Return of the Max

[Cardiovascular]

End of Pre-Season 2039

This was a big window for us as I decided, following our thumping from Lyon in the Champion's League, we really needed to sign some top players and push on a bit. So we did. Spent ~£150m but through player sales, we actually broke even almost, if not made a profit.

Transfers - Departures

Some huge outgoings for us. Club captain Jamie Wood was the first to leave, unhappy with losing his first team spot he returned to England and Manchester United. I had originally eyeballed him going anyway to free up a non-EU spot, but a few days before he gained his citizenship so there went my excuse.  We lost promising left back Cabello to Leipzig and first choice left back Pascual to City which was a huge blow, and completely my own fault for not spotting both of their contracts were expiring. 

Luque and Jairo were two youth academy graduates but I decided to cash in on their successful loan spells and sold them for substantial fees. Nice to be able to churn out talents like them and make a profit out of them.

The big sale came in the form of Yves de Smet - the Belgian superstar was unhappy for the entirety of the last season but kept his good form up which is a credit to his professionalism. He was the subject of bids for the entire season, but they were always around the £50m mark which was waaay short of our valuation. Eventually, Barca offered £61m and after negotiations, we got a very reasonable £92m for him. Sad he went to a fellow La Liga side but he probably earned that top move.

Tiago Sousa fell out of favour last year too, making a handful of appearances and never really impressing and we bit Real Sociedad's hand off for ~£11m for the 32 year old. We covered Alvaro Vicente earlier, he broke into the first team and had his head turned by Arsenal who met his release clause. Other than that, it was loans for some of our younger players for some development hopefully.

Transfers - Arrivals

So with two first choice centre backs leaving and a number of our squad players, it left us with a hefty budget and some work to do.

Mehmet Aydogdu was our first arrival on a free following his contract expiring at Hoffenheim. I think he's got really good potential and his ability to play along the back line could be very handy. He'll go out on loan for this season, but could find himself in the squad sooner rather than later when he returns.

With a non-EU spot opening up following Jamie Wood's departure & more depth required following Tiago Sousa (sold) and Thomas Bonnin (returned to parent club) leaving, Bruno Cesar arrived from Atletico Mineiro in Brazil for a incredibly reasonable fee of £12m rising to £19m. He's got the lot at just 21, good technicals, outstanding physicals and even a little bit of that Brazilian flair. Looking forward to seeing alot of him this season.

Steeven Balde-Lucaswas our first big money signing from St Etienne in France. With Pascual leaving for England, we needed a new left back and this guy just looks incredible. Not only is he a great left back, but when we switch to three at the back, he's perfectly capable of sitting in a DM position in front of that three. This makes him versatile and, pending injuries, able to start every game regardless of formation. He cost us a hefty £67m (possibly rising to £79m) but I absolutely think he will be worth it.

I liked the look of Simon van Zoest and I like the versatility of him too. He cost us just £9m from Barcelona which looks to be a bargain on paper considering he cost them £48m just three seasons ago. Model Citizen personality is always a bonus.

SvZ arrived at the end of July, and that was it for transfers until we scrambled about on deadline day for some more bodies after injuries left us a bit short.

Oumar Mane was first to arrive, he was a teammate of Balde-Lucas at St Etienne last season and he cost us £37m (though possibly as much as £48.5 with addons). Hefty, but he's a young, talented CB and I think he'll do well for us. Likely be first choice.

Thiago Mondino and Miguel Pascual had the left wing locked down last year, but with the latter leaving and the former injured, we needed cover urgently. Nikola Vidic joined us on loan from Hertha, and potentially could join us next year if he performs well as his contract with the German side is expiring in 12 months. We'll see, he looks like he'll be decent back up.

Francisco Jose is a bit of an anomaly in that he's a 6ft centre back who can be utilised on the left wing too... but aside from that, he's a solid centre back and he'll provide decent cover for our back line and midfield positions. And maybe, in some extreme cases, the left wing but hopefully not  He joins us from Leganes for £9.75m.

And that was us for the window!

Europe

Should be comfortably through, whether it's first or second remains to be seen.

 

 

 

[Cardiovascular]

End of October 2039

We started off very strongly with 12 goals scored and none conceded, including an impressive five goal haul from Sandro Veloso against Las Palmas. We started September with a thrashing of Valencia, but Zaragoza brought us back down to Earth in a disappointing performance from us. A good win against Oviedo when it seemed like our defence were determined to cost us (an own goal from Tolga Ersu and Lucas Antonio kicking the ball off their striker into the net). We've fallen off the pace since then though, only just beating Cartagena and Real Santander whilst drawing with Atletico, Real Sociedad and Valladolid and losing to Celta Vigo. The Vigo game saw us down to ten men after ten minutes so it was unsurprising, but still not good. We need to get back on track.

Third, just about.

[Cardiovascular]

European Update

We just about scraped by Feyenoord away from home but Zebventus proved too tricky for us in Italy and we lost 4-2. Basel were pretty easily swept aside and Feyenoord suffered a similar fate at our place to set up a final day showdown with Juve. Winner takes top spot. And we did it in a terrific game, we were 2-0 and 3-1 down at points to the Italians before Sandro Veloso came off the bench to score an incredible hattrick and send us through as group winners!

We'll be facing Lille in the first knockout round.

[Cardiovascular]

Spanish Super Cup

The semi-final of the competition saw us facing Real Madrid in our home stadium though, by the look of it, we were the designated away side. Anyway, we were pretty sensational against the side challenging for the title and took a lead through Daniel Opoku. Madrid equalised, but youngster Asier Intxausti - who has only been back for around a month following an ACL injury - gave us the lead again on the hour. Opoku scored again, and finally our wonderkid striker Raj Zakeer scored in stoppage time to make it four, meaning the 96th minute goal from Madrid was not relevant. Interestingly, that Madrid goal late on was the first time I've seen a referee disallow a goal before overturning it and giving the goal, a rarity I think.

The final would see us against Barcelona, who had easily dispatched of Levante 3-0 in their semi-final.

Pretty ugly game, we scored when Veloso had the freedom of the Bernabeu following a long throw from us (very route one, I know). We kept Barca at bay for most of the game and they never really had any clear cut chances, and a late corner from us saw a rebound fall perfectly for Lucas Antonio to fire home his first goal of the season into an empty net.

And with that, we have our first trophy in Spain!

[Cardiovascular]

End of January 2040

Solid results here, loss at home to Barca and away to Madrid are perhaps unsurprising and Bilbao are always a difficult side to face away from home. But we won the rest of the fixtures which is all we can ask for, with Sandro Veloso and Raj Zakeer both finding some good form up front. Some high scoring matches too which is always nice to see.

We won the Spanish Super Cup, as was already detailed in the previous post but I am more than happy to show it off again!

Progress in the Spanish Cup too! Strong results over lower league sides - we face cup holders Levante away from home next.

We are third, five points off the top. Helped by Madrid and Barca drawing with each other in the last match weekend of January!

Transfers

There were no bodies joining us, and only a few leaving on loan. Nothing major.

[Cardiovascular]

European Update

Great performance from us as we put in a good shift to score three goals in France. Conceded a silly goal deep into stoppage time which hopefully won't cost us, but this *should* be enough to get us over the line in the first knockout round.

[Cardiovascular]

European Update

Same result in the second leg. Great performance. Tough draw against PSG for us in the next round.

[Cardiovascular]

European Update

Half way through the tie and we have a lead to hold onto thanks to a good home win against the French side. 1-0, could have been more but we squandered a couple of chances. No away goal for them though and we're in a good position for the second leg.

[Cardiovascular]

European Update

Superb effort in the second leg, PSG equalised early on but we didn't let our heads drop and Marc, standing in for the injured Bruno Cesar, restored our lead and gave us a vital away goal. Then substitute Daniel Opoku scored twice and gave us a 3-2 win on the night and a 4-2 win on aggregate. Brilliant stuff.

For the third time in the knockout stages of this tournament, we face a French side and it's Lyon again. Revenge on the cards after they humbled us last year.

[Cardiovascular]

After a Real Madrid loss and our own victory over Barcelona, we find ourselves in a bit of a title race! Barca firmly in the driving seat, especially with us having to face Madrid.

 

[Cardiovascular]

We dominated Lyon but we couldn't take any of our chances. Hopefully we can do better in the second leg at home.

[Cardiovascular]

European Update

We came away with victory on the night but Lyon's away goal sees them through. We didn't create much tbh and a couple of late chances came from corners - we should've done better. Disappointing as we fall at the same hurdle as we did last season.

[Cardiovascular]

A huge, huge end to the season for us and some luck in other results sees us go top on gameweek 36 and hold onto it for our first title in 94 years!!! 

 

[Cardiovascular]

End of Season 2039/40

A stunning end to our season saw us drop points in just three games and only one loss to Atletico. This included two brilliant wins over Real Madrid in our title run in and away to Barcelona, all of which contributed to us beating the Catalans based on our goal difference I think since we were 1-1 in our head to head record. We had three 5-0 wins in a row,, another 5-0 victory, a 4-0 victory and a 6-0 victory to round up the league win. Superb stuff. Credit to 17 year old Christ Ngoyi who stepped up when we rested players for the Champion's League & proceeded to score a hat-trick to win us the game. What an update period!

The final league table is a joy to behold isn't it. 86 is the lowest league winning points total since 2023/24.

Key Players

Bruno Cesar had a brilliant debut season, returning 16 goals and 16 assists over the course of it. This was enough to win him Spanish League Player of the Year, well earned.

Sandro Veloso gave us his best return yet as he entered the prime years of his career. 31 goals is a fantastic number and 14 assists was second only to Bruno Cesar above. 21 goals was joint best in the league, but he did have a tendency to score bundles of goals and then go missing. If he was super consistent, he'd be unplayable.

Oumar Mané was our highest rated defender, but it could've been him or Lucas Antonio here. Both were solid, but Mané gets the nod for the fact it was his debut season and he took to the squad like a duck to water. Very pleased with him.

[Cardiovascular]

Around Europe

Lyon would go on from defeating us to beating Juventus in the final to take home their first Champions League trophy ever - another first time winner for the AI! And increases the difficulty for us in France when we get there.

The Europa League was guaranteed to come to Spain going into the final, and it would end up going to the capital as Atletico brushed Barca aside to win this competition for the first time since 2018.

United's second Conference League trophy as they beat Leipzig in the final.

PSG with an invincible season and their first title in four seasons. Lyon drop to third following three titles on the bounce.

Dortmund win their first title in 6 years by some margin, breaking up Bayern's run of four titles in a row.

Porto retain their Portuguese Premier League title ahead of Benfica and Sporting Lisbon. 

[Cardiovascular]

Career Overview

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season      Club        League             Position            Achievements/Other
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2020/21   Brentford    Championship          10th                      -
2021/22   Brentford    Championship          1st                   Champions
2022/23   Brentford    Premier League        10th                      -
2023/24   Brentford    Premier League        5th                       -
2024/25   Brentford    Premier League        4th                       -
2025/26   Brentford    Premier League        4th                       -
2026/27   Brentford    Premier League        3rd                       -
2027/28   Brentford    Premier League       13th                       -
2028/29   Brentford    Premier League        4th               Carabao Cup Winners
2029/30   Brentford    Premier League        2nd          FA Cup Winners, Champion's League Runners Up
2030/31   Brentford    Premier League        2nd          Community Shield & Champion's League Winners
2031/32   Brentford    Premier League         -             European Super Cup Winners
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2031/32     Lazio        Serie A             12th                      -
2032/33     Lazio        Serie A             2nd                       -
2033/34     Lazio        Serie A             1st                 Serie A winners
2034/35     Lazio        Serie A             1st        Serie A, Italian Super Cup & Champions League Winners
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2036/37    Sevilla       La Liga             3rd                       -
2037/38    Sevilla       La Liga             2nd                       -
2038/39    Sevilla       La Liga             3rd                       -
2039/40    Sevilla       La Liga             1st           La Liga, Spanish Super Cup winners

Trophy Cabinet

SkyBet Championship - 2021/22 (Brentford)
Carabao Cup - 2028/29 (Brentford)
FA Cup - 2029/30 (Brentford)
Community Shield - 2030/31 (Brentford)
Champions League x2 - 2030/31 (Brentford) 2034/35 (Lazio)
European Super Cup - 2031/32 (Brentford)

Serie A x2 - 2033/34, 2034/35 (Lazio)
Italian Super Cup - 2034/35 (Lazio)

Spanish Super Cup - 2039/40 (Sevilla)
La Liga - 2039/40 (Sevilla)

Max Bruz Champions League Wins - 2

2030/31 - Brentford (England)
2034/35 - Lazio (Italy)

AI Champions League Wins - 4.5

2022/23 - Manchester City (England)
2024/25 - Atletico Madrid (Spain)
2033/34 - Paris St Germain (France)
2036/37 - Rennes (France) (+0.5)
2038/39 - Tottenham Hotspur (England) (+0.5)
2039/40 - Lyon (France) (+0.5)

For the fourth time this decade, the AI have a first time winner. They pick up another half point, having completed France already in 2033/34.

[jackripper]

Veloso looks insane wow

[mitas]

I've just finished catching up with this thread and I've really enjoyed it. Keep up the good work!

[Cardiovascular]

On 27/09/2021 at 07:11, jackripper said:

Veloso looks insane wow

Yeah, he is very good. Faced him in Italy when we were at Lazio and he was a menace to play against - was delighted when Sevilla signed him! Even more delighted to manage him a few years later  

On 27/09/2021 at 22:40, mitas said:

I've just finished catching up with this thread and I've really enjoyed it. Keep up the good work!

Thank you - glad to have you on board!

[Cardiovascular]

End of Pre-Season 2040/41

Transfers Out

A couple of big departures as Zaur Kulikov found his place in the squad at risk following a late signing and left for pastures new in Portugal for a substantial fee. Marc was an attacking midfielder who never really made that spot his own, he was a backup for the most part of my time here and he left for Liverpool for a nice fee. We lost a young Venezuelan centre back for compensation and our fourth choice goalkeeper went to Barcelona to be their backup. Other than that, it was loans for our younger players.

Transfers In

A freebie signing from Turkey has some good potential. Some weak points, but even if he doesn't manage to overcome them, he can be sold for a profit I'm sure.

With Nikola Vidic's loan ending and only one senior left back, we moved to bring in Harry Jansen from AA Gent for £29.5m. A physical beast, Jansen brings cover for both left back and eventually left midfield once he's trained up. Really happy with his signing.

With a few days left of the window, our scouts came back raving about this 23 year old plying his trade at Red Star in his homeland. A fee of £4.9m was enough to bring him to us, and in turn spelled the end for Kulikov. 

Europe

A straightforward enough group for us. Would be disappointed with anything less than first.

[deltablue]

Yep, looks like a comfortable group.

[Cardiovascular]

End of October 2040

Started off strongly with a four-zip win over Gijon, but results have been a touch temperamental since then. Loss to Valencia, draws against Bilbao and Levante and some narrow victories over Zaragoza, Girona and Santander which should've been much more comfortable in truth. However, can't argue with wins really and to only drop points in three games leaves us in a good position so far.

Tight at the top early on! Madrid have had a rough start and are already seven points off the pace of Barcelona. 

[Cardiovascular]

European Update

Our form against Rennes was very poor and it saw us finish second and ultimately finished unseeded for the draw for the next round.

Disappointing, but Rennes were too strong for us at home to capitalise.

Not a bad draw, all things considered.

[Cardiovascular]

Domestic Update

Mid-January brought our participation in the Spanish Super Cup where we'd play Betis in one semi final, and the El Clasico derby was the other.

Betis didn't put up much of a fight for us as a Skorupan brace seen us through to face Real Madrid in the final.

And we got past them pretty easily too, though we were assisted by them going down to ten men in extra time from injury. Once that happened, we piled on the pressure and two late goals from Zakeer and Veloso saw us retain our Super Cup trophy!

[Cardiovascular]

End of January 2041

A tremendous update period for us. Started off very shaky though, dropping points at Leganes and Cartagena who are bottom half sides but defeating Vigo who were up in the top six at that time. Our away form was leaving alot to be desired. But coming into December and January, we kicked it up a notch and a comprehensive victory over Barcelona set us well on our way to winning every game over the course of the next two months. A smash and grab 1-0 win over Atletico at their stadium was a great moment too.

Defeated two second division sides to advance forwards into a tie with Real Madrid away from home.

We are six points clear of Barcelona in second place! Surprise package Levante are up in nosebleed territory in third, then 4th to 6th is a narrow race between Real, Atletico and Valencia.

Transfers

For the second season in a row, no major incomings or outgoings. Couple of youngsters left on loan but that was about it,

[Cardiovascular]

European Update

Dreadful performance from us as injuries cause us to be missing a few key players. We were without Bruno Cesar, Patxi Ruiz, Hamza Ljutic, Harry Jansen and Emiliano Cerfoglia. That's our first and second choice AMC out and our first, second and third choice right wingers out! 

With that said, no excuse for the defensive frailties we showed here. Really disappointing, and the tie in Germany is going to be a very difficult fixture.

[Cardiovascular]

European Update

It was a very tough tie and we were never really in the game despite Skorupan grabbing a brace to make it 4-3 on aggregate and leaving us needing just one goal to make it through. Tolga's stupid red card never helped, and in the end as we pushed for the winner, Dortmund scored again to put the sword to us. 

Luis Fabiano was man of the match despite the three goals, which tells you how easy Dortmund had it.

[Cardiovascular]

Things Are Heating Up Again

We're in prime position here.

[Cardiovascular]

Another One

Two in a row! 

[Cardiovascular]

End of Season 2040/41

Just one loss - only our second of the season and our first in about roughly 25 games - but a disappointing one given the season we had, we should have certainly finished undefeated rather than losing to a side who narrowly avoided relegation. Still, despite our league win, we had our troubles. Through April and May, we dropped more points than ever and struggled to score in some games. Sandro Veloso scored once in three months. We scored more than one goal in only a quarter of those games. These issued need to be ironed out or we will not win the Champions League.

Still struggling for progress in the Spanish Cup too, though Madrid away was always going to be difficult. We'd return four days later and defeated them two-zip in the league.

The final table. Real Madrid struggled all year but a late burst of good form saw them finish top three. Levante were outstanding too, and made the Champions League. Atletico Madrid were a disappointment.

Key Players

Oumar Mané once again our best player, and established himself as one of the best in the world too. He made the World Team of the Year too, capping off two excellent seasons for us.

Bruno Cesar is probably our best player alongside Mané at this point, in fact it's pretty clear. He had a slow start but he came into his own during the season and finished strongly. Injuries have cost him a couple of months though.

Vuk Rudic is a bit of a surprise for me on this list, he was a backup player a couple of years ago but since then he's made a starting spot his. His long throws are the main source of his assists, meaning he's gotten a good haul for a defensive player.

[Cardiovascular]

European Update

A thumping for Barcelona in the final as Spurs, under the management of Wolfgang Schneider, bring home their second Champions League trophy, their second in two years.

Leverkusen come close to making it the entire way to the Europa League final on penalty victories, but run out of luck in the semi final to eventual winners Liverpool.

And it's a clean sweep for English sides as Arsenal defeat Nice easily to win the Europa Conference League.

It's a first Ligue 1 title for Rennes who finally win the big one domestically after winning the Champions League a few years ago. Good season for Lens who edge out Marseille to a Europa League spot.

Another title for Bayern as they take back their Bundesliga trophy from Dortmund. 

Benfica win after Porto won two in a row but the surprise is Famalicao pushing Sporting down to fourth. The first time since 2028/29 the top three monopoly has been broken in Portugal.

 

[Cardiovascular]

Career Overview

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season      Club        League             Position            Achievements/Other
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2020/21   Brentford    Championship          10th                      -
2021/22   Brentford    Championship          1st                   Champions
2022/23   Brentford    Premier League        10th                      -
2023/24   Brentford    Premier League        5th                       -
2024/25   Brentford    Premier League        4th                       -
2025/26   Brentford    Premier League        4th                       -
2026/27   Brentford    Premier League        3rd                       -
2027/28   Brentford    Premier League       13th                       -
2028/29   Brentford    Premier League        4th               Carabao Cup Winners
2029/30   Brentford    Premier League        2nd          FA Cup Winners, Champion's League Runners Up
2030/31   Brentford    Premier League        2nd          Community Shield & Champion's League Winners
2031/32   Brentford    Premier League         -             European Super Cup Winners
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2031/32     Lazio        Serie A             12th                      -
2032/33     Lazio        Serie A             2nd                       -
2033/34     Lazio        Serie A             1st                 Serie A winners
2034/35     Lazio        Serie A             1st        Serie A, Italian Super Cup & Champions League Winners
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2036/37    Sevilla       La Liga             3rd                       -
2037/38    Sevilla       La Liga             2nd                       -
2038/39    Sevilla       La Liga             3rd                       -
2039/40    Sevilla       La Liga             1st           La Liga, Spanish Super Cup winners
2040/41    Sevilla       La Liga             1st           La Liga, Spanish Super Cup winners

Trophy Cabinet

SkyBet Championship - 2021/22 (Brentford)
Carabao Cup - 2028/29 (Brentford)
FA Cup - 2029/30 (Brentford)
Community Shield - 2030/31 (Brentford)
Champions League x2 - 2030/31 (Brentford) 2034/35 (Lazio)
European Super Cup - 2031/32 (Brentford)

Serie A x2 - 2033/34, 2034/35 (Lazio)
Italian Super Cup - 2034/35 (Lazio)

Spanish Super Cup - 2039/40, 2040/41 (Sevilla)
La Liga - 2039/40, 2040/41 (Sevilla)

Max Bruz Champions League Wins - 2

2030/31 - Brentford (England)
2034/35 - Lazio (Italy)

AI Champions League Wins - 4.5

2022/23 - Manchester City (England)
2024/25 - Atletico Madrid (Spain)
2033/34 - Paris St Germain (France)
2036/37 - Rennes (France) (+0.5)
2038/39 - Tottenham Hotspur (England) (+0.5)
2039/40 - Lyon (France) (+0.5)

 

[Cardiovascular]

Club World Championship

Really tough draw for us actually when you compare it to some of the others.  Should be managable though.

 

[Cardiovascular]

Club World Championship

A drab first half saw a rocket lit under the players at half time and they responded brilliantly to thump River in the second forty-five. 

[Cardiovascular]

Club World Championship

Easily got by América to top our group. A tremendous performance from both our frontmen to send us through.

Tough draw in the quarters but it's to be expected at this stage I suppose.

[Cardiovascular]

We lost. Don't know if it's a problem with the game but our players weren't training before it and it was two days after the America game. We never stood a chance.

[Cardiovascular]

Double Update - Pre-Season 2040/41

Transfers Out

Just a whole load of players leaving on loan for us during the summer window. Thiago Mondino left on a free too for Juventus.

Transfers In

Antonini was our major summer signing as the Italian wonderkid join us for a fee rising to a whopping £74m - looks like he'll be worth every single penny though. Midfielder, but may be utilised as a ball playing defender with Lucas Antonio hitting his mid-30s now.

Ian Holmes was a loan signing from the Premier League after Ljutic broke his leg during pre-season. Not hugely impressed with him, but we needed options on the right.

European Draw

Woof. Two big boys in Arsenal and Dortmund makes it a tough group.

Second Update - October 2041

We've definitely struggled I think, opened with two draws before dismantling Getafe, but our results haven't been great despite being green. Also, our strikers have really been struggling to score which isn't helped. Wish we could start thrashing teams rather than narrow victories and set piece wins (see Leganés win - our CB with a hat-trick!)

Though the table suggests I am being extremely picky as we are in the top two  maybe I should wind my neck in.

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by Cardiovascular

[Cardiovascular]

European Update

I have no words, this was a disgrace.

We made the Europa League but we deserve to be out.

We drew Lens in the Europa League knockouts.