[FM24Beta] Colombia - Envigado. Quarry of Heroes. [Youth Only]

[Sir_Liam]

It's good to see you doing a South American save as that's where I'm planning on playing on FM24 (albeit in Uruguay rather than Colombia).

I think it's a situation where it might take a few years to stabilise the finances but a combination of your academy and hopefully more continental matches will be a big help.

And Colombia's league structure looks a bit crazy even by South American standards.

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2024. 

Liga Finalización. Thank God this season is over. 

Well this is a surprise. Despite finishing the 2nd half of the season 13th, we actually finished 5th overall, so I "think" that we will still play in Europe next season, only this time it will be in the Copa Sudamericana rather than the Copa Libertadores. Obviously the prize money will be less, but I had assumed we wouldn't have qualified for anything. 

Despite making a pigs ear out of the 2nd half of the season, we're also still nowhere near getting relegated and I think that might just be something we can stay clear of from now on. 

Facilities. I had almost decided not ask for the Youth Facilities to be upgraded again after they were downgraded, but in the end it just seemed silly not to. It doesn't really matter how much they cost or that money is an issue in the save at the moment. It's important for the save and we need to just keep going with it. 

Training Facilities. Level 12/13.
Youth Facilities. Level 12/13.
Junior Coaching. Level 14/15/16.
Youth Recruitment. Level 19/20.

£825,000 isn't too bad at all. I'm really I asked for the upgrade now. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Not a good season for (24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" from the spot as he converts only 3 of 6 at 50%. 

Finances.

[Jimbokav1971]

International call-up. Nov 2024. 

We have 4 GK's on the books and 1 of them has just been called up to the senior (COL) squad. 

He's been out on loan in the 2nd tier in Colombia, not just this season but also last season. He hasn't played a single game for me since I arrived. 

Daniel Melo 6'0" looks a reasonable young GK, but he has never played above the 2nd tier in Colombia. I should say at this point that I'm not as excited as I might have been because he's not a product of our Academy. 

(24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" is only 16, in his 1st season at the club, and has never been called up for the any of the (COL) U20's, U22's or U23's squad. 

If we compare them, I think you will agree there isn't much in it either way. 

[Rikulec]

29 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Despite finishing the 2nd half of the season 13th, we actually finished 5th overall, so I "think" that we will still play in Europe next season

 

Uh, I don't think you will. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, abulezz said:

As always, a hugely immersive and entertaining read, as with all your saves. Great stuff. 

Thanks very much. Glad you're enjoying it. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Sir_Liam said:

It's good to see you doing a South American save as that's where I'm planning on playing on FM24 (albeit in Uruguay rather than Colombia).

I think it's a situation where it might take a few years to stabilise the finances but a combination of your academy and hopefully more continental matches will be a big help.

And Colombia's league structure looks a bit crazy even by South American standards.

Yeah, I decided I had to play somewhere new rather than going over old ground and the morning that the Beta was released I saw an article about how Envigado had L20 Youth Recruitment and that was me very interested. 

I hadn't really given my FM24 save much thought and this just fell into my lap. Had it not done so I would have probably gone down the Asian Journeyman route. 

A South American Journeyman is still an attractive proposition because there is still so much to find out. 

Yeah, just 1 season in the Group Stages in the Cope Libertadores seems to have helped a lot. Need to just get through some seasons and get the youngsters coming through now. 

The structure is a bit crazy, (but a good cray actually). 

Good luck in Uruguay. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Awards. Dec 2024.

Rodallega HG won Player of the Year, but we played 62 games this season and he only made 35(5) appearances meaning that there were 27 games he didn't play in. When he didn't play, (especially in the 2nd half of the season), we really struggled. 

Díaz won Young Player of the Year and it was well deserved as he was probably our most consistent performer. He scored 29 goals in all competitions over 44(1) appearances. He still looks pretty raw though. 

Rodallega HG made the Team of the Season. 

Sérgio Mosquera HG is an ex-Academy product who also made the Team of the Season. 

[Jimbokav1971]

9 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

Uh, I don't think you will. 

See, I have no idea why, but I'm guessing you're correct. 

My thinking is that there are 8 Continental slots. 

1 for the 1st mini League winners.
1 for the 2nd mini League winners. 
1 for the Cup winners. 
5 for the next 5 in the league, (who aren't already 1 of the above). 

Millonarios FC won the 1st mini League FInal.
Millonarios FC won the 2nd mini League Final, (so they don't take the slot so 6 teams in the league get a slot).
Millonarios FC won the Cup FInal, (so they don't take the slot for the Final so a yth team in the league gets it). 

How am I wrong? 

Who gets it? 

I think the top 4 play in the Copa Libertadores and the next 4 play in the Copa Sudamericana. 

[Rikulec]

12 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

See, I have no idea why, but I'm guessing you're correct. 

My thinking is that there are 8 Continental slots. 

1 for the 1st mini League winners.
1 for the 2nd mini League winners. 
1 for the Cup winners. 
5 for the next 5 in the league, (who aren't already 1 of the above). 

Millonarios FC won the 1st mini League FInal.
Millonarios FC won the 2nd mini League Final, (so they don't take the slot so 6 teams in the league get a slot).
Millonarios FC won the Cup FInal, (so they don't take the slot for the Final so a yth team in the league gets it). 

How am I wrong? 

Who gets it? 

I think the top 4 play in the Copa Libertadores and the next 4 play in the Copa Sudamericana. 

Nah mate, that's not what I mean. The hint is in the bold. 

[Jimbokav1971]

6 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

Nah mate, that's not what I mean. The hint is in the bold. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Stats. Jan 2025. 

Squad by Appearances. Although he made 55 appearances, (24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" actually still missed 7 games because we played a total of 62 games this season and I think if we had got to all domestic Finals we would have played at least 6 more games, (which brings us to 68 games for the season), and then if we had got to the Final of the Copa Libertadores then we would have played 7 more games, (which brings us to 75 games for the season). That obviously doesn't include domestic & South American Super-Cups, (which I actually don't know exist), or the Club World Championship. Usually I would say that 55 games in a season is far too many for any player, (especially such a young player), but it's different for GK's who aren't taxed as physically as outfield players. I do still think there was fatigue at play this season though. 

Ordóñez 6'1" HG made 48(6) appearances from centre-half and I think that's far too many for an outfield player, (especially one in the development phase of his career). He will pay for that later down the line. Ideally I want to keep the starting games down to about 35 for each player if I can help it, (and certainly below 40). 

I would also say that seeing our 3 starting defenders play 48(6), 46(5) & 44(3) appearances this season is too much and I think that's partly the reason for our drop off in the 2nd half of the season. Until we can get a 2nd team good enough to compete we will continue to struggle because the performances of even the better players will be reduced significantly by fatigue in such a long season as this. I don't think I managed this effectively at all this season and I would be better rotating the squad more, (and winning fewer games), but knowing that when the 1st Team plays there is a good chance of us getting a result. At the same time the 2nd Team will be getting much needed experience to boost their development. Not good enough at all from me this season in that respect, (but it's obviously very early days in the save and this will get easier). 

It's no surprise that I spent much of this season moaning about the number of niggling injuries we were getting. Of course they were getting niggling injuries. They were absolutely shattered! 

Squad by Goals. 28 goals and 6 assists in 44(1) appearances is decent from 20 year old Díaz, (who scored 18 goals in 34(7) last season), but I think he should be scoring more. Rodríguez contributed 17 goals and 10 assists from 45 stars, but I think he needs to do better as well. The WBL slot was a very creative position for us as Rodallega HG contributed 10 goals and 12 assists in 35(5) appearances, and Celedón chipped in with another 5+8 to give us a total of 15+20 from the WBL position, (ignoring other players).

Squad by Assists. Although Mesa only contributed 1 goal from WBR, he did top the assists chart with 15, (which I think is a club record), and in total our WBR's contributed 20 assists.

Squad by Avg Rating. It's interesting to see Fontalvo 6'4" so near the top of the rankings by Avg Rating and this suggests that I should have rotated our GK more this season. When you add in that we had a GK out on loan who was capped twice by the Senior (COL) side this season then it calls into question my decision making even more. 23 year old Daniel Melo 6'0", (he of the 2 Caps for (COL) has now left us on a free and is without a club, but I'm unable to re-sign him because he's not a product of our Academy.  

2 players aside, it's obvious to see here that the players who played less than 40 games are ranked higher by Avg Rating and this is another indication of my poor decisions this season. Much more rotation would have improved performances across the board. In particular I'm looking at Ramírez HG who only made 14(6) appearances this season and yet averaged 7.06. He should have been playing much more regularly. 

Squad by CA. He might have be topping the CA charts, but Banguera 6'4" had a torrid 2nd half of the season as our players literally ran out of legs. I'm hoping there are no long-lasting penalties to pay in terms of injury/fatigue. He's wanted by 3 clubs right now, (and remember he was on this season's NxGn list), so it's not a surprise. He has a £1.1M Min Fee clause for domestic clubs, so I expect that to be met pretty quickly. 

Squad by PA. It's interesting that Banguera 6'4" jumped to the top of the PA rankings after appearing on the NxGn list. (He was ranked about 6th before that). We now have 12 players at the club with 5.0 PA, 7 of them are teenagers and none of them are older than 21. As you can see I have given them all their debuts already, but I really need to rotate and play them more, (especially in tough away games). I need to really get back to basics and doing that the whole time. Unfortunately that excellent 1st seasons lulled me into a false sense of security but I hadn't taken into account the impact of all the extra games. 

(24f) Vargas (Bal) might be ranked #2, but it's (24a) Gómez (Bal) 6'5" at #3 who I expect to have a bigger impact in the short-term. His CA is better and he's in a position, (centre-half), where there is much less competition for places. Young strikers with good PA are finding it hard to get minutes right now and that's another reason for more rotation. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Forward planning. Jan 2025. 

I really want to do my Depth charts for next season and start planning my extended rotation policy, but the Youth Intake in Colombia arrives in the week of the 1st league game I think, so it sort of throws everything into limbo.

I suppose I should just do it now and then if anyone comes in with decent CA from the intake I can edit it as we go, because the chances are we won't get another player with good CA like we had last season with (24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1".

It's the 2nd Jan 2025 now and the intake arrived on 23rd Jan last season. 

GK. I made a mistake sending Daniel Melo 6'0" out on loan the last 2 seasons and then letting leave on a free. HUGE mistake. I can't afford to repeat that. 

1st Team. (24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1"
2nd Team. Fontalvo 6'4"
U20's. Tovar 6'0"

DL. I made another mistake sending Holguín out on loan the last 2 seasons, (or maybe he's only blossomed because I sent him out on loan). Either way, he won't be going out on loan again this season. Having said that, although he shows as being better than Celedón, he's actually not at that level yet. 

1st Team. Rodallega HG
2nd Team. Celedón
U20's. Holguín, Londoño & (24o) Canchila (Bal).

DR. I've brought Cristian Arrieta HG in on trial because he looks like he's possibly our best WBR if his physicals are holding up. He's 28 years old and a product of our Academy in the past, (so I can bring him in). I just need to wait a while longer so we can get a proper look at his attributes. I'm thinking he will be 1st choice though. 

1st Team. Cristian Arrieta HG
2nd Team. Mesa
Backup. Andrade
Loan. Zuluaga
U20's. García & (24j) Villero (Bal).

DC. I need to remember that as a very bare minimum, I need to have 9 DC's at the club at all times. 3x 1st Team, 3x 2nd Team, 3x U20's. That's even before we start talking about injuries, suspensions and subs. (24d) Villegas (COL)(PER)(Bal) isn't a centre-half so that's exactly what we've got now and I'm obviously really keen to get a few more through the imminent intake. Ideally I will find another player available on a free who is a product of our Academy. 

1st Team DLC. Ordóñez 6'1" HG
1st Team DC. Banguera 6'4"
1st Team DRC. Palacio 5'10" HG

2nd Team DLC. Aponzá 6'3"
2nd Team DC. Noreña 6'0"
2nd Team DRC. (24a) Gómez (Bal) 6'5"

Backup. Didier Palacios 5'11"
U20's. Felipe Valencia 6'4" & (24m) Henao (L.Det) 5'11".

There are 6 products of our Academy in the game that I can find. 1 of them is a free agent so he's hopefully coming on trial and we will scout the others. 

MC. We only have 4 senior central midfielders so there is zero room for injury suspension. I'm bringing in 2 free agents on trial, (who are products of our Academy), and we will see if they can provide some depth. 

1st Team MLC. D.Zapata
1st Team MRC. JM.Zapata

2nd Team MLC. Roldán
2nd Team MRC. Reyes

U20's. (24g) Smith (WAL)(IRL)(Bal), (24d) Villegas (COL)(PER)(Bal) & 24h) Ladino (Bal). 

SC. This is the 1 area of the squad where we really do have quite a lot of depth, and there is absolutely no excuse for me not rotating the front 3, (although not all players on the below list are forwards/strikers).

1st Team SLC. Ramírez HG
1st Team SC. Díaz
1st Team SRC. Rodríguez

1st Team SLC. Aristizábal
1st Team SC. Bonilla HG
1st Team SRC. "Titch" Russell 5'4"

Backup. Sinisterra, Rubio, Álvarez HG
U20's. Bonilla HG, (24b) Zárate (Cas), (24c) Suárez (F.Amb), Pacheco HG, (24i) Grisales (F.Pro), (24f) Vargas (Bal), (24n) Diaz (F.Pro), (24k) Madrigal (Unamb), (24l) Balanta (F.Sport) & (24p) Velasquez (Unamb).

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Day. Jan 2025. 

It's really good that the intake comes so early in the season, compared to Europe for example where it usually comes between Jan and the end of the season. 

1st intake was a couple of days before the 1st game of the season. 
2nd intake was the day after the 1st game of the season. 

I'm still not sure about some of the info we're getting and I'm about to report some of it as a bug I think. 

The Preview seems fine.

I "think" that the A rating for a DM related more to his CA than his PA.
I "think" that the "Excellent Intake" relates more to the PA than the CA.  

There are a few things jumping out immediately as wrong with how the intake is working in the Beta. 

• There are no stars used on the Intake Preview screen. (It appears to be cut off above "Excellent Intake"). 
• The classification of the intake has gone from "excellent" in the preview, to "poor" in the intake itself. Why has it changed so significantly? 
• The Intake Distribution, (players by preferred position), is blank. 
• The Development Centre - Youth Candidates screen is blank. It should be populated on the day of the intake.  

I know that there have been significant adjustments made between the Beta and the main game on the last couple of issues with regards to Youth Intake, and this version again seems to have significant flaws. It's really not good. 

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Youth Day. Jan 2025. 

It's really good that the intake comes so early in the season, compared to Europe for example where it usually comes between Jan and the end of the season. 

1st intake was a couple of days before the 1st game of the season. 
2nd intake was the day after the 1st game of the season. 

I'm still not sure about some of the info we're getting and I'm about to report some of it as a bug I think. 

The Preview seems fine.

I "think" that the A rating for a DM related more to his CA than his PA.
I "think" that the "Excellent Intake" relates more to the PA than the CA.  

There are a few things jumping out immediately as wrong with how the intake is working in the Beta. 

• There are no stars used on the Intake Preview screen. (It appears to be cut off above "Excellent Intake"). 
• The classification of the intake has gone from "excellent" in the preview, to "poor" in the intake itself. Why has it changed so significantly? 
• The Intake Distribution, (players by preferred position), is blank. 
• The Development Centre - Youth Candidates screen is blank. It should be populated on the day of the intake.  

I know that there have been significant adjustments made between the Beta and the main game on the last couple of issues with regards to Youth Intake, and this version again seems to have significant flaws. It's really not good. 

Apologies. Forgot to add best players from the intake. (Nothing amazing). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Observations from Youth Intake. Jan 2025. 

I was so busy in searching for ways in which the Youth Intake was broken, that I actually forgot to look at it from a save point of view and there are actually a few possibilities, despite it not being a great intake, (at least in terms of CA). 

• The 1st thing is foreign and 2nd Nationalities. We have 2x (ENG) players, (1 with (IRL) as a 2nd Nationality), and we also have 1x (ARG) player. Additionally we also have 1x player with (PER) as a 2nd Nationality. I love all this sort of stuff, (even though it's basically just window dressing). It really adds some depth to the players and the save. 
• We've got 3x centre-backs in the top 7 players, (ranked by PA). They don't look great now, but they all have good PA so what's not to like, (even the little lad). 

• The other position we were really desperate for is MC, and considering the "A" rated player in the preview was a DM, this was a bit of a let down. We will just have to be content with 1 decent PA and another with.... well, we will just hope his PA is upgraded. (having said that. If we can get him to 3.5 CA then he will be reasonable so let's not ignore him completely). 

• I've always thought that the tackling attribute was under-powered in that I would much prefer my defenders to be good at marking or positioning than tackling if they had a weakness. If you looked at how many tackles, (or even attempted tackles a player makes in a game of FM), then there are far more headers and interceptions, (less so interceptions in recent issues of the game), but I still think that tackling was a little bit of a lost art, (in the game), because there weren't enough opportunities for a player to use his tacking attribute in comparison to other similar attributes. That being said..... I think tackling is making a bit of a comeback in this ME and with that in mind I was delighted to see my 2 "big" centre-backs from this intake, (25d) & (25e), come through with a 16 tackling attribute each, and the decent DM (25f) has tackling 15. That's quite unusual in my experience and it's certainly something I will be keeping an eye on, (because it's something that is also not that easy to train). Just by way of a comparison by the way, if you look at my whole squad, none of the players I have before the intake have a tackling attribute greater than 15. I'm not sure quite the significance of this yet, but it's certainly caught my eye and I will thinking about it as we move forward. 

• Determination levels, (and ambition too), have also caught my eye. I have ranked them by Det in the following graphic and it shows 1 very low score of 3, twinned with (L.Det), 4 more single digit Det scores, and then 11 in double-figures, (including 3 green 15+). That's better than decent when you consider that I haven't even looked at any of my staff yet. I won't be signing the 3 Det player, (who is (25M) the ENG winger). I will be signing everyone else. 

• All in all I wouldn't say it was a great intake, but the 3x DC's and the reasonable(ish) looking DM might make it decent in the long-run. I could really do with a few MC's next intake though. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Transfers in. (yes you read that right). Jan 2025.

We have made 5 signings in total, (nothing else in the pipeline right now but the scouts are busy), and all 5 came through our Academy, (so I can re-sign them). 

Daniel Restrepo HG was the 1st signing of the save and while not good enough to start, I'm hoping he might help us towards the end of games when we look to the bench. His legs might have gone, but he can still play a little. 

Alejandro Arboleda HG is really poor physically and really not good enough, but I want someone who can sit on the bench, (especially for the 2nd Team), so that I can completely rest 1st Team DC's rather than them still being on the bench even when they are being rested. 

Jairo Molina HG is one I thought long and hard about. On the one hand we have lots of young strikers who are better than him, but on the other hand I have no players with this sort of well-rounded ability to play up front and bring others into play. Again, using him only from the bench I think he has something to offer. 

Mosquera HG is the 1st "proper" player we have signed and he will go straight into the 1st Team and improve us. 

Cristian Arrieta HG is the 2nd "proper" player to sign and he will go straight into the 1st team at WBR.

[Jimbokav1971]

Long Flat Throw. Jan 2025. 

I was just setting the individual training schedules for the new arrivals and looking at PPM's and noticed that Cristian Arrieta HG possesses a long flat throw.  And his Long Throws is decent at 14. 

I might have to look at set-pieces earlier than anticipated. 

[robterrace]

Going back to nationalities you see coming through youth intakes, I've got a Brazilian CB come through my intake in the Conference.

 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 minute ago, robterrace said:

Going back to nationalities you see coming through youth intakes, I've got a Brazilian CB come through my intake in the Conference.

 

I love stuff like that. 

When I did a L10 Youth Only English save a few years back I tracked every new Nationality that came through the intake and updated it with a flag of the Nation. 

You get some great Nationalities down at that level, (especially around London). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2025. 

Liga Apertura. We lost the 1st game because we hadn't played a single pre-season friendly, and because I was concentrating on signing new players and the imminent Youth Intake I didn't notice until we got to the 1st league game and we hadn't played any.  

I've just checked and we still have an Ass Man, so let's have a look to see who it's delegated to and why it wasn't done....

Nope. It was already set correctly. 

oh..... it could have been because we went on a warm weather Training Camp to the USA? I assume that was for pre-season but didn't notice when it happened. We will assume that's the reason. 

Goal-scoring GK's. We're only 2 games in, but (24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" is already off the mark for the season. He's now 4/7 at 57% from the spot. 

He's also injured though and will be out for about a month and with Tovar 6'0" away on International duty and (25b) Hyam (ENG)(IRL) 6'1" still arguing about signing a contract, the only available GK at the club is Fontalvo 6'4".

Finances. We're down to £1M in the bank and we're going to have to go on a run in whatever Copa South America we're in. 

Edited October 24, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2025. 

Liga Apertura. We're slowly getting there after not playing any pre-season games, but we're still losing our home games and winning away, (which is weird). The only reason we lost the 5-6 against Águilas Doradas was because we had a player sent off just after HT and it killed us. We were winning 4-3 at that point and bossing the game. 

We play 8 games next month, (7 of them in the league), and I think our rotation policy will come good in that period, (if we can just hold off on the bloomin injuries). 

Records. 

Transfers. This isn't good news I'm afraid. 

Banguera 6'4" had a min fee release clause of £1.1M for domestic clubs and when Millonarios met it I was desperate to get someone else involved. I eventually managed to get Coritiba (BRA) involved and accepted a deal for slightly less money up front, (rising to the same £1.1M figure), but I also included a 25% clause and a friendly. I'm gutted to lose him but we need the £1M and the 25% clause will go in our back pocket in the hope that it turns into a winning lottery ticket further on down the line. The only way we got him to sign his new contract was with a min fee release clause so we knew this was coming sooner or later. It's still a blow though. 

Goal-scoring GK's. No goals scored this month, but (24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" is back from injury, Tovar 6'0" is back from International duty and (25b) Hyam (ENG)(IRL) 6'1" has finally agreed to sign a contract. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Clauses. Mar 2025. 

We've still got a few clauses outstanding. 

• We've got 50% on Alexis Zapata HG who's valued at £100k - £1M.
• We've got 25% on Banguera 6'4" HG who's valued at £4.5M - £5.4M.
• We've got 20% on Daniel Londoño HG who's valued at £140k - £1.4M.
• We've got 20% on Sérgio Mosquera HG who's valued at £140k - £1.4M.
• We've got 30% on Yaser Asprilla HG who's valued at £16M - £21M. 
• We;ve got 25% on Yeison Guzmán HG who's valued at £190k - £1.9M.

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2025. 

Liga Apertura. Despite losing our best defender, our defensive record is much improved this month as we've really benefited from playing twice a week, (the rotation that comes with that), and keeping a couple of clean sheets. Surprisingly we've won all 6 of our away games this season, but we've also lost 5 of 7 home games, (winning 1 and drawing the other). 

Copa Sudamericana. It felt weird to play another Colombian team at this stage, but I suppose I'm comparing it to Europe where there are loads more Countries and it makes sense to avoid clubs from the same Nation. In South America there are much fewer Nations so no real way to enforce that. 

Facilities. 

Goal-scoring GK's. We were awarded 3 pens this month. (24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" took 2 against Deportiva de Pereira, (scoring 1 and seeing the 2nd saved) bringing his career record to 5/9 from the spot at 56%. Fontalvo 6'4" also got in on the act Alianza Petrolera, scoring his 1st goal of the season and bringing his career record from the spot to 4/4 at 100 %.

Finances. The money on the Copa Sudamericana is significantly less than the Copa Libertadores and I doubt it will last to the end of the season even with £1M from player sales. 

Edited October 25, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2025. 

Liga Apertura. This is really good form and I'm delighted. Your eyes might immediately be drawn to the 8-2 win at home to Atlético Bucaramanga, but the result of the month was the 1-0 away win from the 2nd Team against Millonarios, (who are the best team in the league). Brilliant performance with a weakened 2nd Team and more proof, (if any was needed), that this rigid rotation policy really works when you're playing twice a week over an extended period. Even had we lost narrowly, (like they did in the Copa Sudamericana), then it's still positive because it's given them much needed playing time while completely resting the 1st team for the following game and gives us a huge advantage going forward. I'm also hopeful that this will alleviate a few of the injury issues that we've encountered over the last 12 months or so. 

Copa Sudamericana. The 2nd Team lost narrowly, but it was a good performance against a strong Brazilian side. 

Records.

When we lost Banguera 6'4" HG for £1.1M we obviously had to replace from within and this meant left-footed Ordóñez 6'1" HG moving in from DLC to a central Libero role. This obviously means that he needs to be replaced and we've done this by promoting Aponzá 6'3" from the 2nd Team. Unfortunately he has been injured for as month and I had to promote a very young left sided DC from the 2nd Team to replace him, (and this was 15 year old (25e) Panesso (F.Sport) 6'2"). While his performances individually have only been average, (as you would expect because he's really not that great), our performances as a team with him in have been excellent and this is all that counts. It has obviously helped explode his development, (but I hope I can drop him back to the 2nd Team soon). 

Goal-scoring GK's. Nothing this month.

Finances. We lost almost £600k this month. 

Edited October 25, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jtomsett11]

Enjoying your latest thread as usual! You usually have some element of jeopardy about your saves (which makes them great to read as it's not just an easy stroll to success) and usually that's the fact you can't just go out and buy replacements, but the financial element here seems even more hazardous than normal. Even your solid performance in the league isn't guaranteed to continue as there's just so many games!

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Jtomsett11 said:

Enjoying your latest thread as usual! You usually have some element of jeopardy about your saves (which makes them great to read as it's not just an easy stroll to success) and usually that's the fact you can't just go out and buy replacements, but the financial element here seems even more hazardous than normal. Even your solid performance in the league isn't guaranteed to continue as there's just so many games!

The truth is that if I allowed myself to buy players, In don't think the game would hold the same attraction for me. It would be too easy.

Not being able to just go and sign a replacement for Banguera 6'4" HG isn't an enormous problem in itself even though it significantly weakens us, but with just 1 med-term injury on top of that and we have to start a 15 year old in our 1st Team matches really does have an impact, (even if our results have been good during this period). It means that the way that you look at saves has to be a little different in that it has to ALWAYS be with an eye on the future rather than the here and now, so with that in mind I never really care too much about the result of individual games, (no matter what happens), because there's always next season and the season after that. Obviously I don't want to have to continue selling our best players for circa £1M, (because that's not sustainable), but selling our best players for £1M and then adding significant sell-on clauses is something that is definitely sustainable in the short to med-term, and at some point this will allow us to keep certain key players for long enough that we will be able to sell them for significantly more than £1M plus add-ons. I have to do the short-terms stuff, to get to the med-term and long-term stuff. 

[DavidBeckham]

Panesso looks like he could develop into a quality left-sided Center-back! Don’t think there’s a more aggressive 15-year-old tackler in world football  Keep up the good work mate! 

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2025. 

Fixture Congestion. This is the worst I've experienced for a while. The month started ok with 3 days, 4 days, 3days, 4 days and 5 days between matches, but from the 20th May it went 3 days, 2 days, 2 days, 2 days. The last little period saw us play 4 games in 7 days. 

Colour coding.
1st Team game. 
2nd Team game. 
Positive result. 
Negative result. 

1st May. 2nd Team in Copa Sudamericana. (We were much the better team and after leading 2-0 at HT we should have won comfortably). 
2nd May.
3rd May.
4th May. 1st Team in Liga Apertura. (A good draw against one of the bug Continental rep clubs in Colombia). 
5th May. 
6th May. 
7th May. 
8th May. 2nd Team in Copa Sudamericana. (Any game the 2nd Team don't lose is a good result). 
9th May. 
10th May. 
11th May. 1st Team in Liga Apertura. (A good win). 
12th May. 
13th May. 
14th May.
15th May. 2nd Team in Copa Sudamericana. (A really good win). 
16th May.
17th May. 
18th May. 
19th May. 
20th May. 1st Team in Copa Dimayor. (A comfortable win). 
21st May. 
22nd May. 
23rd May. 2nd Team in Copa Sudamericana. (A really good draw against Brazilian opposition). 
24th May. 
25th May. 1st Team in Liga Apertura. Semi Final Group. (A great win away to the top side in the Country). 
26th May.
27th May. 2nd Team in Liga Apertura. Semi Final Group. (Well beaten. The 2nd Team just can't play a game at this level with only 3 days rest).
28th May. 
29th May. 2nd Team in Copa Sudamericana. (A brilliant win in a game I thought I was throwing, until the fringe players surprisingly came good). 
30th May.  
31st May. 
1st Jun. 1st Team in Liga Apertura. Semi Final Group.

When I tell you that we lost just 1 single game this month I think that speaks volumes about effective a rigid rotation policy can be. 10 games in a month is tough, but 4 games in 7 days or 5 in 10 or even 6 in 13 is just silly. 

1st Team are not as strong as some of the sides they're playing against, and our B Team are woefully inadequate in comparison to anyone they play. They shouldn't really even be competitive. Even if the B Team were to lose all their games, then it would still make sense to do this if the games the 1st Team were playing in were ending with positive results. Honestly, anything at all that the B Team get is a bonus. 

On top of that, I'm hoping that over the course of the season I see a much improved fitness record from the squad and then of course we have the exploded development of the young players given senior playing exposure well before their time. It really is win/win. 

Liga Apertura. Considering the start we had, (where we lost our opening 5 home games, and didn't with at home until our 7th home game.... because there were no pre-season games remember), I will take a 3rd placed finish. 

Liga Apertura. Semi Final Group. The loss against Llaneros, (that sounds like a Welsh name by the way), was of course a blow, nut for us to not lose any of the other games this month is a bloomin miracle and I am absolutely not complaining. The fact is that I think the 1st Team would probably have lost too, (having played 2 days before), and it was simply a case of doing the best with the hand we had been dealt. 

Copa Sudamericana. Going into the last group game against Sol de América (PAR), I thought that we had already been knocked out so I actually rested both the 1st and 2nd Teams, (because they were shattered), and played the fringe players in the squad, (such as the player who sit on the bench for both teams but only start when there are injuries suspensions. It was done partly to rest the 1st and 2nd Team, but also to keep the fringe players happy and get some mins into their legs. When they went and won, (and won well by the way), I couldn't believe it. 

In fact we have qualified for the Playoffs, (where we will play Racing Club de Avellaneda of Argentina). 

Copa Dimayor. The 1st Team did well here in a convincing performance. The 4th Round is actually the Round of 16, and because we finished so high in the league last season this is our entry point this season. It's already a 2 legged affair so I plan on playing the B Team in the 2nd leg with a 3 goal advantage. 

Records. 25 days after he became the clubs youngest ever goal-scorer, (25e) Panesso (F.Sport) 6'2" also becomes the Copa Sudamericana youngest ever goal-scorer. 

Exploded Development. It's no surprise to me at all that throwing a young player into Senior football before they are ready generates a positive response most of the time, (depending on hidden attributes). In this case we 1st of all have him featuring regularly for the 2nd Team. Then he is promoted to the 1st Team for a month and on top of that his performances in training have been as good as they can possibly be. When I hear people moaning that they can never develop the type of players they see me developing I tell them that the answer is simple. If you wait for a player to develop until they are ready to play for the 1st Team, it's likely that the time will never come. Instead you have to make the time come by promoting the player early and exploding their development. Regular mins in senior football + good performances in training + good facilities + good coaching is a perfect storm for exploded development. 

Have a look at him. How many of you would have played a player like this in the 1st Team at any sort of reasonable level? 

Goal-scoring GK's. There were no goals or pens this month. 

Finances. With 5 home games this month, (and £160k prize money), you might imagined we would have made money, and you would have been right. From losing £600k the previous month, we made a profit of approx £385k. 

Edited October 25, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, DavidBeckham said:

Panesso looks like he could develop into a quality left-sided Center-back! Don’t think there’s a more aggressive 15-year-old tackler in world football  Keep up the good work mate! 

I hadn't noticed his aggression. In fact I hadn't really noticed much of anything about him other than that he had 16 tackling and wasn't very good. 

If I can sort his physicals out though, he's actually not too bad at all. He's obviously still only 15 so there is loads of time for development, (particularly while playing football at this level), 

It will be interesting to see how he develops over the next few years. 

[Jimbokav1971]

South America Top League player development. Jun 2025. 

I really like this as a feature, but (1), it no longer shows the names of the players when you hover over it, and (2), it should be so easy to minimize the text at the top to expand the list of clubs at the bottom. 

57. Club Nacional de Football (URU).
55. Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield (ARG).
55. Club Atlético River Plate (ARG).
53. Defensor Sporting Club (URU).
46. Danubio FC (URU).
45. Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro (ARG).
45. Club Atlético Boca Juniors (ARG).
41. Club Atlético Peñarol (URU).
41. Club Sporting Cristal (PER).
39. Envigado FC (COL). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jun 2025. 

Liga Apertura. Semi Final Group. The loss against Llaneros was REALLY annoying because it was them that gave our 2nd Team a thumping at the end of last month. I really wanted to get revenge on them, (and I never usually care about stuff like that), but despite battering them, we still came out on the wrong side of a 7 goal thriller. It was this game, (or the earlier game when they beat our 2nd Team), that ultimately cost us top place in the group. 

I think we're up against it when we're drawn in the same group as Millonarios, so moving forward I might have to see if I can manipulate the results so they see is in the other group. Having said that, we should have topped the group this time around and had we done so we would have played someone other than them in the Final. (By the way, is that classed as silverware in Colombia, or is it still the overall League winner who gets the only silverware?)

Copa Dimayor. We led 4-1 from the 1st leg, so this wasn't the disaster it might have been. The 2nd Team played and although I wanted to win, they were drawing 1-1 until the 89th min, so conceding a late goal really doesn't make much difference in the grand scheme of things. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Although (24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" scored from the spot against Llaneros FC, he also saw an 87th min pen, (that would have been a winner), saved against Deportes Tolima. He's now 6/10 at 60% from the spot. Fontalvo 6'4" is still 4/4 at 100%.

Finances. We lost almost £1M this month. 

Edited October 25, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul 2025. 

Liga Finalización. The 1st Team won both their games, (América  de Cali & Boyacá Chicó), but the 2nd Team lost both of theirs, (Deportivo Cali & Atlético Nacional). I'm fine with this though because it allowed us to progress through the Playoff stage of the Copa Sudamericana, and to take a lead into the 2nd leg of the 

Copa Sudamericana. We were decent in the 1st leg against Racing Club of Argentina, but excellent in the 2nd round. 

Job Offers. I said no to these, but never say never. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Unfortunately (24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" fractured his wrist in the 1st leg against Athletico Paranaense, (so he will be out for a while). Fontalvo 6'4" converted his 2nd pen of the season and he's now 5/5 from the spot at 100%. (24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" is 6/10 at 60%. 

Finances. Had we not been forced to sell Banguera 6'4" HG earlier in the season, we would be overdrawn now. 

[KristianT]

If you reach the finals of all competitions, how many games could you potentially play in one season in Colombia? I have counted for some clubs in Brazil on earlier FMs and arrived at 85-90.

Always great to follow your stories

Edited October 26, 2023 by KristianT

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, KristianT said:

If you reach the finals of all competitions, how many games could you potentially play in one season in Colombia? I have counted for some clubs in Brazil on earlier FMs and arrived at 85-90.

Always great to follow your stories

Thanks @KristianT

I was trying to work this out the other day. 

20 games in Liga Apertura.
6 games in the Liga Apertura. Semi Final Group.
2 games in the Liga Apertura. Final.

28 games in total. 

20 games in Liga Finalizació.
6 games in the Liga Finalizació. Semi Final Group.
2 games in the Liga Finalizació. Final.

28 games in total. 

The number of games in the Copa Dimayor depends on where you finished the previous season in the league because not all Liga Dimayor clubs come in at the same round.

Last season for example we finished 5th in the League (overall), so this season we came into the Cup at the Fourth Round stage and we would only play 8 games if we won the Cup.
The previous season for example, Club Atlético Bucaramanga finished 2nd bottom, (19th), so the following season they came into the Cup at the First Round, (and even at that level each tie is 2-legged and I flippin love that), so for them to win they would have to play... 14 games, (but if they finished that low in the table then it was unlikely, (although not impossible), that they would have qualified for Continental competition the following season). So we will go with 8 games. 

8 games in total. 

In the Copa Sudamericana, and assuming that we came in at the Preliminary Round as we did this season, then there would be 16 games, (where the Final is a one off game). 

16 games. 

In the FIFA Club World Cup there are 7 games from the Group stage onwards. 

7 games. 

We haven't played in the Súperliga Dimayor yet, but it's a 2-legged affair if and when we get there. 

2 games. 

European/South American Club Challenge is a 1-off game, but I'm not sure what determines who plays in it. 

1 game. 

I don't think I have missed anything out. but as we've won nothing in Colombia yet it's possible that I have. In any case, that's what we've got and it comes to a total of 90 games. 

90 games. 

[Edit]

@KristianTreminded me that there is a South American Super-Cup which is called the Recopa Sudamericana and the Final is a 2-legged affair so that brings the total possible games in a season to 92. 

Total games 92.

Edited October 26, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2025. 

Liga Finalización. Because we played in 4 Cup games this month, the 2nd Team played in most of the league games, so with that in mind 3 wins from 5 is probably a decent return, (and I'm happy with it as we won all 4 of the Cup games played this month). 

Copa Sudamericana. We were really good in South America and we're comfortably into the Semi's. 

Copa Dimayor. We battered them and if anything I'm a bit peeved that the tie isn't dead and buried and we will have to play the 1st Team against them in the 2nd leg (and the result is still in doubt), rather than being able to play the 2nd Team safe in the knowledge that whatever happens we will make the Final anyway. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Just the 1 goal this month. 

(24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" is 6/10 from the spot at 60%.
Fontalvo 6'4" is now 5/5 from the spot at 100%.

Finances. £440k or £480k doesn't sound like a lot of money in this save, but each is basically 1 months losses, so our prize money this month is basically a couple of months worth of debt covered. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Injuries. Sep 2025. 

I've just gone to select a 2nd Team squad for a league game and this is what met me. 

The 6 players in the 2nd Team starting XI are not the only one's unavailable. 

[KristianT]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Thanks @KristianT

I was trying to work this out the other day. 

20 games in Liga Apertura.
6 games in the Liga Apertura. Semi Final Group.
2 games in the Liga Apertura. Final.

28 games in total. 

20 games in Liga Finalizació.
6 games in the Liga Finalizació. Semi Final Group.
2 games in the Liga Finalizació. Final.

28 games in total. 

The number of games in the Copa Dimayor depends on where you finished the previous season in the league because not all Liga Dimayor clubs come in at the same round.

Last season for example we finished 5th in the League (overall), so this season we came into the Cup at the Fourth Round stage and we would only play 8 games if we won the Cup.
The previous season for example, Club Atlético Bucaramanga finished 2nd bottom, (19th), so the following season they came into the Cup at the First Round, (and even at that level each tie is 2-legged and I flippin love that), so for them to win they would have to play... 14 games, (but if they finished that low in the table then it was unlikely, (although not impossible), that they would have qualified for Continental competition the following season). So we will go with 8 games. 

8 games in total. 

In the Copa Sudamericana, and assuming that we came in at the Preliminary Round as we did this season, then there would be 16 games, (where the Final is a one off game). 

16 games. 

In the FIFA Club World Cup there are 7 games from the Group stage onwards. 

7 games. 

We haven't played in the Súperliga Dimayor yet, but it's a 2-legged affair if and when we get there. 

2 games. 

European/South American Club Challenge is a 1-off game, but I'm not sure what determines who plays in it. 

1 game. 

I don't think I have missed anything out. but as we've won nothing in Colombia yet it's possible that I have. In any case, that's what we've got and it comes to a total of 90 games. 

90 games. 

90 games! Perhaps even a South American supercup (winner Libertadores v Sudamericana, double legged tie?)? That is both fantastic and incredibly annoying at the same time  how long is the off season? Do these 90 games get played in 10, 11 or 12 months?

[Jimbokav1971]

6 minutes ago, KristianT said:

90 games! Perhaps even a South American supercup (winner Libertadores v Sudamericana, double legged tie?)? That is both fantastic and incredibly annoying at the same time  how long is the off season? Do these 90 games get played in 10, 11 or 12 months?

I don't think I managed to find a South American Super-Cup, but there could be 1 that I've missed. 

Club Atlético Talleres de Córdoba of Argentina won the Copa Libertadores last season and then this season they played against Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras of Brazil in the Recopa Sudamericana. (South American Super-Cup) which was a 2-legged Final, so that brings the total up to 92 games in a season I think. 

There isn't really an off-season at all. 

Our last game last season was on 10th December, (which was the 2nd leg of the Liga Finalización Final). 
The first competitive game this season was on 22nd Jan, (but we had played no friendlies in between because I made the error of a warm weather training camp). 

The previous season we played friendlies from the start of Jan. 

So I think that leaves is 3 weeks off at the end of December and that's about it. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2025. 

Liga Finalización. We were in great form but the injuries and suspensions really started to take their toll and losing 3 on the bounce has put a dent in our league campaign. The reality though is that we're still actually doing amazingly well when you consider that we're in bothe the Semi-Finals of South American and domestic Cup competitions. 

Copa Sudamericana. In only the 3rd season of the save, (the 2nd playing in South america competition), we've given ourselves a great opportunity to make our 1st South American FInal. 

Copa Dimayor. We comfortably eased into the Semi's of the domestic Cup too. 

Records. 9 in a row doesn't sound like a big deal, but if you could see our 2nd Team you would understand that it really is. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Nothing this month. 

Finances. We're down to under £1M in the bank again and we need some prize money. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad by PA. Oct 2025. 

If I remember correctly I think there were 15 players at the start of the save who had 5.0 PA. 

We now only have 10, (and only 6 of them have played for us this season). 

We do have 7 more who have 4.5 PA, butu only 2 of these have featured regularly. 

After that we drop down to 15x 4.0 players, and again 6 of them haven't made a senior appearance this season and another has made only a few. 

In summary that seems to suggest that there is absolutely loads of room for squad development going forward. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake preview. Oct 2025.

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2025. 

Liga Finalización. This looks like really bad form, but it's really just the impact of making it to 2 Semi-Finals and the 2nd Team not being good enough to cope with league games yet. The fact that we lost 3 Semi's this month on top of 3 league games just makes it a tough tough month, but the reason it's tough is because we have done well enough to make it to 2 Semi's.

It looks like this will be the 1st Semi we have missed in this save (5 out of 5 so far I think), and we still have a chance of making this one if we win our last game of the season and La Equidad or Águilas Doradas lose. Actually, our last game is against La Equidad so it's simple. Beat them and we make the Semi's. 

Copa Sudamericana. We were level after the away leg, but Fortaleza (BRA) were too strong for us and nicked a really tight game. 

Copa Dimayor. I thought that a 1 goal deficit from the 1st leg might be something we could overcome, but Millonarios were just too strong for us and we were never really in it. Their 1st 2 goals in the 1st leg were both pens and ultimately this is what cost us. 

Records. This is a step in the right direction. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Just 1 successful pen this month from Fontalvo 6'4". 

(24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" is 6/10 from the spot at 60%.
Fontalvo 6'4" is now 5/5 from the spot at 100%.

Finances. We've made approx £375k profit this month which is great because it will hopefully keep us in credit until we get through the early stages of the South American competition next season. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2025. 

Liga Finalización. We lost the last game of the season so we miss out on the 1st Semi's of the save. 

Overall Liga Dimayor. We do qualify for South American competition next season despite the poor end to our campaign. 

Liga Dimayor Average Points. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" is 6/10 from the spot at 60%.
Fontalvo 6'4" is now 5/5 from the spot at 100%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2025. 

Awards. I personally wouldn't have picked Ramírez HG as YPotY and his 6 goals and 11 assists seem quite moderate accomplishments, (although 11 goals and 14 assists in all competitions is a better return). 

Reputation. 

Transfer.

Al-Raed Saudi Football Club came in with an offer of £1M for Cristian Arrieta HG and although I was keen to sell, I upped it to £1.2M + 25% + a friendly and El Presidente accepted the offer on my behalf, (before I was able to do so). We only signed him 12 months ago, (on a free), so getting £1M+ for him is a no-brainer despite the fact that he's one of our best players. We can't turn down £1M for 29 year old who has only been back with us for 12 months after joining us on a free. It's free money. 

Job Offer. Thanks but no thanks. 

Finances. I've used the Cristian Arrieta HG Transfer money and moved it into the Wage budget. 

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Depth Chart. Jan 2025. 

GK.

1st Team. (24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1"
2nd Team. Fontalvo 6'4"
U19's. (25b) Hyam (ENG)(IRL) 6'1"

DL.

1st Team. Rodallega HG
2nd Team. Holguín
Backup. Celedón

DR. 

1st Team. Mesa
2nd Team. García
Backup. Andrade.

DC.

1st Team DLC. Aponzá 6'3"
1st Team DC. Ordóñez 6'1" HG
1st Team DRC. Palacio 5'10" HG

2nd Team DLC. Aponzá 6'3"
2nd Team DC. Noreña 6'0"
2nd Team DRC. (24a) Gómez (Bal) 6'5"

Backup. Didier Palacios 5'11" & Felipe Valencia 6'4".

MC. 

1st Team MLC. D.Zapata
1st Team MRC. JM.Zapata

2nd Team MLC. Roldán
2nd Team MRC. Mosquera HG

Backup. Reyes

SC.

1st Team SLC. Rodríguez, (sold). Ramírez HG
1st Team SC. Díaz
1st Team SRC. Iván Angulo HG, (Someone gazumped us on the deal. Absolutely gutted!) "Titch" Russell 5'4"

2nd Team SLC. Aristizábal
2nd Team SC. Ramírez HG, (promoted). Bonilla HG
2nd Team SRC. "Titch" Russell 5'4", (promoted). Sinisterra

Backup. Rubio, 

Edited October 26, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Clauses. Jan 2026

We have clauses outstanding on 6 players. 

Alexis Zapata HG is into the last year of his contract. He is valued at £70k - £700k. I will accept any deal then DoF does for this 50% clause because I don't think it's going to generate anything. 

Banguera 6'4" HG is 21 years old and has just been capped for the 1st time. He's valued at £6.2M, (min fee release clause FGN clubs) and our DoF has done a deal for £1M for his 25% clause. 25% of £6.2 = £1.55M so I will leave the clause in place. 

Cristian Arrieta HG has just left, but I would gladly sell his 25% for anything the DoF can get because he's 30 years old now. 

Daniel Londoño HG is is 31 years old and valued between £130k - £1.3M. I will happily accept anything the DoF can agree for his 20% clause. 

Yaser Asprilla HG is 22 years old and valued between £18M - £23M. We have a 30% clause on him and I would love to cash in on this clause. 

Yeison Guzmán HG is 27 years old and listed for sale at £550k. We have a 25% clause on him. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Day. Mar Jan 2026. 

The same problems we experienced the last couple of years are still here. 

  

(26a) Bernal (F.Det) 6'1" might top the PA list, but he doesn't look great to start with. 

(26b) Benítez (Bal) needs to work on his physicals, but I think there is the makings of a player in there. 

(26c) Cotterill (COL)(USA) has the nice trio of passing, technique and First Touch, but his physicals really aren't great.

(26d) Parra (Merc) is probably my pick of this years intake. I really like the look of him. 

(26e) Obando (F.Det) looks very good, but I just need to get his physicals up. I might have a new favourite from this group. 

(26f) Corrales (F.Det) looks decent. 

(26g) San José (Temp) is (Temp) + (L.Det), but actually I think he looks decent. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2026. 

Liga Apertura. A good start to the season, but then the 2nd team came up against the behemoth that is Millonarios. 

Transfers. 

We had 3 players in on trial, but it appears we have missed out on all 3. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2026. 

Liga Apertura. A really good month where we just played once per week so we were able to play the 1st Team in all games. 

Wanted. We have a few player currently being tracked by other clubs. 

(24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" is wanted by both Porto & Benfica. 

(24f) Vargas (Bal) is wanted by Atlético Nacional.

Aristizábal is wanted by Atlético Vélez Sarsfield (ARG).

Díaz is wanted by Junior FC. 

Goal-scoring GK's. It's good to get (24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" off the mark already. 

(24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" is 7/11 from the spot at 64%.
Fontalvo 6'4" is now 5/5 from the spot at 100%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

NxGn 2026. Mar 2026.

Pleasantly surprised to see 2 of our Academy products on this list. 

(24e) Ramos (Driven) 6'1" being on the list is probably not a surprise. The fact that he's being trailed by Benfica & Porto might be good for our bank balance, but I think I want to get him on a new contract if I can but he's already on a 2+2 deal that will take him to Dec 2029. 

(24a) Gómez (Bal) 6'5" has already made 43(22) appearances and has only recently turned 18. He's developing really nicely, but it was still a surprise to see him on the list. 

We have 14x 5.0 PA players at the club. The 2 players on the list this year have another season to move up on the list, and maybe we can get another one on it with them next season.

2x GK
4x DC
1x MC
1x AML
1x AMR
5x SC