vara Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 Hi all, so i've been meaning to put a career on here for some time and now that I have a bit of time off work, feel now is as good as any. I've put my initial save aside to start this, one i've done once before a few years back which i enjoyed so here we go again, hopefully with more success. The Plan: Work through each European Nation from A-Z, using Claassen's country extensions. Join a club in bottom playable division and win promotion/title in every division as well as the domestic cup. Not limiting myself to 1 club, whatever it takes to get all the titles. Super Cup im not bothered about. Once all titles obtained, i'll start job searching for the next nation, i'm not setting it to exactly alphabetical, as long as each letter is covered before moving on. I will only select a club for the very first nation. Start with the minimum badges and experience. So with that out the way, i'll carry on. I've already completed my first season, so i'll whip through that below and get you all up to speed. I plan to do updates every1-2mnths of game and cover various aspects of the club i'm managing, so we perhaps can all learn something. Cheers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALBANIA Capital: Tirana Currency: Albanian lek Population: 2.876 million Official Language: Albanian Top Tier: Kategoria Superiore (10 Clubs) Second Tier: Kategoria e parë (20 Clubs split between 2 Groups) Domestic Cup: Kupa e Shqipërisë DINAMO TIRANA Stadium: Selman Stërmasi (Cap: 12,274 - 6,000 Seated) Facilities: Below Average Training and Youth Honours: Super League (17), Albanian Cup (13), Super Cup (2) This was an interesting selection that was a pretty easy decision. The second most decorated club in the country but in 2nd Tier since relegation in 2012. Seemed a good place to start and hopefully restore them to the top. I inherited what i thought was a pretty decent squad, although it was thin so a few additions were required. I will provide further detail on individuals in the second season as the first is already complete and i want to rush everyone up to speed. Dervishi and Tetteh both regens, you will learn more about these soon. The league structure was a bit different, 18 matches before the league splits into a promotion/relegation group with 5 teams in each and another 8 matches. You get 50% of your points tally when the split happens. Only top team gets promoted as does another from the other group of 10. So here is the rush through results, standings and our cup run. Then we'll get into the current season. Regular Season Promotion Group We struggled a bit in the promotion group to find the net. Had a couple injuries to my creative players in midfield and this made the going tough. Finally managed to put Besa away and made up for our lack of goals prior. Albanian Cup Very pleased by this, obviously. 3 teams from the Super League, Lushnja, Partizani (who won the league) and Kukesi. Happy to know my squad is at such a level and the jump up shouldn't worry us too much. ------------------ That 1 season done and 2 of the objectives for Albania complete. Next update i will go more in depth into my squad and updates throughout season as i progress to hopefully win the league. Also have a European campaign to enjoy instead of preseason friendlies. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
abulezz Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 I like these type of saves - good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 @Makoto Nakamuradid one of these last year and was great so will read with interest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vara Posted December 24, 2017 Author Share Posted December 24, 2017 Season 2018/19 Squad: With the squad now back for pre-season training, just 3 weeks prior to our first European match, i'll show the make up of our squad. Only 1 player was released, Gentian Durak, who i brought in at start of last season as cover for my full back. Did his job, played 13 matches but was never staying on. We have been provided a transfer budget of £112k and wage of £8,623p/w. Manager: Chuck Norris Goalkeepers: 1. Kadri Birja, 13. John Tetteh* Defenders: 2. Klaudio Rexhepi, 3. Arbër Malaj, 4. Roland Peqini, 5. Orgest Buzi, 14. Klodian Dervishi*, 21. Leudan Goga Midfielders: 6. Jure Skafar, 7. Julian Gërxho, 8. Hristiyan Popov, 11. Erald Turdiu, 19. Jozef Thana, 20. Aris Lalaj, 23. Uros Smolovic Attackers: 9. Fabio Hoxha, 10. Endri Bakiu, 12. Milan Nikolic, 17. Spartak Elmazi Nikolic was our Top Scorer last season with 14. Gërxho, the captain, was player of season with 9 goals, 10 assists and a AVR of 7.70 ---------------------------- June - July 2018 With only a few weeks until our Europa tie, I can announce it will be against Azeri club FK Qäbälä, the first leg will be at home on 12th July. With that in mind I organised 3 friendlies prior. Europa League 1st Qualifying Round Important home result, helped by two late goals. The short turn around from friendlies took it's toll with a severely tired squad. Although they had similar problems. Strange game, again the players struggling at the end. Threw away a 2 goal lead, twice, but 4 away goals absolutely enough! Transfers In/Out: Little bit of movement in between the Europa League legs above. trying to add more home grown quality, which is hard to find at reasonable prices. One thing you will notice during this career is im a tight ass and do not like paying a lot for players. However, with the quality at domestic pretty slim, i may have to loosen that stance. I have a couple of loan targets in Serie A youth teams currently, can hopefully get something happening there soon. In: Taulant Sefjinaj - 32yr old Centre Back signed from Laçi for £32.5k, where he spent 11 years and played over 200 games. Provides experience for us and improves our depth. Assigned #15. Klaudio Hyseni - 24yr old Centre Mid signed from Erzeni for £56k, again, increases the quality of our midfield but he is likely to take over as my main B2B Mid. Out: 2 players that were fringe last season i've let go. Striker Fatjon Bytyci on free to KF Tirana, while Centre Back Bazion Tragaj moved to Teuta for 9k. Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round Vital away goal here in a game we struggled with. Defence worked overtime here but did very well, we did however rack up 6 yellows and committed 22 fouls. Whatever it takes to get the job done i guess. Over the odds here and what a well earned result! Controlled much of the first half with no reward, but responded well to conceding early in second. Played the second half of ET with 10men due to an injury to Thana, our legs proved more up to it with a quick double. Thana injury was not serious, missed a couple days with ankle bruising. ------------------ August update next, we'll continue our Europe League campaign with a very tough trip to Oostende up first. I'll give some insight into our financial state and what we're doing tactically Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vara Posted December 24, 2017 Author Share Posted December 24, 2017 37 minutes ago, abulezz said: I like these type of saves - good luck! Thanks, will need it. 13 minutes ago, DazRTaylor said: @Makoto Nakamuradid one of these last year and was great so will read with interest. Aye, similar ones i've seen have looked a proper journey, only at stage 1 but enjoying it! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ August 2018 - Part 1 Tactics: At the moment, the formations has made its way into an asymmetric 4-4-1-1, or 4-3-2-1. I had the luxury of being able to experiment first season and with my players proving to be better in most areas to the opposition, gave me a bit of extra freedom to take risks. I'm happy with our system currently but time will tell if i need to restrain the expansive style against the Top division sides. We ideally like to win possession back in the middle of park, as we all would, and quickly apply get the ball forward. Quite a few players are free roaming as i want us spreading space as often as we can. My defensive line has been able to cope physically for the quality i've faced domestically so far, so i'll continue until i have probems. Our two biggest providers for assists are Crosses and Through balls, which isn't uncommon, however they're coming from everyone which is most pleasing. Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round Simply outrageous! Quite obvious throughout the first half that we were far from their quality, yet our defence kept them at bay. 75th minute saw our last sub with Nikolic on for Hoxha, but that second goal all but ruined our chances.. or so i thought. Nikolic '88, Thana '90+1, Nikolic '90+3, Nikolic '90+6 Finances Well, winning the league and earning the TV money that comes with being in the top division has provided a welcome boost. I recall us hovering around 150-200k balance when i started. The Europa League prize money always a nice bit of gravy, but once thats over i suspect us to hover. We are not even spending half our wage allowance. The staff wages have jumped up as i filled up our allocation for coaches etc, but its still negligible in my opinion. Transfers In: 20yr old Striker, Luis Kacorri has joined on a free from Italian Serie D side Igea Virtus Barcellona. Provides us another striker option if we get desperate, however the future is what this signing is about. Small outlay if he proves not good enough. Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round Two headers, two goals and we cruise through, controlled the game surprising ease. --------------------------------------------------------- Will post the next part when i continue next, after xmas i guess. We've been drawn with Chornomorets at home first. Thanks for reading and have a great Christmas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vara Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 Had time to sneak in the rest of August while my bub has a sleep. -------------------------------------------------------------------- August - Part 2 Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round Very frustrating result, a very even game really but to throw away a 2 goal lead still hurts. On top of that, Buzi is out for 2 weeks with Concussion. We are committing far more fouls than we used to, which is resulting in a handful of cards, will be interested to see if this trend keeps up in the league. The Super Cup vs Partizani was scheduled for August 31, but due to us both have European commitments it's been moved to the 2nd. Expected end to the campaign although we lasted longer than i planned, so obviously pleased. Well dominated in this game but we were on the sheet yet again. Just shy of £500k in Prize Money plus another £150k in Gate and TV Revenue, so balance is healthy at 1.1m Partizani progressed and are the last Albanian side still in Europe. International Duty Klodian Dervishi has been selected as part of the Albanian u19 setup and John Tetteh part of Ghana's u20's. Nothing exciting about this other than he is my first player to be involved in any Int. level since joining. --------------------------------------------- September - Part One League Expectations As expected, we're not backed to do much this year, with the prediction to go straight back down. Super Cup Really happy with that, they caused us very few problems and our chance creation was great, 6/6 on Target in first half. Nikolic MoM and has now scored 8 goals already in all comps. Now 12 days remain until the League gets underway, we host Kamza first who finished midtable last season. 1 more friendly organised beforehand, at home vs Greek side AS Veroia. Transfer Window has now closed with no more additions, my loan targets all went elsewhere so we'll dig in with what we have. It's a small squad but i feel we have enough depth to cover each position sufficiently. Albanian Superleague Only match rule is a Maximum of 4 foreign players in the starting 11. Only Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia are considered Non-Foreign. We have 5 on the books in Tetteh, Smolovic, Nikolic, Popov and Skafar. Well, I was confident our side was strong and that we would be able to compete well but this was a walk over. 4-0 at HT and 12 shots to 3. Nikolic's 3rd minute opener the pick of the bunch. Albanian Cup I will be rotating the squad heavily throughout the Cup, with each round having 2 legs it'll help keep fringe players fit and hopefully happy. Away to lower division opposition, I always expected us to win. 4 different scorers and 5 different assist providers, we were ruthless. ------------------------------------------ Right, now i must head off for the days festivities, will finish September sometime soon. Have a great day, all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vara Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 September - Part 2 22/9/2018 - Albanian Superleague Dinamo Tirana 6 : Gërxho '3, Peqini '10, Bakiu '58,'78, Nikolic '73,'90+4 : Rexhepi, Thana, Sefgjinaj : NA Teuta 3 : Batha '2,'76, Kame '40 : Sykaj, Mici, Kame, Hodo : NA ATT: 3032 Strange old game this. Conceded 3 due to mistakes and they hit us quick on the counter. They had 3 up front and constantly going direct whenever they could. We coped with it well but as said, the 3 particular goals were due to turn overs in risky areas when we had committed. In saying that, our attack is next level, 6 was generous for them as we could have scored 10. Squad Health Jure Skafar - Tore a calf muscle the day before the match with Teuta and will miss up to 4 months. Julian Gërxho - Twisted ankle early in the second half, will miss approx 3 weeks. Leudan Goga - Out for 6 weeks with an abdominal strain during a weights session. Taulant Sefgjinaj - Suffered Knee Tendonitis and will miss 9-10weeks. Not great to have injuries at any time but to lose the captain and a couple main squad members will stretch us a little. 26/9/2018 - Albanian Superleague Vllaznia 1 : Lika '15 : NA : NA Dinamo Tirana 2 : Hoxha '13, Hyseni '72 : Thana, Smolovic : NA ATT: 6052 Struggled a little breaking them down here but managed to get the upper hand on the counter. Spent some time of this game on the back foot, but soaked up the pressure well. Very pleased with the winning goal, a late run into the box from Hyseni just in time to get on the end of Thana's cross. Another injury unfortunately with Turdiu out for 3 weeks with concussion. 30/9/2018 - Albanian Superleague Kukesi 0 : NA : NA : NA Dinamo Tirana 0 : NA : Lalaj : NA ATT: 271 A pretty dire game for the small crowd to watch. Nothing of note happened before 80 minutes, at which time we went on to hit the post and fluff a clear chance. No injuries though, which is nice. League Table: End of September, delighted at the start to the season we've had, followed on from last season well and can hopefully get through this period of injuries with the lead maintained. In the works on signing an extra wide player to help with the depth, keep you posted on that one. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Let me know you would like to see any specific info in update, back with October soon. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuy600 Posted December 25, 2017 Share Posted December 25, 2017 Now this is a series i've been looking for. Excited to see how far this goes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vara Posted December 26, 2017 Author Share Posted December 26, 2017 11 hours ago, Minuy600 said: Now this is a series i've been looking for. Excited to see how far this goes. Cheers Minuy, hoping to have some quick success for sure! ------------------------------------------------------- October 2018 3/10/2018 - Albanian Cup Dinamo Tirana 2 :Bakiu '16, Nikolic '22 : Dervishi, Thana : NA :NA : Nelaj : NA ATT: 3401 Comfortable second leg in the cup after the 7-0 first leg. Dragged in as many second string as i could to help keep the first team safe. New striker Kacorri got a run for the second half as did 16yr old Blerim Mile. We've drawn another tier 2 in Laçi for Round 2. Transfer In As mentioned earlier, we've made an addition to help with our midfield depth, Erjon Vuçaj, on a free who spend last season at Vllaznia. I did make a mistake in that i forgot i cannot register him until January, however, he's good quality for the league and it means no one else can have him. assigned #23. 6/10/2018 - Albanian Superleague Luftëtari 3 :Gjini '34, Peqini OG '42, Maloku '84 : NA : NA Dinamo Tirana 1 :Nikolic '53 : Buzi, Smolovic : NA ATT: 269 Awful game, we completely ruined any chances in this in the first half. A gift for the opener with a misplaced pass from Dervishi, followed by a nothing cross which Peqini, under no pressure, sliced into our net. We picked up early in the second after i tore shreds, but as we pushed to equalise were caught again. A point would have been fortunate as we didn't deserve any. With a 2 week gap to our next fixture, we've setup a friendly vs Macedonian side FK Makedonija. Turdiu, Gërxho and Goga have all returned to training so they all will feature late on. 21/10/2018 - Albanian Superleague Dinamo Tirana 4 :Nikolic '20,'29,'43, Gërxho '56 : NA : NA Flamurtari 0 :NA : Marku, Baci : NA ATT: 3221 Far improved performance, more like what we've been used to. The match well controlled throughout and barely gave them a sniff. First half hatrick from Nikolic and Captain Gërxho with a goal on his return. 28/10/2018 - Albanian Superleague The derby coming up, vs FK Tirana. We share the stadium and were both promoted from the First Division last season, in different groups. They are the only team with more success than us, with 24 Superleague titals and 16 Albanian Cups since being founded in 1920. Although they have a bigger rivalry with another Tirana side, Partizani, this one has the relevance due to the stadium and our respective history. KF Tirana 2 : Ezequiel '26,'83 : Karabeci : NA Dinamo Tirana 0 : NA : Bakiu, Peqini, Smolovic : NA ATT: 8823 Completely dominated throughout, which was unexpected as we acted completely like an away underdog despite being at the same stadium. But, we were isolated up top and couldn't find enough openings to pressure. On further inspection, this Ezequiel lad looks quality and is on loan from Botafogo. Some pickup for them. 31/10/2018 - Albanian Superleague Skënderbeu 1 : Muzaka PEN '7 : NA : NA Dinamo Tirana 0 : NA : NA : NA ATT: 4710 Very frustrating game, pen conceded which is always annoying, but despite being second best for much of the game we had 3 clear chances in the last 15 which we wasted. Happy with how we played away to the top team, but need to find that edge up front again. we've only won 1/5 away games now and another to come next at Kamza. Thana twisted his ankle in injury time and will be 6 weeks. League Table Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vara Posted December 26, 2017 Author Share Posted December 26, 2017 November 2018 So January will come round in no time, starting to get a few transfer targets together. Looking to add a an extra Right Back and a Striker. I have a 17yr old AMC joining Jan 1 who will sort the depth out there. Spanish regen who I managed to snatch while he was on trial at Kukesi. We also have an aging squad so i will need to consider replacing some of them if we aren't looking capable of winning the title. 4/11/2018 - Albanian Superleague Kamza 2 : Nika '2, Morina '57 : Kuqi, Zefi : NA Dinamo Tirana 5 : Bakiu '51,'55 Pen,'75 Pen,'90+6 Pen, Gërxho '78 : Bakiu, Nikolic : NA ATT: 574 Just the result we needed, first half was poor and Malaj had a nightmare, but after a half time rage at them, they got going. Dominated play, created plenty and wasted a few easy ones. However, we were doing the right things which made us dangerous and got that bit of luck for 3 pens. Bakiu's yellow means he'll be suspended for the next and Elmazi managed to strain ligaments in the days and will miss 3 weeks, so we'll have to fill in the gap for the match v Vllaznia. Which one? hah! 11/11/2018 - Albanian Superleague Dinamo Tirana 2 : Hyseni '34, Marku OG '69 : Smolovic, Peqini : NA Vllaznia 1 : Lika PEN '50 : Goçaj, Lika : NA ATT: 2840 Improvement again on last game, well controlled throughout, limited their space moving forward and they only managed 6 shots with 1on target, being the pen. Our shooting was well off yet again, but we're creating plenty so it should hopefully only be time before someone cops a proper battering. 2 more injuries to manage, Hoxha out for 6 weeks 'kicking a ball', good job. And Dervishi 5-6 weeks after jumping. They make it sound like a comedy act. No game now for 2 weeks so I wont be organising a friendly and instead will try get some players back fit. Reserves & Under 19's One thing i hadn't shared yet was the apparent quality of our Reserve and Youth Sides. Not in terms of player quality, as that looks fairly standard for a club with minimal facilities, however the results have been something else! Reserves this year are so far mid table, but here is 2017/18. and the U19's 2017/18 | 2018/19 24/11/2018 Teuta 4 : LRibaj PEN '8,28,PEN '43, Hila : Hodo : NA Dinamo Tirana 1 : Popov '66 : Buzi : NA ATT: 3072 Well that was complete garbage. Buzi had an absolute mare, conceded 2 pens, carded and at fault for Ribaj's other goal too. Subbed at HT but damage was done. Poor performances from many but we're a bit light on versatility with all the injuries so not much impact was made from the bench. Desperately need my key lads back. 28/11/2018 - Albanian Superleague Dinamo Tirana 1 : Bakiu '29 : Hyseni, Turdiu : NA Kukësi 1 : Jefferson '25 : Liçaj, Jonuzi : NA ATT: 2641 Disappointed by this result as we have been relying on our home form to keep us in contention. Although as you'll see below they're no mugs and can be satisfied knowing that we didn't lose much ground as on FK Tirana won of those above us. League Table --------------------------------------------- Still have to be happy overall, if we can win our game in hand we can be back in second and then need to try find a way to slow down Skenderbeu. Have to rediscover our scoring ability and most of all, solve our away day woes, which i know where the issues are, just a matter of getting the fix across. Finally, we're not having a good run with injuries and can hopefully get some stability back in the squad by end of year. That along with some additions in January can help us progress. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vara Posted December 27, 2017 Author Share Posted December 27, 2017 December December is a massively important month now, 6 league games, 4 of which are at home and then followed by a 3 week break before a couple fixtures at the end of Jan. We're having a few of the injuries now close to a return to training so we'll look a bit healthier by midway through the month. 2/12/2018 - Albanian Superleague Partizani 1 :Progni '49 : Tafa : NA Dinamo Tirana 2 :Bakiu PEN '14, Nikolic '73 : Malaj : NA ATT: 3753 Very handy and somewhat fortunate win against our lesser rivals. Started very well and earned the pen with some nice play. Then we were pegged back for much of the next hour which saw them equaliser shortly after the half. Rexhepi's clearance/long through ball found Niko late on and gave us a rare away win. 5/12/2018 - Albanian Cup Laçi 2 :Idrizaj '28,'32 : Boiro, Berisha : NA Dinamo Tirana 1 :Vuçaj '25 : NA : NA ATT: 859 Really disappointing performance, Vuçaj gave us the lead only for us to get hit by 2 long ball in quick succession. Wasteful and never looked capable of getting the upper hand. The only positive was Vuçaj scoring on debut, no registration required for cup games but he should be an asset for us coming off the wing. Malaj copped a knock but should only miss a few days and maybe the next match. 8/12/2018 - Albanian Superleague Dinamo Tirana 2 :Nikolic '20, Thana '34 : Hyseni, Sefgjinaj : NA Luftëtari 0 :NA : Aleksi : NA ATT: 2930 Much better performance with our stronger 11 out there, controlled throughout and got revenge after we crumbled against them last time. Rexhepi had a day out at wing back creating a handful of chances and assisting both goals, deservedly man of the match. 12/12/2018 - Albanian Superleague Flamurtari 0 :NA : NA : NA Dinamo Tirana 4 :Bakiu '17, Gërxho '28,'71, Nikolic '33 : Dervishi : NA ATT: 886 Games are coming thick and fast this time of year, but we're coping well. We do enjoy putting 4 past this mob. Clinical display and 10pts from possible 12 in our last 4 which is great improvement. Hoxha has returned to training and will have a run for the reserves soon, will be great to have him as another option as Nikolic as been playing non-stop. 16/12/2018 - Albanian Superleague Dinamo Tirana 1 :Gërxho '65 : Peqini : NA KF Tirana 1 :Ezequiel '16 : NA : NA ATT: 8595 Far better performance in the derby this time around, unfortunate to concede against the run of play early, Ezequiel once again proving to be a pain for us. We carried on and always looked capable of scoring, the captain getting us a deserved goal but unfortunately we couldn't find a winner. 19/12/2018 - Albanian Cup Dinamo Tirana 3 :Lalaj '18,'38, Turdiu '59 : Buzi : NA Laçi 3 :Idrizaj '10,'22, Çela '28 : Sahiti, Boiro : NA ATT: 3287 Well cup campaign has ended, fairly early in just the second round. We relied on the fringe players and it cost us, not that i mind too much as it's not a priority but we should have still been better. Idrizaj yet again catching us out with movement in behind for that ball over the top. Lalaj looks class and i'm very much looking forward to getting him registered in a couple weeks. We had 13 of our 17 shots on target to which gives you an idea of our wastage, Nikolic and Lalaj both with 5/5, striker especially has to do better. Squad Health Skafar has just returned to training after 3 months out so he will be eased back into matches. Hoxha made his return to the reserves against KF Tirana but sadly had a relapse of his injury and will miss another 3 weeks. We'll hopefully see him back after the January break. Dervishi has also returned after 4 weeks out. Selman Stërmasi In case you were wondering, this is where we play. Built in 1956 (not 1946 as FM states) it has a capacity of 12,724 but after renovations in 2014 now has a full seated capacity of 9,500. It is now owned by KF Tirana and we rent it from them, Partizani had also used the stadium previously. It is named after KF Tirana legend, Selman Stërmasi who played a major part in their history. 23/12/2018 - Albanian Superleague Dinamo Tirana 2 :Hyseni '43, Smolovic '79 : NA : NA Skënderbeu 1 :Gavazaj '23 : NA : NA ATT: 3127 Outstanding win to come from behind, they are by far the best team in this league and have multiple International players in the side. Their striker Adeniyi was identified early as a threat and we did well to mark him out the game but they have enough threat elsewhere that they still found the net. We pushed on from there, Hyseni scoring this peach right before the half. We weren't troubled too much in the second half and got a deserved winner on the break, Bakiu finding Smolovic who's initial shot was saved by he was able to stab home the rebound. 26/12/2018 - Albanian Superleague Dinamo Tirana 1 :Gërxho '71 : NA : NA Partizani 0 :NA : Batha, Ibrahimi, Biracaj, Cekici : NA ATT: 5007 Fantastic end to the month, although we controlled the match they were tough to break down and disrupted play with a lot of fouls. Took a scrambled finish off a corner to get us the points. League Table Unbeaten in 7 in the league and following the great result against Skenderbeu keeps us within sight of them. With 2 winnable games in January against Kamza and Vllaznia, while they have KF Tirana and Kamza, we can hopefully find ourselves within 1 games of them. But it's only the half way point so i shouldnt get too carried away. January means we can look at strengthening, i'm expecting big things from Vucaj and if i can secure the other areas i wanted we'll be in good shape. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vara Posted December 27, 2017 Author Share Posted December 27, 2017 January - February 2019 Player Profile - Erjon Vuçaj With the January window now open, we can register Vuçaj who has been limited to Reserves and Cup football during his time so far. 28yr old Left footed AMC/L who's career hasn't taken him outside Albania at club level but has plenty of experience with over 200 appearances. Spent much of his career at Laçi playing 130 games for them and spent single seasons are various clubs since. Erjon has also been capped at U21 level on 8 occasions, making his debut is 2010. He was called up to the first team in 2012 for a friendly v Moldova but was an unused substitute. He will operate on the left wing for us and be a long term replacement for aging captain, Gërxho, who at 33 doesn't have the physical attributes required. Ins: Also now making his move is 18yr old Sebastián Sola. Spanish AMC who looks to have plenty of ability and can hopefully be a replacement for both Bakiu and Elmazi soon as both are 31. We were fortunate to snatch him while trialing at Kukesi. We're still on the look out for a RB, affordable pickings within Albania are slim so i've got our scouts looking at Italy, Bulgaria and Croatia. Final bit of transfer news, we've secured the signing of Asjon Daja from Partizani for next season. 28yr old DM who will imrpove our depth and is also Home Grown. With 3 weeks between our league matches, I organised a hit out vs Laci a week prior to the match v Kamza. Everyones Match Fitness back to where it needs to be and a little morale boost after they stuffed us in the cup. 20/1/2019 - Albanian Superleague Dinamo Tirana 2 :Thana '53, Bakiu '56 : Dervishi : NA Kamza 0 :NA : Doka : NA ATT: 3238 Took us until the second half to put them away but we were well in control of this match throughout. Thana's effort a bit of quality, curling one in from outside the box on his weaker foot. Lalaj picked up a foot injury late and will miss 3-4 weeks 27/1/2019 - Albanian Superleague Vllaznia 0 :NA : NA : NA Dinamo Tirana 1 :Hyseni '65 : Sefgjinaj : NA ATT: 5350 Probably the finest defensive display i've seen performed in my FM time. They were rampant, threw absolutely everything at us, including the kitchen sink. We absorbed the lot. Discipline was spot on, shape was exactly what i wanted too. This hasn't been written yet but I've been giving a bit more variation to the setups, not necessarily the formation but roles and instructions. Sure, this probably sounds like standard practice to most but i hadn't needed to change much first season, nor did i have a squad i was confident of getting much from, outside the basics. However, due to our inconsistent away form I decided the time was right around the turn of the year to see what little bits extra i could get. This may come with a little less flare and explosiveness up front, but i would rather win 1 or 2-0 in stead of 6-4 and 4-3 etc. although we weren't doing either on the road earlier on. As for our goal, Hyseni has hit another bomb from outside the box, similar to that against Skenderbeu, we only managed 6 attempts but when these fly in they're a bit special. Deadline day inclusion: We've managed to find a Right Back, from our Italy search. Cristiano Spirito on a free from Prato. 27yr old who is product of Lazio and has done the rounds at various lower league clubs. Provides good support to Rexhepi and I the hope is he will take over the role before seasons end. 2/2/2019 - Albanian Superleague Dinamo Tirana 2 :Hyseni '49, 'Hoxha '88 : Malaj, Smolovic : NA Teuta 1 :Ribaj '65 : Mici : NA ATT: 3228 Very happy with this win, we probably made it a little hard for ourselves as we were poor in the final third, however I had set us up to try nullify the flat 3 they had up front, which put 4 past us last time. It worked well enough, had 2 of the strikers at 6 rating and Ribaj and 6.9 with his goal. Skenderbeu have drawn 0-0 with Vllaznia so we have closed the gap to 3 points. 10/2/2019 - Albanian Superleague Kukesi 1 :Danilo '78 : NA : NA Dinamo Tirana 1 :Hyseni '13 : NA : NA ATT: 251 3rd vs 2nd here and it was very tough. I've set up similar to the Teuta match after we took the lead, 3 in a row for Hyseni, although we were on the back foot for majority of the match they weren't threatening/ 71st minute we had the chance to put it away with a penalty but Bakiu blasted straight at the keeper, he 6/6 til now, typical. Then shortly after they catch us out at far post and equalise. Still a good result though. Skenderbeu won but they've got Kukesi next so dropped points there would be ideal. 17/2/2019 - Albanian Superleague Dinamo Tirana 1 :Hyseni '84 : NA : NA Partizani 0 :NA : Progni : NA ATT: 4788 Hyseni!! This lad does not miss, which is fantastic because we're relying on him at the moment. Really good performance here and a thoroughly deserved goal, couldn't break them down in open play but if a ball in knocked down for Hyseni in his current form he'll bury it. Skenderbeu drew 0-0 with Kukesi which gets us back to 3 points. 24/2/2019 - Albanian Superleague Luftëtari 0 :NA : Aleksi : NA Dinamo Tirana 1 :Vuçaj '10 : Dervishi, Smolovic : NA ATT: 254 So, going into this game we knew Skenderbeu had lost the day before, 3pts would see us top for the first time. 3rd away game since turn of year and yet to be defeated, only conceded once too which is great. We're creating enough to put the games to bed but we unfortunately can't always score. Nikolic did make his first start since returning from injury here so that will hopefully give us that bit of extra up top. Great to see Vuçaj bag his first league goal too. Dervishi suspended for next match with that yellow. League Table Absolutely phenomenal period has us challenging Skenderbeu, delighted as they have a far higher quality squad with several International players. A tough little spell coming up, home vs Flamurtari next followed by 3 away games which includes Skenderbeu and KF Tirana. 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