Take me on a journey, man

Much better than last season. Got more points already?

Yeah mate more points in 13 games this season then the whole of last season, definitely a good sign. Saying that I was only in charge for the last 12 games of last season but still definite progress!

We start this update with an offer for a job interview. Al-Sadd are 1 of the biggest clubs in Qatar, they’ve won the Asian Champions League and are actually the most successful team in the country in real life, however in this save Lekhwiya have caught up and have won more league titles than Al-Sadd. Legends of the game Raul and Xavi (who is actually head of youth development there) both played in their final years at Al-Sadd. Normally I’d see this as a big opportunity but as we’re top of the league and playing well, as well as having in my opinion a better team I declined the opportunity to speak to them. Straight after that rejection I’m offered a new contract which I accept immediately.





After that the world player of the year is announced, and the award went to Dutch midfielder Elroy Molenaar who plays for Barcelona. He came through the youth team at Ajax and at 24 is already one of the best players in the world.



Transfer window time and we’re greeted with an offer for Amer Hassan which started out at 220k and I went back with a value of 450k which I was hoping would put them off but doesn’t. not to mention Hassan wants to talk to them so I accept.



Big blow to the team now as not 1 but 2 first teamers get injured in the same training session! Fathy is having an incredible season and Boudiaf has played in every game so far. Not the best news but hopefully we can still continue this good season so far





I went and signed Dawson D’Souza from my old team Kedah. Now his stats aren’t the best but he’s quick, not only that the fans aren’t happy but I’m happy with him signing.



Back to league action now and as I said I’m happy with D’Souza as he makes a goal scoring debut as we run out 1-0 winners over Al-Kharitiyath. The result is overshadowed by an injury to Ryan Gauld who’s out for 3 to 4 months, effectively ending his season. I’m absolutely devastated by this news and expect us to not perform as we have been with him out.





A 1-1 draw against Muaither is followed up by the absolute smashing of Al-Wakrah 5-2. That is followed by a drab game ending in a 1-0 loss to Al-Rayyan. Not only a defeat but an injury to Omar Abdulrahman means he’s out for the rest of the season. Another devastating injury to our midfield, hopefully someone steps up and impresses in his absence.









The draw for the group stage of the Champions League is made and we’re in Group B alongside Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia, Al-Orouba of Oman & Sepahan of Iran. A tough group but definitely looking forward to the challenge.



We’re back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Al-Jaish and guess what, 2 more injuries! First choice striker Rashidov is out for 3 weeks and defensive midfielder Al-Kuwari is also out for 3 weeks which means most of my first team is out injured!









Youth intake is here and this guy is the best of the bunch so my coaches say. We’ll see how he gets on I will give him game time, maybe not this season however.



Al-Sadd are next up in the league and we beat them after dominating the game, justifying my decision to turn them down. D’Souza with another goal to justify my signing him. After that came a 2-1 home win over Al-Mesaimeer anda 3-1 win away to Umm-Salal. In this game young striker Ibrahim Al-Ali finally scored again coincedentaly against the team he was signed from. A 1-0 win over Al-Sailiya means we’re now just 1 win away from becoming champions, should other results go our way











So 1 win and we’re champions. Quite the turnaround for a club that was 1 loss away from being relegated last season. Anyway it’s not the best outcome we could hope for as back to back losses to Qatar Sports Club and Lekhwiya mean we’ve got to wait to be crowned champions.





Next up is a big game against my former team Al-Khor. We win this and we’re champions. How poetic would it be for me to win the league against the team that sacked me……

‘Sergio, how are you feeling ahead of what is possibly the most important game of the season?’ asks the reporter

‘Well yes it is the most important game of this season, although not the be all and end all as there is still another game after this. However I am confident of victory today and it will be even sweeter knowing if it does happen today we won the league against my old team’

‘Al-Gharrafa weren’t ever tipped to win the league, what has been your success knowing no matter what happens you’ll finish in the top 2?’

‘Well I made a vow not to get dragged into a relegation battle again and that vow was fulfilled. We’ve been good all year and rightly so are top of the league’

‘1 last thing, should you not go on and win the league will your faith in this team change?’

‘Not at all. Everyday you can improve and with each game there is always something you can change or do better at. If we don’t win it this year then next year we must take that next step and push on for greater success’

Won’t lie, I’m nervous today. Al-Khor, my old team, my nemesis in a way are what stand between me and the league title. Luckily I’ve not lost to them since they sacked me and I’m praying that doesn’t change today. I tell the team we’ve done exceptionally well to get to this part of the season top of the league and just to play their natural game. I won’t be too disheartened if we don’t win it, we very nearly got relegated this time last year so to get a guaranteed top 2 finish is remarkable.



Remarkable. Never in doubt. Brilliant. Just what we wanted a complete performance. Al-Khor never threatened and we deserved the win as well as winning the league. All our hard work has paid off and this team can definitely go on to win some more things! I am absolutely buzzing with this and things can only get better from here!







After the league win we have our end of season awards and no surprise to see El-Shaarawy win player of the year and myself getting manager of the year. It’s been a good season. I’ll upload goal of the season later as well as other end of season stuff.





We went into the Crown Prince cup due to finishing in the top 4 and absolutely annihilated Al-Arabi 6-2 to set up a final against Lekhwiya.





What a final. Literally end to end stuff this one. We deserved the win really and it’s another trophy to our tally this season, which now sits at 4!





Can we bring a fifth trophy in this season? We got Al-Wakrah in the FA Cup and long story short, no we can’t. A disappointing loss on penalties but still an amazing season nonetheless.



During all that was our Champions League campaign. I won't go into much detail, we drew a couple and got spanked in the rest. Nothing to write home about, but hopefully we can push on and build on the scucess of this season and claim more silverware.

Thanks for reading!

Going to get an update up tonight or tomorrow.

Not been on 17 much as was trying to get into 18 before 19 drops, however playing 18 is so hard work for me, there's so much more you have to do just to get to get anywhere with it and it felt like such an effort to do anything on it, I'm hoping 19 plays better and they sort out the UI, I do however like the dynamics bit. Hopefully 19 is better than 18, I do have a career in mind for 19 if it plays well and better than 18 but back to this save and as I say there will be an update tonight or tomorrow at some point.

Thanks for reading!

So bit of a big update. I haven't been taking screenshots after every game up until now, however we started off well going unbeaten in the league until the break which saw us lose 3 in a row and derail out momentum. After 23 games we sat second, 6 points behind leaders Lekhiwiya who we play in our penultimate game of the season.





So the first of our remining 3 league games sees us at home to Al-Jaish. We have to win here to keep our hopes of back to back titles in tact. A win is what we got as we ran out comfortable 2-0 winners.



After this is an even bigger game against first place Lekhwiya, who lost their last game so we're now level on points. Lots of build up to this one.









A game we dominated despite only managing the 1 goal. This lifts us to first place now going into the last game of the season.





We're level on point with Lekhwiya however they're 1 point above my old team Al-Khor who play each other next, and if we lost and Al-Khor win they win the league.





So we find ourselves in touching distance of the league title. The mission is simple, win and we're champions, lose and we could end up as low as third. I am confident of victory however. Stay tuned for the final match of this season, and possibly my time in Al-Gharrafa!

Thanks for reading.

Al-Gharrafa end of season 2025 / 2026 update

This update starts with our final league game against Al-Arabi in which we dominated them and came away 5-0 winners, never in doubt! It didn't matter that Al-Khor won 4-0 either, we're champions for the second time in a row!









After the league the top 4 teams compete in the Crown Prince cup. We were up against Al-Rayyan first and our good momentum from the end of the season carried on as we thumped them 3-0. 2 early goals sets us up nicely and we never looked like losing as we dominated the game.



Which sets up an interesting final against my old team Al-Khor. This is great for me as I can hopefully put 1 over them once again!











The game was a no contest really. 3-0 after 36 minutes but they pulled 1 back right on half time which didn't come to anything. Once again I prove to Al-Khor sacking me was a big mistake!







The final run in of the season in Qatar is the Emir of Qatar cup, a cup I've already won twice, once each with Al-Khor & Al-Gharrafa. The top league teams enter at the semi final stage and it's another blow out, 6-0 winners over the team we recently beat 5-0 in the league Al-Arabi.



We get Al-Sadd in the final and it's another confident performence. 3-0 flattered them really and it's an amazing end to a great season for us as we won all 4 competitions we enetered this year.











After this for the 4th time in the career I am linked with the Lekhwiya job, and I say I wouldn't rule anything out.









End of season awards now and I am named manager of the year for the second year in a row. Player of the year rightly goes to El Shaarawy. Goal of the season was a well taken shot from Fathy.

https://youtu.be/UdyZYxevh10











The Lekhwiya interest never amounted to anything. I feel it's time to call it a day at Al-Gharrafa. I've won the league twice in a row, the chairty shield and Emir of Qatar & Crown Prince cup twice as well. There's nothing domestically for me to win here any more, I'm also the manager of the year twice in a row too. The Asian Champions league seems out of reach for Qatari clubs at the minute, however UAE clubs seem to go far as do Chinese clubs. With that said I'm leaving Al-Gharrafa in a much better position then it was when I took over.

So with the FM19 beta out and I am actually very much enjoying it, this career is ending for now. I have actually gone back and played a few months of it so if I do go back I may update this thread. Also I have had a couple of requests to upload the save file, if anyone is actually interested let me know and I will happily forward the file on.

Thanks to those who read this thread, I have started another one on FM19 hopefully you'll follow that too!