libbyshuss

congrats @the_hdk! a bit of a damp squib with my update but here we go anyway Sweden - Division 1 (Tier 3) 2026 (season 4) Season Summary First season in the third tier! and it was a nice surprise at first as we started really well. But then we had a really dodgy period mid-season and found ourselves pulled into the relegation spots gravity field, which was a bit scary. But just as it started to look really bad we put a few good results together and finished strongly. So a nice safe first season, a few youth players blooded in the first team as well, what more could you ask for? Youth Yet another 4 star preview and another intake full of 4 star potential youths! it's actually a bit silly how many I have now, i might have to do a stocktake and kick a few out. Crazy, really! No idea how good any of these will actually be! it's all a bit silly really! Finances and Upgrades They won't let me upgrade my training facilities but the board are more than happy to chuck money at our youth recruitment! Can't complain too much, we're now way above any other club at our level. Hopefully it pays off! Career Still making small strides forward!

This is really interesting for those of us doing the youth only challenge as well, thank you! Spent a good hour or so trawling through it, there's some fascinating little insights in there

the other issue is you have so many of them! I have about 30 4 star youth prospects now, and there's probably wild disparity amongst those. It is just trial and error as you say, and I'm always paranoid there's a real future star hiding in there that I missed!

Sweden - Division 2 (tier 4) 2025 (season 3) Season Summary Well, I had given up on any hope of promotion after 7 games. we'd only won 2, drawn 4 and lost 1, and you can't afford to give that much away in such a small division. we then won a couple, lost again, and then went on a 15 game unbeaten run and slowly started reeling in the teams ahead of us. By the time we finally lost again it was the final game of the season and we'd already been crowned Champions. lovely stuff! Youth Tier 4 of Swedish football is really not that high in terms of quality, and is largely amateur. So it's no surprise that I keep getting these great looking previews and intake. In truth, it just shows how bad tier 4 is. I know it sounds like I'm whinging but to be honest I was a bit disappointed. All that potential does me no good, I need first team ready players! My training facilities are shocking so there's little chance of improvement there really, and the board keep refusing my constant requests to improve them too. Bah. Finances and Upgrades Although they're more than happy to keep giving me youth recruitment improvements! Career Be interesting to see how much better in quality the third tier of Swedish football is. this side is really not that good!

Sweden - Division 2 (tier 4) 2024 (season 2) league Summary Little disappointing to be honest. We should have got in the top two but a couple of silly results let us down. we were close though so hopefully next season we can push through. I suppose the good thing is you never want to go up too early, right? Youth Another cracking preview, which I again I think reflects the quality of our starting squad more than anything else. Still, good to fill out those squad places I guess no idea how many of those are actually gonna be any good, but they should get us out of division 2 at least. Finances and Upgrades To be honest, i'm never too bothered about promotion in these early seasons so long as I'm making progress off the field. And we did really well here, laying the foundations for a good push in the next couple of seasons. Pretty much at the limit of our current budget though Career so far so good!

Eskilstuna City - Sweden Division 2 (tier 4) - 2023 (season 1) Season Summary So here I am, in Sweden for the first time! The board aren't the most ambitious, requesting that I merely avoid relegation. Hopefully not too big an ask, despite a small squad of only 14. And it wasn't, we were pretty good really. although, to be fair, i think it's more that the quality of fourth tier Swedish football is really not that high. Only problems were our best middie getting an ACL halfway through the season and our best defender deciding pretty early doors there was no way he was signing a new contract Youth With only 14 players in the squad I could really do with a good intake. Annoyingly I had to wait until the penultimate game of the season before it appeared though. The preview looked good as did the intake But again i think it's more a reflection of the low quality in division 2. Our best prospect was this lad Finances and Upgrades The good intake was partly due to our finances being good enough that the board gave me two upgrades to youth intake. I mean, it was a really low starting point, but still not a bad start! and we finished with a nice positive bank balance too! Win Win! Career So next season we'll have a bigger, if not better, squad. Hopefully we can challenge for the top 2 but we'll see. Consolidation would be a good season also

oh that's good to know. i didn't realise there were 3 eskilstuna sides!

i did look but can't find anything. unless i'm looking in the wrong place?

so after a couple of false starts I'm back in for good! This time somewhere I've never been before but with 4 tiers really appeals:- Sweden! The fourth tier has 6 regional divisions so there was lots of choice of promoted sides. I plumped for Eskiltuna, partly because the name, partly because the badge looked cool They're the second club in Eskiltuna and groundshare with their main rivals. it's a nice ground too, and was one of the venues for the 1958 world cup! The look pretty well equipped to stay up, although the squad is a threadbare 14 players. Makes picking a side easy i guess facilities are pretty meagre but finances aren't that bad, so with any luck I should be able to get a couple of early upgrades in Let's go!

and so the end has come..... Italy - Catania - Season 2064/65 Champions League After last years losing final, did we go one better this season? Nope, out in the last 16 to Liepzig, who battered us. And with that...... I'm handing in my notice. So here's a few things I learned on my Italian journey:- 1. State of the Art youth facilities really do matter. I had no wonderkids for years until I managed to get my facilities to state of the art. then they started pouring out. Around 4 seasons ago the facilities dropped, I had no option to improve, and the wonderkids dried up. Anecdotal, I know, but really that new 'feature' SI have introduced has screwed us on this challenge 2. It's really difficult without a decent keeper! Honestly, after 45 seasons or so, I never ever had one better than Serie B standard. So I usually had to win games 4-3 3. I love this challenge for throwing up players like Lorenzo Lippi 40K and Giovanni Moscardelli 51A. Seeing them develop, destroy the league, and, in Moscardelli's case, win 7 balon d'ors is what it is all about! 4. I don't have the staying power of Padders! the team is falling apart at the seams and would need a major rebuild over several years and I haven't got the willpower to take that on Anyway, I'm a sucker for a youth only challenge so I'm jumping straight back in. I fancy another try at Uruguay for some reason. possibly because it's only 2 leagues!

not really tbh, we were knackered and they were all over us. My squad has no depth at all really!

Catania - Italy - 2063/64 Champions League so close! chelsea have won 3 out the last 5 now. We did better in the league anyway.... One of the teams we lost to was Verona after I rested all my first choice XI for the CL and played random kids lol. I might keep going for one more season, it's starting to get me down now! Oh, another 60+ goal season for Moscardelli. The man is a machine!

Catania - Serie A - 2062/63 Another quick update as all I need is the Champions League to complete the challenge. Did we do it? Did we heck! Our record isn't great in the Champions League tbh league I focus on CL at the minute and let the league take care of itself which it usually does. We were top most of the season and with three games to play only needed 1 win for the title. So we lost 5-4 away to Roma, 5-3 away to Milan and finished level with Milan, sending us into a ply off Players Crazy stuff from Moscardelli! He scored 55 in Serie A alone!

Catania - Italy - Season 2061/62 (!) Season Summary Again we prioritised the Champions League which very nearly went wrong at the very start. 3 defeats from our opening 3 games left us struggling to qualify, and an absolute battering at Chelsea set us back in all competitions for a few weeks. But we recovered well to qualify for the knockout stages. I was quietly confident going into that second leg against Liverpool with a 2 goal lead but I should have known better.... league suffered due to me resting players before the Champions League games and we were lucky to sneak in the top 4 truth be told. Those title winning seasons seem a long time ago now! Players Part of the problem is this is still a very young side I'm blooding in here. we won't be fully operational until at least another 2 seasons Giovanni Moscardelli 51A - hopefully he'll still be here cos he is insane right now. 43 league goals, his seventh season in a row with over 30 league goals, 58 goals in total. Ludicrously good. Plus I got these three.... Del Ferro and Ramos were officially wonderkids at 18, which was a lovely touch. They're already worth £60m plus and are gonna be insane in a couple of years. Hopefully La Rocca too Plus I got this little fella in the youth intake, courtesy of my affiliate club Maccabi Tel Aviv So I'm gonna keep ploughing on, if nothing else just to see how good these little youngsters can get. The best set of youth i've had so far in this save!

Catania - Italy - Season 2060/61 Season Summary bit of a transition season as I could,t dissuade Lorenzo Lippi 40K from retiring and Tarek Ramadan leaving on a free, so that was 2 out of ny first choice front three gone and only kids to replace them Ramadan was nothing more than a useful squad player at this stage (he was 31) but Lippi was still an absolute legend at 36. Look at his career biography! He scored 648 goals in 798 games for us in total, with an average rating of 7.48. He was just awesome! We were always gonna miss him. although not too much as he's now on our books as an U18 coach! League So, league, we were ok, but not our usual high standards Champions League this is the one we need! We were not good, and to be honest I have no idea how we got through against Bayern, but Liepzig put us in our place Players So why am I still going? Because looks at these three! Stalwart of the first team at 18! Played him out of desperation at the end of the season and he ended with 5 goals from 12 games at an AR of 7.28! so he's a first team starter from next season! Dal Ferro is gonna be great. He replaced Ramadan on the right and although not quite as effective he did show signs of hopefully surpassing him. Only 6 goals from 41 games though! Moscardelli stepped up this season. 57 goals from 51 games! and he's started whining again about leaving to join Leeds..... no way Jose! So I'll keep going a few more seasons, see where these wonderkids can take us. The real issue though is keeper - I've never had anyone better than Serie B standard in almost 40 seasons!

2059/60 - Italy - Catania Gonna keep updates short and sweet from here on in as all I need is the Champions League to complete the challenge. Did we do it? League Went into the final day of the season top of the table by 1 point from Milan, 2 points from Juventus. We played Juventus and were 2-1 up after 89 minutes....... d'oh!!! lost in the final minute of the season! Never mind, we won 3 of the previous 4 so.... Champions League Yeah, we were rubbish really poor in the league section, only just squeaking through. we got Arsenal in the knockout and they were too strong Players Lorenzo Lippi 40K - still going strong at 36! announced retirement at the end of the season and i begged him to reconsider. He's still thinking about it..... but honestly, what a career with us. well over 600 career goals. Here's his career stats Youth Annoiyngly technological advances meant our youth facilities dropped. And there was no option to request an upgrade! aaaargh! anyway, we got another potential superstar this season

Season Summary Well, we won the league again, which is nice. Almost without me noticing as I wasn't paying much attention to the league. Champions League is all now! We did ok in Champions League but we start to get tired and injuries creep in around March which doesn't help us at all. Even resting players in the league and lowering training doesn't help too much. We did ok in the league section - a win at Rangers in the last game, who we beat 5-1 in a pre-season friendly at Ibrox, would have put us straight through to the last 16. But as it was we drew and had to go into the knockout. Leeds are still ludicrously strong atm (14 Premier league titles in last 20 years, 4 Champions League wins too) so to beat them twice was a nice sign Players Lorenzo Lippi 40K - I know I keep going on about this lad but he was a 2 star potential youth when he first showed up. I signed him just to make up the numbers! and now, at 35, he had his best season for years, won MVP Serie A player of the year and is sitting on 626 goals in 747 appearances for us. He is showing bno signs of slowing or giving up either! what a legend! If anyone deserves a CL medal, it's him Giovanni Moscardelli 51A - poorest season yet from our resident superstar. Saying that, he still scored 40 in 48 games. in a three man attack! Sebastian Ramos 58A - last seasons top graduate. Only 16 but looked so good I gave him a chance. As did the Uruguay national coach! still 16, and a full international already! Youth And another potential superstar rolls of the production line! I stuck him in the first team for the last 3 games of the season too and he looked good! Good personality, amazing starting attributes, potential looking good too. What's not to love? Career it's a long one now

17.9% of total wage bill but i don't think that includes bonuses. That goal bonus is the one that's going to ruin us!

Season Summary No third title in a row, but not totally unexpected as I put all my focus on the Champions League. Did it work out? no.... we got battered by Bayern in the quarter final. Still a way to go! Players So the big news this year? Moscardelli 51A signed a new contract! and it is ridiculous!!!! His opening gambit was to ask for 625k basic a week, which is way out of our league. So I maxxed out all bonuses and hoped for the best.... Honestly, it's mental. 425k basic, 215k appearance fee, 200k goal bonus! He's gonna bankrupt us! thing is, he's totally worth it... If he wins me the Champions League it'll be money well spent! Youth We got a lovely looking youth pull this year He looks like he could be another wonderkid - fingers crossed! he's already not far off a first team spot at 15! I might even give him a few games next season, who knows? Career We're close to a Champions League win! and with Moscardelli 51A we have every chance as well.

Season Summary Ridiculously good in the league, winning 18 out of our first 20 games. We were miles ahead all season, which was nice as it meant we could focus on the Champions League. So how did it go? Champions League league stage A much harder set of fixtures this time around. Leeds have won 12 out of the last 15 Premier League titles and 2 out of the last 3 Champions Leagues. They are scary good! A pleasing set of results, except for that last game. A win would have sent us straight into the last 16 but as it was we had to go into the play-offs Champions League Knock Out Rounds An amazing run! Playing 3 Spanish sides was interesting and to be honest none of them got near us. Leeds were a different proposition though. Honestly it's nuts how good they are! Players The key was Giovanni Moscardelli 51A again. He's seriously good! trouble is he only has 2 years left on his contract and has refused to sign a new one for the last 3 years. It's gonna be a miracle to get him to stay i think. Trouble is, if he does go I think my save is over. How can I carry on without him? So...maybe only 2 more seasons to try and complete the challenge! Youth Only the one elite talent this season. Could he be as good as Moscardelli? Unlikely, but he does look pretty good. Wonderkids I got another one! Finances and Upgrades They let me max out my youth facilities! wahey! Career

Season Summary Serie A Champions!!!! It didn't look like it after we lost the opening game of the season home to Juventus. But after that, everything clicked and as we headed into December the league table looked like this:- 10 points clear after 16 games is crazy! we couldn't maintain that form but we're able to keep a nice healthy distance between us and the rest. The real test came in April when we were in a little sticky patch and second place Bologna had won 6 in a row. We were 9 points clear but they had 3 games in hand and we had to go to their place. And we won 2-0!!!! I celebrated like we'd won the league! it was pretty much a procession from there on in, although the last 4 games were a little worrying when we lost Lippi 40K and Moscardelli 51A to injury for them. But in the end... Champions League Quite a tough looking start but we made it look easy! The Chelsea/Bratislava games show what happens when I rest Moscardelli the Cercle Brugge result was annoying as it dropped us out the first 8 and meant we had to play in the knockout round Into the knockout rounds! The second leg against Benfica was unbelievable! We were poor in both legs against Liverpool, shows how much work still to do there is. Players Here's the title winning XI! Lorenzo Lippi 40K - really pleased he was around to enjoy our title success! absolute legend! He is now 32, shows no sign of slowing down, and even made it back to the Italy squad. This season was his best, with an average rating of 7.72. Played 50 games during the season with 25 goals, 21 assists. 557 goals in 624 games for us now! Giovanni Moscardelli 51A - Here's the real star though, he's just unbelievable. he even spent the season with middling morale as he wanted to play in better squads/leagues etc throughout the season. Finished second in the balon d'or when he really should have won. Look how good he is! only the 44 goals in 45 games though, needs to up that goal to game ratio! Marco di Gioachinno 48B - slowly became a midfield dynamo, and one of the best in Serie A. Now 24, just won his first Italy cap and valued at 70-77m, he's going to be key if I'm gonna challenge for the Champions League Youth We're still getting excellent previews and golden generation intakes, which is nice. 3 elite talents this time around Best of the bunch is Trovato, who the coaching staff assure me could be as good as Moscardelli. I'd be happy with half as good! Career Time to focus on the Champions League!

Season Summary Our best season yet! We led the league for most of the season, only losing out in the last few weeks. juve went on an insane unbeaten run after losing at home to us in January and we just couldn't match it. At one point we were 5 points clear but that's not much. 2 draws and it's down to 1! I changed tactics from a 4-2-3-1 to a narrow 4-3-3 after realising my best 3 players were all natural strikers. So Moscardelli 51A, Lippi 40K and Ramadan 45A ran riot up top. It's a tactic that concedes a lot as well as scores a lot so we had a few 5-4s and 4-4s. It's great fun though! Champions League The league phase was quite kind to us with the draw, except Man City and PSG in the last two games. We did pretty well, the only blip being away at Shamrock Rovers, who were 4-0 up against us within 20 minutes! Luckily we did enough to qualify for the knockout round. The Man City and PSG results were especially pleasing. The next round gave us Arsenal, which would be a real test. Which we narrowly failed. Coppa Italia I'm usually really terrible in domestic cup competitions so this was a nice surprise Players Moscardelli 51A is the star! 46 goals and 11 assists in 50 appearances this season. The only shock was he didn't win Goldenboy! I couldn't believe it! He did win this though:- Youth Another golden generation with three elite talents Schiavoni looks the brightest talent. Could be a replacement for Lippi 40K if I stay with a 4-3-3 formation in a few seasons time Career

yeah, Gio is the main reason I'm still going with this save. I wanna see how good he gets! my AssMan still thinks he can improve a lot so it should be fun finding out. hopefully he can lead us to glory!

Season Summary Feels like a real step forward! We lost 3 of our first 6 matches and then went on a run of 1 defeat and 16 wins in the next 17 games which put us second. We couldn't quite maintain that but finished top 4 for the first time to ensure our first ever Champoins League adventure! Players The main reason for our excellent season was the continued emergence of Giovanni Moscardelli 51A as a real genuine superstar. This season, at 18, he made his debut for the Italy national team and won Goldenboy. Finished the season with 27 goals, 10 assists from 46 games, mainly from the left wing. He is unreal. I've got him signed up for 5 more years but he's already whinging about moving on, which kinda sucks. Lorenzo Lippi 40K is now 30 with 498 goals in 527 games for us. Ridiculous stats for a 2 star youth intake player! Career

Season Summary Feels like we're finally making progress! it was only a fifth placed finish but we were top 4 for the entire season until the second to last game. To come so close is frutrating but it's still a young team and I feel like the only way is up still! Europa League was fun - the second leg of the Semi saw us knackered out with a patched up team on the field. Our first XI is great but squad depth is not Players So why the improvement? I put it down to one man (well, 17 year old boy really) Giovanni Moscardelli 51A he is gonna be an absolute star! I figured I'd give him a few games and started him on the left wing. He was brilliant. He also filled in up front when Lippi 40K was injured and was brilliant there as well. Eventually that'll be his main position. So, 17 years old and with an insane valuation and season stats of 46 games 27 goals and 19 assissts. Mostly from left wing. He is gonna be nuts in a few years! While he's around I can't give up on this save! Wonderkids So.... do I have any? Moscardelli has to be one, but Rosati 49C took me by surprise. I am so low on decent keepers I stuck him in the first team but he's still only a 2.5 star potential Serie B keeper. Maybe the coaches got this wrong? Oh, and I won Goldenboy this season! I assumed it was Moscardelli but no! really odd! He's only a 3 star potential but can play a variety of positions so gets a lot of game time, despite not being in my first choice XI. He did well enough to win golden boy, which really took me by surprise! Finances and Upgrades Be nice if i had the option board! Only Juve are ahead of me with a state of the art youth facility so the board need to start putting their hands in their pockets! Career I want to see how good Moscardelli can get! I have a feeling it's gonna be special