European Challenge

To all,

This is my first attempt at am FM12 Manager Story so please bare with me whilst I come to terms with the process!

A friend of mine, an avid football manager player, has attempted the challenge of conquering (every domestic trophy/title and the Champions League) his considered top four leagues in Europe; Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and finally the Premiership! So I thought; 'Why not give it a go myself' and here we are about to embark on a hopefully epic journey!

First of all comes the big decision, which league to take on first, with which team!

Liam

Good luck, I will be following.

will enjoy this mate. what about france as well????

Absolutely Wounded

Sorry to announce that I received the dreaded crash dump fail error message on this save after my laptop decided to have a nervous break down! The save file cannot be resurrected and will therefore have to start again! Will post again soon with the details of the new venture - same format, but may start in Spain this time with Barcelona!

Liam

European Challenge – Take 2

Barcelona

After the disappointing end to my Bayern season, I felt unmotivated to start again with the same team and progress over the same ten matches again. So for this attempt I have chosen to adopt Barcelona as my new club! This is partly due to my admiration for the club, the way it generates youth and also signs players in keeping with a philosophy – and also as I feel it could provide a quick starting block requiring only two to three seasons to complete all the domestic and European honours.

Start Up

After taking control of the Barcelona team I was provided with an adequate budget of £10million, coupled with a wage budged of just over £2million. After an initial scan of the first team it became apparent that the fringe players of the squad aged roughly 20-22 were not of the standard required for such a club. Additionally both Ibrahmim Afellay and Seydou Keita were transfer listed from the off, I have chosen to allow them to leave offering both players to clubs.

Transfer Round Up

Out

Bartra, Marc - to Malaga – Ln Fee £450k

Fontas, Andreu – to Sporting – Ln Fee £180k

Keita, Seydou – to Arsenal – £2.1M

Afellay, Ibrahim – to Malaga - £7.25M

Note: I was a little disappointed by the fee received for Keita, as I was initially looking to recoup around £5M for the player. Interest was high however all the bids were of low value to due his high wage demands, I therefore took a cut on the fee in order to clear his £75k wages off the wage bill.

In

Jairo – from Racing - £1.8M

Javi Martinez – from Athletic - £20.5M

Note: I chose to sign Martinez as he fits the style of the club, he’s a young Spanish player who is predominantly a CM/CDM however he is capable of playing the heart of defence. This is something I am going to utilise and aim to train him as a fully fledged central defender!

Liam

First Attempted Screenshot

https://fmshots.com/bk/9NRdH.png

This is hopefully a screenshot of the formation I have in place at FC Barcelona; the only variable is the CM currently set as a Ball Winning Midfielder, this changes to an Advanced Playmaker if playing at the Nou Camp. This allows me to play Xavi / Iniesta / Fabregas all together in midfield, sacrificing a defensive player such as Busquets / Mascherano / Martinez.

Barcelona

Pre-Season

Barcelona 4 - 0 Barcelona B

> Thiago

> Cuenca

> Sanchez

> Rodri

Al-Ittihad (KSA) 2 - 1 Barcelona

> Pedro

Reus 1 – 3 Barcelona

> David Villa x3

Iraklis 0 – 3 Barcelona

> Carmona

> Deulofeu

> Messi

OFI 0 – 6 Barcelona

> Sanchez

> Villa x2

> Alexandropoulos (OG)

> Pique

> Xavi

Atromitos 2 – 1 Barcelona

> Puyol

Note: As you can see from the Pre-season results the squad has taken quite quickly to my newly implemented tactics; taking 4 victories from 6 games. Obviously a 100% record would have been nice, however I used a wide birth of players from all squads in a variety of positions in order to gauge who plays well and in what role/position etc. Overall I am fairly satisfied with this preseason and can hopefully take some goal scoring form into the Super Cup, Euro Super Cup and the League.


Liam

Spanish Super Cup

The first instalment of the El Classico comes in the form of the Spanish Super Cup! This is great news as it allows me to fully test my tactics against a very strong Real Madrid side. I venture into this game with a couple of first team injuries however I remain confident that if I can snatch an away goal at the Bernabeu, even in a scoring defeat, I can turn the result round in the home leg.


Formations




Result




Note: Despite dominating possession we couldn’t generate enough clear cut opportunities, only managing to hit the target 4 times in 9 attempts. There are however promising signs, and I remain confident that we can turn the result around in the home leg of the tie!


Liam

Spanish Super Cup

Here is the second leg of the El Classico; a must win game in my eyes as a losing start to the Barcelona campaign will not inspire confidence and success amongst the ranks. Not every game will be documented in such detail, however I feel that games involving Madrid hold a special part in the game.

So we are handed 90 minutes with which to turn around a 2-1 defeat; I am however comforted by the fact that a 1-0 victory on the away goal ruling will be sufficient to continue the tradition of winning this trophy!

Formations




Result




Ratings




Note: A fantastic turn around and performance from my Barcelona team, the reintroduction of some of the regular first team players helped to complete the comeback and secure my first piece of silverware of the season!

Liam

Euro Super Cup

Another early opportunity to win some silverware was presented in the form of the Euro Super Cup in a tasty match against FC Porto. Confidence was high in the Barcelona squad after an epic result in the Spanish Super Cup against Madrid; however with Puyol the inspirational captain out injured I had to turn to Mascherano as a defensive partner for Pique.

Formations



Result



Ratings




Note: Another fantastic result for Barcelona, the poacher that is David Villa has come to the rescue deciding the result in the 85th minute to save the game from the tiring torture that is extra time! One more piece of silverware down for this season, a great start and another boost to my managerial reputation.


Liam