[FMT21] - The Italian Stallion

[ashton321]

 

The Time of Luca Bianci

I have created myself an Italian Manager by the name of Luca Bianci. He has nothing of note really and has never played football at a high level, all he has ever done is to dream of managing in Italy. Born in the north of the Country, he grew up as an avid fan Alto Adige. 

 

He has a very special aim for his career and its one that he will no doubt find very tough and a real challenge. That is to spread his managerial talents across all of Italy. He has set himself the following aims and rules for his career.

 

- Manage a team in every region of Italy for at least 365 days

- Win Silverware in every region

- Win European competitions with a team that has not won it previously

- Win Euros and World Cup with Italy

 

There are twenty separate regions in Italy. 

 

 

Luca will be starting off unemployed and will see where his journey takes him

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by ashton321

[ashton321]

 

It took a while but Luca Bianci found his first club in December. The club Società Sportiva Matelica Calcio 1921 are based in the Marche region of Italy, its a nice place to start as it is not the biggest region in Italy and if I do well here and win something it wont rule out one of the bigger teams in Serie A later on. The club are a very small one and have only just been promoted to Serie C in 2019/20 for the first time ever. They play in the B zone of Serie C  and in that league there is some bigger names such as Perugia, Modena, Cesena, Padova and Carpi all of who have played in Serie A in recent memory. 

 

I join the club with them in a little bit of a crisis, I found them in a huge relegation battle. We have some work to get out of the playout spots which will be the first aim, we are not too far ahead of the one certain drop spot as we are only two points ahead. This league is a little odd as 9 teams go into the playoffs which is massive and we are only 9 points away from squeezing into the play offs a decent run could get us into it. The first thing that will need to be addressed is the defence as we have conceded too many before I got here. This is not the Italian way. 

 

So I think the aim for us will be to get out of the play out spots if we can, in doing so I am hoping I can get the defence sorted to. I dont think there is much chance of play off run but who knows if we do well and once you are in it you are in with a chance. I will need to get to work quickly though. 

[ashton321]

 

Matelica Calcio - Season Review

 

League / Graph

 

It was tough for me as we lost the first game at the club, I felt that this was more as the players got used to my tactics more than anything else. I was right as we went on a 5 game unbeaten streak but the usual issue of the defence causing issues struck again, as in those five games we seven goals and could only win two of those. It was not good enough as this kept us very much in the troubled spots at the bottom of the table. We then proceeded to win only two of our next five games loosing the other three. Then something clicked for us, we had eight games left and we only lost one of them winning five along the way. We conceded six in eight games, this is massive for us as we finally became a little tougher at the back. It was maybe a case of too little too late as we finished 13th. This did keep us out of the playout spots which was good but we were also only five points from the playoffs so it is a case of what could have been had we played a little better and had a little more luck on our side. 

 

Finances / Transfers

 

None of the players brought in were my choice as they all came before my tenure began. I did have a chance to bring in some players in the window but I felt that I would give the guys here a real chance of claiming a spot here. Our finances are awful much like most of the teams in the league its fair to say. I cannot imagine us having a budget next year for buying players. 

 

Next Year

 

 I think this team will need a little bit of a reboot. I think we will be letting some players go and seeing what we can do in the market. The good thing about Italy is that loans can be used a lot as the rules around them are very loose to say the least. I need to get rid of the guys we have on loan at the moment as they are not good enough. We will be bringing in plenty of new faces in the summer and I think some of the guys whose contracts are up may well leave also. I am not sure what we can do in the league next year it may well be a year of consolidation more than anything else. If we can get into the play offs I would be chuffed. 

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by ashton321

[karanhsingh]

Nice, I like the premise a lot. Although you surely have your work cut out. 

[ashton321]

13 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

Nice, I like the premise a lot. Although you surely have your work cut out. 

Yeah I do but I think it should be a fun save. I love everything about Italian Football so I am looking forward to it

[ashton321]

 

Matelica Calcio - Season Review

 

Competitions / Graph

 

I knew coming into the league season that we were a much better team than we were last year, especially given the superb loan deals that we had secured. We began in superb fashion, we only lost one in our first 14 games and only dropped points in two other games. This really put us in a great position in the league and straight away it looked like we could be in the title battle with Padova and Teramo. The Serie C Cup had also began and we had gotten through the group stage with ease. We managed to get through the next couple rounds before in the third round coming to an end. We lost, I was hoping we could have gone a little further but in the end we did not have it. Between the end of November and March we were a little hit and miss, we only had a small squad and I think in the end that is what had come to us a little bit. We still stayed very much in the title picture but lost a little ground. As we got our players back we managed to pull back to the top of the league. We beat Padova on the all but last game of the season and this was enough to secure us a title. We went into the Serie C Super Cup, we drew both of our games, as did the other teams, for some reason this was enough to give us the title. 

 

Finances / Transfers

 

Our finances are in the absolute hole. We are loosing money hand over fist each month. I think we need bigger crowds for us to recover from this but at this stage we are barely getting 500 people through the door for home games, this should improve next season. Our transfer dealings in the summer is really what did it for us. We secured some of the better loan deals in the league in particular Antonucci who should be nowhere near this level of football. He was unreal. This league if you are not a big team with cash and you can get some decent loans in you will do well. That is exactly what we did. 

 

Next Year

 

Well my time here is done, 18 months and we have one region picked off the list. I am not sure what is next but I think a build for Serie B is a little beyond me as I dont really have that in me as it will need a lot of work and  I am more keen on finding a new club to try and get some more regions boxed off. I suspect it will be at this level again as I dont think I am well known enough to be given a chance at Serie B. I dont mind that if I can knock off another one of the smaller regions that would be a good idea. 

 

 

 

 

[ashton321]

 

I did not have to wait for long to get a new job, I was out of work for less than a month. My new job would be Potenza they are a bigger team than what I have left. As often happens in Italy, the club had been refounded after going bankrupt a number of times, but each time the club has been in Serie C/C and usually not done too badly really. In game they have been ok finishing midtable each year neither in the playoffs or playouts spots. After having a quick look at the squad I think there is certainly some potential here to knock another one of the list in short term. I am lucky as there are not too many decent teams at this level we have Foggia, Catania and Ternana who have been fairly big teams, but they are not anywhere near what they used to be. In terms of the region I am in the one of the capital cities of Basilicata, I would say there are not too many teams in this area that are much bigger than us

[ashton321]

 

Potenza Calcio - Season Review

 

Competitions / Graph

 

What an amazing season we had. If I am honest we never really looked in any danger of not winning the league. We pulled ahead early on by just winning near enough every game. We did not just beat teams but we absolutely destroyed them. We were by far the best team in the league. We did hit a little bit of a sticky patch mid season when we lost a few to injuries once again but we soon powered through it to get to the top of the table again. The only danger we really had was Vibonese they had beaten us towards the end of the year but they could not hold top spot as we soon took it back. We won the league with ease and I was once again in the Serie C Super Cup it was not so nice this year as we could only get one point and failed to win it. We did really well in the Serie C Cup and got all the way to the semi finals, I do not know what happened but we got blasted and lost out.

 

Finances / Transfers

 

The finances are not so good once again but I think it is something that I will have to get used to this at this level. We will soon get some TV money which should put us back in the black quickly. We did not add to much in the summer as I felt we were already one of the better teams in the league. I did add Zappella he was with me on loan last year and to bring him in on a permanent deal was excellent business. Gioacchino Lisi was the absolute man for me this year. He came in on loan and transferred our team. He just scores he has been unbelievable, I honestly think I will come across him again in the future in the higher echelons of Italian Football. 

 

 

Next Year

 

So once again I will be leaving the club as I have done my job here. I think I fancy a shot in Serie B, I will be looking for a job at a bigger team to see if I can tick a little bigger region off, this could be my chance of getting into the big time. That being said if another smaller region with a decent squad comes up I will certainly have a good think about it, 

 

 

[ashton321]

 

Well I think that this is a step up and I think this is a big club. This could however be because of bias towards the early 90s of Italian Football. The club I take over are not the same. We are 17th in Serie B after 18 matches. So I think the first job here will be to pull us away from the bottom of the league. Bari is based in the southernly region of Apulia the heel on the boot of Italy. As a club, Bari as I said I think are a huge club. Once again this is a club that have risen from the flames of bankruptcy and are a slightly different club but hold all the history of the old club. It was in Serie A in 2010 and pretty much all throughout the 90s. This is a huge club lets get back to Serie A

[ashton321]

 

 

Bari - Season Review

 

Competitions / Graph

 

Well here I am in Bari, a team with that badge always reminds me of Cornflakes. That was totally off point apologies. We came in near the bottom of the table and in real danger of going down. I really feel that if I got relegated we would be relieved of our duties. I lost two of my first three games and I was worried that I may have made the wrong choice. We then won 7 of our next 9 games drawing the other two. This really pulled us out of the mire and on the verge of a surprising playoff run, I did think we were good enough for that. We only won 3 of our last 8 games but this was enough for us to stay up with quite a good distance, we just missed out on the playoffs but I was not too worried about this. 

 

Finances / Transfers

 

It looks shocking but I am hoping that the TV money will bring us back into the black. I do think that we should have some wage budget to play with next year but I am not sure. I only brought in one player who was a striker on loan, he looks decent enough but I am not sure he is what we needed. 

 

Next Year

 

I think we are really a mid table team in this league so I think with a few new players coming in that could be enough to put us in the playoff conversation. I am looking to bring in some decent loan players to change the squad a little bit, the ones we have in at the moment are not really making too much difference. 

 

 

[Muttley84]

Good luck with that. Will be following, currently playing in Ialy also, using only Lombard players in Brescia.

Hope you loaded some lower leagues activator or you might find it hard to find teams in Aosta or even Molise...

[ashton321]

9 hours ago, Muttley84 said:

Good luck with that. Will be following, currently playing in Ialy also, using only Lombard players in Brescia.

Hope you loaded some lower leagues activator or you might find it hard to find teams in Aosta or even Molise...

That sounds like a superb save, how you getting on

 

Yeah it maybe but I have some ideas to do if I dont find a team

[ashton321]

 

 

Bari - Season Review

 

Competitions / Graph

 

We were tremendous this year and could not be stopped. I should have known it was going to be a very good year when we beat Brescia 5-0 in the first game of the season. That was a little bit of a false start as we did not win any of the next four games, but then we went on an amazing run  and seemed like we could not be stopped. We lost the odd match here and there, one annoying one was a loss to rivals Lecce who were near the top with us, but also local rivals. Come the turn of the year we were incredible and never really looked in any danger of not winning the title, we seemed to just click. We won the title with games left to spare, CHAMPIONS. We even had a decent little run in the cup we won a couple of games and then pushed Torino all the way only just loosing out in extra time. 

 

Finances / Transfers

 

So firstly the finances, they look much better than they had done for the majority of the year, it was the sale of one person that changed everything. Massimo Ianni left to go to Fiorentina. He went for his minimum release clause, I had not played him too much mainly off the bench but he is a real prospect who would become a very good player. I did try to get him back on loan straight away but he decided to go elsewhere. I had let a couple of people go who would not play much and a couple of youngsters on loan. The ins were important this year, I brought in a couple of players on free deals who would be squad players. Then the loan market came, I knew loans would once again be vital to our success this year and we used them very well. The main player for this year was a very familiar name to me. Lisi who is now being described as a wonderkid returned on loan to me, he was once again unbelievable, I honestly believe he will be a star in the future. 

 

Next Year

 

I think I will be leaving Bari, and seeking pastures new once again, I would only stay really if I felt the squad was good enough to stay up and be decent, but I am unable to renew the majority of the loan deals. I also have seen a few jobs that I like the look of that could help me mark another region off. I have honestly loved my time in Bari and had this been a normal save I certainly would have stuck around, but we have a list to tick off. 

 

 

 

 

 

[ashton321]

 

I had to wait right until the end of December for a new job, it was not for the want of other clubs. I was seemingly a highly sort after candidate, I rejected numerous offers for jobs, either because they were not suitable for the challenge or because I felt I could do better. The job I was considering was Genoa they were bottom of Serie A and 7 points off safety. I felt I could keep them up but the budgets they were offering was not there either. So the job for me was Venezia yet again another team that have been built from ashes. They are another side I remember from being a Serie A team. They have had a good number of decent players in the past, they have even won the Coppa Italia all be it in the 40s. The team I take over are 10th in Serie B and want the playoffs, a big worry I have is actually being promoted via the playoffs as that means I would have to try and get the cup or Serie A which would not be likely. That being said there are worse things than managing in the city of Venice. 

[ashton321]

 

 

Venezia - Season Review

 

Competitions / Graph

 

If we are honest these team was so much better than the 10th spot that they had found themselves in before I took over. We dominated teams in Serie B from the outset, we could not be stopped. Our first game was a 4-0 victory, before the end of the season we won four other games 4-0 as well as 7-2. We went top of the league with a game to go, as we won the last two games it meant that I would record another Serie B title. 

 

Finances / Transfers

 

The bank balance looks reasonable as we are in the black before even the tv money for next year has come in. I did not sign anyone this year as I felt the team we had was good enough for us to challenge this year. What I did do was get rid of a few players who I was not using and could cash in on for some decent fees. This helped our wage budget, this leaves us well under our budget now. 

 

Next Year

 

I will be staying here next year I have said that I will spend at least a year in any job but I also think we have a decent squad here and could do something special. I will be looking to add some more players into the squad, I suspect now we are a Serie A side we should have a few more players want to join us. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TheRobert]

Sounds interesting

[ashton321]

 

I left Venezia at the end of the season as it is not really a club that I can see doing anything in Serie A. I had to wait all the way until December for a new job and this one was a fairly big one. With Pescara not a team of too much note but they have been in Serie A fairly recently. They were relegated from Serie B three years ago and now find themselves in Serie C which is not where they belong. I get the task of taking Pescara back up they are presently 14th in the league, off to the Abruzzo region I go

[ashton321]

 

 

Pescara - Season Review

 

Competitions / Graph

 

This team is maybe the best in this league. I could not get my head around why we were struggling so much when I took over. I did not take me long to get this team up to scratch we won and just kept winning. We only lost three games and drew one. All the rest we won. We nearly made a run to the title, but Livorno just had a little too much for us. We went into the playoffs and got to the semi finals where Carpi beat us 3-0 in the first leg and we could not recover in the second leg. 

 

Finances / Transfers

 

The bank balance is not looking too healthy so I am not sure what we will be able to do with that in the off season. I did not do any deals in January except for letting one youngster go for a decent amount of cash. 

 

Next Year

 

We are the best team in this league so we will be looking to win it next year and allowing me to mark another region off the list. 

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2021 by ashton321

[ashton321]

Pescara - Season Review

 

Competitions / Graph

 

The League was not too much of a worry really this year as like I had predicted we were by far the best team in the league. Ascoli did well for a bit but they soon dropped off the pace and could not get back anywhere near us. Modena were another team that caused us issues as did Padova but in the end we did not have any challenges really. We won the Serie C Cup as well at the end of the year which was fantastic

 

Finances / Transfers

 

I felt a huge responsibilty to try and get the team back to something like a financial secure footing as we had been struggling a little bit. Along with the money from the league getting rid of a few of the young kids who had a lot of potential it meant we have some cash. I did not go mental in the market instead looking for value and also some loan deals that could help us. 

 

 

Next Year

 

I off on my travels again. I have done everything I can here really and I am keen on getting into Serie A I think I have enough reputation for us to do so. 

 

[ashton321]

 

We have hit the big time finally. 

 

I take the Roma job on the 22nd of December 2028. Most people know the history of Roma being one of the biggest sides in Italy. There success came in the 80s and late 90s, early 200s. Those of us who played CM01/02 I am sure will all hold them close to our heart. In game they have done absolutely nothing, the best being Runners Up in the Coppa Italia twice and one in the Europa League. In game they have been consistently a top 6 club but this year find themselves in 16th. We are still in the Europa League and also the Coppa Italia, first job will be to get us away from the bottom of the league and quickly. 

[ashton321]

Roma - Season Review

 

Competitions / Graph

 

We had a very good squad and I am a little unsure as to why I found the squad this far down the league table. We soon sorted that as we won and won and won, it just seemed to not stop. We shot up the table, we could never win the title, at some stages it looked like we could even make the Champions League. We faltered a little bit towards the end but in the end 5th was tremendous. We won a game in the cup but then lost in the quarter finals. I was through in Europe and we met Club Brugge who we beat. We then beat two Dutch teams to get into the final against our Italian friends Sassuolo, it was a bit of drab match but we won the Europa League with a solid victory.

 

Finances / Transfers

 

The finances were great as I thought they would be at this level. We did manage a couple of transfers where I was keen to bring in a couple of Italians to help us. It is tough as they want a lot of cash to sell Italian players but the ones that did come in certainly helped us a lot.

 

Next Year

 

Well I have marked another area off of the list so I suppose my time here has ended. I thought I may have actually stayed here for a little longer, I was surprised by the Europa League win but I will take it. I would like to stay in Serie A if possible maybe at a slightly smaller club. 

 

[ashton321]

I had to wait all the way until the 15th of Jan for another job, but it was a job I had been looking at for a number of years. Torino. I love this club but for maybe the wrong reasons. I like the fact that they have always been in the shadow of the bigger team in the city. I also enjoy learning about the issues they have had throughout the years from Superga to the issues the players like Gigi Meroni have had. I find this club in a time of a few issues. They are still in Serie A but have done absolutely nothing of note finishing no higher than 13th. I would love to return them to Il Grande Torino but I certainly will be here until we win anything I have a feeling that could be a while.

[abulezz]

Great career so far and a novel idea for a save. Torino always seems to be a sleeping giant in most of my saves - after a decade or two, they usually find themselves competing for one of the top spots in the Serie A. 

[ashton321]

27 minutes ago, abulezz said:

Great career so far and a novel idea for a save. Torino always seems to be a sleeping giant in most of my saves - after a decade or two, they usually find themselves competing for one of the top spots in the Serie A. 

Cheers pal, I dont think I have ever seen them finish higher than about 10th in nay of my saves, maybe I can awaken the sleeping giant

[ashton321]

Torino- Season Review

 

Competitions / Graph

 

I took over with the club looking at the possibility of a relegation battle if the form did not pick up. We were a little hit and miss for the remainder of the year as in some games we looked amazing but in others we did not turn up at all. I had the team for 18 games before the end of the year, I won seven of them, drew six and lost five. As you can see we were the most middling of middling sides. I was happy to finish 12th I dont think we were ever able to move much higher. I was out of the cup before I joined. 

 

Finances / Transfers

 

The finances do not look to good but I will be getting tv money and prize money so we should be ok. I did not bring any players in during my tenure and only really sold one and sent some guys out on loan. 

 

Next Year

 

I think its going to be a bit of rebuild for me in the summer, I need to ship some of the players out who did not fit my style and bring in some lads who are more my type of players. I already gone in for a couple of guys I had brought into Roma who are being used and they will be coming to me. I think we need a few more Italians and a bit more creativity. I cant see us challenging for anything next year so this will be a bit more of a long term project I think. 

 

[kingjericho]

Glad to see other FMT careers. Good luck