Oriental Lisbon - One Step Closer

Germany Clinch Narrow World Cup Final

In one of the most enthralling finals ever seen in the history of the game, Germany were crowned world champions after beating off a resilient Belgian side that fought all the way until the dreaded penalty shoot out.

After full time the score 3-3. It was a yo-yo game and neither side could really get ahead, despite some glorious chances going to each nation.

There were two goals in each half. After half time the score was locked at 1-1 and then it was 2-2 at the final whistle. Germany took a 95th minute lead into extra time half time before Belgium, through golden boy Eden Hazard, pulled back one final time.

But Thibaut Courtois' long arms where not enough to stop Germany winning the shootout by three goals to two, with fatigue taking some of the players' penalty taking abilities away. This final was seen as one of the greatest for the brilliant attacking masterpiece put on show.

http://thecostaricanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/World_Cup_2006_German_fans_at_Bochum-600x350.jpg

"What a way for it all to finish," said FIFA President Sepp Blatter, in for his upteempth term. "The attacking, all out football meant this one was one for the fans. I will gladly give the trophy over to Germany but I want to keep all the money."

The head of FIFA also announced his preferred destination for the next World Cup: "Ooh, a difficult one - maybe Dubai? Bahrain? Whoever gives me the most money, really."

Germany manager Thomas Schneider was holsted in to the air by his side as they revelled in their glory, captain Toni Kroos holding aloft the prized trophy that so many other amazing players have shared with him.

"It is an honour and a dream," the captain said. "We will go home and enjoy our success!" Fans were paraded in the capital, Berlin, as a sea of red, yellow and black welcomed home their new heroes.

Yay!

Trust the Germans to win on penalties...

Lovely update Walt! Happy that Germany won!

Wow, great update and nice to see that Belgium have turned into such a good side! And Germany are still very OP

Really nice update, loved reading it as per usual Walt!
Not surprising to see Germany win on penalties though...

Belgium </3

Author's Notes - Again

Hey guys, you may have noticed that the quality and quantity of the updates for this story have steadily been decreasing lately. This is due to one thing - school. So, I've made the decision that during the course of the week I'm going to take time off this story for a while (I may post the occasional update) and post most of my updates on the weekend, as I just don't have the time nowadays. Sorry for the inconvenience, this story will still continue but at a much slower rate.

Thanks, Walt.

I'll miss your updates Walt! But I understand. :-(

Agree with Josh above, I will miss your updates Walt
But again, I understand man. School's a real pain

Season Six: Part Two

So, after such a bright start to the season the question remained - could we somehow continue this amazing form?! Sitting first in our Europa League group and second in the league, we know that any form of complacency must be washed away and we will have to remain focused until the season's end.

Results

Well, what a thrilling end to the season! We got out of our group somehow and managed to retain some great form in the league until a loss to table-toppers FC Porto who were always going to be a huge challenge, so we were thrown off a little at the end of December. But we'd still strive to lift our game and always try and upset the odds.

We were drawn against Athletic Bilbao in the first knockout stage of the Europa League and in the first leg at the San Mames we started off well, before conceding the first goal. After that the castle started to crumble and we had it all to do in the second leg.

We got off to a brilliant start, golden child Pedro Monteiro nutmegging the keeper from a very tight angle to bring the aggregate score to 1-3. Moments before half time we were awarded a penalty - Caetano stepped up and duly converted - the comeback was on.

Unfortunately... it wasn't to be - Athletic pulled two goals back and the European dream was ended. I was extremely proud of our efforts however, and we can look back with so much pride on this tournament.

The league season also came to a close and we did well, until we stalled a bit in the last few games of the season. The 1-1 draws with Arouca and Nacional cost us a little bit and the same can be said for the goalless stalemate with Braga.

League Table

We finished fourth! Two points behind Sporting and you must wonder if we'd have got the wins at Arouca and Braga, then we could be avoiding the UEL Playoff altogether. Still, I'm highly pleased with the incredible progress we're making and if we can keep this up then there's no reason why we can't be in a few years time competing for the title!

Where The Money Went

I mentioned eariler how getting into the group stages of the Europa League, let alone the knockout rounds, was to make a giant difference to this club, and this is only the start. Our stadium is being expanded and more seats means more fans which means more ticket sales *gasps for breath* which means more money!

We also managed to seal another Europa League playoff place! Hopefully we get the luck of the draw and easily get into the group stages this time!

What a season, well done!

Congrats on a great season, Walt!
Hopefully you can continue your progress as a club, and who knows where you could be come the end of next season?

Well done Walter! Loving this story, can't wait to see what surprises you have for us coming up!

Thanks guys, hopefully we can go one better next season!