La Sfida Sammarinese Grande
- Thread starter meguel
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December 13 - March 14
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A great period in the league which sees us take up a fantastic position in the Serie B which saw us unfortunately end a 20-ish game long winning streak in the league. Against Inter in the Italian Cup I was touchline banned so didn't stay and watch the whole match and it simmed to a 4-2 loss as you can see. Despite this we played well to get two goals at the Giuseppi Mezza. Lacarra is really struggling to adapt to Serie B football so I'm going to send the scout (yes singular) out to try and find some talent in Spain, France or Germany in the lower divisions. Coda on the other hand is excelling and has scored his 50th goal for the club recently.
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We're first, a position we have occupied for the majority of the 10 game period. This in my opinion is amazing considering this time last attempt I was unemployed and probably in a gutter somewhere. The prediction I made earlier about not having many draws has turned out to be miles from the truth as we've picked up 10 - the 3rd most in the league behind Catania (with 17) and Livorno (with 13). In other news the manager of Juve Stabia has lost his job.
View attachment 325782
A great period in the league which sees us take up a fantastic position in the Serie B which saw us unfortunately end a 20-ish game long winning streak in the league. Against Inter in the Italian Cup I was touchline banned so didn't stay and watch the whole match and it simmed to a 4-2 loss as you can see. Despite this we played well to get two goals at the Giuseppi Mezza. Lacarra is really struggling to adapt to Serie B football so I'm going to send the scout (yes singular) out to try and find some talent in Spain, France or Germany in the lower divisions. Coda on the other hand is excelling and has scored his 50th goal for the club recently.
View attachment 325783
We're first, a position we have occupied for the majority of the 10 game period. This in my opinion is amazing considering this time last attempt I was unemployed and probably in a gutter somewhere. The prediction I made earlier about not having many draws has turned out to be miles from the truth as we've picked up 10 - the 3rd most in the league behind Catania (with 17) and Livorno (with 13). In other news the manager of Juve Stabia has lost his job.
That's what I did first time then I saw that other people were having success and he's actually really good. It's weird because he looks bad going off his attributes.
.March 14 - May 14
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Although we didn't go unbeaten in this ten game period we did make a huge step forward in the clubs progress, but I'll talk about that later. Our first home loss of the season came against non other then Brescia, a team vastly under-performing in the league however there is a reasonable excuse and that is 30 goal man Massimo Coda was injured and would be out for 5-6 weeks in the game against Avellino. Lacarra stepped up to the plate in some degrees ending a huge goal drought but Capellini - the boy who'd been sat on the bench because of Lacarras past success' - he really stepped up getting 3 in 4 at the end of the ten games.
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We maintained first for the whole of the ten games, an unbelievable feat considering we lost our key player a month before the end of the ten games and this means that we ARE going up to Serie A next season. As a team we scored the 2nd most goals in the division (66 tied with 3 other teams) and conceded the 3rd least which is very respectable for a team struggling in Serie C2 just two years ago. It also means the next two matches are more or less a formality, although we still have to win the title.
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The official message telling me I'd be playing in the Serie A next season. In the next...
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... No not in the next update because I actually remembered to post the youth intake this season. Look for yourself but I don't think anyone will be good enough for the team although I'll be sure to develop the first 3 for the national team.
View attachment 326196
Although we didn't go unbeaten in this ten game period we did make a huge step forward in the clubs progress, but I'll talk about that later. Our first home loss of the season came against non other then Brescia, a team vastly under-performing in the league however there is a reasonable excuse and that is 30 goal man Massimo Coda was injured and would be out for 5-6 weeks in the game against Avellino. Lacarra stepped up to the plate in some degrees ending a huge goal drought but Capellini - the boy who'd been sat on the bench because of Lacarras past success' - he really stepped up getting 3 in 4 at the end of the ten games.
View attachment 326197
We maintained first for the whole of the ten games, an unbelievable feat considering we lost our key player a month before the end of the ten games and this means that we ARE going up to Serie A next season. As a team we scored the 2nd most goals in the division (66 tied with 3 other teams) and conceded the 3rd least which is very respectable for a team struggling in Serie C2 just two years ago. It also means the next two matches are more or less a formality, although we still have to win the title.
View attachment 326198
The official message telling me I'd be playing in the Serie A next season. In the next...
View attachment 326199
... No not in the next update because I actually remembered to post the youth intake this season. Look for yourself but I don't think anyone will be good enough for the team although I'll be sure to develop the first 3 for the national team.
May 14 - June 14
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The final two games of our season, both played at home as you can see. Despite Massimo Coda starting both games he couldn't add to his more then impressive tally of 27 league goals for the season however Lacarra on the other hand was finally showing his capabilities netting 3 in the two games. Against Livorno we had to come back from 2-0 down but after an encouraging half time team talk we rallied the troops and they went out and won the game and then went on to lift the Serie B trophy in front of all of our fans.
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So we finish top of Serie B after an impressive season whilst Varese and Spezia also earn promotion. For me Spezia were the team to beat this season and this reflected in them breaking the scoring record for the Serie B with something like 97 goals (another message I got in my "mail"). At the opposite end of the table Vincenza, Avellino, Pro Vercelli and Sorrento went down to their respective sides of Serie C1.
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The player stats for the season with Coda and Poletti being two of our more impressive players. Coda managed 27 league goals and won the Golden Boot despite not adding to his tally since mid-March, Sansovini came second although he did play an extra 4 games because play-off matches count towards the league achievements for some reason. Coda was also one of the more accurate players in the Serie B managing to get 61% of his shots on target. Veteran midfielder Poletti managed 15 assists despite not making as many appearances as I would of like him to.
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The route to the final of the playoffs. Both matches are two legged which is why the scorelines were so high.
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The final two games of our season, both played at home as you can see. Despite Massimo Coda starting both games he couldn't add to his more then impressive tally of 27 league goals for the season however Lacarra on the other hand was finally showing his capabilities netting 3 in the two games. Against Livorno we had to come back from 2-0 down but after an encouraging half time team talk we rallied the troops and they went out and won the game and then went on to lift the Serie B trophy in front of all of our fans.
View attachment 326202
So we finish top of Serie B after an impressive season whilst Varese and Spezia also earn promotion. For me Spezia were the team to beat this season and this reflected in them breaking the scoring record for the Serie B with something like 97 goals (another message I got in my "mail"). At the opposite end of the table Vincenza, Avellino, Pro Vercelli and Sorrento went down to their respective sides of Serie C1.
View attachment 326205
The player stats for the season with Coda and Poletti being two of our more impressive players. Coda managed 27 league goals and won the Golden Boot despite not adding to his tally since mid-March, Sansovini came second although he did play an extra 4 games because play-off matches count towards the league achievements for some reason. Coda was also one of the more accurate players in the Serie B managing to get 61% of his shots on target. Veteran midfielder Poletti managed 15 assists despite not making as many appearances as I would of like him to.
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The route to the final of the playoffs. Both matches are two legged which is why the scorelines were so high.
Internationals
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Look at my fantastic work on paint sticking these two sets of fixtures together, great right? No? Oh well... Anyway we beat Andorra (this was late 2013) and managed a draw against the mighty Faroe Islands thanks to Ciacci who is now my national team captain. Sadly we couldn't build on this in 2014 with losses to Hong Kong and Canada at the Olimpico which is a shame because we should be beating Hong Kong (maybe not Canada though). Anyway some good results here and we managed to score in every game as well.
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The first time I've posted the international rankings I think. At the top of the world sit Spain, Germany, Uruguay, Croatia and Chile - in that order. Pretty insane that the dominant nations in South American football are Uruguay and Chile. Down at the bottom we sit 206th in the world which I think is around 2 places higher then when I took over? Either way I acknowledge the progress I have been making with the national team hasn't been great - partially because I've been simming all of the games to make the club team progress faster and partially because I haven't been planning my own friendlies either. From now on I'll be doing the latter more but I won't be taking the games on myself until I'm confident of getting some decent results.
Also I'm wondering how I should do the international updates, I was thinking annually? Would anyone have a problem with that or would readers prefer more frequently?
View attachment 326210
Look at my fantastic work on paint sticking these two sets of fixtures together, great right? No? Oh well... Anyway we beat Andorra (this was late 2013) and managed a draw against the mighty Faroe Islands thanks to Ciacci who is now my national team captain. Sadly we couldn't build on this in 2014 with losses to Hong Kong and Canada at the Olimpico which is a shame because we should be beating Hong Kong (maybe not Canada though). Anyway some good results here and we managed to score in every game as well.
View attachment 326211
The first time I've posted the international rankings I think. At the top of the world sit Spain, Germany, Uruguay, Croatia and Chile - in that order. Pretty insane that the dominant nations in South American football are Uruguay and Chile. Down at the bottom we sit 206th in the world which I think is around 2 places higher then when I took over? Either way I acknowledge the progress I have been making with the national team hasn't been great - partially because I've been simming all of the games to make the club team progress faster and partially because I haven't been planning my own friendlies either. From now on I'll be doing the latter more but I won't be taking the games on myself until I'm confident of getting some decent results.
Also I'm wondering how I should do the international updates, I was thinking annually? Would anyone have a problem with that or would readers prefer more frequently?
Pre-Season 2014
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A really poor pre-season where we won just 1 in 6 games. The Italian Cup qualifier I didn't count because strictly speaking it's a competitive match and although we lost, I don't really care it's less to focus on and gives me more time to focus on the league. I mean, it's not like we were going to win it? As usual my assistant was given charge of pre-season so I'm not quite sure how the team quite performed. What I do know is we lost to sides we shouldn't like Serie B Pisa.
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As per usual the squad is bulked up by a number of loan signings (still a small budget) but the special thing about this transfer window is we sign our first regens of the career mode (click to see a picture): Andre Lacome and Christian Coco. The former is brought in from France and has a clause in his loan deal to bring him in for just £5m whereas the latter is a long term target who I signed blind. Some other player were brought in on loan, mostly from Serie A as you can see but some from Serie B; most of them are actually equal to or worse then the players I signed in the Serie B so I expect a very tough first season.
View attachment 326612
A really poor pre-season where we won just 1 in 6 games. The Italian Cup qualifier I didn't count because strictly speaking it's a competitive match and although we lost, I don't really care it's less to focus on and gives me more time to focus on the league. I mean, it's not like we were going to win it? As usual my assistant was given charge of pre-season so I'm not quite sure how the team quite performed. What I do know is we lost to sides we shouldn't like Serie B Pisa.
View attachment 326613
As per usual the squad is bulked up by a number of loan signings (still a small budget) but the special thing about this transfer window is we sign our first regens of the career mode (click to see a picture): Andre Lacome and Christian Coco. The former is brought in from France and has a clause in his loan deal to bring him in for just £5m whereas the latter is a long term target who I signed blind. Some other player were brought in on loan, mostly from Serie A as you can see but some from Serie B; most of them are actually equal to or worse then the players I signed in the Serie B so I expect a very tough first season.
August 14 - November 14
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A disappointing start to our first ever season in the Serie A, picking up just 3 wins and conceding 17 goals in the ten games. A highlight was beating Milan 2-0 in the Olimpico where we were really better throughout the 90 minutes however later on losses to Parma and Chievo (two teams near the relegation zone) meant we couldn't capitalize on the easier fixtures that we'd be handed. However I've only been available to field a full strength team on two occasions this season due to suspensions/injuries ect.
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After ten games we sit 16th in the table which, although it better then critics suggested, is not the place I want to be in Serie A this season. I think that the team should be pushing for mid-table rather then fighting it out in the bottom of the table. Despite being so near to the bottom we are 6 points away from the relegation zone with an opportunity to make it a 9 point gap if we beat Atlanta at the Olimpico in our next game. One of our first season regens Pietro De Felice has been generating interest from giants Juventus and the Milan clubs recently but I'm determined to keep him.
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A disappointing start to our first ever season in the Serie A, picking up just 3 wins and conceding 17 goals in the ten games. A highlight was beating Milan 2-0 in the Olimpico where we were really better throughout the 90 minutes however later on losses to Parma and Chievo (two teams near the relegation zone) meant we couldn't capitalize on the easier fixtures that we'd be handed. However I've only been available to field a full strength team on two occasions this season due to suspensions/injuries ect.
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After ten games we sit 16th in the table which, although it better then critics suggested, is not the place I want to be in Serie A this season. I think that the team should be pushing for mid-table rather then fighting it out in the bottom of the table. Despite being so near to the bottom we are 6 points away from the relegation zone with an opportunity to make it a 9 point gap if we beat Atlanta at the Olimpico in our next game. One of our first season regens Pietro De Felice has been generating interest from giants Juventus and the Milan clubs recently but I'm determined to keep him.
November 14 - January 15
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3 wins out of 10 games... Not what I like to see from my teams at all. The only 3 teams that area actually better then us (or better then I see us) are Inter, Napoli and Udinese - all three of whom we played away. That leaves the 4 draws, which in all games we managed to score with about 4 shots which isn't amazing. More injuries and suspensions means I'm still struggling to play a decent team whilst Poletti and Pacciardi aren't ageing well.
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We sit a lackluster 15th in the league with 6 wins, 5 draws and 9 losses. Not a fantastic performance but our next run of games sees us play Varese at home, Spezia away and Fiorentina at home - all very winnable games. If we were to win all those games we could easily get into the top half of the table which would leave us in a good position going into the second half of the season. Meanwhile I've been adapting the team to play a new tactic.
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Two or three additions in this January transfer window to enhance depth in the middle of midfield on the right flank. The main problem is that no one will come to San Marino Calcio because we went through the divisions so quickly. Every player with contracts expiring worth getting won't come to the club whilst the players we can get wouldn't be worth it because they'd bring nothing extra to the club.
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Poletti. A fantastic servant to a fantastic club. Once he's finished as a player I have my eyes set on adding him to my coaching staff.
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3 wins out of 10 games... Not what I like to see from my teams at all. The only 3 teams that area actually better then us (or better then I see us) are Inter, Napoli and Udinese - all three of whom we played away. That leaves the 4 draws, which in all games we managed to score with about 4 shots which isn't amazing. More injuries and suspensions means I'm still struggling to play a decent team whilst Poletti and Pacciardi aren't ageing well.
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We sit a lackluster 15th in the league with 6 wins, 5 draws and 9 losses. Not a fantastic performance but our next run of games sees us play Varese at home, Spezia away and Fiorentina at home - all very winnable games. If we were to win all those games we could easily get into the top half of the table which would leave us in a good position going into the second half of the season. Meanwhile I've been adapting the team to play a new tactic.
View attachment 327305
Two or three additions in this January transfer window to enhance depth in the middle of midfield on the right flank. The main problem is that no one will come to San Marino Calcio because we went through the divisions so quickly. Every player with contracts expiring worth getting won't come to the club whilst the players we can get wouldn't be worth it because they'd bring nothing extra to the club.
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Poletti. A fantastic servant to a fantastic club. Once he's finished as a player I have my eyes set on adding him to my coaching staff.