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Hang Yuan(Chinese Taipei) 2029

I joined Hang Yuan partway through their season with only 9 games remaining. Hang Yuan had gotten off to a poor start and were in 6th when I joined, just above relegation. I narrowly lost our first two games, drawing the third. After the third match was a long break which also signalled the start of the transfer window. While the team had a few decent options in attack, the was a distinct lack of quality in goal and in defence. I managed to bring in some decent replacements, and our squad was looking in much better shape. I also adjusted the formation and tactics to be more suited to our personnel. It looked like we had finally started to turn the corner. A draw against top of the league Taipower, in which we dominated, was followed by a comfortable 5-1 win. We had dropped into the relegation zone, but on our form we looked like we would be able to survive. Unfortunately, at this time I also applied for the Cameroon National team job. Alongside my club career, I had also been forging a name for myself in the international game. I had earlier won the U23 African Cup of Nations with Nigeria, before having a successful spell with Guinea-Bissau. I was also currently the manager of Georgia when I signed for Hang Yuan, and was wrapping up a valiant attempt at World Cup qualification when the opportunity to manage Cameroon popped up. However, despite fulfilling both international and club positions successfully for pretty much my whole career, the board were unwilling to allow me the chance to manage Cameroon. I tried to point out I was already managing Georgia without issue, but they ignored my protests and sacked me. I had only spent 91 days at Hang Yuan, managing just 5 games. My time in Chinese Taipei was over, at least for now. Hopefully one day I will come and deal with this unfinished business.

This is the league table when I was sacked with 4 games to go:

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Pennarossa (San Marino) 2028/2029

My first job in Europe! While it's nice to be a bit closer to home, I certainly missed the much shorter seasons I had experienced in Africa and Asia! The 15 team league also included a round of play-offs to determine the champion. A bit more of a slog than I have been used to!

The season got off to a great start. We managed to stay unbeaten in the first 8 games, winning 7. However, the next month or so was a disaster. We only managed to gain maximum points in a quarter of the next 12 matches. This included a humiliating 4-1 loss to title rivals Juvenes Dogana in front of the TV cameras, and then nearly being knocked out of the cup. Thankfully, the San Marino Cup has two legs, with us managing to turn it round in the away game. This turnaround in fortunes kick started the second half of our season. We managed to remain unbeaten for the rest of the year, and other than a run of 3 draws in a row, were pretty dominant. This allowed us to finish top of the league, and therefore qualifying for the Championship Playoffs. Before the Playoffs, we had the small matter of the San Marino Cup Final. This was against the second placed Juvenes Dogana. Despite going 1-0 down early on, a bumper crowd of 1,469 saw us turn it round and eventually win 4-1. 24 Points.

Our performance in the final inspired us to breeze past our opposition in the quarter and semi finals. We inevitably came across our rivals Juvenes once again in the final. It was a very nervy match, with the deadlock being broken by us just before half time. It looked like we were going to hold on after a very close second half. But the ref had other ideas, giving a soft penalty in the 82nd minute. Their experienced centre back stepped up, but our 19 year old Sammarinese keeper managed to deny him. We managed to finish the game strongly and secured our double. 26 points. 

 

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Sporting Clube de Sao Tome (Sao Tome and Principe) 2027

A very good season for me at my new club in Sao Tome and Principe. It was quite a tight title race initially against UDRA and 6 de Spetembro, however they both fell off by the end of the season. Our consistency allowed us to finish the season relatively comfortable, meaning we qualified for the final against the champions of the other island Porto Real. A strong first leg assured our defeat in the second game didn't affect the outcome. This adds 25 points to the total.

The cup run was also fairly straight forward up until the semis. A late goal conceded in normal time left us relying on an 118th minute win to send us to the finals. A penalty scored against us by our former player Capito left us once again needing extra time. A very late red card left us in the lurch, leaving us overrun in midfield and conceding first. However, a 119th minute free kick from our newly signed winger, Vando Neves, saved the game and sent it to penalties. A heroic performance from our keeper, who made three saves, won the shootout and gives a further 15 points.

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2 minutes ago, lionel messi said:

I have spent most of my career in Africa lol

Yeah, I like to mix it up every once in a while and go to some random island in the Pacific but its still mostly Africa at this stage haha

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Lotoha'apai United (Tonga) 2026/27

After last seasons failure and nearly losing my job, I was more determined than ever to prove my abilities to the people of Tonga. Our shortcomings last year were due to poor planning in the transfer market, leaving us with a very weak spine. One of the weak positions was quickly filled Frank Rabeasimbola. The centre midfielder had been signed last year, but was unable to join immediately due to his age, something I had overlooked in the previous transfer window. That signing, as well as strengthening at GK, DC and DL, set us up for a much stronger season. 

What a way to bounce back after last seasons disappointment! Just two losses in the league all year took us to a fairly easy title win. Our forwards were on fire with Lachman Muli and Lata Tahi getting 39 and 28 goals respectively. Ndongal Rakotondrabe, the Madagascan winger I had brought with me from Leopards Transfoot, was also immense. He chipped in with 10 goals and a massive 27 assists! Our defence was also much improved, with our goal difference improving by over 40 goals on last years total.

Our good form didn't stay in the league, we also had an excellent cup run. We swept through last years champions Veitongo, beating them 3-1. We managed to get to the final, where we played the team who had just finished 2nd in the league, Marist FC. We smashed them 6-1, with a superb quadruple coming from Lachman Muli, sealing the cherry on top of a very successful domestic season. 

My first ever double adds 20 points for the league and 9 points in the cup. After achieving everything in Tonga, it was time to move on. Back across the sea to Africa...

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Lotoha'apai United (Tonga) 2025/2026

My first real failure of this challenge so far. It all started so well. I went unbeaten in the first 7 games to sit at the top of the table. However, this was counteracted with an equally horrific run. Following our fantastic start, we then suffered a 6 game streak without a win. We managed to recover somewhat, but still only managed just 4 wins in our last 14 games. This left us in a lowly fourth. 

I believe the issues stem from my recruitment. When I joined the club, we had just 3 days left in the transfer window. In my panic to get signings over the line, I managed to neglect our central areas in both defence and midfield. Still, our season preview had us as strong favourite to win the league, and we had by far the best squad. Our only consolation was managing to get third place in the Tongan Challenge Cup. I very nearly lost my job. The only consequence was the board reducing the transfer budget from £0 to £0. I believe it was our cup run that allowed us to cling on to my job. A lot of improvement needed next year...

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Leopards Transfoot (Madagascar) 2024/2025

After the disappointment of missing out by just a point last year, we were eager to get off to a good start. Our first game of the season came against last years champions and our rivals, Ajesaia. Revenge is often a good motivator, and it certainly showed in this match! A dominant 4-1 win proved we weren't going to roll over this year. Our star performer was Ndongala Rakotondrabe, who scored a brace from the wing. We had managed to poach the youngster from our opponents in the off season. Not a bad signing! 

This result gave us the confidence to not only push on in the league, but also allowed us to flourish in the Confederation Cup. We began our campaign against the Togolese side, ASKO. We were punished defensively against the stronger side, however our plucky attack managed to snatch some vital away goals. The first leg finished 6-3 to ASKO. However, it was a much different story in the home leg. We dominated the game, finishing 4-1 and going through thanks to those important away goals. This became a pattern, our home form pulling us through every time, until we got through to the groups. We were completely outmatched by the Algerian and Zambian champions, MC Alger and Zanaco. However, we did manage to pick up our only 6 points up against a Mozambican side which were much closer to our level. Still, we gave a good account of ourselves and shocked a few pundits with our performances. 

In the league, we had gone from strength to strength. The goalscoring ability of our forward line kept us top all year. Winger Lucky Voavy chipped in with 22 goals and 22 assists. Our striking talisman, Jean Oumouri, was outstanding. He scored a fantastic 44 goals and 16 assists in all competitions, which is just 40 games. With those stats, it was no surprise that we nearly went the season unbeaten. An uncharacteristic 5-2 loss spoiled the record. However, we had already won the league at this point. I think the lads must have been on the beers celebrating!

With that league title in the bag, it's 20 points on the total and it's time to move on. Now it's over to the Pacific Islands with Tongan side, Lotoha'apai United.

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Congrats on the title. What a strange league! I tried getting a job there because the three team league was already interesting, I didn't even know about the wacky points system!

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Leopards Transfoot(Madagascar) 2023-24

When I joined Leopards mid-season, they were surprising everyone by starting the season unbeaten after being promoted the season before. While this did include 5 straight draws, it saw them climb to the top of the table. I joined on New Years Eve with the club just ahead of favourites, Ajesaia. More on them later. I had actually joined in the middle of the winter break, giving me the perfect opportunity to evaluate the squad before my first competitive game. Two players who immediately caught my eye were the winger, Lucky Voavy, and the current league top scorer, Jean Oumouri. In terms of incomings, there were three main additions. Two of these were former players. One was Sandile Nxumalo, the reliable striker from my time in Swaziland. The other was Ali Rachid, the Comoran winger I had begun to convert into an attacking wing back on account of his impressive defensive attributes. My other significant signing was the impressive, young wing back Delfim Monteiro. He was in the same mould as Rachid, and the pair would play an important role on our flanks going forward.

I coasted through the first five games, with Oumouri continuing to score for fun including firing 4 against 3FB Toliara. My sixth game came against CNaPS Sport, a side in the bottom half. The game after was against title rivals, Ajesaia. With the games coming in quick succession, I opted to rest some key players. This came back to bite me, as they scored in the 94th minute to equalise in a thrilling 3-3 draw. To make matters worse, resting my star men didn't even help. We were battered 3-0 by our rivals, sending them top for the first time since I came to Madagascar. However, we still had a game in hand over them, so all was not lost. Ajesaia did their best to help us to the title, only managing one win in their last 3 games. This left it down to us to win our final game to claim the title. Unfortunately, it was not to be as top scorer Oumouri couldn't find his shooting boots and we could only manage a draw. We missed out on the title by just a single point.

We had no time to mourn our defeat. We headed straight into the Malagasy Cup at the end of the season. In the first three rounds, we came up against teams in the non-leagues of Madagascar. However, in the semi-final, we had the chance to get our revenge against Ajesaia. A goal each in the first 10 minutes was the only notable highlights, in what would end up being a very close and nervy tie. This pattern continued into extra time, leading to penalties. One man made himself a hero in the shootout. That man was my goalkeeper, Dina Rakotondrazaka. Not only did he save three penalties, he also somehow ignored my designated penalty order, and smashed our first penalty home! He must have been very confident! That gave me my second cup win and a further 10 points on the board. It also means we qualify for the African Confederation Cup, which should help us in our recruitment for next year. 

 

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Hey, I started this challenge a few weeks back, but only just started tracking it so I don't have the screenshots for my competition wins! 

I started out with Betio Town Council in Kiribati. Our first games were in the qualifying group for the Oceania Champions League up against teams far above us in terms of reputation, ability and financial power. We managed a very impressive 3rd, missing out on qualification by just one point, with the best scoring record in the group. It was then a very long wait from January until late October for the league to start. In that time, we brought in several key players, including multiple Kiribatian internationals. Three wins and two losses saw us finish 2nd in our group, qualifying for the Champions Playoffs. With the games coming thick and fast, even a slight injury can keep a player out for many games. This happened with star striker Moses Freddy, as he missed the majority of our group games. However, he was on fire on his return to the starting 11, by scoring 4 goals in 3 finals matches to secure the title. 2 points on the board for me.

I then moved across the Indian Ocean to Swaziland and the Manzini Sea Birds. I joined in February, midway through the season. The team were hovering just above the relegation when I came in. I was able to bring in a familiar face in Moses Freddy, alongside Sandil Nxumalo from our divisional rivals, Black Swallows. We ended the season very strongly, going unbeaten to finish 5th. We also beat Peacemakers 4-0 in the Swazi Cup to add another 5 points to the tally. A full season with our new strike partnership led to 33 goals between the pair. That, in combination from 13 from mezzala Aviwe Dlamini, led us to winning the title on the final day of the season, keeping out Mbabane Swallows who had beaten us in the Swazi Cup final just weeks before. This added 10 points to the total.

To pass the time in between jobs, I signed on as Nigeria U23 manager (I know it doesn't count, but I never manage internationally, so I thought this was a great opportunity to do so). Despite losing our opening group game against DR Congo, we did end up winning the African U23 Cup of Nations by beating the team who defeated us in the first match. 

Back to club football, I was hired as the manager of US Zilimadjou in Comoros. We went unbeaten in the group stage portion of the league, drawing just 3 times. We relied heavily on our three man forward line, with each of them scoring over 15 goals each. We were unfortunately unable to win the Coupe des Comores against the North Final winners Volcan Club, however we had reached the finals of the league. This consists of a group format against the other two regional winners, Fomboni Club and Ngaya Club. A win in our first match against Fomboni Club set us up needing a win to secure the league against Ngaya Club. A knock to one of regular strikers led to a call up for Moses Freddy, who had once again followed me to a new club. No longer a star in the higher profile Comoros league, his game time had been limited over the season. However, he silenced any doubters by scoring the only goal in the final game to secure my third title. 12 more points on the board.

Now, as I reach my 100th game in management, I have been appointed as Leopards Transfoot manager in nearby Madagascar. I have joined mid-season with the team shocking the pundits by remaining unbeaten so far. Hopefully, I can keep up the great start!