The create-a-club challenge

[Dominiho]

Following on from our Everton 6 year challenge, that you can see by clicking here - 

Alvin14 and I have decided to embark on a create-a-club challenge. We're off to Italy this time and we are replacing Inter in Serie A.

We're building our squads from scratch, we're keeping the reputations the same and stadium sizes, but giving creative freedom on backroom staff, whether to start from scratch or keep what you have, club and player relationships etc etc.

The winner of this challenge will get a £20 voucher of their choice.

Spread across six seasons again, our points system that worked so well in the first is below

Champions League win: 100 points
Top division win: 75 points
Europa League win: 50 points
Domestic Cup win: 25 points
Top four finish: 25 points
Super Cup win (European): 15 points
Club World Cup win: 15 points
League Cup win: 15 points
Euro Cup II win: 15 points

Manager of the season: 50 points
Manager of the Month: 20 points

Player of the season: 10 points
Top scorer (League only): 10 points
World player of the year: 25 points
European Top scorer: 25 points

We will post seasonal updates again, and will post our picked squads before the first season starts.

Happy for others to get involved and see how you do (minus getting a voucher for winning mind), but good to hear how others perform.

[alvin14]

The Clubs

Club Name: Football Italia

Club Nickname: Golaccio

Stadium Name: Stadio Italia (75,923)

City: Milan

Home Kit: Green, White and Red

Away Kit: Blue

Third Kit: Black and Grey

Rival Club: AC Milan

Favourite People: Thierry Henry - Club Legend

Disliked People: None, we’re a nice club.

Key Affiliations: Arsenal

Club Comments

The Italian club with an English touch, Football Italia, named after the famous TV show on Channel 4 in England. The club nickname is reference to the term ‘Golaço used in the show itself, but the word was changed to Golaccio in the shows intro, as you asked it means great/fantastic goal, which is what we’ll be scoring plenty of! We’re sticking in Milan as that’s the only Italian place I’ve ever visited so thought that seemed appropriate and Milan will of course be our rivals. Our home kit is a representation of the Italian flag, with the away a representation of the Italian national team kit. The third kit, well I just think black kits look smart. We will play our home games in Milan at Stadio Italia with a capacity of 75,923. Just the one affiliate club Arsenal because why not and Thierry Henry is our club legend, shall we just say because of our link with Arsenal as we were only founded in 2020.

Staff

Director of Football: Les Reed

Assistant Manager: Daniele De Rossi

Head of Youth Development: Steve Weaver

Chief Scout: Roberto Marta

Physio: Chris Burton

Staff Comments

Fairly happy with my staff recruitments, got robbed by our Milan rivals for the physio I wanted but never mind Chris Burton is still one of the top guys in the game so can’t complain. Also struggled to find a top level assistant manager, so with the Italian club theme, I thought who better than Daniele De Rossi, a great player and hopefully a great number 2 for the next 6 years.

Goalkeepers

Ederson

Issam El Maach

Alessandro Iacobucci

Luca Zidane

Goalkeeper Comments

So it’s pretty clear who our number one will be, but Luca Zidane will be my back up/cup goalkeeper and the other two will simply fight it out in the reserves for the number one gig there. Ederson will obviously be my sweeper keeper starting attacks with his expansive passing, hoping he chips in with a few assists over the next six years too.

 

Defenders 

Marcão

Tyler Magloire

Stefan De Vrij

Nordi Mukiele

Aaron Muirhead

Lewis Mayo

Diego

Maxime Colin

Alberto Almici

Junior Firpo

Juan Miranda

Maximilliano Olivera

Mikel Merino (retraining as a CB)

Defender Comments

Quite a lot to pick through here but my starting 4 will most likely be Firpo, Merino, De Vrij and Mukiele. It will then be a case of working out who will be a part of the first team squad to back them up. Mikel Merino can already play as a centre back, I’ve used him there before and he’s very good so will continue to retrain him in that position throughout the save. Marcao will definitely back up Merino but the rest is yet to be decided. Arguable the weakest part of my team now I’ve looked at it, but we can strengthen as we progress of course.

 

Midfielders 

Declan Rice

Kalvin Phillips

Andrea Barberis

Han-Noah Massengo

Rúben Neves

Ali Mohammed

Jordan Cousins

Matteo Guendouzi

Morten Thorsby

Mickaël Cuisance

Martin Ødegaard

Josue

Juan Carlos

Fran Oller

Riqui Puig

Otávio

Yasim Ben El-Mhanni

Benjamin Verbič

Gonzalo Plata

Reinier

Phil Foden

Midfielder Comments

What can I say, I love midfielders. A lot of these will find themselves in the reserves as I don’t even know who some of them are, they just matched the stats I was looking at for certain positions/roles. Got my defensive midfielders in Rice and Phillips in addition to Guendouzi and Neves who I hope will offer a bit more offensively in central midfield. Then I have an abundance of attacking midfielders, Phil Foden my favourite of them all, as well as Riqui Puig and Martin Odegaard. A lot of depth in midfield so it will be interesting to see how things pan out and whether I can give players enough gametime and keep them all onside, no pun intended.

Forwards

Jadon Sancho

Chuks Aneke

Eddie Salcedo

Lorenzo Insigne

Ansu Fati

Kylian Mbappe

Daniel Sturridge

Ricky Jade-Jones

Gabriel Bernadotto

Forward Comments

I wanted a big name up top and they don’t get much bigger than Kylian Mbappe! Cost me a few pennies, so only Ansu Fati to back him up. Sancho and Insigne are set to be my wide players, plenty of depth in the forward areas and midfield, so will work out over the first half of the season who will be best equipped to come in for them should they miss any time.

Overall Squad Comments

I’m hoping my captain De Vrij and vice captain Merino will form a solid partnership at the back with Firpo and Mukiele working their socks off at full back whilst Ederson will be my playmaker from his goal of course. I’m sure Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips will give me plenty of security in front of the back 4, with Insigne and Sancho either side of most probably Foden, good luck whoever comes up against that dangerous three. Then Mbappe through the middle, he should score plenty with them three behind him feeding him! 

Points Target

My six year plan is to win trophies, I’ve set myself a huge target of 1020 points. That includes 3 Serie A’s, 2 Coppa Italias and 2 Champions Leagues, I won’t delve too much into the 6 year plan but that’s what we’re aiming for with the mighty Football Italia. Ambitious I know but after that last challenge with @Dominiho I want to make a BIG statement at Stadio Italia!

Forza Football Italia 🇮🇹 

Edited May 11, 2021 by alvin14
Add Club Information screenshot and change Andy Fati to Ansu Fati.

[Dominiho]

Dominiho's team

So here is my team information and squad details

Club Name: Futebol Club Hrimpursars

Club Nickname: Frost Giants

Stadium Name: Stadio de Jötunheimr (75,923)

City: Pesaro

Home Kit: White and ice blue, with a cross design

Away Kit: Red and black check

Third Kit: Black, white and pink stripe

Rival Club: Vis Pesaro, Zebre, Ascoli, Fiorentina, Boca, Liverpool

Favourite People: Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Diego Forlan, Chicharito, Luiz Ronaldo

Disliked People: Steven Gerrard, Sergio Ramos and Jose Mourinho

Key Affiliations: Vis Pesaro and Independiente

Club comments

Founded in 2020, Futebol Club Hrimpursars are situated in the quaint town of Pesaro. Current club manager Dominiho has history in the town taking lowly Vis Pesaro to Serie B from Serie C1 back on Championship Manager in 2001/02 - so he is a bit of a cult legend in the area. This new club, fronted by Dominiho and long-time assistant Marco Landucci, have high hopes in wrestling the Serie A title from the grips of Zebre's hands. Whilst the club have no history, some legendary players such as Diego Forlan (also an alumi of that famed 01/02 Vis Pesaro team) are still adored for the loyal fan base. Named after the Frost Giants of norse myth, FC Hrimpursars, plan to be ice cold in front of goal and want to make history in Italy and across Europe.

Staff

Director of Football: Tim Howard

Assistant Manager: Mario Landucci

Head of Youth Development: 

Chief Scout: Bojan Krcic - yes, the Barca striker's Dad!

Physio: 

Staff Comments

Still just finalising my staff so will fully update this when they have been hired. Brought Landucci with me, from previous roles within past games. A trusted advisor along side and one that buys into my footballing philosphy.

 

Goalkeepers

1. Gianluigi Donnarumma
2. Tim Howard

Goalkeeper Comments

Donnarumma is destined to be a future great of goalkeeping so who better to sign and keep in his native Italy. Tim Howard was just a cheap back up, and oddly the game has made him my Director of Football as well. He'll be gone after a season, so suspect, I'll be looking for someone else in that role.

 

Defenders 

1. Dayot Upamencano
2. Mattias De Ligt
3. Jonathan Tah
4. Thilo Kehrer
5. Max Aarons
6. James Justins
7. David Alaba
8. Nikola Milenkovic

 

Defender comments

I've aimed to go for two players per position, but utlising the abilities of my picked players to play in multiple positions. De Ligt is out for a while, so Upamencano will be my no.1 CB for the time being. Feel I have a good spread of youthfulness, yet experienced here. They'll only grow stronger as a unit. De Ligt has also been handed the captain's armband.

 

Midfielders 

1. Saul
2. Jade Bellingham
3. Rodrigo Bentaceur
4. Sandro Tonali
5. Dejan Kuluseveski
6. Sander Berge
7. Marcos Asensio

 

Midfielder comments

A little on the light side in midfield, as I only use a three and injuries permitting, I have more than enough of those that can step in. Bellingham was super cheap for the player he is likely to become, likewise with Tonali. I'm happy for Bellingham to go out on loan but no one seems interested at the moment. Saul and Bentaceur likely to be my main starters, whilst Kulusevski will be used higher up the pitch. A strong set of midfielders and again all soon to be entering their prime.

 

Forwards

1. Ansu Fati
2. Kylian Mbappe
3. Joao Felix
4. Memphis Depay
5. Myron Boadu (already sent him out on loan)

 

Forward Comments

So like Alvin, I took went with Fati and Mbappe. I'm expecting big things of Felix too, it is just finding where to fit him in. Mbappe should bag plenty in the league this season and fully expect him to finish top scorer. An exciting time to be a Frost Giant

 

Overall Squad Comments

Very happy with my squad to start, but nigh-on certain I'll need additions to beef my squad out somewhat. Loans will be the pick of the day, with Kingsley Coman rumoured to be joining. It's a strong, young squad that can stay together for a long time to come. Just need to look at a succession plan for my youth squad.

Points Target

The aim of the game is to win. That's what I plan to do. I've taken teams with lesser squads to big trophies and fully expect to do the same again. I'd be happy to double my points tally from the last challenge, so 800-900 points is certainly achievable. Let's see how we go. Up the Hrimpursars!

Images to follow...

Edited May 11, 2021 by Dominiho

[alvin14]

Football Italia - Season one review

Transfers/Loans

Sent a few players from my reserves out on loans and brought Eric Garcia in on loan as centre back cover. He played a handful of games and did okay, but didn’t play enough to show any real quality.

League

We were cruising the first half of the season, spent the majority of the 2020 half of the season at the top of Serie A. Once again the second half of the season was our undoing, a massive drop in form left us fighting for the top four. A change in shape from 4231 to 433 helped a little but not much. With just 4 wins in the last 13 games, we ended up with a 5th place finish, only another for the Euro Cup. Ansu Fati was a revelation after taking over the central striker role from Mbappe, taking home the league top scorer award.

Italian Cup

Wins against Cremonese and AS Roma lead us to a two legged tie against Zebre in the semi final. The semi final was a close 2-0 loss in the first leg followed up by 4-0 loss at Stadio Italia. The embarrassing 4-0 loss was followed up by the exact same result in the league immediately after. An extremely disappointing way to leave the competition.

European Champions Cup

WOW! What a shambles this was. With just two points picked up in unconvincing draws, we were never in the group at all. Granted we were handed a tough group, but another disappointing effort, we should have at least grabbed third and had a shot at the Euro Cup.

Season conclusion

All in all a disappointing season and a setback in our 6 year plan. Lucky to still be in a job, as I failed all three objectives the board had set me at the start of the season. On a more positive note Junior Firpo was awesome, he had the most assists with 11. Ansu Fati ended up being the main striker and goalscorer which was a massive surprise, 26 goals, fans player of the season, young player of the season, and an average rating of 7.01. Mbappe took a while to get going but ended up with 22 goals which isn’t bad considering he was 6 from 18 at one point. Pretty happy with my first 11 which you can see in the screenshots, but I don’t like the squad depth so will be looking to provide some depth in the transfer market in the off-season.

Season two plan

In season two I’ll be looking for a top 4 finish and we’ll be aiming for a Euro Cup win. We conceded far too many goals, so will be looking to address that in addition to addressing the second half of the season issues.

Points Update

Ansu Fati league top scorer: 25 points

Total: 25 points

Edited May 14, 2021 by alvin14
Change - to :

[Dominiho]

"This game infuriates me"

Dominiho season one review

I should be happy at the outcome of this season as I steamed ahead with 170 points, but the last day of the season has me seething.

I entered the season wanting a bit of solidarity, to feel my way into the league with a new squad and new team. A storming start followed by a slight drop off, before an unbeaten run I could not have imagined ultimately left me feeling empty, despite taking home the Italian Cup.

Transfers/Loans

Sent Boadu on loan at the start of the season to Valencia, where he has performed very well. My reserve squad was extremely thin, so signed around seven or eight free agents over 30 (including Daniel Sturridge) to steady the ship and give much needed experience to those younger players. January rolled around and I a change of formation meant a rethink and entry into the transfer market - out went Jonathan Tah and Kehrer (on loan) and in came Leon Bailey, who made an instant impact. 

League

A mixed bag to start. A stunning 5-1 on the first day against Zebre followed with steady results, but by Christmas found myself 10 points behind the leaders. A switch in formation from a 4-2-3-1 to 3-4-2-1 made a massive difference. I had struggled to find room for Felix and Asensio, but this changed that and they played pretty constantly from then on. Rotation was needed in the middle and Sander Berge put in some great performances as Saul dropped in and out through injury and tiredness. Good progress made by both Fati and Bellingham this year too. 

A 26 game unbeaten run followed, meaning I went top with two games remaining. A draw with Sampdoria meant I lead the pack on the last day, going into a game against third place Lazio. 2-0 up at H/T and a disallowed a goal just before half-time for offside which would have made it 3-0, meant a nervous wait. As has happened so often in this game, two kick fire goals from the opposition and a third meant I succumbed to my first defeat in 26 games thus losing out on the Serie A title. Fuming after that, and that is now twice across two saves where on the final day, a title has been ripped away.

Italian Cup

I did however take home the Italian Cup, after a 1-0 against Roma in the final. So some silverware at least, and a platform to continue on next season.

European Champions Cup

Qualification from the group consisting of BVB, Ludogrets and Zenit was simple enough, but again, two quickfire goals this time in the 86th and 87th minute against United in the last 16 meant my two away goals (I was 2-0 up at this point) counted for nothing and we went into the second leg at 2-2. A 1-0 lose at home meant our journey was ended there.

Season conclusion

From a points perspective we're in a really strong position - I feel I have a settled formation now and have plenty to build on. Still fuming at that league lose, and determined to put it right next year. Mbappe won every award under the sun, including World Player of the Year, Top Scorer (League and Europe) and Player of the Season. I netted the Manager of the Year award which was a slight bit of gloss. 

Points total

Top 4 finish - 25 points
Domestic Cup - 25 points
Manager of the Year - 50 points
World Player - 25 points
Top scorer - 10 points
Player of the year- 10 points

European top scorer - 25 points

Total = 170 points

[alvin14]

Football Italia - Season two review

Transfers/Loans

Ins:

Eduardo Camavinga

Brahim Diaz (loan with permanent fee agreed at the end of the loan)

Patrik Schick

Matteo Darmian

Nikola Milenkovic

Gabriel Menino

Mahmoud Dahoud

Karamoko Dembele

Outs:

Ali Mohamed

Diego Cavaliere

12 players out on loan

Transfer Comments

Not too much to shout about here, every signing was a squad depth addition and they all ended up being exactly that. Camavinga and Milenkovic went out on loan, with Camavinga in particular performing really well, so will definitely be looking to get him into the first team squad next season. But nothing else of major note to talk about here in all honesty.

League

I feel like I’m writing exactly the same is I did last season, we were absolutely flying the first half of the season. We won 13 games in a row I think it was and was sitting at the top of the table on 50 points, 7 points clear of Zebre. But the inevitable collapse began from game 20 onwards of course, we struggled to maintain any kind of form after Christmas and ended up missing out on the title by 6 points. Crazy to think we only conjured up 33 points in the second half of the season after the incredible first half of the season. We’re going to start getting a reputation if we keep bottling the second half of seasons haha. Anyway 2nd place and we’re back in the European Champions Cup, so progress from last season nonetheless.

Italian Cup

If you can have a bogey competition, then I think this is ours. An unconvincing win against Padova was then followed up by a 2-1 loss against Atalanta in the second round. So our Italian Cup run was over fairly soon after it had barely begun, a massive disappointment and a competition I want to have a run at in the remaining four years and at least get one in the cabinet.

Euro Cup

We were handed a pretty straight forward group unlike our ECC group last season. We played a second string side in every group game, only dropping 2 points away to Club Brugge. Our only loss then came in our first knockout match, a comprehensive 4-1 loss away to Zenit. From then on we played our strongest team, sealing that particular tie 6-4 on aggregate with a 5-0 home win. Aggregate wins against Marseille 8-5 and Wolfsburg 5-3 lead us to the final and a matchup with our Italian friends Lazio. We never looked like losing the final even with a half fit Mbappe up top, a comfortable 2-0 win meant the Euro Cup trophy was on its way to the green side of Milan. Not a trophy I intended on winning in this career, but a trophy nonetheless and one we fully deserved despite our slight hiccup against Zenit.

Season conclusion

Can’t help but feel gutted about the way the league went this season, it was in our hands and we completely blew it. We did however concede less goals in the league which was something I wanted to address so that’s a bonus I guess. Really happy with the Euro Cup win, but need to definitely looking into why our form is dropping in the league the way it is, because 17 points difference is quite a difference and completely killed our title challenge annoyingly.

Season three plan

Quite happy with the squad depth so will just look to focus on strengthening the starting eleven if we can, we have got a few nice free transfers coming in, including Onana, Carvajal and Milik. Our original plan was to try and have a go at all three major trophies in season three, not sure that we’re in a position to do so, but we’ll have a go anyway. A minimum of one trophy is a must this season though, if we don’t have a go at the treble this year, I want it in year four. We have a strong squad which is only getting stronger so we need to aim high right.

Points Update

Season One:

Ansu Fati league top scorer: 25 points

Total: 25 points

Seson Two:

Euro Cup Win: 50 points

Total: 50 points

Overall Total: 75 points

[Dominiho]

Dominiho season two review

A trophyless season, but it could have been so much worse.

Not the season I envisaged, but shows not to take anything for granted. A building block and hopefully just a dip.

Transfers/Loans

Sent Boadu on loan to Valencia for a second season, as he wasn't part of my plans and didn't fit into my 3-4-2-1 formation so another year would do him good, Thlio Kehrer, Bellingham and Tonali also embarked on loan spells.

My main signings this summer bar Darmian, who I had no plans to play, were Coretin Tolisso on loan, who proved excellent in the midfield, before deciding Zebre was where he wanted to be, Isco on loan (a total waste of wages), Eden Hazard who showed flashes of brilliance, when he wasn't injured, and having sold all my RBs in Justins and Aarons, I needed a back up so took Veltmans from Brighton in January. Darmian proved to be super handy to have as a switch back to my trusted 4-2-3-1 meant he became one of my most consistent performers. With a need to try and push the leaders, I "recalled" Alexsander Isak from Sociedad - I'd agreed to a two-year loan back deal following a £61m deal for him - he came in and provided Mbappe some much needed rest.

I dipped into the market in March in a bid to get all my transfers for season three finalised early. CR7, Carvahaj and Valverde all agreeing to join Hrimpursars.

League

I honestly thought we were well prepped to build on last year's new miss, but how I was wrong. A shoddy start saw me 10 points behind Zebre after only seven or eight games, and there was no catching them. They eventually finished a full 20 points clear of me, as I managed to secure third. A shift in formation mid-season certainly helped, but the need to bridge that now massive gap for season three is a must.

Italian Cup

The team reached the final but came up against the Zebre freight train, who had also beat me on penalties in the SupperCoppa, to hot to handle as we succumbed to defeat.

European Champions Cup

We struggled in the UCL this year, but did managed to qualify for the second round where we faced Liverpool. A 3-2 victory in the first leg having been 2-0 entering the 85th minute, set up an interesting tie at Anfield. Bentaucer decided to get sent off five minutes in the second leg and a 1-0 defeat meant we went out on away goals.

Season conclusion

A disappointing season all in all - but a top three finish still isn't terrible. Hopefully my new signings can help lead me to some sort of glory in season three.

Points total

Top 4 finish - 25 points
Top scorer - 10 points

Overall Total = 205 points

Photos to be added :)

[alvin14]

Football Italia - Season three review

Transfers/Loans

Ins:

Javi Galán

Arkadiusz Milik

Dani Carvajal

Alessandro Bastoni

Dan-Axel Zagadou

André Onana

Brahim Diaz

Pedri (loan)

Outs:

Patrick Schick

Lorenzo Insigne

Stefano Casssani

Otávio

Transfer Comments

A few nice free transfers in, including Carvajal, Malik and Onana. Schick never got going so we cashed in on him, Insigne wasn’t getting younger so we also moved him on for a nice few too. We tried to make a big splash or two but we just couldn’t get anything over the line.

League

We never really getting in the league this year, we had a few good runs and were 6 points off top at one point. Zebre ended up being too strong in the end, despite us beating them on the penultimate weekend of the season when they were already champions. We finished the season much stronger but it was too little too late, we scored the most goals in the league, but what use is that when you’re letting plenty in at the other end haha.

Italian Cup

The bogey cup strikes again, an absolute demolition at the hands of Fiorentina. The semi final fell at a time when morale was low and form was indifferent, we need to put this Italian cup voodoo to bed in the next three years.

European Champions Cup

We cruised through what was a pretty nice group, very pleasing considering the shambles in the group stage in season one. An amazing comeback against Sevilla in the first knockout round was great fun, but the 4-0 thrashing away to Barca in the quarters was too much t9 overturn despite giving it a real good go and losing 5-4 on aggregate. 

Season conclusion

A frustrating year to say the least, we had high hopes for season three but we fell short in every competition. We scored plenty of goals which was pleasing, but shipped too many at the other end which was frustrating.

Season four plan

It’s amazing how much can change in a year, I was happy with my squad depth this time last year. Now I am looking to trim down the squad this summer, move on some squad players to free up some cash and strengthen the defence as a priority, we have a lot of players who are good but we need better quality in the first 11 if we want to challenge in every competition. I am desperate to win the league and would love a treble, but the focus is on the league this year and if we can grab one other trophy or both then that’s a bonus. 

Points Update

Season One:

Ansu Fati league top scorer: 25 points

Total: 25 points

Seson Two:

Euro Cup Win: 50 points

Top Four Finish: 25 points(forgot to add in previous update)

Total: 75 points

Season Three:

Top Four Finish: 25 points

Top scorer(League only): 10 points

European Top Scorer: 25 points

 

Overall Total: 160 points

Edited June 22, 2021 by alvin14
Adding screenshots.