[FM18] The Nearly Men of Africa

[rodesire]

I wish I could be as thoughtful as @smp20 who came up with the idea of nearly men back in 2014, was it?

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I wish I could be as eloquent as @Manutd1 who has done this challenge in Europe over and over to great success. He has also done this very challenge, his write up can be found here

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But the nearly men are still there waiting for their salvation

Since the inception CAF Champions League in 1964, 26 clubs have lifted the trophy, yet 19 more reached the final only to fall at the last hurdle:

Amicale Sportive Dragons (1980. 1985)

Al-Hilal Omdurman (1987, 1992)

Shooting Stars (1984, 1996)

Heartland (1988, 2009) 

Stade Malien (1965)

Real Bamako (1966)

Étoile Filante du Togo (1968)

Simba FC (1972)

Ghazl Al-Mehalla (1974)

Enugu Rangers (1975)

Africa Sports (1986)

MC Oran (1989)

Nkana Red Devils (1990) - not in the scope of this save

SC Villa (1991)

Ashanti Gold (1997)

Dynamos FC (1998)

CS Sfaxien (2006)

Coton Sport (2008)

USM Alger (2015)

This save will be my attempt to bring the ultimate glory to as many of these clubs as possible.

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Africa Cup of Nations was first held in 1957 and 14 countries have won it since.  However, 6 more reached the final to suffer ultimate heartbreak:

Mali (1972)

Guinea (1976)

Uganda (1978)

Libya (1982)

Senegal (2002)

Burkina Faso (2013)

I will also be aiming to help these countries win their maiden Africa Cup of Nations.

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I will holiday till November 2020 when the winner of 2020 African Champions League is crowned and then will start looking for a job.

I shall not take a job with a side that has won a Champions League before and if nearly men offer me a job whilst unemployed I must take it.

I do not intend this to be a youth only save but I will try and take charge of the national teams that have not won the Africa Cup of Nations to lead them to continental and hopefully World Cup glory.

 

My setup is mostly @claassenamazing league files with attendances amended to reflect real life numbers.

The starting leagues in Africa are the top divisions from: Algeria, Cameroon, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Elsewhere, we have the top divisions from: England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, China and South Korea.

I've loaded all players from clubs playing in all continental competitions.

The tracker is also shamelessly stolen from the great Manutd1:

[rodesire]

World Cup 2018

A rather innocent start to the save as most teams had already qualified by the time FM18 was released.  The group stage threw a couple surprises already though.  The Germans failed to progress as Chile topped their group with France second.  Portugal was the victim of Spain and Egypt progressing. England also faded against Russia and Uruguay while Netherlands finished bottom of their group.

 

The knockout stage was just as spectacular as Ivory coast and Egypt both made quarter finals but the real stars were the hosts, who went all the way to win their maiden World Cup in Moscow defeating France in the final.

[rodesire]

Europe in review

It's been 3 Champions League campaigns in the simulated world and the usual suspects are winning it, two for Real Madrid with Manchester City snagging the latest edition.

 

The Euros were incredibly conventional too, the World Cup holders Russia fell in Round16 but few other surprises in there with Spain winning it on penalties against Germany.

[Marazola]

Nice, good luck. Any club you expect to give you the most trouble?

[rodesire]

46 minutes ago, Marazola said:

Nice, good luck. Any club you expect to give you the most trouble?

Etoile Filante, they relegated from top division recently in Togo, and Togo is one of the lowest rated countries atm.

[rodesire]

Africa in review 2017-2020

There's only been a single edition of Africa Cup of Nations.  Still it was a massive one for this save as Mali annihilated Cameroon to win their maiden title

In the Champions League there was glory for the big boys of the continent with ES Tunis, TP Mazembe and Sundowns lifting the cup. However, 2018 had a suprise finalist pairing with Club Africain prevailing over Onze Createurs who become yet another eligible side in this competition.

   

 

Thus, the updated tracker looks like this now:

 

[rodesire]

It's late 2020 and Jaroslav Starka, the Czech protagonist is on his way to manage a club.  Once a midfield prodigy in Iceland, now a coaching prodigy rising through the ranks as he nursed his torn knee ligaments.  Which club will he join on his way to make a mark on the continent?

It is the club that has suffered the longest, 56 years of pain and counting but what a great club it still is.

A hegemon in Mali with 56 domestic trophies as well as a minor international one, this is a perfect springboard for Jaroslav's career.

Financially it is a very sound club and there is potential to build a super club if the things turn out right.

The key players are all in their prime, so Jaroslav has to focus on youth and blooding the kids slowly to groom them for the forthcoming battles.

 

[ManUtd1]

Best of luck to you, man! I started this exact save on the blog about a month ago, beginning with... Etoile Filante! 

[rodesire]

 

On 11/03/2021 at 16:54, ManUtd1 said:

Best of luck to you, man! I started this exact save on the blog about a month ago, beginning with... Etoile Filante! 

Cheers, much appreciated! Etoile Filante look a proper fallen giant at least on FM18