The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge

[goonergez]

46 minutes ago, dkouv said:

Yeah makes sense; true you do seem to have a knack for those continental competitions! I would recommend managing in the ACON at some point, just for the sheer craziness of the experience )))

I do want a go at the international scene I’m just a bit worried that it may affect my abilities to stay in my club job or even get a new one. Germany has been dominated by Dortmund, Munich and Leipzig though so I reckon I’ll be here for several years in truth. Now may be as good a time as any to begin trying to chalk off some of the international trophies. 
 

You have done with Nantes exactly what I want to do in Europe. Love to build a team of youngsters and just let them loose. It’s worked so far in my career and hopefully I can carry that on now. 

[lapsik7]

SEASON 5 (2024-2025)

KASHMIR FC

The 5th season of my adventure ended with a triple crown. In addition, we are still in the game to win the AFC cup, but we are slowly starting a new season. As for the previous campaign, it is worth noting that this time there was a team that found a way for us in a league match and we ended the game with a balance of 18 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat. It gave us a new league point record. When it comes to the way to the rivals, it can be said that it was a total domination, which is best shown by the goals. Throughout the season, we scored 71 goals, 30 of which were set pieces. We conceded only 10 goals, the rivals fired few shots at our goal - 36 shots on target to be exact. The transfer of the year turned out to be brought from a free transfer Zhang Xiuwei, who scored 6 goals and 28 assists in 26 games of the season. In the meantime, I became the Liechtenstein national team coach, but I quit this post after 2 games lost because there was an opportunity to lead the Ghana national team, with which I can fight for my first international title. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that I have already obtained the international C license.

 

Edited April 18, 2021 by lapsik7

[remix951]

Alright, I've tried this challenge before and fizzled out. Here I go again. I've already got a few seasons in so this will be a bit of a catch up post. 

 

Proof: 

 

I've started with all levels of South Africa, Chile, Brazil, Peru, and Argentina. Off the jump I took on Morocco U21s just to get some managerial experience to point to during interviews. We made a run in the U20 African Cup of Nations to the Finals before losing to South Africa. 

It took seven months to even get a serious shot at an interview but I was able to get two lined up with South African second tier teams Polokwane City and University of Pretoria (AmaTuks). Oddly, despite being in financial turmoil, AmaTuks were only 3 points behind the promotion playoff with four games left. Their manager went off to join Premier League side Stellenbosch FC. I snapped up the opportunity and ran a high-intensity, high-press system hoping to fluster the remaining opponents on my schedule. And it worked! A 2-1-1 record was enough to get me into 3rd place and a spot in the promotion playoff. 

The promotion playoff consisted of two second tier teams and one Premier League team. In this case, it was Park-the-Bus Jomo Cosmos and us from the second tier and Route One-style Baroka from the Premier League. My high-press system ran them all off the field and I won every game, securing promotion to the Premier League. Our good run of form did not go unnoticed and the Board let me start on my National C license. 

Final Table - South African First Division - 2020/2021

 

Playoff Mini-League - 2020/2021

 

South African Premier League - 2021/2022 

With a pretty special run of form at the end of the season, AmaTuks were back in the Premier League for the first time since the 2015-2016 season. I knew that the high-press system would be horribly exposed against the much more talented teams that awaited us. I decided to switch to a counter-attacking 4-1-4-1 and focus on high-pressing with a much lower line. I also knew I was not going to be very successful with the current crop of players that were hanging out on a team that was middle of the road in the First Division. I brought in nine players on free transfers and sold one of my high-salary players to fund the new payroll, effectively bringing in a brand new starting lineup. 

We started off surprisingly well considering our preseason prediction was ending up back in the pro/rel playoff, going 3-2-3 in the first period, placing us squarely in the middle of the table at 8th of 16 teams. The chemistry of the team and tactical familiarity with the new system rising (combined with a weak schedule) contributed to an incredible run of form over the next period. A record of 5-1-1 placed us toward the top of the overall table and second in the 2nd period. The selling of three players funded the buying of three others, further shoring up any holes in our lineup. We won the 3rd and 4th periods with records of 5-2-1 and 5-1-1 leading us to a 3rd place finish on the year and cash prizes for winning the two periods, helping our financial problems. 

This white-hot form also translated to the FA Cup. A streak of five wins including a victory over local rival SuperSport United in the Semifinal won us glory for the first time in both AmaTuk's and my history. This was truly a dream season for all involved at the University of Pretoria. I also was able to continue my licensing, securing National B and A. The FA Cup win also had us on the continent in the African Confederations Cup (Africa's version of the Europa League). Over the course of the season, I won Manager of the Month for March and May and was awarded the Manager of the Year award to boot. 

Final Table

 

All this success led to a lot of attention from media and competitors. I was offered an interview with the Orlando Pirates without having to apply. The powerhouse team had finished in sixth place and sacked their manager. They decided to go with another manager, Eric Tinkler, from Maritzburg United. Feeling a bit slighted, I noticed that Sundowns also fired their manager. Another powerhouse in the league, they finished a disastrous 9th place with only a +1 goal differential. While it did hurt me a bit to go to a team that AmaTuks considered a local rival, I saw visions of glory in my future with a financially secure club that had history of success. Those of you who paid attention to the final standings image above would notice that I indeed got the Sundowns job and took the helm of a fallen giant that had very recently won five titles in seven years. AmaTuks will always hold a place in my heart even if the fans will color me a traitor. 

 

 

That wraps up my catch-up post. Two seasons in, I've gotten my hands on silverware and used that momentum to land a premier job in the Premier League (of South Africa). The expectations laid out to me were very, very clear: Compete for the League Title in year one, win the FA Cup in year one, and win every League Title after that. We're a far cry from the team that was just thrilled to be in the Premier League. 

 

0/10 top domestic leagues ()
1/10 top domestic cups (2021/2022 SA FA Cup)
0/5 club continental championships ()
0/1 club world championship

0/5 continental competitions
0/1 world tournaments

Edited April 18, 2021 by remix951
Updating silverware stats

[SK]

I have just started the Pentagon Challenge but I’m feeling like it could well merge into this challenge so I’ll post here as well in case it does. 

Decided to start in Africa. 
1st season- Managed to get a job at Uthongathi. Were running about 8th at the mid way point when I took them over. Managed to have a good run and finished 3rd. 2 wins and 2 draws in the playoffs were enough for me to earn promotion. Also had a glorious cup run making the final of the SA cup but got smacked 4-0 by Orlando Pirates. 

2nd season- turned over a large amount of the squad and snagged a couple of absolute gems. Media prediction had me 15th. Was coming 1st until the second last game where I absolutely bottled it. Ended up losing to two of the three bottom teams and missed the title by 2 pts. 1 win in 7 was a horrible end to the season and I finished 4th.

I also got offered the job for Nigeria which I took for a crack at the AFCON

In the off season the Kaiser Chiefs job came up so I thought I’d apply. To my delight I got the job, they paid $220k in compensation and off i go. Stoked because even though they came 9th there squad and resources are well beyond mine.

[vikeologist]

9 hours ago, SK said:

I have just started the Pentagon Challenge but I’m feeling like it could well merge into this challenge so I’ll post here as well in case it does. 

Decided to start in Africa. 
1st season- Managed to get a job at Uthongathi. Were running about 8th at the mid way point when I took them over. Managed to have a good run and finished 3rd. 2 wins and 2 draws in the playoffs were enough for me to earn promotion. Also had a glorious cup run making the final of the SA cup but got smacked 4-0 by Orlando Pirates. 

2nd season- turned over a large amount of the squad and snagged a couple of absolute gems. Media prediction had me 15th. Was coming 1st until the second last game where I absolutely bottled it. Ended up losing to two of the three bottom teams and missed the title by 2 pts. 1 win in 7 was a horrible end to the season and I finished 4th.

I also got offered the job for Nigeria which I took for a crack at the AFCON

In the off season the Kaiser Chiefs job came up so I thought I’d apply. To my delight I got the job, they paid $220k in compensation and off i go. Stoked because even though they came 9th there squad and resources are well beyond mine.

Was your manager 19/20 at the start? (that's not a requirement for the Pentagon challenge, I think).

[SK]

1 hour ago, vikeologist said:

Was your manager 19/20 at the start? (that's not a requirement for the Pentagon challenge, I think).

Nah I’ve just realised he was 30 and I gave him two extra languages.

Didn’t see this til after I set it up.

Hope that doesn’t disqualify me from this. Doesn’t seem to major in the grand scheme of things 😄

 

[Stevelcfc]

Decided to give this a go myself

And I have my first job, taking charge of Bizana Pondo Chiefs in the South African GladAfrica Championship. We are expected to end last

Edited April 19, 2021 by Stevelcfc

[vikeologist]

2 hours ago, SK said:

Nah I’ve just realised he was 30 and I gave him two extra languages.

Didn’t see this til after I set it up.

Hope that doesn’t disqualify me from this. Doesn’t seem to major in the grand scheme of things 😄

 

I wouldn't use the word disqualify, but I mean, yes, it does.

I really don't know if the age does give an advantage. It's just the way the challenge was designed, and we've never changed it, but I have made a definite decision not to change that requirement.

I have started a topic in GD to try to establish whether manager age is purely cosmetic, in which case I could remove it as a requirement. So you could wait for someone to answer.

But I've always believed that it's not just cosmetic.

 

Edited April 19, 2021 by vikeologist

[goonergez]

Can’t be any harm in posting in here anyway though. Even if it is against the sort of rules it’s always good to hear about people’s saves.

[SK]

12 minutes ago, goonergez said:

Can’t be any harm in posting in here anyway though. Even if it is against the sort of rules it’s always good to hear about people’s saves.

 Cheers mate. I’ve followed the last few posts of your save. Looks like it’s been a great save so far. 

[SK]

2 hours ago, vikeologist said:

I wouldn't use the word disqualify, but I mean, yes, it does.

I really don't know if the age does give an advantage. It's just the way the challenge was designed, and we've never changed it, but I have made a definite decision not to change that requirement.

I have started a topic in GD to try to establish whether manager age is purely cosmetic, in which case I could remove it as a requirement. So you could wait for someone to answer.

But I've always believed that it's not just cosmetic.

 

I’ve had a quick google and the consensus on the forums seemed to be that the age was cosmetic. Reputation and/or coaching badges seemed to make the biggest difference (I started Sunday league and no badges). Let us know what you think though 

[vikeologist]

13 minutes ago, SK said:

I’ve had a quick google and the consensus on the forums seemed to be that the age was cosmetic. Reputation and/or coaching badges seemed to make the biggest difference (I started Sunday league and no badges). Let us know what you think though 

If an SI programmer confirms it's 100% cosmetic, I'll change it, but I really hate changing any rules for the challenge.

As I suggested though, it was the guy that created it that initiated the age thing.

We then spent the next year (once he'd disappeared) analysing every character of his post like a 3rd Century Church Council reviewing scripture trying to decide what certain things meant.

[goonergez]

47 minutes ago, SK said:

 Cheers mate. I’ve followed the last few posts of your save. Looks like it’s been a great save so far. 

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it so far. It’s my first ever attempt at this challenge and I have loved it. I’ve really enjoyed playing leagues I would never have contemplated before. I’ve got a new found love for the MLS as well as South Africa. To the stage where I definitely want to do careers there at some point. I have no real belief in finishing the challenge or doing it quickly, but as I said it’s been a blast so far.

in regards to your save I suggest you post here anyways. If it doesn’t get to count towards the challenge “officially” it’ll still be nice to have a new face in here updating on progress. I for one will be looking out for your updates.

[Siepe1990]

Season 18 (2037-2038) & Season 18,5 (2038)

I've had a week of vacation, so I had a lot of time to play... Get ready for a huge update and some trophies!

So, after quitting Club Brugge, a job opened up at a club where I got offered the job in the previous summer, but decided to go for Brugge. Since then, they've hired and fired 2 managers in one season and finished 6th, so they're on the lookout for a coach who can bring back some silverware. Say hello to...

Fenerbahce, on of the biggest clubs in Turkey, however they have not won the league in 7 years! Time to change that... You can have only 10 foreign players in the squad, so this was quite the challenge, but I managed to get together a decent team, even bringing in one Turkish talent from Club Brugge for a **** ton of money (he was worth it though, 7.22 average). We had no continental football to worry about, so I could focus on the league and - more importantly for me - the Turkiye Kupasi, the national cup. Before long, we were cruising at the top of the league and we just kept piling on the wins: we won 10 matches straight in our first 11 - drawing the first - and we the last 11 matches of the season, breaking the previous record. Needless to say, we won the league by a landslide (12 points), losing only 2 matches.

The cup is a two-match affair each round, except for the final. Only real scare we got was in the Round of 16, where Sivasspor managed even things out in the second match, before we scored a late winner. The final had us facing fierce rivals Besiktas, but it was a non-contest really: 2-0, and another Cup Trophy in the bag!

After quitting immediately after, I noticed some openings in South America (Argentina and Chile). I quickly checked for each of the clubs if they were still in the National Cups and I found one...

Welcome to Universidad de Chile! The won the National League 5 time in the last 20 years, but the last win was from 2033, so that's 5 years back. After finishing 3rd in the previous season, they were now 9th (out of 15) and in need of some fresh air. But, more importantly for me, the cup had yet to start... Actually, the cup started the day I took over... So my first match was an important one ; luckily, the team was already quite decent, and I managed to sail through the first 2 rounds easily. The QF had me facing Universidad Catolica, a rival, and they put up a decent fight. We needed a penalty shoot-out after two matches, which we were lucky to win after missing the first penalty... Both the SF and the Final were a no-contest in comparison, I managed to beat Colo-Colo 5-1 over two matches in the final - another Cup Trophy!

League-wise, I managed to bump them up to the 3rd place, which was better than I expected really, since we were quite a ways down when I took over. On the Continental-side of things, we were playing in the Copa Sudamericana. I joined at the Round of 16, where we managed to beat Banfield quite easily. The QF had us facing Lanus, who even managed to beat us in the first leg (1-0), only to face humiliation in the second one (3-0). The SF brought on Fluminense, whom we beat 4-0 in the second match, which meant we made it to the Final! We faced Cruzeiro and I was prepared for a tough match... Only to run out 4-0 winners... We had won the Copa Sudamericana!

This means that, on the club side, I only need two more trophies: a national cup and the South African Champions League... Guess where I'm trying to land a team as we speak...

International

My previous update ended after the first 4 qualifying matches for the World Cup (Goals scored: 15, Goals conceded: 0), so let's pick up there. We had 6 matches remaining ; the first 4 were no problem at all, 4 wins with a goal ratio of 21 - 2. But then, we had to face Wales. We beat them 6-0 at home, but they proved a bigger problem playing at Cardiff, where we lost 2-3 (Wales scored in the 87th and the 95th minute......). Luckily, we didn't really need the win and after thrashing Liechtenstein 12-1, we qualified for the World Cup.

We got handed a pretty straightforward group with U.A.E and DR Congo. We beat U.A.E. 2-0 and smashed DR Congo 4-0, topping the group with a goal ratio of 6-0 going into the 2nd Round. Here, we faced another African team, Senegal. After a tough first half we were still deadlocked, but we managed to grab the win in the 2nd half, finishing 2-0. Things weren't going as easy as I had hoped for, especially in the offensive area, but we were still without a goal against and into the Round of 16. Here we faced our first big opponent: Portugal. I expected a hard fought game, but we managed to pin them down nicely and one again prevent a goal whilst scoring 3 ourselves - into the Quarter Finals, with a goal ratio of 14-0!

In the QF, we faced my former team England. I had a very young squad full of 20/21 year olds when I managed them, meaning they were now, 10 years later, in their prime. This match was a lot harder, we picked up 6 yellow cards (with 3 players being banned from a possible SF as a result), but we managed to gain the lead in the 60th minute. After a nail-biting 30 minutes, we finally scored the deciding goal in the 90th minute, thus qualifying for the Semi Final!

France was our next opponent, a team I actually feared less then England based on the quality of the players. My feelings proved to be spot on: we demolished them. An early goal and a penalty on the brink of half time meant we were leading 2-0 at half time. Then, at the 69th minute, my star defender decided to give them a helping hand and bring some tension back into them game by scoring an own goal (my first goal against in the entire tournament). We managed to hold on to the lead and scored two more in the final 5 minutes, running out 4-1 winners. We were into the Final!

Now, Holland have lost 3 World Cup Finals and won 0, so this was quite the challenge. We faced the winner of the World Cup in 2030 and 2034: Argentina. Before I even had the chance to blink with my eyes, the first two goals were already scored: we were leading 2-0! Nothing - and I mean absolutely nothing - happened for the remainder of the match (this must have been the worst World Cup Final ever) - Holland had won the World Cup!

Since you all know me a little by now, you know what I did: I left straight after and checked if any opening were available at Asian Teams, as the 2039 Asian Cup was just 6 months away and my final International Trophy to be collected. Lucky for me, one country failed to pass the group stage (facing Algeria and Sweden), which lead to a sacking, and then they decided to hire me...

South Korea, the winner of the Asian Cup in 2023, 2027 and 2031 (and Semi Finalist in 2035). A better team I couldn't have wished for. I scheduled 7 friendlies between September and December, hoping to find a decent first XI and also hoping my players got used to the system I wanted them to play. We won 5 out of the 7 friendlies (Japan & Iran amongst the defeated) and managed to grabs draws against Ecuador and Colombia. Then, in January 2039, it was time for the Asian Cup!

We got handed a group with North Korea, Philippines and... China. I wasn't to happy with that last one, but the first two were easy. We thrashed our northern brethren 6-0 and demolished Philippines 4-0. We lead the game against China 2-1 for the entire game... until China equalized in the 97th minute. Since there was supposed to be only 5 minutes extra time, I was quite pissed. Luckily, we had a better goal ratio, which saw us topping the group.

The Round of 16 brought on Kuwait... I mean, this country had 5 professional players... So this was easy, we finished them of 7-1. The QF had us facing Uzbekistan ; I played my entire Second XI and almost got punished for it, but we managed to scrape through at 3-2.

The Semi Final we faced China once again. I was (again) a tight contest, but my striker managed to score a hattrick and after their center back got sent off in the 67th minute, I knew I was only one match away of completing the International part of this challenge...

In the Final, Syria was the final opponent. They beat Australia in the 2nd Round of 16 and Japan in the Semi Finals, so even though I didn't really see them as a threat, I was weary nonetheless. I shouldn't have worried ; by half time, we were cruising, having a three goal lead. We scored a fourth in the 46th minute, which meant we could start celebrating already. We conceded 2 goals, but that was enough: we had won the Asian Cup!

Career Summary

 

 

 

[vikeologist]

OK, so guys, I'm going to remove the requirement that managers have to be 20 (or 19) at the start of the challenge, because being older does not put you at an advantage when it comes to getting jobs. 

I'm not saying that age is entirely cosmetic. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but the perceived advantage in getting a first job was why I kept that requirement, and since that's not true, getting rid of the age requirement will make my life a bit easier.

I'm neuro atypical and don;t like change, but I'm also lazy, and it turns out that trumps NA.

@SKGo ahead. Incidentally, the extra languages DO give you an advantage (very minor), and I will enforce this strictly in future(subject to aforementioned laziness), but on this occasion, it doesn't matter too much.

Since I've mentioned it though, I'm pasting the guidance from the start of the thread on languages, and related things.

Quote

No additional languages beyond those generated by your nationality(ies)

 

Any nationality (it doesn't have to be your genuine nationality)

 

Second nationality only if you genuinely have a genuine second nationality and you have used your real primary nationality

So, you can only be one nationality (unless you genuinely have a second nationality and are using your real first one).

 

[lapsik7]

SEASON 6 (2025-2026)

KASHMIR FC

At the turn of seasons 5 and 6, we finished the AFC Cup, which we managed to win in the final against Al-Wahda. Later I played 9 league rounds after which I gave up my adventure at Kashmir FC. I believe that I am leaving the club changed, financially stable and with a really good team for this level. Unfortunately, the inability to qualify directly to the Champions League every year forced me to leave. It was a fun adventure, I hope that one day we will be able to come back to the club.

 

 

SEASON 6 (2026)

CA Peñarol

Penarol became the club that trusted me. It is 51-time Uruguayan champion, 5-time Copa Libertadores winner, a club from the absolute top of South American football. Most importantly, in the first season at the controls of Penarol I will have the opportunity to play in the Copa Libertadores, I hope for a successful adventure and perhaps it will be my first of the most important club trophies. So far I am absolutely shocked, I will try to use the potential that lies dormant in this team, interestingly enough, I see some interesting players in juniors. I can't wait for the games to start.

[SK]

13 hours ago, vikeologist said:

OK, so guys, I'm going to remove the requirement that managers have to be 20 (or 19) at the start of the challenge, because being older does not put you at an advantage when it comes to getting jobs. 

I'm not saying that age is entirely cosmetic. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but the perceived advantage in getting a first job was why I kept that requirement, and since that's not true, getting rid of the age requirement will make my life a bit easier.

I'm neuro atypical and don;t like change, but I'm also lazy, and it turns out that trumps NA.

@SKGo ahead. Incidentally, the extra languages DO give you an advantage (very minor), and I will enforce this strictly in future(subject to aforementioned laziness), but on this occasion, it doesn't matter too much.

Since I've mentioned it though, I'm pasting the guidance from the start of the thread on languages, and related things.

So, you can only be one nationality (unless you genuinely have a second nationality and are using your real first one).

 

Thanks for getting back to me mate. Appreciate it heaps. Makes sense with the nationalities being a minor advantage. Looking forward to cracking into it now. 
 

20 hours ago, goonergez said:

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it so far. It’s my first ever attempt at this challenge and I have loved it. I’ve really enjoyed playing leagues I would never have contemplated before. I’ve got a new found love for the MLS as well as South Africa. To the stage where I definitely want to do careers there at some point. I have no real belief in finishing the challenge or doing it quickly, but as I said it’s been a blast so far.

in regards to your save I suggest you post here anyways. If it doesn’t get to count towards the challenge “officially” it’ll still be nice to have a new face in here updating on progress. I for one will be looking out for your updates.

I was going to say, looks like you’ve had quite the journey. Good to really mix it up with teams and leagues. Could see myself doing this all the time now. I’m enjoying South Africa, have definitely not managed there before. 
 

 

18 hours ago, Siepe1990 said:

Season 18 (2037-2038) & Season 18,5 (2038)

I've had a week of vacation, so I had a lot of time to play... Get ready for a huge update and some trophies!

So, after quitting Club Brugge, a job opened up at a club where I got offered the job in the previous summer, but decided to go for Brugge. Since then, they've hired and fired 2 managers in one season and finished 6th, so they're on the lookout for a coach who can bring back some silverware. Say hello to...

Fenerbahce, on of the biggest clubs in Turkey, however they have not won the league in 7 years! Time to change that... You can have only 10 foreign players in the squad, so this was quite the challenge, but I managed to get together a decent team, even bringing in one Turkish talent from Club Brugge for a **** ton of money (he was worth it though, 7.22 average). We had no continental football to worry about, so I could focus on the league and - more importantly for me - the Turkiye Kupasi, the national cup. Before long, we were cruising at the top of the league and we just kept piling on the wins: we won 10 matches straight in our first 11 - drawing the first - and we the last 11 matches of the season, breaking the previous record. Needless to say, we won the league by a landslide (12 points), losing only 2 matches.

The cup is a two-match affair each round, except for the final. Only real scare we got was in the Round of 16, where Sivasspor managed even things out in the second match, before we scored a late winner. The final had us facing fierce rivals Besiktas, but it was a non-contest really: 2-0, and another Cup Trophy in the bag!

After quitting immediately after, I noticed some openings in South America (Argentina and Chile). I quickly checked for each of the clubs if they were still in the National Cups and I found one...

Welcome to Universidad de Chile! The won the National League 5 time in the last 20 years, but the last win was from 2033, so that's 5 years back. After finishing 3rd in the previous season, they were now 9th (out of 15) and in need of some fresh air. But, more importantly for me, the cup had yet to start... Actually, the cup started the day I took over... So my first match was an important one ; luckily, the team was already quite decent, and I managed to sail through the first 2 rounds easily. The QF had me facing Universidad Catolica, a rival, and they put up a decent fight. We needed a penalty shoot-out after two matches, which we were lucky to win after missing the first penalty... Both the SF and the Final were a no-contest in comparison, I managed to beat Colo-Colo 5-1 over two matches in the final - another Cup Trophy!

League-wise, I managed to bump them up to the 3rd place, which was better than I expected really, since we were quite a ways down when I took over. On the Continental-side of things, we were playing in the Copa Sudamericana. I joined at the Round of 16, where we managed to beat Banfield quite easily. The QF had us facing Lanus, who even managed to beat us in the first leg (1-0), only to face humiliation in the second one (3-0). The SF brought on Fluminense, whom we beat 4-0 in the second match, which meant we made it to the Final! We faced Cruzeiro and I was prepared for a tough match... Only to run out 4-0 winners... We had won the Copa Sudamericana!

This means that, on the club side, I only need two more trophies: a national cup and the South African Champions League... Guess where I'm trying to land a team as we speak...

International

My previous update ended after the first 4 qualifying matches for the World Cup (Goals scored: 15, Goals conceded: 0), so let's pick up there. We had 6 matches remaining ; the first 4 were no problem at all, 4 wins with a goal ratio of 21 - 2. But then, we had to face Wales. We beat them 6-0 at home, but they proved a bigger problem playing at Cardiff, where we lost 2-3 (Wales scored in the 87th and the 95th minute......). Luckily, we didn't really need the win and after thrashing Liechtenstein 12-1, we qualified for the World Cup.

We got handed a pretty straightforward group with U.A.E and DR Congo. We beat U.A.E. 2-0 and smashed DR Congo 4-0, topping the group with a goal ratio of 6-0 going into the 2nd Round. Here, we faced another African team, Senegal. After a tough first half we were still deadlocked, but we managed to grab the win in the 2nd half, finishing 2-0. Things weren't going as easy as I had hoped for, especially in the offensive area, but we were still without a goal against and into the Round of 16. Here we faced our first big opponent: Portugal. I expected a hard fought game, but we managed to pin them down nicely and one again prevent a goal whilst scoring 3 ourselves - into the Quarter Finals, with a goal ratio of 14-0!

In the QF, we faced my former team England. I had a very young squad full of 20/21 year olds when I managed them, meaning they were now, 10 years later, in their prime. This match was a lot harder, we picked up 6 yellow cards (with 3 players being banned from a possible SF as a result), but we managed to gain the lead in the 60th minute. After a nail-biting 30 minutes, we finally scored the deciding goal in the 90th minute, thus qualifying for the Semi Final!

France was our next opponent, a team I actually feared less then England based on the quality of the players. My feelings proved to be spot on: we demolished them. An early goal and a penalty on the brink of half time meant we were leading 2-0 at half time. Then, at the 69th minute, my star defender decided to give them a helping hand and bring some tension back into them game by scoring an own goal (my first goal against in the entire tournament). We managed to hold on to the lead and scored two more in the final 5 minutes, running out 4-1 winners. We were into the Final!

Now, Holland have lost 3 World Cup Finals and won 0, so this was quite the challenge. We faced the winner of the World Cup in 2030 and 2034: Argentina. Before I even had the chance to blink with my eyes, the first two goals were already scored: we were leading 2-0! Nothing - and I mean absolutely nothing - happened for the remainder of the match (this must have been the worst World Cup Final ever) - Holland had won the World Cup!

Since you all know me a little by now, you know what I did: I left straight after and checked if any opening were available at Asian Teams, as the 2039 Asian Cup was just 6 months away and my final International Trophy to be collected. Lucky for me, one country failed to pass the group stage (facing Algeria and Sweden), which lead to a sacking, and then they decided to hire me...

South Korea, the winner of the Asian Cup in 2023, 2027 and 2031 (and Semi Finalist in 2035). A better team I couldn't have wished for. I scheduled 7 friendlies between September and December, hoping to find a decent first XI and also hoping my players got used to the system I wanted them to play. We won 5 out of the 7 friendlies (Japan & Iran amongst the defeated) and managed to grabs draws against Ecuador and Colombia. Then, in January 2039, it was time for the Asian Cup!

We got handed a group with North Korea, Philippines and... China. I wasn't to happy with that last one, but the first two were easy. We thrashed our northern brethren 6-0 and demolished Philippines 4-0. We lead the game against China 2-1 for the entire game... until China equalized in the 97th minute. Since there was supposed to be only 5 minutes extra time, I was quite pissed. Luckily, we had a better goal ratio, which saw us topping the group.

The Round of 16 brought on Kuwait... I mean, this country had 5 professional players... So this was easy, we finished them of 7-1. The QF had us facing Uzbekistan ; I played my entire Second XI and almost got punished for it, but we managed to scrape through at 3-2.

The Semi Final we faced China once again. I was (again) a tight contest, but my striker managed to score a hattrick and after their center back got sent off in the 67th minute, I knew I was only one match away of completing the International part of this challenge...

In the Final, Syria was the final opponent. They beat Australia in the 2nd Round of 16 and Japan in the Semi Finals, so even though I didn't really see them as a threat, I was weary nonetheless. I shouldn't have worried ; by half time, we were cruising, having a three goal lead. We scored a fourth in the 46th minute, which meant we could start celebrating already. We conceded 2 goals, but that was enough: we had won the Asian Cup!

Career Summary

 

 

 

Wow what a stint. Trophies galore. Almost at the end now. 

[goonergez]

Bayer Leverkusen FC: 2041/42 Review

After a confidence building spell back in America with LA Galaxy I was reinvigorated to have another pop at trying to prove my managerial worth within the European game. My third stint in America had bought me a Champions League crown, and helped me put to bed the two disappointing and short spells in Germany with Mainz and Schalke. The time felt right to return for a third shot and I was lucky to pick up an exciting prospect and challenge with Bayer Leverkusen. A well known side going through a real barren patch with no trophy since 1992. In the season before my arrival they had finished in a shockingly low position of 13th, after a 10th placed finish the previous year.

My task was simple and that was to improve the on the field fortunes of the side. My plan was to put a few years into trying to build a side that could win trophies and compete across all fronts. It certainly wouldn’t be easy, with Dortmund, Munich and Leipzig dominating German football for the past decade. The former having won the previous eight Bundesliga Titles. The board merely asked for a top half finish, and I was more than happy with those expectations. This won’t be a quick fix at all, and to start with such mediocre ambitions means that I should be afforded the time to put in motion my plans. We brought in a number of talented younger players in pre-season, whilst shipping on some of the high earning older players already at the club. Just shy of £70,000,000 was spent on new faces over the course of my first season in charge, although we actually made a profit with the players we sold on. We grabbed a number of really promising players, the most notable being from rangers of Scotland. We parted with £16,000,000 to sign 20-year old winger Dave Houghton in the summer, and he performed well in grabbing 8 league goals over the season.

The league table doesn’t actually sum up our season very well. A poor end to the season actually saw us blow a really good chance at finishing even higher up the league. We held a surprising lead at the half way point before stuttering to the end and dropping downwards. We qualified for the champions league though which is way ahead of where I thought we would get. It’s also pleasing to me that we managed to defeat both Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig at home, as well as letting in a stoppage time equaliser at home to Dortmund. It was very pleasing that we proved ourselves that we can compete with the top sides in this nation even at this early stage.

Outside of the league we only had the DFB Pokal, the domestic cup of Germany. We managed to get through to the quarter final stage of the competition before suffering elimination away to RB Leipzig. We gave them a good game and took it to extra time before eventually succumbing to a 0-2 defeat. Not a bad effort but a shame we couldn’t go further as both Munich and Dortmund had already been eliminated. Our conquerors went on to defeat Frankfurt on penalties in the final.

I’m delighted with how my first season with this club went, although it very nearly became something even more special. For three quarters of the season we were genuine title contenders, so to slip to 4th is somewhat of a disappointment. To take the team up from last seasons 13th place to 4th really is a fantastic achievement though. We’ve also managed to grab some really promising young talents too, and gave them significant game time as well. My plan here is to continue to bring in these players to help set us up for future successes. I can’t see us conquering the Bundesliga or Champions League anytime soon, but to come so close already really is something that I’m proud of. Hopefully I’ll be able to add some more quality to our squad and we can continue to lay the groundwork over next season. I really want to make sure that we are the side to end the dominance of the big three sides in this nation. I truly believe that we can do just that it’s just going to take a little time to put the wheels in motion.

Season	Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements

2020/21 Uthongathi FC		SA First Division	2nd		
2021/22 Uthongathi FC		SA First Division	1st (C)		SA First Division Winners
2022/23 SuperSport United	SA Premier		2nd		SA Knockout Cup Winners
2023/24 SuperSport United	SA Premier		3rd		
2024/25 SuperSport United	SA Premier		2nd		Confederations Cup Winners, SA Cup Winners
2025/26 SuperSport United	SA Premier		1st (C)		SA Premier League Winners, SA Cup Winners, CAF Super Cup Winners, Super-8 Cup Winners, 
2026/27 SuperSport United	SA Premier		3rd		SA Knockout Cup Winners, CAF Champions League Winners
2027	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	6th		
2028	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	2nd		Chinese FA Cup Winners
2029	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	2nd		Asian Champions League Winners, Chinese FA Cup Winners
2030	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	1st (C)		Chinese Super League Winners, Chinese Super Cup Winners
2031	DC United		MLS East Conference	6th		
2032/33 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	5th		Copa Argentinos Winners
2033/34 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	2nd		Copa Sudamericana Winners, Copa Argentinos Winners, Argentinian Super Cup Winners, Sudamericana Super Cup Winners
2034/35 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	2nd		Copa Libertadores Winners, Sudamericana Super Cup Winners
2035	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	5th		MLS Western Conference Winners
2036	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	1st (C)		MLS Cup Winners, Supporters Shield Winners, MLS Western Conference Winners, Leagues Cup Winners
2037	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	1st		MLS Western Conference Winners, Supporters Shield Winners, Campeones Cup Winners
2038/39	Mainz FC/ Schalke 04	Bundesliga		-
2039	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	5th		
2040	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	2st		Supporters Shield Winners
2041	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	-		CONCACAF Champions League Winners
2041/42	Bayer Leverkusen	Bundesliga		4th


3/10 top domestic leagues (2025/26 SA Premier League, 2030 Chinese Super League Winners, 2037 MLS Cup Winners)
3/10 top domestic cups (2022/23 SA Knockout Cup, 2024/25 SA Cup Winners, 2028 Chinese FA Cup Winners, 2032/33 Copa Argentinos Winners)
4/5 club continental championships (2026/27 CAF Champions League Winners, 2029 Asian Champions League Winners, 2034/35 Copa Libertadores Winners, 2041 CONCACAF Champions League Winners)
0/1 club world championship

0/5 continental competitions
0/1 world tournaments

 

[goonergez]

July 2042: Job Update

After over twenty years and ten clubs of a career, the summer of 2042 finally saw me take on an international position. The World Cup saw a huge number of departures as a number of nations failed to achieve their pre tournament targets. With myself set at Leverkusen and finally looking to break ground in Europe i thought now was as good a time as any to take an international position too.

Funnily enough the summer was filled with opportunities. First up the legendary Diego Simeone decided to retire from management, leaving the job at reigning Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund. With nine consecutive titles I felt the need to apply for the job hoping for some immediate successes. I interviewed with the team, but they instead opted to part with just over £13,000,000 in compensation to bring in the Arsenal manager. I was left down heartened but not devastated as I felt my transfer activities with Bayer Leverkusen had set us up nicely for the new season. The Dortmund job is probably the only job in Germany that I would leave my current team for.

Back to the international market though, and having applied for a number of opportunities there was one that really stood out.

The opportunity to take charge of the worlds number one team was just something I couldn't pass up. The squad is ridiculous and the fact they failed to win the recent World Cup is quite staggering. A loss to Portugal in the Third Round condemning them to an early exit and denying the opportunity to win it for the first time since 2018. Obviously it is two years until the European Championships in Ukraine and Poland, but that gives me plenty of time to get my ideas in motion with France. I turned down the chance to take over my own nation in England, as well as with Italy for this chance. There are Nations League matches coming soon, so I will look to get something going with this country as soon as possible.

Season	Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements

2020/21 Uthongathi FC		SA First Division	2nd		
2021/22 Uthongathi FC		SA First Division	1st (C)		SA First Division Winners
2022/23 SuperSport United	SA Premier		2nd		SA Knockout Cup Winners
2023/24 SuperSport United	SA Premier		3rd		
2024/25 SuperSport United	SA Premier		2nd		Confederations Cup Winners, SA Cup Winners
2025/26 SuperSport United	SA Premier		1st (C)		SA Premier League Winners, SA Cup Winners, CAF Super Cup Winners, Super-8 Cup Winners, 
2026/27 SuperSport United	SA Premier		3rd		SA Knockout Cup Winners, CAF Champions League Winners
2027	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	6th		
2028	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	2nd		Chinese FA Cup Winners
2029	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	2nd		Asian Champions League Winners, Chinese FA Cup Winners
2030	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	1st (C)		Chinese Super League Winners, Chinese Super Cup Winners
2031	DC United		MLS East Conference	6th		
2032/33 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	5th		Copa Argentinos Winners
2033/34 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	2nd		Copa Sudamericana Winners, Copa Argentinos Winners, Argentinian Super Cup Winners, Sudamericana Super Cup Winners
2034/35 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	2nd		Copa Libertadores Winners, Sudamericana Super Cup Winners
2035	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	5th		MLS Western Conference Winners
2036	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	1st (C)		MLS Cup Winners, Supporters Shield Winners, MLS Western Conference Winners, Leagues Cup Winners
2037	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	1st		MLS Western Conference Winners, Supporters Shield Winners, Campeones Cup Winners
2038/39	Mainz FC/ Schalke 04	Bundesliga		-
2039	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	5th		
2040	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	2st		Supporters Shield Winners
2041	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	-		CONCACAF Champions League Winners
2041/42	Bayer Leverkusen	Bundesliga		4th


Year		Nation			Honours
2042-		France			-

3/10 top domestic leagues (2025/26 SA Premier League, 2030 Chinese Super League Winners, 2037 MLS Cup Winners)
3/10 top domestic cups (2022/23 SA Knockout Cup, 2024/25 SA Cup Winners, 2028 Chinese FA Cup Winners, 2032/33 Copa Argentinos Winners)
4/5 club continental championships (2026/27 CAF Champions League Winners, 2029 Asian Champions League Winners, 2034/35 Copa Libertadores Winners, 2041 CONCACAF Champions League Winners)
0/1 club world championship

0/5 continental competitions
0/1 world tournaments

 

[remix951]

SEASON 3 (2022-2023)

 

After a Cinderella season with AmaTuks, my momentum took me to Sundowns where the goals were clear: Win. We were expected to win the FA Cup and compete for the League Title. While we ultimately failed in the FA Cup run, losing in the Semifinals 1-0 to Maritzburg United, our domestic season was a barnburner and we secured the title with two games left to play. This victory brought Sundowns back to glory after two years of Cape Town City winning and reasserted Sundowns as the team to beat in South Africa. We didn't just beat our opponents, we beat them badly. With a goal differential of +62, we more than doubled the next team's GD and won the league 18 points clear. Our striker, Uruguayan Mauricio Affonso, had 22 goals and 8 assists and our winger, native Siphesihle Ndlouvu, scored 15 and assisted 12 en route to the Premier Player of the Year. Even our keeper was able to notch an assist on the year. I was also able to snatch up the Premier League Manager of the Year Award for the second year running with two different teams. 

The cherry on top was beating the Orlando Pirates 3-1 and 4-1 and keeping them out of the Champions League after they snubbed me last offseason for their own open position. Their manager they chose over me resigned at the end of the season. Going for their second new coach in two seasons, they hired the coach who replaced me at AmaTuks.

With a record of 24-4-2, we set the records for wins in the Premier League. The board made it clear that this is only the beginning: my next year's goals are to A) Win the Premier League again and B) Reach the Final of the Champions League. 

 

 

 

1/10 top domestic leagues (2022/2023 South African Premier League)
1/10 top domestic cups (2021/2022 SA FA Cup)
0/5 club continental championships ()
0/1 club world championship

0/5 continental competitions
0/1 world tournaments

Edited April 20, 2021 by remix951

[goonergez]

@remix951might impressive season my friend! You’ve had one hell of a start to your managerial career!  Look forward to seeing how you continue.

[remix951]

@goonergez Thank you! It was a really lucky situation that Sundowns were so pitiful the year before. I'm hoping I can notch the African Champions League next year and get off the continent. I've tried this challenge before and this is definitely the hottest start I've ever had.

[Siepe1990]

Season 19 (2038-2039)

Only a short update, because it's only half a season... During my successful campaign with South Korea, I managed to land a job in South Africa. I had two choices, but it was a no contest really...

Kaizer Chiefs, one of the bigger teams in South Africa, were placed 11th out of 16 when I took over, 15 points from the top and 9 points from 2nd place, both of which qualify for the Champions League next season. The 2nd cup in South Africa still had to start as well, and I was still in the 2nd Continental Tournament (Confederation Cup), so the ideal moment to take over.

I remembered from my last visit to South Africa - the first time I tried this challenge - that almost any player you can sign on free who is also wanted by other clubs is better than anything you have. So, with that in mind, I set to improving the squad a little, focusing on young foreign players (20 at most, preferably 19) whom I don't have to register in the next season as well. The club had some money, so I decided to spend 4 million on a GK, CD and RB, whilst loaning two South African national team players who'd transferred out of the country earlier in the year.

I felt I had quite the team, so I was quite confident of at least closing the 9 point gap to the 2nd place, so I could play Champions League next year. I started off nicely, striking up win after win. I managed to qualify from the Confederation Cup Group Stage (after they had 1 points out of the first three matches) and I managed to get to the QF of the Nedbank Cup... and there I lost. I almost forgot how it felt not to win a domestic cup, but I got penalized after a terrible display, so no complains there.

Fast forward: I managed to win 14 out of my 15 league games, drawing the other one. This saw me finishing in 2nd place... only 1 point behind champions Orlando Pirates... Gutted really to miss out on what would have been an amazing title by 1 point, but at least I've qualified for the Champions League next season.

In the Confederation Cup, I managed to get to the SF, where I faced ES Tunis. Now get this: since the start of the game, ES Tunis had not missed out on the Champions League once before this season... They had won the CL 6 times in the previous 20 years and finished 2nd 4 times... I didn't believe I had a chance, but I managed to beat them ; well, beat them... I destroyed them 7-0 in the 2nd match... Insane, never expected this. Egyptian side Zamalek awaited in the final, which I managed to win 2-0... We had a trophy to top off an amazing 2nd half of the season!

I'm going to try and keep my team together and hope to have a real shot at the Champions League (and one of the national cups) next year!

 

[darren1983]

So I've been bouncing around a few saves lately as seem to have some form of ADHD with FM right now  

However I have, once again, returned to this and started it again as I really want a journey man save to probably last me the rest of FM21 so here is my manager

At the start I had a interview for Cape Town Spurs (formerly Ajax Cape Town) and got turned down. I then went on holiday till Christmas in the hope of there just being some different teams to start with, a couple months later Cape Town had sacked the guy they picked ahead of me as he had won just 2 games (the caretaker won 1) and were 2nd bottom after 15 games. I really wanted this job as I knew from previous times in South Africa that some of these players turn out great and they produce some great young players and this time they gave me the chance. We lost our first 2 games and I was worried that maybe I was too keen for this job without actually looking at why the league favourites were 2nd bottom at the halfway stage. However the players started to put some for together as I worked out our best 11 and we dragged ourselves away from the relegation zone (not the battle as most of the bottom half were within 3 points of the bottom all season) and actually managed to get ourselves in among the top sides after a 12 game unbeaten run. On the final day we were 5th and did have an outside shot at 3rd if results (including a draw in the game featuring 3rd and 4th) and well we did our bit and we even got the draw we needed and found ourselves 3rd on GD!

This was the highest the side had been all season and what a time to do it! This meant we went into the promotion playoff mini league where our form carried on and 10 points from 4 games saw us easily win the thing and seal a unlikely promotion at the first time of asking.

The finances here are not great (our transfer budget after promotion a a massive £0) but with the youth setup here I really think/hope I can stay here for a few years and build this side up right to the top with some smart moves in the transfer market. We shall see if my patience lasts or I look to jump ship (might have to as not sure this club can afford to pay for my coaching courses) 

Season		Club			League		Position	Notes/Achievements 
2020/21		Cape Town Spurs		Championship	3rd 		Promoted via the promotion mini league

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

International
0/5 continental tournaments 
0/1 world tournaments 

 

[goonergez]

@darren1983 whilst with SuperSport United I found a number of very promising players at both the Cape Town Clubs. The best striker during my time there was signed from Spurs and he ended up going on to become a premier League regular. Excited to see how you get on after promotion.

[darren1983]

9 minutes ago, goonergez said:

@darren1983 whilst with SuperSport United I found a number of very promising players at both the Cape Town Clubs. The best striker during my time there was signed from Spurs and he ended up going on to become a premier League regular. Excited to see how you get on after promotion.

Yeah I know from previous tries there's a few in the squad that I've won the champions league with but sadly due to the 1 year only deals in this league I've lost a couple of really good young players for frees already but am hoping the youth setup will provide me good enough players 

[The Regista]

ATLANTA UNITED FC 2027 SEASON RECAP

 

Very brief update from me baby HQ here.

I finally finished the first MLS season with Atlanta United. I'm not sure the league is for me - the squad restriction ruling isn't my cup of tea plus the season just seems incredibly long (although in reality not too dissimilar to a European League - perhaps I'm just conditioned). However, being on paternity leave with my newborn son/assistant manager has meant that I could finish the league whilst giving him cuddles/discussing tactics.

Anyway, we swept everything in sight, thus qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions League and adding the MLS to my list of league wins. Having looked at the calendar for the Champions League, it looks to finish in May. One way or another, whether we get knocked out or somehow win the Champions League, I'll be leaving Atlanta by May 2028 at the latest, and looking to either to go South Africa or Asia.

Atlanta's squad was fairly solid to begin with designated players being keeper Carlos Bonfante, midfielder John Lundstram and club legend Josef Martinez forming the core of the squad. We're helped by having USA international striker Mason Pena (newgen) leading the line. In the early season, we picked up Efrain Alvarez for £1.4m of Allocation funds from LA Galaxy to play on the right side. As the season went on I figured we needed more firepower, so we also traded £4.1m of our Allocation funds for winger Folarin Balogun from Toronto FC. Balogun's arrival gave us the shot in the arm we needed to ensure carried on to win the Eastern Conference. The final saw us beat Austin FC 6-1, with Pena picking up 4 and Balogun bagging a brace.

Question - do either of the cup wins count towards the total for the challenge?

Looking forward to getting the new season underway - it's break or bust for the CONCACAF Champions League!!

Additionally, I'm still with France and we've qualified for Euro 2028. We did lose our first game under my management to Poland 1-0, though this did not affect our qualification plans at all. We also won the Nations League again beating Spain 4-2 aet in the Semi Finals, and thrashing Holland in the final 5-0.

I've got another week of paternity leave to go - hopefully my new assistant and I can win our first trophy together!!

Career Progression

 

[vikeologist]

@The Regista Yes, you have a league (the MLS) and a cup (the US Open Cup) towards the challenge. (The Supporters Shield wouldn't have counted for anything in and of itself, but you won the knockout part at the end as well)

 

The 3rd post in the thread should answer all these kind of questions

Quote

MLS (USA) - For challenge purposes the MLS Cup counts as the league, and the US Open Cup counts as the cup. The Canadian Championship unless you have the official Canadian league add-on), and the league section of the MLS (Supporters Shield) don't count for anything.

I didn't know about the Leagues Cup, but presumably not all the MLS teams are in it, so it doesn't count for anything. I'll update the 3rd post to clarify this, but if anybody thinks I've misunderstood and it should be eligible, let me know.

 

If I've counted correctly, you have 9 of the trophies now. One more and you'll be on the leader board, and eligible for one of my memes celebrating it, but please make sure you keep count, because I won't. There's also a challenge progress thing to copy and paste in the 3rd post, or do your own.

[The Regista]

49 minutes ago, vikeologist said:

@The Regista Yes, you have a league (the MLS) and a cup (the US Open Cup) towards the challenge. (The Supporters Shield wouldn't have counted for anything in and of itself, but you won the knockout part at the end as well)

 

The 3rd post in the thread should answer all these kind of questions

I didn't know about the Leagues Cup, but presumably not all the MLS teams are in it, so it doesn't count for anything. I'll update the 3rd post to clarify this, but if anybody thinks I've misunderstood and it should be eligible, let me know.

 

If I've counted correctly, you have 9 of the trophies now. One more and you'll be on the leader board, and eligible for one of my memes celebrating it, but please make sure you keep count, because I won't. There's also a challenge progress thing to copy and paste in the 3rd post, or do your own.

Nice. I shall update my own template and use the copy/paste one in due course. I think I'm at eight (unless I've missed anything?)

(EDIT - I realise the Torneo Intermedio is counted as a domestic cup, in which case I have 9)

Leagues

MLS (Atlanta United), Uruguayan (Nacional), Finnish (HJK Helsinki), German (Wolfsburg)

Cups

Scottish (Dunfermline), US Open Cup (Atlanta United), Torneo Intermedia (Nacional)

Continental

Copa Libertadores (Nacional)

International

World Cup (France)

Edited April 22, 2021 by The Regista

[vikeologist]

21 minutes ago, The Regista said:

Nice. I shall update my own template and use the copy/paste one in due course. I think I'm at eight (unless I've missed anything?)

Leagues

MLS (Atlanta United), Uruguayan (Nacional), Finnish (HJK Helsinki), German (Wolfsburg)

Cups

Scottish (Dunfermline), US Open Cup (Atlanta United)

Continental

Copa Libertadores (Nacional)

International

World Cup (France)

Yes, I think you're right. You see this is why I need others to do my counting for me.

[goonergez]

Bayer Leverkusen: 2042/43 Review

So my second season at the helm has drawn to a close, and much like the first it was very promising. We came in with the opportunity to compete in the champions league, and I was also hoping for us to push on and challenge for the league title this time.

Unfortunately we never got close to competing at the top, although a good run of form in the closing weeks saw us climb up and into the Champions League spots. A finish of exactly the same as last season was achieved, albeit four points worse off. Defensively we were very impressive, but goal scoring proved a real issue. January arrival Andy Russell from Celtic helped in that regard, bagging 11 in 14 league appearances after his £25,000,000 move. Outside of the Bundesliga we didn’t enjoy the best of campaigns. In the DFB Pokal we breezed through non league opposition before suffering a shock and disappointing 0-1 elimination at home to Freiburg in the next round. In the Champions League we finished bottom of a league containing Manchester City, Marseille and Inter. Draws against city and Marseille providing the only positives as we failed to even clinch a Europa League berth.

A fairly solid if unspectacular season for us as we never managed to reach the heights of my first season in charge. That’s not to say we were bad, but a poor start to the season meant we were never in a position to compete as much as I had hoped that we would. Early eliminations in both the domestic cup and the champions league hurt, but we can bounce back next year better for the experiences. Hopefully we can really spur on next season and push much higher than this time around. The squad still contains a large number of young players and hopefully another year on their careers will help as we move into my third season here.

My first international job saw me take over France after their failure at the 2042 World Cup. My first opportunities would come in the Nations League although the French FA informed me that they weren’t judging me on our efforts. We were drawn in a group with Belgium, Turkey and the Republic of Ireland and navigated it with ease. Five wins and a draw saw us comfortably win our group to enter the semi-final stage at the end of the club season.

Before we took part in that we were drawn in the European Championship qualifiers and were given Northern Ireland, Latvia, Finland and Russia in what looked a relatively straightforward stage. So far we’ve only played two matches, but picked up 4-0 victories over both Northern Ireland away and Latvia at home.

The semi finals of the nations league gave us a tough looking game against Spain. We fell behind early before levelling in the early stages of the second half to set up an exciting finale. In the end we had to wait until the 93rd minute before a sensational solo goal from Sevilla winger Sullivan Maillard. After picking the ball up on halfway he beat three defenders before smashing an unstoppable shot into the net from all of 30 yards out. In the other semi Germany defeated England 2-0 to set up a first versus third in the world rankings final.

A great start to life as manager was capped with a really good display to win the game and with it my first international trophy. Granted it isn’t the most important of honours, but it caps off a really good spell at the helm so far. Shortly afterwards we also managed to comfortably defeat Algeria in a friendly, despite making a whole lot of changes. Ten wins and a draw from my eleven matches in charge should set us up nicely for the future. I see no reason to look elsewhere, and the European Championships next summer (if as expected we do manage to qualify) will give me a real opportunity to pick up my first meaningful international honour. I’m pleased with how things are going though, and am very confident in the quality of my side to perform on the grand stage.

Season	Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements

2020/21 Uthongathi FC		SA First Division	2nd		
2021/22 Uthongathi FC		SA First Division	1st (C)		SA First Division Winners
2022/23 SuperSport United	SA Premier		2nd		SA Knockout Cup Winners
2023/24 SuperSport United	SA Premier		3rd		
2024/25 SuperSport United	SA Premier		2nd		Confederations Cup Winners, SA Cup Winners
2025/26 SuperSport United	SA Premier		1st (C)		SA Premier League Winners, SA Cup Winners, CAF Super Cup Winners, Super-8 Cup Winners, 
2026/27 SuperSport United	SA Premier		3rd		SA Knockout Cup Winners, CAF Champions League Winners
2027	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	6th		
2028	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	2nd		Chinese FA Cup Winners
2029	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	2nd		Asian Champions League Winners, Chinese FA Cup Winners
2030	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	1st (C)		Chinese Super League Winners, Chinese Super Cup Winners
2031	DC United		MLS East Conference	6th		
2032/33 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	5th		Copa Argentinos Winners
2033/34 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	2nd		Copa Sudamericana Winners, Copa Argentinos Winners, Argentinian Super Cup Winners, Sudamericana Super Cup Winners
2034/35 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	2nd		Copa Libertadores Winners, Sudamericana Super Cup Winners
2035	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	5th		MLS Western Conference Winners
2036	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	1st (C)		MLS Cup Winners, Supporters Shield Winners, MLS Western Conference Winners, Leagues Cup Winners
2037	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	1st		MLS Western Conference Winners, Supporters Shield Winners, Campeones Cup Winners
2038/39	Mainz FC/ Schalke 04	Bundesliga		-
2039	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	5th		
2040	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	2st		Supporters Shield Winners
2041	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	-		CONCACAF Champions League Winners
2041/42	Bayer Leverkusen	Bundesliga		4th
2042/43	Bayer Leverkusen	Bundesliga		4th


Year		Nation			Honours
2042-		France			Nations League Winners

3/10 top domestic leagues (2025/26 SA Premier League, 2030 Chinese Super League Winners, 2037 MLS Cup Winners)
3/10 top domestic cups (2022/23 SA Knockout Cup, 2024/25 SA Cup Winners, 2028 Chinese FA Cup Winners, 2032/33 Copa Argentinos Winners)
4/5 club continental championships (2026/27 CAF Champions League Winners, 2029 Asian Champions League Winners, 2034/35 Copa Libertadores Winners, 2041 CONCACAF Champions League Winners)
0/1 club world championship

0/5 continental competitions
0/1 world tournaments

 

[goonergez]

Good work @The Regista. Hope all is good with baby and mother too!

 

@vikeologisti wouldn’t say the Leagues Cup would class. It’s 8 teams from Mexico and 8 from America I believe although I couldn’t tell you how it worked out. Played in it but couldn’t figure out how to qualify.

[vikeologist]

3 minutes ago, goonergez said:

Good work @The Regista. Hope all is good with baby and mother too!

 

@vikeologisti wouldn’t say the Leagues Cup would class. It’s 8 teams from Mexico and 8 from America I believe although I couldn’t tell you how it worked out. Played in it but couldn’t figure out how to qualify.

Yes. The Leagues Cup doesn't count. His cup that counted was the Open Cup. That's the only one that counts as a cup in MLS. (I'm always going to ask if I've got it wrong in case the cups in the game are different or something). The rule is that all top division teams must compete in the cup (apart from mexico).

Edited April 22, 2021 by vikeologist

[Siepe1990]

 

Challenge Completed!

After 20 years of hard work, starting in Tilburg and finishing in Johannesburg, I have completed the challenge! The final two trophies - the South African National Cup and the African Champions League - were won in the best season in the history of Kaizer Chiefs, in which they won 6 of the 7 competitions they entered (title, cup, cup, super cup, be the coach & champions league to be precise). It has been a blast trying this challenge, I've managed clubs I never thought I'd managed (I mean, FC Ural Yekaterinburg, really?) and won some prizes I never had won before in my 15+-years of playing FM (AFC Asian Cup being the most prominent one). I managed to lead clubs to prizes they had never won before (Champions League for Kaizer Chiefs) and scaled new heights with countries as well (finally a World Cup for Holland and of course the Copa America for Venezuela). Highest fee paid: 137M euros for a player from Dortmund to Bayern Munchen, who has not scored lower than a 7.17 season average in the 13 seasons he has played for them since (with a 7.5 or higher in 8 of them). On average, I won 73% of my matches (highest being Holland with 95% and Shanghai SIPG with 92%, lowest being Venezuela with 48% and Crystal Palace with 57%) and scored 2,6 goals on average (highest being England with 4,8 and Bayer Munchen with 3,3) and conceded only 1,0 on average (lowest being Holland at 0,5 and Fenerbahce at 0,5).

I enjoyed every minute of it, thanks @vikeologistfor running this thread and until next time folks!

Career Summary

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Siepe1990

[vikeologist]

@Siepe1990 - Congrats on completing the challenge, and the first new person to complete it for quite a while. One of the fastest completions as well. Was this your first attempt? Impressive.

Anyway, you're in the Hall of Fame, forever enthroned with the pantheon.

[Siepe1990]

3 hours ago, vikeologist said:

@Siepe1990 - Congrats on completing the challenge, and the first new person to complete it for quite a while. One of the fastest completions as well. Was this your first attempt? Impressive.

Anyway, you're in the Hall of Fame, forever enthroned with the pantheon.

Thanks mate. Not my first attempt, but it is my first serious attempt. I’ve tried it once before with some posts a few years back, but dropped out pretty soon. Since then, I’ve set up a save like this almost every year, but never anything serious until this one. Thanks to COVID I had a lot more time on my hands, so guess that’s part of the motivation. Other part’s just about wanting my name on that honor roll 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Siepe1990

[dkouv]

@Siepe1990 Congrats on completing! Although now you have to find something other than this challenge to keep yourself entertained on the weekend ))))

[remix951]

 

Off the bat, we made a statement in the African Champions League with a 23-0 aggregate win over Somalia's Gaadiidka. The 12-0 first leg broke a record for biggest single game margin, tied the most goals in a match, and broke the largest aggregate win margin record for African CL, all of which were formerly Sundowns records. 

 

I also was able to earn a quick trophy at the beginning of the season, winning the Super 8 by beating a fierce local rival. It isn't an Ultimate Challenge-eligible trophy, though, so it'll make a nice office paperweight. Winning the Super 8 gave me three trophies in two years which propelled me to earning a spot in the South African Hall of Fame. 

 

I turned around and was able to secure the South African Knockout Cup, completing my domestic Grand Slam of trophies during my time in South Africa. The only thing left on my to-do list was the African Champions League. A good run through the group stage ended with a blowout loss to fellow South African side Cape Town Spurs, 3-0. They would continue to haunt me later in the season when they beat me 2-1 in extra time in the quarterfinal of the FA Cup. In the knockout stages, we started off with a high-scoring 6-5 win over Egypt's Zamalek and a 5-3 win over last year's champions ES Tunis. This squared us up with a Finals matchup against, of course, Cape Town Spurs

 

 

 

And we crushed them. Having won the Champions League, that adds another feather to my Ultimate Challenge cap and means that I have wrapped up all there is to accomplish on the African continent for club cups. Additionally, the year ended with me being inducted into the African continent's Hall of Fame after securing a quadruple. 

 

 

 

Coincidentally, my contract ran out at the end of this season. A fitting end to my career in South Africa -- time to load up some other leagues and see where that takes me. 

 

 

1/10 top domestic leagues (2022/2023 South African Premier League)
1/10 top domestic cups (2021/2022 SA FA Cup)
1/5 club continental championships (2023/2024 African CL)
0/1 club world championship

0/5 continental competitions ()
0/1 world tournaments

 

 

 

Edited April 24, 2021 by remix951

[lapsik7]

SEASON 6 (2026)

CA Peñarol

My first season on Uruguayan soil was an interesting experience because I have never played in a South American club during my adventure with a football manager. From the interesting things that I have encountered at CA Peñarol, there is for sure a long list of talented players that I sincerely doubt that I will ever use, because I will probably change club in a moment. One of the things I don't like is the game system. Playoffs are always painful when you lead the table all season, and in the final of the competition you lose and become only the runner-up of the league. As for the continental competition, I said goodbye to Copa Libertadores in the 3rd qualifying round after defeating Corinthians by away goals. We moved as a consolation prize to the Copa Sudamericana competition, where we made it to the semi-finals where the Brazilian Flamengo showed us in the line-up. Now I have a pre-season break, during which I will go with the Ghana team to the Africa Cup of Nations, where I hope to win.

 

[lapsik7]

Africa Cup of Nations 2027

Ghana

In January 2027, I went with the Ghana national team to Nigeria, where the defenders of the title organized another championship tournament. In group E we faced Mali, Comoros and Guinea. We won 3 matches with a goal balance of 15-1. Then we overcame Angola, Morocco and Algeria. In the final, we met the hosts and defenders of the title - Nigeria. The final match went our way from the beginning, and Bashiru Mohammed, who scored 2 goals in the 4-1 final, was the decisive hero of the final. It is worth mentioning that this is the first title in the Africa Cup of Nations of the Ghana national team in 45 years, and more precisely since 1982. This is the 5th title overall. The player of the tournament was Kamal Sowah, who scored 6 goals and 6 assists in 7 matches of the tournament. After winning the Africa Cup of Nations, the Ghana national team was ranked 7th in the FIFA ranking. The winning final against Nigeria was my last game as Ghana national team coach as I resigned in search of new challenges.

 

[lapsik7]

SEASON 7 (2027)

CA Peñarol

There is not much to talk about here, I created a nice team, I bought 2-3 nice players for positions that were weak in the previous season. After 2 league matches, which I won without any problems, I was invited to the interview by a better club than the current one - CA Vélez Sarsfield. I went to the interview and after that my current CEO got upset and fired me.

SEASON 7

CA Vélez Sarsfield

And cool, I waited about a week and Velez decided to hire me. I took the team in 13th place in the league after 27 matches and I will be looking for a place in the Copa Libertadores. The interesting thing is that I will be playing in the Copa Libertadores group, and one of my rivals will be Penarol

 

[darren1983]

So yeah I may have said my goal was to build a side with Cape Town Spurs and with 3 games of the season to go we were 3rd in the table but.....

Couldn't resit. A transfer budget of 2.5m (Cape town was 0) and 3 times the wage budget. Plus I'm in a cup final now  

[lapsik7]

SEASON 7 (2027)

CA Vélez Sarsfield

After taking the team in 13th place in the league, I led the team in 11 games with the result of 6 wins, 3 defeats and 2 draws. We managed to finish the season in 11th place, which resulted in promotion to the Copa Sudamericana. Additionally, I played 6 cup matches, all of which I won. I'm currently on a league break and in the meantime I'm still playing for Copa Argentina and Copa Libertadores. I use the break for transfer moves, I have already purchased 5 players who I hope will raise the level of the game.

[darren1983]

Season 2021/22 Review - Cape Town Spurs and Kaizer Chiefs 

 

So we started the season with Cape Town, after promotion the plan was to build on the youngsters we had and grow, however they started the season in the same form we ended the previous one and were flying up the league and taking points off the bigger sides but struggling to break down lower sides, we had lots of the ball but couldn't finish. Our defence (2nd best in the league) kept us in it and we found ourselves in the top 3 despite a shocking cup exit in the 2nd round. Our form was mainly built on Cade Erickson, and Riyaad Norodien but we lacked the muscle to keep hold of our better players like Kegan Johannes so my eyes did start to wonder. Supersport sacked their manager but it was just after I signed a new deal at Cape Town so they couldn't agree a fee for me, Sundowns sacked their manager and waited an entire month after I applied to tell me thanks but no thanks. But then towards the end of the season Kaizer Chiefs sacked their manager and not only offered a interview but then offered me the job. They're one of the biggest in the country so I had to leave 3rd place side that I had built up for greener pastures.

So now I was at the Chiefs but only had 3 games and a cup final to play through. We won the cup (think that's called doing a @vikeologist?) after falling behind and won 2 and drew 1 in the league to end in 7th. My old side finished 4th. Big summer rebuild now as I look to bring in younger players but also compete at the top of the league. 

Career Overview

Season		Club			League		Position	Notes/Achievements 
2020/21		Cape Town Spurs		Championship	3rd 		Promoted via the promotion mini league
2021/22		Cape Town Spurs		Premiership	3rd 		3rd when leaving with 3 games to go. National C coaching badge
2021/22		Kaizer Chiefs 		Premiership	7th 		Took over for final 3 games. Won Nedbank Cup. 

Challenge Progress 

Club

0/10 top domestic leagues 
1/10 domestic cups – South Africa (2022 – Kaizer Chiefs) 
0/5 club continental championships 
0/1 club world championship

International

0/5 continental tournaments 
0/1 world tournaments 

 

[The Regista]

Small update from me

Thank god we did it at the first try, as I don't think I could stomach another year in the MLS.

The domestic campaign has started off alright - we're currently second in the Eastern Conference, 5 points off NYCFC but with 4 games in hand due to the Champions League. I opted to let Josef Martinez leave on a free as I couldn't justify a £60k/week wage for a 34 year old designated player, even if he is a club legend. We signed Folarin Balogun last year, a younger and fitter version of Martinez out on the left side, plus it allowed us a slot to fill with a designated player (Ben Lederman, central midfielder who has done the rounds in Poland).

The above screenshot speaks for itself - apart from the first round we needed to do the job over both legs in order to progress. Thankfully the first leg of the final was the difference in the end, a solitary Balogun goal giving us the edge in Mexico.

So with that, it's 10 trophies for me now, and the end of my time in America. I've resigned my post and am currently on the lookout for a new job. There's the potential to head back to Scotland with the Celtic job, though Erik ten Hag is about to get the boot from Liverpool. Currently at Anfield are Allison, Trent, Fausto Vera,  Illaix Moriba, Ansu Fati, Erling Haaland, Joao Felix, Lautaro Martinez... that's the job I want. Although they are 5th in the league, they have a game in hand on Man Utd and are one point behind the Red Devils. We will have to see if ten Hag gets the sack. Equally the Inter Milan job is "Insecure".

The Euros are also coming up with France - a strong performance there could only boost my profile further and maybe seal that job at Anfield.

Progress

[remix951]

2024 Season

 

A short managing hiatus of July 1st to October 15th helped me clear my head (and clear South Africa from the playable leagues) and ensured my journey would take me to new places. A number of applications went out to various large National Teams with no success. Ultimately, I received an offer to interview from Chinese Super League club Shanghai Port FC. They liked what they saw in me and I liked what I saw in them: A club only 3 points back from continental competition with six matches to go and a transfer purse of over $100 million. What I wasn't aware of was how decimated the team was from the former manager and various international commitments from my players (note the empty bench spots)..

 

 

The players below were deemed unavailable from either injuries, international commitments, or roster restrictions for the next month or so. 

 

 

This would lead to a sparse bench for four of these six important remaining matches of the 2024 season. The first game, playing with a very short bench, we were able to scrap a 1-1 draw with 3rd place Shandong Taishan in what would prove to be an unfortunately pivotal game for the final table. The rest of the five games saw us paired against teams that would ultimately finish in the bottom six. Five straight wins secured us a spot in the CL Play-in tournament, just two points shy of a guaranteed spot behind Shandong Taishan, or so I thought.

 

 

The Chinese FA Cup winners get to go to the Champions League Group Stage automatically. Typically, you have teams finishing in CL spots and winning, meaning that spots are shuffled down the table. Shandong faced off against Cinderella Hebei FC, who ended up getting relegated from the Super League finishing in 15th place. They will be representing the Chinese National First Division in the Champions League, though, as they beat Shandong on PKs and kick me out of CL qualification.

 

 

 

Aside from that incredibly disappointing result, the end of the season will also see a lot of roster turnover. Chief among the people leaving is Oscar of Chelsea FC fame. With the way salaries are structured in the Super League, Oscar decided that we could not pay enough for his services despite our massive payroll. A gift fell into my lap though as Barcelona released Ousmane Dembele who was happy to relocate to Shanghai. The next season should be interesting as I desperately try to find new domestic players to fill out my roster. 

 

 

[SK]

So, as I embarked at my new adventure I could tell my club had lots of quality however decided to strengthen heavily, I could tell a few players were getting on and I’m glad I did as they faded badly throughout the year. I also brought in my superstar from Uthongathi: Emmanuel Chaluba who was a solid signing. 

 

League- Had an absolute mare to start drawing and losing my first two games but then went unbeaten for ages and managed  to break Kaiser Chiefs record for biggest undefeated streak. Bar one slump where I lost twice and drew once in a 3 game spell, it was plain sailing and I cruised to the league. Snagged an absolute gem of a CAM on loan from the Portuguese league. Hoping to finalise that purchase next season. Glad I could tick the league of so I can focus on the CL next season. 

 

Cups- Absolute mixed bag here. The knockout cup was a massive success. Rotated heavily until the semis as I focused on the league. Only real hurdle u had was the QF where I was bailed out by a 90th minute pile driver to take it to ET. Semis and final were played whilst the league was in a break so I could play my strongest team. Won the final 1-0 in a professional manner to claim my first trophy for the challenge. I unfortunately lost 4-1 in the opening round of the FA cup as I was knocked out by a division 1 side. Was just one of those days.

 

I dominated almost every game I played. Really aiming to build the squad depth up and hopefully get a marquee level player in to give me a boost. Have 1.5 mil to spend plus space in wages so I’m going to have to focus on buying the best South African players as I’ve only got 1 disposable foreign player. Aim next season is the CL so I can leave the continent with everything I wanted.

 

Nigeria- cruised through the qualifying stage winning 5 and losing 1. Playing a 442 wing play, scoring lots but my defence has been a bit leaky. Will be making some tweaks in the AFCON to try and fix that.

 

I was drawn with Guinea, Ivory Coast and Ethopia. Won 3/3 games in the group. First was a 7-5 whirlwind and beat Ivory Coast 2-1 with 2 late goals completing comeback. I drew Cameroon in the Round of 16 who I easily dispatched before losing 4-2 to Senegal with mane hitting a hatty against me. There my Nigeria journey ended. 

Career Progress

2020/2021- Uthongathi 

Took over halfway through the season. Second Division- 3rd, won promotion via playoffs. Runner up SA FA Cup

2021/2022- Uthongathi 

First division- 4th. 

2022/2023- Kaiser Chiefs

First Division-1st. Knockout cup winners.  Be the Coach

2023/2024

 

 

Nigeria

2021-2023

AFCON- QF exit. 

 

 

Overall achievements 

1/10 league trophies-2022/2023 SA premier league

1/10- domestic cups 2022/2023 SA knockout cup

0/5 club continental cup 

0/1 club world championship 

0/5 continental competitions 

[The Regista]

New Job

Big club, big job, but this has some sentimental reasons for it.

Why? Some of my ex players are now with the Red Devils. Both Huarana and Williams were with me at Wolfsburg when we won the Bundesliga. Morales was also at Nacional during my tenure there.

Looking forward to this one!! 

[goonergez]

Bayer Leverkusen: 2043/44 Review

So two fourth places finishes had me feeling in a positive mood ahead of my third campaign at the helm of this club. Summer recruitment went well and we had a very strong but young squad to use. My hopes were to push on in the league and the domestic cup, as well as trying to give a better account of ourselves in the Champions League.

I am absolutely traumatised by our season as we slumped to a record low during my time here. The disappointing part is that we sat second right up until the penultimate weekend of the season. A dreadful run of form late on saw us throw away a gap to third before eventually slumping right down out of the champions league positions. Devastating and disappointing. We were never likely to chase down Dortmund, who actually didn’t suffer a league defeat until their 28th match, but it would’ve been nice to have been top of the rest.

Unfortunately it would also be Dortmund who ended our run in the champions league too. We dominated a group including Juventus, Club Brugge and Atletico Madrid before scraping past Manchester City in the first knockout round. We lost 0-2 away to PSV in the first leg of the quarter final before turning it around with a 3-0 home win after extra time. That set up a semi final with fellow Germans Dortmund who sent us packing in style. They comfortably beat us 1-3 at home before we travelled there and were beaten 1-4 in an even more comprehensive defeat.

In the Pokal we got through a couple of rounds before losing out to second tier side Union Berlin one round shy of the quarter finals.

A disappointing campaign that led me to hand in my resignation following the final game of the season. We were never in a position to win a trophy really but the collapse at the end left me absolutely devastated. We should’ve come second and in the end didn’t even manage to clinch a champions league spot. I couldn’t see myself breaking through Dortmund anytime soon and so the best solution really was to hand in my resignation.

Things with France continued to develop nicely as I looked to follow on from our Nations League victory last summer. I told you about the draw for the European Championship qualifiers, and we navigated them with ease. We won seven out of eight matches, only dropping points in the final match after a 0-0 draw with Russia. In fact we didn’t concede a single goal all qualifying campaign, setting us up nicely for the competition that is about to begin. We’re still ranked number one in the world, and I’m confident and excited in how we get on. Obviously anything other than winning the trophy will have to be considered a real disappointment. Hopefully I can add another honour to my collection and push my career on to the next level. I’ll return soon with a review of how we get on in the upcoming European Championships. 

Season	Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements

2020/21 Uthongathi FC		SA First Division	2nd		
2021/22 Uthongathi FC		SA First Division	1st (C)		SA First Division Winners
2022/23 SuperSport United	SA Premier		2nd		SA Knockout Cup Winners
2023/24 SuperSport United	SA Premier		3rd		
2024/25 SuperSport United	SA Premier		2nd		Confederations Cup Winners, SA Cup Winners
2025/26 SuperSport United	SA Premier		1st (C)		SA Premier League Winners, SA Cup Winners, CAF Super Cup Winners, Super-8 Cup Winners, 
2026/27 SuperSport United	SA Premier		3rd		SA Knockout Cup Winners, CAF Champions League Winners
2027	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	6th		
2028	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	2nd		Chinese FA Cup Winners
2029	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	2nd		Asian Champions League Winners, Chinese FA Cup Winners
2030	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	1st (C)		Chinese Super League Winners, Chinese Super Cup Winners
2031	DC United		MLS East Conference	6th		
2032/33 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	5th		Copa Argentinos Winners
2033/34 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	2nd		Copa Sudamericana Winners, Copa Argentinos Winners, Argentinian Super Cup Winners, Sudamericana Super Cup Winners
2034/35 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	2nd		Copa Libertadores Winners, Sudamericana Super Cup Winners
2035	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	5th		MLS Western Conference Winners
2036	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	1st (C)		MLS Cup Winners, Supporters Shield Winners, MLS Western Conference Winners, Leagues Cup Winners
2037	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	1st		MLS Western Conference Winners, Supporters Shield Winners, Campeones Cup Winners
2038/39	Mainz FC/ Schalke 04	Bundesliga		-
2039	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	5th		
2040	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	2st		Supporters Shield Winners
2041	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	-		CONCACAF Champions League Winners
2041/42	Bayer Leverkusen	Bundesliga		4th
2042/43	Bayer Leverkusen	Bundesliga		4th
2043/44 Bayer Leverkusen	Bundesliga		6th


Year		Nation			Honours
2042-		France			Nations League Winners

3/10 top domestic leagues (2025/26 SA Premier League, 2030 Chinese Super League Winners, 2037 MLS Cup Winners)
3/10 top domestic cups (2022/23 SA Knockout Cup, 2024/25 SA Cup Winners, 2028 Chinese FA Cup Winners, 2032/33 Copa Argentinos Winners)
4/5 club continental championships (2026/27 CAF Champions League Winners, 2029 Asian Champions League Winners, 2034/35 Copa Libertadores Winners, 2041 CONCACAF Champions League Winners)
0/1 club world championship

0/5 continental competitions
0/1 world tournaments

 

 

Edited April 27, 2021 by goonergez

[goonergez]

France: Euro 2044 Review

My managerial career may still see me as unemployed at club level, but my first major tournament as an international manager would see me lead my team into the European Championships. Ranked number one in the world my hopes were high for enjoying a successful campaign. Being ranked top of the world meant we would enter the competition as favourites, but there were plenty of nations filled with talented players and it wouldn’t be an easy task at all.

We entered in the group stage alongside Belgium, Sweden and Scotland. Progression should be easy to achieve, but winning the group was my aim. In the end we achieved it with ease. First up was Sweden and we started sublimely. 5-1 up at half time we ended up winning with a superb 6-2 score line to start our campaign in the best possible way. Next up was Belgium, and in an unsurprisingly tense affair we needed an 86th minute goal to complete a turnaround win of a 3-2 score line. With progression in the bag we made changes for the final game, but produced a solid enough performance to win 1-0 and win the group with maximum points. The perfect start to ease our major tournament nerves.

The first knockout round saw us drawn against Portugal, ranked 5th in the world. We twice threw away a lead before scoring in the last five minutes to get again clinch a 3-2 victory. A spot in the quarter finals would see us take on third in the world Germany in our biggest test so far. We were far from our best throughout, but managed to nab a goal early in the second half against the run of play. Despite being bombarded in the second half we clung on to win by the single goal and reach the semi finals. Awaiting us would be Poland, with the other semi final seeing England face Denmark. The semi saw us out in our best display of the tournament after a somewhat nervous start. With an hour gone the game was deadlocked at 1-1 before we put in a stunning half hour. We conceded another in stoppage time but had already raced into a 4-1 lead to book our spot in the final where we would face a resurgent England side.

The final was a game in which we never got going really. We fell behind early but did well to fight back and find a leveller. Unfortunately that was as good as it got though and we fell apart once we fell behind again. A 1-3 defeat certainly didn’t flatter England, and frustratingly France lose a second consecutive European championships final.

A gutting end to a decent tournament for us. It was heart breaking to lose out in the final, but we did well in getting that far. I’ve got no intentions of walking away yet, hoping to stick it out until the next World Cup in a couple of years. I’m on the hunt for a new club job now though, after the disappointing end to my spell with Leverkusen. I’m ready to go somewhere else now though and I’m actively looking around for my next position.

Season	Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements

2020/21 Uthongathi FC		SA First Division	2nd		
2021/22 Uthongathi FC		SA First Division	1st (C)		SA First Division Winners
2022/23 SuperSport United	SA Premier		2nd		SA Knockout Cup Winners
2023/24 SuperSport United	SA Premier		3rd		
2024/25 SuperSport United	SA Premier		2nd		Confederations Cup Winners, SA Cup Winners
2025/26 SuperSport United	SA Premier		1st (C)		SA Premier League Winners, SA Cup Winners, CAF Super Cup Winners, Super-8 Cup Winners, 
2026/27 SuperSport United	SA Premier		3rd		SA Knockout Cup Winners, CAF Champions League Winners
2027	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	6th		
2028	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	2nd		Chinese FA Cup Winners
2029	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	2nd		Asian Champions League Winners, Chinese FA Cup Winners
2030	Beijing Gouan		Chinese Super League	1st (C)		Chinese Super League Winners, Chinese Super Cup Winners
2031	DC United		MLS East Conference	6th		
2032/33 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	5th		Copa Argentinos Winners
2033/34 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	2nd		Copa Sudamericana Winners, Copa Argentinos Winners, Argentinian Super Cup Winners, Sudamericana Super Cup Winners
2034/35 River Plate		Argentinian Premier	2nd		Copa Libertadores Winners, Sudamericana Super Cup Winners
2035	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	5th		MLS Western Conference Winners
2036	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	1st (C)		MLS Cup Winners, Supporters Shield Winners, MLS Western Conference Winners, Leagues Cup Winners
2037	Seattle Sounders	MLS Western Conference	1st		MLS Western Conference Winners, Supporters Shield Winners, Campeones Cup Winners
2038/39	Mainz FC/ Schalke 04	Bundesliga		-
2039	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	5th		
2040	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	2st		Supporters Shield Winners
2041	LA Galaxy		MLS Western Conference	-		CONCACAF Champions League Winners
2041/42	Bayer Leverkusen	Bundesliga		4th
2042/43	Bayer Leverkusen	Bundesliga		4th
2043/44 Bayer Leverkusen	Bundesliga		6th


Year		Nation			Honours
2042-present	France			Nations League Winners

3/10 top domestic leagues (2025/26 SA Premier League, 2030 Chinese Super League Winners, 2037 MLS Cup Winners)
3/10 top domestic cups (2022/23 SA Knockout Cup, 2024/25 SA Cup Winners, 2028 Chinese FA Cup Winners, 2032/33 Copa Argentinos Winners)
4/5 club continental championships (2026/27 CAF Champions League Winners, 2029 Asian Champions League Winners, 2034/35 Copa Libertadores Winners, 2041 CONCACAF Champions League Winners)
0/1 club world championship

0/5 continental competitions
0/1 world tournaments