From Madeira With Love (FM2014 Dynasty) Finished!!! Check out stats and final stuff!!

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by britrock88

Madeira, OH.

Got it, thanks!



EDIT - Sorry about that Lathum! But I think it's hilarious that a club on an island that is actually a part, geographically, of Africa, is disrupting European football. From Madeira with Love! Raise a glass of Poncha in the warm waters to celebrate!

[Abe Sargent]

Today we host Leverkusen. The vital away goal off a set piece is crucial to today. Win and we are in. Tie, and we are in. They have not been doing so well in the domestic league and are not rocking a high morale right now. We are. We have Franco at DL and all of the starters in their expected places. The first win doesn’t mean anything, go out there and take control of this match!!! We almost had a score in the 8th by Rocker. They score early in the 11th. But Rodrigues is fired up and all of the pitch. He assists Stepinski in the 25th. I edge to control late in the half. 1-1 at the half. Room for improvement folks! Franco collects a booking. Lansbury finds Costa for a score off a corner in the 56th. I pull the carded Franco for Pflugler and then swap him with Komorski. Back to Standard. Then counter as they move forward. Next sub is Holenda. Then Rui P late. And that’s it. We win 2-1, MOM is Costa, and we made it to the next Knock-Out round. God bye Leverkusen


We won 3.5 mill

We are in the Quarter Finals of Champions Play again. This is as far as we’ve made it before.

[Abe Sargent]

No changes to my roster for the away game at Maritimo, which we’ll begin countering. They score fast and we keep them out of the net for the rest of the half 1-0. I chastise them at the half. Off an IFK, Driussi hits Komorski for a score. Komorski to Rocker who smashes it to Driussi with the score in the 63rd. I sub in Maxi P for Franco and swap him and Rodrigues on the field Rocker hits the goal in the 73rd off a Stepinski pass. Retain possession, slow down. Carlos and Pfluger are also subbed in for today’s 3-1 victory on the road but right here in Funchal Madeira against our rival. MOM is Driussi. Did brilliantly to come back!!

Our new intake of youth players arrive. Any studly studs? Any new Costas or Rodrigueses? (I ask that question every year…)

Not really. We just have one guy with any value at all it seems – MR and AMR 15 year old Jose Paiva, with a 3 star rating. No one else has more than a 2 star rating, and just two folks have that. Ah well we can’t always get a nice hit.

Ruiz and Driussi in Team of Week


Porto has advanced.

I sign the suggested youthers.

[Abe Sargent]

Champions Cup Quarter Finals:


Man Utd vs FC Bayern
Paris St-Germain vs Porto
Barcelona vs Real Madrid
Clube Desportivo Nacional vs Olympique Lyonnais

So we have two battles of France vs Portugal.

From my youth squad, AMC MC Antonia Alves has really come on for us. He just turned 17, I offered him a normal hot prospect deal, and this guy is looking nice.


I call up 24 year old uncapped DC Thabo Moloi to replace a badly injured Anele – out for 5 months. I also pull Manuel Santos for 28 year old uncapped ST Bhongolwethu Jayiya.

9 of our players are called up to the U21 Portugal Squad.


The Vit Gui match is here. They are 5th right now in the league. Win, and we win the league in March. I respect them enough to counter. Lansbury to Stepinski for a goal. Rocker in the 56th from Lansbury pass. They rifle in a late long shot in the 88th. We win 2-1. Not a great match for us. But we won the division. Bit of a let off. MOM is Lansbury.

[Abe Sargent]

We host the first leg of the Semi Finals for the Taca da Portugal against Benfica. They get two bookings in the first 9 minutes, but then they score first off a corner in the 12th. Then another in the 24th. Dang. We’re down 0-2 just like that. I pull back to counter. Rodrigues collects a booking late. They score off a corner in the 46th. Half 3-0 down, at home, against Benfica. Zang guys! Your pride is at stake today! Hassle, mark tighter, Rocker scores in the 73rd after Stepinski tackles the ball from their defender in the box and Rocker stepped on it. And we stunningly lose, 3-1 at home. No excuse for that!!!



Friendly vs South Korea. I start Moloi in Anele’s spot. Rantie nails two goals early, S. Korea shouts one back, all in the first 15. Vilakazi nails a DFK in the 21st. They crawl one back in the 84th. We win 3-2. Mom was Rantie.

[Abe Sargent]

April


6th Home vs Aves
9th – Home vs O. Lyonnais, Champions
12th – Home vs Portimonense
17th – Away vs O. L., Champions
20th – Home vs Braga
24th – Away vs Benfica, Taca da Portugal Semi Final 2nd Leg
27th, Final, Taca da Liga, vs Portimonense


South Africa:

2nd, Friendly at Poland


Ruiz, Sousa and Rocker all impressed in training with no duds.

I win Manager of the Month

I resign Luis Carlos to a new two year deal. I’m not finished with him yet and no one was calling on him.



We arrive at Poland. I begin countering. Motloung goal called off side in the 16th. Theirs in the 24th is not. Thulani Serero with an amazing ball on sides behind the defense to Rantie and we tie it back up in the 28th. Then they head back up again in the 34th. Half. We can still win! They score a corner in the 55th. Then another score in the 58th. We lose 4-1. I’m not happy!!!


On Croatian duty, Marin Komorski injured himself and will be out for a week. I will start Pflugler for him.

[Abe Sargent]

Pfluger to Agra for a score in the 8th against Aves. Stepinski follows. Lansbury to Agra in the 44th. 3-0 at the half. Keep it up. Imbula gives away a Pk and they sink it in the 63rd. They foul Luis Carlos in the 89th in the box. Agra sinks it for his hat trick. We win 4-1. MOM was Agra



If we want to go further into the European Competition, we have to win today against Olympique Lyonnais in our house. Rocker scores in the 4th minute after they tackle Driussi but the ball was lingering tantalizingly. Driussi finds Rocker’s back to the goal, and he flips it on to Stepinski without turning and Stepinski scores in the 12th minute. They foul Driussi as he drives into the box. Stepinski puts us up 3-0 at the 24th. That’s right – WELCOME TO PORTUGAL! Frustrated, they collect a pair of bookings. I love Rodrigues. For example, he was just knocked down and tackled and the ball fell to the other team, but before the other guy could pounce on it, Rodrigues was up and to the ball, because he is that fast. Half. Keep it going counter style! Teikeu in for Imbula, and I slide it to a normal DMC role. Lansbury finds Stepinski for a hat trick in the 67th. Tired, Pflugler heads to the bench for Luis Carlos. Then Holenda arrives. Ruiz bends over backwards to stop a counter attack from hitting home in the 86th. I thought he would break his back he bent so much. You could hear him shout that he was going to blank Lyonnais no matter what! MOM is Stepinski and we win 4-0. I’m very pleased!!!

[Abe Sargent]

Porto win on the road 1-0 as well, so Portugal went 2-0 against France

3 of the Top Ten candidates for Portuguese Best National Player of the Year are from my team – Costa, Rui P, and Rodrigues.


Komorski is back from injury and will start for the Portimonononenenense match. Steppinwolf nails the Rock for a score in the 22nd. Then Steppinwolf scores in the 61st. Sousa to Steppinwolf, shot, turned aside, Komorski finishes. We win 3-0. MOM was Komorski. Good win.


Porto won at home too and defeated Paris Saint-Germain 5-2 on aggregate. Can we also win and make it a shut out, 4-0 for Portugal against France?

Man U also took out FC Bayern

[Abe Sargent]

I move Komorski to DL and start Pfluger. I begin countering, Quiet first 30. Action finally begins to pick up but still not a lt. Half. We can still win this thang!!! OHHH. They just barely stopped a goal by Rocker. Rocker steals the ball, shoots, scores in the 62nd minute. Does it all baby! Retain possession. Teikeu heads in for Costa. They launh a desperate long shot that finds goal from so far away it was over the horizon. I sub in Mzizi and Rui P. We hold on for the 1-1 tie. MOM is Rocker.


We have made it to the Semi-Finals baby on a 5-1 aggregate.

Now the dream ends.

The only chance we have is getting matched up against Porto. Of course we don’t


Nacional vs Man Utd
Porto vs Real Madrid


Sure, we have two chances for Portugal to make the Finals, but I doubt it’s going to happen either way. But if we did...I could win that one. Could you imagine what that would do to the reputation of Portuguese Football if two teams made it to the Champion Final? Hey, we had two teams in the Cup and both are in the Semis, that should already mean a lot.

[Abe Sargent]

Franco’s loan is done and he heads home


South Africa rose to 10th place, the first time we’ve ever been in a Top 10 ranking.


We’ll be starting Marques for today’s home match against Braga. Keep up the run! I choose not to slide to controlling. I respect Braga too much. Braga score in the 1st half and its 1-0. Blast it Braga. You always have our freakin number! I explode, yadda yadda. Late in the game, in the 80th minute, Luis Carlos, subbing in for an injured Komorski, nails an absolute beauty of a long shot. I push to attacking, super mega high temp. And then it happens. In penalty time, Stepinski finds the net. But its waved off. And that’s the game. Braga tie us 1-1. YOU WERE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TONIGHT. Dang. Carlos was MOM though. Luckily Komorski is fine post-match.


Arouca and Olhanense have been promoted back up. With 80 goals thus far, Arouca have set a new Second Division record!

[Abe Sargent]

If we want to make it past Benfica, we’ll have to have a downright magical game today in their place. Let’s see what happens Steppy starts out nicely with a goal in the 14th. 5 minutes later Benfica rallies for a score. Then they score again in the 22nd. Half. Avenge yourselves!!! Rockers ties it up in the 45th just 44 seconds into the second half. Alright. That’s good stuff. Driussi is knocked tired twice and Rui P heads in for him. Carlos and Mzizi also head in for tired folk. We can’t get any more goals. We tie here 2-2, and lose 5-3 aggregate. We are out of the Taca da Portugal. Unlucky!

[Abe Sargent]

We are “sure-fire dead-cert favorites to overwhelm debt-ridden Portimonense in what should be a comfortable encounter”


The final of the Taca da Liga has arrived!!!


Bruno Marques is starting in the DL spot for me. I begin controlling. Komorski scores in the 18th minute after Rocker slid back an Imbula pass to the outside. A tighter half than we had hoped for. Make sure our hands are on the trophy at the end of the match!!! Steppinwolf hits Driussi for a score right after half time. We have a lot offense for about 8 minutes, but no goals to show. Then they beat Ruiz to the ball in the 59th on a counter. Rocker runs at the defense for a while, finds Lansbury on a strafing run and hits him for goal. I send in Rui P for a tired Lansbury and Agra for Rocker. Driussi hits Komorski on an IFK. Sousa heads in. We win 4-1. It was close for most of the game and we broke it out in the 80s. MOM is Komorski. Enjoy your success!!!


We won another Taca!!!







Rocker got 2nd place Taca da Liga Goal of the Tournament.


Porto defeated Real Madrid 1-0 in their place. Now they have to really work hard to hold serve away.

[Abe Sargent]

May


1st – Away vs Manchester United, Champion Semis, 1st Leg
4th – Away vs Gil Vicente
7th – Home vs Manchester United, Champion Semis, 2nd Leg
12th – Away vs Porto


Rodrigies, Carlos, Mzizi good training, Stepinski and Pfluger not.

Luis Carlos was 2nd in Goal of the Month



Now, we have beaten Man Utd, back a few years ago. Can we do it again today? We clocked Tottenham 5-2 in their place this season. Can we do that again? We’ll start hassling and marking heavily and defensive. Pflugler on the ML hits Stepinski for a score in the 6th minute. They return the favor in the 16th. Lansbury with a booking and the Rodrigues with another. They grab another score in the 39th. Rodrigues crosses to Rocker who puts it away in the 43rd. 2-2 half. We can still win tonight! Steppy with a yellow. They hit bullseye again in the 53rd. Lansbury interception begins a counter that ends with a Rocker shot pushed wide but we can’t convert the corners. Driussi with a knock – in heads Rui Pereira. Next is Teikeu for Costa. We have some great pressure late, but nothing yet. I sub in Mzizi and swap him with Tekieu. Nothing else, that is game. Close. Losing 3-2 on the road against Man Utd is very respectable. There is a chance for a later win in our place. Good effort!

[Abe Sargent]

Gil Vicente are the giant slayers. We lost a match against them late last season, so we’ll start out countering. Quiet half. I head back to standard. Rocker hits the hey in the 48th. Rodrigues hits Lansbury in the 61st Then a few minutes later, Gil climbs back with a goal. Agra and Rui P head out. Then they knock down a DFK in the 88th and its 2-2 tied game. Dammit Gil Vicente!


Academica were related


As always, I hand out rests to prepare my team for the Man Utd match on the 7th.

[Abe Sargent]

It’s time. Can we knock out Man Utd? We have a lot of away goals. I start countering. They score off a corner in the 4th. Then Rocker pounces on a tackle of Driussi on a counter attack and put sit away in the 20th. Komorski heads it in in the 30th when the ball bounces around the box post-corner kick. Marques picks up a yellow. I forgot to pull him. Ah well. Despite the booking he’s playing fine at a 6.7, They get a goal waved off due to fouling us on the shot. Half. Keep it up! If we hold on and win 2-1, we win on aggregate due to away goals. But we really need that 3rd goal. Costa collects a card. They have four yellows. They score in the 67th. I have to score again to send this to extra time. I pull Imbula, slide to control, up our tempo and move to hassling ahd marking more. Agra heads out. Then Pflugler. Butt we tie 2-2 and lose 5-4 on aggregate. We had a shot but couldn’t deliver.


Can Porto pull off the miracle and win, or tie, or lose by one goal something like 1-2 or 2-3?


They lose…..









3-2. Porto win 3-3 on away goals and Real Madrid is out. Setting up a Porto vs Man Utd Final. Ah. If ONLY. Ah well. Good luck Porto! The nation hopes.

I sign Alex Paul, 16 year old unsigned Aruba player who my scouts found and liked. Plays ML, AML

Totladze learned a lot from Ruiz and they got on really well too.

[Abe Sargent]

Maxi P will start in the away match vs Porto in order to give him his last hurrah before he retires. Stepinski hits goal in the 15th. Then again 10 minutes later. Maxi P grabs a card. They score back in the 27th. Rocker intercepts the ball, charges the defense for most of the pitch, slide sit to Lansbury on the right and attacks goal and Lansbury hits him for a strike. Half. Not bad gents! Maxi P collects another booking and gets a red card. Idiot. That’s an idiot. I slide Rodrigues back to DR, move Komorski to DL, Driussi to ML, and leave Stepinski and Rocker alone at the time. Shorter passing, retain possession, etc. I make some subs. Pfluger hits goal off a throw in by Teikeu that was a literal assist. Rui P heads in. We win 4-1. And Maxi Pereira is a dumb player. MOM is Stepinski.

[Abe Sargent]

Stefan Strandberg wins Personality of the Year


I have HUGE news. Joining Academica is Maritimo, relegated to the 2nd Division next year. Wow!


Sebastian Driussi won Player of the Year. Yay! 21 assists in 27 league games. Good job buddy!

Lansbury came in 2nd.

He also got the Award for Most Assists. And again, Lansbury collected 2nd.

Stepinski, with 21 league goals, was first in the league. Rocker was tied for 2nd.

Marin Komorski was named the League Premier League Young Player of the Year

Rui Pereira’s goal vs Academica was the 2nd best in the League this season

Ruiz came in as the Best GK in the League

Stepinski was voted Forward of the Year

Ruiz, Strandberg, Rodrigues, Driussi, Rocker, Stepinski and Lansbury were named in Team of the year – 7 of my starters.



We won the fair play award

Strandberg came in 1st for DC of the Year, Costa came in 2nd

Rodrigues came in 3rd for Fullback of Year

Good training – Rocker, Komorski, Totladze, Rui P and Bruno Marques; Bad – just Holenda and Maxi P

Board have announced construction work on youth facilities

I have my team meeting. We’ll win this thang again!

I win Manager of the Year

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s begin with the league Table:

1. Clube Desportivo, 84, +73
2. Benfica, 66, +31
3. Porto, 56, +29
4. Braga, 54, +19
5. Vit. G. 46, +6
6. Gil Vicente, 43, -4
7. Vit. Setubal, 42, -1
8. Rio Ave, 41. -6
9. Aves, 37, -13
10. Sporting, 36, 0
11. P. Ferreira, 32, -7
12. Tondela, 31, -28
13. Portimonense, 29, -26
14. Belenenses, 27, -19
15. Maritimo, 26, -21
16. Academica, 22, -33




Benfica had a great season. They finished with more than enough points to normally win, and more than we’ve had in winning campaigns. But they ran into us this time.

Great year for Aves, Gil Vicente, and Vit G. Sporting in double digits is just shocking.

We have risen to 139m in value. Sporting are down to 34m

Now what we did is not unheard of in Portugal. Twice Porto went undefeated in 2010-11 and 2012-13 seasons. Benfica has done it too. In fact, Benfica once had a streak of 56 games without a loss in the Liga. Porto have gotten a quadruple twice, with all four cups including the Supertaca, which we have never done yet. They won the division five times in a row in the 90s, so our 4 times is not a record even there.

So what we have done is not unparalled. Not even recently. Porto has had two undefeated seasons in the last ten years, and one five in a row in the 90s. But it is major.

Plus, I am now the top Manager in Portuguese history, of all time. Great managers tend to get poached by other teams in their run of form. So I’ve stayed, and that gives me the Top Dog Award.

[bbgunn]

That +73 goal differential is sublime!

[Abe Sargent]

Yeah it's nasty good



Stats:

Goals - Stepinski 1st with 21; Rocker 20th ted for 2nd
Assists – Druissi 1st with 21; Lansbury 2nd with 20, Stepinski tied for 3rd with 12.

Mom – Just 4th with Lansbury and Driussi have 5 a piece

Dribbles/game – Driussi, 5th with 3.28; Lansbury 8th with 3.01

Clean Sheets – Ruiz led with 13

Key Passes – Driussi led with 36

Key Head – Strandberg 3rd with 83

Picks – Strandberg 5th, 268 – Costs 6th with 267.

Rating, in order 1-10 in the league:

Driussi
Lansbury
Strandberg
Quintero (Porto)
Rodrigues
Sandro (Porto)
Rocker
Stepinski
Komorski
Rios (Gil Vicente)


We dominated the league. We score 92 goals – the most by 30 over Porto. We allowed just 19, 6 lower than Benfica. For example, we scored 12 goals from corners and conceded just 2. 3rd highest salary, Just 7 yellows and one red. (Stupid Maxi)

The only people leaving our team of note are Sean Johnson, Henri Lansbury and Nelio Fidalgo.

[Abe Sargent]

SIX YEAR RETROSPECTIVE:


Where are some of our players now?


The players we brought in 2013 and 2014 year included youthers like Joaquim Sousa, Douglas Jardel, Jose Goncalves, Jose Pedro Cardoso, and to play for us, Adriano the ST.


ST Adriano – 31 years old, loaned to Oeste by Goias, Not a lot of great seasons since.

ST Douglas Jardel – 22, retired, at the age of 22, No one singed him after he left us, and he eventually just left football. That was a miss on other managers, because he was a strong player.

ST Joaquim Sousa – Sold for a mill to Olympiakos, has 5 caps for the senior squad of Portugal, 22, transfer listed and contract is up soon, never really caught on there.

GK Jose Moreira, Backup youth guy for Leverkusen, sold for 5 mill to them a few years ago. Should prove to be the GK of the future for Portugal, 2 caps already

D LC JP Cardoso – Now with Braga, played 23 times for them in the league with a 7.06 rating at the age of 20.

M LC, AMC Jose Goncalves – Left on a free to AEL in Cyprus. Has a great 7.62 first season as a starter there with 17 goals and 10 assists in 34 games, and then dropped to 6.97 with 12 and 8 in the same.


In 2014/15 season we brought in Andrei Marc, Javi Espinosa, Matias Defederico, Luis Martins, and Sebastian Peratta as starters. Youthers that came in like Moussa Diallo have now retired.



GK Eduardo Gottardi, started for us for a season and then sold to Braga for 210k, and then we signed Peratta as a replacement. Rotation for Braga for four years, left for free, and now starts in the 3rd Division of Brazil.


D LR Luis Martins – Sold to Basel for 2.2 mill, played 24, 22 and 18 games for them in the last three years with average stats in the mid 6.0s., Capped 2 times. 26 years old now.

AMC Matias Defederico, 30, sold for 2 mill to Corinthians where he stated for two years, was dropped to sub for a final year, then sold to All Boys over in Argentina where he starts.

DMC Andrei Marc, 26, sold to OM for 5.75 mill, and started first year, subbed in second.

AMC Javi Espinosa, 26, left on free to West Ham, where he subbed for two years, and is now worth 10.5 mill.

GK Peratta – Started for two years and then retired and left the game at 39.



Season 2015/2016 saw us sign Lucas and Franny Castro, Luis Carlos, Fabian Ruiz, Paulo Franco, Strandberg, Sergio Laranjeira and Vitor Barreto, including many youth folks. Barreto, Ruiz and Carlos are still with us and Franco is just now leaving.


ST Francisco Castro – 28, Started for Celta last year in Spain – but didn’t have a good season

AMC MRL Lucas Castro – 30, Strong season for Wolfsburg last year

ST Sergio Larenjeira, Sold for 2.2 mull to Gladbach, where he’s been loaned a lot. One loan to Sporting in Spain where he started last year. 19 years old. 1 cap for the senior squad already


ST Djaniny, 28 -sold for 2 mill to Chievo. Started two years for them.

DR/MR Joao Aurelio – Sold for 7.5 to Galatasaray. Started 2 years for them, good numbers at 30.

DC Freire – Playing with OGC Nice in Ligue 1 as a starter for 2 years straight, Not great seasons though.

DC Mexer – 30, playing for SV Mattersburg in the Austrian Premier Division. Started 3 years and looks pretty good there too.

ML Dejan Skolnik

AML Danny Candeais, 31, is now starting and finished his 3rd season with Besiktas, and he left at the end of this season.


ST Mario Rondon is 33 and started for Sport for two years, helped it win promotion, and then relegated to rotation this past year.

In the 2016/2017 campaign we brought in Lansbury, Hojbjerg.


DMC/AMC Hojbjerg, sold to Barcelona for a king’s ransom, started, 23 years old, led the team in assists with a lot.


2017/2018 We brought in Canela, Maxi P, Rocker, Pflugler, Stpinski, Mzizi, Totladze, Komorski DC Kurdadze Rui Pereira and Rolf Martin Washington. It was a huge injection of talent last year.

The biggest was Pereira who broke the bank, but we’ve been developing him nicely. Of these players, all are still with us save for Canela.


DL Canela – Sold for 34 mill to Paris Saint-Germain. 11 apps for them and a 6.76 rating. 1 cap for Brazil senior squad.


2018/2019 we brought in: GK Sean Johnson, DC Teikeu, DMC Imbula, GK Castellon, AMC Driussi, DL Bruno Marques, ST Jan Holenda, ST Junior Barrios.

Johnson is the only one slated to leave other than four youthers that are past the team’s sell by date.

[Abe Sargent]

Whew!


Benfica upends Porto 2-1 to win the Taca da Portugal


June first has arrived and with it the Champion’s Final between Man U and Porto. Let’s goooo!!!!!!!!


WHOA!!!!! Porto won on penalties 2-2 against Man Utd!

Good job!

Now, they’ve done it before in 2004 and 1987, but that was 15 years ago. Doing it again is nice on ice. They also have the Euro twice as well. Benfica won two Champion’s Cups back to back in the 1960s, and has reached 10 European Finals. Sporting has even won the European Champions Competition once.

Hojbjerg came in 2nd for Player of the Year in Spanish League, which Messi won.

We are hit with a hefty tax bill off our massive profits last year. Selling Canela and Hojbjerg were major financial windfalls.


We have six new sponsorship deals in place:

4 years with stadium – 3.1m year (increase of 3x over old deal)
Main kit 2.1m/year – (2x old deal)
Continental Competition – 1.37m same as last
Another Con Com – 1.1 m, drop from 1.2 last year
4 year sponsorship 250k/annually ( up from 128k)
One year sponsorship at 275k (from 260k)

Great strides my friends!

[Abe Sargent]

Our initial budget is set for next year:

775k/week
42.64 mill


The board agrees to increase my scouting staff. I resign my own expiring scout.

I make offers to these unemployed scouts:

Cameroon - Jean-Paul Yontcha
Iran – Masoud
Bosnia & Herzegovina – Zvjezdan Misimovic
Denmark/Montenegro – Rajko Lekic

All four were capped internationally, although the first and last just one each while the other two were heavily played in the senior squad.

I swap out some folks for the RSA squad for a pair of friendlies we have coming up. I am bringing on a few major younger players, like 20 year old Striker potential star Nazeer Arendse and a solid GK guy who’s 23. So older players like 32 year old ST Majoro or 30 year old Manyesi are out for 21 year old MC Lucas Khoza and such – the next generation.

Everybody is on board with my three new young callups – GK Jethren Barr, ST Nazeer Arendse and MC/AMC Lucas Khoza.

I didn’t even notice Nazeer before, but he’s got quite a lot of potential. I did a quick scout report. My scouts like him, so I toss him on my short list. I stumbled across Mzizi this way. Khosa is worth 5.5 million and is playing for OM. Barr is worth than GK Henry Castellon, so I’m not interested in those, but Nazeer…

[Abe Sargent]

Alberto Cerri, of Parma, is Europe’s Top Scorer and won the Golden Shoe

Did you know that Ruiz now just starts for the USA? No more Howard or Guzman

There is a studly Portuguese that just came through the youth ranks in Feirense last year. I made an inquiry and they want 400k. That’s easily paid. 5 clubs want him – us, Celta, Atalanta, Norwich and Benfica. The problem is that I have two younger GKs – Castellon and Totladze on my youth sections.

But, Castellon has grown a lot last year. Once Johnson goes, I don’t even need to sign someone else. 19 year old Castellon is better than most guys I would sign at a backup or rotation level. I don’t need a Johnson or anything. Plus, even though he’s just 19, he’s been capped 26 times for Honduras, so it’s not like he’s not used to playing at a high level. And youth GK Joaquim Pereria, a younger guy we developed over time is leaving us, and he was an emergency emergency guy I could call back from loans.

So I make the 400k offer. The transfer story got out though.

__________________
Check out my two current weekly Magic columns!

https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/?action=search&page=1&author[]=Abe%20Sargent

[Abe Sargent]

Merchandise Sales from last Year:

We made 1.15 mill – lots more. Portuguese sales are massively up, and now account for roughly 75% of our sales. I guess we are becoming a Top Three in reality too.

Top Jersey Sales

1. Stepinski
2. Lansbury
3. Rocker
4. Driussi
5. Imbula


I would have expected local Funchal fans Rodrigues or Costa.


Agra got on really well with Stepinski and gained a lot from it, but Pflugler didn’t get much from Imbula.

I offer Mzizi for a 3 month loan deal, just to get him some 1st team football.

GK Helder Almeira agrees to join us. He just turned 17 a week and a half ago. He’ll arrive on July 1.

[Abe Sargent]

South Africa have two friendlies against Namibia and Ivory Coast.

I will start ST Nazeer Arendse across from Rantie for the first match. Arendse hits Rantie for a score after being set up himself by Jali. Then Motloung hits Arendse again to set him up for an assist to Rantie half. Then Rantie retruns the favor and finds Arendse for a score on a break. We win 3-0. Rantie is MOM. Yay!

Tchoutou was injured for a week and will miss the next game


Next is the Ivory Coast match. I keep out Arendse. Motloung to Rantie in the 15th. They score back in injury time. 1-1 at the half. I throw out Khosa in the 47th minute for Jali. Let’s see what he can do for us. Rantie swings the ball over George Lebese on the edge who scores in the 79th. I slide back to counter. They score in injury time, again and it’s a 2-2 tie.

Rantie doesn’t show up big in the major matches. Just one goal in six starts in the African Cup. Now, it was a win in the knock portion of a 1-0 victory. But you get the idea. Not a lot in the World Cup either.

[Abe Sargent]

Portugal remained 7th in Competition Rankings. But we moved back up to 6th in the Coefficients and regained the lost Champions place. Hey, Porto, the winner of last year’s Trophy won’t even be in next year’s competition as the 3rd best team, so that should have happened.

We moved up to 16th position. Porto moved to 15th. Benfica are 20th.

All of my scouts are in. We are now scouting all 20 regions of the globe.


I loan out Mzizi for a few months to Palmeiras in Brazil.

I inquire about a new feeder team and the board agree to let me choose it.

I get the board ot agree to improve our youth recruiting network.

[Abe Sargent]

June 30

MR Henri Lansbury was voted Player of the Year by the fans

Anybody on a free that would help my team? Probably not, I have two players coming in for my two open spots at MR and DL. But you never know.

37 loans return.

Jose Moreira and Joaquim Sousa were released – no team offered them jobs. (I keep my major players on my shortlist so I am kept abreast of what is happened with them).

Many youth folks are promoted to our senior squad due to age. We’ll look at them later, but I expect we’ll be using many as our depth and such. Player we signed or had in our youth squad for a few years are ripening.


We are expected to win.

We grabbed 2.17 M for TV rights

Fabian Ruiz blanked Mexico in the Gold Cup Final, which the USA have won 1-0. Congrats buddy! I wish there was a congrats for winning a major international tournament option!

Did you know that? Joao Luis Rodrigues and Cristiano Ronaldo both list each other as favoured personnel from international play?

Ruiz agrees to tutor Castellon

We set a new high average attendance 9,003 this year.

I cancel our link with Santana

[Abe Sargent]

Welcome to July

Our new players have arrived- GK Helder Almeida, MR Michael Schaap and DC/DL Omar Montesi.


Daniel Candeais has moved to Trabzonspor; Luis Martins to Numancia; Lansbury to Werder Bremen

Nelio Fidalgoto Viktoria Plzen

Goodbye Jan Holenda and Maxi P.



Value of our players right now:

19Mill – Stepinski
16.75Mill - Driussi
16.75M Rocker
13.75M Rodrigues
13.5 Strandberg
11.25 Imbula
9.75 Costa
8.75 Komorski
7.25 Schaap
6.25 Pflugler
5.75 Ruiz
5.5 Montesi
3.4 Rui Pereira
2.1 Mzizi
1.6 Agra
1.5 Junior Barrios
1.4 Marcio Sousa

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s look at the new flesh.

We’ll begin with the best one, maybe.


D C/L Omar Montesi, Italy, 20 yers old, 5.5 Mill, 22.5k/week, through 2023, 4.5 star rating, described in media as wonderkid, capped by Italian squad in World Cup run and one of many strong youth folks that got them deep. Also Argentinian. Speaks Spanish and some Italian. Signed from Dinamo for free.

More of a natural DC who was taught DL. I will start him at DL until either Bruno Marques is good permanently, someone else comes across our path, or we let go of Strandberg, and he’ll slide next to Costa very nicely.


Physical – 12, 11, 15, 18, 16, 14, 18, 19 – Includes 18 jump, stam, 19 strength.

Mental – 7, 15, 17, 12, 12, 9, 13, 19, 7, 11, 9, 17, 12, 15

Technical – 7, 9, 12, 9, 13, 7, 18, 13, 7, 17, 15, 5, 17, 13 – Includes 18 heading, 17 mark, 17 tack, 15 pass but just 9 cross, 12 dribb, and such. Also just has 12/14 speed, which is better in a DC than a DL. (Costa is just 14/14 and Strandberg just 13/11)


Welcome to the islands my Italian stud!

[Abe Sargent]

Next up is…

MR, AMR Michael Schaap, the new Candeais/Lansbury. 22, Dutch, Speaks Dutch, English, German, Spanish, Driven, 34k weekly, through 2023, 7.25 mill, signed from Barcelona where he was raised for 4 years – 4.5 star rating.

He will run the MR spot for us. He could break the bank on assists – more than Lansbury or Candeais did. Hold on.

Physical – 14, 14, 13, 12, 12, 15, 16, 12 – Solid stamina, and I want more speed. But 14/15 is almost as fast as Lansbury at 15/15.

Mental – 14, 12, 12, 16, 11, 12, 13, 20, 19, 5, 13, 11, 15, 16 – Oh yes, that’s a 20 determination, 19 flair, 16 work rate and composure. Good stuff. Sure, we need to raise that Decision and OTB from 13 each, but he’s strong. Now get ready.

Technical - 14, 18, 17, 12, 18, 15, 16, 13, 9, 12, 12, 12, 6, 17 -0Wow. Low passing at just 12, but 18 cross, 17 dribb, 18 first touch, 17 technique, 12 finishing, 13 long shots, and even an odd 16 heading. That’s quite strong.

Now, he needs to grow, and he has plenty of room to do so. Our scouts have him at 3 stars now, 4.5 future. So this guy can become something wonderful. He was hidden on Barcelona’s youth team. Time to unfurl him on the world.


Welcome buddy!

[Abe Sargent]

GK Helder Almeida, 17, Portuguese, signed from Feirense for 400k, 4 star scout rating, 2.1k/week, worth 195k, signed for just a year.

Phys – 8, 12, 15, 13, 16, 7, 10, 9
Mental – 10, 9, 11, 10, 11, 5, 10, 15, 1, 7, 2, 13, 14, 15
GK – 6, 10, 14, 7, 6, 9, 12, 10, 9, 1, 13, 12, 7, 10

So, lots of potential, and hopefully the work rate/determination (15/15) to get there.

[Abe Sargent]

What about my youth folks?


From 2018, Rodrigues

Physical – 19, 15, 17, 12, 19, 18, 16, 14
Mental – 11, 13, 11, 12, 12, 14, 14, 13, 13, 12, 12, 15, 11, 15
Technical – 6, 12, 16, 8, 14, 4, 13, 12, 15, 13, 12, 10, 16, 14


Rodrigues today, July 2019

Phys – 19, 17, 18, 12, 19, 18, 16, 15
Mental – 11, 14, 11, 14, 13, 15, 16, 13, 14, 12, 13, 16, 12, 15
Tech – 6, 14, 17, 9, 16, 4, 14, 13, 16, 13, 14, 10, 17, 14

We worked on passing/cross this year heavily and got him better in both areas.

Next I’d like to get his mark up. But our scouts have him at 4.5 currently and 4.5 future. Not sure how much more the 20 year old has to grow.

Costa back in July 2018

Phys – 13, 16, 13, 15, 10, 14, 16, 16
Mental – 3, 14, 10, 13, 14, 12, 14, 18, 7, 11, 10, 16, 15, 16
Tech – 8, 7, 11, 7, 13, 7, 14, 8, 6, 18, 12, 9, 14, 9


Costa, today, July 2019

Phys – 14, 17, 13, 15, 11, 14, 16, 16
Mental – 3, 15, 14, 15, 12, 14, 18, 8, 11, 10, 17, 15, 17
Tech – 8, 7, 11, 7, 14, 7, 8, 7, 19, 13, 9, 15, 10

Worked on passing a bit with him too. Results with both. Again, not sure how much more growing the 21 year old has.


Pflguer in 2018:

Phys – 13, 14, 14, 7, 14, 16, 14, 14
Mental – 14, 13, 10, 14, 13, 14, 13, 12, 13, 13, 13, 9, 17, 16
Technical – 11, 10, 14, 12, 15, 10, 10, 15, 10, 11, 14, 11, 10, 15


AMC/ML Sebastian Pflugler in 2019 July

Phys – 13, 14, 14, 7, 14, 17, 14, 14
Mental – 14, 14, 10, 14, 13, 14, 13, 12, 13, 13, 13, 10, 17, 16
Tech – 11, 10, 14, 12, 15, 10, 10, 15, 9, 11, 15, 11, 10, 15

Not as advancing as much as I wanted. Last year he only scored one goal in 16 league appearances. The previous year he had 16 appearances too and got 6 goals. I brought him in to be my future stud at AMC but it looks like Rui P will be that. Pflugler may never be more than a Javi Espinosa. My scouts say that he’s got more room to grow. Let’s hope so.


ST Rocker, July, 2018

Phys – 15, 15, 13, 13, 10, 16, 17, 16
Mental – 9, 16, 9, 17, 13, 12, 13, 18, 11, 13, 18, 12, 11, 14
Tech – 13, 12, 16, 19, 14, 11, 14, 13, 7, 9, 15, 12, 9, 14


ST Rocker, today, July 2019

Phys – 16, 16, 14, 13, 11, 16, 17, 17
Menta l- 9, 17, 9, 18, 14, 12, 14, 18, 12, 14, 19, 13, 12, 14
Tech – 13, 13, 16, 19, 14, 11, 15, 13, 6, 9, 16, 11, 9, 14

Did you know that 19 year old Rocker is the German captain? It’s true!

We did some work mentally with positioning and it’s nice to see some payoff there.

[Abe Sargent]

AMC Rui Pereira, today, July 2019


Phys – 16, 15, 14, 10, 14, 14, 15, 13
Mental – 15, 11, 17, 13, 8, 11, 12, 18, 15, 9, 14, 10, 16, 17
Techn – 11, 8, 12, 12, 17, 10, 6, 13, 4, 10, 15, 11, 8, 16

Again, he grew a lot. Expect more and more. Like I said, in terms of play skill, the next Ronaldo. (although not Ronaldo in position.).


ST Jorge Agra, today, July 2019

Phsy – 14, 16, 12, 14, 9, 14, 15, 15
Mental – 6, 13, 9, 14, 15, 11, 13, 11, 14, 14, 14, 7, 15, 16
Tech – 13, 9, 14, 14, 16, 6, 14, 14, 5, 6, 12, 12, 6, 13

Not bad, but it was hard to give him as much play time as I would have liked with Holenda getting some play and Rocker/Stepinski being amazing.


Don’t forget I now have:

ST Junior Barrios, 19, Peru, Today,in July 2019

Phys – 16, 15, 8, 8, 14, 14, 12, 15
Ment -= 10, 9, 9, 6, 12, 5, 10, 13, 12, 12, 14, 8, 18, 14
Tech – 11, 13, 14, 17, 13, 11, 6, 13, 3, 10, 16, 11, 13, 11

More and more he looks like an interesting defensive forward who tackles the ball in the backfield. But with a finishing of 17, he can just score too. He’s a small guy -= low jump and head. He’s currently with Peru in their Copa America game s and won’t be here for a few weeks. Remember we signed him and let him remain with his Mexican club for a year. Now he has arrived to push for the ST spot here.



What about Bruno Marques, after a semester of playing. Including accidentally leaving him in against Man Utd and he was fine.

DL Bruno Marques, 16, Today in 2019

Phys – 14, 11, 12, 10, 11, 14, 14, 8
Mental – 11, 11, 14, 13, 13, 10, 9, 17, 2, 3, 7, 11, 14, 17
Technical – 8, 8, 6, 5, 10, 6, 9, 10, 10, 10, 8, 13, 12

We think he could be about as good as Costa at the DL if we tutor him and bring him along. But right now, he’s not there.



Remember when Marcio Sousa came into our youth ranks? Nows he 17 –

Marcio in 2019 July

Phsy – 17, 15, 15, 4, 10, 17, 15, 9
Mental – 9, 11, 15, 11, 10, 9, 10, 14, 15, 9, 15, 13, 11, 14
Tech – 11, 13, 10, 7, 16, 10, 3, 7, 2, 7, 11, 9, 9, 12

Still need to get up passing, dribb and such. But he’s not bad at all. He’s defiantly progressed well thus far.


GK Merab Totladze, July 2019

Phys – 6, 14, 14, 13, 9, 8, 10, 14
Ment – 8, 10, 8, 13, 13, 5, 13, 17, 2, 10, 2, 12, 14, 13
GK – 11, 13, 12, 8, 4, 10, 14, 13, 10, 2, 14, 11, 9, 9

It’s slow, but he’s definitely improving. He’s the starting GK for Georgia and has 10 caps.

We have players like Leandro Casal, Vitor Graca, and Davit Kurdadze that are staking claims on our starting roster.

Just as an example ,here is Casal

18 years old, July 2019

Phys – 15, 11, 13, 1, 13, 14, 14, 9
Mental – 10, 10., 9, 12, 11, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 10, 13, 13, 15
Tech – 10, 11, 11, 9, 16, 8, 5, 14, 3, 10, 13, 10, 11, 13

Not bad. I’m training him to be a DMC too.

DC Davit Kurdadze in July 2019, at the age of 19:

Phys – 11, 11, 12, 13, 16, 13, 16, 14
Ment – 8, 12, 15, 10, 13, 8, 10, 8, 5, 11, 5, 13, 13, 17
Tech – 7, 5, 3, 5, 10, 6, 14, 8, 3, 14, 11, 4, 15, 10

That’s not bad as an emergency 5th DC who’s still growing.

Here is AMC/MC Vitor Barreto, 20, July 2019

Phys – 14, 14, 14, 14, 17, 16, 14, 16
Mental – 7, 14, 1, 13, 10, 10, 12, 10, 12, 8, 13, 13, 10, 19
Tech – 8, 8, 14, 12, 16, 6, 6, 15, 4, 6, 15, 13, 9, 15


Remember when I signed him and Sergio Leranjeira together? Well I sold Sergio long ago, but Barreto has done quite well for himself.

So with all of these great younger players, I don’t expect to bring in any backup type squad players like I would normally do – like a Sean Johnson, Adolphe Teikeu, Jan Holenda, Maxi P and so forth.

[Abe Sargent]

Whose contract is up in a year?

GK Fabian Ruiz
AMC Vitor Barreto
GK Henry Castellon
ST Rocker
ST Agra
DC Kurdadze
ST/AML Filipe Oliveira
AMC/MC Vitor Graca
MR Jorge Silva
ST Jose Rodrigues
MR Rolf Martin Worthington
AMC Rui Pereira
AMC Leandro Casal
GK Helder Almeida

That’s a ton of peops.

I make a new offer to Rocker. I’m not letting him go without a huge offer from some club.

I also offer Vitor Barreto and Jorge Agra a deal too. I made them, I want to keep them.

I agree to the 9.5 offer for 34 year old Cristiano Renaldo from Real Madrid. Now, will he sign with us.

[Abe Sargent]

Mariusz has a minimum release fee of 20 m, so I offer him a new deal to knock that up to 90 M. His value has risen so quickly I had forgotten that. I need to get that away.

Damn it! Roma beat us to the punch! They made an offer to Stepinski for 20 m. Probably heard what we were doing. We are forced to accept. Which contract will he take? The one with us or the one with Roma?

Valencia have made a joking offer for Rocker – 6 M now and 21.5 over 2 years. I have him at 75 mill asking price, dude is worth 17m basically. Nope!

I get them to back off.

Ah well. I was hoping Ronaldo would want to return to his old club and retire in his hometown of Funchal. Not to be. That would have been something.

Berreto re-ups

I accept offers to loan out Totladze. He heads out to AC Milan. Good mathc – they have great training facilities and a severe need for GK.

Uh oh.

I got an offer from Villarreal for Jorge Agra. Hmmmm

They offer 2.6 mill now and 6.75 over the next 18 months. I decide not to make an immediate counter. I don’t need the cash. Let’s hold off until he signs his next deal, and see what happens with Stepinski.

That’s right Stepinski. Sign with me! 60k a week, through 2023, and now has a 90 mill release clause.

Rocker re-ups too. 56k through 23.

[Abe Sargent]

have great AMCs and I want a tactic to use them.

Barcelona made a 55 mill offer for Rodrigues. I backed them off by suggesting 100M. You can’t get all of my players! Man City and Monaco follow. I back them off too. Hojbjerg was just a guy I signed from Bayern Munchen and from Norway. But this is MY GUY. The best wunderkind I have ever had come through my ranks in FM history. No!

Now, what do I do with the Agra offer for around 9.25 mill from Villarreal. I could make the play. He came through my youth ranks, and I like him. He’s fun. He’s a strong 3rd option behind Stepinski and Rocker. Benfica is interested. I’d rather sell to them for the same amount, keep him in the league. He’s not worth that much right now. This is a solid offer.

But nope. I have an affectation for Agra. We’ll keep him. I was going to move him up beside Rocker if Stepinski left. Let’s keep him. I reject the offer.


Friendly vs Camacha – Rui to Rocker, Schaap to Rui, Schaap to Rocker, Teikeu to Kurdadze. 4-0. MOM is Schaap


Friendly vs Freamunde – Started Henry Castellon, instead of Ruiz. Scores by Rocker, Schaap, Oliveira, and Agra, MOM is Rocker. 4-0 again

Agra reups. 18.5k through 2023.

I offer high bonuses for leagues and Cups

I back Roma off Costa.

[Abe Sargent]

Man Utd disappointed me. They made an offer for Rodrigues for just 38 mill. Are you kidding me? That’s chump change! How about 90? Nope? Ah well. Then I send back a 49 mill offer by AS Monaco. Eventually someone is going to bite and I’ll wind up with a 70 mill problem.

Alright, there’s one need on my team. A future DMC I can tutor and step into Imbula’s role. That’s it.



Let’s scout out a nice young DMC. These targets I begin scouting

There’s 20 year old DMC Hiroki Osa from Wolfburg, a Japanese international
Unsigned 18 year old DMC from the Honduras senior squad Oscar Cardona
17 year old Felipe Deiaos, Brazil, would require me to wait until 18 to come over, plays for Corinthians
18 year old Paul Welsh, England, for Man Utd
19 year old French/Qatari Abdulla Al-Dahri for Paris St-G
17 year old Dutch Jasper van der Ley, Feyenoord
17 year old Mexican Erick Trevino, America MEX


That’s a good start. Many of those either have been scouted, or show up in the search and have a high value and such. For example the French guy is worth 8 mill already.


Friendly away at Feirense – part of the deal for our recent signing from them . Rui to Schaap; Rui intercepted their pass and scored on an empty net; Schaap to Pfluger; Komorski to Pflugler; Marcio Sousa to Pflugler; de Sousa Ines OG; We win 5-1. MOM is Pflugler.

[Abe Sargent]

Scout reports –

DMC Cardona – I offer him a trial. He looks pretty solid.
DMC Osa – No intention of joining club – 4 star rating currently and future. Not a lot of development left.
DMC Deiao – Should be regarded as a definite purchase – 4.5 star. No intention of joining us.
DMC Walsh – No intention, definite purchase
DMC Al-Dahri – definite purchase, would be willing, but Paris not likely to sell
DMC Van der Lay – No intention, just 4 star rating too
DMC Trevino – No intention, 4 star scout potential – current is just 1 – ouch

So, I could try to bring in Deiao or Walsh or Al-Dahri, and see if I can convince whoever needs convincing.

Man Utd took a page out of our book and jumped the offer up to 85 mill. I get an agreement for Deiao to 11.75 and they accept.

[Abe Sargent]

Estoril - Another away match for a team that we purchased someone from (Bruno Marques) and gave a gave in order to be nice. Montesi to Rocker, Rui on free ball; Komorski to Strandberg; Rui to Stepinski; 4-0 victoire. MOM is Strandberg


A team just spent more than 15m for Motloung, our RSA young guy

DMC Oscar Cardona arrives on a trial.


Uh oh. I get an offer for Imbula. Actually never mind. Its by Fiorentina, and they added some 25 year old bum I don’t want and who isn’t on my List. Then they only offer around 5 mill in cash.

DMC Deiao won’t even enter into agreements. Sometimes they’ll come back with a “Blow me away” sort of style.

Now Imbula was just a merc for me to come in and full in my serious need post-Hojbjerg. He’s not my future. I could be persuaded to let him go. Hey Fiorentina, you are a club worth twice as much as me. Pay some real money! They do. I accept an offer of 18.5 mill for Imbula.

Alright, now, who’s my replacement, knowing they won’t sit back for a while? That’s a different sort of DMC!

[Abe Sargent]

There’s a merc-ish younger guy out there unsigned – Italian 22 year old Andrea Marangon. He was loaned to Sporting last year, so we know him from playing in the Liga. I send out a full scout battalion.

Sporting over in Spain have a strong guy. Called a Hojbjerg prototype, and a bit older and ready to come in. David Rosano. But he’s worth 12.5 mill – it might take a lot to grab him. That’s a long shot.

Who else? What about the guy I wanted to sign, but then he reupped with his club? 21 year old Argentian Martin Valentini. Already on my short list. I make an Enquiry – worth 8 mill, so that’d be a big thing.

While waiting. I make an offer to Oscar Cardona. He can be a prospect sub guy.

Want Rosano? Need to spend between 21 and 31 M. So here’s the thing. Either make a play for Italian unsigned Marangon or sign Rosano, right now.

Hmm…


Here’s the question. How strongly do I feel that David Rosano is the next Hojbjerg for me?

Quite a bit actually. I make an offer and we agree to 25.5 for him. Or about 7 mill more than Imbula will make. Not bad for this upgrade. We agree to deal. Will he come in?


Imbula agreed to the 18.75 deal. Thanks for playing for us for a year, and then making us a ton of money which we used to mostly sign the guy you replaced!

18 year old Oscar Cardona will stay with us. Any chance I can to sign a youth guy with a 20 determin and 18 work rate makes me happy.

We have signed Sporting’s 21 year old David Rosano.

[Abe Sargent]

Why is Rosano the next Hojbjerg?



DC, DL, DMC David Rosano, 75k/week, 13.25 Mill, signed through 2024, paid 26 m plus some fees that put it closer to 28. 21 years old. Spanish, speaks Spanish, has a ton of youth caps and some goals.

He’s a natural DC that I’ll be running at DMC.


Physical – 14, 13, 13, 15, 14, 15, 18, 15 – Solid stuff you can rely on early while he still grows into the role.

Mental – 10, 13, 12, 14, 13, 14, 14, 12, 3, 9, 12, 14, 13, 16 – Again, strong stuff to build on. No major weaknesses here, and his only sub 12 skills are aggression, flair and leadership.

Technical – 10, 10, 9, 9, 14, 7, 17, 12, 11, 15, 15, 8, 15, 13 – 15 pass? 14 first touch, 15 tack and mark, 13 technique and that 17 head with a 15 jump. You can tell he’s a DC, but he has really interesting Deep Lying Playmaker skills.



The balanced guy heads here. I tell him to work on OTB. We are paying a ton of money to bring him in and pay him. But if he’s Hojbjerg, he is worth it. Hojbjerg was the best player on my team by far.

[Abe Sargent]

MC, DMC Oscar Cardona, 18, Honduras, 11 caps and a goal for the senior squad. 8.75k/week through 2023. I work him on OTB too. Driven.

Physical – 11, 12, 14, 10, 10, 12, 16, 13
Mental – 11,14, 2, 8, 13, 14, 14, 20, 8, 16, 9, 10, 15, 18
Technical – 10, 9, 4, 11, 14, 10, 11, 10, 3, 9, 14, 7, 15, 16

I wish he had higher skills in some areas, but he has potential. And he was free.

[Abe Sargent]

Argentina won back to back Copa Americas. Winners of individual awards included Messi, Canela, and Messi. Driussi started for them in the AMC role for their victory. He was selected in the Copa America Dream Team.


Brazil’s manager is again sacked. I apply again. Maybe this time?

Chile is also open.

I have South Africa (11th) at a higher ranking than Brazil (14th)

They hire someone else the next day. I consider applying for Chile. Sure why not.


And then Chile hire another Brazilian manager. Doesn;t even speak Spanish. Like me!


Our last friendly arrives, away vs Schalke here in Germany. Sousa hits Rocker on a break away in the 89th. We win 1-0. MOM is Strandberg

[Abe Sargent]

August

10th – Supertaca vs Benfica
18 – Home vs Portimonense
25th – Away vs Arouca



Good train – V Barreto, M Sousa, and L Casal. Ruiz and Kurdadze disappointed.


I take a look at my youth squad. I am lacking a good backup ST prospect in case of injury to multiple guys up top. I have Driussi for depth, but I would like a 16-17year old project. Now, my scouts don’t know of a lot of young targets out there. There may be some studly Paraguayan guy or Croatian master. I don’t know. But I do know Portugal. So let’s look. None jump out. What about the rest of the Hispanic world where we have great scouting.

I send out a few scouts.


Now, I do find a nice 16 year old Striker for Argentina, and we agree to a deal, Victor Megias, and he’ll arrive in August 2020 of next year. Cost us 3.2 mill to sign him and payoff his agent.

Now, in the meantime, there is a 16 year old Striker that came through Porto’s youth ranks – I made an offer that was accepted of 1.3 and now I’m just waiting for a reply. Unlike a lot of people, he’s not a fan of Porto or anything, although he’s from the metro area. Nevertheless he declines and won’t accept an offer to swing by right now. Ah well, sorry Carlos Rodrigues

I scouted about 8 guys that we know about – none came back that they wanted to play. Looks like a dead end.

I could loan someone though I suppose, if it became necessary.

[Abe Sargent]

Actually, I sent out another dispatch of scouts and there is a 15 year old ST from the USA playing in France. He came back with a huge rating and he’s willing to come over. Auxerre doesn’t want to sell though. I make an enquiry. Hunter Torres. He’s worth 850k.

They dismissed my enquiry. I make an offer first at 2 mill. They begin negotiations.

Frankfurt signed GK Jose Moreira. I was hoping he’d linger available, in case someone made a play for Ruiz – that would have been an epic storyline.

I make an offer to Ruiz now that Moreira is off the market. Let’s keep him here.

I begin to look at mentoring and such

Teikeu with DMC Oscar Cardona is the only match up I have right now.

[Abe Sargent]

You can tell my scouting internationally has worked. When I joined, we had all players from Brazil, Portugal, and 3 from Mozambique and 1 Cape Verde, 1 Venezuela and 1 Croatia. Today I have , just in my senior squad, 2 from Georgia, 2 from Honduras, 1 from Aruba, 1 Argentina, Cameroon, Croatia, 2 from Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Mozambique, Norway, Peru, Poland, Ireland, South Africa, Spain, USA and still 14 from Portugal.

I think we’ll have two from the USA soon, but I’ll move him to the youth squad for a while.

I loan out some of my senior squad to reduce the traffic. Some need more 1st team time with me, like Worthington, so I pulled him off the loan list. But folks like Jose Rodrigues, Filipe Oliveira that were barely making it have been moved already and I’m getting offers for de Sousa Ines, Jorge Silva and Vitor Graca and such.

Leandro Casal has agreed to extend his deal as a hot prospect.

[Abe Sargent]

Our starting 11 for today’s Supertaca is different than the expected one later. I will be starting Bruno Marques in the DL spot, Ruiz, Costa, Rodrigues, and Strandberg in the defense, Stepinski and Rocker in offense, Driussi, Komorski, the newly signed David Rosano and Rui Pererira in the MR spot instead of Schaap. I want to work some of these folks in.


We are playing against Benfica. Let’s begin. Get vengeance on Benfica! I begin countering. It’s the first real match of the season, no reason to trip over yourself and let in an early goal. Lots of offense early. Both teams with shots on target in the first two minutes. Benfica score first though in the 16th. Then Rodrigues, pissed, drives hard, jukes past two defenders, crosses to Rocker and gets a score in the 19th. 1-1 half. I move to tackling and marking more. Rui picks up a knock and I sub in Schaap. On an IFK, Driussi finds Marques, who’s header is on target but pushed aside by the Gk and the ball bounces around and Strandberg puts it away in the 62nd. Then Benfica take a shot the loops over Ruiz and into the goal in the 69th. They grab a pair of bookings in the 70s. Pflugler heads in to sub for a very disappointing Drisssi (5.7). Game, extra time with a 2-2 score. Get that one more goal! Schaap crosses to Rocker for a goal in the 92nd minute. Now it’s 3-2! Half. I sub in Agra for a tired and not playing very well Stepinski (6.4) to give us some zest in the attack for the final 15 minutes. Pflugler finds Rocker for his hat trick in the 105:25 mark. Rocker intercepts a goal kick, rushes at the GK but its marked too tightly, lifts it to Agra above everyone and Agra finishes for a goal in the 111 made by Rocker. The Rock is a gift from the football gods. He just took over the match in extra time. MOM is Rocker, we win 5-2. Enjoy these moments!

[Abe Sargent]

Rui P will be out for a week with a gashed leg.

Juventus have made the first real offer for Costa I’ve ever gotten – 25 mill right now, not 5 now and 20 over 4 years or anything like that. I just head to 60 m to start a negotiation, but they pull out. If I ended up with a 40m offer dead all cash now and not trickling in, I’d have to pause.



Welcome 15 year old Hunter Torres! We signed him for 8 mill from AJ Auxerre, where he came from the youth program. Porto had just signed a major USA acquisition at the DL on the SUSA youth squad, so I looked it over, and there was this young 15 year old. Obviously I had to take a look to see. He comes in worth 4.1M. He’s a nice long-term project. Plus I already have an American here too.


ST, AMC/L – Hunter Torres, 15, signed through 2014, American, can speak English, basic French, Resolute,

Phys – 13, 14, 12, 7, 8, 14, 11, 8
Mental – 6, 6, 5, 7, 8, 11, 11, 15, 14, 9, 13, 8, 18, 16
Tech – 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 8, 7, 7, 5, 10, 9, 8, 7, 15

Not a bad project. Comes with a 4.5 scout rating. Everybody was impressed.


Wow, there’s an option for when your captain is from the same country to introduce the new guy – nice! Welcome the lad Ruiz! I work on his Passing.

[Abe Sargent]

Kurdadze reups with us.

Ruiz signs his new deal too. 27k/week through 2023.

I keep my existing captains of Ruiz and Strandberg.


South Africa have pulled back to 10th


I get to now make cocky answers to press conferences like “the bookies made us favorites for a reason” Its nice.



We’ll start Montesi for the DL for the first game of the season. Schaap too and Rosano obviously. I begin controlling since we are at home vs Portimonense. Rosano finds Komorski for a score in the 6th. Schaap’s strike is lethal in the 10th, pushed aside though, rebound falls to Komorski who scores again. Montesi grabs a booking early. Odd. I need to watch that. I hope he’s not a card-aholic. Rocker finds the goal in the 28th, after shots by Stepinksi and Driussi were turned aside. Schaap intercepts the ball to begin a counter that ends with his hitting Stepinski for a score. Half time. Keep it up! Rocker finds Driussi for a score in the 47th. Then he gets a yellow. Rosano with a lethal ball almost on the touchline for Scahpp to run onto, finds, and cross backward to find a driving Rocker for a score. I pull Montesi for Marques and Rocker for Agra. That way the cards are out. Pflugler is my final sub. Komorski is MOM.


That game was Rodrigues’s 100th for the club!