Rodolfo De Lima - The Special One

[FrazerLloyd]

Over the last few versions of Football Manager I have flicked in and out of games, without really putting too much time into it. Due to a change in circumstances, I have a lot more time to focus on FM. Therefore, I've set myself a challenge...

To emulate Jose Mourinho.

Rodolfo De Lima - The Special One

Born in Braga, to an English father, Rodolfo De Lima, is a Portuguese football manager.

Aged 22 he has somewhat fortuitously been given the job at his home town club of Braga on a one year contract. With the aim of qualifying for continental football, the Braga board have given him a transfer budget of £850,000 and a wage budget of £95,000 a week.

Star player Ruben Micael is worth £2.5m and De Lima will be looking to utilise the playmaker's skill as he aims to emulate fellow countrymen Jose Mourinho's impressive haul of trophies.

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[FrazerLloyd]

So, to hit my target of continental football I have to finish in the top six (depending on who wins the cup). To make life simpler, I could win the cup or finish in the top four. Given that Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon are all but certain to finish in the top three that leaves me with one place to aim for. With that being said, it is likely that one of those clubs will win the cup, meaning sixth place will get the UEFA Cup spot.

I've had a look at my squad and as most are in Portugal, it is huge. There's a few talented players in there. The previously mentioned Ruben Micael is going to play CAM for me as an advanced playmaker. The Brazilian and club captain Alan is going to play AMR as a winger and veteran Custodio is going to play as half back in defensive midfield.

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I'm going to attempt to play an attacking 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 formation with two defensive midfielders. This may change however if the gap in the middle is too large. If that proves to be the case, I may have to spend my hefty transfer budget of £850k on a central midfielder.

The plan is to avoid my defence as much as possible. They're not bad but they're certainly not good either.

The first task on my list after wading my way through the endless list of meetings (this feature sucks SI! I could click my way through the options with my eyes closed!) was to convince U19s Goalkeeping Coach Orlando Silva from joining either Porto or Benfica. He's not the best GK Coach I've ever had but he does have a 20 for working with youngsters and I'd prefer to access my back room staff in my own time. Thankfully, he stayed.

As per, I lined up for my first pre-season friendly against my second side - Braga B. I was keen to see how the formation would cope, albeit against much weaker opposition. I won the game 2 - 0 with goals Ruben Micael and striker Eder, who also got an assist. Not an amazing scoreline and I didn't score in the second half, however possession of 62% and 23 shots gives me something to be optimistic about.

The hard work of pre-season starts now...

 

[FrazerLloyd]

Pre-Season 2014/15

The pre-season could have gone better. Of my eight friendlies, I only picked up three wins, of which one was against Braga B. A 2 - 0 victory over Zenit made for pleasant viewing as did only conceding six goals, but on the whole, I needed to do better. I am going to persevere with the formation for the first few weeks to see if results pick up as the team gets used to the system.

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It was fairly difficult to find players to add to the squad with the limited funds on offer. I ended up splashing £1.4m on three players. Renan Teixeira and Fransergio both of which play in CB and DM as well as Fabio Sturgeon who can play anywhere in attacking midfield or up front.

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The transfers were largely funded by the departure of Mauro for £900k - a fee that may rise by another £250k. Whilst a key player in the squad, the transfer fee was far too large to ignore. Adding greater depth to the central midfield and defence with the versatility of Sturgeon will serve me better I feel.

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The start of the new season could be easier with games against Sporting and Benfica early on. Of my first six fixtures, only Estoril are expected to finish outside of the top half. It should give me a good indication of where the team are and how the formation will work over the course of the season.

Given the target of continental football, I'd be happy to win my home games, draw my away ones and get anything from Sporting and Benfica.

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Target: A minimum of 8 points from an available 18.