[FM11] If there's a fork in the road...take it...iacovone's "Around The World" Career

[AK22]

Transfers - not sure why it does this, but it is showing my transfers from last year too. Only focus on the transfers from 1/6/16 onwards.

I'm pretty sure there's a bug with the transfers in Italy where the transfer history screen isn't correct. It's happened in my save too, it's no big deal but is a bit confusing at times!

[iacovone]

I'm pretty sure there's a bug with the transfers in Italy where the transfer history screen isn't correct. It's happened in my save too, it's no big deal but is a bit confusing at times!

Very confusing! Maybe it is something to do with running leagues that have a Jan-Dec season?

[AK22]

Very confusing! Maybe it is something to do with running leagues that have a Jan-Dec season?

Yeah could be...but I think all the other European leagues I've got loaded are unaffected :confused:

I've had a look in the Bugs Forum and a couple of other people have reported this, no response from SI though...

[iacovone]

October 2016 Update

Serie C2/A - vs Renate (h) - 3-1 win

Back home to face the side we beat 5-0 away earlier in the season. It took us a bit of time to get going but once we did the goals began to flow again. Nicolo Dal Cin was given his first start and he rewarded us with his first goal for the club. Bocca and Viviani quickly added 2 more to take us in at half time 3-0 up. I thought that would be it but Renate did pull a goal back early in the 2nd half. However we kept the ball and held it together to hopefully get us back on track.

Coppa Italia di Lega Pro - 1st Round - vs Verona (h) - 1-0 win

The 1st Round saw us drawn against Serie C1 side Verona - a tough draw. We were immediately on the back foot but managed to sneak the opening goal from a corner. The own goal was well received! There were a couple of half chances for each side in the 2nd half but none were taken. Naturally I was pleased to take the 1-0 win and see us progress to the 2nd round.

Serie C2/A - vs Pavia (h) - 2-1 win

A great strike from 20 yards from midfielder Bocca set the ball rolling before he then slotted a lovely through ball to Craig Davies to tuck home his 7th goal of the season so far. The curse of the half time team talk got me though and Pavia came out and immediately pulled one back. Game on. Or was it? Pavia fell back into their shell and despite a raft of chances falling our way, the score remained the same. Another good win.

Serie C2/A - vs Trento (h) - 3-0 win

On paper an easy win. On the pitch. Well...Caretta got his first goal for the club in the 2nd minute with a nice close range finish. Captain Luppi bagged the second from the edge of the area and it looked worrying for newly promoted Trento. We did ease off a little but kept them firmly stuck int heir own half. Viviani's header rebounded off the post and then off their keeper to get our 3rd goal and that was how it remained. A simple 3 points.

Serie C2/A - vs Sudtirol Alto-Adige (a) - 3-0 win

Our first away game in a while took us to northern Italy. We struck early as Viviani was hacked down in the box. That left it to right back Fabi Canella (who was later stretchered off) to convert from the spot. Another injury, this time to Bocca saw us use 2 subs before half time. A disgusting foul from the Romanian striker Rusu saw him sent off on the stroke of half time. There was just enough time for substitute Casisa to lash one home off a pull back. We were battered and bruised but 2 up at half time. We kept control of the game and it was 3 for us following Kobussen's fine curling effort from 25 yards. Another great goal and we were flying. Any away win is good, but that was exceptional.

Coppa Italia di Lega Pro - 2nd Round - vs Mezzocorona (a) - 3-0 win

Mezzocorona may be Serie C1 but they are struggling in 15th. This is a winnable game even with our RB out for 4 weeks. We started superbly and after 1 minute Viviani had set up another own goal. We kept up the pressure and Viviani again was involved, hitting the post from a header. It was no surprise that he assisted the next goal, Craig Davies tapping in from a Viviani cross. Mezzacorona hit the bar just before half time but we took the 2 goal lead into the break. Second half and the same pattern continued - this time Viviani was slipped in on goal and he cooly tucked it away. The score stayed like this, Viviani was superb and we claimed a place in the 3rd round (coupled with £3k's worth of prize money)

Serie C2/A - vs Carpenedolo (a) - 1-1 draw

Carpenedolo had just beaten Lumezzane 1-0 at home so this was by no means an easy game despite their position of 14th. We did however have a right winger in fine form and it was Viviani who found himself in on goal once again. He took it well and slid the ball home to put us 1 up. After half time we shot ourselves in the foot - Vito Poggi giving the ball straight to their striker 10 yards out. 1-1. Tired legs were starting to show and we really had to hold on in the last 15 minutes and I ended up pleased to take an away point.

[iacovone]

November 2016 Update

Serie C2/A - vs Bellaria (h) - 2-1 win

Back home after 3 away games on the spin. We were expected to beat Bellaria even on the most treacherous pitch in football! The wingers linked up nicely on the 20th minute, Viviani crossing for Carretta to tap home. It was comfortable but we emerged from half time and conceded almost immediately. Not good. Carretta had a great opportunity on the hour to equalise but dragged it wide. Poggi then hit the post from a corner but van Akren his partner at centre back was on hand to tap home. 2-1 with 10 to play. We played out the last ten mins and took another 3 points.

Serie C2/A - vs Rodengo Saiano (a) - 0-1 loss

No idea what happened as they are not a strong side, but we were under the cosh all of the first half. I'd hoped we could make it to half time but they scored in the 46th minute to take a lead into the break. A quick b*llocking in the dressing room and Anderberg sent on for Viviani inspired a better 2nd half. We struggled to create though so I sent on a striker in place of my LB to go 3-3-4. Nothing seemed to work though and we trudged off defeated. Very disappointing.

Coppa Italia di Lega Pro - 2nd Group Stage - vs Lumezzane (a) - 0-1 loss

Bloody Lumezzane away AGAIN! This cup is odd. We're now into another group stage of 3 teams. Play only 2 games and just top of the group qualifies. Odd. Anyway for a change we found ourselves 1 down at Lumezzane following a series of missed tackles in the box. No matter the pressure we exerted, Lumezzane have our number. Another narrow loss to them

Serie C2/A - vs Carpi (h) - 1-0 win

Ah Carpi - I remember you. Still Carp I see. Giurdanello set us on our way with a nice solo goal. Plenty of pressure but no more goals. 3 points that I'm happy to take.

Coppa Italia di Lega Pro - 2nd Group Stage - vs Viareggio (h) - 3-1 win

C1 side who were expected to beat us. I had to beat them and hope they then beat Lumezzane to go through - pretty big mountain to climb. Davies reminded us of his existence with a nicely taken (but disallowed) goal on the half hour. 0-0 at half time, we came out slightly more cautious but found a way through with that man Viviani and a header. Minutes later Captain Luppi bent one in from distance to put us two up. A fantastic header brought the score back to 2-1 and I hoped we could hold on. We did and did so in style - Davies finishing a one on one with a calm chip.

Serie C2/A - vs Canavese (a) - 0-2 loss

A tough game away at 3rd placed Canavese, one in which we deemed favourites. A slow start led to both sides going in scoreless at half time but we were hit by a good strike to fall 1 behind on 55 minutes. We pressed but couldn't carve open a clear cut chance and as we moved for that equaliser we were hit again by another Canavese goal. Another away game without scoring.

[iacovone]

Woohoo! Viareggio did their job against Lumezzane in the cup and we top the group by 1 goal to move into the semi finals. There are 2 C1 sides (Mantova and Teramo) and us and Chieti from C2.

We got drawn up against Mantova who are 12th in C1A. We definitely stand a chance

[rlipscombe]

Very confusing! Maybe it is something to do with running leagues that have a Jan-Dec season?

it does it with my Messina save and i only have Italy running...

[BaritoneTrouble]

You've had quite a career, and this rare glimpse of success probably seems all the more epic. I have little time for these 'promotion after promotion' career threads (quite possibly because of my own ineptitude), so yours and the IK Tord thread are the ones I read through when no-one is watching at work.

[iacovone]

it does it with my Messina save and i only have Italy running...

Fair enough. Weird bug!

You've had quite a career, and this rare glimpse of success probably seems all the more epic. I have little time for these 'promotion after promotion' career threads (quite possibly because of my own ineptitude), so yours and the IK Tord thread are the ones I read through when no-one is watching at work.

Thanks Baritone. I'm the same to you. Its impressive to see people storm to success but I often find myself more interested in the careers where its a bit of a struggle in places before the success eventually comes. I'm glad my ineptitude is keeping you coming back to the thread

[iacovone]

This method of updating month by month is drastically slowing me down. Time to find a happy medium

December 2016 - Treviso

Only 3 games this month as the winter break approached. Keenly aware we had a poor November, it was vital to find some form to keep us in the promotion charge. Boy did we. Firstly an excellent away win at Como before the big game at home to runaway leaders Pro Vercelli. At the time they'd played 15, won 12 and drawn 3. They'd only conceded 2 goals FFS!

Well you can probably see where this going. Davies opened up the scoring and Viviani concluded it with a penalty. 2-0 to us and crucially a psychological blow. Pro Vercelli drew their next game completing a poor run of form. We on the other hand ran riot over Valenzana 3-0 at home to close the gap at the top to 5 points. Title race is officially back on!

[markyosullivan]

Nice to see you doing well for a change, KUTGW!

[iacovone]

January 2017 - Treviso

We played one friendly post winter break to get us back in shape - a simple 5-0 win over minnows Rosanese. The January program was just as short as December - just 3 league games.

Firstly we hosted Sambonifacese who we made light work of, strolling to a 3-1 victory. Craig Davies was on particularly good form having just signed a new contract - scoring twice. 5th placed Feralpi Salo were our next opponents, this time on the road.

Not too sure why but we massively underperformed. It was one of those games where every highlight went to them. Disappointing and a 2-1 loss with our goal a 94th minute consolation. Pro Vercelli meanwhile had drawn once and won once - keeping us at arms length.

The last match of the month saw us put Bassano to the sword. We really do have a hell of a record at home this year - W 10/D 1/L 0 ! This 3-0 win added to that and kept us close to Pro Vercelli - a 5 point gap.

So a promising January. Next month we have 3 league games and our cup semi final home and away legs. Exciting games for Treviso!

Final bit of news was the one addition I made to the side in the January transfer window. I can see Christian Giacalone doing very well here.

[DodgeeD]

Re: frequency of updates - a bit of a dilemma this, as I enjoy reading the detail of monthly updates (get more of a feel for how the season developed) but I also find it takes too much time away from playing to write them up for my own thread. I settled on transfer window updates and other updates when competitions are completed/ something significan happens, which suits me fine for now.

Great progress so far at Treviso. You look ideally poised to grab top spot at the moment

[AK22]

Looking good so far

[iacovone]

Re: frequency of updates - a bit of a dilemma this, as I enjoy reading the detail of monthly updates (get more of a feel for how the season developed) but I also find it takes too much time away from playing to write them up for my own thread. I settled on transfer window updates and other updates when competitions are completed/ something significan happens, which suits me fine for now.

Great progress so far at Treviso. You look ideally poised to grab top spot at the moment

Thanks DD . For what its worth I find your updates very readable and a good mix of images and text. Allow me to apologise in advance for any changes I make to my posting style. If I do 'borrow' some ideas just remember the old adage - "imitation is the greatest form of flattery"

[iacovone]

February 2017 - Treviso

The keen eyed among you would have noticed the table posted in my last update was a game into February. The game in question was an important 1-0 win away at Pergocrema, inching us even closer to top spot as Pro Vercelli lost at home to mid table Bellaria.

Lumezzane were our next opponents over at fortress Ommobono Tenni and it was a hell of a game. An OG gave us the lead on 34 minutes before they equalised just on half time. It was a very tight game and looked like the next goal would be key - but it was Lumezzane who scored it! Cue mass substitutions and a change in mentality. We went for it and not only pulled one back through Giurdanella, he then went and secured a dramatic win with minutes remaining. Absolutely crucial 3 points and a heroic comeback!

At this stage we were still 2 points behind Pro Vercelli. Next came Mantova, the C1 club in the cup semi final. We scored either side of half time in front of the home fans to take a 2-0 lead. As time ticked down though, Mantova's pressure told and they nicked a potentially crucial away goal in the last minute. Frustrating.

Back to the league and it was a trip to Pavia next. After opening the scoring early and adding a 2nd before half time we looked to be cruising. However Pavia scored right on half time. They then exerted a huge amount of pressure on us for the next 45 minutes despite falling 3-1 behind through Carretta's header. Volpe scored a consolation in the last seconds to provide another dramatic 3-2 scoreline! Pro Vercelli meanwhile couldn't keep up as they stumbled to a 3-1 loss at Canavese - we had top spot for the first time this year (and indeed in my 6 and a half year career!)

Flip back to the semi final 2nd leg and we fell behind after half an hour to Mantova. They led on away goals but the dogged determination we were beginning to get accustomed to in this Treviso side shone through. Craig Davies scored his 9th cup goal of the season to put us into the final 3-2 on aggregate! Awesome, a cup final .

Final game of the month was at home to Alto-Adige at home. The squad were pretty knackered (most 90% or below) but I opted to keep the faith with the main performers. They didn't disappoint, grinding out a 1-0 win to keep as at the summit of Serie C2A.

[iacovone]

March 2017 - Treviso

The month began with two away league games. Tough but both at sides expected to be battling relegation. As predicted by the media we disposed of both Renate 2-0 and Trento 3-0 whilst Pro Vercelli picked up 4 points in this time, leaving us 5 points clear at the top. A bit of a cushion before the next league game sandwiched between the cup final.

The first leg of the cup final was at home to Teramo. We came out of the blocks flying, Dutchman Kobussen slamming one home from the edge of the box to make it 1-0 after 19 minutes. Ten minutes later Nicola Carretta turned his man and slotted home to make it 2-0 - unbelievable scenes! It got better as Craig Davies scored 5 minutes later to take us in at half time 3-0 up! We kept it rigid in the second half and preserved that 3-0 aggregate lead for the second leg. One hand was on my first ever trophy!

Perhaps with an eye on the 2nd leg, we fell to a very disappointing 1-0 loss at home to Carpenedolo - our first of the season. It was a bit of a wonder strike that caught us out and one we just couldn't recover from. Fortunately Pro Vercelli could only draw, leaving us 4 points ahead.

The second leg was much tougher and we had Padelli in goal to thank for not falling behind early on. Having said that, Teramo did take the lead on the 15th minute but we came back into the game from here and despite not scoring, kept the score at 1-0 to claim our first trophy of the season

Back to the league and results this month left us in this position. Its going to be a very tight end to the season. Firstly we need to remember how to score and to stop losing!

[cerud]

Hey iacovone, I took your advise and have moved to Italy as well. Glad to see its working out for you So far, so good for me as well!

[iacovone]

Forums are back! Forums are back! Forums are back! Forums are back!

Got almost two season's of updates to get up on here. Hope I still have one reader left

[iacovone]

End of Season Round Up - Treviso - 2016/17

You'll have to forgive the lack of detail as I actually completed the season almost a month ago. I do have plenty of screenshots that should help though.

Following from my last update, we had 5 games to go and despite losing to contenders Pro Vercelli 1-0 away, we picked up 9 points from those potential 15 to seal the title, and add to our Serie C Trophy and complete the double! This meant moving into the Serie C2 Super Cup - a battle between the three winners of the Serie C2 leagues. A couple of good results later and I'd secured my 3rd trophy of an unforgettable season.

With promotion secure, I was hit by a mountain of congratulatory messages and news items. I won the manager of the year award, signed a new one year contract and saw the club sign a new sponsorship deal.

I was surprised to see only Luca Viviani make the Serie C2A team of the year, but its not a huge concern overall. The finances have more or less been at this level since I joined the club, so no change here really.

Our Team of the Year

Sander van Aken, our Dutch centre back won the fans player of the year

The Key Men that made it happen:

Vito Poggi

Sander van Aken

Glenn Kobussen

Giuseppe Bocca

Jacopo Luppi ©

Luca Viviani

Nicola Carretta

Giorgio Giurdanella

Craig Davies

With the season following this one almost at an end, I will do a more thorough update in the next installment. Needless to say I was delighted to finally find some success in this career. The only target next year was to remain in the third tier.

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| YEAR  |      CLUB      |   NATION   |  LEAGUE  | TIER | FINISH |                 ACHIEVEMENTS                  |      NOTES    |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2010/11|African Warriors|South Africa|  NFD/CS  |  2nd |   3rd  |                 NFD Cup R/Up                  |               |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|       |African Warriors|South Africa|  NFD/CS  |  2nd |   N/A  |                      N/A                      |Resigned in Nov|
|2011/12|                |            |          |      |        |                                               |               |
|       |    Carpi FC    |    Italy   | Serie C2B|  4th |   16th |                 Relegated                     |Resigned E.O.S.|
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|       |   Bromley FC   |   England  |    BSP   |  5th |   N/A  |                      N/A                      |Resigned in Oct|
|2012/13|    Sichuan     |    China   |Jia League|  2nd |   N/A  |                      N/A                      |Resigned in Apr|
|       |  Gubbio Calcio |    Italy   | Serie C2C|  4th |   14th |                 Won Playout                   |   Survived!   |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2013/14|  Gubbio Calcio |    Italy   | Serie C2C|  4th |   11th |                      N/A                      |Resigned E.O.S.|
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2014/15| Lokomotiv 1925 |  Bulgaria  | BPF Grupa|  2nd |   18th |                 Relegated                     |Resigned E.O.S.|
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2015/16|    Treviso     |    Italy   | Serie C2A|  4th |   6th  |                      N/A                      |               |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2016/17|    Treviso     |    Italy   | Serie C2A|  4th |   1st  |Promoted,Won Serie C Cup,Won Serie C Supercoppa|               |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[iacovone]

End of Season Roundup - Treviso - 2017/18

The board, media and my expectations all fell into line at the start of our first season in Serie C1A - to avoid relegation. Given the debt the club was in I had to offload a substantial number of squad players to free enough of the budget to add some quality to the remaining members of the squad. 8 players left, but 7 were brought in. The highlights are below:

Giampietro Grassi

Michele Andrisani

Simone Artuso

Nicolo Petrilli

Marcello Possenti

I was most excited about Grassi who would take the lead striking role from Craig Davies hands. Michele Andrisani also looked a very promising young defender.

As you might expect from a season under my management - it was far from dull. Despite assembling what I believed to be a strong squad, we began the season horribly. We only scored twice in the first 9 games FFS! Perhaps I was rotating the squad a bit too much - I'm unsure, but it was a start that anchored us to the foot of the table, and immediately made me very aware of how tough the season would be.

We didn't fare much better in the two cup competitions. In the Coppa Italia (Italian FA Cup) we lost in the second qualifying round to Lecce 3-1. In the Coppa Italia Pro (the trophy we won last year - just for Serie C clubs) we lost to Livorno from our division 2-0 in the first round.

Back to the league - it took us eleven games to record our first win, over Pro Patria and despite falling back to a couple of losses, it did jolt us into life eventually. The season was a case of two halves - the first half we may as well have not taken part, but the second! Well an entirely different story. I'd wager that it would have been playoff form if we'd maintained it over the course of the campaign. The difference was the emergence of form and confidence from Giampietro Grassi. He ended up with a solid 15 goals in all competitions and was the main reason we managed to climb off the bottom of the table.

In spite of our great closing run of form we completely cocked up the last day of the season, losing at home to already relegated Mezzocorona 1-0 forcing into a playout against rivals Venezia. Fortunately our form carried over and we triumphed 5-0 on aggregate.

Fixtures 1

Fixtures 2

League Table

As previously mentioned, one of the stars was new man Giampietro Grassi who helped himself to a tidy 15 goals over the season. Sander van Aken was unlucky to not start the season at centre back but once I realised the error, he was imperious again for us. Rightfully won the fans player of the year award. Simone Artuso another new signing was a rock at DM for us and at 23 years old has a bright future with us. Another new CM - Dario Venitucci found his form and shooting boots at the tail end of the year, much to my welcome relief. They were the key men this year.

van Aken also made the Serie C1A Team of the Year - the only Treviso player to do so.

Goal of the Season also went to Grassi, and Venitucci took 2nd with a stunning strike.

Grassi's:

[video=youtube;ik_s45Iky-A]

Venitucci's:

[video=youtube;lPx_p2-QU-c]

Over the course of the season there were two failed takeovers. The first was very exciting as a Tokyo based consortium spent 3 months deciding not to splash their Yen in Treviso. The second, a mere supporters trust, also failed. That leaves a third potential investment occurring over the next summer.

Despite this, the current incumbent injected cash and more cash. We also signed another new (and better) kit sponsorship deal.

Finally, our best eleven over the season.

All in all, I'm just pleased to still be in the division. With debts cleared, I can look to build a stronger squad to hopefully maintain the form we showed at the end of the season. There's still plenty to achieve here and definite foundations to move up another tier in time. I signed a new one year deal - sticking to my policy of not over committing to a club! Lets aim for mid table next year.

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| YEAR  |      CLUB      |   NATION   |  LEAGUE  | TIER | FINISH |                 ACHIEVEMENTS                  |      NOTES    |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2010/11|African Warriors|South Africa|  NFD/CS  |  2nd |   3rd  |                 NFD Cup R/Up                  |               |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|       |African Warriors|South Africa|  NFD/CS  |  2nd |   N/A  |                      N/A                      |Resigned in Nov|
|2011/12|                |            |          |      |        |                                               |               |
|       |    Carpi FC    |    Italy   | Serie C2B|  4th |   16th |                 Relegated                     |Resigned E.O.S.|
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|       |   Bromley FC   |   England  |    BSP   |  5th |   N/A  |                      N/A                      |Resigned in Oct|
|2012/13|    Sichuan     |    China   |Jia League|  2nd |   N/A  |                      N/A                      |Resigned in Apr|
|       |  Gubbio Calcio |    Italy   | Serie C2C|  4th |   14th |                 Won Playout                   |   Survived!   |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2013/14|  Gubbio Calcio |    Italy   | Serie C2C|  4th |   11th |                      N/A                      |Resigned E.O.S.|
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2014/15| Lokomotiv 1925 |  Bulgaria  | BPF Grupa|  2nd |   18th |                 Relegated                     |Resigned E.O.S.|
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2015/16|    Treviso     |    Italy   | Serie C2A|  4th |   6th  |                      N/A                      |               |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2016/17|    Treviso     |    Italy   | Serie C2A|  4th |   1st  |Promoted,Won Serie C Cup,Won Serie C Supercoppa|               |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2017/18|    Treviso     |    Italy   | Serie C1A|  4th |  14th  |               Survived Playout                |               |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[noikeee]

Bloody hell! A promotion! Is this still the same career, it sounds like I've entered a different thread?

I don't have the time to read all right now, but well done. Nicely done by that Grassi guy (particularly the goal), far better than my own Grassi I bought for my italian side, Luigi di Grassi. Got like 1 goal in 15 games and was picked as worst signing of the season!

[iacovone]

Thanks noikee - I was as shocked as you are! Perhaps I've turned a corner now...

[AK22]

Wow, well done on the promotion. Didn't see that coming!

Looks like you've got yourself a decent club with good a base to build on. Hopefully, you won't come a cropper when the board takeover finally materialises!

[iacovone]

World Cup 2018 Review - Hosts: Russia - Holders: France

Firstly the group stages:

The big absentees were Germany who have majorly dropped off the international scene. They're now ranked 29th in the world - unheard of!

Groups A - D

Groups E - H

The biggest shock here would be to see Euro 2016 semi finalists Scotland fall at the first hurdle. Tunisia topping a group including Spain is quite something but overall, no great shocks were witnessed in the group stages.

The Knockout Stages

USA 1-0 England. A repeat of the result that shocked the world in the 1950 World Cup. Though this time it wasn't in the group stages, but in the second round. The hosts Russia were smashed 4-1 by Argentina whilst Brazil lost in extra time to Nigeria. Spain meanwhile defeated Holland 2-1 after extra time.

The quarter finals saw a North American clash in which Mexico triumphed in extra time. Italy defeated the French whilst Argentina continued to score goals aplenty to put paid to Nigeria's dream run. Spain nudged their way past Portugal.

The semi finals were low scoring affairs. Italy ground out a very Italian 1-0 win over the Mexicans whilst Spain once again had to play 120 minutes, this time relying on penalties to defeat the Argentines. Higuain, Insua and Aguero were the villains for Argentina.

Mexico won the 3rd placed playoff 2-1.

The final saw a great fightback from the Spanish, having found themselves 1-0 down at half time. Inaki Algorta and Gerard Pique scored the goals that secured a second World Cup for the Spanish in an all European final.

Sergio Aguero won the Golden Shoe for his 8 goals in 7 games.

Javier Pastore picked up both the goal of the tournament award and the Golden Ball for best player at the tournament.

Roberto Mori won the Best Young Player award - another Argentine!

Salvatore Sirigu claimed an award for Italy with the best goalkeeper award.

Finally the Team of the Tournament - plenty of newgens starting to creep into the dream team, always good to see!

So that concludes the 2018 World Cup. Spain are the champions.

[FMtillidie]

Excellent read so far

[iacovone]

Excellent read so far

Thanks, appreciate it.

Just had a bit of a nightmare in preseason. My right winger Petrilli - who had been pretty good for us last year (but is on big wages) was wanted by two clubs for around £20k. Definitely money we could do with, plus we have an abundance of RM's. So I offered him to clubs (without listing him), hoping it'd be a subtle way of letting people know I didn't mind if he left. Hmmm.

Immediately he confronted me and said he felt let down. I tried to smooth things over in the conversation but he wouldn't back down. Said he felt alienated and could see no possible way of us working together again. So now I have listed him and expect to see him leave shortly. Not exactly how I hoped it'd pan out but there we go - we all know I'm a rubbish manager really

[iacovone]

Pre Season Build Up - Treviso - 2018/19

The media have taken a look at our great end to last season and have thrown a prediction of 17th at us. ie 3 places below last years finish. So it must have been a fluke. I think we could hit 10th this year.

I've been busy in the market. As many ins as out as I continue to strive to keep us under the wage budget (this has been achieved to date!). I kept to my promise of moving a couple of players on, so Giurdanella, Petrilli, De Fillippo and Gutzler left for a combined total of £31.5k - not small change at this level. Then I received a big bid for Andrisani - a young CB I signed last summer who underperformed in his first year. It made no sense to keep him so for £150k Andrisani moved to Gyor in Hungary. Enjoy that...

On the in side I made 6 signings. Hector Cinalli looks a very promising player and one that will initially play wide on the right, especially now that Petrilli has been moved on. On the other flank Mamadou Mendy was signed for a paltry £425. He will be a reasonable back up and at least has the pace to worry any opposing RBs.

With De Fillippo off and me releasing the vastly overpaid Swedish keeper Gustav Jansen, we were short a keeper. So I took on young Dutch keeper Ilias Bouas. As yet I'm not sure if he will start - my two keepers are at about the same level.

Addressing the rest of the squad, we lacked an attacking central midfielder, so I went off hunting. I returned with a Bosnian and a Latvian. There should be a joke in here somewhere...

Meet Mehmed Mujezinovic and Dmitrijs Starkovs. Both young, both potentially good/potentially bad. I haven't worked them out yet. On the plus side Starkovs is a genuine full international. That's experience you just can't buy! Except...I kind of did.

Finally, we needed a backup striker for Grassi, so I gave this man a contract - meet Federico Piovaccari.

That is it for transfers for now. We have the group stages of the Serie C Cup to start the season, followed by the first games of the league campaign. Excited? I am!

[pezza1]

Ok Iacovone, Ive caught up at last. Good to see you finally getting some well earned success!!

I have to echo BarritoneTrouble's sentiments, I also enjoy the carrer threads that are a bit of a struggle (as was pointed out earlier in the thread, that may be due to my own failings on this game!) so I have thoroughly enjoyed this one!!

KUTGW

[iacovone]

Cheers pezza, appreciate it

[DodgeeD]

Good to see things going well at Treviso.

No pressure this year and some good transfers - I'd say a mid-table safety is on the cards

[Nobby_McDonald]

Why is Scotland losing in the First Round of a World Cup a shock? They never get any further than that. They don't even qualify these days.

[iacovone]

Why is Scotland losing in the First Round of a World Cup a shock? They never get any further than that. They don't even qualify these days.

Fair point but given their run to the semi's in the Euro's the nations hopes were higher than yours!

[iacovone]

November 2018 Update

Given our dramatic (though actually quite comfortable) escape from the threat of relegation last year I was enthusiastic about our 2nd campaign in Serie C1A. We were still riding a wave of form from the back end of 2017/18 which I hoped to carry into the new year.

The Serie C Cup was first up - this year we were in the group stage 1st round and almost made a mess of qualifying. Losing to Como, drawing with Lumezzane but beating Lecco and Pro Patria to sneak through as a best placed runner up.

In the league we started slowly, losing twice, drawing thrice and recording just the solitary win over SPAL. October treated us much better though as we finally broke into our stride and notched three victories and a draw to rocket us up the table to our present position of 5th. I think we can maintain this and push for a playoff spot.

The 2nd Round of the cup saw us travel to Mezzacorona and win 3-1 with a Carretta hattrick. Can we win back the trophy we claimed in 2016/17?

Hector Cinalli, the Argentine winger we signed has started his Treviso career fantastically with 6 goals in 14 games, with 5 assists to boot. At 20 years old, he looks a player.

[FMtillidie]

good update and good luck with the rest of the season

[rancer890]

Nice start to the Serie C1 season iacovone. Keep it up and keep progressing upwards.

[iacovone]

Cheers chaps!

There's another potential takeover on the horizon at Treviso. This is the 4th one I've been subjected to. Wonder if it will actually happen this time...

[deltablue]

Good to see you're getting somewhere at last.

[iacovone]

So it completed:

The usual message that someone else will be coming in. Just need to hope that they find some faith in me.

On the plus side they seem to have a bit of cash and have wiped a debt of £80k and pumped another £140k in. So I now have a budget of £60k to spend - not that there's anyone I'm interested in at the moment. Hopefully I can get them to relay the pitch at some point - its been "terrible" for 3 years now!

[iacovone]

Survived!

I rewarded their faith in me with a heavy defeat at the league leaders Pro Vercelli

[cerud]

Great to see you back up and running iacovone! I took your advise and moved into Italy as well in my career thread with Fano. I've got a few updates to do, but it's been an amazing run so far!

[markyosullivan]

I've been following this from the start, good to see you do well and have a really successful season.

[B.W.G]

Made a good start to the season and nice to see your new chairman putting his faith in you

[Jimbokav1971]

I've just read through the first 3 seasons of updates.

You're useless! lol

errrr, what I actually mean is congratulations on keeping Gubbio up.

God some of them Gubbio players look actual gubbins! lol You have not got enough big fat useless blokes and instead seem to be opting for small useless blokes.

In all seriousness, you seem to be signing players with decent technical attributes but who struggle physically. Buy a few useless beasts and watch them tear up wherever you are now.

OMG! I've just seen you sign a Bulgarian with five physical stats below 6. Isn't that the legal definition of deceased?

Ohh. Some blokes at Treviso who can actually run and jump and stuff. I smell sweet success, (or rather not more awfulness), wafting round the corner.

OOh! Nicola Carretta is the first player I have seen you manage who I actually like. 6ft 3, 17 for jumping and 15 for heading. Please please please don't tell me you played him on the left? lol

Yep, Bellini will do for me too. Nice signing.

Noooooooooooooo! You are gonna play Nicolo Dal Cin up fron with Craaaaaaaaig Davies. What about Carretta? [slap]

As for updates, just do what you feel comfortable with. I'm enjoying the updates, (the losing ones more than the recent winning ones if I'm honest).

OMG, Treviso in top if the table shocker!

Congrats on the Championship. I see that after not starting much early on, (or at least not scoring for a while, Big Carretta eventually finished with 8 goals from 22(6) appearances in the league. Did he end up playing up front?

Artuso looks a decent signing. Not overly impressed with Grassi at all. (Shows how little I know).

There is no 2017/18 league table. I almost missed that it was a new full season. Maybe I have just missed it. Did I?

Cinalli looks good.

You's signed a midget! (Mendy)

Don't like the Bosnian or the Latvian.

Oooh! Piovaccari look like he could do a job. Nice.

Oh the new board kept you. Haven't they seen your CV?

Great read so far iacavone. I once played in Italy for a story that I was writing in FMS what seems to be about 10 years ago. Can't remember who I managed now....

Keep it up matey. Cracking good read.

[iacovone]

Haha Jimbo - thanks for the comments - really made me laugh. You managed to sum up my incompetence rather well

You are right - I need to add the 2017/18 table - I will do tonight.

Carretta has always played in the AML position but as an inside forward - so far this year is his best goalscoring season and we're only halfway through it! As expected he scores a LOT of headers. Cinalli has been just as good on the right wing - gets plenty of goals and assists.

Grassi - agreed. Originally didn't think he was that good but he scores fairly regularly and carries the ball brilliantly. Mendy is a backup winger but has done well so far. Piovaccari has done very well off the bench and as the backup striker (I only play 1 up front) so I'm pleased with him too.

The Bosnian and Latvian would be great if they could pass. They can't and as such are struggling to make an impression this year.

Thanks again for the comments

[AK22]

I've just read through the first 3 seasons of updates.

You're useless! lol

errrr, what I actually mean is congratulations on keeping Gubbio up.

God some of them Gubbio players look actual gubbins! lol You have not got enough big fat useless blokes and instead seem to be opting for small useless blokes.

In all seriousness, you seem to be signing players with decent technical attributes but who struggle physically. Buy a few useless beasts and watch them tear up wherever you are now.

OMG! I've just seen you sign a Bulgarian with five physical stats below 6. Isn't that the legal definition of deceased?

Ohh. Some blokes at Treviso who can actually run and jump and stuff. I smell sweet success, (or rather not more awfulness), wafting round the corner.

OOh! Nicola Carretta is the first player I have seen you manage who I actually like. 6ft 3, 17 for jumping and 15 for heading. Please please please don't tell me you played him on the left? lol

Yep, Bellini will do for me too. Nice signing.

Noooooooooooooo! You are gonna play Nicolo Dal Cin up fron with Craaaaaaaaig Davies. What about Carretta? [slap]

As for updates, just do what you feel comfortable with. I'm enjoying the updates, (the losing ones more than the recent winning ones if I'm honest).

OMG, Treviso in top if the table shocker!

Congrats on the Championship. I see that after not starting much early on, (or at least not scoring for a while, Big Carretta eventually finished with 8 goals from 22(6) appearances in the league. Did he end up playing up front?

Artuso looks a decent signing. Not overly impressed with Grassi at all. (Shows how little I know).

There is no 2017/18 league table. I almost missed that it was a new full season. Maybe I have just missed it. Did I?

Cinalli looks good.

You's signed a midget! (Mendy)

Don't like the Bosnian or the Latvian.

Oooh! Piovaccari look like he could do a job. Nice.

Oh the new board kept you. Haven't they seen your CV?

Great read so far iacavone. I once played in Italy for a story that I was writing in FMS what seems to be about 10 years ago. Can't remember who I managed now....

Keep it up matey. Cracking good read.

Best post since the forums have come back up!

[iacovone]

February 2019 Update

Having laid the foundations in the opening 10 league games for an attempt at reaching the playoffs, the winter period had to maintain such form.

November was simply superb. A clean sweep of 4 league wins from 4 and two cup wins meant we began to hunt Pro Vercelli and Verona at the top of the table. The front three of Grassi, Caretta and Cinalli were really starting to click and most of our goals came from this trio.

As December arrived though, our form dipped - on the road seemed to be the big problem as we completely forgot how to score. 1 goal in three away games meant we fell off the pace a little.

January's mini winter break (2 and a half weeks) gave the team time to recharge and me time to tweak the tactics. An away and a home 2-1 win got us back on track but January ended with a sloppy 1-0 defeat at Reggiana, despite having dominated the game. So although the table shows we are still very much in the hunt for promotion (particularly as Verona and Pro Vercelli are stuttering) we should actually have a few more points than we do.

Nonetheless, its been an encouraging three months and gives me great hope of stringing together a purple patch just in time to gain promotion.

[iacovone]

End of Season Round Up - Treviso - 2018/19

Following the last update we were still in the hunt for promotion with 13 games remaining. Although our form was a bit more patchy, we did maintain this challenge and finished a very respectable 3rd. It was a strange finish as nobody really laid claim to 1st place as form dipped across the league. With a bit more luck we could have claimed 1st place but to pretend I was unhappy with 3rd would be ridiculous - especially considering we finished 14th last year!

So to the playoffs. We took on Rimini first and despite absolutely dominating in the away first leg, we contrived to concede two late goals and lose 2-1. This left obvious work to be done at the home ground which had become a bit of a soft touch of late. Nonetheless we ground out the required result to take us to the playoff final on account of our higher league position. :o

In the final we met Pro Vercelli, the side that were promoted with us back in 2016/17. They had set a record this year of 30 games without losing in the league but had lost their form towards the end of the season, finishing 6th. The away game was a tight affair and I was delighted to take a draw home with us after Cinalli's late goal. That left us just having to avoid defeat at home to gain promotion to Serie B. There was a record crowd in attendance of 9996 expecting to see their Treviso rise to Serie B. We played well - kept the ball better, carved out better chances but struggled to find that goal. Pro Vercelli came out from half time looking stronger and suddenly began to put us under a bit of pressure. And then...it happened. Our achilles heel was exposed again and Lameau scored from a completely uncontested corner. With only 13 minutes remaining I threw everyone forward but we just couldn't score. In a hugely disappointing end to the season, we had choked.

Serie C Cup

A competition we have won previously (in Serie C2A), I always intended to take it seriously. So after scraping through the first group stage, we began a march towards the final. In the semi finals, we were the last remaining C1 side, facing off against Chieti who we easily disposed of. The final saw Milazzo stand in our way from a fourth trophy in three years. I expected us to roll them over quite easily to be honest but the two legged final arrived during a period of poor form and we lost the first leg 2-1 at home. Very poor. As soon as we conceded in the away leg, I knew it was over. We had choked here as well, losing 3-2 on aggregate. Again, hugely disappointing.

Fixtures 1

Fixtures 2

Final League Table

Looking reflectively at the season, it would seem a little odd that I'm disappointed, given that it is our 2nd campaign in the 3rd tier. It is odd, but yet I feel it is justified. We should have gone up and we should have won the Serie C Cup. A season of what ifs. We did win the overachiever award in the season summary though - indicating just how far we overturned expectations.

Over the summer there was a disastrous piece of news. One of (if not) our best player, Hector Cinalli was approached by Swiss side Luzern. The bid came in:

And he was sold over my head. The money is welcome of course, but I won't see much of it as £300k is going to be paid in monthly installments for 30 months! Its a disaster that we've lost Cinalli - he had so much to give, but I guess its symptomatic of us not gaining promotion. We will have a real job on our hands to hold on to fans player of the year, and top goalscorer Nicola Carretta.

Giampiero Grassi is another worth a mention. He is lightning on the pitch and creates so many chances of his own doing, his finishing is just a bit wayward at times. I'm thinking of training him to place his shots. He is another under transfer speculation.

A quick shout to our best two defenders this season. Captain and favoured personnel Sander van Aken led the team well and was more or less an ever-present. Our right back Christian Giacolone was superb this year and we really missed his presence towards the end of the season through a rib injury.

The turn of the new season saw another new sponsorship deal. Result.

The Best Eleven for the season is shown below.

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| YEAR  |      CLUB      |   NATION   |  LEAGUE  | TIER | FINISH |                 ACHIEVEMENTS                  |      NOTES    |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2010/11|African Warriors|South Africa|  NFD/CS  |  2nd |   3rd  |                 NFD Cup R/Up                  |               |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|       |African Warriors|South Africa|  NFD/CS  |  2nd |   N/A  |                      N/A                      |Resigned in Nov|
|2011/12|                |            |          |      |        |                                               |               |
|       |    Carpi FC    |    Italy   | Serie C2B|  4th |   16th |                 Relegated                     |Resigned E.O.S.|
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|       |   Bromley FC   |   England  |    BSP   |  5th |   N/A  |                      N/A                      |Resigned in Oct|
|2012/13|    Sichuan     |    China   |Jia League|  2nd |   N/A  |                      N/A                      |Resigned in Apr|
|       |  Gubbio Calcio |    Italy   | Serie C2C|  4th |   14th |                 Won Playout                   |   Survived!   |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2013/14|  Gubbio Calcio |    Italy   | Serie C2C|  4th |   11th |                      N/A                      |Resigned E.O.S.|
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2014/15| Lokomotiv 1925 |  Bulgaria  | BPF Grupa|  2nd |   18th |                 Relegated                     |Resigned E.O.S.|
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2015/16|    Treviso     |    Italy   | Serie C2A|  4th |   6th  |                      N/A                      |               |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2016/17|    Treviso     |    Italy   | Serie C2A|  4th |   1st  |Promoted,Won Serie C Cup,Won Serie C Supercoppa|               |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2017/18|    Treviso     |    Italy   | Serie C1A|  3rd |  14th  |               Survived Playout                |               |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|-----------------------------------------------|---------------|
|2018/19|    Treviso     |    Italy   | Serie C1A|  3rd |   3rd  |  Lost in Playoff Final and Serie C Cup Final  |               |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[AK22]

Really unlucky with the playoffs and Serie C Cup.

I'd much prefer the finals to be a one-leg affair played on a neutral ground, just like it is done in England. Unfortunately, it does look like your players choked a bit, is the average age of the squad quite low? It might beneficial to bring in a couple of wise-owls to help support the youngster in these 'big games'.

It looks like you've got some players of good quality and potential in your team, so it's a shame the chairman's gone over your head to sell your best player. Hopefully this won't unsettle the squad too much and you can push for promotion again next season

[iacovone]

Thanks AK. In terms of average age its 25 - 1 year above the league average so no problem there.

Strangely the fans were delighted with the departure of Cinelli as they recognised the money would benefit the club.