MrTepig

Alright, the magic spreadsheet has been filled and let's look at the team we have at our disposal. The spreadsheet rates players out of 100 by using a weighted average of main, secondary and other attributes and also takes into account the "hidden" attributes by adding or subtracting based on the coach summary. I'll be using a 4-2-3-1 formation that focuses on keeping possession, being patient in attack and transitioning quick. Starting 11: GK - Kevin Briceño - 31, CRC - Rat: 54 Our starting goalkeeper is most certainly not the best in the world, but according to our assistant he is one of the best in the league. His true strength lies in his mentals, with excellent concentration and agility to go with good positioning. At 31, he's a very consistent player but one me might want to replace depending on performance. DR - José Luis Quirós - 23, CRC - Rat: 53 Quirós is fine on both sides of the ball, with good enough crossing and marking. He must improve his off the ball movement and stamina to make a bigger impact on the offensive side of the game, but he's a good enough player for this level. He's just 23 years old with potential for growth, and he's one of the few players with a 2 year contract. DC - Kevin Espinoza - 26, CRC - Rat: 48 Espinoza is a good defender. The problem is, that's it, he's just a good header and tackler but he might lose his man more often than not. The spreadsheet penalizes him because it's used to rating BPDs, and Espinoza will have 0 impact on the build-up/offensive game. Overall, he's a fine defender if a bit inconsistent, but good enough for now. DC - Jose Gabriel Vargas - 33, CRC - Rat: 50 Vargas is versatile, and that versatility gives him alright attributes in passing to go with his good marking and tackling skills. However, his positioning lets him down and at 180cm tall, he doesn't have the best jumping reach. The veteran center back is decent for now, but at 33 years old is definitely a candidate for replacement in 2024. DL - Diego González - 27, MEX - Rat: 56 The Mexican loanee is definitely good enough for this level, with his weakest "main" attribute being his teamwork. Diego doesn't excel at anything though, but he's a well-rounded player who knows the league after spending 2019-23 on loan at Herediano. There's no option to buy on his loan so we'll try to get as much out of him as we can this year. MC - Bernal Alfaro - 26, CRC - Rat: 59 Bernal is the third highest rated player on the team currently, with good tackling, aggression and work rate. He's a very good defensive midfielder for this level, though he might need to work on his stamina before truly becoming a star. Renewing his contract is a priority these first months. MC - Dylan Flores - 30, CRC - Rat: 62 His high rating probably justifies his very high wages, though we might see if he's willing to take a pay cut to stay at the club. Apparently, he's better suited as an attacking midfielder with a good finishing rating, but we'll have to play him a bit back and use him as our main creative force. He has the technique and mental ability to play this role at a good level, so he'll start as many games as we can give him. AMR - Jeikel Venegas - 35, CRC - Rat: 56 At his age, Venegas is really not that fast. However, he has the technical ability and hard-working mindset to make an impact down the right wing. He's also injury prone and with a contract until 2025, we might just let that run down and get a better winger in the near future. AMC - Marcel Hernández - 33, CUB - Rat: 61 Marcel is quick enough and technically good enough, but he really excels at reading the game, both in anticipation and off the ball movement. A very consistent player who shows up when it matters, the Cuban veteran is an important player in this squad and the reason why Flores is playing further back. AML - Jossimar Pemberton - 30, CRC - Rat: 52 There's a lack of left-footed options for the wing, so Pemberton will play as an inside forward to exploit his speed and finishing skill down this flank. He's also injury prone, which adds another reason to replace him once his contract runs out at the end of the season. ST - Marcos Ureña - 33, CRC - Rat: 55 Ureña is a well-traveled striker, having played in Russia, Denmark, USA, South Korea and Australia before returning to Costa Rica. But, he is aging and he only scored one goal in his return last season. Technically and mentally he's not good enough anymore, but he's still one of the fastest players on the team so we'll play him up front until he gets into a slump or gets injured. Bench/Backup GK - Darryl Parker - 30, CRC - Rat: 57 GK - Enmanuel Brizuela - 21, CRC - Rat: 46 DR - Victor Murillo - 28, CRC - Rat: 54 DC - Aubrey David - 32, TRI - Rat: 54 DC - William Quiros - 28, CRC - Rat: 43 DC - Isaí Molina - 22, CRC - Rat: 49 DL - Kendrick Enríquez - 20, CRC - Rat: 53 MC - Douglas López - 24, CRC - Rat: 50 AMR - Eduardo Valverde - 21, CRC - Rat: 53 AMR - Jossimar Méndez - 21, CRC - Rat: 47 AMC - Kenneth Cerdas - 27, CRC - Rat: 53 AML - Isaac Paris - 20, CRC - Rat: 52 ST - Justin Daly - 25, CRC - Rat: 58 Summary So, our team is good enough for the expectations set upon us and maybe a bit more, though I won't expect to really compete for the title. Our starting 11 is on the older side and we also have two main problems financially: 1) all but 3 of the contracts expire at the end of this season and 2) we only have about $76k left of the budget available. On average, for some reason, our squad players make more than our regular players and our important players make almost 4x what the regular players make. Financials are definitely something to sort out before we're ready to become title contenders. Youth-wise there's not much to talk about with only 6 players in our U20s team. Our top prospect is right-back Carlos Barahona, who could debut as soon as this season if we don't loan him out. In second place is midfielder Enmanuel Chacón, who'll stay put in case we need more depth at that position. The rest of them, as well as Barahona, have been listed for loan as our assistant thinks they're good enough to play second division football. With that, we're ready to begin the preseason with a game against Guadalupe.

Welcome and thanks for joining as I manage Club Sport Cartaginés in the Costa Rican first division! I will be using MasterIgor's database for this, so shoutout to him. Founded in 1906 in Cartago, CS Cartaginés is the 2nd oldest club in Costa Rica, though it is the oldest professional club in all of Central America. They have won the Primera División 4 times, with the first one coming in 1923, followed by 1936, 1940 and then finally breaking an 82 year dry spell in 2022. During that time, they've also come runners up on 11 occasions. They've also won the cup 5 times, with the last one also coming in 2022. Los Brumosos have appeared in the CONCACAF Champions Cup 5 teams from 1974 to 1997, winning the 1994 edition over Mexican club Atlante. In summary, they're one of the Big 4 clubs in Costa Rica with a fanbase that spans the entire country. However, they're also the one that has won the least titles, trailing the disappeared CS Libertad by 2 in the ranking, then Herediano by 25, Alajuelense by 26 and Saprissa by 35. We definitely have our work cut out for us. Now, in-game, our training facilities are good, while our youth have adequate facilities and average coaching. Our youth recruitment is above average. This makes us on-par with the rest of the big clubs in Costa Rica. Financially, we have $620k in the bank, but are spending $1.4 million per year on wages, which makes participating in CONCACAF competitions even more important. It is June 26, 2023, practically one month before the beginning of the Apertura, in which the board expects us to be a top half team. In the next update, we'll go over the squad. Bienvenidos a Cartago!

Leones Negros have positive preseason Guadalajara, Jalisco - July 20th, 2023 Ahead of their opening game, away to Atlante, the Universidad de Guadalajara team have played 6 preseason matches and made a couple additions to the squad, with a couple players leaving. The Academics began their preseason by playing local club Oro, with UdeG winning 7-2. Each of the goals came from a different player (Miguel Vallejo, Denilson Muñoz, Joaquín Hernández, Adrián Marín, Adrián Villalobos) except for a brace from Leonardo Martínez. Sánchez' men came out with a pretty offensive, high intensity 4-2-3-1, which they played in the rest of the preseason and is of course expected to be the shape we see this team in this season. The Lions' biggest challenge came in the form of the team they share a stadium with, Liga MX outfit Atlas. The University came out swinging, but the higher quality club prevailed and Atlas won 4-1. Leones' only goal came on a penalty which Alejandro Carreón put in. Despite the score, it wasn't a bad game for UdeG but it just shows the gap between Expansión and Liga MX teams. That game was followed up with a win against the Tercera División affiliate, resulting in a 4-0 win for the senior club. This time the goals were scored by Alejandro Carreón, Adrián Villalobos and a penalty brace from Romario Hernández. Next, UdeG would invite two teams from the USA: beating Phoenix 3-1 and drawing San Antonio 2-2. Villalobos would score in both games, while Jesús Leyva and Ricardo García scored in the first game and Alan Murillo scoring the go ahead goal in the second before San Antonio drew level. Finally, Liga Premier club Halcones de Zapopan would visit the University's Primavera facilities for the first time. Leones Negros would end their preseason on a high note, beating them 2-0 with goals from new signing Carlos Prieto and Leonardo Martínez. Speaking of new signings, here's what manager Jesús Sánchez had to say about the way the club is going about building the squad: "We're only counting on players who want to be here and are 100% commited to the club, I have no problem with letting anyone go. We're looking to build a young, talented squad that can ultimately take us back to Liga MX in a couple years." So, who's gone as who's new? Gone: Miguel Vallejo (Santos Laguna), Romario Hernández (Atlante) New: Edson Gutiérrez (Monterrey), Carlos Prieto (Pioneros Cancún) Both Vallejo and Hernández had publicly stated their reluctance to sign new contracts with the club and were promptly sold before they ran their deals out, with Vallejo earning a move to the Liga MX at age 32. He had previously played 3 games for Tecos in the 2010/11 season. On the other hand, Romario leaves the club after 10 years, not wanting to work alongside an unexperienced manager who's also younger than him and never played professional football at any level. Meanwhile, UdeG address their glaring weakness at right back by getting once promising Edson Gutiérrez from Monterrey. With 41 Liga MX matches under his belt, but still only 27 years old, he's expected to be a solid defender and an offensive contributor down the right flank. 22 year old Carlos Prieto was a part of the Querétaro squad from 2019-22 though he never made his Liga MX debut and ultimately left for Cancún, playing with both Cancún FC and Pioneros. He's a young replacement for Romario Hernández though will have to be patient as Wilber Rentería hasn't left the club yet.

Time to see who'll defend these colors, at least for the Apertura 2023: Goalkeepers Felipe López - 27 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2025 Pipe is one of the best in the league and he's been with the club for 10 years now. 150 games later, he's injury prone but still one of the best keepers in the league. He excels at controlling his area, together with his positioning and handling make him a great option to start. Jorge Hernández - 25 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2024 Jorge makes good backup and is truly a great option if anything happens to López. At 189 cm tall, his aerial reach and handling are pretty good for this level. Right Defenders Rodrigo Vargas - 21 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2024 Despite his youth, he's a candidate for replacement straight away, especially since he's the only capable of playing here right now. Rodrigo is best suited for the level below and our coaches don't expect him to improve much. He's a smart player and an effective tackler, but the rest of his skillset isn't up to par. Central Defenders Dionicio Escalante - 33 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2024 A 9-year Liga MX veteran, even having 3 seasons in Spanish football under his belt, his experience will be key for the team. Standing at only 179 cm and injury prone, he's a good left-footed option at this level. Escalante's heading ability might be a concern but he's good at marking, tackling and knows where to position himself effectively. He can also play on the left, but with his ineffective crossing he's an emergency left defender at best. Juan Manuel de Alba - 28 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2024 Juan Manuel is set to play his 3rd season with the University. Another short defender who'll have issues with heading but his strong marking and tackling make him suitable enough to start at this level. Aldo Mota - 23 y/o - Mexican - On loan from Tigres until December Backing Escalante and de Alba is a loanee who has a good deal of potential. He's a strong and effective tackler who never leaves his man alone. Even then, his positioning lets him down at times which along with his issues reaching aerial balls make him only a bench player. Bryan Flores - 22 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2025 Flores is a good defender who'll only get better. There's serious doubts about his ability to play at this level though, given his injury and mentality issues. We'll give him a shot from the bench and hope for good performances and as few suspensions as possible. Left Defenders Jairo González - 31 y/o - Mexican - On loan from Necaxa until 2025 Jairo was part of the Leones squad that gained promotion to Liga MX in 2014, making his first division debut with the club in the 2014/15 season. The club went down but Jairo stayed for 6 more years. He's spent the last 3 years with us and with his speed and passing ability is set to be a good offensive left defender. Edson Jaramillo - 22 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2025 Jaramillo is a good homegrown talent, he's a great tackler and passer who'll accelerate down the left wing. He really shines when the lights get brighter though he can be dirty at times. Overall a good backup. Francisco Rabago - 22 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2024 Another homegrown left defender, Rabago is more of a defensive asset with his marking, tackling and stamina the highlights of his game. If he can stay away from the ambulances, Rabago has potential to be one of the greats. Central Midfielders Romario Hernández - 28 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2024 After 10 years with the club, Romario has already expressed his interest in testing free agency. He's one of the best tacklers in the league and is almost always in the best position, but at only 171 cm he's not the strongest nor the fastest player. We'll keep him around for now, but might relegate him to the bench for the most part. Wilber Rentería - 31 y/o - Colombian - Contracted until 2024 As the only foreigner in the team, Rentería is really worth it. He's as consistent as they come and is really a top tier defensive midfielder. Despite his age, we might think about giving him a new contract. Alejandro Carreón - 21 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2023 We have already handed a new contract to Alejandro, just waiting on him to sign for 2 more years. He's a good passer and is also decent on the defensive side, with the potential to be even better. Ricardo García - 23 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2024 His technical prowess and speed are the highlights of his skillset, García is best suited for the bench and we might look for a replacement who's better at the passing game. Wingers Jesús Henestrosa - 28 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2024 He's a good enough winger for this level, both on speed and crossing. Our coaches consider him a "leading" player but I think he can be replaced by a younger and better player. Miguel Ángel Vallejo - 32 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2024 Vallejo is a great crosser and he'll rarely get tired with a hard-working mindset. However, we need to take into account his injury issues when managing his workload. Denilson Muñoz - 19 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2024 The speedy youngster has great potential, and we'll give him the chance to add minutes from the bench. Adrián Villalobos - 25 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2025 Another homegrown option, Villalobos is not very fast but is technically gifted. He's a bench option but his versatility will make him play more than enough minutes to impress. Erick Morales - 22 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2023 Not fast but is good technically, we'll just let his contract run out in a month or so unless he impresses in preseason. Attacking Midfielders Daniel García - 23 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2025 García is a consistent finisher. He fits right into the way we want to play and will only get better. Adrián Marín - 29 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2023 A 6-year Liga MX veteran, Marín is fast but his best years might be behind him. We'll give him a chance and decide in november whether we resign him or not. Strikers Leonardo Martínez - 21 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2024 The youngster is fast and a good finisher, according to our coaches he's nearing his peak but that means he'll get even better and that can only be good for the club. He only scored 3 goals last year but I'm betting he'll at least double his tally this year. Joaquín Alonso Hernández - 29 y/o - USA - Contracted until 2024 The former Monterrey striker was thought to have more potential, but his inconsistency and poor performance in big matches have him as a bench 2nd division player now. He's nearing the end of his line and has to make a good season if he wants to remain at this level. Alan Murillo - 21 y/o - Mexican - Contracted until 2024 Another pacy striker with good finishing, he's not quite ready to be starting but will certainly be good competition for the other 2 strikers. We'll have patience and let him develop into a good striker for this level. Assessment We have a good mix of veteran and young players with great talent. This squad should be able to compete for the top of the table and be good on both sides of the ball. Immediately we're looking for improvements at right-back but will otherwise leave the squad the same and re-evaluate in December before the Clausura. I'll give you guys monthly updates, with the first one coming after the preseason. Thanks for reading!

Hello all! I figured it would be fun to do some exercise in writing and that it would be even more fun to combine it with FM. So for that purpose I have started a new save with a challenge: to go from the bottom and become the best manager ever! (At least in the save game universe, I know there's a lot of tough competition in this forum haha) Now, for most the bottom is probably the English 6th tier but with flights from my city to the UK costing at least one thousand dollars, I started at my own bottom, or at least the bottom the game allows me to: the Mexican 2nd tier. You might call it an advantage to begin with a professional club, with professional players in the 2nd division of what's probably a top 20 league in the world and my answer would be: yes, it is an advantage. But the advantages probably stop there. For one, there's no promotion from this league, and there hasn't been since San Luis won promotion on the field in 2019. Second is the issue of money. Championship teams spend themselves into debt in order to try to get to the Premier League. With no clear objective here, together with the league restrictions, our best bet is to have a good, young squad, win a couple championships and get poached by a Liga MX team. That goes for the managers and the players. So let's talk about who we'll be managing. With almost 40 professional and semi-professional in my home state of Jalisco, you'd think there's a lot to choose from. Unfortunately, 31 clubs in the 4th tier and 4 clubs in the 3rd tier are unplayable. This includes Tecos, which is the club whose academy I played for almost 10 years ago. But don't worry, the team we'll begin with and I have some different ties. Club Deportivo Leones Negros de la Universidad de Guadalajara is a club founded in 1970 in Guadalajara, Jalisco. Originally the Venados (Deer), they became the Lions in 1972 following a promotion to the 2nd division. By 1974, the University had bought a spot in the First Division and would make their debut by playing América at the Estadio Azteca. This would also be the debut of 5 brazilian stars, leading to the team being dubbed Leones Negros (Black Lions) by journalist Ángel Fernández, which is the nickname that has stuck to this day. The team would reach new heights at the end of the decade, losing 2 finals straight in the 75/76 and 76/77 seasons. The Black Lions qualified for the 1978 CONCACAF Champions Cup, beating out Pumas in the North American Zone portion of the tournament. In true CONCACAF fashion, the teams qualified from the 3 zones couldn't agree on dates for the semifinal and final matches and were all crowned champions. Thus, UdG share their only international title with Guatemala's Comunicaciones and Trinidad and Tobago's Defence Force. At the end of the 80s, the team were once again in their best form, managing a club record 55 points in the 89/90 season, reaching another final which they lost to Puebla. The club managed their 2nd title after winning the cup in 1991. However, they were about to hit something of a speed bump: relegation. The club was relegated and subsequently bought by the league in 1994. They managed to keep their affiliate in the 3rd tier, going by the name Bachilleres and this was the only University team until it was sold in 2002. This year also saw another University club, Cachorros UdG, start play in the 3rd tier. In 2009, following a new investment into the club, they bought a spot in the 2nd division, allowing them to compete to become one of the best in Mexico. Leones Negros finally reached promised land in 2014, beating Estudiantes Tecos in the promotion final. This would be a short-lived adventure as the team went down at first asking, which makes it almost 10 years since the club last played Liga MX football. And that's where I come in (of course I'm not as handsome as the guy pictured above). A 23 year-old biologist-turned-manager chosen to take my alma mater back to the top of Mexican football and hopefully win them a first division title. Of course, I start with the recommended experience and licence: Pro (Regional) and Continental A. I will be looking to improve myself as well as the club, and if I get poached before teams can be promoted to First Division again then so be it. As is usual with these types of challenges, I will try to do everything as realistic as possible. Next time up, we'll be going over the playing staff. Any feedback or comments appreciated!

Good read so far, I'm surprised at the lack of draws haha Hope you can turn the good times into even better times as it looks like you're not too far off from being in the playoff conversation.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to look at the file. I'll take a look at the file again and try to sort the issues out.

Sorry for the late reply, I got busy with end of semester stuff. I have enabled the U20s teams for all first division teams (also made the suggested changes for the cup draw). Here is the file as requested. Costa Rica.fmf

I have set manual start/end dates for U20s as well as draw dates and dates for every round in the cup and they still won't show up. I'm sure if I revert to basic rules and add them in there it should work, but that would erase all the work I did setting the 1st division opening/closing system.

Like so?

Might be a dumb question but these competitions are not showing up (1st division works as intended). As in, the file verifies when I check but after I go to test in-game, only the 1st division shows up and works. Here are my general settings, is there something I must click to "activate" the competitions or something like that?