From Big Zero to Big Four: Sporting Reclaimed (FM2014)

[Abe Sargent]

Almost everyone speaks English, Spanish, or Portuguese.

Our wage budget is 96k/week right now.


Now I was expecting a lot of loaners this season to help out, but it wasn’t necessary. We have a team!


Again, for the next month, when I still have a window to sign folks, expect us to bring in some folks here and there on youth contracts. And I’m still offering a deal to Ghanian Michael Frimpong, who would be here after he turns 18. Meanwhile, July 1, expect Arturo Vissasanti, the Paraguyan I signed, to arrive. That’s a year from now, but I wanted to remind you now. He’s a solid MC/DM/MR guy. I see him as a better long term MC for me than the Kouassi Diallo, who is more of an attacking presence, where Villasanti is more well rounded. Perhaps even a future box-to-box guy. Villasanti also has a 5 star scout review. So we’re looking forward to him joining us next year!

In fact, our scout in Paraguay has found another, unsigned guy. I take a closer look. Carlos Centurion, 18, plays MR, not a bad guy either. I may bring him in too. Great name too!


The Trofense game is here. The next game in the Taca da Liga group. Gomes finds Williams for goal in the 33rd. Half time. I sub in Cleison and Correa early on. Fullback Nicholas Rodriguez finds MR Cabrera down the box and Cabrera shoots, pushed aside, and shoots again and puts it away in the 75th. Quaresma heads in. Cabrera crosses to Sousa for a goal late in the 87th. We win 3-0. MoM is Javier Cabrera. Good win!

[Abe Sargent]

There’s a USA player at the AMC, MC, MR spots, Steve Taylor, 18, not bad and with a 4.5 star potential. I make him an offer to come back to a club.

I hand out rests to prepare for the Fatima Taca match.

Ghanaian Michael Frimpong joins us, and will arrive in July 1, 2021. Meanwhile, Steve Taylor joins us…


MRC, AMC Steve Taylor, 18, USA, Fairly Loyal, Speaks Spanish, English. Was a youth player for Portland, and contract expired, and he was sitting all nice and free. We found him when one of my coaches, in our biweekly meeting a few days ago, listed him as a way to add depth to the squad in the midfield. I scouted him and liked the result. 2.5k/week, 80k value, 2 year deal, rotation (we’ll move to hot prospect soon). 4.5 star scouting review.

Tech – 11, 11, 10, 8, 12, 9, 8, 23, 7, 10, 13, 11, 8, 16

Mental – 13, 11, 8, 12, 11, 13, 13, 14, 9, 13, 13, 7, 11, 13

Physical – 12, 13, 14, 10, 10, 11, 17, 13

So some weaknesses – just 12/11 speed, and such, and some strengths too. We’ll work him in occasionally into the lineup. I want to solidfy him as a AMC so I have him work on that spot for now. I want him as an ML eventually, to flesh out the places we can roll with him on the pitch.

[Abe Sargent]

The Fatima match is here, and we have arrives in our away kits, all striped with green. My team is getting tired quickly, so I edge back to counter. Cabrera grabs a booking in the 31st. Olivera does in the 35th too. We play some aggressive ball late, and….no score. Then they grab a goal in injury time and we are down 1-0 at the half. Then we give away a PK a few seconds later and in a flash we are down 2-0. Half time. Where is your passion??? Nathan Rodriguez grabs a booking early in the 2nd. Gomes is rocked, physically, and I pull him for Claudiu Neacsu. They say Gomes gave away a penalty before he comes off off a corner. They miss that PK as GK Lung Jr pushes it aside. Still 0-2 them. I sub in FB Cunha for Olivera, and order us to push forward hard. Control, higher tempo, etc. Cabrera lofts a corner to Carlos Rodrigues who heads it in the 68th. Yes. That;s our path back in. I move Neacsu to an AMC role to give us more attackers. I move Williams to a shadow striker. Cleison heads in for Wallace. Sousa gets the ball from Neacsu, holds it while Williams attacks, and hits him for a score in the 86th. Full time, tie 2-2. That’s the sort of match we should be winning, but congrats on your qualification.


Vitoria Guimaraes have made an enquiry to transfer in 15 year old GK Renato Amado. Ok, let’s see what you are willing to pay… 115k? Sold.


Nacional da Madeira won the Supertaca with a 1-0 victory over Porto. Their 4th victory in a row. This idiot of a manager put Driussi on the MC spot, and moved to a 4-5-1 formation, with striker Junior Barrios on the AML spot? Odd. There is no excuse for ever not having Rocker in the starting 11 if healthy and in a Cup sort of play.


Amado leaves and we are 115k richer.

[Abe Sargent]

Hmmm….

Did you know?

Nacional GK Fabian Ruiz is now Portuguese

Luis Carlos, who was once offered 5m to head to Man Utd (but couldn’t agree to a deal) is now for sale for just 190k from Nacional? I

I order a scout to check him out – would he be willing to come here? What for?

I have some shopping cash after selling Amado.


In the meantime, let’s open the season against Penafiel. I begin standard with no changes, since we’re here in Lisbon in front of 30,000 screaming fans. Football the way it was meant to be played in Portugal!!! Cabrera finds Wallace for a corner goal score. Considering the lethality of my corner takers, expect that a lot. They equalize a handful of minutes later. Williams intercepts the ball to jumpstart a counter, hits Sousa and Sousa scores in the 27th. Then Sousa is injured and I sent in ST Ignacio Raul Salinas. Named after St. Ignatius. Cutchery hits the good Saint for a score in the 33rd. Nice cross and nice movement to spring open past the defense. Cutchery picks up a knock. I pull him due to injury concerns. Quaresma heads in. There’s some heavy irony in pulling him in the first league game! 3-1 at the half. Retain possession, work ball into box. I sub in Neacsu for Gomes. Cabrera to Marcos Molina, at the DM spot, for a score off a corner in the 81st. We win 4-1. A nice cruise. MOM is Javier Cabrera. Very pleased!

Injuries after?

Vinny Cutchey has a bruised shin and is out for 5-6 days

Sousa injured his arm and will be out 10 days.

I’ll start Inacio Raul Salinas and either Quaresma or Steve Taylor or someone.

Unfortunately, Luis Carlos is not interested in joining us. I make an offer anyway, just to make sure.

Our attendance today broke the 2nd league record. Get ready for a lot of that!

[Abe Sargent]

Nah, the Luis Carlos thing falls through – Nacional accepted our offer, but nope. Sometimes they say no, but you can convince them with cash. No option here though…


In a Testimonial match for a famous Porto player (Maicon) who also played for Nacional, Nacional won 2-0.

The South Africa Olympics squad qualified for the Quarter Finals,, with victories over the USA – 3-1, Qatar, 3-0, and loss to Japan 1-2, USA also got out of the group, but RSA won it.

Ivory Coast made in through too, and they play South Africa, so one of my senior squad players will make it to the Semis!

A 3.4 Mill offer to Nacional player Sergio de Sousa Ines is accepted from Athletico Mineiro. Accepted and he agrees.

I loan a few of our youth folks.

South Africa cruised to a 3-0 victory over the Ivorians. Diallo played the whole game and had a good game in the loss. He’ll return and needs a big ol’ rest. I order a week for him of resting.


Cutchey just got back from his injury, but I keep him out of the lineup for today’s game against Espinho. Quaresma starts instead. I begin with counter since I have 4 players in my starting line up not on the pitch (Sousa, Diallo, Cutchey, Khumalo). It takes a while, but Salinas finds Cabrera on the right wing and then attacks, is given the ball back from a nice cross, and scores in the 36th. Half. DO even better!!! I sub in new US signee Steve Taylor for Willaims, and then I swap him with Javier Cabrera. ST/AMC Correa heads in for Gomes and DL Diogo for DL Olivera. We win, MOM is Salinas. I’ll take a 1-0 win on the road any time.

[Abe Sargent]

GK Henry Castellon, Honduras, now formerly of Nacional, signed for 15.25 mill to Napoli.

South Africa play against Mexico in the Olympics Semi Final. They just win, 2-1 in extra time. It was a very close match.

The Final is in three days against…gulp…Argentina. Argentina took out USA and Brazil to make the finals.


Cutchey is starting for our Fatima match. Neacsu is starting in the middle for a tired Gomes. We are here in Lisbon, so let’s not get too crazy with the mentality or instructions. We’re fine for now. Salinas almost has a counter score in the 4th. Marcos Molina, at the DM, gets a booking. I ease to tighter marking and working the ball into the box in the 30s. Half time of a quiet 0-0. I pull Molina in the 60th after an attacking 15 minutes he didn’t play any part in. Gomes heads in for him. Correa heads in for an underperforming Salinas. Cunha in for N Rodriguez at the DR< and I tell my folks to push forward a bit in the last 10 minutes. Carlos Rod gets a card. Boring 0-0 draw. That wasn;t good enough!!!


South Africa lost to Argentina 3-1 to get the Silver in the 2020 Olympics.

I ask that Khumalo be just played for 45 minutes a game in the next three games they have for the U20 squad.


Diallo will begin in the middle for us today. Sousa is back from injury too, and starts in our away match at Varzim. Sousa score sin the 15th after DR Nicholas Rodriguez crosses it into the box for him. I ease to countering. Cabrera crosses the ball, its tipped up by the Gk and Williams hits the rebound, in the 43rd. 2-0 at the half. I sub in – Gomes for Molina, Cleison for Carlos Rod. Cabrera hits a DFK into the net 73rd. I sub in Steve Taylor for him. N Rodriguez gives away possession too easily and a counter hits and beats Jung Jr for a consolation goal in the 89th. Game -= 3-1 us. MOM is Javier Cabrera. Good win.


Cabrera keeps showing his talent.

[Abe Sargent]

Did you know that?

Real Madrid fell a bit on the Spanish league charts last year and finished one spot out of the Champions Cup. And now 35 year old Cristiano Ronaldo is transfer listed by request to play with a team that is in the Cup.


Transfer deadline in a week. Anyone I want to sign?

I take one more look around unsigned folks. Sometimes you can find some talent that originally ignored you but now is interested since they went unsigned for a while. (I once brought Michael Owens onto my Crewe team that way.)

Nah, we look good.

Any more solid youthers to bring in?

An agent offered us a player, Czech, 18, without a club the next day. Vit Dudka. Now others clubs want him too. Played for Slavia and then Sparta Prague. 4 star future 3.5 star current. Plays ML and AML. He has some amazing mental stats – 20 teamwork, 17 work rate, determination, flair, 16 composure. Slower, needs some development, not a star. He also can’t speak any of my three major languages (English, Portuguese, Spanish) or even French or Romanian. Czech and Slovak. If I made him an offer, could I find someone else to help, language wise? What is nice is he can play ML for when I have an injured Cutchey. I can development him on my youth squad elsewise.

Yup, 19 year old Slovakian unsigned youth Karol Dobias, who can also speak Czech, English and Croatian. He’s got a a solid scout report, weak now but 4.5 stars future. I make both an offer.


Dudka signs. I’ll show you him after I sign Dobias too.



Nacional da Madeira won the European Super Cup after defeating Hamburger SV 2-0. Joao Luis Rodrigues, the best player in Europe, was MOM with a goal.

We get Aves in to the next round of the Taca da Liga

[Abe Sargent]

For today’s match against Naval I have put Vit Dudka on the bench to come in if needed instead of Quaresma. Naval have green stripes, so we have purple/lilac-y kits. Because he fouled a defender, a goal by Williams is called off in the 25th. Cutchey lofts a brilliantly nasty ball to Williams, who is tackled right in front of the GK. Sousa puts it away. Another Cutchey cross to Sousa is shot and pushed aside barely a few minutes later. Cutchey is taking over this match – he just did it again in the 38th. Does it again in the 39th and hits Williams for a score. Reminds of how sometimes Joao Luis Rodrigues just sometimes got the ball and the rest of the pitch would just freeze while he moved around. Same thing. Keep it going! I pull back to counter, and retain possession. In the MC role, Diallo intercepts the ball, flings it to Sousa on an attacking run, slide sit to Williams for a goal in the 52nd. I sub in Vit Dudka for Cutchey and Salinas for Sousa. Cabrera sinks a DFK in the 65th. In the 68th minute, an odd duck of a cross for Vit Dudka is weirdly on target and the GK is out of position and he scores on his debut. Molina intercepts the ball, finds Williams, who shoots but the ball recoils off the bar right to Salinas who finishes oit in the 69th. Disallowed for offsides. After Carlos Rod gets a yellow, I yank him for Cleison. They get a DFK too in the 81st. Cabrera crosses to Salinas, the defense gets in the way but Salinas gets on it anyway and scores. We win 6-1. MOM is AMC Francis Williams.


Dobias signs with us.

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s look at these two folks:

AMR, MRL Karol Dobias, 19, Slovakia, Speaks Czech, Slovak, Croatian, basic English, 4.5 star review, Balanced. Joined Kosice as a youth player, and then moved to Dinamo for a 475k deal, and then loaned to Sparta Prague for a few months, was never played, and returned to Dinamo, and again, never played. Just let go from Dinamo, and just turned 19 two weeks ago. Very raw:


Technical – 9, 14, 12, 12, 17, 11, 11, 12, 8, 6, 8, 7, 6, 12

Mental – 9, 11, 10, 12, 10, 12, 8, 9, 12, 7, 13, 7, 14, 16

Physical – 11, 8, 8, 6, 13, 12, 13, 9


Not exactly commanding here. 14 cross is adequate, but just an 8 passing? I wouldn’t have signed him unless he was here for Dudka.


1.8k/week for 2 years



AM L, ML Vit Dudka, 18, Czech, Fairly Determined, 2k/week, 2 year deal, Speaks Czech, Slovak. Supporter of Sparta Prague but was not brought into their system – came in through in city rival Slavia Prague instead, and played a bit here and there – 20 league games in a few years. Then brought to Sparta on a Trial a few weeks ago, but Sparta didn’t; like him enough to keep him. So we brought him in here. Get ready for the best mental youth player I’ve ever seen this early on…

Technical – 11, 13, 11, 15, 14, 16, 9, 13, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14 – So, 13/10 cross pass, and wastes that 16 in a set piece. 15 finishing and 13 long shots is interesting. I’m working on training him as a MR too.

Physical – 10, 12, 13, 11, 14, 12, 18, 12 – Yep, not that fast – just 10/12 speed. That’s alright….

Mental – 9, 15, 13, 16, 14, 13, 14, 17, 17, 13, 13, 13, 20, 17

That’s just crazy. He’ll be an amazing captain someday. At 18, he’s that good Mentally? That’s better, already, that some of the best players in the game at their best. If he gets better, watch out. Except for a 9 in aggression, he’s 13 in everything at least. 20 team work? 17 flair, determination, work rate? 16 composure? 15 anticipation? This guy has a great understanding of the game. If we can get that technical/physical up, and he naturally gets better

I have him working on his passing.


Nacional da Madeira purchased some more players on Aug 31st, and then sold DC Stefan Strandberg for 4.8 Mill to Real Betis. The Norweigan international was with us for 5 of Essex’s 7 seasons in Madeira and seeing him leave is sad after 5 straight years of amazing performances being vice captain, and 7.00+ ratings every season. (7.05, 7.16, 7.25, 7.56 and 7.75 in order, and a 7.35 so far this year).

[Abe Sargent]

September, 2020

6th – Home vs Uniao Madeira
13th – Home vs Trofense
16th – Away vs Real
20th – Away vs Boavista
23rd – Home vs Aves, Taca da Liga
27th – Home vs Olhanense
30th – Home vs Beira-Mar


Good training – Khumalo, Correra, Williams. Bad? Wallace and Oliveera

Joao Luis Rodrigues won Liga Player of the Month, fyi

Javier Cabrera came in 2nd for 2nd League Player of the Month

I won Manager of the Month – in my first month ever as a Manager!


Cabrera was the only one of my Big Five targets we brought in, but he’s been good for us so far!


We draw Amora for the Taca da Portugal and we will play on the 20th of September against them


South Africa defeated Niger in a closer game than anticipated 1-0 for the first game in their African Cup of Nations Qualification campaign.


For today’s match against Uniao da Madeira, Sousa, Dudka, Taylor, Khumalo, Quaresma, Dobias and Neascu are all out in international matches. Salinas starts. Here we go!!! Wallace with an early yellow. We get pressure in the rain in the late 20s and early 30s. But alas, no scores. Half. Another rgreat attack in the 48th turned aside. Finally, Carlos Rod scores in the 50th when Salinas collects the ball after bouncing out in a corner kick and feeds the in the box Rodriguez. I pull Wallace for DL Diogo and then swap him with Olivera. Correa heads in for an underwhelming Williams. Then Gomes for Diallo. They score in the 83rd but it was offside. Salinas gets a huge goal kick in the 88th and scores. Assist to Lung Jr baby! We win 2-0, MOM is Salinas with an assist and a goal.

[Abe Sargent]

Joaquim Sousa was on the Portuguese squad today, in their 6-3 clobbering of Bulgaria in WC QUals, and starters included Rui Pereira, Hernani Costa, Joao Luis Rodrigues, and Joao Aurelio, all players for Nacional. Marico Sousa, another youth prospect, was on the sub list too.


South Africa defeated The Congo for the 2nd game of the Cup of Nations Q;s 1-0 as well. It’s a tougher group with DRC< C, and Niger in it.

Wallace is injured in training for a month.


The Trofense game is here. Cleison starts for Wallace. Sousa is back in front. For the first time, ever, Khumalo will be in the DM spot for us. I move Vasco Gomes down to the U19 squad. I don’t expect him for a bit. They score in the first 25 seconds. Annoying. Half. I slide to controlling. I sub in Taylor and Cunha for Cleison and Williams. Cabrera finds Sousa in the 66th. Khumalo steals the ball from an opponents, finds Sousa with a nasty ball behind the defense, the GK comes out and Sousa loops the ball over the GK and into goal. 69th minute score baby. Back to standard. Final sub – Dudka in for Cutchey. Sousa finds Diallo for a score in the 83rd. We win 3-1, MOM is Joaquim Sousa. Good come back!

Khumalo had a strong performance too. Very Hojbjerg ish, for this level of course.

[Abe Sargent]

Away against Real. We are on the road, so let’s not suck folks! No early goals this time, so that’s a start. Cabrera crosses to Sousa for a score in the 23rd, and they counter for a score in the 33rd. Nicholas Rodriguez finds Sousa for another score in the 36th. Half. Capable of even better! Sousa nets hit hat trick in the 50th from a Diallo pass lifted after a goal kick arrived at him. I pull Sousa for Correra. Next swap is Karol Dobias, our Slovakian signee for Cabrera. Two minutes later Cutchey gets injured and I send in Steve Taylor and just swap him and Dobias on the pitch. We win 3-1. Again. Mom is Sousa. Again.


I love headlines with both Sousas involved my star Striker and myself, such as “Sousa pleased with the Sousa Show!”


Salinas gets food poisoning and will miss the Taca match on the 20th. Lung Jr does too.


Joao Costa will start in the goal today. I begin countering since we are on the road without my normal GK. Cutchey launches a corner, Carlos Rodriguez is tackled, and Cabrera takes out the trash for a goal. Sousa with a spectacular effort in the 43rd! Are you kidding me? Picks up a Cabrera pass just past the half mark, jukes backwards and around two defenders, spins, drives, and scores a goal all by hi lonesome. Nasty stuff! Half. Keep it up! And retain possession too…. They foul Williams hard and Cabrera sinks the DFK. I have to pull Williams and send in Neacsu. Cutchey with a lovely cross to Sousa and we are 4-0. Korel Dobias in for Cutchey. Cabrera shot another on target DFK but it was blocked, preventing his hat trick! They get a lovely counter attack in the 70th and score. Our final sub is Correra for Sousa – want to rest him for the next game. Nick Rod hit Cabrera for a nice shot in the 83rd but it was off target. We win 4-1 on the road. MOM is Cabrera.

[Abe Sargent]

Home against Aves, this is the first time this season our team has not been favorites in any match. I think we can beat the Liga club in the Taca match. Aves isn’t exactly a powerhouse of Portuguese football. Lung Jr is back. Cunha starts in the DR spot and Cleison is on the bench – Nicky Rod is in the DC spot. They push forward a lot early, so I slide to counter. Olivera gives away a penalty in the 5th minute and they score. Then Carlos Rod hits paydirt a few minutes later off a Cabreran corner. Cutchey finds Williams, who slides the ball to an attacking Diallo who scores in the 45th. 2-1 us at the half. Cutchey kicks a corner to Khumalo in the 59th for a score. Lung Jr got a yellow? I sub in Marcos Molina for Williams and swap him with Diallo. Cutchey scores after the ball falls loose in a bus y corner kick to him. I sub him out for Dudka. Correa heads in for Diallo. Before his leaves, Diallo finds Molina for a final score in the 82nd They notch another goal in injury time. We win 5-2. MOM is Cutchey.


We have a second leg at Aves late,r but that sets us up nicely.

[Abe Sargent]

ML/AML for Nacional Luis Carlos agrees to a three year deal.


For today’s match vs Olhanense, Cleison is back in the DC spot. Cabrera’s corner is an OG for their GK in the 4th. Cutchey picks up a knock in the 10th and I sub in Quaresma. Olhanense have picked this thing up. Lots of pressure for a while now. They finally break us open in the 42nd, but it was called offisdes, but suspicion that was a false call. Room for improvement! I ease back to counter. Blast our attacks are getting pushed away from all over! They score in the 69th. Alright, I’m done protecting a goal I didn’t even score. I push. HARD. I sub in Dudka and Diogo. Olivera gets a yellow. Nothing. Tie 1-1. Tha wasn’t good enough!!!


Cutchey is out for a week with a bruised shin. Vit Dudka will start for him today against Beira-Mar, which is one of the top teams in the division. Cabrera finds AMC Francis Williams who dodges a tackler and shots from the line and gets a score in the 30s. Nicky Rod crosses to Williams for a score in stoppage time. 2-0 us at the half. Lung Jr pushes away show shots early on. Quaresma for Dudka. Diogo in for Carlos Rod. Salinas in for Sousa. They score in the 88th. Poor GK pass led to it. We win 2-1. Francis Williams is MOM. Bit of a let off!

[Abe Sargent]

October

4th – Away at Chaves
7th – Away at Boavista
11th – Home vs Estoril
14th – Away vs Freamunde
18th – Away vs Mirandela, Taca da Portugal
21st – Home vs Atletico CP
25th – Away vs Oliveirense
28th – Away vs Aves, Taca da Liga, 2nd Leg

Good training? Quaresma, Molina, Tayler. Bad? Williams, Lung Jr and Dobias

Andreas Rocker was Player of the Month for Nacional in Liga

I won Manager of the Month


Wallace has returned from his injury and is just ready for today’s match, but he’s knackered, so I’ll rest him for this game and leave in Cleison. This is also the last game Cutchey should miss. And he’ll make the Boavista match in a triad of days. Lung Jr breaks up a few early shots. I slide to counter to prepare to face a bit more pressure. Quiet half after that – 0-0. We can still win this!!! Sousa hits Dudka on a counter attack for a goal at the 47:05 mark. Taylor heads in for Diallo. Correa in for Williams. We’ve had two goals waved offside in the 60s. Salinas finds a place to come in for Sousa. Game. We win 1-0. MOM is Vit Dudka.

With 11 games, and a 9-2-0 record we are in first place of the Secunda Liga.

The league had about 3 or 4 teams that dominate each year and have chances to get promoted. They dominate with better players, tactics, and money.

[Abe Sargent]

I keep bringing in a few youthers on trails as their agents bring them to my attention.

I make an offer for 875k for Cristiano Ronaldo, which is accepted, but he doesn’t; want to sign with us.


We arrive at Boavista. Jung Jr launches a deep GK and Williams heads it in for a goal in the 5th. Sousa nails paydirt two minutes later with a lovely assist by Diallo to spring him. They hit a DFK in the 36th to scratch one back. Then again in the 38th. They turn aside a few of our attacks. Then Cutchey hits Carlos Rodriguez on a corner kick in stoppage time. 3-2 half, us. Played well, but room to get better! Cabrera shot deadly, stopped, and before Williams pounces on it a DC accidentally falls on the ball and it rolls in for an OG> I sub in Cunha for Carlos Rod and Neacsu for Francis Williams. They hit with suspicions of offside in the 77th. Marcos Molina heads in for Khumalo. Neascu picked up a knock late but I can’t sub him out – just have to hope he’ll be alright. We hold and win 4-3. Close. MOM was Williams.

Neascu is just out for a few days with a dead leg.

Khumalo and Diallo are jaded and in need of some resting. I order both to get a week of resting.

[Abe Sargent]

Our 18 games without a loss is a new record for Sporting. The 14 assists for Javier Cabrera is too. Get ready for a lot more records falling this season!

South Africa won 2-0 against Dem. Rep of Congo in Cup Quals.

Albania beat Portugal in World Cup Quals. Joao Luis Rodrigues was still MOM though.


For salary, we are currently at 103k out of 116k. With 272k in my kitty.

One of my trialists is solid and I was to make him an offer but he wants way too much cash.


Neascu and Molina are starting for Diallo and Khumalo in today’s match vs Estoril. For international stuff, Sousa is out for Ignacio Salinas too. Quiet half and then they foul Cutchey in the box and Williams steps up and sinks the PK. Goal in the 28th. 1-0 at the half. Not bad thus far. Williams has an amazing pass to spring open Salinas in the box but he can’t keep the shot from going in. I sub in Diogo for a tired Olivera on the DL side of thangs. I sub in Correra for Neacsu, and then swap him with Willaims on the pitch. Cabera launches a corner which s tackled, and bounces into an OG. They bang up Lung Jr so I sub him out for Joao Costa in the 84th. I ease back to counter to protect him. Game – we win 2-0.MOM is Carlos Rodriguez - Good win!!

[Abe Sargent]

South Africa crush Niger 5-1 in Cup Quals


I am rotating in Cunha at DR today for Nicholas Rodriguez to spell him for a game. Freamunde is #2 in the league, so I respect Freamunde to begin countering this match. They get two bookings early on. Neascu feeds Salinas a ball for a score in the 36th after Willaims backpassed him from a lot of pressure around him. Cutchey with a great cross to Salina so make it 2-0 in the 37th. Javier Cabrera nails a DFK in the 39th. 3 goals in four minutes baby!!! Keep it up!!! They score back in the 49th. I sub in Diogo for Olivera, and Dobias for Cabrera. Two nice attacks driven back by Freamunde. Cutchey sets u p an OG in the 83rd and I sub in Correa for Neacsu. Lung Jr pushes away a few attacks late. We win 4-1. MOM is Vinny Cutchey.

Great match, away, against tough competition.


I start Joao Costa for today’s Taca match at Mirandela. Steve Taylor begins in the middle. Quaremsa on the ML. Korel Dobias in for Javier Cabrera on the MR. Here we go! Salinas score sin the 1st minute from a Dobias cross. Williams heads a lovely goal kick to Salinas behind the defense for a score. Carlos Rod picks up a knock and I send in Cleison. One American finds another as Steve Taylor hits Salinas for his hat trick. They bang around Quaresma and I send out Dudka for him a the half. Taylor to Salinas again in the 77th. Correa replaces Salinas. Dobias hits goal in the 86th from a seeking assist by Williams. Correa hits Williams on the counter for a score in the 89th. We win 6-0. Zang! MOM is ST Ignacio Raul Salinas.

[Abe Sargent]

Carlos Rodriguez is out for 10 days with a thigh strain. Cleison starts the next game.

Another trailist I liked won’t sign for cheap enough on a hot prospect deal.

We are matched with Belenenses for the Taca da Portugal 4th Round.


Everyone is back for the match vs Atletico CP (4th in the league) save for Williams, who is resting, and Diallo is rocking the AMC spot with Steve Taylor remaining in the MC. Sousa pounces on a week back-pass to the Gk and scores in the 7th. And that’s our only goal at the half. I sub in Dobias when Cabrera ges a bit banged up. Cunha heads in. Finally, Molina replaces Khumalo. Nicolas Rodriguez gets his first goal of the season when Sousa slides the ball out from the box to him and he strikes the long shot. We win 2-0. MOM is Nick Rod. Good win!

During training Quaresma injured his groin and is out for 2-3 weeks.

[Abe Sargent]

For today’s match against Oliveirense, we are running Marcos Molina at DM. Williams is back to AMC and Cleison is still in DC for the injured Carlos Rod. Williams find Sousa in the 34th. Cabrera is given a lovely deep pass by Nathan Rod that he uses to position himself to assist Sousa for another goal. Keep it up! Cutchey with some lovely runs and balls, but Sousa’s header is off the bar, and they recover the bounced ball and sink a counter in the 45:49. Suddenly this is a game. Use tighter marking, counter, hassle some. They score against in the 52nd. Uh oh. Lung Jr was all he could do to stop a DFK in the 57th. I move Molina to a Defending DM role. I sub in Steve Taylor for Diallo since he;’s a bit more defensive skilled. Another Sousa shot turned aside in the 70th. I sub in Cunha for a banged up and poorly performing Wallace. Game – 2-2 tie/ MOM is Sousa. Not good enough!!


Our final game in October is the away match against Aves in the Taca da Liga. Khumalo starts at DMC, Carlos Rod got back from his injury today, and we’ll keep him out and slide in Cunha and slide Nick Rod over to cover. We have a huge GD so I begin countering. They hit two goals fast and its 0-2 at the half and I get pissed. Then Cabrera launches a long IFK to Sousa who scores, and Cabreera shoots, its pushed back, and shoots again for a score. Aves hits a corner ion the 70s, Then Diallo hits Sousa late in the 89th. And the game is a 3-3 tie. We win 8-5 aggregate.

[Abe Sargent]

November 2020

1st – Home vs Leira
4th – Away vs Porto B Squad
7th – Home vs Belenenses, Taca da Portugal
11th – Away vs Moreirensa
15th – Away at Leixoes
22nd – Home vs Feirense
25th – Away vs Penafiel
29th – Home vs Espinho

Waaaay too many league games.


Good training reports came in from Carlos Rod, Marcos Molina and Claudiu Neacsu.

Francis Williams Goal vs Boavista was Goal of the Month for the Secunda Liga

I won Manager of the Month

I offer a deal to Salinas to extend his contract by a year.


To give some rests out, Carlos Rodriguez is back today, Diogo starts for Olivera, and Tayler for Diallo. It’s 1-1 early on, and then Francis Williams hits Nick Rod on a corner to make it 2-1 late in the 70s. We win 2-1. MOM is Cabrera.

[Abe Sargent]

Salinas reups his deal with us for another year.

For the Porto B game, Salinas is in for Sousa and Steve Taylor for Cabrera, Salinas and Williams have early cores and Porto responds early on. In the 2nd, Carlos Rod is injured and I sub in Cleison. Molina then heads in and Dudka follows. Williams is injured late and I’m playing 10 men. We win 2-1, MOM is Salinas.

Rodriguez is going to be out for 8-10 days with a gashed leg. Williams is not injured, luckily.

Nacional, with two games left, qualified out of the Champions Group Stage.



For today’s Belenenses match, Lung Jr is away on international duty with the Romanian national squad. Due to massive call ups I requested the match on Nov 15 vs Leixoes be rescheduled to Dec 2. The game is underway! Lots of pressure I the 8-12 minute by us, but no score. Diallo lifts it to Cutchey, who shoots on a break away, bu the ball is stopped by the GK and falls to Cabrera attacking on the right flank who finishes it. They foul Cabrera in the 32nd and Sousa steps up and puts away the PK. A counter hits back in the 38th and its 2-1 at the half. Lots of pressure ensued at the end, but Costa stood up. I sub in Sergio Correa for Williams. Cunha in for Nick Rod. Cabrera puts this thang away with a DFK score in the 75th. I send in Dobias. A lot of our shots are turned away in the late 70s. We win 3-1, MOM Is Cabrera.

[Abe Sargent]

My board wants to see us hit the Semi Final of the Taca da Portugal.

For the 5th round of it, we get Chaves

I bring in a Trialist I actually like enough to make an offer to and we agree to a deal. Let’s see if he takes it.

For today’s match against Moreirense, we are staring DM Marcos Molina, MC Steve Taylor, AMC Sergio Correa and both Lung Jr and DC Carlos Rod are back. Molina finds Correa on an attacking run for a score in the 18th. Cutchey picks up a knock and I sub in Quaresma, in his first game back since injury. They score on an IFK in the 3rd, but it was called offside. 1-0 at the half. Cunha spells Olivera at the DL and I swap him and Nicky Rod. Cabera lofts a DFK into goal at the 67th. Salinas replaces Sousa. Correa picks up a knock late. We’ll have to keep just playing him. We win 2-0. MOM is Cabrera.

Correa is out for a week with a bruised shin.

Cutchey is out for a week with a gashed arm

On international duty, Korel Dobias is injured for a week

After losing to Belgium, Portugal have dropped to THIRD PLACE in the World Cup Qualification Section behind Belgium and Israel. That’s with 5 games played.

Meanwhile, South Africa continues to cruise in its Cup of Nations Quals and defeats the DRC again 1-0 on the road.

Our new signee will be joining us on Jan 1. Argentine hot prospect Tomas Cristaldo

[Abe Sargent]

The Fierense match on the 22nd is going to be a Fan Day!

South Africa clean up The Congo 3-0 and sweep the quals for the African Cup of Nations

Group A:

Gambia
Morocco
Senegal
South Africa

That’s doable for the reigning Cup Champions.


Welcome to Fan day! Because of the long hold over, Cutchey is back to healthyness ,and is Correa and Dobias. Pick up where you left off! Which is apparently conceding an OG on a corner kick by Khumalo! Okay, that’s not what I meant… And then we allow a 2nd goal in the 28th. They foul Cutchey in the 45th (it was likely a dive) but Sousa sinks it and its 2-1 at the half, us down by a goal. DO you even want to win this match!! It’s FAN DAY!!! I up our tempo and control. And they score again in the 52nd and its 3-1. Yuck. In heads Diogo for Olivera and Cunha for Nick Rod, because our fullbacks have been bad. Khumalo has been pissed off and is now the 2nd best player on the pitch despite the OG early. Cabrera to Williams in the 63rd. VERY HIGH TEMPO. I sub in Taylor for Diallo. Williams finds Sousa in the 85th to TIE THIS THING UP BABY!!! Now let’s WIN for Fan Day! Well, not any more pressure by each group, but we came back from 0-2 and then 3-1 to tie 3-3.

But we had 6000 more folks, so hey! Lots of entertainment and goals help.

[Abe Sargent]

Today we head to Penafiel. This is our 21st league game of the season, and the 22nd of most everyone else – so it’s our halfway mark. We currently have 52 points and 8 on Freamunde in 2nd. Sousa breaks out in the 8th on a counter fed by Diallo. I ease back to counter. Williams crosses to Sousa in the 44th. Half. Keep it up! I send in Dobias for Cabrera and Cleison for Wallace. Then Cunha for a bruised Carl Rod. Cutchey crosses over everyone to an attacking Dobias who puts it in in the 87th. We win 3-0. MOM is Joaquim Sousa baby!


Diallo is jaded, I rest him a week.


Taylor starts in the middle today for Diallo against Espinho. Khumalo intercepts the ball, hits it deep to Sousa, who holds it up and fees an attacking Williams for a score in the 20th. They hit a strong counter in the 30th. Maybe we’ll score in the 40th? Nope - half. You can still win! Cutchey’s corner for Carlos Rod in the 53rd gets us up again. Dudka in for Cutchey. Then Salinas for Sousa. Williams is injured and I sub in Correa for him. Then Olivera goes down and I’m down a man. They equalize against us late in the 93rd. We tie 2-2. MOM is Cutchey.


And yet, no major bad news – both players are fine, banged up, but fine. Whew!

[Abe Sargent]

December, 2020

2nd – Away at Leixoes
6th – Home vs Varzim
9th – Away at Fatima
12th – Away at Uniao Madeira
20th – Home vs Naval
26th – Home vs Real

Training of worth? Quaresma, Cleison and Khumalo! Bad? Molina

Andreas Rocker won Player of the Month for the Liga for Nacional

I came in 2nd in Manager of the Month voting

WHOA!

“Due to deterioration in the club’s financial position, the wage budget has been altered from 116k to 86k.”

DANG!!!

The club lost 1.5 mill last month and are keen to see some extra income being brought in via player sales in the near future to help ease financial pressures at the club.

Cutchey has learned to hug the line regularly


Diallo starts for Williams today and Diogo is in for Olivera. This is the match we pushed back to due international callups. Cutchey crosses to Sousa in the rain for a score in the 11th. Then Cabrera does the same in the 13th. Diallo almost got him his hat trick but he missed. Half. Keep it up! Diogo collects a booking. Cutchey’s corner kick turns into a PK and Sousa sinks it in the 58th. In heads Salinas. I also pull Diogo for Cunha while I’m at it. They hit us on a counter after Khumalo is tackled after refusing to pass from pressure by two people. I sub in Marcos Molina for him. Cutchey nabs a goal in the 77th. Game, we win 4-1. MOM is Sousa.

[Abe Sargent]

Nacional won their group with 16 points in 6 games in the Champions Cup with Stuttgart, Fiorentina and FC Kobenhavn those punished.


Sousa’s 26 goals sets a Sporting record. Get ready for more!


Diallo is back at the MC spot, Williams at the AMC, and Olivera in the DL. I sub in no one – Varzim is in 3rd. I want all of our peoples up and running. Even if we are at home, I still have to be careful. Nicky Rod hit Sousa who was driving for a while and triple teamed on the right flank, which opened up some lanes. He passes to Diallo who just first touches to Cabrera and he moves the ball to Williams, who is all free and scores in the 10th. Lung Jr stops like 18 shots in the next 2 minutes. Or 4. I tell my lads to hassle more and tighter mark. I want to push Varzim off their game. They continue to push and have a few attacks. 1-0 at the half. Cabrera lofts in a corner which turns into a Sousa PK and that gives us a 2-0 lead. I send in Salinas. Dobias replaces Cutchey. Dudka heads in for Cabrera and I swap him and Dobias on the pitch. Dudka crosses to Salinas who puts it away on the 86th. We win 3-0. MOM is Francis Williams.


The Fatima match arrives. Sooner or later, we are going to drop a game and lose. Maybe today? Fatima push early so I slide to counter. Quiet half ensues. 0-0 half. We can still win! No one is stepping up until Cabrera;s corner finds Carlos Rod for a goal in the 63rd. Then Cabrera hits goal himself 3 minutes later. I sub in Correa and Cunha. Then they fire a nasty shot into the next in the 73rd. I sub in Molina for a knackered Khumalo. We win 2-1. Cabrera is MOM.

[Abe Sargent]

Today’s match in Funchal, Madeira is my first time back in a football capacity since I left Nacional to take the Sporting job. Keep the run going!!! Rain is pouring, but that doesn’t stop Cutchey from a beautiful cross to Sousa for a score in the 6th. We injure two of their players in the next 15 minutes. Cutchey almost got Williams in, but Francis hit the next Then Diallo hits goal in the 23rd from a Cabrera IFK to him. Half time. I edge ot countering and retaining possession in the next half. Williams misses another opportunity, this time fed by Diallo. Wallace gets a yellow. Then finally Williams finishes in the 61st. I was about to pull him too! Cleison spells Wallace. Dudka heads in for Cutchey. Dobias in for Cabrera. They hit a goal in the 86th off a corner. We win 3-1 here in balmy Funchal Madeira. MOM is Diallo.

Did you know? There was a movement to combine Uniao, Maritimo and Nacional into one club to give Madeira and Funchal a team that could legitimately compete for the Big Three?

I massage by budget by removing most of my transfer money into budget. With this horrible budget restriction, I’m not sure how good I can get signing future players for next year. I may have to wait.

Sporting B have won the first phase of the qualification in National Championship H with two games to go.

The Sporting vs Naval match on Dec 20 has also been chosen as a Fan Day! Season ticket holders can bring a friend for half price baby!


Khumalo has learned to knock balls past the opponent.

Nacional made it through the Semi Final of the Club Championship against Monterrey. The final is against Corinthians.

Khumalo was called up for the RSA squad, and got some critics for that.

Corinthians falls and Nacional won 3-1. Andreas Rocker was MOM with 2 goals, Driussi had the other.

[Abe Sargent]

We get our Group for the Taca da Liga:

Group C:

Belenenses
Nacional da Madeira
Sporting
Tondela


Uh oh…..


Today we face Naval. 15th in the Secunda Liga. I put in youth prospect ML Quaresma for Cutchey for today’s match. Here we go! They get a booking for a foul in Williams outside the box. Cabrera’s DFK is on target, but gathered by the GK. They score on a corner in the 33rd. We are down 1-0. Alright, can we stop scheduling Fan Days now! Williams hits them on a counter a few minutes later. Quaremsa is knocked and I send in Dudka. Half. Sousa finds Williams and we are up 2-1. Then they hit goal in the 66th 2-2. An attack is pushed aside a few minutes later. Cleison heads in for Carlos Rod. Higher tempo. Control. Hassle. Dudka scores! Williams hits Sousa, who passes the ball to his left as people close him down. 3-2 us. Wallace grabs a booking. Sousa feeds an attacking Williams for a score and William’s hat trick in the 74th. Back to standard and regular tempo. Retain possession! Taylor in for Cabrera. We win 4-2. MOM is AMC Francis Williams. Sousa had a hat trick of assists.

Diallo is a bit jaded and needs some rest. I give it to him.

Pedro Quaresma is out for 2-3 weeks for a groin strain.

[Abe Sargent]

A new fixture against Belenenses on the 27th away for the Taca da Liga is on schedule. Then we have a game moved to the 30th against Real in the league.

Andreas Rocker just signed a deal for 5 years more with Nacional da Madeira. Then Michael Schaap does so as well.

We still have gone 36 games without a loss with Sporting. Can we make it 37 today vs Belenenses? Neacsu is starting in the center for us today. Since we are both from Lisbon, we are serious rivals. We begin countering, and Khumalo intercepts a ball, hits Sousa who’s shot on goal is knocked aside – all in the first two minutes. Corner is knocked aside. Olivera grabs a yellow card. Then Olivera gets a second yellow card and is booted. Crap! I move Nick Rod over to the DL< and sub in Cunha for Neascu, and drop him to DR< and then I turn Khumalo into a defending role Retain possession, work ball into box, defensive, all ordered. Cutchey lofts a nasty corner in the 30s, but nothing happens. They manage to find the extra man and score in the 44th minute. 1-0 them at the half. A few minutes after half time, they score again. We are pushing aside many attacks. Salinas head in for an exhausted Sousa. Cunha picks up a knock. They score in the 70s. Correa replaces Williams. They score again in the 88th. We lose 4-0.

Olivera is banned for a match in Cups. Khumalo is jaded. Cunha is out for a few days with a bruised rib

[Abe Sargent]

Players currently slated to leave in 6 months:

DC Wallace
ST Correa
DC Cleison
MC Neascu
MC Marcos Molina


Yup, my board won’t let me make any major offers to players coming free in 6 months time. Which is a problem. Nacional left GK Merab Totladze available and exposed, and I can’t offer him anything.


The final game of 202 begins here against Real. Williams takes a throw in and bounce sit to Sousa in an incredibly nasty position for a goal in the 5th. They score when they shoot a nasty shot from range, and Lung Jr can just tip it away and they hit the rebound. Half. ZANG Marcos Molina just sunk a ball from Egypt into that net. They score back a few minutes later. Then late Cutchey crosses to Williams for a goal. We win 3-2. MOM is Francis Williams.


South Africa is heading to the Confederations Cup, and p[aired with Qatar, USA, and Italy in Group A.

End of 2020

[Abe Sargent]

January, 2021

3rd = Away vs Chaves, Taca da Portugal
10th – Away at Trofense
13th – Away at Nacional, Taca da Liga
20th – Away at Olhanense
23rd – Home vs Tondela, Taca da Liga
27th – Away vs Beira-Mar

Training Report?

Good – Quaresma, Digo and Molina
Bad – Cabrera and carlos Rod

Francis Williams adapts his game to get forward more often

Messi won World Golden Ball; Eden Hazard notched 2nd.

Meanwhile, Hazard won World Player of the Year

Sebatian Driussi won Argentinean World Player of the Year again


Francis Williams won Player of the Month

I won Manager of the Month

I congratulate Williams

I’m not sure how much my salary will increase next year if we end up back in the Liga. It’s not like we’d get a lot of TV money or something. I’m worried that our financial issues will continue until the European cash arrives.

[Abe Sargent]

Say hello to our new folks!

One of the GK I didn’t sign. 18 year old Jorge Alberto Meza, from Colombia. He’s not that good. My predecessor spent 145k for him.


Here’s my guy:

DC/DM Tomas Cristaldo, Argentine, 18, Speaks Spanish, Balanced. Youth guy we brought in for a trial and then I liked. Paying him 875/week, for six months, and he’s coming in at 10k value. Been at Lanus his whole life.

Quality Stuff - `14 head/17 jump, 11 mar, 12 pass, 13 tack, 10technique, 15/12 speed, 16 stamina, 13 work rate, 13 strength, 18 bravery.

Worrisome? 8 position, 7 agility, 8 balance, 5 concentration, 8 decisions,

So he’s raw. But cheap and on a hot prospect contract.

Our board lost 1 million last month in cash.

For today’s game I will run Salinas at ST, Cleison at DC for Carlos Rod, Diallo for Williams at the AMC spot, and Dudka in the middle. Keep up your run! Cabrera sets up Salinas on a counter and he scores in the 25th. Cleison picks up a knock and I sub in Cunha. Diallo gets a lovely ball to the right by Dudka, dribbles a bit, and sets up Salinas for a score in the 43rd/ 2-0 at the half. Keep it up! Steve Taylor heads in for Cabrera. Cutchey feeds Dudka for a score in the 64th. I move to counter and look to retain possession They knock a lovely ball into the net in the 74th. Tomas heads in for a tired Marcos Molina. Diallo grabs a booking late. We win 3-1. MOM is Salinas.

[Abe Sargent]

We make it to the next round of the Taca de Portugal.

Cleison is out for a week with a gashed leg


We made it to the Quarter Finals of the Taca, and now our next opponent is Oriental, in the 3rd level of Portuguese football. Other matches see Benfica and porto, Nacional and Beira-Mar and Tondela and Oliveirense.

Paris Saint-Germain just purchased Nacional player Michael Schaap for 35 million.

More of the James Essex team is getting broken. In just a few months, three starters are gone. (DC Hernani Costa, MR Michael Schaap, and DC Stefan Strandberg)

I decide to accept a 100% wages offer to loan Diogo to Rio Ave. I also loan my new GK signee as well for 100% wages. Awesome!

Joaquim Sousa is now capable of knocking the ball past the opponent.

I get an offer for one of my better youth potential folks – MC AMC Paulo Simoes, from Gladbach. He’s not super hot or anything, and we need ht cash. I deck them to 425k and 30% of their profit from next sale. They accept

Sousa, Williams, Khumalo, Carlos Rod, all are back. I sub out Cutchey for Quaresma om the ML and Taylor for Cabrera on the MR. Pick up where we left off against Trofense. We’ve had several shots on target early but no score arose from them. More pressure ensues and we can’t break their bubble. Carlos Rod grabs a booking. We finally score in the 33rd on an OG started by an IFK. Diallo feeds a corner, foul. Sousa heads up and sinks the PK. 2-0 at the half. Cleison heads in to spell Carlos. Korel Dobias heads in for Quaresma. Salinas for Sousa late. Wallace on a Corner gets goal in the 85th. We win 3-0. MOM is Olivera. Good win.

[Greyfriars Bobby]

Just stopping by to let you know I've enjoyed following both of your recent Football Manager stories. Looks like you've assembled quite a side. Good luck with the remainder of your season!

[Tellistto]

This is a bit like when Juventus was relegated to Serie B, except they kept many of their players unlike Sporting in this universe.

Just goes to show how important that Champions League money is to making a successful club.

Still, you'll be back in Liga 1 soon enough, and from there it's just going to be about getting the finances back into order. Sign cheap, sell high, don't get attached too much. Think it'll be an even longer process than Madeira was.

Good luck! Following along!

Tell

[Abe Sargent]

Thanks to both!


Yup, it's an odd, empty cupboard thing, but I think a 3 year goal of being top 6 and getting to at least Euro is reasonable, especially given how powerful we bagan here in Secunda. .

[Abe Sargent]

We have officially sold Simoes

For today’s Nacional match, Olivera is banned, and Cunha will start instead. I have everyone else on. We are on the road, but you never know, right? They say you can never go home again… LOL – they are not respecting us at all. They are starting Merab Totladze, Davit Kurdadze, Leandro Casal, Jorge Agra, Vitor Barreto and Junior Barreto – all lower folks on the club’s radar. No Ruiz, Rosano, Stepinksi, Driussi, Komorski, etc. The only major forces are Rocker, Rodrigues, and Montesi. We have a chance, because some of their players (Kurdadze, for example) are weaker than someone like Joaquim Sousa. I begin countering, hassling, and marking tightly. At the 1:31 mark, Cutchey’s corner kick hits Carlos Rodriguez and we SCORE!!! That’s right folks! Sporting is here in Madeira, and I know this team. We almost score again when Cutchey, who is obviously very up for this game, drives down, jukes past, I’m not kidding you JOAO LUIS RODRIGUES and almost gets Sousa a score. Hey look, Agra is better than Sousa, and Rocker is nasty, and Rodrigues, Rocker and Montesi are enough to win the game. But right now, in the 30th, we’ve been in control of this game. Yup, it had to happen. The Rock strikes and hits goal just before half. 1-1. Keep it up!!! Cabrera and Williams pass back and forth to get into a scoring position and Cabrera is fouled in the box in the 48:02 mark. PK opportunity to Sousa against his former club. Nacional feel the Pk is harsh. Sousa outsteps Merab. Then Cabrera’s corner finds Carlos Rod for another score in the 51st and suddenly we are ahead 3-1. Holy crap set pieces! (I worked on attacking set pieces this week, just in case, and zang, has that worked). Do I pull back to defensive? Umm…yeah, I do. Can I protect two goals? They sub in Stepinski and he scores on a corner in the 62nd. I sub in Cleison for Cunha. I swap in Diallo to be my AMC and sub in Dudka at the MC spot. Then Correa heads in for Diallo late. Rocker gets booked. Lower tempo. 3 minutes of extra time. Can I pull off a mega 3-2 upset? I moved my wingers to wide middies with a defend and Khumalo moved to defend too. And we hold on. We win Three-Two. MOM is Carlos Rodriguez. That was Special!!!


Diallo is jaded and I rest him.

Nacional – NEVER TAKE ME FOR GRANTED!!!

[Abe Sargent]

Cabrera now has 8 assists, a Taca da Liga record.


The African Cup of Nations, 2021 has arrived.

South Africa defeats Senegal 3-1 in Group A


We start Korel Dobias at MC today for a traveling Diallo with the Ivory Coast. Khumalo was not brought into the final RSA squad. Carlos Rod scores in the 22nd off a Cabrera corner. Sousa and Cutchey just blow down the left side massively and then Sousa, double teamed in the box deep, finds Francis Williams for a goal. Half. Keep it going! Cutchey crosses to an attacking Cabrera for a score in the 48th. I send in Neascu for Cutchey. I move to counter and retaining possession. I sub in Vit Dudka. I pull Francis Williams and then swap up Cabrera to that spot. They score in the 68th. Tomas spells Khumalo. We win 3-1. MOM is Cabrera.


South Africa defeat Morocco 2-1.

DC Omar Montesi signed a 4 year deal with Nacional to extend his contract.

[Abe Sargent]

Every team in the Group C has won a game, Tondela beat Belenenses, we beat Nacional, Belenenses beat us and Nacional beat Tondela. We might still make it out!

If we can beat Tondela today, and if Nacional beats Belenenses, then it comes down to GD – both of us are tied right now. Or if we win and they tie, we are out. Sergio Correa is in the MC spot. Everyone else is our normal starters – I need to win to move on, and I need goals in case of a Nacional win. Pick up where you left off! This is our only match of the three here at home. Cutchey is given a lovely deep ball and Nick Rod and turns it into a deep cross for Williams and goal in the 15th. Lung Jr has picked up a knock. I’ll keep him in through. Cutchey crosses to Cabrera for a score in the 27th. Cutchey crosses to Williams for another goal -0 waved offside. Tondela outpace Olivera strongly and get a nice cross for a score. I swap the positions of my FBs to help answer that. 2-1 half. Cutchey finds Sousa for a score in the 49th. Cutchey is up for it today too. I think someone has a high rating in big games… And then he scores, which he never does. In the 52nd. Khumalo the architect. Tomas heads in for Khumalo. Taylor spells Williams. I send in Cleison in late. We win 4-1. Will it be enough? MOM is obviously Vinny Cutchey.

Nacional demolished Belenenses 5-0. So we lose on GD. Sad. If it hadn’t been for that red card….


Sigh


We set a record for goals in a season with 23 for the Taca da Liga.

We made 100k though for making it that far.

South Africa defeated The Gambia and won their Group.

[Abe Sargent]

The Beira-Mar match has arrived. Williams intercepts the ball, drives, finds Sousa, and gets a score. They equalize in the 17th. Olivera gives up a foul in the box for a PK. Sousa restores after the Pk is in and its 2-2. Then they score late and its 3-2, before Cabrera gets in a shot in extra time and its 3-3 at the half. Cleison heads in for Olivera. You can still win!!! Cutchey’s corner finds Carlos Rod for a score in the 54th. 4-3 us. Cleison intercepts the ball, jumps a counter attack that winds up with Williams finding Sousa for a score in the 56th. 5-3 us. Retaining possession and edge to counter. Marcos Molina heads in for MC and spells Correa. Cutchey drives the length of the field and finds Williams for a score called offside. This time Williams score is not offside as Molina hit him in the 77th – four attackers in the box finished that. I sub n Tomas Cristaldo for Khumalo. We win 6-3, MOM is Sousa with the hat trick.


At 85, we have already set a record for goals in the league.

We get back some tutoring results:

GK Herlein benefitted from Lung Jr. Great link up.
MR Pedro Quaresma really benefitted from Javier Cabrera . Great link up.
DC Cleison learned from DC Wallace. Not super great, but it worked.
DL Cunha gained a but from Carlos Rod, just a bit.


I hand Herlein to Joao Costa


Neascu starts in the MC for us. Diallo is back, but I’m resting him for a while. Neacsu sets up Cutchey on the side who drives, then crosses to Sousa for a goal in the 7th. Chaves equalizes in the 18th. Correa finds Sousa in the 60th. We hold on and win 2-1. MOM is Sousa.

South Africa defeats Algeria in the Quarter Final of the Africa Cup of Nations. Next up - Ghana

[Abe Sargent]

February

6th – Away vs Oriental, Taca da Portugal QF
10th Home vs Boavista
14th – Away vs Estoril
20th – Home vs Freamunde


Good training – Salinas, Molina, Neacsu, and bad – Sousa, Williams

I win Manager of the Month

The club only lost 840k last month…

South Africa defeat Ghana late 3-2. They have made it to the Finals.

Nigeria defeated Morocco 1-0 in extra time. They’ll play South Africa in the final.


Our Oriental match is here. This is the last game I intend to keep Diallo out of. Same as before – Neascu in the middle. Quiet first half ends with a Cabrera DFK for a goal in the 42nd. Then Khumalo finds Neacsu on the attack and he scores. Half time 2-0. I sub in Cunha. Neascu scores again on an IFK that falls and is tackled a bit in the box and picked up by him. Salinas heads in. Then he scores in the 73rd as Cabrera finds him. Dudka in for Cutchey. Dudka picks up a knock late. We win 4-0, and MOM is obv Neascu.

Dudka pulled his hammy is is out 2-3 weeks

[Abe Sargent]

In the Final of the African Cup of Nations, South Africa loses 1-0 over Nigeria. MOM is Cyril Mzizi. They got second place – not bad after winning last time.


Ah crap. We drew Nacional again for the Semi Final of the Taca da Portugal. We have to play them twice, and no more chances for a surprise this time…


Diallo is back in MC for us today. Khumalo is benched for Marcos Molina. Cutchey hits Sousa for a score in the 0:20 mark. Zang! If we win today we get promoted. Cabrera for a corner kick to Carlos Rod for a score in the 4th minute. Another nasty corner-shot from Cutchey-Sousa, but it was just stopped. Then after the corner bounces out, Cutchey finds Williams after resetting the formations and Williams scores in the 13th. Another pair of great attacks ensue in the 20s. Javier Cabrera is injured and I sub in Steve Taylor for him. Half. Keep it up! Willaims is booked. Then injured. I sub in Dobias. I swap him with Diallo, and then with Taylor. This could be an expensive win. Salinas subs in for Cutchey. We win 3-0. MOM is C. Rod. Good win!

We have officially secured promotion. With 9 games left (we played 33 of 42) and we are rocking 89 points – 26 more than Estoril.

Bad news – Francis Williams is out for 3-4 weeks for some broken ribs. I’ll move Diallo to that spot for now.

ML Pedro Quaresma turned a professional today!

Nacional superstar Joao Luis Rodrigues signed a 4 year extension with them.

[Abe Sargent]

As a reminder, today’s match against Estoril is against th e2nd best club in the league. Neascu will start for us in the MC. Sousa gets a lovely ball from Cutchey, gives it back and Cutchey scores in the 12th. They foul Khumalo in the box. Sousa sinks the PK. Cabrera’s Corner kick also sinks after leading to an OG. Cunha subs in Wallace. DFK from Cabrera sinks. Dobias replaces him. Goal Kick from Lung Jr finds an on side and attacking Sousa for a score in the 70th minute. And, by the way, is Sousa’s 40th goal of the season for us. They score off a corner kick too. Cleison heads in and replaces Carlos Rod. We win 5-1. MOM is Cabrera.

With that win, we have won the Secunda Liga.

Whoa! We have more people in this game in Freamunde, to see the newly crowned winners. 39.9k folks! Quiet 1st half, blows by quickly 0-0. Then Sousa scores in the 60th, and pressure comes and comes and comes. We manage to hold them off 1-0. They had more shots, and 3x as many on target as us.

That blew out the best record for a game in the Secunda Liga by…well…us 12 games won in a row is the most Sporting has ever gotten.

Benfica knocked Nacional out of the Taca da Liga in the Semi Finals.

[Abe Sargent]

March

7th – Away vs Atletico CP
14th – Home vs Oliveirense
24th – Away vs Nacional, Taca da Portugal, Semis Leg 1
28th – Away vs Leiria

Good train – Lung Jr, Molina, Quaresma – Bad – Carlos Rod


Tomas Cristaldo starts today in the MC spot. Dudka is back from injury. This is a quiet game, with no scores for long, longer and longest. It’s not until the 87th minute when Cabrera crosses to Sousa for a score. Then Sousa jumps on backpass to the GK and score sin the 89th, just to secure the game. We end up winning 2-0. Sousa is MOM.

[Abe Sargent]

While Benfica and Porto were both taken out in the First Knock out League of the Champions Cup, but Nacional crushed 6-1 aggregate over Shakhtar. Next up – Liverpool


Francis Williams is back at the AMC. He is spelling Diallo. Cabrera finds Sousa in the 7th. Called off side though. Cabrera crosses over everyone to Cutchey and he scores in the 13th. Cutchey lobs a corner to Carlos Rod who puts it in in the 23rd. Another Cutchey – Carlos score on a corner. 3-0 at the half. A nasty on target long shot hits the goal. Carlos gets a yellow. They knock in a corner in extra time. We win 3-2. MOM is Cutchey.

[Abe Sargent]

The 18th has arrived, and brought with it our youth intake. I take a quick gander. Anyone appeal to us? We have a good recruiting ranks, because we are one of the Big Three, and hopefully we’ve re-energized folks with the good season we’ve had.


Our entire 7 years with Nacional we had precisely one 5 star player come through our ranks, but a few 4.5 stars. Get ready!

Several I like:


4.5 star – AMC/MC Joao Borges, 15, looks really nice. Could be the next “Paulo Bento”

Physical – 15, 12, 9, 7, 8, 14, 10, 6

Mental – 6, 11, 10, 8, 8, 11, 10, 19, 13, 12, 12, 6, 10, 13

Technical – 8, 12, 9, 8, 10, 7, 12, 11, 3, 9, 11, 9, 7, 14

Great stuff to begin with, and looks to have strong potential. But, is the high rating due to us being in a lower league? (What might be a 3 or 3.5 star recruit in the Liga could be a 4 or 4.5 star one here, perhaps..)

And then…


4 star – DC Huga Araujo, 16, looks good too.

Physical – 10, 10, 11, 14, 8, 9, 10, 11

Mental – 6, 10, 12, 7, 8, 7, 12, 4, 7, 3, 10, 13, 14

Technical – 5, 5, 2, 3, 9, 2, 13, 5 ,3, 14, 7, 3, 10, 9

Again, strong stuff.

4 Star – ST Pedro Santos, 15, Sporting Supporter, has some decent stuff too:

Physical – 15, 10, 10, 13, 17, 14, 8, 9

Mental - 7, 8, 6, 13, 3, 6, 8, 12, 16, 9, 11, 2, 12, 12

Technical – 5, 2, 9, 11, 11, 7, 11, 4, 3, 1, 6, 7, 7, 9

Some potential there too I suppose.


But they are not all.

3 star Colombian recruit, MC Elkin Granados, 15

3 star recruit DM Roberto Gomes, Take a look at his mentals – 20 determination, 17 bravery, 15 work rate, 14 leadership, etc.

3.5 star recruit, AML/ ML Ashley Solomons, South African and Portuguese


3.5 star recruit – DL Paulo Baltazar


So that’s 7 recruits with a 3 star ranking or better.

[Abe Sargent]

Now, as someone who came through Sporting and their youth group myself, and saw several classes, I can tell you that there tends to be some strong quality – particularly since Lisbon is the biggest city, and Sporting therefore, is a big three club with the biggest city and urban are to draw from. 9 of our youth candidates are Sporting supporters, and 6 are from Lisbon proper.

Since my professional career has been working with youth in this area, I know youth coaches and scouts brag. Any major Portugal youth players that are tweaking folks?

There’s a a youth Honduras player I like. I make him an offer.

Nothing else too special though – players at Rio Ave and Estoril are the best prospects that aren’t ours.

There are currently 9 teams chasing Pedro Quaresma. I give him an asking price of 1.2 mill


Dobias injured his ankle on international duty with his youth club, and he’s out for a few weeks.

M y Honduras player chose to head elsewhere.

South Africa crushes Benin 5-1 in World Cup Quals

The game against Nacional is here. Again . Neither Khumalo nor Diallo are available (international play). Molina and Neacsu are in instead. Are they taking us seriously this time? Still not as much – Merab Totladze is there, along with fellow Georgian Davit Kurdadze. They have a youther at DMC. They are running Luis Carlos, Leandro Casal, Junior Barrios. They still have David Rosano (on the DL), Rodrigues, Montesi and Rocker – so there’s huge power on the pitch. But again, not as much respect. No Ruiz, Stepinski, Driussi, Rui Pereira, Agra, Mzizi, Komorski, and such. I begin countering, hassling,m and tightly marking. Again, we worked on attacking set pieces. They score in the 45th minute. We are down 1-0 at the half. This time, they assigned Rodrigues to Cutchey and have shut him down. Unlucky! Wallace grabs a card. I send in Cleison for him. They subbed in Stepinski. And he scores. We injure two of their players. Cutchey picks up a knock – in heads Dudka. Salninas heads in. Game, we lose 2-0. Can’t fault you for effort!


Cutchey has a gashed leg and is out for 6-9 days.

[Abe Sargent]

Israel defeat Portugal in the World Cup Quals Group 1


Quaresma starts for us in the ML spot. Sousa scores in the 30th after Quaresma shot was pushed aside. I move forward to attacking in the 2nd half after they equalize later. Finally, they foul us in the 87th and Sousa sinks the PK. They almost hit us back a minute later. We win 2-1, MOM is Sousa.

[Abe Sargent]

April, 2021

3rd – Home vs Porto B
18th – Home vs Moreirense
21st – Home vs Nacional, Taca da Portugal, 2nd Leg, Semi Final
25th – Home vs Leixoes


Good training – Pedro Quaresma, Joao Costa, Tomas Cristaldo – Bad – Diallo, Taylor

Andrea Rocker won Player of the Month for Nacional in the Liga; their manager won MOM.

Joaquim Sousa won Player of the Month for us

I won Boss of the Month

We lost 938k last month


Dudka is on the edge today vs Porto’ B team. Keep the run going! Sousa finds Khumalo for a score in the 11th. Khumalo intercepts the ball, staring a counter and finds Williams who runs and shoots a lovely long shot into the upper right corner of the net. Diallo finds an attacking run by Dudka for a score in the 24th. Half. Salinas heads in. Steve Taylor replace Williams. They get a goal called off for handball. I sub in Sergio Correa for Cabrera. Dudka is injured late and taken off the pitch. We win 3-0. MOM is Williams.