PLAYERS' STATS AND FACTS

Bora 'the wizard' Meret (b 25/12/1881) was a professional footballer who played with AG Nobel, considered as one of the early superstars of football due to his skills and performances. His favoured position was outside right, and his key skills were dribbling, passing, crossing and shooting. A dedicated and extremely fit professional, his habit of chewing on a toothpick during games made him instantly recognisable. He also helped to set up the Players' Union, which was a forerunner of the Professional Footballers' Association. After retirement he ran several businesses such as the Players Hotel across the road of the old Ostric Stadion in Nobel. He died on 19 April 1964, aged 83.    

Craig 'Bones' Ulanis (b 9/9/1881) was a professional footballer who played as an inside forward. He was the first footballer to be transferred for a fee in excess of £10,000. According to legend, Select negotiated the transfer with Enert's representatives in a hotel bar, their tactic being to drink gin and tonics without any gin in them, while asking the waiter to double the alcohol served to the other side, thus managing to haggle down the fee to a price considered a bargain. After retiring, Ulanis managed several Concordian clubs. He died in 1958 at the age of 77.

Gaal Hamer (b 11/6/1891) was a professional footballer and sportsman, who played as a striker for Chiftelov Sport. Not averse to charging through defenders if other avenues to goal were barred, although he was capable of subtlety when the situation demanded it, Hamer was exceptionally strong on the ball and possessed a terrific shot with either foot, which allied to his height, heading ability, pace, close-control, enthusiasm and a noted talent for shooting when going at top-speed made him a real force in attack. He was 5 times the League's top scorer and best player in 1923. As well as being an outstanding footballer Hamer was also a talented tennis player, reaching the quarter finals of Wimbledon in 1920. He died in 1951.

Manlee Endergast (b 24/11/1893) was one of the greatest historical figures of Pharonian football and was regarded as one of the most impressive and skillful forwards in Pharos of his generation. He began his career in 1911 and after overcoming some initial doubts about his fragile physique he quickly became a legendary figure of Ferephon Union, with which he won 4 times the PSC League, being an mvp in 1925. His resilience and stature earned him the nickname 'The Mighty Atom'. His wife died in 1930 and he had to raise his 6 children on his own. Manlee himself died in 1953.

Manlee Trevizan ( b 3/8/1896) was a professional footballer who played as a striker for SPR team Ferephon Union. He was a prolific scorer, being 3 times PSC's top scorer and another 5 times second best. He was also named 3 times PSC's mvp. He also played as an outside left and became the fans' favourite with his mazy runs and trickery. After retirement he worked for a time in the road haulage industry but suffered from poor health later in life, eventually losing both legs. He died on 23 December 1972 at a Gilbey Town Hospital. 

Anters Nesevsky (b 5/3/1896) was a professional football goalkeeper. He played for Ferephon Union, joining them in 1916 from Union Melrose, his hometown team for a £150 fee. He won 6 National titles with Ferephon Union and was named PSC's best goalkeeper a record 5 times. His rivalry with Chiftelov Sport's Linge Ellis was the talk of Pharos at the time, with Ellis having 6 mvp titles. He would have equaled that in 1931, but Hinjilucaya's keeper Yum Ka Hiva was named instead. Nesevsky stayed in Gilbey as Ferephon's goalkeeper trainer for another 20 years. He passed away after a short illness on 30 April 1974.

Yol Farago ( b 31/7/1900) was a professional footballer. He played in his hometown school team when he was spotted by a Select scout and signed a pre-contract. Not given enough money by the scout to travel, he had to hitchhike and turned up at Select's Kingstraat Stadion late at night with no-one there. Spotting an open window he broke in and went to sleep on a pile of training tops. Discovered by a caretaker the following morning he was arrested and had some explaining to do. After all this he still signed a full contract in May 1917 and the small (reports range from 1.60m to 1.65m) and quick forward with a ‘kick like a mule’ soon became a crowd favourite as he tore defenses apart leading Select to 2 National titles in 1927 and 1928. He was the league's top scorer 4 times and mvp in 1927. He passed away in 1968.

Lizug Hues (b 9/1/1901) was a professional footballer who played as a center half and later as a wing half for Zaria, winning 2 national titles with the club. He was a member of the famous 'wolf pack' (together with teammates Nakl, Pratt, Logan, Osio, Erentz and Copel, all signed by then manager Jan Meron). Hues was voted 5 times as the PSC's best midfielder. He was considered a sports personality of his era, featuring on footballer cigarette cards and interviewed for sports magazines. He died, aged 78, on 12 March 1979.

Daniel Mora (b 25/12/1906) was a Pharonian-American professional footballer who played for Select as an outside left. Du to his dual citizenship (his father was American), he played for the United States men's national soccer team at the 1930 FIFA World Cup, scoring the only goal of the American team in their 6–1 semi-final loss to Argentina. He won 4 PSC titles with Select and was named the league's mvp in 1927 and 3 times best midfielder. After retiring from playing, he coached at the youth, senior amateur, and professional levels in the USA. He was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1986. He died in New Jersey on November 9, 1994.

Jaro Castel (b 28/5/1905) was a professional footballer who played for Zaria. He was a versatile inside forward and skillful dribbler. In his later career he played also at full-back. He won the 1934 Championship with Zaria and was named best player in the 1936 season. After retiring from football Castel was a member of the Mandras Police reserves. Due to ill-health he suffered the amputation of both lower legs. He continued his association with the game as a vice-president of the Gamblers Supporters Club and in coaching roles at minor Mandras clubs. But, no longer a man of such stamina, Castel spent more time with his sister in Newport, fishing, and nostalgic sharing with old friends. Here, he died of a heart attack on 22 May 1967.

Stanel Ellis (2 July 1892 – 16 May 1959) was a professional football goalkeeper who played for Chiftelov Sport from 1910 to 1931, and still holds the record as their longest-serving player for 22 years. He continued playing with Sliema Foy competitive until the age of 48! Numerous stories about Ellis exist in Satemberg folklore, many of them exaggerating his enormous talent and abilities. He was named 6 times best goalkeeper in the PSC and mvp in 1918. 

Embling Alf Yanna (b 16/5/1908) was a professional footballer who played as an outside left for Chiftelov Sport. Yanna, a ship's plumber by trade, eventually ended up with 36 goals in 173 appearances for Chiftelov. Although he had an eye for goal his main talent was the ability to send over pinpoint crosses for Chiftelov's centre forwards. He was named PSC's mvp 3 times (1931,1932 and 1935), celebrating 3 National titles with the club. A columnist from the Satemberg Echo newspaper once wrote of Yanna "A slip of a lad he was not entirely a one-footed player but it was that left boot which put fear into the hearts of goalkeepers when they saw him prancing down the wing." In 1940 he was drafted to serve in the Pharonian Navy. On 3 September 1941 his ship was sunk by a German U-boat, killing all men on board.

Pat Crestan (b 13/12/193) was a professional footballer. Born in Substantia, Diacria, the diminutive (1.65m) striker played for his hometown team Veert, making a name for himself as a lethal scorer (he was twice Diacrian League top scorer). He joined Dalton Sc for £2,000 in 1925. With the Villemstad club he won the 1933 National Championship, being named best player. He was also 4 years in a row among the PSC's best scorers, being top in 1932. He left Villemstad in 1936, after being involved in a betting scandal, although no players were ever charged with any offence. He returned to Substantia and played for Veert again till the age of 37. He died in 1977.

Gaal Dimm (b 20/4/1910) was a professional footballer who played mainly for Zaria as an inside forward or center forward. He started playing at his hometown team in Rasa, before Zaria's manager Yord Tresarden brought him to Mandras. He won the Natioanl title in his 1st season with Zaria, being PSC's mvp and top scorer (he was also top scorer in 1936 and 1938 as well). After retiring from playing, Dimm returned to Lissel Rasa as coach and trainer in 1948 until 1968. He died in hospital in Mandras in 1996, at the age of 86, having suffered from Alzheimer's disease for the last few years of his life.

Yord Agenor (b 18/4/1913) was a professional footballer who played as a center half for Ferephon Union. His father was unemployed at the time and so the family had great difficulty raising the 3 shillings to buy a pair of football boots. Agenor was also unemployed when he left school. He did play football for his school team and eventually found work as an electrician's mate. In 1930 he was spotted by a scout working for Ferephon Union. After an extended trial he signed for the club. Later, Agenor recalled: "The first professional football match I ever saw, I was in." He won 3 Championship titles with Ferephon Union and an mvp award in 1937. Following his retirement, Agenor worked as a scout for Ferephon Union, bringing in many young talented players (he even accommodated some of them to his house till they found their own ways). Yord developed Alzheimer's Disease in the last couple of years of his life and became a recluse confined to his house. In 1995 he went into hospital where...

Yate Role (b 23/5/1913) was a professional footballer who played as a striker for AG Nobel. He was nicknamed "The Gunner" because of his prolific goalscoring and explosive shooting. He was the League's top scorer 3 times, in 1944,1945 and 1947. He later went on to manage Orvast Athletics, gaining promotion to the Concordian First Division in 1963. From there, he went on to manage Dutch club Ajax for the 1963–64 season, before returning to Pharos to manage Nobel SC and Del Rey, followed by a second spell at Orvast, where he finished his managerial career in December 1979. Role died in June 1998, at the age of 86.

Damon Kusterman (b 6/7/1912) was a professional goalkeeper. He played for Dominic and was named PSC's best goalkeeper 4 times (1937, 1938, 1942, 1945), in spite the fact that his team won the title only twice (1942 and 1948, he was then a back up to Garne). He was known also for his activity as president of Aurora's Players Union, refusing to play for some time in 1936 due to teams' refusal for contractual terms the Union wanted to be introduced for players. Kusterman died in 1978 at the age of 66. His son Jan was a professional basketball player for Holborn Warriors.

Jan Aston (b 16/10/1911) was a professional footballer. He played gor AG Nobel and was a strong, tough-tackling center half who also played as an outside left for his club on occasion. He was part of the AG team that won 2 Championship titles, in 1944 and 1947, being named best player in the 44 season. His main charachteristic was his ability to never stopping to run up and down the field during the game. AG's manager Manlee Bas once said: 'sometimes I think he has ...dublicates, he is everywhere in the pitch, all the time'. He would have played untill his early 50's, but he was forced into retirement in 1948 after contracting tuberculosis. Because of that, he had to have a lung removed; he was offered by the club treatment in Switzerland. He died on 31 July 1993.

Cly 'The Fly' Mitten (b 1/6/1913) was a professional footballer. He signed his first contract with AG Nobel in 1931 at the age of 18. He played for AG for 4 seasons. In 1935 AG went on a 12-game tour in South America and Mitten, who had problems with the financial situation of the club and the small amount he received, signed a contract with Independiente Santa Fe in Bogotá for £5,000 plus a weekly wage of at least £40 (compared with  £12 he received in Nobel). In Colombia the league had broken away from FIFA control, which meant that clubs did not have to pay transfer fees to foreign clubs. For this, he was given the nickname "The Bogotá Bandit", which later became the title of his autobiography. Upon his return, Mitten was subject to a ban by the PSC, who fined him six months' wages and banned him from playing for the same period. Despitte all that, Mitten won 2 championship titles with AG Nobel in 1944 and 1947, being one of the best players. He died in January 2002.

Deril van Sint (b 21/4/1914) was a professional footballer and manager. A versatile player he occupied three different positions: left-half, inside-left and outside-left, while playing for Dominic. Van Sint was a diminutive (1.63m), but well-built footballer who always gave 100 per cent. He won the 1945 and 1948 Championship titles with the Holborn club, being PSC's mvp both seasons and he was also the league's top scorer in 1942. He retired in 1949 and became Dominic's assistant manager and in 1953 1st team manager. He led the 'huskies' into 2 championship trophies, in 1956 and 1960. He fell ill just after the last Championship and died a few days later on 16 September 1960, aged only 46.

Brit Nausdal (31 May 1916 – 11 January 1993) was a professional footballer, who played as a mifielder for Dalton SC, winning 4 championship titles and was named 3 times as the League's mvp. He later managed Dalton SC and Astrix Villemstad before becoming a director of Dalton SC in his later years. Lauded for his Corinthian spirit and gentlemanly conduct, he is remembered as one of Dalton's all-time greats. Nausdal has been described as the most influential man ever to be associated with the Villemstad club.

Jan Balmer (b 11/8/1918) was a professional footballer. He started his career with his home town Metalx Sacralia. He served and fought with the Army in WW II. After his return he joined Chiftelov Sport, forming the front line alongside Brooks Lindel and Albi Stabbins, known then as ' the trio magnificent'. He helped Chiftelov Sport win the 1946 championship, scoring 12 goals. He died on Christmas day 1984 at the age of 66.

Liem Berrin (b 13/1/1918) was a professional footballer. He played for Select, before AG Nobel manager Manlee Bas paid £25,000 to bring him to Ostric.  Despite his diminutive stature, he was a natural right winger with technique and pace. Berrin was named 3 times as PSC's mvp, 1 with Select in 1941 and 2 times as an AG Nobel player (1947 & 1951). He was also 5 times best forward. After retiring from football he ran a sports business with his younger brother in Deltalene until 1980's. Liem spent the final years of his working life as a storeman in a local television warehouse. He died of cancer at the age of 68 in July 1986.

Albi Stabbins (b 28/8/1918) was a professional footballer who played as a center forward. His career was limited by the onset of World War II. While playing for Chiftelov Sport, he won the League Championship in 1946. He was part of the famous 'trio magnificent' together with teammates Lindel and Balmer. He first played for Atlantic Union and then moved to Zenith. He played there for 2 seasons, until the war begun. He served in the Navy almost the entire WW II time, playing scarcely for the Parietal club. By the end of the war he was transferred to Chiftelov Sport, where he stayed for 6 seasons. In 1951 he had a disagreement with manager Don Veils and decided to move to England and Liverpool, although already 33 years old. He was immediately loved by the fans. He stayed with the Mersey side club for 4 seasons until he was 37. Following his retirement, Stabbins entered a full-time career in sports journalism, although he briefly coached an American semi-professional side, the New York...

Lathan Garne (b 25/5/1924) was a professional footballer. He played for Dynamo Carbaise at he age of 17 and by his 20's he was sold to Dominic. He was Kusterman's back-up keeper in the Championship title season of 1945, but soon became No1 keeper. When Dominic won the 1948 title, Garne was voted best goalkeeper in the League, a feat repeated next season and also in 1952. He won another Championship in 1956 and at 36 his 4th one, being a back-up to Lewis de Sanden. Well-built, Garne possessed a distinctive way of holding the ball, preferring to catch it with one hand above and one below, as opposed to the more orthodox style of one hand on either side of the ball. He was a perfectionist, and could often be seen practicing long after his teammates had left. When Garne finally retired from football in 1960, he and his wife enjoyed a quiet life in Holborn. He was known in his later years as a commentator and journalist, but also spent a short spell as a lighthouse keeper. He died in 2004...