[FM22] FC Famalicão - Gateway to Europe

[diLLa88]

 

FC Famalicão - Start of Game

Hi Everyone,

With this thread I would like to log and share my progress with my savegame.

I started with Famalicao in Portugal. A club with a decent selection with some own talents, but also with many important players who are at the club through loans. The goal will be to transition from this to the best academy club of the world and become the best gateway for South American talent to get to Europe. I want to become the largest feeder club to the best teams in Europe while becoming competitive in the Champions League ourselves.

History

Futebol Clube de Famalicão was founded on the 21 August 1931 by six friends.

At the beginning of the 2018–19 season, 51% of the club share was bought by Quantum Pacific Group, a group led by Israeli businessman Idan Ofer that also holds 33% of Atletico Madrid. On 28 April 2019, the club won promotion to the top flight for the first time in a quarter of a century.

On 11 September 2019, Quantum Pacific Group increased its share in the club from 51% to 85%.

Stadium & Facilities

Selection at start

Gustavo Assuncao and Diogo Queiros are on loan in the 1st season and will not join until season 2. In addition, Luiz Junior, Alexandre Penetra and Ivan Jaime stand out as good young players who can potentially play a big role in the future:

With a transfer budget of approx. €2 million the aim will be to find some solid bargains in Portugal and South America.

Edited November 1, 2021 by diLLa88

[diLLa88]

 

FC Famalicão - Season 1 Transfers

As I've already finished my first season I will quickly post the updates for this.

In the first season I managed to get some true bargains and strong talent for the future. In addition many of the promising youth players were loaned out to get first team experience.

One real sale was made with Batubinsika joining SPAL for €500k as he wasn't getting gametime and wanted to leave.

Screenshots of incoming transfers as per end of season 1:

Matias Arezo is clearly the best of the bunch and was transfer listed for €750k. In addition Telasco Segovia looks incredibly promising.

[diLLa88]

 

FC Famalicão - Season 1 Results

In my first season I lined up with a possession heavy 4-2-3-1 tactic:

It took a bit of tinkering and switching roles, but the tactic eventually clicked pretty well. The best eleven for the season looked like this:

Matias Arezo had an insane first season scoring 37 goals in 41 games, of which 30 in the league in 32 games.

Other stand-out players include Ivo Rodrigues, Ivan Jaime and Riccieli.

The weakest links this season were mostly the back-positions and the DCL. Penetra, although a decent talent has some big weaknesses in his mental attribututes which amounted to a few unneccesary goals against us.

The full list of games played were as follows:

After an inconsistent start we started playing well from November and onwards scoring many goals ourselves, often outscoring our opponents.

We ended on a very nice 2nd position, qualifying for the qualifying rounds of the Champions League:

We unfortunately lost in the cup final to Benfica in the dying minutes of the game with Nuñez scoring a hattrick:

[diLLa88]

 

FC Famalicão - Season 1 Youth Intake

The youth intake was supposed to be poor based on the preview. Fortunately there are 3 decent/good prospects in there:

Aliu Mané is a technical attacking midfielder with strong technicals and lots of flair. I will probably focus on developing his dribbling as that one stands out as a major weakness. The other notable weakness is his anticipation.

He has a Mercenary personality, which isn't great. Hopefully it will not become a major issue in the future.

Costel Negru is a right full-back who does not shy away for a duel. He has lots of bravery and is quite aggressive in his playstyle. Labeled as a Promising player, I expect he could become a first team player.

Salifo Nhaga is a midfielder/forward. As he lacks finishing I suppose he is probably best as an all-round midfielder. Will see how he develops, but I don't have high hopes overall.

[diLLa88]

 

FC Famalicão - Season 2 Start

Goals

As we qualified for the Champions League qualification rounds, our main goal will be to qualify for that sweet CL money so we can invest that in our training and youth facilities.

Furthermore I want to aim for the European qualification spots again for the league. In the previous season I had a lot of players on loan, which I want to minimize for this season, and rather give first team experience to my own players/prospects. I expect a slightly worse result this season for that exact reason.

I'm also looking to maybe offload one of my main players (Assuncao, Jaime, Arezo) if possible to generate additional income for facilities/transfers. Will see if they generate any interest from bigger clubs.

Squad

I already have a few transfers done:

The incoming players look as follows:

Franco Correa is a decent prospect with 3-4 star potential who will be placed in the u23 squad/loaned out. Was cheap and seemed like a decent gamble.

Bryan Carabali will be my 2nd RB option and was very cheap. Good overall stats while not really spectacular. Does not seem to have room for improvement.

Pedro Ganchas is a decent DCL/LB who will provide back-up for both positions. Is good allround with good jumping. Has 4 star potential, so I expect he will become a good rotational player.

João Resende is a very good all-round forward and only 19 years old. He is destined to replace Matias Arezo in the future. Have high hopes for him as he has 4-5 star potential.

Tomas Araujo will be the new partner of Riccieli in defense in the coming season. Young, good personality and strong all-round attributes. 3.5-4.5 star potential.

The full first team squad now looks as follows:

[diLLa88]

Matias Arezo is recognised as the best striker in the league, topping the odds for finishing top goalscorer in the coming season.

In addition, both Arezo and Assuncao are regarded as top talents:

Edited November 1, 2021 by diLLa88

[diLLa88]

This was fairly expected.

Hopefully I can ship him for a nice transfer fee.

[diLLa88]

The pre-season went fairly well, getting decent fitness in just the 4 games (and also a few u23 games).

The first league game in the 2nd season will be a home game against Moreirense. Based on previous results I expect this to be a tough opening game:

[diLLa88]

S2. Liga Portugal - Match 1

What was expected to be a relatively tough game based on previous results, proved to be fairly easy. Arezo scored a hattrick through a penalty, header (cross) and a direct free kick. Happy with the game overall as we had good possession, lots of chances and didn't give much away.

Am also very pleased with all the new comers, as Araujo, Ganchas and Félix made a good first impression.

S2. Liga Portugal - Match 2

Poor game overall. Gave away two goals due to mistakes from the defenders. Also poor performance in midfield. Should have won..

Also unhappy with the fact that I had to sub two players in the first half due to injuries of Jaime and Rodrigues. Putting in Joao Neto as a replacement for Jaime was a mistake by me.

S2. Liga Portugal - Match 3

Really disappointing result as it was even throughout the match. Giving away a penalty and a red card in the 90th minute..

Couldn't create much as Benfica is overall the better team, but we were fairly solid up until that crucial moment.

Edited November 1, 2021 by diLLa88

[karanhsingh]

Fun club to manage and some good transfers you have made there.

Where did Gustavo move to? didn't realize he starts off on loan

[bigmattb28]

Good this. I spent 3 seasons at Famalicao on a journeyman on an older FM so have a soft spot for them. Keep it up dude.

 

[diLLa88]

2 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Fun club to manage and some good transfers you have made there.

Where did Gustavo move to? didn't realize he starts off on loan

Gustavo starts off on loan at Galatasaray with no recall option. I have yet to receive a bid for him as he hasn't generated much interest yet.

I wouldn't be mad if I can ship him to be honest. He looks really good for our level, but I rather have the money right now to build up all the facilities at the club.

[Matt_1979]

Best of luck. I’m doing the beta with Famalicao. Started off unemployed and took the job when they were second from bottom at the start of December. 

[diLLa88]

S2. Liga Portugal - Match 4

Terrible first half performance, including an injury for Ivan Jaime. He'll be out for 3-4 weeks with a fractured wrist.

Second half performance was mad, with 4 goals by Arezo, carrying our team to a 1-4 win. 10.0 match rating as well.

Transfers

Heriberto Tavares is sold for a solid €2.2 million. He never really set the world on fire for me so accepting this offer was a no-brainer.

It does leave me with less depth for the AML/AMR positions. Will see if I want to find someone for the short-term.

Edited November 2, 2021 by diLLa88

[diLLa88]

S2. Liga Portugal - Match 5

Outstanding performance by Hugo Felix creating many chances, getting an assist and scoring the final goal of the match.

Matias Arezo had an off-day missing several good chances and having a goal called off.

Felix is quickly developing into a very nice player:

[diLLa88]

Data Hub

We seem to be doing well in most areas. Our attacking numbers are impressive. Defensively we've been decent mostly, but have been a bit leaky in the chances the opponents did create.

[diLLa88]

I thought I had to play a qualifying round, but to my surprise I already qualified for the group stage, which is a welcome surprise. This will give me some cash inflow to invest in the facilities.

This especially as I can't seem to offload Gustavo Assuncao for a fair price (in my opinion). I'm asking €35m which is within his value range and deemed fair by the player himself.

I would settle for €25 - €30 million if possible, but West Ham hasn't bid yet to negotiate.

[diLLa88]

S2. Champions League - Group Draw

Fun draw. We might have some chance against Villareal, but I don't see us doing much against PSG and Spurs.

We will see though! I'm already happy with the fees I received for participating and it will be a good experience for the boys.

Edited November 3, 2021 by diLLa88

[diLLa88]

S2. Liga Portugal - Match 6

Controlled the game and made 2 nice goals. Happy with this relatively easy victory.

S2. Liga Portugal - Standings

Good start so far. Could have been better if we didn't conceed the late goals in the draw and loss games.

[diLLa88]

Happy with this first upgrade of the training facilities.

Dissappointed however that they do not wish to upgrade the youth facilities.

Edited November 3, 2021 by diLLa88

[withnail316]

You're making good progress, man. 

[abulezz]

1 hour ago, diLLa88 said:

S2. Champions League - Group Draw

Fun draw. We might have some chance against Villareal, but I don't see us doing much against PSG and Spurs.

We will see though! I'm already happy with the fees I received for participating and it will be a good experience for the boys.

Ouch! This is going to be a tough one, but you never know. PSG will be hard to beat but you could potentially take points from Villareal and Tottenham. 

[diLLa88]

S2. Summer Transfer Window

Not much happened on deadline day. I settled for the squad I had as it is going well and I couldn't make any good sales to increase my tranfer budget.

Loaned some players out for gametime. Hopefully they will make some progress.

I do have this guy coming in on a free during the Winter window which looks good for depth for the AMR and ST positions.

Edited November 3, 2021 by diLLa88

[diLLa88]

55 minutes ago, abulezz said:

Ouch! This is going to be a tough one, but you never know. PSG will be hard to beat but you could potentially take points from Villareal and Tottenham. 

Yeah definitely. With some luck we can make something happen.

[diLLa88]

S2. Liga Portugal - Match 7

A win is a win I guess. We weren't great but did not give much away either.

Another goal for Arezo, who is currently on 10 goals already in 7 games.

[diLLa88]

S2. Champions League Group Stage - Match 1

First CL game was away vs. Tottenham.

Lost 3-0, which is a poor result. However I'm pretty happy with what I saw from the team as we were actually quite even for a majority of the game, they were just more clinical at times.

Based on this game I have hopes that we can put up a good challenge at home vs. them.

[diLLa88]

S2. Liga Portugal - Match 8

Pretty bad game. Tried to rotate some players, but that backfired with poor performances by Brazao and Marcos Paulo.

[diLLa88]

S2. Champions League Group Stage - Match 2

Had some major chances to score a goal, but just didn't do it. Gutted because this could have been the game to set us apart from our direct competitor for the Europa League spot.

[diLLa88]

Happy with this upgrade.

[diLLa88]

S2. Taça de Portugal - Third Round

Easy cup game. Enabled me to provide some gametime to the second team.

Upcoming Fixtures

Quite a lot of matches coming up. The first game will be the away game at PSG for the Champions League.

I feel comfortable with the upcoming league games, but the amount of games in quick succession could prove to be too much for the squad in terms of fitness.

 

[diLLa88]

S2. Champions League Group Stage - Match 3

Expected result. We did get a few chances, but most of them were from long range. Thankfully we didn't get destroyed and actually put up a fight.

After three games this leaves us the following standings:

We have yet to score a goal. There is still a chance that we can qualify for the Europa League if we manage to get a good result vs. Villareal.

Edited November 3, 2021 by diLLa88

[diLLa88]

New contract signed for another 3 years.

[diLLa88]

Matias Arezo is out for 3-4 weeks, who was on fire during the first few games of the season. Hopefully we can still score goals without him.

S2. Liga Portugal - Match 9

Didn't play well, but we did win 2-0. It was very clear to see that I missed Arezo's pace and overall quality upfront.

[diLLa88]

S2. Taça da Liga - Third Phase Group B

     

Not the most important game, but a nice win nonetheless. Won after an early red card by the opponent. João Resende scored his first goal for the club.

[diLLa88]

S2. Taça de Portugal - Fourth Round

  

Good game with many players receiving good ratings. Many chances created and scoring 3. Happy overall and we proceed to the next round of the cup.

[diLLa88]

S2. Liga Portugal - Match 10

Decent game, but we do still really miss Matias Arezo. We miss too many chances.

A win though, which puts is in 3rd place in the league, although Porto will probably pass us.

[diLLa88]

S2. Champions League Group Stage - Match 4

It is becoming a recurring theme this Champions League campaign. We play well, but just aren't scoring.

[diLLa88]

S2. Liga Portugal - Match 11

.

Bad game, not enough big chances created. Hopefully we can come back to our good form with Arezo coming back from injury.

[diLLa88]

S2. Champions League Group Stage - Match 5

What a game and what a result. Thought we gave it away at 2-2 but we kept on going after that which was great.

Matias Arezo was great as usual.

We are currently on the advantage for qualifying for the Europa League knockout rounds

[diLLa88]

S2. Liga Portugal - Match 12

Another poor league game. Rotated the squad to prepare for the Champions league match midweek.

We were dominated and the red card did not help.

[diLLa88]

S2. Champions League Group Stage - Match 6

Unbelievable..

Edited November 5, 2021 by diLLa88

[diLLa88]

Some good news at least.

[diLLa88]

It's been a quiet 2 months for me with the World Cup going on. England just won it, defeating Denmark in the final.

[abulezz]

That was a rough group in the CL - even Villareal looked on top of their game. 

[diLLa88]

8 minutes ago, abulezz said:

That was a rough group in the CL - even Villareal looked on top of their game. 

Yea, Villareal has some really good players, but we were actually fairly even with them in both games. We should have won at home and should have drawn in that final game.

[diLLa88]

Player Awards

Matias Arezo is getting 2 awards, which are deserved in my opinion. He has been incredible for me so far.

[diLLa88]

S2. Liga Portugal -  Match 13

Bad game from our side, but decent result considering it is FC Porto.

[diLLa88]

S2. Three New Signings

André Luis and Xadas will both be good options for the right wing, while also providing cover for MC, AMC and ST positions.

Hugo Faria is a talented DC who will probably feature in the coming seasons. I will first try to loan him out as I already have some good options for the DC position.

 

[diLLa88]

S2. Taça da Liga - Third Phase Group B

We progress to the next round following a win against Estoril, who we will also face next game for the Taça de Portugal - Fifth Round

[diLLa88]

S2. Taça de Portugal - Fifth Round

Beat them again in a fairly easy game. Jairo Vélez played well and got an assist and a goal.