Master League Magic
Posted by Dan Bolas in Master League Magic on Thu 14 Jan 2010
PES Fans are a nostalgic bunch in general. I don’t think there is a week goes by whereby someone doesn’t mention a previous version of the game without throwing it a compliment. Whilst everyone no doubt has their favourite game from the archives, the one feature that has been around throughout the last decade, and arguable the USP of the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise is the Master League.
In fact, the Master League started way back in 1999, meaning that for the past decade, people have been building up their teams, selling on their stars and conquering the virtual football world. As a result, the game mode has at times felt dated and is still searching for that overhaul that made the football gaming community stand up and take note at the end of the 20th century.
The purpose of this feature is to capture some of the stories, the events and the magic moments of the PESGaming.com’s communties Master League experiences. This could be anything from a young signing who went on to be the world superstar after a shakey start with your club, or the journeyman midfielder who went on a 6 game goal streak to carry your team to the title. The stories are up to you, and whilst I have a fair few of my own, I would rather be publishing your features and tales from the past 10 years of the Master League.
The rules are simple, send your story, which can be no less than 250 words but no more than 500, to interferingwithplay@hotmail.co.uk. Make sure to include your name (either real name, screen name or both), your location (city and country) and which version of PES you are talking about. Other details such as you age, console and any other information can be included if you so wish. Try and make you story enjoyable to read, as I will do very little editing to them unless necessary. This feature will run for around two months, until the start of the Interfering With Play League, and will act as an alternative to the focus this site will be putting on PES 2011 over the next few months. Get your stories penned, and to get the ball rolling…
Dan Bolas, Wolverhampton, England.
Pro Evolution Soccer (Playstation One)
My story relates to my very first Master League, on the very first PES to include the feature. I was in charge of Inter Milan, and had a very shakey start which included the flop signing of David Trezeguet. During the first season, a mid table finish was my realtistic aim, and the second season saw a top 6 finish, as a steadily built my squad. I had brought a very attacking side, and unlike nowadays, purchased superstars such as Ronaldo and Beckham to help me achieve my aims. Anyway, last game of the season, I was at home to Juventus, requiring a win and it to be better than AC Milan’s result for a title win. I started very badly, and went 1-0 down early on, and a second half equaliser seemed to be the best I could muster. With the clock ticking into injury time, I managed to work the ball out to Beckham, whose near post cross was headed well clear by the Juve defense. However, there was no whistle as the ball floated into the path of Denilson. I had been playing the winger just behind my strikers, and as the ball was travelling towards him, he stuck out a left leg and brought the ball down almost instantly, as it hit the floor, the ball bounced up perfectly for the Brazilian to hit a first time side volley, which flew into the top corner! This goal proved to win me the title, as AC Milan only managed a draw at Lazio, and I won the league by a single point. The goal is saved somewhere on a PS One Memory Card, and made me intstantly addicted to the Master League game mode. This happened around 10 years ago, so is obviously an incredible moment for me to remember all this time!
If you have a story for Master League Moments, please send it to interferingwithplay@hotmail.co.uk
