Sacred Victory

[-Xenon-]

Welcome to my second attempt at the Hermann Aichinger story, apologies for time wasting with the previous one but I jumped into it so quickly i felt I left no room for the necessary storyline. Having two goes to get something right seems to be a trademark for most of my work. I would like to point out that the storyline is 100% fictional and that Hermann Aichinger are not run by the last remnants of the SS. It makes for a much more interesting plot, so apologies to Germans and Brazilians alike.

Technical Info: FM 2006 6.0.2, Running all available leagues from: Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Uruguay

1945

Somewhere in the heart of Bavaria.......

The mist came flooding down from the mountains in the distance, reducing visibility to almost nothing. In the midst of a valley not too far from the line of towering black mountains, lay a small compound. Around the perimeter were tall 12 foot fences complete with wide ditches and barbed wire. There were only two entrances to the compound, at the front and back. Both were heavily fortified with sandbags that were home to MG-42 emplacements. At all four corners there were also machine gun towers that were constantly manned, complete with huge searchlights. Throughout the war, the compound had been a lightly guarded checkpoint. But now, as the Nazi retreat was in full swing it was now heavily manned, as what was left of the Third Reich's army prepared to mount guerrilla warfare upon the advancing Americans. On this clear and crisp night a single soldier approached the entrance. The sentries knew that the Americans could not have possibly advanced this far but still they treated the lone figure with suspicion. As the mysterious figure drew closer, the sentries trained the huge searchlight on to the figure. The figure instinctively raised his hand to protect his eyes from the intense light and it was then that the sentries recognised the uniform of a Captain of the SS. The Captain approached the gate and prepared his papers for inspection. As the Lieutenant at the gate pored over the Captain's papers, he lit a cigarette and stood listening to the faint rumbles of artillery in the distance. "Any day now" he thought to himself a the Lieutenant gave him the all clear to enter. As he entered he bared left and made for a small building in the far corner that he new to be the commanding officer's quarters. He knocked and then entered, he was greeted by the C.O. warmly:

"Matthias, come and sit down, a drink perhaps?"

Captain Matthias Stader, nodded in appreciation, "A large brandy if you have it"

"What’s happened?"

After a long pause Stader sighed and said "the Fuhrer is dead, Captain"

"Where did you hear this?"

"It appears he shot himself before the Americans or Russians could capture him, he’s ordered the SS to mount a last stand"

The C.O poured Stader his brandy and leant across the table, "What do you suggest we do?"

"We cannot stay here, to do that would be the death of us. We have to flee."

The C.O was becoming agitated, "Hang on a second, you’ve been here two seconds and are talking about fleeing the fatherland, I suggest you slow down and think of the implications."

"Yesterday I got a letter from my cousin, Hermann" Stader retrieved a crumpled letter from his inner pocket and flung it across to the C.O who began to read.

Dear Matthias,

Every day I hear more stories about how far the Americans and Russians have advanced, even the goddamn British and French are setting foot in our country. This is why I must urge you to come to Brazil by any means possible. Of course the weather is good and I am becoming involved in one or two things that will ensure the Fuhrer’s ideology lives on. I fear that to stay and fight would be futile for you. I know that Brazil is technically an enemy of the Reich but it would be in your best interests to join me here. Apologies for this brief letter but I look forward to speaking to you should you come here. The details of where to find me in Brazil are on the reverse of this letter.

Your Cousin,

Hermann Aichinger

The C.O lent back in his chair utterly bewildered, "Brazil?, Well when you said flee, I was rather hoping somewhere that wasn’t half way across the world in what is technically enemy territory!"

"For the love of God, Heinrich we have to do something! Its going to be hard work getting there, hopefully if we can get to Switzerland we can find a plane to get us there."

All of a sudden Heinrich had a wry smile on his face, "That is where I can help, I have a plane sat on a runway 15 minutes drive from here".

"So you’re coming?"

"Well if it’s a choice between going to Brazil or getting a Russian bullet lodged in my cranium, I guess I better get my coat"

"Ah yes, that might be a slight problem. Two people touching down in Brazil, stepping off the plane in SS uniform might send alarm bells ringing."

"We could always say we were at a fancy dress party"

"I have no time for your stupidity, grab as many civvies clothes as you can and lets get to this airport"

***

The airport was pretty much a long strip of tarmac, the huge bomber sat on the tarmac didn’t fill Stader with complete confidence,

"It’s a bit big isn’t it? Are you sure you can fly this thing?"

"Of course I can, anything smaller wouldn’t get us there anyway"

Six hours later the Atlantic was glistening in a icy blue hue underneath their wings. Stader turned to Heinrich,

"Seeing as we’re over half way there, there is something I should tell you"

"What?"

"Well I sort of edited the letter from my cousin, Nothing major really just what we’re going to do for work out there"

"Go on"

"Well......do you like football?"

To Be Continued…..

[-Xenon-]

Welcome to my second attempt at the Hermann Aichinger story, apologies for time wasting with the previous one but I jumped into it so quickly i felt I left no room for the necessary storyline. Having two goes to get something right seems to be a trademark for most of my work. I would like to point out that the storyline is 100% fictional and that Hermann Aichinger are not run by the last remnants of the SS. It makes for a much more interesting plot, so apologies to Germans and Brazilians alike.

Technical Info: FM 2006 6.0.2, Running all available leagues from: Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Uruguay

1945

Somewhere in the heart of Bavaria.......

The mist came flooding down from the mountains in the distance, reducing visibility to almost nothing. In the midst of a valley not too far from the line of towering black mountains, lay a small compound. Around the perimeter were tall 12 foot fences complete with wide ditches and barbed wire. There were only two entrances to the compound, at the front and back. Both were heavily fortified with sandbags that were home to MG-42 emplacements. At all four corners there were also machine gun towers that were constantly manned, complete with huge searchlights. Throughout the war, the compound had been a lightly guarded checkpoint. But now, as the Nazi retreat was in full swing it was now heavily manned, as what was left of the Third Reich's army prepared to mount guerrilla warfare upon the advancing Americans. On this clear and crisp night a single soldier approached the entrance. The sentries knew that the Americans could not have possibly advanced this far but still they treated the lone figure with suspicion. As the mysterious figure drew closer, the sentries trained the huge searchlight on to the figure. The figure instinctively raised his hand to protect his eyes from the intense light and it was then that the sentries recognised the uniform of a Captain of the SS. The Captain approached the gate and prepared his papers for inspection. As the Lieutenant at the gate pored over the Captain's papers, he lit a cigarette and stood listening to the faint rumbles of artillery in the distance. "Any day now" he thought to himself a the Lieutenant gave him the all clear to enter. As he entered he bared left and made for a small building in the far corner that he new to be the commanding officer's quarters. He knocked and then entered, he was greeted by the C.O. warmly:

"Matthias, come and sit down, a drink perhaps?"

Captain Matthias Stader, nodded in appreciation, "A large brandy if you have it"

"What’s happened?"

After a long pause Stader sighed and said "the Fuhrer is dead, Captain"

"Where did you hear this?"

"It appears he shot himself before the Americans or Russians could capture him, he’s ordered the SS to mount a last stand"

The C.O poured Stader his brandy and leant across the table, "What do you suggest we do?"

"We cannot stay here, to do that would be the death of us. We have to flee."

The C.O was becoming agitated, "Hang on a second, you’ve been here two seconds and are talking about fleeing the fatherland, I suggest you slow down and think of the implications."

"Yesterday I got a letter from my cousin, Hermann" Stader retrieved a crumpled letter from his inner pocket and flung it across to the C.O who began to read.

Dear Matthias,

Every day I hear more stories about how far the Americans and Russians have advanced, even the goddamn British and French are setting foot in our country. This is why I must urge you to come to Brazil by any means possible. Of course the weather is good and I am becoming involved in one or two things that will ensure the Fuhrer’s ideology lives on. I fear that to stay and fight would be futile for you. I know that Brazil is technically an enemy of the Reich but it would be in your best interests to join me here. Apologies for this brief letter but I look forward to speaking to you should you come here. The details of where to find me in Brazil are on the reverse of this letter.

Your Cousin,

Hermann Aichinger

The C.O lent back in his chair utterly bewildered, "Brazil?, Well when you said flee, I was rather hoping somewhere that wasn’t half way across the world in what is technically enemy territory!"

"For the love of God, Heinrich we have to do something! Its going to be hard work getting there, hopefully if we can get to Switzerland we can find a plane to get us there."

All of a sudden Heinrich had a wry smile on his face, "That is where I can help, I have a plane sat on a runway 15 minutes drive from here".

"So you’re coming?"

"Well if it’s a choice between going to Brazil or getting a Russian bullet lodged in my cranium, I guess I better get my coat"

"Ah yes, that might be a slight problem. Two people touching down in Brazil, stepping off the plane in SS uniform might send alarm bells ringing."

"We could always say we were at a fancy dress party"

"I have no time for your stupidity, grab as many civvies clothes as you can and lets get to this airport"

***

The airport was pretty much a long strip of tarmac, the huge bomber sat on the tarmac didn’t fill Stader with complete confidence,

"It’s a bit big isn’t it? Are you sure you can fly this thing?"

"Of course I can, anything smaller wouldn’t get us there anyway"

Six hours later the Atlantic was glistening in a icy blue hue underneath their wings. Stader turned to Heinrich,

"Seeing as we’re over half way there, there is something I should tell you"

"What?"

"Well I sort of edited the letter from my cousin, Nothing major really just what we’re going to do for work out there"

"Go on"

"Well......do you like football?"

To Be Continued…..

[superwalli]

Finally, been reading your first attempt with interest, so this one should be great.

[superwalli]

Thinking that this one will be better than the first attempt, it can only grow into a great story! Good luck on this

[-Xenon-]

Thank you superwalli- luck will be needed once I get down to the football side of things.

1951

"It is with great pleasure to announce that Sociedade Desportiva Industrial has now become Clube Atletico Hermann Aichinger "

The small crowd gave a lethargic cheer as the ribbon was cut at the 3,000 capacity Baixada stadium. It was nothing major, they weren't even a professional side but it was the beginning of something. In a small Cafe across the street from where proceedings where occuring, two men sat drinking coffee. They didn't look like locals, rather more Nordic or Germanic in their appearance yet despite this they blended into their surroundings with apparant ease. In the street young children were kicking footballs backwards and forwards. The two men sat in silence until the taller of the two said,

"It's a shame Hermann could not have seen this".

The other finished his coffee, folded his newspaper and took off his sunglasses before replying,

"He would have been glad to see us take his place. This is where the spirit of the Fuhrer can live on, football will become huge business very soon. We can use it as a platform to fund a new party, a better party to erase the disgrace brought upon our people".

The other looked almost ashamed to hear those words,

"Don't you think the disgrace is deserved?, there were things going on that even I did not know about".

"A captain of the SS is not someone privileged to know of all the information in the Reich".

"I just think we have to move on with our lives, we have the football club now. We should bring it success for the people that live here, not to fund your sinister desires Heinrich".

Heinrich had clearly had enough of the conversation and got up and made to leave. He walked out of the Cafe and down the street to were his car was parked. On the way back to house he kept thinking about the conversation that had just occured. Six years ago Matthias had been just as fervent in his beliefs as he had been and still was. Yet what had changed? He had become weak, something that was despised in Heinrich's eyes. To him weakness was a sickness that had to be rooted out, but what to do about Matthias? When he reached his house he poured himself a large whiskey, went to his bedroom and retrieved a small box from the top of his wardrobe. He took it back into the living room and opened it. Inside was bundles of cloth, when he removed these there left a Luger pistol his sidearm from the war. There was only one clip. He removed both from the box and slid the clip into the gun, he then cocked it, placed it on the table and drained the whiskey before pouring himself another. He then picked up the phone and proceeded to dial Matthias' number.

[chesterfan2]

Go Xenon, go Xenon. Excellent start, excellent premise for a story. Go to work my good fellow.

[-Xenon-]

Thank you chesterfan2

Matthias opened the door, dropped the keys on the table and slumped into a chair. He needed a drink after this bust up with Heinrich, he went to the kitchen and poured himself something that was liable to take the paint off walls. He returned to his seat and sat contemplating through his troubled thoughts. He knew Heinrich all to well to know that he was going to try something. It seems as though he would live to curse the decision to invite Heinrich along on this journey that had led them to this moment. He regarded him as a best friend but he knew that Heinrich's love for his former life overuled anything else, it was what they had all been taught. The ringing of the phone was an unwelcome distraction, Matthias leaned over and picked up the receiver.

"Ja, Hallo"

"Its me, we need to talk..........meet me in the park in 20 minutes"

"Heinri...."

The line went dead. Slowly Matthias put the receiver down. He knew that something was about to happen, he went into his study and opened a drawer that was padlocked. The drawer contained two pistols, one a Luger, the other a Colt 45. and a knife from his SS days, full of Nazi engravings. He knew he would need protection so he took the knife but left the two firearms locked in the drawer. He didn't want to harm Heinrich but if things got nasty he wanted a more subtle weapon such as his knife, purely for self-defence. He might be over-reacting, anybody that was normal in this situation would not have been thinking about self defence and weapons. But Matthias and Heinrich were not normal people and it sickened Matthias because he knew it. He grabbed his jacket and walked toward the door, as he got there he stopped and stared at the phone and began to think.

***

Sat on the park bench, the Luger in Heinrich jacket had never felt so heavy in all the years he had had it. Just what was he going to do? Murder his best friend for the Reich? A party that had been dead for six years? But therein led the reason for Heinrich, he had to re-surrect the party, pioneer the Sieg Heil (Sacred Victory). It was then that Matthias pulled up in his car, he got out and walked towards Heinrich, who stood up to greet him,

"Well Heinrich? what is this all about?"

"I need to know whether you are with me or against me"

"What you stand for is dead and buried, so yes, I am against you"

"Then I don't think it is wise that a traitor like you should be allowed to work on this grand undertaking!"

Heinrich shouted the last words as he pulled the Luger out and took aim at Matthias. It was at that moment that a police officer leapt out of nowhere and slammed into Heinrich who was knocked off balance. As he and the police officer fell he managed to fire off a shot. Matthias felt a white hot heat sear through his shoulder and through his neck, he instantly went to ground, the warm, crimson blood flowing from the gunshot wound. As he went in and out of consciousness, he realised that his tip off to the police had worked. Heinrich would be spending a long time in jail and if he could survve the gunshot he would oust him from the football. Then would come the time for revenge.

Time passed and as he lay in the hospital bed he was vaguely aware of the doctors,

"He's lost so much blood, I think the main thing is to try and make him comfortable".

Maybe he deserved to die, he thought. The echoes of his past refused to go away, the wrongdoings of his comrades made him a war criminal. He prayed to God for forgiveness. The doctors noticed tears were still wet in his eyes as they recorded the time of death.

[-Xenon-]

2007

New Years Day

It was an uncharacteristically cold start to the new year, and at a prison in Ibirama a prisoner is being released. The prison gates open and out walks a small hunchbacked figure. He carries a walking stick which he leans heavily on. On closer inspection it is apparent that he is a very old man, possibly in his nineties. However he doesn’t look Brazilian, he has a European look about him. As he hobbles out of the gates, a sleek black Mercedes pulls up. A man in his thirties gets out of the car and jogs towards the old man. He puts a hand out to support him as he leads him to the car. Once they are both in the back of the car he begins to talk to the old man.

“Heinrich, I am Wolfgang, your grandsonâ€

Heinrich looked short of breath and tired but managed a response,

“Where is your fatherâ€

“I’m afraid he passed away last summer, car accident. He passed sole ownership of the football club to me. He also schooled me in your beliefs and I support you fully, but you must know this is a very different world from that of ‘51.â€

Losing a son and acquiring a grandson in the space of a few minutes didn’t appear to phase Heinrich, at least it wasn’t apparent in his expression.

“Where are we going?â€

“To meet the man that is taking our football club forwardâ€

***

That man was me. I’d been in Brazil for a year now, an Englishman plying his trade abroad. The lure of sun, sea , sand and the best footballers in the world had been enough to send me on the next flight out to Brazil. Clube Atletico Hermann Aichinger was my big break but it was a hard assignment, the Third Division consisted of over a 100 clubs and at the end of a gruelling season of group stages and knockout phases only two lucky clubs would get into the Second Division. In addition to this my first season kicked off with the Santa Catarina state championship. After initial brightness we failed to qualify after finishing third in the group stages behind Avai and Figueirense. In the Third Division, we scraped into the knockout phases, finishing second behind CENE. Win after win saw us end up in the final group stage of four teams. We performed badly at first but sealed qualification on the last day, finishing second behind Treze. Now we were in the Second Division and a mammoth relegation battle awaited.

But even worse, I now had to meet the convicted murderer/former SS officer that was our chairman. After being incarcerated for 56 years for shooting to death his former comrade and business partner, Heinrich Wolfenstein was now at the jolly old age of 89. It was he that insisted the club’s shirt should be a particular shade of Nazi crimson and that through the halls pictures of Hitler, Himmler and others should be displayed. That was in 1951 and nothing had changed.

Now, I had to meet the octogenarian psychopath……………

[-Xenon-]

I was to meet him in the executive office at the stadium, I made my way there through the maze of corridors that contained photo’s of SS leaders and cabinets full of antique weapons and Nazi flags. It was utterly disturbing, and what made it more so was the fact it hadn’t been there last season. As I approached the office I could have sworn I heard what sounded like traditional 40’s German music playing over the intercom. I took a deep breath and walked inside.

Heinrich was sat behind a desk in a wheelchair, he didn’t look old or frail as I had expected, in fact he looked full of life and alert. He was flanked by his grandson who sat on his left. He motioned for me to sit down.

His English was thickly accented and I tried to hold back a laugh as he spoke, how was I to know that I might not be next on his hit list.

“Wolfgang tells me zat you are ze man responsible for ze promotion of our clubâ€

“Well I’ll like to think the players were just as responsible for getting us thereâ€

“Ja Naturlich, I didn’t expect so much from ein Englanderâ€

It was the kind of statement that one has no reply for, I didn’t know whether to thank him or have a go at him.

“Yes, well I’m glad I have been of use to the club.â€

“You must be avare of ze…how you say? Difficulties zat avait you, Wolfgang tells me zat ze Zweite Division is very hard for us to stay in, ja?â€

“It’s a challenge but I assure you that we will stay up and establish ourselves there.â€

“Das ist sehr gut, but you must know zat we expect to be in ze Erste Division within five yearsâ€

It was a big ask, but I could be getting up close and personal with the wrong end of the Reich if I failed. Would this old git even be around in five years. On second thought his grandson looked every bit the stereotypical efficient facist that Heinrich was.

“Well, I’ll do my best for you sir.â€

I was already calling him sir which was a worrying sign, I tried to put it out of my mind as I went down to the pitch to hold the start of season training meeting.

[Raptor]

Amusing start

[PMLF]

Good story so far.

But I doubt CAHA fans will likely to see you related their team to Nazis.

[-Xenon-]

All will be revealed.....

It is a bit controversial but I'll give you a hint, all baddies get their come-uppance.

[Peacemaker7]

Bah the baddies should win

Great start though, you're certainly proving your value to this forum

[-Xenon-]

Thanks a lot PM7

"Grandfather, can I get you anything?"

"Sit down, I need to talk to you about something"

Wolfgang slowly walked over and sat down beside his grandfather, despite Heinrich's heavy breathing there a fire in his eyes that exuded youthfulness but more disturbingly power. For a while there was a deep silence until Wolfgang's curiosity gave way.

"What is it"

"This team needs to be pure. It is my wish that we have as many true Germans on this team as possible."

"Well that is going to be difficult, there are strict regulations on the amount of foreign players and anyway it wouldn't exactly be a good career move for a German player to move here. Plus, Sam would never agree to it. He may be the b*stard son of an Englishman but he's strong willed as far as those tea drinking plebs go, I think its the Irish half of him. I curse the day we employed a non pure manager but he gets the job done."

As usual Wolfgang's beliefs were interfering and he was starting to ramble about his manager's ancestral past. Heinrich ignored this irrelevancy.

"You fool, you don't think I know of these rules? I have a plan, it will be costly and somewhat immoral and we have to keep it hushed up in order to succeed. It is like a youth academy but in order to have a pure squad and abide by the rules it will be somewhat different."

"Go on."

"Wolfgang, let me tell you what we are going to do.................."

***

I had just finished the squad report at Wolfgang's request. Apparantly Heinrich wanted a detailed report of his players. Seeing as the squad was quite large, I wasn't going to whittle away the hours slaving over a squad report so I was quick and to the point:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Squad Report - 2007

Goalkeepers

Marcio Amaral de Oliveira (Marcio) 30, GK

Back up keeper. Not especially talented and currently discontent at not featuring too much in the team. Currently considering his options, made 8 appearances last season, conceding 16.

Alencar Bau (Alencar) 20, GK

Young and with plenty of time to develop, first choice keeper. Made 28 appearances last season conceding just 30.

Defenders

Tiago Oliveira Viegas (Tiago) 28, DR

Solid right back. Made 23 appearances last season grabbing one goal.

Andre Oliveira Lima (Andre) 25, DL

Pacy left back that likes to bomb down the flank. Enjoying his time at CAHA. Made 20 appearances last season with 2 goals.

Rildo Luiz Bezzera (Rildo) 34, DC

Veteran centre back, finding it hard to accept he is no longer first choice. Made 4 appearances last season.

Flavio Luis Ribeiro dos Santos (Flavio Luis) 30, DC

First choice central defender, no immediate plans for the future. Made 31 appearances last season.

Alexandro Santos de Araujo (Alec) 29, DC

Partners Flavio Luis at the back, made 13 appearances last season.

Vinicius Preteat (Tota) 34, DC

Experienced centre back. Not as good as he once was, made 32 appearances last season and scored one goal.

Denio Pereira Martins (Denio) 29, D/WBL

Is among those pleased I haven't as of yet purchased any reinforcements for the squad, made 36 appearances last season, scoring 3 goals.

Midfielders

Everton Vinicius dos Santos Gomes (Viton) 30, DM

Very experienced, made 27 appearances for the club last season.

Everaldo Luis Pinheiro (Benson) 33, DM

Immensely talented midfielder, made 21 appearances last season scoring 3 goals.

Fabricio Dias de Souza (Fabricio) 23, DM

Made 22 appearances last season, a useful back-up across the midfield.

Sergio Grach (Sergio) 23, DM

Nephew of Wolfgang, Sergio is a splendid passer of the ball. Made 12 appearances last season, scoring one goal.

Jefferson L.R. Franco (Je) 28, MC

No more than a fringe player, currently annoyed at lack of first team oppurtunities. Made just one appearance last season.

Jair Fernandes (Jair) 21, AM/FC

Talented attacking midfielder, is keen to see new faces at the club. Made 28 appearances last season and scored 6 goals.

Attackers

Adriano Padilha Nascimento (Adriano) 26, ST

Our best striker, currently have a 1.1 million pound bid lodged for him from Figueirense. Wondering whether its worth letting him go to get a much needed left winger and some other players to strengthen the squad. Made 26 appearances last season and scored 16 goals.

Marcelo souza de Franca (Marcelo Franca) 33, ST

Veteran striker. Made 28 appearances last season, scoring 8 goals.

Giovani da Silva Ramos Hora (Neno) 28, ST

Great striker, made 23 appearances last season netting 13 goals.

Rogerio de Jesus Abreu (Rogerio) 26, ST

Back-up striker, bit disapointed he is being overlooked. Made 16 appearances last season scoring 4.

Rafeal Sobreira de Costa (Paty) 25, ST

Undenyably talented but never really happened last season making 8 appearances without scoring he had to make way for the form strikers.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[-Xenon-]

Thanks a lot PM7

"Grandfather, can I get you anything?"

"Sit down, I need to talk to you about something"

Wolfgang slowly walked over and sat down beside his grandfather, despite Heinrich's heavy breathing there a fire in his eyes that exuded youthfulness but more disturbingly power. For a while there was a deep silence until Wolfgang's curiosity gave way.

"What is it"

"This team needs to be pure. It is my wish that we have as many true Germans on this team as possible."

"Well that is going to be difficult, there are strict regulations on the amount of foreign players and anyway it wouldn't exactly be a good career move for a German player to move here. Plus, Sam would never agree to it. He may be the b*stard son of an Englishman but he's strong willed as far as those tea drinking plebs go, I think its the Irish half of him. I curse the day we employed a non pure manager but he gets the job done."

As usual Wolfgang's beliefs were interfering and he was starting to ramble about his manager's ancestral past. Heinrich ignored this irrelevancy.

"You fool, you don't think I know of these rules? I have a plan, it will be costly and somewhat immoral and we have to keep it hushed up in order to succeed. It is like a youth academy but in order to have a pure squad and abide by the rules it will be somewhat different."

"Go on."

"Wolfgang, let me tell you what we are going to do.................."

***

I had just finished the squad report at Wolfgang's request. Apparantly Heinrich wanted a detailed report of his players. Seeing as the squad was quite large, I wasn't going to whittle away the hours slaving over a squad report so I was quick and to the point:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Squad Report - 2007

Goalkeepers

Marcio Amaral de Oliveira (Marcio) 30, GK

Back up keeper. Not especially talented and currently discontent at not featuring too much in the team. Currently considering his options, made 8 appearances last season, conceding 16.

Alencar Bau (Alencar) 20, GK

Young and with plenty of time to develop, first choice keeper. Made 28 appearances last season conceding just 30.

Defenders

Tiago Oliveira Viegas (Tiago) 28, DR

Solid right back. Made 23 appearances last season grabbing one goal.

Andre Oliveira Lima (Andre) 25, DL

Pacy left back that likes to bomb down the flank. Enjoying his time at CAHA. Made 20 appearances last season with 2 goals.

Rildo Luiz Bezzera (Rildo) 34, DC

Veteran centre back, finding it hard to accept he is no longer first choice. Made 4 appearances last season.

Flavio Luis Ribeiro dos Santos (Flavio Luis) 30, DC

First choice central defender, no immediate plans for the future. Made 31 appearances last season.

Alexandro Santos de Araujo (Alec) 29, DC

Partners Flavio Luis at the back, made 13 appearances last season.

Vinicius Preteat (Tota) 34, DC

Experienced centre back. Not as good as he once was, made 32 appearances last season and scored one goal.

Denio Pereira Martins (Denio) 29, D/WBL

Is among those pleased I haven't as of yet purchased any reinforcements for the squad, made 36 appearances last season, scoring 3 goals.

Midfielders

Everton Vinicius dos Santos Gomes (Viton) 30, DM

Very experienced, made 27 appearances for the club last season.

Everaldo Luis Pinheiro (Benson) 33, DM

Immensely talented midfielder, made 21 appearances last season scoring 3 goals.

Fabricio Dias de Souza (Fabricio) 23, DM

Made 22 appearances last season, a useful back-up across the midfield.

Sergio Grach (Sergio) 23, DM

Nephew of Wolfgang, Sergio is a splendid passer of the ball. Made 12 appearances last season, scoring one goal.

Jefferson L.R. Franco (Je) 28, MC

No more than a fringe player, currently annoyed at lack of first team oppurtunities. Made just one appearance last season.

Jair Fernandes (Jair) 21, AM/FC

Talented attacking midfielder, is keen to see new faces at the club. Made 28 appearances last season and scored 6 goals.

Attackers

Adriano Padilha Nascimento (Adriano) 26, ST

Our best striker, currently have a 1.1 million pound bid lodged for him from Figueirense. Wondering whether its worth letting him go to get a much needed left winger and some other players to strengthen the squad. Made 26 appearances last season and scored 16 goals.

Marcelo souza de Franca (Marcelo Franca) 33, ST

Veteran striker. Made 28 appearances last season, scoring 8 goals.

Giovani da Silva Ramos Hora (Neno) 28, ST

Great striker, made 23 appearances last season netting 13 goals.

Rogerio de Jesus Abreu (Rogerio) 26, ST

Back-up striker, bit disapointed he is being overlooked. Made 16 appearances last season scoring 4.

Rafeal Sobreira de Costa (Paty) 25, ST

Undenyably talented but never really happened last season making 8 appearances without scoring he had to make way for the form strikers.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[WeWillAlwaysBeALight]

I like the detail in this story, impressive.

[-Xenon-]

Much appreciated WeWillAlwaysBeALight

[-Xenon-]

January 2007

The Christmas break had not been an enjoyable one given the club’s new fascist persuasion and I was happy to get back to the day to day running of the club. The most pressing issue was the strengthening of the squad but with most of the media tipping us for the drop, Hermann Aichinger was not exactly the most desirable of locations for the majority of free agents. Second to this priority was the upcoming friendly with Avai. State rivals from last season, Avai had struck me as a team with class. In the group stages of the Santa Catarina we played them twice, losing 4-0 and 2-0. However, now we had joined them in the Second Division and the rivalry would be all the more intense. The friendly was anything but friendly as these matches usually are the most brutal. It was a good game of football however and at the interval we went in at one apiece. A dubious penalty decision gave Avai a 2-1 lead but late on a terrific drive from Sergio earned us a very respectable 2-2 draw. Remember this was a team that hammered us for fun last year. The final game of our brief pre-season was against Third Division outfit Rio Grande. Goals from Adriano and Jair gave us a 2-0 win that boosted confidence for the upcoming season. After the match the group draw for the Santa Catarina state championship was made. Prior to my arrival Hermann Aichinger had made two consecutive finals despite losing both. Last season we crashed out as Figueirense and Avai predictably dominated the group. This season saw us put in Group Two alongside Avai, Alto Vale, Joinville, Marcilio Dias and Tiradentes. In all honesty second place was there for the taking presuming Avai would clinch the group and if we got a kind semi final draw a possible final place.

Our first game of the state campaign was at home to Tiradentes. With a full squad to choose from we were expected to brush off our opposition relatively comfortably and that was exactly what we did. A brace from Neno, who is looking to be coming into a good patch of form plus a header from Marcelo Franca and a penalty from veteran Biro Biro helped us cruise to a comfortable 4-1 win in front of the TV cameras. We couldn’t have had a more positive start and it was to continue to get better albeit not as smoothly as I would have wanted in the next game against Marcilio Dias. With ten minutes of the first half remaining we were 2-0 down, as the underdogs took the game to us. I really didn’t know how to respond to it, to be honest it had always been my team that was the underdog. Coming out guns blazing and grabbing two quick goals was something I was good at but I was damned if I knew how to defend against it. Crucially Neno made it 2-1 before half time and from that we were able to build. Straight from kick off we played Marcilio Dias at their own game and were rewarded just a minute later with an equaliser, it was that man Neno again. The 28 year old continuing his impressive early form. It looked like our dominance would not be rewarded with a win until six minutes from time, substitute Viton sliding the ball home to secure all three points. Two matches, two victories but next was the crunch away match against Avai. It was every bit as lively as the friendly and for the first hour Alencar gave an exhibition in goalkeeping, brilliantly saving every effort Avai created. We were able to break as Avai poured men forward, once hitting the crossbar and another time seeing the ball race an inch past the upright. The inevitable Avai breakthrough came on 69 minutes as Fabiano Oliveira netted the only goal of the match to clinch the game. Despite being on the back foot it was a gutsy performance and the boys had done me proud. Despite the defeat we were still able to consolidate second place.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

The Departure of a Hero

Fan favourite and personal friend of mine Adriano left the club to join Figueirense this month. The deal will eventually come to a total of 1.1 million pounds but an initial fee of £925,000 was paid immediately. After rectifying the clubs finances and taking them safely out of the red it left me with £550,000 to fund new players. Adriano’s heroics were one of the main reasons that got us where we are but without strengthening the squad we stood absolutely no chance of saving ourselves. Even if any purchases are in vain and we are relegated at least our finances will be secure and Adriano understood this implicitly. It was a shame but in his departure could lie the future for us.

New Faces

With the emphasis on youth to replace our ageing squad we made some new signings in January.

Luis Rodrigo, 18, MR

Essentially a replacement on the right hand side of midfield for the ageing Biro Biro. Interestingly started his career at 16 years old in Kuala Lumpur before moving to Third Division side Cachoeiro. He was purchased for £10,000.

Marcelo Augusto, 18 GK

Bought as much needed cover for Alencar although could prove to be a possible replacement. The talented young goalkeeper was bought from Ituiutaba for £40,000.

Berg, 28 AM/FC

Spotted last season in a friendly against his now former club Matonense. An exquisite finisher and a good leader, bought for £180,000.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The three new faces made their debuts in our final game of the month against Alto Vale at home. It was a risk, one I hoped would pay off. The early signs were good, Neno and Jair making it 2-0 early on with new right winger Luis Rodrigo supplying some delightful passes. Jair got a second before the half hour, four minutes Sergio drove his first of the season home. Alto Vale hit the upright in the last kick of the half but we went in comfortably 4-0 up at the break . It was to get worse for Alto Vale as they were reduced to ten men, Anderson Lima with a professional foul on Neno. Alec made it five from the penalty spot and then six minutes from full time Berg netted his first CAHA goal to make it 6-0. He made it a debut brace in stoppage time and it finished 7-0. A great performance from all three of the debutants as we romped past Alto Vale. Figueirense were the top scorers of the day netting 10 goals against Fraiburgo, they should look to retain their title.

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

Avai 2-2 H Friendly Neno, Sergio

Rio Grande 2-0 H Friendly Adriano, Jair

Tiradentes (SC) 4-1 H Santa Catarina State Neno(2), Marcelo Franca, Biro Biro

Marcilio Dias 3-2 A Santa Catarina State Neno(2), Viton

Avai 0-1 A Santa Catarina State

Alto Vale 7-0 H Santa Catarina State Neno, Jair(2), Sergio, Alec, Berg(2)

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

It had been an outstanding first month of the new season for us. However our only real test was against against Avai, I felt we put in a decent performance and it boded well for our inevitable relegation battle when the league season kicked off. I left the training ground after leading a brief session with the lads and viewing some tapes of Joinville our next opponents, the looked a real handful and we would have to play well. As I got into my car I noticed a voice message had been left on my mobile phone. I didn't recognise the caller but nevertheless I accessed the mailbox and listened to the message:

"Sam, my name is Max Stader and have some information that may be of use to you. Well, I say use, perhpas it is better to say this information is benefitial to not only your career but also your safety. Meet me in the park, three blocks away from the training ground at 18:00. It is imperative that you come alone and you do not disclose this meeting to anyone, especially your employers. You must also know that I am of no threat to you, so do not be alarmed by this message."

I wasn't alarmed, I was terrified. How did this person obtain my number? And what on earth was this information that I needed to know? This Stader person spoke perfect English but with a Brazilian twang, his name was hardly very Brazilian. This must have been something to do with that geriatric nutcase Heinrich. I looked at the clock on the dash "17:56". Eager to see what this was all about I gunned the car out of the training complex and sped to the rendez-vous making it exactly on time. A solitary figure sat on the park bench. He looked in his mid to late fifties and despite his age he had thick blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. I slowly walked over and sat down next to him, he didn't turn to look at me, so finally I said:

"Do you want to tell me what this is all about?"

He turned to me:

"I didn't think you would come, you know 56 years ago in this very place, a meeting such as ours had a fatal end."

Everything seemed to click into place, I noticed a solitary yet beautiful lily led on the bench beside Stader, a small card was attached to the bottom which simply read "Vater".

"So I heard, I'm presuming this has something to do with Heinrich?"

"56 years ago he shot my father dead, you could say it was because of CAHA. They were joint owners but they were going in different direction with the club. Unfortunately tolerance of other beliefs was not something that encouraged where the two of them originated from. They argued and because of it my mother was left a widow and I an orphan beofre I even knew my father."

"I'm sorry."

"So am I. What do you know of your chairman?"

"Nothing, apart from he's an ex-con with some rather un-orthodox ideas."

"Him and my father were officers in the SS during the war. Heinrich was your stereotypical loyal Nazi, willing to fight until the end. My father however offered him a way out as the Americans were about to move into Bavaria. They stole a plane and joined my father's cousin Hermann Aichinger and the rest as they is history."

"Well everything seems to make a lot more sense now but I'm guessing it doesn't end here."

"I wish I could say yes but there are more sinister times ahead. Heinrich intends to take CAHA to the pinnacle of Brazilian football but not for the football for the finances. He intends to raise enough money to sell and invest in a lowly European club because there are limits to financial success here. Look at the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United and the huge turnovers they gain. Eventually this is the situation he wishes to be in."

"Well to be honest I don't see what's wrong with trying to make money."

"Herein lies what him and my father fell out over. He wishes to use the money to fund a new modern Nazi party. It is ludicrous because even that kind of money would not be enough to be effective. He seems to have delusions on a grand scale, nevertheless great harm will come of this. He is old yet his grandson is as much of a tyrant as he is and no doubt it will continue through the family."

"Do you think I should quit? Get the hell out of there?"

"I didn't say that."

"I want you to do what my father wanted, to be a success, take CAHA to the top but for the love of football not money. Eventually we can get rid of Heinrich and Wolfgang but we must be allies. Do it for my Dad."

I shook his hand and left deep in thought. This was heavy stuff and I wasn't sure I wanted to be apart of it, I could just walk away and go back to England. Better to sit tight and wait to see how things would pan out though...........

[-Xenon-]

February 2007

I didn't hear from Max in the following weeks, I didn't even have a number to get hold of him as he contacted me on a payphone. I decided it was best to get back to football rather than actively stray into the unknown territory of stopping an uprising of fascism. Our next opponents were Joinville. Although still a Third Division side they had plenty of talent and second place was arguably boiling down to the two matches we played against each other. We were still on a high after our 7-0 demolition of Alto Vale and were eager to add another three points to a promising campaign. Sadly it was not to be, after just five minutes talented young striker Carlinhos made us pay for slack early defending. The 18 year old had been in explosive form and we were the latest team to be punished by him. To our credit we fought back and dominated proceedings in search of an equaliser. However we were let down by a poor penalty decision that Marcelo Silva coolly slotted home. We struggled to recover from then on and once again another dubious penalty decision and also once again Marcelo Silva doing the honours. 3-0 was how it stayed, an unjust score line and to add injury to outrageous insult, Neno picked up a fractured cheekbone.

Our next match against Tiradentes should have been easy but yet again our defence let us down. We started brightly enough with Berg silencing his recent critics with an explosive right footed drive. His transfer had not been received well by fans and media alike, but I was confident in my judgement of him and he was certainly repaying my faith in the 28 year old front man. We continued to dominate in the first half until, totally against the run of play Tiradentes forward William slotted home an equaliser. It was short lived as we retook the lead through Jair just before the break. With twenty minutes to go William scored again to make it 2-2, from then on it was the Berg show as he completed his hat-trick to restore our lead to 4-2. Antonio Carlos grabbed a consolation goal late on as we won 4-3, a disappointing performance at the back for us.

Needing to close the gap on Joinville and Avai I knew we needed to get something from rivals Avai.. Yet again despite another spirited performance we battled and in the end succumbed 1-0. The gap between the top two would now be very hard to close and it didn’t help matters that we went on to get a 0-0 draw at Alto Vale despite having a two man advantage. Another let down saw us draw 2-2 with Marcilio Dias ending our hopes of qualification. With just the match against Joinville left to go this was how Group Two looked at the end of February:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

============================================================================

Team P W D L For Ag. G.D Pts.

============================================================================

Q Avai 9 7 1 1 28 5 +23 22

Q Joinville 9 6 2 1 22 11 +11 20

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermann Aichinger 9 4 2 3 20 13 +7 14

Marcilio Dias 9 4 1 4 20 16 +4 13

Tiradentes (SC) 9 1 1 7 9 34 -25 4

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alto Vale 9 0 3 6 5 25 -20 3

============================================================================

</pre>

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Joinville 0-3 A Santa Catarina

Tiradentes 4-3 A Santa Catarina Jair, Berg(3)

Avai 0-1 H Santa Catarina

Alto Vale 0-0 A Santa Catarina

Marcilio Dias 2-2 H Santa Catarina Berg, Marcelo Franca

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

Wolfgang had been kept in the dark over his grandfather's "plans" for the youth team for a little over a month. In that month Heinrich had become more reclusive than ever and Wolfgang felt a little left out. However, his wait would soon be over as he had been called to his grandfather's office for a clandestine meeting. When he opened the door Heinrich was sat at his mahogany desk, smoking a cigar and sipping brandy from a beautifully made crystal glass. He instructed Wolfgang to sit down and offered him a brandy, to which he declined. After a brief pause Heinrich began to outline his plan:

"Wolfgang, as you know this past month I have been formulating a plan regarding the future of the youth team. Unfortunately my primary plan which would have ensured purity failed. I intended to bring youths from Bavarian orphanages to come and live here and play for the youth team but alas the authorities scuppered my plan immediately. To be honest the likelihood of finding talented footballers that way would be slim."

"I don't understand, is there a plan for the youth team anymore?"

"Yes of course, I am not simple enough not to create a back-up plan for us to use. We must now go through the route of indoctrination.

"I don't quite follow."

"As of next week our youth academy in its entirety will be known as the "Hermann Youth". All 10-15 year olds in the surrounding neighbourhoods will be obliged to attend and the select few who are talented enough will go on to the Under 20 side, which will also be renamed to the "Hermann Youth"."

"How in God's name are you going to enforce compulsory participation!?"

"Because the mayor of Ibirama is an extremely personal friend of mine. What on the outside will look like a harmless sports scheme that will benefit the community, will really be an exercise in indoctrinating the young minds of the area and making sure no talent slips through the net."

Wolfgang was impressed, he had to hand it to his grandfather, he knew how to devise a plan. His only worry was how would Sam take the news? The Englishman had never complained once during his tenure but Wolfgang sensed this might be a step too far. Both he and Heinrich knew that Sam was the only person capable of bringing CAHA the glory it deserved. Therefore the relationship with the talented manager had to remain intact.

[-Xenon-]

March/April/May 2007

With only one game in March and our first league game right at the end of April we would have plenty of preparation for the league campaign ahead. Despite the long break I still rested all my key players for the final state match against Joinville which predictably we lost 3-0. It didn't matter as we had no chance of qualifying and I knew that next year we would be a serious threat to the state champions who this year were Figueirense after they retained the title against Avai in the final. The team was improving all the time but I knew we needed some additions to the squad and over the course of March and April we made to additions to the squad.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

New Faces

These two quality signings are sure to improve our chances of survival.

Hevandro, 20, ST

On Loan from First Division side Juventude. Hevandro is a class act from Juventude's Under 20 side. Blessed with an incredible first touch and an amazing finishing ability he brings a touch of class to the team. He is on loan until the end of the season.

Maycon, 22, DM

Arrived on a free transfer after being released from Internacional. A great holding midfielder that adds stability to the team, he's also not afraid to try a shot from distance usually to good effect.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The long break did the players a world of good, they reported back fresh and eager for the first game of the season against Nautico. Nautico looked a good side and Hevandro and Maycon had not arrived at this point to strengthen our side. We played well but eventually succumbed to a 3-0 defeat with Claudio, Betinho and Thiago Laranjeira scoring for Nautico. Not a great start to the season but the players were eager to bounce back. Their first opportunity to do so was against Bahia, this time Hevandro and Maycon made their debut's and they were the cutting edge in a game that surprised Bahia as early as the first minute. Berg latching onto a poor back pass to put us 1-0 in front with less than 60 seconds on the clock. Bahia hit back as early as the 18th minute as Jaja slotted home a well placed shot. However that was how it was to stay as we got our first points on the board much to the fans delight.

If the fans were delighted after the 1-1 draw with Bahia, I cannot imagine what they were going through after the next game against CRB. After a lifeless first 30 minutes Hevandro popped up to score his first goal for the club sending the stadium into raptures. CRB hit back quickly Beto with a long range effort just three minutes later to make it 1-1. However from that moment onward it was a CAHA onslaught. Not long into the second half we were awarded a penalty which Andre tucked home at the second attempt to make it 2-1. Just one minute later Neno headed to make it 3-1. Before the hour mark it was 4-1 as Luis Rodrigo opened his account for the season. The rout was complete as Hevandro made it 5-1 from the penalty spot. Cristiano grabbed a consolation to make it 5-2 at the final whistle, a tremendous win for us.

Next was the old grudge match against Avai. I always looked forward to this fixture and was still desperately chasing a victory against our rivals. My hopes looked like becoming a reality as after just 9 minutes, Hevandro, who was beginning to be worshipped by the fans tucked home a penalty to make it 1-0. Avai may have looked out of sorts at the beginning of the game, but the last hour was an efficient performance as a Fabio Oliveira hat-trick meant that I would have to wait to get my first victory against Avai. Our final game of May was a rollercoaster of emotions. Vila Nova (GO) visited us in a reasonably strong position and full of confidence that they would be victorious. However, a stunning first half hat-trick from Hevandro sent them in at the break 3-0 down. Whatever was said at the half time clearly worked as they came out guns blazing and immediately made it 3-1. I thought we would hang on for the three points but two goals in the final 15 minutes levelled it at 3-3. Thankfully we escaped with a point but I was disappointed that the defence had wasted Hevandro efforts. That draw left us comfortably in 15th position, but our next fixture was against league leaders Parana.

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Joinville 0-3 H Santa Catarina

Nautico 0-3 H Second Division

Bahia 1-1 A Second Division Berg

CRB 5-2 H Second Division Hevandro(2), Andre, Luis Rodrigo, Neno

Avai 1-3 A Second Division Hevandro

Vila Nova (GO) 3-3 H Second Division Hevandro(3)

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

I was beginning to wonder whether I would ever hear from Max again, when one afternoon in late May he called me. He arranged to meet me later that evening in a bar on the other side of town. Of course, I could of refused but something about all this was enticing me further into discovering more about Heinrich's sinister motives. The bar was a quiet and dingy place, perfect for covert meetings and a lack of eavesdroppers. Max was sat in the corner sipping what looked like a double whiskey with no ice. I was surprised to see that Max was joined by another person, a tall, dark haired man who appeared to be in his mid twenties. I slowly walked over and sat opposite the two men. A familiar voice, heavily accented broke the silence.

"Thank you for coming, I understand that this situation must be uncomfortable for you. This is my son Manni by the way"

I reached over and shook the young man's hand, up close he appeared to be a real chip off the block.

"So what's going on? I haven't heard from you in months"

"Yes, I apologise. I have been rather busy at the moment, I see the team is doing well."

"Yeah, they're a good bunch of lads, but please, can we cut to the chase?"

"Very well. I have spent the last few months deliberating whether or not I can buy Heinrich out of the club. I think its a good initial plan, I don't want to have to forcibly remove him unless I really have to. Its just a question of whether he will sell."

"Well with all due respect, I don't know the man that well but at first glance I can tell this guy won't sell. You're gonna have to think of another way to get him out, but I'll leave the decision making up to you. At the end of the day, if things get nasty I'm out the back door. There is not enough in it for me to start mucking around in some power struggle that has already taken one life and God knows how many more!"

I lit a cigarette and gratefully inhaled the nicotine. Max sat in silence as if in thought, I had stated where I stood on this and it was evidently troubling Max. I was in a limited supply of possible allies and he would need me later. Finally it was his son Manni who broke the awkward silence.

"What if I was to say that I could have Heinrich and Wolfgang 'removed' without any trouble?

Discarding the cigarette, I leant over the table.

"Tell me more......"

[-Xenon-]

June 2007

Once again I tried to focus on football and saving us from relegation. It didn't help the cause that we were up against the league leaders Parana in our next game. We travelled to the Estádio Pinheirão hoping for a draw but a defeat would not be the end of the world, they were after all the form team. In front of a crowd of about 7,000 we stated our intentions early, Maycon with an absolute screamer from 30 yards with just over a quarter of an hour gone. Parana wasted no time in replying, just 10 minutes later Vandinho equalised. Vandinho is arguably the best striker in the league at the age of just 20 and I expect him to either move to a bigger club or single-handedly promote Parana. Just three minutes after the equaliser we fell behind again. Another dubious penalty decision came our way and Maicosuel tucked it away to put Parana 2-1 in front. We didn’t panic and not long into the second half Hevandro levelled the game at 2-2. Luis Rodrigo lost his cool and received a second yellow card to end his afternoon, from then on it seemed as though our chances of hanging onto a 2-2 would go out the window. 6 minutes later it appeared to be the case as Maicosuel got his second to make it 3-2 to Parana. Once again we kept calm and with 11 minutes left to go substitute Jean levelled the game again to make it 3-3. I thought we had done enough to earn a point but it was not to be. In stoppage time, Rafael Akai headed home to put Parana 4-3 up. This time there was to be no equaliser and we went home disappointed but all the more resilient having played so well against the league leaders.

Next up was another state rival, Figueirense. Another team we had failed to beat during my tenure, but as ever I was desperate to change that. Figueirense were a shambles straight from kick off and we profited early, Hevandro opening the scoring to put us 1-0 in front. In the second half Figueirense performed much better and gave us real problems. Eventually veteran midfielder Bilu got the equaliser but that was how it stayed, a good result for us. After that we faced a trick away trip to Ituano, who as predicted broke the deadlock early, Paulinho Macaiba scoring with just 2 minutes on the clock. However a major turning point in the game followed just another 2 minutes later, Ituano midfielder Germano received a straight red card. From then on we were in the ascendancy but it took until after the half time break for Neno to find the equaliser. With 12 minutes left Viton found a second goal and it looked as if we would cruise to victory. But 2 minutes later Paulinho Macaiba scored his second goal to make it 2-2. But we weren’t about to undo our fine efforts and Berg powered home the winner on 85 minutes, the final score 3-2. Our final game of June welcomed Ponte Preta to our stadium. They were a handful and took the lead just after the half hour mark through Wesley. Jair hit back just 3 minutes later and when Ponte Preta were reduced to 10 men, It seemed to me that we had hope of a decent result. However two goals from Carlinhos and a sending off of our own meant that we had to settle for a 3-1 defeat.

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Parana 3-4 A Second Division Maycon, Hevandro, Jean

Figueirense 1-1 H Second Division Hevandro

Ituano 3-2 A Second Division Neno, Berg, Viton

Ponte Preta 1-3 H Second Division Jair

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

There was a major gathering outside the stadium one day in late June. It was the official opening of the new rebranded youth team. The "Hermann Youth" was fast becoming a reality and there were no shortage of enthusiasm for the project, practically every youth in town had come to try out for the team. Atop a podium in front of the assembled journalists, in his motorised wheelchair sat Heinrich Wolfenstein. He was now entering his ninetieth year and still looked as full of life as ever, his Iron Cross dangling around his neck. Wolfgang was adjusting the microphone for his grandfather, who was preparing to address the assembled crowd. In fluent Brazilian he started to speak:

"My friends, it gives me great pleasure to welcome Club Atletico Hermann Aichinger into a new era. This begins with the Hermann Youth a chance for all youngsters to play football and escape crime, so that we can make them strong for the future. Hermann Aichinger was a close friend of mine and I can assure you this was his dream.

***

At these words a lone figure across the street spat in derision, Hermann was his blood relative and from what his father had told him, Hermann would have turned in his grave. He had offered this evil b*stard a way out 62 years ago, and he had payed him back by bringing the evil to Brazil. The man was infact Manni Stader, grandson of Matthias and distant cousin of Hermann Aichinger. This was his and his father's football club. Calmly he reached into pocket and slowly grasped the butt of a semi automatic pistol. He was going to finish this right here, right now.

***

"And now, please welcome to the stage your manager Sam Cox and our oldest serving veteran Biro Biro to help me unveil the new youth team."

A large cheer erupted from the crowd as two men tentatively walked to the middle of the stage. Neither wanted to be here nor agreed with what was about to happen. Sam anxiuosly scanned the crowd and eventually saw Manni leaning against a tree, their eyes met. Manni's gaze was full of intention, Sam gave a vigorous nod knowing exactly what Manni was planning, "Not here" he thought. It was too crowded, he never successfully hit the pair of them and get away without being caught. Manni seemed to reckless a person to be doing this, his emotional ties were clouding his judgement and Sam knew things were going to go wrong.

"So it is with great pleasure that I declare the Herma............."

Screams, and three loud bursts of gunfire.

[chesterfan2]

for god's sake Sam, DUCK !!!!!!

A great read this Xenon, keep up the good work.

[-Xenon-]

Very much appreciated chesterfan2, not sure whether I want to kill any of the characters off yet, so the destination of those bullets are unclear as of yet!

[-Xenon-]

July 2007

As per usual to situations such as this, I was one of the unfortunate ones to wake up in a hospital ward. Manni had proved to be as accurate as I had thought, hitting me in the upper arm and as a result causing me almost to bleed to death from a severed artery. I wasn't the only one, Biro Biro had received a bullet in his leg ending his season and career slightly prematurely. I haven't heard from the 39 year old since. The final bullet had grazed the side of Wolfgang's face to leave it grotesquely scarred, a scar such as this seemed to fit his demeanour quite well. I had pleaded with both Max and Manni to get a professional to do the job, but they insisted that revenge had to be personal. From then on I knew that either one of them would probably end up in jail, perhaps both. As for me I had vowed never to contact Max or Manni again and just to focus on football, thanks to them I could have ended up dead. I did consider quitting and going back to England, but I had never been a coward and now was no exception. Unfortunately getting out of hospital would prove to be very tricky, I had tried to discharge myself but the doctors refused as I was still under observations. With a day to go until the Santo Andre match I was starting get anxious about missing the game. My fears were realised when the doctors informed me that I would miss the game but should be up and running for the home game against Paysandu.

I made a phonecall to my assistant manager, Giovani and went over the tactics for the trip to Santo Andre. Fortunately the game was being televised so I asked for a TV to be brought to my bedside so that I could watch the game. I shouldn't of bothered, amazingly Santo Andre's 31 year old centre back, Dedimar scored a hat-trick before the hour mark as Santo Andre cruised to victory. Hevandro got a late consolation to make the final score 3-1. I wasn't too disappointed, they were a much better side but I couldn't help but wonder how different things might of gone if I had been there.

Getting out of hospital was a major relief and after a week of rest I was straight back into action with a home game against Paysandu. It was a much better performance and we deservedly took the lead through Neno on 10 minutes. Paysandu hit back through former Feyenoord winger, Gerson Magrao. They then went on to take the lead before half time as Duilio put them 2-1 up. As ever we weren't prepared to accept defeat and fought back to our credit, eventually being rewarded with an equaliser from Sergio. 2-2 was how it stayed. Finally was a tricky away trip to SE Gama, who we surprised with a 2-1 victory with goals from Hevandro and Maycon.

At the end of July the table looks like this:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Brazilian Second Division

********************************************************************************************************************************************

============================================================================================================================================

Pos. Team Pld. Won Drw. Lst. GF. GA. GD. Pts.

============================================================================================================================================

1. Bahia 12 9 1 2 24 11 +13 28

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Parana 12 9 0 3 33 20 +13 27

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Vitoria 12 8 1 3 21 11 +10 25

4. Ponte Preta 13 6 4 3 27 16 +11 22

5. Santo Andre 12 6 3 3 24 21 +3 21

6. Nautico 12 6 2 4 17 15 +2 20

7. Santa Cruz 12 6 2 4 23 23 0 20

8. CRB 13 6 2 5 15 19 -4 20

9. Guarani 13 6 1 6 16 20 -4 19

10. Treze 12 5 3 4 18 20 -2 18

11. Ituano 12 5 1 6 20 16 +4 16

12. Figueirense 12 4 4 4 13 10 +3 16

13. Paysandu 12 4 3 5 15 16 -1 15

14. SE Gama 13 3 6 4 15 17 -2 15

15. Hermann Aichinger 12 3 4 5 23 28 -5 13

16. Avai 12 3 2 7 17 21 -4 11

17. Vila Nova (GO) 12 3 2 7 16 23 -7 11

18. Portuguesa 12 2 3 7 12 22 -10 9

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

19. Ceara 12 2 2 8 12 21 -9 8

20. Paulista 12 2 2 8 12 23 -11 8

============================================================================================================================================

</pre>

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Santo Andre 1-3 A Second Division Hevandro

Paysandu 2-2 H Second Division Neno, Sergio

SE Gama 2-1 A Second Division Hevandro, Maycon

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

Wolfgang strode towards the large Baroque style mirror in the far corner of Heinrich's plush office and examined the wound on his face. The bullet had skimmed his left cheek, leaving a long and thin gash down the side of his face. It would scar him for life and the very thought of having to walk around with a battle scar such as this, made Wolfgang quiver with anger. He knew exactly who the assassin was, his reactions had been to slow as he saw the lone figure raise the pistol towards him and his grandfather. Sam and Biro Biro had been hit in the attack aswell, it did not give the best image for Hermann Aichinger. However Wolfgang and Heinrich had survived, the Hermann Youth was up and running and CAHA were avoiding relegation. Everything was going to plan albeit not very smoothly. Suddenly Heinrich manoeveured himself into the office on his new motorised wheelchair. He was holding a glass of brandy in one hand and a large Cuban cigar in the other, hardly health conscious pursuits for a 90 year old.

"Wolfgang, you know who did this?"

"Unfortunately for the persons involved, yes."

"So, who?"

"A blast from the past actually, surely you know Max Stader?"

"Of course, but he is harmless. He wouldn't do a thing like this."

"Well not him, but our gunman was the latest addition to the treacherous Stader gene pool. His son Manni. I would have recognised him anywhere, I even saw him pull the trigger."

"Where is he now?"

"He'll be difficult to track down, but my best guess would be his father has arranged him a safe house on the other side of town."

"Find it and take care of him and his father"

"Yes but why would they want us dead?"

"It's obvious, they want to get their unworthy hands on my football club, and lets not forget what I have just spent 56 years in prison for".

[-Xenon-]

August 2007

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

CAHA add another midfielder to the ranks

Luciano, 21, DM

Former Atletico Mineiro midfielder should partner the likes of Maycon well in the centre of midfield. Luciano will be crucial in the fight to avoid relegation from the Second Division.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

As the pain in my arm slowly wore off, I could now concentrate on escaping relegation. We had worked so hard to get out of the Third Division, we were not relishing having to do it all over again. A reminder of last season came up in our next game against Treze. Treze had won the Third Division last season, whilst we finished as runners up in the final group stage. In our two matches against them last season we had suffered a 3-0 defeat and fought out a 2-2 draw. They were a class act and had started the season well. At this stage they were in 10th and a win against us could move them even further up the table. They showed their evident improvement in a very one sided encounter. A goal apiece locked it at 1-1 midway through the first half, but Treze were too strong and ran in another 3 goals to end the game 4-1. The result moved us down a place to 16th.

July had been a relatively quiet month with only three matches, August however was proving to be making up for lost time with an action packed schedule. Next up was a trip to bottom side Ceara, a bore draw 0-0 in the end. How crucial that point would be you never knew, that was why I was grateful for every point that came our way. I hated to coin a Tesco phrase but "every little helps", and it certainly did in our situation. It struck me after the Ceara game that it was the first time in 12 games that we had failed to score a goal, and only the second time that had happened in the league so far. If we were to stay up the would need to be a defensive overhaul in the new year.

Next was another relegation six pointer against Portuguesa. Portuguesa had the talented youngster Celsinho amongst their ranks. The wonderkid was absent from the team that visited us. Portuguesa got off and away with lightning speed as they breached our fragile defence as early as the first minute, Oliveira tapping in from close range. Berg equalised with a well placed drive to set up a frantic encounter 7 minutes later. With both teams struggling to settle down, the game became end to end and Berg capitalised again to put us 2-1 in front. Three minutes later, Jair added to the lead to make it 3-1. But as ever our defence let us down and we went in at the break, conceding another making it too close for comfort at 3-2. In the second half Oliveira rounded off his hat-trick to end the game 3-3 another crucial point.

A point would have been wishful thinking against our next opponents, Vitoria. We got an absolute thrashing, the 4-0 defeat sending us to 18th in the table. This latest set-back was giving us real cause for concern and a win would be great against fellow relegation strugglers Paulista. Paulista were one place above us in 17th but were playing well and would be hard to beat. Once again we fell behind as Leo put Paulista in front on the half hour mark. Not long after that Neno equalised to send the teams in at half time with the score at 1-1. In the second half Paulista were just too strong as they wrapped up a 3-1 win thanks to two goals from Abraão. We were still outside the relegation zone however Vila Nova had a game in hand. It was now five games without a win and we were seriously in danger of sinking without trace.

With just two games to go until the half way point in the season, I felt it was crucial we get to that stage outside the drop zone. Vila Nova lost 3-0 to Paysandu later that week allowing us to stay outside the relegation zone but we were facing a tough game against Santa Cruz next, who were a bit of an unknown quantity. I hadn’t really seen much of them this season, they were sitting comfortably in 9th position so they were evidently a good side. It was nothing but disappointment as we lost somewhat unjustly 2-0. Amazingly we were still outside the relegation zone as bottom side Ceara won 1-0 against CRB to go level on points with Vila Nova who lost to SE Gama. Worryingly both teams are now just one point behind us.

Next came a positive result against Guarani, we battled for a 1-1 draw. It kept us out of the relegation zone at the half way point in the season. However Luis Rodrigo received a red card in the process.

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Treze 1-4 H Second Division Berg

Ceara 0-0 A Second Division

Portuguesa 3-3 H Second Division Berg(2), Jair

Vitoria 0-4 A Second Division

Paulista 1-3 H Second Division Neno

Santa Cruz 0-2 A Second Division

Guarani 1-1 A Second Division Neno

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

Mid-Season Update

Brazil

In the First Division, Santos are setting the pace as they sit top of the table, five points clear of Sao Paulo in second place. Holders, Internacional are wallowing in 11th place and look unlikely to challenge for the title. Fortaleza look a certainty to be relegated to the Second Division.

Table

The Third Division is still mid-way through the group stage.

In the Brazilian Cup, Cruzeiro defeated 15 de Novembro 4-3 on aggregate to lift the cup for a record fifth time.

The State champions for 2007 are as follows:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

*************************************************

State Winner

Acre Vasco (AC)

Alagoas CRB

Amapa Santos (AP)

Amazonas Sao Raimundo (AM)

Bahia Fluminense (BA)

Brasiliense Brasiliense

Ceara Itapipoca

Espirito Santo Serra

Gaucho Gremio

Goias Goias

Maranhao Moto Clube

Mato Grosso Uniao Rondonopolis

MG do Sul CENE

Minas Cruzeiro

Para Remo

Paraiba Botafogo (PB)

Parana Parana

Pernambuco Sport Recife

Piaui Flamengo (PI)

Potiguar America (RN)

Rio Fluminense

Rondonia Uniao Cacaolense

Roraima Bare

Santa Catarina Figueirense

Sao Paulo Corinthians

Sergipe Sergipe

Tocantins Araguaina

**************************************************

</pre>

Argentina

The league season is just 5 weeks old but already River have made a confident start and sit top, whilst rivals Boca have made a disappointing start to the season and lie in 13th. Holders Colon are in 3rd.

Table

In the Second Division, Defensa y Justicia have made the best start.

Table

Chile

In Chile, Colo Colo have made a good start to closing stage for a 4th succesive title.

Table

Colombia

It has been a pretty open start to the Colombian First Division second phase, after 9 games, Union Magdelena and America share the lead. Deportivo Cali hold a sizeable lead overall

Table

Mexico

Jaguares, Toluca and America all share the lead in the Mexican top flight.

Table

Peru

Overall, Cienciano look favourites to take the title.

Table

Uruguay

After two games the table is as follows:

Table

Continental Competitions

In the Copa Libertadores, River Plate triumphed over Corinthians 1-0 on aggregate.

The Copa Sudamericana is awaiting the draw for the First Round.

Colo Colo retained the Recopa after defeating Corinthians 1-0 on aggregate.

Argentina won the recent Copa America, beating Chile in the final.

[-Xenon-]

The long, hot summer had taken its toll and the skies above Ibirama were swollen and teetered on the brink of heavy downpour. The air was heavy and palpable. On a lonesome street on the far side of town, a parked car sat with four figures you could just about make out through the tinted windows. It was a sleek, black and expensive car, it looked out of place amongst its surroundings. Inside the vehicle the four men sat in silence gazing out of the windows. They were all dressed in black, with stylish overcoats and curiously they all wore gloves. Suddenly a monotonous phone ringtone broke the silence, the man in the drivers seat fumbled with the phone, answered it and after some brief conversation with the caller hung up. He turned to the other three.

"That was the all clear, we're ordered to deliver the message.

He motioned towards the two sat in the back.

"You two go round the back, we'll take the front. I don't want this b*stard to get away otherwise it will be me who will be payed a visit."

***

Manni was nervous. He was waiting for the inevitable breaking down of the door by either the Police or Heinrich's thugs. He didn't know which he prefered. Sensing the latter was more probable, he had three close friends stay guard with him in the safehouse. All of them were armed including Manni himself, he wasn't going to make it easy for them. It had been four days and absolutely no-one had gone in the vicinty of the house. He had contemplated trying to get out of town but somebody would be waiting, it was suicide. He got up and went to the kitchen to fix himself a drink.

***

The two men who were charged with entering through the back door were in position, the had scaled the fence with ease. The house appeared to be empty, but they knew he would be cowering in a corner somewhere. The other two were bracing themselves at the front for the signal. Suddenly they heard it, a shotgun blast that blew the lock clean off the back door. The two of them sprinted towards the front door and the main protagonist kicked the door in, shattering it to pieces. As the door came away a loud shot rang out. The assasin who had kicked down the door had stepped through the frame and instantly received a bullet to the stomach. The man behind him with amazing reactions and leaped over the sprawling man and dived to his right into an alcove, drawn his gun and trained it on the empty space ahead of him as he crouched behind the wall. His hit colleague was writhing in agony on the floor in a growing pool of blood. They had under-estimated their enemy and there was surely more than one of them. "Where the hell are the other two?" he thought as silenced resumed.

***

Manni was now terrified, his friend Dietmar had evidently shot one of the intruders from the upstairs landing as they had broken through the door, but he swore he could of heard a much louder blast from the back. Grabbing his pistol he carefully manoevered out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. The silence was unnerving. He reached the stairs and dashed up them, all three of his friends were up there and he knew they now had the advantage if the rest of the intruders were downstairs. As he reached the top he heard a loud shot and a searing pain punctured his right calf. Floundering at the top of the stairs he was relieved as a strong arm caught hold of him and dragged him up and around the corner to temporary safety.

***

The second assasin had marvelled at Manni's foolery, he had a clear shot as the coward ran up the stairs, however he cursed himself for not hitting him the back or head. At last the other two joined him and they spread out whilst the targets were out of site upstairs. One of them attended to their hit colleague whilst the others covered him. Suddenly one of the targets called out.

"What do want!?"

"To pass on the compliments of our employer"

"Listen, I-I have money. You can say that you killed me and I can leave the country. I promise I'll make it worth your while."

"It has already been made worth our while, your stupid friends can leave if they throw all their weapons down the stairs and walk out the front door with their hands where I can see them."

Upstairs Manni had an idea, one of his other friends Christian had a hand grenade he had stolen from his army days. The idea almost brought a smile to his face in this hour of need as he told Christian of his plan.

"Ok, they are leaving. It's nothing to do with them, do want you want with me."

"Tell them to throw all their weapons down here."

"Ok"

The two assasins moved towards the stairs in preparation to retrieve the weapons. They were even more stupid than they had thought, each one of them would be gunned down before they reached the front door. Suddenly and in horror the second assasin heard a small "PING" noise, and then a small circular object bouncing towards him and his colleagues. he realised what it was too late.

[-Xenon-]

September 2007

Considering we had avoided falling into the relegation zone in the first half of the season, I was confident that we could repeat it in the second half of the season. First up were a team that had already trounced us 3-0 on the first day of the season, Nautico. The also had the talented youngster Betinho amongst their ranks. So it was much to my surprise when we took the lead early on, Berg with a great header on 6 minutes. And I was even more surprised and overjoyed when 8 minutes later, Sergio made it two. As expected on 25 minutes, Claudio (who later this month would complete a move to Ponte Preta) pulled one back for Nautico to make it 2-1 at half time. I had seen this type of situation many times before, a good first half and then a defensive collapse in the second. It was becoming a bit of a trademark for us. It seemed the day was full of surprises as just 4 minutes after the re-start, Neno increased our lead to 3-1. That was how it stayed, an incredibly crucial result for us.

We had been lucky enough to catch Nautico on a bad patch of form. I doubt we would be as lucky in our next game against Bahia, who were currently in second place. It proved to be right, as Bahia were just too strong from start to finish. Two goals from William and a penalty from Valdson enough to cancel a goal from Fabricio. Final Score 3-1 to Bahia. Next up was CRB and I sensed some backlash from the 5-2 humiliation we had given them. It certainly wasn't the cake walk the first game was but we still left our mark. Luciano opened the scoring for us on 8 minutes, the new midfielder is beginning to settle down alongside Maycon. It was another defensive midfielder who would get the equaliser for CRB, Bruno Octavio making it 1-1. Funnily enough it was another one who would restore our lead, Maycon making it 2-1. It looked as though we would hold out for the win but 8 minutes from time Glaucio equalised for CRB.

Next was the first of two local derby's against Avai. Still yet to beat our fierce rivals under my management we were more desperate than ever and today was possibly our best ever chance. We went ahead through Luciano, who bagged his second goal in as many games. But Fabio Oliveira, who has probably scored more goals against us then any other player popped up with the equaliser on 25 minutes. Berg managed to put us back in front with just two minutes of the first half remaining. But yet again we conceded another equaliser and were destined for another draw as Zaltron made it 2-2, which was how it stayed. Against Figueirense, the second local derby, it was us who were forced to grab an equaliser. Neno had opened the scoring early but two Daniel Mendes goals forced Sergio to grab a late equaliser and amazingly another 2-2 draw.

Next was a relegation six pointer against Vila Nova (GO), it was a bore draw finishing 0-0 but it allowed us to consolidate 18th place and keep both them and Ceara at bay. I didn’t expect much against league leaders Parana in the next game. However they had just sold their star striker Vandinho to Botafogo for £3,500,000 and maybe it would throw them off balance. Whatever it was, it allowed us to get a positive 1-1 draw. Goals from Diego Vieira and Hevandro, who looks to have ended his goal drought. A lot of draws this month and the press have been on our backs but I’m not complaining as it keeps us four points clear of the relegation zone.

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Nautico 3-1 A Second Division Neno, Sergio, Berg

Bahia 1-3 H Second Division Fabricio

CRB 2-2 A Second Division Luciano, Maycon

Avai 2-2 H Second Division Luciano, Berg

Figueirense 2-2 A Second Division Neno, Sergio

Vila Nova (GO) 0-0 A Second Division

Parana 1-1 H Second Division Hevandro

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

"What do you mean he got away??"

"It appears he had associates helping him, all of our men are dead"

"Dead? They were highly trained! How on earth did he get past them?"

"Some sort of explosion on the ground floor, ripped apart half the building."

"Then there is a possibilty Stader is dead?"

"Well, I suppose a possibilty but I would guess he is fleeing the country, probably back to Germany."

"Talk to our contacts in the fatherland, until then I want his father brought to me. If I have to torture him half to death myself then I will if it means coaxing this coward back so that kill him with my bare hands. See to it that it gets done."

Wolfgang nodded and turned to the door. His face still ached from the graze of the bullet, the painkillers had done absolutely nothing to dull the searing pain that hanunted him daily. Someone was going to pay for this, maybe even a few people. Striding down the corridors of the Estádio da Baixada, he flipped open his mobile phone and punched a few numbers. After two rings a voice answered the call.

"This is Wolfgang, I need you to do something for me..............."

***

Just metres away, around a corner in the corridor Sam was listening intently. Hurriedly he made a call on his mobile.

"Max? It's Sam, listen I don't have much time to explain but you need to get out of town right now........

[-Xenon-]

October 2007

Max promised to make a getaway as soon as he could, but I hadn't heard from him since. I now had no doubts about the chairman and his grandson, and you could say that I was fully comitted to the cause of removing them from power and getting them put in jail. Manni had been lucky to escape with his life according to Max and there were planning on re-uniting in Germany where they would contact me later. I felt very much alone now with this threat. It could be curtains for me if they found out I had been in contact with Max and Manni.

But I had to keep my mind on the relegation battle at hand. Obviously I didn't want a slip up but I knew we could afford one with a 4 point lead over the bottom two. Next was a televised home match against Ituano. Cabral opened the scoring for Ituano in the first half, however Luciano hit back just 60 seconds later to make it 1-1. Ituano showed their class though with Cabral rounding off a hat-trick to end the game 3-1 to Ituano. It didn't help matter that our top scorer Berg picked up a knock. Ponte Preta dished out our next defeat, Marcelo Rosa, Julio Cesar and Josafa on target in a rampant 3-0 win. We had now lost our advantage against the bottom two and the gap was reduced to a point as we clutched hold of 18th place.

However, our next result could not have come at a better time. Santo Andre visted the Estádio da Baixada and were humbled as we ran out 1-0 victors. Berg shook off his injury to grab another crucial three points. There has been a lot of interest in Berg as he seems to have reached his peak. His reputed value is growing exponentially and it makes me wonder if there will be a big money buyer in January. Two late goals were a major disappointment in our next game as under pressure Paysandu ran out 2-0 winners. Treze seemed to be going from strength to strength after winning the Third Division last season. A top 5 finish was a realistic target for them and they showed this by dispatching us 3-0 incredibly comfortably. It would not surprise me if they are promotion candidates for next season.

Our final game of October was one of the most crucial of the season, fellow relegation candidates Ceara. There had been a lot of pressure in the press from the Ceara boss and I had retalliated with good reason to the remarks. I hoped that we could demonstrate my comments on the pitch. Not only did we do exactly that, but we took it a step further. Berg, Hevandro and Sergio were all on target in a 4-0 demolition of the bottom side. The result saw us snatch 17th off Paulista who have entered the relegation battle, Portuguesa are also not safe.

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Ituano 1-3 TV H Second Division Luciano

Ponte Preta 0-3 A Second Division

Santo Andre 1-0 H Second Division Berg

Paysandu 0-2 A Second Division

Treze 0-3 A Second Division

Ceara 4-0 H Second Division Berg(2), Hevandro, Sergio

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

November/December 2007

After almost an entire season, battling against relegation it was crunch time. Just six games to go, the games that would decide our fate for next season. Notably these games would include high profile clashes with fellow strugglers Paulista and Portuguesa. However if Vila Nova and Ceara continued their abysmal form then it would stand us in good stead for survival. First up was SE Gama who we had scraped three points off earlier in the season. Alas it was not to be this time. It was an incredibly exciting match that saw two goals within 4 minutes. Romulo had caught out our defence as early as the first minute only to see Hevandro equalise two minutes later. Hevandro's goals would certainly be a key factor if we were to stay up. Since coming on loan from Juventude he had made an instant impact. Ironically however, he could be playing against us next season as Juventude were in severe relegation troubles from the First Division. Romulo gave SE Gama the lead on 18 minutes to confound our relegation woes. It was to get worse in the second half as stand in Jean concede an own goal to put SE Gama 3-1 up. Fabricio, who had put in a number of good substitute performances, pulled back the deficit to 3-2. That was how it stayed as we succumbed to another defeat. Luckily Ceara and Vila Nova both lost and we were able to stay in 18th.

We were now down to the final 5 games, and next up was our last televised match of the season against Portuguesa. Portuguesa were not out of trouble yet but it looked like the five way relegation dogfight would soon be reduced to four teams. Portuguesa were on the back foot from the word go as we dominated, Hevandro scoring early to give us a 1-0 lead. As has been so often this season we conceded not long after taking the lead. Italo making it 1-1 just a minute later. Berg restored our lead to 2-1 on 23 minutes and it looked like we would hang on to a priceless victory, however Italo was not finshed and he grabbed a very late equaliser to end the game 2-2. Another game where we should have won was next against much higher profile opponents, Vitoria. An early Jair goal was cancelled out by a very late Alecsandro penalty. A crucial 1-1 draw that kept us in 18th place.

We had to travel to Paulista next and a win for them would effectively see them safe from relegation. We clawed back a 2-0 deficit to 2-2 thanks to two goals from Hevandro but cruelly lost it in added time. Victor Santana dealing the crucial blow. Thankfully Ceara and Vila Nova continued to lose and it was now between us three, with only one of us to make it out. We had two tough games at the end of the season, first up Santa Cruz who walloped us 3-0 without trouble and then Guarani who ground out a 3-1 win.

I know what you are thinking, Ceara and Vila Nova must have picked up something and we were probably headed back for the Third Division, never to see the light of day again. Well I’ll let you be the judge of that:

Final Table

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

SE Gama 2-3 H Second Division Hevandro, Fabricio

Portuguesa 2-2 TV A Second Division Hevandro, Berg

Vitoria 1-1 H Second Division Jair

Paulista 2-3 A Second Division Hevandro(2)

Santa Cruz 0-3 H Second Division

Guarani 1-3 A Second Division Maycon

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

New Year Transfer Update

Out

Berg - Internacional - £1,500,000

I knew that the likelihood of Berg leaving in the new year was very high but I wasn't expecting such a high profile side as Inter to come in for him. Inter clearly needed an experienced leader in their youthful attacking line up. The princely sum of £1,500,000 was arranged, Berg was eager to move on and felt he had acheived what he coud with us. It was disappointment that he only stayed for one season, however his 17 goals had saved us from relegation. The money from his transfer should keep us out of debt for the rest of the season.

Retirements

-Biro Biro

-Rildo

-Tota

Released Players

-Viton

-Marcio

-Ricardo

-Flavio Luis

-Rogerio

-Paty

-Rodrigo Almeida

-Jean

-Je

-Alec

Loan Returns

-Hevandro (Juventude)

********************************************************************************************************************************************

In

Juliano Borges da Silva

"Juliano" 17, AMLC - £10,000 - Ceara

At just 17 Juliano is one of the most talented young wingers around. He also solves the problem we had on the left hand side. Transferred from relegated side Ceara, who we beat to safety. His transfer disgusted them but he wanted out.

Jonathan da Silva Pereira

"Jonathan" 19, DM - Free Transfer

Jonathan had received his footballing education through the academy at Gremio. Towards the end of last season he broke into the first team as Gremio finished a creditable 7th after winning the Second Division a year previously. He contributed 8 appearances and a goal to that season but was deemed surplus to requirements and was released. We quickly snapped him up knowing other teams would be interested. He is a strong midfielder and still very young.

Renato Ribeiro Alves

"Renato" 22, DC - Free Transfer

Started out his career at Corinthians whom he made 12 appearances for over two seasons. After being loaned out last season to Inter de Limeira, Corinthians released him on a free. Crucial signing considering most of our defenders have gone.

Diego dos Santos Morais

"Diego Morais" 20, ST - Free Transfer

The former Sao Paulo youngster is an explosive striker that attracted a great deal of interest in the Second Division after he was released by Sao Paulo. Had a brief loan spell at Portuguesa last season.

Alessandro Milagres

"Alê" 26, AMRC/FC - Free Transfer

Released by Juventude, Alê is an experienced and talented right sided playmaker who can also play as a forward. Is the perfect answer to our weaknesses on the right side.

Wellington Freire dos Santos

"Wellington" 21, ST - Free Transfer

A huge transfer for us, touted by the media as "the next Ronaldo". Sao Paulo born Wellington was released by Corinthians at the end of the season having never been given a chance. Along with Diego Morais I think we have as good a strike pairing as any in the division.

Paulo Cerqueira

"Paulo Cerqueira" 21, GK - £65,000 - Alegrense

Started out as a Bahia youngster but then moved to Alegrense last season on a free transfer. Undoubtedly was the keeper of the Third Divsion last season and he was rewarded with a move to us as first choice keeper.

Clecio Henrique Monteiro

"Clecio" 27, SW/DC - Free Transfer

Release by Sport Recife last season, a solid defender who should partner Renato at the back this season.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[-Xenon-]

1st January 2008

Munich, Germany

"Well I'll be damned, he did it. Close in the end apparantly, he's been the best thing that's ever happened for this club"

"We need him long term, it's good to know he has things in order while we press ahead with other business"

Munich's Marienplatz was packed and in a small cafe two men sat talking. One was a lot older than the other, despite chatting enigamtically there was an air of uneasiness about them. As if they were worried about being watched.

"So what's the plan?"

"I'm still trying work something out, it's not as if we can try and bump them off again. They'll be ready for it, and who knows they might know where we are already. We should stay put for a while, Heinrich is not getting any younger, I think we should focus our efforts on his beastly offspring."

"He's even smarter than his grandfather, how will we get to him?"

Max nodded in agreement, it would have to be Heinrich. Suddenly it came to him.

"We are going to have to dig into his past, the man was in the SS, who knows what he was involved in."

"That would mean grandfather would have been involved in something"

"No, he wasn't like that. He despised it all, it's why he deserted. I remember reading something in his journal about an outpost in the middle of nowhere somewhere near the Austrian border that Heinrich was stationed in.

"And?"

"Well what is a senior SS officer doing in an outpost in the middle of nowhere? There must of been something going on there and if we get it we can get him locked up again, it's time to do some research

Grinning, Manni drained his cup of coffee and stood up to leave. Max followed suite and as they left their table they turned round and were face to face with two huge men in suits. Heinrich's "associates" for sure.

Good afternoon gentlemen

[-Xenon-]

January 2008

For the first time in my career at Hermann Aichinger I could say that I was confident of a successful season.I even rated our chances in the upcoming Santa Catarina championship. Although we had the two big guns, Avai and Figueirense first up. Howver for all that confidence the opening game against Avai was a disaster. They were 2-0 up within 15 minutes through two goals from Zaltron. Diego Morais soon made it 2-1 but Fabio Oliveira netted before Zaltron completed his hat trick to make it 4-1. Wellington brought the first half to a close with a well placed finish to end an entertaining 45 minutes that ended 4-2 to Avai. Any hopes of a comeback were dashed by a Fabio Oliveira penalty, Alê getting sent off on the hour and Ricardo netting Avai's 6th and final goal of the game. A shocking defeat but the squad will soon gel. We desperately needed a better performance against Figueirense, to a certain extent we got one. Diego Morais scoring a quick goal to put us 1-0 in front. However Figueirense produced an efficient performance and two goals from Danilo and one from Rafael Carioca condemned us to a 3-1 defeat.

Alê returned from suspension to face Chapecoense. It took us a while to settle down but Alê managed to single handedly get us 2-0 up before the break icluding one from the penalty spot. Juliano increased the lead to 3-0 in the second half, the 17 year old is being hailed "the next Alex (of Cruzeiro and Fenerbahce)". Diego Morais rounded off the game by continuing his promising form and adding a fourth. Guarani de Palhoca promised to be an easy three points and indeed they were. Two penalties from Clecio and another goal from Diego Morais were enough to cancel out William's solitary strike.

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Avai 2-6 A Santa Catarina Diego Morais, Wellington

Figueirense 1-3 H Santa Catarina Diego Morais

Chapecoense 4-0 H Santa Catarina Alê(2), Juliano, Diego Morais

Guarani de Palhoca 3-1 A Santa Catarina Clecio(2), Diego Morais

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

February/March 2008

Once again we had been unlucky with the draw for the state championship. All three Second Division sides were lumped into one group, I knew we would trash Group A without breaking a sweat. However the reality was elimination for the 3rd successive year. Our chances were boosted by a new signing in February.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Matheus Henrique do Carmo Lopes

"Matheus" 23, DC - £120,000 - Volta Redonda

Being hailed by the press as "the next Lucio", that makes three players in the squad that the media are getting excited about. In the cold light of day if only the three actually played like Ronaldo, Alex and Lucio my job would be distinctly easier. Matheus is a solid defender who was glad to escape the footballing black hole that is the Third Division. Hopefully will add extra strength to a defence that has leaked 10 goals in 4 games, allowing a strike force that has scored 10 goals in 4 games to be worthwhile.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Realistically to make the Semi Final we had to win every remaining game. We made a good start against Caxias, young midfielder Jonathan got his first goal for the club while Diego Morais continued his incredibly run of goals. Most impressive of all was Wellington's hat trick to give us a 5-0 victory. Next up was Avai who effectively ended our hopes of qualification with a 2-0 win. Zaltron and Uelliton grabbing their farewell goals for the club, Zaltron headed to Guarani whilst young midfielder Uelliton went to Gremio. It was not over yet but a win against Figueirense was vital. Former CAHA legend Adriano scored within the first minute but true to his character, refused to celebrate against his old club. To our credit we fought back and Wellington's second half goal salvaged a point but that was not enough to realistically challenge the top two.

In our next game Andre came on for the injured Juliano and grabbed a goal against Chapecoense, Diego Morais rounded off the scoring in a comfortable 2-0 victory. Guarabi de palhoca got a real punishing as an amazing 4 goals from Wellington helped us to a 7-0 demolition. Other goals came from Diego Morais, Ale and Denio. We rounded off our 2008 Santa Catarina campaign with a 2-0 victory over Caxias, thanks to a brace from Wellington, who is coming into form.

It left the group table looking like this. Now almost a two month break until the start of the new league season.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

===================================================================================================

Brazilian Santa Catarina State Championship Group 2

===================================================================================================

Pos. Team P W D L F A G.D Pts.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Q Avai 10 10 0 0 30 9 +21 30

2. Q Figueirense 10 7 1 2 25 13 +12 22

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Hermann Aichinger 10 6 1 3 27 13 +14 19

4. Chapecoense 10 2 2 6 12 20 -8 8

5. Caxias 10 1 2 7 10 27 -17 5

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. R Guarani de Palhoca 10 0 2 8 8 30 -22 2

===================================================================================================

</pre>

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Caxias 5-0 H Santa Catarina Jonathan, Wellington(3), Diego Morais

Avai 0-2 H Santa Catarina

Figueirense 1-1 A Santa Catarina Wellington

Chapecoense 2-0 A Santa Catarina Andre, Diego Morais

Guarani de Palhoca 7-0 TV H Santa Catarina Wellington(4), Denio, Ale, Diego Morais

Caxias 2-0 A Santa Catarina Wellington(2)

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

Deep in the bowels of the Estádio da Baixada lies a small, dark and barren room. Affectionately reffered to by Heinrich as "Der Kerker". In der Kerker sat two men who were chained to their chairs, gagged and blindfolded. With a loud creak the heavy metal door swung open and Heinrich wheeled himself into the room, alone. He removed the two men's gags and blindfold and discarded them. Max and Manni looked exhausted and de-hydrated as they sat before the 90 year old.

"I have been hearing the most disturbing rumours about the two of you. First you attempt to murder me and my grandson, then you succeed in the murder of my business associates. Now you try to plot my downfall again, and all for this precious football club. I have to admit its doing rather well at the moment."

"It's more than that you bàstard! It's revenge for the death of my father, the man you killed."

"Your father was a fool, he lacked the inspiration to be succesful. Just like his son and grandson lack it to get anything done properly. And besides, I served my punishment for that crime."

"Not in my eyes you haven't"

"Then I'll let you think about that during your stay here."

"What do you want from us?"

"I want to know who you are working with, until then you stay here."

[-Xenon-]

April/May 2005

The team was mostly in good condition after the lengthy break, however Ale was suspended as we returned to the Orlando Scarpelli to play Figueirense. Former CAHA star, Adriano was on target again against his old club and again he refused to celebrate the goal. During his career, he has had spells at all three major teams in Santa Catarina. Arguably his most successful was last season, his first for Figueirense where he was the club's top scorer with 18 goals. The equaliser came from a player bought with the money from Adriano's transfer, Luis Rodrigo. Luis was making a rare start in place of the suspended Ale and his diving header made it 1-1. Figueirense dominated the second half and were rewarded with a goal from Jadilson, which ended the game 2-1. Not the winning start I had in mind.

Next up was our first televised game of the season against Ponte Preta. Along with Vitoria, Ponte Preta are my personal tip for promotion this season after finishing a disappointing 4th last season. We were eager to perform well in front of the cameras and we could not have got off to a better start as Luciano found the net from a 25 yard free kick that bent round the Ponte Preta wall. Expecting a Ponte Preta onslaught, I was even more thrilled when Diego Morais found himself one on one with the keeper and cooly slotted home a second to put us 2-0 up. We managed to hang on for so long until 14 minutes from time when Luis Carlos made it 2-1. With just 4 minutes to go another defensive slip up allowed Lima to make it 2-2. We were denied a last minute Wellington winner to offside, only to see just seconds later Ricardo Conceicao give Ponte Preta an undeserved 3-2 win.

The tough opening fixtures refused to let up as played host to recently relegated side Juventude. There was no Hevandro in the Juventude line up as the game got under way. We got off to a cracking start as Ale put us 1-0 in front from the penalty spot. As usual the equaliser was only 4 minutes away as Beto levelled for 1-1. But I don't think anyone in the whole of Brazil was prepared for what happened next. Clecio reinstated the lead from the spot as we converted our second penalty of the day. Fan favourite Jair put daylight between the two sides making it 3-1 on 40 minutes. Then Diego Morais scored with a sublime finish just before the break to make it 4-1 to us at half time. The onslaught didn't quite continue but Wellington got on the scoresheet to make the final score 5-1.

We suffered a slight stutter against SE Gama next, not being able to recreat the magic that blew Juventude away. Both goals came in the first half, Jadeilson for Gama and the equaliser from Wellington. CRB had been the surprise package of last year, after a poor start they had managed to finish 5th. They had been the victims of our first win in the Second Division and they hadn't forgotten the humiliation as they came out fighting in our next game. However they had to fight for a point as two goals from Juliano and Diego morais forced CRB into scoring twice to scrape a draw. Goals coming from Cristiano and Dino to salvage a 2-2 draw.

Finally it was an away trip to the team I expect to win the title this year, Vitoria. It was a tightly contested game that Vitoria had the slight edge in. But it was young midfielder Jonathan who was the hero as his strike earnt us a priceless win against a team that had until now had a 100% record. After a shaky start we had picked ourselves up and into mid table. I hope we can build upon this for the rest of the season.

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Figueirense 1-2 A Second Division Luis Rodrigo

Ponte Preta 2-3 TV H Second Division Luciano, Diego Morais

Juventude 5-1 H Second Division Clecio, Ale, Jair, Wellington, Diego Morais

SE Gama 1-1 A Second Division Wellington

CRB 2-2 TV H Second Division Juliano, Diego Morais

Vitoria 1-0 A Second Division Jonathan

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Wellington on his way out already?

1st June 2008

http://www.atleticoha.com.br/

Many fans of C.A. Hermann Aichinger are praying that their new found star Wellington won't decide to up and leave at the end of the season. Wellington, 21, signed on a free transfer after being released by champions Corinthians in the new year. Since then he has made a massive impact for his new club and alongside new strike partner Diego Morais, he is firing them to new heights. Wellington has hit 13 goals so far this season, and his tally looks set to increase with every game.

But news emerged last night that newly relegated side Juventude are interested in signing the star. Wellington who has been labelled by the media as the possible "next Ronaldo" scored a goal as his side put Juventude to the sword 5-1 earlier this season. Now it seems that Juventude are set on trying to acquire his signature. There is also a rumour that they are trying to make a double swoop and sign sweeper Clecio.

The problem lies in the fact that Wellington's minimum fee release clause is set at a very low fee, £170,000. There is no doubt that Juventude do have that kind of money, and should they make a bid CAHA will be powerless to refuse. The management admitted that the subject of the release clause was a regrettable oversight, but standard procedure when signing players on a free which is a gamble in any case. Manager Sam Cox is believed to be encouraging Wellington to sign a revised contract which is shortened from 3 years to 2 years, involves a higher salary and signing on fee and most importantly a minimum fee release clause of £8,500,000. It has emerged from sources close to the club that this revised contract has been rejected by the player, who claims that he is happy with his current contract which runs until 2011 and that he doesn't feel the need to help an error made my the club.

There is also talk of should there be a move to Juventude for Wellington, the possibilty of a discount return for Hevandro to the club. Hermann Aichinger have made an offer of £425,000 for Hevandro but the deal is still at a standstill. Many believe this stalemate will continue whilst negotiations for Wellington remain on the ground.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[-Xenon-]

June 2008

With our amazing performances so far we were well on the way to cementing a mid table spot. Our first game of June would turn out to be the most memorable match in the clubs history, possibly in the history of the league. The fixture against Paysandu didn't have the hallmarks of a classic but it certainly turned out to be one. We started the game well enough, Diego Morais netting on 11 minutes. The equaliser from former Feyernoord winger Gerson Magrao was a sign of things to come though. We retook the lead on 20 minutes thanks to yet another Wellington strike and the lead was increased to 3-1 with not much of the first half remaining, Diego Morais getting his second of the day. Rogerinho squeezed in a header just before the break to send us in at half time 3-2 up. In the second half I was expecting the goal rate to slow, but once again Paysandu equalised through Wellington Amorim to make it 3-3. Two quickfire strikes from Wellington increased our lead to an amazing 5-3 and I thought it might have finally killed the game. However Wellington Amorim completed his hat-trick to make it 5-5. I could have sworn the game was over when Juliano scored to make it 6-5 but with just three minutes remaining Ze Augusto left CAHA fans heartbroken as he equalised to end the game a breathtaking 6-6.

Our next game was the complete reverse of the previous fixture, away to recently relegated Fortaleza. One goal was enough to win it despite a good performance from the lads, a late Neto Mineiro goal sealed a much needed 1-0 victory for Fortaleza. We couldn’t have rounded off the month in a better way against Treze however. The side had always got the better of us both in our Third Division days and last season. But it was revenge as we edged them out in an open game. The score was 2-2 at the break thanks to some great work from Wellington and Diego Morais. Maycon won the game for us with ten minutes remaining, a fantastic 30 yard drive. However there was controversy at the end of the game which resulted in three players being sent off in one minute. Renato’s clumsy challenge was enough to receive a second yellow. However Treze’s Tiago Matos and Eder, angry at Renato’s challenge surrounded Wellington and began pushing him to the floor, both received reds for violent conduct.

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Paysandu 6-6 H Second Division Diego Morais(2), Wellington(3), Juliano

Fortaleza 0-1 A Second Division

Treze 3-2 H Second Division Wellington, Diego Morais, Maycon

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

A screenshot for the doubters \o/

Hermann Aichinger 6-6 Paysandu

[-Xenon-]

The door to the prison opened with a loud creak. Heinrich wheeled in silently on his motorised wheelchair, and surveyed his two prisoners. They looked exhausted and in pain but still defiant in their expression. Heinrich had seen this kind of defiance before under interrogation and knew it could take years to wear down. Years were something he wasn't sure he had however.

"I hope you have had enough time to think about this."

"It's been two months for crying out loud, let my father go and do what you want with me. You'll never get anything out of either of us."

A sinister chuckle erupted from the small figure of Heinrich, enveloped in the shadows.

"Now where have I heard this before? Ah yes that was it, 'let my friends go and do what you want with me'. Unfortunately such a display of compassion the last time around resulted in the murder of 4 of my men. He stays here, as do you. Until I get what I want."

"I'm telling you we were working alone."

"Proposterous!"

He now turned to face Max who looked as though he was asleep from the exhaustion.

"You know how I know there was an insider? How did you know when to leave the country? A lucky coincedence is not a good enough reason for me. You are working with someone and you are going to tell me who this person is. Does he or she work at the club?

Max ignored Heinrich and continued to stare at the floor. Manni answered for him.

"I'll tell you what you want, but I want to strike a deal."

"Out of the question."

"It depends how much you want to know who the third party is. I can wait here as long as I have to, you'll just have to kill me. Then you'll never know who it was. And knowing that this person is out there somewhere, completely in the clear will drive you crazy. So I want a deal!"

"Tell me what you want and I will consider it..."

[-Xenon-]

July 2008

Another quiet month for us in preparation for the 8 games that are going to be squeezed into August somehow. At the beginning of July we were still clutching on to our mid table status, however it was still very open at this stage. A series of good results could see us go near the top of the table, just as easily a string of bad results could see us back in relegation trouble. July was a good month for us and by the end of it we would be sat in 5th place in the league, our highest ever. Our first match was away to Santo Andre, whose average attendance was lower than ours as a result of their disappointing performance over the past couple of seasons. This season it looked as though once again they were to languish in mid table obscurity. We did them no favours by robbing three points, the only goal of the game coming from Diego Morais. The young striker has got the attention of Juventude after their interest in Wellington was dismissed by us. It looks as though we will have to take the same measures to protect our player, who is also on a very low minimum fee release clause.

Our next opponents Guarani were having another positive season and were looking towards a top 5 finish. Explosive striker Lico silenced a sell out crowd at the Estadio de Baixada on 6 minutes. The equaliser didn't come until not long after the break, Wellington finishing after a one on one with Jean. Wando was quick to restore Guarani's lead and it looked as though they would take all three points. That was until 7 minutes from time when Wellington got his second of the game and salvaged a point.

Finally it was newly promoted Americano at home. For the first time in a long while we went into the game as the bookie's favourites. TV cameras were on hand at the Godofredo Cruz as Ale slammed the ball home to give us a 1-0 lead over the hosts. The home team equalised just before the break, Matheus accidentally knocking a Rodrigo Possebom cross into his own net. It was another own goal that proved to win the game, Wellington's thunderous drive was parried straight to Bruno who couldn't get out of the way and bundled it past his keeper to send us 2-1 in front. That was how it stayed, however the Americano players seemed to lose their cool and finished the game with 9 men as both Butti and Marlon received red cards for violent conduct.

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Santo Andre 1-0 A Second Division Diego Morais

Guarani 2-2 H Second Division Wellington(2)

Americano 2-1 A TV Second Division Ale, Bruno (own goal)

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

CAHA boss surprise candidate for vacant Brazil post

2nd August 2008

www.atleticoha.com.br

Hermann Aichinger manager Sam Cox is reputedly amongst the shortlist to replace Mano Menezes after the former Gremio manager was sacked as head coach of the reigning world champions. Although a firm outsider for the post, Cox is reportedly flattered by the interest shown in him by the Brazilian FA. Cox, has lead Hermann Aichinger out of the Third Division in his first season at the club and lead them to survival the following season. After a major squad re-shuffle, he has turned Capeta into an established Second Division side and his ambitions appear to have no limits. Cox was eager to stress that he would find time to do both jobs should he be awarded the prized position, so Hermann Aichinger fans should not worry themselves.

The Brazilian FA have reputedly shortlisted Cox for his considerable talent at such a young age and his ability to judge player potential as Brazil is keen to look from its own league for players. Other managers bidding for the job include Internacional manager Leandro Avila, Palmeiras manager Leao and Fluminense boss Abel Braga.

Since winning the 2006 World Cup, beating bitter rivals Argentina in the final, Brazil have struggled to make an impact on the world stage. Disappointing performances include failure at the North American Gold Cup despite a strong squad, crashing out in the Confederation Cup Semi Final and losing out in the Quarter Final of the Copa America. The 2010 World Cup Qualification campaign started well enough but has then gone downhill as Brazil recorded back to back losses against Colombia and Ecuador. The Brazilian FA felt it was time for a change. Brazil currently lie 4th in the league standings, more worryingly World Cup finalists Argentina are languishing in 7th.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[-Xenon-]

August 2008

The Brazil job was never going to happen despite the ramblings in the media, at least not yet. I had the visit of Santa Cruz to worry about. Despite my prediction of Ponte Preta and Vitoria being promoted looks to be becoming true every day that goes by, Santa Cruz are without doubt contenders aswell this season. They came to the Estadio de Baixada and showed their evident class in a 2-0 win, goals from Carlinhos Bala and Wilton Pantera. That victory shot them up to third and put us back down to ninth.

There was more misery to come as we faced Nautico next, our victory against them in our last meeting had not gone down too well apparantly. Despite this we took the lead through Wellington on 23 minutes and all seemed to be on course for another win but Nautico bounced straight back and within 10 minutes were level through Rodriguinho. We could have held on to a point but a late penalty converted by Rodriguinho and then a goal from Tiago Santos sealed back to back defeats and dropped us to 12th in the table.

Next up was Paulista, who had been involved in last season’s relegation battle. In fact they had guaranteed their survival last season by beating us 3-2 and prolonging our battle. This time they fell behind to a brilliant goal from 17 year old Juliano. The youngster has been putting in some consistently good performances. We were pegged back by a Lucio penalty and that was how it stayed as we took one point from 3 games. Not exactly continuing our good form. It was another stalemate away to Portuguesa, all the goals coming in the first half in a 2-2 thriller. Goals from Diego Morais and Wellington both served as equalisers to the efforts of Renan and Marcos Xavier.

Bad form was not the sort of thing I had in mind taking to Avai. Still yet to beat them or other fierce rivals Figueirense, I wondered as usual whether today was the day. It certainly looked good when Diego Morais broke free and slotted home totally against the run of play. From then on our goal took a pounding and Alencar who has been deputising for the seriously injured Paulo Cerqueira somehow kept Avai out. Right until the end we played defensive until a runaway counter attack left Wellington in the clear who made no mistake and put us 2-0 ahead on 88 minutes. It proved vital as 34 year old veteran Fabio Oliveira bent in a free kick in stoppage time to reduce the deficit to 2-1. It wasn’t enough as we went on to claim our first win against Avai under my management.

The elation was short lived as we went down 2-1 to Ituano in the next game. Despite being reduced to 10 men, Ituano’s Ricardo Lopes and Robson Santos’ goals were enough to cancel out an early Diego Morais effort. We were soon back to winning ways against bottom side River (PI), though it wasn’t easy. A seven goal thriller followed with us nicking it 4-3 in stoppage time thanks to a Fernandinho own goal. Finally was the match against other local rivals Figueirense. We started the game in the best possible fashion, two Diego Morais goals put us 2-0 up. But former CAHA favourite Adriano was there again to make it 2-1 and eventually on 78 minutes Rafael Carioca made it 2-2 and I thought the 3 points were lost. But I had reckoned without Juliano whose superb 35 yard free kick gave us a 3-2 victory and sent us to 8th place at the end of August.

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Santa Cruz 0-2 H Second Division

Nautico 1-3 A Second Division Wellington

Paulista 1-1 H Second Division Juliano

Portuguesa 2-2 A Second Division Diego Morais, Wellington

Avai 2-1 H Second Division Wellington, Diego Morais

Ituano 1-2 A Second Division Diego Morais

River (PI) 4-3 H Second Division Wellington, Diego Morais(2), Fernandinho (own goal)

Figueirense 3-2 H Second Division Diego Morais(2), Juliano

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

1940

La Paradis, France

Heinrich had been waiting patiently for his first taste of combat during this war. He didn't have long to wait as the inevitable clashes with the British Expeditionary Forces started to occur, as part of the plan to drive them back to the coast. Heinrich had joined the SS Division Totenkopf, a division famous for the fact that most of its soldiers had started as guards to concentration camps. Heinrich had joined through the army however, he was from the SS Combat Support Force. In his late teens he had participated in the re-capture of the Ruhr, the annexing of Austria and the occupation of Poland. However, during this he had never seen any combat nor fired a single round at an enemy. He had transferred units as his old one was being divided, half would be incorporated into the dreaded invasion of Russia and the others would filter into the Totenkopf Division in France.

So here he was in France instead of preparing to fight on the dreaded Eastern Front. His former unit's fierce loyalty and anti-semitism made him a perfect candidate for Totenkopf, which had a rather shady history of its own. Heinrich had spent the last three days in bitter fighting with the British, who were slowly being depleted to the brink of defeat. Conditions were wet and muddy, the fighting was fierce and brutal from both sides and a climax was expected on this fourth day. Heinrich had been fortunate to have made the rank of Leutnant at the age of just 23. This meant that he commanded a platoon of his own, which was positioned on the right flank, waiting for a British attack.

The expected attack never came and Heinrich was surprised to see a white flag being waved high in the air, they were surrendering. Heinrich's platoon were the first to get to the British position and Heinrich counted 99 British prisoners, most of whom were wounded and about a dozen or so of them were officers. Heinrich's platoon stood guard over the POW's while Heinrich himself radioed in for a senior officer to oversee the surrender. The CO was a man named Fritz Knöchlein an Obersturmführer in the SS. He strode over to Heinrich later that day and asked him about the prisoners.

"Leutnant, do we have their names, ranks and numbers?"

"Yes Sir, 99 men in total including 14 officers. We understand that they are part of the Royal Norfolk Regiment."

"Möller!!"

A tall Sergeant came running towards the with an MG-42 slung over his back, he placed it on its tripod and positioned it on the ridge overlooking the prisoners. Heinrich misunderstood the Obersturmführer's intentions.

"Sir, we have checked the area these are all thats left of the British."

"I realise that Leutnant, but the Führer's prison camps are full as it is."

"You're going to shoot them?"

"No, you are. Every last one of them and I want you personally to do it"

"Sir, I must protest."

Knöchlein whipped a Luger out of his holster.

"Now! Leutnant.

Nervously, Heinrich walked over to the mounted machine gun, knelt down beside it and pulled back the cocking device....

***

Down on the ridge, two of the British prisoners were chatting away about escaping from whichever camp they were to be placed in. The men's names were Pooley and O'Callaghan. Both were wounded from the previous days fighting but amazingly both were in fairly good spirits, laughing and joking, doing whatever they could to help morale. It was O'Callaghan that saw the machine gunner first, but it was too late when just as he cried out, the MG-42 opened fire and bullets began to rip through the prisoners. Pooley grabbed O'Callaghan by the collar and dragged him down a steep gulley and into a stream whilst the machine gun mercilessly cut down their comrades. Pooley had twisted his ankle landing in the stream with O'Callaghan but the pair of them were out of sight of the machine as the made their way slowly towards the reserve line, they could hear the screams of their comrades as they hobbled to freedom.