Top Guns, So Far

Karka 8, 2078, m249

From left to right: Uday Lanka (#7 Immortals Captain), Arwa Farra (#18 Al’amal SC), and Darkeem Dennis (#7 Europa United)

Rolling into the 9th week of play, the field of top scoring players are the familiar stars from season one – with a few notable absentees including Stephen Liu (Comets) and Musaddiq Baddour (Al’amal) . With an obvious disconnect between scoring leaders and team standings, it will be interesting to observe how things play out and which players are resilient enough to stay on top.

Uday Lanka

9 Goals
1 Assist

With 240 minutes of play so far, Lanka continues to be uphold his reputation in the MAFL, despite the Immortals sitting at the bottom on the rankings. Lanka has scored 64% of all Immortal goals this season and appears on track to beat his Season 1 record of 16 goals over 21 regular season matches. If the Immortals continue to struggle, can Lanka keep scoring?

TOTAL SHOTS
31

SHOTS ON TARGET
23	78%

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Darkeem Dennis

8 Goals
0 Assists

Dennis has proven his worth after failing to get significantly contribute after joining Europa United midway through seasons one. In 8 matches, he’s already surpassed his already surpassed his 7 goals from last season. With United’s overall improvement thus far, Dennis could be bolstered for MVP contention.

TOTAL SHOTS
27

SHOTS ON TARGET
17	62.9%

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Qigang Lian

6 Goals
3 Assists

Lian has been transformed after joining Tiangong Wuji in the off-season. With a measly 2 goals all of season one, Dong Ji should have been cheering at his exit. Now sitting alongside Readale Nash as 3rd highest scorer in the league, he’s clearly found his game.

TOTAL SHOTS
21

SHOTS ON TARGET
12	57%

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Readale Nash

6 Goals
0 Assists

The young gun, Nash, continues to be the San Olympus Titans best performer despite struggling with personal demons. He is on track to equal or best his 11 goal first season, that is, if he is able to keep it together. His arrogance and tendencies to lash out at teammates hasn’t won him any friends, however, he remains the Titans best hope for getting back on top.

TOTAL SHOTS
23

SHOTS ON TARGET
16	69.6 %

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Arwa Farra

5 Goals
1 Assists

Farra is the leading female scorer and top Al’amal player, overshadowing team captain Mussaddiq Baddour who finished of 2nd top scorer behind Lanka las season. She’s contributed an incredible 7 out of the 17 goals earned by the club so far (41%), thus has been a key factor in Al’amals strong start to season 2.

TOTAL SHOTS
15

SHOTS ON TARGET
9	60%

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Ilya Petrovich

5 Goals
1 Assists

Dynamo Captain, Petrovich, has been instrumental in the club’s early domination in season 2. He is on track to crush his 7 goal first season with 5 goals in hand well before mid-point of the season. If Petrovich and his fellow forwards continue scoring, Dynamos can make a serious run for the championship.

TOTAL SHOTS
19

SHOTS ON TARGET
11	57.9%

Training Day Flash Backs

Mina 14, 2078, m249

Cezar Vadvua, assistant manager of the Amrita Immortals.

On sub-level F of Amrita, through a nondescript set of unmarked doors is Gymlu-F,  this is where I first met the Immortals 15 months ago.

"It’s a fine day for football."

At least that’s what Cezar Vadvua, the club's Assistant Manager, told me. 

“Actually, it will be much better when we get outside, but with dust season, we will spend many days in the gymnasium.  Either way, we meet here daily to work-out and practice,” he explained.

The beauty of that first training camp was the sneak peek into the making of a team.

“Where’s Andam Mirza today”, I asked.  Then, Andam had only been appointed the Manager for the Amrita Immortals two months prior.

“Andam left me in charge as he had meetings at MAFL headquarters”, said Cezar. “Better him than me. I prefer to be with the players instead.”

There were 11 of them who showed up that day. “This isn’t your full squad, is it?” I asked their scouting director Ivo Zapletal.

“Not at all”, replied Ivo. “Today’s practice was optional because some players are still transitioning from their jobs.  Don’t worry, we’ll have a full team suited up when the season starts.”

I noticed a few players helping each other with their EV suits.  I point this out to Cesar who looked up their numbers: Laurien Hagendoorn and Ronald Donovan.

“We practice in full gear as often as possible.  Even when indoors,” explained Cesar

Ivo proudly pointed out another pair practicing deft dribbling and passing.

“I found Ran Naik and Akkilic Talpur from the Kingfisher club," beamed Ivo,  "A few of the players came from that recreational athletic group. We were quite selective with who we recruited.” 

Cezar drew my attention young woman who was mid-jump.  It seems like she hung in the air for an impossible amount of time, almost touching the gymnasium ceiling.

“That’s Chamunda Badal. She's on our shortlist for goalkeeper.”

I noticed another player who was kicking the living hell out of a neatly placed row of balls. He was in standard indoor trainers, making thundering shots at the wall.  I vividly recall his posture and obvious natural abilities with handling the ball.

"He's new, a local lad," said Ivo, "He came in from the top, through a connection with the owner.  He's definitely got moves."

The three of us approached him. 

"I’m Uday Lanka," he introduced himself to me with a confident smile.  

Yes, that is the day I met season 1's Most Valuable Player.

Of course, it came as no surprise to me when Mirza eventually announced Lanka as team captain, though I may not have been able to predict then that Lanka would become the league scoring leader with an unbelievable 14 goals. 

“It’s going to be a fine season for football,” Cezar said to me.

Indeed it was, but that was only the beginning.

It has come full circle as I have been invited to visit Gymlu-F yet again.   

"We are hosting trials and early training camp," wrote Cezar, "You never know who we might discover."

The beauty of training camp days... A sneak peek into the making of a team.