[FM 2015] Luis Figo - the return of the Golden Boy

[shantebellum]

C.F. Os Belenenses | 2015/16 | March

Luís Figo







Seven games to go and we've gone back into the top three. We had a major scare against bottom of the table Penafiel, but managed to scrape an important victory thanks to heroics from substitute Pelé. Can't even imagine how demoralising it would have been for the boys to lose such a game while still being in the mix for a top three place. Olhanense, the second team we faced this month, also proved to be a much tougher opponent than we would have predicted. They scored two in the first half and we couldn't find our feet until the start of the second. We brought on Miguel Rosa and Fredy at the half and they made an instant impact - Gonçalo Brandão pulled one back for us after a Miguel Rosa corner, they then conceded an own goal to put us level and Miguel Rosa gave us the lead four minutes later. It was a great come-back after a below-par first half and Fredy capped the night off with a calm finish in stoppage time. Gonçalo Brandão and Ronaldo Alves were both out for the last league game of the month against Rio Ave with small knocks they picked up during training, and their absence hit us hard. Youngster Nelson Santos didn't have a terrible game, but I definitely feel that either Brandão or Alves could have prevented at least one goal we conceded. At least we got a draw and head into the last two months of the season feeling that we can still cause a real stir in the league.

[AllanT]

Good luck in the league

[shantebellum]

C.F. Os Belenenses 2015/16 Youth intake





Pedro Gomes (DR)

Pedro Gomes is the pick of the bunch of a relatively uninspiring youth intake. He's a fast and hard-working youngster, but his inability to pick out a brick wall with a cross from three yards out makes me question his future in a full-back position.



Renato Neves (DC)

Neves actually looks much better than Pedro Gomes attribute-wise, but our coaching team seems to think he hasn't got as much potential. I'm encouraged by his high tackling and marking ability though.



Nuno Pala (DM)

We seem to produce a fair share of good tacklers in this club and Nuno Pala is another example of the case. He lacks vision, concentration and can't kick the ball if his life depended on it, but at least he has high work rate and teamwork attributes.

[shantebellum]

Good luck in the league

Thank you, we need every clenched fist and crossed finger at this point

Those offers are a bit dissapointing.

You should look to break into the top three in place of Sporting CP, just to leave for Sporting.

I'm keeping my options open, although I think I'd rather go abroad after this season!

[noikeee]

Jesus, what kind of tactics are you playing man, there's goals everywhere? Not always on the right net.

To break into the top 3 with Belenenses on the 2nd season would be excellent, hope you manage to hold on to that the rest of the season. Does 3rd place still get a Champions League spot? (playoffs probably)

Crazy effort with all the graphics too, I sometimes dread even writing a yearly update, clearly you're enjoying all of this.

[shantebellum]

C.F. Os Belenenses | 2015/16 | April

Luís Figo







Oh my goodness, we might actually pull this off

Except for a disappointing result away at Beira-Mar, we did a good job in April with two wins and two draws. What is more, we haven't now lost in 10 league games, a really neat run - especially in the latter part of the season. Tiago Silva, Miguel Rosa and Ronaldo Alves were the stand-out players this month, all three contributing to their already stellar season. The game against Porto was rather like two well-armored knights poking each other with long poles, as both sides were more interested in protecting their goal and not conceding. We had only three shots and Porto weren't much better with five; our midfielders worked their butts off, though. We were more decisive against Gil Vicente but still had to wait until the 72nd minute to score the winning goal. The team was then swiftly brought back to the ground with a humbling draw against third-from-bottom Beira-Mar in a game where our defence once again showed their lack of cognitive processing. Each of their three goals came from our mistakes and could have been avoidable, but lack of concentration and bad decision-making were to prevent us from a much needed three points. Much better showing was needed against Guimaraes and the lads thankfully produced. Thanks to a victory we are now guaranteed to finish in the top five at the end of the season.



Braga have been absolutely brilliant and thoroughly deserve their top spot. Porto however, are hot on their heels with two games less played and might overtake them (I'd rather expect them to, if I'm honest). The battle for the third place is real - I think Benfica are out of it, because they have yet to play against Porto and Braga (both away), whereas Sporting have a real chance of finishing third ahead of us with four seemingly easy games. We definitely have to win our last three and even that might not be enough, but whatever the outcome might be, I believe we can be proud of our season.

Our remaining games



Benfica remaining games



Sporting remaining games



Next up: a small overview of player development, board confidence etc and a build-up to an epic end of the season!

[shantebellum]

Jesus, what kind of tactics are you playing man, there's goals everywhere? Not always on the right net.

To break into the top 3 with Belenenses on the 2nd season would be excellent, hope you manage to hold on to that the rest of the season. Does 3rd place still get a Champions League spot? (playoffs probably)

Crazy effort with all the graphics too, I sometimes dread even writing a yearly update, clearly you're enjoying all of this.

In the games I expect us to be the side more in control, we play 4-2-3-1 with AML, AMR and an AMC. We keep a lot of the ball and our attacking players create a lot of chances. In games where I think we'll struggle for possession, we tend to pull our wingers back more and not let our full-backs roam very far in an effort to keep the other team more closed down. Obviously, it hasn't worked very well .

Finishing 3rd in Portugal gets you into the CL playoffs, yes. 4th and 5th will qualify for the Europa League third qualifying round.

Thank you! I've always had problems with motivation whilst playing FM (I tend to get bored of a save after 7-8 years and then start all over), so putting in some work with the graphics and backstory really helps with that. I really am enjoying it and I hope there are others who pop in every once in a while to see how we're getting along

[shantebellum]

The board continue to be ecstatic over our good morale and our run in the Primeira Liga. We aren't cut out for looking after finances though, as the club keeps bleeding roughly £300 000 every month.

Nélson Santos

April 2015



Nélson Santos

April 2016



Nélson Santos is still our biggest prospect and he's coming along rather nicely. He would obviously benefit of getting regular playing time in the first team, but it's hard to give him chances with no more Cup or Europa League and only a handful of very important Portuguese league games left. Hopefully he can make a big step up in his development during the summer.



"...unless something is done about it." What am I supposed to do if he won't even listen to any contract offers? He has been absolutely brilliant for us, but no player is bigger than the club and if he's not interested in extending his contract, he will go - it's as simple as that. However, there are still a few games left and if we were to somehow finish third, I see no reason for him to leave.

[shantebellum]

We won our last three games of the season, but it wasn't enough to send us into the Champions League as Sporting cruised over the finish line. Benfica had already mentally given up and didn't for a minute pose a threat to our fourth place. We were so close to breaking into the top three and we can definitely be pleased with our season as a whole

Some general thoughts on the 2015/16 season - Not many would have predicted such a good season for both us and Braga. They were absolutely immense and made Porto work really hard in order to win the league title, I kinda feel for them. Benfica weren't good at all and are left to lick their wounds in the offseason. In the bottom half of the table, Penafiel were absolutely dreadful with only seventeen points (one of which came against Benfica). On the whole, one of the most compelling seasons I've had in recent memory!

[deltablue]

Pity you couldn't quite do it despite your strong finish to the season.

[shantebellum]

I took some time and wrote a little FourFourTwo-styled piece to celebrate the end of our second season Obviously, everything is a work of fiction (except for the facts ) so it should be taken as such. Thanks to everyone who has been following - the second season overview and third season preview will be up shortly!



The full-size image can be seen here



The full-size image can be seen here

[noikeee]

Crap, that must be gutting to come so close to the Champions League qualification. At least you can rest in the knowledge your team did all they could. Excellent season anyway.

[dllu]

Loving your layout!

[shantebellum]

End of season review

C.F. Os Belenenses | 2015/16

Luís Figo



League table | All Fixtures | Finances | Board confidence



Luís Figo's second season as manager doesn't see his Belenenses repeat the cup success from last year, but instead they manage something even better - Belenenses finish 4th in the league and one place above city rivals Benfica. A great Europa League qualification meant that the team could play against some tough opponents in the Group Stage and even though they didn't manage to break into the Play-Offs, the team walked away from the competition wiser and more experienced.

Highlight of the season

It was a magnificent league campaign for us, highlighted by the 13 undefeated games we ended the season with.

Low point of the season

We proved our worth on the pitch, but our financial state has dramatically worsened. If this continues, I feel the club will soon find itself in administration.





Player of the year

Miguel Rosa (AMC/RL, av. rating 7.34)

An absolutely amazing season from Miguel Rosa, who also won the Portuguese Premier League Player of the Year award for his performances. He was both the facilitator and finisher throughout the season and decided many games on his own. An important set-piece specialist, he scored from both free-kicks and penalties and many of his corners found the back of the net through either Ronaldo Alves or Goncalo Brandao.



Young player of the year

Tiago Silva (AM RL; ST, av. rating 7.32)

He isn't young per se (22 years old), but this was definitely his break-through season. He played 43 games, only second to goalkeeper Matt Jones, and his average rating was 0.4 points better than last season. Great things are expected from him round these parts and hopefully he'll keep the form up next season.



A close contest between our two playmakers with the younger Tiago Silva finally taking the plaudits.



We got 3 million pounds for finishing 4th in the league and we also managed to sell over 60% more shirts than in the previous season, some good progress there.

Around the league











Figo wins the Portuguese Premier League Manager of the Year and Miguel Rosa the Player of the Year - what a great season award-wise, as well! Is this the catalyst for a career in a bigger club for Figo? We'll go on a vacation on the Carribean and think about it on the beach...

Crap, that must be gutting to come so close to the Champions League qualification. At least you can rest in the knowledge your team did all they could. Excellent season anyway.

Close, but no cigar this time Thanks a lot!

Loving your layout!

Cheers friend, working hard to keep it up

[trigz76]

I give you a thousand thumbs up for dedication and presentation. This is beautiful!

[shantebellum]

I give you a thousand thumbs up for dedication and presentation. This is beautiful!

Thank you very much, I'm glad you like it!

[shantebellum]

Preseason

C.F. Os Belenenses | 2016/17

Luís Figo









Two important bits of news before we start the 2016/17 campaign - Miguel Rosa has agreed to stay at Belenenses following a great season that saw him named the Portuguese League Player of the Year. This will give the team a definite confidence boost, but the most important and anticipated announcement is the fact that Luis Figo has decided to follow through on his three-year contract at Belenenses and not take over another club. I had some interesting offers during the summer break (notably Stoke, Rennes and Almeria), but I feel we owe the fans at least one more go before we shall seek fortune abroad.



$$$!

Summer transfers



We pursued Danilo Pereira throughout the 2015/16 season and finally sealed the deal in March. He's going to be instrumental to us, as is full-back Clayton Sales. I was torn between whether we should or shouldn't sign Tozé for a long, long time, but in the end we went through with the deal. He has played for Estoril, on loan from Porto, for the last two seasons. Looking at the departures, we finally managed to offload Nelson and his massive contract - even though it was massively overdue. We also chose not to extend Fredy's contract, which is a bit of a shame, as he was a good rotation option and scored some important goals for us. He wanted to be a bigger part of the team, but we just couldn't offer him it at this moment and we parted amicably. The Tiago Silva going out on loan is not the Tiago Silva, but a 16-year old goalkeeper



Danilo Pereira (DM, Portugal)

Ready to make his first international appearance for Portugal, Danilo Pereira is another of the typical Portuguese DM-Playmaker mold. I'm looking to play him as a regista, but he's versatile enough to do anything on the pitch that is asked from him.



Wescley (ST, Brazil)

Really happy with this signing, as Wescley came to Belenenses as a real bargain deal. We haven't had a real speedster up front and he will give us more options.



Tozé (AMC/R, Portugal)

We have prided ourselves at keeping the first team clear of trouble-makers, but Tozé has a slight air of uneasiness surrounding him. Our assistant coach said he wouldn't fit in well, but we chose to gamble on him. Is this a real test on Figo's man management skills?



Clayton Sales (DR/WBR, Brazil)

He's on a hefty contract, but this was definitely a risk worth taking. Our system needs quick and technical full-backs to function, and he will be one of the best in the league in that.

Belenenses team sheet for 2016/17



In addition to extending Miguel Rosa's contract, we also signed new deals with Matt Jones, Tiago Silva and Nelson Santos. I feel confident that our team is well balanced and ready to emulate last seasons good results.

Preseason friendlies



Not much to see here, as I usually arrange friendlies with weak teams to improve morale. Some real hidings though, we managed over 50 shots against both GDR Portugal and Odivelas. Hopefully the defenders had something to do during the games, as well!



Not getting any breaks



Brace yourself, Europe, the Blue Fury is coming!

[shantebellum]

It wasn't meant to be for Portugal, who lost in the Semi-Final to the eventual winner, England. Even though they made it into the last four, it was a quiet tournament for A Selecção with only five goals scored in six matches. Sweden had a great time though, getting all the way to the Final before being put down by England, who always seem to do really well in international tournaments in my save games. I would end the post with a picture of England raising a trophy, but alas...

[nie jem frytek]

Maybe use some youth picture?

PS. With Portugal or Sweden you would have the same problem.

[shantebellum]

C.F. Os Belenenses | 2016/17 | August

Luís Figo







It was a great start of the new season for both the club as well as our new signings, with Danilo Pereira and Tozé both scoring in the season opener against Arouca. Fabio Nunes had two goals after identical runs from the left-hand side of the pitch, but it was Miguel Rosa who scored the goal of the match with a screamer from 30 yards out. He got another one against Maritimo, dotting the i in the 93rd minute after Wescley and Clayton Sales had made it 2-0 in the first half. Their goals mean that all four of our new signings have already scored their debut goals in the first two games of the season - that should be good for their confidence, right?

[shantebellum]

We are drawn together with some stern opposition in this year's edition of the Europa League. At least there are no trips to the absolute other end of Europe this time around, with Germany, France and the Netherlands a bit closer to home than Ukraine was last season. It definitely could have been an easier draw and there aren't going to be any easy matches, but with some new additions to our team, we are aiming to qualify.

[shantebellum]

C.F. Os Belenenses | 2016/17 | September

Luís Figo









Our new signings have started the season well and Clayton Sales' Player of the Month award is the cherry on the top of a sweet August.

We started September nicely with a comfortable win against Gil Vicente, holding them down after taking a 3-0 lead in the opening 35 minutes. Danilo Pereira got on the scoresheet once again, alongside Tiago Silva and Deyverson, who got his first of the season. We then welcomed Porto and played magnificently. The game was a hard-fought battle with not many chances on either side, but we started to pile on the pressure after the hour mark and finally got our reward in the 75th minute, when Fabio Sturgeon broke the deadlock with a header inside the six-yard box. Filipe Ferreira had a chance to extend our lead from the penalty spot, but Porto's goalie managed to save his effort two minutes from time. We couldn't score more, but the final whistle meant that we had beaten Porto for the first time in Figo's managerial career. The last league game of September, however, was an enormous disappointment, as we lost against Moreirense. We took a two-goal lead in the first half through goals from Miguel Rosa and Danilo Pereira, but then dropped our guard and conceded three. Another lapse in concentration -







Well, we weren't good enough against Bordeaux and a 1-4 loss is a reality. Wescley gave us an early lead, but we chased the ball for the next 83 minutes, conceding four and probably deserving at least two more. We played some pretty good football against Twente, but once again, concentration in the back is our biggest shortcoming. Twente went ahead 2-0 through some pretty silly mistakes, but we were able to equalize, all in the first half. When Fabio Sturgeon was brought down in the box and Tozé converted the penalty, the players probably felt that they deserved the result and loosened up a little bit - resulting in a goal from Twente. It finished 3-3 and our hopes of qualifying from the Group Stage have taken a blow - home matches are so important in this stage and if you can't take the advantage, there's no point in hoping for more.

[oneronaldo]

Was about to say that the Europa League group was winnable, guess I might be underestimating Bordeaux and Twente by abit.

[noikeee]

Gelsenkirchen = Schalke. All 3 opponents are much bigger than Belenenses, that is a very diffficult group!!

Good start to the season anyway.

[oneronaldo]

Gelsenkirchen = Schalke. All 3 opponents are much bigger than Belenenses, that is a very diffficult group!!

Good start to the season anyway.

I knew about Schalke and they were probably gonna top the group (well they have their off days:D), it was Bordeaux and Twente that surprised me.

[ollie laaaaaaaad]

I have to say, this is absolutely outstanding. Can't wait for each update; the presentation, story, style and overall quality is sensational

[shantebellum]

I have to say, this is absolutely outstanding. Can't wait for each update; the presentation, story, style and overall quality is sensational

Thanks for the very kind words, it's what keeps us going!

... it was Bordeaux and Twente that surprised me.

Well, it's a bit complicated, as you'll see below...

Good start to the season anyway.

Cheers, hopefully we can keep it up!

C.F. Os Belenenses | 2016/17 | October

Luís Figo







So two of our new signings have won the Player of the Month awards for the first two months in the league season. It looks that we did pretty good in the transfer market - at least for so far.







Luis didn't have much to celebrate about though, as we failed to beat Estoril. We took the lead through some quality finishing by Tiago Silva, but slowly let Estoril back into the game and were punished after 55 minutes of play. We had a much better time against Beira-Mar - a confident, free-flowing and attacking display saw us put five past their goalkeeper without coming close to conceding. I was hoping that would be a big enough confidence boost to finish the month on a high, but we inexplicably had a total horror fest at home against Nacional. Nothing clicked for us, we couldn't get the ball enough to Wescley up front and when we took off Rodrigo Dantas to bring in more firepower with Deyverson, they immediately punished our moment of rotating players on the field with a nice through pass and a finish. Blah.



We've already lost three games out of nine - we have to pick up the pace soon. As per usual, we're good enough when we attack, but the defense is inconsistent. Lucky for us, other teams have also been slow out of the blocks with Porto especially not playing like the reigning champion. Only a single point between us and second-place Sporting, though - with a quarter of the season played, there's plenty of time to sort ourselves out. I'm thinking that Matt Jones has maybe reached the end of the road with his career for Belenenses. His ratings have dropped and I'd maybe like to see someone more experienced between the sticks - but you normally don't replace your starting goalkeeper during the season. There's going to be a long and difficult conversation with both him and the board..





We did what was expected here, nothing much more to say. Fabio Sturgeon's first hat trick in a Belenenses shirt!





What?

We couldn't defeat Twente at home, but manage to put four past Schalke away and come home with a comfortable victory. Rodrigo Dantas has been in a good scoring form recently and he found the net after only seven minutes of play. Tiago Silva scored from 20 yards out after a string of great passing around Schalke's box and we went into the halftime break not really believing what was going on. That wasn't the end however, as Wescley was brought down in the box seven minutes into the second half and Danilo Pereira calmly slotted home the penalty. Sidney Sam got one back for Schalke but Wescley got a goal for himself as well when he finished off Tiago Silva's through pass six minutes from the end. Final whistle, Schalke 1, Belenenses 4. We had a fair share of weird results last year in the Europa and it definitely looks like this season is not different. With three games played and three to go,

Twente has 5 points,

Schalke and we have 4 points

and Bordeaux have 3 points.

[oneronaldo]

Schalke confuses me, great squad and all yet they put on rubbish displays like that, but that win has really let you set the cat amongst the pigeons, should be hilarious going into the final few group games:D

[dllu]

Looks like Luis really knows how to celebrate a milestone like that...

[deltablue]

Exciting times in the Europa League. You've shown yourself capable of getting the results you need to qualify now.

[WarroOxford]

Really enjoying this, you've done a great job so far, and I'm enjoying the articles too. Very well presented! Bright future for Luis.

[DylanTM]

Lurking for quite some time. I don't think I need to repeat what the other's have said, but I will just in case. Wonderful presentation and detail, and doing well. You'll be in the big leagues faster than I can say 'Hala Madrid'.

Also, I wouldn't see Schalke as a massive barrier. In my first season with Spurs, they got relegated, even when they had Drax, Fahrmann and all of these other stars!

[nie jem frytek]

For the future - don't forget to manage Real and then leave for Barcelona.

[shantebellum]

Thanks for all your kind words, guys. I'm really enjoying this career and it's nice to see that there are people who feel the same way!

For the future - don't forget to manage Real and then leave for Barcelona.

You'll be in the big leagues faster than I can say 'Hala Madrid'.

I certainly feel that moving across the border to Spain would be a good step up, and I'd love to manage Real some day, but it's probably a bit too early for that We'll see what offers Figo gets in the closing stages of the season.

C.F. Os Belenenses | 2016/17 | November

Luís Figo









Well, this is godawful. We started the season being £14,000 under the wage budget and with this adjustment we are now £2,500 over the budget. At least the new owner seems to come from inside the club and not be a random person, which might make the takeover a bit less stressful. Still, the lack of resources is worrying and there probably won't be many who will hold it against Figo if he leaves after this season to seek some stability and structure.





Two really bad games, two costly defeats. A point could be made that both matches were played away, but Académica are near the bottom of the league table and if we were to emulate last season's achievements, Rio Ave is a team we should be beating, as well. There was little fire in our bellies and we haven't been good enough recently - this little slump means we've now lost three league games in a row, the first time this has happened under the helm of Luís Figo.







Wescley was the man of the match in a Portuguese Cup match against Arouca, who are languishing in the bottom of the Primeira Liga. We gave some playing time to youngsters like Gabriel Mendy and Nelson Santos, who played well and guided us through to the next round against Beira-Mar. Danilo Pereira has been scoring for fun from the defensive midfielder/regista position, it's always nice to see lads surging upfront from deeper and having an eye for a strike.





Two weeks after we thrashed Schalke at the Veltins-Arena 4-1, we lose to them 1-3 in front of our home fans. This time they made the most of their chances with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scoring a beautiful header from a deep cross and Julian Draxler slotting in a one-on-one chance after a quick one-two with Karim Bellarabi. Miguel Rosa managed to pull one back for us right at the brink of half time, but Draxler's second of the game put the nail in it. We then faced Bordeaux whilst having dropped to the bottom of Group K, but a brilliant first half sees us getting right back in the thick of it. Wescley has been in a good form recently and he duly delivered again with two clinical finishes in front of ~8000 of the Belem faithful. Young centre back Nelson Santos was sent off after 65 minutes, but we were organised and fended off Bordeaux's attacks fairly easily.





So we still have anything to play for going into the last round of the Group Stage. If we win against Twente, we'll definitely qualify; if we draw with Twente and Bordeaux manage to defeat Schalke, we'll go through alongside Twente; if both games finish with a draw, then Schalke will go through to the Knockout Stage with Twente. Pretty nailbiting stuff here with Schalke on 8 points, Belem and Twente on 7 points and Bordeaux on 4 points.

[oneronaldo]

Forget the Champions League, Europa League is where the actions at:applause:

[shantebellum]

The takeover was completed swiftly and painlessly, but with the 5 million pound bank loan, the foreseeable future is not looking bright.





In other news, defensive midfielder Rodrigo Dourado has rather unexpectedly left the club after two and a half seasons. With the arrival of Danilo Pereira, Dourado dropped to a rotation option but with Pereira having a great debut season for Belem, couldn't break into the first team more than he would have wanted and decided to return to Brazil. He was a good servant for the club and while his total of 83 games for Belenenses isn't that high, I reckoned he deserved a special mention for being an integral part of our two successful campaigns.



"Muito obrigado por tudo! Força Belenenses!"

[deltablue]

Good luck in that last Europa League game

[shantebellum]

Good luck in that last Europa League game

Cheers Delta, we're going to need it!

[shantebellum]

C.F. Os Belenenses | 2016/17 | December

Luís Figo







We started December with a nice victory at home against Guimaraes with Rodrigo Dantas and Deyverson both scoring from Tiago Silva's passes. We held the ball for an outlandish 70% and allowed them only one shot throughout the whole game. Boavista proved to be a tough opponent, as it took us nearly an hour to unlock their defense, but in the end, goals from Ronaldo Alves and Tiago Silva gave us the victory. The last game of December saw us face the current league leaders Braga. We took the lead through an own goal by Romagnoli, but couldn't hold on until the half time whistle. Braga equalized in the 40th minute and then piled on the pressure in the second half, which resulted in a goal for them in the 75th minute. It was a fairly decent month and I would have been happy with the draw, but it wasn't to be.



Analyzing our attack and defense by numbers, we're doing better than in previous seasons - we have currently scored the most goals in the league and we have also conceded less than a goal per game, which is a definite step up. In January, we have two very difficult fixtures against city-rivals Benfica and Sporting, so I'm hoping a good result against either one of them might propel our season.





We're doing our job in the Cup with another solid win against a top-flight opponent. Deyverson opened the scoring from close range after Beira-Mar's keeper parried Miguel Rosa's long shot. Three minutes into the second half they scored a bizarre own goal, when their centre back passed back to the keeper and the ball somehow went into the net from a completely innocent situation. This killed the game and we rolled the ball around until the 93rd minute, when Miguel Rosa scored a stunning long shot from 30 yards out - the man can't score ugly goals





Football, bloody hell!

It was an absolute joy of a game for the neutral - we were 2-0 up after 30 minutes through Wescley and a screamer from Danilo Pereira, but Juan Agudelo brought Twente back into the game. During the half-time break, we made a tactical change by taking out winger Fabio Sturgeon and bringing in another defensive midfielder in Rodrigo Dantas. They had kept 60% of the ball in the first half, but with two defensive mids, we gained more control. We were passing nicely, and even though we created less chances than in the first half, I thought that it might just be enough to give us a famous victory. Then, in the 62nd minute, Twente broke through our right-hand side where Clayton Sales, who, barring this game, has been magnificent throughout the season and the resulting cross was converted by Luc Castaignos. The boys responded brilliantly with a string of passes in their final third, and Tiago Silva gave us the lead again. This only lasted for two minutes however, as Twente pretty much copy-pasted their second goal - Clayton Sales was skinned alive, a floating cross, a powerful header. 3-3. We kept our eye on the other game, where Schalke and Bordeaux were also drawing. We would have needed a Bordeaux win, which would have taken us through on goal difference, but you can never wait on the other results to go your way. In a last-ditch effort to score, Figo brought on Deyverson and Fabio Nunes, crowding the opposing box. It was bloody nail-biting, as Wescley hit the post in the 89th minute and Miguel Rosa curled a free-kick just over the bar in the final few seconds, but the full-time whistle saw us going out in the Group Stage again.



Just one goal, Bordeaux, please!



It was another roller-coaster of a campaign - there are definitely some new grey hair on Figo's head after this. It's a bit of a shame that we couldn't take them into the Knockout Stage in what is quite probably our last season in the club, but these things happen in football. Onwards and upwards.

[deltablue]

That was a close final round!

[shantebellum]

C.F. Os Belenenses | 2016/17 | January

Luís Figo















Not much better in the Portuguese Cup, either, with Benfica really being in a class of their own this season.





The League Cup has gone a bit more our way this year. Wescley has been scoring for fun and thanks to his good displays we have qualified to the Semi Final, where we will face Porto.

[shantebellum]

That was a close final round!

It sure was - too bad we couldn't take our chances!

In other news, Messi is still the king, while Juan Mata is continuing to have a great few seasons.



Decision time!

Now this has got me interested! Figo is reaching the end of his Belem contract and I think the right thing to do is to make a step forward in his career. We've made ourselves a bit of a name as a talented manager, so we've attracted some attention from Ligue 1 and Serie A. Him having played in both Spain and Italy, I'd probably like either of those two to be Figo's next destination. Sampdoria is currently 13th in Serie A with 12 games to go (I usually play a month in advance just in case), but 8th place Roma is only five points away and 5th place Napoli eight points away.

What do you guys think? Should Figo take the job and start a new adventure in Italy? Should Figo finish the season with Belenenses and enter the job market in the summer? Should we surprise everyone and extend our contract with the Portuguese club?

What would you do

[nie jem frytek]

If you can't delay it to the end of the season, then decline it and finish the season with Belem.

[sawyenara]

This is absolutely fantastic!! Coincidence or not, but I hate using my name as the manager so always pick a footballing legend who hasn't started a management career yet in actual life. Luis Figo is always top of my list along with Paulo Maldini and David Beckham.

I've just started my FM16 save as Torino and guess who I am? Luis Figo!! Torino represents a decent challenge and I intend on taking them to the Champions League. Using a 4-4-2 in the Simeone style. So far so good. I spanked my youth side 6-1 in a friendly

Keep up the great work!

[Nocuous]

I think most will want you to stay with Belem, but I like the Sampdoria offer. They're a club with the foundation in terms of stadium and facilities that you could really grow. Not to mention there's plenty of talent in the squad, well at least there is at the start of the game.

[noikeee]

Great run in the Europa League, shame about the lack of consistency in the national competitions.

About the Sampdoria offer, I think it just depends on what do you think would be more fun really. Do you feel like you've got an unfinished job at Belenenses, or is the better squad and finances of a Serie A club too tempting?

[DavidBeckham]

Stay home & finish the job before taking up another in the summer!

[shantebellum]

Thanks for the input, guys! I agree - it's probably the right decision to see my contract out and then start looking for a move abroad. We still have some unfinished business in Portugal!

Sawyenara - welcome to the forums and good luck with Torino!

[shantebellum]

C.F. Os Belenenses | 2016/17 | February

Luís Figo







Okay, so this is a bit better. Although we still lost two games during the month, at least we won three - mostly thanks to one man. Wescley had an absolute stormer of a month, scoring all four in a 4-0 drubbing of Maritimo, then adding one from the penalty spot against Olhanense, then scored a brilliant volley in an otherwise disappointing loss against Gil Vicente. With his clinical finish near the end of a great first half against Moreirense, Wescley had scored in seven consecutive games! He's been a great signing for us, having scored 24 goals in 29 appearances in all competitions so far this season. Not too shabby, considering we bought him for only 30 000 pounds and he's on £525 a week.

The game against Maritimo also saw Nuno Pala substituted in for his debut game. The 16-year-old defensive midfielder is showing some promise and we decided to give him an opportunity, which he took well. He played for 30 odd minutes and made some good tackles, in addition to a pass completion rate of 100%. 18-year-old centre back Nelson Santos has already played in 17 games this season and proved to be an important part of the club's future, so hopefully Nuno Pala can also break through into the first team at some point.



We don't like them draws





Yes, get in!! We started so strongly against Porto that when they finally snapped out of their shock, we were already three nil up. The game had only gone on for 35 seconds, when Clayton Sales whipped in a low cross from the right hand side and Wescley got a touch on it. The ball bounced off Porto's Samir and rolled in, giving us a lead much earlier than we would have hoped to. The second goal was almost a carbon copy of the first one, but this time Porto's defenders completely forgot about Wescley lurking in their box. He had no trouble finishing off Clayton's cross and we were rubbing our eyes. The bonanza wasn't over though - only six minutes later Tozé's deep cross was blundered clumsily by Porto's keeper and Danilo Pereira pounced on the open ball. 3-0 up after only fifteen minutes. They slowly woke up and scored a goal back, but we had already secured the victory at that point, meaning that we would go into a second Cup Final in three years! The last time we made it this far, we lost to Benfica in the 2015 Portuguese Cup final. Maybe 2017 and a League Cup Final against Sporting will prove to be a perfect send-off to Luís Figo?

[deltablue]

That was a tough decision. It's definitely the time to leave but I actually hate switching clubs mid-season myself.