THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CHALLENGE
I have decided to have a go at the Champions League Challenge that me and Stonecold came up with a few years back. The aim is to win the Champions League with as many of the sides that have won it previously.
You get points for winning it with different clubs as follows..........
For me it will be different as I don't normally move form club to club as I prefer to build super young squads and this is entirely short term thinking. So I will do my story on this page and if anyone wants to join in and post their successes (with screenshots) I could put up a leaderboard.
So feel free to join in and please follow my story.
KRIS STUART IS APPOINTED AS THE NEW FC BARCELONA MANAGER
Thought I would try and get on the scoreboard early lol. Cant remember the last time I managed Barca and to have the likes of Messi in my team should be fun.
Our first league game of the season? Real Madrid away lol.
I have started with my manager skills and reputation at the lowest level so hopefully I can go on some courses to develop as I go.
PRE-SEASON & AUGUST
Well this certainly is a bit of a change from managing Athletic!!! I inherited a squad which for my formation looked perfect but the lack of a truly natural AMC, only one natural AML and only 4 CBs in the first team squad meant I had work to do. We do however have 100000000000 CMs lol.
So with just under £100m to spend I went out and spent most of it! I went with my DoF to sign Stefan De Vrij from Lazio for an initial £21.5m which could rise to £30m. Then during pre-season Umtiti got injured for 3-5 MONTHS so I immediately went out on a search for another CB and appropriately enough my scout recommended Toby Alderweireld who had a £25m release clause so I immediately snapped him up. Finally I brought in Gonzalo Martinez from River Plate for £13.25m to be my backup LW. View attachment 56444View attachment 56448View attachment 56443View attachment 56442 View attachment 56449View attachment 56448
I only sold one player - Andre Gomes went to Manchester City for an initial £5m - he is now valued at £33m!!! I sold him to raise some funds in case I need to tinker in January.
What I am trying to do is not to sign players from the teams that I will end up managing which I admit was tough. Zivkovic of Benfica is a player I have always fancied managing but I live in the hope that he will stay there or our paths will cross at some point. Of course with the nature of this challenge the 2 clubs who generally spend the most - Man City and PSG - haven't won the European Cup so I hope they don't poach too many of the best players.
Regarding my squad I was reluctant to sell anyone as in this challenge you cant have too many good players but I did promote Abel Ruiz who looked great in my Athletic Bilbao story to be my 3rd choice striker.
Oh and I never care about pre-season friendlies but I thought I should point out that my side lost 8-0 to Bayern Munich!!!!
Super Cup Final 1st Leg v Barcelona 5 (Busquets 13, L.Suarez 45, 80, 81, 89) Real Madrid 1 (Kovacic 28) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, Alderweireld, Pique (de Vrij), Alba, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Rakitic (D.Suarez), Coutinho (Dembele), L.Suarez*
Never would I have dreamt that the score would be this beforehand and never would I have dreamt that our first scorer would be Busquets!!! An amazing result and performance.
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Super Cup Final 2nd Leg v
Real Madrid 3 (Benzema 9, 88, Cucurella og59) Barcelona 2 (Paulinho 58, 63) (Agg: 4-7)
Lineup - ter Stegen, Vidal (Semedo), de Vrij, Vermaelen, Cucurella, Roberto (Samper), Paulinho, Dembele, D.Suarez, Martinez (Leiva), Abel Ruiz
I am quite impressed that my reserve side managed to give Real such a tough game!! I expected to lose by a higher margin and took the risk that it wouldn't be by 4 goals or more.
My first trophy as a manager - YAY!!! lol
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v Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 15, Bale 43) Barcelona 2 (Busquets 7, Rakitic 30) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo (Roberto), Alderweireld, Pique, Alba, Busquets, Iniesta (Paulinho), Messi, Rakitic*, Coutinho (Dembele), L.Suarez
Busquets scores against Real again!!! I am not overly happy at playing Rakitic at AMC but he was great here and he took his goal here.
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v Barcelona 2 (Alba 11, Coutinho 90) Leganes 0
Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo (Roberto), Alderweireld, Pique, Alba*, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Rakitic (D.Suarez), Coutinho, L.Suarez (Abel Ruiz)
A win but I would have expected a higher winning margin but I suppose we are all getting used to each other.
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SUMMARY
What an introduction to management!!! My opening 3 games were all against Real Madrid and we won one, drew one, lost one but luckily for us we were the winners of the Super Cup and we didn't lose the league game.
In the Champions League we have been given a favourable group alongside FC Porto, Ajax and APOEL.
Here is a look at the transfers of the world - no major moves. View attachment 56445
SEPTEMBER
v Celta Vigo 1 (Sisto 7) Barcelona 3 (L.Suarez 25, Messi 45, Dembele 88) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo (Vidal), Alderweireld, Pique (Vermaelen), Alba, Paulinho, Iniesta, Dembele*, Messi, Coutinho (Martinez), L.Suarez
Credit goes to Celta Vigo as despite winning they could arguably say that they deserved a draw as this was a tough match for us.
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UEFA Champions League Group E v
Barcelona 7 (Alcacer 11pen, 35, 47, 60, 61, Coutinho 38, 58) APOEL 0 Lineup - ter Stegen, Vidal, Alderweireld, Vermaelen, Digne, Paulinho, Alena, Dembele, D.Suarez, Coutinho, Alcacer*
Paco Alcacer!!!! Unsurprisingly he got a rating of 10 here.
Lionel Messi was the star here as he scored 4 in the first half. When you score 5 in the first 45min it is pretty annoying that you don't score in the 2nd half.
--
v
Valencia 1 (Vietto 20) Barcelona 0 Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo (de Vrij), Alderweireld, Pique, Alba, Roberto, Iniesta (Paulinho), Messi, Rakitic, Coutinho, Alcacer (Abel Ruiz)
Valencia go above us at the top of the table with this win here. We were shocking.
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UEFA Champions League Group E
v Ajax 2 (Dolberg 61, Huntelaar 69) Barcelona 4 (Messi 19, Alcacer 22, 44, D.Suarez 90) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo (Paulinho), Alderweireld, Pique, Alba, Roberto, Iniesta, Messi*, Rakitic (D.Suarez), Coutinho (Dembele), Alcacer
Messi once again starred as he put Ajax to the sword here. Alcacer has now scored 7 goals in 2 Champions League games!!
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SUMMARY
We had some tough fixtures this month bot overall we did quite well. In the league we got some good victories but we did lose to a very good Valencia side which is a blow. Of course my main focus is the Champions League and there we were superb as we won 7-0 and 4-2 so we aren't struggling there!
OCTOBER
v
Alaves 2 (Guidetti 5, 31) Barcelona 3 (Alcacer 30, 45, Messi 85) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, Alderweireld, Pique, Alba, Roberto, Iniesta, Messi, Rakitic (de Vrij), Coutinho, Alcacer
This was a tough match. The first half we dominated yet we were level at 2-2 and they only had 2 shots on goal. Pique got sent-off for us just after the break and then they battered us but we held on and Messi struck late on to win it for us.
Lineup - ter Stegen, Vidal, de Vrij, Vermaelen, Alba (Digne), Busquets (Paulinho), Roberto, Messi*, Rakitic, Coutinho (Martinez), L.Suarez
During the international break Alderweireld got injured and is out for a few months and Semedo is out for a few weeks - add Pique's suspension and Umtiti's long term injury our defence was depleted!
--
UEFA Champions League Group E v
FC Porto 3 (Aboubakar 3, 21, Marcano 73) Barcelona 1 (L.Suarez 23) Lineup - ter Stegen, Vidal (Roberto), de Vrij, Pique, Alba, Busquets (Paulinho), Iniesta, Dembele, D.Suarez (Martinez), Coutinho, L.Suarez
Sure I had players missing but this was a terrible performance and it will be tough to overhaul Porto at the top of the group now.
--
v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Williams 22, Benat 59) Barcelona 1 (Pique 65) Lineup - ter Stegen, Vidal (Roberto), de Vrij, Pique, Alba, Busquets (Paulinho), Iniesta, Messi, Rakitic, Coutinho, L.Suarez (Alcacer)
I couldn't bring myself to beating Athletic could I? Lol. Fortunately the other top sides slipped up so it wasn't too costly although this is Athletic's first win of the season so this on form is a disgraceful result.
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Copa del Rey 4th Round 1st Leg
v
Mallorca 2 (Junior 37, 84) Barcelona 4 (Reina og61, Alcacer 71, Martinez 82, Abel Ruiz 90) Lineup - ter Stegen, Vidal, de Vrij, Vermaelen (Costas), Palencia, Roberto (Samper), Paulinho, Dembele, D.Suarez*, Martinez, Alcacer (Abel Ruiz)
Mallorca proved to be tough nuts to crack here for my backups but we did just enough. Scoring 4 is decent but conceding 2 is worrying.
--
v
Barcelona 3 (Coutinho 5, Messi 42, Rakitic 50) Girona 0 Lineup - ter Stegen, Vidal, de Vrij, Pique, Alba, Busquets (Paulinho), Iniesta (Roberto), Messi, Rakitic, Coutinho, L.Suarez*
--
SUMMARY
This was a decent month although there were a few blips. The defeat against Athletic Bilbao is not one however as my favourite Spanish team got their first win of the season against us but the defeat against Porto was worrying.
I feel I may have made a mistake starting as the lowest of the low in manager stats as my players don't respect me. I am on a course though so hopefully things will improve on that front. Surely trophies and not badges will gain you a reputation as if I cant get a job after winning the Champions League just because I haven't got a continental license then I am ****** lol.
UEFA Champions League Group E v
Barcelona 2 (L.Suarez 34, Coutinho 78) FC Porto 0 Lineup - ter Stegen, Vidal, de Vrij, Pique, Alba, Busquets, Iniesta (Roberto), Messi (Dembele), Rakitic (D.Suarez), Coutinho, L.Suarez*
This 2-0 win puts us top of the group due to our better record head to head. Messi missed a penalty for us in the 1st half.
--
v
Barcelona 6 (Messi 15pen, 86, L.Suarez 17, 42, 44, Rakitic 35) Atletico Madrid 2 (Gameiro 49, 65) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, de Vrij, Pique, Alba (Vermaelen), Busquets, Iniesta (Roberto), Messi, Rakitic, Dembele (Martinez), L.Suarez*
What a match!!! Unbelievably Atletico had much more shots than us and had 2 early goals disallowed but we were ruthless and smashed 6 past them.
--
v
Deportivo La Coruna 1 (Bakkali 61) Barcelona 2 (Dembele 54, Messi 69) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, de Vrij, Pique, Alba (Digne), Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Coutinho (Paulinho), Dembele, Alcacer (Abel Ruiz)
The international break didn't go well for me as both Luis and Denis Suarez got injured for over a month so we were depleted here but battled to a victory.
--
UEFA Champions League Group E
v
APOEL 1 (Louka 28) Barcelona 3 (Martinez 4, Abel Ruiz 6, Alena 70)
Lineup - ter Stegen, Vidal (Palencia), de Vrij, Vermaelen, Digne (Cucurella), Paulinho, Roberto, Dembele, Alena*, Martinez, Abel Ruiz
Out came my backups and they did a fine job to win as we secure qualification.
--
v
Levante 1 (Alegria 17) Barcelona 3 (Messi 67, Alcacer 70, 90)
Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, de Vrij, Pique, Alba, Busquets (Paulinho), Iniesta (Roberto), Messi, Coutinho, Dembele (Martinez), Alcacer*
For over an hour Levante had the better of us but I made a triple substitution and it worked a treat.
--
Copa del Rey 4th Round 2nd Leg v
Barcelona 3 (Vidal 34pen, Arnaiz 54, de Vrij 81) Mallorca 2 (Sabater 79, 90) (Agg: 7-4)
Lineup - ter Stegen, Vidal, de Vrij, Vermaelen, Digne (Cucurella), Paulinho, Roberto (Samper), Dembele, Alena, Martinez (Arnaiz), Abel Ruiz
--
SUMMARY
November is gone and things are going well despite some troubles. My injury list keeps growing and there are constant rumours about the squad not having faith in me but while we are winning games and doing well then I cant really complain.
We actually have just played the 1st of 5 home games in a row so hopefully we can maintain momentum.
The first job of the previous Champions League winners has become available but I don't think I fancy swapping Barcelona for Aston Villa lol.
DECEMBER
v
Barcelona 2 (Coutinho 26, Rakitic 37) Real Betis 0 Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, de Vrij, Pique, Alba, Busquets, Iniesta (Roberto), Messi, Rakitic, Coutinho*, Alcacer (Abel Ruiz)
A nice easy win against struggling Betis. Alcacer and Iniesta picked up minor knocks but nothing too bad.
--
UEFA Champions League Group E v
Barcelona 4 (Coutinho 2, Abel Ruiz 54, 86, Rakitic 73) Ajax 1 (Dolberg 87)
Lineup - ter Stegen, Vidal, de Vrij, Vermaelen, Digne (Alba), Paulinho, Roberto, Dembele (Messi), Rakitic*, Coutinho, Abel Ruiz
All I wanted for this match was a draw and no injuries. We thumped Ajax which was great but Digne and Dembele picked up injuries annoyingly. Digne is out for 2 months.
--
v
Barcelona 3 (Messi 29pen, 36pen, Rakitic 43) Malaga 0
Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, de Vrij (Vermaelen), Pique, Alba, Busquets, Iniesta (Paulinho), Messi*, Rakitic, Coutinho, Alcacer (Abel Ruiz)
We are playing quite well just now so we didn't really need Malaga's helping hand by giving us 2 penalties!
--
v
Barcelona 2 (Iniesta 25, Rakitic 31) Las Palmas 0
Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo (Vidal), de Vrij, Pique, Alba, Busquets (Roberto), Iniesta, Messi, Rakitic*, Coutinho, Alcacer (Abel Ruiz)
--
v
Real Sociedad 1 (Agirretxe 88) Barcelona 4 (Messi 3, 90, Busquets 26, Iniesta 34) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, de Vrij (Alderweireld), Pique, Vermaelen, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi*, Rakitic (D.Suarez), Coutinho, Alcacer (Abel Ruiz)
Its all very well winning comfortably at home but to win 4-1 away is a great achievement. Messi is really on top of his game at the minute.
--
v
Espanyol 0 Barcelona 1 (Coutinho 74) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo*, Alderweireld (Umtiti), Pique, Alba, Busquets (Roberto), Iniesta, Messi, Rakitic, Coutinho, L.Suarez (Alcacer)
Espanyol are the opponents for our local rivals so to win this derby match is encouraging. It was a tough game - even though they had a man sent-off in the 1st half but we got the break through in the end. Umtiti finally made his first appearance for me here
--
SUMMARY
We had an excellent December both on and off the pitch. On the field we won all 6 of our games including the derby match against Espanyol and completing the Champions League group against Ajax. We are top of the table but Real can topple us if they win their game in hand.
Off the pitch the players are beginning to be won round and my players are finally beginning to respond to my team talks. Players are returning from injuries too which is vital. The board also seem to like me as I have signed a new contract and as for the Champions League we have a tough draw against Juventus.
Finally another future destination became available but it is far too early to go to Romania and Steaua Bucharest lol.
Copa del Rey 5th Round 1st Leg v Sevilla 1 (Pozo 1) Barcelona 1 (L.Suarez 16) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, Alderweireld, Pique (Umtiti), Alba, Busquets (Paulinho), Iniesta (Roberto), Messi, Rakitic*, Coutinho, L.Suarez
Meh. I will take this as we got the away goal. Suarez also had a goal disallowed. Another 2 games against Sevilla are coming straight up!
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v Barcelona 3 (Messi 9pen, 28, Rakitic 36) Sevilla 0 Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, Alderweireld, Pique, Alba (Umtiti), Busquets, Iniesta (Roberto), Messi*, Rakitic, Coutinho (Martinez), L.Suarez
A fine win and performance - Alba picked up an injury and is out for 3-4 weeks.
--
Copa del Rey 5th Round 2nd Leg v Barcelona 3 (Alcacer 26, 65, Roberto 54) Sevilla 1 (Mesa 1) (Agg: 5-2) Lineup - ter Stegen, Palencia, Umtiti, de Vrij (Mina), Vermaelen, Roberto, Arthur, Arnaiz, D.Suarez (Alena), Martinez*, Alcacer
Just like in the 1st leg Sevilla took a 1st minute lead but we bounced back thanks to Gonzalo Martinez who set-up all 3 goals. My latest signing, Arthur, made his debut here.
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v Barcelona 3 (Messi 13, Alcacer 80, 90) Real Madrid 1 (Benzema 78) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, Alderweireld, Pique, Umtiti, Busquets (Arthur), Iniesta, Messi*, Rakitic, Coutinho (Martinez), L.Suarez (Alcacer)
We now are legitimately top of the league as we are now 5pts clear of Real although they have a game in hand. It was a tight match and I was gutted when they equalised but Alcacer was the super sub as he came off the bench to score twice.
--
Copa del Rey Quarter-Final 1st Leg
v Barcelona 3 (Arnaiz 44, 80, Umtiti 71) Girona 0 Lineup - ter Stegen, Ramiro, Umtiti, de Vrij (Maresic), Digne, Roberto, Arthur, Arnaiz*, D.Suarez (Alena), Martinez, Alcacer (Abel Ruiz)
My backups did a fine job here. Arnaiz is a nobody really - wouldn't play him if I was planning on being here for the long term but he has done well so far.
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v Barcelona 3 (Pique 5, Coutinho 42, L.Suarez 46) Celta Vigo 0 Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, Alderweireld*, Pique, Digne, Busquets (Arthur), Iniesta, Messi (Dembele), Rakitic (D.Suarez), Coutinho, L.Suarez
That's 12 wins in a row now in the league!!!!
--
Copa del Rey Quarter-Final 2nd Leg v
Girona 2 (Bernardo 3, Borja Garcia 63) Barcelona 4 (Martinez 32, Alcacer 48, Abel Ruiz 61, D.Suarez 73) (Agg: 2-7) Lineup - ter Stegen, Ramiro, Maresic, Umtiti, Digne (Cucurella), Roberto, Arthur (Alena), Dembele, D.Suarez, Martinez*, Alcacer (Abel Ruiz)
This win gives us a great chance to reach the final. Villarreal tested us to be fair and our next 2 matches are against them so we had better be careful.
--
SUMMARY
We have had an excellent January as we won all of our matches to both progress in the cup and go clear at the top of the league. I tinkered with my squad a bit too to try and improve us in the short term.
Regarding the results the highlight was obviously the 3-1 victory over Real Madrid that has really tipped things into our favour which could be crucial as we have some tricky fixtures coming up.
Regarding transfers I sold Cillessen to Shakhtar for £4.8m, Aleix Vidal to Guangzhou for £16.5m and Paulinho to Man Utd for £36m. All 3 were backups while I had a couple of run ins with Paulinho and had in mind a ready made replacement.
And that replacement was Arthur. Not only does he look fantastic and is someone who could do a job straight away but it makes the game realistic too as Barca are to sign him in real life. I paid Gremio £20m to get him. View attachment 55612
I also paid Gremio £10m for Ramiro to replace Vidal and the fact he is versatile helps although he doesn't look that good - I must have been drunk at the time lol. Darko Maresic was brought in for £1.8m as a prospect. While I called up my B team keeper, Ortola, to replace Cillessen. View attachment 55611View attachment 55610
This was a decent win but really it is a fantastic result as Real Madrid lost so we are now 8pts clear. 14 wins in a row in the league now.
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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg v
Juventus 3 (Higuaín 6, Douglas Costa 7, Dybala 24) Barcelona 2 (Messi 32pen, Martinez 64) Lineup - Ortola, Semedo (Roberto), Alderweireld, Pique, Alba, Busquets, Arthur, Messi, Rakitic (Dembele), Martinez, L.Suarez (Alcacer)
After 24min it looked like I was going to be in Barcelona for another year but fortunately we pulled a goal back and scored after the break to give us a chance in the 2nd leg. Alderweireld got sent-off in stoppage time.
ter Stegen was injured a few days before this match but should be back for the next one.
ter Stegen wasn't fit enough to play in the end plus Luis Suarez is out for a couple of weeks too. We struggled her but young Abel Ruiz struck to give us victory.
--
v
Getafe 0 Barcelona 2 (Messi 54, Abel Ruiz 90) Lineup - Ortola, Semedo, Alderweireld (de Vrij), Pique, Alba, Busquets, Arthur, Messi, Rakitic*, Coutinho (Dembele), Alcacer (Abel Ruiz)
--
v
Eibar 0 Barcelona 2 (Messi 59, 70pen) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, Alderweireld, Pique, Alba, Busquets, Arthur, Messi*, Rakitic, Coutinho, Alcacer
Forgot I had started the 2nd half and never made any subs - doh!!! Would have played Abel Ruiz for sure. They missed a last minute penalty.
--
SUMMARY
We just keep on winning - apart from the Juventus game that is. It looks like the league title race is over as we are 10pts clear at the top, on a 17 game winning streak in the league and have kept 7 clean sheets in a row in the league.
In the all important Champions League we were beaten by Juventus but I am content with the result considering we were 3 down after 24min. All we need is a low scoring win to go through and I am quietly confident about that.
Another future destination became available - Hamburg.
MARCH v Girona 0 Barcelona 4 (Dembele 1, Alcacer 36, Martinez 49, Abel Ruiz 73)
Lineup - ter Stegen, Ramiro, Alderweireld, de Vrij (Umtiti), Digne*, Roberto, Arthur, Dembele, D.Suarez (Alena), Martinez, Alcacer (Abel Ruiz)
A great result from my backups as my first teamers get rested for the Juventus game. Abel Ruiz came on again and scored again.
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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg v Barcelona 4 (L.Suarez 6, 42, 56, Pique 45) Juventus 1 (Higuaín 3) (Agg: 6-4) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, de Vrij, Pique, Alba (Digne), Busquets, Arthur, Messi (Dembele), Rakitic, Coutinho, L.Suarez*
That's how to turn an aggregate score around. When we conceded early on I felt distraught but Luis Suarez was on fire and he notched a hat-trick. Messi missed a penalty in the second half.
--
v Atletico Madrid 2 (Diego Costa 48, 53) Barcelona 4 (Messi 14, 84, Coutinho 30, Digne 46) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo (Roberto), Alderweireld (de Vrij), Pique (Umtiti), Digne, Busquets, Arthur, Messi*, Rakitic, Coutinho, L.Suarez
Fantastic. Atletico actually were far better than us but we were far more ruthless in front of goal with the highlight being Digne's strike from outside the area. This win secures Champions League football for next season. We did have 8 clean sheets in a row in the league before this game although we have now won 19 in a row!!!
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v Barcelona 3 (Arthur 19, L.Suarez 56, 58) Athletic Bilbao 0
Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo (Ramiro), Alderweireld, Umtiti, Digne, Busquets, Arthur, Messi, Rakitic, Coutinho (Dembele), L.Suarez*
Nice and easy but never nice to beat Athletic Bilbao. They had Iturraspe sent-off just after we took the lead.
--
v
Barcelona 3 (Alcacer 6, 43, Dembele 19) Deportivo La Coruna 0 Lineup - ter Stegen, Ramiro, de Vrij, Umtiti, Digne, Roberto, Arthur, Dembele, D.Suarez (Alena), Martinez, Alcacer*
--
SUMMARY
We were on fire this month as we scored 3 or 4 goals in each and every game with the highlight being our comeback in the Champions League as we scored 4 against Juventus to reach the quarter-finals. Our reward? A tie against Real Madrid!!!!
Also during the month we secured Champions League qualification for next season not that it was in doubt while I have left my Bilbao save of winning the title by March and resting players for the Champions League to being in the same situation in this save!
APRIL UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg v
Barcelona 4 (L.Suarez 21, 24, 65, Pique 45) Real Madrid 0 Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, Alderweireld, Pique, Alba (Digne), Busquets (Roberto), Arthur, Dembele, Rakitic, Coutinho (Martinez), L.Suarez*
TAKE THAT!!!!
We carried on our brilliant form by smashing Real here as we dominated from start to finish. Luis Suarez scored a brilliant hat-trick and we are surely now in the semis. All this without Messi too!!
--
v
Real Betis 2 (Campbell 4, Guardado 37) Barcelona 1 (Messi 42) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo (Roberto), Alderweireld, Pique (de Vrij), Alba, Busquets, Arthur, Messi, Rakitic, Coutinho, L.Suarez (Alcacer)
It had to come eventually but I didn't expect it to be here. After 21 wins in a row in the league Betis beat us despite us dominating. Disappointing but not the end of the world.
--
UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg v
Real Madrid 4 (Kovacic 22, Isco 25, 79, Modric 71) Barcelona 2 (L.Suarez 45, 69) (Agg: 4-6)
2 defeats in a row!!! I aint happy but I cant be too harsh on the players as after all we are through to the semis.
--
v
Barcelona 2 (Messi 3pen, L.Suarez 30) Levante 2 (Alegria 25, 42) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo (Roberto), Alderweireld, Pique, Alba (Digne), Busquets, Arthur, Messi*, Rakitic, Coutinho (Dembele), L.Suarez
I am not too bothered about the result as Real also drew and we are 10pts clear with 5 games to go but our performance levels are dropping alarmingly which is a huge worry.
--
v
Malaga 1 (Penaranda 59) Barcelona 3 (Rakitic 55, Coutinho 58, Semedo 90) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo*, Alderweireld, Pique, Alba (Digne), Busquets, Arthur, Messi, Rakitic, Coutinho, L.Suarez (Alcacer)
Our hangover that we have suffered in the last few games continued in the 1st half here but we were much better in the 2nd half and scored 3 to get the victory. Real Madrid drew so we just need 1pt to win the title.
--
Copa del Rey Final v
Valencia 0 Barcelona 2 (L.Suarez 6, Messi 89) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, Alderweireld, Pique, Alba, Busquets (Roberto), Arthur (D.Suarez), Messi, Rakitic (Dembele), Coutinho, L.Suarez*
My first major trophy as a manager and it was fully deserved. Messi missed a first half penalty but it didn't prove to be costly as he redeemed himself late on.
This was an epic match. We fell 2 behind early on but managed to claw ourselves back by half-time and in the 2nd half we stepped up a gear and we should be in the final now. Suarez has 11 goals in his last 4 Champions League games!!!
Iniesta made his return but Coutinho got injured and is out for a few weeks.
--
v
Barcelona 2 (Abel Ruiz 77, Dembele 88) Real Sociedad 0 Lineup - ter Stegen, Ramiro, de Vrij, Umtiti (Vermaelen), Digne, Roberto, Iniesta, Dembele*, D.Suarez (Alena), Martinez, Alcacer (Abel Ruiz)
CHAMPIONS!!!!
To be honest we knew we were champions at kick-off as Real had drawn earlier so out came the backups and we managed to beat Sociedad.
--
SUMMARY
April saw us secure the league title, and the Copa del Rey as well as put one foot in the Champions League final. That was all good but the performances dipped a bit towards the end of the month but having given so much I suppose a dip in form was to be expected as long as they are on fire for the Champions League final.
UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg v
Barcelona 2 (Dembele 22, 70) RB Leipzig 0 (Agg: 7-2)
Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo (Ramiro), de Vrij, Umtiti, Digne, Roberto, Iniesta (Alena), Dembele*, D.Suarez, Martinez, Alcacer (Nestares)
Nestares - who came off the bench - made his debut. He was the only decent regen from the youth intake and the 15y/o became both Barcelona and the Champions League youngest ever player.
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v
Las Palmas 2 (Bigas 76, Michel 86pen) Barcelona 2 (D.Suarez 12, Dembele 77) Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo (Ramiro), de Vrij, Umtiti, Digne, Roberto (Alena), Iniesta, Dembele, D.Suarez*, Martinez, Alcacer (Nestares)
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v
Sevilla 4 (Navas 14, Ben Yedder 71, Muriel 73, Kjaer 83) Barcelona 4 (Alcacer 39, Dembele 59, Martinez 72, Alena 75) Lineup - ter Stegen, Ramiro, de Vrij, Umtiti, Digne (Vermaelen), Roberto, Iniesta, Dembele, D.Suarez (Alena), Martinez*, Alcacer (Abel Ruiz)
What a thriller this was!!! Sevilla were the better side but my backups wouldn't be beaten. The 5min spell in the 2nd half where there was 4 goals scored was crazy.
Lineup - ter Stegen, Ramiro, de Vrij (Vermaelen), Umtiti, Digne, Roberto, Iniesta, Dembele, D.Suarez (Alena), Martinez, Alcacer*
A fine way to end the domestic campaign as my backups win the derby match against Espanyol. Alcacer and Dembele have been immense in recent weeks.
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UEFA Champions League Final
v
Barcelona 6 (L.Suarez 32, 69, Messi 45pen, 51, 90, Rakitic 56) Manchester City 3 (Aguero 33, 41, Fernandinho 36)
Lineup - ter Stegen, Semedo, Alderweireld, Pique, Alba (Digne), Busquets (Iniesta), Arthur, Messi*, Rakitic, Coutinho (Dembele), L.Suarez
UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
What a final this was. We took the lead against the run of play and that seemed to anger Man City who promptly scored 3 in 8min and it wasn't looking good but then Otamendi gave away a penalty and got sent-off and everything changed!
Messi scored the pen and in the 2nd half we went for the jugular and scored 4 goals to win a crazy final. Suarez scored 2, Messi a hat-trick and it was easy in the end.
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SUMMARY
Champions of Europe!!!!
That's all that really needs to be said this month as in the league we were just seeing it out although there were some thrilling matches in there. As for the final itself it is described above but to score 6 against Man City is some achievement - mission accomplished!!!!
END OF SEASON SUMMARY
What a season we have just had as we won every single trophy going the league, the cup, the super cup and of course the Champions League. Its been fun this season managing the likes of Messi and Suarez (who only scored 11 league goals but 15 in the Champions League).
I was able to bring Arthur into the club like in real life and also help develop some youngsters like Alena and Abel Ruiz.
Now of course it is about where to go next. I will have to wait until a former winner of the Champions League becomes available and off I will go and if nobody of that ilk wants me then I will stay with Barcelona until someone does.
I had a big hand to play in this! Guardiola left Man City straight after the Champions League final and then literally the next time I pressed continue after posting my end of season post they appointed Allegri so I went in for the Juventus job and I got it!
Juventus - believe it or not - actually got more points in the league than my Barcelona team as they racked up 101 to win the league by 11 points over Inter. They haven't brought anyone in and they have such an old squad so I will need to invest but the board have given me an initial £80m transfer kitty.
Buffon is retiring, Barzagli, Howedes, and Lichtsteiner are leaving while I will probably have to take an hour just to go through my players out on loan. There is a lot of work to do but I have went from one super club to another. This isn't a rebuilding job per se but a few good signings would put this team up alongside the Barcelona team I have just left.
I had a hectic pre-season here as I spent a shed load of money, recouped a shed load of money, changed the backroom staff and generally tried to bolster an already strong squad with some youthfulness and speed.
The squad I inherited had quite a few old players so I got rid of a few of them and it also lacked depth in RB, AMC, and ST positions plus arguably on the wings so I changed that too.
So without further ado here are my dealings. Starting with the outgoings.
Players Out
Sami Khedira - Barcelona - £39mJuan Cuadrado - Southampton - £32m Mario Mandzukic - Man City - £28.5m Tomas Rincon - Torino - £5.25m (already arranged) Claudio Marchisio - PSG - Exchanged Gianluigi Buffon - RetiredLichtsteiner, Asamoah, Barzagli - Released (already arranged)
Plus a load of rubbish for over £10m in total which makes my total fees for sales a handy £115m.
As you can see all of those players were 30+. Marchisio was a tough decision to make but I am never going to manage PSG so I made them weaker in the long term by swapping Marchisio but who for?............
Players In
Hector Bellerin - Arsenal - £73m Marco Verratti - PSG - £57m p/ex Douglas Costa - Bayern Munich - £35.5m (already arranged) Alfredo Morelos - Rangers - £20m Lautaro Martinez - Racing Club - £9.25m Ante Coric - Dinamo - £8m Bernard - Shakhtar Donetsk - Free
TOTAL SPEND - £203m
Bellerin was my first signing. I needed a RB and he was the best one out there and had an added bonus of not weakening a future club of mine. Verratti for Marchisio was a no brainer although the total value of £90m is a bit pricy but worth it.
Douglas Costa isn't really a new player as he was here last season while my DoF arranged the Martinez deal and as I was short of strikers I was happy to let him carry on. Coric will be my backup AMC and I brought Bernard in to challenge for LW and he is valued at over £60m!!!
Finally on deadline day I brought in Alfredo Morelos from Rangers. I was loathe to give them £20m but he turned into a decent player in my Bilbao save and should do a job here.
In the Champions League we have been drawn against Dortmund, Olympiakos and Sparta Prague.
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Italian Super Cup Final v
Juventus 2 (Douglas Costa 27, Higuaín 45) AC Milan 0 Lineup - Szczesny, Bellerin, Rugani*, Chiellini, Alex Sandro, Pjanic, Verratti (Sturaro), Douglas Costa, Dybala (Coric), Bernard (Kean), Higuaín
A trophy win in my first match in charge. AC Milan were very poor and we are in for an easy ride if they are to be our closest challengers like the bookies say.
Love the idea of this save, and great layout too.
Might have shot yourself in the foot going for the big clubs first but I do appreciate the opportunity to manage messi at Barca is too tempting to turn down. KIU
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