The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge

Safe Hands · January 31

Skipped last year's game and picked 24 up last night. Always do a journeyman save but kinda lose interest. Had a crack at this in 21 I think but again lost interest.

Think going to give this a go again as always wanted to complete it and in 21 my time in Africa probably most fun I've ever had since CM01/02 days.

Questions for those deep in, the problem I see this year is the Asia Champions league with the monster money in Saudi. I did a journeyman around Asia in fm22 and dominated with a Korean team but different animal now. Before I get in deep down the rabbit hole are people finding the Saudi teams just too strong?

vikeologist · January 31

16 minutes ago, Safe Hands said:

Skipped last year's game and picked 24 up last night. Always do a journeyman save but kinda lose interest. Had a crack at this in 21 I think but again lost interest.

Think going to give this a go again as always wanted to complete it and in 21 my time in Africa probably most fun I've ever had since CM01/02 days.

Questions for those deep in, the problem I see this year is the Asia Champions league with the monster money in Saudi. I did a journeyman around Asia in fm22 and dominated with a Korean team but different animal now. Before I get in deep down the rabbit hole are people finding the Saudi teams just too strong?

Well, there's an old name.

I'm not doing the challenge this year, but I haven't noticed anyone having problems with the ACL. Lots of people trying to do it with Japanese teams, so sort of the same question, how good an option are Japanese clubs compared with Korean clubs when it comes to winning the ACL?

Safe Hands · January 31

5 minutes ago, vikeologist said:

Well, there's an old name.

I'm not doing the challenge this year, but I haven't noticed anyone having problems with the ACL. Lots of people trying to do it with Japanese teams, so sort of the same question, how good an option are Japanese clubs compared with Korean clubs when it comes to winning the ACL?

22 was different as Japanese teams only had grey players so we're easy to knock over, only challenge was other Korean teams, it was relatively easy I won the treble 3 years running and I'm very average.

I'll get up and running. I did start a game with only countries loaded along the Danube river so could have gone from there and tried to knock Europe off but noticed didn't sort out the Brazilian team names so will start again. Just decided if I'm only loading Europe or mixer from everywhere

goonergez · January 31

I can’t say I found issues with the Saudi clubs if I’m honest. If I did it then it’s certainly still possible to win it

you’ll probably grow to love the Saudi clubs in truth. Throughout my career they’ve done me a favour by taking players I don’t want for transfer fees nobody else gets close to matching.

JamLUFC · January 31

2030/31 - Liverpool

As I was out of the Mexican Champions League I applied for a few English Premier League jobs to see what I could get. I applied for Leicester, Blackburn, Liverpool and Palace and of course the only club interested enough even for an interview was Liverpool, and surprisingly they offered me a job. It was the start of January and they were still in the Champions League and the two domestic cups, 12th in the Premier League. We hit the ground running, reached the final of the Carabao Cup and then throw in an epic bottle job by losing the Carabao Cup final, the Champions League quarters and then a FA Cup Semi final. The FA Cup hurt the most, as the semi was a winnable game against Villa with Fulham waiting in the final. The season ran out with us finishing in 7th place.

I did look at a few international jobs but nothing stood out. I'm hoping my standing with Liverpool now should land me the pick of jobs in 2032 after the Euros and Copa America.

I've got a two year plan to clean up in England now before looking elsewhere. Win a cup in year one and the league title in year two. I've got enough quality to build on, but also a bit of a bloated squad to cash in on especially with our Saudi friends sniffing around some sellable assets!

JamLUFC · January 31

11 hours ago, Safe Hands said:

Skipped last year's game and picked 24 up last night. Always do a journeyman save but kinda lose interest. Had a crack at this in 21 I think but again lost interest.

Think going to give this a go again as always wanted to complete it and in 21 my time in Africa probably most fun I've ever had since CM01/02 days.

Questions for those deep in, the problem I see this year is the Asia Champions league with the monster money in Saudi. I did a journeyman around Asia in fm22 and dominated with a Korean team but different animal now. Before I get in deep down the rabbit hole are people finding the Saudi teams just too strong?

You'll find with the Saudi clubs they'll have 4/5 top players then a load of local lads so they're very beatable if you have a good team. With how it splits into East/West you'll only ever play one Saudi team in the final which is over two legs too so as long as you win your home leg you're in with a good chance

AndreV1313 · February 1

SEASON 2035/36

After leaving South America as winners, we landed for the first time in our careers in Europe, at the helm of Koln, a team of great quality but stuck in mid-table. We sign with the German club in January 2036, finding ourselves with two competitions to play, Bundesliga and Champions League, while the team was already eliminated in the DFB Pokal.

BUNDESLIGA

We manage to climb several places, earning a decent and almost never in doubt qualification for the Europa League. For some stretches we cultivate the dream of qualification for the next Champions League, but it turns out to be really impossible to achieve it, due to the gap with Herta Berlin. Fifth place at minus seven, however, remains an excellent basis on which to build for next season.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

There are just four matches in our first Champions League adventure: two in the league phase and two in the playoffs to reach the round of 16. The debut in the top competition is anything but positive as we literally succumb in Madrid, at home to Atletico, 4-0. The second match against Qarabag went better, which saw us triumph in Baku 2-0 and reach qualification at least for the playoffs. Nothing to do, however, in the playoff round, where we beat Manchester City in the first leg, winning 2-1 in Germany, only to lose 4-1 at the Etihad.

Edited February 1 by AndreV1313

jepze · February 1

Trying this challenge for the first time. Early completed pentagon, but i'll try this one now.

Starting in Japan now in the J3 league. Starting mid in the season and on 10th place right now.

jepze · February 1

Season - 2023

First season, or half a season, is done. I took over FC Gifu at 10th place in the league, in just thought about get the top half finish this season, and build the team the next one. The things didn't go that direction, becuase we didn't lose a single game, after i took over. I got 15 victories and 6 draws. With that statistic, we got even more than a top half finish, and with 1 game left of the season, we just got promoted, was on the 1st place with 3 points down to the 2nd place. Everything was in our own hands to secure the first trophy for me as a manager, but not for the challenge.

We won our last game 2-0 on got the title. Now it's all about getting ready for the next season in Japan's 2nd tier, and maybe get some coaching badges under our belt.

Edited February 1 by jepze

MikeClarke · February 1

Orlando Pirates : 2031/32

After my swift exit I opted to be patient and find the right opportunity, after a short while a dream opportunity for this challenge presented itself. Orlando Pirates were suffering in the division, they play the same 4231 I introduced at Mito and have plenty of cash on hand for improvements - not to mention they agreed for me to get another coaching license (despite them already having the best coaching setup in the division). Took over the job early in the season whilst they were sat at 11th after 11 games and some disappointing cup results but still areas to work.

Extremely loose registration rules in the league (up to 99 players) meant I could introduce talent and build depth on the cheap. This coupled with an immediate impact and being unbeatable in year one has taken us straight to the top of the table without any stutter, easiest league to date. Opted to renew first team so we can challenge for the champions cup next season. Expecting a very short SA stint so opted to load the top 2 divisions from each of the "top 5" leagues to find some high rep work moving forward. Maybe even a crack at International management if any jobs become available (never really done that before).

Orlando Pirates : 2032/33

Suffered my first defeat since taking over at Orlando with a loss in the Be The Coach matchup, 3 early goals and could only claw back 2. KC were my bogey team as they also prevented us winning the Super Cup due to the away goals rule. It was very rewarding to claim the league title win a win over them, but in fairness claiming that title was never a concern.

Glad to be exiting SA for pastures new, I always want to win but I prefer more of a fight. My initial pleasure of getting a great team has been a bit of a curse in itself.

OL : 2033/34

Couldn't find an International job so decided to take a crack at one of the top 5 divisions with a role at OL. They were sitting 14th in the league and wanted a top half finish, not much of a transfer budget and already over wage budget meant season one would be about trimming some of our expenses. Managed to qualify for Europa league but missed out on Champions League on the final day. Highlight of the season was beating PSG in the league match up but otherwise lost a lot of games by 1 goal. End of season saw my AML worth 60-100mil look for the door so opted to offload him for a deal worth around 85m and bring in a young keeper for 48m - the rest of my transfers will be bargain bucket whilst I hope some of our youth can strike it lucky. Not sure if I will manage to unseat PSG as rulers of France but board is giving me coaching licenses so I'm happy to spend a few seasons trying.

OL : 2034/35

Very patchy season throughout, didn't quite hit good form and tried reverting to a 433 to no avail. Brought in some extra strength during the mid-season transfer but my scouts can't seem to find me cheap talent and with a 20m budget each yet its a bit of a challenge bringing in talent that's ready to fire, instead I need to rely more on youth developing. Sold 145m worth of players and brought in 47.5m.

Qualified for champions league but not expecting much, still on the search for an international job. The second half of this season was a solid performance so could give PSG a really run for their money (literally).

OL : 2035/36

Got my first bit of silverware with OL right out of the gate which a huge 5-0 win over PSG. Definitely filled me with confidence for the season and we stayed top of the table for the year, PSG constantly on our back but we only suffered a slight hiccup in form in March which fortunately impacted our champions league run losing to Barca with only 1 loss impacting the league before a return to form. PSG's persistently amazing form really did have us running to the wire as we only had a 3pt lead on them heading into our final H2H but based on our previous H2H's I was fairly confident, we took a good win 4-1 which also clinched our title! That is what I call slaying the beast.

Time to move on to new pastures and see which new horizons open up for me, finally have one of the big 5 in the bank and very happy with that.

Resigned from OL and have since took on the job of Man City (previously failed to make ECL) and France (currently ranked #1). Hoping for a relatively short stint in England as its my usual played country but the Man City job is too good to pass up.

Season   Team Position Notes & Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024 Persijap Jepara Indonesian L2 3rd
2025 Persijap Jepara Indonesian L2 1st(C) Promoted to League 1
2026 Persijap Jepara   Indonesian L1 8th
2026    Mito Japan L3 1st(C) Promoted to J2
2027    Mito Japan L2 2nd Promoted to J1
2028    Mito Japan L1 2nd
2029    Mito Japan L1 3rd Super Cup Winner
2030    Mito Japan L1 1st League Winner, All Japan Cup, League Cup
2031    Mito Japan L1 Resigned ACL Winner
2031/32 Orlando Pirates SA PSL 1st(C) SAFA Cup Winner, ACC Winner
2032/33 Orlando Pirates SA PSL 1st(C) ASC Winner, SA KO Winner, SA Champions League
2033/34 OL Lique 1 6th Took over in 14th
2034/35 OL Lique 1 2nd Europe league final
2035/36 OL Lique 1 1st(C) Trophee des Champions

Club
3/10 Club Domestic Leagues (Japan - Mito 2030, SA - Orlando Pirates 2033, France - OL 2036)
2/10 Club Domestic Cups (Japan - Mito 2030, SA - Orlando Pirates 2033)
2/5 Continental Championship (ACL Japan - Mito 2031, CL SA - Orlando Pirates 2033)
0/1 Club World Championship

International
0/5 Continental Tournaments
0/1 World Cup

7/32

SkiIIs · February 1

Season 2043/44 - FC Porto

This is going to sound really sour on my behalf but im sure others have felt this way after a reasonably successful season with a team that was expected success.

The season started off losing the second game at home to Sporting then drawing a few games later at home to Braga whilst Sporting won their first 8 games so was already 5 points behind. We had also lost our first two champions league league games as well. From that point, it always felt like we were playing catch up for the entire season, never really being in control of our destiny. Mind you just before the January transfer period opened up, the board decided to strip me of the 50m pounds in transfer budget and 250k in wages available from me because of financial viability. I had raised those funds myself by selling decent depth players in the hunt of bringing in quality to bolster the squad, particularly in defence.

In the return leg against Sporting, we had closed the gap to 2 points however we lost again to them making it a 5 point gap with 16 games to go. The sorting rules are head to head first so really it was a 6 point gap that we needed to close. To cut a long story short, we won the remaining 16 games to win the league but in all honesty it wasnt that easy. We brought in Joao Carlos on loan from Barca who I also loaned in at RB who is a 5 star AMC who helped us boss the midfield. Really not sure why Barca dont like him as he's also my star for the Brazil National team.

In the Allianz Cup we lost to Benfica in penalties after leading 2 - 1 with only 1 minute of normal time left. That was really disheartening as Braga was awaiting the winner in the final as Benfica swept them away to be victors. In the Taca de Portugal however, we were not to be denied in the semis against Sporting over two legs as we drew 2 - 2 away then creamed them 4 - 1 at home with a L2 opposition awaiting us in the final. We did not let that opportunity go to waste as we won 8 - 0 do complete the double.

The Champions League is something that we didnt focus on and much to my surprise we made it all the way to the final, knocking off the likes of Man Utd and Newcastle but only to lose to Lazio 3 - 1 after taking the lead early.

All in all, the job i came for is done and we will move on after what can be said of a season I particularly didnt enjoy. No jobs in France have opened up again as every single manage is either secure or stable which is really weird. I still have a couple cups i need to catch up on so will see if there's an opportunity out there for a quick one in the mean time.

Edited February 1 by SkiIIs

SkiIIs · February 1

2044 Copa America - Brazil

My first international tournament with Brazil, going into it as favourites and ranked number 1 team in the World. That didnt bode well for me for the last World Cup with Spain so fingers crossed we dont wear the heavy tag again.

We were given a friendly group, as did the other giants of South American football. Venezuala, Paraguay and Jamaica were no match for us as we scored 18 and conceded 4 in three wins. Beating Paraguay 4 - 3 after copping a red card in the 6th minute. In the quarters we get USA who are ranked 12th in the world.

Quarter Final

Spoiler

we breeze through after a 5 - 0 win. Mexico lost to surprise packet Curacao in penalties so we get a really nice path to the final

Semi Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

another 5 - 0 win. Big guns Argentina in the final who are ranked 3rd in the world

Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Not quite the 5 - 0 blowout, but ill take the 4 - 0 win in what was an extremely straightforward tournament! I might stick around for the World Cup in a couple of years

Edited February 1 by SkiIIs

goonergez · February 3

Real Madrid CF: 2045/46 Review

After my failure in the Euros with France I immediately picked up the role as England manager who were ranked number one in the world and who had won said European Championships. At club level I didn’t find it so easy after leaving Paris though. I eventually picked up the job at RB Leipzig at the end of January. Sat in 12th upon arrival I took the club up to 7th and Europa League qualification before leaving. I hadn’t planned to leave but the long term manager of Real Madrid had retired and moving there was an obvious and simple decision.

I planned to pick up trophies quickly and armed with a £280,000,000 transfer budget felt confident I could do so. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. We were comfortably off the pace in the league and outside of that although we did better we couldn’t pick up success.

Our home form in the league was fine, but away from home we were really poor. Far too many dropped points cost us and although we finished strongly we still finished way short of Barcelona. Defensively we weren’t good enough and the left wing didn’t provide much creatively or goal scoring wise to help us either.

We did win the Spanish Super Cup beating rivals and former side Atletico 3-2 in the final. In the Copa del Rey we saw off Barcelona to reach the final before producing a disappointing performance to lose to Espanyol in a game we really should’ve won.

The Champions League looked promising for a while as we walked through the league stage unbeaten to finish top of the pile. We made it to the Quarter Finals before Juventus sent us packing. We were outplayed away in the first leg to lose 0-1 but produced a better performance at the Bernabau. Very frustrating to go out at that stage as we should be challenging for this competition much further than the quarters.

All in all that can only be described as a disaster. We could’ve nicked the Copa del Rey but we were way short both in the league and the Champions League. Having spent around £200,000,000 that’s a real disappointment. I’ve picked up another huge transfer kitty though and this time I plan on using it much more wisely. We definitely need to tighten up our defence and I was disappointed with the contributions from our options on the left wing. I wanted a new goalkeeper too, and we’ve snapped up a wonder kid from Villarreal for £32,000,000 already. He will be going straight into the team. I’m hoping next season can see us pick up some trophies as it’s fair to say I enjoy managing these big rich teams much less than attempting to overthrow them. First up is the World Cup with England though and I’m very excited to take my squad to Indonesia and Malaysia for that tournament. We should stand a decent chance of doing well in it as we’re ranked as the best team in world football.

Season	Team			Position	Notes & Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023/24 Pretoria Callies	5th		(hired in 10th place)
2024/25 Pretoria Callies	1st(C)
2025/26 Cape Town City		12th		(hired in 11th place)
2026/27 Cape Town City		1st (C)		SA Premiership winners
2027/28 Cape Town City		3rd		SA Knockout Cup & African Champions League winners	
2028/29 Cape Town City		12th		(resigned in october)
2030	Ulsan Hyundai		3rd		Asian Champions League winners
2031	New York City FC	10th
2032	New York City FC	7th
2033	New York City FC	1st (C)		MLS Cup, Supporters Shield & MLS Eastern Conference winners
2034	New York City FC	1st (C)		MLS Cup, Supporters Shield, MLS Eastern Conference and Champions League winners
2035	-
2036	Palmeiras		4th		(hired in 7th)
2037	Palmeiras		4th		Sao Paulo State winners
2038	Palmeiras		1st (C)		First Division, Sao Paulo State & Copa Libertadores winners
2039	Palmeiras		-		South American Super Cup & Brazilian Super Cup winners
2039/40	Sporting Lisbon		3rd		(hired in 3rd)
2040/41 Sporting Lisbon		3rd		Portuguese Cup winners
2041/42 Sporting Lison		1st (C)		Portuguese Premier League, Portuguese Cup, Europa League and Portuguese Super Cup winners
2042/43 Atletico Madrid		3rd
2043/44 Paris St-Germain	1st (C)		Ligue 1 winners
2044/45 RB Leizig		7th
2045/46 Real Madrid		4th		Spanish Super Cup winners


Challenge Progress

Club

5/10 Domestic Leagues (26/27 SA Premiership, 2033 MLS Cup, 2038 Brazilian First Division, 2041/42 Portuguese Premier, 2043/44 French Ligue 1)
2/10 Domestic Cups (27/28 SA Knockout Cup, 2040/41 Portuguese Cup)
4/5 Continental Championships (27/28 African Champions League, 2031 Asian Champions League, 2034 NA Champions League, 2038 Copa Libertadores)
0/1 Club World Championship

International

2/5 Continental Tournaments (2035 Gold Cup, 2036 Copa America)
0/1 World Tournament

TOTAL: 13/32

goonergez · February 3

England: World Cup 2046

Fresh off the back of a disappointing season with Real Madrid I got to lead my England team into the World Cup and the opportunity to chase a first major international honour since the Copa America in 2036. I had confidence as this England side was packed with quality and came in having won the European championships two summers ago. The tournament was for some reason hosted by Indonesia and Malaysia, but that aside we entered the tournament as one of the favourites.

Our preparations went well enough and we drew a warm up with Ghana 1-1 before dispatching Qatar 4-1. That brought us into the tournament proper and with no major injuries to worry about my squad of 26 was prepared.

We opened with a truly dominant display against Saudi Arabia but simply couldn’t find the back of the net. We controlled the game from start to finish but simply couldn’t apply the finishing touch. A 0-0 draw was disappointing but at least we showed how positive we could be about the strength of our defensive work. Next up was Haiti and we comfortably saw them off 3-0. Yet again we missed a whole host of chances but thankfully scored enough to get the three points. This meant we faced the Ivory Coast sat 2nd in the group. A win would guarantee us a spot in the knockouts and a draw may be enough to qualify. We looked ok as we hit injury time tied up at 2-2 but then disaster struck. A header from a corner saw us lose out 2-3 and sit relying on qualifying as a best placed 3rd spot team, thankfully we did that and earned our passage into the knockouts.

First up was Austria and a win would see us into the last 16. We were really poor again, twice coming from behind to rescue a 2-2 draw. In the most unlikely of scenarios we won the match on penalties to face Cameroon in the next round. We took the lead just seven minutes into the contest and that was all she wrote. Yet again despite dominating the game we couldn’t add more goals and ended up walking away as 1-0 winners. Ghana or France awaited us in the quarters and shockingly the Africans saw off my former nation to book there spot against us. I felt confident and hoped this was where we would really kick our tournament on.

By half time against Ghana we had already booked our spot in the semi finals and I had a chance to take some key players off for some much needed rest. We added one second half goal to our three in the first half to secure a 4-0 victory and a spot in the final four. At last we had produced a performance worthy of the quality we possess.

Argentina would await us in the semi and an enthralling game would surely be coming. Their path had been much more straightforward than ours but we found ourselves in the semi finals despite of failing to reach our real heights. We produced a second brilliant performance of the tournament as a 3-0 victory saw us into the final where we would meet Mexico who had shocked Brazil in the other semi.

We picked up the trophy with a dominant display, probably our best of the tournament. We failed to make the breakthrough until ten minutes into the second half but by then we should’ve been out of sight. After taking the lead we never looked in doubt of holding on and thankfully eased the nerves with a second right at the end of the game. A 2-0 win and world champions.

With that my first major tournament as England manager is in the books and it ends in the perfect way. Thankfully we got better as the tournament went on and in the end we deserved to win the crown. For me personally it was a brilliant end to a difficult season after a pretty average campaign with Real Madrid. Normally I’d hand in my resignation and look for a new international challenge but I’m planning to hang around for the European Championships in a couple of summers time. We have a strong squad of players and I see no reason why we can’t have a go at lifting another international honour. For now I focus on improving fortunes in Madrid though ahead of a really big season for my managerial career.

Season	Team			Position	Notes & Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023/24 Pretoria Callies	5th		(hired in 10th place)
2024/25 Pretoria Callies	1st(C)
2025/26 Cape Town City		12th		(hired in 11th place)
2026/27 Cape Town City		1st (C)		SA Premiership winners
2027/28 Cape Town City		3rd		SA Knockout Cup & African Champions League winners	
2028/29 Cape Town City		12th		(resigned in october)
2030	Ulsan Hyundai		3rd		Asian Champions League winners
2031	New York City FC	10th
2032	New York City FC	7th
2033	New York City FC	1st (C)		MLS Cup, Supporters Shield & MLS Eastern Conference winners
2034	New York City FC	1st (C)		MLS Cup, Supporters Shield, MLS Eastern Conference and Champions League winners
2035	-
2036	Palmeiras		4th		(hired in 7th)
2037	Palmeiras		4th		Sao Paulo State winners
2038	Palmeiras		1st (C)		First Division, Sao Paulo State & Copa Libertadores winners
2039	Palmeiras		-		South American Super Cup & Brazilian Super Cup winners
2039/40	Sporting Lisbon		3rd		(hired in 3rd)
2040/41 Sporting Lisbon		3rd		Portuguese Cup winners
2041/42 Sporting Lison		1st (C)		Portuguese Premier League, Portuguese Cup, Europa League and Portuguese Super Cup winners
2042/43 Atletico Madrid		3rd
2043/44 Paris St-Germain	1st (C)		Ligue 1 winners
2044/45 RB Leizig		7th
2045/46 Real Madrid		4th		Spanish Super Cup winners
2046/47 Real Madrid		tbc


Challenge Progress

Club

5/10 Domestic Leagues (26/27 SA Premiership, 2033 MLS Cup, 2038 Brazilian First Division, 2041/42 Portuguese Premier, 2043/44 French Ligue 1)
2/10 Domestic Cups (27/28 SA Knockout Cup, 2040/41 Portuguese Cup)
4/5 Continental Championships (27/28 African Champions League, 2031 Asian Champions League, 2034 NA Champions League, 2038 Copa Libertadores)
0/1 Club World Championship

International

2/5 Continental Tournaments (2035 Gold Cup, 2036 Copa America)
1/1 World Tournament (World Cup 2046)

TOTAL: 14/32

AndreV1313 · February 3

SEASON 2036/2037

After a good second half in the first season, we reach our second season at the helm of Koln, our first full one.

BUNDESLIGA

The season proves to be very difficult, especially in the championship. We risk being sacked more than once, repeatedly saving ourselves by the skin of our teeth. We finish seventh, albeit minus four from the Champions zone, without ever really being in the running in the decisive phase of the championship. The summit is exactly thirty points away.

DFB POKAL

The DFB Pokal also goes badly, where we have a fair amount of bad luck. After a large 4-0 victory in the first round against Heimstetten, we have a hard time getting through the second round, where we have an unlucky draw by being drawn immediately with Herta Berlin. Despite the two victories, it will be the third round that will be fatal for us, going out on penalties against Wolfsburg, seeing two goals cancelled in the 120 minutes.

EUROPA LEAGUE

What saves us and prevents the first exoneration of our career is the Europa League, which we manage to win in an unexpected way. After a somewhat fluctuating league phase, we confidently beat AZ Alkmaar and Olympique Marseille. The challenge that sends us into the final is the most difficult one, where we face Liverpool, overcoming the disadvantage suffered at Anfield in the home match on the return leg. Then at the Groupama Stadium we closed the file, winning the competition against Porto, saving our bench and even qualifying for the Champions League.

stevelcfc2011 · February 4

Decided to give this a go once again. Starting in the third tier of Japan, wish me luck!

Gregg88 · February 5

Houston Dynamo

Well.....PSV came and went! Finished 2nd in the league, but picking up the Dutch Cup. Then the end of the season meetings came around, which resulted in the chairman instantly putting us into £20 million of transfer debt, even though we had £60 million in the bank. RED. MIST. DESCENDED. I wasn't having it. Having to sell my players to allow me to buy, when I had 18 points to make up next season on Ajax. Normally i'd love that challenge, but that is not the challenge here! So I ditched them. Sod the league.

What followed was something that can only be described as pure desperation as I applied for 9 jobs. Every interview had that "You appear to be in the running for many jobs" question. Not your business Mr Interviewer! I'm in panic mode!

Santos and Houston offered me jobs, so I looked into Santos' team and they were so aged! I wanted a quick win, not 3 season re-build. So I joined Houston......in one of the most complicated leagues on the game.....make that make sense. Hello 3 season re-build!

2036 was here....Houston sitting just outside the playoffs...I got into the playoffs....and lost in the first round.

The off-season allowed me to re-build, whilst constantly buying down contracts and trading for international slots! Literally gave away all my picks in the draft, but are there ever good players in the draft?

A tactical switch from 4-1-2-2-1 to 4-4-2 midseason, managed to change my fortunes massively....

I'm going to stay with them and try to win the NACL, I'm predicted to make the semi final, so cross everything!

I'd like to pick up the US Cup too, but we'll see.

Challenge Progress

Edited February 6 by Gregg88

Safe Hands · February 6

season 2023/2024

Started in Croatian 2nd Division with NK Solin. Finished the season 2nd after a mis season slump where I was playing around with tactics. I want in this save to try and develop a tactic I take with me to every club, which is built around an old player pass his best. I managed to pick up ex Roma and Belgium Star Rada Nainggolan. great mentals and technical but physicals on the wane. Tried to get him as an Engachge but couldnt get it to work so most success was as a Mezzala in 433 where he scored a few screams with his 17 long shots. The club have let me do my badges and now working on the 3rd badge. I don't know if to stick around ro leave I had a good squad but have lost majority on free's or loan players returning. Im having fun but other than doing my badges there no point staying for the challenge, i didn't even enter a cup last year, the club is semi pro so even with promotion im not going to compete in the prem and i need a full squad rebuild. Might me time to leave and see what else is around.

stevelcfc2011 · February 6

I took over in mid-August we overall we did pretty well, some good wins with only a couple of sloppy defeats.

When I joined we sat 9th, we end the season in 7th, not a bad half a season.

A few more screenshots.

Moments to remember

Best XI

I've also got the board to agree to let me do my first coaching badge.

Next seasons plan is to try and push for promotion, which is the top two in the table. I'd also like to get the board to keep letting me do coaching badges as quick as possible. I also need to keep an eye on jobs in the higher tiers, the quicker we get there the better

goonergez · February 6

Real Madrid CF: 2046/47 Review

Fresh off the back of winning the World Cup with England I returned to my task of restoring Real Madrid to former glories. My first campaign here had been modest at best, this time around I wanted some silverware. Armed with a significant transfer budget I attempted to plug the gaps I found in our squad from last season. A new keeper was signed, two new defenders and Christian Ahnen arrived as our new left winger in a £80,000,000 deal from my former club RB Leipzig. I was confident we could do better this season and the squad looked to have more depth than it had last time around.

We did much better this season but we still ended up finishing way off the pace set by Barcelona. I’m not quite sure what the issue was as we seemed to control plenty of matches we just struggled to put teams away. We scored plenty of goals but we dropped too many points in games which we controlled and dominated. It was a disappointing campaign as we fell away late on in the season having spent the first half of it neck and neck at the top.

Outside of the league we had a really sense of Deja vu.

For the third time in a row and the second in a row under my management we would lose out in the Copa del Rey final to Espanyol. This time we were even more dominant and got done with a disappointing goal from a corner. Despite fighting back we couldn’t find the goal and yet again would finish as the losing finalists.

In the Champions League we struggled more this time around. We finished down in the play off spots of the league stage and were eliminated by Juventus again in the play off round. This one really hurt me as I honestly felt we could go a long way in this competition. The Spanish Super Cup saw us get through Espanyol to make the final where we were comfortably beaten 0-2 by Valencia.

For me I think this season was even more disappointing than the last. Our squad is absolutely jam packed with talent but we find ourselves without a trophy and kicking our wounds. Barcelona are an exceptional team to try and overcome and maybe I was a bit over confident that spending money would solve and bridge the gap. That being said I do plan on doing similar this summer. I don’t think we’re far away from winning trophies and I certainly don’t see myself walking away yet. I’ve got a real challenge on my hands but I am excited by it. With the right signings I’m sure we can go better next season and that is very much my goal. The end of next season will also bring the European championships with my England side. We’ve been dominant in qualifying and that bodes well for next season hopefully being successful at both club and international level.

Season	Team			Position	Notes & Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023/24 Pretoria Callies	5th		(hired in 10th place)
2024/25 Pretoria Callies	1st(C)
2025/26 Cape Town City		12th		(hired in 11th place)
2026/27 Cape Town City		1st (C)		SA Premiership winners
2027/28 Cape Town City		3rd		SA Knockout Cup & African Champions League winners	
2028/29 Cape Town City		12th		(resigned in october)
2030	Ulsan Hyundai		3rd		Asian Champions League winners
2031	New York City FC	10th
2032	New York City FC	7th
2033	New York City FC	1st (C)		MLS Cup, Supporters Shield & MLS Eastern Conference winners
2034	New York City FC	1st (C)		MLS Cup, Supporters Shield, MLS Eastern Conference and Champions League winners
2035	-
2036	Palmeiras		4th		(hired in 7th)
2037	Palmeiras		4th		Sao Paulo State winners
2038	Palmeiras		1st (C)		First Division, Sao Paulo State & Copa Libertadores winners
2039	Palmeiras		-		South American Super Cup & Brazilian Super Cup winners
2039/40	Sporting Lisbon		3rd		(hired in 3rd)
2040/41 Sporting Lisbon		3rd		Portuguese Cup winners
2041/42 Sporting Lison		1st (C)		Portuguese Premier League, Portuguese Cup, Europa League and Portuguese Super Cup winners
2042/43 Atletico Madrid		3rd
2043/44 Paris St-Germain	1st (C)		Ligue 1 winners
2044/45 RB Leizig		7th
2045/46 Real Madrid		4th		Spanish Super Cup winners
2046/47 Real Madrid		3rd


Challenge Progress

Club

5/10 Domestic Leagues (26/27 SA Premiership, 2033 MLS Cup, 2038 Brazilian First Division, 2041/42 Portuguese Premier, 2043/44 French Ligue 1)
2/10 Domestic Cups (27/28 SA Knockout Cup, 2040/41 Portuguese Cup)
4/5 Continental Championships (27/28 African Champions League, 2031 Asian Champions League, 2034 NA Champions League, 2038 Copa Libertadores)
0/1 Club World Championship

International

2/5 Continental Tournaments (2035 Gold Cup, 2036 Copa America)
1/1 World Tournament (World Cup 2046)

TOTAL: 14/32

jepze · February 7

Season - 2024

First full season in Japan, and we were fighting to get a possible promotion again, but wasn't expecting it. Neither was the media, who said we would be on an 10th place in the middle of the table this season, after we got some new japanese guys into the squad. We'va 3 foreign players from last season, who gonna play this one, and got 3 more ino the mix, because 1 of the old ones got a 7 month injury in the start of the year. We can only have 4 in our matchday squad, so I made some rotation around the 5 playes, because they we're a level above most of our japanese players.

But now to the season. We were 1st in the league from matchday 7. The 2 best teams will get promoted, and when we got to the last 10 games, we have a good amount of points from us and Fagiano Okayama on 2nd, down to the other teams. With 7 matches to go, we secured a play-off spot, and with 3 matches to go, we got promoted. On this point, we had 7 points down to Fagiano Okayama in 2nd, and before we got to our 3rd last game, the lost, and we won the title another year and got back-to-back promotions. The team is now in the top league in Japan.

In the cups, we were doing fine. In the small cup, we got to the semifinal, were we lost 2-1 on aggregate to Vissel Kobe, while we got knocked out in the 1st round of the big cup by Cerezo Osaka, who finished 4th in the J1 League.

Other things to notice for this season is, that we got 2 coaching badge and is on our we to get the National A-license. And with those badge, i'm considering my time in the club and considering about going for a new club with more capability to win something. If i stay here in Gifu, we got at least 3 years rebuild to win i think, but on the other hand, we're playing in a top division of Japan. My contract expire in the end of 2024, so i'll look for teams in this periode. If nothing comes up, i'll extend my current contract.

AndreV1313 · February 8

SEASON 2037/2038

It is our third season in Germany at the helm of Koln, and it is a season in which we spend a lot, thanks in part to high-level disposals, to strengthen the team and aim for titles.

BUNDESLIGA

In the championship we are perfect: despite a combative Bayern in the middle part of the season, we hold out and win the title with two matches to spare, a season to be framed.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

We do just as well in the Champions League in the championship phase but then, having reached the round of 16, we lose to Inter, who will go all the way to the final, also due to some injuries that make us arrive at the challenge in a precarious condition.

DFB POKAL

On the other hand, we also had a great victory in the DFB Pokal, where we crushed every opponent until we reached an out-of-the-blue final where we went down and then overturned it in the dying minutes, scoring in the 95th and 96th minutes and beating Borussia Dortmund.

SkiIIs · February 8

Season 2044/45 - Lyon

After a successful season at Porto, I was really keen to complete the Big 5 in France and when the opportunity at Lyon arose, I took it with both hands. The team i took over just finished 4th, only 7 points away from champions PSG so I knew there would be enough talent to at least challenge. When I took over the squad, it was apparent that there were a couple of holes in the first XI, but they were also short of depth. So the first challenge was to bolster the squad numbers whilst also finding players good enough for the starting lineup. Funds were tight so I had to get imaginative and hence utilised loans where possible.

The season started a little rocky losing the opener to Nice, then also losing back to back games 3 weeks later to Strasbourg and Bordeaux. Looking aback, this would be extremely costly as from there we were title challengers and with 6 games to go we hit first place with destiny in our own hands for once. We then immediately lost to Havre to throw it away. With 2 games to go we were 4 points away from PSG but had a game in hand knowing that PSG had to play Nice away in a game they were quite likely to lose points, in the end they lost that match. However we couldnt take advantage again as we lost the last two games. It felt like we were exhausted by seasons end as we also made the semis of the Champions League eventually losing out to Inter Milan. This was a fantastic effort to make it that far and one that helps us qualify for the World Club Cup after the seasons end which i still need to win.

The season wasnt lost afterall, as we ended up winning the Coupe de France which means we can solely focus on the league next season. It was an up and down cup for us as we needed penalties against Nice away in our first outing (really tough draw to be in at that stage) but then faced Ligue 2 opposition in the next two rounds before knocking out giants PSG in the quarter final thanks to a red card just before half time (although we were leading at this point). Then rivals St Etienne in the semi leaving us with Legue 2 opposition in the final.

Edited February 8 by SkiIIs

AndreV1313 · February 8

2038 WORLD CUP, IVORY COAST

After signing for Côte d'Ivoire at the end of May, within a few days we had to immediately prepare for the upcoming World Cup, which will see us in the group with Paraguay, Netherlands and Cuba.

Our competition starts a bit uphill, with a very close draw against Paraguay. Afterwards, however, we flew on the wings of enthusiasm, obtaining six points against Holland, beaten 2-1, and Cuba, beaten 4-1. In the second round, or round of 16 as we like to call it, we met Nigeria in an African derby, which we won in a daring manner with even a 6-5 final in extra time. In the round of 16, again in extra time, we also unbelievably eliminated Uruguay, winning 3-2 after having been upended in regulation time from 2-0 down. In the quarter-finals, we continued our journey, eliminating another South American team, Chile, who, however, played with ten men for more than half the match. Our path is interrupted in the semifinals against the defending champions, England, who literally destroy us, winning 5-0 and going on to confirm themselves as world champions. We also lose the final for third place, for what it's worth, 4-3 against Portugal.

jepze · February 9

Season - 2025

After a long winterbreak, where we tried to get another team instead of FC Gifo, we couldn't get an succesful interview. The date hit 24th december, and i desired to renew my contract. On around the 10th december, I tried to get the Vissel Kobe job, but they wasn't responding. We got to the new year, and got the interview around the 4th january, and after a week or 2, Vissel Kobe would like to sign me as there new manager (sorry for the danish SS)

Vissel Kobe are a lot stronger than FC Gifu, and we're predicted to get 4th in the league, but through the season and with some strenghting of the team, we were predicted 1st on one point of the season. My primary goal for the season was to get some non-foreign players in, to replace the foreign players. We got a lot off non-foreign players as good or better than the foreign, so it was a no-brainer to do it and use the foreign spots on getting better players on the other weak positions in the club.

Through the season, we were fighting with the current champions Nagoya Grampus for the championship. They were a solid team, who lost their first game after 18th matches, but got a lot of drawes too. In the end, the couldn't make the same performances in the second half of the league, and we got champions after 35 rounds. Again this time, we couldn't celebrate it with a win in the game, because Nagoya Grampus played later that afternoon in the round. They were facing our old team, FC Gifu, and lost 3-0 to them. I need to send a botle og champagne to FC Gifu ;-)

In the cups, we were doing bad in the big cup, where we lost in the 2nd round to Urawa Red Diamonds, but we won the J-League YBC Levain Cup with a 3-1 victory over Kashima Antlers in the final, so we're 1 step closer to leave Japan and Asia. I'll try to get the big cup too, because my plan is to stay at Vissel Kobe, to get the Champions League trophy, but we're getting in to it in a half years time. Hopefully we can get some new players in, and we can boost our CV for the next club, who want to get some trophies ;-)

Edited February 9 by jepze

Gregg88 · February 9

Bosh! NACL/NACC won!

Actually easier and quicker than I thought it would be! Kept pretty much the same team from the season before, with a couple additions through trades and handing over a lot of my draft allocation money.

Challenge progess - 17/32

jepze · February 9

World Cup 2026

In the start of this season with Vissel Kobe, some international jobs in Africa got available because of poor performance in the Africa Cup of Nations. I took the advance of this, and got the Nigeria job, to prepare for the next Africa Cup of Nation. Nigeria was already quilified for the World Cup, so i'll try to give my first shot, maybe a longshot, to get the World Cup in the bank. The board expecting a 2nd round finish, and I think it's a fair enough expectation for our team.

We were in a group with Italy, Peru and Saudi Arabia, so i'll could it an "easy" second place, but Saudi Arabia could give us some trouble, and they were the strongest 4th seeded team in the pot, and the only on, who I feared to play against from the last pot.

Group stages

We started out against Peru with a solid 5-0 win, and the fundament for a 2nd round was good. Afterwards we were playing Saudi Arabia, and we needed to get some points, because we canøt expect to get points against Italy. We got a boring 0-0 draw. Next up was Italy, and we got another draw on 1-1 and secured the 2nd place in the group and got a place in the next round

Second Round
In the second round, we played agaisnt Ukraine, who placed 2nd in Group D with 6 points. It wasn't the best draw, but neither the worst out of all. We played a fantastic game, and got a 4-1 victory. We're now ready for the Round of 16, and have already meated the expectations for the World Cup. The worst thing happend in the 19th minute, where our superb winger, Chukwueze from AC Milan, got a broken ancle and is out for 2-3 months... He is the second best player on the team, so a big loss for us

Round of 16

But without Chukwueze, we still need to performe in the tournament, and the next game was against Belgium. They got a good team, but just finished 3rd in the group stage behind Colombia and Mali, so i throught we got an okay chance to get to the quarter finals. But not this time... After just 8 minutes, we were 0-1 behind. I throught it couldn't get worse, but in the 13th minute, we lost our best player, Osimhen from Real Madrid. The rest of the game was just for survival, and maybe get a comeback. Before the break, we equalized, but in the 64th minute, Batshuayi scored to 1-2, and that was the final resualt.

I'm staying in the job for the Africa cup of Nations, to give it a shot, and hopefully get the first international trophy

Gammonds · February 10

Season 2036 – LA Galaxy / Ivory Coast

At the end of last season I complained mightily about just how bad my goalkeeping department at LA Galaxy had been. In pursuit of fixing that problem, I got rid of all the goalkeepers in my senior squad and set out to get new ones. My new starter was a player I’d unsuccessfully targeted the previous year. He’d been looking for an exit from French 2^nd tier side Metz, but not fully sold on what I had to offer. 6 months later and not exactly in high demand from Europe’s best leagues he was much more receptive to my offers. His deputy was a 17 year old prospect plucked from my academy, and their emergency cover was a warm body from the amateur draft. That part of the plan worked well enough – the new GK was the MLS keeper of the year, and his deputy performed acceptably in 5 senior appearances.

My complaints about my team’s awful goalkeeping also masked the fact that last year’s recruitment had been all around poor. I’d brought in 3 players on paid transfers, and none of them lasted more than 18 months with the team. I’d also drafted 2 players in the amateur draft, but neither was good enough to keep for a second season. This year I did a bit better. Outside of the much-needed GK, I brought in 2 more defenders. The first was a wonderkid CB who had a relegation release clause in his contract. He was pricy, but entirely too good to pass up and turned into one of my most important players. The other was an attacking minded left back who wanted to grow into a starting role for me. By the end of the season he’d done exactly that.

As you may assume from the above, I was rather pleased by the way the squad looked going into the campaign, and we started in rather strong form. Outside of a tough 2-legged tie against Chivas to open the NACC it was pretty smooth sailing for the first couple of months. After Chivas, NYCFC put up a fight in the NACC quarters, but Atlas did not, and we were in the NACC final for the second time in 3 years. Once again, we faced CF America.

Spoiler

Once again, the results were not good. We conceded 2 goals to poor defending early, and a 3^rd in first half stoppage time just to make it worse. We fought back in the second half, but not enough.

In the US Cup, we had a favorable draw to open in the Fourth Round, then were give quite the scare by San Jose in the Fifth. LAFC and Sporting KC did not equal San Jose’s performance, and we were in to my first US Cup final.

Spoiler

2-1 rather flattered Cincinnati I thought, but the trophy’s the thing and we won it.

Along the way, a gap in cup matches from early June to early August worked in my favor as that window derailed Galaxy’s league campaign just a bit. I had several players out for international tournaments, and more of an injury list that I was remotely happy about. The results there weren’t good and had a lot to do with us slipping a bit from last year’s league performance. We ended up with 68 points from 34 games, and 3^rd in the Supporters’ Shield. I’d call that satisfactory but not good for this Galaxy team, but we still managed to defend the MLS Cup without much drama.

Despite not needing anything from the US I’m still managing Galaxy as of mid-December in my save. I need the NACC, and despite repeated failures I keep convincing myself Galaxy has the best chance of getting it for me quickly. It might even be true – only one good Mexican team was looking for a manager recently, but they aren’t in the NACC for the upcoming spring. So, unless a stellar Asian opportunity or the right Mexican job opens up I’m taking another run at the NACC with Galaxy.

I’d been without an international job for about a year going into the summer but expected some movement after the summer tournaments. There was, but Mexico, Brazil, and France (again) all rejected me. Ivory Coast however has not had success hanging on to a manager since I left them 5 seasons ago.

Spoiler

I thought at the time they were about to slip in terms of quality, and while they have a bit, so have the rest of the African nations. I took over for a second time with Ivory Coast 17^th ranked – best in Africa. There are gaps in the player pool, but it’s also a reasonable shot at AFCON in a window nothing else will be open. Winning 3 of 4 games in qualifying was enough to ensure our place, and I’ll have both the 2 remaining AFCON qualifiers and 6 World Cup qualifiers to experiment with before AFCON at the end of 2037.

Challenge Progress: (7/32):

Spoiler

Domestic					International
Season	Team	Division	Position	Notes	Year	Team	Achievements
2023	Tochigi	J2	20	Avoided relegation, resigned at end of season	2030-31	Ivory Coast	Resigned after losing in the AfCON quarterfinals
23/24	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu North	10	Took over late in season, avoided relegation	2032-34	Uraguay	Resigned after WC elimination in Ro 16
24/25	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu North	2		2034-35	South Korea	Won Asian Nations Cup in 2035
25/26	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu North	1	Promoted as champions	2036-	Ivory Coast
26/27	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu	5
27/28	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu	5	Resigned to pursue better opportunities
28/29	SuperSport United	SA Premier Soccer League	1	Won South African Premier Soccer League, SA KO Cup, SA Cup
29/30	SuperSport United	SA Premier Soccer League	1	Won African Champions Leage, SAPSL, SA Cup, Super 8
2030	SEP	Brazilian 1st Division	3	Took over mid season, won Copa Libertadores
2031	SEP	Brazilian 1st Division	2	Won Sao Paulo State Championship, SA Recopa
2032	SEP	Brazilian 1st Division	2	Resigned after consecutive 2nd place finishes in league and Libertadores
2033	LA Galaxy	MLS	2	Won MLS Cup, 2nd in Supporters' Shield
2034	LA Galaxy	MLS	2	2nd in Supporters' Shield, lost Western Conference Semifinal. Won Leagues Cup
2035	LA Galaxy	MLS	1	Won Supporters' Shield, MLS Cup
2036	LA Galaxy	MLS	3	Won US Cup, MLS Cup

Challenge Progress:		7/32

Club
2/10 Top Domestic Leagues			(28/29 South African Premiership, 2033 MLS Cup)
1/10 Domestic Cups			(28/29 SA Cup, 2036 US Cup)
2/5 Club Continental Championships			(29/30 African CL, 2030 Copa Libertadores)
0/1 Club World Championships

International
1/5 Continental Tournaments			(2035 Asian Nations Cup)
0/1 World Cups

Gregg88 · February 10

The North American venture comes to an end!

Nearly a clean sweep, but at last I've picked up the US Cup and North American Champions League now.

I applied for a job in South Africa, but they wouldn't wait for me to finish the MLS season and I fancied winning it again. But I've just had an interview with Valencia, who sit in 11th place in La Liga. Quite fancy that challenge at the half way point of their season.

I have actually picked up the Columbia job after the world cup (I was hoping for Brazil as they went out in the group stages). But Columbia have some awesome players that will put me in with a great chance of winning the Copa America!

Challenge progress = 18/32

jepze · February 10

Season - 2026

League

Second season in Vissel Kobe is done. This time, we was favourites to win the league. We swapped a lot of our old foreign players for younger models, who got the same level but more potential and sell-on value, but we also got a 18 year old Japanese DM, who is one of the best from Japan, together with a Japanese wonderkid as a striker. Both of them was a quality stepup, but they didn't perform as the older guys. I trusted them an gave them all the gametime they could, but ind the end, it wasn't enough for a championship in Japan. Kawasaki Frontale won the league with a incredible 94 points, while we got 83, which were enough to win the league in all other years, if you substracte our self from last year. I've already won the Japanese League, but i'm trying to get the Champions League trophy, and therefore we're here for minimum another half of a season, if the board don't kick me out of the club

Cups

We already completed the cupsection in Japan for the challange, but we tried to get Empereror's Cup, while we wait for a Champions League victory. It's the onlye trophy i havn't got in Japan. This season we got to the Final, where we played Urawa Red Diamonds. We got the win in extra time, after playing 1-1 in the ordinary 90 minutes. All trophies in Japan can now be found in my trophy Carbinet, because we also won the Super Cup in the start of the season.

Champions League

In September our first Asian Champions League campaign begun, and we were dominating our group with 5 victories and 1 draw. Now we just wait to february, where we're going to play against Pohang Steelers from South Korea, who finished at 3rd place this season.

*Not finished yet

MikeClarke · February 10

Haven't played much at all since my last update, hoping to pick up the pace again this coming week but real life been taking a toll. Ticked off a couple more milestones though so happy with the first year as international manager.

France/Man City : 2036/38

Took a role as manager of france (world #1) as a good way to tick some of those international boxes. Bit of a wait for the Euro/World cup but definitely capable of ticking over those two boxes. After the International league win, I rocked up an took the Man City job, they have struggled and missed qualification for champions league but plenty of cash to reclaim the league title (and some silverware) in the next few seasons whilst I work with France.

First season with Man City and we were in a whole in wages and a few players looking to leave because we aren't in champions league. Managed to reclaim the title but all of our tournaments were underwhelming. Using the off-season to clear off some of the unused players across the season and shore up defense ahead of a push for some silverware next year.

Going into the summer for a run at the World Cup and made the mistake of making the squad a little smaller than I probably should, caught a few injuries in the group games but it was a weak group so managers through comfortable enough despite this. Early knock outs were quite tough and up to the Quarters we required extra time to seal the deal. Fortunately back at full strength for the Semi's and beat Portugal 2-1 before heading to the final to face European champions Spain, 2 breakaway goals sealed that for us and I can gratefully put an International trophy in my cabinet. Several key players retiring after WC so will be interesting to see what talent arrives in time for Euro 2040

Season   Team Position Notes & Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024 Persijap Jepara Indonesian L2 3rd
2025 Persijap Jepara Indonesian L2 1st(C) Promoted to League 1
2026    Persijap Jepara Indonesian L1 8th
2026    Mito Japan L3 1st(C) Promoted to J2
2027    Mito Japan L2 2nd Promoted to J1
2028    Mito Japan L1 2nd
2029    Mito Japan L1 3rd Super Cup Winner
2030    Mito Japan L1 1st League Winner, All Japan Cup, League Cup
2031    Mito Japan L1 Resigned ACL Winner
2031/32 Orlando Pirates SA PSL 1st(C) SAFA Cup Winner, ACC Winner
2032/33 Orlando Pirates SA PSL 1st(C) ASC Winner, SA KO Winner, SA Champions League
2033/34 OL Lique 1 6th Took over in 14th
2034/35 OL Lique 1 2nd Europe league final
2035/36 OL Lique 1 1st(C) Trophee des Champions
2037/38 Man City Premier League 1st(C) Shield winner

Season Team Notes & Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2036/37 France International League Winner
2038 France World Cup Winner

Club
4/10 Club Domestic Leagues (Japan - Mito 2030, SA - Orlando Pirates 2033, France - OL 2036)
2/10 Club Domestic Cups (Japan - Mito 2030, SA - Orlando Pirates 2033)
2/5 Continental Championship (ACL Japan - Mito 2031, CL SA - Orlando Pirates 2033)
0/1 Club World Championship

International
0/5 Continental Tournaments
1/1 World Cup (France 2038)

9/32

Gammonds · February 11

Season 2036/37 – Tigres and Ivory Coast

4 seasons, 3 MLS Cup wins, 2 NACC final losses and 1 US Cup win. That’s the sum total of my time with LA Galaxy. I’d become increasingly frustrated with that position, and last season’s US Cup win made it just a bit easier to move on. My actual tipping point was 2 fold – 2 of my best players effectively forced moves away and a third looked likely to, while a pair of very appealing Mexican jobs came open. I thought I’d done a decent job of papering over the defections but jumped ship anyway.

Spoiler

Tigres were seriously underperforming domestically when I took over but with time to salvage results in the league’s Closing Stage. Crucially, they were also competing in the NACC. My first game with the team was in fact the second leg of the First Round where we dutifully saw off Jamaican side Portmore United. The second round had a bit of potential for awkwardness as we faced off against LA Galaxy barely a week after I’d left them high and dry. A 2-0 win at home followed by an uncertain 1-2 road loss were good enough to see us through on aggregate.

Next up was Charlotte FC, where we opened on the road by going down 2 goals in the first 5 minutes, scored the next 4 between the 19^th and 31^st minutes, and went on to win 7-4.

Spoiler

I’m not sure what happened there other than that the goalkeepers did not have good days, but the return leg 2 weeks later was much more sane as we won 1-0. We met Toronto FC in the semis, and won 4-0 at home before losing 0-1 on the road. Continuing the theme of playing MLS teams, that set up a final against NYCFC.

Spoiler

I felt a bit hard done by to concede a late penalty but was not at all averse to winning one in extra time. It was not a pretty win but I’m quite happy with it.

At least some of the blame for Tigres’ poor domestic form must be laid on a failure to properly deal with squad registration rules. There were 3 more non-nation born players signed than could be registered, and at least 2 of them probably should have been regular starters. While those players helped me in the NACC, that’s pretty clearly not what they’d been signed for. Squad building issues aside, I was able to make a quick improvement to the team’s domestic form, and took Tigres from 10^th to 4^th in the Closing Stage table. That was sufficient to put us directly into the quarter finals We took care of business against San Luis and Santos Laguna to set up a Finals clash with CF America. We were a bit unfortunate in a 0-1 home loss, but followed that up with a 2-4 loss in the second leg.

Spoiler

Internationally there’s not much to discuss – Ivory Coast remain on course to qualify for the next World Cup but my immediate focus there is on preparing for AFCON at the end of the year. Domestically I’ve a decision to two to make. Winning the Mexican league would be nice, but is not essential for the challenge and I think I’d like to jump to Asia next for the Asian CL. Before I resign at Tigres though I’m going to take a closer look at the state of the squad and how much flexibility I’ll have to improve it for next season. CF America strike me as a bit of a monster, but if the right job isn’t open and I think there’s a good shot at another trophy that counts I may spend one more year in Mexico.

Challenge Progress: 8/32

Spoiler

Domestic					International
Season	Team	Division	Position	Notes	Year	Team	Achievements
2023	Tochigi	J2	20	Avoided relegation, resigned at end of season	2030-31	Ivory Coast	Resigned after losing in the AfCON quarterfinals
23/24	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu North	10	Took over late in season, avoided relegation	2032-34	Uraguay	Resigned after WC elimination in Ro 16
24/25	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu North	2		2034-35	South Korea	Won Asian Nations Cup in 2035
25/26	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu North	1	Promoted as champions	2036-	Ivory Coast
26/27	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu	5
27/28	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu	5	Resigned to pursue better opportunities
28/29	SuperSport United	SA Premier Soccer League	1	Won South African Premier Soccer League, SA KO Cup, SA Cup
29/30	SuperSport United	SA Premier Soccer League	1	Won African Champions Leage, SAPSL, SA Cup, Super 8
2030	SEP	Brazilian 1st Division	3	Took over mid season, won Copa Libertadores
2031	SEP	Brazilian 1st Division	2	Won Sao Paulo State Championship, SA Recopa
2032	SEP	Brazilian 1st Division	2	Resigned after consecutive 2nd place finishes in league and Libertadores
2033	LA Galaxy	MLS	2	Won MLS Cup, 2nd in Supporters' Shield
2034	LA Galaxy	MLS	2	2nd in Supporters' Shield, lost Western Conference Semifinal. Won Leagues Cup
2035	LA Galaxy	MLS	1	Won Supporters' Shield, MLS Cup
2036	LA Galaxy	MLS	3	Won US Cup, MLS Cup
36/37	Tigres	Mexican First Division	4	Won NACC, lost Closing Stage Final

Challenge Progress:		8/32

Club
2/10 Top Domestic Leagues			(28/29 South African Premiership, 2033 MLS Cup)
2/10 Domestic Cups			(28/29 SA Cup, 2036 US Cup)
3/5 Club Continental Championships			(29/30 African CL, 2030 Copa Libertadores, 2037 NACC)
0/1 Club World Championships

International
1/5 Continental Tournaments			(2035 Asian Nations Cup)
0/1 World Cups

jepze · February 12

Season - 2027

This is the last and final season in Vissel Kobe and Asia on club level. I have decided to reseign after this season, becuase I have won everything a Japanese club can win. The league and thé cups are irrelevant for this season, and it's onlye the Champions League that madders

League

Disappointed to lose the trophy again this year, but we just lost with 1 point, and got the highest point ever, to not win the league

Cups

A fast exit in the Emperor's Cup, but another J-League Cup win this season

Champions League

A long journey to get to the finals for the first Asian Champions League for me, and also the first Champions League for the challenge. Last season, we quilified for the later stages with 16 out of 18 points. We started this season with 2 games against Pohang steelers, and won 5-0 on aggregate. The quarterfinales were aginst Ulsan Hyundai, and we got a 3-0 victory on aggregate. In the semifinal, we got to play Suwon Bluewings, and we lost the first game 0-2, but on our homegrown, we got he 3-0 victor, and we are ready for the final

In the Final, we played Al-Ittihad over 2 legs. I hate this 2-leg finals, but it is, what it is. On our homegrown, we got a 0-0 draw, and on their homegrown, the reslut was...

Spoiler

... 4-0!!! We're Champions of Asia, and i can finally go for another continent. I know i's early to say that, but it's Japan isn't my favourite place to play. It's hard to get Japanese players to the team, who are better than the players we have, and you can't get a lot of foregein players, before they go unhappy with the playing time.

Next update will be the African cup of Nations, where we just got out of the group stages.

*Not finished yet

jepze · February 12

Africa Cup of Nations

While I was in the end of Vissel Kobe, my Negeria team was to the Africa Cup of Nations. It was our first time, to try to get the Cup home to the trophy carbinet.

Group stages

In the group stages, we where up against Cameroun, South Africa and Congo. We won the games 1-0, 5-0 and 4-1

Second Round
In the second round, we was up against Egypt. We started out with a goal after 2 minutes, and to the break, we got a 3-0 lead, but Iwobi got injuried, and we already got an injury at this position, so we need to make a little change for the next game

Quarter Finals

This was my best game for Nigeria. A good 6-2 victory, where we outplayed Mali with a fantastic hattrick by Moffi.

Semifinals

In the Smifinals, we were agianst DR Congo. An easy opponent for this round of the tournement. An easy 4-1 victory, and now it's only Ivory Coast, who is between us and the title.

Finals

Sadly for us, we couldn't take it all the way, and we lost 2-4 in the final o Ivory Coast, and only got a silver medal home. I resigned afterwards, and hope for a continental job for one of the other tournaments, but also a new job for a club.

Gregg88 · February 13

So I rejected an offer from Valencia in the end. Waited a few months and joined Sydney FC. They were in 3rd place in the league...

Just picking up another league title with ease/luck/flukiness!

After comparing my team with the previous winners of the Asian Champions League, I decided to leave Sydney after 2 months. Great manager ey!

I then joined Flamengo and got lucky again! League, cup and Copa Libertadores ticked off! The board expected me to win them all, so it wasn't like I did anything special. The league was pretty much wrapped up already, we were a good 8 points clear when I joined.

I'm still Colombia manager!

Challenge Progress.....

SkiIIs · February 15

Season 2045/46 - Lyon

The season started out with the bestest news possible. PSG had announced they were in financial troubles and that they would need to sell some players in order to keep afloat. Of course i took advantage of this and managed to get one of their central midfielders on loan and almost secured their best striker on loan. However, not to worry, as Barcelona ended up buying him outright. They ended up selling 234m pounds worth of players and only spent 21m of that on players coming in.

This gave me great confidence coming into the season but that was quickly brought back to earth once we lost the first game against Lens, then again 3 games later to Marseille. We then built into the season winning and out of the next 19 games we won 18 and drew 1 which put us clear first by a fair margin. We ended up winning the league with 5 games to go.

The fact we were doing so well in the league allowed me to play my better players in other comps and so we made the finals of both the Coupe de France and the Champions League. We ended up winning the Coupe de France but lost the Champions League in an all French final against Nice. Not that it matters as I've already won it for this challenge but i cant count the amount of times I've lost the European Champions League finals.

Alas all league comps for the challenge are complete, I still have two domestic cups to win and the World Club Cup which the next one is in 3 years time so i will look to find a suitable club to win a domestic cup before carefully picking one of the giants to try win the that. The World Cup is on next with Brazil, let's hope i cant tick that one off as we are expected to make the final.

Edited February 15 by SkiIIs

jepze · February 15

Season - 2028

After resigning the contracts with both Nigeria and Vissel Kobe, I was looking for a new job and a possibility to get some more trophies under my belt. I tried to go for some of the best available clubs outside of Europe, to get done with the continentals Champions Leagues. We got a lot of regections, but in the end, Cruzeiro accepted our interest, and offered us a job.

It wasn't the best job in Brazil, but we were predicted to finish around mid table/top half. The squad was old with an average age of nearly 29, so the first step was to get some younger and more talented guys into the setup. It was a hard task, because the value of the players in Brazil are crazy, bu we got a few from Argentina, who was going to satrt for us every other game, and all the big games.

We started well and won the Championnat Minas Gerais, the local championsship, where we beat Atletico Mineiro in the final. It doesn't count towards the goal, but it count's towards my reputation.

League

The Brazilian League is a very competitive league, and nearly everyone can beat each other, but we got a good start, but was some points away from first place most of the season, but we were also some games behind. Because of this, we could overtake the first place everytime, if we won every game, and we catch up with the lack of games. In the end, we overtook everyone, and with 2 games to go, we got the win and the title to our name

Cups

Nothing to alk about here. We got knock out of the cup in the 3rd round be Flamengo

Sudamericana

We wasn't in the Champions League this season, because of a catastrofic season last year, but we were in the Copa Total Sudamericana, and we got all the way to the final, where we beat Central Cordoba from Argentina 6-2 and got another title to our carbinet. With the win, we got to the top of the Hall of Fame in Denmark, where i'm from :-)

I'll be here for another seaason, if any good joboffers are coming around, maybe the Flamingo job or something in another League.

SkiIIs · February 15

2046 World Cup - Brazil

Minimum expectation for this team was to make the final so nothing but a win here would be good enough for me. Heading into the tournament, we were undefeated since winning the Copa America, winning all games bar two draws against Argentina. Our warm up games were against Slovenie which we won 8 - 5 in a ridiculous match but then lost 2 - 1 to Turkey after that so signs were a little patchy for some reason.

With a group consisting og Cameroon, Bosnia and South Korea there shouldnt be any issues finishing top and there wasnt as we wont all three games convincingly. Second round game was against Ghana.

Second Round

Spoiler

A 3 - 1 win where the scoreline flattered our opponents who received a red card in the 50th minute. Our striker should have scored a tonne but ended up with a donut. Up next is England in a very difficult tie this early on

Round of 16 (if applicable)

Spoiler

A true game of two halves. England dominated the first going ahead in the 7th minute and had a few chances to double their lead but didnt take advantage. A stern half time team talk rallied the boys to a 3 - 1 win where we also had 2 disallowed goals as well. Up next is Belgium who are ranked 2nd in the world, I did not get the generous side of the draw!

Quarter Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

A tight affair but we went in the break up 2 - 1, It stayed that way with Belgium having a disallowed goal in the 91st minute to take it into extra time. Semi final against Spain

Semi Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

We took an early lead and probably should have had a second however we left the window open and Spain started pressing for the equaliser in the second half and got it after an hour of play. Spain look like winners but it was all tied after 90 mins. Again Spain looked the better side in extra time and it looked like going to penalties until substitute Andrezinho found the back of the net in the 119th minute. In the final we meet Uruguay who beat Mexico, our record against them is great winning 3 - 1 twice during qualifers.

Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

We just didnt turn up in the first half conceding 2 goals and just looked out of it. I cant believe what was happening in front of me on the big stage like this. After some changes at half time, we managed to score a double in the 57th minute and 61st minute, game on! We looked the most likely to score next however we were shattered as Uruguay scored the winner with 5 mins of normal time left!

Shattered that we lost this so I resigned as I still need to win the Euros and applied for the Belgium, Netherlands and England jobs. I was offered the Belgium job first but i really wanted the Netherlands role so i declined.... i was unsuccessful with both Netherlands and England!!! Totally stuffed that one up!

Gammonds · February 16

Season 37/38 – Tigres / Ivory Coast

At the end of last season, I said I’d stay at Tigres and take a shot at the Mexican league if the right job elsewhere didn’t open up and I thought I had a decent chance at winning another trophy. Both of those conditions held, so I stayed. The biggest problem with Tigres’ squad was bloat – there were too many players, players who couldn’t be registered, and the payroll budget was pretty well committed. So, in the very short Mexican offseason and transfer window I set out to fix those things first. Terminating a loan and making a couple of decent sales solved the majority of the problem and replenished the transfer budget, but I didn’t end up bringing any additional players in. It left me with a slightly smaller squad than I thought ideal, but still a pretty good one.

After last season’s results I thought CF America was a domestic monster and my Tigres side were second favorites at best. The media disagreed and predicted my Tigres team as near prohibitive favorites with CF America second. We were both wrong, at least in part. CF America faded massively from the previous season and lost in the First Preliminary round of the First Stage playoffs. My Tigres team was good but not great, but that was enough top the table without much drama. That put us directly into the Quarter Finals.

We opened on the road and lost 3-2 in a game that could have easily gone any which way. We then managed to concede first at home then level that game four minutes later. Shortly after that midfielder Xavi Fernandez decided he’d had enough of the drama and scored a hat trick in the final 30 minutes to see us through on aggregate. That put us into the Semi Final against Toluca, where we were deserved winners in both legs.

We were not however through with drama. We lost the first leg of the Final on the road to Atlas 1-0. We played poorly overall but still were a bit hard done by in terms of the result. 3 days later we played very well in the second leg, and won 2-0.

Spoiler

That was the last thing worth achieving for me in Mexico, but December was also AfCON time for my Ivory Coast side.

We all know national teams can be funny animals, and this version of Ivory Coast certainly was. On the more negative side both my goalkeepers and centerbacks were limited. All three of the GKs I called for AfCON played in European 2^nd divisions. The technically best of them (Kone) really doesn’t like big matches. The second in terms of skill (Kouadio) does but is noticeably less skillful. I had a bit more success in qualifying with Kouadio and went into AfCON with him as my starter. Centerbacks? I had one genuinely good one who preferred to get forward out of a back 3 or back 5. I nearly always run a back 4 with CBs who generally stay home. Because one good CB cannot play 2 positions at once and rotation is essential, I found 3 other players who could at least act like CBs to bring in. Those were the best options in the player pool, and all were really backup quality for the team.

On a more positive note, I had more good strikers than I could really use at once, an actual elite right winger leading a more than serviceable pool of wide attackers, and a solid and versatile pool of CMs. So, this edition of Ivory Coast played a 4-2-4 with an asymmetric midfield. I prefer to have my teams on the ball rather than off, and that’s even more true when the team is more than a bit soft at CB and GK. We’d win by having the ball a lot, scoring plenty (hopefully) and not conceding too many chances (pretty, pretty please). On to AfCON.

Group Stage:

Spoiler

We opened against Gambia, who should not have posed a challenge. Someone forgot to tell them that, and we went in at halftime down 2-4. I was most dissatisfied with my GK in particular and replaced him. Kone, who does not like big matches, was going to play the rest of AfCON for me. On the plus side, we kept scoring and salvaged a 4-4 draw.

Next up was Benin, who we handled easily in a 4-0 win. That set up a very interesting final day in the group as we faced off against Cameroon, and anything other than Benin winning the group remained possible. We drew 1-1 with Cameroon, Benin and Gambia were scoreless, and we won the group with 5 points on goal difference. That wasn’t pretty, but we were into the knockout stages.

Second Round:

Spoiler

A 3-0 win over Congo that was a bit closer than the score would have you believe. Kone doesn’t like big matches – but he saved a penalty to keep it scoreless early.

Quarter Final:

Spoiler

Ghana was on paper just about our equal and may have even played a hair better on the day. It was 1-1 at the end of regulation, and neither side produced much of note in extra time. On to penalties – where Kone, who doesn’t like big matches, saved 2 to win the shootout.

Semi Final:

Spoiler

Nigeria was a decent team, but also a slightly favorable matchup of us at this point. A 2-0 win, and we’re on to the final.

Final:

Spoiler

South Africa are the rising power of African soccer in this little alternate universe, and in truth ‘rising’ might not quite do them justice. At the end of this edition of AfCON they’re the 3^rd ranked team in Africa, 2 places behind Ghana and a bit more behind my Ivory Coast team. But the match – a 2-1 win for Ivory Coast, and while South Africa deserved their goal we were better throughout. In what I assume is one of those oddities of FM, the final was played on Christmas Day – I’ll take the trophy as a Christmas present.

Kone? He played every minute of AfCON after that disastrous first 45, saved 3 penalties, and was the GK of the tournament. I'd pretty nearly binned him, but he was immense when it mattered. He still doesn't appear to like big matches mind you, but he could have fooled me this tournament.

As for what’s next, I resigned at Tigres a day after winning the Opening Stage. 2 days before that, South Korean powerhouse Ulsan had fired their manager after a disappointing season. That’s exactly the kind of job I’ve been hoping to get for a shot at the Asian Champion’s League, so I applied there as soon as I left Tigres. Ulsan, however, were slow to act and first Man City then Liverpool came calling. Those are the kind of opportunities it’s difficult to say no to, so:

Spoiler

City are in the mid-table mire but really too good to be there. We're also in the Europa (meh) and still in the FA Cup. That last is the only real chance of silverware in the immediate future, but after that there's a lot to work with.

I’ll also be staying with Ivory Coast for the World Cup in the summer. I don’t have high expectations there – in fact I think making it past the Group Stage is a passing grade, getting past the Second Round is a successful tournament, and anything else is a bonus. There’s also no other international jobs opening up between now and then, so I may as well take a shot and see what happens.

Challenge Progress: 10/32

Spoiler

Domestic					International
Season	Team	Division	Position	Notes	Year	Team	Achievements
2023	Tochigi	J2	20	Avoided relegation, resigned at end of season	2030-31	Ivory Coast	Resigned after losing in the AfCON quarterfinals
23/24	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu North	10	Took over late in season, avoided relegation	2032-34	Uraguay	Resigned after WC elimination in Ro 16
24/25	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu North	2		2034-35	South Korea	Won Asian Nations Cup in 2035
25/26	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu North	1	Promoted as champions	2036-	Ivory Coast	Won African Nations Cup in 2037
26/27	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu	5
27/28	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu	5	Resigned to pursue better opportunities
28/29	SuperSport United	SA Premier Soccer League	1	Won South African Premier Soccer League, SA KO Cup, SA Cup
29/30	SuperSport United	SA Premier Soccer League	1	Won African Champions Leage, SAPSL, SA Cup, Super 8
2030	SEP	Brazilian 1st Division	3	Took over mid season, won Copa Libertadores
2031	SEP	Brazilian 1st Division	2	Won Sao Paulo State Championship, SA Recopa
2032	SEP	Brazilian 1st Division	2	Resigned after consecutive 2nd place finishes in league and Libertadores
2033	LA Galaxy	MLS	2	Won MLS Cup, 2nd in Supporters' Shield
2034	LA Galaxy	MLS	2	2nd in Supporters' Shield, lost Western Conference Semifinal. Won Leagues Cup
2035	LA Galaxy	MLS	1	Won Supporters' Shield, MLS Cup
2036	LA Galaxy	MLS	3	Won US Cup, MLS Cup
36/37	Tigres	Mexican First Division	4	Won NACC, lost Closing Stage Final (Took over in late February 37)
37/38	Tigres	Mexican First Division	1	Won Mexican First Division Opening Stage, resigned after

Challenge Progress:		10/32

Club
3/10 Top Domestic Leagues			(28/29 South African Premiership, 2033 MLS Cup, 36/37 Mexican 1st Div. Op. Stage)
2/10 Domestic Cups			(28/29 SA Cup, 2036 US Cup)
3/5 Club Continental Championships			(29/30 African CL, 2030 Copa Libertadores, 2037 NACC)
0/1 Club World Championships

International
2/5 Continental Tournaments			(2035 Asian Nations Cup, 2037 African Nations)
0/1 World Cups

Safe Hands · February 17

Season 24/25

Had a bit on in personal life so not been playing much. Decided to leave Croatia as what's much point rebuilding a semi pro side. There was a few jobs I fancied where I got to the interview stage, A team in the Japanese prem and 2nd Division Argentina team as well as a team in lower half of Columbia a division ive always wanted to manage there. Didn't get any but got a interview at Den Bosch, being a Man United fan my all time favourite player is Ruud Van Nistelrooy and he started his career here so thought why not. We were predicted to finish bottom of the league. Unfortunately the previous manage and gone 20k per week over the wage budget and most of the budget was on 4 players paying each of them 7.5k per week. To put in comparison with rest of squad there was only 2 other players earning over 1k per week. I couldn't for love or money get rid of these players so was stuck with squad I had. I only had 2 decent centre backs and this got worse when Blackburn took on few days before deadline day. Panicked set in so loaned in 3 premier league youngster without being able to see their stats, luckily they were decent.
We had a good season and were in the playoff spots nearly all season. Unfortunately an injury crisis and we lost 3 of our last 5 to miss out on playoffs. Heartbreak last game we still would have made it with a win but came up short in a game we were 2nd best.
massive rebuilding job is needed in the summer, big earners are all out of contract, plus lot of other players who wont sign new deals. Looking at my squad I have 3 starters left. I'm enjoying my team and the fans and chairman love me so I may stay and have another season here if there isnt any jobs taking my fancy.

goonergez · February 17

Real Madrid CF: 2047/48 Review

A week away has given me a new lease of life for my save and I returned to my journey with the last season of my contract with Real Madrid upon us. My time in the Spanish capital had been difficult so far and I still chased an elusive first major trophy as we looked to chase down the almost unbeatable Barcelona.

We spent big money in pre season as I looked to put together a squad to compete for those major trophies. The biggest signing was the £100,000,000 deal for St Etienne striker Joris Sellier as I chased a striker capable of firing us upwards. Another key signing was centre back Adama Traore who came in from Stade Reims on a free transfer. Players departed as well but we entered the season with a very high net spend.

We performed well throughout the season but yet again chasing down Barcelona proved to big of a task for us. The signing of Sellier certainly helped us but we dropped too many points to pip our Catalan rivals. I’m happy enough with a second placed finish but I am worried going forwards that chasing Barcelona down may be too tough for us. Especially as the squad I have is about as strong as I think it can be.

Thankfully we did end my hunt for a major trophy though as we finally got our hands on the Copa del Rey. A third straight final under my management finally saw us win as we capped off a great run to win. I felt confident the moment we knocked Espanyol out in the Quarter Finals although we then scrambled our way through Villarreal across two legs in the semis. The final itself was simple enough even after winger Asier Arrixabalaga had been sent off.

Outside of that we made the quarterfinals of the Champions League before a heart breaking defeat to Chelsea saw us exit. In the Super Cup we made the final before losing out to Valencia to miss out on more silverware. I wasn’t too fussed about that if I’m honest.

I had hoped for more, but we finally picked up the first major silverware of my reign. Coming second to Barcelona brings no shame although I’m a little worried about how long it may take me to chase down Barcelona for the league title. Thankfully my work here has seen me offered and sign a new deal so I’m going nowhere just yet. Having picked up the domestic cup here it means next season I can focus on chasing the league title. Worryingly the financial situation at the club is diminishing though and I may have to find new signings of a cheaper stature in order to improve. First up is the European Championships with England though and another opportunity to win an international honour.

Season	Team			Position	Notes & Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023/24 Pretoria Callies	5th		(hired in 10th place)
2024/25 Pretoria Callies	1st(C)
2025/26 Cape Town City		12th		(hired in 11th place)
2026/27 Cape Town City		1st (C)		SA Premiership winners
2027/28 Cape Town City		3rd		SA Knockout Cup & African Champions League winners	
2028/29 Cape Town City		12th		(resigned in october)
2030	Ulsan Hyundai		3rd		Asian Champions League winners
2031	New York City FC	10th
2032	New York City FC	7th
2033	New York City FC	1st (C)		MLS Cup, Supporters Shield & MLS Eastern Conference winners
2034	New York City FC	1st (C)		MLS Cup, Supporters Shield, MLS Eastern Conference and Champions League winners
2035	-
2036	Palmeiras		4th		(hired in 7th)
2037	Palmeiras		4th		Sao Paulo State winners
2038	Palmeiras		1st (C)		First Division, Sao Paulo State & Copa Libertadores winners
2039	Palmeiras		-		South American Super Cup & Brazilian Super Cup winners
2039/40	Sporting Lisbon		3rd		(hired in 3rd)
2040/41 Sporting Lisbon		3rd		Portuguese Cup winners
2041/42 Sporting Lison		1st (C)		Portuguese Premier League, Portuguese Cup, Europa League and Portuguese Super Cup winners
2042/43 Atletico Madrid		3rd
2043/44 Paris St-Germain	1st (C)		Ligue 1 winners
2044/45 RB Leizig		7th
2045/46 Real Madrid		4th		Spanish Super Cup winners
2046/47 Real Madrid		3rd
2047/48 Real Madrid		2nd		Copa del Rey Winners
2048/49 Real Madrid		tbc


Challenge Progress

Club

5/10 Domestic Leagues (26/27 SA Premiership, 2033 MLS Cup, 2038 Brazilian First Division, 2041/42 Portuguese Premier, 2043/44 French Ligue 1)
3/10 Domestic Cups (27/28 SA Knockout Cup, 2040/41 Portuguese Cup, 2048 Copa del Rey)
4/5 Continental Championships (27/28 African Champions League, 2031 Asian Champions League, 2034 NA Champions League, 2038 Copa Libertadores)
0/1 Club World Championship

International

2/5 Continental Tournaments (2035 Gold Cup, 2036 Copa America)
1/1 World Tournament (World Cup 2046)

TOTAL: 15/32

jepze · February 17

Season - 2029

We're now ready for our second season with Cruzeiro. It is our first season, where we're compiting for the Copa Libertadores, and hopefully we can get it under our belt. Other than the big cup, we also trying to win the Copa do Brasil, because we won the League last season.

Before the season started, we tried improve the team and sell some of the dead wood and some of the old players, for some younger and more talented guys, where one of them ended up winning the best young player of the year in the world. We also lost some of our young talents from last year beacuse of some releasing clause. While the transfer window was going on, we won the Championnat Minas Gerais again

League

In this years League, we was one of the teams, who played a lot in the begining, and got a good lead to the other teams, but the closer we got to the end, the fewer points we got to the second place. After 35 games, we were 2nd with 1 pointto Corinthians. Both of us lost 36th and 37th match, but in the final game, where both of us got a win, but we lost the League Title this time.

Cups

Nothing to alk about here. We got knock out of the cup in the 3rd round by America Mineiro 1-2 on aggregate after 2 matches.

Copa Libertidores

Our first time in the Copa Libertidores. We were doing very good in the group stages and in the knock-outs and got to the final. The hardest task for us were in the Quarter Finals, were we lost 0-1 away to River Plate, but a late goal at home, we got to penalty and won on penalty 6-5. In the final, we're going to play against the winners of the League, Corinthians, and hopefully we can get a win.

The final can you see here, and it was a good performance by both teams.

Spoiler

We're going to resign and going for another trophy in another country and continent

Gregg88 · February 18

Golden Arrows & Colombia

This update spells the end of the South African leg! 2 full seasons with Golden Arrows has allowed us to tick off a league, cup (first season) and the African Champions League!

The Champions League was pretty easy. But the league and cup had me in moments of rage before getting winners in the final minutes of the games.....too many times.

For the first time in FM, I actually agreed to join a team at the end of the current season! Bit of a risk, but I agreed to join Real San Sebastian. They current have a smaller but top notch squad, finishing 7th in the league, with UECL qualification for that extra income. They have given me 80m to spend, so I'm looking forward to the fight of beating the giants to the title! Unless that Barca or Real Madrid job becomes available.....then it's a challenge after all. :lol:

I decided to stick with Colombia until the world cup, which is about to kick off. No pressure for this challenge, but I think I could get far with this great team! Then I can only hope that an Asian nation becomes available.

Challenge Progress

JamLUFC · February 18

Season 2031/32 - Liverpool

Having had six months at Liverpool and narrowly missing out on two cups in my first season I went all out attack with the team I had. In hindsight it was probably too attacking for the cups, as I crashed out in the early stages of the FA and Carabao Cup's to the two Manchester clubs both away from home, however I did win the league with two games to go, winning by six points and scoring 106 goals in the process. We did dominate in the Europa Conference League too, winning 2-0 in the final against Frankfurt however unfortunately that doesn't count for much.

I did play one of the more fun tactics I've put together trying to avoid the standard 433/4231 I tend to do, focusing on the quality attackers I've got.

I do have a temptation to move on and tick another league title off. Whilst I've been given an initial budget of £80m to spend I am nearly 400m in the red so long term this club could be in trouble, however the need for cups is starting to grow now and England having two of them to target is a big incentive for me, especially with how strong this team could be so I need to focus on them and have a pop at the Champions League too.

It is also a European Championship year so I expect to get a good level international job as well to try and get set up for the World Cup.

Gammonds · February 20

Season 2037/37 (Part 2) – Manchester City and Ivory Coast

When I took over Man City in January we were 8^th in the table, 7 points off of 4^th place, 12 off of 2^nd, and 22 from 1^st.

Spoiler

We were also still in the Europa League and FA Cup and my priority was very clearly to get us back into the Champion’s League for next season. The team I inherited was probably the most expensively assembled team in the league, and certainly the most lavishly paid. It was also full of aging veterans paid on reputation more than current ability and had underperformed to a remarkable degree over the past season and a half.

The FA Cup was a prime example of this version of Man City’s lack of genuine competitiveness – we comfortably handled two lower league sides but offered nearly nothing in a limp defeat to Man Utd. Our league form improved but followed that same sort of trend. We were just about good enough against teams outside the competition for European spots, and often won those games by a comfortable margin. We were far worse against the top 4 teams – in my half season we didn’t manage better than a draw.

At the end of the campaign, Man City were 5^th, 5 points back from 4^th, 14 from 2^nd, and 27 from 1^st. There was some improvement measured in terms of place in the table and points per game, but not enough. While we’d closed the gap to the top 4 ever so slightly, the gap to the top was even wider. Fortunately, there was the Europa League. As we approached the final run in it became clear to me that was our best path back to the CL. The knockout stages proved fairly comfortable as we didn’t face a really challenging team before the final. In the final, we needed extra time to beat Sevilla, which secured CL football for next season and ultimately saved Man City’s campaign.

Spoiler

If we just look at the team’s recent form, Man City’s situation could be called a bit dire given their level of spending and expectations. That spending, however, has come from very deep pockets, and I plan on putting those pockets to good use this upcoming transfer window. The current wage budget is ~$520 million, and we’d be a bit over if we didn’t have most of a squad’s worth of prospects out on loan. The clear out of older players started last year, but wasn’t at all complete. I’ll shed at least $75 million of that payroll in retiring players plus a couple leaving on free transfers. The transfer budget is $280 million, so I’ve got plenty of ability to go buy players to spend that payroll on. My expectation is that I’ll go into the next season with a younger and fitter team ready to challenge for a couple of trophies.

With the domestic season complete, my focus shifted to the Ivory Coast, where the World Cup would be the last action of my second stint with them. The squad I took to the tournament was very similar to the one which had won the AfCON 6 months prior – a couple of veteran players retired at the end of their club seasons, but those weren’t key members of the national team. I was a bit concerned with the draw – the US were on paper better than my side, and Germany I thought had the potential to be tricky.

Group Stage:

Spoiler

This part went easier than I expected. We won 2-0 against Germany and Qatar but unfortunately lost starting GK Kone (the star of our AfCON win) to a shoulder injury inside the first 15 minutes against Qatar. His backup is also named Kone (this one was the AfCON 3^rd choice). We wrapped up the group by beating the US 3-1. They really should have been better, but I’ll take the result.

Second Round:

Spoiler

A 1-0 win over Sengal that was expected, but carried a bit of jeopardy.

Round of 16:

Spoiler

This was far more competitive than the scoreline would have you believe for about 70 minutes. After going down early to a bit of sloppy defending we missed 2 great chances to level around the 30^th minute. We simply gifted Argentina their second goal with a terrible, sloppy pass out of the back, and their third came directly on a counter started by a sloppy pass in the attacking end. Argentina are in fact a better team and deserved their win, but we really should have done better here.

Challenge Progress: 10/32

Spoiler

Domestic					International
Season	Team	Division	Position	Notes	Year	Team	Achievements
2023	Tochigi	J2	20	Avoided relegation, resigned at end of season	2030-31	Ivory Coast	Resigned after losing in the AfCON quarterfinals
23/24	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu North	10	Took over late in season, avoided relegation	2032-34	Uraguay	Resigned after WC elimination in Ro 16
24/25	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu North	2		2034-35	South Korea	Won Asian Nations Cup in 2035
25/26	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu North	1	Promoted as champions	2036-38	Ivory Coast	Won African Nations Cup in 2037
26/27	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu	5
27/28	Flint Town	JD Cyrmu	5	Resigned to pursue better opportunities
28/29	SuperSport United	SA Premier Soccer League	1	Won South African Premier Soccer League, SA KO Cup, SA Cup
29/30	SuperSport United	SA Premier Soccer League	1	Won African Champions Leage, SAPSL, SA Cup, Super 8
2030	SEP	Brazilian 1st Division	3	Took over mid season, won Copa Libertadores
2031	SEP	Brazilian 1st Division	2	Won Sao Paulo State Championship, SA Recopa
2032	SEP	Brazilian 1st Division	2	Resigned after consecutive 2nd place finishes in league and Libertadores
2033	LA Galaxy	MLS	2	Won MLS Cup, 2nd in Supporters' Shield
2034	LA Galaxy	MLS	2	2nd in Supporters' Shield, lost Western Conference Semifinal. Won Leagues Cup
2035	LA Galaxy	MLS	1	Won Supporters' Shield, MLS Cup
2036	LA Galaxy	MLS	3	Won US Cup, MLS Cup
36/37	Tigres	Mexican First Division	4	Won NACC, lost Closing Stage Final (Took over in late February 37)
37/38	Tigres	Mexican First Division	1	Won Mexican First Division Opening Stage, resigned after
37/38	Manchester City	English Premier League	5	Took over in 8th in January, won Europa League

Challenge Progress:		10/32

Club
3/10 Top Domestic Leagues			(28/29 South African Premiership, 2033 MLS Cup, 36/37 Mexican 1st Div. Op. Stage)
2/10 Domestic Cups			(28/29 SA Cup, 2036 US Cup)
3/5 Club Continental Championships			(29/30 African CL, 2030 Copa Libertadores, 2037 NACC)
0/1 Club World Championships

International
2/5 Continental Tournaments			(2035 Asian Nations Cup, 2037 African Nations)
0/1 World Cups

vikeologist · February 20

@Gammonds (belatedly), welcome to the leaderboard.

@everyone

Why do we have a leaderboard for people once they achieve the first 10 trophies? To be honest, I've kind of forgotten. Someone once wanted one I guess, but also

Honestly, most people when they finish the challenge, it's just a feeling of relief that they can now go back to other things, like sleeping or wondering where their partner has gone. Whereas, when people get the first 10 trophies, they are still basking in the heady bloom of enjoying the challenge. getting on to the leaderboard is an accomplishment. Finishing the challenge is usually more of a warning sign.
It's nice to have some idea of when people are getting close to finishing. Sometimes it can take almost as long to get the first 10 as the next 22.

i used to make a bigger fuss about people getting on the leaderboard. I did a whole shtick about it being a cult, and then I used to do memes individually catered to saves, but honestly, there's only so many memes one can do about Mexico or African nations without straying dangerously close to lazy stereotypes.

Maybe one day I'll have a fresh idea for celebrating this stage.

SkiIIs · February 21

Season 2046/47 - Olympiakos

In search for two domestic trophies, my first stop was Olympiakos who had won 15 out of the last 16 domestic league competitions and had also won the domestic cup competition last year. The team is a level or two above the rest in Greece so it was an easy decision. The fact that the Kypello Elladas has two legs up until the final sits really favourable with me as well. We walked the league and pretty much walked the domestic cup as well.

Im still without an international job and will be clutching at straws in the hope one of the major European nations becomes available before the Euros next year.

Edited February 21 by SkiIIs

SkiIIs · February 21

Next stop for the last domestic trophy is....

SkiIIs · February 22

Season 2047/48 - Rangers

It was all about nabbing one of the cups and completing that part of the challenge. Much to my surprise, Hibernian has recently become the powerhouse of Scottish football winning the past 4 league titles and were favourites for its again. In fact, neither Rangers nor Celtic had won the title in the past 6 years which is unheard of.

The team wasnt great and we had no money so had to be creative with some loans from the big boys of the Premier League. The team that assembled was fine and good enough to challenge however we fell at the final hurdle to said Hibernian of the League Cup 4 - 0 in what was an embarrassing performance.

The Scottish Cup didnt go any better as we failed to beat Hearts at home 2 - 1 in the quarter final who then went on to win it in what was a favourable draw after us.

With the 2049 World Club Cup on after next season, I was more leaning towards getting a team for next season and having it prepared for that and so when the Man City job become available I jumped at it. I might holiday part of the year as I have nothing to play for and just hope we dont get sacked.

Gregg88 · February 25

Challenge Update - 26/32 trophies collected.

Real San Sebastian

I very rarely do a mid-season update, so here's one to mix it up!

Currently sitting in 2nd. Losing away to Barcelona 2-1, drawing away to Real Madrid 3-3 and losing away to Atletico 1-0 pinpointed where I need to improve the squad to be able to turn those draws/losses into wins.

Registration rules limit the overall wage budget to be no more that £2.4 million a week. I have two players on £300,000+ p/w that I need to shift on at the end of the season. One is 29 and a right midfielder, which I can find a replacement for with ease. The other is a left midfielder (below), but he is just fantastic! So I may just sack off the one player and leave Mr Castelo.

I highly doubt i'll win the league this year. But I may get the spanish cup if I can hold on to the 4-3 lead.

I still need to dip into Asia, along with my Italian and Spanish venture, so a long way off completing the challenge!

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