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A Story of a Thousand Miles Must Begin With a Single Step


DazRTaylor

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COPA AMERICA PREVIEW

CHILE 2019

My first major tournament as manager of an international side. Brazil are firm favourites and I am expected to win.

Squad

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Group Stage

To be honest, Brazil should always get to the semi finals minimum, never mind getting out of the group!

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My Expectations

To win it. It is as simple as that. Uruguay are the big rivals for the title - They are the reigning world champions after all.

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COPA AMERICA REVIEW

CHILE 2019

GROUP STAGE

Brazil v Venezuela

A nervous opening game in truth. Willian opened the scoring for us after 24 minutes. The lead doubled after 37 minutes through Alex Teixeira. We sat back and invited the Venezuelans to come at us which they duly did and nicked a goal after 76 minutes through Salomon Rondon. We hung though for a less than deserved three points. Final Score: Brazil 2-1 Venezuela

Brazil v Costa Rica

Another nervous game. We took the lead early on, in the 8th minute through Rafael Toloi before Costa Rica equalised through Celso Borges. Ganso scored after 44 minutes to make sure we led 2-1 at half time. The second half came and we were shocking. Gustavo Calderon stunned the crowd with another equaliser for Costa Rica after 46 minutes and despite Costa Rica going down to ten men courtesy of a red card given to Alvaro Torres, we couldn't score. Final Score: Brazil 2-2 Costa Rica

Brazil v Colombia

A better performace and we dominated for 90 minutes. Rafael Toloi scored his second of the tournament to give us the lead after 18 minutes. Teenage striker scored the second after 31 minutes to give us a 2-0 half time lead. The second half saw more Brazil chances and Neymar converted on 57 minutes to make it 3-0 which is how it finished. Final Score: Brazil 3-0 Colombia

Final Group Table

We qualified as group winners despite some nervous matches.

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QUARTER FINAL

Brazil v Peru

The confidence earned from the good performance against Colombia seemed to desert us as we struggled against Peru. We had chances in the first half but just couldn't shoot straight and the half time score was goalless. Thankfully, Douglas Costa scored after 51 minutes to calm the nerves somewhat...Well, you would of thought it would calm the nerves but a breakaway strike by Paolo Hurtado in the 87th minute made extra time a certainty. The score after 90 minutes remained 1-1. There was an uneventful extra time period with both teams scared of losing so penalties awaited. We held our nerve and scored all four wheras Peru missed two of theirs. Final Score: Brazil 1-1 Peru. Brazil won 4-2 on penalties.

SEMI FINAL

Brazil v Ecuador

A terrible game devoid of any entertainment saw it finish 0-0. Extra time and the game came to life with Rafael Toloi, having the tournament of his life, scored from a corner after 97 minutes to give Brazil the lead. Neymar doubled the lead after 103 minutes as Ecuador were forced to chase the game. There were no further incidents. Final Score: Brazil 2-0aet Ecuador

FINAL

Brazil v Argentina

The final was a game between two old enemies and we were forced to be without the tournament star Rafael Toloi due tro suspension after picking up two bookings. Disaster struck after 7 minutes with influential playmaker Ganso being forced off with an injury after a vicious tackle by the Argentines. Alex Teixeira took his place but he was soon off with an injury 25 minutes later after another bad tackle. The dirty Argentines got their just deserts in the 44th minute when the brilliantly name Dude scored. Just sixty seconds later Oscar doubled the lead to give Brazil a 2-0 half time lead. 3 minutes after the restart Marcelo found himself free down the left and struck home a beautiful finish for 3-0. We let our foot off the gas after that and two late Argenine goals by Angel di Maria (78 minutes) and Javier Pastore (90 minutes) flattered Argentina somewhat. Brazil won the Copa America! Final Score: Brazil 3-2 Argentina

TOURNAMENT RESULTS

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SEASON 2019-20 PREVIEW

Media Prediction - 1st

My expectation - 1st

Transfer Budget - £184,000,000.

Wage Budget - £2,563,534 per week.

A big season and my last in Spain so winning the league is a must. It is an even bigger priority than the Champions League and I am 5/4 favourites according to the bookmakers. I have some of the best wingers and forwards in the game so I expect to score plenty of goals. I have also shored up my defence by recruiting one of the best defenders in the world. If I don't win the league this year, I never will.

PLAYERS

Players In

All these players were signed with last years budget. So I still have plenty of money available should it be needed.

Oscar Angloma - As discussed before, one of the best players in the world.

Luiz Mendez - Giant Paraguayan centre half signed from former club Arsenal.

Javier Rodriguez - Spanish international centre back, equally at home at left back signed from Barcelona.

Mattia Monza - Italian international midfielder signed from Inter. Played for me previously at both Wigan & Arsenal.

Jean - Brazilian forward signed from former club Arsenal. Despite being just 18, he starts for Brazil.

Mihaita Starpici - Young Romanian goalkeeper signed on a free transfer from former club Wigan Athletic. I am taking a risk by making him the new number one.

Steven Jaouen - Teenage French centre half with a big future. Loaned to feeder club Anderlecht for the season.

Rafael Martinez - 18 year old Mexican striker loaned to Anderlecht for a year.

Players Out

I had a clear out of the older players and raised £139m, shifting six players.

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How did Valencia end up with such big budgets? Did they get a tycoon?

Yes, I believe so. If you look at this finance chart, you can see a huge spike in March 2017, eighteen months before I joined the club:

valenciaboardroomfinanc.png

This list shows the clubs in terms of reputation. Valencia have the biggest reputation worldwide, ahead of even Barcelona & Real Madrid:

worldclubsmajor.png

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Cup for doorstop...cup for book ends...cup as spitoon... You're running out of ideas to use your cups! :)

These two really are tin cups - currently used to prop some books up :D

Great potential from that bunch.
Some really good signings there :)

I think so too - especially as they are cheap. :)

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MID SEASON UPDATE

Champions League

An absolute doddle. We won our group at a canter, winning all six games and scoring twenty goals and conceding only one. We have been drawn to play Turkish outfit Besiktas in the first knockout round in the new year.

League

A good first half to the season and just one loss, away to newly promoted Gimnastic where we were beaten 1-0. The highlight is a 3-1 win at the Nou Camp, where we totally outclassed Barcelona, who are a shadow of their former selves.

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Copa del Rey

As with the other competitions we have played this season, no real problems to deal with in the cup. Third tier Lugo were beaten 3-0 on aggregate in the fourth round which sets up a fifth round encounter with Sevilla.

PLAYERS

Players In

Just the one signing to provide competition on the right wing and up front. I will retrain him as a right winger to make sure this is his main position.

iakigarcasierraoverview.png

Players Out

No one and I am not planning on allowing anyone to leave.

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END OF SEASON REVIEW

SEASON 2019-20

On the face of it, a good season with five trophies. But we failed to retain the Champions League so the seasonm could be viewed as a failure.

Champions League

Besiktas were hammered in thr first knockout round 5-0 on aggregate (2-0 away, 3-0 at home) which set up a quarter final encounter with another Turkish side, Fenerbahce. They were also dispatched easily with my team winning 5-1 on aggregate (2-1 away, 3-0 at home). Surprise semi finalists Tottenham Hotspur were waiting having somehow beaten my former club and their great rivals Arsenal 2-1 on aggregate. The first leg was at home and we duly won 1-0 but it should really have been four or five. We still travelled to North London full of confidence but the Tottenham players had the game of their lives and they beat us 2-0 on the night after extra time for a 2-1 aggregate victory.

League

After ten consecutive seasons in the top three, without ever winning it, Valencia won the league for the first time since 2004, sixteen long years ago. In truth, depsite the occasional bad loss (1-0 defeat at Gimnastic, for example), we won on the strength of the performances against our main rivals. We won 3-1 at Barcelona (we also beat them 5-0 at home!) and 3-0 at Real Madrid to dominatew those closest to us.

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Copa del Rey

We retained our crown with ease. After Lugo, we faced Sevilla in the fifth round and won 5-0 on aggregate (1-0 at home, 4-0 away), Athletic Bilbao in the quarter final, whome we beat 9-2 on aggregate (3-0 away, 6-2 at home) and Real Madrid were defeated in the semi final 5-1 on aggregate (2-1 away, 3-0 at home). This set up a final showdown with Espanyol and despite dominating, it took a 74th minute winner from Italian midfielder Mattia Monza to seal the win for us as we retained the cup by a 1-0 scoreline.

PLAYERS

Player of the Season

Gentian Mertiri sits in front of the back four and goes unrecognised a lot of the time. He does a lot of donkey work and is vastly under rated. A true star.

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Special Mention

Jean may have scored more, but Neymar only scored two less, plus he had twenty assists, not mention I shifted him from up front, to left wing, to attacking midfielder, depending on the situation. Invaluable.

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FORMER CLUB WATCH

Perugia

[u][b]Season       Champions League   Europa League         Final League Position            Coppa Italia               Serie C Cup[/b][/u]
2011-12             N/a              N/a              3rd Italian Serie C2/B (P)            N/a                   Group stage
2012-13             N/a              N/a              5th Italian Serie C1/B           1st qualifying round       1st round
2013-14             N/a              N/a             18th Italian Serie C1/B (R)       1st qualifying round       Group stage
2014-15             N/a              N/a              4th Italian Serie C2/A (P)            N/a                   2nd round
2015-16             N/a              N/a             12th Italian Serie C1/B           2nd qualifying round       1st round
2016-17             N/a              N/a              8th Italian Serie C1/B                N/a                   1st round
2017-18             N/a              N/a              6th Italian Serie C1/B           2nd qualifying round       1st round
2018-19             N/a              N/a             14th Italian Serie C1/B           2nd qualifying round       1st round
2019-20             N/a              N/a              4th Italian Serie C1/B                N/a                   3rd round
2020-21

Hartlepool United

[u][b]Season       Champions League    Europa League         Final League Position            F. A. Cup                  Carling Cup           Johnstone's Paint Trophy[/b][/u]
2012-13             N/a               N/a              1st English League Two (P)       1st round                  1st round                     2nd round
2013-14             N/a               N/a              1st English League One (P)       Quarter final              1st round                     2nd round
2014-15             N/a               N/a             15th English Championship         3rd round                  2nd round                        N/a
2015-16             N/a               N/a             15th English Championship         3rd round                  1st round                        N/a
2016-17             N/a               N/a              9th English Championship         3rd round                  2nd round                        N/a
2017-18             N/a               N/a             22nd English Championship (R)     5th round                  2nd round                        N/a
2018-19             N/a               N/a              3rd English League One (P)       5th round                  3rd round                     2nd round
2019-20             N/a               N/a             11th English Championship         3rd round                  2nd round                        N/a
2020-21

Wigan Athletic

[u][b]Season       Champions League    Europa League         Final League Position            F. A. Cup                  Carling Cup[/b][/u]
2014-15             N/a               N/a              6th English Premier League       4th round                  Runners Up
2015-16             N/a          Quarter finals        4th English Premier League       5th round                  Winners
2016-17      Quarter final            N/a              5th English Premier League       4th round                  3rd round
2017-18             N/a          Winners               3rd English Premier League       5th round                  Semi final
2018-19      Quarter final            N/a              7th English Premier League       Semi final                 Quarter final
2019-20             N/a               N/a              7th English Premier League       Winners                    3rd round
2020-21

Arsenal

[u][b]Season       Champions League    Europa League         Final League Position            F. A. Cup                  Carling Cup[/b][/u]
2016-17      Runners up               N/a              2nd English Premier League       Runners up                 3rd round
2017-18      Winners                  N/a              1st English Premier League       Winners                    3rd round
2018-19      Runners up               N/a              1st English Premier League       Runners up                 Semi final
2019-20      Quarter final            N/a              1st English Premier League       5th round                  3rd round

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THE FUTURE

Well, I have won the Champions League in two countries now but I want a new challenge before I go to Germany or Italy. Ideally, I would love to go to somewhere like Ajax and stay there until I win the Champions League but time will tell. Either way, I will resign from Valencia.

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This is what really really annoys me. I was offered the Juventus job, then the FC Bayern job but I declined both.

The Ajax job came up. I applied. And didn't get it.

2 Champions League titles, 1 Premier League title, 1 Spanish league title, 3 domestic cups, 1 secondary domestic cup not to mention the Copa America with Brazil.

But not good enough for the Dutch league.

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BORUSSIA DORTMUND

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Club - Borussia Dortmund

Nation - Germany

League - Bundesliga (top tier)

Stadium - Signal Iduna Park

Capacity - 80,720 (53,569 seated)

Corporate Facilities - Good

Training Facilities - Top

Youth Facilities - Excellent

Junior Coaching - Good

Youth Recruitment - Established

Media Prediction - 2nd

My expectation - 3rd. From where we are, I can't see us overhauling the top and even 3rd will be a challenge but retaining our Champions League position must be our goal.

Transfer Budget - £8,500,000 So I am back to wheeling and dealing!

Wage Budget - £1,168,167 per week.

I am not being judged this season in any competition so the pressure is off somewhat.

Champions League

As you can see from the group table, the pressure is on for a top two spot.

League

Just awful. We need to start winning matches and soon. I do not have a big transfer budget so I cannot bring a lot in.

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DFB-POKAL

Having beaten non league Bonn in the first round (4-0 away) & Borussia Moenchengladbach in the second round (2-1 at home), we have a tough draw in the third round. Away to Bayer Leverkusen.

Squad

As with any new club, some talented players and some dross.

borussiadortmundsquadpl.png

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MID SEASON UPDATE

Champions League

We ended up topping the group, following two narrow wins (1-0 at home to Lyon & 2-1 at Genoa). We have drawn PSV Einghoven in the first knockout round.

League

A decent recovery though a lot of work to be done. With only the top three entering the Champions League, I have to trust my new signings gel quickly. Bayern Munich have all but wrapped the league title up already.

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DFB-POKAL

We beat Bayer Leverkusen away 2-1 and have drawn Dynamo Dresden away in the quarter final.

PLAYERS

Players In

William Umbarila - This Colimbian midfielder has signed for me three times now and has come on in leaps and bounds since his Arsenal days.

Roel Lauret - Versatile Dutchman who can play anywhere in attacking midfield.

Fuba - Brazilian defensive midfielder who is close to an international call up.

Wandile Ntombela - South African striker brought in to add competition up front.

Petar Osibov - Brilliant young Croatian central midfielder, signed for a bargain £3.5m

Abel Lopez - Colombian international right winger, brought in to bolster the squad.

Nicholas Paris - 20 year old Australian Under 21 international, this centre half cost just £80,000.

Amit Harari - Young Israeli goalkeeper brought in on a free transfer as a backup.

Players Out

A big clear out with 20 players being shown the door, raising close to £50m in fees.

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