NOT Another San Marino Story
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kandersson
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EURO 2020: San Marino VS Switzerland
Pre-Match Analysis
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29th ranked Switzerland will be our first opponents in the EURO Championships. The core of their team is mostly made of those former youth internationals that won U17 World Cup back in 2009 with the likes of Oliver Buff, Granit Xhaka, Ricardo Rodriguez etc. They look like a very solid team playing a 4-1-4-1 with attacking inside forwards and a lone target man striker. Swiss are heavily favourites against tiny San Marino, can we pull off another upset and start the tournament with a bang?
The Game
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Uhm no we can't apparently. Extremely frustrated with this result, as the game was actually much closer than the 0-3 loss may suggest. Despite very clear instructions of "showing him onto right foot", left-footed right winger Xherdan Shaqiri scored two amazing long (and I mean LONG) distance goals after dribbling from the right flank through the center of the park. Striker Manel Di Marco had at least FOUR chances 1-on-1 with the keeper but could never find the net, while veteran Swiss midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta scored with ANOTHER long distance effort in injury time. Young GK Carlo Vignoli and Di Marco did alright according to Player Ratings though honestly I can't help thinking they cost us the game...
In other terrible news Pierangelo Sposito, our only decent left-back, reported an injury after the game and will be out for two weeks which means two things: 1) tournament is over for him 2) we're in big trouble now.
Group F Standings
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Belarus and Switzerland leading Group F after first day. Not the best start for San Marino I must say, with a very frustrating loss and two key defenders who will be out for next fixtures. Next match will see SM go up against World Cup winners Belarus, should be a good challenge for the lads!
View attachment 233315View attachment 233317View attachment 233316
29th ranked Switzerland will be our first opponents in the EURO Championships. The core of their team is mostly made of those former youth internationals that won U17 World Cup back in 2009 with the likes of Oliver Buff, Granit Xhaka, Ricardo Rodriguez etc. They look like a very solid team playing a 4-1-4-1 with attacking inside forwards and a lone target man striker. Swiss are heavily favourites against tiny San Marino, can we pull off another upset and start the tournament with a bang?
The Game
View attachment 233323View attachment 233322View attachment 233325
Uhm no we can't apparently. Extremely frustrated with this result, as the game was actually much closer than the 0-3 loss may suggest. Despite very clear instructions of "showing him onto right foot", left-footed right winger Xherdan Shaqiri scored two amazing long (and I mean LONG) distance goals after dribbling from the right flank through the center of the park. Striker Manel Di Marco had at least FOUR chances 1-on-1 with the keeper but could never find the net, while veteran Swiss midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta scored with ANOTHER long distance effort in injury time. Young GK Carlo Vignoli and Di Marco did alright according to Player Ratings though honestly I can't help thinking they cost us the game...
In other terrible news Pierangelo Sposito, our only decent left-back, reported an injury after the game and will be out for two weeks which means two things: 1) tournament is over for him 2) we're in big trouble now.
Group F Standings
View attachment 233334
Belarus and Switzerland leading Group F after first day. Not the best start for San Marino I must say, with a very frustrating loss and two key defenders who will be out for next fixtures. Next match will see SM go up against World Cup winners Belarus, should be a good challenge for the lads!
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kandersson
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well Italy certainly are most hated rivals for ME
I think it's hard to have any rivalry for SM in real life, they don't really have a history of hard fought matches against anyone and certainly not in major tournaments, where great rivalries are at their best.
I don't even remember Italy ever playing against San Marino IRL. Would be nice to have dynamic rivalries in FM though, for both clubs and national teams.
commando101st
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This, a million times. What if you face the same side in a cup final several years in a row? That happened in my FM11 save, getting Crystal Palace from talent factory to world renowned superpower, and I think United were my opponents in every cup final for a good 3 year spell fairly deep in, where we would actually be considered a potential competitor.
gogogo golem
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Hopefully you'll have better luck in the next matches and qualify for the quarter-finals. P.S. I hope Italy get hammered
kandersson
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thanks, I think I'll play and update second match this evening. Might take a break from this save after EUROs, as the dual nationality defectors are really starting to break my patience and motivation. So many classy SM prospects that I can't actually use for San Marino, this is getting really frustrating
kandersson
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EURO 2020: San Marino VS Belarus
Pre-Match Analysis
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I look at this Belarus squad and can't help wondering how the **** they managed to win 2018 World Cup. They do have a solid team, with lots of reliable veterans and no real weaknesses but they lack the elite quality you'd expect from a World Cup winning team. Belarus enter EURO 2020 standing at 11th place in FIFA Rankings and have already beaten Portugal in first day; they play a 4-4-1-1 built around pacey wingers and their star playmaker, Brazilian-born Renan Bressan. It will be another tough match for San Marino, especially with key defenders Luca Tagliani and Pierangelo Sposito still out with injuries.
The Game
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Well you could say a somewhat respectable 0-1 loss is not that bad for heavy underdogs San Marino, but with the way things were going during this match we have simply thrown away a big chance to get a result and keep our EURO dream alive. Belarus started in attack mode and immediately had a couple of great scoring chances but young shot-stopper Carlo Vignoli came up big and managed to keep SM in the game. Then at minute 36 Belarus striker Maksim Skavysh apparently lost control and was given a deserved red card after a frustration foul on the excellent Niko Micheli. I thought this could be an amazing opportunity to steal an unlikely win here, but San Marino simply failed to create scoring chances for the whole match despite controlling ball possession. Not only that, as winger Pavel Niakhaichyk scored an impressive solo goal gliding past three defenders to give Belarus the win.
Looking at player ratings I can't really fault the lads it was a decent overall performance, we simply lack the quality to create chances at this level of football. I think it's fair to say we're still far from European elite at this point, and of course it couldn't be any different.
Group F Standings
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Belarus leading the charts with two wins in first two matches, while Portugal and Switzerland will battle for second spot (I'd put my dollar on Portugal for some reason...). San Marino still at zero points and zero goals in the tournament, which is quite disappointng, though we knew from the start this wasn't an easy group for us. Seeing our team's struggles both creating and scoring goals I can't help playing the "what if..." game in my mind, what if San Marino could have played their best squad (ie the dual nationality defectors) in this tournament? What if star striker Alessandro Paolone and winger Gianluca Macina were available at ST and AML positions? I'll tell you what, no way SM would have zero goals after two relatively accessible games...
View attachment 233925View attachment 233926View attachment 233927
I look at this Belarus squad and can't help wondering how the **** they managed to win 2018 World Cup. They do have a solid team, with lots of reliable veterans and no real weaknesses but they lack the elite quality you'd expect from a World Cup winning team. Belarus enter EURO 2020 standing at 11th place in FIFA Rankings and have already beaten Portugal in first day; they play a 4-4-1-1 built around pacey wingers and their star playmaker, Brazilian-born Renan Bressan. It will be another tough match for San Marino, especially with key defenders Luca Tagliani and Pierangelo Sposito still out with injuries.
The Game
View attachment 233934View attachment 233936View attachment 233937
Well you could say a somewhat respectable 0-1 loss is not that bad for heavy underdogs San Marino, but with the way things were going during this match we have simply thrown away a big chance to get a result and keep our EURO dream alive. Belarus started in attack mode and immediately had a couple of great scoring chances but young shot-stopper Carlo Vignoli came up big and managed to keep SM in the game. Then at minute 36 Belarus striker Maksim Skavysh apparently lost control and was given a deserved red card after a frustration foul on the excellent Niko Micheli. I thought this could be an amazing opportunity to steal an unlikely win here, but San Marino simply failed to create scoring chances for the whole match despite controlling ball possession. Not only that, as winger Pavel Niakhaichyk scored an impressive solo goal gliding past three defenders to give Belarus the win.
Looking at player ratings I can't really fault the lads it was a decent overall performance, we simply lack the quality to create chances at this level of football. I think it's fair to say we're still far from European elite at this point, and of course it couldn't be any different.
Group F Standings
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Belarus leading the charts with two wins in first two matches, while Portugal and Switzerland will battle for second spot (I'd put my dollar on Portugal for some reason...). San Marino still at zero points and zero goals in the tournament, which is quite disappointng, though we knew from the start this wasn't an easy group for us. Seeing our team's struggles both creating and scoring goals I can't help playing the "what if..." game in my mind, what if San Marino could have played their best squad (ie the dual nationality defectors) in this tournament? What if star striker Alessandro Paolone and winger Gianluca Macina were available at ST and AML positions? I'll tell you what, no way SM would have zero goals after two relatively accessible games...
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gogogo golem
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I would like to point out you still have a small chance of reaching the Quarters P.S. Can you do a report on this year's youth intake
kandersson
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sure we do have a chance according to maths, though I wouldn't put my dollar on SM to be honest... Portugal are a very good team even without CR7. Should do next update tomorrow.
@golem: after EUROs I might do two special recap updates for both club and NT, also introducing newest SM starlets.
@golem: after EUROs I might do two special recap updates for both club and NT, also introducing newest SM starlets.
kandersson
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EURO 2020: San Marino VS Portugal
Pre-Match Analysis
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It's win or go home for San Marino as they face Portugal in the final day of Group F. Portugal stand at 5th place in FIFA Rankings, and despite being arguably the best team in this group they still need a win to clinch 2nd place and a spot in the quarter finals. They look like an excellent team, with a good mix of veterans and young stars and great overall quality (they left home good old Cristiano Ronaldo though). Paulo Bento's Portugal play a narrow 4-1-2-1-2 aiming to control tempo and ball possession with all their technically gifted players. This is going to be an extremely tough match for SM, well at least we shouldn't get raped by wingers and wide players this time...
The Game
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Ouch, Portugal sent us back to 2014 with this one as they simply played us off the park in a heavy 0-3 loss. And it could have been much worse without a good performance of GK Carlo Vignoli (who even saved a penalty). Portugal had 30+ shots and their star striker Nélson Oliveira was everywhere, while San Marino once again failed to create real chances during the match. Not much to say really, Portugal enjoyed total domination for 90 minutes while we probably displayed our worst performance in the last 4-5 years.
Group F Standings
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World Cup winners Belarus continue to impress at international stage claiming top spot in a very competitive Group F, while Portugal nail 2nd place and also qualify to quarter finals. San Marino terminate their EURO experience at last place with 0 points and 0 goals scored in three matches. Not the ideal debut in a major international tournament, though honestly we already did a miracle just to get there.
It's pretty clear that we do lack quality when it comes to create and finish scoring chances: striker Manel Di Marco was great in the EURO qualifying round but struggled a lot against tougher competition here in Belgium, while we simply lack any kind of half-decent playmaker with the lone exception of Fabio Scarano. Ill-timed injuries to key defenders Luca Tagliani and Pier Sposito made things even tougher for SM.
At the end of the day the key for any further improvement is always the same: how long before the infamous Defectors embrace SM and make themselves available for our NT? I like to think that with only 4-5 of those traitors (a couple of attackers, 2-3 midfielders) we could have fought for 2nd place in this group, and certainly wouldn't have finished with 0 goals in the tournament.
Just a little patience, yeah...
[video=youtube;ErvgV4P6Fzc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErvgV4P6Fzc[/video]
View attachment 234692View attachment 234693View attachment 234694
It's win or go home for San Marino as they face Portugal in the final day of Group F. Portugal stand at 5th place in FIFA Rankings, and despite being arguably the best team in this group they still need a win to clinch 2nd place and a spot in the quarter finals. They look like an excellent team, with a good mix of veterans and young stars and great overall quality (they left home good old Cristiano Ronaldo though). Paulo Bento's Portugal play a narrow 4-1-2-1-2 aiming to control tempo and ball possession with all their technically gifted players. This is going to be an extremely tough match for SM, well at least we shouldn't get raped by wingers and wide players this time...
The Game
View attachment 234702View attachment 234703View attachment 234704
Ouch, Portugal sent us back to 2014 with this one as they simply played us off the park in a heavy 0-3 loss. And it could have been much worse without a good performance of GK Carlo Vignoli (who even saved a penalty). Portugal had 30+ shots and their star striker Nélson Oliveira was everywhere, while San Marino once again failed to create real chances during the match. Not much to say really, Portugal enjoyed total domination for 90 minutes while we probably displayed our worst performance in the last 4-5 years.
Group F Standings
View attachment 234718
World Cup winners Belarus continue to impress at international stage claiming top spot in a very competitive Group F, while Portugal nail 2nd place and also qualify to quarter finals. San Marino terminate their EURO experience at last place with 0 points and 0 goals scored in three matches. Not the ideal debut in a major international tournament, though honestly we already did a miracle just to get there.
It's pretty clear that we do lack quality when it comes to create and finish scoring chances: striker Manel Di Marco was great in the EURO qualifying round but struggled a lot against tougher competition here in Belgium, while we simply lack any kind of half-decent playmaker with the lone exception of Fabio Scarano. Ill-timed injuries to key defenders Luca Tagliani and Pier Sposito made things even tougher for SM.
At the end of the day the key for any further improvement is always the same: how long before the infamous Defectors embrace SM and make themselves available for our NT? I like to think that with only 4-5 of those traitors (a couple of attackers, 2-3 midfielders) we could have fought for 2nd place in this group, and certainly wouldn't have finished with 0 goals in the tournament.
Just a little patience, yeah...
[video=youtube;ErvgV4P6Fzc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErvgV4P6Fzc[/video]
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gogogo golem
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Great try though, you'll win the world cup one day though and it'll all be worth it.
F
Felley
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I'm not sure if it would affect the SM call-up but have you tried building up a good relationship with the defectors? i.e. having them all considering you to be one of their preferred persons. I'd imagine it to have at least SOME bearing on the decision to join you. Otherwise, I can only imagine your frustration will continue for seasons to come!
...i've actually been partially inspired by this story to try out a similar (although obviously much easier!) program with an English team. I got Altrincham promoted to the EPL and like your San Marino team, i'm winning everything. Now i'm England manager aswell and my challenge is to have the same starting 11 with club and country by focusing on youth/buying only English players.
Thanks again for this story though man, I genuinely hope it all comes together in the end and I will be watching closely.
...i've actually been partially inspired by this story to try out a similar (although obviously much easier!) program with an English team. I got Altrincham promoted to the EPL and like your San Marino team, i'm winning everything. Now i'm England manager aswell and my challenge is to have the same starting 11 with club and country by focusing on youth/buying only English players.
Thanks again for this story though man, I genuinely hope it all comes together in the end and I will be watching closely.
wonderkid360
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Unlucky in the Euros but you did have a pretty hard group.
I tried this with just the NT and after losing all my euro quals I got sacked and retired lol
I tried this with just the NT and after losing all my euro quals I got sacked and retired lol
kandersson
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thanks mate, and yeah I'm favoured personnel of virtually EVERY player at my club including those shameless defectors (and also of their famous sammarinese agent: the guy has made a fortune only because of MY players XD).
imo best challenge of FM is to play with a club and a national team and try winning everything only with players produced at your club, both at club and international level! Don't think I'd be that far from that, IF I could use all the dual nationality players...
I took a short break from FM after Euro 2020, will get back soon though. In the meantime I still have to post club update 2019/2020 and a special recap for both club and country as of 2020.
gogogo golem
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This may seem a bit late to ask but where on earth did you find Eric.
kandersson
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when playing FM11 I was searching for a left-footed playmaker for Serie A and came across this unknown player with great attributes, who had played for really small clubs before joining a Bundesliga team. Couldn't sign him then, so I thought I'd keep an eye on him in future saves...
In FM12 he's still that good, starts in Ukraine club Karpaty on loan from an obscure Brazilian club in third division (!) so he's willing to join pretty much anyone at the end of his loan spell.
Eric is a very good player for any level, he has been a true legend for us and will surely join coaching staff when he retires at the end of the year.
kandersson
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Club Update 2019/20: Going Four-ward
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Four was the magic number in season 2019/20: fourth consecutive Serie A championship; fourth consecutive Champions League title and also first time that San Marino won all four major competitions in a single season - Serie A, Italian Cup, Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup (you can add Italian Super Cup and European Super Cup too, but hey whatever...)
San Marino total domination getting almost embarrassing now, especially in domestic competitions. Star striker Alex won his second Serie A Top Scorer award (despite another season cut short by injuries) while his "rival" Diego Toranzo had more chances to shine in Champions League. CB Giuseppe Prestia was Fans' Player Of The Year, while San Marino players once again dominated every award both in Italy and Europe.
SM national team stars Luca Tagliani, Niko Micheli and Fabio Scarano were introduced as regular rotation players and all had a more than decent season, each amassing 30+ appearances for the club in all competitions. Maybe they'll never be world class superstars but all proved they can be respectable players at Serie A level.
The U20 team also brought me much joy this year
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Success in U20 league (might be 6th in a row, not sure...) and U20 cup meant another double for our youth team, and they also had a fantastic run in U19 Champions League (first time they entered this competition), only losing to Manchester United in the Final.
This is a fantastic achievement for San Marino youth setup as our U20 squad is mainly composed of local youngsters produced at the club, really proud of that. It's fair to say we are one of the best youth academies in Europe at the moment, no surprise Italy U19/U20/U21 teams are always loaded with Sammarinese homegrown talent... ugh!
Four was the magic number in season 2019/20: fourth consecutive Serie A championship; fourth consecutive Champions League title and also first time that San Marino won all four major competitions in a single season - Serie A, Italian Cup, Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup (you can add Italian Super Cup and European Super Cup too, but hey whatever...)
San Marino total domination getting almost embarrassing now, especially in domestic competitions. Star striker Alex won his second Serie A Top Scorer award (despite another season cut short by injuries) while his "rival" Diego Toranzo had more chances to shine in Champions League. CB Giuseppe Prestia was Fans' Player Of The Year, while San Marino players once again dominated every award both in Italy and Europe.
SM national team stars Luca Tagliani, Niko Micheli and Fabio Scarano were introduced as regular rotation players and all had a more than decent season, each amassing 30+ appearances for the club in all competitions. Maybe they'll never be world class superstars but all proved they can be respectable players at Serie A level.
The U20 team also brought me much joy this year
View attachment 236598View attachment 236599View attachment 236600
Success in U20 league (might be 6th in a row, not sure...) and U20 cup meant another double for our youth team, and they also had a fantastic run in U19 Champions League (first time they entered this competition), only losing to Manchester United in the Final.
This is a fantastic achievement for San Marino youth setup as our U20 squad is mainly composed of local youngsters produced at the club, really proud of that. It's fair to say we are one of the best youth academies in Europe at the moment, no surprise Italy U19/U20/U21 teams are always loaded with Sammarinese homegrown talent... ugh!
you'd almost be better off producing more straight out italians so they got picked for the italy youth setup ahead of the dual nationalists, as being capped for italy's youth sides probably makes them less willing to accept the san marino full side.