Street Football

Sebastien Tagano, a.k.a., Tag, Gabriel Larchange, a.k.a., Brains, and the two brothers Tek-No (Tarik and Nordine) are pupils and boarders at the old Riffler Institute. They're the best of friends in the whole wide world... and think of nothing else but football.

It's a "very" special day for everyone! For the boarders of Riffler, today is the birthday celebration of the old Count who founded the Institute a long time ago. And also for Eloise, the last in the line of the Riffler dynasty, who is looking for an excuse not to accompany her parents to this most boring of boring ceremonies.

At Shark's request, all the city's street football teams are to meet that evening for the "Big Vote": Will the brand new team of the Riffler Institute be accepted by the Boulevard Vampires, the City Phantoms, the Park Vagrants and the rest? There are no guarantees.

Shark organizes the "Port Tournament". It's the first opportunity for the Riffler Institute team to show their "stuff". Except that just when all the street football captains were getting together for the tournament draw, Tag seems despondent.

Ben decides to sabotage the Port Tournament to show that Shark is incapable of being the leader of street football and thus to take his place. During the match of the Riffler Institute against the Park Vagrants, Ben manages to fuel the hostility of the population of the city towards the street football players.

To recover their ball that a young deliveryman from the Chinese district saved from the hands of the police, the Riffler Institute team will have to face the formidable Shanghai Dragons. Thanks to Omar, the Maryport teams learn that street football is played in Africa.

Africa! China! And why not America? And all other countries of the world, too? Everyone in Maryport is now convinced that there are street football teams around the whole world. Eloise and the boys of the Institute spend their nights on the Internet and end up finding street football players in Canada.

The dream comes true - thanks to the organization of Shine Ornando. The former international champion, who devotes himself to the underprivileged children around the globe, sets up a world-wide selection for the teams that will compete in the First World Cup of Street Football.

Olympic! What young football player has never dreamed of being admitted into the Holy of Holies? When the Tek-No brothers must leave the Institute to become boarders with Olympic, they should normally have been insane with joy - except that leaving the Institute and their buddies is a little hard to do, for starters.

Everywhere around the world, the selection for the First World Cup of Street Football has been completed and the teams will soon arrive in Maryport to compete. All of the street football players in the city busy themselves with preparations for their arrival by getting from here or salvaging from there everything that can be used for the construction of "Street Football City".

It's done! They're all here! In secret and from all four corners of the world they've arrived: the Calcutta Cobras, the Shanghai Dragons, the Desert Scorpions, the Lions of Africa and the Brazilian Meninos, but, is it really a secret? Mr. Albert, the hairdresser in the old square, has spotted the "Street Football City" where the opening ceremony festivities are in full swing.

Since the Mayor and the Police appear unable to restore calm and "civilisation" in the city, which has now become the prey to the hooligans from all around the world, some determined citizens will do it for them. Gathered together in a secret organisation, the tradesmen of the old city decide to make an example.

Because they didn't follow the secret code of street football and thus endangered all the teams, Jane of the Bronx Devils and Eduardo of the Brazilian Meninos are excluded by their own captains from the match scheduled between their two teams. They'll be replaced by players drawn by lots.

The Shanghai Dragons and the Brazilian Meninos are neck and neck and well ahead of the rest in the rankings. And it's the Brazilian Meninos that the Blues must meet the next day. During practice, Tag is inflexible: they must measure up to the other team, and no two ways about it.

The Shanghai Dragons and the Brazilian Meninos are neck and neck and well ahead of the rest in the rankings. And it's the Brazilian Meninos that the Blues must meet the next day. During practice, Tag is inflexible: they must measure up to the other team, and no two ways about it.

Mrs. Verrat has been robbed! All the clues found in the store of the cantankerous shopkeeper indisputably point to the boarders at the Riffler Institute -- and particularly those who play street football! Mayor Maroni finally has the excuse that he's been looking for to close this establishment for good: it's a den of delinquents!

The unthinkable has happened! Tag kept kicking an adversary after he was down on the ground. He can't deny it because there's proof: a witness filmed it all. In the face of such a savage fault, Fédé and Chrono don't hesitate a second and definitively exclude him from the World Cup.

Tag is injured while training. It's so serious that he won't be able to play that evening's match and probably not again for several more weeks. Coach sees only one solution: to ask the official trainer of Z, the star of all football stars, who happens to be in the city at that moment to discuss taking him into Olympic.

It's true that the Blues have really shone against the big international football stars. It's also true that they have already beaten The Desert Scorpions once. But when Mr. Albert and Mr. Salim, their most enthusiastic supporters, come to warn them that the Scorpions, who they must face again, have a secret weapon, The Blues, sure of themselves, burst out laughing.

All the attempts made by the Mayor to stop the tidal wave of street football have ended in failure. But in manipulating Eloise's parents and convincing them to lodge a complaint against Shine Ornando himself, he finds the solution: once decapitated, the movement will collapse like a house of cards!

The Shanghai Dragons are very, very strong! Once more they have triumphed, watched by the panic-stricken Blues who now must face them. Even the Tek-No brothers themselves understand that they haven't got a chance against this team which has unbeaten since the beginning of the World Cup! What's the use of their famous secret pass against these acrobatic players who defy all rules of gravity.

He builds the strategies of his team, he translates for the others, he helps out the Tek-No brothers, he does favors for Eloise, he puts Tag before himself. In short, Brains selflessly gives to others as undoubtedly his parents do saving lives too far away in the world to look after him.

At a grand festival organized by Eloise's parents for the semi-final draw, there is a special guest. Mr Pico, himself, the owner of a big factory that manufactures sporting goods bearing his name. He's ready to give staggering support to the finalists - a sponsorship worthy of the great world football events.

The semi-final of the Street Football World Cup is here - at last! After which there's perhaps the finale. And after that, who knows. In any case, the Wallabies are ready to face off against the Blues. But the Blues are not ready at all. Gabriel hasn't returned from his trip to his parents' and, even worse, the monsoon has made his route to the airport impassable.

While the semi-final of the World Cup, pitting the Brazilian Meninos against the Shanghai Dragons takes place and is tensely and enthusiastically watched by the entire city, Tag becomes aware that this magnificent adventure is nearing the end. Whatever the result of this match, his team will be in the final the next day.