***The AI Era - Forza Savona!!***

[DodgeeD]

It seems the slow and steady decline continues.... Is it hard for you to watch knowing you could be doing better?

A quick question (although it may take longer to answer ) - how have other 'small clubs' (i.e. those unplayable at the start of the game) faring? Have any moved up the leagues? Or are there any Serie C sides now up at the top? I ask because I have a side in my save for gundo's challenge who started with me in the Turkish 2nd Division who have just finished 3rd in the top flight and made the Europa Cup for the first time.

[iacovone]

are there any Irish stars foating about ?

Paul Stansfield (25, 164/175) at Man Utd is the best Irish player at the moment. He's followed by Savona's Danny Wilkins (22, 151/181).

A quick question (although it may take longer to answer ) - how have other 'small clubs' (i.e. those unplayable at the start of the game) faring? Have any moved up the leagues? Or are there any Serie C sides now up at the top? I ask because I have a side in my save for gundo's challenge who started with me in the Turkish 2nd Division who have just finished 3rd in the top flight and made the Europa Cup for the first time.

In terms of 'unplayable' sides, the most successful thus far are Morro d'Oro who currently sit mid table in Serie B, one promotion off the promised land. They were even unplayable as late as 2021/22 as they've yo-yo'd between the divisions. This year is in fact their first in Serie B but they appear to be holding their own! That's exciting to see a potential Savona mk:II coming through . I also just checked and their manager is the best in the world in terms of CA/PA!!! Matteo Pianese (47, 199/200) has been at Morro d'Oro for 12 years now, guiding them all the way up to Serie B. If he sticks around I predict in 3/4 years Morro d'Oro will be playing in Serie A

There actually aren't any unplayable sides in C1/A or B so Morro d'Oro really are flying the flag solo in Serie B.

For teams that have begun as playable but from the lower leagues, the best success story has to be that of current Serie A sides Alessandria and Viterbese. Alessandria begin the game in Serie C2/A, staying there or in C1/A for 16 years. However in the last 6 years they've found success in Serie B and subsequently gained a place in the top flight.

Viterbese begun in C2/B and were actually relegated out of the game in the first year . However they were promoted in the following season and have since steadily ascended through the divisions. They made Serie A 5 years ago, dropped back down but have now been here for 2 years in a row now against the odds (but with the expert manager, Luigi Tomaselli in charge).

Whilst I'm here I thought I'd look and see which formerly 'great' club have dropped the lowest. There aren't any big clubs in the bottom tier, but in Serie C1/A we have Bologna and Brescia. In C1/B we have Cagliari, Reggina and Livorno. Not major clubs but Serie A size clubs.

[DodgeeD]

Thanks for that iacovone. I always like it when the AI brings some teams up like that. And what a manager Morro d'oro have got! The Savona board should be hot on his trail if Di Francesco misses out on the big cups again.

[iacovone]

Savona – January Transfer Update 2032

After an assortment of high priced signings in the summer, Savona weren’t expected to splash the cash too much this January. Having said that they were not performing to recent expectations in the league - drawing way too many games. These were games that should really have been wins.

Di Francesco though resorted back to his more cautious approach in the market. He made just two signings this January, firstly securing Giacomo del Prete (18, 124/179) on a co-ownership deal from Fiorentina. The striker has good potential, and at just 18, has plenty of time to get there.

The second signing was to bring in Erik Favero (21, 164/174) an Italian under 21 international central midfielder for £7m. He’ll bring immediate first team competition to the squad and put pressure on the current Savona midfield of Doria, Cilona, Cardozo and Djuric.

Outgoing transfers were similar – 2 players left the club for a combined total of £12m. Firstly summer signing Massimiliano Guiducci (30, 156/157) was allowed to leave following an unimpressive 6 months at Savona. He joined Catania for £4.5m.

The second name to leave was a much better known player. Versatile left sided centre back Alessio Bartoli (26, 158/176) was sold to Juventus for £7.5m. Bartoli wasn’t always a regular under my management and despite showing signs that he’d be given a good crack of the whip by Di Francesco, he wasn’t a regular under him either. Juventus have signed a good solid defender but certainly not a world beater.

That was it for the transfers this summer – certainly no great moves in, so it would really be up to Di Francesco to motivate this squad up the league.

Around the rest of the world there were a couple of big transfers concluded in January. Inter splashed out £25.5m on Dejan Stojanovic (21, 165/170) a DR and £12.5m on Deyves (27, 172/178) a very talented DRC who I actually sold a few years ago from Savona. Clearly solidifying their defence was the aim in this window for 6th placed Inter Milan.

Napoli were the other big spenders, splashing out £25.5m for South Korean Kang Hee-Ho (23, 172/174) a very talented MC. They also forked out a rather large £18.75m for Stefano Buttignon (25, 169/170) an AMR/ST as they looked to push Roma all the way for the title.

[iacovone]

Savona Report – January to June 2032

Savona comfortably beat Pisa at home to start 2032 just how they would like, however the next game raised some serious doubts as to the quality of their team. They traveled to high-flying Salernitana but were trounced 5-2! The actual result is a little deceptive though as Salernitana’s winning three goals were all scored in the last 5 minutes as Savona somehow collapsed to defeat.

A narrow home win over Viterbese 2-1, followed by an Italian Cup quarter final win over AC Milan 4-2 appeased the fans a little. A third consecutive home win over Mantova 4-1 looked to have put the season back on track but a muddled run of results set them back once again. Consistency was beginning to become an issue for Savona.

They drew 0-0 with Alessandria away before winning at home again over Catania but a televised defeat to quite frankly, an awful Bari side 1-0 shocked Italy. What had become of Di Francesco’s Savona side? They then drew away at Inter 0-0 before again surprising everyone by beating leaders Roma 2-1! It was a strange season.

The first leg of their Champions League 1st knockout round came and they lost 3-1 to Liverpool at Anfield, setting up a very difficult home leg. Between the two legs, Savona won two league games over struggling Torino and Siena and beat Roma again 2-1, this time in the semis of the Italian Cup (1st leg).

The 2nd leg of their tie with Liverpool came and meant they had to win by 2 and not concede an away goal to qualify. They went one better and thumped them 3-0 in Savona to ensure qualification 4-3 on aggregate. The draw gave them another English side – Arsenal in the quarter finals.

Back in the league, Savona followed up their Champions League qualification with 3 consecutive draws! Palermo, Napoli and Lecce all took points off Savona, again pushing them back a step. As April rolled round, Savona were in 7th and looking as if they’d struggle to even make the Champions League again !

A further draw this time 0-0 away at Fiorentina lined them up for their 1st leg against Arsenal. They lost 2-1 at home! Badini was sent off to really compound an awful night in Italy. A last minute winner against Lazio gave the club a much needed confidence boost before the trip to the Emirates.

Despite winning 1-0, Savona were out of the Champions League at the quarter final stage. Arsenal actually went on to win their 6th Champions League trophy, defeating holders Barca in the final 1-0.

Their exit had a devastating ripple effect within the club. They drew at home with Atalanta 0-0 before dropping out of the Italian Cup to Roma on away goals. 3 wins and a loss in their last 4 games were not enough to retain a position as a Champions League club as Savona ended up 6th in Serie A. They were 18 points behind champions Roma and 9 behind 4th place. This will go down as a very disappointing season given the success of the last 2 years under Di Francesco

Managerial Changes:

Pavel Hapel (62, 115/130) didn’t last long at Bari, sacked after just 6 months in charge. Surprisingly Luigi Tomaselli (43, 121/121) was convinced to leave the Viterbese post he’d held for 3 years to take over already relegated Bari. Surely that wasn’t the wisest career move, particularly as he’d just ensured his Viterbese side would remain in Serie A. Completing the managerial merry-go-round was Alessio Cerci’s (44, 125/125) move to Viterbese after starting the season as Bari manager.

Siena’s woeful season culminated in relegation and the subsequent sacking of Marco Broccoli (47, 118/118), their 2nd manager of the campaign. Incoming was Cristian Pezzotti (51, 120/120) the ex-Parma manager.

[iacovone]

Savona – 2031/32 Season Summary

Well this time the wheels really have fallen off at Savona. A disappointing year resulted in a complete absence of a trophy – something the fans and chairman had grown accustomed to. The eventual league finish of 6th place means they will contend in the Uefa Cup next year, stark contrast to the lavish spectacle of the Champions League.

The away goals exit in both the Champions League and Italian Cup were tough to take – they could quite easily have made it through those two ties and perhaps have had a far more successful season. The way the last 18 months have gone for Di Francesco though, it wasn’t surprising to see them on the end of defeats in this manner. His job is now at risk and described as ‘insecure’. We could possibly be seeing the 2nd successor come to Savona shortly. The chairman’s patience rating is ‘1’ so would it really be that shocking? Probably not.

The main problem this season was consistency. Savona showed they were capable of beating the top sides – in fact only losing twice to any of the five teams above them . However similar to last year, they lost to the lesser sides. This year somehow they were defeated by bottom of the league Bari, as well as Viterbese but it was more the draws that stuffed up their season. More often than not they would dominate games but just not find that crucial winning goal to ease them past sides like Alessandria, Torino, Siena, Lecce, Atalanta et al.

The Uefa Cup they’ll be entering next year was won by Chelsea who defeated Napoli in the final.

AC Milan and Napoli did well this year to break back into the top 4, Inter and Savona the sides to miss out. AC Milan did a sterling job of chasing down Simone Felci’s Roma side but would finish 3 points short of the champions. After going Scudetto-dry for 15 years, Roma have now won the title two years on the bounce.

The only notable performers for Savona this year were Michele Badini (for a change) and Jimmy Blixt, who was having a wonderful twilight to his glittering career. Pecoraro, Quinto and Cilona were the other notable ‘stars’ (I use that term lightly) of the season, but the rest were reasonably poor. Perhaps the club have become too accustomed to relying on the performances of these legends of the club.

The new signings were average in all honesty. Watson was used sparingly, as was Turazza and January signing Favero. Siviero, Djuric and Ardizzone were regulars but really didn’t perform anywhere near to what was expected of their price tags. Hopefully it was a case of first season syndrome and we’ll see better in future.

As shown in the league table screenshot, the relegated sides this year are Bari and Torino (who both go straight back down) and rather surprisingly Siena. It was a turbulent year for Siena as the club sacked two managers along the way, actually contriving to muddle the club up even more. At the halfway point they were a couple of positions above the relegation zone and it looked for all the money in the world that Viterbese would drop. The havoc caused by the change in staff must have messed with the harmony in Siena and they dropped like a stone. They were relegated on the last day however, losing to Mantova away, as Viterbese claimed the most crucial of 3 points against Savona to stay up.

Replacing these sides coming up from Serie B are long lost Genovese rivals Genoa and Sampdoria! They have both been out of the top flight for 7 and 6 years respectively so it is nice to see some historically big clubs return. Verona also come up through the playoffs, bouncing back nicely after last year’s relegation. Morro d’Oro finished 13th in their debut year in Serie B. Will we ever see them make it to Serie A?

We have an even more exciting year upon us now – potentially the last Di Francesco season and potentially the ushering of another AI era at Savona. I’m excited.

League Table

Serie A Player Stats

New Section!

Notable Retirees:

Rafael Lopez (127/188) – retiring this summer after a fantastic career mainly spent at Barcelona. 140 caps and 41 goals for Argentina is mightily impressive. Made Argentina’s overall Best XI, the Champions League Dream team in 2021 and 2022 and the World Team of the Year in 2026.

History

Honours:

South American U20 Championship (x2)

Confederations Cup

Champions League (x2)

World Cup

Club World Championship (x2)

Copa America

Edgar Botti (114/177) – not a worldwide star but a real thorn in Savona’s side back in the day. Was part of the fantastic Roma side of the early 20’s after graduating from the Fiorentina academy. Came 3rd in European Midfielder of the Year and also made the 2028 World Team of the Year.

History

Honours:

European U21 Championship

European U19 Championship

Olympic Games

Italian Cup (x5)

Italian Super Cup

Champions League (x2)

European Super Cup (x2)

Club World Championship (x2)

Luis Almeida (127/187) – was a real world star for many many years at Arsenal. Spent 18 years at the Emirates after joining from Werder Bremen as a 19 year old. He was named in the Champions League Dream Team on 5 occasions, the World Team of the Year 5 times, inducted into the overall Portuguese best XI. His crowning glory was winning the World Player of the Year in 2024/25.

History

Honours:

Champions League (x5)

Club World Championship (x5)

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Hmmm the question is whether he will last to the end of the next season for me, can he actually even get through to the end or will they sack him for underacheiving?

I like the retired players, gives an idea what is going on. Interestingly haven't seen a World Team of the Year posted, mine is still all old guys I want them gone, now that you are further on is it younger players again or are the 30-40 year olds still dominating??

[iacovone]

LLR - I've got a feeling Di Francesco will be given a few more months. He will have to start the season well. You've also given me an idea for a new section in the 'world view' stage. I'm going to do a yearly round up of the major player awards around the world. I'll add the overall World Team of the Year so that you can see who has made it. As a teaser there are only 6 of the 18 players that started on the game.

To everyone reading I have just realised that I had an update that I'd forgotten to post before the 2031/32 season. If you're interested in reading the run down of the squad before the transfer window it can now be found here

[~Ian~]

Di Francesco out! Very poor season for Savona, the year of six trophies is just a memory now.

Nice touch with the retired players, giving us an idea about some of the stars of the past twenty years. I'd suggest using a screenshot of their history though to show their legacy when they were in their prime, rather than their current profile.

KUTGW

[iacovone]

Di Francesco out! Very poor season for Savona, the year of six trophies is just a memory now.

Nice touch with the retired players, giving us an idea about some of the stars of the past twenty years. I'd suggest using a screenshot of their history though to show their legacy when they were in their prime, rather than their current profile.

KUTGW

Your wish is my command . I'll add history screenshots to that post soon

EDIT: Next season's retirees is gonna be great! We have a Peruvian with an international record that is just shockingly good. 3 figures for both caps and goals

EDIT2: Histories of retired players have been added to Post #156

[hamilton162]

He must be one hell of a player In roversraw7's experiment, there was an American striker that scored over 225 international goals from around 150 caps

[iacovone]

He must be one hell of a player In roversraw7's experiment, there was an American striker that scored over 225 international goals from around 150 caps

Well he may be good but he's quite definitely not as good as that !!! That is quite ridiculous.

[iacovone]

Savona 1st Team Analysis – 2031/32

Goalkeepers:

Enrico Costanza (37, 143/189) – played the majority of Savona’s games this season but his ability is on the wane at last. Age is catching him and the club really do need a new goalkeeper this summer.

Arjan Gjoni (24, 137/195) – maintained his position as back up goalkeeper, playing just 8 games over the season.

Carmine Crotti (22, 104/158) – very average 3rd choice keeper who didn’t even play this year.

Summary: Now is the time for a shrewd manager to look and secure a new goalkeeper. Costanza is now not good enough in my opinion.

Defenders:

On the left Filippo Siviero (27, 166/167) was brought in as the clubs new left back and on the whole did well. Andrea Romano (23, 124/166) would now be considered his backup.

Pietro Giannini (34, 170/173) – is still maintaining his ability even at 34 now. He is still the main man at centre back. Roberto Crescibene (33, 143/171) – has slipped in terms of ability and therefore has seen his appearances be reigned in. Giannini’s partner for most of the year was new man Piero Ardizzone (31, 163/179) a capable versatile defender. Young Vincenzo Lucchese (23, 153/159) can still be considered decent back up to centre back and centre midfield.

The right side is still held down by Roberto Pecoraro (31, 188/197) – played just about every game and as always remained consistent in his performances. His back up is now Englishman Graham Watson (27, 150/174) who came to the club knowing he’d be waiting in the wings.

Summary: Left back now appears fixed after the signing of Siviero, but centre back is now the issue as age catches up with Giannini.

Midfielders:

Tommaso Cilona (32, 179/188) has regained his regular starting place now and remains near the top of this game. Ricardo Sanchez (22, 143/170) has developed a little this last year but will still be considered back up after playing just 1 game. Giuseppe Doria (30, 168/176) played a lot of games this season and performed reasonably well. New man Erik Favero (21, 168/174) joined in January but played just 11 games at a fairly low standard.

In the attacking midfield/playmaking role we have Diego Cardozo (28, 176/177) who played the vast majority of games this year. It was a far less special year for him though. New man Ivica Djuric (29, 171/176) came in and slotted in the more defensive central midfield – playing a lot of games. He was reasonable this year but more will be expected next season. Danny Wilkins (22, 153/181) backs up the two of them and made a handful of appearances.

On the left wing we have Giuseppe Quinto (27, 187/188) the mesmerizing Italian Messi. Being the only defined left winger at the club he played the majority of games. Sami Ali (23, 165/186) could provide back up and did so on a few occasions. Siviero could also back up Quinto if needed.

On the right we have Jimmy Blixt (32, 165/176) who is having a delightful swansong to his career. His back up was new signing Manuel Canosa (26, 153/194) has declined again and looks set to be joining relegated Bari this summer. So much unfulfilled potential! Sergio Fanti (24, 135/187) is another back up winger to have played only 2 games this year.

Summary: I’d say a central midfielder is still required despite the signing of Erik Favero.

Strikers:

Michele Badini (29, 190/191) remains the main man at Savona. He is in his peak now and we can expect a few more years at the top. He didn’t actually score that many (for him) this year – perhaps part of the reason for Savona’s poor season. New signing Giuseppe Turazza (24, 158/160) somehow remains ahead of Rotunno in the pecking order. He got 9 in 19 games. Reasonable. The third choice back up is club legend Riccardo Rotunno (32, 164/170) who is beginning the decline due to age and lack of games.

Summary: With Di Francesco’s reliance on 1 man up front the strikers are the least of the club’s worries at the moment.

Summer Targets: Goalkeeper, Centre Back and Central Midfielder.

[iacovone]

Savona – Individuals That Made The Year – 2031/32

(sorted by av.rating)

name - position - apps - goals - assists - MOM - av.rating

Badini – ST – 35 – 22 – 6 – 10 – 7.30

Blixt – AMR – 31(8) – 11 – 9 – 5 – 7.16

Pecoraro – D/WBR – 45(2) – 6 – 7 – 1 – 7.13

Quinto – AMRL – 41(1) – 6 – 10 – 4 – 7.09

Cilona – D/DM/MC – 45(1) – 7 – 6 – 2 – 7.08

Turazza – ST – 13(6) – 9 – 1 – 3 – 7.05

Canosa – AMR – 14(9) – 3 – 3 – 2 – 6.97

Siviero – D/WB/ML – 37(3) – 1 – 10 – 0 – 6.97

Ali – AMRL/ST – 17(3) – 1 – 6 – 1 – 6.95

Cardozo – AMC – 40(4) – 7 – 7 – 1 – 3 – 6.94

Notes: The top 5 remain the top 5 from last year indicating the reliance the club has on these long-serving stars. By their standards they could have offered a little more. Turazza makes the list despite a low number of appearances. When he did play, he did well but with just a 1 forward formation, its rare to see anyone ahead of Badini. Siviero the new left back did relatively well in his debut year. He’ll become a solid part of this Savona defence in my opinion. Canosa is actually set up for a move to relegated Bari after spending two underwhelming years at the club. Cardozo came nowhere near his 17 goals from last year and props up the list. Not a good year for him. Notable absentees are Rotunno who started just 4 games and more importantly the other first choice CB – Piero Ardizzone who amassed 42 games at an average rating of a lowly 6.68. Therein lies the reason for Savona’s inconsistency this year.

[Scott1990]

The chairman’s patience rating is ‘1’

oh my god, how did you never get fired while managing them? Like Roman Abromavich x 1000.

Great updates, though I'm worried about the direction Savona is heading in. Key players aging, youths are not reaching their great potential. Look at the Albanian keeper, PA of 195 and he'll never get close.

[iacovone]

oh my god, how did you never get fired while managing them? Like Roman Abromavich x 1000.

Great updates, though I'm worried about the direction Savona is heading in. Key players aging, youths are not reaching their great potential. Look at the Albanian keeper, PA of 195 and he'll never get close.

I agree with you Scott. It seems Di Francesco's leadership has actually been quite short sighted. He has a good collection of promising youngsters but they're either not getting games or not being farmed out, causing them to go stale. Gjoni (the Albanian keeper) really should have been a world class keeper but he just hasn't been given the trust or playing time. Next season will be the most eventful under AI management in my opinion. Di Francesco will either get the sack early, pull something out of the bag or just pull the club further away from glory.

Oh and I don't know how I wasn't sacked - particularly after getting relegated in our first year in Serie A

[~Ian~]

Cheers for the history pages. Despite the amount of trophies and awards they won it could maybe be said that Lopez and Almeida underperformed, it looks like they were either injured a lot or rotated out of the team as they very rarely had seasons with over 30 league appearances.The upcoming Peruvian goalscoring record is insane.

[AB-forever]

Great thread iacovone

BTW, who are the best Danish players out there and who is the best foreigner playing in Denmark?

[iacovone]

Cheers for the history pages. Despite the amount of trophies and awards they won it could maybe be said that Lopez and Almeida underperformed, it looks like they were either injured a lot or rotated out of the team as they very rarely had seasons with over 30 league appearances.The upcoming Peruvian goalscoring record is insane.

You say that but without those leagues on full detail its difficult to gauge just how great they were. When it comes to Almeida I just remember him taking apart my Savona team on at least 4 occasions! For that reason I always remembered him as something special.

Great thread iacovone

BTW, who are the best Danish players out there and who is the best foreigner playing in Denmark?

The best Danes are:

Mehran Zahedi (32, 170/177) an Iraqi born Dane who I actually had at Savona before he moved to Juve. He is a DRC. That makes him the best Dane playing in Italy.

Kristoffer Nielsen (22, 169/175) - Man City's D/WBL

Nicolaj Clausen (27, 163/176) - Werder Bremens MC

The best foreigner playing in Denmark is Milos Elrich (27, 148/152) an Aussie DM currently playing for FC Midtjylland.

It seems the Danish nation haven't been very successful in recent years. They are ranked 45 in the world and the last major tournament they qualified for was Euro 2012 . Not good really.

ps. I have an enormous summer tournament update coming shortly...3000 words.

[iacovone]

World View – International Tournaments 2031-32

Oceania Cup - Dec/Jan 2032

This rather odd international tournament has always been a curiosity to me. First of all it is structured quite differently from your standard international tournaments. To begin we have the Preliminary Round in which 10 teams are split into 2 groups of 5 with the top 2 qualifying.

Group A sported the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Soloman Islands and Samoa. Group B had Fiji, American Samoa, Tahiti, Vanuatu and Tonga. Basically a who’s who of non-footballing nations! American Samoa had two players (the only actual players in both groups!) – Ashley Dwyer (17, 3/17) and Jeremy Kazmer (18, 1/16). Yes that really is a CA of 3 and 1. Effectively two of the worst players in the world. Anyway the qualifiers were the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, American Samoa and Fiji.

These 4 sides are then put into a group with New Zealand (aka the powerhouse of Oceania football) and battle it out to finish 2nd behind them. Whoever achieves this (in this case the Cook Islands) plays a one-off final. New Zealand quite predictably won 4 out of 4, scoring 17 and conceding 0. Ricki Kumar (29, 174/175) scored 7 goals and young protégé Jacob Robinson (21, 135/199) bagged 2.

After defeating the Cook Islands 8-0 in the group stage, everyone’s money was on NZ for the final. They duly obliged winning 2-0 in both legs to win the Oceania Cup – their 5th in a row. Incredibly the Solomon Islands had a period in which they won two tournaments in a row ahead of NZ. It seems since Australia packed their bags and became a part of Asian football this trophy now exclusively belongs to NZ.

African Nations - Jan/Feb 2032

First off – the African Nations in January 2032 deserves a recap. 16 teams flew to Morocco aiming to prevent the holders Ivory Coast retaining the trophy.

In Group A we had Ivory Coast – boasting Samuel Domoraud (31, 163/179) an MC playing for AC Milan and Victor Kroupi (27, 155/156) a left winger contracted to Marseille. South Africa had star striker Brian Modisane (27, 161/162) to rely on whilst Sierra Leone and Namibia completed the group. The favourites were Ivory Coast and South Africa – 2030’s finalists so it was bound to be a tough draw for the two minnows of the group.

Group B contained traditionally strong sides Nigeria, Ghana, Mali and Algeria – a tough group on paper for sure. Nigeria had Sporting’s left winger Charles (29, 150/177), whilst Ghana had Patrick Antwi (23, 158/172) the very promising MC playing in Brazil with Internacional. Mali possessed world striking star Kingsley Nagbe (30, 170/184) who was still at Juventus, making them a real threat in the group. Algeria also had a real world star in Arsenal’s DM Billal Farhi (23, 174/180) giving this group the deserved tag of the ‘group of death’.

Morocco, Cameroon, Senegal and Tunisia were the members of group C – traditionally all powerful sides. The hosts Morocco however had little to offer their fans hope of a good run. Their great side that came 3rd two years ago was now aging and former star Reda El Houti (32, 148/173) was no bigger example of this. Senegal were a capable but reasonably average squad, whereas Tunisia could offer the exciting striker Maher Zouaghi (21, 152/178) as hope to their nation. Cameroon complete the group offering little in the way of exhilarating players.

The final group contained Egypt, Angola, Zimbabwe and DR Congo. Ashraf Abdel Gawad (29, 150/163) would fly the flag for Egypt up front. Louis Mbiakop (28, 153/169) would be the star of the Angolan adventure, but at RB could he really have that much of an impact? Zimbabwe and DR Congo didn’t possess any real stars of note so would naturally have a more difficult time getting out of this group.

Ivory Coast and Tunisia were the only teams to qualify with maximum points. They were followed by South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Egypt and Angola to the quarter finals. Mali were the unfortunate team in the group of death to bow out already. The hosts Morocco propped up Group C with just 1 point.

The quarter finals threw together a quite frankly absurd match between Ghana and the Ivory Coast. After a goal each in the first 6 minutes, Ghana took a 3-1 lead in at half time, seemingly with one foot in the semi finals. Two Ivory Coast goals either side of another Ghana goal took the score to 4-3 with just 10 minutes remaining. Ivory Coast made it 4-4 before amazingly turning the game on its head by going 5-4 up with just 3 minutes to go. Despite the setback, Ghana rallied and found their 5th goal with a minute to spare. Ivory Coast didn’t let up in extra time though, Samuel Domoraud completing his hattrick before Victor Kroupi sealed the win with the 7th goal. Final score – Ivory Coast 7-5 Ghana !

The other ties were a little less exciting – South Africa edging out Nigeria 2-1, Tunisia narrowly beating Angola 1-0 and Cameroon succeeding in extra time 2-1 over Egypt.

The two sides that played extra time in the round just gone met in the semis. This time Ivory Coast were victorious in normal time 2-1 over the Cameroonians – Domoraud again netting. South Africa knocked Tunisia out to meet Ivory Coast in the final for a repeat of the 2030 showdown!

Tunisia left Morocco with some consolation – beating Cameroon 1-0 to claim 3rd place. The final itself continued the exciting nature of the tournament; Ivory Coast again falling 3-1 behind come half time. This time around though, there wouldn’t be an heroic comeback – South Africa sealed the win with a Richard Chabalala goal late on to triumph 4-1 and win their 3rd African Nations in 4 attempts. They have now won it a total of 4 times.

European Championships 2032

Euro 2032 was hosted by Switzerland and Austria and the holders were Italy who had won the last two tournaments in Belgium and Scotland.

Group A contained Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine. Sven-Erik Nordmark (27, 178/179) was Sweden’s star and indeed one of the best players in the group. Young DRC/DM/MRC Tamerlan Gizatullin (19, 158/183) was the rising star of Ukranian football and expected to show his potential on this international stage. Switzerland and Poland had similar combative squads and would need to do something special to qualify.

Austria, Germany, Romania and Spain were the members of Group B. Spain were now little more than an average international side having not made it to the last World Cup. The same could be said of Germany. Despite this Germany boasted MC Marco Wenninger (24, 175/178) playing at Juventus – a truly quality midfielder. Spain could also call on Eneko De Paula (24, 166/175), Deportivo’s AML/ST. Both these nations had very strong squads so it is a wonder why they have been so unsuccessful throughout this game. Radu Soldea (30, 167/168) and Alexandru Ceausu (32, 166/179) still have something to offer the classy Romanian side despite their age. The co-hosts Austria have Real Madrid’s strong SW/CB Jurgen Molnar (23, 162/177) to lead their line, making them a strong proposition in Group B.

World Cup runners-up England are joined by Holland, Portugal and Slovenia in Group C. They will be reliant upon world class Liverpool striker Steve Edwards (27, 183/199) to shoot them towards the trophy. Danny Jenkins (26, 177/179), Peter Dixon (27, 176/177), Michael James (27, 176/178) and Steve Smith (25, 173/177) all make up an extremely strong looking English side. Napoli’s Lorenzo Kwakman (32, 182/188) joins the Dutch squad after a spectacular season in Italy (43 goals in 46 games!) aiming to lead them to glory. With John Tevreden (26, 177/178) and Apichart Nguyen (28, 175/177) they look a very competitive. Slovenia did superbly to make it to the Euro’s but carry a faint hope of success. Much like the Uzbeks in 2030, they do have one star who could carry them through – Zeljko Crnigoj (23, 163/177) – but being a CB its unlikely he’ll get the goals they’ll need to progress. Portugal have soon-to-be retired Luis Almeida (37, 124/187) who is playing his final few games of a glittering career. On the younger end of the spectrum, Roma’s D/WBRL Diogo Silva (22, 178/179) will combine with Joao Benje (24, 172/176) to form a very strong defence.

The final group contains Belgium, Greece, France and Italy – a group of death if you will! Modern day Belgium are in their ‘golden era’ but as of yet have failed to make a mark on the international scene – the best result coming 3rd in Euro 2016. They have Juventus CB Reinier Collin (27, 184/185), Roma AMRC/ST Jacques Krings (28, 174/179) and Real Madrid’s D/WB/AMR Erwin Meessen (31, 170/188). Greece have the weakest squad in the group with no ‘stars’ to speak of. France on the other hand contain two world class players – Jean-Michel Curutchet (26, 187/188) and Remi Benoit (23, 181/184) and an altogether strong squad. Italy unsurprisingly contain the strongest squad at the Euros. Ranked 1 in the world Italy are in their own golden era at the moment – though many are starting to show signs of their age. Despite this their squad had 80% over a CA of 170 - unbelievable considering outside Italy the Euros have about 15 CA 170+ players! The key men are mainly Savona players – Michele Badini however misses the tournament through injury. Roberto Pecoraro (31, 188/197) captains the side. Two of the other remaining world class stars are Giuseppe De Falco (25, 189/190) and Giuseppe Quinto (27, 187/188). Italy stand a very good chance of winning their 3rd consecutive European Championship. Marco Giampaolo (64, 134/150) will manage the Azzuri for his final act in management before retiring.

Group A saw a tough battle between three teams to qualify. Co-hosts Switzerland eventually were the unlucky 3rd place side to miss out on qualification through results against the other sides. Their 3-1 loss to the Ukraine ended up being the crucial cruel result. Sweden topped the group on goals scored over the Ukraine. Jimmy Blixt scored three times in the group stage .

Group B was a bit clearer cut as Romania ran away with the group gaining 7 points from 9. Despite not winning a game, Austria’s 3 draws saw them through to the quarter finals ahead of the eminently disappointing Spanish and German sides. Alexandru Ceausu unfortunately twisted his ankle against Austria and missed the rest of the Euros.

England topped Group C with 7 points but suffered a massive blow against Slovenia – losing striker Steve Edwards to a torn groin muscle – out of the Euros too. The predicted whipping boys Slovenia lost all 3 games so it was down to Holland and Portugal in their final group game to decide the 2nd qualifier. A narrow Dutch 2-1 win secured their progress as Portugal surrendered in undignified style – having Diogo Silva sent off with minutes remaining. Lorenzo Kwakman at this stage also had 3 goals to his name.

The group of death began expectedly – Italy beat Greece 3-1 and Belgium beat France 2-0. Everything looked set for the favourites to qualify. Surprisingly though, Italy were beaten 3-1 by France in the next game as they were blown away in the first half. Belgium secured their qualification, beating Greece 1-0. The final game meant Italy had to beat Belgium and hope Greece got something against the French. Unfortunately Italy couldn’t even beat Belgium – drawing 0-0 to see themselves eliminated from the Euros at the group stage! Shocking performance by the team and manager. France did what was expected – beating the Greeks 3-0.

Co-Hosts Austria lost in extra time 2-1 to Sweden, Sven-Erik Nordmark and Anton Lundgren with the goals. Romania pushed through to the semis with a close 2-1 win over fellow eastern Europeans – Ukraine. The talented and exciting French side met England in a thrilling quarter final. Despite Kevin Galmiche’s brace, England remained strong and saw themselves through with goals coming from Andrea Ghio (an Anglo-Italian), Steve Smith and Michael James. The final quarter final threw together the great Flemish rivalry – Belgium vs Holland. Much like the France vs England tie this was another thrilling affair. Apichart Nguyen gave the Dutch a 3rd minute lead before Enrico di Giorgio doubled it on the half hour mark. Belgium rallied late on with two goals in the last twenty minutes from Ger Peters and Reinier Collin taking the game to extra time. Di Giorgio scored his second in the 101st minute though, proving enough to put the Dutch into the semi finals. Another failed year for the golden generation of Belgian talent.

The first semi final drew the Dutch against the Swedes, who by all accounts were the least fancied of the remaining 4 teams. This proved to be a correct theory as Lorenzo Kwakman gave Holland a deserved 2-0 half time lead. This was made 3-0 by Arno Narsingh with seven minutes to go. Kaj Johansson’s consolation did nothing but make the score seem less humiliating for the Swedes. The Dutch had coasted into the final. England took on Romania in a far closer semi final. In fact it didn’t really get going until the second half as both teams cancelled each other out in the first half. With Steve Edwards missing, aging striker Nhlanhla Ferreira was thrust back into the limelight. However it was MC Francis Edwards who broke the deadlock with a 71st minute goal. Radu Soldea made things far tougher for Romania following his sending off ten minutes later. England played out the final ten minutes and secured a final place. It came at a cost though – Tom Holt, Michael James and Andrea Ghio were all injured for the final.

The final itself was played at the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern, Switzerland in front of modest crowd of 31,000. The crowd was set to be entertained though in a fantastic spectacle as the game took off from the first minute. Both teams were going all out to not only entertain but to score and win – the way football should be played! England’s injuries had wracked up and meant they couldn’t name a full bench, whereas the Dutch unfathomably put star striker Lorenzo Kwakman on the bench following a slight facial injury in training. John Tevreden gave Holland the lead, scoring in the 23rd minute to delight the Dutch fans. But this was not to last long as the English spirit inspired a courageous fight back. Paul James equalized 5 minutes later before a quick-fire brace from Terry Roberts, the tall Middlesbrough striker gave England a commanding 3-1 half time lead. The Dutch came out determined in the second half looking for anything to get them back in the game. Ruud Bosch found the net in the 72nd minute and looked to have laid the foundations for a memorable revival but this was ruined 8 minutes later by the sending off of goalscorer John Tevreden. England once again were good enough to close out the game, thus lifting the Euro 2032 trophy! This was the first European Championship England have ever won and was thoroughly deserved after a richly entertaining tournament! John Terry the England manager resigned following the win, shocking the fans who were already dreaming of World Cup glory in 2034.

Olympic Games 2032

With U23 squads sent to the Olympics in Portugal (for the second time running) there was a slightly varied mix of talent on show. There were a few undoubted stars, notably Paolo Vella (23, 182/184) – Bayern and Argentina’s DC. Diogo Silva (22, 178/179) went straight from the Euros to represent the hosts Portugal at the Olympics. AC Milan’s Damiano Buonocore (23, 180/195) would lead Italy from CB whilst their 21 year old AMRC Egidio Conti (21, 175/178) would be the main attacking threat from the flank.

Judging by the squads, Italy were to be the favourites, followed by France, Argentina and Portugal. Two teams qualified with maximum points from their groups – Argentina and Italy. Topping the other two groups were France and Brazil. The other four to make it to the quarter finals were Mexico, Portugal, USA and Germany. Holland were the most notable nation to drop out at the group stage.

Argentina narrowly defeated the USA 2-1 to make the semis. France also qualified, beating Germany 1-0 in another close tie. The shock of the quarters was delivered by the Mexicans who eventually beat Brazil on penalties after an entertaining 2-2 draw. Italy meanwhile comfortably dispatched Portugal 3-0 in their tie – Davide La Forgia (23, 170/172) the Mantova ST, bagging two goals.

Again Italy won well in the semi finals against the over-achieving Mexicans, 2-0 this time. Progression was made much simpler after the 27th minute sending off of Erik Rodriguez – the Mexicans again showing poor discipline at an international tournament! Penalties were required to separate Argentina and France after a tight 1-1 stalemate. Argentina eventually triumphed 6-5 on penalties but the match took a lot out of their squad – Uriel Solari injured and Diego Rivarola was suspended.

The French took the bronze medals after soundly defeating the Mexicans 3-0 before the final was upon us. The slightly drained Argentineans faced a tough task against an Italian side that had won every game thus far. In fact they hadn’t even conceded a goal! This was to remain a fact after 90 minutes as the Italian U23 side scraped a 1-0 win to win gold at the Olympics. Davide La Forgia again scored to secure a great honour for these young Italians. This was the 4th time Italy had tasted gold in Olympic football.

A great summer of international tournaments I found! If anyone gets through all of this they get a big thumbs up from me. I think I may have got a little carried away...:o

[iacovone]

World View – Individual Awards 2031/32

World Footballer of the Year:

Screenshot

Steve Edwards (27, 183/199)

World Player of the Year:

Screenshot

Steve Edwards (27, 183/199)

World Team of the Year:

Team Screenshot

Martin Romano (27, 174/183)

Roberto Pecoraro (31, 188/197)

Bjorn Brull (22, 178/180)

Julio Cesar Romano (26, 183/185)

Harrison Carvajal (31, 189/190)

Fabio Bertolucci (30, 176/177)

Eneko De Paula (24, 166/175)

Salvador Viniegra (29, 180/196)

Marco Wenninger (24, 175/178)

Steve Edwards (27, 183/199)

Lorenzo Kwakman (32, 182/188)

Daniele Avanzi (32, 162/174)

Giuseppe De Falco (25, 189/190)

Davide Maggio (29, 185/186)

Roberto Gallon (29, 186/192)

Francesco Mori (30, 176/177)

Tommaso Cilona (32, 179/188)

Stefano Romeo (28, 179/183)

European Footballer of the Year:

Screenshot

Francesco Mori (30, 176/177)

Golden Boot:

Screenshot

Lorenzo Kwakman (32, 182/188)

European GK of the Year:

Screenshot

Martin Romano (27, 174/183)

European Defender of the Year:

Screenshot

Roberto Pecoraro (31, 188/197)

European Midfielder of the Year:

Screenshot

Roberto Gallon (29, 186/192)

European Striker of the Year:

Screenshot

Francesco Mori (30, 176/177)

Italian Awards 2031/32

Serie A Top Goalscorer:

Screenshot

Lorenzo Kwakman (32, 182/188)

Serie A Player of the Year:

Screenshot

Francesco Mori (30, 176/177)

Serie A Young Player of the Year:

Screenshot

Antonio Gravina (23, 175/177)

Serie A Team of the Year:

Screenshot

Dario Ridolfi (28, 162/184)

Roberto Pecoraro (30, 188/197)

Ronny Alessio (24, 170/177)

Mika Kallio (26, 175/176)

Giuseppe Pierantoni (27, 134/145)

Gianluigi Zaninelli (32, 170/178)

Jesus Maria Esteve (27, 173/179)

Marco Wenninger (24, 175/178)

Giovanni De Lorenzo (34, 172/178)

Lorenzo Kwakman (32, 182/188)

Francesco Mori (30, 176/177)

Italian Player of the Year:

Screenshot

Francesco Cappiello (29, 175/176)

Foreign Player of the Year:

Screenshot

Marco Wenninger (24, 175/178)

Manager of the Year:

Screenshot

Simone Felci (50, 110/112)

Facts

[tomsmith1989]

Oceania Cup

This seems like a bit of a pointless tournament to have I'm pretty sure i'd have a CA of at least 1. Maybe I should move to American Samoa to gain nationality and get myself on FM!!

African Nations

What a game the Ivory Coast v Ghana match was. Ivory COast really turned it around after half time. That must go down as a true classic of the African Nations. If I was the manager of South Africa, then I probably would've been worried about being 3-1 up against the Ivory Coast at half time. It was a solid victory for SOuth Africa though in the final. They certainly seem to have deserved becoming champions.

European Championships

Germany and Spainf seem to have gone down hill a little. I would never have thought they would place behind Austria and Romania in a group.

Italy exit in the group stages is a massive shock. It sort of blows the whole competition wide open from this point (I'm reading as I write, so I don't know the overall winner yet...)

Some great Quarter Finals. The Belgium v Holland one stands out as an exciting affair. It's also nice to see an Anglo-Italian playing for England. I may have missed it, but whats his CA/PA, and where did he start? Is he not good enough for the Italian side, or is he more primarily English anyway?

England! A good final. I'm surprised that Kwakman didn't feature at all. It seems that the tournament saw a lot of star players pull out due to injuries, and it could've been so very different otherwise. Shame John Terry resigned after a successful tournament. Hopefully he'll be replaced by someone just as capable.

Olympic Games

I'm surprised that the first penalty shoot out in all the torunaments came this far down. It was certianly a close run thing between Argentina and France. Mexico seemed to have just got lucky, and that showed in their last two games of the tournament, as they got beat pretty comfortably.

It's no schock that Italy won the gold medal. They played superbly throughout the tournament, and to not conceed a goal is a real feat.

Brilliant write up iacovone. It certainly gets a big from me. It's good to see that your maintaining a high level of quality with all your updates.

[iacovone]

Ah Tom I knew I could rely on you to remain in this thread and give me some sort of feedback, its much appreciated because that was an epic update .

As for the Anglo-Italian Andrea Ghio (30, 164/168) he is currently playing for Liverpool. He started at little known Brindisi in Serie C2/B so its been some rise for him. He went to Padova in Serie B before being shipped to Russia to play for CSKA Moscow. After a year out in the cold (both senses of that phrase) he was recognised as a good talent by Aston Villa and moved for £250k. Here he made a name for himself in midfield and was subsequently signed by Liverpool for £5.5m after 3 and a bit years at Villa. He is entering his 6th season now at Anfield.

So he was born in Italy, but made his debut under John Terry (on his favoured personnel list) in 2029 against Cyprus. He has now played 28 times for his adopted nation, scoring 3 goals. Basically I think he felt England helped make him as a player, particularly after the debacle in Russia so playing for England was always on the cards.

As for the new England manager, Terry (51, 169/170) was replaced by regen Daren Shaw (41, 122/122) so its a definite backwards step. Hope has been lost a little for the World Cup in two years.

Oh and I'm not sure if I'll do a write up of the Oceania Cup anymore. Maybe if something unusual happens but I'll probably just write in that NZ won it

[tomsmith1989]

Ah Tom I knew I could rely on you to remain in this thread and give me some sort of feedback, its much appreciated because that was an epic update .

Such an update certainly deserves a read through. It's as long as some of my uni assignments Brilliant.

As for the Anglo-Italian Andrea Ghio (30, 164/168) he is currently playing for Liverpool. He started at little known Brindisi in Serie C2/B so its been some rise for him. He went to Padova in Serie B before being shipped to Russia to play for CSKA Moscow. After a year out in the cold (both senses of that phrase) he was recognised as a good talent by Aston Villa and moved for £250k. Here he made a name for himself in midfield and was subsequently signed by Liverpool for £5.5m after 3 and a bit years at Villa. He is entering his 6th season now at Anfield.

So he was born in Italy, but made his debut under John Terry (on his favoured personnel list) in 2029 against Cyprus. He has now played 28 times for his adopted nation, scoring 3 goals. Basically I think he felt England helped make him as a player, particularly after the debacle in Russia so playing for England was always on the cards.

His career was a little slow at getting started then. His decision to move to England has certainly benefited him, and us as a nation. It's nice to see someone play for their adopted nation and do well.

As for the new England manager, Terry (51, 169/170) was replaced by regen Daren Shaw (41, 122/122) so its a definite backwards step. Hope has been lost a little for the World Cup in two years.

That's not news I wanted to hear. Does Shaw have any decent credentials? and is there any reason behind Terry's decision to resign as England manager?

Oh and I'm not sure if I'll do a write up of the Oceania Cup anymore. Maybe if something unusual happens but I'll probably just write in that NZ won it

That's fine. It's pretty much a given that New Zealand will win it. It would have to be something truly bizarre to change that

[iacovone]

Well JT moved to Man Utd so I guess that's some consolation. Or at least justification for leaving England. Though no team should be seen as bigger than the nation!

More of a surprise was Shaw's past. He was the Man Utd manager so they've basically just swapped posts! Before that he was youth coach at Man Utd for a year. He had been the manager for 5 years there, his biggest success seeing the club to the semis of last year's CL. Obviously I don't have any league or cup stats other than European so its hard to gauge his pedigree.

[tomsmith1989]

Well JT moved to Man Utd so I guess that's some consolation. Or at least justification for leaving England. Though no team should be seen as bigger than the nation!

More of a surprise was Shaw's past. He was the Man Utd manager so they've basically just swapped posts! Before that he was youth coach at Man Utd for a year. He had been the manager for 5 years there, his biggest success seeing the club to the semis of last year's CL. Obviously I don't have any league or cup stats other than European so its hard to gauge his pedigree.

I see. That's quite a rare occurance that a nation and a team basically swap managers. I suppose if he lasted 5 years he must have been doing something right, and to take Man Utd to the semis is a decent enough achievement by a team from a non-playable league. Only time will tell if he is up to the job.

[iacovone]

Team Performance and Manager Ability 2032/33

Sorted by league position

(league position change in brackets) -- Name - Age - CA/PA – (drop in CA)

1. Roma (-) -- Simone Felci - 50 - 110/112 (-2)

2. AC Milan (+4) -- Sergio Floccari - 50 - 85/87 (-2)

3. Juventus (-1) -- Gianpaolo Bellini – 52 – 105/105 (new manager)

4. Napoli (+1) -- Roberto Cappellacci - 65 - 146/160

5. Inter (-2) -- Antonio D'Avino - 38 - 125/125

6. Savona (-2) -- Eusebio Di Francesco - 62 - 148/170

7. Catania (+2) -- Luciano Foschi - 65 - 148/170 (-2)

8. Salernitana (-1) -- Lorenzo Rubinacci - 64 - 59/77 (-1)

9. Lazio (+1) -- David Suazo – 52 – 128/130 (new manager)

10. Atalanta (+3) -- Alberto Gilardino - 50 - 130/130

11. Lecce (+1) -- Andrea D'Amico - 43 - 116/116

12. Pisa (-1) -- Nico Canova - 39 - 119/119

13. Fiorentina (+1) -- Maurizio D'Angelo - 62 - 107/120 (-2)

14. Mantova (+1) -- Stefano Crisci - 43 - 103/103

15. Palermo (+1) – Marco Broccoli – 47 – 118/118 (new manager)

16. Alessandria (P) -- Fabrizio Miccoli – 53 – 119/120 (+2)

17. Viterbese (-) – Alessio Cerci – 45 – 125/125 (new manager)

18. Siena (-10) – Cristian Pezzotti - 51 – 118/120 (new manager)

19. Torino (P) – Luca Santonocito – 45 – 185/185 (new manager)

20. Bari (P) – Luigi Tomaselli – 44 – 121/121 (new manager)

Notes: Just the 4 new managers in Serie A this season (excluding the relegated sides) proving again the amount of patience amongst the chairmen in the league. We had a couple of end of season retirements – something we should perhaps get accustomed to given the number of elderly managers in the league. Vincenzo Vivarini the Juve manager called it a day following this season. He’ll perhaps be best remembered for his time at Mantova where he really established the club in Serie A. Carmine Nunziata also retired after his year at Palermo. Lazio also lost their manager Marco D’Avino (47, 169/169) to the national team after their very poor European Championships. He was replaced by the former Cagliari and Inter striker David Suazo. Also leaving Serie A was Luigi Tomaselli who had done such a sterling job at Viterbese. For some strange reason he opted to leave that post and join relegation fodder – Bari. Will we see him return to Serie A or not?

Alberto Gilardino deserves a mention for the continued good work he is doing at Atalanta. They have now risen 3 places for the second consecutive year. Salernitana remain a force to be reckoned with under Rubinacci but he is drawing close to the end of his career here. Catania have steadily improved over the last 3 years to now become a reasonably assured top half team. Obviously Antonio D’Avino and Eusebio Di Francesco should be the most disappointed maangers. They’ve spent big but dropped down the league. Sergio Floccari has answered his critics by propelling AC Milan back up into title contention.

Promoted Sides for 2032/33:

Genoa – Andrea Russotto – 44 – 122/122

Sampdoria – Gaetano Bandiera – 55 – 141/146

Verona – Carlo Salsano – 46 – 140/140

Notes: This year we have 3 big sides promoted back to Serie A, all led by very competent managers. Genoa came 1st last year but actually have the slightly less gifted boss. I think the three stand a very good chance of staying up given their infrastructure and ability amongst their staff.

New Section!

Overall Average Manager CA in Serie A:

2030/31 = 124

2031/32 = 125.45

2032/33 = 119.7

The loss of a couple of talented managers has meant that the average of the CA in the league has dropped considerably for the coming year. With more retirements potentially coming at the end of the year the league will shape up to a new managerial talent pool.

[iacovone]

'Serie A' Analysis by Reputation 2032/33

(last years league position in bold)

1. (1) Savona (6th) – 8885 (-308)

2. (2) Roma (1st) – 8855 (+21)

3. (4) AC Milan (2nd) – 8694 (-40)

4. (3) Napoli (4th) – 8677 (-147)

5. (5) Juventus (3rd) – 8450 (-22)

6. (6) Inter (5th) – 8171 (-29)

7. (8) Catania (7th) – 7584 (+63)

8. (7) Lazio (9th) – 7576 (-19)

9. (11) Salernitana (8th) – 7194 (+159)

10. (12) Lecce (11th) – 7057 (+69)

11. (10) Mantova (14th) – 6967 (-79)

12. (14) Pisa (12th) – 6897 (+53)

13. (15) Atalanta (10th) – 6843 (+171)

14. (13) Palermo (15th) – 6819 (-73)

15. (16) Fiorentina (13th) – 6501 (+141)

16. (17) Viterbese (17th) – 6436 (+277)

17. (19) Alessandria (16th) – 6265 (+100)

18. (9) Siena (18th) – 6072 (-1030)

19. (18) Bari (20th) – 5669 (-1160)

20. (20) Torino (19th) – 5335 (-675)

Promoted Clubs:

Genoa – 6078

Sampdoria - 6123

Verona - 6060

Notes: After a turbulent season Savona lose a gigantic amount of reputation. They are still the best known club in Italy but it really cannot last much longer at the rate the club is going. Roma’s back to back titles have put them back on the map. Napoli take a further drop in rep as they still struggle to mount the kind of title challenge that was expected of them a couple of years ago. Viterbese are now beginning to look like a true Serie A side thanks to their back to back narrow escapes!

All three promoted sides have reasonable reputations but I think it will be more down to their managers ability to keep them up than this.

Elsewhere (Top 5 clubs outside Italy):

Arsenal – 9856 (+46)

Barcelona – 9829 (+15)

Man Utd – 9616 (+4)

Chelsea – 9601 (-7)

FC Bayern - 9513 (-)

Notes: Arsenal defeated Barcelona 1-0 in the Champions League final this year to take top spot in the reputation stakes. Barca still improve thanks to their 2nd final appearance in 2 years.

[tomsmith1989]

The average CA of the managers in Serie A has dropped quite a bit. I'm quite surprised really that it's around 120. I've always thought that a top league would have brilliant managers in it.

Savona look set to be knocked off the top in terms of reputation next season. -308 is a huge hit, and i'm surprised (yet again) that they've managed to stay on top by 30 points. I would've thought that Roma would have overtaken them this season. The top Italian sides are quite a way away from the tp 5 clubs in the world in terms of reputation.

[iacovone]

The average CA of the managers in Serie A has dropped quite a bit. I'm quite surprised really that it's around 120. I've always thought that a top league would have brilliant managers in it.

Savona look set to be knocked off the top in terms of reputation next season. -308 is a huge hit, and i'm surprised (yet again) that they've managed to stay on top by 30 points. I would've thought that Roma would have overtaken them this season. The top Italian sides are quite a way away from the tp 5 clubs in the world in terms of reputation.

Well I think that unless Savona have a fantastic season this year, Roma will overtake them in the rep stakes. I'm not sure why the Italian teams are so far behind the rest of Europe :confused:. Perhaps its something SI have implemented to prevent your chosen league becoming completely dominant after a few years?

The standard of managers in Serie A isn't great really but we do have a number of 60+'s who surely won't be around too much longer.

Transfer update coming right up...

[iacovone]

Season 2032/33

Summer Transfer Update

The first trophy-less season under Di Francesco’s stewardship meant that all eyes were cast on Savona’s treasure chest of funds. They remained the most reputable club in Italy and could attract just about anyone to the club within their ~£70m budget.

So with the arrival of July upon us, the window officially opened to trade. For Savona, July didn’t bring much in the way of excitement. Fans had to wait til August for the bigger money moves. Four players were brought to the club in July however, starting with young Giacomo Del Prete (19, 126/179) bought from Fiorentina for £750k following a co-ownership deal. He becomes another in the succession of young strikers bought by Savona.

Next up was an unusual signing – Peter Larsson (35, 165/178) a veteran Swede captured on a free transfer. The defensive midfielder will add some valuable experience but with an ever-aging squad at Savona, was it really necessary. Fans of the club were heard to be making comparisons between Larsson and the signing of Diego (the Werder Bremen attacking midfielder), who was signed back in 2017 in the twilight of his career. However despite the question marks over his age, Larsson is still more than capable and a much needed signing for the middle of the midfield.

The third signing of the summer came in the form of Italian goalkeeper Gianluca Traficante (31, 145/166), bought from Villarreal for £1.8m. Though it was a position that definitely needed filling, given Costanza’s impending decline, this was a badly judged call by Di Francesco. Traficante is neither young, nor particularly talented. Whoever recommended him should get the sack, though their one reprieve is the relatively cheap price tag.

The final July signing came from Italian rivals Lazio. Domenico Amoroso (29, 157/178) was a fairly good right winger, presumably signed as back up for Jimmy Blixt. The arranged departure of flop Manuel Canosa to Bari meant Di Francesco required additional back up for this flank – justification for Amoroso’s signing. At £4.9m Di Francesco got what he paid for really. Average.

Toward the end of July, Savona allowed two players to leave for fees. The first was striking back up player Giuseppe Turazza (24, 158/160) who despite achieving a reasonably good goals to games ratio was given permission to join Atletico Madrid for £8m. He becomes another Di Francesco ‘flop’ – he’d only been at the club for 12 months. The second significant departure was one that hit the fans like a ton of bricks. This hurts to write to be honest…the Savona legend and academy star Riccardo Rotunno left the club for Olympique Lyon for the cheap fee of £2.8m! He had been at Savona for 15 years and ideally would have retired there. His record of 236 goals in 531 games will stand for many years in my opinion. This is reason enough to name the academy the “Riccardo Rotunno Centre for Footballing Excellence” . Sounds good to me!

Moving back to the incoming transfers, August turned out to be a much more exciting month. Firstly Rick Bruno (30, 169/173), the Belgian DC/DM was bought for £9.25m from Juventus. Centre back was an important position to strengthen this summer and again Di Francesco has recognized this. On this occasion he has actually plugged the gap with real quality.

With Rotunno’s departure leaving a gap up top, Di Francesco paid £5.5m plus Danny Wilkins (22, 154/181) for Alessio Amenta (27, 162/198) a gifted yet unfulfilled prodigy. He will make useful cover up front.

The final signing of the summer was also the biggest – Andre De Juliis (29, 168/170 came from Napoli for £11m. The bizarre thing is that he is a right back! He is talented for sure but nowhere near the ability of Pecoraro. For the club to shell out £11m on a player that will rarely play shows bad foresight from Di Francesco.

Overall I think the fans will be disappointed with this window. The gaps were plugged but often with sub-standard players. Perhaps in Di Francesco’s aging state he is losing his touch for identifying talent. Whatever the reason this has surely added even further pressure on him for this season. I would say that the squad is weaker now than it was last year.

The major signing of the summer came from the AC Milan coffers. They spent a whopping £33.5m on French star striker Remi Benoit (23, 181/184) who you may remember as a former “one to watch” in the pre season world view reports. At Milan he should fulfill that potential and judging by his performances with the national team, should also become a big hit in Italy. Roma’s £17.75m signing of Englishman Danny Jenkins (26, 177/179) also deserves a mention. The central midfielder will be looking to establish himself in Serie A this year.

July 2032 Transfers

August 2032 Transfers

Savona Transfers Summer 2032

[iacovone]

Current Crop of Savona Stars 2032/33

Sorted by CA

Name - Pos - Age - CA/PA

Badini - ST - 29 - 190/191

Pecoraro - D/WB R - 31 - 188/197 (-3)

Quinto - AM RL - 27 - 187/188

Cardozo - AM C - 29 - 176/177

Cilona - DC, DM - 32 - 176/188 (-6)

Djuric – AMC – 29 – 171/176

Bruno – DC/DM – 30 – 169/173 (new entry)

Giannini - DC - 34 - 169/173 (-2)

De Juliis – DR – 29 – 168/170 (new entry)

Doria - MC - 31 - 168/176

Favero – MC – 22 – 168/174 (new entry)

Ali - AM RL, ST - 23 - 166/186 (+7)

Siviero – D/WB/ML – 27 – 166/167

Blixt - AM RL - 32 - 165/176 (-5)

Larsson – DM – 35 – 165/178 (new entry)

Amenta – ST – 27 – 162/198 (new entry)

Ardizzone – DRLC – 31 – 162/179 (-1)

Amoroso – AMR – 29 – 157/178 (new entry)

Lucchese – DC/DM – 23 – 154/159 (new entry)

Watson – DR – 27 – 150/174 (-12)

CA of X:

190: 1 (-1)

180: 2

170: 3 (-1)

160: 11 (+5)

150: 3 (-4)

140: 3 (+1)

130: 5 (-1)

120: 4 (+2)

110: 2

100: 5 (+2)

Notes: This paints a fairly clear picture I think. The majority of players in the top 20 have declined or remained stagnant compared to last year. Watson loses the most CA after a season of sitting on the bench. The main problem is that there is an absence of good youth players getting a game. Sami Ali is the only example and consequently we see him make a big CA jump again this year. Age is becoming a factor in the top end of this club – where are the next superstars going to come from? The new signings haven’t exactly been awe-inspiring.

Players absent from last years Top 20 Savona Players:

Rotunno – ST – 32 – 163/170 – sold to Lyon

Canosa – AMR – 26 – 154/194 – sold to Bari

Costanza – GK – 37 – 139/189 – dropped out of top 20

Turazza – ST – 24 – 158/160 – sold to Atletico Madrid

Bartoli – DLC – 27 – 162/176 – sold to Juventus

Guiducci – DM – 30 – 156/157 – sold to Catania

Crescibene – DC/DM – 33 – 142/171 – sold to Salernitana

Average CA of Top 20 Savona First Team Squad:

2029/30 – 163.5

2030/31 – 167.55

2031/32 – 169.15

2032/33 – 168.85

Notes: The first drop in average CA under Di Francesco. Could this be indicative of the times ahead? Its not a huge drop and whilst the overall strength of the squad could be argued to be well rounded, there are fewer superstars these days and seemingly none coming through either.

[iacovone]

Savona Youth Academy Prospects 2032/33

Top 10 by PA

Name - Position - Age - CA/PA

Manzi – ST – 16 – 80/177 (+6)

Scarlato - MC - 18 - 100/161 (+16)

Segreto – AMRC – 17 – 82/159 (+9)

Giannoccaro - DC - 18 - 100/159 (+16)

Sbarra - DL - 19 - 71/154 (+2)

Capozzi – AM/FC – 17 – 71/151 (+6)

Baggio - ST - 18 - 79/151 (+5)

Di Mauro – AMR – 16 – 86/148 (+11)

Di Muro – DC/DM – 19 – 72/144 (new entry)

Marrazzo – GK – 18 – 68/144 (new entry)

Notes: An awful batch of youngsters came through the academy and not one made it into the top 10 of PA in the U20’s! Gianmarco Manzi is still the one potential star in the youth team but failed to make any giant steps last year. He needs to improve much faster to get to that impressive PA. Giannoccaro and Scarlato have both improved considerably this past year and seem to be on their way to making a career in football. It is still unlikely to be at Savona however unless they suffer a massive drop in fortunes.

Players Dropped out of Top 10:

Innocenti - AMC - 19 - 100/176 (+8)

Landucci - AM/FC - 19 - 91/158 (+9)

Notes: Both players graduate from the youth team to the reserves this year. Innocenti could still make a good career out of himself but I would say Landucci is approaching the end of the road in reality. Innocenti needs to be farmed out somewhere soon to really have a good chance of achieving his potential. If he can make bigger steps Savona could have a fairly useful attacking midfielder.

[iacovone]

World View - The Stars of Today 2031/32

Top 10 by CA

Name - Pos - Age - Nation - Club - CA/PA

Michele Badini – ST – 29 – Italy – Savona – 190/191

Giuseppe De Falco – ST – 25 – Italy – Roma – 189/190

Roberto Pecoraro – D/WBR – 31 – Italy – Savona – 188/197 (-5)

Harrison Carvajal – DC – 31 – Colombia – Valencia – 188/190 (-1)

Julio Cesar – DR – 27 – Brazil – Roma – 187/189 (+1)

Giuseppe Quinto – AMRL – 27 – Italy – Savona – 187/188

Jean-Michel Curutchet – D/WBL – 27 – French – Roma – 187/188 (+1)

Matthew Curtis – DC – 26 – Australia – Barcelona – 187/188

Roberto Gallon – AMRC – 29 – Italy – Napoli – 186/192 (-1)

Andrea Cappellin – ST – 28 – 185/190 (new entry)

Former Top 10 Players:

Lorenzo Kwakman – ST – 32 – Holland – Napoli – 182/188 (-4)

Notes: First of all Lorenzo Kwakman finally drops out of the top 10 in the world. Age has finally slowed him down! We now only have one 190+ CA player in the whole world. Football has taken a turn for the worst! The young Roma full backs have both improved and cemented their places in the top 10. Andrea Cappellin the Inter striker is the new entry this year

And the Stars of Tomorrow

a selection of the best prospects around the globe

Name – position – age – nationality – club – CA/PA – (change from last year)

Jacob Robinson – ST – 21 – New Zealand – Grenoble – 144/199 (+11)

Awudu Amponsah – ST – 15 – Ghana – AshantiGold – 82/198 (new entry)

Okan Kaya – DRC – 19 – Turkey – Hannover – 147/197 (+16)

Souleymane Keita – AM/FC – 17 – Mali – Djoliba – 147/196 (new entry)

Bruno Cardinali – DC – 16 – Italy – AlbinoLeffe – 90/194 (new entry)

Wesley van Driel – DC – 20 – Holland – Ajax – 148/193 (new entry)

Cemal Akgun – DC/DM – 21 – Turkey – Fenerbahce – 149/191 (+15)

Luca Pettinato – DC/DM – 17 – Italy – Bologna – 118/189 (+17)

Francesco D’Urso – GK – 17 – Italy – AC Milan – 120/188 (+3)

Agostino Donato – ST – 21 – Italy – AC Milan – 173/187 (+28)

Tamerlan Gizatullin – DRC/DM/MRC – 18 – Ukraine – Werder Bremen – 163/183 (+21)

Caetano – ST – 18 – Brazil – Cruzeiro – 161/179 (+7)

Abdoulaye Diarrassouba – D/WBRL – 16 – Ivory Coast – ASEC – 111/171 (+2)

Notes: First of all let me regale you of the enormous ****-up Di Francesco has made! At the end of last season he allowed Agostino Donato to run his contract down and leave. Milan picked him up and now look at him . Awful decision by the boss and consequently Milan have one of the best young strikers in Italy. Jacob Robinson has made a much larger improvement this year and is edging closer to that impressive PA. He’ll have to try to engineer a further move from Grenoble to achieve this though in my opinion. We have a very exciting new entry this year in 15 year old Awudu Amponsah! He has phenomenal potential but as we appear to be learning he’ll need to move to a club with great training facilities to make the most of it. Keita and Cardinali are in equally good situations – both very young and highly talented.

Notable Previous Tips:

Alfio Novelli – DR – 20 – Italy – Castellarano – 110/189(+10)

Cosimo Damiano La Cagnina – ST – 23 – Italy – Verona – 150/188 (-3)

Enio Conceicao – DC – 22 – Brazil – Atletico Paranaense – 144/187 (+12)

Damiano Buonocore – DC – 23 – Italy – AC Milan – 180/195 (+20)

Paolo Ruggiero – AMR – 23 – Italy – Mantova - 135/195 (+4)

Stefano Ciccarelli – DM – 23 – Italy – FC Zurich – 153/189 (+6)

Paolo Vella – DC – 23 – Argentina – Bayern Munich – 182/184 (+2)

Remi Benoit – ST – 23 – France – AC Milan – 181/184 (+7)

Pei Zhi – AMC – 23 – China – Aris – 136/193 (+10)

Notes: Enio Conceicao has improved well in Brazil and should come close to reaching his PA. We will no doubt see him in Europe at some point. Damiano Buonocore is the most impressive in the list – since his move to AC Milan he has improved immeasurably and he now appears to be closing in on that great PA. I expect him to be in the top CA players list next season. It appears AC Milan are building an impressive squad at the moment.

[TaylorB]

How could Di Francesco sell Rotunno!? Surely he'll get the sack soon with some poor signings, a poor league performance and selling Rotunno heavily against him staying at the club.

Edit: Oh, and letting Agostino Donato go? Starting to get embarassing for Di Francesco, get someone who won't ruin the club in . IMO, Awudu Amponsah won't improve muc, maybe getting to a CA of 140ish, because he's at a poor club during his development years and the club and himself won't have the greatest reputation for clubs to come in and snap him up.

[rancer890]

Di Francesco is destroying the club with poor transfers and he sold Rotunno!!! :mad:

[iacovone]

Tell me about it . I was furious to read that he'd sold Rotunno. The greatest number 9 Savona have ever had deserved to retire at the club so close to his heart...damn Di Francesco!!! The Agostino Donato debacle is another criminal piece of negotiotion. TaylorB I think you're spot on about Awudu Amponsah - the only way he'll get close to that PA is if he's fortunate enough to be snapped up by a big club.

[tomsmith1989]

First of all, Rotunno Shame to see him leave, but it's probably in his best interests really. Di Francesco really hasn't impressed me. His judgement seems to have become quite poor. He'll be lucky to survive this season. (Little prediciton from me there)

Giacomo Del Prete - In my opinion, a good signing. He has a bit of room to grow, and at 19 he should fulfil that. He'll never be THE best, but he will be up there.

Peter Larsson - I think old is the word. Despite his age, he has a very good CA. Obviously he'll be on the decline from this point onwards, but considering eh was free then he will be a good purchase. Hopefully he can help some of the younger Savona players.

Gianluca Traficante - Not great. He's already 31, and his CA isn't amazing. I can see him getting any better, and will probably end up being a waste of money.

Domenico Amoroso - A half decent signing. He has a good CA, but again, age probably isn't on his side.

Giuseppe Turazza - His departure was a decent piece of business. A solid £8m price tag. It should allow the young ST Del Prete to get some game time hopefully. Could work out well for the team.

Rick Bruno - In my opinion, possibly his best transfer dealing this window. A very soldi CB who has both experience and a few more years ahead of him.

Alessio Amenta - Just spotted him. He'll probably mean that Del Prete won't get a look in this season. He's a good back-up ST, and should do the business when called upon.

Andre de Juliis - In normal circumstances he would be a great capture, but because Savona already have Pecoraro, then he is somewhat of a slip-up. A bit of a waste of £11m, and I can't imagine him getting in the team in front of Pecoraro.

Elsewhere, Remi Benoit is going to be a very exciting new addition to Serie A and I can see him causing all sorts of problems for defences throughout the league.

It's a shame to see the slight drop in quality (in terms of CA) in the Savona side, but I don't particularly think it's much weaker than that of last season.

It's also a shame to see that Savona don't have any real prospects coming from their youth academy. Manzi could turn into something special as he is only 16, and I have seen players improve by a huge margin given the right conditions, but I don't see Di Francesco managing him well, and he'll probably just fade away. Scarlato is starting to get a little old, but I could see him moving away from Savona and doing half decent for himself. The same can be said about Innocenti.

Jacob Robinson has shown a good level of improvement. His move to Grenoble has certainly kept the dream alive, but he'll probably need to move on now. Amponsah is exciting. He has a good CA for a 15 year old, and has the potnetial to reach the heights of the game. He's certainly one to watch, and i've noted his name down for the future Keita looks set to make it big. He's already within reach of a CA similar to that of some of the worlds best, and he has many years to improve yet. He's my tip to fulfil that potential.

(In the notes of that section you've put that "Keita and Cardinali are in equally good situations – both very young and highly talented." I'm guessing you meant Keita and Kaya?)

Di Francesco again has showed some clouded judgement by letting Donato leave on a free. That alone deserves the sack in my opinion. He's a brilliant player, and could come back to haunt Savona.

I'll say it again iacovone, great work Thoroughly enjoying this. As you know, my love for regens knows no bounds

[tomsmith1989]

IMO, Awudu Amponsah won't improve muc, maybe getting to a CA of 140ish, because he's at a poor club during his development years and the club and himself won't have the greatest reputation for clubs to come in and snap him up.

TaylorB I think you're spot on about Awudu Amponsah - the only way he'll get close to that PA is if he's fortunate enough to be snapped up by a big club.

I disagree :rolleyes:

[rancer890]

We want Keita and Amponsah at Savona!!!

Di Francesco: "You're gonna get sacked in the morning!!!"

[iacovone]

Tom thanks for your own round up - its as detailed as mine! And yes I did mean Kaya not Cardinali - that's now fixed. Much appreciated Mr. proof reader

I'd love a Savona manager to have the foresight to snap up one of those two African starlets. Sadly under Di Francesco I really cannot see it happening

[iacovone]

Savona – August to December 31st 2032 Report

Following from last years disappointing 6th placed finish and a far from convincing summer transfer window, Eusebio Di Francesco found himself under a fair bit of pressure heading into his 4th season as manager of Savona. With a handling pressure attribute of ‘17’ though, perhaps Di Francesco would shine in this situation. It appeared that chairman Amir Cohen would keep faith with him for at least the first half of the season, and then reassess after that.

With the loss of Rotunno, Michele Badini was appointed the club’s new vice-captain and rewarded the club with a fantastic hattrick in the Uefa Cup qualifying round home leg against familiar opposition in Zaragoza. A 3-1 away victory confirmed progress to the group stage with a 6-1 aggregate scoreline. Badini scored a brace in this game too. The league fixtures were favourable this year – two home games to kick off proceedings, beginning with the visit of Pisa. A second Badini hattrick condemned Pisa to a 4-0 loss and gave Di Francesco the boost the club and he needed.

A follow up 1-0 victory over last year’s runners up AC Milan (again Badini scored) showed Italy that Savona were perhaps not as much on the slide as their critics had believed! Badini grabbed a brace in the first Uefa Cup group game to take his tally to 11 in 5 games already!! They beat Atletico Madrid 4-1 at home.

Savona then won their next 3 league games to have a perfect 5 from 5 record and sit proudly on top of the table. An impressive 3-0 win away at now-strong Salernitana was followed by a breathtaking 7-1 away win at Fiorentina – which included a Roberto Pecoraro hattrick .

Catania became the first side to take points off Savona, battling to a 2-2 draw in Catania. Napoli then came to Savona to nick a point as well, temporarily slowing Savona down. A fine 5-2 win over Manchester City in the Uefa Cup got the club back on track and with confidence high they went to newly promoted Genoa and won 3-2. Viterbese were desptached 3-0 at home before champions Roma arrived in town. The eventual result shared the points evenly as Roma’s Giuseppe De Falco scored the crucial equalizer with just 5 minutes to go.

Another Badini brace, this time away at Atletico Madrid ensured a thrilling 4-3 victory and guaranteed progression to the next round. Badini kept this form up scoring two in the San Siro to defeat Inter 2-1 – an excellent result. They then slipped up against lowly Atalanta drawing 1-1 away, again Badini with the goal. This was reminiscent of last years many many dropped points to the lower league clubs and a memory Di Francesco was keen to rid from the club.

Badini was the man to rely on in this form, again scoring two, this time at home to Verona in a 3-0 win. A trip to Mantova was once a tricky affair but their recent decline under new manager Stefano Crisci coupled with Savona’s fabulous form this year meant it was a routine 3-1 victory. Unsurprisingly Badini scored another goal! This was becoming quite some season for the Italian international. A comfortable home tie against Greek side Aris was also routinely won 4-0 and who should score a hattrick? None other than Michele Badini. He banged another one in against Alessandria in a narrow 2-1 home victory before going on a 3 game dry spell.

Pisa were knocked out of the Italian Cup 3-0 thanks mainly to Domenico Amoroso (who is amazingly leaving the club in January after just 5 months here!) the scorer of two goals. Lecce nicked a point off Savona at their home to just peg back this juggernaut of a season before an under-strength side were sent to Manchester for the meaningless final game of the group. They would lose it 4-2 – the only defeat the club suffered in the whole of the first half of the season.

The above fact is the best indication of how Savona have performed in this period! Di Francesco really has stepped up to the plate and delivered for his fans and chairman this time. We all had doubts going into the season but thanks largely to new vice-captain Michele Badini’s goals they are flying high and sitting 2nd in the league. Normally Savona should be leading the pack but it is worth mentioning just how fantastically Roma are going at the moment in 1st place. They have only conceded 5 goals and are also unbeaten so far. They are a very strong side and will be tough to chase down.

Badini incidentally has a stunning 30 goals in 24 games in all competitions. A large majority have come in Europe but nonetheless he has been in breathtaking form.

In terms of the new signings Alessio Amenta has been the most disappointing – playing in just two games, both from the bench. Badini really has become undroppable, as well as un-restable as well! Youngster Lucio Borrelli (20, 138/179) has started one game up top. January signing Erik Favero has been in the best form of the new faces here, notching 14 appearances and scoring 4, assisting 5 goals and averaging a 7.38. very impressive by the young Italian CM.

Veteran Peter Larsson has played 9 times and done ok really. Rick Bruno (as TomSmith pointed out) has turned out to be their best signing of the summer. He has played the vast majority of games (25) and averaged an impressive 7.21 so far. Also rather surprisingly goalkeeper Gianluca Traficante has performed above expectations averaging 7.01.

For all you Riccardo Rotunno fans, you’ll be pleased to know he is in rip-roaring from in France. 11 in 12 league games and 12 in 15 in all competitions. The legend lives on!

As a new part of these reports I’m going to add in some screenshots to give you more of an idea of what is going on.

Table

Serie A Player Stats

Savona Results So Far

Savona Squad

Managerial Changes:

Looking at the table you can see how badly Fiorentina are doing this year. Consequently in mid-November elderly Maurizio D’Angelo (63, 107/120) was sacked and replaced by David Mancini (48, 153/153) in their last bid for survival. This was the only top-flight managerial change so far and indicates that overall teams are achieving what is expected of them. Mancini is a good appointment and has plenty of ability.

[TaylorB]

Well, I didn't expect to see Savona up near the top this season Glad to see Rotunno still doing well, although it would be so much nicer to see him ripping up Serie A and European defences along with Badini:(

Interesting that the signings haven't been as bad as I expected.

[tomsmith1989]

Di Francesco has certainly pulled his socks up. Savona seem to be in great form, and Badini is doing immensely. He's really showing that he is the best in the world. It's a shame Savona have dropped a few points to some of the lower ranked sides.

Traficante has proved me wrong. He seems to be very solid in goal and has a very decent average rating. Quite happy that Bruno has performed (thanks for the mention )

Hopefully Savona keep it up into the second half of the season.

[~Ian~]

Savona lost a lot of reputation there, next year will be even harder trying to get the title back.

And the transfer period didn't seem too exciting either, a few 170+ CA players but that's pretty much a given for a club at this level, nothing to really get the exctiment going in the very top bracket. A shame to see Rotunno going after his career in Savona.

The youth squad looks a bit disappointing now too, lots of the top ten look like they'd be good as back-up players, but not first choice.

Agostino Donato - Whoops, school boy error by Di Francesco there.

I predict Roma to take the title again this year, but wouldn't be surprised to see a Milan era soon.

And then I read the first half of the season update. I was ready to type a comment about Savona maybe struggling, but wow, they're going really well. Just need to cut down on the amount of draws. And Badini's form is stunning.

Top updates iacovone.

[Scott1990]

Wow, Roma's defense is amazing. I don't see Savona catching them if they continue like that.

[iacovone]

Savona – January Transfer Update 2033

Di Francesco’s £33m splurge in the summer and the slightly surprising good form of the first team meant that transfer activity would always be minimal. As it turned out Savona didn’t spend a penny this January instead just shifting a few players out.

Their good relationship with Lyon continued, this time Domenico Amoroso left for France in a £3.7m deal. He will be the latest summer signing to be considered a Di Francesco ‘flop’ after spending just 5 months at the club. The right winger was actually behind Sami Ali this season, not Jimmy Blixt who has had to settle for a substitute role this year.

Old hand Piero Ardizzone (31, 161/179) was also deemed surplus to requirements and moved to rivals Juventus. Savona managed to get an impressive £7m for a defender that was figured to be the weak link last year. Since Rick Bruno’s move to the club, Ardizzone has been marginalized and it was inevitable that he’d move to seek first team football in his final years.

The final ‘out’ was youngster Francesco Di Muro (19, 74/144) who was farmed out on loan to Cittadella. I’d usually not even mention the loan transfers but this window was so dull I felt I had to pad it out somehow!

Around the world a couple of big transfers took the eye in January. Leaders Roma clearly felt the pressure of the Savona challenge and took drastic measures, splashing out a massive £46m! £22m of this went on Juventus AML Alessandro Agosti (26, 171/174) as he made the switch to Rome. It’s a slightly odd signing however as Roma play a 5-3-2 formation at the moment so the need for wingers is minimal!

They also spent £16.75m on Pisa’s Paolo Tamiozzo (27, 165/169), a striker enjoying his best season this year with 14 goals in 20 games. He graduated from the Inter Milan academy but never played more than 10 league games in a season, despite being there for 9 years. My initial thoughts were that this is a bad career move for him, he seemed to have found his level at Pisa, a mid-table club where he was considered the main man. Pisa made a £16.75m profit on him, so it was good business on their behalf.

Ariel Sara (28, 166/192) a versatile left or right full back also joins Roma for £7.5m. The former Argentinean wonderkid never quite achieved what was expected of him but will provide great cover to both the Roma wing backs.

Finally a couple of former Savona players moved around the world. Danny Wilkins (23, 167/181) moved back to the UK after 7 years in Italy. He joined Liverpool for £9m from Catania. Former Savona academy product Maurizio Patti (22, 164/187) moved from Werder Bremen to Inter for £12.25m.

January Transfers 2033

[Romanista1994]

Wow, Roma's defense is amazing.I don't see Savona catching them if they continue like that.

Was about time that happened.

iacovone, I still haven't congratulated you on the completion of JoseRR's challenge (congrats ).

Great idea for an experiment and a great read. :thup:

[iacovone]

Savona Report – January to June 2033

What a difference 6 months can make – Di Francesco was seemingly on his last legs at Savona following the travesty of a 6th placed finish last season. However on January 1st 2033, the club was in the hunt for 3 trophies – the Italian Cup and Uefa Cup were very real possibilities whilst the league would require a gallant chase to catch champions Roma. Michele Badini was in stunning form in the first part of the year so his goals and presence would be vital if Savona were to succeed this year.

Badini scored in each of the first 4 games of 2033 – once in a 2-0 win away at Juve, a hattrick at home against Sampdoria, once again away in an Italian Cup win over AC Milan and again away at Lazio in the league. Two consecutive league draws with AC Milan and Salernitana kept Savona trailing in Roma’s wake as they started the New Year in exceptional form.

Savona changed gear in early February winning their next 6 league games over Pisa, Fiorentina, Palermo, Napoli, Catania and Genoa. Between these results they lost their 1st leg Uefa Cup game at Feyenoord 2-1. Badini grabbed the crucial away goal that proved vital following their 2-0 win in the return game. Savona also smashed Napoli 4-1 at home in the Italian Cup to take a commanding 1st leg lead in the semi finals.

Zenit were the Uefa Cup opponents in the second knockout round and proved a fairly easy test. A convincing 3-2 win in Russia thanks largely to a brace from Badini set them up for an easy night back in Italy. That game was won 3-0 at a canter and the club was into the quarter finals of the competition they won back in 2025.

The ease of the 2nd leg perhaps lulled the team into a false sense of security so that when the biggest game of the season approached – away at leaders Roma – the squad flopped. A tight 1-0 defeat gave Roma an even bigger advantage at the top of the table. They were 8 points clear with 10 games to go in what was clearly a two horse race for the title (Napoli were 9 points adrift in 3rd).

This was Savona’s first league defeat of the season and clearly shocked the squad as they lost their very next game – this time at home to Inter 2-1. Despite this set back, Di Francesco roused the players and they put together a great run of results in all competitions. They beat Viterbese 3-1 in the league before taking Hamburg to pieces in the Uefa Cup quarter finals, winning 3-0 at home and 3-1 away. Inter Milan would be the final obstacle in front of a Uefa Cup final appearance. Between the Hamburg games, a Badini brace secured a 3-0 home win over Atalanta – the league form was back on track.

Bottom of the league Verona were beaten 2-1 away before the 2nd leg of the Italian Cup was upon the club. After thrashing Napoli 4-1 in the first leg, a 2-0 defeat in Naples didn’t worry Savona too much and they were into their first cup final in 3 years! Juventus were their opponents for the game in late May.

Back in the league Juventus were beaten 3-2 at home to serve as a warning for the cup final. Savona were still in 2nd at this point but with a game in hand and only 2 points behind leaders Roma, Italian journalists were bracing themselves for a dramatic last few games.

A 3-1 loss in the San Siro severely dented hopes of a Uefa Cup final appearance, but the nature of the defeat gave Di Francesco hope. They’d created more chances but it had been one of those rare games in which Badini hadn’t scored! Mantova were thrashed 4-0 at home before the 2nd leg brought Inter back to Savona. With the Giuseppe Doria away goal from the 1st leg, there was hope for Di Francesco’s men. This proved to be crucial as a second half brace from Saudi winger Sami Ali confirmed Savona’s place in the Uefa Cup Final. A fantastic turnaround now set the club up for a tie against Dutch opponents PSV in the Porto stadium – the Dragao.

This progress gave the side confidence and they went to high flying Alessandria to win 2-1. They were still 2 points behind Roma but Savona had that crucial game in hand coming up against Lecce. Before the league drama could be reconciled, the Italian Cup final arrived. Much like the league encounter with Juventus 3 weeks ago, it was an entertaining affair. Big games call for big players and two stepped up. For Juventus, Mali striker, Kingsley Nagbe scored a brace, for Savona Michele Badini scored a brace as well. 2-2 after normal time meant the game moved to extra time and an early 93rd minute goal from Ivica Djuric sealed a fantastic Italian Cup win for Di Francesco and the club.

But the strain of 120 minutes of highly competitive football meant the team would face a tricky mental battle at home to Lecce, who by all accounts were massively overachieving in 8th place. It proved to be a real stumbling block and with Badini missing through injury, Savona lost 1-0 at home! It was an awful result and meant that the league title would now be completely in the hands of Roma. This league defeat preceded the Uefa Cup final – a game in which they were heavily seen as favourites against PSV.

PSV shocked the favourites though with an early 11th minute opener and it wasn’t until the 75th minute that Savona reacted. Badini (of course) scored the vital equalizing goal but then was subbed by Di Francesco to the disbelief of the watching world! He’d switched back to their regular formation and with young striker Lucio Borrelli on as a sub a few minutes earlier, Badini was deemed surplus to requirements for the final 15 minutes. It proved to be a massive error on Di Francesco’s behalf as PSV scored the winning goal in the 84th minute. Savona had no response and the Uefa Cup would fly back to Holland this year. A real missed opportunity for Savona.

The penultimate league game of the year at Genovese rivals Sampdoria confirmed the league would be heading to Roma for the 3rd year in a row as Di Francesco’s fatigued squad succumbed 2-1 to Sampa. The final day 4-1 win over Lazio was nothing if entertaining and the season was wrapped up on a rather dour note. 1 trophy was added to the cabinet this year but overall I think Savona could be slightly disappointed with the outcome in the other two competitions. For those wondering about Michele Badini’s final tally for the year, keep an eye out for the season summary post coming soon

Managerial Changes:

Juventus manager Gianpaolo Bellini (53, 103/105) did a frankly woeful job as new manager this year and was duly sacked in March. He'd been seen as the man to continue Vivarini's good work but the club have taken a major backward step this year. He was replaced by Schalke's manager Gianluca Franciosi (42, 111/111) as the club went for a youthful approach this time.

The end of March saw an interesting set of proceedings. Former Italy boss and Inter Milan manager Antonio D'Avino (39, 125/125) left the club to head to Spain as Valencia manager. Lazio boss David Suazo (53, 128/130) moved to one of his former playing clubs Inter. This is a good move on paper for Inter as D'Avino never really got going. He'd forged a good reputation with Italy but never lived up to this. They now have a more talented manager in Suazo.

The merry-go-round was complete once Lazio hired Gabriele Camaioni (50,177/179) as their new boss. He came from Barletta so would have plenty of points to prove but with an excellent CA/PA he could be a real acquisition.

Mantova also fired boss Stefano Crisci (43, 103/103) who had struggled from the minute he was charged with replacing legendary Vincenzo Vivarini. Mantova were confirmed as relegated from Serie A on the 29th May and immediately after the game Crisci was sacked. Daniele Gherardi (51, 170/170) was hired with the task of bringing them back up to the big time. He is another excellent manager so there is a good chance we'll be seeing Mantova back in Serie A.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Wow unlucky in the Uefa Cup and the league, so close, but Ithink the Cup may have just saved his bacon, unbelievable.