CD Estrela - The Estrela shines again

Look who’s back! Some of you may remember my (short and unfinished) story with CD Estrela in FM19. I stopped doing it because it was giving me more work than pleasure and I had to stop to enjoy the save. But with this pandemic situation we find ourselves in, I have a lot of free time and decided to give the Estrela challenge a go once again, now in FM20, and post it here as well. And explaining the title of the story, star is estrela in Portuguese, and with that, I think you can get the rest ahah.




In an attempt to finally go up, CD Estrela has appointed me, Bruno Guimas, to lead them to glory. With a great background and history, including a Portuguese Cup win back in 1990, it is a shame that such a good club is this low in the Portuguese football pyramid, the 3rd tier of Lisbon’s non-league so I’m here to try and fix that and put them where they really should be.

Team



After a LOT of signings, the squad is closed. This is how we will attack the title, 4-2-3-1 to dominate a much inferior competition. Key players are definitely the Australians, striker Brindel-South and center back Simone Vannucci, left-winger and by far the star of the team Mateus Jorge and midfielder Herculano Carvalho.



Expectations



The chairman has the same vision I have: Go up by winning the league. There can’t be a team capable of making it hard for us because we simply are on a different level than anyone else. The league MUST be ours. Not really interested in the cup to be honest but the board wants us to reach the quarter-finals so that’s what we are aiming for.

September



Great results but sour taste of defeat against a team that shouldn’t even have a chance makes the month a bit of a letdown as we stumble already in the league. Strong displays secure 3 big wins against teams that weren’t really in our list of concerns. Let’s hope we can improve in October.

October



Dominant performances and a perfect month this time, really happy with this, showing why we are strong favorites to win the league. 8-0 trashing of a much inferior Talaíde with Herculano getting Estrela's first hattrick of the season. We go through in the local cup and with a little luck in the draw, we can go far in this one, as we steamrolled trough Algés, an upper-tier side.

November



Way less dominance but still undefeated and won most games and still in the cup, defeating another upper-tier side. We drew at home against second favorites to win the league Pontinha, who showed to be the only side so far capable of going head to head with us. December is the easiest month in terms of league games but we also have the toughest challenge so far, Vialonga, who are two divisions above us, in the Pró-Nacional. Even though they are rock-bottom of their league, they’re still a big matchup for us.

December



100% wins in this one. Easy games and consequently easy wins. We prove once again that we don’t belong in this division as we trash Vialonga 4-0, a side that is currently two tiers above us but doesn’t have nearly as much quality as we do. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum to 2020 and keep the good work. January, however, is going to be the toughest month yet, as we face the only team that has defeated us this season and face Atlético CP in the round of 16 of the cup, 2nd place in Pró-Nacional, our hardest challenge to date.

League Standings



We currently sit top of the table with a comfortable 5 point lead, above Abóbada, the only side we haven’t faced yet. 10 points clear of 3rd place Operário which means that promotion battle probably won’t be a concern for us. For those interested, I’ll leave below the standings for the other group of this division and the potential teams we might face in the battle for the league title No surprise at all, the 3 B teams occupy the 3 top spots and the battle for promotion isn’t fired up at all, with 9 points separating 2nd and 3rd place.


Player Stats



A surprise for nobody, Mateus Jorge leads in the categories of Top Goalscorer, Highest Average Rating and Most Man of the Match awards, no doubt playing a huge part in this year’s almost flawless campaign. 14 out of the 16 goals are in the league, the other 2 in the cup. Surprisingly, our right-back is the leader in most assists with 10, including an assist hattrick in the last league match.

That's it for today, once a finish the season I'll update this. Overall very good first half of the season and was there really any doubts this was going to happen? Hopefully, we can continue in the second half of the season and achieve our objectives early.

Glad to welcome you back to the site. A very promising start. You certainly don't belong in this division with the way you've dominated your opposition.

boa sorte ate chegares a primeira liga

Quick update for January, it was an interesting month and we have the biggest match of the season in February so I want to keep the suspense and I thought I’d update you guys now.

January



Strange month to say the least, we struggled in a 2-0 win against mid-table side Parque das Nações and almost saw victory escape against Olivais, a game where the opposition was superior in every area. On the other hand, we avenge the only defeat of the season by beating Salesianos 6-0, with a Vannucci hattrick (yes, the center-back). And then the game of the season so far, Atlético CP, 2nd place in the highest tier of Lisbon’s football and on the verge of returning to the national competitions. As expected Atlético was better overall but never dominant and had a terrible day in front of goal, with only 2 of their 13 shots hitting the target. We did what we needed to do, defend well, high press and counter. Pressing high definitely did damage as both our goals happened by stealing the ball inside the opposition’s box, the second actually snatching the ball from the keeper and just tapping it to an open net. Once again we prove we can hang with the best and we are in the cup to win it. We are now the only 3rd tier of Lisbon’s football remaining in the cup and we face our fiercest rivals and definitely the best side we could get, Belenenses, who are on their way to a comfortable league title and promotion to the top tier of Lisbon.

I'll try to do something special for the Belenenses game, it's without doubts the biggest game of the season and it should feel like it, whether we win it or not

February



We trash Talaíde again this season, this time with a 6-0 win. 2-0 wins in the following 2 games including against 2nd place Abóboda, the only team we hadn’t faced yet. And now it’s time for the game of the season, CD Estrela vs Belenenses…
























Unfortunatly we can't progress to the semi-finals but we performed well and caused trouble to a superior team. Hard work and dedication await us for next week to try and recover from this setback and come back to winning ways

Like the look of this so far, good work. A shame about the result against Belenenses but the league is certainly going well!

Tough luck against Belenenses. A decent effort all things considered.

March



Once again a successful month, 4 games and 4 wins. We had 3 easy games against teams in the low end of the table, the other was against 3rd place CAC Pontinha, the last team to take points from us , back in November. Very surprisingly that was actually the most chill game we had this month, 4-0 win away. The other games worked out as expected, with us dominating the entire game and grabbing the 3 points. Finishing was a bit of this month, despite scoring 11 goals in 4 games, with the number of chances we get we should be scoring way more and that’s the goal to achieve next month, work on improving finishing. Our win against Pontinha secured promotion and the win against Carcavelos secured that we finish 1st in Group B with 5 games to go. We still don’t know who our opponent is going to be in the Champion Play-off but Sintrense B (1st; 63 points) and 1º Dezembro B (2nd; 57 points) are battling it out in Group A. We also had the youth intake this month and honestly, I’m actually happy with it, our facilities are below average and we managed to get a few decent players. Saico Cá and António Caramelo are the best of the lot, both with a lot of potentials to grow and become important for the club.


April



Only two games for us this month and with a lot of rotation and resting for the important players, you can see the difference, we struggled to get the away win against Linda-A-Velha B, scoring a lonely goal from a Paulo Oulo freekick. Nothing really important to report from now on as we have 3 games in the next two months before the league ends and we face the 1st place from Group A to determine who’s the champion. Sintrense B sits in 1st place with promotion guaranteed and 9 points clear from 2nd so even though nothing’s confirmed, only a miracle would that Sintrense B out of the Champions Play-off spot.

May



We get all points again this month but we still struggle to maintain consistency in the attack in this month was perfect proof of it. In the first game, we battered Malveira da Serra 6-0, including a Mateus Jorge hattrick and we looked out of this world , with every shot being dangerous. And in the second game, everything went wrong, attack, defense, everything. We had 17 shots on target, we scored 3, and no, it wasn’t the keeper who had the game of his life, it was the strikers who simply couldn’t get a decent shot in. And concerning the defense, we conceded twice in 3 shots, just not acceptable for a team like us, with our ambitions. Next month is the last game of the league before the Champions Play-off and it’s going to be a hard test, 3rd place Abóboda away. They are 1 point behind Pontinha and they’re certainly bringing everything they’ve got to beat us so we need to be strong in every area and get those 3 points but most importantly, play well. We already know Sintrense B awaits us in the Champions Play-off. In sad news, Jorge Mateus agreed to a deal with Ypiranga from Brazil and will leave the club at the end of the season, our second starter departing after Herculano left to play in the 3rd tier of Portuguese football.

June

We played our last game of the league and what a game. 3-0 win away at Abóboda and we manage to fix what was wrong from the last game. Finishing was on top and so was the defense, probably our best game of the season. And now we play the most important of them all, the Champions Play-off against Group A winners, Sintrense B. For that game I’ll actually be writing the action the same the game is happening so that I can try and transmit the emotion of the game in the most genuine way I can.


We came into this game as we went against Abóboda: Luke Gallo between the sticks, Vannuci and Nuno Cunha at centerbacks, Krommidas at right-back and Luís Correia at left-back, Alexandrov and Edgar Luz at midfield, Mateus Jorge as left winger, Edu Otero in the right-winger position, Paulo Oulo at CAM and Brindell-South as striker. LET’S GO ESTRELAAA.

5 minutes into the match and Mateus Jorge heads the ball into the side net, the first sign of danger from any team in the game - CD Estrela 0-0 Sintrense B

Our first shot on target comes at the 11th minute with Luís Correia trying an 18-meter shot but it’s easily picked up by the Sintrense B keeper - CD Estrela 0-0 Sintrense B

Sintrense B creates danger for the first time after 16 minutes with a shot inside the box and forces Gallo to parry it away to a corner - CD Estrela 0-0 Sintrense B

GOALLLLLL CD ESTRELA!!!! Brindell- South steals the ball from the defender and slots it past the keeper in a one-on-one situation - 18 minutes in CD Estrela 1-0 Sintrense B

GOALLLLLL CD ESTRELA!!!! Alexandrov takes the corner and Edgar Luz heads it into the back of the net to make it 2-0 and we get closer to the title. 25 minutes - CD Estrela 2-0 Sintrense B

HALF-TIME- CD Estrela 2-0 Sintrense B. Spectacular first half from us, we haven’t allowed Sintrense B to show their football, we were always on top in the first half and that’s given us a 2 goal lead. For the second half, we are looking to control the game, don’t take any risks and when given a good chance, convert it and make it 3. LET’S GO ESTRELAAAA

47 minutes- Paulo Oulo takes the freekick and forces a good save from the opposition’s keeper to deny our 3rd goal of the game - CD Estrela 2-0 Sintrense B

GOALLLLLL CD ESTRELA!!!! Luís Correia crosses it low to the edge of the box and Alexandrov unleashes a bomb and makes it 3-0. Absolutely incredible scenes today, we’re getting everything right. 54 minutes CD Estrela 3-0 Sintrense B

Goal for Sintrense B - Freekick taken into the penalty box and the striker gets the last touch and puts it in the back of the net - 67 minutes CD Estrela 3-1 Sintrense B

68 minutes- Double save from Gallo keeps our 2 goal lead, after Nuno Cunha gives the ball away - CD Estrela 3-1 Sintrense B

FULL TIME- CD Estrela 3-1 Sintrense B. WE DID IT, CD ESTRELA ARE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!!!! Amazing scenes out there, we made exactly what we needed to do and we get the reward, to lift the trophy at the end of the game. Off to celebrate for the day and now focus on getting some good signings in and get a good squad for the next season.



I'll leave the end of the season stats below for all those interested.


Massive thanks to everyone that is enjoying and following the save, you guys are making this enjoyable to do and post and making all the work and effort worth it. Thank you and I’ll see you next season!

Congratulations on promotion. Thoroughly deserved. I think it speaks volume about how excellent you've been when you aren't particularly impressed with your attack when you're scoring so many goals at times. Best of luck next season and looking forward to reading more.

Transfers IN

Zakaria Grich - Free Transfer - Free Agent

Luc Matutu - Free Transfer from Oriental Dragon

Diogo Martins - Free Transfer from Bucelenses

Sandro - Free Transfer from Comércio e Indústria

Diogo Lobo - Free Transfer from Vitória FC

Jaime Sardo - Free Transfer from Barreirense

Sérgio Conceição - Free Transfer - Free Agent

Moisés Vaz - Free Transfer from Almada


Transfers OUT

Mateus Jorge - Free Transfer to Ypiranga

George Krommidas - Free Transfer to Crato

Enri Sanchez -Free Transfer to Académica de Coimbra

André Micael - Free Transfer to Ponferradina


Team



Our two best performers (Mateus Jorge and Krommidas) last season were snatched up so we were forced to fill those positions. After a successful transfer window, we’ve strengthened the team in all areas but more in defense as attacks in this division are way more dangerous than last season’s.


Expectations



The board has their hopes high this season, they want back to back promotion and back to back league titles, hard but not impossible. In the cup, the goal is to reach the final, and that’s what we’re aiming for to avenge last seasons defeat in the quarters.

League Draw



These are our opponents for this year’s league, we get tough competition in pursuit of the title but we’ve proven we are up there with the best and now it’s the perfect opportunity to prove it.

Pre-Season



Couldn't ask for a better pre-season, very strong displays and 100% wins still with the team incomplete. If we keep these performances all year long we can definitely fulfill all our goals for the season. We created a B team to play all the youngster that have potential but can't get play time in the first time to develop

Best of luck for the upcoming season. Some influential figures from last season have gone but the replacements look promising.