San Marino- Attempting the Impossible

Bluehawk said:
Hey man, I took some time to read your story, it´s very well written! You´ve done a good job managing San Marino! I actually have a game managing the team(I haven´t added myself to the national team tho, I want to earn it) so it was good to catch up some stuff, since Im currently at Serie B! Well done! I can understand your admiration towards Adaílton, but man, I think I ´ve seen you mentioning this guy at least a hundred times! hehehe


Keep up the good work!;)
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Haha, thanks for taking the time to read bud! I'm stoked at the year we had, but pretty sure Serie A is going to be a whole nother beast to tame. Adailton was awesome for us, can't mention him enough. Hopefully I can get one or two youngsters to develop then I can stop talking about him, or maybe it'll be because he's my assistant. Either way, having a lot of fun with this.
 
well done with the promotion, I guess you'll also enter europa league next year as italian cup runner-up (if juventus qualified for CL)? that would be huge for club's finances and reputation.

wonder if any good/decent sammarinese player popped out outside your own club in the years, maybe at other italian sides or at the Federazione Sammarinese feeder club?
 
kandersson said:
well done with the promotion, I guess you'll also enter europa league next year as italian cup runner-up (if juventus qualified for CL)? that would be huge for club's finances and reputation.

wonder if any good/decent sammarinese player popped out outside your own club in the years, maybe at other italian sides or at the Federazione Sammarinese feeder club?
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Yeah, Juve won the league for the 4th time in 5 years so I'll be going into the Euro Cup at I believe the third qualifying round. The finances are looking pretty healthy at the moment and that should only add to it. I keep asking the board to upgrade youth facilities but so far haven't been able to, hopefully that will change this year. No good Sammarinese youngsters anywhere, have a scout on Italy under 20s and another scouting the San Marino league and they've come up with nothing. Looks like the youth at the club are the only ones with any kind of potential albeit poor. There was one good regen with San Marino/France dual nationality but he declared for France even though he won't ever be called up.
 
2015/16 Best Eleven

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Had Gerardi continued his performance for the first half of the season in the second half he would have easily been the pick of the players. However, the greedy ******* wanted too much money to renew his contract and then proved to me he wasn't worth it by letting his perfomances drop. Zmajla stepped up to take his place as our #1 striker. Kotarski was amazing and maintained the highest average rating in Serie B. Everyone on the list with the exception of Gerardi will come back again next year.

Overall Best Eleven

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With as much as I've talked about Adailton and Gerardi, there's been a man that has quietly been a mainstay at the club and has come up big in some important matches the last 4 years, and that's Massimo Coda. Maybe I don't appreciate him as much because he's the only one left in the first team that was here when I took over. Nevertheless, he really deserves a mention because he has performed very well over the years despite not looking as good on paper as others. Once again, everyone listed here in the first team are still at the club except Gerardi (who hasn't managed to join another club yet).

Pre-Transfer Depth Chart

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I'm hoping these guys can get the job done this year and stay up in Serie A. Mitrovic joins us permanently but isn't listed at the time of this screen. I added the AMR/AML positions to this because the new tactics I'm going to use will introduce them. I'll obviously need to strengthen that position as well as bring in a couple of defenders.

2015/16 Serie B Player Stats

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As mentioned Kotarksi was the highest rated player throughout the year. Just as impressive is Zmajla who tied for 3rd in goals scored and topped the assist chart despite coming on a bit late. Both of them were named to the Team of the Year, though De Cenco from Ternana won Player of the Year. I also picked up the second Head Coach of the Year award of my career.

2015/16 Serie A League Table

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Things are looking a little crazy. Juventus won their 4th title in 5 years and Cesena rises all the way to 3rd after winning Serie B last year. Catania, Empoli, and Parma go down. I'm now less impressed with my win against Parma in the cup than I was previously. Most shocking is how close Inter came to relegation.

Around the World

I mentioned before that Burnley had secured a Champions League spot due to being 3rd in the EPL. They're league campaign didn't go as well this year but they managed to make it all the way to the quarter finals of the ECC where they met Barcelona. They drew 2-2 away then went crashing out with a 0-6 loss at home. Barcelona met Man U in the final and Man U won to go along with their first league title since 2011. Liverpool won the Euro Cup with a 2-1 win over Ajax in extra time.​
 
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Summer 2016 Transfers

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Lots of Ins and only two players out on a free. Most of the players signed are ones that can play on the wing to bolster that area to fit the new tactics. The board really stepped up and showed they're ambitions by more than doubling my wage budget:
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They even gave me a bit to spend on the market but I really haven't found anyone so far that I want to spend anything on. Here's the players brought in, minus Mitrovic and Bouy since I posted their screens in an earlier post:
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I feel good about the business done, now we'll see how it pans out. Emiliano Curzi was signed by my Head of Youth Development and actually doesn't look too bad.

2016/17 Team Depth Chart

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I'm not going to speculate on how good this team is. I think we have it in us to stay up this year but I could be way off. I could have maybe improved the GK position, but with Ceccoli being Sammarinese and having bags of potential according to Adailton I'm hoping that if Kirev goes down he can step up, even at just 14 years old. I actually put him in the national team in a friendly against Azerbaijan and he did very good in the first half, holding them scoreless in the 45 minutes he played and achieving a 7.0 rating. He also became the youngest ever San Marino player in that match.

On to Kirev, I felt I should show his improvement since I picked him up in 2012:

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He's done so well for us, and developed so nicely, that I just can't bring myself to signing a keeper that might be a bit better.

Finances

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Looking really healthy for the first time. Unfortunately the board has been stingy about upgrading either the youth or the senior training facilities. I'll just keep on trying.​
 
Cadiz board are really stingy with youth development as well, i have some good younsters that are not gonna reach their potential if they don't sort it out soon.
 
Ashleigh1984
Cadiz board are really stingy with youth development as well, i have some good younsters that are not gonna reach their potential if they don't sort it out soon.
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Frustrating, isn't it? I've tried increasing youth facilities and junior coaching but no matter how I reply the board still says no. Also this year the training facilities were downgraded due to technological advancements so I tried upgrading those and they shot me down again. I think in the next transfer window I'm going to start trying to sell some players that I've picked up for free in the past. I've got an emotional attachment to them but truth is they've done their job getting us to the top division and they're not really going to make a difference at this level. Maybe if I give the board enough money to play with they'll start listening. I can't be too upset with them though, they gave me enough of a wage/transfer budget for a fighting chance this year and increased scouting range worldwide.

iamauser
Excellent work so far mate. I remember trying this on last years version, did quite well until I got a crash dump :\

Check out my story if you get a chance
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Thanks bud! I tried this last year as well, but after back to back promotions I was relegated from Serie B. I also loaded way too many leagues for the challenge so it was taking a long time and I just lost motivation to keep trying. I've fixed that this year by loading fewer leagues and will hopefully see this through far into the future.

I'll check out your story in a bit.
 
Season Goals

Thought I'd post this up before going into the season because July and August sees the games coming hard and fast. If I was thinking ahead I would have given the players less of a break. I think with the new signings this squad has the potential to be a mid table Serie A team, but there's some areas that will need to see players develop fast to get there. Particularly the central mids, left wing, and right back. There are players there that are on the fringe of being decent in Serie A but have the potential to be really good. Keeping this in mind, my goal for the league is simply to avoid relegation any way possible. I don't care if we survive on the narrowest margin possible, as long as we're back next year. In the Euro Cup I'd like to make it to the group stage but I'm not sure that will be possible. We play a very good team coming up which you'll see in the next update.

As far as administrative goals for the year, I'd like to sell on a couple of fringe players to boost the bank balance. Like I've mentioned, the board just won't listen to any of my requests and I'd like to upgrade youth facilities, training facilities, and junior coaching as soon as possible.​
 
July/August 2016
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We only had time for one friendly before starting European competition, so next time I'm in this situation I'll definitely bring the squad back sooner. We started off with a good 2-1 away win against Maccabi Tel-Aviv which was enough to see us through on away goals after a disappointing 0-1 return leg. Three days later saw us face Juventus in the Super Cup in an Italian Cup rematch. This time we took it the distance, forcing them to beat us in extra time, which they did comfortably. We then kicked off our Italian Cup campaign with a dominating 2-0 win at home against Verona. We drew German side Stuttgart in the next round of the Euro Cup and knew we were up against it but managed a 2-2 draw at home. In the second leg at their stadium we were doing well up 2-1 at half before they turned on the style in the last 15 minutes, scoring three to knock us out of the competition. Kicking off the Serie A campaign saw a tough home match against Sampdoria in which both sides were pretty equal until Zmajla finally scored the winner in the 70th minute to give the club our first Serie A victory in the first match.

League Table

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The table doesn't mean much at this stage, but I'm happy to get a crucial 3 points against a team that should be in the top half of the table at the end of the season.

Squad

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This time it's Mitrovic who starts out strong, though Kotarski did put on a good display in the first league match. The Croatian striker duo of Zmajla and Livaja are proving their worth as well. Liviero as the left back and Rispoli on the right wing have been performing well, though I still have concerns about the right back and left wing positions.

Transfer In, Transfer Out

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I brought in Martella for a club record fee of $1.4M from Padova because I wasn't sure how Mitrovic would perform at this level, and Galuppo as his backup was quite a way off the standard. So far it's been a waste because Mitrovic has been doing extremely well, but I'm sure Martella will see plenty of time during the season. Pink leaves for another club record $1.7M to return to his native Brazil. He's one of those players that I was attached to emotionally because he did so well for us in C1 and B but just doesn't have the quality for Serie A in my opinion, and there's other midfielders that are younger with more potential right around him in the squad. I also switched up my tactics so won't be fielding 3-4 central mids nearly as often.

New(ish) Tactic

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Prior to this year my tactics were made to launch quick, long counterattacks from a solid defense. Heading into Serie A I thought I needed to make a change, so opted for this flat 4-4-2 that aims to keep more possession as well as putting together more thought out attacks. The idea here is to keep the same solid defense, but now when in possession we look to pass it short and have the players moving around to create separation from their opponents for a simpler passing game. I actually created this for my very first FM13 save with Havant & Waterlooville and had great success so thought I'd bring it over to see how it transitioned into Serie A (with some tweaks to fit the team, obviously). This is the Home version, for away I switch it to counter and make some other tweaks.​
 
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September 2016

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We got off to a dream start in the league with 3 wins and 1 draw in our first four games before being brought back down to earth with a 0-4 spanking at the hands of Juventus in their stadium. Then we got thrashed 1-4 at home to AC Milan, though we put on a much better display against them. We actually controlled that game, had majority of possession and forced them to take long shots and got off to a good start going 1-0 up in the 8th minute with a clean finish by Zmajla. Unfortunately for us, some of those long shots went in, in fact 4 of them went in in the last 13 minutes of the first half. Despite the scoreline, I'm pleased with the way we gave an account for ourselves.

League Table

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After 6 games played we sit in a remarkable 6th place in the league, having only lost to the top two teams. Unfortunately I think those losses might have exposed how weak we really are and I'm hoping that doesn't become a trend. My goal for the season is 40 points. The least amount of points a team has survived with in the last 4 years is 37 (which happened twice), and the most that a team has been relegated with is 39.

Squad

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The defenders are still putting on a solid performance as well as the Croatian strike partners. Zmajla has scored 5 league goals in 4 starts (6 total apps). The biggest disappointments so far have been Kirev and Comi. I had high hopes for Comi when I brought him in and he's shown some flashes of greatness but hasn't been able to maintain his performances. I'm contemplating bringing in a replacement for Kirev, but there's a couple of reasons I'm hesitating on that front. Firstly, he was one of my first signings and has been my first choice keeper since I started back in 2012. Second, if I brought someone in to replace him, he would become my backup whereas my backup now is Sammarinese youngster Ceccoli, who Adailton gives a 4* potential, and that would limit his first team exposure and could slow down his development.
​
 
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October 2016

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The beginning of the month saw us lose our third league match in a row, but again we played much better than I expected against one of Italy's top clubs. We then turned it around with a comfortable home win against Cremonese followed by an away win at Fiorentina, who we've won against every time we've played, beginning in Serie C1. We closed out the month with another comfortable home win, this time against Atalanta, that saw all three Croatians play extremely well and acheiving the three highest match ratings.

League Table

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I am absolutely stoked with our league standing more than 1/4 of the way through! We're only 21 points off of my season goal with 84 points left to play for. I'm not going to get ahead of myself here, I still think a bottom half finish is in store for us but I'm now confident that we can survive.

Squad

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The three Croatians continue to impress, but this month's key player would have to be Michel Panatti who has been passing with lethal precision on his way to 4 assists in 4 matches. He's also developing very nicely as a player, here's a comparison between when I signed him 2 years ago and now:
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This month has also seen a return to form of my man Kirev, with a low match rating of 7.0 over the last 4 games. Any thought of replacing him has been pushed back for now, and as long as he continues to perform the way he has he'll remain my first choice keeper for years to come.​
 
November 2016

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We extended our win streak at the beginning of the month to 5 games in the league against low table teams Cagliari and Bologna. Then against Napoli we controlled possession but just couldn't do anything with it, letting them put three past us. On my 31st birthday we played C1 team Novara and I got a great gift in watching a dominating performance from a focused team. 4 days later we played Palermo in the league in a match that could have seen even more than the 6 goals scored, as we had 5 ccc's to their 4. We only had 3 shots on target however, but all of them went in. We closed out the month at home to fellow Serie A first-timers Ternana and put on a show, outscoring them 3-1.

League Table

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Nearly halfway through the season and we're still confounding the critics by sitting third. With the way things have been going I'm changing my goal to a mid-table finish and hopefully push for 6th and a spot in European football yet again. Juventus are running away with the league yet again and look to grab their 5th league title in 6 years.

Squad

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The Croatians top the squad with the highest average match ratings. Looking at them and seeing how young they are with still lots of potential has really opened my eyes to just how tough it's going to be to get the national team competitive. I still haven't seen any Sammarinese youth that could hold a candle to any of those Croatians. Player of the month would have to be a three way split between Livaja, Martella, and Floridia who have all put on great performances. However, I'm most pleased with Floridia as he's really stepped up in a position that I was worried about on the left wing. That, and there's this:
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What a feat that would be for either Floridia or Zmajla to claim this award that has seen greats such as Balotelli, Hazard, Gotze, Pato, Aguero, Fabregas, Messi, and Van der Vaart claim it in the past.

As I mentioned, I was really worried with how the left wing would turn out so before Floridia started developing into a super star I made a $2.5M deal with Tranmere to bring in this guy:
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Fortunately enough he can play just about anywhere from midfield up so I shouldn't have too many problems finding a place for him in the first team.​
 
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Flesner to take on a new Challenge?

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Here's a little background story on myself. I grew up playing American football ("soccer" in my area was more for kids that weren't good enough to make it on other sports teams), and didn't really take an interest in soccer until, cheesy as it is, I saw Green Street Hooligans. Of course, West Ham became my favorite club though I still didn't follow too closely until I got hooked on the 2010 World Cup watching Team USA play through some very suspenseful matches. That's when I realized that if we want to have any right to claim ourselves as the greatest sports nation, we have to beat the rest of the world at their own game. I'm now almost as passionate about soccer as I am our football.

Anyway, back to the job offer. West Ham were relegated in the first year and since then haven't been able to make it back to the Premier League. I've already made my decision of how to proceed, but I'm going to leave it hanging for a bit.​
 
Didn't mean to leave it hanging this long, had a situation arise that needed my attention. Of course I'm not going to leave San Marino! This has already been one of my most successful FM saves with a lower league team, not going to stop now! December update coming soon.
 
December 2016

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Started off the month great with a win against Cesena, who came 3rd in the league last year. This was a spectacular result considering we had 2 men sent off and still managed to take a 3-0 lead before they fired back. Then things got hairy in the cup against Napoli in an even, back and forth game, that went into half time tied 3-3. Napoli were the ones to take their chances in the second half however, coming away with a 5-3 win. 4 days later the boys just didn't show up, losing to Spezia 4-1. In the final match of the month it was another disappointing game as we drew Chievo 1-1 at home.

Here's a screen of the crazy Cesena match, the one high point of the month:
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League Table

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Despite our first poor month, we're still sitting clear up in 3rd one game off of the half way point. Juventus are still set on cruise control at the top, and as I look below us I see a lot of teams that could potentially surpass us if we continue our December form.

Squad

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Both players, Floridia and Bencivenga, that were sent off in the Cesena match were handed a further two match ban, missing out on the remaining December league games plus one more. Livaja gets player of the month, scoring 2 in 3 league apps, plus an additional hattrick in the cup match against Napoli, bringing his tally to 5 goals in 4 total appearances for the month. Kotarski, on the other hand, has been disappointing recently.

European Golden Boy

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Zmajla picks up the first major award for a San Marino player. Hopefully he can proceed to live up to the reputation of the previous award winners. He also earned brownie points, dedicating the award to my coaching.
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did you download any extra patches or is it all in te game?? and how did you become manager of san marino club and country at the beginning? Anyway I love the story, it's amazing. Did you know that at the moment Livaja playes for inter???:)
 
samgenoa98 said:
did you download any extra patches or is it all in te game?? and how did you become manager of san marino club and country at the beginning? Anyway I love the story, it's amazing. Did you know that at the moment Livaja playes for inter???:)
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I downloaded an extra database to get the San Marino league in, you can find the link to it on the first post. FM13 lets you choose to manage both a club and a country at the beginning, don't remember the specifics but the option is there. Yeah, I pulled Livaja up on wikipedia and saw he's with Inter now, he was there at the beginning of the game as well but was released. I think he was available on a free in FM11 and would join some lower league clubs, seem to recall picking him up before and being impressed with him. Thanks for the comment!
 
January/February 2017

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Some mixed results to start off the year, but really nothing too unexpected. The only game we were absolutely outclassed in was the 1-4 loss to Juventus. But before that we had a great 5-0 win against Torino so wasn't too upset. We were cruising to a 2-0 victory against AC Milan but the pegged one back in the 71st before scoring the equalizer in the 6th minute of injury time that was only supposed to add 4. We looked the more lively team against Inter, but out of 10 shots didn't put a single one on goal. Livaja, who's our best finisher, was out for that game with an injury and it showed.

Big Money Transfer

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I was checking my scout reports a couple of weeks before deadline day to see if I could find anyone for cheap, and found this guy who was valued at something like $500k so thought I'd try to nab him. I made offer after offer that was rejected until a few hours left on deadline day when I finally had one accepted, but regretted it immediately after. I pretty much broke the bank on this one, spending $2.5M up front plus another $4M over 24 months. Not sure what I was thinking because we were doing fine with the squad in place.

League Table

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Even with losing more than we've won the last two months, we're still sitting in 3rd place, which also happens to be the final qualifying spot for the Champions League. With as tight as the league is from 3rd down to 11th I'll still be happy with a top 6th finish and a chance in the Euro Cup next year. In fact, if I got to choose which position to finish in it'd be 4th so we would go straight into the Euro Cup Group stages. I really don't think we'd have any success in Champions league, but with a bit of a strengthened squad we could maybe make some noise in the Euro.

Squad

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Player of the month(s) would go to Kotarski, who has seen a return to form and in a big way. New bloods Lingard and de Castro have been off to good starts as well. Maybe the de Castro signing wasn't as bad as I thought, but we'll see if he can keep it up. I'm definitely looking at selling some players at the end of the season to try and bring in more funds. I've already tied up contract extensions for everyone I wanted to keep.

Finally!

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They probably wouldn't have gone with it if I hadn't asked before I spent all their money on one player!​
 
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