FM12 Big Euro Nation: Small Club to Big Club Challenge

[Gypsum]

I think I may have got promoted a bit too quickly... my team is pretty far below other SPL sides. We're still part-time! And despite the new board investing money, because of the new stadium being built i've actually got a small budget than I did last season. Should make for an interesting challenge!

Saying that, we just beat Hibs 4-1!

[rlipscombe]

Swinburn - Great season there. You're really flying towards completion!
LLR - Not a bad position to be in at the halfway stage. A good second half should see you competing for a place in the big time.

Agree completely with PRDH. Swinburn - you look like you are a season away from completion. LLR - a tough start but you seem to have settled into the chasing pack. good luck for the run-in.

[Swinburn]

Agree completely with PRDH. Swinburn - you look like you are a season away from completion.

I hope so, cheers to you both. As usual I've played ahead since once I'm on a roll, I can't stop. Those screens were taken a few days ago and I'm now in February. Currently 4th in the league, but it's fair to say that's not my priority. We've made it to the Copa Del Rey final again, where we'll play Athletic Bilbao, the people we beat in our first final. We've topped our CL group again, with the exact same record as last season. Every win at home, every draw away. Arsenal await in the next round. Broke my no player rule to sign Mario Balotelli for 4.3m and Enzo Zidane in January for 550k.

It's not been as dominant of a season as last season, but we have a good chance if we can beat Arsenal. We beat Inter 5-3 in the groups so...

[Gypsum]

This season may turn out better than I expected...

[Swinburn]

This season may turn out better than I expected...

Nice! Keep winning like that and you'll get there in no time.

[vikeologist]

• Vikeologist’s 2023/2024 End of Season Report
  

  
  
  
  

  Season             League            Pos           Cups                      Europe     Achievements
  2012/13            Sc Div 3          1st           No comment                n/a        Manager of the Year
  2013/14            Sc Div 2          1st           Challenge Cup Finalists   n/a        Manager of the Year
  2014/15            Sc Div 1          3rd           CC Winners & SC Final     qual       None
  2015/16            Sc Div 1          2nd           CC & SC Winners, LC R/U   EC 3Q      Manager of the Year
  2016/17            Sc Div 1          1st           Challenge Cup Winners     EC 4Q      Manager of the Year
  2017/18            Sc Prem           5th           LC Final                  qual       None
  2018/19            Sc Prem           7th           LC Winners                EC R2      Manager of the Year 
  2019/20            Sc Prem           1st           SC Winners, LC R/U        n/a        Manager of the Year
  2020/21            Sc Prem           1st           SC & LC Winners           EC Winners Manager of the Year
  2021/22            Sc Prem           1st           SC Winners                cc Q/F     Manager of the Year
  2022/23            Sc prem           1st           LC R/U                    CC R1      Manager of the Year 
  2023/24            Sc prem           1st           LC R/U, SC Winners        CC R1      Manager of the Year

  Pretty much a repeat of last season.
  
  Squad
  
  Transfers
  
  League- A 5^th cakewalk in a row. The last couple of seasons we’ve had bad finishes to the season, so this time I kept applying the whip and we finished 19 points clear of Celtic with 94 points. Early on it looked as though my very own welsh wonder Kristian Rowberry would break Henrik Larsson’s long standing 35 league goals in a season, but he picked up an injury, and the 7 games he missed probably cost him the record. That, and the big 2 team records (103 points and 132 goals), are pretty hard to beat in Scotland with 38 league games, but hopefully we can give it a shot next season. We need something to compete against to stave off the boredom.
  
  
  Champions League – These are the whole season now, and again we went out in the First Knockout round, this time to Inter. We drew the home leg 0-0, and I had high hopes for the match in Milan, but Rowberry was sent off for violent conduct early on. We put up a good fight with our 10 men, but they scored twice in the last 15 minutes to effectively end our season.
  
  League Cup – Just like last season, the match immediately after crashing out of the Champions League was for our reserves to lose in the League Cup Final.
  
  Scottish Cup – Thankfully we ended our season on a high by soundly beating Partick Thistle in the final. They have the consolation of being in Europe for probably the first time in their history though.
  
  Kristian Rowberry is now a world class striker, (although he has started declining a bit over the summer) but all the international awards seem to be tied to team reputations, and East Stirlingshire and Wales are a bit of a disadvantage in that regard. None of my players have ever been shortlisted for World Player of the Year; another target for next season. However, he did win the European Golden Boot, even though playing for us meant that he had to score a lot more goals than anybody else.
  Nonetheless, we really need another striker of his calibre, and I have just signed Luca Meunier on a free transfer, and nicely affordable salary. I arranged the transfer in the middle of last season. Unfortunately about a week before finally joining us Meunier broke his leg in an Under 21 match and is out for 6 months. On the one hand it shouldn’t matter too much as it’s the second half of the season that I’ll need him. However, I’m a bit worried that he won’t be the same player when he finally comes back. I’ve just sold the club’s second highest goalscorer who didn’t recover from a similar serious injury.
  
  In any case, it’s really frustrating not being able to play with my new toy. Also, since Rowberry has a 3 match ban from Europe because of his sending of, I hope that my other strikers can get the goals we’ll need in the first half of the Champions League Group stage. They’re best categorised as a thin spread of unrealised potential.
  

[vikeologist]

I think I may have got promoted a bit too quickly... my team is pretty far below other SPL sides. We're still part-time! And despite the new board investing money, because of the new stadium being built i've actually got a small budget than I did last season. Should make for an interesting challenge!

Saying that, we just beat Hibs 4-1!

Have you asked the board to go professional?

I think that I've been really lucky that East Stirlingshire finished bottom that first 2011/12 season. While our original ground (actually Stenhousemuir's) was being upgraded and the new stadium built, we had a couple of other big grounds nearby to use for the first couple of seasons in the Premier, and then our new stadium had a capacity of over 20k. My Chairman is the kind of delusional Newt Gingrich colonies on the moon kind of guy that you need for this challenge. It also helped that we didn't get promoted straight away from division 1, while doing freakishly well in the cups and qualifying for Europe. All of this definitely helped us become the top dog in Scotland quite quickly. Things may have been very different if I'd gone with Queens Park who were the original 2011/12 wooden spooners, and who I was warned off about because they may have been amateur forever. Annan (and someone else's Elgin City) seem like much tougher teams to succeed with than The Shire, so I'm impressed.

[PRDH]

Vikeologist - Meunier looks like a great striker, hopefully he'll recover well from his injury. Good luck cracking Europe.

[Gypsum]

Have you asked the board to go professional?

I think that I've been really lucky that East Stirlingshire finished bottom that first 2011/12 season. While our original ground (actually Stenhousemuir's) was being upgraded and the new stadium built, we had a couple of other big grounds nearby to use for the first couple of seasons in the Premier, and then our new stadium had a capacity of over 20k. My Chairman is the kind of delusional Newt Gingrich colonies on the moon kind of guy that you need for this challenge. It also helped that we didn't get promoted straight away from division 1, while doing freakishly well in the cups and qualifying for Europe. All of this definitely helped us become the top dog in Scotland quite quickly. Things may have been very different if I'd gone with Queens Park who were the original 2011/12 wooden spooners, and who I was warned off about because they may have been amateur forever. Annan (and someone else's Elgin City) seem like much tougher teams to succeed with than The Shire, so I'm impressed.

My chairman seems to be an irrational David Cameron type rather than a delusional optimist like Newt Gingrich. Spends a fortune on fancy projects while cutting money everywhere else. The option to go professional is greyed out, saying the club can't afford it. A bit odd as we've got over £950k in the bank, and we've been financially very secure all the time i've been at the club. Obviously a new stadium is priority over a professional team.

But maybe the Chairman knows better than me that we don't need new players. My star man this season has been a striker who couldn't get a game last year.

[PRDH]

With rlipscombe's words of encouragement ringing in their ears the Lusitânia Açores squad went into what was bound to a tricky Champions League group, featuring Roma, Man Utd and Zurich, with new confidence.

The first challenge was the visit of Roma. A solid performance from the defence and some clinical finishing saw us emerge as 2-0 victors. Next was a trip to Switzerland to face the group's weakest team - Zurich. Another good performance and a 0-4 victory sent player, staff and fans back to the Azores with a smile. Two wins from two and there was confidence building in the squad before Man Utd's trip to Angra do Heroísmo. Again the team were efficient and in control easing to a 2-0 victory. The return leg was next and despite an early Man Utd goal we were disappointed to only leave Old Trafford with one point.

Our penultimate game saw us travel to Rome. The long flight home made more pleasant as we returned with a 0-3 victory and the important three points which secured our qualification with a game to spare. Finally we welcomed Zurich back to the island and dispatched them 3-0 to leave us to qualify from top spot in the group for the first the in our history.

A great performance in the group. No defeats, five clean sheets and five wins enough to make the manager believe there is a chance of progressing beyond the next round this year.

[G-Wiz]

so, despite having enjoyed minimal success in Russia, winning 2 Russian Cups, ive lose a bit of interest in my Dinamo Stavropol save, and have decided to restart the challenge in Portugal. I may revisit my Russian save at some point, but for the moment im looking forward to my new game to re-spark my interest in this challenge.



Therefore i announce the appointment of Garry Maltman as the new manager of newly-promoted Academico de Viseu.



Looking forward to attempting the challenge in a country ive never played in before, wish me luck

[PRDH]

so, despite having enjoyed minimal success in Russia, winning 2 Russian Cups, ive lose a bit of interest in my Dinamo Stavropol save, and have decided to restart the challenge in Portugal.

Looking forward to attempting the challenge in a country ive never played in before, wish me luck

Good luck G-Wiz. Nice to have someone joining me in Portugal.

[Liverbird93]

2013-2014 Season Review-Elgin City-Scottish Division 2


League Table

League Positions Graph

A good season until about 9 games to go and then we folded horribly. But coming into the last game we were 2 points off top. Thanks to a last minute winner by Ian Maxwell we won the league and have achieved back to back promotions

Cup Games

Transfers

Finances

Squad

STARS OF THE SEASON

Ian Maxwell-When it mattered came up with the all important goal which got us promoted.

Ryan Robertson-17 year old CM. Was fantastic and will only get better

Year                     League                       Position                    Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13                3rd division                  1st                           Promoted
2013/14                2nd division                  1st                           Promoted

[rlipscombe]

PRDH - you're welcome for the motivational speech!

As a pre-warning, the Mannheim season review is coming tonight... stay tuned folks!

[PRDH]

Grumble! My chairman has just decided to sell off one of my midfielders for £5m. Apparently it was too good to turn down. I find that hard to believe!

Thanks rlipscombe! Been drawn AZ Alkmaar in the next round, I'd like to think that gives me a chance.

[rlipscombe]

SV Waldhof Mannheim – German Bundesliga – Season 2018/19

Season Review

League Finish: 3^rd Graph Club Overview Club Information



The League

WOW!! I didn’t see that coming at the start of the season! A fantastic performance by the lads saw us qualify for the qualifying round of the Champions League. I have to say that I am made up with that – before the season started I fancied a top-10 finish with a push maybe towards the top 6, but I never thought we would finish 3^rd… Especially with 3 away matches in the last 4 games. However the guys dug in and a 3-0 away win at rivals Frankfurt on the final day saw us finish in the 3^rd spot. We played pretty well all season but we suffered a rash of injuries late in the season and I thought our chance was gone but the reserves stepped up and made the difference. As a result, the Carl-Benz Stadion will witness CL football next season for the first time when we compete I the Best-Placed play-off. to put the cherry on the cake i was named Manager of the Season



German Cup

Another disappointing season in the German Cup, as we crashed out to Bundesliga II side Rostock in the 2^nd Round having got passed Heidenheim in the 1^st round. Must do better next season, although the strength of team that will feature will depend on how we do in the CL.

The Players

Here is a round up of the heroes who saw us to our 3^rd placed finish:


Transfers

Squad 1 Squad 2

Goalkeepers


13. Patrik Colovic - The young Slovakian came in as the player to finally oust club legend Heimann and he did that, performing well during the season. I do think his added quality helped get us where we finished. A big star of the future.
30. Niclas Heimann - Niclas finally had competition for the keepers jersey and had to make do with a support role following the form of Colovic. How long he stays depends on how happy he is to be backup and also his wage demands, which could do with coming down a bit.


Full Backs

22. Andreas Schroder - The club captain had another good season which culminated in being named fans player of the year. It is hard not to agree with them to be honest.
2. Victor Escobar - Victor joined the club as cover for Schroder and had real problems settling in initially. Mainly a back up to Schroder, he got a run at the end of the season due to injuries and did pretty well. A future star.
33. Sahin Yamac - Sahin stepped up his game a little this season and shared LB duties with Rafael. One of many players courted by other clubs.
3. Rafael - Rafael shared the LB role with Yamac and was slightly overshadowed by his more experienced rival.. Still a star of the future.


Centre Backs

6. Osmar - After last seasons slightly disappointing performance, Osmar raised his game this season. He is now however increasingly unhappy and I may be forced to sell this summer with a year left on his contract. I have already turned down £9.5 million from Chelsea for him.
15. Vasilis Baxevanidis - Valisis joined in January after the chairman accepted a bid of £6 million for Birskys from Getafe. Was mainly a sub until he got a run late on due to injury to Kuznetsov. Plenty of potential in this young Greek defender.
55. Alexandr Kuznetsov - Alexandr featured a lot more this season and did well for a 21 year old. Earnt his first cap for Belarus, who are a top-10 nation. Looking for big things next season from him.
32. Nikolay Makovskiy - Nikolay is a young Belorussian who added depth to the squad. Has a bright future however.


Midfielders

4. Zafer Balikci - Zafer once more performed well for us, but maybe didn’t quite hit the heights of last season. Still a quality player.
7. Nicolas Ruiz - Nicolas had a steady season on the wing and weighed in with some key goals.
11. Eoin Doherty - Eoin battled once more with Nkusu Landu for the LM slot and was probably edged out as the better player. Did well nonetheless.
14. Migen Toma - Migen had another solid season and is a great partner for Balikci. A must keep player for me.
17. Marian Lukac - Marian joined on loan in January from Borussia Monchengladbach as cover. Got a run again at the end of the season as our midfield was decimated by injury.
20. Nestor Lopez - Nestor was Balikci’s understudy and did ok for a young midfielder when called upon. Needs to develop a little more before he can challenge Balikci.
21. Jose Luis Badiola - Another to join on loan in January, he also got a few games late in the season and did ok for the club.
24. Craig Hopkins - Craig featured more this season, mainly on the right wing in competition to Ruiz. A good squad player.
72. Jaud Nkusu Landu - Jaud is a frustrating player. One game he is immense, the next anonymous. His contract expires this summer and he may well not get a new one as I feel I need more quality on the wings.


Strikers

9. Jurgen Locadia - The on loan striker started the season on fire and weighed in with a number of important goals. His form tailed off in the new year though and I doubt he will be back.
10. Vladislav Scherbakov - Vladislav was top scorer for the club again although he wasn’t without faults. He needs to cut down on his lean spells if he wants to be a top class striker.
12. Armando Hidalgo - Armando joined in January as a target man type of player good in the air, something I felt I needed. A slow starter, he found his feet and weighed in with a few goals. Looking forward to seeing his development.
25. Yassine Hamdaoui - Only a handful of appearances for Yassine this season and he heads for the door this summer.
29. Edvin Topic - Edvin struggled this season for me and seemed to take a step backwards. A big summer for him.
45. Andrea Mureno - Andrea was another loanee who added depth to the squad if little else.
99. Gurami Enukidze - Gurami got another season for the club but he rarely played and is a player I would like to move on.


Finances

Another season of financial improvement although a lot of the prize money went on covering monthly losses. Not much else to say really.

The Future

What for the coming season? I think we are no way near strong enough for the forthcoming European season. I am also concerned that we may struggle to meet the requirements on home grown players etc so I am frantically scouting young Germans. If we make it to the group stages I’d be delighted but I won’t be too despondent. As for the league, I am after a top-6 place. A number of our players are being courted and I may struggle to keep them. Could be an interesting summer ahead.

Career History

Season      League        Pos.    German Cup  Europe     Achievements
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
2012/13   3rd Division    12th     N/A         N/A      
2013/14   3rd Division    2nd      N/A         N/A        Promotion
2014/15   2nd Division    3rd    1st Round     N/A        Lost in Play-offs
2015/16   2nd Division    3rd    3rd Round     N/A        Lost in Play-offs again
2016/17   2nd Division    2nd    3rd Round     N/A        Promotion
2017/18   Bundesliga      12th   3rd Round     N/A
2018/19   Bundesliga      3rd    2nd Round     N/A        Champions Leage Qualification!

[PRDH]

Great season rlips! Champions League football so soon is very impressive.

[rlipscombe]

cheers! if i am honest it has probably come too soon but we can but try!! transfer dealings and injuries aren't helping my cause either...

[Aztekia]

I'm being distracted by my Bayern Munich save file but will try and get another update done by the end of this week...

[PRDH]

cheers! if i am honest it has probably come too soon but we can but try!! transfer dealings and injuries aren't helping my cause either...

Can it come too soon? That extra cash will surely be very helpful.

[PRDH]

Gutless. Woeful. Anonymous. All words that could be used to describe my performance in the first leg of my Champions League First Knockout Rd tie with AZ Alkmaar. I went to Holland with high hopes for a decent result to set us up for the return leg. Instead we were completely outplayed, looked off the pace and uninterested as we collapsed to a 3-0 defeat.

It's going to take a mighty effort back in Angra do Heroísmo to even make it a contest. Not at all happy.

Edit - While still slightly annoyed at this result (and the abysmal performance in the next league game) I decided to change captain. I've been thinking about doing it for a while. Well, needless to say my team are all now unhappy. I'm an idiot. Why did I think it was a good idea to do that in the middle of the season! I knew I should've gone to bed.

[rlipscombe]

Can it come too soon? That extra cash will surely be very helpful.

oh the cash will be helpful if we get there. just a bit worried that my squad isn't good enough. still excited nonetheless. just hopeful of a kind draw in the play-off.

[Liverbird93]

Great work Rlipscombe on getting Champions League football so soon!

[rlipscombe]

cheers Liverbird93. i am surprised by it. the draw has been rather unkind - Paris Saint Germain who were losing finalists 2 years ago. going to have to have a bit of luck to get through i think.

[PRDH]

Lusitânia Açores - Season Summary - 2026/27

Finances

Key figure - £9,314,290 | Summary

I can't quite explain why my finances dropped so much. I wasn't particularly frivolous with contracts or transfers and my income should have risen in theory. A mystery. Never mind though. We've still got a decent safety net at the moment.

Club News

1/ Another youth expansion completed and another approved to be finished in October. Eventually I might get a vaguely competent youth player!
2/ Stadium completed in January and we moved in. Nice to be in the shiny Lusitânia Açores Stadium. Hopefully the new capacity of 22,432 (more than twice our old ground) will help the finances.
3/ Average age of title winning side was 21, and that could be set to fall further.

Transfers | 12 in (£6.75m) and 14 out (£5.75m)

Not a great deal to report in terms of exits this year. The only major player to leave was Walter Zangger. I wouldn't have sanctioned the deal myself but the chairman stepped in. In the long run it's not too bad as it should give the exciting Partida more chance to impress and improve.

League

Table | Graph

I'd love there to be something exciting and new to write here, but realistically it's business as usual again. We won the league with three games to spare, dominating the placings for much of the season. The only real disappointment was a 0-1 away loss to Benfica which denied us the unbeaten season. Twice now we've only lost once. It must be on the cards soon.

Cups

Supertaça | Winners

A moderately comfortable win in the season opener.

Taça de Portugal | 6th Round

Both domestic cups were a chance for some youth players to get a game. This is my reasoning for this loss to Second Division - South side Pinhalnovense. As a whole the youngsters looked pretty decent though, and it's for that reason I'm not too upset about some major upheavals I'm choosing to make (more later).

League Cup | Beaten Finalists

The youngsters got us to the final at which point I chucked in a few of the senior lads to help them get over the line. It didn't work. We performed poorly and lost out on penalties. I'm beginning to wonder whether I'm developing a team of chokers. See the number of lost finals over the years, and my European adventure to be explored next.

Europe

Group Stage | Table

After winning the title again I was straight in at the group stages, but despite my continuing presence I was still a number three seed which saw me drawn into a tricky group alongside Roma, Man Utd and Zurich. I knew I could take Zurich but was pretty pessimistic about my chances of qualifying ahead of either of the other two. Imagine my delight then when we stormed through the group with ease only dropping points at Old Trafford with a 2-2 draw. We qualified top of the group for the first time and I had a terrific sense of optimism coursing through my veins.

Knockout Stages | 1st Round

Drawn against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the 1st Knockout Round was, I thought, a decent draw and one we stood a chance in. Facing the away leg first I told the press I was quietly confident and that I thought bringing them back to Angra in the second leg was an advantage. I was soon left eating those words as a combination of Alkmaar skill and our own ineptitude left us facing a huge struggle at home after a 3-0 loss. We brought them back and our performance was better but we couldn't get a goal. It finished 0-0 and we went out at this stage for the fourth season running. It's beginning to get frustrating. I need a breakthrough here.

Squad | Overview

As usual the first team are in bold while other players of note will be italicised.

'Keepers | Pretty stable area of the squad and not much changed again.

Salvador Soto - 39 apps, 28 conc, 13 cln, 1 MoM - Was again first choice throughout the season. He was also promoted to captain. His future is slightly up in the air. He only has a year to run on his current contract and wants a huge pay rise coupled with a low minimum fee release clause to sign on the dotted line. I'm not sure whether to keep him or let him go.

Ales Svoboda - 9 apps, 7 conc, 4 cln - The reason I'm considering letting Soto leave. I think this lad can be a top class 'keeper. In all honesty I think he's already almost there and is only 19. The question is, do I want to entrust him with first team duties at this young age. It's going to be a difficult decision. Any opinions will be warmly welcomed!

Defenders | Once again this load of lads excelled themselves and more top-class reinforcements are on their way over the off-season.

Karel Dragoun - 1(1) apps, 0 gls, 0 asts - Probably starting on the least talented of the bunch. His time at the club looks like it might be up as we've got a new right back arriving in July.

Stijn Hermans - 20(6) apps, 7 gls, 2 asts, 2 MoMs - A good season for the young Belgian. He didn't play a much as he'd have liked in the league but when injury dictated he stepped in and proved why he has a right to want that first team berth.

Pavlos Nalbantis - 10(1) apps, 0 gls, 0 asts - Arrived on a free this summer as 4th choice centre back and is probably safe in that position. He got playing time in the cups and lools to be a safe pair of hands in the event of injury.

Sébastien Gautier - 33 apps, 9 gls, 2 asts, 4 MoMs - Difficult to believe he's still only 21. He performs with class and composure. He started making noises about heading to a bigger club at some stage but I convinced him to stay which could be the best bit of business I do this summer.

Meraneh Descazals - 34(2) apps, 11 gls, 4 asts, 7 MoMs - See everything I've ever written about this chap. He's absolutely top class. He's been with us for seven seasons now since he joined on a free from Clairefontaine and has never made any comment about wanting to move. He's a true gentleman of the modern game. I truly hope he gets to win the Champion's League with us because he deserves it.

Mathieu Favreau - 47 apps, 0 gls, 4 asts, 3 MoMs - Another long serving defender here. He hasn't had to fight for his place much recently with Dragoun only providing competition in theory. This is set to change as a new player arrives from Lille. Hopefully the fight will get the best out of both of them.

Ange Diaby - 24(4) apps, 0 gls, 4 asts, 1 MoM - Got more playing time this year due to Osses having some injury issues. He didn't disappoint. Maybe not quite good enough to play at this level regularly, but as back up he's more than adequate.

Christian Osses - 24(2) apps, 0gls, 5 asts - Because of the aforementioned injuries he played less of a part this season but came back well after injury to reclaim his spot from Diaby.

Midfielders | Another strong season from this batch of midfielders. Same mix of skills means we can normally adjust to specific threats nicely.

Germán Muñoz Urrea - 11(3) apps, 0 gls, 3 asts - Played a decent amount, though largely in cup games. One who might find his chances limited next season due to a new arrival. Has decided to take up Portuguese citizenship to go with his French and Spanish heritage meaning he has got a good chunk of Europe now who are refusing to give him international football.

Christian Madsen - 34 apps, 1 gl, 5 asts, 1 MoM - His goalscoring form from last season didn't reappear this year, but he performed solidly as first choice ahead of Urrea. Could have more of a battle on his hand next season.

Tornado - 2 apps, 1 gl, 0 asts - I've had my eye on this absurdly-named midfielder for a while now and when the opportunity arose to bring him in on loan in January I didn't resist. Unfortunately he arrived and almost immediately broke his foot while playing for the Brazilian U20s and missed most of the rest of the season. Came into the side for the last 2 games of the season and did enough to convince me to make the deal permanent. He will join in the summer.

Vadym Gai - 16(13) apps, 7 gls, 5 asts, 2 MoMs - Another player who seems to have been at the club forever but is still surprisingly young (26). He continues to perform well alongside Santos and is probably going to be an important part of the squad for a few years yet.

Emin Dalkali - 8(2) apps, 3 gls, 1 ast, 1 MoM - Brought in from Standard at the start of the season he was one of the young lads to impress in the cup competitions. He's got quite a lot of competition for the right wing place but he's certainly got time on his hand.

Mike Okoro - 0(1) apps, 0 gls, 0 asts - Real raw talent here. Arrived in January from Nigerian football with promise but a lot of rough edges to smooth out. His exposure to improved facilities and some top class coaching has really shown. He's come on leaps and bounds in the few months he's been with me and looks to have a bright future. Hopefully he'll get more chances next season once he's settled in a bit more.

Joffrey Fontaine - 40(3) apps, 3 gls, 26 asts, 1 MoM - The man, the assist machine, the legend. This guy's left foot is magic. He puts the ball in fantastically. He was slightly disappointing with his finishing this year, but the number of goals he lays on for his team mates is astonishing.

Stefan Fink - 8(13) apps, 2 gls, 3 asts - He's going to have to work hard to displace Fontaine but he's getting there. A different option to his competitor and is showing real signs that he might make it.

Andreas Jensen - 35 apps, 8gls, 15 asts, 3 MoMs - The real heartbeat of the team. His passing and vision are superb. Vital part of the team while we train Partida to challenge him. An exciting area of the team.

Héctor Partida - 8(19) apps, 5 gls, 3 asts, 1 MoM - The player to really benefit from Zangger's departure. Gave him one fewer person to compete with and made him definite first choice understudy to Jensen. The issue I have with him at the moment is that I can't decide his best position. The creative attacking midfielder, like Jensen, or a second striker in the mould of Kresic or Pastore (for those of you versed in Big Euro folklore) or Totti (for those who aren't!). Would really appreciate opinions here too guys.

Santos - 24(5) apps, 11 gls, 7 asts, 4 MoMs - The final part of the starting midfield. He's a real goal threat and has fantastic technical skills, probably up there with Jensen as the most technically gifted footballer in the team. If I was being very picky I'd like him to be a bit quicker, but that's really being fussy. At some stage he might make the transition to striker, but for now his presence on the right of midfield is invaluable.

Florent Marti - 0(2) apps, 0 gls, 0 asts - Tricky player this. He's really not getting anywhere near the first team at the moment, but his form for the reserves is spectacular. I may have to let him go so the the can fulfil his potential. However, having said that, he is still young and may be worth keeping for a few more years to see what he manages. Would like him to go out on loan, but is refusing to sign for any club interested.

Forwards | Despite some good performances this season I have decided this is the area of the team that needs most work, and I've therefore made some difficult decisions.

Ivan Poljak - 25(2) apps, 8 gls, 6 asts - What can I say about Poljak? He's been part of the team for a such long time now, performing well and getting goals. Oh, and he's leaving. This is one of the tough decisions I was talking about. I've come to the conclusion that it's the strike force who aren't quite good enough for the top level. And Ivan is, I'm sad to say, a victim of that. He is off at the end of the season. He's been a great servant to the side and he'll always be a fans favourite, but I've been loyal too long. He leaves with a fantastic record of 310 appearances and 121 goals for the club since joining on a free in 2017.

Labros Pavlou - 4(5) apps, 1 gl, 1 ast - After last season's success he might have expected more playing time. Unfortunately we had a real breakthrough in his role which saw him pushed backwards. Credit to the lad he though, he doesn't complain and gets his head down. That spirit means he has a future at my club.

Allan Tranberg - 16(16) apps, 3 gls, 5 asts[/i] - Allan gives me something of a problem. He's in theory a very good player, and one who fits the role of support striker to perfection. Except he doesn't score goals. I don't know whether it's because I'm playing him on the left of my front two or just because he's never going to be prolific. Opinions would, again, be nice. Anyway, he played a lot of games this year and we generally looked a decent side with him in it. And given he is still so young he will get more chances to impress.

Bénoît da Silva - 1(3) apps, 1 gl, 0 asts - Another player brought in cheaply due to his raw talent. He has settled reasonably well and should start to see more chances in the team next season.

Venizelos Chrysanthou - 13 apps, 8 gls, 5 asts, 3 MoMs - Another club legend who is, I'm afraid, off at the end of the season. He has been a true great for the club and I think I may get some stick from the fans for this one, but I don't think he's quite got the ammunition to hurt world class defenders. He's been something of a flat track bully. Scoring bucket loads against the weaker teams but not many when it really matters. Furthermore, at 28 he's no spring chicken and is really starting to have problems with injuries. The most recent of which he hasn't really got back to his own high standards from. Along with Poljak he has played a massive part in where this club has got to and will be missed. He has a frightening record of 202 goals in his 305 games for the club since he joined for a free in 2018. A true Cypriot legend.

Sidnei Mamede - 3(1) apps, 1 gl, 0 asts - Another young African player to join on the promise they seem to possess. I missed out on him when he went to Eastern Europe from Africa, but broke my back to snap him up as soon as I could. At only 19 he has supreme promise and looks like he has a lot of goals in him.

Miguel Angel Klein - 7(1) apps, 1 gl, 2 asts, 1 MoM - Another young striker, this time Argentinian, brought in this season. He, along with Tranberg looks in the best shape to replace Poljak for the time being. Fingers crossed my faith in youth is well placed. He looks like he has the skill set to perform the difficult task - he can finish and is a lovely passer of the ball, he just needs to work on the mental side of his game, which should come as he matures.

Edemilson Mendès - 27(2) apps, 23 gls, 3 asts, 6 MoMs - Brought in as back up to Chrysanthou largely because he was young and Portuguese and looked fairly promising. I also felt bad for not having any Portuguese-born players in my entire squad. Chrysanthou's injuries however gave this lad a shot at the first team and he took it with both hands. His goalscoring was relentless in its consistency. It wasn't feast and famine, he just seems to get one almost every game. Still only 19 I think this guy has a cracking future in this team and was one of the reasons I was happy to pursue the risky strategy of getting rid of the two experienced guys. Very excited.

Aims For This Season Were...

1/ Reach the Champion's League Quarter Final - No
2/ Retain Premier League - Yes

Aims For Next Season Are...

1/ Get past the First Knockout Round of the Champions' League. It's frustrating me.
2/ Bed in the new youngsters upfront.
3/ Of course, retain the Premier League (maybe going unbeaten).
4/ Continue to blood my youth team in the domestic cups.

Story So Far...

Season		League			Position		Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13		Second Division - South	12th			Avoided Relegation (just)
2013/14		Second Division - South 1st			Promoted!
2014/15		Second League		14th			Avoided Relegation
2015/16		Second League		2nd			Promoted!
2016/17		Premier League		13th			Avoided Relegation
2017/18		Premier League		3rd			Qualified for Europa League
2018/19		Premier League		4th			Europa League again
2019/20		Premier League		5th			Europa League again
2020/21		Premier League		1st			Champions!
2021/22		Premier League		2nd			CL Qualification again
2022/23		Premier League		1st			Champions!
2023/24		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round
2024/25		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round
2025/26		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round
2026/27		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round

Previous Updates

12/13
13/14
14/15
15/16
16/17
17/18
18/19
19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26

[PRDH]

Phew, big update that one. There are a few things in it which I'd really appreciate some opinions on - they're marked in bold and red, so should leap out at you. Any thoughts would be very welcome. Cheers!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Another solid season there PRDH, but I think you are right some changes need to be made to get that next step forward.

I think upfront you need to experiment through the offseason, and maybe in the first few competitive matches.

Partida - Looks likely to be best as a Attacking Mid to replace Jensen, but I'd be looking to give him a go as the second striker as well to see what happens, and possibly line-up alongside Mendes.

Tranberg - Here I would try switching him and Mendes during the pre-season and seeing whether he works well upfront in the attacking role, rather than the support one. Because looking at his stats the season looks quite average, and he isn't seeming to supply the ball through for goals too much either.

Svoboda - Well here I think you need to play him because his improvement looks to have stagnated for lack of games. It is going to be a risk though, as I have found out in the last two seasons, conceding more goals than any other team in the league, only staying in the top 10 because I score the most as well. A young keeper can be immense if he can step right in, but he can also cost you a couple of good seasons. Again you do need to make changes to get that step forward, so maybe give him a shot early in the season and if he does well then sell your senior keeper in January.

[PRDH]

LLR - Thanks. Interested that you think Mendes could work as a support striker. He's not what I'd normally look at for that position. I was thinking about switching them round so that Tranberg has the right hand side and Mendes the left. See if that works.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

LLR - Thanks. Interested that you think Mendes could work as a support striker. He's not what I'd normally look at for that position. I was thinking about switching them round so that Tranberg has the right hand side and Mendes the left. See if that works.

I just thought it a possibility, in my current line-up Briand appears to be better as the main striker, but seems to score more, and assist more in the slightly more support role, with Herlein or Paulinho (Both look more Target Man) upfront doing the poaching. Its a bit weird to me as well, but it seemed to work better than the other way round. It's just something to think about, and possibly try if other options don't work out.

[PRDH]

I just thought it a possibility, in my current line-up Briand appears to be better as the main striker, but seems to score more, and assist more in the slightly more support role, with Herlein or Paulinho (Both look more Target Man) upfront doing the poaching. Its a bit weird to me as well, but it seemed to work better than the other way round. It's just something to think about, and possibly try if other options don't work out.

It's certainly something I'll experiment with during pre-season and if things don't quite click for any of my (many) possible striking partnerships.

There are also a couple of new faces to throw into the mix. I may introduce them.

[rlipscombe]

PRDH - here are my thoughts for what they are worth.....

Partida - Like LLR, i think he is best as an Attacking Midfielder. not good enough i don't think for the centre of the park but maybe a little short in ability for a striking role?? What position does he play for Mexico?

Tranberg - i have to say i'm not overly excited by him. His stats look pretty average, though that doesn't always matter. i don't mind a striker who doesn't score loads as long as does well for the team and has a good partnership with his strike partner. i wouldn't be overly confident he could get me CL titles...

Svoboda - Given your domination of the league i would be tempted to give him a run of half a season and see how he goes. i think he has everything to be a great keeper - he just needs game time.

That's my thoughts. i'll be interested to see how they develop. good luck next season in Europe. i think you're just a bit short maybe of making the final.

[PRDH]

Not sensing the love for Tranberg! I tend to agree.

In other news I've just infuriated Barcelona in my first European game of the season. They dominated me all game. 15 shots on goal to my zero. Well, apart from one. My first attempt on goal was in the 91st minute and it went in to steal a 0-1 victory in Barcelona. I would have been livid if it had happened against me, instead I'm thrilled.

[vikeologist]

PRDH - You have my sympathy. I'm in the same boat; dominating domestically, but with one bad game (or sending off as in last season) in Europe it's all over for another year.

One thing that i would say about your players that you redded is that none of them have a particularly high determination. This is important for all players, but if you're trying to develop young players, that's not going to happen if they have a low determination. There is one player in my squad with a determination less than 10, (nearly all are 15 or over, deliberately) and that's my backup goalkeeper who I bought in on a free to be a perrenial backup. I'm just saying that you shouldn't pin too much hope on Svoboda, though match practice will doubtless help. You might notice that Mike Okoro has a high deermination. Of course, 'det' is just one of the factors that can result in improvements, but I hold that it's a key one. Perhaps I put too much stress on that; and after all I am having pretty much the same level of success as you at the moment.

Update - Inter, who knocked us out of the Champions League last season, were drawn as the top seeds in our group, and they've finished in third - which is nice. Admittedly their one win was against us, so we can't really take the credit for their downfall. We need a draw in our last match against Sporting (Por) to finish top of the group, although that's not necessarily helped us in the past.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well my game rocks along, in March now, also just updated opening posts with some new kits that are available

[DodgeeD]

rlipscombe - Well done on the unexpected jump to the Champions League. If nothing else, it will help you get revenue in for future team building.

PRDH - Another good season, I'm sure Champions League progression will come soon. As for your youngsters, I always go for developing young talent! Not sure about the keeper - I would hang on to both of them and maybe engage in some rotation for now. If Svodoba is to be your first choice, it will make itself clear. Partida looks like a great advanced playmaker to me - dribbling, passing and creativity all there - so I'd say play him as an AMC advanced playmaker or a support striker... As for Tranberg, I'm sure the goals will come. In my save, Woodford had a slow start to his career before becoming one of the top scorers in Europe (alas, his progress was halted by two serious injuries). Tavares also started a bit slow but is now on course for a 40+ goal season.

[DodgeeD]

Well, all is going well this season as we lead the league with 4 games to go before the play-offs, we are in the semis of the Turkish Cup and the quarters of the Champions League. The only problem is, with the Championship Group set to start in April, we now have this almighty fixture pile-up:

5 games in 8 days there including two matches with Arsenal and a trip to Istanbul to play Fenerbahçe!!

Time to seriously test the depth of my squad and hope we stay injury-free...

[PRDH]

5 games in 8 days there including two matches with Arsenal and a trip to Istanbul to play Fenerbahçe!!

That's brutal. You're surely going to have to prioritise something to make sure everyone's ready for the Arsenal games.

[PRDH]

Vikeologist - It's infuriating isn't it. Your point on determination is a good one. I do have a habit of overlooking it in favour of technical skill (just call me Arsene Wenger!) it's one of my numerous flaws on this game. One thing in defence of Svoboda, he's already unrecognisable from the player I took a bit of a punt on two years ago so I've got hope he might make the grade.

[StellaF1]

Stuart Brawls, Seregno 2020-21, Season 9, Serie A

Squad 1 | Squad 2 | Finances | Transfers | Reputation | Financial Ranking | Fans Player of the Year

Season Targets

Due to the previous seasons achievements and the targets within this challenge my main aim was to do well in the champions league. I also wanted to retain my domestic titles and after only losing 3 league matches last season i wouldn't mind trying to go undefeated, especially after the money i spent on improving the squad in the summer.


Italian Super Cup

The season started with the Italian Super Cup against last years league runners-up Juventus. It was our 3rd attempt at lifting the trophy as we had lost in the previous 2 seasons.
The match didn't start well with last years top league goalscorer for Juventus, Marnix Isa, scored after only 11 minutes. The team didn't look fully fit and ready for this match and it showed as Juventus dominated at times. Tjankfully for me though one of our young midfielders, Rijad Causevic, popped up to put us back level just before half time.
Both sides had chances in the second half to win the match but at the end of 90 minutes the score was still 1-1. The match went to extra time but even after a further 30 minutes there was still no further goals and so the match went to penalties. Both teams missed a penalty in their first five and the penalties went into sudden death. Eventually Ruben Alfaro missed for Juventus and we won the Italian Super Cup for the 1st time 8-7 on penalties.

Italian Cup
Fixtures

Having won the Italian Cup for the previous 3 season we were confident at doing well in the competition even if it wasn't our main priority for the season.
Again we started in the 1st round with only 16 teams left. In this round we were drawn at home to Serie B Udinese who we eventually beat 2-1 by way of an 88th minute own goal.
The quarter final was away at Lazio who were having a poor league season and we compounded their misery by beating them 2-0
The 2 leeged semi-final was against Serie B side Livorno who had upset the odds to reach this stage of the competition. The 1st home leg gave me the opportunity to rest a couple of the key players knowing we could potentially overturn any difficulties in the second leg but even with this side we still managed to win 2-0 with goals from Saluria and Adani. I made more changes for the away leg giving some of our younger players a chance and 1 of them, centre back, Yildirim Eser stepped up and had an excellent game and even scored from a corner as we won 1-0 on the night and 3-0 on aggregate as we reached the final for the 4th year in a row.
The final was against Napoli who we became very familiar with over the course of the season and as a result of the previous games we were extremely confident going into the game. Dissapointingly we went into half time with no goals but thankfully after the break Samir Colic slotted home to give us the lead and then an own goal doubled our lead. Not even a late 91 st minute goal for Napoli could prevent Seregno wininng the cup for the 4th year running.

League

With the additions i had made over the summer the sqaud had more depth and the first 11 were much stronger significantly in defence due to the arrival of such players as Christopher Beckmann (GK), Leonardo (DC) and Vasile Talpa (DC).
We were never really challenged in any Italian competition this season as we won the league for the second straight year but this time very concincingly as all the other teams faltered at cetain points in the season.
We scored less than last year but conceeded much less and overall we finished the season with 6 more points than last year. Unfortunately a 2-1 away defeat against Inter in January meant that we were unable to finish the league season undefeated.


League | Graph | Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2

Champions League
Fixtures | Group H

This was the competition were my focus for the season was on. As League winners we qualified straight into the group stage and we drawn as 3rd seeds into a group containing Man United, Sevilla and Anderlecht.
I was confident of getting results against Anderlecht and was hoping to get some points against Sevilla who we had played in the Europa League group stages previously whilst Man United i would expect to struggle against.
Our 1st game was away at Sevilla and in a game that we largely dominated we ended up being beaten 1-0 to highlight the challenge we face to qualify from the group. The second game at home to Man United therefore took on even greater significance and the players more than stepped up to the plate as we raced into a 3-0 lead after 26 mins with a brace from Huber and 1 from Werdens, United would pull 1 goal back in the second half but that didn't detract from a fantastic 3-1 win and our first champions league win and points.
We then played 4th seeds Anderlecht and picked up a 2-1 away win and a convincing 4-0m home win to give us 9 points after 4 games. With Man United having 3 points and Anderlecht 0 points all we needed from either of the last 2 games was a point to qualify for the knockout rounds.
The next game was at home to Sevilla and we booked our place in the knockout stages with a 2-1 which put us level on points with Sevilla but behind on head to head record, not that it mattered as in the last game at Old Trafford we lost 1-0. So our first champions league group stage saw us finish second with 12 points after 4 wins and 2 defeats.

The 1st knockout round drew us against Marseille with the first leg at home. We therefore wanted to put in a good performance to give us the advantage going into the second away leg and goals froms Werdens and Paulao did this as we ran out 2-0 winners. We therefore looked to maintain the advantage in the second leg and within the first 7 minutes both Paulao and Huber had scored to put us up 4-0 on aggregate. Then followed an own goal from each side as we won 3-1 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate.

1st Knockout Round: Leg 1 | Leg 2

The Quarter-Final saw us up against fellow Italian Side Napoli and based on our domination domestically and the results in the league so far i was confident going into the tie that we could progress further into the tournament. Wanting to secure an advanatge in the first home leg to take into the second we pressed from the beginning and we ended up dominating the whole game. We got a goal in each half from Paulao and a rather one from Gonzalez to give us the advantage we wanted with a 2-0 win. The away leg was a particular nervy affair as very few chances were created by either team. We were even more nervous after 6 minutes when Napoli scored to half the deficit. Thankfully though they created next to nothing after this and we clung on to go through 2-1 on aggregate.

Quarter Final: Leg 1 | Leg 2

The Semi-Final drew us against Porto. This time we had the away leg first and despite dominating the game we failed to capitalise on any of our chances in the first half. Thankfully though Samir Colic broke the deadlock just after half time though we couldn't add to this through the rest of the second half. I wasn't impressed when in the 93rd and final minute one of my main strikers Werdens picked up a second yellow and was sent off thus ensuring he would miss the second leg. After contemplating the dominance of the first away leg and the several players who were 1 booking away from suspension i made the risky decision to rest a couple of my key players that i knew would be essentiallt important in the final. One of the players that came into the team was Rijad Causevic and he gave us the lead in the leg (and some breathing space) after 14 minutes. Porto did fight back though as Gomes scored to reduce the deficit and put us 1 goal away from going out. A half time team talk was needed to spur our lads on and from a corner not long later Leonardo powered a header in to give us the lead 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate. However 20 minutes later Gomes popped up again to score an equaliser on the night and again put us 1 goal away from going out. The last 18 minutes were thankfully despatched and we had progressed to the champions league final with a 3-2 aggregate win.

Semi-Final: Leg 1 | Leg 2

The Final was against Chelsea at the Ataturk stadium in Istanbul and saw Seregno appear in the final for the time time trying to win the competition and complete the challenge. The first half was an extremely even encounter with both sides getting the opportunity to break the deadlock but neither could, Chelsea even hit the post, and the only major incident of note was the injury that forced off one of my star players, Samir Colic which was extremley bad news. The encouraging half time team talk did the trick as we dominated the second half as Chelsea didn't even get a shot. But as the half drew on on we created more and more chances the scoreline remained 0-0. Then Chelsea forward Gabriel Torje deceided for the second time in 10 minutes to needlessly lunge into a challenge he was never going to win (got away with a warning on the first!) picked a booking which added to one he picked up in the first half saw him sent off after 74 minutes. We continued to press and our strikers continued to miss. We were desperately looking for someone to step forward and get the winner. Strangely in his 63rd game for the club right back Javier Lezcano decided in the 87th minute to fire in from the edge of area a pass from Paulao to get his 1st ever goal for the club and what a time to do it! 1st goal for the club and a match winning champions league final goal, Get In.
Seregno were crowned new Champions League Winners.

Final

Under 20's

The Under 20's also had a productive season as they lifted the Group 1 division title for the first time though they did lose in the semi-final of the U20's cup.

U 20's League Table | Player Stats

Players

Christopher Beckmann - Signed in the summer for 5.5m from Nurnberg when i met the min fee release clause. He is highly regarded by both scouts and coaches and was magnificent during the course of the season.
Xabier Eizagirre - Is firmly entrenched as our second keeper who i gave matches at specific times during the season and continues to add more to his clean sheet totals.
Paul Triaud - Signed at the end of the january transfer window for 2.7m from PSG. He has good potential and even played in an Italian Cup game where he kept a clean sheet. Was in the under 20's for the rest of the season.
Pietro Marino - Didn't play again this season and was used as a home grown player in the champions league were he was also my sub keeper due to the player restrictions.
Javier Lezcano - His second season at the club and continues to be the first co=hoice right back. Not as many assists as last year but i will forgive him that as he got his first ever goal for Seregno which proved to be the winner in the champions league final.
Daniel - With the exit of Torbjornsen over the summer i needed another good right back and Daniel seemed to fit the bill so was signed for 5m from Bologna. Due to the European restrictions i had to meet he wasn't registered for that competition so was limited entirely to domestic fixtures. He did really well in his first season and was extremely pleased with the 6 assists he provided.
Valentino Ostieri - Sentimentality keeps Ostieri at the club as he signed in my very 1st season. He plays mainly from the now as he comes on to replace the fatigued youngster late in the game. His most important appearance of the season was as a sub in the last minute of the champions league final!
Lee Connor - Continues to develop from the kid i signed on a free 3 years ago. He played in more games than ever before but will need to improve more if he wants a consistant place in the team.
Nick Van Wonderen - Has rarely played for me in all the time he has been at the club so i accepted a 300k co-ownership bid from Serie B side Udinese and he has spent the season there doing well and playing in 30+ games.
Melvin Adelaar - Continues to be our main left back and he had another great season with 9 assists and an average rating of 7.2
Lucas Van Bergen - His first full season at the club which he spent mainly as backup to Adelaar. He played in quite a few games and did very well when used.
Jose Antonio - Youngster who spent the season in the Under 20's.
Juan Cruz Urquiza - His second season at the club and he was probably had an even better season than his first. Excellent defender who also picked up a couple of goals and assists, a steal at at original 7.5m i had paid for him.
Leonardo - With the requested departure of Habib Garba i was desperate to get a quality replacement. I found just that in Leonardo who cost me 11.5m from Real Betis. He had a very good debut season and was a major factor in our improved defensive record.
Vasile Talpa - The Best Moldovan player i have ever seen! I had tried to sign him in the summer but gave up after going above 20m. He signed a new contract in December with Parma just Like i had done with Cedric Dumas last season and his new contract included a Min Release Clause of..... 4.6m!!!!!! So i quickly snapped him up at a quarter of the price i had offered in the summer, Complete Bargain!! He was very good and impressive in the second half of the season.
Ionel Neagu - His 5th season at the club but he is being left behind a bit with the new signings i have made. Still played quite a bit though as i rotated the more important centre backs.
Tommy Riddell - Only made 1 start and 1 sub appearance this season and is now on the transfer list.
Yildirim Eser - Youngster who spent the season in the Under 20's. Played in the odd first team game and did well.
Daouda Kone - Spent the season in the Under 20's and made 2 Italian Cup starts.
Kayhan Yayla - Is used mainly in the def mid role and does a really good job. Didn't play as much as in previous seasons as i had other players i needed to give a game or two in this position but also due to an injury that put him out for a while in October. Still another good season for Kayhan.
Sebastian Gonzalez - Signed for 5.25m (met the foreign release fee in his contract) from Argentinos as i felt i needed more quality and depth in both def mid and centre mid and Sebastian ticked both boxes. He played in the majority of games and was very good throughout the season.
Jeremy Comte - Brought in for the same reasons as Sebastian Gonzalez, signed from Nice for 7.5m. Jeremy had less of an impact as he played in a lot of games but never on a regular basis. I was expecting a bit more from him but he is young and has the potential to significantly improve in the years to come.
Jose Maria - His 3rd season at the club. Played in less games than in previous years as a result of the new players i had signed in the summer. He is still a very useful player as he made 13 starts and 8 sub appearances and contributed with 2 goals and 2 assists.
Armando Di Matteo - With all the new players in Armando's position he was deemed surplus to requirements. He therefore went out on loan to Parma for a fee of 500k with the potential to move for 1.5m in the summer.
Paulao - Our talisman centre midfielder in his 4th season with the club. A slight change in role meant he wasn't as prolific as in previous season but he was still one of our best offensive players as he contributed 8 goals and 11 assists. He has become eligible to play for Italy now and was immediately called up to their squad and has already got 6 caps.
Roman Pasquier - Didnt't deature in the first team as he spen the season in the Under 20's.
Zineddine Maouche - Played in the Under 20's but also made the odd first team appearance.
Rijad Causevic - His 2nd season at the club and despite all the new players over the summer Rijad played a lot more this season and had a really good season as he contributed with 6 goals and 5 assists.
Rogier De Bruin - His second season at the club. He didn't play on a particularly regular basis and i when he did play i was expecting him to contribute a bit more. A bit disappointed with his season overall.
Thomas Saluria - His 3rd season at the club. Thomas has plenty of technical ability and i played him more this season than before hoping he would improve overall. He is only 21 and has the potential to significantly improve.
Samir Colic - Samir is only of our most important players. He scored less than last year mainly because i moved him back into midfield as i had found another good strike partnership. He scored several important goals during the season and was missed during a couple of spells when he was injured.
Stephan Huber - Stephan's transfer was arranged the previous January on a free in the summer when his contract expired. This was a quality bit of business as i though he would be one for the future. He wasn't he was one for the present! A fantastic 1st season saw the 20 year old finish as top goalscorer with 20 goals as well as picking up 8 assists and 8 man of the match awards.
Fatih Icer - Youngster who was phenominal in the Under 20's scoring 33 in 34 appearances.
Neils Werdens - Was the strike partner to Stephan Huber and he had a really good season with 16 goals and 10 assists.
Silvio Longo - Silvio was a bit part player this year with the signing of Huber and was mainly used as a sub.
Alexey Razinskiy - Young player who hasn't played this season as there are several others now with more potential.
Tino Riemer - Another player who was phenominal in the Under 20's getting 31 goals. He play a few games for the first team but failed to score.
Vincenzo Adani - Our main backup striker to Huber and Werdens. Played quite a bit this season and did ok with a contibution to the cause of 9 goals and 4 assists.

Awards

At the end of December 2020 several awards were dished out and we have some winners as follows:

Manager Of The Year
Young Player of the Year: 1st = Samir Colic
Player of the Year: 2nd = Samir Colic
Foreign Player of the Year: 2nd = Samir Colic
Goalkeeper Of the Year: 1st = Christopher Beckmann, 3rd = Xabier Eizagirre

The Future

Well with the challenge now Complete i will continue on with the save for a little while as i want to play in the club world championship.
Also at this point i may split the save off to continue with Seregno and also a save to holiday on for a year so that i can have another go at the challenge in another country.

The 100 Club (All Competitions)

    Player Name       | Pos  | Apps | Start | Subs | Goals | Assists | MOM |Seasons Active |
                      |      |      |       |      |(Conc) |(Clean S)|     |               |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Valentino Ostieri  |  DR  | 271  |  234  |  37  |    0  |    19   |  11 |   2012-2021   |
   Armando Di Matteo  |  DMC | 186  |  165  |  21  |   15  |    15   |   6 |   2015-2021   |
    Carlo Scalera     |  DLC | 177  |  165  |  12  |   12  |     6   |  14 |   2012-2017   |
    Diogo Ferreira    |  MC  | 173  |  146  |  27  |    8  |    26   |   4 |   2014-2019   |
     Ionel Neagu      |  DC  | 169  |  166  |   3  |   13  |     6   |  12 |   2016-2021   |
        Paulao        |  MC  | 167  |  166  |   1  |   52  |    40   |  11 |   2017-2021   |
    Guerino Stella    |  DMC | 157  |  128  |  29  |    1  |     6   |   1 |   2012-2018   |
      Samir Colic     | MC/ST| 155  |  135  |  20  |   61  |    21   |  14 |   2017-2021   |
  Filippo Perucchini  |  GK  | 133  |  133  |   0  | (106) |   (59)  |   2 |   2014-2018   |
     Kayhan Yayla     |DMC/MC| 127  |  118  |   9  |    6  |    26   |   4 |   2017-2021   |
   Xabier Eizagirre   |  GK  | 126  |  115  |   0  |  (98) |   (62)  |   3 |   2018-2021   |
     Melvin Adelaar   |  DL  | 121  |  119  |   2  |    1  |    31   |   7 |   2018-2021   |
     Dennis Humbel    |  MC  | 117  |   89  |  28  |    5  |    16   |   3 |   2016-2020   |
      Jose Maria      |DMC/MC| 115  |  103  |  12  |   11  |    12   |   3 |   2018-2021   |
      Rene Dekker     |  ST  | 115  |  112  |   3  |   53  |    24   |  17 |   2014-2018   |
 Giovanni Kyeremateng |  ST  | 112  |  108  |  13  |   41  |    16   |  11 |   2013-2017   |
    Lars Torbjornsen  |  DR  | 106  |  103  |   3  |    2  |    14   |   6 |   2017-2020   |
      Noel Henauer    |DMC/MC| 100  |   63  |  37  |    5  |    14   |   3 |   2016-2020   |

Seregno History

 Season  |   League    | Position | Italian Cup  |       Other Comps         |             Achievements              |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2012/13 | Serie C2/A  |   10th   | Not Entered  |    Serie C Cup 1st Rnd    |               Survival                |
 2013/14 | Serie C2/B  |   1st    | Not Entered  |    Serie C Cup 1st Rnd    | Winners, PROMOTION + Won C2 Super Cup |
 2014/15 | Serie C1/A  |   3rd    | 2nd Qual Rnd |    Serie C Cup 1st Rnd    |        Playoff Winners, PROMOTION     |
 2015/16 |   Serie B   |   6th    |  1st Round   |          None             |           Playoff Semi-Final          |
 2016/17 |   Serie B   |   1st    | 2nd Qual Rnd |          None             |            Serie B Winners            |
 2017/18 |   Serie A   |   9th    |   Winners    |          None             |Survival, Won Italian Cup, into Europe |
 2018/19 |   Serie A   |   7th    |   Winners    |    Europa League Semis    | Top Half, Won Italian Cup, into Europe|
 2019/20 |   Serie A   |   1st    |   Winners    |    Europa League Quarters | Won League and Cup, into Champ League |
 2020/21 |   Serie A   |   1st    |   Winners    |  Champions League Winners |             COMPLETION!!!!!           |

[StellaF1]

Wow, finally got the above post finished, Only took me all evening!

Hope i've done ok with it.

Could you also let me know what the rules are regarding switching to a different country to start again?? I believe that is something i can do in this latest FM.?

[Lower Leagues Rule]

\Could you also let me know what the rules are regarding switching to a different country to start again?? I believe that is something i can do in this latest FM.?

Congrats Stella, that is an amazing post, a great read, and an amazing season. Congrats on completing in Italy as well.

As for continuing, you would need to add the new nation (As a perk of having completed you can keep Italy active), and then holiday one season and pick a newly promoted team who fits the rules of the beginning of the challenge.

[PRDH]

Stella - Great update, stunning season - congratulations. Which new nation are you going to head to?

Edit - Wow. Well, it's not often you put 6 past your rivals at their place. But that's what I've just done to Porto. Pitched up. 0-3 up within six minutes. 0-5 by half time. 0-6 by the final whistle. Should make the 1000 mile flight home for the fans a bit more fun!

[vikeologist]

StellaF1 - Congratulations, but commiserations on that one league loss.

I must admit I'd like an unbeaten league season myself. This season (14 games and in December) is the furthest I've reached unbeaten, so still a long way to go. I'm having to participate in lots of mini--challenges to keep my interest up between Champions League fixtures, although Celtic, who have been gradually catching up in previous seasons are doing well, (or at least were until we finally faced and whooped them in our last match). I kind of hope that they can mount a serious challenge to us at some point.

[PRDH]

I'm having to participate in lots of mini--challenges to keep my interest up between Champions League fixtures

Have you got a Scottish feeder team? I always like to try to get a minnow to follow me up to the top by loaning them my youth team. It adds a little bit of fun.

[vikeologist]

Have you got a Scottish feeder team? I always like to try to get a minnow to follow me up to the top by loaning them my youth team. It adds a little bit of fun.

I've two Scottish feeder teams (both Division 1 when the link started), and originally I had the same view that helping them gain promotion to the premier league would be cool, but so far that's resulted in relegation for one and near relegation for the other. I'm reluctant to farm out my young players anyway, as I want to be able to include 4 home grown at the club players in my Champions League squad. Before this season I've basically had a Euro squad of about 21 or 22 players (instead of 25) and I need the full quota, so this season I just have a total of 4 players at the feeders, none of whom (players or clubs) are having particularly great seasons. In any case I rotate my squad quite a lot, (including treating the League Cup as a Reserve Cup) in the belief that the players will develop more with me.

[corinthiano]

corinthiano’s Real Sport Clube Massamá

Complexo Desportivo do Real

So I decided to take this year’s challenge in my current country of residence, and while at it looked at the available clubs near my area. Sintrense and AD Oeiras who are the closest have too low a reputatation to be promoted, so it was between Casa Pia, a Lisbon club based on a children’s and Real, a club who is a merger between two smaller clubs, who are both about 25 km from where I live. I didn’t feel like being just another Lisbon club, so decided to go for Real Sport Clube Massamá.

Real is a merger between Grupo Desportivo de Queluz e o Clube Desportivo e Recreativo de Massamá, who joined forces to be able to attract a wider supporter group. The name Real and the crown on the club’s badge are in reference to the Palace of Queluz, a former royal residence.

The club has recently been developing some good players, with Nani and Ricardo Vaz Te being two players to have passed thorugh their junior ranks. This also swayed my decision to go for them as they have pretty decent training facilities. The initial team is OK, although I will be looking to bring in quite a few players so that we are competitive. Below all the initial screenies:

Team Summary
Team Information
Facilities
Profile

[StellaF1]

Welcome to the challenge Corinthiano, good to see another stadium with an athletics track round the outside of the pitch which was something my Seregno team had and several others did at the start of this thread, and Good luck.

As for my choice of adding a new nation i have obviously done Italy now and with my Hospitalet save a couple of FM's ago i'm also done with Spain.
That therefore leaves France, Germany, Portugal, Russia, Turkey and Scotland.
I am tempted by either France or Portugal at the minute, but we will see!

[rlipscombe]

StellaF1 - congrats on completion mate. awesome season there. looking forward to you doing the World Club Championship and then seeing where you end up. An awesome post there too.
Corinthiano - welcome to the challenge and good luck in Portugal. good to have you in the challenge.
PRDH - that was some win against Porto!

[PRDH]

PRDH - that was some win against Porto!

You won't be surprised to hear that Tranberg played no part in it!

[DodgeeD]

Congrats Stella - 9 seasons to complete the challenge when coming through the Italian leagues is very impressive indeed

[rlipscombe]

You won't be surprised to hear that Tranberg played no part in it!

Ha ha. if he had have done maybe it would have been even better!!

Pre-season has been completed for me, including our CL play-off games against Paris Saint-Germain. update to follow. it has been a bit of a frustrating summer...

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well into the playoffs for Parla, so our highest ever finish achieved, a win in the final league game of the season will see us qualify top meaning we are in the best possible position. Have also managed a few new signings, and the team has actually improved since the sale of Ozlu & Herlein, so looking good for a run in now and a bit of a chance at Liga BBVA for the new season.

It is still hard to sign some of the top players as our reputation has still not gone up.

[PRDH]

Good luck LLR!

[DodgeeD]

Best of luck LLR.

I have another season done and nearly ready to post but it's late now so it can wait for another day... Needless to say, the challenge is not yet completed

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Thanks Guys, well Leg 1 started badly, behind early, and then down by 2 (This at home). At half time we were down 3:1 and it looked like we were chasing a ridiculous home leg. I sent them out with an aggressive "That was rubbish" and they managed to slightly make it up to me with two second half goals, but a 3 all draw means I have to win away to get through.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

And out, down 3:1 at half time again was terrible, this time we pulled back to 3:2 (6:5), but then they scored in the 90th minute as we put everyone forward to end the Parla run for the season.

Some Support for next season:

[erbgor]

I have never done any of these challenges but now as my Dortmund team is getting a bit too good I want to try it. I decided to start in German Regionalliga, I used a file that enables this league - it is the fourth level in germany, in vanilla FM you only get 3rd level. As this only makes it harder I assume it is okay?

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Sorry erbgor, but as part of this challenge there is no editing allowed, as such even the adding of another level is not allowed.

[erbgor]

Sorry erbgor, but as part of this challenge there is no editing allowed, as such even the adding of another level is not allowed.

Ah too bad. Well I already started, so I guess I'll join this challenge with my next save. Could be tomorrow or never depending on how much I like this one

[Lower Leagues Rule]

All good, good luck with your save

[corinthiano]

StellaF!1, rlipscombe - Thanks!
LLR - Unlucky on the playoff loss, hopefully your reputation will increase for next season.

Have just finished my first season with Real, report to follow soon!

[corinthiano]

Real Sport Clube – 2012/13 Segunda Divisão - Zona Sul

Campeonato Nacional da Segunda Divisão - Zona Sul

Media Prediction: 14th
Board Expectation: Avoid Relegation
My Target: Avoid Relegation

League Table: 7th ǁ Position Graph

Solid first season by Real, we were always hovering around the top half and never looked like going down, although we were also far from challenging at the top. A loss to Marítimo B on the last day saw us drop two places, which was a bit of a letdown.

Taça de Portugal Millennium

First Round – An unlucky draw saw us being eliminated at the first stage. Luck was also not on our side on field, as we lost on penalties to Espinho.


The Royals

Transfers ǁ Squad 1 ǁ Squad 2

The initial squad was pretty awful, bar a couple of players and some promising youngsters. I basically just signed a whole new team.

GK: Mota – The veteran did a decent job for us and seems like he could do it again next year.
DR: Lucas Urban – One of my best signings, the young Uruguayan full back is already rated as a decent Liga Orangina player, with potential to improve.
DC: Felipe – Rated as the best player in the squad, clearly because he is a Corinthians academy product
DC: Eduardo Simões – The captain is the only player that was already at the club who remained in the first team.
DL: Mica – The Luxembourg international is a former Sporting player with some potential.
DMC: Douglas – Another former Corinthians player, has been solid as an anchor man.
MC: Diego Lima – Chipped in with a few goals this season
MC: Móia – The Cape Verdean was also solid.
AMC: Roberto Torres – The Advanced Playmaker is usually a keypart of my team and although Roberto provided 11 assists and scored 6 goals, I need a better player for this position.
ST: Bessa – The veteran was our best scorer by far.
ST: Pedro Costa – Failed to live up to his potential, he is young though so I will see if he can improve.

Youth Intake – A very decent intake! 5 players rated as having potential to becoming good Liga Orangina players!

Other News

Finances – This is going to be our biggest problem, absolutely bleeding money and I have no idea how to prevent that…Our wage budget has already been slashed from €3,200 p/w to €2,600 p/w for this season, I just hope it doesn’t fall much further than that.

Next Season Targets

1. Try to at least compete for promotion
2. Try to have a longer cup run
2. Lose less money

Career Overview

Season       League                     Pos      Taça de Portugal      Europe      Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13      2. Divisão - Zona Sul      7th      First Round           N/A         None

[PRDH]

Good first season there corinthiano. Good to see Pedro Costa about too. He spent a couple of seasons with me back in the dim, distant past.

[corinthiano]

Thank PRDH, how did you get Pedro Costa to score goals in the third tier? From your early reports I saw he was no good in the Liga Orangina, but I couldn't even get him scoring at this level. Played him as the poacher and support complete forward, but his performances in both positions were pretty bad. Thankfully I had Bessa, but his age might get in the way this season...

[rlipscombe]

SV Waldhof Mannheim – German Bundesliga – Season 2019/20

Season Preview

After last seasons heroics in finishing third, I went into the summer optimistic and excited about our upcoming CL campaign and building a squad capable for it. Unfortunately it turned into a little bit of a nightmare… Firstly, the realisation that I needed a squad that would fulfill the european club competition criteria sent me frantically searching for young german players. Then, having released 2 of my 3 left midfielders, Doherty was struck down with an injury that will keep him out until november. Then my keeper Colovic was sold after Fenerbahce activated his release clause. Finally, I realised I was lacking in goalscorers. Thus it was a busy summer trying to fix the problems that had arisen.

To that end, here are the new signings.

Transfers

Goalkeepers

1. Hugo Anzarda - My replacement for Anzarda, Hugo is the current Argentine No. 1 keeper. Signed for £3.5 million, I hope Hugo can fill Colovic’s boots.
13. Raymond Dekker - Raymond was signed on a free transfer and has the potential to be a real star in the future. Will provide back-up to Anzarda.

Centre Backs

5. Giovane - Giovane joined on loan late in the window to add a bit of strength in depth to the squad. Good player.
26. Hans-Werner Hermann - Hermann is the first of my german signings to join and has decent potential. German U-21 international.

Midfielders

23. Everton - Everton was a bit of a panic signing when I was reduced to no Left Midfielders. Decent player but nothing more.
36. Franco Zuculini - Franco joins on loan from Hoffenheim and adds strength in depth to the centre of our midfield.
47. Gomes - Brazilian winger signed on loan. He will be our LM in the absence of Doherty and I hope he can put in good performances.
Fousseyni Kante - Kante joins to add more german players to our squad.

Strikers

9. Daniel Axelsson - Daniel is the man who will hopefully add firepower to our forward line. An explosive striker, his international record is something I hope can be replicated at club level.
27. Dian Mihaylov - Dian is a promising Bulgarian striker with bags of potential. Dian joins feeder club Jena for a year for game time.
39. Marian Thiel - Marian is another German youth player, and has solid potential. A decent prospect.
61. Helder - Helder is a promising young Portugese striker who could be a big player in a couple of years.


The Upcoming Season

Overall, I am fairly happy with the squad although I am concerned about a couple of areas. As a result, I think it will be a struggle to match last season’s feats and I will be happy with a top-6 finish. To add to my squad woes, Osmar announced in early September he would leave on a Bosman in the summer. I immediately offered him round to other clubs and he will leave in January to Juventus for £7.5 million.




Champions League Best-Placed playoff

Mannheim 1 – 0 Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain 5 – 1 Mannheim

So our CL adventure was over before it began. A great first leg result saw us take a narrow lead to France, but we were never at the races in the second leg and went down to a heavy defeat.



As a result, we enter the group stages of the Europa League where we will play AZ, Saint Etienne and Anzhi. A tough group, but I am optimistic I might be able to nick a top-2 finish.

[PRDH]

corinthiano - I played him as an advanced forward on the left of a front two. He was never great, but he scored a few goals and was adequate.

Edit - Motored through another season. Helps if you have an attack of insomnia! Just compiling the report now.

[corinthiano]

PRDH - Yeah he had very few good moments for me last season. I signed two strikers in the summer, so I don't know how much game time he will be getting this season.

rlipscombe - Shame you went out in the Playoff of the CL, but PSG was a very tough ask. Good luck in the Europa League. Oh, and I do like the look of Axelsson

[PRDH]

Lusitânia Açores - Season Summary - 2027/28

Finances

Key figure - £10,223,074 | Summary

Sales and prize/TV money combined to give us a nice profit. The money was snaffled at the end of the season to fund an expansion to the stadium and improvements to the training facilities.

Club News

1/ New expansion to the stadium being built over the summer. It will add 7,500 seats to capacity.
2/ Training facilities to be upgraded.

Transfers | 7 In (£2.7m) and 11 Out (£11m)

As I discussed last season Soto was sold. I toyed with the idea of keeping him around for a bit but with only a year remaining on his contract he had to go as I couldn't afford to lose out on the money we'd get for him.

Other than that the players who left the club were fairly low key. We also celebrated our link up with fellow Azorean club Santa Clara by sending out a few of our youngsters. They got plenty of experience and even helped Santa Clara achieve promotion into the top flight. That probably means our link up will be short!

There were no particularly expensive acquisitions this season, though that doesn't mean some of them weren't important.

League | Predicted - 2nd

Table | Graph

A slightly worrying start to the season before normal service resumed. The league was tight. We played Porto in the penultimate game of the season level on points. We won and our 6th successive title was secured.

The goalscoring feats in the league this season were somewhat ridiculous. We got 105 in total and Porto 90. To add some context in we won the first of this run of leagues scoring only 54.

This scoring was evident in the players records too. Five players in the league got more than 20 goals (in the 30 game season) and two broke the 30 mark. Doesn't say much for the defences!

Cups

Supertaça | Winners

Sent out a strong team for the season curtain raiser and we saw off Braga with ease, helped by a Mendès hat trick.

Taça de Portugal | 3rd Rd

Continued with our policy of fielding the youngsters/squad players in the cup despite coming up against Porto in our first game. We were defeated. Wasn't particularly bothered.

League Cup | Winners

The cup squad had rather more luck in this competition seeing off Porto in the final to add some more silverware to the trophy cabinet.

Europe

Group Stage | Table

Finally we progressed beyond our traditional third seed status meaning we should get a slightly easier group draw. We probably did though it was by no means a gimme as we came up against Barcelona, Shakhtar and Sparta Prague.

A heroic defensive performance at the Nou Camp as we stole a 0-1 victory set us up for the group stages winning all our games bar the return against Barcelona to send us through top of the group. It's nice that the group stages are becoming something of a forgone conclusion now. It indicates that we are getting more established at this level.

1st Knockout Rd

First Leg | Second Leg

So we came to the 1st Knockout Rd, the stage of the competition we have traditionally fallen at. This year we got a nice friendly draw against Young Boys. We flew to Switzerland hopeful that we might get past them and into the quarters. Three goals from Mendès in the first leg seemed to make the tie safe and another two in a 4-0 win back in Angra saw us through to the quarters for the first time. Quite comfortable really.

Quarter Final

First Leg | Second Leg

Up next was Marseille. France have been doing well in the Champions' League in my universe and this was never going to be an easy tie.

Again we went away for the first leg. It was a tight affair which was settled by Santos' 27th minute goal. Returning with an away goal was a good result and set us up for the second leg. It was not one for the purists with no goals and 10 yellow cards between the teams. Our fans weren't worried though as the 0-0 draw saw us progress into the semi finals.

Semi Final

First Leg | Second Leg

After a fairly scrappy pair of quarters we were short a few players through suspension for the semis against Manchester City. I'm not it made a difference, but whatever the reason we were thoroughly outclassed. Again we played the first leg away from home but this time we came back with a bloodied nose after a 3-0 defeat. We started the second leg the right way with an early goal but we succumbed to a 2-6 defeat and were out of Europe.

Still, progression from last season even if it may have been down to a friendlier set of draws than improvement. It should however have boosted out coefficient rating and we're not far behind Holland. A few more seasons like this and we may steal another CL place for Portugal.

Squad | Overview

'Keepers | No real sign that we missed Soto here, our two young stoppers did well.

Ales Svoboda - 39 apps, 30 conc, 21 cln - The man to inherit the number one jersey. He performed very well. The nineteen-year-old collected a hatful of clean sheets and generally commanded his area well. Could have been a real sink or swim moment and he definitely swam.

Miltos Diallas - 10 apps, 8 conc, 4 cln - Another storming goalkeeping prospect. It could be a real battle between these two for the next few years.

Defenders | Already a strong unit, but got even stronger this season.

Christophe Collins - 46(1) apps, 0 gls, 8 asts - A stunning debut season for the French full back. Displaced Favreau and never looked back. It'llbe a battle to keep hold of him I think.

Stijn Hermans - 16(3) apps, 2 gls, 0 asts - Fewer starts this year for the Belgian, but is still very much part of the squad.

Pavlos Nalbantis - 4(1) apps, 0 gls, 0 asts - Continues to be a solid back up defender.

Sébastien Gauthier - 41 apps, 5 gls, 1 ast, 1 MoM - The giant defender is a rock at the heart of defence.

Meraneh Descazals - 37 apps, 10 gls, 5 asts, 6 MoMs - I think this may be his best season yet, he was superb throughout.

Mathieu Favreau - 3 apps, 0 gls, 0 asts - After years as first choice he was replaced by Collins. Accepted a bid for him and he is off at the end of the season. He's done well for the club and been a huge part of our success.

Ange Diaby - 9(6) apps, 0 gls, 0 asts - Another to have his game time limited. Starting to make noises about wanting to play regularly. I may let him move on and progress his own career.

Christian Osses - 40(1) apps, 1 gl, 5 asts - Continued as the undisputed first choice on the left side of defence. I've had these players for so long there's not actually much new to say.

Midfielders | Some great players and some huge potential

Germán Muñoz Urrea - 0(1) app - His time is, I'm afraid, up.

Christian Madsen - 38 apps, 3 gls, 5 asts - Faced some competition from young Tornado this season but continued as first choice. I can't see him being there forever tough.

Tornado - 11 apps, 1 gl, 4 asts - The absurdly-named midfielder is developing nicely. He is placed just behind Madsen at the moment but I would not have much hesitation about throwing him into the first team if needed.

Vadym Gai - 26(12) apps, 8 gls, 13 asts, 3 MoMs - Reclaimed his position as first choice right winger this season through a combination of his upturn in form and Santos' loss of it.

Emin Dalkali - [5(1) apps, 2 gls, 4 asts - Another player who is developing his career nicely at the club. Performed well in the cup competitions.

Mike Okoro- 1(1) apps - Spent the first few months of the season at Santa Clara where he didn't fit into to their tactics. He therefore returned and faced the reserve league.

Joffrey Fontaine - 32 apps, 9 gls, 14 asts, 3 MoMs - Continued as normal. Excellent as ever.

Stefan Fink - 17(10) apps, 4 gls, 8 asts, 2 MoMs - Something of a breakthrough for Fink this season. Got more chances this season with Fontaine facing a couple of injuries and really impressed me.

Andreas Jensen - 40 apps, 14 gls, 21 asts, 5 MoMs - Goals and assists by the bucketload made this an excellent season for the maturing German midfielder.

Holger Lemke - 1(2) apps - Quite excited about the prospects of this young Austrian. He's got a decent grounding in key attributes as well as a high level of determination. He may be one who could benefit from time on loan next season.

Héctor Partida - 8(19) apps, 6 gls, 2 asts, 1 MoM - Spent his time filling in for Jensen and did a great job at it. He's progressing nicely. Improving his skills and getting experience ready for a chance to burst into the team.

Santos - 17(10) apps, 4 gls, 4 asts, 1 MoM - Dramatic loss of form this season has left me wondering about his place in the team. Not only did he not play well, but the team around him were unimpressive too. it's possible that I will let him leave to ease some of the younger wingers into the squad.

Forwards | Performed brilliantly as a group.

Mamadou N'Diaye - 2 apps, 1 gl, 1 ast - A new arrival this season. He cost a whopping £50K from his Senegalese side. Exciting player who maybe needs football to smooth some of his rough edges.

Labros Pavlou - 1 apps - Another whose time is up at the club. A pity as he has been a useful guy to have around the club, but it's time for him to move on and build his career.

Allan Tranberg - [i]13(4) apps, 3 gls, 6 asts, 1 MoM[i] - Well, after all the discussion over him, the solution was remarkably simple. He was replaced by a new signing. Not intentionally, but he just wasn't as good. Continues to be a useful alternative.

Bénoît da Silva - 1(2) apps - Another who looks to need some experience away from the club.

Alan Neira - 34(5) apps, 15 gls, 14 asts, 3 MoMs - Potentially one of the best value for money signings ever. Neira arrived from Argentina for a bargain price of £160K. He started tentatively with me thinking he would be back up. However his performances, and his partnership with Mendès made it almost impossible to drop him. He replaced Tranberg and we looked a much better side.

Micha Peek - 0(1) apps - Another player who is developing nicely. One more season learning the trade with us and then I think he'll head out and get some experience in a first team.

Sidnei Mamede - 5(16) apps, 6 gls, 1 ast, 1 MoM - Encouraging performances from our first reserve striker. He looks to have a part to play in the squad.

Miguel Angel Klein - 1 apps - Rather lost out this season. Not quite sure what his role it. Will need to be evaluated over the summer.

Edemilson Mendès - 41 apps, 44 gls, 14 asts, 13 MoMs - The undisputed star of the season. His goalscoring feats were astonishing. More than a goal a game overall and a consistent record across competitions. He has an astonishing record for the club now of 49 league games and 48 goals. If he can keep close to that level he could achieve some very special things.

Aims For This Season Were...

1/ Get past the First Knockout Round of the Champions' League. It's frustrating me.
2/ Bed in the new youngsters upfront.
3/ Of course, retain the Premier League (maybe going unbeaten).
4/ Continue to blood my youth team in the domestic cups.

Aims For Next Season Are...

1/ Retain league.
2/ Semi-final of the Champions' League again.

Story So Far...

Season		League			Position		Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13		Second Division - South	12th			Avoided Relegation (just)
2013/14		Second Division - South 1st			Promoted!
2014/15		Second League		14th			Avoided Relegation
2015/16		Second League		2nd			Promoted!
2016/17		Premier League		13th			Avoided Relegation
2017/18		Premier League		3rd			Qualified for Europa League
2018/19		Premier League		4th			Europa League again
2019/20		Premier League		5th			Europa League again
2020/21		Premier League		1st			Champions!
2021/22		Premier League		2nd			CL Qualification again
2022/23		Premier League		1st			Champions!
2023/24		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round
2024/25		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round
2025/26		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round
2026/27		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round
2027/28		Premier League		1st			CL Semi Final

Previous Updates

12/13
13/14
14/15
15/16
16/17
17/18
18/19
19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

[rlipscombe]

cheers Corinthiano... Was tough vs PSG, especially as losing finalists two years ago. I am excited by Axelsson. kind of stumbled across him by accident really but delighted to have found him. hopefully him and Scherbakov can lead the line well...

[corinthiano]

Good effort in the CL this year, PRDH! Still seems like there is a gap to the top teams in Europe, but the win at the Nou Camp surely is an encoursging sign.

[PRDH]

Good effort in the CL this year, PRDH! Still seems like there is a gap to the top teams in Europe, but the win at the Nou Camp surely is an encoursging sign.

Yeah, I agree. I can pull off results against them on my day, but over the two legs I always feel like they've got a chance of hammering me! Honestly I think the reason I progressed so far this year was a nice couple of draws.

One of the problems is that world class players are often going to want to leave at or before their peak and I'm still not really making much money.

[rlipscombe]

yeah congrats on a breakthrough in Europe PRDH. good to see Svoboda given a run in goal too and that he delivered. pleased for him and that worked out for you.

[PRDH]

As the ball bobbles towards the goal for our second I can't help but think the supporters aren't taking the Supertaça seriously as a spectacle. There is a second man three rows behind the guy sitting there. But that looks to be about it!

[corinthiano]

Haha, that is an awful showing! Tbf in real life attendances in Portugal are awful, unless you are Porto, Sporting and Benfica, and to a lesser extent Braga and Vit. Guimaraes. Whenever they show a Second League game here you struggle to see anyone in the stands!

[corinthiano]

Have almost bashed out another season, have 8 league games to go. Didn't get near challenging for promotion, think it could be a while before I can get out of the division. On a positive note, already have an academy product playing quite a few games for the first team, whilst the other players that came through the first year are also progressing nicely. I think our good facilities and youth recruitment will come in handy in the earlier part of the challenge.

Just wanted to let you guys know that I will be off to Guinea on a work trip for the next couple of weeks so will not be playing until then. Good luck to everyone in the meantime

[iacovone]

Ok, Ok, I am actually back now

Need to refresh my memory of my Novese career as I've literally not played it in about a month

I do know I finally got up to Serie B

[stemanders]

i started in the italian league and have created my new manager at the start of the second season. i have looked at all the clubs in serie C2/a and C2/b. i could only find one team that had no league history, they were Arzanese in C2/B. could anyone tell me if this is right please?

[rlipscombe]

welcome back iacovone!!!

[vikeologist]

i started in the italian league and have created my new manager at the start of the second season. i have looked at all the clubs in serie C2/a and C2/b. i could only find one team that had no league history, they were Arzanese in C2/B. could anyone tell me if this is right please?

I think you can choose from any team that gets promoted into C2B for the 2012/13 season, "any club which has been promoted to the bottom playable league of your nation". Can you find the season summary for 2011/12? This will tell you which clubs were promoted.

On this subject, (this is mostly directed at LLR I guess), should I ever complete the challenge with East Stirlingshire, can I then do the challenge a second time with a newly promoted club in an added league such as Spain (or one of the other countries) even if they've spent some time in the playable leagues in the previous seasons, e.g. a side that was relegated in 2011/12, but has now clawed it's way back? I think someone said that there was a problem choosing other previously unplayable clubs when you add new leagues, and I may as well ask now because once ES win the Champions League I'm more than ready to quit before the trophy is even lifted and manage in warmer and more interesting climes, but I'd like to remain part of the challenge community. Unfortunately I may not need this information for a while.

[iacovone]

Hmmm. I'm midway through the season in Serie B and we're holding our own. Sitting just below mid-table but have done enough to show me we'll stay up this year. That's the pleasing part.

The bad/annoying part is the clause I had in Giorgio Natale's move to NEC Nijmegan. We had a 25% of any profit made on him (sold for £250k) but the fools have let his contract run out!

So he's moving to Parma for free

[PRDH]

That's infuriating iacovone. Happened to me a couple of times in the last few seasons. And it's looking like a couple more teams are thinking about it. Idiotic AI!

[G-Wiz]

Ac. Viseu - 2012/2013 - End of Season Review

Manager Profile
Team Information
Transfers

Predicted Position: 7th
Actual Position: 7th
Average Attendance: 537
Season Ticket Holders: 280

Very much a mixed season, started off slowly with all the new signings taking time to gel, but gladly we hit our predicted position for the season. A few silly points that we dropped wouldve made a big difference to our overall position. So overall im pleased with the teams performance, although we are pretty short in real quality players, and hopefully that is something i can address in the upcoming transfer window.
The serious lack of finance is going to be a major stumbling block in strengthening, as although we have a decent capacity stadium (14,368 all seater), we're only averaging 500-odds a game, so hopefully the consolidation of our league status will help improve that figure for next season.

A few of the more notable performers of the season were as follows:

GK

Igor Rocha - brought in on a free and installed as first choice, not great but better than what was already available

DEF

Nuno Coelho - veteran RB who also filled in at DM when required

Rodolfo Simoes - young LB, another free, one of the more promising players in the squad

Gleydson - part of the brazilian backbone of the team, solid at the back

Hugo Basto - brought in as CB partner for Gleydson, decent performer

MID

Dionatan Teixeira - towering DM who started season poorly but improved as the season progressed

Paulo Jorge - young DM, formerly of Porto, an able deputy but used sparingly

Bailo Camara - brought in pre-season, used mainly at left side of 3 man attack, 10 assists isnt too bad, shame about lack of goals

Joao Paulo - one of a few rotated in CM positions, where ive yet to really find my first choice picks, even after a season

Jean Silva - right winger converted to right side of 3 man attack, 7 goals is decent, one of my first names on team sheet (for the moment anyway)

ATT

Bacari - another Guinea-Bissau national, already at the club and turned out to be the star-man, and top scorer with 15 goals

Leonardo Mancuso - one-time AC Milan youngster, took a bit of time to settle in but ended the season with 9 goals

Top Scorer - Bacari - 15 goals
Highest Average Rating - Bacari - 7.06
Fans Player of The Year - Bacari

Upon reflection, the amount of time i spent tinkering with formations etc probably had a detrimental effect on our overall progress this season. However, having now found a tactic that the team has adjusted well to and is getting results (winning 10 and drawing 2 of our last 14 games) i am happy now that with the right players we can use next season to kick on and push for a promotion place, or at the very least a playoff place, as i havent really followed the whole play-off/playout situation in the lower leagues of portugal yet

Season          Division                                 Position       Achievements
2012/2013       Portugese Second Division - Central      7th	        Safety

[PRDH]

Hurrah! My journey to the semi-final has pushed us above Holland in the coefficients meaning Portugal gets an extra spot in the Champions League next season and 2nd place now goes straight into the group stage. Great news for the rest of the Portuguese sides.

Edit - Good solid season there G-Wiz and with that end of season form you've got to be looking at promotion. It's tricky to get out of the Second Division as you have to win the league and then go into the promotion playoff league. I remember feeling as if the games just kept on coming!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Des Tiny's
Agrupación Deportiva Parla

Liga Adelante
End of Season 2017/18
Attempting the Playoffs

The Season

In Brief
Predicted: 22nd
Actual: 3rd (Graph)
Cup: 3rd Round at Cordoba 1:2
Manager: Des Tiny - History
Season Tickets: 2941 (^25 [Avg Att: 5145])
Finances: €2.3M (45th in ESP [NC])
Transfers: 2017/18 - 19 In (€350k) 13 Out (€2.5M) 3 Loaned (€3k)
Squad: First Squad, Under 19s

General News

We had made a profit of 1.6M before the end of the season which saw us purchase new youth facilities, am hoping for a better youth prospect as my current crop aren't that good. Of course I managed to spend a lot of money on transfers this season, but also had a fair amount come in. With a squad that is now quite large I was having trouble with players complaining about not getting any game time, so in the offseason I am going to try and cut back, especially in the midfield, this may see Delgado leave as well. Also hoping for a stadium expansion at some point in the future as we cannot continue in our small 6000 seater, though this may actually save us money if we wait a little while to go bigger.

The League

No idea what happened at the beginning of the season, but we were pretty horrid. The graph shows everything, after 15 games we were struggling a lit bit, and we needed a kick in the pants. As the team was not performing and Ozlu & Herlein wanted to leave I decided to let them both go, I sold them for a couple of million euros and this resulted in a crazy turn around. We went 14-4-7 from January first and ended up finishing third, we scored more goals than any other team in the league, but we also conceded the second most. This meant our defense was terrible, it was clearly our weak point, though improved as the season went on and the new boys gelled. The playoffs ended in disaster as we lost 7-5 over the two legs, so another season in the Liga Adelante to come and hoping for better things.

Playoff Semi-Finals: vs Leganes - Leg 1 - Leg 2 (5:7)

Golden Boot: Erwan Braind 3rd (26)
Avg Rating: Erwan Briand 2nd (7.40)
Overachievers: Parla
Season Review

Fixtures 1-21
Fixtures 22-42
Player Stats
Team Stats

Cup

We had two tough matches against Liga Adelante opponents in the 2nd and 3rd round, and really never looked likely to advance as we played our reserves from the start.

Fixtures

The Players

Squad Stats

Keepers

Simone Ravasi (ITA) - Was the goalie of choice at the start of the season, but his performances were just never really good enough, has ended up being replaced and has now been sold. Conc 48, CS 3.

Lukasz Kaminski (POL) - The Pole came in when I was seriously worried about Ravasi's performance, and it paid off, the defense improved after that, he still conceded more goals than I would like, but he clearly won the starting job. Conc 37, CS 9.

Defenders

Central

Martin Lopez (ARG) - He was the main starter this season, but not really sure if he is quite at the level I want, it may end up that I replace him, but he will start the season as the starter. 1G 1A.

Andre Perego (SUI) - Our new captain, he took over in January when I got rid of Herlein & Ozlu, and the step up by Perego was amazing, before the season he was not even assured of starting, but 39 games through the season and a true leaders attitude saw him lead the team. 13G 3A.

Ozgur Bayraktar (TUR) - The youngster is just cover for my side and will continue in this mould. 1G 0A.
Phillipp Thiel (GER) - The youngster came in to provide some much needed cover, looking to make the starting line-up. 1G 1A.

Left

Ricardo (ESP) - He came in to take over in July and was an inspiration, a great season from the youngster, but his contract is up at the end of this season and he doesn't want to discuss a new contract. I may find it tough to keep him and that will be a gutting change. 0G 5A.

Ferhat Ozlenir (TUR) - A reasonable start to his career, he will be looking to get some more games in the new season, will battle with Wagner though. 0G 0A.
Tobias Wagner (GER) - Is really a back-up who needs first team football, but going to be tough as he is clearly behind Ricardo, a battle ensues. 0G 0A.

Right

Pablo Sanchez Varela (ARG) - His talent appeared good, but he was always inconsistent in his performances. The main right back for this season, but he will leave in July, Milano or Dogan will replace him til December when his actual replacement turns up. 4G 8A.

Robert Milano (ITA) - A slightly disappointing season from our back-up, hoping he can step up in Sept, but only time will tell. 0G 0A.
Ugur Dogan (TUR) - Signed as the back-up looks to take over from now til Dec, looks good, but had a few bad starts. 0G 0A.

Midfielders

Centre

Roberto Delgado YP3 (ESP) - A good start to the season, and then it seemed to come apart. Not sure what happened, I want to try and give him a go in the offseason, but if he can't step up then he will just have to ride the pine. 1G 8A.

Ercan Yildrim (TUR) - What a find, Yildrim has been a miracle find, he was amazing all season long and has taken over as the leader in the middle of the park. He was involved in everything, and really looks to provide the ball. 5G 9A.

Vangelis Arvantis (GER) - The Greek German came in and looked good in the centre of midfield, and in his few appearances upfront, his performances covering injuries to Yildrim & Paulinho alone have led to a change of formation for the new season to include an attacking midfield role. 4G 9A.

Gunter Hoffman (GER) - New to the club, but looks to have a great future. 0G 0A.
Artem Tretjakov (RUS) - A bit disappointing this season, will be leaving in July. 1G 1A.
Timothe Douay (BEL) - A possible player in the new season, time will tell.
Bartosz Gul (POL) - He didn't feature much, but will probably become a sub in the new season. 0G 1A.

Right

Miguel Lopez (ARG) - He is a bit of a machine down the right hand side of the park, and the team is not the same with him not on the field. 5G 13A.

Eneko Begona (ESP) - A Poor season, will be on sale in July. 2G 0A.
Wojciech Kowalczyk (POL) - He is the future, will be given a better chance this season. 0G 0A.

Left

Tayfun Sen (TUR) - He took over from Cris as the starter, and he really performed. I was actually surprised by how good he was. Took control of the left midfield and led our side in an amazing second half. 4G 5A.

Mario Bumbera (SVK) - He came in right at the end of the season, but he looks like the next big thing, will start behind Tayfun, but might move past him during the season. 0G 0A.

Cris (BRA) - Well a year after being the star replacement, he is all but done, injured and amply replaced this year. 3G 12A.
Denis Shelekhov (RUS) - A reserve at best, leaving in July. 0G 1A.

Strikers

Erwan Briand (BEL) - He ably stepped into the void filled when Herlein left and continued to add the goals that he had in the previous season, leading from the front for the whole year. I am looking at an extension to his contract, but am worried our reputation will see him head elsewhere. 26G 7A.

Paulinho (BRA) - The number of injuries hurt his season, but Paulinho was keeping pace with Briand early on, it just seems that he will be a sub in the new season as we move to a single striker formation in an attempt to utilise our strength in midfield. 20G 4A.

Vladimir Jicul (MLD) - Really not sure on the Moldovan, I'm not sold, but will get a chance. 0G 0A.
Alexandr Potapov (RUS) - Well I signed him as a hopeful replacement for Herlein, but he just seems temperamental and unable to score when I need him, may be a part of the clean out in the offseason. 0G 0A.

The History

A Statistic in the Spotlight
This section will highlight one club leaderboard, and show the top 10, plus the best of the current crop.


I thought we would have a look at goalkeepers, in particular clean sheets, as you can see Cappellari is way out in front, but this is mainly because of the huge number of games he has played for the club compared to our other keepers. Very impressed with 9 clean sheets from Kaminski already as he only joined the club in January.

The 100 Club

|-----------------------|--------|------|-------|-------|------|-----|-----|--------|
| The 100 Club          | Starts | Subs | Goals | Assts | Conc | Cln | MoM | Av Rat |
|-----------------------|--------|------|-------|-------|------|-----|-----|--------|
| Miguel Herlein*       |   175  |   3  |  139  |   46  |   -  |  -  |  36 |  7.56  |
| Taygun Kuru*          |   164  |   1  |   18  |   72  |   -  |  -  |   5 |  7.14  |
| Andre Gomes*          |   144  |  12  |   24  |   36  |   -  |  -  |   8 |  7.15  |
| Juan F. Aranda*       |   126  |  10  |    0  |   14  |   -  |  -  |   0 |  6.98  |
| Bruno Guillou*        |   132  |   0  |    2  |    8  |   -  |  -  |   0 |  7.02  |
| Kivanc Ozlu*          |   121  |   0  |   36  |    7  |   -  |  -  |  18 |  7.31  |
| Nuno Malheiro*        |    84  |  26  |    1  |   17  |   -  |  -  |   2 |  6.94  |
| Miguel Lopez          |    99  |   7  |   13  |   26  |   -  |  -  |   3 |  6.94  |
| Roberto Delgado (YP3) |    76  |  24  |    4  |   33  |   -  |  -  |   2 |  6.98  |
|-----------------------|--------|------|-------|-------|------|-----|-----|--------|

The Club Awards

|---------|----------|-------------------|---------|------------|
| Season  | Division |     Fans PotY     | Best XI | Overall XI |
|---------|----------|-------------------|---------|------------|
| 2012/13 |   2DB3   | Guillaume Dumast  | 2012/13 | 2012-2013  |
| 2013/14 |   2DB3   | Miguel Herlein    | 2013/14 | 2012-2014  |
| 2014/15 |   2DB3   | Miguel Herlein    | 2014/15 | 2012-2015  |
| 2015/16 |    LA    | Miguel Herlein    | 2015/16 | 2012-2016  |
| 2016/17 |    LA    | Miguel Herlein    | 2016/17 | 2012-2017  |
| 2017/18 |    LA    | Erwan Briand      | 2017/18 | 2012-2018  |
|---------|----------|-------------------|---------|------------|

My Updates History

|---------|--------|--------------------------------------------|
| Season  | League | Updates                                    |
|---------|--------|--------------------------------------------|
| 2012/13 |  2DB3  | Start, Preseason, Midseason, End of Season |
| 2013/14 |  2DB3  | Youth, Preseason, Midseason, End of Season | 
| 2014/15 |  2DB3  | Youth, Preseason, Midseason, End of Season | 
| 2015/16 |   LA   | Youth, Preseason, Midseason, End of Season | 
| 2016/17 |   LA   | Youth, Preseason, Midseason, End of Season | 
| 2017/18 |   LA   | Youth, Preseason, Midseason, End of Season | 
| 2018/19 |   LA   | Youth, Preseason, Midseason, End of Season | 
|---------|--------|--------------------------------------------|

Club History

|---------|----------|----------|------------------|--------|------------------|
| Season  | Division | Position |       Cups       | Europe |     Comments     |
|---------|----------|----------|------------------|--------|------------------|
| 2012/13 |   2DB3   |    6th   |        NA        |   NA   |       None       |
| 2013/14 |   2DB3   |    4th   |   SC 2nd Round   |   NA   | Lost in Playoffs |
| 2014/15 |   2DB3   |    2nd   |   SC 2nd Round   |   NA   |     Promoted     |
| 2015/16 |    LA    |   10th   |   SC 2nd Round   |   NA   |       None       |
| 2016/17 |    LA    |    7th   |   SC 4th Round   |   NA   |       None       |
| 2017/18 |    LA    |    3rd   |   SC 2nd Round   |   NA   | Lost in Playoffs |
|---------|----------|----------|------------------|--------|------------------|

The Future

In Brief
Odds: 1000-1
Predicted: 22nd
My Aim: Promotion
Expectations: Top Half
Transfer Budget: €543k
Wage Budget: €52k
Youth: Miguel Martin & Jose Manuel Pastor
Signings: Sergey Afanasjev (DRL), Karol Petras (MC), Rastislav Roznik (MC)
Transfers Out: Eneko Begona (€40K), Patxi Bengoetxea (€40k), Cris (€60k), Artem Tretjakov (€39k), Vicent (€60k), Juan Carlos (€12k), Ignjac Ivanic (€10k), Simone Ravasi (€240k), Pablo Sanchez Varela (€40k)
Contract Expired: Ivan, Adrian Vidorreta
Wages at 01.07.18: €43,580

Other news sees a bit of a Parla gathering at the U19 Euros as the Germans selected Arvanitis, Thiel & Hoffmann. I also thought I should point out the scale of the gap between us and the larger teams in Sponsorship alone.

[PRDH]

Really unlucky season there LLR, though at least you know if you avoid the horrid start you should be able to challenge for promotion even more strongly.

Like the look of your wingers and Jicul's ability in the air could be very useful, it's a handy squad all round really - though I'm not totally convinced by your central midfielders.

[DodgeeD]

Keçiorengücü 2024/25 Season Review



Quick Overview
Premier Division: 1st
Championship Group: Winners!!
(qualified for next season’s Champions League Group Stage)
Turkish Cup: Runners-up
Super Cup: Winners!!
Champions League: Quarter-finalists

Premier Division
We were far and away the best team in the league this season – top scorers, meanest defence and 29 out of 34 games won! Only Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş are anyway near us and we can regularly get away with resting the stars and rotating in youngsters.
Final Table

Championship Group
Once the points were halved, we still had a 5 point lead and there were no hiccups this time as we secured the title with two games to go only dropping points away to Beşiktaş
Final standings

Super Cup
Trabzonspor were no match for us in the season curtain raiser.

Turkish Cup
A very good run this year as we got all the way to the final despite fielding weakned teams in every round. My youngsters shone through in this competition so I kept faith with them for the final – unfortunately, their form didn’t quite carry them all the way as we were edged out by Bursaspor but I was satisfied with the run nonetheless.

Champions League
A dream start as we stuffed AC Milan at home before beating APOEL and CSKA Moscow away. Qualificaiton was secured with two games to spare although I was a little disappointed that we were held to home draws by both CSKA and APOEL. A defeat in the final game at the San Siro meant we finished in 2nd.
Final Table

PSG were our first knockout round opponents. We were all over them in the first leg but conceded a late away goal. We still won 3-1 but would have to be careful in the way leg. We got through but only just as we slipped to a 4-2 defeat making it 5-5 on aggregate. Thankfully, we progressed on away goals. We faced Arsenal in the quarter-finals but faced a tough challenge due to a monster fixture pile-up (see my previous post). We played well in the first leg but Arsenal were effective on the counter attack meaning the match finished 3-3. At the Emirates, we went behind early on but had a good chance to get back in it after the home side were reduced to ten men. Alas, despite plenty of pressure and chances, we just couldn’t score and went out 4-3 on aggregate.

The Squad: Transfers
Plenty of departures this year as I let some youngsters go and sold off some players on the fringes of the first team squad who were earning too much for their meagre contributions. I spent fairly big to bring in a few new faces. Chief among them were Renato Gaucho who had been impressing my South American scouts all last season. A club record at 13millionTL but I think he will prove to be worth it. Luis Petcoff came in from Argentina – we didn’t really need another striker but 1.5millionTL was too much of a bargain to resist and the acquisition will prove useful should any of the considerable interest in Tavares transform into a bid. Mindful of the need for some Turkish players in the squad, I also brought in Ali Ihsan Kurtoglu who looks like a good prospect for the future.

The Squad: Key Players
Kadir Alagöz (DC) – Produced the good yet again – solid in defence and a constant threat in the air.
Şahin Kaya (DM) – Another very consistent season, which saw him pass 50 caps for the national side.
Marius Dragut (MC) – The Romanian youngster cemented himself in the first team this season and looks set to stay there for some time.
Klevis Zmijani (AMR) – Struggled a little early in the season but was in fantastic form at the end of it, scoring 6 goals in the Championship Group stage alone.
Erman Ergin (ST) – Almost as many assists as goals in a great season for our youth team graduate.
Alexandre Tavares (ST) – Over a goal a game this season with consistent scoring in all competitions. Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are all interested but will have to pay big bucks to get him.

The Squad: Awards
Tavares led the way again as Best Player in Turkey and Top Goalscorer in the league. Kadir Alagöz was named Defender of the Year and both those players would represent the club in the Team of the Year. Our young guns picked up the cup awards with Kerem Yücel Top Cup Goalscorer for the second year in a row and Kaan Uygun names as Best Cup Player.


I once again was named Manager of the Year and, despite two sendings off this season, we still won the Fair Play award.

The Season Ahead…
The board had agreed to add an extra 3,000 seats to our new stadium but they reduced that figure to just over 1,000 at the end of the season meaning we will still be under the 10,000 mark. Improvements to training and youth facilities were also cancelled, annoyingly days before Champions League and domestic league prize money came in with the options greyed out after that.

On the pitch, we will aim to continue our dominance domestically and get as far as we can in Europe. Squad wise, there may be some rebuilding to do as a few first teamers are approaching the final year of their current deals and some are asking for ridiculous amounts of money, way over what the board will sanction, to stay…

The Story So Far…

Season  | Division    | Position | Play-Offs | Turkish Cup | Europe       | Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012-13 | 2nd (Grp B) | 5th      | QF        | 1st Round   | N/A          | N/A
2013-14 | 2nd (Grp B) | 1st      | N/A       | 3rd Round   | N/A          | Promoted!
2014-15 | First       | 1st      | N/A       | 3rd Round   | N/A          | Promoted!
2015-16 | Premier     | 10th     | N/A       | 4th Round   | N/A          | Stayed up
2016-17 | Premier     | 6th      | Won in R3 | 4th Round   | N/A          | Qualified for Europa League
2017-18 | Premier     | 2nd      | 3rd       | 4th Round   | EL 4th QR    | Qualified for Europa League
2018-19 | Premier     | 2nd      | 2nd       | Semi-final  | EL Group     | Qualified for Champions League
2019-20 | Premier     | 3rd      | 2nd       | 5th Round   | EL 1st KO    | Qualified for Champions League
2020-21 | Premier     | 3rd      | 2nd       | 5th Round   | EL 2nd KO    | Qualified for Champions League
2021-22 | Premier     | 2nd      | Winners   | 4th Round   | CL Quarters  | League Champions!
2022-23 | Premier     | 2nd      | Winners   | Winners     | EL Finalists | Domestic Double; Super Cup Winners
2023-24 | Premier     | 1st      | Winners   | 5th Round   | CL Semis     | League Champions; Super Cup Winners
2024-25 | Premier     | 1st      | Winners   | Finalists   | CL Quarters  | League Champions; Super Cup Winners

[PRDH]

DodgeeD - What do you feed your youth players!? Some really cracking players have come through. How close do you think you are to CL glory?

[DodgeeD]

DodgeeD - What do you feed your youth players!? Some really cracking players have come through. How close do you think you are to CL glory?

LOL

I have been lucky with youth players this year - 4 are regulars in the first team squad, 2 more are regular back-up and a further 2 I have high hopes for.

As for sompleting the challenge, we are getting close. With some good luck, we could do it this season or next but we may struggle over two legs against the likes of Man Utd, Real Madrid or AC Milan... At least there's a refreshing lack of players wanting to leave!

[Swinburn]

C.D. Castellón - LIGA BBVA - 2018/19
Mission complete.




League Table | Position Graph
Transfers | Squad (1) (2)
Finances | Confidence

In the league, I was a little disappointed. We had a bad run in the season where we pretty much ruined our title hopes. It was quite annoying considering the money I put into the transfers. All in all though, second place is nothing to grumble about, especially with what's to come.

Copa Del Rey

Copa Del Rey Fixtures | Copa Del Rey Final

I don't know what it is about the Copa Del Rey, but I am always facing Athletic Bilbao in the final. It's ridiculous. Nevertheless, we won it, which was a nice bit of compensation after the league loss.

Champions League

Champions League Groups | Champions League Fixtures | Champions League Final

Now this is the important part. Standard group stage for me with all home wins and away draws. Topped the group with 12 points. Worrying thing throughout the knockout phase as I still couldn't win an away game. Fortunately, our home form saved us. Wins against Arsenal, Benfica and Inter took us into the final, where long time rivals Atletico Madrid were the ones to beat.

And we did just that. But in natural Swinburn way, not the easy way. Durmaz saved us in the 77th and Bohmann saved us in the penalty shootout. I would have liked a more convincing win, but we still won. Challenge complete!

Key Players
Constant Eto'o | Alberto Ferraro | Roberto Marin

The three stars at the club. Eto'o once again with a fantastic season. He's constantly good. Second top scorer at either MC or AMC, depending on the game. Ferraro had the most assists of the team with 27 and Marin was our top scorer with 21. These three were absolutely outstanding and without the three, I don't think we would have been close to the Champions League.

Next?
It's off to the Americas with Vancouver Whitecaps. Continuing my mission to complete every challenge like this. Once I've done there and Asia, I'm thinking of coming back to Castellon and continuing where I left off, with absolute domination the target.

Career Overview

Season          League                League Finish     Achievements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13         Second Division B3    4th               Promoted - Playoffs 
2013/14         LIGA adelante         1st               Promoted - Champions
2014/15         LIGA BBVA             14th              Survived
2015/16         LIGA BBVA             11th              Copa Del Rey Winners
2016/17         LIGA BBVA             2nd               Europa League Winners
2017/18         LIGA BBVA             1st               League Winners, Copa Del Rey Winners, European Super Cup Winners
2018/19         LIGA BBVA             2nd               Champions League Winners, Copa Del Rey Winners

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Des Tiny's AD Parla

Youth Player Project
July 2018 Update

Player 1: Ivan Vilches (MC/ST)
March 2013, July 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

Senior
|  Year |  Club       | Games  | Goals | Assists | MoM | Rating |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| 17/18 | Amurrio     |  0 (0) |   0   |    0    |  0  |  0.00  |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| Total | Senior      | 59(10) |  16   |    5    |  0  |  6.67  |
|_______|_____________|________|_______|_________|_____|________|

Player 1a: Angel (DM/DC)
March 2013, July 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

Senior
|  Year |  Club       | Games  | Goals | Assists | MoM | Rating |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| 17/18 | AD.Parla    |  0 (0) |   0   |    0    |  0  |  -.--  |
| Total | Senior      | 24(10) |   2   |    1    |  1  |  6.82  |
|_______|_____________|________|_______|_________|_____|________|

Player 2: Juan Carlos (MC/AMC/ST)
PPM: None
Foot: Right
Born: Parla
Nationality: Spanish
March 2014, July 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

Senior
|  Year |  Club       | Games  | Goals | Assists | MoM | Rating |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| 13/14 | AD.Parla    |  0 (1) |   0   |    0    |  0  |  6.00  |
| 14/15 | AD.Parla    | 11(16) |   6   |    4    |  1  |  7.04  |
| 15/16 | AD.Parla    |  0 (2) |   0   |    1    |  0  |  6.90  |
| 15/16 | Alcobendas* |  8 (0) |   2   |    1    |  0  |  6.75  |
| 16/17 | Alcobendas* | 20 (0) |   8   |    2    |  2  |  7.03  |
| 17/18 | Castellon*  |  1(24) |   1   |    1    |  0  |  6.54  |
| 18/19 | Jerez       |  0 (0) |   0   |    0    |  0  |  -.--  |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| Total | Senior      | 40(42) |  17   |    9    |  3  |  6.88  |
|_______|_____________|________|_______|_________|_____|________|

Has headed to Jerez for 12k in the off-season, I ended up deciding he would never break my team so I should give him a chance to settle in a lower division, Second Div B1 looks like the right level for him.

Player 2a: Juame (DRL)
March 2014, July 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

Senior
|  Year |  Club       | Games  | Goals | Assists | MoM | Rating |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| 17/18 | No Club     |  0 (0) |   0   |    0    |  0  |  -.--  |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| Total | Senior      | 21(25) |   0   |    2    |  0  |  6.40  |
|_______|_____________|________|_______|_________|_____|________|

Player 3: Roberto Delgado (DM/MLC)
PPM: Hits Free Kicks with Power
Foot: Either
Born: Parla
Nationality: Spanish
March 2015, July 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

Senior
|  Year |  Squad      | Games  | Goals | Assists | MoM | Rating |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| 14/15 | AD.Parla    |  3 (1) |   0   |    0    |  0  |  6.80  |
| 15/16 | AD.Parla    |  3(23) |   0   |    2    |  0  |  6.77  |
| 16/17 | AD.Parla    | 38 (0) |   3   |   23    |  1  |  7.28  |
| 17/18 | AD.Parla    | 32 (0) |   1   |    8    |  1  |  6.82  |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| Total |  Senior     | 76(24) |   4   |   33    |  2  |  6.98  |
|_______|_____________|________|_______|_________|_____|________|

My best youth prospect spent another year starting and managed to get his 100th appearance for the club as well, now I still like Delgado, but it appears he has dropped down to a reserve for the new season. I will look to get him some time on the park when I can, but he may be shipped off elsewhere by the end of the season as much as I want him to play for us I can't see him helping us get promoted.


Player 3a: Ivan (DLC)
March 2015, July 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

Senior
|  Year |  Club       | Games  | Goals | Assists | MoM | Rating |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| 17/18 | AD.Parla    |  0 (0) |   0   |    0    |  0  |  0.00  |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| Total | Senior      |  0 (1) |   0   |    0    |  0  |  0.00  |
|_______|_____________|________|_______|_________|_____|________|

Player 4: Roberto Valverde (ST/MC)
March 2016, July 2016, 2017, 2018

Senior
|  Year |  Club             | Games  | Goals | Assists | MoM | Rating |
|-------|-------------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| 17/18 | Rayo Majadahonda* | 30 (0) |  11   |    0    |  2  |  6.52  |
|-------|-------------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| Total | Senior            | 30 (3) |  11   |    0    |  2  |  6.48  |
|_______|___________________|________|_______|_________|_____|________|

I really am unsure here, a good number of goals on loan, but he is miles off making my starting line-up.

Player 5: Rubén Sigüenza (GK)
March 2017, July 2017, 2018

Senior
|  Year |  Club       | Games  | Goals | Assists | MoM | Rating |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| 17/18 | AD.Parla    |  0 (0) |   0   |    0    |  0  |  0.00  |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| Total | Senior      |  0 (0) |   0   |    0    |  0  |  0.00  |
|_______|_____________|________|_______|_________|_____|________|

Player 4: Jose Manuel Pastor (DC)
PPM: None
Foot: Right
Born: Parla
Nationality: Spanish
2018

Senior
|  Year |  Club       | Games  | Goals | Assists | MoM | Rating |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| 17/18 | AD.Parla    |  0 (1) |   0   |    0    |  0  |  0.00  |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| Total | Senior      |  0 (1) |   0   |    0    |  0  |  0.00  |
|_______|_____________|________|_______|_________|_____|________|

Another very average prospect, he got an appearance late in a game to gain the record for youngest player for Parla though. Will probably give him a chance as injury cover this season then loan him next year.

My Blurb
So far as I can tell only Delgado is worth keeping so far, and only Juan Carlos is worth continuing to follow. Its been a bit of a bare cupboard, but I will keep looking for that superstar as much as I can.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Congrats Swinburn, good to see that success in Spain is possible, and an amazing effort from you to get there soo quickly What's next? continuing with Castellon or going elsewhere?

[Swinburn]

Congrats Swinburn, good to see that success in Spain is possible, and an amazing effort from you to get there soo quickly What's next? continuing with Castellon or going elsewhere?

Moved on to Vancouver Whitecaps in the Americas Challenge and after that I'm cracking Asia with an Australian team.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Moved on to Vancouver Whitecaps in the Americas Challenge and after that I'm cracking Asia with an Australian team.

Nice Good Luck with that, have fun in the A-League too, not sure if the Phoenix are allowed into the Champions League in FM (They aren't in RL), but they would be a good challenge.

[Swinburn]

I'd be simming a season and going with the bottom club anyway, so Wellington may not be an issue. I think they're alright anyway.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

I'd be simming a season and going with the bottom club anyway, so Wellington may not be an issue. I think they're alright anyway.

True Well good luck wherever you end up.

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist’s 2024/2025 End of Season Report

Season             League            Pos           Cups                      Europe     Achievements
2012/13            Sc Div 3          1st           No comment                n/a        Manager of the Year
2013/14            Sc Div 2          1st           Challenge Cup Finalists   n/a        Manager of the Year
2014/15            Sc Div 1          3rd           CC Winners & SC Final     qual       None
2015/16            Sc Div 1          2nd           CC & SC Winners, LC R/U   EC 3Q      Manager of the Year
2016/17            Sc Div 1          1st           Challenge Cup Winners     EC 4Q      Manager of the Year
2017/18            Sc Prem           5th           LC Final                  qual       None
2018/19            Sc Prem           7th           LC Winners                EC R2      Manager of the Year 
2019/20            Sc Prem           1st           SC Winners, LC R/U        n/a        Manager of the Year
2020/21            Sc Prem           1st           SC & LC Winners           EC Winners Manager of the Year
2021/22            Sc Prem           1st           SC Winners                cc Q/F     Manager of the Year
2022/23            Sc prem           1st           LC R/U                    CC R1      Manager of the Year 
2023/24            Sc prem           1st           LC R/U, SC Winners        CC R1      Manager of the Year
2024/25            Sc prem           1st           SC R/U                    CC Q/F     Manager of the Year

League

Transfers

Squad

We reached the quarter finals of the Champions League. We drew 2-2 with Athletico Madrid in Spain, but lost the return tie. Athletico went on to win the competition.

[StellaF1]

Just a Quick update on Seregno as we approach the start of the Club World Championship.

The summer saw us sign just 3 players, 1 on a free, 1 for 15m and 1 for 35m, but the progress of the team has been immense.

Michel Amaya: Signed on a bosman, he has the potential to be a quality player in the future. Currently he is good enough to play in the odd game and does impress when he plays. A fantastic prospect.

Federico Carbonara (bring on the food jokes!!!): Provides absolute quality in the Def Mid position and has proved the worth of the 15m i paid for him. Even scored a couple as well.

Lima: Record transfer fee of 35m. Couldn't resist when i saw the scout report and his stats. Amazing player who is already proving his worth. Scored plenty of goals and has developed a fantastic strike partnership with Huber.

A couple of key matches have already been played:

Italian Super Cup: We won 4-0 against Fiorentina in a match where there was only one outcome. It also highlights the complete dominance we have achieved within Italian Football.

European Super Cup: Saw Seregno lift another trophy with a hard fought 1-0 win with the winning goal coming from new 35m sigining Lima.

Now bring on the Club World Championship.

[PRDH]

StellaF1 - Lima is an absurdly good player and I'm desperately searching for a pun to use when describing Carbonara. The best I've got so far is to describe him as 'cracking' but that's just terrible. Watch this space!

[StellaF1]

PRDH - I know Carbonara is a name just waiting to have the mickey taken out of it.

Club World Championship

Semi Final - Up against Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia.
We played very well and took an early lead after 10 mins with a goal from our 35m striker Lima who powered in a header from a Daniel cross.
A second followed after 29 mins when Huber scored after a fine run through the defence before slotting it past their keeper.
The match then became more difficult as our centre back Leonardo was sent off after a poor challenge just before half time.
Despite being down to 10 men we extended our lead during injury time in the 1st half as Daniel played a long ball forward which put Hiuber clean through on goal and he scored a powerful effort past their keeper.
The second half saw us create many more chances but there was no further goals and we finished as 3-0 victors to progress to the final.

Final - Up against Palmeiras of Brazil
I was expecting this to be a tough encounter and was therefore delighted when Samir Colic run straight through the Plameiras defence before having his shot saved before he pounced on the rebound to put us 1-0 in the very 1st minute.
In the 14th minute Daniel layed the ball off to our fantastically named midfielder Carbonara who thundered a shot in off the post from 25 yards our putting us 2-0 up.
Like in the semi-final we then got a third in the seconf minute of injury time at the end of the first half when a pass from Carbonara was fired into the net from the edge of the area by Samir Colic.
We continued to press in the second half and our lead was extended to 4-0 with an own goal.
Huber then got his 3rd goal of the tournament with a well placed shot to put us 5-0 up.
Just to rub salt into Palmeiras' wounds substitute Causevic floated in a free kick in the 90th minute which defender Vasile Talpa got on the end of.

We therefore won the Club World Championship with a convincing 6-0 win.
Tournament Player Stats

[G-Wiz]

Hurrah! My journey to the semi-final has pushed us above Holland in the coefficients meaning Portugal gets an extra spot in the Champions League next season and 2nd place now goes straight into the group stage. Great news for the rest of the Portuguese sides.

Edit - Good solid season there G-Wiz and with that end of season form you've got to be looking at promotion. It's tricky to get out of the Second Division as you have to win the league and then go into the promotion playoff league. I remember feeling as if the games just kept on coming!

it appears that you may be right...20 games into this season, won 17 drawn 3, 16 points clear at the top...team have been phenomenal this season so far, hoping promotion playoffs are as straightforward as the season has been to date

EDIT: and so we've been confirmed as champions with 7 league matches remaining