Ah yes, all youth teams. They’re all the range these days, get a new squad, sell the whole lot even if perhaps it doesn’t need selling and then proceed to train up a bunch of youths for years on end until they all mature, then rebuild. Or if it doesn’t go well, simply rebuild again. Or rebuild even if you don’t need to. It’s the tried and tested method that’s brought many teams fleeting success, but not many manage long term success with it. What would happen if, say, you put an all youth team in a league that was only 7 seasons old? What if this particular team had players of some of the highest potential quality possible and on top of that was well managed? Well, you may have an example of such a side in a private league, but in the official leagues the standard of sides in the “worldwide” leagues was lower than the Swedish leagues by quite some distance. Yet one side in particular defied that convention and became one of the most dominant and famous teams in Xpert history. Ladies and gentlemen, that team is FC Ballbreakers.

The records speak for themselves. They won a whopping 10 Master League titles and 3 Master League cups in a 13 season period. Their participation in the Xpert Champions League is one of the most consistent ever having been in it for 10 consecutive seasons, with 12 campaigns in total. They have reached the XCL final three times but in the end they never won any of them. All of this was done more or less with the same group of players, players like Per-Erik Wallander, Anthony Stafford, Thomas Westwood, Frank Einstein, Kyle Owens, Rowan Hoyle, Kearney McKechnie, Graeme Hayes and Rory Coleman, some of the most successful footballers in X11 history.

Our story goes right back to the beginning of the Master League’s history. Finnish manager franzie created FC Ballbreakers and they were placed in Division 4f for their first season. Very quickly however he made changes to the team, while other managers were working out how to play the game he was very decisive in how he went about building his team. Focusing on a multitude of youths that replaced the entire squad within the first two seasons, success also came as well with the Division 4 and 3 titles. It was clear that franzie already had a far greater understanding of the game than the managers around him and the road to domination was already well and truly underway.

Within the first season alone Anthony Stafford, Frank Einstein, and Graeme Hayes were already a key part of the team. The following season, Thomas Westwood, Per-Erik Wallander and Jalen Forbes were introduced and the side was rapidly transforming into one of the youngest in the division. But with the team already being pretty strong for their age and only set to get stronger, things were already looking ominous…

By Season 6, Ballbreakers reached Division 1 and had their first match against FC Nylyn. The rivalry between FC Ballbreakers and FC Nylyn is one of the greatest rivalries in Xpert history, with Nylyn’s greater age spread and Ballbreakers’ all youth approach clashing many times. By season 6 Ballbreakers already had plenty of quality, but the oldest player in the squad? 28 year old Cletus Johnrose. The next oldest? 24 year olds Matt Sadler and Graeme Hayes. With the core of the team just 22 years old it was already looking ominous for the rest of the league, especially the way they came from behind to beat Nylyn.

FC Ballbreakers would take the step up to the Master League for the following season. At this time, TabaX.ro were the best side in the Master League, having claimed the title in the last two seasons. Ballbreakers’ first attempt at playing TabaX.ro didn’t go so well with a 3-2 defeat but were more successful the second time around.
 
Per-Anders Frisk put the two time champions ahead, but Ballbreakers responded through 22 year old striker Lauren Moussongui Ehoh before 25 year old Graeme Hayes won the game in the 89th minute. It proved to be a key goal as Ballbreakers went on to become the youngster ever Master League champions. By doing so, they had already set in stone their path to glory as one of the most famous sides in Xpert history.

Phenomenal success followed as Franzie’s side started a dynasty and it was clear that his skill and understanding of the game was far greater than his rivals. FC Ballbreakers became only the second side to win two Master League titles, following in the footsteps of TabaX.ro. This despite the fact that the team was hindered by the average age rule, the majority of the squad was still rather young but they still came out on top.

Before we go any further, we should probably mention that DV didn’t exist then, and it was average form only that determined how well your players developed. As you can imagine, unless your average form was any good, it made developing players an absolute nightmare, especially since you could not sub players. How did Ballbreakers get around this? Simple, they concentrated only on the league, forgoing the cup altogether. Their cup record from the first 6 seasons was as follows:

Was eliminated from Master League Cup in 2nd round season 6
Was eliminated from Master League Cup in 1st round season 5
Was eliminated from Master League Cup in 2nd round season 4
Was eliminated from Master League Cup in 3rd round season 3
Was eliminated from Master League Cup in 4th round season 2
Was eliminated from Master League Cup in 1st round season 1

With such early exits, the average form wasn’t weighed down by nearly as many games and with only one game a week it was easy to maintain form. Added to the talents that the Ballbreakers possessed and it’s fair to say that FC Ballbreakers were way ahead of their time. There are many teams stronger now than what the Ballbreakers were at the time, but they offer an example as to how to get strong quickly.

We managed to catch up with current FC Ballbreakers manager Richardfenn to ask him about some of the questions.

XD: First of all, at what point did people generally become aware of FC Ballbreakers?

Fenn: It didn't take long for them to start winning trophies on a regular basis in the Master League, but they were mentioned in the English forums in July '08 as a possible "non-Swedish" winner of the XCL. They were involved in a big semi-final against that season's eventual winners Adrenochrome just a few months later.

XD: Was there ever any inklings early on that this was a team that was going to become one of the most dominant in Xpert history?

Fenn: The Master League is one of the newer leagues in the system, and the nature of the game then was that being able to build a decent squad before anyone else was always going to set you in good stead. It didn't take long for Ballbreakers to have some of the best players in the league, but it probably took two or three titles to realise just how good they were (relative to the teams around them).

Season 9 saw the Ballbreakers’ dominance temporarily halted by Ogman’s Eleven, a side managed by an upcoming talented English manager by the name of Ogman. However, the sheer potential of the Ballbreakers side compared to his lead to Ogman seeking a new side in a different league and he left for Lionhearts F.C. in the Euro League. Lionhearts would become very successful under him, but this is a Ballbreakers article so let’s not go too off topic.

So, it appeared that the Ballbreakers would go unchallenged for Master League glory and that none of the other Master League teams stood a chance. However, try telling that to NStiles.

In Season 11 FC Ballbreakers found themselves bested by a team that had already proven itself to be a perennial cup winner and subsequently had its best season ever which would make them the Ballbreakers’ arch nemesis for many seasons to come. FC Nylyn beat Ballbreakers fair and square to both trophies, both in the league and in the cup final. That cup final was covered in a Classic Xpert article several years ago and you can read about it again here.

Anyway, this began a big rivalry between the two teams and spurred Ballbreakers on to even greater heights. By this point, the XCL began to become a point of consideration for franzie’s side, with the only trophy left to win being that Hall of Fame badge. The Ballbreakers had a big problem though, the goalkeeper Per-Erik Wallander, now in his prime, was a monster 28 year old goalkeeper at approximately 16 bars, enough to take on some of the best out there. The defence was fantastic with a 15 bar wall and the midfield was very strong too. The strike force however left a lot to be desired and the standard of the best teams in the Swedish leagues was that much higher.

So franzie decided to add some real quality to his team. The sale of the talented Udo Ellemark helped fund the purchase of Emile Pidgley who helped fire FC Ballbreakers back to the title and although they had already won titles, it was at this point where the team began to take on its most recognisable form.

Further purchases came after the sales of Ike Roscoe and Teddy Caskey. Pidgley gained his long term strike partner Mikko Jalonen but the headline act went to the signing of one of the greatest free kick takers of all time. Greece international Lefteris Georgopoulos is widely regarded along with Charles Lucky Luziano, Helge Wilander, Afnan Onn and Ahti Telka to be one of the greatest free kick takers ever and he added tremendous defensive strength to the backline which made previous first choice free kick taker Anthony Stafford obsolete. All of a sudden the now 30 year old Stafford was simply the backup taker if Georgopoulos got injured but between Georgopoulos and Wallander the Ballbreakers had one of the most feared defensive combinations ever.

The team was now sensationally strong with tremendous depth in all departments. One look at the FC Ballbreakers squad made many other teams look obsolete in comparison and they continued to dominate all that came before them. Titles were coming naturally to them despite the resistance of FC Nylyn so the big question was, could they win the XCL?

It was Season 19 of the XCL when franzie finally got a chance to add the trophy that many felt FC Ballbreakers deserved. It was also here that it became apparent that the Master League’s Change Report dates were going to work against the Ballbreakers in the future. FC Ballbreakers’ XCL campaign that season, their 7th attempt at it, saw them reach the final that season after beating Holsby Brunners, Jokkmokk Vårdcentral and Parieti Loqueris in the knockouts and having won every game so far were huge favourites going into the game. But their opponents in the final were two time XCL champions BK Hammarslag, who after being dumped out by Xpert International rivals The Perishers the previous season and beaten to the honour of first ever three time champion, were trying to claim that honour for themselves for the first time ever.

West Ham Boys became the first side from an “International” league the previous season to reach the final so could the cream of the crop from the “international” leagues go on and win it? Well, their start defender and free kick taker Lefteris Georgopoulos was out injured for this one which was a huge blow for the team. This therefore was the starting line-up for the Ballbreakers for the final

GK Per-Erik Wallander

DF Antony Stafford
DF Thomas Westwood
DF Jason Ingledow
DF Fearghal Whiteside

MF Kearney McKechnie
MF Frank Einstein
MF Kyle Owens

FW Mikko Jalonen
FW Emile Pidgley
FW Graeme Hayes

A 4-3-3 in an XCL final? You don’t see that nowadays… the game turned out to be a slow burner and although things were looking up for the Ballbreakers when Ernst Brander was sent off for Hammarslag, it was the Swedish side who took the lead through Fred Kihlstedt. Ballbreakers did manage to take it to extra time through Frank Einstein but had Emile Pidgley sent off in the 90th minute. Extra time dealt a cruel twist when with 8 minutes left to play, Per-Erik Wallander was injured. This was especially cruel because the game went to penalties and with Wallander in goal the Ballbreakers stood a very good chance of winning the XCL. However, Toman was no match for the Hammarslag penalty takers and although the Ballbreakers were equally clinical they were fighting a losing battle and Kyle Owen’s missed spot kick handed the title to Hammarslag.

Ballbreakers vs. Hammarslag, XCL XIX Final

You may be wondering what kind of tactics were played in XCL Finals back in the day. Well, neither Franzie nor Motorroger are around anymore to explain their decisions but we do have the next best thing, a manager who played the game at a high level with access to the tactics report from that very game. Take it away Mr. Fenn

XD: As you have free access to the tactics report from the Ballbreakers past games would you be able to share with the world what tactics both managers played, whether you agree with what they did and whether, based on them, if the right team came out on top?

XD Exclusive, the tactics from the XCL XIX Final
 

4-3-3 Defensive Wing plays Tighten the wings No (5-4-1) Normal No No No Yes Yes (1 000 000) Kearney McKechnie Gunnar Ärleskog None

<< Formation >> << Playing style >>  << Offence >>  << Defence >>  << Prepared >>  << Aggression >> << Long balls >> << Pressure >> << Offside traps >> << Cheating >>  << Win bonus >> << Playmaker >> << Tightly marked >> << Captain >>

4-4-2 Normal Long range shots Tighten the centre No Normal No No No No Yes Gunnar Ärleskog Kearney McKechnie Viktor Törnblad

Fenn: That's a pretty ugly tactics board, IMO. I'd have questioned 4-3-3 without long balls as the first thing. There look to be lots of niggly things in there that most managers would do differently, but one of the key factors in the game was the injury to Wallander, who was a beast of a goalie. That's the sort of thing you just can't do anything about and it's going to be vital in a shootout.

That XCL Final was seemingly meant to be the swansong for franzie’s hard work in the side and the crowning glory of all the Ballbreakers achievements, so to lose it on penalties after a goal keeper injury proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Shortly after the XCL Final franzie resigned as Ballbreakers manager and one of the most successful teams of all time was up for grabs.

The man to succeed franzie as manager was ShaggyDude, who had previously won the Xpert Ladies with Röda Stjärnan and was looking to become the first ever manager to enter the Hall of Fame on both sides. Ballbreakers seemed like a natural fit but they were not the young side they once were anymore. Far from it, in fact, the youngest players whose skill bar ended in the darkest blue colour were Kearney McKechnie and Rory Coleman at 27 years of age, the rest were in the age range of 29 to 32. The once all youth team had become an all old team, but were still a forced to be reckoned with. While Season 15 wasn’t quite his first full season in charge, ShaggyDude did succeed in winning the league title for a season which he managed most of the matches. The XCL however saw them in an immensely difficult group with Adrenochrome and the emerging powerhouse of Smogens and they failed to win a single match, going out in the group stages. Season 16 saw ShaggyDude put his own stamp on the side after he sold Graeme Hayes, Jason Ingledow and Oliver Bonham, which trimmed the side down to just 14 top flight quality players, and invested in a new quality defender in Bert-Ola Fridolfsson.

The following season saw the Ballbreakers once again win the league title. It was their 8th league title, and it was also the season where the current Ballbreakers manager finally got to face them.

XD: Season 16 was your first season in the top flight with Huge Pythons and you faced the Ballbreakers twice. In the first game you played a 5-2-3 formation against his 5-2-3 formation and lost thanks to a single penalty. The second game you went 5-3-2 and were dominated to lose 2-0. The first game looked like a close call, anything you would have changed from either game?

Fenn: It was my first season in the Master League and I was doing my best to pick and choose my battles, as we were really up against it in terms of team strength (and we ultimately got relegated that season). The home match was a full strength team, but I went VD to try and get any kind of result. I'd written off the away leg - Lipscombe, Rowling and Blake were all youngsters - and I was just trying to keep the score down.

XD: The Ballbreakers were obviously a very good side but during your time playing against ShaggyDude what did you make of him as a manager?

Fenn: Shaggydude had already won the Xpert Ladies and so definitely was a decent manager, but I didn't think he had a love for the team as such - it was just a vehicle to try and get the XCL. Ballbreakers made it to two finals under his guidance (although I believe he was travelling South America for one of them and so didn't set tactics). I remember feeling a bit irked that he ground the team down and left when they were past they best.

Ballbreakers had a much better XCL campaign during the course of Season 16. They beat Gokturk Empire in the round of last 16, but came up against an old rival in the quarter finals. Remember Ogmans Eleven? Well, their former manager proved to be the quarter final opposition in charge of his new side Lionhearts and they drew 1-1 with the Ballbreakers with Per-Erik Wallander of all people scoring a free kick. That turned out to be enough as although Ogman was able to go undefeated against his former nemesis, a 0-0 in the second leg sent Ballbreakers through into the semi-finals against surprise package Luton Utd. Suna’s side were making waves on their debut and managed to get a 1-1 draw in the first leg. With the Ballbreakers seemingly set to be hamstrung by a Change Report on the day of the Second Leg, things didn’t look too good but despite this ShaggyDude’s side pulled through to win 3-0 and reach the final against former champions Avd 53.

It was then that the biggest shock in the club’s history occurred… ShaggyDude forgot to set tactics for the XCL Final. An extraordinary set of events, but despite this the Ballbreakers held up surprisingly well against a side with some of the most extraordinarily highest skilled midfielders ever, a 20 bar free kick taker in Helge Wilander and a player with the same potential in Sylvester Acreman. It wasn’t until 76 minutes when Theodore Piton gave Avd the lead but Ballbreakers equalised to take the game to extra time. However, once again, the Ballbreakers lost on penalties.

The big mystery after kick off however was where ShaggyDude could have been? It turns out that he was away in South America on the very day that the XCL Final was due to be played and with no internet access could not log in and set tactics. Incredible and the Ballbreakers had once again failed to win the XCL. This may have also impacted their slow start to the season as they could only edge out a narrow 1-0 win over TabaX.ro before losing 1-0 to Aurora in Round 3 (round 2 got deleted). A return to form against Ataque Blitzkrieg with a 3-1 win was followed up by a 3-1 win over Glevendor FC but old rivals FC Nylyn struck again with a 3-2 victory over ShaggyDude’s side and their long run of titles was suddenly looking to be at an end. They had a strong second half to the season with a mountain of victories but could not prevent Aurora from becoming the first side since FC Nylyn to stop Ballbreakers from winning the title.

In fairness, the XCL campaign was being seen as a priority. It was the only thing they hadn’t won yet and they had to win it. Wins over the ridiculously named DIF71sGötecastleuleå, Galatasaraay and F.C. Sloga set up a final meeting with a new powerhouse side on the block, PF Stratocasters of the Dream League. In an Xpert first, both teams were from an “international” league which proved that any league could compete for the biggest prize. It was the Ballbreakers final chance to win the XCL…

…they failed thanks to a game which has cemented Duffster as one of the greatest tacticians the game has ever seen. He nailed absolutely everything about that match against ShaggyDude’s men and in the end deservedly won the game to become the first UK resident to win the XCL. But for Ballbreakers it was a case of what might have been.

In fact, we at the XD can bring you a recreation of the squad that would have gone into the Hall of Fame (aside from player SQs) appearing in the Hall of Fame format. This recreation was done using skill values obtained from an image published by former X11 manager Vandamage, who published the tactics reports from knockout matches in the XCL that season in the forums. One of the images also included a screenshot of many XCL squads at the time but due to the image host becoming a subscription service the image is no longer available. Fortunately, we here at the XD were able to record the skill values of the Ballbreakers a long time ago and this is what the team looked like in their third attempt at winning the XCL.



It turned out to be their last shot at winning the XCL as the team began to decline after that. They were still winning titles in the Master League but the departure of Kyle Owens and Max Lindholm proved that their days were numbered. Then the mass retirement scandal of late 2010 saw Nikolas Adehof, Thomas Westwood, Fearghal Whiteside and Frank Einstein all retire leaving the team with barely a competitive line-up left. With the Ballbreakers course run and having failed in his objective, ShaggyDude resigned as manager and was succeeded by Bofster. The Ballbreakers also lost the league title to Absolut Futbol and would never win the league again.
 
Bofster could not prevent the Ballbreakers from being relegated from the top flight, but little did they know at the time that they would be taken over by the manager who won the league in the season that they were relegated. That seemed a bit farfetched when the legacy of franzie and ShaggyDude threatened to be tainted by the resignation of Bofster and the takeover by Pantunes, who changed the name to AD Ponte Barca and the team was shoved into decline. Looking to strengthen his resources, Pantunes brought old players like Yongchaiyudh Chamlong, Vladislav Vasiljevic, Charles Tusken, Lance McDonald and Howard Ingleby. The team struggled against relegation and after Pantunes resigned and was replaced by Dempek, things took a turn for the worst as they were relegated again. They had gone from a really strong side with plenty of potential to rebuild again into an absolute mess with little resale value and in serious danger of going out of business. The players signed in Season 22 were moved on in Season 23 in favour of slightly more skilled players who were very old like Per-Erik Wallstrom, Norris Kilner and Povel Bjorkengren. Bert-Ola Fridolfsson, now a 28/16, was extremely out of place in a side like this but the Master League’s most successful side seemed destined for the scrapheap if things carried on the way they were going.
 
After Dempek’s resignation, the current manager stepped in…

XD: What made you decide to leave Huge Pythons behind and take over FC Ballbreakers?

Fenn: At a time when a number of former league winners were failing and being deleted, I wanted to preserve the team and its history, it was as simple as that. I didn't feel I was going to progress the Pythons any further - the squad had reached the "conveyor" I was looking for and I'd won the league and cup with them. The Ballbreakers were falling into disrepair and were pretty much doomed to relegation from Division 2 when I joined.

Having inherited a squad with little resemblance to the one that won the league apart from an ageing Wallander, midfielders Hoyle and McKechnie and striker Pidgley, Fenn set about building his own side in a different manner from the sustainable principles his previous side had been built on. He got rid of many of the deadwood players in the squad in his first season as well as selling the best players to raise funds with the intention of building a brand new team. In Season 25, the man tasked with being the “new Wallander” came to the club, 17 year old Pete Shilton. As a 17/4 he didn’t look like much at first, but he was instantly made first choice goalkeeper despite signing experienced keeper Ninnian Finnan from Bolt Thrower.

XD: What made you decide to make Shilton your first choice goalkeeper at the age of 17?

Fenn: Maximum game time = maximum development. I wanted to overhaul the squad and was prepared to accept relegation to do it (although I was making an effort to win games wherever possible). I knew I'd need to have some of the best players in the Master League to make the team truly competitive again, and the goalie is always a good place to start.

FC Ballbreakers fell down the divisions under Richardfenn as a complete rebuild was undertaken, with all the older players shipped out and new young players recruited, with some older players to help balance average age. Still, the consecutive relegations brought the team all the way down to Division 5 by 2013 and for a single season, the team was renamed “FC Manmarkers” due to Fenn feeling that he wasn’t living up to the Ballbreakers name by the consecutive relegations. This season also turned out to be the turning point as the team began a gradual climb back up the divisions again.

By this point, Pete Shilton was a 22 year old goalkeeper, going on 23 but already averaging 12 skill. This despite starting out at just 4 skill, vindicating Richardfenn’s decision to make him first choice. After Season 30, FC Ballbreakers produced one of the best Change Reports in Master League history after recording 9 double jumps across the board. While not all of these players remained as Fenn took the opportunity to cash in on some to boost the bank balance and still retain a very strong side for the future, he also left the striker spot open as a farming spot to ensure that the team would generate cash season on season. The likes of Andre Volant, Kasper Elm, Tolet Elmejor, Sid Whiteside and Hannu Kantola all joined in the hope of being the next Emile Pidgley only to be shown the door.

The Ballbreakers’ progression back up from Division 4 onwards was aided by the purchase of highly skilled midfielders Holger Bergfeldt and Bernie Flander as well as 17 bar defender Reine Faltskog to help the team climb while the young players matured. Some of them were already maturing into very good players as Egon Arnesen, Edgar Hysen and Glenn Roed suggested a bright new future for FC Ballbreakers. However, they failed to get promoted in Season 32 after losing the play-offs. The Ballbreakers however, bounced back and won the Division 4 title the following season.

Division 3 proved to be tough going and the team were only able to finish in 4th place in their first season back at this level. Felix Vazquez was purchased to add defensive strength but Hysen was now the same skill level as 15 bar Vazquez. Injury problems in midfield forced the purchase of a standby midfielder, but Season 35 was a better one for the Ballbreakers as they won the Division 3 title and were now on course to get back to the Master League if they could overcome Division 2.

Division 2 was another struggle for the Ballbreakers. The team was now starting to mature but the team could only finish 4th, prompting the recruitment of a new lead striker in Franz Fahrni. The following season didn’t see much progress either as they could only finish 5th, that said the team did have to lock horns with an extremely talented side by the name of Babswintodaymaybe, so the delayed progress might have a say in that.

However, in Season 38 the team finally returned to Division 1 level in somewhat fortuitous circumstances, after a win over another former Master League giant in CCCP following yuran forgetting to set up for such a huge game, enabled the Ballbreakers to jump Dotterel and win automatic promotion to Division 1. And so we come to the present day, at the time of this article’s publication, FC Ballbreakers sit in 3rd place after 5 games following an excellent start to life in Division 1 where they won the first three games, but they have faltered recently having lost the last two, albeit to the two teams currently above them in the table. Will the Ballbreakers be back in the top flight any soon? Time is arguably running out for the team…

Here is the modern Ballbreakers side:

 

XD: Aside from Shilton, are there any other players in your own version of Ballbreakers that have stood out to you?

Fenn: Hysén and Sivok are both prime examples of why HT can be such a significant benefit.

XD: You are currently in Division 1 and have made a solid start to the season. All in all, how would you say your time with FC Ballbreakers has gone?

Fenn: Probably around 6/10. I feel like I've turned the squad around reasonably well from their original position, and
progressed them as far as I personally can. I'm frustrated I've not gotten the team higher up the divisions sooner - a few of the players are now past 30, but the team is largely at its peak. If I can find the right players to get the team funds below 6m (and I find that a remarkably annoying rule) then I'd have no qualms rejoining Huge Pythons or maybe joining gildar's old side, who themselves are going through a slump.

So concludes the story of the most successful Master League side in history. The ChrillzmeisteR are building their own dynasty right now, a dynasty threatened to be challenged by Babswintodaymaybe, and several other teams like CCCP, Black Sheep Albion, FC Mong II and Assault on Dark Athena have all won multiple titles but when it comes to the Master League, only one team will ever stand out.

That team is FC Ballbreakers.