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Post by hokster on Mar 20, 2021 15:49:32 GMT
Chivas Guadalajara: Introduction
IntroductionI was searching for an interesting YDWAWK save, and Dale made the great suggestion of Club Deportivo Guadalajara, or Las Chivas (the Goats). Chivas is one of the most successful clubs in Mexico, having won 12 titles (though only two tournaments since 2000), and two CONCACAF Champions Leagues (including in 2018). Chivas is reportedly the most popular club in Mexico, in no small part because of their cantera policy, where they may only sign and play Mexican nationals. The club's youth setup is fantastic, having brought through internationals such as Omar Bravo and Chicarito, making them ideal for this type of save. For this game, I've loaded all of the provided Western Hemisphere nations, as well as several major and mid-major European leagues, as well as a large database. Fortunately, the game runs faster on my new Macbook than it ever did on any of my PC laptops. Competition OverviewDomestic
Liga MX is the top level of the Mexican league pyramid. Like many Latin American leagues, a season is split into an Apertura and Clausura tournaments. There are 18 teams, and each tournament's regular season is single-robin. Like most American (U.S.) leagues, each tournament has a playoff structure (the liguilla) to determine the champion and continental qualification. The top four teams from the table advance directly to the quarterfinals, while teams 5-12 participate in the reclassification, which is a round of single matches with no extra time. The winners advance, and the remaining eight teams are seeded based on the table. From this point on, the playoff rounds are two-legged. Each year, two teams qualify for the CONCACAF champions league: two from the Apertura, and two from the Clausura. If the finalists are distinct in each tournament, they all qualify; otherwise, there are some rules which determine four unique teams, usually based on table performance in one or the other tournament. The team that is lowest on the average points table over the last three years is relegated (and cannot participate in the Clausura playoffs if they would have otherwise qualified). The second level is the Liga de Expansion, where our reserve team, CD Tapatio, plays. The Copa MX is the Mexican Cup. The format has changed several teams since 2012, but at this point, it's played a single time per season (as opposed to once per tournament, or twice per season). The teams that qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League do not participate. The cup starts with a group stage. The top Liga MX and Liga de Expansion teams are placed in Pot 1 based on their aggregate table standing from the previous season, and so on for the remaining two pots. Each group contains three teams, and after a double round robin, the group winners and top runners-up advance to a two-legged knockout stage. ContinentalThe CONCACAF Champions League consists of a straight two-legged knockout competition, with teams initially seeded and drawn from two pots. The winner qualifies for the Club World Cup. BackroomOur finances are okay; we start with 8.3M pounds in the bank and a payroll of 235.5k per week (I've turned off first-window transfers). We're projected to grow that balance, especially as I won't be spending any money on transfers. More importantly, we have excellent training facilities, great youth facilities, good academy coaching, and exceptional youth recruitment. Improving the academy coaching will be a priority to improve the CA and PA of our regens. Perhaps as importantly, I wil be looking to replace our HoYD, who has a balanced personality and a preferred catenaccio style. I do have some options with a Spirited personality, including this guy: I'm expected to rely on the youth setup (no problem there) and play attacking football. The board wants me to win the league by the end of the 2022/23 season, becoming the most reputable team in Mexico by 2024/25.
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Post by jawzy on Mar 20, 2021 16:44:09 GMT
iirc there is no pro/rel for 5 seasons in Mexico (i believe this was a covid related move, most teams have adopted a second tier side Also other teams are restricted to having only 12 non born mexicans
Mexico seems to be a rather wealthy but hidden gem of a league
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Post by hokster on Mar 20, 2021 17:39:39 GMT
iirc there is no pro/rel for 5 seasons in Mexico (i believe this was a covid related move, most teams have adopted a second tier side Also other teams are restricted to having only 12 non born mexicans Mexico seems to be a rather wealthy but hidden gem of a league Oh, it looks like you're right!
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Post by dalenichol on Mar 20, 2021 19:13:18 GMT
Excellent stuff Hok, glad you've went with this. It's a league that I've always felt inclined to manage in over the last few years, but it never seems to go that well for me!
I did have a successful journeyman stopover with Santos Laguna once, and I used to manage America on FM08 quite a bit, but never really since then. Hoping this save goes well!
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Post by hokster on Mar 20, 2021 20:30:08 GMT
Chivas Guadalajara: Club DNA, Squad Overview, Tactics, and TrainingClub DNAThe starting point when I take over a club is to establish DNA: between the club's culture and my own style, how do I want the club to perform, on and off the field? Between Chivas' culture and the contraints of this save, an obvious starting point is to depend on our youth setup. We will develop our youth prospects and provide those who are good enough with a pathway into the first team, moving on first team players. With a YDWAWK save, you have to be tactically flexible, adapting to the players you get and develop, rather than having a fixed tactical setup. However, we can identify our core principles that will guide how we structure development, and let formations and details vary based on which players we have available. In this save, my manager has the following tactical DNA: - We will be compact and solid in defense. Defense wins championships, after all. We will use a low-to-mid block to draw out the other team and create space. We will also try to channel the ball out to the flanks, where we can isolate the ball-carrier and force turnovers. And we would prefer to pressure the opposition into making bad passes rather than needing to tackle to reduce risk and fouls.
- We will engage in quick transitions. I want us to counter with pace. When we lose the ball, we will see if we can quickly counter-press before settling back into our defensive formation. We will earn the nickname of the "Crazy Goats."
- We will attack with intelligence, using combinations. We aren't going to just hoof the ball forward and hope something comes off. We will attack at a high tempo to unsettle the defense, but we should attack in layers as an integrated team.
While those are our principles, we will be pragmatic, and if our star regens favor a different style, we will adapt to that. These means (I think!) that we will prioritize the following attributes in our development and selection (using Ajax's TIPS paradigm to help organize): - Technique: Passing, Marking, Heading, Finishing
- Insight: Off the Ball, Positioning, Anticipation, Decisions
- Personality: Determination, Work Rate, Teamwork, Aggression
- Speed: Stamina, Acceleration, Natural Fitness
Squad OverviewWe have a big squad, especially since quite a few players are out on loan. Our key players: - Jose Juan Macias: Macias is our star attacker, who can cut in from the left or start up top. He's not an ideal fit for the DNA I outlined above, due to his lack of aggression, teamwork, and work rate, but we'll see how those develop, and otherwise he checks the boxes.
- Cristian Calderon: A quality attacking wingback. He leaves something to be desired defensively, but our goal should be to get him up and in the attack.
- Antonio Briseno: Our model centerback. Extremely solid mentally, technically, and physically, and a team leader.
- Fernando Beltran: The heartbeat of the team. His vision isn't ideal, but he'll run his ass off and get the rest of the team involved.
- Jesus Molina: Our midfield destroyer. He should form a formidable partnership in central midfield with Beltran, allowing Beltran to run around the pitch linking the play.
- Isaac Brizuela: A little limited technically, but he can beat his man and get in the pass. He can also deputize as an attacking wingback when needed.
- Alexis Vega: A well-rounded attacker who can play all over the attacking band.
Our other key prospects: - Gilberto Sepulveda: He should develop into a solid centerback, though we'll have to see about that Runs With Ball PPM.
- Eduardo Garcia: He has a long way to go, but he's only 17 and has a lot of remaining potential.
- Gabriel Martinez: Once again, a long way to go, but he's young and can grow a lot.
- Luis Puente: His tekkers are really solid, so we'll focus on his physicals and his mentals will come with time.
TacticsFor now, I'm thinking of the following setup: This is starting from a fluid counter-attacking setup, with a medium defensive line and a low line of engagement. In attack, our wingers tuck in, and Beltran can link the attacking and defensive bands. We get width from our attacking fullbacks, and Molina will drop inbetween Briseno and Mier to form a back three and guard against counters. We'll press with more urgency after forcing the opposition to the flanks, as well as countering and counter-pressing. We want to play at a high tempo, but with shorter passing to facilitate combination play, and we'll have a balanced mentality and adjust from there. I also have a 4-4-2 variant of this. Training: I'm going to take over our U20 training as well as our senior training, to ensure that we're developing players as I would like. Our senior schedules: Preseason
Our goals in preseason are: - Improve conditioning. Players come back after time off, and we need to get them back in shape. This means pushing them hard during preseason. We don't want to do this during the season, as that increases jadedness, so we want to really work the players hard in and out of matches.
- Increase team cohesion. This is less of a concern in this save, as we aren't bringing in new transfers, but when promoting new players to the senior squad, we want to make sure they bed in as soon as possible.
- Increase tactical familiarity. We're likely to be changing our tactics from season to season, so we want to get our players familiar with tactics ahead of when the games start to matter.
My schedules are constructed to do this while ramping up to the season. When the players first come back, we want to push them hard, but they aren't ready for matches yet: For the next week or two, we want to introduce matches, but too much too soon could lead to injuries, which is counterproductive. So we'll keep pushing them physically off the pitch, while introducing tactical elements to the training: The bulk of preseason will involve playing two matches a week. This improves our players' fitness, conditioning, and sharpness, so we don't need a lot of off-the-pitch conditioning work. Instead, we want to improve tactical familiarity and team cohesion: Finally, at the end of preseason, we want to ramp back down and focus more on less-intense training, transitioning to more specific training schedules. This schedule is flexible, depending on how beat up the squad is from our intense preseason: Regular Season: Our goal in the regular season is to improve key attributes, maintain and improve tactical familiarity, and keep the players fit for matches. As such, we will normally rotate through four schedules, each focusing on a different aspect of play. When we have two matches a week, training takes a back seat so the players can be ready for each match. The specific non-tactical and recovery sessions here are flexible depending on the opposition. Our youth schedules are more focused on keeping players on the ball and improving their technical development. Their physicals will develop as they mature, or with individual training as needed, and their mental attributes should develop with game play. We just have schedules focused on various aspects of play.
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Post by hokster on Mar 24, 2021 16:11:02 GMT
Chivas Guadalajara: 2020 Apertura ReviewI already did the overall introduction, so there's not much of a lead-in here, other than my proposed club DNA had to be thrown out the window mid-season, which I'll discuss below. There's no cup this season, so all we had to do is compete in the league. Competitions
Liga MX - Apertura The media predicted that we would finish in 5th, with 12-1 odds to win the Apertura.Fixtures:
Table:
Analyst Report: We finished first in the table, though it took some rejiggering of our tactical philosophy. In the introduction, I mentioned that I wanted us to be solid at defense and play aggressively on the counter. That worked ok for a bit, as we cruised through preseason and won 4 of our first 6 matches (and threw away a late lead against Santos Laguna). The only match where we looked shaky was the 3-1 loss to Club Leon, where Joel Campbell put on a 2 goal, 1 assist masterclass. After that, we struggled to create chances, and when we scored, it generally came from a set piece or a penalty (such as that stretch from the end of August through the end of September. I changed our tactical approach to press higher up the pitch, though I still emphasized compactness and quick combination play, and it worked a treat. We drew 0-0 against Club Azul in the first match where I tried this approach, but the results started to come after that, including a massive 3-0 win in the Clasico Tapatio against Atlas. The difference between playing at home and playing away was no joke. In 9 matches at home, we won 7, drew 2, and lost none, while scoring 21 and conceding 5. In the 8 away matches, we won 3, drew 3, and lost 2, scoring 17 and conceding 7. This theme would play out in the Liguilla. Even the tactics were quite different between the home and away legs -- when playing away (at their home), our opponents would use tactical approaches like Control Possession and Vertical Tiki-Taka, while it was a regular diet of Catenaccio and Route One at our stadium.
By virtue of our first-place finish during the regular season, we got to play the second legs at home throughout. We first drew our local rivals Atlas in the quarterfinal, and nicked a 1-0 win away on an Oribe Peralta penalty. We weren't quite outplayed, but Atlas got 14 shots compared to our 5 (though the xG numbers were quite similar, 1.10 to 1.01). In the return leg at home, Carlos Cisneros scored early, and we never looked back, holding Atlas to one shot en route to a 2-0 win. In the semifinal, we drew Cruz Azul, and were off to a flyer in the away leg with a 2-0 lead, which we proceeded to throw away, drawing 2-2. Cruz Azul went full-on catenaccio in the return leg, clogging the box, and I was nervous as we were without our regular midfield maestro, Fernando Beltran. However, his replacement, Eduardo Torres, scored a banger from 25 feet out, and Angel Zaldivar scored two from similar areas, exploiting the space we were allowed. Cruz Azul finally opened things up in the second half, but it was too little too late, and we were through with a 3-1 win (having outshot Cruz Azul 27-8, with an xG difference of 1.78-0.63).In the final, we were matched with Tigres UANL. Torres got us off to a fast start, scoring another from outside the area, but Tigres pulled one back immediately. The rest of the match was even, and we went home with a very fair 1-1 result. Jose Juan Macias scored early, but I was worried when a Zaldivar penalty was saved. Macias scored a hat trick, though, and we held Tigres to 3 shots in a 4-1 win, securing the Apertura championship and qualification for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions' League.
Transfers
Obviously we're only selling here, and the window hasn't quite opened yet, but Austin FC made a 2.9M bid for Macias. I don't have a replacement for him just yet, so I'll hold off until at least the summer, and see what kids are ready to be promoted.
Youth Intake Preview
I got the intake preview at the end of November:
Not the most promising, but we'll see how it shakes out. My new HoYD's JPA/JPP isn't great, because I prioritized personality, and the other Spirited personality HOYDs were out of my budget.[/div][/div]
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Post by hokster on Mar 25, 2021 11:56:06 GMT
Chivas Guadalajara 2021 Youth IntakeI had to use two screenshots to capture the entire intake, so apologies for that:This is a really good intake at the top, and my HoYD seems to have played a decent role in it, influencing the personalities of Alonso Ayala and Gerardo Flores, and the playing style of Alejandro Lopez and Juan Carlos Garcia. Ayala is potentially one of the best players of his generation. Here's my take on and initial plan for the top candidates:- Alonso Ayala: He's already looking comparable to my current AMs. Incredibly advanced mentally, and will add massive amounts of creativity to the attack. We need to get his passing skill and dribbling up, as well as his pace and acceleration, but he's got a great start for a 15-year old, and we'll undoubtedly be running our attack through him in the future. I can see him breaking into the first team in a couple of years after a year in the youth setup and some time on loan. Unfortunately, his personality doesn't give me a lot of clues about his hidden attributes. He's also a supporter of the club, so hopefully he becomes a legend.
- Daniel Flores: Once again, he's got a great start for a centerback, though he's a bit short and not good in the air. That makes me think if he makes it, he'll be used in a high line, but then he's quite slow and his positioning isn't ideal. If we can get his positioning and speed up, he's going to be fantastic.
- Juan Carlos Garcia: I think he might make a better centerback than a fullback, or at least he'll be the type of fullback who tucks in. I wish he had some capability with his right foot, but I'm tempted to try to retrain him as an RB and use him as an IWB-D, since he'll be a decent ball-recycler (he's so one-footed that I don't think I want to make him a straight DM). I could also try to make him into a BPD, but he's a bit wee for a centerback and is unlikely to ever be good in the air.
- Guadalupe Palomino: He's looking good value as a future CB, especially if we can improve his physicals, which should come in more as he's only 15. I might even try to make him as a DM, as he should develop into being solid on the ball, but then I'd want to get rid of his PPM.
- Ivan Medrano: Holy mentals and finishing, Batman! Hopefully his true potential is higher, and his rating is the result of my assistant coach's not great JPP. He's never going to be a good team player, but I can see him combining with Ayala really effectively to finish off moves.
- Gerardo Flores: Since Ayala is so promising, I'm thinking about training him as a more supporting CM. He's got a great first touch and a decent all-around mental base. Whether he makes is it going to depend on how much potential he has to spare.
- Luis Eduardo Hernandez: His pathway may be blocked by Eduardo Garcia, but we'll see how he develops. He could become a perfectly cromulent backup.
- Omar Formoso: He's surprisingly mediocre in the air for a guy who's 6'4" at 15, but if he has enough potential, he could develop into a reasonable squad player. His work rate needs to be a lot higher.
- Fernando Garza: Once again, low work rate for a winger, but otherwise he's looking like he could become a decent winger. He's relatively useless defending, but paired with a more defensively-focused CM and FB, he could fit in decently.
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Post by jawzy on Mar 25, 2021 13:36:40 GMT
Ayala, looks like an interesting project, not that I have had many Engranches be overly useful.
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Post by hokster on Mar 25, 2021 14:04:56 GMT
Ayala, looks like an interesting project, not that I have had many Engranches be overly useful. I don't think I've ever tried using an enganche before, but I see him as an AP-S or an AM-S, though he might be too physically limited for one of those. We'll see how he starts to develop. I'm not completely thrilled with his Gets Into Opposition Area PPM, given he's a relatively poor finisher and I think he's better suited to sitting in the hole and pulling the strings.
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Post by hokster on Mar 25, 2021 23:24:23 GMT
Don't care if he's unhappy, this is a good sign:
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Post by dalenichol on Mar 26, 2021 9:55:24 GMT
He can complain all he wants, but that's definitely moving in the right direction!
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Post by hokster on Mar 26, 2021 17:57:35 GMT
Chivas Guadalajara: 2021 Clausura ReviewI was wrong in the Apertura review when I said that we qualified for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League; it turns out that we qualified for the 2022 edition. So we once again only had the league to focus on.CompetitionsLiga MX - Clausura
Fixtures:Table:On the whole, another successful campaign, which resulted in a second-placed finish (though the board didn't think we were attacking enough). This time, the media thought we would finish 5th, and only gave us 25-1 odds to win.By virtue of the second-placed finish, we were able to jump to the quarterfinals, where we drew Puebla FC. We stormed to a 3-0 win at home thanks to three goals in the first 18 minutes, but only went through thanks to scoring a single away goal in a 3-1 loss away (though one of the conceded goals came at the complete last gasp of injury time, and we would've been tighter had the overall tie been in question). I had started playing prospect Luis Puente towards the end of the Clausura, and he came through with two goals in each leg of the semifinal against Club Leon, leading us to a 4-3 aggregate win (once again, we conceded at the death of injury time in the second leg). In the final, we drew Tigres, who had finished above us in the table, but disposed of them with a 3-1 home win and a 0-0 away draw (once again, Puente scored a brace in the first leg, and got in several great positions in the away leg that he couldn't quite finish).If this were a typical save, I'm not sure what I would do at this point, given how easily we came to success, but I like kids' saves because you're forced to use different tactics every season. Next season, I'm thinking about trying to use inverted wingbacks, which I haven't tried using in any edition of FM yet.Squad StatisticsMy tactical setup worked a treat, as Fernando Beltran, who I had envisioned as the heartbeat of the side, led the team in assists and key passes on his way to winning Defensive Midfielder of the Year. Our one big weakness was that we were miserable at crossing, which isn't too surprising given our stats. We had several matches where the opposition let us naturally play out wide, and I had to tell the team to play more narrowly and look for underlaps to create chances. This isn't going to be a problem that solves itself any time soon given the nature of the save, but this is one reason I'm tempted to work with IWBs. The one downside is almost all of my AMLs want to cut inside, but maybe that's less of a problem if I tell them to stay wide and not to move in until they receive the ball.However, I was thrilled by how quickly Luis Puente settled in. 10 goals in 10 appearances is top notch, and he only has room to grow from here. He'll be our number 10 for the forseeable future.TransfersWe'll see what the offseason brings, as I rejected bids for a couple of players during the season, while a few others told me they wanted to look for a new challenge. We had a *lot* of players out on loan at game's start, though, so I'll have to spend a bunch of time on squad management activities. The emergence of Puente means that I might bite on a renewed offer for Macias.BackroomWe were quite in debt at the end of the season, but we have three new sponsorship deals, including a 3M bump to our TV deal. I took advantage of the new money to get another youth facility upgrade (which should take us to Exceptional), but the board wouldn't bite on a training facility upgrade. Hopefully I can get another junior coaching budget bump, too. As it stands, we have 30M in the bank, and I'm looking to cut payroll by reducing the size of the squad.Youth OverviewWe had some changes to player potential assessment from the last intake. In addition to Alonso Ayala (AMC), Daniel Flores (DC), Guadalupe Palomino (DC) and Juan Carlos Garcia (DL) are now also rated as 4/5* PA. They join start-of-game prospects Gabriel Martinez (DC) and Eduardo Garcia (GK) as 4/5* PA prospects, and the future looks bright. Ivan Medrano (ST) is now 3.5/4.5*.Here are screenshots of those prospects and how they're developing:Other players with a bit less potential are also kicking on, so things are progressing very nicely indeed. I'm a little thin at GK, so I think Garcia will stay at the club as a heavy rotation option, but I can safely loan out Ayala and Martinez to get them some first team minutes. The others need one more year of seasoning in the U20s, I think.
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Post by hokster on Apr 2, 2021 12:58:08 GMT
Chivas Guadalajara 2021 AperturaTactical Overview I started off the season trying to use a 4-3-2-1 with 2 IWBs, but I couldn't quite get the balance right since Jose Juan Macias wants to cut in from the wing. Instead, I settled on this setup:Standard 4-3-2-1 with Fernando Beltran as the BBM linking attack and defense, Alonso Ayala (who developed well enough to enter the first choice side after a few matches) making runs from deep to attack the box, and Luis Puente dropping deep to help with the buildup. Depending on the opposition, we press high or we drop off a bit to reduce the risk of getting beat over the top, but we were trying to use width to stretch the defense and dominate possession. I also realize while writing this that I forgot to change the keeper's name from the default, but oh well.
Ayala performed really well in general, frequently popping up in the box unmarked, but his finishing was really poor, so he didn't take many of those chances. Since his movement is so good despite how slow he is, I want him to keep trying to make those runs, so we need to keep working on his finishing so he can convert more of his opportunities. I'm trying to teach him to Play One-Twos at the moment so he can help progress the ball more effectively, so no individual training at the moment. His flair came through as well, as he chipped the Tigres keeper from deep in an early match. Backroom Since I didn't spend any money on transfers, we're in good shape financially, entering the season with 35M in the bank. I got the board to agree to youth and training facility upgrades, as well as a junior coaching upgrade, so now we're up to Superb youth facilities and Exceptional youth coaching and recruiting (the training facility upgrade isn't done yet).Competitions By virtue of our success last season, we participated in a bunch of competitions that I honestly didn't know existed, despite being an American.Campeón de CampeonesIn the Mexican Supercup, we played Tigres. We completely dominated, with 2.20 - 0.49 xG. We only won 2-1 because we had two goals called back for offsides, hit the woodwork on a penalty, and conceded at the very end of injury time. Ayala scored a goal on his professional debut after the ball fell to him after Macias was tackled in the area, and had another called back late.Campeones CupAs winner of the Campeón de Campeones, we played in this against MLS Cup champions Seattle. Once again, we dominated Seattle, but struggled to finish our chances until Macias latched onto a loose ball in the 78th minute and found Beltran streaking into the box for a tap-in. Leagues CupThis is a single-elimination tournament with 4 MLS and 4 Liga MX teams, which we qualified for by winning at least one of the Liga MX Apertura or Clausura. We drew New York Red Bulls in the First Round, and won 2-0 behind goals from Puente and Carlos Cisneros. In the quarterfinal, we drew LAFC, and went down early on a Diego Rossi goal. In general, LAFC domianted the first half. After making some tweaks, we did better in the second half, and evened things up on a 75th minute Puente goal, but Carlos Vela scored in the 85th minute to knock us out. Seattle would win, beating LA Galaxy in the Final.Liga MX AperturaFixtures: Table: Our attacking potency dried up later in the season as teams started packing the box, forcing us to shoot from deeper positions and blocking shots (plus we were struggling to get shots on target in most matches even when we had opportunities in the box), but we found ways to grind out wins anyway. The board wasn't thrilled that we weren't playing attacking soccer by their metrics, but we were trying, dammit! I'll need to take the winter break to sort out some tweaks to draw the defense out of position and create some better chances.The playoffs were less of a walk than last season's, too, which wasn't helped by some key injuries and fatigue (including a major injury to our first-choice keeper, Raul Gudino. We drew a now Joel Campbell-less Club Leon in the Quarterfinal, and despite having the better of the match, left the away leg down a goal after conceding on a corner in the last seconds of injury time (it didn't help that we got literally no shots on target). However, we came out much more focused at home, and evened things up when Puente knocked a cross down to Ayala, who scored on the volley. Beltran gave us the aggregate lead in the second half, and Macias wrapped up a 3-0 win at the very end of the match. In the Semifinal, we drew CF Monterrey, who completely dominated us in the first leg at their place. They scored twice in the first hour, and while we were getting our shots on target, we didn't generate enough and they weren't great chances. We managed to grab an away goal in the second minute of injury time, though, as Cesar Huerta made a nice run to get onto a ball from deep and slotted the ball past the keeper. At home, Alexis Vega got us off to a flyer when he curled a ball in in the 5th minute, but Monterrey took the aggregate lead back with an away goal off a corner. We pushed the attack and did a decent job with our chances, but the Monterrey keeper was standing on his head. We finally leveled things in the 86th minute when Puente ran onto a clever through ball from Beltran and placed the ball into the corner, and went through to the Final as the highest seed (which was good, because the squad was gassed).
The Final was a two-legged Tapatio derby against Atlas Guadalajara, and we finally did our job in an away leg, with two second-half goals getting us a 2-0 win. Atlas pulled one back in the return leg, but we pulled out a 1-1 draw for a 3-1 aggregate win and another title.
Youth Intake Preview
Once again, my HoYD doesn't have the best JPP/JPA, so we'll see what comes of this, since last year's intake was quite good and wasn't rated as a potential golden generation. I could certainly use some quality DM prospects.
I'm going to try to send out some of my prospects from the last intake out on loan during the Clausura, as a few of them are progressing nicely and look ready for first-team action elsewhere. The youth team got drawn in the Italian Youth Club Invitational into a group along with Bologna U20s, Pordenone U20s, and Udinese U20s, so that will be an interesting challenge for them.
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Post by hokster on Apr 2, 2021 20:43:10 GMT
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Post by hokster on Apr 3, 2021 17:49:51 GMT
Chivas Guadalajara 2022 Youth IntakeUpdate: My game crashed before it got a chance to save, and I didn't realize it hadn't saved after the intake. I've updated this post with the "second" intake, which fortunately isn't too different in terms of quality thanks to how SI changed the intake system a few years ago.
Well, well, well:As my HoYD put it, "Whisper it quietly, but this could be a so-called 'golden generation.'" There's PA in spades, but some of the high-potential players are a little more nuanced.- Sergio Alvarado: I wish he had better crossing or finishing, and that work rate is just ugh, but we'll see how it goes. I think I'll train him as an IF-S.
- Ruben Garcia: He's already a bit better than our goalkeeper prospect from last year, and while he's behind Eduardo Garcia, he could develop really nicely. Our future looks really bright at keeper.
- Jorge Tena: He's looking like a good DLP prospect, though possibly not a DLP-D, since he could be decent at producing goals from deep with that flair, finishing, technique, and long shots (why is his free kicks so bad ). I guess I'll teach him some long-range passing PPMs so he can make use of his flair.
- Jose Roberto Sanchez: I wish he were stronger, but he could develop into a really good supporting striker, helping to set up opportunities for last year's star striker prospect, Ivan Medrano.
- Jose Luis Loza: Another good-looking left winger prospect. Once again, I don't want to let him anywhere near goal, but that might lead us to be too predictable if I pair him with a similarly profiled right winger.
- Joshua Granillo: I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing him develop. He's a physical beast and has really advanced mentals. He's going to be defensively solid, and should be good enough going forward. The finishing could be a bit of a waste, but I really want to train him as an IWB and let him make those runs.
- Jaime Garza: He's an interesting one. I love the tekkers for a supporting midfielder who's going to help recycle possession, but the anticipation and off the ball aren't great. I guess we'll see how he develops, and I'll give him Tries Killer Balls Often (and maybe Likes to Switch Ball to Other Flank if his anticipation starts to develop well).
- Alberto Cadavieco: I'm a little unsure what to do with him. He at least has a decent right foot and will be a decent dribbler/finisher with pace, so maybe it makes sense to train him as an IF? I wish his composure and heading were higher, but we'll see how he develops. I don't know how bad the Fickle personality is.
- Jose Garza: He's looking quite good. Good flair, workrate, technique, and a really good base for everything else you could want from a supporting winger. I'll try to teach him Hugs Line, as I don't really want him anywhere near the goal.
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Post by dalenichol on Apr 6, 2021 10:41:39 GMT
Cadavieco is a bit of an anomaly, but maybe training as you've suggested could be what turns it around. 5* potential definitely means there's something there, but I'm not entirely sure what that something is. I don't think fickle is necessarily awful, but if you could have that personality improved, that would be something.
I like Jose Garza a lot though, absolutely.
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Post by hokster on Apr 6, 2021 15:09:45 GMT
Cadavieco is a bit of an anomaly, but maybe training as you've suggested could be what turns it around. 5* potential definitely means there's something there, but I'm not entirely sure what that something is. I don't think fickle is necessarily awful, but if you could have that personality improved, that would be something. I like Jose Garza a lot though, absolutely. Yeah, I'm quite excited about Garza. I just remembered I was training Ivan Medrano as a left-sided Ramdeuter even though he's primarily left-footed (Muller is right-footed and plays at AMR, right?), so he and Garza could be the starting wingers, with a supporting ST such as Sanchez dropping deep to create space. Cadavieco could fit into that tactical framework as well, maybe, if he develops properly.
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Post by hokster on Apr 15, 2021 14:05:57 GMT
Chivas Guadalajara: 2022 Clausura ReviewWe had a major change this half-season, as I sold Jose Juan Macias to Benfica for 5.75M. This thinned us out slightly, but the offer was too good, and in some ways he didn't quite work with the rest of the squad tactically.
CompetitionsLiga MX - ClausuraFixtures: Table: I made a couple of tactical tweaks after we trailed off at the end of the Apertura --- nothing major, but some small changes to try to open up our movement a bit more. It worked a treat, though we did stumble a bit at the end (and I don't know what happened against Monterrey). Part of the issue was fixture congestion --- by competing in the CONCACAF Champions League, we backloaded our match schedule a lot, and we had a reasonable run of injuries that left us a bit thin at some key locations. But overall, we did spectacularly during the regular season.
In the quarterfinal, we went down 2-0 early at Mazatlan, but pulled back an away goal from a Luis Puente header in the 66th minute, and I felt good about the situation heading home. Javier Eduardo Lopez tied it up in the 45th minute of the home leg following a beautiful first-time flick by Alonso Ayala, but we conceded right away and were knocked out. Leon ended up smashing Monterrey 4-1 in the final.CONCACAF Champions LeagueThe CONCACAF CL has no group stage, just a series of two-legged matches. We drew Costa Ricans CS Herediano in the first round, and while we battered them in the first away leg (19-1 shots, 2.59-0.04 xG, 63%-37% possession), we couldn't break through and went home with a 0-0 draw. However, in the 16th minute, Fernando Beltran curled in a lovely ball off a throw-in to Ayala, who volleyed home for the lead, and Beltran made it 2-0 with a free kick in the second half. This time, we outshot them 28-1, and overall, I was happy to see us break down a team that was set up to turtle. In the quarterfinal, we drew Inter Miami. In the first leg in Miami, we got destroyed 3-0 despite not playing poorly (we struggled to get shots on target and conceded a penalty), and I figured we were done. At home, we started off well, with Puente receiving a pass from Lopez and dribbling through the rest of the defense before scoring in the 11th minute. In the 22nd minute, Lopez and Beltran played a nice combination game before sliding the ball to Jose Antonio Maduena, who hit the post from a shot from outside the area. Fortunately, the ball fell to Carlos Cisneros, who had an easy tap-in. All of a sudden, we only needed one more goal to tie things up, and that came in the 28th minute as Puente received a pass from Lopez, took one touch, and fired home. At this point, Inter increased the pressure, but we managed to not concede until Matias Pellegrini got the ball to Gonzalo Higuain in the area, and he scored after a missed tackle. However, we kept working the ball successfully down the right flank, and at the end of injury time, after some passing between Beltran and Maduena, Lopez got the ball in space and crossed to Puente, who completed his hat trick to tie things up at 4-4, though Miami had an away goal. We kept up the pressure in the second half, but couldn't find the winning goal. In the 3rd minute of injury time, Cristian Calderon crossed to Angel Zaldivar in the area, and he was fouled by Nicolas Figal. A penalty was given, which Zaldivar converted, and on we went to the semifinal.We then drew Tigres in the semifinal, and this tie was much less eventful. The first leg was again away, and we scored in the 57th minute when Beltran hit the post with a free kick and the rebound fell to Puente. We were both a bit cagey in the return leg, but Alexis Vega scored a brace with a header and a lovely curled shot for a 3-0 aggregate win.In the final, we played Minnesota United. In the 3rd minute, Puente knocked on a long pass from the defense to Lopez, who dribbled halfway down the field before slotting home. In the 55th minute, Maduena scored with a nice shot into the corner, and we must have gotten a bit complacent, because in the 57th minute, Foster Langsdorf split the defense with a through ball, which led to a Olmes Garcia goal. Minnesota should have evened it up in the 60th minute, but Raul Gudino saved a Langsdorf penalty. We seem to have lost the highlights of the last two goals, but Lopez added one more in the 77th minute, with American regen Jose Lopez drawing Minnesota back within one goal in the 83rd. We went home with a 3-2 lead, and just annihilated them. We outshot Minnesota 23-6, with 2.52 xG to 0.57. In the 17th minute, Lopez crossed to Vega for a headed goal. Vega almost had another in the 64th minute after a clever ball from Ayala, but after getting the rebound, he passed to Lopez for 2-0. Vega got his brace off a through ball from Ayala in the 75th minute, and the title was ours, so we'll have the Club World Cup to look forward to next season.
Squad StatisticsHard to complain about much. Without Macis, Puente was obviously our attacking focal point, and broke a club record for goals, but he also had 13 assists, and Beltran continued his midfield brilliance. Beltran became a regular in the Mexican national team this year, while Ayala and Puente started to get U20 and U23 callups, respectively. Next season, I need to sort out which youth team members to blood into the first team, and which I should send out on loan. Ivan Medrano seems like a clear first team candidate as either the more attacking striker or an IF/RMD, but he certainly could benefit from a loan, particularly as his dribbling needs a lot of work. I need to think through our depth challenges this last season, since the CWC isn't going to make life easier on that front. If I switch to a two-striker system, I'd want to go with three at the back, and while Daniel Flores is coming along very nicely, his positioning is too weak at this point, and I think he needs another season in the youth setup focusing on that before a loan or a potential first team opportunity, and the same is true for Guadalupe Palomino. A better option might be Gabriel Martinez, who had a nice loan spell this season at Nacional. We'll see how it plays out, but I might set up two or three options to give myself flexibility as the season goes on.
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Post by jawzy on Apr 15, 2021 22:08:11 GMT
What are you expecting from the CWC
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Post by hokster on Apr 19, 2021 17:03:58 GMT
What are you expecting from the CWC Really have no idea. I guess we'll see who comes out of the CL and the Copa Libertadores. We ought to be top three, though.
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Post by chaodck on Apr 20, 2021 15:31:09 GMT
Finally read this through Hok mate, great progress so far. Shame to lose in the clausura playoffs, that format is a bitch (we had it in Chile for a long time), great job on winning the CONCA CL though! Regarding the nature of the save, you definetely have some talent in your hands, really like the look of Medrano and Flores. Keep up the great work mate, this will be a fantastic save.
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Post by hokster on Apr 20, 2021 22:11:06 GMT
What are you expecting from the CWC Really have no idea. I guess we'll see who comes out of the CL and the Copa Libertadores. We ought to be top three, though. Ok, when did the CWC format change? We've been drawn in a group with PSG and Gremio.
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Post by chaodck on Apr 20, 2021 22:34:48 GMT
Really have no idea. I guess we'll see who comes out of the CL and the Copa Libertadores. We ought to be top three, though. Ok, when did the CWC format change? We've been drawn in a group with PSG and Gremio. The second CWC in the game is new format. 2020-21 (played in February 2021) has classic format, while the 2022 version, played in the Summer of 2022 has the new 24-team group format (which is the current CWC format for real life). It's played every 4 years, but as the first was supposed to be played in 2021 and postponed to 2022 due to COVID, the second version is in 2025, then 2029, 2033, etc. www.wikiwand.com/en/Future_FIFA_Club_World_Cup_(China)
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Post by hokster on May 7, 2021 12:22:42 GMT
Chivas Guadalajara: 2022 Apertura ReviewI've just finished getting through the slog of fall 2022, which was particularly brutal as we were competing on several fronts: the Apertura, the Club World Cup, and the Leagues Cup (in addition to one-off events like the Campeones Cup and the Mexican Supercup). This congestion basically meant that we were playing two matches a week from the start until the end of the season, and the injuries and jadedness piled up. The good news is that this meant I had to blood in a few youngsters earlier than I was planning to, and several of them showed their promise.CompetitionsLiga MX - Apertura
Fixtures: [/spoiler][/font] Table: Like I said, it was a grind. We started off relatively low on the table due to the number of early draws, but shot up once we started winning matches more consistently. I don't know if there's a way to see how many times over the season we hit the woodwork, but it felt like it was 3-4 every match. Luis Puente in particular struggled a bit, going ten or so matches without a goal before scoring the brace against Club Nexaca. Fortunately, we were able to find goals from elsewhere, in part thanks to Puente's contributions in our build-up play. He averaged more than 1 key pass per 90 minutes, and I'm honestly surprised looking at the stats now to see that he only had 4 assists.Things got more dramatic during the playoffs. We drew Tigres UANL in the quarterfinal and despite being generally outplayed, we won the first leg 2-1 away. Puente continued his strong play with a goal and an assist, but pulled up in the 4th minute of extra time with sprained knee ligaments, knocking him out of contention for the rest of the playoffs. We then struggled a bit in the home leg, but survived 0-0 thanks to some incredible goalkeeping by Raul Gudino.
We then drew CF Monterrey in the semifinals, and the wheels came completely off in a 3-0 away loss. We could only manage 5 shots, and only got one of those on target. We then had a scoreless first half in the home leg (only thanks to a Vincent Janssen missed penalty), and lost Alexis Vega to a twisted ankle, and I was mentally resigned to a loss. In the 54th minute, Angel Zaldivar converted a penalty, but we were still spinning our wheels a bit. Then, in the 77th minute, Alonso Ayala received a pass at the edge of the area and scored a gorgeous curler. Ayala then set up Javier Eduardo Lopez after a throw-in for a volleyed equalizer in the 81st minute, and we had turned things around in a half. Had things stayed the same, we would've gone through as the higher seed, but Ivan Medrano made that unnecessary with a strong header off a cross from Cristian Calderon in the 86th minute. We had to get through Club America in the final, and this time had the first leg at home. We conceded an early away goal against the run of play, but otherwise had the better of it, as Medrano, who kept popping up in dangerous locations, set up a goal and scored two. That early goal would haunt us, though, as Club America scored three second-half goals in the return leg to win 4-3 on aggregate. I'm still pleased with the run we made, though, given how fatigued everyone was and how many injuries we had. Club World CupWe were drawn into a group with Gremio and PSG, which did not make me feel optimistic. Gremio then proceeded to outclass us in the first match, though we only lost 2-1 thanks to a 73rd minute Zaldivar goal. Then, when we played PSG, Puente played out of his head, scoring a hat trick in a 3-1 win. PSG then smashed Gremio 5-1 to win the group and advance. In the end, Bayern beat Liverpool 3-2 to win the competition. Leagues CupWe drew LAFC in the first round, and I rotated heavily as it was only July and the fixtures were already piling up. Despite being generally outplayed, we snatched two goals and won 2-1. In the quarterfinal, we drew NYFC, and despite having the better of the match, couldn't score, and off we went to penalties, where we lost 4-3. I can't say I was terribly torn up about this, as it let us focus on the league and got the players some much-needed rest. Campeones CupWe played Minnesota United in the Campeones Cup, and went down 2-0 in the first 20 minutes. We then proceeded to kick things into gear. Gerardo Flores, making his debut, scored an absolute belter from the edge of the box, and Lopez scored a tap-in at the far post off an absolutely lovely cross from Vega. Despite keeping Minnesota pinned back, we couldn't get that third goal, and the match went to extra time (ugh). Vega then proceeded to score two goals in the 93rd and 94th minute, and should have had a third but hit the post twice. It didn't matter aside from his goal-scoring bonus, and we won 4-2. SupercupClub Leon was our opponent in the Supercup, and oh boy was this one for the neutrals. Medrano got hurt in the 6th minute, and Jean Meneses opened the scoring for Leon shortly thereafter. Ayala then equalized after making a nice run into the box on the break. Some slick passing ended with a goal by Andres Mosquera in the 53rd minute, but Puente pinged them back in the 66th minute with a nice volley. Mosquera then scored again in the 69th minute after a bad defensive breakdown gave him tons of room in the channel. Vega equalized in the 74th minute after a rebound fell right at his feet. We had to play extra time here, too, and went for the throat, pinning Leon back. We couldn't quite find the goal until the 114th minute, when Zaldivar got on the end of a deep cross and headed home, giving us this title as well. Youth Intake PreviewLooks good to me! We don't necessarily need more attacking mids, but we definitely need more depth coming through at striker, and maybe the winger can be retrained as an attacking fullback.[/div][/div]
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