The (Fictional) Football Alliance: Hungary

The draw for the First Round group stage of the World Cup 2018 is as follows.

Group 1
East Germany - France - Haiti - Japan

based in Berlin and Magdeburg

Group 2
Czechoslovakia - Mexico - Pakistan - Spain

based in Jena and Leipzig

Group 3
Algeria - Argentina - Italy - Portugal

based in Dresden and Zwickau

Group 4
Cameroon - England - Hungary - Uruguay

based in Rostock and Stralsund.

The group matches will be played over the twelve consecutive days beginning 10th June to 21st June, each day featuring the two games in any one group, kicking-off at 18:30 CET and 20:30 CET, except on the day of the final round of fixtures in each group when both will commence at 20:30.

The top two teams in each group progress to the knock-out Quarter Finals, drawn accordingly:

A - Winner Group 1 v Runner-up Group 3
B - Winner Group 2 v Runner-up Group 4
C - Winner Group 3 v Runner-up Group 1
D - Winner Group 4 v Runner-up Group 2

these matches will be played, kicking off at 18:30 and 20:30, on 23rd and 24th June, the venues being Dresden, Leipzig, Magdeburg and Rostock.

Subsequently, the Semi Finals will comprise:
Winner A v Winner C
Winner B v Winner D

to be played on 27th June at 18:30 and 20:30, in Dresden and Leipzig.

The Final will be played on Saturday 30th June at 20:30 in Berlin.

Wednesday, 5 November 2014

Archive #4: European Cup 2011-12

Realising recently, when posting the list of European Champions' Club Cup Winners/Finals, that I still had three seasons' records-worth of the continental competition to catch up with, here's the first step in rectifying that tardiness, with the 2011-12 edition of the tournament, which, of course, enjoys the same format as the original actual European Cup before it became the UEFA Champions' League, being a straightforward home-and-away-legged knock-out competition ending in a one-off final (with scope for replays in the event of aggregate ties, no account taken of away goals, as with the early years of the European Cup).

The domestic league's representatives, Wrexham, making their debut in the European Cup, made a first round exit (one of only 3 of the seeded teams to do so), failing to recover a hapless 0 - 3 first leg defeat to Levski-Spartak in Sofia, but another newcomer, Yugoslavia's Dubocica Leskovac, reached the semi-finals only to lose narrowly in the second leg and on aggregate to Vasas Budapest, whilst cup-holders Sporting Lisbon defended their title all the way to the final, only to succumb to Vasas, who thus became the first club to win the trophy for a fifth time.

Tuesday, 4 November 2014

Archive #3: Championship Results & Final Table 2013-14

By way of a little contextual information in relation to the current league season, and how the teams are performing so far, here's how last season's Championship played out and concluded:

As can be observed, current new league leaders Stalybridge Celtic achieved a steady, mid-table finish, an improvement on the previous season (their first back in the top flight after a few years' absence, having won the Second Division title to earn promotion) which saw them end in 13th position, a couple of places and points clear of the relegation spots.

Of the different names from last season to this, Marine (currently leading the second tier, despite a wobble that has brought them 3 defeats in 4 games) and Wimbledon were relegated, the latter leaving the league altogether, as did Shrewsbury Town, who failed to earn the necessary licence to continue in the revamped two-division structure. In their stead were promoted Hartlepool United and rapidly-rising Northwich Victoria, with third placed Audenshaw Athletic, as they then were before the brave-new rebranding as 'Dynamo', subsequently filling the vacancy created by Shrewsbury's demise. Oxford United as was have also undergone a name change, to 'Excelsior', although as they have recently slumped to the bottom of the Championship, they seem to be having trouble living up to such a billing.

West Ham United merged with Walthamstow Avenue, having some years ago done likewise with Dagenham, and the decision was taken to honour both clubs' historical association with the East End's Hungarian community (I make this stuff up, but it's good enough for me) by taking the name 'Hungaria', who are at the moment tentatively trying to find their feet in the competitive environment of the Championship.

Wednesday, 22 October 2014

Archive #2: European Cup Finals 1982 - 2011

A second dip into the archives, this time going beyond domestic matters and featuring the history of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup Finals, at least up until 2011 – there are obviously 3 seasons’-worth of the competition I need to catch up with and record before launching this season’s edition, which will of course feature reigning league champions Marlow as England’s representatives.

It quickly becomes apparent that Hungarian teams have dominated matters (winning exactly half of the 30 tournaments recorded so far: the competition between the Budapest clubs, and provincial Raba ETO Gyor’s with them, being expanded onto a continental scale and generating fiercer rivalries yet), making their complete absence from the last 3 finals a notable one, whilst Internazionale are the third club to have triumphed on 4 occasions, with, particularly, Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon also being serial finalists, Sporting finally winning the cup at the sixth (ninth including replays) attempt most recently. Immediately prior to that, Marlow (who have acquired a pronounced French influence over recent seasons) became the first English club to lift the trophy, after losing the previous final, with Gainsborough Trinity also having reached the final twice, without ultimate success.