Started from the bottom

This is my first story ever. It will go on for quite a while and I don't plan on quitting this save. So, let's get it started!

Dimitris Tsili was just a football fan. Pretty awful playing the game himself and never imagined he'd start coaching for a living. A polyglot, fluent in Greek(mother tongue), English, French and Italian, he was always working in jobs that highlighted these skills.

But no job ever satisfied him. He'd switch jobs like socks and basically used them as a way to earn just enough money to be able to travel to his favorite country, Italy. It was on a trip with his girlfriend in Italy that things took a sudden turn. They were exploring the towns around Napoli (Naples) and after visiting all the places she wanted to (Amalfi, Positano, Atrani), he was in the mood of going to a local football match. It was during the preseason, on July 2019, on a hot day that they went to a friendly match of an amateur club near the archaelogical site of Paestum.

Paestum, firstly called Poseidonia in Greek as it was a greek colony in the ancient times, took its name from the god Poseidon (Neptune), the god of the seas. The archaelogical site was magnificent but it would be on another site that his life would change.

Poseidon, the amateur club mentioned earlier was getting hammered by Aversa Normanna, another local team of the Campania region. Tsili was constantly explaining to his girlfriend things he would do in a different way if he were the Poseidon manager and he noticed an Italian man in his 60s noding his head in agreement.

Did he understand what they were saying? What were the chances he would speak Greek as well?

As they were leaving the Vecchio stadium after having witnessed a 7-0 thrashing of Poseidon by Aversa Normanna, the man approached them with a big smile on his face.

-Ciao, amico mio. You speak Italian?
-Si certo, ma parliamo in Inglese se Lei vuole, perche' mia ragazza non potra' capire l' Italiano.
-Ok, yes, sorry signorina, I'll try speak English so you understand as well. My name is unimportant and I was surprised to see a couple of tourists from Greece coming to a match of my team, Poseidon.
-I'm Dimitris, a pleasure to meet you! You're the owner of Poseidon? Damn, that would be a dream come true for me, owning a club even an amateur one like Poseidon.
-I agree, most days it's very enjoyable running a football club but on days like this one, when hard measures have to be taken, it's more of a chore.
-I have to say, your organization is in need of a change in the coaching staff as well as with the players. Losing 7-0 at home to a side playing in the same tier, 7th tier is it not...?
-Yes, that's right, 7th tier and more precisely, we play in the Italian Prima Categoria Campania Gruppo F while they play in the Gruppo A.
-...well anyway, that's unacceptable. At least in my eyes, even if it's a preseason friendly.
-You're right, it is. I heard some of your remarks. I don't speak Greek but understand quite a bit as I was raised in a village of Calabria where we have a dialect that resembles Greek. So you know, typical case of "Una faccia, una razza".
-Yes, I do know about the similarities but please excuse my language before because if I remember correctly I was very harsh with some of my comments.
-No, you were right and I have to say I was amazed by your tactical knowledge. Are you by any chance a football coach?
-Hahaha! I wish! I'm just a fan of the sport, nothing more.
-You know, I'm a gambling man and like risks. You might not be a licenced coach but you said some things that made sense and to be frank our present manager is useless. How about you prolongued your vacation?
-And do what?
-Be our manager of course! At least till the end of summer and if things go well, why not for the whole season and more?
-It's tempting to say the least but I have a life in Greece, I don't know...

Suddenly he felt his girlfriends elbow nudging him.
-What is it?
-Excuse us sir, I have to speak some sense into him, if you don't mind.

The owner smiled as he knew the power a woman can have on a man that's troubled and Dimitris was indeed troubled.

-Dimitris, please tell me you're not serious! All the years I know you, you've longed for an opportunity to live abroad and especially in Italy and now you're gonna let it slip from your fingers?
-But...
-No buts! This might not last for long but it's an amazing opportunity to experience something new and who knows? Maybe this whole football manager thing might take you and us around the world! Maybe you become a legend! You've won the lottery, my love. You just have to work for it as well. You love football, don't you silly?
-I do...
-Then what are you waiting for?

As they were approaching the owner again, he was thinking to himself that in the future he'd have to be more decisive and maybe his girlfriend with that kind of motivational speech was better suited to be a manager, but then again this wasn't a time for self-doubt. It was indeed a dream come true.

-So, Dimitris what do you think? Is this a challenge you're willing to take?
-I only have two words for you. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

Inside the diary of Dimitris Tsili:

First day as manager of a football club. Poseidon is the perfect starting ground from my new career. Amateur club with godawful staff and players but predicted to finish top of the Italian Prima Categoria Campania Gruppo F. So, I guess the other teams of this group are even more clueless.
Our scouts are absolutely terrible but still one can see that half of the players on the other teams are suffering from the grey disease (they aren't real players you can buy/sell and their attributes are below 10).

I'm thinking to myself that maybe we should be more adventurous and try a very attacking formation so I'll try a suffocating 4-3-3 narrow but we need the right kind of players.

Thankfully, this is an amateur club so I got rid of everyone and brought in about 30 new players that also suit my system.

Apparently the other teams aren't that active during the transfer window and remain with rosters consisting mostly of the "Grey ones". We are the favorites to finish first and get promoted to the 6th tier, the Italian Promozione Campania Gruppo D.

We're looking good in the friendlies and I can't to see how we perform in the official matches.

Good luck mate!

2020-05-03 19:47#269632 Eoin97 : Good luck mate!

Thanks mate! Really appreciate it!

We have an amazing front 3 and we're scoring goals for fun. I'm aiming for a season with only wins but I'm sure that will be impossible as we're bound to have one off day at the very least.



I'm really enjoying it but everything is on auto pilot. We're outclassing every opponent and it's the perfect start for my career in club management.

I guess it was inevitable....



But still, quite satisfied as we're bossing every opponent. With this kind of form I suppose we won't have much trouble against next season's opposition.

We finish strong and are crowned champions of the Italian Prima Categoria Campania Gruppo F.
And what a season we've had! We broke almost every league record and Poseidon record.

This is our run to end the season.



The final table:



League's team records:



League's player records:

Our fabulous 3 up front

This man carried us and he was something of a Messi in this league.



I expected more from Luparini as he's got the best attributes. Solid but not special.



Rucco is a player I expected almost nothing but he was very good, actually better than Luparini.




This is the formation I used that guided us to success. We'll test it and see if it's effective with better opposition as well. Chianese is my 4th striker. In general our top 3 was Rucco on the left, Luparini in the center and Vich Rodriguez on the right.

Absolutely pissed it.

2020-05-04 15:15#269692 ScottT : Absolutely pissed it.

Yeah, but I think even if we played a 6-3-1 catenaccio, we'd still win almost every game. Thanks for the support my friend!

It was summer once again, more precisely mid-June. An incredible year had passed and while DImitris was still unsure of himself and of his future as a manager, he didn't want it to end. He had found his calling and although being manager in an amateur club was a career gamble, he felt that the foundations were there for something greater with better stability.
He was sunbathing on a beach of the island of Capri when the telephone rang. It was il capo (the boss).

- You know the preseason starts in 3 weeks, right?
- Hahaha, be careful or I might fire you!
- Nah, I don't think you will after the season we had.
- You have point. The Poseidon fanbase, all 50 of them, are grateful of the job you've done this past year. Anway, I have some news that will change the future of this club. Would you like to know or sunbathing and drinking cocktails is all that's on your mind? How do you like Capri by the way?
- It's nice. Nowhere close to a Greek island but I guess it'll do. So, tell me the news!
- This time next year, Poseidon will be semi-professional! How does that sound?
- Are you serious? That's amazing news! I have to call the Three Tormentors and tell them what has been achieved in part thanks to their heroics.
- I'm sure they'll be delighted, especially the Spaniard. He's a Poseidon legend on the making that one.
- Indeed he is.
- Cheers Dimitris, talk to you soon!

As he had a sip of his cocktail, Dimitris felt the wind of change and it felt sooooo good.

Poseidon are on the rise!

Season 2

We kept all our key players during the offseason and made slight changes on our bench. Our staff was strengthened and we are once again overwhelming favorites to win the league and gain promotion.

Preseason results



A strong display from the lads against teams that mostly play on other groups of the 6th tier of Italian football.

Italian Promozione Campania Gruppo D is underway

Results till the end of the year



We're on cruise control and will definitely win the league but I'm a bit concerned as we're too reliant on the Spaniard who is already considered as the first Poseidon legend. In case he leaves for a better club on January, we could be exposed and prove not to be ready for another promotion next season.

First loss of my career and two lucky wins against the other two title contenders, Grotta and San Vito Positano. Not that convinced in the other lads and I guess many of them will be gone when we go semi-pro in six months.

The Spaniard is now a Gladiator! What are the odds?

Let's see how we cope without him. The first and only Poseidon legend (I'm barely in the category favoured personnel under Simone Rucco) decided he was bigger than the club and left for Gladiator, a club playing in the 5th tier, the Italian Eccellenza Campania Gruppo A.
He was playing like a man possessed and although it pains me to say it, I can see why the fans loved him more than me. Farewell Daniel!