The Manchester United Legacy

"Akash Vidyasagar was born on 28th March 1986. Vidyasagar has made 25 appearances and scored 6 goals for India during his playing days. 29 year-old Akash is one of football's most successful people, having won numerous trophies throughout his career. Manchester United are Vidyasagar's first venture into management, having been appointed manager in July 2011 by Sir Alex Ferguson after his retirement. Under Akash's leadership and guidance, Manchester United have lifted the Capital One Cup, FA Cup, Barclays Premier League and UEFA Champions League 3 times and aiming for a fourth, and has lifted the Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Championship 3 times. That is every trophy the manager has ever contested for.

Vidyasagar tried giving back to this home country by taking charge of India Under 19s between July 2013 and September 2013 - his team remaining unbeaten during this time. In July 2014, after England's World Cup Win and Roy Hodgson's retirement, Akash was approached by the English FA to take over as England manager. After initial hesitation and delay, he took over the job and vowed to get England back to back World Championships."

This is how I ended my presentation, and this is what got me my degree. The men in the red half of Manchester wanted to be him, the women wanted to be with him and the kids adored him, so I wasn't surprised I scored A+ in my finals. Those scores helped me achieve my dreams today, my dreams would come true. I was handpicked by the Manchester United staff to follow their manager as his team went into their fourth consecutive Champions League final.


“I’m here for Mr. Vidyasagar”, I said gently, knowing these people were doing me a favour by allowing me to obverse their preparation.

“Him and Mike are with the boys. You’ll get to meet him before we go into the dugout” was the reply I got. The person that answered was a legend, and my idol growing up, Paul Scholes. The midfield maestro had just retired as a player a year back and had taken over the coaching job at United, after perfecting his skills at Ipswich. I waited, and chatted with the coaches, but within 10 minutes, the Manchester United manager and his assistant, Mike Phelan, walked into the room. More than a bit shocked to see me, he whispered something into his assistant’s ear, not taking his eyes off me. Mike whispered something back and Akash’s stare turned into a smile.

“I’m sorry for the lack of hospitality shown here. I’m sure you understand the reason – today is a fairly big day for our side”, said the manager jokingly. The mood lightened and I could finally stop being uptight, replying, “I’m more than happy to be out of your hair, as long as I get a couple of pictures afterwards to make my friends jealous”.

And soon enough, the coaches were back to their places, working as if I didn’t exist. Let’s just say, after years and years of dealing with the biggest footballers in the world, a normal college student wouldn’t intimidate them. As they walked out of the room, preparing the team instructions and team-talk, I made my way to my special seat behind the bench. I’ve been a season-ticket holder and watched 15-20 games a season for the past 4 years, but this was my first Champions League final. I couldn’t wait.


A largely cagey first quarter, both teams trying to expose each other's weak links. United attacked early on led to a Welbeck chance, producing a fine save from Neuer. This was quickly followed up by Muller missing the target from outside the box, keeping De Gea on his toes.

The deadlock was broken in the 26th minute when Jonny Evans met a Valencia corner to give United the lead. The crowd erupted as the Northern Irishman got ahead of Alaba and scored a strong header.

This led to a long spell of dominance from United, Neuer keeping Bayern in the team, and in the 40th minute, the English champions were made to pay for their bad finishing. Gomez passes to Muller on the right wing, who runs past Digne easily, and holds the ball up. Meanwhile, Gomez makes his way to penalty box and meets Muller's cross with a volley. De Gea had no chance. A beautiful goal by Gomez to level things before the end of the first half.

End of First Half

The second half was a lot more often than the first one, chances created by both sides, but the teams remained levels until the 71st minute. When Badstuber intercepted Kagawa's hopeful ball through the middle, Rooney capitalized and won the ball in the 50-50 challenge. He was the quicker of the two to react and scored in a 1-on-1 against Neuer.

United fans had already started celebrating in the stands when David Alaba sent the ball to the left, Mandzukic bringing the ball forward down the flank before passing it off to Schweinsteiger. After a good run on the left wing, Bastian makes the perfect pass to Arjen Robben, who breaks the offside trap and scores.

Danny Welbeck is injured - United down to 10 men.

3 minutes later, Willibald (regen) found himself competing for the ball against David De Gea in the box, and he scores. The United keeper never saw it and his team's dream is over.

Wait, it is disallowed. We are going to extra time.

Throughout the first half, Nick Powell, the United substitute had a lot of shots from distance, but tired legs and tired minds made for a lackluster fifteen minutes, until Rooney put his foot on the ball and exchanges passes with Anderson. Bringing the ball forward, he now exchanges passes with Valencia. Rooney bends the ball in from long-range and hits the woodwork. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain takes advantage with a diving header. GOAl! United are 3-2 ahead in the 103rd minute of the game.

10-man United kept possession for most of the extra-time, and have won the Champions League for the 4th time in a row.


After the match was over, I got a call from one of the coaching assistants at United. "I'm sorry, David, but unfortunately, you won't be meeting with the manager today because he is too busy with the interviews and team meetings". I had won a competition, and had every right to be there and celebrate with the boys and the staff, but the disappointment stopped any words coming out of my mouth. I couldn't believe I wouldn't be able to see what happens behind the scenes after such a roller coaster of a match. Well, I was disheartened until I heard the following words. "The manager did, however, wanted to tell you he would be more than making it up to you. He is offering you a job at our official website for the upcoming season". I was in hurry to start a job, but this was a dream job and there was no way I was turning it down. Starting 9th June 2015, I was going to be part of Manchester United.


Hello, yes, it's me again with yet another one of those stories that screw with your head. Why so close to FM13? So that I perfect these posts by the time "Story of the Week" awards hit the site in less than a month. This post was basically an opener to see what my story would be like, and when my fifth season start, you will be given screenshots of all my major players and regens. I hope you like it! Sorry about the typos

Four back-to-back Champions Leagues! Some way to announce a new story. I think that the whole of the FM Scout community have breathed a sigh of relief as their favourite member returned to doing what he does best; dazzle people.

You know I'll be following!

Very nice akash. I really like the story so far

2012-10-09 18:44#67227 The FM Rookie : Four back-to-back Champions Leagues! Some way to announce a new story. I think that the whole of the FM Scout community have breathed a sigh of relief as their favourite member returned to doing what he does best; dazzle people.

You know I'll be following!

Thanks for the quick response, Rookie. I knew you would do it, but it still felt good when I read your comment. You talking about the Champions League is the perfect opportunity to show what my European adventure has been like in the last four years.

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2012-10-09 19:34#67229 or.dabool : Very nice akash. I really like the story so far

Thanks, Or. I was a little worried about the first post. Honestly, I wasn't too happy with it. Had so much more I could've done with it, but with FM13 full version just weeks away, I had to post it before it became useless. Be ready for my next post, which will be about my squad, my regens and my crazy new season.

What a start. Well done. Cant wait to hear more.

Akashy at it again. Brilliant mate. I bet you speak better English than the queen herself!!

I got a call from Paul Sheppard, the editor of the 'Official Manchester United' website and, without any greeting or acknowledgment of any kind, he said to me, "Time for your first assignment, David. You can get your pass at the front desk". I had been in constant touch with Paul via e-mail, and had asked me to remain free today, but when he called, I was surprised. The dream that I thought was never possible had now become reality. I started wondering what this was about - maybe I would get to meet one of the players that weren't on international duty, and would be meeting the manager? His team - which included United players like Wayne Rooney, Phil Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chris Smalling and Tom Cleverley - had just won a European Championship Qualifying match against San Marino. With a match against Scotland at Wembley tomorrow, I wouldn't be surprised to know he is busy with the national side.

A fifteen minute trip to the stadium and the first person of importance I was greeted by was the manager, Akash Vidyasagar. Without the pressure of the Champions League final on his head, Vidyasagar was very calm and welcoming. A quick handshake, and a "Follow me" later, I was in the scouts room. A room that was filled with blackboards, whiteboards and hundreds of files from all eighteen scouts that are employed by United. It was all too overwhelming for me, but I promised myself that I wouldn't do anything stupid. "David, we would like for you to release a statement that Manchester United have signed three youngsters - Yuri Jose Ramos Vieira, Muhammet Yaslioglu and Juan Manuel Torres".

I felt stupid. I had never seen any of these player play, and I had heard about Vieira for the very first time. I would have to do a lot of research before I could publish something online about these players, but thankfully, that is when Derek Langley approached me and gave me and handed me a couple of papers. "Here's all that you need to know about these players", he said. Who would've guessed all of these big names would be so humble and nice to a nobody. I felt the room, concentrating on what was written on the paper.

- An eighteen year old Brazilian bought from River Plate, who has already made 20 U-21 appearances for his national side. Vieira was signed one and a half seasons ago, but couldn't move clubs till he turned eighteen. Unfortunately, he'll need to spend 3 years at United's affiliate, Club Brugge, to gain a work permit. But looking at his stats, he'll be a first-team regular on returning from Belgium.

- Yaslioglu is a replacement for Rio Ferdinand, and although doesn't have the quality Vidic possesses, United can expect this German defender to step up when their first-choice players are out injured or suspended. With heading 16, jumping 17 and at 6'3, he is virtually unbeatable in the air.

- Most critics might see this transfer as Manchester United spending 17 Million on an untested 19-year old South American, but with his record last season, and some stats that rival the very best in Europe. Torres is a gamble, but the odds favour him.

Viera is shit slow, you sure he can handle the best poachers in Europe?

As I was just about to leave, I was stopped by one of the coaches to have a look at some of our current players' assessments. They wanted me to help them with where the new signings fit into the player's rankings. This ranking system was fascinating to me. Everyone had a "Current Ability" rating out of and a "Potential Ability" rating out of too.

Your signings look brilliant!

its akash, he must be brilliant!
will be watching

2012-10-09 20:35#67232 adonis_p : What a start. Well done. Cant wait to hear more.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the story, Adonis. Just saw on the chat that you have updated your Vitesse story (http://www.fmscout.com/q-6901-Vitesse-French-for-Speed.html?), so I'm just going to casually advertise it in this comment

2012-10-09 21:08#67233 sevannime : Akashy at it again. Brilliant mate. I bet you speak better English than the queen herself!!

Sevannime, you have been a firm believer in my stories, and I'm glad I could be of service. I would've compared my English to the queen's, but I doubt I've ever heard her talk. Thanks for the comment and the compliment.

Really liked the squad. You also got some promising regens for the future. Good luck!