2025-12-23, 12:29 PM - Word count:
JUST A BIG LEAP AWAY
As season 23 comes to a close, Romana and London both find themselves in a strange position. Both teams have been lucky and unlucky this season. If the scale tipped more one way or the other, that was up to others to decide. What was undeniable was the improvement both teams saw. 10th for Romana last season and 12th for London. 17 and 1 points for the teams. To now sitting in 7th with 25 points and 9th with 24.
I came to this organization with an ambitious goal, to get both teams into Division 1 for season 24. Pretty lofty for where we were just a season ago. But I fully believed we could do it. In reality, I never really thought we could get both, though I hoped of course and did my best to achieve it. However, I was still going to call it a success if we got one team in. Now we stand on the edge of both teams dropping to Division 2 and our goals are one big leap away.
Let's talk about Romana first, as they have a slightly better chance of getting into Division 1. Their last two games are Reykjavik and Shanghai. Both are very good teams and are naturally above Romana in the table. Though not as far as you might think considering the TPE gap between the organizations. As of MD20, Shanghai stand in 4th with 31 points and Reykjavik in 5th with 27. As you can see, only 6 and 2 points ahead. In the first Romana game against Reykjavik they lost 5-2 to the old champions of the SSL, though their last league title was in season 20. It wasn't a pretty game either, full domination and a showing of what Reyk was. Nevertheless, Romana have learned to roll with the punches and adapt to the best of their ability. We shall see if they prepared anything for their second clash as the old giant refuses to be brought down to Division 2.
Now we turn to Shanghai, the worse half of the Marco Polo derby. I only half jest. The last game against the Chinese dragon ended in a well fought 3-3 draw, with Romana clawing back a point in the final minutes of the game. As they were the first time around, Shanghai come as favorites into the 2nd Marco Polo derby of the season. Shanghai has slowly been climbing ever since their founding in season 20. Finishing 9th thrice, tough in the third season there were 2 additional teams in the league, before finally exploding onto the scene as they find themselves in 4th and potentially fighting for 3rd. While Romana had unfortunately stagnated in previous seasons, possibly even regressed, Shanghai have continued to grow. Though unlike Reykjavik and Romana, who's survival in Div1 isn't guaranteed, Shanghai is all but confirmed to be staying in Division 1 for season 24, so we'll see if the players will have the same drive and desperation to win.
Now we turn to London. Poor, poor London. Before we even get into what London needs to do against Montreal and Paris to stay up in Division 1, let's just take a look at what fortune they would need from the other teams to make it. They would first need Magyar to either drop a single point or at the very least, win with less goal difference than London. Second, they would need Seoul to drop points in both games, either losing both or at most drawing one. Thirdly, they would need either Montreal or Krung Thep, or possibly both, to lose both games and by a good goal difference as well. This is all ASSUMING that London beat Montreal AND Paris. If there is one thing to take away is that at least the Montreal game is likely to end in a London victory as they have gotten a dominant win over them twice. First a 2-0 win in the Cup qualifying rounds then a 4-2 win in their first meeting in the league. London just has their number this season.
Paris on the other hand are once again on the final step of being crowned Minor league champions. The last 100 years derby was a tight 2-1 loss for London, but Paris dominated that game on stats. Granted, the London defense stayed strong and while they did let in 2 goals early, that was all. They even had a chance to steal a point away after they got a penalty, but Paris kept it at 2-1. We're likely to see a tight derby again for the last match of the season as it isn't like Paris can let off the gas either, as any potential slip up could mean Kaapstad steal the title away.
So, was this season a success for the organization? I'd say yes, regardless of how it ends. Romana had to pay a lot to get me in but we've improved. Despite not having many early picks, Romana still had a very successful draft as the rookies proved themselves this season. Both Romana and London came into this season as the 2nd worst team in their league by TPE but definitely won't be finishing 11th as one would assume. The locker room is more active and earning has improved. Deals are being made and for the first time in a while, there more than just hope that the next season will be better. So my dear readers, I leave you with this:
COME ON YOU ROMANS
This article was written by Predrag Dobrić and sponsored by A.C. Romana.
![[Image: wjZShPO.png]](https://i.imgur.com/wjZShPO.png)
