Your weekly source of information and entertainment, Sports Journal #21 brought to you by our journalists, is here! 📖⚽

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1/ THE EUROPA LEAGUE SITUATION AHEAD OF THE WINTER WINDOW

2/ “CLASSIC” TEAMS OF NATIONAL CUP FINALS!

3/ WINTER EVENT, THE NEW SUPER LEAGUE, AND THE FIRST NATIONAL LEAGUES

4/ NEW YEAR'S BORAT!

5/ FINDING NEW TEAMS: ALIANZA LIMA

6/ ITALIAN CUP

7/ REAL MADRID - SEVILLA

THE EUROPA LEAGUE SITUATION AHEAD OF THE WINTER WINDOW

The 2025 European football winter window, also known as the January transfer window, is a crucial period for clubs to fine-tune their squads for the second half of the season. Opening and closing dates for major leagues (2025):

• Portugal: Opens on 02/01/2025 and closes on 04/02/2025

• Spain: Opens on 02/01/2025 and closes on 03/02/2025

• England: Opens on 01/01/2025 and closes on 03/02/2025

• Scotland: Opens on 01/01/2025 and closes on 03/02/2025

• Germany: Opens on 01/01/2025 and closes on 03/02/2025

• France: Opens on 01/01/2025 and closes on 03/02/2025

• Netherlands: Opens on 02/01/2025 and closes on 04/02/2025

• Italy: Opens on 02/01/2025 and closes on 04/02/2025

When it comes to the 2024/2025 Europa League, Tottenham and Manchester United were considered some of the main favorites, followed by Athletic Bilbao, Roma and Lazio. However, the Europa League is an unpredictable competition, and other teams could surprise. Key Dates:

• League Stage Start: 25 September 2024
  
  
• League Stage End: 30 January 2025
  
  
• Knockout Stage Play-offs: 13 and 20 February 2025
  
  
• Round of 16: 6 and 13 March 2025
  
  
• Quarter-finals: 10 and 17 April 2025
  
  
• Semi-finals: 1 and 8 May 2025
  
  
• Final: 21 May 2025, at the San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao, Spain.
  
  

Among the 36 clubs competing in the Europa League in the 6th round, those directly qualified for the round of 16 would be in this end-of-year interval:

• 1st Lazio with 16 points
  
  
• 2nd Athletic Bilbao with 16 points
  
  
• 3rd Anderlecht with 14 points
  
  
• 4th Olympique Lyon with 13 points (goal difference 8)
  
  
• 5th Eintracht Frankfurt 13 points (goal difference 4)
  
  
• 6th Galatasaray 12 points (goals scored 15)
  
  
• 7th Manchester United 12 points (goals scored 12)
  
  
• 8th Rangers 11 points (goal difference 6)
  
  
• From 9th to 24th there will be playoffs to find out the others who qualified for the round of 16. 
  
  

The top scorers in the competition so far are:

• Janis Ikaunieks 7 goals (Riga FS)
  
  
• Barnabás Varga 6 goals (Ferencváros)
  
  
• Gedson Fernandes 5 (Besiktas)
  
  
• Rasmus Højlund 5 goals (Manchester United)
  
  
• Ayoub El Kaabi 5 goals (Olympiacos)
  
  
• Samu Omorodion 5 goals (Porto)
  
  
• Yunus Akgün 5 goals (Galatasaray)
  
  

Leaders in assists

• Dries Mertens 4 (Galatasaray)
  
  
• S. Hedlund 4 (IF Elfsborg)
  
  
• Rayan Cherki 4 (Lyon)
  
  
• Pavel Šulc 4 (Viktoria Plzeň)
  
  
• Best defense
  
  
• Athletic Bilbao who conceded 2 goals in 6 matches
  
  
• Best attack
  
  
• Galatasaray who scored 15 goals in 6 matches

A lot of excitement awaits us in the last two rounds of the initial phase.

See you next week!

Author: Fábio Muri

“CLASSIC” TEAMS OF NATIONAL CUP FINALS!

Dear readers,

Andrzejek here and from this place I would like to welcome you after the Christmas break in Sports Journal. I hope that the resources in the game, as well as your bellies, have been replenished over the last few days and you are ready to play 110% 😀

Without further ado - let's start!

England’s National Cup

The first Final team is Check Engine, the current leader of the English league and the winner of the National Cup from the second season. As of the date of writing my article, this team, after 18 rounds, has recorded the same number of victories with a balance of 18-0-0, which in general FootballTeam’s calculations it gives a place in the final two in 99.99% of cases. The ladder for Check Engine worked out in such a way that they conceded their first goal only in the ⅛th of the National Cup in a match against Goplania Inowrocław. In the semi-finals, they finished the two-legged match against FC Śmietniki with an impressive 7:2 score.
The second Final team is Respect, a vice-leader of the current English league table. Their ladder on the way to the final is not much different from the opponent that awaits them in the last match of the English National Cup. For the club and the players of the Respect led by Psycho Punk this match will be a great opportunity to present themselves to a wider audience of FootballTeam so there is nothing else left for us to do but wait for the final result of this match.

Spanish National Cup

In this final, we will also be able to watch the current leader and vice-leader of the Spanish league this time. We are talking about the teams: Super Sprawa FC and Nankatsu SC II. The matches of the first mentioned above team certainly provided their players and fans with a lot of emotions, due to the fact that on the way to the final they witnessed many goals - spectacular and breathtaking. The Nanktasu team had a much easier time during their struggles on the way to the desired final match, where only the Memento Mori team tried to stand up to them in the semi-final match - for them, unfortunately, unsuccessfully ending the two-legged match with a goal balance of 8:2.

Personally, in this match, I think that the final will be won by the team Super Sprawa FC led by franz, with a score of 3:1.

German National Cup

One of the teams is well-known to the Discord community, led by our moderator Byk z Pampeluny, and we’re talking about Izba Wytrzeźwień. Maybe I will surprise you, but this time in the final there will be no meeting of the current leader and the vice-leader! We are waiting for a meeting of the leader and the team from the bonus place in the European Tournament. As for the Izba Wytrzeźwień, in their semi-final match we had to watch an early final, due to the fact that they were facing the current vice-leader of the first German league, the Huragan Młyny. The first match of both teams ended with the score 5:1 in favour of the Izba team and it was them who had one foot in the final, where they proved it in the second match, winning again 3:1.
The Washington Capitals team is an unpredictable finalist because their path to the final bracket did not indicate it. However, they showed a great will to fight and have a great chance to win the title, which is the National Cup.

In this match, I would bet the chances at 60/40 for the team of the favourite moderator of many - Byk z Pampeluny. But how will it end? We will see soon!

Italian National Cup

We are returning to our regular schedule for the National Cup, so in the final match we will be watching a match between the leader and vice-leader of the current table of the first Italian league, and we are talking about teams: Broski Wolfpack FC and Redburn.
Of all the final teams I described, it was Broski who had the easiest “trip” and without any difficulty they made it to the final. With some minor problems along the way, but ultimately just like Broski, the Redburn team could breathe a sigh of relief after the semi-final match. And soon, fueled by the semi-final match with a balance of 9:0 after this match, they will be able to face the Broski team, which seems to be the clear favourite. Personally, I am betting on a 4:0 result in this match, but I will be just as happy if this result is the opposite in favour of the Redburn team!

That’s it for today! See you next time!

Author: Andrzejek

WINTER EVENT, THE NEW SUPER LEAGUE, AND THE FIRST NATIONAL LEAGUES

Hello players! I hope you had a healthy and peaceful Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Speaking of Christmas, we had this Winter Event + Patch 1.37, in which Santa Claus brought us many bonuses and bundles in the game that were very useful to improve our characters.

What’s New in Patch 1.37

• Improved Training: You can now train up to 4 skills simultaneously during selected events.

• New Team Features: Added an additional assistant to optimize strategies.

• Beefs: Declare a rivalry against a chosen opponent once per season, triggering maximum engagement at no health cost.

• Season Pass: magical holiday offers with SP.

• Card Slot Enchanting: It’s now possible to enchant card slots.

• Special Younger Pack: An exclusive pack to strengthen your player.

These new features promise to transform the player experience, making matches even more dynamic and exciting!

The New SuperLeague Format

The SuperLeague today has the format of 8 teams classified by general ranking that changes each season.

The new model will be as follows:

14 rounds played every two days, with home and away games between all teams.

Seasonal Advancements: The champions of the national leagues will advance to the League 1, the Champions Tournament, and the SuperLeague Tournament.

The great champion of the SuperLeague in the 71st season was Public Enemies

National Leagues

The First National Leagues in this 71st season ended with the following results:

League 1 Poland

In the Polish first division, we had a very interesting dispute for the title, with two teams scoring points for the championship until the last round. Wings, the champion, scored 84 points and Mazovia Mady, the runner-up, scored 83 points, which guaranteed a place in the Champions Tournament. The places for the European Tournament went to 3rd place FC Inter Milan, 4th place AK Elite Team, 5th place Engine Fault and 6th place Спартак.

Individual statistics

Top scorer: Плохиш ( FC Inter Milan) 72 goals

Assists: IceFlame ( FC Inter Milan) 37 assists

Interventions: Paweł Wienconek (Plymouth Argyle)

Clean sheets: HeaDHunteR (Wings)

League 1 England

In the English top flight, the champions were already in the lead, Polish DF scored 90 points, won both matches, and took the title. Second-placed Salford City were never threatened either, finishing with 79 points. The spots in the European Tournament went to 3rd-placed ФК Спартак М, 4th-placed Dream State, 5th-placed TACHIBANA BROS and 6th-placed Rayo eSports.

Individual statistics

Top scorer: Ronaldo Nazario (Polish DF) 100 goals

Assists: Kenzoo7 (FC Nikt Nas Nie Chce) 44

Interventions: piłkarz86 (Dream State)

Clean sheets: Jose Kubinho (Polish DF)

League 1 Italy

In Italy, the winners BAVOVNA competed against FC BARS, who finished with the same number of points (87), but placed second due to goal difference. In the European Tournament, we will have 3rd La Familia, 4th Niebieskie ChachaRy, 5th Bella Ciao and 6th Łosie w Kosmosie.

Individual statistics

Top scorer: Mr Panda (FC BARS) 79 goals

Assists: Großvater (BAVOVNA) 38

Interventions: Bartas (Łosie w Kosmosie)

Most clean sheets:Roostik (BAVOVNA)

League 1 Spain

Spain, where LIONHEART easily won the league, had 90 points. In second place was FC HIENAS. The spots for the European Tournament went to third-place FC ParaBellum, fourth-place Dream Snake, fifth-place FC Mayaply, and sixth-place The Legends OW.

Individual statistics

Top scorer: Popcorn Proszę (FC HIENAS) 79 goals

Assists: Rocket78 (LIONHEART) 38

Interventions: Денис MIASOV (Łos FC ParaBellum)

Clean sheets: Tjooo (LIONHEART)

This is the overview of another end of the season, and I would like to congratulate the champions of all leagues!

See you next week!

Author: Fábio Muri

NEW YEAR'S BORAT!

Good day, esteemed readers of the sports magazine!

First of all, I would like to congratulate all of you on the New Year! This year has been a turning point for FootballTeam. The administration took a decisive and somewhat risky step — the unification of servers. On one hand, it was an exciting moment; on the other, it was worrisome. Many clubs, and indeed many players, including very significant ones, could not survive this merger. Clubs merged, leading to the oblivion of the teams from which the leaders departed. This oblivion did not always happen immediately; sometimes it lasted several seasons, and there are likely still teams waiting for their fate, going towards it more slowly.

Nevertheless, we are still in the game, which means our perception of the merger leans more toward the positive. In my opinion, teams have become more cohesive, and the competition in the top leagues has become more interesting and intense.

Our journalistic brother has also undergone an internal merger — the merger of magazines. Unfortunately, this too has not been without losses.

In the new year, we face another challenge in the form of changes to the league and tournament formats. Of course, this challenge may begin at the very end of 2024, but in any case, we will reap the rewards in the new year. Just like with the server merger, on one hand, you feel excitement about what’s coming and the unknown; on the other, there are many questions that keep you awake at night and cast doubt on any idea. 

Given that many questions about the format changes have been raised, we might expect a surprise in the form of a reworked original idea with adjustments and modernizations in the areas that have caused players concern. Why not? It’s the New Year season, the perfect time to believe in miracles!

We can also look forward to a new batch of "FootballTeam Legends" cards in the coming year. According to feedback, this event is "long-awaited" by all players. I would love to share with you some "joyful" comments about this news, but I’ll leave that pleasure for you to read yourself. Some of them are simply too outrageous to air!

After all, we all understand perfectly well why this is being done, so there’s no need to present it as a significant event. As I’ve mentioned numerous times, there’s a certain charm in card games and collections. It has added variability to gameplay, offering the chance to earn extra perks. And in principle, no one is forcing you — play if you want, or don’t. Collect if you want, or don’t. 

The issue is that if something is going to change, it should aim for improvement, but so far the opposite is true. Rewards in card collections are decreasing, the number of cards needed for collections is increasing, and the very principle of selecting "legends" for the cards is questionable. 

Speaking for the Russian-speaking representatives, I can say that I don’t even know many of them! Their legendary status is highly questionable. Don’t think I’m upset for not seeing myself there — far from it. I don’t consider myself a legend and have no accomplishments to warrant inclusion in the Hall of Fame!

In the end, this "joyful" event will bring us cards, including those of unknowns, complicate collection efforts, and once again force us to seek resources to improve new cards, among which there will clearly be some that are more desirable than the existing ones.

To conclude on this "positive" note, since I started with New Year’s greetings, I’d like to offer you wishes primarily in the context of the game. To the administrators — find improvements that will rekindle players' interest, which will allow you to gain additional profit; and to the players — keep your interest in the game, continue to develop, and enjoy yourselves, may energy, euros, and boosts be with you in the new year! And of course, health and love to you and your loved ones! May the New Year bring you many positive moments!

Author: Борат

FINDING NEW TEAMS: ALIANZA LIMA

Hello, welcome to edition #21 of the Football Team Game Journal. This text is dedicated to a new team in the game: ALIANZA LIMA, founded on 10/15/2024. when a group of friends from the city of LIMA created the Club. 

The name of the club, Alianza Lima, holds little mystery. It stems from the group of friends from the city of Lima who came together to establish it. "Lima" represents their shared home city, while "Alianza" signifies the alliance formed by these friends.

The name was officially registered the day after the club's foundation, and the first Board of Directors was established, with Princes as its president and Te Quiebro as his assistant. This assembly was tasked with overseeing the reorganization of the club and served as the central meeting point for its leadership.

With the foundation of the club also came the creation of its iconic kit—a white shirt adorned with a light blue band.

Alianza Lima is steadily building a strong squad, already boasting 15 of the 19 players they need, with an overall rating (OVR) of 226. Among their standout players are central defender MARIA (324 OVR), defensive midfielder PRINCES (586 OVR), central midfielder MERIDA (587 OVR), and center forward ZANELATTO, along with many other promising talents. However, the team recently faced a setback with the departure of their central midfielder, EL SALVAJE, who opted to join another club.

Despite their challenges, Alianza Lima’s history in league play is still developing. While they have yet to win a league title, they did achieve second place in the 2B Cup of Italy. Currently competing in the 1st Division of Italy, they find themselves in 10th place after 9 matches, with 6 points earned from 3 wins and 6 losses.

Though their current standing may seem modest, there’s little doubt that Alianza Lima has the potential to rise quickly. With their talent and determination, it’s only a matter of time before they establish themselves as one of the league's top teams, competing for higher positions and possibly a championship in the near future.

Current Lineup (Tactic: 3-1-4-1):

This is just the beginning of the journey for the promising new team, Alianza Lima. What will their ambitions be? Will they dare to chase the elusive treble and cement their place among football’s elite?

Only time will reveal the true purpose behind their formation and the heights they aspire to reach. For now, their story continues to unfold, and their fans eagerly await the next chapter.

Until the next edition!

Author: BUFALO FUNES (ID 1183)

ITALIAN CUP

Welcome to my next article. In today's article, you will not read an interview with a player, not the opinions of players about the event and changes in the game. Today I have prepared for you some information about the Italian Cup in real football. So leave a comment in the comments section below the newspaper. I will not prolong it any longer and invite you to read the newspaper.

As I mentioned at the beginning, today we will deal with the Italian Cup. I will try to divide this issue into several such subtopics:

⚽ what is the Italian Cup

⚽ a short history

⚽ Italian Cup format

⚽ pairs of the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup

The Italian Cup is a cyclical competition in Italy. It is intended for domestic football clubs. It is the most important competition after the league. The winner of the cup gains the right to play in the Europa League.

The first edition of the Italian Cup was played in 1922, where the first winner was FC Vado. They defeated Udinese Calcio 1-0. The next one in 1926-1927 was interrupted after the 4th round of eliminations.

The break lasted until the 1935/1936 season. The competition is called Telecom Italia Mobile. The winner of the Italian Cup gains the right to wear a badge (the so-called Coccardy) on their shirts for the entire next season (similar to the Italian champion).

The competition consists of eight rounds. It begins in August, when the first round involves teams from Lega Pro and Serie D. Teams playing in Serie B join the cup in the next round. The eight best teams from Serie A begin their struggles in the Italian Cup from the ⅛ finals.

Last season, the Italian Cup was won by Juventus Turin, who defeated Atalanta Bergamo 1-0 in the final. The top scorer turned out to be Arkadiusz Milik with four goals to his name.

In the Italian Cup, the pairs for the ¼ finals were drawn. They are as follows:

⚽ Bologna FC vs Atalanta Bergamo

⚽ Juventus Turin vs Empoli FC

⚽ AC Milan vs AS Roma

⚽ Lazio Rome vs Inter Milan

Let us know in the comments below the newspaper who will win the above matches. Also comment on the rest of the articles, not just the quiz. See you in the next article.

Author: Jacek Jaworski

REAL MADRID - SEVILLA

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! May the new year bring all football lovers a wealth of impressions, emotions, and excitement, and may your favorite team delight its fans with interesting and victorious matches as often as possible. I wish you all plenty of beautiful football!

As the New Year approaches, the hustle and bustle of the holiday season takes over, and just like us, football players are also going on winter vacations to recharge and bring us joy from football once again. Before the New Year’s break, Real Madrid faced Sevilla, and that’s the match I want to discuss in this article.

The start of the season for Real has been ambiguous. Each line of the team has faced issues, so all those who care about Real were hoping for progress from the team and individual players. Did Real manage to turn things around? Let’s find out right now.

It’s important to mention that this match marked the last appearance for Jesus Navas, who said his farewell at the Santiago Bernabéu: “I have never seen anything like this at an opponent's stadium. I am grateful to the Madrid fans.” Jesus Navas, a legend of Sevilla, has retired.

Now, onto the match itself. Real finally found its winning form and displayed relatively stable play — five matches without defeat (four wins and a draw), scoring 3+ goals in each game. Thanks to the victory over Sevilla, the "whites" surpassed Barcelona in the standings, though they still trail their neighbors, Atletico Madrid, by one point.

Regarding the match itself, it somewhat resembled the game against Girona, where the opponent played quite boldly relative to their resources and quality of play. One of Sevilla's key problems in this match was their overly aggressive approach. 

The team pressed high, but the quality of their pressing left much to be desired. Not only did they fail to win the ball back, but they also allowed serious gaps between the lines, which the opponent exploited. For instance, this led to the first goal.

Additionally, Sevilla's high defensive line against players like Mbappé, Rodrigo, and Brahim was not very effective. This was a poor strategy, as they often allowed forwards to slip behind their defense.

Besides Sevilla's obvious vulnerabilities, Ancelotti made adjustments by tweaking the roles of Bellingham and Brahim, who regularly sought space for openings in the center during this match. In other words, Ancelotti positioned Bellingham where gaps would appear during the opponent's pressing.

If you pay attention to the 1st and 3rd goals, this becomes very clear. Ancelotti also started Camavinga, placing him in the defensive flank, which hasn’t happened in a while. The goal was likely to establish a solid one-on-one matchup against Lukebakio.

And of course, we must highlight the individual qualities of the players. Once again, two goals came from stunning long-range shots (Mbappé and Valverde) — pure execution and class from the players. However, these goals were not random; they resulted from teamwork.

Notably, a crucial factor in the success was Mbappé's form — the Frenchman finally started to “come alive.” As he admitted, the turning point was the match against Atletico, after which Kylian “pushed off the bottom.” Mbappé has scored in each of the last four matches, usually converting not-so-obvious chances brilliantly. His stats now stand at 14 goals and 4 assists in 24 matches for the club, which looks much more acceptable.

And Valverde is a monster — he blasted another long-range shot into the net. He now has five such goals this season, more than any other player in the top five leagues.

I eagerly await the matches after the New Year’s break and hope that Real will continue to improve.

Author: Zidane