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[FM11] Messi? Nah...

SnakeXe

By SnakeXe,
in FM Career Updates

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SnakeXe

SnakeXe

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Not showing that you added :s

Maybe cause I did it when I was offline? Haven't signed on since, been busy - had a gig last night, a Battle of the Bands, which we won :cool:

Can't wait for your next season would be good to see you claim a league/champions league double!

It'd be nice definitely! I've got one eye on a clean sweep myself, but then I'm greedy :p

gotta say, what a great read. that's taken me over the course of 4 days at work to get through that. great achievment mate.

Thanks! Glad I'm distracting you so effectively from work - actually that's a point, I wonder how many millions of pounds FM has cost the UK economy between people playing it and reading about it on here instead of working?

500th post in the thread

Anyways, good luck for the rest of the season

500th reply in the thread.

Well done guys... :rolleyes:

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SnakeXe

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SnakeXe's Messina - Season 22 - 2032/33

Story of the Season:

Serie A - 1st, Champions

We were in a good position coming out of the winter break, and we kept up our form in the new year, with a huge home-win over title-challengers Palermo the perfect start. A run of 5 wins from 8 (the rest being draws) was decent, but the performance in losing 1-0 at home to Lazio was not. This game saw a bizarre decision as Marco Antonio was tripped whilst shooting, the keeper parrying the shot away, and the striker reacting quickest to seemingly be about to pass into an empty net - but no, a penalty was given. Which the keeper saved, of course. Ridiculous.

Our slightly ropey form continue with narrow wins over relegation candidates Andria and Gubbio interspersed with a draw against Grosseto and a horrible loss to Napoli. That was to be the end of our bad form, though, as a 5-0 drubbing of Mantova inspired us to remain unbeaten for the rest of the season! Was that enough though?

A 5-1 win over Roma with a crucial 1-1 draw against challengers Inter left us with two games which, if we won both, would see us champions on head-to-head results over Juve at worst.

The first was against Palermo away, a very tricky tie, and we started poorly, Hector Portillo finally giving them the lead after 36 minutes. We gradually got back into the game, and although time was running short I began to think we could get something from this. Off the bench came the veteran right-winger Filippo Vitone. Gonzalez ran with the ball down the left, trying to tease a mistake out of the Palermo fullback. The mistake came, swiftly followed by the cross. It angled towards the far post. The goalkeeper came for it...

He missed it.

Vitone rose.

GOAL!!!!

But what had happened elsewhere? Roma had inexplicably beaten Juve 1-0, giving us a one-point advantage going into the final match of the season, a home game against mid-table Parma. The club from the city most famous for its ham didn't have anything to play for, and it showed.

Marco Antonio struck after 6 minutes and we never looked back. It ended 4-0. Messina were champions of Italy once again!!

Coppa Italia - Winners

After finally winning the trophy after 21 years of trying last season, could we retain the trophy? We had an easy couple of games in the first round and quarter final, Udinese going down 3-0 and Serie B Livorno putting up no resistance - despite a stupid red-card for Javier - losing by the same scoreline.

Fiorentina in the semi was similarly easy, the giants being on the road that would ultimately end in relegation. We took a 2-0 lead in the away leg only to be pegged back by a stupid concession just before full time. It wasn't to matter though, as Marquinhos Parana's double set us on the way to a 3-0 win at home to make the final again!

Finally, a decent side. Palermo. We hadn't lost to them in the two league encounters this season so I was fairly confident, but you never know what will happen in a cup final.

Martinez Gonzalez struck first. Only it was in the wrong net. Still, the lad had had a superb season so I couldn't blame him over one mistake - particularly as he later atoned to make it 2-1 to us after Marco Antonio's equaliser! Palermo were strong though, and we were tired, and Fabao finished sharply with 10 minutes ago.

Extra time. Nothing happened.

Penalties.

Daniel Martin saved all four. Antonio and Misic scored. Champions!!!

Supercoppa - Winners

A tricky one against title-holders Inter, but we snuck it 1-0.

European Super Cup - Winners

Should have made far shorter work of Rangers than we did, but we did it eventually on penalties.

Champions League - Winners

After a poor showing the group stage, we had to lay down a marker in our first knockout round tie against Dinamo Moscow. And that we did, 4 goals each home and away to send the Russians packing!

Juventus were again our opponents in the quarters, but after the way we dispatched them last season I wasn't particularly concerned. A narrow 1-0 win at home was a decent result, even though we should really have scored 3 or 4 on the night. The away leg was a tough affair, but with Martinez Gonzalez nodding in an early away goal we were always in the driving seat, and despite Edu and Bruneau putting Juve level on all but away goals, Marquinhos Parana's goal was cushion enough to see out the game and the tie.

Porto were up in the semi final, the Portuguese side were formidable opponents, and we'd have to be on top of our game to get through. We played quite poorly in the away leg, but somehow Daniel Martin held firm whilst Marco Antonio and Martinez Gonzalez yet again gave us a remarkable 2-0 win!

One foot in the final is what I thought - surely we'll play better at home? We didn't. Mwaba gave Porto the lead after 28 minutes, and we struggled to hold back the flow of horrible yellow away shirts. Things got worse as Arnautovic got himself sent off and suspended for the final with a stupid second yellow. Fortunately, Marco Antonio was in irrepressible mood, and scored a fantastic solo goal to ease the pressure. Arriola got another for Porto in the 88th minute to ensure a worrisome ending for me, but we held out for a fourth successive final!

Barcelona awaited yet again - imagine how many Champions Leagues they might have won had we never showed up? My lineup was pretty much dictated to me by injuries and form, the headline news being Marco Antonio getting the nod up front, Vitone starting on the right, Sanchez instead of the unfit Vega, and Kooiman on the bench in favour of Egger and Martinez Gonzalez.

Things started badly, as Russo gave the Catalans the lead after just 8 minutes. Sanchez justified my faith on 16 minutes, though, slotting home his 6th goal of the season to level things up. And that's the way it stayed in a very even first half. The second half was much of the same, both sides going close but neither able to provide a winner.

Extra time was dull.

Penalties again. Could we win our third shootout of the season?

Not if Barcelona had anything to do with it. All 5 of their penalties found the mark. Fortunately, so did ours, Antonio, Misic, Mikhailov, Juarez and Sanchez keeping their heads. Kooiman also kept his for the 6th. It was all on Barcelona's Assane Sow. He shot to the left. Martin dived to the left. He punched the ball away. Out of the goal.

Clean sweep!! 4-times champions of Europe!! Absolutely ridiculous!

Club World Championship - Winners

Two games, 8 goals, 1 easy trophy.

Results 1 - Results 2 - Results 3 - Results 4 - Squad

Transfers - £12.9m Loss

Again, this screen seems to be screwed since the patch so calculators out! On the ins were three players for the future, in Marquinhos Parana, Enrique Lala and Fernando, with an old legend in Walter Aguero leaving after all these years the only out for any money.

5 Most Important Players:

5. All Our Strikers - ST - Couldn't choose the between the three of them, they all chipped in at various points, Marquinhos Parana with an excellent 15 goals from 19 starts in his debut year in Italy. I'm slightly concerned about Arguelles as he finished the season poorly - hopefully his time isn't up at this level.

4. Nauzet Martinez Gonzalez - DC - Has progressed from fourth choice to indisputable number one at centrehalf in just two seasons - cracking player.

3. Walter Gonzalez - AMLC - Another excellent season for the Argentinean international, in double figures for goals and assists.

2. Igor Mikhailov - AMRC - Wow, so that's what he's capable of! 20 assists and 6 goals is a phenomenal return from the converted winger, and to think he still missed gilt-edged chances with abandon...

1. Jose Luis Vega - AMC - The creative hub of our team, although he got fewer assists than usual this season, his probing passing and intelligent movement created the space for Mikhailov, Gonzalez and the strikers to do the damage.

History:

Season    League                  Position  Achievements                   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011/12   Serie C2/C              2nd       Serie C Cup Runners Up, Playoff Finalists
2012/13   Serie C2/C              1st       Serie C2/C Champions, Promoted
2013/14   Serie C1/B              5th       Playoff Semi-Finalists
2014/15   Serie C1/B              2nd       Playoff Winners, Promoted
2015/15   Serie B                 12th      
2016/17   Serie B                 2nd       Promoted
2017/18   Serie A                 20th      Relegated
2018/19   Serie B                 2nd       Promoted
2019/20   Serie A                 7th       Qualified for Europa League
2020/21   Serie A                 6th       Qualified for Europa League
2021/22   Serie A                 9th
2022/23   Serie A                 5th       Qualified for Europa League
2023/24   Serie A                 3rd       Qualified for Champions League, Coppa Italia Runners Up
2024/25   Serie A                 4th       Qualified for Champions League, Coppa Italia Runners Up
2025/26   Serie A                 4th       Qualified for Champions League
2026/27   Serie A                 4th       Qualified for Champions League
2027/28   Serie A                 3rd       Qualified for Champions League
2028/29   Serie A                 1st       Serie A Champions, Coppa Italia Runners Up
2029/30   Serie A                 1st       Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners
2030/31   Serie A                 1st       Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners, CWC Winners
2031/32   Serie A                 3rd       Champions League Winners, Coppa Italia Winners, CWC Winners
2032/33   Serie A                 1st       Serie A Champions, Champions League  Winners, Coppa Italia Winners, CWC Winners

Messina 100 Club:

A list of those Messina players who make 100 or more appearances for the club under my management.

Name                Pos        Era                    Apps   Goals     AvR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rene Kooiman        DC         2019-Present            584      75    7.16
Filippo Vitone      AMRC       2018-Present            521     119    7.13
Jose A. Loureiro    DR         2020-Present            429       3    7.20
Jon Pagola          AMLC       2019-Present            415      78    7.20
Walter Aguero       AM/ST      2021-2032               414     146    7.06
Victor Amoruso      MC         2018-2029               380      33    6.98
Mauro Quiroga       DM/MC      2019-2031               372      17    6.96
Abel Petrillo       AML/ST     2016-2031               366     153    7.13
Daniel Martin       GK         2027-Present            285       0    7.00
Stefano Tulino      D/DM/MRC   2019-2030               274      17    7.12
Joaquin Arguelles   AM/ST      2025-Present            259     162    7.28
Nenad Arnautovic    DM/MC      2025-Present            254      27    6.98
Jose                D/WB/M/AML 2026-Present            242       3    7.07
Mauro Vigorito      GK         2011-2023               217       0    6.82
Walter Gonzalez     AMLC       2026-Present            214      32    7.08
Javier              AMR        2025-Present            213      27    7.00
Philipp Egger       DC         2023-Present            211      28    7.17
Juan Jose Godoy     GK         2023-2027               207       0    6.96
Jose Luis Vega      AMC        2028-Present            205      23    7.22
Patxi Rodriguez     DM/MC      2017-2026               203      14    6.87
Nenad Lukic         MLC        2021-2026               188      23    6.98
Mauricio Martin     D/DM/MC    2020-2027               187       9    6.96
Nicolas Amodio      DM/MC      2012-2018               183      12    6.93
Remi Thouvenin      DL         2021-2026               181       0    7.06
Antonio Marino      DLC        2013-2021               180       5    6.88
Da Silva            DC         2027-Present            183      15    7.10
Sergio Real         ST         2024-2030               174      31    6.87
Adem Ljajic         AMRLC      2019-2027               170      26    6.91
Mario Ortiz         DM/MC      2013-2021               169       5    6.83
Celso               DM/MC      2025-2030               169       9    6.95
Nicola Ravaglia     GK         2018-2025               164       0    6.90
Enzo Scorza         ST         2012-2018               159      82    7.24
Nicolas             D/DM/MC    2015-2022               159       5    6.85
Julian Juarez       AML        2029-Present            153      23    7.10
Antonio Gola        DM/MC      2028-Present            149       7    7.05
Rocco Signore       D/WBR      2022-Present            146       0    7.05
Rosario Licata      D/WB/ML    2011-2016               146       3    6.92
Francesc Alcalde    AMLC/ST    2014-2020               145      45    6.98
Igor Mikhailov      AMRC       2029-Present            142      23    7.13
Luca Tedeschi       DC         2012-2018               139       8    7.09
Mogi                DRC        2017-2022               134       0    6.76
Jose Maria          DL         2028-Present            128       1    7.20
Diego Farias        AMRLC      2015-2019               126      19    6.90
Gonzalo Valdez      ST         2022-2026               126      34    6.87
Davide Testa        AM/ST      2011-2015               121      40    7.04
Yohann Sallaberry   AMLC       2021-2028               117      10    7.01
Bartul Misic        DM/MC      2030-Present            116       8    7.16
Nauzet M. Gonzalez  DC         2029-Present            110      18    7.18
Ruben               AML        2015-2019               103       7    6.86
Fausto Rossi        AML        2016-2021               102      18    6.97

Next Season:

Well how do you follow that? I'd settle for retaining the Serie A title and adding at least one of the important cups. I don't think we've got it in us to go unbeaten yet, but with the potential of this team it could well happen in the next three or four years as the likes of Vega, Marquinhos Parana, Marco Antonio, Walter Gonzalez and Nauzet Martinez Gonzalez mature.

The big question for the summer is whether to offer Rocco Signore, Jon Pagola and Filippo Vitone new contracts. I'm leaning towards yes on Vitone, but the other two I'll have to think about. Pagola showed he's still useful with his four outings this season producing two goals, whilst Signore had an average of 7.30 from his four. However, they did just make four each. Tough one.

Forza Messina!

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SnakeXe

SnakeXe

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I was being sarcastic towards Matt. :D

Suuuuuuure. ;)

What a season!

What was the key difference between this season and the last one SnakeXe?

Not much to be perfectly honest! Marquinhos Parana's emergence this season is tempered by Arguelles having a shoddy season by his standards, Vega was slightly less effective but Mikhailov picked up the slack, the squad is probably largely the same quality.

The two we didn't pick up last season were the European Super Cup and Serie A. In the Super Cup we played Rangers instead of Liverpool, so that was far easier, whilst in the league we got around the same points total whilst Inter and Juve regressed. The stars just aligned I guess!

Winning the European Cup on home soil must have been pretty sweet.

Well, I'd hesitate to call the dirty San Siro cabbage patch home, but still :p

So that's Aguero and Petrillo gone now.....

Only Arguelles left of that magical strike trio

And even he's not got long left I don't think... end of an era. Mind you, the three I've got lined up to replace them ain't bad!

A fantastic season there even if you did rely on the luck of penalties for most of your trophies

When you win three finals in one season on penalties it's not luck, it's mental fortitude, experience and technique. :p

Actually I'm only half-joking to be honest, we've got a fantastic record in shootouts over the last 2 and a bit seasons, so it can't be luck that we keep winning them.

Ive lurked here for quite a while but ive decided I should tell you what a fantastic read this is. Keep it up.

Glad you've enjoyed it!

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SnakeXe

SnakeXe

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Thanks guys :)

Quick question for those of you who have long-term saves on 11.3 - are you also having issues with home-grown classifications? My players (such as Juarez) who have achieved home-grown status since I patched up don't appear to count as such in the squad selection screen for the Champions League. This is really starting to irritate as I've had to leave players like Loureiro, Javier, Pagola and Arguelles out of my latest squad in order to have a balanced squad that the selector will accept. Eventually I'm going to have to start buying under-21 players every season to make up the shortfall!

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SnakeXe

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The Squad: 2033

Goalkeepers

Daniel Martin - GK - Argentina - Should be right in his prime now. Him winning us two trophies by saving every penalty he faced in the shootouts last season suggests he is.

Juan Carlos - GK - Spain - Got well into double figures for appearances last year, long may that continue.

Defenders

Jose Alberto Loureiro - DR - Italy - Still very good, but no longer the rampaging force of nature that he was and Aramaio is.

Rocco Signore - D/WBR - Italy - His home-grown status earned him another contract given the bug I'm experiencing.

Javier Aramaio - DR - Spain - First choice ahead of Loureiro, but is almost getting on himself now.

Jose - D/WB/M/AML - Spain - Probably have to move him on soon if Quinonez is to progress properly.

Jose Maria - DL - Spain - Excellent player.

Carlos Quinonez - DL - Spain - Had some fairly ridiculous offers for him over the summer from Standard Liege, rising up to about £12m. Was tempted to sell, but Jose isn't long for top-class football so I'd rather hang on to him.

Rene Kooiman - DC - Holland - No longer the undisputed first choice he once was, but a key squad member nonetheless.

Philipp Egger - DC - Austria - His athleticism is always handy.

Da Silva - DC - Brazil - Does well whenever required.

Nauzet Martinez Gonzalez - DC - Spain - First choice now.

Midfielders

Filippo Vitone - AMRC - Italy - Still an important component of the squad.

Javier - AMR - Spain - His energy is always useful in the latter stages of the season.

Jon Pagola - AMLC - Spain - Decided he deserved another contract. Only useful as a substitute these days, but his cameos can be match-winning.

Walter Gonzalez - AMLC - Argentina - He, Vega and Mikhailov directly contributed over 60 goals last season.

Julian Juarez - AML - Spain - Good backup for Gonzalez. Could have been so much more.

Antonio Gola - DM/MC - Italy - Just about eased Arnautovic out as first choice alongside Misic now.

Bartul Misic - DM/MC - Croatia - Fan's player of the year last year, and one of the first names on the team-sheet.

Nenad Arnautovic - DM/MC - Serbia - His driving runs from midfield are less frequent as he gets older, but still highly effective when used sparingly.

Agustin Lertxundi - DM/MC - Spain - I often forget how good he is. Probably should give him more time in the bigger matches this season.

Fernando - DM/MC - Spain - Has made his debut, but a disappointing loan spell at Fenerbahce concerns.

Jose Luis Vega - M/AMC - Spain - Slightly below par last season by his standards, but still our key man.

Igor Mikhailov - M/AMRC - Russia - Finally announced himself as a right-sided player last season with 20 assists.

Gustavo Sanchez - M/AMC - Argentina - £26.5m was the highest bid for the Argentine this summer. He's good, but that good? I'd still rather keep him though.

Forwards

Joaquin Arguelles - AMC/ST - Spain - Very nearly sold him in the summer, but he's such a legend I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Marco Antonio - AMC/ST - Brazil - Finally usurped Arguelles as top dog towards the end of last season, cracking player.

Marquinhos Parana - ST - Brazil - Terrific debut season last year, his technique and strength make him a great player to bring on if the opposition are defending deep.

Enrique Lala - ST - France - Scored goals for fun at Nice on loan in the second half of last season, with a 1 in 2 record. Needs games, hopefully we'll be playing well enough that I can offer him them here, if not then he may end up on loan again in January.

Leavers

Ricardo Rocha - GK - Portugal - As Juan Carlos and Daniel Martin are pretty immovable in front of him, I decided to sell him on to Benfica for a nice profit plus a slice of his next fee.

Overall

The squad is still excellent quality, as the youngsters step up impressively to replace the elder statesmen. I probably need to bring in another young centreback in the next season or two since Da Silva, Egger and Kooiman are the wrong side of 30. Hopefully Fernando can step up in defensive midfield as well, as Arnautovic's career winds down.

Forza Messina!

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SnakeXe

SnakeXe

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That is a very nice squad you have there! pity about your ageing stars but they still seem good enough to get starts and perform well.

Yeah, this is one thing SI have got spot on this year IMO. If managed correctly they're still very capable and useful parts of the squad :)

**** me, what a season.

That's about how I put it to the girlfriend. She said:

That's nice dear.
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5 now, as Da Silva is a naturalised Italian international. But still a bit pathetic. I seem to get all my prospects from Spain and South America! My academy is getting better every season, although my best prospects each season are still rated just 1.5 stars at the moment.

I think the lack of a reserve league in Italy makes it more difficult to develop youngsters for all teams, might have to investigate the co-ownership lark a little more, as I think a club would probably invest more into progressing a young talent if they own half of him. Making sure I have a nice low buy-back clause, of course ;)

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Blue_magic

Blue_magic

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How long have we had new smilies? :applause:

Much better than the old ones.

Bit random that I've picked your thread to announce this in SnakeXe but I've only just noticed!

Great announcement crouch :eek: <---------- Don't ask me why I used that one

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RavingLibDem

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Just to let you all know not to expect an update until after 19th April - my dissertation deadline :(

Although I'll probably slack off and play a bit of FM anyway :cool:

I know the feeling dude, finished my dissertation two weeks ago, I reccomend getting very drunk afterwards :-D

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SnakeXe

SnakeXe

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I know the feeling dude, finished my dissertation two weeks ago, I reccomend getting very drunk afterwards :-D

2 days left - I am somewhat bricking it! Pounded out 3000 words yesterday though, so at least I'm being productive :)

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I had to do my dissertation 12 years ago. In my first draft I wrote around 20,000 words. I had to cut it in half!

Mine was 21,000 including appendices, 14,812 without. I basically got under the word limit by shifting one entire section (2,500 words) of my research that wasn't 100% relevant to my conclusions into the appendix.

Congrats! Now go get drunk :-)

Tonight I shall be royally ploughed :)

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Season 23: Winter Break Update

Palermo in the Supercoppa were the first order of business, and two goals from Julian Juarez were enough for a 2-1 win to retain the trophy. Besiktas contested the European Super Cup, but couldn't get near us as we won 3-0, a brace from Antonio and an Arguelles penalty taking care of business.

The league campaign started fantastically with a 5-0 destruction of Udinese dispelling any fears of a repeat of our goal-shy efforts of the last two years. Pescara nicked a draw off us before Napoli inflicted our first defeat, but that was to be one of just two before the end of the year (the other against Juve). Since two successive 0-0s against Andria and Catania accounted for our only other dropped points you could say it's been a decent start! We're sat nicely in 2nd place, 1 point behind Palermo but with 2 games in hand.

A really tricky Champions League group this year - Spurs and Atletico Madrid were both solid sides, with FC Basel the mandatory walking 3-points. A sneaky 2-0 win over Atletico in Spain was a great start, but was followed by a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Spurs. We got back into the swing of things with a 5-0 and 3-1 double-header win over Basel. Atletico visited San Filippo next, and were absolutely spanked back to Madrid with their tails between their legs - 7-1! Spurs could still win the group if they beat us at White Hart Lane, so we sent a strong side. Despite going 2-0 down to a header from a corner and a mishit cross, we stormed back to take it 3-2, creating 8 CCCs along the way! Real Madrid are up next, a tricky draw.

And so to the World Club Championship! In the semi-final this year we met Sydney FC, who put up a surprisingly good fight against our backups, but eventually went down 2-0 to goals from Lertxundi and Lala. Internacional should have been a sterner test in the final. They weren't. 4 goals from Marquinhos Parana were added to by Gonzalez and Mikhailov, plus an own goal, for a massive 7-0 thumping!

The Good

  • Igor Mikhailov has been fantastic
  • All the strikers are scoring quite well
  • We're very well positioned in the league

The Bad

  • Arnautovic seems to be a little too far over the hill now
  • Javier and Vitone's poor form means we're over reliant on Mikhailov
  • The successive 0-0s against Andria and Catania were poor

Results 1 - Results 2 - League Table - Squad

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SnakeXe's Messina - Season 23 - 2033/34

Story of the Season:

Serie A - 1st, Champions

A great first half of the season saw just two defeats - narrow 1-0s away to Napoli and Juventus, so we were feeling confident coming into 2034.

We opened the year with a battling 1-1 draw away to fierce rivals Palermo - a result that would later become important! Another 1-1 away to Udinese followed, before we registered our first league win of the year with a 5-1 home destruction of Grosseto. Good form continued until a disappointing 1-0 loss at home to Gubbio, a game where many of our second-choice players completely fluffed their lines.

A great 2-1 win over AC Milan was then sandwiched with bum gravy by a terrible 2-2 draw away at Andria Bat. Although a mid-table side this season, we really should beat clubs of their stature. Winning ways returned briefly, before another shocking result, a 2-1 home loss to Reggina - a side who only escaped relegation by 5 points. A massive 1-0 win over Juve was cancelled out by an unfathomable 2-1 loss to as-good-as-relegated Bologna.

This left us a point behind Palermo with 3 to play. We face Lazio (h), Inter (a), and finally Palermo (h) themselves. With our fellow Sicilians in good form, we probably needed to win all three to take the title.

An excellent performance against Lazio deserved more than the 1-0 win we claimed via a Marco Antonio special, but the points were all that mattered. Inter were, I felt, the biggest test of the three. And so they proved, hammering our goal for 90 mins. We had chances of our own, but in the end a 0-0 draw was probably a good result for us given how the game went.

As Palermo won both their games as well, the two dropped points, leaving us 3 behind, actually didn't make much difference to what we needed to do. Thanks to our 1-1 draw against Palermo earlier in the season, any win would give us the title, anything else would not be good enough - just as it would have been had we beaten Inter.

I sent out the strongest team I could amongst the tatters of our horrendous travails with injury. The normal back 5 was almost all there - Aramaio was injured so Rocco Signore joined the usual Martin - Kooiman - Martinez Gonzalez - Jose Maria wall of strength.

In defensive midfield I had no option but to play a half-fit Lertxundi alongside the inexperienced Fernando - every other player who could play there was injured.

Our regular wingers, Mikhailovic and Gonzalez, were thankfully available, but with neither Sanchez nor Vega available Marco Antonio dropped into the playmaker role, leaving Marquinhos Parana up front.

The game started at a canter, the teams trading long shots and tough tackles. In the 19th minute we got a corner. Marco Antonio whipped it in right-footed. Martinez Gonzalez rose in the 6-yard box to crash a header past the keeper and open the scoring!

All going to plan so far - and that continued as Rene Kooiman nodded in from a set piece to score the 2000th goal of my reign! The perfect player to get it in the perfect match as far as I'm concerned!

Just after half-time we were in dreamland as the youngster Fernando rifled in a 30-yard drive - just his second goal for the club - to put things surely beyond Palermo!

They did well to stem the tide of our attacks, and even created a few chances of their own, but they came to naught. Approaching the full-time whistle Marquinhos Parana turned their centre-back on the edge of the box and finished smartly to give us an unbelievable 4-0 win and the Serie A title!!

Coppa Italia - Lost in Quarter Final (v Palermo)

Having exorcised our demons in this competition with two successive triumphs, I was confident we could add a third. Our backups struggled past lowly Andria in the 1st Round, eventually claiming a 1-0 win in injury time. Palermo were up next in the Quarter Final, and after a hard-fought 2-2 draw in normal time, extra time finished goalless - another penalty shootout.

I was feeling quite confident until Marco Antonio skied our first penalty. Palermo netted their first three, whilst Misic and Sanchez made no mistake for us. Vitone then hit the post, leaving Thiago the chance to win it. Martin pulled off a fantastic save to keep us in it, but Juarez still needed to net his to put the pressure back on Palermo. He didn't.

Supercoppa - Winners

An easier-than-expected 2-1 win over Palermo.

European Super Cup - Winners

Much easier than last year - a 3-0 win over Besiktas where we didn't even break sweat.

Champions League - Lost in Semi Final (v Valencia)

When I left you last time we'd just qualified as group winners for a knockout round tie against Real Madrid. The first leg in the Bernebeu went pretty much to plan, as we nicked a 1-1 draw. The return match was a fiesty affair, with chances at either end and not a few tasty challenges. Luckily for us, our finishing was better, as we scored 4 to their 2.

Not content with one Spanish giant, we drew Barcelona in the Quarter Final. Anticipating a very tricky tie, I set up quite defensively in the home leg, with the emphasis on not conceding an away goal. Fortunately, we managed it. Mikhailov also helped out by grabbing a goal up their end, ably assisted by their centre-half Margheri, who netted an own goal near the final whistle to put us in a great position going to the Nou Camp.

We weren't taking anything for granted though - Barca at home are always formidable. Almost always, anyway.

Vega got himself sent off with a stupid, reckless lunge in the 4th minute. Oh dear.

I don't quite know what happened next, but all I do know is that it ended 5-0. To us. Unbelievable.

Yet another Spanish team waited for us in the Semi Final - this time Valencia. Again we had the home leg first, and I set up in similar fashion to against the Catalans, but this time it did not go to plan. Antonio Gola gave away a stupid penalty just before half time, which Valencia netted, leaving us with an uphill struggle. Marco Antonio eventually got one back in the 71st minute, but we couldn't get another, leaving us needing to score (probably twice) in the Nuevo Mestalla.

Things got off to a very bad start, as Aramaio repeated Gola's trick in giving away a penalty. This time, though, Juan Carlos saved it! Perhaps that was a good omen? Well, it wasn't.

We played really quite terribly, and Valencia opened the scoring after half time from a set piece. I changed as much as I could with the limited personnel at my disposal, but it wasn't enough, as they scored again with 10 minutes to go. Game over. Marco Antonio's goal in the first minute of injury time didn't even give us a chance, as the final whistle was blown seconds after kickoff. Champions League title number 5 would have to wait another year.

Club World Championship - Winners

Two games, 9 goals, 1 easy trophy.

Results 1 - Results 2 - Results 3 - Results 4 - Squad

Transfers - £3.9m Loss

Just a couple of prospects in, Raul at centre-half and Ryzhov in attacking midfield. Ricardo Rocha, third choice keeper, the only significant out at £3m plus clauses.

5 Most Important Players:

5. Jose Luis Vega - AMC - Cracked the 20-assists barrier for the fourth time in five seasons - his broken collarbone was probably the major factor in us failing to win the Champions League, and coming so close to surrendering the Serie A title.

4. Marco Antonio - AMC/ST - After last season's free-for-all scoring frenzy amongst our strikers, the young Brazil international has established himself as top dog. Performing like this makes it easier to reject bids like this.

3. Walter Gonzalez - AMLC - Fabulous player, contributing goals and assists consistently.

2. Igor Mikhailov - AMRC - His finishing is still suspect, he still picks up niggles far too often... but at some point you just have to admire a player when he's on song. And when he is, he's unplayable.

1. Nauzet Martinez Gonzalez - DC - Consistently excellent in the centre of defence, for a defender to have the highest average rating in such an attack-minded team is phenomenal. Contributed 10 of the 27 goals scored by our defenders this season.

History:

Season    League                  Position  Achievements                   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011/12   Serie C2/C              2nd       Serie C Cup Runners Up, Playoff Finalists
2012/13   Serie C2/C              1st       Serie C2/C Champions, Promoted
2013/14   Serie C1/B              5th       Playoff Semi-Finalists
2014/15   Serie C1/B              2nd       Playoff Winners, Promoted
2015/15   Serie B                 12th      
2016/17   Serie B                 2nd       Promoted
2017/18   Serie A                 20th      Relegated
2018/19   Serie B                 2nd       Promoted
2019/20   Serie A                 7th       Qualified for Europa League
2020/21   Serie A                 6th       Qualified for Europa League
2021/22   Serie A                 9th
2022/23   Serie A                 5th       Qualified for Europa League
2023/24   Serie A                 3rd       Qualified for Champions League, Coppa Italia Runners Up
2024/25   Serie A                 4th       Qualified for Champions League, Coppa Italia Runners Up
2025/26   Serie A                 4th       Qualified for Champions League
2026/27   Serie A                 4th       Qualified for Champions League
2027/28   Serie A                 3rd       Qualified for Champions League
2028/29   Serie A                 1st       Serie A Champions, Coppa Italia Runners Up
2029/30   Serie A                 1st       Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners
2030/31   Serie A                 1st       Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners, CWC Winners
2031/32   Serie A                 3rd       Champions League Winners, Coppa Italia Winners, CWC Winners
2032/33   Serie A                 1st       Serie A Champions, Champions League  Winners, Coppa Italia Winners, CWC Winners
2033/34   Serie A                 1st       Serie A Champions, CWC Winners

Messina 100 Club:

A list of those Messina players who make 100 or more appearances for the club under my management.

Name                Pos        Era                    Apps   Goals     AvR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rene Kooiman        DC         2019-Present            609      79    7.17
Filippo Vitone      AMRC       2018-Present            545     119    7.11
Jose A. Loureiro    DR         2020-Present            443       3    7.20
Jon Pagola          AMLC       2019-Present            417      78    7.20
Walter Aguero       AM/ST      2021-2032               414     146    7.06
Victor Amoruso      MC         2018-2029               380      33    6.98
Mauro Quiroga       DM/MC      2019-2031               372      17    6.96
Abel Petrillo       AML/ST     2016-2031               366     153    7.13
Daniel Martin       GK         2027-Present            329       0    7.00
Joaquin Arguelles   AM/ST      2025-Present            277     166    7.28
Nenad Arnautovic    DM/MC      2025-Present            276      28    7.00
Stefano Tulino      D/DM/MRC   2019-2030               274      17    7.12
Jose                D/WB/M/AML 2026-Present            259       4    7.07
Walter Gonzalez     AMLC       2026-Present            254      44    7.13
Philipp Egger       DC         2023-Present            245      36    7.20
Jose Luis Vega      AMC        2028-Present            237      24    7.24
Javier              AMR        2025-Present            227      29    7.00
Mauro Vigorito      GK         2011-2023               217       0    6.82
Da Silva            DC         2027-Present            208      18    7.12
Juan Jose Godoy     GK         2023-2027               207       0    6.96
Patxi Rodriguez     DM/MC      2017-2026               203      14    6.87
Antonio Gola        DM/MC      2028-Present            190       9    7.08
Nenad Lukic         MLC        2021-2026               188      23    6.98
Julian Juarez       AML        2029-Present            187      28    7.11
Mauricio Martin     D/DM/MC    2020-2027               187       9    6.96
Igor Mikhailov      AMRC       2029-Present            183      41    7.19
Nicolas Amodio      DM/MC      2012-2018               183      12    6.93
Remi Thouvenin      DL         2021-2026               181       0    7.06
Antonio Marino      DLC        2013-2021               180       5    6.88
Sergio Real         ST         2024-2030               174      31    6.87
Adem Ljajic         AMRLC      2019-2027               170      26    6.91
Jose Maria          DL         2028-Present            170       1    7.22
Mario Ortiz         DM/MC      2013-2021               169       5    6.83
Celso               DM/MC      2025-2030               169       9    6.95
Nicola Ravaglia     GK         2018-2025               164       0    6.90
Enzo Scorza         ST         2012-2018               159      82    7.24
Nicolas             D/DM/MC    2015-2022               159       5    6.85
Rocco Signore       D/WBR      2022-Present            151       0    7.06
Rosario Licata      D/WB/ML    2011-2016               146       3    6.92
Bartul Misic        DM/MC      2030-Present            145      11    7.18
Francesc Alcalde    AMLC/ST    2014-2020               145      45    6.98
Nauzet M. Gonzalez  DC         2029-Present            144      28    7.24
Luca Tedeschi       DC         2012-2018               139       8    7.09
Marco Antonio       AMC/ST     2030-Present            135      45    7.06
Mogi                DRC        2017-2022               134       0    6.76
Diego Farias        AMRLC      2015-2019               126      19    6.90
Gonzalo Valdez      ST         2022-2026               126      34    6.87
Davide Testa        AM/ST      2011-2015               121      40    7.04
Yohann Sallaberry   AMLC       2021-2028               117      10    7.01
Ruben               AML        2015-2019               103       7    6.86
Javier Aramaio      DR         2031-Present            103       1    7.26
Fausto Rossi        AML        2016-2021               102      18    6.97

Next Season:

Last season I said I wanted Serie A and at least one important cup - 1 out of 2 isn't bad, but I'd definitely like to regain either the Coppa Italia or Champions League this season. I do think the squad needs some improvement now - although I couldn't seriously have planned for 5 of my first 6 choice central midfielders being injured at once, there are serious gaps in the squad. A new right winger needs finding, and I could do with another quick striker - Marquinhos Parana is many things, but quick he is not.

Forza Messina!

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