SixPointer

Its makes you question if she’s really the one

Guys am off on holiday on Thursday for 2 weeks. I’ll try and get the summer window played out and updated but it may be a little quiet around here if not. Wife doesn’t understand I’ve won the champions league so I should be allowed to take my laptop on holiday. 🙃

Marcos Leonardo must be drawing some serious interest he’s so prolific! back to business and doing what you do best already!

Thanks bud! Yeah quite the final! Thanks my man! Tried my best to bring it to life! Yeah three seasons all going well. To be honest I’m really enjoying what we are building, the big spend now has the squad filled with 8 wonderkids. So just supplementing the side and growing the players and grabbing must haves is manageable

I’ve just spent another 40 million on a RWB and a further 20 on LWB. So the fun doesn’t stop. But that is incomings done for another year unless we sell. I’ve got another 16 year old to bring into the fold as well. To keep the product line flowing.

I spent big, Seimen, Lavia and Danilo all proved pivotal, I also was lucky enough to miss mbappe and endrick which was massive in my eyes. Arsenal although filled with Endrick, Saka and Caicedo haven’t won the EPL, it’s been City and Liverpool so you could say we got a better tie in the final. But also we did control games and held up our end of the bargain. Thanks bud! It’s your time to shine next!

When in Rome indeed my friend! Life’s to short not to indulge 😀

Thanks bud. Tried my best to capture it the best I could. I love the fact it’s was a local lad who stole the show. Felt very benfica. I’ve just gave him a huge contract with a 580 million release clause

Thanks my man, was indeed!!! thanks!!! I still have three league titles and three Fa cups to win until unlock the next stage! So I’ll be here for at least another three seasons my man

Thanks 👍🏻 Cheers bud 👍🏻 It’s had it all really! Thanks

Thanks bud They have proved to be lethal all season. If I had the time I would make a whole reel of them! Thanks mate!! I think we were fortunate to escape Mbappe and Endrick but I think when you look at the games from Juve onwards we more often than not we’re the more dominant side

Omg what a start to life in the Serie A. Atalanta, Fiorentina, and a drawn with inter. Beating the historic Genoa!! Punching well above your weight

Arsenal are looking to right the wrong of 2006, when a team filled with the brilliance of Henry, Pires, Cole and Fabregas were out done by Barcelona whose spirited comeback against ten men was led by Henrick Larsson. Arsenal do have some major european silverware, winning the Uefa cup in 1970 and the cup winners cup in 1994. However when compared to Benfica’s 7 european cup finals and two wins you have to think the Portuguese club has been there and done it, but it was a long time ago and their last final was 1990. It is perhaps why they go into the tie slight favourites. They also have the curse of Bela Guttmann hanging over them, after back to back european cup triumphs the hungarian manager asked for a pay increase when denied he cursed the club. "Not in a hundred years from now will Benfica ever be European champion," The final is to be played in Athens and as fate would have it i go to Athens on holiday next weekend, just in time to catch AEK take on Olympiakos. Franz would be going up against a very unknown manager, Craig Mudd has had interim control of Arsenal since December when the club parted ways with Zinedine Zidane. He has worked under Pep at Man City, before joining Arsenal as Zizou’s Assistant, he managed to navigate his side to the UCL final while in temporary charge most impressively. Setting up his side in a 4-3-3, he has an array of talent to pick from. Endrick is the star of the show, with Fati and Rowe hitting the flanks. With the likes of Fabio Veira, Pedro Goncalves, and Martinelli as backup. The engine room is just off that, Mosies Caicedo is in phenomenal form and is the heartbeat of the side, with the Austrian Seiwald in beside him, both players complete midfielders full of industry and creativity. The backline is protected by Ben White, he anchors the midfield in front of Saliba (injury doubt) and Konate, Saka is predicted at LWB with Tomiyasu being the more defensive minded. They like to play out from the back and circulate the ball, and the one thing that looks positive is how isolated you could make Endrick if you play it right. The Brazilian has hit 33 goals this season with 16 of those coming in the UCL. If we can stop him and frustrate their early build up play and stagnate the ball progression we have a real shot. The team selection is in and there are a number of surprises, the biggest of all no ENDRICK! No injury news but he's not in the side, Tierney comes into left back, Ahmedhodzic replaces the injured Saliba. There were of course some injury issues for ourselves, most notably Jose Dias, which meant Andric would come into the middle and Fonseca would move to the WCB right, not ideal at all. Young Estêvão Palmeirim got the nod in front of Giovane, Cáceres penalty heroics and recent upturn in form had made him first choice at RWB. Doig on loan would play at LWB a position that has been a real problem all season for Franz. Hidalgo and Granelli have led the way on the goalscoring front, I think Arsenal will have big plans to stop them, it is most likely why Tierney came into the side to stunt the pace and attacking nature of Hidalgo on that side. Fati leads the line, much like Odegaard at PSG am going to look to suffocate him and force him backwards, the flanks are always a concern so we will look to force play centrally. But showing their wingers the byline is a must, with three centre backs against a short Fati will allow crosses from those wingers, also showing them down their weaker side should reduce the quality of the crosses. Caicedo and Seiwald we will look to smash and force onto their weaker sides, both are so complete that i don't want to go flying into pressing them, especially when when its 2v2 in there, Granelli will block the passing lanes into White asking him to do a number on him to help stop the flow, this is while pressing the back line and forcing the wide men inside and trying to mark them out the game. The idea is simple, look to suffocate them when the centre backs have it and force long balls into our superior aerial backline, simple is the idea putting it into practice is another. On the attacking front nothing changes, we look to exploit the space in behind after turnovers, especially the wide forwards, if that's not on we build the ball to the flanks and look to fire low driven crosses into the danger area. "Welcome to the 2030 Uefa Champions League Final between Benfica and Arsenal" "Some huge news out of the Arsenal camp no Endrick, rumours of a bust up with interim manager and the Brazilian star have been sweeping around Athens all day and he sits this one out" "Ten minutes in and it's been an edgy affair, both teams feeling each other out. Moises Caciedo gets the ball and looks to have pulled up with a hamstring issue, a further blow to the Gunners'' “Goaaalllll we have lift off in the Champions league final, Benfica take a deserved lead and it's the pacy hitman Hidalgo who finds the back of the net, superb build up play drawing Arsenal over to the left before squaring the ball to the back post, 1-0” "AND WERE LEVEL!! Arsenal hit back 15 minutes later, a ball in behind the Benfica defence catches them off guard, they have been on top and allowed Arsenal back in with some terrible defending, Credit to Rowe he takes his chance" “It's 1-1 at the break, Arsenal will need to up their tempo if they are to trouble Benfica, everything bar their goal has been in front of the Benfica defence. It's clear to see the effect no Endrick is having on the Gunners. Saka enters the fray replacing Fabio Vieira, the gunners are turning to their legendary winger to get them going” “Benfica on the other hand will be kicking themselves, they controlled the first half and got sloppy and allowed Arsenal a route back in so easy, again the missing Dias has unbalanced the back three and its obvious. Granelli is replaced with Leites and Caceres with Dego, as Franz wastes no time with players not in the flow of the game” “Benfica’s high press is frustrating Arsenal into long hopeful balls, Fati isn't interested in them, Benfica pounce on it, work it forward, GOALLLLLLLLLL Hidalgo has done it again……….. Oh were hearing there is a possible offside to be checked, Yes he's marginally offside this is going to be ruled out” “ITS 2-1 TO THE ARSENAL, A long hopeful ball isn't dealt with, Andric at sixes and sevens, the ball is prodded through to Fati and he squares it for Saka, it does look tight, Yes again VAR has intervened and we return to 1-1, WHAT A GAME, IT'S ON A KNIFE EDGE” “BENFICA HAVE THE LEAD, There's no doubt this time Palmeirim times his run to the back post perfectly to slot home, superb work from Hidalgo down the right drawing Tierney inside with Dego, the overload pays off and he has free pass” “Ten minutes left on the clock here at Stádio Olympiakó Spiros Louis, Fati reevies the ball on the edge DEGO HAS TRIPPED HIM, Is it inside the box? The ref points to the spot, VAR will check it……… Yes penalty is given” "ARSENAL AREN'T GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!, Fati gives Seimen the eyes and sends him the wrong way, cool as you like with such a high pressure penalty ICE RUNNING THROUGH HIS VEINS. Dego looks distraught he knows his clumsy challenge could just have handed the ascendancy to Arsenal" “It looks like we could be heading to extra time here, 85 minutes on the clock. Ramsdale is pressured into kickin it, the high press has cause issues all evening, Dego latches onto it he drives forward, fires across, PALMEIRIM IS THERE!!!!!!!!! HES COASTED IN AT THE BACK POST AGAIN 2-1 BENFICA……… WHAT A GOAL……….. The academy graduate could just have become god himself!!!!” “Franz has instantly withdrawn Hidalgo and screamed Morato over, Martinez is to double anchor the midfield, Morato is to shift into the middle, Franz is setting up shop, hes parking his bus, he is determined not to let arsenal back in again!” “THE CURSE IS BROKEN,ITS FULL TIME HERE IN ATHENS” “PALMEIRIM REMEMBER THE NAME HE WILL BE CROWNED KING LIKE EUSEBIO” A Champions league final for the ages The game had everything, both teams gave their all and in the end Benfica just shaded it. Arsenal upped the ante in the second half, but the high press of Benfica which caused them so many problems all day came out on top. Franz's plan to suffocate Arsenal paid off, you can see how isolated Fati became, showing Arsenal into corridors then blocking them. Both sides created chances, both sides had goals ruled out. The Gunners will have another huge talking point, and hardship much like the Jens Lehmann debacle in 2006, No Endrick.... There is no doubt they missed their man. In the end its a local Lisbon lad who steals the headlines.......

I already secured a left back from Atalanta about April time, there having money issues so I feel I got myself a bit of a bargain.

Just catching up! Great work as always. Really enjoying your fast paced update style. Something I may need to borrow, I’ve been struggling to strike a balance of speed writing while giving enough info you have it nailed on. Hopefully you can make the spilt and challenge for a euro spot!

Shame to see the unbeaten record go Ben. Especially with Racing club and River up next!

I think this is your year to go up! Two very Good additions

Sixth after six games. Ideal start. Out of interest when was the last time schalke won anything big? In real life and the game?

I like how Patrice is giving his knowledge of English football to the transfers at the club. Vladan and Karamoko look excellent both in crucial parts of the pitch as well. Good signs from the youth section especially if it’s coming like that when it’s limited. Hopefully an area Patrice will grown for the club.

I love your work! Feel you’re building something special in Marseille it’s a place I would very like to end up at some point. There champions league triumph is one of great delight! Paris have ran away with it again this year but i fancy you to topple them in the not so distant future. I seen you tinker with a some what 343 shape. Give the flat front three ago. Even use midfielders, Guler would probably make a very interesting False 9

What a journey from the depths of Austria football to the continental football. Very inspiring, I loved your club choice. Finding a somewhat fallen giant in a way and restoring them. Surely you want one crack at Europe? You’ve earned it.

Braga I can have no complaints with, I would of course want to win the league but I think them winning it and doing it undefeated add a nice edge to the story. Would rather them than either Sporting or Porto. No pressure 🤣 wait until you see the Arsenal squad. Thanks my man 👍🏻 Thanks dude 👍🏻 something must give way but in all truth I think it was more a case of Braga we’re just better than us this year rather than us being poor.

Very interesting from the AI. I hope they can stay in the title race but I think they will lose their star striker who’s been sublime. I can’t quite believe that’s their first title. I knew the big three dominated especially, but I never realised only Boavista and Belenenses are the only two title the big three haven’t won. Shows you my knowledge on Portuguese football isn’t as good as I thought. I tried to write it with as much suspense as possible, can be quite hard when you already know all the outcomes. Braga full deserved their title they won the big game when it mattered and to not lose in a whole season is always special no matter what level. Never mind elite. I think in both the 1/4 and semi finals we done well, controlling the games perhaps lacked a clinical edged. No Mbappe certainly helped our cause against Paris.

You liking it? I used it in FM 21 and found it very useful. You can create all sorts of variations and movements to pull defences apart.

Its the hope that kills you As it stands Franz and Benfica are fighting on four fronts, Taca de Liga final secured, Taca de Portugal semi final underway, Uefa Champions league quarter final and the ongoing three way battle for the league title with Braga and Porto. Taca De Liga Final Back to back League cup titles for Benfica, while these don't count towards any of the required trophies for the stage it's always nice to win them, in fact at Benfica it's expected. 4-0 looked extremely convincing and while we were the better side, Seimen did have work to do and came up with big saves when it mattered most. Portimonense will feel like they gave their all and that's all that can be asked, the gulf in power between the clubs always plays its part. Giovane headed home the opener from a Joao Paulo cross to the back post, Lavia then produced some nice work in the box to square for Granelli to tap home, then Lucas headed home at the back post from a corner and Hidalgo rounded off the scoring with an empathic finish into the far corner. Taca de Portugal Semi & Final Vitória de Guimarães are knocked out, 4-1 again the scoreline flatters us slightly. This time Sinisterra couldn't replicate his form from the first leg and his defence didn't offer him much help in doing so. Palmeirim gets across the front post to head home a whipped cross from Walter Cacerers, the young argentine is starting to settle in lisbon. Granelli was on hand to knock in a rebound inside the box, Morato knocked in at the near post from corner a Franz special, Gio with the final nail in the coffin with a volley smashed from inside the box after some scrappy defending. Both teams came into the final in good form, but in the end it became a non-event and Benfica ran away with it. Unfortunately the ref sent off Berten on the 8 minute mark, personally i felt he was hard done by and it was a soft red. From the first angle i would say soft perhaps the second angle i agree with the ref, either way it allowed the traffic to flow one way only. Lavia picked out Hidalgo's run in behind and the pacy hitman did the rest, a phenomenal return this year with 50 direct goal involvements (he takes set plays). He put the game beyond any doubt to secure Benfica domestic cup double, he waltzed right through the defence and picked his spot. Liga Portugal Bwin April brought about some changes in the league Porto lost and Braga drew again, this made it advantage Benfica. The fixtures however threw up a huge table toppping SixPointer, Benfica at home to the unbeaten Braga. Now Benfica haven't lost a home league game under Franz, they also have only lost three home games in the last six seasons. you have to have the Eagles down as huge favourites. The pendulum swung towards the north west of Portugal and took the unbeaten Braga, who now look like huge title favourites with four games to play. Tiago Tomas has been their talsman again this year, two seasons with over 25 league goals is superb since he returned back to his homeland after a failed move to Galatasaray. He hit goals either side of half time to steer his club to the top of the league. The first is slack defending down our left hand side, allowing a simple cross, then Seimen and Andric dont deal with it. The second isn't much different, coming from the opposite side, again Seimen was left wanting at his near post. In the end our poor defending cost us a game which we took charge of. In even more bad news Matehus Franxa broke his lower leg and would spend the next six months on the sidelines. The final day of the season, we rallied after our defeat to Braga to win every game bar that one against Braga in the last two months of the season. We needed Casa Pia to pull off a miracle win for us, as our head to head record with Braga a draw wouldn't be enough, we also need to hold up our end of the bargain. Boy did we leave it late........ Did Luca Zidane just hand Benfica the title, passing the ball straight to Granelli who did not look a gift horse in the mouth............... It wasn't to be, Braga won their first ever title which is remarkable and something I wasn't actually aware of. Only Bovaistae and Beleneses have won a singular title each out with the big three in Portugal. Until now.. Well done Braga. It's a tough one to take and it shows the fine margins in this league, 88 points scoring and incredible 103 goals and conceded only 20. However two defeats and four draws wasn't good enough and the winners of the last two titles have done it unbeaten, the standard has been set. Uefa Champions League Franz Schiemer would take control of his 100th Benfica game against Juventus in the quarter final, in front of a sell out Estádio da Luz . He would do it with a bit of an injury crisis on his hands, so many players carry little knocks, not ideal. Benfica look for revenge after Juve knocked them out last season, it will be a good marker to see if his side have progressed. Well its advantage Benfica, taking a slender 1-0 lead to turin, albeit heading there in better shape than last year. Far from a classic, but we definitely were the better side dominating for large spells. I thought we had passed up our chance until the subs Palm and Hidalgo combined to roll it in on the goaline. Mission accomplished.... If the first leg wasn't a classic the second leg would be a complete snooze fest. Our high press restricted them to deep possession, in fact our high line on the ball made it feel like a home match. So I think the better side advances, the old lady is dumped out and the eagles soar into the semi final, to face Paris Saint-Germain. Never has such a good result felt so underwhelming. We bossed a PSG side missing there star man Kylian Mbappé who will miss both legs which we know the pain as we also have Franca out. Odegaard was depolyed in a DLF role which i felt played right into our hands, the middle CB became a stopper role and man marked him, following him into midfield and denying him space to dictate the game. However it was Donnarumma who stepped up for his side, the Italian stopper getting the better of his fellow countryman Granelli on so many occasions. Our goal was very well worked and leaving him very little chance to stop it, Lavia and Granelli linking nicely in the midfield to pull the defence out of shape to allow the space for Giovane to exploit and then finish well. The other side of the coin, the goal we concede comes from a corner, my pet hate and something we have been caught with one or two many times this year. 10 minutes into the second leg and PSG are infront, Reyna finds himself unmarked on the edge if the area, after Dias and Dego are sucked in to the PSG overload. Again we looked the better side and controlled the game, but it looked as if we would crash out in Paris, step up club captain Morato who finally broke through Donnaruma, with a touch and finish the strikers would have been proud of. Extra time came and went and it would be settled by a dreaded penalty shootout......... Palmeirim missed our first, Zaire-Emrey missed their third and sudden death would decide it, we got to the eighth round of penalties. Raheem Sterling stepped up...... Denis Seimen was equal to it Walter Caceres had the chance to put his name in the headlines, and the young Argentine does just that, keeping his nerve and firing down the middle! Sport Lisboa e Benfica are in the champions league final, for the first time since 1990. They will face Arsenal who were runners up in 2006. Benfica won and retained the title in the early 1960’s, can they break the curse of then manager Béla Guttmann.