worse, but it could certainly have been rather better too: When you can go 2-0 up by that early in the game then I'd expect that you should be able to keep the other side from equalising again so quickly. Anyway, it's the furless 'Candelabrans' whom you're up against next. I don't know how much their government has let the Under-21 team know about us, yet, but let's play up our bearishness a bit to see whether that shakes them. I suppose that it might be considered a bit excessive having the whole team -- including reserves -- performing in the 'harrdiharr', so we'll leave that at the starters and subs, but those of you who are involved put some extra growls into it... hokay? having said which, if these players are anywhere near as good for their age-class as their 'main' national team is then we'll have a really competitive game on our hands, so don't put so much effort into expression that you forget about using your skills as well! Urratharra, we'll rest you for the first half and give Marra-Jerra a turn in goal instead, but you'll be on after the break."

Matchday 2

Group A
Valanora 3-1 Yafor II
Cassadaigua 3-1 Krytenia

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Valanora 1 1 0 0 3 1 2 3
2 Yafor II 2 1 0 1 4 4 0 3
3 Cassadaigua 2 1 0 1 4 4 0 3
4 Krytenia 2 1 0 1 2 3 -1 3
5 Lovisa 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0

Group B
Candelaria And Marquez 0-1 Bears Armed
Sarzonia 2-2 Norwellia

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Bears Armed 2 1 1 0 3 2 1 4
2 The Han Empire 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3
3 Sarzonia 2 0 2 0 4 4 0 2
4 Norwellia 2 0 1 1 2 4 -2 1
5 Candelaria And Marquez 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0

Group C
Sorthern Northland 3-1 Starblaydia
Kura-Pelland 1-0 Cafundéu

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Kura-Pelland 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 4
2 Sorthern Northland 1 1 0 0 3 1 2 3
3 Nethertopia 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 1
4 Cafundéu 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1 1
5 Starblaydia 2 0 1 1 1 3 -2 1

Group D
Secristan 2-3 Taeshan
Newmanistan 1-3 Peisandros

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Taeshan 2 1 1 0 4 3 1 4
2 Dancougar 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 3
3 Peisandros 2 1 0 1 3 4 -1 3
4 Newmanistan 2 0 1 1 2 4 -2 1
5 Secristan 1 0 0 1 2 3 -1 0

(A few players are lingering around the practice field on their off day. Over on a bench, a few players are huddled around a cell phone that's tracking the live matchcasts of the games being played.)

Millman: You guys seeing this? The Rockets are down and they've got only ten minutes left.

Sellick: This whole losing thing is pretty new to them, huh?

Kaneko: Well, in juniors, anyway.

Sellick: Good for us, then! We manhandled Peisandros and then they turned around and did the same. We ought to have this one, then.

Schiermeier: I hope you're not serious, man. Remember what coach would...

Sellick: I know, I know, I'm kidding. They've got someone like J-Mac to set 'em straight. They'll be ready for us. And it's a challenge cup game, right? That bird thing?

Millman: Yeah, although I'm sure they'll case less about that then the three points.

Clattenburg: Well, they can have a whole staff of J-Macs on the bench and it won't do them any good. I'm gonna grind his kid into the turf if he even thinks about challenging me.

Schiermeier: That's the spirit!

Clattenburg: I mean, they're just a bunch of kids mooching off their parents, aren't they? Prescotts and MacAllisters and Vilardis... hell, we earned it with our skills. I bet my dad couldn't tell you what a football looked like when he was my age.

Kaneko: I think that's a stretch...

(The two girls on the team jog over after some light warmups. They pop up behind Millman's shoulder to check the phone.)

DiMino: So what's the news over here?

Millman: Rockets are getting burned by Peisandros.

DiMino: You're serious?

Sellick: It's 3-1, now. There's no way back this late in the game. They're probably going to need to beat us to stay alive.

Yoshida: That means we should be working hard to get ready instead of just sitting around like this, right?

Isachsen: We did a couple suicides earlier even though coach said we only had to stay for the morning session.

DiMino: Well, look who's the industrious one, now?

Schiermeier: Hey, I've mean meaning to ask you... you and Aiko seem really tight, but you guys were at each other's throats for that conference championship. Am I missing something here?

Yoshida: We're childhood friends, silly!

Sellick: How's this, now?

DiMino: We grew up just a few houses apart and ended up meeting at a soccer camp. We won a state championship together, and when I graduated, we promised to both get into Pollock and win nationals. But she didn't get accepted when she applied a year later.

Kaneko: Ugh, that sucks.

Yoshida: And now Lynn's an international starter while I'm on the bench. It seems like I'm doomed to be a step behind her forever!

Millman: You might get a shot, just hang in there.

(The game ends and Millman closes the phone.)

Sellick: It'll be interesting to see how they react, now.

Clattenburg: Well, it's like Lynn said, practice makes perfect. How many do we have here... three, four... we have enough for some four vee four if you guys are up for it.

Isachsen: Just take it easy, we don't want to get hurt before the actual game.

Clattenburg: Yeah, I can just see the newspapers after that one.

Sellick: Hey, speaking of newspapers, did you guys notice something weird going on with the Dancougar News!! yesterday?

Yoshida: Why... no. I have no idea what you're talking about...

(The group splits itself up and begins to kick the ball around with duffel bags as goals.)

Di Bradini Cup 9 - Group B
MD1: 2-0 vs Norwellia (@ Artani, Mar Sara - 74,000)
MD2: vs BYE (@ the PUBS!, wherever - as many people as fits in a Vanorian pub)
MD3: vs Sarzonia (@ Duran Palace, Valanari - 51,000)
MD4: vs Candelaria And Marquez (@ Hellgate, Raynor City - 54,000)
MD5: vs Bears Armed (@ Hatire Memorial, Capri - 60,000)


Hwang: Whoa! That was a great match against Norwellia! Wang! You were fantastic out there!

Wang: What do you mean? I got smacked in the face with the football %$#^ %$#^ times! That's all I did!

Hwang: I know. But you made some fantastic saves!

Shim: Actually, Gong would be the guy making the saves. Wang just did fabulous blocks.

Hwang: Whatever...

Gong: His face is twice the size of my rice cooker. Maybe we should take him to the hospital?

Shim: Nah. All he needs is a good something to drink. Hopefully these pubs are pretty nice.

Gong: I don't think these are supposed to be pubs.

Hwang: Nonsense! There's all of these flashy lights all over the place. It must be a pub.

Gang: I really agree with Gong. These don't look like the sort of place that you'd drink up to your heart's content. Besides, aren't U21's not allowed to drink in the first place?

Hwang: What's that mean?

Shim: It means that you're under 21.

Shin: Who's under 21? *Gang and Gong raise their hands* Wait, why does anyone need to be under 21?

Gang: This is an under 21 tournament. You'd expect that you'd be under 21.

Wang: Wait, so we can't drink?

Shin: Water, maybe. But no sul.

Wang: Well, then how the %$#^ am I supposed to get my face back down to size?

Gang: Ice?

Wang: *sulks and moans* I hope that they find the team soon...

*** Somewhere in Atlantian Oceania ***

Coach Yu: *writing and speaking out loud* Day 1 in this pest-infested land. Nearly everyone on the team has been stung at least once by these purple-stinging things, and I can't quite seem to escape their pestilence. It seems that this place breeds the darned creatures. What can we do to put them off? I've had my handy man trying whacking the darned arachnids, but they took away his stick. So he spent the afternoon whacking the things with a long metal pole. In the evening, they took that away too. Whatever they are, they are highly intelligent and seem to be able to comprehend what we say, which is really unnerving since we can't understand them. I'd really wish they were at least nicer, because these stings are really painful.

OW! There's another one! Why can't these buggers get off! Get off! GET OFF!!!

Oh... that's in my diary now... %$#^... And Censor block is on! That's good at least... Let's see if I can get Censor block to fill in words instead of squiggly marks. Rats! That's much better.

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: Coach Yu, the children are sound asleep now.

Coach Yu: Zoinks! You're talking! And my glamourous talk diary is recording every blooming bit of what you say!

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: It seems to be broken. It's not repeating what you're saying.

Coach Yu: Thats because I've got the sarcastic Censor block on! Now stop gnarly talking and go watch over the kids so no more of those exquisite purple spiders sting the children!

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: This thing seems to have a mind of its own.

Coach Yu: Just go! *Stick-whacking Ex-convict leaves* Oh no! What's the farting thing writing? *sighs* Oh well... Day one is done, and I'm just hoping that the IFA sends over a rescue plane. Come to think of it, what ever happened to the pilot?

*** Valanora ***

SUPER: Great news, everyone! They've found the pilot!

Wang: Yes!!! Now we're free to go home!

SUPER: Bad news. He's dead.

Everyone: What?

SUPER: Apparently, he forgot his parachute when he bailed out of the plane. Either that or he dropped it. Regardless, they're still looking for the plane, but the IFA is searching really hard to find the plane. Unfortunately, it seems that the plane crashed somewhere east of this place. I haven't a clue what they called it, but it's not in our records.

Shim: So we're stuck here until they find the plane?

SUPER: We're stuck until they find the team. Who cares if we find the plane?

Wang: Right... at least we had a bye today.

(Post Game)

Yaschter: Jennifer, you were credited with thirteen saves, how did you feel about your approach on those shots, because your 16th minute stop was absolutely amazing.

Bennett: Uhm, well, I felt I saw the shooters well, some of their passes were a little predictable.

Yaschter: All three of their goals were scored more of a result of individual skill, such has fancy dribbling plays. What was the toughest thing about trying to stop those shots? And what was different, if anything, then the way we did it in practice?

Bennett: I don’t know.

Yaschter: Yes you do, Jenn. I’ve watched many tapes of you with Seminole Bay. This is the area of your game that needs the most improvement. I’m really wanting to start you in World Cup 46 but ultimately it’s going to come down to you and McClure.

Bennett: I guess it’s just that my reflexes aren’t as good as the other keepers.

Yaschter: It’s not your reflexes, they are fine. I say that because you are moving at the time that you should be moving, so you’re reading it well. You misjudge sometimes the height of their shot. All three of their goals beat you low.

Bennett: That sounds right.

Yaschter: My keeper in Galaxia (OOC: Don’t feel like looking up his name, if he’s not from Cafundeu, then it will be Galaxaia’s sub) is going to make the trip here tomorrow and show you how he does things in those situations. He can help you better then I, Mark, or Jeremy can.

Bennett: Thanks!

Yaschter: Not a long trek from here to Cafundeu for him. He’ll be fine. Plus, it’s in his contract that he might be asked to do things like this! Now, Chris Poole....

Poole: What, coach, I’m sorry.

Yaschter: What are you sorry about, you played great defense all game long, except for those couple lapses.

Poole: That’s what I am sorry about.

Yaschter: What were you thinking about?

Poole: I don’t know, I was just not doing what I was supposed to, I guess.

Yaschter: You were not, no. But why didn’t you? I know it wasn’t you making a conscientious decision to say I am going to mess up here.

Poole: I really don’t know, I wish I did.

McCafferty (assistant): Chris, you were showing some signs of fatigue, you were getting tired and spacing a little, and were therefore a second too slow to react, which is all the time they need.

Poole: Yeah I guess. I’m sorry.

McCafferty: No need to apologize. I remember when I was 16 playing for Centralia in Loudon, a couple of hot Loudon women from the stands yelled out to me that they thought I was very sexy. (Team laughs). And you know how in Loudon the fans are right on top of you, especially in the back end.

Poole: Yeah.

McCafferty: They kept doing it, and that whole game I started looking into the stands to find out who they were. My focus wasn’t on the Leopards, and I played a horrible game and got benched for the next one. I say this, because we’ve all been there. Football is a tiring game and sometimes you lose your focus for a little bit. Even me, and I turned out to be ok, I think, in my career.

Poole: (laughing) Yeah you did.

McCafferty: .At fifteen, you’re not going to be a complete player yet and I know that focus is one of those things that come with time as most mental attributes do. After the meeting, come with me, and I’ll go over some of the things that helped me.

Poole: Yeah.

McCafferty: Matthew, be sure to always be anticipating the right-back might err. It’s you’re role as the center back to pick him up. You didn’t get there in time when you needed to.

Coulson: Sorry. I was concerned more with my man in case there would be a pass.

McCafferty: I know. You can’t do that. The ball carrier must be your main concern. Adam Benjamin gets back and takes your man as we rotate and pick up Chris. Right Adam?

Benjamin: Yeah!

Coulson: I know I should do that I just.... I dunno.

McCafferty: Don’t be intimidated by the big stage, Matt. I know you aren’t used to this in Stroudsbourg, but it’s the same game of football that it always is.

Coulson: I’ll do better next time.

McCafferty: I know you will. And Adam, you did do a fine job there anticipating that Matt would rotate.

Benjamin: Thanks.

(After analyzing all aspects of the games and all players...)

Yaschter: Next up we have a game against snotty college kids. You know, the ones that think they are better then you because they are still in school and you guys quit school to start your professional careers early.

McAllister: The Bird on Skates is not up for grabs. We’ve requested that to Dancougar. We don’t want that pressure on you and we’re sure they don’t want it on their players.

Billy Prescott: We need to win though!

Yaschter: It’d be nice to win. What we need is to continue to get better. If we do that, and only have two more games, then we are champions.

McAllister: Don’t listen to the media. We’re here to make you better players, and right now we like what we see.

Yaschter: This is what I think about the standings. (Picks up a print out of all the group tables and rips it up). What I care about is the careers of each and every one of you. You’re dismissed, you have tomorrow off again, then be here at 8am Tuesday.

LOSS NOT THE WORST OF THE NIGHT

The Millionaires lost to Taeshan 3-2 yesterday. It was the opening game of Secristan’s 9th Di Bradini Cup effort, and there is never anything good that will come from a loss. However for Secristanis, and perhaps for everyone in attendance at the Battleground in Raynor City, none of the five goals will serve as the most memorable event of the evening. With the score tied at 2 in the 81st minute, the referee booked Marcus Pericone with a red card for a ruthless tackle on Alan Gregory. Gregory, who had also scored Taeshan’s first goal of the match was rightfully awarded a penalty kick. No one, except for one man, seemed to dispute that fact. Sadly, the one man who did was Robert Pericone, who stormed onto the field. Pericone had been seated behind the goal in question, about five rows back and immediately charged the official as he raised the red card in the air. Perhaps one of the mighty elven security forces should have gotten to the man before he could get to the field, but that did not happen. Once Robert Pericone got to the referee he wasted no time to punch him in the face. The only person brave enough to try and restrain the intruder was Marcus Pericone himself, probably because he is the only one who knew that his father did not have a gun. Marcus restrained his father just enough before security could get him and take him away, making him now at the mercy of Vanorian law. Marcus fell to his knees and covered his face. He no longer cared about the red card. He was embarrassed and knew that this would be something that would hang over his head for the rest of his life. The referee was not seriously hurt, and after about five minutes of collecting himself, he whistled for the game to continue. At this point, the clock was well past 90 minutes. Gregory made good on the penalty, and the referee signaled for the almost unheard of number for stoppage time minutes. Ten! Taeshan played it out defensively as with the man advantage they were just sure to get the three points. After the match, we caught up with Marcus Pericone who said he was worried his father might try to do something, “In all of my youth games, he’s always screamed every time I had a foul called on me. Look I didn’t mean to go in so hard on the Taeshan guy. I expected to be booked after it happened. I wasn’t surprised when he showed the red even though I was hoping to just get a yellow. I wasn’t surprised when he awarded the penalty. I made a big error and I feel bad for that. Now my dad is going to jail and maybe for a long time. I can’t believe he would do something like that.” Robert’s 23-year old wife, Lauren (who obviously is not Marcus’ mother), seemed unusually happy with the situation, “I am disappointed with Robert. It’s a shame. It really is. Yeah, it is just such a shame he did that. It’s grounds for a divorce I think. I will have to think about that you know. Yeah, a divorce.” Lauren said while trying to hold back a golddigging grin.

It’s just another chapter of poor behavior of Secristani parents in the Di Bradini Cup. While they behaved well in the last one, who can forget the actions of the parents of the kids in the 7th Di Bradini Cup, especially towards Cassadaigua, encouraging their sons to take any liberties they could with their female roster. This was only against Taeshan, too. One must wonder what will happen when they play Dancougar, or even more, play Newmanistan. The Secristan Department of Sports is not bothered by any of this of course as they know this is wonderful for ratings. Katie Simpson, the SDOS rep tells us that simply, “Purchases of the Peisandros match have skyrocketed after the Taeshan game.”

More Spacebook chatter....

<Daganhunni0000500>: (Pamela Linscott): Winning is so much more fun then losing. We like did so awesome!
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: (Brianna Pierson): Yeah! Wooooohooo!!
<HotDBC9captian4U>: (Katie Cincoski): Great game yes! I have da party supplies up here but we have to wait til coach runs da final room check.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: 11:00, right? It’s 10:54 right now.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Yes. So you know there will be an 11:30, too.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: (Kiersten Raschke): Hey hey hey wuzzzzup!!!
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Hey Kiersten!
<Daganhunni0000500>: Hey!
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Nice to see ya made it. Great job you were really good tonight.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: I kno right!
<Daganhunni0000500>: Gee don’t be so modest!
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Yea sorry I gotta work on dat b modist stuff.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Or just learn how 2 spell it!
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: oh who cares dis iznt English class. Wheres stanky schanke? I wanna congratulate her on her two goals again.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Not here yet. Ok, 10:57. Monitors off, lay down until coach peaks in your room and then come back.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: ok
<Daganhunni0000500>: ok
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: bbl

(10 minutes later)

<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Back!
<Daganhunni0000500>: ok back
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: hey!
<Daganhunni0000500>: hey again
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Ok back who’s here.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Me n Pammy no Katie yet.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Oh.

(5 minutes later)

<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Ok like shouldn’t Katie be back by now.
<Daganhunni0000500>: yea
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Ok I’m back. Was on phone with coach. Jessica Schanke wasn’t in her room.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Woohoo, go Jessie! Go Jessie!
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: haha guess she’s celebrating her own way!
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: lol
<Daganhunni0000500>: hellz yea
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Yeah well let’s not get all go Jessie yet, I don’t like the sound of this.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Why she found a guy and dey are wit each other now. Duhhhhh
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Really? That’s not like Jessica and you know it.
<Daganhunni0000500>: we don’t call her stanky schanke for nothing.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: I wuz about 2 say that 2!
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Katie’s right I mean, Jess woulda called one of us. And she knows not to get caught being out of her room.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: I know. Exactly.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: I just called her right now and there wuz no answer she’s obviously getting her freak on. Leave her alone.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Kiersten please get your mind out of the gutter. She woulda answered the phone. She woulda done something.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Stop being paranoid!
<Daganhunni0000500>: Was she the only one not in her room?
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Yeah.
<Daganhunni0000500>: Well I don’t know why she would venture out in the open by herself. She doesn’t know anyone here besides us.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: I know that’s why I am worried.
<Daganhunni0000500>: If she was gonna venture out somewhere, it would have been with someone and there would be two people not in their room, not one. It’s not in Jessica’s character to be out on her own. And I doubt she’s been kidnapped.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: true.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: u r smart.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: What if she has?
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Now ur mind iz in da gutter. Have u tried callin her yet? She’ll answer you cuz u r da captain.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: I don’t know her cell number off hand.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: itz xxx-xxxx
<HotDBC9captian4U>: ok

(((they wait)))

<HotDBC9captian4U>: alright. I’m back.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: so?
<Daganhunni0000500>: and?
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: well?
<HotDBC9captian4U>: There was no answer. I left a voice mail for her to call me immediately AND a text message.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Wow.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: I'm concerned. This isn't right.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: I'm sure coach is looking for her.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Yeah
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Probably is, but I really should be helping I gotta go.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: We'll help.
<Daganhunni0000500>: Yeah!
<HotDBC9captian4U>: No, you guys are supposed to be sleeping. I'll call you when I find something out though.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Ok.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Yeah itz weird. Is she ok?

(To be continued.........)

“Blake! For God’s sake lad, mark the man not the space, yeah?”

Blake Hitapot frowned. “It’s a cone, gaffer. Solid figure bounded by a plane base and the surface – called the lateral surface, for what it’s worth – formed by the locus of all straight line segments joining the apex to the perimeter of the base. It’s also got orange and white stripes, and it’s wearing yer jumper.”

“In this particular instance, Blake, the cone is as human as you are,” Jaon Van Deene told him testily, “And you’re letting it get right in behind our back four!”

“He’s a tricky little customer though,” Jono Plunkett insisted earnestly, “And he’s only about seven pounds wringing wet, but I haven’t seen him go down in the box once yet! Solid lad, stays on his foot. Not particularly manoeuvrable, I’d say, bu– ”

“Put a sock in it, Plunks,” the manager sighed. He’d spent the last six years of his life coaching under-eleven girls and realised now that he’d forgotten just how much trouble these pampered teenage millionaires could be. Okay, so his methods were a little old-fashioned. Even he had to concede that thermoplastic traffic cones made for poor strikers, especially when Jacob Davies and the other younger kids were having to manfully fight off the urge to place the offending objects on their heads. He’d brought several sheets of bubble wrap to take their minds off the temptation, but in any case these lads and lass expected better these days.

But Van Deene knew this much – he wasn’t going to let them tackle each other and risk injury, not at this stage. Lads like Macario and Simon, they only had to drift to within half a metre of Ben Palmer before their ankles started to bruise, in solidarity with the suffering of a universal anklinity and all those talocrural joint to have come into contact with the CandelariaAM right-back’s studs over recent months. He knew what they’d be facing just a few hours from now and, laughable rumours aside, the Bear’s Arms were a pub team in name only, and a set of bloody big fellas. If he was going to have more than eleven fit players to choose from come Norwellia, cones would have to do for now.

Besides, it wasn’t as though they actually needed proper training, was it? They were the next generation of the world champions, after all. It’d be a procession, at least until the Han game.

Presently, a man in a suit tapped him on the shoulder and grinned.

***

“Right, you lot, shuttup. I’m going to need t’have a little talk with some of you… apparently, so… Uh, Ciaran, Alan, Ben, Jono… Actually, I s’pose most of you ought to come…”

Van Deene turned his back on the squad with a shrug, and wandered back towards the little room at the Longview training centre where the government man now stood, lounging against the wall. The players followed him in quiet single file, Lee McKenzie and Carlos Cabrera rolling their eyes at each other and dawdling along at the back of the queue. They knew what was coming.

When the EPL starlets had caught up, their colleagues were seated cross-legged in front of the suited figure. Van Deene coughed.

“Right, er… This is Mr Williams…”

“G’d MORning MISter WillYUMS,” the squad chorused warily.

“Good morning, everyone… Lovely to see such bright, eager faces. I bet you’re looking forward to the tournament, aren’t you?”

“Yes, MISter WillYUMS.”

“Excellent. Well, I expect you’re wondering who I am…”

“Yes, MISter WillYUMS.”

“Well, as you may have noticed, I’m not an Eesseffian. Actually, I’m one of your lot, and I work for the Ministry of Remedial Teaching. Do any of you know what that means?”

Robin Smith stuck his hand up.

“Please sir, you’re the sinister government agency set up to monitor Candelariasians’ understanding of certain realities of the outside world, including the existence of elves here in Valanora and sentient bears and, where necessary, enforcing the silence of those deemed to carry undue knowledge of such things by subtle or potentially fatal means, including implementing severe restrictions on press and internet-based freedoms and imprisoning, exiling or even executing certain dissidents. In most cases, however, your operations are limited to employing relatively sophisticated propaganda on an individual or nationwide basis to maintain the decades-long state of ignorance amongst as great a percentage of the population as possible. Sir.”

“Ye-es… Clearly you’re a rather advanced student…”

“We played Raynor City the other week. One of your mates gave us the Talk back then,” Smith added, his KT Hotspur colleague Love Cummins nodding enthusiastically.

“Oh, was that Ian? Short chap, blue eyes, Hitler tash?”

“Walks with a limp and giggles?”

“Yeah, that’s our Ian. He’s one of the best when it comes to the Talk. He gets you sportsmen, I reckon. Knows how you tick. Me, I think we should just bring the whole lot of you idiots home, ‘specially now we’ve won the World Cup. I mean, we don’t need to win it again, do we? At least Cúchulainn have got the rights to the group stage games, so no-one back home’ll be watching this, but d’you know how much trouble it is to continue lying to a couple o’ thousand travelling supporters? Especially over here, where it’s bloody teeming wi’ pointies.” Mr Williams sighed. “Anyway, Smudger here is basically right. So let’s make this quick, yeah? You’ve been lied to your entire lives, but believe me there’s been really good reasons for that, so that’s okay. If you speak to anyone else about this, we’ll chop yer balls off, so just accept that yer next opponents are bears, there are more elves around here than you can shake a stick at, the signing beans have a quite sophisticated culture and social hierarchy, and those hairy fellas from the World Cup final? They live in an alternate reality that exists only thanks to a bunch of dreaming monks. Probably. Everyone happy? Good, ‘cos I’m missing the Apprentice, an–”

“They’re bears?”

The room swivelled on its collective bottom to face Van Deene. He was pale, and wobbling slightly.

“Yeah…”

“They’re… they’re actually bears?”

“They’re actually bears. Lady bears, for what it’s worth. Um. Shouldn’t you know this by now…?”

“I… I don’t, I mean… I’ve never been abroad,” Van Deene whimpered. “I’ve never had the… the Talk. No-one’s ever… They’re fucking bears?!?”

“‘Spect so, yeah. Wouldn’t be any more of ‘em, if they weren’t. Er. Perhaps one o’ you boys’d like to fetch your boss a cup of tea, eh?”

“B-b-b-b-b…”

“I know, I know… Don’t let it bother you. Here,” he added, fishing in a pocket and handing the manager the result, “Suck on a boiled sweet for a bit. We find it helps.”

Van Deene stared at the offending object. “I… I’m not being Punk’d, am I?”

“Y’know, you wouldn’t believe how often I get that… You boys all alright?”

The squad nodded in silence.

“Good-o. I’m just going to take your boss outside for a bit of a hug, then. Talk amongst yerselves…”

***

“Lee…?”

“Yeah?”

“What’re they doing?”

“Oh, that’s the hi-de-hi, I think. It’s their pre-match war dance, innit.”

“Oh. What, like what Radyukevich do?”

“Yeah… Bit less thigh-slapping though.”

“Right. Goes on a bit, doesn’t it?”

“I think it’s supposed to be intimidating…”

“Oh. It’s working. Um. Lee?”

“Yeah?”

“Are they actually bears?”

“Yes, Jordan, they are actually bears.”

Jordon Hawker attempted once more to make room for this information, and once more gave up. “Cool. Does anyone know where the gaf–”

“He’s locked himself in the bogs an’ won’t come out until the, and I quote, b-b-b-b-b-b-bears g-go away.”

“Oh. Does anyone know the best way to tackle a bear, then, since we’re sans manager?”

“I can give you advice on traffic cones, Jono, otherwise I’ve got nothing.”

“Don’t you have to pull their front legs apart until their heart explodes?”

“I think that’s Alsatians, Si. Don’t they smell fear, anyway?”

“I’m afraid that’s not the only thing they’ll be able to smell.”

“Maybe if we make a lot of loud noises?”

“Nah, you’ve got to jab them in the eyes.”

“I reckon… I reckon…”

The row of Candelariasians silenced themselves as their captain readied his pronouncement.

“I reckon… We should treat them like any other opponent.”

“But… they’re bears.”

“We’ve faced worse before, gentlemen. And besides…”

“Yeah?”

“We’ve got the Norwellians after this, remember?”

The Candelariasians shuddered and huddled closer as the harrdiharr droned on.

Harroya o Herchaum adresses the team after their second match, and first win, of this competition:

"Hrarright, so you won the game: Winning is good. Marra-Jerra, that was really excellent goalkeeping, stopping all five of the Candelbrans' shots that were on target and that the defenders didn't block, so you're starting again in our next match too. Urra, you're on the bench again for that game, and we'll see how Em-jay does then instead of bringing you on automatically at half-time... but if we've definitely qualified for the next round after that match then you can start again our final group-stage one anyway: You've done pretty well yourself, in the 'Honeysuckle League' as well as last game, and obviously it wasn't your fault that you didn't get a chance to save any goals this time... I realise that the Candelbrans were a bit 'confused' (to put it politely) about having to face "Bears", but the way in which they just gave up on attacking seriously after the break really suprised me.
Our defense did very good too, when it was needed, so no changes to that part of the team's line-up for next game... but where was our attack? Only one goal -- nice shot, Marrorreena, by the way -- and only three other 'shots on goal' in the entire game? Hokay, so the Candelabrans played a lot more defensively than we expected, but you should still have been able to do better than that against them all things consdered: so the front row, I am changing... at least for the next match_
Marrorreena is still Centre Forward, and Karrtla Redwood still has the Left Winger position, but we'll move Elga Lightning out off of the substitutes' bench to start as Left Forward and Herrona o Redwood as Right Winger... and Urrsa SunBlesséd comes right out of the reserves to start as Right Forward. Jerra o Redwood, Jerrnaya OldWood, you’ll both still be substitutes and might get to play even though not as starters: Sarrla, I’m sorry, but you’re going to the reserves for a while instead and we’ll add Elsa Marra o EastDale up from the reserves to the bench as a potential substitute in the Midfielder or Winger roles.”

“Now, this tournament’s structure means that we have a ‘bye’ next, so that gives us some extra time for you to get used to these changes: Let’s get out onto that field and practice!”

I hate this place.

I absolutely hate it. There's something confining here, something like one does not have any chance at getting out. I have a strict schedule, a strict routine, a strict PLAN for everything I do. There is nothing, indeed, nothing, that I can do to fix it, to control my own movements, to set my own path! I am frozen from my head to my feet, set forward, without any hope of reward! It is absolute tyranny, an iron hold on my muscles and limbs! I cannot move, cannot twist, cannot turn, and cannot flee. I stand, rooted to the ground like a primeval monolith, like some antediluvian tree, rising on the ruins of a forgotten civilization.

It is not as if they let my spread my seed, flower the ground with my talent and fire. They keep me chained to the construct of their creation - their place for those who are not worthy to ascend to their heights. I am not to be confused with those weaker than myself. I am not one of them. I am of a creation, a stock, a bloodline far purer, far more honorable than theirs. My forefathers were building castles while they were cowering in the mud at our creations. I am far greater than they can comprehend for I come from a race far greater than they can comprehend. Their puerile minds are prone to accepting praise from the weak. From the suffering. I alleviate pain when I walk. I do not let it flourish.

You may recall when I spoke last to you that I mentioned that some regard our time here as a frivolous pursuit, as a method by which men give up their time in trivial matters. They fail to see the test that out time here is. My forefathers tested themselves on the field of battle, facing those who challenged their dominion. This is a newer age, an age of globalization and universality - here, I test myself on the field of character, for my character if born out of testing. This is not simply a game, which young boys play. Nay, this is where the world changes - where WE ourselves find ourselves changing! There is no greater honor than to be molded on the field of battle.

And yet, it is on that field that we are humbled, brought down by those of a lineage nearly as great as mine own. They are fair - flaxen locks pouring down in rivulets from their commodious brows. They are proud - comfortable in their vanity, satisfied in their egotism. They are strong - a race, born from roots among the earth itself, and bearing the bones of their mother on their backs. It was a worthy test - a worthy ground upon which the fields of competition would be plastered. And yet. No. I was held down, chained to my position like an unwanted dog. These are far weaker people then I! Why am I tied down, unable to open my wings and spread my word! This is my life! Why do they fail to understand?

They fail to comprehend the immensity of every battle. Instead of riding into the fray like a lion, they cower, like a fox, trying to outwit the enemy. When the enemy rides a thousand horses and spreads its wings like the drakes of old, there is no outwitting them! Only bravery can vanquish the strong, only strength can defeat those who dare stand against our power. Our brawn. Our beauty. Only I understand this - I, and she who rides ahead of me. But she accepts that they may have some capacity for success. I do not. It is in this defeat to those of the high ranges and golden arrows that I stand, assured. Even autumnal night is a protector of my words. And yet, I am not allowed to fight.

I hate this place, father. I hate everything that it brings. But I will show this contest that the only true victor is I, of a lineage far greater than any other, whose eyes and mind dwarf comparison. Our fathers, your fathers, my fathers understood that to succeed one must win every battle, not just one. This battle is not yet over, father. I still have time to win.

I will still triumph over my hate.

Lady of the Frozen Rivers, Protector of the Golden Heart, Baroness of Haraan, City of Flames,
Samara Nilavaran Kirosornu Darahavin

PRESS RELEASE: PLAYER WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN

The Cassadagan national U-21 team has been dealt a shocking blow today as we have discovered that leading goal scorer Jessica Schanke, who had scored twice in the victory over Krytenia has not been seen since the team had dinner together after the game. Coach Michelle Baynes says that Jessica had seemed very happy with her surroundings and was in good spirits so she would have no reason to voluntarily leave the team. Schanke was not in her hotel room when Baynes did a late evening checkout, nor was she in attendance for the team breakfast or the morning practice, and she has not returned any phone calls. “This is very concerning! We are all really scared for Jessica. Hopefully she is ok, wherever she is. It’s just really terrible. We have been in contact with the Valanari Police Department and they are searching for her as well.” Baynes told our reporters. Jessica’s parents were not able to make the trip to Valanora originally due to financial concerns, but have flown in as soon as they heard the news. Jessica’s father Louis said, “Our daughter is missing! I don’t know how this can happen. Michelle Baynes has assured me that she has been watching the players properly but how does a 16-year old girl just leave everyone’s sight. No one knows anything. No one can answer the question of what Jessica planned to do after the team dinner, and she has a lot of friends on that team. All I am told is that Jessica told them she was going to take a nap. So then everyone assumes she is in her room and then it is discovered that she is not. Hotel security knows nothing. This is appalling! With all these young kids here, and in our case, young ladies, how can security be so lax!”

One of Jessica’s best friends on the team, 17-year old defender Kiersten Reschke, says that the two had planned to hang out a little bit right up to curfew, so she was surprised when Jessica did not respond to her calls. “Like I mean we were just like gonna talk about the game and stuff. She did such a great job getting two goals. I didn’t know where she was but I thought she just might be like celebrating. This is really scary.” 18-year old defender Tori Pleiman says that after the game that the Dagans lost to Yafor 2, Schanke was aggressively approached by a college-age male in the hotel. According to Pleiman, the man was white, approximately 6-feet tall and well built. He was wearing a blue hat with a red G on it. That’s not to say that this is the person responsible, but it could be a lead.

If anyone knows anything about the whereabouts of Jessica Schanke, please contact the Valanari Police Department, so she can safely be returned to her team and to her parents. The team says that they will play their game against Lovisa as scheduled in Raynor City, but the safety of their teammate will be first and foremost on their minds.

Lessons learnt, goals scored.

It seems the Peisandros U21 team can adapt quickly to change. After really, really struggling against Dancougar, the new attacking style clicked into sensational form against highly fancied Newmanistan who, surprisingly, remain winless. Before the game both coach and captain were confident that the new style could work and today the players proved it with a dominant performance. Praxis Nikolaidis, the captain, was especially good today after having a less than impressive outing against Dancougar. The captain was his usual superstar self, dominating the middle third of the field and leading from example. Because he played so well in the midfield, he delivered great ball to Lefteris Diakos, who was not about to waste it. The youngster scored three goals and proved there is life in the Sandrian attack after the Theotokis twins.

The team rallied around Nikolaidis after a tough start which saw them 1-0 down after 16 minutes, and started playing exciting football. Praxis and fellow midfielder Petros Zaimis controlled the ball well and gave little opportunity to the Newmanistan team. The equalizer came in the 41st minute after Zaimis and Nikolaidis had had a chat during an injury break.

PZ: We need a goal soon Niko.
PN: Yeah, I know. I've got a plan though. We just need to get Lefty the ball in the box.
PZ: What, that's your plan?
PN: Well yeah.

PZ: It's hardly a plan at all! I gave Lefty a great ball earlier and he stuffed it up.
PN: Just listen. Next time I get the ball I want you to make a run for the far post. Try and draw a defender so Lefty can have a bit of space.
PZ: Still not much of a plan, but fine.
PN: Good boy, just do it.

Well, next time Nikolaidis got the ball Zaimis did as he was told and made a run for the far post. Seeing this, Diakos instinctively cut towards the near post, towards Nikolaidis. With wonderful accuracy captain-wonderful delivered a ball from the left wing which Diakos controlled with a fantastic first touch. A bit of trickery and he was away from the defender which left him another space to fire off a shot. The keeper had little chance of saving and couldn't. A great goal and the not-so-well thought out plan came to fruition perfectly.

By half time Alketas Alketas could see that the team was understanding the attacking style far better and had a smile on his face.

"Well done lads, a good half of footy. Looks like you're starting to get the hang of the whole pressing forward thing, it's good. Just keep it up. I think we can win this game and I think you guys know that. Praxis you're playing wonderfully well, it's great to watch. Defensively you boys at the back are doing very good. That first goal was a stunner, don't worry too much about that. Keep the communication up though, I don't want you to go quiet out there. Right. So it's one all now, get out there and lets see if we can win a game. Lefteris, I reckon you got another one or two in you, go for it. Show us those skills we know you have."

Well, Lefteris Diakos did just that. He was looking dangerous from the get-go and it didn't take long before he found the net again. A great trough ball from Zaimis left Diakos one on one with poor keeper Jennifer Bennett. He fired a shot low to the left and Bennett again had little chance. Infact Jennifer Bennett had a solid game but was let down by some defense which struggled against the Diakos slick trickery and ball control. It was in this similar fashion that Diakos wrapped up his hat-trick. He swerved around one defender then sent another the wrong way, before again facing Jennifer Bennett. Once more she was a tad unlucky with Diakos always going to score.

Diakos had his three and so did Peisandros -- 3-1 up and that was it for Newmanistan. Next for the Sandrians is Secristan which is a very important game after their first game loss to Dancougar.

U21 schedule:
MD1: v Dancougar 0-3
MD2: v Newmanistan 3-1
MD3: v Secristan
MD4: v Taeshan
MD5: bye

Matchday 3

Group A
Cassadaigua 4-0 Lovisa
Valanora 3-2 Krytenia

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Cassadaigua 3 2 0 1 8 4 4 6
2 Valanora 2 2 0 0 6 3 3 6
3 Yafor II 2 1 0 1 4 4 0 3
4 Krytenia 3 1 0 2 4 6 -2 3
5 Lovisa 2 0 0 2 0 5 -5 0

Group B
Sarzonia 0-4 The Han Empire
Candelaria And Marquez 2-1 Norwellia

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 The Han Empire 2 2 0 0 6 0 6 6
2 Bears Armed 2 1 1 0 3 2 1 4
3 Candelaria And Marquez 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
4 Sarzonia 3 0 2 1 4 8 -4 2
5 Norwellia 3 0 1 2 3 6 -3 1

Group C
Kura-Pelland 2-2 Nethertopia
Sorthern Northland 2-0 Cafundéu

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Sorthern Northland 2 2 0 0 5 1 4 6
2 Kura-Pelland 3 1 2 0 3 2 1 5
3 Nethertopia 2 0 2 0 4 4 0 2
4 Starblaydia 2 0 1 1 1 3 -2 1
5 Cafundéu 3 0 1 2 2 5 -3 1

Group D
Newmanistan 5-0 Dancougar
Secristan 2-1 Peisandros

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Newmanistan 3 1 1 1 7 4 3 4
2 Taeshan 2 1 1 0 4 3 1 4
3 Secristan 2 1 0 1 4 4 0 3
4 Peisandros 3 1 0 2 4 6 -2 3
5 Dancougar 2 1 0 1 3 5 -2 3

25' Goal (SAR): Chester (Raven), from a corner kick
52' Goal (NOR): Souta, on a rebound, from the run of play
54' Goal (SAR): Chester (Nichols), from the run of play
87' Goal (NOR): 권이진, on a penalty committed by Liz Lewis (shirt grabbing in the box)

OOC: Yes, I am that lazy. Er, I mean busy.

----------------
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ooc: erm, Norwellia, you lost 2-1.. Wasn't a 2-2 draw?!

ooc: erm, Norwellia, you lost 2-1.. Wasn't a 2-2 draw?!

OOC: His match against Sarzonia was a 2-2 draw. That's what he was RPing, not the fixture against Candelaria And Marquez.

Unless Candelaria And Marquez is abbreviated SAR now. ;)

Don't be rude now.

We have an OOC thread, use it instead of the IC thread.

BLACK WING BULLETIN

BUSHWHACKED

Valanora- When the Newmanistan FA notified the Dancougar FA that it would not be flying the Golden Ambiguous Bird on Skates out to Valanora for the teams' group stage match, nobody raised much of a fuss. Both teams wanted to focus instead on the game at hand and eliminate as many distractions as possible. As it turned out, only one of the teams bothered to turn up for the match, and it raised plenty of questions about this batch of Black Wings. The team suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat despite having an extra matchday to prepare for the Rockets.

Newmanistan were coming into the game winless through their first two, while Dancougar had opened with a strong 3-0 win over the Sandrians. However, one would never have guessed that was the trend based on the outcome. The Wings, who seemed to be soaking in confidence, were outplayed from the first whistle and dominated in every aspect of the game. They looked dazed and confused... downright amateur. The Rockets, however, showed the kind of poise and ability that has long been expected of the junior team. And the new generation is starting to live up to that promise. Assistant coach Jeremy McAllister could watch with pride as son Junior scored two first-half goals to help put the Wings down 3-0 within twenty minutes. The second goal was a brilliant piece of singular talent, dribbling nearly forty yards past five players, including a pass between the legs of a flustered Don Clattenburg. The midfield was also dominated by Newmanistan, with both Prescotts starting to live up to their famous father's physicality. Brittany Prescott and Lynn DiMino were locked in a fierce struggle all day for control of the right wing, with Prescott eventually winning out against her senior. It was the strength of professional tactics and training that seemed to make the difference, as DiMino fatigued must faster as the game went on, further hindering her ability to fight for the ball.

But the game had been all but locked up before halftime. It was 4-0 at the break, and Shigeru Takeuchi didn't seem to have many answers. He made two second half changes, bringing on forward Noboru Funakoshi and midfielder Tatsui Shindo to switch up to a 3-4-3. It made a difference for the first twenty minutes, as the fresh legs gave Dancougar a new attacking impetus. The team tried to string together some passes and at least pull one or two goals back. Funakoshi showed some of the ability that shot him to the top of the national scoring table during his time Hazuki State, and he came up with the best chances of the game for the Wings, but Jennifer Bennett turned aside each attempt. She yielded only a single rebound in the whole match, and that was quickly and easily cleared by the defense. With twenty minutes left in the match, the team had all but abandoned hope of cutting into the lead. Matt Turner added one for the thumb in the 73rd minute and, at that point, Takeuchi paced the sidelines counting the minutes until the merciful relief of the referee's whistle.

The coach and players shared some of their comments after the match.

Takeuchi: "There's nothing much to say about what happened out there, I think the team's play speaks for itself. I believed that we were prepared and that we were capable of playing at a high level, but I was wrong. We will make changes as needed."

Sellick: "I really let the team down. I didn't generate any offense and couldn't find any space to operate all night."

Millman: "You always wish that you never have a game like that. I couldn't get a feel for those first few shots, and that really killed us. I really can't understand what went wrong."

DiMino: "I know we're better than this, but tonight they made it painfully apparent what the difference is between young professionals and amateurs."

The Rocket Recap!!
5-0 sounds more like your typical Pittsburgh Pirate loss.

Rockets school Black Wings: Nelson Yaschter couldn’t have been any happier during the match. Everything that he had preached after the last two games seemed to be coming to fruition as his team gets a big victory heading into their bye week. We would say that the most stunned looks in the crowd were that of Dancougar’s fans as the Rockets continued to find the back of the net and rout a team that had actually played quite well leading up to it. It had only been a win over Peisandros but that same team had no difficulty with the Rockets in their other game. The group is really jumbled up right now, with one point separating first from last. The Rockets must beat Secristan in their finale and then hope the other pieces fall into place. It still may be hard given that three of our four rivals have a game in hand on us.

Perhaps it would be fitting that Jeremy McAllister, Jr, would score his first professional goal against Dancougar. Little J-Mac may have struggled a bit in his first two games under the pressure of trying to live up to his father’s name, but he will not allow that to be an excuse. “I know how to play football. My not scoring has nothing to do with pressure and everything to do with me not getting the job done.” Junior told us, unintentionally showing some of his father’s swagger with that statement. Junior fired a shot past Brendan Millman very early in the match, in only the 8th minute to give the team some life. Yaschter maintained a stoic presence on the sideline, indicating to his team that there was still much work to do, though cameras caught his hiding back a grin and wink to Senior J-Mac after the score. Matthew Turner scored his second goal of the competition in the 15th minute, after being set up well by Junior to put the Rockets up by two. “Junior made a nice pass, and I was in the right position. We were feeling it a little bit too.”


The quick start didn’t end there. An immediate turnover created by Brittany Prescott’s defensive pressure on Lynn DiMino set up the offense again quickly. Brittany noticed that Junior was in a good position for a pass, and got him the ball, but probably didn’t think that pass would lead to a goal. Senior looked on his son made a run of decent length down the center of the field, evading defenders that got in his way with some pretty special moves, including one on Don Clattenburg that will be shown at least a hundred times on all Newmanistan sports programs tomorrow morning and throughout the week. The 19-year old Clattenburg was embarrassed by the 14-year old Junior, perhaps more then he would be if he had to deliver a presentation in front of the entire Wightman College population in his underwear. Junior eventually roofed the shot past Millman setting off loud cheers from the Rockets sideline. Even Yaschter, who tried to stand still to imply that his team still had more work to do, could not control his emotions here either.

The turnover that Brittany Prescott created in the midfield was just one of many great plays that her and brother Billy made, pushing around and knocking over the college kids. There seemed to be a lot of tension between the two sides, and Billy Prescott tells us why. “The Dancougar team, themselves, weren’t necessarily arrogant. But back at home, we get this all the time with kids that go to college thinking that they are so much better then those of us who turn professional early. It’s something that we definitely talked about as we got ready for the game. Even after we went up by three goals, coach told us that we needed to continue to try and score and play hard. That wasn’t really necessary though, we had to make a statement here tonight, and we did that.” The Prescott’s, along with Meghan Vilardi and Adam Benjamin controlled the midfield, even though Dancougar had outnumbered them. This was a major reason the game was so one-sided, and something that Yaschter had hoped would have occurred in the two prior games as well.

In the 39th minute, Newmanistan scored for the fourth time as Meghan Vilardi scored her first of the Di Bradini Cup. It came off a corner kick after Millman had originally parried a Junior shot over the crossbar. Billy Prescott delivered the corner, intending it for Junior. William Kabacinski had looked to have defended this well as he outleapt Junior, but struggled to maintain possession of the ball. Unknowingly, Junior seemed to center the ball behind his back hoping that someone might be there. Someone was, and Meghan pounced on her chance and scored the fourth goal of the match. McAllister to Vilardi. We’ve seen that before. “He says he didn’t know I was there, but he knew what he was doing. Maybe he didn’t know I was there, but he knew I could be, based on our practices. So I don’t think it was a completely blind pass! It was a great play!”

In the second half, the Rockets played much more conservative, knowing that Dancougar would play hard to try and make the comeback. Though Yaschter told his players not to quit, it was the message from Senior that convinced his team. There is simply no quit in the Black Wings. Senior knew from experience. Dancougar did play very well, but ran into a largely untested but ready Newmanistan defense and goalkeeper Jennifer Bennett. Bennett was on very strong form and came up with all the saves she needed to, and we only counted one time where she allowed a rebound that could have been buried by a Black Wing forward, which was instead cleared by Shawn Loughran. Once this stretch was handled by about the 70-minute mark, you could see that the Black Wings were beginning to look towards the Millionaires. A Matthew Turner score in the 73rd minute sent much of the remaining Black Wings fans to the exits.

Yaschter made three substitutions late in the game, and all three were players that had not seen any action to this point. The biggest one was 15-year old Brian Prescott, who got to play between Billy and Brittany for the first time. “That was so much fun!” he said. Perhaps it was more fun if they continued to push around the Black Wing players, but at that point, the teams were clearly playing out the remaining minutes very, very cautiously. Thomas Lipinski saw action, replacing Matthew Turner, and Scottie Morton got some work, giving Shawn Loughran and early breather. At the final whistle, the scoreboard read a shocking 5-nil. A result that no one expected.

The team will have their bye day next, but will be watching the Dancougar-Secristan match live, and will be hoping for a draw. To have a chance to advance, the Rockets must beat Secristan on the final matchday. It still might not be enough, but it’s the only way that it can happen.

Slumdog Millionaire: The father of Secristan’s defender Marcus Pericone was arrested after charging the field after his son was sent off in the waning stages of their matchday two contest with Taeshan. Robert Pericone punched the referee in the face before being restrained by his disgraced son. His much younger wife seemed a bit happy with the fact that Robert was headed to jail. These kind of antics are nothing new from Secristani parents, and if there is a lot on the line in the final matchday game between Newmanistan and Secristan, just how bad might they get?

Have You Seen Her?: Another bit of disturbing news comes to us from Cassadaigua. Young forward Jessica Schanke, who had just played the game of her life against Krytenia has been reported missing. Apparently, she was not present for a bed count at night, but remained among the missing when she did not report to the team practice. The police have been notified, and Schanke has not been seen since. If you have any information on the location of Schanke (photo shown), please contact the authorities immediately.

Lineups for “Bye”: Undisclosed.

Lineups for Secristan:

Starting XI: Bennett; Capstraw, Loughran, Coulson, Poole; Brt. Prescott, Vilardi, Benjamin, Bl. Prescott; McAllister, Turner.
Subs: Ham and cheese, turkey. Oh wait: O’Brien; Morton, Marshall; Bri. Prescott, Draper; Clausen, Lipinski

Di Bradini Cup 9 - Group B
MD1: 2-0 vs Norwellia (@ Artani, Mar Sara - 74,000)
MD2: vs BYE (@ the PUBS!, wherever - as many people as fits in a Vanorian pub)
MD3: 4-0 vs Sarzonia (@ Duran Palace, Valanari - 51,000)
MD4: vs Candelaria And Marquez (@ Hellgate, Raynor City - 54,000)
MD5: vs Bears Armed (@ Hatire Memorial, Capri - 60,000)


Hwang: Wow! Great job again, Wang!

Wang: *whimpers* Oh... yeah...

SUPER: What's wrong with him?

Shim: He played defense again and got hit with the ball several times.

SUPER: His face doesn't look bloodshot though...

Shin: *whispers* He used his groin.

SUPER: Ah... might want to put ice on that then.

Wang: *whimpers* will... do... *leaves*

SUPER: Good to know we've got some defense to work with.

Gang: Say, speaking of defense, how'd the IFA get you guys to play as the back-up U21 team? Because aside from Mr. Stops-a-lot, none of you can play right. Hwang, you're always touching the ball with your hands. Shin, you can't kick the ball even if it were tied to your foot. Shim... I don't know what you're playing when you're on the pitch. And you! You can't tell which goal is ours.

SUPER: Hey, like I said! All I really need to know is that we shoot in one goal and not the other!

Gang: And our goal is the opponent's goal!

SUPER: Well, if you people didn't keep switching the damned goals on me, I'd know which one it was!

Shim: I think that's part of the game.

Gong: Do you people even watch football?

Hwang: Of course! We spend all day watching football! Especially when the tykes come out to play!

Gong: Tykes?

Gang: You think 20-year-old players are tykes?

Hwang: Of course!

SUPER: I wouldn't pay attention to whatever he says. He's really a 4-year-old in a 25-year-old body.

Hwang: *eats deodorant stick* Hey!!! Candy bars!

SUPER: Point proven.

Gang: That's not candy! That's my stick! *pries deodorant stick from Hwang* Eww! Now it's got your spit all over it! I can't use it now!

Hwang: I feel a little sleepy now... *falls asleep*

Shin: You're a genius! *hugs Gang* How'd you know he'd eat the deodorant and fall asleep?

Gang: I... didn't...

SUPER: Well, come on people! We've got to get ready for that match against Candelaria And Marquez! They won the World Cup, you know!

Gong: That would be their senior team...

SUPER: Whatever! They're still really good! And we've got to uphold the honor of the Han! *Hwang vomits in sleep* At least until the U21 team is found...

*** Somewhere ***

Coach Yu: *speaking into his diary thingy* Day 2. The purple spiders have gone away and stopped stinging us. Well, they've stopped stinging me. Apparently, they really like to sting adolescents, so the children are taking a really serious business in stinging. Unfortunately, the stinging seems to deter the mosquitos, so I'm now a target for virtually anything else flying in the air. Incidentally, the spider stings are extremely painful, but incur no longterm side-effects. I've had the Assistant Coach (i.e. Stick-whacking Ex-convict) check out the stings, and they're pretty mild...

Hey! I did not just say that parenthetical remark! Well, anyway, one of the players found a radio and tried to call out for help. On a positive note, we'll be expecting an extra- extra-large order of pizza when we arrive at our next destination. Unfortuantely, that does nothing on the order of getting out of here in the first place. And the frenzy over ordering pizza causing the radio to short out. So we're still stuck here...

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: Coach Yu! We've found something really really big!

Coach Yu: Gah!!! You're ruining my survival diary!

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: I think you should come and see this!

Coach Yu: Stop talking!!! You're bloating up my diary!

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: It's really important!

Coach Yu: Alright! I'll come! Just stop talking to my diary!

Stick-whacking Ex-convict: Come this way!!! Now!!!

Coach Yu: *mumbles* I'm coming!

*pause*

Han Jungan: Hey! There's a little box out in the middle of nowhere!!! Maybe we can use it as a radio!

Yim Gwangdae: We're not ordering more pizza, are we?

Han Jungan: We've got to find somewhere safe to try and get us out of here! *runs off*

Yim Gwangdae: Hey, cool!!! This thing records everything that we do!

Han Jungan: Hm... maybe we should turn it off for now...

*** Valanora ***

SUPER: So, I've done some scouting, and I've discovered that our next opponents are going to be really tough to beat.

Wang: How so?

SUPER: I saw them practicing earlier, and they were using orange things to help them practice.

Hwang: They can practice with orange thingies? *shudders in fear*

SUPER: Now, not to worry! I've gotten some orange thingies for ourselves, so we can try to be better than they are!

Gang: *looks at the pitch* Those are cones.

SUPER: I think that's what they were calling them, but I couldn't understand what they were saying anyway. So they were using these, and I think the orange thingies were playing strikers, so let's get out and practice our defense!

Wang: Please... I don't want to practice...

SUPER: We've got to be better than those Candelaraisiaisnans... punks.

Gang: Candelariasians.

SUPER: *nods* That. We've got to be better than that. Gang! You take the ball and try to score using the orange thingies. Gong, Wang, Hwang! Try to block the ball.

Gang: This isn't going to work.

SUPER: I saw them doing it. It better work for us, or else we're doomed.

Gang: *sighs* The "orange thingy" can't kick a ball.

SUPER: Well, that shouldn't stop you from trying.

Gong: Just play along, Gang! We'll be done with this before this is all over.

Gang: Very well. *shoots the ball towards goal*

Wang: *jumps up and gets smacked in the face with the ball* AGH!

Hwang: Great stop, Wang!

SUPER: Wang! You've got to remember that you can use anything but your hands! Or your shoulders! Next time, try using something else, instead of your face. *looks to his little clipboard* Shin! Replace Hwang!

Shin: Alright. But I'm not much of a defender.

Hwang: That's alright. Neither am I.

Wang: *groaning* Shouldn't I get out?

SUPER: We need you to practice. *to Gang* This time, when you kick, try using the orange thingy. That was a good shot, but you need to practice using your teammates.

Gang: *mumbles* That cone is not my teammate!

SUPER: Just do it!

Gang: Fine! *shoots at cone*

Wang: *ball deflects off cone and hits Wang in groin* UWF! *falls to the ground*

Shin: Great save, Wang!

Gong: That's a block...

SUPER: Hmmm... at the rate he's playing, we might want to consider extra padding.

Gang: This is hopeless...

Valanora Times
Home Cooking

As we enter roughly the halfway point of the group stage, the mini Marauders are doing quite well having taken all six possible points from their two matches. Having had had their bye day on the first round of matches, the side had extra time to prepare for their first two encounters with Yafor II and Krytenia, both of whom were swept away under clinical finishing from the superb striker partnership that the braintrust has put together for this tournament. To say that the pair have worked well together would be an understatement, but it is the truth all the same.

The surprising bits and pieces from the first handful of rounds is the struggles of the Small Blues and the complete thrashing that Dancougar suffered at the hands of Newmanistan. On paper, both of these sides should be atop their groups, but as fates would have it, both are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the knockout rounds. For the Marauders, it looks to be a duel between them and the team from Cassadaigua, who are high on form after a four to nil white washing of Lovisa. Yafor II might still be in the mix, but they would need to take all three points from the remaining matches and then hope that the Marauders do the same.

In more tragic news, a key member of the Cassadaigua side has gone missing somewhere in the vicinity of Valanari. The Vanorian Domestic Affairs office in the city has been contacted and is working hard on trying to locate the missing lady. The Foreign office is sending agents to the area as well, hoping to bring the events to a swift conclusion with a positive result, as all other events in the country have had, bar the Jeruselemite incident.

Matchday 4

Group A
Krytenia 1-2 Yafor II
Lovisa 0-1 Valanora

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Valanora 3 3 0 0 7 3 4 9
2 Cassadaigua 3 2 0 1 8 4 4 6
3 Yafor II 3 2 0 1 6 5 1 6
4 Krytenia 4 1 0 3 5 8 -3 3 E
5 Lovisa 3 0 0 3 0 6 -6 0 E

Group B
Norwellia 1-2 Bears Armed
The Han Empire 1-3 Candelaria And Marquez

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Bears Armed 3 2 1 0 5 3 2 7
2 The Han Empire 3 2 0 1 7 3 4 6
3 Candelaria And Marquez 3 2 0 1 5 3 2 6
4 Sarzonia 3 0 2 1 4 8 -4 2 E
5 Norwellia 4 0 1 3 4 8 -4 1 E

Group C
Cafundéu 4-1 Starblaydia
Nethertopia 1-2 Sorthern Northland

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Sorthern Northland 3 3 0 0 7 2 5 9 Q
2 Kura-Pelland 3 1 2 0 3 2 1 5
3 Cafundéu 4 1 1 2 6 6 0 4 E
4 Nethertopia 3 0 2 1 5 6 -1 2
5 Starblaydia 3 0 1 2 2 7 -5 1 E

Group D
Peisandros 2-0 Taeshan
Dancougar 3-2 Secristan

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Peisandros 4 2 0 2 6 6 0 6
2 Dancougar 3 2 0 1 6 7 -1 6
3 Newmanistan 3 1 1 1 7 4 3 4
4 Taeshan 3 1 1 1 4 5 -1 4
5 Secristan 3 1 0 2 6 7 -1 3

WINGS BOUNCE BACK WITH WIN

After a devastating 5-0 result against Newmanistan, the Wings took to the field against Secristan and got three badly-needed points after winning 3-2. It was a hotly contested match that could have gone either way in the final minutes, but it was ultimately a questionable decision by the referee which was the deciding factor. Coach Shigeru Takeuchi made no fewer than seven changes after his team's lackluster performance against the Rockets, giving several players their international debuts as part of his new-look 4-4-2. The changes were no doubt part of a plan to close up the porous back line, with Luis Cussen and Jeremy Haffner clogging up the box while midfielders Aiko Yoshida and Tatsui Shindo provided more balanced play in the midfield. And while the changes had the desired effect from the perspective of defense, the attack was lacking, and a lack of chances plagued the team for the first half hour. Secristan opened the scoring in the 31st through Michael Cardona's clinical strike, only to be equalized five minutes later. The Wings were revitalized by the goal and Noboru Funakoshi made it 1-1. The teams began to seesaw back and forth with chances and the next two goals also came in a cluster, John Schiermeier making it 2-1 for Dancougar in the 66th only to be canceled by Scott Tollisen in the 73rd. The game-winner could come from the penalty spot when Schiermeier was bumped to the turf by Anthony Caruso while chasing a long pass, and Caruso was whistled for the foul. Schiermeier hit his third goal of the tournament for the Dancougar win.

The Dancougar Ministry of Sport reported that average ratings for the match were a rather solid 5.4 nationally, with a peak coming later in the second half at 8.5 with the mad dash to the finish. This is a great improvement from the match with Newmanistan, with viewers steadily giving up on the team throughout, starting at a peak of 6.5 and falling to a dismal 1.2 by the end. Broadcast affiliate DSPN espects the tussle with Taeshan to attract some interest since advancement from the group stage is on the line, but cautions that estimates should be conservative owing to the smaller popularity of the Di Bradini Cup relative to the World Cup. Revenues from merchandise sales have been stagnant with no major team successes to speak of, and the problem has been hampered by the D-League's inability to get anybody into the late stages of international competition.

(Players take their seats as they get set to watch the Dancougar-Secristan game)

Junior: If Dancougar beats Secristan, and since we beat Dancougar 5-nil, we should beat Secristan, right?

Capstraw: I wish it were that simple. And adjust your wig.

Yaschter: That’s right, please make sure your disguises remain on. We need to be watching the Millionaires, not signing autographs.

Billy Prescott: What if you’ve already been noticed even with the disguise on?

Yaschter: Then you’re not wearing it right!

Billy Prescott: Don’t worry, it was just some Secristanis who wanted to tell me that I suck. Is that the only thing that hecklers can say these days?

Loughran: They say a bunch of weird stuff in Daehanjeiguk that I am probably glad I don’t know what it means.

Billy Prescott: Probably variations of you suck.

J-Mac, Sr.: It’s always been like that.

Yaschter: Alright enough talking about sucking.

Brittany Prescott: haha, that sounded funny coming from you!

Junior: So Billy, when are you going to tie the knot with Oksana?

Billy: I wanted to do it in the Di Bradini Cup. But Jeruselem never entered. I even bought the ring.

Junior: Wow! So when are you going to ask her. (Chanting from nearby Dancougar fans begins to get loud)

Billy: WHAT?!

Junior: (Yelling, just as the chanting stops): WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO PROPOSE TO HER?

Billy (With everyone in the section and nearby sections staring at him. Of course, he happens to be sitting next to his sister Brittany): Uhmmm

Nearby fans: KISS! KISS! KISS! (Brittany begins getting bright red with embarassment. Billy gives his sister a soft peck on the cheek)

Nearby fans: BOOO! You suck!

Junior: There goes the classic you suck line again!

Yaschter: Alright come on now guys, we’re here to (realizing nearby fans are listening so he can’t say he what he wants to say) we’re here to watch a game.

McCafferty: Maybe we should go sit with the Secristani fans. They are probably more civilized.

Yaschter: No. Secristani fans are more likely to notice us... er I mean, they are more likely to annoy us.

Nearby fan: Wait a second. That guy right there! You’re Jeremy McAllister! I know you! I love Sporting Lakeport, man! Lakeport rules! Look everyone, it’s Jeremy McAllister!

J-Mac: Oh boy.

Another fan: It’s the whole team! (Screaming): Look everyone, it’s the Newmanistanian national team!

(Suddenly, the autograph seekers come. So much for the disguises. The team signs for the nearby fans, and then decide to leave)

Yaschter: I knew we should have just watched it on TV.

More Spacebook chatroom talk...

<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: (Brianna Pierson): Has ne1 heard nething about Jessica!
<HotDBC9captian4U>: (Katie Cincoski): Not a thing. Not one damn thing.
<Daganhunni0000500>: (Pamela Linscott): The longer this goes on, the worse it probably is.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Coach is taking it very hard, she really feels responsible for it.
<Daganhunni0000500>: I’d try to cheer her up but what do ya do.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: (Kiersten Raschke): Hey hey!
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Hey Kiersten have heard nething?
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: No I don’t know!
<JessieShankeyCD11>: (Jessica Schanke): Helppp meeee!
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Jess!?
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: OMG
<Daganhunni0000500>: Jessica where are you!!!
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: omg jessie r u ok
<JessieShankeyCD11>: the guy from the hotel that night
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Calling the police now. Stay on as long as you can but don’t put yourself at too much of a risk.
<JessieShankeyCD11>: he broke into my room and took me to his then he put me in the trunk of his car. I dunno where I am right now. I got away but I don’t know where I am I don’t even know what country I am in. I am in the lobby of the hotel that’s next to the hotel he is in. He’s a stalker from Cassadaigua he’s not from Valanora. He wanted you too, Kiersten.
<Daganhunni0000500>: Tell someone!
<JessieShankeyCD11>: I’m scared.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Tell someone at the hotel you are at.
<JessieShankeyCD11>: I did the police are coming. Where r u guyz now?
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Police are on their way here too. That’s good that you are safe.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: OMG
<Daganhunni0000500>: The police will bring you back here.
<HotDBC9captian4U>: We are in Capri. We went to the Valanora vs Lovisa game
<CDCoachBaynesDBC9>: (The Coach): Am I here? Do you see me?
<Daganhunni0000500>: Hey coach we see you.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx> ya hey coach
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Yeah, welcome to our chatroom.
<JessieShankeyCD11>: MICHELLE!!!! PLEASE DON’T BE MAD AT ME!!!!
<CDCoachBaynesDBC9>: I’m not mad at you at all!
<JessieShankeyCD11>: The police are here. They like want to ask me questions and stuff. They’ve gone to get the guy that did this 2 me 2.
<CDCoachBaynesDBC9>: I’m so glad to know you are ok, Jessica.
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Yeah!
<JessieShankeyCD11>: Well he hurt me. I’m not really that ok.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: Fry the bastard!
<CDCoachBaynesDBC9>: Where are you, Jessica?
<JessieShankeyCD11>: The cop told me I’m about 10 miles outside of downtown Valanari. I think they want to ask me questions all night. They kinda what me to go right now.
<CDCoachBaynesDBC9>: Tell the cop to give you two more minutes with me.
<JessieShankeyCD11>: Is all my stuff still in my room? Did u guyz take it?
<CDCoachBaynesDBC9>: Yeah, we retrieved your stuff.
<JessieShankeyCD11>: Thank god its over!
<CDCoachBaynesDBC9>: We are leaving for Raynor City tomorrow morning. Have the cops bring you the xxxxxx hotel on xxxxxx street in Raynor City to meet up with us.
<JessieShankeyCD11>: Ok please tell my mom and dad I am ok.
<CDCoachBaynesDBC9>: Sure sweetie.
<JessieShankeyCD11>: Did we beat Lovisa?
<CDCoachBaynesDBC9>: Yes we did!
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Yeah we played really hard for you!
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Yeah, we’ll let you watch a tape of it when you get to Raynor City. We won 4-0!
<JessieShankeyCD11>: Coach. This is Officer Douglas of the Valanari Police Department, we are asking Jessica to get off the computer now so we can ask her some questions. My officers have apprehended the man who is allegedly responsible. We need to talk to her about it. We will have her at that hotel in Raynor City by noon tomorrow.
<CDCoachBaynesDBC9>: Thanks and thank you for everything!
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Yes thank you!
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Give him the death penalty!
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: c u 2morrow jess!
<JessieShankeyCD11>: Bye!
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Thank God!
<CDCoachBaynesDBC9>: She’s gonna be back. Hopefully she isn’t hurt too badly. I’m going to go notify her parents. Bye!
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Bye!
<Daganhunni0000500>: I’m so happy she is ok. Bye coach!
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: bye!
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: we have 2 find a new hiding spot now that she knows this one
<HotDBC9captian4U>: Yes, but I had to let her talk to Jessica! Let’s all sleep tight now, knowing she is ok!
<S0ccerbr1zxzx>: Goodnight!
<Daganhunni0000500>: Ok goodnight.
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: I say we celebrate da good news!
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: ne1?
<xxSweetKiersten17xx>: damn dey all left.

Harroya o Herrchaum, the team's manager & chief coach, is talkin g to her players again _

"Hr'rmm, well, Norwellia are so new to international soccer that we didn't know what to expect from them, so our winning that match by just a 1-goal margin is good enough... but you'll have to play better against the Han, in the final group-stage match. If we lose or only draw then and the Candelabrans win their game -- or even if we lose this match and they only draw -- then it's those Candelabrans who'll go through to the next round instead of us... and nobody here wants to see that happen, especially after you beat them, do they?

Hrright, anyway, on to that next match: We really need to win this, and after how well you did in yesterday's game I've decided that we'll go with that same starting line-up as then again too.
The Han have a pretty good reputation for Soccer as a nation, and you'll remember that their 'main' team managed to scrape a win over ours in the group stage of the last World Cup, but apprently what you'll be facing not only isn't their 'main' team it isn't even their 'proper' Under-21 team either! It seems that those players got lost on the way here, and although I obviously hope that they turn up okay -- and hope that all of you do, too -- let's take advantage of their absence to do even better than we might if they were here... Hokay, so their stand-ins have won two of their three games so far, but those were when they faced the two weakest teams in this group: The Candelabrans managed to beat them 3-1, and you were so much better than the Candelabrans when you played them that the low score in that game was a positive disgrace, so you should be able to beat this lot pretty handily too. Don't act overconfident on the pitch -- and you do need to tighten-up a bit on the cooperation between members of the 'Konquerors' and everybody else who's here -- but I'm telling you that you can and should beat them.
Now, do any of you have anything to say before we resume practicing?"

"Yes, coach," muttered Marrorreena o Redwood, the Centre Forward, "it's about that game against the Candelabrans?"
"Oh? So why didn't you and your team-mates score more than that single goal?"
"Felt sorry for them, coach..."
"What was that?"
"I said that we felt sorry for them, hokay: I mean, there they were, shaking in their little boots and all, and we just didn't have the heart to make their defeat any worse..."
"Oh, Great Bear preseve us! Look girls, mercy to a defeated foe is all well and good, but make sure that they are soundly defeated first!" Not going to happen again, is it"

"No, coach, it isn't."

The Secristan Department of Sports is suing this company as they have yet to pay in full for this advertising space.








NATION BRACES FOR SHOWDOWN

It doesn’t matter that they are a bunch of teenagers. Whenever Secristan meets Newmanistan in any international competitions, our people purchase the event and want to see a victory. Recently, the nations had a critical meeting in the semifinal of the Cup of Harmony, a match in which was won by Newmanistan. Secristan settled for 3rd place in that event. It was just the latest of head to head matches between us that have been increasing in importance and with bigger things on the line. There was more then just the Cup of Harmony very recently. We battled it out in the finals of the last World Baseball Classic and in the 3rd place game of World Bowl 5. Sadly, the recent trend in these meetings has seen the Rockets have the better results. Ever since we defeated them for the championship of the first International Basketball Championships, Newmanistan has won the majority of our head to head meetings. Moreso, they seem to win the important ones. Today’s game between the Millionaires and our nemesis from across the Penthoria River in the Di Bradini Cup has plenty on the line. Despite being at the foot of the table with only three points, our Young Millionaires still have a shot at getting the second transfer spot by virtue of defeating the Rockets. Because we defeated idle Peisandros, we will have the tiebreaker on them. We must also root for Dancougar (as hard as it may be) to either defeat Taeshan, or force a draw with them. If this occurs, Secristan will pass all three teams between them and the Black Wings and finish second in the group. It is not a crazy scenario either, even though Newmanistan should be playing with a lot of confidence following their rout of Dancougar, and then being able to rest up with their bye week last week.

In their last two games, our Young Millionaires continued our mastery of Peisandros, by defeating them by the score of 2-1, before falling in a controversial fashion to Dancougar, 3-2. Against the Sandrians, the Millionaires got a goal from Amanda Mattiske in the 29th minute, allowing Amanda to become the first female player ever to score a goal for her country. Peisandros tied the match early in the second, but a game winner by Kevin Polinski on a header in the 75th minute gave us our only victory of the campaign so far. Against Dancougar, our players and the college all-stars of our World Bowl rival engaged themselves in a very entertaining contest that was sure to make those who purchased the game feel as though they got their money worth. A back and forth battle that could have gone either way was ruined by the referee who awarded John Schiermeier a penalty kick in the 83rd minute after incidental contact from Anthony Caruso. The two were both heading to the same spot when Schiermeier fell to the ground after a minor bump from Caruso. Of course, the referee seemed to not realize that Schiermeier was had held on to Caruso’s jersey from much of the run to the ball. What the referee should have done, is let them play on. Maybe if this had been a meaningless regular season game, you award a penalty, but in a well played game with a lot on the line, this was a terrible call. Security had kept a very close eye on the Secristani family section during the game, and were certain that no parents were going to try and pull a Robert Pericone. Secristan had a good chance in the first minute of stoppage time to force a draw, but a questionable whistle for offsides blew the play dead. Kevin Polinski was booked with a yellow card for his emphatic argument that he was onside.

The Secristan Department of Sports reports that purchases of the last two games were very high, with the Dancougar telecast seeing approximately 5% more purchases then that of the Peisandros game, and both are expected to be bypassed by the upcoming match against the Rockets. Border security will once again be strong, so do not try to do anything stupid. The SDOS said that they will not pursue plagiarism charges against a Dancougar media outlet for their strangely similar news article with a very similar format. "They were within the boundaries of the law. It's not plagiarism." said Secristan Department of Journalism Junior-Associate Vice President Kyle Lucas. In other news concerning the team, Lauren Pericone officially filed a divorce from her husband during this past week. Court documents show that Lauren is attempting to “get everything.” With Robert still in jail, the 23-year old housewife may have just hit the jackpot.

PRESS RELEASE: SCHANKE FOUND AND REJOINS TEAMMATES

Sixteen-year old forward Jessica Schanke escaped her captor last night and fled to an adjacent hotel where she was being held by a psychotic stalker from the rural mountainous town of Weatherby in Cassadaigua. Merlin Oakes, a 23-year old recently laid off from his job in a factory was apprehended by Valanari Police and is expected to be turned over to Cassadagan authorities later this week, although he is certain to face charges in both countries. Oakes, according to the ploce report, had stalked Schanke for months and felt the Di Bradini Cup in Valanora would be the perfect time to strike. Following the team’s win over Krytenia, Jessica tells us she was heading to her room to get an hour or so nap before she was going to hang out with some of her friends. That is when Oakes, who had rented the room just three doors down the hallway struck, seeing that Schanke was alone. Schanke told police that Oakes, “Grabbed me and strangled me then tied me up. At night he put me in a big box then put me in the trunk of his car. I thought I was going to die.” Schanke was able to escape Oakes last night when she said he did not tie her up as well as he had before and she was able to break free while he was sleeping. She quickly ran out of the room but did so quietly as to not awaken Oakes so he would not be alarmed and notified the police immediately. Oakes was arrested in the hotel room, having passed out from severe intoxication. Schanke also spent four hours in the hospital during the night to get treatment for some bruises. Her main complaint was a very sore left shoulder. Oakes faces the potential for life in prison following kidnapping, assualt, and rape charges as well as many additional charges that come into play due to Schanke being a minor. That is just under Cassadagan law as surely he will also be tried for breaking Vanorian laws.

Just before noon, Jessica was reunited with her family and teammates in Raynor City as Cassadaigua prepares for what is an important game against the host nation of Valanora. Whether or not the team wins the game and advances to the knockout round remains to be seen, but regardless of the outcome, nothing will spoil this moment as the team can be relieved that Jessica will, in the long run, be ok. She will have to live with the traumatic experience for the rest of her life, but this is better then how this could have turned out.

- -

AFTER A TEAM MEETING:

“Coach....” Jessica Schanke asked.
“Yes, Jessica?”
“I... I... I wanna play.”

Michelle was in a tough situation. Jessica was hurt, her shoulder had been injured in the attack, and the trainers advised her that she should not even consider playing Schanke, but Baynes hadn’t thought about it anyway, she was just happy Jessica was alive. Also Jessica had not practiced for quite some time and playing Valanora in Raynor City was difficult enough of a task already. Hannah Barton had practiced to be the starter. Barton started against Lovisa and scored once and played an overall strong game. Barton was healthy and ready to go. Michelle also saw the look in Jessica’s eyes. She wanted to go out there because it would be the start of getting back to normal for her. She looked around the team locker room and saw all the players staring at her, including Hannah Barton. The players didn’t say anything, but everyone was certainly giving her that look. Michelle couldn’t say no. She knew it wasn’t the best choice for the team to have their best chance to beat Valanora. Before she could say it, Hannah Barton helped her with the decision.

“Coach, let her play.” Barton said.

Michelle smiled. She knew that wasn’t easy for Hannah to do. Again the team stared at her, awaiting the announcement. For her to say no now, would really disappoint the team. She couldn’t do that. Then, the coach side stopped thinking and the personal side took over. How could she even think of saying no.

“You’re in, Jess!” she yelled as the team cheered. Baynes and Schanke embraced and the team went to have their pre-game meal. Michelle stayed behind for a few minutes, thinking to herself, and wondering if she just made a big mistake or if the energy of this moment would be enough to carry them past Valanora.

“Blaaaake! BlaAaAaAaAake! What the hell was that?! Good God man, no wonder Sanghae are bottom of the bloody league! You think the Sarzonians are going t’be frightened by that?”

“Wouldn’t like to say, gaffer,” the defender said sweetly, kicking petulantly at the opposition striker. “Don’t know much about your basic Sarzonian. Are they orange with white stripes, perchance?”

“Oi! Less of your cheek, boy!”

“Tood-Muek…”

“I heard that, Hitapot! I won’t have it, y’know? Believe me, kid, I’m this close to dropping you…”

“That’d be cutting your nose off a tad, wouldn’t it?”

“RIGHT!”

The rest of the squad watched with amusement as Jaon van Deene marched across the training pitch, rolling his sleeves up in a coming-down-like-a-tonne-of-bricks motion. Blake Hitapot was a cocky get if there ever was one, and the prospect of seeing him getting a strip torn off was a promising one. Besides, they were bored and restless. It was, generally speaking, true what they said about playing against ten men; but playing against half a dozen and winning at a canter left one with extra reserves of energy that needed using up, post-match. They longed to take their frustration out on each other, but Van Deene was having none of it. This was tournament football and you couldn’t risk anyone unduly, he said. And the squad was cheerfully resigned to the fact that, with this backward plonker in charge, they’d be going home before the knock-out stages. Which was fine by them. This place put the collective willies up them. Not that they’d dare risk mentioning their worries to the manager, of course.

“RIGHT!” Van Deene shouted again, a little more hesitantly. Now he was actually in front of Hitapot, and looming angrily over the little centre-half, he was quite unsure of how to proceed.

“Um… I think you were going to tear him a new arse and drop him from the Sarzonia starting eleven,” Jacob Davies offered hopefully.

“Er… Yes. Yes, thank you, Davis. I’m ju–”

“Davies, gaffer. ‘Sgot an E in it,” Jacob added helpfully.

“Yes. Thank you. So, Blake. D’you have a problem with my leadership style?” the manager asked him in a sotto voice.

Blake shrugged. “A bit, aye. ‘Spose I’m just not used to having to play against cones, gaffer. Allan Puckett prefers the human touch at the Green Island academy, y’know? So does Mr Yi, actually, at Sanghae. Can’t understand a word the man’s saying, but we speak the international language of training ground exercises that don’t involve bloody cones, I think. C’mon Jaon, we’re all nervous energy here!”

“Yeh need to learn yer basics, lads! That much was perfectly obvious against the b… b-b b-b-b-b–”

“Bears?”

“Yes. They outplayed you for ninety minutes, it was bloody embarrassing from where I was sitting! If it hadn’t been for Ciaran and some… curiously wayward shooting, you would’ve been trounced! It would’ve been a national disgrace!”

“I reckon no-one back home would’ve paid it the slightest attention, t’be honest…”

“Stay out of this, Plunkett! Your partner here needs to come down to Earth with a bloody bump! Right here and now, before it costs us the tournament!”

“The bears are good, end of story! They were better than us on the day, deal with it! The Sarzonians’re a whole different ball game!”

“They don’t weigh four hundred pounds a pop and have bloody great claws for one thing,” Robin Smith muttered.

“Exactly,” Blake nodded furiously. “Our fundamentals are fine, gaffer. Mine bloody well are. We know how we should be training for the Sarzonia game, and it doesn’t involve cones!”

“Technically that one’s a bollard…”

“This one isn’t!” Blake spat, brandishing a nearby cone in the manager’s face. “And it don’t look much like a bloody Sarzonian to me! Or a bear, come to think of it!”

Van Deene blanched. Blake grinned nastily.

“BEAR!” the defender shouted, “Bear bear bear bear bear! Thinkin’ bears! Big hairy buggers with massive brains! Football-playing bears!”

“Shut up!”

“What’re you so scared of, Jaon? Are they going t’come and eat you aaaaall up? Or are you more frightened that they’ll read poetry or discuss quantum mechanics at you?”

“Shutupshutupshutup!” Van Deene screamed backing away and slipping to the floor.

“Aktully of course they not bears not, but big harry mans in religiously-motivate costume!”

“Yeah, I think we’re past that stage, Gihyeon,” Simon Chinn said kindly, patting the Gweridijongyan refugee on the shoulder. “Blake, perhaps you’d best put down the cone, I think you’re scaring him…”

“’s. Put down t’cone…” Van Deene whimpered.

“Why?! You scared of cones too now?!”

“You… You never know what might be hiding in one!”

“You what?!”

“Well… There could be anything!” the manager insisted, his voice shaking. “There… there could be evil pixies, or kabouters, or anything!”

“Hiding in a plastic traffic cone?!”

“They could be anywhere! Don’t you stupid kids see, we’re not safe anymore! The world’s teeming with these things! There could be elves watching us right now!” He put a hand over his mouth. “You don’t think there are elves watching us right now, do you?!” he hissed.

“Probably,” Lee McKenzie said cheerfully. “Suidhudion Larenvanas’ sister said she might come up and watch us train…”

Van Deene moaned and hugged his knees.

“It’s perfectly safe around here, though,” Todd Garrett offered. “Around Hellgate an’ everything. Me and me dad got tickets for the World Cup game against the… gnomes, I guess. Crap game, but no-one got molested.”

“Gn… Gnomes?”

“The Az-czzers. C’mon, you must’ve wondered about ‘em! Can’t believe I didn’t realise before, really. Bloody obvious when you think about it. Also, you don’t pronounce the Guh…”

“Endemic non-neurological congenital hypothyroidism,” Kim Gihyeon chirruped loyally at this point. Immigrants to the Candelarias were forced to learn this sort of waffle off by rote in order to avoid unnecessary thumbscrews or deportation.

“Seriously Gi, not necessary now, okay? We All Know, Yes?”

“Ahh, good yes! Freedom of mind and voice at last! Truly land of opportunity and warmth! What are kabouter?”

“Nethertopian gnomes, Kimmy.”

“You can get cream for that, Chinns”

“They’re the non-euphemistic sort I think, Darren.”

“They’d be a tad like yer dokkaebi,” Blake said, whilst making a great show of searching the inside of the cone for angry little men. “But live in mushrooms and aren’t made out of discarded kitchen utensils. In fact, I reckon there’s one on the gaffer’s back right now!”

“What?! Where!?”

“I can see his little hat!” Blake shouted mockingly.

With a scream, Van Deene took to his feet and charged across the Hellgate training pitch, flailing at his shoulders. Before too long, he was but a point in the distance. The squad stood in an awkward silence.

“Well,” Lee offered eventually, “It’s always the ones you least suspect.”

“Everyone copes with earth-shattering events in their own way,” Todd said sagely. “I myself have taken to drink over the last week. Um. Shall we get a quick half-hour in, then?”

“No cones though, eh?”

“You’re the boss, Blake.”

“Awesome.” Hitapot clapped his hands. “Roight, four teams of five, let’s give Jordan’s ankle a bit of a rest, I reckon we need to work on out set pieces ‘cos that Liz Lewis is going to give away at least a couple…”

The squad bounced off behind him down the other end of the pitch, laughing happily beneath the setting sun. After a suitable period of calm, an abandoned traffic cone rose cautiously into the air, and a small gnome scurried out and gratefully inched his way towards the safety of the nearest mushroom.

A second cone transformed into a one-legged goblin shortly after, and bounced off unsteadily towards the airport, but that probably complicates matters unnecessarily.

Heathfield Advertiser
Sorthern “Golden Generation” ease into knock-outs

A Tim van de Huevel brace last night saw the Sorthern Northland under 21 team become the first side to qualify for the knock-out stages of the 9th Di Bradini Cup amid claims that this squad is the best ever Sorthern youth squad to be assembled. Thus far there appears to be little argument against that case with the Sortherners winning all three of their opening matches, with wins over highly respected footballing nations such as Nethrtopia and Starblaydia, as well as a win over the world renowned cash thieves of Cafundéu.

Qualification itself was assured following a two one win over Nethortopia in a match which those claiming a golden generation claim proves their point. Injuries and suspensions led to manager Chicão Trombada being forced into a number of changes, and the victory itself was largely down to the players coming in. Two players that stood out were Frank Vroon and Tim van de Huevel. Both players were eager to impress, perhaps in part due to their backgrounds, Vroon is the Sorthern born child of Nethertopian parents, whilst van de Huevel was born in Tenderville before moving to Sorthern Northland at a young age. Vroon was instrumental in nearly all Sorthern attacks on the night, with his set piece deliveries in particular proving to be vital as it was from a Vroon corner and a Vroon free-kick that van de Huevel rose to head home his two goals. As well as scoring both goals, van de Huevel showed his importance to the squad by making a number of crucial blocks, tackles and interceptions as the Sorthern goal under a Nethertopian siege in the last twenty minutes of the game.

Tapping into the multinational immigrant community is said to be one of the main reasons for this squad being considered a golden generation. Mark Malone, youth coach of St. Patrick's F.C., itself a club known for its strong connections to Sorthern Northland's Candelarisian community is one of those to have proclaimed the current crop as a golden generation, and he offers a simple explanation for it saying, “We've managed to nick a few players from the C&M. It worked with Lee Waywide, and now Francisco Manuel Sánchez Garciá who was born in Marquez is following in his footsteps. In fact Candelaria And Marquez sometimes seems to struggle getting goalscoring strikers. Could be something to do with us nicking them. And then in defence there's that Candelario Oliveira Tavares, he's so Candelarisian that's he's named after the country! He's probably related to Marcio Oliveira Tavares in C&M's squad as well. And now that Candelaria And Marquez are the world champions they're bound to have good players coming through, and with the links between our countries the SNFA should be able to exploit that for our gain.”

Quite why Candelaria And Marquez being the world champions should suddenly make Candelarisan-Sortherners (or Northlandish-Marquezians etc) better all of a sudden is anyone's guess, but with players such as Candelario Oliveira Tavares, Francisco Manuel Sánchez Garciá, and Santiago Fuentes looking to have a bright future it is certainly an avenue worth having a look down. Or in the case of Fuentes, even if he does turn out to be crap at least he's got a decent chant as evidenced when Sorthern fans chanted “Santiago, wooooaaaaah, Santiago, wooooaaaah, he comes from Andandala, he says más tequila” following the revelations of a quiet trip to a restaurant he and a number of team mates took part in that somehow turned into a drink fuelled orgy with a number of “friendly ladies”.

Matchday 5


Group A
Valanora 3-2 Cassadaigua
Yafor II 3-0 Lovisa

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Valanora 4 4 0 0 10 5 5 12 Q
2 Yafor II 4 3 0 1 9 5 4 9 Q
3 Cassadaigua 4 2 0 2 10 7 3 6
4 Krytenia 4 1 0 3 5 8 -3 3
5 Lovisa 4 0 0 4 0 9 -9 0

Group B
Candelaria And Marquez 1-2 Sarzonia
Bears Armed 3-2 The Han Empire

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Bears Armed 4 3 1 0 8 5 3 10 Q
2 Candelaria And Marquez 4 2 0 2 6 5 1 6* Q
3 The Han Empire 4 2 0 2 9 6 3 6*
4 Sarzonia 4 1 2 1 6 9 -3 5
5 Norwellia 4 0 1 3 4 8 -4 1
* Candelaria And Marquez ahead of The Han Empire on H2H

Group C
Sorthern Northland 3-2 Kura-Pelland
Starblaydia 2-1 Nethertopia

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Sorthern Northland 4 4 0 0 10 4 6 12 Q
2 Kura-Pelland 4 1 2 1 5 5 0 5 Q
3 Cafundéu 4 1 1 2 6 6 0 4*
4 Starblaydia 4 1 1 2 4 8 -4 4*
5 Nethertopia 4 0 2 2 6 8 -2 2
* Cafundéu ahead of Starblaydia on H2H

Group D
Secristan 2-2 Newmanistan
Taeshan 1-1 Dancougar

Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Dancougar 4 2 1 1 7 8 -1 7 Q
2 Peisandros 4 2 0 2 6 6 0 6 Q
3 Newmanistan 4 1 2 1 9 6 3 5*
4 Taeshan 4 1 2 1 5 6 -1 5*
5 Secristan 4 1 1 2 8 9 -1 4
* Newmanistan ahead of Taeshan on GD

Quarterfinals
Valanora v Candelaria And Marquez (@ Battleground, Raynor City)
Sorthern Northland v Peisandros (@ White Fortress, Gladerial)
Bears Armed v Yafor II (@ Angelotic Temple, Longview)
Dancougar v Kura-Pelland (@ Hatire Memorial,Capri)

Tae tie helps Wings get group title

Well how about that for luck. The Rockets and Millionaires tied each other so we won Group D despite giving up more goals than we scored. A 1-1 tie with the Purple Knights was enough to secure first place and a matchup with Kura-Pelland in the next round, a team that the Wings have never played in international football. Should be a good match, hopefully better than this one. The teams played cautiously since each was a bounce away from advancement or elimination. It was tense. Jamie Spenser gave the Knights the lead but with five minutes left Lynn DiMino was left wide open inside the box and she pounced to tie the game.

DRAW NOT ENOUGH

Despite rallying from down two goals to none after an hour of play, the Millionaires will find their way heading back to Secristan after another disappointing group stage effort in the Di Bradini Cup. Michael Cardona scored both goals, coming in the 64th and 74th minutes but the only thing that will accomplish is keeping Newmanistan out of the knockouts. That's not too bad of a trade off, though, is it? After several losses to the Rockets in key games in other competitions, perhaps we can take some consolation in that. Several of the players from this roster will now be heading to Newmanistan for the Empire Charity Cup and have the opportunity to play for the wonderful charity of the Retired CEO's fund. The Secristan Department of Sports will be hoping that the combination of the Di Bradini Cup and the Charity Cup can give the team valuable experience as they look to qualify for World Cup 46. Overall, the SDOS made considerable profit from this Cup, thanks to a favorable group stage. It would have been nice to continue playing though, as Katie Simpson points out. "The group stage went as great as a group stage could possibly go. But with not making the knockouts, we miss out on the opportunity to profit from more games, so in total, this will not be as successful of a venture as it was eight years ago when we won the whole thing."

Sarzonia, the defending champions of the tournament also did not advance out of the group stage. This proves the fickle nature of these juvenile competitions. Most Secristanis are not likely to pay attention to the rest of the tournament.

Harroya o Herchaum and her deputy, Gerranya Redwood, are talking _

(Gerranya) "'Yafor 2'? Didn't you play against them back in your first World Cup?"

(Harroya) "Well, against their main team -- rather than their Under-21 one -- anyway. It was in the qualifiers, so we had to face them twice: They beat us by 2 goals to 1 at Plumtrees Park in our second game of the series, right after the Cafundelese had beaten us 4-0 there, but then we manaaged to beat them -- by 3 goals to 2 -- in the return leg at their home ground... and back then we were only ranked eighty-fourth (jointly with the Sandrians) in the worlds whereas they were ranked at #14."

(Gerranya) "So, what do you know about this junior side of theirs? Anything useful"

(Harroya) "They're known as the 'Silver Wolves', quite a few of them already play at the professional level (including some in 'Candelabran' clubs), they favour a moderately defensive style, and they came second in their group in this contest with three wins and a loss... I haven't actually seen them play, yet, but the Ravens have just delivered some tapes of their previous games for us to watch: Get the team together in the main lounge in an eighth-watch's time and we'll all take a look, hokay?

(Gerranya) "Hokay: I think that most of the girls are in the lounge already, catching up with tapes of some BABC programmes that they didn't want to miss..."

(Harroya) "Oh? The first-round games from the 'Firemead Trophy Cup', would that be?"

(Gerranya) "Errrm. Well, they might be watching those, now, but -- to be honest -- I think that it's more likely to be another episode from the new series of 'The Bear from BASIC' instead...

(Harroya) "Urrgh! Well, they'll have to watch these tapes instead of that when I get there."

Peisandros somehow through.

Going in to their last match-day bye, the Sandrians appeared to be in a spot or two of bother. Secristan and Newmanistan just needed a win in order to progress ahead of Peisandros. Similarly, if Taeshan had upset Dancougar, then they would have gone through too. As it was though, the four teams played out draws which allowed the Sandrians to qualify for the second round. It surprised the team who were sure there would be a result in the hotly contested Newmanistan Secristan game.

In that second round they face the formidable Southern Northland, arguably the best looking team from the group stages. Coach Alketas has made no changes to them team that prevailed over Taeshan and will be hoping that with the attacking style they had adopted, they will be able to atleast be very competitive. There was a slight question mark over defender Theokleia Ypapanti who got a knock at training during the bye period, but he has come through fine and cleared to take his starting role.

Quarterfinals

Valanora 3-2 Candelaria And Marquez
Sorthern Northland 2-2(3-4 AET) Peisandros
Bears Armed 1-0 Yafor II
Dancougar 1-1(1-1 AET)[3-5 PKs] Kura-Pelland

Semifinals
Valanora v Peisandros (@ Artani, Mar Sara)
Bears Armed v Kura-Pelland (@ Hatire Memorial, Capri)

Dancougar's World Cup adventure ended in the first knockout round on penalties, and their Di Bradini Cup ended in the same way. John Schiermeier's attempt was saved by the Kura-Pellandi 'keeper Vogelsburg, and the Junior Wings went out 5-3 after a hundred and twenty minutes resulted in a 1-1 scoreline. Dancougar went ahead on Justin Sellick's 20th minute blast but saw the lead canceled in the 81st by substitute Rappaport.

Neither team made any headway in the overtime period, although Kura-Pelland were unlucky not to take the lead in the 113th when an Al-Fayyoumi header hit the crossbar. It became clear that Shigeru Takeuchi was playing for penalties when defensive midfielder Tatsui Shindo was brought off for striker Hajime Kuniyoshi with the intention of giving Dancougar more firepower in the shootout.

His negative tactics were justly rewarded when Kuniyoshi never got a chance to shoot, as he was fifth in line for the Wings. Rappaport converted with his team up 4-3 to clinch victory.

Dancougar (3-1-4-2); Millman; Cussen, Kabacinski (Clattenburg 55'), Ogura; Shindo (Kuniyoshi 105'); DiMino (Yoshida 78'), Kaneko, McFarland, Schiermeier; Funakoshi, Sellick

Good run continues..

Peisandros have continued their fantastic run at the 9h Di Dradini Cup, scoring two extra time goals to beat the very competent Southern Northland team. It was the first taste of international extra time for any Sandrian team and the players, led expertly again by Praxis Nikolaidis, held their nerve as if they had been there thousands of time. After a great 90minutes in which both teams deserved to take the semi-final spot, there was nothing between the sides. It seemed the conditioning the Sandrian players had done in preparation for the tournament would pay off though, as they looked the fresher side at the start of extra time. They scored a goal after 8 minutes thanks to yet another moment of brilliance by ever-improving Lefteris Diakos, who has just been signed to play in Quintessence of Dust. However the Northlanders were not finished yet and clawed a goal back to go in to the break at 3-3. The deciding moment was a corner won with 4minutes of extra time left. After a long range Nikolaidis shot took a deflection, Peisandros were awarded a corner kick. The captain stepped up to take it and the Sandrians pressed right forward. It was all too much for the defence, as Sandrian replacement defender Panagiotis Aggelis, who had come on for Alex Maximos in the 96th minute, rocketed in a header which the keeper had no chance. Peisandros were able to hold on for the win and the boys were pretty pleased, although not overly. The job isn't finished.

Infact next up will be their hardest test as the Sandrians go up against Valanora for the first time. It will be an extremely tough ask for the young'ns, but there is always a chance and coach Alketas Alketas is in a positive frame of mind. The team remains unchanged. Striker Odysseas Adraktas set up a goal in the first half but picked up a slight ankle niggle, but should be fine. Apart from that the team is fit and healthy, and they are gelling well.

He's not known for his shooting accuracy, more his devastating turn of pace, but two priceless shots from Julian Rappaport put Kura-Pelland into the semi-finals of the Di Bradini Cup in a shock defeat of Dancougar, winning a penalty shootout 5-3 after 120 minutes of football ended 1-1.

Justin Sellick gave Dancougar a 20th-minute lead with a powerful 25-yard shot that caught Onyi Vogelsburg out of position, and the Wings spent most of the rest of the game attempting to keep Kura-Pelland out simply by keeping the ball. They did have 60% of possession, but Kura-Pelland created most of the best chances on counter-attacks, exploiting gaps in the three-man defence particularly on the flanks.

The introduction of Rappaport on the hour proved critical, his pace ideally suited to exploiting an undermanned and tiring defence, and although he missed one golden opportunity in the 73rd minute - blazing over from ten yards - a first-time shot from an Ali Al-Fayyoumi early cross levelled the scores eight minutes later.

Al-Fayyoumi would then come closer than any to breaking the deadlock in extra time, a header from an Yves LaGuerre corner hitting the bar; were he a centimetre taller, he'd have got over the ball more and been celebrating a goal. Still, the closest Dancougar came to chasing the game was in bringing a striker, Hajime Kuriyoshi on for a defensive midfielder - their game, however, was if anything more defensive than before, suggesting the change was to provide reinforcement for the shootout.

It didn't work; Vogelsburg stopped John Schiermeier's tame penalty, while Kura-Pelland scored with five out of five, Rappaport uncharacteristically tucking his game-clinching spot kick into the bottom corner. Kuriyoshi, set to take penalty number five, didn't get a chance. Bears Armed are next, and Kura-Pelland have the advantage of playing in the same stadium as they did for their quarter-final.

"So here we are with normal time and injury time both over, and barely two out of the five minutes of 'extra' time left, and it's still a nil-nil draw: It's been a closely fought match indeed, and now looks as though it's likely to go to penalties, which will be for the first time in any international match that a team representing Bears Armed has played... The Yaforite striker Sinijinir has the ball, but he isn't trying to advance with it; he passes it back to their captain, Riegan; Riegan, in turn, passes the ball back to goalie Kawahara... who clearly wasn't expecting this move, and fails to receive it properly. That's an 'own goal' by Riegan...
And now the fans who turned up from Bears Armed once our team was safely through this contest's 'group' stage are yelling and drumming loudly, the teams are taking their places for the kick-off, Sinjinir kicks the ball just a little way forwards and runs out to dribble it on... and the referee blows his whistle for the end of the game. That's it, a final score of 1-0 in favour of the Bears, and so it's our team that goes through to the semi-finals..."

Semifinals

Valanora 1-1(2-1 AET) Peisandros
Bears Armed 0-1 Kura-Pelland

3PPo
Peisandros v Bears Armed (@ White Fortress, Gladerial)

Final
Valanora v Kura-Pelland (@ Battleground, Raynor City)

OCC: Both matches will be scorinated tomorrow.

This post is not sponsored.

















Amidst fears that Bears Armed would put in a superhuman performance - well, they're not human are they? - Kura-Pelland overcame Ursine opposition to reach their first international final, against almost all expectations.

Valanora will be awarded the Di Bradini Cup on home soil after the expected whitewash of the Kura-Pellandi side... well, that's the script, anyway. The Raynor City Battleground may not be presented with the expected storyline if Onyi Vogelsburg continues to play on his current form, with three world-class saves underlining his claims to be the best of an exceptional young crop of goalkeepers - at least one, and probably more, of whom will be criminally ignored at international level and left with the consolation of earning billions of vintem in Cafundeu.

The goal came from Michael Draisey late in the first half, after a fine one-two with the marauding wing-back Ali Al-Fayyoumi. In honesty, Bears Armed mostly shaded it, but Vogelsburg's performance proved the difference. Valanora have to find a way past him to stop the script being rewritten.

Well, the surprisingly good run for the Sandrian youngsters has come to an end. It seems their first dose of extra time against the Southern Northland team really sapped the energy from the players, as they struggled against Valanora. The country with the #1 senior team did not walk over the Sandrians though, in-fact it was a fascinating game that had lots to enjoy. However fitness and experience was probably the deciding factor. Once the full time whistle blew with the scores locked at 1-1, a few Sandrian heads went down as if to say, "For fucks sake, another thirty minutes?"

Valanora outplayed Peisandros in extra time. If it wasn't for some great keeping by Ektor Athanasiadis, who again pushed his claims for a starting berth at World Cup 46, the score may well have been 4-1. As it was, the game ended at 2-1 and was a fair representation of where the teams are at. Peisandros now face Bears Armed in a fascinating game. It is the first clash the sides have had at junior level, but the teams have already played out a fierce rivalry at senior level. It should be a great game with third place on the line.

"So it's to be the Sandrians whom we face next?"
"Yes: Ironic, in a way, our first international tournament's final match being against them, just like the 'senior' team's was..."
"Not quite, eh? After all, theirs was for first place rather than just third..."
"Well, yeah, but I think that we've done pretty well anyway!"
"Sure, I agree; just a bit disappointed that we haven't made the 'real' finals..."
"Yeah.
Hey, Marra, what have you got there? It looks like a lot of paperwork..."

"Hr'rmm? Oh, it's a job-offer."
"What? but you're still a couple of years from graduating..."
"Oh, not a 'business' job-offer, a Soccer one... and one from a foreign team, at that!"
"Wow! Are you going to accept it?"
"I haven't decided yet. On the one paw, it could be a good chance to get some wider experience -- and they do say that they're willing to arrange things so that I could continue my studies too -- but then, on the other paw, it's from a team in Candelaria!"
"Them?!?"
"Them. I mean, hokay, the way in which their government reacts to anything that doesn't fit into their 'tidy' little pattern of Reality is... urrrk ... but then, this could be my only chance to play abroad..."
"Huh? If you're good enough, and I reckon you are, then there should be other offers come along from other countries too in the next few years, no?"
"Yeah, but according to my aunt Urra-Lirra, BAAS is talking about setting a rule that foreign leagues can only hire Harr'aynau players in future if they're open to actual Ursines too... and no matter how friendly some other nations are to ours, how many of them -- apart from Mikitivity, maybe -- do you think would offer that possibility? Hokay, so obviously I could go abroad despite that rule, but then BAAS would bar me from the leagues back home when I returned."
"Hr'rmm, I scent, that's a verrry tricky decision to have to make..."

3PPo
Peisandros 2-1 Bears Armed

Final
Valanora 0-2 Kura-Pelland