Sparta Prague: The Potential is Endless!

[MajorMash]

Hello, MajorMash here!

I am starting this story with the sole intention of getting Sparta Prague to be the best, richest and most reputable team in the world, as well as taking the Czech league to the number one spot on the FIFA leagues ranking!

Now on to the story!

View attachment 209258

Sparta Prague:
Predicted: 1st
Aim: Win the League
Transfer Budget: £1.91 Million
Wage Budget: £140,000 (Currently £78,493)

I also start in the EURO Cup, happy with that! Some good income there!

So after a quick look at the squad, it is quite obvious I need to make a few important signings. I need to bring in an AML, as well as a DMC and a MC, as the midfield is something that Sparta Prague seems to be lacking!

I also am going to revamp the entirety of the staff!

Transfers:

I am interested in signing young guns, which I am sure you will be able to tell after looking at my signings below!!

I sold Leonard Kweuke, last seasons top scorer for Sparta Prague, for £2.2 million to Besiktas.

Unfortunately, one of my top targets, Kara, went to Parma, which I was rathered disappointed about.

Ahmed Soukouna - Free
Soukouna is a player who has always turned out well for me in the last two FM games, so I did not hesitate to sign him as a backup for Kadlec.

View attachment 209259View attachment 209260

Felipe Gutierrez - £1.5 Million
Felipe is a great signing for me here, I believe that he has the ability to be a key player for the team for years to come, as well as the potential to improve even more and become a superstar midfielder. He is from Chile, an up and coming nation whose players almost always seem to turn out great!

View attachment 209261View attachment 209262

Luis Guilherme - £2.3 Million
Well. That is my goalkeeper position secured for the next 15 years!! As soon as my current keeper retires (he is 38) then hopefully Guilherme is ready to go!!

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Those are my 3 key signings so far, look out for more signings in the future!!

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I am currently in the middle of my staff renovation, and that will be shown next update.

Next update: Pre-Season Friendlies!!

 

[MajorMash]

Pre-Season Friendlies, Staff Upgrades and Some Transfers:

I did what I have to do at any club you start at, and upgrade the quality of training! I fired all existing staff, and then hired better counterparts!

View attachment 209279

Unfortunately, my other transfer target, who I am going to keep a secret because he will be my major target for next season decided that they would extend their contract with their current club. So now that all of my transfers have been made, I can show you my squad!

View attachment 209278

Friendlies:

Solokov – Sparta Prague
0 – 2
Kweuke, Slepicka

Metalac – Sparta Prague
2 – 0

Radnicki – Sparta Prague
0 – 3
Mares, Jungr, Xulu

Branesti – Sparta Prague
1 – 3
Slepicka, Podany, Krejci

Sparta Prague – HSV
4 – 0
Kadlec, Grajciar, Sionko, Mares

No Complaints for my pre-season results! 4 wins and a loss, while still learning a new tactic is nothing to be ashamed of!

Now, onto the Season! I will be updating this story with monthly reports, so each update will contain 4-6 matches and a bit of a note about each goal, my opinions on each of the matches, and a paragraph about my view of the month!

 

[MajorMash]

August! (and the last day of July)


EURO Cup Third Qualifying Round Leg 1:
View attachment 209882
Sparta Prague vs Rad
2 – 0
Grajciar (2)

Grajciar scored two almost identical goals this game, both from crosses before he headed it into the top corner. Kadlec and Jiracek both provided the assists. We probably should have scored more, considering that the possession was 72% - 28% and shots was 14 – 2, but the team is still learning to blend and learning the tactics.


Czech First Division:
View attachment 209883
Sparta Prague vs Viktoria Zizkhov
3 – 0
Kadlec, Grajciar, Slepicka

Kadlec scored early, in the 12th​ minute, from a lovely Gutierrez through ball, before taking it around the keeper and practically rolling it into the back of the net. Grajciar scored after the break, volleying his on shot after it returned back to him of the crossbar. Slepicka finished the scoring in the 90th​ minute, pouncing upon a loose pass before playing a one two with Grajciar and slotting the ball home.


EURO Cup Third Qualifying Round Leg 2:
View attachment 209882
Rad vs Sparta Prague
1 - 2
Jiracek, Kadlec

Game started badly, Blazek conceding an own-goal after just 3 minutes after mishandling a cross. Jiracek then took it upon himself to score a great goal, weaving through multiple opponents before sliding it underneath the keeper. Kadlec finished the scoring in the 67th​ minute after receive a through ball from Husbauer, and doing an almost exact copy of his goal from last game.

Czech First Division:
View attachment 209884
Pribram vs Sparta Prague
0 – 3
Gutierrez, Grajciar (2)

Gutiererez received a cross from Kadlec in the 23rd​ minute, slotting it home with his second touch, and with that my wonderkid signing scored his first goal for Sparta Prague.. Grajciar added another 16 minutes later after receiving a long through ball from Kadlec. I got lucky in the 70th​ minute, with a Pribram goal getting called offside. Grajciar added one more in the 87th​ minute after receiving a pass that left him with an open net, which he had no trouble converting.

Czech First Division:
View attachment 209885
Sparta Prague vs Slovacko
6 - 0
Kadlec (2), Grajciar (2), Jiracek (2)

Kadlec scored the first goal of the game after just 3 minutes, following a scramble in the box in which a little toe poke was all that was necessary for the ball to get across the line. He added his second 5 minutes after that with a curling shot from outside the box. Grajciar added another goal 8 minutes after that, following a Kadlec through ball. 3-0 after 16 minutes!! The next goal took a bit longer, coming in the 43rd​ minute. Grajciar broke free of the defense, and as soon as he was 1 on 1 with the keeper I knew a goal was guaranteed. He did not disappoint.

Jiracek, the club legend, followed suit by adding his first 2 minutes after the break, with Gutierrez providing the through ball assist. With two minutes left, Jiracek decided to pop up again and lob the keeper, joining the 2 goals group with Kadlec and Grajciar, and making the final score 6 – 0.

EURO Cup Fourth Qualifying Round First Leg:
View attachment 209886
Sparta Prague vs FC Vaslui
0 – 0

A terrible display of finishing by my team today. 17 shot vs 2 shots, and 7 of them were on target. Nothing else to say.

Czech FA Cup:
View attachment 209888
Sparta Prague vs Motorlet
11 – 0
Jiracek (2), Grajciar (3), Xulu, Kadlec (4), Nadinicek

Jiracek scored the first goal of the match after 3 minutes., pouncing upon a rebounding shot before sliding it into the next. Grajciar scored the second, left with an open goal after a Kadlec cross. Jiracek made it 3 and his second, a brilliant solo run from the halfway line before slotting it bottom corner.

Things got even better in the 20th​ minute, with Motorlet getting a player sent off! Straight after, Grajciar scored after Kadlec was dispossessed, with a lucky rebound leaving him open for a shot.

Xulu scored his first ever goal after being left unmarked from a corner. Kadlec made it 6-0 in the 53rd​ minute after taking the ball around the keeper and scoring, before doing the exact same thing in the 56th​ minute!! Then, Kadlec made a great run down the left side of the pitch and volleyed a Grajciar cross straight through the keepers arms into the back of his net, completing his hatrick in just 16 minutes!

10 minutes later, Grajciar made it 9 – 0. 1 more minute after that Nadinicek made it 10 – 0. What a perfect game! But it wasn’t all! Kadlec wanted 1 more! And he got it! His fourth, and the teams 11th​!! A great 89th​ minute strike.


EURO Cup Fourth Qualifying Round Second Leg:
View attachment 209886
FC Vaslui vs Sparta Prague
1 - 2
Kadlec, Farkas O.G.

I needed something from this match to go through. And after a piece of Jiracek magic, he managed to make the Vaslui keeper score and own goal!! Kadlec made it 2 – 0 after the goalkeeper couldn’t catch a cross, btu in the process Grajciar was injured and had to go off. This cant be good.

2 minutes later, 2-1. A monster of a shot from the outside of the box. Not good for me though. But we managed to play the game out, final score 2-1 Sparta!!

Czech First Division:
View attachment 209889
Sparta Prague vs Banik Ostravia
2 - 0
Kadlec, Zapotocny

54th​ minute I just want to make a note this is ridiculous!!! 23 shots, 10 on target, 6 CCC, no goals. And of course as soon as I type that, Gutierrez makes a through ball for Kadlec who slots the goal home. 71st​ minute, and Zapotocny makes it 2 – 0 with a long shot from the corner of the box!

So after 1 month, I have managed 8 wins and a draw, pretty good considering that I had 9 games in 30 days!! As you will be able to see in the below screenshot, Kadlec and Grajciar are the leading scorers for the month, with 10 goals each. Jiracek rounds out the top 3, with 5 goals for himself.

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[MajorMash]

please leave a comment with anything i could do to improve on this!

 

[Numancia]

Good luck man! I like your style, simple and clear! keep it up. I am looking forward for your game with Slavia Prague!!!

 

[maxy67]

I love the idea Thinking of doing something similar elsewhere in eastern europe.

 

[jordalicious]

Whizzle McFizzle, awesome name
I don't know if you're already planning to do this, but it'd be nice if you included screenshots of the league table from time to time

 

[MajorMash]

Numancia - Hopefully that game will be a blowout! Just like my game against Motorlet hopefully!

Jordalicious - That's a good idea, I will start including the league table at the end of each month.


A new update should be up tomorrow night (its about 11:30am in Australia, so thats about 32 odd hours)!!

 

[maxy67]

Great story, doing something similar in Hungary now. Through to the group stage of the champions league in second season

 

[King Salas]

Nice story, and a great start. Good luck!

 

[MajorMash]

September 2011

Czech First Division:
View attachment 210430
Teplice vs Sparta Prague
2 – 2
Grajciar, Gutierrez

Kadlec made a brilliant solo run, breaking through the entire of the opposite team, then a simple lay off the Grajciar who coolly slotted it home. It looked like another easy win, when suddenly a Teplice corner hit one of their players in the back of the head, beating the keeper and tying the scores. 79th​ minute, Gutierrez receives the ball just outside the box. im expecting him to pass it off, but he powers a shot into the top corner. 2-1. 80th​ minute, and Jiracek gives away a freekick outside my box, which is sent straight into the goals. 2-2.

Rather disappointed with that match, drawing with a lower placed team, and conceding my first 2 goals of the regular season.


Czech FA Cup Third Round:
View attachment 210431
Horovicko vs Sparta Prague
0 - 2
Vidlicka, Kadlec

Half time: 0 – 0
Shots: 0 – 21
On Target: 0 – 9
CCC: 0 – 4
The second half better be better!

Just 25 seconds into the second half, we win a corner, and Vidlicka heads it straight into the back of the net. Not even a minute after that, Kadlec slots another ball under the keeper. 2 – 0. With 6 shots hitting the woodwork!

I did play a majority youth side, so it was to be expected.


Also, just something that I thought you guys would be best off knowing! In my Europa Cup Group, there is Schalke, Partizan and Rosenberg.

EURO Cup Group A:
View attachment 210432
Rosenberg vs Sparta Prague
4 – 3
Bacca

I went into this game missing Jiracek, my left winger, so had to play Kadlec as AML and put Carlos Bacca as the main striker. This could work amazing, or could be a bad idea! And to top it off, Grajciar is not match fit and so I cant use him on the right wing!!

It took Rosenberg 11 minutes to get their first goal, Henrikson sliding it under the keepers outstretched arms from just behind the penalty spot. 2 minutes later, and Bacca scores his first goal in his first appearance! Mateojovsky passed a through ball which left Bacca one on one.

Then Rosenberg scored again, a lucky shot that took a very lucky deflection.

****. Rosenberg scored again, straight after the break. 1 -3. And again. 30 seconds later. But it was an own goal so it made it 2 – 3!

Wait let me make another change. 2 – 4. That’s 3 goals in as many minutes :/ And then in the 80th​ minute, an own goal. 3 – 4. Push for the draw boys!!

89th​ minute, Kadlec one on one, hits the crossbar, rebounds back to Kadlec, hits the upright, and goes out. Game over. My first defeat. I didn’t even deserve the two own goals, should be 4 – 1.


Czech First Division:
View attachment 210433
Sparta Prague vs Bohemians 1905
2 – 0
Xulu, Kadlec

No Gracjiar or Jiracek this game, and Kadlec unfit. Injuries are hurting me. Badly.

I am actually getting quite annoyed at this now. Half Time stats: 10 shots, 8 on target, 3 CCC, 0 goals. Yay!!!

Even though Kadlec is at 65% fitness, I had to put him on. I think Slepicka was single handedly trying to throw the game! Straight after the sub, he makes a run, resulting in a corner. Xulu then popped up and headed it home!! Kadlec makes it 2 – 0. He is amazing!! Slips between to defenders and calmly places it into the top corner!

I just want to say something about Vaclav Kadlec. The kid is a freak. 12 appearances, 12 goals, 9 assists, 4 MoM’s, and an average rating of 7.76. Other clubs are coming in with offers of £4-5 million, but I just cant let him go, even though I know that I could get multiple great players with that kind of money. What should I do!? Because sooner or later he will realize he can go bigger and better, and want to leave Sparta Prague, at which point he will probably be running out of his contract, thus losing me a lot of money.

Czech FA Cup Fourth Round:
View attachment 210434
Most vs Sparta Prague
1 – 5
Bacca (2), Xulu (2) Mares

Straight from the kick-off, Bacca takes the ball, runs the entire field, plays a one-two with Kadlec and then scores! Wonderful stuff there!!! After winning a corner, Xulu strode into the box, headed the ball, scored, and walked back to his defense. Then conceded an own goal!!

Bacca then made a great run, just avoiding the offside trap, where the ball was lobbed to him, his diving header ensuring a goal!! 20 minutes after the break, Xulu decides he feels like scoring, and when we win a corner, he certainly does score!! His second of the game!! And two minutes later, so close to his third, the ball cleared off the line!

But only as far as Mares, who curves the ball into the top corner!


Czech First Division:
View attachment 210435
Mlada Boleslav vs Sparta Prague
5 – 2
Kadlec, Jiracek

I decided to go into this game with an unchanged line-up from last game, mainly because I accidentally clicked submit and left a few youth in the team!! Ooops!! This is a very important game for us, Mlada Boleslav are currently second, behind us only on goal difference!!

Its never fun considering two goals in the first 10 minutes of the game. Which is exactly what happened! ****! My defence, consisting of Leijer and Xulu, was only my seconds!! Stupid accidental submit! Hopefully Kadlec can come save the day!

And as soon as I type it, just before the break, Kadlec runs half the pitch and scores! 2 – 1 at halftime. Lift boys!!

NOOOOOOO! 3 – 1. 79th​ minute. 4 – 1 87th​ minute. 4 – 2 89th​ minute. At least Jiracek wants to win… 5 – 2 91st​ minute. Not happy. Team is going to get a blasting!!


Czech First Division:
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Jablonec vs Sparta Prague
1 - 3
Jiracek (2)

GOAAAAAL! Two minutes in, JAblonec get a corner. It is cleared, and a run from the backline all the way to the goals allows Jiracek to score!! And again, he scores after the through ball leaves him one on one!! 2 – 0 after 10 minutes!!

43rd​ minute, 2 – 1. Shots are 11 – 3, to them, im surprised I am winning!

Final score 2 – 1. Quite a boring second half.. with just 2 shots each!




EURO Cup Group A:
View attachment 210437
Sparta Prague vs Schalke
2 – 1
Sionko

The big game. Easily the best team in my Group, so I needed to get something out of this game and aim to finish second in my group!!

Goal!!! 20th​ minute, and Sionko lobs the keeper from about 40 yards!! That was pure magic!! Nothing else happens for about 60 minutes, barely even a shot.. Then, the 83rd​ minute, goal to Schalke. 1 – 1. Who else but Huntelaar… KADLEC!!! 90th​ minute, scramble in the box, he shoots, just misses, bounces back off the keeper for an own goal!! GOAAAAALLLL!!! 2 – 1 to Sparta Prague!!


And that is the month!! Not a great month by my standards (I know I am a bit harsh) but still we did enough to have a good platform to continue from. 5 wins, a draw and 2 losses. The top scorer award for this month actually is split four ways!!! Kadlec, Bacca, Xulu and Jiracek all scoring 3 goals for the month.

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The player of the month award goes to….. Siyanda Xulu!!!
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Xulu really stepped up this month! Scoring several crucial goals, as well as collecting an average rating of 7.26, this wonderkid is already wonderful!!

In other news, leagues around the world have also kicked off. I shall show you the ones I have loaded

English Premier League
Man City – 16 pts
Arsenal – 13 pts
Liverpool, Chelsea, Norwich – 12 pts

German First Division
Dortmund – 21 pts
Hoffenhiem – 14 pts
Stuttgart, Bayern, Werder Bremen – 13pts

LIGA BBVA
Athletic – 15 pts
R. Madrid, Sevilla – 13pts
Granada, Levante – 11pts

 

[MajorMash]

so my laptop broke, and it got reformatted. currently trying to go through my backups to see if any stage of this save game is still there.

 

[Numancia]

so my laptop broke, and it got reformatted. currently trying to go through my backups to see if any stage of this save game is still there.

shame man, i was looking forward to see the pregue derby

 

[MajorMash]

its all good mate i found it and will be continuing, next update is going to be after christmas though!!

 

[Little_Alexander]

This is great mate. The czech league is pretty easy though, so mainly about Europe

 

[Numancia]

its all good mate i found it and will be continuing, next update is going to be after christmas though!!

good news!!! yeah same here, wont be able to play until after xmas, cool you have found it though, i will keep on eye for your next update.

cheers

 

[MajorMash]

This is great mate. The czech league is pretty easy though, so mainly about Europe

Yer I know it is rather easy for the Czech League, but Europe will probably be rather challenging due to through wage rule restrictions in the Czech league. I also didn't want anything extremely challenging as it is the first time I have attempts something of this scale!!!

I was also thinking about making this interactive for the people reading, any ideas?

 

[MajorMash]

Now guys, I know that i have been doing a month by month update, but I felt as though i should cut this month a little bit short, due to something very important in the middle!! The Prague derby!!!

So I shall do the first half of this month now, then the Derby, then the secon dhalf of the month, with the usual updates at the end of it. Hopefully everyone is ok with this??

Czech First Divission:
View attachment 212274
Hradec Kralove vs Sparta Prague
1 – 6
Grajciar, Kadlec (3), Bacca (2)

I went down 1 – 0 after 25 minutes. I wasn’t happy. But a goal for Kadlec and one for Grajciar soon put me in a better mood, both of them from through balls! 54th​ minute, I decide to make a sub and put Bacca on as striker. His first touch, goal. A mistimed pass by the Hradec defenders leaves the goals open for Bacca to score!!

In the 80th​ minute, Kadlec put away a penalty, and then in the 89th​ minute, another penalty rounded off his hat trick!!!

In the 91st​ minute, we won a corner, which was headed straight to Bacca, who slid the ball into the corner. 6 – 1!!

Czech First Divison
View attachment 212275
Sparta Prague vs Sigma Olomouc
3 – 1
Kadlec (2), Bacca

First goal of the game, Vaclav Kadlec!! He spun between two defenders before curling a shot into the top corner of the goals, nothing any keeper could ever do about that one! Second goal, Kadlec!! A massive run along the left side of the pitch ended up with him turning around a defender and then placing his shot into the bottom corner. Superstar!!

I always seem to concede from corners!! 2-1, 10 minutes after half time. Luckily for me though, in the 90th​ minute, Bacca secures the points. A lovely through ball from Jirasek allows him to slide the ball past the keeper, making it 3 – 1.

EURO Cup Group A
View attachment 212276
Partizan vs Sparta Prague
2 – 2
Bacca, Kadlec

I decided to make a new tactic for from now on, trying to incorporate dual strikers since both Kadlec and Bacca are in fine form!! I settled with a 4-4-2, loosely based of TBH’s Cautions in Caution.

It seemed to work! After just 14, minutes a lovely one-two from Bacca and Kadlec allowed Bacca to slot a ball into the top corner! There was nothing else interesting for quite a while, until in the 49th​ minute when Bacca was brought down in the box. Kadlec dutifully stepped up and took the penalty, placing it straight down the center while the keeper dived off to the side. Cheeky!!

67th​ minute, and Partizan scored. A scramble in the goalmouth led to one of their players blasting the ball into the underside of the bar before it crossed the line. ****. 89th​ minute, and they equalize. Not good at all!!

After three EURO games, I am currently sitting second in the group, 2 points behind Schalke, and ahead of Partizan purely by goal difference.

 

[MajorMash]

PRAGUE DERBY!!

View attachment 212278 VS View attachment 212277

The big day is here!!

I have decided to revert back to my normal tactics for this one. My lineup is as follows:

V Kadlec
P Jiracek P Grajciar
F Gutierrez L Husek
T Zapotocny
M Pamic E Brabec S Xulu V Vidlicka
J Blazek


The media is touting me as a slight favourite, but as with all derbies, anything can and will happen!

On to the match!!

6 seconds into the match, and Husek has a yellow! That is probably the fastest yellow card i have ever seen or heard of!! 6 minutes after that, Jiracek goes racing off down the left flank before providing a lovely cross to Kadlec, catching the keeper out cold and leaving Kadlec with an empty net. The ball was just to far for him however, his diving header just going over the crossbar. Still 0 - 0!!

After Jiracek wins us a corner, he then crosses the ball in. Xulu, one of my favorite players, jumps over the top of the defenders and provides a rocketing header goal ward. It beats the defenders, beats the goalie, and thunders back off the crossbar. So close!! It gets called back anyway, with Grajciar receiving a yellow card for fouling a defender.

So halftime, and the score is the same as when the game started, 0 - 0!! A very heated game however, with 6 yellow cards already, and 25 fouls between the two teams!!

78th minute, still no goals. I needed an impact player, so i swapped Kadlec into the AML position and place Bacca as my striker.

Final whistle, 0 - 0. There is one reason i am not happy with this though, and that is the stats!!

Slavia Prague - Sparta Prague
Shots 3 - 18
On Target 0 - 5
Woodwork 0 - 3
CCC 0 - 5
Half Chances 1 - 5
Possession 41% - 59%

Man of the Match award went to M.Pamic, my left back, who played a good game and made several important runs, and earning his 7.20 rating.

Rather disappointing, but nothing i can do now!!

Next Upadate: The Rest of October, and October Review!