[FM18] Brescia was just the beginning - Lucescu's legacy

[IL Luce]

Season VII 2023/2024

 

We need to wait a little bit longer to move into our new home.

 

“Nice” …another loan. At least he invested in our youth facilities without asking him.

 

Commercial Summary:

 

Season expectations & preview:

Old board expectations. I don’t know what the new one want.

And for the first time a top 3 expectation.

 

Transfers:

Unfortunately, we lost some key players this season cuz they wanted a move and I couldn’t change their minds. 

1. Alessandro Plizzari: With Audero move, I needed quickly a very good replacement. I may have spent a little bit too much but with Wolfsburg interested in him I didn’t want to lose him.
2. Nikola Milenkovic: Transfer listed by Chelsea, I wanted a much more solid defender this year.
3. Alessandro Bastoni: He is not Hubnik but I think he will help us a lot this season.
4. Davide Bettella: Transfer listed by Inter, I never refuse a bargain and I think he have some very good potential too.
5. Tomas Strnad: I’m really amazed how many good regens Czech Republic produce. He will be a backup but I expect to develop nicely.

 

The biggest departures:  Hubnik, Audero and Achraf. Achraf’s offer was too good to refuse especially cuz we signed him for free and it is a big profit but also because of his very poor natural fitness. Audero was upset cuz I refused a Bayern offer for him and I needed to sell him and Hubnik demanded a move to City. 

 

Squad:

 

Top key players:

Moussa Sylla; Florinel Coman; Nikola Milenkovic

 

First eleven:

 

Friendly and August fixtures:

 

Champions League:

It will be very very tough this season.

 

September & October fixtures:

[IL Luce]

 

 

September & October fixtures:

• Champions League

I forgot to post this. This is why Udinese is in the CL this season.

 

We will fight till the end.

 

• Serie A

I’m glad that we continue with our last season good form and we don’t encounter any “second season syndrome” so far.

I played around with the mezzala role and in the end, I changed the RPM into a Mezzala. It seems that we play much better this way.

 

Match of the month:

 

League table:

It's way to early but I like how the league table look right now.

 

November & December fixtures:

[DavidBeckham]

9 wins outta 9, smashing it so far mate! KUTGW! 

[IL Luce]

9 hours ago, DavidBeckham said:

9 wins outta 9, smashing it so far mate! KUTGW! 

We are having a great season so far. TY!

[IL Luce]

 

Welcome to our new Stadium.

 

November & December fixtures:

• Champions League

Yes, we did it. With some luck, but we did it.

 

 

Oh c'mon, City again?

 

• UEFA Youth League

I’m really proud of my kids, even if they are awful.

 

• Serie A & TIM Cup

Unfortunately, we are not in TIM Cup anymore. I throw in the Avellino game all my backups and they heavily disappointed me.

 

Match of the month:

 

We taught Juventus a precious lesson. Don't mess with us this season.

 

League table:

 

January & February fixtures:

[IL Luce]

 

January Transfers:

3 in, 4 out and a lot of money involved:

1. Diego Batista: With Cataldi long term injury and cuz of his age and skills that started to fall, I needed a new player for the mezzala role. I activated his release clause cuz Benfica didn’t want to sell.
2. Aitor Gonzalez: Another young player for the mezzala role, another release clause activated. He will be a backup for now.
3. Martin Odegaard: Our new transfer record and new wide playmaker. In searching for a backup I decided to buy him as a key player. Now we have 2 very good WPs.

 

January & February fixtures:

• Champions League

REVENGE!!!

 

• Serie A

Our amazing form continues.

 

Match of the month:

 

League table:

 

March & April fixtures:

[Urbiscuit18]

On ‎2018‎-‎02‎-‎27 at 21:14, IL Luce said:

Another year, another “amazing youth intake”.

Have you been upgrading your junior coaching as well as your youth recruitment? 

[IL Luce]

3 hours ago, Urbiscuit18 said:

Have you been upgrading your junior coaching as well as your youth recruitment? 

As a big noob that I am, it seems that not. I only upgraded the facilities.

So that was my problem, thanks for pointing me that.

[IL Luce]

• Youth Intake

 

There's no point in saying anything about this year youth intake but thanks to @Urbiscuit18 now we upgraded our junior coaching and youth recruitment.

 

• Champions League

 

We managed to pass City and we will meet Arsene Wenger's Barcelona. Another year in the Quarter Finals for us.

 

And we are already qualified for the next season CL.

 

• UEFA Youth League

Quarter Finals for our kids too. Good job, kids. 

[DavidBeckham]

Congrats for getting past Man City! Barcelona should be easier, since Wenger is in charge now   

[IL Luce]

14 hours ago, DavidBeckham said:

Congrats for getting past Man City! Barcelona should be easier, since Wenger is in charge now   

Unfortunately, even with Wenger, they managed to smash us.

[IL Luce]

 

It took us some years but eventually we managed to win it. I’m really pleased how our team evolve over time. I didn’t want just to win the league, I wanted to outrank Juventus too and this season they couldn’t take any result against us. It was our season from every point of view. The only regret is that I couldn’t have more Romanian players in my squad like in our past seasons.

 

March & April fixtures:

• Champions League

Wenger played his 3 at the back tactic and unfortunately smashed our 442.

 

• UEFA Youth League

 

• Serie A

 

Match of the month:

 

League table:

 

May fixtures, the end: 

[john1]

Superb season!! 

 

Are you going to stay with Brescia until you win Champions League?

[Vélodrome]

That's some impressive defending. Possible to get to see the table with your full goal difference? Congratulations on your title. 

[IL Luce]

On 08/03/2018 at 02:28, john1 said:

Superb season!! 

 

Are you going to stay with Brescia until you win Champions League?

You got me, John. I lost my interest a little bit into the save and with the 18.3.1 out, I want a new challenge. I may start a new save or I will continue with this one, I’m not sure for now. I will wait for claassens’s update and decide then.

 

On 08/03/2018 at 23:19, Vélodrome said:

That's some impressive defending. Possible to get to see the table with your full goal difference? Congratulations on your title. 

Thanks. I will post the end of the season with detailed table in a minute.

[IL Luce]

 

 

May fixtures:

 

Match of the month:

 

League table:

 

TIM Cup:

 

Top key players this season:

 

1. Florinel Coman: 48% shots on target ratio; 2.04 shots on target; 41% headers won ratio; 77% pass completion ratio, 26.49 passes completed; 26 goals; 15 assists and an average rating of 7.51.
2. Federico Bonazzoli: The biggest surprise this season. 57% shots on target ratio; 2.50 shots on target; 48% headers won ratio; 80% pass completion ratio, 28.00 passes completed; 25 goals; 6 assists and an average rating of 7.50.
3. Mousa Sylla: 14.7km distance/90; 3.22 dribble made; 78% pass completion ratio, 44.11 passes completed; 12 assists; 12 goals and an average rating of 7.47.

 

Young prospects:

1. Jiri Nemec
2. Tomas Strnad
3. Maicol Delogu
4. Sergiu Mihai
5. Aitor Gonzalez

 

Under 20 League table:

 

Under 18 League table:

 

Tactics:

I didn’t play so much with our low block this season, I only played with this one and changed the mentality based on opponents. 

 

Board confidence & budgets:

 

Finances:

 

Europa League & Champions League

 

Unfortunately, a lot of players want a move and because of that a squad rebuild is needed.

 

Season         League             League Finish                     Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017/2018       Serie B                 1st             Promoted, Champions
2018/2019       Serie A                 8th             Europa League Qualification
2019/2020       Serie A                 5th             Europa League First Knockout Round
2020/2021       Serie A                 6th             TIM Cup Winners, Europa League First Knockout Round
2021/2022       Serie A                 3rd             Supercoppa, Europa League First Knockout Round, UCL Group Stage Qualification
2022/2023       Serie A                 2nd             UCL Quarter Final
2023/2024       Serie A                 1st             Champions, UCL Quarter Final

 

[IL Luce]

Season VIII 2024/2025

 

This time I didn’t refuse.

 

Commercial Summary:

Glad that the board paid all the clubs debts.

 

Season expectations & preview:

 

Transfers:

 

A lot of players left us this season:

1. Florentino Luis: I made a mistake here. I offered him a key player status but at the end of transfer window I found someone much better then him. He will be a backup.
2. Adrien Bongiovanni: With Sylla departure, he will be our new Inverted Winger.
3. Nestor Selles: I will play him as an inverted winger and will be Bongiovanni’s backup.
4. Rune Dumont: I renewed our entire left flank. A very good young player who will be our key DL.
5. Luca Pellegrini: He will be Dumont’s backup.
6. Antonio Tagliaferri: He took Luis’s place in the first eleven. Became unhappy at Roma in the last days of transfer window; it was stupid not to bring him in.

 

The biggest departures:  Sylla, Coman, Calderon. All of them were unhappy and wanted a move to a bigger club. I lost a lot of money with Coman's transfer, but I can't keep players that don't want to play at our club anymore. A very bad business indeed.

 

Squad:

 

First eleven:

I think that our young strikers Mihai, Delogu and Colombarini have developed enough to prove a point this season. Bonazzoli will help them in attack.

 

Friendly and August fixtures:

 

Match of the month:

Unfortunately, we started our campaign with a very disappointed result.

 

Champions League:

Unfortunately, we lost an UCL spot from this year. It’s a must to finish in top 2.

 

We will travel to Romania this season.

 

Squadra Azzurra:

 

 

The last manager in charge was Sarri and he played his 41221 tactic. I have no intention in playing a 41221 cuz I want to go back to our origins and try to develop some 3 at the back tactics. 

We will start from those. 532 in defense – 352 in attack.

 

September & October fixtures:

[IL Luce]

 

September & October fixtures:

• Champions League

 

• Serie A 

 

Match of the month:

 

League table:

With Conte’s departure at Leipzig, it seems that Juve is struggling this season. Their new manager is Jair Ventura, a must signing assistant manager for me in the past versions.

 

Squadra Azzurra:

 

 

 

November & December fixtures: 

[IL Luce]

 

 

November & December fixtures:

• Champions League

Undefeated in our group. I’m really satisfied by our CL form this season. Amazing results so far.

 

 

• UEFA Youth League

 

• Serie A

 

Match of the month:

The Chelsea and Milan games were definitely our key games these months, but Torino game was just insane. One goal in the last minute and 3 in the extra time. Crazy game.

 

League table:

 

Squadra Azzurra:

 

I changed the tactic. We have some amazing wide players and it's a pity not to use them. We will still play with 3 at the back but in Conte’s way.

 

 

 

 

The next fixture is in March. We will focus on Brescia till then.

 

January & February fixtures: 

[IL Luce]

 

January transfers:

1 in and 1 very important player out:

1. Tomas Counago: He is our player since September.  Transfer listed by Real and predicted to be a top scorer for them in CL (actually this is how I found him), it was a must to buy him. He already proved a point, scoring 11 goals in 9 apps for us and I expect him to continue like this.

 

The biggest departure: Nikola Milenkovic. We lost our key defender. He wanted a bigger contract, that eventually I gave him but, in the end, he rejected it and wanted a move. I didn’t reinvest the money cuz I decided to recall Hromada from Genoa and gave him and other players a chance. Loaned at the beginning of the season to Genoa, he was pretty solid for them, playing in 20 games with an average rating of 7.16.

 

January & February fixtures:

• Champions League

 

• Serie A & TIM Cup

 

Match of the month:

 

League table:

With Donnarumma, Romagnoli, van de Beek, Moise Kean and Marcelino as their manager, Milan is looking pretty good this season. 

Juventus with Jair Ventura is back on business also, undefeated since December.

 

March & April fixtures: 

[IL Luce]

• Youth intake:

Even worse than the last year but, even so, I signed with some of them to refresh my U18.

 

• Champions League:

 

[IL Luce]

 

 

Goodbye Juve’s supremacy, there’s a new king in town. It was a must to win it again this season, to prove that the last season was not a “one season miracle”. We created a legacy for the next years to come and so far, we are looking unstoppable in the league.

 

March & April fixtures:

• Champions League

 

• UEFA Youth League

 

• Serie A

 

Match of the month:

 

League table:

Beside the CL disappointment, we had two seasons in a row in which we totally dominated the Serie A.

 

Squadra Azzurra:

 

 

 

May fixtures, the end: 

[IL Luce]

 

 

May fixtures:

 

Match of the month:

 

League table:

 

TIM Cup:

 

Top key players this season:

1. Adrien Bongiovanni: 14.6km distance/90; 2.51 dribble made; 78% pass completion ratio, 42.76 passes completed; 15 assists; 16 goals and an average rating of 7.93.
2. Sergiu Mihai: 51% shots on target ratio; 2.13 shots on target; 35% headers won ratio; 83% pass completion ratio, 27.49 passes completed; 21 goals; 15 assists and an average rating of 7.59.
3. Antonio Tagliaferri: 80% tackle completion ratio; 6.64 tackle won; 66% headers won ratio; 43 interceptions; 91% pass completion ratio; 54.89 passes completed and an average rating of 7.19.

 

Young prospects:

1. Tomas Counago
2. Jiri Nemec
3. Tomas Strnad
4. Maicol Delogu
5. Aitor Gonzalez

 

Under 20 League table:

 

Under 18 League table:

 

Tactics & first eleven:

 

Board confidence & budgets:

 

Finances:

 

Europa League & Champions League

 

 

Season         League             League Finish                     Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017/2018       Serie B                 1st             Promoted, Champions
2018/2019       Serie A                 8th             Europa League Qualification
2019/2020       Serie A                 5th             Europa League First Knockout Round
2020/2021       Serie A                 6th             TIM Cup Winners, Europa League First Knockout Round
2021/2022       Serie A                 3rd             Supercoppa, Europa League First Knockout Round, UCL Group Stage Qualification
2022/2023       Serie A                 2nd             UCL Quarter Final
2023/2024       Serie A                 1st             Champions, UCL Quarter Final
2024/2025       Serie A                 1st             Champions, UCL First Knockout Round

[IL Luce]

UPDATE

 

 

I’ve been thinking a lot lately if this will be just one club career or I’ll be moving around to different clubs and eventually I’ve decided to follow Lucescu’s career path. Brescia is in a point where can easily win the league in every year…yes it would have been nice to win more TIM Cups and maybe a Champions League trophy but 8 years in charge I think is enough.

 

After Brescia, Lucescu went to Reggiana ---> Rapid Bucharest ---> Internazionale ---> Rapid Bucharest. I have no intention in managing another team in Italy and is not time yet to go in Romania. I will let Romanian league at the end as a “returning home”.

 

After Italy and Rapid period, Lucescu went to…. Turkey, managing Galatasaray from 2000 to 2002, winning UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid, qualifying to the quarter-finals in the UEFA Champions League in the 2000–2001 season and winning the league in the 2001-2002 season. Despite winning the league, Lucescu was sacked at the end of the season being replaced by Fatih Terim.

Shortly after Galata, he signed a contract with rivals Besiktas from 2002 to 2004 and helped them wining the league in 2003, in their centenary year.  

 

As you may notice, my next destination will be Turkey and the next club will be Galatasaray or Besiktas, but looking at the past winners

it seems that Besiktas didn't win the league for 5 years and it may be my first option.

I will resign from Brescia and Italy, I will load the Turkish league and I will apply to Besiktas or Galata. If they already have a manager I will wait and go on holiday till the post will be vacant. If they will refuse me, I will take any Turkish club that want me.

 

The career path that I want to follow will be:

Italy (Brescia) ---> Turkey (Besiktas or Galatasaray) ---> Ukraine (Shakhtar Donetsk); ---> Russia (Zenit); ---> Romania (Dinamo Bucharest)

 

I will try to beat him and be first in Romanian Hall of Fame.

[IL Luce]

 

Well…this was quick. A lot of teams in Turkey were without managers and among them Galatasaray and Besiktas.

 

I applied for both of them and managed to get an interview

 

And eventually both of them offered me the job

 

I accepted the Besiktas offer cuz is more of a challenge. They didn’t win the league for 5 years, they have a pretty old squad that need to be rebuild and most important they have better training and youth facilities than Galata. I could have accepted Galatasaray job, won the league and then moved on but I don’t want this. I want to stay at least 3 seasons in Turkey and build a team as I like and I think Besiktas is the club where I can do this because there is no rush from my board in winning the league.

 

Brescia:

I will update from time to time what is happening at Brescia. It seems that I left Brescia in good hands.

 

In the next post we will be analyzing our squad, finances and what transfers my board made, because they signed with 2 players before I arrived here. As an idea: they are old.

[IL Luce]

 

Some Wikipedia history

Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü (Beşiktaş Gymnastics Club), also known simply as Beşiktaş, is a Turkish multi-sport club founded in 1903, and based in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey.

The club's football team is one of the most successful teams in Turkey, having never been relegated to a lower division. The club won the most recent Turkish Süper Lig championship, during the 2016–17 season.

The home ground of Beşiktaş is Vodafone Park, a 41,903 capacity all-seater stadium located next to Dolmabahçe Palace.

The club also competes in other branches including basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics, boxing, wrestling, chess, bridge, gymnastics, rowing, table tennis, paralympic sports, eSports, and beach football.

 

Legend of the Black Eagles

There is a legend surrounding the nicknaming of the team as "The Black Eagles". Beşiktaş, the title holder of the previous two seasons, started the 1940–41 season with a young and renewed team. As the weeks went by, the team had built up a sizeable lead at the top of the league table. With five weeks remaining in the season, the opponent was Süleymaniye. The team went ahead in the first half. Midway through the second half of the game, Beşiktaş attacked continuously, despite being in front. And then, according to legend, a voice was heard from the stands towards which Beşiktaş was attacking. The voice said, "Come on, Black Eagles! Attack, Black Eagles!" The story goes that the owner of the voice from the stands was a fisherman called Mehmet Galin. Beşiktaş finished the game with a 6–0 win. The Beşiktaş players, who had very successfully defeated their opponents that season, were being described as "Black Eagles", and the football they played was being compared to "Attacking like Black Eagles". The comparison resonated with the team and the fans, and so it was adopted by the Beşiktaş community as their team's nickname.

 

Besiktas under Lucescu

Shortly after his departure from Galatasaray, in June 2002 he signed a contract with rivals Beşiktaş. It was a very important season for Beşiktaş since, in 2003, the reputable Turkish club was celebrating its 100th year since its foundation. They won the Turkish title, having only one loss and collecting 85 points – a record points tally in the Süper Lig in a single season.

The 2003–04 season started well for Lucescu and Beşiktaş. The team could not qualify from a difficult Champions League group but was able to get a ticket to the UEFA Cup by holding the third position in its group – only to be knocked out by Valencia, who eventually went on to win the competition. At the beginning of the second half of the 2003–04 Süper Lig season, Beşiktaş were in first position and eight points ahead of their rivals Fenerbahçe, who were in second. On 25 January 2004, Beşiktaş played against Samsunspor at home, where referee Cem Papila showed five red cards to Beşiktaş players. After this match, the team's performance declined drastically, and Lucescu could not stop the decline. He blamed the Turkish Football Federation for one-sided decisions by the referees. After a disastrous second half, Lucescu decided to leave Turkey claiming that his championship was stolen.

 

 

Finances & Board transfers:

Toto, we’re not in Brescia anymore, but even so the finances are looking pretty good. We have 9M to spend but my board decided to overspend my wage budget for two “very young players for the future” that I will show you later. The transfers were made before I arrived.

 

This is one of the downside of not adding the league from the beginning of the save. Besiktas was without a manager since 2019.

 

Squad & Dynamics:

 

At a first look, we desperately need a Turkish goalkeeper because the league rule says to have at least one Turkish GK in the match squad.

As I said, the squad is pretty old and I have a lot of work to do, but I will not change it entirely from the first year. Let’s analyze position by position who’s gonna be the players in which I can rely on this season:

 

Goalkeeper

Silviu Lung: He is 36 years old and he’s not agile anymore but his goalkeeper attributes are still pretty amazing. He’s unhappy and want to return to Romania, but maybe after the holiday he will drop his concerns.

 

Defenders

Bjorn Engels and Guillermo Maripan are looking pretty solid.

 

Fullbacks

Orhan Dili and DeAndre Yedlin.

Our DL position is secure but the DR is a concern. DeAndre Yedlin was signed by the board, I really don’t like him but I can’t do anything right now. His speed is looking amazing but beside that he can’t offer nothing special. I need to buy a more solid DR.

 

Midfielders:

Fatih Kutlu: One of our best players. He is mainly a playmaker but with his amazing speed, dribbling, bravery and work rate he looks more of a Mezzala for me.

Necip Huysal: even if he is 34 years old and slow his defensive skills are looking pretty good. I think he’s gonna helps us one more season.

Robin Yalcin: Another old and slow player but also like Huysal, his defensive skills are looking good and he can pass the ball also.

I need to find some backups for these guys.

 

Wingers:

Sinan Gumus and Bright Edomwonyi.

Unfortunately, our wingers are awful. Some old and slow or some fast but without anything special.

 

Attacking Midfielders:

Dejan Meleg and Deniz Turuc.

They are slow but they are pretty creative. Deniz Turuc was brought by the board. As a backup, he may be good for this year.

 

Strikers:

Hakan Ulusoy and Mehmet Taskin.

Hakan Ulusoy: What an unbelievable striker! I think he's the best player that I saw in fm18 so far. It will be a challenge to keep him in Turkey.

Having 2 amazing strikers, a tactic in which I can play them both is a must.

 

We have a very big problem in our wide midfield area, the players are just not good enough. If I’m gonna play with wingers I need to buy 4 of them, besides that, I also need to cover some other key positions like GK, DR, MC, and that will gonna cost me a lot of money.

In conclusion, because of that, Besiktas will gonna play a 4312 under my command (at least this season). I’m not a fan of it but I prefer to spend money on positions that I really need right now.

 

I have one month and 5 friendly games at my disposal to find and bring in the missing puzzle pieces and tweak the tactic before our first CL game.

[JD nawrat]

Just read this whole thread, fantastic stuff. Did not see Besiktas as a destination on Page 2! Good luck, I'll continue to follow this

[Marius_R]

On 3/17/2018 at 04:23, IL Luce said:

 

Besiktas under Lucescu

Shortly after his departure from Galatasaray, in June 2002 he signed a contract with rivals Beşiktaş. It was a very important season for Beşiktaş since, in 2003, the reputable Turkish club was celebrating its 100th year since its foundation. They won the Turkish title, having only one loss and collecting 85 points – a record points tally in the Süper Lig in a single season.

The 2003–04 season started well for Lucescu and Beşiktaş. The team could not qualify from a difficult Champions League group but was able to get a ticket to the UEFA Cup by holding the third position in its group – only to be knocked out by Valencia, who eventually went on to win the competition. At the beginning of the second half of the 2003–04 Süper Lig season, Beşiktaş were in first position and eight points ahead of their rivals Fenerbahçe, who were in second. On 25 January 2004, Beşiktaş played against Samsunspor at home, where referee Cem Papila showed five red cards to Beşiktaş players. After this match, the team's performance declined drastically, and Lucescu could not stop the decline. He blamed the Turkish Football Federation for one-sided decisions by the referees. After a disastrous second half, Lucescu decided to leave Turkey claiming that his championship was stolen.

Typical Lucescu, always someone else`s fault. 

You`ve done a great job with Brescia, it`s a shame you were unlucky in Europe. Good luck with Besiktas.

[IL Luce]

On 17/03/2018 at 19:46, JDownie said:

Just read this whole thread, fantastic stuff. Did not see Besiktas as a destination on Page 2! Good luck, I'll continue to follow this

Thanks. Yes, sorry about that, I need to update the thread a little bit. My first intention was to manage only Brescia but, here I am.

 

11 hours ago, Marius_R said:

Typical Lucescu, always someone else`s fault. 

You`ve done a great job with Brescia, it`s a shame you were unlucky in Europe. Good luck with Besiktas.

Thanks.

[john1]

Good luck in Turkey   

[JD nawrat]

2 hours ago, IL Luce said:

Thanks. Yes, sorry about that, I need to update the thread a little bit. My first intention was to manage only Brescia but, here I am.

 

Thanks.

Don't apologise, it was a good surprise!

[IL Luce]

5 hours ago, john1 said:

Good luck in Turkey   

Thank you Johny.

 

5 hours ago, JDownie said:

Don't apologise, it was a good surprise!

Glad to hear that.

[IL Luce]

Season I 2025/2026

 

Season expectations & preview:

 

Transfers:

Quote

Once players reach full maturity – at 32, 33 – they've developed their own ways and it can be difficult for them to accept new things, new ideas. That is why I enjoy working with the young ones. (M.Lucescu)

 

1. Alpaslan Sevim: With only 3 actually CDs in my squad I needed one more. I activated his release clause mainly because he is a Turkish player and can help us also with the league registration.
2. Franco Luna: He’s the DR that I was looking for: young, defensive solid. His acceleration is a concern but we’ll be working at it.
3. Vedran Vidovic: A more fast and strong defensive midfielder. He’s gonna take Uysal’s place in the first eleven.
4. Keane Davidson: I may throw him in the first eleven as well. A bargain that I really like.
5. Alexander Jager: Signed him as a backup for Fatih but I want to exploit his talent at maximum so that, when Fatih will be fit, Jager will play behind my strikers and when he’s not fit or injured, Jager will take his place.

I’m still looking for a Turkish goalkeeper.

 

Squad:

 

Top key players:

• Hakan Ulusoy

 

• Fatih Kutlu

 

• Bjorn Engels

 

Tactics & First eleven:

We’ve gonna start playing like this and see how we can improve the tactic during the season.

 

Financial details:

Houston we've got a problem, we are 256M in debt. And what on Earth is a “gift loan”, can somebody explain to me, cuz right now I’m just thinking that my chairman took a loan and bought him a new fancy car as a gift.

 

Luckily, our sponsorship income is looking good. We produce 28.55M per season and 215.7M in total, so in time we can cover a big part of our debts, but even so I must help the club to pay them.

I have just 3 options, I guess:

1. Selling big: but right now, is not an option because my squad is pretty old and I can’t sell a 32 years player for big money. I have 2-3 players that I can sell big but, as well, not an option right now.
2. Winning as many games as I can: Luckily, in Turkish league there is a prize money for every win and draw and that sound pretty good; 613k per win and 306k per draw. Unfortunately, I don’t think that I will have the same run as at Brescia, at least not now.
3. Champions League: CL is full of money, right? But I need to past two legs to get into groups and it will be very very tough.

 

Friendlies:

 

Champions League:

A very tough fixture. I don’t know where my team is right now. Yes, we had some solid results in our friendlies but are just friendlies.

 

August & September fixtures:

Because Galatasaray have done the double last season and because we finished second, we will play the Super Cup against them. It’s a big chance for a first trophy in Turkey for me.

[davehibb]

Amazing work at Brescia and a nice new chapter in the story!

[john1]

Tough fixtures! Hope you can knock Shakhtar out  

[IL Luce]

7 hours ago, davehibb said:

Amazing work at Brescia and a nice new chapter in the story!

Thanks

 

4 hours ago, john1 said:

Tough fixtures! Hope you can knock Shakhtar out  

After some unlucky periods at Brescia I think it’s time for the game to show me some love.

[IL Luce]

Champions League update:

I was scared for nothing of Shakhtar. It seems that Shakhtar is just a shadow of the past team. Wait for me Shakhtar, wait for me.

 

I played both games with my counter tactic, tried to exploit their slow players. They have an old and slow team; their main striker is still Fereyra at 34 years old. I’m very lucky to have 2 very fast strikers and Hakan, just demolished them, scoring 4 goals in the first game. They managed to defeat us away, but 2 goals were not enough.

 

I was also lucky to avoid Juventus and Porto in the playoffs and we gonna play against Anderlecht. I think we have a very big chance to get into the groups.

 

Super Kupa update:

 

 

Played the game in the same manner, on counter. With Hakan, again in amazing form, we managed to…

...defeat them 2-0 and win the Super Cup, my first trophy in Turkey.

 

• Our first goal came after a corner. Davidson recycled the ball and crossed long into the box. I don’t know how, but Hakan managed to be first on the ball and scored the goal.

 

• The second goal came after a very fast counter. Jager managed to get the ball after a good tackle and passed long to Hakan (nr10), that, with his amazing speed, ran with it into the box and passed to our playmaker who easily scored.

 

2-0 and we let Galatasaray know that it will not be an easy season anymore for them.

 

[john1]

You should be able to get past Anderlecht  

[IL Luce]

 

 

August & September fixtures:

• Champions League:

 

We managed to pass Anderlecht, we have one very tough group and we managed to get an amazing and crazy result so far:

 

 

• Super Lig

 

I have to do something about our leaky defence. Luckily, we are lethal up front. Hakan started to attract attention to clubs like Real and Barcelona and hopefully he will not moan about it cuz I’m not gonna sell him.

 

Match of the month:

Liverpool: 0-3 at half time, Hakan managed to do the impossible scoring 4 goals again. 

 

League table:

 

October & November fixtures: 

It seems that October will be a tough month with full of derbys and tough games.

[IL Luce]

 

 

Long time no see and I apologies about that. Because of that, I quickly played the entire season. Here is how was my first season in charge at Besiktas:

 

• Champions League

 

• Spor Toto Super Lig

 

• Turkiye Kupasi

 

League table:

Unfortunately, I didn’t escape from the “last fixtures of the season curse” that followed me since I was at Brescia. I needed a win in the last two games to win the league and I only managed to get 2 draws.

 

Top key players this season:

1. Hakan Ulusoy: 47% shots on target ratio; 2.62 shots on target; 38% headers won ratio; 83% pass completion ratio, 29.83 passes completed; 39 goals; 13 assists and an average rating of 7.54.
2. Fatih Kutlu: 88% pass completion ratio, 89.07 passes completed; 14 assists; 2 goals; 70% tackle completion ratio and an average rating of 7.39.
3. Bjorn Engels: 87% tackle completion ratio; 1.87 tackle won; 87% headers won ratio; 238 interceptions; 76% pass completion ratio; 30.45 passes completed and an average rating of 7.18.

 

Transfers:

 

Tactic:

 

Board confidence & budgets:

With the help of my beloved board it seems that is time for some huge changes into the squad.

 

Finances:

 

Europa League & Champions League:

 

 

Season         League               League Finish                   Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017/2018       Serie B                 1st             Promoted, Champions
2018/2019       Serie A                 8th             Europa League Qualification
2019/2020       Serie A                 5th             Europa League First Knockout Round
2020/2021       Serie A                 6th             TIM Cup Winners, Europa League First Knockout Round
2021/2022       Serie A                 3rd             Supercoppa, Europa League First Knockout Round, UCL Group Stage Qualification
2022/2023       Serie A                 2nd             UCL Quarter Final
2023/2024       Serie A                 1st             Champions, UCL Quarter Final
2024/2025       Serie A                 1st             Champions, UCL First Knockout Round
2025/2026       Spor Toto Super Lig     2nd             Turkcell Super Kupa, UCL First Knockout Round

 

[Urbiscuit18]

Not a bad first season. 

[bsanchezb]

Spend 2 minutes to find Galatasaray and Fenerbahce in the final table  

[IL Luce]

8 hours ago, bsanchezb said:

Spend 2 minutes to find Galatasaray and Fenerbahce in the final table  

 

17 hours ago, Urbiscuit18 said:

Not a bad first season. 

Thanks

[IL Luce]

Season II 2026/2027

 

Nice to see that our league has grown and we will have 2 teams in the CL groups next season, but until then, I need to past 2 qualifications stage…again.

 

Commercial Summary & Finances:

 

Season expectations & Preview:

There are huge expectations this season. My board want to: win the league, reach UCL group stage and reach Turkish Cup final. 

 

Transfers:

Sorry boss, but we don’t share the same philosophies.

 

With 11 new players (actually an entire new team), with a new system and new philosophies you can say that the revolution has arrived at Besiktas:

 

1. Terje Rokenes: A transfer more for the future but he is already looking solid and I may throw him in the first eleven;
2. Seref Sarioglu: A pretty solid defender that I expect to be a key player for us. His speed and bravery look amazing, but his jumping reach is a concern.
3. Turan Gulten: Another solid and young defender. His physical attributes are a concern and I may ask: why Turkish defenders can’t jump?
4. Samir Maric: He’s looking pretty good at 21 years old and I expect him to develop further. A nice defender for the future.
5. Andre Guimaraes Dutra: A younger DR backup.
6. Cihat Turksever: My most expensive signing, but I think he deserve all the money. A destroyer and a key player that will help us a lot in the middle.
7. Fatih Esen: A more creative Turkish midfielder that I also expect to be a key player beside Cihat.
8. Agustin Cuesta: He is more of a playmaker especially with his “try killer ball often” trait, but he will be my nr 1 Inside Forward.
9. Vicente Besuijen: He will be Cuesta’s backup. I think he is solid enough to replace Cuesta when need.
10. James Smith: I think is one of the best bargain that I bought so far. I will not play him as a striker, he will be my Raumdeuter on the left flank. I think his balance, finishing and mental attributes are good enough for the role. Yes, I will come back to Raumdeuter role.
11. Fran Alfonso: Another solid Raumdeuter. He will be Smith’s backup but he is not far different from Smith. I really like that I managed to bought players that can always fit in my first eleven.

The biggest departures:  Hakan Ulusoy. He was upset and underperform since December because he wanted a move to Real and eventually I gave him a move to Real.

 

Squad:

I really like how the squad’s age is looking now, maybe a little bit younger would have been nice, but I can say that Besiktas have a future now.

 

Top key players:

• Cihat Turksever

 

• James Smith

 

• Mehmet Taskin

 

Tactics & First eleven:

Having in mind the lethal trio from this year, Salah-Firmino-Mane, I will try to develop myself a lethal trio at Besiktas.

I’m gonna start playing like this and see how I can improve the tactic during the season.

Even if I’m allowed to have 12 foreign players, I tried to put more accent on domestic players and that’s why I have 7 Turkish players in my first eleven.

 

Friendlies:

 

Champions League:

It’s weird how FM is reading your mind. Last season I face Shakhtar, a team that I’m gonna manage after and now I will face Dinamo, the team where I will want to finish this journey.

 

August & September fixtures:

[IL Luce]

Champions League update:

 

I may say that I was a little bit nervous after that 2-2 against Dinamo, especially because I have an entire new team and it need time to gel but, we managed to get it through and we are in CL group stage again. 

 

It’s nice and I’m really happy to see Brescia another year in the CL groups.

 

And…is Leipzig again, of course it is. I’m starting to get bored of how many times I faced Leipzig so far.

[IL Luce]

 

August & September fixtures:

• Champions League

 

• Super Lig:

 

Well, these games were about learning and tweaking the tactic here and there and it seems that the team responded amazing so far.

We have an amazing start in the Champions League with an unbelievable 1-0 win against Monaco, the last season crowned team.

 

Match of the month:

 

League table:

 

October & November fixtures: 

[Marbah]

just finished reading this

 

great stuff man

 

love it! 

[IL Luce]

1 hour ago, Marbah said:

just finished reading this

 

great stuff man

 

love it! 

Thanks! I'm glad you like it.

[IL Luce]

 

Hmm…. yes, please?!

 

What a…. money, money, money and more money. My board is on fire. Time to look for new, more solid, fullbacks?

 

And look who’s missing me.

 

October & November fixtures:

• Champions League:

 

Our European journey continues with an amazing form so far. I may say that we know how to play against teams that don’t defend against us, but we have some trouble against those who sit deep.

 

• Super Lig

 

Match of the month:

 

League table:

The league is much more tougher. With 3 teams involved in the title race and 4 ready to step up, it looks like any mistake will cost but, it’s way too early and anything can happen in the end.

Our rivals Trabzon are in a good form so far, Kasimpasa will look to secure another title, Fener is back on track and Galata seems that is still struggling. It looks that will be a very interesting season and with so much money involved so far, I may be in trouble if I can’t please my board but, as I said is way too early.

 

December & January fixtures: 

[john1]

Good to see the chairman improving the club