Talamia national football team

Talamia

Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	The Hoopoes
Association	Talamia Sports Summaka
Confederation	DSAFF
Head coach	Sanisla Pedalisismi
Captain	Ansem Egemon
Most caps	Ansem Egemon (126)
Top scorer	Sanisla Pedalisismi (76)
Home stadium	Ebdemar Au'tokra Stadium
Code	TAL
First colours Second colours
KPB ranking
Current	UR
Highest	113 (Pre-86)
Lowest	172 (Pre-87)
First international
Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom 3-2 Talamia World Cup 85 Qualifications
Biggest win
Talamia 3-1 Bongo Johnson World Cup 85 Qualifications
Biggest defeat
95X 3-0 Talamia World Cup 85 Qualifications
Cup of Harmony
Appearances	1 (first in Cup of Harmony 77)
Best result	Group stage
NAFT
Appearances	1 (first in 2020 NSLeft Association Football Tournament)
Best result	Semi-finals

The Talamia national football team represents the Socialist Republic of Talamia in international football competitions. It is controlled by TSS (Talamia Sports Summaka), the governing body for sports in Talamia, which is a member of DSAFF (the Democratic Socialist Assembly Football Federation).

The national team competes in the World Cup, the Cup of Harmony and the Comrades Cup. In the past, it also competed in the defunct NSLeft Association Football Tournament, reaching the semi-finals of the 2020 edition.

Talamia's home ground is the Ebdemar Au'tokra Stadium, in Clinepalas.

The team is known as the Hoopoes, from the national animal. Black and red are the common colours, as it is in the national flag.

History

Origins

Following the unification of the seven kingdoms of Talamia, dating back to 1786, HoopoeBall was recognized as the Talamian national sport. It was therefore necessary to wait more than a century before football began to gain popularity. The first official document attesting a football match in Talamia dates back to 1890. It refers to the match in which the Ptoco and SF Lampride clubs faced each other, representing the two homonymous neighborhoods of the Talamian capital Clinepalas. Five years later, eight founding teams from all over Talamia created the Talamian Alfa Legue, which is still the top level of the Talamian football league system today.

The first ten years of Talamian football, not very popular at the time, saw only clubs as protagonists. In 1906, however, the seven regions of Talamia began to agree to organize an interregional internal tournament and establish their selections of best players. The Seven Kingdoms Tournament was born. It was held for nine editions, until 1914. The tournament was played with a double round-robin system. The teams played during breaks from the Talamia Alfa League, in summer and winter. The regional selection of Mentrenalio won five editions, Pento two and Uperinde and Epicesi one each. The tournament ceased to exist when TSS decided to found a single, national representative.

Foundation

The first game played by the national team dates back to 30 November 1914, when the sports federations of Talamia and Sörslúth decided to organize a friendly between the selections of the best players of the top leagues of the two nations, to encourage the quiet of a seething political climate. Played in the Ebdemar Au'tokra Stadium of Clinepalas, the game gathered twenty thousand spectators and saw the Talamian national team triumph 6-2. The very first goal scored by the national team of Talamia was by Uptele Trakute, Ptoco's forward.

At the behest of the tyrant of Sörslúth, who could not accept the defeat, the game was repeated a month later in the stadium of Eigobair, the capital of the fascist state. Talamia managed again to win 3-0. This prompted Talamia Sports' Summaka to invest in the national team, organizing a first friendly calendar. Epitede Arkha, then coach of Lampride, was appointed manager.

Failure and rebirth

In its first 105 years of life, Talamia never played official matches. Following the wave of club football, the national team stopped playing in 1966, after the failure of the Alfa League, to resume playing in 1974, thanks to Noto Plousi, owner of Fortis Epops, four years after the rebirth of the top league of Talamian football. The team began gaining popularity thanks to players of the caliber of Ensem Eio and Sanisla Pedalisismi, who is still today the top scorer.

First official appereances

After more than a century of international football played only on a friendly level, TSS decided to appoint Pedalisismi as manager in 2019, on the occasion of the team's first historic registration to an official tournament: 2019 ILFA. After weeks of hard preparation, the team was defeated in the qualification round, by an overall result of 4-3 against Lo Santano.

Despite the negative performance, this prompted TSS to include the team in the first edition of the NSLeft Association Football Tournament (NAFT). With no need for a qualifying match, Talamia advanced directly to the final stage, drawn in group D with the Democratic Republic of Cacusia, Maoux and Mon Silanies. Following this first experience, Talamia became one of the founding members of NSLeft Association Football Federation (NAFF). However, after winning all the group stage matches and the quarter-finals, the tournament stopped and the NAFF was dismantled. The Talamian national team found itself once again without official competitions in which to play.

World Cup 85

On May 10 2020, it was announced that Talamia would take part to the eighty-fifth edition of the World Cup, being admitted to the qualifications after being accepted among the 197 participating teams. On the way to the World Cup, in its first pre-tournament friendly, Talamia defeated The Jovannic 2-1. Despite this being their first participation in the tournament, the Hoopoes made a great performance, placing fifth in a group that included 13 teams. Collecting 37 points, the team bravely faced the longest qualifiers in the World Cup history. After the excellent performance, Talamia entered the seventy-seventh Cup of Harmony, without being able to go beyond the group stage. With four points won, the Hoopoes at their first participation, however, managed to beat the historic national team of Chromatika.

In February 2021, TSS officially founded the DSA Football Federation, promoting the development of interest in football on the planet of Delusia.

Team image

Nickname

Talamian team is commonly known by fans as "The Hoopoes". The hoopoe is the national animal of Talamia. In Talamian culture, it has an emblematic meaning related to wisdom and integrity and change, while its crest indicates royalty.

Kits and crest

Talamia's traditional home colours are red and black shirts, red or black shorts and white or black socks, incorporating all colours of the Talamian flag. The very first kit worn by Talamia national team in its debut match against Sörslúth was all-red. Therefore, over the years the team has re-proposed the historic design, wearing similar all-red jerseys. The national team wore white shorts only on the outfit used between 1977 and 1978. The uniform was so unpopular that it was replaced after just one season.

Even though Talamia's first away kits were total black, starting in 1974 - the year of the resumption of Talamian football - TSS decided that the team would wear simple white shirts in away matches, in order to cushion travel costs. From necessity, tradition was born and still today Talamia's traditional away colours are white shirts and shorts and black socks.

Talamia's third kit has always coincided with the goalkeeper's first kit, which colours are green shirts, shorts and socks - recalling the laurel on the national flag.

The badge of the Talamia national football team has a laurel crown, a symbol of peace introduced on the national flag in 1786, incorporating the letters "TFF" in its center. It was briefly replaced in the 90's by hoopoe's feathers, and restored in the 2000's.

Kit evolution

1914-1966 Home Away

1974-1976 Home Away

1977-1978 Home Away

1979-1983 Home Away

1984-1991 Home Away

1992-1999 Home Away

1999-2005 Home Away

2006-2011 Home Away

Home stadium

Talamia have always played their home matches in Ebdemar Au'tokra historic stadium, in Clinepalas. Initially built for HoopoeBall - Talamia national sport - the stadium became the national team's home since its founding.

Talamia played their first match at the stadium in 1914 against Sörslúth. The stadium has undergone many renovations over time, before being permanently closed and then demolished in 2015, in its hundredth birthday. For a period of three years, the team played their home games in various stadiums around Talamia as the Ebdemar Au'tokra was beaing completely rebuilt.

The first match played in the new stadium that just reopened took place on 22 April 2018 and it was once again against Sörslúth. The stadium is today owned by the city of Clinepalas, being considered cultural heritage.

Media coverage

All Talamia matches are broadcast by Pro Diorux Sports, since the foundation of Talamia's most famous pay-tv sports channel.

Before the birth of Pro Diorux, from the 1950s to the 1980s, the matches were broadcast free-to-air on national television's first channel. From 1977 to today, the official commentator of the matches of the Talamia National football Team is Gian Gianvilipendio, the most well-known sports commentator in the nation, whose voice is closely linked to the glories and failures of the national team's recent history. Gian Gianvilipendio was replaced in only one case, in 1994, by his colleague Auxe Aggelia, due to illness.

Tournament records

World Cup

Qualification								Main tournament									Manager(s)	Rank (pre-WC)
Cycle	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Comp	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
85	24	11	4	9	47	48		CoH 77	GS	4	1	1	2	9	11		Sanisla Pedalisismi	UR
86	did not enter							WC 86	did not qualify								Sanisla Pedalisismi	113
87	did not enter							WC 87	did not qualify								Sanisla Pedalisismi	UR

NSLeft Association Football Tournament

Main tournament										Manager(s)		Notes
Year	Comp	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2020	2020 NAFT	SF	4	4	0	0	8	5		Sanisla Pedalisismi		suspended

Current squad

The following players were named to the squad for the last friendly match against Bhexa.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Aha Diepeir	(1991-10-20) 20 October 1991	62	-60	Fortis Epops
12	1GK	Logospera Gonhandano	(1984-07-14) 14 July 1984	0	0	Clinepalas United
23	1GK	Arees Zugon	(1999-05-18) 18 May 1999	0	0	KarpìStomà
2	2DF	Afobos Iano	(1997-03-26) 26 March 1997	0	0	Ptoco
3	2DF	Eter Katek	(1992-01-01) 1 January 1992	12	0	Fortis Epops
4	2DF	Neodom Zekeleos	(1993-08-10) 10 August 1993	0	0	Clinepalas United
5	2DF	Yante Skatezzo	(1994-06-26) 26 June 1994	56	1	Alla Fofokoy
6	2DF	Calin Mestithemi	(1992-08-07) 7 August 1992	19	1	Clinepalas United
13	2DF	Timo Fulatto	(1989-03-19) 19 March 1989	85	2	Alla Fofokoy
15	2DF	Afobos Leimon	(1999-01-17) 17 January 1999	0	0	Ighli
16	2DF	Anthonos Iereu	(1993-07-04) 4 July 1993	0	0	Fortis Epops
33	2DF	Lepto Kakdeinai	(1998-06-26) 26 June 1998	0	0	Alla Fofokoy
7	3MF	Ptirn Lagios	(1996-05-23) 23 May 1996	31	8	Alla Fofokoy
8	3MF	Ansem Egemon	(1983-06-10) 10 June 1983	132	10	Ptoco
10	3MF	Kata Dioiiké	(1991-11-03) 3 November 1991	67	10	Fortis Epops
14	3MF	Fjössi Rooura	(1995-03-05) 5 March 1995	32	2	Clinepalas United
20	3MF	Upe Bainika	(1990-12-19) 19 December 1990	97	15	Epacra Delphis
21	3MF	Arees Sus	(1992-11-05) 5 November 1992	0	0	Epacra Delphis
22	3MF	Thraskema Apopatos	(2002-04-22) 22 April 2002	0	0	Alla Fofokoy
34	3MF	Asulon Stemma Artemis	(1998-01-02) 2 January 1998	0	0	KarpìStomà
39	3MF	Akouo Sagapò	(1995-05-29) 29 May 1995	0	0	PAS Geitorisma
9	4FW	Stern A'apt	(1992-10-30) 30 October 1992	71	33	KarpìStomà
11	4FW	Therapon Dermakros	(1993-04-12) 12 April 1993	0	0	Acroscope
14	4FW	Lignus Fonè	(1997-05-26) 26 May 1997	0	0	Hellas Anen
17	4FW	Afobos Mumps	(1999-03-02) 2 March 1999	0	0	Ighli
18	4FW	Arees Kenon	(1995-10-09) 9 October 1995	0	0	Fortis Epops
19	4FW	Neaniaõ	(2002-04-19) 19 April 2002	7	2	Clinepalas United

Individual records

Ansem Egemon, captain of both the national team and Ptoco, holds the record for most appearances for the Talamian team with 126 since his debut in 2003, breaking Loic Pule's record in 2019. Egemon also holds the record for most caps as captain, with 67. In second place is Pule, historic goalkeeper whose national career lasted for 23 years, with 121 caps, followed by Ensem Eio with 110.

Sanisla Pedalisismi holds the title of Talamia's highest goalscorer, scoring 76 goals, having played for Talamia on 99 occasions from 1966 to 1979. Elko Timoria-Zemia is the second highest goalscorer, scoring 51 goals in 78 appearances between 1998 and 2008, of which 42 were free-kicks.

The youngest player to play in an official national team game is Neaniaõ, who broke Kladios Paid previous record by taking the field at the age of 16 and 14 days in 2018. In the same occasion, Neaniaõ became the youngest player to ever score in a match.

Updated 31/03/2021. Bold denotes players still active at international level for the national team.

Most capped players							Top goalscorers
#	Player	Career	Caps	Goals	Pos.		#	Player	Career	Goals	Caps	Goals-per-game	Pos.
1	Ansem Egemon	2003-	132	10	MF		1	Sanisla Pedalisismi	1966-1979	99	76	0,77	FW
2	Loic Pule	1914-1937	121	-98	GK		2	Auxano Rutidode	1998-2008	78	51	0,65	MF
3	Ensem Eio	1966-1981	110	17	MF		3	Ule Caepio	1985-1997	81	40	0,49	FW
4	Sanisla Pedalisismi	1966-1979	99	76	FW		4	Alexaner Petra	1914-1924	71	39	0,55	FW
5	Upe Bainika	2009-	97	15	MF		5	Stern A'apt	1995-2008	71	33	0,46	FW

External links

• Official overview
• Official National football team page
• Official Talamian Alfa League page
• Official DSAFF page
• Official NAFF page
• Official 2020 NAFT page