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

[Abe Sargent]

December

2nd – Away vs Vit. Guimaraes
6th – Home vs Vit. Setubal
9th – Home vs Zenit, Champions
13th – Home vs Benfica
19th – Home vs Belenenses


So currently 5 games, and typically the League Cup draw gives us another game later in the month. That 13th game against Benfica may be huge. If we both keep form, that might be one of the games that decides the league.


While Sequeira and Edgar Abreu disappointed in training this month, Costa, Luis Carlos and Strandberg all impressed.

Peratta and Candeais were in the Team of the Week

Mario Rondon won the Player of the Month award for November.

And I won Manager of the Month for November.

I’ve gotten the offer for that potential wonderkid up to 1.8 mill and still no release on their part. Will there be one?



We arrive at Vit. Guimaraes with similar instructions. Keep up the run! Counter! I am going to start giving the occasional starting spot in games against someone other than the Big Five (Maritimo, Braga, the Big Three). Today Rodrigues is in for Luis Martins. On a break away, Skolnik hits Rondon for a score in the 3rd off a lovely cross. Well we’re getting in attacks from the left side this game! Freire misses a tackle in the box, and they answer back in the 11st. Candeais crosses to Rodrigues for a score and he nails it. Let’s move to retain possession. Skolnik is fed a nice ball in the box by Marc, slides it to Franny, and he scores in the 39th. Daniel Candeais limps off the field injured, and we replace him with Javi, and swap his spot and Lucas’s. Half time. Keep it up! Hey, on the road ,up 3-1, that’s good stuff. After Freire’s header on defese goes right to a middie who hits an attacker pen on the left flink, I yank him for Costa. I’m going to start Mexer there next game. They begin pushing hard, so I tell my lads to begin hassling and marking more tightly to change things up. It doesn’t matter, they hit the equalizer in the 63rd. I order my folks to a Control style, higher tempo offense. After getting ayellow and knocked around, I put in Mexer for Strandberg. Then attacking in the final 10 minutes. They score right after. Then off a corner kick, the ball bounces for a bit before Franny sinks it and we are even again. And that’s game, 4-4 tie on the road against Vit.. I’m far from pleased. Benfica won, so instead of continuing to be up by 3 points, we are now just up by 1.

[Abe Sargent]

Candeais is out for a few days and will miss the next game at least. We’ll start Javi in Lucas’s spot and slide him over. After getting to 4.3 mill, I cancel the contract talks with the wonderkid, the ykept rejecting our offer.

I sign a new 3 year deal with Nacional da Madeira.


Martins is back in the squad for today’s home match. We are starting Mexer and Javi. Keep the run going! We’ll keep a normal set up, just to get a feel for the early game. From the Candeais spot, Lucas Castro crosses to Rondon for a score in the 5th, but they come back and score of fan incredibly long shot 4 minutes later to tie things. I move to controlling, since I’m feeling a bit of momentum our way, despite the score. Then Castro hits Espinosa for another score in the 19th minute. Rondon intercepts a pall from the GK to a DC and on the volley hits an open net. They return the favor for a strong offensive score in the 41st. Room for improvement. Skolnik picks up a knock – I pull him for Luis Carlos. He invariably plays better than his stats. He just tackled someone and stole the ball on the edge for example. I pull Franny C for Jardel. Then Martins for Sequeira. We hold off a counter-assult later for a 3-2 win. Close. MOM I Rondon. We got away with that lads!


At home, Braga beat Benfica. So we pull out again.

[Abe Sargent]

While we are out in the Champions play, I still want to win today’s home match, if for no other reason that to bring home a cool million Euros. I begin countering, and wish my boys luck. Mexer and Javi are still starting. Franny has begun to solidify his spot across from Rondon. They are over powering us across the pitch early on, so I tell them to increase marking and hassling. Then Skolnik finds Rondon for score off the left side for a score in the 16th. Our finishing has been letting us down, we’ve had control, had good chances for 20 more minutes, but no finish. Work the ball into the box folks. In the 37th minute the other Rondon (Striker for Zenit, also a Venezuelan international) scores, but its waved off. Peratta did everything he could to stop that 1:1 break away by Rondon and pushed it aside, but they score off the corner kick. Half. Go get us a goal! I sub out Martins for Rodrigues when he collect s aknock. Their Rondon gets a yellow (I was scared, I thought it was ours). Lucas Castro is then injured and forced to come out. I swap over Rodrigues, slide Aurelio to MR, and then put in Sequeira for the DL spot. In the late 60s I tell my guys to pick up teh pace. For my final sub, I pull out Franny for Dj. Much higher tempo! Attacking! Game. Disappointing.


We won 500k Martins is out for a week with a gashed arm. Meanwhile, Candeais should be back for the next game.

After crushing Sporting, Porto have moved to 2nd. If we beat Benfica today, they will had had some major losses. Even though we are at home, I begin countering and let’s keep up the run! No one is close to goal for a while. Much later, Candeais finds Lucas Castro who shoots, the ball is pushed back to Rondon who scores in the 31st. Half time. Played well, room for improvement. When Daniel is driving at goal, they give a professional foul to keep him from getting to close and a red card in the 49th minute. I make some changes. Up the tempo, begin hassling and tighter marking, move to control, and more. Nothing happens with the IFK. We are already pushing up the flanks and get two major surges that are just pushed away. We get a goal disallowed by Franny. I toss in Agra for Franny. He’s not been playing well today. They get a very lucky IFK to sink in the 71st from 40 yards away. Attacking, Marc gets a yellow, much higher tempo, but we still can’t get that second goal. That was annoying. We could have 6 points yup right now on Benfica and Porto, not 4 on each.

[Abe Sargent]

December

2nd – Away vs Vit. Guimaraes
6th – Home vs Vit. Setubal
9th – Home vs Zenit, Champions
13th – Home vs Benfica
19th – Home vs Belenenses


So currently 5 games, and typically the League Cup draw gives us another game later in the month. That 13th game against Benfica may be huge. If we both keep form, that might be one of the games that decides the league.


While Sequeira and Edgar Abreu disappointed in training this month, Costa, Luis Carlos and Strandberg all impressed.

Peratta and Candeais were in the Team of the Week

Mario Rondon won the Player of the Month award for November.

And I won Manager of the Month for November.

I’ve gotten the offer for that potential wonderkid up to 1.8 mill and still no release on their part. Will there be one?



We arrive at Vit. Guimaraes with similar instructions. Keep up the run! Counter! I am going to start giving the occasional starting spot in games against someone other than the Big Five (Maritimo, Braga, the Big Three). Today Rodrigues is in for Luis Martins. On a break away, Skolnik hits Rondon for a score in the 3rd off a lovely cross. Well we’re getting in attacks from the left side this game! Freire misses a tackle in the box, and they answer back in the 11st. Candeais crosses to Rodrigues for a score and he nails it. Let’s move to retain possession. Skolnik is fed a nice ball in the box by Marc, slides it to Franny, and he scores in the 39th. Daniel Candeais limps off the field injured, and we replace him with Javi, and swap his spot and Lucas’s. Half time. Keep it up! Hey, on the road ,up 3-1, that’s good stuff. After Freire’s header on defese goes right to a middie who hits an attacker pen on the left flink, I yank him for Costa. I’m going to start Mexer there next game. They begin pushing hard, so I tell my lads to begin hassling and marking more tightly to change things up. It doesn’t matter, they hit the equalizer in the 63rd. I order my folks to a Control style, higher tempo offense. After getting ayellow and knocked around, I put in Mexer for Strandberg. Then attacking in the final 10 minutes. They score right after. Then off a corner kick, the ball bounces for a bit before Franny sinks it and we are even again. And that’s game, 4-4 tie on the road against Vit.. I’m far from pleased. Benfica won, so instead of continuing to be up by 3 points, we are now just up by 1.

[Abe Sargent]

Candeais is out for a few days and will miss the next game at least. We’ll start Javi in Lucas’s spot and slide him over. After getting to 4.3 mill, I cancel the contract talks with the wonderkid, they kept rejecting our offer.

I sign a new 3 year deal with Nacional da Madeira.

Martins is back in the squad for today’s home match. We are starting Mexer and Javi. Keep the run going! We’ll keep a normal set up, just to get a feel for the early game. From the Candeais spot, Lucas Castro crosses to Rondon for a score in the 5th, but they come back and score of fan incredibly long shot 4 minutes later to tie things. I move to controlling, since I’m feeling a bit of momentum our way, despite the score. Then Castro hits Espinosa for another score in the 19th minute. Rondon intercepts a pall from the GK to a DC and on the volley hits an open net. They return the favor for a strong offensive score in the 41st. Room for improvement. Skolnik picks up a knock – I pull him for Luis Carlos. He invariably plays better than his stats. He just tackled someone and stole the ball on the edge for example. I pull Franny C for Jardel. Then Martins for Sequeira. We hold off a counter-assult later for a 3-2 win. Close. MOM I Rondon. We got away with that lads!


At home, Braga beat Benfica. So we pull out again.

While we are out in the Champions play, I still want to win today’s home match, if for no other reason that to bring home a cool million Euros. I begin countering, and wish my boys luck. Mexer and Javi are still starting. Franny has begun to solidify his spot across from Rondon. They are over powering us across the pitch early on, so I tell them to increase marking and hassling. Then Skolnik finds Rondon for score off the left side for a score in the 16th. Our finishing has been letting us down, we’ve had control, had good chances for 20 more minutes, but no finish. Work the ball into the box folks. In the 37th minute the other Rondon (Striker for Zenit, also a Venezuelan international) scores, but its waved off. Peratta did everything he could to stop that 1:1 break away by Rondon and pushed it aside, but they score off the corner kick. Half. Go get us a goal! I sub out Martins for Rodrigues when he collect s aknock. Their Rondon gets a yellow (I was scared, I thought it was ours). Lucas Castro is then injured and forced to come out. I swap over Rodrigues, slide Aurelio to MR, and then put in Sequeira for the DL spot. In the late 60s I tell my guys to pick up teh pace. For my final sub, I pull out Franny for Dj. Much higher tempo! Attacking! Game. Disappointing.

[Abe Sargent]

We won 500k. Martins is out for a week with a gashed arm. Meanwhile, Candeais should be back for the next game.

After crushing Sporting, Porto have moved to 2nd. If we beat Benfica today, they will had had some major losses. Even though we are at home, I begin countering and let’s keep up the run! No one is close to goal for a while. Much later, Candeais finds Lucas Castro who shoots, the ball is pushed back to Rondon who scores in the 31st. Half time. Played well, room for improvement. When Daniel is driving at goal, they give a professional foul to keep him from getting to close and a red card in the 49th minute. I make some changes. Up the tempo, begin hassling and tighter marking, move to control, and more. Nothing happens with the IFK. We are already pushing up the flanks and get two major surges that are just pushed away. We get a goal disallowed by Franny. I toss in Agra for Franny. He’s not been playing well today. They get a very lucky IFK to sink in the 71st from 40 yards away. Attacking, Marc gets a yellow, much higher tempo, but we still can’t get that second goal. That was annoying. We could have 6 points yup right now on Benfica and Porto, not 4 on each.

[Abe Sargent]

We got knocked down to the Euro from the Champions, and are drawn against Basel. Today we start Djaniny, Costa for Mexer/Freire. Our final league match for the first half of the season arrives today home against Belenenses. I begin controlling. It’s another very, very quiet game. Marc got a yellow card. Then Lucas Castro smashes Rondon with a pass in the 87th minute to go up 1-0. I pull back my folks to defend. Then Strandberg gets a red card in the 90th. We hold on to win. MOM is Castro, the Lucas one. That was a bit of a let off. I get pissed off at Strandberg, who clearly deserved the card.

Martins will come back for us for the next game from his injury. I issue a formal warning to Strandberg.

For the league cup, we are in


Group B

Portimonense
Braga
Nacional da Madeira
Beira-Mar

I don’t like getting matched against one of the Big Five, since we were seeded 1st along with the Big Three, there was just a 50% chance of getting Braga or Maritimo.

[Abe Sargent]

The Halfway mark

Nacional da Madeira, 36 points, +18 GD
Benfica, 32, +12
Porto, 30, +16
Sporting, 29, +10
Maritimo, 28, +17
Braga, 27, +16
Vit Setubal, 22, -1
Vit Guimaraes. 20, -3
Belenenses
Ferreira
Rio Ave
Gil Vicente
Arouca
Academica
Portimonense
Olhanense


We are doing fairly well so far. If we could just have beaten Benfica, it would look a lot better.




We now have a home game vs Braga on the 27th for the League Cup. Since he’s in form, I’m leaving in Costa, but Martins and Franny Castro are in starting spots for today’s cup match. If we can defeat Braga here, we should make it to the Quarters, the other two games are against a 15ht place club and a club from a lower level of football. I begin standard, but pull back to counter after Braga have some initial push. Rondon is given the ball way out on the right by Marc and finds Lucas Castro for a score in the 33rd minute after a quiet half. Half time. You’re capable of better! After getting banged around and not playing super hot, Dj comes in for Franny. Then Aurelio hits Strandberg for a score in the 71st. In heads Javi. In the 77th, Espinosa scores after the ball is wrestled for in the box. Final sub is Sequeira. We crush them 3-0. I’m very happy! MOM was Strandberg, odd after he got a red card last match.


And that’s our last football of 2015.

[Abe Sargent]

Sebastian Peratta has announced he will retire at the end of the season. Can he go out with a win for Nacional da Madeira? I recommend management, and he agrees.

December 30th has arrived – time to see who has a contract coming up in 6 months. Who can we get for our team next year?

What do I need?

These players are currently leaving (of note) this year:


Daniel Candeais.
Sequeira
Seastian Peratta
Mexer
Fabian Ruiz


I like Daniel, we’ve had great years with him. But, he’ll be 28 in February. How much longer can we realistically have him? If I can find someone better, I feel obliged to do just that. Now, I like Danny. In the three years as a starter for me he has:

63 apps, 16 goals, 27 assists, , 7.17, 7, 15, and 7.30 ratings. That’s very respectable stuff. If he was 24, I’d reup him happily. He’s not. Always. Be. Growing. Now, I replaced Skolnik, and then decided to keep him anyway. We might do that with Danny C too, but for now, he’s slotted to be replaced.

My guess is that next year Costa will replace Friere in the starting DC spot. Mexer won’t have value anymore as my suddenly 4th , so he’s free to leave. That means I have a space for my 4th DC. But I can figure that out later.

So my first goal is to find a new MR, if possible. I suspect I’ll sign Ruiz back for a new deal soon. In fact, I just go ahead and offer him a deal for squad rotation now for a few years.

What we like about Candeais as a winger in attack mode is his speed – 15/15. 15 agility, 13/12 cross/pass, 14 dribble, 15 flair, 13 otb and 10 decisions along with a 13 technique. I can’t swap Danny out for someone who is fas but not a good passer or vice versa.

Let’s look at two options:

25 year old Henri Lansbury, of Nottingham Forest.

14/15 speed, 15/14 cross, pass, 13 balance, agility, 15 dribbling, 14 technique, 12 decisions, 14 flair, 15 otb. Not a bad option


23 year old Stefano Magnasco, of FC Groningen

15/15 speed, 13/12 cross, pass, 11 balance, 14 agility, 12 dribblie, technique, 12 decisions, 11 flair, 12 otb.

I can go for the cheaper, better Lansbury. Or the more expensive, younger Magnasco.

Do I want the 25 year old who is better?


I make Lansbury the offer.

I look to see if any other talent is obviously a great pickup for us. I’m still not happy with Andrei Marc at the DMC spot. I could bring in a great DMC, and move him with Freire to be our DC backups. The Basque wonderkid was a natural DMC too.

We love Dennis Praet, 21 years old, great stats (like 17 passing), but not good DMC stuff. Horrible marking and tackling for this level (7 each) as an example. I send out some enquiries for some younger DMCs that I might be able to sign, since I Can’t find a good one for free coming of a contract soon.

WOAH. I found my guy and made him a great offer. I found a Danish stud in my neck of the woods. He wasn’t that interested in my club We’ll see what happens soon. Will he sign?

Ruiz does.

[Abe Sargent]

January, 2016

3rd – Away vs Maritimo, Taca
10th – Away vs Maritimo
14th - Away vs Portimonense, League Cup
17th – Home vs Portimonense
23rd – Away vs Beira-Mar, League Cup



Good trainers for December include Mouss Diallo, Rodrigues and Jorge Agra


I select a Champions Cup challenge. I get some more money.


Messi wins the World Golden Ball, and World Player of the Year

Rotariu gets the European Golden Boy


I use my new money to increase my offer to my golden boy I found, and hope that Iam able to fend off other suitors.

There is a younger Portuguese player my scouts let me know about from Leixoes, a 2nd league club. He’s supposedly another younger 16 year old Striker with great potential. I take a closer look. Another is Vitor Barreto, a 17 year old AMC, MC from Louletano in the Championship. We have a ton of great young talent here in Portugal, and I want to encourage it as much as possible, so as I come across some of these quality youth players at lesser clubs, I want to envelop them and bring them to our side to help them along.

I made offers to both youth prospects.

Henri Lansbury is coming to Portugal.

[Abe Sargent]

Remember how we sometimes would have quality players who might sign with us, but we lacked the finances to give them a reasonable salary? Well, we just beat out FC Bayern resigning, and another team that made an offer for Pierre-Emile Hojberg, a player I added to my shortlist after looking over their roster when we played them. He’s amazing. You’ll see.

Let’s begin with a defensive set up in today’s Taca match away at Maritimo, our first game of the year. They score in the 9th off an IFK header. Rondon reciprocates in the 30th after Lucas Castro hit the crossbar on a shot and it rebounded to him. Then a boring game results. We hit 1-1 at the end and its extra time. Penalty kicks.

They sink their 1st.
Espinosa sinks his – 1-1
Peratta gets his hands on their shot but can’t keep it out. Our GK Peratta sinks it. 2-2.
They sink their 3rd. Franny Castro sinks his. 3-3
They are at 4-3. Daniel Candeais steps up and blasts one in as well 4-4.
They hit their 5th. Can Luis Martins keep us in sudden death? He can! 5-5

Sudden Death – They make it. Rodrigues does not, and is pushed aside. They win in penalties. We are now out of the Taca da Portugal.

[Abe Sargent]

I spent 135k for the two Portuguese youth folks that impressed us. Here they are:


ST Sergio Laranjeira, 16, 17/14 speed, 7/13 jump/head, 11 finishing, 14 work rate, 17 team work, 16 determination, signed for several years after he turns 17 in June. 4.5 star scout review.

AMC, MC Vitor Barreto, 17, 12/14 speed, 17 fitness, 18 work rate ,11 pass, 13 dribb, 10 finish,1 4 first touch, 12 technique, 10 determination, flair, composure, etc. Signed for several years on a hot prospect contract, also had a 4.5 star scouting rating, 875/week.


We are starting Friere and Mexer for today’s follow-up match against Maritimo. Get us revenge! Still defensive though. Franny Castro feeds Rondon off the center for a score in the 13th, and I pull us back to counter. Then Danny C collects a yellow. Lots of pressure by both sides. I move to retain possession, and tighter mark. They get a yellow. Despite a massive counter attack opportunity jumpstarted by Candeais on the right, we both are blanked for the rest of the half until extra time, when they manage to hit a tasty shot from just outside of the box. Skolnik feeds Rondon and he just blasts past the keeper in the 51st. I put in Rodrigues for Candeais and swap him with Aurelio. Francisco Castro shoots off a Skolnik assist, pushed away by the GK, Skolnik pounces and scores in the 68th. Costa comes in for a poor-playing Mexer. Javi steps in too. We win 3-1. MOM is Rondon. I’m very happy. You know, even Franny C got a pair of assists,


Rondon and Francisco Castro were both in Team of the Week.

[Abe Sargent]

The results from the Ruiz-Peratta link up for our GKs apparently were really good. I want to sign someone to tutor Rodrigues. Can I find someone good? I found an old, cheap DR, and am scouting him out now.

Starting for today’s game is Costa and Strandberg in the DC spots, Agra across from Rondon, and Espinosa. Keep up your run! After going in when Javi was injured, Lucas Castro scores off a Candeais pass. Agra gets a score right before the half off a Skolnik pass. Half time – keep it up! Rondon is given a lovely on sides ball by Agra and scores. MOM is Agra after we win 3-0. Well done lads!


However, Javi Espinosa is out for more than a month.


Once again we do a double with someone for their league game just after a Cup match, both on the road. Today I’m starting Agram bew signee Vitor Barreto, Costa, and Rodrigues. We begin standard again. I’d love to see another 3-0 victoire for us. Keep up our run folkses! We injured their GK in the 36th minute and he leaves the pitch. I move to controlling. Now score at the half, but Rondon breaks through in the 48th minute. Freire and Sequeira sub in later. And we win. Barely. 1-0. MOM was Rondon, obviously. We got lucky there folks.

[Abe Sargent]

The results from the Ruiz-Peratta link up for our GKs apparently were really good. I want to sign someone to tutor Rodrigues. Can I find someone good? I found an old, cheap DR, and am scouting him out now.

Starting for today’s game is Costa and Strandberg in the DC spots, Agra across from Rondon, and Espinosa. Keep up your run! After going in when Javi was injured, Lucas Castro scores off a Candeais pass. Agra gets a score right before the half off a Skolnik pass. Half time – keep it up! Rondon is given a lovely on sides ball by Agra and scores. MOM is Agra after we win 3-0. Well done lads!


However, Javi Espinosa is out for more than a month.


Once again we do a double with someone for their league game just after a Cup match, both on the road. Today I’m starting Agram bew signee Vitor Barreto, Costa, and Rodrigues. We begin standard again. I’d love to see another 3-0 victoire for us. Keep up our run folkses! We injured their GK in the 36th minute and he leaves the pitch. I move to controlling. Now score at the half, but Rondon breaks through in the 48th minute. Freire and Sequeira sub in later. And we win. Barely. 1-0. MOM was Rondon, obviously. We got lucky there folks.

[Abe Sargent]

I am starting GK Ruiz, DR Franco, DL Gonzales, DC Costa, DC Mexer, ML Luis Carlos, AMC Jose Goncalves, ST Agra, MR Aurelio, DMC Marc and ST Djaniny. Let’s control them on the road. Quiet first half. I get pissed off at them in the half time speech, and in th e47tyh minute, Aurelio crosses to Djaniny for a score. Then Agra is injured and pulled for the new youth guy Sergio Laranjeira. That’s it, we win 1-0. MOM was Aurelio. Yay Qualification.

We made 128k for making it out of our group and to the Semis of the League Cup.

Porto have Benfica and we are home vs P Ferreira for the Semis.


I sign Paulo Sergio to be a mentor for Rodrigues. He arrives, and the 37 year old is on a backup contract.



I’ll leave Djaniny in the starting lineup. Rondon scores after a Skolnik cross to Djaniny is headed away by a DC near him. Skolnik follows in the 11th with a Lucas Castro ball. I pull Marc for Mexer after the idiot gets a yellow. Still room for improvement! I put in Moussa Diallo for Lucas Castro. Freire has to get pulled for Costa due to a major injury. They claw one back in the 65th. We’ve had two Rondon goals called offside. After two collapse around Rondon, he finds Dj for a score in the 75th. Moussa Diallo hits Dj in just a thread of space and he scores again in the 80th. MOM is Skolnik.


Freire will be out for 3 weeks with a twisted knee. Mexer will start.

[Abe Sargent]

February

7th – Away at Academica
11th – Home vs P. Ferreira, League Cup
14th – Away at Arouca
18 – Home vs Basel, EURO
21st – Home vs Porto
25th – Away vs Basel, ERUO
28th – Home vs Gil Vicente


Aurelio, Perrata, and Diallo were not great in training, but Abreu, Agra, and Paulo Franco were.

Mario Rondon won Player of the Month. Dejan Skolnik was 3rd.

I won Manager of the Month

I tie Rodrigues and new signee Sergio together for tutoring.

Danny C is in the Team of the Week


I have All of the normal folks. Plus our new signee dresses. Let’s keep this wagon train a moving! By Countering. Skolnik hits Strandberg for a header early on via Corner Kick, then gets winded, so I put in our new signing for him. On a nice break, they score back. Then Rondon gets a score from a Castro assist. We are up 2-1. Keep it up! They gift us an OG and I put in Rodrigues and Costa. They climb one back on a lovely flowing move, before Rondon scores off a Costa ball lofted right over everyone to him. We win 4-2. MOM is Skolnik. Good win boys!

[Abe Sargent]

Today we have the match against Ferreira for the Finals of the League Cup. Porto beat Benfica and are in the Finals. Francisco Castro is back in the lineup. Keep up the run! Early in the first half they collect a booking, followed by a second. Marc is badly injured and I pull him for Costa. Shortly thereafter, Ferreria score. Then Candeais finds a nice spot to run into, crosses to Rondon, who scores, and it’s the half. The second half opens with a corner to Costa who puts it in and we are up 2-1. I start to protect the ball a bit more, such as keeping possession. I also slide back to standard. I slide in Agra for a disappointing Franny Castro. But, before he comes out, Rondon and him play a back and forth ball and Rondon scores in the 76th. Final sub -Rodrigues for Martins. On another corner, Candeais’s leg hits goal. We hold on to win 4-1, after being down 0-1. Congrats on making the finals! Rondon is MOM.

With a bruised thigh, marc will be out for about 20 days We’ll move Strandberg there and start Costa with Mexer.

[Abe Sargent]

Keep up the run today against Arouca! Marc is out, Freire still injured. A strike for paydirt in the 9th by Franny Castro is called off. Then they foul Franny two minutes later in the box and yield a PK which Rondon obviously sinks. I use tighter marking because they have some good passers I want to tie down. Lucas Castro feeds Franny for a score in the 25th that’s nowhere near offsides, just nice. Retain possession time. I slide to countering. They pile on some pressure near the end of the half. I’d like to keep them from scoring. We can slide back to Standard post half. Lucas Castro is injured and I’, forced to pull him out in the 42nd . I put in youth guy Jose Goncalves since Javi is still injured. Then Rondon is injured two minutes later. Rough. I toss in Agra. Half time. I keep counter since we’ve dropped two of our best offensive players. I also can’t sub in people for tired folks, since I have to keep my last guy in case of a 3rd injury. So I need to not do so much, I tell my guys to play slower. Strandberg is en-yellowed in the 69th. Francisco Castro hits Agra for a goal but its called offsides in the 71st. I put in Luis Carlos for Skolnik in the 80s. Franny hits a DFK for a score in the 88th Game, we win 3-0. MOM was F. Castro.

Injuries? Lucas is fine, but Rondon? Uh oh. He fractured his wrist and will be out for, gulp, 6 weeks. Not good. And not good timing. Franny won Team of the Week. Edgar Abreu asked to be transfer listed, and I agree. Wow. My American scout just uncovered his studly 18 year old Eric Shorey for Real Salt Lake.


For today’s match against Basel, Freire is back. We are starting Dj and Franny at the ST spots. Freire is on the bench as a sub, since he’s not super ready yet. We’ll begin standard in today’s home leg in the EURO. We had a great move that ended in a Lucas Castro strike that was held. But hopefully we’ll continue. They get a booking in the 9th. We had some more good shots in the 25th but all were turned aside. Without Rondon there, we aren’t winning many headers on crosses so I tell my guys to drill them. Candeais finds Djaniny on the right side for a goal in the 39th. Dj picked up a knock, but I’ll leave him in for a bit. Half. Keep it up. Played well, but room for improvement! I’d love to finish 2-0 in a game without Rondon. Aurelio finds Mexer’s head in a corner kick in the 49th who sinks it and we are up 2-0 as hoped. I move to counter, and then Aurelio grabs a yellow – not something he’s known for, really. Agra comes in for Dj now that we are up 2-0. They get a 3rd yellow. Sub 2 – Goncalves for Lucas Castro. Franny Castro sets up Goncalves at the corner of the box and he strikes and scores his first goal for the club. Final sub – Paula Franco for Aurelio. Lower Tempo folks. We win 3-0 without Rondon. MOM is Aurelio. Well done!

[Abe Sargent]

I hand out some rests. Today we have our home match vs Porto. We have to get used to winning without Rondon. Against a Big Three club, even here in Madeira, without Rondon forces me to begin countering. They score quickly off a shot, reboud, and put in. I order my folks to tighten up, and Luis Martins feeds Dj for a score in the 11th minute. They march down and score in the 26th, but its waived offsides. Despite the 1-1 score we are being outclassed so I order us to hassle and mark tighter. Strandberg collects a card. Half. We owe Porto! Skolnik sinks a DFK in the 47th. After Strandberg picks up a knock, I pull him for Freire, who swaps with Mexer. Lucas Castro also. I’ll put in Goncalves later. Final sub is youther Sergio L. for Franny Castro. I pull defensive to deal with some late pressure. Can we hold on? 4 extra minutes ugh. 1 go ne. 2 gone, 3 gone. 93:37. 94:05. Full time, We win 2-1. Good win! Mom is Djaniny.

Marc is starting to get back. I think he’ll be back after the next Basel match. We are on a huge unbeatable run right now. I’ve been focusing on attacking set pieces with Rondon out in every game, no matter what is advised. Maybe that’s been helping.

[Abe Sargent]

For today’s away match at Basel, I simply begin defensive. Freire is starting. Retain possession. We play a boring game and finish 0-0 at the half. Hold onto the aggregate lead! They score in the 51st. I toss in Agra for Dj. I slide to counter. Skolnik crosses to Lucas Castro who scores. Lucas was rattling the goals all day long and now he’s scored. Next sub – Rodrigues for Martins. It’s nice, we’ve scored at least one goal in every game this season. Tired, I pull Skolnik for Luis Castro. Candeais is called offsides after a great assist by Aurelio. Game. 1-1 tie, MOM was Skolnik. Well done!

We make 200k for advancing to the next stage of the EURO. We have Standard de Liege next. I hand out more rests.

Belenenses just beat Benfica in their place, a total trap game. Andrei Marc is back and pushes Strandberg back to a DC spot. Rio Ave just tied Porto in their place too.


I begin controlling in today’s match vs Gil Vicente. Keep the run going! A quiet half but Djaniny hits Candeais for a tight squeeze score. Half. Do better folks! After the half, Candeais drives hard down the side, crosses to Dj but the cross is enough to score on its own. 2-0 in the 58th. 4 minute slater they work the ball into the ball and score too. Agra in for Franny Castro. Rodrigues for Aurelio. I move back to standard. Then they score, and I move to attacking, super high tempo, and such. The post denies Dj in the 84th. Mexer for Freire. Mexer gets a yellow. We are unable to get a final score, and it’s all knotte dup. Mom is Danny Candeais. That was ugly!

How come in the week when Benfica and Porto opened up a chance, we got surprised by 12th placed team in our own place? So annoying… That was Skolnik’s 100th game for us. A virus is tearing through my youth club.

[Abe Sargent]

March

5th – Away at Sporting
10th – Away at Standard, EURO
13th – Away at Braga
17th – Home vs Standard, EURO
20th – Home vs Rio Ave

Javi Espinosa will be back by the Sporting match.

We loved Rodrigues, Ruiz, and Goncalves in training, but not Abreu and Strandberg.

Danny C is Team of Week.

I got 2nd place for Manager of the Month.


With 8 games to go, here is the top of the League Table

1 – Nacional da Madeira, 55, +30
2 – Braga, 48, +30
3 – Benfica, 46, +22
4 – Porto, 44, +28
5 – Sporting, 43, +16
6 – Maritimo, 38, +20


With 7 points in front, we are looking pretty keen. But an away loss to Sporting could change things quickly. Which is why I am beginning defensively on the road against them – keep our run going! I’m very ha[ppy with a tie today, in one of our remaining difficult games – especially without Rondon. I get up to make a cup of coffee in a K-Cup machine for a minute, and come back down in the 33rd minute having just scored. Lucas Castro drove on the left, crossed to Francisco Castro for a score. Half. Nothing happened besides that goal. Played well, still room for improvement! Keep possession and mark tighter. One of their players picks up a knock from a tackle by Marc, and another fouls Dj outside the box a minute later and is given a yellow card. Sub 1 – Javi Espinosa for Skolnik. They score, but it’s called offside. Sub 2 – Agra in for Djaniny. They notch another yellow card. Sub 3 – Sequeira for Lucas Castro, swap with Javi. Lower tempo! Can we withstand a huge surge by Sporting late? Yes we cane! We win on the road against a big three club 1-0. MOM is Strandberg with great defense (Other great games include Luis Martins and the Castros). Good win!

[Abe Sargent]

I should start giving Ruiz some starts to see if he has what it takes. He’s better than Perrata now, Sebastian has degraded in his 39th year. Joao Luis Rodrigues has signed his first professional contract with us! I get permission to hire more scouts - I make a pair of offers.

We are slight favorites on the road today in Belgium. I’ll begin defensive, since this is continental football on the road in the 2nd Knockoff Leg of the EURO. After 14 minutes, I ease up a bit to counter. Not a lot of offense by either team thus far. Then they get a nice attack before we make the change. They grab a yellow card. Then another. After several nice passes they have a powerful strike from the corner of the box to sink into the net for a goal. A Skolnik goal is waved, he fouled a defender. They get a 3rd booking. Half. Show me something else!!! It’s looking bad, but then one of their stars gets a second yellow and is sent off. I make some changes immediately. Let’s go! In goes Agra for Francisco Castro. Skolnik off for Espinosa. Goal by Dj called offsides. We don’t manage to score that goal, despite 34 minutes of an extra man. I’m far from pleased!!!


I hand out some rests too.

We sign former international Malek Cherrad, from Algeria, as our scout. Then a German scout, Gerhard Poschner.

I have now added East Africa and Middle East to our scouted areas.

[Abe Sargent]

Our last seven division matches are

At Braga
Rio Ave
Ferreira
At Vit Setubal
Vit Guimaraes
At Belenenses
At Benfica

So after today’s match vs Braga, our schedule warms up for a while. Mark tightly. Play defensive! Skolnik is injured in the 30th and I put in Espinosa. Very quiet half. 0-0. You can still win tonight! Agra swaps in for Djaniny. They score in the 66th. They hammer Candeais, and I sub in Rodrigues for him and move up Aurelio. We fail to score and lose 0-1 on the road vs Braga. Far from pleased!

We weren’t going to keep it up. We had to lose eventually. We’ve struggled to find goals post-Rondon. It’s as simple as that.


New youth players were just added to our roster. Let’s take a look over them and see.

Any Jorge Agra, Joao Luis Rodrigues or Hernani Costas? Maybe a GK Jose Morreira?

They one they want me to keep an eye on is Pedro Pereira, so I look at him first. I look at every single one. This looks like a weak class compared to our other ones. Ah well. I take a quick look at youthers around the nation. Other ones that tweak us, need a scout? Meh, I just offer some trials to nine folks, and let them come to me.

[Abe Sargent]

Losing 1-0 on the road is not bad, if we can beat Standard here by a two goal margin we’ll be in. I keep things Standard. We owe them! Other then seeing our foes collect two booking and an injury, they have a quiet half. WE OWE THEM!!!!. Our chances are running dry. The n 2 minutes into a 2nd half, they foul us in the box and up steps Djaniny for the PK and he sinks it. We are up 1-0. Aurelio collects a card. On a break away Francisco Castro drives, finds Djaniny and he puts it away in the 55th. We are up 2-0 baby – we hold onto this, and we win on aggregate. But one score by them means we lose, so I’m not pulling back and defending just yet. Then Franny is injured, and I have to put in Agra for him. I don’t want to – it’s a big match for him. But I have to. They have closed shop, trying to prevent any further scores. One score by us means they have to score 2, so they are playing defensively minded football. They score on a break! But then it’s called offside. 2 minutes later, Candeais crosses to Agra, who heads it in for a score, and the young guy gets his 6th goal of the season. They collect a 3rd yellow. I move back to counter as they press forward. 2nd sub – Rodrigues for Aurelio, in the 71st. They get a 4th yellow for fouling Skolnik. Playing rough. Retain possession, lower tempo! They get a huge break away chance but its hits the crossbar. Our final sub is a tired and underplaying Lucas Castro for Javi. Even after a pair of corner kicks, they have nothing. They barely stop another score by Agra. That would have bene lights out, time to go home. 87th minute, 89th minute, 3 extra minutes. And that’s it, we win 3-0 after a crazy second half nets us a trio of goals! MOM is Daniel Candeais. I’m very happy!!!

We have made it to the EURO Semi Finals. These teams are left:

Nacional da Madeira
Rubin (Russia)
AS Monaco FC
CKSA Moscow
Real Sociedad
Napoli
Tottenham
Juventus

Knocked out of this round include Liverpool, Stuttgart, AC Milan and Schalke.

If we can draw Rubin…

We won 350k

Here is the draw

Nacional da Madera va CKSA Moscow
Juventus vs Real Sociedad
Napoli vs Monaco
Tottenham vs Rubin


So we have a feasible match.

Moscow won 11 years ago. We don’t just want to assume that since their a Russian team that we can handle them when we dogpounded Zenit all of those teams. They have arguably the best Russian GK of all time in Igor Akinfeev back there. We’ll see what happens, but simply because I’m not going against a club from England, Spain, Germany, Italy or France doesn’t mean that we have a bye.
 

[Abe Sargent]

Back to club football for a bit. Sporting hosting Benfica and they tie 2-2. Another opportunity to pull away today in our match against Rio Ave. Fabian Ruiz will start for us in the GK spot. Pick up where you left off! I’m very pissed off. We tied 0-0. I like that Ruiz got a clean sheet, and I’m pissed that my team couldn’t find a goal with a dowsing rod. I’m not even going to bore you with the details. But Benfica lost on the road. So hey, we got a point over them. We have to learn how to close out the season. This is not the first time we’ve struggled late.



I only sign one of our of the Trialists I made offers to.

Rondon will be back by the next match, on the 31st of March against CSKA Moscow.

GK Fabian Ruiz was capped today for the first time for the US. I congratulate him.

[Abe Sargent]

I hope to do well in today’s match against Moscow. We are at home in Madeira but I still begin countering. I’m glad we have Rondon back to test that GK of theirs. They score in the 4th minute. Uh oh. But then Francisco Castro is given a pass by the other Castro, finds Rondon, and he scores in the 14th. Its 1-1. Then they march back down and score, again. That’s not good, I can’t let in that many away goals. Rondon unselfishly gives Franny the ball but he can’t keep it on target. They get a header and a hat trick. And then another. They get a 5th score before the half. So its, ummm, 5-1 at the half? Got a good half time talk that’ll work there? How about show me something else. Please. We literally had the ball bouncing in the box for about 40 seconds and took four shots and still couldn’t get one to sink. Skolnilk scores in the 64th. I pull a yellow carded Lucas Castro for Javi. I sub in older players like Mexer and Sequeira rather than young players who might get depressed. Well hey, at least we held them 1-0 in the second half. You were just unlucky?

Like I said, we can’t take Moscow lightly.

[Abe Sargent]

April

3rd – Home vs P. Ferreira
7th – Away vs CSKA Moscow, EURO Quarter Finals
10th – Away vs Vit. Setubal
17th – Home vs Vit. Guimaraes
23rd – Neutral vs Porto, League Cup Final

Good trainers included Peratta, Agra and Franco, while Rondon and Paulo Sergio were not.

With 5 games to go, we have 4 points on Braga and Benfica, and 6 on Porto.

I’ll start Ruiz against Ferreira today. I’ll also start Rodrigues. Much better performance tonight! I start out controlling. We have early control of the game, but no score results. Candeais crosses over both strikers driving all the way to Skolnik who scores in the 14th behind the GK. I sub in Dj for a wounded Franny Castro. Keep it up in the next half! They collect a booking. Costa replaces Freire. Javi for Lucas Castro. They are moving forward more, trying to find that last goal, so I slide to counter and such. Skolnik scores again in the 89th minute as Daniel crosses to Rondon who heads it to Skolnik instead of at goal. And that’s game, we won 2-0. MOM is Skolnik.

Braga tied. 450 minutes since Ruiz has conceded a goal. (He never has).

[Abe Sargent]

Next Is the woodshed game against CSKA Moscow. I’m going heavy defensive, just to keep things interesting. Lucas Castro is red carded for this match and cannot play. We owe them! I begin with retaining possession, high marking and tackling. They score in the 38th. And then Javi just steals the ball from a DC in the box and scores in extra time ands its1-1 at the half! Let’s just win this game. Even if we lose on aggregate, let’s push them around here in Moscow like they did us in Madeira. (Not a halftime option, but I wish it was!). They score off a corner kick in the 58th. Freire for Mexer. Rondon gets an amazing pass by Javi to score in the 68th, but its offsides. They hit a DFK in the 71st. Sequeira for Martins. Moussa Diallo heads in too. Marc with a booking late. We lose 3-1 on the road and 8-3 aggregate. They manhandled us.


We made 450k for making it that far. The sweet European money train continues!

[Abe Sargent]

The 10 semifinalists for the Portuguese Best Players include Daniel Candeais and Joao Aurelio

Rondon and Franny Castro are on the Forward Shortlist.

Strandberg is on the DC shortlist. Luis Martins for fullback.

I hand out some rests.

Braga and Benfica tie, which helps us pull away with a win. Olhanense have already been relegated with 3 games left. I’ll start Agra in today’s matchup away vs #8 Vit Setubal. I’ll keep Javi out too. He was the only one to play well last time. Lucas has been disappointing recently. I play the hot leg. Much better performance than last time! I begin countering. Its quiet early, but then Javi gets a lovely pass from Martins, runs a bit, feeds Rondon to his right and Rondon scores on a lovely little break. They move forward, and I order my foolks to more tightly mark these passers. Half time. You can do even better! A few crosses are snuffed out in both sides, with little attacks up the middle. Costa in for Freire. Castro for Javi. Sequeira for Skolnik. Marc with a yellow card. We win 1-0 on the back of a Rondon goal. MOM is Aurelio.

[Abe Sargent]

With 3 games to go, we have an 8 points lead over Porto and Braga. So if we win today’s match against Vit Guimaraes, who just made it to the Taca finals, then we have won the Portuguese Premier League. I begin standard to knock out any rust. Marc shoots a long shot from outside the goal, on target, and sinks it in the 4th minute. Nicely done! Javi to Rondon offside. They’ve had two very close headers. We need to watch out. Skolnik finds Rondon for a score in the 27th. Called offsides. Half time. You are capable of more! We are a half away of football at home against the 10th best team in the league from winning the division and hitting all of my goals with this dynasty at the end of the 3rd year. Can we keep this up? They’ve had some good plays, so I move to retain possession and mark tighter. 1st sub, Costa in for Strandberg. Lucas Castro in for Skolnik. Rodrigues for Martins. I certainly would have hoped for more goals, but we just won 1-0. Any W counts. We have won the league. MOM is Andrei Marc. Enjoy your success!!!!!



We have officially won the league. We began in front, and never gave it up. Boom!



I tell them to rest a bit and get ready for the League Cup!


We’ll focus on attacking set pieces.

Who else has a job status of untouchable? Just 11 other folks in our active leagues.

[Abe Sargent]

Last year, we won our first Taca da Portugal, after having never even made it to the final before. Today, we are in the Finals of the League Cup, also something we’ve never done. Can we defeat Porto? They have never won either (but lost four times). Let’s find out! We are underdogs so I’ll come out firing. I want to start attacking, instead of the normal attitude. Who will win the Taca da Liga? I have made no changes to my squad, we are loaded and ready for bear. Porto score in the 4th minute. Alright fine. Lesson learned. I move to counter, hassle opponents, mark tightly. They push forward, and we have just a few attacks. Luis Martins gets a yellow card, and then, in the 28th minute, they drop a man as they foul Marc nastily and get a red. Manoel, a DC/DR guy they really value is out. I go to some of my normal stuff – standard, up tempo, wider on the pitch. I remove hassling. Maybe this is a sensitive ref. Can we turn this into a win? Or will it be like the last game we saw this happen down 0-1 and were unable to score. Half time. Nothing yet. I get aggressive - SHOW ME SOMETHING ELSE! What they showed me was allowing a counter attack to score in the 47th minute. But then Skolnik hits Francisco Castro for a score in the 51st and we still are begging for a blasted GOAL I pull Martins for Rodrigues. Candeais finds Franny for another goal in the 61st. It’s 2-2 officially. Let’s keep going! And That’s his hat trick, as Javi hits him for a goal in the 69th minute! Costa in for Strandberg, who has not played well (just a 6.1). They’ve have some great attacking shots, Perrata has pushed them aside. They get two more bookings. I remove our tempo and lower ourselves to counter. I’ll save my last sub until late, in case of a tie, for ET. I put in Agra for Rondon in Extra Time. We hold on and win 3-2. What a game! Franny is OBVIOUSLY the MOM. Congrats!!!


Ruiz was concerned with the lack of 1st team ball, and I told him he’ll feature in my First Team next second, and he accepted that. Apparently, Jorge Agra learned a lot from Rondon, while Costa learned a lot from Freire.

Juventus and Tottenham made it to the EURO Final.

[Abe Sargent]

May

1st – Away vs Belenenses
7th – Away vs Benfica


We like Djaniny, Abreu and Rodrigues in training, but not Paulo Sergio or Freire.

I won Manager of the Month

A year earlier, here was Hernani Costa:



Physical – 10, 12, 10, 13, 7, 11, 12, 12
Mental – 3, 9, 10, 10, 12, 8, 11, 3, 5, 8, 6, 11, 14, 15
Technical – 6, 3, 7, 4, 12, 5, 12, 5, 2, 14, 11, 8, 12, 7



And now, here he is today:


Physical – 12, 13, 12, 14, 8, 12, 14, 14
Mental – 3, 11, 10, 11, 13, 10, 12, 7, 6, 9, 7, 13, 15, 16
Technical – 7, 5, 8, 5, 12, 6, 13, 6, 3, 15, 12, 9, 14, 8

Again, you can see the change over Costa. He will start for us next year, no question. I have mentored, tutored, and developed him. You could pay me 20 million tomorrow and I wouldn’t let him (or Rodrigues) go. They are the future of Madeira, of Portugal, and of us.

His favorite personnel include Me, Freire, Mexer, and one of the backroom staff. (Freire and Mexer were both mentors to him).

[Abe Sargent]

I start Costa today, as well as Rodrigues. We’ll initiate the game with a counter mentality and see where that leads us. When Skolnik sinks a DFK in the 7th minute, it seems like it’s going alright… This is our last game to have fun. I can’t start a bunch of youthers in what is likely to be a tough as nails game against Benfica on the road. Therefore, I have some fun younger folks on the bench. They score back in the 20th. Then Franny hits Espinosa for a score in the 36th. Back up in front. I move to Standard . Half. In go Luis Carlos for Skolnik, Agra for Rondon. Agra loops a shot deliciously over their GK and right into the goal in the 49th. Good stuff from the young’un. Final sub – Backup old guy Paulo Sergio for Joao Aurelio. So despite being on the road, playing youth players either the whole game or a whole half and a backup guy for 25 minutes, we still win 3-1 on the road. Awesome! MOM is Rodrigues with 2 assists in the FB spot that Luis Martins normally plays in. Good win!

[Abe Sargent]

I work on attacking set pieces for Benfica. Skolnik in Team of the Week. We have a bunch of youthers called up the Euro U19 Championship Qualifiers.

I’m starting just my normal squad, minus youth. No Costa or Rodrigues starting. Here we go – starting defensively, and with my grown up squad. Lucas Castro is back. They score right before Luis Martins is injured and I put in Paulo Sergio the backup again. They gift us an OG in the 37th when Skolnik lifts a corner and they head it into goal. They even had positioning too, and none of our players were 5 feet from the ball. They just panicked. Just before the half they score again. 2-1 them. Push it! Next sub – Mexer for Freire. I want Mexer and Sequeira to play today. This is their final match for us. Skolnik heads to the bench for Sequeira. We lost 1-2. Martins will be out for a couple of weeks with a twisted ankle.

[Abe Sargent]

The Final League Table:

1 – Nacional da Madeira, 71, +34
2 – Porto – 66, +44
3 – Benfica -65, +35
4 – Braga, 63, +36
5 – Maritimo, 54, +24
6 – Sporting, 54, +19
7 – Rio Ave, 39, -3
8 – P. Ferreira, 37, -5
9 – Vit Setubal, 37, -15
10 –Belenenses, 35, -12
11 - Vit. Guimaraes, 34, -13
12 – Academica, 30, -23
13 – Gil Vicente, 29, -15
14 – Arouca, 23, -33
15 – Portimonense, 22, -24
16 – Olhanense, 14, -49

As you can see, we have really stratified the league with the Big Six (Martimo, Braga, use, the Big Three) and everyone else below. For much of the 2nd half of the season, Braga was behind us,but in the last few games they let Porto and Benfica get in front, and I’m disappointed.

We have done the impossible. Someone not named Porto, Sporting, or Benfica have won the division. And it’s us.

We need new goals!

1). Win the Liga again next year.
2). Get out of the Group Stage of the Champions Cup
3). Get the club to 100m value
4). Win all four Cups in the same year
5). Get to the Finals of European play.

[Abe Sargent]

Dejan Skolnik won Personality of the Year for Portuguese Football. Sebastian Peratta was 3rd. Congrats on winning the award!

Daniel Candeais came in 3rd in voting for Best National Player of the Year.

We won 1.57 Mill and gave out almost half to our squad for winning.


Rondon got 2nd for Forward of the year, Peratta got 3rd for GK.

We won the fair play award.


I approach my club to improve facilities since our training ones were downgraded due to technology. They agree.

Yearly training summary:

Costa, Agra, Goncalves, Rodrigues, Paulo Franco – yays!

Paulo Sergio, Peratta – boos.

Let’s win the title again boys! (In my team meeting)

[Abe Sargent]

Stats!


Rondon – 3rd goals – 18; 4th - MOM – 5; 15th – Key Passes, 17; 13th Average Rating – 7.26
Lucas Castro – 1st Assists, 13; 15th Dribbles/Game, 2.77; 1st Distance/Game, 12.67 klicks
Candeais – 13th Assists, 8; 6th Dribbles/Game, 3.5; 8th Shots on Target, 50%; 1st – Distance Covered, 350 klicks; 14th Average Rating – 7.25
Dejan Skolnik, 7 Assists; 6th Key Passes, 21; 17th Average Rating, 7.22.
Andrei Marc – 7th Tackles/Game – 4.54;
Francisco Castro – 6th – Shots on target, 54%; 5th Key Passes - 17
Djaniny - 8th Shots on Target, 50%
Perrata – 2nd Clean Sheets - 11
Strandberg -6th – Key Headers, 73; 5th Interceptions ,273,


Leaving of Note:

Perrata (retiring and leaving)
Mexer
Sequeira
Daniel Candeais

Moussa Diallo
Many Others

I’m still not 100% sure about Candeais. Am I making the right call? The replacement is better skillset, but will he actually be better? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

[Abe Sargent]

The Portuguese U19 squad beat Swiss – MOM was Rodrigues and Agra scored the only goal.


I sign a new youth coach who just retired. A guy I played with on the Mozambique National Squad – Dario.

Tottenham crush Juventus in the Euro Final 3-0

We made 2M for Euro TV Revenue.

After a relatively unsuccessful search of the Caribbean, I send that scout to Southern Africa.

Porto crush Vit Guimaraes in the Taca da Portugal 4-1.

I won Manager of the Year for Portuguese Liga.

FC Bayern beat Man City in the Champions Cup 1-0.

[Abe Sargent]

I have applied for and been accepted as the new U23 coach for Brazil. I was hoping to get a national side, but none never came up, so I’ll do the youth thing for Brazil instead. This is a nice challenge, to do the Olympics upcoming and see what I can do. I’m taking over one of the favorite teams. Hopefully I can use success here to springboard me to better stuff.


Olympics Group A:

Argentina
Australia
Ivory Coast
Spain


Group B:

France
Ghana
Japan
USA

Group C:

Brazil
Uruguay
Qatar
New Zealand

Group D:

Algeria
Germany
Mexico
South Korea


Top two teams qualify. What do you think my chances are of not qualifying? Exactly. I’m heading in as a heavy, but I sincerely doubt that even should I win, and the Brazil manager post open up, that I would be a serious contender. Brazil would never have a non-Brazilian coach the national side. But Brazil, despite their many honours, have never actually won the Olympics. So let’s aim for Gold!, and if we win, then perhaps a major side will listen.

My interest was considered big and my reputation muscled out others.

I have to select my squad this week. Alright, it’s ready to go. It’s downright nasty too. I would put this U23 squad for Brazil up against any national squad. I offer two friendlies to warm up to the Olympics Squad vs Argentina and Mexico, they accept.

[Abe Sargent]

Welcome to June!

My initial budget will be 5.24 mill transfer and 275k budget. Our sponsor, for one year, has doubled the previous stuff.

I have confirmed my squad for the Olympics


Fabian Ruiz has been called up to the US Olympics Squad.

I had bumped up Luis Carlos’s value to 4 mill to keep away people from sniffing his skirt. But Man U just made that 4 mil offer. I get them up to 5 mill. Then Luis Carlos rejected the bid. From Man U. Because he felt the pay increase after career league games wasn’t good enough. And that’s how we failed to make 5 million Euros today.


Our club has cracked the Top 50 European Clubs and leapt to #49.

Probably because of Sporting’s tumble to #53, we have lost a Champions Cup place. Now, only the 1st place club automatically gets to the Champions Cup Group Stage, not 1-2. We’ve fallen behind Russia and France.

[Abe Sargent]

Besiktas have signed Daniel Candeais.

I get an offer from Basel for Martins and I drive them to 2.2 mill (he’s worth 2 mill). Now, Rodrigues actually had a better ranking (6.95 vs 6.93) last year with a lot of subs. Martins was solid, but I could sell him and then either promote Rodrigues a year earlier than intended, or use this as an opportunity to upgrade the position considerably. I accept.

Let’s see if I can find the replacement for Martins. We bought him for 475lk and then flipped him for 2.2 mill plus a 30% of next sale fee. That’s good stuff. He’s not getting better and mostly peaked at 24. I’m comfortable with this sale, especially if I can flip him for someone else of higher quality.

What can I unearth? Since I have a great scouting resource in the National Pool of Brazil, I start there. Maybe some uber-superstar, like, say, Canela, a 16 year os Left fullback who I will be starting at the U23 level. He already has 18 tackling, 16 passing, 15 heading, etc. And he’s just worth 2.6 mill at the age of 16. This guy is sexy awesome. I scout him to see if we can figure out how much it’d take to lodge him (plus I think Brazilians can’t leave until 18). We would be pre-singing him.

Anyone else? The 21 year old Ronan is playing for my squad. He’s better than Martins, but not massively so. I could loan someone for a year if I can’t find a stud. I was expecting to move Rodrigues behind Aurelio next year, and I could just do that early. I’ve been working on his passing, but its still not great, and I don’t know if I want to give him the full starting job this year, and burn him out.

Okay, first of all, none of the hot young studs in DL football are interested in coming here. Except for super-stud Wonderkid Canela, my own guy on the U23 Brazilian club. He is mega hot. I make an offer. Now, he turns 18 in 13 months, so we would ne be getting him this year. What I would love to do is pick him up for next year, use the Martins money to help defray his cost, and then loan someone for this year as a one year patch. Then my future fullbacks will be incredible. The strength of the team with Rodrigues behind Aurelio and Canela where Martins was. That’s the plan. And Canela is amazing already. If I got him next year, what he already looks like, things would be incredible. I hope we’ll get someone even better.

I start scouting some loan candidates, just in case.

We agree to a 6 mill offer for Canela. We offer Canela a contract worth 14k a week.

[Abe Sargent]

We are now worth 26.5 mill

We were the Biggest Overachievers in the League this year.

Perrata has retired. Mario Rondon was voted the Player of the Year by the fans.

Tis June 29. We get 2.36 mill. I keep our Champions Cup Challenge for now.

We have 30 loans complete.

The 1st has arrived. Our new players get here. We’ll see them in a moment. I offer a deal to a new GK Coach.

I need a new captain. I could promote Skolnik. Is there someone else who might work? With Agra, Rondon, Djaniny and Franny, we’re fine in the ST spot. We have Javi, Lucas Castro in the AMC spot, and Skolnik and Javi for the ML one. We jus tbrought in Henri for the MR and Aurelio is good there too. I run my new stud out of DMC but Marc and Strandberg will do well too. I have Marc, Strandberg, Costa and Freire in the DC spot. DL I was looking for a loaner. I could, feasibly, sign a new older guy at DL for a year to be my captain. And tutor my youth. Somebody like say, Ashley Cole, Carles Puyol, or Razvn Rat. Cole and Puyol are retiring in afew days. Rat is not, however.

With his 114 international caps for Romania, and currently unsigned, maybe I just want to sign him. That seems like a better and better idea the more I think about it. He’s good still at 35, can be a great captain, will be my one year patch for the DL, and can mentor my younger players. (He’s also really good at set pieces too). That’s a good target. I offer him a 1 year deal.

Noon has arrived, and our players all get here. Martins has been sold and left.

Our GK coach signs on the 2nd. Mark Beeney, from England. He has 4.5 star GK Shot Stopping coaching.

On the 3rd we announce we have signed Canela. That’s a huge coup for us for next year.

[Abe Sargent]

My coaches recommend both Castros and Strandberg as the new captain.

Razvan Rat has joined us. Our best captain options are:

Leadership? 16 Franny, 15 Strandberg, 14 Agra, Goncalves, Paulo Franco, Skolnik, 13 Razvan Rat, Lucas Castro, Fabian Ruiz, Francisco Camppos

Determination? 18 Agra, 17 Ruiz, Rodrigues, 16 – Sergio Laranjeira, 15 Campos, Paulo Franco, Skolnik, 14 – Henri Lansbury, Aurelio, Goncalves, Rondon, Freire, Rat

Team work – 18 – Laranjeira, 16 – Ali, 15 – Costa, Strandberg, Sergio, 14 Rat, Agra, Franny Castro, Skolnik, Marc

Work Rate – 18 – Vitor Barreto, Skolnik, Goncalves, 116 – Costa, Campius, 15 – Agra, Rodrigues, Lucas Castro, Paulo Franco, Strandberg, Rat, Laranjeira, 14 – Ruiz, Marc Ali, Hojberg, Kevin Trulsen



Let’s look at Razvan Rat

So Rat is on all of the lists. And he’s seen it all. He won 6 league titles with Shakhtar, 2 with Rapid, he knows how to keep momentum. The last three years he started virtually every game in the Top Spanish league and last year alone he had a 7.3 rating. The previous year he had a 7.07 and had 5 MOM awards. He was one of the few bright lights as Rayo was relegated last season. He speaks a bajillion languages – Romanian, Russian, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Ukrainian, and Hungarian (but not Portuguese).

Razvan Rat will be playing DL for us for one year at 15k a week. He has 114 caps and a goal. He joins Andrei Marc as a fellow Romanian international. He’s just worth 30k, and even if I don’t make him my captain, he should prove to be a great tutor and mentor to Rodrigues. The Light-Hearted professional should be a quality first team signing for the next year.


Welcome man!

[Abe Sargent]

Our next major signing was MCRL Henri Lansbury, English, 25, signed for 15.25/week until 2019 and worth 5.25 mill. Signed for free from Nottingham Forest, where he played for years. This Fairly Ambitious lad jus speaks English, but we have enough of those around, such as Fabian Ruiz, me, and Rat.

Signed to be the replacement for an aging Candeais, he will have to step into his shoes. After looking at his stats before, here’s another quick look:


Physical – 14, 13, 13, 10, 12, 15, 12, 11
Mental – 13, 13, 9, 11, 12, 14, 12, 14, 14, 6, 15, 10, 12, 11
Technical – 14, 15, 15, 14, 16, 11, 7, 13, 4, 7, 14, 6, 13, 14

The keys here are his better passing that Danny, slightly slower, better dribbling and first touch, mentals are slightly worse. We suspect he’ll be just as productive on the pitch, younger, and better in the big game, when Danny would sometimes not show up. He’s also much better in front of the net, with that 14 finish and 13 long shots.


Welcome to Madeira!

[Abe Sargent]

Our final signings, and this one is huge is DMC/MC Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Denmark, 20, signed through 2020. We stole him from Bayern Munchen for 24k/week and key player. Our scouts love him, and think he’ll get even better with 5 stars of potential. The French/Danish footballer already has 7 caps and 4 goals for Denmark. He’s worth 7 mill, and our most valuable player. He can play DC, AMC, ST, AMR and MR too. I would not play him much at DC though, it exposes a major weakness (low heading of 8, his only major one).

Let’s examine just how awesome this guy is.

Physical – 13 Acceleration, 12 Pace – acceptable. 12, 15, 16, 15, 16, 14 everything else in order. The best is the 16 stamina (useful for this role), 14 strength, even 16 jumping (sad that its combined with a low heading).

Mental – 16 – Creativity; 15 – Aggression, Off the Ball; 14 – Composure, Decisions, Determination, Work Rate; 13 – Anticipation, Team Work, Positioning; 12 – Flair, Leadership; 11 – Bravery, 9 – Concentration. For a 20 year old, those are quite good stats. He’ll grow into a very sharp player.

Technical – 17 – Passing; 16 – Technique; 15 – Crossing, First Touch, Long Shots; 14 Finishing, Free Kick Taking, Penalty Taking; 12 – Dribbling, Tackling; 11 Corners; 10 – Marking; 8 – Heading; 7 – Long Throws


So, those Technical skills are very developed for someone this young. He’s not a physical stud, but he’s fine. Where he steamrolls everything is those mental and technical stats, which we expect should continue to develop. I would like to get that tackling, marking, and dribbling up. Particularly the two defensive stats, since I will likely be playing him in the DMC spot.


Welcome to the club, young star!

[Abe Sargent]

Our transfer money is gone, and our wage budget is: 203,499 out of 230,400. I lower it a bit to give myself 200k in transfer money,

Who is leaving in 2017:

Razvan Rat
Paul Sergio
Ricardo Baptista
Freire
Douglas Jardel
Mario Rondon
Joao Aurelio
Ali
Javi Espinosa
Luis Carlos
Hernani Costa
Youth folks - Campos, Goncalves, Venancio


I make an offer to Hernani Costa. First Team, 2700/week, 15% wage rise annually, until 2019.

Another question to review later – do I let a 30 year old Mario Rondon go, or do I sign him to remain my starting ST? How much longer can he be our main guy?

[Abe Sargent]

We play a friendly at Freamunde. We win 3-1. MOM is Lucas Castro.

In revenge of the World Cup, France defeat England to win the Euro 1-0 today.

Costa resigns with us. I know that I want to make Hojbjerg at least a Deep Lying Playmaker. Let’s start with that in a support role. I want to see how that goes. He might be a Regista later on.

Costa is a horrible stopper with his mighty 3 aggression. Se he’s my Cover DC instead, between Strandberg on the left and Aurelio on the right.

Skolnik agrees to tutor Luis Carlos. The guy who lost me 5 million. Paulo Franco agrees to learn from Freire. Rondon agrees to mentor Sergio Laranjeira.

Set Pieces:

Penalty Kicks:

Rondon
Hojberg
Djaniny
Aurelio
Javi
Franny



Throwing, Corners, and Free Kicks have all been doled out


Friendly away at Santana next. 6-0 at the half. MOM is Franny C, 10-1 ultimate victory.

[Abe Sargent]

Mario Randon has been in the Copa America for Venezuela. The US have huge potential in their youth and many stars in the youth ranks they can be proud of. I have a shortlist of like 10 or 12 hot American youth, like Ruiz.

Our U23 Brazil folks arrives to prepare for the Olympics.

I make an offer to Luis Carlos. But Jose Goncalves wants like 3500 an squad rotation, and refuses to accept a hot prospect developmental role. Fabian Ruiz is out for while since he is called to be an Olympian too.


Today we have a friendly away at Camacha. GK Baptista will start until Ruiz returns. We win 6-0. MOM is Hernani Costa.

I convince my board to have a Trial Day!

I create my own tactic as a backup to learn. Its 3 DCs, 2 wingbacks, 2 AML/R, 2 ST, and 1 MC. I nickname it the “God’s Eye” since it looks like a circle with a dot in the middle.

We are invited to do a Spanish Tor due to our popularity there, and we agree.

Celtic pissed me off today. They made an offer for Aurelio. Damn it. I could sell him, move Rodrigues up, and move on. Aurelio will be 28 next month, so I’m happy to resign him, over him, or let him go at the end of the year, as needs dictate. I think players like Joao Aurelio, Dejan Skolnik and Mario Rondon help fans know that we are the same team, just better. I accept a 2.3 mill offer for Aurelio.

Our trialists arrive, and I take a looksee. None of them impressed. In fact, some were former youth players of ours that tried to secure another go around.

[Abe Sargent]

I have my U23 friendly vs Argentina today. I won’t give you a bunch of details, since it’s just a chance to get a feel for my squad. We are playing a 4-3-2-1. We have tons of great middies, especially attacking ones, but not a lot of good true Strikers. Some of these players I added to the national pool so I could round out my team, such as Gilberto, who plays DR, WBR, MR and such.

My starters:

GK Rafael
DC – Marlon, Doria, Defend both
DR – Canela (Coming to Portugal in August 2017!), As Needed
DL – Igor Juliao, As Needed
MC – Marlon Bica, Support,
ML – Neymar, Attack
MR – Gilberto, Attack
AMC – Oscar, Support; Vitinho, Attack
ST – Otavio, Attack


I could take 3 players over 23, and I have Rafael, the best GK for the nation, who has started for the national squad, and Neymar and Oscar, just downright awesome players. Since the Copa America is going on, the Senior Squad has the best Gk and I took the 2nd best for the Olympics.

Marlon Bica is the captain, and Doria the Vice.


In the first 20 seconds, Gilberto finds Otavio for a score. Now I’m pulling back and just giving you a summary. We win 2-0, yay!

Next is our first friendly in Spain vs Hercules. Pick up where you left off! Rondon is back. We wi n4-1 and MOM is Franny with a hat trick.

I trim my squad for the Olympics final 18

[Abe Sargent]

Aurelio rejects the Celtic offer.

Next up Is the friendly vs Mexico. Here we go! Everybody loves my pick of captain. 1-1 tie.

Argentina won the Copa America – Brazil lost to them in the Finals.

Rodrigues benefitted greatly from the pairing with Paulo Sergio. Yay! Next up is a pairing with Razvan Rat.


Today is the friendly vs Zaragoza. This is our last friendly before the Supertaca. Lets hit em! We win 5-2. MOM was Henri Lansbury.

Well shoot, Sweden just came available while Im gearing up for the Olympics. That sucks. I don’t know if they’d have wanted me or not, but I don’t want to leave Brazil in the lurch.