Senya national football team
Nickname(s) | The Green Army |
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Association | FADESS |
FMF member | 2012– |
Confederation | AEFA |
Head coach | Draco Sanchez |
Captain | Barnaby Hands |
Most caps | Barnaby Hands (84) |
Top scorer | Barnaby Hands (37) |
Home stadium | The Snakepit |
FMF code | DES |
First FMF intermicronational | |
Senya 0–3 North Antarctica | |
Biggest win | |
Senya 10–0 River Warriors Senya 10–0 Lucerne Senya 10–0 Ranentsi | |
Biggest defeat | |
Senya 0–4 Gerenia | |
FMF World Cup | |
Appearances | 3 (first in 2014) |
Best result | Runners-up |
Copa Apollonia | |
Appearances | 4 (first in 2013) |
Best result | Winners |
The Senya national football team is the football team which represents the micronation of Senya. It is a member of the AEFA, and is run by FADESS.
Having qualified for their first FMF World Cup in 2014, the team is seen as one of the strongest national sides on Micras, having since won the Copa Apollonia in 2016 and 2018, and reached the 2017 FMF World Cup final as hosts.
History
The team was founded in mid-2012 after Senya's Micrasian claim was successful. Soon afterwards, the team competed in the inaugural Zeeburg Tournaments, where they finished sixth with four points. Later in the year, Senya organised and competed in the first Senyan School International Tournament, where they finished third with ten points.
In early 2013, the team competed in the second edition of the Four Nations Internationals, where they finished in second place after losing the final 2–1 to Safiria. The team had a successful first World Cup qualifying campaign, finishing second in their five-team group with 16 points; a position which would have also qualified the team for the 2013 Copa Apollonia if Senya had not been awarded an automatic place as the tournament's hosts. Shortly after qualifying, the team played in the second Senyan School International Tournament, where they topped their group and won their semi-final without conceding a goal, before beating Amokolia 3–2 in the final. In the Copa Apollonia, the team's success continued as they advanced from their group with four points, ahead of North Antarctica on goals scored, before losing their semi-final on penalties to Novatainia. However, the team managed to beat Gerenia 4–2 in the third-place play-off to seal third on home soil. In late 2013, the team also competed in the inaugural Tianan Challenge Cup, where they received a bye to the final, which they lost 1–0 to hosts Tiana.
The Senyans' success continued into 2014 as the team topped their qualifying group with 27 points to reach the 2014 FMF World Cup finals. The team also qualified for the 2014 Copa Apollonia, where they advanced from their group with four points, and lost their semi-final to hosts Gerenia, but beat Safiria 2–0 to finish third. In their début World Cup, the team performed well, advancing from a tough group in second with six points before beating Tellia on penalties in the quarter-finals. However, they lost 1–0 in extra time to Mercury in the semi-finals and 3–1 to Craitland to finish in fourth place.
In the following year's qualifiers, Senya went unbeaten as they topped their five-team group with 22 points to qualify for their second finals. In the World Cup, the team advanced from their group with seven points to reach the play-off round, where they were beaten by eventual champions Hamland on penalties after a 2–2 draw.
The qualifying rounds for the 2016 Copa Apollonia saw Senya win their group with eight wins from as many matches to comfortably qualify for the finals. In the finals, the team advanced from their group in second place with six points before beating Gerenia in the semi-finals and Flanders in the final, both 3–1, to secure their first ever major trophy.
Senya successfully bid to host the 2017 FMF World Cup and therefore received automatic qualification to the tournament. In the finals, the team performed well, as they topped their group with nine points, finishing ahead of Tellia on goals scored, to advance to the quarter-finals, where they beat Birgeshir 3–1. After overcoming Mercury on penalties after a 1–1 draw in the semi-finals, they narrowly lost 2–1 to fellow group members Tellia in their first final appearance to finish as runners-up.
As holders of the Copa Apollonia, Senya automatically qualified for the 2018 edition, and instead participated in the 2018 FMF Confederations Cup, where they topped their group with eleven points. After beating the Kingdom of Coria 3–0 in the semi-finals, they lost to Birgeshir 2–1 in the final to finish second. At the Copa Apollonia, the team advanced from their four-team group with four points after a poor start, but overcame the Florian Republic 2–0 in the semi-finals and Stormark 1–0 in the final to secure successive AEFA titles.
Chronological competitive participation
- 2012 Zeeburg Tournaments
- 2012 Senyan School International Tournament (hosts)
- 2013 Four Nations Internationals
- 2013 FMF World Cup qualification
- 2013 Senyan School International Tournament (co-hosts)
- 2013 Copa Apollonia (hosts)
- 2013 Tianan Challenge Cup
- 2014 FMF World Cup qualification
- 2014 Copa Apollonia
- 2014 FMF World Cup
- 2015 FMF World Cup qualification
- 2015 FMF World Cup
- 2016 Copa Apollonia qualification
- 2016 Copa Apollonia
- 2017 FMF World Cup (hosts)
- 2018 FMF Confederations Cup
- 2018 Copa Apollonia
Kit
Senya's traditional home colours are those used on the nation's flag, and the home strip is usually green with a white trim, along with white shorts and green socks. The away kit is usually white, although on some previous occasions the away strip has been yellow, whilst goalkeepers tend to wear either dark brown or maroon.
Past kits
Coaching staff
Head Manager | Draco Sanchez |
Assistant Manager | David Morter |
Goalkeeping Coach | Bɏenkos Validarnos |
Technical Director | Enrikaza Aldin |
Team Doctor | Dr. Jam Penfas |
Physician | Dr. Gatkan Krelin |
Chief Press Officer | Robert Sernov |
Managerial history
Appointed | Dismissed | Manager | P | W | D | L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
25 June 2012 | 25 July 2012 | Alan Gozling | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 11.1% |
30 July 2012 | 17 September 2013 | Kris Hɏöten | 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 60.5% |
17 September 2013 | 20 August 2015 | Ëker Kasëana | 57 | 36 | 13 | 8 | 63.2% |
12 September 2015 | present | Draco Sanchez | 21 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 85.7% |
Rivalries
Senyan fans largely viewed Gerenia as their biggest rivals. Although initially a wide variety of teams, including North Antarctica, Safiria, Tiana and Zeeburg were considered rivals, either due to proximity or due to them playing Senya reguarly in early competitive fixtures. However, as North Antarctica switched confederation and the others left Micras, the rivalry with Gerenia took hold, eventually being dubbed as the Apollonian Classico. Between 2014 and 2018, this rivalry was seen as one of the most, if not the most, heated rivalry in Micras, with regular riots, pyroshows and tifos during games, as well as the two sides becoming the two dominant forces and competing for the Copa Apollonia title. However, Gerenia left Micras in late 2018.
Whilst other rivalries have existed with other nations in recent years, many of these are the results of political differences between nations, such as the rivalries with Jingdao and the River Warriors.
Conversely, the Senyan ultras enjoy a strong friendship with the fans of the Kingdom of Coria, who are seen as Senya's "brothers". The Senyan and Corian hooligans jointly fought during the infamous Battle of Glasbridž during the 2018 Copa Apollonia.
Fans
Senyan fans are considered some of the loudest, yet least aggressive, football supporters on Micras. During tournaments such as the World Cup qualifiers and the Copa Apollonia, the supporters are known to become very vocal on match days, and it is not unusual for fans to stand for the duration of games, except in areas where standing is prohibited. Senyan fans are divided into two main groups, the Komovoren, who generally wear the national team's shirt and casual clothing, and sometimes chant, and the more numerous Naldas, who wear green "morphsuits", occasionally with the team's shirt over the top, continuously chant in Senyan and let-off flares. These fans can make football matches in Senya intimidating places to visit. However, after matches, Senyan fans, even the Naldas, will be happy to socialise with opposing fans. Rival supporters are treated less hospitably, but even during rival matches there is usually little violence between the fans.
Additionally, there are two further supporter groups, DIS Senya, which is for disabled supporters, and Young Greens, for families and children.
Honours
- FMF Confederations Cup: 0
- 2018 – Runners-up
- Four Nations Internationals: 0
- 2013 – Runners-up
- Tianan Challenge Cup: 0
- 2013 – Runners-up
Flag
Senya has used the following flag during the entirety of its FMF affiliation:
2012– |
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See also
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