How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

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Novara Calcio
Biancoazzurri

September 2013

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><link href="http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 3, 2013 - Novara vs Trapani</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (2-0-0)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">2</td><td class="active" align="right">2</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Trapani (1-0-1)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">1</td><td class="active" align="right">1</td></tr></tbody></table>

Rigoni 48'
Madonia 65'
Pesce 68'

Novara's opening match of the season at their home ground Stadio Silvio Piola was a success as the Biancoazzurri used two 2nd half goals to upend visitors Trapani 2-1. Despite a scoreless 1st half, Novara was quite dangerous, getting chances from Giorgos Katidis in the 21st minute and Marco Rigoni in the 42nd minute. However, Trapani goalkeeper Richard Marcone was up to the task on both attempts. Novara would break through quickly in the 2nd half though, when Gianmario Comi sent a cross into the box that Rigoni headed by Marcone in the 48th minute. Trapani would level the match in 1-1 in the 65th minute when Giuseppe Madonia fired a strike by Novara goalkeeper Tomáš Košický. The jubilation for Trapani would be short-lived as Daniele Buzzegoli dribbled into the box in the 68th minute and found Simone Pesce, who stayed in fine form by beating Marcone to put Novara up 2-1. Trapani was unable to mount a response as Alfredo Aglietti's men took the full 3 points.

MotM: Rigoni

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><link href="http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 14, 2013 - Latina vs Novara</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Latina (0-1-2)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">0</td><td class="active" align="right">0</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (3-0-0)</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">1</td><td class="active" align="right">2</td></tr></tbody></table>

Rigoni (PEN) 44'
González 74'

Novara stayed perfect through 3 games on the season as the Biancoazzurri went on the road and beat Latina by a score of 2-0. Novara showed they were ready to play early as Gianmario Comi forced Latina goalkeeper Raffaele Ioime to make a save in the 12th minute. Right before halftime, Novara got the chance they were looking for as defender Riccardo Brosco took down Pablo Andrés González in the box, and a penalty was awarded. The veteran Marco Rigoni stepped up and fired a shot by Ioime for the 1-0 lead. The 2nd half saw Novara double the score as Simone Pesce placed a perfectly timed through ball to spring González who beat Ioime one-on-one for the 2-0 advantage. Comi hit a post with a chance in the 78th minute, but it didn't matter as Novara dominated the match, not conceding a shot on goal to Latina.

MotM: Pesce

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><link href="http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 21, 2013 - Cittadella vs Novara</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Cittadella (1-1-2)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">1</td><td class="active" align="right">1</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (3-1-0)</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">0</td><td class="active" align="right">1</td></tr></tbody></table>

Lazzari 44'
Minesso 55'

With a big game against Brescia coming up in 3 days' time, Novara manager Alfredo Aglietti fielded his B-Team against Cittadella and it backfired, resulting in a 1-1 draw. Winger Flavio Lazzari was a man possessed for Novara in the 1st half as the 26-year-old Italian missed a shot just wide right in the 17th minute and headed a chance off the post in the 35th minute. Lazzari would deservedly be rewarded with a goal in the 44th minute when Filip Pivkovski found him with a through ball, and Lazzari beat Cittadella goalkeeper Raffaele Di Gennaro. Cittadella would pull even in the 55th minute when striker Mattia Minesso beat Novara reserve goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipò. The Biancoazzurri came painfully close to winning the game late in the 87th minute, but Marco Rigoni's header rang off the crossbar to deny the 33-year-old midfielder a goal for the third straight game and force Novara to settle for 1 point.

MotM: Pivkovski

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><link href="http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 24, 2013 - Novara vs Brescia</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (4-1-0)</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">2</td><td class="active" align="right">3</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Brescia (3-1-1)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">0</td><td class="active" align="right">0</td></tr></tbody></table>

Katidis 17'
Katidis 54'
Katidis 66'

In a match up of 3-1-0 sides, it was 20-year-old Greek central attacking midfielder Giorgos Katidis that made his name known as the recent arrival from AEK Athens scored a hat trick to power Novara by Brescia 3-0. The first goal came in the 17th minute after Gianmario Comi stole the ball from Brescia's Alberto Boniotti and found Katidis, who beat Michele Arcari with a shot from just inside the box. Katidis completed his brace just after halftime in the 54th minute when his shot bounced off the right post and in by a frozen Arcari. The third goal for the young Greek was the best, as Katidis rifled a shot from 25 yards out over a lunging Arcari to put Novara up 3-0. Brescia would have no answer to Katidis' heroics as Novara made a big statement at home in the Stadio Silvio Piola.

MotM: Katidis

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><link href="http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 28, 2013 - Crotone vs Novara</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Crotone (2-3-1)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">0</td><td class="active" align="right">0</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (5-1-0)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">2</td><td class="active" align="right">2</td></tr></tbody></table>

Katidis 67'
Josipovic 84'

Novara completed the month of September going undefeated with a record of 4-1-0 as the Biancoazzurri picked up their second consecutive clean sheet with a 2-0 win at Crotone. This game was all Novara as the visitors got their first chance in the 16th minute from Daniele Buzzegoli, but the chance was saved by Crotone goalkeeper Caio Secco. Francesco Vicari sent a header off a corner for Novara just over the bar in the 36th minute, and Gianmario Comi hit the bar with his header in the 58th minute. The breakthrough goal came in the 67th minute however, from none other than Giorgos Katidis who headed a Simone Pesce cross by Secco. Pietro De Giorgio almost evened the game for Crotone in the 79th minute, but Novara goalkeeper Tomáš Košický was up to the challenge. Then in the 84th minute, Buzzegoli sent a cross into the box that substitute Zoran Josipovic headed home to seal a 2-0 win.

MotM: Buzzegoli

Novara Calcio Player of the Month



CAM Giorgos Katidis, 70 Ovr, Greece, 20 years old

Giorgos Katidis was the main threat in an excellent month for Novara as the 20-year-old Greek scored all 3 goals of a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Brescia to earn Man of the Match. Katidis then followed that up with the game-winning goal against Crotone. The 4 goals have Katidis tied for second place in the Serie B scoring race.

Serie B Table
1. Palermo - 16 pts
2. Novara - 16 pts
3. Brescia - 13 pts
4. Pescara - 12 pts
5. Spezia - 12 pts
6. Siena - 10 pts
7. Ternana - 9 pts
8. Crotone - 9 pts
9. Empoli - 9 pts
10. Modena - 8 pts
11. Carpi - 8 pts
12. Padova - 7 pts
13. Trapani - 7 pts
14. Bari - 7 pts
15. Avellino - 6 pts
16. Varese - 6 pts
17. Juve Stabia - 6 pts
18. Cittadella - 5 pts
19. Reggina - 4 pts
20. Latina - 3 pts
21. Cesena - 3 pts
22. Virtus Lanciano - 2 pts

Serie B Top Scorers
1(t). Mascara (Pescara) - 5
1(t). Zambelli (Brescia) - 5
1(t). Varela (Palermo) - 5
2(t). Tavano (Empoli) - 4
2(t). Mazzarani (Modena) - 4

Serie B Clean Sheets
1(t). Sorrentino (Palermo) - 4
1(t). Košický (Novara) - 4
2. Secco (Crotone) - 3
3(t). Pelizzoli (Pescara) - 2
3(t). Guarna (Bari) - 2

Manager's Thoughts
What a month with a 4-1-0 record in 5 games. The best result of the bunch was a 3-0 thrashing of Brescia who currently sit 3rd in the Serie B Table. Giorgos Katidis was excellent in that game with a hat trick, and he followed that up with another game winner against Crotone to earn Player of the Month honors. Veteran Marco Rigoni also stood out with 2 goals on the month, and Simone Pesce was very solid with 1 goal and a Man of the Match performance against Latina. Our defense was very solid, leading the way with 3 clean sheets as our goalkeeper Tomáš Košický didn't have to do a lot of work to earn those. Our goal for the season is promotion to Serie A, and we look well on our way so far with a 2nd place spot in the league table.

Novara Youth Academy
UNK Raffaele Fazio, 25-33 Ovr, 59-81 Pot, Italy, 16 years old

Player Injuries
We suffered two injuries in the 2-0 win over Latina as defender Daniele Mori sprained his knee and was sidelined for 3 weeks, while defender Carlalberto Ludi picked up a sprained ankle and was out for 4 weeks. Neither player participated in a match for the rest of the month, but both players should resume their Starting XI roles to begin October.

October 2013 Fixtures
10/5 - vs Empoli
10/8 - at Avellino
10/19 - vs Virtus Lanciano
10/26 - at Spezia
10/29 - vs Juve Stabia

October will be a busy month as twice we have 2 games in 4 days with a match up against Empoli closely followed by a trip to Avellino, and a match at Spezia coming just before a home contest against Juve Stabia. The toughest game will be at 5th place Spezia. If we can manage a draw in that contest, I will be satisfied. In the other 4 matches, I expect victory. We should protect our home ground against Empoli, while the trio of Avellino, Virtus Lanciano, and Juve Stabia are all sides that are placed 15th or lower in the Serie B table. Anything less than a full 3 points in each of those matches would be a failure. In sum, I expect 13 out of a possible 15 points this month.

[_ChicoBass]

How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

October 2017 - International Friendlies
FIFA 15 (PS4)


Turkey 1 - 2 Mexico (B-Team)
MEX: Lozano 42' Chicharito 77'
TUR: Büyük 45'
Four Mexico players from last month's experimental squad list were seen again on the list: Ulises Davila (CAM 72 OVR), Javier Guemez (CM 72 OVR), Luis Montes (RM 71 OVR), and Carlos Fierro (ST 69 OVR). For this match Fierro started with Raul Jimenez up front, but the strike partnership was not delivering results. However Hirving Lozano (RW 75 OVR), a new face with the Mexico squad, was really trying to convince Chavez to call him up more often and was delivering an exciting match from LM becoming the most dangerous going forward. Lozano led the team in shots on goal and also made the sacrifice to help out on defense. In the 42nd minute, Carlos Fierro received the ball from midfield, shielded it, and then put in a through ball for Hirving Lozano as he sprinted into the box, and Lozano opened the score line with a powerful strike to the keeper's far post.


The winger was certainly making his claims for more international football, but unfortunately Turkey equalized in the following play just 3 minutes later. The match went into halftime with the equal score line and not much changed after the break. Raul Jimenez was taken off at approximately the 70th minute and replaced by Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, and the Little Pea delivered the result Mexico needed just seven minutes later. Rodolfo Pizarro dribbled down the right flank and put a cross into the box that Turkey's entire defense didn't read correctly, and Chicharito was able to head the ball into the open net.


One of those goals that Chicharito could have scored in his sleep, and with the goal Mexico took the win.

INJURY NEWS
Hector Moreno will be out for 3 weeks after suffering a Sprained Ankle during the match against Turkey. *Sorry Espanyol!

Mexico 2 - 0 Portugal
MEX: Chicharito 23' Layun 80'
Chicharito, the hero of the match against Turkey, became the protagonist yet again just three days later but this time with an amazing goal that will surely make front pages this week. Mexico had found a one way avenue on Portugal's left flank, and chances frequently appeared for Mexico on that wing. In the 23rd minute Mexico finally took full advantage of Portugal's weakness with RM Jurgen Damm, the Pachuca winger said to have received an offer from AS Roma IRL, dribbling past his marker and crossing the ball into the box to find Chicharito. Hernandez had to track back in order to meet with the cross and was not in a position to head the ball comfortably, so instead he resorted to a bicycle kick that went into the bottom corner of the net!!


After that amazing goal Portugal finally resolved their defensive problems on the left flank, and we were given a much more balanced match. Portugal tried to equalize, but former Premier League Champion Bebe wasn't able to break through Mexico's back three. Mexico's Hiram Mier deserves to be recognized though, as the RCB was able to successfully neutralize Cristiano Ronaldo consistently throughout the match. In the 80th minute Mexico stretched the lead by finding space down the wings again. This time it was on Portugal's right flank where Mexico found the space, with Marco Fabian (LCM) playing Watford's Miguel Layun (LM) through on goal. Layun cut in to his right foot, and then curved the ball around the goalkeeper and into the net to make it 2-0 for Mexico.


Portugal had tried to get back into the match but it was too late and Mexico's back three held their ground. It was good to see Mexico not be affected too much by Moreno's injury, but we're not sure how Espanyol will cope without their star defender as they try to get out of the lower mid table.


Conclusion
With Moreno's injury, I have decided that no player that is currently in Spain will play more than one match during the international break. I don't want to complicate things for my league opponents with injuries done by my hands. Other than that little detail I return to Osasuna a happy manager once again. The four players that received a second call up did well and Hirving Lozano also played great on his international debut. Really confident with the players I have at my disposal, although it may become difficult for me to pick the final squad list for the upcoming World Cup. On our next international break we will face Paraguay and then visit our CONCACAF rivals USA. The B-Team will face Paraguay and of course the First Team will head to the United States.
Thanks For Reading!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



October 2017 - Season 4
FIFA 15 (PS4)


CA Osasuna 0 - 2 FC Barcelona
FCB: Suarez 55' Messi 76'
Osasuna continue their poor attacking form, and this time they were punished for it by one of Spain's, and the world's, best clubs FC Barcelona. Both goals came in the second half but the first half was very tight with a lot going on in midfield. Osasuna tried to prevent Barcelona from playing their game by holding possession themselves, and it was working brilliantly as Barcelona had minimal chances on goal in the first forty-five minutes. Even though they were holding Barcelona well Osasuna struggled to create danger themselves, giving us a first half with a lot of passing and dribbling but not many shots. The fans jumped on their feet at approximately the 35th minute though due to a penalty that was called in Barcelona's favor! Suarez had gotten into position to head a cross inside the box but was sandwiched by Osasuna's centre backs Gomez and Miquel, who was playing for the injured Albentosa, and the referee called a foul straightaway. It was Suarez himself who stepped up to take the penalty. Riesgo studied his opponent before the match, and knowing the type of player Suarez is, he decided to wait for the kick to dive instead of guessing beforehand. Suarez took the shot down the middle, Riesgo held his ground, and he saved it!!!


Riesgo had saved the penalty and kept Osasuna alive in the match! The first half ended 0-0 with Riesgo being the hero. Luis Suarez would get his revenge in the second half though by scoring the first goal of the match with an incredible volley that defeated Riesgo. Suarez was subbed off soon after his goal and replaced by Lionel Messi. A second penalty was called in favor of Barcelona at approximately the 60th minute after Miquel's late tackle caught a Barcelona player inside the box. Lionel Messi, one of the best players in the world, would step up to take it. Messi used his inside foot to hit it left aiming for the bottom corner, but Riesgo dove in the correct decision and stretched all that he could to reach it and saved the penalty!!!


Another penalty saved by Riesgo and again he gave life to Osasuna! Unfortunately his teammates up front weren't having a day as good as his and they weren't able to repay him for his work with goals. In the 76th minute Lionel Messi would get his revenge just like Suarez did by scoring a goal. Osasuna tried to pick it up after Messi's goal but they simply were no match against Barcelona, and the 2-0 scoreline remained. Barcelona's goalkeeper Ter Stegen was given the MOTM award with 6 saves. Chavez was furious on the sidelines and went into the dressing room as soon as the final whistle blew.

Levante UD 0 - 1 CA Osasuna
OSA: Guillermo 2'
Chavez came back from the international break with some changes for Osasuna. The 4-4-2 Holding formation was dropped, and instead Osasuna came out with a 4-1-3-2. The starting eleven only had two changes with Ignasi Miquel replacing Sergi Gomez and Raul Albentosa returning from injury. Other than that, everything remained the same except that Darder and Campaña would now play stacked instead of side by side with Darder at CDM and Campaña now at CM. The change was definitely good for the team as we saw a much more controlled midfield that featured a much more comfortable Campaña with the liberty to really show his passing skills and an early goal from Guillermo assisted by Palacios. Guillermo would receive a pass inside the box and then curl his shot into the bottom corner to put Osasuna in the lead in barely the 2nd minute of the match!


Just the start Osasuna needed after some troubling results, but Levante is a side that has been known for giving Osasuna trouble every time they face each other. In fact, Levante were extremely close to equalizing in the second half after Ignasi Miquel committed a foul inside the box which stained his otherwise great performance. Wanderson would step up to take the penalty. He used his inside foot to place the ball to the right, but Riesgo saved it!! His third consecutive saved penalty this month!!


Riesgo kept the lead intact, and the match would end with Osasuna's early goal being the winner. Los Rojillos definitely looked better on the field with the 4-1-3-2 with Darder and Campaña clearly understanding what their roles are.

Champions League - Group Stage
Bor. Mönchengladbach 2 - 1 CA Osasuna (B-Team)
OSA: Oier 5'
BOR: Hahn 36' Mpala 88'
The B-Team made their debut in the Champions League group stage, as Chavez has decided to rest his first team for the league in an attempt to get out of mid table. The B-Team started the match really well with an early goal in the fifth minute. Youth graduate Luis Martinez had cut in from the left and took a shot on goal but the keeper was able to parry it thanks to his spot on positioning. Martinez picked up the rebound right in front of the goalkeeper and cut back, leaving his back towards goal, and as the keeper tried to steal the ball he took Martinez down; a clear penalty foul! However the referee didn't call anything, and Ulises Davila picked up the loose ball. Davila had his back on goal and was being crowded by the German defenders, but he somehow managed to sneak a pass to Oier who controlled the ball and then smoothly put the ball in the net past the rushing goalkeeper.


The B-Team weren't able to control the match with Mönchengladbach pushing forward looking for the equalizer, but the Spaniards did a great job at keeping them outside of the box. That didn't stop the Germans though, and in the 36th minute Hahn put in an amazingly struck long shot that found the top right corner of Riesgo's net. The Germans had done an outstanding job of adapting to Osasuna's defensive style. The match went on with the draw intact all the way until the end of the ninety minutes with Mönchengladbach giving it their all to satisfy their home fans. In the 88th minute Borussia pushed up with every man available and crowded Osasuna's box. Amidst the crowd, Mpala was able to get a shot on goal that Riesgo wasn't able to see until it was too late, and the ball went into the net. A late win for the Germans that now makes this Champions League Group Stage very interesting.

Atletico Madrid 0 - 2 CA Osasuna
OSA: Lopez 3' Guillermo 30'
Osasuna started this match just like their last two, with an early goal before the fifth minute of the match. Federico Palacios found Isma Lopez making a run on goal soon after the kickoff and fed him a through ball. Lopez controlled the pass and continued to dribble into the box, where he then took a powerful left footed shot and put Osasuna in the lead.


Osasuna remained in control after the goal and in the 30th minute they found the net again, this time through Guillermo. Roberto Torres cut inside from the attacking third and passed the ball down to Palacios who was behind Guillermo. As the ball traveled to Palacios, Atletico's centre backs pushed forward in an attempt to leave Guillermo offsides. However, Palacios used his first touch to pass the ball to Guillermo just in time to catch him onside and leave him one on one with the goalkeeper. Guillermo moved the ball to the right and then used his inside foot to finesse the ball past the keeper and into the net.


This marked Osasuna's 2nd clean sheet in a row since switching to the 4-1-3-2 formation. The formation has also allowed Jose Campaña to stand out as the midfield maestro, the player you want to get the ball to immediately after winning it back. Ignasi Miquel continues to really well next to Raul Albentosa, taking complete ownership of the starting LCB position and dropping Sergi Gomez to the B-Team. A big accomplishment for the 24 year old defender who's been with Osasuna since Chavez's first season.

CA Osasuna 2 - 2 Elche CF
OSA: Guillermo 52' Lopez 58'
EFC: Fidel 80' Herrera PEN 88'
Elche knew they had to be on their toes from the get go in order to prevent Osasuna from continuing their early goal streak. The visitors did not lose focus and held Osasuna well, even longer than expected. The first half ended 0-0 thanks to some great defending from Elche. Seven minutes into the second half a goal finally arrived. Guillermo recovered a loose ball near the box and turned to goal. He engaged his marker one on one and with some quick footwork he evaded his marker's slide tackle and dribbled into the box with nobody but the keeper in front of him! He powered his left foot and beat the goalkeeper, putting the ball in the net and Osasuna in the lead!


Just six minutes after Guillermo's impressive displays of individual and finishing skills Osasuna hit again, now with Isma Lopez who has had a great month thus far. Xavier Quinti, who had requested to play this match in place of the fatigued Sisi, ran up the pitch with the ball at his feet and then put in a lobbed through ball to meet with Lopez's inside run. Lopez brought the ball down and sprinted into the box, where he then used his left foot to power the ball into the net.


A great goal from Lopez who's been putting them in like this this season and has already scored more goals than he did last season. Osasuna held the 2-0 lead until the 80th minute where Elche got a goal back from a header, and then the referee made a game changing decision and called a penalty in favor of Elche. The foul was legitimate though, as Miquel had clearly committed a foul in the penalty area with an inaccurate tackle. Riesgo had been extremely effective in penalties this month but unfortunately he wasn't able to save this one and Elche equalized just two minutes before the end of the match. An exciting comeback that stole 2 league points from Osasuna from right under their noses.

Granada CF 0 - 2 CA Osasuna (B-Team)
OSA: Martinez 53' Davila PEN 75'
Granada's midfield of the former Deportivo midfielder Dominguez and Eddy were stopping Osasuna's 4-1-4-1 from pushing forward and were continuously finding spaces in attack. The first half ended 0-0 with Granada being the team on top. For the second half Chavez dropped the 4-1-4-1 formation and instead came out with a 4-2-3-1, using the youth graduate Luis Martinez behind Ulises Davila. The change immediately gave him results in just 8 minutes as Martinez received a pass from fellow academy graduate Vinuesa Ramos and took a low shot from the edge of the box to open the score line.


This marked Martinez's second professional goal, with both coming after he was changed to CAM in the match. The formation change made things difficult for Granada and Osasuna kept pushing. In the 75th minute of the match the referee called a penalty in favor of Osasuna, after a low cross was put into the box from the left wing and as Davila made an effort to connect with it his shirt was pulled by his marker and he was taken down. Davila would be the one to take the penalty and he struck it perfectly to extend the lead.


Granada threatened to make a comeback but Osasuna's goalkeeper Rodriguez was in fine form today and prevented anything from going in. Osasuna were able to hold on to the 2-0 lead this time and get a breathe of fresh air on the league table with the three points.

Champions League - Group Stage
Manchester City 2 - 1 CA Osasuna
MCI: Navas 20' Nasri 90'
OSA: Davila 86'
This match was nothing like the first game at El Sadar which ended 1-1 between these two teams. Today we saw an unmotivated Osasuna, with no signs of wanting to advance from the group stage. Hardly any runs were made, imprecise passes, lack of support, it literally looked like they didn't feel like playing today. Was it the trip from Spain to England? Perhaps the weather? Who knows what it was. City took advantage of Osasuna's poor state of mind and they took the lead in the 20th minute with Navas heading in a corner after Riesgo had came off his line, his defenders cleared his path as he called it, but just as he was about to reach the ball he stopped. Yes, he stopped in his tracks. He began to track back to his line but at that point it was all over. His defenders had cleared the path for him which left Navas with the liberty to head the ball comfortably with nobody marking him. The goal didn't change anything though, as Osasuna continued to play like if they couldn't wait to go home already. Chavez became extremely frustrated on the sidelines and in the second half began to make changes to his midfield, but none of it worked. Chavez subbed off Campaña and moved Torres to CM so he could be the midfield brain, and brought on Ulises Davila to play as RM. This move finally paid off in the 86th minute as Davila made a run from the outside and Torres sent him a perfect through ball. Davila controlled the pass, cut in to his left and calmly finessed the ball past Hart to equalize the match!


An outstanding play from Davila and Torres, but there was still time to play. Chavez and Pellegrini both wanted the win, and both managers instructed their team to go all out attack. Both sides had a centre back playing as a striker and the match was more exciting than ever! We knew another goal was inevitable, the way the teams were playing this was not going to end in a draw, and in the end it was Manchester City who scored the late winner. Nasri had been sent an extremely long ball from midfield that was hit too far from him and he had to chase it down as the ball bounced at the edge of the box. It looked like an easy ball for Riesgo, but Riesgo didn't come out! There was plenty of time for him to come out and intercept the ball but he chose to stay on his line! Nasri controlled the ball inside the box, and then beat Riesgo with a well placed shot. Two goalkeeper mistakes, two goals. A terrible match for Riesgo who had previously been Osasuna's hero at the beginning of the match. Two defeats in a row for Osasuna, and this has virtually eliminated eliminated them from the group stage. Qualification to the next stage is now out of their hands.


CA Osasuna Player of The Month

GK - Asier Riesgo (Spain) (75 OVR 33yrs)
He may have finished the month off with a terrible display against Manchester City but even with that defeat one cannot argue that Riesgo played a vital role for the majority of the month. Not many goalkeepers can say that they saved a penalty from both Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi in the same match and not during a penalty shoot-out. He definitely had a month with ups and downs, but when looking at each player's individual work this month he deserves the award.

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Liga BBVA League Table
1. Real Madrid - 25 points
2. Valencia CF - 24 points
3. FC Barcelona - 24 points
4. Sevilla FC - 23 points
5. Real Sociedad - 23 points
6. CA Osasuna - 21 points
----------
7. Malaga CF - 20 points
8. Atletico Madrid - 19 points
9. Athletic Bilbao - 18 points
----------
18. RC Deportivo - 8 points
19. Celta Vigo - 4 points
20. Levante UD - 3 points

Liga BBVA Top Scorer
1. Gomez (Bilbao) - 8 Goals
2. Ronaldo, Bale, Guillermo, Suarez - 7 Goals

Champions League - Group H
1. Manchester City - 10 points (+5)
2. Bor. M'Gladbach - 9 points (+2)
3. CA Osasuna - 4 points (+1)
4. Napoli - 0 points (-8)

CA Osasuna Top Scorer
1. Guillermo - 9 Goals
2. Isma Lopez - 4 Goals
Ulises Davila - 4 Goals
3. Federico Palacios - 3 Goals


Youth Academy
* = New Addition

Spoiler

Alex Garcia - CB (Mexico) (59-63, 80-86) (+14): The first and only CB in the academy, and with Miguel Flaño reaching the end of his era I am very anxious to see more reports on him. At 16 years old he stands at 6'2", and is considered Physically Strong. A perfect combination for a CB.

Alex Silva Gavan - RM (Spain) (63-67, 74-80) (+4): The 17 year old has decided to settle in at RM and is considered an attacker. With a 6'0" height he's a good fit pretty much anywhere on the field especially down the center, but he has decided he's most comfortable on the wing.

*Antonio Lopes - LB (Spain) (38-46, 75-91): Lopes is the first and only LB in the academy and of course the club has high hopes as it is a position that the senior team lacks depth in. The current first team LB is Sisi who is naturally a RM and is reaching his mid thirties. Lopes is only 15 and stands at 5'2" but is described as a Winger, which leads us to believe that he will be an attacking fullback.

Chris Cropper - GK (United States) (62-66, 79-85) (+13): The third American goalkeeper to join the Youth Academy. At 17 years old he stands at 6'3" and his game is well balanced so far.

Ivan Miranda - LW (Spain) (64-68, 81-87) (+6): The 16 year old has decided that the wing is where he is most comfortable with, and is a candidate for promotion in the future. He is quite short, standing at 5'9", but that isn't a problem since we will need him for speed not necessarily for his aerial ability.

*Jorge Asenjo - ST (Spain) (51-61, 77-94): Really high hopes for the 16 year old striker seeing as the senior team's only natural strikers are Guillermo and Palacios. Kodro has delivered great results but is only 65 OVR. Asenjo seems to be a future star, but appears to be more of a creative striker, since he stands at only 5'7" and is described as a Winger.

Julian Rubin - GK (United States) (58-62, 73-77) (+0): Julian has minimal chances to be promoted to the senior team at Osasuna. May be released soon.

Mario Santana - ST (Mexico) (62-66, 83-89) (+13): Really excited to see future reports on this kid from Mexico. He's described as "Physically Strong" and you know how much I like to play with a target man. The downside is that he's only 5'3", but he's still 15 years old so I'm hoping he'll grow closer to the 6 foot range.
*Santana has just turned 16 and is now eligible to play in La Liga. I'm a bit disappointed that his height only grew to 5'10 as I really wanted a target man, but he is Physically Strong so he should be a good striker nonetheless.*

*Pedro Ramirez - RB (Spain) (63-67, 82-88): Even though I use overlapping fullbacks, it wouldn't hurt to have a natural fullback in the squad since right now I'm using a RW at RB with my first team. Ramirez is currently 15 years old and stands at 5'6". Depending on how much he grows in height I might even be able to use him at CB.

*Victor Soriano - CDM (Spain) (53-57, 89-94): Really looking forward to this player. Similar qualities to the B-Team's Vinuesa Ramos, but not as tall with a 6'1" height. He may not be as sluggish thanks to his lower height though so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in the future.

Xabi Rodriguez - CAM (Mexico) (58-62, 75-81): He may not be the most athletic, but the 16 year old is considered a playmaker. Currently still being evaluated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

October Headlines


Campaña Finds Form
Osasuna's new 4-1-3-2 Formation has allowed Jose Campaña to really show his talent on the ball and become the playmaker Los Rojillos were looking for. Sergi Gomez hasn't had the same luck though. He's been playing somewhat better in the B-Team with the veteran captain Miguel Flaño being very vocal and running the back line, but he still hasn't been the defender we were waiting for. Gomez is inexistent in the air especially during long goal kicks, and also Ignasi Miquel's great form with the First Team has put Sergi Gomez's second chance on hold.

*Champions League*
With two games left to play in the Group Stage Osasuna are on the brink of being eliminated. They are currently third with only 4 points, and 5 points away from 2nd place and 6 points away from 1st. A huge gap considering that there are only a couple games left. The next Champions League fixture will be the most vital for Osasuna. The Basques will face Napoli, who they demolished 3-0 on opening day, while Manchester City goes up against Mönchengladbach. Borussia Mönchengladbach CANNOT win. If the German side defeats City Osasuna will officially be eliminated. The only way Osasuna could advance if Borussia wins would be if City loses against Napoli, but seeing as Napoli hasn't been able to win or tie a single match the possibilities of that happening are extremely low. In order for Osasuna to go through they would have to defeat Napoli, Borussia would have to tie/lose against City, and then Osasuna would have to defeat Borussia in the final round in order to advance. City's results at that point would be irrelevant as they would have mathematically secured their spot in the next round. If Osasuna draws or loses against Napoli it's all over. If they defeat Napoli but tie or lose against Borussia then again it would be over. Osasuna need to win both of their remaining matches and need Borussia to not win against City. It may sound like a long shot, but in football you never know what will happen.

Pedro Bigas Wants Out
The former Mallorca centre back signed for Osasuna last season, with the vision of one day replacing Miguel Flaño with the First Team. Bigas time at Osasuna has been a difficult one though, with the 26 year old unable to adjust to Chavez's style of play. Bigas (74 OVR) would be erased from even the B-Team after Sergi Gomez's arrival, and is now fed up with spending so much time on the bench. It is believed he has personally asked Chavez to transfer list him in the upcoming transfer window.


Conclusion
So there you have it. Not much left to sum up. Bigas was previously a defensive midfielder before converting to centre back at Mallorca, so I may try him out there more often. He has made a couple appearances in midfield and done well, so I don't see why not. Nono (67 OVR) has received many more opportunities, but if anyone deserves to be transfer listed it is he. I signed Nono from Real Betis a couple seasons ago looking forward to seeing him reach his potential and instead he hasn't grown a single point in any stat. He doesn't play bad, he's quite decent actually, but Bigas may be able to do a better job than him. I'd rather keep Bigas if he can play better in midfield.

I hope I explained myself well on what I need to qualify to the next Champions League stage. I know I haven't had time to be active on the forum anymore but I'm still trying to get some updates in.
Thanks For Reading!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[redsox4evur]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

October 2017 - International Friendlies
FIFA 15 (PS4)


Turkey 1 - 2 Mexico (B-Team)
MEX: Lozano 42' Chicharito 77'
TUR: Büyük 45'
Four Mexico players from last month's experimental squad list were seen again on the list: Ulises Davila (CAM 72 OVR), Javier Guemez (CM 72 OVR), Luis Montes (RM 71 OVR), and Carlos Fierro (ST 69 OVR). For this match Fierro started with Raul Jimenez up front, but the strike partnership was not delivering results. However Hirving Lozano (RW 75 OVR), a new face with the Mexico squad, was really trying to convince Chavez to call him up more often and was delivering an exciting match from LM becoming the most dangerous going forward. Lozano led the team in shots on goal and also made the sacrifice to help out on defense. In the 42nd minute, Carlos Fierro received the ball from midfield, shielded it, and then put in a through ball for Hirving Lozano as he sprinted into the box, and Lozano opened the score line with a powerful strike to the keeper's far post.


The winger was certainly making his claims for more international football, but unfortunately Turkey equalized in the following play just 3 minutes later. The match went into halftime with the equal score line and not much changed after the break. Raul Jimenez was taken off at approximately the 70th minute and replaced by Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, and the Little Pea delivered the result Mexico needed just seven minutes later. Rodolfo Pizarro dribbled down the right flank and put a cross into the box that Turkey's entire defense didn't read correctly, and Chicharito was able to head the ball into the open net.


One of those goals that Chicharito could have scored in his sleep, and with the goal Mexico took the win.

INJURY NEWS
Hector Moreno will be out for 3 weeks after suffering a Sprained Ankle during the match against Turkey. *Sorry Espanyol!

Mexico 2 - 0 Portugal
MEX: Chicharito 23' Layun 80'
Chicharito, the hero of the match against Turkey, became the protagonist yet again just three days later but this time with an amazing goal that will surely make front pages this week. Mexico had found a one way avenue on Portugal's left flank, and chances frequently appeared for Mexico on that wing. In the 23rd minute Mexico finally took full advantage of Portugal's weakness with RM Jurgen Damm, the Pachuca winger said to have received an offer from AS Roma IRL, dribbling past his marker and crossing the ball into the box to find Chicharito. Hernandez had to track back in order to meet with the cross and was not in a position to head the ball comfortably, so instead he resorted to a bicycle kick that went into the bottom corner of the net!!


After that amazing goal Portugal finally resolved their defensive problems on the left flank, and we were given a much more balanced match. Portugal tried to equalize, but former Premier League Champion Bebe wasn't able to break through Mexico's back three. Mexico's Hiram Mier deserves to be recognized though, as the RCB was able to successfully neutralize Cristiano Ronaldo consistently throughout the match. In the 80th minute Mexico stretched the lead by finding space down the wings again. This time it was on Portugal's right flank where Mexico found the space, with Marco Fabian (LCM) playing Watford's Miguel Layun (LM) through on goal. Layun cut in to his right foot, and then curved the ball around the goalkeeper and into the net to make it 2-0 for Mexico.


Portugal had tried to get back into the match but it was too late and Mexico's back three held their ground. It was good to see Mexico not be affected too much by Moreno's injury, but we're not sure how Espanyol will cope without their star defender as they try to get out of the lower mid table.


Conclusion
With Moreno's injury, I have decided that no player that is currently in Spain will play more than one match during the international break. I don't want to complicate things for my league opponents with injuries done by my hands. Other than that little detail I return to Osasuna a happy manager once again. The four players that received a second call up did well and Hirving Lozano also played great on his international debut. Really confident with the players I have at my disposal, although it may become difficult for me to pick the final squad list for the upcoming World Cup. On our next international break we will face Paraguay and then visit our CONCACAF rivals USA. The B-Team will face Paraguay and of course the First Team will head to the United States.
Thanks For Reading!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



October 2017 - Season 4
FIFA 15 (PS4)


CA Osasuna 0 - 2 FC Barcelona
FCB: Suarez 55' Messi 76'
Osasuna continue their poor attacking form, and this time they were punished for it by one of Spain's, and the world's, best clubs FC Barcelona. Both goals came in the second half but the first half was very tight with a lot going on in midfield. Osasuna tried to prevent Barcelona from playing their game by holding possession themselves, and it was working brilliantly as Barcelona had minimal chances on goal in the first forty-five minutes. Even though they were holding Barcelona well Osasuna struggled to create danger themselves, giving us a first half with a lot of passing and dribbling but not many shots. The fans jumped on their feet at approximately the 35th minute though due to a penalty that was called in Barcelona's favor! Suarez had gotten into position to head a cross inside the box but was sandwiched by Osasuna's centre backs Gomez and Miquel, who was playing for the injured Albentosa, and the referee called a foul straightaway. It was Suarez himself who stepped up to take the penalty. Riesgo studied his opponent before the match, and knowing the type of player Suarez is, he decided to wait for the kick to dive instead of guessing beforehand. Suarez took the shot down the middle, Riesgo held his ground, and he saved it!!!


Riesgo had saved the penalty and kept Osasuna alive in the match! The first half ended 0-0 with Riesgo being the hero. Luis Suarez would get his revenge in the second half though by scoring the first goal of the match with an incredible volley that defeated Riesgo. Suarez was subbed off soon after his goal and replaced by Lionel Messi. A second penalty was called in favor of Barcelona at approximately the 60th minute after Miquel's late tackle caught a Barcelona player inside the box. Lionel Messi, one of the best players in the world, would step up to take it. Messi used his inside foot to hit it left aiming for the bottom corner, but Riesgo dove in the correct decision and stretched all that he could to reach it and saved the penalty!!!


Another penalty saved by Riesgo and again he gave life to Osasuna! Unfortunately his teammates up front weren't having a day as good as his and they weren't able to repay him for his work with goals. In the 76th minute Lionel Messi would get his revenge just like Suarez did by scoring a goal. Osasuna tried to pick it up after Messi's goal but they simply were no match against Barcelona, and the 2-0 scoreline remained. Barcelona's goalkeeper Ter Stegen was given the MOTM award with 6 saves. Chavez was furious on the sidelines and went into the dressing room as soon as the final whistle blew.

Levante UD 0 - 1 CA Osasuna
OSA: Guillermo 2'
Chavez came back from the international break with some changes for Osasuna. The 4-4-2 Holding formation was dropped, and instead Osasuna came out with a 4-1-3-2. The starting eleven only had two changes with Ignasi Miquel replacing Sergi Gomez and Raul Albentosa returning from injury. Other than that, everything remained the same except that Darder and Campaña would now play stacked instead of side by side with Darder at CDM and Campaña now at CM. The change was definitely good for the team as we saw a much more controlled midfield that featured a much more comfortable Campaña with the liberty to really show his passing skills and an early goal from Guillermo assisted by Palacios. Guillermo would receive a pass inside the box and then curl his shot into the bottom corner to put Osasuna in the lead in barely the 2nd minute of the match!


Just the start Osasuna needed after some troubling results, but Levante is a side that has been known for giving Osasuna trouble every time they face each other. In fact, Levante were extremely close to equalizing in the second half after Ignasi Miquel committed a foul inside the box which stained his otherwise great performance. Wanderson would step up to take the penalty. He used his inside foot to place the ball to the right, but Riesgo saved it!! His third consecutive saved penalty this month!!


Riesgo kept the lead intact, and the match would end with Osasuna's early goal being the winner. Los Rojillos definitely looked better on the field with the 4-1-3-2 with Darder and Campaña clearly understanding what their roles are.

Champions League - Group Stage
Bor. Mönchengladbach 2 - 1 CA Osasuna (B-Team)
OSA: Oier 5'
BOR: Hahn 36' Mpala 88'
The B-Team made their debut in the Champions League group stage, as Chavez has decided to rest his first team for the league in an attempt to get out of mid table. The B-Team started the match really well with an early goal in the fifth minute. Youth graduate Luis Martinez had cut in from the left and took a shot on goal but the keeper was able to parry it thanks to his spot on positioning. Martinez picked up the rebound right in front of the goalkeeper and cut back, leaving his back towards goal, and as the keeper tried to steal the ball he took Martinez down; a clear penalty foul! However the referee didn't call anything, and Ulises Davila picked up the loose ball. Davila had his back on goal and was being crowded by the German defenders, but he somehow managed to sneak a pass to Oier who controlled the ball and then smoothly put the ball in the net past the rushing goalkeeper.


The B-Team weren't able to control the match with Mönchengladbach pushing forward looking for the equalizer, but the Spaniards did a great job at keeping them outside of the box. That didn't stop the Germans though, and in the 36th minute Hahn put in an amazingly struck long shot that found the top right corner of Riesgo's net. The Germans had done an outstanding job of adapting to Osasuna's defensive style. The match went on with the draw intact all the way until the end of the ninety minutes with Mönchengladbach giving it their all to satisfy their home fans. In the 88th minute Borussia pushed up with every man available and crowded Osasuna's box. Amidst the crowd, Mpala was able to get a shot on goal that Riesgo wasn't able to see until it was too late, and the ball went into the net. A late win for the Germans that now makes this Champions League Group Stage very interesting.

Atletico Madrid 0 - 2 CA Osasuna
OSA: Lopez 3' Guillermo 30'
Osasuna started this match just like their last two, with an early goal before the fifth minute of the match. Federico Palacios found Isma Lopez making a run on goal soon after the kickoff and fed him a through ball. Lopez controlled the pass and continued to dribble into the box, where he then took a powerful left footed shot and put Osasuna in the lead.


Osasuna remained in control after the goal and in the 30th minute they found the net again, this time through Guillermo. Roberto Torres cut inside from the attacking third and passed the ball down to Palacios who was behind Guillermo. As the ball traveled to Palacios, Atletico's centre backs pushed forward in an attempt to leave Guillermo offsides. However, Palacios used his first touch to pass the ball to Guillermo just in time to catch him onside and leave him one on one with the goalkeeper. Guillermo moved the ball to the right and then used his inside foot to finesse the ball past the keeper and into the net.


This marked Osasuna's 2nd clean sheet in a row since switching to the 4-1-3-2 formation. The formation has also allowed Jose Campaña to stand out as the midfield maestro, the player you want to get the ball to immediately after winning it back. Ignasi Miquel continues to really well next to Raul Albentosa, taking complete ownership of the starting LCB position and dropping Sergi Gomez to the B-Team. A big accomplishment for the 24 year old defender who's been with Osasuna since Chavez's first season.

CA Osasuna 2 - 2 Elche CF
OSA: Guillermo 52' Lopez 58'
EFC: Fidel 80' Herrera PEN 88'
Elche knew they had to be on their toes from the get go in order to prevent Osasuna from continuing their early goal streak. The visitors did not lose focus and held Osasuna well, even longer than expected. The first half ended 0-0 thanks to some great defending from Elche. Seven minutes into the second half a goal finally arrived. Guillermo recovered a loose ball near the box and turned to goal. He engaged his marker one on one and with some quick footwork he evaded his marker's slide tackle and dribbled into the box with nobody but the keeper in front of him! He powered his left foot and beat the goalkeeper, putting the ball in the net and Osasuna in the lead!


Just six minutes after Guillermo's impressive displays of individual and finishing skills Osasuna hit again, now with Isma Lopez who has had a great month thus far. Xavier Quinti, who had requested to play this match in place of the fatigued Sisi, ran up the pitch with the ball at his feet and then put in a lobbed through ball to meet with Lopez's inside run. Lopez brought the ball down and sprinted into the box, where he then used his left foot to power the ball into the net.


A great goal from Lopez who's been putting them in like this this season and has already scored more goals than he did last season. Osasuna held the 2-0 lead until the 80th minute where Elche got a goal back from a header, and then the referee made a game changing decision and called a penalty in favor of Elche. The foul was legitimate though, as Miquel had clearly committed a foul in the penalty area with an inaccurate tackle. Riesgo had been extremely effective in penalties this month but unfortunately he wasn't able to save this one and Elche equalized just two minutes before the end of the match. An exciting comeback that stole 2 league points from Osasuna from right under their noses.

Granada CF 0 - 2 CA Osasuna (B-Team)
OSA: Martinez 53' Davila PEN 75'
Granada's midfield of the former Deportivo midfielder Dominguez and Eddy were stopping Osasuna's 4-1-4-1 from pushing forward and were continuously finding spaces in attack. The first half ended 0-0 with Granada being the team on top. For the second half Chavez dropped the 4-1-4-1 formation and instead came out with a 4-2-3-1, using the youth graduate Luis Martinez behind Ulises Davila. The change immediately gave him results in just 8 minutes as Martinez received a pass from fellow academy graduate Vinuesa Ramos and took a low shot from the edge of the box to open the score line.


This marked Martinez's second professional goal, with both coming after he was changed to CAM in the match. The formation change made things difficult for Granada and Osasuna kept pushing. In the 75th minute of the match the referee called a penalty in favor of Osasuna, after a low cross was put into the box from the left wing and as Davila made an effort to connect with it his shirt was pulled by his marker and he was taken down. Davila would be the one to take the penalty and he struck it perfectly to extend the lead.


Granada threatened to make a comeback but Osasuna's goalkeeper Rodriguez was in fine form today and prevented anything from going in. Osasuna were able to hold on to the 2-0 lead this time and get a breathe of fresh air on the league table with the three points.

Champions League - Group Stage
Manchester City 2 - 1 CA Osasuna
MCI: Navas 20' Nasri 90'
OSA: Davila 86'
This match was nothing like the first game at El Sadar which ended 1-1 between these two teams. Today we saw an unmotivated Osasuna, with no signs of wanting to advance from the group stage. Hardly any runs were made, imprecise passes, lack of support, it literally looked like they didn't feel like playing today. Was it the trip from Spain to England? Perhaps the weather? Who knows what it was. City took advantage of Osasuna's poor state of mind and they took the lead in the 20th minute with Navas heading in a corner after Riesgo had came off his line, his defenders cleared his path as he called it, but just as he was about to reach the ball he stopped. Yes, he stopped in his tracks. He began to track back to his line but at that point it was all over. His defenders had cleared the path for him which left Navas with the liberty to head the ball comfortably with nobody marking him. The goal didn't change anything though, as Osasuna continued to play like if they couldn't wait to go home already. Chavez became extremely frustrated on the sidelines and in the second half began to make changes to his midfield, but none of it worked. Chavez subbed off Campaña and moved Torres to CM so he could be the midfield brain, and brought on Ulises Davila to play as RM. This move finally paid off in the 86th minute as Davila made a run from the outside and Torres sent him a perfect through ball. Davila controlled the pass, cut in to his left and calmly finessed the ball past Hart to equalize the match!


An outstanding play from Davila and Torres, but there was still time to play. Chavez and Pellegrini both wanted the win, and both managers instructed their team to go all out attack. Both sides had a centre back playing as a striker and the match was more exciting than ever! We knew another goal was inevitable, the way the teams were playing this was not going to end in a draw, and in the end it was Manchester City who scored the late winner. Nasri had been sent an extremely long ball from midfield that was hit too far from him and he had to chase it down as the ball bounced at the edge of the box. It looked like an easy ball for Riesgo, but Riesgo didn't come out! There was plenty of time for him to come out and intercept the ball but he chose to stay on his line! Nasri controlled the ball inside the box, and then beat Riesgo with a well placed shot. Two goalkeeper mistakes, two goals. A terrible match for Riesgo who had previously been Osasuna's hero at the beginning of the match. Two defeats in a row for Osasuna, and this has virtually eliminated eliminated them from the group stage. Qualification to the next stage is now out of their hands.


CA Osasuna Player of The Month

GK - Asier Riesgo (Spain) (75 OVR 33yrs)
He may have finished the month off with a terrible display against Manchester City but even with that defeat one cannot argue that Riesgo played a vital role for the majority of the month. Not many goalkeepers can say that they saved a penalty from both Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi in the same match and not during a penalty shoot-out. He definitely had a month with ups and downs, but when looking at each player's individual work this month he deserves the award.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Liga BBVA League Table
1. Real Madrid - 25 points
2. Valencia CF - 24 points
3. FC Barcelona - 24 points
4. Sevilla FC - 23 points
5. Real Sociedad - 23 points
6. CA Osasuna - 21 points
----------
7. Malaga CF - 20 points
8. Atletico Madrid - 19 points
9. Athletic Bilbao - 18 points
----------
18. RC Deportivo - 8 points
19. Celta Vigo - 4 points
20. Levante UD - 3 points

Liga BBVA Top Scorer
1. Gomez (Bilbao) - 8 Goals
2. Ronaldo, Bale, Guillermo, Suarez - 7 Goals

Champions League - Group H
1. Manchester City - 10 points (+5)
2. Bor. M'Gladbach - 9 points (+2)
3. CA Osasuna - 4 points (+1)
4. Napoli - 0 points (-8)

CA Osasuna Top Scorer
1. Guillermo - 9 Goals
2. Isma Lopez - 4 Goals
Ulises Davila - 4 Goals
3. Federico Palacios - 3 Goals


Youth Academy
* = New Addition

Spoiler

Alex Garcia - CB (Mexico) (59-63, 80-86) (+14): The first and only CB in the academy, and with Miguel Flaño reaching the end of his era I am very anxious to see more reports on him. At 16 years old he stands at 6'2", and is considered Physically Strong. A perfect combination for a CB.

Alex Silva Gavan - RM (Spain) (63-67, 74-80) (+4): The 17 year old has decided to settle in at RM and is considered an attacker. With a 6'0" height he's a good fit pretty much anywhere on the field especially down the center, but he has decided he's most comfortable on the wing.

*Antonio Lopes - LB (Spain) (38-46, 75-91): Lopes is the first and only LB in the academy and of course the club has high hopes as it is a position that the senior team lacks depth in. The current first team LB is Sisi who is naturally a RM and is reaching his mid thirties. Lopes is only 15 and stands at 5'2" but is described as a Winger, which leads us to believe that he will be an attacking fullback.

Chris Cropper - GK (United States) (62-66, 79-85) (+13): The third American goalkeeper to join the Youth Academy. At 17 years old he stands at 6'3" and his game is well balanced so far.

Ivan Miranda - LW (Spain) (64-68, 81-87) (+6): The 16 year old has decided that the wing is where he is most comfortable with, and is a candidate for promotion in the future. He is quite short, standing at 5'9", but that isn't a problem since we will need him for speed not necessarily for his aerial ability.

*Jorge Asenjo - ST (Spain) (51-61, 77-94): Really high hopes for the 16 year old striker seeing as the senior team's only natural strikers are Guillermo and Palacios. Kodro has delivered great results but is only 65 OVR. Asenjo seems to be a future star, but appears to be more of a creative striker, since he stands at only 5'7" and is described as a Winger.

Julian Rubin - GK (United States) (58-62, 73-77) (+0): Julian has minimal chances to be promoted to the senior team at Osasuna. May be released soon.

Mario Santana - ST (Mexico) (62-66, 83-89) (+13): Really excited to see future reports on this kid from Mexico. He's described as "Physically Strong" and you know how much I like to play with a target man. The downside is that he's only 5'3", but he's still 15 years old so I'm hoping he'll grow closer to the 6 foot range.
*Santana has just turned 16 and is now eligible to play in La Liga. I'm a bit disappointed that his height only grew to 5'10 as I really wanted a target man, but he is Physically Strong so he should be a good striker nonetheless.*

*Pedro Ramirez - RB (Spain) (63-67, 82-88): Even though I use overlapping fullbacks, it wouldn't hurt to have a natural fullback in the squad since right now I'm using a RW at RB with my first team. Ramirez is currently 15 years old and stands at 5'6". Depending on how much he grows in height I might even be able to use him at CB.

*Victor Soriano - CDM (Spain) (53-57, 89-94): Really looking forward to this player. Similar qualities to the B-Team's Vinuesa Ramos, but not as tall with a 6'1" height. He may not be as sluggish thanks to his lower height though so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in the future.

Xabi Rodriguez - CAM (Mexico) (58-62, 75-81): He may not be the most athletic, but the 16 year old is considered a playmaker. Currently still being evaluated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

October Headlines


Campaña Finds Form
Osasuna's new 4-1-3-2 Formation has allowed Jose Campaña to really show his talent on the ball and become the playmaker Los Rojillos were looking for. Sergi Gomez hasn't had the same luck though. He's been playing somewhat better in the B-Team with the veteran captain Miguel Flaño being very vocal and running the back line, but he still hasn't been the defender we were waiting for. Gomez is inexistent in the air especially during long goal kicks, and also Ignasi Miquel's great form with the First Team has put Sergi Gomez's second chance on hold.

*Champions League*
With two games left to play in the Group Stage Osasuna are on the brink of being eliminated. They are currently third with only 4 points, and 5 points away from 2nd place and 6 points away from 1st. A huge gap considering that there are only a couple games left. The next Champions League fixture will be the most vital for Osasuna. The Basques will face Napoli, who they demolished 3-0 on opening day, while Manchester City goes up against Mönchengladbach. Borussia Mönchengladbach CANNOT win. If the German side defeats City Osasuna will officially be eliminated. The only way Osasuna could advance if Borussia wins would be if City loses against Napoli, but seeing as Napoli hasn't been able to win or tie a single match the possibilities of that happening are extremely low. In order for Osasuna to go through they would have to defeat Napoli, Borussia would have to tie/lose against City, and then Osasuna would have to defeat Borussia in the final round in order to advance. City's results at that point would be irrelevant as they would have mathematically secured their spot in the next round. If Osasuna draws or loses against Napoli it's all over. If they defeat Napoli but tie or lose against Borussia then again it would be over. Osasuna need to win both of their remaining matches and need Borussia to not win against City. It may sound like a long shot, but in football you never know what will happen.

Pedro Bigas Wants Out
The former Mallorca centre back signed for Osasuna last season, with the vision of one day replacing Miguel Flaño with the First Team. Bigas time at Osasuna has been a difficult one though, with the 26 year old unable to adjust to Chavez's style of play. Bigas (74 OVR) would be erased from even the B-Team after Sergi Gomez's arrival, and is now fed up with spending so much time on the bench. It is believed he has personally asked Chavez to transfer list him in the upcoming transfer window.


Conclusion
So there you have it. Not much left to sum up. Bigas was previously a defensive midfielder before converting to centre back at Mallorca, so I may try him out there more often. He has made a couple appearances in midfield and done well, so I don't see why not. Nono (67 OVR) has received many more opportunities, but if anyone deserves to be transfer listed it is he. I signed Nono from Real Betis a couple seasons ago looking forward to seeing him reach his potential and instead he hasn't grown a single point in any stat. He doesn't play bad, he's quite decent actually, but Bigas may be able to do a better job than him. I'd rather keep Bigas if he can play better in midfield.

I hope I explained myself well on what I need to qualify to the next Champions League stage. I know I haven't had time to be active on the forum anymore but I'm still trying to get some updates in.
Thanks For Reading!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So much information in one post...too many periods and commas. Next time go with like 4 or 5 different posts. Save my eyes some wear and tear.

[texasbum06]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

Deportivo La Coruña
FIFA 15 - Season 3

Blanquiazules’

Summer Transfer Window

Transfers Out

GK, Fabricio, 72 OVR, 28 yrs old - €700,000 to Sporting Gijon
RW, Keko, 72 OVR, 24 yrs old - €1,700,000 to Sporting Gijon
LB, Saul, 59 OVR, 21 yrs old - €200,000 to Exeter City
RM, Julio Barrios, 56 OVR, 17 yrs old - €30,000 to Exeter City
LM, Jose Enrique, 54 OVR, 16 yrs old - €350,000 to Carlisle United
LB, Xavier Arangoa, 72 OVR, 18 yrs old - Loaned to Granada CF
GK, David Gomez, 66 OVR, 22 yrs old, Loaned to Albacete
RM, Pedro Reyes, 64 OVR, 16 yrs old, Loaned to Shrewsbury Town
RM, Ricardo Sanchez, 61 OVR, 17 yrs old, Loaned to Doncaster Rovers
CM, Diego Rodriguez, 59 OVR, 17 yrs old, Loaned to Exeter City
CDM, Jorge Asenjo, 58 OVR, 17 yrs old, Loaned to Sonderjyske
CF, Juan Guerra, 58 OVR, 18 yrs old, Loaned to Yeovil Town

Pre-Contract Arrival

RB, Tito, 75 OVR, 31 yrs old - Pre-Contract agreement from Rayo Vallecano
CB, Luis Hernandez, 71 OVR, 27 yrs old - Pre-Contract agreement from Sporting Gijon
CM, Raul Meireles, 71 OVR, 33 yrs old - Pre-Contract agreement from Fenerbahce
CB, Roman Golobart, 67 OVR, 24 yrs old - Pre-Contract agreement from FC Koln

Transfers in

CDM, Sergi Samper, 72 OVR, 21 yrs old - €1,800,000 from Barcelona


Sergi Samper is a La Masia product joining at only 6 years old. He made his professional debut in 2013, and first appeared for the Barcelona first team in 2014. While his abilities aren't doubted, the abundance of talent at Barcelona has made it nearly impossible to become a consistent contributor at the club. A move away from his childhood club is tough, but at Deportivo he will get time on the field to really prove himself as a player. His control as the last line of defense in the midfield is impressive for a young player, and he should fill in nicely for Deportivo's two holding midfielder formation.

ST, Iñaki Williams, 66 OVR, 22 yrs old - €1,000,000 from Athletic Bilbao


Iñaki Williams joined Athletic Bilbao at 16 years old, making his professional debut in the same year. The athletic young forward was quick to move through the ranks becoming a consistent contributor in 2014. While his performances were impressive, there was still a lot of talent ahead of him causing his time to come in spurts even though he was still getting on the field. Deportivo desperately needed a quick athletic forward to get behind the defense. He should be able to slot in and partner easily with both De Tomas and Dani Iglesias.

Total Profit/Loss: + €180,000

[Blue Eagle]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

Inter Milan
Season 1
January 2015

Objectives:
Qualify for the Champions League
Reach the Final of the Europa League
Reach the Semi Final of the Domestic Cup

TRANSFERS IN:



Memphis Depay
Club purchased from: PSV
Fee: $27,750,000 + Jonathan
Wages: $100,000 per week
Overall: 79
Position: LW
Age: 20

I bought Memphis to play the LW position so he can run at defenders and beat them better than Podolski and he will be able to stay for years to come. He will wear the number 7.



Danilo Luiz da Silva
Club purchased from: FC Porto
Fee: $13,000,000 + Hugo Campagmaro
Wages: $110,000 per week
Overall: 79
Position: RB
Age: 23

I bought Danilo to start at the right back position, because Santon is a loanee and the others are old and needed to be replaced. Danilo will be number 2.



Bernd Leno
Club purchased from: Bayern Leverkusen
Fee: $28,000,000
Wages: $140,000 per week
Overall: 83
Position: GK
Age: 22

I bought Leno to replace Handanovic, he is a young keeper that has a lot of potential and I believe can be our keeper for at least a decade. He will wear jersey number 1.



Thiago Alcântara
Club purchased from: Bayern Munich
Fee: $20,000,000
Wages: $140,000 per week
Overall: 81
Position: CM
Age: 23

I bought Thiago for the CAM place, he is able to play anywhere in the middle and that will be valuable to us if we start seeing injuries. He will wear jersey number 23.



Carlos Mane
Club purchased from: Sporting Clube de Portugal
Fee: $7,500,000
Wages: $70,000 per week
Overall: 73
Position: RW
Age: 20

I bought Mane to sit on the bench and come on as a sub or start in cup matches. He is traditionally a right winger but can play CAM or LW as well. He will be number 47.


TRANSFERS OUT:

Isaac Donkor - OVR: 61 POS: CB AGE: 19 FEE: $160,000 TO: Millwall
Reason: A deadwood player that was never going to play.

Gastan Camara - OVR: 63 POS: RW AGE: 18 FEE: Loan TO: Blackburn Rovers
Reason: To gain experience.

George Puscas - OVR: 63 POS: ST AGE: 18 FEE: Loan TO: Vercelli
Reason: To gain experience.

Handanovic - OVR: 86 POS: GK AGE: 30 FEE: $58,999,000 TO: FC Barcelona
Reason: Requested a transfer.

Assane Gnoukouri - OVR: 58 POS: CM AGE: 18 FEE: $130,000 TO: Kilmarnock
Reason: A deadwood player with no future at the club.

Federico Bonazzoli - OVR: 64 POS: ST AGE: 17 FEE: Loan TO: SC Cambuur
Reason: To gain experience.



League Match
Juventus 2 - 0 Inter
Pogba 32’
Tevez (PEN) 51’

MOTM Diego Alves

A disappointing loss and the scoreline does not do us justice. We had the better of the chances, hitting the bar three times before they scored and several other chances. Pogba scored from a header when a corner was crossed into the box and he jumped over everyone to get to it. In the 50’ Asamoah and Pogba both jumped to get a header in the box and Pogba went down softly and the ref awarded a penalty. Tevez sent Handanovic the wrong way and had a well placed shot to the bottom right corner. In the 59’ minute Asamoah again went into a challenge a little too harshly and gave away another penalty. This time though Handanovic got the better of Tevez and was able to make the save. The rest of the game Juventus played good defence and we were unable to get many good chances.

League Match
Inter 3 - 2 Genoa
Edenilson 10’ 72’
Medel 25’
Depay 56’ 76’

MOTM Depay

Danilo and Depay made their debut this game and both played well, especially Depay. Genoa would score their first chance when they crossed the ball in and Edenilson was unmarked in the middle for a free header. Medel would equalize though when Podolski crossed the ball in on the ground and he was there for the first time finish. Eleven minutes after half Depay made a run and Palacio played a ball over the top and he smashed a left footed volley right past the keeper who had no time to react. Edenilson would find the back of the net again in a similar fashion to Medel. The Genoa winger played a ball across the face of the goal to the oncoming Brazilian who only needed one touch to find the back of the net. Depay would score again from a ball over the top, his first shot was saved but came right back to him and he scored when given a second chance.

TIM Cup
Inter 1 - 0 Sassuolo
Dodo 31’

MOTM Kuzmanovic

A boring game with not very many chances. We played a weaker team and they played well again. Dodo’s goal was a nice solo goal where he beat 4 defenders and then slotted it past the keeper. Sassuolo didn’t have any chances to score and all Scuffet had to do was pick up some through balls that were over hit.

League Match
Empoli 0 - 0 Inter

MOTM Kovacic

A boring game with few chances. Empoli parked the bus from the very beginning and we could not break them down. They only had one shot the entire game.

TIM Cup
Fiorentina 1 - 3 Inter
Llicic 10’
Palacio (PEN) 36’ (PEN) 48’
Depay 90’

MOTM Depay

Fiorentina started off well and scored with their first chance. It came from an over the top ball that resulted in a 1v1 with Scuffet and he was unable to stop it. Both of Palacio’s penalties were earned by Depay and his tricky dribbling in the box. He would cut in and do a skill move and either get fouled or get the shot off almost every time. Palacio sent the keeper the wrong way both times and hit both upper 90s. Depay’s goal came off a counter attack. He dribbled down the touch line all the way to the goal line, then did a Ronaldo Chop to beat two players and dribbled in smash the ball across the goal to the far post.

League Table:




Top Deals:





About This Month:

Disappointing to lose to Juventus, but they have a good squad and we knew it would be tough. the Empoli game though was very frustrating. They just defended the whole time and I couldn’t break them down. I think we had a good transfer window. I am disappointed we lost Handanovic because he had been great for us but he wanted to leave and Barcelona payed good for him. I think Leno will be a good replacement and will be the keeper here for a long time hopefully. I really wanted Witsel but Zenit would take nothing less than $55,000,000 and I was not going to pay that much for him. Thiago will be a nice addition to the team and add some much needed depth.

Our starting line up:


Bench: Icard (79), Mane (73), Kovacic (79), Podolski (77), Vidic (83), Andreolli (75), and Scuffet (71)

Upcoming Fixtures:
Sassuolo (A) - League Match
Juventus (A) - TIM Cup
Palermo (H) - League Match
Torino (H) - League Match
Atalanta (A) - League Match
Lokomotiv (A) - Europa League
Cagliari (A) - League Match
Lokomotiv (H) - Europa League

[_ChicoBass]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

So much information in one post...too many periods and commas. Next time go with like 4 or 5 different posts. Save my eyes some wear and tear.

I see... This post did take me a long time to write so I see what you're getting at. I didn't do anything different than usual, just my normal style of writing. It's just one month but I did have a lot of matches to write about. How about going forward, I make a separate post for Mexico and another for Osasuna instead of putting them both out together? I think the extra matches from Mexico can easily make my update become too crowded.

Thanks for the feedback though! Any feedback, even the negative, is always welcome! I apologize for hurting your eyes [emoji17]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[_ChicoBass]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

[center]Deportivo La Coruña

FIFA 15 - Season 3



Blanquiazules’



Summer Transfer Window

Good looking transfers! Real good investments. Looking forward to seeing how Samper works out for you. He was initially my number one target to replace Camarasa this past summer, but his current overall in my career was too low. I see you let go of Keko though so I might take a look at him congratulations on winning the league title man! Can't believe you won it in just two seasons. I'm on my fourth and my top finish is 4th and what a way to win it too! A goal in the 90th minute of the final match put you ahead of Real Madrid. Barral's name is one that will never be forgotten by Deportivo's fans!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Keano16]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

The New Clough

May 2015

May 2, Griffin Park
FL Championship: Match 45

Brentford 0-2 Nott'm Forest
Antonio 33' Powell 82'

MotM: Nick Powell (NFO, 8.1)

Well there's the reason Brentford are bottom of the league. They were absolutely terrible and it was an easy game. Antonio opened the scoring, using his pace on the counter attack after a Brentford corner. He got past Bidwell and sped away before just squeezing it under Button. We took it easy then and didn't create many chances to score. MOTM Nick Powell made sure of the win with a low strike from the edge of the box through many legs. This came after we worked the ball continuously across the Brentford back four. Assombalonga and Paterson both had another poor game.

May 9, City Ground
FL Championship: Match 46

Nott'm Forest 5-0 Cardiff City
Lansbury 7' Powell 14' Dicko 28' Veldwijk 31' (Pen) 42'
Juan Cala 31' s/o

MotM: Henri Lansbury (NFO, 9.3) (Powell 9.3, Veldwijk 9.1)

Going into this game we needed Fulham to lose to Reading while also we needed to beat fourth placed Cardiff ourselves to have any chance of getting automatic promotion.

Boy was that a beat down. They game was over after 30 minutes. Nick Powell, Nouah Dicko and Lars Veldwijk all justified their starting spots today with fine performances. Former Arsenal youth Henri Lansbury received the ball from Powell and then dribbled through a weak Cardiff defence to open the scoring early on. The Manchester United loanee would then get on the score sheet himself seven minutes later running onto an Antonio pass through. He had his shot saved but luckily the ball bounced back into his path and he tapped in to make it 2-0. Lars Veldwijk was almost put in with a wonderful ball from Kane but it was cut out. However the back pass not dealt with by Marshall and he slipped as he went to clear it and the ball bounced into the middle of the box where Nouah Dicko was waiting to volley home. Things were made even worse for the Bluebirds when Spaniard Juan Cala's sliding tackle on Antonio was judged to be a penalty and sending off. Veldwijk confidently stepped up and put it into the left bottom corner. Marshall didn't even move. It was made 5-0 when Lansbury won the ball back in midfield and then played Veldwijk through. The tall striker skipped past the defender before finessing around Marshall. In the second half we just kept the ball and no more goals were scored. Then we headed back into the dressing room to find out the score of the Fulham and Reading game.

Spoiler

Fulham 1-2 Reading

It was 1-1 at halftime so all we could do was pray for a winner from the Royals and unbelievably they came through for us and scored.PROMOTION!!!!!!

Player of the Month



Nick Powell

The forward on loan from Manchester United had a terrific final two games of the season, scoring in both games and assisting another. He was named MOTM against Brentford and a case could have been made for a second award against Cardiff. He even pushed Italian starlet Danilo Cataldi out of the starting lineup. Will he be back next season? We'll find out.

FL Championship

99
91

90
88
85
78

74
74
71
69
68
65
64
60
60
58
57
51
44
42
37

36
26
24



1. Ross McCormack (Fulham) 28
2. Britt Assombalomga (Nottingham Forest) 22
3. Craig Mackail-Smith (Brighton & Hove Albion) 19



1. Ali Al-Habsi (Wigan Athletic) 16
2. Gomes (Watford) 15
3. John Ruddy (Norwich City) 14
Karl Darlow (Nottingham Forest) 14



1. Nathan Redmond (Norwich City) 15
2. Konstantinos Mitroglou (Fulham) 10
Stevie May (Sheffield Wednesday) 10
Danilo Cataldi (Nottingham Forest) 10
3. Alexander Kacaniklic (Fulham) 9

Player of the Season: Ross McCormack (Fulham)

Manager of the Season: Alex Neil (Norwich City)

Team Totals:
Fulham - 2
Cardiff City - 2
Norwich City - 2
Wigan - 2
Middlesbrough - 1
Brighton & Hove Albion - 1
Nottingham Forest - 1

European Champions

Champions League: Chelsea (1-1, 5-4p Juventus)
Europa League: Inter Milan (2-0 Tottenham Hotspur)
FA Cup: Manchester City (2-0 Liverpool)
Capital One Cup: Manchester United (2-2, 4-3p Liverpool)
Championship Playoff: Cardiff (3-0 Fulham)

England: Manchester United (West Brom, Leicester, Burnley Relegated)
Spain: Real Madrid
Germany: FC Bayern
France:PSG
Italy: Juventus

Spoiler

*Denotes Recent Addition

Argus Tsolakoglou - GK - 66-78 Ovr - 83-94 Pot - 16 - Greece (Goalkeeper): This 16 year old Greek is a really good height for in between the sticks at 6'4" and has massive potential. With a good last couple of months in the academy until the end of the season, he could even become our back up keeper to McCarthy next season.

Charles Kwel - LW - 54-66 Ovr - 67-83 Pot - 15 - Nigeria (Winger): The Nigerian only joined the academy in April and saw minimal improvement in May. He will be evaluated to see whether he has a future or not.

Eizo Hayashida - RB - 52-62 Ovr - 69-81 Pot - 16 - Japan (Defensive Minded): At 6'3" he may be best suited at CB due to a lack of pace. His tackling and defensive stats are very good however.

*Gary Gauld - MID/DEF - 36-48 Ovr - 69-94 Pot - 16 - Scotland (Unknown): The first Scottish player to join the academy. He looks like a defensive central midfielder or a defender. If he is to be a centre half, I hope he grows from his 5'11" height.

Kyle Harvey - RB - 65-69 Ovr - 88-94 Pot - 16 - England (Winger): Standing at 5'8" Kyle has settled at right fullback for his desired position. We will have to teach him how to defend though as his best attributes are his physical and technical ones. He will certainly be a good asset in our attacking game. He had one of the best progressions this season.

*Masaki Takishida - LM/RM/DEF - 35-45 Ovr - 67-87 Pot - 15 - Japan (Unknown): Masaki also looks like a defensive player. At 6'3" he has suitable height for a centre half.

*Michael Tschernegg - LM - 50-64 Ovr - 69-87 Pot - 16 - Austria (Winger): The little Austrian, as he is known, stands at 5'5" and has most of the essential stats for a winger.

Mitsuharu Ishida - LM/CM/CAM/RW - 50-62 Ovr - 64-80 Pot - 16 - Japan (Unknown): Mitsuharu is the second Japanese addition to our academy and he looks best suited to being a CAM.

*Mohammed Nkrumah - LM/RM/DEF - 39-49 Ovr - 73-93 Pot - 16 - Nigeria (Unknown): This Nigerian powerhouse looks a natural centre half with his phtisue and stats.

Pascal Fuchs - LM/CM/LW - 49-61 Ovr - 64-78 Pot - 15 Austria (Unknown): The first Austrian to join, he projects as nothing more than a bench player for us and maybe cut loose. He looks like he will become a winger.

Sean Augustien - ST - 56-60 Ovr - 72-78 Pot - 15 - Netherlands (Technically Gifted): Initially thought to be a central midfielder Sean has chosen to be a striker. His height and stats describe him as a technically gifted striker. One who will link up play rather than be the main finisher.

Only one scout is still out and that is in Scotland looking for Defensive Minded players.

Manager Thoughts

Well we did it! We got promoted in second place. After sitting around fourth/fifth for the majority of the season we really pushed on March onward. Assombalonga had a really good season although he was invisible during April and May. Veldwijk was there however to pick up the slack. No one plays well all season long. The same happened with Cataldi, he was our maestro for most of the season but towards the end of April he died off but Powell was there to finish the season strong. Brentford was a routine win and I was extremely surprised when I hammered Cardiff 5-0 on the final day with all five goals coming in the first half. We did have to rely on Reading to win but we got promoted and that's what matters most.

May Headlines

Leverkusen Rejected

German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen have reached out to Forest boss Keano over a contract to become their new manager. The board felt a change was needed when the previous manager only brought them to 7th place and failed to qualify for even the Europa League. They finished four points off the final spot which was occupied by Borussia M'gladbach. Keano had this to say:
"Although I would love to manage in the Bundesliga one day, I have just been promoted with Forest to the Premier League and my desire to manage in one of the most competitive leagues in the world is stronger at the minute. Leverkusen are a great club and I appreciate their offer. Whoever takes over the job, I wish them luck and hope that they can get back into Europe next season."

New Venezuelan Head Coach

Today it was announced that James Keano, Nottingham Forest manager, would be taking over the Venezuelan National team along with continuing his club duties with Forest. Keano wasn't available to comment due to him jetting off to prepare for the upcoming Copa America in Chile. Venezuela's three games include, Uruguay, the current holders, Colombia, packed with attacking talent and Mexico, led by the legend that is Chavez. How will he perform seeing as he had no say in the final squad? Only time will tell but surely this is a long term project with a long term plan.

The next post will be the Squad Review and have the Player of the Year. After that it'll be the Copa America! Thanks for Reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

[Keano16]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

The New Clough

2014/15 End of Season Squad Review

Goalkeepers
Karl Darlow - 69 (+1) Ovr, 24yrs, England (On loan from Newcastle United)
49 Appearances, 14 Clean Sheets

Dorus de Vries - 67 Ovr, 34yrs, Netherlands
2 Appearances

Dimitar Evtimov - 55 (+1) Ovr, 21yrs, Bulgaria
0 Appearances

Defenders

RB:
Eric Lichaj - 70 (+2) Ovr, 26yrs, United States
24 Appearances

Todd Kane - 67 (+3) Ovr, 21yrs, England (On loan from Chelsea)
10 Appearances, 1 Assist

CB:
Michael Mancienne - 71 Ovr, 27yrs, England
43 Appearances

Liam Moore - 69 Ovr, 22yrs, England
17 Appearances, 2 Goals

Jamaal Lascelles - 71 (+4) Ovr, 21yrs, England (On loan from Newcastle United)
29 Appearances

Kaan Ayhan - 70 (+3) Ovr, 20yrs, Turkey (On loan from Schalke 04)
3 Appearances

Kelvin Wilson - 70 Ovr, 29yrs, England
8 Appearances, 1 Goal

LB:
Chris Cohen - 68 Ovr, 28yrs, England
48 Appearances, 2 Assists

Daniel Fox - 66 (-1) Ovr, 28yrs, Scotland
2 Appearances

Midfielders

RM:
Michail Antonio - 71 (+3) Ovr, 25yrs, England
38 Appearances, 4 Goals, 7 Assists

Chris Burke - 69 (-2) Ovr, 31yrs, Scotland
21 Appearances, 1 Goal, 2 Assists

CM:
Nathaniel Chalobah - 72 (+4) Ovr, 20yrs, England (On loan from Chelsea)
38 Appearances, 1 Goal, 5 Assists

Henri Lansbury - 73 (+2) Ovr, 24yrs, England
37 Appearances, 8 Goals, 5 Assists

Danilo Cataldi - 70 (+3) Ovr, 20yrs, Italy (On loan from Lazio)
31 Appearances, 4 Goals, 10 Assists

Luke Hyam - 70 (+2) Ovr, 23yrs, England
40 Appearances, 5 Goals, 1 Assist (Majority for Ipswich)

Jay Spearing - 71 (+1) Ovr, 26yrs, England
28 Appearances, 2 Goals, 2 Assists

LM:
Jamie Paterson - 71 (+4) Ovr, 23yrs, England
33 Appearances, 6 Goals, 4 Assists

Jordon Ibe - 68 (+1) Ovr, 19yrs, England (On loan from Liverpool)
10 Appearances

Djamel Abdoun - 69 Ovr, 28yrs, Algeria
7 Appearances

CAM:
Nick Powell - 71 (+2) Ovr, 21yrs, England (On loan from Manchester United)
14 Appearances, 4 Goals, 2 Assists

Forwards

Britt Assombalonga - 71 (+3) Ovr, 22yrs, DR Congo
37 Appearances, 22 Goals, 5 Assists

Nouha Dicko - 70 (+2) Ovr, 23yrs, Mali
37 Appearances, 13 Goals, 3 Assists

Lars Veldwijk - 69 (+1) Ovr, 23yrs, Netherlands
25 Appearances, 13 Goals, 4 Assists

Out on Loan

Louis Laing - CB, 64 (+2) Ovr, 22yrs, England (On loan at Rotherham United)
Jamie Mackie - RM, 68 Ovr, 29yrs, Scotland (On loan at Reading)
Jorge Grant - CM, 58 (+3) Ovr, 20yrs, England (On loan at Cambridge United)
Josh Rees - CM, 56 (+4) Ovr, 21yrs, England (On loan at Accrington)
Stephen McLaughlin - LM, 62 (+2) Ovr, 24yrs, Republic of Ireland (On loan at Portsmouth)
Ben Osborn - LM, 66 (+3) Ovr, 20yrs, England (On loan at Portsmouth)
Radoslaw Majewski - CAM, 68 Ovr, 28yrs, Poland (On loan at Huddersfield)

Player of the Year



Britt Assombalonga

Our top scorer this season with 22 goals, he narrowly missed out on the golden boot award to Fulham's Ross McCormack. The DR Congo man was a constant threat up front for the Championship's defences and although he died off a bit towards the end of the season, his performances during the other months were outstanding and he certainly deserves Player of the Year.

Thanks for Reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

[Simppu12]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

Ha Ho He


Transfers Out

Änis Ben-Hatira, €2,900,000 to VfB Stuttgart
Johannes Geis, €6,000,000 to Guincamp


Transfers In



David Alaba

86 Ovr, Left Back, 25 Years Old, Austria

Bosman Transfer

Arguably the biggest transfer Hertha have made in the last ten years happened on the deadline day of the winter transfer window. The young and talented David Alaba, who is already regarded as one of the best left backs in the whole world, put pen on paper as he accepted Hertha's contract. The Austrian has 6 months left on his contract with Bayern and he'll join the Berliners in the summer after his current contract runs out. Alaba is an amazing player who can play almost everywhere on the pitch but it's yet unclear if he'll replace the in-form Abdul Baba as the left back or if he'll take Maximilian Arnold's place in the middle of the park.




Sokratis Papastathopoulos

85 Ovr, Centre Back, 29 Years Old, Greece

€17,500,000

The second and final signing Hertha made in January was the Greek centre back Sokratis Papastathopoulos who usually goes by his first name Sokratis. The club payed €17,5 million for him which makes him the most expensive signing in the club's history. The 29-year-old had six months left on his contract which resulted in a cheaper price (note: his market value was €18m). Sokratis made his Bundesliga debut for Werder Bremen 2011 and since 2012 he has played for Borussia Dortmund. Now the strong and versile defender will continue his career in Berlin. He'll take Joel Matip's place as a central defender and Matip will be converted into a defensive midfielder.


January 2018





Hertha BSC 2 - 1 Bayern München
Calhanoglu 21', Bellarabi 81'
Schweinsteiger 58'

Two games against Bayern and two wins is a very good tally for any team in the world. In their second match-up in two months Hertha were the better side again and they showed it on the pitch. Salomon Kalou and Hakan Calhanoglu's good pressing lead to Bayern's ball loss in the 21st minute as Hakan managed to steal the ball. He then ran into the box and shot the ball past Manuel Neuer on his near post. Then Bayern got a couple of chances and they finally equalised right before the hour mark with Schweinsteiger's powerful near-post shot from a Ribery pass. Bayern then pushed their players forwards and that cost them the game. Karim Bellarabi got the ball and ran down the right wing. The fast winger then cut into the box, took a poor shot... but the ball somehow rolled past Manuel Neuer into the bottom left corner!





VfL Wolfsburg 1 - 2 Hertha BSC
Djordjevic 45'
Kalou 45' pen, Bellarabi 64'

Wolfsburg had only two shots in this game and they scored with one of them. Djordjevic got his side into the lead right before the break with a near-post shot to finish a good passing combination. Right after that Salomon Kalou equalised from the penalty spot thanks to a controversial call by the referee. Twenty minutes later Karim Bellarabi secured the win by shooting the ball straight at the keeper who failed to catch the powerful shot.





Hertha BSC 2 - 0 SC Freiburg
Kalou 67', Ramos 75'

The second team was able to get this routine win against Freiburg. Super sub Salomon Kalou curled the ball into the net only four minutes after coming onto the pitch and under ten minutes later Adrian Ramos doubled the lead with a tap in.





Quarter Final
FC Schalke 04 0 - 0 Hertha BSC

Two rival teams faced each other in the DFB Pokal quarter final at Schalke's Veltins Arena. The game was meant to be very exciting but at the end there were only six shots in the entire game. After dull-ish 90 minutes and extra time the game went on penalties.

Schalke started the shootout with Klaas Jan Huntelaar. The Dutch striker shot the ball to the left but Benaglio dived the right way... but the ball went in. Hertha's Heung-Min Son stepped up to take the next penalty and he slotted it into the bottom right corner. Schalke's Choupo-Moting took the next one and it went just over Diego Benaglio into the top left corner. Adrian Ramos scored his penalty and Kevin-Prince Boateng took his but it hit the post! Fabian Lustenberger, Hertha's captain, had the chance to give his team an advantage... and he did it! Marco Höger from Schalke then shot the ball down the middle past Diego Benaglio who jumped to the right. Hertha's ex-Schalke man Leon Goreztka netted his penalty after that. The pressure was on Sidney Sam but the fast winger scored his penalty. The result was 4-4 and Salomon Kalou had a chance to decide the game. He put the ball down, decided where to shoot, started his runup, took the shot... and the ball flew into the top left corner! Hertha beat Schalke 5-4 on penalties! Hertha will face Wolfsburg in the semi finals.




Müller Accepts an International Job Offer

After declining several job offers from national teams like Switzerland, the Netherlands, Chile and Colombia Hertha BSC's manager Simon Müller has accepted the job as the coach of the French national team. Les Bleus have secured their place in the 2018 World Cup and Müller will hopefully take them to the title. He replaced Didier Deschamps who resigned after having some problems with players of the national team. There are big expectations for the young manager who is expected to win France's second world cup in the summer.


Bundesliga Table

1. Hertha BSC, 52 pts
2. Bayern München, 39 pts
3. FC Schalke 04, 38 pts
4. Bayer Leverkusen, 36 pts
5. Borussia Dortmund, 35 pts
6. SC Freiburg, 31 pts
--------------------------------------------------
16. Red Bull Leipzig, 18 pts
17. FC Kaiserslautern, 14 pts
18. Werder Bremen, 12 pts


Starting XI




My Thoughts

The Bundesliga? I'm 99% sure that the title is ours. A 13-point lead is too much for Bayern to overcome in my opinion. I don't have to play my starters in every game anymore and I'm glad that we've won it. The DFB Pokal is looking interesting but I think that will win that trophy, as well. I can't remember if there are any other big teams left apart from Wolfsburg but we should be able to take them down. Next month will be interesting with games against Dortmund, Schalke and Atleti.

Then we have the transfers. Krychowiak hasn't been great for me and I wanted to replace him. Sokratis had six months left on his contract and I decided to make Matip the new CDM because he's strong, fast and he has good passing stats. Sokratis has been okay in the three games he has played. I'm very excited about Alaba but I don't know where I'll use him. The summer transfer window will tell if I decide to continue the career. Geis and Ben-Hatira were sold because they wanted to leave and I needed some money.

Also, I finally decided to take a national team job. France have a very exciting team with lots of amazing players and depth. The likes of Raphael Varane, Paul Pogba and Franck Ribery are just some of the very good players they have. I'm looking forawrd to the world cup if I make it that far.



Thank you for reading this post! I hope you have enjoyed it! Any feedback or suggestions will be appreciated!

[Simppu12]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

Spoiler

The New Clough

Spoiler

May 2015

May 2, Griffin Park
FL Championship: Match 45

Brentford 0-2 Nott'm Forest
Antonio 33' Powell 82'

MotM: Nick Powell (NFO, 8.1)

Well there's the reason Brentford are bottom of the league. They were absolutely terrible and it was an easy game. Antonio opened the scoring, using his pace on the counter attack after a Brentford corner. He got past Bidwell and sped away before just squeezing it under Button. We took it easy then and didn't create many chances to score. MOTM Nick Powell made sure of the win with a low strike from the edge of the box through many legs. This came after we worked the ball continuously across the Brentford back four. Assombalonga and Paterson both had another poor game.

May 9, City Ground
FL Championship: Match 46

Nott'm Forest 5-0 Cardiff City
Lansbury 7' Powell 14' Dicko 28' Veldwijk 31' (Pen) 42'
Juan Cala 31' s/o

MotM: Henri Lansbury (NFO, 9.3) (Powell 9.3, Veldwijk 9.1)

Going into this game we needed Fulham to lose to Reading while also we needed to beat fourth placed Cardiff ourselves to have any chance of getting automatic promotion.

Boy was that a beat down. They game was over after 30 minutes. Nick Powell, Nouah Dicko and Lars Veldwijk all justified their starting spots today with fine performances. Former Arsenal youth Henri Lansbury received the ball from Powell and then dribbled through a weak Cardiff defence to open the scoring early on. The Manchester United loanee would then get on the score sheet himself seven minutes later running onto an Antonio pass through. He had his shot saved but luckily the ball bounced back into his path and he tapped in to make it 2-0. Lars Veldwijk was almost put in with a wonderful ball from Kane but it was cut out. However the back pass not dealt with by Marshall and he slipped as he went to clear it and the ball bounced into the middle of the box where Nouah Dicko was waiting to volley home. Things were made even worse for the Bluebirds when Spaniard Juan Cala's sliding tackle on Antonio was judged to be a penalty and sending off. Veldwijk confidently stepped up and put it into the left bottom corner. Marshall didn't even move. It was made 5-0 when Lansbury won the ball back in midfield and then played Veldwijk through. The tall striker skipped past the defender before finessing around Marshall. In the second half we just kept the ball and no more goals were scored. Then we headed back into the dressing room to find out the score of the Fulham and Reading game.

Spoiler

Fulham 1-2 Reading

It was 1-1 at halftime so all we could do was pray for a winner from the Royals and unbelievably they came through for us and scored.PROMOTION!!!!!!

Player of the Month



Nick Powell

The forward on loan from Manchester United had a terrific final two games of the season, scoring in both games and assisting another. He was named MOTM against Brentford and a case could have been made for a second award against Cardiff. He even pushed Italian starlet Danilo Cataldi out of the starting lineup. Will he be back next season? We'll find out.

FL Championship

99
91

90
88
85
78

74
74
71
69
68
65
64
60
60
58
57
51
44
42
37

36
26
24



1. Ross McCormack (Fulham) 28
2. Britt Assombalomga (Nottingham Forest) 22
3. Craig Mackail-Smith (Brighton & Hove Albion) 19



1. Ali Al-Habsi (Wigan Athletic) 16
2. Gomes (Watford) 15
3. John Ruddy (Norwich City) 14
Karl Darlow (Nottingham Forest) 14



1. Nathan Redmond (Norwich City) 15
2. Konstantinos Mitroglou (Fulham) 10
Stevie May (Sheffield Wednesday) 10
Danilo Cataldi (Nottingham Forest) 10
3. Alexander Kacaniklic (Fulham) 9

Player of the Season: Ross McCormack (Fulham)

Manager of the Season: Alex Neil (Norwich City)

Team Totals:
Fulham - 2
Cardiff City - 2
Norwich City - 2
Wigan - 2
Middlesbrough - 1
Brighton & Hove Albion - 1
Nottingham Forest - 1

European Champions

Champions League: Chelsea (1-1, 5-4p Juventus)
Europa League: Inter Milan (2-0 Tottenham Hotspur)
FA Cup: Manchester City (2-0 Liverpool)
Capital One Cup: Manchester United (2-2, 4-3p Liverpool)
Championship Playoff: Cardiff (3-0 Fulham)

England: Manchester United (West Brom, Leicester, Burnley Relegated)
Spain: Real Madrid
Germany: FC Bayern
France:PSG
Italy: Juventus

Spoiler

*Denotes Recent Addition

Argus Tsolakoglou - GK - 66-78 Ovr - 83-94 Pot - 16 - Greece (Goalkeeper): This 16 year old Greek is a really good height for in between the sticks at 6'4" and has massive potential. With a good last couple of months in the academy until the end of the season, he could even become our back up keeper to McCarthy next season.

Charles Kwel - LW - 54-66 Ovr - 67-83 Pot - 15 - Nigeria (Winger): The Nigerian only joined the academy in April and saw minimal improvement in May. He will be evaluated to see whether he has a future or not.

Eizo Hayashida - RB - 52-62 Ovr - 69-81 Pot - 16 - Japan (Defensive Minded): At 6'3" he may be best suited at CB due to a lack of pace. His tackling and defensive stats are very good however.

*Gary Gauld - MID/DEF - 36-48 Ovr - 69-94 Pot - 16 - Scotland (Unknown): The first Scottish player to join the academy. He looks like a defensive central midfielder or a defender. If he is to be a centre half, I hope he grows from his 5'11" height.

Kyle Harvey - RB - 65-69 Ovr - 88-94 Pot - 16 - England (Winger): Standing at 5'8" Kyle has settled at right fullback for his desired position. We will have to teach him how to defend though as his best attributes are his physical and technical ones. He will certainly be a good asset in our attacking game. He had one of the best progressions this season.

*Masaki Takishida - LM/RM/DEF - 35-45 Ovr - 67-87 Pot - 15 - Japan (Unknown): Masaki also looks like a defensive player. At 6'3" he has suitable height for a centre half.

*Michael Tschernegg - LM - 50-64 Ovr - 69-87 Pot - 16 - Austria (Winger): The little Austrian, as he is known, stands at 5'5" and has most of the essential stats for a winger.

Mitsuharu Ishida - LM/CM/CAM/RW - 50-62 Ovr - 64-80 Pot - 16 - Japan (Unknown): Mitsuharu is the second Japanese addition to our academy and he looks best suited to being a CAM.

*Mohammed Nkrumah - LM/RM/DEF - 39-49 Ovr - 73-93 Pot - 16 - Nigeria (Unknown): This Nigerian powerhouse looks a natural centre half with his phtisue and stats.

Pascal Fuchs - LM/CM/LW - 49-61 Ovr - 64-78 Pot - 15 Austria (Unknown): The first Austrian to join, he projects as nothing more than a bench player for us and maybe cut loose. He looks like he will become a winger.

Sean Augustien - ST - 56-60 Ovr - 72-78 Pot - 15 - Netherlands (Technically Gifted): Initially thought to be a central midfielder Sean has chosen to be a striker. His height and stats describe him as a technically gifted striker. One who will link up play rather than be the main finisher.

Only one scout is still out and that is in Scotland looking for Defensive Minded players.

Manager Thoughts

Well we did it! We got promoted in second place. After sitting around fourth/fifth for the majority of the season we really pushed on March onward. Assombalonga had a really good season although he was invisible during April and May. Veldwijk was there however to pick up the slack. No one plays well all season long. The same happened with Cataldi, he was our maestro for most of the season but towards the end of April he died off but Powell was there to finish the season strong. Brentford was a routine win and I was extremely surprised when I hammered Cardiff 5-0 on the final day with all five goals coming in the first half. We did have to rely on Reading to win but we got promoted and that's what matters most.

May Headlines

Leverkusen Rejected

German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen have reached out to Forest boss Keano over a contract to become their new manager. The board felt a change was needed when the previous manager only brought them to 7th place and failed to qualify for even the Europa League. They finished four points off the final spot which was occupied by Borussia M'gladbach. Keano had this to say:
"Although I would love to manage in the Bundesliga one day, I have just been promoted with Forest to the Premier League and my desire to manage in one of the most competitive leagues in the world is stronger at the minute. Leverkusen are a great club and I appreciate their offer. Whoever takes over the job, I wish them luck and hope that they can get back into Europe next season."

New Venezuelan Head Coach

Today it was announced that James Keano, Nottingham Forest manager, would be taking over the Venezuelan National team along with continuing his club duties with Forest. Keano wasn't available to comment due to him jetting off to prepare for the upcoming Copa America in Chile. Venezuela's three games include, Uruguay, the current holders, Colombia, packed with attacking talent and Mexico, led by the legend that is Chavez. How will he perform seeing as he had no say in the final squad? Only time will tell but surely this is a long term project with a long term plan.

The next post will be the Squad Review and have the Player of the Year. After that it'll be the Copa America! Thanks for Reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

Oh my God I can't believe you actually did that! I was almost sure that you would finish in third or fourth just a couple points away from automatic promotion but luckily I was wrong! Amazing beating on Cardiff and a solid win against Brentford to secure promotion! What a season! Congratulations, mate! Hopefully all of those loans won't ruin the team.

Inter Milan

Spoiler

Season 1
January 2015

Spoiler

Objectives:
Qualify for the Champions League
Reach the Final of the Europa League
Reach the Semi Final of the Domestic Cup

TRANSFERS IN:



Memphis Depay
Club purchased from: PSV
Fee: $27,750,000 + Jonathan
Wages: $100,000 per week
Overall: 79
Position: LW
Age: 20

I bought Memphis to play the LW position so he can run at defenders and beat them better than Podolski and he will be able to stay for years to come. He will wear the number 7.



Danilo Luiz da Silva
Club purchased from: FC Porto
Fee: $13,000,000 + Hugo Campagmaro
Wages: $110,000 per week
Overall: 79
Position: RB
Age: 23

I bought Danilo to start at the right back position, because Santon is a loanee and the others are old and needed to be replaced. Danilo will be number 2.



Bernd Leno
Club purchased from: Bayern Leverkusen
Fee: $28,000,000
Wages: $140,000 per week
Overall: 83
Position: GK
Age: 22

I bought Leno to replace Handanovic, he is a young keeper that has a lot of potential and I believe can be our keeper for at least a decade. He will wear jersey number 1.



Thiago Alcântara
Club purchased from: Bayern Munich
Fee: $20,000,000
Wages: $140,000 per week
Overall: 81
Position: CM
Age: 23

I bought Thiago for the CAM place, he is able to play anywhere in the middle and that will be valuable to us if we start seeing injuries. He will wear jersey number 23.



Carlos Mane
Club purchased from: Sporting Clube de Portugal
Fee: $7,500,000
Wages: $70,000 per week
Overall: 73
Position: RW
Age: 20

I bought Mane to sit on the bench and come on as a sub or start in cup matches. He is traditionally a right winger but can play CAM or LW as well. He will be number 47.


TRANSFERS OUT:

Isaac Donkor - OVR: 61 POS: CB AGE: 19 FEE: $160,000 TO: Millwall
Reason: A deadwood player that was never going to play.

Gastan Camara - OVR: 63 POS: RW AGE: 18 FEE: Loan TO: Blackburn Rovers
Reason: To gain experience.

George Puscas - OVR: 63 POS: ST AGE: 18 FEE: Loan TO: Vercelli
Reason: To gain experience.

Handanovic - OVR: 86 POS: GK AGE: 30 FEE: $58,999,000 TO: FC Barcelona
Reason: Requested a transfer.

Assane Gnoukouri - OVR: 58 POS: CM AGE: 18 FEE: $130,000 TO: Kilmarnock
Reason: A deadwood player with no future at the club.

Federico Bonazzoli - OVR: 64 POS: ST AGE: 17 FEE: Loan TO: SC Cambuur
Reason: To gain experience.



League Match
Juventus 2 - 0 Inter
Pogba 32’
Tevez (PEN) 51’

MOTM Diego Alves

A disappointing loss and the scoreline does not do us justice. We had the better of the chances, hitting the bar three times before they scored and several other chances. Pogba scored from a header when a corner was crossed into the box and he jumped over everyone to get to it. In the 50’ Asamoah and Pogba both jumped to get a header in the box and Pogba went down softly and the ref awarded a penalty. Tevez sent Handanovic the wrong way and had a well placed shot to the bottom right corner. In the 59’ minute Asamoah again went into a challenge a little too harshly and gave away another penalty. This time though Handanovic got the better of Tevez and was able to make the save. The rest of the game Juventus played good defence and we were unable to get many good chances.

League Match
Inter 3 - 2 Genoa
Edenilson 10’ 72’
Medel 25’
Depay 56’ 76’

MOTM Depay

Danilo and Depay made their debut this game and both played well, especially Depay. Genoa would score their first chance when they crossed the ball in and Edenilson was unmarked in the middle for a free header. Medel would equalize though when Podolski crossed the ball in on the ground and he was there for the first time finish. Eleven minutes after half Depay made a run and Palacio played a ball over the top and he smashed a left footed volley right past the keeper who had no time to react. Edenilson would find the back of the net again in a similar fashion to Medel. The Genoa winger played a ball across the face of the goal to the oncoming Brazilian who only needed one touch to find the back of the net. Depay would score again from a ball over the top, his first shot was saved but came right back to him and he scored when given a second chance.

TIM Cup
Inter 1 - 0 Sassuolo
Dodo 31’

MOTM Kuzmanovic

A boring game with not very many chances. We played a weaker team and they played well again. Dodo’s goal was a nice solo goal where he beat 4 defenders and then slotted it past the keeper. Sassuolo didn’t have any chances to score and all Scuffet had to do was pick up some through balls that were over hit.

League Match
Empoli 0 - 0 Inter

MOTM Kovacic

A boring game with few chances. Empoli parked the bus from the very beginning and we could not break them down. They only had one shot the entire game.

TIM Cup
Fiorentina 1 - 3 Inter
Llicic 10’
Palacio (PEN) 36’ (PEN) 48’
Depay 90’

MOTM Depay

Fiorentina started off well and scored with their first chance. It came from an over the top ball that resulted in a 1v1 with Scuffet and he was unable to stop it. Both of Palacio’s penalties were earned by Depay and his tricky dribbling in the box. He would cut in and do a skill move and either get fouled or get the shot off almost every time. Palacio sent the keeper the wrong way both times and hit both upper 90s. Depay’s goal came off a counter attack. He dribbled down the touch line all the way to the goal line, then did a Ronaldo Chop to beat two players and dribbled in smash the ball across the goal to the far post.

League Table:




Top Deals:





About This Month:

Disappointing to lose to Juventus, but they have a good squad and we knew it would be tough. the Empoli game though was very frustrating. They just defended the whole time and I couldn’t break them down. I think we had a good transfer window. I am disappointed we lost Handanovic because he had been great for us but he wanted to leave and Barcelona payed good for him. I think Leno will be a good replacement and will be the keeper here for a long time hopefully. I really wanted Witsel but Zenit would take nothing less than $55,000,000 and I was not going to pay that much for him. Thiago will be a nice addition to the team and add some much needed depth.

Our starting line up:


Bench: Icard (79), Mane (73), Kovacic (79), Podolski (77), Vidic (83), Andreolli (75), and Scuffet (71)

Upcoming Fixtures:
Sassuolo (A) - League Match
Juventus (A) - TIM Cup
Palermo (H) - League Match
Torino (H) - League Match
Atalanta (A) - League Match
Lokomotiv (A) - Europa League
Cagliari (A) - League Match
Lokomotiv (H) - Europa League

Those are some very, very nice signings! I was surprised when I saw that you signed Leno but then I saw that Handanovic wanted to leave. Every one of those signings should do well for you! You've done a good job lowering the average age of the team. The results weren't amazing but you're still doing well in the league.

October 2017 - International Friendlies
FIFA 15 (PS4)

Spoiler

Turkey 1 - 2 Mexico (B-Team)

Spoiler

MEX: Lozano 42' Chicharito 77'
TUR: Büyük 45'
Four Mexico players from last month's experimental squad list were seen again on the list: Ulises Davila (CAM 72 OVR), Javier Guemez (CM 72 OVR), Luis Montes (RM 71 OVR), and Carlos Fierro (ST 69 OVR). For this match Fierro started with Raul Jimenez up front, but the strike partnership was not delivering results. However Hirving Lozano (RW 75 OVR), a new face with the Mexico squad, was really trying to convince Chavez to call him up more often and was delivering an exciting match from LM becoming the most dangerous going forward. Lozano led the team in shots on goal and also made the sacrifice to help out on defense. In the 42nd minute, Carlos Fierro received the ball from midfield, shielded it, and then put in a through ball for Hirving Lozano as he sprinted into the box, and Lozano opened the score line with a powerful strike to the keeper's far post.


The winger was certainly making his claims for more international football, but unfortunately Turkey equalized in the following play just 3 minutes later. The match went into halftime with the equal score line and not much changed after the break. Raul Jimenez was taken off at approximately the 70th minute and replaced by Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, and the Little Pea delivered the result Mexico needed just seven minutes later. Rodolfo Pizarro dribbled down the right flank and put a cross into the box that Turkey's entire defense didn't read correctly, and Chicharito was able to head the ball into the open net.


One of those goals that Chicharito could have scored in his sleep, and with the goal Mexico took the win.

INJURY NEWS
Hector Moreno will be out for 3 weeks after suffering a Sprained Ankle during the match against Turkey. *Sorry Espanyol!

Mexico 2 - 0 Portugal
MEX: Chicharito 23' Layun 80'
Chicharito, the hero of the match against Turkey, became the protagonist yet again just three days later but this time with an amazing goal that will surely make front pages this week. Mexico had found a one way avenue on Portugal's left flank, and chances frequently appeared for Mexico on that wing. In the 23rd minute Mexico finally took full advantage of Portugal's weakness with RM Jurgen Damm, the Pachuca winger said to have received an offer from AS Roma IRL, dribbling past his marker and crossing the ball into the box to find Chicharito. Hernandez had to track back in order to meet with the cross and was not in a position to head the ball comfortably, so instead he resorted to a bicycle kick that went into the bottom corner of the net!!


After that amazing goal Portugal finally resolved their defensive problems on the left flank, and we were given a much more balanced match. Portugal tried to equalize, but former Premier League Champion Bebe wasn't able to break through Mexico's back three. Mexico's Hiram Mier deserves to be recognized though, as the RCB was able to successfully neutralize Cristiano Ronaldo consistently throughout the match. In the 80th minute Mexico stretched the lead by finding space down the wings again. This time it was on Portugal's right flank where Mexico found the space, with Marco Fabian (LCM) playing Watford's Miguel Layun (LM) through on goal. Layun cut in to his right foot, and then curved the ball around the goalkeeper and into the net to make it 2-0 for Mexico.


Portugal had tried to get back into the match but it was too late and Mexico's back three held their ground. It was good to see Mexico not be affected too much by Moreno's injury, but we're not sure how Espanyol will cope without their star defender as they try to get out of the lower mid table.


Conclusion
With Moreno's injury, I have decided that no player that is currently in Spain will play more than one match during the international break. I don't want to complicate things for my league opponents with injuries done by my hands. Other than that little detail I return to Osasuna a happy manager once again. The four players that received a second call up did well and Hirving Lozano also played great on his international debut. Really confident with the players I have at my disposal, although it may become difficult for me to pick the final squad list for the upcoming World Cup. On our next international break we will face Paraguay and then visit our CONCACAF rivals USA. The B-Team will face Paraguay and of course the First Team will head to the United States.
Thanks For Reading!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



October 2017 - Season 4
FIFA 15 (PS4)


CA Osasuna 0 - 2 FC Barcelona
FCB: Suarez 55' Messi 76'
Osasuna continue their poor attacking form, and this time they were punished for it by one of Spain's, and the world's, best clubs FC Barcelona. Both goals came in the second half but the first half was very tight with a lot going on in midfield. Osasuna tried to prevent Barcelona from playing their game by holding possession themselves, and it was working brilliantly as Barcelona had minimal chances on goal in the first forty-five minutes. Even though they were holding Barcelona well Osasuna struggled to create danger themselves, giving us a first half with a lot of passing and dribbling but not many shots. The fans jumped on their feet at approximately the 35th minute though due to a penalty that was called in Barcelona's favor! Suarez had gotten into position to head a cross inside the box but was sandwiched by Osasuna's centre backs Gomez and Miquel, who was playing for the injured Albentosa, and the referee called a foul straightaway. It was Suarez himself who stepped up to take the penalty. Riesgo studied his opponent before the match, and knowing the type of player Suarez is, he decided to wait for the kick to dive instead of guessing beforehand. Suarez took the shot down the middle, Riesgo held his ground, and he saved it!!!


Riesgo had saved the penalty and kept Osasuna alive in the match! The first half ended 0-0 with Riesgo being the hero. Luis Suarez would get his revenge in the second half though by scoring the first goal of the match with an incredible volley that defeated Riesgo. Suarez was subbed off soon after his goal and replaced by Lionel Messi. A second penalty was called in favor of Barcelona at approximately the 60th minute after Miquel's late tackle caught a Barcelona player inside the box. Lionel Messi, one of the best players in the world, would step up to take it. Messi used his inside foot to hit it left aiming for the bottom corner, but Riesgo dove in the correct decision and stretched all that he could to reach it and saved the penalty!!!


Another penalty saved by Riesgo and again he gave life to Osasuna! Unfortunately his teammates up front weren't having a day as good as his and they weren't able to repay him for his work with goals. In the 76th minute Lionel Messi would get his revenge just like Suarez did by scoring a goal. Osasuna tried to pick it up after Messi's goal but they simply were no match against Barcelona, and the 2-0 scoreline remained. Barcelona's goalkeeper Ter Stegen was given the MOTM award with 6 saves. Chavez was furious on the sidelines and went into the dressing room as soon as the final whistle blew.

Levante UD 0 - 1 CA Osasuna
OSA: Guillermo 2'
Chavez came back from the international break with some changes for Osasuna. The 4-4-2 Holding formation was dropped, and instead Osasuna came out with a 4-1-3-2. The starting eleven only had two changes with Ignasi Miquel replacing Sergi Gomez and Raul Albentosa returning from injury. Other than that, everything remained the same except that Darder and Campaña would now play stacked instead of side by side with Darder at CDM and Campaña now at CM. The change was definitely good for the team as we saw a much more controlled midfield that featured a much more comfortable Campaña with the liberty to really show his passing skills and an early goal from Guillermo assisted by Palacios. Guillermo would receive a pass inside the box and then curl his shot into the bottom corner to put Osasuna in the lead in barely the 2nd minute of the match!


Just the start Osasuna needed after some troubling results, but Levante is a side that has been known for giving Osasuna trouble every time they face each other. In fact, Levante were extremely close to equalizing in the second half after Ignasi Miquel committed a foul inside the box which stained his otherwise great performance. Wanderson would step up to take the penalty. He used his inside foot to place the ball to the right, but Riesgo saved it!! His third consecutive saved penalty this month!!


Riesgo kept the lead intact, and the match would end with Osasuna's early goal being the winner. Los Rojillos definitely looked better on the field with the 4-1-3-2 with Darder and Campaña clearly understanding what their roles are.

Champions League - Group Stage
Bor. Mönchengladbach 2 - 1 CA Osasuna (B-Team)
OSA: Oier 5'
BOR: Hahn 36' Mpala 88'
The B-Team made their debut in the Champions League group stage, as Chavez has decided to rest his first team for the league in an attempt to get out of mid table. The B-Team started the match really well with an early goal in the fifth minute. Youth graduate Luis Martinez had cut in from the left and took a shot on goal but the keeper was able to parry it thanks to his spot on positioning. Martinez picked up the rebound right in front of the goalkeeper and cut back, leaving his back towards goal, and as the keeper tried to steal the ball he took Martinez down; a clear penalty foul! However the referee didn't call anything, and Ulises Davila picked up the loose ball. Davila had his back on goal and was being crowded by the German defenders, but he somehow managed to sneak a pass to Oier who controlled the ball and then smoothly put the ball in the net past the rushing goalkeeper.


The B-Team weren't able to control the match with Mönchengladbach pushing forward looking for the equalizer, but the Spaniards did a great job at keeping them outside of the box. That didn't stop the Germans though, and in the 36th minute Hahn put in an amazingly struck long shot that found the top right corner of Riesgo's net. The Germans had done an outstanding job of adapting to Osasuna's defensive style. The match went on with the draw intact all the way until the end of the ninety minutes with Mönchengladbach giving it their all to satisfy their home fans. In the 88th minute Borussia pushed up with every man available and crowded Osasuna's box. Amidst the crowd, Mpala was able to get a shot on goal that Riesgo wasn't able to see until it was too late, and the ball went into the net. A late win for the Germans that now makes this Champions League Group Stage very interesting.

Atletico Madrid 0 - 2 CA Osasuna
OSA: Lopez 3' Guillermo 30'
Osasuna started this match just like their last two, with an early goal before the fifth minute of the match. Federico Palacios found Isma Lopez making a run on goal soon after the kickoff and fed him a through ball. Lopez controlled the pass and continued to dribble into the box, where he then took a powerful left footed shot and put Osasuna in the lead.


Osasuna remained in control after the goal and in the 30th minute they found the net again, this time through Guillermo. Roberto Torres cut inside from the attacking third and passed the ball down to Palacios who was behind Guillermo. As the ball traveled to Palacios, Atletico's centre backs pushed forward in an attempt to leave Guillermo offsides. However, Palacios used his first touch to pass the ball to Guillermo just in time to catch him onside and leave him one on one with the goalkeeper. Guillermo moved the ball to the right and then used his inside foot to finesse the ball past the keeper and into the net.


This marked Osasuna's 2nd clean sheet in a row since switching to the 4-1-3-2 formation. The formation has also allowed Jose Campaña to stand out as the midfield maestro, the player you want to get the ball to immediately after winning it back. Ignasi Miquel continues to really well next to Raul Albentosa, taking complete ownership of the starting LCB position and dropping Sergi Gomez to the B-Team. A big accomplishment for the 24 year old defender who's been with Osasuna since Chavez's first season.

CA Osasuna 2 - 2 Elche CF
OSA: Guillermo 52' Lopez 58'
EFC: Fidel 80' Herrera PEN 88'
Elche knew they had to be on their toes from the get go in order to prevent Osasuna from continuing their early goal streak. The visitors did not lose focus and held Osasuna well, even longer than expected. The first half ended 0-0 thanks to some great defending from Elche. Seven minutes into the second half a goal finally arrived. Guillermo recovered a loose ball near the box and turned to goal. He engaged his marker one on one and with some quick footwork he evaded his marker's slide tackle and dribbled into the box with nobody but the keeper in front of him! He powered his left foot and beat the goalkeeper, putting the ball in the net and Osasuna in the lead!


Just six minutes after Guillermo's impressive displays of individual and finishing skills Osasuna hit again, now with Isma Lopez who has had a great month thus far. Xavier Quinti, who had requested to play this match in place of the fatigued Sisi, ran up the pitch with the ball at his feet and then put in a lobbed through ball to meet with Lopez's inside run. Lopez brought the ball down and sprinted into the box, where he then used his left foot to power the ball into the net.


A great goal from Lopez who's been putting them in like this this season and has already scored more goals than he did last season. Osasuna held the 2-0 lead until the 80th minute where Elche got a goal back from a header, and then the referee made a game changing decision and called a penalty in favor of Elche. The foul was legitimate though, as Miquel had clearly committed a foul in the penalty area with an inaccurate tackle. Riesgo had been extremely effective in penalties this month but unfortunately he wasn't able to save this one and Elche equalized just two minutes before the end of the match. An exciting comeback that stole 2 league points from Osasuna from right under their noses.

Granada CF 0 - 2 CA Osasuna (B-Team)
OSA: Martinez 53' Davila PEN 75'
Granada's midfield of the former Deportivo midfielder Dominguez and Eddy were stopping Osasuna's 4-1-4-1 from pushing forward and were continuously finding spaces in attack. The first half ended 0-0 with Granada being the team on top. For the second half Chavez dropped the 4-1-4-1 formation and instead came out with a 4-2-3-1, using the youth graduate Luis Martinez behind Ulises Davila. The change immediately gave him results in just 8 minutes as Martinez received a pass from fellow academy graduate Vinuesa Ramos and took a low shot from the edge of the box to open the score line.


This marked Martinez's second professional goal, with both coming after he was changed to CAM in the match. The formation change made things difficult for Granada and Osasuna kept pushing. In the 75th minute of the match the referee called a penalty in favor of Osasuna, after a low cross was put into the box from the left wing and as Davila made an effort to connect with it his shirt was pulled by his marker and he was taken down. Davila would be the one to take the penalty and he struck it perfectly to extend the lead.


Granada threatened to make a comeback but Osasuna's goalkeeper Rodriguez was in fine form today and prevented anything from going in. Osasuna were able to hold on to the 2-0 lead this time and get a breathe of fresh air on the league table with the three points.

Champions League - Group Stage
Manchester City 2 - 1 CA Osasuna
MCI: Navas 20' Nasri 90'
OSA: Davila 86'
This match was nothing like the first game at El Sadar which ended 1-1 between these two teams. Today we saw an unmotivated Osasuna, with no signs of wanting to advance from the group stage. Hardly any runs were made, imprecise passes, lack of support, it literally looked like they didn't feel like playing today. Was it the trip from Spain to England? Perhaps the weather? Who knows what it was. City took advantage of Osasuna's poor state of mind and they took the lead in the 20th minute with Navas heading in a corner after Riesgo had came off his line, his defenders cleared his path as he called it, but just as he was about to reach the ball he stopped. Yes, he stopped in his tracks. He began to track back to his line but at that point it was all over. His defenders had cleared the path for him which left Navas with the liberty to head the ball comfortably with nobody marking him. The goal didn't change anything though, as Osasuna continued to play like if they couldn't wait to go home already. Chavez became extremely frustrated on the sidelines and in the second half began to make changes to his midfield, but none of it worked. Chavez subbed off Campaña and moved Torres to CM so he could be the midfield brain, and brought on Ulises Davila to play as RM. This move finally paid off in the 86th minute as Davila made a run from the outside and Torres sent him a perfect through ball. Davila controlled the pass, cut in to his left and calmly finessed the ball past Hart to equalize the match!


An outstanding play from Davila and Torres, but there was still time to play. Chavez and Pellegrini both wanted the win, and both managers instructed their team to go all out attack. Both sides had a centre back playing as a striker and the match was more exciting than ever! We knew another goal was inevitable, the way the teams were playing this was not going to end in a draw, and in the end it was Manchester City who scored the late winner. Nasri had been sent an extremely long ball from midfield that was hit too far from him and he had to chase it down as the ball bounced at the edge of the box. It looked like an easy ball for Riesgo, but Riesgo didn't come out! There was plenty of time for him to come out and intercept the ball but he chose to stay on his line! Nasri controlled the ball inside the box, and then beat Riesgo with a well placed shot. Two goalkeeper mistakes, two goals. A terrible match for Riesgo who had previously been Osasuna's hero at the beginning of the match. Two defeats in a row for Osasuna, and this has virtually eliminated eliminated them from the group stage. Qualification to the next stage is now out of their hands.


CA Osasuna Player of The Month

GK - Asier Riesgo (Spain) (75 OVR 33yrs)
He may have finished the month off with a terrible display against Manchester City but even with that defeat one cannot argue that Riesgo played a vital role for the majority of the month. Not many goalkeepers can say that they saved a penalty from both Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi in the same match and not during a penalty shoot-out. He definitely had a month with ups and downs, but when looking at each player's individual work this month he deserves the award.

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Liga BBVA League Table
1. Real Madrid - 25 points
2. Valencia CF - 24 points
3. FC Barcelona - 24 points
4. Sevilla FC - 23 points
5. Real Sociedad - 23 points
6. CA Osasuna - 21 points
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7. Malaga CF - 20 points
8. Atletico Madrid - 19 points
9. Athletic Bilbao - 18 points
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18. RC Deportivo - 8 points
19. Celta Vigo - 4 points
20. Levante UD - 3 points

Liga BBVA Top Scorer
1. Gomez (Bilbao) - 8 Goals
2. Ronaldo, Bale, Guillermo, Suarez - 7 Goals

Champions League - Group H
1. Manchester City - 10 points (+5)
2. Bor. M'Gladbach - 9 points (+2)
3. CA Osasuna - 4 points (+1)
4. Napoli - 0 points (-8)

CA Osasuna Top Scorer
1. Guillermo - 9 Goals
2. Isma Lopez - 4 Goals
Ulises Davila - 4 Goals
3. Federico Palacios - 3 Goals


Youth Academy
* = New Addition

Spoiler

Alex Garcia - CB (Mexico) (59-63, 80-86) (+14): The first and only CB in the academy, and with Miguel Flaño reaching the end of his era I am very anxious to see more reports on him. At 16 years old he stands at 6'2", and is considered Physically Strong. A perfect combination for a CB.

Alex Silva Gavan - RM (Spain) (63-67, 74-80) (+4): The 17 year old has decided to settle in at RM and is considered an attacker. With a 6'0" height he's a good fit pretty much anywhere on the field especially down the center, but he has decided he's most comfortable on the wing.

*Antonio Lopes - LB (Spain) (38-46, 75-91): Lopes is the first and only LB in the academy and of course the club has high hopes as it is a position that the senior team lacks depth in. The current first team LB is Sisi who is naturally a RM and is reaching his mid thirties. Lopes is only 15 and stands at 5'2" but is described as a Winger, which leads us to believe that he will be an attacking fullback.

Chris Cropper - GK (United States) (62-66, 79-85) (+13): The third American goalkeeper to join the Youth Academy. At 17 years old he stands at 6'3" and his game is well balanced so far.

Ivan Miranda - LW (Spain) (64-68, 81-87) (+6): The 16 year old has decided that the wing is where he is most comfortable with, and is a candidate for promotion in the future. He is quite short, standing at 5'9", but that isn't a problem since we will need him for speed not necessarily for his aerial ability.

*Jorge Asenjo - ST (Spain) (51-61, 77-94): Really high hopes for the 16 year old striker seeing as the senior team's only natural strikers are Guillermo and Palacios. Kodro has delivered great results but is only 65 OVR. Asenjo seems to be a future star, but appears to be more of a creative striker, since he stands at only 5'7" and is described as a Winger.

Julian Rubin - GK (United States) (58-62, 73-77) (+0): Julian has minimal chances to be promoted to the senior team at Osasuna. May be released soon.

Mario Santana - ST (Mexico) (62-66, 83-89) (+13): Really excited to see future reports on this kid from Mexico. He's described as "Physically Strong" and you know how much I like to play with a target man. The downside is that he's only 5'3", but he's still 15 years old so I'm hoping he'll grow closer to the 6 foot range.
*Santana has just turned 16 and is now eligible to play in La Liga. I'm a bit disappointed that his height only grew to 5'10 as I really wanted a target man, but he is Physically Strong so he should be a good striker nonetheless.*

*Pedro Ramirez - RB (Spain) (63-67, 82-88): Even though I use overlapping fullbacks, it wouldn't hurt to have a natural fullback in the squad since right now I'm using a RW at RB with my first team. Ramirez is currently 15 years old and stands at 5'6". Depending on how much he grows in height I might even be able to use him at CB.

*Victor Soriano - CDM (Spain) (53-57, 89-94): Really looking forward to this player. Similar qualities to the B-Team's Vinuesa Ramos, but not as tall with a 6'1" height. He may not be as sluggish thanks to his lower height though so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in the future.

Xabi Rodriguez - CAM (Mexico) (58-62, 75-81): He may not be the most athletic, but the 16 year old is considered a playmaker. Currently still being evaluated.

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October Headlines


Campaña Finds Form
Osasuna's new 4-1-3-2 Formation has allowed Jose Campaña to really show his talent on the ball and become the playmaker Los Rojillos were looking for. Sergi Gomez hasn't had the same luck though. He's been playing somewhat better in the B-Team with the veteran captain Miguel Flaño being very vocal and running the back line, but he still hasn't been the defender we were waiting for. Gomez is inexistent in the air especially during long goal kicks, and also Ignasi Miquel's great form with the First Team has put Sergi Gomez's second chance on hold.

*Champions League*
With two games left to play in the Group Stage Osasuna are on the brink of being eliminated. They are currently third with only 4 points, and 5 points away from 2nd place and 6 points away from 1st. A huge gap considering that there are only a couple games left. The next Champions League fixture will be the most vital for Osasuna. The Basques will face Napoli, who they demolished 3-0 on opening day, while Manchester City goes up against Mönchengladbach. Borussia Mönchengladbach CANNOT win. If the German side defeats City Osasuna will officially be eliminated. The only way Osasuna could advance if Borussia wins would be if City loses against Napoli, but seeing as Napoli hasn't been able to win or tie a single match the possibilities of that happening are extremely low. In order for Osasuna to go through they would have to defeat Napoli, Borussia would have to tie/lose against City, and then Osasuna would have to defeat Borussia in the final round in order to advance. City's results at that point would be irrelevant as they would have mathematically secured their spot in the next round. If Osasuna draws or loses against Napoli it's all over. If they defeat Napoli but tie or lose against Borussia then again it would be over. Osasuna need to win both of their remaining matches and need Borussia to not win against City. It may sound like a long shot, but in football you never know what will happen.

Pedro Bigas Wants Out
The former Mallorca centre back signed for Osasuna last season, with the vision of one day replacing Miguel Flaño with the First Team. Bigas time at Osasuna has been a difficult one though, with the 26 year old unable to adjust to Chavez's style of play. Bigas (74 OVR) would be erased from even the B-Team after Sergi Gomez's arrival, and is now fed up with spending so much time on the bench. It is believed he has personally asked Chavez to transfer list him in the upcoming transfer window.


Conclusion
So there you have it. Not much left to sum up. Bigas was previously a defensive midfielder before converting to centre back at Mallorca, so I may try him out there more often. He has made a couple appearances in midfield and done well, so I don't see why not. Nono (67 OVR) has received many more opportunities, but if anyone deserves to be transfer listed it is he. I signed Nono from Real Betis a couple seasons ago looking forward to seeing him reach his potential and instead he hasn't grown a single point in any stat. He doesn't play bad, he's quite decent actually, but Bigas may be able to do a better job than him. I'd rather keep Bigas if he can play better in midfield.

I hope I explained myself well on what I need to qualify to the next Champions League stage. I know I haven't had time to be active on the forum anymore but I'm still trying to get some updates in.
Thanks For Reading!

Spoiler

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, this was a long update but I do not think that there's too much going on at all. It's quite simple in my opinion: a few images of the goals and nice writeups. That's it.

Then to the results. A real up and down month in both league play and CL play and the Champions League situation is looking very unfortunate. It sucks that progressing doesn't depend entirely on you and knowing EA you're screwed. The league table isn't looking that good but you'll climb to the top, I know it.

Spoiler

Novara Calcio

Spoiler

Biancoazzurri

September 2013

<table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 3, 2013 - Novara vs Trapani</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (2-0-0)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">2</td><td class="active" align="right">2</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Trapani (1-0-1)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">1</td><td class="active" align="right">1</td></tr></tbody></table>

Rigoni 48'
Madonia 65'
Pesce 68'

Novara's opening match of the season at their home ground Stadio Silvio Piola was a success as the Biancoazzurri used two 2nd half goals to upend visitors Trapani 2-1. Despite a scoreless 1st half, Novara was quite dangerous, getting chances from Giorgos Katidis in the 21st minute and Marco Rigoni in the 42nd minute. However, Trapani goalkeeper Richard Marcone was up to the task on both attempts. Novara would break through quickly in the 2nd half though, when Gianmario Comi sent a cross into the box that Rigoni headed by Marcone in the 48th minute. Trapani would level the match in 1-1 in the 65th minute when Giuseppe Madonia fired a strike by Novara goalkeeper

Spoiler

Tomáš Košický. The jubilation for Trapani would be short-lived as Daniele Buzzegoli dribbled into the box in the 68th minute and found Simone Pesce, who stayed in fine form by beating Marcone to put Novara up 2-1. Trapani was unable to mount a response as Alfredo Aglietti's men took the full 3 points.

MotM: Rigoni

<table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 14, 2013 - Latina vs Novara</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Latina (0-1-2)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">0</td><td class="active" align="right">0</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (3-0-0)</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">1</td><td class="active" align="right">2</td></tr></tbody></table>

Rigoni (PEN) 44'
González 74'

Novara stayed perfect through 3 games on the season as the Biancoazzurri went on the road and beat Latina by a score of 2-0. Novara showed they were ready to play early as Gianmario Comi forced Latina goalkeeper Raffaele Ioime to make a save in the 12th minute. Right before halftime, Novara got the chance they were looking for as defender Riccardo Brosco took down Pablo Andrés González in the box, and a penalty was awarded. The veteran Marco Rigoni stepped up and fired a shot by Ioime for the 1-0 lead. The 2nd half saw Novara double the score as Simone Pesce placed a perfectly timed through ball to spring González who beat Ioime one-on-one for the 2-0 advantage. Comi hit a post with a chance in the 78th minute, but it didn't matter as Novara dominated the match, not conceding a shot on goal to Latina.

MotM: Pesce

<table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 21, 2013 - Cittadella vs Novara</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Cittadella (1-1-2)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">1</td><td class="active" align="right">1</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (3-1-0)</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">0</td><td class="active" align="right">1</td></tr></tbody></table>

Lazzari 44'
Minesso 55'

With a big game against Brescia coming up in 3 days' time, Novara manager Alfredo Aglietti fielded his B-Team against Cittadella and it backfired, resulting in a 1-1 draw. Winger Flavio Lazzari was a man possessed for Novara in the 1st half as the 26-year-old Italian missed a shot just wide right in the 17th minute and headed a chance off the post in the 35th minute. Lazzari would deservedly be rewarded with a goal in the 44th minute when Filip Pivkovski found him with a through ball, and Lazzari beat Cittadella goalkeeper Raffaele Di Gennaro. Cittadella would pull even in the 55th minute when striker Mattia Minesso beat Novara reserve goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipò. The Biancoazzurri came painfully close to winning the game late in the 87th minute, but Marco Rigoni's header rang off the crossbar to deny the 33-year-old midfielder a goal for the third straight game and force Novara to settle for 1 point.

MotM: Pivkovski

<table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 24, 2013 - Novara vs Brescia</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (4-1-0)</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">2</td><td class="active" align="right">3</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Brescia (3-1-1)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">0</td><td class="active" align="right">0</td></tr></tbody></table>

Katidis 17'
Katidis 54'
Katidis 66'

In a match up of 3-1-0 sides, it was 20-year-old Greek central attacking midfielder Giorgos Katidis that made his name known as the recent arrival from AEK Athens scored a hat trick to power Novara by Brescia 3-0. The first goal came in the 17th minute after Gianmario Comi stole the ball from Brescia's Alberto Boniotti and found Katidis, who beat Michele Arcari with a shot from just inside the box. Katidis completed his brace just after halftime in the 54th minute when his shot bounced off the right post and in by a frozen Arcari. The third goal for the young Greek was the best, as Katidis rifled a shot from 25 yards out over a lunging Arcari to put Novara up 3-0. Brescia would have no answer to Katidis' heroics as Novara made a big statement at home in the Stadio Silvio Piola.

MotM: Katidis

<table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 28, 2013 - Crotone vs Novara</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Crotone (2-3-1)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">0</td><td class="active" align="right">0</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (5-1-0)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">2</td><td class="active" align="right">2</td></tr></tbody></table>

Katidis 67'
Josipovic 84'

Novara completed the month of September going undefeated with a record of 4-1-0 as the Biancoazzurri picked up their second consecutive clean sheet with a 2-0 win at Crotone. This game was all Novara as the visitors got their first chance in the 16th minute from Daniele Buzzegoli, but the chance was saved by Crotone goalkeeper Caio Secco. Francesco Vicari sent a header off a corner for Novara just over the bar in the 36th minute, and Gianmario Comi hit the bar with his header in the 58th minute. The breakthrough goal came in the 67th minute however, from none other than Giorgos Katidis who headed a Simone Pesce cross by Secco. Pietro De Giorgio almost evened the game for Crotone in the 79th minute, but Novara goalkeeper Tomáš Košický was up to the challenge. Then in the 84th minute, Buzzegoli sent a cross into the box that substitute Zoran Josipovic headed home to seal a 2-0 win.

MotM: Buzzegoli

Novara Calcio Player of the Month



CAM Giorgos Katidis, 70 Ovr, Greece, 20 years old

Giorgos Katidis was the main threat in an excellent month for Novara as the 20-year-old Greek scored all 3 goals of a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Brescia to earn Man of the Match. Katidis then followed that up with the game-winning goal against Crotone. The 4 goals have Katidis tied for second place in the Serie B scoring race.

Serie B Table
1. Palermo - 16 pts
2. Novara - 16 pts
3. Brescia - 13 pts
4. Pescara - 12 pts
5. Spezia - 12 pts
6. Siena - 10 pts
7. Ternana - 9 pts
8. Crotone - 9 pts
9. Empoli - 9 pts
10. Modena - 8 pts
11. Carpi - 8 pts
12. Padova - 7 pts
13. Trapani - 7 pts
14. Bari - 7 pts
15. Avellino - 6 pts
16. Varese - 6 pts
17. Juve Stabia - 6 pts
18. Cittadella - 5 pts
19. Reggina - 4 pts
20. Latina - 3 pts
21. Cesena - 3 pts
22. Virtus Lanciano - 2 pts

Serie B Top Scorers
1(t). Mascara (Pescara) - 5
1(t). Zambelli (Brescia) - 5
1(t). Varela (Palermo) - 5
2(t). Tavano (Empoli) - 4
2(t). Mazzarani (Modena) - 4

Serie B Clean Sheets
1(t). Sorrentino (Palermo) - 4
1(t). Košický (Novara) - 4
2. Secco (Crotone) - 3
3(t). Pelizzoli (Pescara) - 2
3(t). Guarna (Bari) - 2

Manager's Thoughts
What a month with a 4-1-0 record in 5 games. The best result of the bunch was a 3-0 thrashing of Brescia who currently sit 3rd in the Serie B Table. Giorgos Katidis was excellent in that game with a hat trick, and he followed that up with another game winner against Crotone to earn Player of the Month honors. Veteran Marco Rigoni also stood out with 2 goals on the month, and Simone Pesce was very solid with 1 goal and a Man of the Match performance against Latina. Our defense was very solid, leading the way with 3 clean sheets as our goalkeeper Tomáš Košický didn't have to do a lot of work to earn those. Our goal for the season is promotion to Serie A, and we look well on our way so far with a 2nd place spot in the league table.

Novara Youth Academy
UNK Raffaele Fazio, 25-33 Ovr, 59-81 Pot, Italy, 16 years old

Player Injuries
We suffered two injuries in the 2-0 win over Latina as defender Daniele Mori sprained his knee and was sidelined for 3 weeks, while defender Carlalberto Ludi picked up a sprained ankle and was out for 4 weeks. Neither player participated in a match for the rest of the month, but both players should resume their Starting XI roles to begin October.

October 2013 Fixtures
10/5 - vs Empoli
10/8 - at Avellino
10/19 - vs Virtus Lanciano
10/26 - at Spezia
10/29 - vs Juve Stabia

October will be a busy month as twice we have 2 games in 4 days with a match up against Empoli closely followed by a trip to Avellino, and a match at Spezia coming just before a home contest against Juve Stabia. The toughest game will be at 5th place Spezia. If we can manage a draw in that contest, I will be satisfied. In the other 4 matches, I expect victory. We should protect our home ground against Empoli, while the trio of Avellino, Virtus Lanciano, and Juve Stabia are all sides that are placed 15th or lower in the Serie B table. Anything less than a full 3 points in each of those matches would be a failure. In sum, I expect 13 out of a possible 15 points this month.

Very solid results there. Katidis and Rigoni were in good form and you got some good wins. If you continue to play like this you'll get promoted in no time!

West Ham United - Episode #78: Jenko Learns Math

In this episode, we have two Premier League matchups against Leicester City and Norwich City, while having an "interesting" contract request from starting right back Carl Jenkinson.

That goal by Dybala was just beautiful! First the Ox and now Dybala, wow. The Norwich game looked very annoying and I know how irritating it it when they park the bus. The Jenkinson contract thingy was very weird.

[Keano16]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

Oh my God I can't believe you actually did that! I was almost sure that you would finish in third or fourth just a couple points away from automatic promotion but luckily I was wrong! Amazing beating on Cardiff and a solid win against Brentford to secure promotion! What a season! Congratulations, mate! Hopefully all of those loans won't ruin the team.

I agree, I'm still in shock as well! I thought the loans wouldn't hurt me too bad but Chalobah and Cataldi were very big parts of the squad. The rest were mainly just for depth etc. I doubt I can get Chalobah permanently but I was hoping to get Cataldi, as I had a £300k Option to Buy on him from Lazio but his wages shot up to £20k! :O Oh well, there's always other players for cheaper.

[texasbum06]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

Good looking transfers! Real good investments. Looking forward to seeing how Samper works out for you. He was initially my number one target to replace Camarasa this past summer, but his current overall in my career was too low. I see you let go of Keko though so I might take a look at him congratulations on winning the league title man! Can't believe you won it in just two seasons. I'm on my fourth and my top finish is 4th and what a way to win it too! A goal in the 90th minute of the final match put you ahead of Real Madrid. Barral's name is one that will never be forgotten by Deportivo's fans!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I saw that you had Samper on your short list. I also check out to make sure that a guy I'm targeting isn't being used here yet. But I saw you ended up not getting him so I secured the deal. There was one other guy I had as an option but I can't even remember who it was right now. I just wanted to get a true defensive midfielder to get into my lineup. He's got the size and can develop into that rock back there in time. With Guardado, Dominguez, and Miereles I have several guys that can play as a holding midfielder, but none that are defensive specialists by any means.

Keko was actually really good for me, and he was a dangerous goal scoring option from the outside. He only lasted a year here though due to Carmona coming through the youth academy and Aquino playing fantastic on that side as well. I would definitely recommend him though.

Barral's goal was such a good feeling. Older guy that I brought in a pre-contract for this season. Knew that I only had a year or two to get anything out of him and he delivered. I remember just holding my fist in the air as he scored that goal knowing I had won the league.

[texasbum06]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

@Southernmetalhead: FC Terek: You're doing well so far, with only the powerful Russian clubs really staying ahead of you. You are still easily in striking distance with a good run to close out the season.

Calcio: Really impressive winning all but 1. You are also really knocking in a lot of goals which is a huge reason for your great start here. You're attack has really been spread around too other than Katidis' hat-trick in your beat down of Brescia.

@Simppu: December - A perfect month including a great win over Bayern, and a solid finish to Champions League with the win over Benfica. You are really taking it to the competition and it will be tough to knock you off your throne right now.

January - You really strengthened your defense with those signings. Alaba especially is a special player. Another great month for the league, beating Bayern once again. Surprised to see you go scoreless against Schalke, but you made up for it with the penalty win sending you to the semi's. The treble is still alive!

@Jagger: A solid month with a couple of draws, but staying unbeaten in league play on the month. The semi-final against Liverpool is a tough one though. So close to making it to the final, but it's tough to take on teams that have so many quality players.

@Jamie: Really a fantastic month. You won all by 1 game, but the real highlight was the two legs against Chelsea. Very impressive that you won the first leg, and then the drama of extra time for the second leg is unreal. Winning on penalties is always such an amazing feeling.

@Chico: I see that International duty is suiting you well A very up and down month for Osasuna though. You got pretty much every kind of result. The two losses in Champions League is brutal though. You aren't technically eliminated, but it will be tough to work your way back into it.

@Blue Eagle: Depay is such a marquee signing, and it looks like he has started making an impact right away. Danilo, Leno, and Alcatara are unbelievable signings as well. The fee you got for Handanovic is unreal, and you are certainly putting it to good use.

@Keano: What a finish to the season! And to do it in such an emphatic way too scoring 5 goals on the last day to really prove that you belong in the top 2. What an amazing season for you. These season's where you are playing for something until the very last match always give you that extra excitement that make this game so fun.

[Keano16]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

Deportivo La Coruña
FIFA 15 - Season 3

Blanquiazules’

Spoiler

August 2015

Supercopa de España Leg 1
FC Barcelona 3 - RC Deportivo 4
FCB - Messi 25', 42', 87'
DEP - Luisinho 9', De Tomas 15' (PEN), 45', Barral 60'
MOTM: De Tomas

Juan Dominguez played it to De Tomas in the middle of the box and he quickly found Luisinho on the left side of goal for a quick strike to the top right corner. After being brought down inside the box to earn a penalty, De Tomas converted into the top right corner to double the lead. Messi answered back after Neymar's cross was deflected right to him and he slotted it past the keeper. Messi equalized just before half with a perfectly placed header into the top left corner off of a cross. Carmona set up De Tomas perfectly on a run up the middle and he beat the keeper to the ball and placed it right past him into the bottom right. Urreta found Guardado on the left side and he played it into the middle for Barral to hit off of the left post and in. Messi brought down a failed clearance inside the box and took a touch around the defender to hit a perfectly placed ball to the bottom right corner.

Supercopa de España Leg 2
RC Deportivo 1 (5) - FC Barcelona 1 (4)
DEP - Meireles 28'
FCB - Messi 7'
MOTM: Lux

Iniesta got the ball just outside the box and found Messi in the middle for a quick shot to the bottom right corner. After a foul from about 35 yards out, Meireles lined up the free kick and sent it low around the right side of the wall curling it back into the bottom right corner for his first goal in a Deportivo shirt.

RC Deportivo 3 - Real Betis 0
DEP - De Tomas 73', Iglesias 88', Costa 90'
MOTM: Guardado

De Tomas lined up a free kick from 38 yards out on the right side of the goal, curling it around the right side of the wall and back inside to the bottom right corner. Costa played a big ball over the top into the box to De Tomas who played it to Aquino on the right side who was able to then slide it across the goal for Iglesias to tap in on the back post. Guardado won the ball and played it ahead to Iglesias outside the box and he quickly found Costa running free on the left side of the goal for the quick finish around the keeper to the far post.

RCD Mallorca 1 - RC Deportivo 2
MAL - Hernandez 37' (OG)
DEP - Guardado 83', De Tomas 90' (PEN)
MOTM: Guardado

Hernandez went in for a challenge and won the ball by deflecting it into the air only to see it loop over his own keeper and into the net for an own goal. Meireles played the ball to Guardado in the middle of the field and he proceeded to beat 4 defenders before unleashing a powerful shot into the top right corner to an equalizer. Carmona attacked to the right before faking a shot to cut it back and was taken down inside the box in the process earning a penalty in the 90th minute. De Tomas stepped up to the spot and powered it into the top right past the keeper who had guessed right but couldn't reach it.

RC Deportivo 3 - Real Valladolid 0
DEP - De Tomas 27' (PEN), 76', Guardado 32'
MOTM: Guardado

Costa was brought down inside the box allowing De Tomas to convert from the penalty spot into the top left corner. Guarado got the ball from Iglesias on the counter and ran around the defense to fire a shot from the right side into the top right corner. Aquino found Costa on the left side of the box and he sent a cross in that De Tomas dove to head back into the left side of the goal.

League Table


Abegondo Academy
Ben Valentin (United States) - 16 years old, 42-58 OVR 67-91 POT, LW/ST/CAM/CM, Unknown
Conor Jumper (United States) - 16 years old, 48-66 OVR 70-94 POT, RW/CM/RM/RB, Unknown
Francisco Acuna (Portugal) - 17 years old, 59-63 OVR 80-86 POT, CB, Physically Strong
Francisco Rotela (Spain) - 15 years old, 63-67 OVR 81-87 POT, GK, Goalkeeper
Gil Jardim (Portugal) - 17 years old, 52-62 OVR 68-80 POT, CB, Physically Strong
Humberto Sanchez (Mexico) - 16 years old, 58-62 OVR 74-80 POT, LB, Defensive Minded
Jose Baquero (Argentina) - 16 years old, 59-63 OVR 75-81 POT, LW, Attacker
Pablo Mosquero (Mexico) - 16 years old, 60-64 OVR 74-80 POT, CB, Physically Strong
Pablo Munoz (Argentina) - 16 years old, 65-69 OVR 83-89 POT, CM, Technically Gifted

Deportivo La Coruña Player of the Month

Raul De Tomas


Raul De Tomas knocked in an outstanding 6 goals this month to kick the season off in style. He could be in for one hell of a season if this form is any indicator for what is in store for the entire campaign. His diving header was the exclamation point on an already phenomenal month.

Manager Comments

New Season - New season, new challenges. We are aiming for a repeat league title, but we have so much more on our plate now as well. The Champions League will be a competition that will feature quality that this club hasn't seen in years. Also the Copa del Rey becomes an even larger priority now after a disappointing early out last season. We aim to be better this year, and it will take a lot to accomplish that.

Fast Start - We got off to a quick start picking up the Supercopa de España and then moving on to win our league matches in convincing fashion to lead the table. The two legs against Barcelona were an exciting way to kick off the season though, allowing us to test ourselves against one of the toughest clubs we will play all year.

Academy Update - Our scout has rounded out his trip to the United States, and we have two new additions as a result. Ben Valentin and Conor Jumper both come in with the potential to become key parts of the youth system. They still have a lot of developing to do before it can be determined which position they will be used in, but these will be the first Americans to join the club since I took over.

Nice to get a piece of silverware so early and boy did the two legs look completely different! 3 from 3 and 2 clean sheets to start of the league is great form too.

A lot of movement out I see lol. I like your pre-contracts and I like the look of Samper and Williams. Hopefully they will all work out for you.

Ha Ho He


December 2017

Spoiler

Bayern München 1 - 2 Hertha BSC

Spoiler

Boateng 90'
Ramos 17', Alderweireld OG 45'

For the first time since 2016 Hertha BSC were able to beat Bayern München. The Berliners came to the Allianz Arena looking for the three points and they managed to take all of them. Adrian Ramos opened the scoreline in the first twenty minutes when Nico Schulz played the ball to him after a corner kick. The Colombian took a shot and the ball flew to the top right corner away from Manuel Neuer. Half an hour later Heung-Min Son's low cross got deflected into the net by Toby Alderweireld. Bayern managed to pull one back in stoppage time with Jerome Boateng's amazing header from the edge of the box but it wasn't enough. With this win Hertha's lead grew to eight points.





SL Benfica 0 - 2 Hertha BSC
Kalou 40', 72'

Fast attackers and quick passing were hard to overcome for Benfica as they lost against Hertha in this game. The Berliners started off the game brightly and before the break Salomon Kalou scored the first of the night after he was played through on goal. Half an hour later the striker got a brace from a counter attack which decided the game. With this loss Benfica are going to the Europa League. Hertha's reward for winning the group? Atletico Madrid in the round of 16.





Hertha BSC 1 - 0 FC Augsburg
Calhanoglu 45'

Once again Hertha's game failed to reach it's highest level but the Berliners were able to secure the win against Augsburg. Hakan Calhanoglu's goal in stoppage time of the first half was enough for the three points. The midfielder got into the box, turned around a defender and shot the ball into the bottom right corner.





Hertha BSC 3 - 0 Hannover 96
Werner 7', Kalou 26', Ramos 74'

Another routine victory for Hertha who are enjoying a six games long winning streak at the moment. They got the lead seven minutes into the game when Timo Werner tapped Karim Bellarabi's pass into the goal and twenty minutes later Salomon Kalou curled the ball around Hitz in goal to double the lead. Fifteen minutes before full time Hertha got a third when Adrian Ramos shot the ball into the open net from a counter attack.



Round of 16
1860 München 0 - 2 Hertha BSC
Kalou 28', Arnold 56'


Player of the Month



Salomon Kalou

After a few months in the shadow of Adrian Ramos Salomon Kalou was able to find his very good form again. The Ivorian striker scored four important goals in December and he looked always dangerous on the pitch.


Champions League Group

1. Hertha BSC, 14 pts
2. Inter Milan, 9 pts
3. SL Benfica, 7 pts
4. Bursaspor, 1 pt


Bundesliga Table

1. Hertha BSC, 43 pts
2. Bayern München, 33 pts
3. FC Schalke 04, 33 pts
4. Bayer Leverkusen, 32 pts
5. Borussia Dortmund, 31 pts
6. SC Freiburg, 27 pts
--------------------------------------------------
16. Red Bull Leipzig, 17 pts
17. FC Kaiserslautern, 11 pts
18. Werder Bremen, 10 pts


My Thoughts

I don't want to sound too confident but I think that we've secured the Bundesliga title. A ten-point lead should be enough for us. We also progressed in the DFB Pokal and Schalke are our next opponents. Winning the CL group was nice until I saw that we'll face Atletico in the round of 16. They are a good side in FIFA and it will be tough to break their defence. Speaking of defence, the transfer window is here and I'm going to replace Krychowiak. He hasn't really ticked in the middle for me. To be honest I've already signed a replacement for him.



Thank you for reading this post! I hope you have enjoyed it! Any feedback or suggestions will be appreciated!

Great win over Bayern to start the month and then you had 4 consecutive wins and clean sheets! Good to see Kalou get back in the Player of the Months. A 10 point lead is incredible this early, well done!

Alaba is an amazing Bosman! Sokratis looks like a big signing as well. Another win against Bayern is always welcome and then you had good wins against Wolfsburg and Freiburg. Got through by the skin of your teeth on penalties to Schalke as well! Great to see you take the French job and it should be a fun team to use. The league is surely won by now.

Previous Updates

Spoiler

Introduction - Pg 986
Pre Season - Pg 995
Transfer Window/August - Pg 1005
September Update - Pg 1010
October Update - Pg 1017
November Update - Pg 1029
December Update - Pg 1039
January Transfer Window Update - Pg 1051
Tactics - Pg 1059
February Update - Pg 1068
March Update - Pg 1072

[CENTER]

Birmingham City

April Update

Congrats on promotion! Well deserved. Your defence was great with only 1 goal in the first 4 games and your attack was getting it done. Shame to lose to Liverpool but they are a massive club and you did well to get this far. You finished off the month solidly then as well with 3 wins and securing promotion. Let's get that title!

"TOO BIG FOR THIS LEAGUE"
LEGENDARY
PS4

Spoiler

Match 24

Cardiff 0-1 Brentford
Gray 90
We dominated the game today against the team in second, and came out with a deserved win to go 3 points clear at the top of the league. Marshall made an excellent save to deny Gray, and he made another to deny Ibe after Tarkowski's header had been cleared off the line. Despite Cardiff's lack of chances, Lee managed to make a good save to deny Whittingham. Marshall was forced into a wonderful save to deny Pritchard before Gray fired in from close range after a wonderful Ibe run from his own half.

Match 25

Brentford 1-0 Blackpool
Douglas 11

FA Cup Round 3

Hull 2-2 Brentford
Pritchard 55
N'Doye 67
Gray 72
Hernandez 78
We didn't deserve to be anywhere near the score sheet, let alone to score two, and be ahead twice. Our defence was incredible before our first goal which came about when Pritchard prodded in on the rebound of Jota's low, long range effort. N'Doye equalised, firing in a powerful header before Gray curled in to regain the lead from a defence splitting pass by Judge. Hernandez equalised to force a replay soon after thanks to some amazing play by the Hull attack.

League Cup Semi Final Leg 1

Chelsea 1-2 Brentford
Judge 13
Pritchard 38
Costa 86
The first chance of the game came from Fabregas' powerful effort from just inside the box that forced a wonderful save from the in form Richard Lee in goal. We took the lead when Ibe raced towards the byline and whipped it in. Terry got his head to it but it went backwards towards the goal and Judge raced in to head in at the near post. Costa came close to equalising when he hit the post from point blank range before Courtois made a good save to deny Gray. We made it 2 when Bellerin won the ball from a Chelsea throw in, heading onto Gray who played it through to Pritchard who curled in first time. The second half was quite dull but Chelsea managed to pull one back, smashing in after finding space in the box. If we can hold onto this in the second leg, the result would go down in Brentford history.

Match 26

Brighton 0-2 Brentford
Smith 25
Forster-Caskey 34 (PEN)
Smith gave us the lead, firing into the top corner after an exquisite one-two between himself and Hogan. Baldock then fired wide for Brighton before their former player converted from the penalty spot after Hogan was brought down. March missed a wonderful chance and Lee made an incredible save late on to keep a clean sheet.

FA Cup Round 3 Replay

Brentford 1-0 Hull
Ibe 69
We dominated Hull. 13 shots, 8 on target. Khune was close to being a hero if it wasn't for a lethal deflection off Huddlestone. Jelavic had the first chance, firing wide from a golden opportunity and he headed over on the stroke of half time. We'd been challenging Khune all game and Gray managed to hit the post, Ibe forced an incredible save and somehow, Khune stopped a Gray chip. It was after that save though, that the goal happened. The corner was whipped in and it bobbled around the area so Ibe prodded it goalwards, taking a deflection of Huddlestone to go in. Khune made more good saves towards the end, denying Judge and Ibe.

Match 27

Brentford 0-0 Wolves

League Cup Semi Final Leg 2

Brentford 1-2 Chelsea (5-4 pens)
Willian 23
Jota 45
Oscar 58
Ramires had the first chance of the match, heading over the bar from a good ball in. Courtois was then forced into a good save to deny Gray before Willian scored, curling into the top corner from the edge of the box. Courtois made another save to stop Jota's long range effort before Pritchard struck the post from a free kick. Jota equalised, tapping in from 6 yards from Gray's cut back from the byline. Oscar later made it 2-1 with a stunning overhead kick from just inside the box that dipped into the top corner. The rest of the half was dull and it ended up going to extra time. The first half was uneventful but in the second, Lee made an incredible save to deny Cahill's flicked header. Courtois denied Ibe before Toral headed inches over the bar as the game went to penalties. This ended our unbeaten run that lasted since mid-September.

Spoiler

Forster-Caskey
Hazard
Bellerin
Fabregas
Tebar
Remy
Ibe
Costa
Gray
Matic
Jota
Luis

FA Cup Round 4

Brentford 1-2 Manchester United
van Persie 11
Gray 30
van Persie 78
Notes lost

League Table

1. Brentford 57
2. Reading 54
3. Norwich 51
4. Cardiff 51
5. Bolton 46
6. Leeds 44
-----
22. Birmingham 24
23. Rotherham 22
24. Blackpool 20

An unbeaten month, aside from United and Chelsea (who you did amazingly to beat in the first leg btw!) A lot of clean sheets too. Well done on getting to the league cup final and leading the Championship with that squad too!

THE RIVALRY
SEASON 1
BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH

Spoiler

September

Match 3

Bor. M'gladbach 1-0 FC Schalke 04
Kruse 49
In the first match between 2 of the rivals, we took on Cruzerr's Schalke side. We dominated the attack and Kruse forced an incredible save from Fahrmann before Hazard's header was tipped just over the bar. Kruse opened the scoring when he received the ball at the edge of the box, took one touch to get into space and then smashed it into the top corner. Schalke had a good chance when Choupo-Moting hit the post from 6 yards. We came close again late on when Gabbiadini had his effort saved and we soaked up the late pressure from Schalke to hold on for the win.

Match 4

1. FC Koln 0-3 Bor. M'gladbach
Kruse 8
Gabbiadini 10
Gabbiadini 73
Kruse opened the scoring with an excellent solo goal, beating the defender to run into space and smash into the far corner. Gabbiadin made it 2 soon after, tackling the defender and running clear to curl into the bottom corner. Gabbiadini made it 3 with another solo goal beating 2 defenders before smashing into the bottom corner. Koln had a couple of chances that they absolutely wasted.

Match 5

Bor. M'gladbach 1-0 Hamburger SV
Jantschke 87
In a dull game Hamburg really should have won the game late on when Van der Vaart missed a penalty. We immediately went up-field and won a corner. Jantschke won the game with a header from it and we held on for an undeserved win.

Match 6

SC Paderborn 0-1 Bor. M'gladbach
Gabbiadini 50
After Danilo was sent off early on, I was surprised we came out with a win against a passionate Paderborn. It required Gabbiadini to fire in a low effort from the edge of the box to win it

League Table

1. Hertha BSC 15
2. Bor. M'gladbach 14
3. Bor. Dortmund 12
4. FC Bayern 11
5. FSV Mainz 05 11
6. Hannover 96 10
-----
13. FC Schalke 04 6
-----
16. SC Freiburg 4
17. SC Paderborn 4
18. FC Koln 2

*Whistles* 4 consecutive wins and clean sheets! You are cruising and Gabbiadini has been doing really well with the amount of scoring he's done.

I'd like to see an end of season report on that massive budget, team you've got going too!

Novara Calcio
Biancoazzurri

Spoiler

September 2013

Spoiler

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><link href="http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 3, 2013 - Novara vs Trapani</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (2-0-0)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">2</td><td class="active" align="right">2</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Trapani (1-0-1)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">1</td><td class="active" align="right">1</td></tr></tbody></table>

Rigoni 48'
Madonia 65'
Pesce 68'

Novara's opening match of the season at their home ground Stadio Silvio Piola was a success as the Biancoazzurri used two 2nd half goals to upend visitors Trapani 2-1. Despite a scoreless 1st half, Novara was quite dangerous, getting chances from Giorgos Katidis in the 21st minute and Marco Rigoni in the 42nd minute. However, Trapani goalkeeper Richard Marcone was up to the task on both attempts. Novara would break through quickly in the 2nd half though, when Gianmario Comi sent a cross into the box that Rigoni headed by Marcone in the 48th minute. Trapani would level the match in 1-1 in the 65th minute when Giuseppe Madonia fired a strike by Novara goalkeeper

Spoiler

Tomáš Košický. The jubilation for Trapani would be short-lived as Daniele Buzzegoli dribbled into the box in the 68th minute and found Simone Pesce, who stayed in fine form by beating Marcone to put Novara up 2-1. Trapani was unable to mount a response as Alfredo Aglietti's men took the full 3 points.

MotM: Rigoni

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><link href="http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 14, 2013 - Latina vs Novara</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Latina (0-1-2)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">0</td><td class="active" align="right">0</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (3-0-0)</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">1</td><td class="active" align="right">2</td></tr></tbody></table>

Rigoni (PEN) 44'
González 74'

Novara stayed perfect through 3 games on the season as the Biancoazzurri went on the road and beat Latina by a score of 2-0. Novara showed they were ready to play early as Gianmario Comi forced Latina goalkeeper Raffaele Ioime to make a save in the 12th minute. Right before halftime, Novara got the chance they were looking for as defender Riccardo Brosco took down Pablo Andrés González in the box, and a penalty was awarded. The veteran Marco Rigoni stepped up and fired a shot by Ioime for the 1-0 lead. The 2nd half saw Novara double the score as Simone Pesce placed a perfectly timed through ball to spring González who beat Ioime one-on-one for the 2-0 advantage. Comi hit a post with a chance in the 78th minute, but it didn't matter as Novara dominated the match, not conceding a shot on goal to Latina.

MotM: Pesce

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><link href="http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 21, 2013 - Cittadella vs Novara</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Cittadella (1-1-2)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">1</td><td class="active" align="right">1</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (3-1-0)</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">0</td><td class="active" align="right">1</td></tr></tbody></table>

Lazzari 44'
Minesso 55'

With a big game against Brescia coming up in 3 days' time, Novara manager Alfredo Aglietti fielded his B-Team against Cittadella and it backfired, resulting in a 1-1 draw. Winger Flavio Lazzari was a man possessed for Novara in the 1st half as the 26-year-old Italian missed a shot just wide right in the 17th minute and headed a chance off the post in the 35th minute. Lazzari would deservedly be rewarded with a goal in the 44th minute when Filip Pivkovski found him with a through ball, and Lazzari beat Cittadella goalkeeper Raffaele Di Gennaro. Cittadella would pull even in the 55th minute when striker Mattia Minesso beat Novara reserve goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipò. The Biancoazzurri came painfully close to winning the game late in the 87th minute, but Marco Rigoni's header rang off the crossbar to deny the 33-year-old midfielder a goal for the third straight game and force Novara to settle for 1 point.

MotM: Pivkovski

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><link href="http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 24, 2013 - Novara vs Brescia</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (4-1-0)</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">2</td><td class="active" align="right">3</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Brescia (3-1-1)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">0</td><td class="active" align="right">0</td></tr></tbody></table>

Katidis 17'
Katidis 54'
Katidis 66'

In a match up of 3-1-0 sides, it was 20-year-old Greek central attacking midfielder Giorgos Katidis that made his name known as the recent arrival from AEK Athens scored a hat trick to power Novara by Brescia 3-0. The first goal came in the 17th minute after Gianmario Comi stole the ball from Brescia's Alberto Boniotti and found Katidis, who beat Michele Arcari with a shot from just inside the box. Katidis completed his brace just after halftime in the 54th minute when his shot bounced off the right post and in by a frozen Arcari. The third goal for the young Greek was the best, as Katidis rifled a shot from 25 yards out over a lunging Arcari to put Novara up 3-0. Brescia would have no answer to Katidis' heroics as Novara made a big statement at home in the Stadio Silvio Piola.

MotM: Katidis

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><link href="http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Sep 28, 2013 - Crotone vs Novara</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Crotone (2-3-1)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">0</td><td class="active" align="right">0</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Novara (5-1-0)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">2</td><td class="active" align="right">2</td></tr></tbody></table>

Katidis 67'
Josipovic 84'

Novara completed the month of September going undefeated with a record of 4-1-0 as the Biancoazzurri picked up their second consecutive clean sheet with a 2-0 win at Crotone. This game was all Novara as the visitors got their first chance in the 16th minute from Daniele Buzzegoli, but the chance was saved by Crotone goalkeeper Caio Secco. Francesco Vicari sent a header off a corner for Novara just over the bar in the 36th minute, and Gianmario Comi hit the bar with his header in the 58th minute. The breakthrough goal came in the 67th minute however, from none other than Giorgos Katidis who headed a Simone Pesce cross by Secco. Pietro De Giorgio almost evened the game for Crotone in the 79th minute, but Novara goalkeeper Tomáš Košický was up to the challenge. Then in the 84th minute, Buzzegoli sent a cross into the box that substitute Zoran Josipovic headed home to seal a 2-0 win.

MotM: Buzzegoli

Novara Calcio Player of the Month



CAM Giorgos Katidis, 70 Ovr, Greece, 20 years old

Giorgos Katidis was the main threat in an excellent month for Novara as the 20-year-old Greek scored all 3 goals of a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Brescia to earn Man of the Match. Katidis then followed that up with the game-winning goal against Crotone. The 4 goals have Katidis tied for second place in the Serie B scoring race.

Serie B Table
1. Palermo - 16 pts
2. Novara - 16 pts
3. Brescia - 13 pts
4. Pescara - 12 pts
5. Spezia - 12 pts
6. Siena - 10 pts
7. Ternana - 9 pts
8. Crotone - 9 pts
9. Empoli - 9 pts
10. Modena - 8 pts
11. Carpi - 8 pts
12. Padova - 7 pts
13. Trapani - 7 pts
14. Bari - 7 pts
15. Avellino - 6 pts
16. Varese - 6 pts
17. Juve Stabia - 6 pts
18. Cittadella - 5 pts
19. Reggina - 4 pts
20. Latina - 3 pts
21. Cesena - 3 pts
22. Virtus Lanciano - 2 pts

Serie B Top Scorers
1(t). Mascara (Pescara) - 5
1(t). Zambelli (Brescia) - 5
1(t). Varela (Palermo) - 5
2(t). Tavano (Empoli) - 4
2(t). Mazzarani (Modena) - 4

Serie B Clean Sheets
1(t). Sorrentino (Palermo) - 4
1(t). Košický (Novara) - 4
2. Secco (Crotone) - 3
3(t). Pelizzoli (Pescara) - 2
3(t). Guarna (Bari) - 2

Manager's Thoughts
What a month with a 4-1-0 record in 5 games. The best result of the bunch was a 3-0 thrashing of Brescia who currently sit 3rd in the Serie B Table. Giorgos Katidis was excellent in that game with a hat trick, and he followed that up with another game winner against Crotone to earn Player of the Month honors. Veteran Marco Rigoni also stood out with 2 goals on the month, and Simone Pesce was very solid with 1 goal and a Man of the Match performance against Latina. Our defense was very solid, leading the way with 3 clean sheets as our goalkeeper Tomáš Košický didn't have to do a lot of work to earn those. Our goal for the season is promotion to Serie A, and we look well on our way so far with a 2nd place spot in the league table.

Novara Youth Academy
UNK Raffaele Fazio, 25-33 Ovr, 59-81 Pot, Italy, 16 years old

Player Injuries
We suffered two injuries in the 2-0 win over Latina as defender Daniele Mori sprained his knee and was sidelined for 3 weeks, while defender Carlalberto Ludi picked up a sprained ankle and was out for 4 weeks. Neither player participated in a match for the rest of the month, but both players should resume their Starting XI roles to begin October.

October 2013 Fixtures
10/5 - vs Empoli
10/8 - at Avellino
10/19 - vs Virtus Lanciano
10/26 - at Spezia
10/29 - vs Juve Stabia

October will be a busy month as twice we have 2 games in 4 days with a match up against Empoli closely followed by a trip to Avellino, and a match at Spezia coming just before a home contest against Juve Stabia. The toughest game will be at 5th place Spezia. If we can manage a draw in that contest, I will be satisfied. In the other 4 matches, I expect victory. We should protect our home ground against Empoli, while the trio of Avellino, Virtus Lanciano, and Juve Stabia are all sides that are placed 15th or lower in the Serie B table. Anything less than a full 3 points in each of those matches would be a failure. In sum, I expect 13 out of a possible 15 points this month.

Only one draw from 5 with the rest being wins is incredibly good going. Katidis has been immense this month and you should be in Serie A in no time! Good luck next month with those fixtures.

October 2017 - International Friendlies
FIFA 15 (PS4)

Spoiler

Turkey 1 - 2 Mexico (B-Team)
MEX: Lozano 42' Chicharito 77'
TUR: Büyük 45'
Four Mexico players from last month's experimental squad list were seen again on the list: Ulises Davila (CAM 72 OVR), Javier Guemez (CM 72 OVR), Luis Montes (RM 71 OVR), and Carlos Fierro (ST 69 OVR). For this match Fierro started with Raul Jimenez up front, but the strike partnership was not delivering results. However Hirving Lozano (RW 75 OVR), a new face with the Mexico squad, was really trying to convince Chavez to call him up more often and was delivering an exciting match from LM becoming the most dangerous going forward. Lozano led the team in shots on goal and also made the sacrifice to help out on defense. In the 42nd minute, Carlos Fierro received the ball from midfield, shielded it, and then put in a through ball for Hirving Lozano as he sprinted into the box, and Lozano opened the score line with a powerful strike to the keeper's far post.


The winger was certainly making his claims for more international football, but unfortunately Turkey equalized in the following play just 3 minutes later. The match went into halftime with the equal score line and not much changed after the break. Raul Jimenez was taken off at approximately the 70th minute and replaced by Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, and the Little Pea delivered the result Mexico needed just seven minutes later. Rodolfo Pizarro dribbled down the right flank and put a cross into the box that Turkey's entire defense didn't read correctly, and Chicharito was able to head the ball into the open net.


One of those goals that Chicharito could have scored in his sleep, and with the goal Mexico took the win.

INJURY NEWS
Hector Moreno will be out for 3 weeks after suffering a Sprained Ankle during the match against Turkey. *Sorry Espanyol!

Mexico 2 - 0 Portugal
MEX: Chicharito 23' Layun 80'
Chicharito, the hero of the match against Turkey, became the protagonist yet again just three days later but this time with an amazing goal that will surely make front pages this week. Mexico had found a one way avenue on Portugal's left flank, and chances frequently appeared for Mexico on that wing. In the 23rd minute Mexico finally took full advantage of Portugal's weakness with RM Jurgen Damm, the Pachuca winger said to have received an offer from AS Roma IRL, dribbling past his marker and crossing the ball into the box to find Chicharito. Hernandez had to track back in order to meet with the cross and was not in a position to head the ball comfortably, so instead he resorted to a bicycle kick that went into the bottom corner of the net!!


After that amazing goal Portugal finally resolved their defensive problems on the left flank, and we were given a much more balanced match. Portugal tried to equalize, but former Premier League Champion Bebe wasn't able to break through Mexico's back three. Mexico's Hiram Mier deserves to be recognized though, as the RCB was able to successfully neutralize Cristiano Ronaldo consistently throughout the match. In the 80th minute Mexico stretched the lead by finding space down the wings again. This time it was on Portugal's right flank where Mexico found the space, with Marco Fabian (LCM) playing Watford's Miguel Layun (LM) through on goal. Layun cut in to his right foot, and then curved the ball around the goalkeeper and into the net to make it 2-0 for Mexico.


Portugal had tried to get back into the match but it was too late and Mexico's back three held their ground. It was good to see Mexico not be affected too much by Moreno's injury, but we're not sure how Espanyol will cope without their star defender as they try to get out of the lower mid table.


Conclusion
With Moreno's injury, I have decided that no player that is currently in Spain will play more than one match during the international break. I don't want to complicate things for my league opponents with injuries done by my hands. Other than that little detail I return to Osasuna a happy manager once again. The four players that received a second call up did well and Hirving Lozano also played great on his international debut. Really confident with the players I have at my disposal, although it may become difficult for me to pick the final squad list for the upcoming World Cup. On our next international break we will face Paraguay and then visit our CONCACAF rivals USA. The B-Team will face Paraguay and of course the First Team will head to the United States.
Thanks For Reading!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



October 2017 - Season 4
FIFA 15 (PS4)


CA Osasuna 0 - 2 FC Barcelona
FCB: Suarez 55' Messi 76'
Osasuna continue their poor attacking form, and this time they were punished for it by one of Spain's, and the world's, best clubs FC Barcelona. Both goals came in the second half but the first half was very tight with a lot going on in midfield. Osasuna tried to prevent Barcelona from playing their game by holding possession themselves, and it was working brilliantly as Barcelona had minimal chances on goal in the first forty-five minutes. Even though they were holding Barcelona well Osasuna struggled to create danger themselves, giving us a first half with a lot of passing and dribbling but not many shots. The fans jumped on their feet at approximately the 35th minute though due to a penalty that was called in Barcelona's favor! Suarez had gotten into position to head a cross inside the box but was sandwiched by Osasuna's centre backs Gomez and Miquel, who was playing for the injured Albentosa, and the referee called a foul straightaway. It was Suarez himself who stepped up to take the penalty. Riesgo studied his opponent before the match, and knowing the type of player Suarez is, he decided to wait for the kick to dive instead of guessing beforehand. Suarez took the shot down the middle, Riesgo held his ground, and he saved it!!!


Riesgo had saved the penalty and kept Osasuna alive in the match! The first half ended 0-0 with Riesgo being the hero. Luis Suarez would get his revenge in the second half though by scoring the first goal of the match with an incredible volley that defeated Riesgo. Suarez was subbed off soon after his goal and replaced by Lionel Messi. A second penalty was called in favor of Barcelona at approximately the 60th minute after Miquel's late tackle caught a Barcelona player inside the box. Lionel Messi, one of the best players in the world, would step up to take it. Messi used his inside foot to hit it left aiming for the bottom corner, but Riesgo dove in the correct decision and stretched all that he could to reach it and saved the penalty!!!


Another penalty saved by Riesgo and again he gave life to Osasuna! Unfortunately his teammates up front weren't having a day as good as his and they weren't able to repay him for his work with goals. In the 76th minute Lionel Messi would get his revenge just like Suarez did by scoring a goal. Osasuna tried to pick it up after Messi's goal but they simply were no match against Barcelona, and the 2-0 scoreline remained. Barcelona's goalkeeper Ter Stegen was given the MOTM award with 6 saves. Chavez was furious on the sidelines and went into the dressing room as soon as the final whistle blew.

Levante UD 0 - 1 CA Osasuna
OSA: Guillermo 2'
Chavez came back from the international break with some changes for Osasuna. The 4-4-2 Holding formation was dropped, and instead Osasuna came out with a 4-1-3-2. The starting eleven only had two changes with Ignasi Miquel replacing Sergi Gomez and Raul Albentosa returning from injury. Other than that, everything remained the same except that Darder and Campaña would now play stacked instead of side by side with Darder at CDM and Campaña now at CM. The change was definitely good for the team as we saw a much more controlled midfield that featured a much more comfortable Campaña with the liberty to really show his passing skills and an early goal from Guillermo assisted by Palacios. Guillermo would receive a pass inside the box and then curl his shot into the bottom corner to put Osasuna in the lead in barely the 2nd minute of the match!


Just the start Osasuna needed after some troubling results, but Levante is a side that has been known for giving Osasuna trouble every time they face each other. In fact, Levante were extremely close to equalizing in the second half after Ignasi Miquel committed a foul inside the box which stained his otherwise great performance. Wanderson would step up to take the penalty. He used his inside foot to place the ball to the right, but Riesgo saved it!! His third consecutive saved penalty this month!!


Riesgo kept the lead intact, and the match would end with Osasuna's early goal being the winner. Los Rojillos definitely looked better on the field with the 4-1-3-2 with Darder and Campaña clearly understanding what their roles are.

Champions League - Group Stage
Bor. Mönchengladbach 2 - 1 CA Osasuna (B-Team)
OSA: Oier 5'
BOR: Hahn 36' Mpala 88'
The B-Team made their debut in the Champions League group stage, as Chavez has decided to rest his first team for the league in an attempt to get out of mid table. The B-Team started the match really well with an early goal in the fifth minute. Youth graduate Luis Martinez had cut in from the left and took a shot on goal but the keeper was able to parry it thanks to his spot on positioning. Martinez picked up the rebound right in front of the goalkeeper and cut back, leaving his back towards goal, and as the keeper tried to steal the ball he took Martinez down; a clear penalty foul! However the referee didn't call anything, and Ulises Davila picked up the loose ball. Davila had his back on goal and was being crowded by the German defenders, but he somehow managed to sneak a pass to Oier who controlled the ball and then smoothly put the ball in the net past the rushing goalkeeper.


The B-Team weren't able to control the match with Mönchengladbach pushing forward looking for the equalizer, but the Spaniards did a great job at keeping them outside of the box. That didn't stop the Germans though, and in the 36th minute Hahn put in an amazingly struck long shot that found the top right corner of Riesgo's net. The Germans had done an outstanding job of adapting to Osasuna's defensive style. The match went on with the draw intact all the way until the end of the ninety minutes with Mönchengladbach giving it their all to satisfy their home fans. In the 88th minute Borussia pushed up with every man available and crowded Osasuna's box. Amidst the crowd, Mpala was able to get a shot on goal that Riesgo wasn't able to see until it was too late, and the ball went into the net. A late win for the Germans that now makes this Champions League Group Stage very interesting.

Atletico Madrid 0 - 2 CA Osasuna
OSA: Lopez 3' Guillermo 30'
Osasuna started this match just like their last two, with an early goal before the fifth minute of the match. Federico Palacios found Isma Lopez making a run on goal soon after the kickoff and fed him a through ball. Lopez controlled the pass and continued to dribble into the box, where he then took a powerful left footed shot and put Osasuna in the lead.


Osasuna remained in control after the goal and in the 30th minute they found the net again, this time through Guillermo. Roberto Torres cut inside from the attacking third and passed the ball down to Palacios who was behind Guillermo. As the ball traveled to Palacios, Atletico's centre backs pushed forward in an attempt to leave Guillermo offsides. However, Palacios used his first touch to pass the ball to Guillermo just in time to catch him onside and leave him one on one with the goalkeeper. Guillermo moved the ball to the right and then used his inside foot to finesse the ball past the keeper and into the net.


This marked Osasuna's 2nd clean sheet in a row since switching to the 4-1-3-2 formation. The formation has also allowed Jose Campaña to stand out as the midfield maestro, the player you want to get the ball to immediately after winning it back. Ignasi Miquel continues to really well next to Raul Albentosa, taking complete ownership of the starting LCB position and dropping Sergi Gomez to the B-Team. A big accomplishment for the 24 year old defender who's been with Osasuna since Chavez's first season.

CA Osasuna 2 - 2 Elche CF
OSA: Guillermo 52' Lopez 58'
EFC: Fidel 80' Herrera PEN 88'
Elche knew they had to be on their toes from the get go in order to prevent Osasuna from continuing their early goal streak. The visitors did not lose focus and held Osasuna well, even longer than expected. The first half ended 0-0 thanks to some great defending from Elche. Seven minutes into the second half a goal finally arrived. Guillermo recovered a loose ball near the box and turned to goal. He engaged his marker one on one and with some quick footwork he evaded his marker's slide tackle and dribbled into the box with nobody but the keeper in front of him! He powered his left foot and beat the goalkeeper, putting the ball in the net and Osasuna in the lead!


Just six minutes after Guillermo's impressive displays of individual and finishing skills Osasuna hit again, now with Isma Lopez who has had a great month thus far. Xavier Quinti, who had requested to play this match in place of the fatigued Sisi, ran up the pitch with the ball at his feet and then put in a lobbed through ball to meet with Lopez's inside run. Lopez brought the ball down and sprinted into the box, where he then used his left foot to power the ball into the net.


A great goal from Lopez who's been putting them in like this this season and has already scored more goals than he did last season. Osasuna held the 2-0 lead until the 80th minute where Elche got a goal back from a header, and then the referee made a game changing decision and called a penalty in favor of Elche. The foul was legitimate though, as Miquel had clearly committed a foul in the penalty area with an inaccurate tackle. Riesgo had been extremely effective in penalties this month but unfortunately he wasn't able to save this one and Elche equalized just two minutes before the end of the match. An exciting comeback that stole 2 league points from Osasuna from right under their noses.

Granada CF 0 - 2 CA Osasuna (B-Team)
OSA: Martinez 53' Davila PEN 75'
Granada's midfield of the former Deportivo midfielder Dominguez and Eddy were stopping Osasuna's 4-1-4-1 from pushing forward and were continuously finding spaces in attack. The first half ended 0-0 with Granada being the team on top. For the second half Chavez dropped the 4-1-4-1 formation and instead came out with a 4-2-3-1, using the youth graduate Luis Martinez behind Ulises Davila. The change immediately gave him results in just 8 minutes as Martinez received a pass from fellow academy graduate Vinuesa Ramos and took a low shot from the edge of the box to open the score line.


This marked Martinez's second professional goal, with both coming after he was changed to CAM in the match. The formation change made things difficult for Granada and Osasuna kept pushing. In the 75th minute of the match the referee called a penalty in favor of Osasuna, after a low cross was put into the box from the left wing and as Davila made an effort to connect with it his shirt was pulled by his marker and he was taken down. Davila would be the one to take the penalty and he struck it perfectly to extend the lead.


Granada threatened to make a comeback but Osasuna's goalkeeper Rodriguez was in fine form today and prevented anything from going in. Osasuna were able to hold on to the 2-0 lead this time and get a breathe of fresh air on the league table with the three points.

Champions League - Group Stage
Manchester City 2 - 1 CA Osasuna
MCI: Navas 20' Nasri 90'
OSA: Davila 86'
This match was nothing like the first game at El Sadar which ended 1-1 between these two teams. Today we saw an unmotivated Osasuna, with no signs of wanting to advance from the group stage. Hardly any runs were made, imprecise passes, lack of support, it literally looked like they didn't feel like playing today. Was it the trip from Spain to England? Perhaps the weather? Who knows what it was. City took advantage of Osasuna's poor state of mind and they took the lead in the 20th minute with Navas heading in a corner after Riesgo had came off his line, his defenders cleared his path as he called it, but just as he was about to reach the ball he stopped. Yes, he stopped in his tracks. He began to track back to his line but at that point it was all over. His defenders had cleared the path for him which left Navas with the liberty to head the ball comfortably with nobody marking him. The goal didn't change anything though, as Osasuna continued to play like if they couldn't wait to go home already. Chavez became extremely frustrated on the sidelines and in the second half began to make changes to his midfield, but none of it worked. Chavez subbed off Campaña and moved Torres to CM so he could be the midfield brain, and brought on Ulises Davila to play as RM. This move finally paid off in the 86th minute as Davila made a run from the outside and Torres sent him a perfect through ball. Davila controlled the pass, cut in to his left and calmly finessed the ball past Hart to equalize the match!


An outstanding play from Davila and Torres, but there was still time to play. Chavez and Pellegrini both wanted the win, and both managers instructed their team to go all out attack. Both sides had a centre back playing as a striker and the match was more exciting than ever! We knew another goal was inevitable, the way the teams were playing this was not going to end in a draw, and in the end it was Manchester City who scored the late winner. Nasri had been sent an extremely long ball from midfield that was hit too far from him and he had to chase it down as the ball bounced at the edge of the box. It looked like an easy ball for Riesgo, but Riesgo didn't come out! There was plenty of time for him to come out and intercept the ball but he chose to stay on his line! Nasri controlled the ball inside the box, and then beat Riesgo with a well placed shot. Two goalkeeper mistakes, two goals. A terrible match for Riesgo who had previously been Osasuna's hero at the beginning of the match. Two defeats in a row for Osasuna, and this has virtually eliminated eliminated them from the group stage. Qualification to the next stage is now out of their hands.


CA Osasuna Player of The Month

GK - Asier Riesgo (Spain) (75 OVR 33yrs)
He may have finished the month off with a terrible display against Manchester City but even with that defeat one cannot argue that Riesgo played a vital role for the majority of the month. Not many goalkeepers can say that they saved a penalty from both Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi in the same match and not during a penalty shoot-out. He definitely had a month with ups and downs, but when looking at each player's individual work this month he deserves the award.

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Liga BBVA League Table
1. Real Madrid - 25 points
2. Valencia CF - 24 points
3. FC Barcelona - 24 points
4. Sevilla FC - 23 points
5. Real Sociedad - 23 points
6. CA Osasuna - 21 points
----------
7. Malaga CF - 20 points
8. Atletico Madrid - 19 points
9. Athletic Bilbao - 18 points
----------
18. RC Deportivo - 8 points
19. Celta Vigo - 4 points
20. Levante UD - 3 points

Liga BBVA Top Scorer
1. Gomez (Bilbao) - 8 Goals
2. Ronaldo, Bale, Guillermo, Suarez - 7 Goals

Champions League - Group H
1. Manchester City - 10 points (+5)
2. Bor. M'Gladbach - 9 points (+2)
3. CA Osasuna - 4 points (+1)
4. Napoli - 0 points (-8)

CA Osasuna Top Scorer
1. Guillermo - 9 Goals
2. Isma Lopez - 4 Goals
Ulises Davila - 4 Goals
3. Federico Palacios - 3 Goals


Youth Academy
* = New Addition

Spoiler

Alex Garcia - CB (Mexico) (59-63, 80-86) (+14): The first and only CB in the academy, and with Miguel Flaño reaching the end of his era I am very anxious to see more reports on him. At 16 years old he stands at 6'2", and is considered Physically Strong. A perfect combination for a CB.

Alex Silva Gavan - RM (Spain) (63-67, 74-80) (+4): The 17 year old has decided to settle in at RM and is considered an attacker. With a 6'0" height he's a good fit pretty much anywhere on the field especially down the center, but he has decided he's most comfortable on the wing.

*Antonio Lopes - LB (Spain) (38-46, 75-91): Lopes is the first and only LB in the academy and of course the club has high hopes as it is a position that the senior team lacks depth in. The current first team LB is Sisi who is naturally a RM and is reaching his mid thirties. Lopes is only 15 and stands at 5'2" but is described as a Winger, which leads us to believe that he will be an attacking fullback.

Chris Cropper - GK (United States) (62-66, 79-85) (+13): The third American goalkeeper to join the Youth Academy. At 17 years old he stands at 6'3" and his game is well balanced so far.

Ivan Miranda - LW (Spain) (64-68, 81-87) (+6): The 16 year old has decided that the wing is where he is most comfortable with, and is a candidate for promotion in the future. He is quite short, standing at 5'9", but that isn't a problem since we will need him for speed not necessarily for his aerial ability.

*Jorge Asenjo - ST (Spain) (51-61, 77-94): Really high hopes for the 16 year old striker seeing as the senior team's only natural strikers are Guillermo and Palacios. Kodro has delivered great results but is only 65 OVR. Asenjo seems to be a future star, but appears to be more of a creative striker, since he stands at only 5'7" and is described as a Winger.

Julian Rubin - GK (United States) (58-62, 73-77) (+0): Julian has minimal chances to be promoted to the senior team at Osasuna. May be released soon.

Mario Santana - ST (Mexico) (62-66, 83-89) (+13): Really excited to see future reports on this kid from Mexico. He's described as "Physically Strong" and you know how much I like to play with a target man. The downside is that he's only 5'3", but he's still 15 years old so I'm hoping he'll grow closer to the 6 foot range.
*Santana has just turned 16 and is now eligible to play in La Liga. I'm a bit disappointed that his height only grew to 5'10 as I really wanted a target man, but he is Physically Strong so he should be a good striker nonetheless.*

*Pedro Ramirez - RB (Spain) (63-67, 82-88): Even though I use overlapping fullbacks, it wouldn't hurt to have a natural fullback in the squad since right now I'm using a RW at RB with my first team. Ramirez is currently 15 years old and stands at 5'6". Depending on how much he grows in height I might even be able to use him at CB.

*Victor Soriano - CDM (Spain) (53-57, 89-94): Really looking forward to this player. Similar qualities to the B-Team's Vinuesa Ramos, but not as tall with a 6'1" height. He may not be as sluggish thanks to his lower height though so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in the future.

Xabi Rodriguez - CAM (Mexico) (58-62, 75-81): He may not be the most athletic, but the 16 year old is considered a playmaker. Currently still being evaluated.

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October Headlines


Campaña Finds Form
Osasuna's new 4-1-3-2 Formation has allowed Jose Campaña to really show his talent on the ball and become the playmaker Los Rojillos were looking for. Sergi Gomez hasn't had the same luck though. He's been playing somewhat better in the B-Team with the veteran captain Miguel Flaño being very vocal and running the back line, but he still hasn't been the defender we were waiting for. Gomez is inexistent in the air especially during long goal kicks, and also Ignasi Miquel's great form with the First Team has put Sergi Gomez's second chance on hold.

*Champions League*
With two games left to play in the Group Stage Osasuna are on the brink of being eliminated. They are currently third with only 4 points, and 5 points away from 2nd place and 6 points away from 1st. A huge gap considering that there are only a couple games left. The next Champions League fixture will be the most vital for Osasuna. The Basques will face Napoli, who they demolished 3-0 on opening day, while Manchester City goes up against Mönchengladbach. Borussia Mönchengladbach CANNOT win. If the German side defeats City Osasuna will officially be eliminated. The only way Osasuna could advance if Borussia wins would be if City loses against Napoli, but seeing as Napoli hasn't been able to win or tie a single match the possibilities of that happening are extremely low. In order for Osasuna to go through they would have to defeat Napoli, Borussia would have to tie/lose against City, and then Osasuna would have to defeat Borussia in the final round in order to advance. City's results at that point would be irrelevant as they would have mathematically secured their spot in the next round. If Osasuna draws or loses against Napoli it's all over. If they defeat Napoli but tie or lose against Borussia then again it would be over. Osasuna need to win both of their remaining matches and need Borussia to not win against City. It may sound like a long shot, but in football you never know what will happen.

Pedro Bigas Wants Out
The former Mallorca centre back signed for Osasuna last season, with the vision of one day replacing Miguel Flaño with the First Team. Bigas time at Osasuna has been a difficult one though, with the 26 year old unable to adjust to Chavez's style of play. Bigas (74 OVR) would be erased from even the B-Team after Sergi Gomez's arrival, and is now fed up with spending so much time on the bench. It is believed he has personally asked Chavez to transfer list him in the upcoming transfer window.


Conclusion
So there you have it. Not much left to sum up. Bigas was previously a defensive midfielder before converting to centre back at Mallorca, so I may try him out there more often. He has made a couple appearances in midfield and done well, so I don't see why not. Nono (67 OVR) has received many more opportunities, but if anyone deserves to be transfer listed it is he. I signed Nono from Real Betis a couple seasons ago looking forward to seeing him reach his potential and instead he hasn't grown a single point in any stat. He doesn't play bad, he's quite decent actually, but Bigas may be able to do a better job than him. I'd rather keep Bigas if he can play better in midfield.

I hope I explained myself well on what I need to qualify to the next Champions League stage. I know I haven't had time to be active on the forum anymore but I'm still trying to get some updates in.
Thanks For Reading!

Spoiler

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2 good wins with Mexico and it's great to see Chicharito scoring! The USA game will be interesting I'm sure. An up and down month with Osasuna. Riesgo was incredible with that many open play penalty saves! Shame that the attacking part of the team couldn't get going. Atleti, Granada and Levante were good results while you struggled against Elche and in the Champions League. It'll be an interesting finish to the group and I hope to God that you can somehow get the results you need. Good to see that you have found a new formation that Campana seems to work in. I hope Bigas can work in midfield and that Gomez can be an important player with the B Team.

I think that Mexico and Osasuna would be better in separate posts but I love your detail so please don't change that!

FC Terek Grozny
The Chechens

Spoiler

February 2014

Spoiler

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><link href="http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Feb 1, 2014 - FC Krasnodar vs Terek Grozny</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>FC Krasnodar (6-2-9)</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">1</td><td class="active" align="right">2</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Terek Grozny (10-3-4)</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">0</td><td class="active" align="right">1</td></tr></tbody></table>

Pizzelli 13'
Sarkisov 45'
Samsonov 49'

Terek Grozny's bad run of form has continued over from the Winter Break as The Chechens lost their second consecutive game and are now 0-1-3 in their last 4 contests. This time defeat came on the road at the hands of FC Krasnodar by a score of 2-1. Krasnodar got on the board quickly in the 13th minute when

Spoiler

Joãozinho forced a Yaroslav Godzyur parry that Marcos Pizzelli follwed up with a shot into an empty net. Krasnodar came close to doubling their lead in the 24th minute, but Ari's chance was wide of goal. Terek equalized just before the halftime whistle in the 45th minute when Artur Sarkisov scored in his team debut, beating Krasnodar goalkeeper Alexandr Filtsov. The tied score would be short-lived as Krasnodar again went ahead in the 49th minute when Oleg Samsonov beat Godzyur on a shot from outside the box. Terek came painfully close to getting a last minute equalizer, but Adílson's volley in the 90th minute rang off the crossbar to send Rashid Rakhimov's club headed home empty handed.

MotM: Khodzhaniyazov

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><link href="http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Feb 15, 2014 - Terek Grozny vs Lokomotiv Moskva</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Terek Grozny (11-3-4)</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">1</td><td class="active" align="right">2</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Lokomotiv Moskva (8-4-6)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">1</td><td class="active" align="right">1</td></tr></tbody></table>

Lebedenko 45'
Obinna 78'
Kanu 87'

With Terek Grozny's recent run of poor form, a few clubs around the RFPL saw it as a chance to jump up and steal Terek's European spot. One of those clubs, 6th place Lokomotiv Moskva, came to Akhmat Arena with that firmly in their mind. Terek, however, started the game very strong as Oleg Ivanov forced an Ilya Abaev save in just the 4th minute of play. As in the game before, Terek got on the score sheet just before halftime when Igor Lebedenko fired a shot that was initially saved by Abaev. Undeterred, Lebedenko got a follow-up attempt that Abaev was unable to stop as Terek converted another 45th minute goal. Lokomotiv came out determined in the 2nd half knowing how big this game was, and Dame N'Doye forced Terek's Yaroslav Godzyur to make a save in the 63rd minute. Godzyur wouldn't be as fortunate in the 78th minute though, as Lokomotiv evened the game on a strike from Victor Obinna. The game looked headed for a 1-1 draw, but Abaev, Lokomotiv's reserve keeper, made a huge blunder that cost the Railroaders the game in the 87th minute. Obinna had made a back pass to Abaev that the Russian netminder attempted to kick but instead flubbed. The ball rolled straight to Kanu, who then rifled a shot into an open net to seal Terek's unlikely 2-1 win.

MotM: Lebedenko

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><link href="http://dynasties.operationsports.com/css/osdyn.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><table class="osdyn" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="575"><tbody><tr class="masthead"><td colspan="4">Feb 23, 2014 - Amkar Perm vs Terek Grozny</td></tr><tr class="stathead"><td width="61%">TEAM</td><td align="right" width="12%">1</td><td align="right" width="12%">2</td><td align="right" width="15%">SCORE</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Amkar Perm (3-7-9)</td><td align="right">0</td><td align="right">1</td><td class="active" align="right">1</td></tr><tr class="oddrow"><td>Terek Grozny (12-3-4)</td><td align="right">2</td><td align="right">0</td><td class="active" align="right">2</td></tr></tbody></table>

Adílson 12'
Mitrishev 39'
Jakubko 59'

Terek Grozny traveled to the Ural city of Perm to take on Amkar Perm, a team they had previously drawn with in Grozny 1-1. Riding the momentum of their win over Lokomotiv Moskva, Terek came out blazing in this contest. The Chechens opened scoring in the 12th minute of play when Maciej Rybus sent a cross into the box that Adílson volleyed off the right post and in by Sergey Narubin for the early 1-0 lead. Rybus almost doubled the lead in the 34th minute with a header off a Dmitriy Yatchenko free kick, but this time Narubin was up to the task with a save. Just minutes later though, Terek would go up 2-0 when Magomed Mitrishev undressed Amkar defender Andrey Semenov at the top of the box and blasted a shot by a diving Narubin. The goal was the 5th of the season for the promising 21-year-old Russian striker. Amkar cut Terek's lead in half in the 59th minute when Georgi Peev made a brilliant lobbed pass to Martin Jakubko that the Slovak striker slotted home. Amkar would be unable to get an equalizer however, and Terek left with the full 3 points for the second consecutive game.

MotM: Rybus

Terek Grozny Player of the Month



CAM Kanu, 70 Ovr, Brazil, 26 years old

The goals for Terek Grozny this month were spread out over a number of players, but no goal was bigger than Kanu's 87th minute winner over Lokomotiv Moskva. At the time, Terek was in 4th place, desperately trying to hold off 6th place Lokomotiv. This marks the third time this season Kanu has been the team's Player of the Month.

RFPL Table
1. CSKA - 46 pts
2. Zenit - 45 pts
3. Terek - 39 pts
4. Dinamo - 39 pts
5. Spartak - 36 pts
6. Lokomotiv - 31 pts
7. Anzhi - 26 pts
8. Krasnodar - 24 pts
9. Kuban - 24 pts
10. Krylya - 23 pts
11. Rubin - 22 pts
12. Volga - 19 pts
13. Amkar - 16 pts
14. Rostov - 14 pts
15. Ural - 11 pts
16. Tom - 10 pts

RFPL Top Scorers
1. Honda (CSKA) - 11
2. Hulk (Zenit) - 10
3(t). McGeady (Spartak) - 8
3(t). Maximov (Anzhi) - 8
3(t). N'Doye (Lokomotiv) - 8

RFPL Clean Sheets
1(t). Malafeev (Zenit) - 9
1(t). Akinfeev (CSKA) - 9
2. Gabulov (Dinamo) - 7
3. Godzyur (Terek) - 5
4. Dikan (Spartak) - 4

Manager's Thoughts
Our terrible run of form from December survived the Winter Break of January and manifested itself in the first game of February with a 2-1 loss to FC Krasnodar. Krasnodar is a mid-table side, so really we should have at least come away with the draw. The game against Lokomotiv was a thriller and we benefited from a huge error by their reserve goalkeeper Ilya Abaev. I'm not sure why Lokomotiv wasn't playing Guilherme in such an important match, but nevertheless it was a great win to keep the wolves at bay. The final game against Amkar was a workmanlike performance that we came away with the full 3 points. I am however concerned about our recent inability to keep clean sheets. That is 6 matches in a row that we've conceded at least 1 goal.

Terek Youth Academy
UNK Roman Tverdovsky, 35-43 Ovr, 66-82 Pot, Russia, 15 years old
GK Vasili Yeksov, 42-48 Ovr, 68-80 Pot, Russia, 15 years old
UNK Mirko Balas, 37-49 Ovr, 64-86 Pot, Croatia, 16 years old

International Duty
A record 4 players were called from Terek Grozny to serve their countries this month. Defender Juhani Ojala again left to represent Finland, while midfielder Maciej Rybus again received the call for Poland. The two new invites were midfielder Oleg Ivanov for Russia and midfielder Facundo Píriz for Uruguay. Terek congratulates all the players on their accomplishment.

March 2014 Fixtures
3/1 - vs Zenit
3/8 - at Ural
3/16 - vs Krylya
3/28 - vs Tom

Here we are facing Zenit St. Petersburg again. Zenit has already beaten us in the Russian Cup and at Petrovsky Stadium by identical 1-0 margins. With this game at home in the Akhmat Arena, we will be looking to at least walk away with a draw. The final 3 games of the month should all be wins. Krylya Sovetov Samara is the highest placed team of the bunch in 10th place, while FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast and Tom Tomsk are the bottom two sides in the RFPL. We have already beaten Krylya and Ural this season, but Tom surprsingly upset us, and we will be looking to get revenge on the Siberians for that brutal 1-0 loss.

2 wins from 3 ain't bad going although maybe you felt that should have been 3 out of 3. Well done on getting into 3rd! I suppose the best you're aiming for now is 3rd?

Inter Milan
Season 1
January 2015

Spoiler

Objectives:
Qualify for the Champions League
Reach the Final of the Europa League
Reach the Semi Final of the Domestic Cup

TRANSFERS IN:



Memphis Depay
Club purchased from: PSV
Fee: $27,750,000 + Jonathan
Wages: $100,000 per week
Overall: 79
Position: LW
Age: 20

I bought Memphis to play the LW position so he can run at defenders and beat them better than Podolski and he will be able to stay for years to come. He will wear the number 7.



Danilo Luiz da Silva
Club purchased from: FC Porto
Fee: $13,000,000 + Hugo Campagmaro
Wages: $110,000 per week
Overall: 79
Position: RB
Age: 23

I bought Danilo to start at the right back position, because Santon is a loanee and the others are old and needed to be replaced. Danilo will be number 2.



Bernd Leno
Club purchased from: Bayern Leverkusen
Fee: $28,000,000
Wages: $140,000 per week
Overall: 83
Position: GK
Age: 22

I bought Leno to replace Handanovic, he is a young keeper that has a lot of potential and I believe can be our keeper for at least a decade. He will wear jersey number 1.



Thiago Alcântara
Club purchased from: Bayern Munich
Fee: $20,000,000
Wages: $140,000 per week
Overall: 81
Position: CM
Age: 23

I bought Thiago for the CAM place, he is able to play anywhere in the middle and that will be valuable to us if we start seeing injuries. He will wear jersey number 23.



Carlos Mane
Club purchased from: Sporting Clube de Portugal
Fee: $7,500,000
Wages: $70,000 per week
Overall: 73
Position: RW
Age: 20

I bought Mane to sit on the bench and come on as a sub or start in cup matches. He is traditionally a right winger but can play CAM or LW as well. He will be number 47.


TRANSFERS OUT:

Isaac Donkor - OVR: 61 POS: CB AGE: 19 FEE: $160,000 TO: Millwall
Reason: A deadwood player that was never going to play.

Gastan Camara - OVR: 63 POS: RW AGE: 18 FEE: Loan TO: Blackburn Rovers
Reason: To gain experience.

George Puscas - OVR: 63 POS: ST AGE: 18 FEE: Loan TO: Vercelli
Reason: To gain experience.

Handanovic - OVR: 86 POS: GK AGE: 30 FEE: $58,999,000 TO: FC Barcelona
Reason: Requested a transfer.

Assane Gnoukouri - OVR: 58 POS: CM AGE: 18 FEE: $130,000 TO: Kilmarnock
Reason: A deadwood player with no future at the club.

Federico Bonazzoli - OVR: 64 POS: ST AGE: 17 FEE: Loan TO: SC Cambuur
Reason: To gain experience.



League Match
Juventus 2 - 0 Inter
Pogba 32’
Tevez (PEN) 51’

MOTM Diego Alves

A disappointing loss and the scoreline does not do us justice. We had the better of the chances, hitting the bar three times before they scored and several other chances. Pogba scored from a header when a corner was crossed into the box and he jumped over everyone to get to it. In the 50’ Asamoah and Pogba both jumped to get a header in the box and Pogba went down softly and the ref awarded a penalty. Tevez sent Handanovic the wrong way and had a well placed shot to the bottom right corner. In the 59’ minute Asamoah again went into a challenge a little too harshly and gave away another penalty. This time though Handanovic got the better of Tevez and was able to make the save. The rest of the game Juventus played good defence and we were unable to get many good chances.

League Match
Inter 3 - 2 Genoa
Edenilson 10’ 72’
Medel 25’
Depay 56’ 76’

MOTM Depay

Danilo and Depay made their debut this game and both played well, especially Depay. Genoa would score their first chance when they crossed the ball in and Edenilson was unmarked in the middle for a free header. Medel would equalize though when Podolski crossed the ball in on the ground and he was there for the first time finish. Eleven minutes after half Depay made a run and Palacio played a ball over the top and he smashed a left footed volley right past the keeper who had no time to react. Edenilson would find the back of the net again in a similar fashion to Medel. The Genoa winger played a ball across the face of the goal to the oncoming Brazilian who only needed one touch to find the back of the net. Depay would score again from a ball over the top, his first shot was saved but came right back to him and he scored when given a second chance.

TIM Cup
Inter 1 - 0 Sassuolo
Dodo 31’

MOTM Kuzmanovic

A boring game with not very many chances. We played a weaker team and they played well again. Dodo’s goal was a nice solo goal where he beat 4 defenders and then slotted it past the keeper. Sassuolo didn’t have any chances to score and all Scuffet had to do was pick up some through balls that were over hit.

League Match
Empoli 0 - 0 Inter

MOTM Kovacic

A boring game with few chances. Empoli parked the bus from the very beginning and we could not break them down. They only had one shot the entire game.

TIM Cup
Fiorentina 1 - 3 Inter
Llicic 10’
Palacio (PEN) 36’ (PEN) 48’
Depay 90’

MOTM Depay

Fiorentina started off well and scored with their first chance. It came from an over the top ball that resulted in a 1v1 with Scuffet and he was unable to stop it. Both of Palacio’s penalties were earned by Depay and his tricky dribbling in the box. He would cut in and do a skill move and either get fouled or get the shot off almost every time. Palacio sent the keeper the wrong way both times and hit both upper 90s. Depay’s goal came off a counter attack. He dribbled down the touch line all the way to the goal line, then did a Ronaldo Chop to beat two players and dribbled in smash the ball across the goal to the far post.

League Table:




Top Deals:





About This Month:

Disappointing to lose to Juventus, but they have a good squad and we knew it would be tough. the Empoli game though was very frustrating. They just defended the whole time and I couldn’t break them down. I think we had a good transfer window. I am disappointed we lost Handanovic because he had been great for us but he wanted to leave and Barcelona payed good for him. I think Leno will be a good replacement and will be the keeper here for a long time hopefully. I really wanted Witsel but Zenit would take nothing less than $55,000,000 and I was not going to pay that much for him. Thiago will be a nice addition to the team and add some much needed depth.

Our starting line up:


Bench: Icard (79), Mane (73), Kovacic (79), Podolski (77), Vidic (83), Andreolli (75), and Scuffet (71)

Upcoming Fixtures:
Sassuolo (A) - League Match
Juventus (A) - TIM Cup
Palermo (H) - League Match
Torino (H) - League Match
Atalanta (A) - League Match
Lokomotiv (A) - Europa League
Cagliari (A) - League Match
Lokomotiv (H) - Europa League

Very nice transfers and like Simp, I was confused that you had sold Handanovic and bought Leno but then I saw that he wanted to go and the fee you got! (Which was put to very good use btw.) League play was a bit down but you progressed in the cup and you do have a game in hand on Juve! The squad is starting to look very strong.