Your weekly source of information and entertainment, Sports Journal #44 brought to you by our journalists, is here! 📖⚽

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1/ FOOTBALL QUIZ

2/ EARN, CREATE, IMPROVE - HOW TO EARN ON THE MARKET, AND DESCRIPTION OF THE "LOCKER ROOM"

3/ CARD DUELS - HOW TO START THE ADVENTURE

4/ MATCH REPORT FC PARABELLUM - AK ELITE TEAM

5/ EXCITING NATIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINALS MATCHES

6/ REFEREE CONTROVERSIES THROUGH THE EYES OF THE MANAGER #15

FOOTBALL QUIZ

👑 The winners of the last edition are: (Royal)

100 Keys 🔑 Premium - Blalson

10,000 ⚡ Energy - Tony Dalton & Kamson95

Hello! I'm here with another part of the football quiz series. Of course, there are prizes in the form of 100 Keys 🔑 Premium for the first person to answer correctly and 10,000 ⚡ Energy for two random people with the correct answer. I will select the winners on Thursday at 8 p.m. Let's start!

1/ Player name and surname:

He is one of the most sophisticated English midfielders of his generation. Creative, technically gifted, with a unique vision of the game - a player whose style brings to mind the classic "number 10s" of the past. His path to the Premier League may not have been as dramatic as some, but it was full of challenges that required character and consistency.

Born in 1996 in Coventry, he took his first serious football steps in his local club Coventry City. As a teenager, he quickly attracted the attention of coaches with his maturity in play and unusual freedom of ball handling. In the 2014/2015 season, he made his debut in the first team in League One. It was already clear then that he had exceptional potential - the ability to create play, dribbling and effective shots from distance.

In 2016, he moved to Norwich City, joining the Championship. However, development took time. The club decided to loan him out - first to Coventry, then to Scottish Aberdeen. His time in Scotland in particular proved to be groundbreaking – he not only gained experience, but also learned how to cope with physicality and pressure.

After returning in the 2017/2018 season, he exploded with form – 14 goals and 8 assists in 44 league matches. His name is increasingly appearing in the media in the context of a transfer to the Premier League.

In the summer of 2018, he signed a contract with Leicester City. He made his Premier League debut for the "Foxes" and immediately made an impression. Thanks to his excellent technique and ability to play between the lines, he became one of the team's key players. In the 2019/2020 season, he scored 6 goals and added 3 assists, although the numbers do not fully reflect his impact on the team.

Over time, he matured as a player. He learned to combine creativity with tactical discipline and cope with expectations. Together with players such as Tielemans and Vardy, he was the offensive strength of the team. In 2021, he won the FA Cup – one of the greatest successes in the club's history.

In the summer of 2023, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur. The London club saw him as the foundation for rebuilding the team. From his first appearances, he proved that he could be a leader – both technically and mentally. Creativity, accuracy of passes and the ability to control the pace of the game made him one of the best attacking midfielders in the league.

Although his national team career developed more slowly – mainly due to the huge competition – his talent remained undeniable. He is a player who does not rely on strength, but on intelligence, precision and intuition.

Author: Wylewinho

EARN, CREATE, IMPROVE - HOW TO EARN ON THE MARKET, AND DESCRIPTION OF THE "LOCKER ROOM"

When playing Football Team, we most often want to either have our own club or join an existing one. In this article I will introduce you to the club module as best I can. From the perspective of the owner and player, I will also present interesting ways to earn money and explain how to use the manufacture effectively.

The club from the Owner's perspective

Being a club owner, especially at first, can seem like a daunting task to even get started. Not many people want to join us when we are alone in the club, so it is best to gather a few friends and start the game together. The next aspect that can attract players to your club is expansion, because when the club has individual expansion levels, its members can create items (headband, ball, etc. depending on the expansion level).

Players, by completing tasks from the calendar or exchanging collections, provide the club with club points, which can be exchanged for building materials. However, you should not spend them right away, but check what building materials you lack.

Some players may also have a problem with the Euro, meaning they will be more willing to come if you offer them a contract.

Another important thing for the club in terms of contracts and expansion are friendly matches, where for such a match we receive Euro (just like for all other matches), which we can transfer to construction Euro, or use for contracts.

When playing on 2 fronts, e.g. domestic cup and league, rotation is important to not waste players' health, because when they have less health, they play at a lower percentage of their skills.

Trusted people can also get an assistant to intervene when we are not there.

Assistant is able to:

• Change the lineup

• Begin the club expansion build

• Offer contracts

• Sign up for a friendly match
  
  

The club from a player's perspective

When you are a player, it pays off to exchange collections, because many of them contain club points that help you expand your club, and in addition, you gain additional rewards in these collections. You can also separately deposit Euros, Crystals, and other things needed for expansion. By playing in a club, you can earn rewards by playing in the league, national cup, and other competitions.

How to earn on the Market?

The market on the Classic server is specific because it has a very strange economy, but each server combines a calendar and other ways to earn money, such as:

• Checking already announced tasks in the calendar, e.g. exchange 30 bronze packs for keys, when we know that there will be such a task, we can buy as many of these packs as possible a few days before and start selling them slowly on the day of the task, which should pay off.

• Creating a monopoly, e.g. on boosters, when we buy the entire market from one booster, it will become more expensive, so it should cost more.

• If we have items that we can create in the manufacture, cheaper than it costs on the market, we can create it and then sell it.

In my opinion, these are the best ways to earn credits, but do not treat them as a proverbial "sure thing", these methods don't necessarily pay off.

How to use the Locker Room effectively?

• In the "items" tab we can use drinks or put on a skin.

• In the "sell" tab we can sell items (e.g. Super League boots), which will give us different types of resources.

• The "enchant" tab is very useful because it allows us to increase the skill level of the item, increase the percentage points of the Success Ball, which we can use if we want to increase the chance of upgrade of an item (in the Manufacture, if we want to upgrade the item, it must have a given upgrade level, e.g. 16+). It is worth noting that you can only upgrade items of at least the green tier.

• In the "upgrade" tab, you can upgrade your item to a higher tier item by giving a given amount of items (e.g. 5 gray ones). Remember that you can also get Golden Balls instead of a higher tier item.

• "Unlock" is a tab that allows you to unlock an item that can later be sold.

• One of the more useful options in the "Locker Room" is the "Reroll Skill" tab, which allows you to change your skill to a more useful one.

• "Augment" allows you to get an additional bonus for a given item, which can be a minimum of 1.1% and a maximum of 1000%. This is very useful.

• "Manufacture" allows you to create various things, starting from drinks, going through fragments or packs, ending with different tier items that you can equip.
  

Author: Gruby Tymek

CARD DUELS - HOW TO START THE ADVENTURE

We go to City > Card Duels and click “join the queue”, that's all. Thanks for your attention!

But seriously, there are a few things worth keeping in mind. Especially as a beginner.

Is it worth playing?

The question is often asked whether it is worth playing card duels, because for example you do not win 100%, or you have weak cards, so why play?

It is worth it! By playing, we can receive a season reward for playing 250 duels in a given season. Depending on our rank, the rewards are better and better and they are guaranteed!

In addition, for each won duel we have a chance to win one prize from the pool, and with each rank higher, the prizes become better and better, so by playing we gain resources that help us develop our character and create better cards.

Starting Deck:

At first, our deck consists mostly of green cards, but as we slowly open packs of cards, we will replace them with better ones.

A gold card is not always the best option, because it is very expensive to upgrade, and red cards can outperform gold cards in terms of skills at later levels.

Below is a table made by players with the currently best cards:

Looking at this, it's worth aiming for cards that have the highest skills in their category, e.g. Wojtek Szczęsny, is a great card for Set Pieces and Defensive Play. This is a card that, if we improve it, we will have it for a long time.

Remember to update your deck regularly, try other cards if we see that we are lacking a specific skill.

How to get cards?

We get cards from tasks, card packs, Team Games, season rewards, calendar, or bundles (in the Shop). But let's focus on the first two, because those are the ones we'll get cards from most often.

Daily Card Tasks:

• Unlocking all extra meals in the Cafeteria

• Daily Task “Duel Master” for completing 4/4 Duel Quests

• Daily Task “Legendary Card Shark” for completing 4/4 Card Quests

• Activating 33% Versatile Style during a match

• Completing a Calendar Task

Card Tasks:

• Seasonal “Duel Master”

• Seasonal “Legendary Card Shark”

• Seasonal Card Reward
  

This way we can get a few red + gold cards and as many as 150 Card Packs, so it's really worth trying and doing these tasks!

Finally, one piece of advice from me.

Even if you don't do well at first, don't give up. Over time, you'll have better cards and you'll do better!

Author: Mr Messive

MATCH REPORT FC PARABELLUM - AK ELITE TEAM

The best films by Alfred Hitchcock were characterized by the fact that the viewer was hit in the head at the very beginning, the action calmed down, only to slowly increase until the finale. A similar scenario was proposed to FootballTeam by the gods, who prepared a match for us at the beginning of the season, which according to any other concept should have been played at the end, to maintain the drama of the game. Let's go back to the third round of the French league and the clash between FC ParaBellum and AK Elite Team.

Thursday afternoon was special for these clubs. Two teams that, after the dissolution of the OboOboObo team, have no equal in the league. Additionally, FC ParaBellum had to come to terms with the fact that the AK Elite Team had strengthened compared to previous seasons and caught up with the Russian tycoon in terms of skills. I wouldn't be surprised if the players in both teams were playing Vangelis' Conquest of Paradise all day long on the speakers. The mood was certainly combative - both teams gave their rivals a scythe, both showed up with full squads fired up to the max, also with Anabolic and Hero Drinks.

The hosts were the favorites of the match. Firstly - they were the hosts, which is always some minimal advantage. Secondly, they are a recognized brand, with many great players. Thirdly, although perhaps the least important, they are the league's hegemon. They have the right to feel confident and other teams should care more about this, although it seemed that AK Elite Team had the right to destroy this established world order. They are doing great in the games (at the time of writing the article they are in the top 3, having 18 million trainings), they strengthened their squad (Sr. KRATOS strengthened the defense line, Angrist the midfield, and Mateusz Wierzbowski the attack) and suddenly it turned out that they caught up with FC ParaBellum in terms of general skills.

However, the hosts quickly cooled down the will to fight and faith in a good result of AK Elite Team. Already in the 5th minute of the match, Evgenio Mazza beat the visiting goalkeeper with a great shot. Galu stretched out as far as he could, but had no chance of reaching the ball and kicked straight into the goal's corner.

However, the guests were not discouraged by this blow at the start of the match. They played the ball, gradually approaching the opponents' penalty area, until finally Kolmapuszi made a great pass to Popaprany Apacz, who had no choice but to simply beat the goalkeeper. 1:1!

After this goal, the FC ParaBellum players took the initiative. They had the ball more often and although they were often knocked out of rhythm, mainly by PepeGrb, who played a great game, they finally achieved their goal. At the end of the first half, LEXX crossed the ball from a corner kick, it went straight to MIASOV head, who in such a situation simply had to score a goal. Goal to the locker room, the hosts are leading 2:1!

The second half began with a tough, manly fight in the midfield. The brightest points on the map were the defensive midfielders of both teams - PepeGrb and MIASOV. After all, it was the AK Elite Team player who also added something concrete in the form of an assist. After a great run by Kolmapuszi, the ball went out for a corner kick, from which PepeGrb crossed, and the ball was headed into the goal by one of the MVPs of the previous season - Kolmapuszi. 2:2, Elite Team is back in the game!

Unfortunately for the guests, this was the last nice and optimistic note for them. The hosts dominated the last 30 minutes of the match. However, fitness is an indispensable element of the game and despite the equal score for ⅔ of the match, it is what is on the scoreboard after 90 minutes that counts. And well, after three goals by Evgenio Mazza in the second half, FC ParaBellum wins 5:2. So, dear FootballTeam members - if there's anything you can learn from this match, it's to practice set pieces and fitness!

Star of the match: Evgenio Mazza. The FC ParaBellum striker scored 4 goals, and in a top match he shouldered the responsibility for the result. He was extremely effective, used passes and was able to find his way in the penalty area.

Author: PanEgo

EXCITING NATIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINALS MATCHES

Hey! This is Kyrunio, in this article I will describe the past Nations League matches, which were extremely exciting, and after their results we met the finalists of this year's edition of the Nations League! Who became the finalist? You will find out by reading the article to the end. So let's get to the point.

UEFA Nations League - This is a tournament that started in 2018, it was invented as part of minimizing classic friendlies, so that the teams, apart from the EURO and the World Cup, also play for something at stake.

The teams were divided into four leagues (A, B, C, D) according to the UEFA coefficient, with a system of promotion and relegation between divisions. The best teams from League A compete for the title in the final phase, played every two years.

Currently, it fills the gap between the EURO and the World Cup, which is 2 years. The matches played a few days ago were so interesting that those who did not watch live should regret it. The matches were full of dynamics, pace, emotions and, above all, goals, which is what each team is ultimately judged on.

First match: Germany 1 - 2 Portugal:

On Wednesday, June 4, the first of the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League took place, which will determine the finalists of this tournament. The German national team hosted Portugal at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

From the beginning of this match, the class of both teams was visible. Constant attacks by both the home and away teams. Unfortunately, until the end of the first half, no one scored a goal, which made the second half quite interesting.

And so it was. A moment after the break, Florian Wirtz received a perfect cross from outside the penalty area to the eighth meter, where a player of such class had no right to make a mistake. Diogo Costa was defeated with a header.

In the 58th minute of the match, Francisco Conceição came on to replace Francisco Trincão, who did not yet know that he would change the fate of the match.

Just 5 minutes after coming on, he managed to work his magic, he entered between the German players and surprised Ter Stegen with a measured shot into the left side netting.

Another 5 minutes passed and Nuno Mendes broke away on the wing, went down towards the middle of the opponents' penalty area, noticed the perfectly positioned Cristiano Ronaldo, and he only completed the formality by hitting the ball into the empty goal from around six meters.

In this way, Roberto Martínez's team showed the Germans that they are not easy opponents, eventually winning against them 2:1.

Second match: Spain 5 - 4 France

The match, which took place on June 5 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Stuttgart, on neutral ground, was definitely the hit of the round, which every fan was waiting for.

The match started with great class, both teams tried to score, but it was the hosts who ruled from the very beginning.

In the 22nd minute of the match, Lamine Yamal played a powerful ball into the middle of the penalty area, where Mikel Oyarzabal found himself, who kept the ball with the opponent on his back, passed the ball to Nico Williams, who did not hesitate and confidently beat Maignan!

The Spaniards knew that they could not rest on their laurels, so they continued to attack. Just 3 minutes after the previous goal, Mikel Oyarzabal, after a one-on-one with Mikel Merino, led him to a situation in which he had a sure shot. He hit the near post right next to Maignan.

The seconds before the end of the first half were a nightmare for the French, in the 44th minute of the match it could have been 3:0, but Huijsen was offside, which prevented him from scoring. The first half ended with the score 2:0.

Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Lamine Yamal ran into the penalty area with the ball, was fouled by Rabiot, and the referee, after consulting the VAR team, confirmed his decision. The fouled player, Lamine Yamal, took the penalty, and with a confident shot into the bottom right corner of the goal beat the visiting goalkeeper.

Didier Deschamps' team had not yet managed to recover from this goal, and Nico Williams found some free space and released Pedri, who with a confident shot to the right increased the score to 4:0.

However, there is no score in football that is completely safe. In the 59th minute, Kylian Mbappe converted a penalty kick into a goal for France.

Less than 10 minutes later, Pedro Porro released Lamine Yamal to the side of the penalty area, where the young Spanish talent found himself perfectly and with a measured shot on the ground he re-established his team's 4-goal advantage.

In the 79th minute of the match, Cherki received the ball in front of the penalty area, where he had too much space, scored a perfect volley, the goalkeeper had no chance!

Just 5 minutes after this incident, Malo Gusto threw the ball into the penalty area, and Vivian made a catastrophic mistake, heading it into his own goal.

In the added time of the game everyone already thought that the match was already decided. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the 93rd minute Randal Kolo Muani after Cherki's throw-in headed the ball into the net from close range.

At that moment the Spaniards got hot, their advantage melted from 4 goals to only 1 goal. Anything could have happened, but the Spaniards brought the result 5:4 to the end. A very exciting match of both teams is behind us.

That's all from me for today, I encourage you to read the articles sent by other journalists and evaluate my article. Until next time!

Author: Kyrunio

REFEREE CONTROVERSIES THROUGH THE EYES OF THE MANAGER #15

Hello, Kiero DS here. Due to the numerous controversial situations involving football referees, I have decided to create a new series, where I will analyze these situations step by step. This series will appear relatively regularly, as controversies arise.

How could you not notice it? The referees embarrassing mistake in the Germany-Portugal match:

As a football referee, coach and someone who has been active in the football environment for years, it is increasingly difficult for me to ignore mistakes that do not result from difficulties in interpretation or a lack of appropriate video material, but from something much more serious - lack of experience, intuition, habits, and sometimes even fundamental knowledge of the Laws of the Game.

The situation from the Germany-Portugal match, in which the Germans scored a goal to make it 1-0, is a perfect example of such embarrassment. Analyzing this action from start to finish, it is hard to believe that the goal was awarded.

What happened?

After Kimmich's cross, the ball was heading to Wirtz, who eventually headed it into the goal. But before that happened, Woltemade - in a clear offside position - took a few steps towards Portuguese defender Rúben Dias. Replays clearly show that he was obstructing his movement, holding him, leaning on him or pushing him. Whether he did it intentionally or not - the key is that his presence affected the defender's ability to act effectively.

Offside - it's not just about position:

According to the Laws of the Game 2024/25, a player in an offside position is only penalized if:

• he takes part in play, or
• influences an opponent, or
• gains an advantage from being in an offside position.

In this case, we are dealing with the second scenario - influence on an opponent. The rule is clear:

"A player interferes with an opponent when he prevents them from playing or being able to play the ball, by clearly obstructing their field of vision or by influencing them through movement or positioning that clearly affects the opponent's ability to act."

In this case, Dias could have easily intercepted the ball or at least tried to react, if it were not for the physical presence of Woltemade, who - I emphasize - was offside. His contact with the defender was sufficient to consider that he interfered with the opponent's actions. And here you don't need ten cameras - just one good shot and refereeing experience to see it.

VAR? Or rather VAR failure:

The embarrassing thing about this situation is not only that the main referee Slavko Vinčić did not notice the infringement, but also how the VAR team worked. Alen Borosak and Rade Obrenović did not show the referee the correct camera shot showing Woltemade's contact with Dias. Instead, they only showed a general shot from behind the goal. Vinčić looked at it for just six seconds and decided to award the goal.

How is it possible that VAR did not recognize offside, even though the situation was textbook? The answer is simple - there are no offside specialists. Neither Borosak nor Obrenović are linesmen, they do not have many years of experience in analyzing offsides. They are head referees who have not had practice in independently assessing such events for a long time.

This mistake was not accidental:

I have been observing the same problem for years in Poland - in the Ekstraklasa, where VAR is often operated by people with no experience in analyzing offsides. The result is errors that should not happen in professional football. The problem lies not only in the technology, but in the human element: in the competence, selection and training of VAR referees.

If Borosak and Obrenović had been trained according to the highest standards and had the appropriate experience in analyzing offside and its impact on the game, this goal would not have been recognized. There is no doubt: Woltemade was offside and his behavior affected the opponent - which according to the Laws of the Game means active offside and should result in the goal being disallowed.

It's not about the goal - it's about credibility:

The blessing in disguise is that Germany lost the match and was eliminated, so the decision did not distort the final result or promotion. But what if such a situation happens in the semi-final or final? Or in a match where the result will decide promotion? Referees must be absolutely prepared, competent and ready to make difficult decisions. And this requires a systemic change - both in UEFA and in our domestic PZPN.

To sum up - what should have happened:

1 .Woltemade was offside - a fact.

2. He made a move towards Dias and made it difficult for him.

3. Dias could have reacted effectively if not for Woltemade's intervention - it had an impact on the game.

4. THE GOAL SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AWARDED.

This mistake should become a starting point for deep reflection. Because if VAR is to work – it needs people who understand the game and feel the nuances resulting from the regulations. Otherwise, the technology becomes just an expensive gadget, which instead of solving problems – deepens them.

Thank you for reading my article! If you like this type of content or have ideas for further topics I should write about, leave your suggestions in the comments. Best regards!

Author: Kiero DS