The Italian Job! Italian league thread is here!

[zlatanera]

ACF Fiorentina 2018/19

Well, I finally finished my first season with the Viola! Overall a very good beginning, although perhaps unsurprisingly as they're the weakest team I've managed so far on FM19 the only one where I didn't win anything first season. 

I started with first window budgets disabled, so I could get a handle on the squad. Come January though, big changes were in the offing. I terminated all but two of the many loans into the club - Gérson staying on as my backup Mezzala and Giorgios Antoulas' loan to the youth ranks being extended for a year. I've already mentioned Rossi coming in, Daniele Padelli was loaned in to backup Lafont but Dragowski couldn't get a decent loan offer so he was only really used for mentoring purposes (Dragowski is now a Perfectionist too). He's arranged to join us permanently come June. Valentin Eysseric missed 3 months of the season and I needed an improvement at AML so in came Matias Vargas, someone I hadn't used this year, to hopefully hold down the AML spot for a few years. Roma went in for Tonali so I decided to blow them out of the water using instalments, and loan him back to Brescia for the rest of the season as I need to get Nørgaard's value up by playing him in the DM position so he can be sold to make way. The others: Angileri (DC), Riccardi (MC), Viviani (MC) and Ranocchia (DM) are youngsters secured on 18 month loans with cheap options to buy. This is something Italian clubs seem to do in real life, and quite a good practice for me as if they don't develop I can still cut ties, but if they do I get them at a cut-price.

The only first team outgoings were Thereau who is awful, and Olivera who is fine but had two players ahead of him at DL so any profit was a bonus. 

Coppa Italia was a huge disappointment. Rossi's debut goal got us past Udinese but Lazio shredded us on the counter.

Napoli ran Juventus close again, but more importantly we made Champions League! We were somewhat prone to sterile possession, as evidenced by our having only the 8th best attack but the 3rd best defence (with 21 clean sheets for Lafont behind only Juventus' 28), but we usually had enough moments of individual brilliance to see us through. 

Flops

Vargas - only 1 goal and 1 assist in 12 games was not good enough, hopefully he'll be fully settled come the start of the new season.

Simeone - quite a few injuries but still managed 6 goals in 16 games, yet most of those came playing off the right when Chiesa was missing, allowing him to overpower a full back. Ineffective through the middle and I may be inclined to sell. 

The midfield - other than a couple of screamers apiece from Veretout and Gérson, not much happening here. May be tactical more than anything.

Stars

Chiesa - 15 goals and 5 assists as our tactics did do their job of overloading the left and giving him room to work in. Top-scoring non-striker in the league.

Dusan Vlahovic - The young Serb stepped up in a major way through Simeone's injuries, scoring 10 and creating 5 in 20 starts, including a great run of 5 goals in 5 games in spring that got us over the line for Champions League qualification.

Left Back - 7 (Biraghi) and 5 (Hancko) assists from each of them, another stated aim of my tactic that worked out well.

Central Defence (and Milenkovic) - all averaging above a 7 over the season, Vitor Hugo in particular stood out with some incredible last-ditch tackles on the likes of Mauro Icardi. 

Simone Minelli - on paper not great but averaged over a 7 in about 6 starts, contributing a goal and assist and never really letting us down despite being a Serie C player at best. 

[Raymond85]

 

So first season with Juventus is over. All in all it was spectacular. We stormed the league, lifted the Champion's League  and managed to get Ronaldo to score a great number of 42 goals, winning every trophy we had a saying in.

 

So how have my save objectives gone?

- Get Ronaldo to score more than a goal a game. Almost. 42 in 43 matches (although 2 as sub) is very impressive

- Have a perfect season: almost, we slacked 3 draws after winning the league. This might be the hardest accomplishment due to how the players relax after winning.

- Win the Champion's League

- Make a strong italian backbone: not there, but we are working towards it. Had to get some foreign talented backups and youngsters, because in season 1 my italian targets are just unavailable. But we are already working towards that.

 

84 mln for Pjanic was a no-brainer. I tried bringing Barella, but they would not sell, had to settle on Palacios as a backup,  promoting Betancour as first teamer. Tonali was a must buy, he will be our future brains in the middle of the pitch. Vagnoman was brought in because both Spinazzola and De Sciglio start with long injuries. De Sciglio is being taught to be a ball playing defender, as i love his attributes and i think he will do a great job with Rugani once Chiellini and Bonucci get too old for first squad. All other signings are young italians for our Under-23, who got promoted to Serie B this season. Cuadrado was fringe at most with our tactics.

New season starts with Rabiot and Ramsey coming in on a free, we'll have to sell Khedira and Matuidi if we get interest in them. I'd like to sell other foreign players if i get good money except Ronaldo (and maybe Dybala - although everyone has a price), and bring in italian replacements.

Szczezny is moaning for a new contract (he is on 7.4 mln p/a, he will be sold), and Douglas Costa wants more field time, i have agreed to sell him if i get a chance (i would love to bring in Chiesa in his place). I'm unsettling Belotti and Barella for the past 6 months, we shall see what happens.

Edited June 21, 2019 by Raymond85

[Raymond85]

And then this happened in pre-season. Lol

[Ronaldo Beckham]

@Raymond85 Are you the same guy who posted in the Arsenal thread similar unrealistic fees for players.

You are either good with photoshop or the in game editor, if this is how you want to play the game then so be it.

Just seems boring to me.

[Raymond85]

9 minuti fa, Ronaldo Beckham ha scritto:

@Raymond85 Are you the same guy who posted in the Arsenal thread similar unrealistic fees for players.

You are either good with photoshop or the in game editor, if this is how you want to play the game then so be it.

Just seems boring to me.

No, it’s not me in the Arsenal thread. You could easily open it and check it.

i actually have no idea why i am answering to such garbage accusations.

[Raymond85]

It’s a very easy save just to see how far i can push Ronaldo, trying to get an italian backbone in Juventus while i’m at it. And win a champion’s league and you’ll see values skyrocket

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Ok no worries, just seems like you have cheated but its fine if you want to defend yourself, you are entitled to do so and I am sorry I offended you. Just looks a bit suspect to me.

[Raymond85]

Juventus is a really easy and successful save, it can get boring but it’s going to be short. All players were sold not more than 10-15 mln over their actual value ingame (matuidi scored both goals in champions league final).

spoiler: i bought belotti for 60 mln and chiesa for 125, so overpriced is going both ways.

i find that high reputation + achieving titles this year produces these transfer results.

won the champion’s league with Udinese in the 4th season in another save, was getting no interest in my players because the team’s reputation hadn’t caught up. @zlatanera can confirm this

[john1]

@Raymond85 Insane money for outgoing players  And hopefully you can help Ronaldo, beat last season record  

I also missed out on great players like Joao Felix and Benzema cos of club reputation  

[Raymond85]

It will be hard getting him to do better than 42. I actually want him to get serie A top goalscorer, as he was beat by Icardi’s 24 by only one. The 15 in champion’s league were insane, but that was actualy the focus, winning it after 24 years

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12 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

What face-pack and skin are you using?

Sortitoutsi and TCS.

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2 hours ago, Raymond85 said:

Juventus is a really easy and successful save, it can get boring but it’s going to be short. All players were sold not more than 10-15 mln over their actual value ingame (matuidi scored both goals in champions league final).

spoiler: i bought belotti for 60 mln and chiesa for 125, so overpriced is going both ways.

i find that high reputation + achieving titles this year produces these transfer results.

won the champion’s league with Udinese in the 4th season in another save, was getting no interest in my players because the team’s reputation hadn’t caught up. @zlatanera can confirm this

I don't think he was questioning your in-game achievements. Just those transfers does seem suspect. Backup goalkeeper going for 72m?

But I've never played as Juve before, so I couldn't tell you if any of the transfers would go for that amount for certain players.

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9 hours ago, zlatanera said:

ACF Fiorentina 2018/19

Well, I finally finished my first season with the Viola! Overall a very good beginning, although perhaps unsurprisingly as they're the weakest team I've managed so far on FM19 the only one where I didn't win anything first season. 

I started with first window budgets disabled, so I could get a handle on the squad. Come January though, big changes were in the offing. I terminated all but two of the many loans into the club - Gérson staying on as my backup Mezzala and Giorgios Antoulas' loan to the youth ranks being extended for a year. I've already mentioned Rossi coming in, Daniele Padelli was loaned in to backup Lafont but Dragowski couldn't get a decent loan offer so he was only really used for mentoring purposes (Dragowski is now a Perfectionist too). He's arranged to join us permanently come June. Valentin Eysseric missed 3 months of the season and I needed an improvement at AML so in came Matias Vargas, someone I hadn't used this year, to hopefully hold down the AML spot for a few years. Roma went in for Tonali so I decided to blow them out of the water using instalments, and loan him back to Brescia for the rest of the season as I need to get Nørgaard's value up by playing him in the DM position so he can be sold to make way. The others: Angileri (DC), Riccardi (MC), Viviani (MC) and Ranocchia (DM) are youngsters secured on 18 month loans with cheap options to buy. This is something Italian clubs seem to do in real life, and quite a good practice for me as if they don't develop I can still cut ties, but if they do I get them at a cut-price.

The only first team outgoings were Thereau who is awful, and Olivera who is fine but had two players ahead of him at DL so any profit was a bonus. 

Coppa Italia was a huge disappointment. Rossi's debut goal got us past Udinese but Lazio shredded us on the counter.

Napoli ran Juventus close again, but more importantly we made Champions League! We were somewhat prone to sterile possession, as evidenced by our having only the 8th best attack but the 3rd best defence (with 21 clean sheets for Lafont behind only Juventus' 28), but we usually had enough moments of individual brilliance to see us through. 

Flops

Vargas - only 1 goal and 1 assist in 12 games was not good enough, hopefully he'll be fully settled come the start of the new season.

Simeone - quite a few injuries but still managed 6 goals in 16 games, yet most of those came playing off the right when Chiesa was missing, allowing him to overpower a full back. Ineffective through the middle and I may be inclined to sell. 

The midfield - other than a couple of screamers apiece from Veretout and Gérson, not much happening here. May be tactical more than anything.

Stars

Chiesa - 15 goals and 5 assists as our tactics did do their job of overloading the left and giving him room to work in. Top-scoring non-striker in the league.

Dusan Vlahovic - The young Serb stepped up in a major way through Simeone's injuries, scoring 10 and creating 5 in 20 starts, including a great run of 5 goals in 5 games in spring that got us over the line for Champions League qualification.

Left Back - 7 (Biraghi) and 5 (Hancko) assists from each of them, another stated aim of my tactic that worked out well.

Central Defence (and Milenkovic) - all averaging above a 7 over the season, Vitor Hugo in particular stood out with some incredible last-ditch tackles on the likes of Mauro Icardi. 

Simone Minelli - on paper not great but averaged over a 7 in about 6 starts, contributing a goal and assist and never really letting us down despite being a Serie C player at best. 

Some new names I've never seen or heard of before. Interesting, will check them out. Gerson impressing you? I did considered him as I would like a left footer balance central midfield as well.

[Raymond85]

21 minuti fa, quee ha scritto:

I don't think he was questioning your in-game achievements. Just those transfers does seem suspect. Backup goalkeeper going for 72m?

But I've never played as Juve before, so I couldn't tell you if any of the transfers would go for that amount for certain players.

Well.... Szczesny is the starting goalkeeper for the whole season  he was worth 72 and he went for 72 because he was whinging for a new contract, when he already had 7.4 yearly wage. Will be starting my "backup" Perin from now on

[john1]

27 minutes ago, quee said:

I don't think he was questioning your in-game achievements. Just those transfers does seem suspect. Backup goalkeeper going for 72m?

But I've never played as Juve before, so I couldn't tell you if any of the transfers would go for that amount for certain players.

I have also noticed when player or players having a decent season with you or other club, there tends to be loads of interest in A or B, they tends to go for silly money, like I lost Tonali, to Man City for 64M as they matched his minimum release clause after a brilliant season.

I have also just sold Jordi Mboula, to Man City again for 85M, as he had a brilliant season previous.

That probably why @Raymond85 got silly offers for his players basing on their performance in the season before.

Edited June 21, 2019 by john1

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6 minutes ago, Raymond85 said:

Well.... Szczesny is the starting goalkeeper for the whole season  he was worth 72 and he went for 72 because he was whinging for a new contract, when he already had 7.4 yearly wage. Will be starting my "backup" Perin from now on

Called me surprised then he's your "starting goalkeepr for the whole season" with only 62% sharpness! 

Carry on.

[Raymond85]

5 minuti fa, quee ha scritto:

Called me surprised then he's your "starting goalkeepr for the whole season" with only 62% sharpness! 

Carry on.

As i said, when he started moaning, he went straight to the bench as i don't like unhappy players starting matches in key positions

Perin stepped in the last 9 league matches and from quarter finals in champion's league.

 

Have we finished with the inquisition now?

Edited June 21, 2019 by Raymond85

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4 minutes ago, john1 said:

I have also noticed when player or players having a decent season with you or other club, there tends to be loads of interest in A or B, they tends to go for silly money, like I lost Tonali, to Man City for 64M as they matched his minimum release clause after a brilliant season.

I have also just sold Jordi Mboula, to Man City again for 85M, as he had a brilliant season previous.

That probably why @Raymond85 got silly offers for his players basing on their performance in the season before.

Why did you even have a release clause for Tonali is the question 

Again, I'm not attacking anyone here. Play however you want. You should check the Arsenal thread, the guy in questioned managed to sell 100m for a few players each. Arsenal.

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3 minutes ago, Raymond85 said:

As i said, when he started moaning, he went straight to the bench as i don't like unhappy players starting matches in key positions

Perin stepped in the last 9 league matches and from quarter finals.

 

Have we finished with the inquisition now?

As I said, carry on. 

No new signing for goalkeeper then?

[Raymond85]

In questo momento, quee ha scritto:

As I said, carry on. 

No new signing for goalkeeper then?

I signed Scuffet from a relegated Udinese, as i said, i'm trying to make the squad more italian.

I checked the Arsenal thread and it seems a bit insane. But as i said, i sold starters or players that started over 20 games for a winning CL team. And they were just over their value (i was not planning to sell Emre Can, hence i asked for 100m and they accepted - he was worth 77 in game)

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1 minute ago, Raymond85 said:

I signed Scuffet from a relegated Udinese, as i said, i'm trying to make the squad more italian.

I checked the Arsenal thread and it seems a bit insane. But as i said, i sold starters or players that started over 20 games for a winning CL team. And they were just over their value (i was not planning to sell Emre Can, hence i asked for 100m and they accepted - he was worth 77 in game)

I wanted to do that as well, signed more Italian players.

But even signing someone like Gasperini would cost £7m+, and for a club like Parma, something we can't afford at the moment. Currently, we only have £10m+ in the bank balance.

[john1]

7 minutes ago, quee said:

Why did you even have a release clause for Tonali is the question 

Again, I'm not attacking anyone here. Play however you want. You should check the Arsenal thread, the guy in questioned managed to sell 100m for a few players each. Arsenal.

His stupid agent put a lock on it, 64M for European clubs.  

And I will take a look now  

And yeah, I understand what you mean and I know you aren't attacking anyone   

[Raymond85]

18 minuti fa, quee ha scritto:

I wanted to do that as well, signed more Italian players.

But even signing someone like Gasperini would cost £7m+, and for a club like Parma, something we can't afford at the moment. Currently, we only have £10m+ in the bank balance.

It takes time and patience.... you have to sell very well to start affording bigger fees. It took me years with Udinese. Not with Ajax, as i went for an own academy producing only basis there. I have a moneyball fetish

[zlatanera]

1 hour ago, quee said:

Some new names I've never seen or heard of before. Interesting, will check them out. Gerson impressing you? I did considered him as I would like a left footer balance central midfield as well.

Yeah he was decent in the autumn / winter period, and I actually tried to sign him / renew his loan but Roma asked silly money (i.e. just didn't want to sell) so I dropped him for Veretout. My midfield wasn't great, although weirdly Mattia Viviani got 2 assists from DM in his 3 games, but Gérson a couple of times beat his man then blasted it in from the edge of the box, and a few times he also actually played an incisive through ball between the two CBs which I've not seen much on FM19. 

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1 minute ago, zlatanera said:

Yeah he was decent in the autumn / winter period, and I actually tried to sign him / renew his loan but Roma asked silly money (i.e. just didn't want to sell) so I dropped him for Veretout. My midfield wasn't great, although weirdly Mattia Viviani got 2 assists from DM in his 3 games, but Gérson a couple of times beat his man then blasted it in from the edge of the box, and a few times he also actually played an incisive through ball between the two CBs which I've not seen much on FM19. 

He was transfer listed for £4.7m in winter 3rd window, but his wages are too high for me.

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8 minutes ago, Raymond85 said:

It takes time and patience.... you have to sell very well to start affording bigger fees. It took me years with Udinese. Not with Ajax, as i went for an own academy producing only basis there. I have a moneyball fetish

I'm doing a bit of both. I'm buying non-Italians now, then my youth intakes will replace them slowly.

[zlatanera]

I've decided to post some screenshots of the players I singled out in my season summary, in case anyone is interested:

I didn't realise Minelli had scored 2, not just 1. Still, apparently irl he wasn't even registered for the past season after loans to AlbinoLeffe and then Trapani the previous couple of years. My coaches say Serie C quality with "potential to be a decent Serie A player" which is in the negatives, so a goal or assist every 3.something games is solid. I trained the Killer Balls trait given on paper he isn't much of a finisher but figured that Anticipation, Vision and Flair could lead to some nice passes.

Barely played IRL but there were apparently rumours of a bigger club poaching Hancko in January as he was impressing everyone who saw him so much.  If I can get my hands on Luca Pellegrini he'll be out though, that low Agility affects his recovery and I'd like more Off The Ball for my attacking full back too. But 5 assists in 13 games is good, they were all deep crosses too, perhaps a positive of that low OTB as Biraghi tends to overlap more readily.

Screen-shotted mostly because of all the talking about him. Of his 3 goals, one was an 89th minute winner in a comeback at Sampdoria (Quagliarella of course scoring for them), one a 91st minute winner against Milan at San Siro and one to open the scoring against Roma in the next game, all three were screamers too. Would have probably got 7-10 for the season had I not dropped him once it became apparent he wouldn't be staying beyond the summer (and loaned another Roma prospect to replace him next season, this time with an option to buy).

The main man. I considered giving him all of Thomas Müller's ppms as I'm considering a Raumdeuter, but settled for Round Keeper given he's a great dribbler. Was involved in 38% of our goals in the league. His 15th of the season, to kick start the comeback against Udinese that sealed Champions League football, was outstanding: Picking up the ball on the edge of our box following a corner he drove infield beating 4 recovering defenders before blasting it top corner from just inside their box. 

The man who has played his way into becoming my project player for this save. Has developed significantly over the season (as you'll see if you check him out at the start of any save), scoring many important goals following a brace on his debut against Cagliari (assisting Chiesa for our 3rd too) including in both wins over Inter (we hammered them 3-0 in our own stadium, which I would have mentioned if I hadn't been rushing off to work when I wrote that summary) and a 90th minute winner at Parma. 

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PARMA CALCIO 1913 - 2020/2021

March

Difficult month in February. This months sees us only have 3 games to look forward to, a chance to play a consistent team due to the upcoming international break. Juventus (A), Palermo (H), Roma (A). 2 difficult away games, against an historic rival who's in third and against Mourinho's Roma, who's fighting it out with Inter for the title. The media called Palermo's season as the good story of the season, and they will be also a difficult form team to play against. We started the month with our new youth intakes. And finally, 2 days into March, Brazao got his 3 stars CA! Pleased with his progress and feels like he's getting stronger each match.

Youth Intakes

Not as good as last season's intakes, but we got a promising Albanian goalkeeper, who's a good distributor of the ball. Perfect as a long term understudy to Brazao. Not sure if I would like a youth goalkeeper this early in the first team, though, as Brazao is only 4 years older. Is it me or does the Youth team always beat your u18s for this? Anyway, signed 5 of the potential players. Of the others, wanted to give Molteni a chance despite his low PA, as his mental attributes are good, but his poor performance during the trial delayed my decision. I did signed him at the end of the month (as his PA is now 3 stars instead of just 2.5 earlier), along with Bruno, who can cover across all defensive positions. What I liked about this intake is that all of them have good mentality, with Hyso's a driven character.

 

FIXTURES

The last time we got less fixtures was in September, which was a forgettable month with 2 loses, a draw, and a win. Hoping to have a better month this time around and well, we did it!

We started on the back foot against Juve, who came at us strongly, and it was no surprise that they scored in the first 10 minutes through Ronaldo. The key turning point was, we scored in our next attack to regain a bit of composure and we started to battle Juve better. In the 2nd half, we improved a lot by creating some good chances and it was Kiyine who scored just after the hour mark. Juve threw everything at us and for the first time this season, I felt comfortable with my defence and saw them soaked up the pressure well. The big decision was giving Bastoni another chance, after Ribeiro's poor performance in the last game. He repayed my faith and this was to be his turning point this season.

Without fixtures congestion, I was able to keep mainly the same lineup against in-form Palermo side. Only changed was the absence of Bastoni, who got a small knock in training. The highs of winning in Turin was brought back down a notch down with an okay performance, but we could have easily drawn the match. Still a good momentum to carry over into the international break.

Without any injuries from the international break and a good 16 days of training, our preparation for the Roma game was as good as we could get. Again, was able to play almost my strongest starting lineup at the moment, with a couple of changes compared to the Juve game. Palacios replacing Diakhate, who is out of form, and Xadas (coming back from injury) replacing Kiyine. Bastoni made his returned after missing the Palermo's game with a knock. For an away game, I think this was the best performance I can remember. We limited Roma's shots on goals, and we created good chances whilst maintaining our defensive structure. This is the first game I had changed Coetzee's BPD Defend to a BPD Cover, and he played really well. But the biggest call I had to make was wether to reinstate Olaza into the lineup after his injury or keep trust with young Minelli. Decided to trust Minelli due to his strong form recently (image below since Olaza's injury against Man Utd), and I was vindicated with a strong Man of the Match performance. He created the goal, and was imperious in defence. A great win!

Bonus: Hyso made his first appearance on the bench due to Pereira's virus and Fabio's knock.

Verdict: 2 big decisions justified, with giving Bastoni another chance for Juve's game and keeping trust with Minelli for the Roma's game. Great month!

THOUGHTS & REVIEWS FOR THE COMING MONTHS

The best month I could wish for, and it set us up to have things in our own hand for the rest of the season. 8 (9 if Palermo can push on) teams fighting for the rest of European qualifications means we cannot let up and allowed any mistakes. Title race is between Inter and Roma, with Juve and Milan just out of the reckoning, I think.

Players - Birindelli maintaining his good form, Minelli been impressing since Olaza's injury and getting better and better, Bastoni finally turning up and settling to play his game after injury hit season and poor performances, Stulac starting to regain some of his season 1 and 2 form, supported by Tonali, and the goals of Sprocati. Downside: Diakhate is losing his form, and Gomez is not scoring and contributing in games.

Verdict: Can we carry this over in April?

Welcome any comments and feedbacks. Would be interesting to see other Parma saves as well.

Will post the next update monthly or at the end of the season.

Questions: Anybody think 'knock ball past opponents' is a good trait?

Edited June 22, 2019 by quee
Removed duplicate images

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1 hour ago, zlatanera said:

I've decided to post some screenshots of the players I singled out in my season summary, in case anyone is interested:

I didn't realise Minelli had scored 2, not just 1. Still, apparently irl he wasn't even registered for the past season after loans to AlbinoLeffe and then Trapani the previous couple of years. My coaches say Serie C quality with "potential to be a decent Serie A player" which is in the negatives, so a goal or assist every 3.something games is solid. I trained the Killer Balls trait given on paper he isn't much of a finisher but figured that Anticipation, Vision and Flair could lead to some nice passes.

Barely played IRL but there were apparently rumours of a bigger club poaching Hancko in January as he was impressing everyone who saw him so much.  If I can get my hands on Luca Pellegrini he'll be out though, that low Agility affects his recovery and I'd like more Off The Ball for my attacking full back too. But 5 assists in 13 games is good, they were all deep crosses too, perhaps a positive of that low OTB as Biraghi tends to overlap more readily.

Screen-shotted mostly because of all the talking about him. Of his 3 goals, one was an 89th minute winner in a comeback at Sampdoria (Quagliarella of course scoring for them), one a 91st minute winner against Milan at San Siro and one to open the scoring against Roma in the next game, all three were screamers too. Would have probably got 7-10 for the season had I not dropped him once it became apparent he wouldn't be staying beyond the summer (and loaned another Roma prospect to replace him next season, this time with an option to buy).

The main man. I considered giving him all of Thomas Müller's ppms as I'm considering a Raumdeuter, but settled for Round Keeper given he's a great dribbler. Was involved in 38% of our goals in the league. His 15th of the season, to kick start the comeback against Udinese that sealed Champions League football, was outstanding: Picking up the ball on the edge of our box following a corner he drove infield beating 4 recovering defenders before blasting it top corner from just inside their box. 

The man who has played his way into becoming my project player for this save. Has developed significantly over the season (as you'll see if you check him out at the start of any save), scoring many important goals following a brace on his debut against Cagliari (assisting Chiesa for our 3rd too) including in both wins over Inter (we hammered them 3-0 in our own stadium, which I would have mentioned if I hadn't been rushing off to work when I wrote that summary) and a 90th minute winner at Parma. 

Hancko and Vlahovic are looking good. I'm scouting them now in my save (both still at Fio). Shows how much first team football aids their development though, as Vlahovic is nowhere near that level 3 seasons in. Hancko's a bit behind yours in mine but still look a decent prospect.

[Raymond85]

5 ore fa, quee ha scritto:

PARMA CALCIO 1913 - 2020/2021

March

Difficult month in February. This months sees us only have 3 games to look forward to, a chance to play a consistent team due to the upcoming international break. Juventus (A), Palermo (H), Roma (A). 2 difficult away games, against an historic rival who's in third and against Mourinho's Roma, who's fighting it out with Inter for the title. The media called Palermo's season as the good story of the season, and they will be also a difficult form team to play against. We started the month with our new youth intakes. And finally, 2 days into March, Brazao got his 3 stars CA! Pleased with his progress and feels like he's getting stronger each match.

Youth Intakes

Not as good as last season's intakes, but we got a promising Albanian goalkeeper, who's a good distributor of the ball. Perfect as a long term understudy to Brazao. Not sure if I would like a youth goalkeeper this early in the first team, though, as Brazao is only 4 years older. Is it me or does the Youth team always beat your u18s for this? Anyway, signed 5 of the potential players. Of the others, wanted to give Molteni a chance despite his low PA, as his mental attributes are good, but his poor performance during the trial delayed my decision. I did signed him at the end of the month (as his PA is now 3 stars instead of just 2.5 earlier), along with Bruno, who can cover across all defensive positions. What I liked about this intake is that all of them have good mentality, with Hyso's a driven character.

 

FIXTURES

The last time we got less fixtures was in September, which was a forgettable month with 2 loses, a draw, and a win. Hoping to have a better month this time around and well, we did it!

We started on the back foot against Juve, who came at us strongly, and it was no surprise that they scored in the first 10 minutes through Ronaldo. The key turning point was, we scored in our next attack to regain a bit of composure and we started to battle Juve better. In the 2nd half, we improved a lot by creating some good chances and it was Kiyine who scored just after the hour mark. Juve threw everything at us and for the first time this season, I felt comfortable with my defence and saw them soaked up the pressure well. The big decision was giving Bastoni another chance, after Ribeiro's poor performance in the last game. He repayed my faith and this was to be his turning point this season.

Without fixtures congestion, I was able to keep mainly the same lineup against in-form Palermo side. Only changed was the absence of Bastoni, who got a small knock in training. The highs of winning in Turin was brought back down a notch down with an okay performance, but we could have easily drawn the match. Still a good momentum to carry over into the international break.

Without any injuries from the international break and a good 16 days of training, our preparation for the Roma game was as good as we could get. Again, was able to play almost my strongest starting lineup at the moment, with a couple of changes compared to the Juve game. Palacios replacing Diakhate, who is out of form, and Xadas (coming back from injury) replacing Kiyine. Bastoni made his returned after missing the Palermo's game with a knock. For an away game, I think this was the best performance I can remember. We limited Roma's shots on goals, and we created good chances whilst maintaining our defensive structure. This is the first game I had changed Coetzee's BPD Defend to a BPD Cover, and he played really well. But the biggest call I had to make was wether to reinstate Olaza into the lineup after his injury or keep trust with young Minelli. Decided to trust Minelli due to his strong form recently (image below since Olaza's injury against Man Utd), and I was vindicated with a strong Man of the Match performance. He created the goal, and was imperious in defence. A great win!

Bonus: Hyso made his first appearance on the bench due to Pereira's virus and Fabio's knock.

Verdict: 2 big decisions justified, with giving Bastoni another chance for Juve's game and keeping trust with Minelli for the Roma's game. Great month!

THOUGHTS & REVIEWS FOR THE COMING MONTHS

The best month I could wish for, and it set us up to have things in our own hand for the rest of the season. 8 (9 if Palermo can push on) teams fighting for the rest of European qualifications means we cannot let up and allowed any mistakes. Title race is between Inter and Roma, with Juve and Milan just out of the reckoning, I think.

Players - Birindelli maintaining his good form, Minelli been impressing since Olaza's injury and getting better and better, Bastoni finally turning up and settling to play his game after injury hit season and poor performances, Stulac starting to regain some of his season 1 and 2 form, supported by Tonali, and the goals of Sprocati. Downside: Diakhate is losing his form, and Gomez is not scoring and contributing in games.

Verdict: Can we carry this over in April?

Welcome any comments and feedbacks. Would be interesting to see other Parma saves as well.

Will post the next update monthly or at the end of the season.

Questions: Anybody think 'knock ball past opponents' is a good trait?

i'd value that trait only for fast wingers or inside forwards myself.

 

Who is your Head of youth developement? seems to take in great youth intakes

[zlatanera]

7 hours ago, quee said:

Hancko and Vlahovic are looking good. I'm scouting them now in my save (both still at Fio). Shows how much first team football aids their development though, as Vlahovic is nowhere near that level 3 seasons in. Hancko's a bit behind yours in mine but still look a decent prospect.

Yeah generally the AI doesn’t do youth development well. Occasionally you’ll look and they’ll have gotten one player much better than you would though - last year AI got a lot more out of Nikola Milenkovic than I ever did. 

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2 hours ago, Raymond85 said:

i'd value that trait only for fast wingers or inside forwards myself.

 

Who is your Head of youth developement? seems to take in great youth intakes

Nuno Gomes (as in screenshot). I searched for someone with international caps as I liked to surround myself with former internationals, not sure if his stats were good when I started (and now).

[quee]

So, I've been simulating a new save on holiday until 30th June 2019, just to see what Buffon's situation is. A bit random at the moment, retiring in one, signing a new contract in another, but so far never released. I guess I really had no chance to get him regardless? The only thing that would have made this a perfect save for me. Also, I just realised he wanted a chance to play for Napoli in the future at the start of the game.. a bit random or it is reflected in real life?

On another note, just realised Copa Italia provided a route to the Europa League. If I lost and Milan win and finishes in CL spot, would I get it if I finished outside the qualifying spots? What if Milan won it but finishing in the Europa League spot instead? Who would get priority for qualification?

[john1]

1 hour ago, quee said:

So, I've been simulating a new save on holiday until 30th June 2019, just to see what Buffon's situation is. A bit random at the moment, retiring in one, signing a new contract in another, but so far never released. I guess I really had no chance to get him regardless? The only thing that would have made this a perfect save for me. Also, I just realised he wanted a chance to play for Napoli in the future at the start of the game.. a bit random or it is reflected in real life?

On another note, just realised Copa Italia provided a route to the Europa League. If I lost and Milan win and finishes in CL spot, would I get it if I finished outside the qualifying spots? What if Milan won it but finishing in the Europa League spot instead? Who would get priority for qualification?

I think you will take AC Milan spot if they finish in CL spot.

EDIT:
 

Serie A rules. So I think you'll take their EL spot...

Edited June 22, 2019 by john1

[Raymond85]

3 ore fa, quee ha scritto:

Nuno Gomes (as in screenshot). I searched for someone with international caps as I liked to surround myself with former internationals, not sure if his stats were good when I started (and now).

I’ve found that the best hoyds are the ones with best personality and great JPP and JPA. Bernhard Peters is my must go to almost every save

[zlatanera]

@quee @Raymond85 Personally I don't think their JPP / JPA matters unless you do the "sign recommended players" thing. Personality does though, as it influences all of them a bit and if you get a "freak newgen", those ones that start out already at 3 star ability with really high potential, it has an outsize effect (all your youth staff's personality affects it a bit). Preferred formation does too as if his matches yours its more likely you're going to get players in positions you want. 

[john1]

2 hours ago, Raymond85 said:

I’ve found that the best hoyds are the ones with best personality and great JPP and JPA. Bernhard Peters is my must go to almost every save

Or Kristjaan Speakman   I tends to go for Speakman, most of the saves, however got Peters as HOYD with Torino  

[zlatanera]

Well the inevitable happened, Federico Chiesa asked to leave. He’s a Team Leader but the “you’re so influential” chat wasn’t available. He’s on a long contract so unless I get like £200mil he’s staying another year

[john1]

4 minutes ago, zlatanera said:

Well the inevitable happened, Federico Chiesa asked to leave. He’s a Team Leader but the “you’re so influential” chat wasn’t available. He’s on a long contract so unless I get like £200mil he’s staying another year

Would it be possible to get around that figure?  How has he been performing for you?

[zlatanera]

7 minutes ago, john1 said:

Would it be possible to get around that figure?  How has he been performing for you?

Hyperbole. I mean 15 goals 5 assists in 30 starts on the wing for a team that was predicted mid table but got Champions League aged 21 is pretty good. Despite our finances being such that I only got an £8m budget to get us CL-ready he’s valued at £60m. Chelsea offered £52m, I countered with 60+120 over 3 years and they withdrew. Given 3 years in with Ajax de Ligt was getting starting offers of £160m up front (although that was with a CL win and two leagues under his belt) I reckon it’s possible.

Edited June 22, 2019 by zlatanera

[quee]

21 hours ago, john1 said:

I think you will take AC Milan spot if they finish in CL spot.

EDIT:
 

Serie A rules. So I think you'll take their EL spot...

Thanks, John. Expect the next update from me shortly.

[Geordieboy52]

Juventus reserves in Serie B - is this a bug?

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11 minutes ago, Geordieboy52 said:

Juventus reserves in Serie B - is this a bug?

Nope, it is reflected in real life. But they can't gain promotion to Serie A. Just like Barca B and Castilla.

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PARMA CALCIO 1913 - 2020/2021

April

Great month in March, finally feel like we are hitting form. Heavier month this time around, with difficult game against Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio, and of the course the most important match so far in my career, the Coppa Italia Final! Our u20s won their Coppa Italia, can we repeat the feat for the senior side? I even made my young first team players available for 20 mins for the u20s Final, to get a taste of winning a trophy.

In house news: Brazao and Minelli requested new contracts after their great recent form, happily obliged. Brazao got 5 times his previous wages, and is on his 2nd renewal since coming with the club. Minelli's demand is a lot more modest but well deserved.

FIXTURES

WHAT.A.MONTH! I was sceptical before our matches against Milan, Fiorentina, Milan again, and Lazio. But we managed to win all of them! Since conceding against Juve last month, Brazao has managed to keep 6 straight clean sheets! That means 6 straight '1-0 is enough', a word by the great, club icon, Arrigo Sacchi never been truer in these instances. So, what changed for our form to be these consistent? I think I figured it out. Before March, a few of the youth defenders were complaining 'lack of attention to core units' in training. Now, I've seen the 'too much strength training' etc., so I never really pay attention to fixing these notifications (no strength training is assign but still complaining...). But curiosity got the better of me, and when I googled it, I can fix it by just adding that core unit's training. So, I added more defending training than I ever had previously, along with more focus on goalkeeping specific and set pieces training (I assigned these two here and there since season 1). Training performances improved greatly (not many were performing poorly each week) and somehow that translated into our matches. On the downside, whilst we are defending better, our scoring took a hit. It is something I never minded when playing in Italy, as is the old Italian way!

Only scoring 1 goal against Empoli (19th) reflected our form well. Away in Milan, I had thought a draw would be a good result. We defended well throughout, whilst not creating too many clear chances. We did keep the ball away from Milan. A strong win. Bastoni continues his imperious performance.

Before the game against Fiorentina, got a message from Zola saying we should use 'Attacking' mentality against them. Wait, against Fiorentina? This would be the first time we are favourites going against more perceived bigger team than us. So, it was a bit unusual. Can't say much about the game. I did rested those I expected to play in the Final in the next game (Birindelli and Minelli). The game against Lazio, I also got the same message from Zola. Playing away, I toned it down a bit than suggested, but I think our form and reputation is showing that we are going into games against previously stronger and bigger as favourites. Will take time to get used to this.

COPPA ITALIA FINAL

Of course it has its own section! A bit of a disappointing expected crowd, first I've experience for a final. Playing in Rome instead of Parma or Milan definitely doesn't help. Both clubs have history in this competition, with Parma longing for that success again.

Milan was missing their best player, Lucas Paqueta, through injury. Whilst, Kehrer was suspended for them. But it was their strongest lineup available.

For Parma, I had a few things to consider. Who would be captain for the match? Whilst the starting lineup is straight forward enough by keeping trust with the previous players I mainly used, it is the sub where I struggled who to leave out. In the end, decided to leave out all my loan players (Bastoni, Valery, Lo Celso, Inglese). Botturi got the armband despite low attributes for both leadership and teamwork. He is closest to Bastoni in term of being that defensive leader. Peda have great mental stats but since he is a new signing, decided against it. He might be a candidate for future captain, though. Smajlaj just missed out to him, but I would make sure to play him in the game as well. Joel Pereira retained his place as the Coppa keeper, with Brazao on the bench. Club captain, Stulac, is also on the bench for the big game. Will he get a chance to come on and lift the trophy?

We did it! I would say this was a game of two-50+ minutes. In the first 50+ minutes, we were playing with great confidence! Defence was solid, and midfield was creative and hard working. In the 2nd minute the deadlock was broken after a fine team move. The goal started from Birindelli to Agoume to Da Graca to Casarini, who then put a through ball beyond the defence for the on-rushing Agoume in the box to blast home his first goal for the club. That goal helped the youngsters to settle their nerves, if any. Then out of nowhere, Bonaventura cut in from the left and curled in a wonderful goal to the far post. I attributed to this lost of control when Kiyine went off with a pulled calf injury 15 minutes before the equaliser, with Diakhate coming on to replace him. We were shocked into silence and doubts beginning to appear in some players. I reacted to the equaliser by bringing in Smajlaj for Hiekkanen, with Peda moving into midfield as a half back. Gomez got his first minutes in the Coppa by replacing Casarini, with Da Graca moving to the left. For the rest of normal time, Milan was the most likely winner.

We then lost our captain for the day Botturi to an ankle knock in injury time, in the 97th minute. Despite him wanting to continue on, his low conditions made him susceptible to further injury. I decided to bring on Stulac to replace the outgoing but roaring day-captain. Luckily I had read the Coppa tournament rules as I would have been unaware of the 4th allowed substitution in Extra Time Period. It was a relief when the whistle for the end of normal time was heard. It was a chance for us to regroup and get it together.

With Stulac coming on, I reshuffled the defence again, with Smajlaj moving to the left side to replace Botturi's position, whilst Peda returned to his initial starting position. Stulac slotted to his strongest position in defensive midfield as the deep-lying playmaker (normally I liked to play him higher as the roaming playmaker due to Tonali's option in DM).

We regained a bit of our shape and ability on the ball but Milan was by far the dangerous side, with Joel Pereira having to be on his best. The half time during extra time helped break down Milan's momentum again and we started to play forward more. This time Diakhate won a lose ball in the box before setting up Agoume from outside the box for his second goal of the game and for the club! The scenes!

As we were holding on, Milan crossed the ball in to the box but Joel Pereira went high and claimed it. Instead of passing it short like my goalkeepers usually do, he decided to punt it up the field! Milan gained  the ball back for a few moments.. then Diakhate slide tackled to win the ball in midfield! Stulac received the loose ball and play a pass to the right of midfield to Spalek! Spalek then play a ball forward to the overlapping Birindelli..! Birindelli then crossed to the far post! Da Graca with the header.. Oh no! It hit the post! But wait, Gomez was there to turn in the rebound! We scored in the first 2 minutes and in the last 2 minutes of the game! The players are buzzing now, clearing and tackling anything that came near our goal. Final whistle! Coppa Italia winner! First in 19 years!

Whilst it was great to win the Coppa, I think I would have preferred if Gomez didn't scored the third goal.. Why? Because Agoume would have an "Scored Winning Goal in Final" entry in his history (See Casarini's history below) 

Everybody did their parts for the 120 minutes! More so Man of The Match, 19 years old Agoume, scorer of his first 2 goals for the club! In a final! All of the defence were excellence, from Joel Pereira to Birindelli to Peda leading the way defensively to Captain for 97 minutes' Botturi to Mr. Consistent Minelli and even young Smajlaj not daring to miss out in the contributions!

Finally, it was time for.. Stulac to lift the Coppa!

Verdict: Drinking from the Coppa!

THOUGHTS & REVIEWS FOR THE COMING MONTHS

First trophy of my career! With Botturi going off with a knock, allowing Stulac to get on the pitch and take the armband from him.. Destined, no? 

To be able to do it with mostly young, backup players were amazing. Even Mancini is considering calling up Birindelli for the Italian squad. Of my current squad, only Inglese got anywhere near the National team recently, being called up 6 times but never got his elusive first cap. He hasn't made the squad since the third season due to playing second fiddle to Gomez now. My only regrets were having to leave out the likes of Bastoni and Inglese from getting their Coppa Italia medals.

Achieved my minimum target of qualifying for the Euro Cup again.. but... with 4 games left...

(please refer to the current table below)

Players - Brazao, Birindelli, and Minelli were the best performers, continuing their consistent and improving performances. I have a selection headached as I'm wondering when can I give Olaza some minutes as well to help his cause to win Serie A Player of The Year Awards. Despodov has been immense, though, I think scoring 3 hat-tricks in his past few games.

Verdict: One last push, for Crociati's sake?

Welcome any comments and feedbacks. Would be interesting to see other Parma saves as well.

Will post the next update at the end of the season.

Edited June 23, 2019 by quee
Adding more images

[john1]

Superb win over AC Milan in the final

[quee]

3 hours ago, john1 said:

Superb win over AC Milan in the final

Thanks! How is your Torino's save going?

[Raymond85]

So, second season summer transfer market was a 3 day long chore.... so much dead wood, and we were in need of great youngsters for the under 23 Serie B campaign

 

 

So lets's take a quick glance at our 4 squads

 

First team

 

Under 23

 

Under 20

 

 

Under 18

 

 

First joy of the season, and it was pretty hard to get back in the game:

 

Edited June 24, 2019 by Raymond85

[quee]

10 minutes ago, Raymond85 said:

So, second season summer transfer market was a 3 day long chore.... so much dead wood, and we were in need of great youngsters for the under 23 Serie B campaign

 

 

So lets's take a quick glance at our 4 squads

 

First team

 

Under 23

 

Under 20

 

 

Under 18

 

 

First joy of the season, and it was pretty hard to get back in the game:

 

You're able to register both Palacios and Joveljic? Or do they treat Juve u23 as a separate registration for Serie B?

[Raymond85]

2 minuti fa, quee ha scritto:

You're able to register both Palacios and Joveljic? Or do they treat Juve u23 as a separate registration for Serie B?

Palacios was brought in squad in January, first season. My only non-EU signing. Jovelic i got second season, and selling Mandzukic abroad freed a second non-EU spot i haven't used yet, i'm saving it for January as i will see how my U-23's fare in Serie B, i have some targets in case i can't get an italian player in my weaker spots

[john1]

21 hours ago, quee said:

Thanks! How is your Torino's save going?

Going well thanks :D Just hit January 2023, also taken over Italy national job Will post update shortly.