My mom keeps these newspaper clippings of... My [FM14] Career

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Hello guys, welcome to my Career Update thread

I started the game as myself, a 28 year-old from Portugal, unemployed and with Sunday League experience. My plan is to have a fairly standard career in Europe, so to (hopefully) keep this interesting for anyone reading - and for myself as I have always enjoyed writing - I will be making updates in the format of fictional newspaper articles about my teams and of course myself.

Leagues loaded:

- Portugal, all three tiers;

- Switzerland, both tiers;

- England, 5 tiers;

- Italy, 3 tiers;

- France, 3 tiers;

- Spain, 3 tiers;

- Brazil, 3 tiers.

[To be edited with landmarks throughout the career.]

To kick things off, I'll start with an extended interview I gave to the European Football Post before the start of the 2014/15 season, following a successful debut season in the Portuguese third tier. I hope you enjoy the thread!

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European Football Post, 3rd of August, 2014

In this edition of our monthly feature Insights From the Underprivileged we sat down with Tiago Nunes, the 28 year-old first-time manager in charge of Pampilhosa, in the Portuguese National Championship. Nunes grabbed the attention of his nation’s third tier last season, guiding his club to an eyebrow-raising and on-going undefeated streak of 25 official games. In this interview, the calm but assertive young manager talks about his short history to date, gives us some insight on last season’s statement performance and his expectations for the upcoming year of football.

European Football Post: Thank you for having us Mr. Nunes. Could you tell us more about your past as a player and how you got your job at Pampilhosa?

Tiago Nunes: Well I never was a good player. Pretty horrible actually, even by Sunday League standards. But I loved the game despite the obvious lack of talent. I was very vocal on the bench, and when I got more confident I started sneaking in instructions between the words of encouragement. I finally had a coach pull me aside to tell me I should know my place, but on the next game he had me sitting next to him. I started assisting in amateur clubs a few years later, then started studying for my credentials, got them and began applying for jobs. Eventually [Pampilhosa Chairman] Paulo Cristina approached me and after a few talks we had agreed on a vision for the future of the club.

FC Pampilhosa, founded in 1930

EFP: What did you think when you were approached by Pampilhosa? What were their expectations? Did you agree with them or were the negotiations tough?

TN: I did some research before the first interviews and liked what I saw. The squad was not perfectly balanced but didn't lack many pieces, and there was a very nice split of veterans, established players and youngsters. The infrastructure at the club was also sound. They had Good training facilities for both the main squad and the youngsters, and a link to Académica de Coimbra in the Premier League [Editor’s note: this link has since been cancelled by Académica]. All that made me approach the interviews with a very positive attitude.

Estádio Germano Godinho

Everyone had high expectations for the club at the start of the season, but they had a very rough first third. The expectations the board had for me were to stay clear of relegation and I had to agree.

EFP: Were you unsure of your capabilities on your first job? Or did you want to set the bar low despite being sure that the team could do better?

TN: Is that a serious question?

EFP: [pause]

TN: No. This year I've been clear about my ambitions to contend for promotion. The difference is having a clean slate to work from, versus coming into a team with two points out of eighteen possible, with three months of games to go before the transfer window reopened. I wasn't in a position to be more ambitious.

A rough start to the season, including a first-round exit from the Portuguese Cup. The squad seemed glad to see the back of Fernando Niza, winning their first game even before Nunes arrived.

EFP: But even so, you hit the ground running on that tremendous streak. Well, after your debut against Sertanense, of course. You lost that game at home 3-0, did that put doubts in your mind?

TN: That first match was tough, especially because the team had managed to get a good win between Fernando Niza's departure and my arrival. It was a tough part of the schedule playing Sertanense and Águias de Moradal, who both went on to play for promotion, with an away game at Nogueirense in between. I knew we had more favourable fixtures later on and was counting on those to get a bit of form going, but luckily we got a win against Nogueirense and a good draw against Moradal and started building on those.

Pampilhosa ended the first stage just 5 points away from Sertanense and a chance to fight for promotion.

EFP: Twenty five games without suffering defeat is an impressive record at any level. Are you able to tell us what the key to those results was?

TN: I think the players were great in understanding what I wanted from them defensively very early on. We became solid at the back and hard to score against, particularly with direct play which is essentially the norm at this level.

There are many feats to notice on the team’s record under Nunes. How about 20 straight games scoring at least one goal?

EFP: Did you at any point become convinced that you could beat anyone?

TN: Definitely not in those terms, but once the championship split I was very confident we had the quality to be at the top of the remaining teams, yes.

Pampilhosa dominated the relegation stage and are now looking to carry that form into the following season

EFP: Pampilhosa fans were absolutely delighted with you by the end of last season, but that was before they heard you were letting go of your veteran goalkeeper Eduardo and most importantly your captain Bebé, not renewing their expiring contracts. Do you expect people to blame those moves should you fail to meet this season’s objectives?

TN: People need to understand that it takes two people to have an agreement. Eduardo had financial expectations for the future that we simply couldn't meet, but Bebé was not interested in renewing at all. He felt it was time to move on. He was our captain, a role model in the locker room, he won the Player of the Year award leading the league in assists… and people think I didn't want him back? Anyway, Bebé loves the club and knows he is loved here, so perhaps he can come back with another role. Meanwhile, everyone is going to have to step up and I think we have a strong group, perhaps even more balanced than last year. I've decided that [17 year-old] Cristiano Meira will take Bebé's spot on the right wing, I think he has a lot of potential so hopefully it will be exciting for the fans to follow his development.

Bebé's stat sheet for 2013/14. An impressive 19 assists in 31 matches were a strong reason for his Player of the Year award.

EFP: Are you surprised that Bebé still hasn't been linked to any club with the season start looming?

TN: I am, to be honest. He may be heading towards the end of his career but I think he proved last year how much of an impact he can still have on this league.

EFP: Aside from losing Bebé and Eduardo, you also had a couple of your hand-picked backroom staff leaving for managerial roles this off-season, more notably Carlos Fonseca, your U19 manager, who took over group rivals Benfica Castelo Branco. How has this affected your preparation?

TN: It was unfortunate that we couldn't keep Carlos and Constantino but they've been replaced with very capable staff and are no longer on our minds. Good luck to them.

EFP: … do you resent their choices?

TN: Not at all. They knew they were regarded as important pieces of our organization, but I can’t blame any assistant for being tempted by a head coach job. We obviously couldn't justify financially competing with the offers either. Like I said, good luck to them. I’ll shake Carlos' hand and would expect him to do the same.

EFP: You are aiming for promotion and the media are giving you 5-2 odds of getting first place in your group, behind Sertanense (6-4) and Naval (2-1). Your thoughts?

TN: It’s always very close on the table, so I'm not surprised their odds are close as well. We are confident we will reach the promotion stage. After that anything can happen really. Moradal made their way into the Second League last season drawing 8 of the 14 matches in their promotion group. The playing field is extremely level at that point.

EFP: Let’s talk tactics. Last year you played a very cautious shape with two defensive midfielders in front of the back four. Is that a personal preference or based entirely on what you had available?

TN: I was limited in what I had to work with in other positions and we did have several options on the defensive midfield. Initially I wanted to make sure we were sound defensively, but as time went by I realized we had good hard-working midfielders who could have an influence in attack and still be ready to defend after losing possession.

Pampilhosa’s tactic in 2013/14. Nunes admits to changing the tactic for the following season, compensating for the loss of right wing key-player Bebé.

EFP: Indeed, you didn't seem to have too much trouble scoring, with 54 goals in 26 games despite the defensive emphasis. How much of that do you credit your striker Diogo with? You must be happy you managed to retain him.

TN: He had 22 of those 54 goals, so that's how much credit I give him! Diogo is an interesting character. He started the season without a single goal to his name until November. Then on my fourth game with the team he scored two against Carapinheirense, then followed that up with four goals away from home against Naval. He scored three more before Christmas, got injured in the beginning of January and came back a machine with another two and a poker [Editor’s note: again against Naval!] in consecutive matches, and then went on to score on almost every game he started. He seems to work a lot out of confidence and I hope we can feed that once again this year. His team-mates love him and will do everything to put him in a position to succeed.

Diogo's stat-sheet for 2013/14. Despite being the league’s top goalscorer with 22, controversy broke out when the striker was not selected for the Team of the Year.

EFP: Do you plan to play a similar style of football this season?

TN: We managed to retain most of our core of players so the tactical shape should be the same, and the defensive values will remain mostly the same as well, but I think we will play a different game offensively.

EFP: Is that to compensate for the absence of Bebé?

TN: In part, but mostly I believe last season’s setup wasn't entirely optimal despite the results. I think this year we will have more balance in roles and more variety in attack. Hopefully I won’t come to regret not sticking with the sub-optimal ideas [chuckles].

EFP: [laughs] We certainly hope not. Thank you for your time Mr. Nunes, we at the European Football Post will be thrilled to follow your endeavours and wish you the best of luck, for this season and beyond.

TN: Cheers guys.

Coming next month in Insights From the Underprivileged: A look at Swiss youth academies - can one of them become the new Ajax?

[deltablue]

This is very well done.

[Nobby_McDonald]

It was nearly as long as my dissertation.

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Futebol de Aveiro, 30th of July 2014

Right wing woes for Pampilhosa

It has not been the best pre-season in the health department for the Ferroviários[*]. After losing young winger Cristiano Meira last Thursday to a fractured wrist, it was his backup, recently captured 32 year-old Pedro Pinto, who had to leave yesterday’s match against local rivals Mealhada after twisting an ankle. Neither player is expected to be back in training until September.

Even more worried now with the release of Bebé, their right winger last season and Player of the Year, Pampilhosa fans are also voicing their concerns over the poor condition of their home ground pitch, which some believe to be the cause of this recent surge of injuries.

The club is looking to bring in a replacement on a non-contract basis, with 21 year-old Gui high on the list of candidates. The Ivorian is a product of Sporting da Covilhã’s youth setup, and will be looking to seize the opportunity to showcase his flair.

[*] The Railroaders. Pampilhosa is an important railroad hub in Portugal

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Thank you guys I expect most of the updates from now on to be more in the line of this last one, so we shouldn't be seeing something as... err... substantial as that first post until I actually achieve something big

[Deisler26]

Good luck dude. Had a wonderful career with U.D Leiria (RIP) on FM12

[PedroVieiraaaa]

Good luck dude. Had a wonderful career with U.D Leiria (RIP) on FM12

Seriously?! Well, I live in Leiria and I usually go and watch their matches at the stadium!!

Good luck with this. I really like the way you are doing your updates!

[deltablue]

Quite a few challenges to overcome then. Good luck.

[Fax]

Good luck dude. Had a wonderful career with U.D Leiria (RIP) on FM12

Cheers! I'm new to these threads but have been doing a bit of reading, and I did notice people referring to that career of yours in your Tenerife thread. Will have to dig that up

Good luck with this. I really like the way you are doing your updates!

Obrigado PedroVieiraaaa

Quite a few challenges to overcome then. Good luck.

Cheers deltablue Lets see how it goes, hopefully I can start the season before heading back for Christmas. If you find yourself looking for jobs at this level in Portugal, Pampilhosa are blue through and through

Edit: just noticed you put an end to that career, sorry to hear that

[deltablue]

Cheers deltablue Lets see how it goes, hopefully I can start the season before heading back for Christmas. If you find yourself looking for jobs at this level in Portugal, Pampilhosa are blue through and through

Edit: just noticed you put an end to that career, sorry to hear that

I know, I didn't have that league loaded anyway

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The Ball, 8th September 2014

Injury-prone Pampilhosa start September strong

After a doubtful start to the season, drawing away to newly promoted Pombal and losing key central defender Wilson to a fractured wrist, Pampilhosa have responded with three victories in eight days, including a 5-1 thrashing of promotion favourites Sertanense.

Yesterday's 2-0 away victory at AD Nogueirense had a bitter-sweet taste once again when Manuel was forced to leave the game after a knock on the 87th minute. Early reports are optimistic however, and the defensive midfielder is not expected to miss practice.

João Cardoso has been the top performer for his side picking up a goal, three assists and two player-of-the-match awards in the first four fixtures. The journeyman full-back has had a more aggressive duty in Tiago Nunes' game plan for this season.

Right-wingers Cristiano Meira and Pedro Pinto have both rejoined training and are facing fierce competition for a spot in the selection, with last-minute signing Gui having been impressive so far with two assists and a goal. Last year's top goalscorer Diogo has yet to find the back of the net this season, contributing to his team's successes with two assists.

Veteran left-winger Carlo, who broke his foot late in pre-season, remains in the long-term injury list and is not expected to return until December.

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Futebol de Aveiro, 15th September 2014

Pampilhosa a whistle away from defeat

It was possibly the most difficult post-match team talk in his young career for Pampilhosa head-coach Nunes, after seeing his side being capable of the best and the worst in yesterday's 2-2 home draw against upstarts Portosantense.

The visitors got off to a flyer by scoring from a corner at the two minute mark. The atypically poor passing from the Ferroviários rendered the club threatless during the first half, with promising goalkeeper Hugo avoiding a two goal deficit before the intermission with a brilliant one-on-one save after a miscommunication between "the Andrés" central defenders.

Hugo's skill wasn't enough on the 63rd minute when another mistake from André Oliveira left the opposition striker isolated for an easy finish. Opportunistic Oliveira redeemed himself two minutes later by scoring at the expense of Portosantense goalkeeper Jordão, who was unable to secure a high ball from a free-kick.

The final twenty minutes of the match saw an increasingly frustrated Nunes as his side failed to score on several clear cut chances. Complete disbelief struck at the third and last minute of injury time when Diogo isolated himself with an incisive pass from Alberto Maia but again failed to beat the keeper. The Porto Santo side managed to clear the ball to the other half of the field, but amid protests from both players and visiting supporters, Pampilhosa were able to once again reach the final third nearly a minute past the indicated injury time and swing a cross in to Diogo for his first goal of the season.

Despite the draw, newly-promoted Portosantense remain at the top of the National Championship group E, tied with Benfica CB for 10 points. Pampilhosa, who have now been unbeaten for their last 30 competitive matches, have fallen to fourth place with 8, behind Sourense who beat Merelinense 3-2 at home for their 9th point of the season.