The UEFA Champions League Challenge

[Klippybo]

1984-85 European Cup Final - Juventus 1-0 Liverpool

PRE-SEASON

At the time of writing it is August 22nd and we have one match to play in August so I will write the post as I would, play the Serie A match and then finish off the transfer window. The Serie A match will be in the following post.

I have to say that I was extremely disappointed with the squad that I inherited. There was next to no Italian players in it and the general quality of the squad is very poor. Defensively the squad is very strong and there are some decent wingers but in central midfield and up front the quality was very much lacking. So with that in mind I wanted to bring in some top quality players and to sign as many decent Italians that would fit in to my squad.

So far I have spent £260m on 8 players and have recouped £185m and I still have £60m to spend and maybe with some more players to sell so I still have some work to do.

I must admit that I dont really have much of a clue as to what my best team is. Every time I have moved on before I have got a job mid to late season and used that to assess the players etc so when the summer recruitment came I was in the know and I always thought it would be better to take over in the summer but now I realise that having a few games to assess the squad is actually far better!!!!

After the World Cup I got offered some national team jobs from Spain, Italy, Argentina and Germany and while they all appealed there is only one that interests me...............

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PLAYERS OUT

My biggest sale was that of Kasper Dolberg who left to join Atalanta for an initial £40m (up to £50m). I sold him because I had my eye on another striker who coincidentally enough played for Atalanta lol.

Mateo Kovacic went to Real Madrid for £30.5m as at 32y/o I didnt think he fitted into my plans but in hindsight I maybe should have kept him. Julian Brandt joined RB Leipzig for £22.5m and that deal was already in place. Alvaro Odriozola joined Valencia for £19m on deadline day just because he was a 30y/o backup RB on a huge wage!!!!

Carlos Cuesta joined Everton for £18.25m while I sold Alvaro Morata (£7.75m) and Davinson Sanchez (£7m) to Real Sociedad. All the other sales were either arranged beforehand or were minor players or backup.

A few players were loaned out like Szceszny and Alex Sandro.

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PLAYERS IN

My most expensive signing was that of my new left back - Renan Lodi - who I brought in from Barcelona for £65m. When looking at his history Juventus signed him in the 2022-23 season for £25m and sold him on after a season for £32m and now I have paid double that to bring him back to the club from Barcelona. He is a top quality left back though and should add a lot going forward.

Danilo Liberio is the lad I wanted from Atalanta and I spent £53m on the wonderkid. He only scored 6 goals last season so to put the pressure on him to play up front for Juventus is quite something and I hope he will do well but he looks like a player and he led the Italian invasion with my signings lol.

After the Napoli game (result in next post) I decided that I really needed to strengthen my midfield so I brought in Andri Fannar Baldursson from Man City for £33m. The Iceland international spent 5 years with Bologna so he is already fluent in Italian which is a big bonus. He is quick, can pick a pass and I think he should fit in well.

Andrea Papetti was transfer listed by Arsenal and it took £33m to bring him in. He is rapid and at 24y/o can still improve and should be an ideal partner for De Ligt. He hasnt been capped by Italy yet which is a bit of a surprise but I look forward to working with him.

An old favourite was brought in when I paid Hamburg £29m to bring in Marco Brescianini. Now he isnt highly rated by my coaches and I can understand that but I know what Brescianini can bring to the party and he will be a good squad member.

My new keeper is Benjamin Blanco who is an Argentinian wonderkid. I paid Fulham £27.5m to bring him in and he is one that will help immediately but should also be between the sticks for years to come.

My next signing is one I have made twice already in this save! Moise Kean came in from Lokomotiv Moscow for £17m. I signed him on loan in my first season at Hamburg and I also signed him just before I left there on a free and I brought him in here because he was home grown by the club which is a bonus and because I needed a backup striker.

Victor Manuel Romana joined on deadline day to replace Odriozola as my backup RB. The 20y/o Colombian came in from Leeds for £12m and although he is still very raw as a player he has the base stats to go onto be a great player. He will offer a load of pace down the right hand side and if he improves the £12m fee will prove to be a bargain!

Alessandro Plizzari came in from AC Milan for £1.4m and he will be my new backup keeper.

I had the opportunity to sign a wonderkid on a free transfer so I couldnt turn that down so in came Gerard Vincent from PSG. He looks like a decent player but he is the type of player that I have plenty of unfortunately. I have 5 or 6 attacking midfielders that are all much of a muchness.

Finally on deadline day I made another midfield signing and he was another Italian as Gaetano Castrovilli came in on loan from Man Utd. He is a top quality player and I felt I really needed another CM despite signing Brescianini and Baldursson. I think Curtis Jones will end up competing for a place there too so maybe I am building a stronger squad than I think!

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AIMS FOR THE SEASON

Last season Juventus finished 4th and I can see why. I would normally say when rocking up at Juventus that it is the Serie A title and Champions League that I am going for but I fear that we dont have enough quality for that so while I wouldnt rule out anything this job is going to be tougher than I had imagined before coming in. If I had accepted the Bayern job I would have inherited a far better squad and the squad I had built at Dortmund is far stronger than this Dortmund side!!!

Its all pretty negative lol.

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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW

I always expected us to qualify for the group but I think we could play my backups and they could easily qualify here. PSV, Shakhtar and Partizan Belgrade.

 

[DecFM]

How are Frauendorf and Jones? Got them in my Liverpool save and Jones is beast me for me in my third season, but how good does Frauendorf become?

 

[Klippybo]

1995-96 Champions League Final - Juventus 1-1 Ajax

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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

Lineup - Blanco, Aguilar, De Ligt*, Papetti (Bornauw), Renan Lodi, Brescianini, Redjradj (Jones), Neto, Grealish, Chiesa, Carmo (Kean)

I am very happy with the result and performance. We were missing several players but still put in an extremely strong performance with 30 shots on goal and 60% posession. They had a 15min spell in the game but goals from De Ligt and Chiesa - arguably our 2 best players was enough for us to win.

This game was our sole August fixture.

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Lineup - Blanco, Aguilar, Perez, Papetti, Renan Lodi (Mendes), Baldursson (Brescianini), Castrovilli, Neto (Grealish), Jones, Chiesa*, Liberio

A good victory with Federico Chiesa putting in a great performance with 2 goals. I was pleased to see Liberio get a debut goal and hopefully that will ease the pressure on his shoulders from leading the line up front.

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UEFA Champions League Group C

Lineup - Blanco, Romana, Perez, Bornauw, Mendes, Brescianini, Tongya, Grealish (Maldini), Redjradj, Villar (Vincent), Carmo (Kean)

WHAT A COMEBACK!!!!!!!!!!

Going into this game I thought it would be a doddle so I played a backup side but when we were 3-0 down at half-time I was absolutely livid, didnt even do a team talk and was picturing my 2nd season with Juventus after only 3 matches. However in the 2nd half we finally got our act together and smashed in 4 goals to win the game but we still had to rely on a late disallowed goal from them to keep our lead in tact.

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Lineup - Blanco, Aguilar, Perez, Papetti, Renan Lodi (Mendes), Baldursson*, Castrovilli, Neto, Jones, Chiesa, Liberio (Carmo) (Kean)

A win but at a cost as Liberio went off injured in the 1st minute and Renan Lodi not long after and they will both be out for 3-4 weeks. Chiesa scored again while Baldursson stole the show with 2 goals and his winner was a fantastic 35 yard screamer.

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Lineup - Blanco, Aguilar (Romana), Perez, Papetti, Mendes, Baldursson, Castrovilli (Brescianini), Neto, Jones (Grealish), Chiesa, Carmo

I am disappointed not to win this match considering we played half an hour against 10 men and we missed a few decent chances. I have noticed that defensively we are lacking quite a bit at the moment but maybe that is because De Ligt has been out. Pleased that Carmo scored twice though!

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Lineup - Blanco, Aguilar, De Ligt, Papetti, Chiesa, Baldursson, Castrovilli, Grealish*, Jones (Redjradj), Villar (Vincent), Carmo

A but of a strange one this. I had no fit left back so Chiesa ended up at LWB but Empoli werent able to take advantage of this tactical tweak and Chiesa did well. Carmo opened the scoring and it was a boring match but then we had Castrovilli sent-off, Vincent scored immediately afterwards and then they had a man sent-off in stoppage time!

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UEFA Champions League Group C

Lineup - Blanco, Aguilar (Romana), De Ligt, Papetti, Mendes, Baldursson, Castrovilli, Neto*, Jones (Grealish), Chiesa, Carmo

A good win and performance. Carmo kept up his goalscoring form while Castrovilli got off the mark for the club.

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SUMMARY

I have had an encouraging start to my time in Turin!!! We are unbeaten and level top in the league so that is all good while in the Champions League we survived a scare against Partizan Belgrade somehow to bounce back with a win there and then defeat Shakhtar Donetsk.

Overall I am fairly pleased with how we have started. I am still learning about my players though as for instance I need to learn how to get a tune out of Curtis Jones while defensively I am not happy but I had to do without De Ligt for most of the time so far. Its all a learning process.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
FEDERICO CHIESA

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SERIE A

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[DecFM]

How are Frauendorf and Jones? Got them in my Liverpool save and Jones is beast me for me in my third season, but how good does Frauendorf become?

 

[Klippybo]

How are Frauendorf and Jones? Got them in my Liverpool save and Jones is beast me for me in my third season, but how good does Frauendorf become?

Curtis Jones is in my squad and looks very good but I am still to find his best role for me as he is natural in so many positions and roles and rated the same for all of them lol.

I sold Frauendorf to Udinese for £1.2m. He isnt that great but I dont think he was developed properly.

If anyone else wants anymore screenshots of players 6/7 years into the game just holler

 

[DecFM]

Curtis Jones is in my squad and looks very good but I am still to find his best role for me as he is natural in so many positions and roles and rated the same for all of them lol.
View attachment 539655

I sold Frauendorf to Udinese for £1.2m. He isnt that great but I dont think he was developed properly.
View attachment 539656

If anyone else wants anymore screenshots of players 6/7 years into the game just holler

I played him LW rotating him with Mane and he got 20 goals and 18 assists in a season

 

[Klippybo]

OCTOBER

Lineup - Blanco, Aguilar, De Ligt, Papetti, Mendes, Brescianini, Baldursson, Neto (Villar), Jones (Grealish), Chiesa, Carmo (Kean)

I am very disappointed at this scoreline as we lose our first game of the season. We couldnt handle Esposito as he scored a hat-trick against us including a late winner. I am pretty ****** off that having equalised late on that we couldnt hold on far a draw.

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Lineup - Blanco, Aguilar, De Ligt*, Papetti, Mendes (Renan Lodi), Castrovilli, Baldursson, Neto, Grealish, Jones (Vincent), Carmo (Liberio)

We bounce back with a narrow victory over Sampdoria. Liberio, returning from injury, came off the bench to score the winner for us with a well taken finish. Carmo had a first half goal disallowed and I am delighted with the clean sheet.

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UEFA Champions League Group C

Lineup - Blanco, Aguilar, De Ligt, Papetti, Mendes (Renan Lodi), Castrovilli, Baldursson, Neto (Jones), Grealish, Chiesa, Carmo (Liberio)

We take charge of the group with this victory. We controlled the game although they did have an early goal disallowed fortunately. Back to back clean sheets!

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Lineup - Blanco, Aguilar, De Ligt, Papetti, Renan Lodi (Mendes), Castrovilli, Baldursson (Tongya), Neto, Grealish, Chiesa*, Carmo (Liberio)

Federico Chiesa was star man here as he scored a brace. He has been a standout performer for us so far this season. Jack Grealish had a stoppage time goal disallowed.

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Lineup - Blanco, Aguilar (Romana), De Ligt, Papetti, Renan Lodi, Castrovilli, Baldursson, Neto, Grealish (Jones), Chiesa (Villar), Liberio

I am ******* livid with this result. We didnt deserve to lose whatsoever but to concede two late goals in a match that we were controlling to lose the game is just not on. It just shows me that my team is far short of the level of where a club the size and stature of Juventus should be!

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Lineup - Blanco, Aguilar (Romana), De Ligt, Papetti, Renan Lodi, Castrovilli (Brescianini), Baldursson (Tongya), Neto*, Grealish, Jones, Liberio

Now thats much better!!!!! We were excellent here and played some great stuff. Papetti surprised everyone with 2 goals but it was the performance of Neto that set tongues wagging. His 2nd goal was a first time volley from 22 yards.

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SUMMARY

October was a bit up and down tbh and I am beginning to make some sense about my squad and where we are at. Offensively we are fine as we are the top scorers in Serie A and have scored in every match this season but defensively, despite keeping 3 clean sheets in a row, we are lacking a bit of nous which is the exact opposite of how I read the squad to be like in pre-season.

We seem to be able to take care of the chaff of the league but we seem to struggle against a top side but having said that our 2 defeats this month, against Roma and AC Milan, were both games in which we were in front and we conceded late goals to lose the match which is incredibly frustrating.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
PEDRO NETO

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

Michel Platini

Platini was one of the best players in the world and played with Juventus between 1982-87. He scored the only goal in the 1985 European Cup final and in all along with the European Cup he won 2 Serie A titles, 1 Coppa Italia, 1 Cup-Winners Cup, 1 European Super Cup and 1 Intercontinental Cup!! He scored 68 goals in 147 appearances for Juventus and for France it was 41 goals in 72 caps.

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NOVEMBER

UEFA Champions League Group G

Lineup - Blanco, Romano, De Ligt (Perez), Papetti, Renan Lodi, Castrovilli (Redjradj), Brescianini, Jones*, Grealish, Villar, Liberio (Carmo)

We secure our place in the knockout stages with this win. Brescianini scored early on to open his account for the club while Curtis Jones finally put in a standout performance with 2 goals. I rested a couple of players here so to win so comfortably is pleasing.

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Lineup - Blanco, Aguilar, De Ligt (Bornauw), Papetti, Renan Lodi, Castrovilli (Brescianini), Baldursson, Neto*, Jones (Grealish), Chiesa, Liberio

Atalanta are surprisingly bottom of the table and we showed them up here as we smashed 6 goals past them. We were utterly dominant yet still managed to concede 2 goals from 3 attempts at goal! Atalanta sacked their manager immediately after this match.

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Lineup - Blanco, Aguilar, De Ligt, Papetti, Renan Lodi (Mendes) (Grealish), Castrovilli, Baldursson, Neto*, Jones, Chiesa, Liberio

This is a good win but it came at such a cost as both of my left backs - Renan Lodi and Nuno Mendes - got injured and will be out for 2 months. Now this causes me no end of problems as we have just hit our stride having scored 15 goals in our last 3 league games and I have no other choice but to change our formation until the new year!!!!

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UEFA Champions League Group G

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Bornauw, Brescianini, Tongya, Redjradj, Grealish, Castro (Vincent), Villar (Maldini), Carmo*

With us having already qualified I decided to play my backups to trial my new enforced formation. It is a 3-1-2-3-1 formation so basically I have taken away my 2 full backs and added a CB and a DMC instead. Carmo and Grealish certainly liked the formation as they both scored 2 goals. Partizan Belgrade sacked their manager after this match for what it is worth.

--

Lineup - Blanco, Bornauw, Perez, Papetti, Brescianini, Castrovilli, Baldursson, Neto*, Jones, Chiesa (Grealish), Carmo

My first teamers had a go at my new formation for the first time and they managed to keep up our recent goalscoring form with another 4 goals. That is 5, 6, 4 and 4 goals scored in each of our last 4 league games respectively.

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SUMMARY

Despite the excellent results and goals scored this month is all about two words.....

PEDRO NETO!!!!!!!!!!!

He has been absolutely immense and in his last 5 matches he has scored 4 goals, got 9 assists and picked up 4 MOM awards!!! He has been stupendous and I cant remember having a winger that had numbers like that in such a short space of time.

We were on fire this month as we won all of our matches and were banging in the goals (21 in 5 games) and I even had to change formation halfway through the month as my only 2 LBs got injured but so far my side has adapted to my 3-1-2-3-1 formation quite well. I picked that formation as I had 3 top quality CBs and I wanted to keep my attacking midfield 3 and my striker up front in the same positions so Brescianini will be used as DMC and Perez will come in for Aguilar.

It is a shame for Aguilar as he has been great but this formation does not fit in any full backs but he will be back when either Mendes or Renan Lodi will be back unless we keep up our goalscoring form!!!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
PEDRO NETO

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

Giovanni Trapattoni

Having had a playing career with AC Milan, Trapattoni had 2 managerial spells with Juventus. He spent 10 years between 1976-86 and then another 3 years between 1991-94. Overall with the club he won 6 Serie A titles, 2 Coppa Italias, 1 European Cup, 1 Cup-Winners Cup, 2 UEFA Cups, 1 European Super Cup and 1 Intercontinental Cup!!!

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DECEMBER

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt*, Perez, Papetti, Brescianini, Castrovilli (Tongya), Baldursson, Grealish, Jones, Chiesa, Liberio (Carmo)

Frustrating. Lazio offered nothing and in the first half we pressed and were asking questions while Liberio had a goal disallowed but in the 2nd half both teams seemed to be content to play out a 0-0 draw.

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UEFA Champions League Group C

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Bornauw, Brescianini, Redjradj, Tongya, Grealish*, Castro (Vincent), Villar (Maldini), Carmo

We win to secure 6 wins from 6 in the group. Carmo scored both goals to take his tally up to 9 for the season which is half decent for the young lad.

--

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Papetti*, Brescianini, Castrovilli, Baldursson (Tongya), Neto, Jones, Chiesa (Grealish), Liberio (Carmo)

We were back in amongst the goals in the league here as we put 4 past Genoa. We shared the goals around with 4 different scorers which was nice to see.

--

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Papetti, Brescianini, Castrovilli, Baldursson (Redjradj), Neto, Jones (Vincent), Chiesa (Villar), Liberio*

Another 4-1 victory with Papetti scoring again!! It was Liberio who shone the brightest however with 2 goals and his 2nd one was a well placed effort into the top corner from 20 yards. Torino sacked Albert Celades immediately after this match.

--

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt*, Perez (Bornauw), Papetti, Brescianini, Tongya, Baldursson, Neto (Grealish), Jones, Chiesa, Liberio (Kean)

This is a humungous victory. Not only is it our first win against a top side but it was fully deserved too. Tongya's weak effort somehow found the net and when De Ligt scored it was game over. We go into 2027 top of Serie A!!!

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SUMMARY

I am delighted with how this month went as we played some thrilling stuff again in this 3-1-2-3-1 formation although my 2 left backs will soon be back so I will have a decision to make then.

In the league it was goals galore (apart from our 0-0 draw with Lazio) as we put 4 past Genoa and Torino before beating Inter Milan 2-0 in a huge fixture. All that means we end 2026 top of the table by 1pt with a game in hand so that is great.

In the Champions League we defeated Shakhtar 2-0 to finish off the group stage but we were given a horror draw in the knockout stages as we will come up against Paris Saint-Germain. That is not good!!!!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MATTHIJS DE LIGT

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

Fabrizio Ravanelli

The silver haired striker played for 4 seasons (1992-96) at Juventus and he was a lethal goalscorer with 41 goals in 111 matches. He scored Juventus' goal in the Champions League final after a defensive mix up and he also won 1 Serie A, 1 Coppa Italia and 1 UEFA Cup.

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JANUARY

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Papetti, Brescianini, Castrovilli (Tongya), Baldursson (Redjradj), Neto*, Jones, Grealish (Villar), Liberio

We start 2027 with a win over Salernitana with Neto and Liberio netting the goals. It is now 9 league games without a defeat of which 8 have been victories.

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Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Papetti, Brescianini, Castrovilli (Tongya), Baldursson, Neto*, Jones, Grealish (Villar), Liberio

A win against the bottom side of the league with Neto and Liberio grabbing the goals yet again. I am however a bit annoyed that we conceded 2 goals.

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Coppa Italia 1st Round

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Papetti, Brescianini, Castrovilli, Baldursson (Tongya), Neto, Jones (Castro), Villar*, Liberio

We March into the quarter-finals with victory here. Liberio continues to score while Jones netted a penalty and Villar scored with a fine individual effort to open his account for the season. Fiorentina will be our opponents in the next round.

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Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Papetti, Brescianini, Castrovilli, Baldursson, Neto*, Jones, Villar (Renan Lodi), Liberio (Carmo)

There it is - I have decided - I am sticking with this 3-1-2-3-1 formation with this team. We easily beat Napoli away from home and looked quite convincing in doing so. Neto excelled although a goalkeeping error gifted him his 2nd.

The problem with sticking with this new formation is that I have 4 full backs in the squad who wont be needed including my £69m signing Renan Lodi although he can play LW.

--

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt*, Perez, Papetti (Bornauw), Pobega (Brescianini), Castrovilli, Baldursson, Neto, Jones, Chiesa (Renan Lodi), Liberio

My latest signing, Pobega, made his debut here and he wasnt great lol but the team as a whole were - especially Liberio. He ended up with 2 goals and had a magical goal disallowed which denied him a hat-trick.

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Coppa Italia Quarter-Final

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt*, Perez, Papetti, Pobega, Castrovilli (Tongya), Brescianini, Neto (Romana), Jones (Vincent), Chiesa, Liberio

Another game and another win and it is 16 wins from our last 17 matches in all competitions. This was a tough game to watch as the pitch was covered in snow, we wore our black shirt and they wore white so I had no idea what was happening lol.

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SUMMARY

A perfect month with 6 wins out of 6 so I have no complaints. Currently we must be the most in form team in Europe and that bodes well for the Champions League I hope. Fixture wise we didnt have any real tough fixtures but they all had to be won and win we did so I am delighted with my side.

There was a fair bit of transfer activity during the month. I had agreed to sign 3 regens previously but I will ignore them so I will go onto player sales. Firstly Daniel Maldini left to join Atalanta for £13m (£16m). He wasnt part of my plans but will be remembered for his goal in our comeback against Partizan Belgrade. When I decided to stick with the 3-1-2-3-1 formation it meant that I had no need for full backs so when Arsenal bid £30m for Kluiverth Aguilar I was happy to accept. He is a good player and I would normally not sell a player of his age or quality but he just didnt fit into my plans.

I signed 2 players for the first team - both Italian and both for £30m plus!

Having decided to stick with my formation I realised I only had 1 DMC in Brescianini so I needed to bring in one and the man was Tommaso Pobega who came in from Cagliari for £30m. He looks like a decent player and I hope he can do well. Brescianini wasnt playing badly at all so he better hit the ground running!

Then on deadline day I realised that I needed to strengthen the CB position so I moved to sign Nicolo Danielli from Udinese for £35m. He is a great prospect for the CB position and he should have a great career in the future.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
PEDRO NETO

--

SERIE A

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[DecFM]

Curtis Jones finally starting to bag for you. Neto looks a beast like.

 

[Lunde82]

Awesome story as always Would you mind sharing your new tactic? I've been looking for a good 3CB tactic for a while now, and I can`t seem to figure out a working one for myself.

 

[Klippybo]

Marcello Lippi

Lippi was manager of Juventus when they won the Champions League and he had 2 spells as manager between 1994-99 and 2001-04. In all he won several trophies alongside the Champions League - 5 Serie A titles, 1 Coppa Italia, alongside a host of Super Cups both at home and abroad!

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FEBRUARY

Coppa Italia Semi-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Papetti*, Pobega (Brescianini), Castrovilli, Baldursson, Neto, Jones, Chiesa (Grealish), Liberio (Carmo)

We werent at our best here and were very fortunate to escape with a score draw as they had Adama Traore sent off in the last minute and then minutes later we salvaged a draw when Papetti headed in a free-kick.

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Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez (Danielli), Papetti, Pobega, Castrovilli, Baldursson (Redjradj), Neto*, Jones, Chiesa, Liberio

Despite falling behind early doors we came back to win this game thanks to 2 quick fire goals from Liberio and Castrovilli. Our first goal was a thing of beauty as Liberio latched onto a through ball to finish off a fine team move.

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Coppa Italia Semi-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Blanco, Bornauw, Perez (Danielli), Papetti, Pobega (Brescianini), Castrovilli*, Baldursson, Neto, Jones (Grealish), Chiesa, Liberio

We reach the final with this fine victory. There were 3 goals in the opening 13min and fortunately we had 2 of them and when Jones converted a penalty just before half-time it was tie over. We will play Cagliari in the final.

--

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Papetti, Pobega, Brescianini, Tongya, Neto* (Grealish), Jones, Chiesa (Renan Lodi), Liberio (Carmo)

Lowly Empoli went into a shock lead here but 2 goals in as many minutes from Nehuen Perez and Marco Brescianini had us in front. Then my former player at Hamburg, Moritz Heyer got sent-off, Jones converted a late penalty and then Empoli had a 2nd man sent-off. They pretty much self imploded.

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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Papetti, Pobega, Castrovilli (Brescianini), Baldursson, Neto, Jones (Villar), Chiesa, Liberio (Carmo)

I am delighted with this result as it puts us in with a decent chance of progressing. We were helped early doors when Mbappe went off injured and he will miss the 2nd leg probably which is a huge boost. Anywho we took the lead through Chiesa but we were soon pegged back. We missed a couple of clear cut chances with Neto squandering a 1-on-1 in stoppage time infuriatingly.

PSG have built a side akin to the Harlem Globetrotters - Demir, Gabriel Jesus, Mbappe, Camavinga, Felix, Doku, Akhomach, Cherki, Pogba, Robertson amongst others.

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Lineup - Blanco, Danielli, Perez, Papetti, Pobega, Castrovilli, Baldursson (Tongya), Neto, Jones, Chiesa (Renan Lodi), Liberio (Carmo)

After 14 league games unbeaten and 9 wins in a row the run is ended as Roma turn up at the Juventus Stadium and turn us over to do the double over us in the league. We just didnt turn up tbh and I suppose I can take some comfort that we knocked them out of the Coppa Italia. The first defeat we have suffered since I changed formation.

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Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt*, Perez, Papetti, Pobega (Brescianini), Castrovilli, Baldursson, Neto (Grealish), Jones, Chiesa, Liberio (Kean)

We bounce back with a win and I think already I have wasted a **** ton of money on Pobega. Maybe he is just struggling to fit in but Brescianini will be back as my first choice DMC now.

--

Lineup - Blanco, Danielli, Perez, Papetti, Brescianini, Castrovilli (Redjradj), Baldursson, Neto, Jones (Grealish), Chiesa (Villar), Liberio*

Brescianini showed why I should never have dropped him in the first place with yet another goal here. 3 goals in 4 league games for a DMC is not too bad lol. Liberio was the star however with 2 goals.

--

SUMMARY

We go into the business end of the season in fine fettle. Despite losing a game against Roma which dented our lead at the top of the table all is going swimmingly. We qualified for the Coppa Italia final after knocking-out Roma and in the league we won 4 and but lost 1 however we have a 4pt lead at the top of the table.
ourselves up and dusted ourselves off to win our next 2 league games away from home.

In the Champions League we drew 1-1 away with PSG which was a great result but I dont know if they had an off day tbh and although we have the slightest of advantages going into the 2nd leg we still have a big job to do.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MARCO BRESCIANINI

--

SERIE A

​

 

[Klippybo]

Awesome story as always Would you mind sharing your new tactic? I've been looking for a good 3CB tactic for a while now, and I can`t seem to figure out a working one for myself.

It is the same as my 4-2-3-1 except take away the full backs and add another CB and A DMC!

 

[Klippybo]

MARCH

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Papetti, Pobega, Brescianini (Vincent), Baldursson (Redjradj), Neto, Jones (Mannai), Chiesa, Liberio

Our 3rd away league match in a row and a 3rd win but it came at a cost as Chiesa got injured and will be out for about a month which is a huge blow. He ended his recent goal drought though.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Papetti, Brescianini, Castrovilli, Baldursson (Radjradj), Neto (Renan Lodi*), Jones (Pobega), Grealish, Liberio

WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Into the quarter-finals we go after a narrow victory here. Renan Lodi is the hero as he came off the bench to grab the winner. PSG then rallied but we held on to knock them out of the competition. By doing so it shows that we can compete with the very best and we should fear nobody.

--

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt*, Perez, Papetti, Pobega, Castrovilli, Brescianini, Neto (Romana), Jones (Castro), Grealish (Renan Lodi), Liberio

I am pleased with this win as we gain revenge on our defeat to Milan earlier in the season. A defensive howler allowed Castrovilli to open the scoring and we were given a late penalty which allowed Brescianini to settle things in our favour. He now has 4 goals in his last 6 Serie A matches!

--

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Papetti*, Brescianini, Castrovilli, Baldursson (Tongya), Neto (Romana), Jones, Grealish, Liberio (Carmo)

This was a boring snoozefest with only a Papetti goal being the talking point in the match. This win secures our Champions League place for next season and a transfer budget of £139m has been handed out to me.

--

SUMMARY

We kept the positive momentum going this month as we won all 4 matches with the highlight being our 2-1 victory over PSG to see us progress in the Champions League. Who did we draw in the next round? - ****** BORUSSIA DORTMUND!!!!!! We will come up against my former side and holders of the competition and they havent signed a single player since I left so they are probably stronger than last year as the younger players like Mauersberger, Khoza, Edmilson etc would have improved.

In the league a victory over AC Milan was pleasing and we have a 6pt lead at the top of the table with 9 matches left to play. We still have to play Inter Milan though so it is not done and dusted yet.

The youth intake was so so with a young keeper being the standout player.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANDREA PAPETTI

--

SERIE A

​

 

[Klippybo]

APRIL

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Papetti, Brescianini, Castrovilli, Baldursson, Neto, Jones, Chiesa (Grealish), Liberio (Carmo)

Not good enough. Bottom side Pescara steal a point off us here thanks to a wonderful goal from Andre Almeida as he volleyed in from 20 yards. We werent good enough however and we have to step it up several levels in our next match!!

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Blanco, Danielli, Perez, Papetti, Pobega, Castrovilli (Tongya), Brescianini, Neto (Grealish), Jones, Chiesa (Renan Lodi), Liberio*

WHAT A COMEBACK!!!!!

We bounce back from 2-0 down (could have been 3 as they had one disallowed on the 26th minute) to win this match. At 2-0 down I was looking at another year in Turin but my players put in a spirited performance to battle back and give us an advantage for the 2nd leg. Their 2 away goals is a worry though.

Brescianini deserves a special mention for his goal as he rifled in a shot from 30 yards.

--

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Danielli, Brescianini, Castrovilli (Tongya), Baldursson, Neto*, Jones (Redjradj), Chiesa, Liberio (Carmo)

We dominated this game but ironically didnt create much clear cut chances. As it was Baldursson opened the scoring with an angled drive and Carmo broke free late on to put the game beyond doubt. Inter Milan lost to Cagliari so our lead is back up to 7pts now.

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Perez, Papetti, Brescianini, Castrovilli (Pobega), Baldursson, Neto (Grealish), Jones, Chiesa (Renan Lodi), Liberio

Through but phew!!!!! This was an entertaining match which Dortmund probably had the better of but Blanco was superb in goal and largely kept them out. We scored a goal on the counter attack through Liberio and soon after Grealish had a goal disallowed. They then equalised and pushed forward but we go into the semis 4-3 on aggregate.

--

Lineup - Blanco, Danielli (Bornauw), Perez, Papetti, Pobega, Castrovilli, Brescianini, Neto (Grealish), Jones, Chiesa, Liberio (Carmo)

Pathetic!!!!

Verona are 2nd bottom and they beat us here and we can have no complaints. We were terrible and sorely missed De Ligt who needed a rest. Embarrassing.

--

Coppa Italia Final

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt*, Danielli, Papetti, Brescianini, Castrovilli (Tongya), Baldursson, Neto, Jones (Grealish), Chiesa, Liberio (Kean)

We win the Coppa Italia but I am not happy with the performance. We were lacklustre and fortunately had a Curtis Jones penalty and a clean sheet to steer us to victory. Jones has scored a penalty in 4 of our 5 Coppa Italia matches so maybe I shouldnt be surprised lol.

--

Lineup - Blanco, Mendes*, Danielli, Papetti (Bornauw), Pobega, Castrovilli, Brescianini, Grealish, Jones (Mannai), Chiesa, Liberio (Carmo)

Another poor performance and another game won thanks to a penalty. Brescianini was the man to tuck it away late on but we are really struggling for goals at the moment. Nuno Mendes came in from nowhere to get a game and he duly picked up the MOM award.

--

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Danielli, Papetti, Brescianini*, Castrovilli (Pobega), Baldursson, Neto (Villar), Grealish, Chiesa, Liberio (Carmo)

Thank god for penalties!!!!!

On 77min when Brescianini put us 2-0 up from the penalty spot we had one foot in the final but inexplicably we were pegged back to 2-2. Fortunately however we were awarded another penalty and Brescianini kept his cool to put it away and we have a slender lead heading into the 2nd leg.

--

SUMMARY

This has been a difficult month. In the Champions League we are doing fine as we managed to beat Borussia Dortmund 4-3 on aggregate to make it into the semis and despite blowing a 2 goal lead late on we have a 1 goal advantage heading into the 2nd leg so I am hopeful that we can reach the final.

Domestically we have been absolutely terrible. We are really struggling to score goals that arent penalties. Bottom side Pescara got a point against us, we lost to 2nd bottom Verona but we did manage to beat Sassuolo and Lazio thankfully. We have a 6pt lead at the top with 5 to play so we are nearly there but it seems as though we are going to crawl over the finishing line.

We did win the Coppa Italia by beating Cagliari 1-0 with yet another penalty being our way of scoring the winning goal. The performance just wasnt there.

Liberio, Chiesa and Neto have been really poor of late. De Ligt and Baldursson seem to need a rest after every other game and Curtis Jones needs a rest for a few weeks so physically and mentally we are struggling a bit. If my forward players can click again then we will be fine but at the moment it isnt looking likely.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MARCO BRESCIANINI

--

SERIE A

​

 

[Klippybo]

MAY

Lineup - Blanco, Mendes, Danielli, Papetti, Pobega, Tongya, Brescianini (Redjradj), Neto (Romana), Grealish, Chiesa (Renan Lodi), Liberio*

Thats much better!!!!!!! Liberio ended his domestic scoring drought by bagging a double and Chiesa rounded things off. Genoa are bottom of the form table so I decided to take a chance and rest a few players for the upcoming match against Arsenal as after all that is the important match.

--

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Blanco*, De Ligt, Danielli, Mendes, Brescianini, Castrovilli, Baldursson (Pobega), Chiesa (Tongya), Jones, Grealish (Renan Lodi), Liberio

Into the final we go as Arsenal are comfortably swept aside. Tbh both of the sides have similar qualities and fortunately it was us who won through. Grealish opened the scoring and Castrovilli re-directed a Chiesa shot into the net and that was enough.

--

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Danielli, Papetti, Brescianini (Pobega), Castrovilli, Baldursson, Neto, Jones (Grealish), Chiesa* (Villar), Liberio

A fine strike from Federico Chiesa wins us the Turin derby and moves us to within 1pt of winning the Serie A title as we are 9pts clear with 3 games to go.

--

Lineup - Blanco, De Ligt, Danielli, Papetti, Pobega, Brescianini, Tongya (Redjradj), Neto (Romana), Jones*, Chiesa, Liberio (Kean)

CHAMPIONS!!!!!

We win the Serie A title with arguably our best performance of the season. Of our 5 goals 3 were world class. Brescianini with a long range effort, Curtis Jones with a 30 yard free-kick into the top corner and Romana with a 25 yard effort into the top corner.

I can now rest my players in the final 2 league games in preparation for the Champions League final against Chelsea which should hopefully give us an advantage.

--

Lineup - Blanco, Romana, Bornauw, Mendes, Renan Lodi, Pobega, Tongya (Vincent), Grealish (Mannai), Redjradj (Castro), Villar, Carmo

I reverted back to my 4-2-3-1 formation here as that fit my backup players well. We were well beaten but we were competitive and scored twice and overall we werent embarrassed so I am not too upset.

--

Lineup - Blanco, Romana, Bornauw, Mendes, Renan Lodi, Pobega, Tongya, Grealish*, Redjradj (Mannai), Villar (Vincent), Carmo (Kean)

A nice way to end the season as we score 4 goals past Salernitana with my backups and that takes our goal tally in Serie A up to 96. Grealish starred with 2 goals, including a free-kick while Bornauw and VIncent chipped in with the other 2 goals even though I have already agreed to sell them in the summer.

--

UEFA Champions League Final

Lineup - Blanco*, De Ligt, Danielli, Papetti, Brescianini, Castrovilli, Baldursson, Neto (Grealish), Jones (Redjradj), Chiesa (Renan Lodi), Liberio

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

Chelsea have one of the strongest squads in Europe but they were poor here in all honesty and Baldursson's 10th minute header was enough for us to win the trophy. They did miss a load of chances mind you and Blanco played well so maybe they werent poor lol.

I dont care!!!!

--

SUMMARY

Well we did it!!!! The final month of the season saw us lift both the Serie A title and the Champions League trophy which of course was the main one. In the league we beat Genoa and Torino before crushing Atalanta 5-0 to become champions with a performance worthy of champions. That meant I could rest my players in the following 2 league matches and although we lost 4-2 to Inter we rounded off the domestic campaign with a comfortable 4-1 win over Salernitana.

90% of our focus however was on the Champions League. We reached the final by defeating Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates and that set up a final against Chelsea at the Nou Camp. We edged them out 1-0 thanks to a Baldursson goal and although we rode our luck at times we hung on to claim the trophy.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
BENJAMIN BLANCO

​

 

[Klippybo]

END OF SEASON POST

My first year in Italy is over and done with and it was a hugely successful one. We won the domestic double and added the Champions League to boot to make it my 4th time as European Champions. Domestically we did as was expected but we excelled in Europe and although by no means do I have a world class squad, my starting XI was pretty **** hot and that proved to be enough.

I suppose at the end of the day I took charge of Juventus, spent over £300m and won trophies - not a surprise!

Arguably the main talking point was that for the first time in years I was shocked into a formation change. Both my LBs picked up significant injuries at the same time so I experimented with an untried 3-1-2-3-1 formation and things just clicked. Sure we were short in defensive areas but I had several great CBs to make up for that and my saying is that if the opposition dont have the ball they cant score and that proved to be the case. It did mean sacrificing my full backs in the squad though and I had spent over £80m in that area alone...........

In Serie A we had an ok start with 2 defeats in our opening 9 games but considering we only went on to lose another 3 and 1 of those were when I played my backups against Inter with the league already being haven won it was our sticky patch. Our 2nd defeat was around the same time when my LBs got injured and the tactical switch happened and the goals started flying in from everywhere and we put together a 14 match unbeaten run. We were usually top by 5-7pts so it was never really in any danger and we sealed the title with a 5-0 win over Atalanta with 2 games left to play.

In the Coppa Italia we werent great but we won it lol. In 4 of our games, including the final against Cagliari which we won 1-0, Curtis Jones scored a penalty. It was a decent achievement but we stumbled our way there apart from a 3-1 win against Roma in the 2nd leg of the semis.

Now for the Champions League. Like last season with Dortmund we actually won it without losing a single match!!!! We were close to losing our opening group match against Partizan Belgrade though as we came back from 3-0 down at half-time to win 4-3 and I did not think that we would be able to win the cup then. We easily won our group though and then got a nightmare draw against Paris Saint-Germain. They, along with maybe Liverpool and Chelsea were the top sides in the competition and after a 1-1 draw over there we beat them 2-1 at the Juventus Stadium with Renan Lodi netting the winner. That gave us belief.

My old side Borussia Dortmund were up next and we just edged them out 4-3 on aggregate and then in the semis we got a fairly kind draw against Arsenal and we beat them home and away to go through 5-2 on aggregate. That left Chelsea and we just sneaked it 1-0 thanks to a Baldursson header and it was done!!!!

--

SERIE A

--

SQUAD

Goalkeepers - I signed the Argentinian wonderkid, Benjamin Blanco, from Fulham for £27.5m and he did very well, especially towards the end of the season. We had a period when we were struggling to score and he along with my defence and referees awarding us penalties helped us edge a host of games.

Defenders - The strongest area of the squad. Matthijs De Ligt is the best CB in the world and he showed it this season. I signed Papetti in the summer from Arsenal for £33m and he was also magnificent with 7 goals and he is now one of the best in Europe. My 3rd CB was Nehuen Perez and he did very well while my January signing, Nicolo Danielli impressed towards the end of the season. Bornauw hardly featured. When I was playing with full backs Aguilar was my RB and was excellent but he was a casualty of the formation change and left in January while Renan Lodi, my biggest signing at £65m was just a sub for the 2nd half of the season which was unfortunate.

Midfielders - One of my favourite players in the save so far, Marco Brescianini, was brought in from my former side Hamburg and he was my DMC and he was immense as he netted 10 times. I brought Pobega in from Cagliari in January for £30m and after a terrible start he came into form thankfully. Castrovilli and Baldursson were my CMs of choice and they were decent, picking up the odd goal here and there with Baldursson scoring the only goal in the Champions League final - I have never heard of him before tbh.

Curtis Jones, after a slow start, made the AMC position his own and he scored 13 goals with a fair few being penalties including the winner in the Coppa Italia final. Pedro Neto was my RW and for the first half of the season he was just insane but he went off the boil after Christmas and although his numbers are great it could have been so much better. Federico Chiesa was my LW and like Neto, he started the season on fire before fading away although he did pick up in the final month or two in the season.

Jack Grealish played an important part either as a starter or as a sub and he can hold his head high but the rest all got games but didnt make an impression like Villar, Tongya, Vincent, Castro etc.

Forwards - I paid Atalanta £53m for Danilo Liberio and that proved to be money well spent. The Italian wonderkid netted 23 times but he did have a rough patch and his overall performances need to step up a bit but that wont be my problem. I was impressed with Joao Carmo who was his backup as the young Portuguese forward scored a dozen goals but the least said about Moise Kean the better........

My Player of the Year - Matthijs De Ligt
My Young Player of the Year - Danilo Liberio
Must Do Better - Tommaso Pobega
Donkey of the Season - Moise Kean

--

FUTURE PLANS

Well I have already resigned as manager of Juventus in the hope that a future destination will become available. The Barcelona job is up for grabs after Luis Enrique inexplicably left Barcelona to manage Spurs. A few more dodgy decisions like that around Europes biggest clubs wouldnt go amiss!!!

I would like to manage in England one day lol and obviously Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are targets along with the 2 Milan clubs but tbh I wouldnt be averse to having a longer challenge next like with Ajax, Marseille or one of the Portuguese clubs tbh. Who knows.

I have to admit that this last season wasnt as enjoyable but that was down to my squad I think. Barcelona was meh also but I loved building my Hamburg side and my Dortmund side were immense so it is all about the players I think. My time at Juventus proved fruitful though as I discovered a new formation and to help set them up I arranged to sign Castrovilli permanently plus an Italian wonderkid striker and Yves Verschaeren from Anderlecht.​

 

[Klippybo]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dont worry it is not the end of the save but on game date 18th of December 2027 I have done something that I really didnt want to do. Not ever really but needs must.

I have a new job. In the summer I was offered the jobs of Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid but I couldnt accept those. Red Star Belgrade was available but that challenge doesnt interest me yet. So I have went 6 months or so without a serious opportunity. I have noticed that Bayern Munich are toiling and that may come up but then finally a future destination in a decent league has become available and I have swallowed my pride to join them...........

--

I AM THE NEW ASTON VILLA MANAGER!!!!!

Now lets set things straight. As a Newcastle fan I ******* hate Aston Villa!!!! Cant stand them. One of my best mates supports them and when I posted the screenshot of my announcement I made his year (bearing in mind it is only February lol) and no doubt I will be getting ribbed off him at work while this situation is occurring.

Villa since 2020 have been relegated once and have been battling relegation ever since and currently they are 17th in the Premier League - even ahead of my beloved Newcastle who got promoted last season.....

So I take over the club in a similar situation to when I took over at Hamburg however my heart is really not in this job and I will tell you now that the moment a better job becomes available I will be all over that but we shall see what happens. This is my squad that I have to work with initially....

I have some decent players to work with like Louie Sibley, Noni Madueke, Teden Mengi and Michael Obafemi however there is one future world class player in the shape and form of Sulayman Saho. He will be the rock that I will build my side around.....

--

WHY AM I HERE?

Aston Villa won the European Cup in 1982 when they beat Bayern Munich 1-0 with a goal from former Newcastle striker Peter Withe. It is what it is so I better get on with it. Come on Bayern sack your manager!!!!!!​

 

[Klippybo]

Villa Park

DECEMBER

Lineup - Owusu-Oduro, Laird, Mengi, Foyth, Perez, Saho, Sibley, Madueke (Egberts), Ramsey, De Rooij (Watkins*), Obafemi

My first game in charge ends in victory but I can see that much work needs to be done. I have already tried to offer Watkins out to other clubs but he came off the bench to score the winner and claim the MOM award.

--

Lineup - Owusu-Oduro, Laird, Mengi, Foyth, Perez, Saho (McGinn), Sibley (Egberts), Madueke, Ramsey, De Rooij (Watkins), Obafemi

We did ourselves proud here and could have got a point tbh but Liverpool are where we want to get to. That being said, Aston Villa got beat so I am happy lol.

--

SUMMARY

Just a mini post as we only had 2 games to end 2027. We beat Bristol City away which was a good result and then we performed well in a narrow defeat to Liverpool. I have already agreed to sell a few players including John McGinn and I have around £60m to strengthen the squad which is pretty decent but there are several players required so I will have to box clever.
​