[FM10] Hoppin' around Europe

I haven't been heavily involved in FM for more than a year now (for reasons not really related to the game itself), but I think I'm ready for a return.

Normally I tend to play one of the "small club to big club" challenges, but since I upgraded my computer not too long ago, I can finally handle more than one league again with a fair degree of comfort. So, for the first time in several years, I'm gonna have a go again at a proper "career game."

I'm running 26 leagues in 10 European nations - including all the big ones: Belgium, England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden.

I started unemployed, with the "Sunday League footballer" past experience. Not many specific goals. My manager's nationality is Belgian, with Club Brugge as favorite team, so managing them at some point is one objective. I put "hoppin' around" in the title, so I do intend to move clubs whenever the need arises, but I'm also not opposed to staying with one club for a long time, if I happen to end up somewhere fun and interesting. I'll see how it goes.

Career Summary:

Season    Club          |  League          |  Country      | Position      |        Achievements         |
------------------------|------------------|---------------|---------------|-----------------------------|
2009     Qviding        |  1st Div. Elite  |  Sweden       | 15th (R)      |          Resigned           |
2010     RC Mol-Wezel   |  3rd Div. B      |  Belgium      | 18th (R)      |          Sacked             |
2010     Torslanda      |  1st Div. South  |  Sweden       | 10th          |                             |
2011     Torslanda      |  1st Div. South  |  Sweden       |  1st (P)      |        D1S champs!          |
2012     Torslanda      |  1st Div. Elite  |  Sweden       | 13th          | won relegation playoff      |
                                                                                resigned Dec.21st

Season       Club          |  League          |  Country      | Position      |        Achievements         |
---------------------------|------------------|---------------|---------------|-----------------------------|
2015-16     Feirense       |  Liga Vitalis    |  Portugal     | 1st (P)       |         champs!             |
2016-17     Feirense       |  Liga Sagres     |  Portugal     | 11th          |                             |
2017-18     Feirense       |  Liga Sagres     |  Portugal     |               |   resigned Oct.8            |
2017-18     Watford        |  Championship    |  England      | 9th           |   joined Oct.8              |
2018-19     Watford        |  Championship    |  England      | 5th (P)       |  playoff promotion          |

Season       Club          |  League          |  Country      | Position      |        Achievements         |
---------------------------|------------------|---------------|---------------|-----------------------------|
2019-20     Watford        |  Premier Div.    |  England      | 8th           |                             |
2020-21     Watford        |  Premier Div.    |  England      | 4th           | League Cup runners-up       |
2021-22     Marseille      |  Ligue 1         |  France       | 1st           | French title, French Cup    |
2022-23     Marseille      |  Ligue 1         |  France       | 1st           | French title + Cup + Champions Trophy; Champions League   
2023-24     R.Madrid       |  Liga BBVA       |  Spain        | 1st           | Spanish title + Cup + Super Cup 

International:

2011 - 2013     Ukraine U21        qualified for EURO 2013
                                  EURO 2013 Semi Final
2013 - 2017     Guadeloupe         Caribbean Ch'Ship 2014 runners up
                                  Gold Cup 2015 Semi Final
                                  Caribbean Ch'Ship 2016 Semi Final
                                  Gold Cup 2017 Quarter Final
2018 - 2019     Austria            DNQ for Euro 2020

2020 - 2022     Algeria            DNQ for WC2022
                                  Cup of Nations 2022 group stage
2022 -          Croatia            EURO'24 Semi Final

Club #1: Qviding FIF - Swedish First Division Elite

With a Belgian nationality, I had the chance to start at a small club in my home country, but starting out a bit further north seemed like a more interesting way to start off. That also meant that I joined the club mid-season, so I could jump straight into the action.

Not an easy task ahead though. I joined Qviding - near Göteborg - with 14 matches played (16 to go) in Sweden's second tier. In those 14 matches, they had managed to pick up 6 points, and scored 7 goals. Position 15th out of 16, in a direct relegation spot, 5 points behind the team in 14th place (relegation playoff spot).

The squad was in poor shape. With a few long term injuries, they barely had enough players to field a full squad of 11. Luckily the mid-season transfer period was right around the corner, so I could remedy that - though even with such a thin squad, the wage budget was already exceeded.

The first match came too soon to strengthen the squad, but luckily we faced 16th placed Vasalund, so our existing bunch, plus a few lads from the U19s, managed to start off my managerial career with a win. It went downhill after that though.

Throughout July, I gradually strengthened the squad, by two actual signings - a 17yr old forward and a 40 year old French/Danish goalkeeper named Campagnolo - and 8 loan signings. Not exactly a squad I'm pleased with, but it'll have to do for now.

After the promising first match, we had a very poor run of five straight defeats. A few of them quite dramatically - missing a spot kick in the 88th minute, for instance; and conceding in the 92nd minute in another match. We just managed to break the losing streak with a 0-0 away at Falkenberg, but 4 points from 7 matches is not enough to avoid relegation.

In fact, we're now in worse shape than when I took over. With 9 matches to go, we're 8 points behind the relegation playoff zone. Needless to say, it doesn't look good.

I have a contract for next season as well, but I'm not sure yet if I'll stay on in case of relegation. That is, provided I don't simply get sacked anyway.

Oct. 13, 2009

End of season table.

Not a great start of my managing career.

I knew I was in for a challenge, but I was hoping to at least put up a good fight to avoid relegation. That was never the case. It was mathematically certain with three matches to play.

We went 2-4-10 with me at the helm, only scoring 8 goals. Both wins were against the team that finished last. During my 16 games in charge, I managed to break the club's "no win streak" record (14).

The board seems willing to give me a chance to start the next season, but I'll make the decision for them. With such a terrible record, I feel that resigning is the only honorable option.

So, after 113 days in charge of Qviding, I'll be looking for a fresh start somewhere. At least I picked up some basic Swedish.

Its difficult out there my friend, keep the chin up. Onto another club and good luck.

Thanks. Chin isn't down yet. Eventually I'll land at a club where things will fall into place.

Probably not quite yet though...

Feb. 15, 2010

Club #2: Racing Mol Wezel - Belgian Third Division B

After several dozen unsuccesful applications since October, I finally got a job offer in February. The offer is far from ideal, but I decided to accept it anyway.

I have a contract until June, and I earn a whopping €0 per week.

The objective: another relegation battle.

Season table

So we're in last place, and have 8 matches to get away from there. 10 pts behing direct survival, so that's out of reach. Best we can hope for is to close the 3 point gap to 16th place and survive via the relegation playoffs.

Looks like this could be another short assignment.

April 10, 2010

End of season table

Well, the second job was indeed a rather short assignment. That's not a complete surprise.

Still, I feel a bit better about the past 8 matches than I did after the half season in Sweden.

We started off with a promising draw, but then lost the next three, including the crucial encounter with the team in 16th place - the position we were aiming for. It looked pretty much over after that.

But then we picked up 5 points from the next three matches, and the win was a very satisfying 6-2 shocker against the team in 2nd place - though admittedly, they were down to 10 men for most of the second half. That put us in with a chance again, and the bottom three was within one point to go into the final match day. But we lost that match, and the other two teams won. So, the "local amateur club" adventure ends after 8 matches, with a 1-3-4 record.

I haven't been sacked yet, but since this is the lowest league, I assume that will happen at the end of June. So I'll resign now and will start looking for a new job, but I'll mark this one down as "sacked."

On to the next club.

June 13, 2010

Club #3: Torslanda IK - Swedish First Division South

Back to Sweden then. Back to Göteborg, even. Didn't do very well here last year, but I'm a bit more optimistic this time.

League Table

A division lower this time; in fact, the division to which I got Qviding relegated. Looks like they're recovering well enough.

Torslanda seems to be one of the smaller clubs in the league, and the finances don't seem to be very healthy, but at least we have a full squad of players.

They finished third in this league last year; this year they're predicted to finish 8th, so they're under-achieving a bit. Still, looks like the previous manager didn't get a lot of time to turn things around.

I have a contract until the end of the season (November). I'm not thinking ahead beyond that. Again, avoiding relegation will be the goal. Planning to succeed, this time.

July 12, 2010

World Cup 2010 - South Africa

Final: Italy 0-0 (P) Brazil

3PP: Spain 1-1 (P) Turkey

Not a whole lot to update about the Torslanda job, so far. Two matches played. We narrowly won a scrappy home match against one of the relegation teams, and then lost heavily away at one of the teams at the top of the ranking. Currently sitting one point above the relegation zone and strengthening the squad with a few loan signings during the summer break.

13 matches to go until the end of the season. I do not want to get relegated at three clubs in a row.

Aug. 22, 2010

League table

Seven matches to go until the end of the season, and so far we're pretty much on schedule.

We've gone 3-1-4 since I took over, with the three wins against Nyköping, Gunnilse and Motala AIF. So we're winning the matches we have to win, but it would be nice if we can pick up a few points against teams from the top half of the table as well.

I'll probably jinx it by even bringing it up, but with avoiding relegation looking like a real possibility, I'm starting to consider next season already. Or, more specifically, whether or not to stay on if/when they offer me a new contract.

At the moment I'm leaning towards moving on to another club. Mainly because of the financial situation at Torslanda. We're several hundred thousand in the red, and with an average attendance below 200, that's only going to get worse. On the other hand, it would be nice to stay with a club for more than 4 months, heh.

But maybe that issue will sort itself out over the next seven matches.

Oct. 10, 2010

End of season table

Well, we managed to avoid relegation, and then some. We hit a great stretch of form in September, which actually earned me the MoM award. Didn't see that one coming at the end of August. Once they found their morale again, our youngsters actually started playing some attractive football. With a record of 7-3-5, this has been by far my most succesful assignment so far.

Now then, what next?

Well, as it turns out, I somehow overlooked the fact that I have a contract until November 2011, not 2010. Guess I should really pay a bit more attention before I sign something.

I'm not quite sure if this is a good thing - I was half-resigned already to looking for a new job. I don't know if there's much more to gain here. Given the club's financial situation, progressing up the ranks would be a slow and patient process, and I don't quite feel up to that.

So it's really just a question of whether I want to stay here for one more - at best - midtable year, or if I want to start looking now for a club where I want to settle down for several seasons. If I put it like that, the answer seems obvious. But on the other hand, this is my third club, and at 119 days, this is the longest job I've had so far. It's getting a bit silly if I resign now.

I'll sleep on it.

March 9, 2011

Torslanda IK - Pre-season update

Yep, I decided to see out my contract at Torslanda. I'll have to earn my chops somewhere, and it's about time to spend an entire season at one club. I did keep my eye open for potential new jobs for a while, but eventually gave up on that and I'm now committed to this season. I did turn down the board's offer to extend my contract by another year though.

I doubt that I'll stay on for longer than this season, but who knows. Maybe we'll achieve the miracle promotion, or maybe I'll develop an affection for the club along the way.

This "gone next year" attitude is reflected in our off-season transfers. I made almost entirely loan signings - and lots of them. Given the club's financial situation, that was the only viable option, but it's not exactly a solid long term strategy.

So we'll try to navigate the season with a bunch of young mercenaries. Only two non-loan players are expected to be regular first picks. The oldest of those two is 23yr old goalie Magnus Berglöw, the other is Swedish U19 international Christopher Lenning in the defense. Which means that our captain and vice-captain are substitutes; not ideal, but we'll see how that turns out.

The media predicts us to finish 9th (of 14), and the board expects us to avoid relegation, so the bar isn't very high. Personally, I'm hoping we can finish a few spots higher than that - mid-table, in other words.

Our friendlies results, for what it's worth:

Hopefully the trend continues.

The first league match is still more than a month away, but we start in the cup soon. Would be nice to last more than a round or two, but I'm not holding my breath.

May 15, 2011

Well, we've made a flying start to the season. Not so much in the cup - penalties don't seem to be our thing - but we've been surprising everyone, including myself, in the league:

League table

Granted, two of the wins were against relegation candidates, but still. I'm pleasantly surprised by the quality of football and the number of chances we're producing. So far, the loan signings are working out well.

Our most productive player so far, on the left wing: Simon Chekroun

He's a last-minute loan signing from parent club Örgryte, and wasn't listed for loan, but transfer listed and unhappy. He's the oldest player of the regular first 11 and the de facto team captain, with the real captain usually on the bench. I hope he keeps up this great form.

It's a bit too early to adjust our mid-table goals, but I certainly wouldn't mind if we could challenge for promotion. That would make this "just obligating my contract" season quite enjoyable. The real test should come soon, as we're facing the teams in 1st and 3rd place next.

July 11, 2011

Mid-season table

Well, I suppose we can safely adjust that mid-table goal slightly upwards now.

After a great start of the season, we were thoroughly beaten by Oddevold, which put us with both feet on the ground again. But then we went on a seven match win streak to bring the promotion dream very much alive.

More than promotion, however, I'm aiming for the title now. Since I'll probably move on to a new team after this season anyway - regardless of the result - it would be nice to leave with a trophy in the back pocket. Promotion without title wouldn't be quite so satisfying. But maybe I shouldn't get ahead of myself - forum curse and all that jazz...

Needless to say, I didn't quite expect us to do so well. Better than "avoid relegation," sure, that's not a surprise, but six points clear of second place is just a wee bit better than I dared to hope. Especially our defensive record is a bit of a shock. Our goalie, while not terrible, is far from great, and the same can be said about our two slowish 19yr old DCs. Our DL and DR are a pair of loan-gems, however.

No idea if we'll be able to keep this up, but we'll certainly try. Hopefully the morale of the lads won't get too big a knock when the effect of the "high squad bonus" thingamajig starts wearing off.

Oct. 23, 2011

Torslanda IK - End of season report

League:

Mid-season table

End of season

We did it! The numbers suggest that it was relatively easy... and, well, it kinda was... though the second half of the season felt a lot more tense than the first, and the manager had some nervous moments.

We started the second half of the season with two draws, and for a moment I thought that the forum curse had struck, but then we won the next four again. We clearly had to work harder for every chance than before, though, but with a few key players out injured, I was just happy to be still winning at all, not too bothered about the quality.

Eventually we did run into our second loss of the season, away at Västra Frölunda, ending our undefeated streak at 13 (a new club record.)

We looked to bounce back immediately, but then gave away a 2-0 lead at half time against Rosengard to finish 2-2. And so, in two matches time, our lead over second placed Skövde AIK was reduced from 11 points to 6 points, and the nerves crept in.

The next match was possibly a key match, as we managed a vital comeback against Ljungskile, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 1-2 lead before half time and holding on to that score until the final whistle. But then we failed to do the same against relegation-struggling Husqvarna, getting stuck at 1-1, with a missed penalty and several missed chances. Meanwhile Skövde kept winning, and our lead was down to 4 points with three matches to go.

But then Skövde cracked and lost their next match, so even though we only managed a 0-0 at last placed Lund, we were almost certain of the title. We achieved mathematical certainty with a scrappy home win against ex-club Qviding, in front of a crowd of 538, a new record.

So, all in all, most of the pressure was in my own head, as we never got into real trouble. Still, with such a young, over-achieving squad, I was never fully confident until the last few matches.

Cup:

Our outing in the Swedish Cup wasn't a success. The board expected a Second Round appearance, which we failed to achieve, despite only facing non-league opponents. We hadn't yet found our scoring ways in March, narrowly making it through the Preliminary Round with a 1-0, and getting stuck at 1-1 after 120 minutes in the First Round, and then going out on penalties. The board and supporters weren't too pleased, but once the league started, the Cup was quickly forgotten.

The squad:

Torslanda squad

As mentioned, I brought in as many kids on loan as I could find, which turned out better than I dared to hope.

Obviously quite a few of them performed very well, but I'll just pick two:

Tobias Sana - AM RLC

A kid I knew quite well, as I loaned him last year, as well as at the half-season at Qviding. Tobias did on the right wing what Simon Chekroun did on the left wing: breaking out along the line and swinging the crosses into the box, and also cutting inside on a regular basis to nab a goal here and there.

Ismail Lawal - ST

Nigerian youth international which I loaned while at Qviding as well, but he grew up a bit since then. He was in great form for a while, and looked odds on favorite to become the league's topscorer, but then he fizzled out in the final third of the season and got stuck at 14. Still, great contribution to our unexpected trophy.

The future:

So, we'll be playing in the First Division Elite next season...

And, yes, I say "we" - the board offered me a new contract, and - despite earlier intentions - I decided to accept it.

Still not sure if this was the right decision, but what the heck. There's always the resign button, if it turns sour.

Ideally I would have liked to move on to a struggling Swedish Premier League club, or perhaps a promotion contender in the second tier. Should an offer of that nature come up, I'll probably accept it in a flash, but for now I'll prepare for a tough relegation battle with Torslanda. Having just won the title with Torslanda, it didn't feel right to leave the club without another job lined up.

How tough next season will be exactly... That will probably depend on the quality of the loan players I'll be able to bring in next year. We're deep in debt, so the wage budget will probably not stretch very far, and since we'll probably have by far the lowest reputation in the league, bringing in quality players may be a struggle. But we'll see how far we get.

To complement the Torslanda job, I'm also gonna keep my eye out for an international job from now on. Ideally I'd like to start with a U21 or U19 squad (Sweden or Belgium would be perfect, for instance), but I'll also consider the senior squad of a small nation (below the top 100, or thereabouts.) I'm not in a huge rush with this, but if anything interesting comes up, I'll have a go at it.

Nov. 20, 2011

Well, that didn't take nearly as long as I expected. Alongside the Torslanda job, I'm now also the new Ukraine U21 manager.

The Senegal U21 job became available at the same time, but that commute seemed a bit unpractical. Not that Ukraine is within walking distance, but it's doable by plane.

Also, the Senegal U21 team only had a bunch of friendly matches lined up, while Ukraine is in the middle of the qualifying stage for the 2013 European U21 Championships.

Three qualifying matches to go, not an easy task:

We have a crucial away match against Slovakia in February, then in August/September home against Kazakhstan and away at Portugal.

Apparently the top team of the group qualifies for a playoff, while the second placed teams end up in some sort of seperate table. Not sure how that works exactly; guess I'll have to try and get that second place to find out.

Feb. 6, 2012

Torslanda IK - pre-season update

The off-season in Sweden is looooong.

Two months to go until the first league match, but I think the Torslanda squad is more or less in its definitive shape for the season. Which took a lot of work and a lot of money.

Not transfer money, as such. Our transfer budget was, as expected, 0. Our wage budget slightly increased, to €7.500 / week. With the new intake of crappy youth players, and the old batch of crappy youth players and all the crappy reserve players getting a wage increase, that budget was already far exceeded even before I had made one signing.

So I saw no other option, and made a rather drastic financial decision. One for which I would probably deserve to get sacked, but chairmen of football teams don't keep a close eye on day-to-day finances, it seems. As long as the wage budget is fine...

I released all the reserve players, all the youth players, and a good portion of the first team players who didn't make the cut, on free transfers, paying them a hefty fee each time. Approximately 40 useless players were sent packing this way (plus a few which I managed to offload by offering them to clubs for free.) This almost doubled the club's debt, and we're now more than 1.1 million in the red. (To put it in perspective: the club's estimated value is 170k.)

With the space in the wage budget provided by this mass exodus, I managed to sign 11 new players. Another dozen loan signings, plus the handful of players that didn't get relased, means we now have exactly 30 players at our disposal for this season. I probably shouldn't have signed us up for the reserve and U19 leagues, but oh well.

We managed to get a few of the same loan signings as last year, like forward Lawal, right winger Sana, and a few of the defenders. But in general, the ratio of loan signings in the first 11 will be significantly less than last season, as they're mostly there for squad depth. The key signings are on our own payroll this time.

The three picks of the lot, each earning a good 10% of our wage budget, who will hopefully play a big part in our battle against relegation:

Niklas Westberg - GK

A new goalie was high on my wishlist, and hopefully Niklas will produce the goods. He spent the last five seasons in this division - at Väsby and Norrköping respectively - as a first choice goalkeeper, so he has the experience at this level.

Daniel Nordmark - MRC

A youth product of Premier Division team Elfsborg, but he only played the odd match for them over the years. Right midfield is his best position, but we have a few choices there and are a bit light in the center, so that's where he'll mostly play.

Kristoffer Näfver - AML

We picked up a few players who can play on the left side as well, but Kristoffer is the one who'll probably be first choice there. He's traveled around a bit between some Premier Division clubs and Div.1 Elite clubs and back, hopefully he can settle down into a key player role here.

All in all, the quality of the players we managed to sign is a little bit better than I feared, but survival will still be a tough task. The media is expecting us to finish dead last, and the board just want us to battle bravely, so there's no huge pressure from that direction. Survival is rather crucial for the club's future though - in fact, if we're ever to get out of debt, we'll probably have to promote to the top flight pretty soon to bring in some decent crowds. Or get taken over by a Russian tycoon, heh.

We'll give it our best shot. In any case, winning the title and achieving promotion has increased my reputation significantly. (now "National" in Sweden.) Last year I was occasionally mentioned in manager rumors involving Belgian 3rd division clubs, this year I've popped up in news about Belgian Second Division clubs once or twice. No concrete offers yet, which is fine. I don't really want to leave Torslanda after so much effort over the winter trying to build a squad. But who knows, that sentiment might change after we've played a few matches...

Feb. 28, 2012

Ukraine U21 update:

An international career would probably be a little bit easier when managing a club which can scout all over the world. Though I suppose that's not a problem when managing a senior international squad. For now, however, I have to go by attributes and assistent advice to pick the Ukranian squad. Not a huge problem though. The player pool is rather limited, so it doesn't take all that much effort to distinguish the talent from the riff raff.

The Ukrainian U21 squad isn't bad - a few talented players there - but there's almost no squad depth. A few key injuries could mean trouble.

In this case, the first choice goalie was injured, so there were only two goalies left in the pool. For a moment I thought I wouldn't be able to continue the game, as I had to select three goalkeepers, but that didn't turn out to be a problem - the selection was accepted at second attempt.

Hopefully there'll be a nice batch of Ukranian regens in July, because there are only 4 non-grey players in the U19 squad, and a few of our key players are already 21.

Euro U21 Qualifying Group 3:

Slovakia U21 - Ukraine U21: 1-2

The first match of my international career was a crucial one, away against Slovakia. To keep our chances of qualifying for Euro 2013 alive, it was a match we couldn't lose, and a win would be preferable.

With that in mind, we used the offensive formation that I used at Torslanda last season, with two wingers in support of a lone striker, and it seemed to work well enough. Especially in the first half, when we were in complete control, and left winger Igor Roschin - the youngest player in the squad - gave us a nice lead at half time. The second goal did have a bit of an offside-smell, but the Belgian referee gave us the benefit of the doubt.

The second half was a lot more even, and they managed to put some pressure on our defense, but our goalkeeper didn't have all that much work. Not until the end, at least. They finally clawed one back with 10 minutes to go, and had two more great chances after that, but our reserve goalie came up big. On the other end, we broke out on the counter a few times as well, but didn't take the chances to put the game beyond doubt.

It stayed 1-2, which I'm obviously more than pleased with. With a 2 point lead and a game in hand, second place should be a formality now, especially since we recieve group whipping boys Kazakhstan at our own stadium next.

Group table

We can even top the group still, but then we'll have to bring three points from our trip to Portugal on the last match day, which won't be easy.

Those matches aren't until August/September though. I scheduled a friendly against the Swedish youngsters in June, but for now the focus is back on the Torslanda relegation battle.

Seems like you're getting somewhere now after a slow start

Interesting move into international management too with Ukraine U21s. Any potential stars to tap up as future signings?

Yep, I already signed a young Ukranian: Olexandr Riznyk

Not exactly a star though. In fact, he's not even good enough for the Torslanda reserves, really. But with only 3 U21 goalies in the pool, one of which is already 21, I figured it would be safer to sign this unemployed kid to make sure he doesn't retire next summer.

There's a few players who could fit into the Torslanda squad, but we'll need to promote to the top flight - and probably establish ourselves there for a few seasons - before the better ones would be interested in joining, I think.

Most of the starters are like Roschin I linked to in the previous post - talented youngsters with a few flaws. But he's still young, and hopefully those flaws get ironed out once he joins the Barcelona training setup.

Roschin is the only one at/moving to a non-Ukranian top club, for now. (Though they can't leave the country before their 18th birthday, I believe.) There's a few playing in Russia, and a few at Sheriff in Moldova, but most are still at Ukranian clubs, earning pocket change. So, yeah, if I was managing a slightly more reputable club, there would be a few future options here.

Olexandr Tkachenko looks to be by far the most talented Ukranian youngster at the moment. At least of the U21 squad; there are a few nice 21yr olds in the main Ukraine squad as well. Probably won't take very long before I lose Tkachenko to the seniors, I think, and it wouldn't surprise me if he joins a big European club not long after his 18th birthday.

May 8, 2012

Torslanda IK - First Division Elite, start of 2012 season

Results:

Our cup appearance was a bit of a disgrace. Our draw could hardly have been more favorable, but we already struggled to finish it off against a D1S relegation team in the 1st Round, and then lost against a non-league team. Not much more to say about that. Sure, we were the better team, but... blah, no excuses, we should never have lost that match.

Compared to that, our start in the league has been decent. Decent, but rough.

Our first league match, against Öster, was a bit painful. We were hanging on to a point until the 82nd minute, but we didn't deserve it. 4-1 or 5-1 would have been a fairer result. And Öster is only predicted to finish 9th.

That match, followed by the dreadful Cup match, didn't give me a lot of hope for the rest of the season, but luckily we managed to bounce back somewhat after that. We got out of the starting blocks sooner than I feared with a hard-battling away draw which almost felt like a win.

I considered the next match a crucial one - at home against Brage, last year's D1 North champs. It's from matches like that that we have to pick up the points, and we did. It started out as a very even match, but while leading 1-0 after a corner kick goal, one of their centre backs picked up a second yellow, and we took full advantage to increase our goal difference a bit. Never know, might be important at the end.

Then two narrow - but deserved - losses against teams which are currently near the top of the ranking. The one against Norrköping was a bit painful; we had a point in our sights until the 87th minute, but as said, it would not have been deserved. Then again, if we're gonna avoid relegation, we'll need to pick up points we don't deserve, so I shouldn't feel bad about that.

Based on these first five matches, it's gonna be a struggle to survive. But on the bright side, we haven't lost a (league) match yet with more than one goal difference, so the chance to hold on to a point here and there is certainly there. And in a week or two, the fixture list settles down into a steady "one match per week" schedule, which might help a bit as well.

June 4, 2012

Ukraine U21 update:

Friendly: Ukraine U21 - Sweden U21: 4-1

I invited the Swedish youngsters over for a friendly match, so I could hitch a ride with them to Kiev on the private jet of the Swedish FA.

The match went a lot smoother than I expected, though the scoreline is a little bit harsh on Sweden. A promising performance, but the important matches will come at the end of the summer.

Torslanda update:

Results:

A month of ups and downs, but I'll take 7 points from 5 matches any month.

The bookies called us home advantage favorites against Mjällby, which I found hard to believe considering they were in the Premier League last year, but they turned out to be spot on - we were the slightly better team.

Then followed a pair of painful matches where we were completely outplayed and we were actually lucky to get away with "only" a three goal difference each time. I expected a third such match when we faced Bromma, second in the league at that time, but thngs went our way for a change. Three points was flattering, a draw might have been more just, but we'll take it. And we'll take the bore draw away from home as well; any point helps.

So with a third of the season gone, we're in 11th place, two points above the relegation playoff spots, and six points above the straight relegation spots. That's as good as I could have hoped for. Still a long way to go though.

July 9, 2012

European Championship 2012 - Host: Poland/Ukraine

Final:

Holland - Italy: 1-0

No huge surprise in the group stage. Both hosts failed to make it to the knockout rounds, with Ukraine losing 3-0 to Portugal along the way - hopefully the U21 squad will do better against them later.

Italy seemed favorite to lift the trophy, as they trounced Sapin 4-0 in the Quarters and Portugal 3-1 in the Semi, while Holland needed penalties to get past Norway and only managed a 1-0 against Greece. But Stekelenburg picked up the MoM award in the final, with Huntelaar scoring the only goal of the match, and Holland finaly wins something again.

Torslanda mid-season update:

Results:

A poor stretch, with just three points from five matches, does not help our cause. While all three draws were results I gladly would have signed for beforehand, there was more to be gained there. Both against Häcken and Falkenberg we failed to hang on to a lead. The result against Skovde was perhaps the most disappointing, as they promoted alongside us and we really should get points from them if we're to stay up, even though they're doing quite well this year. Another draw was on the cards there, but with our nr.1 goalie out with a minor injury, our backup goalie made a bit of a blunder and cost us the match.

Injuries certainly contributed to our slight dip in form. Häcken, true to their name, hacked two of our players off the field - out for 6 weeks each - and we lost a few others for roughly the same amount of time a week later. Luckily the goalie only missed one match. Not quite an injury crisis, but not far off. (And for a club which barely has enough quality to compete, any injury is a bit of a crisis.)

The first of the injured players are close to return now, and we managed to bring in two extra youngsters on loan for a bit more squad depth, so hopefully the worst is behind us now.

Mid-season table

The lack of wins has put us in the danger zone for the first time this season. Still close between 11th and 15th, but we need to pick up some points soon.

As for the future, I've decided that this will most likely be my last season at Torslanda, no matter how our season ends. I think I said the same thing last year, but... erm, this time I mean it. Even if we manage to avoid relegation, with the huge debt, tiny wage budget, close to empty stadium, the situation isn't going to change for at least several years - barring a lucky takeover, but I'm not holding my breath for that. So I think it's time to look for a greener pitch soon.

I won't actively apply for new jobs yet until the season is over, so for now I remain focused on keeping the club in this division. But after that I'll start looking for a new challenge.

August 14, 2012

Results:

Another slightly frustrating month. Though one with a highlight: we finally ended our nine match no-win streak and got our first away win of the season.

The scoreline against league leaders Norrköping was fair. The two draws, however, and the narrow home loss against SyrKer, were matches from which we should have gotten more. Not that we got robbed, exactly; more like missed opportunities.

And we can't afford to miss too many opportunities. The bottom of the table, two thirds into the season:

Too tight for comfort...

Sept. 10, 2012

Torslanda update:

Results:

A great home win against Syrianska and a lucky draw at Mjällby see us taking crucial points from other relegation candidates. It's not enough though.

The bottom of the table with six matches left to play:

All those teams just keep picking up points here and there. At this point I'd probably sign for relegation playoffs.

Then again, I'm starting to get itchy feet, so maybe it would be easier to not have to bother with playoffs, and just move on to another challenge after the regular season...

Naah, actually, I'd prefer to avoid that third ® in my career summary, for now.

Still, of my two current assignments, my heart is a bit more in the Ukranian one at the moment. (Ukraine update in new post because of some image error message)

Ukraine U21 update:

A new batch of Ukranian youngsters arrived last month, with a few decent talents among them. We still don't have that many players to choose from, but at least we can leave most of the duds out of the selection now. Especially the midfield and goalkeeper areas got some reinforcements, which was much needed.

Two Euro '13 Qualifying matches to go. The first one is the easiest:

Ukraine U21 - Kazakhstan U21: 2-0

Group whipping boys Kazakhstan failed to score a goal in the entire campaign, and we pretty much dominated them the entire match. Unfortunately we only managed to score twice. A few extra goals to help along our goal difference might have been nice.

After this match we're certain of finishing 2nd in the group, and are two points behind Portugal, our last opponent.

A look at the "Second Placed Teams" table:

The top four of this table qualify for the playoffs along with the group winners. Which means the situation is as follows:

If we beat Portugal, in Portugal, we win the group. A draw in Portugal means it's out of our hands, and if Romania win in Wales they jump over us. If we lose in Portugal, then we almost certainly drop out of the top four, as pretty much every team behind us can get past us on goal difference.

In short, we have to win against Portugal.

So, that's what we did...

Portugal U21 - Ukraine U21: 1-2

Well, as the stats show, we got a bit lucky there. Our goalie had to save a penalty, and we were lucky to go into the break all square. They hit the woodwork twice. Then again, so did we, but still - once we scored the equalizer, I was just hoping we could hang on to the draw, and that Romania didn't win in Wales (they didn't.) But then Roschin went clear on the counter and finished it off, just minutes before the final whistle.

A superb result... but then the luck we got in the match somewhat abandoned us in the playoff draw:

Ouch, there were a few easier options than Italy.

Oh well, we'll give it our best shot. Home and away, next month, winner qualifies for EURO 2013 in Belgium.

Oct. 9, 2012

Ukraine U21 update

Someone at the Ukrainian FA had scheduled a friendly against Portugal a week after our crucial Qualifying match against Portugal. I guess they figured we would need a chance at a rematch.

Ukraine U21 - Portugal U21: 2-2

But the important match-up came in October. A two-legged playoff against Italy, for one of seven tickets to Euro 2013, to be held in Belgium next June.

Obviously I didn't really fancy our chances. I considered my campaign with Ukraine, reaching the playoffs, already a big success. I'd be able to resign at the end of the year with my head held high.

But in football, anything is possible.

Ukraine U21 - Italy U21: 3-0

Italy U21 - Ukraine U21: 2-1

Yikes. Near the end of a frustrating season at club level, that home match against Italy was just what I needed to lift my spirits. That certainly made my year.

We came out with guns blazing, nothing to lose, and were in complete control in the first half, and finally took the lead just after the break. Italy started piling on the pressure in the last 15 minutes, though without being really dangerous. Still, just as I feared we would be regretting all the earlier missed chances - including a missed penalty - we doubled our lead. Our center back, who had missed the penalty, headed in an indirect free kick. And a few minutes later I could do nothing else except scream with joy and relief as our sub midfielder hammered in a 30 yarder.

I was still a bit wary for the return match, but that only lasted 90 seconds and then we caught Italy napping. The rest of the match was a formality - they eventually clawed two back, but they needed three more.

And so we achieved what I certainly didn't expect when I took this job. We'll be traveling to Belgium - the manager's home country - in June.

The other playoffs:

Let's hope we'll be drawn in the group with the hosts, Austria, and... let's say Portugal, we did well against them.

Probably not though.

Oct. 28, 2012

Torslanda IK - End of season update

Media prediction: 16th

Final position: 13th

Swedish Cup: 2nd Round

With their manager collecting some air miles and having some exciting moments on the youth international scene, the Torslanda relegation battlers did their best to provide some excitement of their own, albeit on another level. With the end of the season in sight, I'd have gladly accepted a place in the relegation playoff, avoiding straight relegation. But a few good results put us in with a chance to avoid the playoffs as well.

Results of the last six matches:

Alas, we came up just short. A few spirited wins and draws put us in 12th before the last match day - on goal difference. But we lost against Angelholm, after taking the early lead, while Mjällby managed a draw, so our season wasn't over quite yet.

End of season table

Position graph

In the playoffs we faced Trollhättan, who were on a six match losing streak. We produced some of our best football of the season, especially in the home leg.

And so we avoided relegation, after a season which took a lot of hard work.

The squad:

Squad overview

No major gaps in the squad, though obviously another active season on the loan market had something to do with that. Thank heavens that there aren't any loan restrictions in Sweden. Given the club's financial situation, that loan-a-lot policy will have to be maintained for a while longer.

Some of the key players:

Kristoffer Näfver - AML

I expect Näfver to be picked as the Fans' Player of the Year. Did great on the left wing despite mediocre crossing ability. An equally consistent on the right side of the pitch might have earned us a few more points along the way, but the right wing ended up being a bit of a rotation spot.

Felix Sehlström - DC

Half of our young DC duo. He belongs to parent club Örgryte, but has been on loan at Torslanda for the past two and a half years, so he feels ours. Scores the odd corner kick header as well.

Niklas Hult - D/WBL

Another kid who's been with us on loan for the past two seasons. His pace certainly helped to make our left wing the most effective of the two.

Swedish Cup:

We barely scraped through the First Round against a Div.1 South team, then were shamefully beaten by a non-league team in the Second Round. We reached the board's objective, so they're pleased, but this was a cup performance to be quickly forgotten.

The future:

I still have a one year contract with the club, and the board is delighted with my performance, but I don't expect to be at Torslanda much longer. This is the main reason:

Torslanda finances

We had 67 season ticket holders this year (up from 29), and our average attendance is in the hundreds, while the rest of the league pulls crowds in the thousands. I don't see an easy way out of the financial hole for the club, and until they do, they'll always be battling relegation on a very tight budget. So it's time for me to move on.

I plan to be a little bit picky with my choice of next club - though not too much. A step up would be nice, though that isn't strictly necessary if I see room for not-too-long-term growth. I'll probably stay on at Torslanda for a bit while I start sending out a few applications, but if I haven't found a club in a month or so, I'll probably resign to give my successor enough time to build next season's squad.

I already had one unsollicited job offer, in fact. On the morning of our last league match, Belgian Second Division club Boussu approached me. They're just above the relegation zone, predicted to finish 6th. I delayed the offer for a week, but then rejected it. The timing of the offer was good, and I'm certainly open to a job in the Belgian second tier, but ultimately the offer didn't excite me enough. So I'm holding out for something else, for now. At this stage of the year, new jobs become available every week, so something interesting will come up eventually.

Nov. 20, 2012

Ukraine U21 update:

Results of a few friendlies. The first two were scheduled just days after the Euro Playoffs against Italy, but I chose not to cancel them and gave the lads a hangover-runout. They did well enough.

Hungary U21 - Ukraine U21: 1-3

Ukraine U21 - Montenegro U21: 2-1

Ukraine U21 - slovenia U21: 4-1

Meanwhile, no progress on the club level. I've sent in applications to a handful of clubs: FC Utrecht, Cambuur, Empoli, Murcia and Antwerp. I figured I stood a good chance of getting the Antwerp job (Belgian Second division) but no dice. Looks I might have to set my sights a little lower.

March 26, 2013

Ukraine U21 update

A February and March friendly, in preparation of our Euro 2013 appearance in a few months:

Ukraine U21 - Belarus U21: 4-0

Czech Republic U21 - Ukraine U21: 1-1

The EURO 2013 group draw:

The tournament starts mid June. Two weeks before the start, however, we already have our first Qualifying match for Euro 2015. Almost the exact same group as before, with Kazakhstan, Slovakia and Portugal (and Estonia). There's a good chance I'll leave that campaign to someone else though. A new international challenge after the tournament sounds like a good idea.

As for the new club challenge, no progress on that. It doesn't look like my accomplishments so far - limited as they may be - are worth much. Small and medium sized clubs from various leagues have turned me down. There's the odd rumour here and there, but no longer from Belgian 2nd Division clubs - back down to 3rd Division clubs, for some reason.

Ah well, something will land in my lap at some point. For now, there's still the Ukraine job to keep me occupied.

Well done on saving Torslanda from the drop and great job in reaching the Euro U21 Championship! Don't fret too much about the lack of decent job offers at present. In my career, I was being turned down on all fronts after quitting my firt job in Hong Kong but after qualifying for the Asian U19 Championships with South Korea, I landed a job in Argentina. Just participating in the tournament in the summer should give your rep a boost.

Cheers.

I've indeed put the club-search on hold until after the tournament. Hopefully it'll help a bit.

U21 European Championship 2013 - Belgium

Well, one more other match before the tournament. Scheduling the first Euro 2015 Qualifying match nine days before the start of Euro 2013 is pushing it a bit, if you ask me. But heck, I suppose it was a good warm up match.

Ukraine U21 - Slovakia U21: 2-0

And with that good start to the new campaign under our belt, we traveled to Belgium in high spirits. Making it through a group with England and Germany will be tough. Then again, we won against Italy and Portugal recently, so who knows.

We lost a few 22 year olds after newyear, but for this tournament we can call them up again. Just what we need, with one of our few decent midfielders injured.

A squad of 22 isn't a lot, so we made a few calculated gambles and only selected two goalkeepers and two left wingers. Ofcourse that immediately comes back to bite us in the ass: before the first match, our second choice left winger breaks his ankle. And, somehow, while sitting on the bench during our first match, the second goalie goes out with a torn groin muscle.

That was the only thing that went wrong in that match, though...

Germany U21 - Ukraine U21: 1-2

Once again, we got lucky. The first decent chance of the match and we were a goal ahead; our right winger headed in a lovely long cross from the left back. And on the half hour, a klutz-ball in the German box, and Zhabchenko was in the right place at the right time.

The Germans took control of the match after that, but we didn't give too much away at the back. They clawed one back to give us a tense last ten minutes, but we held on to the three points.

The other result in our group:

England U21 - Austria U21: 5-0

We face Austria next. Before the start of the tournament, I was glad we got drawn in the same group, as I figured that would give us a good chance to get three points and finish third in the group. Now, a win against Austria would probably put us in the semi finals. The pressure is on.

European U21 Championship

Ukraine U21 - Austria U21: 3-0

A confident performance sees us take the vital three points we need. Zhabchenko's second goal - a close range header - gave us the early lead. After that we were firmly in control, though Austria did get one or two good chances to equalize. But in the second half we finished it off. Burdeynyi's pace was put to good use as he was sent alone towards goal, and he kept his cool. And not much later, Artem Popov finished off a lovely counter attack.

With Germany and England holding each other at 1-1, we're the first team in the tournament to be certain of a spot in the semi final.

It comes at a cost though. Two more injuries: left back Kovalenko sprained his ankle, and right winger Gurskyi - scorer of the first goal against Germany - is out with a pulled hamstring. So we're down to 18 players after two matches, just enough for a full match squad.

England U21 - Ukraine U21: 1-0

A result that didn't matter for us, but England needed at least a point. England dominated the match and took the lead from an indirect free kick, but poor finishing on their part, and a great performance by goalkeeper Borysevych kept us in the match until the final whistle, and we almost got lucky once or twice.

But in the end, we don't really mind the loss, since that means we get to face the winners of group A in the Semi Finals:

Not that we think Belgium will be an easier opponent than France. Well, they might be, but probably not by much. But a Ukraine squad with a Belgian manager, playing against Belgium, in Belgium... that should be fun.

European U21 Championship

Semi Final:

Ukraine U21 - Belgium U21: 1-2 (aet)

Possibly one of the more boring matches of the tournament, but the hosts probably won't mind. They kept us chasing the ball for long stretches, but the only danger - on both sides - during the first 90 minutes came from long shots and corner kicks. They took the early lead with a 30 yard missile.

Some harsh words during half time didn't seem to do much to get our guys into gear, but defender Naumenko headed in a corner kick with ten minutes to go to put us alongside anyway and force extra time.

40 seconds into extra time, the best chance of the match was for lone Belgian forward De Pauw who broke clear of our defense for the the first time, and he didn't miss. Our tired youngsters failed to make a fist after that.

I'm slightly disappointed with our quality of play in the semi final, but obviously I can only be pleased with our tournament. Getting here was already a big success, and making it through the group stage was more than I could have hoped for.

There's really not much more I can achieve with the Ukranian youngsters. Trying to get past the semis in the next Euro Ch'Ship would require even more luck than we had this time around; we already over-achieved. So I'll resign shortly, and will keep my eyes open for a new international challenge. Unfortunately the Belgium U21 manager will probably not get sacked just yet - I'd like that job.

Oh yeah, the U21 EURO 2013 title went to England:

Aug. 14, 2013

Still searching for a new club, but a new international challenge has presented itself not much more than a month after resigning from the Ukraine U21 job:

Guadeloupe! I'm quite excited about this.

No world ranking - in other words, no participation in the World Cup Qualificiation etc. But there are other challenges.

Guadeloupe are the reigning Caribbean Champions (beating Jamaica in the final, back in 2012), and they just completed a great Gold Cup tournament, topping a group with Canada, USA and Guatemala, then getting past Costa Rica in the Quarters, Honduras in the Semis, only to lose to the USA in the Final in extra time.

It'll be quite a challenge to repeat that achievement. Especially with some of the current crop of players getting on a bit.

Guadeloupe's star players: Mickaël Tacalfred, James Fanchone, Aurélien Capoue

Those are the star players listed by the board. The real star player, however: Jonathan Biabiany

Not too bad. Behind those four, however, the quality drops pretty fast.

There are actually more Guadeloupe players in the database than Ukranian players. Problem is, most of them are also French and don't want to play for Guadeloupe. One of the first tasks in the upcoming friendlies will be to try and call up some of the half-decent youngsters and give them a senior cap.

We already played our first friendly, as a matter of fact. (It was scheduled only a few days after my appointment, so I didn't do much yet with the squad. Well, I did give the 39 year old backup goalie ten minutes on the field to give him his first cap.)

Guadeloupe - Guyana: 5-0

Hiring a few extra staff members is also on the agenda. There's one assistent, that's it. I placed an advert for a manager for the U20 squad (as they seem to play only friendlies anyway). Liliam Thuram refused a job as a coach, as did some Swedish fitness coach who loyally followed me out the door at Torslanda. I guess he doesn't like the sun.

Nov.16, 2013

Guadeloupe update

Our first competitive match is - I think - still more than 10 months away, but we've been playing quite a few friendlies. I've done a lot of experimenting; the line-ups and call-ups have been substantially different from one match to the next. Part of that is trying to figure out who the best players are. That's still a work in progress. Apart from a few key players, the assistent manager seems to suggest vastly different line-ups each time. I suppose that means we have a number of players of roughly the same quality, which probably isn't such a bad thing.

I've also gave about a dozen players - mostly youngsters - their first cap. Good for popularity, as they all list me in their "favorite personnel" list now.

Several of those will probably never earn their second cap, but a few may become useful in the future, as some of our veterans retire.

The goalkeeper area is particularly problematic. The only decent Guadeloupean goalkeeper at the moment is 35. He's also the player with the most caps. Hopefully he continues for a few more years.

I gave a few young goalies their first cap, of which a 15 year old who is contracted to a team in the French National league seems to be the most promising. Or "the least crappy" is perhaps a better way of putting it.

Hiring staff members is also a bit problematic, as absolutely nobody seems to want to join. I've had adverts out for a coach, GK coach, physio and U20 manager for months now, without a single reply. Manually searching candidates doesn't seem to do the trick either. So I guess it's just me and the assistent manager, for now.

The results of our friendlies:

St. Martin - Guadeloupe: 0-1

Guadeloupe - Sint Maarten: 1-0

Guadeloupe - Bahamas: 3-0

Surinam - Guadeloupe: 1-2

Solid performances across the board, though we should have scored more goals in pretty much every one of those matches.

I'm enjoying this challenge. Eager to defend our Caribbean Championship title next October.

Meanwhile, progress on the club job front seems to go backwards. I've been rejected by all sorts of teams now, including Belgian Third Division relegation battlers. Didn't quite expect to be unemployed for almost a year (and counting), or I would have stayed at Torslanda a bit longer.

Which might not have been such a bad idea, considering:

Swedish First Division Elite 2013

Yikes, so they finished second and promoted to the top flight. I'll take some of the credit for it, as I signed a few players and arranged half a dozen loan deals before I resigned, to at least give them a fighting chance under new management... but hats off to the new manager anyway.

Also good to see that there's still a Belgian factor at the club. I had signed a few Belgian coaches while there, and the new (Swedish) manager took advantage of their knowledge and signed two Belgian players during the midseason transfer window.

Anyway, the search for a new club continues. I'm at the stage (and have been for a few months) where I'll apply to pretty much every job that comes up.

Hey mate... brilliant story so far, I'm loving it, especially seen as thought I'm playing a game like it. (albeit with less leagues) I was wondering... do you think I should make my own career update thread for my Long Term Career game?

Thanks, glad you're enjoying it.

I'd say, if you feel like you'd enjoy updating your career on the forum, then go for it!

Sept. 10, 2014

World Cup 2014

Guadeloupe update:

Time flies. Almost two years without a club now, and still getting rejected left right and center. Luckily I still have Guadeloupe to keep me entertained, or I'd be getting (more) frustrated.

Still only playing friendlies so far though, but that should change soon. The Caribbean Championship has already started, but as defending champions, we progress straight to the third stage, which will be held in December.

Defending that title will not be easy. Half a dozen of our veterans retired in June, including the goalkeeper. So our first choice goalie is now a 16 year old from the U19 squad of Amiens SC, in the French National league. I think he might turn out alright eventually, but he could've used a few more years of experience.

At least we had a bit of time to give him a few friendlies to build some confidence.

The results:

Guadeloupe - Canada: 3-2

Belize - Guadeloupe: 1-2

Guadeloupe - Guatemala: 3-1

Montserrat - Guadeloupe: 0-2

Guadeloupe - El Salvador: 2-2

Nov. 19, 2014

Guadeloupe update

Our last two friendly matches before the start of the Caribbean Championship:

Guyana - Guadeloupe: 1-2

Guadeloupe - Puerto Rico: 2-0

Three weeks to go until the start of the tournament, and so far no major injuries. Let's hope it stays that way, because the group draw is rather tough:

Group A seems to be the "group of death." Guadeloupe, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago have won 14 of the last 16 Caribbean Championships between them. (And Guadeloupe only won one of those - the last one.) Trinidad & Tobago are also the hosts.

Basic two group system - top two goes to the Semi Finals. The board expects us to reach the semis, which isn't too much to ask of the defending champs.

Caribbean Ch'ship 2014 - Hosts: Trinidad & Tobago

Well, our opening match of the Caribbean Championship was one to remember. For various reasons.

FM has a way of kicking you in the balls, sometimes.

The manager's first competitive match in 26 months. The first step towards - hopefully - successfully defending the Caribbean title. But half of the squad which won the tournament two years ago has since retired. We have a 16 year old in goal. We start off with a tough match against the hosts, who are considered favorites for the match. With three of our regular back four sitting out a suspension from the Gold Cup 18 months ago, I tend to agree with that assessment.

But I'm still optimistic; we haven't lost a friendly yet...

Until, about five minutes into the match. right winger Biabiany - our absolute star player, by a country mile - gets kicked off the field. He may not be a regular at Fiorentina, but he's our driving force. In his 4(1) international matches since the summer, he averaged 14.64 dribbles per match, with a rating of 8.10. I immediately check - potential foot injury. My optimism goes out the window. His tournament is probably over, and without him, we don't stand much of a chance.

The rest of the squad, however, responds better than me:

Guadeloupe - Trinidad & Tobago: 4-2

With our right wing decimated, our offensive force has to come from the left wing. More specifically, from the pace of left winger Cédric Collet. But it's our backup left back who swings in a deep cross on the half hour, and striker Yoann Arquin gives us the lead with a close range header.

Not for long, however; Kenwyne Jones quickly equalizes for T&T. I tell my defenders to tackle Jones hard - if they can kick off my star player, maybe we can do the same. But to no avail; Jones scores his second goal early in the second half, off a defensive error. Ironically, it's not one of the three backups, but our one remaining regular defender who makes the error.

But our lads fight back. Collet swings in the corner kick - normally Biabiany's task - and Arquin powers it into the net. Arquin can be a bit inconsistent, but today is clearly his day. He sets up the third goal as well, with a lovely pass putting sub mid Loizeau alone in front of the keeper, and he scores his first ever goal for Guadeloupe. The fourth goal, late in the match, is all for Collet - a lovely free kick, off the bottom of the bar and into the goal.

So we get a great result without our star player, but I'm still anxious to learn about his injury. When I see the title of the news item, I almost cheer: "Biabiany suffers a stubbed toe."

Until I click it. Removed from the squad? Erm, what where how?

I check his injury - 5 to 6 days. Granted, the group matches are every two days, but still, he could be back for the semi. I try to select him as his own replacement, but the physio - what physio, nobody answered the advert for 18 months? - doesn't let me. Blah.

Ah well, guess we'll have to do without him. At least they let me pick a replacement, which is weird in and of itself. Different rules in the Caribbean, I guess. With a little luck, another player will get injured in the third group match, and I can bring Biabiany back in as a replacement.

That is, if we make it through the group stage. Looking good so far though.

Caribbean Ch'Ship 2014

Our second match was against the clear favorites to win the title: Jamaica. They've won it five times in total (losing finalists in 2012, won it in 2010 and 2008, so clearly the best team in the tournament's recent history.) Ranked 65th in the world, with their star striker playing in the English Premiership (Zavon Hines, Brimingham) and their goalie playing in the Serie A (Dwayne Miller, Torino).

Before the match, I probably would have been happy with a point, but we did better than that:

Jamaica - Guadeloupe: 0-1

Although the stats seem in our favor, and we scored the early goal, the first half was almost entirely for Jamaica. We had to withstand heavy pressure, but our well-rested defense was in superb form and cleared pretty much everything, so the young goalie didn't have to do too much. In the second half they seemed a bit tired, and we got a few good chances to finish it off, but in the end I was mainly relieved that we managed to hang on to the three points. The difference on the field wasn't nearly as big as the difference in numbers - could've gone either way.

French Guiana - Guadeloupe: 1-1

Before the start of the tournament, I figured French Guiana would be the weak team of the group, but since we still had to get a point to make absolutely certain of qualification, I chose to field as strong a squad as possible rather than let some of the first team rest. We started furiously, with two balls against the woodwork in the first ten minutes, but once we got the goal the match pretty much fizzled out. They got the equalizer in injury time, wich disappointed the fans, but I didn't care much.

So we're through to the Semi Finals, and apparently that also means that we've qualified for the Gold Cup.

It seems we're not facing the 2nd placed team from Group B though. Must've been a new draw, because we're facing Jamaica again in the Semi. Not too pleased with that, to be honest, would have preferred to hold off on the rematch until the Final.

Caribbean Ch'Ship 2014

Semi Final:

Guadeloupe - Jamaica: 1-0

I was a bit worried about this Semi final - which was more like a final avant-la-lettre - but we did it again, and in roughly the same manner. Well, the match started a lot more even this time, and without the comfort of an early goal, but deep in the first half we got the lead, courtesy of our left winger/striker combo - lovely cross, close range header.

And after that, like in the group match, it was our defense which won us the match, clearing pretty much every ball out of the danger zone, so our inexperienced goalie wouldn't have too much to do. We had to play the last 5+4 minutes with ten men - no more substitutions - but made it without too much trouble.

We'll be facing Haiti in the Final now, and although I can't really put into perspective how strong or weak they are, I'd be really disappointed now if we don't win it.

The Semi Final win didn't come cheap, though. The Jamaicans kicked our left back and our left winger off the field, and we lose a center back to suspension as well. Apart from that, most of the squad was pretty damn tired at the end of the match - hopefully they'll recover a bit in three days.

Caribbean Ch'Ship 2014

FINAL:

Haiti - Guadeloupe: 4-4 aet, Haiti win penalty shootout 6-5

Holy blundering cow! What an amazingly frustrating, exiting, frustrating, exciting, but ultimately frustrating final! We should never have lost this...

If any neutral viewers switched channels after the first half, they would have regretted it. Because it started off as a typical tournament final, a boring match between two nervous teams - especially Guadeloupe. With our star right winger injured after five minutes in this tournament, our pacey left winger injured in the semis, and our in-form striker starting on the bench today because of fatigue, we were absolutely nowhere up front.

But it looked like our defense was gonna hold strong. We weren't giving much away, as usual, and one of our DCs headed an indirect free kick into the net. At half time, it was looking good, despite yet another right winger getting stretchered off.

But in the second half, it all spiraled out of control. Poor Kelvin Vialle, our inexperienced 16 year old goalie. A long cross toward the second post bounced off one of our defenders, off Kelvin's back, and into the goal. The goalie blunder which I had feared before the start of the tournament. It had to happen sooner or later...

1-1, no disaster. Although, it made me take off the backup striker who hadn't hit a ball all day, instead of the yellow-carded center back who had picked up a knock. Wrong choice - on the hour, Zubar picked up his second yellow. A man down. With two subs made and a half hour to go, I decided to play with three at the back and hope for the best. Not much later, we were a goal down.

They kept us pinned at our own half for a bit, but with ten minutes to go, we finally got over to the other end again. And, somehow, from a harmless throw near the corner flag followed a harmless looking cross, but Arquin - definitely our man of the tournament - inbetween 4 defenders managed to put his head against the ball for the equalizer. And in the 88th minute I jumped up and down as Arquin - him again - sent Loizeau in the clear and he finished it off. In the lead, with ten men, with just minutes to go.

Nervous minutes those were, but it looked like we were gonna make it. 3 of 4 injury minutes gone, and corner for us. It's in the bag, I figured. And then we screwed up royally; I'm still not sure how. Somehow, with less than a minute to go and a goal ahead, we only kept one player near the middle circle, and they had three. Vialle initially made the save, but the rebound was bound to fall in front of the wrong pair of legs. All square with seconds to go, and we went to extra time.

And then we blundered yet again. We picked up the ball on our own half, no immediate danger. But our backup left back - in his first appearance this tournament after our regular one got injured - hoofs the ball forward, except it bounces off the back of an opponent and becomes a perfect assist for their striker.

But still we weren't down. Again Arquin managed to equalize, finishing off a nice counter attack from close range. And so we headed to a shootout.

A shootout I was far from comfortable with, with a 16 year old goalie between the stakes. That sentiment turned out to be right. They put one wide, but Vialle never touched the ball. Their goalie saved two.

But I can hardly blame the kid. He's 16, probably hasn't touched a boob yet, but he had to play in the final of an international tournament. I blame the previous goalie, lazy git who decided to retire at 35 already.

Gutted though. Worked so hard to get there. And although Haiti was called favorites and "superior opposition" and what not, they weren't that strong. We just made a whole bunch of stupid errors, all in one game.

Kinda want to try again in two years, but I probably won't. Mainly because I haven't been able to get a job at the tiniest amateur club in the smallest league for two years now, and I think somehow being the Guadeloupe manager is what's preventing clubs from offering me a contract, or something. I'll stay on until after the Gold Cup next summer, I think, and if I don't have a club job by then, I'll probably resign the Guadeloupe job.

Damn though, wanted this trophy...

Unlucky in the shoot-out! But a great run to the final What's your rep like now? Any news of a club job?

Thanks DodgeeD. The final was fun... or, it would have been if we had won the shootout.

Only in January now, so it's hard to say for sure, but so far no change on the club front, it seems. "Application unsuccessful"

Reputation has been National for a few years now (since I got Torslanda promoted.)

I guess being stationed in the Caribbean is making the European clubs decline to offer me a contract. (It would actually make sense too, from a realism standpoint, but it's still annoying.)

I'll give it until after the Gold Cup in the summer. If nothing by then, I'll resign and move back to Europe.

Gold Cup 2015 group draw:

Top two, plus the two best third places, progress to the Quarters (which the board expects us to achieve).

Should be possible. Jamaica again, but we've shown we can handle them. Costa Rico could be tricky as well. El Salvador should be no problem though.

Matches start June 3. Hopefully not too many retirements by then.

May 25, 2015

Guadeloupe update:

Two more friendlies played in preparation for the Gold Cup:

Colombia - Guadeloupe: 3-0

Guadeloupe - Antigue and Barbuda: 3-1

We had a few key injuries against Colombia, so it wasn't quite the "test" I was hoping for, but we probably wouldn't have been able to avoid our first defeat under my management.

A week away from the start of the Gold Cup, quite excited about that.

But I'm even more excited about:

Finally! After 29 months, a club offered me a job again. I took it with both hands - they weren't relegating to an unplayable league, that's all I needed to know.

Clubo Desportive Feirense finished 14th this season - just above the relegation spots - in the Liga Vitalis, Portugal's second tier. They've been a consistent mid-table team in this division for the past 11 years - 5th place their best finish, 14th the worst.

An aging 3667 all-seater stadium, average training facilities, adequate youth facilities + academy.

The finances are, of course, a bit of a mess though. They took out a €2M loan two and a half years ago, just to get in the black again, and are now again €1.5M in the red.

So it'll be another case of budget management, with free signings and loans, but that's ok. Just glad to have a job again.

I have a two year contract at €800/week (I think I made 825 at Torslanda). Don't know yet if it's a club where I can settle in for several seasons, but considering how long it took me to get a new job, I don't think I'll be resigning any time soon.

Great stuff! Your patience paid off. Best of luck in Portugal. Will you be signing any stars from Guadeloupe?

I'll certainly be looking into it.

There are only a few top Guadeloupeans who are too good to be interested in a Portuguese second division club. The majority of the core squad might be of pretty much the ideal quality for Feirense. That's just an uninformed first impression though, haven't really looked at it in detail yet. I'll have to snap them up on free contracts as well, and no idea if anyone's out of contract. But yeah, wouldn't mind one or two Guadeloupe internationals in the squad. I'll see what I can do after the Gold Cup.

June 12, 2015

North American Gold Gup 2015 - hosts: USA

Group stage:

Guadeloupe - Costa Rica: 3-2

Guadeloupe - El Savador: 2-1

Jamaica - Guadeloupe: 2-2

A solid performance in the group stage, though it took a lot of hard work. A red card for our left winger looked to put us in trouble against Costa Rica, but we still managed to snatch the three points with a very satisfying late goal.

The match against El Salvador should have been the easiest of the three, and it kinda was, but it took a lot of chances before we finally managed to score. Luckily midfielder Therry Racon had a great day.

A fairly even match against Jamaica, though if one team deserved to win it was us. Still, despite the missed penalty I'm pleased with the draw, especially considering the "dramatic equalizer." And we were already certain of qualification anyway.

But the point against Jamaica made us group winner. Not sure if that contributed to our favorable Quarter Final draw: we'll be facing Honduras.

Well, "favorable" is relative, of course. They're ranked 78th in the world, so they're still considered the clear favorites by the bookies. But I'm glad we're still avoiding the USA and Mexico at this stage.

Been following for a while. Impressed by your management with Guadeloupe. Are you resigning after the Gold Cup? Have fun with your job in Portugal.

Canada finished ahead of the US of A in the Group Stages of the Gold Cup \o/

Yeah, but Canada just lost to Costa Rica in the Quarters though.

Guadeloupe are stronger than one might expect, actually, for such a small nation. In the game at least, no idea how it is in reality, heheh.

Most of their players come from the French leagues. (That's actually a regular press conference item when calling up a player for the first time, "criticism about player being born in some French town blah blah")

When I took over, they had just reached the final of the Gold Cup, and had won the Caribbean Ch'Ship six months earlier. So I'm not achieving anything that the previous manager hadn't already achieved.

That Ch'Ship winning team is no more though. Half of them have already retired, and the other half is aged 30-33.

Not sure yet if I'll stay on. If I hadn't found a club job yet, I'd certainly have quit. Now I'm tempted to do another two year cycle and have another go at the Caribbs.

The age of the players is the main argument against it. There are hardly any youngsters to fill the shoes of the retiring players. Well, there are some very nice looking eligable chaps, but they're refusing call-up. Not sure if it's possible that they'll change their mind at some point. I think so, since the current star player (Biabiany, from Fiorentina) only got his first cap in 2013, at age 25. Maybe I'll wait to see what the next batch of young Guadeloupeans looks like before deciding.

Gold Cup 2015 - Quarter Final:

Guadeloupe - Honduras: 3-2

Perhaps we were slightly fortunate to win this match, but certainly not by much. A fairly even match, I'd say. We were just a bit more efficient in front of goal. The first goal was particularly enjoyable, as we scored straight from the kick off. Faster than a sneeze...

And that's our second Gold Cup record, actually. In the first match of the tournament,16 year old goalie Kelvin Vialle also became the youngest Gold Cup player ever.

On to the Semi Final, then, where we'll be facing hosts and defending champs USA. Though we forced them to extra time in the Final two years ago (under the previous manager), they'll probably be a size too strong for us.

Costa Rico and Mexico will face each other in the other Semi Final.