[FM14] This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Penarol

Closing Stage

A month of two competitions, and they couldn't have been more different. We did what we had to in the league, swatting away the challenges to finish top of the league for the 4th time running. But in the Libertadores, it was back to failure again as Corinthians dismantled us. It was all over in half an hour, or probably more accurately, it was all over by 18:06 on the day of the first leg. By that point Corinthians were two (away) goals to the good, and eventually went in 3-1 up at the break. We got it back to 4-2 at one stage, and I began to believe, but 5-2 made things nigh on impossible for the second leg. I went all out, but got beat 3-1. I don't think we disgraced ourselves after the nightmare opening half an hour, but we're still clearly far behind the pack.

Champions again by three points. We have now won four stages on the bounce. Absolutely dominant.

We didn't quite have the same season as our first going by the combined table. We scored less, conceded more, and ended with three less points, but you couldn't say it's been anywhere close to a bad season.

On the accumulative table (used for relegation) we're also streets ahead. I think it's usually based on more than two seasons (don't quote me on that) but of course Uruguay has only been active for two. It's a nice way of seeing how teams have fared season to season.

Next Year

I want a third title, and I want to improve in the Champions League. Those are non-negotiable. We need to qualify for the CL to get better, and to qualify we need to keep up our domestic dominance. I'll look to bring in a mix of proven quality and high potential in the off-season, and hopefully we can celebrate an even better season next time around.

[deltablue]

Really steaming along full speed ahead!

[GazTheDoood]

Great work with Penarol so far.

[Mattias333]

Gutted you didnt take the Houston Job! Great passionate fans, nice area, Good players. All in good time though so Understand your reasons for not heading there. Keep up the good work

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Penarol

Transfers

I've spent big this summer in an attempt to bridge the gap a little between us and South America's biggest sides. I'm extremely happy with our business, as it has made our team report look like the below...

And our finances still look like this...

We're in fine health.

Also, this is something new for FM14 as far as I know - an agent has come to me offering money for part of a player I just signed. I rejected the offer, but it's nice to see these things happen. Could end up being lucrative in some cases.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Penarol

Opening Stage

It's starting to sound like a broken record, but we dominated once again. One draw and two defeats is probably too many for this team, but it was enough to see off the competition and take yet another stage title.

Copa Sudamericana

Thanks to our performances last year, we've qualified for the Copa Sudamericana, which is technically South America's Europa League. I say technically, because it is possible to qualify for both this and the Libertadores, given they're played in opposite halves of the year.

In the end, we acquitted ourselves fairly well, managing to get to the quarter finals before things went to hell. It was no surprise when we eventually came up short against Boca, after they spent the first half of the first leg absolutely dismantling us. They scored four without reply, and even when we got a goal back early in the second half, they bagged another two to pretty much end our hopes. We produced a spirited second leg performance, but still got battered. Oh well.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Penarol

And just when I'm settling in nicely to this club, an offer from Argentina comes in that throws the proverbial cat amongst the imaginary pigeons...

I didn't even apply for this one - my first head-hunting. For the first time in one of these attempts, I am genuinely torn.

[deltablue]

Wow, a tempting job!

[pearcey_90]

Wow missed a lot over last few days

Late congrats on the ACL win For the Boca job you have to take it! Great chance to win the Copa Libertadores!

[duffy89]

Going great guns! Boca is too good to turn down!

[forameuss]

Wow, a tempting job!

Going great guns! Boca is too good to turn down!

Wow missed a lot over last few days

Late congrats on the ACL win For the Boca job you have to take it! Great chance to win the Copa Libertadores!

Yeah, it's a very tempting one. I usually wouldn't think twice, but I'm enjoying Penarol, and I think there's an outside chance of getting the Libertadores in the next few years. It would be tough though, and I know if I leave for Boca, I could win the trophy in six months. It's sorely tempting.

You'll all find out soon what I decided to do...

[GazTheDoood]

Cliff-hanger! I'd probably go with Boca, so I'm interested to see your choice.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Boca Juniors

Well how could I really turn them down? An absolutely huge club in South America, and one I absolutely could not refuse.

I'm pretty sure I could not have a squad or club in a better position then this. Secure financially, an unbelievable squad, and state of the art facilities. Buenos Aires is my new home - but for how long?

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Boca Juniors

I arrived mid-way through the break between the opening and closing stages of the league, after the previous manager had delivered an opening stage win, and also the Copa Sudamericana trophy (having beaten Penarol in the quarters of course).

We had to play nineteen games in each stage, one against each of the other nineteen clubs, and of course we'll start our Libertadores adventure as well. Basically, we have a massive amount of games to get through. Thankfully, we're out of the Argentinian Cup, so we'll save some time there.

It's just like being back in Uruguay as we pretty much breezed through the opposition domestically. We started off with quite a wobble, losing two of our first three games. Luckily, it was just that, a wobble, and we recovered to blitz everyone before us. We only dropped five more points in our remaining games, which was easily enough to win the stage given the competitiveness of the league below us.

Eight points clear by the end, and I have well and truly settled in here. But of course, winning the league isn't the priority, as long as we qualify for the Libertadores, which we were also involved in...

If we were dominant domestically, we were absolutely rampant elsewhere.

Colo Colo were the second seeds in our group, and our 3-2 win against them in our first match was a bit tense. But that was the only bit of tension in the group stage, as we spanked twenty-seven goals past the opposition in the other five games. Granted, the opposition wasn't the best, with even Colo Colo probably being a sympathetic second seed, we still looked very, very good.

As we moved into the second round, a 1-1 draw with Deportivo Cali gave us a bit of a scare. We had an away goal, but on returning to La Bombonera, I told the team to guard against complacency.

They responded by scoring nine.

Now technically, we were playing one of the top 16 teams in South America. An unbelievable result in that context. Our quarter final draw was kind again, as we met Colo Colo. A 9-1 aggregate win bettered what we managed in the groups, and at that point, can anyone really stop us? Not Velez certainly, as the battle of Argentina proved to go our way after a fantastic performance away from home in the first leg. We were a bit lethargic in the second leg, but it came at the end of a long season. 1-1 was more than enough.

But hey, really good news for the final - there's a break of a couple of weeks with no games before the two-legged affair.

That's when things went wrong.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Boca Juniors

Chivas of Mexico awaited us in the final, having beaten River Plate in the semi. That was disappointing to us, as a River win would mean a Super Clasico in the biggest game of the season - imagine Real Madrid versus Barcelona in the Champions League final, and add a sprinkling of absolute fan insanity. So that's a shame. But Chivas won through 6-3 on aggregate, so we'd face them.

You have to say, looking at their results compared to ours so far, there should only be one winner. Chivas had a smattering of draws, and a disappointing defeat to Flamengo, although that one came when qualification was already assured. We also had the truly form player in our side in Nestor Maya, who had scored about 849 goals in the season so far (more on him in the next post).

So, surely only one winner, right?

Here's the team-sheet for the first leg.

I'll take you through the problems...

The contract expiry date occurred one day before the first leg. This didn't matter too much on a playing side, as I'd tied up all the players I wanted to keep on longer contracts. We did however lose a considerable number of coaching staff, and, crucially, my assistant manager. My bad completely, as I hadn't checked when I arrived at the club. I'm sure if it was just that, I could get by - I know my best team, and don't need my assistant to spell it out. So onwards...

I said in the previous post that we had a few weeks between the semis and the final. I assumed this was intentional, so didn't bother too much. Now take a look at the players unavailable for the match. All six would be starters. Why are they unavailable? Well, one has an injruy, but the others are all off to the Copa America.

Why? Because it starts the day after the first leg is played.

You're not reading that wrong. The final for the biggest club trophy in South America has been organised just days before the same continent decides its national Champion.

Fury doesn't quite cover it, as we lose a veritable spine of our team. A defender, a defensive midfielder, a playmaker, and most importantly, our red-hot on-fire striker. Absolutely gutted.

But not much I can do about it, so we had to go ahead with the match...

Robbed.

Bear in mind, if I played a team from any other country in South America, they would have suffered from the same problem as me. But no, I had to go up against Chivas of Mexico, who don't send a full side to the Copa, and as such had a full strength team to choose from. We looked lost as our second string fell to a 4-1 defeat in the first leg. I went all out in the second with the same team, but there was an air of inevitability as Chivas scored another four, in front of our own fans, to win 8-2 on aggregate.

I could go into several cliches, but I'm sure you can all understand just how awful this is for this team.

At least it gives me an opportunity to do this again

[Reinoud]

Great move to one of the biggest club of South America. Very disappointing end of the season... Next year the Copa will be yours!

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Boca Juniors

To be honest, it's probably better that I didn't win the CL. I've only been in the door five minutes, and this team could be the greatest I'll manage until the closing days of my European adventure, so it would be a shame to leave it so soon. At least that's the story I'll stick to.

I'll look ahead to next season, but there's a certain man who is a shoe-in for a hall of fame spot already. He'll get his induction either when he leaves Boca or I do, but for now, here's Senor Nestor Moya...

This man is an absolute machine. Comfortably the best player at the club, and one I hope will be with us for my entire Boca career. He's spent most of his career with us, joining as a youth product, and only spending part of a season away on loan to Udinese.

He's caught fire particularly, managing 30 league goals, and an unbelievable 31 in the Champions League. Can you imagine anyone scoring 31 in the European Champions League?! And still he's only worth £1,1 million. As you'll see, his contract is up at the end of the season, so you'll imagine I was very glad when I managed to secure an extension.

We still have clubs sniffing around him, with a 30 million bid tabled. He's worth double that to me, so it remains to be seen whether we can keep him.

[greekgeorge]

Mayo looks so good he could take Heskey's place in your best eleven...

[forameuss]

Mayo looks so good he could take Heskey's place in your best eleven...

Oh come on, let's not say anything we can't take back George...

[duffy89]

Gutting but like you said, enjoy Boca while you can! Some class players there....

[Mattias333]

YES! the Klopp gif again! loving this! Maybe need to start slipping in a few more gifs here an there when certain times require them! Brilliant thread!

[pearcey_90]

Eurgh horrible situation in the Libertadores Hopefully better luck next time!

Mayo Looks insane!

[iHeadHunta x]

Thats ridicolous but can't be helped, good luck next year mate!

[withnail316]

Hard lines with the final of the Copa. Gutting.

Good thread though, man.

[forameuss]

Gutting but like you said, enjoy Boca while you can! Some class players there....

YES! the Klopp gif again! loving this! Maybe need to start slipping in a few more gifs here an there when certain times require them! Brilliant thread!

Eurgh horrible situation in the Libertadores Hopefully better luck next time!

Mayo Looks insane!

Thats ridicolous but can't be helped, good luck next year mate!

Thanks guys. Got to say, the Libertadores was one of the worst experiences I've had in an FM career. The unfairness of it all. I've had similar situations before, but every time I've been facing a side that had the same problems. This time I was facing a full strength side while mine had the spine ripped out of it.

Basically, I have to win this competition in the next two seasons, for in three years, it's World Cup time, and God knows what kind of scheduling that's going to throw up...oh balls, it's the Confederations Cup in two years time

[deltablue]

Oh lord! That was idiotic scheduling right there.

[jerzy59]

I've had a traumatic experience as well with the final of the Libertadores. I was playing with the Allianza Lima against a Mexican side. I managed to draw 0-0 at home for the first leg at the end of June. The second leg was early July. When the transfer window opened in Europe, my president accepted (without asking my opinion) offers for my 3 best players (keeper, center def and striker). They left the team before the second leg and I lost 6-0 there. There's still stories of that kind with the Libertadores.

Anyway, nice career for now. I'm pretty sure you'll have South America pretty soon

[AK22]

Quite a lot of success to catch up on

Argentina is my favoured South American league, so good to see you there winning some trophies already.

[apchivers]

Really enjoying this thread. In particular the time spent with Heskey earlier! Congratulations on the Asian Champions league win. I can't imagine how frustrating the Copa Libertadores final situation was.

[GazTheDoood]

That Libertadores final is a joke, how ridiculous. On the plus side, that Mayo kid is a monster, good job tying him down to a long term deal.

[forameuss]

Oh lord! That was idiotic scheduling right there.

I've had a traumatic experience as well with the final of the Libertadores. I was playing with the Allianza Lima against a Mexican side. I managed to draw 0-0 at home for the first leg at the end of June. The second leg was early July. When the transfer window opened in Europe, my president accepted (without asking my opinion) offers for my 3 best players (keeper, center def and striker). They left the team before the second leg and I lost 6-0 there. There's still stories of that kind with the Libertadores.

Anyway, nice career for now. I'm pretty sure you'll have South America pretty soon

Quite a lot of success to catch up on

Argentina is my favoured South American league, so good to see you there winning some trophies already.

Really enjoying this thread. In particular the time spent with Heskey earlier! Congratulations on the Asian Champions league win. I can't imagine how frustrating the Copa Libertadores final situation was.

That Libertadores final is a joke, how ridiculous. On the plus side, that Mayo kid is a monster, good job tying him down to a long term deal.

Cheers all. Apologies for the slower updates. I'm managing to use logmein to access my home PC while at work, so on off times I've been updating the thread. After leaving it so long though, I now have four years (yup) of screenshots waiting to be cropped and written about. I really don't make this easy on myself...

I'll put some updates up today, but I'll probably catch up over a couple of days.

[duffy89]

Goodness me, 4 years! Looking forward to seeing whats happened in that time forameuss.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Boca Juniors

So here we go again, back on the road with the fantastic Boca. Last time out, I told you of the Copa Libertadores Heartbreak, and my strongly worded letter to the COMNEBOL confederation for their scheduling. But no matter, it's now a new season, and we have to pick ourselves up and move on.

COMNEBOL rubbed it in by releasing this dream team for the Copa, showing how absolutely dominant we were. I think the only reason we didn't hold all spots was that we were weakest at right back, and that we only played one striker. Personally I would have given both spots to Mayo...

More good news came when the board decided to expand the stadium. It became more interesting when I saw that we would be leaving "la Bombonera" in the meantime, and ground-sharing with River, our opponents in the superclasico. Think of Rangers and Celtic ground-sharing. Massive. The expansion will be completed for the next season, and it will bring in a lot of extra money.

This will also bring in a lot more money - check out the doubling in sponsorship. They love us.

And finally in the trilogy of dollar signs flashing up, here's news of the board pumping a massive £37million into the coffers. Not really sure why, but it's led to a huge transfer budget, so I'm not going to complain.

An interesting view of our merchandising. Obviously Nestor Mayo is the leader in shirt sales, but it's nice to see other players getting recognition too. Nice new feature for FM14.

[pearcey_90]

Boca groundsharing with River :/

Somehow can't see that ever happening in real life (or has it happen before). Will make the derbies even sweeter if you win at 'home'

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Boca Juniors

Season 2027/28 - Opening Stage

Transfers first - don't need to say much about them I don't think, as you can see how good they are. Think I've managed a pretty good deal on most of them, and they'll improve the team as it is. They all have youth on their side too, so they'll only get better. Exciting times.

First up, the Argentinian Super Cup, equivalent of the Charity Shield. Only I'm pretty sure no profits go to charity. Prove me wrong.

Velez eventually took it on penalties, which is annoying, but it's hardly the worst result we'll have this season, and it's not the most important trophy.

And now, the Recopa. Basically, this is the European Super Cup for South America. I hear what you're asking - "Why am I in the Super Cup when I didn't win the Libertadores?". Well, I can only guess that it's because Chivas technically aren't South American. Makes it all the more annoying that they can still beat us in the Copa, but can't be helped now.

We had a fantastic first leg against Corinthians, racing into a 3-0 lead in the first leg, and when it finished 4-1, I was very happy. An away goal was worrying though, and so it proved when th Brazilians battered through us in the second leg, scoring four without reply. One goal would've taken it to extra-time, but we were pretty abject. A well deserved trophy for Corinthians.

Then came a dilemma. I didn't realise at the time, but qualifying for the Recopa also led to qualifying as the South American representative for the Club World Championship. It's a bit of an anti-climax really, as we're not actually Champions of our continent, but we went to Saudi Arabia to the tournament aiming to do our best, despite it falling in our much-needed break between stages.

And we only went and won it. Massive props to Supersport United who did fantastically to go through absolutely every stage, polishing off the Champions of Oceania, Asia and then Europe to reach the final. The North American champions were beaten by host team Al-Shabab, leaving us to fly the Americas flag. We beat Shebab, then plucky Supersport in the final to lift the (tainted) trophy. It's another one crossed off, but in a way I'm not going to really count it. Looking forward to winning it again as Champions.

In my career I've often struggled with draws. We've stayed unbeaten at times, but drawn too often. Boca are not that kind of team. We drew one game early on, and lost four, but apart from that, we played extremely well through the stage. Quite enjoying the Argentinian league to be honest - I used to hate it, but the system works, and the teams are pretty well balanced throughout.

Also, great to win the first Ground-share-ico derby as we won 1-0 against River. They'll want revenge in the Closing Stage, for sure.

River couldn't catch us in the end, but it came down to a single result really. If they had changed one of their draws into a win, they would have taken the stage on goal difference. Fine margins.

This time around on the continent, there was no heartbreak as we lifted the Copa Sudamericana trophy. A thoroughly professional job throughout, and proud of the team for picking up the trophy, albeit a secondary one.

The final was a tense affair, and after a 0-0 first leg draw, Santos taking the lead was worrying. Unfortunately for them, they forgot that I had a Mayo up front. He scored our second goal, and the one that put the game far beyond Santos' reach. Match-winner. Trophy-winner. Legend.

Also, my work over this six month period was seen me enter the Scottish Hall of Fame at 10th...

I intend to be top by the end, given that Sir Alex cannot physically get any more points.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Boca Juniors

Season 2027/28 - Closing Stage

Roberto Leal was my only close-season signing, and he'll be good to lift some of the pressure off of Mayo. Not that he's losing form or anything - he clearly isn't - but his fitness is suffering. I tried to rest him at the end of last season, and he refused, which is a good sign of character, but probably not the most sensible thing when he's struggling to ever reach 100% condition. Hopefully Leal will give us some other options in smaller games.

Copa Argentina

Another competition starts in the second half of the season with the Copa Argentina. By the time it reaches the latter stages, most squads are screaming for relief, so we have to balance which trophies we should challenge for...oh fine, I admit we want to win them all. Fitness be damned.

Unfortunately, Velez had other ideas. They followed up their Supercopa win earlier in the season by putting us out of the Cup at the semi-final stage. Once again it was an extremely tight affair, settled on penalties. Can't really argue with the result, but it's annoying to be so close to another trophy and coming up short.

Argentinian Premier Division - Closing Stage

A lot more draws this time around, but less losses, netting out to another pretty good season. River almost got their revenge with a 2-2 draw, but we remain unbeaten in our unpopular ground-share era. The 2-0 win against Velez proved to be absolutely crucial as we ended up taking the stage on goal difference from them. I mean, we battered them on goal difference, with a +16 advantage, but we were very close to dropping our first stage since I arrived in South America in eleven attempts.

Then for some reason, we faced a Premier Division Playoff with Velez. No idea why. Luckily, we got the better of them in another very close match. Another two for Nestor Mayo - how sick is everyone in Argentina of him now - and a 3-2 win was ours. Another league title.

Copa Libertadores

We came up short once again when it really mattered, but this time I couldn't blame any ridiculous scheduling as Vasco played almost the perfect game to dump us out in the semis.

Three away goals in the first leg pretty much ended our hopes, but there was still a glimmer of hope with that one goal. We went all out in Brazil to try and overhaul the lead, but that just opened space up for Vasco to exploit. And exploit they did, scoring three without reply to easily move into the final.

There were positives, honestly. I gave Roberto Leal a start in most of the group games. He didn't quite catch fire, as you'll see by Nestor Mayo introduced to score against Oriente at home. He did get two in our final group games, so I'm happy with his return. I am contemplating bringing in a third quality striker and moving to two up front next season, but we'll see.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Boca Juniors

This shows how big we are in the country, with over seven times as much sponsor money as the club with the least. We're a powerhouse, but we're nothing without that Copa trophy in my opinion.

Is there really a surprise? The man has had another fantastic season, scoring for fun. He's also recently become a club legend. So there's that. I've had a lot of players in my recent FM careers who have been amazing, but that's usually in lower leagues. They have had stats that don't look too remarkable, but work for where they are. I think this is the best player I have ever managed. Ever. It's a shame that once I win the Libertadores, I'll be off, and I'm unlikely to get to manage him again. With luck, I'll get to manage Argentina - Mayo is only 24, so he's got another ten years in him I think.

Every single person in our best eleven got at least one goal, and our midfield five managed fifty-seven goals between them. That's pretty impressive for me, but what's more impressive is thate these five players put together still couldn't outscore super Mayo, who managed sixty-two in sixty-one games. Unbelievable.

Our short-term share with River is over, and we're back in the Chocolate Box, with over 15,000 new seats. Looking forward to filling that up.

I usually gloss over the transfers, but this year needs more. I don't like to sell players, as I feel it disrupts a successful squad too much. However, our squad is massive, and at some point we needed to trim down. The glory days of last summer in terms of finance have reduced massively, so if we want to buy someone, we'll probably need to sell someone. And sell I did.

Six players left. Most were just squad players, used when fitness was low, but Pedro Benvenuto was most certainly a starter. many clubs were sniffing around, so I raised the asking price to 12.5million. That was way above his value, so he came to me unhappy. I played hardball and lost, so off he went. I don't want players holding me to ransom, and I was happy to let him go for how much we ended up getting.

With Benvenuto leaving, we needed a solid center-back to replace, and we got that in the shape of Silvio Mendez. I think he's actually better than Benvenuto actually, and he arrived for 250k less. Good business. I also picked up a couple of midfielders to give us some depth there, and also that third striker I talked about at the end of last season. Roberto Leal wasn't the immediate impact I had hoped for, so Sebastian de le Canal arrived. He looks like a very good player - not in the same league as Mayo obviously, but he'll do a job.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Boca Juniors

Season 2028/29 - Opening Stage

Premier Division

I said last time that I narrowly avoided losing my first league stage in eleven attempts, but this time around, I well and truly lost it with an absolutely ridiculous run of form at the end. Six games, six losses, and there's not much more you can say about it. We were doing pretty well, challenging for the top spot, and then everything just went wrong. Uncharacteristically terrible at the back, and goal-shy up top with a few exceptions. Our defeat against Velez allowed them to clinch the title, and I'll be honest, that hurt. Time for a massive rethink ahead of the Copa Libertadores in the spring.

I've misplaced the screenshot of the table, but it wasn't pretty. I think we finished in 7th. Dreadful.

Recopa

Recopa update - I worked out why I made it into the competition last season. Boca won the Sudamericana in the weeks before I arrived, hence their appearance. Seems that Chivas can qualify for this cup, as we faced them now. They won the Libertadores again, so we were given a chance to get some revenge on them.

When we led 4-1 after the first leg, I started to get flashbacks of the previous year when the same scoreline still led to a loss in the second. Fortunately, a goal-crazy second leg ended 4-3 to Chivas, meaning we managed to take the tie 7-4. Glad to finally get my hands on this trophy, but there will be far more important ones on the horizon.

Copa Sudamericana

We were oh so close to a third Copa in a row, and looked to be heading for just that as we took a 1-0 lead in the second leg at home to Independiente. We were leading on away goals and heading for thetrophy, but then disaster struck. They got a goal back, putting them ahead, and meaning we needed to score again. With just ten minutes left, we couldn't quite manage it. Very disappointing.

Supercopa Argentina

Balls.

Utter balls.

I was offered a new contract, and after unsuccessfully negotiating it down to a single year, I reluctantly signed. I don't like signing long-term contracts when, all being well, I'll be leaving after the Libertadores. I'll settle for it though.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Boca Juniors

Season 2028/29 - Closing Stage

A pretty terrible period last season, and the first time in a while in this save where a team of mine has looked fallible. Both Penarol and Boca have been dominant, so it'll be interesting to see how we react. First things first, we're back to basics in terms of formation. 4-4-2 will be the order of the day, giving me a chance to play two strikers. We've shown that going forward, we don't have any problems, so if we can't keep teams out, we'll just have to outscore them.

Copa Argentina

A forgettable foray into cup football as Banfield dumped us out comfortably in the quarter finals.

Premier Division - Closing Stage

It wasn't the roaring victory that I called for after the earlier debacle, but it was something. We started off well, scoring nine in two games to banish the memory of those six defeats last time out. Then we settled down into the usual pattern of mostly spotless, occasionally horrendous results. We won our crunch games, and lost a few we shouldn't have...

..But luckily it was enough to win the stage and take back some of the pride we threw away last time. Comfortable in the end, but things weren't over, as we faced a final play-off, once again against Velez. And as you probably expected, another very close game ensued. Seems like every time we play them with something on the line, a classic is thrown up, and this one was no different. We lost in extra time, but at that stage of the season, we had bigger matches to think about.

Copa Libertadores

We learnt from the lessons of last year and blitzed through our Copa group, only dropping two points in our final match against Defensor Sporting. Barcelona of Ecuador fell in the second round, closely followed by Estudiantes, giving us revenge for our Sudamericana defeat earlier in the season.

But then came a semi-final against Velez. It was destined to be another cracker, but this time, we had two pretty cagey affairs. The first leg saw Velez take the initiative with an away goal, but our 2-0 win away in the second league was just what we needed. For vast parts of the game, Velez threatened to tie everythign up completely with a goal, but a 93rd minute penalty sealed it, and we could look forward to a final against Vasco, a repeat of one of the semi-finals last year.

We did it.

Vasco may have produced a thoroughly professional performance to knock us out last year, but it was our turn this time. The away leg was up first with us as the higher seeded team. I usually prefer it the other way around so we can kill teams off early in the second leg, but I will most certainly take a 2-0 away win at this stage of the competition. All that was left was to go out in the second leg and not concede two.

You just can't stop Nestor Mayo. A hat-trick in what would end up being my final game for the club. The first goal settled us, the second had us reaching for the champagne, then the third sent the blue half of Buenos Aires into party mode. We strolled the rest of the game, and now we're Champions of South America.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Boca Juniors

Yes it's that time again. I said that I'd be gone once I won the Libertadores, given I've already won the Club World Cup. If this was just a plain journeyman career, I'd be sticking around, but it's time for me to go and try and win another leg.

A decent handful of trophies for me in my two and a half seasons here. Bear in mind each Premier Division title is just a stage title, but I think it's still impressive. I made a clean sweep of all the continental trophies, winning the Libertadores, Sudamericana and the Recopa. It's a lot easier to do that in South America given you can play in both major tournaments in one season, but I'll try and aim to do that in future continental triumphs.

The Emile Heskey Hall of Fame (EHHoF)

Hall of Fame Time! Now there's only one man who can really enter from my time in Boca. I could shoe-horn a couple more in, but I'd be just doing it to make up numbers. With this man though, he fully deserves it.

Nestor Mayo.

An unbelievable player, and probably the best I've ever managed. He's become a club legend in that time, and to put that achievement in perspective, Diego Maradona is only an icon. Praise indeed. In 169 starts (and 7 sub appearances) he has scored 170 goals. that's over three seasons, and for two and a half of those, I was in charge. I would go back and count exactly how many he's scored under my watch, but you're pretty safe in just saying a goal a game. He's been the South American Footballer of the Year twice in two years, but never the Ballon D'Or. At least not yet - it has to happen surely.

But this presents a dilemma. As a one-striker system, Mayo's arrival could mean the dropping of Heskey. I've thought long and hard on this (honestly), and I can't do that to good old Emile, not now the Hall of Fame is sponsored by him. So just like my final season at Boca, it's two up front and three at the back time. It may be unbalanced, but we can now play big-man/little-man up front - yay!

The Team

GK

DL

DC

DR

DM - Ben Kantarovski (history)

MC - James Brown (history)

MC - Brett Emerton (history)

AML

AMR

SC - Nestor Mayo (history)

SC - Emile Heskey (history)

|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| [b]GK[/b] |
| VACANT |
| |
| |
| |
| [b]DL[/b] [b]DC[/b] [b]DR[/b] |
| VACANT VACANT VACANT |
| |
| |
| |
| [b]DM[/b] |
| [b]Ben Kantarovski[/b] |
| [url="http://i.imgur.com/Oc6RFav.png"]Stats[/url] | [url="http://i.imgur.com/5stumld.png"]History[/url] |
| |
| |
| [b]MC[/b] [b]MC[/b] |
| [b]James Brown[/b] [b]Brett Emerton[/b] |
| [url="http://i.imgur.com/eBcyWso.png"]Stats[/url] | [url="http://i.imgur.com/IrzMbtQ.png"]History[/url] [url="http://i.imgur.com/MVRcsoX.png"]Stats[/url] | [url="http://i.imgur.com/P2nXsrw.png"]History[/url] |
| |
| |
| [b]AL[/b] [b]AR[/b] |
| VACANT VACANT |
| |
| |
| |
| [b]SC[/b] [b]SC[/b] |
| [b]Nestor Mayo[/b] [b]Emile Heskey[/b] |
| [url="http://i.imgur.com/HzlF4Aq.png"]Stats[/url] | [url="http://i.imgur.com/fKdOJQx.png"]History[/url] [url="http://i.imgur.com/JgQnQ68.png"]Stats[/url] | [url="http://i.imgur.com/UniQf7i.png"]History[/url] |
| |
| |
| |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Saudi Arabia

After leaving Boca, I was on the lookout for any kind of job to be honest. South American nations were unloaded, leaving just the MLS, the Scottish leagues and the top two in South Africa. I would prefer a job in the MLS, but certainly wouldn't be averse to a national post to try and close out some of those tournaments.

The first one to interest me was Saudi Arabia, so I shrugged and packed my bags, heading off to the Middle East.

I head to Riyadh hoping that I can bring home the Asian Nations Cup. It'll be tough, as we're nowhere near the top nations on the continent, but we'll give it a good go. We've just been eliminated from World Cup Qualifying at the final stage, finishing fourth in our group.

We have a series of friendlies to close out 2029, then a load more in 2030, before the Asian Cup begins in January 2031. I'll be there until at least that point.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Saudi Arabia

2029 was not a year to remember for Saudi Arabia as we were eliminated from World Cup Qualifying after our poor result against Bahrain. The rest of the year holds friendlies against Germany, Kuwait and Vietnam. I'd expect to win two of those - no prizes for guessing which ones.

We love a 3-2...

Very impressed with our result against Germany, but it's hard to get excited with two very close matches against Vietnam and Kuwait. Kuwait are the sort of side we'll expect to beat in the Asian Nations Cup, so it's worrying to be close to defeat against them. Still though, a win's a win, and it is just a friendly after all.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Saudi Arabia

Before the World Cup we faced Mexico and Scotland in friendlies, and to be honest I didn't expect anything from them. I probably did expect at least a goal though - and as you can see, we didn't get that. Pretty poor results, but not panic stations just yet.

The FA doesn't half love a tough match, don't they?

We faced world number one side Argentina, along with top-ten fixtures Italy and Uruguay. I wouldn't say we were that bad, given the standard of opposition. The matches like the ones against Iceland and Jordan are the ones we need to be winning, and win we did. Still not a clean-sheet to be found though. That is most certainly worrying.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

Saudi Arabia

The Asian Cup

So there it is, the draw for the Nations Cup, and it hasn't been the kindest. Cast your eyes below to see the national rankings for the continent to see the size of our task.

After our suicidal string of friendlies, we've struggled to put together any kind of form, and with it any kind of ranking points. We've slipped down from 50 when I arrived to be the bottom ranked nation in the group. China, as third ranked in Asia, will be favourites, so I'm aiming for 2nd behind them.

The Squad

Here's the cover we have over the pitch, and as you'll notice, we have a lot of players who can play in many positions. This should make us more flexible, but we are worryingly thin on real quality. With the exception of Ballon D'Or winner elect Fahad Abdullah of Juventus, we're pretty average. I think we have enough about us to do a job.

As usual, there was the usual media questioning of my squad. I hope young Shaddad scores a hat-trick to make them eat their words.

The Tournament

The talking is over, and the football starts. Could we do it?

I went out against China mostly to frustrate them. I set up hilariously defensively, mainly just to turn the game into the worst spectacle ever. Unfortunately, China scored their two early on, completely negating my plans. I came out and set the team to play some football, and we looked not bad. We got a goal back, but it wasn't enough. 2-1 was probably flattering to us to be honest.

We knew we had to beat Bahrain in the second match, otherwise we were going home. I set the team up to attack, more in line with my usual thinking, and got a great result. We followed that up with another very good win against Kuwait to slot straight into second, just as I planned. Smooth.

Unfortunately, in the quarter final my worst fears were realised. Well, my joint worst fear. I didn't want to draw either South Korea, Japan or Australia given how strong they are in the confederation. Ideally, they knock each other out, leaving us in a final with the sole survivor, and sneak a result. Unfortunately, we got Oz, and they thumped us. It was 2-0 pretty early on, and as we opened up, they opened us up more. It ended 4-1, and could have been double that. Game over.

Japan beat Australia on penalties to lift the trophy on their own soil. Well done them.

I'm off - I can't face another few years doing nothing in this job...

[apchivers]

Well done on the Libertadores win with Boca - Mayo looks a fantastic player! Unlucky in the Asian Cup with Saudi Arabia, Australia are a tough opposition. Looking forward to seeing where you end up next.

[duffy89]

Just caught up here forameuss, great job with Boca, I can imagine you have quite the soft spot for them noe after your time there. Mayo really is a wonderful talent, you may have to manage Argentina one day just so you can link up with him again!

Unlucky with Saudi Arabia but that was always going to be a tough challenge.

Looking forward to seeing where you go next!

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

New England Revolution

In my search for a new job, I mainly concentrated on the MLS. It wasn't intentional, as I would have very much liked to have got South Africa out of the way if the right club had come up. There is quite a turnover of managers in America though, so a few jobs came up. Unfortunately, two clubs in particular suffered from an interesting bug. I attended the interview for both Toronto and Philadelphia, but both rejected me "due to having applied for one of their affiliate clubs". That's absolute rubbish, but even on reloads it seemed to happen. Looks like a bug, so just moved on. Within a few months, in the summer of 2031, New England Revolution came in for me. I accepted.

This is a club with at least some history, at least in America. They have never won the Champions League though, which I am aiming to change.

We do not have a deep squad in any way. We have some quality players, but we'll need to add a lot of players to compete. Unfortunately, when you look at the squad registration, we don't have a massive amount of room for manoeuver. Some of those empty slots will go to players when they return from injury.

Finances are good, but then pretty much every MLS side has the same situation.

And as I arrive, here's where we stand. We definitely have a good chance of making it into the play-offs with just twelve games to go.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

New England Revolution

Well this is not how I wanted to finish the season...

We didn't really have any chance to strengthen, so I settled for the current squad to try and limp to the end. And limp we did.

The Chicago match was the last one before I arrived, so in twelve games, I managed to lose six, including some batterings. I'd say the form we're showing is mid-table, so it's not as bad as it could be, but we have to do better than this. To qualify for the Champions League, we need to either win the Supporters Shield (top of the overall table before the play-offs), the MLS Cup (win the play-offs) or the Open Cup, so in this form, we're unlikely to qualify any time soon.

Despite our poor form though, we sneaked into the play-offs in a wild card spot. This means we face Columbus Crew in a one-off match, with the winner going into the play-off semi final against one of the top three sides in the Eastern Conference.

It was an epic match against Columbus, even just for the penalty shootout. There were 17 fantastic penalties taken before the 18th was missed. Gutting for Columbus, but great for the neutral. And me. Unfortunately, our success was short lived. We faced Chicago Fire just three days later, and they battered us in the first leg. When we got the goal back at 3-0, I started to dream, but that 4th pretty much killed us. We also took the lead in the second leg, but again we couldn't keep up the pressure. Chicago comfortably saw out the game, eventually winning 2-1 on the night, and 6-2 on aggregate. Humbling.

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

New England Revolution

New England is a lovely place in the Winter, as it is in the summer.

You'd think Stephen Smith had made the right decision in coming here. However, you don't know Stephen Smith. He hates the Snow. It's far too cold up here, especially after spending a long few seasons in the heat of South America. So once the squad was sent off on holiday, he sequestered himself off to the nearest roaring fire. There he learns the ancient arts of Tai Chi, Feng Shui, Tae Kwon Do and generally becomes at peace with himself, knowing that he'll need to be to stomach the hilarious Yankee defending he'll be exposed to once the MLS starts up again.

But then a bolt from the blue. He receives a good old fashioned letter bearing terrible news. During a heavy night partying back in Montevideo at a "Please Come Back Stephen" party hosted by Penarol, little Stephen got big Stephen into trouble.

Archie Juarez and Kenny Nestor Smith were born on the 29th of November 2031, in Montevideo, Uruguay. Stephen Smith may now have a few paternity payments to make, but maybe young Archie and Kenny have a future in management once their old man hangs up his suit...

[forameuss]

This isn't a career...this is a dynasty

a forameuss career

New England Revolution

So after that piece of paternal news, it was back to the Gilette Stadium for Stephen Smith, for his first full season in the MLS.

First up is the transfers and drafts we've managed during the off-season. There are many, due to having about 83 different drafts, as well as allowing normal signings. I'll take you through them one by one.

Waiver Draft

Coming just weeks after the MLS Cup is decided, this is hands-down the best chance you have at getting some short-term success in the door. All the players at MLS clubs whose contracts are about to end (barring designated players, I think, but not sure) go into this draft for other clubs to battle over. You can't pick your own players, but the rest are fair game, going in a round robin choice system in reverse order of league places. So bottom team gets first pick, top gets last. There are two rounds.

Got it?

Joaquin Vazquez - one for the future, but also one who could probably do a bit of a job right now. My coaches seem to think he's reached his peak, but I think there's more to come. Even if not, he'll be a good backup.

Jorge Flores - now this is more like it. Flores joins on a free transfer, with only the cost of a new contract to us. Technically and mentally, he is absolutely fantastic. Physically he's a bit of a let-down, but that's not going to matter too much in this league. He should be a clear class above if used correctly.

MLS Re-Entry Draft Stage One

Only one player brought in, but what a player. Drew Kirby will slot straight into our thin defensive ranks, and at only 24, there's room to grow in there too.

MLS Re-Entry Draft Stage Two

No players were brought in during this draft, due to it being the absolute dregs from stage one. Very few teams pick a player here.

Youth Intake

New blood into the youth team, but none to get really excited about. I'll keep most of them on, then we'll see how they develop.

The Superdraft

This is the big one.

The Superdraft, to the uninitiated, is a way into the big clubs for the many college graduates from the smaller American teams. Mostly, the quality is pretty low, but every year there are some absolutely fantastic youths in there who can grow into amazing players. I've been lucky a few times in previous games, but have also had some pretty dreadful ones too. Another twist to this draft is that teams can trade slots. Each team is granted a slot for each of the next three drafts. The number pick will depend on where they finish the season before, but these slots can be traded before that, either towards a player or just for straight cash. This means that a savvy manager can trade his way to getting the absolute pick of the draft if he's smart enough. I'll aim to start picking up draft slots this season with an aim to doing just that.

Jonathan Prado - he has stats in key places, so I'm fairly confident he can do a job. His low determination rating worries me though.

Ivan Alvarez - young cover at center back, will probably be needed throughout the season

Brian Pritchard - higher determination, and pretty good stats in important places means this guy could carve out a place as an inside forward in one of my favourite formations

I was given a pretty terrible report card for my draft business, but I've often found these to be pretty arbitrary. I won't be worrying what the press think of me.

General Transfers

If multiple drafts weren't enough, we also have the chance to bring in more vanilla transfers. It's a lot more difficult for MLS sides, especially if your designated and international slots are full, but I managed to bring in a few squad players nonetheless.

The main news was on the out front as we made two big sales to overseas. It was disappointing that it came to it, but more money in means we can bargain more in terms of allocation funds, and crucially up our salary cap.

The media are back on my side it seems, but time will tell whether I've made good decisions or not.