The Weird Man Who Conquered Europe - Journeyman Challenge

[OugaBagga]

On 10/05/2021 at 23:56, JarheadFM said:

Nice work @OugaBagga @LFC 

Thanks, I feel like the reason I'm not progressing as quickly as I would like is because I genrally only buy youngsters to develop and sell on for a profit in order to build up the facilities so I leave the club in a good place when I move on, I tend to treat every club as if I am going to stay there long term even if I am not

[OugaBagga]

Big choice here, I want to do the international part of the challenge the best chance of doing that would be with Croatia but that wouldn't really help me with the club side, tempted to take the Russia job so I learn Russian language to make it easier to get a job in Russia later down the line and then jump to a bigger international team later down the line. Don't really fancy managing Wales being English and all. EDIT: decided to take the Russia job for the reasons outlined above, p.s. I didn't apply for any of these they all just approached me at once

Edited May 12, 2021 by OugaBagga

[Joe Mako]

Edited May 15, 2021 by Joe Mako

[riv3th3ad]

We are winding down our second full season at Young Boys and won the Swiss Super League for the second year in a row. This year we wrapped up the league title so early I've been able to give a good run of games to a couple of young players I've been working to develop. We did fairly well in the CL group stage but got trounced by an EPL team in the first knockout round for the second year in a row. Last season by Liverpool and this season Chelsea. 

Our 4-2-3-1 tactic stopped being as effective this season. Even Basel started parking the bus against us with a lot of teams playing 2 DMs and we could no longer get any production from the AMC position. We ultimately played a 4-3-3 (3 CFs, flat 3 in midfield) most of the time but one of our main CFs turned 31 and really took a nosedive. Kind of strange because his attributes barely dropped at all but his offensive production declined dramatically. I decided I was going to sell him in the next off-season and, as fortune would have it, he came to me with the "achieved everything I can at this club and want a new challenge" so it looks like I should be able to sell him in the next window without causing too much grief in the team.

With four matches remaining in the season, the team has seen 19 different goal scorers with 6 players scoring 7 or more goals. 

A Bundesliga club offered me an interview but since the league is 4 star I turned it down and it looks like I may be set for another season with Young Boys. In some ways I'm ready to move on but I quite like the squad I've assembled here and would love to see us put together a decent run in the CL or Europa League before I jump to my next club. I've been good about doing longer term deals on players I want to keep so the squad is mostly set for next season. There are 2 players I may lose but there are already players at the club I would feel confident promoting to first choice in both of those positions. 

[JarheadFM]

I finished the Challenge yesterday. Took me 6 months, was a lot of fun but at points did test my patience.

Here is my trophy collection.

[uroszila]

@JarheadFM congrats, impressive career and a nice journey 

Did you maybe think to have a hall of fame for this challenge as some other challenges do? 

Later today I will also post an update on my career.

[uroszila]

Panathinaikos FC | Competitions | Team | Transfers | Season 2023/24 (4th Season)

Season Review:

Olympiakos was too strong for us in the previous season, therefore, I wanted to bring in some youngsters with good potential to strengthen our team and give a good fight to our big rival. The season outcome was better than we expected and we have won the Greek Super League comfortably already four rounds before the final match of the season. This was the first league title for Panathinaikos FC after the year 2010!  Our cup run this season wasn't good at all as we got eliminated already in the 6th round against Volos. In two matches we had 55 shots on goal but scoring only 2 of them was not enough to go to the next round. After winning two consecutive cups this elimination was quite frustrating for me.

We played also in the Europa League after we got eliminated by Benfica in the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League. We finished 1st in our group and with a win against Wolves we played in the quarter-final against Roma. They were a better team in both games so we didn't deserve to get anything more than to get eliminated.

Best performer and best scorer:

The best player this season was the young loanee from Manchester United, Jamie Walder. He was instrumental from the Mezzala position in the midfield and he deservedly won the Greek foreign player of the season award. The best goalscorer with 26 goals in all competitions was Kevin Cannavò. The Italian will join the team on a permanent basis so he will be a good addition to the team for the upcoming seasons.

     

Overview:

After winning the league I finished the 2nd Stage of this challenge as well. I will try to find a new club in one of the other 3/3.5 star leagues in case that some interesting position will be available.
Otherwise, I will stick with Panathinaikos also for the next season.

Edited May 22, 2021 by uroszila

[JarheadFM]

Thanks @uroszilano I hadn't thought of doing that, good idea.

Good work in your save, it took me 4 seasons to finish the first 2 stages as well. The Euros will probably make jobs available as well as managers will take international jobs and starts chains of managers changing jobs, I got 3rd job in August

[riv3th3ad]

Man, is this challenge challenging!

I'm enjoying it but also hitting periods of high frustration. This is the first non-Premier League save I've ever done so it's like an entirely different game in many ways. I've had to put a lot of focus on scouting, recruiting, and contracts in ways I have not had to deal with before. Some of you in this thread and some of the people I've watched on Youtube and Twitch are so good playing the transfer market. That is definitely my weakest area in FM, but I guess I am beginning to improve at it out of necessity.

I basically have Young Boys cruising to the Swiss Super League title every year now, but we cannot do anything in the Champions League. I think we are good enough to possibly challenge for the Europa League but we keep going 2nd in the CL group stage and getting knocked out in the first knockout round without really being competitive in the tie. Last season we drew Man Utd in the first knockout round and had the good fortune of playing the first leg at home. We got an early goal and won the first leg 2-0 which helped us advance but this season we were again eliminated in the first knockout round. This time by RB Leipzig. We drew 0-0 in the first leg and lost 1-0 in Germany. The board are happy and the CL money is nice, but it would be nice to do a deeper run in the Europa League than rather than get bounced early from the CL. 

It's probably time I should be moving to my third club but, as usual, I've grown attached to the league and several of the players I've been developing. We wrapped up the Super League title with 7 matches to go and still have the Swiss Cup semifinal to contest. I sold Sebastian Szymanski during the winter window for about 40% more than his listed value plus 1.5M in future fees and 25% of his next transfer fee. The board gave it an E despite the fact that we signed him on a free, had very productive seasons from him for 3 or 4 years, and he wanted to leave. I'd say a 19M sale + future fees is decent business. He was 27 or 28 and we weren't going to be able to afford his next contract. He's in China now on wages more than double my highest earner. I already signed his replacement and brought in another player who can cover either of my CM roles, AMC, or AML/R as needed--these players cost 18M combined. I imagine I am not too popular a figure in any corner of Belgrade at the moment as I also brought in a CB from Red Star for 7M earlier this season. It's nice for a change to be on the "good" side of release clauses much lower than they should be. 

The only enticing jobs that are available or look likely to be available and still fitting the 3-3.5 league rep for this stage of the challenge are PSV and Feyenoord in the Eredivisie and Dinamo in Croatia. The job at LASK may be opening up, though they missed Europe completely this season and were floundering in the Europa Conference League group stage for several seasons prior to that so I'm not sure about moving there. Currently, they are sitting 2nd in the Austrian Premier Division so I'm uncertain why their manager is considered at risk. I'm not sure I have it in me right now to take over a new club and assess the rosters and do the whole squad-building phase at the moment so I may continue on with YB and see if we can't do something in Europe with my new Serbians or I may take some time away from this save. 

On a side note, while Vaduz have had several managers since I departed they seem to have stabilized. Very happy to see them continue to do well. 

Lastly, I believe the 2027/28 season in this save is the first time I have ever had a Model Citizen in my youth intake. 

 

The journey to this point

[karanhsingh]

On 21/05/2021 at 17:06, JarheadFM said:

I finished the Challenge yesterday. Took me 6 months, was a lot of fun but at points did test my patience.

Here is my trophy collection.

Very well done! You even won an extra CL as well it seems like.

[djhagster]

@JarheadFMAfter much deliberation i gave this a go, and won the league and cup double with my first club as non of the higher rep clubs wanted to hire me. Losers!!

I gather this would count as completing stages 1 and 2?

[Rashidi]

On 05/06/2021 at 17:13, djhagster said:

@JarheadFMAfter much deliberation i gave this a go, and won the league and cup double with my first club as non of the higher rep clubs wanted to hire me. Losers!!

I gather this would count as completing stages 1 and 2?

I think @JarheadFMis the best person to answer this, but I don't think it counts. I think the only exception would be if the reputation of the club increases to match that of the top clubs. Again I am not sure cos he will need to confirm that.

[JarheadFM]

@djhagsteri will have to amend the description. Each Stage must be completed at a different club. 

 

Any extra trophies you win at each stage are just  bonus

[riv3th3ad]

Still cracking away at this. I think I've overstayed at Young Boys (2nd club) as we've now hit this funny changing of the guard stage where two thirds of my midfield are out and their replacements are here and doing well but unlikely to make CL success imminent. I'm also beginning to have difficulty with release clauses and wages for several of the best players. Their agent demanding wages above what the board will allow and whatnot. 

We did win the Europa League last season. Also went unbeaten in the league for the first time ever in FM. 35-1-0 with a 1-1 away draw to Basel. Lost the Super Cup to PSG this season. I thought I was going to have to abandon this as my save kept crashing on 6/20/2029 but after a few tries I was eventually able to save just before this date and then holiday through it and carry on. Nobody comes looking to hire me from the 3-3.5 rep leagues at this point. It's been all Bundesliga clubs and now Juventus so I guess I have to actively seek out my next move. Leaning toward Netherlands or Portugal due to wage structure. 

[uroszila]

On 21/05/2021 at 21:45, JarheadFM said:

Thanks @uroszilano I hadn't thought of doing that, good idea.

Good work in your save, it took me 4 seasons to finish the first 2 stages as well. The Euros will probably make jobs available as well as managers will take international jobs and starts chains of managers changing jobs, I got 3rd job in August

@JarheadFM you was right, after some time off from the FM21 I continued playing the game yesterday and I got a new job for the stage 3 challenge. I won't reveal the club yet, but I'm happy with the option I got as it suits my playing style perfectly. I will post the update for the season 5 at the end of the week.

[Joe Mako]

Welcome to my 4th season update.]

[riv3th3ad]

Finally moved on from Young Boys and am part of the way through stage 3 of the challenge. We had scraped and clawed our way to the Champions League semifinal in 2029-30, going down to Liverpool on penalties after both legs finished 2-1 in favor of the home side. 

Took the helm at PSV, who finished 2nd in the Eredivisie 2029-30. Still keeping primarily to 4-3-3, but working on featuring roles I had not really used at Vaduz or Young Boys. Have a striker with the absolute worst attitude and personality I've ever encountered in FM. Dreadfully inconsistent and can't handle even the slightest hint of more than warranted criticism. It's a shame as he has the attributes to be outstanding. 

We were predicted to finish 2nd in 2030-31, won the Eredivisie as well as the Dutch Cup. Came through 2 rounds of Champions League playoffs to be drawn in a CL group with Young Boys because obviously that was going to happen! Qualified for the knockout stage but got handled by Bayern, though we did at least win the 2nd leg at home. 

So far this weird journeyman has won the Swiss Challenge League once, Swiss Super League on multiple occasions, and the Eredivisie once. Won the Liechtensteiner Cup and Swiss Cup multiple times and the Dutch Cup once. Guided Young Boys to a Europa League win in 2028-29, beating Roma in the final. Funnily enough YB went through 3 Dutch sides, beating PSV in the 2nd Knockout Round, AZ in the quarterfinal, and Ajax in the semifinal. Champions League success has been elusive, reaching 1 quarterfinal and 1 semifinal to this point. 

Happy to say that, despite 2 brushes with relegation, Vaduz survived the playoffs both times and have remained in the Swiss Super League since earning promotion in 2019-20. 

[JarheadFM]

@riv3th3adSounds like a good save, CL is tough one, I landed a nice job at sporting and they had a nice squad and bit of money to spend so managed to win it there. Portugal the most likely league to win it in outside top 5 leagues

[riv3th3ad]

On 16/07/2021 at 17:48, JarheadFM said:

@riv3th3adSounds like a good save, CL is tough one, I landed a nice job at sporting and they had a nice squad and bit of money to spend so managed to win it there. Portugal the most likely league to win it in outside top 5 leagues

It was looking like Portugal might be the best spot for CL as the big clubs there seem to have the wage budget to make it perhaps easier. This journeyman has forced me to spend much more time than I normally do on scouting and recruiting--not my favorite or strongest area of the game. Getting better with it but still am not to the point where I have a usable second 11 and U23/18 squad filled with just-about-there players. 

[LATB]

Ok I am in for my first ever forum challenge, leagues loaded as follows

England

Germany

Italy

France

Spain

Netherlands

Portugal

Russia

Greece

Turkey

Now off to find a club to start with.....

[LATB]

Ok here goes with a bottom half finish of 13th predicted but secure finances I think this is a good place to start. Pretty sure this is my first time managing in Turkey too so that's another plus.

The squad is extremely bloated so I will be trimming that first and foremost, we have a transfer budget of £1.3m and a wage budget of 225k which is at 100% capacity

 

Edited July 21, 2021 by LATB

[duesouth]

In real life, I'm a Southampton fan and we recently signed Armando Broja on loan from Chelsea.  I knew all about him as I signed him on loan in this save, which I hadn't played for a while.  This, and watching Daljit having fun with the challenge, made me pick it up again (no idea why I went away from it, other than I have too many saves atm!).

Year Three

Picking up with Austria Vienna, I was neck-and-neck with RB Salzburg.  We were undefeated in February - but lost one of our three games in March - and such was RB Salzburg's strength, I thought that might be that as we now trailed them.  We did have them to play twice though - first at home.  I felt like we really needed to beat them, but we could only draw 1-1 in a game where both teams had good chances.  We had a packed May schedule, including a Cup final (which we won) and managed to win all our games.  RBS drew their 2nd to last game, which left us 2 points ahead with an away date with... RBS.  All we had to do is avoid defeat.  So, I went for a cautious 4-2-2-2, forced their 2 inverted wingers outside and tried to hit them on the break.  We managed to hold on for a 0-0, which gave us the title!

Stage 2 is therefore complete.  I'll have a look and see what's out there job wise, but I think I'll probably take a gamble and resign shortly, although I might sleep on it!

[duesouth]

Year 4 (Stage 3)

I elected to quit Austria Vienna and take my chances in the job market.  In hindsight, this was a mistake as there wasn't much around for 3 or 4 months.  So when the Panathinaikos job came up, I elected to apply as I needed a job more than I thought I could win a Champions League in Greece (at least in a fairly short period of time).  I got the job and any thought that it would be a quick 2 seasons and win the league both times plus a cup before moving on again - were shot down pretty quickly.  The club had a decent first XI, but not much in the way of depth - and that became a problem when the fixture list became heavier and injuries hit.  We got one or two results against the top 3 sides in the league, but generally we're a step below them - and so a summer of change will be needed.

Our Norwegian left back wasn't great - but he was sold to Dynamo Kiev who met his £5.75 million release clause - which gave us some cash (there was very little in the bank).  To replace him we signed an 18 year-old Serbian lad who is already better.  Our keeper also went - to RB Salzburg - again, I wasn't convinced by him, so took the money.  I figure we need 2 central defenders (lack of pace and jumping reach with both default starters), right back and BWM to help our middle block.

On the bright side we have 4 young lads coming through the youth ranks who all look good - a striker who scored 14 goals (played only when injury to the usual starter hit), a winger (6 goals in 7 games). a central midfielder and a winger/striker.  Our first youth intake was below average though.

We were able to finish 4th - with a massive gap between us and 5th place - but we were well off the top spot.  We got knocked out of the cup in the 6th round - and did OK in the Conference League, getting to the 2nd knockout round and losing partly because we had an injury crisis and a lot of fixtures.  Financially we had just over £400k balance wise when I started - but now there's £9.8 million in the bank, so much healthier.

Somehow though I have really clicked with the club and am enjoying it big time.  The board want me to play possession football, so I'm using a different system to the ones I used earlier in the save (and in other FM21 saves) - going with a 4-2-3-1, which has taken a little while to perfect, but is now producing good results (as ever an assist to Daljit as I watched a few of his videos!).  The transfer market will be key in the off-season as I try to push us forward.

Season	Stage	Club				Country		League Pos	Domestic Cup	Europe
2020/21	1		SKN St. Polten		Austria		8th			2nd Round		N/A
2021/22	1		SKN St. Polten		Austria		7th			Won				N/A
2022/23	2		FK Austria Vienna	Austria		1st			Semi-Final		Conf League 3rd Qual Rnd
2023/24	3		Panathinaikos AO	Greece		4th			6th Round		Conf League 2nd Knockout Rnd

 

Edited September 3, 2021 by duesouth

[riv3th3ad]

Finally managed a CL victory in 2033-34 with PSV. An ugly win by way of penalties vs Barcelona. We made the CL final 2032-33 where we lost 2-1 to Manchester City. 

 

CL victory sees us complete both stages 3 and 4 and what's remaining is Club World Ch'ship, 2 league titles, domestic cup, and a second Champions League victory in rep 4 league. RB Leipzig and Bayern jobs are open but Bundesliga is 4.5* league so I'm not sure if this counts? Only Ligue 1 and Belgian Pro League are 4* at the moment. 

[duesouth]

Year 5 (Stage 3)

Recruitment was tough in the off-season.  We were able to bring in midfielder Nicolas Madsen for £1.4 million from FC Midtjylland - bringing much needed height (6'3", jumping reach of 16) as we shipped too many set piece goals last season.

Right back and central defender were harder - in the end, with the season looming large, we had to use the loan market - bringing in Filipe Cruz and Morato from SLB in Portugal - possibly our next nation.

We qualified for the Conference League group stage, but the priority was the league this season. Things started poorly with a 3-0 loss to AEK and although form then was excellent, we were playing catchup to AEK and also PAOK were above us.  We hit a bump in the road in November - losing the first leg of our Greek Cup 6th round tie, 2 Conference league group games and also to Panetolikos in the league.  December was better - drawing at home to AEK and almost beating Olympaikos - conceding a dodgy penalty in injury time for a 2-2 draw.

Our form stayed excellent in February and March.  After the league split into Championship and Relegation Groups - crunch time arrived.  We somehow held on for a 0-0 away to AEK in the first game after the split - but then broke through the glass ceiling rather with a 3-1 away win against Olympaikos.  April saw us win against AEK, PAOK and Olympaikos again to put us top.  Then in May, the nerves hit.  We lost away to Atromitos - but still needed 1 win to clinch the title.  We scored after 20 seconds at home to Asteras Tripolis - but they equalised from a set piece on a rare trip into our half.  However, AEK got stuffed 5-1 by Olympaikos - so the 1-1 was fine for us to win the title!

In the Cup, I was hoping for easy draws, but we drew PAOK in the Q-F, Olympaikos in the semi - and having beaten both, AEK in the final.  We went for it in the final - with AEK not in a good form and managed to win 3-2 for a double!

So, one more title win in Greece and it will be time to move on.  It won't be easy if we can't get our two loan signings to either come back next year or sign permanently.

 

Season	Stage	Club				Country		League Pos	Domestic Cup	Europe
2020/21	1		SKN St. Polten		Austria		8th			2nd Round		N/A
2021/22	1		SKN St. Polten		Austria		7th			Won				N/A
2022/23	2		FK Austria Vienna	Austria		1st			Semi-Final		Conf League 3rd Qual Rnd
2023/24	3		Panathinaikos AO	Greece		4th			6th Round		Conf League 2nd Knockout Rnd
2024/25	3		Panathinaikos AO	Greece		1st			Won				Conf League Group Stage (3rd)

 

[duesouth]

Year 6 (Stage 3)

Last season, we started the year losing 3-0 to AEK and had to play catch up.  This season, we had the same fixture to start the year, but we won 3-1 - and with a team boosted by huge wins against Molde and Malmo in Champions League qualifiers, we started the year like a house on fire and were top of the league after 3 games and stayed there all season.  We had a couple of dips, but were able to win our second Greek title.  We had an easier Cup draw this year, and beat AEK 2-1 AET in the final for another double.

In the Champions League, our group was PSV, Man City and Barcelona.  We won at home to PSV in the first game, but then had a problem as Man City away was sandwiched by PAOK and Olympiakos in the league.  So, I elected to rotate against Man City to keep the boys fresh for the big league games - which were two wins - but City stuffed us 7-1!  We lost to Barcelona, but then managed to beat PSV away - giving us a solid shot at third I thought.  However, Man City at home was a different game.  Our keeper was man of the match - and somehow we clung on to win 1-0.  We lost again to Barcelona, but City drew with PSV and somehow we were through to the knockout stages!  We drew Chelsea - and lost both games 2-0 - not really being in either, so that was that - but some nice cash for the club.

So, with 2 titles and 2 cups - that's stage 3 complete.  I can't see us winning the Champions League (the board accepted bids for 2 of our players but I complained and they changed their mind) as I suspect some of this group will want to move to a bigger club.  There's nothing around jobs wise right now, but I'll keep an eye on it - but will start the new season if nothing is around.

Season	Stage	Club	Country	League Pos	Domestic Cup	Europe
2020/21	1	SKN St. Polten	Austria	8th	2nd Round	N/A
2021/22	1	SKN St. Polten	Austria	7th	Won	N/A
2022/23	2	FK Austria Vienna	Austria	1st	Semi-Final	Conf League 3rd Qual Rnd
2023/24	3	Panathinaikos AO	Greece	4th	6th Round	Conf League 2nd Knockout Rnd
2024/25	3	Panathinaikos AO	Greece	1st	Won	Conf League Group Stage (3rd)
2025/26	3	Panathinaikos AO	Greece	1st	Won	Champ Lg 1st Knockout Round

[uroszila]

After some time off from the FM21, I'm back with this challenge. Due to the lack of time, I will probably not finish it until the release of the FM22.
But since I'm not planning to buy a new version this year, I guess I will have more than enough time to finish this challenge.
 

KRC Genk | Competitions | Team | Transfers | Season 2024/25 (5th Season)

 

Season Review:

After the end of the previous season with Panathinaikos, I decided it was time to leave Greece and change the league to proceed to the 3rd Stage of this challenge.

After the Euro 2024 was finished (btw, the winner was Spain), there was a chain of manager jobs change. Most of the interesting jobs were open in Portugal and Belgium. Soon after I have sent the applications to the clubs the KRC Genk came to me and offered me a 2-year contract. Without much hesitation, I took the job and I can say that it was a really good decision to come to Belgium. We have won the league 4 points above our fierce rival Club Brugge. To make it even better we have won the Belgian cup against them as well. Before my arrival, the club lifted also a trophy for the Belgian super cup, so this season was some of the best in the history of the KRC Genk.

We competed fairly well also in the Champions League, where we finished 2nd in the group D with Real Madrid, Lazio, and Benfica. We got eliminated in the 1st knockout round against very strong FC Porto.

Best performer and best scorer:

The best player this season was the Norwegian midfielder Kristian Thorstvedt. With 8 goals and 10 assists, he was a very important part of the double-winning team. The best team goalscorer was Ivorian Konan N'Dri. He scored 19 goals in all competitions and I hope that he can get even better in the upcoming seasons.

    

Overview:

After winning the double I'm one league title away from Stage 4 of the challenge. I think at this point will be hard to win the Champions League with KRC Genk, but you never know what the new season will bring.
For sure we will again go with a full attack for the league trophy...

 

Edited September 19, 2021 by uroszila

[uroszila]

KRC Genk | Competitions | Team | Transfers | Season 2025/26 (6th Season)

Season Review:

My second season in Belgium was even more successful than the first one. With winning the Belgian Supercup at the beginning of the season and later in the season also the Corky cup and league, I have won my first domestic treble in my career. From the start of the season, we played really good football and with losing only 2 league matches in the season I would be disappointed if we wouldn't win the league.

I had big dreams also for the European competitions but unfortunately, things were not going our way in this campaign. In the Champions League, we competed in the tough group with Man City, Inter, and Leverkusen. Man City was unbeatable in our group but in both of the matches with Inter we should win since we were the better opponent. The luck was not on our side and Inter has won both of the matches and therefore we finished in 3rd place in the group. In the Europa League, we first eliminated Slavia Prague and then fight bravely with Tottenham in the 2nd knock-out round. In the home match, we have won 3-1 but after a red card in 3rd minute in a way leg we have lost with 5-0 and consequently got eliminated.

Best scorer and best assist:

The best player and goalscorer in this season was Benjamin Nygren, while the player with the most assists was Xavi Simons. Both of them are an integral part of this team and I can only hope that they will stay at the club also for the seasons to come.

   

Overview:

With winning our second consecutive Jupiler Pro league we completed also Stage 3 of this challenge. I won't be searching for a new team since I feel that we can do something also in the continental competitions.
To win the Champions League will be hard, but I would say that with some quality transfers and youngsters from our academy we can certainly compete with other teams.

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by uroszila

[uroszila]

KRC Genk | Competitions | Team | Transfers | Season 2026/27 (7th Season)

Season Review:

A season to remember! A season full of trophies! After winning a domestic treble in the last season, my goal was to strengthen the team and be more competitive in the continental competitions. We brought in several good players that were out of favor in their previous teams and thus assembled the unbeatable team. We proved our power already at the start of the season by winning the Belgian Supercup against our biggest rival Club Brugge. The match ended with us winning by 4-3. That showed that we are strong and will be hard for other teams to beat us. Domestically we didn't have any troubles since we have won the league comfortably without any defeat. We won the Belgian cup as well, and that was the third domestic treble in the last three seasons for KRC Genk.

But this was not the only goal in our trophy hunting campaign. We started our continental season in the group stage of the Champions League. With 5 wins and 1 draw, we finished on top of the group H with Tottenham, Lazio, and Braga. In the first knockout round, we faced Atletico Madrid. We drew 2-2 in Spain while the result at home was 1-1. This meant that we go to the quarter-final where AC Milan was waiting on us. At home, we won 2-0 and the 1-1 draw in Milan brought us to the semi-final against Villareal. The first match in Belgium ended with our win 4-2 and we proved that we are the far better team on away match as well. We won the match 3-2 so we come all the way to the final. Surprisingly our opponent was Lazio. We have beaten them in both of our group matches so we were fairly confident that we can win the final. The match was played in our starting nation - Greece. After 90 minutes the result was 1-1 so we needed to play extra time. None of the teams created much chance so the winner had to be decided by the penalties. In the end, we had a bit more luck and we have won the Champions League without any defeat. Quadruple!

Best players:

Our best players this season were two new signings, Hannibal and Pontus Dahlberg. Hannibal came from Manchester United on a free transfer while the Pontus Dahlberg came in from Watford for only 350k €. Their previous teams have given up on them far too soon and we grabbed the chance with both hands. Hannibal was magnificent from his Mezzala position throughout the whole season, Dahlberg made sure we finished the season without a single defeat.

   

Overview:

The quadruple means that we finished not only stage 3 of this challenge but also a very hard task of winning the Champions League between stages 2 and 4. From now on we won't have this pressure anymore so I hope I can finish stage 4 fairly easily. But first I must find myself a new club. If there won't be any good clubs available I will stick with the KRC Genk for one more season.

Edited November 13, 2021 by uroszila

[riv3th3ad]

Well that seems appropriate for this journeyman challenge

[uroszila]

KRC Genk | Competitions | Team | Transfers | Season 2027/28 (8th Season)

Season Review:

This season was a mixed bag because our results were not so stable as in the last year. I decided that I won't bring any players for the first team since we already had a big squad. Therefore I bought only a few youngsters and get rid of the deadwood. This strategy was maybe not the best as there were periods when a lot of our usual starters weren't able to play due to injuries. This was the case especially at the beginning of the season. The bitter realization came in the first competitive match of the season when we have lost the Belgian Supercup against our fierce rival Club Brugge. After the draw in regular time and extra time, we have lost in the penalty shootout. Our results have continued to be very unstable and we needed to tinker with the tactic to gain more stability. In the end, we somehow managed to put ourselves together and win the league again in the penultimate match of the season. This was our fourth consecutive league championship trophy in Belgium. At the end of the season, we have unfortunately lost also the Belgian Cup against Antwerpen in the strange match where every shoot they have shot onto our goal ended in the backside of the net. With them scoring 3 and us scoring only 1 goal we needed to be satisfied with the runner-up position.

In continental competitions, our first match was the European Supercup against PSG. Although in the league our results were not stable at the beginning of the season, we have won the match comfortably with the result of 3-1. As the last year's Champions League winner we have started this season fairly well. In the group with Manchester City, Basel and Braga we finished in second place. We faced Bayern Munich in the first knockout round. At the home match, we have won 3-1 and the narrow loss of 1-0 on the away match saw us proceeding to the quarter-final where we faced Benfica. Again our first match ended with our 3-1 win, while on away match we somehow collapsed but we somehow managed to get to the penalty shootout. The penalty lottery again didn't go our way and we have lost 8-7. I must say that after the unbeatable last season I expected a lot also in this one, but it wasn't meant to be. I need to be satisfied with "only" two trophies in this season.

Best player and best scorer:

The best player this season was José Lima. The Portuguese was very consistent and have saved us a lot of times when others didn't deliver. The best scorer this season was Geoffrey Lejeune. Our home-grown striker has developed crazily and for sure he's the major contender to replace Lukaku as the future first striker in the Belgium national team.

   

Overview:

I decided that this was the last season in KRC Genk for me. I have won every trophy possible in Belgium and Europe with this team so I feel it's the right time to move on. The team is superb and I do not doubt that they will have a lot of success also in the future. I will try to search for a new team in the 3/3,5 star league to proceed to stage 4 of this challenge. Since I have won the Champions League in the previous season I may even pull some surprise move to some minor team. Who knows where the path will lead us…

[uroszila]

Rangers FC | Competitions | Team | Transfers | Season 2028/29 (9th Season)

Season Review:

After the 4 years with KRC Genk, I decided it was the right time to move on and find myself a new club. Resignation in Belgium at the end of the previous season saw me looking for the right club until the middle of August when Rangers came along. I took the job after the 2 straight losses in the first two matches with the team already accumulating 6 points gap between ourselves and Celtic. We quickly turned the tide and started winning. The quality of the team was not on the level of Celtic, therefore, we slipped the point here and there and in the mid of the season, we were still sitting 8 points behind our biggest rivals. I tinkered with the tactic in the second half of the season and found a more stable tactic after all. Celtic also started losing the points and quickly we were on par with them after the first phase of the season was finished. After the split into two halves, we needed to play 5 matches more. After the comfortable win with Hibernian, we traveled to Celtic and lost 2-1 after my WB got a red card already in the first half. Soon after this match, we played Hearts at home and somehow managed to lose in the last minute after the first shot onto our goal. Luckily Celtic also didn't win but we were still 3 points behind them. In the last two matches, we won both of them, while Celtic managed to win one and draw the second. In summary, this means that we finished in 2nd place, one point behind Celtic. Gutted!

We were also eliminated in the 5th round of the Scottish Cup by championship team St. Mirren. We completely dominated but couldn't find the way to the goal. On the other side they scored once and we were out of the competition. Second domestic disappointment. To heal our wounds slightly we managed to win at least the League cup with 3-1 win against Celtic. Nevertheless, this season is in my opinion the worst in this journey. With the Rangers club statue, we should bring in more trophies to the trophy cabinet.

We were playing in the group phase of the Champions League and finished 3rd in the group with Liverpool, Atletico Madrid and Lyon. This meant that we needed to proceed with the continental competitions in Europa League. In the 1st knockout phase, we faced Legia Warszawa and won both of the matches with a goal margin of 9-0. In the quarter-final, we played against Real Sociedad and lost both of the matches and thus got eliminated also from the second tier of European competition. Clearly, our team was not yet on the required level.

Best player and best assist:

None of the players stood out this season and therefore it's hard to point someone out. I would say that the best was Kiril Despodov. Despite he didn't play a single match in the second half of the season due to an injury he scored fascinating 23 goals in all competitions and won 8 Premiership MoM awards along the way. Unfortunately, neither longtime injury nor his age doesn't go in his favor as he started to decline fast. I will need to consider thoroughly what to do with him in the next season. The best assist was Stephen Banda. The Zambian made 15 assists to his teammates in this campaign. Fascinating, I bought him for the Panathinaikos in my first season in the club. Although he didn't play a single game for the club during my spell in Athenes he developed nicely since then. 

   

Overview:

This was a season full of disappointments and the one to forget soon. I'm not satisfied with the results and the fact that we won only one minor trophy this season. I will need to strengthen the team and bring in some quality if we want to improve. The board is for now not concerned but if the results will not get better they will soon begin to put doubt in my work. We need to react fast and put the club back on top of the Scottish throne.

Edited December 2, 2021 by uroszila

[uroszila]

Rangers FC | Competitions | Team | Transfers | Season 2029/30 (10th Season)

Season Review:

After losing the title by one point in the last season, we were determined to win the league in the new one. We were very strong from the start, and not even once were we in danger of losing first place throughout the season. We finished the season massive 20 points ahead of Aberdeen. To make the season even sweeter, our biggest rival Celtic ended in 3rd place with 31 points margin between us. Marvelous!

Unfortunately, we didn't bring our good form from the league to domestic cups. We ended both of them in the quarter-final. I'm especially disappointed with the elimination from the Scottish Cup against Celtic. From the 32nd minute, we were down by one man, but nevertheless, we were a better team. The ball didn't want to cross the goal line so we must be satisfied with one domestic trophy in this season.

Again we ended in 3rd place in the Champions League group with Bayern Munich, Sporting CP, and Dinamo Zagreb. In the 1st knockout round of the Europa League, we beat Fenerbahce with the result of 8-1 from two matches. Lille was waiting on us in the 2nd knockout round and again we eliminated them comfortably which saw us proceed to the quarter-final. We played Sassuolo and have won home and away match with a total result of 8-4. In the semi-final, our opponent was Benfica and we needed to play both matches without our best striker Musah. At home, we narrowly lost with the result 0-1, while in Portugal the match ended with 0-0. We were handicapped too much with the loss of Musah and we simply couldn't find the back of the net. This was the end of our European road for this season. Btw, Benfica has won the final against Atalanta with the result of 6-1.

Best player and best goalscorer:

The best player this season was Jamie Walder. Remember him? He played in my Panathinaikos 2023/24 team on loan from Manchester United but since then he didn't find the way to the first team. After some loan spells at different clubs across the English Premier League, we secured his services on a free transfer. And man did he deliver! He was the best player by far on my team and I'm really happy that I was able to acquire him. The best goalscorer was another free transfer from Sheffield United - Ibrahim Musah. He netted 24 goals in all competitions and I do hope that he can further develop and become even more prolific.

   

Overview:

The journey in Scottland isn't going according to my plans so far. We still need to win 2 league titles and 2 cups so there is still much to do. I feel there is not much needed in terms of squad build, but I will need to slightly revamp the tactic to get better results.

Edited December 19, 2021 by uroszila

[uroszila]

Rangers FC | Competitions | Team | Transfers | Season 2030/31 (11th Season)

Season Review:

Stage 4 of this challenge isn't going according to my plans and therefore, I was hoping, that this season we will make some progress. We did, although not so much as I would like to.

We have won the Scottish Premiership comfortably with 103 points to our tally which is a record for the Rangers team. Celtic finished 3rd with a massive point gap of 44 behind us. We have also won the Scottish League Cup. On the way to the final, we eliminated Livingston, Hibernian, and Aberdeen before we demolished Celtic in the final with the result of 3:0. Unfortunately, they did pay us back in the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup. We have lost the match 2:1, and I must admit I was very disappointed with this loss. In my 3 years at Rangers, we still didn't manage to win the Scottish Cup. With this saying, we will need to stay at least 2 more seasons in Scottland to finish stage 4 of this challenge.

In the Champions League, we were handed a tough group draw. Nevertheless, we finished on top of our group with PSG, Atlético Madrid, and Club Brugge all sitting behind us. In the first knockout round, Manchester United was waiting on us. With two straight losses against them, it was clear, that this was a bridge too far for us. 

Best player and best goalscorer:

The best player and the best scorer this season was Matteo Giannone. We secured his services last season for merely 450 k€. He developed superbly since then and thus brought the attention of several big clubs all across Europe. I would like to keep him although I think it will be hard. Another great signing before the season was Samuel Kershaw. He was on my radar since my reign at Genk and when I saw him transfer listed, I signed him without hesitation. He was superb in the LWB position with 13 assists and 9 goals across all competitions.

  

Overview:

This was my 3rd season in Scotland and I had yet to win a Scottish Cup. We have won the two League Cups and two premierships though. To complete stage 4 of this challenge, we need to win 1 more Premiership and 2 Scottish Cups. This means, that I must stay in Scotland for at last two more seasons. 

Edited January 22, 2022 by uroszila

[uroszila]

I have finally managed to finish this challenge after a long 17 seasons. I must give kudos to @JarheadFM for creating this exciting challenge. I must admit that I didn't expect that I will need so long to finish it but eventually I managed it. Shame that more people isn't attempting this challenge as it certainly is one of the best on this forum.

Unfortunately I didn't have the time lately to update my progress regulary after every season, therefore here is the summary of my career at the end of this challenge:

And at the end also my best-eleven with whom I worked in this journey (screenshots were taken in the last season). 

LW - Castelló (Napoli)
ST - Musah (Rangers)
RW - Jacobs (Napoli)

LCM - Walder (Panathinaikos/Rangers)
DM - Simons (Panetolikos/Genk/Rangers)
RCM - Hannibal (Genk)

LWB - Kershaw (Rangers)
CD - Thorup (Genk)
CD - Pušnik (Genk/Rangers)
RWB - Ceballos (Genk)

GK - Bernardini (Napoli)

Edited August 2, 2022 by uroszila

[JarheadFM]

Well done, looks great

[SixPointer]

Question. I have been playing this challenge this year. Slowly may I add. I won the Dutch cup with Sparta. Then moved to Ajax and won the league first season. Now I’m I oblige to move right away? Or can I stay to fight for the UCL as it states it can be won between stage 2-4. Is it my preference wether I go or not? There is only PSG that I could potentially get a job for stage 3. But I feel that could kill the challenge aspect. 
 

any advice greatly appreciated. 

[uroszila]

On 13/08/2022 at 18:42, SixPointer said:

Question. I have been playing this challenge this year. Slowly may I add. I won the Dutch cup with Sparta. Then moved to Ajax and won the league first season. Now I’m I oblige to move right away? Or can I stay to fight for the UCL as it states it can be won between stage 2-4. Is it my preference wether I go or not? There is only PSG that I could potentially get a job for stage 3. But I feel that could kill the challenge aspect. 
 

any advice greatly appreciated. 

I suppose you don't need to move right away. You can stay at Ajax and fight for the UCL. If you'll win it you will have much easier work in the stage 3 and 4.

Nevertheless I suggest you ask @JarheadFM what's his opinion on this.

[Junkhead]

Giving this a go on the FM24 Beta.  Not sure how far I will get as starting a lot higher up than I normally would, but fascinated with legendary Managers.  Will be using a version of Happel's 4-3-3.  May well do an update thread in the careers forum.