Andorran Youth Challenge: FK Santa Coloma

Hey guys,

After most recently reading jupjamies Sammarinese challenge it has inspired me to start my own. I don't think there has been and Andorran save for a while on here, so I've decided to choose them, in particular FK Santa Coloma.

So, why Andorra, and why FK Santa Coloma? Andorra is landlocked between Spain and France, which could lead to potential youth players coming from there once the club gets a bigger reputation. As for Santa Coloma, they are the most successful club in Andorra, but this isn't the reason I've chosen them. The reason is that they have the most Andorran players in their team, which greatly aids my challenge of domestic production of players.

The challenge is obviously to do as well as possible with my chosen club as well as increasing the profile and quality of Andorran football. I can only use players from my youth intake, but I can sign staff members. Any club player that retires will be considered for a coaching role. Eventually I may take on an national role, but only when the success of my club is virtually guaranteed domestically.

Nation: Andorra

Year Founded: 1986

Status: Semi-Professional

Fierce Rivals: UE Santa Coloma, UE Sant Julia

Finances: Okay

Estimated Value: 300K (120K bank balance)

Training Facilities: Poor

Youth Facilities: Basic

Youth Recruitment: Limited

Junior Coaching: Minimal

In this database there seems to be only one stadium, the Estadi Comunal d'Andorra La Vella with a capacity of 1,299.

As manager, I will start with no qualifications as a Sunday league footballer.

I will try as best I can to post regular updates, it will be a monumental task! Our first game will be a Champions League Qualifying Match.

Not too disappointing a result, as the team are still getting used to my formation and tactics. This just allows me to focus on the domestic side of things. At least we dominated possession, but passing and width still needs work. At least we get 600K to aid the finances.

Youth Intake Day

Not too bad, considering the 5 star players we have don't belong anywhere near Andorra. Here are the best of the bunch:

Things are bound to get better as we have started building new youth facilities as well as increasing the junior coaching.

League wise, a very disappointing season. We coasted through until the league split where we just couldn't pull out results against both Sant Julia and Lusitanos. I was actually threatened with the sack before the last league game but I managed a win so kept my job for the foreseeable future. On the other hand we did win both the cup and the supercup, so we qualified for Europe no matter where we finished. In a way I'm glad I didn't win my first season because at least there is some resistance from the other clubs.

FK Santa Coloma: Lost in the CL 1st Qualifying Round 4-2 to Faroese B36.

Sant Julia: Unfortunately went down to Faroese HB Torshavn 2-1 after winning the home leg of the EL 1st Rd Qual.

Lusitanos: Lost 4-0 to Irish St Patricks Athletic, also in the EL 1st Qual Rd.

The national team also had two credible friendly draws against Macedonia and Liechtenstein, as well as a 1-0 loss to Slovakia.

Not really expecting too much here, but we will see.

Not too disappointed, in fact I'm proud to hold them to 1-0 at their home. Time to focus on the league!

Youth Intake

With a 2 star CA it is likely he may play a few games for us already! Decent mentals, hopefully his technical ability increases as well. The versatility is also a big plus.

A little better than last season, at least we didn't fall off the cliff towards the end this time. Lusitanos seem to be the team to beat, they are getting strong Spaniards and Portuguese in their intake, may be a while before we break the hold. At least there is Europa League to look forward to next season, however short lived it may be.

Another solid season from Toscano, leading the league scoring charts with 17 and also picking up the highest rating. There were a few other players that came close, but he was the best overall pick. Hopefully he stays fit because I feel we are screwed without him.

Lusitanos: Lost in EL 1st Qual Rd 3-1 to Israel's Maccabi Haifa.

Sant Julia: Lost 6-1 in CL 1st Qual Rd to Faroese Havnar Botlefelag.

We lost 6-1 to Iceland's FH.

Next season I just hope to consolidate our position, maybe we will get lucky against Lusitanos. Only one way to find out!

The national team were slaughtered except for a 2-2 draw with Faroes Islands. The Youth teams had wins over Gibraltar and San Marino but were also slaughtered everywhere else.

Well, damn. This could be a whipping.

Well, 20-0. Not much we can say there. They are a much better team and this is par for the course I feel. I tried to completely shut up shop away and played more defensive at home, obviously that didn't work. We need to win the league ASAP to potentially progress.

Ouch those Elfsborg games must have been tough to watch.

Ouch those Elfsborg games must have been tough to watch.

Yeah I almost walked away from my laptop!

Very interesting on the youth challenge! I guess that Elfsborg has a scoring machine player out there.

Very interesting on the youth challenge! I guess that Elfsborg has a scoring machine player out there.

I just think we turned them into goal scoring machines

Even with the gulf in class that looked a bit heavy.

Even with the gulf in class that looked a bit heavy.

Yeah, hopefully that doesn't happen again.

Youth Intake Day

Decent intake, and one player stands out, in the much needed CM position. Lets have a look:

He looks very promising indeed, with some decent all round stats. He might even play a few first team games.

He certainly stands out for his hair Also looks good as a player too.

He certainly stands out for his hair Also looks good as a player too.

Yes I hope to see his mop of red hair running things in the middle for years to come

2017/18 Season Review

Can't really complain this season, secured second place comfortably. What was far more comfortable was the domination of Lusitanos, going through the entire season undefeated! Looks like my prediction came to fruition, it'll be hard to beat them anytime soon. We ended the season with a disappointing defeat to the very disappointing St Julia.

Yep, him again. A slightly less impressive season this year, however it meant that the team stepped up to ease the pressure on our captain.

Solid season from Leon, contributing 6 goals, 3 assists and receiving 4 MoM awards. He also had the highest average rating in the Andorran Primera Divisao.

Special mention goes to Rui Almeida (YP1), who played really well in his 9 games before missing the rest of the season with a broken leg, and Miguel Oliveira, who was our best player from the youth system, with an average rating of 7.15 in 2 league games.

Lusitanos: Lost 7-1 to Estonian Kalju in the CL 1st Qual Rd.

UE Santa Coloma: Lost 10-1 to Austrian Sturm Graz in the EL 1st Qual Rd.

FK Santa Coloma: The less said about this the better.

National team had a win against Gibraltar, and drew with San Marino and Faroes Islands. Smashed by everyone else.

Next season we will just try to push on, and maybe offer a little more resistance to Lusitanos.

This is a great opportunity to progress, Northern Ireland aren't really known for having strong domestic teams.

Cliftonville will be a good benchmark to where you stand at the moment.

Cliftonville will be a good benchmark to where you stand at the moment.

As it turns out, we were well below that benchmark:

We dominate possession, but don't know how to benefit from it, very frustrating. Add that to our striker injuring himself halfway through the first leg, and we were doomed. Stupid red card led to a penalty which meant a home loss too. The only positive from this is that we used the money to increase the junior coaching to average.

Plenty of potential there, but I expected better current ability due to the increase in junior coaching earlier that season. Here are the best two:

We have a good versatility of positions for all these 5 star players, which is ideal for covering all the weaknesses we have in the future.

Good luck! You've had some decent youth players through, I reckon you aren't far off catching Lusitanos.

Good luck bud.

However, Lusitans I suspect is a recurring issue, they seem to consistently produce strong (Portugese) newgens each year. Whilst it will keep the challenge strong, it's a huge error because they're certainly not capable of producing the players they do. Only reason I know is they're a first port of call on most saves I make as the players are available on frees and can often be leading players in top leagues.

Good luck! You've had some decent youth players through, I reckon you aren't far off catching Lusitanos.

I reckon you could be right

Good luck bud.

However, Lusitans I suspect is a recurring issue, they seem to consistently produce strong (Portugese) newgens each year. Whilst it will keep the challenge strong, it's a huge error because they're certainly not capable of producing the players they do. Only reason I know is they're a first port of call on most saves I make as the players are available on frees and can often be leading players in top leagues.

Yeah the good news is that after a season or two they are gone, having been picked up by mid range Portuguese teams. It's a shame they aren't Andorran, that would really help the national team.

YES!

Not only did we dethrone Lusitanos, who finished an odd 3rd, we did it in style, conceding less than 10 goals in a remarkable defensive effort this season. We had won the league with a game to go as we were ahead on goal difference, but the draw on the last day just makes it look more emphatic. We had Lusitanos number when it counted, not giving them any points and picking up points they had dropped due to draws. I just hope we can make a good go of it in the CL qualifiers and at least make the second round.

Lusitanos: Beat Maltese Birkirkara (!) 2-1 before losing 6-1 to Moldova's Sheriff Tiraspol in the CL 2nd Qual rd.

FK Santa Coloma: Lost to Northern Irish Cliftonville 5-0 in the EL 1st Qual Rd.

Sant Julia: Lost to Scottish Hearts 5-1 in the same round as us.

National team drew with Luxembourg, and the U21 side drew with Lithuania, so that's promising.

Next season we will aim to obviously retain the title which will be a tough ask if Lusitanos hold on to their players. Also in the next intake a keeper and some wingers would be nice, considering those are probably our weakest points.

My worst fears are confirmed

He will be sorely missed. However, I have signed him on as a coach.

Few things to report:

This was obviously due to Lusitanos win last year.



No real benefit for us except the money really. As if Bursaspor would waste their time buying our players at the moment anyway.



Not expecting much given how we normally perform in Europe, although hopefully this time will be different.

I think you have enough to get past Newtown.

Hopefully you can start some domestic domination after your first league championship.

I think you have enough to get past Newtown.

Hopefully you can start some domestic domination after your first league championship.

Hopefully we can do both mate!

I think you have enough to get past Newtown.

Hopefully you can start some domestic domination after your first league championship.

I echo that. I don't think Newtown will be anywhere near as challenging as your Europa games were.

Whoa. This was unexpected, in my opinion anyway. Finally we have performed on a continental stage. Rocha contributing with 2 brilliant assists. Also, it seems like Toscano hasn't retired, contrary to popular belief. No complaints here if he keeps scoring those!

Disappointed not to get the result at home, considering how we were 2-0 up in the first 10 minutes, but at least we made it through. So who's next?

I'm just gonna look forward to the money we get from this.

Nothing we can say here really. I think we did quite well until the last 20 minutes of the second leg where we were just too tired to compete at the same level. Happy to get a cool 800K though, and have already increased the junior coaching from that.

Will you post the results of your opponents (like Torshavn) on their continuous journey whether FK Santa Coloma were eliminated from the continental competitions?

Will you post the results of your opponents (like Torshavn) on their continuous journey whether FK Santa Coloma were eliminated from the continental competitions?

Sure thing, just let me know which ones you want to see and I'll put them up for you.

2015: Torshavn

2016: FH Harfnarfjordour

2017: Elfsborg

2018: Cliftonville

2019: NK Maribor (recent team to beat Santa Coloma)

2015: Torshavn: Lost 7-0 to BATE of Belarus in the CL 2nd Qual Rd.

2016: FH Harfnarfjordour: Lost 3-2 to Finnish HJK in the EL 2nd Qual Rd.

2017: Elfsborg: Beat Austrian Wacker Innsbruck 3-2 and then lost 3-2 to French RC Lens in the EL 3rd Qual Rd.

2018: Cliftonville: 4-1 to Norways Molde in the EL 2nd Qual Rd.

2019: NK Maribor: Lost on away goals to Qarabag of Azerbaijan in the CL 3rd QR, and then lost in the Europa playoff also on away goals to Cypriot Appollon Limassol.

nice work so far

nice work so far

Thanks mate!

This didn't take too long....

I don't think I'll accept it at the moment, I want to focus on the domestic side of things first.

Wow. Just wow. So good to see that our excellent junior coaching has paid off! Remember during the season review I wanted some wingers and a replacement striker as well as a good keeper, and I got my wish and then some. So many great looking players. I will only be tagging three of them as they look yards ahead of the rest.

My word, look at those physicals! Kid could've been an Olympic sprinter had he not decided to fulfil his childhood dream of playing for us! He definitely should be slotted into the first team straight away.

Another kid blessed with some speed and some fairly solid wing skills.

Excellent finishing and off the ball attributes he should really make an impact straight away.

That's a great intake.

That's a great intake.

I know, I'm so excited for the next season. The one thing I didn't like is that the youth candidates haven't played a game against the under 19s for a while now so they are unable to play for a month.

2019/20 Season Review

Fixtures

What could've been a successful season ended up being filled with silly draws we had no business having. Hopefully these new youths can impress next season. At least we won some silverware in the Super Cup.

FK Santa Coloma: Lost in the CL 2nd QR 12-0 to Maribor, after defeating Welsh Newtown.

Lusitanos: Lost in the EL 1st QR 5-0 to Domzale of Slovenia.

UE St Julia: Lost to Israeli Hapoel Tel Aviv 5-0 in the EL 1st QR

The national team had a fantastic 4-1 win over the Faroes Islands, as well as a credible goalless draw with Bolivia. The U21 team drew with Israel and Lithuania (again), whilst the U19 had a win over lowly Asian teams Singapore and Taiwan.

With this fantastic intake of players, the new season brings a strong sense of anticipation.

Hmm.

I'm over the moon with this result. At home we only conceded at the end of each half and in the away leg we scored two so we can't complain. At least we didn't get smashed.

Good youth intakes and finally can make Andorra to the Euros and World Cup! Is Valerenga Football continuing their run in Europas and what country Valerenga come from?