Rafaelle D'Aniello - Building a Legacy

AndySams10 said:
Unlucky with Serbia mate, it's one thing that annoys me greatly, when a player hasn't scored all season always seems to score a vital goal against the team you manage, I guess that's football for you.
Good luck in the play off games, an interesting way to decide who qualifies, hopefully your big players stay fit.
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I hate the playoffs to be honest, we finished 2nd and deserved the Champions League place (admittedly I wouldn't have been complaining if we finished 5th and got a chance to qualify for the CL).

With Serbia, we do have the Nations League to look forward to which I have never managed a team in before, so it's a nice little extra to have and hopefully we can qualify for Qatar 2022 with a little extra time to bed a new tactic in as the two Euro playoffs were played with terrible knowledge of the tactics since they were Rafaelle's first two games in charge.
 

Aris
European Places Playoff - 2020

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Fixtures:

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Considering the downfall in form in the second half of the season, it's safe to say Rafaelle wasn't overly optimistic heading into the playoff period and he was right not to be. Just 1 win and 3 draws from the 6 games was never going to be enough to top the group and secure the Champions League spot they felt like they had already earned. Interestingly, Naciri made his comeback in the final game against Tripolis and although Aris only drew 2-2 it was by far their best performance in the past couple of months in terms of chances created.

League Table:

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Luckily Tripolis won the Greek cup so no matter where Aris finished in the group they were going to qualify for Europe. I'm not sure if winning the group takes the better Europa League spot though as one team has to enter in the 2nd qualifying round whereas the other 2 teams go into the 3rd qualifying round. Still, Rafaelle would have taken this at the start of the season but given the way the first half of the season went he can't help but feel a bit disappointed.

Other News:

1) Budgets have ben set for next season, with a transfer budget of just under £1,000,000 and a spare £50,000 a week wages. Considering Aris were losing money month by month I'm surprised that the board have increased the budget so much, but Rafaelle will work within the budgets set and any resulting financial issues will be down to the board!

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Next update will be a pre-season update, will Aris be able to qualify for the group stages of the Europa League and will Rafaelle be able to make significant improvements to his squad? Will he even still be at Aris...​
 
Unlucky mate, but overall a great achievement and with a few shrewd moves in the transfer market maybe you can go one step further next season. :D
 
AndySams10 said:
Unlucky mate, but overall a great achievement and with a few shrewd moves in the transfer market maybe you can go one step further next season. :D
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Cheers mate, no doubt the squad needs strengthening for next season, especially if we manage to make it to the group stages of the Europa League and are playing Thursday Sunday.
 

Aris
2020/2021 - Season Preview

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Transfers:

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Rafaelle was very busy in the transfer window with both an increased wage budget and increased reputation after a solid first season back in the top flight allowing him to attract a higher quality of player. The first bit of news is that he allowed young Icelandic midfielder Palmasson, who came to the club with him from former club KA, to leave to Spain and join Atletico Madrid for £3,000,000, although he had rejoined on loan until the end of the season. It was disappointing to lose such a prospect but a combination of the money being too good to offer and not wanting to hold a player back that he had worked with so closely which made Rafaelle give the deal the go ahead.

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Onto the ins, the first two signings were two great incoming signings from Atletico, in the shape of right back Maffeo and attacking midfielder Correa. Both players are massive improvements to the first 11 and Raffaele is hoping that Correa can add that extra quality to the midfield which was missing last year.

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Two new centre halfs also came into the club to fight to partner Sunzu at the back. Risvanis came in on a free from Panathinaikos and Bolivian Amevor joins after a very good season in the Eredvisie for Heracles for £500k.

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The last 4 signings were all loans. Sodje and Saeter both will likely make it into the starting 11 whereas the other 2 will increase the quality of backup in the squad.

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Squad:

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The squad is much stronger than last year, both in quality of the first 11 and most importantly in the quality of backup. A lot will be expected of Dembele and Naciri up top after their heroics last season and hopefully with a few better midfielders behind them they can do even better!

Season Preview:

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Both the bookies and media have us down to finish 5th this season, however the board are expecting a title challenge. Champions PAOK look to have strengthened very well and I feel will be very hard to overtake this season.

Europa League Qualifiers:

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Now to the massive disappointment of the update. Aris were sent crashing out of the Europa League at the 3rd qualifying stage after a crushing 5-1 aggregate defeat against Kobenhavn. After advancing past Minsk in the second round with a 0-0 draw away from home followed by a 4-2 win back in Greece, FC Kobenhavn astonishingly won the first leg in Greece 4-0 despite only having 38% possession! To be fair it was just one of those freak results where everything went wrong for Aris, giving away 2 penalties and Andreas Cornelius putting in the game of his life. Hopefully it was just a one off and not a sign that D'Aniello's magic is starting to wear off at Aris.

Next update will cover the domestic games from August, September and October. Can Rafaelle put together the sort of form that saw Aris lead the Superleague at Christmas last year or will Aris continue their wobbly form from the end of last season...

​
 
Correa is an unbelievable signing mate, well done. Unlucky in Europe too, but your time will come. Not as unlucky as me, lost both my saves to crash dumps, couldn't even load them up, so back to the drawing board for me. On the plus side, I get to keep my interest by reading your story. (H)
 
AndySams10 said:
Correa is an unbelievable signing mate, well done. Unlucky in Europe too, but your time will come. Not as unlucky as me, lost both my saves to crash dumps, couldn't even load them up, so back to the drawing board for me. On the plus side, I get to keep my interest by reading your story. (H)
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Cheers mate, can't believe you've lost both of your saves!

The right back that signed along with Correa are both rated as the best 2 players in he squad now. I've got big hopes for Correa to add the extra quality that the team was missing last year. He was anonymous in the Europa League games but I'll put that down to a lack of match fitness and new club nerves I think! Hopefully he has a massive league season and can push us towards the title!
 
Safc-mad-scotty said:
Cheers mate, can't believe you've lost both of your saves!

The right back that signed along with Correa are both rated as the best 2 players in he squad now. I've got big hopes for Correa to add the extra quality that the team was missing last year. He was anonymous in the Europa League games but I'll put that down to a lack of match fitness and new club nerves I think! Hopefully he has a massive league season and can push us towards the title!
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Yeah me too, not sure how or why I got the crash dumps, as I've hardly had any in any of the FM's! Am currently having a re-think of how to play out my next story in the hope it'll last me till FM16.

I reckon Correa will be best player in Greece by end of season! :p
 

Aris
August, September + October - 2020

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Fixtures:

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The form from Aris has been pretty good in the opening stages of the season. Their only defeat came in a game where they were 1-0 up and comfortable, before 3 injuries and a sending off put them down to 9 men and allowed AELK an undeserved victory. The curse of never beating Olympiakos was put to bed with a scrappy 1-0 win and a draw away at PAOK was a very good result, as was the draw away at 3rd place Veroia considering they were 2-0 down in the first 10 minutes. However, despite this good form Rafaelle can't help but feel a little disheartened...

League Table:

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Why is he down I hear you ask? Well, it looks as if city rivals PAOK are going to be very hard to overtake this season. Before the draw against Aris in the last fixture, PAOK had won their first 8 league games and boast an impressive goal difference of 18.

Player Stats:

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Moussa Dembele is leading the way once again in terms of goals scored, with 9 goals from 15 games so far. Correa has been slightly underwhelming so far and Rafaelle has been tinkering with his role in the team to try and get an improved performance from him. Also, Naciri has got yet another injury and is proving himself to be a bit of a sick note.

Other News:

1) 1 more signing was made in August in the shape of the Norwegian left footed Rory Delap who has taken over from Gomez as first choice left back. Had just 1 assist from his bullet throw so far (it was the equalizer vs PAOK though) but hopefully that will improve in the coming months.

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2) Serbia played 4 games in the 2 month period and look set to be promoted to division A of the European Nations League. Highlight was a 9-2 win over Macedonia and there has now been 35 goals in D'Aniello's 6 games in charge of the nation.

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Next update will be a November and December review. Can Aris keep up their solid start to the season and will Aris finally start dropping points? If there is anything else you would like to see in the updates then just ask!​
 
Nice update mate! PAOK look tough to beat though, pleased Serbia is going well too :)
 

D'Aniello Appointed Cruzeiro Manager
December - 2020

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Appointed + New Job Situation:

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D'Aniello was invited for an interview at Brazilian giants Cruzeiro with Aris sitting 4 points behind rivals PAOK with a game extra played. After a successful interview he was offered the job and after much consideration he decided that it was simply too big an opportunity to turn down. He got the job with 2 games to go with the club sitting in 5th place and realistically could only finish as high as 3rd. However, he has already had his targets set for next season and the board expect him to win the league, the cup and the state championship. On top of this he is expected to sign a large number of youngsters for the first team, maintain a high level of squad harmony and keep the current director of football at the club. You may think that Rafaelle is setting himself up for failure with such strict targets in his first large managerial position and that he may, however after only managing in Greece and Iceland he couldn't turn down the opportunity to work at one of the biggest clubs in South America.

Club Info + History:

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4 time Brazilian Champions, the last time as recent as 3 seasons ago, 2 time Libertadores winners and 43 time Minas Gerais state champions, the club has a very successful history which any new manager is expected to build on! The club has has a massive rivalry with Atletico Mineiro, boasts around 20,000 season ticket holders and has around £20,000,000 in the bank.

Facilities:

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60,000 seater stadium, excellent training facilities and extensive youth recruitment. Rafaelle certainly won't be able to put any failures down to the lack of quality of the facilities.

First 2 Fixtures:

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His first two games did not mean an awful lot (well they may have done but I cannot see an explanation as to South American Continental qualification on FM) but he started with 4 points from 2 games. A 5-2 win over Gremio on the opening day in an extremely open game was followed by a 2-2 away draw at Internacional, a team who had turned Rafaelle down a month earlier after what he thought to be a successful interview.

Squad:

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There is undoubted quality within the squad, however certain areas are massively lacking in backup. Here are a few of the key players within the squad...

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There are also a few younger players with amazing potential.

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Next update will be a January and February update, where I believe D'Aniello will lead his new team in their first few games of the State Championships and there should be plenty of transfer activity plugging the gaps in the Cruzeiro squad. I've never managed in Brazil before so any tips would be welcome, especially relating to crazily long season and the use of the squad throughout such seasons. Also, I've updated the second post of the story with the updated history of the save so far.​
 
Didnt expect this! But nice move for Rafaelle, some top quality players in the squad too!
 
Great move mate, never managed in Brazil, so very keen to see how Raffaele does. Look forward to next update.
 
Timmzeh said:
Didnt expect this! But nice move for Rafaelle, some top quality players in the squad too!
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Yeah, was a shame to leave Aris and it took me quite a while to finalise the deal but in the end it was too big of a jump to turn down. Well that, and wanting to manage in Brazil for the first time on FM.

AndySams10 said:
Great move mate, never managed in Brazil, so very keen to see how Raffaele does. Look forward to next update.
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Cheers mate. It's a strange situation where it's obviously the best club he's worked at by far in terms of facilities, size of club and quality of players but it's also by far the hardest challenge with the expectations of him being so high at the start. Think it's going to be important to keep to all the board promises just in case the football side of things doesn't go as perfect as they are expecting (Win all competitions we're in basically XD).
 

Cruzeiro
January + February - 2021

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Transfers:

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Rafaelle has been extremely busy over the last couple of months trying to put his squad together for the long, hard Brazilian season. Firstly, he trimmed a lot of the fat from the squad similar to his first window in charge at Aris. A lot of players were released and those deemed either not good enough or just not needed were sold as Rafaelle focussed on building a more balanced squad. Onto the ins, the following players were all brought into the club for transfer fees and will hopefully both improve the first team squad and fill the sign young players objective.

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The other 3 signings that will play a part this season were backup players who'll fill gaps in the squad and will get plenty of game time with the amount of games in a domestic season in Brazil.

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Overall, Rafaelle is very happy with his dealings so far in Brazil. He managed to actually make a profit on his transfers and reduce the wage bill at the club by around £50,000 a week, all whilst improving the overall quality and balance of the squad and pleasing the board with the number of young players signed for the first team.

Fixtures + State Championship Table:

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All as expected so far considering that they're only playing against lower league teams, but Rafaelle is pleased with how many goals his team is scoring. The big game comes next month against big rivals Atletico Mineiro, however it is interesting to note they have been relegated to the 2nd tier and therefore the game should be a little easier than expected...

Player Stats:

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Rafaelle has been heavily rotating his squad in order to keep everyone match fit and not overly tire anyone at this early stage of the season. Lets be honest, in most games in the State Championships Cruziero could play their under 19's and still win comfortably!

Other News:

1) Rafaelle convinced the board to buy the club's stadium. They're hoping to complete the purchase by January next year.

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2) Serbia's WC qualifying group has been drawn, and it looks to be a difficult one but one they could potentially win if things go their way.

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Next update will be a March and April review, can Rafaelle finally add more silverware to his collection in the shape of the Minas State Championship or will one of his sides collapse late in a tournament again?​
 
Really nice signings mate! Really like the look of Cafe and Anderson Cleber.
 

Cruzeiro
March + April - 2021

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Fixtures:

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More of the same with the only dropped points coming away from home in the big derby against Atletico Mineiro. Rafaelle was very happy to see his side hit double figures against Tombense. Cruzeiro finished with a +57GD from the 11 games and progressed comfortably past 3rd division side Boa with 3-1 victories home and away to progress into the finals where they will meet Mineiro.

Minas State Championship Final:

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A 4-1 away win followed by a 4-2 win in the 2nd leg gives Rafaelle his first trophy in South American football and his first trophy since winning the B League with Aris. Feels even sweeter doing it against your biggest rivals!

Player Stats:

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Obviously can't read into the player stats too much due to the quality of opposition. Nice to see so many players heading into the league full of confidence and form though!

Other News:

1) WC Qualifiers started with Serbia. Serbia won 4-1 away at Lithuania but then fell 4-0 at home to France. Rafaelle's job status is apparently very insecure after the result, despite having a record of 6-2-2 since taking the job.:O

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2) Rafaelle's old club Aris completely fell apart in the second half of the season after he left, taking just 3 points from the last 12 games and slipping from 2nd to 8th!

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Next update will be a May and June review, with the start of the Brazilian League season and a WC qualifier against Wales which I fear that Rafaelle will be sacked if he doesn't win...​
 
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