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I've been away from this section of Susie for a while, after a few failed attempts to get a long term save going I gave up on story writing. However I have now completed three full seasons in my current game so I would like to give it another go.
The challenge involves collecting the titles of each nation that givemesport.com lists in their countdown of the best 25 leagues on the planet;
25. Uruguay - Primera division
= South Africa- Premier soccer league
= Scotland- SPL
=
Paraguay - Primera division23. United Arab Emirates - Pro League
= Ecuador - Serie A
20. Poland - Ekstraklasa
= Colombia - Primera A
= Australia - A-league
19. Switzerland - Super league
18. Sweden - Allsvenskan
15. Ukraine - Premier league
= Turkey - Super League
= Belgium - Pro league
14. China - Super League
13. Russia - Premier League
11. Portugal - Primera league
= Japan - J-league
10. Argentina - Primera division
9. France - Ligue 1
8. Holland - Eredivisie
7. USA - Major league soccer
6. Mexico - Liga MX
5. Brazil - Serie A
4. Italy - Serie A
3. Spain - La Liga
2. England - Premier league
1. Germany - Bundesliga
Countries with a '=' are ranked as equal stature to the country above them, so I can choose which order I move onto them, for example I began in Paraguay, but could of chosen Uruguay, Scotland or South Africa instead if I had been that way inclined due to their equal ranking, However I must complete all four of those before I can move on to UAE or Ecuador.
Sounds easy enough right?
Ps- I would be introduced to see how others get on, go on, give it a go!
I began as an unknown Englishman with a handful of leagues from five continents loaded to give me plenty of choice when it came to choosing the direction my career path would take me, in the end I ended up in landlocked South American nation Paraguay.
Resistencia
2013/14 - I was given my break in football by Paraguayan Division Intermedia (second tier) side Resistencia who hail from one of the poorest districts of Paraguay's capital city Asuncion. I took charge mid-way through the season with the red triangles hovering precariously over the relegation zone, I transformed the side, leading them to eleven wins from their final fifteen games, finishing a respectable seventh.
2014/15 - The revival of fortunes in the second half of last season was cause for great optimism for Resistencia supporters, however we failed to live up to expectations, finishing a disappointing eleventh. The board were willing to forgive me and offered a new contract, however I decided not to sign and left the club in the hopes that one of the better clubs in the country would remember how well I did in 2014/15 and give me a chance with a squad capable of winning things.
Sport Colombia FC
2015/16 - Despite the name SCFC are based in Paraguay, I arrived with a point to prove after last season with Resistencia, however I handled the step-up to one of Division Intermedia's biggest sides well, as we romped to the title with a twelve point margin between ourselves and second place Spotivo Tinidense, earning promotion to Primera division.
Club Nacional (PAR)
2016/17 - My performance with Sport last season caught the eye of one of Paraguay's elite clubs, eleven time champions Club Nacional approached me after sacking their manager Riccardo Dubrowski for finishing bottom of the Claustra stage of the 2015/16 Primera division. My job will be to turn the side into title challengers again, but one step at a time, first I need to get a good feel for the squad and go from there.
Johno
January & February 2017
Before I get into the business of results and league tables, I will first introduce you properly to Club Nacional, founded in 1904 the club is known as La Acadamia due to their excellent track record in developing young talent, including Arsenio Enrico, who is widely regarded as the greatest Paraguyan footballer of all-time, in fact the club named their stadium after him.
Estadio Arsenio Enrico
C.N have won the Paraguayan Primera division nine times, my target is to make that ten within three seasons. Here's a bit of background info about the club;
And here is the squad I have to work with currently;
As you can see there is some strengthening needed, I don't like to completely overhaul a team in my first season though and prefer to fully assess the squad I have inherited before spending, although having said that we should still be strong enough to make a push for the Championship.
Ok, onto the results for the first couple of months;
Beating the mighty Boca Juniors in the final game of pre-season lifted spirits, however we were unable to follow up in what is a major derby game for us against Cerro Porteno, going down 3-1 to our rivals. Things picked up instantly against Olimpia and Sportivo as Julio Santa Cruz netted seven in three games, supurb form in front of goal for the striker who will be hoping for an International call up in the near future.
Of course the table doesn't mean an awful lot at this stage at the season, however it is of course good to see us nice and high up;
Johno
Thanks Johno, yeah goals seem to flow like water in Paraguay, with Sport Colombia last season we only failed to score in one game all season, most games have at least three or four goals in them. It makes for an entertaining game for sure.
Apologies for the lack of updates but I've been busy, anyhow I have been slowly but surely progressing through the Apertura (opening) stage of the Paraguayan Primera division and have been shocked by my success so far with Nacional;
For those who don't know, several South American leagues have a two stage format, Apertura (opening stage) and Clausura (closing stage) the two stages are treated as separate tournaments and if two different teams win each stage they will both be seen as champions rather than the one who earned the most points over both stages, so our Apertura win this season goes down in history as our twelfth title even though we haven't kicked a ball in the Clausura stage yet.
My players have been absolutely rampant so far, the 3-5-1-1 that was so successful at Sport Colombia last season for me has continued to bear fruit in this division, hence our dominance in the stats;
Julio Santa Cruz has been immense, netting twenty times and assisting seven, as well as been the highest rated player in the division, attracting the attention of some European sides including Hertha Berlin, Rapid Vienna and Sparta Prague, needless to say I want to hold onto him.
My success with Nacional and Sport Colombia has earned me some recognition;
The target now is to win the double header of Apertura and Clausura this season, in our current form it's difficult to see us not being right up there come the end of the campaign. After that we will have to see, My instinct is to move on in search of more glory, however the Apertura win has ensured qualification to the Copa Libertadores next season so I may hang around and see how far I can take Nacional in that.
Johno
Dan
Thanks guys, looks as if our form is continuing into Clausura as well.
Primera division takes a six week break between the Apertura and Clausura stages which is a welcome break in order to rest players and evaluate the squad ahead of the Clausura tournament. Nacional ar struggling financially so selling midfielder Matias Ballini to Argentine outfit Banfield was unfortunately a necessity to bring us back into the black in a deal that could eventually rise to £1.4M. The sales of Benitez, Montiel and Bogardo were more to do with they were surplus to requirements or unhappy with a lack of first team action.
I used the small amount I was allowed to retain from the Ballini sale and reinvest in the squad to strengthen my midfield;
Signed from rivals Olimpia for a deal worth £325k, Luis is a versatile midfielder who is capable of taking on both attacking and defensive duties and could be very useful as I rotate my squad.
Another signing from a divisional rival, Alvaro has been a leading star for Sol de America for a number of years now, clearly he thought the time was right for a change in search of better things, moving to the champions proves that. He set me back a very reasonable £120k.
As the Nacional are know as La Academia due to their track record of producing stars for the Paraguayan national team, I thought I should also promote a couple of the more promising youngsters to my first team and give them a chance;
With the pace and acceleration of a Cheetah, Derlis is capable of leaving even the most light footed defender trailing, his finishing needs honing, however he could be a real threat in years to come.
Has the makings of a top anchor man if he develops as my coaches envision, a high work ethic coupled with good tackling make him a formidable ball winner, of we can enhance his passing and creativity he will attract the attention of the bigger South American and European clubs.
Onto results now, as I said their a six week break in the middle of the season so I had to arrange a couple of freindlies to get the team back to match fitness before we resumed, both went well and we have picked up where we left off before the break, competing with Diego Maradona's Libertad for top spot;
We have now not lost a game since the 5th of April when we went down 1-0 to 3 de Febrero, a run of seventeen games without defeat, how much longer can this streak last? and will Libertad take us all the way?
Have to say I am really enjoying life in Paraguay, all three teams I've coached have been a lot of fun....not least because I've done well at all three! but the leagues seem very open, with lots of goals and the feeling that anybody can beat anybody. I strongly recommend South America if you've not tried management here before!
Dan
Our last five games were a mixed bag of results as we beat arch-rivals Libertad and obliterated General Diaz 6-2 in a top class performance, however our unbeaten run was ended by Sportivo Luqueno;
It's a shame to have our eighteen game run brought to an end, however it had to end some time and we now have to recover and get back on track, losing to league leaders 3 de Febrero didn't give our Clausura hopes much good as we slipped beyond touching distance of the top spot, four points behind 3dF.
Still fairly confident we can get back on track and claim the closing stage, although of course with only twelve games remaining we can't afford for more slip-ups!
Julio Santa Cruz set a new record with his goal against Guarani;
His strike rate hasn't been anywhere near as impressive in the Clausura, he's scored just once in ten games in the closing stage compared with twenty in the Apatura. Thankfully we have still been banging the goals in, Brian Montenegro has carried the torch with seven strikes, including four in a single game against General Diaz.
As the 2017 season meanders towards it's conclusion, our form has remained somewhat unpredictable as we remain within striking distance of the Primeira Liga summit but have failed to re-establish the sort of dominant consistency that saw us go win the Apertura;
The result against neighbours Cerro Porteno was immensely frustrating as we had been leading 3-2 up until the 88th minute when Cerro mounted a dramatic snatch and grab to deny us a win that would have lifted us back to the top of the Clausura table, I was livid at the final whistle and didn't hold back in telling my team what I though of them throwing away three points in that manner. Young defender Miguel Jacquet in particular came in for stick as he had been directly responsible for two of the goals.
We again threw away a winning position against Olimpia in the following game, having lead 2-0 we only managed to come away with a point in a game we had very much been the better side in, however sloppy defending from set pieces cost us again, much to my frustration. Thankfully we recovered from these set-backs to take six points from games against Sportivo Trinidense and Deportivo Capiata to remain within three points of the leaders with seven games remaining;
Julio Santa Cruz has seemingly got himself back on track, scoring eight times in these five games, taking his season tally to thirty goals in twenty-eight games, as well as having eight assists. not bad for a Blackburn Rovers cast off!
Our next game will see us visit my old club Sport Colombia before what should be relatively straightforward games against Guarani and Sportivo Luqueno, after that we enter squeaky bum time as our final three games see us take on both Libertad at home and 3 de Febrero away either side of a home game against General , the title should be decided in that period, it's up to us to take the initiative and claim it.
I think I have made up my mind to leave Nacional at the end of the season regardless of how the title race pans out, I declined talks regarding and new contract recently and I'm being linked with a host of clubs in Uruguay at the moment, including the very reputable Penarol who have won the Copa Libertadores five times. I will miss Nacional, and Paraguay as a whole as I've had a lot of fun here, however I want to win as many trophies as possible around the world.
My hopes of ending my time in Paraguay by collecting both Apertura and Clausura championships have been dashed after we came up short against Diego Maradona's Libertad in our crucial title clash;
Although it's mathematically possible for us to still pull the rug from beneath Libertad's feet, I just can't see El Diego's side losing both of their remaining games against Sol de America and Cerro Porteno, as well as us making up the thirteen goals we need to close the goal difference against 3dF and Sol de America.
The defeat brings to an end a five game winning run and a six game unbeaten streak, during this time I have blooded a couple of youngsters who have climbed the ladder here at La Academia;
I had to switch to 4-4-1-1 for Guarani game to counter some specific threats, meaning I needed to use full backs for the first time in quite a while, the man who would have been my first choice Roman Coronal is out on loan as he wasn't getting much first team action, so this presented 17 year old Cristian with a golden opportunity to step and impress, which he definitely did, earning a 7.7 rating and the honor of holding his place in my first XI for the subsequent match with Sportivo, he played 64 minutes in that one before a being substituted in a tactical change. He certainly looks a good prospect for the future.
Jorge has been my backup keeper since the departure since Rafael Magrao's departure for Brazil in the break between the opening and closing stages, he has waited patiently on the bench for his chance, and with us 4-1 up at half time against Guarani I thought why not give him a go? Jorge wasn't called into action much but looked reliable on the few occasions he was tested, he could do nothing about Guarani's late consolation goal, he stopped the initial shot well but was powerless to prevent the rebound attempt going in. Admittedly I would be worried if I had to put Jorge in for a big game, he's not ready yet, however when we are well in control there is no harm in giving him some time.
I have renewed all of the first team players and staff's contracts to ensure the club's short term future after I leave at the end of the campaign, the temptation to leave all their contracts unprotected to enable me to snap them up for free at wherever I go next was there of course, however I have enjoyed CN and want them to do well even after I've gone.
I currently have an application in for the Penarol job in Uruguay, I've yet to be invited for an interview, though I'm hopeful I will get this, one of the biggest jobs in South America, probably the biggest outside of Argentina and Brazil.
I've been doing some ground work by sending my scouts to Penarol and other Uruguayan teams in order to know the squad and possible transfer targets before hand, a touch of reconnaissance work if you will.
The 2017 Clausura drew to a underwhelming close as, as expected Libertad lifted the championship and we had to make do with the paucity honour of second place.
The defeat to 3 de Febrero was of a particularly sour flavour as they are the only side we failed to best at least once this season, our encounters with 3dF have resulted in three defeats and one draw. A wretched run that I shall do everything in my power to put an end to in 2018.
As you have probably already ascertained from the above, I will be staying on as head coach of Club Nacional, my big move to Penarol failed to materialise as the Uruguayans decided to rehire a former manager of theirs, Jorge da Silva who has lifted the Torneo Uruguayo twice, once with Defensor Sporting in 2008 and then Penarol in 2012.
It was disappointing to miss out on such an exciting opportunity, however there are reasons that another year with La Academia could be a good thing for me, The opportunity to participate in Copa Libertadores and test my wits against some of the finest coaches on the Continent is something I'm looking forward to, as is trying to collect another Apertura and/or Clausura crown to add to my CV and hopefully catch the attention of South America's big guns for a future move.
To do that, this guy is absolutely imperative to my plans;
The award is for the best player currently based in South America, and to have him playing for me in a relatively lowly league when you consider the quality of the players in the Brazilian, Argentine and Colombian leagues is fantastic, so you can imagine my delight when we had not one, but two players in the South American team of the season;
Those bastards Libertad also got a player selected which rankled a little, but I suppose having three Paraguayans selected can only be a good thing for the country as there haven't been any in the previous four seasons.
I don't think I need to spend much of that £800k budget, I'm happy with my squad which has been on top of it's game this season, and should be again next year as I don't have anyone who is knocking on in age, or leaving the club this summer. Winger Franco Cristaldo is the only member of the squad who will need replacing as his loan deal from Boca is ending.
Alveio
bmg033
Thanks mate, Me too!
Yeah, should get in on it mate, be good to have some friendly competition.
Johno
I have spent the summer quelling a swell of discontent within the camp, a players rebellion that seriously threatened my job. The trouble began with my decision to sell young goalkeeper Jorge Gimenez to Sol de America, Gimenez was a decent keeper who had been watching from the first team bench for much of the season as understudy to my number one, Ignacio Don, however SdA offered me £40k for the 17 year old which I considered a fair price for a player who I would be reluctant to have to rely on if Don should get injured. The sale didn't go down well amongst the other players though, a midfielder named Marcos Riveros was the main instigator as he came to me on behalf of a clique of players, demanding to know why I had let a promising talent go, I told him it wasn't the place of a player to question his manager and told him and the others to get on with their jobs which caused further discord.
The media soon became involved and I once again laid down the law, I am the head of the club and it was my decision to sell, and again made it clear I would not tolerate individuals bringing myself or the club into disrepute. Unfortunately that made matters worse as the board summoned me to discuss the dressing room situation, I bluntly refused to apologise which obviously didn't please them as they issued me with a stark warning, raise the morale among the camp within a month or you're out!
Unfortunately that wasn't the end of the matter as Riveros again came to me, demanding I engineer a move to one of the European clubs who have been scouting him, He's one of my better players, but not irreplaceable so I agreed that if a offer I'm happy with comes in I would accept, unfortunately the only offer that was submitted was well below what I consider reasonable so I rejected the bid, much to Riveros's fury, he once again came bitching in my office, threatening to go to the media again, this time I told him he could rot in the reserves until I get the money I want for him. Any other player who wants to take his side can join him. You don't mess with the boss!
Player uprisings aside, it has been an encouraging pre-season as my side showed some real class in the friendlies, beating Argentine giants River Plate was a particular font of optimism ahead of our Copa Libertadores campaign this season;
Only the one new(ish) signing this summer, I'm happy with my squad so my efforts have predominantly been focused on improving our youth set-up, hiring youth coaches and physios as well as getting the board to agree to expand our youth recruitment network, something that any club nickname 'La Academia' should seek to do at every opportunity.
Franco spent last season here on loan from Boca Juniors, scoring six and assisting eight goals in 26 appearances, his contract with Boca expired this summer and I was happy to add Franco to my squad permanently.
Outgoing, only the aforementioned Giminez departure is of any particular note, the others are all youth transfers and loans;
In Primera division we are expected to again challenge for the title, hopefully winning one or both stages, however it is the chance to manage continentally that has me most excited as the draw for the group stage took place;
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Not an easy group there, Racing Club are one of Argentina's top sides and Colo-Colo have been a dominant force in Chile for decades, I think we should be aiming for six points against Venezuela's Emelec however, it will be tough but I think we might sneak through. Whilst flicking through the competition stats, I discovered that we have the smallest stadium of any of the 36 teams to enter this year, we have a meagre capacity of 5,000 at the Stadio Arsenio Enrico, we may feel somewhat out of place should we meet Club America during the tournament at their 105,065 Estadio Azteca!
A mixed start to our 2018 campaign as we notched up three wins out of three in Primera, however we have come up short in both of our Copa Libertadores games which is making qualification to the next round look like a tall order even at this relatively early stage.
Beating Libertad in the opening game was a wonderful start to our campaign as we look to win the Apertura stage again, there is no better way to start a title challenge than beating the champions! 3dF were also a big result for us as we failed to get anything from our four games last year so it was a relief to end that negative streak.
Thinks aren't looking so rosy in the Libertadores after two narrow 2-1 defeats see us needing to claw back six points on Racing Club and Colo-Colo, we were of course expected to lose to both so I'm pleased we were at least competitive, if we can bounce back against Ecuadorian outfit Emelec then we might still have a chance, however I think we are heading for an early exit.
I have finally sorted out a move for Marcos Riveros, the player I fell out with this summer. Macos will be heading to Europe to join Hungarian giants Ujpest for a cool £1M, a sum I'm very happy with.
As I said in the last post, he is a decent player, however I don't take shit from any of my players and he will have to learn to enjoy reserve football until his move. Thats the price you pay for crossing the boss!
We've had a couple of injuries in defence recently, forcing me to dip into the loan market and utilise our working relationship with Boca Juniors;
Ricardo will be with us for an initial three months whilst Arnaldo Recalde and Matius Perez recover from their injuries, I can always extend the loan if needs be.
I'm furious to be sacked when I had the team playing well, it was a harsh sacking, I felt I had the locker room under control, aside from a couple of individuals who I reprimanded for speaking out against me in the media, morale was pretty good, playing well with several games in hand, competing for a second title in two years. I admit I'm uncompromising when it comes to player discipline and dealing with complaints, but it shouldn't be for players to question their manager. The Nacional board can go fuck themselves and I hope to get the chance to come back and beat them in the Libertadores with whatever club I end up at next.
Alveio
The footballing gods have seen fit to right a great injustice on my behalf, a month after my sacking from Nacional I've landed on my feet, netting my ideal job in Uruguay;
I of course applied to Penarol before, just four months ago but they chose to go in a different direction, however after suffering the indignity of finishing 14th in the clausura stage they gave Jorge de Silva the boot. My job will be to restore Uruguay's biggest side to it's former glory almost straight off the bat.
The poor finish last season means there will be no Copa Libertadores to distract us, so I can concentrate on winning the Primera División.
Squad analysis to follow.
Johno
bmg033
KEZ_7
Thanks man.
No, bit of a disaster for the club, I reckon I can turn them around easily though.
Indeed it is mate, the biggest team in South America outside of Brazil and Argentina I would say.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Pre-Season Roundup
Hello and welcome to the second leg of my 25 stage world tour challenge. Before I go into detail about my squad, let me first give you a rundown on how the Uruguayan league works as it's rather confusing;
- Just like in Paraguay, the season is divided into two stages, the Apertura (opening stage) and the Clausura (closing stage) with fifteen games in each.
- Unlike Uruguay however the winners of each stage are not treated as outright champions, there is a play-off between the two stage winners.
- This is where it begins to get confusing, the winner of the play-off will then face the team with the highest average points over the two stages, if that team is one of the two stage winners they only need to win the first game. If a stage winner beats the average champions the season is decided in a two legged grand final. For example if Penarol win apertura and Danubio win Clausura but we had the better points average throughout the two stages, we would only need to beat them once, whereas Danubio would need to win the first final to take us onto the two legged decider. Becoming champions in Uruguay is no simple matter!
- The top three in the average points table qualify for Copa Libertadores, fourth qualifies for the Copa SudAmericana
- Relegations are decided by average points over the two stages.
Ok now you (hopefully) understand the league, lets look at my new club;Nice big stadium, financial backing, loads of history. Penarol has everything required for instant success, indeed if I don't mount a title challenege I'm likely to find myself out of a job pretty quickly so the pressures on;
I have already brought in three new faces to strengthen what was a threadbare midfield;
I used up most of my £800k transfer kitty to bring in Gaston from rivals Wanderers for £650k, a hard working midfielder who can both attack and defend, which is exactly the type of versatility I covert.
My new winger, signed for £150k from second division side Rampala Juniors, his technical attributes are ok, however a lack of vision may be a hinderance and will need to be worked on in training.
I snapped up the Venezuelan veteran on free as a rotation option, he should provide adequate cover for the first choice central midfielders.
So here is my squad in it's entirety;
I've not sold anyone yet as I want to assess the squad properly in the time between now and the next transfer window, however I suspect there is plenty of deadwood amongst this rather bloated squad that will need trimming, but for now they will all have the chance to prove themselves worthy of playing for one of South America's greatest clubs.
Our pre-season campaign went well as we gained some credible results against some big European teams;
I'm quite excited for this season, I'm certain I can guide the side to put that horrific 14th place in last seasons Apertura behind them and march them back to the right end of the table. On a personal level I need to work on my player handling methods. I was too hard at Nacional which cost me my job despite bringing success to the club, I need to dial it back a bit here.
Dan
For fucks sake, just tried to boot up the game for the first time in a week or so and this came up and I have no backup. I despair at this game sometimes.