MSF: Could Senya replicate Craitland's Golden Generation?
MSF: Could Senya replicate Craitland's Golden Generation?
As the referee peeped his whistle for the final time in Cherry Trees on Wednesday night, several of those players in Green slumped to the ground in celebration, exhausted, yet exuberated, for what they had achieved. As the home fans, those who had remained to the end trickled out, they plucked up enough energy to make their way over to the several thousand away fans who had made the journey north-west, and in typical fashion jumped, sang and celebrated along with a wild Naldas. And as they partied on the pitch, jaws were dropping across Micras. Sheer disbelief, as the mighty Craitland had suffered their record ever defeat on home soil, having just came off the back of a first World Cup final appearance in a decade.
It wasn't even a lucky result. Despite containing a team full of world class players, Senya completely nullified the threats of Will Zóma and Jan-Morteņ Juliaĵsen up top, managing to make Micras' most successful footballing nation look like novices. At time you would have been forgiven for thinking that Senya were playing some Apollonian minnow in a qualification match. Alesandrœ Danetskë danced in and out of defenders before firing a low shot in after 20 minutes of dominating play, before a Barnaby Hands free kick was turned home by a Jan Maytek header just before the break. And during a second half in which Craitland already looked defeated, Hands sealed the deal, tapping home into an empty net after Francis Hjansen had pulled off a great double save to deny Ƨinkœ Zvet and substitute Isaac Prelvinher from adding to the scoresheet.
But Senya's performance shouldn't be too surprising. Senya have been the top ranked team in the FMF's Elo Micras Rankings since April 2021, and last summer's World Cup third place was the first time since 2015 Senya have not made the final of a major tournament.
But Senya aren't just sitting still either. Whilst in recent years the squad has become somewhat stagnant, based around a core group of key players, most of whom have been with the national team for a decade now, new talent is starting to come to the fray. Regular hostings of the U21 Colney Cup have given Senya's youngsters experience of tournament football at a young age. The Senyan Top League has been expanded to 16 teams, increasing the competitiveness of the domestic game, whilst new clubs from Northern Senya have been making sharp rises up the footballing pyramid, giving new players from those regions new opportunities to impress. And recent league directives about youth academies could pave the way for the next generation to get a real chance of making it with a top team.
Senyan fans might lament the fact that they haven't won a title since that glorious night in Otaq in 2019, but Senya are still on paper the best team in Micras, and that result in Craitland shows that David Morter's side have every bit of hunger to put that elusive record right. As Morter said, "there's no reason why in 10 years time, we won't be talking about this group of players in the way people now talking about the Craitland of 2007-11. I believe this group of players is as good, perhaps even better, than they were. The only difference is now, we have more competition".
Morter's side have reason to worry. Floria have become a major footballing powerhouse over the past two years. Mercury continue to dominate, and the likes of Sanama, New Batavia and the Unified Governorates have invested heavily in football development in recent years. But Senya, with its top quality domestic product, glistening state-of-the-art facilities, and a group of talented players, is certainly the team to beat.
It wasn't even a lucky result. Despite containing a team full of world class players, Senya completely nullified the threats of Will Zóma and Jan-Morteņ Juliaĵsen up top, managing to make Micras' most successful footballing nation look like novices. At time you would have been forgiven for thinking that Senya were playing some Apollonian minnow in a qualification match. Alesandrœ Danetskë danced in and out of defenders before firing a low shot in after 20 minutes of dominating play, before a Barnaby Hands free kick was turned home by a Jan Maytek header just before the break. And during a second half in which Craitland already looked defeated, Hands sealed the deal, tapping home into an empty net after Francis Hjansen had pulled off a great double save to deny Ƨinkœ Zvet and substitute Isaac Prelvinher from adding to the scoresheet.
But Senya's performance shouldn't be too surprising. Senya have been the top ranked team in the FMF's Elo Micras Rankings since April 2021, and last summer's World Cup third place was the first time since 2015 Senya have not made the final of a major tournament.
But Senya aren't just sitting still either. Whilst in recent years the squad has become somewhat stagnant, based around a core group of key players, most of whom have been with the national team for a decade now, new talent is starting to come to the fray. Regular hostings of the U21 Colney Cup have given Senya's youngsters experience of tournament football at a young age. The Senyan Top League has been expanded to 16 teams, increasing the competitiveness of the domestic game, whilst new clubs from Northern Senya have been making sharp rises up the footballing pyramid, giving new players from those regions new opportunities to impress. And recent league directives about youth academies could pave the way for the next generation to get a real chance of making it with a top team.
Senyan fans might lament the fact that they haven't won a title since that glorious night in Otaq in 2019, but Senya are still on paper the best team in Micras, and that result in Craitland shows that David Morter's side have every bit of hunger to put that elusive record right. As Morter said, "there's no reason why in 10 years time, we won't be talking about this group of players in the way people now talking about the Craitland of 2007-11. I believe this group of players is as good, perhaps even better, than they were. The only difference is now, we have more competition".
Morter's side have reason to worry. Floria have become a major footballing powerhouse over the past two years. Mercury continue to dominate, and the likes of Sanama, New Batavia and the Unified Governorates have invested heavily in football development in recent years. But Senya, with its top quality domestic product, glistening state-of-the-art facilities, and a group of talented players, is certainly the team to beat.