FM12 Big Euro Nation: Small Club to Big Club Challenge

[aldojags]

rlips basically what the guys said. Freitas is top drawer, so your sorted up front. Yeh only one or 2 additions and I've a feeling it'll be

Champions League sooner rather than later. A player like Jakovic would be handy to train a new position, maybe more central, he could do some damage in the middle too.

Thanks Romanista. The amazing run has continued. Played 3 league games since my last update, away to Lille, won 2-0, home to Bordeux, getting beat 2-0 at half time, won 3-2, and away to Stade Bretois 29, won 3-0. Superb. 5 wins from my first 6 games, got 15 of my targeted 40 points already. The boys have really stepped up, some of the guys I wasn't sure in Ligue 2 are rippin it up in Ligue 1. I'll stop updating you all now as if I keep going I won't need a season review! But I'm a lot more positive about my chances than I was 6 games ago.

[iacovone]

Unlucky rlips, I'm sure this plateau is only temporary. Having Freitas can only be a good thing in the long-run!

As for Novese - we beat Liverpool 5-4 on aggregate (after losing 3-2 at home) in the first KO round of the CL. Next up?

Atletico Madrid. Our past record against them is 2-1-1 from four group games down the years. If we beat them it's...

Lyon or Lazio. GREAT news. Lazio are eminently beatable and Lyon I'd fancy our chances. The other half of the draw has another two Italian sides - Inter and Genoa - both very beatable. United and Chelsea are the remaining sides and probably represent the worst case scenario.

At the risk of jinxing it...I feel this could be the year...

PS. New youth candidates joined - best was 2 star potential

EDIT: Update. We're through to the semi-final in the most nerve-wracking circumstances and face Lazio. Genoa vs Inter in the other semi-final. It's ALL ITALIAN from here and given our league superiority, that makes us favourites!

[PRDH]

Iacvone - sounds like this'll be your year. Hope you can avoid a shock.

[corinthiano]

Definately your year iacovone, best of luck!

[iacovone]

Cheers fellas. We beat Lazio 6-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals. Inter in the final at the Ataturk Stadium. They're 8th in Serie A...

Think it might well be third time lucky for us in the CL final

[iacovone]

[video=youtube;9GswxSRn9JA]

[PRDH]

iacovone - Congratulations! I can't imagine how tense you must have been when Inter scored their second. Great job!

[aldojags]

iacovone well in! You going to keep going even though you've completed?

[corinthiano]

Well done iacovone! Is it just me or is the stadium half empty?!

[iacovone]

End of Season Report - Novese - 2035/36 (Season 24) - Serie A

Serie A - 1st

For the first time in a while, the league campaign was tricky. We got off to a bad start as I tweaked the tactic into something more similar to a 4-4-2 as I seeked more balance. After a series of draws, a surprise loss to Atalanta we finally pulled it together and chased down Fiorentina.

By the midway stage we barely dropped points and we stormed to the title. As rotation became more necessary towards the end of the season, we did lose to Roma and Genoa but the league was effectively wrapped up at this stage.

So it was tighter than I'd have liked but was all part of the masterplan.

Results 1 | Results 2

Progess

Champions League:

Our group was simple enough and we won four and drew two to qualify atop PSG, Maccabi Haifa and Atletico Madrid.

Liverpool awaited us in the 1st KO round and an impressive 3-1 win at Anfield put us in charge. Though we lost the return game 3-2, we qualified for the quarters.

Here we met our group rivals Atletico Madrid. The first game in Madrid was difficult and although we looked to have escaped with a 1-1 draw courtesy of Steve's strike, they snatched a late winner meaning we'd have to overturn a deficit at home.

A good first half saw us in at the break ahead 2-1 with the tie level on aggregate. In an even second half we couldn't find a winner and saw the game to extra time. An early disallowed goal suggested it may not be our night but after Mensah was red-carded, van Roosmalen stepped up to the spot to convert a penalty for his 2nd of the night and to see us into the semi-finals.

Here it was an all-Italian affair.

We'd beaten Lazio 2-1 and 2-0 in the league but the first semi-final at the Olimpico was tougher. We fell behind but a Bardales double looked to hand us a huge advantage. Lazio's pressure told though and two late goals consigned us to a 3-2 defeat.

We raced into the lead at home and doubled it through Bardales again in the 70th minute. Though they pulled one back, Della Corna grabbed his second at the death to take us to the final.

We faced Inter, a team we'd drawn 2-2 with and hammered 6-0 when under different management earlier in the season. Not much had changed as we flew into a 2-0 half-time lead thanks to Dobrovolny and Della Corna. Dobrovolny's second after the break looked to have sealed it until Inter pulled two back. van Roosmalen's late solo goal wrapped it up for us though and I can proudly say CHALLENGE COMPLETE.

Best Squad

TIM Cup:

Played the reserves and they went all the way to the final where they overturned a 2-0 deficit to beat Genoa 4-2.

The Squad:

Goalkeepers

Lautaro Corno (GK) - Number one for the whole season and was ever reliable

Wallace (GK) - lost his place and then lost his rag, asking to leave in January. He'll be off in the summer after just two years here. A rare flop at £10.25m

Oier Perez (GK) - played in the TIM Cup and the softer league games, looks a great prospect.

Defenders

Kevin Schultz (DRC/WBR) - a colossus as usual. Started at CB but following a four month injury to Iglesias played the rest of the season at RB.

Djelimory Macalou (DLC/WBL/DM) - played lots of games this year primarily at left-back as he shared the role with Andreuzza. Improved drastically over the year.

Pirulito (DC) - had to be the main man at CB once Schultz went to RB and did very well. Suffered a dip in form at the end of the year but was impressive overall.

Emiliano Caro (DC/DM/MC) - with Iglesias injured, Caro moved to CB for the second half of the season. Not his natural position but did very well for us.

Carlos Matias Iglesias (D/WBRL) - began the year well but suffered a torn calf and was out for half the year.

Oscar Andreuzza (D/WBL/DM/MC) - started as first choice LB but now I'm not sure. Happy to have him competing with Macalou over the next few years.

Midfielders

Saul Garcia (DC/DM/MC) - found it hard to play regularly for us and has his contract expiring in the summer. He'll be gone.

Omer Yoney (DM/MC) - was more integral this year and contributed slightly more. Wasn't as consistent but a dependable midfielder.

Bernardo Velazquez (MRC) - a torn calf in the middle of the season disrupted his campaign but he came back well to help win us the treble.

Apostolos Zarkos (MRL/AMR) - rotated with Della Corna and provided plenty of assists from the right.

Alfredo Casillas (MC) - not as good as his first season which was disappointing because Velazquez's injury gave him a chance to shine. Still very talented.

Luca Della Corna (M/AMR) - as ever, contributed goals and assists including one in the CL final. He's hit 30 now but is still retaining his pace so it'll be a while before he bows out.

Emiliano Malbernat (M/AMRC) - came up from the U20s this year to contribute in the cups and the more straightforward league games. In his 24 games he did well and showed plenty of promise for the coming years.

Ally Guillano (M/AML) - will only ever be back up to van Roosmalen but he does his job admirably on the left. He's a great back-up to have.

Peter van Roosmalen (AMRL/ST) - the World Player of the Year broke his own assists record this year with 29. He also scored a stunning 27 goals meaning he contributed to a whopping 56 of our goals this year! Such a player and still 28.

Forwards

Carlo Ripa (AMRC/ST) - struggled to get games this year but did play enough to set a new record. His 371 league appearances beat Ricardo Tantardini and his haul of 140 league goals stands as a Novese record. His contract is up and at 32 it's time to say goodbye to a club legend.

Sebastian Pasquali (ST) - not at his absolute best this year but still managed 28 in 35. A pulled hamstring kept him out of the CL final.

Steve (ST) - became 3rd choice this year but was always ready to come in and bang the goals away. Hit 21 in 22 starts and was a reliable back-up.

Oscar Bardales (ST) - the new £30m man came in and immediately looked at home. He and Pasquali up front are formidable in the extreme. 30 in 33 starts indicates just how potent he can be.

Eduard Dobrovolny (ST) - I love him. He was 3rd choice last year but 4th choice this year and still hit 18 goals in 22 starts. It was between him and Steve for the CL final and I went with the Czech man. He didn't disappoint bagging two in the final! He has a great future here and at 21 has at least 10 years in Novese colours.

Honourable Mention

Robert van Gool (ST) - I've honestly not had a player dominate a youth season as much as van Gool. At 19 he's a serious prospect, confirmed by his 81 goals in 47 youth team games that won the U20's the cup and league double! Worth keeping an eye on!

Squad Stats

Finances

Club Information

Facilities

Transfers

The news I've been waiting for!

The loan is pretty hefty at £161m but regular CL participation should cover the £1.3m we owe monthly. Cilona Park - has a nice ring to it

I also managed to convince the board to improve the youth facilities again as well as increase the junior coaching budget. I'm hoping to expand the recruitment network too. We're still yet to find a single player with a potential of over 2 stars since making Serie A. This is not good.

Objectives Complete?

• Make the CL semi-finals
  

Success! Yep. Won the thing!

• Devise a more robust tactic
  

Success! Moving the anchorman into CB achieved that.

• Have an unbeaten league season
  

Failed. Lost three in the end.

New Objectives:

• Win the World Club Cup
  
• Win back-to-back CL's
  
• Have an unbeaten league season
  

With the challenge complete it's now time to aim for the stars. We need to first claim the WCC and hopefully begin retaining the CL. We have a new stadium on the way and hopefully by then we'll have some decent academy prospects coming through. I'd love to develop a squad of academy graduates in time.

Joining us in Serie A this season are: Verona,. Departing Serie A are: Albinoleffe, Livorno and Bari - all three promoted clubs.

Seasonal Best Eleven

Overall Best Eleven

[iacovone]

iacovone - Congratulations! I can't imagine how tense you must have been when Inter scored their second. Great job!

I thought we'd wrapped it up after the 3rd so had massively relaxed. Even after the 1st I was ok. Then the 2nd went in and it was all hands to the pump! Tactical changes, subs, everything. Then van Roosmalen stepped up to seal it

iacovone well in! You going to keep going even though you've completed?

Yep 100%. I am considering opening up a few more leagues though just to get a bit more depth going forward. Would anyone have any objections to that?

Well done iacovone! Is it just me or is the stadium half empty?!

I thought that too! But the news item said over 80,000 tickets had been sold :confused:

[aldojags]

Yep 100%. I am considering opening up a few more leagues though just to get a bit more depth going forward. Would anyone have any objections to that?

Why would anyone have a problem, you've completed the challenge, getting a stadium named after you! Mate your a legend, do what you want! How cool is that getting the stadium named after you, I would never want to quit that save, that is phenomenal!

[Romanista1994]

Great stuff iacovone, congrats for the completion! How many times have you completed the challenge now? Glad that you're going to be continuing, I think you'll be able to make Novese bigger still.

[iacovone]

Why would anyone have a problem, you've completed the challenge, getting a stadium named after you! Mate your a legend, do what you want! How cool is that getting the stadium named after you, I would never want to quit that save, that is phenomenal!

Yeah you're right! Screw it - added the Spanish, French, German, English and Russian leagues as they're the top 6 in the world. I'm absolutely ecstatic that I've had the stadium named after me. I think it's the first time I've achieved that on any FM, which given how many long-term saves I play, is quite surprising.

Great stuff iacovone, congrats for the completion! How many times have you completed the challenge now? Glad that you're going to be continuing, I think you'll be able to make Novese bigger still.

That's the second time I've completed the challenge. Did it with Savona on FM09 IIRC. I made the final of the CL with Slavonija in Gundo's challenge on FM07 but Savona was my best attempt for this challenge. I don't see the point in starting a new file. I'm so immersed in my game world that it would be a waste of time restarting. Plus being able to add and remove leagues means I can move my career around the world if I decide to leave Novese. I may do that at some stage but not just yet.

[PRDH]

iacovone - Of course you have to stay around here with your new leagues!! I've never stopped playing the games after completion either, I'm too involved in the universe it feels wrong going back to having real players knocking about. When (please, please, please) I complete I'm definitely sticking around. I think my Romorantin team moved into the Harmer Arena eventually. It was a cracking stadium. Retractable roof, 70k seats, marvellous.

Edit - Blimey! In my universe Barcelona have just failed to emerge from the CL Group. Does that open the door for me? No, almost certainly not...

[Thandui]

Hey I might start this challenge, recently I've much preferred starting in lower divisions and building my way up to the top, rather than just starting as a big club. Do you find that having just 1 league active means you don't get that many players and are the Europa Cup and Champions League still really competitive? And I guess the game is a lot quicker? As my computer is very slow, it might be best if I have very little leagues running, like this Thanks

[PRDH]

Hey I might start this challenge, recently I've much preferred starting in lower divisions and building my way up to the top, rather than just starting as a big club. Do you find that having just 1 league active means you don't get that many players and are the Europa Cup and Champions League still really competitive? And I guess the game is a lot quicker? As my computer is very slow, it might be best if I have very little leagues running, like this Thanks

Jump in. It's great fun, but then I'm biased, I've been here for the past five years! There seem to be plenty of players around in my game and the European competitions are still competitive enough for me, too competitive if anything, I can't win the pesky thing!

[iacovone]

Hey I might start this challenge, recently I've much preferred starting in lower divisions and building my way up to the top, rather than just starting as a big club. Do you find that having just 1 league active means you don't get that many players and are the Europa Cup and Champions League still really competitive? And I guess the game is a lot quicker? As my computer is very slow, it might be best if I have very little leagues running, like this Thanks

Talk to PRDH about whether the CL is still competitive...

In terms of players, my Italian league is full of Brazilians, Argentinians, Frenchmen, there's barely any room for the Italians.

[corinthiano]

Hey I might start this challenge, recently I've much preferred starting in lower divisions and building my way up to the top, rather than just starting as a big club. Do you find that having just 1 league active means you don't get that many players and are the Europa Cup and Champions League still really competitive? And I guess the game is a lot quicker? As my computer is very slow, it might be best if I have very little leagues running, like this Thanks

It is allowed to load players from the top clubs from every continent, which means the European Competitions remain competitive and there is plenty of talent to scout on a worldwide basis

[Thandui]

Thanks for the quick responses I'm really tempted to join in now, might start posting as well, to make sure that I keep up my interest in it, now just to decide which league, I'm thinking either Spain or France?

[iacovone]

Phew! Almost had a disastrous start to the next season! Man City met the £54million release clause for Kevin Schultz. Luckily I upped his wages to a staggering £160,000 per week to keep him here. Relief! He is a world-class centre-back in the description btw

[Romanista1994]

Just found a nice touch from SI. I have Roma set as a favourite club for my manager and they have produced a Spanish/Basque centreback who is born in Barakaldo (and is 203 cm tall). I'll be looking to sign him/loan him in the future.

Good luck Thandui wherever you decide to go.

[iacovone]

Also I want to document the rise of Adiel Vergara, our 15-year-old winger. Signed for £5m as a 14-year-old I'm still not convinced he's going to be all that special. Coaches suggest he has 4 star potential and will be one of the great players in the world. We shall see!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Woohooo Well Done Iacovone, delighted to see you complete. That was just an epic season, and your team is truly full of world class players.

Glad to hear you will be continuing, and at Cilona Park nonetheless. I remember Tiny Stadium with Evora on FM 10, was just epic.

[PRDH]

Cruel iacovone!

Draw for the 1st Knockout Rd has been made. We're off to Besiktas. That's a winnable game I think.

[Thandui]

I've gone with Spain and I should have my team and my manager screenshot up as soon as the holiday is complete!

[rlipscombe]

iacovone - \o/ well done!! delighted for you. must admit i was getting tense watching the highlights - great touch by the way doing that! great to hear you're continuing and in a new stadium. looking forward to seeing your future progress

PRDH - good luck against Besiktas - winnable for sure.

Thandui - welcome to the challenge and good luck in Spain.

[Thandui]

After long deliberation and the Chelsea game, I can finally post some details on my team. Firstly here is my manager profile.

As you can see from my profile, I am now the proud manager of Terrassa!

It seems I have a decent squad, not terrible and not amazing, just right for me to influence (hopefully)

and my targets set by the board, I hope to aim for mid-table

Now all I can say is:

"Terrassa, Terrassa,Terrassa, Terrassa.

Endavant, endavant,

endavant, endavant,

el Terrassa sempre triomfant.!"

​Will do a bit more later, just want to get into it atm.

[PRDH]

Ack! First points dropped of the season. Admittedly it's the 14th game of the season, but still - shoddy!

[Romanista1994]

Thandui - I just had a look in-game at Terrassa and they look like a club that could be built up quite well, the big stadium will be useful once you get promoted.

[Thandui]

Thandui - I just had a look in-game at Terrassa and they look like a club that could be built up quite well, the big stadium will be useful once you get promoted.

Ah good to know The stadium was one of the key reasons I chose them, as well as their "Good training facilities".

EDIT: Just managed to sign this guy: Nico - Looks phenomenal!

[PRDH]

Cardoso has just become the leading goalscorer in Lusitânia Açores history. He's 23.

[iacovone]

Cardoso has just become the leading goalscorer in Lusitânia Açores history. He's 23.

Epic! Welcome Thandui, good luck with Terrassa

As for Novese - I've loaded the five leagues I mentioned and noticed an immediate difference. I hadn't thought about it before but because a lot of the squads in the leagues I loaded weren't complete, FM has generated players of all different ages to fill gaps. So, suddenly there's a large influx of top class talent in my game! Whilst I've not looked to bolster my squad, the rest of Serie A has. So I'm expecting this season to be really tough to be honest. We'll see how it plays out

[aldojags]

Good on you mate continuing with your game. Be a shame to lose you from the thread!

Best of luck to thandui looking forward to your progress through the leagues comrade.

[PRDH]

First leg of the Besiktas tie played. I said it might be a winnable tie. I'm not so sure now. We went to Turkey in the first leg and, with Cardoso injured, we only managed a 0-6 victory. Puts our place in real peril for the return leg. </sarcasm>

[corinthiano]

NIce win PRDH, good to be able to rest some players for the return.

Just got knocked out of Europe last night, Lost 5-3 on aggregate to Stuttgart in the Quarters of the EL, seeing as it is only our third European campaign I am pretty pleased, although Stuttgart was winnable as we had knocked out teams like Werder Bremen, Osasuna, Galatasaray and HSV before.

[rlipscombe]

PRDH - cracking away win there. comfortable home leg to come and a chance to rotate the squad.

Thandui - good luck with Terrassa. a solid team there to get you on your way.

iacovone - be interesting to see how the adding of the leagues changes the strength of Serie A over the next couple of seasons....

[iacovone]

PRDH - cracking away win there. comfortable home leg to come and a chance to rotate the squad.

Thandui - good luck with Terrassa. a solid team there to get you on your way.

iacovone - be interesting to see how the adding of the leagues changes the strength of Serie A over the next couple of seasons....

Absolutely, I'm really intrigued by it actually. There's so many more transfers occurring in Italy and abroad now. First test is in the European Super Cup against Leverkusen but I have a feeling the CL will become a bit tougher (although I still found the latter stages tough anyway!)

PRDH - decent effort I suppose...is Cardoso badly injured?

[PRDH]

PRDH - decent effort I suppose...is Cardoso badly injured?

Achilles problem, 2-3 months out, he's now halfway through it. Might be back for the CL quarters, if I can pull result out against Besiktas.

[iacovone]

Achilles problem, 2-3 months out, he's now halfway through it. Might be back for the CL quarters, if I can pull result out against Besiktas.

Tough break. Sounds like he might have the chance to play in a quarter final though

I've just looked at the worldwide club reputations in my game and we're 9th worldwide and 1st in Italy. So despite having 4 teams in the semi-finals of last year's CL, a winner and a winner of the European Super Cup we're still lagging as a nation. Oh and Italy won Euro 2036....I reckon it's something to do with playable leagues - perhaps reputations are fixed in non-playable leagues, I don't know. Nonetheless it'll be another interesting experiment to see how this alters over the next few years.

[PRDH]

iacovone - Yeah, hope so. I wouldn't fancy playing a better team without him.

Rested a few players for the return leg and got a 1-1 draw. Into the quarters.

Edit - In terms of turnarounds though. Benfica just came back from 3-0 down after the first leg to put out Man Utd. A few shocks falling around this season.

[iacovone]

iacovone - Yeah, hope so. I wouldn't fancy playing a better team without him.

Rested a few players for the return leg and got a 1-1 draw. Into the quarters.

Edit - In terms of turnarounds though. Benfica just came back from 3-0 down after the first leg to put out Man Utd. A few shocks falling around this season.

Very impressive. Who do you have next?

Last year I only met Lazio in the semi's because they overturned a 3-0 deficit to Lyon too. Won 5-0 at home

[PRDH]

Very impressive. Who do you have next?

Last year I only met Lazio in the semi's because they overturned a 3-0 deficit to Lyon too. Won 5-0 at home

Draw not been made yet. Still waiting for the rest of the matches to be played.

[iacovone]

Cool. We've been made 11/1 shots for the CL. I'd be all over that IRL!

We're in a group with Bayern, PSG (again) and APOEL. Should be straightforward enough.

[PRDH]

iacovone - I'd be willing to put money on that if you offered those odds!

It's that time of year again. The time for new youth products. It's a slightly disappointing crop this year, no real stand outs, but a few players who might make the grade, just. Also, none of the decent lot come from the Azores. Anyway, I'll do a little introduction as they won't get mentioned in the end of season report as there are no games for them to play in.

Paul Bossman is the highest rated of the bunch, I'm not convinced by him, but there is a decent grounding in his technical abilities, while mentally he's already decent. His physical stats need some real work. He's Ghanaian by birth but does have Portuguese citizenship. My assistant gives him three stars, which is what Teixeira emerged with I believe.

Moussa Sidibé also has three-star potential. This time a winger, he again doesn't have stand out ability, he's certainly not ready for the first team, but has passable stats in some key areas. Born in Guinea he also has Portuguese nationality.

Luis Miguel is a Portuguese centre half who was born on the mainland, slightly disappointed not to have any good Azoreans as most of the other top prospects do have their roots on one of the islands, and most of them on my little island of Terceira. Again, not first team ready, but with the right training could turn into a decent centre half. He has 2.5-star potential.

Finally is another centre half. Saad Falah was born in Iraq but again has secondary Portuguese nationality. He only has two-star potential, but I think, depending on how he progresses in training, that he could have some future at the club.

[corinthiano]

That is apretty international intake there! At what level is your Youth Recruitment Network?

[PRDH]

That is apretty international intake there! At what level is your Youth Recruitment Network?

It's 'Above Average', it has been for around 15 years now. In all that time it has never been an option to get it higher. Not sure whether that's down to club reputation, league reputation or just that the higher levels are restricted to certain clubs for whatever reason.

Edit - Champions' League draw has been made

Quarters:

Real Madrid v AC Milan
Liverpool v [b]Lusitânia Açores[/b]
Inter v Arsenal
Chelsea v Benfica

Semi finals:
Liverpool or [b]Lusitânia Açores[/b] v Real Madrid or AC Milan
Inter or Arsenal v Chelsea or Benfica

Not too unhappy with Liverpool. I think if I play properly I could take them over two legs. Stinker of a semi final would be waiting if I got through though.

[aldojags]

need some advice guys.

got a cracking young talent, czech right winger. He's missed two matches now out on the lash in the town, photographed by paparazzi. I've fined him 2 weeks wages both times. I warned him I'd transfer list him for his behaviour, he said I was over reacting. He has 4.5 PA, he does look the part. But he's one of my highest earners, I'm playing 433 so can't accomadate a winger, should I chuck him?

[Romanista1994]

How much do you think you can get for him, aldojags?

PRDH - Fantastic from Cardoso and not a bad youth intake to get.

[PRDH]

aldojags - I've never seen that before. Shocking attitude. Have you got any senior players you can get to take him under their wing? How old is he? If he's 18 or younger I'd definitely keep him around and try to get him back on the straight and narrow. If he's older than 21 I'd definitely cut my losses and sell him for as much as I could get. In between those, it's case of how good you think he can be and whether you're willing to put up with his idiocy.