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Zenit: Take 2 For Maradona

Started on 5 January 2013 by JasonRM
Latest Reply on 3 February 2013 by The FM Rookie
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Loving the story mate. I am looking forward to the end of season update. Exciting stuff. :)
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JasonRM's avatar Group JasonRM
12 yearsEdited
April Update

A great start to April, but a tough finish for the squad put our league lead in jeopardy. We had 4 Russian Premier League Games, 4 Champions League Games, and 1 Russian Cup match this month


Our first game this month was against OM in the Champions League. We were away, so my goal for this game was to keep it close and score an away goal. Loic Remy was the first to get on the board though. Remy beat one of our defenders in the box before tapping the ball past Malakeev. No worries for our side though, Axel Witsel came right back at the top of the box and played a quick give an go with Wellington Nem before smashing the ball pass Mandana into the side netting. OM would retain the score again 7 minutes late with a Carlos Valbuena goal. The game would end 2-1 and we would go home to Russia a goal down.



Our second game this month as in the league was against Dinamo Moscow, a mid table side. We started off pretty poorly when formal gunner Andrey Arshavin tipped the ball past a keeper from a cross to the top of the 6. We would equalize later on in the 22nd minute when Victor Faizulin smashed the ball near post in the goal on a breakaway. We would go in front just 2 minutes late when Alexandr Kerzhakov goal. We would lose the lead later in the 37th minute when Luke Wilkshire took advantage of a mistake by Tomas Hubucan to score on an easy breakaway. Lastly, Victor Faizluin would secure a win in the 54th minute when he dribbled around 1 man before slotting the ball past the keeper. A good win for our side.



Our third game this month was the return leg in the Champions League against OM. We started off very well when in just the 4th minute, Wellington Nem smashed the ball near post to score and give us the lead on aggregate. The lead would not last long though, Valbuena beat the keeper in the 33rd minute to force us to score once more. It looked like we were headed for an exit in the Champions League in the 90th minute when Axel Witsel ran into the box at full speed and od tripped. Witsel would calmly convert the penalty to force overtime. We would take the lead just before the end of halftime for the 1st half when Bruno Alves headed the ball off the bar and in. Hulk would secure a win in the 118th minute on a breakaway.



Our 4th game this month was against Rostov in the Russian Premier League. Hulk would give us the league in the 29th minute with a upper corner shot from the PK area. Rostov would soon equalize with a goal from David Tsoreav. We would take the lead once more after half time in the 59th minute with a smash into the lower corner by Axel Witsel, whose really improving as a player. Wellington Nem would secure a lead in the 80th minute when Welligton Nem got a perfect pass from Hulk at the top of the box before converting. A 3-1 win for us.



The next game this month was against Metallurg-Kusbass in the Russian Cup, a fairly straightforward game for us. Vladimir Bystrov would give us an early lead in the 12th minute which would be doubled later in the 76th minute with a great strike from Alexandr Kerzhakov. The game would end 2-0 and a rematch from last year against CSKA Moscow was coming up in the semifinals.



Our 6th game this month was against Krylja Sovetov in the Russian Premier League. This was a tough match for the side, which was feeling the pain of a tough schedule. Vincente Pacheo would score first in the 24th minute from a finesse from just in the box. Alexandr Kerzhakov would give us a point though in the 91st minute when he beat a player before coolly finishing. Late game magic strikes again for us.



The next game was the disastrous fixture against Bayern in the semifinals of the Champions League. I wanted the team to try to keep it close in Germany, but that just didn’t happen, we got trounced. Robben would score the first goal in the 28th minute, but that would be the only goal scored before half time. The squad was playing POK, and if we could keep it up, we could be able to maybe squeak out a win at home in Russia. That was not to be as in the 63rd minute Mario Mandzukic was to double Bayern’s lead. It became 3-0 3 minutes later when Robben scored his second of the night. Mandzukic would score again in the 78th minute and Kroos would cap of the scoring in the 85th minute, final score 5-0.



Our 8th game this month was against Lokomotiv Moscow in the Russian Premier League. The game was a bore with no goals and really no great chances. 22 shots but no goals for our side.



Our last and final game this month was meant to be a consolation game against Bayern in the second game at home. Our players were not having any of it and came out firing, First it was Hulk in the 12th minute, Kerzhakov doubled our lead 8 minutes later. We would go into haldf time just 2 down when Kerzhakov doubled his scoring total in the 39th minute. Kerzakov completed his hat trick in the 68th minute and we were 1 goal away from forcing overtime. The only goal that would come was from Javi Martinez in the 81st minute. We would lose 6-4 on aggregate but I was still proud of the team after such a great showing against one of the best in Europe.



No screenshot of the league table as I forgot to take one after April was over, and taking a screenshot now would be a spoiler. I can tell you that we were in first place with 60 points in front of Anji by 2 points with 2 games left in the season. All we had to do was win out to win the league.

Our player of the month is……………..

Axel Witsel, the Belgian is always clutch and seems to have a knack for scoring in the Champions League. He scored 3 goals, all clutch, to go along with an average rating of about 7.5.
DAT AVERAGE RATING!
Good update! Tough loss against Bayern! If you didnt have such a poor first leg you might of scraped it into the final! Keep up the good work and finish off anji in the league :P
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May Update

A dramatic end to the season, that’s for sure. Did we win the league? Did we win the cup? Read on to find out. We had 4 games this month, 1 Russian Cup Match and 3 Russian Premier League games.


Our first game this month was against Spartak Moscow. The game had a not so great start, with Vladimir Bystrov getting sent off in the 6th minute. Not the title winning start I had envisioned. From there, It all went downhill. DImitri Kombarov was the first to score, with a pure power shot from around the PK Spot. We would go down 1 more in the 27th minute when Dzybua scored off a rebound from a powerful shot. Victor Faizulin would score a goal in the 36th minute, but the game was put out of reach a couple minutes later with an Ari head ball of a corner kick. Alexandr Kerzhakov would pull one back just before half time, but Dzybua ensured that we would be on level terms with Anji at the end of the match with a confident strike in the 46th minute.



The next game was against CSKA Moscow in the Russian Cup. The game was all level going into extra time when Uros Cocic received a corner kick finished it into the side netting in the 95th minute. Devastating for our exhausted side, who have lost twice to CSKA Moscow in the Russian Cup semifinals in the last 2 years.



The 3rd game this month was against already relegated Spartak Nalchick. Alexandr Kerzhakov would finish in the 7th minute to give us an early lead. Wellington Nem would double that lead in the 45th from close range to ensure victory. The game ended 2-0 and Anji won their game. This meant that we were all level in points, and a 1 game playoff was to be played at Anji to decide the winner of the league.



The most important game of my managerial career was this game. To my astonishment, players like Hulk, and Axel Witsel were on INTERNATIONAL DUTY. Despite this, we jumped off to an early lead with Wellington Nem converting a breakaway. Jucilei would convert just before half time, and our early lead vanished just like that. It was Lacina Traore who would give Anji the lead in the 67th minute after some great passes lead to a 1 on 1 with the keeper. The team was on all attack in the later stages of the game, but that would yield no goals. In the 89th minute, Jucilei calmly slotted it past our keeper to ensure our doom. An awful end to the season.



The final league table :/



No player of the month, as we only had 4 games, and nobody really deserved It. :/
That must be so hard to take! Even a point from the games against CSKA and Spartak wouldve got you the league title. And its unfortunate what happened to you in the cup. Next season I can sense a big year for zenit! Keep up the good work :)
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End Of Season Update

An exciting year for me for sure. I made some new signings with Zenit, like Bruno Ecuele Manga and Wellington Nem to try to retain the title. That didn't exactly work out, but a good year for me nonetheless.

The most important competition was the league, and we were so close to winning it. We had a great start to the season by beat the likes of Rubin, but a heavy loss to Anji damped our spirits. We drew against Kuban and Anji later, but at the January break, I was in first place. In March, with 1 1/2 months left to go in the league, we were 8 points ahead of Anji. The collapse then came, the loss to Spartak Moscow, and the draw against Krylija Sovetov ensured us that we would be tied with Anji at the end of the year. We played them in a 1 game playoff and we were defeated the game and the league, despite having a higher Goal Differential overall.



The 2nd competition we appeared in was the Champions League. We were in a group with Bayern, Olympaikos, and Sparta Prauge and qualified 2nd despite beating Bayern at home. The first knockout round was against Porto and 1 away goal was enough to ensure that we would go play OM. Against OM, I was down until the last minutes of the 2nd leg, until an Axel Witsel Pk tied the game. Bruno Alves would eventually win the game for us in overtime. The semi finals were against Bayern and despite taking a 5-0 beating away, we beat Bayern 4-1 at home and we were just a couple of goals away from the Champions League finals, but It was not to be.




The 3rd competition we participated in was the Russian Cup . We won our first game against Mashuk easily, but It would take Penalties to separate us from Shinnik. A 2-0 win against Metallurg-Kubass would take us to the semi finals, but that's as far as we would progress as we bowed out against CSKA Moscow after losing 1-0 in overtime.



We would lose to Rubin 4-1 in the Russian Super Cup



Here are the transfers I made, we signed strong Center Back Bruno Ecuele Manga as well as Brazilian Wellington Nem. Guillermo Ochoa and Will Hughes were also brought to Zenit. We spent a total of 39 million pounds and we received 8.5 million pounds.



The final table for the Russian Premier League, Zenit would come in 2nd with 64 points and lost to Anji, 1st place, in a 1 game playoff that would decide the league. Our goal differential was plus 35



Here are some of the results throughout Europe






Take a look at whose relegated here :O



Champions League: Man U

Europa league: Galatasaray

World Cup: Belgium

Goals
Last Season:
Win the League. A very close second to Anji
Reach the quarter finals of the Champions League. We reached the semis and lost 6-4 on aggregate to Bayern
Win the Russian Cup. Out in the semifinals with an overtime loss to CSKA Moscow

This Season:
Competition Goals:
Win the League
Reach the semi finals of the Champions League
Win the Russian Cup

Financial Goal:
Stay in the black

Transfer Goals:
Find an eventual replacement for Alexandr Kerzhakov at striker (31)
Find and eventual replacement for Alexandr Anyukov at right back (31)

Board Goal:
Have a very pleased board rating and a secure job at least at the end of next year.


Our Player of the season is..............

Alexandr Kerzhakov. The Russian Striker, although 31, scored 31 goals in a total of 46 games overall. He also had 12 assists and 5 Man of the Match Awards. His average rating was exactly 7.50.
Nice! You should've won the title because you had more goal difference!
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Stupid Russian league rules :p You shoula won. Absolute shocker that Milan got relegated o.O
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Preseason Update

A pretty good preseason for us, we singed some great players and we won 3 out of 4 of the matches we had. We had 4 friendlies in the preseason this year.

Our first friendly was against Jaguares. The game was pretty boring until the 40th minute when Eduardo Dos Santos hit the ball past the keeper after a mistake from Tomas Hubucan. We responded immediately after half time when he touched the ball past the keeper from the top of the 6 after a perfect cross from Victor Faizulin. In the 86th minute, Alexsandr Lukovic smashed the ball from the top of the box into the top corner. Hulk put the game out of reach in stoppage time with finesse from the PK area.



Our 2nd game was a game against Krymteplytsa, the game was an easy win for our side. Chereshenev would score first in the 3rd minute, and our lead would double 22nd minute when Wellington Nem dribbled past the keeper before tapping the ball into the open goal. I'm really hoping that Nem will get a lot more game time this year as he Is playing very well at the moment. Diego Rocha would complete the scoring in the 50th minunte with a powerful striker from just inside the box that just beat the keeper.



Our 3rd game this month was against Astra. Hulk would score the only goal, which came in the 31st minute. A corner fell right to him and he volleyed the ball past the keeper with ease to ensure victory.



Our last game this month was a frustrating fixture against Saint Etienne. We had a pitiful start to the game Jacob Jantscher slotted the ball past our keeper. Alexandr Anyukov would double their lead with an own goal. Danjiel Aleksic would triple the lead in the 31st minute from a head ball off a corner kick. We would get 1 back in the 5oth minute, but Mahaya would make the deficit 3 goals again in the 54th minute. German Chereshenv would put another on the board in the 55th minute and Hulk would cut the lead to 1 in the 60th minute, but to no avail as Isamel Diomate would score a beauty for 25 yards out that would hut the post and bounce into the back of the net. We would lose 5-3 to end our preseason.



Transfers In: We have made 2 signings this summer, and 1 really big name was brought to the club. We spent 18. 5 million pounds this window

The first signing was Luuk De Jong. This young Dutchmen came for 15 million pounds and showed great finishing and heading, as well as a fabulous first touch. His other attributes aren't as great as a world-class striker, but I think he will be a great finisher and will be a great replacement for Alexandr Kerzhkoav eventually.



The second signing I made was Micheal Essien. The 31 year old was brought from Chelsea to replace Tomas Hubschaman and to boost Jersey sales and attendance. Essien is one of the best tacklers on the team and is a mental beast.



Transfers Out: We let 2 first team players go for a total of 7.75 million pounds

Tomas Hubschaman leaves for Aston Villa after playing 20 games here for a total of 2.6 million pounds. This is a great deal for me as I signed this guy on a free from Shaktar-3 so I revived his career as well as made some money for the team.



Portugese Winger Danny leaves for Malaga for 5 million pounds. He was aging fast and was not going to get first team football so I believe that this was the right move for the team.



Our player of the preseason is.................

German Chereshnev, the Russian might not have been the best performer overall, but In his first appearances at the senior team, he scored 2 goals in 4 games and had an average rating of 7.13.
Great regen! Anyways, I hope De Jong is a suitable replacement for Kershakov!!
I just read ur story
very nice job
bad luck loosing the championship like this :s
good luck for new season
Great season m8, especially De Jong. I'm sure he will be great, good luck ;)
Luuk de Jong and Essien will be big hits for you. I hope they shine :)

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