MFK Skalica - A Slovakian Adventure

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Going great mate. Some good pickups there - Le Fondre should dominate for you!

Good luck against Olympiakos!!
 
Going great mate. Some good pickups there - Le Fondre should dominate for you!

Good luck against Olympiakos!!

Thanks for the comment!

ALF has been great in his first few games so will be interesting to see how he fares over a full season.
 
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2019/20 Champions League Play Off

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First Leg

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It was a closer game than I expected with both sides have an equal amount of possession and shots, but Olympiakos won the most important category - goals scored. The home side struck shortly before half time when Abel Hernandez scored from close range to ensure the Greek team would have the advantage going into the second leg. Another negative from the game was that right back Joe Riley will be out for up to four months having suffered a broken ankle in a challenge.

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Second Leg

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The squad rallied round after Riley's injury and put in a wonderful performance to seal our place in the Group Stage! Javier Vallejo cancelled out Olympiakos' lead from the first leg in the 21st minute before James Maddison put us ahead on aggregate shortly after half time. The away side pushed forward following our second goal and we managed to absorb their waves of attack and then seal a 3-0 win late on thanks to Andrea Sicuro's close range finish.

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2019/20 Champions League Group Stage draw

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For only the second time in the Club's 99-year history, we will be in the Champions League Group Stage. We gave a good showing of ourselves last season and I'm hoping for a similar performance as we look to boost the club's funds and reputation, our coefficients and improve Slovakian football in general. We were in Pot Four again and this was the scene prior to the first ball being drawn out...

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Ideally, I'd like to have been drawn in Group A or Group G as I view two of the teams in there as weak and I'd like to think we would get at least three wins in the aforementioned groups. Group B and Group G are the ones to avoid, probably shouldn't have even thought about that though...

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So we're in what I view as the 'Group of Death' as we will have to contest against European giants PSG and Borussia Dortmund in Group B. We faced Roma last season but they will be stronger this year having got more money to invest in their squad.

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2019/20 Deadline Day

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So it was a fairly busy deadline day as we sold one player, brought two players in and extended a contract.

First up, the departure...

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A shock move, Club captain Lukas Skovajsa has left MFK Skalica after joining Radnicki in a £450,000 move. They came in at the last minute with the money up front and I thought it was for the best to sell him as it would mark a near £500,000 profit for someone that was signed on a free transfer. With Skovajsa gone, we needed a replacement. Step forward...

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With the Club continually progressing, we needed a left back that would be decent in European competitions and we found the perfect player to fill the void in the form of Belgian defender Jonas Heymans. He arrives for less than £100,000 from Standard after being placed on the transfer list by the Belgian side. Our second arrival was...

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We looked to parent club Lech for this signing as there was no other options. With Joe Riley out for the foreseeable future, we needed someone to come in and fill the gap and we found a good replacement in Rafal Gielza. He's young and has plenty to potential, plus he has decent stats already so should be able to cope in the Fortuna Liga. The player that extended his contract was...

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Australian striker Andrea Sicuro has sealed a new deal with the Club after an impressive opening to the season. He is now on ten times the wage when he first joined and will be with the Club until at least June 2023.
 
Tough Champions League draw, but your fans will love seeing those European giants come to your home ground. What are the finances like? And any big names interested in joining you? Keep up the good work mate.
 
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2019/20 Champions League Group Stage


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Matchday One

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So yeah, not the best of starts to the Group Stage! We travelled to France to take on PSG and came home on the wrong side of a 4-0 scoreline. Edinson Cavani grabbed the opening in the first half before doubling their lead shortly after half time. It looked like it would remain 2-0 until the final eight minutes when Angel Di Maria and Ayoze Perez completed the rout. Not the best day at the office!

Group B

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As you can imagine, we're bottom of the group after one game played due to our inferior goal difference after Roma only beat Dortmund 1-0. It was going to be a tough ask to get something from the group and now it's been made even harder!
 
Tough Champions League draw, but your fans will love seeing those European giants come to your home ground. What are the finances like? And any big names interested in joining you? Keep up the good work mate.

Finances are quite good at the moment, around the £25,000,000 mark. I wouldn't say there are big names interested in joining but there are high quality players that are valued at £10,000,000 that are interested due to being unhappy at their current club.
 
Finances are quite good at the moment, around the £25,000,000 mark. I wouldn't say there are big names interested in joining but there are high quality players that are valued at £10,000,000 that are interested due to being unhappy at their current club.

Finances are very good and hopefully you can look to strengthen to help your challenge in Europe. Is the domestic league stil competitive?
 
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2019/20 Champions League Group Stage


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Matchday Two

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Another Champions League game, another defeat! Roma have definitely improved since last season and took all three points after dominating the majority of the game. Andrea Sicuro did give us the lead early on but that was cancelled out by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the 29th minute. We held the Italian side at 1-1 until 15 minutes from time when Gerson scored the winner from close range to give us the unwanted record of played two, lost two.

Group B

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No changes here from our perspective as we remain rooted to the bottom of the group after two defeats. PSG and Roma have won both of their games so far and I'm expecting them to both qualify for the knockout stages. Up next, Dortmund!

In other news...

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Another unwanted record for the Club as we set a new record low attendance for the Champions League Group Stage, despite our ground being full!

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The injury didn't occur in the Champions League, but Milan Lalkovic will be out for the foreseeable future after breaking his leg against Zilina. A massive blow to us!
 
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2019/20 Champions League Group Stage

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Matchday Three

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Our third straight defeat in the Group Stage as our exit from the Champions League draws nearer. Going to Dortmund is always a difficult task and it was made even tougher when Andre Silva scored twice in seven minutes to put them 2-0 up. Andrea Sicuro gave us a lifeline shortly before half time when he reduced the deficit, but it wasn't to be. Carabina was in fine form to prevent the home side from adding to their lead but couldn't do anything about Julian Brandt completing the scoring in the 73rd minute. It went from bad to worse two minutes later when Martin Skrtel was shown a red card. Nightmare!

Group B

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Again, no changes in the standings from matchday one. Dortmund still have hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages, but currently trail PSG and Roma by four points after the French and Italian sides drew a blank against each other in the other game in Group B on matchday three.​
 
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2019/20 Champions League Group Stage


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Matchday Four

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Well, that was a boring game! We went slightly defensive and it seemed to work as we kept a clean sheet, but we rarely attacked either. Carabina was kept busy throughout the evening with Dortmund having 17 shots, compared to our three, but he performed well to ensure we grabbed out first point of the Group Stage this season.

Group B

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Although we claim our first point, we have been eliminated from the Champions League after PSG beat Roma. We only have third spot to play for now but I can't see us getting anything from our final two games as they are against the top two in the group.

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2019/20 Champions League Group Stage

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Matchday Five


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We welcomed PSG to the Skalica Stadium hoping that it wouldn't be a repeat scoreline of the 4-0 mauling at the Parc De Princes on matchday one. It looked like it would be heading that way in the early stages when Edinson Cavani put the French side ahead inside two minutes but we managed to weather the storm after that. Andrea Sicuro gave us hope in the 69th minute when he levelled the scores, but the reprieve was shortlived as Marco Verratti scored the winner from the penalty spot just four minutes later.

Group B

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The win for PSG has all but sealed top spot in Group B, while it looks like we'll finish bottom of the group as we trail third place Dortmund by three points but have a massively inferior goal difference compared to them. We now face Roma in the last game as we look to try and end the Group Stage on a high...
 
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2019/20 Champions League Group Stage

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Matchday Six

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We travelled to Italy in high spirits as we knew we could relax and not worry about the result. I made a couple of changes to the team and it initially paid off as Adam Le Fondre put us into the lead in the 18th minute. We held onto the slight advantage through the first half and just over 20 minutes in the second half until Ezequiel Ponce drew Roma level in the 67th minute. We responded horribly to the leveller and went 2-1 behind two minutes later thanks to a Gelson Martins, who slotted home from just inside the penalty area. The score stayed like that until the final whistle and our Champions League adventure in the 2019/20 season was over!

Group B

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A disappointing campaign for us after the success of last season! We only managed a point from the 18 available and I thought I would get at least three. However, it's all part of the learning curve in the Champions League and we'll come back stronger next season!
 
Been a busy couple of weeks at work so not had much time to play FM, but there will be an update later tonight.

In other news, I'll be taking part in #FM100 at the National Football Museum. Looking forward to it!
 
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2019/20 Winter Break

Squad Overview


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Key Players

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Adam Le Fondre (Striker)
Probably one of my best ever signings, Adam has been on fire in the first half of the season. He’s scored 17 goals in 18 starts in the league and he’s got 24 in 30 games overall, including the Champions League and Slovakian FA Cup. Le Fondre has maintained an average rating of 7.38 whilst doing this, which is incredible considering that his attributes have started to decline!

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Andrea Sicuro (Striker)
With Le Fondre being the main striker, the other forward position has been rotated but Sicuro has been the most impressive so far this campaign. In 19 appearances in all competitions, he’s scored 15 goals and has achieved an average rating of 7.61! His pace combined with his finishing is a killer combination and is now one of the best players at the club.

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It’s been a positive start to the season with us topping the league by eight points ahead of Zlate Moravce, who occupy second place. We’ve amassed 43 points from our 19 games so far, losing just two of them which was extremely disappointing considering our superior squad. In that time, we’ve only conceded 15 goals which is another pleasing aspect as our goal difference is almost +30 now!

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A competition that doesn’t matter to the board, the Slovakian FA Cup is a good opportunity to give youngsters an opportunity to impress for the future. We’ve played two lower league sides and Zilina and have won all three games comfortably, scoring ten and conceding none in the process. We might be playing youngsters, but they’re doing the job!

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As previously seen, the Champions League Group Stage was one to forget as we could only pick up one point in the six games, which left us rooted to the bottom of the group. The highlight of this season’s campaign would be finally overcoming Celtic in Europe after our previous defeats to them.

In other news…

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2019/20 January Transfer Window

No movement in or out of the Club in January but there was some big news re: a summer arrival...

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We've managed to pull off a massive deal as former Manchester City winger and current AS Monaco winger Rony Lopes will move to Slovakia once his contract expires in the summer. This is a massive step in building for the future and will add that valuable quality that we've been searching for!

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In other news...

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I've somehow been linked with the Manchester City job with Joachim Low having only six months left on his current contract. Jurgen Klopp, Ronny Delia and Pep Guardiola are the other names mentioned but it would be hard to say no if they came calling!
 
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Good to have you back mate. Fantastic signing of Lopes too. Good luck in Europe next time round. :D
 
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2019/20 Youth Intake

Squad Overview


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Again, it's another poor intake but I think we'll be able to get someone through the youth intake within the next 2-3 years if the progression continues on the pitch. There's a lack of quality in the latest youngsters coming through, with the best of the bunch only rated as 2* potential - as you can see below.

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In other news...

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Andrea Sicuro has been removed from penalty duties after missing two (!!) spot kicks in the 0-0 draw with Pohronie. We dominated the game with over 60% possession but couldn't find that important goal with Sicuro fluffing his lines twice and then complaining about a fine issued for a poor performance!

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2019/20 End of Season review

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Squad Overview

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Manager’s Player of the Year

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Adam Le Fondre (Striker)
When you need a goal, ALF is the man to use as he has scored goals consistently throughout his career and that’s the case in Slovakia as well. He might be 33 but he’s still got some great attributes and he’s been in fine form this year, scoring 29 goals in all competitions. His stats have started to drop now though so he may have a lesser role next season depending on the summer’s recruitment.

Fans’ Player of the Year

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Jonas Heymans (Defender)
The Belgian defender has been in fine form since his summer arrival from Standard and has maintained an average rating of 7.77 during his 38 games this season. He’s yet to score his first goal for the Club but he has managed to notch ten assists, which is pleasing considering he’s deployed as a left back!

End of Season Awards

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Fans’ Player of the Season voting

1– Jonas Heymans (46%)
2 – Felix Pascual (23%)
3 – Jonas Lindstrom (19%)

Goal of the Season

Aleksander Solli (vs Trencin – 26 April 2020)

Signing of the Season

Jonas Heymans

Young Player of the Season

Felix Pascual

Team of the Season


GK – Carabina
LB – J.Heymans
CB – S.Coates
CB – M.Skrtel
RB – J.Riley
DM – J.Lindstrom
LM – F.Pascual
CM – K.Aleksandrov
CM – J.Maddison
RM – M.Lalkovic
ST – A.Sicuro

League Awards

Team of the Year


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GK – Carabina (MFK Skalica)
LB – J.Heymans (MFK Skalica)
CB – S.Coates (MFK Skalica)
CB – M.Skrtel (MFK Skalica)

RB – M.Calero (Michalovce)
LM – F.Pascual (MFK Skalica)
CM – J.Maddison (MFK Skalica)
CM – J.Lindstrom (MFK Skalica)

RM – M.Koscelnik (Michalovce)
ST – A.Sicuro (MFK Skalica)
ST – A.Le Fondre (MFK Skalica)


Top Goalscorer

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1 – Adam Le Fondre (MFK Skalica) – 22 goals
2 – David Depetris (Trnava) – 17 goals
3 – Andrea Sicuro (MFK Skalica) – 16 goals

Goal of the Year

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1 – Linik (Trnava) v Podbrezova, 10 August 2019
2 – Lubomir Ivanko Macej (Pohronie) v Dun Streda, 2 November 2019
3 – Mario Buric (Zlate Moravce) v MFK Skalica, 4 April 2020

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Winners

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Winners

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Group Stage

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Slovakian teams in Europe

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Trencin (Second Qualifying Round)

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Dun Streda (Second Qualifying Round)

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Myjava (First Qualifying Round)

In other news…

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Kiril Aleksandrov has signed a new contract with the Club that extends his deal until June 2023. He’s 18 now and ready to step up into the starting XI for the 2020/21 season. Also, as you can see, Barcelona have been reportedly tracking him recently!

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Rami Makela was also awarded a new contract until June 2023 after his impressive performances this past season. The 19-year old Finnish midfielder is now one of the better players at the Club and will hopefully be around for a long time!

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Our performances over the past season have seen us move up 19 places in the European club rankings to make it into the top 100. Hopefully we’ll continue to move up and place in the top 50 within the next two seasons.

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It’s been another successful season from the commercial aspects of things. We made nearly a £1m in merchandise sales with Andrea Sicuro the most popular player in the squad. Our prize money showed a small decrease of £3m so hopefully we’ll be able to get that back next season.

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Surprisingly, the Slovakian First Division has dropped a place to 35th position in the latest competition rankings list. Hopefully we’ll be able to soar up the table soon as the rest of the league looks to catch up to Skalica.

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Some more positive news came at the end of the season as both our training facilities and youth facilities will be over the next eight months. The youth facilities upgrade is definitely needed as we’re yet to produce a decent player from our academy!

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Youngster Elvind Fossum has been called up to the Norway U19s squad for the upcoming European U19 Championships. He’s been great for Skalica U19s so far and deserves the call up. Could he be in the first team in the near future?

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And finally, we’ve retained top spot in Slovakia after winning the league again. I can’t see anyone knocking us off our perch now for a good few years, when, hopefully, money will start to be pumped into the league.
 
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