The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge

[Crispypaul]

     

Ghana
African Cup of Nations 2025
 

Group Stages -  Table

Won all 3 of our games here

 2nd Round

Spoiler

Ghana 1 Guinea 0 - a narrow win here

Quarter Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Ghana 3 DRC 0 - that was straightforward at least

Semi Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Ghana 1 Egypt 2 - well that was rubbish.  We also lost the 3rd place play off 3-1 to Nigeria.  That was too much for the FA and I got the sack! Which I think was harsh.  In any case not long after the tournament I became manager of a better side, Senegal.

Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

n/a

 

[SkiIIs]

Season 2033/34 - Cruz Azul - Liga MX

Just a quick update.  Took over as manager of Cruz Azul and quickly realised this was more of a long play in this continent. The team needs a lot of work but there is very limited funds available.  The home grown players are average and the foreign players need improving.

In the opening stage, we finished 8th and won our first finals game but then were knocked out in the quarters.  In the closing stage we were much better and finished second however were again knocked out in the quarters which was really disappointing. 

Nothing of note to mention on the international front. 

[Crispypaul]

  

              

  Crispypaul
All Stars
South Africa Premier Soccer League
2025/26

League - Table - hard fought with Orlando Pirates but we won it again 

Nedbank Cup - Fixtures - finally lifted this trophy

Telkom Knockout - Fixtures - won this again

MTN8 - Fixtures - also won this

CAF Champions League - Fixtures | Table - a Mauritanian side in the first qualifiers then ES Tunis of all teams next, we got through to the groups where had fellow side Orlando Pirates, ASEC Mimosas (the surprise holders) and Coton Sport.  Enough to win the group to then face Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca.  We got past them to face Egyptian side Pyramids.  A great home win set us up for the final against Egyptian giants Al-Ahly.  A narrow home win was followed by a great win in Cairo to lift the trophy

Transfers - squad largely stable now

Finances - nothing wrong with these now

Squad 

Key players:

Wandle Duba - still scoring

Panashe Mutimbanyoka - continues to be prolific

Aimé Tendeng - another good season for the midfielder

Luther Singh - had been playing in Europe and signed for us surprisingly on not much money, was a class above

Simen Alexander Santos Lyngbø - Filipino/Norwegian right back I signed earlier, stepped up in this season

Future - with the African domestic side done I resigned at the end of the season

Senegal - we qualified for the World Cup so that's next

Domestic
Season	 Team			Division		Position			Notes						
2022/23	 All Stars 	South African NFD	 	3rd				Promoted through playoffs
2023/24	 All Stars	South African PSL		4th				
2024/25	 All Stars	South African PSL		1st				Won MTN8, Telkom, Confed Cup
2025/26	 All Stars	South African PSL		1st				Won MTN8, Telkom, Nedbank, CL, resigned

International
Year	   	Team				Achievements
2023/24		Ghana
2024/25		Ghana				Qualified for AFCON, sacked!
2025/26		Senegal				Qualified for World Cup

Challenge Progress

Club
 1/10 top domestic leagues (All Stars, South Africa, 24/25)
 1/10 domestic cups (All Stars, South Africa, 24/25)
 1/5 club continental championships (All Stars, South Africa, 25/26)
 0/1 club world championship 

International
 0/5 continental tournaments
 0/1 world tournaments

Edited March 30, 2023 by Crispypaul

[Crispypaul]

      

Senegal
World Cup 2026
 

Group Stages -  Table

Stuffed Australia then narrow defeat to Netherlands to get us through to face a tough draw in Croatia

 2nd Round

Spoiler

Senegal 3 Croatia 2 - a bit of a shock here.  Next up Denmark.

3rd Round (if applicable)

Spoiler

Senegal 5 Denmark 4 - a game for the neutrals here as we scrape an extra time win.  Another African side in Morocco next

Quarter Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Senegal 4 Morocco 0 - a thumping here which bodes well for next years Afcon at least.  Next up are eternal going to win at some point side Belgium

Semi Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Belgium 2 Senegal 1 - didn't make it to the big one but this is a great run

Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

3rd play playoff - Netherlands 1 Senegal 0 - the game that nobody cares about.  France won the world cup in the end.

 

[Crispypaul]

After the World Cup I had to wait a bit for a decent club job - and a good one came up in the MLS so I join newish club St Louis City

One benefit is they are already in the CONCACAF Champions League which is helpful

[Crispypaul]

  

  

              

  Crispypaul
St Louis City
MLS
2026

League - Table - got in the playoffs but lost to CF Montreal in the conference semi final

US Open Cup - Fixtures - out before I joined

CONCACAF Champions League 2026/27 - Fixtures | Table - won all our games here to get through to the next round in 2027

Transfers - all before I joined.  I get the MLS now after playing as LA Galaxy last year.

Finances - healthy

Squad 

Key players:

Deiber Caicedo - decent forward

João Klauss - prolific Brazilian striker

Julián Carranza - solid Argentinian striker

Joakim Nilsson - strong defender

Future - will be good if we can get the CL in 2027

Senegal - playing qualifiers for AFCON 2027

Domestic
Season	 Team			Division			Position			Notes						
2022/23	 All Stars 		South African NFD	 	3rd				Promoted through playoffs
2023/24	 All Stars		South African PSL		4th				
2024/25	 All Stars		South African PSL		1st				Won MTN8, Telkom, Confed Cup
2025/26	 All Stars		South African PSL		1st				Won MTN8, Telkom, Nedbank, CL, resigned
2026	 St Louis City FC	MLS				6th				Lost in SF playoffs

International
Year	   	Team				Achievements
2023/24		Ghana
2024/25		Ghana				Qualified for AFCON, sacked!
2025/26		Senegal				Qualified for World Cup
2026		Senegal				

Challenge Progress

Club
 1/10 top domestic leagues (All Stars, South Africa, 24/25)
 1/10 domestic cups (All Stars, South Africa, 24/25)
 1/5 club continental championships (All Stars, South Africa, 25/26)
 0/1 club world championship 

International
 0/5 continental tournaments
 0/1 world tournaments

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2036 Gremio (and Australia/Brazil) Report 

In my first full year in Brazil I won the league with a couple of matches to go, but with a record low points total of 73.

We were knocked out at the semi-final stage of the Libertadores, largely because of injuries.

My year and a bit in Brazil is probably longer than I’ve cumulatively spent in Brazil in all previous challenge attempts, (I once took over a Brazilian club on the afternoon of the second leg of a final. I think it was the Libertadores, but it could have been the Brazilian cup, and I lost anyway).

This was ok for the first year though.

I took over the Brazilian national team midway through the season, quitting Australia. There are 6 players from the league in my national squad, but nobody from Gremio, or even close. I can definitely improve my club squad.

The job at Flamengo is currently vacant (after a remarkable second half of the season slump) but they’re not in the Libertadores next season. It would be a 2 year commitment, albeit a near certainty that I would achieve it). I should be able to get the job done with Gremio in a year, but already a cup in deficit because of Mexico, I need both the domestic and Lib cups. Why not just make things easy for myself, and have a fun couple of years?

Anyway, a month after applying, Flamengo still haven’t got back to me, so I have to assume it’s a bug and just get on with building Gremio.

UPDATE - Turns out that Flamengo did in fact qualify for the Libertadores (helped no doubt by our fielding a youth team in the penultimate match of the season once we'd secured the title).

Anyway, they finally got around to interviewing me, and given that they've asked for proposed staff changes, I can assume they're going to offer me the job. I wasn't actually going to take it. Starting at a new club is a lot of work, but Gremio really don't seem able to attract the kind of players I need. (I could kind of do with there being any good Brazilian central defenders at all for the national team as well) and Flamengo's resources and facilities leave Gremio's in the shade, plus their team is already better than ours.

So, i think I'm going to accept

I think we’re in the middle of a bit of a slump for the Brazilian national team, but hopefully things improve in the next 2 years before the World Cup.

Top Goalscorer – Lucão – 41

I only use one striker, and nobody else’s total came close, although I do have a lot of promising strikers.

Highest Average Rating (minimum 10 matches played) – Lucão – 7.43

One player had an average of 8.05, but only played in 9 matches thus narrowly missing out.

Man of The Match – Lucão – 12

MVP – Kluvert Ako Oru

I put Lucão at first, but he’s really not one of my best players. I have 2 wonderkids, although to be honest they didn’t actually play that well this season, and Cameroonian, Kluvert Ako Oru, who is my defensive midfielder. He’s on international duty a lot, and it’s a massive kick in the nuts when he’s not available or knackered.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	MVP			Notes										
22/23	Black Leopards	S African L1	5th					Took over with 8 matches to go.Edge of relegation to edge of promotion.
23/24	Black Leopards	S African L1	1st		Kiyaam Bull 	SA Cup Q/F
24/25	Kaizer Chiefs	S African Prem	10th					Took over with 6 matches to go. Won SA Cup.
25/26	Kaizer Chiefs	S African Prem	2nd		Sphesihle Maduna	Won Confederations Cup.
26/27	Kaizer Chiefs	S African Prem	1st		Mduduzi Shabalala	League, ACL, SA Cup, S8 Cup.
2027	Atlas			Mex 1st Ap		12th					Took over after 8 matches. Lost in Playoffs Prelim
2028	Atlas			Mex 1st Cl		2nd		Connor Buck		Lost in final.
2028	Atlas			Mex 1st Ap		2nd					Lost in S/F
2029	Atlas			Mex 1st Cl		2nd		Kevin Castañeda	Lost in final.
2029	Atlas			Mex 1st Ap		3rd					Left before playoffs
2029	Pumas			Mex 1st Ap		n/a					Lost immediately in playoff plelim.
2030	Pumas			Mex 1st Cl		2nd					Won league. Lost Champions League on penalties
2030	Pumas			Mex 1st Ap		1st					League champs
2031	Pumas			Mex 1st Cl		1st		Hugo Moreno		League / NACL double.
2032	Suwon			Kor L1		2nd		Johnny		Took over in 8th with 21 matches to go.
2033	Suwon			Kor L1		1st		Johnny		League, Cup, ACL
2035	Gremio		Bra L1		11th					Took over midseason. Won Copa Sudamerica to qualify for Copa Lib.
2036	Gremio		Bra L1		1st		Kluvert Ako Oru	League, Copa Lib S/F

International
Year			Team				Achievements
23-24			Fiji				Oceania Cup S/F
24			Morocco U23			Olympics Losing Finalists
26-27			Iran				Asian Nations Cup losing finalists
27-31			Morocco			ACON S/F
							WC R2
							ACON winners.
31-32			Belgium			Euro S/F
32-34			Mexico			Gold Cup, sacked after World Cup
35-36			Australia
36-			Brazil


Challenge Progress 11/32

Club
 4/10 top domestic leagues 		(S Africa, Mexico, S Korea, Brazil)			
 2/10 domestic cups 			(S Africa, S Korea)							
 3/5 club continental championships	(Africa, N America, Asia)		
 0/1 club world championship

International
 2/5 continental tournaments 		(Africa, N America)	
 0/1 World Cup		

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by vikeologist

[darren1983]

Time for my annual attempt at this challenge.

My starting profile

Took till the new year to find a job but I got one with the underperforming Polokwane City in the South African championship

We took charge with 9 games to go but we didn't really do much as we seemed to like to draw games. Ended the season in 11th (after I promised top half in the interview - board and players now unhappy) at least in the cup we did OK, beating one side from the league above before narrowly losing to Orlando Pirates in games that gave me hope we were on the right track. In terms of transfers I moved a couple reserves on but couldn't bring anyone in because we were way over wage budget. The plan for this summer is to sort the finances as much as possible by sorting out the wages while also having quite the squad overhaul. Should be a busy time.

Career Overview 

Year		Club			League	Position	Nation			Notes & Achievements 

2022/23		Polokwane City		NFD	 11th 		South Africa		Took over with 9 games left of the season

Challenge Progress

 Club
 0/10 top domestic leagues 
 0/10 domestic cups 
 0/5 club continental championships 
 0/1 club world championship 

International
 0/5 continental tournaments
 0/1 world tournaments

 

[ANGL]

 

SOUTH KOREA 2031-2033: ROAD TO WORLD CUP

After winning K League and Asia Champions League with Gangwon, I felt like the natural step was to take charge of South Korea NT. I had to wait until 2031, after a bad performance in Asian Cup of Nations, to get on the front of the team. Main problem here: I still have to wait 4 years for next ACON, but I will have the first chance for the World Cup in the way (doubt I can win it). Anyway had an almost perfect WC Qualification:

 

And after the Qualifying, the World Cup Groups:

Mixed sensations here: The Netherlands are a tough team and I wished for an easier tier team to have some chances for the 1st position in group stage, but also we are a much better team than Guinea-Bissau, so the 2nd position is a must. After that, lets hope for luck in the knockout.

 

We also played East Asia Football Championship, winning 2031 and 2033 editions:

 

 

 

Title count: 3/32

 

[ANGL]

 

SOUTH KOREA: JAPAN 2034 WORLD CUP

Faced the first World Cup with no injury problems, which is always a good sign.

 

GROUP STAGE

          

 

Two games, two very different sensations. A first game agains The Netherlands full of optimism: I expected a big defeat, but at the end only a goal in the 93rd minute took the win away from me. With that result, I needed to beat Guinea-Bissau by more than 3 goals to get the first position and get better knockouts... but the game was bad, with some opportunities for Guinea to send us straight home. Fortunately, a late goal allowed us to knockout stages.

 

1/16 FINALS

A big surprise! A still world class 35 year old Mbappé missed the game due to an injury... and in a tight game, we sent France home! But the next was... Brazil!

 

1/8 FINAL

Who doesn't love killing a SECOND giant? In an absolutely magnificient game, and maybe a bit undeserved, we beat Brazil and advanced to quarter finals!

 

1/4 FINAL

Well, that was too much. Italy was much best all the game, and even though we had our chances, we were knocked out by Italy. Anyway, my goal was not to win the world cup but to survive it until Asian Cup of Nations, which comes next in 6 months, but I can count this as a fantastic foundations to win it. At the end, Italy won the world cup at the penalties against England

 

 

Edited April 6, 2023 by ANGL

[ANGL]

 

SOUTH KOREA: QATAR 2035 ASIAN CUP OF NATIONS

After a good performance in the World Cup 6 months before, I went to the Asian CON as the 1st ranked Asian NT, and with all the possibilities to win It. It also felt like a last oportunity with South Korea, as most of the starters were over 30s (and I didn't feel like waiting 4 more years to another chance)

 

GROUP STAGE

We had a lucky group stage draw, with some of the easier teams possible. Anyway, there is no easy match, and Kuwait made it a bit hard to us: a very narrow win, with them having some chances at the end to draw the match. There is not much to explain about the other 2 games, so did has expected in group stage.

 

1/8 FINAL

 

India got labelled as the revelation of the tournament - they made it to the knockout stages as one of the bests 3rds. Anyway, there was not much story to tell about this match. Just for fun, Jeong Sun-Il scored a hat-trick... from corners and free kicks, as he is my one of my central defenders!

 

1/4 FINAL

 

In the previous summer window transfer, Manchester City paid 102M € to sign Kang Jong-In, a world class central defender. Of course, as my best player, it was a dissapointment seing him get a red card in the 11th minute... Also, Saudi Arabia was one the main rivals to win the cup, so I was really really lucky in this one.

 

SEMI FINALS

Japan was also one of the contenders, but they had not much to say. We were the better team and controlled the game completely, so we went up to the final after beating two of the hardest teams in the competition.

 

FINAL

CHAMPIONS OF ASIA! I thought the game was in my hand after the 3-0... but of course, It couldn't be that easy, and they come back to 3-2. After some suffering, and with Iran all on attack to get the 3rd, we could score 2 more on counter attacks.

 

After achieving one more (I am being very slow at this, but enjoying it), resigned as South Korea NT manager and started looking for a new job. I would like to manage in South Africa to win African CL and then start going to jobs with more reputation, but there aren't any teams available. If not, I would go to North America and leave Africa for the end.

 

Title count: 4/32

 

[vikeologist]

@ANGL Congrats on the Asian Cup. Tricky competition for 2 reasons, the 4 year wait, and the lack of viable nations. (I once ran out of nations after losing with Korea, China and Australia, none of whom would give me a second chance).

Thus far my save I have lost in the final with Iran, and then got fed up waiting 4 years with Australia, because I could see them losing in the final to Korea as Iran had.

Given that I'd already waited a year and a half of the four before jumping ship, leaving Australia may have been a mistake, but it was for Brazil.

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2037 Flamengo Club World Cup Report 

First of all. I speak Spanish, but not really Portuguese, so is 

Quote

Tu és time de tradição
Raça, amor e paixão

racist? If so, I'll need to change the image. I know some, if not many of you are Portuguese speakers. God, I hope the entire club isn't racist.

Anyways...

Turns out that jumping ship to Flamengo has an unexpected bonus as they’re in the Club World Cup.

We’re in an impossibly tough group, but hopefully we can at least beat my old side Pumas.

Group Stage

Spoiler

Flamengo   4-0    PSG

Flamengo   4-0    Pumas

Well, that was unexpected.

Quarter Final

Spoiler

Flamengo   2-1    Chelsea

Semi Final

Spoiler

Flamengo   3-0    Bayern Munich

And in the final we meet Boca. We secured a win each in this year’s Libertadores group stage, but their win came when I rested a lot of my team having already qualified, so really this should be the easiest match of the entire tournament. On the other hand, they beat Liverpool, Real Madrid and Juventus to get to this unlikely final, so I shouldn’t be so over confident.

Final

Spoiler

Flamengo   3-1    Boca Juniors

We scored the decisive third goal quite late in the match, and it was quite close.

After The Tournament

Spoiler

A very unexpected consequence of abandoning league champs Gremio take over Flamengo.

The team is shattered. We’re in mid-table with a huge number of matches to catch up, and our schedule for the rest of the season is going to be crazy, but winning the CWC rather than having to hang around for up to 4 years at a European club, and even then maybe fail to win, is a real bonus.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	MVP			Notes										
22/23	Black Leopards	S African L1	5th					Took over with 8 matches to go.Edge of relegation to edge of promotion.
23/24	Black Leopards	S African L1	1st		Kiyaam Bull 	SA Cup Q/F
24/25	Kaizer Chiefs	S African Prem	10th					Took over with 6 matches to go. Won SA Cup.
25/26	Kaizer Chiefs	S African Prem	2nd		Sphesihle Maduna	Won Confederations Cup.
26/27	Kaizer Chiefs	S African Prem	1st		Mduduzi Shabalala	League, ACL, SA Cup, S8 Cup.
2027	Atlas		Mex 1st Ap		12th					Took over after 8 matches. Lost in Playoffs Prelim
2028	Atlas		Mex 1st Cl		2nd		Connor Buck		Lost in final.
2028	Atlas		Mex 1st Ap		2nd					Lost in S/F
2029	Atlas		Mex 1st Cl		2nd		Kevin Castañeda	Lost in final.
2029	Atlas		Mex 1st Ap		3rd					Left before playoffs
2029	Pumas		Mex 1st Ap		n/a					Lost immediately in playoff plelim.
2030	Pumas		Mex 1st Cl		2nd					Won league. Lost Champions League on penalties
2030	Pumas		Mex 1st Ap		1st					League champs
2031	Pumas		Mex 1st Cl		1st		Hugo Moreno		League / NACL double.
2032	Suwon		Kor L1		2nd		Johnny		Took over in 8th with 21 matches to go.
2033	Suwon		Kor L1		1st		Johnny		League, Cup, ACL
2035	Gremio		Bra L1		11th					Took over midseason. Won Copa Sudamerica to qualify for Copa Lib.
2036	Gremio		Bra L1		1st		Kluvert Ako Oru	League, Copa Lib S/F
2037	Flamengo	Bra L1							Club World Cup

International
Year			Team				Achievements
23-24			Fiji				Oceania Cup S/F
24			Morocco U23			Olympics Losing Finalists
26-27			Iran				Asian Nations Cup losing finalists
27-31			Morocco			ACON S/F
							WC R2
							ACON winners.
31-32			Belgium			Euro S/F
32-34			Mexico			Gold Cup, sacked after World Cup
35-36			Australia
36-			Brazil


Challenge Progress 12/32

Club
 4/10 top domestic leagues 		(S Africa, Mexico, S Korea, Brazil)			
 2/10 domestic cups 			(S Africa, S Korea)							
 3/5 club continental championships	(Africa, N America, Asia)		
 1/1 club world championship

International
 2/5 continental tournaments 		(Africa, N America)	
 0/1 World Cup

 

[corinthiano]

Raça is not racist at all .

In sports context it means more something along the lines of grit/hard work.

amazing CWC with Flamengo, you blew the European teams away!

[darren1983]

Season 2023/24 Review Polokwane City South African Championship

 

League - We were a very streaky team this season. As a result I was never fully confident. We took 10 points from opening 4 games, then lost 2 on the bounce before not winning in 4 before winning 9 in a row. Season was pretty much like all the time, it basically meant that we secured top 3 early on but the title went down to the last game. A loss at home to Marumo Gallants with 3 games to go left us 5 points off them. They drew their next game while we scrapped past 3rd place City Rovers 1-0 meaning the final game was us 2 points off with them having a better GD by 1. They were away to City Rovers while we were away to 5th placed Stellenbosch. We did our bit by winning 5-0 but Rovers hadn't won in 5 so I wasn't confident. So of course they won 2-0 which meant we won the league on the final day to secure promotion. Key to promotion was the 20 goals from Simon Ramabu, a youth team player that was on his way out last season till I gave him a chance. The signing of Thabiso Sesane at CB really tightened us up but the rea star was South African international winger Jamie Webber. Signed in Jan and we only lost 2 league games after he signed and he was injured for one of those! His quality was too much for teams at this level to handle.

Cup - Made it all the way to the semi final but Supersport (who, while struggling down in 9th this season, were the league champions last season)

Transfers - Not really having cash to spend meant using the free transfer market as well as getting free loans from the top flight. The work I put in with my scouting in the 3/4 months after I took over (focusing on expiring contracts and under 23 players) meant I had quite the shopping list this summer. Many we missed out on but other were brought in. It gave us a younger but better squad going into the season.

Finances - Really bad. Nearly £1m in doubt even after our chairman pumped in 500k for running costs. I feel like having a 45k stadium where only 1000 people usually turn up is probably not helping us here

Career Overview

Year		Club			League	Position	Nation			Notes & Achievements 

2022/23		Polokwane City		NFD	 11th 		South Africa		Took over with 9 games left of the season
2023/24		Polokwane City		NFD	1st 		South Africa		Completed first coaching badge

Challenge Progress

Club
 0/10 top domestic leagues 
 0/10 domestic cups 
 0/5 club continental championships 
 0/1 club world championship 

International
 0/5 continental tournaments
 0/1 world tournaments

 

[ANGL]

hace 9 horas, vikeologist dijo:

@ANGL Congrats on the Asian Cup. Tricky competition for 2 reasons, the 4 year wait, and the lack of viable nations. (I once ran out of nations after losing with Korea, China and Australia, none of whom would give me a second chance).

Thus far my save I have lost in the final with Iran, and then got fed up waiting 4 years with Australia, because I could see them losing in the final to Korea as Iran had.

Given that I'd already waited a year and a half of the four before jumping ship, leaving Australia may have been a mistake, but it was for Brazil.

My results are far better than how the tournament went, I believe that a lot of the teams are at a similar level (Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea...) and that makes it way harder. In my save, Iran is one step behind all these. Anyway, I was not willing to wait 4 more years, so it was win or left it to the future.

By the way, impressive win at CWC with a South American team!

[vikeologist]

24 minutes ago, ANGL said:

My results are far better than how the tournament went, I believe that a lot of the teams are at a similar level (Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea...) and that makes it way harder. In my save, Iran is one step behind all these. Anyway, I was not willing to wait 4 more years, so it was win or left it to the future.

By the way, impressive win at CWC with a South American team!

Yeah, the fact that Boca and us reached the final suggests that there's something wrong with the game. Boca really aren't that good a side, even in S American terms, but they gave us one of the hardest matches. Perhaps the European teams were lacking in match fitness. oh well, never mind. I'll take it. The game owes me a lot of positive bugs.

[darren1983]

So no idea if this is a bug but after promotion I renewed contracts and had a couple players join at the end of their contracts due to agent fees my transfer budget was in the negative (-8k I think it was) and although I had over 10K a week spare in my wage budget the board wouldn't let me use it to fix the transfer budget meaning I couldn't sign anyone else without selling someone. Meant I missed out on a few very good players and soured me to this team, as luck would have it South Africa manager retired and while I did go for it I missed out to Gavin Hunt which left his job at SuperSport United open. They the title first season but finished 9th last year so it was a job I had an eye on and after a few weeks I got the job. A new chapter begins.

Trebled my wage budget and a 400k transfer budget with a target of top half finish? I'm ready for this one.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

@vikeologist I am going to attempt this challenge again today but I just wanted to double check a few things before I start.

I assume the rule is still in place to only play in countries that are official?

I assume South Africa is the only African nation we can manage in this challenge?

If I have a file that has for example England down to level 8 then could I use that or would that not be allowed?

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Ronaldo Beckham's Ultimate Football Manager 2023 Attempt

Game Set Up

@vikeologist ignore my previous question in the post above as I have assumed that it is still the same. 

I hope the set up is ok ?

Manager Profile

[vikeologist]

48 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

@vikeologist I am going to attempt this challenge again today but I just wanted to double check a few things before I start.

I assume the rule is still in place to only play in countries that are official?

I assume South Africa is the only African nation we can manage in this challenge?

If I have a file that has for example England down to level 8 then could I use that or would that not be allowed?

 

Yes, we can only use official countries. I didn't know the likes of Qatar or Solomon Islands were available. Are those downloaded countries (or official SI downloads)?

Can't use England down to level 8.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

2 minutes ago, vikeologist said:

Yes, we can only use official countries. I didn't know the likes of Qatar or Solomon Islands were available. Are those downloaded countries (or official SI downloads)?

Can't use England down to level 8.

Oh yeah sorry I meant untick them when I was doing the set up. 

I will do it again. 

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Game Set Up

Is this ok for game set up before I continue please @vikeologist

 

[vikeologist]

These are the only allowable leagues (plus Gibraltar which is an official add-on).

 

Edited April 11, 2023 by vikeologist

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Just now, vikeologist said:

These are the only allowable leagues (plus Gibraltar which is an official add-on).

(Give me a second to locate my screenshots folder, but some of the leagues you're starting with aren't allowed.)

Oh ok let me just take off all of the added files I have as it is probably that which is causing the issues and then we should be ok.

Sorry for being annoying.

I just wanted to get the set up right before I started.

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Ronaldo Beckham's Ultimate Football Manager Challenge Attempt Take 2

Game Set Up

Hopefully this is ok @vikeologist Sorry for bugging you. I did read the first post but I just wanted to double check in case you had loosened the rules about added leagues.

Cheers for responding quickly.

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I Got My First Job

I applied for all the jobs available and the only jobs got offered to me were National Team jobs.

Somalia, Sudan. Zimbabwe, Afghanistan,Liechenstein, Palestine, New Caledonia and Botswana offered me the chance to manage their national team.

I decided to go with .......

  

Zimbabwe a great bunch of lads.

]

Just look at these beautiful shirts.

Currently 123rd in the Nations Rankings. Former Coventry City legend Peter Ndlovu is their most capped player and also their top goalscorer. 

They have come a long way in the last few years with some good players playing for Zimbabwe now.

Key Players

Jordan Zemura

Marvelous Nakamba

Tino Kadewere

I have also been given an job interview with a few club jobs so hopefully I can challenge on the club and international fronts at the same time.

 

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I Got My First Club Job

FK Tukums 2000 play in the Latvian Optibet Virsliga and are currently 10th in the league which unfortunately makes us bottom of the league with just 10 points for the season and 10 points behind 9th place Super Nova. 

I got my work cut out but I am excited to see how I get on.

 

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Well This Is Not A Good Start

[Ronaldo Beckham]

My First Career Win

I have only played 3 games with Zimbabwe so far. 1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss. 

I haven't been able to get a club job since getting sacked from Tukums. 

I think I made a mistake taking the job in the first place as I worry it has put teams off hiring me cos I have one relegation to my name.

It might take me ages to get a club job.

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I Am A Sucker For Punishment

It took me ages to get another club job. I finally got offered another job with a Latvian team.

This time the Latvian team is Metta and they are currently bottom of the Latvian Optibet Virsliga

Luckily for me there is plenty of the season left and they are only 1 point away from getting out of the relegation zone.

Kristupas Kersys is my best player.

Unfortunately he wants to leave for a bigger club so I have offered him out.

 

I will do a season review once the season ends. I am hoping I still have my job by then.

 

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

FK Metta Season 1 Review

Competitions

I just about kept Metta away from getting relegated from the Latvian Opibet Virsliga.

We were terrible to start off with but near the end of the season we were lucky with the fixtures as we were playing the teams worst then us and we managed to get a few wins to climb us out of the relegation zone.

Best Players

Alexandru Zaharia

Zaharia a Romanian striker we signed for £42k from CSM Bacau. He made an immediate impact scoring the important goals to keep us up.

8 goals in 11 games gives me hope he will do better next season.

Alvis Sorokins

 

Sorokins was ever present and kept us in games we didn't deserve to stay in.

He had the best average rating at the club with a 6.94 rating.

Career Overview

Year                 Club                 Nation                  League                        Position                       Achievements

2022/23           Tukums         Lithuania          Opibet Virsliga     10th(Relegated)

23/24               FK Metta       Lithuania           Opibet Virsliga     8th

Challenge Progress

 

Club
 0/10 top domestic leagues 
 0/10 domestic cups 
 0/5 club continental championships 
 0/1 club world championship 

International
 0/5 continental tournaments
 0/1 world tournaments

 

Edited April 13, 2023 by Ronaldo Beckham

[Ronaldo Beckham]

  Zimbabwe National Team Progress

Doing well so far with Zimbabwe with us looking likely to qualify to the ACON.

Our next fixtures aren't until March. We got a tough game vs Gabon and then we play Sao Tome & Principe which we should win.

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Annoying my save corrupted and despite my best efforts I just couldn't get it to work so I am having to start again. 

Sorry @vikeologist

I will be more careful who I choose to manage this time. I wont be applying for National Team jobs as my first job either.

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

First Job Sorted

This was the first club job offer I got and even though I said I was going to be more choosy which team I choose to start this I also have to be aware that my reputation is rubbish at the moment and I can't be too picky.

The board just want me to not ger relegated and work within the wage budget.

We are 6 points out of the safety zone with 11 games to go. 

It is going to be tough.

[SkiIIs]

2035 Gold Cup - Mexico

My first tournament with Mexico came a month before the Gold Cup being the North America Nations League.  We won that in extra time 3 - 1 against the US so I knew the Gold Cup would be no walkover if we had to face the Americans which most likely would be the case in the final.  Doesnt help that it's being hosted in the US and that they've won the past 3 tournaments too. 

Our Group contained T&T, Curacao and US Virgin Islands. We won those games 8 - 2, 5 - 0 and 10 - 0 lol   In the QF we face Guatemala 

QF

Spoiler

we won 4 - 1.  In the semi we face Costa Rica

SF (if applicable)

Spoiler

a surprising tough match played out. We were the dominant team through out and took the lead in the 9th minute.  They then equalised with one of their two shots on goal for the whole game in the 18th minute.  We just couldnt find the goal and was fearing extra time.  We were then given a dubious penalty in the 93rd minute but Salgado missed it but fortunately tucked away the rebound.  Into the final against the US at The Rose Bowl

Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

We deserved to win, but WOW!!!

After the tournament

Spoiler

my first tick on the international scene and what a way to earn it!  

And with that, i go back to Africa as Egypt just offered me the opportunity to manage them out of the blue so decided why not

 

[vikeologist]

8 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Annoying my save corrupted and despite my best efforts I just couldn't get it to work so I am having to start again. 

Sorry @vikeologistl be more careful who I choose to manage this time. I wont be applying for National Team jobs as my first job either.

 

Yes,  not usually a good idea to take a national team job first,  although maybe some have made it work for them.  The right first job is so important ,  and it's not like It's usually ever going to be our dream job scenario. Whenever istart this challenge ,  i have everythingset up and then spend an hour pressing the space Bar.  Very boring. 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

4 hours ago, vikeologist said:

Yes,  not usually a good idea to take a national team job first,  although maybe some have made it work for them.  The right first job is so important ,  and it's not like It's usually ever going to be our dream job scenario. Whenever istart this challenge ,  i have everythingset up and then spend an hour pressing the space Bar.  Very boring. 

Yeah I agree with what you are saying. I swear when I have done this challenge before I managed to get a good National Team job as my first job and it really helped me progress quicker then most with the challenge.

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Angered BK Season 1 Review

Survival Ensured

I was lucky the team took to my tactics and training and we pushed on and got an 8th place finish in the league. Next season will be interesting.

 

Career Overview

Year                 Club                 Nation                  League                                           Position                       Achievements

22/23          Angered BK        Sweden               Swedish 2nd Division North         8th           

 

Club
 0/10 top domestic leagues 
 0/10 domestic cups 
 0/5 club continental championships 
 0/1 club world championship 

International
 0/5 continental tournaments
 0/1 world tournaments

[vikeologist]

@Ronaldo Beckham Read that team name as just an adjective that your team called BK were really fed up with their league position.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

26 minutes ago, vikeologist said:

@Ronaldo Beckham Read that team name as just an adjective that your team called BK were really fed up with their league position.

Yeah it is a funny name for a team isn't it lol 

[Crispypaul]

       

Senegal
AFCON 2027
 

Group Stages -  Table

Easy topping the table

 2nd Round

Spoiler

Senegal 3 Angola 0 - easy win

Quarter Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Senegal 3 The Gambia 2 - tighter than it should have been

Semi Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Guinea-Bissau 0 Senegal 2 - comfortable win over surprise package Guinea-Bissau

Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Senegal 4 Ivory Coast 0 - a 4 goal haul from one striker enough to easily win the trophy.  With that done I resign.

 

[Crispypaul]

  

  

  

              

  Crispypaul
St Louis City
MLS
2027

League - Summary 1 | Summary 2 - a great season winning the Supporter's Shield and ultimately lifting the MLS Cup

US Open Cup - Fixtures - lifted this with an 11-10 penalty win!

CONCACAF Champions League 2026/27 - Fixtures - all Mexican opposition, in the final we just edged Monterrey to lift the trophy

CONCACAF Champions League 2027/28 - Fixtures | Table - topped the group

Leagues Cup - Fixtures | Table -  got to the South Final and lost

Transfers - MLS trades are on a seperate screen 

Finances - all well

Squad 

Key players:

Deiber Caicedo - a good season again and called up by Colombia

João Klauss - solid up front

Kerim Çalhanoğlu - strong Turkish left back

Branco van den Boomen - experienced Dutchman on a free transfer

Peter Williams - prolific US striker 

Eduard Löwen - strong German/US centre half

Future - with North America done I resign

International - I joined the USA and played some Nations League games

Domestic
Season	 Team			Division			Position			Notes						
2022/23	 All Stars 		South African NFD	 	3rd				Promoted through playoffs
2023/24	 All Stars		South African PSL		4th				
2024/25	 All Stars		South African PSL		1st				Won MTN8, Telkom, Confed Cup
2025/26	 All Stars		South African PSL		1st				Won MTN8, Telkom, Nedbank, CL, resigned
2026	 St Louis City FC	MLS				6th				Lost in SF playoffs
2027	 St Louis City FC	MLS				1st				Won MLS Cup, CL, Open Cup

International
Year	   	Team				Achievements
2023/24		Ghana
2024/25		Ghana				Qualified for AFCON, sacked!
2025/26		Senegal				Qualified for World Cup
2026		Senegal				World Cup SF
2027		Senegal				Won AFCON, resigned
2027		USA					Joined after Gold Cup

Challenge Progress

Club
 2/10 top domestic leagues (All Stars, South Africa, 24/25; St Louis City, USA, 2027)
 2/10 domestic cups (All Stars, South Africa, 24/25; St Louis City, USA, 2027)
 2/5 club continental championships (All Stars, Africa, 25/26; St Louis City, North America, 2026/27)
 0/1 club world championship 

International
 1/5 continental tournaments (Senegal, Africa, 2027)
 0/1 world tournaments

[Crispypaul]

Turned down by both Hamburg and Beijing Gouan, I eventually joined South Korean side Ulsan in May 2028

[darren1983]

Season 2024/25 Review South African Premier League SuperSport United 

 

League - Target for me this season was top 4 with a push for top 2 to get in the Champions League ASAP, it went a bit better than that as quickly found ourselves top of the league and looked set for a battle with the Chiefs for the title but as they stumbled their rivals Orlando Pirates became the threat and we went back and forth with games being moved all the time, it went to the final game with us needing a draw to secure the title. We managed to to draw but in the end it didn't matter as Pirates also drew so we were champions.

Telkom Cup - We didn't do much in this as we fell pretty early

Nedbank Cup - a solid run in this to the final where we ran out comfortable winners 

Transfers - as usual mainly focused on free transfers to bolster the squad as this was a team that win the league the season before last so not much needed to be added to them

Finances - better after prize money but we still lose a lot per month so dunno how long this will last

Career Overview

Year		Club			League	Position	Nation			Notes & Achievements 

2022/23		Polokwane City		NFD	 11th 		South Africa		Took over with 9 games left of the season
2023/24		Polokwane City		NFD	1st 		South Africa		Completed first coaching badge
2024/25		SuperSport United	PL	1st 		South Africa		Won Nedbank Cup and completed second coaching badge

Challenge Progress

 Club
 1/10 top domestic leagues – South Africa 2025 (SuperSport United)
 1/10 domestic cups – South Africa 2025 (SuperSport United)
 0/5 club continental championships 
 0/1 club world championship 

International
 0/5 continental tournaments
 0/1 world tournaments

 

[ANGL]

 

CLUB AMÉRICA: FASE CLAUSURA 2035

Resigned inmediately after winning Asian Cup of Nations with South Korea... but unemployement lasted for a week. Took a look at Mexico only to find Club América in last position of Fase Clausura, with 4 points after 9 games. They played NACL last season (knocked out in first round) and were expected to be 6th, so it looked like a good oportunity. The last position was well deserved: team management was a disaster (35 player squad, 6 possible starters not registered, a loan in not registered...), and morale was incredible low.

My short term objective was to get to 12th place and have a spot on knockout stage, for an oportunity to qualify for NACL.

 

Got things around and made it to the knockout, where won in the preliminary round. In quarter finals got drawn against Pachuca, made a good first leg but was unable to score, and they scored in the 90th minute. I went to the second leg with hope, but then...

 

An own goal and a red card in the first 10 minutes, and it was all over.  Anyway, this was not the year to win the league. Now, we have to wait for the end of Clausura to see if we are qualified to NACL, as 8 teams qualify but it depends on how the knockout stage go in both Apertura and Clausura. Now it is time to find good signings and rebuild the team!

 

 

 

Title count: 4/32

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Angered BK Season 2 Review

Competitions

A unexpected promotion for our second season in charge of Angered BK. 

I was just happy to get into the play offs.

We finished 2nd in the league.

We then got put into this promotion play off group with IFK Malmo & Vastra Frolunda who we managed to beat both of them to progress to the next stage.

We had to play Tvaakars IF in a 2 legged final. 

The first leg we drew 0-0 and then in the 2nd leg we drew 1-1 and managed to win on penalties 5-4.

My reputation is now 20% so I will be looking for a bigger team to manage now I have gotten a promotion on my record.

Career Overview

Year                 Club                 Nation                  League                                           Position

22/23          Angered BK        Sweden               Swedish 2nd Division North         8th           

23/24         Angered BK         Sweden               Swedish 2nd Division North         2nd(Promoted Through Playoffs)

 

Club
 0/10 top domestic leagues 
 0/10 domestic cups 
 0/5 club continental championships 
 0/1 club world championship 

International
 0/5 continental tournaments
 0/1 world tournaments

 

 

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

New Job

Dalkurd currently play in Swedish First Division Elite. This is a definite step up for me and the club is celebrating it's 20th anniversary since it has formed.

Let's hope this a season to celebrate.

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Dalkurd FF Season 1 Review

Competitions

I managed to get Dalkurd promoted in my 1st season in charge and we will be playing next season in the top Swedish league.

Progressing nicely in my career. 

We just scraped into the play offs and then we managed to beat Degerfors IF 4-3 on agg. 

We will also be turning Professional by January 2025.

I decided to quit Dalkurd after 1 season as they kicked off when I applied for other jobs so I thought it would be easier to quit. 

I might end up regretting this but we will see.

Career Overview

Year                 Club                 Nation                  League                                           Position

22/23          Angered BK        Sweden               Swedish 2nd Division North         8th           

23/24         Angered BK         Sweden               Swedish 2nd Division North         2nd(Promoted Through Playoffs)

24/25          Dalkurd              Sweden                Swedish 1st Division Elite             3rd(Promoted Through Playoffs)

Club
 0/10 top domestic leagues 
 0/10 domestic cups 
 0/5 club continental championships 
 0/1 club world championship 

International
 0/5 continental tournaments
 0/1 world tournaments

[Ronaldo Beckham]

New Job Sorted

Chesterfield is a definite step up from playing in the Swedish lower divisions. 

I can definitly do well with Chesterfield and get a decent higher league job in time.

I have got my work cut out as Chesterfield are currently 22nd in the league so morale will be bad but I am hoping I can turn things around and keep them up in the league and build for next season.

Up The Spireites!!!