[FM16] If You're Not First, You're Last - Redemption For The "Nearly Men," A European Journey

[ManUtd1]

I'm at an absolute loss for words.  Chelsea made a push, but we held them off and snatched another in injury time to seal the win.  That's 3 massive stoppage time goals in the Champions League -- against Barcelona, and twice against Chelsea.  

4-2 on aggregate.  Through to the Final.  90 minutes.  All to play for.

We'll face off against holders Lazio, who somehow managed to hold off Bayern with 10 men for more than 70 minutes.

[smp20]

Incredible!! Best of luck in the final.

[ManUtd1]

9 minutes ago, smp20 said:

Incredible!! Best of luck in the final.

Thanks, man.  Taking a short break, my nerves are shot from that 1st leg against Chelsea.  Started doing the tweets, and it all played out live...pausing/tweeting/etc.  As good a run as I've ever had in the game.

[ManUtd1]

Here goes nothing.  We're slight favorites over the defending champions, Lazio, who finished 2nd in Serie A this year.

My squad is healthy, so I can name my standard XI.  

As early in the save as this is, I'll be gutted if we don't prevail.  As nervous as I ever get for FM.  This has been an exhilarating run.  A string of massive, against-the-odds wins -- from the Group Stage through the semis.  This is, on paper, our easiest draw of the entire tournament.

*tweet*

[ManUtd1]

We attack from the first whistle.  No time to waste.  Kaya -- who else -- puts us up 1-0 in the 4th minute, before Lazio has even had a true look at the ball.

Lazio strike back in the 16th, with their first shot on goal.  Focus, lads.

Garcia smacks the post in the 20th minute.  That's more like it.  We're in complete control.  Kaya nearly bustles the ball over the line off a corner in the 31st, but Lopes scoops it up before it crosses the line.  Less than a minute later, Kaya strikes again -- an early cross finds him free at the near post.  Clinical.  2-1.  

That's Kaya's 10th goal of the tournament, level with Lewandowski for top scorer.  Does he have another in him?  Lindvall keeps it 2-1 in the 38th minute.

We're in control, but finding chances hard to come by.  The margins are razor thin.  Lindahl and Kone come on in the 68th, for a tiring Garcia and Wiktorsson.  The match sits in the balance, neither side finding a real breakthrough of any kind, until Rojas finds Kaya on another near-post run.  Kaya buries it inside Lopes' near post.  3-1.  

That's the Golden Boot, and quite possibly the match.  13 minutes plus stoppage time.  Andersson on for Babaj, who's lost his legs.  No matter, we see out the match comfortably.

Champions of Europe.  Incredible.  The most incredible run I've had in FM - a solid 2 years before I thought I had a shot.

 

[ManUtd1]

A full-blown wrap-up will follow.  I'm still in shock.  Per my original intent with the save, I have to move on.  Arsenal just fired Joachim Low, so I've put in for the position.  The 2022 World Cup is also imminent.  

Before fully moving on, though, I will do something of a recap.  This squad needs to be honored, so I'll be posting a squad review...after all, I need to assess who I will try to sign when I move on.  

 

[ManUtd1]

                                    

Malmö FF / Sweden
June 2022 Mini Review

 

Before moving on completely, I need to briefly honor some of the key players who've made this run possible.

      

Kaya, Wiktorsson and Pereira -- the trident leading the attack.  Wiktorsson was retrained to play as an attacking left wing, because I had to find a way to get them both into the lineup without changing to a 2-forward system.  We needed the numbers in midfield.

   

Garcia and Danielsson, the primary creative force and the tick-tock man, who kept us in rhythym and shielded the back four.

   

Sjostrom, the kid asked to fill the shoes of Hungarian Adam Papp, and likely my left back for Sweden going forward.  Rojas, the attacking wingback who tore defenses apart with his beautiful, whipped crosses.

      

Butenko and Babaj -- my stalwart center backs.  Andersson, the kid who pushed them for a spot, who I intend to rely on with Sweden.

Lindvall, my keeper.  Dependable to the point that I rely on him for Sweden, as he outperforms his colleagues who appear better on paper.

Finally, Lindahl.  The guy who couldn't supplant Kaya but would fill in up front or as an attacking force in the midfield as needed.  

 

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I'll be leaving Malmo with a heavy heart.  This city has been the home to my two favorite saves ever in FM, dating back longer than I care to admit.  At least I will be leaving Malmo FF with a hefty bank balance, a solid base of young talent, and a running start in this year's Allsvenskan (which my 2nd XI has been handling for the most part this Spring, allowing the 1st XI to focus on the CL).

   

 

[ManUtd1]

                                    

Arsenal / Sweden
June 2022 Update

It's official.  I've moved on.  Arsenal finished 3rd in the PL last year, 8 points off the pace, and should prove a relatively straightforward task.  I'm debating a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-1-1-, but have to assess things a bit further before making any final decisions.

 

      

 

The one thing I'm looking forward to most?  The first match against rivals Tottenham.  I'm in their heads.  

[deltablue]

Well done winning with Malmo. I thought that would be really tough.

[smp20]

Amazing achievement with Malmo, congrats! Really like the team youve built there. Young, talented and full of Swedes. I hope to build something similar. Still a massive over-achievement with that side though!

[Keano16]

Massive achievement with Malmo! Let's hope for more of the same at the World Cup.

Arsenal have a great squad so in theory this should be easier, might not pan out that way though. Also how has Bellerin only got 6 caps for Spain!?!?

[Ceching You Out]

Congrats on the CL!

Fare thee well, Hampus Lindgren and Håkan Telleus; may you joyously drink away the memories before time can turn such a Swede victory saccharine.

[ManUtd1]

Thanks guys -- it was quite the adventure.  Never fear, though, Hampus and Håkan may appear again.

[Rikulec]

Incredible, absolutely incredible stuff at Malmo.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

Well done at Malmo. A great CL run.

[noikeee]

Bloody hell, astonishing job with Malmo!! Congratulations!

[Benjoe]

Congrats with both the Malmö success and the following move to Arsenal! 

Squad looks quite nice overall but how about any exciting regens? Any homemade ones?

Good luck in London!

[ManUtd1]

Thank you, gentlemen -- it was brutal leaving Malmö after that run, especially given how well they're set up for the future.  

The World Cup just wrapped up (busy start to the work week), so that update is coming shortly.  After that is posted, I'll do a full squad review for Arsenal.  They're miles ahead of Malmö in terms of their starting XI and depth, with several strong regens (including a 17 year-old who will be the fulcrum of the attack in my 2nd XI).  I'm fired up to have the additional matches in England, as it means that everyone gets enough matches even with the heavy squad rotation that I tend to employ.  In Sweden, that's a bigger challenge.  Bottom line re Arsenal, though -- they have the squad to immediately mount simulatneous campaigns domestically and in Europe.

[ManUtd1]

Another random thought -- I feel lucky to have had the Arsenal position open up when it did.  I was able to move directly, without having to resign from Malmö and wait for someone to get sacked.  As it is, I can hunt a few transfer targets and gear up for a full season.  I don't expect that to happen with any real frequency, especially when moving on from a "big" club like Arsenal.  Sure, the Club Brugge position might be open when it's time to move on, but they won't make an offer while I'm still employed at Arsenal, I'll have to resign.  Ah well.  Fun times ahead.

[Benjoe]

Hopefully you still have back-ups of the Malmö save so you can go back if you feel like continuing with that bunch. But sounds good with the coming squad review - the 17 year old one sounds promising! 

[ManUtd1]

                                    

Arsenal / Sweden
World Cup 2022 Update

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Gearing up for the World Cup seemed like a major challenge in the aftermath of the Champions League victory and my departure for Arsenal.  Psychologically, my heart wasn't in it.  Pre-tournament friendlies against DR Congo (3-0 win) and Qatar (2-0) didn't help.  I formally accepted the Arsenal position the day of the Qatar match, so to say I was distracted is fair.  I had a new squad to assess and transfers to get on top of, before July.  Sure, I have all the time in the world, but I couldn't help but be distracted by the task at hand at Arsenal.

 

The Group Stage was far more nervy than it ever should have been.  Frankly, we had no business progressing.

 

Our initial match against Chile was the textbook definition of "meh."  Boring.  Long stretches of nothing happening.  When we went up 2-0 courtesy of an own goal in the 81st, it felt like something good could come of it.  Until we conceded in the 87th and had to hold on for dear life.  An auspicious start.

 

 

Next up was Spain, who had comprehensively thumped us 4-2 and 2-0 in qualifying, scorelines which flattered us.  However, if you thought the Chile match was dull, the Spain match was 10x worse.  An absolutely dire from both sides.  We didn't threaten at all.  I think the statisticians took pity on us, giving us credit for 2 shots.  I don't remember either one.  

 

 

With their 1-0 win, Spain progressed.  We were left with a match against Jamaica, a win guaranteeing our spot in the knockout rounds.  An early goal from Kaya got the ball rolling.  Even though we conceded the equalizer within 10 minutes, we looked good value for the money.  It was only a matter of time, it seemed, before we broke through.  A slew of bookings followed without us taking advantage of the possession and chances we were creating, leading to the 79th minute dismissal of Lewicki.  And then an 88th minute goal from Jamaica.  All of a sudden, we were in danger of being knocked out.  10 men and down a goal, we threw bodies forward and managed to snatch a 92nd minute equalizer from Rakip.  Disaster averted.

 

 

We qualified by the skin of our teeth.  Quite literally.  And we looked far from convincing in doing it.

 

 

We drew Colombia in the 2nd Round, which was quite favorable given how crap we'd been thus far.  But, once again, our sheer crap-titude showed.  We dominated the match, but couldn't make it count.  An early goal was followed by a shanked penalty...which was followed by an own goal from Lindelof.  We created nothing in 30 minutes of Extra Time.  Off to penalties in a match we should have walked away with after 45 minutes.  Colombia **** the bed, though, missing their first 3 penalties.  And, with that, we were through to the quarterfinals.

 

 

To face Italy, who had finished 2nd in their Group behind the Dutch, but had managed to knock off a strong England side in the 2nd round.  I absolutely thought this was the end of the line.  Tired from an extra 30 minutes against the Colombians and having played like garbage...what chance did we really have, even against a less than impressive Italy side?  Much to my surprise, we put together the most entertaining 90 minutes of my tenure with the Swedish side.  It was an end-to-end affair, with both sides throwing wild haymakers but refusing to go down.  We held on ... with Italy pouring forward to find an equalizer in 2nd half injury time, only to see their forward sprung clear in the 93rd ... offside.  4-3.  I said the most entertaining 90, not the best.

 

 

But, I'll take it.  With that, we were somehow in the semifinals.  Completely undeserved, but the Football Gods were being kind.  

 

No, not really.  France were lined up against us.  And we were once again dire.  Dyrestam gifted France an own goal in the 5th minute, which truly set the tone.  It fell to Kaya to sneak a goal in the 88th minute, leveling the match, to force another 30 minutes.  While the supporters may have been thrilled at the prospect of "free football!", it was genuinely painful.  Remember my prizefighter metaphor from a few lines back?  Yeah?  This time we were like the has-been who doesn't know when to quit, but crawls back into the ring one last time, for one final payday, only to get clobbered.  Stay down, you moron!

 

We'd survived the first 90.  Barely.  When France went up in the 99th, that had to be it.  We had no legs.  But Kaya pulled back another in the 102nd.  I said stay down!!!  You're going to get yourself killed!!!  

 

We held our own.  Barely.  It wasn't pretty.  And we found ourselves in penalties yet again.  After fluffling 2, we battled back to force a 6th round.  And promptly blew it.  We're bounced into the 3rd place match, easily the most useless match in the history of football.

 

 

 

The most galling part of it all, though?  The ungrateful fans who were "slightly concerned" at only having reached the semifinals.  We'd reached our "minimum aim?"  It's as if the FIFA-playing neckbeards failed to recognize that this was the ******* World Cup.  Fortunately, the Swedish FA was ecstatic with our results thus far, as they had only expected to reach the second round.  Agreeing to the semifinals as our target would have been sheer madness on my part.  We barely managed to get out of a relatively weak group, FFS.

 

In the 3rd place match, we faced off against Belgium who had lost to the Netherlands at the semifinal stage.  It was yet another awful match, albeit one we nearly won through sheer, dumb luck.  We took a 1-0 lead (thanks to Kaya, who else) into second half injury time, only for Kevin De Bruyne to find a 92nd minute equalizer.  The groans throughout the stadium were audible.  The only thing worse than 90 minutes of this nonsense was an additional 30.  Augustinsson went down injured in the 100th minute, leaving us with 10 mortally exhausted footballers on the pitch.  Predictably, Belgium took advantage and finished us off, without even the courtesy of a thank you.  

 

 

Finally, the nightmare was over.  And I could get back to London to deal with my new charges.

 

I'm frankly torn about continuing on with Sweden.  My Arsenal side are strong enough that I cannot justify bringing over any of the talented youngsters from Malmo, much less supplanting an existing player for one of my young Swedish charges.  At a more mid-level club (e.g., Frankfurt or Fioretina) I could justify it.  So, I'm at a crossroads and haven't decided what to do.  Making that all the more difficult is watching the Dutch reach the final -- a squad I could have managed, that was substantially more talented that the Swedes.  Nevertheless, they fell to France 2-0 and remain eligible for the save.

 

 

     

 

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Up Next: A long, hard think about whether I want to stay with Sweden.  Arsenal squad review/preview.

[ManUtd1]

41 minutes ago, Benjoe said:

Hopefully you still have back-ups of the Malmö save so you can go back if you feel like continuing with that bunch. But sounds good with the coming squad review - the 17 year old one sounds promising! 

I typically keep a save from June of each year, for that exact reason.  Each time I've gone back, though, the magic just isn't there.  The feeling is all wrong.  So, it's theoretically possible even if I am extremely unlikely to do it!

[ManUtd1]

Malmö FF Legend Cyr Resigns Sweden Post; Swedish Football Rocked To Core

By Brita Nilsdotter from Stockholm.

Monday, August 8, 2022.

Stockholm, Sweden – A pall lies over Swedish football.  Two months after his departure from Champions League winners' Malmö FF, Aidan Cyr submitted his resignation to the SvFF earlier today.  

In a prepared statement released to the press, Mr. Cyr obliquely referenced the demands of his new position at Arsenal and wished his adopted homeland well in the forthcoming UEFA Nations League campaign.  

A vigil is being held outside the Swedbank Stadion in Malmö, with club and country supporters united in a silent, heart-broken display of affection for the man they lovingly called "monkey brain" and "ol' ****face."    

Although the crowd chased off one man attempting to light Mr. Cyr in effigy, only time will tell if this is one betrayal too many.

This is a developing story.

[Keano16]

Will you return at some point to complete the challenge?

[ManUtd1]

4 minutes ago, Keano16 said:

Will you return at some point to complete the challenge?

Eventually.  There are 22 available teams at this point, including the national sides.  I generally find national management far less enjoyable than club management, but we'll see.  Perhaps I'll put club management to the side at one point, completely.