Just over a year ago, we took a family vacation to Italy. We used Florence as our base, and had a wonderful time exploring the city and the surrounding area.
Somewhere in the city, I spotted the graffiti pictured above, written on a wall. It made me smile, and I took a picture of it with my phone. The other day, I was scrolling through my camera roll and saw it, and the idea for this dynasty was born. So, I'm booting up my favorite Football Manager edition, FM 15, and off we'll go.
Here are the guidelines:
- My managerial alter-ego is a 35-year-old former professional player from England. His second nationality is Italian, and he also speaks Dutch, German, and Danish.
- I will only manage clubs located within a 50-mile radius of Florence. I won't apply for jobs or accept interviews from clubs outside the circle marked on the map above.
- The only Serie A club located within the circle as the 2014/15 season begins is, of course, Fiorentina. If I'm successful enough to be considered for a gig in the Italian top flight, the only Serie A job I will accept is Fiorentina.
- If I'm good (or lucky) enough to take another club as high as Serie A, I'll stay there.
- My ultimate goal is to manage Fiorentina, so if there's a chance to move there at a realistic point in my career, I'll take it.
- If I'm ever sacked from Fiorentina, I'll either end the story or, possibly, take a job with another club inside the circle. That's not a question I'll have to answer for a long time.
One of our favorite day trips was a visit to the town of
San Gimignano, pictured above. Wealthy families built some 70 towers there during the 1200s, thirteen of which still stand. We celebrated my wife's birthday there, and we all enjoyed exploring the old town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
I'm using an edited database that includes six levels of Italian football, and I was delighted to discover that San Gimignano's local club was a playable team!
Sangimignano Sport will play the 2014/15 season in
Eccellenza Toscana B, in the fifth tier of Italian
calcio. They are an amateur club, and their home ground is
Stadio "Santa Lucia."
The road from San Gimignano to Florence isn't too long, but the journey from this tiny club to the pinnacle of Italian football is much longer.
Perhaps I'll never get there. We'll see, won't we?
