AH Euro 2004

[wilcoxchar]

A while ago I made a map of the pots and qualification groups for an alternate Euro 2004. I finally got all the squads and the list of qualifying games written up, so I decided to start simulating and running the tournament. The simulation will be done with a simple program I wrote that goes through the minutes and uses RNGs to determine who is making shots and if they go in depending on the home and away teams and the pots that they are in. Not sure if I'll keep the pots or just use equal terms for the actual tournament, but I'll decide that later. First, here's the pots and the qualifying groups.

The pots that were used to draw the qualifying groups. Sweden is the defending champion so they're in pot 1, while the others' are list by rank from highest to lowest within their pots.

Map of the qualifying groups with the group listings at the end. Poland is the host and so qualifies automatically. Overall 24 teams will qualify for the final tournament. Six groups of 4 will be in the group stage. The top two in each group and the top four third place teams will advance to the round of 16, in a similar method to the OTL 1982 World Cup.

So, is anyone interested in following this? I might need people to do some write-ups depending on how fast I go in the qualifiers and if real life intervenes.

 

[ah-sue]

Is Hoddle the England coach in this ATL? If so, is Eileen Drewery the assistant coach?

 

[Stateless]

So, is anyone interested in following this? I might need people to do some write-ups depending on how fast I go in the qualifiers and if real life intervenes.

I say: go for it. I'm always interested in AH football.

P.S. Why does Courland have the flag of Luxembourg?

 

[Goldstein]

Nice, I'll be following this. Just a single nitpick/doubt:

-Given a 19th century POD (I'm assuming this, as the Euskadi Flag, whch OTL was created ex-nihilo in 1894, is the same), How did Catalonia end up having the northernmost Aragon? I mean, it's not a part of the Catalan claims, and culturally and linguistically, Aragon couldn't be less Catalan. Is it a buffer state of sorts carved up against Spain's will, given that the borders seem to be those of the Ebro river (which would effectively split Zaragoza in a half)?

 

[wilcoxchar]

Glad this is drumming up some interest!

Is Hoddle the England coach in this ATL? If so, is Eileen Drewery the assistant coach?

Well, given that the POD would probably have to be in the 18th or 19th centuries, I just used random names for the players and managers.

I say: go for it. I'm always interested in AH football.

P.S. Why does Courland have the flag of Luxembourg?

Courland's flag uses the dark reddish color of the Duchy of Courland's flag and the light blue of the city of Riga. It does look similar to Luxembourg's.

Nice, I'll be following this. Just a single nitpick/doubt:

-Given a 19th century POD (I'm assuming this, as the Euskadi Flag, whch OTL was created ex-nihilo in 1894, is the same), How did Catalonia end up having the northernmost Aragon? I mean, it's not a part of the Catalan claims, and culturally and linguistically, Aragon couldn't be less Catalan. Is it a buffer state of sorts carved up against Spain's will, given that the borders seem to be those of the Ebro river (which would effectively split Zaragoza in a half)?

At the time I made this map (probably a year ago), I wasn't really thinking about plausibility or a detailed history. Catalonia most likely was created as a buffer state between France and Spain.

 

[wilcoxchar]

I've simulated the first four games. Got the first writeup done!

Ukraine squad:
01. GK. Yosyp Hresko
02. D. Dymitro Pavlovsky
03. D. Pyotr Zelinski
12. D. Andriy Kozak
04. D. Oleksander Tymoshenko
13. M. Vladyslav Korchynskyy
05. M. Ivan Korolenko
07. M. Yuriy Fyodorov
16. M. Yegor Pynzenyk
10. F. Sergiy Shukhevych
09. F. Volodymyr Dragan

18. GK. Viktor Senchuk
23. GK. Robert Choris
15. D. Mykola Zhevago
14. D. Leonid Chornovil
17. D. Bruno Aivazovsky
22. M. Konstyantin Kuznetsov
19. M. Serga Chumachenko
06. M. Oleksandr Kravchuk
08. M. Vasyl Stupka
20. F. Anatoliy Klyachkivsky
21. F. Bodhan Kurylenko
11. F. Yuri Revutsky

Sicily squad:
01. GK, Giorgio Palatino
02. D, Alberto Puccini
03. D, Giovanni Cattaneo
07. D, Gonzaga Rizzi
17. D, Emilio Santarelli
05. M, Umbero Pascarini
06. M, Toni Angelino
12. M, Luca Dragotto
14. M, Salvatore Della Rossa
10. F, Luigi Di Falco
11. F, Mario Rizzioli

21. GK, Claudio Faustini
23. GK, Emilio Riccio
13. D, Emanuele Lollo
14. D, Gianluca Malloni
18. D, Angelo Genco
04. M, Alfredo Vangioni
08. M, Luca Ubaldini
15. M, Enrico Luciano
20. M, Salvatore Vizzini
16. F, Simone Da Costa
09. F, Silviani Lincini
19. F, Giorgio Agostino

Shots galore in Odessa!

Manager Nikita Khrushchev has to be very proud of his Ukrainian side for their 5-1 win against Sicily to open their qualifying campaign for Euro 2004. The Cossacks were spectacular today and continually pressed Sicily's defense getting a number of shots on goal throughout the entire game. Sicilian goalkeeper Giorgio Palatino struggled to cope with the number of chances for Ukraine and the Sicilian defensive line showed a rather lacklustre effort after the first two goals were scored.

Immediately after the kickoff Ukraine began pressing forward. A throughball down the right center caught the Sicilian defense off guard and striker Sergiy Shukevych punted the ball straight into the top left corner after only 24 seconds. Sicily went on the attack after the kickoff, but a quick interception by Ukraine and several passes later, the ball was yet again in the danger zone for Sicily. A shot by Ivan Kolorenko gained the Cossacks a corner and the ball was headed in by defender Andriy Kozak for the second time in the first three minutes!

Faced with being two goals down so early in the game, the Sicilian attack petered out and the Triskels went on a defensive stance for the first half of the game. The Sicilian defense played well but every time the Triskels went into Ukraine's half of the pitch, they failed to make use of the ball. The majority of the shots Sicily had were from far out, and while a few came close, none phased Yosyp Hresko. One shot off a set piece by Luca Dragotto in the 37th minute was deflected by Hresko and got the Triskels a corner, but the header by Santarelli bounced off the crossbar.

The second half only piled on the misery for Sicily. Nine minutes into the half, Gonzaga Rizzi tripped Shukhevych on the edge of the penalty box. Shukhevych took the shot and scored another one for the Coassacks. As if given determination by the penalty, Sicily played a fairly good attack and scored their only goal of the match off a free kick by Mario Rizzoli. The rest of the game saw Sicily playing better than in the first half, but Ukraine continued to dominate the pitch. Substitute Bodhan Kurylenko chipped one over Palatino to score Ukraine's fourth goal in the 74th minute and Shukhevych completed his hat trick in the 85th off of an excellent run.

Ukraine are certainly going to be happy with the result of this match, while Sicilians will be hoping that they can bounce back from this initial defeat in their next few games. But this early in the qualifying stage, you can never tell what the points will be at the end of the 14 games in the qualifying round. Nevertheless, Ukraine's three points from this match are propelling them toward a potential second consecutive appearance in the European continental tournament. They reached the knockout stage in 2000 but lost a close match to eventual winners Sweden 1-2 in Regensburg.
​

Final score: Ukraine 5-1 Sicily
Ukraine
Shukhevych 1, 54, 85
Kozak 3
Kurylenko 74

Sicily
Rizzoli 59

 

[wilcoxchar]

The next three games are Flanders-Macedonia, Astrakhan-Turkey, and Prussia-Cornwall. I'm working on the Flanders-Macedonia game now but does anyone want to do writeups for either of the others?

 

[wilcoxchar]

Second writeup is done.

Flanders Squad
01 GK, Hendrik Peeters
02 D, Lodewijk Verheyen
03 D, Jan Somers
12 D, Luc Janssen
05 D, Geert Wauters
07 M, Hans van Damme
09 M, Pieter Verbruggen
15 M, Herold Eeckelaert
10 F, Klaas Van der Graf
11 F, Markos Poorter
16 F, Jaap Clijsters

21 GK, Filibert Loens
23 GK, Herman de Ridder
04 D, Matthijs Geldmeyer
13 D, Jozef Hoelebrand
14 D, Roland van Linter
18 D, Paul Wymeersch
17 M, Maarten van Roost
22 M, Alfons Bleyenberg
06 M, Franck Blommen
19 M, Sven Poelyn
08 F, Koen Middelkamp
20 F, Carl Pieters

Macedonia Squad
01 GK, Alexis Michalopoulos
04 D, Dimitrios Panagos
02 D, Niklas Xenakis
06 D, Konstantin Stavros
07 D, Thomas Venizelos
03 M, Basil Tavoularis
10 M, Alexandros Rubis
11 M, Theodoras Douvras
16 M, Markos Vitalis
08 F, Giorgos Papadopoulos
12 F, Stefanos Katsaros

17 GK, Cristos Varkatzas
23 GK, Armen Romfeos
22 D, Cornelius Terzis
05 D, Leonidas Spiros
14 D, Demetrios Tatti
15 D, Emmanouil Frangos
19 M, Iakovos Voskopoulos
09 M, John Blastares
21 M, Cyril Karkasis
13 F, Silas Roussos
18 F, Michael Chimeftos
20 F, Tasos Kossivas

Late Goal Clinches Macedonian Victory in Brussels

In an otherwise evenly matched and defensive game, a goal by Macedonia forward Stefanos Katsaros in the 86th minute was enough to get Macedonia the win in Brussels. The win puts a good start on manager Petras Ioannidas' attempt to bring Macedonia to their first European championship appearance since gaining independence from Greece in 1972. Ioannidas joined the Macedonian national team as manager six months ago in 2001 stating that he would bring the country to the Euro 2004. The victory against Flanders in Brussels gives La Vergina a promising start toward their goal.

The match began with Flanders in control and holding much of the possession. Van der Graf, Poorter, and Clijsters got several shots in the first half and put a lot of pressure on Alex Michalopoulos but the Macedonian goalkeeper stood his ground against the three forwards of the Black Lions. In the 41st minute, Van der Graf got the ball off an excellent driven cross by Geert Wauters and booted it in to the goal. Unfortunately for Flanders, Van der Graf was ruled offside and the goal was disallowed.

In the second half, the Flemish players slowed from their usual attacking play and went on the defensive while Macedonia picked up the pace and went on the attack. Playing a good passing game, Macedonia got the ball into the box many times during the half pressing Hendrik Peeters and the Flemish defense. Finally, in the closing minutes of the game, Katsaros scored off a blocked shot by Basil Tavoularis. The late goal secured the win for Macedonia in a tight match between two fairly equal sides.


Final Score: Flanders 0-1 Macedonia
Macedonia
Katsaros 86

 

[wilcoxchar]

No comments on the games or the writeups?

I suppose I should explain how the tournament will work. 24 teams qualify for the final tournament. The host automatically is in, and the top two teams in each group qualify. For the third place teams, they are ranked based on the points gained in their groups (except for the game against the last place country in their group) and the third-place team that did the worst is out.

The final tournament is organized first through a group stage with 6 groups of 4 countries each. The top two countries in each group qualify, as well as the 4 best third-place countries. The tournament then goes into a knockout round of 16, followed by the quarterfinals, the semifinals, and the third place and final matches. This is the same format that was used in the 1986 World Cup in OTL.

 

[RMcD94]

This is good, I think you should skip ahead and do the Scotland game

Probably not getting any attention because it's in this section. Anywhere else would probably have more, be it ASB or After 1900.

 

[wilcoxchar]

This is good, I think you should skip ahead and do the Scotland game

Thanks. Hehe, the Scotland game will come in due time.

Probably not getting any attention because it's in this section. Anywhere else would probably have more, be it ASB or After 1900.

Well, I followed the example of the AH World Cup since I wasn't sure which forum it should go in.

 

[Rubberduck3y6]

Well, I followed the example of the AH World Cup since I wasn't sure which forum it should go in.

Yeah, I'm not quite sure why I posted that in this forum - it probably would've been better to put it in pre-1900.

 

[wilcoxchar]

Finished the next writeup.

Astrakhan Squad
01. GK, Dmitri Osipov
02. D, Faddei Babushkin
03. D, Kazimir Slutsky
04. D, Vasily Abramovicz
05. D, Zakhar Durnovo
06. M, Evgeni Repin
08. M, Yuri Tkachyov
10. M, Matvey Baranowski
13. M, Luka Chernyshyov
07. F, Isaak Larionov
09. F, Radimir Vishnevsky

12. GK, Sergei Malinovsky
23. GK, Rinat Turey
11. D, Timofey Agafonov
14. D, Sevastyan Yurievsky
15. D, Boris Ulyanov
17. D, Yuri Trediakovsky
16. M, Rolan Martynov
20. M, Melor Fedotov
21. M, Josef Dasaev
18. F, Prokopy Zamenhof
19. F, Artur Naryshkin
22. F, Anderi Dyuzhev

Turkey Squad
01. GK, Murat Korkmaz
02. D, Beyazit Neyzi
03. D, Faruk Zengin
04. D, Selcuk Ahunbay
13. D, Orhan Tekke
05. M, Hasan Kaplanoglu
06. M, Hamza Kursunlu
08. M, Selim Satinoglu
09. M, Ibrahim Vidustu
10. F, Mustafa Nadir
07. F, Yusuf Vardar

15. GK, Doruk Erdogan
23. GK, Sanay Nesin
14. D, Emre Aksu
17. D, Ozgur Atalik
21. D, Yunus Sadikoglu
18. M, Mehmet Yakin
19. M, Kemal Altinay
20. M, Mehmet Basak
22. M, Cansin Samedov
11. F, Ali Savas
12. F, Malik Urkal
16. F, Yahya Redzep

Turks Win Big in Volga Delta

The big winners today were the Turkish team in their away match against Astrakhan. The Turkish team gave a decent performance but they could have done better against their Caspian opponents. Despite their 0-3 loss, manager Adrian Gorsky has to be proud of his Astrakhan team, for the Volgar played well against the Turks. While the Astrakhan side had a lot of difficulty handling drives down the wings by Turkish midfielders Ibrahim Vidustu and Selim Satinoglu, the Volgar defense played well and was able to clear a majority of the cross attempts by the Turks. The 0-3 scoreline for the Volgar is certainly not representative of their performance that was boosted by the number of fans who arrived at Vladimir Ulyanov Stadion for today's match.

The first ten minutes of the match were a bit sluggish at both teams started out in defensive postures, with few attacks or chances being made. The Turks jumped to life in the 13th minute with a quick breakaway run by Yusuf Vardar, but the Turkish striker was too enthusiastic with his shot and the ball went sailing over the crossbar. Astrakhan made an attempt to respond two minutes later with a long shot by Yuri Tkachyov but Murat Korkmaz guided the ball safely into his hands. Turkey finally made a sufficient response in the 19th minute with a corner that gave the 23 year old Vardar his first international goal for Turkey.

Despite Vardar's goal, the Astrakhan side did not lose sight of the game and stayed concentrated on maintaining possession during the remainder of the first half. The Volgar had a couple of promising chances for an equalizer with a free kick by Evegni Repin that went wide of the post in the 34th minute and a passing combination of Matvey Baranowski and Isaak Larionov that rattled the Turkish defense in stoppage time at the end of the half. The two men took the ball into the penalty area where Baranowski lobbed it to Larionov on the far side, but Larionov didn't focus his shot and kicked the ball into the side netting. At the goal kick by Korkmaz, the referee blew his whistle and ended the half with the Turks up by one goal.

Aydin Ozpetek's Turkish side entered the second half of the match looking to extend their lead over the Volgar, and continued their assault on the Astrakhan defense. Turkey made several runs in the first ten minutes of the half, but the Volgar was able to hold their ground with Kazimir Slutsky displaying excellent marking for the Astrakhan side. Unfortunately for the Volgar, Vasily Abrahamovicz made a bad sliding challenge in the penalty area that caught Vidustu's leg and earned Turkey a penalty kick and Abrahamovicz a yellow card. Mustafa Nadir took the penalty kick and granted Turkey a second goal in the 56th minute.

The remainder of the game was fairly routine with both sides playing for possession. The Astrakhan side displayed good ability but the scoreline evidently put a lot of fatigue into the team. Turkey finished off the game with another goal by Vardar in the 85th minute. Astrakhan goalkeeper Dmitri Osipov dove for the ball and got his fingers on it, but could not stop the ball from going in. Ozpetek should be glad for his team's win over Astrakhan and they should look to continue this run in the future games in Group B.

Final Score: Astrakhan 0-3 Turkey
Turkey
Vardar 19, 85
Nadir 56

 

[wilcoxchar]

Yeah, I'm not quite sure why I posted that in this forum - it probably would've been better to put it in pre-1900.

Hehe, probably. Oh well, at least the two threads might get some shared traffic now.

Also, I'll be simulating the next four matches after the Prussia-Cornwall game tonight. These will be Montenegro v. Finland, Catalunya v. Alsace-Lorraine, Courland v. Switzerland, and France v. Bulgaria. If anyone wants to do writeups for any of those, post here or PM me.

 

[RMcD94]

I don't think anyone would mind if you didn't write up some of the games to save yourself time, or I suppose, to get to other games.

 

[wilcoxchar]

I don't think anyone would mind if you didn't write up some of the games to save yourself time, or I suppose, to get to other games.

Well, I'd like to have writeups for at least the first game for each country, so that all the teams can be introduced, etc. I guess I could do the rest of the first group A and B games next, then the C and D, then the E and F, then the G and H and have it ordered like that.

 

[wilcoxchar]

Next writeup is done.

Prussia Squad
01. GK, Klaus Winterhoff
02. D, Goetz Mohrmann
03. D, Lutz Goebel
06. D, Erik Brennecke
14. D, Walther Spranz
08. M, Reiner Zwipf
09. M, Ralf Scholz
12. M, Ferdinand Vehse
07. F, Markus Scheffold
10. F, Siegfried Kuher
16. F, Leonhard Rakowitz

20. GK, Alois Krueder
23. Gk, Max Bobrowski
04. D, Edwin Weirauch
05. D, Walter von Gayl
18. D, Konrad Lattek
11. M, Joachim Gehring
13. M, Rupert Rettlinger
17. M, Heiko von Flottwell
15. F, Udo Raeder
19. F, Bernd van Grabenhofen
21. F, Theo Denninger
22. F, Fritz Schafer

Cornwall Squad
01. GK, Piran Morris
02. D, Samuel Owen
03. D, Adam Cadwallader
04. D, Charles Fergall
13. D, Brian Thomason
15. D, Patrick Walshe
06. M, Jowan Craddock
07. M, Chase Davies
10. M, Eric Morgan
09. F, David Bowen
18. F, Pasco Abse

19. GK, Reynold Orgill
22. GK, John Moyle
05. D, Jory Harries
12. D, Nelson Lummis
14. D, Tristan Evans
20. D, Morton Latham
23. D, Graham Pentreath
08. M, Roger Brown
11. M, Owen Broughton
17. M, Richard Couch
16. F, Margh Coslett
21. F, Rory Tregeagle

Passing Game Gives Prussia Edge Over Cornwall

The Prussians, led by former Prussian international player Konrad Emmermann, played well in Konigsberg today as they held their lead against minnows Cornwall in the group B qualification match for Euro 2004. Emmermann gives credit to his team's passing play and quick tempo in the first half of the match in securing their victory. Prussia's 4-3-3 formation and competent midfield troubled Cornwall goalkeeper Piran Morris but the Dummons were able to keep Prussia from getting a clean sheet.

Prussia kicked off in Stadion Hohenzollern with a strong attacking play. Forwards Scheffold, Kuher, and Rakowitz played well in Cornwall's area and worked to drive the ball toward the Cornish goal line. The three forwards were able to take many shots during the first half but Morris kept the game scoreless for the first third of the game. Morris did not go unbeaten during the first half, however, with Scheffold and midfielder Ralf Scholz scoring two goals in the 33rd and 40th minutes.

Cornwall got a glimmer of hope not far into the second half when David Bowen dribbled past Lutz Goebel into the six yard box and chipped the ball past Klaus Winterhoff into the net. The goal by Bowen seemed to lift a weight off of the Cornish team's shoulders for the next fifteen minutes and they displayed a small amount of a more forward game, but a shot by Kuher that bounced off the crossbar seemed to deflate Cornwall as they once again went back to defensive play.

The rest of the game was not very inspired by either team, with the Prussians seemingly satisfied with the score and Cornwall resigned to a defeat. Cornwall manager Myghal Brudney said in a press conference after the match that his team could have performed better, but that he understood their away loss to Prussia.

Final Score: Prussia 2-1 Cornwall
Prussia
Scheffold 33
Scholz 44

Cornwall
Bowen 57

 

[wilcoxchar]

I've decided to go ahead and simulate the rest of the first games in group A and B, then continue with C and D, E and F, and G and H. So if anyone wants to do writeups, the next matches are actually Kola-Bohemia, Livonia-Abkhazia, Scotland-Croatia, and Ossetia-Baden.

 

[RMcD94]

You've got a huge imagination to write up all those games. Should write up real games for moneyz.

 

[Rubberduck3y6]

No! Cornwall lost! (I'm not actually Cornish it's just as they're one of my teams in the AHWC I kinda feel like they are here too ).

Anway, wilcoxchar this is a very ambitious project you've taken on for yourself. I feel quite lazy in comparison with the AHWC where I just started the thread and everyone else has done the hard work. Unfortunately organising that and trying to get round to updating my TL I don't really have time to contribute much at the moment.