[FM19] From Witness Protection to Delicious Redemption- Fabian Schulz's Nordic Journey (Redux)

[oriole01]

Nordic Journeyman- The Aim
Hello and welcome to my new save, which I hope will be a worthy successor to my previous adventure, a two-year-long, narrative-driven, award-winning monster of a thread known as Hans Kaiser- Baldness Über Alles! This is a save I've wanted to do for a while now, inspired by several excellent career threads based in the Nordic countries such as @Rikulec's "Frozen Throne" journeyman, @withnail316's "Scandinavian Shankly" saves, and @ManUtd1's various stints at Malmö on his "Nearly Men" epics. I've long held an admiration for these countries as well, which made my trip to Iceland in 2017 all the more enjoyable. Watching a match in Grindavik was my first live football experience, and it's one I'll certainly never forget. I could've done a worthwhile save in Iceland or any one of these nations individually, but I've decided I want to go in for the long haul and achieve glory in all of them. That being said, it's time to look at the goals and rules for this save.

Goals:
-Win the top domestic league and top domestic cup in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
-Win the UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup with a club from one of these countries.
-After all required trophies are won, become the manager of Borussia Dortmund at the soonest opportunity and attempt to establish global football dominance using a core of players from Nordic nations.
-Win the UEFA European Championship and FIFA World Cup with a Nordic national team.
Rules:
-I cannot leave a country until the top domestic league and top domestic cup have been won, if applicable. I will certainly try to win any other domestic trophies that are available in the nation, such as league cups or super cups, but I won't let a failure to win such competitions stop me from moving on.
-I can take a job in any division of the country I'm in, there's no requirement to win lower divisions.
-I'm allowed to switch jobs within a country, though I will have to have been at the previous club for at least two seasons to do so.
-Once a country has been "completed", the next country I go to must be the next-highest ranked in UEFA's country coefficient ranking, unless a country I have not yet been to has fallen behind the country I was managing in previously in the ranking. In that case, I will go backward.

Game Setup
"
All available Nordic leagues have been set as playable. The top two divisions in Germany, England, Spain, Italy, France, and Portugal have been loaded as view-only, as well as the top division in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Russia. I plan on making the German leagues playable once we're near the point when I can move to Dortmund. I'm using Riddler's Faroe Islands file and @The Good Rebel's excellent Greenland file for this save, which replaces Kiribati in the database and takes Kazakhstan's place in UEFA, who have moved back to AFC. I believe this will be the first thread in FMCU history to head to the world's largest island, so no matter how this save goes, it'll have made some history in the process.

I can't wait to get started, and hopefully you lot are too!
Týr! Týr! Týr! 

Edited June 24, 2019 by oriole01

[withnail316]

Best of luck man, and thanks for the mention. The Nordics are great for FM, hope you have fun 

[Rikulec]

I didn't think someone would still remember that save. Good luck!

[withnail316]

58 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

I didn't think someone would still remember that save. Good luck!

I remember that save too. Long memories in these parts!

[Rikulec]

7 minutes ago, withnail316 said:

I remember that save too. Long memories in these parts!

Those were the days.

[ManUtd1]

The Zlatan approves.

 

[oriole01]

On 24/06/2019 at 05:30, withnail316 said:

Best of luck man, and thanks for the mention. The Nordics are great for FM, hope you have fun 

On 24/06/2019 at 07:24, Rikulec said:

I didn't think someone would still remember that save. Good luck!

Cheers fellas!

6 hours ago, ManUtd1 said:

The Zlatan approves.

[oriole01]

Before we can move on to the save, it's time to check in with Fabian Schulz, the man who will make it all happen. Following the events of the final chapters of Hans Kaiser- Baldness Über Alles!, Fabian was placed in a two-year witness protection program for his personal safety. That program has brought him to...
Paamiut, Greenland

Arrival
December
The first thing I want to say is that I didn't have any choice in the matter. Interpol didn't give me any. Six months ago, I was in the back of a police van in Belgium. Now, after testifying in nearly a dozen trials, including that of my former boss, here I am sitting alone by an airstrip in the middle of freakin' nowhere. Maybe I shouldn't call it that... this nowhere is where I'll be living for the next two years. I'm waiting for a car to pick me up and take me to my new residence, a small, blue-painted house on the edge of town that they use for people like me every now and then. Until it arrives, though, all I can do is think about the situation at hand. It doesn't make much sense, really. I can understand why I'm a valuable asset to Interpol, and why I needed protection during the trials, but those are over. No one tried to hurt me when I was actually giving damaging testimony... why would anyone try now? To drag me all the way out here for two whole years- away from my daughter who needs me- is a quite shocking show of disrespect. I should be furious, but all I can do is try and get through it right now. I've just got to find something to do here, as difficult as that might sound. Something to pass the time for two years, something to keep me sane, something that'll drive me to see my daughter again. I can't let Greenland beat me; I need to beat it. I'm going to discover this place in all its fish-scented splendor. I'll learn to survive here, whatever that might mean. Hell, maybe I'll even learn how to drive a dogsled. I'll do whatever it takes, because I'm my own man now. If Che were still alive, he'd be ravenously eating his words.

The car's here. It's time to get started.

Edited July 1, 2019 by oriole01

[Hootieleece]

Are you going to stop in Iceland? I have a soft spot like many others for HK...

Any Tactical innovations gonna be tried?

[oriole01]

Paamiut, Greenland

An Opportunity, Presented
January
A fly buzzes past my head. I take a paltry swipe at it, which- like every other attempt tonight- misses. I don't have the energy to succeed right now, even at smashing bugs. It's true, after just three weeks in Paamiut, I've already been broken down. All my "tough-it-out" enthusiasm is gone. There's simply nothing to do here. It's too cold and hazardous to hike in the mountains, the bay is frozen over, and each of the 1500 people who live here are cooped up inside all day. Thankfully, cafés are indoor establishments. There's only two of them in town, and this one, Mario's, is the only one operating at the moment. The other one got raided by hungry polar bears and is closed for repairs. So I'm stuck at Mario's, feeling down on myself. At least everyone else looks pretty dour, too. Winter's a rough time here; no one else has much to look forward to either, apart from spring. Therefore, I shouldn't have thought much when another gloomy-looking, heavily-layered gentleman trudges through the door and sits next to me at the counter. He orders his coffee hot and black. Jesus, he must be even worse off than me... I only went for an espresso. Immediately after ordering, his head sinks into his hands on the counter, which he uses to rub his eyes and massage his forehead. He's clearly stressed about something. But I can't ask him what it is. Thing is, I'm not really supposed to talk to people here, unless it's necessary. In fact, I'm not allowed to use my real name or take a job. Here, I'm Lars Olsen, a Danish fishing equipment salesman who works from home. Of course, that's not information I'd need to share unless pressed to do so. And I have no plans on letting anyone press me... wait, he's looking right at me now. Now I can clearly see his face; he's a small, thin, middle-aged Inuit man with glasses as wiry as his frame. He looks perplexed by me. He must be realizing that he's never seen me before, which for some reason makes his eyes light up.
"Hello, I don't believe we've met. My name's Maasi, what's yours?"
"It's erm... Lars. Lars Olsen. From the mainland."
"And what brings you to Paamiut, Mr. Olsen?"
"Business."
"What sort of business, if you don't mind me asking?"
Yep, I'm being pressed already. Why the **** did they send me to a town where everyone knows everyone?
"I'm in, um, the fishing business. Sell equipment online, I work from home."
"Ah, you must be in a down season this time of year then?"
"You got that right."
I've got to change the topic.
"How about you? What do you do? Whatever it is must be pretty stressful judging by how you looked coming in here."
"Oh, well I'm glad you've asked! I'm in a bit of a down season myself, Lars, on multiple fronts. My primary business is in shipping, where I'm in charge of the majority of our town's exports. Recently we've had a partner sever ties with us and it's hurting our economy pretty badly. Then in my secondary business, I'm the chairman of our town's football club, and we've had someone walk out on us there too. Our manager, who's turned out to be a real fraud. He was one of those 'witness protection' types they send up here sometimes, he didn't care about the job at all, quit as soon as he realized he wasn't getting paid to do nothing. Those people, they're all scum! Never once have I met one worth mine or anyone else's while. No respect for our culture or our values. None! Thank god they shipped him out of here."
Well, that's not a good sign. But something he said intrigued me. I know that I shouldn't be, but I can't resist the temptation to dig deeper.
"Wow, sounds like you've got a lot on your plate. But... the job... are you saying it's open?"
"Why yes, it is! We haven't been able to find anyone willing to take over in the month or so since he left, not even in our own staff! We're not too big a club you know, even by Greenlandic standards. We've struggled to establish ourselves for many years now. We're kind of in, you know, a bad place."
"Listen, Mr..."
"Lyberth."
"Mr. Lyberth. I know we've just met, but... I might be able to help you. I used to play football back in Ger... er... Denmark. I was pretty good at it, too, got to semi-pro level. I know how to lead a group; I was in charge of a security team before I got back into the fishing business. I know that might sound like a stretch, but if you really are having trouble..."
"Say no more."
I freeze, unsure what he means. But before I can voice this, he smiles and continues.
"I like you, Lars. I admire your boldness."
No one's ever said that to me in my life.
"Come in for an interview tomorrow at 10. Address is on the card."
He produces a small green business card from his coat pocket, drops it face down on the counter, and leaves. As soon as he's gone, I flip the card over and read it. On the left side is Maasi's name and contact information. On the right is a badge in the shape of a shield, one side yellow, the other blue, a red slash through the middle with the word "Nagtoralik" in white letters upon it. He's legit. This is happening. I'm being stupid, I'm being insane, but if I don't take this opportunity, I'll surely go mad anyway. It's simple. I don't tell him I'm in witness protection, and I don't tell my handlers at Interpol I've taken the job. I'm good at keeping secrets. I worked for Hans Kaiser, after all. This will work. It has to.

Or else I'm throwing myself off a ****ing glacier.

[oriole01]

Paamiut, Greenland

An Opportunity, Taken
The Next Day
The interview only took a few minutes. All they did was ask for my name, a brief description of my past experience in football, and that I realized I wouldn't be paid. No required documents, no background check, nothing. I'm lucky that they were this desperate, and they're lucky that I'm desperate, too. They clearly haven't learned from their past mistakes; I could have easily just been like the last guy they hired, not giving a s*** about any of it. But no, that's not who I am. I want to succeed here, to give me some sort of real connection to this place that nothing else could provide. I'm all in, determined to make this work out. Surely that'll be easier said than done; I'm walking into a place with no morale and no prospects, after all. The players look like they hardly know how to kick a ball. Maasi and the rest of the staff are watching their wallets like hawks, more focused on their fear of losing what little money they have than trying to build a winning team. Maasi was right- we're in a bad place- but the changes start now. Little by little, day by day, I can turn this around. I might not have done this before, but I'm the best option this club has, and the club is all I have. We need each other. It's a match made in heaven. It's perfect. The hard work starts now, and there's only one way it can be done. Together.

Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

[oriole01]

On 01/07/2019 at 14:39, Hootieleece said:

Are you going to stop in Iceland? I have a soft spot like many others for HK...

Yes, Iceland is definitely going to be a stop on the journey! Though I think it'll be Grindavik that'll be my target to manage there rather than HK, as they're the team I saw play live two years ago.

Quote

Any Tactical innovations gonna be tried?

I don't think so, I've never really been a tactical wizard, so I imagine I'll just use whatever fits my squad best wherever I go. I'm currently testing out an asymmetrical formation with an offset DM though, so maybe that'd be something you'd be interested in seeing.

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45- The Club
I couldn't find anything about this club on Wikipedia, so I created the page myself. It's pending review by the Wikipedia masters, but here's what I wrote:
Nagtoralik-45 (also known as N-45) is a Greenlandic sports club based in Paamiut, Sermersooq, Greenland. The club was founded in 1945 and competes in sports such as football, handball, and badminton. Their football team competes annually in qualifying for the Coca-Cola GM, Greenland's men's football championship.

Pretty basic, but it was all I could find out. 

This is the only shot I could get of Paamiutbane, which has had new synthetic turf installed in the last few years, making it part of a growing number of Greenlandic stadiums with a FIFA-certified surface.

They've never won anything, but they came close to the national title in 1976, a feat I'll be hoping to better as soon as possible.

Facilities

About what you'd expect for an amateur club on the edge of the earth. I hope I'll be able to get in a few upgrades while I'm here so that they can fare well after I'm gone.

Manager Profile

I gave myself a National A license and semi-pro footballer status, so I'm not totally starting from the bottom. There'll definitely be a long way to go to reach the top, though, so it's time to get to work.

Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

[Hootieleece]

Tyr, is the God of Law and War... does your manager worship him?

[oriole01]

3 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Tyr, is the God of Law and War... does your manager worship him?

It was a common Viking battle cry, so I think he's just trying to call back to that sort of fighting spirit rather than worship anyone. It's the equivalent of Los! Los! Los! from my previous thread.

Edited July 5, 2019 by oriole01

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2019 GBU Indendørs
Disclaimer: I've already played the first two seasons of this, so these will go quickly.

Some explanation first. Greenland has both an indoor and outdoor championship every year, with each competition holding a regional qualification stage. Paamiut being in the south of Greenland, we'll be playing exclusively against other southern teams for this stage, with one spot in the national finals on the line. The qualifying stage for the outdoor championship later in the year is mostly the same, with a few differences which I'll highlight when we get there. For now, we're playing each of our southern brethren twice for a total of ten games, each match requiring a victor with penalties following normal time if the game is tied.
Qualification

It wasn't an encouraging sign to lose to our U19s in our second friendly, but we did well enough in the qualifiers, winning six of the ten games. Our losses were all close except for the Narsaq one, which was our worst performance of the stage. With only one berth in the finals available, I knew it was going to be tight to qualify with our record, but...

We made it, just barely. It was a super competitive group- only six points separated first from last- so I'm proud to have gone through as the south's representative. This means we'll be competing against clubs from Greenland's four other regions (North, Middle, East, and Disko Bay) for the indoor title. I'm not requiring myself to win this trophy since it's not considered a cup or a top league, but I'd of course like to win it anyway.
Finals

We got a bye to the semi finals, where I was disappointed to lose to Kuummiut, an eastern side who I thought were easy opposition when we drew them. They ended up losing in the final to Disko Bay team Kugsak, one of the country's strongest sides.

All in all, a decent effort, but we should have gone a step further than we did. Now it's time to step outside and really get down to business.
Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

Edited July 6, 2019 by oriole01

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2019 Coca Cola GM
The outdoor championship has arrived, which brings another regional qualification stage. The differences between this one and the indoor one is that there's only one round of games instead of two, draws are allowed, and there's two qualification spots instead of one. With just five games to qualify with, there's not much room for error, so I set out to improve our squad with some transfers in preparation for the important fixtures ahead.
Transfers

With all clubs in Greenland being amateur, it's quite easy to poach players off other teams, provided they're close enough to you geographically. Still, I was a bit surprised that I was able to nick this many players off of the country's top sides, especially from former champions IT-79. Lyberth in particular was the most lethal striker on the island during the indoor championships, so I was delighted to get him over the line. With so many shrewd signings in tow, I felt confident that I could make a big splash in the tournament, but...
Qualification

We weren't consistent enough. We were brilliant in our victories, especially in the ruthlessly clinical display against Narsaq, but we were poor in the other three matches and only escaped from Eqaluk with a point thanks to a very, very late penalty. Still, we only needed a point against Kalak on the last day to advance, but somehow contrived to lose at home in an utter mess of a match which saw players on both sides sent off and this ludicrous own goal, which should have been our ticket to the national finals had we not conceded late on.

A thoroughly disappointing first crack at the GM that cuts our domestic season short after just 16 games played and leaves a lot to be desired for next season.

The finals ended up being won by a team from our region, Siuteroq, defeating a surprise finalist from the powerhouse Midtgrønland region in Sisimiut, who traditionally lag behind such big powers as B-67, IT-79, and NUK IL. Siuteroq themselves reaching the final was unexpected, but they earned it by taking down B-67 in the semis and repeated the feat again to lift the trophy. Well done on bringing the title to the south, but I want it to be us doing that next season. We're just getting started here, even if the first season didn't quite live up to expectations.

However, thanks to some surprise news, our entire season wasn't quite over yet... details in the next post.
Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

Edited July 6, 2019 by oriole01

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
UEFA Europa League First Qualifying Round
So somehow, we got placed into the hat for the Europa League, despite having come nowhere close to winning the league. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I won't complain with Fabian getting his first ever taste of European football. We were drawn against Hibernian of Scotland, which definitely wasn't the kindest draw we could've received for a first qualifying round tie. I was definitely expecting to be promptly tossed out, but stranger things have happened.


Well, at least we scored a goal. Having just gone behind for the first time in the tie at Paamiutbane, we responded immediately through Michael Jørgensen to level the scores and delight our delirious home fans. Things would be all downhill from there though, as Hibs scored thrice more on the night and then thrashed us 6-0 in Edinburgh to send us out 10-1 on aggregate and officially end our season. Regardless of the result, though, it was a welcome surprise and a good experience to have put under our belts going forward, though if we're going to appear in Europe again, we'll have to earn it.

This brings the first season of our journey to a close. For the first time ever, I'll be using one of these handy spreadsheets to track my progress.

Hopefully those red boxes will turn green soon enough.
Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

Edited July 6, 2019 by oriole01

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2020 Pre-Season and GBU Indendørs
The offseason in Greenland is a long one. So long, in fact, that I had to holiday all the way through it and missed our first youth intake . Thankfully, I was able to sign the best players from that aborted intake on frees, so all was not lost. That brings us to our transfers.
Transfers

The aforementioned youth players came in as free agents, and I added two more defenders from Greenland's juggernaut B-67, both of whom weren't starting games in Nuuk. The side is only getting stronger, so we should be doing better than last season.

Qualification

Not consistent enough. I thought we were looking pretty good after back-to-back big wins against Kalak and Kissaviarsuk, but the penalty loss to Narsaq really stung, as we were leading heading into stoppage time but conceded in the 92nd minute. The luck swung our way on penalties against Eqaluk, but the losses to Siuteroq and Kalak effectively ended our hopes of qualifying top of the group.

We ended up finishing third, behind defending national champions Siuteroq and a surprisingly good Narsaq side, who are usually regarded as the weakest team in the south.

Siuteroq were prevented from winning another trophy, however, as they lost to Midtgrønland side NUK IL in the final.

We weren't at our best in this edition of the indoor championships, but my eyes are focused firmly on the real prize, the outdoor title. Hopefully we'll turn up when it matters most there.
Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

Edited July 6, 2019 by oriole01

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2020 Coca-Cola GM
We didn't add anyone new for our second outdoor campaign, as I couldn't find anyone that was an improvement on what we already had. With two qualification spots instead of one, I felt a lot better about making the next stage of this competition than the indoor one.
Qualification

Better than last year. We were no match for Siuteroq and were terrible against Eqaluk, but we put the hurt on Narsaq at home again and won our final two games to put ourselves in a good position to qualify. The Kalak game was another insane outing that saw five goals scored in the last ten minutes of the match, seeing us go from 1-1 level to 3-1 up to 3-3 level and then 4-3 up to win the game. We took care of business away at Kissaviarsuk, benefiting from an own goal and a sending off from our opponents to win comfortably.

Three wins were enough to go through in second behind a perfect Siuteroq, meaning we've reached the national finals of the outdoor championships for the first time.
Slutrunden
Since it's our first time reaching this stage, it's time to explain how the national finals work. There are two stages, an interregional group stage known as the Slutrunden, and the knockout stages, consisting of semis and a national final. The Slutrunden is divided into two groups of five, with the top two in each group advancing to the semis and thus qualifying for European football. I was hoping we could at least do that, but...

We were absolutely dreadful. We never looked comfortable in any of these matches, and were deservedly played off the park in each of them. The only game we had a chance of winning was the first one, in which we scored what should have been a winner on 88', but conceded in the fourth minute of added time. Improvement is still needed, that's for sure.

I thought I had received a blessing by avoiding Siuteroq and the big sides from Midtgrønland and Disko Bay, but I'm quickly learning not to underestimate any Greenlandic team. Anyone's capable of beating anyone here.

Upernavik are this year's national champions, capping a remarkably unlikely run to the title considering they hadn't qualified for the indoor or outdoor finals until now. They defeated a strong Nagdlunguaq side on penalties, who will surely be gutted that they weren't able to win this one.

With that, our second season has concluded. I was hoping we could have won the league this season, but Greenland's shown me that it's not done with me yet. We go again!

Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

Edited July 6, 2019 by oriole01

[oriole01]

"The Frozen Locomotive"

Since I forgot to do this last season, it's time to take a look around and see what's been happening in the other Nordic nations for these first two seasons.

Faroe Islands
(48th in UEFA Coefficient)


B36 and KI have taken the first two titles, with NSI and HB consistently in the top three. Vikingur Gøta, the club I'd like to manage there, have struggled, so maybe I could get that job when I get there.

Iceland
(43rd in UEFA Coefficient)


The top two have been the exact same in both seasons, with Valur establishing dominance in Iceland by winning their fourth straight title. Grindavik were relegated this season, hopefully they'll be coming back up soon.

Finland
(32nd in UEFA Coefficient)


KuPS claimed a surprise title in the first season, their first since 1976, but HJK returned to their usual top spot this season. Ilves, another club I'd like to manage, have been solidly mid-table, finishing 8th out of 12 in both seasons.

Sweden
(23rd in UEFA Coefficient)


Malmö and Norrköping have traded titles, with Hacken reaching a surprise second in the first season. AIK, my favorite Swedish team, have finished 6th in both seasons.

Norway
(20th in UEFA Coefficient)


Rosenborg have been dominant, now having won six consecutive titles. Molde haven't finished higher than 9th and Strømsgodset haven't finished higher than 7th, paving the way for sides like Stabaek and Kristiansund to reach Europe.

Denmark
(15th in UEFA Coefficient)


Much to the dismay of my good friend @Benjoe, FCK have won both titles, though Brøndby came in second last season and are in the title race in the current season (Denmark's schedule is the same as the big leagues). Odense, my favorite Danish team, have finished 7th in both seasons.

[kidthekid]

Nice to see FCK at the top where they belong. Great result for the sport.

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2021 Pre-Season
So now that we're caught up with where I am in game, I think I'll be slowing down the updates a bit to about five per season, meaning I'm doing a full pre-season post here.

We're rated as having the third-highest chance of taking home the national title, but I wouldn't trust those odds too much since defending champions Upernavik are rated 19th and two middling sides from our region are rated in the top 10. Anyone could win this thing.

We handled our U19s pretty easily, but did concede in both games.

Transfers

We bring in two more highly-rated players from the big Midtgrønland sides, which appears to be the only region other than our own that we can get players from due to geographic concerns. Frederiksen is a talented winger who's scored 23 goals in 42 appearances over the last two seasons, and Espersen is an 18-year-old AM who I plan to drop back into the CM strata to use as a Box to Box mid.
Kjeld Frederiksen Ulrik Espersen

Tactics

I had been using an attacking 5-1-3-1 formation in previous seasons, but its inconsistency led me to change it to this, which will be my main setup this season. The mentality and TIs will be changed depending on the opponent, and maybe one of the strikers will be dropped back into the AM line every now and then, but for the most part it's a dynamic attacking formation with an offset midfield of Espersen at BBM and a youngster named Jeppe Jensen at BWM in the DM line. Some of our best players include Aabech, Mathiesen, Hansen, Lyberth, and Jørgenson, who have nailed down starting spots through their play. Everyone else will probably be rotated with other players at some point during the season.

I hope this is my last season in Greenland, as I'm eager to move along in the challenge. With Fabian's witness protection program expiring in December, winning the title will be a fitting end to his time here.
Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2021 GBU Indendørs Qualifying, Part 1

Well, we've started very well, so it's all about maintaining this now. I was definitely pleased to knock off hated rivals Siuteroq on penalties, especially after they had FMed us in normal time and took the shootout to an eighth round. The new tactic- which I should mention I was assisted on by @BoxToBox- has really worked wonders so far, and hopefully it'll continue to do so going forward.

With the win over Kissaviarsuk, we've moved three points clear of them atop the table, and our superior goal difference should ensure we go through even if we finish level on points. We're looking good, just need to keep winning.

Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

[Hootieleece]

Interesting Tactic. Hope it keeps working for you.

[Jimbokav1971]

Great idea for the save. 

I am going South America in FM20, but Scandi-Nordik-Noir is pencilled in for FM20. 

Good luck , (except in Iceland where I obviously hope HK stuff you). 

[Edit]

ps Any chance you could show us your TM Lyberth, and anyone else you feel like showing? 

Edited July 9, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[oriole01]

On 09/07/2019 at 11:49, Hootieleece said:

Interesting Tactic. Hope it keeps working for you.

Cheers, I hope so too.

On 09/07/2019 at 12:57, Jimbokav1971 said:

Great idea for the save. 

I am going South America in FM20, but Scandi-Nordik-Noir is pencilled in for FM20. 

Good luck , (except in Iceland where I obviously hope HK stuff you). 

[Edit]

ps Any chance you could show us your TM Lyberth, and anyone else you feel like showing? 

Thank you Jimbo, it's good to know I have the King of Iceland himself following along! I'm on holiday at the moment and don't have access to FM, but I'll make sure to show you Lyberth and some of our other top players when I get back 

[oriole01]

I've returned from a lovely holiday in Croatia and Slovenia, and now I'm prepared to start playing FM all day again in boring Maryland . I haven't forgotten about your request though @Jimbokav1971, so here's some screenshots of Lyberth and four other players I rate highly to form a top five at Nagtoralik. This should probably give you an idea of the "quality" on display in Greenland.





The attributes aren't much; I consider anything within the 6-10 range good for this level. I do find it interesting that the majority of players I consider our best have been at the club the whole time rather than those we've brought in, which I suppose means I could've made better signings. I'm most surprised at how good Jørgenson's been, as he was really struggling at AM in the first season before I moved him to striker last season and he's since become a goal machine with 7 in 17 last season and already 5 in 6 this season. He's being surpassed only by Lyberth, who's scored 7 in 6 and looks primed to be Greenland's top scorer this year.

Looking forward to cracking back on with the save now!

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2021 GBU Indendørs Qualifying, Part 2

Well, there was definitely a hiccup in our form, but we did well to recover from it and finish the qualifying campaign with two wins. We really lost our touch against our two closest challengers, which immediately erased our six-point lead at the top. Heading into the final day trailing Siuteroq on goal difference, we knew we had to win and win by a considerable margin, and we did just that in a very nervy away match in Narsaq which saw us scoreboard watching, desperately trying to score, and desperately trying not to concede at different points in the game in what was our most "clutch" victory on the save so far.

The three goal margin of victory coupled with a narrow 1-0 Siuteroq win over Kissaviarsuk means that we've pipped our rivals to the playoffs on goals scored, which I'm sure will make them furious. We're making our second appearance in the indoor playoffs in three seasons, where it appears teams from the south always get a bye to the semi final. In that match, we'll be facing...

A really tough draw. Nagdlunguaq are a consistently good side that made the outdoor final last season and whose squad features some of the best players in the country. We'll have to be at our best to beat them, and I'm prepared for a hard-fought battle to reach our first final on the save. This should be a pretty good barometer of how much our side has developed since the start, and whether we truly are part of Greenland's elite class of teams.

Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2021 GBU Indendørs Semi Final

We lost, but I'm proud of the fight we put up against a side of our opposition's quality. We were getting battered early and were lucky not to concede within the first ten minutes, so our more direct tactic was switched to a more patient, less direct one with shorter passes. It got us the opening goal, as Poul Erik Hansen picked out Lyberth to smuggle a close range header over the line. Nagdlunguaq's quality eventually shone through and prevailed, however, as they equalized on 36' from Kurt Madsen's well-hit shot from the edge of the area and then got their winner on 65' from another clean strike by Lars-Erik Reimer, who had also set up Madsen's goal. We didn't roll over after going behind, however, as we pushed forward late in the second half and came within inches of equalizing twice, with young substitutes Klavs Johansen Svendsen and Casper Thomsen each hitting the woodwork, the latter with the last kick of the game. The final whistle brought disappointment but not bitterness, as we played well and would have beat them on another day. Our keeper Lars Aabech had an immense game despite conceding two goals, making 12 saves to earn my personal man of the match rating.

The indoor title ended up being won by Kuummiut, the eastern side who beat us two seasons ago at this stage. They did well to upset both B-67 and Nagdlunguaq, as they avenge their loss in the final two years ago and take their first silverware on the save. Nagdlunguaq, meanwhile, have now lost two consecutive finals in all competitions. Someone call @ManUtd1!

As we don't have to win the indoor trophy, I won't lose any sleep over this defeat, and our focus now goes to the outdoor circuit, where a title victory will permit Fabian to leave Greenland and really get his management journey underway in pastures new.
Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2021 Coca-Cola GM Qualifying

We did pretty well overall, claiming three wins from our five fixtures and losing just one of them. I was delighted to take down Siuteroq at their place, especially through a late Lyberth goal to add some drama. We did very well against Narsaq and Kissaviarsuk, but were poor against Eqaluk, as we actually conceded the winning goal with a man advantage after they had a man sent off in the second half. I would have liked to win the Kalak game at home on the final day, as we were far better than them, but the draw didn't end up hurting us in the big picture.

Because of the draw we finished second in the group behind Siuteroq, meaning we've qualified for the national finals for the second consecutive year. Eqaluk could've pipped us to the qualification spot on the final day, but they drew as well and finished third.

Slutrunden Draw

Not the easiest draw, as in addition to facing our southern rivals Siuteroq again, we'll also be having rematches against Disko Bay's Nagdlunguaq and Midtgrønland's Siumut, who stole a win from us at this stage last year. Rounding out the group are eastern underdogs Isortoq, who are making their first appearance in the final stage of either competition on the save. I hope we can at least get all three points from them, but my ambitions are a bit greater than that... we should be challenging for the title this time around. In the other group, northern defending champions Upernavik have qualified again, as well as eastern former semifinalists Ukaliatsiaq and Midtgrønland giants NUK IL, who beat B-67 to a place this season. Also qualified are Disko Bay side G-44 and northern outfit Eqaluk-56, both newcomers to the national scene looking to prove themselves this season.

Let's get to work on the big stage.
Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2021 Coca-Cola GM Slutrunden

Perfectly symmetrical in our form, two wins and two losses. We weren't as bad as the scoreline suggests against our hated rivals Siuteroq, as their first three goals were scored through unstoppable long-range screamers, but it was still a very disappointing result nonetheless. We then came away with two crucial narrow victories against Siumut and Isortoq, each time scoring the first two goals then conceding and parking the bus late on to secure three points. The last game against Nagdlunguaq was one we really would have preferred to win to qualify from the group, but it was a boring game that saw just one goal from a set piece for the opposition. With just six points earned, we really shouldn't have qualified from this group, but...

We got lucky. Heading into the final day, a loss on our part would have meant the Siuteroq-Siumut match would have to finish in a draw for us to go through, but that's exactly what happened, as Siumut scored a screamer late on to equalize and do us the biggest of favors. NUK IL and Ukaliatsiaq advance from Group A, making us the only team in the semis without prior experience at that stage on the save. We weren't at our best in the Slutrunden, and we've got tough opposition to face no matter who we draw in the semis, but I'm glad to have advanced further than last season and we'll see what happens in the knockout stages.

Semi Final Draw

I definitely would have preferred Ukaliatsiaq . NUK have been very good this season, their consistency probably second only to Nagdlunguaq, who will face Ukaliatsiaq in the other semi for the right to play in their third consecutive final across both competitions. Though the game is technically at a neutral site, it's being played in NUK's home stadium, as the knockout stages always take place there. The odds are going to be stacked against us facing a team of this quality and in good form, but we'll give it a go and we may very well come out victorious. From what I've learned so far, Greenland's quite an unpredictable place!

Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2021 Coca-Cola GM Semi Final

Look further than the scoreline and you'll see that we gave it our all. We went behind early to Dennis Lind's free kick that should have been saved and faced pressure throughout the first half, but responded just past the hour through center back Mikkel Raarup Petersen's first ever goal for the club. That got us fired up, and we pushed hard for the winner late on to avoid extra time, but it was NUK who landed the killer blow on 86', Lind scoring a brilliant goal off a ruthless counter. We had to chase the game, and that's where it all fell apart, as NUK scored thrice more in as many minutes to pad their newfound lead and make the game look a lot less closer than it was. Still, they were clearly the better team, and it shows us that we still have another step to take before we're ready to leave Greenland. It's getting harder to improve the side, as not many top players want to join us and some of our current stars are getting older, but we'll find a way to manage. We will go again in 2022, which will be Fabian's fourth season on the island, and as always, what he (and I) hopes will be his last.

Nagdlunguaq finally won a trophy, taking home the national title over NUK in a battle of the country's undisputed top two sides. They won in dramatic fashion, scoring the winner in stoppage time and denying NUK their first outdoor title on the save.
---
With that, our third season comes to a close. Here's a look at a few end of season news items and our tracker.

Winter signing Kjeld Frederiksen took player of the year honors, an assessment I'd agree with despite Isak Lyberth's slightly better scoring record, as Frederiksen is a more well-rounded player at right wing and played a more holistic part in our success this season. He should be an integral part of this side for years to come, which hopefully means after Fabian's left . Lyberth came second and Taatsiaq Mathiesen, our terrific right back, took third.

Fabian's won his first individual award, beating out the managers of both finalists to claim Greenland's manager of the year honor. Hopefully he'll have another one coming his way soon.

Hansen took a step back this season, so I'll be looking for a new AML to give him competition next season.

Getting closer.
Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

[oriole01]

"The Frozen Locomotive"

Faroe Islands
(47th in UEFA Coefficient)


B36 won again, beating out perennial title rivals KI for their second title in three years.
Løgmanssteypid Winners:
NSI Runavik

Iceland
(44th in UEFA Coefficient)


Breidablik have shaken things up in Iceland, breaking Valur's streak of four straight titles after finishing just a point ahead of surprise runners-up Vikingur Reykjavik.
Bikar Karla Winners:
KR Reykjavik

Finland
(31st in UEFA Coefficient)


KuPS strolled to their second title on the save, now having established themselves to be on the same plane as HJK in the country, who had a poor season and finished in 4th.
Suomen Cup Winners:
KuPS

Sweden
(25th in UEFA Coefficient)


Norrköping win their second straight, this time evading stiff competition from Djurgårdens and Malmö for the trophy.
Svenska Cupen Winners:
Malmö FF

Norway
(21st in UEFA Coefficient)


Brann have finally put an end to Rosenborg's six-year reign atop Norwegian football, denying them a seventh straight by just a point. Great result for football.
Braathens Cup Winners:
Kristiansund BK

Denmark
(13th in UEFA Coefficient)


FCK won again.
DBU Pokalen Winners:
FC København

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2022 Pre-Season

We're again predicted third with the exact same odds, despite making three new key signings.

Transfers


Firstly, I forgot to mention I signed a player before the outdoor championships last season. Andreassen, who arrived from rivals Siuteroq, is a DM who I intended to either compete with or overtake Jeppe Jensen, but he got injured after just two games and only returned for the semi final, in which he was ineffectual. I hope he will be able to stake a claim for a starting XI place this season.

As soon as last season ended, I got to work on arranging new signings for this season, including our first ever paid transfer. Oliver Lind, whose youth contract status meant we had to pay a royal $650 for his services, was last season's top scorer at NUK IL, with three of his seven goals in the outdoor championship coming against us in the semi final. A young, talented striker, he should fit in with us well. The similarly-named Dennis Lind, also a young striker, has come over from fellow southerners Kissaviarsuk and will combine with Oliver up front to form a very confusing attacking partnership this season. With good physicals and an astounding 14 for finishing, I'll be looking to Dennis to provide some of the ruthlessness in attack that we've lacked in previous seasons. Lastly, Andersen is a young CB from B-67 who is a replacement (and big improvement) over the now-retired Peter Knudsen, his former teammate in Nuuk. He has strong defensive attributes for this level and will become one of our starting CBs alongside Morten Martinusen. I'm not done with signings yet, as I want a new AML, as mentioned two posts back, and maybe more.

Malik Andreassen|Sebastian Andersen|Oliver Lind|Dennis Lind

Routine. Both Linds got on the scoresheet in the first game.

Time to finish what we've started.
Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

[kidthekid]

If Dennis Lind doesn't finish as the top scorer, we riot...no pressure.

Edited July 23, 2019 by kidthekid

[noikeee]

I'm typically not a huge fan of playing in the Nordic countries but I think you've got a really nice idea going on here, clear objectives, interesting challenge, unique league to start with. Just need to thaw some extra goals before global warming melts the whole place down.

I hope you win the Coca Cola Gronlandsmesterskabet soon so I don't have to write "Coca Cola Gronlandsmesterskabet" too often.

[oriole01]

On 22/07/2019 at 20:09, kidthekid said:

If Dennis Lind doesn't finish as the top scorer, we riot...no pressure.

None at all! 

12 hours ago, noikeee said:

I'm typically not a huge fan of playing in the Nordic countries but I think you've got a really nice idea going on here, clear objectives, interesting challenge, unique league to start with. Just need to thaw some extra goals before global warming melts the whole place down.

I hope you win the Coca Cola Gronlandsmesterskabet soon so I don't have to write "Coca Cola Gronlandsmesterskabet" too often.

Cheers noikeee, I appreciate the kind words and your support. Our league's name sure is a mouthful... I too am hoping we get out soon for the sake of everyone's sanity.

[B.W.G]

Excellent work in Greenland so far.I love the name Coca Cola Gronlandsmesterskabet,that has to be one of the best named competitions I've seen

[oriole01]

6 hours ago, B.W.G said:

Excellent work in Greenland so far.I love the name Coca Cola Gronlandsmesterskabet,that has to be one of the best named competitions I've seen

Cheers BWG! Grønlandsmesterskabet only translates to "Greenland championship" in English, but in Danish it's much more fun to say.

[ScottishPep]

Well this is fantastic!

[oriole01]

3 hours ago, ScottishPep said:

Well this is fantastic!

Thank you sir! 

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2022 GBU Indendørs Qualifying, Part 1
Transfers

I couldn't resist pulling the trigger on two more transfers, as in Nielsen I saw an even better option than Andreassen at DM, and in Brummerstedt I saw the additional wing option I had wanted since last year. The former will be my new starter (though Greenland's very strict suspension rules mean he'll actually have to be in a rotation with Andreassen), and the latter will provide cover and occasionally start on the left wing.

Steffen Nielsen|Hans Brummerstedt



Not the best set of results. We weren't very convincing in our wins (though I was as always happy to beat Siuteroq) and we already have two losses halfway through the group campaign. Kissaviarsuk FMed us at home with some clinical finishing from set plays, and an early red card ended up being our undoing against Eqaluk away. Jørgensen's been our only consistent performer going forward so far, as Lyberth and both Linds have struggled to make an impact.

We're sitting three points off the top, level with Eqaluk, who we did a big favor by losing to them. With three of the last five games on the road, we have to do really well to finish top of this group now.

This will not help us do that. This has to be the worst injury I've seen one of my players face in any FM, and it's happened to our best player from last season. He was hurt early in the Kissaviarsuk match, so we've been without him for almost four full games, but we're definitely not playing better without him. It's a rough blow, and one that decreases my hope of getting out of Greenland this season. But we shall fight on.

Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2022 GBU Indendørs Qualifying, Part 2

Well, I don't think we could have done much better than this in terms of results. We were hardly convincing in any of our games, but we managed to tough out wins in all of them, the most notable being a crazy affair against Kissaviarsuk away, in which we went 3-0 up, conceded three unanswered, and then bagged a late winner through Dennis Lind, who scored on his third attempt in rapid succession. We also beat Siuteroq again on the last day, thanks to a supersub performance from Lyberth which saw us go from losers to winners in an eight-minute span. This moved our win total up to eight, which should have been enough, but...

It wasn't. Despite our five-game winning streak, including a victory over them, we couldn't surpass Kissaviarsuk on goal difference. Blowing that 3-0 lead in our match really ended up hurting us. Usually 24 points is the magic number to get out of the group in this competition, but we just got unlucky this time. Still, we've shown that we're good at getting the right results, and I'm plenty hopeful for our outdoor campaign this season.

In a rematch of last year's indoor final, Disko Bay titans Nagdlunguaq took revenge over easterners Kuummiut to win their second consecutive title in their fourth consecutive final in all competitions. They're really becoming the dominant force in the country, one I'll likely have to topple to get out of here. Kissaviarsuk were useless against them in the semis, representing the south poorly this time.

As always, our focus must turn to the all-important outdoor championships now. Hopefully we can at least get as far as we did last season, but I know well that Greenland does what Greenland wills.
Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!

[Crispypaul]

I like a Nordic save.  Hadn't thought of including Greenland though!

[kidthekid]

Nice run of form, hopefully you can get it done in the prestigious Outdoors.

[oriole01]

6 hours ago, Crispypaul said:

I like a Nordic save.  Hadn't thought of including Greenland though!

It's certainly a unique location to start a save! I hope I can get out as soon as possible though 

4 hours ago, kidthekid said:

Nice run of form, hopefully you can get it done in the prestigious Outdoors.

Cheers esco kid!

[Hootieleece]

That Injury is about the worst I've seen also.  They always seem to happen to irreplaceable players....

[oriole01]

9 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

That Injury is about the worst I've seen also.  They always seem to happen to irreplaceable players....

It's an absolutely diabolical injury that's been foisted upon us. It's made everything harder for us, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's the main reason we fail to win the league this season. I'm starting to think the entire island of Greenland has gained sentience, and it doesn't want me to leave .

[oriole01]

Nagtoralik-45
2022 Coca-Cola GM Qualifying
Transfers

I decided to make one final transfer for this season in the short June window, bringing in Ghebrelul, another young winger from B-67 who will be Brummerstedt's counterpart on the right. With Poul Erik Hansen having taken major steps back in his performances this season (and to some extent last), I wanted another option to try and fill the gaping goalscoring hole left by Kjeld Frederiksen's injury. Let's hope he can chip in and help us advance out of our regional group and beyond.
Adam Ghebrelul


Not perfect, but we did well enough. That's a pattern we've grown accustomed to in this competition for the last three years, and thankfully it's continued here. We were looking set for our third win over Siuteroq this season when we went 2-0 up in the first half, but the bastards fought back and equalized with a rocket in the dying seconds of the match. We recovered with a trademark beatdown of Narsaq, but slipped hard against Eqaluk for the second time this season in what was a dreadful attacking performance. We nearly bottled victory once more against Kalak, again surrendering a 2-0 lead late in the second half, but this time Dennis Lind slotted home a winning penalty on 90' to take all three points. We finished with a convincing away win over Kissaviarsuk, avenging their GD-fueled elimination of us in the indoor qualifiers.

We actually finished top of the group, which is the first time we've done so at this stage of the GM, having finished third in the first season and second behind Siuteroq in the past two. It's they who will have to settle for second place this time, with our win over Kissaviarsuk ensuring they'll once again be left out in the snow in third.

Slutrunden Draw

We've been given a kind draw again, at least compared to the death trap that is Group A. We face eastern newcomers ATA Tasiilaq, eastern powerhouse/indoor specialists Kuummiut, Disko Bay side Kugsak, and our good old friends Siuteroq, who we've definitely had the leg up on this season. On the other side, at least one of B-67, Nagdlunguaq, or NUK IL will fail to make it to the knockout stages, but I'm definitely hoping it'll be all three somehow . Northern brethren Eqaluk-56 and Malamuk will be tasked with trying to deny them their places.

We certainly have a chance to win this year despite our setbacks and inconsistencies, so it's all about getting out there and giving it a go now.
Tyr! Tyr! Tyr!