[[FM22] The Great San Marino Challenge]

22 hours ago, TacticalGenius said:

Pedrazzini seems to be the only one. And apparently he’s pretty much always lived in San Marino

Hmmm. Is/will he become eligible irl then? seems odd as he has played at clubs "in" Italy but perhaps his permanent residence has always been in SM - it is meant to be beautiful after all. I ask because I've been avoiding calling him up as I thought it was a bug but with the glaring hole I've been left at CB id have no reluctance to call him up if its legit.

Perhaps I will try find him on twitter/insta and ask him lol.

[[FM22] The Great San Marino Challenge]

2021 decision by FIFA to allow 17 year olds the right to change their mind has cost me an absolute gem

He wont be getting an Italy call up anytime soon so hopefully he will come back around but its still a massive set-back

[[FM22] The Great San Marino Challenge]

7 minutes ago, Lefurjah said:

@6499red

Okay, finished first season and have a few to add for managing a San Marino League Club

1) Qualify for playoff

2) Qualify for QF

3) Qualify for SF

4) Qualify for Final

5) Win Champions Playoff

6) Qualify for Europe

7) Win San Marino Cup

8) Win Domestic Double

9) Win Domestic Treble

10) Go undefeated domestically.

 

Incredible season. Save some achievements for the rest of us 

[[FM22] The Great San Marino Challenge]

1 hour ago, 6499red said:

End of 1st season - promoted!

 

Congrats! Voinea is an absolute animal at this level. If only he was a few years younger I could see him carrying people right up to Serie B

[[FM22] The Great San Marino Challenge]

End of Season 1 Update

@6499red National team achievements: Win a game, Win a competitive game

Great to see so many people involved in the challenge. The real life reforming of the club as well as claasen's database being up so early has done wonders  You all seem to be doing really well too - I haven't started quite as successfully but its a marathon not a sprint 

On with the results...

Country:

Spoiler

World Cup qualifying campaign:

The only game we had any chance of a result was Andorra and so I'm happy to have ticked off the challenges first NT achievements by beating them. Although we expected to get battered in all the other games that didn't make sitting through them any less depressing. Clearly when you have only one outfielder who is paid full time to play football there's only so much tactics can do so Filippo Berardi's return from injury ahead of the nations league cant come soon enough.

Although its not an official achievement the milestone I find myself working towards with the national side is getting to a place where we can consistently field a team of people paid to play football as their full-time job.

 Club:

Spoiler

Eccellenza

The final table is actually quite generous after a disaster of a campaign. Building a system in pre-season to take advantage of the two most talented players at the club in attack (Prandeli, Voinea) worked great in theory until they both suffered month long injuries in the final friendly. Another injury crisis in November forced us to play that month of fixtures without a fit centre back. It became apparent embarrassingly early into the season that the only priority was to slog through to the end at which every member of the squads contracts expire and we can rebuild. In fact, as of the 15th may 2022 I am yet to offer an extension to a single player or staff member already at the club and I expect only a few will get that offer.

Next season after a summer rebuild and providing key players stay fit there is no excuse not to mount a serious title charge

One small silver lining is the fact that in our last 2 fixtures of the season - after we were out of the title race - we were able to grind out wins against the champions and the team that finished in 3rd place. Hopefully we can take that form into next year

 

[[FM22] The Great San Marino Challenge]

20 minutes ago, TacticalGenius said:

WE'RE INTO THE TOP 200!

Good work. Interested to see if nation ranking is the biggest driving force behind improving the dynamic youth rating

[[FM22] The Great San Marino Challenge]

Excited to finally be able to start this journey and my first post-beta save of the year, and what better time to do so than the night our boys had almost the entire world behind them (Anyone know why the main man Berardi wasn't playing? hes carried me for the first few years of this challenge every FM) 

If I can avoid conceding double figures at home to England I will be sending my save off to the Sammarinese FA and demanding the job IRL

On to the formalities

Database:

The database speaks for itself really, just including for proof I disabled any funny business with the editor when I win the world cup in a few posts time 

We shall of course be managing Victor San Marino in the eccellenza along with the national team job from the get-go

Spoiler

 

 

 

The Gaffer:

Andy Selva, named after the legendary record goalscorer of the national team. I've gone with the recommended National A badges along with Sunday league experience. I was tempted to start with no badges at all but the save is going to be hard enough as it is...

As for points allocations I've gone with the "Taskmaster" build, simply because im binge-watching the show of the same name. I dont see it mattering too much in a long-term save like this with coaching courses a high priority

Had a bit of fun with the gaffers look, as a one club/nation save it only felt right

Spoiler

 

Expectations:

Of course, the aim of the save is the same as everyone else. Bring international glory to the minnows of San Marino with a World Cup. However I also wanted to discuss the board expectations at club level - the demands of instant success seem daunting at first although the squad does look surprisingly capable given the level. Also I love the addition of the "sign Sammarinese players" club culture which I'm guessing is Claassen's doing - shout out to the legend himself - which i think really adds to the immersion despite being a minor detail.

Spoiler

Thanks @6499red for running the thread this year, I've always played along at home but this year I hope interacting with the thread will help me push on when it becomes a bit of a slog-fest about 10 years in

Special mentions also to Duesouth, Tactical Genius and Claasen for their contributions already in this thread but also throughout the years of the SM challenge

 

P.S: I swear I better not be the first to not be able to get 3 points against Andorra

[[FM22] The Great San Marino Challenge]

So glad this is back properly this time. Couldnt get into it properly without a real database club so have been playing in gibraltar last couple of versions but cant wait to get back into SM

[The Raumdeuter]

Good stuff. Always had a soft spot for the Raumdeuter and loved your similar thread with the AMCs. Obviously less to experiment with here although im tempted now to try build "less obvious" systems for the RMD to thrive in