Championnat Vorticoa | FICTIONAL LEAGUE AND COUNTRY

[VorticoseTax]

Lavoisie FC

 

Whilst their recent performances aren't something to write home about Lavoisie FC are undoubtedly one of the most prestigious clubs in Vorticoa. One of the biggest fanbases in Vorticoa and the most supported Vorticoan club internationally, the club has been a powerhouse ever since it's formation and entry to the Ligue du Sud winning the title year after year with little competition. In 1986 when it organised a one-off game against other powerhouse Cieux City some 40,000 fans crowded in and around the small ground to watch the game that ended as a 2-1 win to Lavoisie as Cieux City couldn't restore a two goal deficit. The club continued its dominance from the Ligue du Sud into the Championnat and in the 1988/1989 season became the inaugural champions of the Championnat. The club added a second trophy to the cabinet in 1993 and then preceded to quiet down for a few seasons. The best was still to come when from 01/02 - 06/07, the club won an impressive 5 league trophies. Veteran striker Bruce Mandanda is the only player still from the side that last won silverware in 06/07 whose 25 goals in the campaign helped the team win with a 12 point gap over second placed Thire. Mandanda, now 33, has seen the team yet again quiet down and the question on all fans minds is whether or not another period of success is to follow. Having moved from their old stadium which was situated amongst the lovely botanic gardens in the old town to a flashy new arena in downtown Lavoisie, older fans are in disarray feeling as if the club has thrown away all heritage and pride. The old stadium will still be kept in a pristine condition as the club ponder what to use it for, with many hierarchy members at the club suggesting a museum. The team's controversial deal with Coca-Cola was signed in 2014 and the club have recently ditched their deal with Puma to sign a large and expensive deal with Adidas.

 

[VorticoseTax]

Port de Viselles

 

Thanks to an investment by multi-millionaire Jeremy Alard this club has risen from a poorly performing second division side to a team that is capable of challenging for the Championnat title. Yet this has been done without barely spending a dollar on foreign superstars or high money transfers. When Jeremy came to the club in 2008, he realized that the club was run terribly by previous owner tycoon Aaron Cheshire. After multiple fans riots forced the VFA to intervene and alongside Jeremy ran an investigation into the club. The results kicked Cheshire out and Jeremy took his place, vowing to correct the wrongs the former owner had made. Jeremy began with improving the staff, hiring scouts to search the local leagues for talented players. However most fans think Jeremy's greatest contribution is the restoration of the stadium and the updating of the facilities. These changes among many more resulted in Port de Viselles being promoted to the top flight for the first time in the clubs history in the 2010/2011 season. The 2011/2012 season saw the first time Viselles Juniors and Port de Viselles competed against each other in a competitive match with the fierce local rivalry splitting the city in half. With 4 red cards and 5 penalties being handed out across both games, both derbies were tough and strong physical battles with a moment of magic from youngster Alexandro being the decisive goal in the home fixture for Port de Viselles. Port de Viselles fan base comes largely from the east side of the city known as the student quarter with multiple universities and a large region dedicated to shops whilst Viselles Juniors stadium is located on the waterfront on looking St Thomas island and club attracts a lot more high class and older fans. The different fan bases are reflected in the teams with Viselles Juniors honoring tradition and heritage where as Port de Viselles tries to be as out their as they can, pushing boundries, this is reflected especially well in their kits. This year kit manufacturer Adidas has implemented a subtle wave pattern into the traditional cyan shirt and for the away kit have chosen to use a dark purple pattern. The club penned a shirt sponsorship deal with Yokohama in 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

[VorticoseTax]

After quite the lengthy hiatus I have decided to return to Vorticoa with a newfound passion, I have completed all the designs for the Championnat and I am still undecided about whether I should make a second division. Without further adieu let's get back into the teams

 

Guille

Originally a rowing club, the founders of the club realized the profit potential of expanding into a joint football-rowing club, they were one of the original teams in the Championnat yet only have one title to their name, coming in the 89/90 season. The town's name is derived from the French word for gargoyle comes from an old myth that on Halloween the gargoyle statues on the roof of Blaise Manor came alive, scaring away any children who came for candy. Whilst the original Blaise Manor is a listed heritage site, Guille's stadium, situated on the bank of the river where the rowing club operates, has used design style of the manor as inspiration with intimidating gargoyles lining the exterior of the stadium. If that isn't enough to scare opponents and travelling fans, the atmosphere inside will certainly do the trick. A sea of black and white jerseys fills the stadium at every home game and the fans seem to sing endlessly. Despite the clubs early title, nowadays they seem to find themselves jumping up and down divisions every year, however a stroke of good luck found the team in the 12/13 season as they narrowly dodged relegation following the appointment of manager Jeremy Yarle who has inspired the team to push further up the table. Their key player is undoubtedly Remus Mattson, a skillful left-winger who regularly creates glorious chances for the team, unfortunately Guille lacks a talented striker who can finish off these attacks. Many experts think that as soon as the striker problem is sorted out Guille will be a strong contender for the title once again.

 

 

 

Anselme

Anselme have certainly had an interesting history with a series of bankruptcy and dodgy deals tainting what could have been a strong team. Founded as a youth club in 70s they often supplied talented players too larger clubs, more often then not to Champlain Foot which is located in the brother city to Anselme. This was all going well and steady as Anselme expanded slowly to began to form an amateur team to play in the local league. However there was only so much money generated in the sale of youth products and the club struggled financially for many years. Willem Parsale, a board member of the club, convinced the rest of the board to push the team into a more professional outfit when it was announced that there would be a second division in order to raise funds. However for some reason this angered Champlain Foot and the two teams now have a fierce rivalry. The team got promoted in their first season and the board promoted Parsale to club president, this was when the club fell apart as Parsale paid for transfers using stocks of his company and brought in most of the profit the club earned. This continued on for many years until 2007 when there was a major investigation into Willem Parsale, after he declared bankruptcy. Many wondered what would happen to the club and it eventually disbanded when no other board members wanted to take charge. Still, the fans rallied together and using limited funds re-invented the team in a local league. In 2013 they applied to enter the second division once again and found themselves promoted to the Championnat last season, winning their second, second division on the way. The club's kits are manufactured by Lotto and are sponsored by French food brand Sodebo.

 

[Silence of the Rams]

Now these are awesome and with a few changes. Some of these unis could be used for MLS expansion teams as well (no I am not going to rip off your designs and so forth I'm just giving examples)

 

Like

This one all you need is a different crest and a different sponsor and you have Miami

 

Change sponsor to either Mercedes Benz or Popeyes and you have New Orleans

 

Change of sponsor and you have San Francisco

 

And finally

Sponsor change to Ford and you got Detroit.

 

I'm not saying make those changes. It's a testament to how good the designs are

[VorticoseTax]

I'm glad you like the designs. I must admit though that the Port de Viselles home kit was inspired by someone else's kit design for a Miami based team. I try to design kits based on the city the team plays in, so those cities must be similar to the ones you listed.

[VorticoseTax]

St. Thomas CDF

 

The only team located on the island Saint Thomas, they have always been the countries least supported team due to the islands small population. There aren't many words to describe the island of Saint Thomas, but tropical and commercial would probably be the best choice. The highlight of the island is definitely the old town which is located on the top of the hill and is home to the Church of Saint Thomas, a major historical tourist attraction for travelers. Other then that the island is mainly resorts and beaches. The small stadium with only a capacity of around 13,000 was built in 1997 in an attempt to get the local islanders playing sport, they somehow managed to form a team and ultimately decided to enter the team in the inaugural season of the second division. The second division is where the team has stayed for the most part having only played in the top flight on two occasions; the 03/04 season and the 16/17 season. Because of the islands ever changing population the team have suffered from a lack of real fans and the stadium might be full one week then empty the next. The orange kits were inspired by the old prison that was built slightly off shore and the Church of Saint Thomas is clearly found on the club's crest. The team are sponsored by Air France and the kits have been supplied by Under Armour for the third year in a row.

 

[Silence of the Rams]

8 hours ago, VorticoseTax said:

I'm glad you like the designs. I must admit though that the Port de Viselles home kit was inspired by someone else's kit design for a Miami based team. I try to design kits based on the city the team plays in, so those cities must be similar to the ones you listed.

Wow. I didn't expect that. Like I said I was just pointing something out. And trust me it's not a knock on your design. It's actually a massive compliment. Will (minus the 49ers owner Jed York because in my opinion as a 49er fan he is a massive donkey) the Lions, Tigers, Pistons, Saints, and Dolphins, Heat, and Marlins owners get on board

[VorticoseTax]

Thanks for your compliments 

[StaatsBrett]

Yes it's back 

[VorticoseTax]

Racing Descartes

 

A team formed out of the pockets of oil and motor sport tycoon Julien Guther, Racing Descartes are a fairly boring team. Whilst Guther's pockets could afford a brand new stadium, a decent team and professional staff his money could take them only so far. Racing Descartes have never won a title yet they've been relegated either and most seasons sit comfortably around midtable. However this team suits the city of Descartes like a glove. Descartes is located in a barren and dusty landscape and is the hottest city in Vorticoa, although it isn't the sort of nice heat like in other beach towns such as Viselles or Fontenois but instead a humid and dry heat. Racing Descartes wear a similar pattern to Guther's motor sport team of the same name, black with a red band down middle and lined with gold. Racing Descartes is the most popular team among the older generations due to the city's high real estate prices and luxurious nature, with many casinos and expensive restaurants. The highest prestige for a resident in Descartes is the honour of being invited into a royal club called "Taurus" which offers private dining and club services at many places around Descartes such as the racing track, the yacht club and of course the at the home of Racing Descartes, the Onnar Arena. The rumour is that Taurus has a 10 year waiting list and outside of invitations only 25 people get accepted each year. Aside from the glamour and publicity of Descartes, it is a fairly nice place to live and there are still many famous players from the area. Most notably is Bruce Prohouly a veteran midfielder and who before an horrible ACL injury was a starter in the Vorticoan national side. The club is entering their first year with new kit manufacturer Adidas and have just re-signed a deal for a further 5 years with sponsor Fly Emirates.

 

[StaatsBrett]

Smashing  job the back story of the teams are  great 

[VorticoseTax]

Already at the final Championnat team!

 

Achille

 

Once a proud and fierce team, Achille have suffered immensely from the rise of other northern teams such as AS Virsac. Their traditional game of rough tackling and aerial passes has fallen out of favor with fans who prefer to see dangerous attacking football. Strangely despite their rough play style the club has had a long history with Brazilian players from the Championnat POTS winning Nivaldo Pallaoro, whose goal scoring antics in the 01/02 campaign gave him that accolade. Pallaoro is often considered as Achille's greatest ever players and some pundits would even place him in the best Championnat team of all time alongside the likes of legends like Bruce Saymak and Michael Lundy. Recently this tradition of Brazilian players has continued with the likes of undisciplined yet game-winning defender Pardo and cheeky winger Alan Madero. The club's colors of maroon and navy come from the city flag and have been used in the team's kits ever since the 70s. The story goes as after an intense game between Achille and Le Dorat which the former won via golden goal (Golden goal was the traditional format for friendly games in those days) and in celebration the Achille players all draped a Achille City flag across their back, however the raining was pouring down at that stage so the flags all stuck to the jersey and now the colors have stuck with the team. Achille ditched their old kit manufacturer Kelma for deal with New Balance, in the off season while long-time sponsor Bugatti remains as the team's primary sponsor.

 

[VorticoseTax]

Spending a little time getting things prepared before moving onto the next league. I have made a few little graphics about the Championnat though.

 

I proudly present......

 

CHAMPIONNAT TEAM OF ALL TIME

 

 

 

A breakdown of the Players:

 

GK: Thomas Campbell (Lhor 11-13) (Port de Viselles 14-??)

LB: Erik Hendriks (Viselles Juniors 91-01) (Achille 02-06)

CB: Chester Rakhale (AS Virsac 07-??)

CB: Jeremy Nolan (Guille 05-08) (St Thomas 08-09) (Guille 10-13)

RB: Charles Badjeck (Olympique Vijon 97-00) (Lhor 01-08)

CM: Luke Agard (Olympiqe Laval 97-01) (Lavoisie 02-08) (Cieux City 09-13)

CM: Michael Lundy (Thimonville 92-10)

CM: Bruce Saymak (Cieux City 88-95)

LW: Remus Mattson (Guille 11-??)

ST: Nivaldo Pallaoro (Achille 98-04) (Champlain Foot 05-07)

RW: Rick Suji (Thire 91-98) (Achille 99-02)

[VorticoseTax]

Turns out I forgot about one Championnat team, Sommetaire

 

Sommetaire

 

Unfortunately Sommetaire is the team that almost everyone forgets, the team from the Montagne Du Soleil are often bouncing between the two divisions and the only trophy in their cabinet in the form of a second division title in 2006/2007. Based out of the small township of Sommetaire, nestled in a valley in the Montagne Du Soleil they represent most of the villages in the area. Because they are in such a remote location they have become somewhat outcasts of the league which has led to many embarrassing stories. The best of these is from the 2001/2002 season when Thivars simply failed to show up to the game costing themselves the second division title. This story has evolved into a popular catchphrase in Vorticoa, "Don't pull a Thivars on me!" meaning 'Don't make plans then not show up' this was first penned by journalist James Grout, who has now become one of the leading Championnat reporters and hosts a segment on the Friday night pre-game show. As a team Sommetaire are fairly linear, they often sit back and defend before trying to catch teams on the counter attack, when it pays off Sommetaire can be one of the best teams in Vorticoa to watch, sadly this doesn't pay off very often and it is common for them to be on the receiving end of 3, 4 and even 5 nil defeats. They are sponsored by water company Evian and their kits are made by Puma.

 

[VorticoseTax]

 

The results after match-week 25 are in, Port de Viselles remain top of the table despite a shaky draw, a mistake which chasers Thimonville failed to take advantage of as they drew as well. Lavoisie suffered a devastating loss to bottom of the table Sommetaire, which surely has them out of the title race. Anselme and Racing Descartes are now tied for points and will make for an interesting game when the two teams meet next week in Descartes. Achille will want to find form again quickly after they failed to win again, with their winless streak now lasting 3 games. Port de Viselles are a strong outfit this year, and sensational goalkeeper Thomas Campbell has spoken of his eagerness to win the trophy but urged his teammates to still keep pushing, reminding them that the race wasn't over yet. So could it be a first of many titles for Port de Viselles or will Thimonville beat them to it for their first trophy since Lundy's retirement, only time will tell.

 

Other News

 

Pundit Bruce Saymak has praised the new scheduling rules of the Championnat which were put in place at the start of the season. The new schedule acts as a guideline for scheduling matches and factors in environmental conditions and has been put together to provide the best drama over the season. It outlines the number of games that are to be played in each month and has included two breaks, one from mid-December to mid-January and another from mid-May to mid-August. Saymak said that the schedule meant that we will come into a really intense time around Easter and April, with title contenders not wanting to drop any points or slip up during this time. He also acknowledged the merit of the Winter Break, reminding us of the past when games continued to be played despite the snow and freezing temperatures. The new schedule, which was being tested this season has now been made official for all upcoming seasons of the Championnat.

 

 

 

[VorticoseTax]

The Vorticoan Divto

 

In 1998, the VFA had become overwhelmed by a number of requests of entry into Championnat, however the VFA remained firm on their decision of rejecting further expansion in the top flight and so created the Divto, Vorticoa's second tier on the footballing pyramid. Quickly entry bids came soaring in and VFA accepted 18 teams into the inaugural season. The inaugural season was played out in 2000/2001 and the following promotion and relegation rules were set in place, 3 teams go up and 3 teams go down to and from the top flight. Anselme hold the honor of being the first team to win this competition and are also the most recent title holders. The Divto logo is comprised of three interlocking rings representing the VFA motto of courage, trust, teamwork.