The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's Universidad de Chile (and Nigeria) 2024 Report 

I’d given up this save, but couldn’t settle on any other, so decided to give this 1 more season. Tbh I’m more interested in seeing if my Nigeria team can win the ACON, but having come pretty close the last 2 years, winning the Lib with the U was also a possibility.

We won the league for the 5^th consecutive year. We were unbeaten (again) and won by 22 points, which isn’t bad for a 30 match season.

We would probably have done the double again if it weren’t for my goalie picking up an injury days before the second leg of the semi-final. I’d cleared the decks of players a bit, so had to play a very raw and unfit youngster. We threw away a 2-0 lead and lost on penalties.

The only thing that really counted though was the Libertadores, and I thought our way had been cleared when the top Brazilian teams went out, but we were eliminated on away goals in the quarter final. Very frustrating. We are as good as all the other teams in the continent, but unfortunately we’re not better so each tie after the group stage is basically a coin toss which I have to win 4 times in a row. I have a couple of young strikers in the first team now, so I might give it another season, but it’s not as though I’m going to finish the challenge with this save before FM18, and frankly it’s a bit boring.

I’m limited by only being allowed to have 5 foreign players (+2 U21s) domestically. Of course I can play as many foreigners as I want in the Lib, but if I don’t register players, they want to leave. I’m allowed 2 U20 foreign players, but they’re nearly always 19 and thus just a season away from being a registration decision. Still the future is vaguely exciting in the form of my 2 young home-grown strikers who established themselves in the first team this season, so on that note;

 

Top Goalscorer – Christopher Navarro – 29.

Top Average Rating – JJ Da Silva 7.82. My left back. One of my wingbacks nearly always gets this. Had a plus 8 rating for the league.

Man of the Match – Fernando Marin / Leonardo Gil – 6. Marin is the other new young striker, and not yet as good as Navarro, but at 19 a couple of years younger and would have been the top scorer if not for breaking into the team later and Navarro being the penalty taker.

 

But this is all just prologue. Next is the main event, my second African Cup with Nigeria. Suffice to say we qualified very easily, but the only time we’ve faced an actual good team (Cameroon in World Cup qualifying at home) it was a 0-0 draw, so best not to hope for too much. Still I think Cameroon might actually be one of our key rivals.

Domestic
Season	Team					Position	Notes										Challenge Landmarks
2016	Dalian Yifang				7th		Took over for last 2 matches of the season
2017	Dalian Yifang				2nd		Promted to Chinese Super League
2018	Dalian Yifang				5th		Won FA Cup and therefore qualification to CL group stage. 			1st domestic cup
2019	Dalian Yifang				1st		Left with 3 matches left and the league already won.				1st domestic league
2019	U de Chile						Took over with 4 matches of season left, in 5th place and in Cup Q/F 
2020	U de Chile				1st		League / Cup Double								2nd domestic league and cup
2021	U de Chile				1st		Another league / cup double. Lib Q/F knocked out on penalties.
2022	U de Chile				1st		And another double. Lost in Lib S/F extra time after having 2 players sent off.
2023	U de Chile				1st		4th successive double. 2nd succssive Lib s/f exit.
2024	U de Chile				1st		5th consecutive league title (and my 6th). Lost in Lib Q/F on away goals.


International
Year	Team					Achievements
2018	China U23				Asian Games
2019-21	Ghana					Quit after losing in ACON Q/F
2021-	Nigeria					2023 ACON losing finalists. 

Challenge Progress

Club
 2/10 top domestic leagues 			(China, Chile)
 2/10 domestic cups 				(China, Chile)			
 0/5 club continental championships 	
 0/1 club world championship

International
 0/5 continental tournaments 		
 0/2 world tournaments 

 

[vikeologist]

@Vatan I've added you to the leaderboard, but please do remember that dormant saves without reports do disappear at some point. The only route to immortaility is to get into the hall of fame. Still, I understand what you're saying about getting into the save. recently I've toyed with continuing my youth save and starting the Giant 70 challenge, but then lost interest. usually I'm pretty good at stiucking with challenges, and indeed if not for the Copa Lib bug, would by this point have either completed the challenge on my first attempt, or would be near the end doing a fadedaf (sorry, @Fadedaf, that's a thing now). 

@darren1983 Just to confirm that winning a competition, even though you were only the manager at the end is of course allowed. If it's really near the end, that's what's known in Ultimate lexicography as doing a vike. I once took over a team on the actual day of the second leg of a cup final (but lost the tie), so my biggest vike thus far was winning the Copa Lib in my second match with Corinthians. And look what has happened since. Seasons of failure with Rosario Central. The copa lib bug and now seasons of failure with U de Chile. It doesn't pay to anger the Gods with too much chutzpah.

Edited September 9, 2017 by vikeologist

[dkouv]

@Fadedaf Congrats, finally! Just one to go now...

[Fadedaf]

Faded's 2063 Asian Cup Report

So after Ghana's heroic ACON win, I immediately resigned to look for a job in Asia to try to win my last trophy for the challenge. The world cup took place the next year and among the countries who sacked their manager was Iran, the team that knocked me out of the last Asian cup. They have a pretty good, balanced team so I took the job with about 6 months to go until the next Asian Cup. We played a bunch of friendlies, mostly against good European sides and lost most, although we played well and even beat Portugal 3-0 in one game. We've drawn a very interesting group for this tournament including Australia, probably the strongest team in Asia as well as the Philippines and Laos, two very weak teams. Here's how we got on:

Group Stage

Spoiler

Iran 1-1 Australia (goal from Khattab) We were probably the better team but a draw is not a bad result in this game. I am sure we will meet Australia again later in the competition.

Iran 11-0 Philippines (goals from Al-Shammari x3, Zare x2, Nikbakht x2, Tavana x2, Jafari, Rahmani) Very easy win as we absolutely smashed them.

Iran 9-0 Laos (goals from Al-Shammari x3, Tavana x3, Jalili, Nikbakht, Rahmani) Another easy victory where essentially my B team totally dominated. We've drawn Qatar in the next round. A goal difference of +20 after 3 games is always a good sign!

2nd Round (if applicable)

Spoiler

Iran 1-0 Qatar (goal from Nikbakht) This honestly was not a very good performance. We scraped the win but should've done much better and my strikers had a pretty awful time out there. Now on to Kuwait in the quarters.

Quarter final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Iran 4-0 Kuwait (goals from Al-Shammari x4) Al-Shammari made up for his misses last week with probably the best game of his career as he single-handedly carved through Kuwait's defence. He scored a penalty, then two excellent free kicks, then a long range bullet just to top it all off. We're getting into the real business end of the competition now, and we face a tough game against Japan in the semis.

Semi final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Iran 3-0 Japan (goals from Al-Shammari x2, Nikbakht) A very good performance as we dominated a very solid Japan side. Surprisingly, in the other semi Saudi Arabia managed to beat Australia 2-1 so that is who we'll be playing in the final. Will it be the final game of the challenge for me?

3rd place playoff (if applicable)

Spoiler

 

Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Iran p2-2 Saudi Arabia (goals from Nasiri, o.g.) Well if I thought the ACON final was nervy this game was absolutely something else. We scored with the first shot of the game, in the 26th minute before adding another in the first half through an own goal. They then scored immediately after halftime to alert our fears and I then watched in horror as they dominated the second half, missing several clear cut chances and even hitting the crossbar before they poked in a scrappy finish in the 88th minute. Extra time saw our goalscorer, midfielder Nasiri, get himself sent off and having used all 3 subs, I was forced into pulling a striker back into midfield. We held out well and forced penalties. our young 'keeper   Khatibi, who only wont he starting position just before the tournament started managed to save two penalties and while we missed one ourselves, we managed to win it.

Aftermath

Spoiler

Champions of Asia at only the second attempt and that is the entire challenge completed! This Iran team was great to manage and I put our success down to having 4 very solid centre backs to rotate as well as star striker Al-Shammari who managed 12 goals in the tournament which is insane. 

I never thought i'd be able to finish the challenge as i'm sure did many of you reading my last few updates! What a great way to finish it off. Expect a detailed EOC update soon with full career progress, profile screenshots and a final overall Challenge XI.

 

 

[vikeologist]

@Fadedaf Excellent news. I almost didn't look at your update straight away, as I'm in the midst of a tournament myself, and am experiencing enough stress just with my own guys.  

Anyway, welcome to the Hall of Fame. I dare say this is the greatest day of your life. This is the summit. From now on your life will be a gradual descent descent to death and annihilation, so erm, congratulations.

You know I talk about the Pugs and N1Gs of this challenge who achieve it quickly, but I think there's a certain nobility to the likes of you and I who take twice as long to do it. (Ok, so I'm the only of the two of us who literally took twice as long), but it's easy to complete this challenge if you keep winning matches. That's so gauche. A rugged determination to keep going is an underappreciated virtue, so well done.

I'll wait for the detailed EOC report to link to.

 

Edited September 10, 2017 by vikeologist

[TheEarl]

Congrats @Fadedaf, welcome to the club of Ultimate Managers. (Although my wife will probably hate you for smashing Philippines 11-0 a long the way lol)

[Fadedaf]

 

Faded's EOC Report

Year completed: 2063

Games played: 2,128

Win percentage: 73%

Total teams managed: 30 

Total trophies won: 79

Top 3 Highlights of the challenge (in no particular order):

1. Quintuple winning season with Tigres + winning the CWC with a late goal against Real Madrid.

2. ACON triumph with Ghana

3. Copa America, Confederations Cup and World Cup success with Brazil within 3 years.

Honorable mentions: Last minute goal by Ace Bhengu (still remember his name!) to give Royal Eagles promotion in my first season of the challenge, Asian treble with Jeonbuk, Comeback second leg win over Atletico Madrid in the Europa League with Genk.

Bottom 3 Lowlights of the challenge (in no particular order):

1. 9 consecutive ACON failures

2. Champions League final loss with Barcelona

3. Being thrashed 7-1 by my old Chelsea team in the Champions League with Barca.

Final Manager Profile:

Overview   Job History   Job History 2

Final Challenge XI:

Goalkeeper- Prince Motsonoeng (Tigres and Chelsea) A South African wonderkid who was solid between the sticks for all of my successes at both Tigres and Chelsea. He was an expert penalty-saver who always delivered.

Left back-   Conrado Fabri (Brazil and Chelsea) Very talented fullback from Brazil who was instrumental in Brazil’s 3 consecutive tournament wins under my management as well as my success at Chelsea. Despite his red card in a world cup final, he still makes the team.

Centre Back- Pablo de Paula Neto (PSG) The most expensive player I ever bought throughout the challenge, he was a rock at the centre of defense in the Champions League winning PSG side of '43 and even scored a hat trick in the quarterfinal.

Centre Back- Ricardo Osorio (Tigres) My first signing with Tigres, we went on to win 10 trophies together. He was a regular international for Argentina and an absolute beats of a defender.

Right Back- Ayoub El-Khaliqi (Royal Eagles). Moroccan fullback who was at the core of the eagles defense for ages providing loads of assists every season.

Right Midfield- Emiliano Puras (Tigres and Chelsea) Consistently great wide midfielder who always stepped up in big games.

Central Midfield- Daniel Lang (PSG) Superb controlling playmaker who ran the show as PSG won me my first and only Champions League.

Central Midfield- Francisco Sole (Tigres) The Captain and valiant leader of the quintuple-winning Tigres side. Contributed with goals, assists and much more as he mastered the box-to-box midfielder role.

Left Midfield- William Alvarez (Tigres and Chelsea) An awesome wide player who contributed goals, assists and more wherever he went.

Striker- Paolo Ramundo (Barcelona) An incredible wonderkid who I brought to Barcelona where he went on to star every season I was there.

Striker- Richard Acuna (Tigres) Topped the charts in the quintuple winning season in nearly every category and won countless awards. He has scored 88 goals under my management already.
 
Substitutes- Betinho (Brazil GK), Keanu Cupido (Royal Eagles CB), Maurice Sery (Royal Eagles, Ivory Coast and Genk LB), Lee Jong-Soo (Jeonbuk CB) Hans Stevens (Genk CM) Thomas Abdul Razak (Ghana ST) Exequiel Hoyos (Tigres ST)

Career Timeline:

Season       Team             Position         Champs League       Notes and Achievements     
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17      Royal Eagles     2nd                  -               Promoted to South African Premier League
2017/18      Royal Eagles     1st                  -               KO Cup winners, MOTS, CL qualification
2018/19      Royal Eagles     2nd                  -               FA Cup runners up, CL qualification, CL ongoing
2019/20      Royal Eagles     1st              Semi Final          KO Cup winners, FA Cup winners, MOTS, CL qualification
2020/21      Royal Eagles     --               Semi Final          KO Cup winners, Super 8 runners up, left halfway through season for Molde
2021         Molde            1st                  -               Cup winners, MOTS, CL qualification
2022         Molde            --                   -               Undefeated and 1st in the league when I left for Genk
2022/23      Genk             1st                  -               EL Semi finalists
2023/24      Genk             2nd              Group Stage         Super Cup winners, Cup runners up, EL Quarter finalists
2024/25      Genk             1st               Playoff            Cup winners, CL qualification
2025/26      Saint Etienne    3rd                  -               Supercup winners, Cup runners up, EL Semi finals, MOTS, CL qualification
2026/27      Saint Etienne    3rd               Playoff            Cup winners, EL Quarter finals, CL qualification
2027         Jeonbuk          1st              Semi Final          Took over in 6th position, CL qualification
2028         Jeonbuk          1st              CHAMPIONS           Cup winners, MOTS, FA cup best manager, CL qualification, 5th in CWC
2029/30      Tigres        1st + 2nd               -               Cup winners, Libertadores qualification, MOTS
2030/31      Tigres        1st + 1st           CHAMPIONS x2        Quintuple winners, CWC qualification, double CL qualification again, MOTS
2031/32      Tigres      3/4th + 1st     2nd Round + runner up     Recopa winners, CWC Champions, NACL runners up
2032/33      Roma             4th             1st KO Round         Cup semis, CL qualification
2033/34      Roma             1st             1st KO Round         Cup winners, MOTS, CL qualification
2034/35      BMG              1st             1st KO Round         Cup semis, CL qualification
2036/37      Chelsea          2nd             1st KO Round         EFL Cup runners up, FA Cup semis, CL qualification
2037/38      Chelsea          2nd             1st KO Round         FA Cup winners, EFL Cup runners up, CL qualification
2038/39      Chelsea          1st             1st KO Round         MOTS, CL qualification
2039/40      Chelsea          2nd              Semi Final          CL qualification
2040/41      Barcelona        1st             1st KO Round         CL qualification, Cup winners, Supercup winners, MOTS runner-up
2041/42      Barcelona        1st              Runners Up          Unbeaten in the League, Cup winners, Supercup winners, MOTS, CL qual.
2042/43      PSG              1st              CHAMPIONS           Cup winners x2, Supercup winners, CL qualification
2043/44      PSG              1st             1st KO Round         CWC winners, French + Euro Supercup winners, CL qualification
2044/45      Celtic           1st                  -               Cup winners, CL qualification
2045/46      Sundowns         4th                  -               FA Cup runners up
2046/47      Sundowns         1st                  -               Domestic quadruple winners, CL qualification
2047/48      Sundowns         1st                  -               KO Cup winners, African Confed winners, African Supercup winners, CL qual.
2048/49      Sundowns         1st              1st Round           Domestic quadruple winners, CL qualification
2049         Sundowns          -               CHAMPIONS           Super 8 winners, resigned after winning CL

Challenge Progress

Club
 10/10 top domestic leagues (South Africa- Royal Eagles, Norway- Molde, Belgium- Genk, South Korea- Jeonbuk, Mexico- Tigres, Italy- Roma, Germany- BMG, England- Chelsea, Spain- Barcelona, France- PSG)
 10/10 domestic cups (South Africa KO Cup- Royal Eagles, Norwegian Cup- Molde, Belgian Cup- Genk, Coupe de la Ligue(France)- Saint Etienne, Korean FA Cup- Jeonbuk, Mexican Cup Opening Stage- Tigres, Italian Cup- Roma, FA Cup- Chelsea, Copa del Rey- Barcelona, Scottish Cup- Celtic)
 5/5 club continental championships (Asian CL- Jeonbuk 2028, Copa Libertadores- Tigres 2031, NACL- Tigres 2031 Champions League- PSG 2043, African CL- Mamelodi Sundowns 2049) 
 1/1 club world championship (Tigres 2031)

International
 5/5 continental tournaments (Copa America 2031- Brazil, Gold Cup 2035- Mexico, European Championship 2040- Spain, ACON 2061- Ghana, Asian Cup 2063- Iran)
 2/2 world tournaments (Confederations Cup 2033- Brazil, World Cup 2034- Brazil)

International:
Season       Team             Notes and Achievements     
----------------------------------------------------------
2018        China U23         Won Asian Games
2019        Cameroon          Started ACON qualification, switched to Algeria
2019        Algeria           Resigned after 2 games
2021        Nigeria           Qualified for world cup, ACON qualification ongoing
2022        Nigeria           Knocked out of World Cup in group stage, resigned
2023        Ivory Coast       Started World Cup and ACON qualifying
2024        Ivory Coast       Qualified for ACON
2025        Ivory Coast       Knocked out of ACON in quarter finals, resigned
2026        Ghana             Qualified for ACON
2027        Ghana             ACON runners up, resigned
2028        SK + France U23   Won U23 Asian Cup, Olympic silver medallists
2029        Brazil            Qualified for World Cup
2030        Brazil            4th in World Cup
2031        Brazil            Copa America Winners!
2032        Brazil            Qualified for World Cup
2033        Brazil            Confederations Cup Winners!
2034        Brazil            World Cup Winners!
2035        Mexico            Gold Cup Winners!
2036        Spain             Started World Cup qualifying
2037        Spain             Qualified unbeaten for the World Cup
2038        Spain             World Cup runners-up
2039        Spain             European International League Div.A Winners!
2040        Spain             European Championship Winners!
2041        Ivory Coast       Missed out on World Cup qualification on goal difference
2042        Ivory Coast       Qualified for ACON
2043        Ivory Coast       Knocked out of ACON in quarter finals, resigned
2044        Egypt             CHAN runners-up
2045        Egypt             Knocked out of ACON in quarter finals, resigned
2046        Senegal           Knocked out of World Cup in quarter finals
2047        Senegal           ACON runners-up, resigned
2048        Nigeria           CHAN Winners, qualified for ACON
2049        Nigeria           Knocked out of ACON in semi finals, resigned
2050        South Africa      CHAN winners, knocked out of World Cup in group stage
2051        South Africa      ACON runners up
2052        South Africa      Knocked out of CHAN in quarter finals
2053        South Africa      3rd place in ACON
2054        South Africa      Knocked out of CHAN in quarter finals
2055        South Africa      3rd place in ACON, switched to Australia
2056        Australia         Started World Cup qualifying
2057        Australia         Qualified for World Cup
2058        Australia         Knocked out of World Cup in 2nd round
2059        Australia         3rd in Asian Cup, Sacked!
2060        Ghana             3rd in CHAN
2061        Ghana             ACON Winners!
2062        Iran              Took over after World Cup
2063        Iran              Asian Cup Winners!

 

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's Nigeria ACON 2023 Report 

So 2 years ago I decided to leave the young Ghana team because I thought that Nigeria had more potential, and now it’s time to see if that was a good move.

Last time I didn’t think that Ghana stood any realistic chance, but I reckon Nigeria are in with a shot. We have no injuries, and several extremely good players. At the very least I hope we do well enough for me to stay in charge and have another go in 2 years time.

 

Group Stage

Spoiler

 

Vs Algeria (host nation). 2-2. We were unlucky to go into half time 1-0 down, and when they scored a second against the run of play, I thought we were in trouble, but we managed to come back and get the draw. Not ideal, but hopefully the rest of the group stage will go a little smoother.

Vs Guinea     5-2     Two years ago, my Ghana also met Guinea in the group stage, We went a goal down, and only managed to turn it around and win the match in the 87^th minute. Given that Guinea had won their first group match, I was a bit worried about this fixture, but we won comfortably enough, although onceding 2 goals again is definitely a cause for concern.

Vs Tunisia 1-1. We looked asleep, but at least the goal we gave up was a dodgy penalty. Despite the 2 draws, we top the group on goal difference and nNext up is my old team Ghana.

 

Quarter Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Vs Ghana 3-0 That’s a relief. I really didn’t want to be knocked out by the team I’d divorced for the younger Nigerians. We didn’t look all that special, but for once we didn’t make stupid mistakes either. Next up is Gabon who surprisingly beat Egypt. It looks to be  ridiculously easy tie, but with my experiences of  ACONs past I’m locked into a perpetual spiral of pessimistic dread.

 

 

Semi Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Vs Gabon 4-1 The score is misleading. We had an awful first half and were losing 1-0 at half time. I hated the ACON. I hated this challenge and I hated Football Manager. Yes, in the second half we crushed them like the irrelevant ants they are, but the scars are still there. We’ve had a fairly easy path to the final, but that ends now. our opponents are going to be Senegal, and they have kicked the arse of some supposedly good sides to get here.

 

3^rd Place Playoff (if applicable) 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Vs Senegal 0-2. We were awarded a penalty in the first half, but it was saved. Senegal scored 2 in quick succession in the second half to destroy our dreams.

After The Tournament

Spoiler

I don’t think I’ll be sacked so hopefully I will get another shot in 2 years. Senegal were much better than everyone else, but half their first team is 30 or over. We only have two 30 year olds in our squad. We’ll be back.

Vikeologist's

Spoiler

Nigeria ACON 2025 

Report 

Spoiler

 

 

Spoiler

 

And indeed I am back already, because it looks as though I forgot to post the 2023 Report at the time.

Not sure whether I’m looking forward to this or dreading it. Our squad is at their peak, and maybe just a touch past it. In the shortlist for African player of the year, there were 4 Nigerians in the final 10, including for some inexplicable reason my 4^th best striker. On the other hand, we had no players at all in the voting for the young player awards, and really this is it. It’s now or never. If we don’t win, I quit. Not just Nigeria, but also probably the challenge again until FM18.

Our group matches are all against opponents from 2 years ago. We drew with both Algeria and Tunisia, and then beat my previous team Ghana in the next round.

 

Group Stage

Spoiler

 

Vs Algeria 1-1 A worrying start. I don’t know what was wrong with the team in the first half, though we were much stronger in the second. At least Ghana and Tunisia drew as well, so hopefully no real damage done.

Vs Ghana 2-2 A crazy match. 7 of our players were booked (plus 4 yellows for Ghana), and unfortunately one of them twice which reduced us to 10 men when 2-1 down. We managed an equaliser. Ghana went to 10 men because of injury. Crazy end to end stuff. I didn’t expect the group stage to be this stressful. Stating the obvious, we need to win our final match to be sure of progressing, but a draw could be enough.

Vs Tunisia 3-0 Another crazy end to end match with both sides hunting the win, but once we got our noses ahead I pulled off our top players to stop them picking up another yellow and missing the next game. All those yellows from the Ghana match will come back to haunt us though. Ghana scored 2 goals in the last 10 minutes of their match, which meant that after all the drama, we actually finished top. Next (because heaven forbid with so many African nations we should actually get to play a different team) is our World Cup Qualifying rivals Cameroon, who I think are pretty good, but got out of their group with just 1 win and 2 defeats. So, I predict another final where we get stomped on by Egypt, who won all 3 games in Cameroon’s group.

 

 

 

Quarter Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Vs Cameroon 4-2 A few tense moments, but a win is a win. The semi-final is against Cape Verde, who scraped into the tournament, and we beat easily in a pre-tournament warm up. Still, can’t take anything for granted. They’ve got this far. Unfortunately our doom in the form of Egypt continues to await us, as they scored 2 injury time goals to get into the semis.

 

Semi Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

 

Vs Cape Verde 3-1 A match we completely dominated, but until late in the match it was only 1-0, as we just couldn’t pull the trigger in front of goal. I think our own players got in the way of our few shots on target more than their defenders did.

So a second successive final, and I thought that once again we were going to face the one team in the tournament who had won all their games, Egypt. I was delighted when they lost to South Africa. Doubtless it will still be a tough game, but we have a shot.

 

3^rd Place Playoff (if applicable)

Spoiler

 

 

 

Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Vs South Africa 0-0p (Lost 7-6 on penalties). Gutting. I knew South Africa were a good defensive side, but we should have been able to get past them, and we definitely should have beaten them on penalties.

After The Tournament

Spoiler

I think this is pretty much it for me on this challenge for FM17. Had I won, I would have carried on, because the ACON is quite possibly the hardest landmark being basically a lottery. 2 final defeats in a row means I’m still on course to beat Fadedaf’s record of consecutive failures. I’m now on 8. Something to look forward to for FM18.

 

Edited September 10, 2017 by vikeologist

[darren1983]

2023 Season Report

First full season in New York started with the NACL quarter finals against the reigning champions (for the last 3 seasons) Tigres from Mexico. We managed a 2-1 win at home to give us a good platform. The away leg was a rollercoaster as they took an early lead. It would remain that way at the break meaning they were leading on away goals, A quick counter from us pulled us level on the day but they very quickly restored their advantage, with 7 minutes to go up popped up new signing Danny Drinkwater for a goal. Another quick goal from them left us with a nervy final 5 minutes but we saw it it, losing 3-2 on the night but going through on away goals.

We were the only US side in the final 4 and got a tough match up with Pachuca. They smashed us 3-1 at our place and 2-1 at theirs. A class above and we never stood a chance.

In the league we had a frustrating season, we actually started off well and for a while sat 2nd in the combined table and looked like we would mount a challenge, however after the NACL defeat our form dropped off as we only won 5 of our next 20 league games, lots of draws but some hug losses. Got so bad the board told me I needed 7 points from 5 games or I'd be fired. A change in formation saw us win our next 4 to save my job and actually but us just a point off the final playoff spot with 4 to go, 2 losses then 2 wins meant we finished the season 5th in Eastern Conference and would face New England in the wild card round. Just like last season where the final league game robbed us off our best player this year we lost 3 due to injuries and suspensions. Also like last season we failed at this hurdle suffering a 4-2 loss. 

In the US Open Cup we made the quarter finals but the loss here came during our awful form and this is as far as we got. 

My contract is up in a couple of weeks and I think my stint in the US is over, I'm not good enough to fully understand how to build a squad here. Aiming for Mexico or South America I think.

I did take over the US national side though after they once again failed at the Gold Cup (they've only won it once since the game started) we've done alright, couple of wins in friendlies, a narrow loss to Germany, in our World Cup qualifying round we did get FM'd away to Bermuda in the opening game, battered them for 90 mins then they pop up with a 35 yard screamer to win 1-0. We smashed Panama 5-1 next game to set us up for the final 4 group games. My target here is the Gold Cup and a decent showing int he World Cup in 2.5 years.

Career Progress

Club

Year		Club			Country		League position		Achievements 
2016/17		Mthatha Bucks		South Africa	3rd 			Promotion
2017/18		Mthatha Bucks		South Africa	7th 
2018/19		Orlando Pirates		South Africa	2nd 			Took over in November. Telkon & Nedbank Cup wins		
2019/20		Orlando Pirates		South Afirca	1st			League, MTN8, Telkom winners	
2020		Orlando Pirates		South Africa	1st			MTN8 & Champs league win. Left in November
2020/21		Melbourne Victory	Australia	6th 			Tool over in March, A League Finals winner
2021/22		Melbourne Victory	Australia	9th			FFA Cup & Asian Champions League win. Left In December 2021
2022		New York City		USA		4th 
2023		New York City		USA		9th 

International 

Year		Country			Ranking		Achievements
2023		USA			37th 

Challenge Progress

Club

2/10 Top Domestic Leagues – South Africa 2020 (Orlando Pirates), Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory)
2/10 Domestic Cups - South Africa 2019 (Orlando Pirates), Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory)
2/5  Club continental Cups – Africa 2020 (Orlando Pirates) , Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory)
0/1  Club World Championships 

 International

0/5   Continental tournaments 
0/2	  World Tournaments

 

[pug 407]

Big Congrats @Fadedaf Having Completed The Challenge.

 

[Cheekybananafm]

2041/42 Review - Sparta Prague

The final domestic destination but how did it go?

Czech 1st Division - A poor season but we did end the season in 2nd place. It wasn't too bad, I signed a shed load of players to rebuild the team. It took them a while to gel, we had a good run towards the end but it was too late to catch Jablonec

Czech FA Cup - My 10th and final cup win. We were lucky to win it, we needed a penalty shootout to win both the quarter and semi final but smashed Plzen 4-1 in the final

So just the Czech league to go and I'm confident we can do it next year with the players all bedded in. I'm still waiting for my international job, either South America or Asia. The 2042 World Cup is just about to start so hoping a few jobs pop up after that

Season   Team   		 Position  Notes and Achievements
17/18	Thanda Royal Zulu	1st		South African 1st Division Champs
18/19	Thanda Royal Zulu	1st		South African Premier Division Champs
19/20	Thanda Royal Zulu	2nd 		SA Knockout Cup and Super 8 Winner
2021	Thanda Royal Zulu			African Champions League Winners
2022	Shanggang		1st		Chinese Super League, Chinese Cup and Asian Champions League Winners
23/24	Cruz Azul		4th/4th		Mexican Opening Stage and Mexican Cup Champions
24/25	Cruz Azul		1st/6th		Nothing Won!
26/27 	Monterray		1st/1st		Opening/Closing Stage Winner and NACL Winners
28/29 	Hibernian		4th		Nothing won
29/30	Hibernian		2nd		Scottish Cup Winners
30/31	San Lorenzo		1st		Argentina Premier Division Winners
31/32	San Lorenzo		1st		Argentina League and Cup Winners + Copa Sudamericana Winners
2032	San Lorenzo				Copa Libertadores Winners and Club World Champs
32/33	Juventus		2nd		Italian Cup and Europa League Winners
33/34	Juventus		1st		Serie A, Italian Cup and Europa League Winners
35/36 	PSG			1st		A French League and Cup treble!
36/37	Real Madrid		1st		League and Cup Double
37/38	Liverpool		1st		Premier league and Champions league Winners
38/39	Dortmund		1st		League and Cup Double
41/42	Spart Prague	2nd		League Runners-up and Cup Winners

International
28-30	Ivory Coast		2029 ACON Winners
33-37	Italy			2034 World Cup Winners
				2036 Euro Champs Winners
38-41	Mexico			2039 Gold Cup Winners
				2041 Confederation Cup Winners

Challenge Progress

Club

9/10 top domestic leagues (South Africa - Thanda Royal Zulu 2019, China - Shanggang 2022, Mexico - Cruz Azul 2024, Argentina - San Lorenzo 2031, Italy - Juventus  2034, France - PSG 2036, Italy - Real Madrid 2037, England - Liverpool 2038, Germany - Dortmund 2039)

10/10 domestic cups (South Africa - Thanda Royal Zulu 2020, China - Shanggang 2022, Mexico - Cruz Azul 2024, Scotland - Hibernian 2030, Argentina - San Lorenzo 2031,Italy - Juventus  2033, France - PSG 2036, Italy - Real Madrid 2037, Germany - Dortmund 2039, Czech Republic - Sparta Prague 2042)

5/5 club continental championships (Africa - Thanda Royal Zulu 2021, Asian - Shanggang 2022, North America - Monterray 2027, South America - San Lorenzo 2032, Europe - Liverpool 2038)

1/1 club world championship - San Lorenzo 2032

International

3/5 continental tournaments (Africa - Ivory Coast 2029, Europe - Italy 2036, North America - Mexico 2039)

2/2 world tournaments - (World Cup - Italy 2034, Confederations Cup - Mexico 2041)

[Fadedaf]

@vikeologist @TheEarl @pug 407 Thanks guys!

[Cheekybananafm]

A quick update

The World Cup is over and I have my international job. I'm off to Australia. The Asian Nations Cup is 12 months away. We are ranked 38 in the world and we are the 3rd best Asian team. Iran have won the last 3 Asian Nations Cups so it's going to be a tough ask to win it first time around

[dkouv]

@Fadedaf Congrats again, that felt pretty quick after all the ACON attempts What are you going to do with all the free time now?

@vikeologist I am sure being a stalwart of this challenge you can take the ACON defeats in your stride, but 2 finals in a row and a narrow penalty loss certainly is not for the faint-hearted... On the bright side though, all these defeats just make it that bit sweeter when you win in the end, so you are basically just preparing yourself for an absolutely euphoric win some time down the road

[Fadedaf]

@dkouv Thanks, and yeah felt pretty weird winning two international tournaments in a row! I've been checking out all the other big challenge threads but probably won't start another one until FM18. Might try to conquer the youth challenge next or one of the big euro/dafuge etc. ones.

[TheEarl]

Great achievements and well done again @Fadedaf 

You would be a high contender for my Giant 70 Challenge, but youth challenge sounds very nice indeed also.

So far we have 3 finishers on FM17 full, the same as FM15 full and FM16 full, but FM15 had 2 finishers on Classic as well. Will FM17 be the one with the most finishers??

[darren1983]

Season Review 2024

This might be the most pointless yearly update I've ever done. I left New York at the end of my contract on December 31st 2023 and over a year later I still don't have a club side, have had interviews with and turned down by Chivas, Santos, Vasco, Sassuolo, Lazio and Brentford. Seems I'm not a good interviewee  

On the US front we were unbeaten all year, moving through one stage of world cup qualifying and into the next where we have started with 2 wins from 2 games and we're now the highest ranked North American country having moved past Mexico and Jamaica.

Will continue to look for a club side while moving towards the 2025 Gold Cup and the 2026 World Cup in Canada 

Career Progress

Club

Year		Club			Country		League position		Achievements 
2016/17		Mthatha Bucks		South Africa	3rd 			Promotion
2017/18		Mthatha Bucks		South Africa	7th 
2018/19		Orlando Pirates		South Africa	2nd 			Took over in November. Telkon & Nedbank Cup wins		
2019/20		Orlando Pirates		South Afirca	1st			League, MTN8, Telkom winners	
2020		Orlando Pirates		South Africa	1st			MTN8 & Champs league win. Left in November
2020/21		Melbourne Victory	Australia	6th 			Tool over in March, A League Finals winner
2021/22		Melbourne Victory	Australia	9th			FFA Cup & Asian Champions League win. Left In December 2021
2022		New York City		USA		4th 
2023		New York City		USA		9th 	

International 

Year		Country			Ranking		Achievements
2023		USA			37th 
2024		USA			22nd 	

Challenge Progress

Club

2/10 Top Domestic Leagues – South Africa 2020 (Orlando Pirates), Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory)
2/10 Domestic Cups - South Africa 2019 (Orlando Pirates), Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory)
2/5  Club continental Cups – Africa 2020 (Orlando Pirates) , Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory)
0/1  Club World Championships 

 

Edited September 11, 2017 by darren1983

[dkouv]

@Fadedaf I was also going to wait until FM 18 but couldn't resist the youth challenge which seems like the opposite of this challenge, so am giving that a quick go...

@darren1983 Looks tough being stuck in the job centre, but I think sometimes it's hard to get a decent club job when you're also managing internationally early on. How high is your manager rep?

[darren1983]

@dkouvyeah it's not much fun, being turned down all the time is annoying, my rep is at 65%. If I don't win the upcoming Gold Cup I'm tempted to resign and see if that changes anything 

[darren1983]

2025 Gold Cup Report

Group Stage

Spoiler

Guatemala 0-3 USA (Devante Parker x2, Julian Green) Most one sided game ever, 42 shots to 1, took us ages to break them down (67 minutes) but once we did we cruised it
USA 3-1 Haiti (Emerson Hyndman x2, Hugo Ragelli) A goal after 7 mins set us up well, a second on half hour meant we were comfortable, had a sending off just after HT but Hyndman's 2nd secured the result before a late consolation

USA 3-0 Panama (Craig Palacio, Matheusinho, judtin Ortiz) 55 seconds in and we were 1 up, a free kick 16 minutes later and it was 2 before a cracking goal midway through the 2nd half made it 3 and confirmed us as group winners

Quarter Finals (if applicable)

Spoiler

Canada B 0-2 USA (Devante Parker x2) Due to confed cup Canada and Jamaica played B teams here, 2 early goals from Parker meant it was a comfortable win. 

Semi Finals (if applicable)

Spoiler

El Salvador 0-2 USA Christian Pullisic, Mick Garza) We played the semi with the knowledge that Mexico fell at the quarter final stage meaning our biggest threat was out, an early goal from Pullisic set us on our way before a penalty from Garza just after the break secured us a place in the final where we would meet a familiar foe

Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

USA 3-2 Panama (Emerson Hyndman, Christian Pullisic, Hugo Ragelli) our 6th game with Panama in the 2.5 years I've been in charge was our most difficult one. Took a thunderbastard from Hyndman just before the break to put us in front, Pullisic doubled the lead just after the break but 2 mins later they pulled one back, with 15 to go we restored our advantage but then an own goal from our keeper 30 seconds later made for a much more nervy finale than I wanted. We held on however to cliam USA's first Gold Cup since 2013 and my first bit of international silverware

Aftermath 

Spoiler

I was tempted to stay on to go to the world cup but I miss club football, with my reputation now at 70% I have resigned in the hope of finding club work, this side was alright but was never going to threaten on the world stage so why waste another year here looking for work? Going out on a high works for me

 

[Cheekybananafm]

2043 Asian Cup - Australia

Group Stage - We had a pretty easy group. Hong Kong. Indonesia and South Korea. South Korea up first in what looked like our hardest game. We won the game 2-0 then smashed Hong Kong 5-0 to qualify for the 2nd Round with a game to spare. The final game was another hammering, this time 5-1 against Indonesia

2nd Round - A nice easy tie against Lebanon and so it proved as we beat them 5-0. some fantastic performances so far and when the draw came out for the Quarter final I got my hopes up of progressing further.

Quarter Final - We had another easy draw against Thailand, this time it was a lot tighter, we won the game but it was only 1-0.

Semi Final - Down to the last 4 and it was going to get a lot tougher. We avoided Iran who drew China in the other semi, we were to play Japan. the 2nd best Asian team. It started cagey and at half time it was 0-0, then on 66 mins we took the lead. Japan came at us but we broke away to score a 2nd with 5 minutes left. The game ended 2-0 and we were into the final! Then came the massive news China has smashed Iran 3-0. Iran has won the last 3 Asian Cups so to avoid them was a huge bonus but China were going to be a tough opponent in the final!

Final - Like the semi final the final was cagey, half time 0-0, 80 mins 0-0 then on 83 mins came the breakthrough. A stunning freekick from PSG Superstar Matthew Pettit put us 1-0 up, then literally from the kick off we won the ball back played the ball wide, a beautiful cross was nodded in at the back post by Steven Roodenburg to put us 2-0 up. We held out and the whistle blew we were Asian Cup Winners!!! What an achievement after only 6 months in charge!

What Next? - Time to leave Australia and look for my final ever job, a South American international job. The Copa American is in 6 months time so I'm not expecting to be lucky enough to get a job before then but hopefully afterwards something will come up. As for Sparta Prague we are hammering the league so hopefully I'll be able to bring you all good news at the end of the season. Only 2 trophies to go!!1

Season   Team   		 Position  Notes and Achievements
17/18	Thanda Royal Zulu	1st		South African 1st Division Champs
18/19	Thanda Royal Zulu	1st		South African Premier Division Champs
19/20	Thanda Royal Zulu	2nd 		SA Knockout Cup and Super 8 Winner
2021	Thanda Royal Zulu			African Champions League Winners
2022	Shanggang		1st		Chinese Super League, Chinese Cup and Asian Champions League Winners
23/24	Cruz Azul		4th/4th		Mexican Opening Stage and Mexican Cup Champions
24/25	Cruz Azul		1st/6th		Nothing Won!
26/27 	Monterray		1st/1st		Opening/Closing Stage Winner and NACL Winners
28/29 	Hibernian		4th		Nothing won
29/30	Hibernian		2nd		Scottish Cup Winners
30/31	San Lorenzo		1st		Argentina Premier Division Winners
31/32	San Lorenzo		1st		Argentina League and Cup Winners + Copa Sudamericana Winners
2032	San Lorenzo				Copa Libertadores Winners and Club World Champs
32/33	Juventus		2nd		Italian Cup and Europa League Winners
33/34	Juventus		1st		Serie A, Italian Cup and Europa League Winners
35/36 	PSG			1st		A French League and Cup treble!
36/37	Real Madrid		1st		League and Cup Double
37/38	Liverpool		1st		Premier league and Champions league Winners
38/39	Dortmund		1st		League and Cup Double
41/42	Spart Prague		2nd		League Runners-up and Cup Winners

International
28-30	Ivory Coast		2029 ACON Winners
33-37	Italy			2034 World Cup Winners
				2036 Euro Champs Winners
38-41	Mexico			2039 Gold Cup Winners
				2041 Confederation Cup Winners
43	Australia		2043 Asian Cup Winners

Challenge Progress

Club

9/10 top domestic leagues (South Africa - Thanda Royal Zulu 2019, China - Shanggang 2022, Mexico - Cruz Azul 2024, Argentina - San Lorenzo 2031, Italy - Juventus  2034, France - PSG 2036, Italy - Real Madrid 2037, England - Liverpool 2038, Germany - Dortmund 2039)

10/10 domestic cups (South Africa - Thanda Royal Zulu 2020, China - Shanggang 2022, Mexico - Cruz Azul 2024, Scotland - Hibernian 2030, Argentina - San Lorenzo 2031,Italy - Juventus  2033, France - PSG 2036, Italy - Real Madrid 2037, Germany - Dortmund 2039, Czech Republic - Sparta Prague 2042)

5/5 club continental championships (Africa - Thanda Royal Zulu 2021, Asian - Shanggang 2022, North America - Monterray 2027, South America - San Lorenzo 2032, Europe - Liverpool 2038)

1/1 club world championship - San Lorenzo 2032

International

4/5 continental tournaments (Africa - Ivory Coast 2029, Europe - Italy 2036, North America - Mexico 2039, Asia - Australia 2043)

2/2 world tournaments - (World Cup - Italy 2034, Confederations Cup - Mexico 2041)

[TheEarl]

Great work @Cheekybananafm just 2 more to go, and the league part you will probably wrap up this season, so in reality just need to find that final International job to conquer Copa America. Good luck!

[darren1983]

Season 2025 Report

After leaving the USA job after the Gold Cup win I was still being turned down by some of the bigger sides on South America, then the chance to return to New York came up, just with the Red Bulls this time, and I was favourite for the job with applying,  So I was home, kind of. We were 5th in the Eastern Conference when I took over with just 6 games to go, before I took over they had only won 1 of their last 10 games but the quality of the squad was clear to see. We managed to win all 6 games and end the season 4th in the East and 7th Overall.

This meant a Wild card match, where I had lost 2 years in a row with New York City, against New England who we had beat 2-1 in our run in, this time was more comfortable as we were 3-0 up before the break and won 5-1 to book a semi final spot against Columbus. They finished 2nd overall and were in fact the opponent in my first game in charge that was a 88th minute winner for us, in this one we were 2-0 up just after the break and cruising to then be hit with 2 late goals to end the home leg 2-2, meaning we needed to win the away leg thanks to those away goals. A tight 2nd leg saw us lose a key player to injury in the first half then get reduced to 10 men with 20  ins to go with the score still 0-0. A goal 5 mins later by my Brazilian winger Jonathas gave us the lead and I parked that bus to see us into the East final.

Atlanta United waited for us, a 1-1 draw away from home set us up well and a goal right on HT had us in control, 2nd half not much happened will we popped up with a second 2 mins before the end to win 2-0 on the night. 

In the MLS Cup final we faced Portland, a side we beat 4-1 on the final day so I was confident going in, it was well founded as an early goal from Carlo Juarez gave us a HT lead. Right after the break we doubled it with Rookie of the year (and top scorer) Jeremy Anderson, a 3rd on the hour mark secured it and my first title in the US.

We are also in the NACL and I took over with 2 games played in the group stages (both wins) won both 4-0 to top the group. In the next round we have once again been handed the hardest tie with a game against defending champions America (MEX)

Career Progress

Club

Year		Club			Country		League position		Achievements 
2016/17		Mthatha Bucks		South Africa	3rd 			Promotion
2017/18		Mthatha Bucks		South Africa	7th 
2018/19		Orlando Pirates		South Africa	2nd 			Took over in November. Telkon & Nedbank Cup wins		
2019/20		Orlando Pirates		South Afirca	1st			League, MTN8, Telkom winners	
2020		Orlando Pirates		South Africa	1st			MTN8 & Champs league win. Left in November
2020/21		Melbourne Victory	Australia	6th 			Tool over in March, A League Finals winner
2021/22		Melbourne Victory	Australia	9th			FFA Cup & Asian Champions League win. Left In December 2021
2022		New York City		USA		4th 
2023		New York City		USA		9th 	
2025		New York Red Bulls	USA		7th 			MLS Cup Winners

International

Year		Country			Ranking		Achievements
2023		USA			37th 
2024		USA			22nd 
2025		USA			21st 		Gold Cup winners 

Club

3/10 Top Domestic Leagues – South Africa 2020 (Orlando Pirates), Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory), USA 2025 (New York Red Bulls)
2/10 Domestic Cups - South Africa 2019 (Orlando Pirates), Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory)
2/5  Club continental Cups – Africa 2020 (Orlando Pirates) , Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory)
0/1  Club World Championships 

 International

1/5   Continental tournaments – Gold Cup 2025 (USA) 
0/2	  World Tournaments

 

Edited September 12, 2017 by darren1983

[Cheekybananafm]

26 minutes ago, TheEarl said:

Great work @Cheekybananafm just 2 more to go, and the league part you will probably wrap up this season, so in reality just need to find that final International job to conquer Copa America. Good luck!

Thanks mate. unfortunately the Copa America is starting this summer so best hope is I get a top job for the next one in 4 years time so will be a lot of holidaying done!!

[TheEarl]

51 minutes ago, Cheekybananafm said:

Thanks mate. unfortunately the Copa America is starting this summer so best hope is I get a top job for the next one in 4 years time so will be a lot of holidaying done!!

Understand. And probably I would holiday a lot in that situation as well, but try to make the most of it, maybe scouting a h**l of a lot of players from South America to see which players you would hire. Maybe take over one of the best teams in the world and buy lots of youngsters from the nation you manage, and in that way make sure you have the best squad possible.

Anyway, good luck as I said.

[Cheekybananafm]

2042/43 Review - Sparta Prague

I wont hang about! We won the league! That's all the domestic trophies ticked off now. 1 more left and that's the Copa America and I have at least 4 years until the next competition! So what do I do now? I'm going to carry on playing and maybe take over a South American team as and when I know which nation I'm taking over. Until then I'm loading England and will mess about with a team that I can win a few things with (I'd like to top the Worldwide Hall of Fame but have a long way to go!)

So there won't be much updates now until the 2047 Copa America at the earliest! Wish me luck!

Season   Team   		 Position  Notes and Achievements
17/18	Thanda Royal Zulu	1st		South African 1st Division Champs
18/19	Thanda Royal Zulu	1st		South African Premier Division Champs
19/20	Thanda Royal Zulu	2nd 		SA Knockout Cup and Super 8 Winner
2021	Thanda Royal Zulu			African Champions League Winners
2022	Shanggang		1st		Chinese Super League, Chinese Cup and Asian Champions League Winners
23/24	Cruz Azul		4th/4th		Mexican Opening Stage and Mexican Cup Champions
24/25	Cruz Azul		1st/6th		Nothing Won!
26/27 	Monterray		1st/1st		Opening/Closing Stage Winner and NACL Winners
28/29 	Hibernian		4th		Nothing won
29/30	Hibernian		2nd		Scottish Cup Winners
30/31	San Lorenzo		1st		Argentina Premier Division Winners
31/32	San Lorenzo		1st		Argentina League and Cup Winners + Copa Sudamericana Winners
2032	San Lorenzo				Copa Libertadores Winners and Club World Champs
32/33	Juventus		2nd		Italian Cup and Europa League Winners
33/34	Juventus		1st		Serie A, Italian Cup and Europa League Winners
35/36 	PSG			1st		A French League and Cup treble!
36/37	Real Madrid		1st		League and Cup Double
37/38	Liverpool		1st		Premier league and Champions league Winners
38/39	Dortmund		1st		League and Cup Double
41/42	Sparta Prague		2nd		League Runners-up and Cup Winners
42/43	Sparta Prague		1st		League Winners

International
28-30	Ivory Coast		2029 ACON Winners
33-37	Italy			2034 World Cup Winners
				2036 Euro Champs Winners
38-41	Mexico			2039 Gold Cup Winners
				2041 Confederation Cup Winners
43	Australia		2043 Asian Cup Winners

Challenge Progress

Club

10/10 top domestic leagues (South Africa - Thanda Royal Zulu 2019, China - Shanggang 2022, Mexico - Cruz Azul 2024, Argentina - San Lorenzo 2031, Italy - Juventus  2034, France - PSG 2036, Italy - Real Madrid 2037, England - Liverpool 2038, Germany - Dortmund 2039, Czech Republic - Sparta Prague 2043)

10/10 domestic cups (South Africa - Thanda Royal Zulu 2020, China - Shanggang 2022, Mexico - Cruz Azul 2024, Scotland - Hibernian 2030, Argentina - San Lorenzo 2031,Italy - Juventus  2033, France - PSG 2036, Italy - Real Madrid 2037, Germany - Dortmund 2039, Czech Republic - Sparta Prague 2042)

5/5 club continental championships (Africa - Thanda Royal Zulu 2021, Asian - Shanggang 2022, North America - Monterray 2027, South America - San Lorenzo 2032, Europe - Liverpool 2038)

1/1 club world championship - San Lorenzo 2032

International

4/5 continental tournaments (Africa - Ivory Coast 2029, Europe - Italy 2036, North America - Mexico 2039, Asia - Australia 2043)

2/2 world tournaments - (World Cup - Italy 2034, Confederations Cup - Mexico 2041)

[darren1983]

2026 Season Report

Winning the league so quickly last season gave me the chance for a short spell here, my contract was up at end of 2026 so if I could win the champions league and US Open cup then I'd be done here and with North America. First up were the transfers, usual ones but thanks to the retirement of one of my Designated Players it opened a spot that I was able to fill with the 1m signing of 31 year old Italian Domenico Berardi from Real Madrid.

With the signing secured we went into the NACL Quarter Finals against defending champions America (MEX) we lost the away leg 1-0 in a fairly even game, the return leg was a 6 goal thriller with 5 coming in the 2nd half! We took the lead in injury time of the first half to level things up, 7 mins after the break a penalty made it 1-1, 7 mins later and we retook the lead but that still left them leading on away goals, 3 mins later and it was 2-2. Meant we had around 30 mins to get 2 goals, well it only took us 6 as Berardi made it 3-2 and 30 seconds later we grabbed a 4th and that was that, we were through to the semi finals.

Here we faced fellow MLS side Atlanta United, once again we would play the first leg away from home, we managed a 2-2 draw before a nervy 3-2 win in the home leg put us in the final against Mexican side Pachuca. We were home in the first leg where goals from Berardi and Anderson gave us a narrow 2-1 win. The away leg was rollercoaster as we took an early lead which they pegged back, we went ahead again only to throw is away straight from the kick off. They scored a 3rd minutes later to give them a 3-2 lead at the break with us leading on away goals. A goal apiece in the 2nd half meant we lost the game 4-3 but won the competition on away goals! 

Our other target was the US Open, we had a comfortable but nervy run to the final where it took extra time to beat Real Salt Lake 4-2.

The league was just something to get through this season, we started brilliantly and were dominating till the NACL final, after winning that we drew the next 5 games and we never really found that early season form again as due to cup runs we were playing catch up at times and thanks to the MLS ignoring international football we also had a few games where we were missing up to 9 players that were on international duty. Despite this we still won the Eastern Conference but finished 2nd overall to LA Galaxy. We then beat Columbus 5-2 over 2 legs in the Eastern Semi but lost 2-0 to DC United in the final so no back to back titles for us.

Due to the NACL win we got a shot at the Club World Cup, the quarter final was a comfortable 3-0 win over El Tunis, in the semi we faced Cruzeiro from Brazil, a 1-1 draw saw it go to penalties where our keeper was the hero as we won 2-0. In the Final PSG were far too strong and were 4-0 up after 15 mins. Thankfully no more goals but I now leave New York as the 2nd best side in the world! 

Career Progress

Club

Year		Club			Country		League position		Achievements 
2016/17		Mthatha Bucks		South Africa	3rd 			Promotion
2017/18		Mthatha Bucks		South Africa	7th 
2018/19		Orlando Pirates		South Africa	2nd 			Took over in November. Telkon & Nedbank Cup wins		
2019/20		Orlando Pirates		South Afirca	1st			League, MTN8, Telkom winners	
2020		Orlando Pirates		South Africa	1st			MTN8 & Champs league win. Left in November
2020/21		Melbourne Victory	Australia	6th 			Tool over in March, A League Finals winner
2021/22		Melbourne Victory	Australia	9th			FFA Cup & Asian Champions League win. Left In December 2021
2022		New York City		USA		4th 
2023		New York City		USA		9th 	
2025		New York Red Bulls	USA		7th 			MLS Cup Winners
2026		New York Red Bulls	USA		2nd 			NACL winners, US Open Winners

International

Year		Country			Ranking		Achievements
2023		USA			37th 
2024		USA			22nd 
2025		USA			21st 		Gold Cup winners 

Challenge Progress

Club

3/10 Top Domestic Leagues – South Africa 2020 (Orlando Pirates), Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory), USA 2025 (New York Red Bulls)
3/10 Domestic Cups - South Africa 2019 (Orlando Pirates), Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory), USA 2026 (New York Red Bulls)
3/5  Club continental Cups – Africa 2020 (Orlando Pirates) , Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory), North America 2026 (New York Red Bulls)
0/1  Club World Championships 

 International

1/5   Continental tournaments – Gold Cup 2025 (USA) 
0/2	  World Tournaments

 

[vikeologist]

@darren1983 Congrats on making it to the leader board, and your MLS Full House. Do you think you will continue this save when FM18 comes out? I hope so. Presumably you have quit USA, so hopefully with all this recent success you can get a really good job now. Be interesting to see how high you aim, and what you can get.

@Cheekybananafm It will be very impressive if you can do this challenge with only 5 nations. Maybe somebody's done it before, but I'll be relieved if I manage to do it next year with only 5 African nations.

 

[darren1983]

39 minutes ago, vikeologist said:

@darren1983 Congrats on making it to the leader board, and your MLS Full House. Do you think you will continue this save when FM18 comes out? I hope so. Presumably you have quit USA, so hopefully with all this recent success you can get a really good job now. Be interesting to see how high you aim, and what you can get.

Cheers, have been thinking about 18 for a few days now and current thinking is to continue this save for now, with the laptop issues I had over the summer making me restart I feel like I've put a fair amount of effort in already  and want to see how far I can go. Speaking of, yeah have quit the US now, got all my coaching badges and reputation is at 75%, just had an interview with Sporting in Portugal but they went elsewhere. Not bothered where I go now, either Europe or South America, just want it to be an interesting club. 

[Cheekybananafm]

It's happened guys. 2 years of saving and the perfect South American job has come up. The Brazilian manager retired and the job is mine! Now I have 2 years to get this team ready for the Copa America. Something they haven't won since 2031 (Argentina have won the last 3).

The end is sooooooo close now!

[darren1983]

New job as I finally make the move to Europe swapping one Red Bull side for another. Have 8 games to save them.

[darren1983]

Season 2026/27 Review

Took over on April 1st (does that make me the fool?) with 8 games to save Red Bull from relegation, 2 days after I took over we faced Mainz away from home and lost 4-0 which made me question if I made the right move. Next up was my first home game against fellow strugglers Hannover. A 0-0 draw followed, we then faced HSV and the good news is we broke our drought with 2 goals, trouble was we once again let in 4, so 1 point from 3 games and we were 7 points from safety. We started to find some form with our first win over another team right down there with us in Stuttgart to close the gap, followed that up with 2 more wins to get within a point of safety with 2 to go. Of course we then lost to Gladbach but no one around us won so it meant a win in out last game away to Augsburg, who were one of the 4 teams we were less than 2 points ahead of us, would at at the very least most us out of the relegation and into the relegation playoff games. Against Augsburg we finally seemed to click as we were 4-0 up by HT, a couple quick goals after the break had me worried but we grabbed a 5th and saw the game out. The win moved us from 17th to 14th and kept us up, it was the first time we'd been out of the relegation zone for ages.

When I took over we were still in the cup, in the quarter final we beat Mainz 3-1 before going down 1-0 to Hertha in the semi finals. 

Main men were our wonderkid Artur Lipka, on loan playmaker Ernesto Sanz and striker Fabien Reese but the side needs quite an overhaul, thankfully we're rich and I have £55m transfer budget so time for some work. AI recruitment has been poor (obviously) with quite a few players 30 or over, so my plan is to revert to current policy and recruit players 23 and under. 

Career Progress

Club

Year		Club			Country		League position		Achievements 
2016/17		Mthatha Bucks		South Africa	3rd 			Promotion
2017/18		Mthatha Bucks		South Africa	7th 
2018/19		Orlando Pirates		South Africa	2nd 			Took over in November. Telkon & Nedbank Cup wins		
2019/20		Orlando Pirates		South Afirca	1st			League, MTN8, Telkom winners	
2020		Orlando Pirates		South Africa	1st			MTN8 & Champs league win. Left in November
2020/21		Melbourne Victory	Australia	6th 			Tool over in March, A League Finals winner
2021/22		Melbourne Victory	Australia	9th			FFA Cup & Asian Champions League win. Left In December 2021
2022		New York City		USA		4th 
2023		New York City		USA		9th 	
2025		New York Red Bulls	USA		7th 			MLS Cup Winners
2026		New York Red Bulls	USA		2nd 			NACL winners, US Open Winners
2026/27		RB Leipzig 		Germany		14th 			Took over in April

Inernational

Year		Country			Ranking		Achievements
2023		USA			37th 
2024		USA			22nd 
2025		USA			21st 		Gold Cup winners 

Challenge Progress

Club

3/10 Top Domestic Leagues – South Africa 2020 (Orlando Pirates), Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory), USA 2025 (New York Red Bulls)
3/10 Domestic Cups - South Africa 2019 (Orlando Pirates), Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory), USA 2026 (New York Red Bulls)
3/5  Club continental Cups – Africa 2020 (Orlando Pirates) , Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory), North America 2026 (New York Red Bulls)
0/1  Club World Championships 

 International

1/5   Continental tournaments – Gold Cup 2025 (USA) 
0/2	  World Tournaments

 

Edited September 16, 2017 by darren1983

[pug 407]

Pug's Update Season 2032-33

So Having Left Xiangtao I Got A Job At Sydney FC. Contract . Having Won The League Last Year We Were Expected To Win It Again. But As I 

Said Last Year With Xiangtao It Was Only The Cup I Wanted. So It Was To Be 5 Cup Games And My Last Club Trophy. Cup Results . With The

Cup Won I Resigned But Left Them In A Good Position In The League. League Results . Job History

 

 

                                                                CLUB CAREER
                                                                -----------

 Season    Club                Leagues        Cups                                     Others & Notes
                               1st  2nd       1st  2nd    Cont    CWC
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17    Hunan Xiangtao                                                              Took Over In 16th Finished 6th
2017/18    Hunan Xiangtao                                                              Left After 20 Games
2017/18    Ulsan Hyundai       Won
2018/19    Ulsan Hyundai       Won            Won         Won     Won                  All 4 Trophys
2018/19    Gladbach
2019/20    Gladbach                           Won                                      Won DFB And Euro League
2020/21    Gladbach            Won            Won         Won
2020/21    Fluminense                                     Won                          Took Over In 14th Finished 8th
2021/22    Fluminense          Won            Won
2022/23    Tigres              Won                        Won
2023/24    Liverpool           Won            Won  Won
2024/25    PSG                                Won  Won
2025/26    PSG                 Won
2026/27    Fiorentina          Won            Won
2027/28    Kaizer Chiefs       Won            Won         Won     Won
2028/29    Go Ahead
2029/30    Valencia            Won            Won
2030/31    Rangers             Won            Won
2031/32    Hunan Xiangtao
2032/33    Sydney FC                          Won
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                           INTERNATIONAL CAREER
                                                           --------------------

 Season Nation    Cups                                                                     Others & Notes
                  World Cup   Confed Cup   Euro's   AFC   ACON   Gold Cup   Copa America

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19 Nigeria                                           Won
2019/21 USA                                                      Won
2023/24 China
2023/24 S Korea
2023/24 Brazil                Won
2025/26 Brazil    Won
2026/27 Brazil                                                              Won
2028/29 Australia
2029/30 England   Won
2031/32 England                             Won

10/10  Top Domestic leagues (S/Korea-Germany-Brazil-Mexico-England-France-Italy-S Africa-Spain-Scotland)
10/10  Top Domestic Cups (S/Korea-Germany-Brazil-England-France-Italy-S Africa-Spain-Scotland-Australia)
5/5   Continentals Cups (Ulsan-Gladbach-Fluminense-Tigres-Kaizer Chiefs)
1/1   Club World Cup (Ulsan)

 International

4/5   Continental Tournaments (Nigeria-USA-Brazil-Enlgand)
2/2   World Tournaments (Brazil-Brazil)

Just Got A Job With China

Edited September 16, 2017 by pug 407
Update

[Cheekybananafm]

2047 Copa America - Brazil

Here we go! The final trophy I need to win, come on you lovely Brazilians!!!

Group Stage

Spoiler

We had a decent draw. Mexico B, Colombia and Peru stood in our. It started brilliantly, a nice 2-0 win over Peru were followed by 2 rather closer games but mainly due to sendings off. We beat Colombia 1-0 and Mexico B 2-1 to go through to the quarter finals in 1st place.

Quarter Final

Spoiler

Venezuela stood in our way. We absolutely hammered them, 3-0 up at half time and the game ended 5-0!

Semi Final

Spoiler

The big one, the toughest possible game. Argentina were in our way for a spot in the final. A cagey game sprung into life with 14 minutes to go. A stunning freekick of our playmaker Carlos Miguel went into the top corner and we took the lead. Straight from the kick off Argentina went on the attack and immediately scored. The game swung one way and another then came then winning goal.  A long ball was flicked on by Striker Paulo Roberto putting Arthurzinho through on goal, the goalkeeper came out but he smashed it past the oncoming goalkeeper to put Brazil 2-1 up and put us into the final! What a game and what a win!

Final

Spoiler

And so it all comes down to this. Mexico B were our opponents, we had beaten them in the Group Stage but only just.

It took 26 minutes for the breakthrough to come and once again it was the match winner from the Semi final Arthurzinho who opened the scoring, half time and we were 1-0 up and holding out well. Then on 66 minutes the 2nd goal, a beautiful counter attack and that man Arthurzinho got his 2nd. We scored a 3rd late on and the final whistle blew. We had done it!!! 3-0 winners!!!

CHALLENGE COMPLETE!!!

The Aftermath

Spoiler

Incredible, insane, amazing and fantastic!! What a journey it's been. I wish I had kept more of an eye on my best XI, my favourite players but I was so interested in winning I put all that to one side.

This may well be my greatest ever save on any FM version and one I will most definitely be doing again in FM18. Thank you all for the comments throughout my journey, for now it's goodbye and here are a few screenshots! I will be carrying on this save because I really want to push the top of the Worldwide Hall of Fame, although you will see in the screenshot below I have a long way to go to top it!

Manager Profile

Manager Overview

Hall of Fame

 

 

Season   Team   		 Position  Notes and Achievements
17/18	Thanda Royal Zulu	1st		South African 1st Division Champs
18/19	Thanda Royal Zulu	1st		South African Premier Division Champs
19/20	Thanda Royal Zulu	2nd 		SA Knockout Cup and Super 8 Winner
2021	Thanda Royal Zulu			African Champions League Winners
2022	Shanggang		1st		Chinese Super League, Chinese Cup and Asian Champions League Winners
23/24	Cruz Azul		4th/4th		Mexican Opening Stage and Mexican Cup Champions
24/25	Cruz Azul		1st/6th		Nothing Won!
26/27 	Monterray		1st/1st		Opening/Closing Stage Winner and NACL Winners
28/29 	Hibernian		4th		Nothing won
29/30	Hibernian		2nd		Scottish Cup Winners
30/31	San Lorenzo		1st		Argentina Premier Division Winners
31/32	San Lorenzo		1st		Argentina League and Cup Winners + Copa Sudamericana Winners
2032	San Lorenzo				Copa Libertadores Winners and Club World Champs
32/33	Juventus		2nd		Italian Cup and Europa League Winners
33/34	Juventus		1st		Serie A, Italian Cup and Europa League Winners
35/36 	PSG			1st		A French League and Cup treble!
36/37	Real Madrid		1st		League and Cup Double
37/38	Liverpool		1st		Premier league and Champions league Winners
38/39	Dortmund		1st		League and Cup Double
41/42	Sparta Prague		2nd		League Runners-up and Cup Winners
42/43	Sparta Prague		1st		League Winners

International
28-30	Ivory Coast		2029 ACON Winners
33-37	Italy			2034 World Cup Winners
				2036 Euro Champs Winners
38-41	Mexico			2039 Gold Cup Winners
				2041 Confederation Cup Winners
43	Australia		2043 Asian Cup Winners
47	Brazil			2047 Copa America Winners

 

Challenge Progress

Club

10/10 top domestic leagues (South Africa - Thanda Royal Zulu 2019, China - Shanggang 2022, Mexico - Cruz Azul 2024, Argentina - San Lorenzo 2031, Italy - Juventus  2034, France - PSG 2036, Italy - Real Madrid 2037, England - Liverpool 2038, Germany - Dortmund 2039, Czech Republic - Sparta Prague 2043)

10/10 domestic cups (South Africa - Thanda Royal Zulu 2020, China - Shanggang 2022, Mexico - Cruz Azul 2024, Scotland - Hibernian 2030, Argentina - San Lorenzo 2031,Italy - Juventus  2033, France - PSG 2036, Italy - Real Madrid 2037, Germany - Dortmund 2039, Czech Republic - Sparta Prague 2042)

5/5 club continental championships (Africa - Thanda Royal Zulu 2021, Asian - Shanggang 2022, North America - Monterray 2027, South America - San Lorenzo 2032, Europe - Liverpool 2038)

1/1 club world championship - San Lorenzo 2032

International

5/5 continental tournaments (Africa - Ivory Coast 2029, Europe - Italy 2036, North America - Mexico 2039, Asia - Australia 2043, South American - Brazil 2047)

2/2 world tournaments - (World Cup - Italy 2034, Confederations Cup - Mexico 2041)

Edited September 17, 2017 by Cheekybananafm

[TheEarl]

Congrats @Cheekybananafm welcome to the club

[vikeologist]

@Cheekybananafm Been so busy with my own triumphs and the reporting thereof to take the time to congratulate you on your completion. Well done. There's a danger that this thread is going to completely die over the next month since there's so few people still doing the challenge after the tidal wave of completions we've had recently. You, like the rest of us, are an inspiration to humanity.  It just goes to show that the ultimate challenge is not, as I originally surmised, impossible, as long as you are prepared to do whatever it takes. I achieved last year, (omg, it seems like a lifetime ago), and I'm very optimistic that my children will speak to me again soon, and my level of stress is approaching a low enough level to re-enter the world of work as long as nobody mentions the words Jamaica or Confederations. It was completely worth it.

@pug 407 And soon you'll be the first two-timer. 

 

[Cheekybananafm]

Thanks for the kind words @TheEarl and @vikeologist it was a slog at times but so worth the hard work and dedication. Can't wait to start again on FM18!

[TheEarl]

22 minutes ago, Cheekybananafm said:

Thanks for the kind words @TheEarl and @vikeologist it was a slog at times but so worth the hard work and dedication. Can't wait to start again on FM18!

Will you try other challenges at FM17 before the new game comes out?

[Cheekybananafm]

43 minutes ago, TheEarl said:

Will you try other challenges at FM17 before the new game comes out?

Don't think so. Still playing the same save and seeing how far up the hall of fame i can get. Only 5 weeks ish until beta release so not much time left now. Unless u have any suggestions?

[TheEarl]

Just now, Cheekybananafm said:

Don't think so. Still playing the same save and seeing how far up the hall of fame i can get. Only 5 weeks ish until beta release so not much time left now. Unless u have any suggestions?

Nah 5 weeks is not so long time, but would be maybe dafuge challenge, or if you wanted to have a go at my Giant 70-challenge (requires extra leagues from classens)

But jumping up the HoF sounds like a nice idea as well

[Cheekybananafm]

1 minute ago, TheEarl said:

Nah 5 weeks is not so long time, but would be maybe dafuge challenge, or if you wanted to have a go at my Giant 70-challenge (requires extra leagues from classens)

But jumping up the HoF sounds like a nice idea as well

Yeah I saw the giant 70 and was something I was considering for fm18 but love this challenge so much I may have to pass on it and stick to this!

[SkiIIs]

looks like there aren't many left doing this challenge... im cursing that I stumbled on this so late on in the piece

Anyways, a quick update on my progress...  im into my third season and Im yet to have a full season with the one club.   Taking over the recently created FC Tambov in tier 2 of Russian football midway through 2016-17, I managed to turnaround their fortunes and steer the club away from relegation in the 14 games I had remaining.

A good preaseason had me believing promotion to the premier division was possible and things were looking good sitting in first for majority of the first half of the season, until a bad patch of results had me sitting in 4th during the winter break.  The transfer window had come and gone and managed to pick up a few players for the promotion battle, however I read on social media that I was the third favourite to land the Lokomotive Moscow job who were sitting 9th overall in the premier division.   This sparked my interest so I decided to apply and after being interviewed, I was now a premier division manager!   I managed to win more games than I lost for the remainder of the year and managed to close the gap on the teams above me but settled for 8th on the ladder.

Im two games into my third season, and a couple of disappointing 1 - 1 draws despite a combined 50+ shots at goal has got me determined to start winning games.  I think the team is good enough, however Ive run the risk on the ole foreign policy where im only allowed to have 6 on the ground at any one time but have more than 12 in my registered squad

 

[streety]

I'm still going strong at Milan..I'm still playing 

[vikeologist]

@skills The challenges are kind of seasonal. Dafuge is the most popular from release day to about March, and then we become the most popular, so if you keep playing, your audience will come. Usually most people have to carry on the challenge over 2 iterations, but we've had a freakishly high number of completers recently, (all 4 were in the last month, and nobody for about a year before that).

Of course, hopefully FM18 will be such a revolution that the challenge will be made redundant, or have to be completely revamped, and we'll all abandon the current challenges to a new Ultimater Challenge, but let's be honest, it will probably just be the same as ever, but hopefully without the Copa Lib bug.

 

@streety Good to know you're still going. There probably are quite a few others still going, but they just haven't made the leader board yet.

 

I wonder if anybody will be brave enough to try the challenge starting on the beta. I'll probably spend the whole 2 weeks of the beta trying to make the Copa Lib bug reappear so I know if it's there.

[TheEarl]

Reporting a possible minor bug from the MLS for those interested:

MLS registration:

A bit of a potential bug though:

I had a player on loan from Man.City our affiliate, after the season I got the chance to resign him. I really wanted it as he is by far the best right back in my squad. The deal was approved but then I was prompted to do squad registration. The registration is not open yet, so it seemed impossible to advance the game. I couldn't stop the transfer after I confirmed it either. 

The solution: Go on holiday for 1 day, even got to keep the player.

[YellowLittle]

 

2020/21 Season

Been a while since I updated and had a fairly uneventful season after a very strong one. 

After guiding Norwich to Champions League football and Poland to the the European Championship final I resigned from both posts because I felt I'd taken both as far as I could. Norwich gave me £40 million to spend and I already has lost my best player Ronaldo Viera and Lewandowski retired from international football. So I felt I couldn't do much else in both jobs. 

Straight away I applied and ultimately got offered the Spain job. I took it for obvious reasons although I have to say, they don't have the best team. 

After a long time finding the right club I was offered the Valencia job with 9 games left in the season. They were in 9th position and by the end of the season we managed to nick 7th place and therefore a place in the Europa League. 

I really need to tick one off the list now I've done 5 seasons. Getting a little impatient but I feel I can win a cup with Valencia at the very least.

Season | Team             |Position | Notes and Acheivements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17| Stevenage        |10th     | Took over with 24 games left in 19th position
2017/18| Stevanage        |1st      | Left for Norwich job after 35 games
2017/18| Norwich          |18th     | Relegated
2018/19| Norwich          |1st      | CHAMPIONS!
2019/20| Norwich          |4th      | Qualified for Champions League
2020/21| Valencia         |7th      | Took over with 9 games left in 9th position

International
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Euro 2020                 | Poland                | Runners up 

Edited September 19, 2017 by YellowLittle

[darren1983]

Season Review 2027/28

First full season in Germany and my first ever real transfer budget meant I had a bit of fun in the transfer market. 13 players in and 23 out as I lowered the average age from 28 to 24, trouble was it lead to a very average start to the season as so many players took time to settle (for example we had 8 players make their debut in our opening game) we blew hot and cold throughout the fist half of the season, we eventually found some form as we found our best side, our form over the final 12 games was 9 wins, 2 draws and single defeat. This placed us right in with a chance of European qualification, other results fell our way and we found ourselves 2nd after the final games. It was the highest we'd been all season. In the cup we made it to the quarter finals before one of our poor defensive performances saw us crash out. Key players were on loan Real Madrid AM Lopez and French striker Huet. With Champions League next season we're in a decent place to kick on as we have a new stadium being built.

Career Progress

Club
 

Year		Club			Country		League position		Achievements 
2016/17		Mthatha Bucks		South Africa	3rd 			Promotion
2017/18		Mthatha Bucks		South Africa	7th 
2018/19		Orlando Pirates		South Africa	2nd 			Took over in November. Telkon & Nedbank Cup wins		
2019/20		Orlando Pirates		South Afirca	1st			League, MTN8, Telkom winners	
2020		Orlando Pirates		South Africa	1st			MTN8 & Champs league win. Left in November
2020/21		Melbourne Victory	Australia	6th 			Tool over in March, A League Finals winner
2021/22		Melbourne Victory	Australia	9th			FFA Cup & Asian Champions League win. Left In December 2021
2022		New York City		USA		4th 
2023		New York City		USA		9th 	
2025		New York Red Bulls	USA		7th 			MLS Cup Winners
2026		New York Red Bulls	USA		2nd 			NACL winners, US Open Winners
2026/27		RB Leipzig 		Germany	14th 				Took over in April
2027/28		RB Leipzig		Germany	3rd 		

Inernational
 

Year		Country			Ranking		Achievements
2023		USA			37th 
2024		USA			22nd 
2025		USA			21st 		Gold Cup winners

Challenge Progress

Club

3/10 Top Domestic Leagues – South Africa 2020 (Orlando Pirates), Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory), USA 2025 (New York Red Bulls)
3/10 Domestic Cups - South Africa 2019 (Orlando Pirates), Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory), USA 2026 (New York Red Bulls)
3/5  Club continental Cups – Africa 2020 (Orlando Pirates) , Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory), North America 2026 (New York Red Bulls)
0/1  Club World Championships 

 International

1/5   Continental tournaments – Gold Cup 2025 (USA) 
0/2	  World Tournaments

 

[darren1983]

Season 2028/29 review

Such a frustrating season in the league. At times we were brilliant (beating Bayern 2-1 for example) but at others we looked non league. This club/set of of players angered me this season, not sure I've disliked my own team as much as I disliked this side for spells this year. They have an amazing ability to just not turn up and get smashed for 5 or 6 goals at the most random times, We lost 5 of our last 10 games taking us from Champions League to just about being in the Europa league. May have to sell some of my better youngsters as half of Europe want them. We were in the champions league this season but a tough draw that included Barcelona and Inter meant we finished 3rd (turning point was away to Inter, we were 1 down then with 10 mins to go we drew level, then missed a penalty, then allowed them a 88th minute winner) in the Europa League we beat Southampton, looked good against Villareal before having a brain fart game in the 2nd leg. In the cup we smashed non league side then lost to a 2nd division side because that's just who we are.

Career Progress

Club 
 

Year		Club			Country		League position		Achievements 
2016/17		Mthatha Bucks		South Africa	3rd 			Promotion
2017/18		Mthatha Bucks		South Africa	7th 
2018/19		Orlando Pirates		South Africa	2nd 			Took over in November. Telkon & Nedbank Cup wins		
2019/20		Orlando Pirates		South Afirca	1st			League, MTN8, Telkom winners	
2020		Orlando Pirates		South Africa	1st			MTN8 & Champs league win. Left in November
2020/21		Melbourne Victory	Australia	6th 			Tool over in March, A League Finals winner
2021/22		Melbourne Victory	Australia	9th			FFA Cup & Asian Champions League win. Left In December 2021
2022		New York City		USA		4th 
2023		New York City		USA		9th 	
2025		New York Red Bulls	USA		7th 			MLS Cup Winners
2026		New York Red Bulls	USA		2nd 			NACL winners, US Open Winners
2026/27		RB Leipzig 		Germany		14th 			Took over in April
2027/28		RB Leipzig		Germany		3rd 		
2028/29		RB Leipzig		Germany		4th 		

International
 

Year		Country			Ranking		Achievements
2023		USA			37th 
2024		USA			22nd 
2025		USA			21st 		Gold Cup winners 

Challenge Progress

Club

3/10 Top Domestic Leagues – South Africa 2020 (Orlando Pirates), Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory), USA 2025 (New York Red Bulls)
3/10 Domestic Cups - South Africa 2019 (Orlando Pirates), Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory), USA 2026 (New York Red Bulls)
3/5  Club continental Cups – Africa 2020 (Orlando Pirates) , Australia 2021 (Melbourne Victory), North America 2026 (New York Red Bulls)
0/1  Club World Championships 

 International

1/5   Continental tournaments – Gold Cup 2025 (USA) 
0/2	 World Tournaments

Am not sure what t do next, some very interesting jobs are open (River Plate, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Ajax) so will see if I can get any of them, if not I guess I'll stay here for another crack at germany.

[vikeologist]

@darren1983 Sometimes clubs are like bad girlfriends. There's plenty more fish in the sea, but if you so stay, I hope you get your whale.

[darren1983]

13 hours ago, vikeologist said:

@darren1983 Sometimes clubs are like bad girlfriends. There's plenty more fish in the sea, but if you so stay, I hope you get your whale.

Haha, well I stuck with us after Atletico turned me down, then just after the season started Bayern's manager took over at Juve and I was bookies fav for the job, fans also wanted me - they went elsewhere! Now I'm making it my mission to knock them off their perch (they've won 16 straight titles) before I even think of leaving Germany. I've found anger fuels me better than ambition