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[FM17] A Journeyman Story: Knocking José Mourinho Off His Perch


noikeee

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Youth intake 2024
 
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The keeper looks pretty damn good, but, really, a keeper yet again? I might try to poach him later with HSV as he's German and "fairly professional" - I won't be managing him for much longer here as I'm in my final 3 months at Twente.
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February-March 2024
 
 
Competitions
 
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The league is becoming slightly ridiculous. We started February smashing Zwolle and Vitesse scoring 4 goals in both games. In theory it would get tougher with a trip to meet Ajax away, then hosting AZ who were challengers for the league title (although fading quickly), but we won these 2 matches very easily 3-0 and 2-0 as well. There was a little intermission from easy wins with a 1-1 away draw at VVV as we rested players for the Europa League, but even with a few more instances of squad rotation, we've been cruising since: 5-0 over NEC, 5-1 over Excelsior, 3-0 over Feyenoord and 6-1 over De Graafschap. It's now as good as over as we've opened up a 11 points lead over PSV.
 
The Europa League was where the excitement was: we travelled to France to be shocked with a humbling 3-0 defeat, and I thought our run was over with not even an away goal. It was surely more than over when we conceded a Memphis Depay goal to start off the match back home, we now needed 5 goals. Acosta did score a hopeful long shot before half-time, but then magic happened in the 2nd half: we scored goal after goal after goal to make it 6-1, one more than we needed, and although there was still a late scare as Al-Assaf messed up and literally gifted the ball away to Milik for the 6-2, we completed an absurd comeback. Cristhian Acosta, somewhat missing this season up until here, was a huge presence scoring 4 goals.
 
The round of 16 tie vs Fiorentina was less dramatic but no less impressive: we were excellent in Florence, getting 2 deserved away goals in a 2-2 draw; and even more effective at home as we beat them 3-0. We're now onto the quarter-finals vs Schalke.
 
In the Dutch Cup aka KNVB Beker, I expected a difficult match vs Utrecht as we had struggled vs them in the league, but instead we breezed to a 4-0 win, to book my first cup final in Holland vs Heerenveen.
 
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Looks as if this season is a success already, with the league title all but sealed, a cup final presence guaranteed, and an Europa League quarter-final presence as well, but I want to add up more things if possible - I'm certainly aiming at the domestic double at least, let's see what happens in Europe and if this team is capable of surprising further.
 
The league turnaround is ridiculous if you consider how much we struggled in the beginning of the season - an insane stat is that we lost 4 matches back then in August and September, but haven't lost again since!
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Tactics update
 
Due to the ever-expanding tactic arsenal I'm employing, some updates have become a bit too technical and... mathematical. 4-1-3-2 vs 5-4-1. Flat 4-3-3 vs 4-2-3-1. That kind of thing. What is this, football or some kind of cryptic code?
 
I have therefore decided, to simplify things, to shamelessly copy @ManUtd1's trademark of giving silly names to tactics. I might not quite be as eccentric as to suggest my players are lining up in a "Grapefruit" formation, but my Dutch lads have the right to have some fun, too.
 
 
3-Headed Beast
narrow flat 433
 
Use against: wide 4-2-3-1. wide 4-3-3 (4-1-2-2-1). Any other tactics employing a lone striker, wingers, and attacking fullbacks.
 
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Our main tactic over the past 2 seasons, and which changed our fortunes immediately, as it played out well from the very beginning without even any need for tweaks from what I imagined on paper. However, over time I've come to realize it doesn't ALWAYS work against the 4-2-3-1, so I had to develop other alternatives too.
 
3-Headed Beast is called this way because it can produce some beastly football and has 3 strikers spearing it up. This is simple stuff, folks.
 
 
Old Bus
3-3-2-2
 
Use against: 4-3-1-2. Narrow diamond (4-1-2-1-2). Narrow 4-3-3. 3-4-3. Or anything that fields either a AMC and a duo of strikers; or a trio of strikers.
 
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Designed way back then in season 1 with Central Español (hence "Old"), this was meant to stack the bodies up in the center of defence against teams eager to exploit that area (hence "Bus"). Still, despite the name and defensive-looking formation, this is not purely a defensive tactic, packing some serious punch on the quick counter.
 
 
Uruguayan Tiki-Taka
4-3-1-2
 
Use against: 4-5-1. 4-1-4-1. 5-4-1. Anything with a lone striker that looks very defensive, with no close support to him.
 
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Having abandoned any attempts to modify a 4-3-1-2 for more direct purposes, I've gone back to rescue the patient possession style of my Nacional side when faced upon defensive sides - a twist on tiki-taka designed in Uruguayan soil.
 
 
Werther's Originals
3-4-1-2
 
Use against: Erm, everything else? 4-4-2s. 3-5-2 and 5-3-2 variants. That's basically mostly what's left.
 
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This 3-4-1-2 is my original tactic that I used straight out from the beginning of season 1 with Central Español and which has proved useful ever since. The name refers to the fact it's the original tactic, and that it chews out opponents like candy.
 
 
Dutch Diamond
4-1-2-1-2
 
Use against: 4-2-3-1s when the 3-Headed Beast doesn't work. Usually fluid, aggressive versions of the 4-2-3-1.
 
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After many attempts at figuring out how to counter the 4-2-3-1 when 3-Headed Beast goes wrong, I've settled on this one this season, with pretty good results - it gave me that crazy comeback vs Lyon, for example. It's pretty much just a slightly less aggressive version of the 4-3-3 with a more cautious mentality, the CM/D pulled back to DM to shut down that space, the Treq pulled back, but the right-back turned more attacking to produce an extra threat from deep. It's called Dutch Diamond because it's a diamond and because it was developed with my Dutch Twente side. Yes, I'm running out of ideas for names.
 
 
 
FAILED TACTICS
 
I have also ditched 3 tactics all developed to try to counter the 4-2-3-1, and all proven crap.
 
Failed Diamond
4-3-1-2
 
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This was something like a cross between what I've settled now in Dutch Diamond, and Uruguayan Tiki-Taka. I used this through most of the season 2 years ago... and it gave me a 9th place in the league. It doesn't work. "Failed Diamond" seems fitting.
 
 
Double-Decker Bus
4-1-4-1 AMR
 
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Originally developed to try to run down games by shutting down the flanks instead of continuing to go crazy attacking with the 4-3-3, initial signs were promising. Then I conceded 2 injury time goals in 2 matches, and I threw this one to the bin forever, as it just put us under far too much pressure on defensive mentality, even with the defensive line pushed silly high.
 
 
One-Arm Man
4-1-3-2 ML
 
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A asymmetric monstrosity developed out of the 2 tactics above, the idea was to try to exploit the space between their winger and fullback on our left flank by attracting the ball there with a wide playmaker. After some initial promise, this proved ineffective going forward, and also promoted some comical domino effects defensively as the team tried to defend with an unbalanced shape. Kill this one with fire.
 
 
TLDR:
 
What am I facing?
 
a) 4-2-3-1 / wide 4-3-3 ----> 3-Headed Beast
b) 4-2-3-1 / wide 4-3-3 and the 3-Headed Beast isn't working ----> Dutch Diamond
c) 4-3-1-2 / narrow diamond / narrow 4-3-3 / 3-4-3 ----> Old Bus
d) 4-5-1 / 5-4-1 / 4-1-4-1 ----> Uruguayan Tiki-Taka
e) anything else which isn't too similar to any of the above ----> Werther's Originals
 
At the end, I've narrowed it down to that simple of a formula. :) 
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I must credit my "come back" win over As Roma to you @noikeee

I faced a similar 2-0 deficit to overcome at home. After reading your switch to the 4-1-2-1-2 diamond to win the come back against Lyon, I did likewise and also won 3-0 in the return leg. That was before you posted that the tactic was effective against a 4-1-4-1 formation, which Roma deployed. 

Keep up the good work and hope you can go on to win the Europa! 

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10 hours ago, ManUtd1 said:

Loving the tactic names, man :applause:

At some stage I thought of going strikerless. It was going to be the "Shy 3-Headed Beast" with the 3 strikers pulled back to AMCs. The only time I attempted it, it went horribly wrong and I didn't even save the tactic.

10 hours ago, GryphonFlick said:

Solid performances in Europe this year! Reckon you can go all the way?

What a great couple of saves from the Feyenoord keeper by the way.

Nah, I don't know about going all the way, I suppose with the team on fantastic morale as it is, anything can happen, but we should still be on paper the weakest side left in the competition (although we're starting to have some pretty good players!).

Pretty sure the first shot wasn't a save as it went into the post, and maybe the 2nd hit the bar too, it was so quick I couldn't tell. 

4 hours ago, Rikulec said:

You've already done better in Europe than I have. :thup:

The QFs should be interesting, given the relationship between Twente and Schalke fans.

Ha, only just read up about it. Makes some sense since it's a relatively short away trip.

44 minutes ago, inthisspace said:

I must credit my "come back" win over As Roma to you @noikeee

I faced a similar 2-0 deficit to overcome at home. After reading your switch to the 4-1-2-1-2 diamond to win the come back against Lyon, I did likewise and also won 3-0 in the return leg. That was before you posted that the tactic was effective against a 4-1-4-1 formation, which Roma deployed. 

Keep up the good work and hope you can go on to win the Europa! 

It's worth mentioning it's a bit more complex than just the pure numbers game of the formations. As you can see I had two variants of 4-3-1-2 (Uruguyan Tiki-Taka and Failed Diamond) and one was far more successful than the other, despite being so similar with the exact same formation, because some slight instruction differences made them play different, and I also used them in different contexts.

The diamonds I use now, the Uruguayan Tiki-Taka (4-3-1-2) and the Dutch Diamond (4-1-2-1-2), are very similar but I use them in wildly different contexts. Uruguayan Tiki-Taka is good to unpick deep defensive formations, through sheer possession force and high pressing to keep them under constant pressure. Dutch Diamond is more cautious at defending, it's good at stabilizing matches against aggressive 4-2-3-1s, and then surprising them through attacking fullbacks bombing from deep.

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Well that was quite a shock too. I left the 1st leg in Holland cursing the draw, as we drew 1-1 and I felt playing the 2nd leg at home in the previous rounds had helped me, but in Germany first we broke the deadlock, and then spent the rest of the match launching deadly counter-attack after deadly counter-attack - we finished the match with 9 CCCs. I'm delighted with the performance of my players!

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We're facing Schalke's rivals next, and quite possibly the strongest team left in the competition - they're currently 2nd in the Bundesliga.

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Gah! After losing in Germany to a 10-man Dortmund (they had a guy sent off), and having extremely tired legs after a 120-minutes cup final match days earlier, I knew we were up against it. Ultimately the final was just a tiny little step too far, but my lads did all they could.

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7 hours ago, GryphonFlick said:

Unlucky, Dortmund is a tough ask. Still, it was quite a decent run.

 

52 minutes ago, Fola said:

Just read this from the start to finish. Amazing write up- love the detail you have into.

Thanks!

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April-May 2024
 
 
Competitions
 
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Our confirmation as Dutch champions was just a matter of time. After beating Heerenveen, we had our first chance away at Groningen, but somewhat uncharacteristically, we let a lead slip and only drew the match. We ended up confirming it away in Go Ahead's pitch, with an absolutely bonkers, record-breaking 6-3 win: a fitting spectacle for fans who travelled there to see us crowned champions again. In the two remaining fixtures we failed to win: goalless draw at home with Heracles (this is actually a fierce local derby, apparently), and then an annoying loss at Den Haag in my final match as Twente manager, to ruin our stat of being undefeated in the league since September.
 
You guys already know what happened in Europe. Having to face Schalke at home first rather than away, didn't really suit us, I thought, as in the previous 2 rounds we had turned it around in the 2nd leg at home. We spent the 1st leg trying to break them down until finally the goal came in the 78th minute, only for them to equalize against the run of play. I travelled to Germany in a pessimistic mood but the lads surpassed themselves with a fantastic 4-0 win, in a flurry of endless counter-attacks after Schalke threw everyone forward once we scored the first. A superb result to put us in the semi-finals.
 
However things would be tougher in the semi-finals having to face Schalke's rivals, on great domestic form. As they fielded a 4-4-2 we lined up in the Originals, and the match was pretty even. Then their midfielder Atakan Akkaynak saw a straight red and we had a perfect opportunity to try to get the upper hand, instead we could not settle into a rhythm even if I tried a couple of different systems, and ended up conceding a goal without scoring. It wasn't a great scenario to bring back home, and although again we rattled Dortmund and probably played slightly better, they scored first and we could only equalize. European run over but we did put a bloody good effort in it.
 
But the real highlight of this final 2 months was a sensational cup final. This was the only remaining Dutch trophy I yet had to win, and had to work for it as Hereenveen gave us lots of trouble. After a goalless first half, the game came into life with a flurry of 2 goals for each side within the first 20 minutes of the 2nd half - Müller and Bryant scoring from outside the area for us, Gyllingberg getting a brace for our opponents. Things then settled and we went into extra-time... where in the 105th a cross from Giorgos Manthatis went straight into our net, Al-Assaf failing to catch it. The minutes continued to pass and I prepared for a frustrating loss, when a rebound from a corner met Luxolo Mokoena and the South-African left-back scored a screamer from outside the area with 2 minutes to go. Into penalties then.
 
In the shootout we started great with Al-Assaf redeeming himself from the in-game blunder, and saving 2 penalties. We were just a tiny step from the trophy but Gustavo Palacios missed it too. Timothy Fosu-Mensah, an unlikely hero, didn't miss his, our final penalty, and we lifted the cup to make it a clean sweep of all Dutch trophies this season.
 
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I'm pretty pleased with how this season turned out, I checked all my domestic trophy goals and had a much better European run than expected, with some bonkers matches to remember like the insane 6-2 comeback vs Lyon and the 4-0 away win over Schalke. It feels like a good timing to leave Holland and I'm eager to take over HSV now.
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Season review 2023/24
 
Another step forward for FC Twente. It's the club's first ever domestic double of league+cup, and the first time the club manages to retain the Dutch title. We also won the Supercup, and had one of our best European runs ever, to the Europa League semi-finals, although coming just short of the club's best in history as Twente did reach the 1974-75 UEFA Cup final!
 
 
 
One word sums it up: "Rich". Feels good to see that word on screen.
 
 
 
Statistics, best 11, and top 5 players of the season
 
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Although we used a variety of different systems and rotated our squad a hell of a lot more, the 3-Headed Beast continues to be our default tactic.
 
5. Kevin Cordero (ST) - This was a strange season for strikers with 5 different strikers reaching double figures, and new signing Kevin Cordero making it to the best players of the season but not our outright best 11. This was because his peak was at the beginning of the season, as he scored a sensational 9 goals in the Champions League, and amassed most of his final statistics of 13 goals and 11 assists. However then he broke his foot and when he came back, he found out Isaac Bryant was playing in his place as most advanced forward.
 
4. Cristhian Acosta 19B (ST, AMC) - Not as good as last year. Acosta started out the year injured, then spent a few months playing below par, annoyed that I hadn't allowed him to be transfered to a bigger club. But he came good later with some decisive moments in the Europa League, such as the unforgettable poker vs Lyon, and another brace vs Schalke, and still managed to finish the season on 20 goals.
 
3. Wim de Jong (DC) - His best year yet as the strong centre-back, a Twente youth product, is starting to look like he's outgrowing the Eredivisie, on a sensational 7.45 average rating. I'm very tempted to bring him over to HSV if I can purchase him...
 
2. Luxolo Mokoena (DL, WBL) - This season's big surprise. Hired as a last minute "why not" signing after being offered by an agent on a free, he turned out to be a monster on the pitch with insane 7.74 ratings. And although his assists number settled on a quality but not amazing 12 in 26 appearances, after an incredible start of assist after assist, he did provide a final decisive moment scoring that 118th minute equalizer in the cup final.
 
1. Isaac Bryant (ST) - The 20 year old English wonderkid, on loan from Man Utd, emerged as this season's goal machine after Kevin Cordero's injury. He ended up as top scorer on 30 goals, and also most assists out of my entire team on 16. Even got his first cap, which should be highly unusual for a English player playing abroad on Holland.
 
 
Mourinho watch
 
I'm pretty pleased with my 3 trophies won this season, as I'm now closing in rapidly on my nationality top 10 spot. As the Dutch season ends earlier than the English, at the moment Mourinho's "only" on a League Cup+Community Shield this year, and although he's got no chances of adding up the FA Cup (eliminated) or the Premier League (distant 2nd) this season, he's on the Champions League final again, threatening to sum up even more points. Quite frankly I might need to readjust my goal to come 2nd in this list, and forget about Mourinho.
 
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Career progress table
 
Season   League                  Cups                              Continental                    Other
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Central Español (Uruguay)
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2016     Segunda Div - 4th       
2017     Segunda Div - 1st                                                                        Champions, promoted
2018     Camp. Uruguayo - 2nd (Ap. 4th, Int. finalists, Cl. 3rd)                                  Qualified for Libertadores
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Nacional (Uruguay)
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2019     Camp. Uruguayo - 1st (Ap. 4th, Int. Grps 2nd , Cl. 1st)   Libertadores 1st Pre. Rnd      Lost Champions Playoff
2020     Camp. Uruguayo - 1st (Ap. 2nd, Int. winners, Cl. 1st)     Libertadores winners           League+Int+Libertadores treble
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Twente (Netherlands)
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2020/21  Eredivisie - 13th                                                                        Joined in December
2021/22  Eredivisie - 9th        KNVB Beker semi-final
2022/23  Eredivisie - 1st        KNVB Beker 3rd round                                             Champions
2023/24  Eredivisie - 1st        KNVB Beker winners, JCS winners   CL groups, EL semi-finals      Won domestic double+Supercup

 

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34 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

Well done defending the title.

Cheers.

14 minutes ago, deltablue said:

Keep on going and you will gain on Mourinho pretty quickly.

If he retires, maybe? Because he's winning things too.

I think once I moved from South America to Europe, maybe the English leagues and the Champions League started getting simulated better, because ever since he's been racking up trophy after trophy, whilst he had been nearly sacked in my Uruguay days. No sign of him stopping any time soon, neither.

Also, pretty unlikely chance I could win much in my first couple of years with HSV. Looking back at my history I tend to struggle in my first 1 or 2 seasons with every club, and the competition in the Bundesliga is very strong.

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I'm a bit disappointed only 2 Twente guys will be in the Euros, but at least Wim de Jong might get his first cap for Holland.

I'm now open to trying out international football. The Euros might open up a few vacancies once over, but I am already looking into a few options, on a shorter term project.

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Abidjan, Ivory Coast - 26th of May, 2024
 
A trip to Africa just a few days before I get presented as the HSV manager might come as a bit of a surprise. This is because I've taken over on a wild side project for the next few months.
 
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The Ivory Coast U23s weren't my first choice - I wanted to have a serious go at the Olympic Games tournament, and had applied to manage Italy first. However I had this one as a backup plan, in case Italy wouldn't approach me. Ivory Coast offered me the job first, and I decided to accept, even knowing we don't have much chances to win the whole thing, because Italy might pass me over.
 
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I'm not entirely sure how this works, having not managed internationally in the last few editions of FM (I think the last time was in FM12!!). We don't appear to have any expectations for the Olympic Games yet, but this is how the groups are set out:
 
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This is the squad I was given for now, it doesn't look very promising with not many stars of CA:
 
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I'm yet to scout more players to see who exactly I can call up - it seems suspicious/promising that there's not many kids in the 20-23 age range and nobody from Europe - , but from this bunch these appears to be the better guys:
 
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One of the reasons I signed up for this, is to have a peek at which promising kids are being forgotten in Africa, and might be available for peanuts. Like this one. Dream purchase for an European club right here. "Fairly consistent", too.
 
 
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Not sure why does he have low potential, but he looks an amazing wing-back for the age of 17.
 
 
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Possibly our best forward, at least in the squad I inherited.
 
 
Goals
 
I don't really know, I signed up for this to have some fun. I think beating France in the groups is unlikely, but Jamaica and New Zealand should be within reach, so I want to qualify for the quarter-finals. After that anything's a bonus. Ideally I'd like to take the trophy home to boost my CV and HOF points, but there should be much stronger teams here so it's unlikely.
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Hamburg, Germany - 1st of June, 2024
 
Couple of plane trips done, and hello back to Europe. This is obviously not a surprise as I've announced it a few months back:
 
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I'm very happy to be the new Hamburger SV manager, I've been looking forward to this for a while. This lot is obviously a rather illustrious club, although it's not been successful for a very long time now:
 
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As you can see by the results above, HSV have settled as a midtable side, beyond a surprisingly successful run to 4th a few years ago. This season they've finished 11th.
 
Onto the squad I was given:
 
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Not perfect with a couple of wingers which I don't use, some old players, and a few too many loans which will run out now. It's also far better upfront with loads of strikers and not much talent at the back. Best players:
 
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Excellent well-rounded striker, but already 31.
 
 
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Bit of a misfit being mostly a winger, however I think I can adapt him to do a job upfront.
 
 
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A player I'm very happy to have. Perhaps not quite a holding midfielder, neither a runner from midfield, he seems a better fit for the CM/S role I use in a few of the tactics. Excellent personality may come in handy to tutor players.
 
 
Speaking of young prospects, we're pretty spoiled. This already reminds me of the Nacional talent factory:
 
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A bit overrated due to being either-footed, but he's got potential.
 
 
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Great physicals and mentals but has work to do technically.
 
 
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My favourite player of the U19s but there's so many others, too! Some have more potential but I don't like their skills as much.
 
 
Goals
 
After a dismal season in 11th, and with a slightly unbalanced squad I have to sort, I don't see us doing anything spectacular in the Bundesliga just yet. I'm thinking an European place around 5th-7th would be a great achievement already for this season, and would let us warm up for better things in the future.
 
I have identified that most Bundesliga clubs line up in 4-4-2 so expect us to see field up in the Originals a lot this season.
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8 hours ago, Benjoe said:

Great way to leave Twente, and loving the u23's job with the Ivory Coast! 

Good luck at the Olympics!

We're settling for nothing else but gold.

7 hours ago, BoxToBox said:

Lot of stuff happening, love the sly side gig with the Ivory Coast youth team.

Borja's so well rounded he almost seems more of a midfielder....

That's what my staff thought too - hey man, retrain him as a midfielder. Except I let him go be a midfielder somewhere else: I sold him!

4 hours ago, kidthekid said:

never seen a striker with a marking of 13...until now

He probably took the whole "defensive forward" thing a bit too literally in training.

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Olympic Games - Mexico City 2024 - Squad announcement
 
I've chosen our group of 18 warriors. And they've got little resemblance to the squad I had been given before:
 
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Spoilers: there's a couple of players in light blue there, which might indicate something...
 
Let's take a look at what I expect to be our strongest 11. Lining up in the 3-Headed Beast (narrow 4-3-3):
 
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Bloody good player. I wish I had a keeper like this for HSV - in fact I'm trying to hire one. Anyone named "wonderkid" is always bound to be decent.
 
 
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Limited to just 18 players, I don't really have a backup left-back, relying on this guy fully instead. Not sure what the hell is he still doing in Africa.
 
 
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One of 3 over-23 players I could call up. Everyone knows who Eric Bailly is. A proper rock. Experienced, too.
 
 
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Not sure whether he'll play as CB or midfielder.
 
 
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One of the other over-23s. Again, everyone knows who Aurier is. A proper world-class player. 
 
 
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"Contracted to HSV". Hmmm. Wonder where that came from.
 
 
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One of our weakest players but another guy I'm not sure what is he still doing in Africa.
 
 
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Our third older player. Quality all-rounder midfielder.
 
 
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This is where things get interesting. We have 4 really good strikers. Too bad they all seem almost like copies of each other.
 
 
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Fantastic physicals!
 
 
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I left the best for the end though. Another wonderkid!
 
 
 
Bonus player
 
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He was too good not to be called up, but I don't use wingers. I'm thinking either to put him as left-back or AMC depending on the tactic. Screw lack of tactical familiarity.
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1 minute ago, noikeee said:
He was too good not to be called up, but I don't use wingers. I'm thinking either to put him as left-back or AMC depending on the tactic. Screw lack of tactical familiarity.

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Seeing a player named Sekou Bamba reminds me of this absolute monster who I sadly couldn't buy in my Celta save. I had spotted him when he was 19 and could have been bought quite cheaply. An absolute dream striker. 

 590e4cda847b1_SekouBamba.thumb.PNG.71696db0f73f8aa8b3af7327577ffe83.PNG

Your Sekou Bamba is another type but could seem to have the same amount of potential hidden. 

I like the squad you got going into the tournament. Should be able to cause havoc.

 

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25 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

 

Even Van Gaal would've called up Ibrahim Koffi.

4 minutes ago, Benjoe said:

Seeing a player named Sekou Bamba reminds me of this absolute monster who I sadly couldn't buy in my Celta save. I had spotted him when he was 19 and could have been bought quite cheaply. An absolute dream striker. 

 

Your Sekou Bamba is another type but could seem to have the same amount of potential hidden. 

I like the squad you got going into the tournament. Should be able to cause havoc.

 

I'd prefer to have your universe's Sekou Bamba. Crazy player.

Our first test ahead of the Olympics was alright, given that we were up against the hosts (who are also reigning champions), but wasn't very convincing:

mPnk54B.jpg

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6 minutes ago, noikeee said:

Even Van Gaal would've called up Ibrahim Koffi.

I'd prefer to have your universe's Sekou Bamba. Crazy player.

Our first test ahead of the Olympics was alright, given that we were up against the hosts (who are also reigning champions), but wasn't very convincing:

mPnk54B.jpg

Van Gaal would probably have called up Koffi Annan tbh. He's Ghanaian? Wat de hel does that mean?! I want him unto de pitch now.

I think he is in my all time top 3 of players I wanted but never signed. There's only very little I'd change about him. Either some more aggression and bravery, or else some better technique and passing, but let's be honest here. He's perfect.

I think that's acceptable, @noikeee. Mexico isn't an easy task - clearly, they're the reigning champs as you said - so I'd say your chances are good at the tourney.

 

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16 minutes ago, Benjoe said:

Seeing a player named Sekou Bamba reminds me of this absolute monster who I sadly couldn't buy in my Celta save. I had spotted him when he was 19 and could have been bought quite cheaply. An absolute dream striker. 

 590e4cda847b1_SekouBamba.thumb.PNG.71696db0f73f8aa8b3af7327577ffe83.PNG

Your Sekou Bamba is another type but could seem to have the same amount of potential hidden. 

I like the squad you got going into the tournament. Should be able to cause havoc.

 

21 in 44 with that kind of talent is sort of underachieving. It's like that guy in your difficult engineering/math classes who doesn't study but gets a B+/A-. Good enough, but your wonder what could have been. Could have solved world hunger or something.

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8 minutes ago, kidthekid said:

21 in 44 with that kind of talent is sort of underachieving. It's like that guy in your difficult engineering/math classes who doesn't study but gets a B+/A-. Good enough, but your wonder what could have been. Could have solved world hunger or something.

Very accurate comparison I find, however, I do think it was partly due to Milan underachieving a lot that season too. Their tactics could have impacted him greatly. A tactic/team build around him would be unstoppable. 

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June-July 2024 - Pre-season transfers
 
From Mexico, back to Germany. I'm getting in a hell of a lot of planes over the Atlantic this Summer.
 
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This is becoming a classic strategy for me now - when I take over a new club, I just sell their best players! In order to wheel and deal with the money I get from that, that is. So Miguel Borja was sold by 11M€ and Federico Chiesa for 25M€. As part of the clearout, others went such as Carlos Mané (7M€), and young wingers Bastian Brill and Kayhan Aydin, due to not fitting our tactics, but with clauses on future sales.
 
What is probably a little new is that I utterly pillaged my former clubs and my Ivorian U23s too! I also picked up a few scraps from bigger clubs like Real Madrid and PSG who I can only assume are managed by idiots.
 
 
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I was very close to meeting again my former Nacional keeper Matteo Roberto, but this guy from Sevilla came cheaper as we were at the very end of our transfer funds.
 
 
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This was always going to happen, wasn't it? We badly needed a centre-back so I didn't hesitate to splash some serious cash (12.5M€ potentially rising to 15M€) on the former boss of my Twente defence.
 
 
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I nearly splashed 10M€ on Twente's Luxolo Mokoena, but when I saw this guy was available for 2.3M€ it was a no-brainer - I've been following him for about 2 years now, but never imagined PSG would let him go permanently. What are they thinking?
 
 
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If you're having a slight deja-vu, it's because it's the 3rd time in this page his screenshot comes up. One of 2 players I pillaged from my Ivory Coast U23s as he had no business still playing in Africa.
 
 
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The other Ivorian guy I poached.
 
 
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I don't like relying on loans, but when players this good come up available, we'll take it.
 
 
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Having hired Fontanella and being well stacked on midfielders, this was a bit of an unnecessary transfer but I couldn't pass him up when Real Madrid was selling him for 9M€. The PPMs are a bit crap but his skills are superb.
 
 
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Another former player! We've been following Cristhian Acosta's career for the last few years in Holland, but forgot about the other guy of the Class of '19, as he was still stuck with Nacional in Uruguay - well here he is. Sadly his physicals never became great, but everything else is!
 
 
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Another player for a position I wasn't planning to pick up anyone else at all, when I casually realised he was available on a free - PSG released him. Insane squad management by the Parisians.
 
 
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One of my favourite signings. One of the reasons I sold Miguel Borja was to free up funds for this Mexican pace merchant - a bit of a one-trick pony, but bloody good at it. 
 
 
My HSV squad now:
 
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Notice a bunch of unavailable and injured players. I just noticed, to my horror, that left-back Douglas Santos damaged his cruciate ligaments in our latest friendly. Stopping for 7 to 9 months. Gulp.
 
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After a Summer where I spent more time trying to get as many good deals as possible, rather than getting a perfectly balanced squad already, things aren't quite at the level I want yet - but it's going in the right direction. The season kicks off a bit later than I was used to, at the end of August, which is handy as for now I'm focused in the Olympic Games in Mexico.
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Back to Mexico. Our final test ahead of the tournament ends with another 1-1 draw, again not quite playing to the level I'm expecting. We will need to step up a bit if we want to fight for medals.

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Olympic Games - Mexico City 2024 - Group stage
 
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We kick off our Olympics with a mental 10-goal match. We had looked poor in the 3-Headed Beast in the pre-tournament friendlies, but I insisted in it, and it resulted in 7 goals shared between our 3 strikers, although our defence looked comical. Job done, just in crazy style.
 
 
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Against a French 4-4-2 we lined up in the Originals, and it worked! The result greatly flattered us but we beat a team possessing a number of world class players, with a Sekou Bamba hat-trick. New Zealand drew with Jamaica and this means we already qualify, with a game in hand.
 
 
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This match was more about conserving as much energy as possible for the later rounds, as I fielded backups and a slightly more conservative version of Dutch Diamond. Still, we completely dominated and beat NZ with a goal from each of the 2 forwards we fielded, to make it a clean sweep of victories in the group stage.
 
 
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This has definitely gone better than I expected so far. For the quarters, I'm happy to face Nigeria given the alternatives, it should be a close match between 2 teams at the same level.
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Olympic Games - Mexico City 2024 - Quarter-finals
 
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This was proving quite a difficult match to unlock, vs a very defensive, resilient Nigerian side that lined up in a 4-1-4-1 - a tactic that I'm never quite sure how to best face, and I decided to go with the Dutch Diamond this time, although that's usually better against more adventurous versions of it (the 4-1-4-1 can be pretty similar to the 4-2-3-1 - just with the wingers pulled back). However, we kept them under pressure all match, and eventually this worked, and we broke past them in the 2nd half.
 
 
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We are now very close to a medal, but will need to face the hosts again in a repeat of the pre-tournament friendly.
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Olympic Games - Mexico City 2024 - Semi-finals
 
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A sensational match that qualified us for an Olympic final, and also a fascinating tactical battle. Against Mexico's wide 4-3-3, I started with Dutch Diamond and that got us the lead, but by half-time it was clearly not working as we were now losing and over-comitting our fullbacks vs their quick dazzling wingers. I switched to 3-Headed Beast, with its slightly more cautious fullbacks, and to put more pressure on their backline full of yellow cards, and it worked as Sekou Bamba added a 2nd and a 3rd to his personal account. However, Mexico now desperate to win switched to a 3-4-3 and we reacted by switching again, to Old Bus. It just about held them off, as we also missed a penalty, but we were under pressure the rest of the match.
 
 
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Can we go all the way to win the Olympic title? We will be facing a strong Italian side that was my first choice to manage in these Olympics to begin with. Worst case scenario, the silver medal is ours.
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Olympic Games - Mexico City 2024 - Final
 
First half
 
Let's take a look at the 2 sides here:
 
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Ivory Coast reach the final after 5 straight wins, but Italy are very much the favourites - no less than 10 players in their squad have a market value of over 20M€. With Italy expected to line up in a narrow 4-3-3 similar to my 3-Headed Beast, I dust off the Old Bus. The main issue tonight is our incredibly tired players, with superstar Sekou Bamba, the competition's top scorer, just on 78% condition - I opt to leave him out on the bench, to try to use him fresher later on.
 
Minute 6: GOAL FOR ITALY! 0-1! A cross from right-back Edoardo Rossi finds Damiano Donadi on a rampant charge to tap it in!
 
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Minute 7: An almost identical chance for us, but Diallo can't convert Aurier's cross.
 
Minute 14: Experienced midfielder Assane Gnoukouri picks up a knock and goes down to 58% condition. We're starting with some bad luck here. I take him out for Eric Koné.
 
Minute 22: Italy hit the post! A long-range shot by Carlo Ferrari is slightly deflected by Kouamé into the post. Italy appear slightly superior for now.
 
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HALF-TIME: Not a great match so far. We've conceded an early goal and have not created much. Italy have been maybe a bit better but we've also been unfortunate.
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Olympic Games - Mexico City 2024 - Final
 
Second half
 
Minute 53: GOAL FOR IVORY COAST! 1-1! A run by Gnahoua down the left-flank finds Yacouba Yao. He is tackled but the ball falls to Adboulaye Diallo who scores past Donnarumma!
 
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Minute 56: GOAL FOR ITALY! 1-2! They open up a lead again. A bit of insistence down the middle and the recently introduced Maurizio Massari - minutes after Italy does a couple of subs - assists Damiano Donadi for his 2nd of the night.
 
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Minute 61: Time to throw caution to the wind. They're more tired than we are, might as well go 4-3-3 vs 4-3-3. I switch to the 3-Headed Beast and take Sekou Bamba out of the bench.
 
Minute 69: Ivory Coast hit the bar! A quick counter finds Bamba who passes it to Diallo but he cannot beat Donnarumma! Play continues and Aurier crosses into Bamba, the Italian keeper saves for a corner!
 
Minute 76: Time to pull my final card here, striker Alex Koné for the tired Yacouba Yao.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FULL TIME: Nothing else happens! It's heartbreak for Ivory Coast. Italy get the gold medal, but our boys really did everything they could...
 
TNhnBUm.jpg
 
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Olympic Games - Mexico City 2024 - Tournament review
 
Ivory Coast clinches their first ever Olympic footballing medal, but it's silver instead of gold after being beaten by Italy in the final.
 
 
Statistics and best player
 
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Sekou Bamba - Unquestionably our star of the competition. With 9 goals he became the top scorer, and he got the best ratings out of everyone as well (8.08). If only he was fully 100% fit for the final...
 
 
Awards
 
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Bamba featuring heavily again.
 
 
Resignation
 
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No surprise here - this was always meant to be a short-term project! It was fun, I'm here at 3 AM playing this!
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15 hours ago, argento said:

great run in Europe with Twente and loved the exploits in the Olympics, silver medal and what a goal ratio for Bamba!  Where is he playing?  Good luck in Germany

Thanks. Bamba plays for Monaco. It's in the screenies above. :D

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Y1CRm74.jpg

My first official match in charge of HSV. :lol: I've never seen anything like this in FM17 before.

edit: it's a new club and competition record, too. Bayern once won 16-1 in 1997.

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Could you check how Rolando Mandragora is doing in your save? Italian.

On Topic: Great progress with your career. Doing something similar, but too far into the story to start telling about it now.

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