Napoli - Continuing the rise to power

SFolio

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S.S.C Napoli are a football club based in Naples, Italy. The club was founded in 1926, and has been in the Italian Serie A for the majority of the last 50 years. However, in the 1997/1998 season the club finished 18th and was relegated to Serie B for the first time since the 1964/1965 season. From 1998 to 2007 the club had a yo-yo like existence between the Serie A and Serie B, but since 2007 Napoli has been consolidated as a top-half side in the Serie A, most recently finishing 2nd in the 2012/2013 season.

The club has won the Serie A twice (1987 and 1990), the Europa League just once (1989), the Coppa Italia 4 times (1962, 1976, 1987 and 2012), the Supercappa Italiana (1990), the Serie B (1946 and 1950), the Serie C1 (2006), Anglo-Italian League cup (1976) and the Copa delle Alpi (1966)

My aims for this story are like every story with a top team; National and Continental domination. However, i think that with Napoli, these challenges will mean more than with some other clubs. This is because of the fact that in the clubs history, Napoli have never won the Champions league. The hallmark of a top, top side is that Champions League trophy, and with them qualified for it in my first season, i feel as if we have a chance to prove ourselves in the first season. The Serie A hasn't belonged to Napoli in nearly 25 years, so that trophy is also a key target.

I've never made a story before, so any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated!


 
Tactic
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My personal formation of choice, which is the same as many other users, is a 4-2-3-1. This is going to be my main formation, as i look to play attacking football. One of the key reasons i want to play so attacking is that is clearly where my best options are. At this moment, i am only training this formation, so that they learn this main formation quicker.
The Squad

Goalkeepers
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Rafael
Rafael is a very promising keeper, who is going to be competing with Pepe Reina to be the starting keeper. One of the key reasons as to why he might start is because he is actually owned by me, plus he is also young and has a lot of room to grow.
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Pepe Reina
Although in game he is called Jose Manuel Reina, i will always refer to him as Pepe Reina. I'm undecided as to whether i will start him. This is because he's older than Rafael, and he also isn't my player. He's more well rounded than Rafael, but isn't as specialised in areas such as reflexes.
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Roberto Colombo
There isn't really too much to say about this man. I'll keep him as he's only on £2.9k per week, and he can be used as extreme back up if Pepe Reina and Rafael get injured.

Centre Backs
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Raul Albiol
A strong centre back aquired from Real Madrid the season before i arrived. He is the only centre back who will definitely be first choice, as the others will have to prove their worth, we should get a good 5 years of top-level performances from this Spaniard.
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Federico Fernandez
While i'm still undecided as to whether he will start, he is looking the most promising. The other 2 players vying for his place are faster and better on the ball, but Fernandez has better heading and defending stats, which are more important to me.
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Miguel Britos
Will most likely be rotation with Henrique. Both of them are similar players, and neither have a stat 16 or above, which makes Fernandez look more enticing.
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Henrique
Scarily similar to Britos, and will most likely play a role as a rotational player.

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I don't think i've ever seen two players so similar.


Full Backs
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Christian Maggio
Naturally a right midfielder, i feel as if he could be a solid right back for me. He still has good pace considering he's 31, and will be a starter for me.
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Anthony Reveillere
He's spent the majority of his career at Lyon, before coming here on a free and a one year deal. I don't think that i'll extend his contact, as he'll only be a back up to Maggio.
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Faouzi Ghoulam
He's not a star, but he'll have to play considering he's my only left back. At 22 he's still young, but i'll probably bring in another left back and Ghoulam will have to fight for his place in the team.

Holding Midfielders
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Valon Behrami
He wasn't this good at West Ham, was he?! He will be a player who will definitely be a starter for me. He has 6 stats of 19 and one of 20, which is remarkable. He'll be the more defensive of the two midfielders, allowing the other to roam further up the pitch.
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Gokhan Inler
He'll probably accompany his Swiss partner Behrami as a starter in midfield. However, Dzemaili looks a good player so if Inler doesn't perform, he'll be out of the first team.
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Blerim Dzemaili
It's unlikely that he'll be a starter, however, he has good stats so if Inler takes his starting place for granted and doesn't perform, i'm sure Dzemaili will do a good job.
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Jorginho
A player with very good potential, but i'm unsure as to how much he'll appear in this first season. He's clearly talented, but some of his stats, such as strength and dribbling, put me off starting him. There's a chance of him going out on loan.
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Josip Radosevic
Like Jorginho, he has good potential, however, unlike him, he is likely to stay and play a role. Similar to Behrami, he's more of a defensive player, so will play back up to Valon.

Wingers
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Jose Callejon
A new signing from Real Madrid, he's a pacy right winger who should play a starting role this season. One problem i see with him is his high wages considering his quality.
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Lorenzo Insigne
A very exciting young left winger who is very likely to be starting on the left wing, and trying to make it his own. he's also able to play right wing and up front, his huge potential should make his stats go up quickly.
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Dries Mertens
Another new signing, he looks promising, but is unlikely to be a starter. It may be a problem that he's unable to play as an accomplished right winger, however he can fill in at attacking midfield.
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Camilo Zuniga
A pacey player, however, he's a wing back or a wide midfielder. He's able to play as a winger or a full back on either side, but it's not his natural position, so i'm unsure as to what i'm going to do with him.


Attacking Midfielders
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Marek Hamsik
With hair like that, you've got to be good. Fortunately for Hamsik, he's debatably the best player in the squad. He's one of the few players who is guaranteed a starting spot, and is key. He has Manchester United and Manchester City majorly interested in him, but i will most likely be asking for over £40 million.
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Goran Pandev
An experienced player in the Serie A, the Macedonian international will be a key squad player, due to his ability to play all 3 attacking midfield roles, as well as being a natural striker.


Strikers
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Gonzalo Higuain
A very good striker acquired from Real Madrid for a club record £34 million. He's a quality finisher, as well as having good stats in order to play other players in. I have trust that Higuain will take Napoli forward.
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Duvan Zapata
Yet another new signing for the season, Zapata is a 22 year old striker, who is extremely fast and strong. He'll have to wait for his chance though, due to Higuain starting as the single striker.
 
Pre-Season Update


I see that the majority of stories have a pre-season update, so i thought i should do the same. However, i do pre-season differently to many people. I personally am not worried at all about the results of pre-season, as i just see it as an ideal way to gain match fitness and earn revenue. Because of this, i have no interest in arranging or managing in friendlies, so i make my assistant manager do it. Some people may see this as being lazy, but i don't particularly have time to play matches that don't mean anything. Here are the results:

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All in all, these results are very disappointing, especially Chelsea and Manchester City, who we should be contesting with better.

Despite these disappointing results, there are some positives. One of these is the form of Goran Pandev. He has made 2 starts and 3 substitute appearances, and has scored 4 and assisted 1.

On the 23rd of July, Gonzalo Higuain strained his knee ligaments. He was expected to be fit in 6 weeks. I am currently on the 11th of August, and he is still expected to be out for 2-3 weeks, which means that he will miss the opening home game against Milan on the 25th of August and the away trip to the Stadio Artemio Franchi to face Fiorentina on the 1st of September. He will be a big miss as both games are against teams vying for European qualification, so i'll have to rely on Duvan Zapata to do the business.

In the next update i'll have the match against Milan aswell as the transfer update.
 
Good team to play, plenty of budget etc!

Lots of room to manouevre so interested to see where the money goes :)
 
August


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Napoli 0-2 Milan
MOTM: Robinho

This is one of the more frustrating games that i've played in a while, and not simply because we lost.

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I believe that we were simply better than Milan in this game. I'm not trying to say that Milan shouldn't have scored, because they should have, but so should have we. In this match, i had to play my third choice striker Pandev, as Zapata and Higuain were both injured, and Pandev has 3 clear cut chances to himself and missed them all. On another day we would have won this game comfortably. This defeat left us 19th in the table after this one game.


Transfers

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Incoming

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Davide Santon
When i was naming the squad i said that i needed a new left back, and Davide Santon fits the bill perfectly. £14 million is maybe a little too much, but he will be a top player for many years to come. He can also play right back, is Italian and is on £35k per week.


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Alexandre Lacazette
After the Milan match i knew that i needed more fire-power, and that's what Lacazette provides. The natural left footed right winger provides more of a goal threat from another position, and can also play at striker, and will probably be ahead of Pandev in the pecking order, Lacazette is on £26k per week. I consider him to be a bargain, but he's already played for Lyon in the champions league, so wont be able to play for us in the CL.


Outgoing

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Camilo Zuniga
I said that he didn't really fit the system, so he's now gone. I think that £11.75 million was a good price for a player that i didn't particularly need, and funded most of the Santon deal.

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Giandomenico Mesto
This was more of an impulse sell. He was already transfer listed, he's 31, he was in the reserves so i felt as if he probably should go, and £700k isn't a too bad deal for him.

Also, Dries Mertens has gotten injured for 3 to 4 months, so the signing of Lacazette was even more needed. The next update will contain all of the matches/news from September.
 
September

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Fiorentina 0-2 Napoli
MOTM: Alexandre Lacazette

On his debut, Lacazette turned up. I decided to use him up front because all the other options were injured (even Pandev) and he impressed. A good away win.

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Napoli 3-0 Udinse
MOTM: Alexandre Lacazette

Another incredible performance fro Lacazette, this time from the right wing. Higuain made his first appearance for us in this game, and didn't disappoint with a goal on his debut. Consecutive clean sheets are starting to make up for the opening day defeat.

In the Champions League group stage, we got Basel, Real Madrid and Lyon. A difficult group, but one we should be able to get out of.

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Basel 0-1 Napoli
MOTM: Federico Fernandez

Any away trip in Europe can prove to be difficult, so i'm happy with a clean sheet and one goal. Real Madrid also drew with Lyon, which is good for us.

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Catania 2-1 Napoli
MOTM: Sebastian Leto

On the face of it, a poor result. However, Catania are 2nd in Serie A at the end of the month, and unbeaten, so it's not like we lost to a very bad team.

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Napoli 2-0 Bologna
MOTM: Davide Santon

It took a lot longer to break through than i had expected, especially since they went down to 10 men in the 20th minute, but a brace coming off of the bench from Zapata is exactly what we needed.

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Roma 0-1 Napoli
MOTM: Federico Fernandez

A very impressive performance. I'd been disappointed with Insigne so he had been dropped. He scored with his first touch, another clean sheet, and a good performance.

Player of the Month
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Federico Fernandez

This was a close one between Fernandez and Lacazette, but Lacazette only turned up in 2 games, and Fernandez has been very consistent over the month.

A good month overall, but with one major disappointment; Gonzalo Higuain. He should be one of the best strikers on the game, but he has only scored once, and doesn't look like scoring.
 
Very well presented, will be following this story.

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk
 
are there any rising stars in the youth that we should look out for?

Loving the story so far, a great set of results too!
 
Looking forward to this story!
Thanks man, i'm having fun doing it!

are there any rising stars in the youth that we should look out for?

Loving the story so far, a great set of results too!
Thanks again, and here are a few:
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Josip Radosevic
Looks like he could be a very good holding midfielder. He started with 17 determination, and after around a month of being tutored by Behrami that has changed to 20. Limited chances at the moment but is around the first team.

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Jorginho
He is also around the first team, but his dribbling is putting me off, if he develops that he could be a world class deep lying playmaker.

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Eduardo Vargas
He was having a **** of a world cup in real life, and he wouldn't be out on loan if it was down to me, as he looks as if he could be a good player.

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Roberto Insigne
The brother of Lorenzo Insigne, Roberto is having a good season so far out on loan, and could play a part on his return.

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Gennaro Tutino
Is it just me who thinks he looks like an Italian Ross Barkley? He looks as if he could be a good player when he returns, although i'm not sure if he'll ever make it at Napoli.
 
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October

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Napoli 1-0 Lyon
MOTM: Miguel Britos

This was an even match in terms of shots, but we smashed them on possession. Could have gone either way, but Britos scored on his first start of the season.

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Napoli 0-1 Sampdoria
MOTM: Raul Albiol
Very disappointing result, especially at home. We're being found out due to our lacklustre finishing, as this was a tight game that we probably shouldn't have lost.

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Chievo 3-4 Napoli
MOTM: Dejan Lazarevic

This game should have been very comfortable. We were 3-0 up and cruising, until we just stopped playing in the second half. Gonzalo Higuain shows what he can do when he turns up, he just doesn't turn up enough.

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Napoli 0-3 Real Madrid
MOTM: Pepe

I focused my attention onto man-marking Cristiano Ronaldo in this match, which worked. However, Real Madrid have other quality players, who were clinical and made me pay. Not happy with this result.

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Napoli 1-0 Torino
MOTM: Davide Santon

Another goal from Gonzalo Higuain, showing that he may be entering some good form. This match should have been more comfortable, but i cannot complain with a win and a clean sheet.

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Inter 2-0 Napoli
MOTM: Juan Jesus

We shouldn't have lost this. Marek Hamsik had at least 2 one on ones and completely fluffed his lines, in an even game that should have been a draw.

An up and down month for us, and one that highlights one thing to me - we need to finish our chances. That said, after 3 Champions League games we have 6 points, and Real Madrid have 7, with Basel on 3 and Lyon on 1, which is promising for our hopes of getting out of the group.

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6th in the table is honestly not good enough, for a team with a media prediction of 2nd. We have Atlanta, Sassuolo and Livorno in the League next month, so i want at least 6 points from those 3 games.

Player of the Month

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Davide Santon

No real stand out this month, Santon has been very consistent and gets up and down the pitch well.
 
November

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Napoli 0-0 Atlanta
MOTM: Raul Albiol

Honestly not good enough. We didn't deserve to win this game, but nevertheless, we should be winning games like this easily.

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Real Madrid 1-0 Napoli
MOTM: Gareth Bale

Much more satisfying than the reverse fixture, however we have still lost. We put in a good defensive performance in this game, however a Bale cross caught everyone out and went in, a deserved loss, and one which had me questioning Higuain, and in particular Hamsik. Hamsik had been make club captain but he is yet to score this season.

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Sassuolo 0-5 Napoli
MOTM: Gonzalo Higuain

What a game! Perfect as far as i'm concerned. 5 goals, a clean sheet, Hamsik scoring and it being an away game is excellent. It's a shame we cant get performances like this each game.

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Livorno 1-2 Napoli
MOTM: Raul Albiol

Another solid away win, although we needed an own goal after Raul Albiol hit the bar to secure it. A deserved win, and another goal for Gonzalo Higuain, which is his 7th in 11 League games this season.

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Things seemed to be looking up for Hamsik, but our captain will be out for 3 weeks. We lack depth in this position, so a player than i am despising so far, Pandev, will have to fill in at AMC. This is a position we need to look at in January.

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Napoli 2-0 Basel
MOTM: Lorenzo Insigne

This result means we've beaten Basel both times, and it was a deserved win. They rarely threatened throughout, and this scoreline was deserved.

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After the Basel result, we have qualified to the First knockout round. This means that we can play a completely back up side in out final game, away to Lyon.

League Table

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The League table is looking slightly better, as we are now in a champions league qualification position. The media predicted Bologna to finish 17th, however they are top of the table after 13 games.

Player of the Month
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Lorenzo Insigne

Lorenzo Insigne finally showed up this month. Previously he had been poor. However, with 2 goals and 3 assists from 4 appearances this month, he has made that left wing position his own. This was tight between Insigne and Albiol, but i gave it to Insigne because he hadn't won it before, whereas Raul Albiol had.
 
Update

I am looking to bring in another AMC as back up/rotation with Hamsik, and perhaps to fill in out wide. Who should i pick out of:

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Adnan Januzaj

Anybody who has played with him after the update knows what this little man can do. He can play all 3 AM positions, and most importantly, he is available for between £21 million and £27.5 million. This is by far the cheapest i have ever seen him, so if i'm going to get him, it's going to have to be now. He has the potential to become the best in the world.


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Clement Grenier

Another young talent, would probably demand a higher squad role than young Adnan, aswell as only being accomplished at AMC and not being able to play out wide. On to the positives. He has been play consistantly all season for Lyon, and playing well at that, and he would be a good £10 million to £15 million cheaper than Januzaj.

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Tonny Trindade de Vilhena

A natural AMC, he is the cheapest at around £8 million. However, he is a lot more raw than either of the others, and will nearly be exclusively an AMC due to his size, but may demand a lesser squad role than the others.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!
 
Just hate the way the club is ran...Great Club, bad backroom staff
 
December

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Napoli 4-1 Parma
MOTM: Faouzi Ghoulam

A very nice win here. Based on the stats it probably should have been a closer game, but our quality shone through.

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Cagliari 3-5 Napoli
MOTM: Marco Sau

We are scoring bucket loads recently, and needed to in this game. Sau was ripping us to shreds, and he had made it 3-0 to Cagliari in the 51st minute. 27 minutes later, we had scored 5 and turned the game on its head, very satisfying.

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Lyon 2-2 Napoli
MOTM: Lorenzo Insigne

A match that meant nothing at all, as we were already through, so i played a back up side. A draw away in France is still a good result.

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A very tough draw against Chelsea in the Champions League, and i can only hope we play better against them than we did against Madrid.

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Napoli 1-0 Lazio
MOTM: Michael Ciani

A game that we were still without Higuain, Insigne turned up for the solitary goal in the game to keep our good run going.

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Genoa 3-5 Napoli
MOTM: Lorenzo Insigne

Yet another high scoring win, we are making it harder for ourselves than we need to be.

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Not really too related but nice to see Faozi Ghoulam win African defender of the year. He's forced his way back into the team, and made me switch Santon to DR.

Player of the Month

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Lorenzo Insigne

He's won it twice in a row now, but his 4 goals and 4 assists in 5 games this month proves how much he's developing. He's developing nicely too, especially in pace.
 
Manchester United have offered me £35 Million for Marek Hamsik. Should i accept?
 
Is anybody actually interested in this story? Little amount of replies lead me to believe that this simply isn't a very interesting story
 
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