A Liechtensteiner in Barcelona

[benrollo]

Hi guys

Since rupturing my ankle ligaments a couple of weeks ago I have been pretty much sofabound looking for something to help pass the time. I came across a thread in the Challenges, SIgn Ups and Experiments forum called the Big Club, Small Country Challenge.

The premise is to take over a club with top notch youth recruitment, set your manager nationality as a small nation who have never won the World Cup, and then hope you get some youth graduates through who share your nationality. The long (long, long, long!) term challenge is to take your nation to World Cup glory.

I've been posting in there but I thought I would start my own thread in here to keep track of my exploits, and hopefully help keep me sane!

Having had a slight obsession with Liechtenstein ever since England played them in a qualifying campaign a few years back (I even own an FC Vaduz shirt and was due to go out and meet some of the players years ago, but that's another story!) I decided to go for Liechtensteiner nationality. As for the club, I rarely play FM with big clubs so I thought I would buck the trend in the biggest way possible and manage Barcelona.

So with club and country decided, I begun in earnest. It's worth mentioning that I am just coming to the end of the 2016/17 season so the first few posts will be taken pretty much straight from the challenge thread.

I hope you enjoy the read, if anyone has any questions or would like to see any screenies etc please let me know

[benrollo]

This first post will contain my first three academy overviews. It wasn’t until the fourth one that I started to really expand my updates so I thought it best to put the three basic ones together.

2011/12 Academy Intake

There I sat, eagerly anticipating my first academy intake. It was 7pm on the 27th March, the final stop before I discovered who my young whippersnappers were going to be. I tap space and sit back. The next thing I know, I’m presented with a screen full of Spanish graduates. No Liechtensteiners! Bah.

2012/13 Academy Intake

Much better news this time around as I got my first solitary Liechtensteiner graduate.

Sebastian Kraus is a young central midfielder who my coaches reckon to be a 1.5* prospect. When you consider the kind of talent these players are being compared to I was pretty happy with that!

Seba was fast-tracked straight to the Liechtenstein under-21 side where he made 7 appearances in his first season.

2013/14 Academy Intake

In my most successful youth intake to date I managed to get my hands on two Liechtensteiner prospects.

First up in that batch was goalkeeper Tim-Julian Siegl. Absolutely useless, yes, but he’s one of my compatriots now! He went straight in to the national set up at under-19 level. He was, however, the only keeper in the squad .

Secondly, and very promisingly, was full back Rouven Kempe. He was rated by my coaches as a 2* prospect, and had some impressive base attributes on which to build. His passing in particular stood out – he was one of only three Liechtensteiners with passing of 13 or higher (with Kraus being one of the others!).

At this stage I was really struggling to get tutors for these lads, probably because they were so far down the pecking order that I couldn’t pick them from the drop-down menus. The plan as I headed into the 2014/15 season was to get these guys some games at under-19 level for Barca and try to get them some mentors!

[benrollo]

On to the meaty updates!

FC Barcelona Liechtenstiener Review 2014-15

Another season, another promising Liechtensteiner through the Barcelona academy. Introducing...

Benjamin Thiele

Beni is currently rated as a 2* prospect by my coaches, and was immediately fast tracked into the Liechtenstein under-21 set up.

And how about my previous graduates? Here's how they are looking:

Tim-Julian Siegl --- 2013/14 Profile

Tim has seen very little improvement in his stats from last season which would seem to show that my coaches have their assessment bang on! He did however make the step up to the under-21s set up for his country and played 9 games for them. He even managed to keep a clean sheet!

Rouven Kempe --- 2013/14 Profile

Rouven is really coming along nicely, and was for a while rated as a 2.5* prospect by my coaches. He is now a fixture in the under-21s and has banged in a couple of goals in the 11 matches he has played. I'm hoping he gets a call up to the senior squad soon as he is head and shoulders above half the players in there! I recently signed him up to pro terms and he is currently being tutored by Gerard Pique - not too shabby! I'm hoping to get him a couple of Spanish Cup games this season too if possible.

Sebastian Kraus --- 2013/14 Profile

Seba has also made good progress this season, although his mental attributes are leaving a lot to be desired. Maybe this is because he needs some tutoring, but at present I can't seem to assign anyone to him. He leads the way for the Barca Liechtensteiners with 17 youth caps, and I expect a senior call up is not too far away. Technically he is one of the finest players for his nation in the database - his first touch is higher than any other player, his passing only matched by Kempe and Wieser (good to see the Barca way of playing rubbing off on them!) and his technique leads the way as well. Add to that some not too shabby physicals and you would expect some senior action this season. Maybe his mentals will hold him back.

And finally (although he isn't actually a newgen)...

Sandro Wieser --- 2013/14 Profile

Sandro was loaned out to Huesca in the Spanish Second Division where he played in 15 league games with an average rating of 7.07. He did also appear in two games for Barcelona B, and recorded a goal as well.

My coaches have pretty much dismissed him as useless but that hasn't stopped me offering him a new 5 year contract! This boy is going to be integral to Liechtenstein's future so he needs to be somewhere he can reach his potential. Sandro also had the joy of scoring his first international goal in a 2-0 win over Luxembourg.

I've also put Liechtenstein's world ranking below. Unfortunately I only have from July 2013 onwards, but I'll do this every season now!

Their big rise up the rankings in September 2013 was thanks to a 2-1 win over Lithuania in World Cup qualifying. They followed that up with a few more rises later in the year as they won three games on the trot, which surely has to be some kind of record! Malta, Luxembourg and Armenia were all dispatched by their mighty opponent. Liechtenstein have now settled around 110th place.

I still can't get Vaduz as a feeder club so I've resorted to pretty much clearing out my under-19s in order to ensure my youngsters get decent game time this season.

[benrollo]

FC Barcelona Liechtenstein Review 2015-16

After another season of domination for Barcelona, we welcomed our fifth Liechtensteiner into our youth ranks.

Sascha Wolf is a young goalkeeper who was originally rated as a 2* prospect but has since dropped to 1.5*. Either way, he has a lot more upside than our other Liechtensteiner 'keeper Siegl. Sascha has been a regular in the under-21 national set up but is yet to unseat the current number 1, the aforementioned Siegl. I imagine the unseating will happen soon!

So, on to my other graduates:

Tim-Julian Siegl --- 2013/14 Profile --- 2014/15 Season

TJ has made a little progress this season but I imagine he is probably close to his peak. He's now up to 16 u21 caps but I'd be very surprised if he made it to the senior side. He also asked for a very extortionate 2 grand a week to go professional. I got him down to 1.5k but I think with the arrival of Sascha Wolf that Tim may become my first release candidate.

Rouven Kempe --- 2013/14 Profile --- 2014/15 Profile

It was a pretty big year for Rouven, the only thing that would have topped it off would have been a full international cap. Surely that can't be far away now?!

He made 41 appearances in total for the club, 40 of those coming in the under 19s league and one solitary appearance in the Spanish Cup. And in that game, this happened...

[video=youtube;wM4LZH24LuY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM4LZH24LuY

OK so it's not exactly a wonder goal but 1 in 1 ain't bad!

His attributes have developed nicely thanks to a bout of tutoring from a couple of first teamers. He is going to be promoted to the senior side this season in a bid to get those attributes boosted a bit higher!

Sebastian Kraus --- 2013/14 Profile --- 2014/15 Profile

Seba had a good season. Plenty of appearances at under 19 level and a pretty good return of a goal every four games. I also managed to convince Thiago to tutor Kraus this season and as a result his mentals increased pretty significantly in some areas. Determination alone went up four points!

He'll be too old for the u19s next season so he will most likely be moved to the B team or loaned out if I can find any takers.

Benjamin Thiele --- 2014/15 Profile

Beni had a storming season with the under 19s, banging in 19 goals in 33 games. He's also jumped up to a 2.5* prospect so I have high hopes for him, especially as he has a couple more years in the under 19s. His physicals are coming along nicely too.

I won't track Sandro Wieser's progress as he isn't a newgen, but as you can see he is coming along nicely. He spent his third consecutive season out on loan, again in the lower divisions. He did well, racking up a 7.39 average. He is also just two caps away from a half-century for his country which isn't too shabby for a 23 year old. Bets on how many he retires with? Must be looking at 100+.

Finally, Liechtenstein's world ranking. They have really struggled in the past year, losing seven consecutive matches. Surely time to bring in some fresh (Barca!) blood.

Still trying to get Vaduz as a feeder club!

[benrollo]

FC Barcelona Liechtensteiner Review 2016-17

In what was our best youth intake yet from a Liechtensteiner point of view we had three lads in amongst the candidates.

First up was central midfielder Martin Hassler. He looks like he could be a great talent, and the coaches agree, giving him a 2* rating. He's got probably the most impressive mentals from any of the graduates to date so I'm hoping he gets plenty of action with the national team. He went straight into the under-21 national team and has made three appearances so far.

Second up was striker Peter Schiller. Rubbish by all accounts, but he is the first striker I have had through so I've kept him on. And in his defence, his 11 for finishing is the third highest amongst all Liechtensteiners (or at least, all the ones I can see )

I did also get another goalkeeper through but he was worse than my other two (which is quite a feat!) so I decided against keeping him.

So, on to my older graduates:

Tim-Julian Siegl --- 2015/16 Profile --- 2014/15 Profile --- 2013/14 Profile

TJ has well and truly peaked now I think, and it's not a particularly pretty sight! That said, he's now up to 22 under-21 caps after seemingly splitting time with Sascha Wolf. And speaking of the Wolfman...

Sascha Wolf --- 2015/16 Profile

Wolfy is coming on nicely and became the starting keeper for the Barca under-19s this season. He also picked up 6 caps for the Liechtenstein under-21 side and saw his determination attribute increase by a ridiculous six points! A pretty good year all round.

Rouven Kempe --- 2015/16 Profile --- 2014/15 Profile --- 2013/14 Profile

Another great season for Rouven, but still no full Liechtenstein cap. When you consider how good he looks, and that he is second only to Sandro Wieser in terms of value, the call up can't be far away! You may also notice he made his league debut this season in our last game. Screenshot below!

Sebastian Kraus --- 2015/16 Profile --- 2014/15 Profile --- 2013/14 Profile

Seba didn't make much progress this season due to a couple of factors. Firstly, he went out on loan to Spanish Second Division side Huesca, where he made only three appearances. On top of that he suffered a hernia which put him out of action for three months.

On the plus side, he finally got a call up to the senior side and played two games, scoring one goal.

I have just had a loan bid made for him for the upcoming season, and quite beautifully it is from the mighty FC Vaduz! The offer has of course been accepted - double win!

Benjamin Thiele --- 2015/16 Profile --- 2014/15 Profile

Beni has come on nicely this year and is still rated by my coaches as a 2.5* prospect. He also made his senior debut in our final league game and is now up to 20 u21 caps. His 15 acceleration and 11 pace make him the fastest Liechtensteiner in the world!

Sandro Wieser is at a bit of a crossroads in his development now. He refused to go out on loan this season and so as a result had to make do with 10 fleeting substitute appearances for the Barcelona B team. He has still progressed in a couple of areas but I'm going to have to consider selling him if he doesn't want to go on loan this year.

As far as the rankings go, Liechtenstein have pushed back up to 131 after spending some time towards the basement. This is thanks to a pretty incredible four game run which has seen them pick up three wins and a draw, and leaves them unbeaten in 2017 so far. Unfortunately, they have Germany, Holland and Ireland coming up in the next five games!

And finally, Rouven and Benjamin's big day out!

I'm going to work out a way to compress this a bit from next season because these posts are starting to get pretty huge! Any suggestions on how I could cut it down would be appreciated!