| abstract
| - The league’s impulse was fully exploited by a group of former Iztacalco players who had risen to good fortune in the retail sector, and who took the old track and field club and the associated third division amateur team and built it up using local talent to start climbing up the ranks, with the goal of winning the First Division and having a go at club and even the national competitions again. A meteoric four-year string of triumphs saw Iztacalco take all lower-division titles and achieve its first declared goal in the summer of 304, after a last-minute goal had denied them the First Division championship in 303. The reigning champions then applied to the OTM for permission to enter the 305 Vexillium Cup as the official representatives for TDC territory; OTM in turn revived the long-standing petition to enter IVEFA and NOVEFA and allow Iztacalco to take on the mantle of territory representation. The result was another muddle-through, with Iztacalco allowed conditional participation if it took a number of players from other clubs and presented itself as a proper national team. This was expediently solved by taking on players who were in Iztacalco’s sights for the next local season, and by the simple expedient of having TDC approve the red Iztacalco team jersey as the territory’s official colors… Given that red had always been a traditional color in the territory, this was the easiest of all steps. Iztacalco finished its rise to the heights of sporting achievement by delivering a totally unexpected 1-0 upset of the Deucolands in Porto Capital, in their first official international match; the surprise result threw the territory into a football frenzy which was only reinforced by the 3-3 draw against powerhouse Cruisana, a result which effectively put the Knights out of the Cup and brought the nigh-unthinkable within grasp: advancing out of the group stage in the first Vexillium Cup ever. In the end, it would be the Deucos who would prove heroes for the suffering Otéagan public; their holding Cruisana to a 2-2 draw pushed the elated team from the rough streets through despite falling to Draconia 0-2, among wild celebrations both in the avenues of Port Capital and all over the still-young territory. The second-round match against Somery saw the birth of the first Otéagan football idol, the incredible young goalkeeper hailing from Iztacalco barrio itself, and known all over the Vex by his nickname, screamed by millions of frenzied supporters: “La Paca” shut down the best offense in Vexillium, the only ‘keeper to do so, and only the Iztacalco team’s inexperience at the spot prevented an even bigger upset. The team’s return to ecstatic crowds and an official endorsement from TDCorp set the stage for a return to the Cup in 306, where another traditional team awaited… and was once more upset, with the 2-1 win over Lendosa a prelude to another, much greater upset: hosts and favorites Davenport were held 2-2, after another heroic performance by La Paca, and the stage was set for another “helping hand” from an eliminated side, as Lendosa denied Davenport the needed victory while Iztacalco found themselves mystified by the Western Zartanian “chainlink” defense and were held to 0-0. The second successful group stage in a row was followed by a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of the “big brothers” from Eastern Zartania, whose style had been much copied and followed in TDC territory… making it easy for the Zartanian players to run rings around the Otéagan players’ still-green maneuvers. By then, the team had earned the nickname “Valedores”, San Patrician slang for tough, trustworthy friends, and they were celebrated as such after the second homecoming as “uncomfortable” guests and surprise participants. 307 was supposed to be a reaffirmation of the new, better Otéagan football, and the by-now-traditional first-match victory was made much sweeter by the fact that it was achieved against a Communist side, and preceded by an unprecedented propaganda war in which heated insults were traded daily over the media and even caused an IVEFA warning to both member associations. In what many would call their most dominant game until then, Iztacalco made short work of Patakia 2-0 and went up against the real opponents, Somery, their 305 nemesis, and Caledon. What followed was an unexpected return to the first, dishonorable times of Otéagan football, and Iztacalco was outclassed completely for the first time, 1-4 by Somery and then 0-2 by Caledon in the crucial third match. The shock elimination led to an upheaval within the club and to serious confrontations with the OTM
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