Súper Dépor

[Tikka Mezzala]

 

Rebuilding A Galician Institution And A Legend's Career

I remember reading about Deportivo La Coruna's relegation to the third-tier of Spanish football last season and thinking to myself: "how on earth did this happen?" A club that began the new millennium with a title win and regular participation in European competition will now be competing in a regionalised league alongside the B-team of their Galician rivals Celta de Vigo. What a humiliating situation to be in for a former La Liga champion. 

While there is no doubt a lot of pain in the hearts of Deportivo supporters, the situation the club finds itself in is an intriguing one for players of Football Manager. Rebuilding a club that is sinking like a stone has always been one of the most attractive types of saves in the game; personally, I couldn't resist. 

I am excited to try and turn around the fortunes of Deportivo, but I do not have a great track record when it comes to these sorts of challenges. Recognising my own limitations as a manager, I have often erred on the side of convenience and taken over clubs with a reasonable starting situation. If this were real-life and I were a Deportivo supporter, I'd be protesting against the board for appointing someone with my CV. Fortunately, this isn't real life and I am not me. Yep, you heard me right: I will not be playing this save as myself, but rather, as club legend, Juan Carlos Valeron. 

The magical former Deportivo and Spain midfielder is currently in charge of the club's B-team, but I'll be using the in-game editor to change that. I'll edit the in-game Valeron out of existence (change his name, reputation, relationships etc) and replicate his profile for myself. I'll then set about reforming the club in an attempt to restore its place in Spanish football. 

I plan on having a look at the starting situation in terms of squad, finances etc in the next post. But I won't be going ahead with the save until a Spanish database has been released with all of the lower leagues added. I am looking to have more national depth, and the chance for my B-team to have a division to play in and opponents to play every week. In the original FM database, Deportivo are in the lowest tier of Spanish football, and so their B-team is not competing in any playable league. I want to have everything available to me in terms of the development teams, so I'll wait until that's possible. 

For now, here's a reminder of the grace with which Valeron played the sport: