Koetzer

These African names

FK Viktoria Žižkov – season 2027/28 After three seasons of struggle we finally improved our position and finished only one point short from the middle group. Falling to the playoff spots is still possible, but shouldn’t happen if we continue playing on the same level. Stayed on top of this group despite losing to Mlada, and of course it’s our best season in the top division so far! Cup The best cup run as well, we reached quarter-final for the first time after a surprise shootout win over Slavia. Squad stats D.Macek *25a – with an interest from PSG there were no chances to keep our best player in the club, still I made the best available move – agreed a transfer for the end of season (for a small fee, but including 50% from next sale) before he could be signed for free. M.Muxel *23a – once again became our best goalscorer. Waiting for him to score an overhead kick though, as he has this trait O.Sedláček *27a – managed to score 11 goals in his first full senior season, a really good debut. Jiří Ciupa – probably his last season as an undoubted first choice in goal, but he played it well. Ondřej Žežulka – still our best center-back who now set the new club record with 243 games played. A.Križmanić *26a – stats are not so impressive, but he is our first ever player to be included into NXGN top 50 list. L.Petržílka *26g – I was trying different players as the second center-back, no one really impressed but this youngster made a nice progress during the season and became a regular starter. M.Krátký *25h – the weirdest selection, he was playing on loan in Portuguese lower leagues (like a lot of our youngsters), didn’t have any outstanding stats there and somehow became the Czech talent of the year. Don’t know, maybe his real potential is higher than my staff’s assessment. Transfers – Macek's departure leaves us with one good central midfielder in the squad, hopefully some younger players would develop quickly. Youth intake (preview) Šmíd *28a | Akbaş *28b | Piško *28c | Čupr *28d | Krátký *28e | Cabadaj *28f | Procházka *28g | Trapp *28h | Kavka *28i We got a full defensive line with five star potential, though I would prefer more central midfielders now. Despite the youth facilities downgrade, I had to invest into training facilities instead as promising this was the only way to convince Muxel signing a new contract.

FK Viktoria Žižkov – season 2026/27 Struggle continued after the winter break. We almost caught Pardubice with a head-to-head win, but they had a better run in April so we need to win at least three of five last games and hope for other results going in our favor. Well, that was madness. After winning four games in a row (three of them with late decisive goals) and setting the new club record with 5-0 thrashing of Slovan we only needed a draw against Pardubice… and failed completely. At this point I was sure that we are relegated, Slovan had the same amount of points, better goal difference but… I was totally sure that goal difference was the first tiebreaker in previous seasons! Or did the latest patch also change league rules in older saves? Playoffs against lower league teams aren’t a problem for us. Survived again, and hopefully this season becomes a turning point as our core is now young and developing (though there are some serious concerns about keeping them around now). Cup Our former leaders now couldn’t even defeat a second tier team. Squad stats D.Macek *25a – our best player right now, but it may be his last season here. He wants to leave with one year left under contract, so it's a tough choice - let him go now, earning some money for future development but weakening the midfield even more, or lose him for free in a season. M.Muxel *23a – saved us from relegation, scoring 7 of his 13 goals in May. Also he won the talent of the year award and played in the U19 Euros (Czech Republic lost all three games in the group). Dawser Ben Yahmed – Tunisian striker got a first eleven spot after we had to change our formation to 4-4-2 (simply had not enough central midfielders anymore) and became our second goalscorer. Jiří Ciupa – entered the god mode in some games, conceded almost every shot in others (Sparta beat us 8-0 with 9 shots on target ) P.Ellison *23b – agreed to a new contract, so we can be confident in our left-back position so far. A.Križmanić *26a and D.Klinka *26d – two wingers from the last season’s intake have already become regular starters. V.Matejka *24a – didn’t play as well as last season, but still remains one of our key players. Transfers – more loans, mostly to Portuguese clubs with better facilities. Youth intake (preview) Sedláček *27a | Hubínek *27b | Rothe *27c | Hrdlička *27d | Klán *27e | Čepelák *27f Sedláček is unambitious, but good enough to be a backup striker in the senior team right now! Getting a potentially good center-back and a pair of central midfielders will also help (can’t say the same about wingers though, we are getting too many of them). What’s even funnier is our HOYD having 4-4-2 narrow diamond as a preferred formation, though I’ve never seen any connection between this and youngsters’ positions actually Another small drop in attendance, can’t blame the fans though, a lot of games were really tough to watch. Also we got our first affiliate - Znojmo, a 3rd tier team with quite decent facilities.

Probably that's going to be the last season here. Veterans can't keep this level anymore, youngsters are progressing but not good enough yet We are predicted last of course, but not sure if the board would keep me in the club after relegation.

FK Viktoria Žižkov – season 2025/26 We struggled most part of the season, but had two really good months. First was November, when we had three wins in a row, including an incredible away victory over Sparta, which won three latest titles and almost secured the fourth one now! Also there was an absolute rollercoaster against Slovan which sadly didn't end in our favor, but I still was impressed with our attack. The second peak of form happened in April, we were unbeaten (avoided a defeat from Sparta again!) and finished this stage with a solid eight points advantage over the relegation spot. We almost avoided playoffs, just needed one more goal! Took some time to break their defense, but we survived with a confident overall win. Two of three goals were scored by our youngsters, that’s a good sign for future. Cup Our best cup performance so far ended with a late penalty. Squad stats Michal Petráň – despite declining in attributes a bit, he kept a good form and even scored one more than in previous season. Jiří Ciupa – our defending certainly wasn’t good if a goalkeeper had the highest rating, but he really saved some games for us. P.Ellison *23b – our biggest star at the moment, requested to leave earlier but still has two years under contract so hopefully would change his mind. V.Matejka *24a – our top assistant and second best Czech young player. D.Macek *25a – promoted to the first team during winter break and really helped us in the final stages. Selected third in another youth nomination. M.Muxel *23a – finding it hard to fit him in our tactics, still the end of the season was quite good. M.Bílek *24b – became a starting right winger during the season and didn’t disappoint. Transfers – several loans for our first season youngsters. Youth intake (preview) Križmanić *26a | Tsiaras *26b | Kodr *26c | Klinka *26d | Trpišovský *26e | Meric *26f | Petržílka *26g | Basa *26h | Varga *26i Four of the five best prospects here are left-footed wingers, but between them there’s a really promising goalkeeper who goes directly to the senior squad as a backup! And it’s surely our best intake so far, also including six foreign nationalities. No idea why our attendances dropped, hopefully that will be improved next season.

Well done And of course, who else could score the winning goal in the final against Inter?

FK Viktoria Žižkov – season 2024/25 I knew this season would be a struggle, but the start was just ridiculous. We weren’t hopeless and sometimes had better stats and xG than our opponents, but got our first points only in tenth game, defeating Brno with a last minute strike from Voltr! After this we started scoring points more often and eventually left the bottom place at the end of first stage, but bad finishing and awful goalkeeping (both our goalies were worst in the league in goals conceded above xG) didn’t let us feel fully safe. Mlada had an impressive winning run in this group, overtaking both us and Bohemians before the final matchday. Three relegation contenders played against three top teams and none could get any points, which meant a playoff spot for us. Staying up! Petráň surely knows how to destroy the second tier teams Not sure if next season is going to be better though, our aging core isn't getting stronger and youngers aren't fully ready to replace them. Cups The only cup game fell into this awful start as well. Squad stats Michal Petráň – had a slow start (like all our team actually) but found his goalscoring form in spring. Took half of his last season’s goals to a higher level, that’s a good result for sure. Augusto Batioja – another player who had an average rating over 7, age doesn’t affect him so far. Radek Voltr – same as last season, became our second goalscorer from the left wing. Milan Jirásek – still indispensable in midfield. P.Ellison *23b – not so impressive season, but he is now assessed as our key player and gets U21 caps for Scotland. Jiří Ciupa – despite struggling at start our goalkeeper had a decent end of the season, hopefully will take this form further. Transfers – nothing happened at all. Youth intake (preview) D.Macek *25a | Dvořák *25b | Hofmann *25c | P.Macek *25d | Šťovíček *25e The new HOYD Mazinho Patrao brought us another top prospect in midfield. Other high rated players have worse personalities, though better than nothing, and we are still searching for a good goalkeeper. We had first facilities downgrade (though immediately agreed to repair it) and two more upgrades. @Winski keeping Kadlec is a really good start, hope he will guide you to promotion

FK Viktoria Žižkov – season 2023/24 Well, that was quite easy, we had a couple of winless runs in October and April but gave no chances to our opponents elsewhere. Now the toughest part starts – surviving in the top tier with this aging squad. Cup Defeated two lower league teams before a late goal from a top tier side Bohemians knocked us out in an overall even game. Squad stats Michal Petráň – was clinical in front of goal, setting the new Czech second tier record and winning the MVP award. Augusto Batioja – I don't remember if I ever played with regista, but Ecuadorian veteran fits perfectly to this role. Radek Voltr – mostly played on the left wing and became our second goalscorer. Milan Jirásek – did a good job in midfield, as expected. Josef Bazal – unfortunately his good season ended with a cruciate ligaments injury, which is a blow for our next season as well Ondřej Žežulka – clearly lacks strength for a center-back, but played well and eventually was selected into the team of the year. And he’s only 25, almost a youth player here P.Ellison *23b – I said that young defenders could get some playing time, but certainly didn’t expect that kind of progress! No surprise that he became a regular starter even before the winter break. Transfers – two backup players left in winter. Youth intake (preview) Matejka *24a | Bílek *24b | Pulec *24c | Plechatý *24d I hoped that our best prospect would be a goalkeeper as the current first choice is close to retirement, however almost every position in our squad needs some refreshment (maybe except a left-back, we already had three high potential players in two years). In other news, we got first academy improvements and two coaching courses for myself.

FK Viktoria Žižkov Founded in the Žižkov district of Prague in 1903, Viktoria had its best time a century later, winning the national cup in 2001 and finishing third in two next league seasons, but after this immediately relegated from the top tier, came back several times whout any success and eventually appeared in regional leagues. Manager profile The legendary striker from my FM22 Njardvik career. Facilities Quite decent for our current level. Senior squad Our top players are over 30, almost everyone had a contract expiring in a few days, and the most famous player here – a former FM wonderkid Vaclav Kadlec already agreed to leave the team. The first week could actually end this challenge but no one else was poached except a third choice striker. Milan Jirasek, who played for Inter youth teams long ago, will be our leader for now, hopefully he and other veterans won’t decline too fast. While searching for backroom replacements I found a Brazilian coach Lemos Filho who could have become a perfect assistant manager or HOYD, but he only wants to be a fitness coach, what a waste of talent Youth intake 2023 Muxel *23a | Ellison *23b | Vojtíšek *23c We already got the first intake, three players have some potential but they all have to improve physically. Though defenders may have a chance to play in the first team already due to lack of depth on their positions. Judging from the odds, we are the promotion contenders (champions are promoted directly, 2nd and 3rd teams qualify for playoffs). @darren1983 for the opening post - reset date for Czech Republic is June 30, the last fixtures are played on May 28.

Not sure if it works in FM23, but in all previous editions you could just move first 30 trialists to the reserves and invite new ones

There were 3-4 Danish players in each intake (though it's a bit strange that Faroese players don't have Danish citizenship by default, maybe done on purpose so Denmark couldn't poach all their best players). The club has a priority to sign Faroese players, it's not mandatory (I've done a test simulation before the start and after a few seasons the squad was almost fully Danish) but I wanted to play a Bilbao-style career.

April 2034 Well, that's it. We are hopeless against the top teams in Denmark, and honestly I don't see how we could improve. Most of the team leaders either reached their potential or won't ever reach it due to age, any possible transfer would be a only squad depth improvement (four best Faroese players who really can make us stronger are regular starters in better and richer clubs), and academy brought the best player in its history - striker Sigvardsen, but he's very far from the first team with these attributes (I think starting even with a minimal youth setup would have lead us to much better intakes at this point). Still it was a good journey to guide a fully Faroese team from fifth division to mid-table positions in the top tier and even get several European games, maybe I'll try something similar in FM23.

February-March 2034 Apart from Steinholm, we signed one more player during winter window – central midfielder Klakstein who was in our squad on a half-season loan four years ago and now joined on free transfer from Midtjylland reserves. What an opening game, we scored in the first attack, conceded three after this but substitute striker Mouritsen saved a draw with two late goals! It was a successful month overall, we lost to the league leaders but got three home wins and confidently qualified for the top group. The five-point gap from a potential playoff spot is quite concerning, but I think we may catch Randers if carry this form into the next months. National team Two wins over teams from the world’s top 100. FIFA ranking – 126th ( 1) U21: 1-0 (A) vs Lithuania, 2-0 (A) vs Gibraltar in friendlies. U19: 1-2 (A) vs Lithuania, 3-1 (A) vs Gibraltar in friendlies. U18: 1-0 (H) vs Israel, 2-0 (H) vs Lithuania, 3-1 (H) vs Gibraltar in Euro preliminary С – promoted to group B.

November-December 2033 Decided to switch back to 4-3-3, and it worked. Only for two games though National team Øregaard suffered an injury in a game against Brøndby and was replaced. We almost spoiled the perfect year for Norway, leading for about 20 minutes. FIFA ranking – 127th ( 1) U21: 0-0 (H) vs Cyprus, 0-3 (H) vs Spain in Euro qualifiers. U19: 1-0 (N) vs Hungary, 1-1 (A) vs Latvia, 0-0 (N) vs Romania in Euro qualifiers B – finished second. U18: 2-3 (A) vs Croatia, 0-2 (N) vs Poland, 0-2 (N) vs Iceland in Euro preliminary B – relegated to group C. Betrideildin: Vikingur won the title this time while HB had a busier continental schedule and eventually finished third ahead of Sheriff on goal difference! Another excellent preview which isn’t going to become real.

October 2033 Awful form, we only scored once in the league (from a corner) and spent an hour to break down the lower league opposition in the cup. Though with top five teams already being far away I wouldn’t be against dropping into the bottom half as sixth team receive nothing except a bit bigger prize money. National team Two players are suspended for the first game, but no other issues with this squad. After a good first game (we had a chance to equalize and even scored, but Jacobsen's goal was disallowed) we conceded three in first 25 minutes against Romania so avoiding the bottom finish is almost impossible now. FIFA ranking – 126th ( 3) U21: 0-2 (A) vs Austria, 1-2 (H) vs Czech Republic in Euro qualifiers. U19: 2-2 (H) vs Slovakia, 2-0 (H) vs Macedonia in friendlies.

September 2033 We played two decent games against current league leaders, defeated Randers and should have got at least a point against AGF, but conceded a late counter while having a man advantage. Our position in the top half is quite secure so far, though Brøndby should obviously improve their form later. The cup draw is really lucky, after defeating two lower league teams we got another amateurs on the road to quarter-final. National team Some backup players were injured, but all regular starters are here. The almighty Haaland is still there and scored his 130th (!) international goal with a hat-trick, still we managed to get a reasonable result despite Ryggshammar’s red card (he moved to Benfica before this season and is our most expensive player, but his discipline is still a huge problem for the national team). FIFA ranking – 123rd ( 2) U21: 1-4 (A) vs Spain, 3-0 (H) vs Luxembourg in Euro qualifiers. U19: 1-0 (A) vs Armenia, 3-1 (A) vs Azerbaijan in friendlies. U18: 0-1 (A) vs Azerbaijan in friendly.

July-August 2033 The start was almost perfect, we won three games at home and managed to save an away draw against the champions after conceding two early goals! This run was unfortunately snapped by Brøndby who lost all four games before this, and the last game seemed to show our real level and how far we are from the top teams I think it's going to be the last season here unless we qualify to Europe again or some miracle happens (like a wonderkid coming through our academy). Islands news Champions League: HB – 1QR win vs Dudelange (2-0, 2-0), 2QR loss vs Qarabag (0-2, 0-0) Europa League: HB – 3QR win vs Shamrock Rovers (3-0, 0-2), 4QR loss vs Olympiacos (0-1, 0-3) Conference League: HB – group stage with Marseille, Brugge and Sheriff Vikingur – 1QR win vs St. Joseph’s (2-0, 5-1), 2QR loss vs Brann (1-3, 1-2) 07 Vestur – 1QR loss vs Neftci (1-1, 1-1 pen) AB – 1QR loss vs Sutjeska (1-3, 0-2) Overall points – 1.625+ (1.750 in 32/33). Second group stage appearance and first ever win in Europa League for HB, still this season is so far worse overall than the previous one (though getting some points from Sheriff can make it better).

Pre-season 2033/34 Transfers in We only signed a promising goalkeeper Magnussen for the U19 team in this window, but also agreed a more important winter transfer – Elias Steinholm will join us on full contract after his loan. Transfers out Sørensen was earning way too much for a backup player and wouldn’t become better at his age, so decided to sell him and give a chance to Kristiansen who returned from loan. And I certainly didn’t expect to receive money for a Lakjuni, who seems to have some potential and valued quite high now but didn’t develop at all, in our reserves or on loan. Finally not predicted last! Not a big increase, but still a sign of our improvement. The first poached player with golden potential, must have been a top prospect for us.

May-June 2033 Unfortunately we missed too many chances against Viborg and maximum we could do later is equalize on points, but still would have finished behind on goal difference. The top group ended in a very tight battle, AGF and København drew a head-to-head game on the last matchday and Nordsjælland could overtake them both but couldn't beat Randers! Squad stats Kallsberg had another great year, becoming our best goalscorer and assistant. Jacobsen wasn’t as good as last season, but still reached 10 goals mark and became our overall record goalscorer. Our defensive trio Hansen-Hermansen-Kosonen were solid as usual, and adding Steinholm on loan was also an improvement (he will stay with us until December, and maybe we’ll sign him for free later). Need to perform better if we want to improve our finances. National team Everyone is fit, and youngster Joensen is selected as promised. I thought Romania would be a stronger team than Northern Ireland, but we totally outplayed them at Torsvollur, scored three in first 16 minutes (their goal also fit between ours) and could get even more convincing win. So I was quite optimistic before the second game, but this time we were destroyed in the first half. Still I didn't hope for winning a game in this group! FIFA ranking – 125th ( 3) U21: 3-0 (A) vs Gibraltar in friendly. U19: 1-0 (A) vs Kosovo in friendly. UEFA club ranking – 47th (=)

Sounds like real Italy

April 2033 A home defeat against Vejle spoiled an overall good month. Viborg retains the top spot, we’ll play against them at home in May but three other games will be on the road so winning the playoff place won't be easy. Youth intake Well, didn’t expect anything else, all these previews mean nothing. Oddmar Jensen can become a replacement for Øregaard eventually, but not more. However, the national team got a potential superstar this year – center-back Heini Joensen from Brøndby, he surely will be selected in the next international round despite being only 15!

February-March 2033 Predictable, but still disappointing start of the year. Though after four defeats we managed to win an away game against Brøndby, and considering their current 5th position, this may be a good sign for European playoffs (we need to win the bottom group before, of course). National team Our new midfielder Kristiansen gets his first callup along with young goalkeeper Hansson (can we produce good outfield players with the same frequency? ), Øregaard is missing with injury. Last minute winner in a friendly and a decent result in Scotland, can be quite happy with this round. FIFA ranking – 128th ( 1) U21: 0-1 (A) vs Lithuania in friendly. U19: 1-1 (A) vs Lithuania, 0-1 (A) vs Liechtenstein in friendlies. U18: 1-3 (A) vs Belgium, 0-3 (N) vs Portugal, 1-3 (N) vs Switzerland in Euro preliminary A – relegated to group B.

Winter 2032/33 Transfers in Elias Steinholm – the second choice national team keeper joins us on loan. Oli Kristiansen – a promising midfielder, sent on loan so far. Transfers out Davidsen lost the first team spot this season and anyway would have left in June, so we just got rid of his wage. Youth preview Another golden generation, though hard to believe in these promises after two previous seasons. The national team got Scotland, Norway, Romania and Northern Ireland in World Cup qualifiers. No sixth team and one of the strongest options from the fourth pot

November 2032 Before the game against Silkeborg we lost Danielsen with injury, and I promoted 16 year-old Ovi Davidsen (signed in August from B68 after we loaned out a backup winger Ragnarsson) to the first team. With 15 minutes to go we were 1-0 behind, I had no other choices than bring him into the game… and he scored twice on his league debut! The league table looks encouraging, but we’ll have an extremely tough schedule in February and March – teams from top four places and Viborg which didn’t give us any chances in three previous games. National team Danielsen is out this time, but Vang is back and fit to play. A narrow defeat in Georgia ended our chances to win this group, still we finished it unbeaten at home even despite Midjord was sent off on 25th minute against Israel! FIFA ranking – 129th ( 1) U21: 1-2 (H) vs Switzerland, 1-3 (H) vs Wales in Euro qualifiers – finished fifth with 9 points. U19: 0-3 (H) vs Belgium, 0-5 (H) vs Germany, 0-3 (H) vs Netherlands in Euro qualifiers A – relegated to group B. U18: 1-0 (N) vs Austria, 0-4 (A) vs France, 3-1 (N) vs Serbia in Euro preliminary A – won the group!

October 2032 The international break helped us to recover from the bad run and get seven points from three remaining games. The cup wasn’t our priority in this situation, and a heavily rotated squad couldn’t cope with Viborg. National team Decided not to make any changes from last month, but Vang had to be replaced after selection due to injury. Our unbeaten run ended in Israel, after drawing the first half we conceded three in last 15 minutes. The game against Belarus was exactly the opposite, we conceded an early penalty, equalized soon and secured a big win in second half! Jacobsen’s hat-trick was especially pleasing, he was struggling to score for the club and needed these goals for confidence. We certainly won’t finish last (Georgia and Belarus have to play each other) and still have a promotion chance (though will need a three-goal win over Israel to overtake them). FIFA ranking – 128th ( 1) U21: 2-2 (H) vs Serbia, 5-0 (A) vs Luxembourg in Euro qualifiers – finished fifth with 9 points. U19: 4-1 (H) vs Gibraltar, 2-2 (H) vs Czech Republic in friendlies. Betrideildin: HB won the title, Vestur seems to become a consistent third force.