[FM13] Making and Breaking History: A Multi-Manager Tale

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - World Cup - Australia 2034: The Bonzer-est World Cup Ever

Here we go, the World Cup. It isn't my first attempt at winning it, but it's probably the first time I've actually been seriously expected to win it. With that expectation comes immense pressure. These don't come around every day after all - if I fail, I doubt I'll be around for the next qualifying match, let alone the World Cup proper.

I picked my squad, and arranged three friendlies against the Ivory Coast, Wales and Canada, to complement us facing Cameroon, Scotland and the USA in our group.

Results were generally positive. The Ivory Coast was a tough match to start off with as they were sitting 20th in the World Rankings. I was also trying out a formation I had never played with before as Italy. It was a slightly modified version of my usual 4-1-2-2-1 formation with wide wingers, as I just wasn't impressed with Italy's play without them. We have some very good players in the pool not being played, which is just wrong. So to grab a win was a fantastic result. Less of a fantastic result was the draw with Wales at the Millennium Stadium. Stephen Smith returned to the city where this story began for the first time in a while, and it wasn't a happy return. Luckily when we travelled back to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome for our final warm-up game, we were on song, winning 5-0 against Canada. We were raring to go.

The groups looked like that in the end. In ours, we raced to qualification with two wins against Cameroon and Scotland, as did the USA. Unfortunately, that meant that I had the displeasure of putting Scotland out after our win. Not something I wanted to do, but unfortunately it wasn't to be for my homeland. I'm hoping they can get behind a Scottish manager now, especially if we meet England, which looks like it could only happen in a potential final. Juicy.

Elsewhere there were no real shocks in our half of the draw. Our 0-0 draw with the USA meant we won the group with our superior goal difference, giving us a slightly easier draw. Uruguay awaited us in the next round after they came second to Spain. I think the only shock in the top half of the group draw is the lack of quality really. Some big names missing.

The second round came and went, and we survived, beating Uruguay 3-1. It was harder than the scoreline suggested though. Elsewhere in the round, England upset the odds and won a penalty shootout (cliche alarm on), and South Korea ended host Australia's brave run. Spain dismantled the USA and Germany went up a gear in extra time to beat Ukraine. The biggest shock however has to be Costa Rica beating Argentina 1-0. Quite a result, and one which blows that side of the draw wide open. They face the Czech Republic in the quarters who finally overcame Serbia after extra-time. The winner of our quarter final plays the winner of that one, so our side of the draw just got interesting.

But it's already pretty interesting, as we've drawn Brazil...baws.

It was so, so tough, but we triumphed on penalties. Brazil did what they did the last time we met and raced into a 2 goal lead, but through luck rather than judgement, we clawed our way back into the game. 120 minutes couldn't separate us, and in the cruelest manner we sent the "World's Best Team" home from Australia with just a quarter final spot to show. We marched on, where we would meet Costa Rica. The massive surprise package, ranked 44th before the tournament, beat the Czech's 2-0 to set up a dream semi-final clash. I've got to say, in a way I don't really want to play them. Anything could happen. On the other side of the draw, it's a rival battle as both England and Germany came through their ties without too much bother.

England brushed Germany aside with ease and awaited the winners of our tie, but when they settled down to watch it in their hotel, I don't think they would have expected what went down. We raced into a 3-0 lead, and started to look like we would embarrass the team from CONCACAF. To their credit, they fought back to 3-2, and looked like they might take it to extra-time. Somehow we held on, and so ended a fairytale story. We intended to make another though - a Scottish manager beating England in a World Cup Final?

World Cup Winners.

We did it the hard way, having to come from behind, but that just made it all the sweeter when the final whistle went and we were crowned. England gave it their all, but we were just better. Fantastic achievement for this team, and we are now five time World Cup winners, one behind Brazil. I think this might be my aim for the next two tournaments...

Di Pinto wins the golden boot and the best player, which is interesting considering he only turned up for a handful of games. Five of his six goals came in two group games. Clinical.

This just shows why I turned this Italy team into using wingers. Both flanks covered by Italians, and no wonder. Whenever our strikers looked clueless, the two of them would cut inside and look extremely dangerous.

Now that this Australian carnival of football is over, I must get back to club duty - Serie A is just light years away!

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l. - Pre-season 2033

We survived last season, and by some considerable distance. We just need to ensure that the good work we managed last year doesn't get thrown away this time around. Once again it's been a revolving door of a summer, with investment being enough to stand still rather than make any leaps forward. I think my only option at this stage is to find some young players with massive resale value. If I make 500k on a couple of players, that would be enough to really boost the coffers at this club. Of course, that goes against my deep seated need to hold on to my best players, but something has to give. Either I get a tycoon owner, or this team gets turned over a couple of times. It'll be worth it when we're Champions of Europe.

Season Expectations

A decent wage budget - even if it is one we're already exceeding - and a massive £21 transfer budget. I'm going to go so mental with that. Having a look at the finances though, we're doing ok at the moment. I just need to find a squad that i can put together with a few thousand spare in the wage budget. We're pretty much using our TV money to pay our player's salaries. It's not sustainable.

Transfers

More co-ownership fun this summer with my worst fears being realised - contracts starting getting called in, and we lost an influential member of the squad. Schwabl was a player I brought in and one who made an instant impact. Unfortunately, we just don't have the money to buy his half back, so he moved to Atalanta. The money will come in very handy though. Luckily I delayed Vitale and Scalisi's decisions until next year - it's just a stay of execution though, there's no way I'll have the money to keep either of them. Cristian Erhet may also join them in leaving after I accepted a co-ownership offer from Palermo.

A lot of loan signings this summer, but in my view we've covered the places we needed strengthening in. We badly needed a striker who would score regularly, so I'm hoping Sestainj will be that man. Petersen will fit in for Schwabl. The rest will provide cover in key positions in my tactics and hopefully fire us to another comfortable finish in the league.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - August 2034

Como

Friendlies

Some very good friendly results to start off the season

Italian Cup

We didn't do quite as well as last season, going out in the 3rd qualifying round to Pescara. We had a good result against Rimini in the second round though.

Serie B

Francesco Scalisi scored our goal in a 1-1 draw. Not the best start, but far from the worst.

Italy

Just one friendly this month, just one month after lifting the World Cup in Australia.

A good result travelling to Russia and coming back with the win.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - September 2034

Como

Serie B

An absolutely awful start to the season. We went seven games without a win, and our much vaunted new striker - who I hoped would mean the difference between mediocrity and something good - scored just one goal. We are still really struggling to score, and our defence is just not good enough. Luca Fillipi is trying his best, but not even he can save us.

Luckily we picked it up towards the end of October by winning twice against Bologna and Modena. Our strikers began to fire, scoring two each, and maybe things aren't looking as hopeless now.

Key Player

Has to be Luca Filippi. Without him we'd be rock bottom without a doubt.

Italy

Four games - two in September and two in October, a mix of friendly and competitive. Russia got revenge by beating us in Rome, but we bounced back by beating Israel in Tel Aviv, Christian Giacomelli scoring another two goals, and flying winger Fabrizio Brilli getting the third.

We had a very good October, beating Holland in a friendly in Amsterdam before keeping up our 100% record in qualifying with a 3-1 win at home to Finland. Pavao staked a claim for a starting spot up front by scoring two, adding to Umberto Mazza's first.

We sit top, but in leagues like this, the table doesn't really mean much with the small number of games. I would be absolutely shocked if we didn't top this group to be honest.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - November 2034

Como

Serie B

Only two defeats this month, and I think this can be classed as a mini-revival. If we can keep this up, safety will be assured, but the question is, can we?

It was all about our wingers and forwards this month, with all our goals coming from those positions.

Out of the relegation zone, and hopefully we can stay there for the first of the season.

Key Player

Dario Sestanj arrived this month with four goals in our last two games, and a hat-trick against Livorno. If he can keep this up, it will make a massive difference.

Italy

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - December 2034

Como

December is now the customary month for our board to lose their constitution and cut the wage budget.

Reminds me very much of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Serie B

Would you look at that...

An almost perfect month, and that is just what this team needed. The team have shared the goals around - Francesco Scalisi chipping in with a few from defensive midfield. We're starting to look very, very good, and if we can keep up this form for another couple of months, we should easily keep our position in Serie B.

So this is what it's like to be so far up. Almost nosebleed territory as we reach the top ten. We're also just four points off 5th place, so we can dare to dream.

Key Player

Luca Fillipi again. We wouldn't have had such a good month if it wasn't for him at the back. But as he gets better, I can only imagine that he will turn some heads. He's the only player who hasn't seen many co-ownership offers flooding in, but if we got a transfer offer for his value, it would be hard to turn down.

Italy

No fixtures this month, but in the end of year player awards shindig, one of ours got the top prize.

Alessandro Faroni joined Manchester United after I left, but I am very glad to have him under my control. He is by some distance the best player we have in our team, and he makes a massive difference sitting as our anchorman. He'll still be there come the European Championships hopefully, possibly even the next World Cup.

World Cup Best Player Marco di Pinto got the second spot, which he has deserved with the brilliant World Cup he had.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - January 2035

Como

As the transfer window opened, we prepared ourselves for a flood of offers for our players. One player who would be particularly sought after is Traore Moukakounou. In the first days of January, Fiorentina came in with an offer for half his value for co-ownership. If we did end up losing him at the end of that co-ownership, we would get the other half, which would be alright. We need the money, so although I would love to get millions for him, it's probably expecting too much. I accepted Fiorentina's bid and prepared for him to accept.

I was pleasantly surprised to find him rejecting the offer, saying he was happy to stay with Como under my control. I've never seen that happen before, so quite happy really. If we're going to make this club a success, we need players like this.

What we don't need are players on huge wages not playing, so unfortunately Nicola Ferrari is one of those. I've allowed him to go on loan to Alessandria. They'll pick up 10% of his wages, which isn't really enough, but it is something. I'm going to look to let him go in the summer, or at the very latest, at the end of his contract. He's not good enough for the club anymore unfortunately.

Serie B

We played three friendlies in the considerable winter break to keep fitness up, and it seemed to work as we returned to action with a fantastic 2-0 win against relegation threatened Sassuolo. Dario Sestainj scored after fifteen seconds to settle the nerves, and it was plain sailing from there.

8th now. Just two points separate us from 5th, and if we make that position, we'll be in a promotion play-off. What a change from the start of the season.

Key Player

Francesco Scalisi was the form player this month in what is probably going to be his farewell season at the club. Fiorentina will put their bid in this summer, and if we can't match it, he's off. We're not going to be able to match it.

Italy

With news that Italy retained their top spot in the rankings, here's a quick look at the current top 20.

England are pushing Brazil for 2nd place despite losing the World Cup Final. Congo and Mali are surprise additions, and I'll be keeping an eye on them for when we need to take a shot at the African Cup of Nations.

[Cardiovascular]

I'm enjoying this, well done on the world cup win with Italy!

[forameuss]

I'm enjoying this, well done on the world cup win with Italy!

Good to hear! Thanks for reading, it's much appreciated.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - February 2035

Como

Serie B

We're faltering, that's for sure, but there were some great results this month.

We didn't start it too well, drawing with a team we really should have beaten in Viareggio. We controlled the game, leading from the first minute until the last, but then let in a silly equaliser. That was certainly not the preparation I wanted when going up against runaway leaders Fiorentina. Somehow we went toe to toe with them in Como, eventually drawing the game 3-3. To be honest, we just run out of time. When Cristiano Santini scored our third to equalise again, we were over-running them. I had gone to overload, and I took the risk of staying there, as I really thought we could get a winner. We almost did, but in the end had to settle for a draw. Not a bad result by any means.

We followed that with a good win away at Pisa, and then a creditable home draw against Juve Stabia. Unfortunately, we then followed that with a bitterly disappointing 1-0 defeat to Paganese. Terrible result, and one that leaves us behind in our unlikely race to the play-offs.

Injuries have taken hold, particularly to top-scorer Sestainj. We're running on empty at the moment.

We're 7th, which I would have bitten your hand off for at the start of the season, but the annoying part is it could be much better. If we'd started the season well, or even turned some of the draws this month into wins, we'd be sitting further up. Ifs and buts though.

Key Player

It's taken a long time, but I'm finally confident in my defensive options. On-loan Walter Mugnaini is one of those options, and forms my first choice pairing with Filippi. I'll hopefully be able to get him back next season.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - March 2035

Como

Serie B

I officially concede the small hopes we had for the play-offs. With form like we had in March, there wasn't much else we could do. It started off fairly well. Napoli were 2nd and still held out hopes of catching Fiorentina, so to get a point off them was a good result. We followed that with six points from Latina and Bologna. We fell apart a little after that, taking only one point from our next three games. We really should have taken at least one win from the first two, and even though Cesena were pretty high up the league, we deserved a better performance in that game.

A poor month really, which shows how crazy this season has been for us. This also shows how crazy...

That's top of the table Fiorentina smashing 2nd placed Cesena 7-0. Unbelievable.

We're 7th, but level with 6th position. Play-offs are still possible, but with our form and our injuries, I doubt we'll make it.

The board are delighted with me though, so that's something. My job is well and truly safe for the time being.

Italy

Routine results this month. A friendly against Ecaudor ended in a win, and then a totally routine win against the Faroe Islands in European Championship qualifying. Not much to get really excited about, but we remain unbeaten.

Switzerland drew with Israel to put us clear at the top. Almost job done.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - April 2035

Como

Serie B

We're seeing out the season with pretty poor form. Can you spot the teams we should've beaten? Yes, the ones we got beat by. A lousy, lousy month, and one that put paid to any ideas we might have held about getting to the play-offs. We'll play out this season, but we should still get a record high position. It also didn't help when Javi our left back got sent off. I was furious with him, and given it was the 2nd time he had done it in 2035, I gave him a 2 week fine. He disagreed...

Don't test me, Javi. Don't test me.

Fiorentina are promoted, but they're on quite a bad run of form themselves. Surely they couldn't be caught now? We're down to 10th, and I can't see us climbing any higher.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - May and June 2035

Como

The month started off with me getting a reminder of something I hadn't been informed about.

My long-serving left-back Javi has decided to retire at 32, apparently because he "wasn't part of my plans". That was interesting, because as you can see, he was pretty much an ever-present this year. Strange one, but it's another wage off the books come the end of the season. Maybe my erratic fining of him contributed...

Serie B

Serie B ended with a typical Como performance in the final three games. We could have got a truly respectable league position with three wins, but we collapsed in the first two games, not putting up too much of a fight. I can't fully blame the players - by this point we had pretty much nothing to play for - play-offs were out of the question and we were well and truly safe. Fortunately we finished the season on a high as Arcangelo Vitale bid a likely farewell to the club with a brace to give us a win against Lecce.

And the final table. Can you notice anything strange? Yup, Fiorentina didn't win the league. To say they bottled it would be an understatement. They jugged it, bathtubbed it even.

This was their final run of fixtures, showing the absolutely terrible form that led up to them conceding the league. What must have been the worst for them was still having the opportunity to win the league if they could beat new table toppers on final day. They could only manage a draw, and that wasn't enough. A brutal end for them, but with that final run, you have to say it was almost deserved.

We ended up a very respectable 10th, and I have to say despite my anger at our late slump, it was a great final position. We were only seven points off the final play-off place, so if we can make up that gap next season, I would be ecstatic.

Post Season

There's one thing on the agenda in particular this summer - cutting the deficit. I'm under no illusions that we can't seriously challenge to get into Serie A with our current budget. I know we'd get a bit of a boost financially by making it there, but not enough to build a team that can survive instantly. We need to make ourselves financially stable, not having to rebuild a team every single summer.

First up, trying to get rid of Greek tragedy Seintopoulos. There's been a couple of false dawns when I think he might actually become a useful player, but he's never stepped up, and he's on too high a wage to sit doing nothing. I offered him to clubs for free, no-one wanted him. I wanted to release him on a free transfer - it would have cost me three quarters of a million pounds. I asked for a mutual termination of his contract - and as you can see he refused. I hate this guy.

Another record. Hopefully we can better it next season.

Perhaps a little harsh, as there were other players that perhaps deserved to be considered, but one that most definitely did was Luca Fillippi. This man is what this club is about, and he is the one player I am desperate to keep. He's also the fans player of the year - they may love him just as much as me.

These four screens show our problems financially. We had a rise in sponsorship, which was good news, but we were rewarded with a massive, massive cut in wage budget. It now puts us 20k over-budget, probably the worst shape we've ever been in. Luckily, although it's a considerable double-edged sword, we will be losing a lot of players in the summer, which will cut back on our wages.

Italy

A rare month where we enjoyed two consecutive qualifying games, and we didn't let up. Our unbeaten record remains with two dominant wins. Switzerland were our nearest rivals in the group, and we could end up being caught if they had beaten us. We were in no mood for charity or for making things interesting as we thumped them 4-0. We also beat Israel 3-1 the Friday before.

All that meant that we had already qualified for the European Championships given that the top two in this group of five are guaranteed a place.

To make things even nicer, we are the first team to qualify that isn't a host. It may be because we're in a smaller group, but it's still a great achievement. We've paid the price for having less competitive games by dropping down the World rankings, but we will be there in Sweden as top seeds and defending Champions, hoping to do a Spain and win three in a row.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Season Preview - 2035/36 - Como Calcio S.r.l.

Board Expectations:

Italian Serie B: Top-half finish

Italian Cup: Reach third qualifying round

My Expectations:

Italian Serie B: Top-half finish with a push for the play-offs

Italian Cup: Would like to reach the first round, but not all that important

Budgets:

Transfer: £0

Wage: £65,461 (Currently spending £63,483)

Balance: -£1,291,936

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Season Preview - 2035/36 - Como Calcio S.r.l.

Current Squad

Probably as thin as it ever has been, on numbers and quality.

Transfers

A lot of players brought in, and it'll be a challenge to have them gel. They have pretty big boots to fill too. Francesco Scalisi, Cristian Erhet and Arcangelo Vitale all left the club, but that was to be expected. We've got a big job on.

Key Signings

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Season Preview - August and September 2035 - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy

Como

Not a bad start to the league season by any means. We navigated our way to the final qualifying round of the Italian Cup once again thanks to an exciting penalty shootout victory over Nocerina. Perhaps we're not in as bad a shape as I had imagined after our large scale reconstruction of the team...

(full table)

Italy

Another win, and we are on quite a run. I'm quietly confident for the European Championships in the summer.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Season Preview - October 2035 - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy

Como

Not one win this month, only three lonely points to hang our hopes on. Our strikers just aren't firing like they should be. We're relying on goals from our defenders and midfielders at the moment, which is just not right. We need them to be at the back keeping cleansheets, which is another thing we're not managing. This spells trouble.

(full table)

We're down to 14th, and I'm starting to think proclaiming our season would be OK was a bit premature.

Italy

A couple of games from last month to catch up on first. We faced Colombia in a pretty uneventful friendly that finished 0-0 and then struggled to a victory against the Faroe Islands. It took until the 71st minute to break the deadlock, and after that we over-ran them. A good victory in the end, and that's all that matters.

In October we completed our campaign with two clean sheets and two comfortable victories, and we'll now head to Sweden full of confidence. One player that will be relishing that chance is Christian Giacomelli. He scored four goals in the three qualifying games, to add to his already considerable total.

8 games. 8 wins. 8 points separating us and second place. Job done.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Season Preview - November 2035 - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy

Como

This is what free-fall looks like. I had my doubts at the start of the season. We had just lost too many players to build a team that could keep up the pace of last time, but i didn't expect a complete collapse, and that is what I'm getting. We also went out of the cup, but that was par for the course with how our league form was going. I would say that January and the transfer window couldn't come quickly enough, but we don't have the money to strengthen.

(full table)

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Season Preview - December 2035 - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy

Como

We're trying to steady the ship, as shown with our two very narrow victories over Pisa and Crotone. The rest of the matches were standard terrible fare. Most worryingly, it's starting to look like we're not just unlucky - it's more like we are actually out of our depth. If that happens, relegation isn't going to be far away.

(full table)

Italy

Easy group is probably pretty harsh, and from my experience, it doesn't matter who is in your group, it's always tough. It could have been far worse though.

Group D and E look like they'll have good battles between France and Germany, and Holland and the Czechs. England and Wales will face off in Group B. I've got to say that this could end up as a straight fight between England and Italy once again. They're the side I most fear, as they ended their qualifying group with a +53 goal difference. They're a big danger.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Season Preview - January 2035 - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy

Como

Just one game in January after the winter break, and we took the three points against bottom club Salernitana. A priceless victory but to be honest it was lucky. We're on the brink.

(full table)

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - February 2035 - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy

Como

If there's one thing you need to do when you're in our position, it's to beat the teams around you. I've said it so many times in my time in Italy, but with the head-to-head being an important sorting rule in the league, it becomes even more important. So, to only pick up one points from our two matches this month against Treviso and Livorno is terrible. It's clear relegation form, but can possibly be salvaged if you pick up full points against other teams. Only one point was achieved from Bari however, and Verona beat us comfortably.

(full table)

We are now two thirds of the way through the season and into the relegation zone. We have a game in hand but it's hard to see us winning it. Fourteen games to go, and I will need to win at least six of those, and probably more. It looks impossible.

[shnen]

is the 'Season Preview' part of the title of each post intentional?

all going pear shaped in como, but I think you should be able to turn it around.

[forameuss]

is the 'Season Preview' part of the title of each post intentional?

all going pear shaped in como, but I think you should be able to turn it around.

Of course it was. So intentional in fact that I'm going to go through each post and remove the reference...

Cheers for reading. TO be honest, if we get relegated, as long as I keep my job, I don't think it will be the end of the world. If we do, I'll try and get rid of most of the high earners for some good money and give the club a new start. We'll see what happens.

[forameuss]

Holy moley, so many seasons, and commendable dedication to life at Como! I may have missed it, but could we see the biography screen for your manager?

You certainly can...

One thing to note from those screens, I often holiday the time between games if it's truly mid season and there isn't much going on. Still, 31% of the game on holiday?

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - March to May 2036 - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy

Como

March 2036

I'm calling it now. We're down. A busy March yielded just one single point, and that's absolutely pathetic to be honest. Our hastily arranged squad has fallen apart and we are rudderless, drifting towards the plughole that leads to Serie C. If one game summed up our season, it was the one against Juve Stabia. We were matching them pretty well until mid-way through the second half when one of our midfielders (names were ommitted to stop me strangling him again) played a suicidal pass towards our defenders. I say towards our defenders, but it wasn't really, it was miles away. The keeper came charging out, which was his only choice really, but was never going to beat the striker for pace. He was rounded, and the Stabia player walked it into the net. That was the moment that relegation seemed certain.

Eight games to go, ten points separate us from safety. No chance.

April 2036

We started off the month with a glimmer of hope against Genoa, snatching a point in the 89th minute, but then our future was pretty much confirmed as Viareggio, a team who usually lie below us, gave us one hell of a beating. Paganese and AlbinaLeffe added two 1-0 defeats before we pulled a result that was all too late against Nocerina. We may have won 3-1, but it wasn't enough.

Relegation.

May 2036

We managed back to back wins for only the third time this season, but when you're already relegated, who really cares? We slumped to two more defeats, resuming normal service as the season ended. Terrible.

11 points from safety, and my worst season since I arrived at Como. We have a massive amount of work to do over the summer.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - March to May 2036 - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy

Hopefully we don't see Serie C again. Ever.

Don't you just hate it when hope backfires?

After swearing we would never see the third tier of Italian football again, my poor management has done just that. This summer I have the European Championships with Italy, and I've got to say it's come at a bad time. A lot of my Como squad will once again leave the club. I had seven players on loan, so they'll obviously move back to their parent clubs, and there's another handful leaving at the end of their contracts. I'll probably be left with around ten fi rst teamers, and some of them will be unhappy due to the relegation.

I made some initial approaches to clubs about taking our more valuable players for a price. No-one bit, even for Luca Fillippi, which surprised me. I may just get to keep him after all.

But I'm not going to sit back, hope to keep my best players, and just sign a raft of new players at random and hope that everything is OK. This club is living TV deal to TV deal, and that isn't sustainable. We need to go back to basics, and that is why a press conference was announced at the Guiseppe Sinigaglia before I jetted off to Sweden.

Some may have thought I was going to resign, but instead I set out a five point plan for the next five years at the club.

1. I will be pursuing a nationalistic management approach, effective immediately. Where possible, I will only sign Italian players for this club, with a small number of exceptions.

2. I will allow myself no more than three foreigners at the club at any one time. If there are extreme circumstances, I may deviate from this to sign a truly important player, but I intend to stick to this rule for the most part

3. I will never again come close to going over the wage budget in an attempt to build profit for the club

4. I will not see an instant return to Serie B as imperative

5. I aim to be in Serie A within five years

The reasoning behind this is probably pretty obvious. Financially, we have to start respecting the wage budget. We're in the red at the moment, so will take a few seasons to climb out of that unless we bring in decent transfer fees, and there's no way we will make it out without making significant savings on wages. And that leads on to point four. If we're cutting on wages, we're probably cutting on quality, perhaps bringing in young, hungry players who have good potential but low current quality. That may mean we're not promoted this year, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. If it's a choice between promotion and significantly improving my financial situation, I'd choose the latter. Also leads on to point five - getting to Serie A in five years. If I can build a squad capable of reaching Serie B in 2, I don't think it's inconceivable to make it out of there and onto the top tier in another three.

The first two points are where it gets interesting. Last season in particular, my assistant seemed to spend most of the games complaining that the foreign players were having trouble blending in and communicating with the other players. I've always ignored these in the past, and my standard answer to press conference questions of this ilk are "football is a universal language". However, after this season, I know that's bollocks. Our players looked like strangers, and it was no wonder when most of my starting line-up were loans who didn't really "feel" the club.

So for next season, I'll be signing mostly Italians, and phasing out anyone from anywhere else. I will aim to go fully Italian, but will allow myself up to three foreigners as I see fit. Just imagine winning that Champions League with an all Italian team...

Next up is the European Championship, before I return to a new era at Como.

[deltablue]

Good luck with your plan.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - European Championships 2036

Squad

Goalkeepers

Key Player

Defenders

Key Players

Midfielders

Key Players

Forwards

Key Players

So that's the squad I'll be taking to Sweden. There are some very controversial decisions in there, surprisingly. My assistant suggested a squad I was pretty happy with, but there was one big exclusion. Giacomelli, the hero of the World Cup two years ago, and clear top scorer in qualifying had been left out. I wasn't immediately sure why, but then realised that he was suspended for three games after being sent off in our final qualifying game. I can see why my assistant didn't select him, because he won't be available for any group games.

I just couldn't leave him out though. He's a very important player, scoring pretty much a goal a game in International games. He'll be available for the knockout rounds if we need him. Hopefully this decision doesn't come back to haunt us.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - European Championships 2036

Group A

Our group, and one that the media had proclaimed was easy before the tournament. It was far from that in the end, and it came down to the final game before qualification was secured. We drew with Norway and Switzerland, putting us in a terrible position going into the final game. Luckily we managed to beat Ukraine, and Switzerland picked up the result they needed against Norway. We sneaked through in second position, joining Switzerland the group winners and Norway, one of the best third placed teams in the next round.

Group B

England dominated the group, and put out quite a statement of intent to the rest of Europe. Nine goals scored and only two conceded, and I can see a World Cup Final rematch at some point. Belgium managed to sneak through in second thanks to their four points against Bulgaria and group whipping-boys Wales.

Group C

A close group, Spain, Serbia and Poland all going through. The Spaniards ended with a zero goal difference, only two goals scored in their three games. Certainly not the cream of 2012 anymore for Spain.

Group D

Germany and Croatia fought it out at the top of the group, but no-one could separate them when they faced each other. The Germans ended up as group winners thanks to their superior goal difference. Greece grabbed a second round spot in third place, but France have really fallen, out of the tournament with no points.

Group E

Bosnia were the unlucky ones with the Czechs, Danes and Dutch grabbing a place in the knockouts.

Group F

A summer to forget for hosts Sweden as they "Do a France" and manage zero points. Turkey become only the 2nd team to manage maximum points in their group, easily qualifying along with Ireland.

Second Round

Altogether, not too many shocks in this second round. Germany went out, but Holland were the ones to better them, so hardly a shock. We had to fight for our own result though, eventually triumphing 4-2 against Denmark. We'll face goal-shy Spain in the quarters.

Quarter Finals

A round that simply rained goals.

Belgium kicked things off by battling to a fantastic 3-2 win against the Czech Republic. The Belgians have really picked themselves up after their struggling performance in the group stage. They were torn apart in their first game against England, and then drew against Wales, but since then they've been much better, and now they find themselves in the semi finals. Holland continued the goals with four against Serbia, booking a semi against neighbours Belgium.

The next day England kicked things off by continuing their steady march with a 3-0 win against previously high-flying Turkey. Their reward was a semi-final that saw them face Italy once again, in a repeat of the 2034 World Cup Final. We managed to beat Spain 2-0 to set that one up, and after our early double-draw wobbles, we look in good form. We'll need to be in fantastic form to better England though.

Semi Finals

A shock result in the first semi-final as Belgium put out neighbours Holland with a backs-to-the-wall performance, resulting in a 1-0 win. A massive result for them, and have to say a big shock. If the first semi-final produced a good game, then the second produced something even better. England once again took the lead, as they did two years ago, and once again they were pegged back. At 90 minutes we were level, and another half an hour of football beckoned. It took until the 108th minute, but we produced the winner. It was a nervous ten minutes, but we won through, and we're given a chance to retain our European title.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - European Championships 2036 - The Final

vs

Road to the Final

Italy

Belgium

Here we are. Another tournament I haven't won yet, and we're just one game away from it.

If the media are to believed, we've pretty much already won it.

I'm not going to believe the hype - we will need to dig deep one more time.

And that is just what we did.

It wasn't a game that went all our own way, not at all. For the first half an hour we absolutely battered them, and it seemed to be just a question of how many we would get. Then de Pinto played a suicidal pass on the left wing, and Jansen stole in to score the opening goal. We weren't behind for long, as Simone Benatti headed in from a corner to equalise. From then on it was very tense. Neither side looked like they wanted to push too much forward. We drifted into extra-time, and nerves started to fray.

But then, cometh the 95th minute, cometh the man. That man Giacomelli, the man my assistant manager did not want to take to Sweden, he popped up with an extremely important goal to put us ahead. Belgium looked deflated, and minutes later we had fresh air between us as Patrizio Giangaspero scored. Wonderful, wonderful play, and our experience looked to be shining through. 50,000 fans watched us coast home, and now we're European Champions again. Three tournaments in a row. Yass.

[deltablue]

Well done on the Euros!

[pricey687]

how many of the trophies have you won now?

[forameuss]

Well done on the Euros!

Cheers! Close one in the end, thought I might lose it against England, but Belgium was a dream draw in the final to be honest - we should have beaten them by a much larger distance, and we shouldn't have needed extra-time.

how many of the trophies have you won now?

That's me up to 10 out of the 14. We just need the African Cup of Nations, the Asian Cup of Nations and the Oceanic Nations Cup. Oh, and the Champions League. That little one. I had trouble picking up the Asian and African titles last time.

[iHeadHunta x]

Fantastic career so far especially your time at Italy!

[forameuss]

Fantastic career so far especially your time at Italy!

Cheers! I've enjoyed my time in Italy - it's not somewhere I've ever managed, especially not so low down. It's a refreshing change from England.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - Pre-season 2036/37

Season Expectations

There it is. After last season's debacle, if I don't reach the play-offs this season, I may well be out of a job. The board have been pretty patient with me so far though, so I'm not overly worried. I am worried about the money I've been given though. I've looked to get rid of the high earning players, but surprise surprise, no-one wants them given the money they'll demand on wages. With a small number of players taking up almost half of the wage budget, we don't have much room to completely rebuild our team, which is what we really need. This is not a time for me to start making grand plans, but I'm stuck with it now.

Current Squad

Speaking of what we have now - here it is.

Quality-wise, if we could finish off our squad with players of this quality, we'd have absolutely nothing to worry about. However, that won't be possible. Which brings me onto arrivals....

Transfers

A lot of players joining, and a few leaving. I managed to stay fairly true to my "Italian's Only" rule, only bringing in one player that didn't have at least an Italian second nationality. Laurens L'Ami looked to be too good a player to pass up, considering the relative lack of Italian talent in the left back position. The rest of the players were mainly in the 18-21 age group, and had big potential, but were somewhat lacking in current ability. It was my only choice, as I couldn't have picked up a team load of high quality on my wage budget. This new team just had to mould itself into one that could achieve a play-off place.

In terms of players leaving, we got rid of two of our foreigners, and crucially one was our first-choice goalkeeper. I brought in replacements, but I wonder if that one will be a decision that I'll live to regret. We lose a very good right back in Goran Gagro and give up half of Anton Boschart in a co-ownership deal.

Finances

Grim. This will be our lot until the end of the season - there is no wiggle room for any January strengthening.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - August 2036/37

Como

Friendlies

Terrible friendly results, and not a good way to start things off.

Serie C1

We started off our league campaign hesitantly, but importantly with three points against Lumezzane. Looks like we're back to the old days of just trying to score one more than the opposition. Yippee.

Italian Cup

We got to the third qualifying round this year, beating Cremonese in the 2nd before Genoa triumphed 1-0. We can now concentrate on the league, with the Serie C Cup as a small distraction.

Italy

A routine win against Greece in a friendly, and our unbeaten run goes on.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - September 2036/37

Como

Serie C1

Uh-oh. This is starting to look ominous. We struggled for form this month,a nd only managed to pick up two points from a possible twelve. Hopefully it's just a blip.

Serie C Cup

Lumezzane just love to have games like this with us, don't they? After our 3-2 win on opening day, we went two goals better, winning 4-3 in the first round of the Serie C Cup.

Italy

Two wins in our first two games, and we're already two points ahead of second place. Still a long way and eight games to go, but I can't see us not qualifying.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - October 2036/37

Como

October and November didn't bring too much more cheer for Como fans. After our crazy 4-3 win in the cup, we went on a bit of a run, only dropping eight more points in the next eight games.

We sit in mid-table now, although we're closer to the relegation play-off zone than the promotion play-offs. Personally I think we're doing alright given our team has been reconstructed completely, but the board is rumoured to disagree.

The players seem to be behind me at the moment, but how long that will last for, I'm not sure. My job status is still listed as stable. We'll see what happens.

Italy

Three games, another three wins, and three clean sheets into the bargain. We're doing very, very well at the moment, and after doing the double with the World and European Cups, it's not inconceivable that we could win another World Cup.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Como Calcio S.r.l./Italy - 2037

January

Treviso kicked off our month by beating us 2-0, and at that point it looked like we would have another terrible month. However, we picked it up with six out of six in the next two. Lumezzane provided a strangely uneventful game to round off January, finishing 1-0. Since the previous two games had produced fourteen goals, it was quite disappointing, but I'll take the three points.

I continue to have the backing of some of the players, but that won't be enough if the board want me out.

February

The very definition of mid-table form as we share around the results, with an emphasis on losing. The play-off positions are now far out of our reach, but luckily so is relegation.

I went to the board asking for more time, and it went fairly positively. The board seem to be happy enough to write off this season and let me start again in the next

March

The positive results have trickled in, but it isn't enough to make much of an assault on the table. Four wins, four losses and one draw.

We made up one place at the end of the season, but still a massive fifteen points off the pace we were supposed to set. The board told us we needed a play-off position, and we've failed. They've been gunning for me all season, but after they told me this season could be a write-off, I was confident of a stay of execution.

Unfortunately, boardrooms can be harsh places.

[deltablue]

Hope you can keep your Como job.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - /Italy - Confederations Cup 2037

Another three wins, including a crushing 9-1 win against Japan. Romania were our closest rivals in the group, but we took our goal tally for 2037 up to 14 goals with a 5-1 win.

Five points clear at the top at the half-way point. We're pretty much home and hosed unless we have an absolutely catastrophic collapse.

Confederations Cup

I could do a big, long update, but as you'll see, there is really no point.

Dreadful.

Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful.

You wouldn't think that this team was unbeaten in almost three years, dating back to the opening games of the last World Cup. In this tournament though, we were unbelievably bad. We had a tough group, so to lose to Argentina in the opener wasn't totally surprising. To lose our remaining two games, however, was surprising. And anger-inducing. We dropped out of the tournament after two games, and could barely raise a fight in our final, meaningless game.

I wanted that second World Cup, I really did, but after Como I don't want to be here anymore. I need to head to Asia, Africa or New Zealand to pick up the International trophies I'm missing.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - Unemployed

Here we are, unemployed for the first time in a long time. I spent a long time at Como, but it was time to move on. I'm very disappointed that it came to that, definitely, but the side seemed to be in a downward spiral, and my management style wasn't going to get them out of that. We were awarded a wage budget 7k less than the previous season a few days before I was let go, and to be honest I was not relishing having to deal with that. I would have had to have promised the title to get something workable, and we wouldn't have achieved that. Unfortunately, it was time to move on.

With Italy, it was a bit of a kneejerk decision. However, I said back when I left the Scotland job that I couldn't hang around jobs just for sentimentality. Yes, I could have won the World Cup again, but short of some more hall of fame points, what would that really have achieved? Not too much, whereas my targets need me to win three more international tournaments that Italy are not eligible for. I need to spread my wings and find another team.

So in the summer of 2037, newly unemployed, I looked for the perfect job. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted, but when a certain offer came in, I knew I couldn't resist.

I'm off to the green and pleasant land of New Zealand. It's the one job I was absolutely sure I wanted. In Africa and Asia the top sides are fairly interchangable. I had an idea of who I wanted to manage when this career kicked off, but some of those nations have fallen down the rankings, and wouldn't be the best options. However, in Oceana New Zealand remain the team at the top. Since Australia left Oceana to chase the Asian Dollar in 2008, New Zealand have been Champions of the continent on six of the eight tournaments, including the past two. We are MASSIVE favourites for the title again in 2040 when it comes around, and that will take me up to eleven tournaments out of fourteen. That's my next few years sorted!

In a club sense, I've gone for plenty of offers, but none have really jumped out at me as being particularly good. There were a lot of offers for the lower leagues in England, but most had Como-like budgets and finances. I'll wait to find my perfect club.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - New Zealand

With no club to take my attention away, I flew through the fixtures and finished off 2037. I knew I would have been preparing for the World Cup with Italy, but I had a good chance to do just that with New Zealand - but only if I could get through a play-off with Gold Cup champions El Salvador. Unfortunately, after an epic two legs, we went down 5-4 on aggregate and were denied a place.

It was almost so good. The first leg ended 3-1 in Auckland, and I couldn't quite believe how good we were. Sure it might have been just how bad El Salvador were, but either way, it was a great result. It was only soured by our opponents scoring. We'd done brilliantly to keep them out, but late on after a great double save by our keeper, they forced in what looked like a consolation.

Fast forward to the second leg and we were up against it. It could have been so different - star striker Aaron Brand missed an early penalty, and at that point I wondered if it would come back to haunt us. When El Salvador scored their own penalty to make it 3-1 on the night, it looked like it had. We dug in to try and take it to extra-time but they were too strong. They will go on to the World cup, leaving us at home. Unlucky.

So much for "we won't judge you on your performance..."

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - New Zealand - 2038

Just friendlies this year after our World Cup heartache, and some mixed results. The win against Ukraine was great, but to only draw with Bahrain and India and lose to Luxembourg wasn't good. I'm not going to get sacked for friendly results though - the Oceanic Nations Cup is our priority.

And speaking of World Cup heartache...

Italy did it. They've now won four tournaments in a row and have equalled Brazil's number of World Cup trophies. Really happy for them, but for the second time in this career, it could've been me. Two very important players from my reign won it for Italy - Marco Di Pinto was one of my best players, and I gave Mattia Lovato his debut. Great to see them win again. Forza Italia.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - New Zealand - 2038

I was waiting for a good job offer, and I think I've found one. Italy was getting a bit old, so in the summer I added all the German leagues for something different. That added a whole load of possible jobs, including a lot in the bottom rung, including Darmstadt, where I will be starting my German journey.

I was attracted by the finances to be honest - there's plenty of room in the wage budget and even some transfer budget to play with. German clubs are always very well run, so hopefully I won't see another Como.

Darmstadt play in the 19,000 capacity Stadion de Bollenfalltor, but that's mostly standing.

Club Details

No staff. Whatsoever. We'll need to recruit quickly.

Finances

Fairly healthy if wages stay at the current level, and should have a decent amount of room to keep profits up.

Team Report

Pretty weak. We have some good players, but that's based around my (pretty poor) new assistant manager. A lot of strengthening needed.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - New Zealand/Darmstadt - July 2038

Transfers

Current Finances

With all the additions to the wage budget, we're making a slight loss, but the improvements were needed.

July Fixtures

A pretty poor start to my life in Germany. No wins, even in our friendlies. Our league started with a point against Lotte who the papers think will be with us at the bottom of the league come the end of the season. Saarbrucken showed us where we really were with a 5-1 lesson at the end of the month. A sobering start.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - New Zealand/Darmstadt - August 2038

August Fixtures

Munster started August as Saarbrucken finished July, smashing us 4-1 and giving me a lesson in German football. The rest of the month was slightly better, as we remained unbeaten, including our first win. We should have turned some of those draws into wins though.

We've slipped to 14th, but there's a long way to go yet.

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - New Zealand/Darmstadt -September and October 2038

Fixtures

There may be a long way to go, and it just got a hell of a lot longer. Seven games and seven seemingly hopeless losses. My new signings just aren't as good as my scouts originally promised me, and instead of building up a good legacy, I think I've just spent their money building a decidedly average squad.

Six points from safety, and with that last defeat against Lubeck, even the teams below us are close to catching us. We're in trouble.

You know what? I've jumped into this too early. I intended to get my New Zealand career finished, and the Oceanic Nations Cup won before I threw myself into what would be a long fight for the Champions LEague. I thought with the big budgets that I could be successful here, but I was wrong.

I hate to do this again, but it's time...

[forameuss]

forameuss's Career - New Zealand - 2038/39/B]

Now that I'm just a simple International manager, it didn't take us long to close out 2038 and move ever closer to the OCE Cup.

More friendlies, and you have to say there's some disappointing results in there. I would expect to beat footballing diddies such as Oman and the Phillipines, but alas no. It's hard to lift the squad for single friendlies throughout the year, but at least we're picking up some results.

In 2039, we had another run of friendlies knowing that all our competitive games will take place in 2040. Again we mixed up some good results with some mediocrity, and mixed in a little horror too.

To get a draw with Japan was a wonderful result, but then to use 3-0 to Iraq in what was a terrible performance, was not so good. From there we really picked it up though and started to get some consistency going. We won all of our games except the one against Wales, and in that game it took a late, late goal to give the Welsh the win. We rounded out the year with a composed win against Mongolia, and if that ends up being our final game before we head to the OCE Cup, I'm happy.

Talking of the OCE Cup...

Here's our draw. Eight nations enter into a two-group system. Five matches won and we'll be Champions. We start again as considerable favourites, but we'll need to guard against complacency. If I don't win it...doesn't really bear thinking about, does it?