[FM24] The Parmigiano Reggiano Connection

[higgins]

Welcome to this thread, my  first proper career with FM24 begins here.
I bought the game rather late this year, I wasn't sure I wanted to, then some members of the community, more or less intentionally, convinced me to buy it.
Damn you all...

We start in Italy, and more precisely in Italian Serie B.

My alter-ego in the game, Lazarus Griso, is the new coach of Reggiana, nicknamed "La Regia", a small team based  in the city of Reggio Emilia, in the Emilia-Romagna region, an area known worldwide for its food and wine products and for the Ferrari racing team.
The major rivalries, not limited to football, are with Parma and Modena.  

 What should you know about Lazarus Griso?
A native of Vipiteno, despite his 45 years of age he has never coached any football team, but as a sports psychologist he has often had to deal with professional athletes, also from the world of football.
Last year he obtained his master's degree as a coach at the FIGC training centre in Coverciano.
The owner of Reggiana decided to rely on him and his solid motivational and team-building skills after the promotion to Serie B at the end of last season.
From this point on, Griso and I are one and the same person.

As we said, Reggiana plays in Serie B, newly promoted from Serie C last year, and the media consider it a sure candidate for immediate relegation (Media prediction 20th). 

Quote

The team possesses some decent talents, but unfortunately of the 24 players in the squad, 20 have contracts expiring in 2024, and as if that was not enough, 13 players are only here on loan.

On the other hand, the financial situation is not optimal, we spend 6.6 million on wages, with no margin to pay for more, while the budget for purchases amounts to 700k.
I wish I could say a few words to those who built this team, I am not too worried about this season, next one will be even worse.
A massive rebuilding effort is therefore required, which will take several seasons to complete, and in the meantime we will have to achieve enough sporting results to keep the team in Serie B, this should provide a good challenge for the time to come.
Reggiana was founded in 1919, went bankrupt in 2005, and has since risen from its ashes after being refounded and restarted from Serie C.
Due to bankruptcy the club lost ownership of the newly built 'Giglio' stadium, which will be auctioned off and bought by the owner of Sassuolo, today it is known as the Mapei Stadium, Reggiana plays its home matches there but the stadium is rented, in this the FM24 database is incorrect.

In its past it boasts participation in seven Serie A championships, the last of which was in the 1996-97 season, several top players have played in its ranks, Paulo Futre and Fabrizio Ravanelli among the others.
In 1995, it was the first team to be coached by Carlo Ancelotti, who gained promotion from Serie B in the same year.

Reggiana is based in the city of Reggio Emilia, in the Emilia-Romagna region, an area known worldwide for its delicious food and wine products, for the Ferrari racing team and for Federico Fellini.
The major rivalries, not limited to football, are with Parma and Modena.

Thanks for reading, more will follow about team building and tactics.

Edit: for further updates follow my twitter account - Crujiffista

 

Edited January 7 by higgins

[higgins]

 

Reggiana Team Overview

As you can see there is not much to be happy about, Bardi is a reliable goalkeeper even if his salary is crazy at this level, Girma is the only player who can have a future in this team, due to age and ability, the rest is made up of experienced average players, good for Serie B but with no future here, given their contracts are expiring.

Cigarini must be sold immediately to save some money, Vido is perpetually broken and therefore unreliable.

The total expense for the wages of the players I own is around 3.8M (first team), while the total wages of the players on loan is around 1M.

There isn't much room to operate, but I will have to sell whoever has some offers to reinvest in younger players at a lower price, all this to avoid being without players next year.

Among the players currently on loan there are some excellent prospects, ready for Serie B, such as Janis Antiste, Alessandro Mercandalli, Edoardo Pieragnolo and Alessandro Bianco, unfortunately the chances that any of these will be able to extend their loan with us next year are reduced to minimum.

 

[higgins]

The lack of real wingers forces me to choose to play with a narrow formation, a compact 4-1-3-2 is my first idea but we will have to see how it will work with the players available and what I will be able to do on the summer transfer market.

Take the team instructions of the tactical screen posted below with a pinch of salt, these are early days and many things will probably change after the first friendlies; the inspiration for this obviously comes from the famous Sir Alf Ramsey's 1966  "Wingless Wonders".

 

[Shrewnaldo]

I really like Antiste. He was a great prospect at Toulouse a long time ago and I keep looking at him for my save this year. Unfortunately he's always outside my price range but would imagine he'll bang for you on loan.

[higgins]

6 minutes ago, Shrewnaldo said:

I really like Antiste. He was a great prospect at Toulouse a long time ago and I keep looking at him for my save this year. Unfortunately he's always outside my price range but would imagine he'll bang for you on loan.

I hope so, he's only 20 and could grow up a lot, but he's ready to be a regular starter in serie B, meanwhile he's injured... 

[higgins]

Here are the players who arrived during the summer transfer market, I spent 1.25M and bought 5 men, the sixth arrives on loan with an option to buy.
I managed to offload some deadwood no longer useful to the team: Cigarini, Varela, Kabashi, Libutti and Fiamozzi left Reggiana, with the (little) money obtained I got some players  who should be functional to my 4-1-3-2 tactic:

• Tom Moustier (Dmc), 21 yrs, from Hannover B team, 250k
• Jaiteh Drammeh Musa (St), 21 yrs, from Sevilla B team, 100k
• Takashi Uchino (Dr/l), 22 yrs, from Fortuna Dusseldorf, 300k
• Franck Surdez (St), 21 yrs, from Neuchatel X. 450k
• Robin Fellahuer (Dr), 25 yrs, from Elversberg, 145k
• Arthur Atta (Dmc), 20 yrs, from Metz, loan

Some scattered thoughts on the new arrivals: I paid too much for Surdez, this Swiss U-21 will be Antiste's backup, he wasn't my first choice, maybe not even the second, but in the end some problems arose and I had to choose him, I already hate him... We'll see if he could be useful.
Moustier will be my starting half-back, I want a midfielder with good technique in that role, because often the action will start from him.

Musa is a bet that I hope to win, the boy could surprise despite the low price paid for him.

Too many foreign players?

Maybe, but Italian players cost too much and we needed to fill some holes in the roster with a limited budget, they're all young and that's the most important thing, having plenty of time to develop.

[higgins]

Finally we're ready to take the pitch and play the first official games of the season, Antiste, my best striker, and Natan Girma, my playmaker, had a difficult pre-season, both struggling with an annoying  4-weeks injury.

The team's results have surprised me a little, because our play has not always been exciting, often we get too confused and caught up in the frenzy, we lose the ball in dangerous areas and expose ourselves to lethal counter-attacks, at other times we are a little passive and give too much initiative to the opponents.
Somehow though, despite everything, we are 2nd in the table behind Parma, it is still too early to make judgements, the B league table is always short and the situation turns quickly, behind us there are battleships such as Samp, Cremonese and Spezia that sooner or later will get closer. 
We are underdog at this level, let's see if our youngsters will continue to have the surprising performance they have had so far.

 

Tactically the 4-1-3-2 allows us to be very compact in the middle of the field, where if someone makes a mistake or is skipped the numbers present often allow us to cope with the waves of the opponents, for the first time in ages I am asking my players to "get stuck in", with good results and without too many disciplinary penalties.
Perhaps we develop the play on the flanks a little too much, making our style a bit predictable, especially when the performance of the outfielders drops.
However, if served properly, the attackers are punctual with the goal so far, with Antiste and Gondo as the leading characters, the former is a bit lazy during training, where he has often been invited to give more, the boy needs to grow up but is a raw gem.

 

 

Only three defeats in the league, all three far from home, in spite of that we concede too much, more clean sheets are needed, then we should learn how to score penalties, already 3 out of 4 have been missed, totally crazy.

To end this post check below for some tasty stats regarding your favourite serie B team...  

 

 

 

 

 

[Shrewnaldo]

Didn't realise you had Gondo too. I looked at him a few times for Feralpisalò but decided against it as I had him in an old save. Him and Antiste are a brilliant front pairing for Serie B

[higgins]

55 minutes ago, Shrewnaldo said:

Didn't realise you had Gondo too. I looked at him a few times for Feralpisalò but decided against it as I had him in an old save. Him and Antiste are a brilliant front pairing for Serie B

Yep, they're already on loan before my arrival, surely a well assembled parnership and even their backups, Musa & Surdez, are doing well.

[higgins]

Today is the 17th March 2024 (in-game date), my first season at the helm of Reggiana is entering its hottest and most decisive phase. Given the initial premises and the expectations of a twentieth place, the fact that we are still leading the table is very satisfying, but now the desire to finish well is at least as great as the possible disappointment for a bad finale.

 

And I say this for well-defined reasons, the team has lost brilliance, every point scored is more than sweated over and every game is complicated beyond the value of the opponent, whether it is fatigue or inability to withstand the pressure I do not know, the point is that it is very difficult to bring home positive results, the forwards are scoring less and the full-backs, who were once aggressive and dominant on the flanks, are now often timid and surrendering.

 

On the other hand, having recently defeated our two arch-rivals Parma and Modena, both 3-1, there are also reasons to be optimistic.
Just in these two matches I fully relied on the advice of my Assistant about the OI to use.

In the January market three players arrived:

All of them should only serve as replacements in case of injuries, but they could aspire to something more if their performances will be  up to par.

But there is not only the immediate, there is also the need to start planning the aftermath, even without knowing in which category we will be, here is the future arrival of the unemployed midfielder Gyabuaa, 22 years old, from Atalanta, then the permanence of Nardi is confirmed, now on loan.
All the other players on loan (or rather their clubs) do not intend to extend their stay in Reggio Emilia, the answer is always the same, something like this:

Not very encouraging I'd say…

Edited January 2 by higgins

[higgins]

 

Those who follow this thread know that the team and I are at a crossroads, either we snatch with our teeth the promotion we have so far earned on the pitch or surrender and give up the dream of Serie A that the people of Reggiana have been missing since 1997.
The fact that in both cases I will end up with a club to be rebuilt, with more than half the team missing  and without money is, at this point, a detail.
Some of my men have already chosen unfortunately, Janis Antiste, the supposed  star of the team, with only 3 goals in the last 19 games has made some things clear about him, he probably knows he won't stay in Reggio Emilia and seems more concerned about not getting injured than giving his all on the pitch.
But even Gondo has fallen into a seemingly endless lethargy, if we are still alive we owe it to the goals of Franck Surdez (I have always believed in him from day one...) and to the performance of our playmaker, Natan Girma, dominant in recent weeks.

 

The month of April was disconcerting, two away draws against teams within our reach and above all a home defeat against Palermo, who thanks to that victory joined us at the top of the table.
That's why the next match against Cosenza becomes vital, here the imponderable happens, because my left wingback, Edoardo Pieragnolo, 21 years, decides to do things almost single-handedly, and with a close-range header like a shrewd striker and then with an assist for a rocket from outside the box by Crnigoj he overturns a compromised game after Tutino's goal at the end of the first half for Cosenza.

Take a look at the statistics to see what a crazy match this was against Cosenza.

But that's not all, the next game we play at home against Samp, fifth so far, three games to go in the championship.
Pieragnolo, again him, invents two assists and allows Gondo and Antiste to return to scoring, in the meantime Palermo and Modena lose points and we win direct promotion, 26 years later we return to Serie A!!
Absolute delirium and years of life lost for me.

 

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There will be time to comment, there will be time to understand what will become of me and Reggiana next year, but this is the moment to celebrate the pride of Reggio Emilia for its club and its champions.

Stay in touch and thanks for reading.

Edited January 3 by higgins

[higgins]

[Shrewnaldo]

Nice that Gondo and Antiste return to scoring ways for the final game. Any chance they'll want to stay for Serie A?

[higgins]

27 minutes ago, Shrewnaldo said:

Nice that Gondo and Antiste return to scoring ways for the final game. Any chance they'll want to stay for Serie A?

Gondo has expiring contract so with the right offer he could stay, Antiste to be fair looked too soft in this campaign as he often disappeared in big games, not sure he's ready for  Serie A 

[higgins]

After the promotion celebrations it is time to face reality, let's take a look at the roster to see who stays, who leaves and who arrives so far:

 

• Keepers: Bardi, Badiashile, Satalino

Satalino  loan ends, Bardi earns 1M a year and I hope to sell him to save on his salary, Badiashile is the only one certain to stay, a likely starter

• Wingbacks: Sampirisi, Fellahuer, Pieragnolo, Uchino, Mhamdi

Pieragnolo (huge loss) loan finishes, the same for Mhamdi, we need a new man on the left

• Central Midfielders: Melegoni, Bianco, Da Riva, Portanova, Girma, Crnigoj, Nardi, Gyaabua (new signing)

We remain with 3 players here, all the others where on loan and will leave, I need a wagon full of midfielders

• Half back: Atta, Moustier

Both confirmed, the first accepted to renew his loan

• Strikers: Musa, Antiste, Gondo, Surdez

Gondo (12 goals scored this season) should leave on free, he's asking too much and Antiste (12 goals) will come back to Sassuolo.

I forgot  Luca Vido, injured the whole season and now recovered, a sellable asset? I hope so, cause he's rarely fit.

This is the budget for the new season:

My transfer policy will be rather limited, I will hardly be able to get two (I don't say decent) players per role, I will have to try to find some not too expensive loans to expand the squad, but I really don't know how I will be able to build a competitive team.
If everything goes as planned I will face the debut in Serie A with a much weakened team compared to the one that won this year's Serie B, I will try to ask for more funds from the club but for now we are in the red by about 2M.
We should introduce the possibility of asking for loans in these cases or something like that.

Stay tuned, the situation is heating up!

Edited January 4 by higgins

[Shrewnaldo]

That seems like a really decent amount of transfer budget but the wages look restrictive. Tempted to dump it all into wages (keeping some for signing on fees)?

[higgins]

35 minutes ago, Shrewnaldo said:

That seems like a really decent amount of transfer budget but the wages look restrictive. Tempted to dump it all into wages (keeping some for signing on fees)?

Yep, difficult choices, hopefully I could recover something selling Bardi and Vido, then I could put some money from the transfer budget into wages.

I'm trying to put together a decent bunch of bizarre players no one wants 

Edited January 4 by higgins

[_Ben_]

2 hours ago, higgins said:

I'm trying to put together a decent bunch of bizarre players no one wants

My favourite type of window!

Not sure why I hadn't commented until now but, given my love of calcio and the hook that you're writing style brings - I'm enjoying it! Congrats on the promotion. Any realistic aims for next year or does that depend on how the summer is?

[higgins]

26 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

My favourite type of window!

Not sure why I hadn't commented until now but, given my love of calcio and the hook that you're writing style brings - I'm enjoying it! Congrats on the promotion. Any realistic aims for next year or does that depend on how the summer is?

Ahah, thanks for your kind words, I'm really not sure about next season, probably staying up should be my main target, right now I have no midfield and just one central defender, it will be a busy summer window, let's see what happens. 

[higgins]

The team gathered at captain Rozzio's house to celebrate the promotion to Serie A for a frugal dinner of tortelli verdi, a typical Emilian dish and Lambrusco  "Concerto" , it was the occasion to say goodbye to the many players who will return to their teams at the end of their loans.
There is enthusiasm for the unexpected promotion, but also curiosity and some concern for the new players that will have to arrive to complete the squad.
Meanwhile on the corporate front there is some news, there has been an internal takeover with a new president, Pietro Antonioni, should bring no changes and there has been no new investment in the club.
As was to be expected I was voted coach of the year for Serie B while three of my players were named among the best eleven of the year.

Something is also moving  in the transfer campaign where the always broken Luca Vido was sold for 1M to Caen, while Luca Bardi, my veteran goalkeeper with an absurd salary moved to Saint-Gilloise for another 1M.
A breath of oxygen for our finances.
The big news is that thanks to these savings I managed to convince Edoardo Pieragnolo, the hero of our promotion race, to stay for another season on loan at Reggio Emilia where he will earn 527k per year.

The fans will be happy, even if the new management has dampened their enthusiasm by immediately raising the price of tickets to enter the 'Città del Tricolore' stadium, but as we know, in Serie A revenues go up but so do costs.

Finally, Roberto Baronio, former assistant coach of Pirlo at Juve, will be my new assistant manager, for him a four-year contract.

Thats's all guys, the scouts and I are working 24 hours a day to build the team for the new season, you will hear from us soon.

Edited January 6 by higgins

[_Ben_]

2M is a good starting point! How are you approaching scouting this summer? Always tough, I find, after a promotion when reputation is off and players assume you’re going to come straight back down. 

[higgins]

48 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

2M is a good starting point! How are you approaching scouting this summer? Always tough, I find, after a promotion when reputation is off and players assume you’re going to come straight back down. 

It is, anyway I'm targeting two kind of players:

• outcasts:  players forgotten on the bench by their coaches, if young and with some potential
• players who did well in minor leagues that could suit my system

To be fair there's a third category as well; players who have nothing to do with my tactics and who I don't need but for whom I have a weakness, albeit unjustified. 

 

Edited January 6 by higgins

[SixPointer]

Congratulations on the promotion, looks like you have a job on your hands squad building considering the turnover of players and financial restrictions. A nice wheeler dealer window required. Best of luck!

I love the tactical shape as well very Italian if you ask me!

[higgins]

8 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Congratulations on the promotion, looks like you have a job on your hands squad building considering the turnover of players and financial restrictions. A nice wheeler dealer window required. Best of luck!

I love the tactical shape as well very Italian if you ask me!

Thanks, I did my best to put together a competitive team but when you need to sign so many players it's easy for something to go wrong, with regard to tactics, I must say that it is quite versatile, by changing a few settings it goes from a tactic that relies heavily on counter-attacks (in this it is very Italian) to a tactic that guarantees good ball possession in the opponent's half of the field; always bearing in mind that the original inspiration for its creation is the 4132 with which Sir Alf Ramsey won the World Cup with England.

[higgins]

 

Here we are, the team is ready for our Serie A debut, I managed to put together 26 players during this market window, 14 new signings, 7.75M spent, 4M earned.

A great job by all the staff, in the end I also chose to sell Sampirisi, 31 years wingback, he asked me for a new contract at more than 1M per year, I'm sorry but having received an offer of 2.3M he has to leave.
Also thanks to this money I managed to reduce the number of players on loan, last year there were about 15, this year they are down to 7.

The core of the team remains Italian and the most expensive player in this market (3.5M) was Shuto Machino, a 24 years Japanese centre forward who arrives from Holstein Kiel, German second division, where last year he scored 8 goals in 18 games.

A somewhat risky purchase, I know, he might not settle in so quickly in Italy, but I was looking for a striker of that type, physically strong but with good technique and capable of working for the team, I hope he follows the path of the various Japanese players who have adapted well in Italy, from Hidetoshi Nakata to Sunshuke Nakamura.

Just like last year the media are already saying we are relegated, always 20th, the management asked me to fight to avoid relegation, that's good, the team is young and must have no pressure, personally I want to get off to a good start, I know well the effects of a poor start on a newly promoted team.
But perhaps making a 5-year plan, where the same thing is asked every year, reveals a certain lack of ambition.

 

 

Edited January 7 by higgins

[SixPointer]

Great effort in a very tricky window!

[_Ben_]

On 07/01/2024 at 19:59, higgins said:

The core of the team remains Italian and the most expensive player in this market (3.5M) was Shuto Machino, a 24 years Japanese centre forward who arrives from Holstein Kiel, German second division, where last year he scored 8 goals in 18 games.

Can't say I'm aware of his but, in my save, he's scored more than ten each season for Kiel in the 2.Bundesliga and has a value of more than €10m, so this looks like a bargain! Gyabuaa is a player I've managed before though and I think he's great! Always tough to build after promotion - does this window see your tactical style change? Do you feel you'll require more help on the wings?

[higgins]

52 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

Can't say I'm aware of his but, in my save, he's scored more than ten each season for Kiel in the 2.Bundesliga and has a value of more than €10m, so this looks like a bargain! Gyabuaa is a player I've managed before though and I think he's great! Always tough to build after promotion - does this window see your tactical style change? Do you feel you'll require more help on the wings?

Machino seems talented, I hope he adapts quickly to the Italian league ( first signs are not great), my tactical plan is to continue with the same style, but of course I am waiting for answers from the field, I expect to struggle having a young team, a collapse in morale could be lethal.
So far both carrileros and wingbacks worked well together to protect and attack the flanks but Serie A is a tough affair...

[Carambau]

Good luck in Serie A 😀

[higgins]

Because of SSD failure I should have lost all the files of this career.

So annoying.

[SixPointer]

2 hours ago, higgins said:

Because of SSD failure I should have lost all the files of this career.

So annoying.

Ohh no way!

[_Ben_]

Gutted to hear this! I'll be looking out for whatever you do next though...

[higgins]

7 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

Ohh no way!

 

4 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

Gutted to hear this! I'll be looking out for whatever you do next though...

I thought SSDs were immortal, they're not.

I was really immersed in this career, such a shame, now I need to find something else that could keep me interested, bah...

[Shrewnaldo]

Aw man, that sucks... *reminds oneself to back up saves to Steam*

[higgins]

7 hours ago, Shrewnaldo said:

Aw man, that sucks... *reminds oneself to back up saves to Steam*

Yep, it's usually slow and I always skip it, bad habits.

[john1]

Gutted man