[FM21/22] La Liga - the home of Spanish football

[oze07]

On 20/03/2022 at 13:22, Sysiphus said:

Betis have quite a good squad but Sevilla's is definitely better. Think you can squeeze a lot of money out of Newcastle for Diego Carlos as well.

ive gone for sevilla, but then valencia popped into my head! but i kmow they are in a terrible financial mess. i dont hink im good enough to get them through all that.

[Sysiphus]

1 hour ago, oze07 said:

ive gone for sevilla, but then valencia popped into my head! but i kmow they are in a terrible financial mess. i dont hink im good enough to get them through all that.

Both are good choices mate—keep us updated!

[Jogo Bonito]

On 21/03/2022 at 18:18, oze07 said:

ive gone for sevilla, but then valencia popped into my head! but i kmow they are in a terrible financial mess. i dont hink im good enough to get them through all that.

I'm planning to launch my game with Valencia that I created months ago and never had a chance to start! Sevilla are definitely a better squad and financially advanced, but I'll see what I can do with Valencia - not worried if I achieve anything or not, just never managed them before despite an age-old fondness for the club.

Have a good time with Sevilla, and I will try to check on people's updates in here and add some contributions (my main thread will be on FMCU pages if it gets going).

[oze07]

On 22/03/2022 at 17:58, Jogo Bonito said:

I'm planning to launch my game with Valencia that I created months ago and never had a chance to start! Sevilla are definitely a better squad and financially advanced, but I'll see what I can do with Valencia - not worried if I achieve anything or not, just never managed them before despite an age-old fondness for the club.

Have a good time with Sevilla, and I will try to check on people's updates in here and add some contributions (my main thread will be on FMCU pages if it gets going).

uuummm, ive decided against sevilla now. gone with villarreal (again). reason being, they have a spanish wonderkid and they could field an first eleven of spanish players. and i saw omega luke's DOF save using villarreal, and it re inspired me. though he has a tactic using 3 shadow strikers, which my small brain cannot comprehend!  but all road lead to villarreal at the moment.....

[Jogo Bonito]

21 hours ago, oze07 said:

uuummm, ive decided against sevilla now. gone with villarreal (again). reason being, they have a spanish wonderkid and they could field an first eleven of spanish players. and i saw omega luke's DOF save using villarreal, and it re inspired me. though he has a tactic using 3 shadow strikers, which my small brain cannot comprehend!  but all road lead to villarreal at the moment.....

Another great choice of club. Enjoy your journey with The Yellow Submarine 

[oze07]

On 24/03/2022 at 18:23, Jogo Bonito said:

Another great choice of club. Enjoy your journey with The Yellow Submarine 

im just unsure of what formation.  i know they kinda play 442, but im not clever enough to make my own 442 to suit the club. i m rubbish with tactics.

[The Art of Drowning]

Really enjoying my save with Deportivo at the moment, quite quickly sold a lot of their older high earners as I discovered they have a bunch of absolute gems in their B team and youth teams.

Noel Lopez

He's the pick of the bunch, kicked up a fuss because I rejected a bid from Man Utd, he will be going nowhere!  Stats are still improving and he has been great as a striker or inverted winger on the left.

Spoiler

 

Trilli

I think a lot of people will be aware of him, one of the bargain prospects in the game and he's been a very dependable overlapping right back for me.

Spoiler

Mario Najera

The attacking midfielder pops up some lovely goals playing behind a loan striker, deservedly first choice in that position

Spoiler

Dani Barcia

Very much a backup but fills in at left back when the on loan Fernandez (Man Utd) isn't available

Spoiler

David Mella

Was first choice at 16 years of age, bit more competition for places now in season 2 but he is still a regular and will start on the left if Noel Lopez is up front

Spoiler

Hugo Novoa

Not strictly a youth team promotion, I resigned him from RB Leipzig initially on loan but he's a very promising product of the Deportivo youth team.

Spoiler

Peke

Another who was first choice in season 1, now more of a rotation option but he's versatile which means he gets a lot of game time either left, right or AMC.

Spoiler

Seydiba Mendes

Has been our first choice centre back since he was 16, he's been capped by Senegal at youth level but is now showing as spanish again, Watford and Leeds have been trying to sign him recently.

Spoiler

Brais Suarez

He's been pretty dependable for us, stats not amazing but he always performs consistently and remains our first choice keeper

Spoiler

 

[Jogo Bonito]

Hello everyone, how are you all getting on in Spain?

I've just finished my first season with Valencia. On the pitch it went better than expected by far, whilst off the pitch went worse than I had imagined.

The summer will be interesting as budgets are very tight and leave little hope that a squad can be assembled capable of competing in La Liga and also taking on the extra fixtures of a Champions League adventure. 

For anyone interested, here is a link to my thread in the other forum. Adios amigos.

 

[Alejandro1202]

Hello everyone

I just started a thread about a save i´m doing with CD Mirandés, it´ll be quite a challenge because half of our players are on loan to us or with expiring contract.

I´ll try to bring updates here, but if anyone is interested, here is my thread on the other forum.

[Sabine]

I'm currently in my first season with Athletic Club Bilbao and I'm thoroughly enjoying it but I don't really have that much experience with playing in La Liga..  
My main question is, how on earth do you manage to keep finances in check without selling players?  Do you have to depend on getting into Europe because the prize and TV money is absolutely pants!?

[dothestrand]

On 29/04/2022 at 19:52, Sabine said:

I'm currently in my first season with Athletic Club Bilbao and I'm thoroughly enjoying it but I don't really have that much experience with playing in La Liga..  
My main question is, how on earth do you manage to keep finances in check without selling players?  Do you have to depend on getting into Europe because the prize and TV money is absolutely pants!?

Join the Athletic Club thread!

First season is the toughest financially. But once you start getting regular European football, and that's definitely achievable, the financial situation massively improves. 

[Mackem742]

Havent posted on here for a while. I went through a bit of a spell where I couldnt decide on a save and got bored fairly quickly.

So I just began a save with Real Betis and its the furthest Ive got into a save so far, currently in March in my 3rd season and its going great.

Season 1 - Finished 2nd behind Real Madrid, I was battling all season with them before a late blip in form saw them win the title

Season 2 - Actually won the league ahead of Madrid and Barca. Still not sure how. Stumbled out of the Champions League in the first knockout round to Man City, 1-5 on aggregate, understandable.

Season 3 - Currently in March 2024 and in 2nd spot, 3 points behind Madrid. Knocked out of the group stages in the Champions League this time, I had a group with Inter, Sporting Lisbon and Cluj and I finished 3rd. Ive drawn Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League so Id like to think Ill progress.

I havent had much success in the cups either but I am through to the Spanish Cup Final in season 3 where ill face Madrid.

Ive built up quite a good first 11 but I still have to develop a deep enough squad to handle the league and Europe.

Current side

GK - Onana

DL - Miranda

DC - Zagadou

DC - Kamara

DR - Mingueza

DM - Zaracho

CM - Guimaraes

CM - Canales

AMR - Fekir

AML - Hlozek

ST - Sesko

Other players in the squad include Schelderjup and Santi Mina as well as a few others who I cant remember right now. I definetly need to bolster the defence as if any of the current defensive options get injured then Im very short on cover. Mingueza can play DC but im short at right back. Big transfer window coming up at the end of the current season as I feel im almost there with a decent squad. 

Youth intakes have been very good too and all prospects are out on loan and performing well. Youth preview for the current season is also predicted to be excellent.

Finance wise Im classed as rich but each summer so far Ive been given barely £7 million to spend. This summer I may have to let go 1 or 2 high value players, Fekir is now 30 and still worth £70 million but he has been amazing for me and he is a team leader. Santi Mina is one who I may let go, bought him from Celta Vigo for £16 million and is now worth over 50. Canales is another team leader but at 32 he is starting to decline, maybe time to let him go while he still has worth.

[wwffan2]

after winning the premier league and europa league with norwich, took over altetico madrid job half way through season with them in sixth place, ended up finishing 2nd twenty points behind real madrid.

now on my 2nd season with them and won the league and cup and really happy with my team and performances. especially the emergence of wonderkid axel asprea who has been a revalation.

hoping to win champions league next season and continue to increase gap between myself and real madrid.

[jlawlor91]

Started a Barca save to try overcome the financial difficulties. Despite the fact its February and we are top of the league and in the Champions League knockouts, there are so many issues:

- Busquets wants to join PSG

- de Jong wants to join Man City

- Lenglet wants to join Inter

- Dest wants to join Bayern

All 4 players are starting most games and its unrealistic midway through the season. If we were mid-table, out of the CL and a club with little reputation I’d understand it, but these seem to be ignored.

 

[KlaaZ]

Anyone still managing in Spain? Is this any fun, with the salary cap as it is? I'm tempted to start a save with either Gijon or Sevilla but I'm not too sure about that specific restriction.

[KlaaZ]

Decided to give it a chance with Almeria. Off to a good start, with Sadiq scoring a hattrick in his first official game, in only 13 minutes too! I hope I can hang on to him, as he's wanted by Lyon, Ajax and a few other clubs, but as I agreed on a 12.5M transfer price and nobody has gotten even close to that, I'm hoping to keep him at the club.

[KlaaZ]

Halfway through the first season and it's looking very, very good. Using an adaptation of my tactic of OHL and we're 15 points clear of Eibar. Overachieving on both ends with more goals scored than our xG and (far) less goals conceded. I feel like this is a squad that is too good for the Segunda and should probably survive easily without too many additions when we go up to the Primera. Even losing Sadiq, first through injury in December and then the Africa Cup, didn't set us back. 

It's also very comfortable not to have to worry about money. It's not like we're leaking it, but the owner so far pumped about 50M into our coffers which we used to expand both training and youth facilities. Fun fact, there's rumors of a takeover with another tycoon lining up, so we'll see how that goes!

[KlaaZ]

Became champions with eight games to go, and then we just completely lost the plot. Only won one in five, drawing two (after a 2-0 comfortable lead) and losing twice. Think I'll take back what I said about this squad being ready for the Primera. Keep getting caught behind my defense and switching to a low block does zilch to solve it. I really love playing 4231 but once I get some decent results and my rep improves, it always seems to fall apart.

Also went out of the first round of the cup on penalties against some lowkey team.

[krisdonna]

Anyone had a save with Atletico? Looks like a fun team to take over despite they have no funds at the start.

[KlaaZ]

11 hours ago, KlaaZ said:

Became champions with eight games to go, and then we just completely lost the plot. Only won one in five, drawing two (after a 2-0 comfortable lead) and losing twice. Think I'll take back what I said about this squad being ready for the Primera. Keep getting caught behind my defense and switching to a low block does zilch to solve it. I really love playing 4231 but once I get some decent results and my rep improves, it always seems to fall apart.

Also went out of the first round of the cup on penalties against some lowkey team.

The (regular) season is over, we ended on 104 points! Bit worried about shipping three times as many goals in the second half of the season as we did in the first half, but 27 against in 42 games is by no means a bad thing.

Young Chumi was our standout player, averaging 7.51 in 37 games. His veteran compatriot Carriço came in second, with Sadiq in third. When it comes to stats, the goals are well divided. Sadiq scored 18, his backup Sousa banged in twelve goals. Our main wingers Lazo and Ramzani both hit 13 roses. 

Mixed news from the board, who want a top half finish next season. I think they put the bar too high too fast, but it will also depend on the money they make available for transfers. Right now, my minimum guarantueed budget is a whopping 2.98M.

[KlaaZ]

This is going to be rough. The 2.98 is apparently NEXT season's budget, so my current one was even lower. Played around a bit with the excess wage budget (as the salary cap was lower) and brought in the following players.

• Srdan Babic: 26, central defender, Red Star, 1.1M, which was his loan clause. Played 21 games last season and performed very well as a backup. 
• Kévin N'Doram: 26, midfielder, Metz, 975k. Hardworking midfielder, something I lacked last year. 
• Diego Altube: 22, goalkeeper, Real Madrid, loan. Is in his last year of contract so I'm considering signing him permanently if he does well. 
• Colin Dagba: 23, right back, PSG, 2.6M. Needed a rotation option for Nieto and this guy fits the bill perfectly. Possibly room to grow as well.
• Alex Fernandez: 29, (attacking) midfielder, free signing. Was released by Cadiz so had no doubts about picking him up. Will provide competition for Robertone.

I feel confident that I can avoid relegation, possibly even finish somewhere in the top section of the second half of the table. But a top half finish is... A bit overkill I believe. Curious to see if I'll get fired, would be a first in many years.

EDIT: Won my opening game, and in hindsight I'm all the happier for it because this is what my schedule looks like next.

Edited September 5, 2022 by KlaaZ

[dothestrand]

On 04/09/2022 at 23:56, krisdonna said:

Anyone had a save with Atletico? Looks like a fun team to take over despite they have no funds at the start.

In my Athletic Club saves they remain competitive for a couple of seasons but drop out of the top four very quickly. 

[evilpimp972]

Le 30/08/2022 à 22:12, KlaaZ a dit :

Anyone still managing in Spain? Is this any fun, with the salary cap as it is? I'm tempted to start a save with either Gijon or Sevilla but I'm not too sure about that specific restriction.

Most fun saves were Valencia / Real Sociedad / Bilbao IMO.

Celta vigo also has some good prospects for a youth only save.

Real Sociedad next year is about to be crazy (Kubo / Ali Cho...)

[Raymubdo21]

Started a Deportive La Coruna save and done two seasons already, got back to back promotions and made it back to the big league! Gonna be tough with a small budget and competitive league, wish I had players like Diego Tristan, Valeron and Naybet at the club still :P

[KlaaZ]

On 05/09/2022 at 16:12, KlaaZ said:

This is going to be rough. The 2.98 is apparently NEXT season's budget, so my current one was even lower. Played around a bit with the excess wage budget (as the salary cap was lower) and brought in the following players.

• Srdan Babic: 26, central defender, Red Star, 1.1M, which was his loan clause. Played 21 games last season and performed very well as a backup. 
• Kévin N'Doram: 26, midfielder, Metz, 975k. Hardworking midfielder, something I lacked last year. 
• Diego Altube: 22, goalkeeper, Real Madrid, loan. Is in his last year of contract so I'm considering signing him permanently if he does well. 
• Colin Dagba: 23, right back, PSG, 2.6M. Needed a rotation option for Nieto and this guy fits the bill perfectly. Possibly room to grow as well.
• Alex Fernandez: 29, (attacking) midfielder, free signing. Was released by Cadiz so had no doubts about picking him up. Will provide competition for Robertone.

I feel confident that I can avoid relegation, possibly even finish somewhere in the top section of the second half of the table. But a top half finish is... A bit overkill I believe. Curious to see if I'll get fired, would be a first in many years.

EDIT: Won my opening game, and in hindsight I'm all the happier for it because this is what my schedule looks like next.

Managed to grab a point in Sociedad, lost against Sevilla and Real, 2-0 each game. Barça next, then hopefully back to picking up some more points.

[KlaaZ]

Well, grabbed a point in Barcelona but then lost 0-1 to Levante in a game that we always should have won. We're just impotent up front, two goals in the last four games.. This is a very frustrating game, and I don't think I'll make the end of the season at this rate.

[KlaaZ]

13 hours ago, KlaaZ said:

Well, grabbed a point in Barcelona but then lost 0-1 to Levante in a game that we always should have won. We're just impotent up front, two goals in the last four games.. This is a very frustrating game, and I don't think I'll make the end of the season at this rate.

Spoke too soon, we're still very on and off but doing well nontheless. Won against Gijon and Villareal, then lost undeservedly in Vigo to bounce back with an even more undeserved win in Bilbao. And finally, we went 0-2 up against Atletico but couldn't keep up in the second half and had to sign for a draw. 

The good news is that we've now played pretty much all the big teams apart from Valencia, and we already had the aways at Barca, Real, Atletico and Athletic.

[KlaaZ]

Well, this is going to be quite the season. Found myself on an amazing streak of nine game without a loss, eight of which we won. Even occupied second place for a day or two but then the inevitable fallback came. Currently in sixth place with three games to go, but despite the gap with Real Sociedad and Villareal, we have everything to play for. I've got Getafe away, Osasuna and Alaves (home). Villareal has Atletico away, Sevilla and Real at home. Sociedad has Levante (home), Real and Barça (away). So fourth place is still very much up for grabs.

Meanwhile, I signed wing back Luca Pellegrini from Juve for 5.25M, Martin Merquelanz from Sociedad for 325k and Carlos Fernandez, also from Sociedad, for 3.3M during the winter break. Had to let Centelles go as he was unhappy because I broke the promise of playing him as a CWB, Osasuna took him for 7M.

[KlaaZ]

One game to go, on schedule. Beat Getafe 0-5 and Osasuna 5-2 in style. Alaves are dead last and already relegated, should be a breeze. And with a lot of luck, I can even jump to third..

[KlaaZ]

Not bad for a first season with the big boys!

[john1]

@KlaaZWow, what an epic ending to the season!   Hopefully you will have a BIG budget for next season!

[KlaaZ]

2 hours ago, john1 said:

@KlaaZWow, what an epic ending to the season!   Hopefully you will have a BIG budget for next season!

Thanks! Better than this one at least, got a little over 30M to play with, and upped that with some excessive wage budget. Already finished my homework pretty much too. Big list of players incoming:

• Victor Chust: Central defender, on a free from Real.
• Jaume Domenech: Goalie, on a free from Valencia.
• Alvaro Fernandez: Goalie, 3.1M from Huesca (no idea why he was still with them in the Seguna, he's a top player).
• Lorenzo Lucca: Former favourite striker of mine at Parma, 15M, Pisa. 
• Mario Gila: Central defender who was very good for me in my OHL save, 475k from Real.
• Nicolo  Rovella: Central midfielder, 13.25M from Juve. No idea why they let him go as he usually becomes very, very good.
• Renan: Central defender/left back, 6M from Sao Paulo. 

Also had bids accepted for Hlozek and Andreas Schjelderup, but they went to Monaco and Chelsea instead. 

EDIT: After missing out on Hlozek and Schjelderup, I just managed to sign Roony Bardghji from from Kobenhavn. That's one insane kid at only 17.

Edited September 27, 2022 by KlaaZ

[john1]

Top notch signings you have made especially with Bardghji  

[KlaaZ]

1 hour ago, john1 said:

Top notch signings you have made especially with Bardghji  

Would be nice if they showed it though. Lost in Sociedad, drew at home against Valencia and just rage quit after conceding a 94th minute goal in Granada. Got a far better squad than last season, but we're playing like a pile of. The game against Granada as well, dominated the first half, should have been 2-0 up but didn't score and then got completely overrun in the second half for whatever reason.

[KlaaZ]

Another season done and dusted. Last year we overscored our xG by quite a bit, this year it was the other way around and we overperformed defensively (a lot) according to the xG stat, only conceding 27 goals for 47 xG against. We were in fourth after a wonky start, got taken over by Valencia and hung in fourth until they started falling apart near the end of the season. So another third place with 79 points, six more than last season. And more importantly, we won the Spanish Cup after a surprisingly even final against Real. 

Champions League was ok, had a very even group with Ajax, Sporting and Leipzig. A photo finish saw us finish first with ten points, equal with Leipzig and one point ahead of Ajax. We were then knocked out by Milan.

Sold Canobbio in the winter break because he was unhappy, used the money to bring in an excellent Antonio Blanco from Real. He's currently forming a great midfield duo with Rovella. Got another 34M transfer kitty now, and I have already arranged for a few young potential stars.

[Fox-7-]

After a long break from FM22 I went ahead with my Villarreal save.

 

The first season was extraordinary compared to initial expectations (except for the elimination in the Champions League groups), but in the end I am almost more disappointed than satisfied.

Why?

Because I almost emulated the famous "Bayer Neverkusen" from the 01/02 season. Indeed:

-I finished 2nd in La Liga at the end of a point-to-point battle with Real Madrid, wasting my advantage with an unexpected defeat against Alaves and a draw against Elche in the last two fixtures

-In the Europa League I reached the final after beating Betis and RB Leipzig, lost against Barcelona

-At least I managed to win the Copa del Rey against Real Sociedad

 

 

 

Excellent performances by Gerard Moreno, who scored 31 times, and Svanberg, 18 goals in all competitions.

Veerman was outstanding with his 14 assist throughout the season

 

 

[Fox-7-]

[Matt_1979]

Considering a few Spanish teams for FM23. 
 

La Liga: Almeria, Celta Vigo or Osasuna

La Liga 2: Malaga, Pas Palmas or Alaves… maybe Gijon…

Still undecided. 

[Fox-7-]

18 minuti fa, Matt_1979 ha scritto:

Considering a few Spanish teams for FM23. 
 

La Liga: Almeria, Celta Vigo or Osasuna

La Liga 2: Malaga, Pas Palmas or Alaves… maybe Gijon…

Still undecided. 

Osasuna could be a stimolating challenge

[Matt_1979]

5 minutes ago, Fox-7- said:

Osasuna could be a stimolating challenge

The only thing putting me off is that I like building a hard working team of b*stards and they already have one… so might take some of the fun out of it…

[dothestrand]

Anyone done an Atletico Madrid save? In the last few versions they stay competitive for a few seasons then drop down to midtable fodder. The AI must be hardcoded to mismanage them but surely from where they begin they should be title contenders regularly. Are they flat broke and does that come to bite them? Does anyone ever get João Felix playing well?

[Dereka]

On 10/10/2022 at 21:07, dothestrand said:

Anyone done an Atletico Madrid save? In the last few versions they stay competitive for a few seasons then drop down to midtable fodder. The AI must be hardcoded to mismanage them but surely from where they begin they should be title contenders regularly. Are they flat broke and does that come to bite them? Does anyone ever get João Felix playing well?

I played with Atleti in the FM22 Beta (as you can tell from my profile pic, I'm a fan )

Despite the club's reputation you will have little transfer budget to spend, not just in the first season but beyond. You do have an opportunity of winning both la Liga and Champions League as early as in your first season and you can attract big name signings, but your biggest challenges are managing the wage bill and replacing an aging core of the team. Do you keep players like Oblak, Koke and Saul , who are fan favorites and high in the hierarchy, or do you attempt to bring down the wage bill and sign some much needed squad depth and youth?

It's definitely an interesting challenge in terms of finances; in terms of tactics and of course in terms of fighting against Spain's big two.

Also, had mixed results with Joao Felix. I only played a bit more than one season but wasn't able to figure out his best role

[Fox-7-]

Second season in Villarreal has gone...we start from the transfer market as usual:

I have sold some major players like Danjuma, Estupinan, Dia and Moi Gomez for a good amount of money, let some old players like Albiolo and Capoue go for their last adventures, and get rid of some returning players from loans that weren't part of the plans likes Ontiveros and Quintillá.

Baena and Martin had a chance in first squad in the first half of the season, but they didn't perform well so in January they left again the team

 

For the incoming players I worked in advance with the money of the first season and I secured some excellent players with a relatively low cost:
Mancini, central defender from Roma
Oscar, attacking midfielder from Sevilla
Tsimikas, left back from Liverpool
Lucas Gonzalez, midfielder from Independiente
Julian Alvarez, forward from River Plate
In addition, other good players like Fer Nino and Cuenca have returned from loans to stay in the first squad. In January we brought Asensio to the Estadio de la Ceramica by paying a small fee to Real Madrid, as he didn't want to extend his contract  expiring in 2023, and so not letting him go to other clubs for free in June

 

The season, as is well known interrupted by the World Cup in Qatar, has gone in a great way and has seen us achieve fantastic goals:
-La Liga was another closed competition with Real and Barcelona, but this year we got our well-deserved revenge against the Blancos, as this time they were the ones who dropped points in the last few games allowing us to become La Liga champions for the first time in Villarreal's history!
-In the Champions League we won the group with Benfica, Marseille and Slovan Bratislava and we knocked out Inter and Man City on penalties before losing in the semifinals against Man Utd
-In Copa del Rey we were unable to reconfirm ourselves as Champions, as we lost the semifinals against Valencia
-In the Spanish Super Cup we beat Real Sociedad on penalties after a recovery from 2-0 down in the semifinal and then we lost to Real Madrid

Spoiler

 

Compared to last year I had to rotate the players more due to the anomalous schedule with matches every three days and, due to some injuries too, no one has made great numbers (except Oscar who got double digit both in Goals and Assists)

 

Now for the future I have to decide between two paths:

-Keep most of the current players and try to buy even stronger players to defend the title and try to win the Champions League within 2-3 seasons
-Revolutionize the team with the aim of having a squad only made of Spanish players within 1-2 years and keep it permanently like that