At this stage of the season, this is a massive win over Portimonense who were 6th at kick off and like us, are chasing down the top 5 places! It just about keeps any hopes we had of finishing in the European qualification places alive! Man of the Match; Daizen Maeda (CS Maritimo)
Liga NOS – Matchday 32
CS Maritimo vs CD Tondela
Formation; 4-2-3-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Balanced
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Bebeto, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, P.Pelagio, J.Cleber, Erivaldo, J.Correa, L.Barrera (Marcelinho 66), D.Maeda
With 2 games remaining, we have a shot at finishing 5th. We just need Vitoria De Guimaraes to lose one of their remaining matches as long as we win both of ours!! It’s a slim chance….but it is a chance!!
Liga NOS – Matchday 33
FC Famalicao vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-3-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Bebeto, Z.Junior, D.Kerkez, R.Ferreira, P.Pelagio, J.Cleber (R.Santos 65), Erivaldo, J.Correa, L.Barrera (Marcelinho 65), D.Maeda
A couple of late goals kept our European qualification hopes alive until the final day of the season! It was well deserved though as we’d been well on top throughout ever since going behind in the 7th minute! Man of the Match; Daizen Maeda (CS Maritimo)
Unfortunately for us, Vitoria De Guimaraes also won their penultimate game which means it’s going down to the very last game of the season to see who sneaks that 5th placed spot! The cards are all in their hands as a draw will do them and their final game is against already relegated Belenenses SAD! It will also come down to the final game to see who lifts the title between Porto and Benfica!
Our final game of the season was against a Boavista side in 17th who knew that a win could potentially see them stay up, so they had every bit as much to play for as we did! And it was a really tight game as well that could have gone either way! As it stood, it was in our favour that the result went with the only difference being a single strike from an in form forward, Daizen Maeda! Job done our end! Man of the Match; Pedro Pelagio (CS Maritimo)
And that means that we miss out on the top 5 by just 3 points! Still, a 6th placed finish is very respectable in my first season in charge and exceeds the expectations of the board and the fans, whilst the media will likely be quietly impressed with my performance as manager during my first season on the scene as well! Porto lift the title by a single point over Benfica and they were miles ahead of the chasing pack!
I think the fact you are disappointed at missing out on the top 5 shows just how well you did this season given you only were expected to achieve top half.
Next season you can hopefully add a player or two and pick up some silverware potentially
Following In Their Footsteps – Chapter 10
Tuesday 28th July 2020
The one player I don’t want to lose this Summer is 20 year old star of the future, Pedro Pelagio! However, I fully expected teams to come sniffing around, but £1.8 million is an insult of an offer from Watford for our best young player!
However, it was enough to unsettle the youngster and after a meeting with me where he almost insisted I let him leave, he has handed in a transfer request! It might now be a case of just getting the best deal possible for the club!
Bad news for Portuguese football as we’ll have less European qualification places as of the 2021/22 season!
Outgoing Transfer; My first departure this Summer is Franck Bambock. The defensive midfielder didn’t get a single game for me last season, so it was only fair to move him on and get him off the wage bill. He joins Hapoel Be’er Sheva for a fee of £85,000.
Outgoing Transfer; The next outgoing is one I really didn’t want to see this Summer but one I had no real choice over in the end. It was either agree to let Pedro Pelagio leave the club, or keep a very unhappy player here who might have caused major issues in the squad. With over 20 clubs interested and bids coming in from the likes of Celtic, Blackburn, Stoke, Watford, QPR and Bristol City, Pelagio has elected to join Rangers. They have a bargain in my opinion as they snapped him up for just £3 million (£2 million up front and £1 million in instalments). I have got a 25% profit sell on clause though so if they do sell him on for big bucks in the future, we will get a cash windfall there!
As we reach 30th June, it was time for those players to be released from the club who I’d decided not to offer new deals to. The only first teamer here was Bjorn Lindemann who actually retired, so no harm done really.
What hurts a little more are the players that I tried to offer new deals to, but who opted to accept offers elsewhere instead! I’d really have liked to retain Bebeto and Fabricio Baiano (who had a good season on loan at Genclerbirligi last year), but they have left the club for salaries I couldn’t compete with!
Incoming Transfer; On to some good news now though and my first signing of the Summer. 24 year old attacking midfielder, Leonardo Morosini is a perfect replacement for the retired Bjorn Lindemann and in fact I’d say he is better than him so immediately we have upgraded that role. He joins on a free transfer from Brescia where he made over 100 appearances, scoring 18 goals.
Incoming Transfer; This is a signing I am really excited about and I’d go as far to say he is a bit of a coup for us! I managed to convince 21 year old English prospect, Herbie Kane, to sign for us on a free transfer from Liverpool! I’m really chuffed to have replaced Pelagio with another very talented young player and Kane immediately looks like one of my best options, if not THE best option, in the defensive midfield role.
Incoming Loan; We saw Francisco Sierralta really mature at the club during his loan spell last year and he formed a great partnership at the back with Zainadine Junior as well. So it was a no brainer to attempt to extend his loan deal and I’m pleased I’ve been able to keep him here for another season long loan!
Incoming Transfer; I add to the Italian contingent at the club by bringing in right back, Enrico Valentini, on a free transfer from FC Nurnberg. He will offer direct competition to Nanu in that right back role after the departure of Bebeto a week ago. Another player added with a great work rate and high determination….something I really like in my players!
Outgoing Transfer; Third choice striker Luciano Nequecaur only managed to get 7 appearances under me last season and failed to score a goal in any of them, so I was happy to let him leave for Rosario Central in Argentina, when they came in with a bid of £90,000 for him!
Incoming Transfer; And now for my most exciting signing of the Summer, 25 year old Moroccan Hicham Khaloua! I’ve forked out £275,000 to bring him to the club from UD Melilla and he could be a bargain at that price! With sky high determination, plenty of flair, a great technique and brilliant finishing in front of goal, he will definitely contribute to that entertaining brand of football the board want us to play!
Outgoing Loan; Any player taking home over £2k per week at this club is on a fairly big wage, so Dario Maltese was sent out on loan as he is taking home more than that and will likely play little football for us this year. He joins Academica Coimbra for the season!
Our pre season title odds with the bookies are a lot more favourable this year, with them fancying us to finish in the top 7 and at only 40/1 to win the league, we could just be a surprise package.
Our first competitive game of the new season will be against the same team our last competitive game of last season was against, as we’ve been drawn against Boavista in the second phase of the Taca Da Liga CTT.
We will go into that game full of confidence after a positive pre season which included a win over Boavista themselves. The highlight was that 10-0 win over lower league Portuguese side UA Povoense though!
Following In Their Footsteps – Chapter 11
Monday 28th September 2020
After a good season for us last year, Daizen Maeda is amongst the favourites to win the golden boot this season!
Taca Da Liga CTT – Second Phase
Boavista vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-3-1 Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini (L.Africo 65), Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, C.Tovar (China 65), H.Kane, R.Santos, Milson, L.Morosini, L.Barrera (J.Correa 65), H.Khaloua
The rules of this competition state that you have to feature two under 21 players in the starting lineup, so that meant I gave debuts to both Carlos Tovar (LB) and Milson (AMR). We dominated the game with over 60% possession and more than 20 shots on goal, but in 90 minutes we only managed to score a penalty which was only good enough to earn a draw and take the game to a penalty shootout! Five good penalties from our lads was good enough in the end to see us into the next round, but we’ll need to be much better than this going forward! Man of the Match; Miguel Reisinho (Boavista)
Injury; The worst thing about the Boavista game was losing new right back, Enrico Valentini, to injury on 65 minutes and he’ll now miss 3-4 months of the season!! Gutting!!
The third phase of the Taca Da Liga CTT is a group stage, with 4 groups of 4 teams! Teams only play each other once, with the top team from each group progressing straight to the semi final! We’ve been given a winnable group in my opinion with our main rivals for that top spot likely to be SC Braga!
No changes to the captaincy for the upcoming season!
The media dream 11 is made up of entirely Porto and Benfica players this season, with no-one else getting a look in! The media and bookies clearly expect those two to be well ahead of the rest again!
Liga NOS – Matchday 1
CS Maritimo vs Rio Ave
Formation; 4-2-3-1 Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta (L.Africo 45), China, H.Kane, R.Santos, J.Correa (Erivaldo 64), L.Morosini, H.Khaloua (L.Barrera 64), D.Maeda
We couldn’t have started the season in a worse way, after a thumping defeat at home to Rio Ave on the opening day!! It was an all out attacking display from both sides as we mustered up 40 shots between us in the game, but their strikers were bang on form, whilst we wasted chance after chance! The result did flatter them slightly and I just have to hope it doesn’t massively dent out confidence early on! Man of the Match; Mehdi Taremi (Rio Ave)
Liga NOS – Matchday 2
Desportivo Das Aves vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-3-1 Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta (Sent Off 42), China, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, J.Correa (D.Kerkez 89), L.Morosini (L.Africo 42 (Sent Off 89)), H.Khaloua, D.Maeda (R.Pinho 77)
An ill disciplined game with both sides having 3 players sent off between them, us losing two centre backs to red cards! Despite that, we did manage to win the game, a match that we completely dominated from start to finish! Man of the Match; Jorge Correa (CS Maritimo)
Liga NOS – Matchday 3
CS Maritimo vs Pacos De Ferreira
Formation; 4-2-3-1 Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior, D.Kerkez, China, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, J.Correa, L.Morosini, H.Khaloua (L.Barrera 63), D.Maeda (R.Pinho 63)
Pacos have started the season well, winning both of their opening games before this one, and with only minutes of this one left they looked like they would make it 3 in 3! But two late goals from my lads earned us a draw that we thoroughly deserved…great determination and a ‘never say die’ attitude from my boys today! Man of the Match; Helder Ferreira (Pacos De Ferreira)
Liga NOS – Matchday 4
CD Feirense vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-3-1 Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China (R.Ferreira 63), H.Kane, J.Gamboa, J.Correa, L.Morosini, H.Khaloua (L.Barrera 63), R.Pinho
A game we really should have won! Our opponents are a weaker side than us and we were well on top for large periods of the match, but just couldn’t find the back of the net! A poor result! Man of the Match; Francisco Sierralta (CS Maritimo)
Liga NOS – Matchday 5
CS Maritimo vs FC Famalicao
Formation; 4-2-3-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, J.Correa, L.Barrera, H.Khaloua
I dropped the two central midfielders back into the DM roles for the same formation we’d played all of last season, as we hadn’t started this year as strongly as I’d hoped we would! It sparked an excellent performance and we absolutely battered FC Famalicao, with new signing Hicham Khaloua particularly thriving in the lone striker’s role as he picked up his first hat trick for the club! Erivaldo wasn’t to be outdone by the new man though and he also got on the scoresheet 3 times! Man of the Match; Hicham Khaloua (CS Maritimo)
There were some big departures this Summer as Benfica and Sporting lost players to England and Spain! After adding 30 players to their squad last Summer, FC Famalicao again added 17 players this season! Either they have the world’s biggest squad or a ridiculous turnover in players!
Liga NOS – Matchday 6
CD Tondela vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-3-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, J.Correa, L.Barrera, H.Khaloua
After the emphatic victory over FC Famalicao, I felt no need to make any changes to our tactical setup or lineup for this one! It was the right decision as we record back to back victories against a CD Tondela that have started the season well and came into this game in 4th place. Hicham Khaloua was on the scoresheet again with another good goal. Man of the Match; Herbie Kane (CS Maritimo)
Taca Da Liga CTT – Group Stage Matchday 1
CS Maritimo vs Academica Coimbra
Formation; 4-2-3-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta (L.Africo 78), C.Tovar, H.Kane, Jailson (R.Santos 61), J.Correa (Marcelinho 61), L.Morosini, L.Barrera, D.Maeda
A disappointing start to our group in the Portuguese League Cup as we can only manage a draw against Academica from the division below (although they are leading that at the moment). Man of the Match; Tharcysio (Academica Coimbra)
Liga NOS – Matchday 7
Vitoria De Guimaraes vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-3-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, H.Kane, R.Santos, Erivaldo, J.Correa, Marcelinho, H.Khaloua
Our little five match unbeaten run comes to an end against Vitoria in a tightly contested game that could have gone either way in all honesty! They just nicked it on the day though and we’ll have to pick ourselves up in our next game. Man of the Match; Herbie Kane (CS Maritimo)
A pretty average start to the season sees us sitting 8th after the opening 7 games! It’s still early days though and it’s probably the next 7 games that will see the season take more shape!
Following In Their Footsteps – Chapter 12
Friday 4th December 2020
The 3rd round draw for the Taca De Portugal Placard pits us against lower league side, Gondomar SC.
Taca Da Liga CTT – Group Stage Matchday 2
Casa Pia vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wingers, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; J.Anacoura, Nanu, Z.Junior, A.Senese, R.Ferreira, H.Kane (Sent Off 55), R.Santos, Milson, L.Morosini, China, D.Maeda (H.Khaloua 67)
I’ve not been entirely happy with the way we’ve played so far this season and saw this game against lower league opposition in the cup as a perfect opportunity to try something new. I opted for a different formation, and a slight change in team and player instructions! Things were going really well and we looked very comfortable, right up until Herbie Kane’s sending off! That gave Casa Pia the green light to attack and get back into the game, which they did and we had to settle for another disappointing draw in the group stages! Man of the Match; Vinicius Ferreira (Casa Pia)
Two draws wasn’t good enough and we’re out of the competition before we even get a chance to play Braga in the final group game!
I stuck with the same new formation again and it produced more shots in this game than in any other all season, a total of 32! We managed to convert two of those chances into goals which sees us progress into the next round of the cup! Man of the Match; Virgilio Pinto (Gondomar SC)
We go away to lower league opposition again in the 4th round.
A pretty dull game of football where neither side really created anything of note and it was pretty typical that such a boring game would be settled by an own goal! Luckily it went in our favour and we take the 3 points! Man of the Match; Zainadine Junior (CS Maritimo)
Liga NOS – Matchday 9
CS Maritimo vs Moreirense FC
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior (F.Sierralta 65), L.Africo, China, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, L.Barrera, J.Correa, H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 65)
A solid home win and well deserved as we were the stronger side throughout the game. Leandro Barrera’s brace put us well in control of the match before Joao Gamboa’s first goal of the season put the game out of reach for our opponents! Man of the Match; Nanu (CS Maritimo)
A p*ss poor result! We should have been clear and out of sight before they scored in the 82nd minute! Not good enough!! Man of the Match; Dieguinho (Portimonense SC)
Liga NOS – Matchday 11
Vitoria De Setubal vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu (E.Valentini 42), Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, R.Ferreira, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, L.Barrera, J.Correa, H.Khaloua
We immediately bounced back from the disappointment of defeat against Portimonense with a good win against Vitoria who were above us at kick off! We actually leapfrog them in the table with this win here! Man of the Match; Jorge Correa (CS Maritimo)
Injury; Nanu was forced off in the first half against Setubal and will now miss around a month with injury!
Injury; Just days later, we lose Josip Vukovic for a month too!
I’m not desperate to leave the club and am by no means actively searching for a new job! However, I noticed that the Bayer Leverkusen job became available and the prospect to move to Germany and manage one of the biggest club’s in the country is too good to turn down. I sent over my CV for the role and the board agree to meet with me for an interview, which seemed to go pretty well!
Easy as you like here with Chaves throwing up very little resistance as we coast into the next round of the cup! Man of the Match; Jorge Correa (CS Maritimo)
We get our first home draw of this season’s competition as we take on Belenenses SAD in the 5th round of the Taca De Portugal Placard!
I was pipped to the post by Didier Deschamps for the Leverkusen job! I’m not too disheartened as I’m genuinely quite enjoying my time here in Portugal for now!
Liga NOS – Matchday 12
Gil Vicente vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, F.Sierralta, L.Africo (Sent Off 86), China (R.Ferreira 45), H.Kane, J.Gamboa, J.Correa, L.Barrera (Marcelinho 78), L.Morosini, H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 78)
We fancied our chances going into this game with Gil Vicente sitting rock bottom of the league with only a single win to their name this year. We did get the victory but not in the style that was expected, but instead via a solid 1-0! Man of the Match; Joao Gamboa (CS Maritimo)
Injury; Lucas Africo is the latest player to pick up an injury and will now miss nearly 2 months of action after suffering sprained knee ligaments in training!
Liga NOS – Matchday 13
CS Maritimo vs CD Santa Clara
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior (Sent Off 37), F.Sierralta, R.Ferreira, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo (D.Kerkez 37), L.Barrera, J.Correa, H.Khaloua
Despite having to play nearly an hour with ten men, we still managed to secure a comfortable victory over mid table Santa Clara and that makes it 7 wins from our last 8 games in all competitions! Man of the Match; Hicham Khaloua (CS Maritimo)
Thirteen games into the league campaign now and we sit 4th and just 6 points off Rio Ave who lead the way, although we have a game in hand over them as well! The other teams in the top 5 are of no surprise but Sporting are really struggling and find themselves well adrift in the bottom half of the table!
Following In Their Footsteps – Chapter 13
Sunday 24th January 2021
Liga NOS – Matchday 14 FC Porto vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, D.Kerkez, F.Sierralta, China, H.Kane (J.Cleber 70), J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, L.Barrera (Marcelinho 70), J.Correa, H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 70)
A decent effort against the reigning champions but they were just a little too strong for us today! I can have no complaints! Man of the Match; Shoya Nakajima (FC Porto)
Injury; There’s no denying that Herbie Kane has been one of our best players so far this season, but we’ll now have to make do without him for the next few games as he is set to miss a few weeks through injury.
Liga NOS – Matchday 15
CS Maritimo vs SL Benfica
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, J.Cleber, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, L.Barrera, J.Correa, H.Khaloua
Again we gave it a good go against one of the best teams in the country and were actually unlucky not to take anything from this game! Most would argue that we deserved a point! Man of the Match; Exequiel Palacios (SL Benfica)
Taca De Portugal Placard – 5th Round
CS Maritimo vs Belenenses SAD
Formation; 4-2-3-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; J.Anacoura, Nanu, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, R.Ferreira, J.Cleber, R.Santos, Erivaldo, Marcelinho, J.Correa, D.Maeda (H.Khaloua 62)
Job done again in the cup as we defeat Belenenses with a pretty easy victory! Man of the Match; Jorge Correa (CS Maritimo)
Taca Da Liga CTT – Group Stage Matchday 3
SC Braga vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-3-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; J.Anacoura, Nanu, D.Kerkez, F.Sierralta, R.Ferreira, Jailson, J.Vukovic, U.Balde, Marcelinho, J.Correa, R.Pinho
Our final group game of the Taca Da Liga CTT meant nothing as we were already out, so I took the opportunity to rotate the squad and rest plenty of first team players! I was prepared to take the inevitable loss on this one! Man of the Match; Marko Livaja (SC Braga)
We might be out of the Portuguese League Cup, but we have a very good opportunity to make the latter stages of the Taca De Portugal Placard this season as we’ve been drawn against FC Famalicao in the next round, a team we’ve already smashed 7 goals past this season!
For the first time in my career, another club has actually taken the initiative and contacted me about their vacant managerial role! Without requiring an application, Leicester City would like me to attend an interview to take over the manager’s job at the club! I’m intrigued to find out more about their vision for the future and there is no doubting that they are a significantly bigger club than CS Maritimo so I attend the meeting!
Liga NOS – Matchday 16
CS Maritimo vs Sporting CP
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior, D.Kerkez, China, J.Cleber, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, L.Barrera, J.Correa (L.Morosini 62), H.Khaloua
Wow…simply incredible! Without a doubt this was our most impressive and complete performance ever since I took over this club as manager! I don’t know if the lads caught a whiff of my meeting with Leicester and turned on the style to make me have second thoughts about leaving the club, but this was brilliant! Man of the Match; Hicham Khaloua (CS Maritimo)
As it turned out, my players don’t have anything to worry about just yet, as Leicester decide I’m not the right man to take the club forward!
Hicham Khaloua picks up the Player of the Month award for December and dedicates the award to yours truly!
Liga NOS – Matchday 17
SC Braga vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, J.Cleber, J.Gamboa (H.Kane 73), Erivaldo, L.Barrera (Marcelinho 73), L.Morosini, H.Khaloua
Braga beat my second string comfortably in the cup only a few games ago, but my first 11 presented a much tougher task for the home side today! We were in the game throughout the 90 minutes and nicked all 3 points late on when Zainadine Junior rose highest to head home the winner late on! Man of the Match; Leonardo Morosini (CS Maritimo)
Taca De Portugal Placard – 6th Round
CS Maritimo vs FC Famalicao
Formation; 4-2-3-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Nanu, L.Barrera, L.Morosini, H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 57)
I expected us to make light work of Famalicao in this tie, after thrashing them 7-1 in the league already this season! Instead we made hard work of this and in the end had to rely on a single goal from Nanu (his 1st of the season) to see us into the semi final! Man of the Match; Nanu (CS Maritimo)
No disrespect to Estoril but we got the draw we wanted for the semi final!
Liga NOS – Matchday 18
CS Maritimo vs Desportivo Das Aves
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, R.Ferreira, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, L.Barrera, J.Correa, H.Khaloua
We were a little off colour in the first half and couldn’t find the back of the net, despite creating a number of good chances. However, we bucked up our ideas in the second period and smashed 4 past Desportivo on our way to a big and relatively easy win! Three of our goals came from set pieces in this one, showing that our work on the training ground is paying off! Man of the Match; Zainadine Junior (CS Maritimo)
Incoming Loan; Last January I didn’t add to my squad at all in the January window and I’m sure it was a bad move not to improve the squad, so I didn’t want to make the same mistake this year. I don’t have the funds to bring in a permanent player, so looked to the loan market and I’m pleased to snap up 23 year old left winger, Philipp Ochs for the rest of the season from Hoffenheim! He is a definite improvement on Marcelinho in that position and does strengthen our options down the left side!
Outgoing Loan; And with the signing of Ochs on loan, Marcelinho leaves us on loan for the rest of the season. He joins Sport Recife in Brazil!
Liga NOS – Matchday 19
Pacos De Ferreira vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, L.Barrera (P.Ochs 82), J.Correa, H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 82)
I’ll be honest, we got away with this one a little bit and without the sending off for Pacos, I’m not entirely convinced we would have got the win here. Looking at the positives though, at least we capitalized on the sending off and made the most of the opportunity! Man of the Match; Jorge Correa (CS Maritimo)
We’re sitting 5th in the table as we’ve gone past the half way stage of the season and we’re just 3 points off the top spot! Don’t get me wrong, I have no unrealistic hopes of winning the league this year, but we do have a genuine shot at making the top 4 this year as long as we don’t have a mid season meltdown like we did last season!
Following In Their Footsteps – Chapter 14
Wednesday 3rd March 2021 Liga NOS – Matchday 20
CS Maritimo vs CD Feirense
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, R.Ferreira, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, L.Barrera (P.Ochs 60), J.Correa, H.Khaloua
Erivaldo’s 32nd minute strike was the difference between the sides here as we struggled to put the ball in the back of the net against our struggling opponents! We had 30 shots on their goal in total, with 15 of those on target, so in all fairness their goalkeeper did have a bit of a stormer! Man of the Match; Erivaldo (CS Maritimo)
For the second month in a row, one of my players picks up the Player of the Month award! This time, it’s my captain Zainadine Junior! And again, he dedicates his award to me…it seems I’m building a very strong relationship with my players!
And it’s a Manager of the Month award for me as well after we won all 5 of our matches in January (1 cup and 4 league)!
Benfica seem to get seriously depleted every transfer window, although they did spend a whopping £71 million and were the most active team in this window signing 9 players!
Taca De Portugal Placard – Semi Final 1st Leg
Estoril Praia vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, P.Ochs, J.Correa, H.Khaloua
We gained the advantage in the 1st leg with a good two goal lead away from home against Estoril! All the action came in the last 23 minutes of the game and things had been pretty dull up until then! Good to see Philip Ochs getting a goal on his first start for the club since coming in on loan! Man of the Match; Romulo (Estoril Praia)
Liga NOS – Matchday 21
FC Famalicao vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, P.Ochs (L.Barrera 59), L.Morosini, H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 59)
We’d already beaten Famalicao in league and cup this season, so had every right to think this would be business as usual! It was….but only just!! Two goals from super sub, Leandro Barrera in the last few minutes turned the game on it’s head and we walk away with all 3 points by the skin of our teeth! Man of the Match; Leandro Barrera (CS Maritimo)
Taca De Portugal Placard – Semi Final 2nd Leg
CS Maritimo vs Estoril Praia
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta (L.Africo 71), R.Ferreira, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo (Sent Off 60), P.Ochs, L.Morosini (J.Correa 61), D.Maeda
We kicked on from the 3-1 win in the first leg and comfortably sealed our place in the final! Even after Erivaldo’s sending off, we still continued to dominate the game and Philipp Ochs bagged his 2nd goal for the club to round off a great performance all round! Man of the Match; Enrico Valentini (CS Maritimo)
Vitoria De Guimaraes await us in my first ever final, after they overcame Porto in the other semi. They won the home leg 2-0 and managed a 0-0 away from home in the 2nd leg against the holders! With the final coming right at the end of the season, it’s fair to say I will be staying with Maritimo for at least the rest of this season, despite any interest from other clubs…I’d be stupid to lead the club to my first final and then not even attempt to see it through!
Liga NOS – Matchday 22
CS Maritimo vs CD Tondela
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Nanu (L.Morosini 61), P.Ochs (L.Barrera 78), J.Correa, H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 61)
With only a minute of injury time left, Jorge Correa popped up and slotted home a beautifully struck first time effort from about 8 yards out to seal the victory! Before that, this had been a game of the two penalties…ours which was blatantly obvious, and theirs which was very soft in my totally non biased opinion! Man of the Match; Jorge Correa (CS Maritimo)
That result made it a very impressive 7 straight wins in the league!
Liga NOS – Matchday 23
Rio Ave vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, F.Sierralta, L.Africo, China, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Nanu, P.Ochs, J.Correa (L.Morosini 61), H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 79)
A massive game for both sides as 1st took on 3rd in the league and at the start of the season, nobody would have expected us both to be in these positions at this stage of the campaign! And by full time it was Rio Ave that had hammered home their advantage with Mehdi Taremi the difference between the two sides as he bagged a hat trick for the home team. That b*stard has now scored 6 goals against us in 4 games with Rio Ave winning all 4 of them…definitely my bogey team! Man of the Match; Mehdi Taremi (Rio Ave)
Liga NOS – Matchday 24
Sporting CP vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, Nanu, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, P.Ochs, J.Correa, H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 66)
Cristian Borja simply couldn’t deal with Erivaldo coming at him down the right wing and took him out twice for two yellow cards and was sent off before half time! Up until that point, we’d been the better of the two teams anyway and in the 2nd half with Sporting down to ten men, I expected us to push on and win the game! We really did try, but to be fair to Sporting, they defended extremely well and we just couldn’t find a way through and had to settle for a draw! Man of the Match; Jorge Correa (CS Maritimo)
Liga NOS – Matchday 25
CS Maritimo vs Vitoria De Guimaraes
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, L.Africo, China, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, P.Ochs, J.Correa, H.Khaloua
In a preview for the cup final, we play out a bore draw with Vitoria De Guimaraes, despite us absolutely battering their goal for a full 90 minutes! Man of the Match; Miguel Silva (Vitoria De Guimaraes)
With 9 league games remaining, we sit 6th in the table and well in the hunt for a European qualification spot this season! We could even mount a sneaky title challenge from this platform if we can pick up some good results in our next few games against lower league opposition before we finish the season with 3 season defining fixtures against Porto, Benfica and Braga!
Following In Their Footsteps – Chapter 15
Thursday 15th April 2021
Liga NOS – Matchday 26
Moreirense FC vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini (Nanu 70 (R.Santos 88)), F.Sierralta, D.Kerkez, China, H.Kane, J.Cleber, Erivaldo, P.Ochs, J.Correa, H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 70)
It doesn’t get much easier than that as the bottom side in the league throw up very little resistance to our relentless attack! We were brilliant here, with Hicham Khaloua leading the way with an impressive hat trick as he continues to prove he was a great signing for me last Summer! Man of the Match; Hicham Khaloua (CS Maritimo)
Injury; Absolutely gutting news coming out of the Moreirense game as we lose Nanu to injury for half a year!
‘Can we play you every week?’ rang out around the stadium at full time as we record our 4th win over Estoril this season in league and cup and they must be really sick of the sight of us by now! It wasn’t our best performance by any means but we got the job done nonetheless! Man of the Match; Jorge Correa (CS Maritimo)
Liga NOS – Matchday 28
Portimonense SC vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, D.Kerkez, R.Ferreira, H.Kane, J.Cleber, J.Correa, P.Ochs, L.Morosini, H.Khaloua
What a second half display that was from my lads. We were scraping by at half time and could easily have gone into the break behind if our opponents had taken their chances! But a firm kick up the a*se at the half way point seemed to kick the boys into action and they gave much more effort in the second period to seal the game with a big win in the end! It was a second hat trick in 3 games for Khaloua and he’s quickly becoming a fan favourite here! Man of the Match; Hicham Khaloua (CS Maritimo)
The annual youth intake doesn’t offer much to get excited about with only a couple of players looking like they may one day feature in the first team squad, although unlikely to be superstars!
Determined centre back, Gavin Jones, looks one of the best prospects from the intake! The 16 year old Welshman is already a great tackler, has some decent pace for a defender and is a great team player with a good work rate!
After Hicham Khaloua scored an incredible 7 goals in 3 league games this past month, he picked up the Player of the Month award!
Liga NOS – Matchday 29 CS Maritimo vs Vitoria De Setubal
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, H.Kane, J.Cleber, Erivaldo (L.Morosini 71), P.Ochs (L.Barrera 79), J.Correa, H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 79)
Vitoria came into this game unbeaten in their previous seven games, so we knew we’d be up against it to get a result over them here! However, we’re a team in good form ourselves and our opponents were actually no match for us as we actually dominated them from start to finish and this could have been a much bigger result in our favour in all honesty! Man of the Match; Hicham Khaloua (CS Maritimo)
Liga NOS – Matchday 30
CD Santa Clara vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, H.Kane, J.Cleber, Erivaldo (L.Morosini 59), P.Ochs, J.Correa, H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 59)
A really disappointing result against a mid table side at this stage of the season! I expect better from the lads and they were told just that at the full time whistle! Man of the Match; Zainadine Junior (CS Maritimo)
Just four games league games remain and we occupy a European qualification spot going into them and have already surpassed our points tally from last season! The title is probably out of reach of we’re being realistic but a top 4 finish would be a magnificent achievement if we can maintain it!
Following In Their Footsteps – Chapter 16
Monday 31st May 2021
Liga NOS – Matchday 31 CS Maritimo vs Gil Vicente
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, H.Kane, J.Cleber, Erivaldo, P.Ochs, J.Correa (L.Morosini 68), H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 68)
The first of our four final league games ends in victory against relegation threatened Gil Vicente! We won this pretty comfortably and barely had to get out of 2nd gear. A routine win! Man of the Match; Herbie Kane (CS Maritimo)
Liga NOS – Matchday 32
CS Maritimo vs FC Porto
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, H.Kane, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, P.Ochs (L.Barrera 65), J.Correa, H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 65)
Joao Gamboa returned to the starting lineup and within 60 seconds, the midfielder had put us in front against the reigning champs! Porto then had us under extreme pressure for the entire first half and were on terms by half time from the penalty spot! We were more competitive in the second half and a solo effort from substitute Leandro Barrera sealed us a massive win! Man of the Match; Leandro Barrera (CS Maritimo)
Liga NOS – Matchday 33
SL Benfica vs CS Maritimo
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China (Sent Off 60), H.Kane, J.Gamboa (J.Cleber 45), J.Correa (Erivaldo 45), P.Ochs, L.Morosini (R.Ferreira 60), H.Khaloua
Benfica are by far and away the most impressive team we have played this year and their attack is simply sensational! We just couldn’t live with them and lost our discipline through frustration which really didn’t help our cause! Man of the Match; Exequiel Palacious (SL Benfica)
Injury; Absolutely gutted to lose Herbie Kane not just for the final league game of the season, but he’s unlikely to be back to full fitness for the cup final as well!
Liga NOS – Matchday 34
CS Maritimo vs SC Braga
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, R.Ferreira, J.Cleber, J.Gamboa, Erivaldo, L.Barrera (L.Morosini 60), J.Correa, H.Khaloua
We finish the season with an impressive win over Braga and it’s the first time I’ve led my side to victory over them since I started my managerial career! We were good value for the win as well and Braga will be especially hurt as a win here would have given them a shot at winning the title (depending on the Benfica result). Man of the Match; Jorge Correa (CS Maritimo)
We finish in 5th place, with an impressive 12 points more than we achieved last season and our points tally of 71 for the season would have actually been enough to finish 3rd last year so we’re unlucky really! We do qualify for the second qualifying round of the Euro Cup II….a new competition to start next year. However, if we win the cup final, we could still earn a place in the Europa League next season!
Taca De Portugal Placard – Final
CS Maritimo vs Vitoria De Guimaraes
Formation; 4-2-2-1-1 DM Wide, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; A.Abedzadeh, E.Valentini, Z.Junior, F.Sierralta, China, J.Cleber, J.Gamboa (H.Kane 65), Erivaldo (L.Morosini 14), P.Ochs, J.Correa, H.Khaloua (D.Maeda 63)
We have every right to feel sorry for ourselves at the end of the cup final, as this was a very even game, but Vitoria smashed home 3 absolute worldies from outside the box that we could do absolutely nothing about! They added a 4th late on when we were deflated and just looked like we wanted the game to be over to be honest! It was just one of them days and unfortunately we’re unable to lift the cup for the first time in the club’s history! Man of the Match; Edmond Tapsoba (Vitoria De Guimaraes)
Our defeat in the cup final means we have to settle for Euro Cup II qualification next season! Still, it’s more than what was expected at the start of the season so I can’t complain!
Following In Their Footsteps – Chapter 17
End of 2020/21 Season
Competition Winners
Liga NOS; SL Benfica
Liga II Ledman; Boavista
Taca De Portugal Placard; Vitoria De Guimaraes
Taca Da Liga CTT; Rio Ave
Supertaca Candido De Oliveira; FC Porto
UEFA Champions League; Liverpool
UEFA Europa League; Arsenal
Again, another very solid season under my management and we can proud of our achievements again this season when you consider the huge budgets we are up against in this division with some of the bigger clubs!
I’d pretty much agree with our overall best eleven down to every single player!
Jorge Correa absolutely ran away with the fan’s player of the season award this year, although it surprises me that Herbie Kane didn’t gain more of the vote! Although he did land the signing and young player of the season awards!
The board have added a few things to the club’s culture and I tried to negotiate them to no avail. I’m not sure I want us to be focusing on set pieces and I haven’t adhered to signing Brazilian players since I’ve been here, but the board won’t budge on either! They are showing a little more ambition as they plan to expand the stadium over the next 5 years, but still don’t expect us to progress beyond being a top half side in Portugal!
In fact, they waste no time at all in announcing a stadium expansion which will cost us over £3 million for nearly 3,000 extra seats!
My team love me and with a great dressing room atmosphere, they love each other as well! We’ve got great harmony around the club!
Hicham Khaloua absolutely smashed the club record of 17 goals in a season, by scoring 26 this year!
Whilst Jorge Correa doubled his own assists record from last season!
In fact, Jorge Correa bagged more assists than any other player in the Liga NOS this season!
Correa also set a new record for the most man of the match awards in a season with 9!
My goalkeeper, Amir Abedzadeh also broke his own clean sheets record for the 2nd season in a row!
Massive improvements across the whole squad this year, with most players chipping in and doing their bit! Jorge Correa was simply incredible as he scored 18 goals as well as his 18 assists, working out that he pretty much scored or assisted a goal per game this year!! Hicham Khaloua made a huge impression in his first season in Portugal, scoring 26 goals as he led the line superbly! My defence was pretty solid all season, with most of the back line scoring good average ratings across the course of the season! The assists were shared very equally amongst the team with most players chipping in with between 3 and 8!
My Player of the Season; Jorge Correa My Young Player of the Season (U23); Herbie Kane
Must Do Better; Leonardo Morosini Biggest Disappointment; Daizen Maeda
We still have very little money to improve the squad over the Summer to make us more competitive with the big boys next season!
Plans For The Summer; In all honesty, it’s time to move on to bigger and better things surely?! There are a number of jobs that have become available and I will be looking for a new challenge with a bigger club, with bigger budgets where I can enhance my reputation! Watch this space!
Love how you've done in Portugal. Would of loved to see if you qualified for the Europa League and then eventually started growing your squad. But surely how you've improved them a better league and job awaits? Bundesliga/La Liga/ Serie A would be a great step for you!
Following In Their Footsteps – Chapter 18
Monday 5th July 2021
After sending off my CV and having interviews at Glasgow Rangers, Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao and FC Porto, it’s off to Germany I go as I am hired as the new manager of RB Leipzig! It seems that my reputation for playing a high tempo pressing game will fit the vision of my new German employers!
I’ve taken over a club worth nearly £800 million and with a 4 star reputation, so it’s a significant step up from my time in Portugal. There is room for improvement with the club’s facilities and I’ll look to get the board to invest some money into these areas once I’ve settled in at the club and proven myself a bit!
Alongside playing that high tempo pressing game, the board would also like us to play attacking football and prefer for me not to sign any players over 28 years of age and to focus on signing younger players that can play in the first team as well!
Within 3 years, the board want us winning the German Bundesliga and expect us to exert our dominance in Germany from then on! As far as this season goes, they expect qualification for the Champions League as an absolute minimum, whilst having a real good go at bringing some form of silverware to the club! The expectations in my new role are a h*ll of a lot higher than I’m used to!
With only 12 years of history behind them since their formation in 2009, Leipzig have an impressive league history and last year they came so close to winning the Bundesliga for the first time, finishing 2nd under the management of Michael Laudrup who left the club to join Tottenham!
My new employers are quickly earning a reputation for themselves as the runner up specialists having finished 2nd in the Bundesliga twice, 2. Bundesliga, 3.Liga and DFB-Pokal!
My new home is the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig. A 42,558 capacity stadium which is seated throughout! A bit of a step up!
There’s no doubt about it…the club is RICH!! With over £137 million in the bank, I have some huge budgets to work with to turn this into a title winning team…a whopping £73 million has been made available to me for my first transfer window and I’ve got a good £300k available in the wage budget to play with as well! This is going to be fun!!
As I look over my new squad, it’s obvious I have a much more talented crop of players than at CS Maritimo. I’m quick to notice that the future looks really bright for this squad with all the players having great potential for the future and most of them being between the ages of just 20-24!! We must have one of the youngest teams in the division I think! There is some work to do though and I think I could really do with adding two or three more experienced players during this window, to fit in amongst all the talented youngsters I have here!
Marcel Sabitzer is one of the longest serving players at the club and during his time here, he has developed into one of the best! With a fantastic work rate and determination, he is a real work horse which is something I love to see in a player! He’ll mostly work that right wing for us, but I can bring him into the centre if need be and he is more than comfortable playing through the middle as well!
There’s no doubt that Timo Werner is one of the hottest strikers in Europe and I’m delighted to have him at the club! His record for us is impressive to say the least, having scored 82 goals in just over 150 appearances for the club! He’ll be my main man up top for sure!
Marko Pjaca was signed from Juventus last Summer for just £4 million and had a decent first season in Germany, contributing with 4 goals and 3 assists in 19 games for the club last season! I’ll be looking for him to push on from there under my leadership this season and think he can do much better for us!
The dressing room atmosphere is great at the club and the team cohesion is decent as well! However, the players are going to need some convincing that my appointment is the right one and it’s clear I don’t have their full support from the outset!
As I take a look over the development centre at the club, I’m pleased to see that we have a strong U19 squad, but none of those lads are apparently ready to be stepped up to the first team just yet!
Interesting move! Leipzig are the most hated team in Germany but what they have done is nothing short of impressive! Good squad you have too so be interesting to see how it shapes up this season!
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