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Welcome to the Thirteenth A.O.C.A.F. Championship, hosted by the nation that inaugrated the tournament, Krytenia. In the forty-eight years since NEWI Cefn Druids came off the beach to lift the inaugral trophy, we've seen the sport, and the tournament, progress in leaps and bounds. Four years ago, Sarzonia became the trophy's fith winner: will we see a new nation lift the trophy again, or can one of the old hands take what was theirs? Will there even be a victory for the hosts?
Stay tuned to find out! |
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Krytenia |
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Now With Added Bekk! |
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And so it's that time again when the mighty Aroras, fresh from their goalscoring exploits in the World Cup, arrive in sunny Krytenia to see if they can finally make an impact in the world's greatest regional tournament.
Their first opponents? A resurgent Legalese over at Aigburth's ArenaWest, a smart modern ground with a capacity just a couple of hundred shy of 45000. They may have spent a few years in the footballing wilderness, but we discount the Legal ones at our peril lest they give us a nasty shock (like having an Arora as a mascot - now that would be shocking).
Having had the opportunity to rest his first team, manager Stuart Abdul-Rahim looks set to stick with his familiar starting eleven, with the feared strike partnership of Hutton, Hunter and York looking to tear their opponents to shreds - and then score a goal or two.
Roared on by thousands of Arora Boyz in the ground itself along with a few hundred thousand in the vicinity, Bettia will be hoping that perhaps 13 will indeed be unlucky for some... well, not the ones in green and gold anyway. With tough teams such as Vilita, The Lowland Clans and Milchama lying in wait ahead, the Aroras will need as much luck as possible if they are to progress past the group stage for just the second time in their history.
COME ON YOU 'RORAS!
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Bettia |
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We don't do defence |
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Stars set to defend AOCAF title
Fresh off their emergence from the ranks of the AOCAF also-rans, the Sarzonian second choice national football team enters the 13th AOCAF tournament in an unfamiliar position. Unlike the previous 12 tournaments when the Stars came in hungry for their first regional trophy, the Stars will come in looking to fend off challenges to their new status as the region's top-ranked side.
Coach Dave Wilson said his task will be to evaluate the players who make up this Stars side and see if a team that has enjoyed success against collections of Under 21 national sides and second choice outfits can show the determination Wilson expects from those who don the Stars kit.
"After our disappointing finish to World Cup XXVII, we're going to look to see who's going to have the fire in their belly to atone for that in World Cup XXVIII," he said. "That's what I'm looking for here. To see who can handle adversity and who can deal with success."
For his part, Wilson will leave the tactical decisions to assistant coach Brett Hancock, much as he did in AOCAF XII. Wilson said "why spoil what's worked here," when asked why he would spend the bulk of his time in the luxury suite in the stadium mezzanine rather than on the sidelines cajoling his players. "Brett brought this team to a finals appearance when I was coaching the Hyppos and he was calling the shots when I was back with the Stars. He needs to have the opportunity to continue to show himself as a favourite for the job when I stop coaching."
Hancock said he would start Dean Franks in goal instead of AOCAF XII most outstanding player Marty Tolliver, saying "Marty didn't put the work in during training that we expected. If Marty wants the job back, he's going to have to put the time and effort in like every other player. There are no superstars on this team, or more accurately, no superstar egos allowed."
Wilson supported the move, saying "Horace [Sandt, the legendary goalkeeper for the Stars] worked harder than anyone except perhaps Brian [Wilson, Sarzonia's all-time leading goal scorer]. Marty's not going to waltz in after loading up on Pringles or Blue Fox Ale and expect to earn his job by default."
Tolliver declined several requests to comment.
The team opens its Group C schedule against Nojika. |
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Sarzonia |
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It's all about the Navy. |
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AOCAF Back In Spiritual Home
Deep down south, Starblaydia go a-hunting
Yeah, yeah, we know: Starblaydia missed the first AOCAF in Krytenia. Still, they haven't done too badly in the succeeding eleven tournaments, what with winning a joint-record four of them. Remember those epic tussles with the nearly-forgotten NEWI Cefn Druids that brought Starblaydia their first Final and then their first Championship? Thought not, it was nigh-on forty years ago.
Those were the days, when the too-young, too-old and not-good-enough players from Starblaydia turned out to kick everyone else's second-rate-asses for the premier Regional crown in the world. Oh wait, we still do that, right?
Well, not quite. Hypocria and Sarzonia have been the two teams in recent years that have taken the crowd before Starblaydia's grubby little dictatorial hands could get to it. However, with an upturn in Starblaydia's World fortunes since losing their World Championship, a third-place at the last AOCAF - in Chicanada - has seen them seeded second for this tournament, behind champions Sarzonia and perennial rivals Vilita.
As young a team as this is - Kaminsky, 18; Soperra, 18; Keifner, 19 - there is some real experience here in the form of Captain Danzir Garahildim, Heider Steffanson, Mercutio and Reynaldo. Don't forget, of course, that Garahildim, Mercutio and Reynaldo are all World Cup Winners, so they have the experience to steer Starblaydia's younglings to the title.
A record-breaking fifth title it'll be, too, should it come to fruition.
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Neil Kabants lead the Bazalope team to Krytenia. Their first AOCAF, no one really knew what to expect.. some of the nations where familiar but others where not. The Bazalopes did not even really know how it was structured. All they knew was it was another Soccer tournament they where entering. |
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Bazalonia |
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Eating A Bazalope Burger |
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Alexandria Times-Tribune-Post-Gazette-Chronicle-Journal-Enquirer
Sports Section
MFA still not sure about team selection
The MFA now has one of the greatest dillemas a football association can have on its hands at the current moment. It has two competitions to go too at the same time with no competition taking precedence over the other. Both the Dragonnii Invitational and AOCAF tournaments are taking place at the same time and the MFA according to President Calvin Chintermantomantoman are, "In a big dillema which has no right answer. We are asking each player which tournament they would rather play in and some have said the Invitational while other have said AOCAF. As of right now we know this much here will be some of the roster for each tournament that we shall release today. The official rosters of who plays where along with bios shall be done sometime tommorow we guarantee."
So here are the rosters for the Dragonii Invitational so far:
Gk: Tuck Koolerc
D: Mariosz Florfenord
D: Kyoga Marcazumi
M: Chuck Farenstein
M: Marcus Lyles
F: Floren Albentine
F: J.J. Faren
F: Kelvin Joseph
And for the AOCAF tournament this is the roster so far:
Gk: Clay Finton
D: Silas Milckey
D: Keith Fleesh
M: Darian Flinters
M: Marin Miller
M: Jonny Rintell
F: Marc J. Floren
F: Matt Bantin
F: Aaron Kary
All: Kevin Grensboro |
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Mystical Unicorns In Group D
Dorian and Sonya have prepared as best they can for their first entry into the AOCAF. With an untested squad, an untested coach, and Starblaydia in the group - we have very little hope of moving on.
But we wont let the players know that. Let's take a look at the group.
GROUP D:
STARBLAYDIA
BEDISTAN
LAMONI
PACITALIA
MYRTANNIA
DORIAN & SONYA
Starblaydia is a team we would normally avoid at all costs, but fate has chosen to let us take our beating from them.
Bedistan - see comment for Starblaydia
Lamoni. We know nothing of this squad but we are very confident they will fill us in on MD1. And they probably wont be nice about it either.
Pacitalia. Hmmm.........Maybe a point - if we have luck on our side - and maybe a sniper hidden in the stands.
Myrtannia. These guys talk even more than we do. That says something. It should be a great match.
Predictions: Starblaydia should win the group easily. Everyone else will fight it out for second. We will probably bring up the rear unless we do put that sniper in place. |
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Starblaydia To Face Pacitalia In Opener - Again
Fixtures not released, Team unable to prepare properly
Geraint Evans, Starblaydi AOCAF Manager, has blasted the Krytenian Football Association after their failure to provide a full fixture list for the Group Stage.
"All I know is that we're playing Pacitalia first," Evans, 57, said, "after that? Could be anyone. We have no idea who's next out of the rest of the group, we can only prepare so much for it."
Evans, a former Starblaydi midfielder who won 48 caps for his country, declined to entertain the suggestion that the Krytenian squad would surely know the sequence of their upcoming opponents. He did, however, concede that 'everyone should be at this same level with the lack of preparation'.
Starblaydia's first opponents, for the second tournament in a row, will be Pacitalia. This, once again, should be a good opportunity for all the many Starblaydi students in Pacitalian Universities to get drunk and go party, as if they needed another excuse. Four years ago this match provided somewhat of a shock as a 2-2 draw was the outcome, with Starblaydi goals from veterans Zhorin Tumunzahar and Lazaro Rivera. |
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Dryads Draw Group D
In what will be the fourth regional sporting event the Allied States has participated in, the Myrtannia Dryads enter their first AOCAF. Sporting one of the youngest squads in the field, and little experience beyond domestic inter-scholastic levels, the Myrtannian squad will undoubtedly get trounced by the more experienced teams.
"At this stage, we're not worried about wins and losses," commented 16-year-old forward Dania Figary, "We're here to have fun, get experience, and get exercise."
It is unlikely that Myrtannia will move past the round robin stage, but it should be good experience for the young Dryads. In their group lays one of the powerhouses of AO football - four time AOCAF champion Starblaydia. Here's our look at Group D:
Starblaydia - should easily trounce the young Myrtannians in one of those 'out there for the exercise' matches for the Dryads.
Bedistan - Another experienced AOCAF competitor, though not as heralded as Starbladyia. Look for another thrashing of the Dryads here.
Lamoni - Regional neighbors have never finished better than thrid overall in the AOCAF, but have tons of experience at this level. Say hello to Mr. Thrashing Number Three.
Pacitalia - If the Dryads get lucky, they might make a game of it... for about five minutes.
Dorian and Sonya - Another young, first time entrant into the AOCAF, and the one team Myrtannia might be able to have a good match with. Could end up either way.
Predictions: Starblaydia takes the group's top spot, hands down. The battle for second will probably includ Bedistan, Pacitalia and Lamoni. Expect the Dryads to finish dead last. |
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Starblaydia Draw Pacitalia In Opener - Again!
'Lack of experience' cited as Starblaydia fail to win
Four years ago it was too many old guys and not enough presence at the back. Now, four years later, it's too many young guys and not enough class at the front.
Though Johan Keifner, just nineteen years old, was a force to be reckoned with up front throughout the entire game, the complete lack of understanding with Tommy Nixon was evident throughout their appearance together. Though Ajaccio was brought on in place of 'Tricksy Nicksy' to freshen up Starblaydia's attack towards the end, there was little hiding of the fact that in both the midfield and up front, Starblaydia's Second Team require someone who can put the ball in the net.
Keifner did, however, open the scoring after less than twenty minutes, bringing a long ball down with his chest, jinking past a defender and smashing the ball past the despairing Pacitalian 'keeper. With that piece of individual skill, however, the Pacitalian team was inspired and quickly came back to equalise just six minutes later.
This match showed very little promise throughout the nintey minutes, broken only by occasional pieces of mediocrity. Petyr Kaminsky had some good touches, as did Marissa Cortez and Ajaccio when they were introduced, but ultimately this game represented a Starblaydi failure.
Must do better.
Final Score from Oxley Park:
Starblaydia 1 - 1 Pacitalia
(Keifner 18) - (Charisteas 24) |
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"It couldn't have been better." by Nev Gould
Both Neil Kabants, the Bazalope coach and JAmes Gaines, head of the BFSA James Gaines could not be happier with the Bazalopes first encounter against Hypocria. Peter "Wolfie" Hobble and Anthony Creek combined to score the first goal for the Bazalopes and the Match this was in the 19th minute. Anthony made a well placed pass to find Peter Hobble Virtually unguarded. Instead of a somewhat normal celebration Wolfie, fll down and his knees and had a quick pray before his teammates came and celebrated in their more normal way.
The Other goals where scored by Michael Irchov and James Kantwell in the 54tth and 70th minutes respectively. It is good to see such a spread of goals. For now it will be a team goal effort rather than a one man Peter Hobble Show. Which will build team unity and self-confidence in all it's members. Particularily if we win like we did the other day.
Te Hypocrian team scored one goal and is not really worth my time exaplaining about it. Final Score, 3-1. |
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Bazalonia |
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Eating A Bazalope Burger |
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Posts: 774 |
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Lamoni off to good start in AOCAF XIII
The Hawks are off to a good start in AOCAF XIII with a 3-2 victory over Dorian & Sonya. Clinton Linwood and Ted Ruder scored the Lamonian goals. While Dorian & Sonya was able to score two goals (including one freak goal on a corner kick), it didn't matter as Lamoni was able to walk away with this one.
Lamoni has been drawn into Group D in this AOCAF, where they will be in a big battle to determine who gets second place.
GROUP D:
STARBLAYDIA
BEDISTAN
LAMONI
PACITALIA
MYRTANNIA
DORIAN & SONYA
As you can see from the listing, Lamoni will be facing other experienced AOCAF nations that would like nothing better than to advance to the knockouts. Of course, what AOCAF would be complete without regional rivals Starblaydia being in our AOCAF group? We just hope that their opening day draw with Pacitalia is a sign of things to come. Now we come to our predictions for how this group will fare (and forgive us our Pro-Lamoni bias)...
Starblaydia: We've been in the same group as our regional rivals for I forget how many AOCAFs in a row. What normally happens is that Starblaydia ends up first in the group while Lamoni is second. Could a repeat happen here?
Bedistan: One of Lamoni's rivals for second place in the group, this will be a must win game for Lamoni if they hope to advance.
Pacitalia: See Bedistan.
Myrtannia: Our geographical neighbors are in their first AOCAF. We feel that they will end up in the spot just above last place in the group. With this many experienced and hungry to advance AOCAF teams in Group D, they will get pounded.
Dorian & Sonya: Our pick for last place in Group D. We know our Myrtannians, and we feel that they will be more than a match for Dorian & Sonya. Our apologies for the poundings that both Myrtannia and Dorian & Sonya will get.
Lamoni: We will be pounding it out against both Bedistan and Pacitalia for second place in Group D. While we have more AOCAF experice than both of these teams, that does not mean that we will just steamroll over either squad. We'll also be expecting to lose to Starblaydia (AGAIN). Though, we can't wait to see Starblaydia's reaction when Lamoni finally wins a game against them. |
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Lamoni |
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Democratic Maniac |
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Unicorns Apologize for Not Taking Pounding By Lamoni
They new we were there.
Dorian and Sonya got off to a great start in their first appearance in the AOCAF. No, we didnt win the match. But a one point loss in which we scored twice on the 13th ranked team in the region isnt bad at all.
Lamoni raced out to a great start in the match, quickly taking a 2-0 lead before halftime. It was the second half where things heated up for the Unicorns. In the 49th minute Audrey Susan made a brilliant steal and found Mac Brochet in the penalty area. The beautiful move that insued resulted in an easy goal and the Unicorns were back in business.
What Lomoni news has reported as a "freak goal on a corner kick" was actually a combination of great play by the Unicorns and botched defense by the Hawks. How 4'9" Estrella Finau managed to come up with a header for goal on a corner kick is beyond explanation. Call it "freak" if you want - the goal still counts.
Lamoni won the match on an excellent play late that gave them their 3-2 victory. But we just have one question - Where was the pounding? We know. It's on MD2 as we face off against Starblaydia. |
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Sea Dragons Ready To Make Noise
ASMV returns to the AOCAF with a point to prove. Last time around we defeated Starblaydia with the "B" squad and held onto that last qualifying match when the Purple People Eaters managed to slip by us and send us home. Since then, we have been on a roll that we hope to continue here. 4th place in CoH, and our first WC qualification experience. Now the WC squad is here for the regional tourney and ready to do some damage.
Group A is where we must try to do that. Krytenia, Spruitland, Hypocria, and Bazalonia stand in ourt way. Looking at the other groups, we got lucky. The Hyppos will be tough to beat as they try for a repeat of AOCAFXI when they won it all. But we do have to like our chances.
MD1 gave ASMV a free day to size up the competition. And it was a bit surprising. Spruitland and Krytennia played out 90 minutes of complete boredom as their match ended in a 0-0 draw.
And the surprise of the day saw the Bazalopes down the Hyppos 3-1. Hypocrian luck is one of the constants in life it seems.
That sets up our first match against those very same Bazalopes. They will be riding high on the wind of their upset today, but we will deflate their mood and send them crashing back to the real world.
We do have an answer for their one big name. We will be all too happy to introduce Peter Hobble to defensive knee-breaker, Micah Swift early and often. Clash of the Titans in that matchup. It's everywhere else on the field that we will win the match. The Banta-N'Bai brothers, Evan Evans, Pablo Iglesias, and Porche Alexander - They are all here - and they just added Bazalope to the Sea Dragon Menu. |
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Two goals, two points
Blue Foxes get down and dirty to draw Starblaydia
"One goal for you, one goal for me. One point for you, one point for me."
That's the story of the evening after Pacitalia and Starblaydia opened the AOCAF tournament by facing each other for the second-straight time. And just like last time, the Blue Foxes held a crafty Protectorate squad to a draw in front of 56,603 fans at a packed Oxley Park in Everton City.
The Starblaydis drew first blood on the excellent play of Johan Keifner and by the 18th minute the "purple, black and gold" were on top thanks to his footwork. But the Blue Foxes were far from done - with various news sources pitting the Foxes as a strong contender for second in a tough Group D, Andreos Charisteas came right back, scoring six minutes later to equalise. That was all for scoring as the game ended in a draw - for the second-straight AOCAF.
Pacitalia now has two more crucial matches to go, playing fellow contenders Bedistan at New Osteria, and then Lamoni and Dorian and Sonya in the Krytenian city of Simpson, before facing Myrtannia back in New Osteria to round out the group stage. With any luck, Pacitalia will find itself in a position to qualify in AOCAF13 from Krytenia.
Our predictions
1 - Starblaydia (3-1-1)
2 - Lamoni (2-2-1, 2nd by GD)
3 - Bedistan (2-2-1, 3rd by GD)
4 - Pacitalia (2-2-1, 4th by GD)
5 - Myrtannia (1-2-2)
6 - Dorian and Sonya (1-0-5)
Pacitalia 1 : 1 Starblaydia
STB: Keifner 18'
PAC: Charisteas 24'
This post has been edited by Pacitalia on Apr 6 2006, 01:21 AM |
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Pacitalia |
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The best place on earth. |
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