Alvak National Football Team

The Alvak national football team represents Alvakalia in association football and is controlled by the Alvak Football Association, the governing body for football in Alvakalia.

History
Soccer was being played in Alvakalia with the Dominion Football Association (1877) and Eastern Football Association (1880) acting as precursors to the modern-day Alvak Football Association. In 1885, the EFA sent a representative team to Goetia to take on a side put forth by the Goetic Football Association, the then-unofficial governing body of the sport in Goetia. In an unofficial friendly, Alvakalia lost against their hosts 1–0 in Osterhofen, Borussen. However, the team won 3–2 in a return match one year later. In 1888, a team represented the EFA in a tour of the Goetic mainland, earning a record of nine wins, five draws, and nine losses. The squad comprised 16 Alvak-born players with the only exception being tour organizer Hans Graf, who had immigrated to Alvakalia one year after his birth.

In 1905, a Goetic team of touring amateurs nicknamed the "Pilgrims" toured Alvakalia, with their match against Graf billed as the "championship of the world". The match was played in front of 3500 fans in Neu-Hildesheim, now part of Kupruko, Pyrgos, and ended in a 3–3 draw. Earlier the Pilgrims had been beaten 2–1 by FSV Neu-Esskau, in the city now known as Lonopol.

Formed in 1926, shortly after the mass exodus of Goetic nobles, businesspeople, and other people deemed "non-essential" to the Communists (this included the football team of then-monarchist Goetia), the Alvak football team played its first match in Zahava in 1930, losing to Vallis 1-2, but winning against Selengeria 2-1 shortly after. However, Alvakalia failed to make it past the qualifying tournament.

The closest Alvakalia got to reaching first place was in 1932. The team's qualifying matches were against Modrovia, Beifang, and Jinhang. They managed to win a point in overtime against Modrovia, breaking the tie and making it 3-2. Beifang won the next match 1-2, but the last game in the qualification tournament, against Jinhang, went astoundingly well for the Alvaks (2-0), gaining enough points to pass to the elimination rounds. The first match against Veikaia came close, with the Alvak team managing to make a shot seconds before the game ended, making it 1-0. The second match against Cipertine also came close, with a miracle shot from then-forward Spyro Boulou, who ran the length of the field and made a successful shot, giving the Alvaks the winning goal, making it 1-0 again. The semi-final match against Legantus was very much a nail-biter, as the strong defences on both sides of the field made it almost impossible to get a shot in. However, a penalty goal by the Alvaks progressed the team into the finals. However, this would be the (very early) peak of the team, as it lost to Akiteiwa 2-1 after a controversial shot where the ball bounced off the Akitei crossbar, landed inside the goalposts, but bounced out. Despite the Alvak claims that it was a goal, referees shot it down and did not count it. This led to Akiteiwa winning the cup, leaving Alvakalia in second place. Alvakalia, as of 2020, has never gone past third place in the 83 other cups it played in.

Nicknames


The football team has garnered many nicknames since the 30s. The Nationalacht (National Eight) nickname comes from the eight checkerboard pattern stripes on their patch, which symbolizes the eight provinces of Alvakalia. Another popular nickname, Der Kaiser gehört/Die Kaiserin gehört (The Kaiser(in)'s Own) came into prominence after Alvakalia's stint in the Kesh War, when most of the team enlisted in the Ceremonial Infantry Regiment Rüdesheim, which despite its name, served in combat.

Venues


Alvakalia's national team plays its home matches in Alvastadion, which after the 2017-18 renovation, can hold 47,000 spectators.

Current Squad Starters

 * Forward: #7 Marcel Koehler
 * Forward: #22 Emilios Rodas
 * Forward: #4 Jasoor El-Abid
 * Midfield: #2 Vasilios Toccilis
 * Midfield: #10 Adam Salleas
 * Midfield: #21 Arno Koskiades
 * Midfield: #33 Zaid El-Mustafa
 * Defender: #12 Saadiq Tan
 * Defender: #9 Rüdiger Hetz
 * Defender: #14 Bruno Le
 * Goalie : #1  Walther Wittke

Reserves

 * Goalie : #12
 * Goalie : #22
 * Midfield: #20
 * Midfield: #14
 * Midfield: #17
 * Midfield: #23
 * Defender: #16
 * Defender: #18
 * Defender: #21
 * Defender: #11
 * Defender: #15
 * Forward: #7
 * Forward: #10