#5 Representing Your Nation

[boom]

CPT #4 link


Orla Hughes-Galloway's biggest dream as a little girl was to play for the Irish national football team, but in the WSFC Ireland competes with the UK as the British Isles, so it's the next step up. This team is, as one would expect, largely dominated by English players, so Orla has to compete extra hard to stand out and earn a spot as an Irish player. This year, she's finally earned a spot on the team with her inspired play for Liffeyside Celtic FC, which has become her actual hometown club and in a way still fulfilling her childhood dream of wearing the Irish colours for her sport. 

Orla isn't the only Irish player on the squad, as aging striker Sterling Scott is still hanging around and able to help her with the transition to playing international football. Trick Johnson is also one of the best players in this group and anchoring the left back spot, and as an attacking mid Orla is quickly working to develop chemistry to receive those passes from the back that she can transition up towards the other frontline players. Even though she's already one of the better players in the league as evidenced by having won the Division 2 MVP last season, the stakes are just far higher whenever the prestige of national pride gets involved, so it's critical that Orla figures out how to take her game to the next level. At the end of the day, though, Orla can still take pride in having risen enough in her career that she's earned the consideration of being able to represent her country. Perhaps one day Ireland will have its own national team for the WSFC and Orla will be able to represent her home country properly, including avoiding the controversies coming with associating Ireland so directly with the UK, but for now she has the opportunity to play for her region on the world stage.

Approved!

[ReadySalted]

Being called up to the national squad is an absolute dream come true for No Face, the British Isles is about to hit a real golden generation and is looking forward to playing alongside teammates like Wiggo and also weekly enemies such as Luke Walker and hopefully one or two of the younger kids get called up as well like Definia, after BI's failure to get out of the group last time this next world cup is an incredible chance for redemption and one that No Face is hoping to take by both hands, looking at the upcoming roster for the next world cup the British Isles is super stacked at striker so being honest with himself he sees himself as the 4th best option at striker currently but one or two of the current talent are slowly getting older so he's hoping he can sneak in as a top 3 striker but also versatile enough to help elsewhere

It's been a while since No Face has been based in England and even though it will only be for a few weeks he is over the moon to experience the home comforts once again after so many years, the main one obviously being a proper cup of tea and biscuits, he's over the moon to be near a greggs again and even managed to sneak in a proper chippy tea even though his manager wasn't too happy once he found out, it's been nice to reconnect with old friends and see family he hasn't seen in ages, seeing everyone back home just hits home how important the British Isles success is to people in this country, and the weight of it all hits him hard, but it's a responisbility he is happy to carry with him as he sets off to his first friendly

Approved!

[lemonoppy]

https://forum.simulationsoccer.com/showt...#pid105774

I've been called up? What a shock! I think I'm in a weird spot where I'm just not good enough for Liffey and also presumably for a national team. My player is leading his class in TPE, sure, it's only 24 points and I'm just at 1150, nowhere near that kind of 2k top that the real maxers end up as (maybe a bit lower than that after the starting TPE was lowered). In the Asia federation, I'm 10th in TPE, which does put me in the starting lineup, actually! And looking at it, there are two keepers in the top 10, so it's kind of that I'm 8th in a 10 person race to get into the starting ten outfielders. We, Asia that is, don't have a striker, surprising since it's a bit overrepresented (double the count needed based on the position tracker). We have a RAM in Rigby Emerson but he's only 50 TPE ahead, and IA. Looking at it he's also not done his career task to get his ST to a primary role, like I have, and I would say that my build is much better suited for the striker role. Allie Bunson is probably our focal point playing the CM role, but not sure which spot in the midfield Bunson would play. So I guess that Zeagle actually does make the starting eleven, and quite comfortably. I'm a little worried for our team in general, looking at this now, we've quite shallow at the defense spot, which is pretty important, but our midfield looks quite strong. So when Zeagle gets the call for the World Cup coming up, I think he'll be quite arrogant and feeling very deserving of his spot. It's been inevitable since the Sydney days (up the Roos) and with no one that he used to play with growing up in the smaller national/regional cups being able to showcase his level of quality, it's an easy shoo in and Zeagle will need to have his team feed him. Get ready for prime no touches no service.

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Approved!

[DivogoJota]

CPT 4

Andre Caetano takes a deep breath as the final whistle blows. The Alpine Federation falls, an exit in the semi-finals to the Pyrenees Union. The Mountain Men fought hard, but they were bested on the day. An own goal from Tony Delvecchio was quickly canceled out by Vito Habjanic, but a late 83' minute strike from Julian Rubio put the pre-tournament favorites ahead before a late Leandro Dybala clincher in stoppage time dashed any hopes of the Alpiners pushing the game to extra time.

Andre walks up to his Club Deportivo Tenochtitlan teammate Bérangère-Amandine Bruère-Estrangin and shakes her hand, congratulating her on the game and wishing her the best of luck in the World Simulation Football Classic final. It is a final that the Pyrenees would win in dramatic fashion. The Alpine Federation would eventually find solace in losing to the eventual winners. However, in that moment, Andre is in a pensive mood. Could he have done more? A pass under hit. A header lost in the air. An opposition player, unmarked.

Eventually, Andre walks to his teammates and helps them off the field. He claps Marcel Voda and Giacomo Santori on their backs, as they return the favor by ruffling Andre's hair. The players are past the point of exhaustion, both physically and mentally. It is a draining tournament. A grueling set of matches in quick succession during the winter period. A gauntlet that represents a chance at glory, with your home on the front of your jersey. Andre looks around him, at the names on the back. Del Pirlo. Qartista. Twinkletoes. Habjanic. Will this be the last time he plays with these illustrious titans of the league?

Andre finds himself back in the locker room without realizing he walked down the tunnel. Giacomino Raiola is giving a speech to the players on perseverance and resolve, on the future and the journey. Andre looks at the players around him. Some will be back. Others will not. Andre's gaze eventually falls on his own reflection in a mirror. Andre sees himself. He sees resolve. He will be back.

Approved!

[Prayl07]

Career 4

Otto Rocket is back out on the beach looking at the ocean. He is reflecting on the past season with Rova. The Wombats took the Minor Division 2 by storm this season and ended up winning the league title. Otto looked back on all the key moments for Rova during that season. He remembered the work that him and Lisfor put in to champion the team. He knew a large portion of the success was the whole team bought in. As Rocket is deep in thought, thinking about the season a sadness washes over him.
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As he was leaving the team training grounds for the summer, he knew his buddy @lemonoppy , was going to be called up. This would be a weird season as both Otto and Lisfor came up together. They were drafted together, they trained together, they even had dinners together. This season was going to be different. As Otto sheds the worlds tiniest tear something snaps him out of the dark thoughts.

Its his phone ringing...

"Hello?" Otto says with a slight sniff.

"Hi is this Otto Rocket?" the deep voice on the other end says.

"Yes, who am I speaking with?" Otto, now done sniffling says.

"This is the vice president of Team USA soccer! We have been watching you in Rova and we are excited to tell you, that we are going to call you into our training camp to get an even better look at you" they say.

Otto is shocked, he cant believe he has went from a player who was almost too late to the draft to potentially putting on the colors for his nation. This is something he has always wanted to do. The nation may not stand for much but the pride that Otto has for himself, his family and his city makes wearing those colors everything. California will be proud of him and he is beyond ecstactic to get the chance to represent the RED, White and Blue!

"That's awesome! I cant wait!" Otto exclaims.

[url=https://forum.simulationsoccer.com/showthread.php?tid=1287&pid=105765#pid105765]"Yeah, by the way its kind of weird your crying about an old teammate that is still in the same organization. Stop tweeting about Lisfor, its making us think twice". The voice ends suddenly as Otto starts to think about Lisfor, and tunes them out.

Approved!

[Lpapi]

Career Task 4


Lucas Peioxoto grew up as a Brazilian-American dual national but his heart was always with Team USA. He spent his entire childhood growing up in California and rooting for the various USMNT teams of his youth. He had played with the youth national teams and even participated in the Olympics in 2024. But his first senior team \call up meant everything to him. He got to meet veterans like Jude Greer, and Pete Martell that he had grown up watching. He got his first cap in a friendly vs Uruguay where he started and played 63 minutes at Left Back. The USMNT managers made sure to give him the start because the game was in Los Angeles. He got a standing ovation from the supporters, of which many were likely Hollywood FC supporters. In the 42nd minuted he stepped out to take a corner and lobbed in a well placed ball towards the back post that was headered in by Charlie Chambers. The stadium erupted in cheers for Peioxoto and he knew that this is where he wanted to be most. The goal had brought the USA level at 1-1. They ended up going on to win 2-1 and he vowed that he would work as hard as possible to earn a spot to return for the WSFC. Its true that a starter for a club like Hollywood FC is almost locked in regardless but he wanted to bring the USMNT to heights it had never reached. The USA has the worst record of any nation in the WSFC and the players needed to rally to do something that had never been done before. "Why not us?" he siad in his post game interview, and he meant it. Peioxoto had total belief that they could be the generation to break the USA's underperforming curse.

Approved!

[rrf_1]

Career Point Task #4 Versatility

To be honest, I have been dreading the arrival of my first international tournament.  Growing up in a Nigerian family that relocated to the Spanish Canary Islands not long after I was born, I have a fuzzy sense of belonging to either nationality.  On one hand, what do I know about being Nigerian if I have few (if any) memories of living there?  On the other, how can I call myself Spanish if my family looks, sounds, and acts differently than everyone around us?  Feeling pulled toward Nigeria and Spain for different reasons, I unfortunately find myself abandoned in the middle, a part of both and neither at the same time.  I don’t feel clear membership to any nation.

Despite these reservations, I know better than to skip out on such an important moment in my career.  The World Simulation Football Classic is an amazing tournament, and after my 3 successful seasons in the Minor League, I have a real shot at making a starting eleven.  The only hurdle was declaring for a region: West Africa or the Pyrenees Union.

Inter London goalkeeper Joseph Daniel Kakou ultimately made my decision easy.  Back when I played for Victoria Falls in the SSL Academy, J.D. was a late add to our squad.  He arrived at the Academy just for the last matchday, when Victoria Falls had already won the Academy title, but J.D. still brought his best and helped us secure one more clean sheet on the season.  Off the field, what I remember most from our short time as teammates together was his strong African pride and his stories from life in Côte d'Ivoire.  He made me proud of my Nigerian heritage, too.

Since graduating into the SSL, we have maintained a great relationship (despite a small rivalry between our clubs) so it didn’t surprise me at all when he poked me about my plans for the upcoming world cup.  After hearing my indecision, J.D. offered his simple take on the matter: “Ekon, your son can play for Spain, but now West Africa needs you!”  It really didn’t take much more convincing; I was ready to commit to West Africa knowing that they need a fullback and respect my dual nationality.

We still have a season to play until the tournament begins, but the West Africa squad is starting to take shape.  It’s looking like we’ll be led upfront by striker Zaza Banana from Cameroon and attacking midfielder Freddy Adu from Ghana.  The defensive wings will be locked down by myself and Grimace, a transfer from Burundi.  Our spirit champion J.D. Kakou will then anchor the goal.  Outside of this core five, we have some holes to fill, and we will need to ask some young stars to step up, but I’m confident West Africa can make some noise when the time comes.

[Moka26]

Career PT 4 (ISFL something with PurpleLabs) 

When I joined the league, just after draft, I started a friendly shaped distanced rivalry with Ekon Ayo, who was (and still is) top of our draft class. This rivalry extended itself to our two organizations through our Minors teams, Inter London and Cairo City. I even have some other friends around there, as Vivi from my brief Victoria days, Armero Staple (from a little afar tbh) and some few others whose name doesn't come immediately to my mind.
As silly and arrogant as it may seem, I never doubted that I'll get my first call-up to represent Côte d'Ivoire in the West African Federation for the World Simulation Football Classic (gotta drag to the word cap ;) ). After all, not only I was the only Ivorian in the team, but I was also the only native goalkeeper in the entire federation.
I grew up watching Inazuma Eleven, and what marqued me from that anime series was that unlike most other series at that time that preferred using strikers or attacking midfielders as main characters, the whole series started with a middle-school goalkeeper recruiting members for his soccer team. The series ended up with that same goalkeeper carrying their nation (or even the entire region) to the middle-school equivalent of a World Cup trophy. So as I finally have the occasion to represent our region in the Classics (or Classic, but the former feels cooler), I might as well do my best to carry us to our first WSFC win, and embed my name into the legend.

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To be honest, I thought I wrapped up nicely with that one, but there is probably something missing.
I just remembered that I didn't tell you about the reaction from some of the friends and acquintances I've been working with at PurpleLabs, and others.
Also, I just read about the nice things Ekon wrote on his blog about it and how I convinced (and maybe bullied :) ) him to stay with us instead of representing Spain instead, and it brought tears to my eyes just thinking about how much of a good person he is.
So, about PurpleLabs : they were so happy to help that they decided to test a new idea on me. It was about something much more different than the sporting tech we were used to make, as they told me they plan to aim for a more global reach with companies and businesses worldwide.
I finally decided to tell them : I wanted to buy shares of PurpleLabs. I did not tell them that I wanted to own the entire company, just that I want some shares of it (subtle foreshadowing). They were unexpectedly happy, and told me they'll be rooting for West Africa in the Classics.

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With that all said, I have no other choice than to perform : it's a chance to fulfill two dreams at once !