[FM24] YouTube Series - "I Put Silesia in Football Manager"

[nelas_27]

I Put Silesia in Football Manager

 

I’m beginning a new career save and producing a YouTube series centered around the idea of Silesia (a region in SW Poland, NE Czechia, and SE Germany) becoming a new nation competing with its own league pyramid and National Team. I used the Pre-Game Editor to make Silesia, following advice from some guys in the Editor’s Hideaway who have done similar projects with Yugoslavia and USSR. I changed three regions of Poland and one region of Czechia and all the clubs, players, and staff to make up this “New Silesia.”

I will be providing updates here which provide screenshots and discussion related to the more technical aspects of the save and potentially as a means to grow my YT audience (for those who like to watch FM series).

 

 

The series is more story driven around the manager as a character and his dealings with the Silesian FA, media press conferences, club board, owners, investors, agents, staff etc. He’s an unknown entity who has recently taken over the Silesian National Team ahead of the 2024 Euro qualifiers. Later, he will be picking up a dual role as he takes charge at a certain Silesian club.

I really enjoy filming the unscripted team talks before the game or during halftime where I actually pause the match to do so. It makes for an immersive experience for me and honestly makes me play my saves at a much slower pace (not to mention all the editing that is required for a series like this). I’m considering adding in color commentary to the matches but don’t know how that would turn out.

I’ve produced 5 episodes thus far and invite you over at the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmcTaR0IN3KrFDA37wUUQ0A

The rest of this post, I’ll catch you up through episode 1 which you can watch right here:

 

Episode 1 - The History of Silesia

 

 

[Fictional] In 2022, Silesia became an independent nation. If you are unaware of the circumstances surrounding the region of Silesia, let me fill you in. In a 2011 census in Poland, roughly 700,000 inhabitants self identified as first or second nationality Silesians making them the largest minority group in Poland. Calls for autonomy continued to grow and led us to the events of today, Silesia is now a separate state, and in an atypical EU manner, administrative action happened swiftly to extricate three regions of Poland and one region of Czechia into this “New Silesia.”

 

 

Silesia is, in almost every way, in the middle of everything. Germany to the West and Poland to the East. Thousands of years ago; similar story: Germanic tribes to the West and Slavic tribes to the East. Despite so much history having been written over the martial actions taken around these lands, Silesia has never held official claim as its own entity; yet Silesianism grew. Debates continue about whether it was German language and culture influenced by Polish and Czech, or whether it was Polish and Czech language and culture influenced by German. Before the current state of corporate, astroturfed multiculturalism, Silesia had already lived out its history as a place made up of the many and of the varied.

Unable to define themselves in a political way for so long, Silesians have gravitated firmly to football as a means of expression. Silesia has almost always been considered the hot-bed of football talent in Poland. It produced world-class talent that shined for the German national team by way of Michael Ballack, Lukas Podolski, and Miroslav Klose. More recently it has produced Polish national team mainstays like Piotr Zielinski, Arkadiusz Milik, Krystof Piatek, and Kamil Glik to name a few.

Two of the most successful clubs in Polish history are from the Silesian region. At 14 league titles each, Gornik Zabrze and Ruch Chorzow follow tied behind current Polish giants Legia Warsaw who won their 15^th title in 2021. Ruch’s last title was in ‘89 and Gornik’s was in ‘88. For context, at that time Legia only had 4 titles to their name.

 

 

Silesia as a new nation has formed a league pyramid with the clubs from the four regions within in their new land. Top clubs are Rakow Czestochowa, Slask Wroclaw, Zaglebie Lubin, Gornik, Ruch, Piast Gliwice, and Banik Ostrava. The Silesian First Division (top flight) has a reputation as the 33rd best league in Europe. As a new football pyramid, they also start as the lowest nation in terms of European Continental Coefficients.

 

 

Next came the highly politicized hiring of a National Team Manager. The Silesian National Team has entered the 2024 Euro qualifiers and play in Group H with Denmark, Northern Ireland, Slovenia, Finland, and San Marino. Who would take over this multi-lingual, multi-ethnic nation’s most prized sporting selection?

 

Edited January 19 by nelas_27
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[Hanys]

Love the idea! I was thinking of creating such DB myself for quite a while now. I'll follow for sure.

Just one point - Raków Częstochowa are not Silesian. Existing Polish 'Silesian Voivodeship' consists not only of Silesian land but also parts of Little Poland. In FM, this applies to Raków and Zagłębie Sosnowiec. It's just a game so doesn't matter that much though.

I would also choose Silesian Stadium (Stadion Śląski) in Chorzów as the national stadium due to its historical importance and name.

[nelas_27]

Thanks for your input! You're the second person to tell me that Czestochowa isn't part of Silesia. I'll find a way to write it in, or take Lesser Poland out of the Silesian database.

Stadion Slaski is listed as an alternate national team stadium in my database so currently about half the games are played there and sometimes the odd game will pop up at Banik Ostrava's stadium which I did not put in the editor.

Edited January 18 by nelas_27
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[nelas_27]

Episode 2 - The Assistant Manager

 

 

Silesia has no staff outside of the newly appointed manager, an unknown American, Captain Nelas. It can be said that some supporter groups in the area are furious at the prospect of a first ever manager for Silesia not being Silesian. The Silesian FA seems shrouded in mystery as well, as no press conferences or any voice of authority over the situation has made a statement.

 

 

In a move meant to temper the heated debate around the hiring, Captain Nelas reaches out for a big name to attach as his assistant manager. On his short list is Dutch legend, Dennis Bergkamp who was most recently sacked as assistant manager of Ajax in 2017. Captain Nelas continues to reach out to prospective staff targets and before long he has a full staff under the Silesian FA employ.

 

 

 

The first match in the Euro Qualifiers is at home, in Tarczynsky Stadion, in Wroclaw, Silesia. It is going to be an historic event. Captain Nelas carefully considers squad selection and ultimately submits his list to UEFA before the deadline. His team is fairly strong and the group is full of parity outside of San Marino. But he has no experience, no coaching badges, and almost no support. Can Silesia realistically qualify?

 

 

 

Edited January 19 by nelas_27

[nelas_27]

Episode 3 - An Historic Event

 

 

 

Captain Nelas and Silesia are set to play their first ever game at Tarczynski Stadion in Wroclaw, Silesia. They are up against 58th ranked Slovenia. With teams vying for two qualification spots and Denmark as clear favorites for the group, its set to be a highly contested cycle for the second spot between Silesia, Slovenia, Finland, and Northern Ireland. San Marino is expected to be San Marino.

 

 

The team sheet has been revealed and the first eleven footballers to ever pull on a Silesian shirt in this new era are about to take the field. They are:

GK: Kamil Grabara (FC Copenhagen), RB: Vladimir Coufal (West Ham), CB: Lukas Hejda (Victoria Plzen), CB: Jakub Kiwior (Arsenal), LB: Vaclav Jemelka (Victoria Plzen), RM: Jakub Kaminski (Wolfsburg), CM: Szymon Zurkowski (Spezia), CM: Piotr Zielinski (Napoli), LW: Adam Hlozek (Bayer Lekerkusen), F: Krzysztof Piatek (Istanbul Basaksehir), and F: Arkadiusz Milik (Juventus).

 

 

Captain Nelas attempts to deal with the press conference atmosphere for the first time and tries to show off his language skills, or lack thereof. On game day, he addresses his players in the locker room setting for the first time and goes over the tactic for the all-important and historic game his players are about to play in. The tactic is a fairly wide 4-4-2 with the left wing pushed up a bit. It is an offensive appearing tactic but with mentality and instructions meant to operate based on counter-attacking and pulling numbers back into a defensive shell anytime the ball is lost.

 

 

Silesia get off to a flying start as Adam Hlozek receives a pass from Piotr Zielinski inside the box and cuts in on his right before firing a shot that careens off an onside Arkadiusz Milik for the first ever Silesian goal. It took all of 1 minute and 57 seconds of play. The rest of the first half was a stalemate with Slovenia working their way back into the game and producing the better chances in the remainder of the first 45. Score at halftime: Silesia 1 - 0 Slovenia.

Another inspirational team talk sent the Silesians back out onto the field for the second half. Questions were being asked of the managerial acumen of this unknown American but the early goal helped silence some voices. Voices were raised again when center-back Jakub Kiwior was seen providing corner-taking duties but those voices were once again quelled when, in the 56th minute Kiwior's in-swinger found the head of his center-back partner, Lukas Hejda at the near post which put Silesia up 2-0.

Slovenia pulled their way back into the game from their own corner routine opportunity in the 64th minute from the head of Domen Crnigoj and rose the tension for the final half hour in Tarczynski Stadion.

Tactical tweaks were made from Captain Nelas to close the game out. In the 79th minute, vice captain Piotr Zielinski received a pass from Vaclav Jemelka at the left corner of the opposition box. Slovenia again failed to close down a Silesian danger man as Zielinski took a touch inside before wrapping his foot around the ball and swinging it into the side netting to put Silesia up 3-1.

Silesia easily closed the game out from there and the first ever Silesian victory in this new era is in the books. Some might say that Slovenia looked better on the day but most of their shots were charged down and Kamil Grabara looked more than capable of stopping every shot the opposition could muster.

 

 

The next game in this international window is the first away contest for Silesia. The most difficult tie in the entire qualification cycle, in Copenhagen against Denmark. What tactical astuteness can we expect from Captain Nelas in a hostile Parken to give Silesia the best chance of grabbing a result?

[nelas_27]

Episode 4 - A Rainy Night in Copenhagen

 

 

Straight in to the action as Denmark play host to the new nation of Silesia. Denmark are heavy favorites in the heavy rain in Parken, Copenhagen. The tactic remains the same as the previous game. Captain Nelas is hoping to grab an early goal and then progressively close up shop against the Danes.  Denmark shockingly lost their first tie of the group in a barn burner in Helsinki where a 90+5 minute goal from Teemu Pukki saw the Finns grab all 3 points. The previous game must have lit a fire underneath the team as they came out firing on all cylinders.

In the 7th minute Mikkel Damsgaard put the Danes up 1-0 with quick turn at the left corner of the box and a low curler which snuck past Kamil Grabara. An injury in the 32nd minute to Complete Forward Arkadiusz Milik forced a tactical switch from Captain Nelas into a 4-2-3-1. Shortly after, in the 34th minute, Damsgaard broke through the Silesian backline with an incisive pass which found the finishing foot of Martin Brathwaite. A few chances sprinkled in and took us to the break, Denmark 2-0 Silesia.

A fiery halftime talk from Coach Nelas was meant to inspire the team to claw their way back in the match, but Silesia came out flat again and offered up easy chances early in the second half that should have been put away by Denmark. A near post header from Jacob Rasmussen put the Danes up 3-0 and looked fully in charge of the match. Nelas attempted again to change his tactic, overloading the center and pushing up high to grab a consolation goal. They would grab one, but not before Rasmus Hojlund added a 4th on the Danish scoresheet.

Silesia's lone goal came on a nicely executed free kick routine which gave Filip Jagiello a tap in from the six yard box. The final score in the pouring rain, Denmark 4 - 1 Silesia.

 

 

Captain Nelas consoled himself by firing up the engines of his corporate jet from the remote starter in his pocket as the rain continued to poor down. So this is what defeat feels like. Hopefully there aren't too many of these moments in the early going of this young coaching career. Or else that career might not last very long at all.

 

 

The next international break is in 3 months and Silesia will need to get back on track in very important ties against Northern Ireland and Finland in a group that is wide open in these early stages. The Silesian FA Commissioner has laid out an expectation for these games, lest there be consequences. 4 points MINIMUM.

Edited January 23 by nelas_27

[nelas_27]

Episode 5 - The Moravian Question

 

 

 

When it rains it pours. After suffering their first loss, Captain Nelas and Silesia were hit with some bad news. FIFA and Reddit uncovered a discrepancy in the FM database. Adam Hlozek (Bayer Leverkusen), the star, 20 year old, left inside forward and Vaclav Jemelka (Viktoria Plzen), the team's best left back were found to be inaccurately listed. Adam Hlozek is from Ivancice, which is near Brno which is not in the newly incorporated borders of Silesia. Vaclav, similarly, did not have a city of birth listed in the FM database but is indeed from the region of Olomouc. They are both Moravian, and decidedly NOT Silesian. Captain Nelas and the Silesian FA decided to take quick action to avoid any severe punishment for the mis-registration of players. The two players were changed in the in game editor back to Czech internationals. Captain Nelas held a press conference to answer any questions about the situation. Luckily no points would be deducted from the team.

 

 

 

After losing the two first 11 players, Captain Nelas would be forced in to tactical tweaks in the upcoming ties against Northern Ireland at Slaski in Chorzow, Silesia and against Finland in the next episode. The game against Northern Ireland was set to be a raucous affair as this would be Silesia's first in the historic stadium. Captain Nelas was desperate to get back on track after the disappointing result in Copenhagen. In the postgame press conference, 22 year old Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior gave insight into the pregame pep talk given by Captain Nelas, "The tension was pretty high with everything going on but he said, ya know, we lost Adam who is our starting left winger and we lost Vaclav who is our left wing back so that means we are weak on the left now. But no, that's what they think. He said, 'We are going strong on the left.' So we moved Piotr (Zielinski) over to left wing and me over to left wing back." The move proved decisive as in the 4th minute, Kiwior picked up the ball at the midfield line, drove all the way to the Northern Ireland byline before pulling it back to Zielinski who sent in a first-time cross which found the head of Krzysztof Piatek. The header was slammed down into the turf inside the right post and Silesia were put up 1-0. They played a cautious remainder of the match and finished on the same score line, securing all three points.

 

Edited January 26 by nelas_27

[nelas_27]

Episode 6 - Perkele

 

 

 

Silesia travels to Turku, Finland to play the second game of this international window against a Finnish team who shocked Denmark and shook up the table for these Euro Qualifiers.  This is Silesia's second away match ever and it's safe to say the first one did not go well, where they drubbed by Denmark 4-1. Captain Nelas is hoping for better result here and tries to encourage the team pregame in what they were told was a "Traditional Finnish Locker Room."

 

 

The match gets off to a great start for Silesia as CM Mateusz Bogusz is fouled just inside the penalty box in the 3rd minute of action. Krzysztof Piatek would convert from the spot, putting Silesia up 1-0.  Finland worked their way back in to the game and created some good chances with quick passes in the left side of center midfield and counter-attacking dribbles mostly by Glen Kamara. One of those moves was enough to level the score as Kamara set off on a magnificent dribble and pulled a pass back from the byline for an easy finish from Joel Pohjanpalo in the 42nd minute. Score at halftime Silesia 1 - 1 Finland.

Captain Nelas attempted to tweak his tactical system to manage to surprising attacking prowess of Kamara at half-time and the teams headed back out. It seemed that Finland made the better half-time adjustments however as Silesia were caught attempting to build from the back and gave the ball away for a quick countering strike from Teemu Pukki in the 54th minute. Finland would strike again from a corner when, in the 65th minute, the ball pinged around the box, eventually landing at the feet of Marcus Forss and in to the back of the net. Finland 3 - 1 Silesia.

The game was rapidly getting away from Silesia. However, a horror tackle from Sauli Vaisanen in the 67th minute on Silesian striker Arkadiusz Milik gave Silesia plenty of time and a chance to work a comeback against ten men Finland. One goal came from Lukas Hejda when he collected a floating ball from a corner and dribbled around the inside before being granted with lucky deflection. Silesia were down only 1 now with still 15 minutes to play. Chances came thick and fast but Silesia was struggling for the tying goal. Until the 86th minute, when a low cross from Filip Jagiello found Piotr Zielinski inside the 6 yard box for tap in that would bring the scores level.

Silesia pushed for a winner but were denied, despite having a few clear cut chances. The final score, Silesia 3 - 3 Finland.

 

[nelas_27]

Episode 7 - Which Silesian Club Will I Manage?

 

 

 

Captain Nelas is set to make his decision about which Silesian club he will take over for the upcoming inaugural Silesian Premier League season in FM24. Silesia cedes the ill-gotten territory of Lesser Poland and loses two top flight clubs in the process. Rakow Czestochowa and Zaglebie Sosnowiec have been re-incorporated back into the Polish league system.

The Silesian Premier League no longer has a Champions League contender as it no longer has a champion (Rakow won the Polish Ekstraklasa in the previous season.) European contenders from Silesia (based on previous season performance) will be Banik Ostrava in the Europa League as well as Slask Wroclaw and Piast Gliwice in the Europa Conference League.

To make the database work and get rid of all the clubs, players, staff that made up the small portion of Lesser Poland which lied within the borders of the Slaskie Voivodship was quite the chore. After it was done, I had to reload a new save so all four of the international fixtures matched those previously played by Silesia. Then simulate the results so they matched what had already been played. Annoyingly this took an entire afternoon and left me with scar in the form of the little greyed out editor on my save because it saved me loads of time by not bothering to select a club each time I had to reload in and hope for the right fixtures. Oh well, we made it back and Lesser Poland is no longer in Silesia. The National Team fixtures are as close as they can be and after nearly a straight hour of waiting for the Finland beating Denmark fixture to be realized, the save is back on the rails.

Which club do you think I will choose?

Edited February 3 by nelas_27

[nelas_27]

Episode 8 - Sleza Wroclaw

 

 

 

After months of deliberation, Captain Nelas has decided not to take over first team management of a Silesian Premier League side in favor of a second division side, Sleza Wroclaw. The reasons laid out are as follows: First, FM should always be a challenge. Sliding right in to a title contender would be useful but not as fulfilling. Second, Wroclaw needs a strong cross town rivalry and Slask vs. Sleza could be the premier rivalry in the region in years to come. Third, they have a cool badge. It's an eagle. Sick.

 

The club is set up to be successful but they nowhere near where they need to be to start fighting for promotion. Lots of staff need to be hired and free transfers brought in to fill out a team which has a semi-solid base. In the pre-season prediction, Sleza were picked as favorites to finish in 9th position out of 16 second division teams. Financially, they are going to be stretched but the goal in the first year has to be promotion.

 

Captain Nelas takes a look over his players and picks his first 11. They travel to Dolni Benesov for their first game. An inferior opponent proves to be a great way to get things started for Sleza and Captain Nelas. They win 3-0 and the Silesian club experiment is officially underway.

[nelas_27]

Episode 9 - PLEASE Fix Player Interactions in FM

 

 

 

Young left winger Mikolaj Wawrzyniak is the best player on the Sleza team. He's only 20 and he was Vice Captain when Captain Nelas took over. Before any signings could be made or any staff hired, young Miko already started kicking up a fuss about wanting to play in a higher division. Captain Nelas attempts to reason with him in the opening skit of this episode. Even the weight of the national team manager doesn't seem to be enough to overcome the logical fallacies presented by FM player interactions. Many thanks to "Silesian Patriot" for providing the voice work for Miko and speaking in his native Ślōnskŏ Gŏdka (Silesian). His YouTube channel is in the description of this video.

 

After attempting to reason with the young man, Nelas and Sleza take on top-of-the-table Polonia Bytom in the Silesian Second Division. In this episode we have also added in commentary to the games so its not just crowd noise. Enjoy.

[nelas_27]

Episode 10 - Silesia Wants Revenge (in FM)

 

 

 

Silesia lost 4-1 in Copenhagen in their second game of the qualification cycle. This time, however, Silesia and Captain Nelas are at home in Slaski and are slowly turning the historic stadium into a fortress of sorts. The Danes have struggled going into the game dropping points to both Finland and Slovenia. Can Silesia pile the pressure on and drive themselves up the table?

[nelas_27]

Episode 11 - We're Just Getting the Ball Rolling in Silesia

 

 

 

It's been a fairly strong start for Sleza Wroclaw since Captain Nelas took over. In this episode we recap the goings on around Silesia. The three teams from the Silesian Premier League that were competing in Europe were Banik Ostrava who started in the Europa League and made it to the Conference League group stages, snatching up some much needed coefficient points. Elsewhere, disappointing performances from Slask Wroclaw and Piast Gliwice saw both of them crash out in the qualifying rounds of the Conference League. In the second half of this episode, Sleza take on Piast Zmigrod. Sleza are in 3rd on 20pts and Zmigrod are tied at the top of the table on 25pts, making this a crucial early season game. Thanks for watching!

[nelas_27]

Episode 12 - INJURIES!

 

 

 

Injuries, Injuries, Injuries. It can derail any title push, any qualification chance, any double, treble, etc. In our case, at the Silesian National Team, it could serious put a dent in our aspirations of qualifying for our first ever major international tournament. After heroically shutting down table leaders, Denmark, Silesia is suffering from a rash of INJURIES.

 

FOUR (!!) regular starters are out with long term injuries that will see them miss at least both upcoming games in this international window. Captain and striker, Krzysztof Piatek is out. Vice Captain and best player Piotr Zielinski is out. Starting GK Kamil Grabara is out. Starting young winger Jakub Kaminski is out. Can Silesia cope with a young team on the road for two games? Critical games which could seal the fate of Silesia are away to Northern Ireland followed by away to Slovenia.

 

Captain Nelas is also out sick, and has decided not to travel with the team. In the interim, assistant coach Dennis Bergkamp will take over management of the team. He has some interesting team talks before sending the team out in these two games.

[nelas_27]

Episode 13 - Silesian FA Cup Action

 

 

 

Things are just getting started in the FM24 Build-A-Nation series as Ślęza Wrocław take on their first difficult test in the FA Cup. Captain Nelas and his team take on Miedź Legnica, who currently sit at 3rd in the Silesian Premier League table.

 

This is the first ever Silesian FA Cup and Ślęza Wrocław just scraped past a 4th division side on penalties in the previous round. The game was made extremely difficult from the off as right midfielder Slawomir Musiolik got sent off within 20 minutes. It required a 90th minute equalizing goal as well as another equalizer in the second half of extra time, ending the open field play at 2-2 and requiring the penalty shootout. Ślęza won the contest 5-4 on pens. Now they step up the level of competition in their first ever contest against a Silesian Premier League side in the FA Cup third round. Can they raise their game and make a serious cup run?

Edited February 9 by nelas_27

[nelas_27]

Episode 14 - One Game to Qualify for the Euros

 

 

 

In Group H of the Euro Qualifiers it all comes down to this. Finland are at the top of the table, Silesia are two points back. Elsewhere, Denmark plays Slovenia. Meaning that a win would all but guarantee qualification to the first ever major tournament for the young nation of Silesia. A loss would certainly see them fail to qualify and a draw would require extra help.

 

The game is played at home, where Silesia currently have an unblemished record. Most of the serious injuries which plagued Silesia in the last international window have been healed, except Piotr Zielinski who only has an outside chance of featuring in the next match against San Marino. Will Silesia be partying in the next match or will they be biting their fingernails, hoping for results to go their way elsewhere? It all depends on how they perform against Finland in game 9, the most crucial game of young Silesia's international footballing career.

Edited February 10 by nelas_27

[nelas_27]

Episode 15 - Silesia Have Qualified for the Euros!

Or have they?

 

 

 

The only thing standing between Silesia and a trip to Euro 2024 in Germany is San Marino. As fixtures stand, even a draw would likely qualify Silesia from Group H. There's no way San Marino could do the impossible, could they? It's do or die for Silesia as they don't have a Nation's League performance under their belt to potentially qualify via playoffs. But San Marino is easy, right? Right???

 

The table leading in to the match looks like this: Denmark 17 pts, Silesia 16pts, Slovenia 16pts, Finland 15pts, N. Ireland 13pts, and San Marino 0pts. Denmark plays Slovenia and Finland plays N. Ireland. If somehow San Marino managed a draw then Finland could jump back above Silesia with a win over N. Ireland. The other spot would go to Denmark if they draw or win their tie, or Slovenia if they were to win.

Edited February 11 by nelas_27

[nelas_27]

Episode 16 - Can a Second Division Side Make an FA Cup Run?

 

 

 

Ślęza Wrocław take on their second difficult test in the FA Cup. Captain Nelas and his team take on KGHM Zagłębie Lubin, who currently sit at 2nd in the Silesian Premier League table. This is the most challenging match up for Silesia so far this season, but they are at home. Can they take advantage of this and topple one of the contenders for the Premier League this season?

 

In European Qualifier news, after Silesia's heroic and magical run to qualification, we are keeping an eye on the playoffs because some major nations have been struggling. Notably, England and Spain failed to directly qualify from their groups. They are both in the playoffs but are slated to meet each other if they get through the first round, meaning one of these two giants will not be taking part in Euro 2024 in Germany.

[nelas_27]

Episode 17 - How Could Things Go This Well?

 

 

 

We're really rolling now. We offloaded a couple players who weren't contributing for a little cash and brought in a couple depth options and one under-20 gem, Marcel Misztal, in the midfield on loan through next season. Under-21 players are very important because one must be on the field at all times in all competitions in Silesia. In the first game, Ślęza Wrocław vie for a chance in the semi-final of the FA Cup as Captain Nelas and his team take on Trinec, who currently sit at the bottom of the Silesian Premier League table. Each of the four games in this round of the cup is a Second Division side vs. a Premier League side with Ślęza having the easiest draw of the bunch. Can they make it three for three against higher division opponents?

 

In the second game, Ślęza take on Polonia Bytom in the second meeting of the two top Second Division sides. Ślęza are on 42 points and Bytom are on 40 with both having played 19 games of the 30 game season. The goal at the beginning of the season was promotion but a win would lay down a marker of intent for the Second Division title and notify the Premier League teams that we're coming for them. Let's keep rollin'.

[nelas_27]

Episode 18 - Cup Semi-Final and League Double-Header

 

 

 

Ślęza Wrocław take on KS Górnik Polkowice in back to back games. Both second division sides have heroically fought to make the FA Cup Semi-Final but Ślęza look on pace to win the league so they could potentially secure a double in Captain Nelas' first season in charge.

 

In the build up to the games we scheduled two international friendlies for the Silesian heroes who are set to take part in the upcoming EURO 2024 in Germany. We decided to invite our gracious former landlords and new rivals, Poland and Czechia for some tune up games. Both of them directly qualified from their groups as well. In the first game, against Poland we got off to a strong start and an early lead but they ran circles around us in the second half, finishing the game 3-1. In the second game, Adam Hlozek (who was formerly Silesian before it was uncovered that the FM database was incorrect about his "region of birth") came back to haunt us as he scored two goals. Two goals of our own from young winger Jakub Kaminski, who is back from a long injury, gave us some encouragement after finishing the match 2-2.

[nelas_27]

SILESIA ● Road to EURO 2024

 

 

This is a recap episode of the run Silesia made in attempt to qualify for EURO 2024 in Germany. Silesia has become a new European nation and their first test of strength is in the Euro Qualifiers. Will they make the high reputation tournament in their first ever attempt at qualification? In their way stands Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Northern Ireland, and San Marino.

Edited February 15 by nelas_27

[nelas_27]

Episode 19 - Two Games to do the Double!

 

 

 

We start off with youth intake for Ślęza Wrocław where there looks to be an "elite talent" goalkeeper who is 15. Is this our first peek at the future of Silesia? Then we move on to the draw of EURO 2024 in Germany which is just a couple months out. Silesia are in Pot 4 but a lucky draw could see them with a chance to make a sneaky run to the latter stages.

 

On to the games, where two trophies are up for grabs for Ślęza. They can seal the Second Division crown today but more importantly, in the second game they face a monumental challenge. Can the overachievers Ślęza take down yet another Premier League side in Ruch Chorzów and qualify for Europa Conference as a Second Division side?