JoseRR's FM09 Big Euro Nation Challenge!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Less than 1 in 2, I am a little disappointed there PRDH
Also looking for a few people for my sign-up if anyone is interested

[PRDH]

The season is over. Update will appear later. Believe me, this is going to be one you want to read! Big season!

[PRDH]

**End of Season Update - Domegliara - Serie A - 2018/19**

Transfers

A lot of money went in and out of the Domegliara coffers this season. With big money transfers coming in and then going out again quickly. Anyway here is the list.

League

Ok, so first up I'll come clean. I lied about it being an exciting, big season. Sorry! The first half of the season was a story of misfiring strikers. With none of them getting past 5 goals pre-January. This form saw me lurking in the lower reaches of the league. However, the new year brought about an upturn in fortunes and a couple of good winning streaks saw me rise up to mid-table anonymity and then a decent run-in saw me consolidate the position and finish 10th. This represents my highest league finish, beating last year's 11th.

Players

Mixed bag from the players. The two big signings of the summer were disappointments. Castelli played 11 games reasonably well, before he moved on for a massive £32.5M. Leerdam, started well with a couple of goals in his first league game, but then really did nothing.

Artur Pestana - the goalkeeper had another good season. He's been recognised by his country and is being chased by a few clubs.

Christoffer Nilsen - decent back-up, offers a more solid option at right-back.

Daniele Braca - centre-back, he looks good, but has never done much in the first team.

Frank Heß - still first choice. He's one of the players who can stay with me and get the team to the top.

Antonio Pellegrini - he's a top class centre-back, he wants a new challenge, but no one is willing to match my asking price.

Hamza Tlili - he's a good back-up to the first team, he is a real threat from set-pieces.

Antonio Velardi - brought in during January he added some guts to the midfield. The vultures are already circling.

Anton Iljin - brought in to replace Cvetkovski who left for Genoa in January, he's good enough for now.

Giovanni Marchese - coming to the end of a glorious Domegliara career, having spent years as first choice, he is now a more than capable back-up for Dalla Bona.

Gianfranco Dalla Bona - he'll be a legend, that's surely all that needs to be said, he is growing into a great player.

Aldo Mazzini - still here, still back-up

Giuseppe Casisa - recovered from his injury in time to play some games this season, but he is looking like his best years are behind him now. I'd like to keep him around the place, and give him a job on the staff when he retires.

Marius Dinu - he's a good player. I'd like to replace him for next season though.

Cesare Peluso - youngster with some good potential, will he reach it though?

Marco Novello - he's a really top winger, It doesn't look like he'll get international recognition, but if I were Italy manager I'd call him up.

Igor Teplyakov - wasn't as big a part this season, but chipped in with some handy goals.

Holger Wagner - played a big part in the middle part of the season, due to some injury problems for Novello.

Steven Willems - replaced Castelli again, when the latter left, and the team's play improved with the replacement.

Diego Pastore - a disappointing end to 2018, he didn't score goals, but hit form again in 2019, hopefully he'll continue into next season.

Bent Hansen - well the boy has finally come good. He got good game-tame in the second half of the season, and scored goals. He'll be first choice for the beginning of next season.

Fedir Kandaurov - looks to be on his way out, played very few games, and barely threatened.

Robert Leerdam - as I've already said, he was a flop, looking for some bids in the summer.

Stefano Okaka - didn't play much, didn't score.

Cup

Best performance to date - reached the 1st round proper of the Italian Cup - amazing.

Awards

Top Scorer - Bent Hansen - 13 goals

Fans Player of the Season - Diego Pastore

Highest Average Rating - Marco Novello - 7.14 (28 Apps)

Can We Play You Every Week - Lecce are the unfortunate winners this season - we beat them 2-0 away and 3-1 at home.

Youth Player Watch

Pier Luigi Farinelli - He's still at Torino, but he has now stayed 2 season, which is the usual amount he spends somewhere.

Aldo Mazzini - His career is stalling.

Diego Pastore - Hopefully, next season will see a return to form.

Gianfranco Dalla Bona - Already classed as a leading Serie A player - and has the potential to improve.

Stephen Carriero - He's 16 now, I'm still not convinced. I think 1 more season in the U-20s and then out on loan.

Records

Not many records this season.

Highest League Position - 10th Serie A (previous - 11th Serie A)
Highest Attendance - 22852 v Bologna - April 2019
Highest Gate Receipts - £475K v Torino - March 2019
Most Games without Scoring - 4 - Dec 2018 to Jan 2019

Most League Apps - Casisa - 316
Most League Goals - Pastore - 94
Highest Fee Paid - £16.25M - Alessandro Castelli - August 2018
Highest Fee Received - £32.5 - Alessandro Castelli - Jan 2019

Best Elevens

18/19

Overall (fingers crossed) - it's actually closer to what I'd think it should be swap Wagner for Novello and Casisa for Teplyakov and it would be about right.

Aims for Next Season

Push for European places.

Other News

Pastore and Hansen were 2nd and 3rd in Serie A young player of the year.

Story So Far

Season			League			Position			Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10			Serie C2/C		1st				Champions!
2010/11			Serie C1/B		1st				Champions!
2011/12			Serie B			8th				
2012/13			Serie B			11th
2013/14			Serie B			11th
2014/15			Serie B			2nd				Promoted!
2015/16			Serie A			19th				Relegated
2016/17			Serie B			1st				Champions!
2017/18			Serie A			11th				
2018/19			Serie A			10th

Domegliara Trophy Cabinet

Serie C2/C - 2009/10
Serie C2 Super Cup - 2010
Serie C1/B - 2010/11
Serie C1 Super Cup - 2011
Serie B - 2016/17

Previous Reports

2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16
2016/17
2017/18

[daemonic]

Good season PRDH

Nice to double your money on Castelli after only 11 games.

[PRDH]

I've made a bid to bring Claudio Di Mauro (some of you may remember him!) back to the club, he left for £8M, Anderlecht supposedly want £4M for him. I'm never sure it's a clever thing to do - bringing a player back. He was also part of the team that got relegated. But he is a really good player.

Di Mauro has returned. He cost £5M but that still represents £3M less than we sold him for.

[edit] - I forgot to say, this is my new youth product - supposedly capable of being one of the best players of his generation.

[el sid]

Apologies for the lack of updates, I'm hooked to sims 3 atm

[rlipscombe]

PRDH - he loos another good prospect. 6' 4" at 15!! Seriously needs to improve his composure but that should come with age.

el sid - is it good? the missus loves sims and has Sims 2 with the packs. She'd like the new one but money is a bit tight at the moment so she's happy to wait...

[rlipscombe]

i was planning on saving it for the end of season review but i can't...... Real Oviedo will play Barcelona in the CL FINAL!!!!!!!

[PRDH]

i was planning on saving it for the end of season review but i can't...... Real Oviedo will play Barcelona in the CL FINAL!!!!!!!

Ooooh! Good Luck!

[ghostwriter]

AD Universidad de Oviedo - Segunda Division 2B - Christmas 2013

The Summer Update

First up was a visit from Palencia where we continued with our inability to open a season with a win (only in the first season have we collected 3 points in game 1). I thought a 1-1 draw was OK as Palencia were much better than us last season but given where they are currently in the table (see later) it might not have been that good. We clicked quicker than usual this season and racked up 5 straight wins, none against top teams but 3 away from home.

We were riding high at the top as we visited Eibar, the first "good" team of the season. We took the lead thru a penalty and were holding on nicely until an overhit cross went in off the post . 3 minutes later and an another goal off the woodwork and we had our first defeat of the season. Not really too deserved tbh. Sestao were ceremoniously dismissed before we had a defensive horror show at a really not very good Fuenlabrada team. 0-0 at h/t became 3-3 at f/t in a match that we thoroughly dominated and should have won comfortably. We weren't much better at the back against Real Union but thankfully 2 stunning long distance goals from Elgezabel and 2 comedy GK ogs meant it made no difference.

We then stuttered, 3 draws in a row, admittedly 2 were against good sides but a 0-0 away to Gernika was not great and it was also a tad lucky, we both hit the woodwork twice. 2 1-0 wins were better before a slightly disappointing Vecindario visited and we were utterly dire, 0-3 down after 30 mins. We got 1 back but that did little to dissipate the embarrassment. We finished the pre-Christmas games with 2 away draws, one of which should definitely have been a win.

So, we are nicely placed in 5th. A simple look at the table will tell you the slight problem: draws. If a couple of those had been converted into wins we be clear in 2nd. Rayo are clearly the best side (although we are yet to play them, which is another slight problem) but the rest of us in the top 10 can easily aim for and get 2nd with a good run. And that is what I shall be aiming for; well, at least the top 4.
Noteworthy are Baskonia (words fail me) and Palencia (4th last season, predicted 9th, currently adrift in 16th, not too sure how as they have a pretty good squad)

Although 35 goals in 18 matches looks quite good, half of those were scored in 3 matches which makes that statistic a lot less good. Defensively we are much better although not so in the last few games.
On the signing front, Elgezabel has been fantastic, Daniel good after a dodgy start, Guiterrez pretty good and Belencoso a disappointment but he is mainly coming off the bench so can be slightly excused.

We weren't in the Copa del Rey for some reason but are still in the Federation Cup thanks to a penalty shoot out. I sort of wish we weren't still in as we face Rayo in the next round which means facing them 3 times in January and twice in 4 days .

[el sid]

el sid - is it good? the missus loves sims and has Sims 2 with the packs. She'd like the new one but money is a bit tight at the moment so she's happy to wait...

It is good from early impressions. Ultra speed is terribly slow though

[rlipscombe]

Ooooh! Good Luck!

cheers. should get it played tonight. am slightly surprised that i made it but gotta take the opportuinity when you can! If only i'd won the league last season i'd be on the verge of beating iacovone.....

As for the match, Barcelona will be tough. We have just played them at Nou Camp and scrambled a 1-1 draw so anythings possible. we have beaten them before, but they've also battered us too. we'll see later. got a couple of league games to negotiate first without injuries so i'll be holding my breath!!

[iacovone]

Wow rlipsombe I'm seriously impressed at your progress! I'm actually hoping you beat me to it

Des don't suppose you have a Portugal save from the reload date do you? I fancy trying to get back into a new save in this thread!

[rlipscombe]

Wow rlipsombe I'm seriously impressed at your progress! I'm actually hoping you beat me to it

Des don't suppose you have a Portugal save from the reload date do you? I fancy trying to get back into a new save in this thread!

cheers iacovone... means a lot!!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

http://files.filefront.com/Portugal+.../fileinfo.html

DUDE!!! Hehe

[PRDH]

cheers. should get it played tonight. am slightly surprised that i made it but gotta take the opportuinity when you can! If only i'd won the league last season i'd be on the verge of beating iacovone.....

As for the match, Barcelona will be tough. We have just played them at Nou Camp and scrambled a 1-1 draw so anythings possible. we have beaten them before, but they've also battered us too. we'll see later. got a couple of league games to negotiate first without injuries so i'll be holding my breath!!

I'm waiting with baited breathe.

[edit] - Oh and Happy 50 page anniversary everyone!

[edit] - Pastore just bagged a hat-trick. I'm always happy when he does.

[edit] - Just a head's up for you all. Pier Luigi Farinelli has moved clubs again - this is his 8th club already and he's only 25. This could well be his last move though. He joined Inter for £21M. I'm amazed at the price. I'm not sure he's that good. I still don't think he's better than my defenders.

[rlipscombe]

The Champions League Final...

Build-up

So, welcome to Lisbon and the Estadio do Sport e Benfica for the champions league final between 3-times winners and 1st timers Real Oviedo. Barcelona are the obvious favourites for this clash but they'll have to be wary of Los Carbayones......

Team News

Real Oviedo are unchanged from their 3-0 win over Zaragoza. Their line up is: Joaquin, Rabben, Ayechu, Hugo, Galindo, Munoz, Dembele, Aizpurua, Garcia Ardura, Gorrotxategi, Dixon.

Barcelona Line Up: Valdes, Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, Pique, Radu, Sissoko, Iniesta, Diego SOuza, Messi, Dos Santos, Gomez

Now time for the match.............

[PRDH]

Come on Oviedo.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

I am thinking about cranking a season of Fafe out today.
EDIT: GOOOOO BARCA!! Ummm I mean Good luck Rlips go win that game

[PRDH]

I am thinking about cranking a season of Fafe out today.
EDIT: GOOOOO BARCA!! Ummm I mean Good luck Rlips go win that game

Do it! I just beat Juventus at their place and am feeling great!

[rlipscombe]

The Match

To be honest, i can't be bothered to write too much as i want to press on, but.....

Half-Time

Even first half. anyones game. very nervous. worst i've ever been. Dixon isn't performing, but i can't take him off. let's hope he picks up.

Full time (forgot pic)

So, we're off for extra-time. No goals but there have been chances galore for both teams. i am SOOOO tense, i can hardly watch. Joaquin has been immense in goal.

Onto Extra time..........

[Lower Leagues Rule]

And it goes all the way to penalties :P

[rlipscombe]

Extra Time

Iniesta scored to give Barcelona the lead. It must be over. At half time, go for it and throw three up top. The result? Dembele equalises and the Los Carbayones fans fly into raptures. Oviedo are back in it!!!!! No more goals are scored, so we're off for penalties..........

[TaylorB]

don't dissapoint me rlipscombe!

[PRDH]

Ooooooooooooh! What a final! Who will be the Terry?

[rlipscombe]

Result......

[Lower Leagues Rule]

no way!!!

[TaylorB]

Unlucky rlipscombe, at least Reo-coker is keeping up the Englishman missing penalties tradition. Hugo mised one yet scored one, hero or villain? The champions league and La Liga next year

[PRDH]

That's unbelievable! - Reo-Coker playing for Barcelona!

Seriously though, that is hugely unlucky. You'll just have to do it next season.

[rlipscombe]

GUTTED!!!!!!!! Hugo can't be blamed. he had a hamstring injury but still scored first one.... when Galindo had chance to win it i nearly had a heart attack. but he missed.....

Last season missed out on title on final day. this season the CL final on penalties... can anyone be more unlucky?????

[rlipscombe]

Unlucky rlipscombe, at least Reo-coker is keeping up the Englishman missing penalties tradition. Hugo mised one yet scored one, hero or villain? The champions league and La Liga next year

that's if i've qualified for CL next season........

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well I am currently in a bit of trouble, Maradona & Radakovic out injured with no replacements to go alongside Marcel. And am sitting 8th in the league (A shocking start)

[rlipscombe]

i'm going to cry myself to sleep now.

[PRDH]

Well I am currently in a bit of trouble, Maradona & Radakovic out injured with no replacements to go alongside Marcel. And am sitting 8th in the league (A shocking start)

I'm in 7th - I'm quite pleased, you've made me feel bad!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

I'm in 7th - I'm quite pleased, you've made me feel bad!

Yes but I have been in the top league for 10 years, and am in 2025/26 season, my stars are underperforming in the league, even if they are taking names in the UEFA CUP once more. I need to win the league or at least make the top three, but 6 games 2 wins 2 draws 2 losses is not good enough.

[d-machine]

Soooo close rlipscombe very unlucky losing on penalties

[el sid]

That is unbelievably unlucky rlipscombe

[el sid]

Sachsen Leipzig End of season report :

Predicted finish : 11th
Actual finish : 3rd (Good prediction LLR ) League Table

1 point separating the first 5, you'd think it was touch and go. But tbh, it wasn't Hoffenheim, Stuggart and us were always fighting only for 3rd, as Bayern and Leverkusen had a nice 6 point lead going into the last 2 fixtures, only to balls up their final two fixtures, with Leverkusen losing to us in the penultimate game of the season (this match was important as I'd have ended up 5th if I hadn't won).

Top scorer was again Marquinhos with 20 goals. He also had 17 assists, completing a remarkable season which he ended with the highest average rating in the league.

Nicklas Bendtner also chipped with quite a few important ones, raising his goal tally for the season to 16.

Stats for the season
Transfers

Aims for next season :

1.) Get to the group stages of the Champions League
2.) Keep Marquinhos
3.) Keep Stachel
4.) Qualify for the Champions League through league finish
5.) Get past the Second Round in the German Cup

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Excellent work el sid well I am taking a Fafe b4reak to Manage The Angels in Dafuge's challenge and also work on my sign-up once it gets going. We will see when I come back.

[iacovone]

i'm going to cry myself to sleep now.

Not sure if you remember my Slavonija file in Gundo's challenge last year? The exact same thing happened to me....lost to Sporting on penalties. Or was it ET?

Either way I'm feeling your pain rlipscombe. Try not to lose heart though - just gotta get back in amongst it next year and try to push on

Unlucky.

[Ohanzee]

FC Mulhouse preseason 2017

New guys (all transfers)
Paolo Marcolini - I've been watching this italian striker for years, and was close to buying him last season but Roma beat me to it. He's been through Lazio -> Basel -> Sampdoria -> Roma before joining FC Mulhouse this season. His season last year in Rome was a failure as he didnt get a single game for them. He scored plenty of goals for Basel and Sampdoria though, and looks quality to me. Already made a big impact and sent us to the Champions League group stages with 3 goals in the 2 qualifying rounds.
Franck Ribéry - A big name and a very versatile player who can play 5 positions for me. With van Persie and Saviola out I wanted someone experienced and this guy has alot of it. He's old, but still very good and will do well for a season.
Mark Dyke - Another guy I've been watching for a few years. He's been through Bohemians -> Hearts -> AZ before joining us. He's really good all around, but his pace is what struck me. He's likely a backup his first season, but once he learns the language he might well take over at centreback or midfield. He's also got a professional personality, which is something I always look for.

That's all the players we got this window. Must be a new record low, but in the end so many players signed new contracts I didnt feel we needed more. Milans crazy bid for Hudson was rejected as he's just brilliant and doesnt wanna leave. I will not sell players who wants new contracts when they are that good.

First eleven

		Marcolini	

Yoshimi		Coutinho	van der Werff

	Kacem		Scognamiglio

Guindo	Hudson		Paiva	Winter
		
		Delle

I am very pleased to have kept all these players. The only new one is Marcolini up front. I'm especially excited about Paiva and Hudson signing new contracts. In fact all but 3 have contracts for 4-5 years. Kacem and Scognamiglio are considering new offers and Coutinho is the only one that considers leaving the club. He's got 2 years left and might have to be replaced next summer if he dont come around.

Europe (fixtures so far)
We got a fairly easy first leg in the qualification. Braga of Portugal was hammered 5-0 at home, and even though we did our best to make fools of ourselves away we managed a 4-4 draw in the end. We lost a 4-0 lead though, and this time I did not say "please" :P

2nd round was tougher against italian club Udinese. We barely managed a win at home as Marcolini scored the winner 3 minutes into overtime. Paiva scored an own goal giving the italians an important away goal. I was really dissapointed as we where controlling the game and should have won with more. The away match was extremely tight and Udinese missed a penalty halway into the first half. When they scored the 1-0 goal after 64' I thought we'd be in UEFA cup once more, losing on away goals. But some brasilian magic by Coutinho after 76' got us the important away goal. Udinese pushed hard but could not get the second and we're through to the Champions League for the first time.

We actually got 2nd seeded in the group stage so we might have a decent chance of making it. A.C. Milan, Celtic and AZ Alkmaar are coming to Mulhouse, and looking past Milan we've beaten stronger teams than those last two before.

Lyon
- Lyon spent £19.25M this window getting two of the brightest regen prospects and another bunch of 28+ year olds into the club. They have started the season with 3 wins in the league scoring 15 goals already.
- We once again lost to Lyon in the Champions Trophy. 1-0 in what was a tight game untill Scognamiglio got sent off.

Other notes
I also think this result against Manchester United in a friendly is worth mentioning. They owed us a friendly from the Rochina deal, so I figured why not. 16,914 people saw us hammer 7 goals passed them. Sure we let in 5, but that's the kind of result I want. I want goals goals goals. They didnt field a poor team either. Ronaldo and Rooney both scored. Delle had a good game in our goal and probably saved us from humiliation.


*edit*
PRDH - Good season, was hoping you'd get Europe though. I wanna buy Novello!
rlipscombe - Nooo, so close! Next year the double! Or treble even!
el sid - Awsome! Good luck in the champions league qualifiers.

[PRDH]

It's an excellent service FC Mulhouse provide as a retirement home for world-class players!

In all seriousness though, Ribery looks good enough for a season in Ligue 1 still, and Marcolini and Dyke look very good players.

As for Hudson - Wow! If he wants to stay and you don't need the money then he should stay forever or until someone offers £40M!

[el sid]

Just popped in to ask a quick question. Is a fully developed John Fleck worth 19 million? I currently do have the funds and he is interested. Fleck and Marquinhos will be upfront if I sign him.

[PRDH]

Fleck is awesome. But 19M is a lot of cash. If he takes you to the next level then it would be worth it. It's a gamble. How old is he now?

[el sid]

Fleck is awesome. But 19M is a lot of cash. If he takes you to the next level then it would be worth it. It's a gamble. How old is he now?

He's 22 atm. Here's a screenie of his present profile

[Ohanzee]

Here is Fleck in my game, after 8 (and some) seasons. He's only had 3 injuries all that time, all minors (just a few days each time). He's scored 80 goals in 161 league games for Rangers, Aston Villa and Werder Bremen and has a 7.42 average rating in those games.

He doesnt look amazing, but in my opinion the AI teams dont train their players very well. They seem to just be very general in their routines and all players seem to just improve overall on all areas. If you where to train him harder in striker or winger skills he'd become brilliant in my opinion. He's got that "curls ball" move aswell, which seem to give alot of goals from the sides.

[el sid]

Here is Fleck in my game, after 8 (and some) seasons. He's only had 3 injuries all that time, all minors (just a few days each time). He's scored 80 goals in 161 league games for Rangers, Aston Villa and Werder Bremen and has a 7.42 average rating in those games.

He doesnt look amazing, but in my opinion the AI teams dont train their players very well. They seem to just be very general in their routines and all players seem to just improve overall on all areas. If you where to train him harder in striker or winger skills he'd become brilliant in my opinion. He's got that "curls ball" move aswell, which seem to give alot of goals from the sides.

He's become much better in my save under AI control (see screenie). Is he a risk worth taking?

[Ohanzee]

Tbh I'm having trouble seeing exactly what # the attributes are on players with your skin. But if he's better at 22 already, and you can afford it, I'd go for it.

[el sid]

Tbh I'm having trouble seeing exactly what # the attributes are on players with your skin. But if he's better at 22 already, and you can afford it, I'd go for it.

Let me just whip up another screenie with numerical attributes

John Fleck

[Ohanzee]

Ok, he looks incredible for 22 in my opinion. I'd go for it if you have the money and can afford it. At 22 he's likely to improve more and he's got 15+ in so many he could become world class. I think the chances of losing money on that investment would be very low.

[PRDH]

Yeah, he has developed brilliantly on your game. He is better as a 22 year-old than he is as a 28 year old on mine.

[el sid]

He has random potential iirc, so that could be the reason for this.

He was Craig Gordon (signed him for free a few weeks ago in gametime)'s recommendation. Just clicked the accept button. One of my poorer strikers is out warning others that he won't give his starting spot too easily I'm in Gordon's favourite personnel now as a result.

Oh, and he easily becomes my costliest signing, my second highest is 7.5 million each for Gustavo Cabral and Diego Suarez. He better repay me

[Ohanzee]

Meh. Seems we can never beat a better team without playing bad. If we play better than them we end up losing. Like this against Milan. Getting annoying. More than 3 times the amount of shots. Better passing, better possession, means nothing way to often. Was missing 3 first team players through injury to, so a good performance against such a good team.

Ah well, we're top of the league after beating Lyon in a game we didnt deserve to win. So I guess it evens out. They are beating the crap out of every other team though, so I cant slip up at all and I already got a bad away draw in a game I really deserved to win 5-0. Feels alot like last season.

Beat Celtic away and AZ at home in the other games in our group so far.

*edit* And next game we manage to draw away to Bordeaux in another game we completely dominate. 63% possession and twice the amount of chances. Time to make dinner. I'll end up throwing my computer out the window if I keep going atm. :P

And again

And we screw up another away game we totally dominate in the league, while Lyon keeps winning. 12-0-1 now (their only loss against us), 39-5 goal difference. Might aswell put on autopilot and rush to the end of the season. It's looking exactly like last season all over. Except Marseille are also pushing on at 10-1-1. They'll be ahead of us if they win their game in hand.

[PRDH]

Just invested heavily in some new coaches. Everything is now up to at least '5 stars', and there are four '6 star' categories.

[Ohanzee]

Hudson just tore his hamstring in training 3 months gone. He'll be back just around the time when Real Madrid are gonna kick our asses in the Champions League knockout stages. Pretty much the worst draw we could get. They've won it 4 times in the last 8 seasons.

[PRDH]

Brief mid-season update. It is the end of January. And I am sitting 4th in the table behind AC Milan, Napoli and Inter (though I am level on points with Inter). I've got a tough run of games coming. Got Inter, AC and Juve in the space of 4 games.

[Ohanzee]

Nice going PRDH, I'm not gonna predict anything cause I seem to get it wrong each time. Might jinx you. So just, good luck in the second half of the season

FC Mulhouse have just shocked football Europe by beating last years champions 5-4 on aggregate. Very lucky some would say, especially after the first leg, but Mulhouse have shown they are no lightweight.

1st Leg (home) 3-3
2nd Leg (away) 1-2

Again it happens to be that we win when we might not deserve it. In the first leg Madrid could well have won 5-1 from the chances they made. I was expecting a 6-0 loss or something for the second leg in Madrid, but we where once against good enough and lucky enough. Reals goal was an owngoal from Yoshimi aswell so how they did not score more than once is beyond me. Especially with players like Julio Flores (the best regen striker in the game, at least of those I know about). The rest of their team is pretty damn good aswell. 2-0 up at halftime in Spain I was expecting my teamtalk to lose it for us again, but we held on

So the reigning champions of Europe are out, and FC Mulhouse are up against Arsenal in the next round. They are lead by a 30 year old Fabregas. I always had huuuge problems playing Arsenal, but I never played them in a 9th season before. My longest game ever. Arsene Wenger is long gone, and you'll never guess who their manager is now.

[AdamFitz]

45 in 42 for his country, sweet looking player that Flores

And nice one mate.

[Ohanzee]

Yea he's amazing. His record in the leagues he's been in is almost as good. To bad he's been struck with so many injuries.

[PRDH]

Thanks Ohanzee. I had a couple of disappointing results recently. But I just played A.C. Milan, and well, it's an historic day as il Rossoneri are defeated 3-2 by il Nuovi Rossoneri! Could this be a sign of things to come? Anyway, with that result I am still 4th, 5 points behind Inter and AC who are locked together at the top of the table, though Napoli have a game in hand and are only 2 points behind them.

What round are you Ohanzee? I tend to have trouble with Arsenal too, but to get past Real Madrid with Flores in the side is impressive.

I've got Luigi Mariani - a striker - turning up in the summer for £2,5M. I think he looks potentially top drawer, and am quite excited by him!

[PRDH]

Yea he's amazing. His record in the leagues he's been in is almost as good. To bad he's been struck with so many injuries.

I bet you wish you'd spotted him when Nantes bought him! I'm always gutted when I spot a top class player who I could have bought had my scouts been working harder!

If you look at the injuries though they've all been fairly minor.

[ghostwriter]

jeez, flores is good. as for his strikerate , and it is not as if he is banging them in against andorra and san marino either.
he has had a pretty nomadic career as well! he can't have had been that great (or had potential) as a teenager if he played (well, not actually any games it seems) in Morocco!

EDIT: actually looking at that again, I have never heard of Municipal (GUA) (where he started) so maybe it is a tiny club so no-one know about him before he moved to Africa...


cracking result Ohanzee, good luck against Arsenal.

[Ohanzee]

Yea, to be honest I didnt spot him before he was in Bordeaux. My scouts where crap up untill then and I only spotted him when I played against them myself. The scouts never pointed me in his direction, I guess cause he was in Chelsea by the time I got good enough scouts. Not like he'd have come to a newly promoted team anyways.

How do I "ask for his strikerrate" ? Never heard of that

Mariani looks great PRDH. Real Madrid was the 1st KO round (after group stages). Arsenal is the quarter final. We've played the away game. By the way their manager is Steven gerrard

Good performance at the emirates. Once again we lose when we create the biggest chances, but we're still in it.

*edit* Doh, sorry I read it as "ask for his strike rate", but you wrote "as for". Never mind me heh.

Arsenal are beaten. Flattering result for us in the end. We where 2-0 up at halftime. First Kacem scored a cracking direct freekick, and then Marcolini decided to end his 8 hour goal draught at just the right time (+1 into injury time of the first half). 8 minutes into the second half Paiva scored on a corner kick and the game was pretty much over. We got another goal in overtime as Strömberg put a penalty away and made it a humiliating 4-0. Joris Delle in goal had a cracker, but even without it we deserved to go through in my opinion.

Chelsea are waiting in the semi finals. I'm not amazed by their squad to be honest. Lots of oldies. Cech (35), Heitinga (34), Terry (38), Zhirkov (34), Essien (35), Cole (36) all seem to be regulars still. They have a frightening duo up front in Juan Manuel Mata and Henri Saivet though, they look very good. And the mental and technical stats of the old players are still crazy good, so it will be tough. 39 year old Frank Lampard is their manager now. Nice to see english managers in english clubs.

We just won a new trophy. Coupe de la Ligue, for the first time. Lyon was beat 2-0 in the final. I decided to field the best team I could even though youngsters and backup players got us to the final. The same youngsters and backups lost to Lyon in the semifinal of the French Cup days before and where really outplayed, so I decided to let the first teamers play this one. They won it for us, but we lost Kacem and Werff with 3-4 week injuries in the game. They will lose out on the Chelsea games now, but Ribery and Strömberg should be decent enough backups.

[PRDH]

That's a great result! Good luck against Chelsea.

I've just followed up by 3-2 win over Milan with a 2-0 win Juventus. Which has seen be consolidate 4th. I'm still in 4th, and now have what should be an easy-ish run of games.

I don't want to jinx myself, but could this be a massive season? I'm not sure my team are really that good.

[Ohanzee]

Oww looking good PRDH. Keep it up

We managed a very good result at Stamford Bridge. 35 year old Petr Cech got the Man of the Match award. I guess keepers do age well. I'm not gonna get my hopes up though. We got games coming so tight now we could be struck by injuries and fatigue and whatever else could go wrong.

We most likely just lost our chances in the league aswell with a 2-0 loss away to Marseille. We got a man sent off after just 15' and never looked like winning after that. Lyon are 3 points ahead, but we have a game in hand. However Lyon have +85 and we have +67 in goal difference, so we need them to slip up to have a chance. Looks like they'll snap it in front of our nose again.

No luck in the replay. Once again we struggle scoring when we dominate a game. For what feels like the millionth (is that how it's written?) time this season we can't win a game we completely dominate. I'm getting really frustrated by this, but I guess we'll just need to find better attackers really. Great first season with the big boys anways. Shows this team can beat anyone on the right day.

[PRDH]

Bloody typical! I beat AC Milan and Juve and lose to Vicenza (16th)! Irritating!

[Ohanzee]

I know that feeling. Our loss of points against the weaker sides might cost us against Lyon in the league once again. We're equal on points now with 3 games left. Unless I win 10-0 in each of those we're not gonna catch their goal difference, so they have to slip up. Which is unlikely the way they are performing. But they do have an away game against 5th placed Stade Rennais left, so I'm still hoping.

[PRDH]

Good luck. Back to winning ways for me against Chievo - another weak team. My next 6 games are Reggina (17th), Parma (10th), Bologna (15th), Cesena (18th), Palermo (11th) and Salernitana (19th) - so hopefully I should pick up some points from those!

[Ohanzee]

Oh my god! Lyon just lost 2-0 away to Rennais. We're a homegame against 14th placed Chamois Niortais away from winning the league. And if we win that game we'll reach 100 points aswell.

*E* Halftime and we're 3-0 up and they have a man sent off. We're gonna win the league! Lyon are 6-0 up against Nantes, but unless we let in 4 in the second half against 10 men it wont matter!! It ended 3-0, we're the champions of France! Lyon won 8-0 over Nantes but it didnt matter. <If there was a dance emote it'd be here>

Last day | Fans delighted

[PRDH]

Let me be the first to congratulate you! Great achievement!

[Ohanzee]

FC Mulhouse 2017/2018

1st in Ligue 1 (pred: 2nd) | Transfers | Finances | Graph

The League
Looked just like last year untill the 37th game when Lyon finally lost and gave us the help we needed. 100 points and had we lost one more game we'd be second. We beat Lyon twice. Their only other loss the whole season came in that 37th game against 5th placed Rennais. Had we even drawn against Lyon in either of our games against them we'd be second on goal difference. I was sure it'd be another season of second places, but I'm thrilled we made it!

The Cups
I sent out our second string of players, including a bunch of youngsters from the reserves and u18s in all but one game. They did amazing reaching the final of Coup de la Ligue and semifinal of the French Cup. When they where completely outplayed by Lyon in the French Cup semifinal I decided to use our firstteam for the Coup de la Ligue final, also against Lyon. They won us the trophy for the first time. What would turn out to be a double.

Europe | fixtures
Been covered in posts above. Short recap. We beat Braga and Udinese to make it to the group stages. AC Milan proved to tough as we lost both games against them (although we did give them a fight), but Celtic and AZ Alkmaar proved fairly easy to beat and we ended 2nd in the group. When we drew Real Madrid in the 1st KO round I expected us to be done for the season, even more so after barely managing a 3-3 at home. But a fantastic (and lucky) vicotory in Spain saw us through. Arsenal was beaten in the quarter final, before Chelseas quality got to strong in the semifinal. I say their quality got to strong, cause we really gave them a fight and only the quality of finishing and goalkeeping kept us from going to the final. Amazing season with the big boys though, hopefully we can repeat it.

The Squad
Everyone did their part. 28 players at 7.00+ average rating. Marcolini is my player of the year as he hit 30 goals in his first season. He played 55 games though so he'll need to do even better before he's good enough to win us that big Champions League trophy. One more player needs mention even though he didnt make a big impact yet. I bought a leftback in January, Besart Ajazi, because Guindos performance was very bad that far. I was considering getting him last summer, but I didnt think Guindo would be so inconsistent. Ajazi looks very promising and has potential to be a key member of the first team squad. He doesnt speak french yet though, not even basic.

The Finances
Brilliant. Champions League money is HUUUGE. And winning the league also gave over £13M. Our average attendance went up another 2,5k to 12,511 overall. 11,754 in the league, which is 16th. Way to low for the kind of wages we're paying now, but the price money and player sales more than make up for it still. We have 5 players worth £10M+ now. Scognamiglio is worth the most at £15.25M. We're also the richest club in France at £175M. Still not sure how they calculate that, but Lyon have moved down to 2nd at £122M.

The Future
It looks bright, although a couple more of the first team players do wanna leave to further their career. Which is kinda annoying seeing how we won the league and got a semifinal in the biggest cup in Europe. Only Coutinho and Delle have 1 year left on their contract though, so no worries there. I might try to sell Coutinho if he doesnt sign a new one by August. But basically we are likely to keep most of the same team, so we should do well next year aswell. The board also agreed to yet another improval of youth and training facilities. So all is looking bright.

Jean-Marc Brousse | Start | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
He's improving, but he's also soon 19. I might have to involve him more soon if he is to reach his potential. He played 7 cup games this year and did really well. There are several 20-22 year olds in the reserves I should play aswell though. My problem is that Lyon are so good I can't afford to play anything but my best team in every league game or I'm out of the race right away.

FC Mulhouse history

		League pos	CdlL		FC		Europe		Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/2010	5th FN		N/A		9th round	N/A		So close
2010/2011	3rd FN		2nd round	9th round	N/A		Promoted!
2011/2012	2nd L2		2nd round	8th round	N/A		Promoted again!
2012/2013	12th L1		3rd round	Final lost	N/A		...
2013/2014	6th L1		3rd round	Final lost 	N/A		No Europe :(
2014/2015	3rd L1		4th round	Semi final	N/A		Europe! :D
2015/2016	3rd L1		3rd round	Winners		EC winners	Trophies!
2016/2017	2nd L1		4th round	Final lost	EC Final lost	No trophies
2017/2018	1st L1		Winners		Semi final	Semi ECL	The double
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

L1 = Ligue 1 | L2 = Ligue 2 | FN = French National | CdlL = Coup de la League | FC = French Cup

[el sid]

Great season Ohanzee, congratulations on winning the league

[el sid]

Got Spartak Moscow in the Champions League qualifiers. Thrashed them 2-0 in the home leg, and dominated the away leg but still lost 1-0. We're through to the group stages, 2-1 on aggregate. We've been drawn with Real Madrid, Shakhtar and Anderlecht in group G.

[PRDH]

Right. This will be my last mini-update before the end of the season - I want to keep you guys in some suspense! Anyway 31 games have gone. I am second, 6 points behind 1st. Can I bring them down?

[PRDH]

The season has finished. The update should appear sometime this evening.

[rlipscombe]

congrats Ohanzee.... well done.

After a weekend away in Blackpool at a wedding party, i'm back to come to twrms with my disappointment. time to build the squad to get to the next step..... Iacovone, i do remember your Slavonija save.......

[PRDH]

**End of Season Update - Domegliara - Serie A - 2019/2010**

Transfers

The biggest news about this year's transfers was that it was the first season where I didn't make an overall profit from my transfer dealings. They can be split into two sections. Gerson Ramirez and Friedrich Kasongo are youngsters brought in for the future, whilst the rest are first team squad members who we'll come across later.

League

Well we started the season in the usual fashion. Decent first couple of results then a downturn, followed by an upsurge that saw us in mid-table. The difference this season was that we didn't stop there. We pushed on into contention for a place in Europe. I was thrilled with this. It was what I had been aiming for pre-season. So obviously I was hoping to maintain that position, to see Il Nuovi Rossoneri in Europe next season. The Domes then managed to go on an excellent runs, including the much-publicised victories over Juventus and A.C. Milan. These victories saw me move even further up the table into contention for a place in the holy grail - the Champions League. A continuation in this form saw me reach the position I left you in. 7 games left, 2nd place, 6 points behind the leaders. Well it seemed a longshot, but I had a chance at the title. Well, it was again a good run. I was undefeated in those final 7 games, picking up 4 wins on the way. Disappointingly I drew a winnable game against relegation fodder Cesena (H), and then drew with Palermo (A) and Napoli (A) - decent results against good teams. A.C. Milan also managed to have a poor run-in to the season. Unfortunately it wasn't quite bad enough. We finished up in 2nd - 1 point behind A.C. Milan. They drew in their final game whilst I won mine. So close! But still a cracking season from Il Nuovi Rossoneri, who have booked a place in the group stages of the Champions League.

Players

The squad did itself proud this season. As you can see, there is a lack of depth up front with only Hansen and Pastore having good scoring records.

Artur Pestana - was ever present for the team and did a good job.

Christoffer Nilsen - a definite back-up, but a useful one who has done a decent job when called upon.

Francesco Dessena - bought at the start of the season when I thought it was likely I would lose one of my first choice pair - I didn't, so he didn't play a lot, but he is a very good prospect.

Hamza Tlili - didn't play much.

Frank Heß - can only get better, and he's already good.

Antonio Pellegrini - great defender, I'm amazed he hasn't played for Italy - shows that the Italy manager only picks players from the 'big' clubs. Shocking.

Antonio Velardi - He is probably more a defender than a midfielder, but he does a damn good job in the centre of the park. Can't shoot for toffee though!

Anton Iljin - a very useful right-back, his pace is an excellent asset on the counter.

Giovanni Marchese - definite back-up for Dalla Bona, he wants to stay in football, I hope I can offer him a coaching role when he retires as a reward for his long service.

Gianfranco Dalla Bona - he really benefitted from the increased investment in coaches. He is an excellent player. Well done youth academy!

Aldo Mazzini - still here, still back-up.

Giuseppe Casisa - his best years are in the past. He only got on the field once, he is around as dressing room figure head, he wants to become an assistant manager when he retires, I'd like him to be my assistant.

Marius Dinu
- used sparingly and mostly as a sub, it shows how well the first choice pair played as he's still a very useful player to have about.

Cesare Peluso - unfortunately for the lad he's not managed to break into the first team. I may think about getting rid. Giving him a chance to develop.

Marco Novello - he's reached the stage where he is considered a 'leading star for a Serie A teams'. Surely if he played for one of the major teams he'd have got a call-up to the International team.

Igor Teplyakov - didn't play much this season.

Holger Wagner - a very good back-up for both wings.

Giuseppe Magnini - he came in this season as a surprising replacement for Willems. He sacrifices some of the technical skill for electric pace.

Steven Willems - fewer games following Magnini's arrival.

Claudio Di Mauro - a triumphant return to Domegliara for the man who spent 3 years in Belgium and returned a better player.

Diego Pastore - a return to form for the fans' favourite. He was top scorer this season and broke 20 for the season for the second time in his career. He's closing in on his 250th league appearance. With the Champions League, he should start to rack up more appearances, and try to push on towards the mythical 1000 figure!

Bent Hansen - His first season as first choice and he scored fairly regularly, second behind Pastore, and it was lucky as the other strikers were fairly poor.

Hernan Juan - brought in in January, mainly played as a sub. He looks to have a good future.

Fedir Kandaurov - quiet season, he is off when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Stefano Okaka - same as above.

Cup

Once more I only made it to the 1st Round of the Italian Cup.

Awards

Top Scorer - Diego Pastore - 20 goals - he was runner-up for the golden boot too.

Fans Player of the Season - Antonio Pellegrini

Highest Average Rating - Antonio Pellegrini - 7.24 (33 Apps)

Can We Play You Every Week - Amazingly it's Juventus! We beat them 1-0 away and 2-0 at home.

Youth Player Watch

Pier Luigi Farinelli - well I'm glad to be on target as he moved again. This time to Inter for £21M where he became a fixture in the reserves! It's his 8th team. He could be off again if he doesn't get in the side.

Aldo Mazzini - stagnating.

Diego Pastore -with the fall of Casisa he is now on course to become the most capped player in a few years.

Gianfranco Dalla Bona - should relish Champions League football next season.

Stephen Carriero - spent the second half of the season as my number 2. May loan him out next season.

Giuseppe Esposito - he needs to improve his composure and off the ball stats. But that should come with age.

Records

A few new records

Highest League Position - 2nd Serie A (previous - 10th)
Highest Attendance - 22873 v Parma - March 2020
Average Attendance - 20865

Most League Apps - Giuseppe Casisa - 317
Most League Goals - Diego Pastore - 114

Best Elevens

19/20

Overall

Other News

-The board have agreed to relay the pitch and expand the stadium by 5000 seats.
-Pastore was golden-boot runner-up.
-Pellegrini - was third in the Serie A defender of the year awards and was in the team of the year.

Aims For Next Season

Well I suppose the aim for next season now has to be to aim for the title, but I want to at least consolidate my place as contenders and a European team. As for the Champions League, I feel I have the squad to get through the group stages.

Domegliara Trophy Cabinet

Serie C2/C - 2009/10
Serie C2 Super Cup - 2010
Serie C1/B - 2010/11
Serie C1 Super Cup - 2011
Serie B - 2016/17

Story So Far

Season			League			Position			Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10			Serie C2/C		1st				Champions!
2010/11			Serie C1/B		1st				Champions!
2011/12			Serie B			8th				
2012/13			Serie B			11th
2013/14			Serie B			11th
2014/15			Serie B			2nd				Promoted!
2015/16			Serie A			19th				Relegated
2016/17			Serie B			1st				Champions!
2017/18			Serie A			11th				
2018/19			Serie A			10th
2019/20			Serie A			2nd				ECL place!

Previous Updates

2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16
2016/17
2017/18
2018/19

[PRDH]

Thinking about squad for Champions League. Thanks to my youth policy I have 7 players in the 1st team who qualify as trained by the club! That means I don't have to worry about it.

[el sid]

Finally got past the second round of the German Cup

[rlipscombe]

congrats PRDH - great season. got some really good players there. hopefully you can maintain it next season. it seems with this challenge that when you reach the top it is tough to maintain. good luck.

congrats el sid!!

[PRDH]

Thanks - I am a 20-1 shot for the title this season, which makes be joint 4th favourite. I'm more excited about the Champions League at the moment!

[Ohanzee]

Great season PRDH. Congrats on the ECL spot

[rancer890]

Great work PRDH. Hope you can win the Serie A title very soon.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Great Seasons PRDH & Ohanzee Good luck as you hunt the completion of the challenge

[PRDH]

Champions League Group Draw!

I was seeded 4th for the draw unsurprisingly so was expecting a tough group. In the end I'm quite pleased with the opponents of Chelsea, Dinamo Kiev and FC Kobenhavn.

I'd like to think that I can get positive results against the Ukrainians and the Danish. Chelsea could prove harder, but if I can do well against the others I should be able to qualify.

[edit] - and thanks everyone. And, in news I'm tense about, I've had to change the shape of the pitch due to ECL regulations.

[el sid]

Last game of the group stages in the Champions league coming up for Sachsen Leipzig. The table currently looks like this :

                       Pld        Won       Drew       Lost      GD      Points

Real Madrid             5          4          1          0       +7       13    (Q)
Sachsen Leipzig         5          1          2          2       +1        5
Shakhtar                5          1          2          2       -3        5
Anderlecht              5          1          1          3       -5        4

Lost both the games against Madrid but the scores were encouraging : 2-1 and 1-0 respectively.

Our final group game is against Shakhtar, who we drew 2-2 earlier in the group at Ukraine. Whoever wins this match will qualify second to Madrid, and a draw will also suffice for us, unless Anderlecht pull something out of the hat and manage to win against Madrid in their last game. Updates as they happen

[PRDH]

**Pre-season Transfers**

There are 4 new players through the Domegliara gates for the new season. Two young centre-backs, a midfielder and a striker.

Srdjan Stanisic - joins for £425K, he looks to me like an excellent prospect at only 18.

Jose Marques - useful midfielder who joins for £7.25M - his best attribute - he is both footed.

Luigi Mariani - excellent looking striker the £2.5M deal for who was tied up near the end of the last season.

Ben Dladla - South African centre-back joins for £5.75M. There is nothing subtle about him. He is tall, strong and very good in the air. Though to be fair he is also a reasonable passer of the ball.

[PRDH]

Bienvenue, Wilkommen, and Welcome to the first European football to be played at Domegliara Stadium (the home of Il Nuovi Rossoneri). We are here today to watch the Domes take on Chelsea.

Domegliara go into the game as slight underdogs, but must be hoping that with some luck they good pull off a big result this evening in front of their passionate fans.

Chelsea take the lead as Alexis Sanchez dances through the team and slots home the goal. 0-1

Domegliara equalise as Hansen scores from the rebound after Pastore hits the bar with a header. 1-1

Half Time 1-1

Claudio Di Mauro scores in the 79th minute to take the lead. 2-1

Dalla Bona steps up to take the corner and somehow manages to score straight from it. 3-1 in the 83th minute.

Luigi Mariani beats Micah Richards in the air in the 86th minute to score his first goal for Domegliara. 4-1!

Full Time!

I am, needless to say, absolutely thrilled with that result

[Ohanzee]

FC Mulhouse is now 14th in European coefficients. France stays in 5th. Fun fact, UEFA Cup final loss of last year gave more points than a semifinal loss in Champions League.

Also our board payed shareholders £13M. There goes an entire seasons worth of league position reward money. Good thing Champions League is such a cashcow.

Congrats PRDH, great result. You might just go all the way with some luck.

[rlipscombe]

fantastic result PRDH!!!!

[AdamFitz]

Was hoping for a cup run to fix the finances a bit, of course I get Feyenoord in the 2nd round.

[PRDH]

And that's my second European clash. Away at Kobenhavn and Domegliara come through it, emerging as 3-0 victors at the final whistle.

[el sid]

FC Bayern have sacked Jurgen Klinsmann and have appointed Michael Owen as their new manager in my game

[AdamFitz]

Pfft, Roy Keane is ARSENAL Manager on my Chelsea game

[PRDH]

On my game Arsenal are managed by Gianluca Zambrotta with Jamie Carragher as his assistant!

Chelsea are managed by Michael Ballack.

Jorge Andrade is Portugal Manager.

[el sid]

Pfft, Roy Keane is ARSENAL Manager on my Chelsea game

Pfffft, Owen is just 37 in the game and doesn't speak a word of German and yet he is still appointed as manager

[PRDH]

My favourite chance noticing I've had was on a long game on fm08. I looked at the most successful English managers. I was obviously the at the top of the tree - no surprise there. But, what was surprising was that the second most successful English manager was Jermain Defoe!

[el sid]

Final champions League group match against Shakhtar next. Minute by minute updates coming up. Wish me luck...

[PRDH]

Final champions League group match against Shakhtar next. Minute by minute updates coming up. Wish me luck...

Good luck!

[el sid]

17 min : GOAL. John Fleck pounces onto a rebound and places it into the bottom left corner. 1-0
20 min : Ashley Cole clears off the line from a corner. Still 1-0
21 min : GOAL. Marcelo Moreno pounces on a long ball hoofed up field by their left back Eric Abidal and puts it past Craig Gordon. 1-1
39 min : Good save by Gordon to deny Nery Castillo. They're outplaying and outpassing us here.

Half Time : 1-1. The scores are level but Shakhtar have had the upper hand as said by the FM commentary. Elsewhere Real Madrid lead Anderlecht by a goal from Vagner Love.

Told the lads I expect them to perform better after half time.

47 min : GOAL. Marquinhos tucks in a deep cross from Andreas Ozturk. 2-1 to Sachsen atm
52 min : Free kick from Stachel hits the crossbar and goes out. That could've been the game
57 min : Daniel Pacheco hits the woodwork. It was a poor finish imo.
65 min : Diego Suarez, a former Shakhtar player, has a decent long range effort which is saved by Bogdan Shust.
87 min : Suarez sends one inches wide.
90 + 2 min : Nery Castillo scores for Shakhtar but he is ruled offside.
90 + 5 min : Full time. It's all over at Zentralstadion, Leipzig. Sachsen Leipzig have won 2-1 and as a result qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions league, 2nd in the group behind Real Madrid.

Man of the match : Andreas Ozturk

Madrid's game finished 1-0 fwiw