After 10 years with FM, my first career update

[Keano16]

You needed that badly.

[trman73]

A quick update on my former club. Santiago Wanderers had a terrible year in their first season without me, going 7-14-9 and finishing in 13th place out of 16. Maybe I'll go back there once I'm fired from this job, lol.

December 5, 2018 - Italian Cup Fourth Qualifying Round: Genoa vs. Roma

Roma has outscored its opponents 19-1 in Serie A this year and leads the league with an 8-4-1 record. They've also already advanced to the Euro Cup knockout stage with one game to go in that tourney. They're having a great year after a lackluster one a season ago. We're home for this game, which is a help, but this will be tough.

Signs of life from us early as Dionisi steals a pass and finds Rincon streaking down the middle for a goal that gives us a 1-0 lead just five minutes in. Let's see how Roma handles coming from behind now, a position they are clearly unfamiliar with this year. They're unfazed and tie it in the 20th on a great individual effort from Samuel Adegbenro, who weaves through three of our defenders and scores. But we play good football for the rest of the half, and right before halftime we get a goal on the first of the year from our left back, Lucas Orban. Two goals in the half on Roma!

Roma ties it again in the 61st, but then in the 75th we make an innocent-looking cross, Roma's keeper comes out for it, can't hold it, and it deflects right to Lazovic, who puts it into an empty net for a 3-2 lead! This is a fantastic game. Just five minutes later, Rincon sets a great lead pass for Dionisi, who makes it 4-2, and we're 10 minutes from knocking off the defending cup champs. Roma never gets another shot on goal, and we score an absolutely enormous 4-2 win and are on to the round of 16 in the Cup! Our best win of the season, without question.

[trman73]

I've applied for jobs at Hertha (German Second Division - meh) and Everton (17th in Premiere League thus far) and am waiting to hear back. Regardless of what happens, my spirits are slightly lifted by this...

It's nice to know I still have the fans' support.

December 9, 2018 - Serie A: Genoa (3-2-8, 11 pts., 16th) vs. Palermo (5-6-2, 21 pts., 6th)

Palermo's had a weird year, drawing almost half of its matches. Still, they're sixth in the league after a fifth-place finish a year ago, so they're doing something right. With two solid wins in the past eight days, we're feeling renewed confidence, and a result against this team would be a huge boost.

Palermo scores toward the end of the first half to take the 1-0 lead, but in the second half they have a terrible stretch where they have a man sent off, and then less than a minute later, in a separate incident, foul us in the box to concede a penalty kick, which Dionisi converts. I get greedy and go into attack to try to get all three points, but we wind up settling for a 1-1 draw against a good team. That's three straight good performances.

Edited April 25, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

December 15, 2018 - Serie A: Lazio (7-4-3, 25 pts., 4th) vs. Genoa (3-3-8, 12 pts., 18th)

Lazio's have a great year and this will be another tough match for us if we want to string together four straight without a defeat. We come out on fire as in the opening moments Borre his Dionisi with a long pass from behind the mid-line and he scores to put us up. Borre and Dionisi connect again in the 24th, and it's a surprising 2-0 lead. We play a good, solid match throughout, although Lazio scores close to the end of the match to ruin the shutout. That's two wins and a draw in our last three Serie A matches, and, with the Italian Cup win over Roma thrown in, we're on a great streak here.

Edited April 25, 2017 by trman73

[Tajerio]

How quickly your fortunes have shifted!

[trman73]

December 23, 2018 - Serie A: Genoa (4-3-8, 15 pts., 16th) vs. Chievo (3-4-8, 13 pts., 18th)

We've played some good teams during our four-game unbeaten run, and we should be able to continue our winning ways against a Chievo team that's really struggling and is a legitimate relegation candidate.

In midweek the takeover of the club is completed. New owner Ken Anderson tells me that our salary and transfer budget will remain the same, which is great, but I need to know my job status. Regarding that, he tells me that while his initial plan was to bring in his own manager, he's letting me keep my job and will inform me of his ultimate decision shortly. I'm assuming I've got two or three games to save myself here. This match with Chievo just became even more of a must-win.

Once again it's a very entertaining game. Chievo scores first on a free kick that's blasted right by Lamanna. Right before halftime Borre once again sets up Dionisi for the tying goal, but with just seconds until the halftime whistle Chievo gets it right back and we go to the break down 2-1.

In the second half we have a ton of chances, and finally capitalize in the 80th, when Federico Viviani, who had come in for an ineffective Veloso, scores on a wicked free kick to pull us even. In the 85th, the third free kick of the game finds the net. Unfortunately, it's off the foot of Chievo, and they end our run with a 3-2 win.

Not a good first performance in front of my new bosses. We're back in the relegation zone, the board's confidence in me based on my Serie A play is 13%, and its international friendly time, with two weeks until our next match. If I'm going to be let go, now is probably the time.

Edited April 25, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

On December 28, the news comes about my future.

I'm safe, at least for now.

Edited April 24, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

As the calendar turns over to 2019, I want to put all of the unrest of the first part of this year behind me, and start fresh. We've got three more matches in the first half of our season - at Bologna, home against Pescara, and at Napoli. We need to get out of the bottom three here.

January 5, 2019 - Serie A: Bologna (4-5-7, 17 pts., 15th) vs. Genoa (4-3-9, 15 pts., 18th)

We've played a bunch of exciting games lately, but that run ends here. Instead, we collect a thoroughly workmanlike 1-0 win, with Dionisi scoring in his fifth straight game in the 60th minute. Not much to report on this one, other than it's a nice win on the road and will hopefully increase board confidence in my coaching.

Edited April 25, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

With the transfer window open, I continue my search for an upgrade at goalkeeper. We make an offer for Andre Moreira, a backup at Atletico Madrid, and sign him to a three-year deal. We then loan Ortola to Cadiz, essentially banishing a guy who five months ago I thought was our keeper of the future.

January 13, 2019 - Serie A: Genoa (5-3-9, 18 pts., 16th) vs. Pescara (7-5-5, 26 pts., 8th)

Pescara is having a great season in its third year since being promoted to the top division. Only Roma has allowed fewer goals in the league than these guys, as they've conceded just 13 in their 17 matches. But we're one of the best offensive teams in the league, so this will be a battle of competing styles.

It's not. Pescara dominates and only a score by Borre at the tail end saves us from an embarrassing blowout. As it is, we fall 3-1 and once again, this may be my last week.

Edited April 25, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

I feel like if you play FM long enough you wind up in the position I'm in: just basically waiting for the shoe to drop on you. I've never claimed to be a great player who tries to exploit any AI weaknesses, and I try to play like I'm actually me: just a guy off the street who lucks his way into a managing job and tries to build a career. So this is always a weird time to play the game. Part of me just wants to get fired so I can start over with a new club. My interest is waning a bit in Genoa. Ideally I'll be offered a new job before I'm fired; I've got applications in at Swansea and at Fiorentina. But I get through the next week still managing Genoa and with no word from either of those other clubs.

January 20, 2019 - Serie A: Napoli (7-5-6, 26 pts., 10th) vs. Genoa (5-3-10, 18 pts., 16th)

The only manager who's in a position worse than me in Serie A is Napoli manager Nuno Espirito Santo. He took over the team this year after their previous coach left to manage the Spanish national team, and he's in trouble. After finishing in the top five of the league in each of the past eight years, Napoli is in 10th and finished last in their Champions League group, ending their continental season. Even the media is labeling this match the "El Sackico" derby. Maybe Santo and I will just hold each other close and gently sob during our pregame handshake.

It's a good, solid first half that ends scoreless. Finally, 60 minutes in, we break through on a goal from Dionisi. Whatever winds up happening with us the rest of the way, he's been an absolute superstar for us, leading Serie A with 13 goals. Our other hero of this match is our new keeper, Andre Moreira, who makes nine saves, many of them outstanding, to lead us to the 1-0 win. Once again, a little breathing room... maybe.

Edited April 25, 2017 by trman73

[ManUtd1]

Catching up on the last few days, and am pulling for you!

When you shake hands with Nuno, scratch his palm with your middle finger and wink seductively at him. It'll freak him out. Advantage Genoa.

[trman73]

lol, I'm not trying that hard to get fired.

 

[trman73]

January 23, 2019 - Italian Cup First Round: Fiorentina vs. Genoa

Fiorentina has easily been the biggest disappointment in Serie A this year, and halfway through the season they are in the relegation zone in 18th place. Shocking. They've won just three games, but one of them was against us when we were deep in our funk. I'd actually call our 4-1 loss to them our worst match of the season. We've actually played these guys five times during my tenure - they beat us in my first match as Genoa boss, they easily beat us twice in last year's Cup semifinal, and destroyed us this season. We beat them for the only time in last season's final match, in a game in which they had nothing to play for.

I actually applied for the opening at Fiorentina and am told the day before this match that I won't even get an interview. Wonderful. (I had a pretty successful run with them back in FM 2010 or 2011.)

We've had a weird run of games in which we've won three straight on the road but have not won a home match in almost three months, except our cup win over Roma. So maybe it's best that we're on the road for this one.

After a goalless first half we get one from Dionisi, who scores for the 8th time in his last eight games. But Fiorentina ties it in the 81st minute, and we're headed to extra time. Fiorentina dominates both halves of the extra 30 minutes, and despite some great saves from our keeper, they finally get the game winner in the 118th. It's a tough loss as we played pretty well until the final 10 minutes of regulation and then we just ran out of gas. We're out of the cup, although we fulfilled our board's expectation by reaching the final 16.

[trman73]

Genoa Midseason Report

Serie A: 6-3-10, 21 pts., 15th

To say the first half of the league season didn't go as planned would be an understatement. I expected to struggle out of the gate and we did, but I never expected we'd go through a 1-1-5 stretch following those first five tough games. That's what really doomed us and put us in the position we're in. We're actually 4-1-2 since then, so we came out of our funk, but we face that same rough stretch to start the second half, so it's going to be hard to continue our semi-successful run. On the positive side, only three teams have scored more than our 30 goals in the league. But we're 18th with 35 goals conceded. The media pegged us for 13th and we're two spots back of that, but both the board and my own personal expectations were a top-half finish, and that looks like it's going to be a challenge. Grade: C-

Italian Cup: Knocked out in First Round by Fiorentina

We met expectations here and probably exceeded them considering Roma was in our way. That win was one of our best of the season, and we came really close to knocking off Fiorentina in the round of 16. Grade: B

First Half Most Valuable Player: F Federico Dionisi has not only been our best player, he's been one of the best players in Serie A. After scoring eight goals with four assists a year ago, he's got a league-leading 13 goals this year. Throw in two Italian Cup goals and it adds up to a phenomenal first half. He's really benefited from being our primary scoring threat once Pavoletti left. Runners-Up: I wanted to challenge MR Darko Lazovic by bringing in someone to push him for playing time, and he's responded brilliantly, with five goals and four assists and a 7.18 rating in Serie A. Newcomer F Rafael Santos Borre survived a rough first few games and now leads the league with eight assists to go with four goals.

Overall: It's been one of the weirdest seasons I've had in quite some time. Upheaval in the front office, the loss of key players in the offseason, and an uncertain personal future for the last two months has made this a tense first half. I still don't know if I'll survive the year, especially with Sampdoria (2nd), Juventus (4th), and Roma (1st) coming in our next five matches. If we can survive that stretch without dropping back into the relegation zone, I should be okay, but I don't expect the second half to be smooth by any means. Grade: C

[trman73]

Here's a look at the Serie A table at the halfway point:

The big news is that some good teams are really struggling, as Napoli is in 11th, Inter is in 10th and Fiorentina is 18th. Even Juventus has struggled. Positives have been Sampdoria, which is playing outstanding and is in 2nd, and Sassuolo, which is shockingly in third. The table may straighten itself out in the second half, but this is a season of change in Serie A thus far.

January 27, 2019 - Serie A: Sampdoria (10-7-2, 37 pts., 2nd) vs. Genoa (6-3-10, 21 pts., 15th)

We face our rivals to open the second half, and they are rolling. They've lost just once since October 1, a stretch of 15 games.

Sampdoria plays like a team in second place in Serie A, and we play like a team fighting off relegation. We hold firm despite their dominance in the first half, but they break through with two in the second. They are the far superior team throughout, and our streak of road wins in the league ends at three.

Edited April 26, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

The transfer window closes and all I do is loan out two young guys. I get a couple good offers for central defender Armando Izzo, but reject them. Maybe I'm delusional, but I think the makeup of the team isn't the problem.

It doesn't matter what I think, because on February 2, 2019, I am fired as manager of Genoa CFC. The reason given is my failure to maintain squad harmony, but it could have been anything: my record in the league, the fact that the new board wanted to install its own man, whatever.

My final record with Genoa is 18-7-21. We created some momentum in the second half of last season, but we just couldn't build on it. If I'm being honest, I would have fired me too. With just two years of coaching experience in Chile, maybe I just wasn't ready to make the leap to one of the top leagues in Europe.

I'm comfortable waiting until the end of the season before working again, but we'll see which positions open up.

[trman73]

It's mid-May and I'm still without work, partly due to my own pickiness about my next opportunity. Then I get an interview with Orlando City of MLS. They're in their fifth season in the league, and after finishing one point off the league lead last year and advancing to the Eastern Conference Final, they are now the worst team in MLS. They decide to make me a two-year offer to be their next manager.

Under normal circumstances, this would be my next job. But I actually don't feel like taking a job in the US right now, and I decide to wait until the end of the European season to see what might happen. I know I can get an MLS job at the end of the calendar year, when that league season ends. So I pass.

The curtain closes on the 2018-19 season in Europe, and there are some familiar names at the top of the major leagues, but there was excitement at the end of the year.

Italy - In Serie A, Roma held off a late run by Juventus to break Juve's seven-year run in the league. Genoa played much better under new manager Roberto Donadoni, going 8-2-8 after firing me and finishing 12th in the league. In 16 of their 18 matches, they scored either 0 or 1 goal, and Dionisi never scored again after I was let go.

England - Tottenham led Man United by a point heading into the final match. Man U blew out Blackburn 4-0, and Tottenham fell 2-0 to third-place Chelsea to give United its third straight Premier League title. City was fourth and West Ham was the surprise of the season, finishing fifth. Tottenham beat City for the FA Cup.

Germany - Bayern needed a four-game winning streak at the end of the year to overtake Leverkusen for the title.

France - PSG rolled again with 94 points.

Spain - It was Real Madrid again, with Atletico second and Barcelona third.

In the Euro Cup, Valencia beat Inter 2-0 to bring that cup back to Spain for the fifth time in six years. And in the Champions League final, Bayern's quest for an incredible third straight title is thwarted in extra time by... PSG, which wins the European title for the first time.

[Malaussie]

Tough luck mate hopefully your next team will bring better fortunes. 

[trman73]

Well it's been an incredibly weird year since I was let go by Genoa. Yes, I wrote "year" there. During the European offseason I applied for a number of jobs and was offered the position at Real Salt Lake in MLS, and Swindon in the Championship. I turned both down. I then proceeded to apply for and get interviews at about 20 other clubs, including (but not limited to): Inter, Napoli, AC Milan, and Sampdoria in Serie A; West Ham United, Hull, and West Brom in the Premier League; OM, Angers, and Toulouse in Ligue 1; Frankfurt in the Bundesliga; and about a dozen teams in the Championship and MLS combined. I was offered a couple other jobs, at New York Red Bulls and Hamburg St. Pauli in the German Second Division. I turned them both down as well.

I'm not really sure what I was doing, and given what wound up happening, I'm feeling a little guilty about my behavior. Honestly, a guy who was basically pulled off the street, coached two good but not great season in Chile, worked that into a job in Serie A, and got fired after just over a year on the job, would jump at the manager position in the German Second Division, the Championship, or MLS. But I held out and held out and held out, even though I'm not sure what I was holding out for.

Then it happened. After reaching a point after the calendar turned over to 2020 where I decided I was taking the next job that was offered to me, I got an interview, and somehow convinced the board that I was the right man for the job at a place where, if this was real life, I would have had no business even getting an interview, and probably would have had my application crumpled up and thrown away as the board wiped tears of laughter from their eyes.

On March 3, 2020, a full 13 months after coaching my last game at Genoa, I was hired by...

...wait for it...

...hired by...

...seriously...

ROMA!

Yeah, Roma.

This requires an incredible suspension of disbelief for this career story. Again, I have no business managing this team. They won Serie A just a year ago! But things went downhill fast for them this year in the league. After the 2019 title, manager Gerardo Martino left for Dortmund. They hired Ronald Koeman, and after going 14-8-12 in just over six months, he was fired. They were without a permanent manager for a month, then brought me in for an interview, and hired me a week later.

Still, this is a major, major club. They advanced in their Champions Cup group and are now in the first knockout round, although they are down 0-2 to SLB after the opening leg.

After chilling out in Italy with my family for the last year, I'm making the 300 mile trip down the west coast of the country to settle in one of the great cities of the world, Rome. I may not be qualified to take on this challenge, but I'm up for it.

[Malaussie]

Wow real interesting turn of events. For the sake of realism I personally would of taken the Toulouse job. It's a minor step down but still a big enough club to make waves with. But it's your save so you can do whatever the hell you want haha

Edited April 27, 2017 by Malaussie

[trman73]

Yeah I actually considered going back to a previous backup and taking one of the other jobs. But in digging a little deeper I can justify this somewhat...

Obviously this one of the premier teams in Italy. But they are actually in some financial distress. Their finances are listed as just "okay," and they are spending $13 million over their suggested payroll. Now that suggested payroll is $131 million, but still. Given that they are the second most high-profile team in Serie A, and given that Juventus' manager makes $9 million a year and Milan and Inter each pay their managers more than $2 million, they are getting me for a bargain price of $475K a year. So they are saving literally millions by hiring me. And I have coached in this league, and all things considered, coaching a Genoa team with a payroll that was 16th in the league, I didn't actually do that poor of a job. And maybe they still view me as a manager with potential who just got caught up in an ownership change and all of the upheaval that comes with that.

So that's the information I'm using to make myself feel okay about this. I'm cheap, I know the league, and I'm still sort of an up-and-comer despite being 45 years old. They're certainly taking a chance on me, but the worst thing that happens is I get a 10-game audition, they don't like me, and they dump me. In which case I'll be right back where I was and will take a more appropriate job.

Or, I freaking run with this and start winning trophies. And that's my plan.

Edited April 27, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

We've got ten league games left in our season, along with the second leg of the Champions League first knockout round, and any additional matches if we can overcome our 0-2 deficit.

Looking below the surface of just "big team, big payroll," you can see why Roma is struggling. And they are certainly struggling. Since January 1, they've gone 1-2-9. They were knocked out of the Italian Cup during that run and lost the Champions League match to SLB, but all the rest of that terrible streak has been in the league. They lost seven straight matches before overcoming an 0-2 deficit to draw Napoli in their last match, and overall they are 12th in the league with 35 points (9-8-11).

One piece of good news is our schedule for the rest of the season. In our ten matches we play Juventus and AC Milan, and then all eight teams that are currently below us in the table. So while we are 16 points out of fifth position and Euro Cup qualification, we do have a chance to make a run up the table in these final two months.

If that's going to happen, it will happen with probably the worst goalkeeping in Serie A. Our starting keeper, Alison, is out, and for some reason this team has been starting a 19-year-old, 1-star keeper, Federico Adorni, who has an incredible 5.84 rating. He's given up 19 goals in 10 matches. In front of him is a quality defense, so he must be just awful.

Another bit of bad news for me is that we don't appear to have the personnel to play the attacking 4-4-2 that I'd like to play with a team that has this much talent. We don't have one player who looks able to play left midfielder, and with the transfer window closed we're not getting one unless we pull a guy off the free-agent scrap heap. So I'm going to try to go back to the 4-2-4 I used in my days in Chile, as we have a number of quality attacking midfielders. I'm hoping that superior talent over the majority of our remaining opponents will be able to overcome unfamiliarity with this tactic as we learn it.

I've got five days to prep for my first match, which is home against Bologna. In that time I've got to bring in a couple coaches, although I'll wait until the offseason to make major staff changes. The staff is overloaded with physios and fitness coaches (four each) but we only have two scouts and one straight-up senior team coach.

On the pitch, we've got a lot of good players who are having miserable years, so obviously they weren't responding to whatever Koeman was doing. I'm hoping my hiring will breathe new life into these guys even though the idea of a successful league campaign this year appears to be long gone. I'll hold off on doing a full roster review here as I want to dive in, and with just 10 matches to go I'll wait until the offseason to introduce the squad.

[Malaussie]

After thinking it over yes it can be justified. It's a case of they tried to go with a somewhat high profile manager in Koeman it failed miserably and looking back to your positive start at Genoa they are thinking to themselves you can do the same if not better with a superior team. As you said it's a 10 game trial and if it doesn't work out they can get another coach in the offseason

Edited April 27, 2017 by Malaussie

[trman73]

I bring in an assistant manager who's good tactically and defensively and is a good man manager, as well as an attack-minded coach and a scout. That's going to be all I do staff-wise, as we have a good goalkeeping coach and other personnel (it is Roma after all).

I'm also pleasantly surprised to lean that my team is actually very familiar with my tactic, and are 100% comfortable in terms of its passing style and creative freedom. Very nice.

It's been a whirlwind for me here over the past 18 months or so, and now there's nothing left to do but get started at Roma.

March 7, 2020 - Serie A: Roma (9-8-11, 35 pts., 12th) vs. Bologna (6-8-14, 26 pts., 16th)

We start with a Bologna team that is in a relegation battle and sits just three points from 18th place. They are, however, somehow in the Italian Cup final after knocking off Sampdoria in the semis in their last match three days ago. I've got a couple guys out injured and I have mercy on our goalkeeper by subbing him out for an equally-green 20-year-old, so this is what I'm going with in my opening match...

In the first two minutes of the match we hit the crossbar once and airmail a point blank shot no more than 10 feet from the net. In the fifth, Bologna scores, and I'm down 0-1 in my opening match.

Then we turn it on.

We score on a beautifully placed corner from Federico Bernadeschi, which finds the head of defender Juan Jesus to tie it. The forward Mohamed Salah hits two teammates with great passes, and we go up 3-1. Salah caps off a fantastic day by scoring in the 82nd, and we cruise in my opener, 4-1. It's the first time I've won either an opening match of a season, or my first match with a new club.

 

Edited April 28, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

March 14, 2020 - Serie A: Sassuolo (8-12-9, 36 pts., 13th) vs. Roma (10-8-11, 38 pts., 12th)

Next up is a Sassuolo team that's fallen back to Earth after a great season a year ago. With a win and a little help, we can move into the top half of the table today, and this is a team we should defeat.

Sassuolo plays on a strange, small, almost square pitch, and I'm reminded of the 5-4 goal-fest we lost to them when I was at Genoa. This field makes for a weird playing style, and sure enough it's another game where multiple balls find the back of the net. Our opponent scores twice early in the first half, we get one back to pull closer, they score again, then we score on a bizarre free kick that caroms off a defender on the wall and into the net. It's 3-2 Sassuolo at halftime. They score a crucial goal to go back up two early in the second half, and we can't rebound, falling 4-2 for my first Roma defeat.

[trman73]

March 17, 2020 - Champions League First Knockout Round, Second Leg: SLB vs. Roma (SLB leads, 2-0)

Well it's fair to say I didn't lead Roma to the Champions League, but I am leading them in the Champions League. And if we want our stay to last longer than 90 minutes, we need to overcome this deficit against the Portuguese Premier League defending champs, who are well on their way to their sixth league crown in seven years. These guys won a group that also included Tottenham and Monaco, while finished second behind Barcelona in a weaker group that also included Anderlecht and Olympiakos.

We play pretty well but it's an uphill climb, and we can't overcome the deficit. After conceding on a PK, we tie it at 1-1 early in the second half, but give up another goal on a counter attack and can't overcome it, falling 2-1 in the match and 4-1 overall. Eight games to go in the season, and then my real work can begin.

[trman73]

March 22, 2020 - Serie A: Roma (10-8-12, 38 pts., 13th) vs. Empoli (7-8-15, 29 pts., 16th)

With the Champions League run over, I turn my attention to assessing my club for the remainder of the Serie A season. A couple highly valued veterans have already told me that they would like to move on next year. I may be able to sell a couple guys and bring in a new haul of players that better fit my style. I feel like this is my big strength as a coach: finding hidden gems and growing them into elite players. We'll have a chance to do that in the offseason.

We draw this game, 3-3, and good God, our defense is terrible. Last year Roma went the first two months of the season before conceding a goal. I don't know what happened to this team, but those days appear to be long gone. Empoli scores first but we tie it a minute later. We proceed to trade goals with them two more times. Mohamed Salah is outstanding for us again, setting up two and scoring one himself, the second time in my four games that he's had a hand in three goals. But again, defensively this team is incredibly leaky, and it can't all be attributed to the young keepers. On the plus side, this should be our last match without Alisson, our starter in net, so maybe his return will give us some confidence.

Edited April 30, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

April 5, 2020 - Serie A: Chievo (5-7-19, 22 pts., 19th) vs. Roma (10-9-12, 39 pts., 13th)

We get two full weeks off to prepare for a Chievo team that certainly looks like its going down this year. Although a large percentage of our team plays for their countries during the international break, they come back healthy and we should get back on track here.

In keeping with our poor defensive form, we give up a goal in the 9th to go down early, tie it, go back down in the 40th, then tie it a minute later to go into the break at 2-2. But we turn on the jets in the second half, get a lucky penalty called on Chievo and convert to take a 3-2 lead, then score twice more to win it, 5-2. Central midfielder Kevin Strootman scores a hat trick, and we're up to 10th in the league with six to go.

Against these poorer teams, we've got the firepower to offset our poor defense. But we face a huge test next week against the league leaders, Juventus.

 

[trman73]

April 11, 2020 - Serie A: Roma (11-9-12, 42 pts., 10th) vs. Juventus (20-8-4, 68 pts., 1st)

We drew Juventus earlier in the year but they will no doubt be looking for revenge against us after we beat them for the title last season. We get some bad news right before the match as our keeper, Alisson, gets sick and is at just 77% strength at game time. Since 77% of him is better than probably 150% of my other two keeper options, he's starting, and I'll have to just hope he doesn't throw up on the field during the match.

We are thoroughly outclassed in the first half and are lucky to trail just 1-0 at the break. For the first time in my tenure here, I rip the team in the locker room for their (lack of) effort. And oh, boy, does it work. We are absolutely incredible in the second 45 minutes. Stephan El Shaarawy gets us started in the 52nd by tying it on a nice pass from Salah. Then we get three goals in a span of six minutes, with Antonio Barreca, Shaarawy and Radja Nainggolan all scoring to put the game out of reach. We come close two more times as well, but "settle" for a 4-1 win.

That's the stuff. This is the signature win we needed, and this is the team we can be. Outstanding.

[Tajerio]

Beating Juve is always sweet--well done.

[trman73]

April 19, 2020 - Serie A: Novara (6-7-20, 25 pts., 19th) vs. Roma (12-9-12, 45 pts., 11th)

Despite the huge win last week we actually drop in the standings as Sassuolo has the head-to-head advantage over us and sits in 10th. But that's not really an issue. We're not going to finish Top 6, so these last five games are just about continuing to build momentum for next year. We've scored 18 goals in my five Serie A games with Roma so far, and we should find the net multiple times in this match against a Novara team that's conceded the second-most in the league and appears to be staying in the top league for just one year after being promoted a season ago.

We're at full strength and we've scored nine goals in our last two matches. We are ready to roll.

We concede another early goal to go down 1-0 just two minutes in, but in keeping with our recent run we rebound almost immediately. Our attacking left midfielder Gerson scores to tie it, and then in the 28th Salah places one of the best passes I've ever seen, threading a cross amidst four Novara defenders to the only player we had in the box, El Shaarawy, who scores to give us a 2-1 lead. For the third straight game we dominate the second half. El Shaaarawy scores his second of the game, Novara never really challenges us on the attack, and we win, 3-1. We're 4-1-1 in my six league matches.

[trman73]

April 19, 2020 - Serie A: Roma (13-9-12, 48 pts., 10th) vs. Genoa (8-8-18, 32 pts., 15th)

I really don't have any ill will toward Genoa. Toward the end of my tenure the club was in chaos, and I didn't do anything to stabilize things as manager. I didn't rally the troops, and as I said previously, I think the firing was justified. With that being said, I wouldn't be human if I didn't want to take it to these guys.

Genoa's struggled since letting me go. The new board's replacement for me, Roberto Donadoni, is long gone, and they've had a far worse record since I left than they did with me. It will be good to see some of my former players, but they shouldn't have too much success against my new club, which is flying high right now and has scored 12 goals while conceding four in our last three matches. With a win in this match we're likely to jump Fiorentina into ninth in the table.

Well, leave it to my former club to turn the tables on us. We score the first of the match right before halftime on a strike by defender Kostas Manolas off a corner. But Genoa ties it midway through the second half, and despite us being in what seemed like total control following that goal, they get another in the 79th that proves to be the game-winner. Grrrrr! That's a disappointment.

[trman73]

May 3, 2020 - Serie A: Roma (13-9-13, 48 pts., 11th) vs. Sampdoria (9-6-20, 33 pts., 16th)

Sampdoria finished third in Serie A last year but has totally fallen off the map this year and is actually not safe from relegation with three games to go, leading 18th-place Bologna by just three points. I would hate to see them relegated but this is a good chance for us to rebound after the inexplicable home loss to Genoa. Let's get back on track here.

Prior to the match four of my players (defender Kostas Manolas, midfielder Kevin Strootman, left winder Gerson, and forward El Shaarawi) are named to the Serie A Team of the Month for April. We were a great offensive team in our four April matches, scoring 13 goals.

I don't know what's happened to this Sampdoria club but we absolutely destroy them. We get first half goals from Salah and Strootman, then Bernardeschi scores on a PK 10 minutes into the second half, and this one is a laugher. Salah gets his second just a few minutes later to make it 4-0. The biggest surprise in this one is actually that we didn't score more, as we hit the crossbar twice in the first half and once more in the closing moments. But we get the first clean sheet of my tenure and tear these guys to pieces in a dominant win.

Edited April 30, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

There's not much drama for us as the season winds down. With two wins and some help, we could finish as high as 8th, and we could drop to 12th if everything goes bad. But that doesn't mean there isn't some excitement here at the end of the year, both in Serie A and throughout Europe.

In Serie A, Juventus and Napoli are tied for the league lead with two games to go. Juventus holds the head-to-head tiebreaker. In Spain, Real Madrid leads Atletico Madrid by two points with two to go. And in France, PSG needs one win from its final two to eclipse the 100-point mark. They are also well on their way to another trip to the Champions League final after dismantling Man U 4-0 in the first leg of the semi.

May 10, 2020 - Serie A: AC Milan (17-12-7, 63 pts., 4th) vs. Roma (14-9-13, 51 pts., 10th)

AC Milan can clinch a spot in Europa League with a win. We lost two key players, Strootman and Gerson, to injuries in our last match, and their seasons are done (although they aren't long-term injuries so they're fine). So we'll need some new players to step it up. We need to move El Shaarawy to left wing for this one despite his recent dominance as our primary striker.

We're out of sorts in the first half and Milan takes advantage in a big way, scoring in the 22nd and the 25th. They take that 2-0 lead to the break, but we get it together in the second half thanks to the play of Mohamed Salah. He scores in the 60th to cut it to 2-1 and then in the 82nd to tie it. We hold off a serious charge in the final five minutes, and draw, 2-2, a result I'll take on the road against one of the top teams in the league.

[trman73]

Heading into the last match of the season my two favorite FM teams are in serious danger of exiting the top leagues in their countries. Sampdoria holds just a one-point lead over Bologna for 17th, and hosts AC Milan in the finale. Bologna has a tough test as well against third-place Palermo, but with the teams splitting their matches this year and Bologna holding a one-goal differential advantage, if they squeak out a point and Sampdoria loses, Sampdoria goes down.

It's far simpler for West Ham. After an incredible 5th-place finish in Premier League last year, the Hammers sit in 18th, just a point back of QPR. And they visit QPR in the final match of the year, so that's a straight-up relegation match.

As for us...

May 10, 2020 - Serie A: Roma (14-10-13, 52 pts., 10th) vs. Pescara (8-10-19, 37 pts., 15th)

Pescara's not safe from relegation either, as they're just two points up from 18th. There will be some drama for Bologna, Sampdoria, Pescara and Empoli, each of whom could join Novara and Chievo in Serie B next year. At the other end of the table, Napoli let its chance to challenge Juventus for the title in the final week slip away by losing last weekend. Juve is back on top of Serie A.

I'd like to win this match to secure 20 points in my 10 league games with Roma. Other than that, let's just stay injury-free and head into the break on a good note.

This match was basically microcosm of my brief run this season with Roma. We go down 1-0 in the 7th on a PK, then tie it with our own penalty kick less than 10 minutes later, and we get the game-winner in the 82nd from sub Salomon Rondon. It's a good end to the season, and we do get to 20 points, going 6-2-2 in my 10 games. We secure a top-half finish, ending the year at 10th in Serie A.

[Tajerio]

Nice vindication of the Roma board''s weird decision!

[trman73]

Thanks Tajerio! Yeah, this makes me feel a little better about the whole thing. I at least justified their faith in me for two months!

2019-2020 Roma Season Recap

I don't even really want to judge this team on what happened before I arrived with just 10 games to go. But here goes...

Serie A: Overall: 15-10-13, 55 pts., 10th (Final 10: 6-2-2, 20 pts.)

A year after winning the Serie A crown, there's just no way to justify a 10th-place finish. This team was a mess when I arrived but played noticeably better in the final stretch. We gave them some creative freedom and they responded, scoring 30 goals in 10 matches while allowing 17. Admittedly we played some weaker teams at the end of the year, but we beat Juventus handily and tied a good AC Milan team, so I head into the offseason confident this team can get some of its mojo back. Overall grade: C-; Final 10: B+

Italian Cup: Lost in Quarterfinal to Sampdoria

These games took place before I arrived. They beat Latina in the First Round and lost in extra time to Sampdoria in the quarters. Grade: C

Champions League: Lost to SLB in First Knockout Round

We finished second in our group and were already down to SLB 0-2 when I faced them in what turned out to be our final match of the tournament. I don't think it's too much for the Serie A champs to advance to the final eight, so I feel like this is a disappointment. Grade: C

Overall grade: C-

Most Valuable Player: F Mohamed Salah

This guy was our overall MVP and was certainly the team's best player in my brief time in charge. He finished with 8 goals, 11 assists, and a 7.29 rating in Serie A. He scored all eight of his goals for me once he was moved from midfield to forward, and collected four of his assists. He was brilliant for me and will start next season as our key offensive player. Runners-Up: F Stephan El Shaarawy was a great complement to Salah up front, and scored five goals in my 11 matches. DL Antonio Barreca had a 7.21 rating and started all but one game for us at left back.

End of Season Awards:

Salah finished second in the running for Serie A Foreign Player of the Year. He was named to the Serie A Team of the Year, and won the Midfielder of the Year Award (based a lot on what he did once he was moved to forward by me, but oh well). Our goalkeeper, Alisson, was the runner-up for Goalkeeper of the Year.

Our end-of-year fan voting went like this...

Fair enough. Weird that Salah would be named to the Serie A Team of the Year but not be considered our best player.

 

Edited May 2, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

Off-Season Priorities

I make my expectations for 2020-21 clear to the team in our end-of-season meeting: we need to get back to Champions League. They really respond to that, and I send them off on their summer vacations motivated to succeed next year.

Just because we had a nice run to end our season doesn't mean this team can't use some upgrades. Obviously one item on our agenda is securing a backup keeper that doesn't completely stink and can keep us in games. When Alisson went down last year, we had easily the worst goalkeeping in the league.

We really need an upgrade at starting right back. Bruno Peres was solid for this team in its championship run two years ago, but he cratered this year and is a real liability. We've got an aging club, with four starters on the wrong side of 30. Finally, if I'm going to stick with the 4-2-4, and I plan to, we need some reinforcements at both winger spots, as I don't like taking one of my quality forwards and moving him to the wing due to injury or fatigue during a match.

With all that being said, there is big talent on this team, and some good younger players ready to take on bigger roles. We've been given a $147M budget and a $10.5M transfer budget. We're spending exactly $147M right now, but we've got $20M in salary coming off the books June 30, so we'll be able to maneuver.

Priorities:

1. New right back
2. Third starting-level central defender
3. Solid backup left winger
4. Solid backup right winger
5. Good fourth central midfielder
6. Backup keeper

Time to shop!

[trman73]

I should note that PSG advanced to its second straight Champions League final, but was demolished 4-0 by Man City, and that title heads back to England for the first time since Chelsea's 2012 win. Arsenal beat Leverkusen for the Euro Cup.

But the big news this summer was the 2020 European Championship, and boy did one of my guys make his presence felt.

First, the results...

After a disappointing exit in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, Italy rebounded in a huge way, outscoring its final three opponents 9-0 and absolutely dismantling Ukraine in the final. Even bigger for us was that Roma striker Stephan El Shaarawy scored the first two goals of the final, one in the 11th and another in the 19th. He scored in the quarters as well, and was named to the Euro 2020 Dream Team. A great honor for him, and a great lift for Roma as he represented us incredibly well.

Back to Roma...

We had a pretty active offseason, offloading a couple players at nice price tags and bringing in a collection of players who will play a role in shaping our club's future. Our first signing was actually a familiar name, as we brought goalkeeper Eugenio Lamanna, in from Arsenal, where he never saw game time in his one season. He was good but not great for us at Genoa, he came cheaply, and I know him. He's a way better backup than the junk we were throwing out last year.

We drop right back Bruno Peres on Fluminese of Brazil for $8 million, and after a lengthy search we find not one but two potential replacements for him. We bring in 23-year-old Davide Calabria from AC Milan. We're taking a bit of a chance here as he was a backup last year but played well in his 10 games. We also bring in Frenchman Kelvin Amian Adou, who had a 6.98 rating for Toulouse last year and can play in any defensive spot for us.

Our other big offload was central midfielder Leandro Paredes, who went to FCP for $17 million. He really didn't impress me at all in a handful of starts for me, and we were significantly better with him on the bench. He really wanted to stay, but he was surplus.

Our final two signings were a great-looking young Venezuelan striker, Adelberto Penaranda, and Serbian Dejan Drazic, who will serve as our primary backup at both winger positions. We've also got no less than five young players who were in our reserves and are ready to take on bigger responsibilities this year.

All in all we got $26 million on our player sales and spent $24 million. We're still $13 million under our salary budget and have $22 million left in the transfer back, so we may not be done. But I like where we are.

[trman73]

Pre-Season Recap

I scheduled only top tier clubs for our friendlies, and we paid the price. We lost all four of our warmup matches, all on the road. We fell to Newcastle on a goal with just seconds to go, were murdered by Liverpool, played well in a 2-1 defeat to Gelsenkirchen, and played poorly in our final tuneup at RBL. Those are four quality clubs, all on the road, but I certainly would have liked to get some results. I actually cancelled a fifith friendly against Serie B side Bari, and maybe should have kept that on the schedule just to get us some momentum heading into the main campaign.

Still, the team is healthy (central defender Juan Jesus will miss our opening cup match but will be ready for the Serie A opener), the players are match ready, so let's kick off the 2020-2021 season!

Season Preview

Serie A - Media Prediction: 3rd; Board Expectation: Euro Cup

We'll need a top five finish to meet the board's expectations, and I feel like that's more than realistic. We've got a quality club with a lot of offensive firepower, and I feel like we should be one of the top three goal scoring teams in the division. As always seems to be the case with my teams, defense will tell the story, as we gave up 1.7 goals per game in my 10 games last season, and we certainly need to improve upon that.

Italian Cup - Board Expectation: Not Important

Given our competition in the two qualifying rounds, we should easily advance to the round of 16. From there we'd face a road match at Inter, which would be tough, but I'm setting my expectation at a quarterfinal appearance at worst.

Roster Strengths and Weaknesses

Goalkeepers: Alisson finished second for Serie A goalkeeper of the year last season, and if he can stay healthy we're fine here. Even with the upgrade to Lamanna as backup, we need to get 35 games out of Alisson.

Defense: Three-fourths of our starting defense returns, with the youngster Calabria taking over the right side alongside Jesus and Kosta Manola in the middle and Antonio Barecca on the left. If Calabria handles his business, this is a good defense.

Midfield/Wingers - Our starting wings, the Brazilian Gerson and home-grown Bernardeschi, return and I like them a lot. We've got a ton of options at center midfield and will go with the combo of Kevin Strootman and Radja Nainggolan to open.

Forwards: Salah and El Shaarawy start. They were both phenomenal for me last season, and El Shaarawi is coming off a monster European Championship. The backups (Rondon and Penaranda) are both four-star players. We will score goals. 

My Prediction: 22-6-10, 72 pts., 3rd

 

[trman73]

August 16, 2020 - Italian Cup Third Qualifying Round: Roma vs. Venezia

Venezia is a Serie C team, and without trying to sound too cocky, this could essentially be our final friendly of the season. We should easily beat these guys. If we win this we'll face a Serie B team in the second round, so we should get out of the qualifying rounds without issue.

We win this match, 2-0, and that score doesn't really reflect how easy of a win this was. After a goal from Salah midway through the first half, the rest of the match is essentially our opponent holding onto the ball but never penetrating our defense in any meaningful way to create chances. We put it away late on a penalty kick by Bernardeschi, and it's on to the Fourth Qualifying Round against Benevento in early December.

Edited May 3, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

August 23, 2020 - Serie A: Sassuolo vs. Roma

It's the Serie A opener, and we're facing a team that's given me a ton of trouble.  I've had no success on the road at Sassuolo during this career, falling all three time's I've faced them. I don't like their tiny field, and we haven't been able to contain them at all defensively. So this is a big test for us to open the season. Three points here would make me really happy. We get Juan Jesus back and have our full starting lineup for this match. Sassuolo played a weak collection of teams in its friendlies, and rolled a Serie B team in its cup opener, so we will be the best competition they've faced thus far.

Sassuolo is quickly becoming my hate team in this career. We are absolutely terrible in this match, and lose 4-1. There's not much to say - defense was bad, didn't produce enough chances on the attack... it was just a perfect storm. Not one player played well.

When I made my season prediction, I actually penciled this game in as a loss, but still, we got our butts kicked here. We've got our home opener in a week, and we need to get it together.

[trman73]

And we're back! I've been absolutely swamped at work and have spent the last couple weeks out of town, including a week in New York City last week, which was nice. So after a two-week break I'm ready to dive back in.

August 29, 2020 - Serie A: Roma (0-0-1, 0 pts., 20th) vs. Pescara (0-1-0, 1 pt., 10th)

We should rebound from the Sassuolo loss against a Pescara team that barely avoided relegation last year. This is our home opener, so we need to make a statement.

And we do. We get first-half goals from Bernardeschi and El Sharaawy and go up 2-0 at the break. El Sharaawy adds his second of the game in the 73rd, and only a couple of great saves by Pescara's keeper in the second half keeps it from being a total bloodbath. Bernardeschi scores his second in the closing moments, and it's a dominant 4-0 win.

[trman73]

At the transfer deadline we make a bold move for the future, spending $19 million on 20-year-old striker Giacomo Pace from Atletico Madrid. We offload Nigerian striker Umar Sadiq, who was buried in the depth chart, to Atalanta for just over $1 million.

September 13, 2020 - Serie A: Verona (1-1-0, 4 pts., 6th) vs. Roma (1-0-1, 3 pts., 8th)

Verona's off to a nice start. They were promoted last year and have started 2020-21 with an opening win over AC Milan and a draw with Fiorentina. After our fiasco in our first road game of the year, we need a win away from home here.

It's a conservative, defensive first half that ends 0-0. But early in the second, a simple clear by the Verona keeper to the defense goes horribly wrong. Salah steals the pass and lobs one into an essentially open net to give us the 1-0 lead. Verona can't get much offense going at all, and midway through the second we score on a corner to essentially put this one away. It's a 2-0 win, and it moves us into the top five of the table.

Edited May 19, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

September 20, 2020 - Serie A: Roma (2-0-1, 6 pts., 5th) vs. Napoli (1-0-2, 3 pts., 12th)

Napoli finished second behind Juventus a year ago but is not off to a good start and has given up a league-high six goals in its first three games. With the offensive firepower on our team, we've got a chance to find the net multiple times in this one, and create some distance between us and one of the teams expected to challenge for a Champions League spot this season.

For the second straight game a defender scores for us off a corner, with Kostas Manolas opening the scoring in the 39th. Just two minutes later Salah scores to make it 2-0, and that's the score at the break. In the 52nd we give up our first goal in more than 200 minutes, but the boys respond well, dominating play for the next 20 minutes before El Sharaawy scores on a long-distance shot to put us up 3-1. He scores another in the 85th to put it away, and we score another dominant win, 4-1 over Napoli. We're playing really good football right now and are up to 4th in Serie A, just one point off the lead.

[trman73]

September 23, 2020 - Serie A: Cagliari (1-1-2, 4 pts., 14th) vs. Roma (3-0-1, 9 pts., 4th)

It's a quick, three-day turnaround and I make some lineup adjustments to bring in a couple fresh players. This is a team we should handle, but it's got potential to be a trap where we go on the road and lay an egg.

That's not exactly what happens, but we don't play inspired football and wind up with a 0-0 draw. Not much to really report on this one; we had the game's best chance on a breakaway by El Sharaawy midway through the second half, but he airmailed it and neither team every really mounted a serious challenge after that.

[trman73]

September 27, 2020 - Serie A: Roma (3-1-1, 10 pts., 3rd) vs. Genoa (3-2-0, 11 pts., 2nd)

Our third match in eight days is against my former club, and they are off to a fantastic start. They haven't really played anyone of quality, but they sit in second, just a point above us. For some reason their success angers me, and I want a result against this team. They start five guys who were there when I was fired more than 18 months ago, including three transfers I brought in. They appear to have found a winning formula playing a 4-2-3-1 under 35-year-old manager Luca Laforgia. They beat us when we played them last season, and I want my revenge now.

It's another scoreless first half and there's some intensity on the field. Early in the second half, a wicked shot by El Shaarawy bounces off a Genoa defender and right to central midfielder Radja Nainggolan, who scores his first of the year. It looks like we're on our way to a 1-0 win, but things go bad late in the match. Genoa scores on a free kick in the 80th, then a couple minutes later our keeper, Alisson, goes down. We hold on for the 1-1 draw, but get the news after the match that he's got a dislocated shoulder and will miss 7-8 weeks. It's a big blow, and I recall what happened to us with him out a year ago. I brought Lamanna in for insurance, but I don't like the idea of him being my starting keeper for the next two months.

Ugh.

[trman73]

October 4, 2020 - Serie A: AC Milan (2-2-2, 8 pts., 9th) vs. Roma (3-2-1, 11 pts., 3rd)

We're 3-2-0 in our last five matches and have allowed just two goals over that span. But we're without Alisson in net and are facing a Milan team that's also on a five-match unbeaten streak in all competitions (they are in Euro Cup). We're going to need to put some balls in the back of the net in this one.

My fears are realized almost instantly as Lamanna lets in a softie in the third minute. We come back with a goal from Salah in the 21st, but give up another bad goal a few minutes later. But Salah scores his second of the match in the 32nd, and this is shaping up to be a great one, as we go into the break tied 2-2.

In the 59th, a great lob pass from Juan Jesus at the midfield line finds Salah, and he puts in his third of the match to give us our first lead. But sure enough, Lamanna gives it back on a free kick that he should have saved, and it's 3-3. We've now given up more goals in this match than in our previous five combined.

In the 75th minutes, a corner kick from us bounces off a couple of players and lands on the foot of our left winger Gerson. He's completely bowled over in the box for a penalty, and El Shaarawy puts it away to put us up, 4-3. Milan hits the crossbar twice in the final five minutes and has four corners in stoppage time, but they can't pull even and we hang on for an epic 4-3 win! The victory moves us up to second in the table, just two points behind Sassuolo.

[trman73]

October 18, 2020 - Serie A: Roma (4-2-1, 14 pts., 2nd) vs. Fiorentina (2-5-0, 11 pts., 5th)

We get a 14-day break for international play, and all I can think about is that we're two weeks closer to getting Alisson back. We emerge without injury from the break to face a Fiorentina team that's drawn five of its first seven matches and is the last remaining unbeaten team in Serie A. This is a matchup of the top two scoring teams in the league, as we've netted a league-high 16 goals and Fiorentina is right behind us with 15. This should be a good one.

A couple days before the match El Shaarawy gets sick with food poisoning, and we'll have to sit him in favor of our offseason acquisition, the Venezuelan Adalberto Penaranda. Let's see what he can do in his first start for Roma. The next day Salah twists his knee, and we're without both of our starting forwards. Salomon Rondon slots in for Salah, and while I'm concerned, it is a good opportunity for these guys to step up.

For the second straight game we go down early, giving up a goal in the 8th. But we're primed to tie it in the 20th when Fiorentina is called for a penalty. With our two strongest penalty takers injured, Bernardeschi steps up and has his shot saved, and we blow the opportunity to tie it. Fiorentina goes up 2-0 midway through the second half, we score a goal late to pull within one, but ultimately lose, 2-1, and our six-game unbeaten streak is over. The loss pushes us down to fifth in the standings.

Edited May 20, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

October 24, 2020 - Serie A: Roma (4-2-2, 14 pts., 5th) vs. Brescia (1-3-4, 6 pts., 18th)

We get El Shaarawy back for this one but are still without Salah and (obviously) Alisson. We need to get a win against a Brescia team that's really struggling. At home, we should handle these guys and perhaps jump up a couple spots in the table. We've got three games in the next 10 days, so it's important to start this run with three points.

For the third straight game we concede first, giving up a goal in the 15th to go down early. And for the third straight game we get a penalty shot that gives us a chance to tie it. But Bernardeschi misses again, and it looks like we'll go into the break down 0-1. But with just seconds to go in stoppage time El Shaarawy ties it. We dominate the second half and El Shaarawi scores his second of the game to make it 2-1. We never give up another decent chance and hold off for the win. It was a little more difficult than I would have expected, but we get the three points we need and move up to fourth.