[FM16] Youth Academy of Pennarossa, San Marino

[TIR669]

Database structure: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/442079-FM2016-Leagues-World-Pack-South-America-Europe-North-America-Asia-Africa-Oceania, by claassen

Inspiration: iacovone's When will you realise...Andorra waits for you, smp20's Fiorentin-o? Never heard of them, Jupjamie's If at first you don't succeed, blame the game and try again and Makoto Nakamura's Old habits die hard challenges

As if three San Marino youth challenge careers aren't enough (and one from Andorra as well), let's go for a fourth one. No worries about my determination here, with plenty of experience from Estonia, Malta and Vanuatu leagues, I'm well aware of what I'm about to start here. Never played in San Marino before, always avoided the league because I thought they didn't have a proper league structure and I like realistic challenges. Winning CL with youth academy Sammarinese players is as realistic as it gets though. I've loaded only San Marino league, with about 30k mostly European players in the database, which should populate continental competitions & teams quite well. I've just finished season one, so I'll be honest and say I'm hoping this won't get abandoned within a week.

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La Società Sportiva Pennarossa

...the red color as the main club color, while the white was chosen to represent purity...

Pennarossa, the club that had the nicest name in the league, and arguably the best looking logo as well, is the chosen one. With four trophies in their cabinet after 47 years of existence, it's pretty obvious the gods haven't been nice to the club. That's why Mr. Giovanni Berardi is here, looking to win the league for the second time in club's history, and hoping for huge luck in CL qualifiers as well as youth intakes. After all, this is a youth only challenge, and my debut at it as well.

the lads in 1971, before a night out

They won the league once in 2003 and the cup in 2004 and 2005, as well as the supercup in 2003. Golden years that brought joy to all 300 supporters of the club. Some starting screenshots are posted below. All standard, keywords are 'poor', 'basic', 'minimal' and 'limited'. Some of them will soon become 'average' at least, hopefully? Maybe? Perhaps? We'll see.

Last but not least, my alter ego, the aforementioned Mr Berardi, looks pretty happy for his in-game photograph, at least now at the end of first season. Like he doesn't know of all Champions league tragedies that await. No licenses and Sunday league rep, which explains all those one-digit attributes.

The lovely Chiesanuova stadium, which also serves as a home to the country's rugby team, looks...decent? Well not really. It will serve its purpose though, as Celtic will be traveling here in no time!

Off we go!

[TIR669]

La Società Sportiva Pennarossa

Season review - 2015/2016



(don't see how we dropped to 2nd in league positions but hey)

Campionato Sammarinese Second Period



We won it all. Second period was easy, but the playoffs were much more difficult as we faced two strongest teams in the country - seven time league winners Tre Fiori and a solid Murata side powered by two great Italian midfielders. It comes as a surprise as I was worried of losing in the playoffs. Luckily three big wins in the end mean we will be playing CL football this summer!

Coppa Titano



We were the better team but lost the shootout vs Juvenes/Dogana in the semi-finals. Unfortunate but not the end of the world. It's only the cup we lost. League title was far more important.

Key players



Our main striker netted 19 in 32 games, but him being 38, I'm somewhat worried of him retiring which would leave us weakened up front.



AC Milan's youth academy player Giunchi was the best midfielder and I'm hoping he will stay here for a few more seasons.



One of three starting youth players that got tagged, Vannucci looks promising in the CM position. And he's tall so he should win some headers in the middle although his heading is only 4. Great passing as well.

Unfortunately forgot to do a youth intake report so we'll skip it for this season. Next year it will be a separate post. Bucciarelli and Fabbri are looking most promising, nothing out of the ordinary though, and nothing to hope for really.

[thehazeofspades]

Good start Like the writing style, the screenshot malarkey is something you'll instinctively get over!

[TIR669]

Cheers

Europe 2016/2017

Unfortunately we didn't have any luck in Q1 draw and missed on a historic chance to go against Andorran side Lusitans - we had to play a strong Armenian side Pyunik. And we played pretty well in both legs actually but lacked finishing. My 35-year old right back giving the ball away for 2-0 in 2nd match didn't help either, as well as Guinchi getting sent off. But a draw is a draw, some points for our coefficient, and prize money along with ticket income raised our balance to €650k already.

Also I'd like to make a note that youth coaching was improved once in the first season, and I brought this lad for my HoYD - not bad at all this early in game.

And I'm ending this report with a spreadsheet image of career progress.

[TIR669]

Youth intake

Well I expected more. Not much more, bu one more usable player at least. Star of the intake is right back Agarici who is pacey and versatile, he will be in the starting XI next season probably despite having slack personality. The other tagged player is striker Zonzini, solid finishing and decent composure as well as good work rate from the boy, he will be joining the first team soon.

[TIR669]

La Società Sportiva Pennarossa

Season review - 2016/2017



Campionato Sammarinese Second Period



Christ the awful luck and finishing in the two most important games. Lost to Cosmos who scored 2 from 2 and then lost a shootout vs Folgore who didn't had a shot on target in 120 minutes. Yuck. Was unlucky in the second period as well (the regular league part before the silly playoffs), but managed to finish at the top.

Coppa Titano

Two trophies this season as we won the Supercup after losing to Pyunik in CL Q1. Pretty easy Coppa Titano as well, but the final was decided only on penalties as we although we had 11(4)-9(1) after 120 mins. So at least we secured two games in the Europa League. Or did we? We didn't as the cup winners get nothing in reward. Unfortunate and very unexpected setback this year, although to be fair we don't have the best team in the league yet so it's not a underachievement of any kind. But missing out on continental competition is a huge loss.

Key players

Aissaoui was my first choice in left midfield after several veteran players retired last year. He took the chance pretty well and scored 8, assisting 7 more.

Agostinelli netted 24 goals this year but it's time to say goodbye - he will be retiring in a few weeks. He's 39 now and after 539 games and 190 goals scored (mostly in Italian Serie C and D) his time is unfortunately passed. Too bad because it's my best striker by far we're talking about here.

Right back Capozzi doesn't have the attributes but he sure finishes most games in top 3 by average rating. No idea why, probably that full back key passes bug. Anyway he'll probably get replaced by Agarici 17a next season.

Worth mentioning

Another license completed, and one more junior coaching level reached - we're now at adequate. Yay. More licenses and one more junior coaching next year I guess. Hopefully a good striker in the youth intake awaits... Winning the league is top priority as well, apparently the first 14 matches are of most importance as 2nd and 3rd placed team get a Europa League ticket, leaving cup winners & playoff system losers crying in the corner.

[TIR669]

Youth intake

Much better intake this year, not so much looking at personalities, but the overall quality has improved. Alberto Zanotti looks great already and it's a shame he won't be able to play any football this season due to squad registration deadlines. But he's one for the future definitely, probably our future captain with some decent looking mental attributes. Ercolani's low determination and competition on MR means he might be retrained to be more suitable in left wing, as a inside forward or a wide midfielder. Zafferani looks good as well, shame he isn't a bit taller for a DC though. Baratta is also very versatile so he should come in handy. All in all pretty solid selection, I would like a DLP type of defensive midfielder soon so fingers crossed for next year. Don't need any right midfielders, goalkeepers or strikers anymore.

[TIR669]

La Società Sportiva Pennarossa

Season review - 2017/2018



Campionato Sammarinese Second Period



Mental conclusion of season three thankfully went our way. After absolutely dominating first period (which is called 'Second Period' for some reason...), we had to face Virtus and Tre Fiori, currently two best teams in our league, in the playoffs. We managed to win 1-0 vs Tre Fiori after scoring in 19th second and keeping the lead for the rest of the game. Next it was Virtus and we were the better team, but an unfortunate handball penalty brought them back from the dead. Luckily some clinical finishing in 2nd half helped us secure a big 4-1 victory ahead of the final match, which was again against Virtus because they eliminated Tre Fiori in the second semifinal. And then we couldn't score a goal in the finals, waiting 106 minutes for a goal although we were the better team. However losing here meant no Europe for us - the stakes were pretty big. We scored in 106th minute then conceded in 107th. Lovely. Penalty shootout started great as we missed first three penalties! It was only luck (and our goalkeeper) that prevented Virtus from getting away as they were only 1-0 ahead after 3 rounds. We won 3-2 after 6 rounds and got crowned champions of San Marino, booking a place in next years Champions League qualifiers.

Coppa Titano & Super Coppa Sammarinese

We had better finishing in season opener vs Cosmos, winning the Supercup second time in a row. Coppa Titano didn't go as planned, but it's a minor competition compared to the league so I'm happy losing the cup and winning the league playoffs. Virtus scored early and we had to go all out attack but got punished by counter-attacks in 85th and 92nd minute, leaving us just short of final.

Key players

Luca is another AC Milan graduate, no idea how he ended here after playing in Serie C and D for a few seasons. A bit younger than Agostinelli who retired last year, so I expect at least 2 more years of top level performances. I'd be devastated if he decides to retire soon.

Young Zanotti was the third best player in 2015/16 intake, but getting tutored by Agostinelli developed his game a lot. His determination went from 6 to 15 and his personality is now resolute instead of balanced or whatever it was. He was my main striker, scoring 21 goals in 29 games - that's some amazing stats for an 18 year old.

Right winger Santi was one of few solid starting youth players and in his first proper season he scored 5 times and assisted for 15 more goals.

Worth mentioning

Unfortunately no junior coaching improvement this year, the whole season I couldn't even make the request, hopefully it's no bug and I'll be able to upgrade it next season. The board also announced a link with Turkish side Gaziantespor, but no financial benefits for us, only potential loanees which I have no interest in of course. Also, the league reputation, national team rating, TV money, everything continues to plummet. We have over €700k in the bank, but professional status is top priority so no facility or stadium improvements are needed just yet. Hopefully the board won't decide to do it without my asking at least. Now it's off to Nyon for CL Q1 draw, hoping for a Maltese or Faroese side against which I at least have a chance of progressing.

[ManUtd1]

Solid start. That second intake should help, as well! Good luck. I will be following along!

[TIR669]

Europe 2016/2017

It was a Faroese side we were drawn against, HB. I'm speechless so I'll just leave the stats below. We're far too weak still and don't see any improvements within the next few years. Lot of work ahead.

Giunchi was an idiot once more, complaining to the ref when we didn't get a penalty in 91st minute, getting sent off so he will be skipping next match as well, just like this year when he served a red card suspension.

[TIR669]

Youth intake

A solid intake although I'm beginning to think HoYD personality has no effect whatsoever - my new HoYD is also resolute yet 6 out of 16 youngsters have low determination personality. 10 in total have determination 7 or less. Next year I'm going to dump personality and search exclusively for JPA/JPP and WWY. We got a few nice looking players - Edoardo Rossi is just what I want from a defender - tall guy with decent mental attributes. He's in the starting XI next year. Fiora is a pacey (15/12) left winger although his preferred foot is right, but he's reasonable with left so he'll be usable. Scognamiglio looks way better though - shame about determination and work rate attributes, but I'm hoping tutoring will take care of that. Pacey left winger is much appreciated. Still waiting for a all-round defensive midfielder. Maybe next year.

Also managed to improve junior coaching to average now.

[TIR669]

La Società Sportiva Pennarossa

Season review - 2018/2019



Campionato Sammarinese Second Period



We made it to the finals this year but lost to Tre Fiori, by far the best team in the country as they still have almost the same squad as in season one. Not a huge disappointment but it is starting to get on my nerves, this has to be the silliest playoff system I've ever encountered. We didn't play well, or I should say, we didn't score when we should have. A lot of draws and losses this season, we finished 3rd in our group, but overall it's 5th or 6th place I think. Anyway, we started in 1st round, winning 1-0 against Juvenes/Dogana and Folgore/Folciano before going against Virtus in semi-final. We won that in extra time, unfortunately it was a 3rd minute goal in the finals that won the game for Tre Fiori. However, we *should* be playing in Europa League qualifiers next season so at least we'll get some money and maybe a draw would pump our coefficient by another 0.5 which would take us a step closer to being seeded in CL Q1 one day. I am noticing lack of improvement from the team, so it's time to do a few tactical changes which will hopefully get us scoring more and scoring more often.

Coppa Titano & Super Coppa Sammarinese



Easy Supercup victory at the start of the campaign unlike Coppa Titano final match, where we faced one of the worse teams in the league, Faetano. We were down 2-0 in 5th minute already and never actually stood a chance unfortunately. It's worth noting we won 4-0 against them couple of months prior to the finals, as well as that Faetano finished dead last in the league. I would be fuming if I didn't manage to book EL Q1 place though.

Key players



Our scary looking playmaker Roberto Vannucci had the best AvR although he directly contributed to only 6 goals - scoring 3 and assisting 3 more. Key passes are his specialty though. He has 83 appearances for the club already and looking likely to break a record or two in the future.



Right back Andrea Agarici didn't make any huge mistakes, at least not more than it's expected from a full back on this somewhat broken patch. Five assists to his name and he managed to score once as well. Not too shabby.

Worth mentioning

National team isn't all losses anymore - two draws in the European League or whatever it's called, both at home. Back to Pennarossa, our junior coaching is now average, but what worries me more is the constant drop in league rankings. Don't see the logic behind it, I'm aware the league is abysmal in quality, but to drop 60 places in four years!? No idea whether that has any effect on youth intakes, I guess it does, so I'm hoping for some improvements, only thing is I'm not sure how to get them. Both me and Tre Fiori will probably lose both legs in Q1, time is our only ally here as we have €1.2M now, four more CL Q1 losses should get us to €3M which is enough to become professional. We're now best placed team in San Marino by reputation, but it's still only 0.5*. At least five more years of domestic football combined with two games of first qualifying rounds of CL/EL lay ahead. Pff, the game doesn't stand a chance against me.

[TIR669]

Single digits versus a strong Cypriot side and we're out again. No surprises here anyway. Tre Fiori got eliminated from CL, losing 5-0 to Shirak. Zero improvements.

[sherwinriga]

Great season with new prospects heading to your team. I'm interested to see what will be the best for Pennarossa in the future. Good luck with the challenge! Who are the past winners of the Champions League and Europa League?

[tyler16]

Slow but steady progress. Layout of the thread is very nice.

I'll be following.

[TIR669]

Unfortunately I am stopping this save.

First off, Sammarinese league system is proper comedy and to be honest I don't like it at all. But more important is the youth team that has no fixtures and a bug where my U19 manager simply ignores his responsibility of arranging friendly games. Longterm it simply won't be enjoyable to me I'm afraid.