The Tsar of Balaidos: Virtuous Vigo

[smp20]

Club Legend Returns To Celta

"It is with great pride that I return to my Spanish home of Vigo to take charge of a club I hold dear. I spent eight wonderful years here as a player and we had some great success; winning the Intertoto Cup, finishing a record 4th in the league, reaching the last 16 of the Champions League and also the final of the Copa del Rey. However, there was one thing missing from my time here as a player and that was trophies. I want to bring major trophies to Vigo and I want to do it the right way. We will play beautiful, possession style football and we will develop young players that will be comparable to Barca's cantera. Virtuous Vigo."

Aleksandr Mostovoi



So here we are with my first career thread for FM16 and I have taken on the alias of Aleksandr Mostovoi in a bid to turn Celta Vigo into a footballing powerhouse. I've never really dabbled much in Spain, but it's going to be interesting trying to oust Barca & Real off the top spot with limited funding. I am already one season into my save, but I will start with a bit of club history (shamelessly copied from wikipedia).



Celta Vigo : A Brief History

Despite playing many seasons in La Liga, Celta have never won the league title nor Copa del Rey, although it has reached the final 3 times in the latter. One of the team's best seasons was 1970–71, when they finished unbeaten at home and were known as the "giant-killers." Celta came sixth that season and qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time.

The years 1997 through 2003 saw the best results in Celta's history, culminating in 2002–03, when the club after many attempts finally finished fourth and qualified for the UEFA Champions League. They were dubbed "EuroCelta" by the Spanish press. In February 2001, the IFFHS declared Celta the best team of the world during that month. Key players during the period included Alexander Mostovoi, Valery Karpin and Haim Revivo, though the squad also relied upon other international players as well, such as goalkeeper Pablo Cavallero; defender and future coach Eduardo Berizzo, midfielders Claude Makélélé and Mazinho; winger Gustavo López; and strikers Catanha and Luboslav Penev, among others.

Celta had a dramatic reversal of fortune in 2003–04. In the previous season, they finished fourth in the league, putting them in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Celta entered the group phase after eliminating Slavia Prague, and eventually reached the last 16 before being knocked out by Arsenal. However, their domestic form was disastrous, finishing second-to-last in La Liga, thus sealing their relegation to the Segunda División. Although the squad was heavily dismantled following the demotion, Celta earned an immediate return to the top flight after finishing second in 2004–05.

In the 2005–06 season, they finished sixth earning a return once more to the UEFA Cup. They made it to the last 16 in that competition as well before losing to German side Werder Bremen. The next year, 2006–07, Celta finished in 18th and were once again relegated to the Segunda División. At the end of June 2007, Celta avoided going into administration. However, if an agreement was not put in place between the club and its creditors within three months, then courts would declare the liquidation of the club's assets.

Due to heavy debt, the club was forced to sell many players and make tremendous cuts in the club's finances. Since then, they have been relying mainly on the reserve team, combined with some inexpensive signings. During the first three seasons in the Segunda División, the club struggled to avoid further relegation, all amid fears of the club's complete disappearance. This was a period of high instability, with constant changes of managers and players. In the 2010–11 season, however, the signings of striker David Rodríguez, winger Enrique de Lucas and manager Paco Herrera turned the situation around. The club finished sixth after a fantastic season and qualified for promotion. Nevertheless, they were eliminated in the first knockout round by Granada CF after a penalty shootout, the game having finished 1–1 in 90 minutes.

On 3 June 2012, Celta returned to La Liga after a five-year absence. In their first season back, they avoided relegation to the Segunda División on the final day after beating RCD Espanyol 1–0 to ensure a 17th-place finish. On 8 June 2013, Celta announced they had signed former Roma and then-FC Barcelona B manager Luis Enrique to lead the club for the 2013–14 season. Under Enrique, Celta flourished, finishing ninth. After Enrique's departure his replacement Eduardo Berizzo led the team to eighth in La Liga during 2014–15.



Aims

• Win La Liga
  
• Win the Copa del Rey
  
• Win the Champions League
  
• ALWAYS play the "Celta Way" (beautiful possession football)
  
• Develop players through the youth team
  
• Develop a hub of talent for the Spain national team
  

I am one season in so my first season update is to follow, though first I will introduce you to the new assistant manager. Thanks for reading

[smp20]

2015/16 Season One: El Zar's Instant Impact



League Table ~ Results Part 1 ~ Results Part 2 ~ Copa del Rey

It really was a first season to remember! It exceeded all of my expectations, my aim was to finish in the top 6 but to come top is ludicrous. We managed to get 80 points which is a great tally, however normally 90+ points is needed to win La Liga. Barcelona had one of their worst seasons in history, finishing 6th. We managed to get the double over them and our 2nd victory at the Nou Camp was enough to see former Celta manager Luis Enrique get the sack while Barca were looming in 12th position. Real Madrid mounted a title challenge but they only managed to get 79 points, our deserved 3-2 victory at the Bernebeu proving to be a crucial win of our season. I expect Real and Barca to come back strong next season, winning the title will become a lot harder. We played some great football and we were unlucky with a lot of our narrow losses and draws not to come away with wins; some teams we battered but struggled to find the net.

The game of the season for me has to be the 5-4 win against bitter rivals Deportivo on their own turf. We went 2-0 up early on but Deportivo ended up leading the game 4-2. We were down to 10 men but somehow we managed to claw it back to 4-4, they had a man sent off and local icon Iago Aspas was able to convert a penalty for a 5-4 victory. Our worst game was early on against Sevilla where we lost 3-0, despite having 64% possession we were ripped apart on the counter. At this point we were still developing our style of play and this lead to some key changes. In the Copa del Rey we were able to beat rivals Deportivo again, however we failed to get past Betis.

Transfers Out



The first transfer window brought about no changes. I was reluctant to change the squad and I had very little money or wage budget to bring anyone in. However, January was a very different proposition. Guidetti was one player I was keen to sell on as he didn't fit our system and I was very happy to get just over his value for him. Jonny and Nolito were not players I wanted to see go as the two had been great down the left hand side. I was surprised Chelsea were willing to offer Jonny's release clause when negotiating and I was sad to see him go. Nolito was one I expected to leave, he had a release clause less than his value and he didn't want to sign a new contract. The latter has gone on to play well in the Premier League for Spurs while Jonny has been a bit-part player. Augusto Fernandez had a release clause of ~£11m so I was surprised when Real Madrid offered this deal, although half was in installments. I reluctantly accepted, as with Bongonda who was a decent youngster but it was a good offer in the end and I wasn't sure he would fit our system.

Transfers In



My first signing was youngster Dani Olmo, who I agreed a deal for back in October with the little money I did have. With the departure of key first teamers it was crucial I replaced them well. Lucas Romero's contract was running down at Velez so he was a good, cheap option to bolster the midfield. Augustinsson was our replacement for Jonny and he is a player I believe we can make a good profit on in the future. Juan Jesus came in on loan to plug our weakest area of central defence. I spent a long time deciding who to bring in but on deadline day I confirmed the signings of Denis Suarez and Nacho Camacho. Suarez is a product of our youth system and it's great to bring such a talented young player back to the club and Camacho adds steel to our midfield. I am very happy with our business this season.

Youth Intake



Youth Intake ~ Enriquez ~ https://i.gyazo.com/0afaea37e63ec3a82905974729e8ec1f.png ~ Jonathan

Youth intake day is one of my favourite moments on FM; it's one that can leave you very excited or baffled as to how your HOYD could bring through such rubbish youngsters. Fortunately for me, my reaction is the former and the phrase ''Best of his generation'' is one that gets me as excited and scoring a last minute winner in the Champions League final. Ruben Enriquez has the potential to become a future Spain international, while Jonathan is a youngster who could grow to become a first teamer here.

The Tactic



Team Instructions

It took a long pre-season and several competitive matches to decide upon the roles and team instructions but I finally found something I was happy with, a strikerless 4-3-3. Our mentality, shape and team instructions allow us to play a possession style game, but with a balance of defensive precaution and attacking potency. We look to retain possession, but we keep the ball moving fast and we are always looking to utilise the space created with through balls. it is crucial that the team work hard to win the ball back high up the pitch and the defence push up to squeeze the play. We scored some very nice goals, generally defended well and we had the best possession average in the league:



Top Performers

Best 11



Out of the players that had been with us all season Aspas, Orellana and Mallo were our best performers. Aspas finishing as our top scorer with 14 La Liga goals with some being in crucial moments as well as 9 assists and an astonishing 236 key passes. Not to mention his work rate in pressing high up the pitch. Orellana topped La Liga assist charts with 13, as well as 13 goals too. Mallo was a solid figure at right back and he was involved in the build up to a lot of attacks accumulating 145 key passes. Denis Suarez averaged 7.83 for us in 16 appearances, scoring 5 goals and 4 assists in the process, while Lucas Romero made the roaming playmaker position his own averaging 7.59 from 21 appearances.

Hot Prospects





I've focused here on players that started with the club and I am pleased to say that we have some good prospects to start with. Yelko Pino has broken into the first team making 21 starts and looks set to have a bright future. David Costas has been on loan at Mallora and has been outstanding for them averaging 7.44, the 5th best in the league. Borja Fernandez is yet to make a big impact in the first team with just two sub appearances and a goal, but he has been a star in the B team who finishing in the top half in the 3rd tier. Blanco took over the position of 1st choice keeper half way through the season and looks very promising indeed.

Awards



Club Awards

Player of the Year

Team of the Season

Top Spanish Goalscorer

Most Improved Club

Manager of the Year

[smp20]

Im into february of the 2nd season, i will stick to season updates for now, unless more regular ones would be preferrable for readers?

[smp20]

2016/17 Season Two: Double Glory



La Liga

League Table ~ Results Part 1 ~ Results Part 2 ~ 4-0 R. Madrid ~ 1-0 Barca ~ 2-0 R. Madrid ~ 6-0 Atletico

La Liga Team Stats ~ La Liga Player Stats

We may have lost our opening game but we went on to retain the league title in style. We scored a good amount of goals (84) and conceded just 13, including a run of 12 consecutive clean sheets. We managed to pull off wins in the big games, twice beating title rivals Real Madrid, including an emphatic 4-0 win. Tiago Ilori had Cristiano Ronaldo in his pocket in both games. We picked up 4 points against Barca and we thrashed Atletico 6-0 at their own ground even though we had already won the title. 88 points is an improvement on last season and our game play has developed well, we topped the possession charts by quite some way and I only remember having less than 50% possession in 1 or 2 games.

Copa Del Rey (+ Super Cup)

Cup Results ~ 3-1 Atletico ~ 1-0 Betis Final ~ Super Cup

We had an easy 4th round against Albacete who were no match for us but from there on in it got harder for us. We managed to get past Granada scoring all of our goals in 80+ mins in a 4-2 agg win. Barca were a tough nut to crack in the Quarters but a 1-0 win at the Nou Camp saw us through. Our chances of progression to the final looked slim when we lost our home leg vs Atletico, but we bounced back to win 3-1 in Madrid to book a place in the final. In the final Betis were no match for us and we really should have done better in the final third, but a 1-0 victory was enough to secure Celta's first ever Copa del Rey. We also won the Super Cup thanks to an Aspas hat-trick, so I guess we have a claim to a domestic treble.

Champions League

Results ~ Group Table

It was a valiant effort in our first CL campaign since 2003/04 (which is the only other appearance) where we topped a group that consisted of Ajax & Man Utd and contributed to knocking out United. We were defensively solid throughout, but unlike in La Liga we struggled to score goals and ultimately it cost us. We had a winnable tie against Shakhtar in the last 16 but we certainly couldn't underestimate them after they made it to the Semi Final last season. A 1-0 loss in Ukraine left us with a chance but at home, despite our domination, we couldn't find the net. We even missed a penalty later on which summed up our performance. Better luck next year!

Transfers

Summer Out ~ Summer In ~ January Out ~ January In

It was a very busy season of transfers for us. Our first influx of players was a mixture of free transfers and youngsters I had already agreed to sign. Carrillo and Rulli are excellent signings and will be key players for the first team and Ljajic will be a good rotation player with a view to sell on. Arango, Sabic, Rodrigues and Mere are all hot prospects with the latter being sent out on loan to Getafe. A few hours later Tiago Ilori signed to add pace to our back line. In terms of the outgoings, the majority were rotation or back up players who I decided to cash in on with the exception of Orellana who went for his release clause - despite being a starring player last season I was not too sad to see him go as we had brought in Carrillo and he was nearly 30. Vallejo and Nastasic came in on loan to give us depth at centre back and I can sign Nastasic for 7m if I choose to. I'm hoping to sign Vallejo but Real won't budge from his £31m release clause. San Emetario, Diakhate & Arenas were further hot prospect signings. On deadline day I secured a deal for Javier Pastore. He was valued at around £20m and transfer listed for £7m so I made a bid of £10m and asked PSG to pay a big proportion of his wages and they agreed! An excellent player who will add quality to our central midfield while our youngsters are developing - another player I reckon I could sell on for big money.

When January came around we were in great form and I wasn't planning to make any changes but this decision was taken out of my hands. Romero, Mallo and Augustinsson all went for their release clauses, which was good money but I had to replace well. I think I did that by bringing in Tielemans, Mayke and Bernat and with budget to spare I decided to bring in Celta academy graduate Santi Mina on deadline day. The future is looking very bright for us.

Youth Intake

Recruitment ~ Junior Coaching ~ Tomas Romero ~ Antonio Cano

We've managed to develop our setup over the past two seasons and we had a decent intake, albeit not as exciting as last season. Tomas Romero & Antonio Cano could become decent La Liga players.

Starting 11

Suarez ~ Aspas ~ Carrillo

Tielemans ~ Pastore

Camacho

Bernat ~ Nastasic ~ Ilori ~ Mayke

Rulli

B Team & U19 Team

Segunda B1 Table ~ Play-offs ~ U19s Table ~ U19s Cup

Our first team wasn't the only Celta team with domestic success. Firstly, our B team won the Segunda B outright, winning the B1 league and beating Bilbao in the play-off final securing promotion to the 2nd tier. This will be an excellent platform for our young players to develop on. Showing the quality of youngsters we have coming through, our U19s destroyed their league and won the U19s Cup beating Barca in the final (who had a 38-0-0 record in their league).

Celta Academy Pospects

Blanco ~ Mina ~ Pinto ~ Costas ~ Fernandez ~ Enriquez ~ Jonathan

We already have Aspas and Suarez in the first 11 who have come through our academy but we have 7 players currently that could also make it there. Blanco became our number 1 keeper last season but with the arrival of Rulli he was sent out on loan to Roma, an excellent place for him to develop. Next year I will get him tutored by Rulli and give him some game time, though I imagine he will mostly play in the B Team as their no 1. Santi Mina came back to the club and has made a handful of appearances and earned a Spain cap. I expect him to fight for a first team spot next season with Carrillo. David Costas was another one who went out on loan and had a fantastic season with Udinese. Next year I hope he is ready to compete for a first team spot. Borja Fernandez may not have played in the first team, but he was a key player for our successful B team - he's unlikely to become a star but could be a decent squad player for us. Enrique and Jonathan came through our youth intake last season and have developed very well, both being key players for the U19s side as well as being part of the Spain U20s team that recently won the U20 World Cup!

Other Hot Prospects

Diakhate ~ Olmo ~ Arango ~ Mere ~ Emeterio ~ Sabic ~ Rodrigues ~ Arenas

As well as developing our own academy products I have looked to bring in youngsters from elsewhere, with a preference to Spanish talent. Olmo, Mere, Emeterio and Arenas are all Spanish prospects who I have managed to bring in fairly cheaply and they all have bright futures. Olmo and Emeterio have been key players for the B team while Mere has been out on loan in La Liga and Arenas, snatched from rivals Deportivo, has been tearing the u19s apart. Diakhate was the most expensive signing at £6m, but he has already made an impact in the first team and had the highest average rating in the Segunda B. Arango was an absolute bargain and could be the long term replacement for Aspas, I brought Mikel Arteta in to be his tutor. Rodrigues and Sabic were brought in on compensation deals.

Next Season's Objectives

• Win La Liga
  
• Progress to the QF of the Champions League
  
• Ensure the B Team are competitive in Adelante
  
• Give youngsters more game time
  

[KF1990]

Currently playing as Celta myself. Dont think i will be as fortunate as you and win the league, in 10th Place and just got to January. Look forward to more updates.

[smp20]

Cheers KF1990, the first year title win was a surprise to me too, Barca and Real were not dominant like they should be. Top half is a good finish for Celta, though I had hopes of top 6 as beyond the top teams anyone can take points off anyone. Good luck in your season!

[AGK]

Doing fantastic here pal. I used to love the Celta team brings back fond memories.

Could we have a screenshot of your tactics pal. Love to see how you are incorporating the "Celta Way" into themy.

[smp20]

Doing fantastic here pal. I used to love the Celta team brings back fond memories.

Could we have a screenshot of your tactics pal. Love to see how you are incorporating the "Celta Way" into themy.

Thanks AGK. Here's a screenshot of my tactic. And the Team Instructions too.

It hasn't changed much since about half way through the first season, I just reduce the ''playing into space'' and/or ''tempo'' when I am 2-0 up (or 1-0 up in the last 10 mins) and I switch to control if I am struggling to score.

Edit: sometimes I switch the role of the AMR to Inside Forward, depending on who's playing there. My most recent signing is likely to play there as an IF.