Taeshan national football team
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| Nickname | Purple Knights (Purpurrotte Ritter) |
| Association | Taeshan Soccer Federation (TSF) |
| Manager | |
| Captain(s) | |
| Highest Scorer | |
| Country Code | TAE |
| KPB ranking | 10th |
| Highest KPB ranking | 10th (WC 64) |
| Lowest KPB ranking | UNR (WC 36, WC 55) |
| First international | |
| Largest win | |
| Worst defeat | |
| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 8 (First in World Cup 41) |
| Best result | Quarterfinals World Cup 62 |
| Baptism of Fire | |
| BoF Apperance | Baptism of Fire 24 (a.k.a. Hatchling Cup) |
| Result | Reached Quarter-Finals |
The Taeshan national football team (a.k.a. the Purple Knights) was formed in the year 1831 in Taeshani time, participating in its first international football (called 'soccer' in Taeshan) tournament in the Hatchling Cup (officially known as the Baptism of Fire), hosted by Sel Appa. The Knights went 4-0 to win their opening round group, but lost in the first round knockouts to Uiri. Since then the Knights have faced many opponents on their way to qualifying to their first World Cup in Daehanjeiguk and Ad'ihan.
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History
After their somewhat successful debut outing in the Hatchling Cup, the Purple Knights entered their first World Cup. The Knights surprised most sports fans by finishing just outside a playoff spot, just behind fellow Hatchling Cup participants Oikioda who also surprised the world when they won their playoff and went to their first and last World Cup. After qualifying was over the Knights went to the 29th Cup of Harmony, but were easily swept aside in the first round.
In their second turn at the World Cup the Knights did not get anywhere close to qualifying, finishing well out of the running for a Finals spot in World Cup 38. They then went to their second Cup of Harmony, the 30th, in which they performed much better than in the Qualifiers, making it to the tournament's Semi-Finals before losing. In World Cup 39's qualifiers the Knights yet again found a tough road and were yet again headed to a Cup of Harmony. In the 31st Cup of Harmony the Knights disappointed their fans, not coming up to the level of their previous success, being eliminated after the Group Stage.
World Cup 40's qualifiers saw the Knights yet again barely miss out when, on the last few match days, they fell down and out. They finished third in their Group, but were unable to defeat Cafundeu in a playoff for a finals spot. After the qualifiers Knights coach Jake Rios stepped down and Zeke was hired as the new coach, after he retired from the international stage with a team record of 42 goals. In the 32nd Cup of Harmony the team didn't even get a single win in the competition and was knocked out before the second round.
World Cup 41 was the fateful Cup for the Knights. After a long qualifying run the Knights qualified for the World Cup for the first time with six wins and three ties in their ten qualifying games. Though the team had qualified for the first time, they only managed to tie a single game in the Group Stage and was thus knocked out at the Group Stage.
World Cup 42 was a let down after the Knights failed to qualify, just a year after they made it to the ultimate stage for the first time. They missed out by many points. In the ensuing cup of Harmony the Knights yet again did not make it out of the first round. World Cup 43 was also a no-go as the Knights again missed out by many points.
The 35th Cup of Harmony turned out to be what many see as the turning point for Knights soccer. Hosted by West Zirconia and Newmanistan the Knights easily made their way through the Group Stage and Play-off round. They beat their West Zirconian hosts in the Final, giving them the teams only Championship in the sport to date. The Knights followed up their Cup of Harmony Championship by qualifying for World Cup 44, but in the World Cup Group Stage the Knights yet again failed in their second chance at glory.
World Cup 45 led to the Knights second letdown. They had just qualified for the second time in the previous Cup, but this time they again missed out on a place in the Finals. This led to yet another appearance in the 27th Cup of Harmony, but the Knights were knocked out by Peisandros in the Quarterfinals.
World Cup 46 saw the third qualification for the Knights as they easily finished as the number two team in their Group. Again, however, the qualification seemed in vain as they were eliminated after the Group Stage. World Cup 47 qualifying was an epic failure for the veteran Taeshani team, it led to the retirement of many players from the international seen including then Team Captain Tad Montague, and the whole entire Taeshani Defensive line, and backups. Then what has widely come known as the change from the first Generation to the second Generation began and during the ensuing Cup of Harmony the Purple Knights failed once again to make it past the Round of Sixteen match and would finish tied for ninth place in the tournament.
World Cup 48 was another disappointment for the Purple Knights as the team once again barely finished just out of a qualifying position as third in the group. In the following Cup of Harmony, the 40th event, the Knights would have a small turnaround of fortune as they made it to the QuarterFinals before falling to the Secristan Millionaires 2-1.
The team would again fail to qualify for World Cup 49 falling to both Bostopia and Krytenia. And follow suit in world Cup 50, and make the second round of the next Cup of Harmony. After that stars Brian Ying Uing, and A.F. Falcon would retire, with Ying Uing becoming the new national coach replacing Zeke, and Falcon taking the vacant assistant job. Zeke would be come the teams trainer.
The team again failed to qualify for World Cup 51. After which it was undecided whether they would be allowed to compete at Cup of Harmony 43, but ultimately the Knights withdrew to allow more training of their younger players and to allow the nation of Kosovoe take its rightful spot in the tournament.
The team would return only once more before the nation went into a long period of political turmoil in World Cup 52, but finished just outside of a qualification spot and would not go the Cup of Harmony. The teams first tournament back in the international scene was World Cup 55 qualifying where once again they failed to qualify and did not take part in the subsequent Cup of Harmony. They followed their poor performance at the previous cup in World Cup 56, in which they finished third in their group only three goals points and a bunch of goals behind qualification.
In World Cup 57 they followed their previous cup with another 3rd place qualifying finish, and followed it with a failure in the first round of the Cup of Harmony 49. The following year they finished in a playoff spot for World Cup 58, but lost to Pays de Horreur in the playoff 1-0, and followed it with a Cup of Harmony first round bow out. That failure to qualify was followed by a round of sixteen loss to Andossa Se Mitrin Vega in Cup of Harmony 49.
Taeshan qualified for the fourth time for the World Cup following a second place finish in Group ten for World Cup 59 qualifying. After extra time against Civil Citizenry the underdog Knights one on penalties in a scoreless draw 4-1. At the World Cup they would beat world #3 The Babbage Islands, before losing to both Akbarabad and Chetkosk ending their return to the biggest international stage.
The team failed to qualify for World Cup 60 finishing second behind Valanora, and falling to their foe from the previous Cup proper Akbarabad in the pod playoff. After their failure to qualify the team would finish third overall as the third ranked team in Cup of Harmony 52, losing to The Archregimancy in the Semi-Finals and defeating Audioslavia in the 3rd place game.
During qualifying for World Cup 61 the Knights once again managed a second place finish, which put them for the third time into the playoffs. In the playoffs they qualified with a 1-0 victory over their Yesopalithan counterparts. At world cup 61 the Knights would make it to the Round of Sixteen after tying Pasarga, defeating 8th ranked Cassadaigua and tying the lowest seed in the group #90 Starblaydia. After topping the group they fell to Astograth 1-0 in the Round of Sixteen.
The next season they finished second place again in qualify, and for the second season behind Licentiapacisterra, they managed to then qualify after a playoff victory over Kinitaria. This marked the first time in team history where they qualified for two straight world cups. In the finals the Knights one again went 1-2-0 in the group stage, winning the group on 5 points. They would improve though on their Round of Sixteen performance by making it to the Quarterfinals after a defeat of FSSO after a 1-1 draw for 120 minutes, with a 3-2 penalty victor, after which they fell to The Babbage Islands 2-0 in the quarterfinals.
The team breezed through qualification for World Cup 63 ultimately winning Group 1 by 5 points after a last day loss at [[Sargossa]. After World Cup 63 they took part in their first regional competition, Copa Rushmori 13, they managed a quarterfinal appearance losing in extra time to Western Cuba and going 4-0-1. They played for the first time with a "b" team expanding the national teams overall pool.
The national team then moved on to qualifying for World Cup 64 where they qualified with 3 matchdays to spare, and lost only their last match of the campaign to Lalo Limahina. Newcomers Barunia finished second pushing [Karditan] of its expected finish.
The national team has an official record of 258-107-148. It has played in 11 Cups of Harmony since the team's conception. It has qualified for the World Cup eight times to date. In Friendly matches the team has gone 30-15-55 in 100 matches, and their overall record combining tournaments and friendlies is 288-122-203 in 613 total matches.
| Event | Record | Placing in Group | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bof 24 | 4-0-1 | 1st in group | Round of Sixteen |
| World Cup 37 Qualifying | 6-2-6 | 3rd in group | Did not qualify |
| Cup of Harmony 29 | 1-1-2 | 4th in group | Did Not Advance |
| World Cup 38 Qualifying | 3-5-6 | 6th in Group | Did Not Qualify |
| Cup of Harmony 30 | 3-0-2 | 5th in Group | Semifinals |
| World Cup 39 Qualifying | 4-4-6 | 5th in Group | Did Not Qualify |
| Cup of Harmony 31 | 1-3-1 | 5th in group | Did Not Advance |
| World Cup 40 Qualifying | 5-2-5 | 3rd in Group | Did Not Qualify |
| Cup of Harmony 32 | 0-2-3 | 6th in Group | Did Not Advance |
| World Cup 41 Qualifying | 6-1-3 | 2nd in group | Qualified |
| World Cup 41 PROPER | 0-1-2 | 4th place | Did not Advance |
| World Cup 42 Qualifying | 5-5-2 | 4th place | Did Not Qualify |
| Cup of Harmony 34 | 2-1-2 | 7th Tied | Second Round |
| World Cup 43 Qualifying | 6-5-3 | 4th In Group | Did Not Qualify |
| Cup of Harmony 35 | 7-1-1 | 2nd in Group | Champions |
| World Cup 44 Qualifying | 5-4-5 | 3rd in Group | Qualified |
| World Cup 44 PROPER | 0-2-1 | 3rd in Group | Did Not Advance |
| World Cup 45 Qualifying | 7-3-4 | 5th in Group | Did Not Qualify |
| Cup of Harmony 37 | 3-1-2 | 5th Tied | Quarter Finals |
| World Cup 46 Qualifying | 7-0-3 | 2nd in Group | Qualified |
| World Cup 46 PROPER | 0-1-2 | 3rd in Group | Did Not Advance |
| World Cup 47 Qualifying | 7-4-3 | 3rd In Group | Did Not Qualify |
| Cup of Harmony 39 | 2-1-1 | 9th Tied | Round of Sixteen |
| World Cup 48 Qualifying | 8-4-2 | 3rd | Did Not Qualify |
| Cup of Harmony 40 | 3-2-2 | 3rd | Quarter Finals |
| World Cup 49 Qualifying | 8-5-3 | 3rd | Did Not Qualify |
| Cup of Harmony 41 | 3-1-2 | 2nd | Round of Sixteen |
| World Cup 50 Qualifying | 11-1-8 | 4th | Did Not qualify |
| Cup of Harmony 42 | 3-1-2 | 2nd | Round of 32 |
| World Cup 51 Qualifying | 8-4-6 | 4th | Did Not Qualify |
| World Cup 52 Qualifying | 14-2-5 | 3rd | Did Not Qualify |
| World Cup 55 Qualifying | 7-1-12 | 8th | Did Not Qualify |
| World Cup 56 Qualifying | 6-6-2 | 3rd | Did Not Qualify |
| Cup of Harmony 48 | 2-2-2 | 3rd | Did not Advance |
| World Cup 57 Qualifying | 8-3-5 | 3rd | Did not Qualify |
| Cup of Harmony 49 | 3-1-2 | 2nd | Round of Sixteen |
| World Cup 58 Qualifying | 9-4-4 | 2nd | Lost Playoff |
| Cup of Harmony 50 | 1-0-2 | 3rd | 3rd in Group |
| World cup 59 Qualifying | 8-2-3 | 2nd | Qualified with playoff Victory |
| World Cup 59 | 1-0-2 | 4th | Knocked Out |
| World Cup 60 Qualifying | 9-3-3 | 2nd | Knocked out in First round of pods |
| Cup of Harmony 52 | 4-1-2 | 2nd | 3rd Place |
| World Cup 61 Qualifying | 12-1-4 | 2nd | Qualified with Playoff Victory |
| World Cup 61 | 1-2-1 | 1st | Round of Sixteen |
| World Cup 62 Qualifying | 9-4-2 | 2nd | Qualified with Playoff Victory |
| World Cup 62 Proper | 2-2-1 | 1st | Quarterfinals |
| World Cup 63 | 14-2-2 | 1st | Qualified |
| World Cup 63 Proper | 2-1-1 | 1st | Round of Sixteen |
| Copa Rushmori 13 | 4-0-1 | 1st | Round of Sixteen |
| World Cup 64 Qualifying | 14-3-1 | 1st | Qualified |
| Overall | 258-107-148 |
Roster
Captains
Distinguished PlayersMost Appearances
Most Goals
RivalriesOver the years the Purple Knights have had many clashes with various teams. Some of which have turned into some distinct rivalries. Most notable among their early rivals were Candelaria and Marquez, Daehanjeiguk, Jeruselem, and Sorthern Northland. Later rivalries would develop with [[Newmanistan, and Nethertopia. Other opponents the Knights have faced a fair few times include Valanora, The Holy Empire, Yafor 2, and Bostopia.
JerseysThe original Taeshan Jersey was made by a Errunderian company and was used for the first couple of Taeshani seasons. The jerseys have always been mainly Purple at home, and a lighter color in away games. The original jerseys were Purple and Green, the new ones made by the Starblayidan company Ediraf use gold instead of the traditional Green. The Goalie Jersey has changed every single year since the begining of the team, and thus their are numerous ammounts of possibilities from a goalies standpoint. A third kit has always been either of white orgins, or green. StadiumsThe Purple Knights use three stadiums to host all of their international games. Atlantea ColiseumThe Coliseum is perhaps the biggest football stadium in the world. It seats 590,000 people, all with a good view of the pitch. It has four video screen and is in downtown Atlantea, the captial of Taeshan. It is across the street from the Taeshani Goverment buildings and is the home of the Taeshan Soccer Federation Soccer League's Atlantea Hurricanes. It hosts the games against the top 40 ranked teams during World Cup Qualifiers. Stadium during the day Stadium illuminated during night games
Docktown Memorial StadiumThe second stadium of the Knights is docktown Memorial Stadium on Algaer island on the edge of the Taeshani City Docktown. It seats 250,000 people in the older of the three stadiums. Its is home to the TSL's Docktown Deathdogs. The stadium hosts game against the 40th-80th ranked teams. Its original capacity of the stadium was 490,000/
X Island MetroparkThe smallest of the three stadiums the MetroPark hosts 200,000 people for every game. It is the home of the TSL's X Island Marauders. This stadium hosts game versus the lowest ranked teams. X-Island Metropark during the day: ManagersThere have been five managers in Taeshani Soccer History. Until Cup of Harmony 31, Jake Rios led the unssucessful Taeshani side through many qualifying campaigns. Before Cup of Harmony 31 he decided to resign his post due to other interests and the legendary Zeke was named Head Manager after his retirement from International play. Bubba Froalie also retired at the same time and was named team Assistant Manager. Zeke and Bubba led the team to their first three World Cup Finals appearances in World Cups 41, 44, and 46. He was replaced by Brian Ying Uing for World Cup's 50, 51 and 52. When the national team emerged with the nation again A.F. Falcon another former player took over starting in World Cup 55. He would lead the Knights to their fourth World Cup qualification at World Cup 59. Managerial Records
External Links
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