[FM13] Giuseppe Bergomi - The King of Calcio

Inter Suffer Juan and Ademilson Injury Blows

Ademilson celebrating a goal for Brazil.

It was released to the press late last night that star striker Ademilson will be out for the next 3-4 weeks after sustaining a back strain in training. Most pundits are saying this could be a massive blow to Inter's chances, as Ademilson is the team's second top scorer with 5 goals, and one of two players with more than 1.

It was also announced that center back Juan Jesus will be out for a similar time period for nearly the same exact injury. It is expected that fellow youngsters Ibrahima Mbaye and Emerson Luiz will be the main contenders for the role while he is injured, and Genoa youth product Simone Pierguidi could make his first appearance.

"It is a bitter blow to our chances," said manager Giuseppe Bergomi of Ademilson. "He has been playing very well, and he and Mattia [Destro] have been in such top form as partners up top. Hopefully we can continue to do well without him."

Of Juan, Bergomi said, "This is another unfortunate loss for us. Juan and Andrea [Ranocchia] have formed a stellar partnership, similar to Andrea and Walter's [Samuel] partnership from two years ago. We have capable young players to fill in, and hopefully we can bear on with more clean sheets."

Most people are expecting last season's top Serie A scorer for the Nerazzurri, Luis Fernando Muriel, to take Ademilson's spot until the Brazilian has recovered. The ex-Udinese man was inconsistent last season, but when in top form scored very freely. Bergomi is also rumored to switch to the 4-3-2-1 formation he used earlier in the season with Destro as the lone striker and Lazaro and Adryan behind him.

"We will have a chance to rotate some players now, and if they play well, yes, they can stake a claim in a starting spot," said Bergomi. "Nobody has a guaranteed place when you are a top team like we are."

International Break

Squad Selection

A similar squad to the one I chose before, though Lasse Nielsen has been dropped due to very poor play. Hopefully we can pick up all 6 points this international break. The media have criticized only that I do not have many players who I play in the domestic Danish league, but I have no problems with what the media think.

Israel 1-3 Denmark

European Championship Qualifying Group D

Starting XI: (4-3-1-2) M. Anderson; Wass, Kjaer, Bjelland, Juelsgard; Kvist, Zimling, Poulsen, Eriksen; L. Anderson, Bendtner

Krohn-Dehli, Helenius, Cornelius

Nicklas Bendtner (18)
Maor Meliksen (pen 19)
Jakob Poulsen (20)
Christian Eriksen (70)

Jakob Poulsen

A very good win for us to continue our run in qualifying. Israel was not as torrid as I expected, and they fought well. Quite some excitement halfway through the first half with three goals in three minutes, but overall our midfield dominated. Poulsen, Kvist, and Eriksen all played very well, and Lucas Anderson may have found his starting role as a DLF next to Bendtner, where he played exceptionally. 3 points and a top performance, no more I can ask for.

Denmark 3-0 Kazakhstan

European Championship Qualifying Group D

Starting XI: S. Anderson; Wass, Kjaer, Bjelland, Juelsgard; Kvist, Zimling, Poulsen, Eriksen; L. Anderson, Bendtner

Krohn-Dehli, Laudrup

Nicklas Bendtner (14)
Lucas Anderson (15)
Jesper Juelsgard (44)

Lucas Anderson

Another solid win, 3-0 is the perfect scoreline to demonstrate your abilities; plenty of goals while also a clean sheet. Lucas Anderson and Bendtner have worked very well with Eriksen playing in behind them, often reminding me of my own triumvirate of Coutinho/Destro/Ademilson. If we can keep up this form, we are certain to qualify. The son of Michael Laudrup, Andreas, made his debut today as well.

Group Table

As you can see we are off to a cracking start in qualifying. We have an easy group, granted, but we have not allowed complacency to creep into our performances and we thoroughly buried each of our opponents. Hopefully this can continue for a while to come with this young Danish side, much like my young Inter side.