The Drifter - an Intercontinental Adventure

[Formia]

For this new pentagon challenge, I am going back to basics. Just as my first ever story, I will be writing monthly updates of my progress, althought they will probably have to be shorter. So, The Pentagon - the aim is to start unemployed with a sunday league reputation, and win the Champions League on the five major continents.

Trophy Cabinet

 

[Formia]

Millonarios FC

So my journey starts with a job offer from Colombian side Millonarios, mid-season. There are 18 teams in the league, and they finished 16th in the First Phase. 4 games into the Second Phase, we sit 15th with 4 points. This will be a job, but I think we have some good potential at the club. These are a couple of our best players.

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And I dove immediately into the transfer market to bring in two free transfers. One of which is THE Nelson Rivas, my biggest coup ever on the game. He recently played for Inter Milan, and now I am bringing him home to Bogota for £325 p/w.

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Colombian league, I am home.​

 

[Andrewpage14]

Good challenge good luck with it Looks like 2 good free transfers you've got there. Best of luck

 

[Formia]

July 2011

For my first game, I brought Nelson Rivas straight into the team, after training with the team for just a day. I decided to play him as a sweeper, a position I have never utilised before, so here is the set-up I decided to run with until the end of the season. There will be tweaks, but I want to try out the basic formation.

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Millonarios 1-0 Envigado
My first game in charge was a tight victory. Carpintero came off the bench to win it in the second half.

Once Caldas 0-1 Millonarios
A win at the home of the title favourites. We had 61% of possession, and this formation is looking solid. Carpintero again with the goal.

Millonarios 3-0 Quindio
A solid win. We were clinical and took our chances.

So my first month in charge went well. We haven’t conceded a goal, with the three man defence working well together. I am not convinced by the goal scoring potential in the line up, but we will wait and see.​

 

[Andrewpage14]

Good start, undefeated and 0 conceded, always a good start would you mind checking out my story (recently started like yours) A new dream at the Theatre

 

[Formia]

August 2011

Millonarios 2-2 Santa Fe
A great comeback in the Clasico Capitalino Derby. A goal in the 77th​ minute put us 2-0 down, but two goals in the next six minutes earned us a point.

Itagui Ditaires 0-0 Millonarios

Medellin 1-1 Millonarios

Millonarios 4-0 Deportivo Cali
Back in business.

Junior 0-1 Millonarios
Junior have been fairly poor this year, but they are still a great scalp away from home.

Colombian Cup 3rd​ Round Leg 1
Millonarios 0-1 America de Cali
America de Cali are the best team in the league, but losing the first leg at home is a poor result, especially as they are our rivals. They took an early lead, but then had a man sent off in the first half. We had about ten corners in the second half, but couldn’t take advantage of the domination.

It has been another unbeaten month in the league. We had a few draws to start with, but an emphatic win over Deportivo Cali put us back on track. We have really moved up the table now, and are looking good to qualify for the group stage. The cup game was disappointing, however, and we will do very well to get through now.

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September 2011

Colombian Cup 3rd​ Round Leg 2
America de Cali 2-1 Millonarios
After 8 minutes, we were 2-0 down on the night and basically out. We made a late surge for it, but only managed one goal. So we go out of the cup at the hands of our rivals.

Millonarios 2-1 Chico FC
It was important for me that we got back to winning ways today, and we did just that.

La Equidad 2-3 Millonarios
It was closer than it needed to be, but we notched up a fourth consecutive league win.

I was not happy to concede four goals this month, but I will persist with this set-up as we still have a decent record. But I have been slightly disappointed with the performances of Nelson Rivas.​

 

[Formia]

Just a quick update with our last game from September, which I forgot to post.

Millonarios 1-2 America de Cali
I didn't realise a bogey team could be developed in one month. But we lost to our rivals America de Cali three times this month. We took the lead this time, but couldn't hold on.

And here is one of Carpintero's better goals from last month.


[video=youtube;y04IwpllQDg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y04IwpllQDg&feature=plcp&context=C328270dU DOEgsToPDskKRchl0NfyXDuU2iKmitriA[/video]​

 

[Formia]

October 2011

Real Cartagena 0-1 Millonarios
I tried to get us playing at a higher tempo today, and we created a lot more chances. But this philosophy will be tested when we come up against better opposition.

Envigado 2-1 Millonarios
A brilliant individual goal from Omar Rodriguez put us level just before half time, but we lost it to a late penalty. But other than the goal, we didn’t create enough to win the game.

Millonarios 1-0 Huila
This should have been a comfortable win, but we just didn’t look potent enough. And it took a penalty from Carpintero to seal the win.

That was the last game in the league. We did qualify for the group stage, meaning we have six more matches. The winner of the group will progress to the final and compete for the league title. I am satisfied with our league finish considering where we started out, but we are in America de Cali’s group, so we will do very well to get through.

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I have no idea how you qualify for the Copa Libertadores, though. Maybe we've done enough, maybe we haven't. Or maybe it is decided in the First Phase, but there's nothing in the rules about it.​

 

[Formia]

The Group Stage

Medellin 1-0 Millonarios
You really can’t be losing your first game in a group where only one team qualifies. We certainly have a job to do now.

Millonarios 1-0 Tolima
When we took the lead after 2 minutes, it looked like it would be a comfortable win. We played well, but there was nothing comfortable about it. But at this stage the points are the important thing.

Millonarios 0-0 America de Cali
Progress. Our first point against them, but at a time when we really needed a win. And then I saw that this was America de Cali’s first point of the group. With three games left, Medellin are on 9 points, we are on 4.

Millonarios 3-2 Medellin
We needed a win or we would have been knocked out. But two goals from Omar Rodriguez, including a great free-kick, helped gain us a 3-1 lead. Medellin pulled one back, setting up a nervy finish, but we got the result we needed.

Tolima 2-0 Millonarios
That result knocks us out. A poor performance, and a red card to boot.

America de Cali 0-1 Millonarios
No more of this 5-3-2 nonsense. I went back to the tried and tested 4-3-1-2, and we beat our rivals for the first time in five games since I took charge, and away from home at that. What a way to end the season on a high, and I will definitely run with this at the start of next season.

So we fall at the group stage, but there is a lot to look forward to next year. The 4-3-1-2 has always served me well. We have completed most of our transfer activity already, and I think we could achieve big things next season.

I wasn’t expecting that when I signed the former Inter player. And then a few days later I was handed a lifeline.

But I negotiated and they pulled out. I didn’t want to sell him. He has been playing as a sweeper, but next season he will be part of a regular back four.
​

 

[Formia]

Pre-season Transfer Update

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The club is in a decent financial position, and I was given just under £2m to spend. I spent very little, but I’m happy with our business. Most of our signings were pre-contracts, and two were players who were here on loan last season. I won’t post every player, but here are our key signings.

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Sarmiento - £20k – An experienced midfielder who has a good all-round game. I’m looking forward to those long shots.

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Cordoba - £130k – First choice CB who was on loan at the club when I joined.

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Restrepo – FREE – Another experienced head. We needed a ball winner in the middle of the park.

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Palacios – Ln Fee £5k – One for the future. We have taken him on loan to see how he does, but we have the option to make it permanent.

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Medina – FREE – We needed a quality poacher, and he fits the bill. Just the man we need to finish off our moves, and he should form a good partnership with Carpintero.

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Amaya – FREE – Similar to Sarmiento, he is the kind of CM who can come into the three man midfield and do a job.

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Cambindo - £9k – Another experienced head. He will be cover at CB and can also play on the left.

So big changes in the squad. We have added some real quality and should be challenging for the league this season.​

 

[Seabear]

very interested to see how this turns out for you. Can't wait for the next updates!

 

[Formia]

February 2012

Millonarios 0-0 Atletico Nacional
First game of the season against our rivals, and it was drab. There were 3 shots on target all game. I experimented slightly with tactics after a poor pre-season, and although we kept a clean sheet, we created nothing.

Huila 1-3 Millonarios
A few more tweaks were made, but this time it worked. We were brilliant and looked comfortable. They scored a late penalty to pull it back to 2-1, but we hit back immediately. Omar Rodriguez was particularly impressive.

Millonarios 3-0 Tolima
The stats suggest a close game, but we were clinical in taking our chances, making for a comfortable win.

Once Caldas 0-0 Millonarios

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A ridiculous game which ended 10 v 9. After having two men sent off, I will gladly take the draw.

Millonarios 2-1 Chico FC
We had another man sent off, making it three red cards in two games. But another great display from Rodriguez won us the match.

But that is a blow. Rodriguez and Carpintero have been easily our best players so far. Our backup left back is also out for 8 to 10 months. And then we have our backup right back who keeps playing one game then getting injured again. And our new striker Medina has also been out. But we have played well this month, and picked up some good results, sending us to 2nd​ place.

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​

 

[Formia]

March 2012

Colombian Cup Group E
Millonarios 2-0 Atletico Nacional
Our first of ten games in the group, and we got off to a great start. It was a repeat of the derby in our first game of the season, but we were miles better, and dominated the match. They were reduced to ten men, but by then it was already 2-0.

Junior 1-1 Millonarios

Millonarios 3-0 Itagui Ditaires
It took less than a minute for our left back to open the scoring. And then two goals from Carpintero made sure of a brilliant performance.

Colombian Cup Group E
Itagui Ditaires 0-2 Millonarios
Our second victory over this team in three days. Medina came in and scored his first goal, and then got injured in the first half.

Pereira 0-2 Millonarios
Another brace from Carpintero kept up our unbeaten run.

Colombian Cup Group E
Millonarios 3-0 Academia FC
They are a second division team, so this was pretty much what I expected. But two more goals from Carpintero were a particular highlight.

Medellin 2-0 Millonarios
Our first defeat of the season in our 12th​ match. To compound the misery, we had a man sent off in the 90th​ minute. Not a good day.

Millonarios 0-2 Santa Fe
We go so long unbeaten, and then lose two in a row. This one hurts more because it was at home against our rivals.

We had a slight stumble towards the end of the month, but we are still going well in the league, and we have won all of our cup games. Wilson Carpintero has been fantastic this season, but he is 34, so I don’t know how we will be able to replace him.

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[PZW]

I'm loving this story; its one of the three which I have subscribed to! Please continue it, as I think if there are more updates, then there will be more followers! It sounds like a fun and challenging challenge, and I love the short, concise updates! Please update (although I understand if you're busy)!

​- PZW