The Sammarinese Challenge.

Jimbokav1971 · October 7, 2014

Germany are ranked 11th in the World but they are better than that and have some proper exceptional players. Keeping a clean sheet is unlikely, so we will probably have to have our shooting boots on.

Volp (2024) is suspended and as we play with a RGA, he will be sorely missed. With fatigue and the regular booking in midfield taking it's toll, this could be a bit of a battle.

They scored a goal from a corner and to be honest it was a pretty even game and I was hoping we might have drawn 1st blood. We hit back before HT though and we were still in with a shout, (although the number of bookings were adding up and I was worried about keeping a full compliment on the pitch). I made subs where I could but with so many bookings and then an injury to boot, there were few options, especially in the middle of the pitch, (where Volp (2024) was missing remember). We scored a brilliant winner where we transferred the ball well from left to right and Gabi (2030) grabbed his 2nd of the game. Our aggressive tactics came back to haunt us as we were reduced to 10 men as Trini (2026) was shown a 2nd yellow with 2 mins left on the clock. I got everyone back behind the ball and we held out and are into the Qtr Final against Holland.

Our aggressive tactics are not by accident. I play a really high pressing style, but especially this season we have started to come unstuck with red cards, and goals conceded from set-pieces that we were giving away. It's not so big a deal with the club side because I can just swap someone else in and it's the main benefit of such a deep squad. At International level it's not the same at all though. Our NT squad is completely the opposite of our hugely deep club squad though, so when we lose a player, we feel the loss, and we can't just swap another player in at all. We just don't have the depth. I have realised this might be an issue in tournament football, but to be honest I was so focussed on getting here, that how we would do once we got here, was largely an irrelevance. He had 7 different players booked and 1 was booked twice and dismissed. We already had Volp (2024) suspended and now we have Trini (2026) missing for the next game. In the long-term I am going to have to develop a NT tactic that doesn't require this level of pressing and closing-down. It could be a rocky road but it's one that I am going to have to follow. We can't keep playing like this and hope to do well in tournaments.

Jimbokav1971 · October 7, 2014

Germany are ranked 11th in the World but they are better than that and have some proper exceptional players. Keeping a clean sheet is unlikely, so we will probably have to have our shooting boots on. Volp (2024) is suspended and as we play with a RGA, he will be sorely missed. With fatigue and the regular booking in midfield taking it's toll, this could be a bit of a battle.

They scored a goal from a corner and to be honest it was a pretty even game and I was hoping we might have drawn 1st blood. We hit back before HT though and we were still in with a shout, (although the number of bookings were adding up and I was worried about keeping a full compliment on the pitch). I made subs where I could but with so many bookings and then an injury to boot, there were few options, especially in the middle of the pitch, (where Volp (2024) was missing remember). We scored a brilliant winner where we transferred the ball well from left to right and Gabi (2030) grabbed his 2nd of the game. Our aggressive tactics came back to haunt us as we were reduced to 10 men as Trini (2026) was shown a 2nd yellow with 2 mins left on the clock. I got everyone back behind the ball and we held out and are into the Qtr Final against Holland.

Our aggressive tactics are not by accident. I play a really high pressing style, but especially this season we have started to come unstuck with red cards, and goals conceded from set-pieces that we were giving away. It's not so big a deal with the club side because I can just swap someone else in and it's the main benefit of such a deep squad. At International level it's not the same at all though. Our NT squad is completely the opposite of our hugely deep club squad though, so when we lose a player, we feel the loss, and we can't just swap another player in at all. We just don't have the depth. I have realised this might be an issue in tournament football, but to be honest I was so focussed on getting here, that how we would do once we got here, was largely an irrelevance. He had 7 different players booked and 1 was booked twice and dismissed. We already had Volp (2024) suspended and now we have Trini (2026) missing for the next game. In the long-term I am going to have to develop a NT tactic that doesn't require this level of pressing and closing-down. It could be a rocky road but it's one that I am going to have to follow. We can't keep playing like this and hope to do well in tournaments.

Jimbokav1971 · October 7, 2014

I think this pic speaks volumes.

We battered them but we didn't take our chances. As the game developed and we lost both Pier (2023) and Volpinari (2029) to injury we increasingly struggled to take our chances.

Their goal was a cross that went in and they only managed 1 proper shot on target.

Oh well. It was good while it lasted.

leonavich · October 7, 2014

yes, i've won the three qualifying groups i've been in. the step up between getting out of euro and WC groups to the quarters is huge though.

Yes, I remember far toow ell. England seemed to be my opponent in two or three of my tournaments and they put me to the sword once out of those group stages

Love that! Especially as you probably thought you had blown it.
That's a real milestone actually. I was lucky that I won twice early on with some poor opposition and some decent tactics and a bit of luck, but then I had to wait 10 years for my next one. :o

Congrats!

I was pretty upset at conceding that second goal, so I figured another loss is not the end of the world, but a win would mean everything. I just gunned everyone up in the final 5 minutes and it paid off! Our first competitive win. I just hope I don't go 10 years until my next one! We lost the following game to Italy 5-1, so there is still a long way to go, obviously, but it was nice scoring in two consecutive games nonetheless.

leonavich · October 7, 2014

We battered them but we didn't take our chances. As the game developed and we lost both Pier (2023) and Volpinari (2029) to injury we increasingly struggled to take our chances.

Their goal was a cross that went in and they only managed 1 proper shot on target.

Oh well. It was good while it lasted.

I feel your pain. I was gunning for you after that Germany result, and really thought you might pull through the next game. The knockout stages are brutal though, and penalties is always a lottery. I lost in the European Championship Final to Spain on penalties once (though I was majorly dominated and just sat back), and I was gutted. I can only imagine how it would feel to be the dominant side my a country mile and go out in a very long winded, dramatic penalty shootout.

Head up though, it was a good effort, and the side will only do better next time from the experience.

leonavich · October 7, 2014

Season 2020-21 Transfers

I decided it was time to overhaul. I like keeping loyalty to players, but we had struggled with second year syndrome in the top flight and the jump in quality was really starting to show.

Transfers In

We went in hard and signed all over the park. Out biggest signing was Villalba up front. He looks the goods, but I may have to alternate the tactics to get more out of him as its more of a holding role I use upfront. We use our attacking mids to make the runs and as a result they tend to reap the rewards, but we will see how he fits in, and I will change it up if needed.

Males, Prestia and van der Pol are my new acquisitions in the backline to give us a better shape and structure. Their quality is a mile better than what we had and as they gel we should start to see our side concede less.

| Date               | Person             | From               | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2020          | Darko Hrncevic     | Dinamo             | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2020          | Alex Jakubiak      | Palermo            | £650K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2020          | Marco Maini        | Palermo            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1/7/2020           | Thomas van der Pol | PSV                | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1/7/2020           | Zdravko Males      | Hajduk             | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3/7/2020           | Giuseppe Prestia   | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4/7/2020           | Fabián Villalba    | Barcelona 'B'      | £9.25M             | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11/7/2020          | Giampiero Sannino  | Crotone            | £325K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22/7/2020          | Jan Mucha          | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 25/7/2020          | Damián Scoppettuolo| Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24/8/2020          | Stéphane Durand    | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 31/8/2020          | Andrea Pandolfi    | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £10.3M             | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    |                    |                    |                    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Transfers Out

A few of the old heads left, such as Vidic and Ferrero but some of the surplus guys also got shipped out for free, even though they should of really generated some revenue. My aim wasn't so much to get money where we needed, but to reduce the wage bill to get in guys that we did. Jara was shipped out for free, even though I could of probably held out until the summer for a small fee. The truth is, he was really a bench role player, and Jakubiak's contract being won back after the co-ownership meant I now had two fairly high quality guys up front. Di Tacchio was struggling at this level so when an offer came in to cover his wages, I decided to take it. While Bell and Yaisien had some sizeable bids come in. at £2m apiece, it was hard to turn down their offers, especially as they were essentially now role players with some of our signings this season. Pandolfi was a deadline day signing to cover Yaisien's departure though as we were a little light with him leaving, though I still feel it is a change that makes us stronger still.

| Date               | Person               | To                 | Fee                | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2020          | Nemanja Vidic        | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1/7/2020           | Juan Cruz Arcos      | Juventus           | £900K (CO)         | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 25/7/2020          | Francesco Di Tacchio | Latina             | Loan               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 31/7/2020          | Vittorio Ferrero     | Reggina            | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3/8/2020           | James Bell           | Parma              | £2M                | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18/8/2020          | Daniel Jara          | Perugia            | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 26/8/2020          | Giuseppe Manzaroli   | Carrarese          | Loan               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 26/8/2020          | Stefano Siroti       | Savona             | Loan               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 26/8/2020          | Giampiero Sannino    | Viareggio          | Loan               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 27/8/2020          | Matteo Fusi          | Savona             | Loan               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 31/8/2020          | Abdallah Yaisien     | AC Ajaccio         | £2.1M              | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 31/8/2020          | Marco Ceccoli        | Foggia             | Loan               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total                |                    | £5.03M             | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    |                      |                    |                    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

leonavich · October 9, 2014

Season 2020-21 Match Day 10

A huge spread early in the season, with Fiorentina on 29 and Livorno on just 1. We sit pretty safely in 12th at the moment with 13 points from 10 matches. The side is very new look, so the gelling process is still on-going but I am happy with where we are at currently. I can see us getting lower to mid table this season, and after a few season, we do really have a squad that can fight for higher up on the ladder. The proof was in some narrow losses like 3-2 to Milan, 2-1 to Napoli, 3-2 to Udinese and 2-1 to Palermo... All decent sides early on this season. We also managed to get a win over Inter which has lifted my spirits early in the campaign.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Fiorentina |       | 11    | 9     | 2     | 0     | 25    | 6     | +19   | 29    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Juventus   |       | 11    | 7     | 4     | 0     | 20    | 7     | +13   | 25    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Udinese    |       | 10    | 7     | 2     | 1     | 19    | 8     | +11   | 23    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Palermo    |       | 11    | 6     | 3     | 2     | 24    | 7     | +17   | 21    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Inter      |       | 11    | 6     | 1     | 4     | 24    | 15    | +9    | 19    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Lazio      |       | 10    | 5     | 3     | 2     | 14    | 7     | +7    | 18    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Novara     |       | 11    | 6     | 0     | 5     | 22    | 24    | -2    | 18    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Napoli     |       | 10    | 4     | 5     | 1     | 19    | 16    | +3    | 17    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | A.C. Milan |       | 10    | 4     | 3     | 3     | 20    | 16    | +4    | 15    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Atalanta   |       | 10    | 4     | 3     | 3     | 18    | 16    | +2    | 15    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Roma       |       | 11    | 3     | 5     | 3     | 13    | 12    | +1    | 14    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | San Marino |       | 10    | 4     | 1     | 5     | 15    | 14    | +1    | 13    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Empoli     |       | 10    | 3     | 4     | 3     | 18    | 18    | 0     | 13    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Parma      |       | 10    | 3     | 2     | 5     | 11    | 14    | -3    | 11    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Bologna    |       | 10    | 3     | 1     | 6     | 16    | 24    | -8    | 10    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Pescara    |       | 10    | 2     | 2     | 6     | 12    | 25    | -13   | 8     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Cagliari   |       | 10    | 2     | 0     | 8     | 10    | 24    | -14   | 6     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Torino     |       | 10    | 1     | 2     | 7     | 9     | 17    | -8    | 5     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Sassuolo   |       | 10    | 1     | 2     | 7     | 9     | 23    | -14   | 5     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Livorno    |       | 10    | 0     | 1     | 9     | 12    | 37    | -25   | 1     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |            |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Jimbokav1971 · October 9, 2014

Aldo speaks. Some of you might not be in the UK so might not be able to read it so I will copy and paste. It's interesting.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29530004

Some of you might not be in the UK so might not be able to read it so I will copy and paste. It's interesting.

By James GheerbrantBBC Sport
Most days, Aldo Simoncini works as an accountant. But as goalkeeper for the San Marino football team, he can only dream of balancing the books.

In 39 appearances for the national team, the 28-year-old has conceded 171 goals, while his team-mates have scored just six at the other end.

San Marino are 208th and last in Fifa's rankings of national football teams: level with Bhutan, beneath the Cook Islands, comfortably adrift of mighty Andorra. They are a full 190 places below Roy Hodgson's England team, who they face on Thursday evening at Wembley.

"I get frustrated from time to time," Simoncini admits. "Nobody wants to lose in football, even less by big scores. But we know very well that some opponents are simply out of reach for us."

It is hardly surprising. San Marino - the tiny microstate in north-east Italy - has a population of just 33,000 - around one third of the capacity of Wembley Stadium.

In 25 years of official competition, the national team has won just one match. They have only scored one competitive goal in the last six years. Their last attempt to qualify for a major tournament, the 2014 World Cup, saw them lose all 10 matches, conceding 54 goals along the way.

It is enough to drive a goalkeeper to despair. But San Marino's number one finds it easier than most to keep sporting matters in perspective.

Simoncini concedes an average of 4.4 goals per game for his country

As a highly-rated teenager, he was playing for Modena in Serie B - the second division of Italian football, an almost unprecedented level for a Sammarinese footballer.

Then, aged 19, Simoncini suffered horrific injuries in a terrible car accident. His pelvis and left elbow were shattered, and he spent four months in hospital. "My life was in danger," he remembers. "I was told I might not be able to play football ever again."

His career at the top level was over, but against the odds, Simoncini recovered and was able to return to playing nearly two years later. His first game back was a Euro 2008 qualifier against three-time world champions Germany. San Marino lost 13-0.

"Even though I had to pick the ball out of the net 13 times, it was one of the happiest moments of my life," Simoncini says. "I put behind me 18 months of agony. After being told I might not play again, to be part of such a game was simply unforgettable."#

[TABLE=class: data-table, width: 464]

[TR=class: heading]

[h=2]No easy games in international football?[/h][/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: left first]As well as a 13-0 defeat by Germany, San Marino have lost 11-0 to the Netherlands, 10-0 to Norway and Poland, 10-1 to Belgium, and 9-0 to both Ukraine and Spain. They have lost 8-0 on six occasions, including to England, and conceded seven goals on 10 occasions.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

It is a little more difficult to put a positive spin on San Marino's frequent heavy defeats if you are head coach Pierangelo Manzaroli. The 45-year-old took over one of the hardest jobs in football last year, when veteran coach Giampaolo Mazza resigned after 15 torrid years at the helm.

"In some ways, it is easier to train a big team than San Marino," Manzaroli reflects with characteristic understatement. "Our goals are different to other teams - damage limitation is fundamental. There is a lot of psychological work behind it." Captain Andy Selva agrees: "It is 80% brain and 20% legs."

Perhaps that is just as well for Selva, whose legs are not what they once were at 38. The diminutive striker has been playing for San Marino since 1998. A return of eight goals might not sound like much, until you consider that San Marino have only scored 17 in their entire history.

Selva has scored eight of his country's 17 goals, from 63 caps. No-one else has scored more than two

"I've had the chance to play against great defenders like [former Spain defender] Carles Puyol - he was from another planet, simply amazing," Selva remembers. "[italy midfielder] Andrea Pirlo and [ex-Spain striker] Raul, they are great guys and real champions too. They gave us a lot of compliments after the games, even though the difference between our team and theirs is huge."

It was Selva who gave San Marino their finest hour, scoring the free-kick that beat Liechtenstein 1-0 in 2004. "It is a great memory for me," he says. "I remember my team-mates embracing me; it is something we all felt on the pitch. After the final whistle you start thinking 'What have I done? I have made something historical.'"

Selva once played professionally for Italian clubs Sassuolo and Verona but now earns a living coaching youth football. He believes football in San Marino is slowly improving, but the challenges remain considerable, not least assembling a competitive team from a group of part-timers.

Right-back Mirko Palazzi is the only current professional - at Rimini in the Italian fourth division. All the other players have day jobs. Striker Danilo Rinaldi works in a furniture shop. Midfielder Alex Gasperoni fits lights in farm buildings. Winger Matteo Coppini works for an olive oil company.

"We try to fit football in our everyday life," Manzaroli explains. "To play a certain level of football absorbs you completely, mentally as well as physically. Managing our time is our most demanding task."

One player who understands this better than most is defender Fabio Vitaioli, 30. He and his younger brother Matteo, 24 (one of three sets of siblings in the squad), used to run a bar together - a problematic venture as the national team trains exclusively in the evenings.

The Vitaiolis sold up. Now Fabio manages a clothes shop. Like most players, he works from early morning until around 7.30pm, then clocks off and heads to training.

"When I have training, I have to leave my business partner and go," he says. "It is difficult to fit everything together, but football is a passion for us."

Matteo (left) and Fabio Vitaioli are one of three sets of brothers in San Marino's squad, including goalkeeper Aldo and defender Davide Simoncini, and midfielders Lorenzo and Alex Gasperoni

Understandably, an occasional whiff of amateurism permeates the San Marino set-up. Reserve goalkeeper Federico Valentini once had to be summoned from his day job in a bank on the morning of a crucial qualifying match against Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Sweden to replace an injured Simoncini. Former manager Mazza used to astonish opposition players by demanding their shirts at the end of matches - to give to his students at a local secondary school, where he taught PE.

condary school, where he taught PE.

[TABLE=class: data-table, width: 464]

[TR=class: heading]

[h=2]Part-timers: day jobs of the San Marino team[/h][/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: left first]Aldo Simoncini (goalkeeper) age 28: accountant

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: row2]

[TD=class: left first]Mirko Palazzi (defender) 27: professional at Italian fourth division club Rimini

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: left first]Alessandro Della Valle (defender) 32: works in a ceramics shop

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: row2]

[TD=class: left first]Fabio Vitaioli (defender) 30: works in a clothes shop

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: left first]Lorenzo Buscarini (defender) 23: student

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: row2]

[TD=class: left first]Alex Gasperoni (midfielder) 30: runs a lighting business

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: left first]Matteo Vitaioli (midfielder) 24: factory worker

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: row2]

[TD=class: left first]Michele Cervellini (midfielder) 26: lawyer

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: left first]Luca Tosi (midfielder) 23: office clerk

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: row2]

[TD=class: left first]Andy Selva (striker) 38: youth football coach

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: left first]Danilo Rinaldi (striker) 26: works for a furniture shop

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Nowhere is the gulf between San Marino and their opponents more apparent than in the wages they receive. Manzaroli estimates most of San Marino's players receive no more than 300 euros (£235) a month from their club sides - as much as Wayne Rooney earns every eight minutes at Manchester United.

"Football does not make me rich, but gives me enough to live with dignity," Selva says. "In Italy [and England], football is recognised as a job. In San Marino, it is a hobby, a passion."

Some argue that fundamental difference means San Marino should not be allowed to face the likes of England in competitive fixtures. "San Marino must be thrown out," wrote Martin Samuel of the Daily Mail after a previous meeting between the sides in 2012, arguing that the "catastrophically inept" team were "simply not good enough to play on the grand stage".

Unsurprisingly, Manzaroli does not agree. "To me, sport also means giving everybody the opportunity to measure themselves against teams that are much stronger," he says. "Brazil conceded seven goals against Germany in the World Cup semi-final; why should it not happen to us too against France, England or Germany?"

For now, football's governing bodies seem to be of the same mind. And so San Marino face England for the third time in three years. Many would dread coming up against opponents who had put 13 goals past them in two previous matches, but not Simoncini.

"Getting drawn against England is like winning the lottery," the goalkeeper says. "It's a great emotion to stand alongside players who you are used to watching on TV. To play in front of 86,000 people [the crowd for San Marino's last visit in October 2012] at Wembley against a global power like England - it's a day that will be in my heart for the rest of my life."

Additional reporting by Daniele Verri.

leonavich · October 9, 2014

That was a good read. I love when they get a qualifier on the telly and they put their professions beside their names as they don't have professional clubs. I do hope one day they can really start to make an impact. Perhaps not winning World Cups, but even the odd qualifier here and there. That would be amazing.

Daymor · October 10, 2014

2025/2026 Season

A great year for both Club and Country in San Marino. The Club side finally managed to take out the coveted Serie A title after a couple of years finishing near the top but not quite being able to take it all the way home. In the end we won it rather comfortably taking the top spot shortly after the mid-season point and never dropping from it throughout the remainder of the season. Papadinas continues to be my main attacking weapon and once again for the second year running has taken out the European Golden Boot award with 33 goals in the Serie A and an average rating of 7.68. I unloaded Mogenson over the Summer after I picked up a new English Striker who is superior in everyway on a free, John Glover finished off with a solid 7.45 average over the season and I was soon fielding offers for both Pap and Glover. Turned all of them down as my team was really gelling well and I didn't want to jeopardise that.

This is the 7th year the club has been in the Serie A so I am pretty happy with the speed at which I took to take out the title. It took a lot of building and some very lucky scouts/agent offers. The bookies are constantly picking us in the top 5 of the League so it really does look like I have made it with the side. Now I need to turn my focus to Europe and some Champions League glory.

As we finished 2nd last year we qualified and got dealt a group that was fairly rough with 2 other quality sides in PSG and Valencia, the remaining team which I didn't think would pose too many problems was Galatasaray. We dropped only one game in the group stage away at PSG 1-4, took three wins and 2 draws enough to come through in 2nd place in the group.

In the first knock-out we drew Man City, first up at home. We only managed a 1-1 draw which was disappointing, we had the run of possession and were creating chances just not finishing them. I did not think we would make it out of that leg, but we pulled through at the Etihad and won 3-1 after going to extra time locked at 1-1. I didn't feel safe until we secured the second goal of extra time. I watched the draw for the next round in anticipation with some big teams there and there was only one I thought we had a realistic shot of beating which was Udinese. Unfortunately we drew Barcelona and they promptly put us to the sword with two humilating defeats, 0-3 Away and 0-5 at Home.

Goes to show there is still a significant gulf between the quality teams of Europe and a team capable of winning the Serie A. Funnily enough Udinese went on to win the Champions League, so chances are I probably would have lost to them also.

Champions League/EURO Cup

Serie A

- FINALLY!! A Striker for my National Team, this year's Youth Intake has finally delivered us what I have been crying out for.

- Ladies and gentleman, Daniele Benedettini. Touted as having Star Serie A potential and already pretty decent set of stats this kid is going straight into the NT as my striker. Federico Ceccoli has served me well up top, but his stat distribution is very evenly spread around due to the fact he can play ST, AMC and MC.

- Manuel Santi, Michele Arzilli and Andrea Canti all will have roles to play in either the U21's NT or the Senior NT squad as depth players.

- Having the top 4 recruits as SMR and SMR only is a huge relief. No waiting for them to decide who they wish to play for etc before accepting a call up should it come. All have the potential to be useful down the track. a very good intake overall.

- A few more SMR and Dual Nationality players were signed also. Very good intake to bolster the strength of my NT.

A Tycoon Approaches

Unfortunately not me, even though I don't really need a Tycoon my Board is more than willing to work with me which is great. A Chilean business tycoon Osvaldo Pavez has approached Pescara, and offered to throw many mountains of money their way.

Progress

What Happened?

National Team Update

Fixtures

Best Eleven

As I mentioned up top, what a year for the NT. 7 fixtures, 4 friendlies and 3 competitive, but we won 5, lost 1 and drew 1. I couldn't be happier. As you can see from the fixtures, we only let Spain score one goal on us. The draw against Turkey was a tough game, we were lucky to escape with a draw as Turkey has the bulk of the possession (62%) but only managed to convert that into 5 more shots and 2 more on target. Turkey were up 2-0 by 41mins, and we managed to claw our way back to a draw with two goals in injury time in each half.

The Spain game we just sat back and defended like our lives depended on it, with Spain having a massive 77% of the possession and generating 20 shots, 4 on target we held on quite well. Although it helps significantly when your opposition can't aim.

Another thing to note, Roberto Ceccoli has finally accepted a call-up to the National Team, you may remember he was a Striker who came through my youth system 8 years ago. He has held out as he received a couple caps at U21 level for Italy. Pity it is almost too late for him, with Benedettini coming through this year the Striker role is his unless he gets injured. Roberto Ceccoli however can play ST and any AM position, my NT plays with two AM wingers, so Ceccoli will get a spot in the NT as my AM(L).

We continue to climb in the World Rankings which shows the progress we are making as a team which is great. Reaching the lofty heights of 68th in the World.

Misc. News

A big shoutout to my U19's squad who won the U19's Champions League! My U19's have been huge, my recent youth intakes have pumped a huge amount of talent in with quality strikers, midfielders and Luca Beccari as the GK. As a result they absolutely smashed the local competition and took the U19 Italian Competition and Cup also, scoring ~30 more goals than the next highest scoring team. I am accustomed to seeing my U19's post 4-6 goals in a game. But to win the Champions League is very impressive.

Fixtures

- I was approached by Inter Milan with a Job offer, the first such approach of my career to date, and I think it might be the first time I have received an approach in any of my saves. It's a satisfying feeling.

- Legend Status Achieved! I am officially a club legend, the only one at present.

- I cannot tell you how much I love my Board. I requested Training Facility upgrades as they had deteriorated due to technology, the board okayed it, so I decided to follow it up with a Stadium Expansion request. They accepted that too. I would have kept requesting but the only thing left was more wages for my staff which I don't need.

Jimbokav1971 · October 10, 2014

Due to the ridiculously long nature of the challenge, what do you guys feel about a new thread for FM15?

I'm not going to be playing FM15 because I still have unfinished business with my FM14 save, so obviously I will be posting in here. If the rest of you want a new FM15 thread though, just let me know and I will create it. My personal opinion is that because there are so few people doing the challenge, (albeit growing from back in the day when Leon was on his own), that we shojuld all stick to 1 thread, but if others want a new thread for each issue of the game then so be it.

Let me know.

MADA · October 10, 2014

let's keep it on here. my plan is to go with ciacci through to the end of his career (he's 26 now, in WC year), and then restart, as it won't be possible to complete without him

Jimbokav1971 · October 10, 2014

Serie A. Runners Up. After winning 5 titles on the bounce we have now been Runners Up twice and it really seems our level. Napoli are now the big dogs and to be honest we did quite well to finish 2nd in the end after a shocking run of form in the mid part of the season. In Jan/Feb we went through 7 games winning just 1, and about that time we lost 6 of 11 too. We went 3 games on the bounce without scoring, (unheard of), and only winning 8 of our last 9 games added some respectabilty to our league position. It really was a season of struggle. As someone else has said though, if this short-term cost is the price to be paid for developing HG (SMR) player in the long-run, then it is a price I will gladly pay. It's just a bit of a chock to the system when you were really close to winning every competition you entered, and you then have to cope with playing 2nd fiddle to Napoli.

Champions League. Lost in the Qtr Finals to Real (3-2 on aggregate). That was as good as we could expect I think. The Semi Finalists were PSG, (Champions), Napoli, (Runners Up), Dortmund and Real. All those 4 look better than us at present, (certainly last season), so I can have no complaints.

Italian Cup. Lost in the Semi-Finals to Napoli (2-1 on aggregate). Both games were close, but if I'm honest, they were the better team and deserved to go through. AC Milan absolutely hammered Napoli in the final, (with a ser-up similar to the more attacking of my 2 tactics), so maybe that suggests that I need to be more attacking this season.

World Club Championships. Champions. Our 2nd win on the bounce and possibly our last for a while as I can't see us winning the Champions League anytime soon.

European Super Cup. Champions. Again, it could be a while before we are there again so it was good to win. It took us pens to defeat Dortmund though and was far from straightforward.

U19's League. Champions. We won this with ease, and again I left it under the control of Bianchi (2014). I think we lost just 1 single game all season, and to be honest we absolutely romped it, (but then again we usually do now).

U19's Cup. Champions. Like the other U19 competitions, I left Bianchi (2014) in charge and he managed the youngsters well, winning this trophy for the 4th year in succession and the 8th year in total.

Italian Youth Club Invitational. Champions. I really like this because it's actually a real challenge that is not that easy to win because the games come so thick and fast. This win was our 3rd appearance in the Final in 4 years and our 3rd win in total, (going back 10 years).

U19 Champions League. Champions. In the past I have managed these games, but because I was struggling so much with the senior squad, I just left it to Bianchi (2014), (who is now the U19 Ass Man), and he did a great job and we romped it. It meant that we did a clean sweep of all 4 Youth competitions.

Summary. We may have won 6 trophies, but four of these were Youth competitions and the 2 senior competitions that we won, were the World Club Championship and the European Super Cup that we of course we will not be participating in next season, (or in the near future I fear). I will be continuing the strategy of prioritising (SMR) registered players over those not registered to play for the NT, and after winning a clean sweep of Youth trophies last season I will be drawing a line under that little goal and look to reduce the number of very young high potential non (SMR) players that I sign, (possibly ceasing completely).

I haven't posted any pics because my save is far more about the NT at this stage of the save, but if anyone wants a particular screenshot then I will of course post them.

Jimbokav1971 · October 10, 2014

I have just selected the squad for the Group stages of the Champions League and 20 of the 23 players are classed as HG at club.

The 3 that aren't are GK Lucio (ITA), ST Jorg (BRA) (who was bought because he is a Model Pro to tutor), and MC Blundell (ENG), (who is another Model Pro tutor).

Of the 20 players classed as HG, 15 have actually come through the academy and 5 have been purchased but brought in before their 18th birthday.

[Edit]

Actually I need to register 25 players rather than 23 players so I have added two non (SMR) players to the squad.

Bobby_Zamora · October 10, 2014

Fantastic I've been reading you guys and following close.

I just started my last save on FM14. I felt motivated as I built a gaming rig and FM is flying. I have so many leagues running... right now I'm in Belgian Klasse A (Rupel Boom) but I'm thinking I will end up in SMR some time in the future. I usually start playing the new FM only after the final update so I still have time

Kepp it up guys. It has been great reading your progress.

dan_lcfc · October 11, 2014

Keep the same thread for sure!!!

MADA · October 11, 2014

things have really, and i mean, really, escalated.

with a 2-1 win over switzerland, we're in the world cup final.

we play germany, who are easily the best team in the world.

MADA · October 11, 2014

lost 2-1 aet.

i had 5 cccs, they had 1. ah ****.

Jimbokav1971 · October 11, 2014

MADA.

Wowee! :eek:

pics pics pics! lol :lol:

So close matey.

Jimbokav1971 · October 11, 2014

After an away draw to Israel and a home win against Austria, San Marino are now ranked 23rd in the World.

[Edit]

I think I might have stumbled upon a bit of a tactic designed to help DN players select (SMR) rather than (ITA), so I thought I would share.

If a DN player is selected for the (ITA) U21's then I just let him play for them.

If a DN player is selected for the (ITA) U19's however then I withdraw them from the squad every single time he is selected.

If I can get it to the stage where they no longer select him in the U19 Squad, then there appears that there might be a window between when they are trying to select him for the U19's and when he will be selected for the U21's. Obviously if a player is withdrawn from a squad then I am unable to call him up to my own squad, so it needs to be a gradual process. I seem to have encountered absolutely no negatives to this tactic so basically it's win/win. If the player decides to swap Nations early, (he wouldn't usually change until after he had gone through the U21's at the very earliest), then I get the opportunity to sign him up permanently to (SMR) before (ITA) really has a chance to stake a claim.

If a player is selected for (ITA) U21's then as mentioned above I just let him play for them. This doesn't mean he is lost to us however and I have had.... at least 2 players who have played regularly for the (ITA) U21's and then accepted the call-up to the Senior (SMR) team.

DR Cavalli "Conti" had 19 (ITA) U21 caps and still opted to swap to (SMR).

AMC Bianchi (Retired) had 7 (ITA) U21 caps and still opted to swap to (SMR).

Jimbokav1971 · October 12, 2014

We demolished Malta 6-0 at home with what was effectively a 2nd Team and the hope that the rest given to the usual suspects will result in a positive result at home to N.Ireland 4 days later.

I thought that N.Ireland were quite highly ranked but at HT with the score at 5-0 I checked and saw that they were only ranked 103rd. I don't know how I got that wrong, but I was very wrong indeed. We scored a corner, a direct free-kick, an indirect free-kick and then a goal from open play before we added a 2nd direct free-kick. All we need is a pen and an OG and we have the whole set. We got the pen just near the end to make it 7-0, but we were unable to score from an og so we missed out on that little record.

The 13 goals without reply in these 2 games moved us nicely up the rankings and into.... what the hell! We have just won 2 competitive games on the bounce, scoring 13 goals and conceding 0 and we have dropped 1 place in the rankings to 24th. :mad: England have dropped below us to 25th, (despite just winning 2 games), but Wales and Saudi Arabia have leap-frogged us both. Wales beat Czech Republic 1-0 and Bos & Herz 4-1, and Saudi beat Kuwait 4-0 and drew 2-2 with Japan. That's ridiculous! :thdn:

The Pier (2023) hat-trick against N.Ireland brings his goal tally to 54 in 90 caps. Really am quite happy to that. He's the first player to pass 50 NT goals and there is now a gap to Visentini (2021) on 42 and Luca (2022) on 37.

World Cup European Qualifying Section.
Group 8.

France....... 12 pts.

San Marino. 10 pts.

Austria........ 6 pts.

Israel.......... 4 pts.

N.Ireland..... 3 pts.

Malta.......... 0 pts.

We still have both French games to come, (they are ranked 11th), and a good marker for how we might do will be their friendly next month against Wales.

Our 12 games unbeaten from 27th May 2036 to 15th Oct 2036 is a new record. We lost 1-0 to Latvia in a friendly, (I played a weakened team), otherwise it would be up to..... wait a minute. The current record is 12 but we have actually gone 13 games since that loss to Latvia, and slap bang in the middle of them is a loss on pens in the World Cup. Oh wait..... one of those games was against a club side so that's right. Had we not lost to Latvia we would be up on 17 games now. How infuriating!

leonavich · October 13, 2014

Due to the ridiculously long nature of the challenge, what do you guys feel about a new thread for FM15?
I'm not going to be playing FM15 because I still have unfinished business with my FM14 save, so obviously I will be posting in here. If the rest of you want a new FM15 thread though, just let me know and I will create it. My personal opinion is that because there are so few people doing the challenge, (albeit growing from back in the day when Leon was on his own), that we shojuld all stick to 1 thread, but if others want a new thread for each issue of the game then so be it.

Let me know.

One thread is much easier to manage I feel. If it starts to grow past what we have currently, then it may be worth starting a new one up in FM16 though.

leonavich · October 13, 2014

things have really, and i mean, really, escalated.
with a 2-1 win over switzerland, we're in the world cup final.

we play germany, who are easily the best team in the world.

Woah, that is definitely the best result to date, I think, for a World Cup!? Well done.

Jimbokav1971 · October 13, 2014

Leon. To save me digging out your old thread, what was the furthest you ever progressed at a World Cup?

Quarters?

MADA · October 13, 2014

i'll get the screenshots tonight hopefully guys.

as you can imagine, i haven't played since, and i'm not sure whether i want to carry on with it.

ciacci will be 30 at the next wc though, so he might have another season in him.

Jimbokav1971 · October 13, 2014

Our Training Facilities have just been upgraded.

This is what our facilities are now.

Corporate Facilities. Good.

Training Facilities. Great.

Youth Facilities. Average.

Junior Coaching. Exceptional.

Youth Recruitment. Established.

The Youth Facilities will take another 2 months to complete. I thought that I would have to wait for them to be completed before I was able to ask for an improvement in the Youth Recruitment, but I have just looked and the increase in Training Facilities seems to have triggered it. I asked and they accepted immediately.

I have been really keen to get this done for a while and really chuffed to get 3 different facilities done almost in 1 go. My board seem to have been far less free than as with the rest of you, and.... well I'm delighted.

Youth Recruitment. Soon to be Well Established.

:thup:

leonavich · October 14, 2014

Leon. To save me digging out your old thread, what was the furthest you ever progressed at a World Cup?
Quarters?

My best results were:

England 3 v 1 San Marino - World Cup 2042 Quarter Final Loss

Spain 2(4) v 2(2) San Marino - Euro 2036 Final Loss on Penalties!

leonavich · October 14, 2014

i'll get the screenshots tonight hopefully guys.
as you can imagine, i haven't played since, and i'm not sure whether i want to carry on with it.

ciacci will be 30 at the next wc though, so he might have another season in him.

I was very much the same after my Euro loss which was by way of penalties, but i kept going for another 6 years. The Quarter final exit in 2042 was enough to kill the save for me as the core squad was ageing and the talent coming through just wasn't good enough. I didn't play for a long time after that as it was very difficult to take

leonavich · October 14, 2014

Season 2020-21 Match Day 20

A stable half to the season, 8 points clear of the bottom 3 on 27 points. We have a great goal difference too, as our biggest problem isn't keeping sides out, its not getting that final goal. Every game has been changeable and we have pushed top sides to the wire. Most recently Lazio, who are currently 3rd, beat us 1-0 with a late first half goal.

I am confident that once we get our Left Wing fit again, we will start to string some more results and that mid table position I was looking for will be achievable (Currently both our left sided players are injured and have been so for the last 3 matches, forcing us to use Benedetti wide up front, which has him out of position).

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Juventus   |       | 21    | 12    | 7     | 2     | 35    | 15    | +20   | 43    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Fiorentina |       | 20    | 11    | 6     | 3     | 37    | 22    | +15   | 39    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Lazio      |       | 21    | 11    | 5     | 5     | 29    | 18    | +11   | 38    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Inter      |       | 21    | 11    | 4     | 6     | 42    | 27    | +15   | 37    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Napoli     |       | 21    | 10    | 6     | 5     | 49    | 41    | +8    | 36    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Palermo    |       | 20    | 9     | 6     | 5     | 42    | 24    | +18   | 33    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Udinese    |       | 20    | 10    | 3     | 7     | 34    | 28    | +6    | 33    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | A.C. Milan |       | 20    | 9     | 4     | 7     | 38    | 33    | +5    | 31    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Atalanta   |       | 20    | 8     | 5     | 7     | 36    | 32    | +4    | 29    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Roma       |       | 21    | 6     | 11    | 4     | 27    | 21    | +6    | 29    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Parma      |       | 20    | 8     | 5     | 7     | 30    | 27    | +3    | 29    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Novara     |       | 20    | 8     | 4     | 8     | 31    | 38    | -7    | 28    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | San Marino |       | 20    | 8     | 3     | 9     | 36    | 31    | +5    | 27    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Cagliari   |       | 21    | 7     | 4     | 10    | 27    | 36    | -9    | 25    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Empoli     |       | 20    | 5     | 8     | 7     | 33    | 37    | -4    | 23    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Pescara    |       | 20    | 5     | 4     | 11    | 29    | 43    | -14   | 19    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Torino     |       | 20    | 5     | 4     | 11    | 23    | 31    | -8    | 19    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Bologna    |       | 20    | 5     | 4     | 11    | 29    | 46    | -17   | 19    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Sassuolo   |       | 20    | 4     | 5     | 11    | 27    | 46    | -19   | 17    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Livorno    |       | 20    | 1     | 2     | 17    | 24    | 62    | -38   | 5     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |            |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

leonavich · October 14, 2014

Thanks mikenevo.

True, I wasn't even thinking about the top half! But lets not get ahead of ourselves After staying up by the skin of my teeth, I'm focusing on the bottom more than the top.

I want to get the next update out tonight as there have been a few interesting outcomes.

leonavich · October 15, 2014

Season 2020-21 Match Day 30

We should of done much better over this stretch of 10 games, but I was still happy with our form. We lost 3 games, all of which were by one goal. Udinese's winner came in the 95th minute, one minute past the allotted injury time. Palermo got one past us but we really had the better chances, and Parma was a dissapointing game, and one that should be all 3 points, instead we went down 3-2.

We did however also manage 3 draws and 4 wins, including this bad boy against top of the table Juventus. They ended with 8 players due to 2 red cards and a late injury.

The run of games sees us sit happily in 11th. 14 points clear of relegation and 9 points adrift of the top 4. Being the first season most of this team is together, I expect that we have a lot of room to grow. I am hoping to have a solid end to the season, and try and get a mid table to top half finish, though our stocks are thin as injury creeps in due to player fatigue.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Fiorentina |       | 30    | 17    | 9     | 4     | 54    | 32    | +22   | 60    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Juventus   |       | 30    | 15    | 11    | 4     | 45    | 21    | +24   | 56    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Inter      |       | 30    | 16    | 7     | 7     | 61    | 42    | +19   | 55    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Lazio      |       | 30    | 15    | 6     | 9     | 42    | 31    | +11   | 51    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Udinese    |       | 30    | 15    | 5     | 10    | 51    | 41    | +10   | 50    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Palermo    |       | 30    | 13    | 10    | 7     | 59    | 39    | +20   | 49    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | A.C. Milan |       | 30    | 13    | 7     | 10    | 52    | 45    | +7    | 46    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Roma       |       | 30    | 11    | 13    | 6     | 44    | 32    | +12   | 46    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Napoli     |       | 30    | 12    | 9     | 9     | 59    | 52    | +7    | 45    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Parma      |       | 30    | 13    | 5     | 12    | 49    | 43    | +6    | 44    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | San Marino |       | 30    | 12    | 6     | 12    | 53    | 43    | +10   | 42    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Atalanta   |       | 30    | 10    | 10    | 10    | 51    | 45    | +6    | 40    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Empoli     |       | 30    | 9     | 11    | 10    | 49    | 52    | -3    | 38    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Cagliari   |       | 30    | 10    | 7     | 13    | 44    | 46    | -2    | 37    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Novara     |       | 30    | 10    | 6     | 14    | 41    | 57    | -16   | 36    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Pescara    |       | 31    | 8     | 9     | 14    | 48    | 62    | -14   | 33    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Torino     |       | 30    | 7     | 9     | 14    | 37    | 48    | -11   | 30    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Bologna    |       | 31    | 7     | 7     | 17    | 46    | 77    | -31   | 28    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Sassuolo   |       | 30    | 4     | 7     | 19    | 37    | 76    | -39   | 19    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Livorno    |       | 30    | 4     | 6     | 20    | 37    | 75    | -38   | 18    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |            |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

MADA · October 15, 2014

the pain...

http://s1347.photobucket.com/user/MADA23/media/ScreenShot2014-10-15at114316_zpsda865c7c.png.html?sort=3&o=1

MADA · October 15, 2014

oh the pain...

http://s1347.photobucket.com/user/MADA23/media/ScreenShot2014-10-15at114327_zps584ab7b4.png.html?o=0

Jimbokav1971 · October 15, 2014

MADA. That is rough mate. Really rough.

It looks like Germany might have deserved it though. It's tough when your best XI are ok but you just don't have the depth. That is what has caused me problems so far. I'm only doing ok now because I have more depth.

leonavich · October 15, 2014

Very unlucky mate. Hope you got the courage to at least follow through to the Euro's. I really think you could be the first to win a major international trophy with San Marino.

MADA · October 16, 2014

i've got a big window to play it this weekend, so might get through to that stage at least.

to make it more interesting, i've flogged all but three of my non-SM players, and will be doing the rest of the save with just as many SM players as possible, to try and bring them along as quickly as possible

MADA · October 16, 2014

so can everyone post their top three SM players at this stage in the challenge? would be interesting to see the talent levels.

Jimbokav1971 · October 16, 2014

i've got a big window to play it this weekend, so might get through to that stage at least.
to make it more interesting, i've flogged all but three of my non-SM players, and will be doing the rest of the save with just as many SM players as possible, to try and bring them along as quickly as possible

That's what I did and the club side really has taken a hit.

I think it is the way to go though. Let's be honest, once you have won Serie A and Champions League a few times, what's the point when the real end-goal is the NT anyway?

Good luck. :thup:

Jimbokav1971 · October 16, 2014

so can everyone post their top three SM players at this stage in the challenge? would be interesting to see the talent levels.

I will post my best 3 players in terms of.... well I'm not sure what the criteria for "best" will; be yet, but I will post info on 3 of them anyway.

I will also post the 3 brightest (SMR) prospects in terms of PA.

It will be good to compare and see how things develop.

Jimbokav1971 · October 16, 2014

When I rank players by CA, the top (SMR) player is Volp (2024). He has never really received the accolades that his performances deserve simply because the match rating system doesn't suit players playing in the DM line, (even RGA's who are possibly better some of the other more defensive roles).

Volp (2024) Profile.

Volp (2024) Coach report.

Volp (2024) History.

The next best player, (ranked by CA), is Fabricio (2032). That's pretty impressive when you consider that he is only 20 years old. I obviously knew that he was going to be good when he was produced, and it was this that encouraged me to sell a World-Class right back and throw him straight into the senior team.

Fabricio (2032) Profile.

Fabricio (2032) Coach report.

Fabricio (2032) History.

The 3rd highest ranked (SMR) player, (by CA remember), is Volpinari (2029). He took over in the NT from Bianchi (2014), and that sort of forced my hand and made me start playing him for the club side, (before I really wanted to). Where as Volp can play in either of 2 MC spots when we do not play with a RGA, Volpinari only plays when I play my attacking tactic, (which is designed to put weaker teams to the sword, although which is starting to become the default tactic such is his influence on results. You can see by looking at his history that he has been played sparingly compared to other similar players, and his 2 spells at Partizan are proof that I was initially less than excited about how he might develop. Really happy to have been proved wrong.

Volpinari (2029) Profile.

Volpinari (2029) Coach report.

Volpinari (2029) History.

In terms of players for the future, I have some really bright prospects. Unfortunately, as you would expect, some of them have DN and are holding out to play for Italy.

Valentini (2036) is the best of my most recent academy promotions. He obviously has phenomenal potential, but if I am honest I'm not overly keen. His most suitable role is a DW at the moment and while there is still plenty of time to mould him, I honestly do not like the look of him and the balance of his stats. I am retraining him to play AMR, (rather than just MR), but his technical and mental attributes are not weighted where I want them to be. I'm really not 100% sure what to do with him and my plan at the moment is to ignore where hos current strengths are and look to convert him fully into a player who will be able to play the way I want him to. While that will reduce how good he is going to be, it might just benefit me and (SMR) by letting him slip under the (ITA) NT radar. (That's the hope anyway).

Valentini (2036) Profile.

Valentini (2036) Coach report.

Next up is Matt (2034). I properly love him. He is already a Model Pro through tutoring and at 19yo is already developing really nicely. I keep withdrawing him from the (ITA) U19 squad, (and will do it if he is selected for the U21's if I can). I am desperate for him to opt to play for (SMR). I mean really and truly properly desperate. He is going to be amazing. Most of his performances before this season have all been as a sub, but this season I have started playing him from the start. I am really happy with how he is developing and he is going to be flippin amazing. He is already classed as a "leading Serie A" player, and the fact that his attributes are weighted so well makes him even better than that to my mind. I just have to entice him to play for (SMR) now.

Matt (2034) Profile.

Matt (2034) Coach report.

While Valentini and Matt both have DN, we do have some players who are only eligible to play for (SMR). Bill (2035) looks like he will be along to put pressure on Volpinari for the AP role before too long. His sheer athleticism already makes him a threat, despite the fact that his technical and mental attributed are obviously lacking. I have BIG hopes for him in the future. At the moment I am just happy for him to enjoy playing for the U21's and have no plans for an immediate call-up, (although if both the Seniors and U21's both had friendlies I might consider it.

Bill (2035) Profile.

Bill (2035) Coach report.

Last up in terms of players for the future is Rob (2033). He could already play for the Senior NT, but at still only 19yo I have purposefully kept him back in the U21's to try and see if I can get them to qualify for a the EURO U21 Finals. (SMR) U21's are currently in a 3-way tie for 1st with Scotland and Poland, in a group that also contains Russia and Iceland. Rob has scored 23 U21 goals in 32 U21 appearances and I have got to be happy with that as he is still only 19. He is not DN so I don't have to worry about that at all.

Rob (2033) Profile.

Rob (2033) Coach report.

MADA · October 16, 2014

really interesting.

you have a lot more quality than me i think. i've only produced 5 or 6 really quality players up to 2030, and one obvious absolute star.

leonavich · October 17, 2014

My 3 are not very good, but then again, I have had no emphasis on the national team as yet. Some how we are ranked 157th despite only 1 competitive win, but our facilities are now average, and the new stadium is due at the end of this season, which should see us start to produce much better quality.

Mattia Berardi - Probably our best product to date, and he is still only 17 with 5* potential. He is currently a good Serie B player but has the potential to become a star Serie A player. No Dual Nationality and has already put in a number of good performances for us.

Marco Ceccoli - Our recent defensive talent. Now that our facilities are getting better, we are able to start creating players who can actually fill out positions. He is currently a squad Serie B player talent, and could end up become a star Serie B player, perhaps even a rotation Serie A player if the cards fall in his favour.

Simone Lonfernini - As you can see, our talent depth is light. He is currently only a Serie C1 quality player, and doesn't have a ceiling built in yet, with his potential being 4 1/2* and his report being left at "Can improve a lot in the future"

Expect this list to get better after the new stadium at the end of 2022.

leonavich · October 17, 2014

Season 2020-21 Review

We had a poor final few games, rounded out by the 3-2 collapse to Roma, which we held a 2-0 lead until the 84th minute, only to lose all points in the final 6 of the game. No matter though, the season was a resounding success, as we cemented a 10th placed finish on 53 points. Had we won our last 2 games, which we should have, we would of ended in 6th, but I had no disappointment as we had a solid season.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | ECC   | Fiorentina |       | 38    | 23    | 10    | 5     | 70    | 39    | +31   | 79    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | ECC   | Inter      |       | 38    | 22    | 9     | 7     | 88    | 52    | +36   | 75    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | ECC   | Juventus   |       | 37    | 17    | 13    | 7     | 50    | 27    | +23   | 64    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   | ECC   | Palermo    |       | 38    | 17    | 12    | 9     | 68    | 45    | +23   | 63    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   | EC    | Roma       |       | 38    | 15    | 16    | 7     | 57    | 40    | +17   | 61    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Udinese    |       | 38    | 17    | 8     | 13    | 63    | 56    | +7    | 59    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Lazio      |       | 37    | 16    | 9     | 12    | 46    | 40    | +6    | 57    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Napoli     |       | 38    | 14    | 14    | 10    | 73    | 63    | +10   | 56    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | A.C. Milan |       | 38    | 15    | 8     | 15    | 60    | 57    | +3    | 53    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | San Marino |       | 38    | 15    | 8     | 15    | 65    | 57    | +8    | 53    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Atalanta   |       | 38    | 13    | 12    | 13    | 60    | 53    | +7    | 51    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Parma      |       | 38    | 15    | 6     | 17    | 61    | 57    | +4    | 51    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Pescara    |       | 38    | 13    | 10    | 15    | 55    | 64    | -9    | 49    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Empoli     |       | 38    | 12    | 12    | 14    | 60    | 67    | -7    | 48    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Torino     |       | 38    | 13    | 9     | 16    | 49    | 56    | -7    | 48    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Cagliari   |       | 38    | 11    | 9     | 18    | 54    | 63    | -9    | 42    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Novara     |       | 37    | 10    | 9     | 18    | 48    | 69    | -21   | 39    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Bologna    |       | 37    | 10    | 7     | 20    | 54    | 85    | -31   | 37    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  | R     | Sassuolo   |       | 38    | 6     | 10    | 22    | 51    | 90    | -39   | 28    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  | R     | Livorno    |       | 38    | 4     | 9     | 25    | 41    | 93    | -52   | 21    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |            |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

It was easy to see a huge improvement in the squads performance with new signing Hrncevic the standout. I was very impressed with the squad, and only wanted to add a few more bits to improve on what was already a solid starting XI.

As they are now gelled a lot better, I expect better results from my front pairing of Morra and Villalba. My only concern is the costs that will now rise dramatically as the side moves from cellar dwellers to mid table.

| Pkd  | Inf  | Name                | Apps   | Gls  | Ast  | PoM  | Pas R| Tck  | DrbPG| Sh T | Yel  | Red  | Av Rat | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK   |      | Giacomo Venturi     | 36     | 6    | 0    | 2    | 91%  | -    | -    | 100% | 0    | 0    | 7.08   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR   | Wnt  | Zdravko Males       | 22 (6) | 1    | 2    | 2    | 83%  | 3.05 | 0.82 | 100% | 7    | 0    | 6.85   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DCR  |      | Jan Ondrusek        | 15     | 1    | 0    | 0    | 72%  | 3.88 | 0.27 | 67%  | 2    | 0    | 6.81   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DCL  |      | Giuseppe Prestia    | 38     | 0    | 0    | 0    | 77%  | 3.38 | 0.27 | 27%  | 4    | 0    | 6.81   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL   | Wnt  | Amedeo Benedetti    | 25 (4) | 1    | 3    | 2    | 86%  | 4.05 | 1.34 | 56%  | 5    | 0    | 7.00   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MCR  |      | John Zimmerman      | 35     | 3    | 6    | 2    | 86%  | 3.18 | 2.07 | 39%  | 11   | 0    | 7.07   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MCL  |      | Hubert Simon        | 35 (2) | 3    | 3    | 0    | 86%  | 2.73 | 0.75 | 48%  | 5    | 0    | 7.00   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMR  | PR   | Darko Hrncevic      | 39     | 14   | 12   | 3    | 82%  | 1.76 | 3.73 | 47%  | 2    | 0    | 7.22   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC  |      | Niccolò Morra       | 40     | 9    | 12   | 2    | 81%  | 1.28 | 1.76 | 42%  | 4    | 0    | 7.11   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AML  |      | Damián Scoppettuolo | 33     | 8    | 9    | 2    | 77%  | 1.45 | 3.62 | 47%  | 8    | 0    | 7.04   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| STC  |      | Fabián Villalba     | 32     | 14   | 5    | 2    | 77%  | 0.70 | 0.90 | 47%  | 0    | 0    | 7.00   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1   | Ret  | Jan Mucha           | 5      | 0    | 0    | 0    | 91%  | -    | -    | -    | 0    | 0    | 6.90   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2   |      | Pat Douglas         | 7 (4)  | 0    | 0    | 0    | 85%  | 4.99 | 1.21 | -    | 1    | 0    | 6.75   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3   |      | Andrea Pandolfi     | 2 (11) | 0    | 0    | 0    | 88%  | 2.73 | 0.55 | -    | 1    | 0    | 6.76   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4   | Lst  | Juan Cruz Arcos     | 6 (7)  | 2    | 2    | 1    | 78%  | 0.60 | -    | 40%  | 0    | 0    | 6.96   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5   | Slt  | Cristian Zapata     | 28 (2) | 3    | 1    | 0    | 78%  | 4.30 | 0.43 | 23%  | 6    | 0    | 6.83   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S6   |      | Stéphane Durand     | 9 (10) | 1    | 2    | 0    | 83%  | 1.39 | 1.07 | 47%  | 3    | 0    | 6.85   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S7   |      | Alex Jakubiak       | 3 (14) | 3    | 2    | 1    | 80%  | 0.00 | 0.22 | 67%  | 0    | 0    | 7.06   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S8   |      | Ivan Rondanini      | 1 (4)  | 0    | 0    | 0    | 83%  | 4.71 | 0.59 | -    | 0    | 0    | 6.90   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S9   |      |                     |        |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |        | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

EDIT: For some reason, the print screen option within the game did not capture the full suad list, so I do not have the stats for the players after the 8th sub.

Jimbokav1971 · October 17, 2014

Marco Ceccoli - Our recent defensive talent. Now that our facilities are getting better, we are able to start creating players who can actually fill out positions. He is currently a squad Serie B player talent, and could end up become a star Serie B player, perhaps even a rotation Serie A player if the cards fall in his favour.

I like him. Yes he is slow, but you can deal with that. He will play a lot of NT games I bet. :thup:

It's good that you have a good mix of positions. For a while all my strength was in forward areas and I really struggled as a result.

leonavich · October 17, 2014

The only down side though, is that they may not have the talent to grown. Yes, among the 3, one is 5*, one is 4 1/2, but Ceccoli was I think 2 or 3. They side is currently lucking talent to get us into bigger tournaments. Once I really get cracking with the club side, I am going to really push the national team with a lot for friendlies to really build up chemistry and maximise their games.

Jimbokav1971 · October 17, 2014

The only down side though, is that they may not have the talent to grown. Yes, among the 3, one is 5*, one is 4 1/2, but Ceccoli was I think 2 or 3. They side is currently lucking talent to get us into bigger tournaments. Once I really get cracking with the club side, I am going to really push the national team with a lot for friendlies to really build up chemistry and maximise their games.

You say that, but I had 4 centre-backs that I used in qualifying and at the 2036 EURO Championship Finals.

1 of them has since retired and 1 is at another club, but they are all much of a muchness really and the 2 still at the club have 1.5 CA stars, 1.0 CA stars, (and the replacement for the guy who has retired also has 1.0 CA stars. We are strong at full back and in the middle of the pitch but we are just a little thin elsewhere. Centre-half has been a problem for years.

If your full-backs and GK are decent, and you have a decent midfield, the you should be able to cover up any inadequacies at centre-half. Maybe not enough to win a Championship, but certainly to compete.

[Edit]

Just to show you what you mean, (and show you what can be done with very average players, here are my 4 centre-backs. (Yes I appreciate that I have just had 1 retire, but he really wasn't anything special.

If I look at my NT, (rather than club side), then I have 6 players in the current squad who can play centre-half.

You will see that I have 2 very good right-backs, (who can technically play centre-half), but the reality is that they are very much full-backs rather than centre-backs and both of them have issues with jumping/heading.

The next 4 have between 1.0 CA stars and 3.5 CA stars, (remember this is relative to the NT rather than the club side).

Gian.

Moretti.

Val.

Raschi.

These are really not good players.

Jimbokav1971 · October 17, 2014

San Marino have risen in the World rankings again and are up to a record high of 20th place.

The top 3 Nations are Brazil, Argentina and Spain.

Italy are currently 6th.

Germany are down in 15th.

England are down in 29th.

Belgium are down in 30th.

USA are down in 65th.

Sweden are down in 70th.

Jimbokav1971 · October 17, 2014

Our Training Facilities have just been upgraded.
This is what our facilities are now.

Corporate Facilities. Good.

Training Facilities. Great.

Youth Facilities. Average.

Junior Coaching. Exceptional.

Youth Recruitment. Established.

The Youth Facilities will take another 2 months to complete. I thought that I would have to wait for them to be completed before I was able to ask for an improvement in the Youth Recruitment, but I have just looked and the increase in Training Facilities seems to have triggered it. I asked and they accepted immediately.

I have been really keen to get this done for a while and really chuffed to get 3 different facilities done almost in 1 go. My board seem to have been far less free than as with the rest of you, and.... well I'm delighted.

Youth Recruitment. Soon to be Well Established.

The Youth facilities have now been upgraded and are now at Good.

coady · October 18, 2014

Transfers

First of all, here is my transfer history for the present season. Not too many signings, largely because my young players are now starting to realise their world class potential. I easily have the 2nd strongest squad in the league now.

Competitions

Serie A - With 27 games gone we lie 2nd, with an 8 point gap in both directions. Although we have 2 games in hand, it seems our position is decided already as Milan are so strong. Our points tally is actually better than our title winning season at present.

Italian Cup - We've scraped through to the final, thanks to an away goals victory over Inter. 1-1 and 0-0 in the 2 legs, very nervy. We have Milan in the final here too!

Euro Cup - We're comfortably in to the 1/4 finals, despite playing our young back-up team in every game. Hopefully it will boost our co-efficient to at least 3rd pot for Champions Cup next season

Facilities

Finally from the club, we have now got all round world class facilities. With the stadium move a matter of months away, here is my facilities list! Youth recruitment upgrade has come in time for youth intake day 2021.

National Team

We managed to win at home to Kazakhstan and currently sit 5th in our group above them after 5 games. We briefly climbed to 104th in the world rankings, but have since fallen again. Upcoming qualifiers at home to Iceland and away to Kazakhstan will surely decide the bottom 3 places.

Youth intake day is under a week away, so part 2 of my post will give detail of this, as well as my young players' development. If I get to the end of the season I will add that info too.

dan_lcfc · October 18, 2014

Good to see your board have finally allowed some facility upgrades Jimbokav! Youve done brilliantly to progress the NT with such poor facilities. Ive just booted my game up for the first time in ages and both my training and youth are at 'Superb' (in Feb 2031). It just goes to show how important personalities and tutoring really are. :thup: :applause:

I cant wait to start this on 15. I really struggled to keep an interest once my game corrupted and all of the team histories deleted. Really frustrating to not be able to see a true 'Best XI' and every World cup/Euros seeing all of the big nations qualifying for their first tournaments losing the league history graph etc.

Will be starting form the Beta release this time aswell. Really want to finally design a tactic that uses wingers. All the success Ive ever had on FM has come from narrow formations (442 diamond, 433 flat (3CMs, 3STs) 4132). Especially when I had some really good wingers come through on this save, but I couldnt integrate them into the first team. Im thinking a 451 (or 41221 however you see it )

.

Brilliant to see this challenge pick up more interest and there has been some amazing progress. Well done to everyone :applause:

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