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S.125 CL&SC Group Stage Summary (26/03/2015 13:58)

 

 

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The Group Stage is over with some surprisng names founding themselves out of the Knouckout on Friday.

Above all, holders Fatal Justice got knocked out after finishing 3rd in Group 5. The Australians lost twice, including a surpsiring lose to 4th placed team Hentridge FC, as they finished 4pts behind the group winners Romanian MIC (Maria Ioana Campioana) and Greek LIBERTY FC. Their manager, Roscopp, commented: "My team's performance suffered significantly this season as a result of losing 30 team stats just before season change. No doubt the lower stats induce performance and discipline issues which flowed through the results. 2 player send-off's early on in both group matches I lost, cost dearly".

Another top club who found itself eliminated is Norwegian Massive Attack. It has been almost 50 seasons since the last and maybe only appearance of the Norwegians in the CL Knockouts and the fans thought that their strong team can make it but they were a point short of 2nd.

However, most favourites did qualify including 6 teams that have won the CL before and other 3 that made it to the Final.
One of them is Blest who made history 2 seasons ago when they became the first team ever to win the CL 4 times. Can they be also the first ever team to win 5 times? "I'm already historic so I play without pressure, I'm not the favourite either. I do see myself as 1 of 11 teams that can win MLCL this season" said Roggbif, Blest manager.

Another recent Champions are English Giarra Djinns and they will play LIBERTY FC. "Always a tough game against the Greeks. He has beaten me once in the CL and team stats are going down too. Should be a fairly even game and I'm hopin to come up in trumps" said Advent the manager. The Djinns made it to the CL final in the last two seasons but lost both. Can they win the CL for the third time? "Let's see if I can get to the finals again and then hopefully not lose out for the 3rd time".

The English league is very proud this season as all of its teams in both Champions League and Super Cup made it to the Knockouts! Very impressive! However, this season's CL Round of 16 features a high number of leagues represented. 16 teams from 14 different leagues will play on Friday noon for the top 8.

From all these teams, only one is a debutant to this stage. Humble Danish team FC Vegan impressed everyone in Group 6 and despite 2 loses, they finished 2nd and will play on Friday. I tried to interview FC Vegan's manager but he decided to comment about politics involving my origins. So I will use this platform to send my massage: This game doesn't involve politics and I don't represent my government. Please leave the politics and hatred outside of ML, thanks!

Every one of Friday's fixtures is a great one, but above all there is the Blest vs LoD (Lions of Darkness) tie. Both teams are big names, both have won the CL before, both managers are skilled and experienced. This could have been a Final match and DJ Blog will give you a full report of this match tomorrow.

Round of 16 Fixtures:

Blest (Norway) - LoD (England)
Darkness Endures (Belgium) - Manfredonia (Italy)
FC GPRO (Germany) - Munchen Carpet (International)
Minted FC (England) - Indonesian Legends (Indonesia)
MIC (Romania) - FC Vegan (Denmark)
Giarra Djinns (England) - LIBERTY FC (Greece)
AKNEO (Poland) - High Society (USA)
Galacticos (Australia) - FC BOHD* (Netherlands)

 

 

*FC BOHD - FC bal op het dak


Unlike the CL, the Super Cup Group Stage had only minor upsets. Australian FC Adelaide Crows and Swedish Verita et Aequitas were favourites to advance but they can blame the odd group draw of the system who put many strong teams in the same group. Most favourties made it to the KOs including American Brad G Strikers. 

The strikers, past champions of the CL, are the only team this season in the Super Cup that won all of its games in the group stage and they weren't easy! Group 8 featured top names like KA Barcelona and Verita et Aequitas, and also experienced teams such as RKS Motor, Classic Ipswich, FC Knudde and Lygby BK. This is one of the reasons that the Americans are hot favourites to win the Super Cup.

It is rare to see a Super Cup winner that have won it before, and it is even more rare to see a team winning it back to back. That is something holders East Yorkshire FC will try to do. "Blest won it back to back S104 & 105 but it would be nice to win this season and it is my aim" said Sarge, East Yorkshires' manager, "Hopefully I will qualify for the CL but if I qualify for the SC and win it this season, I will aim to be the first to win it 3 times!".
About his opponent on Friday Sarge said: " I have never played them and they do look strong. However, Sandmen [another English side that made it through in the SC] beat them in the group stage so I feel quite confident that I should win the game but you can never know!". Sarge promised his fans that if they are to win on Friday, he will sign a new player to strengthen his midfield and improve the team's chances to win the Super Cup.

The Super Cup is a great platform for new top teams, who failed to qualify for the CL, to taste International competition. So this is no surprise that they feature a lot of debutatns in both Group Stages and KOs. However, one team have made it extraordinary this season. Sandmen from England, have never played in the SC or CL before and they won their group on their first season. Sandmen's manager, Major Tom, was excited when I talked to him: "I'm really happy about getting thorugh the Knockouts, it was my aim at the start of the season, so every SC game will be a bonus now and the windfall from ML for getting through. Even though, it was a nice surprise as I didn't expect that". About his rare achievment Tom said: "I play in the English League, which is tough and competitive and it was a great help for my International debut. It is a great opportunity to mix with other Leagues' managers.".
Tom praised his players: "My players are a mediocre, low budget bunch, but they have played out of their skins to get this far and I'm more than pleased with what they have achieved. I play every game to win and I will keep trying it every game". Tom commented about the critics about his club's poor league performance:
"My squad is small and doesn't have the depth of Quality I would like, so our position has tumbled to the Red Zone but the SC is my top Priority and whatever happens, I'd like to think I will return bigger, better and with more knowledge!"

Tough fixtures await us but the toughest one is between Raus Finest and Invisible Sun. The Norwegians have won the Super Cup a couple of seasons ago and are considered favourites, the Indonesians are CL regulars but never won a KO match. The clash between them could prove to be the most interesting on Friday.

Round of 16 Fixtures:

Raus Finest (Norway) - Invisible Sun (Indonesia)
FC Inter Ardud (Romania) - CHARLYALIKANTE (Spain)
AFC Dzhebel United (Bulgaria) - TRIFYLLI (Greece)
Las Leonas (Argentina) - Nemesis FC (Romania)
East Yorkshire FC (England) - CheatAh (Indonesia)
Sandmen (England) - NaftaDon Bourgas (Bulgaria)
The Invincibles (International) - KA Barcelona (Hungary)
Brad G Strikers (USA) - APACHE (Greece)

 

 


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adamantine wrote:
23:19 26/03 2015
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Great blog DonJuan1991! Such blogs loke yours keep the spirit of Managerleague alive! Keep on doing it!

DonJuan1991 wrote:
08:30 27/03 2015
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 Many thanks adamantine :)

I try my best!

 

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