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[FM 12] The One, The Only, The...Cerud??


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2017-2018 CONCACAF Champions League

4 October 2017

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Group Stage

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1 - 0 Pumas de la UNAM

An unbelievable match for us! He rallied hard against Pumas at home and managed a gola off a corner. The fact that we were able to hold them off and scoreless has moved us ahead of them to top of our group!

25 October 2017

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Group Stage

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 - 0 CD Marathón

We never gave Marathón a chance. Mattocks has also been on fired lately. His 2 goals now make it 9 goals in the last 4 matches. He's been hungry as Gallegos has gone out injured. He's risen to fill the void.

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14 October 2017

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Cerud Has His Pick

Interest in the managerial abilities of Vancouver head coach Cerud is coming in from all sides. Clubs in Brazil, the Netherlands, and Greece are known to be considering approaches to the CONCACAF Champions League winning manager as his MLS season comes to a close. However, Cerud is still on contract for another year with his current Canadian club. It remains to be seem whether he can be enticed away from his dream job and into a higher level.

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22 October 2017

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Paraguay Want Cerud

After failing to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Paraguayan National Team have decided to chance their direction and philosophy. It is felt that current Vancouver and Nigerian manager Cerud is the answer. However, Cerud is in the midst of a positive campaign to qualify for the World Cup with his Nigerian side and it is unlikely that he would leave.

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22 October 2017

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Cerud Reaches 100 Matches as Whitecaps Head Coach

The upcoming match against the Colorado Rapids will mark Cerud's 100th match as manager of the Vancouver Whitecaps. In his reign, Vancouver have won two Voyager Cups in the Canadian Championship, an MLS SUpporter's Shield, and the CONCACAF Champions League. In the press conference before the match, Cerud noted the occasion.

"While I'm happy to manage the club for my 100th time, my focus is on the task at hand. This match is one of many that have put us in the commanding we are in. I treat it as one match, no different than another. However, I'd still like to win to remember it by!"

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30 October 2017

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BC Place to Grow for the Second Year in a Row

Apparently last year's stadium expansion was not enough for the Whitecaps. BC Place, home of Vancouver's MLS club, is slated for another expansion once the season's play finishes this year. The construction time should be quicker than last, with the project expected to be completed before the year is out.

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October 2017 Update

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Vancouver Whitecaps FC - Major League Soccer

The League

Well, I now know where all the postponed matches in league play were put. This was an insane month with 6 league matches and 2 Champions League matches. There was also a 10 day international break. When we did play, we had matches almost every 2 days. Needless to say, my players were crawling onto the pitch by the end of the month. Still, we managed some great wins and dominant scorelines.

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CONCACAF Champions League

The win against Pumas was amazing! It catapulted us to the top spot in our group. Interestingly, it also allowed Los Angeles to gain traction. Their final match was against Pumas and they won, meaning that the 2 teams that qualified out of our group for the Quarter Finals are us and the Galaxy! One major Mexican club...eliminated!

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The Standings

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Managerial Thoughts

In finally playing all of our outstanding matches, we easily moved ahead of Los Angeles in the Western Conference standings and into the top spot in the entire MLS. We finish the regular season on top heading into the playoffs. Also, we gets a bit of a much needed break as the wild card spots are playing out first. Playoffs matches will likely begin in 1-2 weeks.

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28 October 2017

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Whitecaps Win 2nd Consecutive Supporter's Shield

As the final matches of the MLS regular season wrap up, point leaders Vancouver Whitecaps were awarded ther second Supporter's Shield in as many years. While they trailed the Los Angeles Galaxy for much of the season, their game difference meant that the Whitecaps held an advantage in catching and making up the point difference. Cerud spoke to media earlier today.

"The Supporter's Shield is a magnificent achievement because it highlights the often greulling campaign overe the past months. Now that the regular season's finished, we prepare for the playoffs. I've always said that the regular season is like an extended pre-season. The playoffs is the real prize. And we're ready for it."

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Congrats on the Champions League win :thup: I've always enjoyed playing the CONCACAF Champions League on FM - I think it's the contrast you get between playing teams from Belize and battling it out with the Mexican big names.

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2017 CAF World Cup Qualifiers

18 November 2017

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Final Leg 2

Nigeria 1 - 4 Morocco

Tied on aggregate 6-6; Nigeria advance on away goal rule

An absolutely disgusting match! I have no idea what happened to us. We took an early lead in the 4th minute until the 20th when Morocco took over. I had one player who came off the bench to replace another who was doing bad. He ended up with 2 mistakes leading to goals and a 3.4 rating!!! 3.4!!! I've never seen that bad before.

Thankfully, they didn't score any more goals. We were able to hold on and qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia! :)

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2017 Season In Review

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Vancouver Whitecaps FC - Major League Soccer

1st Place - MLS Cup Winners

The League

Standings - League | Conference

Past Positions - League | Conference

Fixtures - Even though we trailed Los Angeles for a lot of the season, I was never worried. I knew that once we evened out our playing schedules, the points would come. This was probably one of my best seasons ever. Only 2 losses in league play. I would have loved to hold on and go undefeated, but it wasn't meant to be. The insane schedule that I was handed due to all competitions meant that players were just worn out by that stage of the season. Our only breaks came on international breaks as we were playing pretty much in between weekend matches with other competitions. Still, we ended up on top and with our second Supporter's Shield!

The Playoffs

MLS Western Conference Semi Final Leg 1

Philadelphia Union 4 - 3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Uh...what? The playoffs were not supposed to start like this! Everytime we tied the match up, he Union would find a way to grab another. Their final goal came in the 93rd minute and left us no time to try and scrape one back.

MLS Western Conference Semi Final Leg 2

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 4 - 2 Philadelphia Union

Vancouvere Whitecaps FC win on aggregate 7-6

We tied up the aggregate in the 7th minute and took the lead in the 9th. However, the Union were not going to go easy. They had two penalty kicks in the final 20 minutes, both from bad tackles by my rightback, Falkenberg. They got the first but thankfully hit the post on the second. Needless to say, Falkenberg sat on the bench for the next couple of matches.

After our scare against the Union, we knew we had to show up to play. We never gave the Galaxy a chance. They barely ever touched the ball and we made good on our chances.

The match was played in Columbus and we treated it like home pitch. Mattocks was on form as he started us early in the 5th minute. This led right to the end of the match were Vancouver won their second MLS Cup and my first!!

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The Cups

CONCACAF Champions League - Champions! The first MLS Club and first Canadian club to hoist the continental trophy.

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Nutrilite Canadian Championship - Champions again! We won our second consecutive Voyager's Cup to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League to defend our title there.

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The Stats

Goals Scored - 119 (+ 22 from last season; 1st in league)

Goals Conceded - 34 (- 7 from last season; 2nd in league)

Average Attendance - 25 449 (+ 5 050 from last season; 3rd in league)

The Players

Squad | Transfers - It is almost impossible to pick the top players of this season because they all stepped up and did amazing. As for transfers, the $2M we received from Reis really helped us buy quality players we needed to step up to the next level.

Nelson Rivas - D C - Defender of the Year. Rivas is getting up there in age, but still has the quality to be the main piece of my defensive line.

Darren Mattocks - ST - Bringing in Mattocks from Toronto FC was two-fold. First, he's a quality striker and we needed a few. Second, he's a former Vancouver top draft pick and a club favourite. He was great all season, but his final third was absolutely dominating.

Noel Gallegos - M/AM C, ST - USA Player of the Year and League MVP. It was costly to bring his in from FC Dallas, but absolutely worth every penny!

The Backroom

Finances - We did much better this year as our increased stadium capacity enabled us better gate receipts. However, we wil be spending about another $6M to increase it again very soon.

Facilities - We increased capacity at the beginning of the season and are looking to do so again. Construction begins once the players leave for holidays.

The Awards

The Goals Revisited

  • Win the MLS Cup - Achieved! We are the champions!
  • Win Canadian Championship - Achieved! Again!
  • Reach Semi Final of CONCACAF Champions League - Achieved! Continental Champions!

Plans for Next Season

I'm think it may be time to leave Vancouver while I'm ahead. I've achieved what I set out to do. The main players are all signed to contracts for at least another year. The club is in the Quarter Finals of the CONCACAF Champions League and look good to defend. I believe that another manager can step in and have a great position to grow from. Plus, the stadium is being expanded again, so there should be more money coming in! I will be leaving the club in a better position than when I entered. Time to go.

But first, the Club World Cup in December! Then time to go.

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Great work in the league and Champions League again, keep it up
Brilliant season thus far :cool:.

Thanks, JackJCFC and SRL88!

Congrats on the Champions League win :thup: I've always enjoyed playing the CONCACAF Champions League on FM - I think it's the contrast you get between playing teams from Belize and battling it out with the Mexican big names.

I've always enjoyed MLS and CONCACAF too. Definitely have the good, the bad, and the ugly :)

Congrats on a second Supporter's Shield. Now win the Play-offs
Good job. Now go win the MLS Cup. :)
Very good year.

Thanks guys! The season ended perfectly.

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26 November 2017

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Whitecaps Win MLS!

For only the second time in their history, the Vancouver Whitecaps have hoisted the MLS Cup as champions of the league. This marks a tremendous quadruple for the club this season, having already won the Voyager's Cup, the CONCACAF Champions League title, and the MLS Supporter's Shield. Surely, the club will be able to defend their titles next year.

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28 November 2017

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Cerud Recognized by United States Soccer Hall of Fame

Cerud has now reach a level not many soccer coaches ever attain. Today, he was entered into the United States Hall of Fame as one of the top managers to have ever managed a club in the country. Speaking to media earlier today, Cerud expressed his surprise.

"Are you counting my 60 days in Los Angeles?? You do realize that Vancouver is in Canada...right?"

Cartographers were unavailable for comment.

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Great job. They must've been very impressed with what you did in LA.
You tell em. ;)

Oh I told them, deltablue ;) As for LA...I'm not sure if LA is happy with what I did in LA... ;)

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28 November 2017

On another note...I just got a very interesting offer. This is also the first actual offer I've ever received while already employed.

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Lokomotiv have no debt, no loans and a decent setup. However, they have been slipping over the past decade or so. I've delayed for a week as I really want to manage Vancouver through the Club World Cup...even though we will likely be slaughtered ;)

I probably won't take it, but the offer is a first!

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8 December 2017

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Group Day Today

Alright, so the 2018 FIFA World Cup draw has happened and here are the groups.

Group A: Algeria, Ireland, Russia, Saudi Arabia

Group B: England, Iceland, Japan, Uruguay

Group C: Argentina, Belgium, Cameroon, Mexico

Group D: Czech Republic, Nigeria, Portugal, United States

Group E: Chile, Germany, Iran, Spain

Group F: Brazil, Denmark, Ghana, Uzbekistan

Group G: Colombia, Croatia, France, South Korea

Group H: Canada, Italy, Slovakia, South Africa

We have been handed a tough group, but I believe an achievable group. However, we will need to be on our best in order to qualify beyond the group stage.

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Congrats on winning the MLS Cup in what turned out to be a successful season.Good luck in the World Cup,definitely have a shot at going through but as you said,you'll have to play to your best.

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Congrats on all the trophies!

(I definitely wasn't rooting for Philly in the conference semi-final) What does the Union's roster look like?

Thanks, cswalk08. Philly is alright, a "middle of the road" team. Their main DPs are Diego Costa and Rodrigo Camacho.

Congrats on winning the MLS Cup in what turned out to be a successful season.Good luck in the World Cup,definitely have a shot at going through but as you said,you'll have to play to your best.

Thanks, BWG. Still have the Club World Cup. And some...interesting surprises there!!

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2017 Club World Cup

9 December2017

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Quarter Final

Lekhwiya Sports Club 2 - 3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Lekhwiya are the current AFC Champions League title holders. The media ranked us fairly evenly with them, so I went in confident of a good showing and it started right from the beginning with a goal by Boateng 41 seconds into the match for us! However, Lekhwiya fought back and scored a couple to take the lead from us. Fortune changed after they missed a penalty shot and we tied up the match in the 50th minute. Lugo finished off the win with a penalty shot of our own late in the match.

14 December 2017

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Semi Final

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 - 0 Manchester City

Man City are the current UEFA Champions League holders and our parent club as well. This was to be our end; Man City would roll over us and we would go home thankful for the opportunity just to play, or so the script said. However, no one gave it to us!! Rajkovic scored off a brilliant header off a corner to gave us the lead in the 22nd minute. For some reason, Man City was never able to get into the match. When they had the ball, the passed circles around us, but we hit when it counted. The 75th minute saw Lugo get our insurance goal after a mad scramble in the 16 yard box to give us the unexpected win! We book our place in the Final!

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2017 Club World Cup

17 December2017

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Final

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 4 - 2 SC Corinthians Paulista

Champions

A complete loss for words. I didn't expect to win a single match in this competition. The Vancouver Whitecaps are world champions! What was that? Right. The Vancouver Whitecaps are world champions!

The match began with Corinthians taking the early lead in the 14th minute. I figured, "Okay. Here we go." However, we hit back immediately off a corner in the 17th minute and quickly took the lead in the 19th minute. Suddenly, this was a different game. A brilliant cross in the 38th minute led to a 2 goal lead. I was hoping to hold onto this going into the half, but Corinthians clawed one back in extra time. Still, we led going into the break 3-2.

The second half was a nervy affair. It began with both sides trying to find space but neither giving it up. And then, disaster. Bamba, my leftback took a second yellow card and was forced off the pitch. You could hear the hearts of Canadians and underdog supporters everywhere breaking. But we weren't done. Lugo took advantage of some found space and gave us an insurance goal in the 69th minute with only 10 men.

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That's how it ended and us held the Club World Cup. The first for a CONCACAF club!

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Wow :eek:

Massive congrats on that achievement,absolutely sensational!

Huzzah! Truly phenomenal! This must be e"vancouver" (even cooler) than where you possibly saw the season going.

Thanks, BWG and cswalk08. Yeah, I don't think I said a word from the Man City match to the end of the Corinthians one :) I was too scared too!

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18 December 2017

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BC Place Expansion to Include Ground Improvements

As BC Place gets ready to expand their capacity by another 4 000 seats, they will also be adding in under-soil heating. In a phone interview with Cerud, he said,

"Under-soil heating? They do realize we have a retractable roof to counter adverse weather conditions, right? Well...I guess if you have money, might as well spend it..."

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Fantastic achievement winning the Club World Cup! Showing your parent club whose the boss as well :D

Take that, Mancini! :)

Well done cerud! Is this your final year at the club?
Not a bad way to leave Vancouver, eh?

Well, you know what they say about "All good things..." ;)

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27 December 2017

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Cerud Leaves 'Dream Job' for New Challenge

In what he had previously called 'his dream appointment', Canadian manager Cerud has left his post with the Vancouver Whitecaps. While expected by many, the success of the club in the CONCACAF Champions League and Club World Cup had many wondering whether he may have changed his mind. He spoke earlier to media in a press conference in front of BC Place.

"Helping to guide the Whitecaps to Canadian Championships, MLS Championships, and continental and world success has been more than I set out to accomplish here. What we have been able to do here has showcased the city to the football world. When Italy, South Korea, or Nigeria think of football, they will now think of Vancouver and Canada.

I also feel that it's my time to move on. This club is well situated for someome new to inject new blood, new ideas, and new philosophies in order to keep it growing. I have no plan! No idea as to where I will end up. But when I get there, I'll tell them of what we did here together in Vancouver."

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The time has come. There is nothing left to win or lose. I leave without an agenda or direction. Come what may.

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Managerial Club Record

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Plans

Looking at want ads.

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2017 International Year in Review

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Nigerian National Football Team

FIFA Ranking - 19th

The Standings

World Rankings | Past Positions - I took over the Nigerian National Team on 19 February 2017 so I've had so time to get to know the squad. We have also grown our ranking as we have qualified for the FIFA World Cup this coming year as well.

The Competitions

FIFA World Cup CAF Qualifiers - My first match with Nigeria was against Chad in this qualifier. We broke a few records with our historic 8-0 win. It also led us on a road to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 2018 in Russia.

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Friendlies - Only a single friendly match so far under my reign. A solid 4-0 win against Egypt.

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2018 Preview

FIFA World Cup - Be competitive.

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Wow, what a triumph to (white)cap off a great time with Vancouver.

Thanks, deltablue! Figured I'd leave on a high ;)

Great work with Nigeria, hopefully you can have some sucess at the world cup.
Maybe you can make the knockout stages in the WC?

I hope that we can make it past the group stage and our group draw makes it possible. Not easy, but possible.

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8 March 2017

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Cerud Returns to Football in Málaga as Spalleti Joins Napoli

The hiring of Luciano Spalleti with Napoli had opened the job at Málaga for Canadian-born manager Cerud to enter back into European football. Cerud, having left Vancouver three months ago, claimed that he was excited to return to club football. With only 13 games left in the season, Cerud still have every chance of a successful season. Málaga are in the finals of the Copa del Ray and sit in 6th place, more than enough to claim a Europa League spot. 4th place Sevilla are 8 points ahead of Málaga, so Champions League play may be too far removed for this season.

In speaking to the media, Cerud stated, "Spain is the global epicentre of world football. To be offered the opportunity to manage in this proud nation speaks to the huge amount of trust that [Chairman] Fernández has put in me. I intend to repay it. Málaga are a strong club with a rich history, but have not won this top league yet. Looks like we've got some work to do!"

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Málaga C.F., S.A.D. - Liga BBVA

My contract is a whopping $1.8M/year for 3 years!!! These guys got money! I've never managed in Spain before, so there are a few new things. Such as, my reserve team is it's own club? Eh...I'll figure it out.

About the Club

Málaga C.F. began in 1948 and are the predecessor of CD Málaga. They have played in European football before, but have not had any success in winning anything, domestic or abroad. That needs to change.

The club is in good shape with decent finances and no debt. However, the club has spent most of their available cash this season on players. Wage budgets may also be too high.

The Stats

Year Founded: 1948

Status: Professional

Reputation: Continental

Nickname: Los Bosquerones (The Anchovies)

Fierce Rivals: Sevilla, Betis

Other Rivals: Cádiz, Granada

The Stadium - La Rosaleda

Location: Málaga

Year Built: 1941

Capacity: 28 963 all-seater

Owner/Rent: $2/year

Facilities

Corporate: Adequate

Training: Average

Youth: Adequate

Junior Coaching: Adequate

Youth Recruitment: Above Average

An alright set up, but definitely room for improvement. A $2/year rent is great, but I'd rather we owned the stadium so that we could expand it. Might have to look into that. Anyway, here is La Rosaleda.

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Currently, the club has been having a great season. There were expected to finish in 8th place and have been above that. They are also in the final for the Copa del Ray, my first opportunity at a Spanish cup!

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13 matches left. Time to see what I can do.

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2017-2018 The Takeover

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Málaga C.F., S.A.D. - Liga BBVA

The Stats

Liga BBVA: Achieve a respectable position (will not be judged this year)

Copa de Su Majestad El Ray Don Juan Carlos: Reach the semi final (will not be judged this year)

Media Prediction: 8th of 20

Wage Budget: $56 537 230

Currently Spending: $52 547 124

Transfer Budget: $6 737 301

Main Kit Sponsorship: $4.83M (expires 2019)

General Sponsorship: $499K (expires 2019)

General Sponsorship: $447K (expires 2018)

General Sponsorship: $429K (expires 2019)

General Sponsorship: $550K (expires 2019)

General Sponsorship: $550K (expires 2021)

Average Ticket Price: $44.80

Average Season Ticket Price: $558.00

Season Ticket Holders: 23 344

Estimated Value: $66M

Standings | Past Positions | Fixtures - The club has done well, but there's a few too many losses in there for me.

Goals

  • Qualify for UEFA Europa League
  • Win the Copa del Ray

A short list, but doable. We are in a Europa qualifying spot right now and I aim to keep it. Our opposition in the final for the Copa del Ray is CD Tenerife, from the league below us! :) I will expect nothing less than a win.

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Cracking move mate :thup:

In my save, Malaga won the league a few years ago :)

Thanks, DazRTaylor! I think they could do it again ;)

Good luck with Malaga cerud. Hopefully you can break the dominance with the historically two big clubs!

Cheers, rancer. I hope so too.

You probably have a LOT of money!!

A lot indeed! Much money than I had with the salary cap in Vancouver and imposed by the MLS.

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