[[FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge]

11 hours ago, kahuna399 said:

Can anyone explain how ye all do such nice layouts here ? i put my pics in and then just listed down in a line  as you can guess, im pretty new at the forum world haha

Hi kahuna399. I just select everything and centre it. Good luck with the challenge!

[[FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge]

San Marino Challenge - Season 10

San Marino National overview

I decided to split this update into two, as the National Team update required a bit more detail than usual. The last national update spoke about how we exceeded expectations and managed to win our Nations League Division C group (hurrah!). This automatically put us in the mixer for the playoffs for the Euro 2028 if we couldn't qualify for the tournament conventionally...

Despite some good results, we couldn't (damn you, Kosovo!).

So we were thrown into the pot to attempt to qualify through the Nations League playoffs. We drew Bosnia & Herzegovina in the semi finals. We were ranked 125th in the world with them 57th. I wasn't hugely confident...

Giacomo Raschi, you little hero! He'd gotten a decent amount of playing time in Serie A and CL, which has aided his development, but he still played out of his skin. Things are pretty nice up front with him and Tomassini (4-4-2) now.

So, onto the Final. A win here would cement this squad in history as the first to get San Marino into a first international tournament. So who would we get...

Wales. Ranked 39th in the world. Again, I didn't fancy our chances...

Wow. We absolutely battered them, which meant San Marino were going to Euro 2028!!! Could we put up a good enough fight to perhaps upset the odds once again to make the knockout rounds?!

No. Quite simply, no. We got trounced. Goldenboy Tomassini got sent off in the opener as we lost 4-0 to Turkey, before a 2-0 defeat to Romania dumped us out after only two games. The third game was against Germany where we lost 3-1. Tomassini did however manage to get a goal (taking his national tally to 51 goals in 79 appearances).

We did really well just to be there, so losing all games wasn't too much of a surprise. It was fun and hopefully we can get to a World Cup next time!

[[FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge]

San Marino Challenge - Season 10

San Marino Calcio overview

So we managed to win the league for the third season running, but other than that we didn't pull up too many trees. 4 of our losses came in our last 7 games, which was a bit odd. Roma are still annoying me (we beat them at home and then lost 5-1 away this time), but it's Napoli that are really starting to push my buttons. Having hammered us 6-0 in the Italian Cup last season they went on to knock us out in the QFs this year as well as beating us in the Super Cup. I want revenge next season!

Having expressed a desire to go further in the CL we did in fact manage to impress a little more than usual. We waltzed through our group consisting of Leverkusen, A. Madrid and Basel and were rewarded with a 1st KO Round tie against the might R. Madrid. Wonderful. In two crazy ties, this is how it ended...

A cracking tie overall and perhaps my favourite win since taking over. We obviously then pulled PSG in the CL QF and lost 4-2 on aggregate. They eventually went on to win the competition as well as winning everything else they possibly could inside one season. 

Finance, facilities and transfers

Very rich, top facilities and +£141m in transfer dealings. Hopefully the same next season!

Youth intake

Still, nothing! We've had absolutely nothing for years now. So badly need CB's and CM's. These dual-nationality beasts would be amazing for the NT should they ever accept a call up (Poggiali has only played friendlies for Italy so there's still a chance). Fingers are very crossed.

Next season

Same as last year. Challenge for everything domestically as well as pushing the powerhouses harder in Europe. Not too fussed about our poor record in Europe, but it would be nice to go a bit deeper to be honest.

[[FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge]

San Marino Challenge - Season 9 (26/27)

Club overview

We're the dominant force in Italy now. Juve ran us close but we managed to win most of our games against the teams near the top. Points lost were mostly to lower teams when playing a rotated team.

We got to the final of the Italian Cup for successive seasons but got absolutely trounced by Napoli 6:0. Probably our worst performance since I took over. One to forget.

Nothing to shout about in Europe as usual. Knocked out in the group stages of the CL again in a group featuring Spurs, Dortmund and Dynamo Kiev. Not the strongest opposition, but lost to each of them once. Poor. We navigated ourself through into the second round of the EL (beating Celtic 6:1 on aggregate), but pulled Chelsea in the second round. We lost 3:5 over the two rounds. We really don't have a good record against Chelsea, but they do have a pretty strong team.

One one and lost one vs Roma this season. We still haven't done the double over them! Wouldn't mind pulling them in the Italian Cup next season...

Finance, facilities and transfers

Loaded. £209m in the bank! I sold a few first teamers who'd values had rocketed after back-to-back titles. Notably a CB to Spurs for £55m. We also have a lot of players out on loan bringing us a lot of revenue in.

Facilities are almost at the max (just one more youth facility increase to go). The stadium increased to 26,413 and the board immediately announced another project to increase to 31,000. The population of San Marino is only 33,000!

Youth intake

Another pile of tosh! We're due a bloody good one soon.

Next season

We should challenge for all domestic titles whilst getting some good playing time for the San Marino kids. We should be going deeper in Europe so I'd like a couple of knockout round wins in either competition really.

National overview

We're really flying now! We won our Nations League C at the first time of asking. We landed in a pretty poor group with Iceland and Armenia, so I was confident of staying up, but winning it was a great effort!

We have a decent side now. Solid at GK, RB, RM, LM and have two good STs. We really lack CB's and CM's so I'm really hoping we get some quality in through the intakes sooner rather than later otherwise I think we might start stagnating.

We've risen to 131st in the world. Good progress.

[[FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge]

San Marino Challenge - Season 8 (Serie A) 25/26

Club overview

So after last seasons disappointment I really wanted a successful year... and I got it! We comprehensively won the league before humiliating Inter 7:0 in the final of the Italian Cup! I think it's safe to say we're probably the best team in the league now. 

Despite dominating Italy we weren't great in Europe. We had a tough group in the CL, finishing 3rd behind Chelsea and PSG, before getting a tricky tie against one of the stronger teams left in the EL, Marseille. We went out 3-1 on aggregate. Disappointing.

Oh, but we did get 4 points out of Roma. Our win came at home 6-1, which was enjoyable!

Finance, facilities and transfers

We're pretty bloody rich now. My captain (and also best midfielder) left for City for £55m, whilst wonderkid striker moved to the red half of Manchester for £49m just before the start of the season. We replaced them by spending £12m on their replacements. Not bad business.

Facilities are now top notch, except the youth facilities (which are currently in the middle of a final upgrade). The board are upgrading our capacity to 26,413, so we move to Cesena's stadium for most of next season.

Youth intake

The less said about this intake the better.

Next season

Although I quite enjoyed battering the league last year, I’d take top 4. Making the final of the Italian Cup would also be nice. A better run in Europe is needed.

National overview

Not bad. We finished second bottom on 7 points in our Euro Qualifying group, with some respectable results along the way. Stand out moment was hammering Moldova 5-0 in the final game. We're up to 149 in the world now.

Elia Tomassini now sits on 38 national team goals. That's double his club career!

[[FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge]

Thanks Lewis89, I was expecting the national side part of it to be a bit boring, but I'm finding it the most exciting part at the moment! Shame about the International League qualification, I'm still not quite sure of the rules there. An international tournament will have to wait! I don't know what it is with the cup! I'm putting out a decent team in it too. Fingers crossed for next season...

Congrats Skidz1892, looks like things are going well for you! Do you have a shot of Maurizio Albani, he sounds like he's quite a player? Is he Sammarinese?  Enjoy the extra Champions League money next season.

[[FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge]

San Marino Challenge - Season 7 (Serie A) 24/25

Club overview

Despite finishing third, this was a pretty terrible season. We have a good squad now and should be challenging for the title, not scrambling for CL qualification. None of our players really performed and there were some quite horrible results despite hammering teams on paper. It's safe to say the new stadium hasn't helped with only 3/12 wins since moving in.

We navigated our way through our CL group with ease but pulled Chelsea in the first knockout round and lost 3-1 on aggregate.

Again, woeful in the Italian Cup. We lost in the first round at home to Fiorentina. I think we've only got through this round once or twice since the beginning of the challenge!

Roma. 0 points. 8-3 on aggregate. It's getting annoying now. At least they didn't win the league.

Finance, facilities and transfers

We're nearly there in terms of upgrades. Only training and youth facilities to be upgraded before we have a perfect set up all round. We're not selling out our 17,069 seater stadium yet, so I'm holding off asking for expansion until we're close. Finances are very good now. We're classed as rich and I have a healthy transfer budget of £44.5m to spend next year (although I doubt I'll spend anywhere near that).

Youth intake

Probably the worst intake I've had overall. We did have one good player come through who goes straight into the national team, but the rest were tripe.

Next season

I really want to win the league. Top four is the only thing I'd usually want, but after the s**t I had to endure last season I really want to come out on top. QF of the Champions League would be nice, but I'm not sure we'll compete if we get through our group again. I wouldn't be too disappointed to finish third and have a run in the Europa League. I want to win the Italian Cup too, I'm sick of getting knocked out early.

National overview

Finally, something to shout about! We topped our International League!

I thought we'd have a chance, but we really excelled! We're now 159th in the world and regularly beating sides above us in the rankings. I hope to be inside the top 150 soon. I think by topping the group we'll enter the playoffs for the Euros...

[[FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge]

San Marino Challenge - Season 6 (Serie A) 23/24

Club overview

A solid season in the league. I didn't expect us to push for the title again, but ended giving Juve a respectable challenge. We could've finished top or fourth with about five games to go, but managed second place. Looking forward to the extra CL money coming in again next season!

We did better than I thought in the CL. We managed to top a strong group against Galatasary, Benfica and Monaco. It went down the final fixture and we could've easily ended up in the EL knockout stages, but a 3:3 home result against Monaco secured us top spot.

Another poor run in the Italian Cup. We were dumped out in the QF with a 4:0 away loss to Palermo. I hope to do better than that next season!

Still only two points from the Roma fixtures.I haven't forgotten and I'm still wanting revenge...

Finance, facilities and transfers

More upgrades completed and more on the way! The club is comfortably rich now so the board have no problem upgrading all areas when I make the requests. We've sold a couple of youngsters we've had a few seasons for huge profits (most notably Mateo Pérez, who went to Arsenal for £35m after signing him for £525k two seasons earlier). We currently have excellent training facilities, good youth facilities, exceptional junior coaching and extensive youth recruitment. We're also due to move into the new 17,069 seater stadium at the start of next season. I'll be surprised if we don't sell it out and end up expanding it at the first opportunity.

Youth intake

Another few nice players coming through again. De Angelis (single nationality) should be a solid RB for a good few years for the national team. He might also be the smallest player I've ever had! Andreini (also single nationality) is also going to be useful as RM in internationals. I'll try and give these two some time from the bench to help them develop. Giacobbi and Zanin are duel nationality and are refusing call-ups. That's five players in that position now. 

Next season

Challenge for the title and try to get to the QF of the CL. Semis of the Italian Cup would be nice too.

We have a lot of good young players now so there's no reason we can't become a very strong team over the next few years.

National overview

We finished second from bottom in our Euro Qualifying group with just three points. A single 3-0 win against Latvia ensured we didn't finish bottom (we ended up with a better goal difference than them).

We've won our last four friendlies in a row now. Malawi (149), Haiti (81), Oman (91) and Jordan (103). We beat Malawi 6-0 and Jordan 6-1.

Also, have I mentioned Elia Tomassini? 22 goals in 40 appearances now...

Question...

Has anyone had a player reverse their decision to reject an international call-up?

[[FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge]

San Marino Challenge - Season 5 (Serie A) 22/23

Club overview

Serie A, hang your head in shame. We won the league. Don't get me wrong, we have some good wonderkids (some permanent and some in on loan), but there's no way we should have finished top of the pile. A few early losses pointed us in the direction europe but a solid run after that had us just behind Juventus for most of the season. A mid season blip of draws against lower league opposition saw us fall further behind, but an almost certain CL qualification spot was in the bag. This was until Juventus decided to lose 5 of their last 12 games (one of them to us) to let us back in. We nearly blew it in the penultimate game of the season when we lost 2:0 to Palermo, but Juve lost their tie to a lowly Spezia that weekend too. We went on to beat Spezia at home last game of the season to clinch an unlikely title.

On a sour note we lost in the first round of the cup and only collected one of the six points I wanted as revenge against Roma.

Finance and facilities

Another good year in terms of upgrades. Won't be too long before we have state of the art facilities. Still only an established youth recruitment rating though. I really want to try and get San Marino Academy as a feeder club but they keep rejecting any advances. The new 17,609 seater stadium is being built and we move in at the start of the 24/25 season. It took a chunk out of the pot but we're still doing well with £18m left in the bank and a £7m transfer budget/£354k p/w wage budget for next season.

Youth intake

Another beast came through but has the dreaded duel nationality and is rejecting call ups. That's three of them now. The keeper (Muraccini) shouldn't be good enough for Italy but the striker (Guidi) and new defender (Poggiali) might actually get there.

Next season

CL qualification and to finish third in my CL group to get into the knockout rounds of the EL.

We're going to have to get a lot of players in the cope with the extra games, so it'll be a good opportunity to progress some more youngsters. We've already been getting some hefty bids in for some of our kids, which are being rejected for now...

National overview

We finished second in our International League D having picked up one win and a loss against FYR Macedonia, Azerbaijan and Lithuania. Most players are newgens now (Filippo Berardi and Elia Benedettini have actually got worse over the years, which is a bit damaging), but we're heading in the right direction.

Elia Tomassini should be given the freedom of San Marino. As well as banging them in on the international stage he also scored 4 Serie goals (from the bench) last season. Hero.

[[FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge]

Hey Lewis98. Congrats on both your club and national achievements so far! Impressive stuff. Can I just ask why you’re adding a manager in the San Marino league? Is it because you’re bored of the club side of the challenge and want to further the progression of the national side, through a stronger division reputation and better youth intake?

[[FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge]

San Marino Challenge - Season 4 (Serie A) 21/22

Club overview

Expectations were to simply avoid relegation and after a shaky start we managed to climb up the league, leaving the predicted fight for survival behind us. We were punching well above our weight and found ourselves in a serious battle for the european qualification spots, but as we went into the final third of the season we hit a rough patch and dropped a lot of points against teams at the bottom. After the promise of another unbelievable season we soon found ourselves looking at a comfortable mid-table finish.

This was was until a slight change of tactics saw us pick up wins against Juventus, Udinese and Fiorentina as we went into the final game of the season sitting in 7th place. We were away to Milan whilst Roma (8th) were at home to Genoa. Roma had the head to head advantage over us so we needed a point to guarantee Europe, which meant were slim. We got hammered 4:0 (we missed a penalty at 1:0 down), whilst Roma beat Genoa 1:0, scoring in the 79th minute. The gutting thing is that with four games to go we had led 1:0 away to Roma, until we scored a deflected own goal in the 90+1 minute! Thanks FM. Great lampoon.

Anyway, it was a very enjoyable season and I'm looking forward to the next. Here are the final standings (Napoli completed the double!) and perhaps one of the craziest games I've ever been involved in!

Standout players

Davide Bettella was once again solid at the back (he only managed 2 goals this season, unlike his 12 the previous campaign), with other loanees Alessandro Sala, Vittorio Parigini, Angel Gomes and Eric Ayiah all doing very well. I'll try and get them all back for next season. I've also managed to get my hands on a few youngsters who were ready for first team action. I'm particularly optimistic about these two guys, who I think will go a long way.

Transfers

Finances and facilities

We're financially secure and have £20m in the bank. TV revenue is a massive boost in Serie A! Everything has been upgraded a couple of times now but there's still some way to go before anything's state of the art. The board announced a new (15,000 seater) stadium is in the planning, but I assume that'll take ages to get approved and built.

Youth intake

One absolute beast came through but he's holding out for Italy, which is a huge kick in the nads. I believe they only reconsider San Marino now if they don't get picked by Italy by the age of 24?

Next season

To get into Europe. With a few more young singings, good loanees and a little luck I think we could break into the top 7. If not, it wouldn't be the end of the world as we're making money and upgrading everything regularly, which is just as important.

I also want to hammer Roma twice.

National overview

Still not much to shout about. We've won a few competitive games and moved up to 187th in the world. We managed to score a goal against England and take the scalp of 80th placed Macedonia in the Nations League, which were both nice achievements. There are two games to play in that and we're currently in 3rd (3 points off top) so promotion looks beyond us. Elia Tomassini has already gone onto overtake Andy Selva's record of 8 international goals at the tender age of 18. Hopefully he keeps improving and he could go on to do wonderful things.

[[FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge]

San Marino Challenge - Season 3 (Serie C/B) 20/21

This season worried me. I felt like I'd been punching well above my weight so far, but kept the plan of trialling every willing player in the leagues above to get the best players in available. I'd played a few seasons in the Championship in previous games and found it so horrible to get out of. The second tier always seemed to be a bit of a bogie league for me...

I thought I'd done a great job by the time the season kicked off with the players that I'd bought in, but got a right kick in the teeth from the start. The first 10 games totalled a whopping 7 points. All of a sudden things weren't so great. I was hammering teams on paper but kept falling to defeat by a single goal near enough every game. So infuriating! Chopping and changing players from season to season must have been taking its toll. I decided to keep faith in most of the players until things started working...

It really started working! A 21 unbeaten streak until the end of the season sealed the title again and pushed us into Serie A with successive promotions from the start! 600/1 promotion odds at the beginning of the season would've seen me happy with 8th place at best, but the players pushed on to achieve the unexpected after Brescia blew a gigantic lead.

Standout players

All of them, really! But Federico Ermacora who I'd retained from the previous season performed admirably, with Alessandro Sala a driving force from centre midfield (with his dribbling and big game goals). Raimondo Lucera did well from the right wing (7 goals/10 assists), with the indifferent striker Olaf Kobacki (16) getting a some important goals towards the end. Gabriele Capanni was a wonder on the inside left with 12 goals and 20 assists. But without doubt the man of the season was certainly centre back Davide Bettella who bagged an outstanding 12 league goals! Most of them being match winners. There weren't many clean sheets with our attacking formation but I'm certain he was the man that got us up.

Next season

Simply to stay up and make money. The wage budget of £81k is great compared to what we've had so far, but there are going to have to be some nifty signings to keep us up. I'm hoping to find some gems on loan again but to also get my hands on some youngsters who can make some impact in the future. I've already blown our promotion profits on upgrading the youth and first team training facilities, as well as the youth recruitment services. I've also just moved onto the Continental A Licence on a personal level.

National team

Not much to shout about on this front. Managed one competitive win and a few draws over the years, but mostly a lot of maulings. I've had a few good players come through the system, who I've tried to give league time to...

Onto Serie A...

[[FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge]

San Marino Challenge - Season 2 (Serie C/B) 19/20

After the success of the first season there was no reason I thought we shouldn't try and push on an get promotion again. The plan was to do what I did the year before and get a load of loan listed players in on trial before picking the best for the first team.

I ended up destroying the league comfortably.

Standout players

Although my defence was solid, my attacking players were instrumental this year. Davide Marcandella ripped it up on the right wing with 15 assists and Lazar Nikolic scored 12 from the inside left. Samuele Mulattieri bagged 15 from attacking midfield, but top scorer Francesco Verde (18) was reliant throughout the campaign. Left back Federico Ermacora stood out as a top player at this level too.

[[FM19] The Great San Marino Challenge]

San Marino Challenge - Season 1 (Serie D) 18/19

Hello, everyone! Me and a couple of friends decided to take up this challenge this year (club and country from the start) but I've kept quiet so far until I had a few seasons under my belt. I've been keeping an eye from afar watching with a few of you successfully climb the leagues (especially Lewis89 and boroofbishop) before posting on here (as I've never done so before). I'll keep each one brief because there are three years to put on here.

Serie D was a lot of fun! I wanted promotion first season and it went down the final game of the season against Reggio Audace (who were only behind me on goal difference). I was at home and needed just a draw to win the league. It was a pretty tense affair but we won the game 2-1 with Matteo Gasperi bagging an 85th minute penalty.

 

Standout players

The season relied heavily on loanees from above divisions and free signings. D'Addario Alessandro, Cristian Negretti, Giuseppe Aurelio and Matteo Cannigia deserve their mentions, but it was Matteo Gasperi who stole the limelight by leading the scoring charts with 19 goals.