FM17: Argentinian League

[beechy85]

Soon as I get time @AndySummers I'm going to join it! ?? Going to have a look for the rest of the South American leagues to download then have all SAM loaded along with Mexico, USA and the big leagues of Europe.

Got my copies of those 3 books you recommend further up the thread on order for my birthday too am looking forward to reading them in a few weeks, hopefully by that time I will be hooked on my Argentinos save by then ?

[Chrismatthews16]

My Argentinos save is plodding on reasonably.  A point behind Nueva Chicago at the top in November, but have a game in hand.

We are unbeatable at home, but tend to struggle a bit away and drop points in some games despite having the lion's share of possession and shots. 

Lenci is a beast up front and the young lads are developing nicely. Hopefully I can put a bit of a run together and put some daylight between us and the pack as I tend to win two or three and then draw or lose one.

[AndySummers]

12 minutes ago, Chrismatthews16 said:

Lenci is a beast up front

That, he is.

Currently on 21 in 18 games for me and has bagged seven more than the next highest scorer.

[Chrismatthews16]

Lining up a little like this at the moment.

I control at home, play shorter passing and retain possession. I play with a higher line but have started tinkering this away from home to try and be a little more consistent on our travels.

 

----------------------- Lanzilotta-------------------

 

Freire (CB)----Torren (BPD)-----Mosevich(CB)

 

Piovi (WB)-------------Machin (BWM)------------Batallini (WB)

 

------------Rolon (BBM)-----Ham (DLP)-------------

 

------------------ Gonzalez (AM) (Colman out for months)------------------

 

--------------------Lenci (TM)------------------------------

[bestbrother]

Hopefully some promotion news in here soon then from the Argentinos boys

I'm starting up with Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata.

Estudiantes

[beechy85]

Managed to load up a game earlier just to check out the Argentinos squad and I was shocked at the plethora of very talented youth in the squad! Quite a few will be my back up players I think! Set up a tactic 5-4-1 sweeper fm said but had sweeper, 2 cb's, wing backs a dm, 2cm's, Am and St and played a friendly against Rosario Central to see how It worked and was 2-0 up until I unplugged laptop and it died. ? Will definitely be starting a proper save soon though once I have sorted the lisencing issues with Brazil etc out got the leagues I want and face and logo packs for South America ?

[MANUMAD]

Started Argentinos. Only bought one player so far (Jesus Marimon in January 2017).

In January 2017 at First pos 2 points ahead of Gimnasia Jujuy having also won the cup.

Pissed off cos the better Macalister was sold while I was holidaying for 700k plus 120 instalments plus 15% future transfer. To Sporting CB

[Chrismatthews16]

1 hour ago, MANUMAD said:

Started Argentinos. Only bought one player so far (Jesus Marimon in January 2018).

In January 2017 at First pos 2 points ahead of Gimnasia Jujuy having also won the cup.

Pissed off cos the better Macalister was sold while I was holidaying for 700k plus 120 instalments plus 15% future transfer. To Sporting CB

Which Mac Allister?

I've got Kevin as back-up right wing back and have loaned out the other two. Two of the three will definitely make top players.

[bestbrother]

After failing with Gimnasia La Plata, ive started again in 'B' with Instituto.

[MANUMAD]

5 hours ago, Chrismatthews16 said:

Which Mac Allister?

I've got Kevin as back-up right wing back and have loaned out the other two. Two of the three will definitely make top players.

Alexis unfortunately

[setzel]

Finished my first season with Talleres Cordoba in 8th place  , Boca won the title in the last game winning against 2nd place River which i found it as nice way to finish the season.

 

Tried and failed to buy Facundo Colidio goddamn you Juventus !! . Bought Julian Ciccho and Tomas Conechny for 3 mil euros each which .

 

And to top that i got a great midfielder in my youth intake to spearhead my 3 man midfield in th future.

 

 

 

Oh and for those who wonder i got a 25 mil / 3 years TV Deal ! Have no ideea if the whole league got the same or its different i might check though !

 

 

[keyzerFAQ]

Glad to see people playing our DB

 

I always thought only us Argies played here and the ocasional adventurer. Great to know!

[bestbrother]

1 hour ago, keyzerFAQ said:

Glad to see people playing our DB

 

I always thought only us Argies played here and the ocasional adventurer. Great to know!

Argentinian football is the only football I watch with any interest or regularity now. I cant speak or understand a lick of Spanish, but the passion comes across. That in turn has made me want to be a part of it via FM, so its my go-to nation for a career save... and South America in general as well.

Keep up the good work

[AndySummers]

I am a fan of Argentinian football too. Going back 15 years or so, English terrestrial channels used to show both Argentinian and Brazilian league games. This was around the time Tevez was making his debut and players such as Riquelme, Aimar and Saviola were plying their trade, and also the excellent Santos team featuring Alex, Elano, Diego, Robinho and Ricardo Oliveira - around 1999-2004.

Brazil can be a bit too much of a free-for-all for my taste, but I would gladly still watch Argentinian league games if they were accessible. The game has a passion that you only tend to see in Balkan football in Europe - "more than just a game".

How are you getting on at Instituto @bestbrother? Give it a few more weeks and you'll have had more clubs than Tiger Woods

Looks like it'll be Saturday for my first season report, still seven league games remaining. But we are now promoted and starting to plan for life rubbing shoulders with the grandees of Argentinian football. Also, when does the regen intake occur? I'm used to having it in February/March in Europe. The only info I could immediately see online suggested it was September in FM16, but I didn't have an intake at the start of the campaign, so I am guessing it happens long before then?

[setzel]

Its 31 July or 30 July so it was for me  . Was a shocker for me too i was trying to make transfers and  got my regens haha

[bestbrother]

8 hours ago, AndySummers said:

 

Brazil can be a bit too much of a free-for-all for my taste, but I would gladly still watch Argentinian league games if they were accessible. The game has a passion that you only tend to see in Balkan football in Europe - "more than just a game".

How are you getting on at Instituto @bestbrother? Give it a few more weeks and you'll have had more clubs than Tiger Woods

 

Futbol Para Todos is free to air on YouTube for all Primera games still. I think that stops in January, but here it is atm https://www.youtube.com/user/webfutbolparatodos/videos

Unfortunately my time at Insituto didn't go so well.... 8th then 5th and as the wage bill spiralled in season 3, so did expectations. So after 1pt from 8 games I was duly relieved of my position

[davehibb]

I'm struggling to get into an Argentinian save thus far, or any save really in all honesty. I have started loads, Bilbao, Athletico, Liverpool, Racing Club, Santos and Ajax and the only one where I've even got past preseason so far is Ajax.

Nothing is capturing my imagination so far. I though Racing Club might but not as yet. I'm tempted to have a look at River Plate...

Hopefully I can get my head into something that sticks.  But I'm keeping a close eye on the thread regardless.

[keyzerFAQ]

Apparently the league will be changed for next year, there will be a short interim tournament (of 6 months) that will held 6 relegations (intead of the 4 we forecasted). 

 

That could be both fun and challenging in game. Get promoted for second division and you get a short 6 month tournament to make as much points as you can to not get relegated. Because how average works you are pretty much obliged to almost win the Primera Division league to stay

[setzel]

1 hour ago, keyzerFAQ said:

Apparently the league will be changed for next year, there will be a short interim tournament (of 6 months) that will held 6 relegations (intead of the 4 we forecasted). 

 

That could be both fun and challenging in game. Get promoted for second division and you get a short 6 month tournament to make as much points as you can to not get relegated. Because how average works you are pretty much obliged to almost win the Primera Division league to stay 

 

Thats straight up ******** I mean i knew they made the 30 league system to never get boca river relegated ! But the are so many normal and easier way to get to 20 that what they have choosen is ludicrous

[bestbrother]

1 hour ago, keyzerFAQ said:

Apparently the league will be changed for next year, there will be a short interim tournament (of 6 months) that will held 6 relegations (intead of the 4 we forecasted). 

 

That could be both fun and challenging in game. Get promoted for second division and you get a short 6 month tournament to make as much points as you can to not get relegated. Because how average works you are pretty much obliged to almost win the Primera Division league to stay

These potential changes wont appear until FM18 though I take it? Nto something that can be patched in?

[AndySummers]

Angels with Dirty Faces – 2016-17 Argentinos Juniors

In the first of, hopefully, a number of seasonal write-ups for Argentinos Juniors, here is the first instalment.

As mentioned previously, I always felt that retaining talent would be the most difficult challenge at the outset. Usually I take a conciliatory approach, allowing players to leave for 'x' fee and setting the bar high, but, with FM17 witnessing players negotiating their own release fee, I immediately decided this approach would not work. Instead I took a more aggressive style, using the meagre wage budget to sign up my star players – and pre-eminent youth talent - to long-term contracts and then resisting any approach for their services. Before a ball had even been kicked Damian Batallini (star player), Miguel Angel Torren (Captain) and Esteban Rolon (midfield general) had been unsettled and expressed their dissatisfaction. This was to be a common theme throughout 2016-17 but, by good form and clubs' interest waning, I have managed to retain all the players that I wanted to keep, and indeed sign up Batallini and Rolon to a second long-term contract. I also managed to keep Fausto Vera out of the clutches of Juventus, a key move to secure the future of the club.

It was not all plain sailing though. Talented defender Nicolas Freire starts on an unprotected contract and I was unable to sign him up before Mexican side Veracruz nipped in and took him on a free. That was a shame; young and able, he would have proven an asset.

Implementing a style

Pre-season went well as I immediately deployed my 32221 (interestingly, I then noticed Cleon's latest blog uses the very same formation at Santos so, for anyone following the tactic, this may prove great reference material). I started with a virgin tactic and then began adding in my TIs. I like to control games and knew that I wanted to play a short passing game, keeping the tempo low and using natural rotation and creativity to unpick opposing defences. That provided a base-point to begin to build familiarity. Results were positive, winning six, drawing two and losing one of the introductory games. I scheduled games against Primera teams within that, to act as a reference point for quality, and the team were competitive.

The main concern demonstrated in pre-season was just how easily opponents could play over my defence. The ball-playing stopper wasn't working as thought, and there was just too much space in the left-channel. This could easily have been a lack of familiarity and an absence of a cohesive pressing game, but it just didn't feel right. As per previous, I had planned to slowly introduce a libero, but Torren was injured at this point and as a makeshift action I altered the stopper to a ball playing cover. This worked well enough that the libero idea never really took off, although I occasionally switch to it in-game. I plan to revisit this again.

The tactic that began the season, and that which finished it, are outlined below.

In general, the philosophy worked as planned. Recycle and retain, and get the wingbacks involved. Batallini was devastating as the offensive right-sided wingback and finished the season leading the league on 19 assistss, all from open play. If anything, it seemed overpowered as the season wore on. Between them, Batallini and MacAllister mustered 27 assists, in comparison to the 4 of the supporting left-sided wingbacks. The 'classic' Argentinos goal was a tight build-up centrally, before a crossfield pass put Batallini in position to deliver to Lenci. The powerful striker lapped up the service with aplomb and netted 34 goals in 36 starts.

That said, there were times when it felt a bit too much of a gimmick and we were by no means always able to break down packed opposing defences. I don't like over-reliance on one element and hope to bring more variety into the play. The overly aggressive wingback possibly detracted from through-play, it was noticeable that players often refused to acknowledge forward-runs through the centre. It may be a situation where I need to tone down the right-sided penetration and balance it out with added pressure from the left.

In tandem, the two wingbacks are under duress, as the following graphic shows. Batallini covering the most ground per game in the division, Benitez third. Considering that we don't play a vertical game, those two get through a hell of a lot of work.

 

The big innovation during the season was to alter the deep-lying defensive playmaker to a defensive central midfielder. With a fluid mentality, in addition to two dedicated creative players and a box-to-box midfielder, it was noticeable that there was just too much rotation in the central areas, even allowing for the mandatory 'hold position' on the DLP(d). Introduced mid-season, this change tightened things up considerably and the only goal conceded in the next eight games was a man short against Estudiantes San Luis. Up to that point we had kept seven clean-sheets in twenty games. Thereafter, we managed fourteen in twenty-four, including seven consecutive between early April and mid-May.

I will be looking to experiment further with roles over pre-season. Despite Lenci's prolific season, the defensive forward role is not my favoured option and I feel a better balance in the attacking structure could be found.

Standings & Results

So how did the season go, with the 32221?

In short, very well indeed. We were never outside of the top-pack and headed the league by 3pts at the halfway stage. In the closing half, we really took off and ended 16pts clear. Crucero del Norte were the class of the field and went up in second place. The other sides were much of a muchness, none really able to string a run of wins together. We scored 1.84gpg and conceded only 0.75. Those stats were inverse of each other; we were generally more prolific early in the season and increasingly had to face opponents deploying a 442 with two holding players, whilst the defence tightened up as tactical appreciation strengthened.

 

 

 

An Overview of Stats

 

 

 

 

The Surprise Package

It is no surprise that assist-king Batallini and the prolific Lenci were the stars of the team, supported by the dynamic Rolon. However, one unexpected player impressed me this season. Patricio Matricardi starts in the reserves and I had no real expectation for him, but an injury-crists at the start of the season thrust him into the spotlight. He didn't look back. Modest atts and a reasonable average performance of 7.15 (6^th amongst regular Argentinos players) don't suggest much, but he is rock solid at left-central defence.

 

MacAllister Watch

In a previous post, I outlined the MacAllister family connection and that I would follow this narrative closely. Carlos Javier would have been a proud man on 29^th October 2016 when all three featured in the team together for the first time. It would take until 22^nd February 2017 for the trio's names to feature on a Starting XI for the first – and currently only – time.

Their pre-season and end-season attributes are displayed below.

In general, I've taken my time introducing the MacAllisters. Batallini's status as the best player at the club has dampened down Kevin's appearances, although he made a healthy 14(6) appearances, registering a goal and eight assists, and has been the regular backup in his position.

 

 

Alexis was slow to get going. A little too inconsistent to begin, I allowed him to gestate in the reserves before flourishing late in the season. He registered 9(11) appearances, with three goals and a solitary assist. However, his attributes have seen a dramatic improvement, no doubt aided by his determined personality. He will be a force to be reckoned with next season.

 

 

Francis, as suspected, found it difficult, registering only two appearances until I punted him out on loan to Avai in the Brasilerao B. He just doesn't have the fortitude to match his more talented siblings and will struggle to break through, although I will endeavour to keep him at the club as long as possible.

 

 

The Focus on Youth

The 'kids' are the lifeblood of Argentinos' philosophy and I have promoted and utilised numerous. Players 21 or under have made more than one-hundred starts across the season, rising to almost 150 once Cano (now 22) and Matricardi (23, started in the reserves) are factored in.

The undoubted star youth is Fausto Vera:

 

Vera made his debut aged 16 and 238 days against Atl Parana on 19^th November and then, a week later, came on against Villa Dalmine at 35mins and a man short and produced a goal, assist and MOTM display to transform the game. I was sold and he has featured in the squad ever since, making 10(9) appearances and registering one goal and three assists from deep midfield. His attribute progression has been astronomical, he has acquired Machin's resilient personality and he will start next season as a bona-fide contender.

Two other youngsters have caught my eye this year in particular:

Enzo Ybanez has progressed well and earned a handful of appearances towards the end of the campiagn, with title secure. He will have a big future at the club.

 

 

16-year old Nehuen Perez is yet to make his debut, but it won't be long coming. His pace is a huge asset in a squad shorn of quick defenders, Torren the exception.

 

 

In general, the youths have developed well, all strongly influenced by the determined squad character and several benefiting from the tutoring of seasonal professionals such as Emanuel Tripodi and Gaston Machin. The only fly in the ointment was Francisco Sole, my favourite youngster from the Beta pre-season test and his rocket of a long shot. He damaged cruciates early in the season and has been out for 11 months, a big miss as he'd already bagged two goals in four starts by that point. There was an Armenian footballer playing for Ararat Yerevan in the 70s by the name of Sergey Bondarenko, and he was so proficient at long-range efforts that a common joke held that 'he had scored from the fish shop' (two miles from the stadium). Sole is the Bondarenko of Argentinos.

 

Awards

 

Batallini took both the Fans' Player and Young Player of the Year awards. 34-goal Lenci didn't even make the top three, which is a nice departure from FM15 where prolific strikers usually dominated.

 

Finances & Transfers

Transfer action has been non-existant, unneeded and with little budget anyway. My first action was to cancel the loan of Francisco Fydriszewski. On £2.7k per week, one of the higher earners and the yearly spend would have hoovered up nearly 25% of the entire bank balance at the time. Loan players are of no interest (although I did keep on Ivan Silva as I thought I may sign him).

 

 

The only purchase was to confirm Tiago Olcesi, who starts on loan at the club and was a free unprotected-contract signing. At £120k he was a no-brainer, with at least the same potential as Lucas Cano.

Elsewhere, the main sale was Braian Romero as he just didn't fit the style. I also unexpectedly earned from Daniel Franco, who starts out on loan and had no future. Overall, I earned £1m from sales and the finances – and budget – now stand at £1.5m.

 

 

That is healthy enough for a bit of limited spending. There are a couple of upcoming free transfer who have caught my eye, but with players so quick to become unhappy at lack of game time – and youngsters so quick to demand it – I am loathe to really invest too much here.

What the squad does need, though, is personality. It has a chronic lack of tutors, with only four players over 30 and, in fact, only six over the age of 26. There aren't many personalities who can tutor, the Resilient Gaston Machin and Fairly Professional Emanuel Tripodi aside. Sebastian Martinez is retiring at 34 due to lack of games and Tripodi is already 36, so I need to inject a little experience into the matrix.

So far, I have only agreed Jose Hernan Dujaut on a free. Crucero del Norte's support striker plundered 17 goals and generally gave me the runaround over two games. He adds nothing personality-wise, but those technical and off-the-ball stats will be a huge boon at attacking midfield or support striker.

 

 

There is also one huge potential improvement. Luciano Cabral starts on loan at the Brazilian club Atletico Paranaense with a pathetic £1.15m future fee. He currently has two weeks remaining on-loan and I would be delighted if they don't activate the clause. He is a first-team calibre player.

 

 

So, that's where I'll leave it. More on transfer and the impending youth intake later (exciting stuff!).

 

Side-note...

This is the comparison-indicator between Esteban Rolon and Ezequiel Ham. Could you get two players more alike?!

 

 

 

[matisarue]

2 hours ago, AndySummers said:

Angels with Dirty Faces – 2016-17 Argentinos Juniors

In the first of, hopefully, a number of seasonal write-ups for Argentinos Juniors, here is the first instalment.

As mentioned previously, I always felt that retaining talent would be the most difficult challenge at the outset. Usually I take a conciliatory approach, allowing players to leave for 'x' fee and setting the bar high, but, with FM17 witnessing players negotiating their own release fee, I immediately decided this approach would not work. Instead I took a more aggressive style, using the meagre wage budget to sign up my star players – and pre-eminent youth talent - to long-term contracts and then resisting any approach for their services. Before a ball had even been kicked Damian Batallini (star player), Miguel Angel Torren (Captain) and Esteban Rolon (midfield general) had been unsettled and expressed their dissatisfaction. This was to be a common theme throughout 2016-17 but, by good form and clubs' interest waning, I have managed to retain all the players that I wanted to keep, and indeed sign up Batallini and Rolon to a second long-term contract. I also managed to keep Fausto Vera out of the clutches of Juventus, a key move to secure the future of the club.

It was not all plain sailing though. Talented defender Nicolas Freire starts on an unprotected contract and I was unable to sign him up before Mexican side Veracruz nipped in and took him on a free. That was a shame; young and able, he would have proven an asset.

Implementing a style

Pre-season went well as I immediately deployed my 32221 (interestingly, I then noticed Cleon's latest blog uses the very same formation at Santos so, for anyone following the tactic, this may prove great reference material). I started with a virgin tactic and then began adding in my TIs. I like to control games and knew that I wanted to play a short passing game, keeping the tempo low and using natural rotation and creativity to unpick opposing defences. That provided a base-point to begin to build familiarity. Results were positive, winning six, drawing two and losing one of the introductory games. I scheduled games against Primera teams within that, to act as a reference point for quality, and the team were competitive.

The main concern demonstrated in pre-season was just how easily opponents could play over my defence. The ball-playing stopper wasn't working as thought, and there was just too much space in the left-channel. This could easily have been a lack of familiarity and an absence of a cohesive pressing game, but it just didn't feel right. As per previous, I had planned to slowly introduce a libero, but Torren was injured at this point and as a makeshift action I altered the stopper to a ball playing cover. This worked well enough that the libero idea never really took off, although I occasionally switch to it in-game. I plan to revisit this again.

The tactic that began the season, and that which finished it, are outlined below.

In general, the philosophy worked as planned. Recycle and retain, and get the wingbacks involved. Batallini was devastating as the offensive right-sided wingback and finished the season leading the league on 19 assistss, all from open play. If anything, it seemed overpowered as the season wore on. Between them, Batallini and MacAllister mustered 27 assists, in comparison to the 4 of the supporting left-sided wingbacks. The 'classic' Argentinos goal was a tight build-up centrally, before a crossfield pass put Batallini in position to deliver to Lenci. The powerful striker lapped up the service with aplomb and netted 34 goals in 36 starts.

That said, there were times when it felt a bit too much of a gimmick and we were by no means always able to break down packed opposing defences. I don't like over-reliance on one element and hope to bring more variety into the play. The overly aggressive wingback possibly detracted from through-play, it was noticeable that players often refused to acknowledge forward-runs through the centre. It may be a situation where I need to tone down the right-sided penetration and balance it out with added pressure from the left.

In tandem, the two wingbacks are under duress, as the following graphic shows. Batallini covering the most ground per game in the division, Benitez third. Considering that we don't play a vertical game, those two get through a hell of a lot of work.

 

The big innovation during the season was to alter the deep-lying defensive playmaker to a defensive central midfielder. With a fluid mentality, in addition to two dedicated creative players and a box-to-box midfielder, it was noticeable that there was just too much rotation in the central areas, even allowing for the mandatory 'hold position' on the DLP(d). Introduced mid-season, this change tightened things up considerably and the only goal conceded in the next eight games was a man short against Estudiantes San Luis. Up to that point we had kept seven clean-sheets in twenty games. Thereafter, we managed fourteen in twenty-four, including seven consecutive between early April and mid-May.

I will be looking to experiment further with roles over pre-season. Despite Lenci's prolific season, the defensive forward role is not my favoured option and I feel a better balance in the attacking structure could be found.

Standings & Results

So how did the season go, with the 32221?

In short, very well indeed. We were never outside of the top-pack and headed the league by 3pts at the halfway stage. In the closing half, we really took off and ended 16pts clear. Crucero del Norte were the class of the field and went up in second place. The other sides were much of a muchness, none really able to string a run of wins together. We scored 1.84gpg and conceded only 0.75. Those stats were inverse of each other; we were generally more prolific early in the season and increasingly had to face opponents deploying a 442 with two holding players, whilst the defence tightened up as tactical appreciation strengthened.

 

 

 

An Overview of Stats

 

 

 

 

The Surprise Package

It is no surprise that assist-king Batallini and the prolific Lenci were the stars of the team, supported by the dynamic Rolon. However, one unexpected player impressed me this season. Patricio Matricardi starts in the reserves and I had no real expectation for him, but an injury-crists at the start of the season thrust him into the spotlight. He didn't look back. Modest atts and a reasonable average performance of 7.15 (6^th amongst regular Argentinos players) don't suggest much, but he is rock solid at left-central defence.

 

MacAllister Watch

In a previous post, I outlined the MacAllister family connection and that I would follow this narrative closely. Carlos Javier would have been a proud man on 29^th October 2016 when all three featured in the team together for the first time. It would take until 22^nd February 2017 for the trio's names to feature on a Starting XI for the first – and currently only – time.

Their pre-season and end-season attributes are displayed below.

In general, I've taken my time introducing the MacAllisters. Batallini's status as the best player at the club has dampened down Kevin's appearances, although he made a healthy 14(6) appearances, registering a goal and eight assists, and has been the regular backup in his position.

 

 

Alexis was slow to get going. A little too inconsistent to begin, I allowed him to gestate in the reserves before flourishing late in the season. He registered 9(11) appearances, with three goals and a solitary assist. However, his attributes have seen a dramatic improvement, no doubt aided by his determined personality. He will be a force to be reckoned with next season.

 

 

Francis, as suspected, found it difficult, registering only two appearances until I punted him out on loan to Avai in the Brasilerao B. He just doesn't have the fortitude to match his more talented siblings and will struggle to break through, although I will endeavour to keep him at the club as long as possible.

 

 

The Focus on Youth

The 'kids' are the lifeblood of Argentinos' philosophy and I have promoted and utilised numerous. Players 21 or under have made more than one-hundred starts across the season, rising to almost 150 once Cano (now 22) and Matricardi (23, started in the reserves) are factored in.

The undoubted star youth is Fausto Vera:

 

Vera made his debut aged 16 and 238 days against Atl Parana on 19^th November and then, a week later, came on against Villa Dalmine at 35mins and a man short and produced a goal, assist and MOTM display to transform the game. I was sold and he has featured in the squad ever since, making 10(9) appearances and registering one goal and three assists from deep midfield. His attribute progression has been astronomical, he has acquired Machin's resilient personality and he will start next season as a bona-fide contender.

Two other youngsters have caught my eye this year in particular:

Enzo Ybanez has progressed well and earned a handful of appearances towards the end of the campiagn, with title secure. He will have a big future at the club.

 

 

16-year old Nehuen Perez is yet to make his debut, but it won't be long coming. His pace is a huge asset in a squad shorn of quick defenders, Torren the exception.

 

 

In general, the youths have developed well, all strongly influenced by the determined squad character and several benefiting from the tutoring of seasonal professionals such as Emanuel Tripodi and Gaston Machin. The only fly in the ointment was Francisco Sole, my favourite youngster from the Beta pre-season test and his rocket of a long shot. He damaged cruciates early in the season and has been out for 11 months, a big miss as he'd already bagged two goals in four starts by that point. There was an Armenian footballer playing for Ararat Yerevan in the 70s by the name of Sergey Bondarenko, and he was so proficient at long-range efforts that a common joke held that 'he had scored from the fish shop' (two miles from the stadium). Sole is the Bondarenko of Argentinos.

 

Awards

 

Batallini took both the Fans' Player and Young Player of the Year awards. 34-goal Lenci didn't even make the top three, which is a nice departure from FM15 where prolific strikers usually dominated.

 

Finances & Transfers

Transfer action has been non-existant, unneeded and with little budget anyway. My first action was to cancel the loan of Francisco Fydriszewski. On £2.7k per week, one of the higher earners and the yearly spend would have hoovered up nearly 25% of the entire bank balance at the time. Loan players are of no interest (although I did keep on Ivan Silva as I thought I may sign him).

 

 

The only purchase was to confirm Tiago Olcesi, who starts on loan at the club and was a free unprotected-contract signing. At £120k he was a no-brainer, with at least the same potential as Lucas Cano.

Elsewhere, the main sale was Braian Romero as he just didn't fit the style. I also unexpectedly earned from Daniel Franco, who starts out on loan and had no future. Overall, I earned £1m from sales and the finances – and budget – now stand at £1.5m.

 

 

That is healthy enough for a bit of limited spending. There are a couple of upcoming free transfer who have caught my eye, but with players so quick to become unhappy at lack of game time – and youngsters so quick to demand it – I am loathe to really invest too much here.

What the squad does need, though, is personality. It has a chronic lack of tutors, with only four players over 30 and, in fact, only six over the age of 26. There aren't many personalities who can tutor, the Resilient Gaston Machin and Fairly Professional Emanuel Tripodi aside. Sebastian Martinez is retiring at 34 due to lack of games and Tripodi is already 36, so I need to inject a little experience into the matrix.

So far, I have only agreed Jose Hernan Dujaut on a free. Crucero del Norte's support striker plundered 17 goals and generally gave me the runaround over two games. He adds nothing personality-wise, but those technical and off-the-ball stats will be a huge boon at attacking midfield or support striker.

 

 

There is also one huge potential improvement. Luciano Cabral starts on loan at the Brazilian club Atletico Paranaense with a pathetic £1.15m future fee. He currently has two weeks remaining on-loan and I would be delighted if they don't activate the clause. He is a first-team calibre player.

 

 

So, that's where I'll leave it. More on transfer and the impending youth intake later (exciting stuff!).

 

Side-note...

This is the comparison-indicator between Esteban Rolon and Ezequiel Ham. Could you get two players more alike?!

 

 

 

It's incredible that Fausto Vera improves from 10 to 16 in Determination!! 

 

Kevin Mac Allister doesn't improve any attribute. Strange.

 

Nice campaign! Defensive Striker and 34 goals. Never seen

[AndySummers]

@matisarue I expect it is a signifier of his low determination, but it is a shame nonetheless.

Last night I had one of those rare moments where I had to turn the game off to think about my next move. America MEX have had a bid for Batallini accepted by the Chairman. I feel I could successfully protest, but the offer is £4.8m, £1.2m after 12 months, a further £1.2m after 50 appearances, a 30% sell on, and £625k after a Copa win. £6m with a guaranteed further payout and/or very likely large sell on is a big offer by Argentinian standards, with MacAllister ready to step in.

Unfortunately, the ideal replacement - Giuliano Graciani - was available on a free until three days ago and has now moved, whilst the plethora of talented Brazilian wingbacks are either unavailable or beyond what I would be happy paying in wages. My second and third targets - Agustin Sant'Anna and Mario Pineida - have both either signed a new contract or recently moved. My options for a good rotation player are limited, although I could switch Argentinos' Jonathan Sandoval over from backup RCD and make use of his gets forward whenever possible PPM (always a danger for a central defender!)

Tricky one, this. I think a sale would also prompt the board to open up my scouting range to unrestricted too, which I've been petitioning unsuccessfully for, and that would bring into play all of the Spanish-speakers of Mexico and Central America as potential targets.

[Jogo Bonito]

Great update Andy, very enjoyable reading and I look forward to seeing more with the same amount of detail, thought and passion.

[bestbrother]

Cracking post Andy, Argentinos back in the big time. Looks like you have a nice system there setup for a good crack in Primera.

Hopefully you can hang on financially and get a couple of years out of your talent before the big boys come round to feast.

[beechy85]

Great post there Andy ?? I was going to wait until the rest of the South American leagues were made but I might have to start a save as Argentinos tomorrow as I have a day off! When I did start as them last week laptop died as I was 3-1 up against Rosario Central in a friendly I arranged to test a tactic and haven't gone back on since as been busy. Will fire it up tomorrow and see how I go on, saw they won 3-0 away on Saturday too! 

[luka_zg]

Hey guys!

I'd like to start South American career but I want to make brazil teams to have real club colours. How to do that?

[AndySummers]

43 minutes ago, luka_ said:

Hey guys!

I'd like to start South American career but I want to make brazil teams to have real club colours. How to do that?

Hi Luka,

Do you just mean kits?

I am not sure what this forum's policy is for directly linking other sites, so I won't do so, but I would recommend several sites:

footballmanagercentral.com has an entire section dedicated to collating graphics, including individual league kits and is updated regularly, or you can pick up the FM16 kit megapack from fm-space.com, which will give you a big range of graphics in one hit. The ever-reliable sortitoutsi.net has a range of everything and I would recommend picking up the metallic logos pack, which will sort out your Brazilian club logos right down through to the Division Inferiores.

There are a number of locations where you can pick up graphics with just a quick Google search, but those are my favourites.

[davehibb]

On 29/10/2016 at 01:34, AndySummers said:

I am beginning to sway towards Argentinos Juniors. Longer road to the top echelon (albeit rated the no.1 team in the Primera B Nacional) and they have some really promising young players that would enhance a push towards homegrown personnel. The Maradona connections are also irrestistible.

@davehibb - if you'd like something more in-depth, might be worthwhile looking at the recently released 'Angels with dirty faces; the footballing history of Argentina' by Jonathan Wilson. To me Jonathan Wilson is the doyen of sports writers and if this book is anything like his previous works, it will be a must read (my copy is on order). In fact, I would highly recommend both Inverting the Pyramid; the history of football tactics and Behind the Iron Curtain; travels in Eastern European football.  Particularly the latter.

This has been added to my Christmas list and I'm in the middle of Inverting The Pyramid too. Have you had a chance to get stuck into it? Would you still recommend it?

As for a save, seeing as Racing hasn't quite captured my imagination like I hoped they would and having spent an hour last night watching Alario, Driussi and Martinez, I think I might give River a go. Probably not a popular choice but the thought of having those three tearing things up for a few years is quite appealing.

[AndySummers]

For sure Dave,

About 25% of the way through. Hasn't yet grabbed me as immediately as Behind The Curtain did, but that's more as the opening chapters go right back to the genesis of Argentinian football, and the 19th century game isn't really an interest of mine. Now through to the 1920-30s and the rabid rivalry with Uruguay, the book is really picking up pace.

Jonathan Wilson is an outstanding writer though, even periods of apathy have their own curiosities and interesting nuggets of information.

 

[bestbrother]

Into my 3rd year with Ferro atm, I always update my saves in the career threads

Feel free to take a look, ill update in here as well as I go

[feche]

I hope you got sacked 

[luka_zg]

2 hours ago, AndySummers said:

Hi Luka,

Do you just mean kits?

I am not sure what this forum's policy is for directly linking other sites, so I won't do so, but I would recommend several sites:

footballmanagercentral.com has an entire section dedicated to collating graphics, including individual league kits and is updated regularly, or you can pick up the FM16 kit megapack from fm-space.com, which will give you a big range of graphics in one hit. The ever-reliable sortitoutsi.net has a range of everything and I would recommend picking up the metallic logos pack, which will sort out your Brazilian club logos right down through to the Division Inferiores.

There are a number of locations where you can pick up graphics with just a quick Google search, but those are my favourites.

No, I know all this. I mean the club colours of brazilian clubs. Like you click on Santos and I have logo and real name Santos instead SAN but the colour is blue when it should be white.

i dont need original kit pics to have bit only the normal club colours. Corinthians is yellow instead of white, Gremio is red instead of light blue etc...

how do I fix this?

[bestbrother]

1 hour ago, feche said:

I hope you got sacked 

I will make sure we get you one day

[bestbrother]

12 minutes ago, luka_ said:

No, I know all this. I mean the club colours of brazilian clubs. Like you click on Santos and I have logo and real name Santos instead SAN but the colour is blue when it should be white.

i dont need original kit pics to have bit only the normal club colours. Corinthians is yellow instead of white, Gremio is red instead of light blue etc...

how do I fix this?

Unfortunately links or discussions about this are not allowed as far as I'm aware due to licensing. Andy has pointed you in the right direction though, have a nose around those websites.

[luka_zg]

8 hours ago, bestbrother said:

Unfortunately links or discussions about this are not allowed as far as I'm aware due to licensing. Andy has pointed you in the right direction though, have a nose around those websites.

I did but didn't find any solution. So, if anyone knows how to fix it please send me a private message.

[AndySummers]

15 hours ago, luka_ said:

No, I know all this. I mean the club colours of brazilian clubs

That's beyond my expertise.

If it is just a case that the default kit colours are incorrect, it'd probably be quicker to download a kitpack than try to amend it yourself. Five minute job if you only need those for Brazil.

If it is a title-bar/side-bar colour issue, a pack should sort this out for you too. Certainly, my own Gremio screen colours are correct.

[luka_zg]

14 hours ago, bestbrother said:

11 minutes ago, AndySummers said:

That's beyond my expertise.

If it is just a case that the default kit colours are incorrect, it'd probably be quicker to download a kitpack than try to amend it yourself. Five minute job if you only need those for Brazil.

If it is a title-bar/side-bar colour issue, a pack should sort this out for you too. Certainly, my own Gremio screen colours are correct.

OK. So, I had a lot of help from guys here on the topic of fixing names and title bar/side bar colour. but if I apply that fix which fixes names and title bar, do I need to amend the kit colours too, or will they stay wrong even if title bar is ok colour?

This is so tedious...

[bestbrother]

Just a little update in here for my friend @feche

Ferro Carril Oeste 2 Velez Sarsfield 0

 

[feche]

HAHAHAHAHAHA 

 

was about time I suppose!

[AndySummers]

Angels with Dirty Faces - 2017-18, preparing the ground

Just a mini-update before I head into the 2017-18 season and a debut campaign in the Primera.

Pre-season has gone very well. Nine wins from ten, knocking off fellow Primera teams Newell's, Quilmes, Colon and Rosario, in addition to some of Uruguay's finest last year, in Nacional (1st) and Fenix (4th). I have been subtly tweaking player roles to bring variety into play - including a strikerless 3223 - but the biggest difference is evident in personnel. Atletico Paranense did not buy out Luciano Cabral's £1.15m future fee and he has been in sensational form as the advanced playmaker, a clear upgrade from previous options, whilst Jose Hernan Dujaut's impeccable touch and incisive off-the-ball running has added a whole new dimension to the attack. Finally we have a player able to commit, and regularly beat, an opponent. I am already seeing much more of the play focused through the middle and less of a reliance on Lenci, evidenced by Cabral against Rosario in the season-straddling Copa Argentina, netting twice, whilst Dujaut caused havoc.

In terms of transfers, I decided to protest the Batallini sale in the end and was successful. He was just too valuable to lose. The amusing offshoot of that decision saw the Chairman subsequently sell unsettled Guillermo Benitez to Pachuca and I had no right of protest. Bang goes my 23 year old driven left wingback with his 20 determination, 18 fitness, 16 stamina and a sure-fire future tutor. What that has done is open the door to youth prodigy Enzo Ybanez and yet another teenager will be making a lot of appearances this season.

Elsewhere, I've spent nothing. Juventus pipped me to the signing of Facundo Colidio, Juan Cruz Komar was too greedy in wages, and I've stalled making an offer for Tomas Conechny. Stand-out talent has been hard to come by, so instead I've hoovered up a couple of youth prospects from god knows what division that I found by chance, and also paid £30k for a solid Colombian forward, Edward Bolanos, who looked decent enough to gamble one of my four foreign slots on. Jorge Montesino, in particular, looks a great prospect on a free (both profiled below).

However, the big news was youth intake day. In a save focused on youth, all you can hope for is at least one or two good talents to emerge, and I wasn't disappointed...

It's not even the level of talent that impressed, just look at those personalities. The top-six rated players to come through the academy, all hugely positive. Of the three players with a negative personality, none impressed me. Overall, that was a hell of a distribution. The best-rated talents were:

However, my attention was drawn towards these two. Professional Leonardo Alonso could be future Captain material, whilst moderately-rated Leonardo Ceballos is arguably my favourite player of the intake. I can see me making a lot of him in the future. Also like the ambidexterity of Walter Blanco; that could see me try some tactical funkiness with an inverted wingback in future.

Considering Argentinos only recenty have an 'above average' youth recruitment network, and the club is based in the same catchment area as; Boca, River, Racing, Independiente and San Lorenzo, HOYD Enrique Borelli has done a fabulous job!

[luka_zg]

I started my save last night also with Argentinos juniors. I disabled the first transfer window transfers so my squad is as it comes. Played 9 games, won 4 and drew 5, and currently sitting on 2nd place with 4 points less than 1st Almagro. But I have a game in hand and next match is away at Almagro. So, this one is pretty important not to lose. I've not yet decided on formation. I started with my classic 433DM, but it just doesn't work here, the front three were constantly getting very low ratings and in general the level of our performances were quite ******. After I switched to Andy's tactic that he posted here, we got better, but this formation I just doesn't like and don't feel comfortable with.

Now, I am thinking of switching to 4-2-3-1 or even 3-5-2.  Kevin MacAllister broke his leg in preseason and is out for 7 months. Alexis also got an injury that kept him out until now, and in preseason he was maybe my best player. The third one, I don't think he is good enough. I noticed huge improvements for Vera and Gonzales, really rapid improvements only a few months in the season which is great. I expect both to be my key players going forward.

Anywa I'm in a bit of a rough spot now with not knowing which system I want to use and already playing catch up in the league I should win so hopefully we manage to find our prefered style while putting points on the board at the same time.

[bestbrother]

Just finished my 4th season, Boca are dominant both in Argentina and in the Libertadores reaching 3 straight Finals.

The league is slowly whittling down now, next year its 22 teams, then ill be down to the 20 and a standard season from there on in.

We are middle of the road, got a few promising youngsters coming through... but even with $6.5m worth of sales, we barely break even at this point.

[luka_zg]

Quick update. 

I decided to play 3-1-4-1-1, one of threads here got me trying with that and it just clicked perfectly for now. Still undefeated after 16 games and have a comfortable 6 point advantage already in the league. Smashing rivals All Boys 6-2 away also felt good.

I have a first 11 also decided. Lanzillota-Torren,Freire,Mosevich-Rolon,Marchesin,Silva,Batallini,Cabrera-Rodriguez,Lenci.

I'm also trying to give as much playing time as I can to Vera and Alexis Macallister.

[Chrismatthews16]

I won the Primera B Nacional with Argentinos Juniors at the first time of asking. Dropped too many points away from home but still wrapped up the title with a couple of games to spare.

My first season in the big time got off the the best possible start with six wins and a couple of draws. The form began to fade but we still managed to finish the season in fifth place, meaning qualification for the Libertadores. Any idea when I will come into it? I notice they are only in the group stage so presuming I'll have to wait for next season's edition.

Haven't made many signings other than a couple of frees. Saul Nelle has been a good addition and Matias Perez Acuna, a right back from Velez has been a revelation.

Tend to revert to 4-2-3-1 at the moment with Lanzilotta in goal, Acuna at right back, Torren and Freire in the middle with Piovi at left back. 

Central midfielders are two from Ham, Nelle and Vera who is becoming a beast. Batallini and Gonzalez operate on the flanks with Cabral as an AMC and the evergreen Lenci still banging in the goals.

The Macallisters aren't really developing as hoped but Pizzatti is a good option off the bench.

Lenci is still banging them in but starting to pick up some injuries so I need to spend the off season recruiting an able replacement which will not be an easy task. Any suggestions welcome!

Finances are looking healthy, around £5million in the bank, and I've managed to keep hold of the main men excluding Rolon up until now.

An incredibly fun game so far!

 

[AndySummers]

All sounds good @Chrismatthews16 

I am hoping to have my second season report up this weekend. A holiday has put gametime on hiatus, but I am only around 10-12 games from finishing 2017-18.

Replacing Lenci is the eternal question for Argentinos. I've been scouring the lands all season and I am yet to decide who I want, although solid options exist.

[MANUMAD]

Since this is a thread on Argentinian league I think you ll find these interesting (and informative):

http://fmgrasshopper.com/blog/2016/11/22/managing-in-argentina-10-tips-to-survive

http://fmgrasshopper.com/blog/

[Chrismatthews16]

23 hours ago, MANUMAD said:

Since this is a thread on Argentinian league I think you ll find these interesting (and informative):

http://fmgrasshopper.com/blog/2016/11/22/managing-in-argentina-10-tips-to-survive

http://fmgrasshopper.com/blog/

A good read, thanks! I just finished the season in fourth, any idea when I'll enter the Libertadores? Next season presumably as it's already underway. 

[bestbrother]

1 hour ago, Chrismatthews16 said:

A good read, thanks! I just finished the season in fourth, any idea when I'll enter the Libertadores? Next season presumably as it's already underway. 

Yeah the next calender year, it runs Feb to Nov roughly.

In Argentina that means  you start the competition mid way through one season... then finish it (assuming you are still involved) as you are in the opening weeks of the following season.

[Chrismatthews16]

On 12/7/2016 at 10:24, bestbrother said:

Yeah the next calender year, it runs Feb to Nov roughly.

In Argentina that means  you start the competition mid way through one season... then finish it (assuming you are still involved) as you are in the opening weeks of the following season.

Thank you!

San Lorenzo's manager has just retired in June 2018, so I applied for the job and was interviewed. Got offered the job but had a last minute change of heart and decided I couldn't leave Argentinos until I've led them out in the Libertadores so signed a new deal.

Now preparing for my third season.