Altrincham F.C. - Mission: Champions League

[Hampus Silverholt]

We prepared for the first leg against RB Leipzig with an incredible result against Chelsea.

Record signing Ian Johnson decided to fly two-footed into someone after 90 seconds, leaving us with 10 men for the rest of the game. Yet we were still the better team and ended up winning 3-0!

It was interesting to see that RB Leipzig had 2 former Altrincham players in their team. The first was Diego Silva, who got promoted twice with us from the Championship.

The second is Julian Cordoba. He instantly complained about something when he signed so didn’t actually feature for us in a competitive match!

I would’ve taken a 1-0 win before the first leg, but we really should have won by more.

But it was another win and another clean sheet. All we’ve been doing is winning and keeping clean sheets.

In fact, during March we broke club records for consecutive games won and consecutive clean sheets.

We also decided to take all of our chances in the second leg against RB Leipzig.

We. Are. Seriously. Good. At. Football.

We’ve breezed into the Champions League quarter final, and Michael Adjetey’s 4 goals took him to the top of the scoring charts in the Champions League.

Our opponent in the quarter-final will be Real Madrid, the team who we beat in the 1st Knockout Round last season.

They’re 2nd in La Liga so we’re arguably favourites to go through!

I say this because we are top of the Premier League… by a mile.

Back to back titles looks like it’s going to happen, but the Champions League and FA Cup are still the focus as well.

A largely changed team did brilliantly to beat Man City in the FA Cup, with all 3 goals coming from Englishmen.

They’ll get another chance to defy the odds against Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final.

Our winning and clean sheet run is going to come to an end at some point. But at the moment we are looking unstoppable.

I won’t mention the treble. Best not to tempt fate…​

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

Brazillian left back Idlemar earned the first cap for his country on his 20th birthday in the March international break.

I was a bit concerned about who he was thanking... but it turns out that Brazil’s manager has an excellent name and an excellent facepack image.

Our clean sheet run may have ended, but our second string XI still beat Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter final at Anfield!

We’ll play Rotherham in the semi-final, who are stuck in a Championship relegation battle.

The FA Cup was a nice distraction for us but the Champions League was the priority.

The first leg against Real Madrid was at the Bernabeu and the home side were the slight favourites.

A mazy run from £111m signing Ian Johnson set up holding midfielder Eder Claveria after 10 minutes.

And the score did not change.

We’re becoming 1-0 specialists! That win was our 18th consecutive win in all competitions. 18 wins in a row!

We were in the perfect position going into the second leg.

Everything was going swimmingly and we were cruising towards the semi-finals with Michael
Adjetey’s early goal. Then Real scored after 88 minutes.

All of a sudden I was in panic mode.

If they scored again, then they were going through at our expense.

So we parked the bus for the final few minutes.

Few! We are into the Champions League semi-final and will face Borussia Dortmund. They are second in the Bundesliga, so if we can beat Real Madrid then we should be beating them.

That’s because we are the best team in England by a long way. The second leg against Real Madrid result ended the longest winning run in our history of 19 matches.

With 5 games remaining, we are 14 points clear and so are on the brink of winning the Premier League for the second successive season.

So one part of the potential treble is virtually completed. Just an FA Cup semi-final and Champions League semi-final to get through...​

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

Going into our FA Cup semi-final against Rotherham, who were in the Championship relegation zone, I expected nothing but a comfortable win. But no.

They almost took our rotated team to extra time and I felt a bit bad when Mike Smith scored a winner in injury time.

An incredible stat is that we had conceded 2 goals in our last 14 games before that, yet Championship strugglers Rotherham were the team to score 3 against us!

We will face Manchester United in the final. I’ll need to make a decision about whether to go with the team who got us to the final, or whether to put out our full-strength squad.

After that Rotherham match, we faced Aston Villa at home. A win would seal the Premier League title.

We breezed past them to confirm our second Premier League title in a row!

With 89 points, we have 5 more points than we did in the entirety of last season and could still finish the season with 100 points if we win our last 4 games.

It was down to the goalscoring of Thiago Ryan, the defensive prowess of Hector Pozos and the creativity of new signings Alfredo Jose and Johnson, but we’ll cover the players individually at the end of the season.

For now we have a Champions League semi-final tie against Borussia Dortmund to concentrate on.

Their best player is Romeu Firmino, who spent a season on loan with Altrincham and scored twice in the FA Cup final for us.

He was then part of the Chelsea side that knocked us out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage two seasons ago.

But we have a much better squad than we did 2 seasons ago. Only 3 players who started in the semi-final 2 years ago are starting this time around. (Bondarenko, Claveria and Adjetey)

With no injuries and no suspensions, we’re favourites for the first leg even though we're the away team.

Can we get to our first ever Champions League final?​

 

[Alan2168]

It's going well....treble incoming?!!

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

It's going well....treble incoming?!!

The less I think about the treble, the less disappointed I'll be if it doesn't happen...

(But we could be on for the treble here!)

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

The first leg of the Champions League semi-final at Dortmund could not have started any better.

Centre back Hector Pozos won the ball in the air from a corner and Thiago Ryan was there at the back post to score after 3 mins.

We were so dominant in the first half that by half time we had limited Dortmund to just one shot.

But, just like in the quarter-final against Real Madrid, we dominated the first leg away from home yet only won 1-0.

Goalkeeper Valdo was the man of the match, saving just the 12 shots!

Meanwhile, our 100 point season was thwarted by relegation bound Bournemouth (out of all the teams!) We played a completely rotated side but it’s becoming a bit of a joke how many shots we have and how few goals we score.

2 of our 3 draws this season have been against them, they truly are our bogey team.

But getting 100 points in the league did not matter. Getting through to the Champions League final is what mattered.

All we needed for the second leg was a clean sheet. And that’s what we got.

We’ll ignore the fact that we’ve scored once in our past 3 matches… we’re into the Champions League final and will face Barcelona!

They’ve won the competition twice in the last 3 years and will be favourites even though we’ve dominated the Premier League this season.

This has already been our best season so far. But we are just 2 wins away from completing the treble.

We’re unbeaten in 26 matches and have lost once since November. Nothing can go wrong from here…​

 

[jasarole]

Nothing can go wrong from here…​

Of course not...

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

Something I touched on in the last post was our lack of goals despite creating numerous chances.

Looking closely at the stats was scary. How can we have 55 shots in the area but not score any of them?

I put it down to bad finishing and we had 2 league games remaining to prove that we could actually score goals.

The first could not have been tougher as it was away against Liverpool, the second-best team in the division.

It was good of Thiago Ryan to take a chance this time.

Our final league match of the season was against already relegated Burnley. We scored just 3 of our 41 shots.

But I don’t really care about that when we win. It was also our 28th match without defeat, a new club record.

The upcoming FA Cup and Champions League finals have sort of overshadowed the fact that we finished on 99 points this season!

We won 32 of our 38 matches. Which is just ridiculous.

We also finished 31 points ahead of Man United, who were our opponents in the 2034 FA Cup Final.

We were aiming to win it for the second time and I decided to be loyal and give the players who got us to the final the chance to impress. It meant our starting XI contained 7 Englishmen and 3 teenagers.

And they did us proud.

There could not have been a more fitting goalscorer. Predrag Djuric has already agreed to move to Celtic after falling down the pecking order but scored for us in his last start for the club.

He’s seen it all at Altrincham, having been relegated from the Premier League as well as winning it twice with 2 FA Cup victories as well.

Well, I say he’s seen it all…

He’s not seen Altrincham in a Champions League final.

Barcelona are up next.​

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

Before our first ever Champions League Final against Barcelona, I noticed that former player William Murillo was ruled out with injury.

We sold him to Barca for £110m, so it’s a good job he’s not fit for the final.

As per Hampus Silverholt Champions League final tradition, I'm going to list the full starting lineup.

This is my first Champions League final since FM18 (and I lost both of them with Berwick) and I'm pretty sure that the last time I won it was on FM16...

Goalkeeper - Matteo Ferrarini. Signed for £57m from Roma in 2033.

In his first season at the club and missed the Champions League final for Roma last season with injury.

Right Back - Oleg Bondarenko. Signed for £35m from Dynamo Kyiv in 2030.

Will be our captain at the San Siro with regular skipper Felix Baker on the bench.

Centre Back - Hector Pozos. Signed for £11m from Pumas in 2030.

The best centre back in the world. Probably.

Centre Back - Cyril Ferreira. Signed for £16m from Basel in 2031.

Both he and Pozos are 6’4” so I'll cry if we concede a headed goal.

Left Back - Idlemar. Signed for £20m from Corinthians in 2033.

He was on loan at Corinthians this time last season and is now starting in the Champions League final.

Defensive Midfielder - Eder Claveria. Signed for £6m from Colo-Colo in 2027.

One of two players in the starting lineup to have been with us in the Championship.

Central Midfielder - Alfredo Jose. Signed for £93m from Roma in 2033.

The only player in the team with Champions League final experience.

Central Midfielder - JJ Vazquez. Signed for £19m from PUMAS in 2031.

Another World Class Mexican player in the team.

Right Winger - Ian Johnson. Signed for £111m from Everton in 2033.

Our record signing. Would instantly repay the huge fee by winning us the Champions League.

Left Winger - Michael Adjetey. Signed for £75m from Brighton in 2031

Unstoppable on his day and has 9 Champions League goals this season.

Striker - Thiago Ryan. Signed for £10 from Flamengo in 2027.

Our top scorer with 29 goals this season but always feels like he could do more. Which Thiago Ryan will we see in the final?

So, we’ve done the domestic double… can we do the treble?​

 

[TheMaestro]

Wow, this team is incredible! Best of luck in the final. I know you've already attached one save file but with the way the team looks now, do you think you could attach an updated one? Some of these players look incredible to try out!

 

[Alan2168]

So I am literally checking this several times a day to see what happened..... I hope it's good news. Good luck if you haven't played the final yet!

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

Wow, this team is incredible! Best of luck in the final. I know you've already attached one save file but with the way the team looks now, do you think you could attach an updated one? Some of these players look incredible to try out!

I'll upload a save file at the weekend mate, my internet is awful so it'll take a while

So I am literally checking this several times a day to see what happened..... I hope it's good news. Good luck if you haven't played the final yet!

Sorry to keep you waiting!

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

I could not help but notice that Barcelona were missing 3 key players for the final, including Aitor Flano who is one of the best in the world.

That just added to the pressure. This was a game we should probably win...

The final could not have started any better for us, with centre back Cyril Ferreira scoring an impressive left-footed volley at the back post from an indirect freekick within 3 minutes.

It remained 1-0 at half time and Barca had not even had a shot on target.

Once again we had dominated the half but only had one goal to show for it. All it would take was one Barcelona chance to ruin our day.

But instead, the next goal was scored by a little Brazilian named Thiago Ryan Zaluar Mattos de Souza. You and I know him as Thiago Ryan.

Thiago Ryan, I am sorry for ever doubting you. His goal was messy but a thoroughly deserved one for us as we had dominated the entire match.

Then Michael Adjetey decided he wanted to be the top scorer in the Champions League.

There was even time for Hector Pozos to score in injury time.

What on earth have we done?

We have just thrashed Barcelona in the Champions League final, that’s what we’ve done!

Alfredo Jose was named Man of the Match for his two assists but it really was a team effort.

It means that we have completed the treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.

Altrincham F.C. - Mission: Champions League is now complete.​

 

[TheMaestro]

No worries about the save file mate, but what an incredible performance in the final! Fully deserved after the incredible journey and effort the team has put in! Congratulations!

 

[Froug]

Well done on the UCL win! Imagine saying that you'd one day trounce Barcelona 4 - 0 to seal a treble for Altrincham back when you got relegated. Amazing stuff.

 

[Alan2168]

FANTASTIC!!! Great achievement. That is some way to complete the treble!!!!!?

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

No worries about the save file mate, but what an incredible performance in the final! Fully deserved after the incredible journey and effort the team has put in! Congratulations!

Well done on the UCL win! Imagine saying that you'd one day trounce Barcelona 4 - 0 to seal a treble for Altrincham back when you got relegated. Amazing stuff.

FANTASTIC!!! Great achievement. That is some way to complete the treble!!!!!?

Cheers everyone, it's been a crazy journey but losing 5-0 in the Playoffs to Bournemouth and getting relegated from the Premier League all seems worth it now!

Here's the link to the save just after we've won the Champions League https://gofile.io/d/srpEhO

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

Well then, where do I begin.

The 2033/34 season has been truly remarkable as we have won the Premier League, FA Cup and the Champions League.

8 Altrincham players were named in the Champions League Team of the Year and Michael Adjetey was top goalscorer in the competition.

Whereas Goalkeeper Matteo Ferrarini kept 10 clean sheets in 12 Champions League matches (to go with his 22 Premier League clean sheets)

We absolutely dominated the Premier League, winning the title by 17 points.

Thiago Ryan scooped all the awards including Players Player and Footballer of the Year despite actually finishing second top goalscorer in the league.

Alfredo Jose was named Young Player of the Year and his 13 assists was the most in the division.

He’s just turned 21 but is already one of the best in the world and the scary thing is that this squad is young and will only get better!

So that’s a review of our season.

Considering we’ve just won the Champions League it feels like a good time to take a look at some of the more historic stats in the next post. And maybe check the hall of fame...​

 

[TheStockportHatter86]

Wow, I've been keeping an eye on this thread, you've really made a name for yourself and I'm very impressed, I wish it was so easy with Stockport btw trying to download the file with the link you posted, it's still loading, any waiting time for me to download the game file?

EDIT: It's uploaded, I've got the game file now thanks

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

Wow, I've been keeping an eye on this thread, you've really made a name for yourself and I'm very impressed, I wish it was so easy with Stockport btw trying to download the file with the link you posted, it's still loading, any waiting time for me to download the game file?

EDIT: It's uploaded, I've got the game file now thanks

Cheers mate, glad it's downloaded for you I was worried it might not work. I was very close to doing this whole save as Stockport rather than Altrincham just cause I wanted to do a lower league team in the Manchester area... maybe something I'll do for FM21