Pre-Season/Start of the League

‘We have the pre-season preparations coming up along with the league. I won’t focus too much on the league, as we will try our best to win the NACL on our first try. Could we end up doing it? Or will we have bad form in the league and screw it up in the NACL?’

Transfers

#1: Karim Benzema - Real Madrid

‘The French Beast himself. He wanted to leave Madrid so we payed 600k for him, nice.’

#2: Christopher Vaughan - Boy’s Town

‘Yes, he isn’t at our club anymore which means he was Waivered. That means that we couldn’t register him in our squad and he entered the draft as we lost him, we’ll get him back in the future.’

#3: Darnell Piturro - Draft

‘A good back up for Sean Franklin.’

#4: Graziano Pelle - Free

‘He is a beast with experience and he will replace Luis Perea.’

#5: Dannis Mejia - LA Firpo

‘We got one of our Salvadoreans who had potential but again, we lost him to waivers.’

#6: Damian Macare - Vitoruii Constantia

‘This kid has a lot of potential and he can even start for us! I will start to steal youth players from Vitoruii as they’re all very good!’

#7: Matt Lowton - Free

‘We got this beast of a full back, but ended up losing him to Waivers.’

#8: Yaser Hagawi - Racing (LIB)

‘In an attempt to breed Lebanese talent, it failed. This kid was 18 and he had tons of potential but we lost him to Waivers, and then nobody wanted him! I’ll buy him at my next club for sure.’

#9: Kohei Watanabe - Free

‘I couldn’t bear to see Japan’s star centre back not play any games in a season, so we got him on a free and we’ll help him develop for the National Team!’

Outs

‘Zacharie Boucher left and Damian Macare came in, while Orioll Rosell left too. Luis Perea and Frank Acheampong left too.’

Tactics and Formations

‘My full backs can barely attack besides Hector Sanchez so I set them all to defend, with normal center backs. I will use Kohei Watanabe as our Anchor Man as he has the stats for it, while Kaplan will be utilized as our AP. Graziano Pelle will be our Target Man and Benzema will play to the left of him as a DLF, and Lara and Ortigoza should operate on the wings. This formation will be used for away games.’



‘In this formation we have 3 centre midfielders so we can win games in the middle, with our Inside Forwards cutting in and scoring. This will aid the lone striker up front, if he cannot score. This should be our main formation at home against a similar or slightly stronger team.’



‘The formation that is the most complete. We are using the same positions and roles so the players will get used to them, and I use this formation for games when we need to come back. Example, when we were 2-1 down to Portland last season in the first leg, this formation got us two early goals as we were very good on the attack.’

Best Eleven - 2017

MLS Fixture List Announcement

‘We kicked off the season with FC Vancouver and FC Dallas, two games we could and should win while we should be winning all our rival games against Chivas, and we should also complete the season with a win over Philadelphia.’

Next Time…
-North American Champions League Quarter-Final, Semi-Final
-MLS Kicks off with LA vs. Vancouver
-Japan continue preparations for FIFA World Cup
-Speculation of Fayad leaving after NACL - if LA win...

North American Champions League

‘Finally, the North American Champions League has begun again. Can we win it and move on to our next continent, or will we be stuck here for another year?’

Alajuelense vs. LA Galaxy, NACL Quarter Final #1 - StubHub Center - 14/2/2018

Kohei Watanabe (LA, ‘4)
Karim Benzema (LA, ‘34)
Ian Marks (LA, ‘52, ‘90+1)
Abdul Razak (Alajue, ‘42)

Tim Kramer (LA)
Hector Sanchez (LA)
Mlamuli Kaplan (LA)
Darnell Piturro (LA)
Michele Canini (Alajue)
Ariel Soto (Alajue)

4-1

LA Galaxy vs. Alajuelense, NACL Quarter Final #2 - StubHub Center - 14/3/2018

Graziano Pelle (LA, ‘2)
Mynor Escoe (Alajue, ‘44)

Tim Kramer (LA)
Michele Canini (Alajue)

1-1

‘A great aggregate win over Alajuelense which sees us go to the semi-finals of the North American Champions League. There are two Mexican teams left, along with us and San Jose Earthquakes. We will face a Mexican team.’


‘Yes, we do face a Mexican team. One of the hardest and toughest.’

America (MEX) vs. LA Galaxy, NACL Semi-Final #1 - Estadio Azteca - 11/4/2018

Andres Renteria (AMX, ‘28)
Graziano Pelle (LA, ‘69)

Nicolas Olmedo (AMX)
Miguel Layun (AMX)
Enzo Andia (AMX)
Hugo Cid (AMX)
Sean Franklin (LA)

Andres Renteria (AMX)

1-1

LA Galaxy vs. America (MEX), NACL Semi-Final #2 - StubHub Center - 18/4/2018

Karim Benzema (LA, ‘13 pen.)
Mike Ferguson (LA, ‘75)
Raul Alonso Jimenez (AMX, ‘81)

Adrian Aldrete (AMX)
Mike Ferguson (LA)
Tim Kramer (LA)

Miguel Layun (AMX)

2-1

‘We defeated America and we headed to the Final, against Queretaro of Mexico. A two-legged Final, I think we can win this and leave LA Galaxy, can we?’










‘We won! 2 trophies down, 12 to go! An amazing achievement to do this in one and a half years. Now I will not join a club until after the World Cup with Japan, and then we will see what happens. It will be South America or Asia, depending on what suits me more. Sorry for such a quick update but I needed to get this over with as I am far ahead and I had a bad day. In the end, a good result is better than a perfect update with a crap result.’



‘And the preparations for the World Cup begin.’

JAPAN KNOCKED OUT EARLY FROM THE WORLD CUP, LOSE OUT ON EAST ASIAN CUP TOO

‘A month of disappointment for Japan who were knocked out in the Group Stages of the World Cup on goal difference, and ended up losing out on the East Asian Cup after going 2-0 up in the Final game. Speculation is there for Hamoudi Fayad to leave, will he leave?’

Japan vs. Brazil - Moscow International Arena, Moscow

FIFA World Cup
3-1
Mike Havenaar (7)
Lucas Moura (Brazil)

Attendance: 64,000

‘Japan started off with their match against Brazil, and they were 1-1 in the first 7 minutes. Although both Lucas’s (Moura and Leiva) scored to defeat Japan, in a match that they never expected to win.’

Other Scores: Turkey vs. Algeria - 3-0

Algeria vs. Japan - Metallurg Samara, Samara

FIFA World Cup
3-1
Keisuke Honda (10)
Djamel Abdoun (Algeria)

Attendance: 32,552

‘Japan lost their second game in a row, but this match they should have won. They almost completed the first half with a 1-0 lead, only Eiji Kawashima to stupidly score an own goal. Djamel Abdoun came on to score two penalties in 5 minutes, to kill the game. Japan although, still had a chance to qualify if they win Turkey by more than 1 goal.’

Other Scores: Brazil vs. Turkey - 4-0

Turkey vs. Japan - Rostov, Rostov-na-Donu

FIFA World Cup
2-1
Hiroki Sakai (44), Takashi Inui (8)
Takashi Inui (Japan)

Attendance: 43,702

‘But it couldn’t be. A late winner from Takashi Inui wasn’t enough, and Turkey progressed, with Algeria, Japan and Turkey themselves all on 3 points and Brazil topping the group with 9.’

Other Scores: Brazil vs. Algeria - 3-0

East Asian Cup

‘Japan gained 4 points from their opening two games, with South Korea gaining 6 points and Australia and China being out of the race for the title. Japan needed a win… and they were 2-0 up inside the first 9 minutes...’



‘It wasn’t to be, as they lost 3-2, losing a very stupid lead, and surprisingly the consistent Kohei Watanabe having a poor match. A very bad two months for Japan, but they can be optimistic for the future as the youngsters coming through are great! Will Hamoudi Fayad leave? Or will he finally find a new club job?’

HAMOUDI FAYAD ANNOUNCES ‘HALL OF FAME’

‘In a surprise twist, Hamoudi Fayad has announced his best players from LA Galaxy and Jomo Cosmos, calling it his Hall of Fame. In his Hall of Fame, he has put around 12 players consisting of former and current LA Galaxy and Jomo Cosmos players - for now. In the future, he will put more players in from his other clubs and hopefully by the end of his career, he will have a full squad of different players from different clubs.’



‘Zacharie Boucher, Omar Gonzalez, Kohei Watanabe, Yano and Jacob Modise are some of the 12 players who were inducted into Hamoudi’s Hall of Fame. Although, the exclusion of some players like Israel Lara and Ary left some fans dumbfounded by Fayad’s decisions! Anyways, lets go and look at the players one by one.’

Goalkeepers

‘The two men that helped Hamoudi Fayad win the Champions Leagues in two different continents - well not Zacharie Boucher exactly - were the key to his success and therefore they are two of his best Goalkeepers that he has ever managed.’

Defenders

‘5 defenders were chosen, and some of these were very good defenders. Omar Gonzalez the one-club man, along with Sean Franklin who recently left to San Jose. These two men were the key to Fayad’s success even though they were into their 30’s. Kohei Watanabe was a last-minute addition due to his consistent performances for LA and Japan, while Gladwin Shitolo and Mpho Matsi complete the terrific back line of Fayad’s Hall of Fame.’

Midfielders

‘These three players are absolutely fantastic, Faty Papy being Fayad’s best player at Jomo Cosmos (arguably) and Hector Ortigoza at LA while Mlamuli Kaplan shone for Fayad at LA and Jomo Cosmos, and he’s only 20! Sadly Faty Papy left directly after Fayad did.’

Attackers

‘These two complete the 5-3-2 formation that Fayad has with his Hall of Fame (with Neblu sitting out as a sub) and they are probably the best attacking pair in Africa (were) until Yano left in a stupid move by Muhsin Erturgal. Will this team be bettered by other players, or can these players keep their spots?’

HAMOUDI FAYAD JOINS CA PENAROL

‘In a bid to win his third continental Champions League, Hamoudi Fayad has signed for Uruguayan giants CA Penarol. The 38-time Uruguayan First Division Winners and 5-time Libertadores Champions were delighted to announce the signing of such a respected manager who is currently managing the Japanese National Football Team.’



‘This will also come as a new league system to Fayad, as he has differed from the normal home-and-away league season in Africa, and the weird system of the MLS! Now he goes to Uruguay with an Opening and Closing stage… will he succeed here?’

‘With the pre-season done already, Fayad has his chance to showboat his friendly results and transfer acquisitions.’

Friendlies

‘3 wins out of 4 with a disappointing loss to Stoke City, although Fayad’s “tiki-taka” is starting to rub off on the team!’

League System

‘Hamoudi Fayad also gained a lot of praise from MLS and other managers.’




‘A brief history and background on Penarol down here.’


‘We also got a screenie of an email that a Hacker got. It was, funny...’

Transfers

‘Fayad bought only 3 players, all of them being defenders. A right back, a left back and a centre back. The defence line needed more depth as Penarol are loaded in the midfield and attack. Three terrific signings!’

‘and finally...’



‘What a shocker! Newcastle manager goes to Bayern Munich!’

‘There you have it for today on South America News! Fayad joins Penarol in a bid to stop Brazil and Argentina in the Copa Libertadores!’

1

Opening Stage -- Uruguayan First Division

‘I rushed through the first half of the season as I was busy yesterday therefore I will update you with the ‘Arpertura’ or also known as ‘Opening Stage’ in where we play every team once (15 games) and the winner qualifies for the Championship play-off against the ‘Clausura’ winner (unless of course one team wins both stages then they are crowned Uruguayan Champions). Many positives we have here. There is also no domestic cup competition in Uruguay which means that we don’t have to worry about match fitness… until the Copa Libertadores.’

Squad

Uruguayan First Division

‘We only lost once and then went on a 8 game winning streak! Was this enough for us to win the Arpertura?’



‘Yes we did! 7 points clear of our rivals Nacional, easy easy easy!’



‘Our two best players, Saint-Pastourz being our top scorers while Alvaro Moreira having the highest average rating! He is fantastic!!’



‘We have a break for two months now between the Arpertura and the Clausura, so we scheduled some friendlies with other teams.’

Asian Cup Draw

‘We had the Asian Cup Draw, in which the tournament will start in January 2019. Although, I accidentally missed out my star defender and striker in the squad call-ups... fuck my life.’


Nickname: The Socceroos
Population: 22M
Manager: Sergio Almaguer
World Ranking: 71st
Top Players: Tom Rogic (Southampton), Rhys Williams (Swansea), Tommy Oar (Al Nasr KSA)
Asian Cup 2015? Lost to South Korea in Quarter Final


Nickname: Lions of Mesopotamia
Population: 31M
Manager: Vladimir Petrovic
World Ranking: 95th
Top Players: Ali Adnan Karimi (Kasimpasa), Nashat Akram (Unattached), Esmail Kadhim (Domzale)
Asian Cup 2015? Didn’t Qualify


Nickname: The Red
Population: 752K
Manager: Gabriel Calderon
World Ranking: 113th
Top Players: Jamal Rashid (Kuwait SC), Duaj Jassim and Jaffar Jaffar (Al-Arabi Kuwait)
Asian Cup 2015? Lost to Japan in Quarter Final

‘So we have an easy draw, we should be winning Bahrain and Iraq while Australia are currently our bogey team… and I’m half-Australian! We should get 9 points and I want to win this on the first try...’

Asian Cup 2019

‘So, this month was full of club friendlies and the Asian Cup, but the friendlies don’t matter so we will be looking to win my 3rd trophy out of the coveted 14, and hopefully my first international trophy. We can beat every team in this, except for maybe South Korea as they are on our level… can we topple them if we face them?’

Japan vs. Australia - Rashid-Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai

Asian Nations Cup
2-1
Takayuki Seto (25), Takashi Inui (65)
Takayuki Seto

Attendance: 13,000

‘A great win against the second best in the group, 3 vital points. Hopefully if we win Bahrain we qualify with a game in hand so I can rest the players against Iraq.’

Bahrain vs. Japan - Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Asian Nations Cup
3-1
Keisuke Honda (25, 67), Kensuke Nagai (38)
Keisuke Honda

Attendance: 16,277

‘Yes, we do qualify from the group with a game in hand. Now we have to rest the starting players against Iraq as they are the worst in this group and we should win them easily to gain 9 points.’

Iraq vs. Japan - Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Asian Nations Cup
3-1
Hiroshi Kiyotake (62), Kensuke Nagai (8, 15)
Kensuke Nagai

Attendance: 16,314

‘9 points gained from the group as Kensuke Nagai gets his second and third goals in the tournament, aiming for the top scorer charts as he replaces the injured Japanese-Brazilian Roger! We are in the quarter-final… against Iran.’

Iran vs. Japan - Tahnoun Bin Mohammed Stadium, Al Ain

Asian Nations Cup
1-1 (7-6, penalties)
Yoshiya Arai (110)
Shahab Mohammadi (Iran)
Penalties:

- Amarei, Bakhshizadeh, Mohammadi, Maleki, Meydavoudi, Alizadeh
Babaei, Zeneyedpour


- Ibusuki, Honda, Hasebe, Nagai, Myaichi, Uchida, Yoshida
Nagatono

Attendance: 16,296

‘This was such a killing game. Around 50-50 possession for both teams, and Iran broke the deadlock with a free-kick in the 101st minute! Somehow we managed to score as time was running out! Then we defeated them on penalties, to face China in the semi-finals while South Korea face Qatar.’

Japan vs. China - Tahnoun Bin Mohammed Stadium, Al Ain

Asian Nations Cup
3-2 AET
Kensuke Nagai (45+1, 78), Takayuki Seto (92)
Ryo Myaichi

Attendance: 18,000

‘Nagai got another two goals to take his goalscoring tally up to 5 while we were shockingly 2-1 down to China! Thankfully Nagai saved the day, and Seto scored in the 92nd minute in extra time to win the game for us. We are in the Final against South Korea.’

Japan vs. South Korea - Bani Yas Club Stadium, Bani Yas

Road to the Final

Japan - Group Stages - 2-1 vs. Australia , 3-1 vs. Bahrain , 3-1 vs. Iraq

Quarter Final - 1-1 (7-6 pen.) vs. Iran
Semi Final - 3-2 AET vs. China

South Korea - Group Stages - 1-0 vs. North Korea , 3-1 vs. Kuwait , 4-1 vs. Iran

Quarter Final - 3-2 vs. Australia
Semi Final - 4-2 vs. Qatar

Line-Ups:
JAPAN: Kawashima; Hasebe, H.Sakai, Yoshida, G.Sakai; Honda, Hosogai; Arai, Kiyotake, Miyaichi (Otsu); Nagai --- Manager: Hamoudi Fayad
SOUTH KOREA: Sung-Ryong; Se-Gye (Sang-Gi), Jei-Min, Yong-Gwon, Joo-Ho; Heung-Min, Ja-Cheol, Jong-Woo, Chul; Shin-Wook (Yo-Hyan), Hyun-Jun (Byung-Soo) --- Manager: Park Sung-Hwa

Stadium: Bani-Yas Stadium, Bani Yas - 2/2/2019

Attendance: 22,000
Referee: Santos, S

Hiroki Sakai (15, Japan)
Kim Shin-Wook (26, SK)
Keisuke Honda (71, Japan)
Yuki Otsu (83, Japan)
Yeon Jei-MIn (90+2, SK)





‘Finally, our first international trophy has come to me. Sadly it didn’t happen in Africa or North America, because then I would never have to manage in those continents again but they will come again. Our aim now is to win the Copa Libertadores with Penarol.’






‘They did Japan proud with these individual wins.’



‘4 players in the All Star-XI, very good.’

Next Time…
-Copa Libertadores Group Stage Draw
-Clausura Stage in Uruguay
-Transfer Window