FM18 - The Rise of Sepsi: Romania Strong - FINISHED!!!

[Abe Sargent]

Continental Quals – Game #9 –Away vs Viitorul – We lose 1-3. Gimenez hits Lupu for our lone goal. We had 6 cards.


Semi-Final Away Leg - Away vs Dinamo, Romanian Cup Semis – We begin countering, although we have that 5-0 win to remind ourselves so I have a few starters, like Tandia, out there to get some play. Cartagena has an early card, and then in the 11th, on a corner kick, Stoian feeds Margeman, who slides the ball to Riojas for score. They hit us back in the 18th on their own counter attack. They get two cards of their own. Half, 1-1. Lots of opportunities by both teams ensue, but avail of no score. I send in Simonovski. Then Antov. Then Ekhardt. They grab a late goal in extra time. We lose 1-2, and are through to the Finals on a 6-2 aggregate. Craiova beat Viitorul, so we’ll be playing them.

[thehitcat]

Euro Cup might be more our speed for now anyway. Think we might have a chance to get through to the group stages perhaps.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by thehitcat

Euro Cup might be more our speed for now anyway. Think we might have a chance to get through to the group stages perhaps.

That's my hope too, that we can be a challenge and do some damage in the EURO. We made it through two clubs last year before Germany ended us. But my team this year is better and more experienced. Lupu is better, Schlocobiert is on fire and growing, Petre is better, Cartagena is better than Obsiviac, etc. Plus whatever I bring in in the transfer winder this year.

[Abe Sargent]

Continental Quals – Game #10 – Home vs FCSB – We are locked into the #2 spot. Nothing we of today matters. Hopefully, our attacking mentality will help. I’m not cutting any corners. I am going after FCBS! We only win 2-1 in a very close match. MOM is Petre, and goals by Gimenez and Gimenez, assists by Schlocobiert and Margeman. Win 2-1.



Final table for the quals:



Viitorul were strong, and went 8-1-1, with a loss in their final game as they had won, and started youth and such to give them experience.

We got 2nd with a 6-3-1 record in the quals. Only us and Viitorul had winning records, by the by. We have Craiova in the Cup, so one of us wins, and Astra should get the Cup bid.

We moved up this year in quality.




This is the current Relegation Group 10 games in, although they have four games left. Cluj is now in th e playoff spot rather than the both two relegation ones.

[Abe Sargent]

The old manager just burned me:

[Abe Sargent]

Our U19 club wins the top Romanian U19 league. By like 10 points over Cluj.

We win the U19 Cup Final 6-1 over U19 Viitorul!





Bucharest, Romanian Cup Finals

Defending Champion, #3 Craiova

Vs

Upstart Sepsi, #2


Ready to roll?

In the 15th minute, DMC Cartagena gets a red card and heads out. I massage my team and move to protect. I was hoping to come out and stamp our mark on Romanian with a nice offensive game. But ten men down this early? Nope, we need to wait for the right moment……… Half. 0-0. Keep it up! I send in Ekhardt for Lupu as soon as he gets a card. I don’t want to be down two people. Then I send in Traore for Margeman, who’s tired. And we hold, and they do not crack Castle Sepsi. Full time. Get out there and get that one goal! In the 94 mark, Milan Ekhardt scores a nice, strong goal. We are now up by one. I like to save one sub for a game looking to go into extra time, and I do. Five minutes later, Schlocobiert finds Ekhardt for goal. I send in Ursu at DC for a tired player. Half time in extra time. Here comes wave after wave of Craiova. Schlocobiert to Gimenez in the 116th minute for goal.




We win! Well, it wasn’t the way we expected…but we’ll take it! MOM was Ekhardt. We are the 21st team to have won the Cup.

[Abe Sargent]

My initial budgets for next year have been set at 8.00 mill transfer and 130k salary.


Stats!

Basano Only Stats:

DMC Jure Obsivac tied with the most red cards


Petre was 7 MOM, 2nd after 8 for a Viitorul player. Schlocobiert rocked 6, and Gimenez was at 5, Stoian 4.

Petre led the league in Distance Covered

Gimenez and Petre were tied at 7.54 for highest rating. Stoian was 6th with 7.32. Margeman was 11th with 7.18.

Mitrea was 3rd with the most headers

Gimenez led the league with goals at 26. The most in the league’s history was 27, so Gimenez was one off.

Schlocobiert’s 16 goals was 4th most and tied with Gabriel Morbeck, a loanee of mine who started for Viitorul.
Lupu’s 10 goals was tied for 11th, and was the 2nd highest among middies.

Gimenez led the league in average minutes/goal. Lupu was 9th best.

Petre was 8th in % of shots on target

With 13, Gimenez both set the Assist record this year, and broke the previous best of 12

Schlocobiert had 12 assists; Petre 11; Margeman 8; Stoian 7


Petre was 3rd in key passes. Gimenez 4th, Stoian 9th, Margeman 10th


I didn’t have any major defensive stats like top 15 key headers, tackles, interceptions, etc.

Mitrea was 4th in picks

GK:

Rimniceanu conceded 42 goals, 3rd fewest

Rimniceanu was 4th in saves held, and 1st in saves parried.

We led the league with 88 goals, 16 more than #2.

We had the 3rd fewest goals allowed

However:

#1 Viitorul only allowed 26 goals to our 46, and scored 72 to our 88, so they were the better team overall when you consider just how much better their D was.

[Abe Sargent]

Here are some fun facts outside of friendly play:

This includes Cups, EURO, and Basano games:

Gimenez – 32 goals; 15 assists – 7.45 rating
Schlocobiert – 21 goals, 14 assists (17 Basano games, 24 games total) – 8.01 rating
Lupu – 13 goals, 4 assists – 7.05 rating
Margeman – 2 goals, 10 assists – 7.20 rating
Mitrea – 8 goals, 4 assists, 7.17 rating
Obsivac – 1 goal, 2 assist, 7.06 rating
Petre – 9 goals, 15 assits, 7.58 rating
Rimniceanu – 6.85 rating
Riojas – 1 goa, 2 ass, 7.07 rating
Simonovski – 9 goals, 4 assist, 7.24 rating
Stoian – 6 goals, 11 assits, 7.32 rat
Tandia – 1 goal, 5 assits, 6.97 rating
Traore – 5 asists, 6.94 rating (12 starts, 11 subs in Liga, 6 starts in Euro, etc)
Ursu – 6.74 rating, 26 games (16 of which were starts)
Viera – 7.10 rating
Cartagena – 7.24 rating, 17 games
Dodoi – 3 starts, 16 subs, 5 goals, 5 assists, 6.94 rating
Ekhardt – 7 games, 3 goals, 1 assit, 7.30 rating


Best loanee – Morbeck, 17 goals, no assits, 7.21 rating for Viitorul

[Izulde]

Looks like you made the right call in not loaning out Schlocobiert. Dude was on fire for you the latter half of the season.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Looks like you made the right call in not loaning out Schlocobiert. Dude was on fire for you the latter half of the season.

Yeah I was surprised by how quickly he just jumped in there. Dodoi is just trucking along, getting a little better here and there like you'd expect, but, BAM, there's Schlocobiert and it's just, "Where have you been all my life."

Right?



He says yes.

[Abe Sargent]

Player Thoughts –

Gimenez – Led the league in goals and assists? Total class. Next year I expect to keep and start him.

Simonovski – He wasn’t doing badly, but I felt it was time to hand the reign elsewhere, and boy, was I glad that I did that. I thought he was going to drop back down to form this year, and then I’d run out Dodoi, but he did drop, but was still scoring and helping, just not as dominantly as before.

Dodoi – Heading into this year, Dodoi was my #3 and I thought he’d get enough starts after Simonovski fell off that he’d wind up at #2 by Gimenez by the end of the season. I was wrong about that. His stats off the bench were fine, but not impressive, and his staring games were never that strong.

Schlocobiert – I had him locked into #4 on my rotation and only the injury to both Simonovski and Dodoi at the beginning of the year gave me a chance to see him next to Gimenez, and he was okay in limited time, but when the others came back from injury and weren;t blowing the roofs off, I moved to him halfway through the year and wow, was that the right call. He went from #4 to #2 and has a season worth of goals and assists for half a year of starting. He is my starting ST next year, no question.

With the success of Morbeck in Viitorul, I might was to question Simonovski;s role in this squad next year, not because he failed, but because he’s just weaker than the rest.

Rimniceanu – Probably going to be my starter next year. 3rd fewest goals allowed in the Basano is good.

Maio – I rushed Maio to four starts, and he was good in all of them. I want to try and get him some first team play next either, either with up and Cups and such, or on a loan, but after his tutoring with Rimniceanu concludes. I would expect him to start in 2-3 seasons if developed correctly.

Mitrea – Mitrea was good on the ball and surprisingly good at set pieces with IFKs, DFKs, and PKs sinking regularly. And not as the header but as the kicker. 8 goals for a DC on set pieces? That’s just fun! I expect that added variety t lock my vice captain in as a starter at DC next year

Viera – I like my captain, but due to his injury, he only started half of the season. He wasn’t this amazing defensive machine, and a 32 year old DC with a history of long term injuries might be a little too much to rely o, with my forced sale of Palenik removing that option,

Riojas – I wouldn’t be surprised to see him as VC or Ca this year at DC. I have him penciled in at DC along Mitrea. I think they work well together. He’s solid.

Ursu – I am not surprised that Ursu dropped in quality on the pitch

Antov – Antov is a 18 year old with some interesting stuff, but his technical skills still need work. He’s a developmental kind of guy, but he can also be a solid sub at DMC too

Petre – Petre is locked into my MR/ML spot despite not having a great set of skills, he just plays up to the competition every time, and he’s strong. I don’t plan on moving Petre off the starting spot he has for me.

Stoian – I liked the older rotation guy, who was better than Tandia, both on paper and in real play. He played well, but he stats weren’t that amazing. Despite the fact that Stoian is better, more experienced, and has Gimenez on his side of the field getting his balls, he had 50% of the goals of Petre and fewer assists. I have him penciled in at ML next year, but I am not committed to it.

Traore – Traore got a lot of starts and reps, and was perfectly fine, but he wasn;t at the level of himself last year, and his MC role went to Margeman and I never went back. I could see rotation for him again next year, but he’s 31 soon. That’s a little on the older side of life.

Tandia – I love Tandia, but my team has clearly passed him by, and I wouldn’t be surprised to look to sell hm next year. He went from my 2nd best middie to my 3rd worst in two years.

Lupu – Lupu has grown into the best player, but I was surprised at his lack of assists at the AMC spot. Still, he had a bunch of goals, so he played well. I’ll keep him in the AMC spot, and I did rotate in Margeman and Eckart into this spot to give them some AMC experience as well, and they did well. Elkhart got Mom in the Cup in the AMC spot. I suspect Lupu remains in this spot. I can’t imagine a Top Xi that doesn’t include Lupu. But he could be in another spot.

Margeman – No question, Margeman was locked into my MC spot as the main player last year, after ebbing into Traore’s role and spot on the team. He played well too, and I am sure that he’ll be penciled in next year as well.

Eckhart - Our surprise signing in the January window when I found him, he is an up and coming middle and youther who can already play at the this level. Will he be a sub? Or a loanee? I don’t know.

[Abe Sargent]

Who is leaving the club:

DC Ionut Ursu
DM/MC Alexandro Rodriguez
D, DM, M RC Albert Dalmau
GK Roland Nizuhy
DMC Jure Obsivac

So I don’t have a whole lot of openings on my squad:

I need a 3rd starting level DC
Depth at DMC and Wing

Looking to potentially move Simonovski and Tandia

As of right now, only these four players will remain from the team I inherited:

Viera
Rimniceanu
Simonovski
Tandia

Petre?

(Does Petre count? He was on loan with me but I signed him)


Anyone I want to look at for next year?

I scout around 25 players, all veterans of various types that seem to be interested in me. The biggest name is probably 27 year old German winger and wingback Marcel Halstenburg, or young Romanian National Team star ST Andrei Ivan for Leeds, and such. I also have around 10 youth I’m scouting as well.

[Abe Sargent]

There are some interesting ways to take my sqaud.

One example:

Italian GK Simone Columbi, 27 years old, backup, worth 3 mill, on a 3k/week backup deal with Carpi in Italy Serie A, and is angry, has been transfer listed by request for 1.7 mill.




Here’s Colombi. As you can see, he’s very good. By comparison, Rimniceanu



Rimniceanu isn’t bad, but we’ve gotten past him I think, but just a little. Anyways, Colombi is faster stronger, better command of area, communication, first touch, handling, 1:1 ones, reflexes. Rimniceanu is better in the air by one point. Also better throwing. By a point. Colombi is just a better player. If I can secure a GK that is that much better for a few years, then I can probably push back Maio by another year, and secure a better player in the meantime. I don’t have to spin in place with Victor. I make an offer to Colombi.

You get the idea. I make an offer for 1.7 mill. This is not only a better player, but it seems like a good bit of business as well.

I can’t get to where I want to be, without being a little mercantile at times. I need Colombi’s. I need to push for greatness. I want to be a regional superpower on the level of Austria’s Salzburg, Ukraine’s Dynamo Kiev, or the Czech’’s Sparta Prague. And I can’t create that path until I can win the Basano. I got 2nd! But 2nd here just gets you a Euro. I got a Cup win! But a Cup win here just gets you a Euro. I can’t get to the good stuff until I win. And Colombi is a better chance of winning than Rimniceanu.

It’s hard to imagine I can make my attack better. But I had a lot of multi-goal games that I want to reign in. Viitorul allowed 26 goals. I have to measure up.

I come to an agreement with Colombi for 7.5k/week, first team, four years. That will be a good salvo to pushing our squad higher

We sign Colombi

[Abe Sargent]

I list Rimniceanu

One of the good things about having money now is I can pursue high quality Romanian players rather than just taking the best one available that I can afford. Stoian, Lupu, and Mitrea were all strong Romanian additions to my club last year, which helped me get registered, while I had players that weren’t Romanian, or EU, like Riojas, Schlocobiert, and Cartagena.

I am scouting and making enquiries for various Romanian players who intrigue me enough to consider them.

Final relegation results



Cluj finished in the playoff spot and are going to play for relegation.

[thehitcat]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

I list Rimniceanu

It's not personal, it's football. But this one stings a little.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by thehitcat

It's not personal, it's football. But this one stings a little.

I know, but he's just been our starter for two years, we signed him from Viitorul after he started for them in their winning campaign two years ago and then let him go. I kind of thought his injury would set us back, but when it didn't, I realized I had the youth here to be fine going with a bigger name and player.


I doubt he goes far. He remains the best Romanian GK to still play here.

[Abe Sargent]

I have 23 players on international duty

I make an offer of 1.1 mill for DC Tobias Strobl, in Germany, 29, who is transfer listed by request. I offer him first team, and 12k/week and they consider it.

I reject offers for Petre and Lupu.

Strobl joins us




Quick look at Strobl, He can play a ton of spots. He’s good quality. He’s good all over, from long throws to mark/pass/tack/head/jump/str to stamina and more. I expect to run him in Vera’s starting DC spot, but he also adds depth at DMC or MC as well.


For comparison:



Here’s Viera! He was muh guy my first year. He’s slower, less agile, less jumpy, less passing, less tackling, less positioning, less strength, etc. Strobl is the better class of player.

The cheaper costs of these two fill gaps for next year and increase my quality.

Antov is better than Viera. I transfer list Viera.


Antov gets his first cap for Bulgaria, and I toss him a congrats.

Romania dropped another 5 spots in the European coefficients table

[Abe Sargent]

Fan Awards:

Signing of the Year – DC Mitrea

Player of the Year – Petre (2nd and 3rd were Gimenez and Stoian)

Goal of the Season – Simonovski vs Pandurii

Young Player of the season – Schlocobiert






Who’s Jersey did you buy?

[Abe Sargent]

I am already getting loan offers for folks like Dodoi, Emil Abaz, Raul Cobaron, and more.

We sell Viera to a South American club for a few hundred thousand.

I have a 5 mill option on the table for this amazing 16 year old Brazilian youth, and due ot their rules, he could not join us for two years, but in two years we could get this guy. Already at 16 he’s good enough to push for starting time on my squad. I do it. I don’t have a whole lot to buy, my team has already improved itself in two major areas.

Here he is:

[Abe Sargent]

Traore comes to me upset about Viera leaving but he gets why when I talk to him.

Petre agrees to an extension of 3 years, 1st team, 3.2k/week deal

I get the first real offer for Lupu – 8 mill from Arsenal. No thanks. I need youth Romanians starting on my squad. That’s Lupu and Petre.

After I said no to Arsenal, Lupu wants an increased deal. That’s fine. I make an offer to raise his salary to 3.0k and extend a year.

We confirm Christiano. That drops most of my transfer kitty, but I have about 200k left over after moving them and then another 250k I got from Viera

Is it time to move Marko Simonovski for the good of, well, him? I have Dodoi, Raul, Morbeck, Schlocobiert, and Gimenez all of whom are better. He got me 20 goals and 5 assists in 30 games last year, but 8 and 4 in 16 games this year. He was out with a major injury twice, and he lost his job. He’s not my #1 or 2. Should I move him to somewhere where he’ll be more than a bench-warmer? Don’t I owe him that?

I think so.

Traore’s pace and acceleration and dribbling have dropped.

I ask for a new feeder club and they let me choose. I grab a club in the 2nd league. I like CS Luceafărul Oradea, who finished 7th in the 2nd league last year. That’s a good place to send loanees, because we don’t have a sub squad or a U21 squad or anything, so I want to send folks that are too old to play internationally on my U19 club to them.

I convince my board to give me another coach and I go out and get a third GK coach.

[thehitcat]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

Who’s Jersey did you buy?

Margeman, love me a midfielder who can pull the strings. I alternate between Margeman on the road and Lupu for home games.

[Greyfriars Bobby]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

Who’s Jersey did you buy?

I got a Margeman shirt, too. I've got a Traore shirt from his first season with the club.

[Izulde]

Schlocobiert jersey for me, easily.

[Abe Sargent]

I would have been Petre's jersey myself. He's my favorite player. He's not a dominant force on paper, but he always plays up to the level of competition and he's always up for it, you know?

[Abe Sargent]

WOW!

Izulde is about to be proven right?



This is the first time I’ve seen “Touted as the next XXXX” on any of muh players!

Anyone else?

Nah. Anyone in my U19 squad?

Nah

Serginho Chulapa - Wikipedia





243 goals? Let’s get started!

Serginho approves!

[Abe Sargent]

Anybody I want off a free?

Not really. We’re solid for now.

Cluj won their games 4-2 aggregate and are staying in the Basano next year.


Basano Season awards:

Patrick Petre, Player of the Year


Patrick Petre, Young Player of the Year; Lupu was 3rd


Marko’s goal against Pandurii at the beginning of the season was 2nd best Goal of the Year

I won Manager of the Year


I confirm my season expectations of winning the Basano, Cup, etc.


EDIT - See, PETRE!!!

[Abe Sargent]

July 1st is here. Anyone I want?

Good train for Castano, Ekhart, and Margeman.

There is a good unsigned Nigerian player. I make him an offer. He’s another major upgrade in talent, if he agrees to come to Sepsi.


Our two new signings have arrived!




Tobias Strobl – Surprised by just good Sepsi is going to be this year!



So excited to be here, Colombi!

Simonovski is heading out to Finland.

Lupu signs that new deal for us. My hope is that this ends the speculation offers from junky teams with little cash but bigger names.

[Abe Sargent]

We beat two teams to sign my Nigerian target off the free deck.



Here’s Etebo. He’s a developed youth on the Nigerian squad. He’s strong, our scouts loved him, he was let go by a mid-table Portuguese team, and was willing to come here. I was talking about depth at Middies, particularly on the wings to have another option. This guy can play every midfielder spot, ST, and he’s learned DMC and even wingback. He has decent-ish mark/tack/etc and he’s good everywhere – mentally, physically, and technically. There is nothing here to not like. I expect to give him early games on the ML side competing with Stoian, and I’ll let the best player there win out. I also could see giving him reps at Lupu’s AMC, spotting at Mc, subbing for Petre, etc. I might even give him some ST play, although I’m deep there.


The goal is to keep pushing so we can win the Basano, and Etebo was a free addition of quality to my squad, much like Mitrea and Riojas last year.



He is imagining his first goal for Sepsi!

[Abe Sargent]

I get an offer from Zenit for Kirill Kolechenko, a Russian youth I signed and developed for 55k a few years ago for 750k. I accept it.


Current Squad:

GK Colombi, backups Maio, Fejer

DC Mitrea, Strobl, Riojas, Antov, Castano

DMC Cartagena, Antov, Strobl, Traore

MR Petre, Stoian, Etebo

ML Petre, Etebo, Stoian

MC Margeman, Lupu, Tandia, Traore, Etebo, Eckhardt

AMC Lupu, Eckhardt, Margeman, Etebo, Tandia

ST Gimenez, Schlocobiert, Morbeck, Corbazon, Dodoi, Etebo


Traore feels a little over-whelmed by the competition, to my mind. How many starts is he getting over Margeman? How many subs over Etebo, Eckhardt, etc?

Is it time to move Traore so he can get first team ball elsewhere? Or is there still a role for him here in his final year with us?

Players in the Last Year:

Traore
Stoian
Tandia
Bejer

[Abe Sargent]

Title Push this year?



We are the favorites to win, even though we haven’t won before. Sepsi for the Win-si!

Friendly #1 – Some of my players are internationalizing. We win 4-1.


I sell Rimniceanu to Poland’s Legia. I had a bid from Craiova as well, but he chose to head to Legia.

Friendly #2 – We win 11-1.
I put Marko Simonovski on my shortlist so I could follow him. He is injured and out for four months at his new club.

Koleshinko is heading out. Spartak Moscow made a bid late for 750k and got him.

I name Hansell Riojas my Captain and Cartagena my vice. Peru for the win!

[Abe Sargent]

Super Cup – Viitorul vs Sepsi. My normal XI are starting, save for Margeman whose club, South Africa, are playing and have made it deep into the African Cup of Nations. Etebo is starting in the middle for me, and this is his, Colombi., and Strobl’s first game for me. All are starting. We are favored today 6-4 odds in the neutral site of Bucharest. We begin attacking as I want to take it to them, but that isn’t doing anything, so I back off to controlling instead., In the 27th, Stoian finds Schlocobiert in the box for goal. Lupu finds Gimenez for goal a few minutes later. Half. We are up 2-0, but we only have 5 shots, 2 on target to their 7 and 3. It’s been a quiet game. Don’t get complacent out there. They grab a goal in the 52nd. Gimenez to Schlocobiert in the 59th. I send in Antov. Then Traore. Tandia for Petre. They grab a goal in extra time and we win 3-2. MOM is Schlocobiert




Taking out Viitorul in the Super Cup is good. But defeating them in a week at our place as we kick off the season would be a lot better. Beginning the season with a win against Viitorul would demonstrate to everyone that there is a new sheriff in Romania Town, and his name is Dr. Maximillian Surubaru.

Actually, I misread it, we start with Voluntari, not Viirorul. But I still want to begin with a smashing win!

[Abe Sargent]

We welcome back to the Basano Liga this year Medias and Iasi, two clubs that went down last year.

My sales have brought my transfer kitty to 1.4 mill, as an FYI.

We draw IF Elfsborg, out in Sweden, for our first EURO leg. Astra won their 1st round game against Llapi and have Cukaricki next. Craiova beat Lions 8-0 on aggregate. They have Botev Plodiv this round.


Basano Game #1 – Home vs Voluntari. I start Margeman at MC and Etebo at ML. I begin full out attacking today. Let’s make a mark on Romania. I don’t want to quietly push. In the 9th minute, Mitrea finds Lupu for goal. Gimenez to Schlocobiert in the 15th for goal. In the 36th, Gimenez again finds Schlocobiert for goal. They have 3 shots, one on target at the half. They are clearly playing keep-away. Keep it up! I ease back to control for the 2nd half. In the 55th, Schlocobiert finds great opportunity to give back to Gimenez a goal, they intercept it, Lupu pounces on the pick and scores. I send in Antov and Traore. Schlocobiert with goal in the 69th. Tandia heads in. We win 5-0 MOM is Schlocobiert.

[Abe Sargent]

EIGHT of my players are named in the Team of the Week!

I loan out Dodoi and Raul Cabaron when nice first-team offers from higher level clubs arrive.

EURO GAME #1 vs Elfborg – We start at home, and like last week, I begin attacking. I want to establish dominance on Europe. We are here. I won’t belabor it too much. We won 5-0 . Goals by Lupu, Gimenezx2, and Schlocobiert x2. Assists by Petre, Margeman, Gimenzx2, MOM is Gimenez


Basano Game #2 – Away vs Dinamo – I begin countering. Schlocobiert for goal in the 13th. Petre’s assist to him was cut off and he pounced on the ball, grabbed it for goal. Cards by Cartagena and Mitrea quickly follow. Half, we are up 1-0 after a quiet half. Don’t get complacent! We are ahead on the scoreboard! But not necessarily elsewhere, they have possession and 9 shots and 6 on target to our 7 and 4. But, as the 2nd half opens up, Herman Riojas finds Margeman for goal and that’s 2-0 at the 52nd. I send in Antov and Traore at the DC and DMC spots early to prevent card issues and then Tandia later. Etebo was lightly injured in the 81st, but we leave him in We hold and win 2-0. MOM is Margeman.

Etebo is lightly injured but due to how quickly the next game is I have Stoian starting on my ML spot.


I send out some loanees, like Kick de Geode and others to my 2nd Liga club. I have a lot of folks too old now for my U19 squad and I don’t have a B team or a U21 team. Because I brought in a lot of my U19 squad two years ago, many are now too old to play, and need to be loaned out. All told I send 8 players two my two affiliates, the goods ones to the good one,and the not good ones to the not good team.


We are the only team to have won its first two games,

For the first four matches of the season, which include the Super Cup, a EURO game and two Basano matches including away at Dinamo, who’s a real team, we are a combined 15-2 with three clean sheets. Not bad!

The Sepsi Juggernaut is Rolling!

[Abe Sargent]

August

Aug 1 – Elfborg, EURO
Aug 2 – DRAWING FOR EURO 3rd Round
Aug 4 – Home vs Concordia
Aug 8 – 3rd Found of EURO
Aug 10 – Home vs Astra
Aug 15 – 3rd Round of EURO
Aug 16 – Draw for EURO, 4th round
Aug 17 – Away vs Botosani
Aug 22 – 4th Round of EURO
Aug 24 – Away vs Viitorul
Aug 29 – 4th Round of EURO
Aug 30 – Draw for EURO Group Stage
Aug 31 – Home vs Cluj


Good training – DC Kubik, DC Castano, Middle Farcas.

Luiz Schlocobiert won Player of the Month! He has 4 goals in two games. Duh.

EURO GAME #2 vs Elfborg – I will begin countering as we are here in Sweden, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I opened it up later as the game progresses. The game begins quietly and 25 minutes are gone, they have a minor injury. They foal Stoian and Mitrea heads up to take the long indirect free kick and he hits Gimenez who scores. That set piece is our lone score of the first half. Don’t get complacent! I send in Antov at the 59th. In the 65th, Lupu finds Schlocobiert for goal. I send in Morbeck and then Traore. They score in the 89th. We win 2-1 on the road and Lupu was MOM.

[Abe Sargent]

Our 7 wins in a row breaks a Sepsi record.


We draw FC Midjytlland. Craiova lost. Astra won, and Viitorul lost their play-in game in the Chmapions Cup, so they have Galway Utd and Astra is encountering Veres from Ukraine.

Antov and Riojas had a great mentor-mentee hook up and Antov learned a lot.

Basano Game #3 – Home vs Concordia – Today I’l begin controlling. Margeman is on South African duty so I am starting Traore at the MC spot. I am trying something tactically. We have a lot of players with flair. I tell them to be more expressive. I want to see what happens with a looser Gimenez, Schlocobiert, Lupu, and such. Etebo is back on the ML. Etebo gives away a penalty in the 18th. Colombi dives, hits the PK, and pushes it aside. Mitrea to Etebo for goal off an IFK in the 44th. Half. It’s been quiet, we have like 4 shots to their 3. Mitrea nails a DFK but their GK manages to stop it. They have three yellows already, and Cartagena gets one from us. He gets another yellow a minute later and we are now down a man. I shift the AMC spot to DMC and move out Lupu for Antov. I slide to counter. Mitrea with a card. I send in Tandia then Eckhardt. Antov finds Schlocobiert on a counter run, Schlocobiert shoots, it rebounds off the bar, and he puts it away in the 84th. We hold on and win 2-0. MOM is Etebo.

[Abe Sargent]

EURO GAME #1 Away vs Midtjylland – I am starting my best XI and playing counter ball here in Denmark. Early in the first half, Riojas is sloppy with the ball, and makes a lazy back pass, that their ST and AML pounce on and puts away with Colombi on a 1 on 2 situation. Things calm down, they get an injury. In the 35th, a goal of ours from Etebo to Gimenez is called offsides. Half. We are down 0-1. In the 57th, on a counter, Gimenez and Schlocobiert pass back and forth and Schlocobiert puts the ball away for a score. I pull Riojas who is still having a bad game. I send in Antov for him, and then youther DC Martin Kubik later as we are under assault from one of their players after they injure Strobl. Eckhardt heads in. We hold and tie 1-1. Mom is Etebo.

I reject an offer for Gimenez from Dynamo Kiev.

That was our first draw of the year, we have won every other games.

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s pause for a moment.

Sepsi today, financially:



These are my first team players listed by value. I included those worth at least 500k. As you can see, my younger, proven youth tend to be the most expensive – Lupu, Etebo, Schlocobiert, Petre, etc. I also have some vets with value like Gimenez, Riojas, Colombi, and Strobl. You can also see some of my future folks like Fracas, Morbeck and such here as well.


I have a transfer offer for Morbeck from Atalanta. Hmmm. He was hot last year. I accept an offer for 50% of next sale and 1.2 mill.


Basano Game #4 – Home vs Astra – I begin controlling. For this match where Cartagena is out, I’ll start Strobl at DMC and Antov at DC. They injure Margeman in the 9th and we have to pull him – I send in Traore for him. 7 minutes later, Strobl finds Gimenez for goal. Astra then clamp us down and for 20 minutes or so, neither team has an offensive performance. Card by Astra. We get a lot fo extra time in the half, and that leads to Antov launching a dangerous ball deep for Gimenez to grab, and he dribbles a few steps, feed Schlocobiert, and that’s 2-0 at the half. And….that’s going to be it. I send in Tandia and Kubik. We win 2-0, MOM is Strobl.

[Abe Sargent]

I reject offers for Fracas from Arsenal and Liverpool.


EURO GAME #2 Home vs Midtjylland – I start Etebo in the middle and Stoian at ML. I also leave Strobl in at DMC given he just got MOM here, and Antov remains at DC. I have removed my “play flexible” instruction and siding back to normal as the results have been uneven. In the 13th, Schlocobiert finds Gimenez for goal. In the 15th, Petre finds Lupu for goal. They claw a goal back in the 39th. Half, 2-1. Schlocobiert to Gimenez in the 46th. In the 55th, Stoian finds Schlocobiert for goal. Lupu feeds Gimenez on a deep pass, and he finds Schlocobiert. Then his shot rifles back off the punch from their GK, and Lupu, who ran in after his pass, is there to feed the goal. In the 57th minute. In go Traore and Eckhardt early, and I hold onto my last sub until late for injury. Gimenez to Petre in the 69th for goal. Kubik heads in for Mitrea. Lupu collects a late yellow. We win 7-1. Mom is Schlocobiert. Brag time!




Enjoy the face-smashing victory!

We win 8-2 aggregate.

[Abe Sargent]

Teams that got knocked out include Rangers, our Astra, and more. Viitorul won and are into the last Knockout before the group stages.

Are you ready for the most important draw?

Viitorul got Lech from Poland, which is do-able. We got…a pretty easy task. FK Astana from Kazakhstan.

We sell Morbeck. I will call ST Raul back from loan if we need him as he’s better than Dodoi. But right now my sub can be my Nigerian middie guy. Right now he’s starting in the Basano for Medias, vs a sub that I’ll never use. I haven’t put in Morbeck once for five minutes. My guys don’t get tired, and don’t need to be subbed. There is almost always someone else out there to sub.


Basano Game #5 – Away vs Botosani – By the way, Cluj are currently 2nd in the Basano. They have recovered from last year’s tailspin. Cartagena is back at DMC and Strobl to DC. Margeman is still out, although he just finished his injury, he is tired. I have him as a sub. They score in the 14th off a corner kick. Then Mitrea hoofs a ball to Schlocobiert who’s shot deflects off the GK and Gimenez sinks 2 minutes later. And we don’t look back. In the 28th, Gimenez finds Schlocobiert for goal. Two of their players head off the pitch. Half, 2-1 us. Don’t get complacent!!! They don’t!!! In the 61st, after I sub in Margeman for a lightly wounded Etebo, he feeds Schlocobiert. I ease back to counter from control, and we hold and win 3-1. Cards by Mitrea, Strobl, and Lupu all later in the game, by the by. MOM is Gimenez.

[Abe Sargent]

It’s like at the end of each match someone makes an offer for Gimenez. This time it was Eibar. They aren’t offering real money and they aren’t “real” teams, and Gimenez isn’t pushing back against me not giving him a chance to talk with Dinamo Kiev or Eibar.


Antov wants an improved deal after I turn down some folks, and I agree.


With my recent transfer money, anyone I want to bring in?



EURO GAME #1 Home vs Astana – I begin controlling. I give starts to Traore, Tandia, and Eckhardt. Let’s do this! All that stands between us and the EURO Group stage is Astana. Early on, Schlocobiert feeds Gimenez for goal, and then he feeds Traore for goal by the 14th, and then Astana gains their footing. We injure their AMC in the 34th and he leaves. Half, 2-0, but we have not dominating Astana statistically. I tell my lads not to get complacent. In the 55th, Eckhardt is feeding Gimenez in the box, and he is tackled, and the ball free, and Schlocobiert finishes. They score in the 59th on a counter. I send in Antov. Then Stoian. We win 3-1 and MOM is Schlocobiert.

Viitorul lost on the road 1-2, but that gives them an away goal for hosting next.

[Abe Sargent]

I accept a first team loan offer from Iasi for Castano.

I sell one of my youthers (Scylla) to Porto for 500k and 50% of next sale



Basano Game #6 – Away vs Viitorul –Normally, this is a match each season that I don’t look forward to. And while Viitorul are fine in the EUROs, they don’t have a win in their first 5 games in the Basano. I am starting my best – Etebo, Margeman, Lupu, etc. But this is, perhaps, the best time to catch Viitorul. We have not dropped any points and have 15 points in five games. Can we pick up three more today? Let’s find out! We allow Viitorul to score in the 15th minute off a counter, and then again in the 19th off a nice corner. Then the game settles down. We have a card to Lupu. And…….half. 0-2 them. SHOW ME SOMETHING ELSE. In the 55th minute, Etebo finds Schlocobiert on a nice attack and hits for goal. In the 74th, Margeman feeds Etebo for goal, he shoots, and a DC gets the in the way and Schlocobiert gets us that tying goal. I send in Antov and Traore. I move to attacking. Can we get another goal without losing one? In the 81st, on a counter attack where he dribbles at the defense for at least twenty-five yards, Schlocobiert feeds Margeman for goal. I pull back. In extra time, Margeman intercepts the ball, finds Schlocobiert, he feeds Etebo for goal and we win 4-2. Schlocobiert is MOM. WHEW! Brilliant way to come back lads!

Antov picked up a minor injury and will be out for a week.

I hope our defeat of Viitorul won’t keep them from winning against Lech at home.

[Abe Sargent]

I sign four youth trialists that I brought in.

We have 24 players called up for play

EURO GAME #2 Away vs Astana. We begin standard. They get a yellow in the 7th minute of play. 5 minutes later, Petre finds Margeman on an attacking run for goal. Astana fire right back in the 22nd minute and then it’s back and forth for a while, and they get two more yellows prior to the half. Tied 1-1. Cartagena with a card. Then in the 59th minute, one of their players with a yellow heads off. I pull my yellowed guy as well and we push forward. In the 68th, Gimenez is driving forward and finds Schlocobiert for goal. In the 78th, Riojas hoofs the ball to Schlocobiert and he scores. I send in Kubik. We win 3-1, and MOM is Schlocobiert.

We make it to the Group Stage and we get 2.4 mill in hard Euro cash. Viitorul lost 1-0 at home to Lech and are out.


GROUP DRAW

We are seeded fourth, duh.

Our group:

Group I

Now, before I give you Group I, let me show you some groups that I think we would have been competitive in:

Group A:

Besiktas, Young Boys, HJK and then 4th Seed is Trencin.


Group E:

Porto, Club Brugge, Zorya, and the 4th seed is Haifa.


Group C:

PSV, Dinamo (Croatia), Rubin and 4th will be Red Star

And there are two death Groups that we avoided.

Group L:

Villarreal, Stoke, Braga, and 4th is Brondby

Group J:

Dortmund, Fiorentina, Utrecht, and 4th is Rijeka

Both of those have strong heavies as well as three real powerhouses -

But we got Group I, which is arguably the third hardest Group as a 4 seed….


Group I

Sevilla, Spain
OM, France
Qarabag, Azerbaijan
Sepsi, Romania

So we have two real heavies of European football. Even if we get 6 points against Qarabg, it’s not like OM or Sevilla will drop points. I have to do well against one of them to get out of Group I.


Sevilla have 5 EURO Champion Victories and are the winningest team in the entire qualification.

[Abe Sargent]

September

Sept 1 – Home vs Cluj
Sept 15 - away vs FCSB
Sept 19 – Home vs Qarabag
Sept 22 – Home vs Hermannstadt
Sept 30 – Away vs Timisoara

Good training – Antov, Lupu, Eckhardt

Player of the month, was, again, Schlocobiert


Basano Game #7 – Home vs Cluj. I start Stoian today. I want more experience than youth on my wing. Has Cluj reclaimed their claim to fame, or are we still the masters of Romania? We’re going to find out in a moment. Riojas is out for the game in the 25th. And it’s a very quiet game with a goal by Stoian to Schlocobiert in the 75th the game’s lone score, or push, by either team. MOM is Stoian

I’ll take a win vs Cluj, even if it wasn’t as push-y as I was hoping.

[Abe Sargent]

Riojas broke his foot and will be out for 4 months. Antov will start for him

Lupu was given his first cap today, and he scored on his international debut against Israel.

Basano Game #8 – Away vs FCSB – This is my 100th game for Sepsi! I begin countering because they are FCSB and 4th in the Liga I. Strobl with an early yellow. In the 9th, Mitrea sinks a DFK. They equalize in the 33rd. Gimenez to Lupu off a break, goal, 44th. Half, 2-1 us. We have 3 shots, and 3 on target in the first half. I send in Kubik for card-ded Strobl. Let’s remove the chance of a double yellow. I send in Eckhardt after they injure Lupu Margeman finds Schlocobiert on a beautiful attacking run juuuuuuuust onsides and clear. Goal in the 68th. Etebo with a card and I send in Tandia for him. After he broke away and juked a defender and was about to hit goal, they foul Gimenez in the box in the 83rd, both a red card and a PK. They block Mitrea’s kick and I am sad ☹. Tandia to Schlocobiert in the 88th. Yellow for Petre late. We were lethal with 8 shots, 8 on target. They had 19 and 9, and just got a goal. We just had possession 38% Schlocobiert is MOM with our 4-1 debasement of FCSB.

Lupu is out with a concussion for a few weeks, and Etebo will start for him with Stoian at the ML spot.

[Abe Sargent]

I think our best chance out is to have one dominant powerhouse who crushes everyone and then we slip through at #2.

For example:

Imagine Team A beats everyone and gets 18 points
Imagine both Teams B and C defeat Team D twice for 6 points

Now if Teams B and C either tie each other, or beat each other, then both have 8 or 9 points and it goes to tiebreakers. If Team B or C can steal a tie and then get a win, then they can get out, and thus, it’s not between you and Teams A or D, but just C and B.

And if Team D manages to get points somewhere, or Teams B or C manage to snake some from Team A, then they are moving forward.

But in a giant scrum for points, I feel like it’s a lot harder to get out. Everyone is pushing hard, and you get 100% from everyone,


EURO – Group Stage #1 - Home vs Qarabag – This is our best chance for points. I begin today in a standard mentality. We win 3-0. Goals by Gimenez x2 and Antov off a corner by Stoian, and Schlocobiert and Strobl with assists. Gimenez is MOM.


Sevilla won 1-0 over OM.

[Abe Sargent]

Basano Game #9 – Home vs Hermannstadt – Our foes are 14th and last and have just two ties in 8 games. We are, how do I say this nicely…not expected to lose today. I start Kubik, Tandia, Traore. I begin attacking today. Let’s rain goals! It’s raining hard. Rain, not goals, before we begin the match. We have a not-good half. We finish 0-0 with 16 shots, just 2 on target to their 2 and 0. I tried everything but nothing happened to help. In the 2nd half, Stoian scores and then Gimenez finds Schlocobiert for goal and we win 2-0, MOM is Strobl. We had two cards with Mitrea and Etebo cards. We should have won by more, but I’ll take it.

We have won 10 Basano games in a row stretching back to last year.





Basano Game #10 – Away vs Timisoara – Mitrea is out with too many cards. Lupu is back from concussion. Kubik starts with Antov and Strobl. Schlocobiert is fed a nice ball on an attacking run by Margeman and then he feeds Petre with a goal in the 25th and that’s a quiet half. Lupu and Cartagena with cards and sub them both out. In the 73rd, Gimenez and Schlocobiert hook up and Schlocobiert grabs a goal and we win a quiet match 2-0. They had 11 shots and 1 on target to our 6 and 5. MOM for Schlocobiert.

[Abe Sargent]

October –

Oct 3 – Away vs OM
Oct 6 – Home vs Medias
Oct 18 – Away vs Iasi
Oct 24 – Away vs Sevilla
Oct 27 – Away vs Craiova
Oct 30 – Away vs Voluntari


Good training – Kubik, Antov, Eckhardt

Schlocobiert was just 2nd in Best Player of the Month

EURO – Group Stage #2 – Away vs OM. Before our match, the coach at OM just sandblasts us in the media. I want to punch his team in the face and win. This is a good chance to get a point or three. We have a better chance of OM than Sevilla. I begin defensive. In the 19th Gimenez steals the ball from one of the OM defenders, rushes goal, finds Schlocobiert for goal, and that’s us. They hit us back immediately. Card for Lupu almost immediately. In the 44th, Stoian finds Antov’s head for goal off a CK and we are up 2-1 on the half, but not statistically. I tell them to not get complacent and they cannot break our defense. We hold and win 2-1. MOM is Antov.

Sevilla won 3-0 as well.

[Abe Sargent]

Basano Game #11 – Home vs Medias – Medias has given up and is just trying to not lose. They have a 5-4-1 tactic with a hard tackling and defensive mentality. They don’t even have wingbacks like some 5-4-1s but instead a full 3 DCs, 2 fullbacks, and 4 middie,s none of whom are in AM roles. We win 2-0 with goals by Mitrea and Gimenez. MOM was Gimenez.


Gimenez’s goal today gave him the club lead with 37 goals.




In case you care

During a training session, Tandia is injured for a month.


Basano Game #12 – Away vs Iasi – An 8th minute yellow means Cartagena is going to miss his next match. I have Stoian start for Petre. Mitrea with a PK in the 17th. In the 25th, Gimenez feeds Schlocobiert after he springs free. Goal. Stoian a yellow card and…….half. We are up 2-0 and looking better than they as well. In the next half, they lean back hard. I send in Traore, Eckhardt and Kubik. We hold and win 2-0 and MOM is Schlocobiert.

[Abe Sargent]

EURO – Group Stage #3 – Away vs Sevilla – Heading into today’s matchup, we both have 6 points against two enemies in OM and Q that don’t have any. I’m not winning on the road and we all know it. Assuming that we lose today and OM wins, that means that at th end of the first half of the Group, we’ll be Sevilla – 9, us 6, OM 3, and Q 0. So I am going in knowing that I ain’t winning today, so I’ll playing defensive, and try to be respectable. If I can steal a tie, an away goal, something, then I’d be happy, but we all know that this is likely the first loss on our EURO career this campaign. We lose 2-1. But we should have won. Early, Mitrea got a card, and I choose to pull him rather than risk double caradge. They foul us, and my backup PK couldn’t sink it. We gave away a own goal (Kubik) and then scored (Antov) off a IFK. Can’t fault you lads for your efforts! Antov was MOM.


Our facility expansions have finished! Oh and OM won 5-0 over Q.

[Abe Sargent]

Basano Game #13 – Away vs Craiova – This is the perfect time to paly them away, they just sacked their manager and are sitting at 8th. With his suspension, Cartagena is replaced by Traore today. Each yellow by Etebo. We are in control of the game but we are just flirting with scoring, we haven’t actually seduced the goal yet. Then in the 43d, off an IFK, Mitrea feeds Stoian for goal. I’ll take a set piece score right now. I’ll take any score right now. Half. Guard against complacency! Please! Traore to Gimenez for goal in the 51st. Thanks! I ease back to countering as Craiova move forward. I send in Petre, Eckhardt. Yellow for Traore. I pull him for Kubik. We win 2-0. MOM is Stoian.

This is the first time a GK has at least 12 clean sheets in a season across all completions - Good job Colombi!


Table at the halfway mark of the regular season





Well there you are. We are 13 points in front of Astra at #2.

You can also see the goal list, average rating, and assists, as well as MOM, and clean sheets, and we have our player at the top of them all. Colombi has been a big improvement over Rimniceanu.

In 23 games, inkling Basano, EURO, and the Super Cup, he has 15 goals allowed, and 12 clean sheets. Not bad, right?


Mitrea finishes a coaching course- we send him on another,.

We have the selection for the Romanian Cup and we get a lower level club next.


5th Round: Romanian Cup – Away at Industria Galda – I start Ivano Maio at Gk today. I am amlso starting Traore, Tandia (back from his injury), youther David Farcas, and Kubik. We win 5-0. MOM is Gimenez who had all of the goals. Every single goal.