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Post by Reiver on May 5, 2020 17:18:04 GMT
Two things. First, that was a damn great season. Congratulations.
Second, Always Ready might be the best football team name I've seen in a long time.
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Post by chaodck on May 5, 2020 17:26:19 GMT
Two things. First, that was a damn great season. Congratulations. Second, Always Ready might be the best football team name I've seen in a long time. Always Ready, always makes me laugh my ass off. The name comes from a horrible direct translation from the Boy Scouts motto. In English the motto is "Be Prepared" and in spanish the motto is "Siempre Listos" which can be roughly translated to be prepared, but the direct translation is "Always Ready". |
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Post by Nick on May 5, 2020 22:31:19 GMT
This is the great thing about places like this, you learn so much about clubs, and languages, from all over the world!
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Post by Dirk Nowitzki on May 5, 2020 22:32:49 GMT
Also love the fact that they already got relegated twice. Apparently not THAT ready.
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Post by Nick on May 5, 2020 22:40:18 GMT
  A couple of hard-fought wins against two of the top five from last season ensures we start well this campaign. It's now 18 unbeaten in all competitions, but we have a couple of winnable games coming up that we can't throw like we did last year. We'll also play Boca in the Recopa, which I'd completely forgotten existed. Full season preview to come in the morning, which will also look at the club off the field in a bit more detail. |
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Post by Nick on May 5, 2020 22:43:41 GMT
Also love the fact that they already got relegated twice. Apparently not THAT ready. Indeed! The other good one are our rivals, Destroyers. The only thing they've destroyed is the second division after they were relegated in 2020. |
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Post by Nick on May 6, 2020 22:35:21 GMT
It's a quick turn around from one season to another here in Bolivia, so I've played through the first round of games before updating. One thing is for sure, our Sudamericana win boosted our reputation through the roof. We're now expected to win the league by the media, we're the most reputable team in the country and now also rake in the highest amount of sponsorship money in the country too. So where are we at? Well you've seen that we ground out two successive 1-0 wins to start the season, and I was also having to grind it out in the transfer market too. We're at that awkward stage where the 'marquee' foreign players we can bring in to fill our quota are either a) too expensive or b) not good enough. As for the domestic players, we can afford anyone we like, but the big players at our rivals are still unwilling to join us - apparently rivalry still goes a long way in South America - but the pool is small. That being said, I had been trailing Ramiro Vaca for the best part of 18 months and he was never interested in joining. Last season's successes meant he had a change of heart and he joined on deadline day. He's hit the ground running with us as well. 4 games, 4 goals, 2 assists. It looks like £350k well spent. One thing I have been trying to do, and I've mentioned it previously, is to keep a small squad - something that is new for me. It took a long time for me to get some positive team cohesion going on and we're pretty much max on that, dressing room atmosphere and managerial support so when Juninho missed training and started causing trouble, he was immediately released. 32, declining quickly due to long term injury and our highest earner, he was the only player to leave the club this window. On the pitch, things have been going well, and probably could be even better. We've thrown a couple of shockers in for good measure, but as you can see we've been fairly relentless. We've started to turn possession and chances into goals, something we haven't done previously. We've started killing teams off at 1-0 rather than conceding an equaliser and the signing of Vaca looks to have taken us to another level still. This has the feeling of an important season. The first title on FM usually leads to sustained success and if we can win it this season, I think that'll set us up nicely for the coming seasons. The real test will be in the Libertadores, where we've had a tough start to my first attempt at the group stage. We were drawn with Corinthians (Brazil), Olimpia and Libertad (both Paraguay) which I thought was fairly tough. We took a while to adapt, losing our first three matches without scoring a goal, but have points on the board in game four after beating Corinthians at home 4-2. We've an outside chance of qualifying if we win both our remaining fixtures, but it's unlikely. Both the Paraguayans surprised me as I expected us to at least give them a decent game, but they both beat us fairly comfortably. We have shown we can battle with the best this season though, when we faced off against Boca Juniors in the Recopa. For those that don't know, the Recopa Sudamericana is the South American version of the European Super Cup, where the Libertadores and Sudamericana winners play against each other over two legs. We beat them 3-1 at home and drew 1-1 away to give us the win on aggregate and our second continental trophy. It's been a busy couple of months off the field too. Our backroom team is now the best in the country, but still some way short of where it can be, especially in the coaching department. The board have been good though, and our increased reputation has meant that I have been able to sign more staff than before. Previously we only had two scouts and two coaches so we're definitely making progress here. The data analysis facilities have been upgraded once more and the youth facilities are the latest to have work started on them. |
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Post by Nick on May 7, 2020 11:09:32 GMT
Turns out if you finish third in your Libertadores group you go into the Sudamericana. If I'd have known that, I might have thrown my last group game and finished bottom deliberately!
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Post by chaodck on May 7, 2020 14:36:04 GMT
Great start to the season Nick. As you say, rivalries are a strong thing down here and I dunno if FM is hardcoded this way or not, but it surely seems like it. I just cannot bring a Colo Colo or Universidad Católica player directly from them to La U, and that has happened (albeit not frequently) in real life, La U bought Jean Beausejour from Colo Colo for around 2M Euro a few seasons ago.
If you're trying to keep things domestic, I think your best bet is to try and manually scout the whole country newgens and pick the ones with the most potential to sign them. Great job on securing Vaca, he seems like a top talent for your division. Also, be on the look for any Brazilian/Bolivian newgens. With the case of Marcelo Moreno Martins, FM always picks up the glove and throws some of those around.
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Post by Nick on May 7, 2020 19:41:00 GMT
Great start to the season Nick. As you say, rivalries are a strong thing down here and I dunno if FM is hardcoded this way or not, but it surely seems like it. I just cannot bring a Colo Colo or Universidad Católica player directly from them to La U, and that has happened (albeit not frequently) in real life, La U bought Jean Beausejour from Colo Colo for around 2M Euro a few seasons ago. If you're trying to keep things domestic, I think your best bet is to try and manually scout the whole country newgens and pick the ones with the most potential to sign them. Great job on securing Vaca, he seems like a top talent for your division. Also, be on the look for any Brazilian/Bolivian newgens. With the case of Marcelo Moreno Martins, FM always picks up the glove and throws some of those around. Thanks Chaodck, I'm familiar with Moreno, but hadn't thought of that, so I'll definitely take a deeper look. On a different note, I assume you're familiar with the "J-League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship"? As Sudamericana winners we have to play in it, this year against Kashima Antlers. I've never heard of it, never seen it mentioned in either real life or FM before. Also, I am slowly making my way through your C&C thread and I'll make sure I give you some interaction ASAP. Sorry it hasn't been sooner! |
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Post by chaodck on May 7, 2020 20:05:38 GMT
Great start to the season Nick. As you say, rivalries are a strong thing down here and I dunno if FM is hardcoded this way or not, but it surely seems like it. I just cannot bring a Colo Colo or Universidad Católica player directly from them to La U, and that has happened (albeit not frequently) in real life, La U bought Jean Beausejour from Colo Colo for around 2M Euro a few seasons ago. If you're trying to keep things domestic, I think your best bet is to try and manually scout the whole country newgens and pick the ones with the most potential to sign them. Great job on securing Vaca, he seems like a top talent for your division. Also, be on the look for any Brazilian/Bolivian newgens. With the case of Marcelo Moreno Martins, FM always picks up the glove and throws some of those around. Thanks Chaodck, I'm familiar with Moreno, but hadn't thought of that, so I'll definitely take a deeper look. On a different note, I assume you're familiar with the "J-League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship"? As Sudamericana winners we have to play in it, this year against Kashima Antlers. I've never heard of it, never seen it mentioned in either real life or FM before. Also, I am slowly making my way through your C&C thread and I'll make sure I give you some interaction ASAP. Sorry it hasn't been sooner! Yeah, I remember that cup, I think it was called Suruga Bank Cup back in the day due to ad reasons. La U played it in 2012 after winning the 2011 Copa Sudamericana and we lost on penalties to Kashima Antlers. Painful memory of staying up all night waiting for the game, only to lose it haha. I didn't know it was coded into FM, I had only seen it as a custom competition. Please do take your time reading my thread, it's a lot of info, so no worries on that front. |
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Post by Nick on May 7, 2020 20:06:32 GMT
We've been a bit text heavy so far, so have some pictures! I said in my previous update that we'd found our scoring touch and, whilst that is still true, an injury to Gustavo Fernandez[/a] has severely dampened our fire power. Five 0-0 draws in the last 13 games is testament to that, but luckily our defence has been water tight, only conceding three goals and that has allowed us to just about cling on to top spot in the league.
Real Potosi, last year's runner up, have been pushing us hard and Bolivar are in decent form and have sneaked into the title race as well. At the other end of the table, Mariscal Sucre are just not cut out for this level. They didn't get a single point until the 23rd match of the season and are destined for relegation any time now.
I used our financial muscle to bring in Richard Roca from Jorge Wilstermann for £350k. Already capped internationally, he looks like a player that will fit right in as we progress over the next few years. He's obviously still young, but is already arguably our best player in terms of attributes, and will only get better. I need to work on his passing a little bit, and he could be excellent for both us and Bolivia. Our form in the last three matches of Libertadores allowed us to save a bit of face after a rough start, while a draw away at Nacional in the Sudamericana sets us up nicely for the home leg. If I'm completely honest though, I wouldn't be too disappointed to lose that. The games are starting to rack up and eight matches in May threatened to completely decimate my squad. Thankfully we've come out the other side of that now and will see a quieter end to the season. Away from the pitch, we're really making moves. The data analysis facilities are now considered good, while I have added a training ground upgrade to the youth facility one already in progress. Finances are also looking pretty rosy with almost £10m in the bank. Things are looking really positive - just the small matter of finishing top of the league to deal with! |
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Post by Nick on May 7, 2020 20:09:02 GMT
Thanks Chaodck, I'm familiar with Moreno, but hadn't thought of that, so I'll definitely take a deeper look. On a different note, I assume you're familiar with the "J-League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship"? As Sudamericana winners we have to play in it, this year against Kashima Antlers. I've never heard of it, never seen it mentioned in either real life or FM before. Also, I am slowly making my way through your C&C thread and I'll make sure I give you some interaction ASAP. Sorry it hasn't been sooner! Yeah, I remember that cup, I think it was called Suruga Bank Cup back in the day due to ad reasons. La U played it in 2012 after winning the 2011 Copa Sudamericana and we lost on penalties to Kashima Antlers. Painful memory of staying up all night waiting for the game, only to lose it haha. I didn't know it was coded into FM, I had only seen it as a custom competition. Please do take your time reading my thread, it's a lot of info, so no worries on that front. Ah okay, I do have a faint memory of the Suruga Cup from somewhere. Maybe something I've read. I don't think it's coded into the vanilla version of FM, but I have a handful of editor files loaded, including competitions so it might be from there. |
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Post by Nick on May 7, 2020 21:09:35 GMT
 Is this more of a regular thing on this year's version or are my players just unprofessional? He'd only been "slightly unhappy" at his lack of playing time and then this happens.  Needless to say, I'm not putting up with that and he had his contract terminated immediately. His spot in the squad is filled by 17-year old, Juan Carlos Hermoza, who I have very high hopes for. |
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Post by Nick on May 7, 2020 21:26:53 GMT
 We're running on empty after playing extra-time, but we've added yet another trophy to the collection. |
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Post by dalenichol on May 7, 2020 21:30:42 GMT
I know that Diego Mendoza on Twitter is currently playing in Japan and has the SurugaBank cup thing on, so there must be something in an editor file somewhere that has it, unless it is now in vanilla. Well done on winning it though, and I absolutely agree with the hardline stance on Barros. I absolutely hate the player interactions on FM, they still can't get it anywhere near right.
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Post by Nick on May 11, 2020 12:53:33 GMT
I finished this season before my six months in the Deportivo Succession Game and I needed the break. It's soul destroying to be top of the league for so long but not manage to win the title at the end of it. Especially when it would have been the first one of the save. The few days off has done me good and I'm back with renewed enthusiasm! As you can see from the fixtures, the World Cup affected scheduling right at the end of the season and if I'm honest, I completely messed up by not organising any friendly fixtures to keep players match fit. We just about scraped past Oriente Petrolero on the last day of the season, but Bolivar were much better than us in the Champions Final and we didn't deserve the win. Six weeks between games was too long, fitness levels just weren't optimal, we then had a man sent off just after half-time and didn't have enough to trouble them. All things considered, it was a good season and one that we should be pleased with. We were only expected to finish in the top half, but finished as runners up. Only expected to be competitive in the Libertadores and finished third in our group. Only expect to be competitive in the Sudamericana and lost to Colombia's Nacional on away goals in the third round. We also won the Recopa and the J-League/Sudamericana cup. This little old Bolivian side did alright.  Tactically, we are 99% there, but not quite. Only one striker - Clody Menacho - hit 10+ goals in all competitions and Gustavo Fernandez (5) is 32 now and has his contract expiring in a month's time. The other option is Juan Carlos Hermoza, who has only come into the first team since I released Barros for missing training. He has the potential to be excellent for us, but probably isn't ready just yet. All three of these are in the Advanced Forward type mould, but clearly something is going wrong with the link between the three attacking midfielders and the striker, especially when you consider how we dominate most games in terms of possession and chances created. Plenty to think about, but not much time to do it. There are eight days between the end of the season and our first pre-season friendly. Only in South America! Off the pitch, we're vibing. Nearly £12m in the bank and both the youth and training facilities are being upgraded and due to be finished in May. I'm still on the lookout for the Bolivia job, but despite just two competitive wins in three years, Cesar Farias still has a job. |
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Post by Nick on May 11, 2020 13:26:34 GMT
I almost forgot, the youth intake was pretty useless this season, but it did unearth this kid who will be going straight into the first team squad:  Another one that has very little physical ability, but has a lot to his game. If I can get his vision up, I think he could win international caps. |
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Post by chaodck on May 11, 2020 14:36:17 GMT
I almost forgot, the youth intake was pretty useless this season, but it did unearth this kid who will be going straight into the first team squad: Another one that has very little physical ability, but has a lot to his game. If I can get his vision up, I think he could win international caps. My gosh, this kid looks amazing Nick, NT material at 17, needs a bit of physical training sure, but his mentals look amazing and the technicals will improve quickly (but 14 passing, 10 technique, 10 dribbling, 10 finishing, 11 long shots for an AM at 17 is quite something). |
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Post by Nick on May 11, 2020 22:01:37 GMT
 Christ, our Libertadores group is a bit tough. We'll do well to not finish bottom of this one. |
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Post by Nick on May 13, 2020 12:09:01 GMT
EXPECTATIONS & BUDGETS
For the second season running we're in the surprising position of being favourites for the league, despite not having won a title since 2009 and Bolivar have won three of the last four. In line with the club vision outlined at the start of the save, the board now expect us to challenge for the title and, given our squad and last year's performance, that's exactly what I expect us to do too. We're still only expected to "be competitive" in the Libertadores, while the Copa Aerosur is once again deemed unimportant.
I was given £7.8m to spend and a wage budget of £70k per week. Even if I tried I don't think I could spend that much this window.
TRANSFERS
I had been looking for a new goalkeeper for a while so when Marcos Ledesma popped up on the transfer list at The Strongest it was an easy decision to bring him in, even if it was from one of our rivals. He is a big step up in quality from what we have had, he's played 35+ games in the division in each of the last two seasons and was available for just £55k. He does come in as the highest paid player in the squad on £3k per week, but every good side needs a quality 'keeper so I think he'll be worth the outlay.
I let a few players leave on loan to gain first team experience either in this league or the one below, while a couple of young players left permanently as I didn't think they'd make the grade.
LIGA DE FUTBOL PROFESIONAL BOLIVIANO
It was a very slow start to the season where we went three matches without scoring, but once we got that first win we didn't look back. The addition of Ledesma between the sticks seems to have paid off as we've only conceded 5 goals in these opening 20 games. That's given us the confidence to go forwards and score goals and we're also playing the best football I've seen since starting the save.
Our striker problem appears to have been solved, or at least half solved. Juan Carlos Hermoza has played he way to first choice striker and has 11 league goals in 12 starts and 4 sub appearances. I say the problem is only half solved as my other striker, Clody Menacho, only has 1 goal to his name and that came in the cup against poor opposition.
After his move from Jorge Wilstermann, Richard Roca struggled for form last season with 0 goals and 0 assists in his 13 games for the club. This season, having settled in, he's contributed 5 goals and 3 assists from the Carrilero role in midfield. The big players are stepping up and that's meant we have a commanding lead at the top of the table.
Of course this means absolutely nothing at the moment because we can still finish top and not win the league, see last season for proof of that, but we would get the advantage of playing the Champions Playoff at home if we finish top so there's always an incentive.
Oriente Petrolero were our early chasers, but their form nose-dived recently and Bolivar have risen from the ashes of a slow start to take second place. The Strongest should be doing better than they are. They have some good players and changed manager earlier in the season, so I expect them to make a late charge for the top three. We (hopefully) won't drop enough points for them to catch us, but they could quite easily finish third and re-group for next season. Going forwards ourselves, Bolivar and The Strongest are the only ones that have a realistic chance of a title challenge.
COPA AEROSUR
So far so good in the cup, but we've not played anyone of any quality as evidenced by two convincing wins in the early rounds. I've rotated the squad to give players minutes and it's worked out nicely so far.
COPA LIBERTADORES
Not a great showing in the Libertadores this year, but I didn't expect anything from it. Palmeiras and Independiente are two South American giants and were just too good for us, although we did manage to inflict Palmeiras' only defeat on them.
Santa Fe were a real surprise. We played well against them in Colombia, but lost 2-0. At home, we dominated them but just couldn't get a goal. They actually finished the group unbeaten, winning once and drawing five times. It wasn't enough to qualify, they finished third, but it showed that the group was probably one of the toughest we could have got. In the end I was happy with our four points, it was about all we could expect, and I'm happy that we don't have to play in the Sudamericana due to finishing bottom.
OFF THE PITCH
Financially, we're pretty stacked. £13.7m in the bank and plenty left in the budget to bring someone in if needed.
The upgrades to youth and training facilities were due to be completed in May, but have been pushed back to November and the end of the season. Here's a quick overview of our facilities before they are done.
I've also spent some time looking at the under 21's staff, got a new manager in and none other than Edgar Davids to coach my youngsters. Now we're a little further on in the save, I want to take more care of my youth team and really mould them into first team capable players, either here or somewhere else in this league.
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Post by chaodck on May 13, 2020 17:35:41 GMT
Things look good so far Nick, despite that bad Libertadores showing, the draws sometimes are awful (this year I got Palmeiras, Internacional and Peñarol). Financially you're ok and can afford the luxury of not getting into Sudamericana and celebrate it haha.
What happened with Rivero in the end? Has he played for the senior squad during this season?
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Post by Nick on May 14, 2020 8:07:15 GMT
Things look good so far Nick, despite that bad Libertadores showing, the draws sometimes are awful (this year I got Palmeiras, Internacional and Peñarol). Financially you're ok and can afford the luxury of not getting into Sudamericana and celebrate it haha. What happened with Rivero in the end? Has he played for the senior squad during this season? He sure has mate. He's finding his way in first team football, made ten appearances but is developing really nicely.  |
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Post by chaodck on May 14, 2020 14:41:47 GMT
Things look good so far Nick, despite that bad Libertadores showing, the draws sometimes are awful (this year I got Palmeiras, Internacional and Peñarol). Financially you're ok and can afford the luxury of not getting into Sudamericana and celebrate it haha. What happened with Rivero in the end? Has he played for the senior squad during this season? He sure has mate. He's finding his way in first team football, made ten appearances but is developing really nicely. Yep, looks like he has the numbers in the correct places. Small-ish playmakers (he isn't that short though) are a staple of latin american football and thus I wouldn't worry about his strength or natural fitness just don't send him marking on set pieces haha. |
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Post by Nick on May 14, 2020 16:55:43 GMT
LIGA DE FUTBOL PROFESIONAL BOLIVIANO
Only a couple of minor blips over the second half of the season. A season where we broke the league goal scoring record and also recorded 99 points. We flew through September, scoring goals left, right and centre and this was without both first and second choice goalkeeper due to injury. The injury 'curse' hit again in the latter stages of the season as we lost both first choice centre backs, which forced me to play a centre mid at the back, but even in such circumstances we're too good for most of the league.
After last year's disappointment in the final, I wasn't letting myself get too carried away. We managed to lay that ghost to rest this season by beating Bolivar in the final to win our first league title! I always expect to win those games, but it was nice to actually turn up in a big domestic game.
My predicted challenge of The Strongest never materialised and they are clearly worse than I give them credit for. At the moment, ourselves and Bolivar are much better than the rest of the league and if we turn up, we generally turn teams over. Oriente Petrolero got over their poor finish last season and eventually cemented themselves as the best of the rest.
Our record of 16 goals conceded isn't even the best of the save so far after The Strongest conceded just 13 in 2020, but is something that I'm hugely happy with, but actually only two fewer than last season.
COPA AEROSUR
We cruised all the way to the final, but we fell at the final hurdle against our bitter rivals. The fact that we were missing our first choice centre back pairing is probably just an excuse. If truth be told, we were poor and didn't deserve to win. No domestic double for us this season.
PLAYER WATCH
Juan Carlos Hermoza's 24 goals showed that we finally have a striker that will find the net. He still needs to add some consistency to his game because he can bang in 3 or 4 and then go 3 or 4 games without scoring.
Richard Spenhay's performances have been nothing short of spectacular and that's resulted in plenty of interest from Argentina and China. He ended last season with an average rating of 7.70 after he scored 14 goals (9 pens) and assisted 27 more. I don't think I've ever had a player create more goals than that for me.
The next of Blooming's most wanted is Richard Roca. As previously mentioned he struggled to adapt when he first came here, but this season he scored 8 and assisted 7 with a solid 7.24 average rating. Again, he's wanted by Racing in Argentina and a couple of Chinese clubs.
I'm at an important stage with what to do with the squad. As I've said previously, I'm looking at taking the Bolivia job when it becomes available and selling these two, particularly Roca would be more beneficial to the national team. I'm not sure I can bring myself to actively sell a player to benefit me in a job that I don't even have yet and, given the low expectations of the Bolivian FA, I may have to wait another two or three years for.
OFF FIELD
Not a great deal of change. The planned facility upgrades have been put back again until April. That's the third time it's happened now. The youth facilities will have taken 2 and a half years to complete when they're done. They better be worth it because this year's youth intake was dreadful. I signed all of the players in a bid to pack out my youth team, but I'd be surprised if any of them appear in the first team.
Once again there is a short turnaround to next season with our first friendly just a week away.
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Post by Nick on May 14, 2020 18:25:09 GMT
 The league has risen by one place in each of the past two years and we no longer play in the least reputable South American top division, that honour goes to Venezuela. Progress! |
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Post by Nick on May 15, 2020 10:10:51 GMT
 A far more manageable Libertadores group this year in which we'll probably fight it out for second place with Nacional. |
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Post by Nick on May 15, 2020 14:02:33 GMT
 Gary Arauz, the latest in what is becoming a long line of players straight out of the Blooming academy. He's just made his debut in the cup and helped himself to an assist and a 9.1 rating. As far as development goes, it's amazing how much better a player looks when he turns 9's into 10's. He's been tearing it up for the youth team this season with 18 goals and 6 assists, so a natural progression to regular first team games isn't far off. Like a lot of the players we're producing, he wasn't too physical, but seems to be developing much quicker than anyone else has. First touch, technique, vision, teamwork and decisions are all at first team standard and if I can improve his movement and composure to that level then we'll have a very good player on our hands. He's also currently in a mentoring group to improve his determination and personality. First team appearances might be limited to the cup this season, but I expect much more involvement from him next year. |
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Post by Nick on May 17, 2020 10:11:00 GMT
FOREWORD
Another quiet transfer window where no-one new arrived at the club as I continue to focus on the use of our own youth players. A handful of players left on loan to our new feeder club, Deportivo Fortaleza, who play in this division below us, while I sold a young fullback to The Strongest for £250k + 50% of next sale. He was 18 and nowhere near the first team and while I don't need the money, it was better than releasing him on a free which is what I'd planned to do.
LIGA DE FUTBOL PROFESIONAL BOLIVIANO
Another year of complete domination in the league before not turning up in the final and losing to Bolivar. We'd already played them three times this year, beating them twice and drawing 0-0 away and we get to the final and completely fluff our lines again. Twice in three years now. We were the better team in the final, but missed our chances and only managed to score from a corner.
Soul destroying stuff really. It's a long season, lost in one game.
After thinking that I'd solved my striker issues last season after Hermoza ended with 24 goals, this season he only hit 10 across all competitions and only 9 in the league. Menacho was even worse, scoring just four times this year. To put that into perspective, my left back scored 5, while one of the central defenders scored 7. The result of that is a switch to a strikerless tactic next season, which I'm going to go balls deep into by selling both Hermoza and Menacho. I've played around with it this season in a few games against weaker opposition and we've remained unbeaten with it, so there's definite potential. I'm way out of my comfort zone with it though and may need to spend some time looking closer at Guido's work on his blog to get a better understanding of the concept.
COPA AEROSUR
Nothing to write home about here as both myself and the board treat it as unimportant. We cruised to the quarter final with 2-0, 6-0 and 3-0 wins before losing 1-0 away at The Strongest.
COPA LIBERTADORES
The one saving grace to our season was our impressive performance in the Libertadores. Our group was much easier than last season, but still posed considerable threats in San Lorenzo and Nacional.
A come-from-behind win in Argentina against San Lorenzo where a 92nd minute penalty gave us a 3-2 win set us up nicely for a really solid group stage performance. We drew 1-1 at home to Nacional, but beat Peruvian side Cajamarca narrowly both home and away 1-0 and 2-1. That put us in control of the group and our ability to keep a clean sheet saw us qualify with a game to spare with a 1-0 win in Colombia. We beat San Lorenzo, again 1-0, in the final game to secure top spot.
Our reward was one of the easier second round draws, on paper at least. Paraguayans, Cerro Porteno, are no mugs, but we're getting to the stage where I fancy our chances against any of the clubs from outside Brazil and Argentina. We went to their place and played really well, but had to be happy with a 1-1 draw to take back to Bolivia. I'd seen enough to be confident of a win at home and with backed up that assumption with a 2-0 home win to take us into the quarters.
Brazilian behemoths, Sao Paulo, were our opposition and played the game of our lives. We went 1-0 and 2-1 down, but came back both times and eventually got a deserved 83rd minute winner through teenager Hugo Rivero. The 18 year old picked up the ball midway in the Sao Paulo half, drove into the space and unleashed a shot into the top corner from 25 yards out. He was the standout performer and the academy product took home the MoM award as a result.
At home we started nervously and Sao Paulo of course had the tools to do us damage. They took the lead just after the half-hour mark, but a good half-time team talk saw us come out a different team in the second half. Spenhay '51 and Roca '71 turned the game around and set up a semi final tie with another Brazilian giant, Internacional.
The home leg was a tough match and the standard of opposition had definitely gone up. With battled from a goal down to draw 1-1, but our opponents were a step above us and I feared the worst in the return. In the end it took a 95th minute penalty to see us off, but we were second best throughout both legs and should have lost more heavily away from home.
Nevertheless, this was the bright spot on our season and I'm chuffed with our performances on the big stage.
AWAY FROM THE PITCH
We've hit a crossroads in the save. I really wanted to continue focusing more on using our youth system, but the facility upgrade has been delayed yet again and I'm starting to wonder if it'll ever happen. This time it's been pushed back from February to May and it surely must be bugged. Three years for training facilities and 3 and a half years for youth facilities. Something isn't right. I'm going to see if it's delayed again and if it is, I might have to shelf the save where it is.
Financially, I don't think we'll ever have to worry again. £19m in the bank is surely more than most of the Bolivian sides put together, but it doesn't look like I can out any of that back into the club.
This year our reputation has risen hugely. We're now the 9th most reputable club in South America outside of the Brazilian and Argentinian teams and getting to the top of that pile is something I am looking at working towards. Our performance in the Libertadores could see the league also rise in the rankings and that would be great too.
Our rise in reputation has seen an increase in the interest in my players, particularly in Rivero. Pachuca don't look to be getting bored of having bids rejected, the latest being £1.2m. There is interest in over half my squad now from places like China, America, Mexico and even Spain.
My stock has risen to with job interviews offered by River, Boca, Palmeiras and even Sevilla in the last 12 months.
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Post by Nick on May 18, 2020 14:01:10 GMT
I've had to shelf this lads. The facilities were again put back, this time until July and I can't wait forever for them if I want to play this way. Time to look for something new.
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