Your weekly source of information and entertainment, Sports Journal on server Legacy #11 brought to you by our journalists, is here! Remember to vote for your favorite article at the end! ☕

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1/ SERVER SPEED, UPDATE, AND NEW AUGMENTATIONS!

2/ IT HAPPENED IN 2024

3/ INJURIES IN SOCCER!

4/ THE RISE OF FOOTBALL IN THE LAND OF THE EAGLES

5/ HOW TO COME OUT OF RETIREMENT AFTER A MONTH: BEHIND WOJCIECH SZCZĘSNY TRANSFER TO BARCELONA!

SERVER SPEED, UPDATE, AND NEW AUGMENTATIONS!

We’ve just had a major game update, and while some changes will take time to fully assess, a few conclusions can be drawn immediately. In this article, I’ll share my personal observations and opinion on the changes to the global server (currently speed) and provide an overview of how the augmentation system for items has changed.

New Augmentation:

Thanks to the generosity (yet again) of Duma aka волк, I was able to evaluate the current state of augmentations. I’ll break it down into two parts.

First, I used 1,500 Historical Crystals, and after clicking through all of them, I was slightly disappointed with the results. I only managed to get a golden augmentation 4 times, and they were on the weaker side, ranging from 203% to 253.1%. The current max is 330%. Red augmentations, to be fair, were quite frequent.

The final result after 1,500 attempts was as follows:

4x golden augmentations, with the highest value being 253.1%

4x red augmentations, with the lowest value being 181.8%

Golden augmentations appeared once every 375 attempts.

As we know in FootballTeam, there’s one golden rule: if you didn’t get anything from the packs, it means you didn’t open enough of them. So, following that logic, we started the second round with another 1,000 Historical Crystals. The second attempt was much better, as we managed to get the remaining 4 items augmented to gold and also improved the worst golden augment to a better value.

The final result after another 1,000 attempts was as follows:

5x golden augmentations, ranging from 208.4% to 329.1%

Golden augmentations appeared once every 200 attempts.

Summing up the results, golden augmentations appeared once every 278 attempts!
The total cost of the augmentation was:

637,500 ZP for the crystals

1,118,750,000 Euros for the augmentation

Was it worth it? Absolutely. The overall playability increased by over 13k! Of course, the result will vary depending on the set you have. Additionally, with some luck, the best item achieved the highest augmentation, just 0.9% below the maximum value. Unfortunately, the others didn’t exceed 300%, and in fact, none of the remaining 8 attempts surpassed 265%, which I consider a weak result. However, it’s safe to say that the Green Crystal of Success and the Red Crystal of Success are now essentially worthless. It’s better to buy regular fragments with ZP and get better results rather than wasting credits on these two crystals. As things stand now, they could just as well be removed.

Unlocking the ability to use other crystals is massively overpriced—very few people can afford it unless they drastically make it easier to acquire these crystals. But why complicate things if they could just reduce the required number of crystals, say to 10? Which is still a hefty amount for Historical Crystals anyway.

Maybe it would make more sense to set these limits decreasingly, like this?

🔹50 red crystals

🔹25 golden crystals

🔹10 platinum crystals

🔹5 historical crystals

They could unlock progressively, which would stimulate the market, and these numbers would be much more realistic for regular players.

Global/Speed Server:

 At the launch of the global server, I wrote an article suggesting that it would be better to create a speed server, which would help players catch up with the main server. I don’t know if anyone took my idea into account, but I hope they did!
The current idea of a Speed server is, in my opinion, spot on. Rapid account development allows for the potential transition to the main server. Let’s not kid ourselves, right now no one has the slightest chance of catching the TOP1 player on the legacy server. The Speed server gives that opportunity, although it requires a significant amount of resources, but the bonuses make it much easier. I believe many players may move to Speed, develop there, and return to the main server with a top-tier account in their club.

The only downside I see at the moment with the update and the Speed server is that development heavily slows down progression. I think the administration should either reduce these limits, remove them altogether, or accelerate development. This would prevent players' progress from stalling.

Author: Bestia

IT HAPPENED IN 2024

Hello players, this week we will bring you a compilation of information about the current Breton sport.

Mbappe Hala Madrid

After winning its 15th Champions League, the Spanish club announced in 2024 the signing of French star Kylián Mbappe for five seasons, until 2029.

In his first season for Real Madrid, he has played so far in 10 games  and has scored 7 goals (5 in La Liga, 1 in the Champions League and 1 in the UEFA Super Cup) proving the high expectations regarding his reputation as a top scorer.

Enough with the prejudice…

Now, in October 2024, the Catalan League, an autonomous region of Spain, integrated Fénix FC, formed exclusively by transgender players, into the fifth division of the northwest region.

The team was founded by Hugo Martínez, 24, who was the victim of abuse when he began transitioning with hormone therapy and decided to call on trans-men to join him. The team creation process took 3 years.

Naturalised Euro Cup

In the 2024 Euro Cup held in Germany, 80 naturalised players took to the field: Germany 1, Scotland 6, Hungary 5, Switzerland 4, Spain 3, Croatia 8, Italy 2, Albania 18, Slovenia 2, Serbia 4, England 1, Poland 2, France 4, Belgium 1, Slovakia 1, Romania 2, Ukraine 2, Turkey 8, Georgia 2, Portugal 4.

Debuting at Euro Cup 2024

Georgia is a country that is passionate about football, but has had difficulty developing in the sport after the end of the USSR. They secured their place in the European Championship after beating Greece on penalties in a single match in the playoffs of the qualifying round.

Georgia had one win, one draw and one loss in the group stage. They then fell in the round of 16.

The unexpected performance brought a crowd to Freedom Square, an important point in the city of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, to welcome the players.

New rules implemented

🔹The rule of extra substitution due to concussion is permanent, but each championship can choose whether or not to use it.

🔹Each team must have a captain, who in addition to being a technical leader, must act as an intermediary in discussions with the referees.

🔹Players can choose the size and suitability of their shin guards.

🔹Handball fouls must be marked with the same rigour inside and outside the area.

🔹For penalty kicks, the ball must be centred or touching the penalty mark.

🔹Players who invade the field should only be marked if they directly interfere with the game.

North Korea Women's Under-20 National Team

The main novelty of the 2024 U-20 Women's World Cup was the increase in the number of participating teams, from 16 to 24. The teams were divided into six groups of four teams each. The tournament champion was the North Korea national team.

The success of the Koreans in the youth divisions is no surprise, but when they reach the age to make a professional career, the closed regime in Korea prevents the main teams from standing out, since the best athletes cannot play in major national competitions or abroad.

South American classic in Uzbekistan

The 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan is the tenth edition of the competition organised by the International Football Federation. The final of the tournament will be on Sunday, October 6th between Brazil and Argentina, a great classic in South America and world football.

Olympic Football

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, both women's and men's football were contested by 12 teams, initially divided into 3 groups of 4 teams each.

The women's final took place on August 9th between the United States and Brazil, which the Americans won 1-0, and on August 10th in the men's final between Spain and France, which the Spanish won 5-3.

Big hug to everyone and see you next week.

Author: Fábio Muri

INJURIES IN SOCCER!

Injuries in soccer are a common problem that can affect a player's career and the overall health of the team. The causes of injuries can be varied, including physical overload, improper technique, lack of fitness, poor nutrition and even the psychological state of the player.

Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid) suffered a terrible injury in the ninth round of  La Liga games in a match against Villarreal (2:0). The 32-year-old Real Madrid defender collided badly with Jeremy Pino in the 90+3rd minute of the match and in the next second collapsed on the lawn, screaming in pain. Carvajal left the pitch on a stretcher and in tears. This is the match I watched. And it was extremely hard to watch what happened.

Carvajal has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, a torn external collateral ligament and a torn hamstring in his right leg.

The defender will undergo surgery in the coming days.

According to Relevo, Carvajal's injury was worse than expected. The season is almost certainly over for the player.

At most, the defender will be able to return to the pitch in the final matches of the season or at the 2025 FIFA World Cup if his recovery is successful.

According to Cope, Carvajal is out of action for 8-10 months.

And these types of injuries to soccer players are happening more and more often. The current season has just started, and already a number of important players are out for a long period of time due to injuries. In the match between Arsenal and Manchester City, a clash with Thomas Partey led to Rodri's injury, and a bad landing in the game against Villarreal (again a match with this team) left Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona) out of soccer for a long time. In both cases, the diagnosis was disappointing: cruciate ligament rupture.

The international break will soon begin and players from their clubs will leave for national team matches. And every day during the international break, as we update the feeds of soccer news outlets, we hope that the players of the team we are worried about have not sustained any injuries. 

The reality is that the matches are getting bigger and bigger with each new season. So what's next? Will the key players of the elite teams of European soccer now suffer injuries that will put them out of action for months?

At the moment, soccer is not standing still, it is systematically developing, just like everything else that only exists in our beautiful world. However, it is worth considering whether the transformation of our favorite game is happening in the right direction? Club revenues have risen, fanbases have grown, the number of games has increased, attendances have increased and the price of television rights has risen - all these changes have happened to soccer in a fairly short period of time. But have the players themselves benefited from such significant changes?

Now they simply do not have time to relax with family, friends and to recover after the next hardest game. Finances are absolutely useless when it comes to health, because everything depends on a proper lifestyle and nutrition, which are the main factors of sports longevity. But how do you maintain your regimen in the face of an increased number of games? This is especially true for players from South America, who fly to their national teams' matches, which take place in a completely different time zone. 

But back to the increasing number of matches in world soccer. Soccer, like any sport, is first and foremost a business. That's why, in order to increase their income “FIFA” regularly makes various proposals to increase the number of participants in the world championship or even to hold the main soccer festival among the national teams once every 2 years. Their idea is simple: More demand for TV broadcasts from various broadcasters = more money for the development of the organization. However, do the officials ever think about the preservation of soccer itself and the players who are the main actors? Do they ponder the fact that soccer could simply lose some of the best performers in its history? Or are they just concerned about the money side of things?

If the number of games increases, it is necessary to increase the number of players on the roster, remove various restrictions and limits, so that coaches have the opportunity to put players who do not have a lot of playing time for matches that are not a priority. And also, most importantly, to protect the health of key performers who bring great value to the team. Until that happens, we can only put up with the fact that players who have recently played 50-60 games per season are either not in the best playing shape at the moment, or they are nursing another injury that they received because of so many games. And this is certainly sad not only for their club, but also for all those people who, despite any difficulties, continue to support their favorite team.

Author: Zidane

THE RISE OF FOOTBALL IN THE LAND OF THE EAGLES

Hello players!

Double-headed

Yes, the official name of Albania is "Shqipëria", which means "Land of the Eagles" in Albanian.

The black double-headed eagle on the flag of Albania is related to Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg, a 15th-century Albanian leader. Skanderbeg led the revolt against the Ottoman Empire that resulted in a brief period of Albanian independence from 1443 to 1478. 

Football in Albania has a history rich in emotion and tradition, which reflects the cultural identity of the country. A fierce, politicised and vibrant people.

History

The Football Association of Albania (FSHF) was founded in 1930 and joined FIFA in 1932 and UEFA in 1954.

The country's first football championship took place in 1930, with six teams participating.

The Albanian national team's first match was in 1946, against Montenegro, which Albania won 5-0.

Albania has had great footballers, such as Riza Lushta, Loro Boriçi and Naim Kryeziu.

The Air Albania Stadium, which replaced the legendary Qemal Stafa Stadium (demolished in 2016) in the capital Tirana, is the main venue for national team matches and has a capacity of 21,690 spectators. A 112-metre tower with an 80-room Marriot hotel and 256 underground parking spaces are also part of the complex. Its name was changed to Air Albania Stadium after the airline of the same name acquired the naming rights for five years.

National League

The current top Albanian league, the Kategoria Superiore, has been made up of ten teams since 2015. Each team plays 33 games per season, in 3 rounds. The top 3 teams earn the right to go to European competitions, the champion goes to the Champions League (qualifying rounds), the second and third placed teams to the Europa League qualifiers. The two lowest placed teams are relegated.

The main teams

1 - Klubi i Futbollit Tirana or KF Tirana, founded in 1920, is the main club with 26 Superliga titles, 16 Albanian Cup titles and 11 Albanian Super Cup titles.

2 - Klubi Sportiv Dinamo Tirana or Dinamo City, founded in 1956, is the second strongest team in Albanian football, with 18 Superliga titles, 13 Albanian Cup titles and 2 Super Cup titles.

3 - Futboll Klub Partizani or Partizani Tirana, founded in 1946, is the third strongest team, with 17 Superliga titles, 15 Albanian Cup titles and 2 Super Cup titles.

The National Team and AI

The Albanian national team, which has already competed in Euro 2016, has 19 naturalised players for the 2024 edition, which is the largest number of naturalised players among the qualified teams.

The naturalised players of Albania were born in countries such as: Greece, Kosovo, Switzerland, Germany and Italy.

Albanian law allows passports to be granted to those who have some degree of kinship with citizens of the country.

The evolution of Albanian football in recent years is largely due to Artificial Intelligence.

A member of the technical committee for seven years, the Italian analyst Alarico Rossi developed an algorithm, using artificial intelligence, to select players called up from among more than 9 million emigrants of Albanian descent around the world.

Among the main highlights of the Albanian national team: 

🔹Etrit Berisha: National team captain and naturalised Kosovo

🔹Ivan Balliu: Defender for Rayo Vallecano, Spain, with dual nationality

🔹Jasir Asani: Attacking midfielder who plays in South Korea 

🔹Kristjan Asllani: Reserve midfielder for Inter Milan 

🔹Armando Broja: Center forward who is also a bench player for Chelsea 

🔹Elseid Hysaj: Right back for Lazio 

🔹Berat Djimsiti: Defender for Atalanta.

Albania's coach is Sylvinho, who took over the national team in January 2023. 

Did you, the player, know anything about Albanian football? 

Tell us in the comments. 

See you next week!

Author: Fábio Muri

HOW TO COME OUT OF RETIREMENT AFTER A MONTH: BEHIND WOJCIECH SZCZĘSNY TRANSFER TO BARCELONA!

Ter Stegen’s Injury:

It’s Sunday evening, September 22, 2024, and at the El Madrigal stadium in Vila-real, a match between the local Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona is underway. In the 45th minute, the visitors’ goalkeeper, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, collapses on the pitch after jumping for the ball. The German lands awkwardly, immediately clutching his knee. His grimace of pain suggests something serious has happened. He is carried off the field on a stretcher, and his place is taken by Iñaki Peña.

Iñaki Peña:

A product of Barcelona’s youth academy, Peña had the opportunity to take the No. 1 spot last season during Ter Stegen’s previous injury. However, his performances were far from ideal. In 17 appearances, he conceded 32 goals, averaging almost two goals per game, and kept only three clean sheets. By comparison, the German goalkeeper made 36 appearances, conceding 37 goals, but keeping 17 clean sheets. Fans, remembering Peña’s performances, flooded the internet with comments calling for a new first-choice goalkeeper to be signed for the remainder of the season.

Potential Candidates:

Immediately, names of potential replacements for Ter Stegen began circulating online. Among them were Keylor Navas, Sergio Rico, Claudio Bravo, Jordi Masip, and Wojciech Szczęsny. Claudio Bravo even announced his readiness to come out of retirement, while Keylor Navas saw no objections to joining the Spanish vice-champions.

Luring Wojciech Szczęsny.
Polish journalists such as Mateusz Święcicki and Tomasz Włodarczyk began promoting the transfer of Wojciech Szczęsny on the platform X.com (formerly Twitter). The next day, on Monday, they recorded an episode of the popular Polish YouTube show “Foot Truck” discussing whether such a transfer was possible. A major uncertainty surrounding the transfer was the opinion of Szczęsny’s wife, Marina, as he had stated when retiring that it was time to focus on his family. However, as the Polish journalists pointed out, she liked an Instagram post that mentioned how “you don’t say no to Barcelona.” There were also reports that Robert Lewandowski was encouraging his former national team colleague to make the move.

Szczęsny Signed!

From that moment, Szczęsny was said to be Barcelona’s number one target, with Hansi Flick in favor of the transfer. The Stellar management group took on the task of representing the Polish goalkeeper’s interests. On Wednesday, at 16:47, Polish journalist Tomasz Włodarczyk posted on X.com that Wojciech Szczęsny would be joining Barcelona, which was later confirmed by Fabrizio Romano (the only legit source of information). On Monday, September 30, Szczęsny arrived in the Catalan capital for medical tests. The official announcement of the transfer, according to Tomasz Włodarczyk, was expected to be made on Wednesday, October 2, due to the Champions League match against Young Boys on Tuesday. With these reports in mind, we can only wish the Polish goalkeeper success with his new team.

Thanks for reading my article! If you enjoy this kind of content or have ideas for what I should write about next, feel free to leave your suggestion in the comments. Cheers!

Author : Kiero DS