Mr. Second Place: An Autobiographical Tale of Alvin Allen (Fifa 13)

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League Leaders
by Dave Seville

Soccer Leaders - Updated: Aug 22, 2012
Goals		Assists
1. Allen - Chicago Fire	17	1. Convey - Sporting KC	8
2. Convey - Sporting KC	16	2. Sepong - Sporting KC	7
3. Wondolowski - San Jose	12	3. Allen - Chicago Fire	6
4. Johnson - Seattle Sounders	11	4. Pardo - Chicago Fire	6
5. Kandji - Houston Dynamo	11	5. McCarty - New York	6
Clean Sheets		MVP Race
1. Gruenebuom - Columbus Crew	12	1. Convey - Sporting KC
2. Hall - Houston Dynamo	10	2. Allen - Chicago Fire
3. Rimando - Real Salt Lake	8	3. Wondolowski - San Jose
4. Gspuning - Seattle Sounders	8	4. Sepong - Sporting KC
5. Kennedy - Chivas USA	8	5. Gruenebuom - Columbus Crew

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I came home after a long day of practice to once again find a visitor in my condo. Quinn sat on my couch, gazing at me with sad eyes.
"What do you want?" I yelled half-heartedly. In truth, part of me was happy to see her, but I wasn't about to let her see that. Those childish emotions have a strange way of coming out when you love someone.
She stood up and began to pace. "Alvin, I work for the DEA. We've been monitoring Theodore and his organization for quite some time," she sighed. "Its taken me a long time to get to the point where he trusts me, and I can't throw it away for the sake of our...involvement with each other."
"Well what can I do, Quinn?" I angrily said, "He's got my family!"
She strode over to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "Alvin, you're going to have to play along. I've spoken to my contact on the outside and they know your not a part of this. We need your help to find out what Theo is planning to do."
"What do you mean?" I questioned. "I'm not a cop."
"No you're not," she said, "but think about it. Why is Theo so interested in you? Yeah you can travel, but what's the catch? I have a feeling he is working on something big and needs you, thats why he didn't kill you and instead just had your brother thrown in jail." She looked in my eyes. "Alvin, you hold more power in this thing than you know. Find out what Theo wants, and I'll make sure to cover you on my end. Looks like somehow, we've become partners in this, kid."
I sat down on the couch she just vacated and put my hands to my head.
"Ugh, all I wanted to do was play soccer," I groaned.
She sat next to me and kissed my cheek. "Don't worry Alvin, you'll get through this. I'll be in touch."
She left as quickly as she came, leaving me sitting there wondering what on earth had I gotten myself into?

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Went H.A.M. on the my player games. Massive update coming. Here we go...

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Aug 22, 2012 - Chicago Fire vs DC United
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
Chicago Fire (14-4-6)	1	0	1
DC United (11-5-8)	0	0	0

Team Stats Comparison
Chicago Fire		DC United
1	Goals	0
6	Shots	3
5	Shots on Target	1
6	Tackles	8
0	Fouls	1
0	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
0	Injuries	0
83%	Shot Accuracy	33%
92%	Passing Percentage	90%

DC United is fighting for the last spot in the MLS playoffs. Today, the Fire came to town and put a halt to those plans. The Fire were looking for revenge from the beginning, and controlled the possession for the duration of the game. The score is deceiving, as this game was never close. In the 15', Allen pushed the ball up the wing. He cut back and left it for Rolfe in the middle, who sent a beautiful through ball to Nyarko for the finesse shot past the keeper Hamid. The Fire wouldn't look back, as a strong game from Jumper and Friedrich on the back line helped prevent the United squad from getting through. The Fire win this one easily, 1-0.

Notable Allen statistics:
6.0 Rating
0 shots

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#1 vs. #2 Eastern Conference Battle

The MLS Game of the Week found us in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Fire looked to take over first place in the Eastern Conference from the Houston Dynamo. The game began at a furious pace, as the Fire took immediate possession and roared down the field. As the back line pushed forward, the Fire began to probe the defense for a soft spot, and found it as Pardo slid the ball through to Alex right in front of the net. He put it away easily and the Fire took a 1-0 lead. The Fire would again regain possession after the first goal and take it right down the pitch. Alex would find Thompson on a gorgeous one time shot that rattled off the post and rolled into the net. It looked like the Fire would once again have a smooth victory and continue their winning streak.

Houston's manager Dominic Kinnear quickly changed strategy to put his boys on an all out attack. It worked, because in the 26', Segares took down Garcia in the box and earned a yellow card in the process. Gracia would put the PK past Johnson for the 2-1 goal. Houston would continue to press forward, as Garcia dribbled past defenders finiding himself one on one with Johnson. He faked left, then sent a back heel pass to Bruin for a one timer that left the keeper standing there with no chance to defend. The halftime whistle sounded at 2-2 all.

The Fire would need a spark, and found it in their young striker Alvin Allen. Allen worked the ball up the left side of the field with Alex. Then, he took off on all all out sprint off the give and go, cut back left, and sent in a wonderful shot to the bottom left corner with his strong left foot that put the Fire up 3-2. The Dynamo would do their all to equalize, especially in 75' when Bruin sent a ball off the post off a long build up that had the Fire back line nervous. Late in the game, the Fire would put it away on a counter attack where Alex would break free, putting the ball just out of the reach of the keeper Hall, who had definitely not had his best night as a pro. The Fire would win this game and take possession of 1st place.

Aug 28, 2012 - Houston Dynamo vs Chicago Fire
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
Houston Dynamo (15-6-6)	2	0	2
Chicago Fire (15-4-6)	2	2	4

Team Stats Comparison
Houston Dynamo		Chicago Fire
2	Goals	4
5	Shots	11
2	Shots on Target	8
8	Tackles	3
0	Fouls	1
0	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
0	Injuries	0
40%	Shot Accuracy	72%
86%	Passing Percentage	94%

Goals:
7' Alex
18' Thompson
26' Garcia (PK)
32' Bruin
61' Allen
86' Alex

Notable Allen statistics:
6.8 Rating
Goal: 61'
2 shots, both on target

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by Dave Seville

MLS Transfer Deadline Recap

Notable MLS Transfers - Updated: Aug 31, 2012
Seattle Sounders	OUT	Chicago Fire	IN
1. Montero		1. Babalj
2. Gspurning		2. Richards
3. -		3. Frick
4. -		4. -
5. +11.1 mil		5. -1.175 mil
Houston Dynamo	IN	DC United	OUT
1. Ljuboja		1. Hamid
2. Richards		2. -
3. Beugre		3. -
4. -		4. -
5. -1.7 mil		5. +1.9 mil
LA Galaxy	OUT	NY Red Bulls	IN
1. McBean		1. Aycicek
2. -		2. Ronaldo
3. -		3. -
4. -		4. -
5. +550K		5. -3.0 mil
Vancouver Whitecaps	IN	FC Dallas	IN
1. Al Fahmi		1. Aseri
2. -		2. Leleu
3. -		3. -
4. -		4. -
5. -1.2 mil		5. -1.225 mil

Today's transfer deadline day ended with a few surprises for American soccer
fans. The biggest of all would come from first place Seattle, as both forward Fredy Montero and goalkeeper Michael Gspurning would find themselves sold from the first place team in the Western Conference. Another keeper is on the move as well, as Hamid from DC United has found himself sold for a rumored 1.9 million dollar price tag to Derby County.
What may have been strangest of all is the continued battle of Alvin Allen with management. Swansea City, Palermo, and Liverpool all put in offers for the 18 year old striker, but all of these offers were rumored to be rejected by the MLS star. Palermo was said to have offered 7 million for the player, but I cannot confirm that number at this time. Either way, the Fire may have just overstocked on the striker position by adding two young forwards that would have taken Allen's place. Will the back log cut into his playing time? We'll have to see, as the Fire are now stuck with Allen until the end of the MLS season, and frankly, I think its a good problem to have as this player is extremely talented.

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Sep 12, 2012 - Chicago Fire vs Toronto FC
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
Chicago Fire (16-4-6)	0	1	1
Toronto FC (11-5-11)	0	1	1

*Missed Match Facts*

The Fire were off to Toronto on a huge high after beating Houston. Toronto caught them napping as they jumped all over the Fire, holding a staggering amount of possession time. The hometown team would work Tornaghi with two quick shot attempts, but neither would get past the 6'3 beast early. The half would sound without the Fire taking a shot on goal. The goaless streak would finally end in the 55', when Alex hit a volley off of a corner kick that bounced straight off the keeper right in front of Thompson who would not miss the rebound. As the Fire looked poised to escape with the win on their lazy effort, Amarikwa would grab the ball and dribble all the way from his box, up the right side, past the defenders, and into the opposing sides box toput away a rocket right footed shot for the equalizer. The game would end this way, tied, 1-1.

*Editor's note- that Amarikwa goal was one of the most infuriating goals ever. The CPU basically decided they were going to score and he dribbled pretty much through my entire team.*

Notable Allen statistics:
6.0 Rating
2 shots off target
Pretty much a non-factor in this game

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Sep 15, 2012 - Montreal Impact vs Chicago Fire
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
Montreal Impact (4-11-14)	0	0	0
Chicago Fire (16-5-6)	2	1	3

Team Stats Comparison
Montreal Impact		Chicago Fire
0	Goals	3
4	Shots	9
0	Shots on Target	6
7	Tackles	3
1	Fouls	0
0	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
0	Injuries	0
0	Shot Accuracy	66%
86%	Passing Percentage	93%

The Impact must have forgot there was a soccer game today because all game they watched the Fire players go by and do absolutely nothing about it. The hometown Fire put their foot on the gas and never took it off. In the 7' Allen missed a penalty kick wide. That was the last highlight of the day for the Impact. All made up for his miss with a rocket left footed strike after crossing up Rivas like he was on a basketball court. Allen would next send in a key pass to Pardo, who found Rolfe cutting back door for the through pass and another goal. Allen would then add an assist to Alex, putting the Impact out of their misery in the 90'. The 3-0 beatdown finds the Impact looking for answers and the Fire on the road to a number 1 seed in the East.

Notable Allen statistics:
9.7 Rating
Goals: 36'
Assists: 1
5 shots, 4 on target
Man of the Match