[FM12] The complete world encyclopedia of insults shouted at virtual football players

[markyosullivan]

60M? Lets hope he doesn't get injured in his first match

[noikeee]

Big, big money spent on Wojchiech Szczesny.

You're shocked by the 20M€ Szczesny transfer but not by the 60M€ for a left back? haha

60M? Lets hope he doesn't get injured in his first match

He's been doing just fine in his first few matches.

Btw Boakye wasn't my first choice in the transfer market for left-back. I settled for him particularly because he was left-footed and with the AML options all right-footed and the other DL (Mauro Cordisco) right-footed my left wing game was getting too congested with both players trying to cut inside, I really needed someone able to naturally move to the touchline and put a quick cross.

However last Summer, before even noticing that need for a natural left-footed guy, I tried to hire this fella:

Hamburg didn't want to sell him, but I wanted him very badly, so they eventually settled for a totally ridiculous 88M€ transfer fee. However dear Wolfgang wouldn't even consider leaving his beloved home club, current 12th placed in the Bundesliga, and swap them for Real Madrid. Modern footballers and their exaggerated sense of loyalty, heh.

Another insane thing is that despite having spent 463M€ in transfers this season (yes, you read that right. FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTY THREE MILLION EUROS) I am still only using 13M€ of the 21M€/month of wage budget, and still have 93M€ for transfers that I have decided not to spend.

[noikeee]

It deserves to be uploaded for future memory:

:D

[noikeee]

February 2021

Fixtures

Copa del Rey semi-final 2nd leg: Sevilla 2-1 Real Madrid (Bertin)

Big January signings Szczesny and Boakye were given their first Real Madrid matches but it wasn’t a good day for that. Jean-Pierre Bertin scored first for us but frankly we were dominated and Sevilla turned it around deservedly, they even hit the woodwork 3 times. At the end what matters is that we still made it to the final where we’ll find archrivals Barcelona.

La Liga: Real Madrid 6-0 Celta (Palcic, Istomin, Nangis, López, Malagón, Golik)

60M€ man Dominic Boakye paved the way for a massive win featuring 0 shots attempted by Celta, by crossing into Branko Palcic’s head for the first. The Croatian winger was the star of the match as he added 2 assists to that goal; another notable event was his substitute Matija Golik scoring a total fluke in injury time as a cross into the area went in directly.

La Liga: Valencia 0-1 Real Madrid (Diallo)

The biggest match of the season so far as we find ourselves 4 points behind Valencia prior to this. It was a very even, tense encounter with occasional chances for both sides. We knew we finally had our star forward Hamed Diallo back from the African Cup of Nations though, and he eventually made the difference with a placed shot from just outside the area in the 73th minute. It could very well be the most valuable goal he scores this season.

Europa League 1st knockout round 1st leg: Dinamo Buc. 1-2 Real Madrid (Varane, Nangis)

The 1st half was slightly disappointing even if Raphael Varane scored a fantastic goal from the halfway line after Dinamo’s keeper went on a wild run to clear the ball and kicked it badly – but the home side got their goal shortly afterwards. In the 2nd we were a little more convincing and Lenny Nangis got us the winner with a placed shot in off the post.

La Liga: Real Madrid 4-1 Espanyol (Diallo(2), Nangis, Istomin)

Another huge match, Espanyol being the league table leaders. It went very well for us as we dominated the opposition, Diallo scoring the opener 16 minutes from the start. However Espanyol’s monster striker Mamute equalized in the 1st half injury time, in their only real chance all match. The 2nd half we would materialize our superiority into goals, but only after Diallo missed a penalty – where crucially Espanyol’s centre-back Bellusci was sent off for the foul. Minutes later Diallo did find the net and the rest was history as we added another 2 more later on, and it’s also worth mentioning we hit the woodwork a total 5 times through the match.

Europa League 1st knockout round 2nd leg: Real Madrid 3-0 Dinamo Buc. (Malagón, Ganso, Istomin)

3-0 and again it felt like too little as we missed many chances and hit the woodwork 3 times. Youngster Julián Malagón scored again, Brazilian playmaker Ganso got his first of the season and Vladimir Istomin added the third through a penalty kick.

La Liga: Betis 2-4 Real Madrid (Necmi Akbas(og), Caicedo, López, Istomin)

A bizarre action-packed match. We were winning 2-0 within 13 minutes, 10 minutes later it was 2-2, with both teams having scored on pretty much every shot they had. The rest was a tale of lots of danger at both ends with ourselves coming off better thanks to better finishing, as CB Camilo López gave us the 3-2 before half time, and late in the 2nd half Istomin confirmed the win with a header.

Player of the month

Jacob Nielsen (DM, MC) – Zero goals and only one assist this month but defensively Jacob has been fabulous, the number of interceptions and tackles he’s been making recently is scarcely believable, the stats in the Valencia game particularly impressive: 10 interceptions, 12 out of 13 tackles won.

Competitions

La Liga:

Copa del Rey: Into the final to play Barcelona.

Europa League: All-spanish contest as we face Betis in the 2nd knockout round (round of 16). They're the side I beat 8-0 at home earlier in the season (and we've just beat them away, too) so I'm not particularly worried.

Summary

Excellent month as we beat both league rivals Valencia and Espanyol in what’s increasingly a three-way fight. Advantage right now is in the Valencia camp by one point (assuming games in hand are won – note Valencia’s is against Barcelona!) but that could change at any moment.

In the cups, we suffered through a very poor match vs Sevilla but have booked the Clásico in the Copa del Rey final, whilst we continue to progress in the Europa League.

[deltablue]

Interesting 3-way battle at the top.

[noikeee]

Interesting 3-way battle at the top.

I want to make it a 1-way battle!

[noikeee]

Real Madrid - Youth intake 2021

Best player

Who said Real's youth sucks and is nothing compared to Barça? Not in 2021. Urdín looks like a future world class star, and I intend to focus on developing him the best I can.

[noikeee]

March 2021

Fixtures

La Liga: Real Madrid 2-0 Getafe (Istomin(2))

Time to catch up with the calendar as we played our game in hand and Valencia played theirs, hosting Barcelona at the same time. It was a one-sided affair as you’d expect and two first half goals from Vladimir Istomin, filling in for the suspended Hamed Diallo, settled it. In the other match it was Valencia 0 Barcelona 1, so we move to the top of the table for the first time!

La Liga: Real Madrid 4-0 Racing (Golik, Diallo, Cristiano Ronaldo(2))

In a wet night at the Bernabéu, nothing seemed to go right for us as despite dominating the match we struggled to break past Racing’s defence. In the 55th minute Matija Golik’s low shot off the post finally got us a goal and that led to a few more, including two by veteran Cristiano Ronaldo, making a rare appearance off the bench to convert 2 Golik crosses. Espanyol and Valencia both surprisingly lose so we suddenly have a 4 points lead.

Europa League 2nd knockout round 1st leg: Betis 0-4 Real Madrid (Nangis, Pedro Ribeiro, Istomin, Ganso)

A much better showing than in our recent league trip to the Benito Villamarín saw us score 4 with no Betis response, even if the first goal only came in the brink of half-time, Lenny Nangis running the entirety of the Betis half unchecked in a counter. Hamed Diallo this time did not score but assisted 3 goals!

La Liga: Sporting 1-2 Real Madrid (Navarro, Falcón(og))

When José Carlos Navarro scored for us in a corner in the 9th minute I thought that would be the first of many. Not quite. Sporting equalized immediately and sent us into a tense trip as we never looked comfortable even if we were the better side. They held on to the 1-1, but somehow in the 94th minute a Vladimir Istomin shot bounced off the post into their keeper’s head and it went in.

Europa League 2nd knockout round 2nd leg: Real Madrid 1-3 Betis (Malagón)

Bringing a 4-0 advantage from the 1st leg, we fielded a team of backups. It went horribly wrong as the little fu*kers were very complacent. We did score from a penalty kick by Malagón, but in the 2nd half it was a complete shambles as we conceded 3. We’re through but did not avoid embarrassment.

La Liga: Athletic 0-2 Real Madrid (Istomin(2))

Tight match, the good chances were all ours however, particularly on the counter. Russian forward Vladimir Istomin decided it for us as he converted a Jesús Da Rosa through-ball, then capitalized on a dreadful pass by the Athletic defence leaving him only a tap-in to score.

La Liga: Real Madrid 6-0 Málaga (Istomin(4), Nangis, Diallo)

Málaga were a top side just last year as they finished 2nd but have been very poor this season. Their lack of quality was further confirmed in this match as they failed to deal with an inspired Vladimir Istomin who scored 4. Worth mentioning too an exquisite performance from the usually contained midfielder Jesús Da Rosa, who made 3 assists.

Player of the month

Vladimir Istomin (ST, AML, AMR) – If Diallo’s my favourite star forward, Istomin’s trying his best to take that crown, 9 goals and 1 assist this month, including an extraordinary 4 goals vs Málaga.

Competitions

La Liga:

Copa del Rey: Into the final to play Barcelona.

Europa League: We’ve been rather lucky with the quarter-final draw as we’ll face Terek from Russia. However a likely semi-final opponent is Man City, if they beat Vitesse.

Summary

Suddenly it’s all looking much easier as Espanyol and Valencia commit footballing suicide by losing a ton of points, even being overtaken by a resurgent Barcelona, who just beat Espanyol 4-0 away in the Catalunya derby, ouch. A 6 points lead is very nice but we must keep on pushing for the upcoming final 2 months of league action.

The board appears to have dropped the Europa League expectations as they “only” want the semi-final now. Looking good as Terek should be beatable, a potential Man City tie in the semis though should be a big test.

[noikeee]

April 2021

Fixtures

La Liga: Real Madrid 4-0 Granada (Nangis, Pedro Ribeiro, Istomin, Bertin)

Yet another match of total domination. It was 2-0 within 13 minutes but we had to wait until the 2nd half for more. Vladimir Istomin scored an absolutely splendorous goal by dribbling past Granada’s whole defence, then in the final minute substitute Mauro Cordisco ran the whole pitch down the right flank to cross into Bertin’s finish, who had also come from the bench.

Europa League quarter-final 1st leg: Terek 1-3 Real Madrid (Nangis, Istomin, Diego)

In a wild match in Chechnya with both teams out to attack, our trip started very wrong as we conceded in the 6th minute in a corner. We managed to turn it around in the 1st half however, and there was still time for a rare Antxon Diego goal afterwards.

La Liga: Sevilla 2-2 Real Madrid (Istomin, Nangis)

With a goal scored within 20 seconds, and another 5 minutes later it seemed the win was a given. Not quite as veteran Sevilla striker Aubameyang scored still in the first half, and added a shock equalizer in the 85th minute. That’s a sequence of 10 consecutive league wins over.

Europa League quarter-final 2nd leg: Real Madrid 4-0 Terek (Varane, Navarro, Palcic(2))

Branko Palcic had been crying for getting back to the first team, and to be fair he might have had a point as he assisted the first 2 goals then scored 2 himself, the second of which a delightful solo run. We’re in the semi-finals and yes, it’s against Man City.

La Liga: Real Madrid 6-0 Mallorca (Istomin(4), Lovera, Nangis)

Another fantastic match from Vladimir Istomin, as he scored 4 – the 3rd of which a superb solo run down the right –, assisted 1, and still had time to miss a penalty. With these goals he broke the Real record for most goals in a season (33), whilst Matija Golik also broke the record for most assists in a season (21). Right-back Damián Lovera scored his 1st Real goal, on the other flank left-back Dominic Boakye got sent off.

La Liga: Getafe 2-2 Real Madrid (Navarro, Diallo)

Unexpected points lost at Getafe! Their forward Tibor Horváth was on great form as he gave them the lead two times early in the match, in-between an equalizer from our CB Navarro. In the second half Diallo had to come in from the bench to make it 2-2, and that’s how it ended. We can feel frustrated safe in the knowledge we had more than enough chances to have won this comfortably.

La Liga: Almería 0-6 Real Madrid (Golik(2), Nangis, Diallo, Fellaini, Ganso)

A game of penalties, as we scored from 3 of them, Golik converting 2, Diallo the other. Nangis and veterans Fellaini and Ganso also scored, and Almería will be fuming that not only they were given 3 penalties against, their defender Martín Cáceres was also sent off. This game also confirmed their relegation and their manager’s sacking…

Europa League semi-final 1st leg: Real Madrid 4-0 Man City (Nangis(2), Navarro, Golik)

The first of the key final matches, and it was a great day. We survived an early clear one-on-one, to score twice both by Lenny Nangis. What was an even contest until then, turned into an even more skewed result as we scored another 2 in the first half. Man City will feel unlucky but we’re delighted with this.

Player of the month

Lenny Nangis (AML) – 7 goals and 4 assists this month, a simply fantastic sum for the French winger.

Competitions

La Liga:

Copa del Rey: Into the final to play Barcelona.

Europa League: Beating Man City 4-0 in the semi-final into the 2nd leg in Manchester.

Summary

Two setbacks in the league (Sevilla and Getafe) with Barcelona continuing their flawless recovery, put us within dangerous striking distance of 2 points. It could very well come down to the Clásico in the Bernabéu, which is the penultimate league fixture.

Indeed everything’s been building up for what promises to be a massive finale, the month of May. The two big Clásicos will decide the league and the cup, whilst we also have a difficult fixture against Atlético Madrid, and potentially the Europa League final, providing we aren’t slaughtered in Manchester. Stay tuned.

[endtime]

So you spent 463 million euros and might not even win anything this season?

[noikeee]

So you spent 463 million euros and might not even win anything this season?

That's one way of looking at things. Another way is waiting for the next update.

[noikeee]

May 2021

Fixtures

La Liga: Real Madrid 5-0 At. Madrid (Pedro Ribeiro, Golik, Diallo(2), Da Rosa)

April player of the month Lenny Nangis gets injured in the 2nd minute? No problem. Hamed Diallo jumped off the bench to play Nangis’ AML position and within 6 minutes he assisted 2 goals, a little later scored one too, and would still score a great off the post goal in the 91st minute. In-between, Jesús Da Rosa got his goal. Total league score aggregate vs city rivals Atlético: 10-1!!

Europa League semi-final 2nd leg: Man City 1-1 Real Madrid (Diego)

If the advantage of 4 goals brought from Madrid was already comfortable enough for me to field a team of backups, it was even more comfortable after Antxon Diego scored a wonder goal, imposing his physical ability several times before shooting off the bar. It was against the run of play and Man City equalized in the 2nd half but we’re in the final, to face Arsenal.

La Liga: Real Madrid 0-1 Barcelona

Disaster!!! Our worst nightmare happened as Barça won in the Bernabéu and overtook us in the table with a mere 2 fixtures remaining. It was a very balanced match but again our weak point was exploited as they scored in a counter-attack after an attacking corner for ourselves. I thought I had fixed that but clearly it was not enough. At the end our keeper Szczesny was man of the match which again doesn’t flatter our performance.

La Liga: Xerez 0-2 Real Madrid (Bertin, Palcic)

A 12th minute sending off for a Xerez player could’ve opened up an easy path to the win, but instead we suffered all match until substitute wingers Bertin and Palcic scored late in the 2nd half. Remarkably, Barcelona drawn 0-0 at home to Sporting so we’re back in the table lead again, with merely one game to go!

La Liga: Las Palmas 0-2 Real Madrid (Golik, Nangis)

So the league comes down to this match – a trip to the Gran Canaria to face the local side. With Barcelona winning their match since their very beginning, I was always nervous leading my side despite completely dominating. Golik got the first in a counter in the 36th minute, but it was only when Nangis made it 2-0 (both Pedro Ribeiro assists) in the 77th that the tension was relieved. REAL MADRID WIN THE SPANISH LEAGUE!!

Europa League final: Real Madrid 2-1 Arsenal (Golik(2))

Arsenal have not had a particularly great season as they’re only 6th in the Premiership but they have a world class striker in Iran’s Nawaf Al-Abdulsalam, as well as world class veteran players Ramsey, Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain – so they’re great opponents. The final is held in the slightly bizarre location of Helsinki, Finland. We got off to a great start with Golik connecting home a nice run from Diallo on the left, but whilst it was always a balanced game, Arsenal kept on having the better chances, and eventually equalized in the second half through Al-Abdulsalam. It was looking set for extra time when Diallo again found Golik – this time by a through ball – and the Croatian winger got us the winner in the 89th minute. REAL MADRID WIN THE EUROPA LEAGUE!!

Copa del Rey final: Real Madrid 4-3 Barcelona (Pedro Ribeiro(2), Istomin(2))

So the final match of the season is in the Nuevo Mestalla in Valencia, is worth a trophy and potentially a revenge vs Barcelona after 2 lost Clásicos. It started horribly, their fantastic midfielder Juan Navarro scoring 2, Barcelona dominating. Pedro Ribeiro got one back for us but Barça got the 3-1 immediately after and that was the half-time result. I shouted at the players, brought Istomin in for a badly underperforming Golik, and the result was remarkable – the Russian forward scored two and tied the game. Then in the 95th minute(!) when extra-time was certain, Portuguese midfielder Pedro Ribeiro scored again for us. It was a dramatic finale to a dramatic match, but most importantly, REAL MADRID WIN THE SPANISH CUP!!

Player of the month

Pedro Ribeiro (AMC, MC) – Excellent end of the season from my Portuguese playmaker, who had been mostly invisible so far. He scored vs Atlético, made 2 assists vs Las Palmas, another assist in the Europa League final then a brace in the Copa del Rey final. Worth a mention too Matija Golik for his 4 goals including the 2 decisive ones in Helsinki.

Competitions

La Liga:

Copa del Rey: winners after beating Barcelona 4-3 in the final.

Europa League: winners after beating Arsenal 2-1 in the final.

Summary

Wow, what a crazy, dramatic end of the season. At the end we won everything but everything felt lucky. We handed the league in a plate to Barcelona by losing to them, then they gave it back to us by failing to beat Sporting at home. The Europa League final featured a lot of Arsenal misses and a 89th minute winner, then the Copa del Rey final featured a dreadful 1st half, a huge comeback and a 95th minute winner. It’s a fantastic treble, or most accurately, a fantastically lucky treble.

I’m well aware this is all bought success rather than earned success with all the money spent. I feel I’ve earned the career move though, and this Real Madrid job is all about facing the pressure of knowing the bare minimum is domination. This is the peak of my career and I intend to try to keep on reaching new highs for a while here.

[deltablue]

Almost a good recovery from Barcelona.

[SRL88]

Nice work on the treble .

[noikeee]

Almost a good recovery from Barcelona.

A good choke, too. They beat us in the league only to lose points to Sporting at home and lose the league there, they were beating us 3-1 in the cup only for us to turn it around, then they lost the Champions League final too.

I'm a Barcelona sympathizer but given they're my rivals in the game world at the moment, can't help but chuckle.

Nice work on the treble .

Thanks!

[noikeee]

Analysis, highlights and numbers – 2020/2021 season

Tactics and usual starting eleven

New tactical developments this season, given Real Madrid almost always will have the burden of attack to dominate the opposition, I made up a more attacking tactical setup, with the return of AML and MR moved all the way up to SR! I’m also now playing a Very Fluid mentality, as all players are very versatile and can be used in the various phases of the game.

Squad

Top 5 key players of the season

5. José Carlos Navarro (DC) – Various centre-backs have impressed, Navarro himself rotated with Caicedo for a while, Camilo López covering for either of them as they played the most advanced CB role. José Carlos reached the highest level as he scored 8 goals (4 in the Europa League) and generally had a great season.

4. Matija Golik (AMR) – The lightning quick Croatian usually was the 4th option for the 3 places upfront filled in by Nangis, Diallo and Istomin, but whenever called up he was superb, totalling 14 goals and 21 assists including the 2 goals in the Europa League final.

3. Hamed Diallo (ST, AML, AMR) – Unplayable in the earlier part of the season playing as a lone striker, was brought into the wings when Istomin started excelling upfront and he still played rather well if not at the same fantastic level. 33 goals, 14 assists.

2. Vladimir Istomin (ST, AML, AMR) – The opposite from Diallo as he impressed more in the 2nd half of the season, a total of 35 goals and 13 assists is superb as he became our top goalscorer, I will also remember him for the 2 goals in the fantastic Copa del Rey final comeback.

1. Lenny Nangis (AML, AMR) – If Diallo and Istomin took turns in excelling, Nangis was consistently very good all season, as he played almost exclusively as AML, occasionally adapted to AMR. A total of 23 goals and 16 assists is extraordinary for someone who is unable to play as striker.

Match of the season

Real Madrid 4-3 Barcelona

Worthy mentions the 5-1 away at Atlético, the 8-0 over Betis, or the 4-0 in the Europa League semi-final over Man City. But in sheer drama and significance nothing beats the Copa del Rey final where we put in the mother of all comebacks to take revenge for 2 prior lost Clásicos, and clinch the treble with a 95th minute winner.

Awards

African XI of the Year: Hamed Diallo (starter)

African Striker of the Year: Hamed Diallo (2nd)

Associazione Italiana Calicatori Miglior Difensore: Jan Suniar (2nd) *whilst at Torino

African Cup of Nations Dream Team: Dominic Boakye (starter)

African Cup of Nations Goal of the Competition: Hamed Diallo (3rd)

Melhor Jogador Português do Ano no Estrangeiro: Pedro Ribeiro (2nd)

FIFA/FIFPro World XI: Camilo López (starter), Lenny Nangis (substitute)

UEFA Best Player in Europe: Lenny Nangis (3rd)

European Golden Boot: Hamed Diallo (2nd), Vladimir Istomin (3rd)

La Liga Pichichi: Hamed Diallo (2nd), Vladimir Istomin (3rd)

La Liga Jugador del año: Lenny Nangis (1st), Matija Golik (2nd)

La Liga Mánager del año: Cláudio Alegria (2nd)

La Liga Equipo de la temporada: Camilo López, Lenny Nangis (starters), Vladimir Istomin, Hamed Diallo, Matija Golik, Jacob Nielsen (substitutes)

Career overview

[b]Season   Club (nation)     League (tier)                            Notes[/b]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11/12    Delémont (SWI)    Challenge League (2) - 1st               Promoted
12/13    Delémont (SWI)    Axpo Super League (1) - 9th       
13/14    Westerlo (BEL)    Jupiler Pro League (1) - 8th / EP group  
14/15    Westerlo (BEL)    Jupiler Pro League (1) - 3rd             Belgian Cup finalists 
15/16    Westerlo (BEL)    Jupiler Pro League (1) - 8th / EP final  Belgian Cup winners
16/17    Westerlo (BEL)    Jupiler Pro League (1) - 3rd             Belgian Supercup winners
17/18    Westerlo (BEL)    Jupiler Pro League (1) - 1st             Champions + Belgian Cup winners
18/19    Torino (ITA)      Serie A (1) - 2nd                        Runner-ups + Italian Cup winners 
19/20    Torino (ITA)      Serie A (1) - 2nd                        Runner-ups + Italian Cup winners 
20/21    Real Madrid (SPA) La Liga (1) - 1st                        Champions + Spanish Cup winners +
                                                                   Europa League winners 

[B.W.G]

Congrats on winning the treble

[Northernpilgrim]

Trebles still take a great deal of winning, no matter who you are, because any team can have an off day, and in knockout football, you do that and you're gone. Well done mate

[noikeee]

Congrats on winning the treble

Thanks!

Trebles still take a great deal of winning, no matter who you are, because any team can have an off day, and in knockout football, you do that and you're gone. Well done mate

Yes but trebles are always easier when you've spent over 400 million euros!

[noikeee]

10 years of career stats special

Let's take a look at the world of football and the various winners over the years, as I celebrate 10 years of a career as a manager.

*** DOMESTIC LEAGUES ***

England - Premier League

2021 - Man Utd / Man City / Tottenham

2020 - Man Utd / Arsenal / Tottenham

2019 - Arsenal / Chelsea / Tottenham

2018 - Chelsea / Tottenham / Liverpool

2017 - Man Utd / Arsenal / Man City

2016 - Man City / Liverpool / Man Utd

2015 - Man Utd / Chelsea / Tottenham

2014 - Chelsea / Man City / Liverpool

2013 - Man City / Chelsea / Tottenham

2012 - Man City / Tottenham / Liverpool

Spain - Liga BBVA

2021 - R. Madrid / Barcelona / Espanyol

2020 - Barcelona / Málaga / Getafe

2019 - Barcelona / At. Madrid / R. Madrid

2018 - Sevilla / Barcelona / R. Madrid

2017 - Barcelona / R. Madrid / Valencia

2016 - Barcelona / R. Madrid / Valencia

2015 - R. Madrid / Barcelona / Valencia

2014 - Barcelona / R. Madrid / Valencia

2013 - Barcelona / R. Madrid / Sevilla

2012 - Barcelona / R. Madrid / Málaga

Germany - Bundesliga

2021 - Bayern / Dortmund / Leverkusen

2020 - Bayern / Dortmund / Leverkusen

2019 - Bayern / Dortmund / Leverkusen

2018 - Dortmund / Bayern / Leverkusen

2017 - Leverkusen / Schalke / Bayern

2016 - Bayern / Leverkusen / Dortmund

2015 - Bayern / Dortmund / Schalke

2014 - Bayern / Leverkusen / Dortmund

2013 - Bayern / Leverkusen / Dortmund

2012 - Schalke / Bayern / Werder Bremen

Italy - Serie A

2021 - Milan / Fiorentina / Torino

2020 - Milan / Torino / Inter

2019 - Juventus / Torino / Inter

2018 - Inter / Fiorentina / Cagliari

2017 - Juventus / Roma / Milan

2016 - Milan / Juventus / Palermo

2015 - Milan / Inter / Napoli

2014 - Palermo / Lazio / Milan

2013 - Inter / Milan / Juventus

2012 - Milan / Juventus / Napoli

France - Ligue 1

2021 - PSG / Marseille / Évian

2020 - Lyon / Marseille / PSG

2019 - Lyon / Marseille / PSG

2018 - PSG / Lyon / Lens

2017 - Lyon / Lens / Marseille

2016 - Lyon / PSG / Marseille

2015 - Lyon / Marseille / PSG

2014 - PSG / Lyon / Bordeaux

2013 - PSG / Lyon / Marseille

2012 - Lyon / PSG / Lille

Russia - Prem'er Liga

2021 - CSKA / Zenit / Rubin

2020 - Lokomotiv / Zenit / Rubin

2019 - Zenit / CSKA / Lokomotiv

2018 - CSKA / Zenit / Spartak

2017 - Lokomotiv / CSKA / Zenit

2016 - Zenit / CSKA / Anji

2015 - CSKA / Zenit / Lokomotiv

2014 - Anji / CSKA / Zenit

2013 - Anji / Lokomotiv / Spartak

2012 - CSKA / Rubin / Zenit

Portugal - Liga Zon Sagres

2021 - Porto / Benfica / Sporting

2020 - Porto / Sporting / Benfica

2019 - Benfica / Sporting / Porto

2018 - Sporting / Benfica / Porto

2017 - Porto / Sporting / Nacional

2016 - Porto / Sporting / Benfica

2015 - Porto / Sporting / Benfica

2014 - Porto / Sporting / Braga

2013 - Benfica / Porto / Sporting

2012 - Sporting / Porto / Benfica

Netherlands - Eredivisie

2021 - Ajax / Twente / Vitesse

2020 - PSV / Hereenveen / Ajax

2019 - PSV / Ajax / Twente

2018 - Ajax / Vitesse / Feyenoord

2017 - PSV / Ajax / AZ

2016 - PSV / Ajax / AZ

2015 - Ajax / Twente / PSV

2014 - Ajax / PSV / Vitesse

2013 - Ajax / Twente / Vitesse

2012 - Ajax / PSV / Feyenoord

*** INTERNATIONAL CLUB COMPETITIONS ***

FIFA Club World Cup

2020 - Corinthians 2-1 Man Utd

2019 - São Paulo 2-1 Inter

2018 - Arsenal 3-1 São Paulo

2017 - Corinthians 2-0 Valencia

2016 - América (MEX) 2-1 Valencia

2015 - Barcelona 3-1 América (MEX)

2014 - Lyon 6-1 Sangju

2013 - Bayern 4-1 Corinthians

2012 - Boca 4-4 Barcelona (Boca win on penalties)

UEFA Champions League

2021 - Bayern 2-1 Barcelona

2020 - Man Utd 2-0 Leverkusen

2019 - Inter 0-0 Arsenal (Inter win on penalties)

2018 - Arsenal 2-0 Lyon

2017 - Valencia 3-1 Barcelona

2016 - Valencia 5-0 Chelsea

2015 - Barcelona 2-1 Zenit (after extra time)

2014 - Lyon 1-1 Man Utd (Lyon win on penalties)

2013 - Bayern 2-1 Man City

2012 - Barcelona 4-0 Chelsea

UEFA Europa League

2021 - R. Madrid 2-1 Arsenal

2020 - Valencia 1-0 Man City

2019 - Dortmund 4-3 Tottenham (after extra time)

2018 - Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea

2017 - Chelsea 3-0 Sporting CP

2016 - Marseille 2-0 Sporting CP

2015 - Arsenal 1-0 Sevilla

2014 - Marseille 3-1 Dortmund

2013 - Anji 2-0 Juventus

2012 - PSG 1-0 Bayern

Copa Libertadores

2021 - Boca 3-2 Palmeiras

2020 - Corinthians 4-3 Nacional

2019 - São Paulo 3-2 Flamengo

2018 - São Paulo 5-3 River

2017 - Corinthians 4-1 Grêmio

2016 - Flamengo 3-3 Pachuca (Flamengo win on penalties)

2015 - River 4-2 Corinthians

2014 - Colo Colo 4-3 Vasco

2013 - Corinthians 4-2 Cruz Azul

2012 - Boca 3-3 Racing Club (Boca win on penalties)

*** NATIONAL TEAM COMPETITIONS ***

FIFA World Cup

2018 - England 1-0 Brazil

2014 - Spain 1-0 Switzerland

Olympic Games

2020 - Argentina 3-2 Spain

2016 - Portugal 4-3 Argentina (after extra time)

2012 - Brazil 1-0 Spain

FIFA U20 World Cup

2019 - Mexico 3-1 Argentina

2017 - England 5-1 Honduras

2015 - Italy 1-1 Tunisia (Italy win on penalties)

2013 - Egypt 2-0 South Africa

European Championships

2020 - England 3-0 Romania

2016 - England 1-0 Italy

2012 - Portugal 1-0 Belgium

Copa América

2019 - Argentina 4-1 Peru

2015 - Mexico 1-0 Brazil

African Cup of Nations

2021 - Tunisia 3-2 Egypt (after extra time)

2019 - DR Congo 2-2 Egypt (DR Congo win on penalties)

2017 - Nigeria 0-0 Ivory Coast (Nigeria win on penalties)

2015 - Algeria 1-0 Cameroon

2013 - Nigeria 1-0 Ivory Coast (after extra time)

2012 - Egypt 2-1 Tunisia

Asian Cup

2019 - China 1-1 Japan (China win on penalties)

2015 - UAE 2-0 Bahrain

Gold Cup

2021 - Jamaica 1-0 Mexico

2019 - Mexico 1-0 United States

2017 - United States 3-2 Mexico (after extra time)

2015 - Canada 2-1 United States

2013 - Mexico 2-1 United States

OFC Nations Cup

2020 - New Zealand 3-0 Kiribati

2016 - New Zealand 5-0 Vanuatu

2012 - New Zealand 3-0 Fiji

*** INTERNATIONAL AWARDS ***

FIFA Ballon d'Or

2020 - Mario Götze (Dortmund/Germany)

2019 - Mario Götze (Dortmund/Germany)

2018 - Jack Wilshere (Arsenal/England)

2017 - Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)

2016 - Mario Götze (Dortmund/Germany)

2015 - Eden Hazard (Man Utd/Belgium)

2014 - Cesc Fàbregas (Barcelona/Spain)

2013 - Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)

2012 - Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)

2011 - Xavi (Barcelona/Spain)

[noikeee]

Pre-season: June/July/August 2021

Transfers (in)

I signed three midfielders:

Gabriel Martinich (AMC / MC, AML) (20.5M€) – I tried to hire him last Winter but the paperwork for his Spanish nationality wouldn’t hurry up. Quality attacking midfielder.

Kevin Walker (DM / MC) (16.5M€) – Instrumental in getting Swansea promoted back to the Premier League last season, young Kevin should be on the verge of his first England cap.

Lucio Bussi (MC / D/ML) (60M€) – I have nothing but praise to tell about Lucio’s performances for me in my stint for Torino, so I had to poach him once I could – unfortunately he’s been immense last season for both Torino and for the Italian national team, so his value has skyrocketed. I am delighted to see that by now he’s fully comfortable playing DL too, I started to retrain him to that position back then.

Also a lot of youngsters for Real Madrid Castilla, who got promoted to the Liga Adelante last season: Bruno Moreira (Portuguese DC), Dejan Rus (Slovenian MC), Jordi van der Roer (Dutch DL), Dominik ter Stegen (German DM), Arthur Tessier (French MC/AMC), Josep Funes (Spanish DM), Grégory Pelletier (French MC) and Marcos (Spanish AMC/ST). Youngsters with world class potential don’t come cheap so altogether I paid 20M€ for this lot.

Transfers (out)

Real Madrid legends Iker Casillas and Cristiano Ronaldo have retired after extensive careers. I have also decided to sell veteran midfielders Marek Hamsik (a mere 1M€, I just wanted to get rid of him and his insane wages), Ganso (10M€) and Marouane Fellaini (5M€), which opened up first team places for the new signings; and keeper Marc-André ter Stegen was sold to Juventus for 11.5M€, whilst left-back Marcelo after Tottenham didn’t take their option on him, was sold to Liverpool for 5.5M€.

Castilla players Iván San Miguel and Dani Jimeno Pinedo, both club homegrowns but not good enough to play for the first team squad, were sold by 2.7M€ and 450K€ respectively.

Finances

I’m embarrassed.. I was so used to spending I forgot eventually there’d be a limit. We’re 700K€ in the red and the board had to invest a little bit because the figure was a few million further down…

Squad for the 2021-2022 season

I’m very much happy with this. Well, it’s the same as last year with only 3 new midfielders, but am pretty certain it’s one of the top 5 squads in the world, if not the very best. At least it’s very balanced with loads of quality in every position.

Keeper Carlos Alberto Gordillo was promoted from the Castilla squad. I’ve got a 18yo kid who is better but I want him to play every week in the Liga Adelante.

Fixtures

Supercopa 1st leg: Real Madrid 5-0 Barcelona (Istomin(4), Navarro)

An absolutely splendorous first half saw us score with our first 3 shots to make it 3-0 by the 12th minute, and by the time the half-time whistle came it was 5-0 and Istomin had scored 4. That pretty much gifted us the trophy but a Pedro Ribeiro sending off made it impossible to score more in the 2nd half, even then Barcelona had no chances and we bring a huge advantage to the Camp Nou. Fantastic result to kick off the season.

Supercopa 2nd leg: Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid (Martinich)

We were dealt a shock when we entered the match as Barcelona’s Portuguese forward António Costa scored in the 2nd minute, nevertheless we held on the entire 1st half only to be dealt another blow when Costa again scored in the 1st half injury time. However Barça were never dominant nor consistently dangerous and the trophy looked secure even before Gabriel Martinich scored his first Real goal in the 82nd minute. REAL MADRID WIN THE SUPERCOPA!!!

La Liga: Real Madrid 4-0 Mallorca (Istomin, Golik, Diallo, Navarro)

Very easy match with 4-0 at half-time, zero Mallorca threat, and perhaps a little complacency hindering us from scoring more.

UEFA Super Cup: Real Madrid 1-3 Bayern (Palcic)

If everything had gone well in the domestic super cup, everything went awfully wrong in this. We conceded in the 6th minute, had a man sent off (Camilo López) in the 20th then 5 minutes later Pedro Ribeiro goes off injured. We had to go for it and Bayern capitalized by opening up a 3 goal lead despite chances being fairly even each way. We still managed a goal at the very end but it was no consolation.

La Liga: Getafe 1-3 Real Madrid (Diallo, Istomin(2))

I’m starting to get a little sick of Getafe’s Hungarian forward Tibor Horváth as he has a habit of scoring against us and again did so, in the very beginning of the match. We turned it round with our own star forwards scoring in the 23th, 52nd and 95th minutes, but Getafe will feel rather unlucky to have lost this as they did more than alright.

Player of the month

Vladimir Istomin (ST) – 7 goals and 2 assists in this beginning of the season, including an unforgettable 4 vs Barcelona.

Competitions

Supercopa: winners after beating Barcelona 6-2 on aggregate.

UEFA Super Cup: lost to Bayern 3-1.

La Liga:

Copa del Rey: no opponents yet.

Champions League: facing FC Porto, Fiorentina and Sparta Prague in the groups.

Summary

I am delighted to have beaten Barcelona 5-0 and grabbed a trophy over them, but a little annoyed at the UEFA Super Cup failure. These are only preliminary trophies though, the real work starts now. I’ll try to attack in every front, retaining the title is a big priority, but the biggest has to be the Champions League, given Real has not won the trophy (neither has been in the final) since 2002.

[noikeee]

Ffs. I've got the idiotic habit of leaving the game by clicking "quit game" then hitting "yes" when it asks you whether the game should be saved. I hit "no", and there goes over 1 month of fixtures including the 5-0 over Barcelona. ****ing hell.

[Jason the Yank]

Maybe the rolling auto save will have most of them?

[noikeee]

I had my rolling auto-save interval set to "every year" due to some holiday test I made.

[deltablue]

Its annoying, I've turned the autosave off occasionally and when I forget to turn it back on again is when I occasionally have a laptop crash of something. Have it on 'every week' no matter what now, as I do get the occasional crash (though it's in phases so I can have weeks without one then it happens a day or two apart) I hardly lose anything just in case.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Great season Noikee.

[noikeee]

Its annoying, I've turned the autosave off occasionally and when I forget to turn it back on again is when I occasionally have a laptop crash of something. Have it on 'every week' no matter what now, as I do get the occasional crash (though it's in phases so I can have weeks without one then it happens a day or two apart) I hardly lose anything just in case.

Don't think I'm going to change it from "every week" ever again!

Great season Noikee.

Thanks.

[noikeee]

Pre-season: June/July/August 2021… take 2

Transfers, squad, etc

No changes.

Fixtures

Supercopa 1st leg: Real Madrid 4-0 Barcelona (Istomin, López, Caicedo(2))

Pretty delighted to be able to almost repeat the huge result, the major difference being instead of a Istomin one-man show, it was the centre-backs show as they scored 3 in corners. No I don’t use cheat corner routines.

Supercopa 2nd leg: Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid

We failed to score this time, but no big deal. REAL MADRID WIN THE SUPERCOPA!!!

La Liga: Real Madrid 5-0 Mallorca (Istomin(3), Da Rosa, Caicedo)

This one went better. Istomin saved the goals for this match and we annihilated them.

UEFA Super Cup: Real Madrid 1-1 Bayern (3-5 p.k.) (Istomin)

Funnily enough Camilo López got sent off again but only in the very end of extra time as we had a much better go at this and sent it to penalties. We lost there after Istomin missed the first penalty, and the Germans typically scored every one, but hey, it was far better than the previous humiliation.

La Liga: Getafe 0-3 Real Madrid (Caicedo, López, Diallo)

Yes that is another 2 centre-back goals. I *SWEAR* I’m not doing anything funky.

Player of the month

Vladimir Istomin (ST) – Only 5 goals this time and no poker vs Barcelona, but still a menace. Pedro Pablo Caicedo scored 4 as a centre-back so big mention to him.

Competitions

Supercopa: winners after beating Barcelona 4-2 on aggregate.

UEFA Super Cup: lost to Bayern on penalties.

La Liga: we’re first again.

Copa del Rey: nope.

Champions League: this time we got Zenit, Fiorentina and Maccabi Haifa in the groups. Pretty much the same level of difficulty then.

Summary

I’m glad much the same happened (particularly the big win over Barça), I nearly grabbed the UEFA Super Cup this time but it’d be a hollow victory anyway. Time to move on, because replaying games you’ve played before is a FM torture, it nearly sucked out of me the desire to play this career completely.

[noikeee]

September 2021

Fixtures

La Liga: Real Madrid 0-0 Deportivo

26-1 in shots, Depor cornered in their area the whole game, the ball just didn’t want to go in. I’m rather pleased that this was the first time it’s happened since I arrived at Real actually. This was the 500th match of my career.

Champions League Group B: Real Madrid 2-0 Maccabi Haifa (Danin(og), Da Rosa)

Nearly the same story as the previous match as Maccabi held on for a hugely frustrating 73 minutes until an owngoal went in, afterwards Jesús Da Rosa added another. José Carlos Navarro got himself injured.

La Liga: Xerez 1-3 Real Madrid (Diallo(2), Istomin)

Pretty easy win with 3 goals from our 2 goal-happy forwards in the first half. Xerez scored just before half-time but it meant nothing as a dull second half played out.

La Liga: Real Madrid 4-1 Athletic (Diallo, Istomin(2), Nangis)

Big win as our forwards eventually converted the endless chances they had. We ended the game with 10 men though as Boakye got sent off for a professional foul. Not sure how we managed to concede neither as Athletic only had 2 shots.

La Liga: Osasuna 0-2 Real Madrid (Pedro Ribeiro, Golik)

Our team was at times at our most delightful to watch as Osasuna’s 3-4-1-2 left my wingers free, so we sprayed passes to the wings in a scary fluid way. Easy win with 2 first half goals.

Champions League Group B: Zenit 1-3 Real Madrid (Malagón(2), Istomin)

This game looked set for a Zenit win since they scored in the 9th minute, despite our best efforts through all match as we were the most dangerous side, Zenit occasionally showing their cards too. It all changed with youngster Julián Malagón entering the pitch with 15 minutes to go, as he equalized from a direct freekick in the 84th minute, Istomin put us ahead in the 88th then Malagón scored from a direct freekick AGAIN in the 94th. Absolutely fantastic final minutes comeback.

Player of the month

Jesús Da Rosa (DM, MC) – A series of brilliant performances have put our Argentinian midfielder in the spotlight as he scored vs Maccabi, assisted vs Athletic and had a great game vs Zenit. Meanwhile Vladimir Istomin remains prolific as he scored 4 and assisted 2.

Competitions

La Liga:

Copa del Rey: We’re not entering it yet.

Champions League:

Summary

A strong start to the season continues, I could’ve done without the 0-0 vs Depor but a game like that can happen to any team. Other than that, we’re looking sharp. Next month comes another Clásico, this time for the league.

Meanwhile the Santiago Bernabéu has been expanded to accomodate another 14646 seats, the total is 95000 now.

[noikeee]

Istanbul – 17th of October, 2021

In a not entirely unexpected press conference a few days ago, the TFF (Turkish Football Federation) announced the sacking of national team manager Bülent Korkmaz after Turkey failed to qualify for World Cup 2022. Admitedly a group with World champions England plus the Netherlands wasn’t very easy but there’s enough talent available for the Federation to demand qualification.

What was surprising was the announcement 4 days later that the Portuguese manager of Real Madrid was going to take the job. Misunderstandings in the press spread the word I was leaving Real, but no I am going to share both jobs. Fans of both club and country are obviously suspicious as this is highly unconventional, flights from Madrid to Istanbul are a little long and I might spread my attention a little bit.

The truth is I’m a little wary myself as I’m not sure I’m going to like juggling my time between both jobs, but it seems a positive challenge for the next 3 years as we attack Euro 2024 in Spain. I refused an offer from the Swiss federation days earlier which goes to a great length to show how much higher I rate the current generation of Turkish players.

Disregard the stars. Don’t get me wrong it’s a strong squad but my assman is a little optimistic. Looking at this you’d think this is a team of Messis heh?

Likely key players:

Bahadir Gökdemir (DM) (Leverkusen) – One of the best defensive midfielders in the world at the age of 22. I didn’t know about him, if I still had the money (I somehow managed to spend it all!!!) I’d consider bringing him to Madrid.

Osman Sütçü (ST / AMRL) (At. Madrid) – Played against him a couple times in the league and he didn’t catch my eye but he’s a pretty good fast forward, fitting my usual tactics.

Abdullah Senocak (MR / ML, AMR) (Everton) – I’m a little puzzled he’s not valued higher because he seems a near world-class winger to me. Pace of 20 is exactly what I want.

Immediate goals

World Cup 2022 is f*cked and the qualifiers for the Euros haven’t even been drawn and will only start to be played 1 season from now, so plenty of time to play pointless friendlies in the coming months and figure out who’s good. After that, qualification is mandatory, I just hope Turkey aren’t drawn a ridiculously difficult group like England and the Netherlands again.

[PaulHartman71]

great start to the league and the CL, you've got a while to at least prepare with Turkey for the next Euros. On the subject of auto-save, I also keep it on every week as my laptop also likes to randomly crash every now and then

[B.W.G]

Good start to the season and good luck with Turkey.Although I do think you need to get a better Assistant in as it does look like a team of Messi's

[markyosullivan]

Great season last season with Real Madrid. Hope you do just as well this season and can do well with Turkey as well.

[deltablue]

Madrid to Istanbul isn't that unconventional, how about Slovakia (and Milan) to Ghana, or Uruguay to Ireland

[noikeee]

great start to the league and the CL, you've got a while to at least prepare with Turkey for the next Euros. On the subject of auto-save, I also keep it on every week as my laptop also likes to randomly crash every now and then

My game very rarely crashes, it is sometimes the victim of my own stupidity though!

Good start to the season and good luck with Turkey.Although I do think you need to get a better Assistant in as it does look like a team of Messi's

I haven't even looked at who he is yet, but I'll probably hire someone else. High judging ability and judging potential is a must for me, as is Motivation as I never do press conferences.

Great season last season with Real Madrid. Hope you do just as well this season and can do well with Turkey as well.

Thanks. One of the reasons I accepted Turkey is that on first glance it seems to fit my current tactics just great (top right-footed AML, pacey AMR, pacey ST, quality DM), so am pretty positive about my chances without having to tinker too much.

Madrid to Istanbul isn't that unconventional, how about Slovakia (and Milan) to Ghana, or Uruguay to Ireland

That's on another game world, the fans haven't heard about it.

I think it was a little soon to delve into international management, it's quite unrealistic as I've got plenty of plans for top-level club football (I want to win all the big leagues) but it seemed fun, so why not.

[noikeee]

October 2021

Fixtures

La Liga: Real Madrid 3-1 Las Palmas (Da Rosa, Istomin(2))

After a game of total domination, on the 89th minute Szczesny decides to spill a cross to hand them a meaningless consolation goal. My players are so good they know when to make a blunder.

La Liga: Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid (Diallo)

Another Camp Nou defeat as we definitely don’t know how to handle these Clásicos away from home, and Carlo Ancelotti’s Christmas tree formation. We played the first half very defensively, conceded. We played the second half attacking, we scored immediately only for Barça to score back quickly too, and then we had no chances until the match ended.

Champions League Group B: Real Madrid 2-1 Fiorentina (Istomin(2))

Fiore’s wide 4-4-2 diamond played into my counter-strategy’s hands perfectly (shouts of drop deeper + get ball forward to exploit their formation’s natural tendency of throwing too many men forward), and we absolutely battered them. A result of 2-1 is only fair because our finishing was utter sh*t (we had 7 recorded clear cut chances) and Fiorentina took their only chance. Gabriel Martinich made both assists and finally showed why I paid 20.5M€ for him last Summer.

La Liga: Valladolid 3-6 Real Madrid (Caicedo(2), Istomin(2), Walker, Bertin)

At last the finishing was right as we scored a good amount from the usual neverending amount of chances. Now we just need to fix the issue of our defence looking increasingly like clowns. To be fair, my “stay on feet” shout (after a worrying amount of yellow cards) and freakish finishing from our opposition (3 goals in 5 shots) can’t have helped.

Copa del Rey 4th Round 1st leg: Girona 2-4 Real Madrid (Meyer, Bertin, Juan Carlos(og), Diallo)

I gambled by fielding Castilla players Julius Meyer, Ezequiel Alechiguera, Dejan Rus (my signings) and Gabriel Garvía (hugely promising youth academy product). Julius Meyer scored the opener but otherwise we only just about got away with it as Girona equalized the game twice. I did something rare and extreme by substituting keeper Stephan Oosting after I judged both Girona goals to be awfully consented by him.

La Liga: Real Madrid 4-1 At. Madrid (Diallo(3), Istomin)

The matches vs our pseudo-rivals Atlético have a history of being easy, but this time there was an added importance because they topped the table. No problem as Hamed Diallo showed a bit of his old form by scoring an hat-trick. This match was also marked by a wonder goal from Atlético forward Vaclav Kadlec as he scored an overhead kick; and by the fact it was the first time the new expanded Bernabéu filled the full 95000 seats.

Player of the month

Vladimir Istomin (ST) – Diallo seems to be back on form but Istomin remains our star, again 7 goals this month. He’s just been great this season so far.

Competitions

La Liga:

Copa del Rey: Beating Girona 4-2 in the fourth round, into the 2nd leg.

Champions League:

Summary

I’m p*ssed at losing yet another Clásico in the Camp Nou, that is starting to look like the biggest challenge in Madrid. I’m also very annoyed that we conceded goals in every single match this month, not sure what’s up with that as we’re usually rock solid regardless of playing attacking. Nevertheless, we still top the table and are as good as qualified in the CL so everything’s still going fine.

[SRL88]

Breezing things in Europe.

[noikeee]

Breezing things in Europe.

Yes, we've done pretty much the bare minimum in every game and that has led us to the next stage quickly.

[noikeee]

November 2021

Fixtures

Champions League Group B: Fiorentina 1-1 Real Madrid (Diallo)

An appalling first half saw no action whatsoever until Lucio Bussi got sent off in injury time. Puzzlingly, we played much better in the 2nd half with 10 men and Diallo scored from a through ball. Then Fiorentina switched to a wide 4-4-2 diamond and that completely rattled us, but we still held on until they equalized in the 90th minute. No problem as the result qualified us (altho I don’t understand the maths – Zenit were third and 6 points behind us).

La Liga: Villarreal 2-4 Real Madrid (Istomin(2), Boakye(2))

This wasn’t looking like the easiest of games when Istomin got the opener in the 30th minute and that opened up the path for a big win including, bizarrely, a brace from leftback Dominic Boakye (1st was a penalty kick). Villarreal got 2 goals too and frankly they deserved it as we left too much space.

Copa del Rey 4th Round 2nd leg: Real Madrid 2-0 Girona (Palcic, Gonzales(og))

I played a team of 1st line backups and they were awful, utterly unconvincing vs a Liga Adelante side.

La Liga: Real Madrid 4-0 Sporting (Nangis, Caicedo, Malagón, Martinich)

2-0 by the 13th minute and the game was over. Diallo tried his best to spice it though by getting himself sent off just as I was about to sub him. Didn’t hurt us as Malagón added his 3rd freekick goal of the season (my assman thinks he shouldn’t be taking freekicks), and Martinich scored his first Real goal too.

Champions League Group B: Maccabi Haifa 0-1 Real Madrid (Iluz(og))

18yo Real academy graduate keeper Óscar Ramiro Vivancos got his baptism of fire in the Champions League, as well as 19yo winger Ivano Venditto; 19yo striker Gabriel Garvía played a cameo appearance too. Them aided by a team of backups, we played a dreadful game of football only decided by a 95th minute owngoal.

La Liga: Málaga 1-2 Real Madrid (Martinich, Palcic)

Frenetic, action-packed match in which Málaga scored a 9th minute opener and only 70 minutes later did we complete a comeback. Keeper Szczesny proved invaluable as he got an 8.4 rating and the MOM award.

Player of the month

Gabriel Martinich (AMC, MC) – My recently signed playmaker has been on unstoppable form with 4 assists and 2 goals this month. 13 assists already this season and he does not take any set pieces!

Competitions

La Liga:

Copa del Rey: next up are Xerez in the 5th round.

Champions League:

Summary

We’ve not always been convincing, but it’s the mark of a top team that we keep on winning despite less impressive form. Only one game not won this month and it was positive as we got the Champions League qualification in Italy. The league we do not lead at the moment but only due to the game in hand.

[noikeee]

November 2021

Fixtures

Friendly: Turkey 1-1 Saudi Arabia (Necmi Akbas)

My first match as an international manager was a home friendly against an underrated Saudi side, probably our equals. It was an even, uninspiring match with few chances, in which we got lucky to score as early as the 5th minute through a set piece. The Saudis eventually got a deserved equalizer but only in the 82nd minute after I’d brought in a few lesser players. 24yo Trabzonspor explosive striker Dursun Erdil was one of them as I gave him his first cap.

At the end of the match Man Utd winger Gökhan Töre announced his international retirement at the rather premature age of 29. I talked to him and he instantly changed his mind. Like, wtf.

Most impressive player

Necmi Akbas (DC) (Betis) – Scored his first international goal and was the only player to have a rating over 7.0.

Summary

Not much to say, slightly underwhelming start but a few players were missing.

[B.W.G]

Looking good in Europe As for the league,brilliant start but very close.

[iHeadHunta x]

Looking good buddy!

[deltablue]

Another tight one in the league so far.

[noikeee]

Looking good in Europe As for the league,brilliant start but very close.

Europe's been rather easy so far but the league definitely hasn't and I don't have good news.

Looking good buddy!

Thanks!

Another tight one in the league so far.

Too tight for my liking!

[noikeee]

December 2021

Fixtures

La Liga: Valencia 3-1 Real Madrid (Malagón)

A very poor 1st half saw us go behind 1-0 and Istomin was sent off, then we put in Julián Malagón who as always was a fantastic supersub, winning a penalty kick then converting it. That was to no avail as almost immediately we conceded again through a Damián Lovera owngoal then Javier Hernández added his second goal of the night for Valencia at the end of the match.

Champions League Group B: Real Madrid 5-0 Zenit (Bussi(2), Grizemann(og), Garvía(2))

Dead rubber so teenage keeper Óscar Ramiro Vivancos played again, not like he had much work as we obliterated Zenit and they only made 2 shots all match. Alechiguera and Garvía were the other teenagers to come in as subs and Garvía had a fantastic game scoring 2; 60M€ man Lucio Bussi also scored 2 but missed a penalty.

La Liga: Real Madrid 6-0 Granada (López(2), Malagón, Akif Onay(og), Diallo(2))

A game with no story to tell gave us our biggest win of the season so far, but unfortunately also a month-long injury to superkid Julián Malagón who had been great lately.

La Liga: Tenerife 3-1 Real Madrid (Palcic)

Disaster in the Atlantic. It started as bad as possible as we conceded in the 1st minute, but 2 minutes later it was 1-1. We took over as the most dangerous side in the remainder of the match but it was Tenerife who got the 2nd in a solo run by Rabiola in the 2nd half, then as we were desperate they added the 3rd in injury time when Lucio Bussi made a suicidal backpass. Even worse was Jacob Nielsen picking up an injury which will stop him for 3 or 4 months.

Copa del Rey 5th Round 1st leg: Real Madrid 2-0 Xerez (Istomin, Golik)

After missing several one-on-ones in the 1st half, Vladimir Istomin finally scored a scrappy goal in the 2nd. Matija Golik added another from a freekick, and Xerez had a player sent off but too late for more goals. Szczesny got a 8.5 rating and the MOM award and I have no idea why as Xerez only made 2 shots all game. Whilst we got yet another injury, this time to Gabriel Martinich: 4 to 5 weeks.

Player of the month

Camilo López (DC) – 2 goals vs Granada, and a great game vs Zenit including 1 assist. Bit dodgy in the other matches.

Competitions

La Liga:

Copa del Rey: Beating Xerez 2-0 in the 5th round.

Champions League:

Next opponents are Bayer Leverkusen, finalists 2 years ago, in the first knockout round.

Summary

Two unexpected away defeats (Tenerife more unexpected than Valencia) have hurt our standings in the league table very badly as Barça, Atlético and Valencia have been strong lately – our game in hand, home to Betis, isn’t enough anymore. We’re still doing fine in the other competitions.

[noikeee]

January 2022

Transfers (out)

Dutch goalkeeper Stephan Oosting left for Liverpool for 30M€, his release clause fee. He fell out with me because Szczesny was ahead in the pecking order, and when the bids came flying in, I couldn’t reject them. I’m a bit annoyed because he was a world class keeper but life doesn’t always smile on you.

Transfers (in)

Zbigniew Nowicki (GK) (6.25M€) – This was the best direct replacement I could find for Oosting. Nowicki is Szczesny’s backup for Poland and he will repeat that same role for Real.

Fixtures

Copa del Rey 5th round 2nd leg: Xerez 0-1 Real Madrid (Pedro Ribeiro)

I risked playing a team full of teenagers with Van der Roer, Maurer, ter Stegen, Rus, Venditto and Giai Pron all starters, plus new signing Nowicki in goal. Xerez were by far the better side in the 1st half and should’ve scored. It was only after Istomin and Diallo jumped in from the bench, and Xerez had a man sent off, that we took control, and we eventually scored in the 86th minute.

La Liga: Real Madrid 4-1 Espanyol (Diallo(2), López, Golik)

A crazy 5 minutes in the middle of the first half saw the scoreline go from 0-0 to 2-1 as we scored the first then Espanyol equalized then we got back in front again. Espanyol had been in control of the match briefly up until then, but the 2nd half we were much more inspired and added another 2 goals, Matija Golik coming off the bench to score from a direct free kick.

Copa del Rey quarter final 1st leg: Real Madrid 3-0 At. Madrid (Istomin, Diego, Golik)

Our city rivals were next up in the cup and as always I was looking forward to this, as I knew we do well against them. It was an easy 3-0 win including a rare Antxon Diego goal and Matija Golik scoring a freekick after jumping from the bench AGAIN.

La Liga: Sevilla 2-3 Real Madrid (Rroshi(og), Nangis, Diallo)

We held a short-lived advantage when we benefitted from a comedy owngoal in the 6th minute, but veteran forward Aubameyang made it 1-1. We dominated the match and missed easy chance after easy chance until 2 successive goals in the 2nd half settled the game (great solo run by Diallo, the 3rd goal). Aubameyang scored his 2nd in the 90th minute but it was too late for the hosts.

Copa del Rey quarter final 2nd leg: At. Madrid 1-0 Real Madrid

Backups and youngsters day, as usual when the lead is big in the cup, this time also useful to take the p*ss out of Atlético, so here comes Óscar Ramiro Vivancos on goal, Donat Maurer as CB and Dejan Rus on midfield. Atlético dominated but could only score 1 and already after half-time, so I felt free to further bring 19yo striker Gabriel Garvía into the field.

La Liga: Mallorca 0-4 Real Madrid (Istomin(3), Malagón)

Total domination culminated in a very easy win, Vladimir Istomin getting his hat-trick despite missing several chances too.

Copa del Rey semi-final 1st leg: Real Madrid 4-1 Espanyol (Diallo, Martinich, Caicedo, Istomin)

Espanyol’s midfielder Bozic was sent off in the 7th minute, they were playing 4-2-3-1 so stayed in a comical wide 4-1-3-1 formation. We tore them apart and 4-1 frankly was still too short of a result, for how much and how effectively we attacked them.

La Liga: Real Madrid 5-0 Getafe (Istomin(2), Malagón, Nangis, Pedro Ribeiro)

A 2nd minute goal from Istomin set the tone for another hammering. We didn’t quite shoot as often as usual but had the finishing well accurate this time. Bad news however that Hamed Diallo suffered a twisted ankle and will stop for 3 weeks.

Player of the month

Vladimir Istomin (ST) – This definitely is his season, 7 goals and 2 assists this month. Winger Lenny Nangis has also finally met his peak form after a hugely disappointing first half of the season, with 4 assists, 2 goals and a series of wonder performances this January.

Competitions

La Liga:

Copa del Rey: Beating Espanyol 4-1 in the semi-final.

Champions League: Still waiting for Bayer Leverkusen in the first knockout round.

Summary

Our rivals all lost points in the league so we’re back to the virtual lead given the game in hand. January as usual also saw a lot of the cup and we went past 2 rounds to reach the semis in which we’ve hammered Espanyol, so it’s looking likely a cup final appearance again, potentially against Valencia. Overall this was a great month to gain momentum again after a disappointing December.

[noikeee]

Euro 2024 qualifiers group:

Italy

Turkey

Switzerland

Iceland

Moldova

I'm not very happy with this as there were easier groups, Italy and Switzerland were some of the toughest in pots 1 and 3 too. I think we're stronger than Switzerland so should qualify in 2nd place, but they're still a danger.

[Scarman]

Wow, some movement since I last looked in here. Great work landing the Madrid job, though that was a bloody awful lot of money to spend in your first season! Still, did the job well enough, winning the treble.

Tight season so far, but with that game in hand you should hopefully go top!

[B.W.G]

Very close,hopefully you can win the game in hand to give you a slight advantage.

[deltablue]

Looksa managable qualification group.