Episode 1: Your leagues, your races and a code word

Kick-off

Ida: The voices in this podcast are AI-generated.

Malte: The stories are not. They all really happened. This week.

Malte: Hello and welcome to the Kickoff League Show! I'm Malte.

Ida: And I'm Ida. Hi!

Malte: Ida, this is our very first episode in English.

Ida: Hello, world!

Malte: And we start with a promise: almost no Super League today. Because nobody human plays up there.

Ida: True. From the Super League down to the Gold League, every club is run by the game itself. Not a single manager.

Malte: So today it's all about you. Silver, Bronze and the District League. Where real people rebuild their line-up in the middle of the night.

Ida: Which means I don't have to hear your Super League predictions.

Malte: I don't make predictions.

Ida: Of course you don't.

Malte: Today: your leagues, your topics, tips for the market. And for the first time, a code word.

Ida: And I hear you have a new segment.

Malte: I do. Club name of the week.

Ida: Malte, no.

Malte: Malte, yes.

Silver League: three clubs heading up

Malte: Let's start at the top. As high as real managers play right now. The Silver League, League five, group one.

Ida: And something special is happening there. The top three places are all held by clubs with a manager. And all three are through.

Malte: Through meaning?

Ida: Fourth place has forty-two points. Even with five wins they can only reach fifty-seven. Third place, Mbesa United, already has sixty-one.

Malte: So next season, three clubs with a manager move up to the Gold League.

Ida: As things stand, yes. And right now there isn't a single one in the Gold League.

Malte: The first expedition to the top.

Ida: And they showed each other no mercy this week. Mbesa lost four two to the club in second. Then Mbesa beat the leaders two nil. And the leaders beat second place three nil.

Malte: Everyone beats everyone. Like rock, paper, scissors.

Ida: Just with more goals. All three have scored over a hundred.

Malte: So what are they still playing for?

Ida: The title. The leaders have seventy points, second place sixty-six. And second place sold three Diamonds this week. Almost eight hundred thousand coins in total.

Malte: Someone is clearing out the basement before moving house.

Malte: One level down, Silver League two. Group one. There was a change at the top this week.

Ida: The Busdrivers. Twenty-two wins, just one defeat. They overtook the old leaders by a single point.

Ida: And third place has sixty-one. Three places go up. But on Wednesday evening the Busdrivers have to travel to exactly that third-placed team.

Malte: So the bus is going on an away trip.

Ida: Malte.

Malte: What? That was a good one.

Ida: In group two there's a club that hasn't lost all season. Twenty-three wins, two draws, zero defeats.

Malte: And who has the best chance to change that?

Ida: Roter Stern Rummelsburg. Second, eight points behind. And on Tuesday at four in the afternoon, German time, the leaders come to visit.

Malte: Remember Tuesday. We'll come back to it.

Bronze and District League: concrete, flags and a locomotive

Malte: Now the Bronze League. And Ida, earlier you told me something about concrete.

Ida: Bronze League, group four. FAT FC. Twenty-five games. Twenty-two wins, three draws.

Malte: And?

Ida: Nine goals conceded. In twenty-five games.

Malte: Nine!

Malte: Their keeper must fall asleep, because nothing ever comes his way.

Ida: He probably brings a book.

Malte: And where is it really tight?

Ida: Bronze League, group five. Four clubs, three promotion places. Three points between first and fourth.

Malte: Three points for four clubs.

Ida: Right in the middle: Red Flag Flensburg. Sixty-three points and ninety-seven goals, the most in the group. On Friday they face the team level on points in third. And on the final day, the leaders.

Malte: Whoever made this fixture list loves drama.

Ida: Group three isn't any calmer. TSV Denstorf and Lokomotive Dümpelbach both have fifty-nine points.

Malte: Lokomotive Dümpelbach.

Ida: I can see you smiling.

Ida: And by the way, they are anything but sleepy. A nine nil win this week. And only twenty goals conceded all season. On Saturday the two of them meet.

Malte: Level on points, head to head. Now that's a final.

Ida: And in the District League, forty-nine groups are already finished. Their season ended on Saturday.

Malte: And how did the humans do?

Ida: Really well. In thirty-one of those groups, a club with a manager became champion. All in all, fifty clubs run by managers are promoted.

Malte: And now, Ida. Are you ready?

Ida: No.

Malte: Club name of the week!

Ida: How many have you got?

Malte: Three. In third place: SC Lattenknaller. That means crossbar smasher. Second in their group. In second place: Ugah Krah United. I have no idea how you chant that, but I want to hear it in a stadium.

Ida: And number one?

Malte: Lokomotive Eigentor. Eigentor means own goal. Third place. With a shot at promotion.

Ida: A club called Own Goal is sitting in a promotion spot.

Malte: That's a healthy sense of humour.

Ida: Or they just haven't scored one yet.

What the community talked about

Malte: Now something more serious. What kept you busy this week? We looked at the open topics list and into the community chat. Ida?

Ida: Clearly: rarity and leagues. Since October twenty-ninth, new Diamonds only come in from League five upwards. New Legendary players from League three, Icons only in League one. On the market, in scouting, in packs, youth and rewards.

Malte: And that came in the middle of the season.

Ida: That was the main criticism. Many wrote: you said the season would be played out in peace. And the team has openly said: yes, that was a contradiction. The reasons given were fair leagues and a buying spree right before the cut-off date.

Malte: What does that mean for clubs that already have Diamonds?

Ida: This matters, because there were misunderstandings. If you had players in your squad on October twenty-ninth, you keep them. Permanently. And they play without any penalty.

Malte: But some managers saw their Diamonds suddenly become unhappy. With a transfer request and minus twenty percent.

Ida: That was a bug, and it was fixed the same day. Rare players below their home league no longer get a transfer request or a penalty for it.

Malte: And can your own players still level up? Say, from Gold to Diamond?

Ida: Yes, up to and including November ninth. For players who were already at the club on the cut-off date, the old limits apply until then, with the usual requirements.

Malte: Someone also wrote: all of this only applies from next season.

Ida: That's not quite right. The limit for new Diamonds applies now. What comes with the season change is that your own players are bound to the league as well. And that's where you come in.

Malte: The vote.

Ida: How should Diamonds work in League six from season five? Four options. Strict, like now. Your own players may develop into Diamonds. The same plus a head start for promoted clubs. Or a quota for everyone.

Malte: Until when?

Ida: Until Thursday, November fifth, eight in the evening, German time. One vote per club, and you can change it until then. The result is only shown at the end, so everyone votes for their own opinion. On November sixth, the rules for season five will be set.

Malte: And whatever the outcome?

Ida: Existing players are protected. Nobody loses players they already have. And the head start is on the list because promoted clubs in League six meet teams that keep their Diamonds. Both sides have good reasons.

Malte: Next topic. Ads.

Ida: The feedback was: too much. Something every time you log in. Since the twenty-ninth there's a brake on that. At most one notice a day, nothing around your matches, real-money offers only on their own pages. And supporters see no ad pop-ups.

Malte: What else?

Ida: Friendlies. One manager noticed that his thirty-two-year-old centre-back keeps losing an attribute point after friendlies.

Malte: And is that intended?

Ida: That's still open. Someone in the community already answered that it's on purpose. But it hasn't been officially confirmed, the team is looking into it.

Malte: And then there was the match you simply can't lose.

Ida: Yes. The opponent down to nine men from the thirty-fourth minute, more possession, at home. And still lost.

Malte: How does that happen?

Ida: Possession doesn't score goals. In the end, it's the chances and how good they are. But honestly, the match report makes that hard to follow right now. Making the tactics breakdown easier to understand is listed as planned in the open topics. There is no date, so we won't promise one. By the way, you can weight every topic there, the youth academy proposal too. Every club counts the same.

Tips and tricks: market and contracts

Malte: Now my favourite part. Ida, who should we be looking at?

Ida: First a rule, so nobody burns coins. You can buy Gold in any league, Diamonds only from League five. So I looked at Gold and Silver.

Malte: And?

Ida: As of Monday morning. Muhammed Ceylan. Seventeen, defensive midfielder, Gold, overall seventy-seven. He's being sold by a club from the Masters League. Starting price just under forty-five thousand. Not a single bid yet. The auction ends on Wednesday, just after midnight, German time.

Malte: Seventy-seven at seventeen. And nobody's bidding?

Ida: Nobody. Then Erik Van Kempen. Sixteen, right-back, Gold, seventy-five. From the Diamond League. One bid so far, ends early on Tuesday.

Malte: And for those on a budget?

Ida: Silver. Ricardo Ramos, eighteen, striker, Silver, overall sixty-eight. From just over ten thousand coins.

Malte: Ten thousand!

Malte: And contracts? I often hear: free transfers only work in the second half of the season.

Ida: That's not how the game works. If a player's contract runs out at the end of this season or the next, your offer goes straight to the player. As a contract offer. There's no minimum fee then. You can set the fee to zero.

Malte: And then he says yes?

Ida: It depends. If he belongs to a club run by the game, he says yes when your wage offer is at least eighty percent of his current wage. If the club has a manager, the manager decides. Player swaps don't work here, and the league limits for Diamonds still apply.

Malte: And where do you find these players?

Ida: Hardly at the clubs run by the game. They usually extend their good players in time. The interesting contracts are with you: at clubs with a manager, one hundred and ninety-one players of Silver or better run out at the end of the season.

Malte: So the tip actually works the other way round.

Ida: Exactly. Check your own squad first. Anyone without an extension on November ninth becomes a free agent afterwards. And free agents are up for grabs for everyone.

Malte: So extend. Don't think too long.

Ida: Unlike your passes.

Malte: Long balls!

Ida: Stop it.

Join in: code word and your questions

Malte: And now something new. Ida, tell them.

Ida: From this episode on, there's a code word. If you listen, you can enter it in the game and get a small thank-you.

Malte: No draw. Everyone who enters it gets it.

Ida: Exactly. Fifteen hundred coins. Once per club and episode. Your club needs to be at least a week old.

Malte: And where?

Ida: At beanlings dot com, slash kickoff, slash podcast. Logged in with your club.

Malte: And the code word is?

Ida: Corner flag.

Malte: Corner flag. Like the flag in the corner.

Ida: Malte, where else would a corner flag be?

Malte: Just making sure. The code word is valid for two weeks.

Ida: And there's one more thing. A page for your questions to us. Anything you've always wanted to know about Kickoff, or a story from your club.

Malte: You'll find it at beanlings dot com, slash kickoff, slash podcast, slash questions.

Ida: And there you choose yourself: we say your club name, your manager name, or no name at all.

Malte: We only say your manager name if you explicitly choose it. Promise.

A word from us

Malte: A quick word from us. Ida, you brought something.

Ida: Yes. Over at pinnry there's an online advent calendar you can give as a gift. Twenty-four doors with your own messages, from four ninety-nine euros. The plus version also takes photos and short videos. The person who gets it needs no app and no account.

Malte: For the grandma who never misses a match.

Ida: For example. You'll find it at pinnry dot com, under online advent calendar. And for anyone who still likes it spooky: the Halloween calendar runs until November fifteenth.

Malte: And one more word about supporters.

Ida: Supporters help keep Kickoff free for everyone. It's not a must. If you just play along, you're every bit as much part of the stands.

Malte: You'll find how it works in the game under Kickoff Pro. And to everyone who's already in: thank you. From the heart.

Ida: We only mention names here if someone explicitly wants us to. So today, no names.

Looking ahead

Malte: Finally: the week ahead. Five matchdays left, and on November ninth the season changes.

Ida: And Tuesday is a big one. At half past two in the afternoon, German time, in the District League: SV Barbarenbande against the leaders of their group. They've conceded only eight goals in twenty-five games.

Malte: The barbarians against the wall.

Ida: At four, Roter Stern Rummelsburg against the unbeaten side from Silver League two. And at seven in the Bronze League: Roter Stern Sossenheim against Insomnia. First against second, three points apart.

Malte: Insomnia at seven in the evening. They'll have only just woken up.

Ida: And on Saturday, Denstorf against Dümpelbach.

Malte: My tip: Dümpelbach. If you can win nine nil, you can win one nil.

Ida: I'll say Rummelsburg on Tuesday. Every streak ends some day.

Malte: You say that every time.

Ida: And one day I'll be right.

Malte: That was the Kickoff League Show. Remember the code word: corner flag. And vote in the poll, until Thursday, eight in the evening.

Ida: Bye! And if you're Lokomotive Eigentor: chin up.

Malte: And long balls!

Ida: Malte!