Una Serie de Fútbol
From NSwiki, the NationStates encyclopedia.
| |
| Country | 
|
|---|---|
| Association | Queer Poco el Mono Ara Football Association |
| Established | 2009 |
| Divisions | Una Serie de Fútbol , League I, League II |
| Number of teams | 36 |
| Level(s) on pyramid | Four |
| Domestic cup(s) | Trofeo Royal |
| Current champions | Royal Khaldoon (4th Title) |
| Most successful team | Pythons (5 titles) |
| Website | www.unaserie.qpm
|
[edit] History
The Una Serie de Fútbol is the highest tier of professional football contested in Queer Poco el Mono Ara. Often refered to simply as Una Serie the league was re-established in 2009 as The Una Serie de Fútbol, despite the formation of a professional league almost a century prior as Queer Poco el Mono Ara ventured into the international football forum.
Since the beginning of the Una Serie, it is teams from Queer Poco el Mono Ara's capital Khaldoon who have proved the most successful with Pythons proving to be the most successful of those, winning 4 of the 6 initial seasons. Other successful Khaldoon teams include Royal Khaldoon who secured two back to back titles and Augustus who managed the feat of winning the Trofeo Royal three times in a row.
Prior to Una Serie
| Season | Team |
|---|---|
| 1992 | Skyte City |
| 1993 | Barbossa |
| 1994 | Barbossa |
| 1995 | Pythons |
| 1996 | Barbossa |
| 1997 | Real Minanda |
| 1998 | Barbossa |
| 1999 | Pythons |
| 2000 | Pythons |
| 2001 | Valengren Kickers |
Before rebranding to The Una Serie de Fútbol the Pocoan national league was simply refered to as the PPL (Pocoan Premier League) and existed from 1919. Established by the chairmen of local clubs to create a fixed format, the league varied very little from it's current shape, featuring 8 teams. The original 8 included Real Minanda, Almondvale, Athletic Khaldoon, Pythons, Barbossa, MS Leighton, Villa Ortiz and Royal Khaldoon with the teams playing one another 4 times. The home stadiums were very different to how they are today and the few fans who would turn out to see the semi-professional players would have to stand in the terraces. Athletic Khaldoon would win the title to become the inaugural PPL champions.
By 1950 the league had expanded to include four other teams and the players had moved to professional status. Football in Queer Poco was beginning to expand into a full time business and players were finding themselves held in higher regard, coming close to superstar status. Television was becomming an increasingly powerful tool in football and the first live televised football match was between Barbossa and Villa Ortiz, with the latter winning 4-0. Revenue from screening live football matches allowed teams to spend more than they had before and extravagant stadiums were built and transfer fees began to enter the tens of thousands region of mono coins. The 1950's also heralded the legendary rivalry between Skyte City and Valengren Kickers as the two teams traded titles for several years between 1953 and 1961 before their 8 year reign at the top of the table came to an end with Villa Ortiz spoiling the party.
10 years further down the line and the PPL expanded once again to include two lower leagues and for the first time featured promotion and relegation between leagues, with the first side to ever be relegated from the PPL being Pythons.
By the 21st Century football was the biggest sport in Queer Poco el Mono Ara but the nation had still yet to venture into the relm of international football. The conception of the revamped Una Serie de Fútbol coincided with QPeMA's international football team's first ever attempt to qualify for World Cup 47. To attract competition and interest in the PPL the name was changed and rebranded.
[edit] Structure
The league consists of 12 teams who play one another 4 times, twice at home and twice away playing a total of 44 matches. Teams are awarded 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. The team at the end of the season with the most accumulated points wins the championship.
The team with the lowest number of accumulated points is relegated to the second tier of professional football, League I. Below League I exists a further professional league, League II. Promotion and relegation between the leagues occurs at the end of a season with the top team moving up a division and those at the bottom of the league relegated to the division below. Beyond League II exists the semi-professional Segunda League.
League I and League II follow the structure of the Una Serie de Fútbol, consisting of 12 teams who play a total of 44 games
The Una Serie, League I and League II are coordinated by the Queer Poco el Mono Ara Football Association (QPMAFA). The governing body of football in Queer Poco, which also organizes the Trofeo Royal and the pre-season tournament Prince’s Shield, arranges fixtures, oversees transfers and is responsible for upholding football legislature within the sports community.
[edit] Current Una Serie League Teams
| Team | Location | Stadium | Seats | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ajax Khaldoon II | Khaldoon | Montana Road | 18,000 | Jackson James |
| Almondvale | Almondvale | Almondvale Stadium | 25,000 | Luis Van Gaal |
| Athletic Khaldoon | Khaldoon | Khaldoon Central Stadium | 40,000 | Florent Cyrille Petit |
| Augustus | Khaldoon | Nestle Road | 24, 000 | Ash Bakht |
| Jonastown United | Jonastown | Caiman Stadium | 26,000 | Mukhtar Salimi |
| Pythons | Khaldoon | St. Jonas Stadium | 22,000 | Dennis Kerwin |
| Ridgemont Town | Ridgemont | St. Valeries Stadium | 30,000 | Jeremy Dixon |
| Royal Khaldoon | Khaldoon | RoyalStadium | 27,000 | Prince Ahmed Omar Bakhiri |
| Salaga F.C | Salaga | Estadio Ruiz | 21,000 | Boaz Gera |
| Skyte City | Skyte | Grayside Stadium | 20,000 | Warren Kenyon |
| Valengren Kickers | Valengren | Union Sports Stadium | 20,000 | Álvaro Lobo (Cafundeu) |
| 1860 Flumineiro | Flumineiro | Estadio Guiza | 12,000 | Eliot Peters |
Former Una Serie Sides
| Team | Location | Stadium | Seats | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbossa | Barbossa | Vickery Road | 30,000 | Jeremiah Tuggwell |
| Belle-Isle on Sea | Belle-Isle | Newry Road | 17,000 | Gary Lorrimer |
| Port Los Renato | Renato | Jiminez Alberto Xavi Stadium | 17, 000 | Irving O'Toole |
| Real Minanda | Minanda | El Estadio de la Esperanza | 58,000 | Kian O'hare |
| Rydell United | Rydell | Ilkley Street | 14,000 | Dao Xie Hong |
| Villa Ortiz | Ortiz | Ortiz Soccer Dome | 32,000 | Vincent Geiger |
[edit] The Pythons Monopoly
Pythons, hailing from capital city Khaldoon lifted the title in the league’s inaugural year, nabbing the championship in the final week of play. With a point separating the top two teams, City needed a win and for Pythons to drop points at struggling Barbossa. Skyte were held to a 2-2 draw at Royal Khaldoon and Pythons ran home 5-2 against Barbossa, topping the league by three points. The relegation spot was held by Villa Ortiz, who, despite winning more than a quarter of their fixtures finished 7 points behind nearest rivals Barbossa.
Pythons own Ishmael Van Dyke won the golden boot, notching up an impressive 34 goals. Season one of the revamped Una serie de fútbol also heralded the arrival of Queer Poco's brightest young sporting talent, the 16 year old Hugo Anderson of Augustus. At just 16, he was voted QPMAFA young player of the season and made his debut in Queer Poco el Mono Ara's first ever international friendly against Dancougar. To fully confirm the Pocoan league's arrival on the international scene, prior to season 2, invitations were sent to 6 foreign FA's to send league sides to compete in the first ever The Prince's Shield - a pre-season friendly tournament hosted by the Queer Poco el Mono Ara royal family.
Season 2
Season 2 brought with it the first foreign transfers into the Una Serie, with players from Somewhereistonia, Sargossa and Starblaydia all joining leaguesides. Mark Sloan's Pythonsside picked up the title for the second year running. After being 4th in mid-season, they romped to victory finishing 5 points ahead of the competition. At the bottom of the table, one of the longest running professional clubs, Barbossa were relegated, finishing 2 points behind newly promoted Jonastown United. The relegation battle went to the wire, with Jonastown United’s last day victory over Port Los Renato securing their place in the league. Barbossa were relegated following their second successive final day defeat at the hands of the champions.
Prior to year three Pythons added to their impressive striker force of Ishmael Van Dyke and Frederico with the acquisition of Enrico Dossena. Dossena arrived as a free agent, after being released from League I side MS Leighton due to personal issues. Once again Van Dyke again finished top scorer, this time collecting the golden boot with 32 goals.
The inaugural Trofeo Royal took place and Augustus, who managed a 4th place finish in the league took the title, beating the relegated Barbossa 2-1 in the final.
Season 3
Pythons maintained their winning ways and dominated the league, winning the title with an unprecedented 9 point lead. By securing their third successive title Pythons were permanantly awarded the Una Serie trophy and coach Mark Sloan was named among others as possible international coaches to succeed the struggling Aguazul, Asdrubal Espinoza. Two time runners up Skyte City were the shock team of the season, sliding into the bottom three teams having spent two seasons as also-rans just behind Pythons. Again the relegation battle went to the wire with Valengren Kickers coming out on top with a 1-0 victory over Skyte, Port Los Renato's two year stay in Una Serie came to an end with a 2-2 draw with Royal Khaldoon. However there was something to smile about for the Anchormen, reaching the Trofeo Royal final. Despite losing 4-3 to two time winners Augustus PLR would play in the GlobeCup next season.
[edit] Season Four, a break in the chain
Season four heralded the breaking of the QP transfer record with Royal Khaldoon splashing $20million on Somewhereistonian Vytautas Tork. With the Royal family bank rolling Royal's success and the team's distinct lack of trophies the Queer Poco monarchs decided to invest more of their personal fortune in the club and bring in some international stars. Big spending Royal breezed to the league title, leaving Pythons in their wake and becoming the first team to win the league since it's renaming other than Pythons. Pythons season stuttered from start to end and the fans were disappointed by the sale of star striker Ishmael Van Dyke before the season began to CMSC side NAPPC. New boys Belle-Isle on Sea went straight back down having spent just one season in the Una Serie. Belle-Isle became the first side to become relegated straight after promotion and proved the notion the Una Serie was an easy league to adapt to incorrect as the cash strapped sea-siders earned only 33 points. In League I Port Los Renato became the first team to suffer the 'honour' of being the side to go through subsequent relegations and dropped into League II.
Pythons failure to lift the League title for a fourth straight season was compunded with a heavy 4-0 defeat in the final of the Trofeo Royal to Augustus who made it a third title in as many seasons. The defeat heaped pressure on manager Mark Sloan who was heavily ciritisied for the sale of Ishmael Van Dyke.
[edit] Season V, the inaugural double
Mega rich Royal Khaldoon maintained their league title, romping to 88 points, 12 clear of nearest rivals Pythons. Lead by international captain Tomasz Poborsky, the richest side in Queer Poco el Mono Ara won the league by the largest points margin since the old league. Royal also managed to break the Augustus stranglehold on the Trofeo Royal by acheiving the double and becoming the first team to do so after beating Ridgemont Town 3-1 in the final. Augustus had won the three previous Trofeo Royal tournaments and the superb performance of the expensively assembled squad would have the team etched in history. After two years of struggling, Pythons former golden manager Mark Sloan began to come under flack for his recent movements in the transfer market, allowing the likes of Karim Zaki, Ishmael Van Dyke and Dean Bowyer to leave the club and replacing them with relatively unknown youngsters. The ever improving Jonastown United continued to build on their reputation of being the best team to be promoted to the Una Serie, coming within a point of third place. Down at the botton, relegation was again settled on the final day of the season like so many before and it was Valengren Kickers who bit the bullet and were sent to League I sparing Real Minanda. The Kickers had flirted with relegation for years and had narrowly avoided it for a number of seasons. Following their relegation Valengren had a complete reshuffle and the team was sold after chairman Ashley Joseph decided the team was a drain on his family money anc could no longer afford to bank roll the team. A consortium of Cafundeu businesses bought the company and immediately began signing new faces to push for promotion.
[edit] Season VI, Return to the big time
After receiving abuse from the terraces for failing to bring another trophy to Pythons following their three league titles in a row, Mark Sloan stunned his detractors and with his team of relative youngsters (led by veteran forward Frederico) by winning the league. Royal must have been feeling the effects of their double performance the season prior and started season VI poorly, with Somewhereistonian boss Tarmo Mae on the brink of being sacked, howeve the team got their act together and marched up the league, finishing four points behind Pythons. Royal were given an opportunity to redeem their season by reaching the final of the Trofeo Royal (beating Pythons in the semi-finals). The final would be a repeat of the previous year and Royal would face Ridgemont Town who had ended the year in 7th. In fairytale fashion Ridgemont made amends for the previous year's final and beat Royal Khaldoon 2-1 to secure their first ever professional trophy. Real Minanda were cruelly relegated on the final day of the season, when relegation opposition Salaga picked up three points against Pythons, in a match many spectators suggest was thrown by the home side. Surprise package of the season were Almondvale who acquired former internationals Petr Ollic and Karim Zaki on free transfers and managed a best ever finish of 3rd place.
[edit] Season 7 A tale of four teams
The premise to the 7th season was the possibilty of a credible 4 way challenge for the title. In all the time since the inauguration of the Una Serie, at best the title chase had been a two horse race but season 7 heralded the return of Valengren Kickers, now heavily funded by a Cafundelese consortium, Almondvale strengthened by the arrival of former title winners, Pythons reigning champions built on exuberence and youth and Royal Khaldoon, the richest team in Queer Poco el Mono Ara, spurred on by the previous season's inability to claim a title.
The four horse race envisioned by football pundits failed to show, with Almondvale stuttering from the off. As Vale's collapsed under the weight of expectation and through the lack of goalkeeping stalwart Petr Ollic, it was Royal and Valengren who did most of the running. Royal shot into the lead, claiming the league's summit from as early as week 3, meanwhile, Valengren Kickers followed closely in second, but not seemingly close enough to threaten for the title. All the while, Pythons prolonged run in the Globe Cup and Aeropag Invitational effected their league form.
Going into the final 1/4 of the season, Royal topped the table with 66 points, followed by Valengren on 60, while Pythons trailed in third on 55. A sudden dip in form for the league leaders (losing 4 games on the bounce) coincided with a resurgent charge from Pythons who closed the gap and overtook them. As the final weeks ran down the top three traded places and it looked as though the league could head any direction. With four points separating Royal and Pythons in the last two games, the two met at St. Jonas Stadium, where Pythons came off the better in a 4-0 drubbing, which saw five men sent off. This closed the lead to a single point going into the final fixture, a last day win however for Royal Khaldoon sealed the league title and saw Pythons finish second, whilst Valengren claimed their best Una Serie finish, coming third on their return to the league.
[edit] Season 8, Sexism, Equality and a new League
Since the inception of professional football in Queer Poco el Mono Ara there had been no professional teams in place for women or even spots on the roster for women. After the all female side of Cassadaigua lifted the 50th edition of the World Cup the women of Queer Poco had been screaming out for equality amongst the nation's top division and called for the inclusion of females. However the QPMAFA were unwilling to budge on the proposal that each team in the Una Serie had to make space for one female professional and suggested the best they would do was League II. This was taken as a slur, and the campaigners for professional football for women in Queer Poco set about the creation of a 12 team league to run opposite the Una Serie. Before the 8th Una Serie season could begin 12 new franchise based teams were in place to play in the very first Valentía Premier League.
Season 8 saw Mark Sloan's Python's claim their first double, topping the table by 5 points and beating Almondvale on penalties in the Trofeo Royal. Much of the praise came the way of the Khaldoon side's strike force with a front pairing of Malak striker Dmitri Zukava and Akbarabad legend Samir Akbar. The pair grabbed a combined tally of 57 goals in the league.
[edit] Past Champions
| Una Serie Season | Champions | Runners-Up | Third Place | Trofeo Royal Winners | Runners-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Pythons | Skyte City | Ridgemont Town | N/A | N/A |
| II | Pythons | Skyte City | Ridgemont Town | Augustus | Barbosa |
| III | Pythons | Ridgemont Town | Augustus | Augustus | Port Los Renato |
| IV | Royal Khaldoon | Pythons | Ridgemont Town | Augustus | Pythons |
| V | Royal Khaldoon | Pythons | Augustus | Royal Khaldoon | Ridgemont Town |
| VI | Pythons | Royal Khaldoon | Almondvale | Ridgemont Town | Royal Khaldoon |
| VII | Royal Khaldoon | Pythons | Valengren Kickers | Royal Khaldoon | Jonastown United |
| VIII | Pythons | Royal Khaldoon | Valengren Kickers | Pythons | Almondvale |
| IX | Royal Khaldoon | Valengren Kickers | Almondvale | Augustus | Valengren Kickers |
[edit] Una Serie Award Winners
| Season | Players’ Player of the Season | Sportswriters’ Player of the Season | Golden Boot | Young Player of the Season | Foreigner of the Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Ishmael Van Dyke (Pythons)
| Petr Ollic (Port Los Renato)
| Ishmael Van Dyke (34 goals, Pythons)
| Hugo Anderson (Augustus)
| No Award |
| II | Ishmael Van Dyke (Pythons)
|  Juan Segura (Valengren Kickers)
| Ishmael Van Dyke (32 goals, Pythons)
| Manny le Paglia (Athletic Khaldoon)
| Juan Segura (Valengren Kickers)
|
| III | Frank Le Tissier (Ridgemont Town)
| Frank Le Tissier (Ridgemont Town) | Ishmael Van Dyke (22 goals, Pythons
| Enrico Dossena (Pythons)
|  Amets Mendiluze (Skyte City)
|
| IV | Tomasz Poborsky (Royal Khaldoon)
| Dean Bowyer (Pythons)
| Juan Segura (23 goals, Royal Khaldoon)
| Adrian Belmont (Augustus)
|  Vytautas Tork (Royal Khaldoon)
|
| V | Vytautas Tork (Royal Khaldoon)
| Vytautas Tork(Royal Khaldoon)
| Enrico Dossena (26 goals, Pythons)
| Jordi (Royal Khaldoon)
|  Zezihno(Augustus)
|
| VI |  Dmitri Žukava (Pythons)
| Petr Ollic (Almondvale)
| Dmitri Žukava (27 goals, Pythons)
| Nakiti Shapiro (Augustus)
| Dmitri Žukava (Pythons)
|
| VII | Tomasz Poborsky (Royal Khaldoon)
| Frederico (Almondvale)
| Gnomo (30 goals, Valengren Kickers)
| Gilbert Batistuta (Ridgemont Town)
| Gnomo (Valengren Kickers)
|
| VIII | Anatoly Milinkievič (Pythons)
| Karl Ergma(Royal Khaldoon)
| Dmitri Žukava(33 goals, Pythons)
| Hakan Mendez (Athletic Khaldoon)
|  Chale Cobarrubias (Royal Khaldoon)
|
[edit] Broadcasters
| Known Broadcasters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | |
| Malak Free State
| MITV | |
| Queer Poco el Mono Ara
| QP Sportscaster | |
| Somewhereistonia
| VTV Spordiga | |
 Virabia
| RSN, The Football Channel | |
[edit] Trofeo Royal
The Trofeo Royal is a knockout club competition organised by the QPMAFA involving all 36 professional teams in Queer Poco el Mono Ara. The competition takes place over 7 rounds, commencing at week 5 in the league schedule. The final is played at the National Stadium, Estadio Victoria on the 13th May[ICly]. Round 1 of the competition involves the bottom 4 teams from League II, the winners progress to the second round where they play the teams who finished 8th and 7th in League II the previous year. Again the winners advance to round 3 where the remaining 30 professional teams are added to the draw.
To date Augustus remain the most successful team in the Trofeo Royal having won the title on three consecutive occasions. However since their 3rd victory the team have failed to progress any further than round four, including a defeat on penalties to League II side Ajax Khaldoon II in round three in the sixth edition of the competition.
The fourth and fifth editions of the cup became the first occasion in which two teams have met in consecutive finals with Royal Khaldoon besting Ridgemont Town in Trofeo Royal IV and the reverse occuring in Trofeo Royal V as Ridgemont won their first title.
Royal Khaldoon reached the final for a third year running, coming up against Ricky Ortega's Jonastown side. The two teams slugged it out over 90 minutes coming to a 3-3 draw. Extra time was in order to divide the two and a piece of brilliance by Royal Khaldoon winger Jordi proved enough to separate them.
Pythons finally made ammends for their 4-0 trouncing by claiming the Trofeo Royal in season 8, needing penalty kicks to separate themselves from Almondvale.
Trofeo Royal Finals
| Season | # Competitors | Champion | Goals | 2nd place | Goals |
| 2 | 36 | Augustus | 2 | Barbossa | 1 |
| 3 | 36 | Augustus | 4 | Port Los Renato | 3 |
| 4 | 36 | Augustus | 4 | Pythons | 0 |
| 5 | 36 | Royal Khaldoon | 3 | Ridgemont Town | 1 |
| 6 | 36 | Ridgemont Town | 2 | Royal Khaldoon | 1 |
| 7 | 36 | Royal Khaldoon | 3 (4 AET) | Jonastown United | 3 |
| 8 | 36 | Pythons | 1 (2-2 AET 3-0 PEN) | Almondvale | 1 |
First division football leagues
| |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||
