[FM12]“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page”

[deltablue]

I'd probably go for that.

[roganp]

Thanks for the input everyone







Club report to come soon.

[B.W.G]

You did well in Scotland with Dundee but the best of luck with Sao Paulo...get ready for a nice long season

[DazRTaylor]

You did well in Scotland with Dundee but the best of luck with Sao Paulo...get ready for a nice long season

In fact, get ready for one long continuous season

[roganp]

- Our first competitive game of the season is 18 days away, so this will act as a season preview aswell.

Morumbi
73,500 all-seater capacity

Brief information about the club

It is one of the most successful club in Brazilian football in terms of overall titles, having won a 21 state titles, six Brasileirão titles, a record 3 Copa Libertadores titles, 1 Supercopa Sudamericana, 1 Copa CONMEBOL, 2 Recopa Sudamericanas, 2 Intercontinental Cups and 1 FIFA Club World Cup. São Paulo was a founding member of the of the Clube dos 13 (English: 13's Club) group of Brazil's leading football clubs. Founded in 1930, São Paulo established itself as a major force in both Brazilian and South American football during the 1990s. In the 1990s, the club had one of the best ever teams in Brazil and South America under the coaching of Telê Santana, winning three state titles, one national championship, two Copa Libertadores, two Recopa Sudamericanas, two Intercontinental Cups, one Supercopa Sudamericana, one Copa CONMEBOL, one Copa Masters CONMEBOL. Taken from wikipedia

Competitions History
Previous League Finishes(in save)
Information General
Club Facilities
Squad 1 Squad 2

Key Players

Lucas - Has scored a staggering 231 goals in 383 apperances. He has definitely fulfilled his potential and has become a club legend. I'm surprised that he hasn't been snapped up by one of the worlds elite clubs.

Cicero - Already featuring in the Brazil national team at the age of 20. Will play crucial role in the midfield for many years to come.

Xaropinho - Our best full-back and a player who has a very bright future ahead of him.

Board Expectations

Brasileirao Petrobras - Qualify for Copa Libertadores through league finish Media Prediction - 4th
Campeonato Paulista(State Championship) - Reach the final
Copa Sudamericana - Won't be judged on the teams performance in this competition

[Azeryk`]

Moura was a legend for me in my save and he was a few years older when I moved to the club as well.

[roganp]

You did well in Scotland with Dundee but the best of luck with Sao Paulo...get ready for a nice long season

Thanks B.W.G

I had a short stint at Flamengo last year, so I'm prepared for the long seasons

[roganp]

Forgot to mention this earlier. As you can see I've made changes to my league set-up with Russia, Sweden and Switzerland coming in and the USA going out as I don't plan to return there on this FM.

This is how my league set-up will look when those three nations are added :

Country - Lowest tier loaded

Asia
Australia - A-League
South Korea - National League

Europe
Denmark - 1.division
England - Blue Square Bet Premier
France - Ligue 2
Germany - 3.Liga
Greece - Football League(2nd tier)
Italy - Serie B
Netherlands - Jupiler League
Portugal - Liga Orangina
Romania - Liga II
Russia - Pervyj Division
Scotland - First Division
Spain - Liga Adelante
Sweden - Superettan
Switzerland - Challenge League
Turkey - 1.Lig
Ukraine - Persha Liha

North America
Mexico - Liga de Ascenso

South America
Brazil - Serie B
Argentina - Nacional B

[HotChocolate]

Another very interesting move in your career

[roganp]

Another very interesting move in your career

Thanks!

As the seasons are so long in Brazil I will do one more update a season than usual.

Updates

- Season Preview
- After State championship
- Half way through the regular league
- Season Review

[Raware]

Definitely the right choice to move . It looks like you have a chance to really make a name for yourself at Sao Paolo with the squad. Lucas sounds like he's a beast!

[AK22]

Looks like you've inherited a decent squad already. You'll need it as, if you're successful, you'll be playing upwards of 80 games a season. Brazil is fun, but can feel like a battle of attrition at times too.

[ShyBaldBuddhist]

Brilliant move. Looks a decent squad and there is usually loads of decent youngsters coming through at the big Brazilian clubs too. Suprised Lucas isn't playing in Europe though. Used to be a case of all the talented players moved very early in their careers. Might be a sign you wont have to keep selling your star players

[roganp]

Definitely the right choice to move . It looks like you have a chance to really make a name for yourself at Sao Paolo with the squad. Lucas sounds like he's a beast!

Looks like you've inherited a decent squad already. You'll need it as, if you're successful, you'll be playing upwards of 80 games a season. Brazil is fun, but can feel like a battle of attrition at times too.

Brilliant move. Looks a decent squad and there is usually loads of decent youngsters coming through at the big Brazilian clubs too. Suprised Lucas isn't playing in Europe though. Used to be a case of all the talented players moved very early in their careers. Might be a sign you wont have to keep selling your star players

The squad is not bad, but I still feel that we lack quality in a few areas which is slightly worrying as our first competitive game is now just 12 days away. Better get the scouts to work!

ShyBaldBuddist - Regarding Lucas, I was very surprised to find him still at the club. I remember reading a thread not long ago in GD that said when you have the Brazilian league loaded the young stars tend to spend their whole career at their current club(can't remember why. Think it was something to do with reputation). Neymar and Ganso are still with Santos and Leandro Damiao is still at Internacional which seems slightly unrealistic.

[abulezz]

Cicero and Xaropinho (What is with that name and world-class ability!) look fantastic. Good luck in Sao Paolo!

[roganp]

Cicero and Xaropinho (What is with that name and world-class ability!) look fantastic. Good luck in Sao Paolo!

Thanks!

Both do look excellent and they still have plenty of years to develop.

[City2000]

Good move to Brazil, good luck

[roganp]

Cheers City!



Granted it wasn't against the best of opposition as you can probably tell by the shambolic defending(if you can even call it that) but still, a great run and finish from Lucas.

[iHeadHunta x]

Well done on getting the Sao Paulo job!

[roganp]

Sao Paulo - May 2020 Update

Campeonato Paulista - Winners

- I cut out our first game so I could fit the final 2nd leg result in. We beat Inter de Limeira 3-0 at home.

A fantastic start to life in Brazil as I've picked up my first piece of silverware after just 5 months in charge. For those who are not familiar with how the season is set out in Brazil, all states have a league competition before the start of the regular season and the Campeonato Paulista is a league contested by the teams residing in the state of Sao Paulo. Over the 19 games we were formidable, only dropping points against 3 sides from the top tier - Santos, Palmeiras and Corinthians.

After comfortably qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition, we easily dispatched of Ponte Preta and Guarani in the Quarters and Semis respectively. The final was a Norte-Sul Pualistano derby against Portuguesa and after a cagey 1st leg which ended in a goalless draw, we narrowly won the 2nd to lift the trophy.


Copa Libertadores - Through to the Quarter Finals
When I joined the club I actually wasn't aware that the side had qualified for this years Copa Libertadores, but it was a nice surprise. We came through the prelim round pretty comfortably before topping the group with ease. Venezuelan side Caracas gave us our toughest games in the competition so far in the 2nd round, but we proved too strong for them and we will now face Atletico Paranaense in the Quarters.


Transfers
- All these transfers were made before the start of the season, but as I didn't do a proper season preview I've put them in this update.

Martin Basualdo - Signed for £6.75M from Velez. We managed to beat off competition from Lyon and Valencia for his signature. So far he's proven to an excellent investment.

Souza - Signed for £5.5M from Atletico Mineiro.

Tete - Bought from Coritiba for £800K. Has been fantastic so far this season.

Helio - Came in for £2.3M from Guaraini.

Gomes - Bought from Cruzeiro for £900K

Edcarlos - Signed for £65K from AS. Has 3.5* PA.

Total In - £17M
Total Out - £2M

Next up

There's no time for a break as our Brasileiro campaign(regular league) kicks off in just 3 days time. We also have the Quarter Final tie in the Copa Libertadores coming up in a weeks time. Next update will be halfway through the league games.

[DazRTaylor]

Some cracking signings there

[Azeryk`]

One hell of a good start there - KUTGW

[roganp]

Well done on getting the Sao Paulo job!

Thanks

Some cracking signings there

Thanks, I was particularly pleased about the signing of Basualdo as he turn't down interest from Europe to join us, but so far Tete is proving to be the best signing.

One hell of a good start there - KUTGW

Cheers mate

[deltablue]

Definitely been doing some solid investment.

[HotChocolate]

How easy was that?

[AK22]

Excellent start, although the Brasileirao should be a sterner test

[roganp]

How easy was that?

Very, but as AK said in the post below, winning the Brasileirao should be a much tougher task as many of the sides in the Paulista are from the lower tiers of Brazilian football.

[roganp]

Sao Paulo - August 2020 Update

Brasileirao - 1st

It's been easier than I thought it would be as we currently hold a 5 point lead at the top of the table and look on course to win the clubs 10th Brazilian league title. The side have performed admirably so far with the 3-0 defeat to Vasco being the only blip. We've got a few tricky games coming up in the second half of the season such as away trips Botafogo, Corinthians and Gremio, but with the form that we are in, I see no reason why we can't go to all three grounds and win.

Copa Libertadores - Winners!
After defeating Caracas in the 2nd round we came up against division rivals Atletico Paranaese in the Quarters. We looked nervy in the 1st leg away from home and went behind in the 57th minute, but we bounced back with Tete equalising in the 73rd to secure the away goal and we took a solid 1-1 draw back to our place where won 3-1. The semi-final was another all Brazilian tie as we came up against league struggles Cruziero. A 2-0 victory away from home in the 1st leg put us firmly in control of the tie and we booked our place in the final with a 2-1 win in the return leg.

The final was against Argentinian side Newell's Old Boys. They comfortably knocked out Santos in the semi's and I was obviously expecting a tough game, but we were magnificent away from home in the 1st leg as we raced into a 3 goal lead before 2 goals in the last 10 minutes gave them some hope of turning the tie around. With the home crowd in full voice during 2nd leg and the team full of confidence, there was no way that we was going to be beaten and we weren't as we won 5-1 on the night, 8-3 on aggregate to become Copa Libertadores champions!!!

Transfers

Prince Kutsu - Signed for £575K from Vitoria.

Roberto Daniel Barreto - Signed for £800K from Deportes Concepcion.

Pablo Vallejo - Joined on a free transfer.

[deltablue]

Not so hard after all.

[DazRTaylor]

Good job mate

[Raware]

Just that one red dot against Vasco to ruin an almost perfect unbeaten season. Looks like you've settled in well . How are you finding the long seasons? I'm surprised Basualdo turned down a move to Europe...obviously your manager rep that persuaded him to come .

[roganp]

Thanks for the comments!

Just that one red dot against Vasco to ruin an almost perfect unbeaten season. Looks like you've settled in well . How are you finding the long seasons? I'm surprised Basualdo turned down a move to Europe...obviously your manager rep that persuaded him to come .

That and the big bonuses I was offering

The long seasons are not too bad at the moment. I was finding it abit boring during the state championship when we were beating most teams by 3 or 4 + goals, but the Copa Libertadores was running during that period, so I had that to keep me focused. Thankfully, the large amount of games haven't taken it's toll on the squad just yet. Alot of players seem to get jaded after playing 2 or 3 games on the trot, but we have a pretty large squad so I'm able to rotate when needed.

[HotChocolate]

Flying high in Brazil.

[B.W.G]

Brilliant job in a near perfect season

[roganp]

Flying high in Brazil.

Brilliant job in a near perfect season

Thanks for the comments fellas

We lost our 2nd game of the season against Portuguesa in the last match that I played, but we are still very much on course to win the title.

[ShyBaldBuddhist]

Things going really well

Notice you mention players getting jaded after a couple of games. I'm suffering with that at Gladbach and it's quite a short season there. Quite annoying when I have to rest my only decent striker at least once a month.

[AK22]

Well done on winning the Copa Libertadores, first South American trophy already

[dkpark51]

Great job in Brazil with Sao Paulo!

[roganp]

Thanks for the comments

Haven't had a chance to play to play FM today, so we're in the same position as when I turn't off last night which is top of the table, 6 points clear of Vasco with 17 games left to play.

[City2000]

What a job you are doing there, cracking stuff

[roganp]

Sao Paulo - 2020 Season Review

Brasileirao - 1st

As everyone probably anticipated, we went on to win the league, although we ended up stumbling over the finish line rather than race past it. After a solid run of 6 wins in 7 games from early September till early October, we hit a real sticky patch only managing to win 2 out of our last 8 games which I can only put down to fatigue, due to the insane amount of games we had to play throughout the season. Still, during the rough patch where the goals seemed to dry up, we were still putting points on the board by drawing a number of games, whereas our competitors were losing matches and we were confirmed as league champions after the 3-0 win away to already relegated Sao Caetano. All in all it was fantastic season in which we only lost 3 games, one of which was the shock home defeat to bottom half side Goias.


Campeonato Paulista - Winners
See this post for a round-up.


Copa Libertadores - Winners
See this post and this post for a round-up.


Recopa Sudamericana - Lost against Boca
This was a two legged game between the 2019 Copa Sudamericana winners(us) and 2019 Copa Libertadores champions(Boca). We were firmly in control of the tie after a 3-1 victory at home in the first leg, but unfortunately we completely fell to pieces in the return match, losing 3-0 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate.


Copa Sudamericana - Winners
I'll be honest and say I wasn't too pleased when I found out we were in this competition. After winning the Copa Libertadores, the continents biggest club competition - I didn't see the point of also being entered into the continents 2nd biggest club competition. My thoughts were that it was only going to add more games onto our already packed schedule - something I obviously did not want.

However, this competition was a lot shorter than the Copa Libertadores as there is no group stage - and we also entered it after a few rounds. In the 1st round we easily dispatched of Colombian side Once Caldas winning, 5-0 on aggregate. The Quarter finals against Chillies Colo Colo was a much tougher tie and we showed great team spirit, overturning a 3 goal deficit from the first leg to win the game 5-3 on aggregate. We also had to come from behind against Flamengo in the Semis, although they only lead by the one goal after the 1st leg. The final against Gremio was a lot more straight forward as dominated the 1st leg, winning 4-0 and then drawing 2-2 at their place to seal the trophy with a fantastic 6-2 aggregate win.


FIFA Club World Cup - Winners
Shortly after the climax of the Brasileirao we travelled to Japan to compete in the Club World Cup due to our Copa Libertadores triumph. We went straight into the Semis were we came up against Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal who proved to be no match for us as we smashed them 5-0, with 4 of the goals being scored by our main striker, Adolfo. I went into the final against Man City with a defensive strategy and we started pretty well, creating a few chances in the opening minutes, one of which was a glorious chance as Lucas burst through on goal 2 minutes in, only to fire his shot straight at Joe Hart.

After a good opening 10-15 minutes we began to fade away, City began to control possession and it was only going to be a matter of time before they took the lead - and they did on 37 minutes. I made the change shortly after to a more attacking strategy and we started to gain more control of the game, our passing game was more fluid and we could sense that there was a weakness in their defence and we exploited that weakness just after the hour as star striker Adolfo majestically skipped past both City central defenders and fired past Joe Hart to put us on level terms with plenty of normal time left.

We dominated the rest of the game, but it seemed as though the game was heading for penalties, until, in the 89th minute of the game, Lucas pinged a ball from just inside our half out to the right wing which Adolfo, who had drifted from his normal central role, latched onto. He drove past the City left back and put a magnificent cross into the six yard box where right winger Tete was patiently waiting, sandwiched between two defenders to calmly slot home the winning goal and he did. I won't lie, there was some pumping of the fists at full-time and the victory was made even sweeter by the fact that I am a Manchester United fan.
Match Overview


Squad 1 Squad 2

Transfers

Finances

Key Players

Adolfo - A fantastic season for the young striker. He played a pivotal role in our record breaking season as finished up the league's top goalscorer.

Tete - An incredible season and to think that he was my 2nd choice right wing target when I was searching for one at the start of the season. At the end of the season he was named Player of the Year.

Helio - Solid at the back and chipped in with a number of crucial goals.

Lucas - He wasn't as great as I thought he was going to be, but the legendary attacking midfielder still played a key role in a our success.

Xarophino - A great season for the young full-back. I'm sure he will play in Europe in the future.

Year       Team              Country    League                     Position   Important Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011/2012  Boston United     England    Blue Square Bet North      14th       Joined the club in March 2012
2012/2013  Boston United     England    Blue Square Bet North      2nd        Playoff Semi-Finalists
2013/2014  Boston United     England    Blue Square Bet North      1st        Promoted!, FA trophy Finalists
2014/2015  Boston United     England    Blue Square Bet Premier    15th       FA Trophy Winners!
2015/2016  Boston United     England    Blue Square Bet Premier    1st        Promoted as league champions, FA Trophy Winners
2016/2017  Ipswich Town      England    npower League One          1st        Promoted as League Champions
2017       New York RB       USA        MLS                        1st        Joined 1.6.2017, MLS cup and Open Cup finalists, S Shield winners
2018/2019  Dundee United     Scotland   SPL                        2nd        Scottish Cup winners, Qualified for CL
2019/2020  Dundee United     Scotland   SPL                        N/A        Left 3.1.2020 to join Sao Paulo
2020       Sao Paulo         Brazil     Brasileirao                1st        League, State, Copa Sudamerica, Libertadores and CWC Champions

Next Season
I feel that a season in which we won the domestic title, the state championship, 2 continental titles and the Club World Cup would be extremely hard to top, which is why I have decided to resign from my post as Sao Paulo manager. I could stay to try and win the Copa do Brazil(Brazilian cup) and have another crack at the Recopa Sudamericana, but I don't really want to go through another insanely long season just to try and win 2 trophies, which in all honesty, are only minor trophies to me.

[HotChocolate]

I'm not surprised you resigned. You'd won basically everything and then after that there is nowhere else to go. Top job in Brazil though!!

Where you looking at going next?

[roganp]

I'm not surprised you resigned. You'd won basically everything and then after that there is nowhere else to go. Top job in Brazil though!!

Where you looking at going next?

I will probably be heading back to Europe. There's a few teams I would be interested in managing who's manager status is listed as insecure so I will just have to wait and see what happens with that.

[abulezz]

39 assists from Tete!? That is something, isnt it! Congratulations on conquering all that was in front of you in South America, and good luck in Europe

[roganp]

39 assists from Tete!? That is something, isnt it! Congratulations on conquering all that was in front of you in South America, and good luck in Europe

Thanks

Tete was amazing and he only cost us £800K.

[deltablue]

What a great year that was, onwards to more glory elsewhere.

[dkpark51]

Hard to top what you accomplished this year. I can see why you're interested in a new club. Which clubs are you thinking of/have insecure status?

[roganp]

Stadium - Luzhniki
Capacity - 89,318 All Seater

I join with the club currently struggling domestically(see league table here), although qualification for the Champions League could still be a possibly as we are only 10 points Lokomotiv Moskow, but I think a more realistic goal for the this season would be to try and qualify for the Europa League - a competition that we are currently in. Infact my first game in charge is in just over a months time against Bordeaux in 1st Knockout round of the Europa League.

This was probably the perfect time for me to come in as the Russian league is now on a break until early March which will give me a chance to have a good look at the squad and see what areas need strengthening and what players will need to be moved on in the upcoming transfer window. My first task will be to reduce the wage bill, but that shouldn't be an issue as I've identified a number of high earners who can be sold.

Key Players

Sergey Gordeev - Came through the clubs youth system and is already the clubs best defender at the age of 20. He will probably go on to be one of the best defenders in the world.

Jose Antonio Hernandez - In his first year at the club having signed from Chivas for £7.25M. Currently the clubs best striker, but I will be on the look out for a new number centre forward in the transfer window.

Andrey Kustov - Another player who's come through the youth system and has gone on to be a first team regular.

Sergey Parshivlyuk - Vastly experienced full back who has spent his whole career at the club and will probably retire here.

The Youth

Maxim Bychkov - 1* CA, 5* PA. Looks a fantastic prospect.

Yury Nizovtsev - 1* CA, 4.5* PA.

Evgeny Kalashnikov - 1.5* CA, 4* PA.

Gennady Sergeev - 2* CA, 4* PA

Igor Savichev - 2* CA, 3.5* PA

This is a club with a great set-up and hopefully I will eventually be able to deliver their first league title since 2001.

[deltablue]

Nice move there.

[roganp]

Nice move there.

Thanks. It should give me a good chance of winning some silverware before moving on to one of the big five leagues.

[EvilDave]

Spartak, now that's a big club! Good luck in Russia - the blog in my location might help out if you're after a bit more of an insight [/cheapplug] Bychkov looks like a future world-beater, hope you stick around long enough to realise his potential!

[HotChocolate]

Brazil to Russia, China next?

Nice move, good luck with Spartak!

[roganp]

Spartak, now that's a big club! Good luck in Russia - the blog in my location might help out if you're after a bit more of an insight [/cheapplug] Bychkov looks like a future world-beater, hope you stick around long enough to realise his potential!

I everything goes well, then I plan to stay in Moscow for 4-5 years so I'll get to see Bychkov progress, but I doubt I'll be here to witness his best years.

I'll give your blog a read later

[cerud]

Wow! You came to Brazil and you conquered!! And where to conquerors go? Russia!

[roganp]

Brazil to Russia, China next?

Nice move, good luck with Spartak!

Thanks

I'll probably save the trip to Asia till the end of my career.

Wow! You came to Brazil and you conquered!! And where to conquerors go? Russia!

Russia should be a lot harder to conquer than Brazil!

[Nobby_McDonald]

You pissed Sao Paulo.

[rancer890]

Nice move to Spartak mate. I think you got a great future there with all that young talent.

And you can also acquire youth talent from other Russian clubs if they're not signed to pro contracts for only $8k per player!

[AK22]

What a barnstorming season with Sao Paulo, so close to a clean sweep too

In my FM11 save, I went from Brazil to Russia (it was Spartak Moscow too), and found it a breath of fresh air. 30 games a season, only one cup competition, a huge winter break, crazy home player registration regulations; what's not to like?!

[roganp]

Spartak Moscow - January/February 2021 Transfer Window Update

- As I'm not doing a mid-season update this season, I thought I would briefly talk about our transfer dealings during the winter window.

Transfers

Player(Position) - Club bought from - Transfer fee

Takayuki Miyazaki(ST) - PSV - £10M

Hugo Paredes(GK) - Rubio Nu - £2M

Juan Carlos Castillo(CB) - Bologna - £6M

Alexandr Ivanov(DM/CM/CB) - Rubin - £5M

Total Spent - £22M
Total Income - £4.59M

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with our business during the window. The key areas were covered and I also managed to get rid of most of the deadwood that I inherited from the previous manager. I would have liked to have brought in a couple of wingers as the options we currently have are pretty crap and I was also on the look for a left back as we only have one player in that position. There was a player that I wanted to bring in, however his club were asking for far more then I was willing to pay.

I was debating weather or not to sign Juan Carlos Castillo as if you noticed on the screenshot, he's already played for two clubs this season and therefore cannot play for another one until next season. In the end I decided to through with deal as he's a player I did not want to miss out on, especially at the price I was able to get him for.

[EvilDave]

You've done well to get Ivanov for that price, stealing Russian talent off a rival isn't easy! Miyazaki looks like he could tear the league apart for you if he finds form, here's hoping!

[roganp]

You've done well to get Ivanov for that price, stealing Russian talent off a rival isn't easy! Miyazaki looks like he could tear the league apart for you if he finds form, here's hoping!

I was surprised they were willing to him go for so little. It seems quite a few players are looking to leave Rubin due to their poor league position. I also wanted to sign Artem Potapov from them, but I wasn't willing to meet their £15M asking price.

[EvilDave]

I can see why you'd want him as well! Still, Paredes looks good, and I'm sure you can do some more poaching at a later date

[roganp]

Nice move to Spartak mate. I think you got a great future there with all that young talent.

And you can also acquire youth talent from other Russian clubs if they're not signed to pro contracts for only $8k per player!

If that's the case, I'll have to start doing a bit of poaching.

What a barnstorming season with Sao Paulo, so close to a clean sweep too

In my FM11 save, I went from Brazil to Russia (it was Spartak Moscow too), and found it a breath of fresh air. 30 games a season, only one cup competition, a huge winter break, crazy home player registration regulations; what's not to like?!

The schedule played a big part in my decision to move to Russia, but I forgot that as of this season IRL, the league will run from Autumn to spring and instead of 30 games a season, there will be 44 with the league being split into 2 groups of 8 after 30 matches. However, the rules in my save still state that there are 30 games. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with me not having Russia loaded from the start? and if the new schedule will come into play next season or if it just hasn't been implemented in this FM.

[B.W.G]

Good luck at Spartak Moscow,made some good signings as well

[roganp]

Good luck at Spartak Moscow,made some good signings as well

Thanks B.W.G

[dkpark51]

Spartak! Good choice.

I like the look of your squad and I wouldn't worry about Juan Carlos Castillo . He looks like a cracking defender.

[EvilDave]

The schedule played a big part in my decision to move to Russia, but I forgot that as of this season IRL, the league will run from Autumn to spring and instead of 30 games a season, there will be 44 with the league being split into 2 groups of 8 after 30 matches. However, the rules in my save still state that there are 30 games. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with me not having Russia loaded from the start? and if the new schedule will come into play next season or if it just hasn't been implemented in this FM.

IRL the 44-game season is just a one-off this year, a transitional year as they change from a March-November calendar to a traditional European season. This is implemented in FM, but as soon as the second season starts it goes back to 30 games, which is much more manageable

[roganp]

Thanks for clearing that up EvilDave, I wasn't aware that it was just for the one-off season.

[roganp]

We won the game 2-1 and 5-3 on aggregate to put us through to the Quarters where we will come up against West Ham.

[roganp]

These polls always give me a chuckle.

[deltablue]

Even when its a strong 'yes', I think 'tough, I'm in charge so there'.

[roganp]

Even when its a strong 'yes', I think 'tough, I'm in charge so there'.

The same player came out again a few days later saying he wants first team football, so goal.com decided to do another poll and this time 92% said no and 8% were undecided. He's moving ever closer to someone saying 'yes'

[roganp]

Spartak Moscow - 2020/2021 Season Review(Joined 3.1.2021)

Prem'er Liga - 6th

I joined with the club 9th in league and looking like they were not going to qualify for Europe, but my appointment seemed to bring about a change in the teams fortunes as we won my first 4 games in charge, one of which was the win home against the champions, Zenit. The embarrassing defeat to Anji swiftly brought us back down to earth, but we responded well by beating arch-rivals CSKA in our next league fixture. Going into the final day of the season there was still the possibility of Champions League qualification as we sat 5th, just a point behind Lokomotiv Moscow who were 3rd and level with Anji in 4th. Lokomotiv lost their game, but so did we which means we will have to settle for the Europa League next season.


UEFA Europa League - Knocked out in the Quarter-Finals
The previous manager had already done most of the work by getting the team through the qualifying round and the group stages, so my job was to try and progress as far as possible in the knockout stages. It took a fantastic comeback to see off Bordeaux in the 1st knockout round as we managed to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the 1st leg to win the tie 3-2 on aggregate. The 2nd knockout round was a lot more straight forward as we beat Olympiakos home and away before being knocked out by West Ham in the quarters.


Squad

Transfers
The top 3 were signed by the previous manager.

Finances
Not much money left. I've spent it all on transfers for next season.

Key Players

As I've only been at the club for a short amount of time it's hard to pick our key players, but there are a couple that stood out.

Sergey Parshivlyuk - Now heading into his mid-thirties, but he's still one of the of the first names on the team sheet. A solid defender who's also pretty good going forward.

Sergey Gordeev - A fantastic young defender. It won't be too long before the worlds elite clubs are interested in buying him.

Year       Team              Country    League                     Position   Important Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011/2012  Boston United     England    Blue Square Bet North      14th       Joined the club in March 2012
2012/2013  Boston United     England    Blue Square Bet North      2nd        Playoff Semi-Finalists
2013/2014  Boston United     England    Blue Square Bet North      1st        Promoted!, FA trophy Finalists
2014/2015  Boston United     England    Blue Square Bet Premier    15th       FA Trophy Winners!
2015/2016  Boston United     England    Blue Square Bet Premier    1st        Promoted as league champions, FA Trophy Winners
2016/2017  Ipswich Town      England    npower League One          1st        Promoted as League Champions
2017       New York RB       USA        MLS                        1st        Joined 1.6.2017, MLS cup and Open Cup finalists, S Shield winners
2018/2019  Dundee United     Scotland   SPL                        2nd        Scottish Cup winners, Qualified for CL
2019/2020  Dundee United     Scotland   SPL                        N/A        Left 3.1.2020 to join Sao Paulo
2020       Sao Paulo         Brazil     Brasileirao                1st        League, State, Copa Sudamerica, Libertadores and CWC Champions
2020/2021  Spartak Moscow    Russia     Prem'er Liga               6th        Joined 3.1.2021

Next Season
I have one aim for next season and that is to qualify for the Champions League. I've already agreed to sign 5 or 6 players for next season - players who I believe can help us push further up the table next year. I don't really have any aims in the Europa League and would be pretty satisfied if we just reach the knockout rounds again.

Game set-up - More changes as I've decided to remove Greece, Switzerland and Scotland. I have no intention of managing in any of these countries or in Scotland's case, managing there again so I don't see much point in having them loaded.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Solid start with Spartak.

[HotChocolate]

Didn't have much time in charge but still turned things around and finished well, top job.

[B.W.G]

You did well in the short amount of time you had.

[roganp]

The World Of Football 10 Years On

Competitions

Past Winners :

International
FIFA World Cup
UEFA European Championship
Copa America
African Cup of Nations
Asian Cup
CONCACAF Gold Cup

Club
UEFA Champions League
FIFA Club World Cup
UEFA Europa League
Copa Libertadores
Copa Sudamericana
AFC Champions League
CONCACAF Champions League
CAF Champions League

Barclays Premier League
La Liga
1.Bundesliga
Serie A
Ligue 1
Eredivisie
Liga ZON SAGRES
Prem'er Liga
Premyer-Liha

Competitions Rankings

World

Nations Rankings
Richest Clubs
Leading Transfers

Top 5 Highest Valued Players

Hakan Sengul
Jose Franco
Jack Wilshere
Angelo
Mario Gotze

Tycoon Takeovers

Europe :

Morcambe - England - Taken over by an Israelian tycoon in 2018. They've made steady progress since his arrival and have just been promoted from League 2.

AFC Telford - England - Bought by a tycoon from Luxembourg in 2020 and his injection of cash has made an instant impact as they've just won promotion to League 2 via the playoffs.

Catania - Italy - Bought by an Italian tycoon in 2016. They haven't won any silverware yet, but have qualified for the Europa League 4 times and are in the top 25 of the worlds richest clubs.

Cartagena - Spain - Taken over by a Croatian tycoon in 2019. They were relegated from La Liga in the season following his take over, but have just been promoted from the 2nd tier at the first attempt.

Hercules - Spain - Bought by a South African tycoon in 2012. Were promoted from the second tier in 2013 and then finished in mid-table/bottom half in La Liga a few times before he decided to withdraw his funding in 2017.

South America
NONE

North America :

Veracruz - Mexico - Bought by a German tycoon in 2018. Got promoted to the top tier in 2019, but in 2020 he decided to withdraw his funding.

Asia
NONE


My Previous Clubs

I thought it would nice to have a look at how my previous clubs got on after I left them.

Boston United - I left in 2016 after just getting the club promoted to League 2. They were relegated in their first season in League 2 and then spent a few years in the Blue Square Premier, during which they won an FA Trophy. Unfortunately they have just been relegated to the Blue Square North.

Ipswich Town - I left in 2017 after getting the club promoted from League 1. They were immedietly relegated from the Championship, but went straight back up again and last season they finished 20th in the Championship.

New York Red Bulls - Nothing much to report on since I left in 2017. They did win the MLS Team Fair Play Award in 2019.

Dundee United - Went on to finish 4th in the season I left them and finished 3rd in the following season.

Sao Paulo - I only left the club a short while ago. They were beaten by Corinthians in the final of the state championship and were knocked out in the Semi-Finals of the Copa Libertadores. Currently top of the Brasileirao after 9 games.

[Raware]

A great way to bow out of Brazilian football and you've not done too badly in Russia either since you've been there.

[ShyBaldBuddhist]

Great year in Brazil but understandable to move on. Spartak seems like a good move, I think you'll do well with a full season in charge.

[EvilDave]

Not a bad start at Spartak there, although that must have been a tough defeat to take at home to Alania. Terek so high and Rubin down low is a bit of a shock, any more of their squad looking to leave that you could poach?
On a personal note, I'm pleased to see Shinnik stay up - I spent four months in Yaroslavl and saw them three times, a win and two draws but they're pretty rubbish

[roganp]

Solid start with Spartak.

Didn't have much time in charge but still turned things around and finished well, top job.

You did well in the short amount of time you had.

A great way to bow out of Brazilian football and you've not done too badly in Russia either since you've been there.

Great year in Brazil but understandable to move on. Spartak seems like a good move, I think you'll do well with a full season in charge.

Thanks for all your comments

Not a bad start at Spartak there, although that must have been a tough defeat to take at home to Alania. Terek so high and Rubin down low is a bit of a shock, any more of their squad looking to leave that you could poach?
On a personal note, I'm pleased to see Shinnik stay up - I spent four months in Yaroslavl and saw them three times, a win and two draws but they're pretty rubbish

Very tough. As I mentioned, on the last day of the season Champions League qualification was still possible but we had to hope that Lokomotiv would lose away to CSKA(which they did) and we also had to outscore Anji by 3 or 4 goals, so I went into the Alania game with an Overload strategy right from the get go and unfortunately it backfired on me.

Regarding Rubin and the poaching of their players(), I may try and go back in for Potapov. I also tried to sign Alexey Artemov in the last transfer window, but similar to the situation with Potapov, I wasn't willing to match their asking price.

[AK22]

More than decent start with Spartak

I would expect you to be competing with CSKA and Zenit next season, hopefully qualifying for the Champions League.

[City2000]

The right decision to leave Brazil for sure, nice start at Spartak aswell, good luck

[roganp]

Spartak Moscow - 2021/2022 Season Preview

Board Expectations

Prem'er Liga - Qualify for the Champions League through league finish Media Prediction - 5th
UEFA Europa League - Reach the Second Knockout Round
Rambler Kubok Rossii - Not regarded as important

Budgets

Transfer Budget - £4.88M
Wage Budget - £475K p/w
Current Wage Bill - £380K p/w

Transfers

Transfers Summary

Another busy transfer window as I spent big to try and get a squad together that is capable of challenging for the title, but I felt I signed all these players for good prices and went down the "value" route rather than splashing big sums of money on individuals. As you can see, I also managed to make a fair bit of cash from selling players with the most notable being the departure of last seasons top scorer Jose Antonio Hernandez. With my plans to play Miyazaki as the lone man up top this season, Hernandez would have had a lot less game time this season and as he was one the clubs highest earner, I decided it would be best to get him off the wage bill.

Javier Santinelli(DR/DC) - I was delighted about being able to get this lad on a free transfer. He has the potential to replace Parshivlyuk at right back.

Ahmed Said(CM) - He has fantastic technical attributes for his age. Already capped 14 times by Egypt and scored 4 goals. He's player I have high hopes for(I'm sure AK22 will approve of this signing ).

Scott Barnes(MR/AMR) - Young American winger who I was able to get for a fantastic price.

Fabian Insaurralde(ST) - Another player with big potential. I wanted to give him time to settle down in Europe by only using him sparingly this season, but due to Miyazaki missing the start of the season through injury, I've had to throw him straight into the first 11 and it seems that he hasn't needed much time to settle in a new continent.

Triantafayllos Angelidis(DL) - Has only just recovered from a broken leg he suffered at his previous club. Hopefully it doesn't leave any long lasting damage as I feel he could become a future first choice left back for the club.

Sergey Kokoev(ML/AML) - I usually like to have wingers who can dribble with the ball, but he's only young and has plenty of time to develop that side of his game.

Oleg Kuslin(DL) - Came through the ranks at Kuban before moving to Holland. He had a fantastic season with Vitesse so I decided to bring him back Russia. I'm very happy that I was able to purchase him for a pretty small fee.

Timur Kharlamov(GK) - I snapped him up on a free after he was released by Rubin. His addition should provide great competition for number one goalie.

[roganp]

More than decent start with Spartak

I would expect you to be competing with CSKA and Zenit next season, hopefully qualifying for the Champions League.

That's the aim. There's been a lot of changes in personnel during this transfer window, but I'm confident that I now have a squad capable of challenging for the title.

The right decision to leave Brazil for sure, nice start at Spartak aswell, good luck

Cheers City2000

[EvilDave]

Kokoev has pace to burn! Kuslin and Insaurralde look good as well, all set for a title charge methinks - between you and Zenit I reckon.

[roganp]

Kokoev has pace to burn! Kuslin and Insaurralde look good as well, all set for a title charge methinks - between you and Zenit I reckon.

I think you may be right on that one. After having a quick look at CSKA's squad, I can't see them sustaining a title challenge and the same can be said for Anji and Dinamo Moscow. Lokomotiv Moscow seem to be in a bit of mess at moment and are rock bottom after 4 games, although to be fair to them, they've lost 2 games which were to us and Zenit.

[deltablue]

Zenit and their money will be tough to keep up with squad-quality-wise.

[dkpark51]

Kokoev sure is fast. It'd be interesting to see how he develops.

[HotChocolate]

Ten years on and Anji still can't make a title challenge, well in your eyes. Haha, good. Money get's you nowhere

So I keep telling myself anyway.

[roganp]

I don't think they've ever truly come close to winning the title. Their highest league finish during the save is 3rd which they achieved in the 2014/15 and 2020/21 season(Last year). Although, they are now in the Champions League so I guess the money as bought them some sucess - just not in the form of trophies.

Wow, just noticed this thread has gone past 10K views . Thanks to everyone who has been reading so far, this has been one of my most enjoyable FM saves to date.

[ShyBaldBuddhist]

Looks like you've made some good signings. Should have enough to challenge for the title. GL

[AK22]

Another quality Egyptian regen there. Glad it's not just my save!

[roganp]

Another quality Egyptian regen there. Glad it's not just my save!

There does seem to a large amount of Egyptian talent coming through. I've already got my eye on another one

[cerud]

Nice move to Russia. I actually have an Egyptian as captain of my Vancouver side. Maybe its their year?

[roganp]

So, along side my role as the Spartak Moscow manager I've decided to venture into international management for the first time during this save by taking over as Russia national coach. There was another offer on the table from Sweden, but I felt this was a better opportunity. The country have just failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after finishing 3rd in their group behind Israel and Denmark, so I will be working towards Euro 2024.

World Ranking - 40th

Capital City - Moscow
Country Population - 142M
Rival Nations - Ukraine, Georgia, Estonia, Latvia

National Stadium - Luzhniki
Capacity - 89,318

Here are just some of the players I will get to work with as Russia manager :

Alexey Zavaliy - Came through the ranks at Dinamo Moscow, played there for a season, before making the big move to German giants Bayern Munich.

Evgeny Kharlamov - A fantastic young defender who came through the youth system of my club, Spartak Moscow. Lyon paid the £6K compensation fee 3 seasons ago to bring him to France and he is now a regular in their first team.

Igor Akinfeev - Legendary goalkeeper and the country's most capped player.

Igor Gusarov - Already capped 20 times by the national team at the age of 20. Very talented player who came through Dinamo Moscow's youth system and is a first team regular for them.

Sergey Ovchinnikov - One of the more experienced members of the squad having been capped 52 times. He has spent his whole career at CSKA Moscow.

[HotChocolate]

Akinfeev, 161 caps, that is impressive, even for a goalkeeper!

Good luck with Russia

[deltablue]

Should help you find some good Russian talent.

[City2000]

Good luck with Russia, looks like they have some tidy players. A bit surprised they have slipped to 40th in the rankings.

[roganp]

Akinfeev, 161 caps, that is impressive, even for a goalkeeper!

Good luck with Russia

Should help you find some good Russian talent.

Good luck with Russia, looks like they have some tidy players. A bit surprised they have slipped to 40th in the rankings.

Thanks guys

City2000 - I was also surprised to find them so low down in rankings, considering the talent that's available. Hopefully my appointment will bring about a change in the country's fortunes.