What’s the best way to prepare for Man City in the Champions League? A 1-1 draw against bottom of the table De Graafschap of course!
Our Champions League opponents Man City were top of the Premier League and have won the league in both of the last 2 seasons.
We truly needed a miracle to progress to the quarter finals for the first time in our history.
We were outplayed at the Etihad but managed to get an away goal in the first leg to give us some false hope at least.
Then, over the course of the next 2 weeks, our 3 best players were ruled out with injury for the second leg. There was no hope of going through but this just sealed the deal.
Sankoh and van den Berg are the ones in ridiculous form this season, it is genuinely unbelievable how much we got shafted with injuries before the second leg.
So I was dreading the second leg at home to City as our depleted squad (including a 34 year old Memphis Depay) tried to somehow overturn a 2-goal deficit.
The result was even more sickening than I could imagine…
We were 2-0 up and going through to the quarter finals with 5 minutes left...
I shut up shop and made sure that every single set piece had players back defending, yet Man City still managed to score in stoppage time. Truly sickening!
We only have 7 league games left and even though we’re just 4 points off Ajax, I can’t see us catching them.
They’re unbeaten and have just defeated Man United in the Champions League. Our only hope is that we beat them at the Amsterdam Arena and hope they drop points somewhere.
I can only take so many disappointments in this save. How unlucky can we get?!
With 6 games remaining, it was between us and Ajax for the Eredivisie title.
We were still without star players Sankoh and van der Steen due to injury but really needed to win at the Amsterdam Arena - no other result would do.
But we were poor and deservedly lost. Ajax are just far too good and have improved every single season so much so that they’re one of the best sides in Europe!
So it looks like 2nd place for us again.
One more thing I have noticed is that we currently have £3m in the bank and are predicted to have -£30m at the end of the season...
Yet despite those alarming forecasts, our transfer budget and wage budget were still huge!
So despite everything telling me not to, I decided to spend £55m on a striker who will arrive in the summer.
Roland Leidelmeijer just looks awesome and I hope he can be the final piece in the puzzle as we try and build our Dutch-only squad into Champions League contenders.
He’s somehow not got a cap for Holland yet. The Dutch squad currently has 4 Sparta Rotterdam players regularly appearing for them and it’ll be interesting to see how many get picked for Euro 2028.
We have also had a crazy youth intake this year. Despite selling a player for £140m last year, I honestly think we have produced somebody who could be even better
Just look how good Mourad Soufiani is! He’s just 15!
So, unless Ajax start losing games*, it looks like our season will fizzle out and end with us finishing in second.
With 5 games remaining there were 5 points between us and Ajax, so I decided to use those games to give youngsters a chance and to experiment with our formation.
That was until I saw that Ajax lost at home to NAC and were also knocked out by Bayern in the Champions League.
The surprise loss meant that with 3 games to go, there were just 2 points between us... Surely not?
I could not believe what happened in the next set of games.
Ajax were crumbling! 2 losses in a row for them meant that we went top of the table for the first time since October!
Just 2 games remained - one away to Dordrecht and the final match at home to rivals Feyenoord.
Both us and Ajax won our penultimate games comfortably, which meant everything rested on the last game of the season against Feyenoord.
Victory would mean we won the Eredivisie title, surely we could not have any more bad luck this season?
We have done it! Eredivisie win number 3 is ours!.
I certainly did not expect to win the league 6 matches ago when we lost to Ajax... but they have truly bottled it and somehow we have won the Eredivisie!
Got an interesting summer coming up considering we seem to be losing money constantly, I'm also finding it impossible to buy Dutch players that would improve our first team for less than £50m!
From getting knocked out of the Champions League last 16 in the last minute by Man City to somehow winning the Eredivisie thanks to Ajax’s collapse. There was never a dull moment!
We won the league by one point and managed to score exactly 100 goals! Also Willem II finished 4th which gets them a spot in the Champions League next season!
There were a number of standout performers for us this season, but it was all about our front 4 of Poku, Van den Berg, Sankoh and Emegha.
Bram van den Berg picked up the best player in the Eredivisie award with 16 goals and 14 assists, which was thoroughly deserved.
And Emanuel Emegha was top scorer in the Eredivisie for the second time and now has 237 goals for Sparta Rotterdam.
It was our first season in our new stadium and the board have already planned an expansion. That’s great, but will cost £25m and we’re really not in the best financial situation at the moment...
That’s because somehow we’ve got -£20m despite selling a player for £140m last season...
It turns out that spending £55m on a new striker probably wasn’t the smartest move and the forecasts are not looking good.
But we have so many youngsters at the club that are almost first team ready that I think I’m going to sell quite a few players in the summer to make way for them.
Hopefully, that should be enough to balance the books for now…
I’ve always been convinced that I’ll be able to win the Champions League with an all-Dutch squad at some point in this save - but if those youngsters don't fulfil their potential then it might be a struggle!
It meant that we made some tough decisions and recouped more than £60m in transfer fees
The only first team starter we sold was Coen van Gool to PSG for £30m.
Transfers are normally my strong point in FM, but I got this one wrong. Spending £65m on him last season was not the wisest decision so I decided to accept the loss and get as much as we could for him - it also bugged me that he was only 5’4”...
We also sold long-serving midfielder Murat Kacar to Club Brugge for £7.5m.
He started for us in the Europa League final just over a year ago but was backup last season so I decided to cash in. After signing for £600,000 as a 15 year old he leaves Sparta Rotterdam having won the Eredivisie 3 times!
All other players sold were regens who were Eredivisie quality, but were not going to become starters in our team.
It means we have £12m in the bank, although it looks like we’re going to be bleeding money this season judging by the forecasts
I’ve also upset Donny van de Beek after transfer listing him. Lille actually came in with £15m but the board rejected it the deal because it wasn’t enough money.
The reason I’m trying to sell van de Beek is because of Berry van Es. Out of all the promising youngsters we have, he seems to be the best.
And I’m also hoping that £55m man Roland Leidelmeijer starts firing straight away.
He made a decent start, scoring a last minute winner on his debut as we won the Johan Cruijff Schaal for the 4th year in a row by beating Feyenoord 3-2.
This season we’re actually 2nd favourites for the Eredivisie, which is the highest we’ve ever been predicted to finish!
We're into our 9th season of the save and it's proving to be difficult to match the elite teams in Europe with an entirely Dutch squad. Of course I want to retain the Eredivisie, but I really want to make it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League this season.
After offering him out for £20m at the start of the summer and getting no bids, I expected Donny van de Beek to remain at the club.
That was until Ajax came in with a £20m bid for him. He’s now back at the club where it all began and we got £20m for a 31 year old who we signed for free just last season!
That deal, along with the rest of the transfers in the summer, means that I’m feeling a lot more relaxed about the financial situation at the club. At one point I thought I was going to liquidate Sparta!
Finally, we had a squad that had 0 unhappy players… for about 2 days. £55m signing Roland Leidelmeijer is unhappy that we didn’t strengthen our midfield, so much so that he wants to leave.
He’s probably been our best player so far in an otherwise average start to the season. We’re unbeaten after 4 games but are struggling to be clinical.
We had the most ridiculous 2-2 draw against N.E.C. They scored two worldies and despite creating one million chances, our 2 goals were penalties which were both dodgy decisions
And it’s no surprise who is top of the table...
Elsewhere, we have been given an interesting Champions League group. We’ll play Man City who knocked us out so cruelly last year and also face Valencia who beat us in the Europa Conference League 5 years ago.
We also now only have 2 players in the Dutch squad despite this being the 9th season of the save. Seeing that statistic makes it’s difficult to figure out if we’re going backwards or not!
I expect us to get through to the last 16 of the Champions League this campaign, the question is can we improve on last season?
Remember those 4 crucial games in a row? Well, we lost 3 of them…
It started with a poor defeat away to AZ in supposedly our easiest game.
We then managed to beat PSV and were so close, yet so far against Ajax. An abysmal first half meant that we lost and I seriously think they could win every single league game this season.
A loss to Man City was probably expected but a 1-1 draw away against Young Boys was really poor. It baffles me how we didn’t win - their one shot on target went in, naturally.
So a draw was needed in our final group stage game against Valencia to progress to the knockout stages.
We went one better. A commanding 1-0 win ensured that we topped the group and qualified for the knockout stages for the second consecutive season.
After finishing top of the group last season and getting shafted with the First Knockout Round draw, I was hoping for a slightly easier opponent this time around.
And that’s exactly what we got!
We have a bit of history with Sociedad in the Europa League and considering we could’ve faced Barcelona or Juventus, you have to say it’s a very favourable draw for us!
Ajax also made it to the last 16 of the Champions League, which is no surprise given that they have won 16 out of 16 league matches!
I feel like I need to provide a Joel Sarpong update on every post because his numbers are getting astounding.
It’s not even January and the Ajax striker has 39 goals in 21 matches - and 32 in 16 Eredivisie games. You read that correct… 32 goals in 16 Eredivisie games.
So retaining the Eredivisie looks out of the question, but we have a serious chance of getting to the Champions League quarter-finals!
I've known about him since he came through the youth intake but there was just no way Ajax were going to sell him. 5 years ago he turned down a loan move to us in favour of PSV and that's about the closest we've come to getting him.
Ajax have also produced this goalkeeper who they've also refused to sell at any price
It's very annoying doing a save with just Dutch players where the best Dutch youngsters are never available!
I'm not sure why the big European clubs haven't come in for them either, especially Sarpong. Holland is now 3rd in the nation coefficients so that could be why he's happy to stay at Ajax but he'd walk into any team in Europe
We never seem to get an easy opponent in the cup when we enter the competition in the second round - and this year was no exception. We played a strong side but still lost 2-1 at home to Feyenoord.
Our city rivals were also involved in our only transfer activity in January, as we sold defender Marcelencio Kastiel to them for £3m.
He started in our cup final win 5 years ago and has been a great servant for us so it shows just how far we’ve come that he was no longer needed.
The reason I decided to sell Kastiel is because we have youngster Arnoud Zwiers, who soon bagged his first goal for the club in a routine win over Dordrecht.
16 year old academy graduate Soufiani also scored on his debut in that game, breaking the record set by Maysonnave who we sold to Man City for £140m!
Our second game of the season against Ajax was a 0-0 draw away from home which was a pretty decent result… especially as they have now finally started dropping points
Since that result, we have won every Eredivisie match including a hectic 4-3 away against Feyenoord
And Ajax seem to be crumbling again - despite winning the first 16 matches of the season, they now find themselves in second position behind us!
There has never been a dull title race in this save!
However, our attention now turns to the Champions League 1st Knockout Round and Real Sociedad
We have never progressed to the quarter-finals before so this might be our best chance to do so!
The first leg of our Champions League First Knockout Round against Real Sociedad was a drab affair that ended 0-0, but we probably should’ve won the game.
We had 3 league games to play before the second leg and seeing Ajax lose again really boosted morale
Especially as we then beat a very strong PSV side 5-1 away from home!
An Emanuel Emegha hattrick in that game took him to 204 league goals, which is a Sparta record. Every single one of those goals have been scored in this save - what a player!
So we were hitting perfect form ahead of the second leg against Real Sociedad, we just needed to get the job done in the home tie.
And a brilliant first half performance ensured that we’re into the Champions League quarter finals for the first time!
Our opponents in the quarter final are Real Madrid. What a tie!.
They’re current holders of La Liga but are actually in 3rd position at the moment.
Still, they have an awesome squad including Alex Isak, Kubo and a few world class regens so we’re massive underdogs for the tie.
But we could not be in better form at the moment and have won our last 9 Eredivisie matches in a row.
And Ajax have dropped more points, meaning that with 5 games left we are 4 points ahead of them!
So once again it’s all looking good in the Eredivisie and we’re on course for our 4th Eredivisie title.
With us 17 games unbeaten in the Eredivisie, I expected another routine win over Utrecht… but somehow we ended up conceding 5 goals.
It was a ridiculous game with all the goals coming in the second half. More significantly, it let Ajax back into the title race
What a way to prepare for Real Madrid at home in the Champions League quarter-final!
Madrid’s squad is ridiculous and their backup players would walk into our lineup
In comparison, our 100% Dutch side contained just 2 players who are regular starters for their country (Malacia and van der Steen)
An awesome first-half performance was cancelled out by a terrible second half as two late goals gave Real complete momentum going into the second leg.
We were poor second half, but it was a bit of a wind up when centre back Jesus Martin scored a volley from outside the area with 4 seconds left to give them the lead...
We managed to beat FC Volendam in the one Eredivisie match before the second leg but I was really not looking forward to the trip to the Bernabeu.
We truly needed a miracle and there was just no way it was happening.
I expected to lose, but 4-0 flattered Real and it really wound me up the fact that the first 2 goals were conceded directly from corners.
But what can you do? We stand no chance against the big European teams unless the direction of the save takes a new course…
We still have the Eredivisie to play for and are just one point ahead of Ajax with 3 games remaining.
Given our recent slumps, I’m a bit worried that we’ll bottle it… especially as we play local rivals Feyenoord in the traditional last game of the season
We’ve done so well this season, it’d be such a shame to go out with a whimper.
2028/29 was our most successful season yet, as we won our 4th Eredivisie and got to the Champions League quarter finals for the first time ever.
We were knocked out by Real Madrid and they went on to win the competition by beating rivals Barcelona in the final.
Former Sparta striker Maysonnave was also top scorer in the competition for Man City with 11 goals.
It was a great Eredivisie season for us and 89 points is the highest total we’ve ever had.
Our Dutch squad has only 3 players that are in the national squad, so it’s amazing we won the league and got to the last 8 of the Champions League!
Emanuel Emegha would have scooped all the awards had it not been for the ridiculousness of Joel Sarpong. The Ajax striker ended with 47 Eredivisie goals in 33 starts.
Emegha has been an unbelievable player in this save. I’ve never had a striker that’s so consistent and it’s just a shame that his ability compared to other Dutch strikers means that he’s unlikely to add to his 2 caps.
Bram Van den Berg scored our first (and only) Champions League quarter final goal and was named young player of the season with 9 goals and 14 assists in all competitions.
It’s also important to emphasise just how strong a league the Eredivisie is. Holland is now 3rd in the European coefficients table, which is crazy.
Our under 18s also won the UEFA Youth League for the second time in the save, beating Inter in the final.
And finances are pretty solid now after looking bleak this time last season.
So, we’re 9 seasons in and have 4x Eredivisie titles, 1x Dutch Cup, lost in the Europa League final and have made it to the Champions League quarter-finals once...
But I’ll be honest, I can’t see us winning the Champions League with a 100% Dutch squad with Sparta.
So the ‘Going Dutch’ part of this story is about to change...
9 seasons into this save, we’ve won the Eredivisie 4 times and reached the Europa League final as well as a Champions League quarter final… which is pretty good going.
However, one thing I didn’t expect at this stage was to only have 3 Dutch players in the Holland squad.
Dutch players at the elite European clubs are never going to join Sparta and that, coupled with the fact Ajax are producing world-class Dutch regens that they’re never going to sell to us, is making the 100% Dutch aspect of this save very tricky.
Whilst we’re producing very good Dutch players at Sparta, I think I’ve been blinded by the potential star ratings that are given to them. Our youth players are good but they’re not going to turn into the elite players that we need to take things forward.
When we sold Dominique Maysonnave to Man City for £140m I thought that would be the turning point of the save, but it hasn’t really turned out that way.
We’ve spent all the money on all the Dutch players that were willing to join us and I just can’t see us getting past the quarter final stage of the Champions League stage as things continue.
So, I’ve decided that going forward I will be signing non-Dutch players under the age of 20 so that we can have a squad that can compete for the Champions League.
We’ve actually had a Uruguayan at the club since January and Ricardo Martinez is exactly the kind of player I’m looking to sign.
The fact he was free, when mediocre Dutch players who are worse than him would cost us £40m made me realise I want to freshen up the save and have a serious go at winning the Champions League.
So it’s fair to say that this summer transfer window will be busy!
There won’t be any kind of clear out, but I’m looking to sign the kind of youngsters (like Martinez) who will be able to get us to the latter stages of the Champions League in the next few seasons.
Now that I’ve tweaked the self-imposed rules of the save so that we can buy players of any nationality under the age of 20, we have recruited some extremely talented youngsters who will hopefully take us to the next level.
But that also means that we’ve had to move some players on. The first was Dillon Hoogewerf for £11m to Saudi Arabia.
He’s been a great servant and popped up with important goals for us over the last couple of seasons, but has been a squad player for a while and it made sense to move him on.
Centre back Joeri Bresser has also left and joined Sporting Lisbon for £11.5m. He had a great career at Sparta, playing an important part in all 4 Eredivisie titles, and we made a huge profit on the £900,000 we spent on him as a 17 year old.
Now for the exciting bit... We’ve signed 3 quality teenagers who will hopefully help us get to the later stages of the Champions League in the next few years.
Bresser’s replacement is Mauro Díaz - a Uruguayan who we got on a free transfer. He can play in multiple positions but I’ll be using him at centre back mainly because he’s 6’4”
Another Uruguayan teenager that joined us was Damián Crossa for £6m. He was an absolute bargain and I have no doubts he will become world class.
It wasn’t just Uruguayans that we signed though. We’ve also recruited Miranda, a Brazilian, for £13m from Flamengo.
The signings of those foreign players improves our squad, and it will only get better considering how much room for improvement these players have!
Ajax are still overwhelming favourites for the league this season but we have 4 players in the media best eleven, which is usually made up entirely of Ajax players
A win over Ajax in what is now the traditional fixture in the Johan Cruijff Schaal has got me seriously excited for what we can achieve this year.
It was great seeing how far we could get with Dutch players - but now it’s time to turn Sparta into one of the elite clubs in Europe!
The 2029/30 season could not have started any better for us as we stormed to a 7-0 win against N.E.C who finished 6th last season. There were 7 different scorers in the match including all 3 substitutes!
That result had me very excited so I needed a nice reality check with a 0-0 draw away against newly promoted Roda JC Kerkrade - ridiculous!
Other than that, it was a routine start to the season for us with wins over inferior opposition in the league
Thankfully Ajax have also dropped points, so it’s actually Willem II who have started the strongest in the league this season!
Out of all of our signings we made in the summer, I am most excited about Damian Crossa - he has 4 assists in 4 Eredivisie games but I will not be making any puns related to crossing…
Despite being 1st seeds, we’ve been drawn in the group of death in the Champions League group stage. We’ll face last years finalist Barcelona as well as a very strong AC Milan side that have won Serie A 4 times in the last 5 years.
We faced AC Milan 2 seasons ago in the Champions League but It’ll be good to face Barcelona for the very first time!
