TheJanitor

What's the opposite of jinx? Mid-block tactics are my go to so far. Nice to see it is working for you so far.

Still a very good start overall. A match against Troyes could be a blessing in disguise - beat them and you created a nice gap to build on. Good luck!

Great start! Also, nice to see that you brought in the staff members I usually sign when starting with a German team

Great team pick. If I remember correctly, they played some nice stuff under Blanc during the 08/09 season.

Cool opening post and idea. Good luck!

2025/26 - End of Season Update Let's start in the middle. Coppa Italia Final If a 90 mins borefest that transforms into a ridiculous extra time nightmare is your thing, I got just the thing for you. Really, nothing happened in the opening 90 mins, except two, VAR disqualified, goals for both of us. That's why when Casadei scored the opener I was hopeful, but as often happens in football, hope turned into a disappointment. But at least the league will cheer us up, right? Results Final League Table I've done it. I have successfully turned Fiorentina into the Italian version of Leverkusen. For the second year in a row, the league was ours to lose, and for the second year in a row, we lost it. The display against Sassuolo was one of the worst since the start of this save (and the first time in a while where I got a message that fans are leaving early ) and the less said about Cagliari the better. Ultimately, I can't complain. Inter has a better squad, they played better through out the season - they won the xG table by quite the distance, and most importantly, they just had the personality to power through and win. But this is all a very disappointing way to end the season. I think it might be time to take a break from this save. I'm not ending it yet, but I think it could be the last season.

Thanks mate (and anyone else who replied or is following). If it interest you, here is a screenshot of that Burnley winger 3 seasons in: Luca Koleosho. Probably could have developed better with more game time. 2025/26 Title Challenge - April Update Fiorentina Results Inter Results Milan Results Table As you can see, it is still in our hands with 4 games to go, and we qualified again for the Champions League. When we dropped a 2-0 lead to draw with Salernitana, I feared it will be the moment where we lost the league. Thankfully, Inter had their own (potential) defining moment. After successfully getting past Milan and Juventus, they lost at home to relegation candidates Pisa after also being ahead 2-0. Milan are pretty much out from the competition after a disaster of a month. They only managed two wins, neither was in the league, and both didn't matter because they lost on aggregate. This includes a 2-1 loss to an already relegated Como. Ouch. Napoli leapfrogged them into 3rd place and still have a decent chance of winning the league. In fact, Napoli can do a double as after beating Atalanta, they will face us in the final of the Coppa Italia. Remaining Fixtures - Fiorentina Remaining Fixtures - Inter Remaining Fixtures - Napoli In a very ideal situation for us, Inter and Napoli and actually going to face each other next month, promising someone is going to drop points in this race. Sadly for us, we will miss Lucas Beltran and Lorenzo Pirola for this decisive month due to injuries. Interestingly the takeover was completed and the new boss still doesn't believe additional sport scientists are needed. What a weird situation. Despite this, the title is ours to lose. Juventus are that last big hurdle that we need to get past. If we will be able to end this month with a double it will be magical.

2025/26 - (yet another) Mid-Season Update Finally I caught up with the actual save and can write in real time. I didn't plan to do another mid-season update, but since the months of January - April were so action-packed, I decided it would be worthwhile. January January started with a Supercoppa semi final lose to Milan, but honestly that competition doesn't bother me too much. Anyway, we were able to finish 3rd after beating Inter. We were able to get past our Coppa Italian curse by defeating Hellas Verona in unspectacular fashion. January started a trend of injuries and THE FLU (!!!) that haunted us all the way through the following week. We lost Pafundi, Carnesecchi, Balzandi, and Jorginho for a few weeks, along with a few others with smaller injuries. Thankfully, results in the league remained good, and we were able keep 2nd place and maintain our title challenge. The Champions League was less ideal, but thanks to our good start we were able to qualify for the playoffs. Transfer Window January wasn't as busy as the summer window, however there were a few big deals made. First, starting with the outgoings: Biggest departure was Thiago Almada. I really didn't want to sell him, however, Bayern came with a bid and he wanted to go. Honestly, he wasn't as good this season as he was the last one, and we made solid profit. Gaetano Castrovilli wanted to leave for a while now so I accepted Mallorca's loan deal that can become permanent. Finally, with Luca Ranieri we are saying goodbye to another home-grown player. He regressed and didn't feature as much for us due to Pirola and Renan locking in his position, so I cashed in when Atalanta made bid. Now for the incomings: A lot of youngsters that my HoYD suggested, as I needed to add numbers to the U20 team. We previously discussed the signing of Jorginho as a replacement for the injured Barco. In addition, we brought in Stefano Turati from Sassuolo. Carnesecchi was a few weeks out with an injury, and Martinelli struggled to provide adequate replacement, but also, Carnesecchi was under-preforming so I wanted someone who could eventually replace him, so I triggered Tuarti's release clause. Could end up being a waste of money, but a gamble worth taking. Also, a free transfer was arranged for next season. Lazar Samardzic was a long term target for us, but we never made a move due to fees/wages. When I got a message in my inbox that he was approaching the end of his contract I acted quickly and got him in. A bargain on a free, and should provide a great replacement for Almada next season. February February is were the injuries and THE FLU (!!!) really started doing some damage, along with a very difficult run of games. We lost Baldanzi (again), Esposito, Parisi, Udogie (the last two leaving us with no natural left backs). We were able to ride out this month, and thanks to Inter suffering a rare run of bad form, we were only 3 points from first place. That being said, we were now 3rd after Milan leapfrogged us. In the Champions League, we qualified to the round of 16 after beating Feyenoord. I am proud of the boys for being able to put decent displays, despite the random lineups I had to pick due to injuries. March Hello Bayern our old friends. We can be slightly disappointed about not winning this one, as we were the better side at home, however overall I am satisfied with our Champions League campaign. In the league, we barely won against Lecce, but once all the players returned from injury we started putting good performances again. Finally, in the first leg of the Coppa Italia, we crushed Milan, putting ourselves in a very good position to go to the final. In the other semi final, Napoli beat Atalanta 2-0. Meanwhile, Inter poor run continues as they lost to Atalanta and drew against Roma. This leaves the situation in the league like so: We are 1st, for the first time since match day 5, with 8 games to go, but Milan, Inter, and even Napoli can all pounce the moment we lose points. April is going to have a few very interesting matches: Milan vs. Inter, Milan vs. Torino, Inter vs. Juventus, Napoli vs. Atalanta, and we are going to take on Milan. I believe the title is going to be decided here, and hopefully it will go our way. Takeover? This month we also saw some rumors about takeover escalating towards the appointment of a new chairperson. I have no idea how much influence it will have on the club. It doesn't look like some tycoon takeover, but I guess it could bring some changes to the club philosophies. Maybe a new chairperson would grant us more than one Sport Scientist, so we would have less injuries.

Congrats on the back to back promotions! KUTGW

2025/26 - Mid-Season Update January kicked off 2026 and it is time to review the first half of the season. Before we get to the results, let's take a look a few transfers that were made before the end of the summer transfer window: One additional departure was made - club captain Cristiano Biraghi was unhappy with lack of game time and requested a transfer. Betis swooped in and off he goes. Would have loved to keep him, but he was displaced by Fabiano Parisi, who now also replaces him as club captain. Of course no Italian club that takes itself seriously is complete without loans, so in order to bring more bodies in, Destiny Udogie, Yunus Musah, and Luka Romero came in. All with optional clauses that will likely not be triggered. Serie A - Table Serie A - Results We are in the all so familiar 2nd place, this time trying to topple a more familiar title challenger in the shape of Inter. Torino are not having a bad season - mind you they were 4th last January before and ended up winning the season. We stuck primarily to the narrow 4-1-2-2-1 but the lose to Atalanta encouraged me to try something new - a 3-4-2-1 formation that provided us with the best performances since the start of the season. This includes incredible away results against Roma and Juventus. Hopefully, it will remain, as we tend to lose steam towards the second half of the season. Unfortunately, against Roma Valentin Barco broke his leg and will miss 4-5 months with injury. This is rough but hopefully we solved it in the January window (more on that later). Sadly we only have one sport scientist is the club is refusing to add more, despite all ridiculous money we've made recently. Champions League - Table Champions League - Results Quite pleased, as we are close to qualifying for the 2nd year in a row. The win against Bayern is a particular highlight. Next two matches are a very winnable home game against Villarreal and an impossible task against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. They are coached by De Zerbi now, by the way, who took over caretaker John Terry who replaced Poch who failed quite a bit with them. The finished 4th in the league last season, and 7th the season prior. Players Our top goalscorer is quite surprisingly Francesco Gio Esposito, with 12 goals in 8 starts and 9 sub appearances. Topping the assists chart are wing backs Michael Kayode and Fabiano Parisi, which isn't surprising considering they are important part of our attacking play. Player of the Round: Tommaso Baldanzi Our most consistent player and one of my favorite FM signings ever, I think. Plays usually as a Shadow Striker but fills other roles as well - either as a Trequartista or a False 9. Got 8 goals and 2 assists so far this season. Honorable Mention: Simone Pafundi Not as consistent as TB11, but worth a mention simply because how well he is developing. He also plays multiple roles - the reverse of Baldanzi, actually, playing as a False 9 more often than not. Got 4 goals and 3 assists. January Transfer Window We already a few transfers. First, as a short term replacement for the injured Barco, we brought Jorginho from Arsenal. At best, he rolls back the years in Florence. At worst, we got an experienced backup player with good personality. And you just know he will turn out to be a good coach. Two additional players will come in as well: 17 year olds Angelo Caserta from Napoli and Matthew Barlow from Millwall. Both were suggest by my scouts and come to add numbers to our U20 team. Hopefully the will develop nicely. Currently being targeted by other clubs are Thiago Almada, Edoardo Bove, and Maxime Lopez. I am not in a rush to sell any of them, but I might be tempted for Lopez, as he is not getting lots of game time.

I jinxed it! Hope you will find another save to write about, I enjoyed reading this

2025/26 - Pre-Season Towards the end of last season, a disappointing run of results cost us the Serie A championship. Our main was facing teams that were willing to defend deep. We spent most of last season rotating between a diamond and 3-4-1-2, but this season we will shift slightly towards a narrow 4-1-2-2-1 and a more defensive 3-5-2 formation, giving the Regista role a chance, with hope that it would help us unlock teams that are defending with a low block against us: Despite a disappointing finish, finishing 2nd has to be considered a success and with a young squad that will only get better, I didn't see a need for a massive shake up. Outgoing Transfers I didn't plan to sell Guido Rodriguez. He was really solid since joining on a free last season, but I really couldn't refuse such a massive deal. Another big one was Sofyan Amrabat. On the first season, he was out loan at Man Utd. The second one he spent almost entirely out with an injury, and honestly? I didn't really miss him. So I transfer listed him and got a nice fee from Valencia. Lucas Martinez Quarta never really hit the ground running for me and was listed as well. Incoming Transfers Two transfers that were arranged before the last season ended were long-term target Cesare Casadei and Lorenzo Pirola. The former was a long-term target like Baldanzi and Pafundi. He had two solid seasons out on loan at Leicester and Fulham and was available for a decent fee in my opinion. Probably did not develop yet as he would have if I had him earlier on, but can still improve significantly. Pirola is a young, left-footed, Italian defender who should commend first-team place either in a back three or four. Valentin Carboni and Francesco Pio Esposito are, as Jose Mourinho would say, investments from the past. Hopefully Esposito could put his injury issues behind him, Finally, I was looking for a player who could play the Regista role. After my scouts couldn't come up with anything, I searched based on attributes and came up with Valentin Barco, who actually looks like a great fit for this role. Didn't get the chance to sign him yet, so I jumped on the chance. Some retraining will be needed - I would like to remove the Get Forward Whenever Possible PPM - but he is already adapting well to his new position. Pre-Season Results Our new tactics provided good results in the pre-season games, but it's way too early to judge them. Our opener against recently promoted Udinese would provide more information, but the follow-up against Napoli would be more substantial.

Finally had the chance to catch up. Amazing job on the first two seasons!

2024/25 - Season Review As I am already close to halfway through the 3rd season, I wanted to streamline things with a full season review. Serie A Sometimes a football team does the impossible and breaks a decades-long wait to win the championship. And friends, it happened this season in the Serie A! On the surface, a 2nd place finish is an excellent progression on our previous season, especially considering we lost our best player. But this has been one of the most frustrating seasons I have ever had in Football Manager. Ever. We were top of the league from match day 5 to match day 26. Torino were 4th when January came. They then started an incredible run, beating Inter, Roma, Lazio, Milan, and yes, us, in a match that if we won would have put us on par with them. We actually finished the season strong, but Torino went unstoppable and won in a truly spectacular fashion. The table tells the story - draws, lots of them, and quite often against weaker sides. In fact, we really struggled filling the Nico Gonzalez shaped hole in front of goal, with our highest scorer this season being Thiago Almada, who scored 16 in his debut season, 14 in the league. Not bad for a new player, especially considering he is an attacking midfielder and not a forward, but not what you want from your highest scorer. Almada also contributed 12 assists, in what was an excellent start to life in Florence. Another player who kicked things off well is Tomasso Baldanzi, with 12 goals and 11 assists in all competitions. Frosinone, Brescia, and Suditol got relegated. Champions League In our return to the Champions League, we struggled quite a bit, primarily with understanding the new format for this competition. However, we were able to get past the league phase and reach the play off round: In the play offs, we got one of our best results of the season, beating Ajax at home 4-0. In the round of 16 we met Bayern, and beat them 1-0 at home, but lost 3-1 in the return game to bow out respectfully from the Champions League. Coppa Italia You want to know were we didn't bow out respectfully from? The cup. We got knocked out in the third round again, this time to Cagliari, from the 2nd division. Hopefully next season we will be able to give it a go, as it is a very winable cup. It was eventually won by Torino, who completed a double. What an amazing season for them. January Transfers Let's start with the outgoings: A few loans with two noticeable outgoings. First, former starting keeper Pietro Terracciano was unhappy with his diminishing game time and move to Pisa. Second, M'bala Nzola fell behind Lucas Beltran in the pecking order and added a single goal to his tally before beginning his middle eastern adventure. Now, the new Violas: Former FM wonderkid Simone Scuffet replaces Terracciano as our backup goalkeeper. Versatile defenders Leandro Morgalla and Robert Renan joined to add depth and youth to our defense. This allowed us to play with a back three, which is something we did a bit this season. Youth Academy Intake So, last season, I didn't miss out on the new regens update. There was just sadly not much to update about - non of the regens will probably last past their initial contract, let alone play for the first team. However, this season we go two interesting players. Federico Santelli is a cool speedy winger who can turn out quite good, but Manuel Remorini looks like the more interesting prospect. A complete player, I am training him to play in the central midfield. Team of the Season

2024/25 - Summer Transfer Window Goodbye, Nicolas Gonzalez Out goes the first hero of this save. Like Luis Suarez in his final season at Liverpool, this was a done deal long before a bid was made. Man City made a bid of £70M, potentially rising to £78M, and Nico Gonzalez was gone. He might be worth more in the current market, but City's offer was not negotiable and he really wanted to go, so I thought I will let him. After all, it is still massive money for a club like Fiorentina. Actually, it is the highest transfer fee we ever received. Outgoing Transfers Other than Nico, a few other prominent names departed. Most notably, long-time server Nikola Milenkovic, who joined Neymar and Mourinho at Al-Hilal. Again, the fee seems a bit low, but he didn't became a key player for me like I accepted, and this deal allowed me to invest further. A combined £35M for Josip Brekalo and Jonathan Ikone is excellent for me, despite their solid season, as I feel like I made some upgrades in their position. Incoming Transfers Maxime Lopez and Tommaso Pobega made their loans permanent. Arthur returns to Juventus, as his fee and wages were too much for my taste. Couldn't skip Assane Diao on a free despite the fact that I am not certain about him. Tommaso Baldanzi became our record transfer. He was my main target from an early stage - a perfect young Italian Trequartista, he is someone that I plan the team to revolve around long-term. Thiago Almada joins to replace the void left by the departing attacking midfielders and is quite a bargain for this fee. Nehuen Perez is our Milenkovic replacement, while freebee Guido Rodriguez adds some much-needed steel to our midfield. Francesco Pio Esposito and Valentin Carboni are homegrown wonderkids, and both got cheap optional clauses. Emanuele Valeri joins as a cheap backup for Parisi. The next Baresi (according to the game) Filippo Mane joins on a cheap from Dortmund and is immediately loaned out to get some game time. Finally, a bit of an opportunistic signing from relegated Udinese, the very promising Simone Pafundi who, along with Baldanzi, is the future of Italian playmakers. Overall, I am pleased with out transfers. It's going to be a challenge to replace Gonzalez goal output, but in Baldanzi, Almada, and Pafundi around we should have plenty of creativity and Esposito and Carboni will add a level of directness.