View source for Swamp Donkeys FC

'''Swamp Donkeys FC''' is a team in the USA. The manager is [[vikingcliff]], who started the team on December 9th, 2006. Currently SDFC is in V.214 for the 5th consecutive time and plays home games at The Swamp in Olympia, Washington. Their youth team is Half Assed FC and plays in the [[The General Managers Club|GMC]] [[The General Managers Club#Youth League System|youth system]].


{{infobox club
| teamname = Swamp Donkeys FC
| teamid = 225729
| logouri = [[File:Logo Swamp Donkeys FC.png]]
| htuser = vikingcliff
| fullname = 
| shortname = SDFC
| nickname = 
| region = Washington
| country = USA
| league = V.214
| league-pos = ''4th''
| league-pos-last = 4th
| arena = The Swamp
| arena-capacity = 40000
| coach = Ossi Vainikka
| coach-nat = Finland
| fanclub = The Donkeys
| fanclub-size = ''2281''
| founded = December 9th, 2006
}}

<br>__TOC__<br>

==History==
Swamp Donkeys FC has been around for many seasons, although they have enjoyed little success. The history of the first 14 seasons was put together from the manager's memory and information from press announcements. Starting in Season 45, when this page was created, the history is much more detailed and accurate.

===The Beginning - Seasons 31-33===
SDFC was founded two days before the first league match of Season 31 as Askur Yggdrasils. They played matches in Mjolnir Arena, located in [[Alabama]], and competed in VI.481. The coach of vikingcliff's first squad has been lost to history. That first match ended as a 0-0 draw, and they proceeded to lose nine and win four of the remaining league matches, which meant Askur Yggdrasils finished in sixth place in their opening season.

They continued to do poorly in the next seasons. The lack of success can be attributed to vikingcliff's lack of management. He didn't get interested in Hattrick when he first joined, and only occasionally logged in and did anything for his team.

===Supporter - Season 34===
In Season 34, the club became known as Jotunheim FK and began to play in a new arena, Ymir Vettvangur, in [[California]]. Based on data from historical press announcements, the coach during that time was Camaiani (first name unknown).

This season marked a shift, as either at the beginning of that season or sometime during Season 33, vikingcliff became a Supporter.  Success was still limited though, since despite vikingcliff putting more time into Hattrick, he spent most of it playing with Supporter features rather than learning how the game worked. He did however manage to get a new record high finish of second place in VI.481.

As vikingcliff started joining federations, he began to organize federation cups. This would be the start of a long 'career' as a Cup Manager, something he continues to do to this day. The list of federations he has organized cups for (in all seasons, not just season 34) is CHELSEA FC FEDERATION,  AC Milan, AC Milan HT Federation, Chelsea FC, [[Flag Chasers Community]], [[Logo Designers Hattrick]], and [[The General Managers Club]] (where he is the current organizer).

===New Name, Again - Season 35===
In the search for an identity that vikingcliff really liked, the team was again renamed - this time to F.C. Thunderbird. They move to [[Washington|Washington State]] and played in Tseiqami Stadium. During this season they participated (for the second time?) in the CHELSEA FC FEDERATION Cup, where they reached the final, but disappointingly lost 5-1. Also during the season, they owned a [[national team]] player: Nassim Ali, a keeper for the brand new [[Dawlat Qatar|Qatar]]. In the [[US Open Cup]], they reached the second round for the first time ever, and in the league, they once again finished second.

===SDFC - Seasons 36-40===
{{DivVI}}{{DivVI}}{{DivVI}}<br>
The team finally got a permanent name in Season 36 - Swamp Donkeys FC. They continued to play in [[Washington]], but renamed their arena The Swamp, the name it still bears. It was during this time period, in historical press announcements, that Carl Goodwin was first mentioned as a coach, although it is unknown when exactly he took on this title. During that season, they finished first in the league for the first time, and were promoted to V.54.

In the next four seasons, SDFC bounced back and forth between divisions five and six, getting crushed in dV and being very dominant in dVI. Finally in Season 40, almost exactly three years after first joining Hattrick, vikingcliff led Swamp Donkeys FC to their third league title and promotion to V.214, where they have stayed since then. That season was especially remarkable since in addition to a perfect (14-0-0) record in the league, SDFC was not scored upon once. They scored 117 goals for a goal difference of +117.

Other important achievements were that in Season 38, SDFC finally won a cup - the Chelsea FC Cup - with a 4-1 victory, and that in Season 39, the season in which long serving forward Ossi Vainikka became coach, they reached the third round of the [[US Open Cup]], which is still their record cup run (they have tied it twice since then).

Additionally, the current logo of Swamp Donkeys FC was made during this time period.

===The Modern Era - Seasons 41-44===
Season 41 marked SDFC's first time in V.214, which they are still in. The history during this time period is rather dull, as they finished 6th, then 5th, then 3rd, and last season finished 4th. They still couldn't get past the third round of the US Open Cup. With the rest of their midweek games, SDFC got into [[flag chasing]] (something they had done earlier, but did more during these seasons). They had a host in [[Pakistan]] and still have one in [[Costa Rica]]. Their defense training has been reasonably successful, giving them money to improve the squad, but not enough to break into the fourth division yet.

The more interesting history during these four seasons is off the field. Manager vikingcliff became Lead Concept Designer of [[Flag Chasers Community]], the second largest Hattrick federation. He rebuilt the federation -  he changed the offices, restructured the forum, and added multiple new competitions - in an effort to improve the activity and boost the long declining membership. The changes were mildly successful for a while, but he was putting in too much effort compared to the level of activity. Eventually vikingcliff didn't have enough time to run FCC and he stepped down as the leader.

Around the same time he became leader of FCC, he became the 100th member of [[The General Managers Club]]. As he started spending less and less time in [[Flag Chasers Community]] and [[Logo Designers Hattrick]], he spent more and more time in the GMC. Despite having many fewer members than LDH or FCC, the activity was astounding - it is certainly the most active federation vikingcliff has been a part of, and may be the most active in all of Hattrick. After competing in the second [[The General Managers Club#The GMC Cup|GMC Cup]], he started organizing it in its third edition (Season 42), and has continued to do so.

During these four seasons, flag chasing, organzing cups and other competitions, and general forum chatter were more interesting than the actual results of SDFC, although vikingcliff still worked on improving the team. The majority of his time on Hattrick, though, was on the forums.

==Current Season==

===Squad===

{{Fs start}}
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 1
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|ITA|link=Italia}}
| style="text-align: center;" | GK
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Massimo Fellini
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 3
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|CHI|link=Chile}}
| style="text-align: center;" | MF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Luis Rosas
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 4
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|ITA|link=Italia}}
| style="text-align: center;" | MF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Fabrizio Macagni
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 5
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|FRA|link=France}}
| style="text-align: center;" | MF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Abdelhamid Louridi
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 7
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|SUI|link=Schweiz}}
| style="text-align: center;" | MF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Daniele Marasca
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 8
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|ESP|link=España}}
| style="text-align: center;" | MF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Benet Galvany
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 10
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|GER|link=Deutschland}}
| style="text-align: center;" | FW
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Harald Georg Westermeier
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 11
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|USA|link=USA}}
| style="text-align: center;" | FW
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Darío Tabares
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 12
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|GER|link=Deutschland}}
| style="text-align: center;" | MF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Jan Lawitschka
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 13
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|GER|link=Deutschland}}
| style="text-align: center;" | GK
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Niklas Wendl
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 14
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|SWE|link=Sverige}}
| style="text-align: center;" | FW
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Mark Karlbeck
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 16
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|GER|link=Deutschland}}
| style="text-align: center;" | MF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Sebastian Arx
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 18
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|SVN|link=Slovenija}}
| style="text-align: center;" | FW
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Emil Hartman
{{Fs mid}}
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 21
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|FIN|link=Suomi}}
| style="text-align: center;" | *
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Ossi Vainikka
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 23
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|ITA|link=Italia}}
| style="text-align: center;" | MF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Simone Chiezzi Porrini
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 30
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|BUL|link=Bulgaria}}
| style="text-align: center;" | DF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Todor Penchev
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 31
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|MDA|link=Moldova}}
| style="text-align: center;" | DF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Vitalie Ivaniuc
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 32
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|ITA|link=Italia}}
| style="text-align: center;" | DF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Gian Piero Righi
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 33
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|NOR|link=Norge}}
| style="text-align: center;" | DF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Ola Haraldsen
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 34
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|CZE|link=Česká republika}}
| style="text-align: center;" | DF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Jan Schober
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 35
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|DAN|link=Danmark}}
| style="text-align: center;" | DF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Andre Buhl
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 36
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|ITA|link=Italia}}
| style="text-align: center;" | DF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Fabio Visona
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 37
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|ITA|link=Italia}}
| style="text-align: center;" | DF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Carlo Maria Giacopello
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 38
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|ITA|link=Italia}}
| style="text-align: center;" | DF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Antonio Di Natale
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 39
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|USA|link=USA}}
| style="text-align: center;" | DF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Bud Blount
|-
| style="text-align: right;" | 40
| style="text-align: center;" | {{flagicon|FRA|link=France}}
| style="text-align: center;" | DF
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | 
| Nicolas Baudino
{{Fs end}}

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Player is coach

===League===
After finishing 4th in V.214 in Season 44, SDFC looks to improve to at least 3rd place for Season 45. In the first three weeks (and therefore last three as well) of the season, they played what should be their three toughest opponents. The middle eight weeks of the season will hopefully be an easier stretch and an opportunity to make up for dropped points. Montana Wilderness, however, might be tougher than originally predicted.

After a disappointing loss in the season's league opener, SDFC came back to tie TraxData, the five-time league winner. In the last of their tough early matches, they got another point with a 0-0 tie, leaving them in 6th place. The next week they got their first win of the season, against a team who recently lost their manager, with a 6-0 drubbing of Gallons, which moved them up to 5th place. The following week, they got a 10-0 victory, their biggest league win since Season 40, and only their fifth time hitting double digits in a match. SDFC got two more wins to end the first half of the season in fourth place. They currently have a four league game win streak and have outscored their opponents 26-2, which is more goals for than they managed throughout the whole of last season.

===US Open Cup===
Once again, SDFC had an awful national cup run. After a promising 11-0 victory in round 1, they were beaten 2-1 by a much worse team. Unfortunately, vikingcliff overestimated how bad his opponent was and played a squad that was far too weak. It was their seventh time getting knocked out in the second round.

===The GMC Cup VI===
Swamp Donkeys FC will take part for the second time in the [[The General Managers Club#The GMC Cup|GMC Cup]] starting in week 8. Previously, they participated in the second edition, where they finished first in their group before going out in the Round of 16. This will be the first time they have played in and organized the GMC Cup in the same season.

They were drawn into Group G:

{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="border-collapse:collapse" 
|-bgcolor=#dadada align="center"
!width="175"|Group G
!width="20"|Pld
!width="20"|W
!width="20"|D
!width="20"|L
!width="20"|GF
!width="20"|GA
!width="20"|GD
!width="20"|Pts

|- align=center
|align=left|{{flagicon|OCE}} Auckland FC New Boys
|1||1||0||0||5||1||+4||'''3'''

|- align=center
|align=left|{{flagicon|ENG}} Genie United
|1||1||0||0||2||0||+2||'''3'''

|- align=center
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} '''Swamp Donkeys FC'''
|1||0||0||1||0||2||&minus;2||'''0'''

|- align=center
|align=left|{{flagicon|ENG}} The Identity Shakers
|1||0||0||1||1||5||&minus;4||'''0'''

|}

[[Category:American Clubs]]