Lets go San Marino

[BigJack]

I cant help but attempt this challenge on every version of Football Manager,  this will be attempt number 4 and the best I have done so far was on FM22 when we broke into the top 50 on the FIFA rankings. I will be running a very similar set up with 2 managers. One in charge of Victor San Marino in the Italian football pyramid and one in charge of San Giovanni in the Sammarinese league. The aim is obviously to lead San Marino to international glory, which all you FM heads will know is no easy task.

Edited Monday at 06:26 by BigJack

[BigJack]

The Set Up.

San Giovanni

The Manager

No badges, no experience but a lot of ambition.

The Club

Not much history and not the best facilities but we can work with that.

Season Expectations.

Predicted to finish 13th out of 16 shows we are not one of the better sides in the league. Last time I did this challenge I went youth only with San Giovanni but I am going to avoid that this time as in 25 plus seasons we never really got to the point of producing any really good players. This time around I will be signing and trying to improve the club and the standard of the league as quickly as possible.

 

 

 

[BigJack]

The Set Up 2.0

Victor San Marino

The Manager

No badges and no experience again, I am also going to wait before taking charge of the national side for a bit.

The Club

Poor facilities that need upgrading to make this challenge even remotely possible but starting the save off the back of the clubs promotion to Serie D last year. Its a brand new club almost so not much history but onwards and upwards hopefully.

Season Expectations

Predicted to finish 13th out of 18 which I am surprised with considering this is our first season at this level. I will be abusing the loan and free transfer market to strengthen the side as we have very little room financially for any permanent signings. As long as we can avoid a relegation battle I will be happy. 

I will be doing seasonal updates and may well go into things more in depth as the save progresses.

[BigJack]

Youth Intake Previews

San Giovanni

Victor San Marino

Both previews are disappointing although I didn't really expect too much. Its going to be a while before we are capable of producing any quality.

[Swaban]

As someone thats never attempted San Marino, why do you use 2 separate managers for club/national team rather than just 1 manager for both?

[BigJack]

2 hours ago, Swaban said:

As someone thats never attempted San Marino, why do you use 2 separate managers for club/national team rather than just 1 manager for both?

I am not managing internationally at the moment, one manager is in charge of Victor San Marino (club based in the Italian football pyramid) and the other is in charge of San Giovanni (club based in the Sammarinese football league). 

[Swaban]

apologies, clearly i cant think & type at the same time!

What I meant to ask, was why you were managing both clubs? As opposed to just one of them

[BigJack]

End Of Season Review.

San Giovanni 

It was a very weird season, we was predicted to finish 13th and started the season well, but after losing just 1 of our first 7 games we just stopped picking up results. We had a barren spell of 1 win in the next 14 games which meant any hopes of challenging higher up the league were done. We did manage to pick up some enough wins to seal 9th which meant we qualified for the play offs. Here we got through the 1st round before losing to Tre Fiori in the QFs. In the cup we also lost in the QF. I will be hoping for better next season as we look forward to a busy summer of reshaping the squad. We have some decent players for this league and have already signed 2 players ahead of next season, if we can get some more in that should see us better this seasons performance.

Youth Intake.

Its not the best intake but hopefully a couple can develop into squad options.

    

Finances

As an amateur club we don't really have any expenses so this side is looking pretty healthy, hopefully we can get an improvement to some facilities this year.

Victor San Marino

 

We was predicted to finish 13th but we made some really good loan signings which meant I was confident of giving promotion a run for, and it was a tight race all season with ourselves, Aglianese and Forli all holding 1st position at some point of the season. We managed to wrap the title up with 1 game remaining and can look forward to next season in Serie C. We didn't manage to replicate this form in the cup sadly as we went out in the 1st round. We will also be a professional club next season, as soon as promotion was secured the board announced the change from semi-pro, money is tight so we are going to have to abuse the loan market once again to try and stay up next season.

Youth Intake

Not the best intake but that is to be expected for the foreseeable future. Hopefully one can develop into a squad option but I am not holding out too much hope.

Finances

There is not much money floating about in the Italian lower leagues so this side of the save is going to be extremely difficult and we need to make sure we think about every penny we spend in regards to wages and staff. We have a budget of £16k a week next season which is a huge jump from the £6k we had this year but is also going to see us lose a lot more money than this year. I am hoping to get some loanees who we pay no wages for who can see us through the season and keep trying to jump up the divisions as quickly as possible. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 9 by BigJack

[BigJack]

32 minutes ago, Swaban said:

apologies, clearly i cant think & type at the same time!

What I meant to ask, was why you were managing both clubs? As opposed to just one of them

Just adds a different challenge, one building a club in an established league and the other building a club and a league up. 

[BigJack]

Season 2 (2024/25) Preview

San Giovanni

According to this we are predicted to be the 2nd worse side in the league but I fancy our chances of improving on last seasons 9th placed finish. We have had a reasonably busy summer, bringing in 9 players and we are not quite finished yet.

Victor San Marino.

Tipped to finish 18th which would see us relegated or at least in the relegation play offs depending on the points gap from 17th to 18th. We have had a very busy summer of trialing and signing players, and I think we will have enough to keep ourselves away from the relegation picture. I have managed to keep back £7k a week of wage budget in order to improve the team further in the January transfer window.

[BigJack]

Season 2 Review (2024/25)

San Giovanni

Our form was up and down all season, at some points we looked like a really good side but others we looked awful, we managed to scrape into the play offs and from then we looked unstoppable, beating semi pro side Tre Penne in the QFs before thumping Folgore/Falciano 5-1 in the final to secure a place in next season Europa Conference League Qualifiers.  We didn't perform well in the cup as we exited in the QFs.

Youth Intake

Its better than lasts seasons and in Rosano 25a we look like we have a player who can make an impact pretty quickly, that personality just adds to his appeal. 

Facilities

We managed to get upgrades to out Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment this season which is a key part of what we are trying to do here.

Finances

Finances are looking healthy and with at least the one 2 legged tie in the Europa Conference League to come should look even better next season. I am debating whether to just save it all to turn professional as soon as possible or to ask for an upgrade to the training/youth training facilities.

Other

Finally convinced the board to let me take my first coaching badge after numerous attempts over the past 2 seasons were flat out refused.

Victor San Marino

We have had a really promising first season at this level and was bang in the race for the title for 30 games until a 5 game blip let Pescara open up a 12 point gap and ended our title hopes. We still managed to get into the play offs where we lost in the 3rd round and lost a thrilling tie 8-6 to Mantova. We will be back next season to try again. We also lost in the 2nd round of the cup.

Youth Intake

Another average intake but what can you realistically expect with the standard of facilities we have. 

Facilities

I didn't ask for this, the board have decided on it by themselves and with the loan costing us only £10k a month it shouldn't effect our poor finances too much.

Finances

Its not great but it could be a a lot worse. We have about 8 players out of contract this summer who I am releasing which will free up about £5k in wages.

Other

We started the season with an injury crisis with 7 players all out so had to throw Zenoni 24d in the deep end and he came out shining, scoring twice and becoming the clubs and leagues youngest ever goal scorer in the process.

Edited April 11 by BigJack

[BigJack]

Season 3 Review (2025/26)

San Giovanni

I have to be honest, I didnt expect us to be this poor 3 seasons in to the challenge. We look a really good side some days and then go on horrendous spells of just forgetting how to play football which means we cant challenge for the league. A 6th placed finish is still an improvement on the previous 2 seasons but we really need to push on now. We also failed to win the Play offs like last season, throwing away a 3-1 first leg lead in the 2nd leg by getting walloped 6-3. We lost in the Coppa Titano QFs and also went out in the 2nd qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League.

Youth Intake

Nothing really too exciting in this years crop of youth players. Mariotti 26c has played for the first team due to us losing both our left backs to Serie D clubs half way through the season but will revert back to being a youth/back up player this coming season.

Finances

Our games in Europe netted us around £600k which put us close to the £1m mark, but with no sign of us competing for the league I decided I wanted to upgrade some of facilities rather than just hold out for another couple of years. We got quite a few upgrades over the season.

Hopefully this can help us improve our intakes and push us up the league a little bit. We did manage to win a first U19s title but the intakes are still not good enough.

Victor San Marino

Another promising season has ended with us securing promotion to Serie B. We couldn't get anywhere near Perugia who didn't lose a single league game until week 22 of the season. I knew it was the Play offs or another year in this league from pretty early on but we have a tendency to play really well towards the end of the season and we took that form into the Play Offs and managed to seal promotion. The 2 games against Spal in the final were end to end games and a 2-1 first leg win was enough as we secured a 3-3 draw in the return game, although they battered us and really should have won. In the cup we got to the SF's but Perugia were just too good for us.

Youth Intake

Again its nothing special and I doubt anyone is going to make it at our club. 

Finances

Its not pretty, and I am not sure what the money in Serie B is like. I am hoping a season or 2 can get us moving in the right direction as its not effected us atm but if we keep losing money that will soon change. We have moved back into our expanded stadium and are selling it out for home games which is bringing in £20k a game and easily covering the £10k a month bank loan, but we need more income.

 

Edited April 18 by BigJack

[BigJack]

New Stadium Announced

Due to our promotion to Serie B the board have just announced a new stadium due to the leagues stadium requirements, got a feeling this may not play in to our hands in the short term as the bank loan is more than likely going to really hit us hard.

[BigJack]

Season 4 Review (2026/27)

San Giovanni

Competitions

A first league title of the save and it was well deserved. We flew out of the traps and never looked back, winning our first 10 league games on the spin and holding 1st in the league for the duration of the season. In the cup we lost in the QF's but the league was our main focus anyway.

Playing Squad

Our first 11 is really strong for this league now and we have a few back ups who could easily be playing in the first 11. The above 4 players were key to this season, RB Marchetti was instrumental chipping in with 13 assists. 

Youth Intake

Another poor intake and I doubt anyone is going to make it into the first team but we will see how they develop.

Finances

Ticking along nicely and with at least one 2 legged tie in the Champions League qualifiers this will only boost our balance this coming season. 

Other News

At the end of the season the board have decided we need a bigger stadium, so have started looking into this. 

Victor San Marino

Competitions

Tipped to go straight back down, we had a solid first season at this level. We picked up some huge results against some of the top 5 but struggled to play to that standard consistently. Another decent summer in the transfer market, which will be free transfers or loan signings due to our lack of funds is needed and hopefully we can push on a bit and compete for the play offs. 

Playing Squad

Its heavily made up of loan players but its all we can afford atm, and we have managed to extend most of the loans for nest season which will be key to trying to challenge for the play offs. Fabri, Mosconi and Lenke have been amazing this season and hopefully will be even better next season.

Youth Intake

Another poor intake which is becoming the norm, we really need to get into Serie A and get our facilities improved.

Finances

We in dire need of some money but we have moved to the 5500 seater San Marino stadium ahead of our move into our new stadium next summer so hopefully this helps slightly towards the money we lose each month.

 

Edited April 22 by BigJack

[BigJack]

So Close To The Group Stages.

We unfortunately haven't made the Europa Conference League group stages this year, but we couldn't have come any closer. After losing to Levski Sofia in the Champions League Qualifiers 1st round, we then managed to see off Flora Talinn and Buducnost Podgorica before facing Dinamo Minsk in the 4th and final qualifying round. A 1-0 win at home meant we went into the away leg full of confidence. We were leading 2-0 in the away tie (3-0 on aggregate) with just 10 mins remaining before a horrendous collapse as we conceded 5 goals and exited the competition. It is remarkable really and I cant quite explain it. The positive side has seen us bank £2m from our heroics and I will be asking the board to turn pro in the not too distant future.

Edited April 22 by BigJack

[BigJack]

Season 5 Review 2027/28

San Giovanni

Competitions

A very successful season as we managed to retain our league title and also win the cup for the first time. Even though we finished 10 points clear of 2nd it was a tight race with San Marino Academy for most of the season, they dropped off after we beat them in game 27 to go 4 points clear. 

Playing Squad

Its a good squad for this level but with going professional next season it is going to get improved as now we can pay wages, we should be able to attract some better quality of players. Manso is by the best player we have stats wise but I need to work out how to get more out of him as he should be creating more from his AMC role.

Youth Development

Another really poor intake. 

Finances and Facilities

 

I asked the board at the start of the season after we almost qualified for the Europa Conference League group stages to turn pro and they agreed, I didnt however expect to make the jump from amateur to full time pro. On previous versions I am sure we have turned semi pro and then professional, however I am not complaining.. The board have also announced a new stadium which has seen our finances take a hit but hopefully we can perform as we did last year in the European Qualifiers and get the balance up a fair bit this coming season. We also upgraded the youth facilities this season.

Victor San Marino

Competitions

A really poor and frustrating season as we could only muster a 13th placed finish, only 3 points clear of the play offs. We started well but then just got worse as the season went on. We managed to pick up wins against Spal, Lecce and Perugia over the season so can compete with the better sides in the league, we just isn't consistent enough. I need to move away from so many loan players as I don't think it is working as well as previous versions.

Playing Squad

Our first 11 and most of our bench are loanees and it just isn't working, but they are better players than those that want to join permanently. I need to delve deep into the market this summer and find some gems for cheap money as we are really struggling financially.

Youth Development

Literally no one worth showing, another rubbish intake.

Finances and Facilities

The only reason we have a positive balance is the takeover, we was £2m in the red beforehand. No upgrades to anything as we cant afford anything although we are due to move into our new stadium this summer which will see us save £30k a year in rent....YAY. 

[BigJack]

Champions League Here We Come

Not entirely sure how we have managed it, but we have qualified for the Champions League. I genuinely didn't even expect to get past Qarabag and after the 0-0 draw at home expected to  be sent on our way. W beat them and then managed to thump Maccabi Tel Aviv, beat Cluj comfortably and then sent Luzern packing. 

The fixtures have not been kind to us, with huge ties at Ajax, Chelsea. Inter, Juventus, Man City and Benfica awaiting us. The ties against Sparta Prague and Aris are the ones we can hopefully get a couple of points from.

Even if we lose all our games, we have still bagged a cool £12m from qualifying which is a huge amount of money and should see us get a few upgrades to our facilities sorted. I am also interested to see what qualifying does for the leagues standing in Europe. Below is the league ranking and coefficients from the start of the save.