Go Forth & Conquer, Leo!

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A Freit-ful Way!

Debutant Luis Freitas grabbed four goals in a 10-0 opening league win over Mehmet FC at Lion's Way last night.

Go Leo dominated the park in a one sided match but it took them nineteen minutes to finally break the deadlock.

Matias Madrid opened the scoring with a delightful freekick which was followed by goals from Izaire Adzlan and Juan Valencia. Freitas grabbed his first of the night four minutes from the break and strikepartner Stephen Devine grabbed a fifth just before the halftime whistle.

Freitas took over the proceedings from then on and on the 60th minute, he secured a debut hattrick. His fourth came late in the game to give a double digit score for the home team.

It was a emphatic start to the season for Go Leo as they grabbed opening wins in both league and Champions' League. Earlier, Leo ran out comfortable 2-0 winners against FC The Fastest in their Group G Champions' League match.

Attention will now turn to a league encounter with last season's runner-up, VSOP.

Go Leo are competing on two tournaments this season, after going out of the cup in the first round on a 2-3 aggregate.

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Go Leo Squad List, Season 8, Level 8
*Bold denotes new season signing

GK - Eladio De Speegler, Belgian (Joined S7)
GK - Brian Marinez, Mexican (S8)
DC - Muhd Akmal Akmil, Malaysian (S7 Academy Graduate)
DC - Mihaly Szabo, Hungarian (S6)
DC, Corner Specialist - Dominik Metzner, German (S5)
DC/DR, Wall - Muhd Izaire Adzlan, Malaysian (S4 Academy Graduate)
DC/DR - Carlos Sierra, Colombian (S6)
DL/DC - Johan Evestal, Swedish (S8)
DL/DC - Martin Tellefsen, Danish (S8)
DMC/DC - Bastian Kern, German (S8)
DMC/DMR, Playmaker - Barnabas Kovacs, Hungarian (S7), Captain
MC - Juan Valencia, Ecuadorian (S7)
MC - Shinji Takizawa, Japanese (S7)
AML, Corner Specialist - Matias Madrid, Argentinian (S7)
AML/ML - Joe Pepper, English (S3)
AMR/MR - Kostas Tsilis, Greek (S8)
AMR/MR, Playmaker - Stergios Kolokas, Greek (S3)
AMR/MR - Walter Gallo, Italian (S6)
ST - Luis Freitas, Portuguese (S8)
ST, One-on-One - Stephen Devine, Irish (S6)
ST - Hector Bala, Swedish (S6)
ST - Daniel Lindskog, Swedish (S6)

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Mad-rid Goal Rush

Go Leo provided another spectacle today as they continued their march towards qualification to the knock-out stages of the Champions League.

Matias Madrid was the star in their 0-6 away win at CAI, scoring four goals, which included a hattrick of freekick goals.

The Argentine winger opened his account in the 21st minute after Hector Bala was fouled on the edge of the box. Madrid coolly curled the ball around the CAI wall which left the keeper stranded.

The score remained 1-0 at the break.

The match restarted in similar fashion as the visitors pushed for a second. It duly came in the 61st minute when Madrid's ambitious long drive found the top corner of the goal. Shinji Takizawa added a third for Leo in similar fashion six minutes later. Not content with a 3-0 lead, Leo replaced misfiring Daniel Lindskog with Steven Devine but it was Madrid who got the fourth and his hattrick via a freekick.

Devine helped himself to a goal after breaking the offside trap and the sixth and final goal came five minutes later late in the 89th minute when Madrid sent another curler to beat the helpless CAI goalkeeper.

His four goals sent his tally to eight goals in seven competitive matches.

Earlier, Go Leo visited Erick FC in a league encounter and ran out 2-0 winners with Devine grabbing a brace.

Go Leo lead both the league table & their Champions League Group G with a 100% record, scoring 23 goals in the process and only letting in one.

They next face Jalak Lenteng at the newly upgraded 43K capacity Lion's Way tomorrow.

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A Devine Touch

A 43,000 full capacity crowd packed into the newly upgraded Lion's Way today to witness Go Leo score six past Jalak Lenteng in the league.

It was a match fit to open any stadium and Stephen Devine's hattrick was the main draw.

Devine who joined two seasons ago, enjoyed a good but quiet full season in Season 7 but this season, he has transformed into a ruthless striker, scoring and providing goals.

The Irishman laid the first two goals for Barnabas Kovacs and Luis Freitas before he grabbed his first of the day in the 31st minute. Freitas added a fourth just before the break to give a halftime score of 4-0.

If history between the two clubs were to be considered, this should not have been an easy game for Go Leo. Jalak Lenteng have always presented themselves as tricky opponents but this time around the occasion overwhelmed them.

The visitors were helpless to counter a scintillating Devine and the striker wrapped up his hattrick in the 83rd and 90th minute to leave the crowd inside Lion's Way cheering his name.

The Boss expressed delight at Devine's form, calling the striker magnificent.

"He is a joy to watch, a joy to train. Simply magnificent."

[Qambu Yaasi]

Updated the first introduction post as well


Formations
Some preferred formations and how it is generally set up

3-5-2V
Best used against defensive or neutral formations

Mentality Normal
Pressing depending on what is necessary
Passing Short down one or both flanks
Tackling Normal
Offside trap
Zonal Marking

Strength
Two strikers supported by two motivated wide attacking midfielders.
Defensive midfielder with blue arrow supporting the three narrow central defenders

Weakness
Lack of wide defensive players
Mitigation - Avoid use of counter attacks or going all out attacking.

4-2-2-2 aka the Hexagon
Best used against attacking or neutral formations

Mentality Normal
Pressing depending on what is necessary
Passing Depending on your player strength
Tackling Normal
Offside trap
Zonal Marking

Strength
Two strikers supported by two wide attacking midfielders.
Sufficient midfield support

Weakness
Weak defensive setup could hurt the use of the hexagon. Lack of defensive cover i.e DMC means that there is a void between midfield & defence.
Mitigiation - Blue arrow on one midfielder if necessary

4-5-1V
Best used against neutral formations

Mentality Attacking
Pressing depending on what is necessary
Passing Short down one or both flanks
Tackling Normal
Offside trap
Zonal Marking

Strength
Lone striker supported by two motivated wide attacking midfielders.
Defensive midfielder with blue arrow supporting the defence

Weakness
Vulnerable against teams playing with motivated wide men
Mitigation - Use normal mentality when required

4-1-3-2
Best used against neutral formations

Mentality Normal or defensive
Pressing depending on what is necessary
Passing Short down one or both flanks
Tackling Normal
Offside trap (Normal)
Zonal Marking (Normal)
Man to man marking (Defensive)
Force counterattacks (Defensive)

Strength
Three midfield player spread across the field
Defensive midfielder with blue arrow supporting the lone central midfielder

Weakness
Vulnerable against teams playing narrow
Mitigation - Play a motivated defensive midfielder (red arrow)

[Qambu Yaasi]

Go Leo have qualified to the knockout stage of the Champions League top of Group G, with one game remaining. With 4 wins and a draw, 19 goals scored against 2 conceded, Go Leo is definitely showing all their cards early in the tournament.

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Sharp and early Lions

Go Leo secured their qualification to the knockout stage of the Champions League with a comfortable 3-0 win over FC The Fastest.

There is still one game to be played but all that will be academic as Go Leo are assured of top spot with 13 points from 5 matches. Second placed Thanh Diem FC are 7 points adrift.

It was clear from kick-off that Go Leo went out to get as many goals in the first half to secure a comfortable lead before opting to rest their key players in the second half.

Daniel Lindskog struck twice in the 18th and 39th minute while Matias Madrid's long range effort in the 32nd minute provided some early comfort.

Madrid was withdrawn at halftime with the league encounter with Xaitan in mind while defensive midfielder Barnabas Kovacs was only named as a substitute although he was called into action after Bastian Kern was injured midway in the second half.

Their early progress from their group would mean that the Boss has the luxury of starting a stronger eleven for upcoming league matches, before the knockout stages start.

Go Leo currently have 100% record in the league, a run matched only by Xaitan, with 9 wins, 46 scored against 3 conceded - the best offensive and defensive record in the league so far this season.

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Lions slip out of race

A shock 1-0 home loss to Erick FC sees Go Leo slip a further 9 points off league leaders Xaitan. Goalkeeper Brian Martinez was again culprit for yet another loss as he fumbled a shot which deflected into the net.

This was the second error by the Mexican keeper that cost Go Leo points as he had similarly let in a goal against Xaitan in similar circumstances earlier this season.

Having put priority on winning the Champion's League, Go Leo fielded a slightly weaker starting eleven for league matches although top league scorer Stephen Devine was among the starters.

The home side failed to create many chances and wasted good ones to put the game in their favor. As dissapointing as this result was, Go Leo are still on course to progress to semifinals of the Champion's League having overturned a 2-1 first leg loss with a 5-0 home win over Los Palegos.

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Dinam-ic New Lions

Go Leo have introduced two new faces to strengthen the squad this season, among them, academy graduate MacField Dinamo. The 18-year old Malaysian will occupy an attacking midfield role but is also comfortable playing on the left of midfield.

Joining Dinamo will be right midfielder Iranian Fawzi Dleimy who joins the squad for a fee of $7.8m. The 25 year old is known for his goal scoring prowess from the wings and will provide more options for the Boss, who already have Walter Gallo and Stergios Kolokas to choose from.

The club also announced the departure of Sebastien Kern, Kostas Tsilis and Joe Pepper, who leaves after 4 seasons with the club.

Go Leo are currently third in the league, nine points off current leaders Xaitan. They will play the first leg of the Champions' League quarterfinals tonight.

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Shocking Lions

Unfancied Phoenix FC stunned Go Leo at Lion's Way today as they pulled off a shock 3-2 win to heap more pressure on the defending league champions.

Go Leo are now nine points adrift of the league leaders and that could be extended to twelve points if Xaitan beat second place Spijker in the top of the table clash later today. If fourth placed Magico FC win their match today, they could leapfrog over Go Leo.

The home side started brightly and Matias Madrid put them ahead only after four minutes after being fed by Walter Gallo.

Under fire Brian Martinez was given a chance by the boss to redeem himself when he was named in the starting line up but he put on another unimpressive performance as the visitors hammered two goals past him before halftime.

Gallo restored parity in the 55th minute to level the match at 2-2, but the normally reliable backfour of Go Leo crumbled easily to allow Phoenix to grab the winner 10 minutes from time.

This avenged their 7-0 loss in the first league rounds, which also added to the shock of the loss today, given that they did not put up much of a fight then.

At the post match conference, the Boss was lost at words at the manner of the loss.

"We set ourselves up to get a win at home, but Phoenix surprised us."

"It's true that we did not put the league as a priority this season, and with all due respect to Phoenix FC, to lose to a team that costs less than half of the Go Leo squad is unacceptable."

On Martinez's recent form, the Boss said, "I will have to look at the goalkeeper situation seriously. I thought I could rest Eladio (de Speegler) and some players ahead of the (Champions League) second leg tomorrow, but it obviously backfired."

After starting the season strongly in defence of their title, Go Leo have now suffered four defeats and look unlikely to finish much higher than third this season.

Their target this year, the Champions League, could also elude them after losing 1-0 in the first leg to Amel FC last night.