MarcxD Posted March 14, 2019 Author Share Posted March 14, 2019 15 hours ago, Saintmat said: Regardless of what happens with this save from now on, this has been a fantastic career and a great read. Thanks man! Much appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 14, 2019 Author Share Posted March 14, 2019 June - December 2039 Did what we needed to do in the qualifiers, but two losses in friendlies sour things a bit. Very comfortable qualification for Euro 2040. Getting close to the end of the career of Fuga, 32 years old now. Still plays in China, on 10M p/a wages. A true legend for Kosovo. Central defender Milagres is about the same age, he has been playing for Ballkani for many a year now and since he has never been called up for his native Brazil I can use him now. There are some new talents coming up as well, especially from Ballkani. GK Nebihu has now retired, so Fuga will grab that spot for the most international apps soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 15, 2019 Author Share Posted March 15, 2019 Euro 2040 Prep Albania again. Toughest is England here, obviously. Should certainly be able to progress from this group. Some new faces. Obviously Ballkani is the team with most players represented. Defense is still an issue, as is the goalkeeper position. Pretty strong in midfield and attack, relatively speaking anyway. We've played England already this year, which was a close game. The three draws ahead of the tournament are a bit of a worry, as we generally were the better side. Need to do better! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 15, 2019 Author Share Posted March 15, 2019 Euro 2040 Groups Not a great performance, but we got that all-important win to start out with! And then, of course, we can't beat Albania. Figures. Spain out! Danish again, after our pre-tournament friendly. Should be doable, under normal circumstances. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheriff7 Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 What a win against England! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Hopefully you can go further. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 22, 2019 Author Share Posted March 22, 2019 On 16/03/2019 at 02:33, Sheriff7 said: What a win against England! Thanks mate! On 16/03/2019 at 13:41, deltablue said: Hopefully you can go further. Cheers! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 22, 2019 Author Share Posted March 22, 2019 Euro 2040 Second Round As Kosovo played against Denmark in real life yesterday (and kept them to a 2-2 draw, not bad!) I played them in the second round now. We did slightly better Belgium - England, what a game... hosts Germany up next, that's really going to be extremely tough. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 22, 2019 Author Share Posted March 22, 2019 Euro 2040 Quarter Final Sadly we were not able to spring a surprise and well Germany go through, deservedly so. A consolation goal at the end was all we got from the game. Rest of the Tournament Somehow the team we beat in our opening match of the tournament won the damn thing! Switzerland are the winners! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 22, 2019 Author Share Posted March 22, 2019 2040 Catch-Up Besa didn't do badly without my leadership, but Ballkani were just a little bit better overall and won the league. It's clear it's a two-team league right now, with Prishtina and Trepça mostly fighting for that third European spot. Not much to update from here on out, obviously, but I'll be keeping an eye on the league's standing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmcarter Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 I finally caught up with this series, and it was fantastic! Is there any way I could see the American national team? I'm wondering what club teams they're playing for. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 23, 2019 Author Share Posted March 23, 2019 14 hours ago, cmcarter said: I finally caught up with this series, and it was fantastic! Is there any way I could see the American national team? I'm wondering what club teams they're playing for. Thanks. Most of them play in the MLS, but a few abroad. Even one at Ballkani. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 23, 2019 Author Share Posted March 23, 2019 2040 Overview Apart from Euro 2040 we had a poor year, not being able to win any games in the nations league and relegating. Not the easiest nor the hardest group in the world cup qualifiers. We should be able to qualify, if necessary as second-placed behind Croatia. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 24, 2019 Author Share Posted March 24, 2019 2041 A really good year until the final week, where we got bossed around by the Croatians. Still, a good performance. Fuga still going, 34-year old now. Looks like he might be leaving China for Uruguay, as Peñarol has just bid for him. Well, we'll just need to finish ahead of Jamaica. Ballkani won the league again, with much more of a gap to Besa this time around. They only just grabbed that second spot as well. Both Ballkani and Besa got some good wins before crashing out of the EL in the early knock-out phases. That made for a good coefficient year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 2042 pre-World Cup Decent results in the friendlies going into the tournament, although of course not against nations of the highest caliber. This was very disappointing, as he is probably the best player at my disposal. Key in central midfield. Still suffering from the same issues as before - mainly that all the goalkeepers are ****, too few decent central defenders. If Lluca wouldn't have got injured Arsen Hoxha - Lluca is a very good midfield duo, but him getting injured put a stop to that. At least we have good backs, a very good young defensive midfielder in Faton Braho and decent wingers and strikers. First time I'm calling up a player that I got through in my time at Besa in Hanif Jusufi - now at Ballkani. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 World Cup 2042 Group We had a strong opener against Brazil, and definitely could've won this one. As Brazil had already played Jamaica at this point, they qualified. We did too, with just a bit better goal difference than brazil so we ended up as first in our group. Not sure if that matters much for the draw, mind you. Very interesting to see Georgia make it to the second round! They had some luck at the group draw, though. We'll play Romania next, should be doable. Hosts England will face Panama, luck of the draw I'm sure. Maybe Georgia can beat Australia? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 World Cup 2042 Second Round A close game, perhaps a bit of luck, but we did manage to beat the Romanians thanks to two goals from my striker Kabashi. England did easily deal with Panama. Georgia couldn't quite deal with Australia in the end. Switzerland doing well again, two years after winning Euro 2040... Ecuador beating Argentina is surprising... while Germany and Portugal had a great game. Oof, the Dutch. That's going to be a big ask. Some nice match-ups elsewhere. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 World Cup 2042 Third Round Stunned from the start and well 3-0 down was just too much to get back even if we tried. At least nice for Fuga to get a goal. Rest of Tournament The Swiss beat the English -- but were then beaten by the Germans. But the big story of course - Croatia won the world cup, and you can't say it's undeserved after beating France, Spain, Germany and the Dutch in a row. And if not for penalties, it could've been a Croatia - Chile final. Nice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 Rest of 2042 / Overview Straight back to the A league, we really are turning into a bit of a yo-yo team, constantly going down from the A league, and promoting in the B league. A new non-Kosovar name shows up here in the goalscorers, José Romário. He is Brazilian, but has played for Ballkani for five years and has never been called up by Brazil. Very useful, as he can play both as striker and AMR and is pretty good. 26 years old, so useful for a few more years at least. Interesting group we've been drawn in for the Euro 2044 qualifiers. Spain is obviously the favorite, but we'll also have to deal with Georgia, who as we've seen qualified for the previous world cup. As far as the league is concerned, Ballkani won again. But things could've gone very differently if it weren't for the last 4 games, where Besa dropped 8 points... shocker Another great year in Europe -- thanks to Ballkani this time around, making it to the semi finals of the Champions League! note on the save/career - I am going to go through at least a few more years like this, going pretty quickly and the tournaments are fun. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 30, 2019 Author Share Posted March 30, 2019 2043 A bad year in the qualifiers. Not only were we embarrassed by Spain, but Belarus got us beat as well.... Into the play-offs, what with us winning the nations league B last time around. Have to beat two countries, starting with Austria. Not the easiest, but would be a mess if we don't qualify.. As far as other things are concerned, I did reach another milestone... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 Euro 2044 Play-Offs Very good performance, halfway there! A harder game was up next, but the players did what was asked of them. Very happy to make the tournament. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 Euro 2044 Prep Not the easiest of groups, but going through should definitely be possible. No more Fuga, as he has now retired after gaining more than 180 caps for Kosovo. He is replaced by Romario, as he is also a striker who can play at AMR. Still no good goalkeepers. More players than ever from abroad, as Besa and Ballkani both are only represented by three players. Decent friendly wins to get ready and fit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 3, 2019 Author Share Posted April 3, 2019 Euro 2044 Groups We started out with the hardest game in the group, and we honestly did pretty well. But a loss is a loss, so we need to grab some points immediately. Happy that we were able to do so against the Swedes. Not the best performance against Wales, at all, but 4 points should be enough to go through. Bosnia is our opponent in the second round. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 3, 2019 Author Share Posted April 3, 2019 Euro 2044 Second round Fantastic start, but much of a miserable match after that. It was enough, but would like us to play better obviously. Spain up next... normally that's asking too much. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 3, 2019 Author Share Posted April 3, 2019 Euro 2044 Quarter Final Wow. We fought, and won. Honestly a big shock. With the amount of yellows and thus suspensions for the semi final it's going to be a challenge to set up a team there... We'll be playing Croatia (lest we forget the reigning world champions) - elsewhere Ireland beat Germany to go into the semi-finals... good luck to them against the Belgians who seem to be on fire. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 3, 2019 Author Share Posted April 3, 2019 Euro 2044 Semi Final Wow, insanity. Another penalty win! Definitely outclassed, but for a while it even looked like we would claim a regular win. The Irish kept Belgium to a scoreless draw, but lost out on penalties... a shame. Kosovo - Ireland would've been a great final. This is the second time I've reached the final of a European Championship with Kosovo, the last time was in 2036. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 3, 2019 Author Share Posted April 3, 2019 Euro 2044 Final Oh my!! We did it. Kosovo are European Champions! Some "questionable" decisions went our way, my central defender who started the game with 75% fitness scored twice... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted April 3, 2019 Share Posted April 3, 2019 Looks like an interesting tournament. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oriole01 Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 Amazing run, congratulations on the big win! Now time for the final step on the biggest stage of them all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 4, 2019 Author Share Posted April 4, 2019 15 hours ago, deltablue said: Looks like an interesting tournament. That's one way to put it yeah! Pretty awesome to see some other relatively surprising nations pop up in the later rounds.. apart from our own run obviously 10 hours ago, oriole01 said: Amazing run, congratulations on the big win! Now time for the final step on the biggest stage of them all. Thanks man. Oh, I will try! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 4, 2019 Author Share Posted April 4, 2019 Rest of 2044 With the Dutch and the Spanish in our nations league group, it was always going to be tough. But we did pretty well! Nice 9-0 intermission against Iceland as well... With a lot of luck we've managed to win the group... World cup draw for next year, seems very very kind. Although, to be fair, Ireland did almost make it to the final at the European Championships... Ballkani won another league, but once again it wasn't a walkover. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 2045 Qualifiers for the World Cup, nations league finals and a confederation cup. Enough for one update. Two more trophies added! While the start of the year with the first two qualifiers was poor, we did much better in the nations league and in the confederations cup - after getting over the shock of losing to China. Very poor second half of the year though, in the qualifiers. It was just enough, but damn. Well, we have been drawn in quite the group for the world cup next year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 2046 World Cup Prep Injury wave so barely any central defenders to choose from. Issue fitness-wise. Okay performance in the friendlies, with Cameroon being a top 20 side according to the fifa ranking beating us not the ideal sign-off to travel to Morocco where the world cup will be held. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 2046 World Cup group Well, we got the required results but those were some poor matches. Brazil eliminated by Ireland & South Korea! Germany eliminated as well. Jordan going through... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 2046 World Cup Second Round Ah, that is much better! Saying goodbye to hosts Morocco, Belgium, France, Italy... Ah, England. The real test. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 World Cup 2046 Third Round Insanity! 2-0 up, having to deal with extra time as they equalize just before full time. We go 4-2 up in extra time, but once again we can't hold on to that two goal lead as they come back only for us to win on penalties. Wow. Egypt beating the Dutch, big surprise there. The Americans up next. Well done for getting this far, but we should be able to beat them. Interesting that either Egypt or Austria will make it to the semi finals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 2046 World Cup Quarter Final That was a difficult game, but once again our Brazilian Kosovar got us through the game. Egypt and Chile going through. Quite the final four. It's going to be us or Egypt in the final! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 2046 World Cup Semi Final We were in control for most of the game, and deserved the win. World Cup Final..... It's going to be against Portugal, for an all-European final. But perhaps not the European countries you would expect beforehand... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 2046 World Cup Final DAMN. We had an amazing start scoring, and they came at us the rest of the game, but we managed to hold them off... and finished the game off in the end. Kosovo are champions of the world.............. Edit -- the goals: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 18, 2019 Author Share Posted April 18, 2019 The End Well, as far as the rise of Kosovo is concerned there's really not much more I can do, and after 28 years this has been a good one. Interestingly enough Besa won the league in 2046, meaning that both teams I have managed have been able to do so since I left them. to round up... 17 league wins, 1 CL victory after 4 straight finals... won the various titles with the national team after a few fails at tournaments. Pretty pleased. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintmat Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 Superb stuff, congrats on a heroic achievement! Maybe interesting to upload the save and for someone to holiday another couple of decades to see how things progress from there? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oriole01 Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 Perfect way to end another wonderful career, you've built up quite the streak of those over the past year or two. You've done Kosovo proud . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigmatic Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 That's a good way to finish a career So how good were your generation of Kosovan players (and Brazilian ringer) that won the World Cup relative to other top international sides? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted April 20, 2019 Author Share Posted April 20, 2019 On 18/04/2019 at 16:31, Saintmat said: Superb stuff, congrats on a heroic achievement! Maybe interesting to upload the save and for someone to holiday another couple of decades to see how things progress from there? Thank you. I am not really a fan of sharing saves, but I am willing to do the holidaying myself at some point. On 18/04/2019 at 23:37, oriole01 said: Perfect way to end another wonderful career, you've built up quite the streak of those over the past year or two. You've done Kosovo proud . Thanks man. That's very nice of you to say. It has been a good one, definitely up there with my favorites. A bit longer than the ones I did in 18... now to come up with a new idea at some point 23 hours ago, enigmatic said: That's a good way to finish a career So how good were your generation of Kosovan players (and Brazilian ringer) that won the World Cup relative to other top international sides? Cheers. They weren't up to the level of say the Portugal team we played in the final. Romario wouldn't get in that team in all honesty. We were able to win due to tactics, morale, consistency, luck... Some good and decent players in the squad, don't get me wrong, but no ballon d'or candidates. This is his profile for reference. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheriff7 Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 Great career mate.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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