2021 DSAFF Comrades Cup

The 2021 DSAFF Comrades Cup, also known as 2021 Comrades Cup or simply Talamia 2021, was the inaugural edition of the Comrades Cup, the first initiative launched by the newly formed football federation of Delusia, the DSAFF (Democratic Socialist Assembly Football Federation). It took place from 14 May 2021 to 3 June 2021 in Talamia, the nation that founded DSAFF.

Initially launched as an exclusive tournament for Delusia nations, the tournament subsequently expanded, becoming an invitation-only event. Sixteen teams took part to the tournament, coming from five different regions.

Thirty-two matches were played in six venues across six cities. Host nation Talamia was eliminated in the quarter-finals. In the final, Forest's nation Arklanda played DSA's Veyoris on 3 June at the Ebdemar Au'tokra Stadium in Clinepalas. Arklanda won the match 3-2 after extra time to claim their first Comrades Cup.

The event featured a number of accolades. Lannish player Jan Obølsnen was voted both the tournament's best player and best goalkeeper. New Ordiel Kalibleland's Nicholas Angström scored the most goals during the tournament with six.

History
In February of 2021, Talamia was the only nation to have its own football federation on Delusia: the TSS (Talamia Sports' Summaka), governing a national football team and Talamia's own domestic league: the Alfa League. The strong cultural football tradition of Talamia pushed sports' minister Antheo Karabos to propose the creation of a body to govern football at an international level, at that moment absent on the planet.

On 5 February 2021, the DSAFF was born, as can be read in the official statute of the federation:

"[...] with the aim of organizing football tournaments for clubs and national teams, of spreading the interest in association football, of ensuring football is accessible to everyone, and of advocating for integrity and fair play."

Karabos appointed Oiktirmon-Nicao Paidarion president of the newly-born federation. Paidarion had already been president and founder of the Talamian club Afestosja and he is known for his revolutionary approach to sports organization in general.

The very first goal of the federation was to organize a tournament for national teams for the summer of 2021, the Comrades Cup. A first announcement of the organization of the tournament was released on March 30 of the same year. Three countries from Delusia responded positively: Syndic Australia, Bhexa, Tuthar, Nia's Port, Itini and Veyoris. When it became clear that the lack of interest in the first edition would not attract further attendees, Padairon decided to turn the Comrades Cup into an invitation-only competition. The Forest region was initially involved, from which the national teams of Blueea, Chan Island, Kepler-0085, World Wildlife Fund and Arklanda joined the competition. Subsequently, the national teams of New Ordiel Kalibleland (from The Internationale), Bunkaiia (from the Council of Constructed Languages) and Lannistter and Jerno (The Socialist Syndacalist Union) also joined the tournament.

Host nation
As the only founding member of the DSAFF and the first promoter of the tournament, Talamia was chosen as the host nation. The Talamian people welcomed the news with great enthusiasm. In short, the cities that were going to host the matches were chosen and the starting month was set: May 2021. Despite the tight schedule, the Talamian government fully supported the decision of the DSAFF, above all thanks to the great football culture of its people.

The official logo of the competiiton was unveiled only on the day of the first match: May 14, 2021. Due to the recent death of the Talamian diesigner Ule Nkanki, the DSAFF decided to entrust the task to a team of designers from Arklanda. The result was a logo inspired by the Talamia tradition: a stylized version of the trophy, with a rose on top, adorned with a laurel branch and a hoopoe feather.

Venues
The interest in football in Talamia was such that the stadiums, at the time of the tournament's inauguration, had all been modernized, despite the short timing. TSS selected a total of six stadiums to host the Comrades Cup matches. Many of them were refurbished in recent years and the older ones were modernized for the occasion. The capacity of the venues potentially allow a total of 322,000 spectators to be able to attend a match at the same time. The smallest stadium counts 31,000 seats, the largest 84,000.

The chosen stadium were the following:


 * The Ebdemar Au'tokra Stadium in the capital city Clinepalas - the biggest one, to host both the first and the final match of the Cup;
 * The Pagos Arena in Acroscope - the smallest one, a beautiful structure nestled in the cliff of Scopel; it was renovated thanks to the city modernization process started in 2020 thanks to the DSA Ocean Race;
 * The Dionùso Stadium in Anen - an ancient structure that stands on the ashes of a 5000 year old amphitheater;
 * The Basi Als Arena in Epacra - a field that floats on the water of the city harbor, which has the wonderful skyscrapers of the center as a backdrop (chosen to favor the inclusion of the Chan Island team formed by non-professional pirates);
 * Toxeutà in Fofokoy - home of the latest winner of the Alfa League, Alla Fofokoy;
 * DORU in Geitorisma - a structure built entirely of wood, as a sign of respect for the nearby Forest of Pento.

Qualifications
Between the announcement of its creation and May 8th, 2021, the tournament collected fifteen entries, in addition to Talamia, the host nation. The most represented region was DSA (seven teams), followed by Forest (five teams), the Socialist Syndacalist Union (two teams) and the Council of Constructed Languages and The Internationale (one team each).

Thanks to the number of answers, since there was no need for qualifying matches, the tournament was organized with a first round, or group stage, in which the sixteen teams were divided into four groups of four teams. Each group was a round-robin of three games, where each team played one match against each of the other teams in the same group. Teams were awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and none for a defeat. The teams coming first and second qualified for the quarter-finals.

Group A
The first matchday of group A kicked off the competition and saw the hosts of Talamia drawing against Chan Island 1-1, and the Itinian national football team winning 3-1 against Kepler-0085. After the opening ceremony, Talamia's forward Lignus Fonè scored the very first goal in the history of the Comrades Cup at the 43' of the first half. The nervousness caused by the unorthodox behaviors of the drunken Chan Island players, however, allowed the parrot Craw to score an incredible equalizer just a stone's throw from the end. Thanks to a save on the line in extra time, the parrot was even elected Man of the Match, giving his team a sensational draw that no one would have believed before the match. On the evening of May 14, on the other hand, Itini annihilated Kepler-0085 by winning 3-1 thanks to the great performance of Kimptin Castin, who scored the first brace in the history of the Comrades Cup. In the same match the first penalty of the cup was also whistled (missed by Keplerian player Oslin Mezinin). The end of the game was marked by the bad performance of the Keplerian defender Gestil Ïlmo and his fight with the coach Ward Olinaw.

In the second matchday, Talamia won against Kepler-0085, which became the first team mathematically eliminated from the tournament. Asulon Stemma Artemis scored his first goal for his national team on his first appearance, becoming the hero of the day. The evening game, more than a real match, was a carnage. Chan Island played cunning and decided to mind-play with the opponent. Itini's players fell for it and, after dominating the first half, lost their heads after a bad series of fouls from the pirates. During the match, a total of three yellow cards (all for Chan Island) and three red cards (one for Chan Island and two for Itini) were shown. Following numerous injuries due to the misconduct of both teams, the match ended in 9 vs 8. Chan Island thus prevailed, in what was the first game with more than five goals scored, and in which Kimptin Castin, before going out with an injury, found his third goal in the tournament.

The last matchday of Group A saw Talamia and Itini draw. Kimptin Castin scored his fourth goal of the tournament in the first half, igniting 38-year-old opposing captain Ansem Egemon's thirst for victory. Despite having missed a penalty, Egemon once again proved to be the strongest Talamian footballer, saving the Hoopoes on more than one occasion and scoring the equalizer, valid for the qualification to the knockout stage. In the closing match of the group, Chan Island and Kepler-0085 also tied. Both pirates and space men finished the game completely drunk, due to the "space-drink" offered to all by the Keplerian coach Ward Olinaw. The intoxication caused the tournament's first own goal and an unbelievable howler by goalkeeper Šekrt Wasaal. Thanks to this result, Chan Island ended first in the group and Kepler-0085 collected their first point.

Group B
In the first matchday of Group B, Arklanda and Nia's port drew 2-2. The Nia's port national team recovered the disadvantage twice, while Arklanda's striker Rahmi Chafi wasted an easy game-winning chance at the last minute. In the evening game, Veyoris won by comeback against the World Wildlife Fund. The talented Veyorian midfielder Matías Laguna suffered a bad injury in the second half, which forced him off the pitch. The foul committed on him, however, allowed Veyoris to earn a penalty, scored by the midfielder Ernest Duchamp.

On Group B's second matchday, Arklanda defeated Veyoris in what was described as the best pure football match in the competition. After a continuous series of occasions on both sides, Arklanda broke the deadlock, with Veyoris then finding the equalizer twice. A fine volley from defender Moumen gave Arklanda the win four minutes before the end. Noteworthy the performance of midfielder Henry O'Halloran of Veyoris, called to take the field to replace his team mate Matías Laguna, injured in the previous match. O'Halloran showed the audience a Laguna shirt, dedicating him the wonderful midfield goal he had just scored. In the boring evening game, on the other hand, Nia's port defeated World Wildlife Fund 1-0, in front of a decidedly hostile audience, gathered en masse at the DORU in Geitorisma to support the ecological national team. With this defeat, World Wildlife Fund joined with Kepler-0085 among the eliminated teams.

In the last, exciting matchday of Group B, Veyoris defeated Nia's port 3-0, reversing the standings and becoming the third team to qualify to the knockout stage. The midfielder Henry O'Halloran was decisive again, scoring a brace, with two longshots dedicated to his injured friend Matías Laguna. Nia's port's hopes of qualification were hanging by a thread: if World Wildlife Fund had beaten Arklanda 4-0, the Delusia archipelago national team would have qualified. Despite an incredible performance by their opponents in the first half, ending 2-0 for WWF, Arklanda played the last 45 minutes of the group to perfection. The match ended in a 5-2 victory, thanks largely to two wonderful left-footed goals from left-back Abdellah Moumen, once again among the best on the field. Akrlanda thus became the fourth team to qualify to the knockout stage and the first to score ten goals in the tournament.

Group C
Seven goals were scored during Group C's first matchday. In the afternoon, Bhexa annihilated Blueea by winning 4-0. Most notable was the performance of Hellas Anen's defender Marju Trenciant. The Bhexian captain was the protagonist of numerous decisive defensive interventions and the final goal. The match between Bunkaiia and Lannistter, on the other hand, was described by the audience as the most beautiful since the start of the Comrades Cup. The 0-0 lasted for 90 minutes, thanks mainly to the great saves of Lannistter's goalkeeper Jan Obølsnen. Bunkaiia scored the first goal at the 90th minute. Desperate for the goal, the Lannistter manager threw 19-year-old forward Branizlav Zuber into the fray. Zuber managed to score less than two minutes after entering the field. At the last breath, however, the Bunkaiian defender Danilo Šàbein, who had suffered a nose injury in the first half, managed to take advantage of a series of rebounds after a corner kick and pierced Obølsnen for the definitive 2-1.

In the second matchday of group C the highly anticipated match between Lannistter and Bhexa took place. The most popular players of the first part of the tournament challenged each other on the field of the Dionùso Stadium in Anen, where the Silver Foxes recovered the disadvantage of the first half, winning 2-1. A late-time Branislav Zuber goal guaranteed the win Lannistter needed to keep hoping for qualification. Following the second goal, Zuber established himself as the first candidate for the best young player award, and the commentators renamed the time frame after the 90th minute the "Zuber Zone", given the young striker's habit of scoring close to the end. Furthermore, during the match, Bhexa goalkeeper Marċell Natale challenged the Silver Foxes captain Jan Obølsnen to the highest number of saves, losing. In the evening match, Bunkaiia defeated Blueea, becoming the first team to secure mathematical qualification for the knockout stage. During the match, Blueea's coach was drugged by the opposing coach, eventually greeting imaginary dolphins in the port of Epacra.

During the last matchday of the "deadliest" Group C, a mathematically unstable situation almost occurred. Lannistter easily defeated Blueea 2-0, automatically qualifying for the knockout stage. Proving he could be a very heated fan, King Angel III witnessed the match and another great performance by Branislav Zuber. Blueea thus became the only team in the tournament to have never scored a goal. The match between Bunkaiia and Bhexa was probably the most anticipated since the beginning of the tournament. The two teams played a very tense and defensive game, which was decided in the last minutes of extra time. After Bhexa's captain Marju Trenciant led all his players on offense, Bunkaiia hit on the counterattack. Vàkrimo Kàvoïan followed his teammate Betiko Jàïan, who had the ball, hoping to receive it and score. Betiko Jàïan, however, preferred to dribble the Bhexan goalkeeper Marċell Natale to bring his country to the knockout stage. Bunkaiia became the only team to collect nine points during the group stage.

Group D
In the opening match of Group D, Syndic Australia defeated Tuthar. This was the first game in which more than four goals were scored, in fact it ended 3-2 for the Australics. Noteworthy was the performance of the Australian striker Jensen Sellick, the third player to score a brace in the tournament. The evening match between Jerno and New Ordiel Kalibleland, on the other hand, was the first to end without goals scored. Despite numerous attempts to score goals from Nicholas Angström on one side and Javier Núñez Osario on the other, the match ended 0-0.

On the afternoon of the second matchday of Group D, the match with the most goals scored in the whole tournament took place. New Ordiel Kalibleland defeated Tuthar 5-3, eliminating them. After a first half ended 2-2, NOK spread, thanks to the incredible performance of the striker Nicholas Angström, first author of a hat-trick in a Comrades Cup match. In the evening match, Jerno and Syndic Australia drew 2-2. Jerno recovered two goals thanks to a penalty scored by Eugenio Pizzarro at the eighty-sixth minute. After a dominated first half, Syndic Australia was unable to contain the comeback of the opponents.

The last matchday of Group D closed the group stage. In the afternoon match, New Ordiel Kalibleland and Syndic Australia drew 1-1. After the first goal scored by Nicholas Angström, following an incredible individual play, in the second half the Australics' coach Grant Stevens decided to take the field personally, replacing Cameron Farrier. The move proved to be spot on and it was Stevens himself who scored the equalizer. While the draw mathematically qualified New Ordiel Kalibleland, Jerno found theirselves having to win with at least a two goals difference. And so they did, eliminating Syndic Australia in the process: the three teams tied at 5 points each in the final table. Syndic Australia was therefore eliminated just because of the total goal difference. Tuthar, on the other hand, was added to the list of teams that failed to collect even a point. Despite scoring a total of five goals, they became the team that conceded more goals: a total of ten.

Knockout stage
The match between the Chan Island pirates' team, the real surprise of the cup, and the Veyoris national team inaugurated the knockout stage. After the injury suffered in the first game, Veyoris was able to line-up Matías Laguna again. Given the big technical gap between the two teams, the first half was totally dominated by Veyoris. Striker Arnoux van den Heever scored his third goal of the tournament with a nice left-footed bycicle kick. In the second half, things changed. Chan Island tried once again to bend the rules in their favour. After locking up Veyoris' coach Carolina Val in the locker room, they forced Talamian commentator Gian Gianvilipendio to disguise himself and take her place. The feint Carolina Val brought the reserve goalkeeper onto the pitch and continued to give bad advices to her players until Sam Woodpeg found the equalizer. After becoming suspicious, Veyoris' reserves quarreled with the fake Carolina Val, causing her to drop her mask and reveal her true identity. At that point the real coach returned to the field. The midfield duo formed by the two friends Henry O'Halloran and Matías Laguna, who crossed the entire field with a beautiful series of give-and-go, resolved the matter definitively. Laguna scored the final 2-1 goal on his return and gave his team access to the semi-final.

In the second quarter-final, the Talamian national team played outside their home stadium of Clinepalas for the first time. In front of an audience totally on their side, the host team came out incredibly defeated. After a first half played at very high technical level by both teams, Arklanda rampaged in the second with a great comeback. The Hoopoes came out defeated and embittered for having lost at home concedeing 4 goals. Despite the great performance throughout the entire tournament and season, Ansem Egemon, the historic captain, decided to retire from the national team, declaring it publicly in an interview granted to the microphone of Auxe Aggelia in front of the locker rooms. Following the failure, the 75-year-old coach Sanisla Pedalsisimi also decided to ask for the termination of the contract. It was a true sporting upset on all fronts.

In the third quarter-final, extra time and penalty kicks were reached for the first time. In a very intense match between Bunkaiia and Jerno, three goals were disallowed in just ninety minutes, two for Bunkaiia and one for Jerno. The match came at the end of regular time on the result of 0-0. Right at the ninetieth minute, the Jernoan defender Pedro Rodriguez was sent off for a double yellow card, leaving his team in ten men for all extra time. The young Betiko Jàïan took advantage of this and scored his third goal of the tournament. However, Alvaro Fuentes Silva managed to find an unexpected equalizer at the last available minute. From the penalties shootout Jerno came out victorious, succeeding with a comeback. The last mistake of the Bunkaiian striker Juhàno Gaïelàkàn was decisive. Gaïelàkàn previously suffered the foul that had caused Rodriguez to be sent off.

The last quarter-final was described as an early final. The two Viking teams clashed: New Ordiel Kalibleland and Lannistter. The episode that decided the game was the penalty caused by defender Viktor Paulsson, who was also sent off just after ten minutes. Lannish midfielder Gustav Forsberg's penalty kicked off his team's goal fest. Despite Nicholas Angström's momentary equalizer, the first half ended with a 1-4 deficit for New Ordiel Kalibleland. The Kaliblian forward's brace was worthless: in the second half Branislav Zuber scored once again. During the match, to protest against their national team's recent sporting failures, a group of extremist Kaliblian fans burned an effigy of former Secretary of Sport Eddie Forsberg in the city center of Epacra.

In the first semifinal of the Comrades Cup, Veyoris defeated Jerno 3-0. The Jernoan players arrived very tired to the match and had to succumb to a much more physically prepared team. Veyoris coach Carolina Val also studied new defensive approaches, which made Veyoris' defense impenetrable. Dáire O’Shiel, central defender, played an impeccable game. Jerno's hopes held until the final fifteen minutes, when Arnoux van den Heever scored his personal brace and his fifth goal of the tournament. Just at the end of regulation time, the Jernoan central defender Tobias de la Guardia, protagonist up to that moment of a beautiful match (the first in which he was lined up as a starter), caused a penalty kick, scored by Ernest Duchamp. After the end, O'Shiel consoled de la Guardia, showing great sportsmanship.

The second, highly anticipated semi-final was played between Arklanda and Lannistter. The football federations of these two countries had forged a great relationship during the tournament, so much so that they presented the bid to host the next edition of the Comrades Cup together. The match was very heartfelt and full of great plays. An intense game, appreciated by the fans of all the teams present at the DORU stadium in Geitorisma. In the first half, it was Arklanda who dominated and scored thanks to an own goal by Lannish right-back Karl Tupinen. Jan Obølsnen, captain and goalkeeper of the Silver Foxes kept his teams' hopes alive thanks to an incredible series of saves. The second half began with an immediate equalizer from Lannistter, thanks to a header by midfielder Aleksandar Gudelj after a cross from Tupinen himself, who made up for the mistake of the first half. Arklanda's box was subsequently besieged and Branislav Zuber, slipping in front of the ball, missed his chance to win the game at the 90th minute. For the second time, a match needed extra time to declare a winner. Mohamed Mnaouar saved Arklanda several times, in what we could define a challenge to the best saves with Janka Obølsnen. In the end, however, an incredible and unstoppable shot from distance by left-back Abdellah Moumen decided the match. A final save by goalkeeper Mnaouar on a shot by Zuber gave Arklanda the final.

The play-off for third place was played at the Pagos Arena in Acroscope and it was the game with the least audience of the entire tournament. Although the stakes were not that high, two of the national teams that had played better throughout the tournament and that had a very loud audience faced each other. Lannistter won the bronze medal, thanks to a goal scored by young striker Branislav Zuber at the sixty-seventh minute. Just the day before the game, Zuber had signed a contract with the Talamian club KarpìStomà. The other great protagonist of the match was once again the goalkeeper Jan Obølsnen, who succeeded in the miraculous feat of saving two penalties, one in the first half and one at the ninetieth minute. Camilo Castellano, captain of Jerno, missed both penalties, caused by a hand ball and an aggressive tackle from Lannish defender Nicklas Eriknen, who was sent off for a sum of yellow cards by the referee.

Under a bright sun, in the final match Veyoris and Arklanda faced each other. This was the first rematch in DSAFF history, as the two teams had previously met in Group B. On the first occasion, Arklanda won 3-2. The same happened the second time. Veyoris dominated the first half thanks to the incredible job at midfield by Ernest Duchamp and friends Henry O'Halloran and Matías Laguna. The first goal came thanks to a precise shot by Émrick Coté. At the end of the first half, however, Arklanda midfielder Malek Larbi managed to find the equalizer with a volley directly from a corner kick. In the second half, Arklanda completed the comeback, thanks to a round shot from right field by Omar Tamsaoui. Despite their goalkeeper Mnaouar's many saves, the Arklanders had to concede the equalizer at the 90th minute, when defender Dáire O'Shiel scored with a header. The ninety minutes then ended 2-2. In extra time, despite the exhaustion, the quality of the plays increased. An incredible overhead kick by Ghoulam Givaoui from Abdellah Moumen's cross decided the match. Matías Laguna hit the post at the last second, effectively wasting the opportunity to take Veyoris to penalties.