SAF: Journeyman

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SCOTLAND

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As if winning the 2066 World Cup wasn't perfect enough, we ended the year with a perfect 100% win record..

That led us to the European League semi final...

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INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FINAL


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We beat Spain in the World Cup final and repeated the feat in the International League final to claim a second international cup (and add another new trophy to the cabinet).

We played the entire second half with 10 and we desperately hanging on before claiming an unlikely penalty shootout win.

That has picked me up after the UCL disappointment with Steaua last season and has geared me up for one last go at Champions League triumph with the 1986 winners!

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I have achieved a lot with this manager but this is a first..

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Qualifying for Europe in November!

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We are in a title race that's for sure. No surprise that Viitorul are the only other Romanian team to do well in Europe meaning more prize money and better players​
 
UCL 2067/68

I considered leaving in the summer after losing in the UCL Quarter Finals 6-6 on away goals to Chelsea. However I eventually decided to stay one more season at Steaua and have a fifth and final attempt at winning the UCL with them, after losing two finals, a semi final and a quarter final.

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Group Stage

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A perfect group stage. I could even rest some players towards the end of it. Results included a 1-0 win in Milan followed by a 5-1 thrashing of the Italian giants in Bucharest.

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First Knockout Round

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Six-time winners Liverpool was my 'reward' for topping the group. We stole a 2-1 away win with some heroic defending and saw out a fairly comfortable 2-0 second leg win to set up another trip to England this time to face Arsenal.

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Quarter Final

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We lost at this stage last season to English opposition that nearly made me resign but no such worries this time as two injury time goals sealed a 3-0 win in the 1st leg and progress to another semi final.

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SEMI FINAL

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SMASH AND GRAB in the first leg with a goal on the counter attack against mega-rich PSG. The second leg was a much more expansive affair as we led 3-0 at one point to seal another final spot.

Third time lucky perhaps!?!


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THEY SAY NEVER GO BACK...


As I left Steaua the first jobs to become available were West Ham, Man City and Arsenal. None suited the Champions League challenge.

The Man City job went to the PSG manager.

The PSG job went to the Aberdeen manager.

The Aberdeen job went to a former Aberdeen manager...

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I won something like 12 titles in a row at Aberdeen.

The club has won every league title since then!

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The sole purpose of returning to Aberdeen is to try to get a new stadium named after me making it two in the UK after Old Trafford was sold and replaced by the Sir Alex Ferguson Park.

To do that we must return Aberdeen to the top of European football and improve the bank balance significantly along the way...


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ANOTHER FIRST

SACKED!!!

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Two years on from winning the World Cup I am sacked as Scotland manager after a surprise second round defeat to Switzerland.

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Yes we should have done better but to sack me was ridiculous.

That was Scotland's first defeat in over 3 years and I was boasting 90%+ win ratio!

As it happens after building the Romanian league into one of the best in Europe over my 5 years there the national team went on to win Euro 68

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So I returned to Aberdeen under false pretences. They gave me a two year contract. The new stadium is three years away. I'll complete at least one season of my contract and then keep an eye out for my next challenge

Meanwhile at Aberdeen it is as if I never left...

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2068/69

I returned to Aberdeen to try to get a new stadium named after me like I did at Man Utd. Stupidly for me though I failed to realise they already had a new stadium being built artistically also called the Aberdeen Stadium.

So i was an error on my end but I said I would see out at least one year of my two year contract...

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I return with a treble and an unbeaten season. However we lost on penalties to eventual winners Man City in the Champions League semi finals. Not too surprised by that as there is still room for improvements in certain areas of the squad.

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2069/70

Just promoted back to the top flight our media prediction was 18th and we had a squad just about capable of that.

Lots of transfer wheeling and dealing gave us a much better squad and I was personally aiming for a top 6 finish.

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We finish runners up to moneybags PSG, a massive 22 points behind but this is our first season back in the top flight. Under different managers OM have been promoted then relegated for the past few seasons.

As predicted with so many new faces the beginning of the season was very erratic and we were as low as 10th at one point.

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THE PSG CURSE

If I want to win the UCL with Marseille the first objective is to knock PSG off their perch.

They beat us four times this season, twice in the league and eliminated us from both French cups so lots of work to do.

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On a personal level I do believe this is my biggest win as manager in a competitive match (early rounds of the French Cup)

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Such is the state of French football (excluding PSG) that we have to go through two rounds of qualifying to make it to the Group Stage. The league is 8th in UEFA rankings behind the likes of Scotland and Romania (thanks to my spell at Steaua)

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Best Placed Qual 3.

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The draw could have been kinder but we progress comfortably enough.
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PLAYOFF

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We got the better draw here and made full use of it as we cruise through to the group stage.

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GROUP STAGE

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Piece of cake! XD​
 
UCL GROUP STAGE 2070/71

A tough group for our first go at Champions League glory with Marseille.

Minimum aim is 3rd. Max aim is probably stealing Bayern Munich's spot as group runner up​


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I feared the worst after a disastrous start away to Man City. It could have been much more than 4-0! However we unexpectedly bounced back in empathetic fashion with a 5-0 hammering of Bayern, the team we think we could overcome to finish second behind City.

A see-saw game away to Valencia followed and I wondered if our away form may cost us but we beat City and Valencia at home to seal a place in the next round and then put on a show to score six past Bayern in Munich

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UCL FIRST KNOCKOUT ROUND

Drawing 13-time winners Real Madrid was not what I wanted in our first UCL knockout game in almost 60 years! (v Bayern in 2012)

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Never in doubt!

8-1 first leg win. Possibly the greatest single result in my whole career.

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Alongside the UCL Challenge I am trying the Ultimate FM Challenge - winning every playable competition.

Just after the Real Madrid games we add a new trophy to the cabinet.

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UCL QUARTER FINALS

From one multiple winner in Madrid to 7-time winner AC Milan

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Four ties, four home wins. Sadly we weren't one of them. All to do now.


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A heroic effort to overturn the first leg. Well, 10 heroes and one villain, Genival. The ball winning midfielder is in the team to, well, win balls not to make horror challenges after 12 minutes in the biggest game of the season!

We took the lead and looked to be going though even so until we eventually ran out of gas and Milan prevail.

We will come back stronger with the extra money UCL football has brought in. Beating Man City, putting 11 goals past both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid shows, with 11 men on the pitch, we are not too far away​
 
End of Season

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Another unique trophy added to the cabinet. Thankfully Dijon knocked PSG out of both cups giving me the best chance to win both.


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We close the gap to PSG to 10 points. We were unbeaten against them in the league and got close for a bit but seemed to lose or draw anytime PSG dropped points.

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Key to our success was Lucas Thomas, a free signing from Lorient.

Just the 75 goals in his debut season!

Madrid and co are looking at him. In a long term career I look to sell for big money and replace with young stars on the cheap but this is short term. I will try to hold onto Thomas by offering him a lucrative contract.

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France on the rise..

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One final year of UCL qualifying which is good for us as we will struggle to dethrone PSG in the league I think given the financial power they have.

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