FM20 - Cyprus (Fair Game)

[Jogo Bonito]

14 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Amazing achievement to get past the group stage of the Champions League Jogo. Well done buddy.

Cheers, I am more shocked than anyone 

[Travis Bickle]

Amazing achievement in the group stages and you're doing well in the league too. Amazing job. 

I must concur when I built my best APOEL side, I had a number of talents from Colombia. Was able to pick up good players for 500k-2M and stick them on maybe 4-8k a week. 

[Jogo Bonito]

8 minutes ago, Travis Bickle said:

Amazing achievement in the group stages and you're doing well in the league too. Amazing job. 

I must concur when I built my best APOEL side, I had a number of talents from Colombia. Was able to pick up good players for 500k-2M and stick them on maybe 4-8k a week. 

Thanks, it's going way better than I expected so far on both fronts.

South America does seem to be the right market, as it's a step up for the best players there to go to Europe (even Cyprus). Whereas for a Spanish/Italian player they'll be the ones not good enough to make a name in their own country. Africa markets might be worthy of some attention, but personally I will steer clear of them on this one as that's my normal go-to market. Asia and Middle East are other markets I have looked at as there are some players I know that could come in and do a good job on a fairly low risk basis.

For this season, I'll not be needing anything, but the winter window can and will be used to check expiring contracts on some of my shortlisted targets.

[Travis Bickle]

2 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Thanks, it's going way better than I expected so far on both fronts.

South America does seem to be the right market, as it's a step up for the best players there to go to Europe (even Cyprus). Whereas for a Spanish/Italian player they'll be the ones not good enough to make a name in their own country. Africa markets might be worthy of some attention, but personally I will steer clear of them on this one as that's my normal go-to market. Asia and Middle East are other markets I have looked at as there are some players I know that could come in and do a good job on a fairly low risk basis.

For this season, I'll not be needing anything, but the winter window can and will be used to check expiring contracts on some of my shortlisted targets.

One important consideration is that with young players from South America you can sell them for a profit. Usually a club like Benfica will come in. I once sold Tomás Belmonte to Benfica for 30M after signing him on a free for APOEL.

Remember 4 max transfers in January!

[Jogo Bonito]

12 minutes ago, Travis Bickle said:

One important consideration is that with young players from South America you can sell them for a profit. Usually a club like Benfica will come in. I once sold Tomás Belmonte to Benfica for 30M after signing him on a free for APOEL.

Remember 4 max transfers in January!

Yes that four January transfer limit is both good and bad. I like it to be honest, and I like that it isn't too common  

But lining them up in the winter for arrival in the summer on expiring contracts didn't count in the four last season. I looked at Belmonte last season but didn't bid as I found better value elsewhere. Actually I also thought I had Joao Schmidt joining on a free when he was on trial (but he didn't after accepting a much lower contract back in Brazil).

Apart from the national team striker are there any other Cypriots I should be trying to recruit? I'm OK for strikers without getting him as I have Louka held in reserve and I really like the look of him.

Edited August 6, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[Travis Bickle]

8 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Apart from the national team striker are there any other Cypriots I should be trying to recruit? I'm OK for strikers without getting him as I have Louka held in reserve and I really like the look of him.

Chabos Kyriakou from Apollon is a reliable DMC. Konstantinos Laifis is expensive but if he ever becomes available, definitely get him. I'd also look at Neofytos Michael as a potential backup GK. 
 

[Travis Bickle]

I'm going to start a save with either Apollon or APOEL today inspired by this thread. I'll let you guys know how I get on. I don't have time to play that much but I'll try to get a few seasons in before I give FM a month or two break in waiting for FM21. 

[Travis Bickle]

Currently testing the Stadium update to make sure it works correctly then I will upload!

[Travis Bickle]

 

[Jogo Bonito]

11 hours ago, Travis Bickle said:

Chabos Kyriakou from Apollon is a reliable DMC. Konstantinos Laifis is expensive but if he ever becomes available, definitely get him. I'd also look at Neofytos Michael as a potential backup GK. 
 

I saw Laifis and have him on the radar already. I will take a look at Kyriakou next time I open FM up. I am sure I already have Michael at the club, but he has been out on loan (first and second season) from before I arrived. Unless I am confusing him with another keeper of a similar name (but I don't think so).

Nice one on the stadium update. I'll head to Limassol on a new save in the future because of it. But I have work to continue at APOEL first 

Edit: I do have Michail at the club, he is the one out on loan at Asteras Tripolis for the first two seasons. Kyriakou was on my shortlist, available for £400,000 so might do that to boost the Cypriot numbers further. Laifis is also on my shortlist, but still in Belgium (Standard) and valued at £5 million. I don't need him yet so will see when his contract ends. 

Edited August 7, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[karanhsingh]

I must say I'm getting tempted to join in the island fun, especially as my sheffield Wednesday team got taken over and the new owners are threatening to sack me. 

[Jogo Bonito]

7 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

I must say I'm getting tempted to join in the island fun, especially as my sheffield Wednesday team got taken over and the new owners are threatening to sack me. 

The latest one to be hooked in 

The new owners at Sheff Wed clearly haven't been made aware of your previous FM exploits.

[Travis Bickle]

8 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I saw Laifis and have him on the radar already. I will take a look at Kyriakou next time I open FM up. I am sure I already have Michael at the club, but he has been out on loan (first and second season) from before I arrived. Unless I am confusing him with another keeper of a similar name (but I don't think so).

Nice one on the stadium update. I'll head to Limassol on a new save in the future because of it. But I have work to continue at APOEL first 

Edit: I do have Michail at the club, he is the one out on loan at Asteras Tripolis for the first two seasons. Kyriakou was on my shortlist, available for £400,000 so might do that to boost the Cypriot numbers further. Laifis is also on my shortlist, but still in Belgium (Standard) and valued at £5 million. I don't need him yet so will see when his contract ends. 

If you need an experienced CB, Valentinos Sielis does quite well. He plays in South Korea and can usually be picked up for quite cheap. 

Edited August 8, 2020 by Travis Bickle

[karanhsingh]

11 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

The latest one to be hooked in 

The new owners at Sheff Wed clearly haven't been made aware of your previous FM exploits.

On second thought I have decided to continue that career. I need to stop quitting games in 2022/23 

[Jogo Bonito]

5 hours ago, Travis Bickle said:

If you need an experienced CB, Valentinos Sielis does quite well. He plays in South Korea and can usually be picked up for quite cheap. 

I'll check him out, thanks.

52 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

On second thought I have decided to continue that career. I need to stop quitting games in 2022/23 

Fair play, good luck with your continued Sheffield experience!

[karanhsingh]

Cheers. Do you want some recommendations for cheap south Americans or prefer to scout them yourself? 

[Jogo Bonito]

17 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

Cheers. Do you want some recommendations for cheap south Americans or prefer to scout them yourself? 

I appreciate the offer, but I'm happy to go with my own targets thanks. That's not intended to sound arrogant or to suggest mine will be better of course 

I don't think I have ever used in-game scouts or asked for a scout report in FM, I have really unusual transfer ideas which nearly always start off with people who are floating around in my head, then I do all sorts of video scouting, social media checks, data checks etc. Put me down as odd 

My knowledge of Cypriot players is weak, I just needed to make sure I wasn't missing any of their better players so i took a shortcut and asked somebody who knows better!

Edited August 8, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[karanhsingh]

32 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I appreciate the offer, but I'm happy to go with my own targets thanks. That's not intended to sound arrogant or to suggest mine will be better of course 

I don't think I have ever used in-game scouts or asked for a scout report in FM, I have really unusual transfer ideas which nearly always start off with people who are floating around in my head, then I do all sorts of video scouting, social media checks, data checks etc. Put me down as odd 

My knowledge of Cypriot players is weak, I just needed to make sure I wasn't missing any of their better players so i took a shortcut and asked somebody who knows better!

Absolutely everyone has their own way! I've also now stopped looking up wonderkids online and rely on my own scouting. Although I use the in game scouts a lot. This is also another reason I like discovering newgens. 

[Travis Bickle]

43 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I appreciate the offer, but I'm happy to go with my own targets thanks. That's not intended to sound arrogant or to suggest mine will be better of course 

I don't think I have ever used in-game scouts or asked for a scout report in FM, I have really unusual transfer ideas which nearly always start off with people who are floating around in my head, then I do all sorts of video scouting, social media checks, data checks etc. Put me down as odd 

My knowledge of Cypriot players is weak, I just needed to make sure I wasn't missing any of their better players so i took a shortcut and asked somebody who knows better!

I also do thorough research before signing a player. I tend to look for specific things in my players, and in specific positions. I value high mental stats so I do scout but also you can determine their mentality even from real life data. 

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Cheers. Do you want some recommendations for cheap south Americans or prefer to scout them yourself? 

Colombia is seriously full of good cheap players you can buy for like 700k-1.2M and they're good enough that eventually a La Liga or Serie A Club will come along and offer you 10M for them. 

Agustín Palavecino, Jarlan Barrera, Santiago Montoya, Andrés Ricaurte, Wuilker Fariñez, Leonardo Pico and Jefferson Murillo are all Colombian based players I've signed for Cypriot clubs over FM20 that have worked out very well. 

Edited August 8, 2020 by Travis Bickle

[Jogo Bonito]

12 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

Absolutely everyone has their own way! I've also now stopped looking up wonderkids online and rely on my own scouting. Although I use the in game scouts a lot. This is also another reason I like discovering newgens. 

I see why some people like those lists or ask for player recommendations, but it's great to find your own and much more satisfying 

The same goes for tactic downloads. I can' think of anything worse than that in FM personally, but to some it's a preference rather than finding your own style.

@Travis Bickle The winter window will be opening soon, so I will start thinking about what I need for next season. This is the joy of a new league, it's about pitching your targets at the right level for the club you're at. All good fun.

Edited August 8, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[Travis Bickle]

2 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I see why some people like those lists or ask for player recommendations, but it's great to find your own and much more satisfying 

The same goes for tactic downloads. I can' think of anything worse than that in FM personally, but to some it's a preference rather than finding your own style.

Eliminating the risk of a bad signing goes against football imo. It's tempting if you're a team with a big budget and just want to buy all the best wonderkids early but there's a far greater joy of discovery finding out that you bought one of the best players in the game from your own knowledge/in-game methods. 

[Jogo Bonito]

1 minute ago, Travis Bickle said:

Eliminating the risk of a bad signing goes against football imo. It's tempting if you're a team with a big budget and just want to buy all the best wonderkids early but there's a far greater joy of discovery finding out that you bought one of the best players in the game from your own knowledge/in-game methods. 

I agree entirely. If I fail, I want it to be with my signings, my tactics etc.

[Jogo Bonito]

Right, I finally have FM open and it's the winter transfer window. Most if not all will be planned improvements for the summer on expiring contracts, but there might be one or two deals.

I'll do an update at the end of January or February.

[Mr_Demus]

I loaded up a game just to look at clubs and so on. Pafos seems an interesting option, but they are just overloaded in the midfield. They have 5 or 6 very good central midfielders by the looks of it. 

[Travis Bickle]

1 hour ago, Mr_Demus said:

I loaded up a game just to look at clubs and so on. Pafos seems an interesting option, but they are just overloaded in the midfield. They have 5 or 6 very good central midfielders by the looks of it. 

They got some money last summer and just decided to sign loads of players lol. To be honest you an qualify for Europe first season with them easy since one of the major clubs always underperforms for some reason on FM. 

[Mr_Demus]

2 hours ago, Travis Bickle said:

They got some money last summer and just decided to sign loads of players lol. To be honest you an qualify for Europe first season with them easy since one of the major clubs always underperforms for some reason on FM. 

Seems like Europe is possible in the first season. I messed around with tactics, but it seems impossible to fit all of their best players in at once. Unless you play some sort of 1-7-2 formation 

[Jogo Bonito]

37 minutes ago, Mr_Demus said:

Seems like Europe is possible in the first season. I messed around with tactics, but it seems impossible to fit all of their best players in at once. Unless you play some sort of 1-7-2 formation 

At APOEL the formation needed five or six right wingers to be playing. Squad building in Cyprus seems to be a shambles, but  check the expiring contract dates and see what you would be left with for the second season. I endured the first season at APOEL, but could really make the squad balanced (and better) for the second year. Pafos might allow you to do the same? If not, perhaps try a very narrow formation like 41311 with a DM, AMC and three central midfielders? That depends on whether your wide attacking players are too good to leave out, and whether your full-backs are good enough to provide an attacking threat? Or could these issues be solved by a few transfers in and out to let you do that?

[Mr_Demus]

36 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

At APOEL the formation needed five or six right wingers to be playing. Squad building in Cyprus seems to be a shambles, but  check the expiring contract dates and see what you would be left with for the second season. I endured the first season at APOEL, but could really make the squad balanced (and better) for the second year. Pafos might allow you to do the same? If not, perhaps try a very narrow formation like 41311 with a DM, AMC and three central midfielders? That depends on whether your wide attacking players are too good to leave out, and whether your full-backs are good enough to provide an attacking threat? Or could these issues be solved by a few transfers in and out to let you do that?

They have good wingers as well. I would say, that 7 of their best 10 players are wingers or central midfielders 

[Jogo Bonito]

5 minutes ago, Mr_Demus said:

They have good wingers as well. I would say, that 7 of their best 10 players are wingers or central midfielders 

That does make it tricky then! But that's what you're paid the big bucks to sort out (virtually speaking). Look at who is Fgn or have expiring contracts or those you could loan out for wage & fee benefits perhaps.

[Mr_Demus]

4 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

That does make it tricky then! But that's what you're paid the big bucks to sort out (virtually speaking). Look at who is Fgn or have expiring contracts or those you could loan out for wage & fee benefits perhaps.

I have only briefly looked at the squad and league. Might start proper later, and give everything a good look 

[Jogo Bonito]

1 minute ago, Mr_Demus said:

I have only briefly looked at the squad and league. Might start proper later, and give everything a good look 

Good luck if you decide you can sort Pafos, or if you decide to try another side 

[Mr_Demus]

Which leagues would you load with Cyprus? I was thinking Spain, Portugal, Greece and perhaps Serbia at least

[Jogo Bonito]

6 minutes ago, Mr_Demus said:

Which leagues would you load with Cyprus? I was thinking Spain, Portugal, Greece and perhaps Serbia at least

I just had Norway loaded because at that time I was picking from those two nations, but the ones you suggest would seem about right. Perhaps consider Italy, Croatia and/or Argentina?

In my opening post it lists the countries 'treated as EU' so they might be other markets to consider.

[Jogo Bonito]

APOEL - Season 2020/21

Since December the form of my side has been very good, but the unbeaten league run was finally ended after 41 games stretching back over two seasons

The league split after 22 games has occurred, but there is nothing that suggests anything in the final 10 games will prevent back-to-back titles

The crazy 5-3 result against Apollon Limassol could be partly due to a Cyprus international fixture which decimated my squad (around 10 Cypriots called up)

Amongst this number were both senior goalkeepers, but my 3rd was unavailable as he played for the U19 team earlier that day, and two other senior keepers are away on loan

So I had a very grey looking 15 year old between the sticks and decided that all-out attack would be the only way to get through the occasion

I'll be favourites to win the second leg of the Coca Cola Cup, but you'll probably spot that Champions League result near the bottom

Drawn against the mighty Bayern Munich, I was delighted to edge a deserved 1-0 home win over their full strength side thanks to a goal by striker Jonathan Herrera

I'm under no illusions that the return trip is likely to lead to a revenge mission from the Germans, but even so I have to be full of pride for my boys performance

The transfer window was a fairly quiet affair, but an 18-month loan deal for rising Benfica star Ronaldo Camara was a fantastic signing to get done

Cypriot defensive midfielder Chabos Kyriakou arrived for £400,000 as I had sold on-loan Greek defender Praxitelis Vouros for the same amount

And teenage Swedish left-back Yahya Kalley arrived on loan from Malmo purely as Christos Wheeler was injured for seven weeks (including the Munich games)

There are three more players lined up to arrive on free transfers in the summer, all of which should be useful squad members at the very least

I've so far failed on a pre-contract deal for on-loan Cypriot international Grigoris Kastanos as his agent is currently demanding double the £10,000 per week I am offering

I'll keep re-visiting that as I don't want one of the best Cypriot players to slip through my grasp if a reasonable agreement can be reached to keep him at APOEL

[Travis Bickle]

11 hours ago, Mr_Demus said:

Which leagues would you load with Cyprus? I was thinking Spain, Portugal, Greece and perhaps Serbia at least

Greece, Spain, Brazil and Portugal in that order are musts. 

Serbia, Croatia, Argentina and France  would be second after that. 

Cyprus has non-existent transfer preference data out of the box, so I added some and based it on my own method in which I did thorough research on the origins of Cypriot transfers over a 5 year period. These 8 countries are the ones Cyprus has the highest amount of transfer dealings with and that is reflected in game. 

@Joga Bonito

Well done! You're doing an amazing job and I'm loving following your progress. 

[karanhsingh]

Shouldn't Turkey figure in the list as well?

[Travis Bickle]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Shouldn't Turkey figure in the list as well?

No, Turkey is the only country in the world that does not recognise the existence of the Republic of Cyprus and as such the idea of them buying a Cypriot player is impossible. In SI's default database the transfer activity between Turkey and Cyprus is so to never. 

[karanhsingh]

35 minutes ago, Travis Bickle said:

No, Turkey is the only country in the world that does not recognise the existence of the Republic of Cyprus and as such the idea of them buying a Cypriot player is impossible. In SI's default database the transfer activity between Turkey and Cyprus is so to never. 

Oh okay - I was not aware of this. Love it when FM helps to learn more about politics and geography 

[Gunner 101]

Nice work and great result against Bayern! 

[Jogo Bonito]

4 minutes ago, Gunner 101 said:

Nice work and great result against Bayern! 

Thanks mate, it was a shocker - but in a positive way! My end of season 2 update will follow in the next day or so.

[Jogo Bonito]

APOEL - Season 2020/21

With the league title looking a mere formality, March was all about progress in cup competitions

Whilst the Coca Cola Cup was delivering expected victories, the important match of the month was the Champions League second leg away to Bayern Munich

An unlikely 1-0 triumph at home gave my side an outside shot of making progress at the expense of the German giants, but it wasn't quite achieved

Holding them at bay until 76 minutes, I really felt it was going to be a successful night - but their 1-0 victory took the game in to extra time

Neither side could bag the extra winning goal, and it went to a dreaded penalty shootout that saw the hosts finally stumble through winning 5-4 on spot kicks

Naturally I was delighted with the performance of my team, but there was a tinge of disappointment to have it so narrowly snatched away at the death

The rest of the month went well, as did April in general terms despite a second league loss when AEL won 2-0 in the opener

Two more dropped points against Pafos didn't really matter, as the league had been wrapped up when beating AEK on 20th March anyway

Unfortunately AEK got their revenge by winning the Coca Cola Cup final 1-0 in a drab season-ender on 19th May - not that my board cared in the slightest

 

Here is the final league table for the 2020/21 season, which demonstrates  clearly how easy it was with the 27 point margin to nearest challengers AEK

Here is a brief look at the key contributors, team stats and financial position of the club

And below is a brief review of the season and performance

Here are the squad stats for players in all competitions

And the winners of the various APOEL awards, free transfer signing Brambilla winning the player award with a massive 75% of the votes

Brambilla also won the Cypriot First Division Player of the Year award, with two APOEL colleagues in 2nd & 3rd 

On-loan Cypriot midfielder Kastanos won the Cypriot player of the year award, with two APOEL colleagues in 2nd & 3rd

Edited August 13, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[Gunner 101]

Nice work mate. Desperately unlucky against Bayern but a great effort nonetheless. 

Domestically a walk in the park but you can only beat what’s in front of you. Do you find teams sit in? How do you break them down? Just noticed the GD, ridiculous! 

Nice one.

[Jogo Bonito]

3 hours ago, Gunner 101 said:

Nice work mate. Desperately unlucky against Bayern but a great effort nonetheless. 

Domestically a walk in the park but you can only beat what’s in front of you. Do you find teams sit in? How do you break them down? Just noticed the GD, ridiculous! 

Nice one.

Thanks mate! Yes, the second Bayern game was unfortunate but the run was way beyond my expectations anyway.

The league was very easy, the GD was proof of that really. It's a case of select team, sit back and wait for goals. The other teams can't really compete so I can't say I have to do much tactically except rest players now and again and occasionally at HT tell them I expect better. I've hardly spent anything on transfers, mainly just small money on adding Cypriot numbers, one loan that I converted, and one fee of just over £1 million for one of my strikers.

You don't need to be a tactical genius or master motivator with APOEL domestically, but what surprises me the the most is being able to beat some really big clubs in Europe (have done that in both seasons). I expected APOEL to be dominant in Cyprus, the challenge with them was to make a mark in Europe, and I feel I have done that already. I'll be doing at least another season though, as I have added a few new players and want to see how they do. I've got lots of cash now, but even ahead of the third season I think all the new arrivals are on free transfers. 

I can thoroughly recommend Cyprus as something different to the norm. As manager of APOEL the league is not challenging, but managing them is about what can be done on the bigger stage. If anybody prefers a bigger domestic challenge, there are many other options to choose that will give you a test to become a top team at home before moving on to the European competitions.

 

Edited August 14, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[warlock]

4 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

at HT tell them I expect better

My FM career in a nutshell .

Brambilla looks like a find!

[Jogo Bonito]

13 minutes ago, warlock said:

My FM career in a nutshell .

Brambilla looks like a find!

It's a very basic one to use if we aren't winning by half time 

Brambilla was arguably my top target from the start, but I had to patiently wait for his club to let his contract expire before snapping him up on a free. He is Brazilian but with an EU passport, so one to remember for EFL clubs too. His assists mainly come from corners and free kicks, but he is a good passer too.

[karanhsingh]

Great going @Jogo Bonito that's a fantastic season. Hope you can continue to work miracles in Europe! 

[Jogo Bonito]

2 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Great going @Jogo Bonito that's a fantastic season. Hope you can continue to work miracles in Europe! 

Thanks very much. I certainly gave Bayern a tougher game than my old (temporary) home city club did last night 

I'm in that horrible place of CL qualifiers mixed with pre-season friendlies at the moment, and I hope to get some games in this weekend. I'll plan to do a summer review profiling the new players and squad if time permits. As it stands, I've received more money than I spent as the only fee paid was for an 18 year old striker for my youth side (the first team arrivals were all on frees).

It's odd that in two seasons I wasn't able to win either the Cypriot Super Cup or Coca Cola Cup, considering how much better my team is than the others now. I'll have a 3rd crack at the Super Cup in a few weeks, after the new domestic season starts.

[Jogo Bonito]

APOEL - Season 2021/22

Transfer Summary

Pre-contract deals had been done some months earlier to bring winger Lovric  from Croatia & striker Ramirez from Uruguay to the club on free transfers

A deal that hadn't really been on the cards was for promising Thai teenager Mueanta, with the striker heading in to the Under 19 squad for an initial fee of £200,000

Colombian winger Angulo was also acquired on a pre-contract deal and will be given time to settle slowly in view of foreign player limits

Possibly the most exciting signing will complete in January when Brazilian midfield starlet Diego Rosa arrives from Gremio after his 18th birthday

To pick up a young talent like this for free is a bit of a coup (Man City are finalising his signing in real life) and I have been working on this one for about 18 months now

And then there are the two arrivals that didn't quite happen (for differing reasons)

Cypriot midfielder Kastanos had been on loan from Juventus last season and was out of contract, but the agent wanted a minimum of £26,000 per week for his client to join

I tried for about five months until it was revealed he had signed for New York City on 5th June for wages virtually identical to my maximum £16,000 per week offer

Ironically the same thing happened last season with top target Joao Schmidt, this being the reason for Kastanos coming in to APOEL himself

I also had the opportunity to sign Brazilian forward Lazaro on loan for a tiny monthly cost

There is little doubt he would have been a quality addition, but by now I had four strikers plus one youth prospect so I had to pull out of the deal 

Heading out of the club was Serbian central defender Vujadin Savic (30) who joined Rad for a fee of £600,000

A handful of players who would never feature were released, and a few more reserves were sent on loan as they serve no purpose at my progressive club

24-man first team squad for Season 2021/22

As you can see, it's very symmetrical with exactly two players for each and every position

In the Cyprus league games you name nine substitutes so only four are exiled on those occasions

I'm generally not playing any defensive midfielder, but need Kyriakou and Artymatas in the registered squad to boost the Cypriot numbers

Angulo and one of the central defenders would usually be the others to miss out unless there are injuries or other absentees

I've got a handful of youngsters in the Under 19 squad (Sielis and Mueanta being the main ones) if I need to delve deeper 

I  also have a couple of over age players there like Michail, Zahid and Rafael Santos (out on loan), and of course Diego Rosa will be arriving in January

At the end of the season, I will release captain De Vincenti and try to sell Herrera as both will have played their part to a conclusion by then

Panagiotou, Christoforou and Pileas will all be out of contract too, but as Cypriots I will do my best to get them all extended

Tomorrow I will do a quick summary of my 10 best staff members (excluding scouts) and an early season update too

Edited August 16, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[Jogo Bonito]

APOEL - Season 2021/22

Key Staff Review

My new Assistant Manager Juan Manuel Lillo has excellent tactical, man management & motivating skills but can also make good decisions on players 

Ivan Cordoba (defence), Omar Piccoli (attack) and Fran (technical) all bring specialist qualities

Eduardo Santos has recently joined as Head Physio and ex-Barca man Jordi Mesalles is a new Physio

Massimo Carrera (Manager) and Savo Milosevic (Assistant Manager) have just joined as new leaders of the Under 19 squad

Fernando Torres and Ezequiel Lavezzi were recruited as Under 19 Coaches in my first season

I've also been improving the Scouts and through them have additional knowledge of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Argentina and Brazil

Edited August 16, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[Jogo Bonito]

APOEL - Season 2021/22

Here are the expectations at APOEL for Season 3, which basically confirms winning the league is a minimum and European targets are very reasonable

As you will see in the results below, I lifted the one everybody wants to win when clinching the first ever @Travis Bickle Trophy (a friendly competition)

I did really well to battle through the Champions League qualifiers with hard games especially against Rosenborg and Slavia 

The reward was this particularly tough group so I can't expect to make any more progress this year

It's early days in the league, but I have already suffered my first defeat against AEL

As a result I sit in an unexpected 3rd position by virtue of having the best GD of all three teams tied at the top

Seriously, whilst it looks odd it is down to sorting rules as Pafos beat AEL and AEL beat my side already

I was able to win the Cypriot Super Cup by penalties (after somehow allowing AEK to equalise just after the end of the 94 minutes of scheduled action)

As predicted, the Champions League fixtures have been tough and even a fine draw at Dortmund (I was 3-2 up until late on) doesn't improve my slim hopes to qualify

Edited August 16, 2020 by Jogo Bonito