The UEFA Champions League Challenge

[Klippybo]

Sandro Mazzola

Arguably the star player of the Inter side in the 1960s, Mazzola played as centre forward and scored 2 goals in the 1964 European Cup final. He was a one club man and scored 116 goals in 417 matches between 1960-77. In all he won 2 European Cups, 2 Intercontinental Cups and 4 Serie A titles.

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SEPTEMBER

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso, Pavone (Morozov), Valentino, Domingo*, Piedra (Donati), Marinaccio (Molteni)

This was a pretty uninspiring victory but I suppose it was a victory all the same!

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UEFA Champions League Group E

Lineup - Njoh, Morgan, Parisi, Gram, Mercier, Ferro (Lasalandra), Morozov, Guerriero*, Trandu, Piedra (Donati), Marinaccio

With Barcelona and Hamburg also in our group Astana are the side I expect to easily beat so I fielded my backups and they won comfortably which was pleasing. Marinaccio also had a goal disallowed in the 1st half.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso, Pavone (Lasalandra), Valentino, Domingo (Trandu), Piedra*, Molteni

We were very comfortable here and should have won by more in truth. Piedra headed us in front and then he set up the 2nd which was a stunning volley from Molteni into the top left hand corner.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso, Pavone, Valentino (Auvray), Domingo, Piedra (Marinaccio*), Molteni

A wonderful result but our performance did not match the final scoreline. We were pitiful for the first hour or so, especially considering they had a man sent-off early on, but once we went 2-0 up my players seemed to relax and enjoy themselves with Auvray scoring a fine solo goal and the master poacher, Marinaccio, came off the bench to strike twice.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone (Mercier), Macaluso (Morozov), Pavone, Valentino, Domingo, Piedra*, Molteni (Marinaccio)

We got a shock here when we fell behind early on with the first goal that we have conceded in the league this season but we soon bounced back and led 3-1 at half-time. Piedra scored a fantastic hat-trick (his 2nd of the season already) and Marcelo Jose got a rare goal too.

Piedra is causing me a real selection headache as he started the season as my backup LW behind Valentino but Valentino has been playing RW due to Auvray being injured and he doesnt like it there but he is also too good to drop and now Auvray is fit again............

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UEFA Champions League Group E

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso (Morozov), Pavone (Ferro), Auvray (Molteni), Domingo, Valentino, Marinaccio

I didnt have a selection headache here as Piedra was injured! We were pathetic here and it took until stoppage time for us to muster our first attempt on target. We were well beaten and it is a big worry considering I thought we were up at the required level to be competing for the Champions League. On this performance we certainly are not!!!

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SUMMARY

Domestically everything is bliss as we have had a strong start to the season. We are rattling in the goals, barely conceding any and have already got a narrow lead at the top of the table. More of the same next month please!

However in the Champions League I am worried as our performance against Barcelona was terrible. We just didnt compete and that is a huge worry. Sure it is one of the toughest fixtures in world football but I expected to at least trouble their keeper every now and then! Maybe it was just a bad day at the office but it certainly gives me food for thought.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
NORBERTO PIEDRA

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SERIE A

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SCOTLAND

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 8

Lineup - Smart, Gray, Gebbie, Farquhar, MacDonald (Malitoli), R.Byrne, F.Munro, J.Byrne (McLaughlin), Crawford, Kerr (Maclean), McMahon*

We get the win here but it was never easy for us as Israel played pretty well. With the score at 1-0 to them they missed 2 or 3 great chances which if converted would have changed the match completely but as it was we managed to come out on top thanks to a McMahon brace and a first international goal for Cammy MacDonald.

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UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 8

Lineup - Smart, Gray, Gebbie, Farquhar (Purves), MacDonald, R.Byrne*, F.Munro (Graham), J.Byrne, Crawford, Kerr, McMahon (McKenzie)

We struggled badly here but got the win thanks to a headed goal from Richard Byrne. Kai Graham and Ali Purves made their international debuts here.

​

 

[Klippybo]

Aurelio Milani

Milani only had 2 seasons at Inter (1963-65) and only featured in the 1964 European Cup final where he scored a goal. He only made 29 apps for Inter, scoring 7 goals but still won a Serie A title, a European Cup and an Intercontinental Cup during his brief spell.

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OCTOBER

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso, Pavone*, Auvray (Guerriero), Domingo (Trandu), Valentino, Molteni (Marinaccio)

For the 3rd league game running our opponents have had a man sent-off against us. We took full advantage of that by scoring three goals with the pick of the bunch being a long range strike from Pavone.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto (Morgan), Marcelo Jose (Parisi), Cela, Kone, Macaluso, Pavone, Valentino*, Domingo, Piedra, Marinaccio

Wonderful. We were sensational here as we hit Crotone for 7 and Piedra missed a penalty so it could have been 8!!! Valentino was the star of the show with 2 goals and 2 assists and this performance has convinced me that Piedra and Valentino are my first choice wingers.

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UEFA Champions League Group E

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso, Pavone (Ferro), Valentino, Domingo*, Piedra (Auvray), Molteni (Marinaccio)

Domingo's stoppage time winner rescued a win for us here as once again we were pretty poor. It was a great moment when Domingo fired in his effort from the edge of the area though.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone (Mercier), Macaluso, Pavone, Valentino, Domingo*, Piedra (Auvray), Marinaccio (Molteni)

This was a hard fought win. We took the lead through a Domingo header but Messina levelled for Fiorentina. Valentino had a goal disallowed but we got the winner when Auvray powered home the winner from just inside the box.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela (Parisi), Mercier, Macaluso, Pavone, Valentino (Auvray), Domingo, Piedra*, Marinaccio (Molteni)

GET IN!!!!

The top 2 went head to head here and we showed Roma who is the boss as we put 4 goals past them. Piedra and Marcelo Jose put us 2-0 up early on and then in the 1st minute of the 2nd half Pavone scored with a thunderbolt from nearly 30 yards. They pulled a goal back but Parisi scored a 4th with a header from a corner and although they scored again the job was done.

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SUMMARY

We had a great October!!! We won all of our matches and even managed to thrash Crotone 7-0 but the best result was our 4-2 victory over Roma that put us 6pts clear at the top of the table. We are averaging nearly 4 goals a game in the league and have only conceded 4 goals and we are looking incredibly strong. I always say that when you are regularly thrashing teams in the league that you are then at a level of competing in the Champions League and we are doing that now.

However in the Champions League we have been far from convincing as we had to rely on an injury time goal from Domingo to see off Hamburg. We are still doing well but we need to step up a level or two in our matches.

There are more rumours about a potential takeover with several groups, including a tycoon, showing an interest. Could be interesting times ahead!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ALBERTO PAVONE

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SERIE A

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SCOTLAND

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 8

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Carrodus, Farquhar, MacDonald (Purves), Gray (Smith), F.Munro, J.Byrne, Crawford, Kerr*, McMahon (Mitchell)

Excellent. Barring some shocking results against inferior opposition we should win our qualifying group with ease now as we are 3pts clear with a game in hand. Our first half performance was excellent and the game was won by half-time. Phil Carrodus and Danny Smith of Ross County both earned their first caps here.

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UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 8

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Purves), Gebbie, Farquhar, MacDonald, Gray, F.Munro (Smith), J.Byrne, Crawford (Mitchell), Kerr, McMahon*

We are 1pt away from qualifying for the World Cup after this win. We didnt play well at all really although we did hit the woodwork 3 times.​

 

[Klippybo]

Luis Suarez

Suarez spent 9 years at Inter between 1961-70 and played as an attacking midfielder in both of the successful European Cup winning sides. The Spanish international was signed from Barcelona and he went on to make 256 apps for Inter, scoring 42 goals and he won 3 Serie A titles along with the 4 continental trophies. He later went on to be manager of Inter in 1975.

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NOVEMBER

UEFA Champions League Group E

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Mercier, Macaluso, Pavone (Morozov), Valentino, Domingo, Piedra (Auvray), Molteni (Marinaccio*)

For 65min we were shocking and lucky only to be a goal down so I made a triple substitution and within 10min we were 3-1 up and secured of qualification for the knockout rounds. Marinaccio was the game changer with 2 goals but a shout out goes to Macaluso who scored with a terrific curling effort into the top corner from over 30 yards.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto (Morgan), Marcelo Jose*, Cela, Mercier, Macaluso (Ferro), Pavone, Valentino (Auvray), Domingo, Piedra, Marinaccio

A 1st minute goal from Marinaccio was enough for us to make it 10 wins in a row in the league from the start of the season. The rest of the game was a bore.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Parisi, Cela, Mercier, Macaluso, Pavone, Valentino (Auvray), Domingo (Trandu), Piedra*, Marinaccio (Molteni)

Not the greatest of performances as we only had 1 shot on target yet we managed to score 2 goals!

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UEFA Champions League Group E

Lineup - Njoh, Morgan (Kone), Parisi, Gram, Mercier, Lasalandra, Morozov, Auvray, Trandu*, Donati (Guerriero), Molteni

I trusted my backups here and they got the job done. Trandu is developing really nicely and scored his first goal for the club direct from a free-kick. I will look into giving him more opportunities in the first team but Domingo is playing well just now.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose (Parisi), Cela, Kone (Mercier), Macaluso, Pavone, Valentino, Domingo, Piedra (Marinaccio), Molteni*

Terrible. Our 100% record ends as Verona somehow escape with a point. They only had 1 shot on target and it put them ahead. Molteni levelled and we kept on at them and hit the woodwork a few times but couldnt find the winning goal.

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SUMMARY

We werent firing on all cylinders this month in truth. We did win every match apart from our final one against Verona which we drew but generally our performances dropped off a bit which is disappointing. Our draw against Verona was shocking! Sure they have only lost 1 game so far this season but with home advantage I expected the victory but it didnt come.

We qualified from our Champions League group and have a match to play against Barcelona which we have to win if we are to top the group but I am not bothered either way tbh.

There is more takeover talk as a Dutch consortium is in talks with the board in an attempted takeover. They apparently want to appoint their own man so that could be interesting! Finally my Scotland side qualified for the World Cup so all is good on that front and we are currently ranked 13th in the world.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
FRANCESCO MACALUSO

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SERIE A

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SCOTLAND

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 8

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Aitken), Gebbie, Farquhar (Carrodus), Malitoli, Gray (Waterston), F.Munro, J.Byrne*, Crawford, Kerr, McMahon

Goals from Graeme Gebbie and David Kerr saw us beat Israel here and therefor win the group. David Aitken of Rangers came off the bench to earn his 1st cap.

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UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 8

Lineup - Smart, Gray (Aitken), Gebbie, Farquhar, Malitoli, R.Byrne (Smith), F.Munro, J.Byrne, Crawford, Kerr (Maclean), McMahon*

We round off the qualifying campaign with a dramatic victory over Albania. They only had 4 shots on target so for us to concede 3 goals and rely on a last minute own goal to win is disappointing however with this win it means that for the 2nd qualifying campaign in a row we have finished with a 100% record.

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[Klippybo]

Mario Corso

Corso played in both European Cup finals in the 60s and had 16 years at Inter between 1957-73. He scored 75 goals in 413 appearances for the club and the winger won 4 Serie A titles alongside the 4 Continental trophies. He went on to manage Inter for a brief period in 1985-86.

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DECEMBER

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso, Pavone, Valentino (Auvray), Domingo (Trandu), Piedra*, Molteni (Marinaccio)

Once again we do just enough to get the win but we really do need to step it up. Molteni had a goal disallowed but we got the winner when Piedra fired in from a narrow angle.

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UEFA Champions League Group E

LIneup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone (Mercier), Macaluso, Pavone, Auvray, Domingo (Trandu), Piedra, Marinaccio (Molteni*)

We needed to win this match if we were to win the group but we couldnt do it. Tbh we were pretty poor and it wasnt until I made my subs that we began to trouble Barcelona. Trandu assisted Molteni for our goal so it was 2 of my subs who combined to get us the draw.

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Lineup - Njoh*, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso (Lasalandra), Pavone, Auvray, Domingo, Piedra (Donati), Molteni (Marinaccio)

A huge win!!!! Smash and grab it may have been but to beat Juventus 1-0 away from home is a great result. They peppered our goal throughout but Njoh stopped everything and Piedra nicked a goal for us on the counter attack. Nuno Espirito Santo is their manager and he has been mouthing off against me so that makes the win even more sweeter.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso, Pavone, Valentino (Auvray), Domingo (Guerriero), Piedra, Molteni (Marinaccio*)

I expected a big win here against lowly Modena but yet again we toiled. We got the lead through a penalty but we werent playing well and it wasnt until Marinaccio came off the bench that we perked up a bit and he ended up with 2 goals.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto (Morgan), Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso, Pavone (Morozov), Valentino (Auvray), Domingo, Piedra, Marinaccio

This match didnt make any sense. How we scored 3 goals is beyond me as for over an hour we played our worst football all season but within a matter of minutes we had scored twice. We were pegged back soon enough but immediately after Auvray put us 3-2 up but alas we couldnt hold on to the victory and they infuriatingly levelled in stoppage time.

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SUMMARY

This was again a tough month. We are barely doing enough to get through games at the moment as we are playing very poorly. The goals have dried up although we did score 3 in each of our last 2 league games but our performances from earlier in the season have long gone and that is a huge worry. That being said we did get a huge 1-0 away victory over Juventus and that was a huge result and our lead at the table is now up to 6pts.

In the Champions League we have been drawn against Man City which is a tough draw while the takeover has fallen through so no change there!

As for the 2038 World Cup my Scotland side have been drawn against Chile and Uzbekistan.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
NORBERTO PIEDRA

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

Diego Milito

Scorer of both goals in the 2010 Champions League final, Milito had 5 years at Inter between 2009-14 and he had a decent scoring record of 75 goals in 171 games while at the club. The Argentinian striker won 1 Serie A title, 2 Coppa Italias, 1 Supercup, 1 World Club Cup and of course 1 Champions League title.

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JANUARY

Lineup - Njoh, Morgan, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso (Ferro), Pavone (Morozov), Valentino, Domingo (Trandu), Piedra, Marinaccio*

Marinaccio scored a great hat-trick here to take his tally for the season up to 20. I have been rotating between he and Molteni and it is safe to say that Marinaccio is performing better of the two.

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Coppa Italia 1st Round

Lineup - Njoh, Morgan (Pinto), Parisi, Gram, Mercier, Ferro (Cela), Morozov, Auvray (Valentino), Trandu, Donati, Molteni*

I played a backup side here and we got the win but we werent overly convincing despite winning by 2 goals. However if you play your backups you will take any win!

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose (Gram), Parisi, Mercier, Ferro (Lasalandra), Pavone, Valentino, Domingo, Piedra, Marinaccio

I am getting seriously ****** off with our performances. We should be beating this side by 3 or 4 but we only got the one goal, scored by Marinaccio. We need to get back to how we were playing earlier in the season as this is not good enough.

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Supercoppa Final

Lineup - Kouloukidis, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Parisi, Kone (Mercier), Ferro, Pavone (Lasalandra), Valentino, Domingo (Trandu), Piedra, Molteni*

For just over an hour we were back to our best. We were 4-0 up thanks to a hat-trick from Molteni and also a strike from Piedra who put us ahead however after that we were atrocious as we went on to concede 3 goals and we were hanging on in the end. Another trophy but the concerns are still there.

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Coppa Italia Quarter-Final

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Parisi, Kone (Mercier), Ferro, Pavone (Lasalandra), Valentino, Domingo, Piedra*, Molteni (Marinaccio)

NOW THATS MUCH BETTER!!!!

We were terrific here and finally it seems that we are back to our best. Despite the 2 late goals we were in control throughout and I am delighted with this victory. Lets hope it is a sign that we are back to our best!

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Parisi, Kone (Mercier), Macaluso (Ferro), Pavone (Lasalandra), Valentino, Domingo*, Molteni, Marinaccio

We love playing against AC Milan it seems. They are having a torrid time at the moment and our 3 goals here adds to the 4, 5 and 6 that we have scored against them in our previous 3 encounters. Marinaccio has scored in each of our last 5 league games and he has finally ousted Molteni as my no.1 striker.

Gennaro Gattuso, the Milan manager, was sacked so quickly after the match that he didnt even do the post match press conference!!!!

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Parisi, Kone, Ferro (Lasalandra), Pavone, Valentino, Domingo*, Molteni (Donati), Marinaccio (Guerriero)

We are beginning to hit our stride again now as we get another decent victory. Domingo scored with 2 free-kicks but unfortunately he missed a penalty which denied him a hat-trick.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Parisi, Kone (Mercier), Macaluso, Pavone*, Valentino, Domingo, Molteni (Donati), Marinaccio (Guerriero)

Udinese proved to be stubborn opponents here but we came out on top. Pavone scored the opener with a free-kick which was a surprise considering Domingo scored 2 free-kicks in our last match and I cant remember Pavone taking one before! Domingo wasnt to be denied however as he scored our 2nd late on.

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SUMMARY

I wasnt happy how January started but by the end of the month I feel that we are getting back into our groove. We just scraped through our first couple of matches but I think the turning point was our 4-3 victory in the Supercopa against AC Milan. Sure we lost the 2nd half 3-0 and that was unacceptable but we got the goals and that seemed to lift my players as we went on to easily beat Juventus 3-0 in the Coppa Italia and that was the same scoreline when we faced up against AC Milan in the league.

We are 9pts clear with a game in hand in the league and we are still unbeaten. Only Barcelona have defeated us in all competitions so we just need to keep this form going but I would like us to get back to beating teams by 3 or 4 more regularly.

As for transfers there were 2 main departures so I also signed 2 players to replace them. Firstly Mario Morozov was unhappy and requested a transfer and SIPG of China duly came in for him and paid me £45m for him which is some price for a player who largely sits on the bench. I then decided to sell Ewann Auvray to Arsenal for £39.5m as at 32y/o and declining in stats it was the time to move him on.

I struggled to find replacements however as I was hampered by not being able to sign non-EU players. In the end I plumped for Celtic's Polish winger Konrad Niestroj and FC Kobenhavn's Lasse Nielsen.

Niestroj is a decent looking winger and came in for £28m but he will be my backup RW. He is no world beater but he will do a job for a season or two. As for Nielsen he came in for a bargain £7.75m and he looks like a decent player and should develop into a quality performer.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
DOMINGO

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SERIE A

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[HugoCaldeira1234]

wow you doing very good games at Inter milan keep up my friend

 

[Klippybo]

Javier Zanetti

Argentinian Zanetti spent an incredible 19 years at Inter between 1995-2014. The RB amassed an astonishing 858 apps and 21 goals in all competitions and he won 5 Serie A titles, 4 Coppa Italias, 4 Supercoppas, the Champions League, a UEFA Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup!!!!

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FEBRUARY

Coppa Italia Semi-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Parisi, Kone (Mercier), Macaluso, Pavone, Valentino (Niestroj), Domingo, Piedra, Marinaccio (Molteni)

Having thumped AC Milan in our last few encounters I expected the same here but it was not to be and we had to rely on a late equaliser from debutant Konrad Niestroj to spare our blushes. Work to do for the 2nd leg.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Parisi, Cela, Kone (Mercier), Macaluso, Pavone (Nielsen), Valentino, Domingo, Piedra (Niestroj), Marinaccio*

Napoli took the lead here with their only shot on target but we fought back to get the win thanks to a double from Marinaccio who now has 10 goals in his last 8 league games.

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Coppa Italia Semi-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone (Mercier), Macaluso, Pavone, Valentino (Niestroj), Domingo, Piedra, Marinaccio (Molteni)

We reach the final on away goals! This was an even match tbh but we always had them at arms length after we went 2-1 up. Roma will be our opponents in the final.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela (Parisi), Kone, Macaluso (Ferro), Pavone, Valentino, Domingo (Trandu), Molteni*, Marinaccio

Bottom side Pescara were never likely to beat us here and so it proved to be. Valentino put us ahead and 2 goals from Molteni sealed things.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Parisi, Kone (Mercier), Macaluso, Pavone (Cela), Valentino, Domingo*, Molteni (Piedra), Marinaccio

MARINACCIO TO THE RESUCE!!!

This is a great result but we left it late as Marinaccio struck twice in stoppage time to give us the victory however it was Domingo who shone the brightest as he got a goal and an assist to claim the MOM award.


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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose*, Cela, Kone, Macaluso (Ferro), Pavone, Valentino (Niestroj), Domingo, Piedra, Marinaccio (Molteni)

Easy. Cagliari are battling against relegation and we didnt do them any favours here as we put 3 past them. Marinaccio also had a goal disallowed so it could have been 4.

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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Parisi, Cela, Kone, Macaluso*, Pavone, Valentino, Domingo (Trandu), Piedra, Marinaccio (Molteni)

We were in control throughout here but only had a fortunate own goal to show for our efforts so when they equalised with a minute to go I was gutted however Macaluso popped up with a long range effort and that won us the match. The away goal that we conceded worries me greatly though.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto (Morgan), Marcelo Jose*, Cela, Kone, Macaluso (Nielsen), Pavone, Valentino, Trandu, Piedra, Marinaccio (Molteni)

10 wins in a row in the league thanks to a late goal from Marcelo Jose. We should have won more comfortably and yet again had a disallowed goal but at least we got the win.

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SUMMARY

Tbh I went off for a day or two without playing so the month was split in two so some memories have gone so I will judge by the results.

WE DID WELL!!!!

12pts clear at the top of the league, a place in the Coppa Italia final and a goal advantage in our tie against Man City in the Champions League - everything is rosy!

Still a lot of work to do in the Champions League tie though.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MARCELO JOSE

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

Samuel Eto'o

Legendary Cameroonian stirker Eto'o spent 2 years with INter between 2009-11 and racked up 53 goals in 102 games. As well as the Champions League he also won 1 Serie A title, 2 Coppa Italias, a Supercoppa and a FIFA Club World Cup!

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MARCH

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto (Parisi), Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso (Lasalandra), Pavone, Niestroj (Guerriero), Domingo*, Valentino, Marinaccio

We ground out the result here without playing well tbh. Marinaccio got the goal and we had a few other chances but one was enough.

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Ferro*, Pavone, Valentino (Niestroj), Domingo, Piedra (Donati), Marinaccio (Molteni)

A great win. Roma away is probably our toughest fixture so to beat them here is something special. Ferro scored a screamer from 30 yards out to get his 1st goal for the club and that was enough to win us the match.

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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose*, Cela, Kone (Mercier), Ferro, Pavone (Molteni), Valentino (Niestroj), Domingo (Nielsen), Piedra, Marinaccio

Threw but phew!!!! We took the lead in the 4th minute through Marinaccio and that eased any nerves that we had. They levelled and we just needed to see the game out but unfortunately Cela scored an OG with 9min to go and we were headed for extra-time. Nothing happened there so it was on to penalties and we came out on top 6-5!

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Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso, Pavone, Valentino, Domingo (Trandu), Piedra (Niestroj), Marinaccio (Molteni)

******* PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!

How the **** can we beat Roma 1-0 away and then lose 1-0 at home to Genoa? We were atrocious and with this result it means that we lose in the league for the first time this season and we also fail to score for the first time.

Embarrassing.

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SUMMARY

I suppose this month results wise overall I should be happy as we extended our lead at the top to 14pts and progressed in the Champions League however I am absolutely raging as our defeat to Genoa was just not acceptable. That result coming after we defeated Roma away and scraped past Man City in the Champions League came right out of the blue and has put a black mark against the season.

As for the Champions League we will face off against my old side Celtic so that is quite an exciting prospect!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JEAN-CHARLES NJOH

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SERIE A

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SCOTLAND

Friendly

Lineup - W.Munro (Cairns), Hill (Malitoli), Gebbie, Farquhar, MacDonald, R.Byrne, Waterston (Smith), J.Byrne, Crawford (Mitchell), Kerr (Maclean), McMahon (McKenzie)

An entertaining affair. I was without a few players in Smart, Gray and Munro but the players that came in did well enough. Ben McKenzie got the winner and that was his first goal for Scotland.

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Friendly

Lineup - W.Munro (Cairns), Hill, Gebbie, Farquhar, MacDonald, R.Byrne (Ecrepont), Waterston (Smith), J.Byrne, Crawford (Mitchell), Kerr (Maclean), McMahon (McKenzie)

A game of two halves. We were shocking in the first half and Colombia deservedly led 2-0 but we got better in the 2nd half and managed to draw level thanks to McKenzie and Smith. They had a goal disallowed thankfully right at the end.​

 

[Klippybo]

Wesley Sneijder

Dutch midfielder Sneijder had 3 seasons at Inter between 2009-12 and made 116 apps, scoring 22 goals. The classy player won a Serie A title, 2 Coppa Italias, 1 Supercoppa and a Club World Cup alongside the Champions League.

--

APRIL

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose (Parisi), Cela, Kone, Macaluso, Pavone (Ferro), Valentino*, Domingo, Piedra (Niestroj), Marinaccio

Thats better! We bounce back from the Genoa horror show to beat Brescia here thanks to a storng 2nd half performance. Marinaccio and Valentino got doubles with Marinaccio also having an effort disallowed to deny him a hat-trick.

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso, Pavone (Ferro), Valentino (Niestroj), Domingo, Piedra* (Molteni), Marinaccio

Very nice. Celtic are full of top quality players and are unbeaten in the SPL but we turned them over here. Unfortunately we conceded a late away goal and that could come back to haunt us.

--

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso (Ferro), Pavone, Valentino (Niestroj), Domingo, Piedra*, Marinaccio (Molteni)

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Njoh*, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone (Mercier), Macaluso (Ferro), Pavone, Valentino, Domingo (Trandu), Piedra, Marinaccio

I rock up at my old hunting ground and show them what they are missing as a Marinaccio goal got us the win. Tbh they battered us and hit the woodwork at times, missed some sitters plus Njoh pulled off some great saves.

--

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto (Morgan), Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso, Pavone (Ferro), Valentino, Domingo*, Piedra, Marinaccio

This win secures Champions League football for next season and an initial transfer budget of £54m but there are takeover talks on the go so I dont know by how much I can improve that.

--

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone, Macaluso (Nielsen), Ferro, Niestroj, Domingo, Piedra (Donati*), Marinaccio (Molteni)

CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!

A nice way to retain the title although the 2 late goals from Donati added a bit of extra gloss to the scoreline. Yet again Marinaccio had a goal disallowed! I can now rest my players before the Champions League fixtures which is a big bonus.

--

Lineup - Njoh, Morgan, Marcelo Jose*, Cela, Kone, Macaluso (Ferro), Pavone, Niestroj, Domingo (Trandu), Piedra, Marinaccio (Molteni)

Meh. With the league over this was a nothing game so I am pleased that we didnt lose out. I dared not to put in my backups against Juventus just in case we got a hiding embarrassingly.

--

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone (Mercier), Macaluso, Pavone (Guerriero), Valentino, Domingo, Piedra (Molteni), Marinaccio*

This was a great match with Angelo Marinaccio helping himself to a hat-trick to give us 3 away goals which is great. Spurs are challenging for the title in England so this is a decent result for us.

--

SUMMARY

We had a much better time of it this month! In the league we wrapped up the league title by beating Bologna 4-1 which was an ideal way to seal the title. We now have an incredible 18pt lead at the top of the table and for our final 4 matches in the league I will play my backups and the target is to get past 100pts so we need 7pts from 4 matches.

In the Champions League we beat Celtic home and away easily enough to reach the semis and after being paired with Spurs we drew 3-3 away from home in an entertaining affair and we have a decent chance of progressing to the final.

Huge news comes however by the way of a takeover. I have a new boss in Elvedin Gicic and he has immediately bid £125m on probably the best LW in the game and £92m on a left back!!!! Jeezo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANGELO MARINACCIO

--

SERIE A

​

 

[Klippybo]

Maicon

Arguably the best RB in the world at his time, Maicon spent 6 years at Inter between 2006-12 and he won a shedload of trophies. 4 Serie A titles, 2 Coppa Italias, 3 Supercoppas, a Champions League and a Club World Cup were all won and he made 249 apps for the club and scored 20 goals.

--

MAY

Lineup - Njoh, Morgan (Pinto), Parisi, Gram (Lasalandra), Mercier, Ferro, Nielsen*, Niestroj, Trandu (Guerriero), Donati, Molteni

My backups had a field day here against now relegated Modena. We were helped majorly by the fact that they had a man sent-off in the 1st minute!!!! Nielsen got his first goals for the club with 2 long range efforts while Ferro also scored from distance.

--

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Njoh*, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone (Mercier), Macaluso, Pavone (Ferro), Valentino, Domingo (Trandu), Piedra, Marinaccio

WE REACH THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL!!!!!

All it took here was a penalty from Piedra early on to see us through and a string of fine saves from Njoh. He kept Spurs at bay time and time again but having said that we did miss some decent chances. Borussia Dortmund will be our opponents in the final after they narrowly defeated Juventus.

--

Lineup - Njoh, Morgan, Parisi, Gram, Mercier, Ferro*, Nielsen (Lasalandra), Niestroj (Guerriero), Trandu, Donati, Molteni

My backups are certainly doing a turn for me as after banging in 6 in their last match they grab another 4 here with Molteni and Donati getting 2 apiece. Molteni actually missed a penalty early on so he was denied a hat-trick.

--

Coppa Italia Final

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto (Morgan), Parisi, Cela, Kone, Macaluso (Ferro), Pavone, Valentino, Domingo, Piedra (Donati), Marinaccio*

WE WIN THE COPPA ITALIA!!!!!!!

What a final it was too! A 6 goal thriller with us grabbing 4 of them and Marinaccio scoring a hat-trick to take him up to 40 goals for the season which is pretty good for an old man lol. We got off to a perfect start when Parisi bundled the ball home and then Marinaccio scored on the counter attack to make things easier and then they missed a penalty. However they immediately pulled a goal back and it was a nervy game until we were awarded a penalty ourselves which Marinaccio tucked away and he completed his hat-trick to seal the game. Their 2nd goal was a token effort in reality.

--

Lineup - Njoh, Morgan, Parisi, Gram, Mercier, Ferro, Nielsen (Lasalandra), Niestroj (Guerriero), Trandu, Donati, Molteni (Marinaccio)

I set my backups a target to get us to reach 100pts and they have done that as we are now on 102pts. It wasnt pretty and had to rely on Marinaccio to come off the bench to get the winner but we got the win.

--

Lineup - Njoh, Morgan, Parisi, Gram, Mercier (Kone), Ferro, Nielsen (Lasalandra), Niestroj (Guerriero), Trandu, Donati, Molteni

We end the league campaign with just our 2nd defeat of the season which is a shame but considering we had my backups out and they were full strength we did not bad tbh. Donati is on top form for sure!!!!!

--

UEFA Champions League Final

Lineup - Njoh, Pinto, Marcelo Jose, Cela, Kone (Mercier), Macaluso, Pavone (Ferro), Valentino (Niestroj), Domingo, Piedra, Marinaccio*

WE WIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I dont know how though............

Dortmund have been well and truly shafted here!!!!! We were battered from start to finish but somehow ended up with 4 goals. ******* crazy! This win means I overtake Jurgen Klopp as the greatest manager of all time apparently!!!!!!!

--

SUMMARY

My time in Italy is over after our achievements this month. With the league title already won it was all about the Champions League - I wasnt bothered about the Coppa Italia final in truth. We saw out the league campaign by playing my backups and they got us up to 102pts which is some achievement although they did lose the last game of the season at home to Lazio and we ended up on 99 goals so I would have liked to have got 1 more lol.

We won the Coppa Italia by beating Roma 4-2 with Marinaccio scoring a hat-trick and unbelievably he scored a hat-trick in the Champions League as despite being completely outplayed we trounced Dortmund 4-1!!!!!!!!!

I have just realised that Marinaccio scored 5 in the European Super Cup final and hat-tricks in the Coppa Italia and Champions League final while Molteni scored a hat-trick in the Supercoppa Final!!!!!!!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANGELO MARINACCIO

​

 

[Klippybo]

Julio Cesar

Goalkeeper in the Champions League winning side in 2010, Brazilian Julio Cesar spent 7 years at the club between 2005-12. He made 300 appearances for Inter and alongside the Champions League he won 5 Serie A titles, 3 Coppa Italias, 4 Supercoppas and a Club World Cup.

--

END OF SEASON POST

Our 2nd season at Inter was certainly a memorable one. We won all 5 trophies, had a board takeover, only lost 2 league games all season and cemented ourselves as one of the top teams in Europe - not bad lol.

We kicked off the season by winning the European Super Cup as we beat Real Madrid 5-4 with Angelo Marinaccio scoring all 5 goals for us against his old club in a dream 2nd debut. That set us up for the league campaign and we absolutely stormed it as we won it by 15pts. We lost only 2 games - a shocking defeat to Genoa on matchday 29 and then a final day defeat to Lazio when I played my backups. We started the season on fire, then dipped after the Xmas break but came on strong towards the end of the season.

We won the Coppa Italia by beating Roma 4-2 in the final thanks to another Marinaccio hat-trick and it was a Molteni hat-trick that won us the Supercoppa as we defeated AC Milan.

The main aim was the Champions League and after struggling against Barcelona and Hamburg in the group stages we qualified in 2nd place. We sneaked past Man City on penalties and then the draw was kind to us as we were paired with Celtic who we beat home and away. Spurs were our opponents in the semis and we edged them out 4-3 on aggregate and that set up a final against the mighty Borussia Dortmund. They really have the best squad in the world and they battered us in the final yet somehow we ran out 4-1 winners with Marinaccio grabbing another hat-trick in a final and we scored with all 4 shots on target - I will never complain about getting FM'd again!!!!

As for the takeover that happened towards the end of the season and while the new owner isnt a tycoon he immediately splashed out over £200m on 2 players and I still had over £80m to spend so I think Inter will become a real force in the next few years if he is willing to stump up the cash like that!!!!

--

SERIE A

--

SQUAD

Goalkeepers - Veteran French keeper Njoh had a great season and played all but 1 match. He especially shone in the knockout stages of the Champions League and won us a few matches with his saves. Kouloukidis stepped in for him for that 1 match that Njoh missed.

Defenders - Marcelo Jose is surely one of the best defenders in the world yet he has still not been capped by Brazil!!!! He scored 6 goals in a standout season and was a standout player yet again. The veteran, Cela, was his partner and he did his job well while Parisi did not bad as his backup. At full back Kone and my big summer signing, Pinto, held down the spots there and was fine but but Mercier and Morgan didnt get much chances at all tbh.

Midfielders - My main 2 were once again Macaluso and Pavone. Both did well although Macaluso could have scored a few more. Pavone seemed to score in bursts but they suit each other perfectly tbh. Ferro was the main backup and although he rarely featured in the first half of the season he shone in the 2nd half and earned his first call up to the Brazil squad. After Morozov left in January I brought in young Danish midfielder Lasse Nielsen and he really impressed when given the opportunity.

On the RW it was Valentino and with 11 goals and 19 assists he had a great season. Auvray was his backup but was sold to Arsenal in January so I brought in Niestroj and he did ok and looks like a player. On the other side it was all about Norberto Piedra. He started the season as my backup LW once again but having scored 4 goals on the opening day of the season he quickly became 1st choice and he ended up with 23 goals and 12 assists.

Domingo had another season at AMC and he did well although if I was to stay he would be gone next season lol so he has had a reprieve. I brought in the wonderkid Trandu as his backup and he will be a superstar and I feel sorry that I couldnt play him more often if I am to be honest.

Other midfielders featured with Donati having a strong finish to the season especially and I still like the look of Lasalandra.

Forwards - It was all about Angelo Marinaccio!!!! He scored 5 goals on his debut and ended up with 44 goals and even scored a hat-trick in the Champions League final. At the start of the season I rotated he and Molteni but it became apparent that I had to stick with Marinaccio if we were to really trouble the big boys. That is no slight on Molteni however as for a backup striker he still scored nearly 20 goals!!!!

My Player of the Season - Marcelo Jose
My Young Player of the Season - Anderson Luiz Ferro
Must Do Better - Michael Morgan
Donkey of the Season - Tobias Gram

--

SUMMER PLANS

WIN THE WORLD CUP WITH SCOTLAND!!!!!

I can but dream lol although to be fair we are ranked 13th in the world so should reach the latter stages depending on the draw. The Feyenoord job is available but they finished 10th last season so that holds no interest to me unless they have a shedload of cash. I will chuck my name in for it and see what is what. There are 2 or 3 jobs that I really would like but we shall see what happens.

Scotland up next!!!!​

 

[Klippybo]

SCOTLAND

Friendly

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Gebbie (R.Byrne), Farquhar (Carrodus), MacDonald (Aitken), Gray*, F.Munro, J.Byrne, Crawford (Mitchell), Kerr (Maclean), McMahon (McKenzie)

Stuart Gray may have just been released from Celtic but he showed here that he is ready to play a full part in our World Cup campaign with his 2 goals here.

--

Friendly

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Gebbie (Carrodus), Farquhar (R.Byrne), MacDonald, Gray*, F.Munro (Lee), J.Byrne, Crawford (Mitchell), Kerr, McMahon

STUART GRAY IS AT IT AGAIN!!!!!!

He once again shone with 2 goals but really Peter Crawford was the main man as he had 4 assists and it is noted that we didnt score any other goals after I took him off after 60min. A nice final warm up game for the World Cup though. Callum Smart won his 50th cap here.

--

SQUAD FOR THE 2038 FIFA WORLD CUP

Goalkeepers​

NAME	CLUB	AGE	POS	VALUE	CAPS	GOALS
Danny CAIRNS	Rangers	28	GK	£13.75m	11	0
Will MUNRO	Leicester City	33	GK	£22.5m	102	0
Callum SMART	Bayern Munich	23	GK	£52m	50	0

Defenders​

NAME	CLUB	AGE	POS	VALUE	CAPS	GOALS
David AITKEN	Rangers	25	DLC	£11.25m	3	0
Phil CARRODUS	Ross County	23	DC	£13.5m	4	0
Kyle FARQUHAR	Tottenham Hotspur	20	DC	£25.5m	19	1
Graeme GEBBIE	RB Salzburg	32	DC	£9m	102	6
Matthew HILL	Tottenham Hotspur	22	DR	£29m	39	0
Cammy MACDONALD	Birmingham City	24	DL	£22.5m	27	1
Enock MALITOLI	Estoril	28	DRL	£12.5m	51	1

Midfielders​

NAME	CLUB	AGE	POS	VALUE	CAPS	GOALS
Richard BYRNE	Rangers	22	D/MC	£15.5m	21	2
Peter CRAWFORD	Borussia Dortmund	22	AMC	£83m	45	6
Stuart GRAY	-	23	DRC/MC	-	45	9
David KERR	AS Saint-Etienne	25	AML/ST	£24.5m	47	20
Glenn LEE	Sunderland	28	MC	£925,000	6	1
Callum MACLEAN	Borussia Dortmund	20	AML	£12m	14	0
Cieran MCLAUGHLIN	Middlesbrough	30	MC/AMR	£17.25m	57	2
Stephen MITCHELL	VfL Wolfsburg	25	AMC/ST	£25.5m	7	0
Fraser MUNRO	Sporting Lisbon	22	M/AMC	£17.5m	42	10
Danny SMITH	Brighton & Hove Albion	21	MC	£23m	5	1

Forwards​

NAME	CLUB	AGE	POS	VALUE	CAPS	GOALS
John BYRNE	Leeds United	29	AMR/ST	£50m	118	52
Ben MCKENZIE	Chelsea	22	ST	£50m	10	2
Billy MCMAHON	Brighton & Hove Albion	23	ST	£38.5m	48	46

 

[Klippybo]

2038 FIFA World Cup

Hosts - South Africa
Holders - Germany

--

Group N

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Gebbie, Farquhar (Carrodus), MacDonald, Gray (Smith), F.Munro, J.Byrne (McLaughlin), Crawford, Kerr*, McMahon

A big win. Chile beat Uzbekistan 6-0 on the first matchday so it was imperative if we were to win the group that we would defeat them here. In the end we did thanks to a double from Kerr and a solitary strike from McMahon. Our pre-tournament fixtures against fellow South American nations Peru, Colombia and Ecuador obviously paid off here.

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Gebbie, Farquhar*, MacDonald, Gray (Lee), Smith, J.Byrne, Crawford (Mitchell), Kerr (Maclean), McMahon

This is a disappointing score considering Chile hit Uzbekistan for 6. We fell behind to a shock goal and then Gray had an equaliser disallowed. Sure we ran out comfortable victors and had over 30 shots on goal but I expected a much bigger winning margin!!!!

--

2nd Round

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Gebbie*, Farquhar, MacDonald, Gray, F.Munro, J.Byrne (McLaughlin), Crawford (Mitchell), Kerr, McMahon (McKenzie)

We get the win here and deservedly so but I fear that ultimately it will cost us. Crawford got injured, MacDonald will serve a suspension and the fact that we were taken into extra-time means that my players will be ****** for the 3rd round!

--

3rd Round

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Gebbie, Farquhar, Aitken, Gray (R.Byrne), F.Munro, J.Byrne (McKenzie), Mitchell, Kerr (Maclean), McMahon

Our World Cup dream is over and it can be no surprise considering my players were ****** from our last game and we were also missing our best player. To take on Spain we would need to be at full strength and we were far from that. The board wanted me to reach the 3rd round so at least I have matched those expectations.

Now to start job hunting!!!!!

​

 

[Klippybo]

KRIS STUART NAMED AS THE NEW SL BENFICA MANAGER!!!!!!

Just a week before the start of the Portuguese season I am named as the new manager of Benfica - the current Portuguese champions. I was in for 2 jobs with the other being Red Star Belgrade but they didnt want me unfortunately. Taking over the Portuguese champions means I have a great squad right?

WRONG!!!!

Its a ******* disgrace!! Only 2 - TWO!!!!!! - Portuguese players are in it yet they seem to have a keen interest in helping out Ukraine as I have no fewer than EIGHT of their players in my squad. It is an ageing squad that pretty much needs ripped apart but with just £6m to spend and the season kicking off just 1 week away this wont be a quick fix.

Its safe to say that I am in it for the long haul here. I am reunited with some former players in Villar (Juventus), Rivaldo (Liverpool), Gonzalez (Hamburg - signed him but never played him) and Gustavo (Real Madrid).

Time to get to work - and learn Portuguese!!!!!!!!!

--

WHY AM I HERE?

Winners of the European Cup in 1960-61 and 1961-62 the club have also finished runners-up 5 times thanks to the curse of Bela Guttmann. Upon leaving the club as manager he declared that "Not in a hundred years from now will Benfica ever be European champions again" and so far it has rang true so it is my job to end that curse.

In last years FM I had a great save with Benfica and thoroughly enjoyed it so hopefully this term as manager will be just as enjoyable!​

 

[HugoCaldeira1234]

So benfica signed all ukrainians in squad,so this is like wolverhampton but benfica signed ukrainian players,so is LFV still the president of benfica and how long jorge jesus last,i never see benfica signed ukrainian players before,i wonder what you want to buy and sell,i wonder if benfica still win titles i wonder

 

[Klippybo]

AUGUST

Supertaca

Lineup - Guerin*, Silva, Mina, Baidoo, Moreno, Gonzalez (Fonseca), Ndongo, Gustavo (Perez), Covilha, Bruno Eduardo (Villar), Klump (Lobo)

Not a bad way to start my Benfica career but by god I am worried. Sure we won the match on penalties thanks to a goalkeeping masterclass from Guerin but my squad is absolutely shocking. I feel like I have 10 first choice players and that is it such is the lack of quality in my squad. I have several players to move on who are on big wages but there is no interest in them. It is going to be a tough season!

--

Lineup - Guerin, Silva, Cortes, Baidoo, Moreno, Gonzalez, Ndongo*, Gustavo (Perez), Covilha (Horovko), Villar, Klump (Lobo)

WONDERFUL!!!!!!

I may have a **** squad but by god they did me a turn here as they smashed Sporting 4-0 thanks to a terrific 2nd half performance. The pick of the goals was the last one as Ndongo powered in a 30 yard free-kick into the top corner. In this lineup I rate them as so.......

Guerin - quality but at 31 needs replaced next season
Silva - Wonderkid, top Portuguese prospect
Cortes - World class player
Baidoo - Quality player
Moreno - Decent full back
Gonzalez - 32Y/O, cant sell him as he just signed before I arrived - needs replaced ASAP
Ndongo - Quality but old
Gustavo - Decent, playing out of position
Covilha - Quality player - just 22 so can still improve
Villar - Same as Gonzalez - needs to go ASAP
Klump - Not going anywhere lol

--

Lineup - Guerin, Silva, Cortes, Baidoo, Moreno (Mina), Fabricio*, Ndongo, Perez, Covilha, Bruno Eduardo (Erakovic), Klump (Lobo)

I gave my 2 recent signings - Fabricio and Erakovic - their debuts here and they helped us win here with Fabricio getting an assist and the MOM award. My first signing for the club, Lobo, came off the bench to score again. More on him below!

--

Lineup - Guerin, Silva, Cortes, Baidoo (Mina), Moreno, Fabricio, Ndongo, Perez*, Covilha, Bruno Eduardo, Klump (Lobo)

Another decent win. Dennis Klump (love that name) finally showed me what he can do with the opener while Covilha and Bruno Eduardo chipped in with the other 2 goals. Unless there has been a takeover by a tycoon somewhere I have faced the 3 biggest clubs in Portugal in my first month and have came out on top in all of them!!!

--

SUMMARY

Its fair to say that this month has been ****** hectic!!!!!! With 4 games, including a cup final, overhauling the squad, setting up my backroom staff etc it has taken me ages to get through it but overall I feel we are in a much stronger position than when I arrived at the club.

Firstly events on the field. We kicked off our season by winning the Supertaca on penalties against FC Porto which was nice but then we thumped Sporting 4-0 on the opening day of the league season so naturally I was delighted with that. Further victories over Nacional and Braga followed so after just 3 games played we already have a 2pt lead! As for our Champions League group, despite being 1st seeds we will do very well to qualify for the next round as we are up against Man City, Atletico Madrid and Olympiakos.

Now to transfers and I got rid of several players with the most notable one being Lucas Perez to Lille for £28m on deadline day despite him having played well in my first few matches.

Incoming were 14 players although several are for my youth squads so no screenie of them will be posted!

Fabricio was my most expensive signing at £14.75m and he joined from Atletico Mineiro. The 19y/o Brazilian midfielder got the MOM award on his debut and he has all the attributes to go on to become a top class player.

Next up is Thiago Mansilla who joined from Racing Club on deadline day for £7.5m. I needed a decent young backup at AMC and he fitted the bill perfectly!

Stefan Erakovic signed from Red Star Belgrade for £7m and I am delighted with his capture. When I went in for the Red Star job and checked their squad out he stood out like a sore thumb and with me needing LW players I jumped at the chance to sign him. A world class player in the making!!!

£6.25m was shelled out on USA international Nathan Paredes from NYCFC. He is just 18y/o but will be my backup LB.

My first signing was one of only 2 Portuguese players that I brought in for the first team. I scoured and scoured and scoured for more Portuguese players but they either werent good enough or too expensive!!!!! However I did bring in this wonderkid who has already made an impact in the first team - Fabio Lobo. Despite being valued at £14m at Vitoria Guimaraes he had a £4.5m release clause for clubs in the Champions League so I snapped him up pronto!

My other Portuguese player was just a backup keeper. Andre Vicente joined from Bayer Leverkusen for £4m.

Another deadline day signing was that of Osvaldo who joined on loan from Man City for the season. He has 17 caps for Brazil and is valued at £65m and is a world class player for sure so to get him in for a season and just a £2m fee in total was a no brainer!!!

The last one to show you is another deadline day signing, Hans-Peter Bubenik. I wanted more numbers in midfield and he caught my eye as he is very young and can also play at CB. He has just turned 19 so he is a big future ahead of him and I was surprised that Borussia Dortmund were willing to let him go for as little as £3.5m!

So there you have it! I promoted 2 more young Portuguese players to the first team squad but I still want to get more home grown talent in there. I figured out the Ukrainian influx as I got a message that a 15y/o will be joining us when he is old enough from the Benfica Kharkiv Football Academy no less!!! That explains it!!!! We also have an academy in Luxembourg it seems on closer inspection!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
PATRICE NDONGO

--

LIGA NOS

​

 

[Klippybo]

So benfica signed all ukrainians in squad,so this is like wolverhampton but benfica signed ukrainian players,so is LFV still the president of benfica and how long jorge jesus last,i never see benfica signed ukrainian players before,i wonder what you want to buy and sell,i wonder if benfica still win titles i wonder

They have a Ukrainian academy I discovered and that feeds in players whenever they turn 16 I think - not part of the youth intake!

 

[HugoCaldeira1234]

They have a Ukrainian academy I discovered and that feeds in players whenever they turn 16 I think - not part of the youth intake!

so is jorge jesus was at benfica how long jesus did last and i wonder if LFV is still an president because this guy is ruined benfica by putting an ukrainian players into Benfica academy
i want to see leagues of portugal about how the teams are doing

 

[MidKnightDreary]

I kept the Guttmann curse going as Arsenal first season. Sorry Benfica.

 

[Klippybo]

1961 European Cup Final - SL Benfica 3-2 Barcelona

--

SEPTEMBER

Lineup - Guerin, Silva, Cortes, Baidoo, Moreno, Fabricio, Ndongo (Gonzalez), Bruno Eduardo*, Covilha (Erakovic), Osvaldo, Klump (Lobo)

Famalicao kept us honest here and it was 2 late goals from Lobo and Fabricio that won it for us. Fabricio missed an earlier penalty so his cracking long range goal here made amends for that. Osvaldo scored our opener with a volley to get a debut goal.

--

UEFA Champions League Group E

Lineup - Guerin, Silva, Cortes, Baidoo, Moreno, Fabricio (Gonzalez), Ndongo*, Bruno Eduardo (Gustavo), Covilha, Osvaldo (Erakovic), Klump

WOW!!!!

I did not expect this result!!!! We were terrific and came out of the blocks on fire as Klump had a goal disallowed BEFORE his 6th minute opener! Cortes nodded home the 2nd and Ndongo scored with a free-kick for the 3rd to wrap up a great day for the club.

--

Lineup - Guerin, Silva, Cortes, Baidoo, Moreno (Paredes), Fabricio, Ndongo, Bruno Eduardo*, Covilha (Erakovic), Osvaldo, Klump (Lobo)

Very nice. My midfielders once again ran amok and scored goals for me and once again Lobo came off the bench to score for the 4th time in 5 league games! Klump only has 1 league goal so he better buck his ideas up!!!! Ndongo is really impressing me to.

--

Taca da Liga 3rd Phase Group A

Lineup - Guerin, Mina, Gomes (Da Costa), Vakula, Paredes, Gonzalez (Fonseca), Bubenik, Gustavo, Mansilla*, Erakovic, Lobo (Moke)

I put out a backup side here and they didnt let me down. It was a dream debut for Mansilla as he scored with a penalty and a free-kick and also assisted a goal to!!!! It was a good chance to give a game to some youngsters like Moke, Fonseca, Da Costa and Gomes who need to kick on with their development if we are to be successful.

I just realised after the match that Casa Pia are a fellow Liga NOS club so I certainly took a risk in playing my backups.

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Lineup - Guerin, Silva (Mina), Cortes, Baidoo, Moreno (Paredes), Fabricio, Ndongo, Bruno Eduardo*, Covilha, Osvaldo, Klump (Lobo)

Goals galore yet again!!! We got 5 for the 2nd league game running and it could have been more as both Klump and the magnificent Bruno Eduardo had early goals disallowed in between their goals that counted!!!

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UEFA Champions League Group E

Lineup - Guerin, Silva, Cortes, Baidoo, Moreno (Paredes), Fabricio*, Ndongo (Gonzalez), Bruno Eduardo, Covilha, Osvaldo (Erakovic), Klump

Dennis Klump is having a torrid time at the minute. He got the game winner here for sure but also had 2 goals disallowed!!!!!!

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SUMMARY

Life at Benfica is good at the moment!!! Domestically we are running riot and in the league after just 6 games we have a goal difference of +20 and a 6pt lead at the top of the table so if we dont win the league from here then it will have been some collapse!

The highlight of the month undoubtedly was our amazing 3-0 victory away to Atletico Madrid in our opening Champions League match. It really set down a marker at how good we can perform and we need to reach that levels on a regular basis in the Champions League.

Normally I say when we thrash teams domestically regularly that that is a clue to where we are at in the Champions League but that is not the case in Portugal as I feel I can lift this team to another 3 or 4 levels in the next year or two so wait until you see us then!!!!!!!!!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
BRUNO EDUARDO

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LIGA NOS

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SCOTLAND

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 3

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Carrodus, Farquhar, MacDonald, Gray, F.Munro, J.Byrne, Crawford, Kerr (Hutchinson), McMahon (McKenzie)

Meh. Not much to say about this game but if we are to win the group we really needed to win this match. Ali Hutchinson, a kid I had at Celtic, got his 1st cap here.

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UEFA Nations League Division A Group 3

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Carrodus (Fraser), Farquhar, MacDonald (Aitken), Gray, F.Munro*, J.Byrne, Crawford, Kerr, McMahon

Much better!!!! We were in control throughout here and fully deserved our victory. Fraser Munro grabbed 2 while McMahon popped up with one also. Adam Fraser of Celtic earned his debut here.​