Claudio Marchisio - Managing Empoli

[Klippybo]

OCTOBER

UEFA Champions League Group B

Lineup - Guarracino, S.Berardi, Vanheusden, Kana (Garcia), Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali (Tielemans), Gravenberch, D.Berardi, Elmas, Vinicius Junior*, Kean

Another very impressive performance and result. Vinicius Junior terrorised the Arsenal defence all game and ended up with 2 goals while Elmas scored in stoppage time capping off a fine team move.

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Lineup - Audero, S.Berardi (Tadic), Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch, D.Berardi, Elmas, Vinicius Junior (Vignato), Kean*

We certainly werent at our best here but we got the win and thats the main thing thanks to 2 goals from Moise Kean.

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Lineup - Guarracino, S.Berardi, Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch (Tielemans), Vignato, Elmas (Camara), Vinicius Junior, Kean

We return from the international break with more injuries including Emil Audero so Guarracino got his first league start. In the end it was a battle of Kean v Doku and it ended 2-2 with both scoring 2 each and thankfully we got a late equaliser from the penalty spot.

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UEFA Champions League Group B

Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic (Mateos), Caterino, S.Berardi (Kana), Dimarco*, Tielemans, Ricci (Marinello), D.Berardi, Camara, Elmas, Palinek

I rested several players for this match and thankfully it paid off as we won fairly comfortably.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic*, Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali (Tielemans), Gravenberch, Vignato, Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior, Kean

Very nice. We remain unbeaten in the league as we thump Atalanta here. Despite the scoreline it was actually a pretty tight match I thought.

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SUMMARY

We had a near perfect month as our draw against Inter Milan was the only game that we didnt win. We are 3pts clear of surprise package Cagliari in the league and have some favourable fixtures next month so hopefully we can extend our lead. In the Champions League we comfortably beat Arsenal and then my backups beat Kobenhavn so everything is looking good on that front.

What makes it all the more pleasing is not only do I have a very young squad but we have been dealing with a fair amount of injuries too! Regarding the age of my squad I have 7 teenagers and 3 more aged 20-21!!!!!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MOISE KEAN

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

NOVEMBER

Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic, Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Vignato, Camara (Tielemans), Vinicius Junior (Elmas), Kean (Palinek)

Our first defeat of the season and while it was undeserved we were made to pay for our poor start as we found ourselves 2 down within 12min. We rallied in the 2nd half to get back on level terms but we were then caught out on the break to go behind and we couldnt claw our way back.

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UEFA Champions League Group B

Lineup - Guarracino, Mateos, Caterino, S.Berardi, Dimarco, Tielemans (Marinello), Ricci, D.Berardi, Camara, Elmas, Palinek*

My backups got another run out and they did well as they fired in 5 goals against FC Kobenhavn with Lukas Palinek helpinig himself to a hat-trick.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic, Vanheusden, Kana (S.Berardi), Jorge, Tonali (Ricci), Gravenberch*, Vignato (D.Berardi), Camara, Vinicius Junior, Kean

We bounce back in the league after our first defeat of the season last time out to score 4 past Udinese. Tadic got his first goal for the club which was nice but the goal of the game belonged to Ronaldo Camara as he bent a shot into the top corner from 20 yards.

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Lineup - Audero, Tadic (Mateos), Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge, Tonali (Tielemans), Gravenberch (Elmas), Vignato, Camara*, Vinicius Junior, Kean

For 30min here we were getting torn apart by Jayden Braaf. Tadic went off injured against him and his replacement Mateos couldnt handle him as he scored 1 and had 2 penalty appeals denied by VAR but we dug in and turned the game around thanks to goals from Vignato and Camara.

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UEFA Champions League Group B

Lineup - Guarracino, Mateos, Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch*, Vignato, Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior, Kean (Palinek)

This win means we secure qualification into the next round and we now have a battle to win the group against Arsenal however we have a 1pt advantage with 2 games to go.

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Lineup - Audero, Mateos, Vanheusden, Kana (Garcia), Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Vignato*, Camara, Vinicius Junior (D.Berardi), Kean (Palinek)

Despite limiting Parma to just 1 shot on goal late on we huffed and puffed but struggled to break them down but we got the winner after I made my subs and switched Vignato over to the LW and he rifled in a volley to win us the match.

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SUMMARY

We got off to a bad start this month as we lost our first game of the season to our rivals Fiorentina but we recovered and won all of our other matches which sees us 5pts clear at the top of Serie A and having secured qualification in the Champions League. Everything is ticking along nicely but we have some tough fixtures coming up.

In other news I applied for the vacant Scotland managers job but I was rejected for the job because they wanted Derek McInnes!!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
RYAN GRAVENBERCH

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

DECEMBER

Lineup - Audero, Mateos (S.Berardi), Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge, Tonali*, Gravenberch, Vignato (D.Berardi), Camara, Vinicius Junior (Elmas), Kean

This was definitely 2pts dropped as Lazio scored with their only shot on target while we were guilty of missing several chances. Disappointing.

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UEFA Champions League Group B

Lineup - Audero, Mateos, Vanheusden, Kana, Dimarco, Tonali (Tielemans), Gravenberch (Elmas), Vignato, Camara*, Vinicius Junior, Kean (Palinek)

We went into this game knowing we only needed a draw to win the league and heading into stoppage time they had arguably the better chances but we got the winner when Ronaldo Camara ran from the halfway line before chipping the keeper from 20 yards.

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Lineup - Audero, Tadic, Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge, Tonali (Tielemans), Gravenberch, Vignato, Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior, Kean (Palinek)

Despite the scoreline we were actually the better side here but they scored 2 worldies which proved to be the difference. 2 games in the league without a win and a game against AC Milan next - we have to get back to winning ways quickly!!!!!

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Lineup - Audero, Tadic, Garcia, Kana, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Tielemans (Ricci), D.Berardi, Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior, Kean*

Having not won in our last 2 league games it was imperative that we didnt lose this game and we didnt as a Moise Kean double was enough for us to get the victory.

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SUMMARY

Just the 4 games this month and all were tough fixtures. We drew at home with Lazio when we should have won before we defeated Arsenal 1-0 away in our final group stage match in the Champions League to win the group. Juventus then turned us over 3-1 but thankfully we won 2-0 against AC Milan and we end 2025 top of the league - 1pt clear of Juventus.

In the Champions League despite winning the group we have been given a nightmare draw against Real Madrid while my youth intake wont be up to much apparently this season so thats not good either.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
EMIL AUDERO

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

JANUARY

Lineup - Audero, Tadic (Mateos), Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Vignato (D.Berardi), Camara*, Vinicius Junior, Kean (Palinek)

Ronaldo Camara was the hero here as he scored both of our goals in this match. His first was a beauty as he volleyed in first time from 20 yards and he smashed it into the top corner. We were meant to play Sassuolo a few days before but the game got postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

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Lineup - Audero, Tadic, Vanheusden (Caterino), Kana (Garcia), Dimarco*, Tonali, Gravenberch, Vignato, Camara, Vinicius Junior, Kean (Edoa)

Cagliari have been the surprise package this season but we managed to beat them here thanks to an all to rare goal from Vinicius Junior.

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Coppa Italia 1st Round

Lineup - Audero*, Mateos (S.Berardi), Caterino, Garcia, Dimarco, Tielemans, Ricci (Marinello), D.Berardi, Elmas, Vinicius Junior, Palinek (Edoa)

I took a risk and played my backups here and it just about paid off as we won to go through but they were the better side and missed a load of chances fortunately for us.

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Supercoppa

Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic (Mateos), Vanheusden*, Kana, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch (Tielemans), Vignato, Camara, Vinicius Junior (Elmas), Kean

We win the Supercoppa but it was a close run thing but it shouldnt have been! We were dominant throughout yet they somehow took the game to extra-time and even levelled after we forged ourselves ahead in the extra period which was infuriating as they only had 2 shots on target. It went to penalties and we scored all 4 of ours while Guarracino saved 2 of theirs.

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Coppa Italia Quarter-Final

Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic (Mateos), Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge*, Tonali, Gravenberch (Tielemans), Vignato (D.Berardi), Camara, Vinicius Junior, Kean

This was a very tough match and we were quite fortunate to win thanks to a late Moise Kean goal. A lot of my players were struggling to wards the end of the game so our next match, also against Napoli, could be a tough one also!

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Lineup - Audero, Mateos (S.Berardi), Garcia, Kana, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Vignato (D.Berardi), Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior, Kean*

A great result which to be honest I wasnt expecting. It looked like it was heading for a draw but Elmas came off the bench to score from the edge of the area to put us ahead and then when their keeper missed the ball to allow Moise Kean to walk it into the net from 25 yards it was game over and Kean even added another. Unfortunately however Mateos broke his leg so his season is all but over.

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Lineup - Audero, S.Berardi, Garcia, Kana, Jorge, Tonali*, Gravenberch, Vignato, Camara, Vinicius Junior (Elmas), Kean

Venezia are rock bottom so we won easily as expected however my first 2 goalscorers were not expected! Moise Kean also had a goal disallowed.

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SUMMARY

January is always a hectic month and this one was no different even though we had a game postponed! In the league we won all 4 games and have won our last 5, all with clean sheets, but we are not top of the league as we trail Juventus by 1pt but we do have 2 games in hand. Our victory away to Napoli when we beat them 3-0 was definitely the highlight and that was certainly a result that we didnt expect.

We picked up the Supercoppa by defeating Fiorentina on penalties after a 2-2 draw and in the Coppa Italia we edged out Sassuolo and Napoli to set up a semi-final tie with Juventus.

Regarding transfers I made no moves apart from securing 2 pre-contract signings (one of which is exciting) but the deadline ends at the start of next month so we shall see what happens.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JORGE

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

FEBRUARY

Lineup - Audero, S.Berardi, Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge, Tielemans (Di Matteo), Gravenberch (Ricci), Vignato*, Camara, Vinicius Junior, Kean (Palinek)

We werent at our thrilling best here but it is another win and another clean sheet. Vignato scored the winner but it was a forgettable match.

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Coppa Italia Semi-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Audero*, S.Berardi, Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch, Vignato (Elmas), Camara, Vinicius Junior (Ricci), Palinek

A great victory. I forgot to play my cup goalkeeper here but I suppose Audero has kept so many clean sheets recently that he probably deserved to keep his place and he even ended up with the MOM award. We just need to see the 2nd leg out. Vignato got injured and will be out for 6-8 weeks which is a blow.

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Lineup - Audero, Tadic*, Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali (Marinello), Gravenberch, Vinicius Junior, Camara (Tielemans), Elmas, Palinek

Lukas Palinek took advantage of some horrendous goalkeeping to score the winner here and its now 7 wins in a row in the league - all with clean sheets.

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Coppa Italia Semi-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Guarracino*, Tadic, Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch, D.Berardi (Elmas), Camara (Tielemans), Vinicius Junior, Palinek

A superb win as we reach the Coppa Italia final but it comes at a cost as Camara (5 weeks) and Domenico Berardi (5 months) got injured so will be missing for ages! We surged into a 2 goal lead and looked comfortable being 4-0 up on aggregate but then Juventus stormed back. They had a goal disallowed before pulling a goal back and then they bombarded our goal but Guarracino stood up to it.

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Lineup - Audero, Tadic (S.Berardi), Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge, Tonali, Tielemans, Vinicius Junior, Gravenberch (Ricci), Elmas, Palinek (Kean)

We were truly terrible here as our excellent recent form comes to an abrupt end. I went into the game without several players who were injured and Moise Kean went off injured here and will be out for a month. This is also the first time we have failed to score this season.

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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg

Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic, Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Tielemans, Vinicius Junior, Gravenberch (Ricci), Elmas (Edoa), Palinek

I will take this result! Once again we were terrible and while we did have an early goal disallowed we didnt perform thereafter and at 2-0 down it was looking like an impossible job to get through but Palinek struck with 5min to go to give us a chance in the 2nd leg. I need some of my players to be back fit though.

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Lineup - Audero, Tadic, Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge*, Tonali (Ricci), Tielemans (Marinello), Vinicius Junior, Gravenberch, Elmas, Palinek (Edoa)

It was important that we arrested our mini slump in form and we did so here with a win but it wasnt pretty. We are barely performing at the minute due to all of our injuries.

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Lineup - Audero, Tadic, Vanheusden, Kana (Garcia), Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Tielemans*, Vinicius Junior, Gravenberch, Elmas, Edoa (Sanna)

The result and the performance was perfect but injuries continue to haunt us as before the match Palinek was ruled out for 3-4 weeks and during the match Jorge went off injured and will be out for the same length of time. Edoa and Tielemans got there first goals for the club and 16y/o striker Armando Sanna made his debut.

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SUMMARY

This was certainly a mixed month as we had some good results, some bad results but most of all the fact that we came out slightly on a positive note despite suffering a serious injury crisis makes me quite pleased. The injuries are crippling us however as you can see....

We won 4 of our league games this month with the highlight being the 6-1 victory over Spezia but we lost to Roma and although we are 5pts clear with a game in hand our next match is away to Inter so we will do well to not lose there with the extent of my injuries.

In the Champions League we got a decent result away to Real Madrid as we scored a late goal to lose 2-1 but that away goal could be so crucial. In the Coppa Italia we beat Juventus home and away to reach the final and we will play Inter Milan in the showpiece event.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ZINHO VANHEUSDEN

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

MARCH

Lineup - Audero, Tadic (S.Berardi), Garcia, Kana, Dimarco, Tonali, Tielemans (Ricci), Vinicius Junior, Gravenberch (Caterino), Elmas, Edoa

We knew this was going to be a tough match and in the end we performed so well - especially with 10 men - but we just couldnt salvage anything. Pierre Garcia's red card was very costly while Audero also threw one in which didnt help.

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Lineup - Audero, S.Berardi, Vanheusden*, Kana, Dimarco, Tonali (Di Matteo), Tielemans (Ricci), Vinicius Junior, Gravenberch, Elmas, Edoa

Despite the injuries we are certainly not struggling to score goals at the moment! We scored 4 here with Kana and Dimarco scoring long range screamers while Di Matteo scored his first goal for the club from the penalty spot which was a nice moment.

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Lineup - Audero, S.Berardi, Vanheusden, Kana, Dimarco, Tonali (Ricci), Tielemans (Marinello), Tadic, Gravenberch (Garcia), Elmas*, Edoa

I am delighted with this result. Dimitrije Tadic was playing as an emergency RW and he headed us in front in the first half. They levelled in the 2nd half but Elmas headed in a Tonali corner a minute later and we held on for the victory although they did have a goal disallowed.

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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg

Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic, Vanheusden, Kana, Dimarco, Tonali (Ricci), Tielemans, Vinicius Junior, Gravenberch (Camara), Elmas, Kean (Edoa)

We gave it a good go here and avoided defeat but alas we are out of the Champions League. Kean and Camara returned from injury and played bit parts but it was Elmas who was our shining light with 2 goals. A shame but we move on.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic*, Vanheusden, Kana (Garcia), Dimarco, Tonali, Tielemans, Vinicius Junior, Gravenberch (Camara), Elmas, Kean (Palinek)

A good victory. I forgot to swap my keepers back so Guarracino got a rare league game and he kept a clean sheet. Elmas continued his amazing form with another 2 goals and Vanheusden also chipped in with one. Vinicius Junior went off injured late on and will be out for 5-6 weeks.

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Lineup - Audero, S.Berardi, Vanheusden, Kana, Dimarco (Jorge), Tonali, Tielemans (Camara), Tadic, Gravenberch, Elmas, Kean (Palinek*)

Udinese are rock bottom but they almost got a point off us here but thankfully Lukas Palinek came off the bench to score a stoppage time winner.

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SUMMARY

The key part of this month was our Champions League exit to Real Madrid as we drew 3-3 to exit 5-4 on aggregate which was a shame but we gave it our best shot and I am left wondering what could have been if I had all my players fit and available.

In the league we are sitting pretty with a 5pt lead with 8 games to go and although we lost out to Inter Milan in a 7 goal thriller we bounced back to win our next 4 including superb wins over Atalanta and Fiorentina. We do have some tough fixtures upcoming but I am fairly confident that we can get the job done.

A special shout out goes to Eljif Elmas who has been playing out of position on the LW. He has been immense and scored 7 goals this month alone to all but payback his transfer fee. Well maybe not considering it was £25.5m lol.

The youth intake was pretty pathetic.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ELJIF ELMAS

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

APRIL

Lineup - Audero, Tadic, Vanheusden, Kana (Garcia), Jorge, Tonali (Tielemans), Gravenberch, Vignato (Edoa), Camara*, Elmas, Palinek

We welcomed back a few players here with Vignato, Camara and Jorge returning to the starting lineup however Moise Kean is back on the injury list. In the end we won thanks to goals from Gravenberch and Camara.

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Lineup - Audero, Tadic (S.Berardi), Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Vignato (Ricci), Camara (Tielemans), Elmas, Palinek

6 wins in a row and we move 7pts clear at the top of the league. The MOM award went to their goalscorer Reinaldo who is on loan from us the ***** lol.

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Lineup - Audero, Tadic*, Vanheusden, Kana (Garcia), Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Vignato, Camara (Tielemans), Elmas, Palinek (Edoa)

Vincent Edoa scored a crazy looping header in stoppage time.to win us the game much to my delight. We dominated throughout but couldnt find a way through until my young German striker scored an unorthodox goal. This win secures our place in next seasons Champions League and I have been given a transfer budget of £34m.

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Lineup - Audero, Tadic, Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Vignato, Camara (Tielemans), Elmas (Vinicius Junior), Palinek (Edoa)

Another 1-0 win with the winner yet again being scored by a substitute! Youri Tielemans was the hero this time as he finished from close range and we move another step closer to winning the title as we are now 9pts clear at the top of the table.

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SUMMARY

We had 4 games this month and we won all 4 to put us on the brink of winning our 3rd league title in a row. In 2 of the matches we relied on stoppage time winners and also my substitutes played a large part in securing the victories. Our win over Lazio was particularly pleasing as that puts us into a good position when we play AC Milan and Juventus in our next 2 league games but as I have said we are still sitting pretty.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
DIMITRIJE TADIC

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

MAY

Lineup - Audero, Tadic (S.Berardi), Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge, Tonali, Tielemans (Marinello), Vignato, Gravenberch*, Elmas, Palinek (Edoa)

CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!

We secure the title by beating Juventus and at 3-0 up we were on for a crazy party but they pulled 2 goals back to dampen the spirit slightly but we still ended up winning to win Serie A with 3 games to go. My backups will be played for the remaining league fixtures now.

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Lineup - Guarracino*, S.Berardi, Garcia, Caterino, Dimarco, Marinello, Ricci, Vignato, Tielemans, Elmas, Palinek (Edoa)

Despite this being a 0-0 draw this is actually one of my favourite results and performances of the season as I pretty much fielded a backup side and still got a point although my goalkeeper is a large reason for that as he was superb. They also had a goal disallowed.

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Coppa Italia Final

Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic, Vanheusden, Kana, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Vignato (Elmas), Camara (Tielemans), Vinicius Junior, Kean (Palinek*)

We win our 3rd Coppa Italia in a row thanks to a fine goal from Lukas Palinek. We edged the first half and Moise Kean missed a penalty but it was an even 2nd half and we got the winner from Palinek but they immediately had a goal disallowed which was a scary moment.

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Lineup - Guarracino, S.Berardi*, Caterino, Garcia, Dimarco, Marinello, Ricci (Torrisi), Vinicius Junior, Tielemans, Elmas, Palinek (Edoa)

Out came my backups and they wiped the floor with lowly Sassuolo. Simone Berardi scored his first goal for the club and he also picked up the MOM award while 16y/o midfielder Diego Torrisi made his debut.

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Lineup - Guarracino, S.Berardi, Caterino, Garcia, Dimarco, Marinello, Ricci (Di Matteo), Vinicius Junior, Tielemans, Elmas*, Palinek (Edoa)

An entertaining game to end the season against this seasons surprise package. Marinello put us in front with his first goal for the club and Eljif Elmas grabbed a double.

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SUMMARY

We end the season in fine fashion. The league title was secured by beating Juventus and then I played my backups and they won 2 entertaining fixtures and also managed to get a hard fought 0-0 draw away to AC Milan which was impressive. We also picked up the Coppa Italia by beating Inter Milan 1-0 with a goal from Lukas Palinek.

I now focus on our recruitment in the summer. I have 1 great signing arranged and I have some players out on loan who are going to be part of my plans so I need to raise the levels of the playing squad as I now want to be challenging for the Champions League.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ELJIF ELMAS

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

END OF SEASON POST

For the third season running we won the Coppa Italia and Serie A titles and for the 2nd season running we add the Supercoppa to make it a domestic treble so we had a great season. However in the Champions League we only managed to reach the first knockout round before Real Madrid disposed of us and what was more annoying was that Roma ended up winning the thing!!!

We were always in control of the league and had games in hand for most of the 2nd part of the season and in the end we won the title by 8pts which shows how dominant we were. What made it all the more pleasing was that we suffered loads of injuries throughout the season and my backups came in to do a stellar job.

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SERIE A

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SQUAD

Goalkeepers - For the first time I had a keeper good enough to challenge my No 1. so had a cup goalkeeper in the shape of Ivan Guarracino and the Argentinian wonderkid had a fine season as he played 18 games and even won international recognition! Emil Audero was my main man however and he also did well but it was good to mix it up sometimes.

Defenders - I had 3 right backs who all featured. Tadic was my new first choice RB and he did ok but he can still kick on and do much better. Mateos was relegated to 2nd choice but he missed half the season with injury which meant that Simone Berardi got regular games for the first time and he was superb and also won his 1st cap for Italy so it was a standout season for him. Over on the left hand side Jorge was my main man and he did alright while Federico Dimarco was his able deputy.

At CB Vanheusden and Kana were my all Belgian partnership and while Vanheusden excelled Kana just scraped by and I am wondering if I should give Pierre Garcia a regular run out next season to see how he plays. Caterino was a spare part and featured occasionally.

Midfielders - Ryan Gravenberch and Sandro Tonali were once again my midfield pairing and while their assists diminished they performed well with Tonali being the better of the 2. Youri Tielemans was the main backup and he played for most of the 2nd half of the season but was disappointing and Ricci and Marinello all featured intermittently.

On the left wing Vinicius Junior was back and I was a tad disappointed with him although he did play over on the right for most of the 2nd half of the season. Vignato was my RW until he got injured and he started the season on fire until the injury struck so Eljif Elmas, signed as my backup AMC, ended up playing out of position at LW and was absolutely immense and my Macedonian maverick ended up with 16 goals and 10 assists.

Ronaldo Camara was my AMC and did alright but like most of my midfielders he also suffered from injuries while Domenico Berardi hardly featured.

Forwards - Moise Kean started the season well but he befell to injuries too but he did still end up as our top scorer. Palinek did alright as his backup and he also scored the winning goal in the Coppa Italia final. Edoa featured sparingly.

My Player of the Season - Zinho Vanheusden
My Young Player of the Season - Ivan Guarracino
Must Improve - Youri Tielemans
Donkey of the Season - Samuele Ricci

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SUMMER PLANS

A load of players will leave and a few will come in but the task is to improve with much better players and I am now feeling fairly comfortable to doubling our transfer record. We really need to jump up a level even though we are now ranked as the 10th best side in Europe by reputation.

We actually move into our new stadium (called the Empoli Stadium) which has a 24,000 capacity so that is exciting!!!!!​

 

[Klippybo]

PRE-SEASON POST

This has been a huge summer both for the club and for me individually. We have moved into our new 24,000 seater stadium called the Empoli stadium and we have obliterated all of our transfer records. Incoming so far have been 6 players with 3 costing a total of £197m while going out the other way are 19 players permanently and 21 on loan for an income of £232m!!!!

There is still a few weeks left of the transfer window and I have £40m left to spend so we shall see if there will be any more incomings when the window closes.

Onto the transfers.........

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PLAYERS OUT

Youri Tielemans is the new record fee incoming as Real Madrid gave me £53m for him which is not a bad turnover considering I signed him on a free transfer a year ago. With Boonyarit Boonmak coming back from a loan spell I felt it was right to move Tielemans on. Pere Mateos has joined Arsenal for an initial £37m (rising up to £46.5m) and the 22y/o RB moves on with our best wishes. He had a good couple of seasons with us after joining from Barcelona on a free making 95 apps and scoring 6 goals but Arsenal tabled a big offer so I took it after a bit of negotiating.

Its not often that I sell wonderkids but it is the case for Lukas Palinek (76 apps, 33 goals) who joined Benfica for £22m. He was a decent backup striker for us and we made a tidy profit on him but I felt that he was moving down the pecking order due to a new arrival and the return of Diego Esedin so off he went.

Samuele Ricci, the last of the players who was at the club before my arrival, has finally left the club as he has joined Sassuolo for £21.5m. In his 6 seasons he made 189 apps, scoring 17 goals and he was captain of the club too but it was time for him to seek pastures new.

A huge profit was made on Vincent Edoa who is off to China for £21m while Alex Collado (£20.5m) and Reinaldo (£5m) have both joined AC Milan while Burak Ince has left to go to Borussia Monchengladbach for £18.5m.

For smaller fees Francisco Conceicao (Hoffenheim £6.5m), Gokhan Kalayci (Feyenoord £5m), Eduardo Aguado (Valencia £4.8m), Kristoffer Saari (Schalke £3.2m), Zarko Strupar (Lyon £3m), Petar Cenic (PSV £2m) and several U20 players have all jumped ship.

As for the loans out 2 of my new signings have already been loaned out but there are some familiar names leaving temporarily. The most expensive ones are El Shami (Monaco £1.2m), Horsdal (Odense £1.1m), Kjaergard (Freiburg £1.1m) and Cizek (Sparta Prague £1.1m) while Caterino has joined Lille for £625,000.

Regi Juliansyah has been loaned to AC Milan, Luca Manzoni to Lecce, Chirio to Chievo, and several other prospects have been loaned out.

Kjetil Gundersen and Alberto Pandolfo have joined my feeder side Eupen but the biggest name leaving on loan is Domenico Berardi who has joined Parma. They will pay him £51,000 a week and have an option to buy him for £4m. In 114 apps he has scored 51 goals for us which is pretty decent but at 32y/o his time with us has passed.

--

PLAYERS IN

My first 3 signings were all pre-contract deals and the one that I was most excited about was the arrival of Jadon Sancho from Man Utd. He had been transfer listed for a fair while at Man Utd but there were no takers so when he became available on a free it was a no brainer to get him. He will be my new RW and I expect big things from him.

The other 2 were wonderkids and both have since been loaned out. Urbano Ferreira joined us from Charleroi and has since been loaned to Bayern Munich while Adan Moreno joined us from Real Madrid and has been loaned out to Juventus.

Now for my new record signing and he rejected Real Madrid to join us! I paid £77m (£50m more than my old record transfer fee) to bring in Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig. He will play alongside Vanheusden in the centre of defence and being left footed he should compliment him very well. At 24y/o he can still improve and I see this as a bargain in all honesty.

Ergys Rama then arrived from Hoffenheim for £65m. He is a RB which we didnt need at all but he looks like a world class player and at only 21y/o he has already earned 35 caps for Germany. He is definitely a signing that will hold the RB position for the next 10 seasons or so and I am so excited that we got him.

Finally for £55m I brought in Andre Nascimento from FC Porto. The 18y/o wonderkid is a striker and he will compete with Esedin and Kean for the strikers position. He doesnt turn 19 until December and he looks like the real deal as he his quick, can pass and has excellent finishing skills. He will be immense - I hope!!!

--

SQUAD & SEASON AIMS

I really feel that I have strengthened the squad and we are now gunning for the Champions League. We havent even reached the semis yet but now I feel that we have the squad capable to do that.

Audero and Guarracino will be my keepers and one will be my cup keeper like last season. At CB Gvardiol comes in and he should be an immense player as will my new RB Rama but I have really strong backups in defence with Dimarco, Berardi, Kana, Garcia and Tadic all chomping at the bit to get game time.

Tonali and Gravenberch will be my CMs again with the backups being Boonmak and young Emanuele Di Matteo who has been promoted to the first team squad. In the attacking midfield positions I can pick any 3 from Sancho, Vinicius Junior, Elmas, Vignato and Camara but I may look to bring in another attacking midfield player if it fits the bill.

Up front I will pick from Esedin, Nascimento and Kean and I have no idea who will be first choice!

--

Claudio Marchisio named as the new Brazil manager!!!!!!!

I really wanted the Italy job but they gave it to Simone Inzaghi so despite offers from several other countries including Spain, Holland and England I opted to manage Brazil so I could have a go at winning the Copa America while with their long qualification group for the World Cup it should be interesting!!!​

 

[Klippybo]

AUGUST

Lineup - La Vecchia, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali (Boonmak), Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara (Vignato), Vinicius Junior, Nascimento*

WHAT A START!!!!!!

We went into this game with both of my first team keepers injured, my 3rd choice keeper was out on loan so I had to field my 4th choice keeper, La Vecchia, and he wasnt even match fit himself!!! In the end we thrashed Inter with a hat-trick from Nascimento on his debut. I studied all 3 of my strikers before the game and plumped for Nascimento and he was immense.

Some match to open our new stadium.

--

Lineup - La Vecchia, Rama, Vanheusden (Kana), Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch (Boonmak), Sancho, Camara, Vinicius Junior*, Nascimento (Esedin)

WOW!!!!! We have certainly started the season on fire as we hit Torino for 5. Vinicius Junior was unplayable as he scored a hat-trick while Nascimento netted again and Sancho claimed his first goal for the club.

--

SUMMARY

With our excellent start I made this a mini post as we had just 2 games in August plus the Champions League draw and the end of the transfer window. Our 2 fixtures couldnt have gone any better as we destroyed Inter Milan 4-0 and then Torino 5-1. My new signings Nascimento, Rama and Sancho have all hit the ground running especially Nascimento who scored a wonderful hat-trick against Inter Milan.

We have been given a half decent Champions League group as we will play Arsenal, FC Porto and APOEL.

As for the transfer window I brought in 2 young players and they were both immediately loaned out to newly promoted Modena.

​

 

[Klippybo]

SEPTEMBER

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara, Vinicius Junior (Vignato), Nascimento (Kean*)

The goals dried up here but we won and we dominated throughout so I have to be happy. Nascimento missed a first half penalty unfortunately.

--

UEFA Champions League Group C

Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic (Berardi), Garcia, Kana, Dimarco*, Boonmak, Di Matteo (Marinello), Vignato, Elmas, Vinicius Junior, Kean (Esedin)

We took a while to get going here as I played my backups so some of these players were getting their first minutes of the season but we won it easily enough in the end.

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge (Garcia), Tonali, Gravenberch (Boonmak), Sancho, Camara, Vinicius Junior (Elmas), Nascimento*

We win again and Nascimento put his penalty failure from his last match behind him as he tucked 2 away here.

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama (Tadic), Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho (Elmas), Camara, Vinicius Junior (Vignato), Nascimento*

Another 2 goals for Nascimento! That makes it 8 in 5 for him now and it seems I have made the right decision in making him our first choice striker. Vignato came off the bench to score a great free-kick.

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge (Garcia), Tonali (Di Matteo), Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara (Elmas), Vignato, Nascimento*

A 2nd hat-trick for Nascimento and it is now 11 goals in 6 appearances!!!!!!

--

UEFA Champions League Group C

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali (Boonmak), Gravenberch (Kana), Sancho*, Camara (Elmas), Vignato, Nascimento

WOW!!!! A stunning performance as we really lay down a marker for the rest of the competition as we wipe the floor with Arsenal. Jadon Sancho was in inspired form as he scored twice and also assisted another although he went off injured and will be out for a month.

--

SUMMARY

Our excellent start to the season continued this month as we won every month and the highlight was our stunning 4-0 victory over Arsenal in the Champions League. Andre Nascimento has been immense as my young Portuguese striker scored goal after goal after goal as we tore defences to shreds. He wasnt the only standout performer as Vignato and Sancho also stood out with some great performances.

We have had such a great start to the season that I think we could be onto something really special as my players are all still developing and my new players still have to fully settle. Should be exciting.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANDRE NASCIMENTO

--

SERIE A

--

BRAZIL

Friendly

Lineup - Ederson, Eder Militao, Marquinhos (Gabriel), Luiz Felipe, Jorge (Wanderson), Arthur*, Gerson, Rodrygo, Matheus Cunha (Chrys), Vinicius Junior, Gabriel Jesus (Martinelli)

I kick-off my spell as Brazil manager with a comfortable win over Iran. I handed out debuts to Chrys, Gerson and Wanderson.​

 

[Klippybo]

OCTOBER

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden (Garcia), Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Vignato, Camara, Vinicius Junior*, Nascimento

Another 5 goal haul as our play going forward is just irresistible just now. Vinicius Junior struck twice but it was Vignato who scored the goal of the game as he bent a shot into the far top corner from 25 yards.

--

Lineup - Audero, Rama (Tadic), Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch*, Vignato, Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior, Nascimento

We won but I expected more goals plus Lecce missed a few decent chances to level when we were just a goal up. Audero came in for his first start of the season after returning from injury.

--

UEFA Champions League Group C

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden (Kana), Gvardiol, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch (Boonmak), Vignato*, Camara, Vincius Junior, Nascimento

An entertaining match but we came out on top with 2 goals from Nascimento against his old club but it was Vignato who won the MOM award.

--

Lineup - Audero, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Vignato (Tadic), Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior (Kean), Nascimento

We drop our first points of the season in this game but at least we salvaged a point through Tadic late on as we fell behind in the 79th minute.

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali (Boonmak), Gravenberch* (Elmas), Vignato (Sancho), Camara, Vinicius Junior, Nascimento

We were back on form in this match as we put 4 past Lazio. Nascimento helped himself to another double while Ryan Gravenberch scored his first goal of the season with a screamer. Sure they had a man sent-off but we were already 2-0 up at that point. Audero picked up a knock in training so Guarracino came in in goal.

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali (Boonmak), Gravenberch, Sancho (Vignato), Camara*, Vinicius Junior, Nascimento (Kean)

Any away win over AC Milan is good and 2 great goals from Ronaldo Camara (who has just taken Italian nationality as he is uncapped by Portugal somehow) won us the match but they started with 5 players who didnt make the grade with us - Viti, Juliansyah, Collado, Igor and Reinaldo.

--

SUMMARY

Despite dropping our first points of the season against Atalanta we are still going along strong. We put 5 past Ascoli and 4 past 10 man Lazio and also beat AC Milan away and won against FC Porto in the Champions League so I cant complain about the draw away to Atalanta!

I am loving how we are playing at the moment. While we are brilliant going forward it is also twinned with a miserly defence and we are looking so strong at the moment! What is scary is that we can still be better I feel.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
RONALDO CAMARA

--

SERIE A

--

BRAZIL

Friendly

Lineup - Ederson, Eder Militao, Marquinhos (Ibanez), Luiz Felipe (Gabriel), Jorge, Arthur, Douglas Luiz*, Rodrygo (Glaucio), Matheus Cunha (Lucas Paqueta), Vinicius Junior, Martinelli (Evanilson)

Very impressive. We were completely dominant here and had over 30 shots on goal which is very encouraging!
​

 

[Klippybo]

NOVEMBER

UEFA Champions League Group C

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden (Kana), Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch (Boonmak), Sancho*, Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior, Nascimento

A superb comeback victory as we fight back from 2 goals down to win this game. We were terrible in the first half but once Vinicius Junior pulled one back I knew we were within a shout and Nascimento once again scored against his former club and then Jadon Sancho scored a late winner. This win secures our place in the knockout stages.

--

Lineup - Audero, Rama, Vanheusden, Garcia, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch (Boonmak), Sancho (Vignato), Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior, Nascimento

Our unbeaten start to the season comes to an end here and while I am naturally angry but understanding that it came against Juventus I am seriously ****** off that it came at home. Some of my players are really tired but that is no excuse. We just didnt perform and we lose our top spot at the table.

--

Lineup - Audero, Rama (Berardi), Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch (Marinello), Sancho, Camara, Vinicius Junior, Nascimento*

We fell behind here and that obviously angered Andre Nascimento as he went on to score 4 goals to see us cruise to victory. He now has 19 goals in 13 league games and 23 overall - some going for an 18y/o.

--

UEFA Champions League Group C

Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic, Garcia (Marinello), Kana (Berardi), Dimarco, Boonmak, Di Matteo, Vignato*, Elmas, Kean, Esedin

Out came my backups and we won the game easily with the only downside being that Diego Esedin hit the post with a penalty. We have secured the group with this win so my backups will get another opportunity against Arsenal in our last group game.

--

Lineup - Audero, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol (Garcia), Dimarco, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara, Vinicius Junior (Kean), Nascimento*

We win the Arno derby and convincingly so! It seems that us scoring 4 (at least) in a game is a regular thing as we have now done so 8 times this season already in all competitions.

--

SUMMARY

We lost our first game of the season this month as Juventus beat us at home so our fans saw us lose in our new stadium for the first time but as compensation for that the board have agreed to increase the capacity of the stadium up to 31,500 which will be completed next year!

Despite our defeat against Juventus we have still opened up a 3pt gap at the top of the table as we won our other 2 league games 4-1 to move away. That coupled with 2 wins in the Champions League against FC Porto when we came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and then beat APOEL to secure our place as group winners!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANDRE NASCIMENTO

--

SERIE A

​

 

[Klippybo]

DECEMBER

Lineup - Audero, Rama, Vanheusden (Kana), Gvardiol, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali*, Gravenberch, Sancho (Vignato), Camara, Vinicius Junior, Nascimento

Another win, another goal for Nascimento and a rare goal for Tonali but I am more pleased that we kept our first clean sheet in the league for 8 games!

--

UEFA Champions League Group C

Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic, Kana, Garcia (Berardi), Dimarco, Boonmak, Di Matteo (Marinello), Vignato, Elmas, Kean, Esedin*

So, so much to say about this game.

Firstly look at the result and the match stats...........

We never get outplayed but Arsenal tore us apart in the first half but then we tore them to shreds on the counter attack as we scored 4 goals from 6 shots on target. Diego Esedin scored twice and he has really impressed when given a chance it is just a shame that Nascimento cant stop scoring and is holding the jersey.

This win not only means we win 6 out of 6 but it also means that Arsenal are out of the competition.

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama (Berardi), Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge*, Tonali (Marinello), Gravenberch (Di Matteo), Sancho, Camara, Vinicius Junior, Nascimento

Spezia were never really likely to halt our march forwards towards the title and as expected they didnt. Nascimento continues to blow my mind for someone so young. We have 2 games left this calendar year and he is 3 goals away from the 30 goal mark and we arent halfway through the season!!!!

During the week Audero complained about not playing enough despite being my first choice keeper! He missed the first 2 months of the season through injury and Guarracino is my cup keeper but now the roles have been reversed!

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama (Tadic), Vanheusden (Kana), Gvardiol (Garcia), Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara*, Vinicius Junior Nascimento

Modena are bottom of the table so it is no surprise that we thumped them here. Nascimento scored twice to move up to 29 goals for the season but it wasnt enough for the MOM award as Camara claimed it thanks to 2 assists.

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden*, Gvardiol (Garcia), Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara, Vinicius Junior (Elmas), Nascimento

Nascimento grabs a goal to reach the 30 goal mark before we go into next year - unbelievable. We truly have a world superstar on our hands.

--

SUMMARY

We won all ofo ur matches this month so we ended 2026 in fine fashion. Undoubtedly our 4-1 victory away to Arsenal in the Champions League was the highlight as despite being outplayed we were ruthless on the counter attack as we ended the group with a 100% record and we will play Atletico Madrid in the next round which should be interesting.

Domestically we have extended our lead up to 5pts and we are now firmly in control of the title destination.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANDRE NASCIMENTO

--

SERIE A

​

 

[Klippybo]

JANUARY

Lineup - Guarracino*, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch (Boonmak), Sancho, Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior (Vignato), Nascimento

I am overjoyed with this result. Roma are a terrific side and we usually struggle to beat them but we edged this match thanks to a goal from you know who. Nascimento won the European Golden Boy and the Kopa Trophy just a few days earlier and he celebrated that in fine style here.

--

Coppa Italia 1st Round

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Dimarco, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho* (Vignato), Camara, Vinicius Junior (Kean), Nascimento (Esedin)

We just edge out Napoli here as we progress into the quarter-finals. Vignato scored a screamer to seal the game while Dimarco scored with a free-kick that was surely a cross but it evaded everyone and found the back of the net.

--

Supercoppa

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali (Di Matteo), Gravenberch (Boonmak), Vignato (Kean), Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior*, Nascimento

VINICIUS JUNIOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Forget about us winning the Supercoppa as the performance of Vinicius Junior was stupendous as he scored 5 goals to win us the match. He had already scored twice when he scored in stoppage time to take the game into extra-time and then he popped up with another 2 while Nascimento also got his customary goal. Incredible!!!

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch (Di Matteo), Sancho (Vignato), Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior, Nascimento

Meh. We had the best chance to win this game when we were given a penalty but Nascimento had his effort saved. This result ends our 7 game win streak in the league and Nascimento's 7 game scoring run but we have kept 6 clean sheets in a row now.

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama*, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch (Boonmak), Sancho, Camara, Vinicius Junior (Kean), Nascimento (Esedin)

A nice win. Rama got his first goal for us while Diego Esedin scored his first league goal of the season.

--

Coppa Italia Quarter-Final

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol (Garcia), Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior (Vignato), Nascimento*

Into the semis we go as Andre Nascimento scored a double to send us through.

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama (Tadic), Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch (Di Matteo), Sancho, Camara (Vignato), Vinicius Junior, Nascimento*

Our 8th clean sheet in a row in the league and Nascimento's 4th hat-trick in the league this season!

--

SUMMARY

We keep on winning and Nascimento keeps on scoring but the highlight of this month was the individual performance of Vinicius Junior as he scored 5 goals to help us beat Inter Milan as we picked up the Supercoppa. I have just realised that one of the main reasons of our outstanding form is that I have hardly had to change my team. If you take my 10 first choice outfield players - Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara, Vinicius Junior and Nascimento - in the league only Gvardiol (1), Jorge (1), Sancho (3 but came on as sub once) and VInicius Junior (1) have not started games. Quite incredible.

There is some transfer news. Emil Audero left the club to join Sevilla on loan so I went out to Sassuolo and pinched their keeper for £6m.

I also paid £4.4m for this Chilean wonderkid but he cant play for us this season as he is a non-EU player. Whether or not he will be involved next season or loaned out is up in the air.

Also 4 long term targets on my shortlist including Moukoko were all on the move this January so that was disappointing but I just didnt have the funds to compete.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
IVAN GUARRACINO

--

SERIE A

 

[Klippybo]

FEBRUARY

Coppa Italia Semi-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior (Vignato), Nascimento*

Hopefully this should be a big enough advantage for us to navigate the 2nd leg and reach the final. 2 more goals from Nascimento but that isnt really news lol.

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali (Boonmak), Gravenberch, Sancho*, Camara, Vinicius Junior, Nascimento

Nascimento's goal means he has broken the club record for goals in a season and now he needs 6 more to break the league record which is held by Gonzalo Higuain who scored 36 for Napoli in the 2016/17 season.

--

Coppa Italia Semi-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Guarracino*, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch (Di Matteo), Tadic, Elmas, Vignato, Nascimento (Esedin)

Into the final we go. I rested a few players here so I am pleased that we still got a result and yet another clean sheet. We have played Inter 5 times this season and are unbeaten against them winning 3, drawing 2 with an aggregate score of 12-3!

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Dimarco*, Tonali (Marinello), Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara, Vinicius Junior, Nascimento (Esedin)

Having started with the same 11 players for the last 8 league games I was forced into a change here as Jorge missed out but Federico Dimarco came in and got the MOM award. This is our 10th clean sheet in a row in the league!!

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden (Kana), Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Boonmak, Sancho, Camara, Vinicius Junior*, Nascimento (Esedin)

11 clean sheets in a row........

Gravenberch got injured before the game and will be missing for a month so this is a chance for Boonyarit Boonmak to get a run in the side and he has to take it!

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali*, Boonmak, Sancho (Vignato), Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior, Nascimento (Esedin)

A rare defeat and an undeserved one as we missed a load of chances but given how the game went and that we have the 2nd leg at home and we have an away goal I am still confident that we can reach the quarter-finals.

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge*, Tonali (Marinello), Boonmak (Di Matteo), Vignato, Camara, Vinicius Junior (Kean), Nascimento

Remember Moise Kean? lol. He came off the bench here to score a great solo goal. The player who got sent-off for Ascoli is actually one of my youngsters out on loan so I might reward him with a new contract now! Another clean sheet in the league - 12 in a row........

--

SUMMARY

Domestically we were excellent and didnt concede a goal in either league or cup. I wouldnt put all the credit down to my keeper Ivan Guarracino but in 18 appearances he has only conceded 3 goals!!!!! We are 6pts clear at the top of the league and with us literally not conceding any goals surely we will be reclaiming the title?

In the Coppa Italia we knocked out Inter Milan 2-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals and we will face Roma in the final. As for the Champions League we lost 2-1 away to Atletico Madrid, slightly harshly, so we have to win our home leg to progress into the quarter-finals.

Youth intake next month but apparently it is a poor crop of players.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
VINICIUS JUNIOR

--

SERIE A

​

 

[Klippybo]

MARCH

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama (Berardi), Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Boonmak, Sancho, Elmas (Vignato), Vinicius Junior, Nascimento*

13 clean sheets in a row lol. Elmas got his first league start of the season here as Camara picked up a minor injury in training.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden (Garcia), Gvardiol, Jorge*, Tonali, Gravenberch (Boonmak), Sancho, Camara, Vignato (Kean), Nascimento

Phew!!! We reach the quarter-finals after a nervy victory over Atletico Madrid here. Nascimento had an early goal disallowed but he put us ahead just after the hour mark when he bundled the ball home and Jorge sealed the win with a stunning strike for his first goal of the season.

--

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden*, Gvardiol, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch (Boonmak), Sancho, Camara, Vinicius Junior (Vignato), Nascimento

Are we ever going to concede in the league again? To be fair we did in the first half here but thankfully it was disallowed and that meant that Nascimento's goal was good enough for us to collect all 3pts.

--

SUMMARY

I almost had more matches managing Brazil than I did Empoli this month as we only had 3 fixtures for my club side and we came through unscathed. We have kept 14 clean sheets in a row in the league which is absolutely ridiculous and is almost half the season to put it into perspective.

The main match of the month however was our fixture against Atletico Madrid and we beat them 2-0 at home to send us through into the Champions League quarter-finals where we will face Juventus. Being drawn against an Italian side on paper suits us down to the ground given we have won the league the last 3 seasons but Juventus are the only side to beat us domestically this season so it is up for grabs.

Our youth intake was ****.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANDRE NASCIMENTO

--

SERIE A

--

BRAZIL

Friendly

Lineup - Ederson (Alisson), Eder Militao (Calegari), Marquinhos, Luiz Felipe, Jorge (Wanderson), Arthur, Gerson, Rodrygo (Martinelli), Evander*, Vinicius Junior (Richarlison), Gabriel Jesus

Australia took a surprise lead here which seemed to wake us up as within 3min we were ahead and we cruised to victory thereafter.

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Friendly

Lineup - Ederson (Alisson), Eder Militao (Calegari), Marquinhos, Luiz Felipe, Jorge, Arthur*, Gerson (Lucas Paqueta), Rodrygo (Glaucio), Evander, Vinicius Junior (Richarlison), Gabriel Jesus (Martinelli)

Nothing to see here lol.
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[Klippybo]

APRIL

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama (Tadic), Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho (Vignato), Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior, Nascimento

Not good enough. We were the better side and got off to a perfect start when Nascimento score din the first minute but our clean sheet record got broken when they levelled and then Nascimento missed a penalty and they had a goal disallowed so it was all downhill from the first minute really. Nascimento's goal does mean that he has the record for goals scored by a player in a single Serie A season.

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UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch (Boonmak), Sancho*, Camara, Vinicius Junior (Kean), Nascimento (Esedin)

A great result as Jadon Sancho scores a brace to have us in pole position to reach the semi-finals. He now has scored more in the Champions League (5) than in Serie A (4) this season.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama (Berardi), Vanheusden (Garcia), Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior*, Nascimento

Udinese have been shocking this season and we put 4 past them here. Vanheusden had a goal disallowed early on but we responded with 4 goals that did count.

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UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali (Boonmak), Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara (Vignato), Vinicius Junior (Kean), Nascimento (Esedin)

We reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time but by god it wasnt easy. They scored twice to level on aggregate and then had a stoppage time goal disallowed thankfully so the game went into extra-time where there were no goals. Moise Kean missed our 2nd penalty as he rushed his kick but they missed their 4th and then we continued to score until they put a penalty wide and it was left to Vignato to score the decisive penalty.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara, Vinicius Junior*, Nascimento (Kean)

Vinicius Junior scored a wonderful hat-trick here as we won the Arno derby. He has been immense this season and has really improved his numbers with 23 goals this season!

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Coppa Italia Final

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama (Tadic), Vanheusden (Kana), Gvardiol (Garcia), Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara*, Vinicius Junior, Nascimento

WE WIN THE COPPA ITALIA!!!!!

This was a very entertaining final with 6 goals scored but we scored 4 of them to claim the trophy as all 4 of my attacking players scored a goal each. I certainly wasnt expecting such an open final.

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UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Guarracino*, Rama (Tadic), Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch (Boonmak), Sancho, Camara, Vinicius Junior, Nascimento

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

100% without a doubt this is the best result in my near 7 seasons at the club. To beat Liverpool 2-0 away from home in such a big occasion is remarkable considering this is new territory for the club. Vinicius Junior and Andre Nascimento may have scored the goals but it was the defiance of Ivan Guarracino in goals who really deserves all the praise.

Nascimento's goal was his 50th goal of the season.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama (Berardi), Vanheusden (Kana), Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali (Marinello), Gravenberch, Vignato, Camara, Vinicius Junior, Nascimento*

50 goals? How about 53???? Nascimento scored a hat-trick as we put AC Milan to the sword. On paper this looks like a good result but they lie 12th in the league so this result isnt anything special.

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SUMMARY

We head into the final month of the season on the verge of greatness!!!! In the league we drew with Juventus but won our other 3 games and while we are not top of the table we are level on points with Juventus and have 3 games in hand over them. Somehow we have to play 6 league fixtures in our final month of the season and 2 cup fixtures - hopefully!

That is because we are on the brink of reaching the Champions League final as we beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield to have a huge advantage going into the 2nd leg. The job is not done yet but we are in the driving seat.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
VINICIUS JUNIOR

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

MAY

Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic, Vanheusden (Kana), Garcia, Jorge, Boonmak, Gravenberch, Sancho*, Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior (Kean), Nascimento

We fell behind early doors here but battled back to victory but it wasnt easy. Nascimento scored with a fine finish to level.

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UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Dimarco, Tonali, Gravenberch (Elmas), Sancho, Camara (Vignato), Vinicius Junior (Kean), Nascimento

We reach the Champions League final!!!!! The game didnt quite go according to plan as we lost the match but we win on aggregate and thats the main thing. When they went 2-1 up we had to endure a tough final 20min or so when they needed one goal to win on away goals but we held firm.

Reaching the final means we qualify for the next Club World Cup too!

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama (Berardi), Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Camara (Elmas), Vinicius Junior (Vignato), Nascimento*

We were far from convincing but got the win. Nascimento scored another brace but it was Vignato's effort that stole the show as he thundered in an effort from the corner of the 18 yard box into the top corner.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden*, Garcia, Jorge, Boonmak, Gravenberch (Di Matteo), Sancho (Vignato), Camara, Vinicius Junior (Kean), Nascimento

2 late goals added a bit of gloss to the scoreline. Nascimento had missed a first half penalty before Vinicius Junior put us in front but Nascimento was not to be denied and his goal takes him up to 58 for the season!

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Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Dimarco, Tonali (Marinello), Boonmak, Sancho, Camara (Vignato), Vinicius Junior*, Nascimento

We move to within a point of the title with this victory. We got 2 early goals from Boonmak and Nascimento and basically just sat on our lead from there. Ryan Gravenberch got injured in training and is out for the rest of the season so he will miss the Champions League final unfortunately.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Garcia (Kana), Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali*, Boonmak, Sancho (Vignato), Elmas, Vinicius Junior (Kean), Nascimento

CHAMPIONS!!!!!

We win our 4th title in a row with this win. Elmas scored his first league goal of the season to open the scoring and when Nascimento got his 60th goal of the season in all competitions it was game over. It was fitting that Moise Kean came off the bench to score the clinching goal.

Unfortunately before the game Zinho Vanheusden picked up an injury in training and he too will miss the Champions League final.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic, Garcia, Kana (Berardi), Dimarco, Marinello, Di Matteo, Vignato, Elmas, Kean, Esedin (Rota)

Meh. I fielded a backup side as I wanted to rest my players for the upcoming Champions League final which meant that Nascimento missed his first league match this season. Vignato put us in front but unfortunately we allowed them to level in stoppage time.

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UEFA Champions League Final

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Garcia, Gvardiol*, Jorge, Tonali, Boonmak (Elmas), Sancho (Vignato), Camara, Vinicius Junior, Nascimento (Kean)

WE WIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!!!!!!!!!!!

We defeat Dortmund who in all honesty apart from a couple world class regens were a pretty poor side. We struggled to open them up but got the opener thanks to a stunning strike from Vinicius Junior as he beat a few players before firing into the top corner from 20 yards. Nascimento then poked home the 2nd and we were on easy street however a defensive lapse allowed them back in it.

In stoppage time Dortmund had a goal disallowed as our hearts were in our mouths but thankfully it was not to be for them!

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SUMMARY

CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE!!!!

What an end to the season that was! We crammed in 8 games this month and I am cursing Juventus as they kept us honest right to the end when I would have liked to have rested my players for the final few league matches and lo and behold both Vanheusden and Gravenberch missed the showpiece event at Old Trafford.

In the end we won the league with a game to spare and finished 6pts clear of Juventus who in any other season would have won the title with 96pts.

As for the Champions League we lost at home to Liverpool but still went through on aggregate before goals from Vinicius Junior and Andre Nascimento helped us on our way to defeat Borussia Dortmund. Fantastic.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANDRE NASCIMENTO

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SERIE A

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