[FM12] Taking Liechtenstein to the Top

[Scarman]

FC Ruggell April - May/End of Season Review

April 2027

With relegation all but assured for Ruggell, the Liechtenstein club vowed t give it's fans some enjoyment out of the season by playing entertaining football for the remainder of the season. It almost began perfectly, as they took the lead early against Sion, before succumbing to a fight back and losing 2-1. However, they managed a draw out of their next game, 1-1 to Aarau, before losing two straight games by 2 goals to nil, firstly to Young Boys and then to St Gallen. However, the club would pick up their 3rd win of the season with a 2-0 victory over Luzern. The joy from this game was short lived, however, as Zurich battered them in the next game to win 3-0. With a 14 point buffer between Luzern and last placed Ruggell, one more loss would confirm what everyone knew was inevitable, and Basel put the final nail in the coffin with a 3-1 win, confirming Ruggell's relegation from the Super League.

May 2027

With relegation confirmed, the Liechtenstein continued to battle on to try and pick up some more points from the season. They almost got a shock win over St Gallen. After conceding 2 early goals, the Liechtenstein club fought back to lead 3-2 just after the break, before St Gallen scored another 2 to win an entertaining match 4-3. Xamax would continue the string of losses by defeating the club 2-1. However, Ruggell would be able to pick up points from the remaining games, holding Grasshoppers to a 1-1 draw, and Aarau to 2-2.

As I completely expected at the beginning of the season, relegation! We were much better in the second half of the season, but all in all, we were outclassed on a regular basis. The club has retained it's professional status, so hopefully that and the experience that comes with playing at the highest level available will prove invaluable next time we come back up.

Squad | Club Info | Facilities | Finances | Transfers

Finances are in decent shape after all the leagues I organised. Will take a massive hit this coming season though, as I won't get the 4.6mil of TV revenue.

Youth Prospects

Arvid Keller (YP6) - Spent most of the season injured, and as such declined massively. When he played, he was exposed a lot. Really isn't cut out for this level, but the best we have at the moment.

Sebastian Schneider (YP7) - For a team that finished bottom, Schneider played his heart out. I'm convinced if the other players on the team played with anywhere near the amount of passion he played with, we would have survived. Finished 4th in the leagues goal scoring charts, which is great considering he missed 6 of the last 7 games through injury. Who knows where he would have come in that department is he played.

Florian Fehr (YP8) - Oh wait! Fehr did play with the same amount of passion. For me, he was our player of the season (Despite that honour going to Jung this year, finally breaking Schneider hold on the title of Fans' Player of the Year). He was simply fantastic in the midfield, and chipped in a few vital goals as well.

Jochen Lang (YP9) - His worst season so far, simply couldn't cut it at that level.

Kai Arndt (YP10) - Started off pretty poorly, but was starting to find form when he tore his hamstring. Came back later in the season and by then it was too late for him to make a difference.

Ernst Jung (YP11) - Probably one of my better players, but that isn't really saying much. Not his best season by a long shot. Still, I believe he has the ability to make it in the Super League.

Maximilian Reichel (YP12) - Played alright, and chipped in 6 assists, but ultimately was exposed time and time again in defence.

Stefan Ziereis (YP13) - Saw some pretty big improvement in his attributes early in the season, but then got injured on a regular basis. Generally only about a week at a time, but it was enough to stifil form and progress.

Sebastian Zimmermann (YP14) - Played better towards the end of the season, and ultimately improved a fair bit.

Karl-Heinz Heinrichs (YP15) - Had a decent season, but not up to his usual standards. Another player that should have made the step up but didn't deliver this season.

Dennis Hofmann (YP16) - He was alright, but sometimes a bit of a liability. His physical attributes aren't the best and because of that he was found out in the Super League.

Phillipp Bender (YP17) - Had a pretty poor season, but it will only serve to inspire him to improve. Looking like he will be a key player for years to come.

Oliver Hopp (YP18) - Didn't play badly in the games he played, but got sent off in his 3rd appearance! A bit of a mixed start for the lad.

Alfons Wolff (YP19) - Add another to the growing list of strikers that score in their run on début.

Last bits of news, Monaco from France randomly announced a link with us at the season close. Also, this season we play Drogheda Utd from Ireland in the 2nd Qualifying Round of the Europa League.

[center][color="#008000"]FC Ruggell Season by Season[/color]

|Season    | Tier | Position |  Swiss Cup  | What Happened?     |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
|2011/12   |  6th |   1st    |  1st Round  |  Promotion!        |
|2012/13   |  5th |   1st    |  4th Round  |  Promotion!!       |
|2013/14   |  4th |   5th    |  4th Round  |  Nothing           |
|2014/15   |  4th |   7th    |  1st Round  |  Nothing           |
|2015/16   |  4th |   3rd    |  1st Round  |  Nothing           |
|2016/17   |  4th |   2nd    |  5th Round  |  Nothing           |
|2017/18   |  4th |   2nd    |  6th Round  |  Nothing           |
|2018/19   |  4th |   1st    |  1st Round  |  Promotion!!!      |
|2019/20   |  3rd |   5th    |  5th Round  |  IAC Semis         |
|2020/21   |  3rd |   5th    |  4th Round  |  Consolidation     |
|2021/22   |  3rd |   2nd    |  5th Round  |  IAC Semis         |
|2022/23   |  3rd |   2nd    |  Runners Up |  Swiss Cup Finalist|
|2023/24   |  3rd |   3rd    |  5th Round  |  Nothing but draws |
|2024/25   |  3rd |   1st    |  5th Round  |  Promotion!!!!     |
|2025/26   |  2nd |   1st    |  3rd Round  |  Promotion!!!!!    |
|2026/27   |  1st |  10th    |  Last 8     |  Relegation      |
-----------------------------------------------------------------[/center]

[center][color="#008000"]FC Ruggell's European Adventures[/color]

| Season |  Europa League  | Club Co-Efficent | Club Ranking | Nation Co-fficent |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2026/27| 3rd Qual. Round |    8.259         |    214th     |      11.000       |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/center]

[color="#FF0000"][size=4][b]European Travels[/b][/size][/color]

[b]2026/27[/b]

FBK Kaunas; Kaunas - Lithuania (Won 1-0; Won 2-0 on agg)
C.S. Maritimo; Funchal - Portugal (Drew 0-0; Lost 0-1 on agg)

Finally, I leave you with the current standing in Group A of the qualification for Euro 2028.

If only we beat Iceland in our first game! Granted, we probably won't beat either Wales or Germany as they are 13th and 4th in the world respectively. Still puts us in great stead for our next lot of qualification. Maybe World Cup 2030 is a possibility?

[Scarman]

Ouch, tough lesson.

Yeah, this season has been incredibly tough. Hopefully it will improve us for next time

[deltablue]

The national side are doing alright though.

[Scarman]

They are doing pretty good, up to 88th in the world! Something clicked the past couple of matches, the team is starting to flow better now. The 8-1 loss to Germany still stings a lot though.

[cerud]

You have Liechtenstein up to 88th? Wow, not bad!

[Scarman]

You have Liechtenstein up to 88th? Wow, not bad!

Cheers cerud! Winning three consectutive games against teams higher than us pushed us up. I believe Poland were 52nd in the world when we beat them, and Finland and Iceland were in the 110's (can't remember the exact position)

I was just looking at my players information pages, and I found something that is pretty awesome if it means what I think it means.. Sebastian Zimmermann has been labelled a "promising striker". Doesn't that mean he has massive potential, or does it just mean he's close on fulfilling his potential already? Here is his current attribute page.

[ri916]

Cheers cerud! Winning three consectutive games against teams higher than us pushed us up. I believe Poland were 52nd in the world when we beat them, and Finland and Iceland were in the 110's (can't remember the exact position)

I was just looking at my players information pages, and I found something that is pretty awesome if it means what I think it means.. Sebastian Zimmermann has been labelled a "promising striker". Doesn't that mean he has massive potential, or does it just mean he's close on fulfilling his potential already? Here is his current attribute page.

I'm guessing it means he has massive potential from those stats. Get him training his off the ball, dribbling and composure and you will have a world beater right there!

[Thebaker]

I was just looking at my players information pages, and I found something that is pretty awesome if it means what I think it means.. Sebastian Zimmermann has been labelled a "promising striker". Doesn't that mean he has massive potential, or does it just mean he's close on fulfilling his potential already? Here is his current attribute page.

I think promising means he has a PA of at least 140 and is under 21 which is still very big in terms of swiss football i would think. Mind you players are only described as promising if the club rep is high enough so some of your other players could have been promising in previous years.

[Scarman]

I'm guessing it means he has massive potential from those stats. Get him training his off the ball, dribbling and composure and you will have a world beater right there!

A Liechtenstein world beater, who would have thoguht it? Even if he doesn't become the next Messi, I'm sure Real Madrid or someone would sign him for the novelty if he existed in real life haha

I think promising means he has a PA of at least 140 and is under 21 which is still very big in terms of swiss football i would think. Mind you players are only described as promising if the club rep is high enough so some of your other players could have been promising in previous years.

That's around Championship quality, right? If so, then yeah that would be around the best players in the Super League! I hope he can fulfil his potential, although I don't want another team to come through and sign him... It's a hard choice sometimes.

Anyway, check out this goal he just scored for us against Lausanne. We ended up winning the game 4-0... and they are meant to be title challengers? He has been sensational so far this season, scoring 11 goals in 8 games! In fact, the only game he didn't score in was the only game we haven't won yet. He has 2 hat tricks, including one against a team in the Europa League that was pretty damn special (I still don't quite believe we knocked them out!). Anyway, I'll put an update up about Ruggell's Europa League adventure when I lose to FC Twente in the 4th Qualifying Round

[video=youtube;aT6e0AIO6CI]

Something about the name Sebastian is overpowered in my game

[Thebaker]

That's around Championship quality, right? If so, then yeah that would be around the best players in the Super League! I hope he can fulfil his potential, although I don't want another team to come through and sign him... It's a hard choice sometimes.

i think top end championship level and that would be the minimum, could be messi level

Looking at him he would among the best in the league as his stats show his ca must be pretty high already as he has decent pace and acceleration which take up a lot.

Really good work with the national side, has it been down to schneider and zimmerman?

[Scarman]

FC Ruggell's Not-So-Short-Lived Europa League Campaign

2nd Qualifying Round

Drogheda United 2 - 5 FC Ruggell

This year our first opponents in the competition would be Drogheda United of Ireland. The game was fantastic, with a 5-2 away win virtually securing the tie for us. Ziereis scored a hat trick, with Zimmermann and Hofmann also chipping in goals.

FC Ruggell 1 - 0 Drogheda United

The home win wasn't as great as the away game, but it was enough. A lone Zimmermann goal saw us win 1-0, and 6-2 on aggregate. Our opponents in the next round would be Olympiakos from Greece, and I figured it was going to be another exit from the competition.

FC Ruggell progress 6-2 on aggregate.

3rd Qualifying Round

Olympiakos 1 - 2 FC Ruggell

We travelled to Greece in the first game, expecting a hammering by arguably the nations most famous side. Instead, an even game played out. Ziereis and Zimmermann both scored to give us an amazing 2-1 away win. Suddenly, the Greek giants didn't scare me as much.

FC Ruggell 6 - 4 Olympiakos

All that confidence I had of progressing went out the window in the first 6 minutes of the return game. They went up 2-0 (though Schneider did miss a penalty) and looked like running away with it. It looked as though Olympiakos weren't content of falling into our play style this time, and came out with a point to prove. Instead of accepting defeat though, I threw on Zimmermann to join Ziereis and Schneider up front, and suddenly it was game on. Schneider got back a goal n the half hour, and then disaster struck for Olympiakos when defender Charalabos Komiotis was sent off for elbowing Zimmermann. Zimmermann recovered from the rough treatment to score against a 10 man Olympiakos, and we went into the break at 2-2.

Olympiakos weren't done though, and came out after the break fired up to score and make it 3-2. That would be enough for the Greek side to go through on away goal. 3 minutes later, though Ziereis cancelled out the advantage to give us the lead. It stayed that way for a long time, until the 73rd minute, were Olympiakos scored to give them the away goals lead again. But Schneider would score to make it 4-4, before Zimmermann scored 2 late goals to put the game out of reach, and to net his 2nd hat trick of the campaign.

I think if their defender hadn't had a Joey Barton moment, they would have won. We simply exploited the extra space made available. Even though they were able to fight back and lead a few times, it was always going to tell in the end. It simply was an unbelievable game. Seriously, I don't believe it. Maybe the Super League was more beneficial us than I imagined. Also, in real life if a player from a lowly club scored a hat trick against one of the greatest Greek clubs of all time, wouldn't you think that would raise interest in the lad? I'm pretty sure that Panathinaikos and AEK would come looking for his signature so he could replicate that for them. Or maybe Olympiakos themselves would come for him. Or maybe a lower team from a bigger league would suddenly be interested, and want to develop him themselves.

Anyway, here are the 10 goals

[video=youtube;GAGqkiU-E9c]

FC Ruggell progress 8-3 on aggregate.

4th Qualifying Round

FC Twente 1 - 4 FC Ruggell

I knew our luck would have to run out eventually, and when we drew FC Twente in the 4th round, I figured this was the time. The first half was a cagey opening, with the home side looking to have a slight advantage. Our woes were compounded by Arvid Keller being sent off for a terrible sliding challenge. The game didn't open up until the second half though, where Twente opened the scoring. However, Zimmermann sparked an immense comeback, scoring 2 and setting one up for an amazing 4-1 win! I don't know how we keep doing it, Olympaikos I could somewhat understand because of half their team being greyed-out players. But Twente? Most of their team were actual regens! I don't know how we did it.

FC Ruggell 2 - 1 FC Twente

I was confident of going through, and that confidence just rose when Twente scored an own goal. However, they equalised before the break, leaving me apprehensive about whenever or not they would fight back. However, Schneider scored after the break to give us an unassailable lead, and try as they might, Twente couldn't break us down again.

FC Ruggell progress 6-2 on aggregate.

There's our group. INteresting that we play Zurich, one of the Swiss teams we have a better record against. However, looking through Trabzonspor and Standard's line up, there is too much quality there for me to even think about gaining a point. Unlike TOlympaikos, whose team was primaly made up of greyed-out players, and FC Twente's, who had a couple of them, these two teams have nothing but good looking regens. To be honest though, I don't care about gaining points. This enough is an acheivement that will go down in the history of the club. The last time a Liechtenstein club made the group stages of the Europa League was Vaduz back in the 2021/22 season (they were also in the Challenge League). Still actually can't believe those games.

Also, given our position on the World Rankings, Liechtenstein were allotted 4th seed in the World Cup qualification groups.

Pretty good group if I say so myself! Kazakhstan, Georgia and Estonia should be easily beaten, while Turkey should dominate the group. Just down to whether or not we can beat Switzerland, and maybe we can draw an easy team in the 2nd place playoffs.

Lastly, just wow. I honestly don't know how that just happened. Perhaps spending a lot of time reading Cleon's posts in the tactic forum paid off and I understand how to read the game and make the right tactical choices better now!

[Scarman]

i think top end championship level and that would be the minimum, could be messi level

Looking at him he would among the best in the league as his stats show his ca must be pretty high already as he has decent pace and acceleration which take up a lot.

Really good work with the national side, has it been down to schneider and zimmerman?

No actually, Zimmermann only just made his debut against Latvia in a friendly. He did score on in the match though. It's mainly been done to Schneider and a striker from Vaduz whose has been immense. Hendrik Bachmann is his name, a 23 year old regen who is already the captain of the national side.

[deltablue]

Going well in Europe.

[Cleon]

I'm taking the credit

[cerud]

It's great to see both of your squads doing well! Congrats.

[Scarman]

Going well in Europe.

Bit of an understatement

It's great to see both of your squads doing well! Congrats.

Cheers cerud!

I'm taking the credit

Your stuff has been unbelievably helpful mate! I had an idea of how to implement tactic before this save, but after reading your stuff it has just grown, I think I can read the game better now, thanks

Just thought you might be interested in this example from my latest game away to Standard Liege, I noticed early that my DML was being dragged out of position a fair bit (Shown Here, circled in red, the x shows where I would have liked him to be). Luckily nothing came of that, but from there, I reduced his closing down to the first notch of "Own Area" and reduced his mentality a bit for good measure. From there, Standard couldn't break us down. They still completely outplayed us, but they couldn't score. In fact, they had 11 shots and no clear cut chances. The move also worked for us in attack as well, with Fehr starting the move that led to the only goal of the game.

Fig 1 - From the though in, you can see Fehr in complete open space. Circled in black in the defender I believe should have been marking him, and probably would have if he was up the field a bit more (not up as far as usual, probably down to the mentality change). Cirlced in white is my CMR, who makes a great run when Fehr receives the ball. Fehr receiving the ball draws their circled defender out, allowing the rest of the play to take place.

Fig2 - Here Hofmann has made the run, and Black has been drawn out. Green, the guy orignally marking Hofmann is also drawn to the ball (pretty poor discipline there) instead of maintaining his marking. The yellow circle represents the space left by Black being drawn out to confront Fehr, and that's where Heinrichs is going to move to.

Fig 3 - Black and Green and again drawn to the ball and neglecting the other threats. Hofmann in white could theoretically make the run into the box (He doesn't end up doing so). However, Zimmermann could make the purple run. This puts Standard's defender in two minds - either way, it will be a clear chance for us, the defender marking Zimmermann is on the wrong side to effectively challenge from that distance. IN the end, Blue runs out at Heinrichs, who slips the ball in behind for Zimmermann to be one-on-one with the goalie.

Fig 4 - From there, it's a simple finish. Another remarkable win for us in our first Europa League group game.

Still basically learning to respond to the game, but I really liked how this one played out for me.

[Scarman]

FC Ruggell PreSeason/July - September Review

PreSeason 2027

Fixtures

July 2027

As already shown, Ruggell began the year in spectacular fashion in the Europa League, while also picking apart Schaffhausen in the league 5-1. A total of 13 goals in 4 matches set the tone for a remarkable opening to the season.

August 2027

Ruggell suffered a small hiccup against Witherthur, drawing 2-2, before rampaging through August. Notable wins include 6-4 over Olympiakos, 4-1 over FC twente and 4-0 over Lausanne. A massive 25 goals were scored in 8 games, shooting Ruggell into the favourites for automatic promotion. They would just have to maintain the rage.

September 2027

September began by thrashing Leventina in the cup, before suffering another draw, this time to Servette FC 3-3. An international break followed, and the players seemed to come back focused despite being thrashed by Wales and Germany. Standard were beaten 1-0 in Belgium, but it came at the price of Heinrich for 2 weeks and Breu for 1. It proved telling, as they went down to Brienne in 3-2 in the league in Ruggell's first loss of the season, before St Gallen knocked them out of the cup in an even game, 1-0 the score there. Tuggenn also handed them another blow, holding them to a scoreless draw. The month ended in spectacular fashion though, keeping their perfect record in the Europa League by beating Zurich 1-0.

Europa League Group

Well, something had to suffer for our Europe form to continue, and it looks like our league form has taken a massive hit due to fatigue. Still early days and we've got two games in hand against the bottom clubs, but really want to be promoted this season. I think if I did we would survive next year. Zimmermann and Schneider have been lethal, and Ziereis as well before he was injured. Zimmermann has 20 goals in 19 games, Schneider has 11 in 19 and Ziereis has 7 in 8. I think a reason why our form took a hit that month was due to my keeper Breu and YP15 Heinrichs getting injured against Standard. Breu returned against Tuggenn, and we didn't concede, and then Heinrichs returned against Zurich, and we won. I suppose it helps that Heinrichs has 11 assists in 13 games.

Hopefully we will see improve now that the hectic opening months are over.

[arinceo]

It's a shame you've dropped points in the league, but honestly I'd pick an extended run in the Europa League over a title challenge. However I guess Vaduz being promoted would kill your chances of European football for a couple years, so get your act together domestically

[Scarman]

It's a shame you've dropped points in the league, but honestly I'd pick an extended run in the Europa League over a title challenge. However I guess Vaduz being promoted would kill your chances of European football for a couple years, so get your act together domestically

That's what I'm worried about, I don't want to miss out on Europe for seasons minimum! That would be terrible, so I just gotta beat Vaduz

[video=youtube;fesCtR9Uv44]

Have to feel sorry for the Vaduz keeper here, cost them a point! Well, 6 points behind with 2 games in hand against the bottom clubs now!

Bad news from that game though, Schneider twisted his ankle and is out for 5 weeks Good news is that Ziereis is almost back from his injury!

[Austinho]

Just read through all of this in one sitting and it's one of the most exciting threads I have read keep on going with this, as I like to read about other people succeeding because I never can in FM. How do you sort out your tactics so well?

[Scarman]

Just read through all of this in one sitting and it's one of the most exciting threads I have read keep on going with this, as I like to read about other people succeeding because I never can in FM. How do you sort out your tactics so well?

Thanks Austinho, really appreciate the praise My tactic has basically been built around the side I've been given - I've never received great wingers in my youth intakes, so it's been narrow since my 4 seasons, with the full backs acting as wingers. Currently got the formation set up as a 4-2-2-2. Basically the 4 at the back keep a hold of possession, with the full backs springing forwards when there's a gap. They along with my 2 DM provide stability, and as such have defensive mentalities and rarely run forward.

The two central mids are slightly different. My MCR acts as a link between the defense and the strikers, while my MCl is best described as a pivot, receiving the ball regularly to pass it around.

My two strikers are set up as Target Man and Poacher with Attacking aduties. However, they aren't true Target Man and Poacher, I just find the basic instructions are close to how I want them to play. Schneider makes the runs of a poacher and has greater creative freedom as a target man, while Zimmermann tracks back a bit in defence, but rarely helps in the lead up play of an attack, except maybe receiving the ball at the start and passing it on to either of my midfielders.

But It all comes down to the team you build, finding out your strong points and playing to them.. Read Cleon's posts in the Tactic's forum, they really helped me

And don't worry, I'm going to continue with this until FM13 comes out at least, maybe longer depending on how much that game tempts me into buying

[Austinho]

Thank you very much for your advice. After reading some of Cleon's posts I am already enlightened and it's great to see how you personally chose your tactics. Thanks very much! Keep up the good work

[cerud]

Still a lot of time to move back up the table. You're close point-wise. Congrats on the Europa League too!

[B.W.G]

A lot to catch up on,congrats on promotion and the performances with Liechtenstein (good luck in the group!).A relegation is never good to see but hope you can come back from it stronger then ever and hopefully Vaduz will mess up this season.

[TheGreatTraveler]

Not your best season dometically. Have Vaduz ever been promoted?

[deltablue]

Still can pounce for promotion.

[Scarman]

Still a lot of time to move back up the table. You're close point-wise. Congrats on the Europa League too!

Cheers cerud! It realy just looked like a lot because we still had catch up games, but hopefully we'll win promotion!

A lot to catch up on,congrats on promotion and the performances with Liechtenstein (good luck in the group!).A relegation is never good to see but hope you can come back from it stronger then ever and hopefully Vaduz will mess up this season.

Cheers! Vaduz have messed up a fair bit now thankfully, so we're back in prime position.

Not your best season dometically. Have Vaduz ever been promoted?

Hang on, 1 loss in 8 games is bad? But in all seriousness, we should have been better in a lot of games. Last time Vaduz were in the Super League was the 2019/20 season - back in our first season in the 3rd tier!

Still can pounce for promotion.

Cheers deltablue! When you factor in us winning the games in hand, it's a really close table.

[Scarman]

FC Ruggell October - December Review

October 2027

Ruggell were 9 points off top spot coming into October, and needed to pick up maximum points from the month to regain top spot. Things started perfectly though, as the defeated Vaduz 2-1, before destroying Schotz 3-0. The wins came to a halt though, as Kriens held them to a 0-0 draw. This was followed by the clubs 3rd game in the groups of the Europa League. Trabzonspor were too good though, running out 3-1 victors. Ruggell returned to the league with vengeance though, defeating Breitenrain 2-1 and Stade Nyonnais 3-1 To put them back on top of the league.

November 2027

November started with a trip to Turkey for the Liechtenstein club, and again Ruggell were second best, going down 1-0. The club looked tired in their next performance, with Eschen/Mauren holding them to a home 1-1 draw. Ruggell would rediscover their form though, picking up three consecutive 2-1 victories to finish the month 5 points clear at the top of the league, defeating Lugano, Schaffhausen and Winterthur.

December 2027

Ruggell knew if they were to progress from the groups stages of the Europa League, they would need to win their next games. However,, Standard proved too much for the Liechtenstein club, running out 2-0 winners. Ruggell continued their dominance in the league though, defeating Breitenrain and Yverdon 2-0. The year ended for them in the Europa League, needing both maximum points from Zurich and for Trabzonspor not to lose to Standard to go through to the groups. Ruggell got neither though, as they failed to even get a shot at goal all game, as Zurich won 2-0, while Standard also defeated Trabzonspor. In the end, Zurich qualified in top position, with Trabzonspor going through as well.

So we can't have the best of both worlds! Finished in 4th place in our Europa League group, but it as an unbelievable achievement to come as close as we did! Back in the saddle in the league though, looking strong for promotion. Zimmermann already has 33 goals in the season, so barring a major injury, will eclipse Schneider's record of 38 goals in a season (but to be fair, Zimmermann has played far more games)

[Scarman]

Liechtenstein 2027 Review

Senior

Rankings | Fixtures | Qualification Group

Easily the nations best ever performance over a year, going to a record high of 84th in the rankings! Finishing 4th in the groups was also a fantastic achievement, though the matches against Wales and Germany show we are still a long way from the best teams in the world.

U21

Manager | Fixtures | Qualification Group

Not even a single win. Not that I can blame them though, I keep poaching all the top talent for the senior side I'd say that it will take a few seasons for the youth sides to be where they were a few years back, challenging for top spot in groups.

U19

Manager | Fixtures | Qualification Group

A few wins against low class opposition, but same as above for the U19's, it will be a few years before things get back on track for them.

[center]Liechtenstein World Rankings

|Season | Points | Previous Rank | Current Rank | Difference |
|------------------------------------------------------------|
|Start  |   -    |       -       |     119      |     -      |
|2011   |  184   |      119      |     145      |   -26      |
|2012   |  103   |      145      |     185      |   -40      |
|2013   |  161   |      185      |     137      |   +48      |
|2014   |   72   |      137      |     187      |   -50      |
|2015   |   49   |      187      |     202      |   -15      |
|2016   |   66   |      202      |     197      |   +5       |
|2017   |   26   |      197      |     206      |   -9       |
|2018   |   15   |      206      |     208      |   -2       |
|2019   |   37   |      208      |     205      |   +3       |
|2020   |   15   |      205      |     208      |   -3       |
|2021   |   34   |      208      |     203      |   +5       |
|2022   |   27   |      203      |     204      |   -1       |
|2023   |   45   |      204      |     204      |    0       |
|2024   |   65   |      204      |     198      |   +6       |
|2025   |   65   |      198      |     195      |   +3       |
|2026   |   98   |      195      |     177      |   +18      |
|2027   |  334   |      177      |      91      |   +86      |
--------------------------------------------------------------[/center]

[cerud]

Now that the games are matched up and even, you've really pulled ahead! Too bad on the Europa League, but great to see promotion as a real possibility again.

[Thebaker]

Good to see back on top of the league and competition from other liechtenstein clubs.

Surprised to see Zurich in your Europa group since they are both counted as swiss in the game, in fact there no reason i can see why you can't be entered in the CL should you reach it, i'm not sure how the game knew you were liechtenstein to assign you the europa spot :confused:

[Scarman]

Now that the games are matched up and even, you've really pulled ahead! Too bad on the Europa League, but great to see promotion as a real possibility again.

Cheers cerud! I would have liked to keep going in Europe, but it just got too much for the team unfortunately.

Good to see back on top of the league and competition from other liechtenstein clubs.

Surprised to see Zurich in your Europa group since they are both counted as swiss in the game, in fact there no reason i can see why you can't be entered in the CL should you reach it, i'm not sure how the game knew you were liechtenstein to assign you the europa spot :confused:

I'm still hoping that if I finish in the top two in the Super League I will qualify as a Swiss team, and the second best Liechtenstein club will get the Europa League spot. I can only assume that the game knew because our Stadium is located in Liechtenstein.

[B.W.G]

Going well in the league,shame about the Europa league but hopefully it has bought some extra income in.As for Lichtenstein,Euro 2044 winners....calling it now

[deltablue]

Top work getting back up to speed in the league.

[TheGreatTraveler]

Great Job, promotion is certainly yours if you don't have a Man Utd-esque and to the season!

[Scarman]

Going well in the league,shame about the Europa league but hopefully it has bought some extra income in.As for Lichtenstein,Euro 2044 winners....calling it now

2044? Please, I'd say 2040 at the latest

Top work getting back up to speed in the league.

Cheers, it seemed that the fixture congestion was just too much for us at the beginning of the season.

Great Job, promotion is certainly yours if you don't have a Man Utd-esque and to the season!

I don't plan on it, but you never know. Makes it more interesting now that our closest rivals are now Eschen/Mauren, so it could be a case of two Liechtenstein clubs being promoted this season. That would be something special!

[Scarman]

FC Ruggell 2028 Youth Intake

Wolfgang Herzog - YP20 (Coach Report) - Decent looking defender, though would have preferred him to be more a right back than a central back.

Bernd Bender - YP21 (Coach Report) - Another decent looking striker, but I don't really need him at this stage. Really need full backs, not strikers! Still looks like he could develop into something special.

Georg Schweinsteiger - Primarily a winger, so might not feature much, but still has decent potential so I'll keep him around for the time being.

Youth Candidates 4 - 0 Ruggell U18's

[Scarman]

FC Ruggell MidSeason/February - March Review

MidSeason 2028

Fixtures

Standard midseason to gain some much needed money, as we are currently losing about 500k a month! Some promising results in there for next season, but I'm still not sure if we'd be good enough to survive next season as well

February 2028

Ruggell resumed the season with a game to Lausanne. Schneider managed to break his 13 hour goal drought, but it wasn't enough as the Liechtenstein club were held to a 1-1 draw.

March 2028

Ruggell got back into their winning ways with a home game to Schotz. Zimmermann brought his goal tally to 35 for the season as Ruggell fired home for a 3-1 victory. Next game was a bit more difficult though, as Le Mont LS pressured Ruggell off the ball enough to hold to another 1-1 draw. The Liechtenstein club did manage to exact revenge on Bienne, the only club to have beaten them in the league this season, winning 2-0 in front of their home fans.

We dropped a point in our advantage, but we are still holding a strong lead. Next few games will be tough, as we play Servette and Vaduz away from home. That is followed by Tuggen and Kriens at home, before travelling to Lugano. Stade Nyonnais will be our final opponents at the Gemeindesportplatz before we move to Ruggell Stadium next season, before rounding out the season away to Eschen/Mauren. If we drop enough points, that could potentially be the game that decides the title. I'm hoping to take out the title early though.

[deltablue]

I think you'll take it comfortably.

[TheGreatTraveler]

Here's hoping for you to have no pressure in your last game in your stadium!!

[Scarman]

I think you'll take it comfortably.

Here's hoping for you to have no pressure in your last game in your stadium!!

Cheers fellas!

The Ruggell Review

10th May 2028

Promising striker Sebastian Zimmermann has signed a 2 year extension to his contract with Ruggell Football Club. The highly rated teen striker is believed to be earning a salary of $1,400 a week, resulting in a yearly wage of $71,000, running until 2033. A statement issued by the club read "We are pleased to retain Sebastian's services until 2033. We believe that he will attract the attention of more reputable clubs in the coming years, so it is in the clubs best interest to keep him on a long term deal."

In other news, it is believed that talks to extend the contract of Ruggell midfielder Karl-Heinz Heinrichs have broken down after the clubs management failed to reach an agreed wage with his agent. Heinrichs still has another 3 seasons remaining on his contract at the Liechtenstein club, but has been attracting the interest of Super League club Aarau in recent weeks.

Idea stolen from Rancer

[cerud]

Still a decent point lead Should be fine.

[Scarman]

FC Ruggell April - May/End of Season Review

April 2028

Ruggell took a 6 point lead into the end of the season, looking to win promotion with time to spare before the season was up. That lead was cut to 4 following a 1-1 draw with Servette. However, they retook a 6 point lead by thrashing Vaduz 4-2, before moving 9 points clear with a 1-0 win over Tuggen. However, Kriens inflicted Ruggell's first home loss of the season and reduced their lead to 8, moving into the final month of the season.

May 2028

Ruggell only needed one more win to secure top spot. However, they were denied winning the trophy on their own terms, with Eschen/Mauren slipping up and losing giving Ruggell the title before they had even kicked a ball for the month. This, coupled with the loss the previous week, took the wind out of Liechtenstein club's sails, as they limped into the Super League with two 0-0 draws and a 1-0 loss.

Our chances of survival next season greatly increased with Servette's promotion! I'm hoping to get 9th place at least, maybe even 8th to avoid the playout. Anyway, fantastic season and I'm hoping to back up with survival next season.

Squad | Club Info | Facilities | Finances | Transfers

Not our best financial situation, only kept afloat due to the 1.3mil prize money for winning the league. Hopefully it will improve next season because of the new stadium.

Youth Prospects

Arvid Keller (YP6) - Not up to scratch any more, only got games due to injuries.

Sebastian Schneider (YP7) - Not as many goals this season, but that was due to him taking a step back and setting more up for the new gaurd, Zimmermann.

Florian Fehr (YP8) - Another fantastic season in the middle of the pitch.

Jochen Lang (YP9) - Played most of the season on the flank. Probably not Super League quality, but still decent enough.

Kai Arndt (YP10) - Leads from the back. Not our best central back any more, but still vital to the squad.

Ernst Jung (YP11) - Fantastic stuff by the defensive mid.

Maximilian Reichel (YP12) - Was playing fantastically, with 10 assists, before injuring himself in the middle of the season to put him out for the rest of the season.

Stefan Ziereis (YP13) - With Zimmermann and Schneider holding the two striker spots, Ziereis only got the rare start. Still played pretty well and got 12 goals in total.

Sebastian Zimmermann (YP14) - Fantastic season, with 37 goals. Didn't break any of Schneider's records, but probably would have if he didn't get injured before the final 4 games.

Karl-Heinz Heinrichs (YP15) - 18 assists shows how valuable he was.

Dennis Hofmann (YP16) - 11 assists and played really well in the centre of the pitch.

Phillipp Bender (YP17) - Probably our best central defender, currently getting tutored by Arndt to increase his determination.

Oliver Hopp (YP18) - Tutored by Arndt this season to increase determination. Rated as a Promising Centre-Back!!!

Alfons Wolff (YP19) - Got a few games and improved a bit.

Wolfgang Herzog (YP20) - Too early to tell how he'll develop.

Bernd Bender (YP21) - Too early to tell, but looks to be developing already.

[center][color="#008000"]FC Ruggell Season by Season[/color]

|Season    | Tier | Position |  Swiss Cup  | What Happened?     |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
|2011/12   |  6th |   1st    |  1st Round  |  Promotion!        |
|2012/13   |  5th |   1st    |  4th Round  |  Promotion!!       |
|2013/14   |  4th |   5th    |  4th Round  |  Nothing           |
|2014/15   |  4th |   7th    |  1st Round  |  Nothing           |
|2015/16   |  4th |   3rd    |  1st Round  |  Nothing           |
|2016/17   |  4th |   2nd    |  5th Round  |  Nothing           |
|2017/18   |  4th |   2nd    |  6th Round  |  Nothing           |
|2018/19   |  4th |   1st    |  1st Round  |  Promotion!!!      |
|2019/20   |  3rd |   5th    |  5th Round  |  IAC Semis         |
|2020/21   |  3rd |   5th    |  4th Round  |  Consolidation     |
|2021/22   |  3rd |   2nd    |  5th Round  |  IAC Semis         |
|2022/23   |  3rd |   2nd    |  Runners Up |  Swiss Cup Finalist|
|2023/24   |  3rd |   3rd    |  5th Round  |  Nothing but draws |
|2024/25   |  3rd |   1st    |  5th Round  |  Promotion!!!!     |
|2025/26   |  2nd |   1st    |  3rd Round  |  Promotion!!!!!    |
|2026/27   |  1st |  10th    |  Last 8     |  Relegation      |
|2027/28   |  2nd |   1st    |  3rd Round  |  Promotion!!!!!    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------[/center]

[center][color="#008000"]FC Ruggell's European Adventures[/color]

| Season |  Europa League  | Club Co-Efficent | Club Ranking | Nation Co-fficent |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2026/27| 3rd Qual. Round |    8.259         |    214th     |      11.000       |
| 2027/28| 4th in Group G  |   14.699         |    146th     |      19.500       |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/center]

[color="#FF0000"][b][size=3]European Travelling Book[/size][/b][/color]

[b]2026/27[/b]

FBK Kaunas; Kaunas - Lithuania (Won 1-0; Won 2-0 on agg)
C.S. Maritimo; Funchal - Portugal (Drew 0-0; Lost 0-1 on agg)

[b]2027/28[/b]

Drogheda Utd; Drogehda - Ireland (Won 5-2; Won 6-2 on agg)
Olympiakos; Piraeus - Greece (Won 2-1; Won 8-5 on agg)
FC Twente; Enschede - Netherlands (Won 4-1; Won 6-2 on agg)
Standard Liege; Liege - Belgium (Won 1-0; Lost 2-0 at home)
FC Zurich; Zurich - Switzerland (Lost 2-0; Won 1-0 at home)
Trabzonspor; Trabzon - Turkey (Lost 1-0; Lost 3-1 at home)

Finally - Relocation Complete

[Scarman]

UEFA European Championship 2028

Hosts - England

Holders - France

Group Stage

Group A - Russia (7); France (5); Belgium (3); Bosnia & Herzegovina (1)

Group B - Spain (9); Romania (4); Scotland (2); Bulgaria (1)

Group C - Serbia (7); Turkey (5); Germany (4); Sweden (0)

Group D - England (9); Portugal (4); Greece (4); Switzerland (0)

Group E - Netherlands (9); Slovakia (6); Wales (3); Denmark (0)

Group F - Italy (7); Czech Republic (6); Croatia (4); Georgia (0)

Second Round

Romania 1 - 0 Russia

Netherlands 1 - 1p Czech Republic

Spain 2 - 1 Germany

Italy 2 - 0 Greece

Slovakia 0 - 3 France

Serbia 1 - 2 Wales

England 3 - 1 Croatia

Turkey 0 - 2 Portugal

Quarter Final

Romania 1 - 2 Czech Republic

Italy 1 - 2 Spain

Wales 1 - 1p France

Portugal 0 - 4 England

Semi Final

Czech Republic 0 - 2 England

Spain 1 - 0 France

Final

England 4 - 0 Spain

Best Player - Mitchell Broughton (England)

Golden Boot - Mitchell Broughton; 8 goals (England)

So England win the tournament on their own turf, and in style as well. Some pretty uneven groups there, with 4 of the 6 bottom nations getting no points, and the other two only getting 1.

[Dave.]

Great stuff, promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt, congratulations! Nice to see a couple of other Liechtensteiner clubs in the top half of the table with you.

And wow, England, that's a convincing win. Broughton looks some player.

[deltablue]

Yay, well done on bouncing back.

[TheGreatTraveler]

Great job on Promotion, and next season survival could happen with Servette up there with you!!

[B.W.G]

Congrats on bouncing back.I hope next season will see you survive but that should be possible with Servette being there with you.

[cerud]

Congrats on moving back up to the top league! Hopefully, you can now solidify a position up there.

[Scarman]

Great stuff, promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt, congratulations! Nice to see a couple of other Liechtensteiner clubs in the top half of the table with you.

And wow, England, that's a convincing win. Broughton looks some player.

Cheers Dave! England's win took me by surprise as well, they won every game they played and scored 19 goals in total in the tournament.

Yay, well done on bouncing back.

Cheers fella!

Great job on Promotion, and next season survival could happen with Servette up there with you!!

Congrats on bouncing back.I hope next season will see you survive but that should be possible with Servette being there with you.

Yeah, I'm hoping that Servette will be found out in the Super League this season. I went from conceding 21 goals to 75 when I made the jump. They let in 51 goals this season, so going by my experience they could very well concede close to 150 if they're not careful haha

Congrats on moving back up to the top league! Hopefully, you can now solidify a position up there.

Cheers cerud!

Also, after Zimmermann and Hopp, Bernd Bender is my third "Promising -insertpositionhere-". The future is looking bright for Liechtenstein!