[FM17] Hang on, where is that and how exactly do I get there?

[CTID86]

The Liechtenstein Challenge - FC Balzers & Liechtenstein NT

 

I have decided to take on the Liechtenstein challenge. It is similar to the San Marino challenge but with Liechtenstein (obvs).

What's the deal?

Basically, I start off as manager of FC Balzers and the Liechtenstein NT. Balzers are a semi-professional team that play in the fourth tier of Switzerland and so I am using a database that unlocks the Swiss leagues down to that level. The aim is to achieve European domination with club and world domination with country. The first important thing to note here is that a Liechtenstein team cannot qualify for Europe by winning the Swiss Super League, nor are they eligible to enter the Swiss Cup. The only route to Europe for a Liechtenstein team is by winning the Liechtenstein Cup. The competition isn't particularly fierce (apart from FC Vaduz who are in the second tier of Swiss football) and winning that will gain you entry into the first qualifying round of the Europa League. 

But what about the Champions League? You can't call yourself the best team in Europe if you don't compete in the Champions League. Well, there is one way into the Champions League for a club from Liechtenstein... you have to win the Europa League.

Those with a keen eye will note that Champions League football cannot be played two years in a row, unless you win it. For example if you won the Europa League in 2018, and then in 2019 got knocked out of the Champions League group stage for example, unless you finished third in your group to get back to the Europa League, in 2020 you would be back in the Europa League due to winning the Liechtenstein Cup or winning a European competition being the only route you can take. 

 

Ok Ok, I understand, but why should I follow this thread, it all sounds a bit like the San Marino Challenge.

It absolutely is similar to the San Marino challenge but the difference is the San Marino club side can get entry into Europe by their league position once in Serie A. Another point to make is that the San Marino club side play in Italy so once you reach Serie A and start to do well, attracting good players is easier because the stature of the league is top 5 in Europe. The Swiss league is a lower reputation and so toppling Basel will be difficult but the real challenge will be growing a team based in the Swiss league into world beaters and persuading the next Messi or Ronaldo to come and play against Basel, Grasshoppers and Young Boys every week.

 

So what's the plan gangsta?

Get FC Balzers up to the Super League as soon as is possible. If I could somehow manage to win the Liechtenstein Cup early on then a qualifying round or two of the Europa League would really help me to kick on financially and should also grow the reputation of the club. Once I am in the Super League I can start getting those youth facilities upgraded. By the time I start to get good regens, the strong Liechtenstein NT players will likely be long gone so I just want to keep them ticking over for the time being. 

 

Aims and Objectives

FC Balzers

- Win promotion from 1 Liga to the Promotion League (COMPLETED SEASON 1)

- Win promotion from the Promotion league to the Challenge League

- Win promotion from Challenge League to the Super League

- Turn professional

- Win the Liechtenstein Cup (COMPLETED SEASON 3)

- Win Swiss Super league

- Win Europa League

- Win Champions League

- Win World Club Cup

- Become the number 1 club side in the world

Liechtenstein NT

- Win a competitive match (COMPLETED SEASON 3)

- Qualify for European Championship

- Qualify for World Cup

- Win European Championship

- Win World Cup

- Become number 1 ranked in the world

 

 

Season 1: 1.Liga (1st (Promoted)), Liechtenstein Cup (Runners-up)

Season 2: Promotion League (6th), Liechtenstein Cup (Runners-up)

Season 3: Promotion League (3rd), Liechtenstein Cup (Winners)

[CTID86]

Day one at my new home

11 Liechtenstein cups but haven't won it since 1997 apparently. Lets hope that drought doesn't last too much longer!

A couple of decent wages there, that should get me a nice house in the town of Balzers.

The squad is actually in better shape than I expected considering this is the fourth tier of Swiss football. Looks like Daniel Kaufmann will be a big player for club and country whilst Swiss centre midfielder, Aleksander Zarkovic should offer quality in the middle of the park.

Now that those early formalities are out of the way, lets see what the board expect of me this season...

Top half finish should be achievable with the quality we already have and with a few signings I am sure top 5 or so will be possible. Liechtenstein Cup not important? Yeah it doesn't have a big following but it does offer one hell of a prize if you can win it!

Happy enough with the budget, looks like I will be able to keep the wage bill under that and the transfer budget will likely not be used at all.

 

LETS DO THIS!

[ManUtd1]

I like the sound of this. Good luck, man! Will be following along.

[ToMexico!!]

Tough job ahead but best of luck 

[CTID86]

Season one / Part one

Ok so we are heading into the winter break (which lasts for three and a half long months!) and we are top of the league, but only just! Grasshoppers u21s were top for a long time but they have faltered in recent weeks where as our form has really improved. Livio Meier has been fantastic so far with 5 goals and 8 assists in the league for the young Liechtensteiner. I play with a solo striker and Luigi Milicaj (on loan) and Phillipe Erne have 7 and 9 goals respectively which gives me a selection headache. I have a huge match in the second half of the season against Grasshoppers u21s and will play Vaduz u21s in the Semi Final of the Liechtenstein Cup.

I am slightly above the wage budget but looking to move a couple of players on and have my scouts working day and night to unearth some talent in these Swiss leagues. 

Meier's contract is up at the end of the season and at the moment my board won't let me offer enough to keep hold of him due to the overspend!

New signing Cyril Rizzo gets a shout out, he has performed very well in the middle of the park and has an 89% pass completion rate in the league.

Really pleased with how its going so far. The tough news is that winning the league doesn't even guarantee promotion, you go into a play off as there are 3 leagues at this tier and only 1 team is relegated from tier 3.

In other Liechtenstein news, you will see the second top scorer in this league is Kevin Hadzipasic. He is a youngster on loan from Vaduz who has broken into my National Team. 

Goalkeeper Benji Buchel is having a torrid time at Thalwil. His contract is up at the end of the season so he may become available if they go down.

 

The board are delighted so far...

 

Next up will be a 2016 National Team update and... MY FIRST EVER YOUTH CANDIDATE DAY!!!

[Sheriff7]

Good luck mate.. Meier is amazing and  Hatzipasic was my best talent in Fm 17. Erne, foser, Yildiz are very good and international players too.. In Fm 2017 Benji Buchel used to be in  Oxford United (then he went out of contract and retire)  do you use a transfer pack or make it in your one because you should add Michele Polverino in your squad like IRL and Kaufman they are very good for this level...Anyway good luck! P. S You will love Marcel Buchel, Jehle and Burgmeier in national team... 

[CTID86]

18 hours ago, Sheriff7 said:

Good luck mate.. Meier is amazing and  Hatzipasic was my best talent in Fm 17. Erne, foser, Yildiz are very good and international players too.. In Fm 2017 Benji Buchel used to be in  Oxford United (then he went out of contract and retire)  do you use a transfer pack or make it in your one because you should add Michele Polverino in your squad like IRL and Kaufman they are very good for this level...Anyway good luck! P. S You will love Marcel Buchel, Jehle and Burgmeier in national team... 

Thanks! Yeah Erne and Foser are in my national team squad. Yildiz isnt impressing at club level so I am playing Eberle and Oehri as right backs for the NT. I may even release Yildiz at the end of the season as he hasnt been great. 

I used a transfer pack and so Benji Buchel is at Thalwil. Polverino is actually at Rapperswil in the Challenge League. I am guessing that the transfer pack didn't look at the 2nd tier of Swiss football but did do English football extensively explaining why Buchel had been moved on. 

Kaufmann is great but his contract is up at the end of the season and as yet he doesn't want to sign a new deal.

Marcel Buchel is awesome! Jehle and Burgi are great too. Also really like Sandro Weiser.

[CTID86]

On 4/20/2018 at 03:17, ManUtd1 said:

I like the sound of this. Good luck, man! Will be following along.

 

On 4/20/2018 at 08:35, ToMexico!! said:

Tough job ahead but best of luck 

 

On 4/22/2018 at 13:17, tfell said:

Looking forward to following this.

Thanks all, glad to see there is some interest

[CTID86]

2016 National Team Update

OK so now for the inevitable..."I lost every match I played" update for the next 10 seasons

Well actually not a terrible start but not quite what I wanted. Three of the four goals scored were by FC Balzers players.

I only got 2 games out of Sandro Weiser (arguably my best player) before he got a serious injury that will keep him sidelined for about 6 months. He will return in 2017. Livio Meier, my star at club level got my first goal at NT boss with a beautiful long range effort again Albania in what was a really close match where we were unlucky not to get a point. The defeat to San Marino was terrible! They got a really early goal and then we dominated but just could not get the ball in the net. A draw against Zimbabwe was OK, the win against the Solomon Islands was much needed and we ended the year with an admirable performance against Italy, going down 3-1. Kevin Hadzipasic has shown himself to be a player who, along with Meier and Vaduz youngster Goppel, will be part of this set up for the next decade or so. 

1W 1D 6L

Aim for 2017

Improve on that and try and register two wins for the National Team.

Also, Diego Ciccone of Vaduz decided to take a Liechtenstein passport and is now a mainstay in the NT. Along with Buchel and Weiser it gives me a really good midfield three.

[Sheriff7]

Borgman left back from Vaduz will take liechtensteins citezenship  soon mate if he stays there,of course Goppel is very good already in your lest side..

[CTID86]

Liechtenstein Cup Final and 2017 Youth Intake

After defeating the u18 and u21 teams of Vaduz, all that stood between me and Europa League football was the first team! It was certainly going to be a tricky match and with my first choice left back (Florian Baumgartner) cup tied because I stupidly allowed him to play for my u21 team in the cup whilst he recovered from an injury, I would be at least one player down.

What can I say? Really disappointed. I half expected us to get beat about 4-0 as they are two divisions above us and fully professional compared to our Semi-Pro team. I think the fact that we played so well made the defeat hurt even more. In the first half we actually had more shots than them and kept it really tight. They started to create chances in the second half and Zuvic made his best save of the season about 20 minutes from time to keep it at 0-0. Our lesser fitness levels began to show later in the match I think but as we got towards the end I was dreaming of a penalty shootout. When star defender Daniel Kaufmann got sent off in the 92nd minute I knew that keeping them out for 30 minutes of extra time with 10 knackered players would be almost impossible. A good finish from their substitute striker sealed the Cup win for Vaduz and secured them Europa League football. 

We travel home £90,000 richer thanks to a bumper gate (putting the club back in the black) and wondering what might have been had Kaufmann stayed on the pitch. There is always next season I guess.

YOUTH INTAKE

Stupidly I forgot to take a screenshot of the full intake (I will do in future seasons though) but I did screenshot the only two players I signed up.

My assistant really likes Biedermann but I am not 100% convinced by either of them. I signed them up though as the u18 team is basically non-existent and these were the two best prospects so I wanted to give them a chance. Have I got the next Marcel Buchel or Sandro Weiser? I don't think so but I am more than willing to help them progress.

I also signed a new contract. £350 a week. Nice to know the board are pleased.

 

Season one finale coming next....

[Sheriff7]

Unlucky in final mate.. Vaduz is a giant there and very difficult to win them.. 

[CTID86]

Season one finale!

We won the league!

A draw against Seuzach was enough to clinch the title and book our slot in the promotion playoffs. An equalising goal by the fantastically named Chitchanok Xaysensourinthone who we signed on loan in January ensured that we did enough.

Disappointed that Eschen/Mauren got relegated but obviously delighted to win the league. I thought we were going to bottle it when we were 1-0 down to Seuzach on the final day and they seemed to be all over us but we won a penalty and the point was enough. What is worrying is that going into the playoffs our form is very patchy...

PLAYOFF FINAL

We drew Bassecourt who have a team mainly of amateurs but won their league convincingly and can boast players such as former Swiss international Xavier Margairaz.

WE DID IT!!!! PROMOTION IS OURS AT THE FIRST TIME OF ASKING!!!

Not going to lie, Bassecourt were the better team for the first 30 minutes and I was seriously worried but then their central midfielder lost his head and got two yellow cards in the space of three minutes! It was a massively cagey affair once they went down to 10 men and actually seemed fairly equal with them a man down. Zuvic had to make some top saves early on but we got the goal when Zarkovic found an unmarked Meier in the box and he absolutely lashed it into the top corner. I was really glad that Meier got the winner because he has been my best player this season. Bassecourt had the ball in the net in injury time but it was rightly chalked off for offside. Another £30k hit the bank for the playoff win and I was impressed by a number of Bassecourt players who I have promptly sent scouts to take a look at.

SEASON 1 - PLAYERS LISTED BY AVERAGE RATING...

Can't really complain at all. Amidi, Rizzo and Meier top the charts for average rating and all three will be here next season to help us in the Promotion League. I probably won't sign any of the loanees permanently and Kaufmann has agreed a pre-contract deal with Chiasso in the Challenge League. Our best performers...

SEASON ONE SUMMARY

Well, Liechtenstein Cup runners up, Liga 1 Group 3 winners and playoff winners, a fantastic first season! Livio Meier was the star of the season with goals and assists all season long and getting the winner in the playoffs when my strikers went missing. Cyril Rizzo is the unsung hero turning in an 89% pass completion rate in central midfield as a deep lying playmaker, he very rarely played badly. Disappointed that Kaufmann won't be sticking around but all the other players that I want to keep are happy to stay. I also have a few interesting transfer targets for the summer. 

Next season we move onto the Promotion League (tier 3) which is ranked as the 89th best league in the world (just above the Vanarama English National league). The league we have just won was ranked 135 in the world.

In other news...

Vaduz finished 5th in the Challenge League and so we will just be one tier below them next season.

Arsenal, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus and PSG won their respective leagues.

Basel won the Swiss Super League.

Yannick Carrasco moved to Arsenal for £53m in the highest transfer fee of the season.

 

SEASON 2 NEXT....AND I CAN'T WAIT!!

[CTID86]

Season 2 - Part 1

Mid-table finish, not asking much are they?!

In other news, we have had a new pitch laid and our u18s are now part of a league which is great news for the regens to get regular football.

I have recruited some good staff, including Darcy Blake (ex-Wales international) as my u18s manager.

Seems we are pretty highly tipped this season:

 

We have made a few good signings in the off-season...

Slavica and N'Diaye both joined from Bassecourt and will be starting players this season. Hoping Slavica can get the goals that we will need to finish mid-table and N'Diaye provides some good experience at CB.Also delighted to bring Liechtenstein GK, Benji Buchel to the club, that's a huge signing for us!

An encouraging pre-season with a very good home draw against English Championship side, Brentford. Pleased with how it has all gone and I am hoping that with the new signings and new coaching additions it will be a good season.

[CTID86]

Season 2 - Part 2

First thing to mention is the devastating news I received in November. My star striker would be out for around 6 months! Not an ideal start to life in the Promotion League.

Results for the first half of the season...

We started really well with two wins and I was thinking how easy this Promotion League is but then four defeats in a row brought me crashing back down to earth. Its been really up and down so far as you would expect from a mid-table side. In some games we have demolished the opposition and looked like promotion contenders and in others we have looked totally bereft of ideas and just offered nothing. Slavica and Meier missed the final 3 games before the winter break through injury and we failed to score a single goal in those three games. That says a hell of a lot! Cyril Rizzo is my only player to start all 18 league games so far. Slavica got 9 goals before his injury and Meier has 9 assists. Realistically, I am not sure we can finish higher than about 4th place now but I would be happy with that and we do still have the Liechtenstein Cup. 

League table so far...

 

2017 National Team update coming soon...

[CTID86]

2017 National Team Update

My aim was to win two matches in 2017 but on reflection I think one win and three draws is a good return. The year kicked off with star man, Marcel Buchel putting us 1-0 up against Spain but we were never going to hang on to that lead. Four international goals for Hadzipasic in 2017 means he now has a record of 16 caps and 5 goals. The match against Puerto Rico was disappointing as we went behind twice in a game we could have won. The 2-2 draw away in Israel is my first ever competitive point! We were 2-1 up before they equalised in the 91st minute. Football can be a cruel game.

I decided to drop Peter Jehle for Benji Buchel as my starting goalkeeper for the India match. We won that 4-2 in a dominant display and followed it up with an admirable 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan who are ranked around 90 places above us. 

Yanick Frick (son of Mario) is at Perugia and continues to reject my call ups. 

That draw with Israel boosts the ranking to 174. The highest since I took over:

 

In player news, Ramon Cecchini of Vaduz has followed in the footsteps of Diego Ciccone and got himself a Liechtenstein passport at the very end of 2017 and so he hasnt yet played for us. Great news for us because at 27 he is in his prime and provides a great option on the right or as an AMC.

[CTID86]

Liechtenstein Cup and Youth Intake (Season 2)

Disappointed is an under-statement! Nobody even with a 3 star potential. I decided just to sign up the one player this year as I don't have money to burn. I need to be quite cut-throat with these intakes until I get to the top league and start earning some real cash. Sandro Wenzel was touted as my top prospect and as he is a goalkeeper (which may come in handy one day) I signed him up. Screenshot...

Good reflexes and determination. Zuvic, who was my first team goalkeeper last season, is rated 9 in Handling and Command of Area so 8 & 8 in those stats for Wenzel don't seem too bad.

Then came my first offer of a job interview, I am clearly making a name for myself...

Sorry Mark Palios but the bright lights of Tranmere won't pull me away from Liechtenstein.

 

Liechtenstein Cup Final

Two seasons, two finals. Our opponents, as expected, were Vaduz.

Onto the match...

 

This one hurt. Even more so than Season 1. I truly felt like we were the better side and when Miro Slavica forced an excellent save from Peter Jehle on the hour mark and the commentator announced that we were taking the game to Vaduz, I really thought we had a chance of European football next season. Coulibaly and Tunahan came off the bench for them and changed the game and my shellshocked players just had no reply. Can't fault the lads because they gave it everything and the one division gap was certainly not evident. 

I guess a glamorous trip to Andorra, Wales or Moldova will have to wait...

[CTID86]

Season 2 Finale

 

 

It felt like a long season! Basel u21s ran away with it in the end but I am really pleased with a 6th place finish for my first season in the Promotion League. We need to improve as only the league winners win promotion here. Second half of the season I switched to a 4-4-2 and it saw me move up the league and so I think I will stick with that. The new tactics meant that Vujo Gavric and Fabio Wolfinger don't really fit into the team anymore and so they will leave when their contracts expire this Summer.

Happy to see FC Azzuri go down as they were a bit of a bogey team for us, we only managed two bore draws against them. Beating Cham and Rapperswil were highlights of the second half of the season but we were often wasteful infront of goal this season failing to score in 11 of our 30 league matches. Livio Meier led the league in assists and was a key player again this season. Managed to give 1st season regen CB, Ronny Wechselberger 6 starts in the league towards the end of the season and he did really well for a 16 year old. Benji Buchel kept 12 clean sheets in 25 games and Meier won fans player of the season.

For next season I really need a good left midfielder, centre midfielder, right back, left back and a centre back. 

END OF SEASON PLAYER STATS

 

PLAYER PROGRESS

 

AROUND THE GLOBE

Vaduz finished 4th in the Challenge League and Eschen/Mauren were promoted back to the 4th tier at the first time of asking.

Barcelona, Man Utd, Bayern, Juventus and PSG won their respective leagues. Basel were crowned champions of Switzerland.

Marco Veratti joined Chelsea for £73 million.

 

OTHER INTERESTING SCREENSHOTS

 

TRANSFERS

 

Season 3 coming next...

[Sheriff7]

Too bad you lost Kaufman he is great defender.. 

[CTID86]

On 18/05/2018 at 23:26, Sheriff7 said:

Too bad you lost Kaufman he is great defender.. 

Yeah it was disappointing but I knew it was coming, he always refused to even discuss a new deal and Chiasso are a full time Challenge League club so they basically doubled his wage.

Its bad for me but good for the Liechtenstein NT to have another full time player

[CTID86]

Season 3 - Part 1

Well, they certainly like to make it tough for me. Around top of the league?! Well, if I can recruit how I am planning to then we should certainly be capable of that. I think top 4 would keep them happy. If we can have a left winger as lethal as Meier is on the right then I back us to do ok.

Favourites for the title?! For real? Newly relegated Stade Nyonnais must be worth a couple of pounds at 40/1. 

 

KEY SIGNINGS

Alban Ramadani - I wanted to improve at CM and he got 9 assists and 2 goals in 26 matches last season in the division below us. He is young enough to improve but good enough to make a difference now.

Momo Vukmir - Plucked from the Swiss lower divisions (found by my scout), he could be the left sided midfielder I have been wanting. 21 assists in the last two seasons. At 30 he won't last forever but he looks great!

Michele Polverino - I do like to keep a few Liechtensteiners around and Polverino was a long term target. Sure he is 33 but he will bring some great experience. Also signed Martin Buchel (not Marcel) as a backup option.

 

PRE-SEASON

So far so good. Nice to see Slavica in the goals and new boy, Vukmir settling in well.

 

BUT......Four games into the season, I get this message...

A huge blow for club and country. Buchel was one of my marquee signings last season so the fact that he will miss the whole of this season is hugely disappointing.

For the NT, with the retirement of Jehle it leaves us very low on Goalkeepers.

[CTID86]

Season 3 - Part 2

Liechtenstein Cup Quarter Final

In a cruel twist of fate we drew Vaduz in our very first round this season. Of two best Liechtenstein teams, one would have to go out early doors.

 

Vaduz are out!!! I was speechless after this result. One of the most nerve wracking games of my FM career. It wasn't Vaduz's strongest 11 but they are still full time professionals who are a division above us and we were away from home! As the game went to extra time, I expected them to get the better of us for the third season in a row. We had the lead 3 times in the match and held onto it at the third time of asking. An absolute bullet of a shot by Vinzenz Flatz from 30 yards sealed the victory. Evan Melo and Momo Vukmir were superb and a constant threat. We did look leggy in extra time and Vaduz hit the crossbar and also had two other great chances to equalise again. European football is still not guaranteed as we still have two more rounds, but this is a huge step forward. We play Eschen/Mauren u18s in the semi final. 

A different Liechtenstein team will be playing Europa League football next season!

 

League update

 

Disappointed with how we finished the first half of the season, losing 3 out of 5 games since the heroics against Vaduz. Slavica (12) and Melo (7) have laid on 19 league goals between them so far. Melo also has 6 assists whilst Vukmir is the second best performer in the league so far. Losing to both Bellinzola and Rapperswil who are both competing for the title was frustrating and something we need to improve on in the second half of the season. 

7 home games and 5 away games left so I am still confident that we can win the league! We have had a problem with red cards this season. Wechselberger has been sent off twice, as has Polverino. Zarkovic is one player struggling for form. 

Meier and Slavica have already signed new deals for next season but I am really missing Benji Buchel. The replacement I signed, Frederic Denervaud, is not half the keeper Buchel is. He has only kept 2 clean sheets in 11 appearances. I would like to sign another goalkeeper asap.

 

I did manage to sign a Liechtenstein international on a free. He was released by Paris FC in the Summer and has joined on an 18 month deal to add more depth up front. 

 

Next update will be the 2018 NT update and youth intake day.

After that we go for the league and cup double in season 3!

 

[CTID86]

2018 National Team Update and Season 3 Youth Candidate Day!

Philipp Muntwiler became the third Vaduz player to gain citizenship for Liechtenstein. With Peter Jehle retired and Benji Buchel out for 12 months, its a shame he isnt a goalkeeper!

  

 

The year started badly with three poor performances and so when Burgmeier and Jehle retired and Buchel got injured for 12 months, I wasn't optimistic about our chances in the Euro league. Drawn with Latvia, Belarus and Andorra, I hoped we could get at least two wins, thinking we could beat Andorra home and away. It turned out a little different as the only team we beat was group winners Belarus away in Minsk! Had we got those two wins over Andorra, we would have been promoted!

Away at Andorra, Wieser got sent off after an hour and they scored two late goals as we pushed on. The home match versus Andorra was just a miserable bore draw. Yanik Frick got his first international goal and the away win to Belarus was my first competitive win!

EURO 2020 Qualifying Draw

Ouch! 10 defeats expected. Anything other than that would be fantastic!

 

SEASON 3 - YOUTH CANDIDATE DAY

Far better than last year and I signed up three players!

 

Hilti and Lampert are the two great hopes! Unfortunately they play the same position!

I don't currently play with an AMC but that could change and I am keen to see how they both develop. 

Frick has good physical stats and if we can improve his technical abilities he could be a very good wing back for us.

[CTID86]

Season 3 finals + Liechtenstein Cup Final

Liechtenstein Cup Final

Having beat the Vaduz first team in the quarter finals, I felt confident that I could beat their u21 team in the final and secure Europa League football...

  

 

This team sure does love an extra time show down but WE DID IT!!! Absolutely delighted! In truth we dominated as expected and but for the woodwork would have won in normal time. The subs changed the game as Zarkovic broke the deadlock in extra time with a powerful finish and two neat stikes by Evan Melo to continue his good season followed. Melo got 6 goals in the tournament winning the golden boot. Fabio Cariglia earned himself a contract extension with his performance in the final. The club hadn't won this trophy since 1997. Now I just can't wait for season 4 because...

EUROPA LEAGUE FOOTBALL NEXT SEASON!!!!!

End of Season

 

 

Unfortunately the double just wasn't meant to be. We did improve on last season but I do feel like we missed a great opportunity for promotion as we just fell short. Winning the Liechtenstein Cup means I am not too disappointed and the money we get from Europe should mean we can really mount a title challenge next season. As for this season, we won more matches than anyone else but were Jekyll and Hyde too many times. I ditched the 4-4-2 with 4 games to go and we seemed to improve, especially going forward. The likes of Amidi, N'Diaye, Erne and Polverino will all leave in the summer as I look to strengthen. Slavica and Melo scored 26 of our 49 league goals. Meier won player of the season although I though Vukmir deserved it more...

  

 

In news from around the globe...

Koniz (also of the Promotion League) will weirdly join us in the Europa League next season after they won the Swiss Cup! They beat Basel in the semi final!

Basel won the Swiss title

Chelsea, Barcelona, PSG, Dortmund and AC Milan won their leagues.

Eschen/Mauren were 3rd in 1.Liga, Vaduz were 5th in the Challenge League.

Chiasso (and therefore Daniel Kaufmann) were relegated to the Promotion League and will face us next season.

 

[CTID86]

Season 4 / Part 1

Happy with those expectations, I think we will finish the season in line with that, depending on who we draw in the first qualifying round of the Europa League.

Favourites for the title! Surprised to see Chiasso so far down, they must have lost alot of players in the Summer.

NEW SIGNINGS

 

They are my three main signings this summer.

Bissafi Dotte - Centre half released by Monaco. I fully expect him to be a starter and a key player despite only being 20.

Sultan Sabeel Musa - I needed a right back and this UAE international fits the bill. He is only 5ft 5in but he should be a good player for this level.

Gerald Phiri Jr - The right winger from Malawi has been signed to try and provide some decent competition for Livio Meier.

I basically offered trials to players that had no club but were in their national teams and of those that agreed, these three players were the best I could find.

 

Coming next...our first foray into European football!

[CTID86]

Season 4 - Europa League

The first qualifying round draw was pretty kind to us as we drew against Principat of Andorra. I was expecting that we would be able to win this one.

1st Qualifying Round (1st Leg)

We dominated the match away from home and perhaps should have won by an even bigger margin but were wasteful infront of goal. A goal for each of our centre halfs gave us two away goals.

1st Qualifying Round (2nd Leg)

If I thought the first leg was easy then this was a walk in the park. £86k in prize money for coming through the tie which will help the bank balance and to be honest it was the easiest £86k we will ever make. 

For the second qualifying round we drew Trencin of Slovakia which promised to be a much tougher tie.

2nd Qualifying Round (1st Leg)

I was actually pleased with this first leg. Yes we lost 1-0 but to say we were away from home against a professional outfit, I felt we performed admirably. We almost took the lead through Cariglia but they just had a bit more quality in the final third.

Koniz (also of the Swiss third tier) have drawn FC Midtjylland of Denmark in the third qualifying round (their first match).

2nd Qualifying Round (2nd Leg)

Going 1-0 down at home meant it was going to be almost impossible to reply with 3 goals and unfortunately we go out 2-1 on aggregate. Trencin have players earning £4.5k per week where as our top earner is on just 10% of that so we definitely did ok. In total we made around £400k from our short European adventure (prize money + gate money). 16 year old regen, Nicola Hilti scored for us which is superb for the future of Liechtenstein (although he continues to reject NT call ups with the hope of playing for Switzerland) and he is being tracked by Servette and Neuchatel Xamax. 

I asked for better youth facilities following the windfall. This was rejected. 

Koniz lost 5-0 on aggregate to FC Midtjylland. 

 

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Season 4 / Part 2

  

 

Really pleased with the first half of the season as promotion feels like a real possibility. With only two defeats in the league so far I am actually surprised we are only 4 points clear. The 50/50 games just seem to be going our way this season. We are getting the late equalisers/winners and grinding out narrow victories when we don't play well. Vukmir is probably having his best season yet, Wechselberger and Dotte are a formidable and young central defence partnership and Ramadani is really starting to shine in central midfield. 

I signed naturalised Liechtensteiner, Diego Ciccone following his release from Vaduz and he has settled in nicely. Nicola Hilti at just 16 years old already has 4 league goals with mainly substitute appearances. 

The 6-0 win over Koniz is my biggest win as Balzers manager! 

If I had one complaint it would be the strikers. Slavica, Khous and Melo have just 7 league goals between them so far this season. If we do win promotion maybe I will need some new strikers!

 

Coming next...NT update and 2020 Youth candidate day

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2019 National Team Update and Season 4 Youth Candidate Day

Midway through the year and Aleksander Zarkovic gained citizenship. Yet another central midfielder!

My Balzers regen CB, Ronny Wechselberger was called up to the Switzerland u20's, thats quite a blow for us.

 

A win and 2 draws isn't too bad a year. 1-1 at home to Bulgaria was a superb result and we performed really well in both games against Ireland although you wouldnt know it from the scorelines. A narrow defeat to group winners Romania (0-1) also doesn't seem a bad result with hindsight.

Sandro Wieser is without a club so I am hoping he gets snapped up before he retires! Zarkovic got his first caps as Polverino is now no longer part of the setup. 

Our ranking continues to hover around 165-175. 

World Cup qualifiers and European International Leagues have been drawn and I'm quite pleased with our groups...

 

 

SEASON 4 YOUTH CANDIDATE DAY

To be honest I am really disappointed. I suppose after getting Hilti last year it was asking a lot to get someone of that quality again. I signed up Martin Elkuch as the best prospect. The fact that he is a left winger is great news for club and country.

 

Season 4 finale coming soon...