FM Dynasty - Hungarian Nights, Balmazújvárosi Days - Now with U.S. Sassuolo

[Abe Sargent]

That was Berardi’s 250th league appearance!
That’s a few shut outs in a row, by the by.

I promote from my U20 squad Matteo Maffezzoli 21 years old DC and 21 year old DM/MC Alessio Acquafresca.

I transfer list 22 year old Simone Franchini



Serie Game #8 – Home vs Bari – I begin controlling, so I’ll lose badly…

Notes

10th Minute – Politano crosses nasilty to Babacar for goal
HALF – Close in stats. Don’t get complacent!
51st Minute – They score of an IFK
Marchizza for Acerbi; Dickmann for a carded Lirola
72nd Minute – They score off a counter – I move to attacking
Garcia for Ferrari

We cannot score and lose 1-2 to a relegation favorite.

[Abe Sargent]

Serie Game #9 – Away vs Fiorentina – I begin countering,

Notes

17th Minute – Cross by FB Lirola to Babacar for goal
40th Minute – On a counter, Politano feeds Babacar for goal
HALF
Marchezza for Ferrari; Garcia for a carded Acerbi; Sensi for Vicente
Berardi a late card as well as Matsuidi

We win 2-0, MOM is Babacar

[Abe Sargent]

Serie Game #10 – Home vs Genoa – I begin controlling

Notes

They get a card in the 2nd minute
HALF – I’m far from pleased….
Leandrinhino for Berardi; Sensi for Pires; Marchizza for Ferrari
Matuidi a late card
We tie 0-0. MOM is Leandrinhio

[Abe Sargent]

Now let’s look at the Serie A table after 10



Here is everyone after 10. As you can see, our 5 wins and 3 ties has given us 18 points for a solid 6th, which is where I’d hope I’d be after Season 1, in the last guaranteed EURO spot. Not bad, and we finished 11th last year, so we are playing well thus far.

Now, let’s do a deep dive of my starting 11 after 10 since all of these players are new to me

GK Karius – 6.88 rating, 6 shuts out
DC Acerbi – 6.93
DC Ferrari - 6.97
DR Lirola – 7.33 rating, nice
DL Clyne – 6.97 rating

My defenders, save for Lirola, are all with high 6s.

DMC Matudi – 7.07 rating
MC Vicente – 7.12, 1 assist
MC Pires – 7.27, 1 asst

Our three central middles all have solid 7+ ratings. Pires is very nice.

AMR Berardi – 7.20, 3 goals, 4 asst
AML Politano – 7.23, 2 goals, 3 asst
ST Babacar – 7.65 rating, 9 goals, 2 asst

Good stuff from my attack as well.

As a reminder, I inherited Acerbi, Ferrari, Lirola, Brardi, Politano and Babacar.

[Abe Sargent]

November

2nd – Away vs AC Milan
8th – Home vs Juventus
21st – Away vs Napoli
28th – Home vs Empoli

Good Training – Vicente

I talk to my board and…



We get new training facilities!

But not youth…



Serie Match #11 Away vs AC Milan – I begin countering.

Notes

HALF
49th – They score
57th Minute – Berardi feeds Babacar on a counter for goal to tie it
Sensi for a carded Matuidi; Garcia for Clyne; Bessa for Vincente
82nd Minute – Pires feeds an attacking Politano for goal – can we hold on to win?
84th Minute - They score on a counter

We tie 2-2. MOM is Politano

[Abe Sargent]

Matuidi is banned for the next match, Sensi will start

Serie Match #12 – Home vs Juventus – I begin countering

Notes

They are carded in the 3rd
Sensi an early card and I pull him for Bessa
HALF – Can I keep up a tie? We only have 3 fewer shots.
Leandrhino for Politano; Dickmann for Lirola
Dickmann a late card
0-0 tie. MOM is Clyne. I’ll take it

[Abe Sargent]

Serie Match #13 – Away vs Napoli – I begin countering again

Notes

4th Minute – Pires feeds Politano for goal! Nice start
21st Minute – They tie it
29th Minute – On an IFK, Politano feeds Acerbi to score
35th Minute – Babcar’s header hits Berardi for goal and we’re up 3-1
38th Minute – Pires sinks a DFk. WOW
HALF – What do you say when you are up 4-1 away against Napoli? Nothing!
Marchizza for Ferarri; Fratessi for Vicente; Bessa for Matuidi
82nd Minute – Politano drives to the corner on a counter, crosses to Berardi for goal
87th Minute – Bessa feeds Babacar on an attack run, goal

We win…SIX TO ONE over the #2 team Napoli in their home! MOM is Berardi

See!




Wow! And remember, I inherited this offense! Now sure I changed my tactics around those three to make them work from the default last yar, but…dang!

[Abe Sargent]

I find my new DMC that I can build up around 34 year old DMC. He;s a 16 year old Italian wonderkid who plays for Pescara named Francesco Arena. We have agreed to a 6 mill deal and 50% profit of next sale. Is he willing to come?

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

Serie Game #14 – Home vs Empoli - I begin controlling

Notes

They have three cards in the first 17 minutes
21st Minute – Babacar heads the ball to Politano for goal.
HALF – Don’t get complacent
60th - Clyne scores on a corner kick

We win 2-0, MOM is Clyne



December

December 3 – Away vs Bari, Cup
December 7 – Away vs Bologna
December 13 – Home vs Udinese
December 20 – Away vs Lasio
December 27 – Home vs Palermo

Good Training – Vicente, Pires

[Abe Sargent]

Italian Cup – Away vs Bari – Countering, revenge!

Notes

13th Minute – Lirola feeds Politano on an attack run for goal
26th Minute – They tie back
HALF – We can still win this!
Marchizza for Acerbi; Berardi for Leaandrinhio; Sensi for Vicente
End of 90 minutes
92nd Minute – They gift me an OG. I’ll take it
Lirola a card
HALF
109th Minute – They score in a counter to tie things

PKs
They make theirs
Politano…is blocked!

They make theirs
Babacar sinks

They sink
Sensi…sinks

They hit
Marchizza…is blocked and they win and we are out of the Cup.

[Abe Sargent]

Arena joins with us in the winter break! That removes my major budget for the year at transfers

We are tied with Torino at 26 points with a game to go as we play last. If we win we’ll move cleanly into 5th by three points rather than being tied with them at 5th.

Serie Game #15 Away vs Bologna – I begin countering

Notes

Babacar an early card, I’ll leave him in
20th Minute – Berardi feeds Babacar for goal
HALF – Don’t get complacent!
I pull Lirola after a card for Dickmann; Politnao is carded, in goes Leandrinho
59th Minute – A bad clearance by Acerbi gives them goal
Marchezzi for Acerbi
Dickmann a card
85th Minute – They score off a rebound
Five minutes – we don’t score

We lose 1-2, and stay at 6th with Torino and that’s our third Serie A loss this year

[Abe Sargent]

I pull Franchini off my transfer list since he’s trained at the club.

The 18.5 mill we spent this year is a record for the club, we previously spent 13.75


Serie A Game #16 – Home vs Udinese – I begin controlling – vengeance!!!

Notes

They get a card in the 3rd minute and another in the 16th another in the 37th
42nd Minute – They score off a corner
HALF – Show me something else!
47th Minute – They get a double booking. I move my 11 vs 10
52nd Minute – Lirola feeds Politano for goal
61st Minute – Berardi to Babacar for goal
66th Minute – Pires to Matsudi for goal
Sensi for a carded Matsuidi; Marchizza for Ferarri; Garcia for Clyde
We hold and win 3-1 and MOM is Lirola

[Abe Sargent]

Torino lost and we are now solely in 5th.


Serie A Game #17 – Away vs Lasio – I begin countering

Notes

We injure one of their middies
13thMinute – They injure Babacar in the box and Berardi…sinks the PK
35th Minute - They score off a rebound
I pull Pirola after he s carded for Dickmann
HALF – Not bad…
Christieg for Ckyder, card by Babacar and Berardi
90th Minute – Chiristieg from Babacar for goal
We win 2-1 narrowly, MOM is on their team

[Abe Sargent]

Lirola is suspended for the next match Dickmann starts for him

Serie A Game #18 – Home vs Palermo – they are 1st in the league, and we begin standard – vengeance!

Notes

Dickmann an early card, I send in…Garcia and swap him and Clyde.
17th Minute - Vicente feeds Berardi for a goal on an attack run
19th Minute – Acerbi to Babacar on a corner kick
31st Minute – Garcia gives up a PK and they…sink it
I injure one of their players and they head off
HALF – Don’t get complacent
47th Minute – They score a long shot and tie it
52nd Minute – They get a red card on a professional foul on Babacar
Marchizza for Ferrari; Leandrinho for Politano
2-2 tie against the top team in the league I’ll take – MOM is on their team

[Abe Sargent]

Replace Dickmann with Lirola

Here’s the Standings after the Halfway mark:



As you can see, after our tie, we are in 5th by one point over Torino, but 4 under Inter at 4th.

[Abe Sargent]

Babacar came in 2nd in African Striker of the Year!


January

3rd – Away at Perugia
10th – Away at Sampdoria
24th – Home vs Torino
31st – Away at Atalanta

Good training – Vicente and Pires


The Transfer window lifts

Here’s Arena




As you can see, this guy has a nice work rate and he’ll be my big backup behind Matuidi. I move him to my subs.

I link up Sensi and Arena.

[Abe Sargent]

I confirm my season expectations of Top Half although o get 2 more mill transfer most and 75k per week if I go to EURO.

I check to see if any new people are free that I want to bring in for free. Nope.

Serie Game #19 – Away at Perugia – I begin countering

Notes
They get a card in the 3rd minute
Pires a card in the 12th and I send in Sensi
Clyne a card, Garcia in
HALF – Show me something else
60th Minute – IFK, Ferrari to Lirola
66th Minute – Berardi sinks a PK
We hold and win 2-0 MOM is Berardi

[Abe Sargent]

At the Winter Break, Balmaz is currently…6th….weird

They got rid of GK Rimniceanu to the subs, MC Vicente obv, ST Dodoi, German defenders Kempf and Diekmeier, their starters they retained are Ross, Jung, Rodriguez, Dinga, Mendes,they moved to DC already on the team Safar, Allison, Barker and Baranowski.


Lazio are interested in my backup GK. We agree to 850k

Serie Game #20 – Away at Sampdoria – I begin countering. This is Babacar’s 125th game for us!

Notes

Lirola a card and I send in Dickmann
HALF – Nope!
58th – they score offside
Leandrinho for Politano
Sensi for Vincente
0-0 tie. They had 18 shots and we shut them down. MOM is on their team

[Abe Sargent]

Inter lost to Juve so we gained a point on them.

My Head of Youth Development has made an offer to bring in Jacob Baranowski, for 1 mill, which is accepted, not sure what he’s doing…

Luckily my Head of Youth Development ends at the end of the year.

Maybe he made an offer because he was on my short list?

We sell our backup GK and now I need to look for a replacement

Let’s start with free GKs from the EU.

None are free that I care about, and none that I like to develop for free with a hot prospect deal How about non-Eu? Nope. What about EU’s transfer listed for a mill or less? I make an offer at 230k for Spanish Andrés Prieto from Malaga.We agree to a backup offer for 2 years.

Baranowski joins, I send him on a detailed Italian course. He’s a hot prospect with a 5.5k/week contract.

Wanna see my new backup GK?



Here you go! As you can see the dude is 2.5 stars just like y old backup.

Matuidi bagged his coaching license

Karius with 11 shuts out has tied the club record.

Do I accept an offer from Inter for Ferrari? For 3.5 mill now and 1.4 mill in installments and 1.5 after 50 games. Meh. I was probably going to move on from the guy at the end of the year, but he has rated 6.90 with 20 league games with 11 shuts out. He’s only 3 stars. Can I find a good replacement?

I pull the 50 games 1.5 and raise the installments to 2.6 and counter. They accept. That will give me time to find a replacement.

[Abe Sargent]

How about DC Pedro Bigas Spanish, 30, transfer listed asking price is 350k. I scout him.

How about DC Italtian 30 year old Nicola Rigoni? He is transfer listed for… 1.1 mill

I offer to Bigas. He’s a backup in the Spanish league I’m sure he’d be happy with a rotation deal here.

Inter tied Atalanta

Serie game #21 – Home vs Torino - This is a big one! I start countering because even though I’m home I don’t trust myself. I hand Prieto 22

Notes

We injure one of their fullbacks
HALF – Okay, we have 6 shots to their 8
60th Minute – Berardi drives the corner on a counter and crosses to Politano for goal
62nd Minute – They get a second booking,
Leandrinhio for Babacar
67th Minute – They score off a counter
Marchizza for Ferrari
Garcia for Acerbi
5 Minutes – Can we score?
94:51 mark – Politano feeds Pires for goal!!!

We hold and win 2-1!!! MOM is Pires

[Abe Sargent]

That win moves us up to 4th, with 40 points tied with Napoli but we beat them 6-1 so we have the tie breaker. Napoli lost to Juventus.


Bigas agrees to my rotation offer

We sell Ferrari.

The 21.5 mill in fees we got on the transfer market sets a new high, our previous high was 15.5

Bigas joins us




Here he is. He is a patch until we can find a better starter, he’s fine in stats like marking and heading and tackling. We only have him for a year and a half.

[Abe Sargent]

We have put some distance between us and Torino at 6th with 7 points between us.


Inter lost to Napoli.

Matuidi is studying another coaching coarse.

Serie Game #22 – Away vs Atalanta – They are back at 19th but Ill be countering still. I have Bigas number 19 – big rain

Notes

7th Minute – Off a corner kick, Pires feeds Matsuidi for goal
35th Minute – Berardi to Politano on an attack run for goal.
HALF – Nice!
60th Minute – Babacar and Berardi back and forth and Babacar scores
I send in Leandranho, Sensi and Garcia
We hold and win 3-0, MOM is Politano.

On his debut, Bigas had a shut out, and a 7.70 rating!

That is a record 12 shut outs for the team

[Abe Sargent]

That win moves us into 3rd

February

1st – Window Closes
7th – Home vs Inter
14th – Home vs Cremonsa
21st - Away vs Cagliari

Good training – Vicente, Pires

Transfer Deadline Arrives –

It passes quietly for us

Serie Match #23 – Home vs Inter – This is a big one. We begin countering. Vengeance!

Notes

I pull a booked Lirola for Dickmann
28th Minute – They score
HALF – Show me something else
Arena for Matuidi; Leandrinho for Babacar – I move to control
2 Minutes – Can we score?
We lose 1-0. They had 15 shots to our 12. We were swept by Inter so if we are tied in points they will have the higher ranking


That loss dropped us to 4th and Inter 3rd - we are tied with Napoli at 5th with points.

[Abe Sargent]

Serie Game #24 – Home vs Cremonese – they are 19th, I begin controlling

Notes

21st Minute – Vincente connects with a long shot by Berardi
46th Minute – Corner kick, Vicente intercepts a tackle and scores another long shot
HALF – Don’t get complacent!
48th Minute – They score on a counter
76th Minute – Pires a long shot from Vicente that rifles off the GK for goal
79th Minute – They score on a corner – that’s 3-2 will they tie?
93rd Minute -Berardi scores a PK.
We win 4-2 and MOM is Vicente

[Abe Sargent]

Vincente wants to negotiate a new deal and I agree. I make him a first team offer four 4 years.

Serie Game #25 – Away vs Cagliari - I begin countering – they are 17th but I still will want to be professional

Notes

14th Minute – They score off a long shot
HALF – Nope
Garcia for Clyne
66th Minute – Pires to Matsudi ties it!
Leandrinho for Babacar
Marchezzi for Bigas
6 Minutes – Can we score?
Nope, we tie 1-1 and dropped points against the top talent against a 17 team

Matuidi is MOM

[Abe Sargent]

Here is the table after 25



Juve just moved into first for the first time this season, and we are still 4th but dropped points against Napoli.

Vicente signed his new first team deal for 4 years that pays him 14/kweek – he has risen to 3.5 stars and Pires to 4 stars

Serie Game #26 – Home vs Roma – I begin standard, they are 8th so I won’t open with controlling

Notes

HALF – That was a fast half. No one has any shots on target.
48th Minute – Politano intercepts the ball and feeds Babacar for goal
I ease back to counter
62nd Minute – Our goal is called offsides
Ricci for Berardi
Sensi for Vicente
Marchizza for Bigas
4 Minutes – can we hold? We do and win 1-0. Another shut out. MOM is Clyne

[Abe Sargent]

I make a million from an old deal that had 50 starts

Napoli lose to Lazio

March

7th – Away vs Bari
14th – Home vs Florintino
20th – Away vs Genoa

Good Training – Pires, Vicente, Arena

We have a new intake of youth players!



Any wonderkids or potential studs? I start with Tarabelloni. He has a work rate of17 but just a 3 start potential. Anyone else that jumps out?

Not really. Any amazing wonderkids that I might want to put on my shortlist?

[Abe Sargent]

A few on major teams like a stud GK for Napoli and DC for Juventus that won’t come here or a stud DL for Juve.

Serie Game #27 – Away vs Bari – I begin countering for the team we are 0-2 against. Vengeance!

Notes

27th Minute – Berardi intercepts a ball and scores
HALF – Don’t get complacent - we have 13 shots to their 1
Marchizza for Bigas; Leandrinho for Babacar; Arena for Matsuidi
5 Minutes – Can we hold on?
92nd Minute – They score an equalizer
1-1 tie, another dropping of points

Bari are our Kryptonite.

[Abe Sargent]

Juve lost to Sampdoria 2-0. That opens up the top for Palermo again. They win 3-2 over Empoli and move back in first.

Serie Game – #28 – Home vs Florintino – I begin controlling, it’s driving rain

Rules

21st Minute – They score
Garcia for a booked Clyne
Dickmann for a carded Lirola
41st Minute – Berardi feeds Politano for goal.
HALF – Nope – they have just two shots, one on target
Garcia a card, I send in… Marchizza and swap him with Bigas
1-1 tie. Dropping more points.

[Abe Sargent]

Napoli won and pulled two points closer.

Serie Game #29 – Away vs Genoa – I begin countering.

42nd Minute – Politano feeds Babacar for goal on a throw in
HALF – Don’t get complacent!
Arena for Matuidi
65th Minute – They foul Pires in the box and Berardi steps up and…it’s blocked! Uh oh
Ricci for Berardi
Sensi for Vicente
4 Minutes – Can we hold? Yup, wee win 1-0, MOM is on their team

Napoli won 4-0 and Inter at 3 won so they still are 4 points above us

[Abe Sargent]

I offer to extend Matuidi by a year whose deal was just a one year patch, and Marchizza and a few hot prospects.

April

4th – Home vs AC Milan
11th – Away vs Juventus
17th – Home vs Napoli
21st – Home vs Empoli
25th – Home vs Bologna

Good training – Vicente and Pires

I offer Berardi a new deal. He’s playing at a 7.25 rating and he’s one of my homegrown players at the club.

Napoli and Inter won

Matuidi signs

Serie Game #30 – Home vs AC Milan – I begin standarding

Notes

29th Minute – They score
HALF – Show me something else!
Marchizza for Bigas; Sensi for Vicente; Garcia for Acerbi
5 Minutes – Can we tie?
94th Minute – Sensi gives up a PK which…Karius blocks!

We lose 0-1. That’s our first loss in a while

[Abe Sargent]

Here’s the table after 30!



As you can see, Palermo is still at the top spot, and we only have three points that separate us and Napoli from 4th in Champions and 5th for EURO, and we have back to back games against Juve and Napoli coming which means we might not hold that for long. Inter has moved well in front of us. There are 8 games left!

[Abe Sargent]

Marchizza signs

Berardi signs 4 years for 89k/week.

Inter defeated our Nemesis 2-0 Bari

Serie A Game #31 – Away vs Juve – Uh oh, I begin countering. We tied them at home 2-2 earlier this year. This is Acerbi’s 250th league appearance

Notes

35th Minute – They score
Card for Matuidi
Half – I send in Arena – we have 7 shots to their 9
Dickmann for a carded Lirola
60th Minute – They get a red card!
Marchizza for Bigas
Card for Dickmann
4 Minutes
93rd Minute – They score on a corner kick

We lose 0-2, another shut out by us.

[Abe Sargent]

Napoli won and we are now tied.

Serie Game #32 – Home vs Napoli – I begin standarding, if we lose we drop from 4th to 5th by 3 points. If we tie or win we remain in 4th in a Champion’s spot.

Notes

We injure one of their middies they stay in
45th Minute – They score off a counter on this first shot on target
HALF – Nope! I have 7 shots to their 6
48th Minute – They score again
Leandrinho for a carded Babacar
We have our first shot on target in the 61st
Sensi for Vicente
73rd Minute – They get a red card, I push forward – come on let’s at least score one goal…
Garcia for Bigas
Pires a card
4 Minutes…Game we are shut out three games in a row and lose 0-2.
Napoli jumps past us into 4th.

[Abe Sargent]

Three losses in a row suck – especially when we were doing so well…

Torino in 6th catching up with us lost as well. We are still 5 points up on them, and 7 on 7th with 6 games left.

Palermo defeated Inter to remain in 1st 1-0



Serie A Game #33 – Away at Empoli – I begin countering – can we get back to our winning ways? Will we score again?

Notes

HALF – We have 9 shots 6 on target to their 5 and 2.
Marzchizza for Bigas; Leandrinho for Babacar; Sensi for Vincente
4 Minutes…

We tie 0-0 another shut out by my offense and defense. MOM is on their team

I move Marchezzi to start for Bigas for a few games

We now have 3 ties and 3 losses in the last 6 games, and have gone 6 games in arow without a win

Palermo, Juve, and Napoli all won.

[Abe Sargent]

Serie A Game #34 – Home vs Bologna – I begin standarding – vengeance!

Notes

Leandrinho for a carded Babacar
HALF – Nope!
47th Minute – Politano drives a corner and crosses to Leandrinho for goal – we won’t be shut out today!
Garcia for Marchezzi, Sensi for Vicente
3 Minutes can we hold on? We can! We win 1-0, MOM is Politano

Inter won

Ready for the top table with 4 games left?





This is with a game left that got pushed back by the Italian cup by Inter, AC Milan, Roma and Fiorentina. As you can see, we are very comfortably in 5th with Napoli up 5 points in 4th and Sampdoria down 4 points in 6th. Palermo lost and Juve tied against Roma since the last showing and they are now just one game apart.

[Abe Sargent]

May

2nd – Away vs Udinese
9th – Home vs Lazio
16th – Away vs Palermo
23 – Home vs Perugia

Good training – Arena, Berardi, Vicente

Serie A Game #35 – Away vs Udinese – I begin countering

Notes

1:28 – Matuidi feeds Vincente for goal -that’s our earliest score in this campaign thus far
Card by Matuidi, Arena heads in
HALF – We each have 4 shots – don’t get complacent
Garcia for abooked Clyne
62nd Minute – A double booking for them, I push forward
Ricci for Berardi
81st Minute – IFK – Politano to Acerbi, goal
4 Minutes – can we hold?

We win 2-0. Tha’ts our third straight shut out in a row and my first multi-goal win in a long time, see?





Vincente is MOM! Three games left.

We qualify for the EURO!

[Abe Sargent]

Napoli won

Clyne is banned for the next match and Garcia will start for him

Baranowski and Derbali are called up for the U20 World Cup

I move up two players from the U20 squad that are now 21 - Alessandro Tripaldelli plays DL and has 2 stars and Giacomo Satalino who plays Gk and is 2 stars

Serie A Game #36 – Home vs Lazio – We begin standard

Notes

43rd Minute – They score off the crossbar
HALF – Nope – I move to control, they only have 3 shots and one on target but we only have 5
60th Minute – They intercept a pass by Berardi and score
Dickmann for Lirola; Arena for Matuidi; Berardi is injured and I send in Riccci for him
5 Minutes – Can we score and keep another shut out? Nope

We lose 0-2

Napoli tied

I return Clyne to start

Berardi is out for two weeks and will miss the rest of the season, Ricci will start for him

Palermo won and Juve tied.

[Abe Sargent]

Babacar is called up by Senegal; Arena and Vicente are called up by Italy and Spain respectively for the Euro U21.

Juve tied Genoa; Napoli won.

Serie A Game #37 – Away at Palermo – Uh Oh. I begin defensively. We tied the league leaders at home earlier this season. Woodshed time! If we win Palermo will still be #1 with the Juve tie.

Notes

29th minute – Norbert Balogh, on my Hungary National Squad, scores
HALF – No thanks
Dickmann for Ricci; Arena for Matuidi; Garcia for a carded Lirola
3 Minutes – Can we score late?
We lose 0-1, MOM is Balogh. Well good for him I suppose. Anyways, we lose close, but I hate two more shuts out of my O and losses in a row.
Good Effort!!!

Palermo have won the Serie A!

[Abe Sargent]

With just one point between us and Sampdoria at 6 we could fall, but we are locked into no less than 6th and EURO.

Italian Cup Final

Napoli
Vs
Juventus

Napoli wins 2-0. Nice! That means Juve didn’t win the Serie A or the Cup

Uh oh…our owner announces his retirement…

Lirola is suspended for this match and I’ll start Dickmann

Series A Game #38 – Home vs #20 Perugia – I begin controlling – this is Politano’s 200th game for us

Notes

7th Minute – Politano feeds Babacar for goal in a nasty cross – that’s his first goal in games
15th Minute – They score back. Uh oh
Ricci an early card and I send in Pierini for him
Dickmann an early card, I send in Garcia
25th Minute – They score again
Garcia a card – Bigas heads in
Clyne a card
HALF – That was a busy half
Matuidi a card
Pierini a card
59th Minute – They score again on an DFK
Acerbi a card
We lose 3-1, seven cards! Wow. That’s a game we won’t speak of again

Final table



We backed into 5th but I wanted to get to the EUROs in year 1 and we did. Good job Palermo! Roma finishes in EURO and Torino isn’t in.

[Abe Sargent]

First Team Overview

I will be ranking these 1-3.

GK Karius – 27 years, German, 6.91 rating, 16 clean sheets in Serie A, 3.5 stars, 2 – I brought him in and he started fast with 6 shut outs in 10 games, but then he faded and had a lot of games down the stretch where he was just okay and allowed goals with just a few shots on target.

DC Acerbi – 33 years old 3 star rating, 6.97 rating, one year left on deal – 2 - I inherited Acerbi and my goal is to replace him and Ferrari’s spot, but I might only be able to find one space

DC Bigas – 31 years old, 3 star rating, 6.67, 1 – looking actively to replace him

DR Lirola – 23 years old, 3.5 stars, 7.14 rating, 3 – he played well and he’s a homegrown player at the Club

DL Clyne – 30 years old, 3.5 stars, 6.94 rating – 2 – he was fine, but he takes up a precious non-EU spot on my roster

DMC Matuidi – 1/3 – 34 years old, 3.5 stars, 7.02 rating, 4 goals 1 assst, singed for another year already have Arena to replace

MC Vicente – 20 years old, 3, 3.5 stars and growing, 3 goals, 3 asssit, 7.05 rating

MC Pires – 19 years old, 3, 4 stars and growing, 3 goals, 6 assist, 7.20 rating 3 - solid

AML Politano – 27 years old, 3.5 star rating, 7.26 rating, 9 goals 13 assist – 3 solid

AMR Berardi – 26 – Homegrown player, 4 stars, 3 - no desire to move from him.12 goals, 11 ass, 7.13

ST Babacar – 28, 3.5 stars, 7.05 rating, 18 goals 5 assist, 2 – Older, but was fine


Politano was my highest rated player, and Pires right behind

[Abe Sargent]

5th is the highest we’ve ever been, our previous high was 6th

Karius was 3rd best GK in the Series

Stats

Politanos 5 MOMs were tied for 7th most

Dist Covered – Pires 1st, Politano 2nd, Vicente 7th
Dis Cover/90 – Politano 5th
Politano 7th with rating; Pires 16th best
Headers Won – Acerbi 9th
Goals – Babacar tied for 5th
Avg Min per Goal – Babacar 9th
Shots – Babacar 5th
Shots on Target – Babacar 10th
On Target % - Politano 6th
Asst – Politano 3rd; Berardi 7th
Key Passes – Babacar 4th, Politano 5th
Chances Created – Politano 3rd
Pass Completio – Vicente 3rd, Matudi 8th
Drib/Game – Politano 5th
Key Headers Acerbi 9th
Shots Blocked – Pires 9th
Shutouts – Karius 3rd
Saves Held – Karius 4th


We scored 56 goals and were tied with Juve for 5th most
We allowed 33 and were 3rd best

[Abe Sargent]

Our initial budget next year is 945k and 15.71 transfer



End of Season Awards. You can see the players Team of the Year, their fav (Politano, Berardi and Pires) their goal of the season and the signing of the year which is Pires’s.

I hold my End of the Year meeting and tell them we’ll get EURO again

Let’s head to Austria for training camp!

The players complain to me about a bad locker room feeling, I hold a meeting

Matsuidi bags another coaching license

[Abe Sargent]

My Goals


Year One
1. Get to a place where I can threaten for a EURO spot in 5-7. Just getting 6th would increase our table ranking by 5. DONE
Year Two
2. Earn qualification for the EURO DONE
3. Do some serious damage in the EURO as a Italian squad
4. Get a Champion’s qual spot in 4-1
5. Do some damage in the Champion’s league
6. Win a cup
7. Win Serie A

We only need more consistency to rise from #5 to #4.

[Chas in Cinti]

So glad to see this back... We needed a sports sim dynasty again!

[Abe Sargent]

This were my new additions to the Senior Squad and key additions to U20 and u18

I sold three starters, an MC Alfred Duncan that was rated 3.5 for 10 mill before I brought in replacements and DC Ferrari rated 2.5 for 5 mill in January, and GK Andrea for 1.4 mill after I brought in Karius, and Ondrej Duda a rotation 2.5 stars for 3.2 mill, and my backup GK was sold in Winter

I purchased these players to start:

GK Karius – 6 mill from Liverpool
MC Jose Vicente – 2.5 mill, Balmaz, wonderkid, started
MC Pires – 1 mill from Braga, wonderkid, started
DC Farfan – 2.9 mill from Atletico National, wonderkid, loaned to Roma for the year, started, had a 6.79 rating non EU from Columbia he was capped this year

These players were added for free

DMC Matuidi
DL Clyne
DR Mathias, 17 years old, on my U18 squad, Belgium, 1.5 stars, 4.5 star rating, wonderkid but low work rate.

Winter
DMC Arena – 6 mill from Pescara, wonderkid, sub future starter
DC Bigas – 350k rotation, 3 stars
DM/M/AM C Baronowski – 1 mill from Balmaz, on my U20 team, 2 stars, 4.5 star potential
Backup GK Pries – 2.5 stars, 230k

Ideally I want to find more Pires’s to build my squad around – 1 mill, 7.20 rating, 4 stars and growing, but that might be overkill.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Chas in Cinti

So glad to see this back... We needed a sports sim dynasty again!

You know it!!!

[Abe Sargent]

Homegrown Players at Our Team Update

Here are my current Homegrown Players at our Team we need 4 of to make our team

Starters:

Lirola
Berardi

Rotation/Backups

MC Franchini – 1.5 stars
DC Erlic – 1.5 stars



Hot Prospects/Youngsters

AM RL Pierini – 2 stars
ST Cappa – 2 stars
DC/MC - Alessio Acquafresca – 1.5 stars
DC Matteo Maffezzoli – 1.5 stars
MC/DM Davide Frattesi – 1.5 stars

I need to keep these in my Senior Squad.

[Abe Sargent]

Ideally, here is what I am looking for for my next Squad:

Every starter having at least 3.5 stars (this would preclude Acerbi and Bigas) and all of my key subs being 3 stars. That’s true for Sensi at MC (3 stars) and Acerbi/Bigas if I dropped them but these key subs are not 3 stars:

Garcia – 2.5 stars
Dickmann – 2.5 stars
Marchezzi – 2.5 stars
Ricci – 2.5 stars

And then my loanee at AMRLST Leandrinho is heading home.

That means I need to bring in:

Striker backup better than 2 stars
AMLR better than Ricci
DR/L backup better than Garcia and Dickmann

At DC Farfan is sitting at 3.5 stars, but I was unable to add him to my squad, so I loaned him out for a year. There is nothing that says you can only have one non-EU player in your team, but this is my first time in Italy and their rules are pretty byzantine for an EU nation.




No where does it mention EU players.

Ideally many of my sub additions will be Italian so that we’ll be at 8 in the country.

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s start by looking at players coming free in a month

I scout DL/C Spanish Mario Hermoso for a rotation deal
I scout DR/DC Italian Kevin Bonifazi for a rotation deal
I scout ST French Enzo Crivelli for a rotation deal

No AML/R are good enough to scout up.

What about transfer listed?

None at ST for a backup; I have some that would be around Babacar level of ability
There is a decent non-Italy EU wingers. I make a 1.2 mill offer to Belgian AM RL Theo Bongonda.

I make an offer for Crivelli and Hermoso for rotation deals

Theo will join us at the transfer window!

[Abe Sargent]

Hermoso will join us

Arena enjoyed his link up with Sensi



Whoa! Napoli failed to qualify for the Champions Cup due to financial regularities so we get their spot! I don;t know how to massage that with my goals...

Criveli joins us.

I decline an offer for Karius.

No changes in the 3rd rating in Serie A after Spain and Englerland.

We made 11.5 mill last year – helped by me being almost 100k under the salary

I decline more offers for Karius

No pushback

I extend a bunch of staff but I’ll let my AssMan go I don’t like him that much

Baranowski made it to the Finals for Germany

AS Monaco have made a large offer for Karius – 10 mill, 4 mill than we spent for him…I’ll still reject it, but I’m tempted

I select my squad for Vienna’s training camp