Ultimate Champions League Challenge

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With all the BaP's going around I was struggling to find a save I could get into. I had a look on the internet for some challenges that might interest me and found this one: http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot...ybos-ultimate-champions-league-challenge.html

Winning the Champions League with 22 different clubs - that'll keep me going until FM16 comes out.

I had originally just planned to do it as a normal save but then after a few seasons (3) i decided it might make a good story. There is one change that I've applied to my story. If a team who haven't won the CL yet IRL (like Arsenal or PSG) win it in-game then they are added to the list of teams I have to win it with.

I'll keep an updated list of teams below for reference - or if anyone else wants to try it.

So here it is - as I said, I've already done the first 3 seasons and got my first win so I'll add updates for them and then do monthly updates afterwards. Appreciate any feedback as this is my first manager story :)

EDIT: Points
Win with Bayern - 5
Win with Porto -15
Win with Dortmund - 15
Unbeaten CL campaign - Dortmund - 5
Win with Barca - 5
Most CL wins of any manager - 10
TOTAL: 55
 
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Here's the list of teams to have won it. If the team is in bold - I've won it with them and i'll show the year (and page number).

Real Madrid
AC Milan
Liverpool
Barcelona - 2020 (Page 7)
Bayern Munich - 2016 (Page 1)
Inter Milan
Hamburg
Steaua Bucharest
Feyenoord
Marseille
Porto - 2018 (Page 4)
PSV
Ajax
Benfica
Red Star Belgrade
Aston Villa
Celtic
Manchester United
Chelsea
Nottingham Forest
Borussia Dortmund - 2019 (Page 6)
Juventus

​
 
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2014-15

My first club was....
View attachment 263577
BAYERN MUNICH
​

I know I took the easy way out going for Bayern first but I thought it might be better to let the other teams develop a bit before I take over them.

The league was hardly going to be a problem so I focused more on the Champions League...

Signings wise I didn't do much, bringing in Bonucci, Meyer, Konoplyanka and Lacazette - all to add depth to the squad

Fixtures:
View attachment 263567View attachment 263566View attachment 263565

As you can see, I won - a lot. I knew there would be tougher challenges ahead but I honestly thought I would win this in one season.

Bundesliga:
View attachment 263555
Yeh, pretty easy - no-one was a problem and I won it with 8 games to go - Is that a record?
The unbeaten season was nice, although nearly ruined by me resting most of the first team for the last few games

DFB-Pokal
View attachment 263554
After what happened in the Champions League i wanted a performance here - even if it is against a weaker opponent. We delivered alright, showing our dominance to the extent where I got annoyed when we conceded...

Champions League - smashing teams everywhere in Germany is nice but this is what we're after.
View attachment 263539
Honestly, I don't know how this happened. The first leg was basically just Messi deciding to bring us down to Earth. Dante vs Messi is a mismatch, and Boateng vs Messi is like IRL.
Second leg i thought we could just get a win to salvage some pride. Then we go 3-0 up inside 10 minutes. Then Messi steps in again... :(
Next season, Next season...
 
2015-16

View attachment 263537
Season 2: Our revenge

This season the aim was simple: Win everything
They were my board's objectives as well... and they backed me with a whopping £104m transfer budget
​

I soon realised that i needed better signings in certain areas to keep up with Real Madrid and Barca..
So I got rid of players like Ribery, Javi Martinez, Benatia and Thiago and replaced them with better quality..
I signed: Pogba, Vidal, Laporte, Depay, De Sciglio, Modric and Cuadrado.

After all that the squad looked much bulkier and a bit forward heavy (like United).

Fixtures:
View attachment 263536View attachment 263535View attachment 263534
​
Again, a lot of green and this time we gave out some right smashings (8-1 to Leverkusen, 7-1 to Malmo, 7-0 to Bremen).

Bundesliga:
View attachment 263512
While we techincally got worse (1 point), it looks a lot closer because the other teams were a lot more consistent - meaning i had to play full strength sides for the majority of the season. Also nice to break the 100 goal barrier.

DFB-Pokal:
I wasn't so fussed about it this time and used the opportunity to play some of the youngsters in the sqaud
View attachment 263511
Still, a win is a win - and credit to Hamburg St. Pauli for getting to the final (and losing by less to a full strength side than Leverkusen did)

Champions League:
This time i felt ready - the squad might be forward heavy but so are most of Europe's top teams
View attachment 263510
We were helped along the way by Roma knocking Real Madrid out and Liverpool beating Barca.
And (no offence Liverpool fans) but i was glad to see Liverpool in final instead of Barca/Real. Easy win and number 1 in the bag.

Tougher challenges await but it's good to get the first one in the bag!
 
2016-17

I had originally planned to resign as soon as I won the Champions League but there were no jobs available at the other 21 teams. So i stayed. The board backed me with £150m this time and somewhat mistakenly, I spent it - making it harder for me in the future -_-

In came Koke, Ricardo Rodriguez, Kovacic, Reus and Hummels. I started the season and it was normal service.
View attachment 263504View attachment 263503
The highlighted Stuttgart match turned out to be my last as Bayern manager as a new job finally became available. I resigned immediately (mainly because my compensation would probably cost as much as a sh!te player - in other words a few million at least). I applied, and thankfully got the job.



View attachment 263500
F.C. Internazionale Milano!

This was always going to be tougher than Bayern - especially considering the lack of European football.
The squad isn't bad - Thiago, Shaqiri, Icardi, Salah, Dragovic, Zaza - all of whom I was in danger of losing with Inter languishing in 16th!

I had a couple of months to assess the players and to strengthen in January if necessary.​

Transfers:
View attachment 263499
Only the January transfers (and November releases) are mine.
The large transfer total is due to Kovacic having left for £40m


Armed with a succesful (at Bayern anyway) tactic and a break in most weeks what could i do to save this sleeping giant?

Fixtures:
View attachment 263498View attachment 263497
The Palermo defeats were my only defeats at Inter! (The Palermo game on the first screenshot was my first game). I don't know what the previous manager was struggling with (not Palermo).

Serie A: - was this surge in form enough for the title?
View attachment 263496
Not quite - we lose out on the final day (but we probably lost it with the draws at Juventus and Lazio)

Italian Cup:
View attachment 263495
At least we get silverware!

Players of the season: - Impossible to choose between these two
View attachment 263494View attachment 263493
Icardi just smashes in goals game after game and was top scorer with ease
Shaqiri was top of assists and average ratings tables - 7.87!

Next season will be tougher (and will be in monthly updates now) as i have been given a massive £975k transfer budget... Could be fun :)
 
Tempted to go for this, down the list in order :D

Probably start if my BaM starts losing a lot of managers.
 
Last edited:
yeah i did this last year very good save to do...but could try doing a challenge with the teams that got to the final but never won it
 
Job Interview

I stroll along the corridor, painted blue to reflect the club colours. There's a nice breeze from the air conditioning and i soon reach the door with 'Chairman' clearly written on a gold sign on the door. I knock.
'Come in' the voice has a heavy portuguese accent but is speaking in English. I open the door and stride in.
The chairman is small with a bald head and piercing eyes (at least that's what he looks like on FM).
We shake hands and sit down.

Chairman (Ch): So Aaron, what made you want to apply for this job?
Me: Personally, I wasn't going to apply for any jobs but an unforeseen predicament (FFP) caused me to have to resign from my previous post at Inter. I had a quick look at the jobs available and it was this or Fulham! In all seriousness I think that this is a big club stuck in a league that is too poor for it. You deserve more continental success and I am the man to bring it to you!
Ch: Yes I know you resigned from Inter. Why did you fail FFP? (never had this question before - never failed FFP before)
Me: The lying b***ards at Inter told me we would still pass FFP due to the sales of Kovacic and Juan Jesus. If i got the job here then I would double check the accounts every time.
Ch: I have some doubts about you due to you having never managed in this league before. Reassure me that you are the man for this club.
Me: I guided Bayern to an unbeaten season, I've won the Champions League and I can count with my fingers the number of times i have lost in my career. Screw José, I am the special one!
Ch: (Laughs) Can the Special one work with a £12m transfer budget?
Me:(I had looked at the squad beforehand and it looks pretty decent) I've seen the squad and I know where needs improving but I would probably need about £3m more.
Ch: And you're available on a free?
Me: Yes
Ch: You're hired

Next update is history and squad etc.
 
FCP Overview

View attachment 263301
FC Porto: Overview

Generally viewed as the strongest of the 3 big Portuguese teams, Porto have a trophy-laden history
View attachment 263300
They're always at the top end of the table - this doesn't include the 2016/17 season - i'll show that soon
View attachment 263299

Their facilities:
View attachment 263298

Squad:
View attachment 263297View attachment 263296
Very good (if slightly aging) squad for a Portuguese club, but weakened by the sale of Aboubakar mere days before my arrival. Replacing him is a priority.

Key Players:
View attachment 263284
Martinez is now our only recognised senior striker but is still good enough to bang them in at this level. While his physicals aren't as good as they used to be, he has good composure and concentration to add to his finishing. With 16 determination, he could also be a good tutor.
View attachment 263285
Nani is also getting on a bit, but is our best winger. Annoyingly inconsistent and injury-prone I will be looking for a replacement for him.
View attachment 263286
Sergi Roberto is probably our best creative mid with his best years ahead of him. Was surprised to find him at Porto but not complaining.
View attachment 263287
Our defence is probably our strongest part of the team and Maicon is the best defensively. A solid all rounder, he is wanted by a few teams.
View attachment 263288
He's still here :D

League Table - 2016/17
View attachment 263295
Mourinho returned for this one campaign - tough act to follow

​
 
First Porto signing!

View attachment 863398

Porto sign El Shaarawy!

Porto have today confirmed the signing of Stephan El Shaarawy for a fee of £6m from English Champions Manchester City.
El Shaarawy struggled to live up to the hype when he signed for the Citizens for £21m from AC Milan and was eventually transfer-listed prompting Weight to swoop.

El Shaarawy is said to be pleased to have the chance to rebuild his career at Porto.

Recent press reports are linking Porto with moves for Alen Haliliovic, Nathan, Jack Wilshere, Carles Planas, Jean-Marie Dongou, Fabio Borini, Mattia de Sciglio and a shock move for Mario Gotze (free transfer)​
 
Nice to see these storys popping up. Good stuff so far, hopefully Porto will bring you a quick title
 
Summer Transfer Window + August Update

View attachment 262793

Transfers + Expected Squad for the season.

The priorities here were to keep hold of the first team and get more strength in depth.

View attachment 262774
El Shaarawy was bought in to provide more quality on the wings
Dongou and Borini are cheap back-up options if Martinez gets injured
Mbaye is equally adept playing either side of the defence and I know from Inter that he is a very consistent player who is content with being a back-up
Velazquez and Gnabry were bought in to provide more of a spine to the team (Gnabry is also our second best AMR so...)
The only major out was done before I arrived but at least we got a decent fee for him


View attachment 262773
View attachment 262772
The squad looks strong and i have a few decent youngsters who can rotate in before big CL games.

Speaking of which..
View attachment 262770
Champions League Draw!!
We were seeded second so i hoped for a decent group.
Instead I got this..
View attachment 262768
The home games are going to be vital here. Hoping to get second behind Juventus.


View attachment 262767
We started off with the Supertaca against Maritimo..
View attachment 262766
An easy enough win, good to see El Shaarawy score on his debut.

View attachment 262765
Good solid opening game against the only team to beat Porto in the league last season. Nani was superb here and it looks like we need to keep him injury free (easier said than done).

Next up was Sporting Lisbon at home, this game came 3 days after the Superclasico de las Americas which Maicon, Danilo and Alex Sandro were all involved in so I had to play a makeshift defence...
View attachment 262764
The scoreline flatters us. Only 3 players really played well - Nani, Marinez and Ruben Neves.

PotM - Nani
View attachment 262755
No contest for this, Nani has been superb - MotM in both league games, 3 goals, 2 assists and fouled 10 times in those 2 games - was a late sub against Maritimo due to low fitness

Next month...
View attachment 262748
2 big games next month, the first 2 league games should be easy, then we start our CL campaign away at Monaco. While they have a good squad, it is aging and i'll look to take advantage of that.
Then the big one - Benfica at home

​
 
September


3 league games this month and the opening CL game. Let's see how it went...

View attachment 262425

First up was a repeat of the Supertaca against Maritimo
View attachment 262428
Stats wise we controlled the game well and 2 goals from Nani keep up our 100% record

Next was a game against one of our several feeder clubs, Vit. Setubal
View attachment 262427
This should've been won by more, we absolutely dominated them from start to finish. Still good to get the win and to see Ruben Neves get his first goal this season. In most other saves this would probably have been one of those really annoying defeats.

The final league game of the month was against Benfica. Everyone else played before us so we knew a win would see us 5 points clear already.
View attachment 262426
Benfica didn't turn up for the first 60 minutes and we duly took advantage. At half time I told Martinez i wasn't pleased with him so he came out and bullied the Benfica defense for the whole of the second half and was unlucky not to get more than one goal. After Benfica got one back it was a more open game, although we did look more likely to score again.

This left the league table looking like this after 5 games:
View attachment 262417
Probably need to get as far clear now as we can; if we get through the CL group stages then we'll have the Knockout round being played when we have the away games against Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and Braga

View attachment 262416
Matchday 1
We had our first game away at Monaco:
View attachment 262415
We were so, so lucky here. We didn't even deserve to score. Monaco completely outplayed us with Ferreira-Carrasco, Cazorla and Martial playing especially well. They were wasteful though and a world-class dive by Nani (even I could see it was a dive on FM...) got us the penalty to equalise. About 70 minutes in the team suddenly started playing well and we got the second equaliser and looked more likely to go and win it.

Juventus beat Ajax 1-0 in Turin leaving us 2nd in the group:
View attachment 262414

PotM: Nani
A few more contenders this time (El shaarawy, Martinez and Ruben Neves) but Nani is still the standout player. 2 goals and 3 assists in 4 games isn't as good as August's form but he's still the player i look to for the extra spark (i.e. against Monaco)
View attachment 262412

Next Month...
View attachment 262413
Another big league game against Braga followed by 2 games that will probably decide how we fare in the Champions League. We NEED to win both of them. The cup game will probably see some of the youngsters played.​
 
October

View attachment 262149
2 Vital CL games this month

First though..
View attachment 262147
3 league games and a chance to extend our lead. First up was Braga at home.
View attachment 262146
Another comfortable win against one of our rivals. We had 2 goals disallowed as well. We could probably go unbeaten easily at this rate.

The next game was away at Vit. Guimares just 3 days after the Juventus game in the CL. I rotated the squad a bit, letting some of the backup players have a chance to play.
View attachment 262145
Never again....

To round off the month league wise we had Nacional de Madeira at home.
View attachment 262144
Definite difference in our performances at home. Easy win again


View attachment 262142
We entered the Taca De Portugal in the 3rd Round, against a 2nd division side at home. This was our first game after the Vit. Guimares disaster so I picked a strong side (except for Borini up front as Martinez wasn't back to full fitness after the international break)
View attachment 262141
We got a response alright! Dominated from start to finish and deserved to win by 8. Borini scored his first goals for the club.

We will play Maritimo for the 3rd time already this season in the 4th Round.

View attachment 262140

Matchday 2 - Porto vs Juventus, Ajax vs Monaco

This was a great chance to seize control of the group. Ajax would probably beat Monaco so if we beat Juventus we would go top. Tough ask though as they have a great squad even without Pogba and Vidal (at Bayern).
View attachment 262139
Absolutely amazing! I thought it would be a tight game with it probably ending up at 1-0 but they proved me wrong. As soon as the 2nd goal went in, Juventus played like they had lost already. Shame not to get a clean sheet but a good win anyway.
Ajax did beat Monaco so we could put some breathing space between us and them if we beat them in the next game.

Matchday 3 - Porto vs Ajax, Monaco vs Juventus

Hopefully Monaco can hold Juve to a draw to really help us out - otherwise it could go to the last game in Turin...
View attachment 262138
We held up our end of the deal but Ajax made us fight all the way for it. They were a threat throughout and when Garmash got a goal back I honestly thought we were going to throw it away.

Monaco couldn't help us out though, losing 2-0.

Tables:
View attachment 262136
Hopefully Juventus drop points or I doubt we'll win the group

View attachment 262137The gap is slightly closed to 4 points but we're still well in control

PotM: Juan Fernando Quintero
View attachment 262135

No-one really stood out in the games stats-wise but Quintero was forced out wide by El shaarawy's injury and excelled.

Next Month
View attachment 262134
A couple of easy league games, a chance to progress in the cup and 2 CL games which i hope to secure qualification in.​
 
November

View attachment 258885
Games in 3 of our 4 competitions this month

View attachment 258881
2 league games - P. Ferreira and Varzim
View attachment 258880View attachment 258879
2 routine wins - Nani outstanding again

View attachment 258878
4th round - Maritimo
View attachment 258876

Another routine win over them - Nacional de Madeira in Round 5

View attachment 258872
2 games which could go a long way to defining this season

Matchday 4: Ajax vs Porto, Juventus vs Monaco
View attachment 258875
The headline says it all - Ajax pushed us hard again and didn't deserve to lose
Juventus won 2-0 - We qualify with 2 games to go, still only 1 point ahead of Juventus though...

Matchday 5: Porto vs Monaco, Ajax vs Juventus

View attachment 258874
First half awful, second half awesome!
Juventus win 1-0, they qualify and we go to Turin needing to avoid defeat to delay a possible reunion with Bayern Munich.

Tables
View attachment 258867
Ajax and Monaco don't get what they deserve...

View attachment 258868
Comfortable - makes the 6-2 even harder to accept

PotM
View attachment 258866
Nani, again - He (and 6 other members of the first team) are wanted by a few clubs in the Jaunary transfer window

Next month
View attachment 258864
6 games - 4 competitions​
 
December

View attachment 257279
Important month this - we can keep alive hopes of a quadruple (which is probably the only way to better José the season before...)


View attachment 257275
View attachment 257262View attachment 257263View attachment 257264
Another 3 comfortable wins - Domestically this is too easy

View attachment 257260

View attachment 257261
A comfortable win - forgot to take the screenshot but we have Benfica in the next round

In the League cup, the groups were drawn and we played the first game:
View attachment 257259
Easy group - might give youngsters some game time

View attachment 257258
First game after a 2 week break - everyone was ready to win everything

View attachment 257257
Final group game - the other game was irrelevant, all we had to do was avoid defeat and we'd won the group.

View attachment 257256
For once the headline is right - we were lucky to draw. But we win the group so we should get an easier draw (I say should - but Bayern finished second in their group)

View attachment 257255
Really unlucky with the draw - the last 3 non-seeded sides were Bayern, Dortmund and Napoli so I knew we would have a tough game. On a positive note - Bayern drew Real Madrid so a big, big team will be crashing out very, very dramatically :)

Managing Brazil (forgot to say earlier), and despite being close to the sack for about 2 years - we're at the World Cup - this will be our group:
View attachment 257253
Easily winnable


League should be a formality now...
View attachment 257254

Next month: Transfer window - some exciting deals incoming :)
​
 
For those who are following: does the layout look alright? Or would you change it?
And are monthly updates good?
 
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