If you want to know what FC Manic perfection really looks like, best to ask all the teams they ran over along the way.

“There was no rough play, it was just great soccer” admits Branden Nakhjavani, leader of the C4A Division’s second-seed Nerazzurri, a club that was downright mauled 8-1 during their first and only encounter against the division leaders back in January. “It seems like every player knows where each other’s teammate is. They are a hard team to deal with.”

The term tough sledding would be an understatement. FC Manic have outscored their opponents by a combined season average of roughly seven goals to one. They have seven forwards with double-digit goal tallies. And while speculating on a potential championship rematch remains a fool’s errand given the quarterfinals have yet to get underway, Nakhjavani insists playing “solid defense” would be Nerazzuri’s only hope.

First up on the Manic FC chopping block, turnaround story Chags FC are confident a tailored strategy and a deeper bench will offer them more than just a hope and a prayer in their first ever playoff game in existence.

“An upset might be looming,” declares Daniel Powell, invoking the ghosts of Super Bowl 2017 and super fan Matthew Martino with a perfect blend of delusion and humour. “The key to beating this Goliath is (forward) David Rady. He has been plagued by injuries and Calculus homework. Looking forward to him scoring at least one goal in this game. Expect the stands to be full for one of the biggest upsets in Totalcampo’s history – because 16-1-0 is no better than 7-7-3.”

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