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The Pride of the Pyrenees


shaunvamos

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Hello again,

As many of you know, I started a save in Gibraltar. However, upon hearing that it is impossible to increase the European places no matter how high the coefficient rose, I decided to pull the plug on it and head elsewhere. I remember my time in Andorra in previous versions and how much I enjoyed it there, so I have returned there to finish what I started. I have decided to go with FC Santa Coloma again, as a 31 year old Catalonian former Sunday League player with a National A license. The goals here are fairly simple. Aim to make Andorra the best country in Europe on both a domestic and international front. I will only use academy players from my intake. I might leave the option to resign any former academy players, as technically they were a product of the club. Hopefully it all goes well this time around!

 

Santa-Coloma1.png

Nation: Andorra

Founded: 1986

Status: Semi-Pro

Estimated Value: 220K

Training Facilities: Poor

Youth Facilities: Basic

Youth Recruitment: Limited

Junior Coaching: Minimal

 

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I arrive with huge expectations, and I definitely aim to achieve that and more!

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Yay, Andorra :thup:

I think Lusitans can generate a solid portuguese player in their intakes once in a while. Remember there was a regen I grabbed from them in FM15 (playing as Santa Coloma) and at 17 sold him to a championship side for 500k. So it would be interesting to see if Andorran teams can generate cash by selling portuguese/spanish lads from their intakes.

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4 hours ago, Shevchenko said:

Yay, Andorra :thup:

I think Lusitans can generate a solid portuguese player in their intakes once in a while. Remember there was a regen I grabbed from them in FM15 (playing as Santa Coloma) and at 17 sold him to a championship side for 500k. So it would be interesting to see if Andorran teams can generate cash by selling portuguese/spanish lads from their intakes.

Yeah in my experience they produced some good players. Hopefully we can get some Spaniards or even French players.

 

4 hours ago, ManUtd1 said:

Out of one frying pan, and into another!

Shame about the Gibraltar save, but I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes.  Best of luck :thup:

Thanks mate!

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2016/17 Youth Intake Day

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What I found interesting about this intake was that I had multiple players with Portuguese as their second nationality. I have never seen that before in my time in charge of a club in Andorra. I don't think I've ever had a player with a realist personality either. It can't be that bad because his determination is 13 or 14. Lets have a look at the top 4:

Antonio Henrique (YP1a)_ Overview Profile.pngCarlos Garcia (YP1b)_ Overview Profile.pngFabio Loureiro (YP1c)_ Overview Profile.pngIago Alvarez (YP1d)_ Overview Profile.png

 

They aren't too bad, they will all just act as cover for the time being as we have a pretty small squad.

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2016/17 Season Review

Andorran First Division_ Overview Stages.png

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_  Senior Fixtures.png

Apart from the deterioration at the end of the season, this was a perfect start to the career. Didn't really look in trouble all year, and once Sant Julia fell away victory was all but assured. Add that to a very impressive showing against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League and things are looking great for the foreseeable future. 

 

Key Players

Player of the Year

Iban Parra_ Overview Profile.png

Fantastic season for the 39 year old in what will be his final season. Luckily for us there seems to be plenty of others willing to step up next season.

Top Goalscorer

Joan Carles Toscano_ Overview Profile.png

One of the reasons I love playing with Santa Coloma is this guy. In my last save he was always scoring goals, and it was no different here.

Young Player of the Year

Marc Rebes_ Overview Profile.png

Another familiar name from my last save, he appears to be just as good.

 

Other News

Both Lusitanos and UE Santa Coloma fell in the first round of Europa League qualifying, and the national team had a win over Kazakhstan, and draws with the Faroe Islands, Latvia and Liechtenstein.

 

Andorran First Division_ Overview Stages.png

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2017/18 Youth Intake Day

I managed to increase the junior coaching to adequate, and with our two best players gone I was expecting some decent ratings coming in.

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Three bona fide prospects there, lets have a closer look:

Untitled.pngFrancisco Costa (YP2b)_ Overview Profile.pngAlejandro Montejo (YP2c)_ Overview Profile.png

All decent looking players, again just depth options for now, and hopefully the squad personality (Fairly Pro) can clear up Montejo's personality.

 

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2017/18 Season Review

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Well, we won the league, and the super cup, but it wasn't pretty, especially towards the end. We had debilitating injuries to key players and it really showed, however the 2-0 win over Lusitans ensured we had the title in the bag. Luckily our early season form was enough to get us over the line, but hopefully this lapse doesn't happen again.

 

Key Players

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Pretty solid across the board, you'll notice there's a few youth players in there, highlighting the lack of depth we have in those areas. Juanfer picks up our player of the year, despite missing the back end of the season with a torn calf. Toscano and Rebes pick up top goalscorer and young player of the year respectively for the second year in a row.

 

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Miscellaneous News

Over the course of the season I completed the Continental B course, and am now in the middle of the Continental A course of study.

In Europe, Sant Julia lost 5-0 to Slavia Sofia of Bulgaria, and Lusitans lost 9-0 to Scottish Aberdeen.

The national team had a draw against Albania, but lost every other game.

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We weren't expected to get anything out of this, and then we end up destroying them at home, and then held on for dear life away. Really positive steps for the club, so who's next?

 

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Let's just try and keep this under 10, shall we?

 

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2018/19 Season Review

Andorran First Division_ Overview Stages.png

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_  Senior Fixtures.png

Well it's come to this. This is the point when my senior players start to degrade through aging and the youth players aren't at the standard to bridge the gap just yet. It's also the point at which the overpowered Portuguese newgens from Lusitans hit their straps. Due to these two occurrences Lusitans and Encamp leapfrogged us for a much needed (from the neutrals point of view) changing of the guard.

 

Best Eleven/Key Players

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_ History Best Eleven.png

 

 

Andreu Ramos_ Overview Profile.pngJoan Carles Toscano_ Overview Profile.pngMarc Rebes_ Overview Profile.png

 

Ramos inserts himself as our best player this year, trying his best to run an aging/inexperienced defence. Toscano and Rebes also pick up their usual awards, Rebes for perhaps the last time at 24. The saddest thing about this is that it will be Toscano's last time featured as a member of the team, as he announced his retirement. However, his role at the team has now changed to Director of Football, a fitting honour for our all time top goalscorer.

Carlos Ventura_  Inbox.png

 

Other News

In Europe, Lusitans and UE Santa Coloma lost their EL 1st QR ties 5-0 against Vaduz of Liechtenstein and Shakhter of Kazakhstan respectively.

The national team had an excellent year, finishing second in their Euro League group, with a win against Cyprus and draws against Liechtenstein and the Faroe Islands.

Next season I just hope we can cover the loss of Toscano, as no one else looks like scoring as many goals as he did at the moment.

 

Carlos Ventura_  Inbox.png

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Is it still the case with this Andorran league add-on that you can only give non-contract, while 2nd division clubs (even when promoted) can offer part time, even though everyone is semi-pro? It was the case in FM16 when I played as Sant Julia which ruined my save.

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18 minutes ago, Firehouse said:

Is it still the case with this Andorran league add-on that you can only give non-contract, while 2nd division clubs (even when promoted) can offer part time, even though everyone is semi-pro? It was the case in FM16 when I played as Sant Julia which ruined my save.

Not this time, I'm able to offer my players part time contracts ?

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2019/20 Youth Intake Day

We went into this intake desperate to replace our aging players plus adding depth to the weaker positions held by young players. Add that to the upgrading of junior coaching to good and I had a good feeling about this one.

F.C. Santa Coloma Youth Candidates_ Squad Players.png

Wow!

Not only did we get 3 certain starters, but two of them are in positions we desperately needed. I'll show you why:

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Goalkeeper I feel is one of the most important positions, especially in these kinds of saves. We had no decent keepers come through in the last 3 intakes, but that didn't really matter as we had Casals. But at 37, he isn't getting any younger and he is beginning to fall away fast. But then along comes Pastor to relieve my worries for the time being, a whole star and a half better than Casals!

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Onto the centre backs. Apart from Andreu Ramos, there was a major gap in class in the middle. Along comes Domingo to bridge the gap somewhat, and he will look right at home next to Ramos.

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Our central midfield is actually one of our strongest areas, so for Pascual to already be 3rd best is quite an achievement. He is unlikely to get a start unless injury occurs, but he will be a more than capable substitute.

 

Anyway, here are the top three in all their glory:

Adrian Domingo (YP4a)_ Overview Profile.pngSergio Pastor (YP4b)_ Overview Profile.pngAntonio Pascual (YP4c)_ Overview Profile.png

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2019/20 Season Review

Andorran First Division_ Overview Stages.png

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_  Senior Fixtures-2.png

Disgraceful. Nothing else to say really. I mean yes, our older players were declining, and yes, the younger players aren't up to standard just yet, but there were several matches we had no business losing, but somehow we did. Especially the cup final. Juanfer missed a penalty to equalise, and then decided he'd sail off into the sunset with an injury. With him gone, our hopes were done for. There will be no Europe next season. Let that sink in.

However, our fortunes may take a turn for the better with our latest youth intake, and the implementation of those new players resulted in a slight turn of positive results. Props to Rui Silva (YP4j) who went on an amazing scoring streak after the league split.

 

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_ History Best Eleven.png

Louriero (YP1c) tried his best to emulate Toscano's efforts from previous seasons, and did his part with 15 goals. Juanfer, in his final season as a player, topped the assists chart and also the highest average rating. But he also cost us the cup final so the fans are probably happy to see him go. Montejo picks up our young player of the year as the only capped newgen, with 6 senior international apperances.

Juanfer_ Overview Profile.pngFabio Loureiro (YP1c)_ Overview Profile.pngAlejandro Montejo (YP2c)_ Overview Profile.png

 

Other News

Lusitans lost to Faroese HB (disappointing), and Encamp lost to Danish Randers in the first quali round of the CL and EL respectively.

The Andorran National Team lost every single game this season.

England won the 2018 World Cup, beating Switzerland in the final 1-0. Holland came 3rd, and Ukraine 4th.

As well as Juanfer, long serving CB Ribolleda has retired and has taken up a role as U19 coach.

Next year, I really just want to be in Europe again. If Lusitans hold on to their players, they will more than likely win again. But it may also mean that they win a European game, and I'm all for that.

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_ History Best Eleven.png

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2 minutes ago, the--dud said:

Can I just ask, what is up with the facial hair on your regens? :D they're upside down or something..? 

It's something to do with the hairpack I've installed, the facial hair is further up than it should be for some reason.

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2020/21 Youth Intake Day

We come into this intake in a really poor league position, due to our lack of forward power. As the only way to get players it was crucial that we got players in attacking positions.

F.C. Santa Coloma Youth Candidates_ Squad Players.png

The FM gods have smiled upon me with this. a 4* striker with a Resolute personality! Add that to a WB who can play as a LW, and we should be sorted for the time being!

 

Miguel Pardo (YP5a)_ Overview Profile.pngLuis Alberto Bestard (YP5b)_ Overview Profile.pngGerard Vivancos (YP5c)_ Overview Profile.png

Good things to come from this intake, I can feel it!

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2020/21 Season Review

Andorran First Division_ Overview Stages.png

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_  Senior Fixtures-2.png

This was very close to my worst season ever on any version of FM. The first half of the season was pretty much me trying to figure out why we weren't scoring, which was pretty much down to a lack of attacking prowess. Enter the youth intake. As seen in my previous post, we got in some class attacking players, and then all of a sudden our form turned. In the games since the intake, we won all but 2. We even beat Lusitans! Unfortunately, no Europe again next season as Lusitans gave Encamp the cup win just to spite me. Karma may catch up to them as a couple of Portuguese clubs are sniffing around their key players, looking to liberate them.

 

Key Players

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_ History Best Eleven.png

Andreu Ramos_ Overview Profile.pngMiguel Pardo (YP5a)_ Overview Profile.pngAlejandro Montejo (YP2c)_ Overview Profile.png

Right back Ramos takes out his second PotY award, with solid performances as usual. One thing I'd like to say, no one has had an impact on this team in such a short time than Miguel Prado. The top prospect from the most recent intake managed 12 goals in 10 games, becoming the top scorer in the entire league! Shows how poor we were in front of goal prior to his arrival. Montejo wins our best young player award, although he is likely to be outshone by Prado in future years.

 

Other News

Lusitans lost on away goals to Lincoln (GIB), Encamp lost 3-0 to HB (FAR), and UE Santa Coloma lost to Luzern (SUI) 6-0 in the first qualifying round of their respective comps.

Andorra managed to come second in their Euro Nations Div D group, beating San Marino twice and only losing to Kazakhstan, resulting in a jump to 168th, their highest ever.

Switzerland won the 2020 Euros, defeating Belgium in the final.

And also this:

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Slowly but surely moving up in the world, with or without us. Hopefully that will change next season, as our team has now found it's attack and should have no trouble scoring, unless injuries strike.

 

Carlos Ventura_  Inbox.png

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2021/22 Intake Day

F.C. Santa Coloma Youth Candidates_ Squad Players.png

I came into this intake unconcerned, as I am pretty happy with the squad at the moment. Our weakest positions CA wise are probably CB, RW and LB, so it would have been nice to have some people there. We had some luck in picking up Abad, who is looking like slotting in as second or third choice at CB. What is also positive is all those good personalities. Two resolutes in a row plus a Pro and F.Pro. Here's the best three:

Jose Antonio Abad (YP6a)_ Overview Profile.png

Valter Daniel (YP6b)_ Overview Profile.png

Lorenzo Vargas (YP6c)_ Overview Profile.png

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2021/22 Season Review

Andorran First Division_ Overview Stages.png

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_  Senior Fixtures.png

We're back baby. What a difference having a good striker makes. Never looked like losing the title as we regained what is rightfully ours, ending Lusitans streak of three straight titles. We did have an early exit in the cup, but that probably aided us in winning the league. Anyway, the point is, we are back at the top where we belong.

Key Players

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_ History Best Eleven.png

Miguel Pardo (YP5a)_ Overview Profile.pngFabio Loureiro (YP1c)_ Overview Profile.pngLuis Alberto Bestard (YP5b)_ Overview Profile.png

What a player Miguel Pardo (YP5a) is. 41 goals in 28 games, average rating over 8, and several more. Here's a quick list of the things he has accomplished this season: League PotY, U21 PotY, League Golden Boot (winning by 25 goals), highest ever average rating in the league, most goals scored in a single season, most PoMs in a single season, Andorran U21 PotY, Andorran Young PotY, first international goal, and already a club icon! If we can't hold on to him that will be a big shame. Loureiro tops the assists charts, while Bester was our next best player, with 14 goals and 10 assists.

Other News

St Julia lost 9-0 to KR (ISL), Encamp lost 5-0 to Kilmarnock (SCO), and Lusitans lost to Differdange (LUX) 4-0, in the first qualiftying round of their respective competitions.

The national team drew 3-3 with Malta and lost every other game.

We have now maxed out the junior coaching, so my attention will now turn to upgrading the youth/training facilities.

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_  Senior Fixtures-2.png

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Carlos Ventura_  Inbox.png

A tie we were expected to lose, but then an exceptional performance away from home set up the result from there. Who's next?

Carlos Ventura_  Inbox-2.png

This is quite possibly our biggest and best chance of progressing further. A spot in the third qualifying round means the Europa playoffs if we lose, and a guaranteed spot in a European competition if we win. But we need to get past the Imps first.

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With our biggest match on the horizon, it was understandable that they were feeling a little pressure. We eked out a 1-0 win at home, and then flew to Gibraltar with the plan to shut up shop and secure the victory. The players took no notice of what I wanted.

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They went and pushed the match further ad further into our grasp to secure what was eventually a really comfortable victory. 3-0 at halftime was more than enough, and it was nice to see that others apart from Pardo got on the scoresheet.

Carlos Ventura_  Inbox-4.png

We played them 4 years ago, and lost 11-0 on aggregate. It should be much closer this time around, but still a loss. Anything can happen though, it is European football...

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Carlos Ventura_  Inbox-5.png

Very very impressed with this. To concede 6 less goals in four years shows how much progress the team has made, especially only losing 1-0 at home. We net a cool 1M in prizemoney, and continue our unlikely fairytale run towards European qualification.

Carlos Ventura_  Inbox-6.png

Well, damn.

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Nicely done! A good Champions League run brings in an absurd amount of money for smaller teams (relatively speaking of course) :D

Hopefully the board can be convinced to use all that money on upgrading facilities or maybe expanding the stadium?

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Just now, the--dud said:

Nicely done! A good Champions League run brings in an absurd amount of money for smaller teams (relatively speaking of course) :D

Hopefully the board can be convinced to use all that money on upgrading facilities or maybe expanding the stadium?

Thank you! The money helps significantly! I'm not sure about facilities or anything just yet, I might look to turn pro first.

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4 minutes ago, shaunvamos said:

Thank you! The money helps significantly! I'm not sure about facilities or anything just yet, I might look to turn pro first.

Oh you're not pro yet? I didn't realize but that for sure seems like priority #1 then...

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Carlos Ventura_  Inbox-7.png

We did extremely well considering our first choice keeper was out injured for both legs. He has 3* CA, and our next best has 3* silver CA. Big gulf in class, and it showed. So ends our excellent run in Europe. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for the season ahead. We get 400K from losing this round, and it will be saved until the board feel it necessary for us to go pro. It had better be soon.

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2022/23 Intake Day

F.C. Santa Coloma Youth Candidates_ Squad Players.png

Nelson Carvalhinho (YP7a)_ Overview Profile.pngJavier Cabrera (YP7b)_ Overview Profile.pngJose Casado (YP7c)_ Overview Profile.png

Not a bad intake ability wise, however the personalities are cause for concern. Nelson Carvalinho (what a name, by the way) would probably have been a sure starter had it not been for Pardo, his finishing, dribbling and first touch are amazing. The others are fairly solid, but until the training facilities get improved they are unlikely to feature in the first team unfortunately.

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2022/23 Season Review

Andorran First Division_ Overview Stages.png

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_  Senior Fixtures.png

This season was nothing short of domination. Following our groundbreaking European run, we proceeded to go the rest of the season undefeated. The drop in form at the end was due to Miguel Pardo (YP5a) getting injured for the last 6 or so games, but we managed to pick up wins without him proving, in my mind and the minds of others, that we can still be successful without him. But obviously he's a huge part of the team. As well as finishing undefeated, we set records for most wins, most points, and most goals scored in a season.

Key Players

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_ History Best Eleven.png

I should note that LB Oliveira did play a full season for us, I don't know why it only has one game listed.

 

Miguel Pardo (YP5a)_ Overview Profile.png

Due to the season that Pardo had, he gets his own report. He goes from scoring 41 in 28 games last season, to 62 in 38. Domestically, he scored 57 from 26. A phenomenal return netting pretty much once each half. It would have been more had he played the last 6 games. He's already risen to legend status in the club, and has 99 league goals in 59 league games. He scored a double against Gibraltar to take his national tally to 3, and his achievements have started to give him attention from elsewhere. He won basically every award possible; the Andorran Senior, U23 & U21 PotY, Golden Boot, Division PotY, and several others. Again he broke records for most goals scored in a season, as well as the club record for most goals ever, something which I think will not be beaten for a long time. As I said, his achievements got attention from elsehwere, which culminated in this:

Carlos Ventura_  Inbox-2.png

Europe_ Awards Award Winners.png

Just imagine what would have happened of he had played the rest of the season, we may have been the owner of the European Golden Shoe winner!

Here are our other two best players: Smith, who was solid in midfield contributing with 10 goals and 16 assists, and Bestard (YP5b), who scored 18 and provided the final pass 17 times.

Luis Alberto Bestard (YP5b)_ Overview Profile.pngAdam Smith_ Overview Profile.png

 

Other News

UE Santa Coloma lost 7-0 to Videoton (HUN), St Julia lost 4-0 to Slavia Prague (CZE), and Lusitans lost 1-0 to HB (FAR). I think that's a big improvement, looks like they might actually begin to challenge to progress.

The national team beat Gibraltar once and drew with Armenia, but then lost every other game.

France won the 2022 World Cup, beating Portugal 3-2 in the final. Argentina came third, and Belgium 4th.

Carlos Ventura_  Inbox.png

This was nice to see, and I'm only going to get better from here.

I have no idea how we are going to better this season, it's been near perfect!

 

Carlos Ventura_  Inbox-2.png

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Carlos Ventura_  Inbox-3.png

Should be interesting. Wales as a national team are very strong, but they aren't known for domestic strength.

 

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Much more dominant than I thought, especially that second leg. Promising for the team in Europe, considering who we have next:

Carlos Ventura_  Inbox-5.png

We had the option to be drawn against Slovenian Olimpija Ljubljana but fate was not kind to us this time around.

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Carlos Ventura_  Inbox-6.png

A very impressive performance over 2 legs against a very strong team. judging from their PotM they played their reserves, but that takes nothing away from our performance. If we hold on to all our players there's no reason why we can't win these games in the future.

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2023/24 Youth Intake

F.C. Santa Coloma Youth Candidates_ Squad Players.png

This is probably the most impressive intake I've had just because of the personalities. We get a much needed fullback, a keeper who is better than our last one and plenty of strikers to cover the potential loss of Pardo (YP5a).

Fermin Bragado (YP8a)_ Overview Profile.pngJuan Manuel Gomez (YP8b)__ Overview Profile.pngAntoni Vergara (YP8c)_ Overview Profile.png 

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2023/24 Season Review

Andorran First Division_ Overview Stages.png

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_  Senior Fixtures.png

Not as dominant as the previous season, but we got the job done fairly easily. A couple of minor injuries to our star players derailed our push for a second consecutive unbeaten season, but apart from that, flawless. I'm surprised Lusitans aren't challenging us, as they've only lost one player to a Portuguese club.

Key Players

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_ History Best Eleven.png

Miguel Pardo (YP5a)_ Overview Profile.pngLuis Alberto Bestard (YP5b)_ Overview Profile.pngDiogo Oliveira (YP3k)_ Overview Profile.png

Two familiar faces here, and one very new (but old) one. Pardo's third full season wasn't as good as his first two, but it was still a spectacular effort. 37 goals in 24 games at an average rating of 8.16. He was rewarded for his efforts and status with the captaincy, but for some reason has been demoted from club legend to club icon. Didn't even know that could happen. Bestard also sat out for a part of the season through injury, but recovered enough for a solid season, and Oliveira was one of most solid at the back.

 

Other News

Encamp lost 7-0 to Genk (BLG), and Lusitans lost 5-0 to AIK Stockholm (SWE) in the 1st Qual Round of the Europa League.

The national team lost all games this season apart from a 5-1 flogging of the Faroe ISlands. However the scorelines weren't as big as they usually are, so hopefully that's a sign of progress.

We need to progress to at least the 3rd QR of the Champions League next season, if we are to make serious steps to turning pro and raising the rep of the nation, so that's the aim.

 

Futbol Club Santa Coloma_ History Best Eleven.png

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