retired_charytine

KUTGW :thup:

retired_swmchick2006

A feckin' interesting start. :thup:

First story I've had time to read in ages too, and it's a class one.

retired_w0lfpack1

Thanks, guys. I needed a change of pace from 'Blade, and for whatever reason, I really enjoyed FIFA'98: Road To the World Cup. The FM'08 international features have really piqued my interest.. I guess I needed to get a head start!

And welcome back, attjen! Glad to see you registered to vote.

retired_w0lfpack1

"It's too cold for football," Gunnar told his coaches, raising his voice to be heard over the howling wind.

"Let's go drink," suggested Iceland Under-21's manager Lúkas Kostic.

"Ya, ya, I know a good place," chimed in assistant manager Logi Ólafsson.

There wasn't a match for months yet.

So they did.

retired_w0lfpack1

Peter had started preparations for Nigeria's March friendly, but, being 29, and a product of the Internet generation, he was mult-tasking - that is to say, easily distracted.

He was currently entertaining himself with the national pool, that is to say, he was constructing the all-Nigeria-amusing-names lineup.

He was short a goalkeeper, but other than that he had a perfect 4-4-2: Temple Moneke, Kingsley Elvis, Danny Shittu, and Friday Ego in defense, with a diamond midfield of Blessing Kaku, Pius Ikedia, Sunday Johnson, and Bright Igbinadalor. As I striker, he supposed Late Edeche was better than 'never'.

It had all started, of course, when he'd found the file on the guy who was still his favourite: the second striker, Thankgod Amaefule.

retired_w0lfpack1

Alan knocked back another espresso; it had been a feckin' miserable two weeks, but he'd found an apartment, finished his all-too-brief tryouts, submitted his squad, and pencilled in something approaching a starting lineup.

It wasn't .. ideal .. but then how could it be, considering the revolt on his hands?

GK Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, 28, 56 caps, FC Nordsjælland:
Brilliant but eccentric, the sort of man who can stop a Thierry Henry one moment, then concede to a 17-year-old the next. Infinitely better than the next option, but Alan suspected that as Yoshi went, so would his squad, especially considering the defense in front of him.

DC Koji Maeda, 35, uncapped, Volca Kagoshima:
Thirty-five might be a bit late for a first cap, but he felt he needed the experience in the back line. Decent height, determination, and good decision-making make him better than younger, faster players.

DC Yoshifumi Ohno, 25, uncapped, Suizuoka FC:
The tallest player on a short side, he's also the slowest. Solid defensive attributes will make him a starter, but his pace is a real liability.

D R Takashi Fukaya, 22, uncapped, Vila Nova:
Young, but decent across the board and hard working. He wouldn't be able to carry the load against a Germany or Brazil, but against Oman he should be more than enough.

D/DM RL Naruyuki Naito, 36, uncapped, Volca Kabushima:
Excellent defensive positioning; solid starter-quality. His work rate and teamwork should be a major asset, and he takes a fine penalty. Alan just hoped he wouldn't retire before the World Cup proper.

MC Shinji Ono, 24, £3.8M, 49 caps, 4 goals, Feyenoord:
A brilliant creative player who plays with real flair, excellent technique, and impeccable balance, Ono will be the midfield playmaker of the side.

AM C Hidetoshi Nakata, 27, £6.0M, 48 caps, 9 goals, Fiorentina:
Similarly creative, if not as brilliant, with tireless stamina, excellent technique, and a Serie A player's ability to score from long range.

AM/F RC Takashi Shoji, 32, uncapped, Sun Miyazaki:
The starting right winger, apparently, though Alan could have wished for better from such an experienced player. He's quick, he plays well, but his concentration wanders something awful.

AM/F LC Shunsuke Nakamura, 25, £4.8M, 23 caps, 5 goals, Reggina:
Plays in the Serie A and looks it. Will be the sides dead-ball specialist, but also brings flair and creativity to the left wing. His technique is as good as anybody's, and his crosses are quite good, but Alan would encourage him to keep it on the ground and cut inside at times.

F LC Naohiro Takahara, 24, £1.7M, 29 caps, 12 goals, Hamburger SV:
With typical Bundesliga strength and stamina, he's a composed finisher with a fine first touch.

AM/F C Masakiyo Maezono, 30, 24 caps, 4 goals, Incheon United:
Tokyo-born, but plying his trade in South Korea, this diminuitive forward has good first touch and technique, but doesn't show the composure or concentration Alan would prefer in front of goal. He doesn't work hard, and he's selfish; he may find himself out of the starting lineup if he can't produce.

Though he was a bit worried by the lack of international experience at the back, he thought that lineup ought to be sufficient against lowly Oman, especially in Tokyo.

On the substitutes' bench, he would have:

SC Yoshika Matsubara, 29, uncapped, Okinawa Kariyushi:
Quicker and more composed, this brave striker has the determination, teamwork, and work rate that one would expect of a natural leader, and Alan was fairly surprised he'd never been called up previously. He should be particularly dangerous off the bench in the final thirty minutes.

AM LC Ippei Saga, 23, uncapped, Okinawa Kariyushi:
Still learning his trade, one of a dime-a-dozen players who could fill the left wing for a League One side, but don't belong in a World Cup squad.

DM LC Satoru Noda, 34, uncapped, Volca Kagoshima:
Slow and short, this veteran makes up for that with upper-body strength and wily anticipation. He's determined, with good passing and dribbling, and an overall polish to his game that most of the other uncapped players lack.

DM C Junichi Inamoto, 24, £2.6M, 50 caps, 4 goals, West Bromwich Albion:
With excellent first touch and off the ball motion, he's one of the most consistently talented players on the squad, adept at but falling just short of excelling at everything he turns his hand to. He'll be the first player off the bench at need, and Alan expected him to start many a game along the way.

D RL Ryo Ohishi, 26, uncapped, Sun Miyazaki:
A distinctly average fullback whose determination and aggression might make him a yellow-card liability, but whose anticipation could make him an asset off the bench.

DC Yuki Sakai, 18, uncapped, Albirex Niigata:
The future of Japanese defending, but not quite ready to carry the load just yet.

GK Takaya Nakamura, 25, uncapped, Shizuoka FC:
The next best goalkeeper, but he was cover-your-eyes awful, a true last resort. Injury to Kawaguchi would be devastating.

Filling out the 26-man roster, but not expected to participate, were:

DC Kazuya Iio, 23, uncapped, Okinawa Kariyushi:
Potential captain material already, with his teamwork, leadership, and work rate, but aside from a winning personality he's a distinctly average defender.

D/DM R Shuichi Kamimura, 22, uncapped, Volca Kabushima:
Another cover-your-eyes last resort, Kamimura made the squad because he at least has the decision-making to play away from his many weaknesses.

D/DM C Yoshinori Doi, 31, uncapped, Ome FC Taiken:
Probably the best player outside of the eighteen-man roster, with good passing and teamwork, and a scattering of decent skills. Unfortunately, his concentration lets this hard working midfielder down.

D/DM C Daisuke Nitta, 23, uncapped, Shizuoka FC:
Reasonable marking, passing, and teamwork, but little else to recommend him.

AM LC Shinya Shirakawa, 22, uncapped, Honda Lock:
Similar to Saga, with better decision-making, but poor concentration.

AM R Tatsuru Ito, 25, uncapped, UES Montmorillonaise:
Plays his professional football in France, where he's a hard-working winger for a lower-division club. Not particularly talented; a backup at best.

F RLC Ryuji Sueoka, 24, uncapped, Albirex Niigata:
If sheer willpower and concentration could fashion goals, this player would be the next Alan Shearer. Unfortunately, scoring takes talent, as well.

SC Ryo Sakai, 26, uncapped, Okinawa Kariyushi:
Middling-quick, hard-working, but not much of an asset in front of goal.

Unfortunately, he had yet to find a translator, which made it difficult to give any sort of tactical instruction to the players.

While they'd all supposedly had English in school, only two of them actually spoke a word of it, and he couldn't be sure at all how much the others understand. They smiled and nodded, and followed his hand gestures attentively ..

But the fact that he could sense obvious confusion in the hurried Japanese dialogs that inevitably followed his descriptions left him feeling a little less than confident.

Still, it was a simple 4-4-2, nothing complicated.

It should be easy enough, Alan told himself. It's just Oman.

What could possibly go wrong?

retired_w0lfpack1

Wednesday, 18th February, 2004. World Cup Qualifying: Oman at Japan

Feck,

Alan thought, not for the last time.

Feck, feck, feck.

It had all started so brightly.. at least until the national anthems finished.

From the opening whistle, Oman had been the better side.

Theyab Al-Jamman's early effort served as a warning; it should have been a goal. He had a scandalous fifteen metres between himself and the nearest defender, and only an inspired one-on-one save by Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi had saved Alan from a fourth-minute embarassment.

The rest of the first half had seen chances for both sides - Oman were finding altogether too much space in between the four debutante defensemen, but their shooting was woefully errant. Japan had less space to work with, but more talented in their boots; it all evened out, with shots inches wide, or too close to the keeper.

It was still nil-nil at halftime. He could feel the weight of a nation upon his shoulders, and a flock.. herd? .. flight? .. of butterflies were trying to churn butter in his stomach as he addressed his players.

Or didn't, team talks not having been invented yet.

Which was just as well, as he didn't speak a word of Japanese anyways.

The nightmare worsened just after the intermission, when Abdul Al-Husaini outjumped Naruyuki Naito to head home Al-Gareet's cross. The boos began to rain down from 50,000 Japanese fans who had expected an easy win. Luckily, the linesman ruled that the midfielder had been offsides, and called it back, but it was still a dire sight.

"Quit giving the ball away!" he shouted, but there was no telling if they'd understood. Judging from results, probably not.

Al-Moffarij headed over the bar, Al-Jamman hit one high and wide, Al-Ahmadi struck the crossbar, Al-Borji blazed a shot over the bar, and Al-Qarni forced another save from Kawaguchi; it was one-way traffic and then some.

Every Japanese attack ended in disaster, the boos were ringing down, and Alan felt so trapped in nightmare he forgot to make his second-half substitutions until the 89th minute.

It probably wouldn't have made a difference, he consoled himself.

Japan 0, Oman 0
- - - - ; - - - -
MoM: Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Japan GK)

He felt sick to his stomach.

Feck!

retired_w0lfpack1

Hmmm.. why are teams in the Middle East buying up Colombian players?

Claude duBois wondered.

His experience in the French leagues had taught him to watch the transfer wire, and even though he was no longer managing a club, he was, as was his wont, keeping up.

Saudia Arabian club Al Nassr had bought two fullbacks, MedellÃ*n's Ricardo Calle and CPD Junior's César Augusto Fawcett, for 1.1M each. The Junior fans were rightly up in arms about it - the 19-year-old was considered one of the club's best prospects.

When Al Ain of the U.A.E. bought goalkeeper David González for 1.3M two days later, Claude smelled a rat.

Now why would two Middle Eastern clubs made three big-money acquisitions of no-name Colombian players in the span of three days?

retired_w0lfpack1

Anguilla, then, Tobias thought to himself, looking over the results from February's matches.

The U.S.A. had been drawn against the winner of the Anguilla versus Saint Luica first-round match, and Anguilla had won the first leg, on the road, 1-0.

Unfortunately, Tobias was looking at an American newspaper, and that was all the information it gave. Just the score, in small print in a statistics section near the back of the sports page.

No formation, no lineup, nothing, he thought. Its like they don't even know who we play next.

Unfortunately for him, that wasn't true. It was much, much worse.

They just didn't care.

retired_jgirl87

Ah, most interesting. I will be reading. :thup: