SkiIIs

2070 World Cup - Portugal After winning the Asian Cup, it was a year wait for the Euro & Copa for the next gig that was realistic to win the World Cup. I applied for a few jobs including Spain, England, Brazil however Spain, Turkey and Portugal were the first ones to respond. Neither of these were my preferred nation but wasnt prepared to run the risk rejecting these and then not being offered the others. The choice was a difficult one, but i went with the current Wold Champions in Portugal. The objective was to make the semi finals so that was a good sign that they had belief in the players we had. We were given quite an easy group of Morocco and Jaimaca as we won both games. In the third round, we got Canada in favourable draw. Second Round Third Round (if applicable) QF (if applicable)

2067 Asian Cup - Australia Managing my home country in a time during the save where they are very competitive, despite losing both group games in the World Cup. But thats ok, its the reason why the opportunity came up in the first place. But its probably the fashion of how they lost which got me sceptical, losing 3 - 1 against Denmark and then getting trounced 5 - 0 by Ecuador. The team is quite nicely balanced, some good centre backs, half decent full backs, one gun attacking mid and a decent other and a gun striker and ok wingers. Dont really have a strong DM but thats ok. Our group consists of minnows Sri Lanka and Pakistan but also had China. The strategy is all about avoiding South Korea and hopefully beating them if or when we do meet. We won our three group games 4 - 0, 4 - 0 and 2 - 1 in games where i was able to rotate the team. In the second round we face Japan who came third in their group to Thailand and Syria. We have also avoided South Korea on our side of the draw. Second Round QF (if applicable) SF (if applicable) Final (if applicable)

2066 World Cup - Belgium The team is kind of realistic to nowadays where they have a couple of really top end world class players but then the rest of squad are just decent. In my case, the defence is really lacking any quality and i have 2.5 star quality as my starters. Centre midfield is ok, but rely on a 34 year old PSG midfielder to do most of the grunt work. Front three are ok and dont have anything to complain about the depth there. Not the ideal nation to be managing going into the world cup but didnt really have a choice. Leading into the World Cup, our friendlies were against two nations where i won their continental cups in Argentina and South Africa. I beat Argentina 2 - 0 and drew with Sth Africa 1 - 1. Our group consist of Nigeria and Japan so no real guarantees. First game against Nigeria and we needed to come back twice to eventually score the winner in the 78th minute. That win meant we had already qualified before playing Japan as they drew with each other, Japan needed to better our result against Nigeria to qualify. We pummelled them 8 - 0 lol Next up was fellow Asian country China. Second Round Third Round (if applicable) QF (if applicable) SF (if applicable) Final (if applicable)

Had to wait a year for the euros and Copa to finish for any decent job to become available. Holland, Brazil and France were the appealing jobs that came up and i was unsuccessful for each of them. I kinda understood the Holland rejection as that was still a little fresh but surprised i didnt get the other two. Anyone know why or have any tips on international management? Anyhow, the Belgium manager was poached by France and Belgium offered me the role so i obligingly took it with no other options available. They were knocked out by eventual winners Spain in the Quarters and are ranked 8th in the world. Not sure how to be honest as they seem to be on the decline with a really aged squad. Just adding that I also was just unsuccessful with the England job which suddenly became available as their previous manager took the helm at Benfica. Do i need to managing in club land?

2063 AFCON - South Africa The team I've inherited is quite good, they've won the AFCON twice during the save back in 2045 and 2049 so its been a good 14 years since the last triumph. We've got really good attacking options, a decent midfield and two good central defenders. Our full backs and DM are probably the weak spots. I think im going really close to double figures in attempts to win this trophy so would love to get this one finally completed! Our group consisted of Uganda, Cameroon and Guinea so not the easiest of groups. Up first was Uganda where we won easily 4 - 0. Next was Cameroon where we had 30 shots to 1 but drew the game. We scored in the 86th but they equalised with their only shot of the game in the 88th min. It meant we only needed a draw against Guinea to top the group. I rested a few players and it kinda showed in the first half as we went into the break a goal down. I brought on my main players and went more attacking and so we managed to score 2 to lead. Guinea scored an equaliser in the 92nd minute to draw the game. Cameroon won their game so the 3 of us finished even on 5 points but we topped the group thanks to goal difference. We get Mali in the second round. Second Round QF (if applicable) SF (if applicable) Final (if applicable)

2062 World Cup - Holland Coming off winning the Euros, the International League and the Euro/SAM Super Cup against Argentina, we headed into the World Cup with the majority of the team that won me the Euros. However we did lose our two starting centre backs via retirement and we were a little thin at the back. Our midfield and attacking options were still stacked. We had an easy group of New Zealand and Nigeria who we beat 7 - 0 and 5 - 1 respectively. In the Second round we were given a tricky opponent in Colombia. Second Round Third Round (if applicable) QF (if applicable) SM (if applicable) Final (if applicable)

2060 European Cup - Holland My first tournament with Holland, the team is stacked and are the current World and European Cup holders and also rightfully ranked number 1 in the world. The expectation is to make the final so anything less will result in a short stint with this nation. We were given a relatively easy group of Cyprus, Scotland and Poland. We crushed Cyprus 7 - 0, then gave up a 2 - 0 lead to draw with Scotland 2 - 2 then beat Poland 5 - 0. Our reward for finishing top of our group was a match against Germany who finished 3rd amongst Belgium and Turkey. Second Round QF (if applicable) SF (if applicable) Final (if applicable)

2058 World Cup - Argentina After winning the Copa America we played Holland the winners of the Euros in the Super Cup and lost 5 - 1. We then played Italy as a friendly before the World Cup and lost 4 - 1 so I dont think the South American nations are as strong as the Europeans this far long into the save so the confidence wasnt high. Mind you we also lost to Belgium and Poland in friendlies 2 - 1 both times. We didnt have the easiest group as we had Croatia to challenge against for top spot with Syria being the other team. We beat Syria 3 - 1 then crushed Croatia 7 - 0 as Lanzini was just getting warmed up with 6 goals in those two games. In the second round we play Italy with revenge clearly on the mind. Second Round Third Round (if applicable) QF (if applicable) SF (if applicable) Final (if applicable)

2056 Copa America - Argentina My second major tournament with Argentina (i forgot to post my World Cup attempt where we were knocked out by eventual champions Spain in a 4 - 3 result copping a goal in the last minute). We were given a relatively easy group avoiding Colombia and Brazil and the two non South America entrants were Japan and China so i couldnt have asked for a better situation. Our group consist of Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and China. Results were 3 -0, 2 - 2, 1 - 0, 3 - 0 and 3 - 0 respectively as we topped the group. The quarter final draw was kind to us as again Brazil and Colombia were on the other side of the draw. We have Peru in the quarter final QF SF (if applicable) Final (if applicable)

Season 2055 - Malmo FC Went holidaying for 6 months to hopefully join a team that was well on their way to winning their domestic cup trophy. In the end I opted to join Malmo in January as in Sweden i checked the schedule and they play their cup mostly towards the start of their season between Jan - Feb. We won the cup quite easily but finished in May so stuck around for half a season. So that wraps up all club requirements, now onto Internationals and lots of holidaying. @vikeologist i havent really holidayed much in great lengths, would you know if i follow a country ie. Australia, would i get notified when their job becomes vacant?

Season 2053/54 - RB Leipzig After completing the last league required for this challenge, i stuck around for the Cup competition as Im two short. I holidayed most of the season ensuring i stopped around for the Cup games and any national matches with Argentina. We ended up finishing second in the league but went back to back with the Champions League. We also did win the DFB Pokal quite easily, not conceding a single goal in the process. And with that I've resigned and will look for my next club to get the last club trophy required.

2052/53 World Club Championships - RB Leipzig Pretty sure this is only the second time playing in this competition with the last time being with Juve (id have to scroll back through the years). The only National tournament that was on was the AFCON which didnt really impact my team (and most others too). A group containing Al-Shabab and Palmeries where we beat them 6 - 0 and 3 - 2 respectively. We then faced Athletico Paranaense in the quarter final Quarter Final Semi Final (if applicable) Final (if applicable)

Season 2052/53 - RB Leipzig First season with RB given an absolute warchest of 250m pounds to spend and over 1m of wages spare to throw around in order to win everything. The team was pretty good to begin with so had fun spending on world class players bringing in Bednarek from VFL. Ended up spending 404m with only 40m coming back in. Absolutely nuts the amount of money this club has even compared to the likes of Real and PSG where i managed previously. Spending that sort of cash only meant that I must go and dominate that league. The season didnt really pay out that way and it was tight the whole way. We started off hot winning 11 of the first 13 games but then lost a couple games in a row and by the midpoint of the year we were second behind Dortmund by a point. It looked like being a 3 way race but had always thought that Dortmund would fall away given they havent won the league in the entire save to date. But i was wrong, it was Bayern that kept slipping up and Dortmund that kept winning. An amazing season by them only losing 1 game in the whole season against VFL in the fourth game. With 4 games to go we were 1 point behind Dortmund and we played them away. It was a really tight affair that was goaless. We needed to beat them so the title was within our own control. If we lose, the season is pretty much over. We copped a goal in the 86th minute however that was then disallowed for offside and then we go an miss a penalty in the 94th minute! Really pissed off at this point. I neednt be as Dortmund then drew away to Dusseldorf the next game and we overtook them as we won. For the last game of the season, we just had to equal their result at home to Stuttgart whilst they were at home to 3rd place Koln. We were dominating but just could not find that goal and Dortmund twice hit the top of the live league ladder as they drew 2 - 2 and we almost threw the season away drawing 0 - 0. We also won the champions league which to my absolute delight qualified us for the World Club Champs which were scheduled this year in June. In the knockouts, we trice required big return leg wins against Juventus, Bayern and Man City to overcome defeats. Winning 5 - 0, 6 - 0 and 4 - 0 respectively. We then beat Real 1 - 0 in the final to record the first ever European Champions League triumph for this club. During the year I also became manager of Argentina which was extremely close to being a short tenure. The World Cup qualifiers started of horrendously, losing to Colombia 1 - 0, Bolivia 4 - 1, Ecuador 2 - 1, draw with Uruguay 0 - 0 then losing against Colombia again 2- 0. We finally won a game beating Paraguay at home 1 - 0 but then lost again to Chile 1 - 0. At this point, we were 4 points out of the qualification zone and even after beating Peru 4 - 0 the next game, the performance rating was rightfully an F with Brazil away the next game. A loss would certainly get me fired but we managed to beat them 3 - 1 which bumped up my rating back to a C+ and back in the qualification zone.

Season 2051/52 - VFL Wolfsburg Heading into the season after our best effort in the bundesliga last year, i had imagined that this was our best chance of winning the title (7th attempt). We started off ok and were near the top, by the half way mark we were sitting in second spot only one point behind the leaders Dortmund with Bayern also right up our tails. After the transfer break, the volume of games started to take it's toll and the lack of depth also showed as we were challenging on all fronts even tho i was trying to rotate the team in the champions league, we still made the semis and lost out to Bayern narrowly. Fatigue starting setting in and we drew games we should have won and lost games we should have drawn and that resulted in a slide down the table and eventually just squeezed in a Champions League spot in 5th thanks to the European Coefficients. We were also knocked out of the semis of the DFL Pokal so that means 6 seasons in Germany now for no achievements towards this challenge. Ultimately, it will be the last season with Wolfsburg as the RB Leipzig job came up and i took it with both hands. Have a whopping 250m transfer budget and more than double the wages allowed than what I had at Wolfsburg.

Season 2050/51 - VFL Wolfsburg By far and away the best season in Germany to date, being my 5th in Germany but my third with Wolfsburg. We start the season on fire winning our first 7 games and after 12 games we were 11 wins and 1 draw, sitting pretty atop. In the next 12 games we then went 8 - 2 - 2 and were still first but Bayern were only a couple points behind us. We then drew our net 3 games against lesser teams and that pretty much ruined us as we were then 6 points behind Bayern. We then beat Bayern (for the first time under my management) with 2 games to go to close the gap to 3 points. We then lost away to RB and they drew to be crowned champions. Of course in the last game they lost and we won to make it by the slimmest margins as we had the better goal difference in the end. Major reason for the improvement in performance this year was a conscious decision to invest in high end young talent paid off immediately rather than topping up with older proven talent (which has been the strategy for this challenge). Some pics below. In the Cup, we meat Bayern in the semi final and were destined to be knocked out 1 - 0 until we equalised in the 87th minute to take it to extra time. We then conceded in the 107th minute and i had thought we were gonners but attacking tactics paid off as we equalised in 112th minute and then out of nowhere took the lead 3 minutes later. Straight to all out defence mode however Bayern managed to take the game to penalties after equalising in the 122nd minute. By this stage i was flat and proceeded to pens where we won it 5-4 not missing any of ours. So in the final it was Dortmund who we managed to do the double over during the season. We had a fit full team to choose from. It was a tight affair with lots of chances and we were given a penalty in the 38th minute and up stepped 33 yo experience CM Nicholas Harris 3 from 3 this year and also put one away against Bayern in the semis. Penalty was saved and there were no goals in normal time despite so many chances for both sides. Dortmund pinched one in the 107th minute and that was that so we're back to back runners up. We missed a really good chance to get a tick for this challenge. First up is our Brazilian superstar Lanzini who won the top goalscorer and best player of the year award. Signed for only 22.5m from Sao Paolo. Next up is Bednarek our Swiss international who has improved out of sight this season who was purchased in the offseason for only 20m from St Gallen

2051 Asian Cup - Iran (sorry about the large flag) My second attempt at the Asian Cup with Iran after losing to South Korea in the final. They are the ones to beat again no doubt. Group stage of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordan ended up being 7 - 2, 2 - 0 and 4 - 0 wins. In the second round we play UAE. Second Round QF (if applicable) SF (if applicable) Final (if applicable)

Season 2049/50 - VFL Wolfsburg Managed to fly through this season. Managed to get a couple decent out of contract players in the offseason however with the pick of the lot DM only signing for 12 months at 32 years young, he has decided to jet off to Newcastle on a free at the end of the season. The team is still a tier below the big guns RB and Bayern however drawing to Bayern away and beating RB in the first two games of the season got me optimistic. We then lost to Augsburg the following game to bring me back to earth. We ended up finishing 4th again and consolidated our position in the champions league with a couple games left in the season. Not sure if that is progress or not, probably a reflection of the teams around me instead if anything. One thing we can take away from this season is that we made the final of DFB Pokal where we faced none other than Bayern. We start off well despite having less of the ball having a disallowed goal in the first 10 minutes, but then shortly after we did hit the lead. Bayern then dominated the game for the remainder of the match and also having a goal disallowed just before half time. Just as i was about to implement my slow the game down tactics, Bayern equalised in the 87th minute. So extra time we went where Bayern scored and won the game.

Season 2048/49 - VFL Wolfsburg I joined Wolfburg knowing it was going to be a long slog, especially after a few seasons of mediocrity to my own standards at Dortmund. The team i took over was worst than that of Dortmund, not really having any bonifide world beaters. It was a mixed seasons with both ups and downs, we started off with 4 wins and a draw but then went the next 5 games without a win playing none of the big 3 in that spell. The objective was to make the champions league (last year they finished 5th) which would show progression and qualify us for the champions league proper. We were able to achieve that on the final day. Hopefully we can build on this next season. We didnt really feature in the cup.

The dortmund job popped up again but they declined me lol This team aint the greatest so feels like building the same blocks again....

Season 2047/48 - Real Madrid Good decision to leave Dortmund without any accomplishments in Germany and take up the role at Real as we managed to walk in the league with several games to go and also win the Spanish Cup relatively easy. I walked into a team that came second to Real San Sebastian however it was stacked with really high end players. Was just a little shallow in depth and surprisingly low on transfer funds so brought in some decent loans and a cheap 3 star Ghanaian midfielder who turned into a bit of a baller and became a main stayer in the first team and added another star in the process. The World Club Cup is next season but I dont think Real has qualified so I'm thinking of moving on with only the German league required, however no jobs there available. I also need to win a separate Cup from somewhere (assuming I can also win the German Cup) so i might holiday for a bit and see if I can pinch one from somewhere or until something exciting in Germany happens. There's also the Euros and Copa America about to begin so hopefully there's a merry-go-round of jobs that pop up.

was not feeling it at Dortmund and couldnt give up this chance

Season 2045/47 - Borussia Dortmund After 35 seasons straight, there is a new Bundelsiga champion as Bayern have been toppled!!! Unfortunately, its not by Dortmund but by RB. I was confident of improving on last years performance after what i felt was a good offseason with transfers and we kinda did as we obtained 2 more points but fell down a spot to 4th. Really wasnt good enough and to culminate the poor season was the fact we got knocked out of the DFB Pokal in the second round by SC Freiburg.

2047 Asian Cup - Iran Having sucked at international management and being in the role for 6 months, i really didnt have any expectations going into this tournament. More of a hit and hope. A group of Vietnam, Phillippines and Thailand provided no shocks as we won 2-1, 4-1 and 4-2 respectively. Second Round opponents are Saudi Arabia Second Round Quarter Final (if applicable) Semi Final (if applicable) Final (if applicable)

Combining the best of two worlds (challenges) I, like some others that I've noticed, seem to bounce between a long save building a club from the ground zero (Youth Academy Challenge) versus the free lancing mode of flying around the globe conquering each continent along the way (Ultimate Challenge). What I seem to find after spending hours and hours of each of these saves is that i really miss the other save. For example, in the youth acadamy challenge, i love that fact that you get to build and invest in the club and progressing through the lower leagues whilst becoming extremely loyal to players that you've manufactured. But after many many seasons, I start to miss the scouting, uncovering gems, playing in a different country and the new challenges that it brings. On the flip side, in the journeyman type of save, it's fun playing in different countries, different oppositions and titles to win but then the hoping around gets old and miss that long objective of building something great. So I've thought of a way of combining the best of both these types of saves and open to further suggestions to come up with a new challenge, so here it is: start off unemployed, no badges or qualifications and holiday for a season, then take on newly promoted unplayable club in your desired league aka youth academy challenge need to win league title and continental competition of said club aka youth academy challenge where it differs is (and this is where im open to suggestions), you're allowed to make one transfer per season however player must be aged 18 years or younger probably need some thought around ringfencing some guidelines as i know FM can get a little weird with the year you sign the aim is to win all five continental competitions when you move continents, you must apply for roles in the lowest playable competition no international management allowed Let me know your thoughts on how to make this watertight and more fun as Im happy to set up a new thread if there's interest. Thanks

2046 World Cup - Italy Keeping this short and sharp as we got knocked out of the 3rd round to eventual winners Germany. This was 1 round short of the expectations which meant we were sacked. Getting really frustrated on the international scene! Im now the manager of Iran and have the Asian Cup scheduled for January... have very little expectations but you cant win it if you're not in it... Also, I'll see how I go but I might give my suggestion earlier of a new challenge a go and see if there's any traction with others.... might come straight back to this challenge if it falls flat (which i expect it to do given we're so close to a new FM version)