Difference between revisions of "Montcrabe national football team"
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Montcrabe has historically played a style of football called the ''Montepress'', a very aggressive and attacking way of playing, often relying on the team’s ability to react and move quicker than the opposition. | Montcrabe has historically played a style of football called the ''Montepress'', a very aggressive and attacking way of playing, often relying on the team’s ability to react and move quicker than the opposition. | ||
Revision as of 01:46, 1 June 2023
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The Montcrabe national football team (Crabin: Monscrabel Dis Equipe) represents Montcrabe in international men's football matches. The team is governed by the Montcrabe Football Federation (MBF; Monscrabel Balompie Federacione), the governing body of football in Montcrabe. It is a member of the CONFUSUR (including the Copa Sur) and the Terraconservan Cup in international competitions. The team is colloquially known as Les Pinces (the Pincers) or Les Dis (the Bicolor), as their founding color scheme was partly inspired by Crabliga A clubs Sinatre and Real Parante, two of the country's main football teams.
Founded in 1900, the team is one of five to win the Terraconservan Cup, repeating the feat twice in 1956 and 1968, the latter as tournament hosts. Other trophies include four winning runs at the Copa Sur, and runner-up appearances in the Terraconservan Cup (once) and the Copa Sur (six times). Despite their relative isolation from international tournaments, with the aforementioned exceptions, Montcrabe's domestic league and elite footballing academies are regarded as some of the best in the world, especially in the production of top-league strikers and attackers. Many regard the country as one of the best attacking teams in international football, though often lacking in the production of defenders (many of theirs often nationalized players developed elsewhere). Notably, the Montcrabe national football team has appeared in every single edition of the Terraconservan Cup, having never failed to qualify to the competition.
For three decades, between the years 1950-1978, Montcrabe's national football team was considered the undisputed best in the world. Under the captaincy of Maxence Colbert, their two wins and second-place finish in the Terraconservan Cup, and four wins in the Copa Sur, took place during this era. Followed by a long period of disappointing decency, the saying "Proxime d'seistant" (Almost the sixties) became popular among fans whenever the team played well, as half-sarcastic words of praise.
The team's official home stadium is the Stade Zinedine Monscrabel, shared with Montcrabin club Real Parante Balompié, and they train at the Crabontaine Academe. The national team's kits have been sponsored and manufactured by luxury fashion brand Crappa since 1972, some more notable partnerships including sports company Cradidas and government-owned broadcasting network MUDN.
Montcrabe has historic footballing rivalries with Creeperopolis, Salisford and Tirol. The team's most capped player is goalkeeper and current captain Francois Ochoa, Antoine Batistuta as its historic top scorer with 71 goals throughout his career. Wayne Sainz is the highest active goal scorer for the team, with 57 goals.
Contents
History
Despite its ripe age as a sport, football's growing popularity in the country, and calls for the officialization of a professional league to be made, prompted the creation of the Monscrabel Balompie Federacione (MBF), back then known as the Principati Balompie Competicion (Prince's Football Competition). Hefty funding from the government led to the founding of the prestigious Crabontaine Academe in 1897. Montcrabe's national team was born as the first graduating class of the academy in 1900, their first game played against Salisford a few months later in the Montcrabe Cite Stade, ending in a 2-0 victory for the Pincers. The team's extremely young age and a lack of international competitiveness or games, albeit, shifted the spotlight from the national project to the Prince's Football Competition, renamed the Crabliga A in the 60s.
The domestic league's exponential success, paired with the talent produced by the Crabontaine, gave the national team a much needed boost in possible selection quality, experience, and strategy. Participating in far more friendlies, international competitions, and receiving the infrastructure needed to thrive, Montcrabe shifted into the status of a football powerhouse in Sur and the Romanyan sea - competing with the likes of Creeperopolis' La'Dinastía. The national team won their first important international title when hosting the 1950 Copa Sur, beating continental invitees Tirol to the trophy. The victory would come to represent a turning point in Montcrabin football history. Bar the so-called Black Generation of 1938, Montcrabe had produced its most prolific national selection team through the 50s, and into the late 70s, as captained by Maxence Colbert for twenty years. Their first Surian Cup title was followed six years later by a historic, and first win in the Terraconservan Cup in 1956, ending as runner-ups in the following 1960. This same period, Montcrabe's national team also won an additional 3 Copa Sur in 1958, 1962, and 1966. Colbert's side wrapped up their prime years with another star to their team's badge, lifting the country's second Terraconservan Cup at home in 1968 after beating Creeperopolis 2-0 in the Montcrabe Cite Stade.
The seventies, despite the team still being considered the undisputed best in the world, saw itself threatened by an aging squad. Matters were not particularly helped by three consecutive losses in Copa Sur finals, ending as runner-ups in 1970, 1974, and 1978 (two of those losses at home). The saying "Proxime d'seistant" (Almost the sixties) became popular among fans whenever the team played well, as half-sarcastic words of praise, given their disappointing and trophyless decency following the sixties. Nonetheless, the decade still served a pivotal point in developing Montcrabin infrastructure to match the rate at which its talent was growing. A particularly controversial project, in the form of the so called Principati's Talents, was born during this period under Real Parante.
With the end of Montcrabe's golden generation, roughly in the 1980, the team entered a period of relative stability - though little major trophies to match it. Including third place Copa Sur finishes in 1982, 1986, and 1994. In 1991, the national team was invited to participate in the 1991 OFL Continental Cup as a foreign invitee. The latter competition resulted in a BLANK place finish for the Pincers, after TEXT.
The 2016 Terraconservan Cup saw Montcrabe make a shocking 2-0 exit in the Quarter Finals to Terranihil, leading to widescale protests over the validity of both goals, which fans claimed to have been offside. An independent study later found the claim to be true, albeit the trustworthiness of the institution was put in doubt after connections to the Montcrabin government were found. The controversy, to this day, is known by Montcrabe as "Le robb d'sigle", or the "Robbery of the century".
Stadium
Team Image
Kit
Montcrabe traditionally utilizes a bicolor system, composed of Crabin crimson shirt and shorts with dark blue or even white accents. The color scheme originates from Crabliga A clubs Sinatre and Real Parante, two of the country's main football teams. Prior to 1970, the country often used either bright red or white shirts, paired with black shorts, as their home kit.
Since 2006, the national team's kits have been manufactured by Kappa.
          Home
|
     Away
|
     Alternate
|
| Period | Kit manufacturer |
|---|---|
| 1980–1991 |  Cradidas
|
| 1991–2006 | Cruma
|
| 2006–present | Kappa
|
Style of play
Montcrabe has historically played a style of football called the Montepress, a very aggressive and attacking way of playing, often relying on the team’s ability to react and move quicker than the opposition.
The Montepress has been described as a strategy used to disrupt the opposition as soon as possession is lost. It involves aggressively pressing the ball and the opponents near to the ball with several players, rather than falling back to regroup. The aim is to win possession back as quickly as possible, before the opposition can settle on the ball, to break into a counter-attack. The style is widely supported and touted by fans as an interactive and entertaining form of football, especially when combined with the signature flair exhibited by the Montcrabe national team. Nonetheless, it has also been criticized for how open it often leaves defenders whenever the pressing fails.
Watching Montcrabe attack is like watching a hot knife cut through butter. Watching it defend feels like that same knife got stabbed into their defenders.
— Alvaro Morales of Balompié Picante on the disparity between Montcrabe's attack and defense.
The country's attacking style of football has been adopted by many football teams, most notably Real Parante. Though, given its need for attacking talent, pace, and stamina, it is often a very hard system to successfully implement.
Nicknames
Montcrabe's national team is commonly known by fans as "Les Pinces", meaning The Pincers in Crabin, in reference to their attack-focused and dangerous style of play.
Another common nickname known by fans is "Les Dis", abbreviation of the Crabin word "Les Discoleur", or "The Bicolor", making reference to the team's historic main kit colors of Crabin crimson and blue. This nickname is often used in a more formal/unbiased manner over that of the Pincers, often by commentators or media.
Supporters
Montcrabe national team supporters are infamous for their often extreme, patriotic, and disruptive behavior during international matches. Ranging from throwing things on the pitch, to a variety of offensive chants. Controversially, the MBF has never sanctioned its fans, and has even defended them through many events and criticism.
Controversial chants
The most notable offensive chant used by Montcrabin supporters is the "eeeh putain!", which is typically screamed when an opponent is about to kick a penalty, or a goalkeeper a goalkick. Due to the homophobic meaning of the word putain in Crabin (a vulgar term for a male prostitute), the tradition received widespread negative attention in media and international circles. The chant is thought to have been originated in the Crabliga A by supporters of club Sinatre.
A somewhat less vulgar, though nonetheless controversial, tradition is that of the Crabnan, a celebration involving supporters standing with their backs to the pitch, linking shoulders side-by-side and jumping on the spot in unison. The disputed part, albeit, is the often-used chant that goes with, "il qui ne saute c'est un wilo Ecrosien", roughly translating to "whoever doesn't jump is a slutty Ecrosian". Montcrabin supporters often replace the latter word with that of their current opponent, commonly leading to heated clashes with rival supporters. The chant and celebration originated from supporters of Real Parante, and was later adopted by national ultras.
Media coverage
All of Montcrabe's international matches are shown live on network MUDN and broadcast around the world, including friendles and appearances in both Copa Sur and the Terraconservan Cup.
Rivalries
Creeperopolis
Widely considered two of the biggest teams in CONFUSUR, matches between Montcrabe and Creeperopolis often attract widespread media attention, labeled a challenge for Surian football dominance. Nonetheless, the rivalry itself is not often very heated, and supporters of the two countries are known to have a good relationship with one another. Montcrabe is tied with Creeperopolis in total previous encounters, at 4–2–4.
Salisford
Salisford is seen by many Montcrabins as the nation's most hated, though not primary, rival. Given the shared history between the two countries, the rivalry often extends beyond football and leaks onto political affairs, and even some violence. This was particularly present during the BLANKEVENT, where TEXT. Montcrabe narrowly leads the all-time series, with a record of 6–0–5.
Tirol
Tirol is seen by some as a major Montcrabin rivalry, given the competitiveness of the two countries and the anti-Ecrosian feeling shared by many in Montcrabe. The rivalry with Tirol is highly abnormal by the fact that it is intercontinental, with Tirol being a part of LFE and Montcrabe a founding member of CONFUSUR. The rivalry is more keenly felt by Montcrabin football fans than Tirolers. In fact, a number of Tirol supporters do not consider Montcrabe rivals at all. The historic match record puts Montcrabe slightly below Tirol at 5-2-6
