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AOCAF Cup 28 roleplay thread

Posted: Jan 16 2010, 05:40 PM

OOC:

I've just found out what happened in the previous matchday; apologies but the settings were set to sequential rather than point-based.

Which explains why teams like Scandonia won and teams like Pacitalia lost so dramatically.

I will be re-scorinating the Round of 16.

And my deepest apologies to all

*cuts his own heart with a spoon as punishment*

Bazalonia

Eating A Bazalope Burger

Posts: 774

Posted: Jan 18 2010, 02:07 AM

[ OOC: This seems the most respectful and realistic way to translate what happened OOCly to IC. ]

user posted image

AOCAF28 Match Report
Sunday 17th January 2010

Calls of "biased refs" force universal redo of Round of 16
Blue Foxes can thank their lucky Stars for the second opportunity, squeaking through to QFs

Alberto Vicente Marro
Fauxhan, Bazalonia

It took widespread calls from outraged fans and "suspicious" coaching staff on defeated teams to force a universal redo on all eight round-of-sixteen matches at AOCAF28. Officials were roundly accused of bias and for making calls that affected the overall outcome of the matches, the Blue Foxes' 5-0 spanking notwithstanding.

But, ironically, the consensus among both players and fans is that the Pacitalia-Sarzonia rematch will go down, like previous meetings between the Blue Foxes and Stars, as one of the best matches of the tournament, even if, for at least one day, it appeared the Sarzonians had soundly embarrassed the top-ranked footballing squad in the region.

While the Foxes did not appear to show up to their original match against the Stars, there is general agreement that something was rotten.

"We aren't going to point the finger anywhere or place the blame on any particular individuals, of course," a sullen Marco van Basten said following the original result, a 5-0 defeat. "There was no excuse for the way we played in the match. But, in general, we are suspicious of the officiating in this match and this round, specifically because we had no problem with it during the group stage."

Team captain Abro Zolà agreed. "It seems highly unlikely that the four best teams in the region, our match aside, would all crash out of the tournament in the same round."

It appears, he added, that there was "a coordinated effort to give an advantage" to lower-ranked teams. It is unclear whether Zolà will face discipline for those comments.

Fast-forward to Sunday.

Following official complaints to the Bazalonian hosts from no fewer than six participating football federations, and the appeals of millions upon millions of upset or questioning fans, the hosts agreed, in unprecedented fashion, to re-run the round of sixteen with new officials, in an attempt to guarantee parity and allay any suspicions that they were involved in any potential biases or conspiracies.

Having been blown out by a rabid Stars squad in the first match, it was quite clear the game plan would have to change for the Blue Foxes to be successful. The Foxes (4-0-0 at that point) had clearly walked into their matchup with Sarzonia with too much confidence and the Stars made them pay.

In the redo of the match, the story was quite different, the two teams playing as near-evenly matched rivals do — a chance for the Foxes here, another for the Stars there. A superb save from Zolà was almost immediately followed by an equally spectacular block by Will Brantley in the Sarzonian goal.

And in keeping with the trend of the match, Ambrosino Giurimano's beautiful cross-pitch scorcher, thirty-five minutes in, was matched just one minute later by an outstanding corner-kick conversion by Sarzonian forward Mike Lohman. The teams headed for the tunnel at halftime with Sarzonia displaying, quite clearly, that they were a threat, and that their initial destruction of the Blue Foxes was no accident.

Nick Barrett would appear to be the hero for the Stars with two-thirds of regulation time gone. Gathering up an arcing feed from a streaking Andrew David on the right wing, the 24-year-old timed his collection of the ball to evade the aggressive charge of Sergio San Cristobál and then deked Antonio Linguera de Sà.

With Zolà the only obstacle left, Barrett convincingly feigned a pass to Lohman, pulling the Pacitalian keeper forward enough for Barrett to tuck the ball neatly into the Foxes' net for a 2-1 advantage. It was pandemonium among the delirious thousands of Stars supporters, Sarzonians sure their team was destined for the quarterfinals (reffing controversy or not).

After that, the Stars shifted into shutdown mode to maintain their well-earned lead down the stretch. Pulling into a tighter defensive formation with both inside midfielders held back, the six of them huddling around Brantley, it was surely a frustrating experience for the Foxes over the next quarter-hour. Sarzonia cleanly defeated three consecutive Pacitalian corner attempts, sometimes triple-teaming Giurimano in the six-yard box to keep him out of the action.

Following the third straight failed corner, Andolfabio Vunghiasso's free kick with 16 minutes to play glanced off Giurimano's collarbone and out for a goal kick. Trudging back down-pitch, the Pacitalian star looked close to giving up. The Blue Foxes' supporters were the mirror image of their Sarzonian counterparts, with nails bitten down to the quick and nervous huddles of tense fans hoping and praying for a late equaliser.

Their calls would be answered by an unlikely hero just three minutes later. The late stage, highlight-reel equaliser normally the domain of Giurimano or Vunghiasso, it was Massimo da Scupeta who would even up the score for Pacitalia in the 77th minute. He gobbled up a seemingly harmless side pass from Michelangelo Mascagnano and took advantage of a rare gap in the Sarzonian defence, sprinting into the 22-yard box — between the athletic Elijah Aston and the intimidating Carletta Ryan — and firing off a firm, scorching shot that was so hard it knocked Brantley off his feet as the ball ricocheted off his shoulder and into the twine.

The stadium erupted in an even mixture of ecstatic cheers and disbelieving groans as Pacitalia and Sarzonia headed into the final ten minutes of play all square at 2-2.

Pacitalia's right midfielder would put the Foxes on top for good in the rematch, sealing the victory with a wicked left-footed arc off a late corner that sailed through the crowd in front of goal and bounced down onto the pitch through Brantley's poised legs. The ball hit the left side of the twine and settled at the rear of the net as a roar exploded from the Blue Foxes' supporters. da Scupeta didn't have to run to the corner flag to celebrate, for he was already there, joined moments later by his three fellow attackers, Hermès Adiarche and Semih Mansur.

The surreal chain of events leading to eventual Pacitalian victory in the round of sixteen won't soon be forgotten, and neither will the historic and exciting result in the rematch. After the initial on-pitch catastrophe, and after all of the off-pitch drama, Pacitalia still has a chance to try and capture its third cup in four tournaments. Either way, biased officials or not, the Foxes move on and the Stars go home, after writing another thrilling chapter in the two nations' storied sporting rivalry.

From AOCAF28 in Bazalonia
Pacitalia 3 : 2 Sarzonia
PAC — Giurimano 35' / da Scupeta 77', 87'
SRZ — Lohman 36' / Barrett 61'

Next up — PAC v UNR (QF), SRZ v n/a (eliminated)

Copyright © 2010 Extra, the Pacitalian sports network | a division of News Media Group ƒSpA
http://www.extra.pc/aocaf/aocaf28/nr.gspx?sd=619212&ad=en

Pacitalia

The best place on earth.

Posts: 505

Posted: Jan 18 2010, 04:52 PM

Beningrad Morning Star

AOCAF reprieve grasped with both hands

Sorthern Northland's footballers are to have a second bite at retaining their AOCAF Cup title, following the decision by organisers to the entire Round of Sixteen programme following a number of controversial refereeing performances. The original clash between Sorthern Northland and Scandonia which had ended with the minnows winning two-one saw a number of questionable decisions made by the referee, though not any particularly controversial ones, prompting surprise from Sorthern manager Eoin Ó Raghallaigh over it being replayed.

“It came out of the blue really, we were preparing to fly back home and then we got a call from the organisers that the match was being replayed. There had certainly been a number of controversial incidents in the other matches, and the ref in our match did make some odd decisions and I've heard whispers of the referees colluding with betting syndicates and so if the organisers believe beyond reasonable doubt that the matches were fixed then all credit to them for insisting they be replayed.”

Considering the reason for the match being replayed it is perhaps ironic then that the scoring was opened by Scandonia from a questionably awarded penalty after thirty-three minutes. Brian Andrews was the guilty offender, having already scored an own-goal in the original match the referee adjudged him to have handled a Scandonia cross in the box. Replays however suggested the ball had hit Andrews' midriff rather than his arm.

That was to be one of the few sightings of the Sorthern goal that the team from Scandonia had all match however. Having played complacently and poorly in the first match the Sorthern team had started the replay in the same vein. The goal seemed to only awaken the Sorthern players as they looked for a reply. Something they had only a short wait for as under pressure the Scandonia goalkeeper cleared poorly from a backpass. That clearance fell to Jon Andrews and though the scrambling keeper had left him an open goal to aim for, the Ranca Toco man still had to keep his nerve to coolly finish from range and level the scoring.

The Sorthern team didn't have long to wait to take the lead. Almost strait from the kick-off Martijn Barentstochter of Bergkamp of Drotske of Groethuysen of Hackenbroch of Struycken won the ball with an excellent tackle. Looking to run towards the Scandonian goal he was quickly felled by a rash challenge, leaving Marek Krofcky to place the resulting free-kick into the top left-hand corner of the goal from the best part of thirty-five metres out. With the Scandonian players left shocked at the speed of the turnaround in the scoreline Sorthern Northland took full advantage with Jon Andrews scoring twice more to put the score at 4-1 and the result in little doubt going into half-time.

The second-half saw Sorthern Northland continuing score goals with Iñaki Arrigorriagakoa and Alan Cooper adding their names to the scoresheet in the early part of the half. Scandonia offered some resistance at six-one down with Piran Hean being forced into a fine double save in the Sorthern goal around the hour mark. A goal from substitute Shawn Hill shortly followed by another goal for Arrigorriagakoa though saw Scandonian heads finally drop and the match peter out into a lifeless remaining quarter of an hour or so leaving Ó Raghallaigh to look forward to a quarter-final clash against Nanwe whilst aware that they could consider themselves slightly fortunate to still be in the competition.

Commenting after the match he noted, “That was the type of performance we should've put on in the first match and whilst the right decision was made to replay the round we very lucky that the problem was found and that we were given a reprieve and able to take full advantage of it. Any problems should be sorted now so there'll be no chances at another reprieve so we'll need to be aware that if we are as complacent as we were in the original match again then we'll definitely be going home.”

Sorthern Northland - 8
Andrews - 35' 41' 45+2'
Krofcky - 36'
Arrigorriagakoa - 49' 77'
Cooper - 56'
Hill - 65'

Scandonia - 1
Some bloke or other, the centre forward perhaps - 34' (pen)

This post has been edited by Sorthern Northland on Jan 18 2010, 04:57 PM

Sorthern Northland

Scribe in Training

Posts: 39

Posted: Jan 19 2010, 07:08 PM

TEN REASONS TO LOVE AOCAF CUP XXVIII

10
All the Bazalopes you can eat.

9
Ousevale...errr, Sorthern Northland doing well.

8
A competition we actually have a chance in.

7
Sarzonia out in Round Two. Don't let the door hit your a**e on the way out, guys.

6
Mark Olic, coming out of a bar at 1am blind drunk after the Septentrionia game.

5
7-0 in a quarter-final. DAMN.

4
Replaying the entire second round after shocking refereeing decisions. Blinky McGee would be proud.

3
Sub Terry Corazzin telling the ref to "buy some f***ing contacts" after his disallowed goal against the Men In Mauve. Well worth the sending-off.

2
Krytenian fans in the cities chanting "You're Going Home In A Lilac Aeroplane" at any Starblaydi fans they happen to meet. Don't let the door hit your a**e on the way out, guys.

AND REASON NUMBER ONE:
David Usher, Penalty-Saving God.

Krytenia

Now With Added Bekk!

Posts: 661

Posted: Jan 21 2010, 12:33 AM

AOCAF28 Match Report
Wednesday 20th January 2010

Giurimano pots pair, Zolà earns clean sheet as Foxes make final four
Amidst excellent performance, "healthy, happy" Pacitalian striker denies rumours he is retiring

Alberto Vicente Marro
Fauxhan, Bazalonia

Pacitalian striker Ambrosino Giurimano used a Tuesday morning press conference to try to kill off rumours he planned to retire from international competition. Then he let his play do the talking, leading Pacitalia to a 4-0 win over Unreal229 at AOCAF28's quarterfinal round.

Giurimano's two second-half goals helped propel the Blue Foxes to their fifth consecutive semifinal birth. For Pacitalia, it's a chance to go for a third title and erase the bitter disappointment left when the Foxes lost on penalty kicks to Cafundéu in the AOCAF27 semifinal.

Pacitalia relied on an early goal from Hermès Adiarche to set the tone for the match. Collecting a Massimo da Scupeta corner high in the penalty area, the 22-year-old settled the ball and lined up for a wicked shot that curved high over the crowd and straight into the net past the Unreal229 keeper.

Andolfabio Vunghiasso doubled Pacitalia's lead five minutes before halftime, scooping up a lateral pass from Giurimano and burying his third of the tournament. The left-midfielder would return the favour a quarter-hour into the second frame, cleanly feeding Giurimano, who was unstoppable from fifteen feet out. The striker firmly launched the ball into the twine for his fifth goal in four matches at AOCAF28.

Giurimano would add his second of the match on a free kick, redirecting Adiarche's lob with a clinical header. The goal puts the Pacitalian striker in the lead for team scoring. Centre-midfielder Michelangelo Mascagnano and substitute striker Adrian Manoliu — the latter starting up front in place of Giurimano in the first two round-robin matches — are not far behind and have both scored five times. Vunghiasso and da Scupeta both have three.

At the back end of the pitch, goalkeeper and captain Abro Zolà played to a clean sheet, thanks in part to Pacitalia's back four, which supported Zolà through a full ninety minutes. Zolà faced eight shots on goal, three of which were on target. It was the Pacitalian keeper's first clean sheet so far at AOCAF28.

Pacitalia's star striker was the focus of the pre- and post-match news conferences. Giurimano denied rumours he was retiring from international competition following AOCAF28, and said he had no plans to do so.

"I feel healthy and I'm happy," the 30-year-old said. "I had a few rough patches with some bad injuries, but the recovery process has been very short each time."

Giurimano had yet another injury setback following AOCAF27, as a high ankle sprain suffered at a scrimmage back in October kept him out of both league and international action until Pacitalia's round-robin match against Cafundéu.

"I think that I've shown resilience in these instances where I have been tested by an injury," he added. "Right now, I feel like I could play international for another 10 years."

Pacitalian manager Marco van Basten agreed that Giurimano was cementing his legacy as one of the best strikers in Blue Foxes history.

"We are lucky to have had Adrian [Manoliu] step up when we don't have [Giurimano]'s services available to us [...] obviously that's always a concern when he's not in the match. But when he has been out and returned, he has consistently made a bold statement in coming back to the starting eleven."

van Basten pointed to the fact that Giurimano had put up six goals in the four matches in which he had played so far, as well as assists and set-ups on at least four other Pacitalian scores during the round-robin and knockouts.

"He has performed with distinction, and always does," van Basten added, "especially considering he has had to adjust to coming into the tournament late. That's the mark of a top-class footballer [...] you can flip a switch and it all comes right back, like they were never gone."

The Foxes are now 6-0-0 on 22 goals and seven against. Overall, the Foxes have been 29-1-1 since van Basten took over from Sergei Saganyarov prior to AOCAF25.

Pacitalia's next opponent will be the Aces, who knocked out perennial contenders and six-time champions Starblaydia in a nail-biting penalty shootout.

From AOCAF28 in Bazalonia
Pacitalia 4 : 0 Unreal229
PAC — Adiarche 16' / Vunghiasso 40' / Giurimano 61', 81'
UNR — None

Next up — PAC v KRY (SF), UNR v n/a (eliminated)

Copyright © 2010 Extra, the Pacitalian sports network | a division of News Media Group ƒSpA
http://www.extra.pc/aocaf/aocaf28/nr.gspx?sd=619997&ad=en

This post has been edited by Pacitalia on Jan 21 2010, 12:40 AM

Pacitalia

The best place on earth.

Posts: 505

Posted: Jan 23 2010, 04:15 PM

AOCAF28 Match Report
Saturday 23rd January 2010

Pacitalia to final on Sorcère's hat-trick
Region's top two sides and two most recent champions to meet in title match

Alberto Vicente Marro
Fauxhan, Bazalonia

It will be two-time AOCAF champions versus the tournament's defending title-holders in the final — and a Cup battle between the top two teams in the region — after Pacitalia and Sorthern Northland both won their semifinal contests Thursday to reach the championship match.

Both matches were hallmarks of the level of competition and skill expected in the knockout stage of the AOCAF Cup, as Sorthern Northland, in a rematch of AOCAF27's title game, finally emerged victorious following a gruelling match that went all the way to penalty kicks. The Sortherners put four past Cafundelense keeper Garrido in the penalty shootout to, once again, walk away with victory.

In the second semifinal, the Blue Foxes put four of their own past normally unbeatable Krytenian keeper David Usher, and, in a battle of offensive powerhouses, came away the winners, downing the Aces 4-2. It was Ambrosino Giurimano's sixth straight tournament with at least one three-goal performance and the Blue Foxes' fourth consecutive win over Krytenia in the knockout stage in as many tournaments.

The last time Krytenia beat Pacitalia in the knockouts, they were under their brief spell as West Starblaydia, eliminating the Blue Foxes in an epic penalty-kick round during the quarterfinals of AOCAF23.

Giurimano opened the scoring 23 minutes in, finding the lower left corner of the net on a low saucer pass from Massimo da Scupeta. The Aces would equalise not even ten minutes later, with Ricky Smeaton tucking a wicked shot past Abro Zolà in pretty much the same spot as Giurimano's opening tally.

The Pacitalian striker would restore the Blue Foxes' lead with two minutes left before the half, heading in an Andolfabio Vunghiasso corner. In the second half, Michelangelo Mascagnano scored on a free kick at the hour mark to give the Foxes their first two-goal lead of the match. Giurimano would finish off the hat-trick at 74 minutes, deking Martin Sheldon and Shaun Cansdell before sliding the ball past Usher on the outside of his right foot for the 4-1 lead.

The Aces cut the Pacitalian lead to 4-2 five minutes later but it would be little consolation. Krytenia now faces AOCAF27 runners-up Cafundéu in the third-place playoff; it's the Foxes and the Náisiúnta that will play for all the marbles in the championship match.

From AOCAF28 in Bazalonia
Pacitalia 4 : 2 Krytenia
PAC — Giurimano 23', 43', 74' / Mascagnano 60'
KRY — Smeaton 32' / Tudor 79'

Next up — PAC v SNR (F), CAF v KRY (3P)

Copyright © 2010 Extra, the Pacitalian sports network | a division of News Media Group ƒSpA
http://www.extra.pc/aocaf/aocaf28/nr.gspx?sd=620145&ad=en

This post has been edited by Pacitalia on Jan 23 2010, 04:17 PM

Pacitalia

The best place on earth.

Posts: 505

Posted: Feb 2 2010, 02:29 AM

AOCAF28 Match Report
Sunday 24th January 2010

Best, three out of four
Blue Foxes back on top after thrilling final

Alberto Vicente Marro
Fauxhan, Bazalonia

Pacitalia captured its third AOCAF Cup title Saturday evening with a tight but thrilling 2-1 victory over defending champions Sorthern Northland.

The victory reclaimed the Cup trophy for Pacitalia, who had won it in AOCAF25 and AOCAF26 but stumbled out of the tournament in the semifinals at AOCAF27 and finished third. With three titles, Pacitalia is now tied with Lamoni for fourth place on the all-time championship list, behind Starblaydia (six titles), NEWI Cefn Druids (four titles) and Vilita & Turori (four titles).

After a scoreless first half, the Blue Foxes (8-0-0) broke the deadlock with an Andolfabio Vunghiasso goal. The free-kick tally at the 50-minute mark put Pacitalia up for a mere four minutes, as reliable Sortherner forward Iñaki Arrigorriagakoa nailed a strike that beat Abro Zolà to equalise. Pacitalians of Basque descent in the crowd politely cheered Arrigorriagakoa after his goal, despite it helping the defending champs.

Ambrosino Giurimano would restore Pacitalia's lead in the 79th minute off a Massimo da Scupeta corner, sending Blue Foxes fans into a frenzy.

The title is Pacitalia's third in four tournaments and its third overall at the AOCAF championship tournament, leaving sports pundits back home to wonder whether the Blue Foxes are, as the Mandragora Guardian put it, "the new regional football dynasty". The Timiocato Post-Chronicle appeared to agree, saying in their report on the title match that the Foxes were "unbeatable" and "unstoppable".

But what do the players think after capturing a third title? Most of them were, in fact, tight-lipped when asked about the idea.

"We aren't going to subscribe to that sort of notion," Zolà, the squad's captain, said after the victory. "Our job is to come out and win matches and championships, not to try and become a dynasty."

"Obviously, we're pleased with what we've accomplished over the last few years," he added, "but we are more concerned with playing football and delivering the results we're called upon to produce rather than let silly things like that get into our heads."

Blue Foxes manager Marco van Basten, who has been integral to the success of the squad in recent tournaments where other managers have failed, said in response to Zolà's comments that he "couldn't have been any more proud" of his captain. He said Zolà's leadership during his time wearing the captain's armband has been "exceptional".

"Accepting responsibility for both his mistakes and the team's, and working harder and harder in response, is a big reason we have had so much success," van Basten said.

The FFP announced Saturday afternoon, prior to the match, that they had reached a deal on a four-tournament contract extension with van Basten, keeping him in his job as Pacitalian manager until after AOCAF32.

From AOCAF28 in Bazalonia
Sorthern Northland 1 : 2 Pacitalia
SNO — Arrigorriagakoa 54'
PAC — Vunghiasso 50' / Giurimano 79'

Copyright © 2010 Extra, the Pacitalian sports network | a division of News Media Group ƒSpA
http://www.extra.pc/aocaf/aocaf28/nr.gspx?sd=620604&ad=en