View attachment 20185
Hi, some of you may have followed my recent story with Australian A-League club Brisbane Roar that I am unfortunately not able to continue. I must admit, I was down for a few days following the realisation that I couldn't save that story. Fortunately, there are a number of great stories on this site that I have been following and that certainly serve as inspiration for this game. Not unlike Hampus Silverholt's Improving Ireland with Sligo Rovers and BJT's An Attempt to Change Scottish Football stories I will be taking control of a club in European nation that isn't one of the bigger leagues with a view to building it up to compete with and beat the established teams in my country and also attempt to gain European success whilst also attempting to grow both the stature of the nation and hopefully one day assume control of the national team. Thanks Gents.
FC Lokomotiv 1929 of Sofia is the club I have chosen to use for this save. They have significant history, with their highlight being, in addition to their 4 Bulgarian First Professional Football League titles, an appearance at the quarter final stage of the UEFA Cup in 1980. Nicknamed "The Railwaymen", unsurprisingly when you consider the name of the club, it was founded in 1929. The club was a regular in the Bulgarian First Professional Football League until 2015, when financial difficulties saw the club relegated to the third tier of Bulgarian football and the club was dissolved (then called Lokomotiv Sofia) and a new club formed in it's place.
View attachment 20184
Hi, some of you may have followed my recent story with Australian A-League club Brisbane Roar that I am unfortunately not able to continue. I must admit, I was down for a few days following the realisation that I couldn't save that story. Fortunately, there are a number of great stories on this site that I have been following and that certainly serve as inspiration for this game. Not unlike Hampus Silverholt's Improving Ireland with Sligo Rovers and BJT's An Attempt to Change Scottish Football stories I will be taking control of a club in European nation that isn't one of the bigger leagues with a view to building it up to compete with and beat the established teams in my country and also attempt to gain European success whilst also attempting to grow both the stature of the nation and hopefully one day assume control of the national team. Thanks Gents.
THE CLUB
FC Lokomotiv 1929 of Sofia is the club I have chosen to use for this save. They have significant history, with their highlight being, in addition to their 4 Bulgarian First Professional Football League titles, an appearance at the quarter final stage of the UEFA Cup in 1980. Nicknamed "The Railwaymen", unsurprisingly when you consider the name of the club, it was founded in 1929. The club was a regular in the Bulgarian First Professional Football League until 2015, when financial difficulties saw the club relegated to the third tier of Bulgarian football and the club was dissolved (then called Lokomotiv Sofia) and a new club formed in it's place.
THE GROUND
FC Lokomotiv 1929 play their home matches at the Lokomotiv Stadium (Sofia). Whilst it may not be as modern as some other stadia it does have a good capacity at 22,000 with obvious room for expansion.
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WHY BULGARIA?
Like most on this site I still remember fondly my younger days when I first came to enjoy football. For me, that was during the World Cup in 1994 held in the USA. In that tournament, Bulgaria were a real surprise packet, overcoming Argentina in the group stages, then beating Mexico and Germany in the knockout phases before succumbing to Italy in the semi final. I still remember some of the more famous names from that side such as Yordan Letchkov, Emil Kostadinov, Krasimir Balakov and of course the enigmatic Hristo Stoichkov. I would love to recreate what that team was able to achieve.
STORY FORMAT
At this stage, I am hoping to do updates in a similar fashion to BJT and do a post covering every 6 months of activity. I am looking to try and get through the games much quicker with this save, so hoping to update every couple of days but will see how I go. Oh, and I am using the stock-standard database for this one!!
GOALS
Traditionally, CSKA Sofia and Levski Sofia were the dominant sides in Bulgaria. More recently though, Ludogorets has established themselves as the main force, winning the past 7 titles!! Starting in the second division the first goal is to gain promotion to the Bulgarian First Professional Football League. From there I want to overthrow the three clubs listed above and become the dominant force in Bulgaria. Then I want to push on for European success, hopefully improving the stature of the league and nation as I go. And finally I want to eventually become Bulgarian National Team Manager and lead them on a successful World Cup run.