Best Comeback Ever!

Hey guys,

First of all, I would like to say that I am a terrible manager, I've been playing since FM 08 and I've never won a league, cup, or tournament, so the following result has been the highpoint of my FM career.

I am managing Greek side Panathinaikos, and managed to get to the Champions League group stage after knocking out Weder Bremen. I had Sevilla, Benfica, and a Romanian team in my Champions group. All in all, I did much better than I had expected and found myself needing at least a tie in the last match day, playing at Benfica's stadium.

I set out a defensive tactic, hoping to counter attack. 20 minutes into the match, and I'm down 3-0, with a man sent off! Needless to say, I am very unhappy, and switch to a very aggressive style, and we manage to score a goal right before the half. I tell my team that they have no pride and I sub in Cisse as my striker. 3 minutes into the second half and he scores. Of course, Besiktas comes right back and makes it 4-2 on the 60th minute. Right at that moment something happened, the soccer gods decided to bless my players with goal-scoring abilities, and we score 3 goals in 15 minutes, ALL of them scored by Cisse! I pull back and put all of my players in front of the goal, and hold off for the remaining 20 minutes.

Best comeback ever, most important win I've ever had.

So what's your story?

Lovely story. I know that feeling.

Congratulations!

It's not a comeback per se, but it was incredible anyway

So it's the first knockout round of the Champions League. I am Ajax, and I am matched up against Valencia.

In the first leg at home, I lose 2 - 4, but with a beauty strike at the 88th minute mark by Heitinga to salvage some hope.

Before the second leg, Valencia's 1st through 5th choice players were rendered incapable of playing and a 16 year old regen started between the posts.

3 minutes into the game a nightmare start for me: Silva dipsy-doodles down the left wing and crosses for Zigic who heads it home. Oh boy, I think it's over.

Then in the 35th minute, my right fullback, Ogararu gets sent off for a two footed tackle. But immediately afterwards, Perez capitalizes off of a defensive breakdown to score. But still, I think I'm out of it.

Half time, its 1 - 1, 5 - 3 for Valencia on aggregate.

In the 55th minute, Suarez scores, 2 - 1, 5 - 4 on aggregate. Hmmm! I think I still might be in this!

But then in the 58th Villa seemingly dashes all hope and scores off of a deflection.

Somehow, still a man down, Gabri scores for Ajax and cuts the aggregate lead to 6 - 5!

The back and forth continues: in the 84th Edu scores off a corner, 7 - 5, I'm done, that's it.

And then, the madness begins.

In the 90th, with Villa on the edge of the box setting up for a strike, Gabri steals it and hits it to Emanuelson, who plays a huge, perfect long ball to Huntelaar who slots it past the keeper. I set the mentality of my team to all out attack, hoping for a miracle.

Then it happens. We win a free kick on the edge of the box, Perez takes it............................... GOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SEVEN - SEVEN AGGREGATE, AJAX LEADS ON AWAY GOALS!!!!! OH MY GOD I DON'T BELIEVE IT TWO GOALS IN INJURY TIME DOWN A MAN IT CANT BE POSSIBLE-

Kickoff, in the fifth minute out of four minutes of injury time, Valencia kicks off, quickly goes down the field Morientes lays it off to Villa, Villa one times it from 25 yards out and scores.

Heartbreak. I was on the floor guys, on the floor.

Here's a scoring summary for the game:

3' Zigic	VAL  (5) [1] -  0  (2)  AJA
	35' Red Card AJA: Ogararu Sent Off
	VAL  (5)  1  - [1] (3)  AJA 36' Perez
--------------------------------------------------------------
	VAL  (5)  1  - [2] (4)  AJA 55' Suarez
58' Villa	VAL  (6) [2] -  2  (4)  AJA
	VAL  (6)  2  - [3] (5)  AJA 75' Gabri
84' Edu		VAL  (7) [3] -  3  (5)  AJA 
	VAL  (7)  3  - [4] (6)  AJA 90' + 1' Huntelaar
	VAL  (7)  3  - [5] (7*) AJA 90' + 4' Perez
90' + 5' Villa	VAL  (8) [4] -  5  (7)  AJA

Nice little story.

My only wonderful FM story goes back to when it was CM, CM97/98 when I lead a bankrupt Badajoz side to victory of the Spanish Primera Division by securing a 1-0 win at the Bernabau after 16 years in charge of the club.

I was on the verge of leaving the club after my first season because of no finances and I sold every single player (I honestly mean it, I sold nearly everyone!) and signed all 16 to 19 year old regens.

I managed to keep 9 out of the same 11 players for their entire careers and won 2 Primeras', and 1 cup winners cup.

Most fantastic and realistic save I have ever played. Best 20 seasons, and most entertaining, especially during the years where I was constantly 6th to 3rd in the ladder.

I haven't had that much fun ever since and I think that is because like you I am not the best manager and FM has become some what more of a tedious game, rather than a fun one. (It is still fantastic however).

Lovely. 100% pure pleasure to read

(My reply was to adawxawx's post. I still can't reply properly even if my life counted upon it...)

Hey guys,

First of all, I would like to say that I am a terrible manager, I've been playing since FM 08 and I've never won a league, cup, or tournament, so the following result has been the highpoint of my FM career.

I am managing Greek side Panathinaikos, and managed to get to the Champions League group stage after knocking out Weder Bremen. I had Sevilla, Benfica, and a Romanian team in my Champions group. All in all, I did much better than I had expected and found myself needing at least a tie in the last match day, playing at Benfica's stadium.

I set out a defensive tactic, hoping to counter attack. 20 minutes into the match, and I'm down 3-0, with a man sent off! Needless to say, I am very unhappy, and switch to a very aggressive style, and we manage to score a goal right before the half. I tell my team that they have no pride and I sub in Cisse as my striker. 3 minutes into the second half and he scores. Of course, Besiktas comes right back and makes it 4-2 on the 60th minute. Right at that moment something happened, the soccer gods decided to bless my players with goal-scoring abilities, and we score 3 goals in 15 minutes, ALL of them scored by Cisse! I pull back and put all of my players in front of the goal, and hold off for the remaining 20 minutes.

Best comeback ever, most important win I've ever had.

So what's your story?

Nice story, i have to say ive never had such a memorable come back, althouhg have won alot so i have never really needed to come back so to say.

on fm07 i was liverpool and i lost the first leg of the champo league quater final 5-1 away to Ajax. We won 4-0 at home next leg with a last minute winner to save us on away goals!

As Sunderland needed a draw in Germany against Werder to get into the knockouts of the CL. 2-0 down after 10 minutes, went all out attacking, couldn't score. Then, 87th minute, Dzeko, who I had just signed, heads one in from the corner. From their restart we win the ball, it's played through to Gourcuff who whacks it in from 30 yards to make it 2-2. We held on

Some great stories, guys. That must have been some game, adawxawx. I know situations like that where the goals are flying in and you switch between being fuming and shouty at your computer screen, to moments of pure joy where you find yourself dancing around the living room.

My memory is shot and I can never remember any games bar my current save. That is to say I remember having a cracking run as Koper manager in 09 but details are lost in the hazy reaches of my brain.

You'll get that first championship, Lordt. I'm was like you in that I'd never really won all that much in FM. There was the odd lower league, but predominantly I'd guided teams to safety rather than glory. Then came FM09 and I took Koper to 2 league titles and 2 cups in 3 years before getting snatched up by Dinamo Kiev. Anyway I often find it more run to languish in obscurity for most of my time but revel in snatches of glory such as the time I took Skarp to the second tier of Norwegian football from out of nowhere. You know, average season with run in to final day and miracle snatching of promotion. I went straight back down but it's fair to say I was chuffed.

My best comeback has to be back in the days of CM00/01. The Euro 2008 final between my England and Italy, by halftime we were 4-0 down and completely outplayed. I bought on Paul Scholes, Joe Cole and Daniel Nardiello and by the 70th minute, all three of them had scored and it was 4-4. Italy then retook the lead, before Michael Owen popped up twice at the death to seal a 6-5 win - was my first title with an international team!

Oh, and adawxawx, I really feel for you - that must have been devastating..!

I just had a comeback not as good as some others but I am notts county playing huddersfield as I got promoted from league 2 as champs.

We started brilliantly 1-0 first minute but all downhill from there they scored in the 5th,31st and 45 minute.

I showed my anger at half time no change of tactics or subs.

I thought we were going to lose but then we scored 87th minute Can we get a point?

We did a 92nd minute goal no need to say I thought it was my brilliant team-talk though I did not get praised for it.

Very happy now 3rd in league 1.

This is another favourite of mine. Playing a network game with a friend, 1-0 down with 10 minutes to go, I bring on the unfit Cristiano Ronaldo and Park Ji-Sung.

CM 97-98

In a semi-final of one of the European Cups with Luton Town, playing against Inter Milan. Managed to draw against weaker sides in the earlier rounds and hadn't really been tested as such. First leg is away and we are 4-0 down at half-time. Tweaked the line-up and brought on my two star players, who were both coming back from injuries. Marian Ivan and Nebosja Krupnikovic both bagged a brace and we were back to 4-4 with ten minutes left to play. We get a penalty in the 86th minute and miss it, and the real kick in the teeth was they scored in the last minute for 5-4 win. Still had the second leg, and a only a goal down.

Second leg got off to a great start with one of their defenders getting sent off in the first half. Despite pushing people up front, I couldn't find the goal needed. Until the 89th minute when Marian Ivan popped up with the goal to take us to the final. The final was relatively easy easy beating Ajax 2-0. Marian Ivan scoring both.

I loved that saved game. That was my only European trophy with Luton. I won a couple of Premier league titles, but always had to sell players whenever they became good or we needed the money. Despite that, Marian Ivan stayed with the club for the entire save, scoring well over 200 goals for us.