What are some of the more interesting and fun leagues you have managed in?

[vasilli07]

I mean beside the common English, Italian, German and Spanish leagues.

[milnerpoint]

Mexico is good fun, infact any of the south american leagues are interesting compared to the european leagues.

[kingpug]

Not really done any but few FM's back I did try the Swedish league with Djurgarden and was going well until my team suddenly crumbled, everyone's morale hit the skids and we couldn't win period, no idea why it happened but ever since then I kinda stick to the bigger teams.

[Barside]

Belgium is always Top Trump when it comes to crazy & interesting leagues.

[Tommy_Styles]

On FM11 the Finnish first division was great fun, since around half the teams got relegated due to restructuring =D. I generally prefer the shorter leagues with 30 games max.

[Mr_Demus]

I have enjoyed Romania in the past. Also Poland was quite fun.

[robertcornell68]

Mexico is good fun, infact any of the south american leagues are interesting compared to the european leagues.

QFT

[vasilli07]

Mexico is good fun, infact any of the south american leagues are interesting compared to the european leagues.

Hmm...what is Mexican league fun as compared to the others?

[milnerpoint]

I take it you mean why?

Its just a different set of rules and a different way of things working compared to our leagues here. The Brazilian leagues are good but very very long seasons, the Mexican league is not as long but still a bit of a slog. I believe the A league is also decent but i havent given it a try yet, and obviously the MLS is a rule on its own.

[Lawlore]

Right now, I'm very much enjoying this fictional US-based league structure. It's a nine-tier pyramid with the top three leagues nationalised, the following three regionalised as East/West, and the bottom three regionalised even further. Nothing too complex, but it just works. It also incorporates both regional cups and division-based cups, as well as an unseeded cup open to every team in every division. Having a lot of fun with it.

[Apos]

Sweden,Norway and Iceland are great fun.

Faroe Islands is equally fun,but also very frustrating if you unlock it with the editor.

[anamericanego]

Korean League. But a little odd as your best player can get plucked out of your squad for 'military service' and your left filling holes on the fly. But I liked the challenge of the ACL very even with all the countries in it. But Korea has good talent and if you can keep them you'll have a hell of a squad.

[vasilli07]

Korean League. But a little odd as your best player can get plucked out of your squad for 'military service' and your left filling holes on the fly. But I liked the challenge of the ACL very even with all the countries in it. But Korea has good talent and if you can keep them you'll have a hell of a squad.

Yes, I managed FC Seoul in fm11 but the fun was taken away with the fixtures congestion bug.

[kostako]

Gotta agree with Barside on Belgium. If you want a good European-based game, it's a lot of fun. There's enough home-grown restrictions for the domestic league to make building for European success a challenge, but it's still reputable enough in the beginning that you can attract some decent players, and older ex-Prem guys.

You also learn French, so it's a decent step if you're playing a Journeyman career and want an early shot at international management, with a number of francophone countries in western/central Africa.

[Spart]

Had a lot of fun in recent years managing in Ireland, Argentina and MLS, as well as stints in the lower leagues of Bulgaria, Japan and Indonesia. Some great leagues to head to when you've grown tired of the same old, same old alternatives!

[Jpr]

I'd say Scotland was good fun, I played from the lowest tier to the top and after 10 seaons both celtic and rangers are relegation candidates with hearts and hibs the new dominant pair (till Clyde beat them all to it!)

Slovakia is my current destination and whilst fun it is very difficult to catch Trnava (who win the league every season and get all the champs league money), which means I will have to persevere to catch them and become worth more than them, so I imagine in a few seasons it will become boring. There is a non-EU quota of only 3 players too so I've had to invest heavily in academy players, it pays off

[Mojby]

My custom Super League is challenging at the moment but also good fun. Playing in the same League as Barcelona, Santos, PSG, Bayern etc is difficult but fun.

[yadda]

The MLS is a bit mental. Brazil is quite fun, bit hard to get the hang of at first but certainly quite entertaining.

[jimbobBRFC]

Korean League. But a little odd as your best player can get plucked out of your squad for 'military service' and your left filling holes on the fly. But I liked the challenge of the ACL very even with all the countries in it. But Korea has good talent and if you can keep them you'll have a hell of a squad.

Military service haha :P is that what it says in the email?

[macdab55]

For me it would be Poland, Norway, MLS and Uruguay. Of those 4 countries I think I had most fun in MLS.

[chile_paul]

I'm enjoying my latest career game in Cameroon at the minute, have a look at my career thread if you want to find out more....

http://community.sigames.com/showthr...and-death-quot

[AcidBurn]

Mexico or the MLS for me.

[SRL88]

Germany .

[Ranquelme]

I enjoyed managing in Brazil a lot. So many games though!

[Gorando]

What leagues have the least amount of games? I like Belgium but 40 league games is too much after a while.

[fdawsoniv]

I've had good experiences in Indonesia. No particular reason, just enjoyable.

Japan is a challenge. At least for me, as all I did was manually unlock it. With the licensing restrictions, that means all the teams start from scratch unless you invest a TON of time in editing (and I don't remember seeing a quality Japanese update for FM11). Within the league, a couple good signings is enough to make you a contender right away. But, man, play anyone outside the league you get smoked. Even lower league Japanese teams are somehow set up better than what the game gives the J1 teams. I twice lost to lower league opposition in preseason and half the J1 was out in the first round of the Emperor's Cup.

Even if I keep pace and qualify for the ACL next year I don't know how I'll compete. I'm theoretically doing AcidBurn's challenge but I don't forsee getting out of Asia for years.

[galatasaturk]

has anyone heard of a good Japanese update for this year or last year then??

[Johnjo]

Enjoyed a spell in Brazil, they play something like 80 games a year and almost everyone plays the 4-4-2 box midfield formation.

[fdawsoniv]

galata, check the forum called "Editor's Hideaway." I haven't looked for FM12 updates myself as I'm still on FM12. I only know the last serious one I saw was for FM10.

[leovii]

like people said above the belgian league is great to play. I'm currently in belgian and been one of my best games so far on fm2012 the league has phases and split mini league in the top division at the end of the season which freshens things up for promotion relegation and european places.

[Niebiescy]

The most fun I've had on this game has been in the Romanian and Ukranian leagues. Had great games playing as Timisoara and also Dnipropetrovsk.

[Johnjo]

Dnipropetrovsk

Did you learn how to pronounce it before you left?

[Niebiescy]

Did you learn how to pronounce it before you left?

It's actually really simple. Der-nip-row-pet-rovsk. Just gotta break it down bit by bit

[rancer890]

Israel and Turkey are quite fun. Both leagues have like a mini playoff after the season so the last few games of the season are always a little tense (I managed in Turkey before the patch changed to a non playoff system after the first season)!

[bolulu]

Which countries leagues have the fewest games?

[av3ry]

Managed in China on FM08. No foreign keepers allowed in China lol.

[PMLF]

Which countries leagues have the fewest games?

Probably Iceland, only 18 league games, I think.


As for the most interesting/fun leagues, I naturally prefer Brazil and South/Latin American ones.

European leagues bore me as there are no finals or anything big in the first half of the seasons.

[Niebiescy]

Probably Iceland, only 18 league games, I think.


As for the most interesting/fun leagues, I naturally prefer Brazil and South/Latin American ones.

European leagues bore me as there are no finals or anything big in the first half of the seasons.

You seem to be the resident South American expert so wanted to ask you something I noticed when I considered playing there. The Brazillian league teams seem to be so much stronger and richer than teams from any other country. When I see what happens in the Copa Libatadores it seems as though things aren't quite as straightforward. It seems that teams from leagues such as Mexico, Uruguay and Chile are pretty strong yet in the game they are dreadful. Am I wrong on this? Have to admit that my knowledge only goes as far as star players. Wanted to start a Uruguayan save but couldn't see any longevity because the teams seem to have zero prospect of continental success with the Brazilian and also Aregentinian (although they seem a lot weaker out of the two) teams being so superior.

[PMLF]

You seem to be the resident South American expert so wanted to ask you something I noticed when I considered playing there. The Brazillian league teams seem to be so much stronger and richer than teams from any other country. When I see what happens in the Copa Libatadores it seems as though things aren't quite as straightforward. It seems that teams from leagues such as Mexico, Uruguay and Chile are pretty strong yet in the game they are dreadful. Am I wrong on this? Have to admit that my knowledge only goes as far as star players. Wanted to start a Uruguayan save but couldn't see any longevity because the teams seem to have zero prospect of continental success with the Brazilian and also Aregentinian (although they seem a lot weaker out of the two) teams being so superior.

A problem is that the game does not simulate some factors, like long trips and altitude, etc... that have an impact in real life, and also some of the other leagues (outside Brazil, Argentina and Mexico) are a bit underrated, especially the top teams like Universidad de Chile.

This is tricky to fix in the database though as clubs outside Brazil and Argentina change squads a lot more often, so by the time they are sure a player deserves a higher rating, the player is gone (often to Brazil and Argentina, like LDU's goalscorer Barcos joining Palmeiras, for example).

It's not impossible for teams from outside BRA/ARG/MEX reach the final in Libertadores in the game though, I have seen Peñarol and LDU doing so.

[Niebiescy]

A problem is that the game does not simulate some factors, like long trips and altitude, etc... that have an impact in real life, and also some of the other leagues (outside Brazil, Argentina and Mexico) are a bit underrated, especially the top teams like Universidad de Chile.

This is tricky to fix in the database though as clubs outside Brazil and Argentina change squads a lot more often, so by the time they are sure a player deserves a higher rating, the player is gone (often to Brazil and Argentina, like LDU's goalscorer Barcos joining Palmeiras, for example).

It's not impossible for teams from outside BRA/ARG/MEX reach the final in Libertadores in the game though, I have seen Peñarol and LDU doing so.

From you experience on the game which league would you say is the strongest after the big two in South America? Also which would you say is the best team not from those two countries? I'm thinking of starting a career there after my Dortmund save becomes boring.

[PMLF]

From you experience on the game which league would you say is the strongest after the big two in South America? Also which would you say is the best team not from those two countries? I'm thinking of starting a career there after my Dortmund save becomes boring.

Mexico are the strongest one outside BRA/ARG, is actually stronger than Argentina. But the best teams play in CONCACAF, not Libertadores.

Colombia are the next strongest league of the rest, but no team stand out. Uruguay are closer to Colombia, but with a bigger gap between top teams and the rest.

Out of the playable leagues, Peñarol are the best of the rest team, but LDU (Ecuador) and Libertad (Paraguay) are strongest than them, but Ecuador and Paraguay are not playable leagues (unless you add via editor).

[Niebiescy]

Mexico are the strongest one outside BRA/ARG, is actually stronger than Argentina. But the best teams play in CONCACAF, not Libertadores.

Colombia are the next strongest league of the rest, but no team stand out. Uruguay are closer to Colombia, but with a bigger gap between top teams and the rest.

Out of the playable leagues, Peñarol are the best of the rest team, but LDU (Ecuador) and Libertad (Paraguay) are strongest than them, but Ecuador and Paraguay are not playable leagues (unless you add via editor).

Sounds like a shame that the best Mexican teams have to play against crappy teams from North America rather than the top South American teams. Can't be good for their development. Guess if I give it a go I'll randomly select a team. Will probably go with one with a country that has to play the least league games.

[Bababui]

Sounds like a shame that the best Mexican teams have to play against crappy teams from North America rather than the top South American teams. Can't be good for their development. Guess if I give it a go I'll randomly select a team. Will probably go with one with a country that has to play the least league games.

You need to educate yourself about the state of North American football.

[Chas (Psyatika)]

Korean League. But a little odd as your best player can get plucked out of your squad for 'military service' and your left filling holes on the fly. But I liked the challenge of the ACL very even with all the countries in it. But Korea has good talent and if you can keep them you'll have a hell of a squad.

I've never tried loading the Korean league, but i have a question:

Can you manage the "Military Service" team? It would be quite interesting to try to keep winning (and finding roles for players) with a pretty much random set of players every season!

I simulated this in England with a fictional team that had loan agreements with roughly 40 clubs (also relaxed the loan rules, obviously!). I would just wait until August, see who i'm getting, and improvise from there...then figure out how to blend in the next batch of random players coming in January!

The clubs wouldn't all loan at once, so i'd have a September squad of about 15-20 loan players and a January squad of 25-30 (minus anybody i sent back), NONE of whom i actually selected myself.

Would become a nightmare when i'd get 9 strikers and 1 Centre Back...just to get 5 more strikers in January!

[vasilli07]

Probably Iceland, only 18 league games, I think.


As for the most interesting/fun leagues, I naturally prefer Brazil and South/Latin American ones.

European leagues bore me as there are no finals or anything big in the first half of the seasons.

Brazilian league is pretty crazy especially with the number of games in the state championship and the 2 legged Brazilian cup.

Do you have any advices for managing the finances for South American clubs without selling their best players?

[vasilli07]

I've never tried loading the Korean league, but i have a question:

Can you manage the "Military Service" team? It would be quite interesting to try to keep winning (and finding roles for players) with a pretty much random set of players every season!

I simulated this in England with a fictional team that had loan agreements with roughly 40 clubs (also relaxed the loan rules, obviously!). I would just wait until August, see who i'm getting, and improvise from there...then figure out how to blend in the next batch of random players coming in January!

The clubs wouldn't all loan at once, so i'd have a September squad of about 15-20 loan players and a January squad of 25-30 (minus anybody i sent back), NONE of whom i actually selected myself.

Would become a nightmare when i'd get 9 strikers and 1 Centre Back...just to get 5 more strikers in January!

I think all the K-league teams are manageable if I remember correctly.

[Niebiescy]

You need to educate yourself about the state of North American football.

You think Costa Rica or Honduran club sides are in the same class as South American ones?

[kingjericho]

The norwegian leagues are interesting. The clubs are financially stable and there are some very good players even in the second and third levels.

[Bababui]

You think Costa Rica or Honduran club sides are in the same class as South American ones?

Some of them are; as are USA clubs.

[Niebiescy]

Some of them are; as are USA clubs.

Yeah LOL

This year's semis have three Mexican clubs plus one Canadian. Last year had 2 Mexicans, an American and a Costa Rican. Mexicans obviously won. Year before that all four semi finalists were Mexicans. Year before that we had three Mexican teams plus Puerto Rico. The last time a Non-Mexican club won it was 2005 so please stop talking utter crap. Maybe you are the one who should be educating themself on the state of North American football? That is if we want to use your own phrase.

[Niebiescy]

Btw no American team has won the tournament since 2000 and only two have won in the history of the tournament since it started in 1962. Very strong league compared to Brazil and Argentina for sure. The same amount of winners as Trinidad & Tobago. I am not saying this because I have anything against your teams. It's just clear that Mexican teams could do with a step up in competition and the only clubs that can offer that outside of Europe are the South American ones. They need to do what Australia did in leaving Oceanan competitions and improving their quality of clubs by playing in Asia.

[PMLF]

Brazilian league is pretty crazy especially with the number of games in the state championship and the 2 legged Brazilian cup.

Do you have any advices for managing the finances for South American clubs without selling their best players?

Play friendlies if you can (hard in Brazil though) and bring players on loan.

Also try to sell players that are not so important and can be easily replaced.

[Bababui]

Yeah LOL

This year's semis have three Mexican clubs plus one Canadian. Last year had 2 Mexicans, an American and a Costa Rican. Mexicans obviously won. Year before that all four semi finalists were Mexicans. Year before that we had three Mexican teams plus Puerto Rico. The last time a Non-Mexican club won it was 2005 so please stop talking utter crap. Maybe you are the one who should be educating themself on the state of North American football? That is if we want to use your own phrase.

And?

You know little about the game here. The Mexicans have the advantage of schedule. The CL quarterfinal plus games are played at the very beginning of the USA season. They are at a big disadvantage. And nowhere do you prove the south americans are better.

[Bababui]

Btw no American team has won the tournament since 2000 and only two have won in the history of the tournament since it started in 1962. Very strong league compared to Brazil and Argentina for sure. The same amount of winners as Trinidad & Tobago. I am not saying this because I have anything against your teams. It's just clear that Mexican teams could do with a step up in competition and the only clubs that can offer that outside of Europe are the South American ones. They need to do what Australia did in leaving Oceanan competitions and improving their quality of clubs by playing in Asia.

Ignorant post of the year on these boards. Please point me to the plethora of international players playing in south america in the so-called powerful leagues? Now if Europe didnt rape and pillage the Americas to strip it of its foolballing gold you might have a point.

[Niebiescy]

And?

You know little about the game here. The Mexicans have the advantage of schedule. The CL quarterfinal plus games are played at the very beginning of the USA season. They are at a big disadvantage. And nowhere do you prove the south americans are better.

There is no way of providng that anyone is better than anyone and it will always be subjective and never factucal if we are speaking technically.

Compare the players in the South American elite clubs (guys like Neymar, Ganso, Damiao, Lucas) to the North American elite and if we compare their potential suitors and ability according to most people they would be rated far higher. Same with the average player from these leagues. Just consider for a moment how many players are signed by elite European clubs from for example the Brazilian and Argentinian leagues compared to the MLS. MLS players are barely ever mentioned in the European press apart from the old famous guys on big paychecks. This is because they are not being linked with moves to the elite clubs as the South Americans are.

You can claim all day long that the MLS or other North American leagues are as strong as South American leagues but the ability of the players that they produce would suggest otherwise.

Some could also claim that playing the games at the start of their season could be an advantage due to not feeling the fatigue that players feel towards the end.

[Niebiescy]

Ignorant post of the year on these boards. Please point me to the plethora of international players playing in south america in the so-called powerful leagues? Now if Europe didnt rape and pillage the Americas to strip it of its foolballing gold you might have a point.

The last few years South American hasn't been raped and pillaged of players. This is because the clubs especially in Brazil have far more money now. They can afford to be linked with bids of £30 for Tevez (Corinthians) or to keep world class players like Ganso and Neymar (Santos).

What is so ignorant about posting the facts on the situation? The fact is that American clubs sides have dreadful records in their regional tournament. Mexican clubs sides have lots of money and are not handicapped by a salary cap and therefore can compete with South American clubs. They should be allowed to send their elite to face them rather than facing bums from the MLS or Costa Rica.

[PMLF]

While I doubt MLS teams would win any South American club competition nowadays, I think they are almost certainly better than teams from Bolivia, Peru and Venezuela and more likely similar to teams from Colombia or Paraguay.

If Mexico send their best teams, they would probably win the title every now and then, in fact Pachuca once won Copa Sudamericana and Cruz Azul and Chivas both reached the Libertadores final.

As for the rest, I would be surprised if they were any better than Bolivian/Venezuelan/Peruvian teams. The few times they played South American competitions they were pretty awful:

Alajuelense in Copa Sudamericana 2006: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U62AAncn-uM

Motagua in Copa Sudamericana 2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPgtDJuqmFw

DC United played Copa Sudamericana twice and while they didn't go far, they had good results (1 win, 1 draw and 2 defeats).

[PMLF]

The main issue with MLS teams is lack of depth (due to the salary caps), but overall there is probably more talent in MLS than even in the other leagues I compared them to (Paraguay and Colombia) but in MLS that talent is spread over several teams while in Paraguay it's concentrated in a few teams. In Colombia it's spread too, but not in 10+teams like MLS, but rather in 6 or so teams.

Anyway, I am certain MLS will be a huge league at some point in future, it keeps growing year after year while most other leagues (be them in the Americas or Europe) are either stagnated or declining.

[aderow]

The MLS is a bit mental. Brazil is quite fun, bit hard to get the hang of at first but certainly quite entertaining.

I've stayed away from the MLS. Too many rules.

Yeah LOL

This year's semis have three Mexican clubs plus one Canadian. Last year had 2 Mexicans, an American and a Costa Rican. Mexicans obviously won. Year before that all four semi finalists were Mexicans. Year before that we had three Mexican teams plus Puerto Rico. The last time a Non-Mexican club won it was 2005 so please stop talking utter crap. Maybe you are the one who should be educating themself on the state of North American football? That is if we want to use your own phrase.

You realise the canadian team is part of MLS right?

The last few years South American hasn't been raped and pillaged of players. This is because the clubs especially in Brazil have far more money now. They can afford to be linked with bids of £30 for Tevez (Corinthians) or to keep world class players like Ganso and Neymar (Santos).

What is so ignorant about posting the facts on the situation? The fact is that American clubs sides have dreadful records in their regional tournament. Mexican clubs sides have lots of money and are not handicapped by a salary cap and therefore can compete with South American clubs. They should be allowed to send their elite to face them rather than facing bums from the MLS or Costa Rica.

I'm impressed by how financially stable the brazilian league has gotten.

The main issue with MLS teams is lack of depth (due to the salary caps), but overall there is probably more talent in MLS than even in the other leagues I compared them to (Paraguay and Colombia) but in MLS that talent is spread over several teams while in Paraguay it's concentrated in a few teams. In Colombia it's spread too, but not in 10+teams like MLS, but rather in 6 or so teams.

Anyway, I am certain MLS will be a huge league at some point in future, it keeps growing year after year while most other leagues (be them in the Americas or Europe) are either stagnated or declining.

Don't worry about us (I say us as I've lived in america for some 10 years now), give us a few more years and we'll be beating your brazilian sides

MLS is young and its in a country that has yet to fully embrace football.

[aderow]

I completely forgot to mention the most interesting league I've played in

The J-League would be my pick. It feels like anyone can win it every season. Competition makes for a more fun experience.

[PMLF]

Don't worry about us (I say us as I've lived in america for some 10 years now), give us a few more years and we'll be beating your brazilian sides

MLS is young and its in a country that has yet to fully embrace football.

Your teams already beat ours in the past: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03fHMsJ93FA

I know you are not fully serious there, but I am sure it will happen in a regular basis in the future, and at national team level as well.

And while football is not the main sport in the USA, there are more football fans there than in most countries, the problem is that many of those fans don't follow local football and prefer Mexican or Euro football instead,

Still, MLS already have higher average attendances than most leagues, including Brazil. Sponsorship and TV deals need to improve though (while for example in Brazil they are very good already).

[Niebiescy]

I've stayed away from the MLS. Too many rules.



You realise the canadian team is part of MLS right?



I'm impressed by how financially stable the brazilian league has gotten.



Don't worry about us (I say us as I've lived in america for some 10 years now), give us a few more years and we'll be beating your brazilian sides

MLS is young and its in a country that has yet to fully embrace football.

Yeah I know they are MLS. Just chose not to write it . Way they got to the semis though was by drawing another MLS team (LA). The other MLS team involved (Seattle) went down 7-3 on aggregate to Mexican club Santos Laguna. We'll see how Toronto do against that same team. Imagine they also go down big but you never know.

[forever-alone]

I have always enjoyed managing in Russia!

[yugo23]

Poland! I am thoroughly enjoying my save there. Big stadiums because of Euro 2012, many clubs that can compete for title, top notch fun.