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Post by Nick on May 19, 2020 9:32:52 GMT
Velez
Velez is a club known to few outside of the Football Manager circle with Boca Juniors and River Plate the usual go-to teams when Argentinian football is mentioned. Most people in that circle will recognise Velez for having a reputation for producing good youth players. In real life, players such as Nicolas Otamendi, Jonas Gutierrez and Diego Simeone have come through the Velez academy, while it was also where the legendary goalkeeper, Jose Luis Chilavert, spent 10 years of his career, scoring 36 goals in the process.
The club hasn't been without success over the years, winning a total of 10 titles since their first in 1968, but haven't won one since 2012/13. They've also won a single Copa Libertadores, in 1994, which was undoubtedly their finest era, coinciding with Chilavert's time at the club.
Football in Argentina
Argentinian football is going through a period of change at the moment. The Primera Division is home to 24 teams in 2019/20, where teams play each other just once. The re-shuffled continues in 20/21 where only 23 teams compete, 21/22 (22 teams) and 22/23 (21 teams). The transition completes in 23/24 when the division is whittled down to 20 teams that compete in the European-style double round-robin format.
The league is usually fairly competitive. Boca (34 titles) and River (36) are the teams most will recognise, but Racing (18), Independiente (16) and San Lorenzo (15) have all enjoyed periods of success, while Estudiantes, Newell's Old Boys and Lanus are all capable of performing well.
The Squad
Huge potential across First, Reserve and U20 teams. FM recognises the club's history of producing players and that's reflected in the club's academy status (superb).
Thiago Almada is the cream of the crop and my first job was to offer him a new contract, removing the minimum fee release clause he had. We are just a couple of months into the season and already Man Utd, Chelsea, Man City and Tottenham are sniffing around him. I'll be amazed if we can keep him past the next transfer window.
Lucas Orellano had only made one club appearance before this season, but is very highly rated and will surely make the move to Europe in the coming years.
Florian Monzon was sitting in the reserves when I took over, but with the first team needing a backup striker and Monzon's huge potential, he's made the step up and is not looking back. Still a bit rough round the edges, but will only improve.
We also have players like Francisco Ortega, Lucas Robertone, Braian Cufre, Luis Abram and Hernan de la Fuente to build the team around.
That's just the first team too. Across the youth and reserve teams, we have a staggering 47 players that currently have 4* potential or higher.
The Story so Far
The board want us to play attacking football and achieve a mid-table finish this season, so this start has been excellent, if a little unexpected. We've been particularly good at home, not conceding a goal yet and Thiago Almada has been the standout performer with 4 goals and 3 assists in 10 games so far.
Tactically, I've set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, pilfering the tactic chaodck used in the Deportivo Succession save and fine tuning it to more my style and around the players we have. It's working. Just the one defeat so far, two big wins in both the league and the cup and a series of clean sheets along the way.
The squad really is great with a good blend of youth and experience. One experienced head we've had to do without though is Fernando Gago. He career came to a premature end after he tore ankle ligaments and decided to retire.
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Post by chaodck on May 19, 2020 13:54:03 GMT
That's just the first team too. Across the youth and reserve teams, we have a staggering 47 players that currently have 4* potential or higher. That's just something that bugs me, Argentina and Brazil are way overrated hahahaha, playing with any third country in South America, makes it unfairly hard. Ok Alfonso, stop whining and focus on beating them. Thanks for the tactical shoutout mate, glad it's working for you. This looks like a good save, here's hoping you can rekindle the lost glory of the 90's Velez, they even did win the Copa Intercontinental in 1995, precursor of the Club World Cup, beating Milan 2-0 with goals from defender Roberto Trotta and forward Omar "Turco" Asad. Besides them and Chilavert, the squad bosted the likes of José "Pepe" Basualdo (who later infamously coached at La U for six months before being fired), Christian Bassedas, José Oscar "Turu" Flores and Roberto Pompei, all great players. As a final side note, that Milan side was amazing as well, with Tasotti, Baresi, Costacurta and Maldini in the back 4, Albertini, Desailly, Donadoni and Boban in the middle, leaving Savicevic and Massaro up top.
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Post by Nick on May 22, 2020 14:27:19 GMT
That's just the first team too. Across the youth and reserve teams, we have a staggering 47 players that currently have 4* potential or higher. That's just something that bugs me, Argentina and Brazil are way overrated hahahaha, playing with any third country in South America, makes it unfairly hard. Ok Alfonso, stop whining and focus on beating them. Thanks for the tactical shoutout mate, glad it's working for you. This looks like a good save, here's hoping you can rekindle the lost glory of the 90's Velez, they even did win the Copa Intercontinental in 1995, precursor of the Club World Cup, beating Milan 2-0 with goals from defender Roberto Trotta and forward Omar "Turco" Asad. Besides them and Chilavert, the squad bosted the likes of José "Pepe" Basualdo (who later infamously coached at La U for six months before being fired), Christian Bassedas, José Oscar "Turu" Flores and Roberto Pompei, all great players. As a final side note, that Milan side was amazing as well, with Tasotti, Baresi, Costacurta and Maldini in the back 4, Albertini, Desailly, Donadoni and Boban in the middle, leaving Savicevic and Massaro up top. In general, I'd agree with that mate. Luckily, the newer FM's have taken a more realistic view to player development, so there are more details to consider in a player's development than just potential. Of all those 3/4* players we have, I'd say only a handful will represent the first team, with the others playing at a decent level in Argentina. Having done a little more research on the club since starting the save, I saw that the 90's were a pretty unbelievable time for the club. They literally won every continental trophy on offer between 94 and 97 so that gives me something to aim and achieving again and then surpassing.
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Post by Nick on May 22, 2020 17:33:30 GMT
2019/20 Season Review PRIMERA DIVISIONTABLE | FIXTURES | AVERAGE POINTS TABLEA really positive opening season here in Buenos Aires. I really like football in Argentina and I've seen enough from the squad this year to feel confident about the future. Defensively, we were on point all season and that's a great base to build upon, but also not like me at all. I've never been one to be able to deliberately create these water tight defensive styles you see from other people, they always just 'accidentally' fall into place. It was the other end of the field where we struggled. River showed everyone why they were installed as title favourites this season. Their four point winning margin could, and would, have been far greater had we not inflicted their first defeat on them in the penultimate match of the season. They went on to lose their last game against Newell's Old Boys, but that wasn't enough to saved them from the drop as they were relegated by 0.01 points in the Average Points Table. I know a lot of people hate that way of deciding relegation, but I actually quite like it. Boca had a bit of a bad time of it this season, but I expect them to come back fighting next season. Racing were also very good and much better than I expected. It's not a particularly high scoring league, but our 1.4 goals a game was a bit of a worry, particularly when we scored 11 of our 33 goals in the first four matches. Take them away at that average is down to 1.15. I really struggled to get consistency out of the front four. Ricardo Centurion actually top scored this 15 with 15 goals, but he was either unplayable or so bad that he was hauled off at half-time with a 6.20 rating. There was no in between. Almada and Romero both spent a fair bit of time in the treatment room, which didn't help, but I expected more from the AML, AMC and AMR. SUPER LEAGUE CUPAt the end of the Primera campaign, we play in this cup which seems to be new and without any real purpose at the moment. The points gained here are added to the Primera Division table, but don't affect relegation or the league winner. The board's expectation was to "not be outclassed" which seems a little weird given our performance in the Primera and the fact we'll be playing against those teams. We were handed the easier of the two groups so I decided to use this time as an early pre-season and look at utilising a new tactic. TABLE | FIXTURESThe first thing to point out here is that our performances have improved so much it's kinda shocking. We still struggle to convert our dominance into clear chances and therefore goals, as evidenced by the three 0-0 draws, but the average of 1.54 is higher than what it was an is encouraging. We're keeping the ball well and dominating the matches. If I can fine tune a few areas, then I could be onto something. COPA ARGENTINAThe national cup is a great opportunity for some silverware with the added bonus that the winner gets a Copa Libertadores place. We won't come much closer than this year, having got to the final only to lose to a River side that were in the form of their life. No excuses from me, they were just better than us. FIXTURESCOPA SUDAMERICANAWe have started this season's Sudamericana with convincing, but not eye-opening wins against teams I would be expecting to beat. The Third Round sees us play Botofogo, which is a clear step up and we'll do well to come out of it. FIXTURESPLAYER AWARDSGOALKEEPER OF THE YEARLucas Hoyos - I actually used both 'keepers fairly equally this season and Hoyos came out on top with his 14 clean sheets in the league and 23 overall. DEFENDER OF THE YEARTomas Guidara - Very good player and first choice throughout the season. Eight assists from right back, mainly as a defensive wingback. Averaged 7.28 in the Primera and was as consistent as anyone in the squad. MIDFIELDER OF THE YEARFacundo Caseres - Only made eight appearances this season, but averaged over 7.00 in every competition he played in. 5 goals in 13 reserve matches saw him promoted to the first team, but it was his development off the field that sees him make this list. A ready-made replacement for Almada when the inevitable happens and the European big guns fight for his signature. STRIKER OF THE YEARMaximiliano Romero - The loanee from PSV impressed and is still developing, but spent a fair bit of time nursing niggly injuries. 10 goals was a decent return however, but he'll need to step up after the emergence of Monzon this season. I've extended his loan for another season and, at the moment, he's interested in a permanent deal. YOUTH INTAKEAlways the best day of the season, but I was disappointed with this year's intake. I signed five or six players to pack the squad out a bit more, but these are the stand outs. Kevin Dillon looks okay, but is 19 already which is a bit weird. His personality is pretty bad, but he has decent potential so we'll see what happens. Domingo Lucchetti is another one that came through 'late' at 18 years old, but looks half decent. He'll need to go out on loan for first team football, but has potential even if he can't finish and isn't composed at all! Alex Guijarro is the cream of this year's crop and is developing really well so far. First touch, passing, technique, decisions, determination, teamwork and vision all on point and all a good base for an AMC to build upon. OFF THE FIELDAround £13m in the account with the training facilities being upgraded and ready by the end of the year. Other than that, not much to report. The staffing needs a complete overhaul, but I can do that over time. I had three scouts watching the Primera division and they came back with one player between them. 32 year old Marco Ruben. Useless. A re-think is needed. Where possible, I will be looking to promote from within, but I'm also keen on the possibility of bringing back Argentine players from Europe at some point. Ideally, they'd still be in their prime, but that might not be possible, so if it's in the twilight of their career, so be it. Then I'll look at adding the more nostalgic options to be youth team staff. [/font]
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Post by Nick on May 23, 2020 11:38:28 GMT
2020/21 Season Preview EXPECTATIONS AND BUDGETS
After last season's title win, River have been installed as an obvious favourite. Boca are expected to put last season's poor campaign behind them and finish second, while the media think we'll finish fifth this season, with Independiente and Racing finishing above us. The board only want a top half finish, which should be the bare minimum. If River and Boca are to fight it out at the very top, I'd like to think that we can finish 'best of the rest' in third. We're also expected to reach the semi final in both the Copa Argentina and the Copa Sudamericana.
They weren't exactly throwing money at me to get this done though. A £2.61m transfer budget doesn't exactly go too far even in South America, but especially in Argentina. The wage budget was increased, but we were already over the previous one, so that was a bit of a life saver. I was also able to retain 40% of all in coming transfers.
TRANSFERS
It quickly became clear that we'd not be able to keep Thiago Almada any longer. I'd have loved to have kept him, seen him develop here and progressed with him, but he was always going to out grow us quicker in this early stage. If truth be told, he flattered to deceive last season and once he'd made up his mind that he wanted to leave, he performed even worse, both on the pitch and in training. The fans and indeed the rest of the squad aren't happy that he left, but they'll come round in time. £12.5m was a decent deal in the end, considering his value was around £2.5m and his form wasn't great. The only surprise is that only Man City put in a meaningful bid for him. There was interest from elsewhere, but Inter and Chelsea only bid £8m, so it was off to Manchester with him. Ideally I'd have sold him to what I consider a 'second tier' European side as I added the 50% of next sale clause in the deal, but beggars can't be choosers. Hopefully he doesn't just sit in City's youth team for two years doing nothing. I can get him back on loan, but City want £21k per week of his wages and I don't want to spend that.
I struggled to get rid of most of the other players and both the reserve (59 players) and U20 teams (36 players) are ridiculously over crowded. It's clearly going to take time, and I'm still figuring out who is going to potentially develop into a first team player, but I'm hoping to whittle both teams down to 25 players apiece this time next season.
As I've said before, I'm keen to rely on promoting players from within and the latest player to be added to the first team is Isaias Barroza as a replacement for Almada. I don't want to commit and say I'll make the save completely youth only, but I wasted a year of scouting last season as I didn't pay attention to it, so for now it's the way forwards. I am currently revamping the scouting system so hopefully we can poach from all over South America at some point.
PRE-SEASON
A solid pre-season albeit against opposition we should be turning over. The first half against Chacarita Jnrs was the best we've played, but we've been threatening to give someone a good hiding for a while now.
Lucas Robertone has stepped up and shown me and the fans that there is life after Almada with six goals in his five appearances, which is good to see. He was decent last season, but his attributes suggest that he could be a key player for us this season.
A GOOD START
We kicked off our season with a hard-fought, but deserved, win over Racing in the cup. They surprised me last season in finishing second and looked a good side when we played them, so to beat them reasonably comfortably, even at this stage, is pleasing. As expected, Botafogo were a step up in opposition in the Sudamericana, but we will have surprised a few people in the home leg. We were excellent and perhaps could have scored more. They hit the post early on but we got over that and were well worth the win.
Our first away test came against Argentinos Juniors and with the second leg against Botofogo up next, I decided to rest a few players. We weren't at our best, but ground out three points and it was a gable that paid off a few days later as we got the result we needed in Brazil to advance. Botofogo took the lead on the stroke of half-time, but we needed only four second half minutes to equalise and from then on it was us, not them, that looked the more likely to win the game. The quarter finals are dominated by Argentinian teams, with five of the eight teams being from this country. Somewhat inevitably we were drawn against one of them in Huracan - a side we managed to beat 2-1 away from home last season. We also play them in the league meaning we'll play them three times in a row over the next two weeks.
Routine wins against Godoy Cruz, Rosario Central and Tucuman maintain our 100% start. We currently sit ahead of Racing on goal difference at the top of the league and the win against Tucuman made it 20 games unbeaten - a new club record.
Only 22 games this season too as there is one less team in the league than last year.
OFF FIELD
I've used the Almada money to upgrade the youth and training facilities. Both are costing a fair bit, but are going to be important in moving the club forwards. I'm also looking for an affiliate to send players on loan. Ideally, we'd have two or three in the division below to send three players at a time and this is the first step towards that. Finances are looking rosy with £30m in the account.
I have decided to manage the U20's myself this season. Not something I've ever done before, but I think it clearly has benefits. I am using the same tactic as the first team and I get to be more hands on with their game time and development both on the pitch and the training field too. I'll be adding a quick report for them to the usual updates.
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Post by dalenichol on May 23, 2020 13:04:12 GMT
It's a shame to see your Blooming save end the way it did, Nick, but this is definitely a save you can sink your teeth in to and hopefully shouldn't have any of the same issues (I mean, your facilities are already close to maxed out at Velez, surely)
A good start so far, although it's a shame your intake really wasn't up to what we'd all expect from a Velez intake, but hopefully that's just a wee stutter. I'm trying to bring myself to keep going in Sweden, but 3 titles and no challenge coming in, along with little talent coming through the country is putting me off.
Gonna follow this for a bit whilst I think of something new, so keep it coming!
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Post by jt on May 23, 2020 17:27:01 GMT
Great start to the save Nick. Forgot how crazy some of the South America rules are. Average points to determine relegation being the main one.
Was gutted you stopped the blooming save as that was what got me back posting again but loving this just as much. Keep it up
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Post by dalenichol on May 23, 2020 19:40:45 GMT
Great start to the save Nick. Forgot how crazy some of the South America rules are. Average points to determine relegation being the main one. Was gutted you stopped the blooming save as that was what got me back posting again but loving this just as much. Keep it up To make it even more fun, the Argentine league changes format for the first 3 or 4 seasons when you play there. I think the average points total eventually leaves.
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Post by Nick on May 23, 2020 21:30:53 GMT
Florian Monzon (no relation to the great man, Fabian Monzon) has become the first wonderkid of the save. He surely won't be the last.
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Post by chaodck on May 24, 2020 17:40:20 GMT
Florian Monzon (no relation to the great man, Fabian Monzon) has become the first wonderkid of the save. He surely won't be the last. Wow the kid looks amazing Nick! Funny for him to have no relation to Fabián, even with a similar sounding name hahaha. Good start to the second season as well mate, here's hoping for a better year and more importantly a better intake. Despite him not having his best years I do have a soft spot for Fabián Monzon's tenure at La U. He was injured a lot, but was part of our last Championship team (2016-17 Clausura), in a great team that included David Pizarro, Gonzalo Jara, Jean Beausejour, Felipe Mora, Johnny Herrera and Lorenzo Reyes. Monzón also, score some great goals, specially these two.
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Post by Nick on May 31, 2020 20:12:20 GMT
2020/21 Season Review
It's been a while since I got to play this save due to playing my turn in the Deportivo succession save, but I actually finished the season before I started that, so I'll just run through our season and re-adjust to my surroundings. Loading up, and looking back, it was a more successful season than I had originally realised when I played through it, which is kinda weird.
PRIMERA DIVISION
It went right down to the wire lads. We held on to Independiente for the whole of the second half of the season while they were having the season of their lives. We went into the final day knowing that we needed to win and they needed to lose - something they'd not done so far this season. To make matters harder, we were at home to Racing, so not exactly a gimme, while they would host Rosario Central. For 83 long minutes, it looked like we'd fall just short, until Rosario found their winner, while we did our job and won 2-1, winning the club's first title since 2012.
FIXTURES | TABLE
CONTINENTAL COMPETITION
I'm going to group these together as the scheduling means we play both in the same calendar year. Our run in the Sudamericana went all the way to the semi final, where we were royally humbled by a Libertad side that shocked me to my very core. Did not expect that of them, but I won't be underestimating them again!
The Libertadores started in the second half of the season and, while we weren't at our best in any of the matches, we managed to qualify for the knockout round, where we'll play Palmeiras.
FIXTURES | LIBERTADORES TABLE
COPA ARGENTINA
Arguably the easiest cup win I've ever had, although it didn't feel like it at the time. NArrow wins against Racing, Platense, Almagro and Godoy Cruz set us up in a final with Boca Juniors, where we played the game of our lives.
FIXTURES
SUPERCOPA ARGENTINA
Argentina's version of the Community Shield was played between ourselves and River Plate after they won last season's Primera and we won this season's Copa Argentina. It was a game that we came out on top in. Just.
SUPER LEAGUE CUP
As usual at the end of the season we have this weird competition that doesn't seem to hold any importance at all, but offered us another chance at silverware and it was a chance we took, beating River again in the final, this time on penalties.
FIXTURES | TABLE
OFF THE PITCH
It was a very quick recap, but if I'm honest, the finer details aren't as fresh as they would have been. That was the league, Copa Argentina, Supercopa and Super League Cup added tothe collection this season with a Sudamericana semi final thrown in for good measure.
This was also the season that I took over managing my youth team as well and I managed to win the league by three points from River and only conceded nine goals along the way. We started the season with around 40 players in the squad, but that's been whittled down to 24 and I can start to take youth development much more seriously now. One player that did stand out is Alexis Oviedo and he could possibly make the step up to the first team squad next season.
The only issue at the club is the reserve team, which is currently home to 73 players. I'd say 99% of those are considered deadwood as well, so it'll be a case of getting rid of most of them, but retaining enough to remain competitive at that level.
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Post by jt on Jun 1, 2020 12:54:50 GMT
Trying to work out how you even thought that season wasn't successful!
How are you finding managing the U19's. There must be a tonne of games to get through in a season now!
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Post by Nick on Jun 1, 2020 13:03:41 GMT
Trying to work out how you even thought that season wasn't successful! How are you finding managing the U19's. There must be a tonne of games to get through in a season now! I know, I think it was just because the break of a week or so put it out of my mind a bit. It was a crazy season and one that took us onto the next level. Just got to consistently be better than Boca and River now. I've really enjoyed managing them to be honest. Fixture wise, it hasn't been too bad. There's no youth cup and the structure in Argentina at the moment means that you only play each side once, so the youth team play 21 matches per season. That leaves a lot of gaps for friendlies, but I get the assistant to manage them. It's okay, I like having the extra control over their development and game time.
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Post by Nick on Jun 2, 2020 18:34:38 GMT
2021/22
TRANSFERS
Lads...LADS! I spent some money. Like, real money. It took two whole seasons, but Fabricio Diaz's £1.9m move from Liverpool (URU) will enter the record books as the club's record signing (apparently). He's someone I've known about for a while, having seen him on other saves, but he wasn't interested in leaving until now. At 18, he fits in with the philosophy I am trying to ingrain into the club and clearly has enormous quality. Already he's being spoken about in terms of international caps and I have no doubt that he'll make the move to Europe at some point in the future.
Our only other signing was a loan deal and his name will be familiar. Thiago Almada's move to Man City for a club record fee was supposed to signal his meteoric rise to the top. That hasn't quite happened just yet, but there is still time. In the meantime, he'll spend the season here instead of sitting in City's youth team.
PRIMERA DIVISION
Unbeknown to me, the format of the league changed this year. The Primera has been reduced to 22 teams, as I expected, but we now play each other twice instead of once, and the Super League cup is no longer played as a result.
It's safe to say that we've hit a new level this season and have produced some stunning form as a result. I obviously had a bit of a break to play the Deportivo succession save and used a 4-2-3-1 formation that was already plugged in. At the time the club was fighting at the top of the league and I didn't have the confidence to make changes to a tactic that clearly had potential. Coming back here, I had to platform to make those changes and some small tweaks to suit the players I have here. The results have been pretty stunning.
We're scoring goals for fun and managing to get the best out of Florian Monzon, who has put a move to Liverpool out of his mind and signed a new deal. His 16 goals is already a career best and he goes from strength to strength.
Boca have been holding onto us for as long as they can, but we're streets ahead of everyone else at the moment. River are having a bit of a 'mare and are well out of the running. They still have huge financial power though and, with the transfer window just opened it looks like they're going to add to the £15m they spent in pre-season.
FIXTURES
COPA LIBERTADORES
Like any South American team, you're judged on your performances in the continents biggest competition. Well, we're now taken seriously. After mooching through the group stage we turned on the style in the knockouts, beating Palmeiras 7-0 on aggregate to lay down a marker to everyone else. Two complete performances against one of the continent's biggest names. The quarter final draw was kind to us, pairing us with Universidad de Chile, and I mean that respectfully chaodck! Truth be told, they were decent and gave us more of a challenge than Palmeiras. Narrow wins in both legs saw us get through 5-3 on aggregate.
Our semi final opponent was Flamengo, the current dominant side in Brazil, having won the last two titles. We won a tough home contest 1-0 so took something back to Brazil at least. The second leg was our best performance of the season so far and probably the best of the save. We went to the Maracana and won 2-0, sailing into the final...
...where we faced Sao Paulo. My relationship with Sao Paulo goes back to FM09 when I played them pretty consistently in Libertadores finals with Palmeiras. Bitter rivals, league rivals. They usually got the better of me. I've hated them ever since. Having beaten Flamengo, I was quietly confident about adding the Libertadores to the trophy cabinet for only the second time in the club's history. It wasn't to be. We weren't at our best and they beat us 2-1. Understandably disappointed, but our form and club progression suggests it won't be our last final.
FIXTURES
COPA ARGENTINA
We had no time to be disappointed with the Libertadores defeat. Three days later we had the Copa Argentina final to play against Argentinos Juniors, who had overcome River Plate in the semi final. A 10-1 against, now feeder club, Almagro set us on the way 3-0 wins against Aldosivi and Arsenal de Sarandi. The semi final should have been plain sailing and, at 2-0 up, it was. Then Defensa y Justicia got a goal back and our arseholes started to go. They equalised in the 96th minute and we needed penalties to get past them.
It was a similar story in the final. Penalties, this time after a 0-0 draw. Again we came out on top, this time to retain the trophy we won last year.
FIXTURES
TROFEO DE CAMPEONES
The Champions Trophy. I didn't even realise it was a thing. We played Independiente, presumably after they finished runners up to my double winning team last year. A goal in each half giving us a comfortable win.
FINANCES
I don't normally go into finances too much, but our rise in reputation is having a knock-on effect. One which I didn't initially anticipate. Wages. I've recently broke the £10k per week mark with Monzon, but I've got players wanting new deals on upwards of £20k now. Full internationals that know that they can move to Boca and River here, Mexico or Europe and earn a proper wedge. Not to mention China. Bloody China. Everytime the window opens, Shanghai Shenhua make offers for about 75% of my squad. This seems to force players to want new deals.
We're currently spending £225k per week on wages which is manageable at the moment if we get into the latter stages of the Libertadores. Any higher and that won't outweigh how much we're spending. Like most South American teams, this usually means having to sell the young players you produce from your academy. Our issue is that our academy has been dry for two seasons now. I've signed everyone from this year's intake just so I can put a team out, but I'd be amazed if any of them get anywhere near representing the first team. Poor personalities, low ability and low potential. Not ideal.
CONCLUSION
We're flying high at the moment, now we just have to finish the job we've started. The second half of the season should quieten down a bit. We'll have the group stage of the Libertadores to play, but that should be it. Our youth facilities have been upgraded, and are now State of the Art, so hopefully we should see some improvement in our intake next year. No opportunity to improve the youth coaching which is still only adequate. I continue to manage the youth team and am upgrading the club's staff at every opportunity. Scouting is becoming increasingly difficult.
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Post by Dirk Nowitzki on Jun 2, 2020 21:27:22 GMT
On pace for an unbeaten title win! Going really well! How are your spare wages? I have noticed that having it as low as possible and shift all that money to the transfer budget can significantly lower the demands of your players.
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Post by Nick on Jun 3, 2020 13:36:50 GMT
One In - Two Out
Chinese clubs have been relentless with their courting of my players and I eventually gave in to what I think are two great deals. Agustin Bouzat has been along for the ride with us since the start, but his limited output meant he was starting to slip down the pecking order. He's only recorded over 5 goals or assists once in the last two and a half seasons, so when Henan Jianye offered £7.5m for him, I immediately accepted. I have never seen a player sign a deal quicker. It took him less than a day to make his mind up and he was gone. Pablo Galdames is a good player and one that's been first choice in midfield, but also someone that didn't contribute regularly in terms of goals or assists. Jiangsu Suning offered £5m for him. I negotiated to £10m upfront and they accepted.
I have broken the club's transfer record for the second time in 6 months. I was going to wait to sign Fausto Vera until the end of the season, but when River offered £5m for him, I had to match their bid earlier than expected. He comes in from Argentinos Juniors and is probably the best young player in Argentina at the moment (outwith our club). In many ways he's the complete midfielder and someone that should take us to the next level. He's got a good personality, he strong and physical, and has the technical ability to be an influence at both the attacking and defensive ends of the pitch.
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Post by ttgb on Jun 4, 2020 11:24:30 GMT
Some good transfer business there Nick
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Post by Nick on Jun 5, 2020 12:23:55 GMT
2021/22 Season Review
PRIMERA DIVISION
This season felt like much more of a drag in comparison to the previous campaigns. The change in structure meant double the games and that was a bit of a shock to the system. It was only me that it bothered though, the players took it in their stride and performed at an incredibly high level every week. 108 points is a new record, as to is the 98 goals we scored. Lucas Orellano came of age this season and, despite initially refusing to sign a new contract for anything less than £35k per week, eventually signed a new deal having rejected bosman moves to half of America, China and even Chelsea. His 19 goals and 14 assists were backed up by Lucas Robertone (14 goals, 10 assists) and Thiago Almada (13 goals, 10 assists) in attacking midfield as we consistently scored goals from all over the pitch. It looks like it's going to be tough to get Almada back from City next season as they're looking to give him a change in the first team. We've definitely seen the form and development from him this season that I'd expect, so hopefully he can go back there now and carry on improving.
TABLE | FIXTURES
Boca couldn't get near us in the end and I'm hoping that our title win, coupled with River underachieving, will sees us leapfrog them as the most reputable team in the country. We've already overtaken Boca, but I want that top spot. We're currently 9th in the South American rankings too, so clearly making progress.
We had some great results this season, none more so than the 4-0 win over River in May to celebrate winning the title after Boca had only drawn their game. We also didn't concede a goal in 11 games at the end of the season before the final game of the season with Rosario. Couldn't have asked for more this year.
SUPERCOPA
A reasonably hard-fought 3-2 win against Argentinos Juniors in a game we dominated gave us another piece of silverware. Our goals coming from Guidara, Orellana and an own goal.
COPA ARGENTINA
Just the fifth round played due to the weird scheduling and we needed penalties to get past the previously unheard of, Deportivo Madryn, after a 1-1 draw. We'll play Talleres de Cordoba next.
COPA LIBERTADORES
The 2022 tournament has started and our group of Penarol, Botafogo and Barcelona (ECU) didn't cause us too many problems. We won our first five games to claim top spot in the group and then lost at Penarol in the dead rubber. We're at the stage where this group phase should be a given and we should be a big player in the latter stages. Our second round opponent is a familiar foe - River Plate - but we should face them in confident mood at the end of July.
TABLE | FIXTURES
YOUTH TEAM
Just a quick word on the youth team after I guided them two a second successive league title (19-1-1 record), but also added the Copa Libertadores Sub-20 to the collection this year. We're in trouble of regressing next year without a very good intake in October. The likes of Alvaro Marin, Thiago Ojeda, Maximo Perrone and Elias Cabrera will now all make the step up to either the reserves, the first team or out on loan which has drastically lowered the level of quality in the team. However, this is a long term plan and if we get one player each year from the youth team to first team then it'll be a success.
OTHER BUSINESS
Not a huge deal extra to report on. The youth facilities will be upgraded to be the best they can be in six months time and they'll join the youth facilities at that level. Still no option to increase the level of youth coaching though.
I'm also on the lookout for two new goalkeepers over the off-season with both of mine leaving the club on free transfers.
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Post by Nick on Jun 5, 2020 15:19:39 GMT
Decided to make a tentative enquiry to City for the services of Almada. £164m they want.
Good to know I have that 50% of next sale clause in there when they do decide to cash in!
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Post by Nick on Jun 5, 2020 18:54:34 GMT
This must be the worst youth intake preview I've ever seen. We've had nothing come through since I took over. Argentina, and Velez in particular, are supposed to churn out youngsters by the bucketload aren't they?!
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Post by Nick on Jun 5, 2020 20:51:09 GMT
This came out of the blue. They're currently looking for a site, but the club facility page suggests it'll be a 65,925 all-seater stadium, which would be amazing and the biggest in the country.
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Post by Nick on Jun 6, 2020 10:54:50 GMT
2022/23 Preview and Catch Up
EXPECTATIONS AND BUDGETS
The board have RAMPED UP expectations this season as we enter a new era for Velez. Out with the 'we only want a mid-table finish' rhetoric and in with the much scarier 'we want the title' vision. After performances on the pitch over the last 18 months, it's impossible not to agree with them, but as with everything else, pressure in FM is rarely a good thing. Anything but a Libertadores semi final and a Copa Argentina final spot will be seen as a failure. Like last season, we'll compete on all fronts again:
- Primera Division
- Copa Libertadores
- Copa Argentina
- Supercopa Argentina
- Trofeo de Campeones
The big one is obviously the Libertadores this year. After defeats in the semi final and then the final, I've put my own bit of pressure on to return with the trophy this season. It's the next step on the progression ladder and there's no use just talking about yourself as a big club, eventually you have to back it up.
The board gave me £12m to spend, but with so many sellable assets in the squad, increasing the budget shouldn't be too difficult, should the need arise.
TRANSFERS
He spent a total of 4 seasons here on loan, but this year Maximiliano Romero finally made his move permanent. I had to pay PSV £4.3m for him, which is slightly more than I originally wanted, but considering I got them down from £8m, it feels like we got a good deal out of it. Elias Machuca was someone I wanted permanently from Racing a couple of years ago, but he made the move to Europe with Chelsea instead. As is so often the case, he then found himself available for loan and we beat off competition from other European clubs to sign him for the season.
I didn't manage to bring in a goalkeeper, which was the number one priority. I've had scouts out for about a year now, but there isn't much in terms of quality in South America at the moment. Certainly not for a half decent price and under 30 years old. It remains the priority, but for now we'll have to muddle through.
24 players left on loan to get first team football, including 9 to feeder clubs, Almagro and San Jose (Bolivia). With all their wages being paid, I'm saving myself around £40k per week, which brings us comfortably under the wage budget.
PRIMERA DIVISION
The first thing to note is that the Primera Division no longer decides relegation on average points from the last three seasons, something I'm disappointed with more because they are conforming with the rest of the world, rather than because it'll affect us in any way. There are also 21 teams, instead of last year's 22. This will go down to 20 next season, where it'll stay. We play each team twice, but for some reason we're currently in the 'first phase'. No info or details on a second phase so I'm guessing it's just part of the wording for the revamp. Anyway...
We're bloody good. Like, really bloody good. Eight wins from eight so far, with 33 goals scored. All this with a rookie 'keeper between the sticks. Lucas Escobar spent last season in Ecuador with Catolica where he played well in a successful team. He looks to have a bit of potential so gets the chance to make the number one spot his own. It's at the other end of the pitch where we've really impressed though. Thiago Ojeda played so well for the under 20's that I felt he deserved a chance in the first team. It's a chance he's taken with eight goals in ten matches from the AML position. He still needs to improve in a few areas, but playing in a successful team is a great platform to improve. Alex Guijarro is proof that the loan system can work if you get it right. He was another than impressed at youth level, so I sent him out on loan to Colo Colo in Chile last season where he played 16 games and got 6 goals and 5 assists. His development went through the roof, improving in all areas of his game. He's currently wanted by Man City, Inter and Juventus and it's going to be a real struggle to keep him past this season if he carries on improving. I'm hoping that some good performances and success on the pitch for the team will see his value rise beyond the current level of £2.5m as he's clearly worth ten times that.
TABLE
COPA LIBERTADORES
Having made it through the group stage without breaking too much of a sweat, we also made light work of River Plate in the second knockout round, further proving that the tide is turning at the top of Argentinian football. The quarter final draw threw up Libertad. Now, usually I would have seen that as an easy tie, but you'll remember that, two years ago, we played them in the semi final and they came out on top over the two legs. Add the fact that they been Gremio 6-2 on aggregate in the second round and I was slightly more nervous about playing them than I normally would have been. My team don't do nerves. We went to Paraguay in the first leg and shit on them. Florian Monzon getting two in a 6-0 win. With the home leg a formality, I rotated heavily and we played out a rather drab 0-0 draw which remains the only game we've not won this season.
FIXTURES
As you can see, Palmeiras in the semi final after they beat Sao Paulo in the previous round. Flamengo and Santos make up the other semi final as we look to break the Brazilian stranglehold on this competition which has seen them win the trophy three years in a row.
COPA ARGENTINA
Just the one match played so far as we laboured to a 3-2 win at home to Talleres de Cordoba. We were uncharacteristically poor at the back, but I'm putting it down to a few cobwebs and a bit of complacency as it was our first competitive game of the season.
We'll play rivals, All Boys, for the first time in the next round.
OFF THE FIELD
I've finally been able to improve the academy coaching to a 'good' level! I'm hoping that it'll have a positive effect on the youth intake next season because the one coming up in October promises to be a disappointment.
Other than that we're in a good place as a club. Facilities are maxed out. £20m in the bank. Staff are the best they can be, across the board. The latest addition to the coaching staff being a certain John Terry.
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Post by Nick on Jun 6, 2020 15:37:19 GMT
I wasn't even going to mention it, but just to show that I'm not being overly dramatic when I talk about my intakes at the moment, have a look at this. I am probably going to sign most, if not all, of these players, but I can't see any of them making the first team squad any time soon. Enrique Malano has the most potential, while Nahuel Tambussi is the best player on paper.
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Post by Nick on Jun 6, 2020 17:22:55 GMT
The Wait Goes On
We've reached the two month break due to the 2022 World Cup so I'll just run quickly through the last few months.
PRIMERA DIVISION
We are big chillin' in the league. The goals are flowing, we are solid at the back and we can rotate the team to keep players fresh and avoiding injury. At this stage we could play against everyone with ten men for the rest of the season and still win the league.
Lucas Escobar continues to play well in goal and is good enough for the moment, but he's not developing as much as I'd anticipated and I think the search should probably continue for a long term option.
TABLE
COPA ARGENTINA
It was an easy run to the final and I was afforded the luxury of being able to use players that wouldn't normally get regular game time. It keeps players happy and we can remain competitive against playing teams of that calibre.
We got extremely lucky in the final. Not in terms of dominating the game, we did that, but River led 1-0 at half-time and we were looking a bit lazy. In the second half we went down to ten men when Orellana put in a horror tackle. We equalised with 13 minutes remaining before getting a winner in stoppage time when Orellana's replacement, Barreal, scored at the near post with a tame effort that the 'keeper really should have done better with.
COPA LIBERTADORES
Sao Paulo last year and Flamengo this year.
Our semi final against Palmeiras was much easier than I anticipated with us beating them 3-0 away from home and 2-1 at home. The final was tough. Looking at our form and history, I think it's safe to say that we're the best two teams on the continent at the moment. Flamengo were good. Players like Thiago Maia and Robert Piris run their midfield, while Rafael Santos Borre and Lazaro are probably the best front two in South America. We matched them though. First half they shaded it but we were better after half-time. Florian Monzon's missed penalty in the second half was the game's defining moment. After that we played out extra-time without a goal, so it was penalties that decided the 2022 Copa Libertadores. It was a shootout Flamengo won, 4-2. Devastated.
MANAGER THOUGHTS
Obviously disappointed to lose the Libertadores final for the second successive year. We need that boost in reputation to keep our better players at the club. That being said, we've now overtaken River Plate in the reputation stakes and we're now the seventh most reputable club in South America behind Flamengo, Gremio, Corinthians, Palmeiras, Sao Paulo and Santos.
15 of my 24 man squad are wanted by other clubs from Europe, Mexico or China. I am able to hold off most teams without the players kicking up a fuss, but it's going to be a testing transfer window.
We have 2 months now to re-group after the final defeat and push towards an unbeaten season in the league. The training facilities will be upgraded by the time we play again and the prospective stadium move is still in the 'finding a site' stage, so lots to be positive about.
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Post by Nick on Jun 7, 2020 11:54:26 GMT
Tough Decisions
Tomas Guidara has just made a £10m move to Man Utd. I didn't particularly want to sell him. He was the best right back at the club, whilst also being in and around the Argentina squad, but there comes a time where you can't keep everyone from the clutches of the European teams. It wasn't an easy decision to make and one I probably wouldn't have made without comparing him with our other right back, Hernan De La Fuente.
On paper, Guidara is clearly the better player in nearly every area, except perhaps physically. Usually because of this, I'd reject every offer outright, but I've been doing a lot more FM related reading recently, which has made me look a little closer at the numbers of their output.
Being first choice, Guidara has made double the amount of appearances as De La Fuente, but has they have the same amount of assists as each other. For a lot of people this is secondary to how they defend. I'm slightly different. I play with attacking fullbacks on both sides with inside forwards ahead of them. For me, their attacking output is as important as how they defend, if not more.
The comparison of their stats per 90 further suggests that Guidara was the better defensively, but De La Fuente is the better going forwards. Guidara's 4.18 tackles won is only slightly higher than De La Fuente's 3.97, the same with his tackle completion ratio of 95% compared to 93%. This told me that while selling him would have an impact, it wouldn't be nearly as big as you might expect, especially when you consider that De La Fuente's average rating is also better.
With De La Fuente now being the first choice, a space has opened in the squad for Nicolas Moreno, currently on international duty with Argentina's youth team. Very highly rated, the time is right for him to step up. On paper, he's more of a defensive fullback, but as we've seen with De La Fuente, that doesn't mean he can't contribute in attack. In defence, he's already better than De La Fuente in a few key areas such as tackling, positioning, concentration and decision making. Physically he can still improve a lot, while his average rating of 7.37 for the youth team suggests there is a maturity and consistency to his game. It'll be interesting to see his form over the course of the rest of the season and then his development in 12 months time.
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Post by Nick on Jun 7, 2020 12:26:05 GMT
We've just beaten Boca's record from 1998 for matches unbeaten. Absolutely flying in the league at the minute.
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Post by jawzy on Jun 7, 2020 14:12:08 GMT
iirc Talleres used to have a youngish decent keeper, though this was on fm19 when I briefly had a save there. - though the name has completely gone from my brain they had a great defender too - again the name has escaped me, but I believe his initials were J A
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Post by Nick on Jun 7, 2020 14:29:15 GMT
This might be the goalkeeper, but I'm struggling to find a defender, either sold or still there.
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Post by Nick on Jun 7, 2020 15:19:08 GMT
My youth intakes may be a complete travesty at the moment, but my HoYD is not, and each year I get at least one player like Salcedo above. Low CA and low PA (from judging him by his attributes and the assistant manager report) but just about the best personality you can get in the game. Is Model Citizen better? I also prefer Perfectionist. I'm going to use Salcedo as a small experiment. Just how good can he become with the right training? Initially, I'm interested in three things in particular: - How much can he improve over the next 12 months?
- Will his potential ability change increase if/when his current ability increases?
- Can his lack of consistency be coached out of him?
I've included my assistant manager report of him for good measure. It'll be interesting to see how that changes.
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Post by hokster on Jun 7, 2020 15:42:02 GMT
Great idea, Nick. I'm fond of Model Citizen myself over Perfectionist, but you can't go wrong either way. I wish I could afford a HoYD with such a good personality. The best I can manage is Fairly Determined.
Do we know what staff salary upgrade helps with HoYD? Is it coach salary increase?
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