[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

SC Kriens Season 3 (2025/26)

League Table

Another pretty uneventful season in the league, but at least we still managed to stay up. We only had the second worst defense this season, so that's somewhat improved, but our defending remains our biggest weakness. We didn't really get far into the Swiss Cup either, only managing to make it to the second round. Overall I saw things I liked from the team, but quality-wise we just aren't ready yet. This was also the first year that youth players got significant playing time, so I imagine that may have had something to do with it as well.

Intake

This year's group is a good one in terms of potential, with 5 of our newcomers being listed as Elite Talents. The only downside is most of them are DMs, so some might not to be retrained for other roles.

A solid midfield prospect, I think he'll start getting games soon.

Good tackling and the highest workrate of the bunch, along with his high aggression, makes him seem like the best contender for staying as a DM.

The tallest of the bunch, he might end up being retrained as a CD.

We added no new nations in this year's intake.

Countries: 18/227 (7.93%)

Transfers

We had no transfers out, but we did receive news that 2 of our youth team players were poached away by other teams. We'll be keeping an eye out for them.

Upgrades

During the season I managed to convince the board that we needed to invest some money into upgrading our youth facilities, as well as upgrading our youth recruitment. I've been very fortunate that the board has gone along with almost all of our requests. I also convinced them to get an affiliate club, Zug 94, to send our young players on loan to.

Review

This was another really solid year for us to build upon. Major upgrades have been nice, and our attendance has also been rising, which means more money. On a personal level, I was offered the job at St. Gallen at one point during the season, which shocked me considering they were 3rd in the top division at the time. There's also been some rumors of a takeover, but so far they're just rumors. We will see what the summer break brings.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

SC Kriens Season 2 (2024/25)

League Table

We finished a few spots lower than we did last season, but that was too be expected as we lost a few key players. We once again had the worst defense in the league, thanks in part to the overall quality of our defenders. A couple more of our first team players have decided to leave at the end of the year, so I anticipate we'll take a few seasons to recover.

Intake

This year's intake produced some quality players for us in positions of need. Some more decent players in means I can start to experiment with different tactics next season.

Mazalovic to me is the top player in this year's crop. Tall, good in the air, and a decent base level of technical ability. An Unambitious personality and a low natural fitness is my only concern, but he's still young. If star ratings are to be believed, he's already arguably our best natural CB. Before the end of the season he received a call up to Bosnia's Under 21's.

A talented attacking midfielder, Redaelli looks like he may be leading our midfield for years to come. Physicals are a bit low for my liking, but they'll improve in time.

Gomez is a solid winger who can start competing for starts soon. Probably a bit too slow, he may be moved to a more central role.

In this years intake we added Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cameroon, Canada, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the USA

Countries: 18/227 (7.93%)

Season Review

We had a few different areas of improvement. I convinced the board to expand our recruitment from Average to Good, and raise our youth coaching from Average to Adequate. Unfortunately our training facilities have also been downgraded from Good to Average. I've also finished my National B License. Fortunately for me, the board seems to be very patient and understanding, as I believe it will take a few more season before we can start really pushing for promotion.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

After having been away from the game for a while, I tried to return to my save with Wacker Innsbruck, but I just didn't feel the same love for the team or players that I once did. With that in mind I have decided to start anew, in a place I have tried to conquer before, albeit unsuccessfully. I have returned to Switzerland with:

SC Kriens

Stadion Kleinfeld

Facilities

We have a pretty decent level of facilities to start with. I hope that our Good training facilities can give us a good starting point for player development.

Starting Squad

A decent squad to start with journey with, but a little bare-bones for my liking. Only having one natural CB will prove to be a challenge. Based on what I have available, I decided to play with a 4-2-4.

League Table

Going into this season we were only expected to fight bravely against relegation, and I would argue we very much overachieved. The 4-2-4 formation we used led to us having the most lethal attack in the league, but also the second worst defense. I'm pretty satisfied with what we able to accomplish, and I hope that our incoming reinforcements can help us improve our defense next season.

Intake

Not bad for our first intake. A couple of the new boys have some decent potential, but the rest are probably just youth team filler. I'm not super impressed with the amount of negative personalities we have, but we will work on improving them.

We brought in players of 9 different nationalities in this intake.

Countries: 9/227 = 3.96%

End of Season Review

After the conclusion of the season I managed to convince the board to upgrade the youth recruitment from Average to Above Average. I want to get this upgrade as much as possible, as we have top division team FC Luzern, only 5 minutes away from our stadium, to compete with locally. Going into next season, our expectation is only to avoid relegation, so we can afford a little bit of breathing room. Some of our players have decided that they would like to leave at the end of their contract, so ideally we are able to replace them soon.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

FC Wacker Innsbruck Season 6 (2028/29)

Squad

As you can see based on who I've picked, defense is by far our weakest spot on the field. Hopefully our intakes can bring us the we quality and depth we desperately need.

Table

We finished lower in the table this year than we did last year. Because of some sales our team is much weaker than last years, so I decided to focus on defending more so than attacking. Ultimately it didn't seem to make too much of a difference, the teams at the top are just so much better than ours. Because of that I'm considering going with a more attacking tactic next year, hoping we win by just outscoring the other team. We also made it the Quarter-final of the Austrian Cup before getting smashed by Austria Vienna.

Transfers

Our only major transfer this year is Christian Ache, who happens to be our best player. Once Juventus started to show interest I knew there was no stopping it. Christian and I agreed on a $6.5 million transfer fee, but the board decided $5.5 million was enough and accepted it. We wish him the best in his future, but this sale is a huge blow.

Intake

Lots of potential, and some decent players already. Too many bad personalities for my liking. Bartsch and Kohler look like they are ready to begin challenging for bench spots.

 

Upgrades

We took some money from the Ache sale and reinvested it into the academy coaching. I had been asking for this to be upgraded for a while, so I'm pleased it finally happened.

The board decided one day that what we really need is a senior affiliate, which they found in Benfica. Too bad we can't make use of the free loans, because we need them. On the plus side its basically a free $120,000 every year. Maybe this is the beginning of the Austria to Portugal talent pipeline.

Season Review

Another solid year of growth, but the Ache sale set us back in terms of overall squad quality. A lot of our star players are hitting their early to mid 20s, so it seems like their hitting their peak. I'm hoping the increase in Junior Coaching will bring us some good defenders going forward.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

FC Wacker Innsbruck Season 5 (2027/28)

League Table

Before the season I thought we would be up for a challenge, and my prediction ended up coming true. For our first season in the top flight, 7th is a good start. We had a couple of good wins throughout the year. I employed an attacking style of football that led to us scoring a lot of goals, with us having the league's top scorer. That also meant we were very susceptible to conceding goals, which we led the league in. Ultimately we showed we're capable of playing in this league, and I'm proud of the boys for that.

Austrian FA Cup

We made our deepest run in the FA Cup yet, reaching the Quarter final round. We were drawn against the one team I didn't want to play, and it went as I expected it would.

International

Everyone at the club is incredibly proud of Mihály Nagy, who became the first youth player to reach his country's national team. He has developed well and worked hard, and his efforts are beginning to show off.

Transfers

Unfortunately FC Porto was paying attention and were clearly impressed. About 2 months after being called up, he became our record sale. I tried convincing him to stay, but in the end I couldn't stand in the way of his career. With Nagy leaving we are now incredibly thin in defense, which is concerning.

Intake

Lots of talented players in this intake, but terrible personalities overall.

The crown jewel of this intake, Enio Buić is already good enough to challenge for our starting spot. He also has already been called up to the Croatian U20's, before even playing a game for us. RB Salzburg are already showing interest, so we've tied him down with a long contract. I believe he can be our GK of the future.

We added Afghanistan and Croatia in this year's intake

Countries: 11/227 (4.85%)

Season Review

A good first season in the top flight for us. The board agreed to expand our youth recruitment to Exceptional, and take funds from the Nagy sale to upgrade our training facilities. I think it will take a few season of building up before we can really start to challenge RB Salzburg.

 

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

FC Wacker Innsbruck Season 4 (2026/27)

League Table

We finally did it! Going in to the season we were predicted to finish 10th, but the boys were having none of that. I decided to go with a more offensive tactic this year, and it really payed off. From the start we were seemingly scoring for fun. It seemed a lot of the players started to see a real uptick in their development this season, and began to become more well-rounded players. I have a feeling our attacking tactic probably won't be as effective next year, but you never know. The highlight of the season included this high-scoring match against Austria Klangenfurt.

Intake

More high-potential players, which is always nice to see. My HOYD seems to love bringing in wingers, when we could really use some central players or just defenders in general.

We added Egypt in this year's intake.

Countries: 9/227 (3.96%)

Season Review

We're going up! After gaining promotion the board finally agreed to upgrade our junior coaching from Adequate to Good. I look forward to bringing even better players through potentially. Takeover rumors have begun popping up again, but I'll believe it when I see it. Our reputation also rose from 2 to 2.5 stars. All told, this was a fantastic season. I'm very proud of the team for getting promoted, but I know the next part of this challenge will be tough; taking down Red Bull Salzburg.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

FC Wacker Innsbruck Season 3 (2025/26)

League Table

Although we finish in the same spot as we did last season, we actually finished with more points. This season was a frustrating one, as we drew a lot, including 7 draws in 9 games at one point. I managed to work out a tactic that's more stable defensively, but we struggled to score sometimes. Overall I'm satisfied with our progress this year.

Intake

Another pretty solid intake. Christian Ache looks to be very promising. A couple of bad personalities, which is disappointing. We are reaching the point where the lack of quality defenders we're getting is becoming concerning. Central defenders is our biggest position of need.

 

We added Bosnia and North Macedonia in this year's intake.

Countries: 8/227 (3.52%)

Transfers

We have had our first big money sales of intake players. We also continue to lose quality players who don't want to re-sign with us.

Season Review

Another solid year of building up the club. We finished upgrading our training facilities and the board agreed to expand our youth recruitment to Excellent. They also agreed to let me take another coaching course. Both the board and supporters are generally happy, but I worry they might be expecting higher finishes in the near future. Towards the latter half of the year rumors of a takeover began to popup, so we'll see if that goes anywhere.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

FC Wacker Innsbruck Season 2 (2024/25)

Squad

Our squad for this season remains mostly the same as last year's. We unfortunately had our 2 best players refuse to sign new contracts at the end of last season, so we entered this year a little bit weaker than I would've liked.

League Table

I had a feeling that the 2nd division would prove to be a challenge, and that was very true. 5 teams get relegated from this league, so survival is going to be the main goal for a few seasons. On a positive note 5 of the 16 teams were B teams from top division clubs, and they can't be promoted, which means it was really only an 11 team league. We struggled to really get any tactic to stick, as our results would vary from game to game. We beat WSG Tirol at home 2-0, and then lost to FAC Wien 4-1 at home, using the same tactic. Finding a plan that I feel confident sticking with is a main priority.

Intake

Another very solid intake with lots of potential, but more negative personalities than I would like.

We added Belgium and Poland in this year's intake.

Countries: 6/227 (2.64%)

Season Review

This season went about as I expected it would. For at least the next couple of season the plan is to survive and continue building up the clubs finances and facilities. The board agreed after the season to improve our training facilities. They also finally allowed me to take a coaching course, so hopefully I can continue building up my profile as well.

 

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

FC Wacker Innsbruck Season 1 (2023/24)

Squad

I forgot to take a screenshot of the starting squad but we had a group of about 20 players in the first team and another 10 in the U18s. So compared to past attempts this was a much more robust base to start from.

League Table

The expectation from both the board and the supporters was to gain promotion, which meant we had to win the league. Luckily we had probably the best overall squad, but SVG Reichenau didn't make it easy for us. At about the midway point in the season we were only in third, and neither the board or supporters were happy so I was afraid I'd be sacked before the save really got going. SVG Reichenau slipped up and lost in the penultimate match week, at the same time we were finishing on a hot streak.

Intake

I was very happy when I saw this intake. A handful of players who will provide immediate depth and 1 who could probably start soon.

Matthias Cott is probably the best player I've ever gotten from an intake in a youth academy challenge. A bit too slow to play on the wing for my liking, I see him as more of an attacking midfielder perhaps. No matter where he plays, I think he has a bright future with us.

Youth Intake Countries: 4/227 (1.76%)

Season Review

Typically the first season goal in these saves is to simply avoid relegation. This time however our goal was to win the league, so that was a bit challenging. The boards expectation going into our first season in the 2nd division is to simply avoid relegation, so we'll have a bit more breathing room. The board has agreed to increase our youth recruitment from above Average to Good. However our youth facilities has also been downgraded from Great to Good. They also refuse to allow me to take a coaching course, out of fear I'll leave for a bigger club.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

My time in Sweden has come to end, as we narrowly missed out on avoiding relegation. Unfortunately that led to me being sacked. So it's time to move on and find a new club. My next attempt will be in Austria and my new team is:

FC Wacker Innsbruck

 

Founded in 2002, FC Wacker Innsbruck is a club that has yo-yoed between the first and second division throughout most of their history. After the 2021-22 season the club did not apply for license to the league's next season and were automatically relegated to the 4th division. 

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

Eskilstuna City FK Season 2 (2024)

Squad

The first team squad is mostly the same as last year. We had a few departures, but no important players.

League Table

We had a pretty solid first year in the 3rd division. We got off to a hot start, even being as high 1st in the table by match week 12. We then followed that up with a cold streak, dropping as low as 9th. Overall the league was pretty closely fought, with only 6 points separating 1st from 8th for most of the season. If you were to chart our rising and dropping in the table, it would look like a mountain range. I'm pretty happy with 6th, and with our intake coming up hopefully we can continue to build upon this.

Youth Intake

We got some more squad depth with this intake. I was hoping for a little more talent to complement the real players in the team, but I'm not too upset with this. I have asked multiple times, but the board refuses to allow expanding our recruitment beyond Eskilstuna. Thanks to our good form earlier in the season, they did however agree to increase the level of our junior coaching, so hopefully that starts paying off soon.

We added 2 new countries in this year's intake

Countries: 6/227 (2.64%)

Season Review

 

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

Eskiltuna City FK Season 1 (2023)

I've been itching to give this challenge another go, so this time I'm taking my talents to the Swedish city of Eskilstuna. Eskilstuna City FK is a club with a long but uneventful history, having only played 1 season in the top division back in 1925. The city of Eskilstuna has proved to be fruitful before, producing several international players including Kennet Andersson, Marcus Danielson, Sebastian Larsson, and Mika Väyrynen. Hopefully we can develop some stars of our own.

Squad

Pretty barebones squad to start with but I suppose it could be worse. We'll be playing a 442 formation based on the players we have.

League Table

For our first season we find ourselves in the Swedish Second Division North Svealand, the 4th tier of Sweden. We started out pretty rough, but after a few tweaks to our tactic we began to rise up the table. We had to go through 2 rounds of playoff but we did well enough to see ourselves being promoted in our first season! I'm very proud of this team and believe we should be good enough to stay up next year.

Youth Intake

Quite a lot of potential in this intake, so I'm pretty pleased. The overall ability is a little low and there's some not great personalities, but we got more squad depth. Unfortunately the intake didn't come through until after the final game of the season, so I haven't got to use any of the new players yet.

Season Review

I'm very happy with the results of this season. A surprise promotion is always welcome, but I do wonder whether we've been promoted a bit too soon. Another long term goal for this save is to build our own home ground, as we share a stadium with in-town rivals AFC Eskiltuna.

[The FM22 Youth Academy Challenge]

FC Red Star Zürich - Season 3 (25/26)

League Table

This season was our first in the Promotion League, the 3rd tier, and I'd say it went pretty well. I genuinely don't know what came over the players this year, but they just decided they should play well above expectations. I didn't change anything about the tactic and it was mostly the same squad as last year, so I have no idea where this came from. Highlights of the year include having only 1 loss in our first 11 games and a 6-2 away win over 2nd place Bellinzona. I feel like we couldn't possibly continue this form into next year, but that's what I said at the beginning of this season.

Swiss Cup

Our form in the league couldn't be replicated in the Swiss Cup, as we lost 3-1 in the second round to FC Sursee, a team who got relegated this year. I'd like to give a special shout out to our 1 travelling supporter.

Intake

A pretty decent intake this year. Decent potential on a few players, and some could even challenge for backup spots in the first team. We are still in desperate need of center-backs though.

We added Croatia, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey in this year's intake

Countries: 20/227 (8.81)

Intake Map

Off The Field

We had no changes to our facilities this year, good or bad. I got my National C License in the middle of the season, but the board has so far not agreed to pay for the next course. Now that we'll be in the second division, I think the goal is to spend at least a few years there and repair the finances before we're really able to tackle improving our facilities.

 

[The FM22 Youth Academy Challenge]

FC Red Star Zürich - Season 2 (2024/25)

Squad - Tactic

Final Table

We did well last season, and the goal for this one was to try and keep that form going. We had sort of a slow start, and I began to worry that this year would be a bit of a disappointment. However we turned it around and managed to stick with the team in first. We kept chasing them, and it took until the final matchday of the season, but overtook them and managed to win the league. It was an incredible effort by the players, but in the end a little bit of luck was what we needed to win.

Swiss Cup

We managed to make it to the third round of this year's Swiss Cup, where we met BSC Young Boys. Naturally they smashed us 4-2, but I'm proud of the team for at least scoring twice against them. Lets hope next year's draw is more in our favor.

Intake Preview

Center-back is probably our biggest area of need, so I'm quite glad to see this. But really I'll take whatever I can get.

Intake

The overall quality of this years intake is much better than the last. I don't feel there are any true standouts in this crop, but there's some potential in a few of the new players.

Romain Kübler - Eren Maier - Mirnes Music - Radhamés Pérez

Intake Map

We added 7 new nations through the intake this year

Countries: 16/227 (7.05%)

Improvements

I finally managed to convince the board to let me take a coaching course in the off-season. All it took to convince them was winning the league. Our training facilities also took a slight hit however they're still Adequate, so I don't think it will make a huge difference. In a strange turn of events our academy coaching, which at the beginning of this save was supposedly Excellent, is now only Adequate. I never received a message saying they were being downgraded, so perhaps the Excellent rating was just a mirage all along.

[The FM22 Youth Academy Challenge]

FC Red Star Zürich - Season 1 (2023/24)

I've decided to give this challenge another go, and I once again find myself in Switzerland. This time I'm in charge of FC Red Star Zürich and we start in the Swiss First League Group 3, the 4th tier of Swiss football.

Facilities

I was surprised to see us have such good facilities for this level, with the Excellent academy coaching standing out. Hopefully this will provide us some good quality players.

League Table

I opted to play most of this season with a defensively solid formation and it seems like it was the right decision. We spent most of the season in 2nd or 3rd trying to catch up to Eschen/Mauren, but in the end they proved to be the far superior team. Since we won't have to deal with them next year, Ideally we'll be able to take our form from this season and carry on to the next one.

Intake Preview

We play with a 4-1-4-1 formation so it looks like we'll be getting reinforcements in spots we need. A DM would be nice, but I'm not going to be picky.

Intake

I like what I see here. We get a few players who are able to play right now, and some players with decent potential. Yannick Vitija is good enough to challenge for a starting role.

Antonio Romeo - Simone Angliker - Yannick Vitija - Vullnet Zubaku

Improvements

So the board decided to form a new affiliation with FC Rapperswil-Jona in the off-season. I didn't ask for them to do this, but I'm not complaining either. We won't be able to take advantage of loaning some of their players, but on the other hand we get an extra $23,000 a year. The board also didn't agree with me that we need to improve some of our facilities, but they're good enough for now I suppose.

Intake Map

We got 9 countries through our Intake this year

Countries: 9/227 (3.96%)

[The FM22 Youth Academy Challenge]

My time in Switzerland has come to an end as the board decided they were tired of barely finishing above the relegation zone and sacked me. I had high hopes for that save, but oh well, time to go again.

VFR Wormatia Worms Season 1 (2022/23)

My second go at it brings me to  Southwest Germany and to VFR Wormatia Worms. Founded in 1908, the club has only been as high as the 2. Bundesliga, most recently in 1981. We start in the German Regional Division Southwest, the fourth tier of German football.

Starting Squad

Not a bad starting squad, albeit a bit thin in some areas. A few of our players are apparently good enough for the 3rd division, so we we'll have to lean on them. I fell this is a good point to build from and I think we can have a pretty decent season.

Final League Table

This was an incredible year for us. Originally predicted to finish 13th, 5th is way higher than I thought was possible. We found ourselves playing a positive, attacking tactic and scored goals for fun at some points. However Elversberg were far superior to any other team in the division. With them promoted and only a 5 point difference between 2-5, I think we can really challenge for the title next year.

Intake Preview

For our first intake I'd say this is pretty good. A pretty good distribution of positions is nice.

Youth Intake

I wasn't expecting to get players who could immediately compete for starting spots, but this isn't a bad first intake. Some decent potential players and good personalities are nice to see. A good distribution of nations is always welcome too. Not all players from this intake were signed.

Hüseyin Yılmaz - Jake Walton - Manuel Almsick - Pauli Kivimäki

We added 8 countries in this years' intake.

Countries: 8/227 (3.52%) - Intake Map

Conclusion

I feel this was a very good start to my save with Die Bachbutzer. Unfortunately I wasn't able to convince the board of any upgrades. We started the season at almost $1m in the bank, but now find ourselves almost $400k in the red. Therefore getting promoted as fast as we can is important, and I feel we have a real good shot at it next season.

[The FM22 Youth Academy Challenge]

FC Bern Season 4 (2027/28)

Squad

League Table

We finished with one more point than we did last year, which is technically progress.  We also conceded less goals than we did last season, while scoring the exact same amount. While the team overall is progressing, I feel our lack of a true striker is holding us back. We're creating plenty of chances but aren't able to convert enough of them. Hopefully next years intake gives us the scorer we need.

Intake Preview

Doesn't look too bad this year. We'll take all the quality players we can get.

Intake

Lots of potential this year and some decent personalities. A couple players can immediately join the matchday squad. Overall I'm pleased with this intake.

Kemal Mehmeti - Lukas Denninger - Sandro Anastasi - Timon Erismann

We added Germany in this years' intake.

Countries: 17/227 (7.49%) - Intake Map

Conclusion

We managed to stay up for another season and solidified our squad some. I feel however that if we can't get better attacking options via intake, that we'll be stuck here for a while. I've tried to convince the owner to let me get a coaching license, yet he still refuses. 

[The FM22 Youth Academy Challenge]

FC Bern Season 3 2026/27

Squad

League Table

Swiss First League Group 2

As expected, our first season in the 4th tier proved to be a bit of a challenge. We stuck to our wing-play tactic this season, to mixed results. There was a definite increase in the talent of our opponents, but we managed to get a few wins against teams in the top half of the table. The fact that we weren't getting completely dominated every week gives me reason to be optimistic. If we can keep building on this we'll be in a good spot.

Intake Preview

This one looks to be our best intake yet which is nice. I'm really just looking for players who can already step into the first team.

Intake

Now we're getting somewhere! At least three players who could immediately join the starting XI, and a few who can come off the bench. We also finally got a left back in Marcel Jeannin, which I'm most excited about. I would've loved to have seen some better personalities, but overall I'm very happy with this intake. I believe the upgrade to our junior coaching is beginning to show off.

Florent Bunjaku - Marcel Jeannin - Diego Vandel - Jean-François Thibault

We added Croatia, France, and Nigeria in this intake.

Countries: 16/227 (7.05%) - Intake Map

Conclusion

I'd say this was a pretty good first season at this level. Thanks to our upgrades last season we we're able to increase the overall level of our squad. We still desperately need a striker, and our defense is starting to fall behind a little bit. The board also refuses to allow me to study for a new coaching license, despite letting every other coach do it. We're also starting to see our finances drop, but that can attributed to upgrading our junior coaching.

 

[The FM22 Youth Academy Challenge]

FC Bern Season 2 2025/26

League Table

Squad

I expected us to have a bit better of a season, but I couldn't have imagined this! Not only did we gain promotion, but we did it in by scoring a goal on the final kick of the final minute of the final match of the season. Thanks to last season's intake I was able to switch to a tactic focusing on wing play, and it clearly worked out. We started off hot and never really slowed down, but so did Ajoie-Monterri. We were trading first and second all throughout the season but in the end we pulled through in storybook fashion.

Intake Preview

Still not great, but I'm not in a position to complain. Striker and left-back are our pressing needs in terms of positions.

Intake

Much better than last year's intake. A few player who will instantly be coming off the bench for us some decent personalities. Overall I'm pretty pleased with this year's crop. All but Pires were signed.

Shkodran Jonuzi - Vincenzo Muci - Martin Meyer - Rudolf Mensah

We added 7 new countries in this year's intake.

Countries: 13/227 (5.73%) - Regen Intake Map

Upgrades

I finally managed to convince the owner to upgrade both the junior coaching and the youth recruitment.

Conclusion

This was an incredible year for us. We managed to get promoted, in dramatic fashion, at least a year earlier than I expected us to. Next season however I suspect won't go nearly as smoothly. But progress is progress, and I hope to continue building on this with our upgrades.

[The FM22 Youth Academy Challenge]

FC Bern Season 1 (2024/25)

My first attempt at this challenge this year brings me back to Switzerland and to the capital city Bern. Founded in 1894, 4 years before fellow Bern club and rival BSC Young Boys, FC Bern was one of the more prominent Swiss clubs of the early 20th century. The clubs greatest accomplishment is winning the Och Cup, a predecessor to the Swiss Cup, in 1921. The club were also champions of Switzerland in 1923, but were ultimately denied their title due to an unregistered player. It's going to take a while but one day we'll be back at the top of Switzerland. We start our save in the Swiss Second League Interregio Group 3, the 5th tier.

Starting Squad

We're thin pretty much everywhere and only have 2 players to come off the bench, so this season is definitely going to be a challenge. All of our best players are defenders, so it looks like defensive football is the way to go.

Intake Preview

Not exactly super promising but right now we'll take anybody. We're getting some wingers which is nice, but we could really use a striker.

Youth Intake

Not bad, but not great. There are some pretty decent personalities in here though, which I like. I signed everyone which gives us more players, as well as a little more flexibility with tactics. Bekim Oehen is the only one who will immediately go in to the starting lineup.

Bekim Oehen - Jean-Pierre Zaugg - Johan Schwab - Marc-Henri Brauchli

Countries: 6/227 (2.64%)

Final League Table

As I predicted this year was of a bit a challenge. We were forced to play defensively for most of the year which meant we struggled at times to score goals. The board also threatened to sack me at one point, but I convinced them to give me another month, just in time for our intake. With a new batch of players we were able to switch it up a little bit and start attacking some, which allowed us to gain enough points to ensure survival and keep my job.

Conclusion

With a larger group of players we have a better base with which to tackle next season. My goal is to continue developing the players we have and gain promotion within the next 2 seasons. My attempts to convince the owner to upgrade anything this year were all unsuccessful, but I believe he can be swayed with positive results.

 

[The FM21 Youth Academy Challenge]

Alexandroupoli FC Season 4 (2025-26)

League Table

Having lost our best player in the off-season I really expected this season to be one in which we just try to compete, while continuing to build for the future. What I didn't expect to happen was for us to win a decent amount of games. Don't let the league finish fool you though, I struggled to find a tactic that I liked and thought worked. I must've tried 4 or 5 different tactics across these games, but we somehow kept getting results. A decent league finish leaves us in a good place for the promotion playoffs. I decided to go with a attacking tactic to try and get across the finish line for promotion. But would it work?

Promotion Playoffs

Mission accomplished. Going with a more attacking tactic definitely gave us a bit of a push that we needed to go on and get promoted. However in dramatic fashion it took until the very last game of the season and a little bit of luck to overcome the team in 2nd. We still don't have a true striker, and no player has a finishing attribute above 7, so the fact that an attacking mentality was so successful for us was pretty shocking. I'm very happy with these results and can't wait to see what the next season brings us.

Youth Intake Preview

Yet another golden generation to be excited about, but at this level it doesn't mean a whole lot.

Youth Intake

A defensive midfielder that can already serve as a backup is the best of the bunch. Not a lot of great personalities this year, but we finally got in some new nationalities. After promotion I managed to convince the owner to upgrade our youth coaching, so hopefully we get in some higher ability players going forward.

Thodoros Theofylakis - Vasilis Lalas - Christos Baxevanidis

Progress

We managed to get promoted this year so it was a definite success. We also managed to improve our youth recruitment and our junior coaching. Attendance also nearly doubled this year so that was nice to see. I'm both excited about the next season and a bit nervous. But I believe we have what it takes to stay up.

Intake Map

We added Brazil, Italy, and New Zealand in this year's intake

Countries: 5/227 (2.20%)

[The FM21 Youth Academy Challenge]

Alexandroupoli Season 3 (2024-25)

League Table

A much better time this year, with us managing to crack into the promotion playoffs this time around. We actually looked capable of attacking and our defense was solid. For a while we were in contention for the top spot, but I knew it wouldn't last. I was just hoping to go in to the playoffs with as many points as possible.

Promotion Playoffs

We went on an absolutely incredible run in the playoffs, picking up 6 wins and 1 draw in the 7 games. I really couldn't believe what I was seeing, it seemed to come out of nowhere. And yet we still finished just short of promotion, with the only game we drew being against the team that finished one spot above us. If that doesn't sum up my luck with Football Manager than I don't know what does. At least with have the whole team back next year to make another run at it right?

Transfers

Our hands down best player decided that he didn't want to renew his contract with us and would be moving on. We had an actual money transfer arranged with another club, but for who knows what reason he turned it down. I guess he decided he'd rather we get nothing for him. So much for being his favorite club I guess.

Youth Intake Preview

I love seeing a potential golden generation so I'm excited to see who comes in.

Youth Intake

This intake was a bit of a dud, current ability wise. Plenty of potential though, and some decent personalities. Most players were signed. Nobody was really worth highlighting this time around.

Progress

All in all a much better season. We improved our youth recruitment again this year, and attendance went up. But losing our best player will definitely hurt us for a couple years. Hopefully we can bounce back and go up soon.

Intake Map

No new countries again, however we're bringing in players from all over Greece now

Countries: 2/227 (0.88%)

[The FM21 Youth Academy Challenge]

Alexandroupoli FC Season 2 (2023-24)

League Table

I received news in the offseason that the club was being taken over by a Brazilian investor. So the season started on a very positive note. We finish this stage of the season with the exact same record we did the previous year. We were much better defensively, but also scored less goals. We actually found ourselves just outside the top 4 most of the season, but we we're unable to keep pace with them. Overall a good base to start from in the relegation playoffs.

Relegation Playoffs

We found a little bit of form and managed to stay safe this season. This year's group was much stronger than the previous one, but I'm hoping we'll be able to avoid this stage altogether next year.

Youth Intake Preview

I'm excited for this years batch of new players. I could use some more wingers, but we're still in dire need of a striker.

Youth Intake

A couple of players that can go into the first team immediately and lots of potential. Gounelas looks good and Angelopoulos is our new backup. Hopefully they improve enough to see some starts in the first team this season.

Dionysis Angelopoulos - Pavlos Gounelas - Vangelis Vramentzalis

Progress

We find ourselves in the 4th tier again next season, but we made plenty of improvements. I managed to convince our new owner to upgrade the youth recruitment and the training facilities. I'm excited about what positive changes these will bring about. I was also pleasantly surprised at how well last year's top prospect, Thomas Zarogiannis, has improved in only a year. I've had a couple top division teams showing interest in him, so we may have someone special here.

Intake Map

No new countries added this year, but we did get players from new cities throughout Greece.

Countries: 2/227 (0.88%)

[The FM21 Youth Academy Challenge]

Pretty much immediately after the season ended I received messages that the club's president was retiring and that a Brazilian-based investor was looking to takeover the club. Needless to say I'm pretty excited about what this could bring going forward.

[The FM21 Youth Academy Challenge]

Alexandroupoli FC Season 1 (2022/23)

After some time with FC Locarno in Switzerland I've decided to move on. My newest venture takes me to Alexandroupoli FC in Greece. Located in the Eastern part of Greece, just across the border from Turkey, we start the save in the Greek Football League South, the 4th tier of Greece.

League Table

We started this save with only 12 players available to choose from, so I knew this season would be a difficult one. The league structure is interesting, with only the champion gaining promotion immediately. Positions 2-4 go into the promotion playoff and 5-10 go into relegation playoffs. Luckily we're allowed to carry over our point totals, and the Football League North has some pretty bad teams, so I'm confident we'll be able to avoid relegation.

Relegation Playoffs

Sure enough we were able to avoid relegation. Finishing 8th here looks bad, but we were 11 points clear of relegation. We did get our intake during the playoffs but we weren't allowed to register any of them. Hopefully we finish better next year.

Youth Intake Preview

Some promising signs, and I'm not complaining about getting new players in.

Youth Intake

Really only one player that can make an immediate impact on the first team, but lots of potential and some decent personalities. All players were signed, simply for depth. Would've loved to have gotten a decent striker, that's the position we most desperately need.

Thomas Zarogiannis - Charalampos Gotovos - Alexis Mandilaris

Progress

For our first season, with only 1 player available off the bench, it wasn't bad. Now that we've got more players available to us I hope the next season goes well.

Intake Map

We only added Greece and Albania in this years intake

Nations: 2/227 (0.88%)