tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

19 Oct 2023 13:56:46

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

19 Oct 2023 13:57:04

TEAMS MANAGED
(Country Flag // Team Logo // Team Name // Country // Dates In Charge // Reason Left)

Team Name	Country	Dates in Charge	Reason Left
Deportes Iquique	Chile	07.06.23 - Present	Resigned
LA Galaxy	USA	09.05.2027 - 26.09.2027	Resigned
Halifax Wanderers	Canada	09.11.2027 - 25.10.2028	Resigned
CF Atlante	Mexico	13.12.2028 - 29.05.2030	Resigned.
St Louis City SC	USA	14.06.2030 - 05.12.2032	Resigned.
CF Monterrey	Mexico	17.02.2033 - 25.08.2034	Resigned.
Sarmieno (Junin)	Argentina	08.12.2034 - Present	N/A

Competitions Won
(Country Flag // Team Logo // Competition Name // Team Won With // Date of Win)

Competition Name	Team Won With	Date of Win
Campeonato Acsenso Bettson	Deportes Iquique	06.10.24
Campeonato Betsson	Deportes Iquique	06.12.26
Copa Chile	Deportes Iquique	31.10.26
Supercopa Chile	Deportes Iquique	10.01.27
Canadian Premiership	Halifax Wanderers	21.10.2028
Liga BBVA Expansion MX	CF Atlante	01.12.2029
El Champions Trophy	CF Atlante	25.05.2030
Campeones Cup	St Louis City SC	18.09.2030
MLS All Star Game	MLS All Stars	31.07.2031
MLS Supporters Shield	St Louis City SC	28.08.2031
MLS Cup	St Louis City SC	06.12.2031
US Cup	St Louis City CS	22.09.2032
CONCACAF Scotiabank Champions League	CF Monterrey	11.05.2033
Liga BBVA MX	CF Monterrey	11.12.2033
Campeon de Campeones	CF Monterrey	16.06.2034
Leagues Cup	CF Monterrey	24.08.2034
Primera Nacional	Sarmiento (Junin)	28.10.2035
Copa Argentina	Sarmineto (Junin)	05.12.2036

Country Completion

Continental Completion

Continent	Competitions	Completed?
North America	3 / 4	NO

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

20 Oct 2023 19:33:07

2023/2024 | Deportes Iquique | Chile

Welcome to Chile, and welcome to ‘Tongey Travels’, an adventure around the FM world trying to tick off every trophy available on the game, which is how I like to play. It's a crazy challenge that won't be completed, but I'll have fun along the way. Anyway, I'll be doing season updates as anything more and I lose actual interest in the save. If this changes, it'll be half-season at most.

In each update I'll bring you:
- Competition Round Ups
- Transfers
- Squad Overview
- Players of the Season
- Season Stats
- Aim for Next Season

My first team are the famous ‘Deportes Iquique’ who play in the Chilean football pyramid and have one of the coolest badges I've ever seen. That dragon is magnificent and strikes fear into many an opponent I'm sure! They were the only team that offered me an interview and therefore the only team who offered me the role of First Team Manager.

They play in the ‘Campeonato Accenso Bettson’ which is the second tier of Chilean football. When I took over, the club was dwindling down to 12th position in the league table and had just around half of the games left to play (hence them sacking their manager and giving me a shot). Things weren't looking rosy and it was up to me to change that over the remaining games.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Squad Overview:

The squad is actually fairly decent. The club was relegated from the top tier last season so had some good players in there. It's a fairly old squad but definitely one that should be performing better than they were. I'll introduce you to the squad below:
(Just click the player's name and it'll bring up the player's profile)

Goalkeepers

I set out with a 3-4-2-1 formation trying to utilise the 3 solid CBs as the base of the team, but it never really worked out for us! In my first 7 games in charge, we only picked up 6 points out of a possible 21. The only win in that period was a solid 2-1 victory against Rangers. It just wasn't working and players were starting to get annoyed with the results.

I switched things up and changed our tactic to the classic 4-2-3-1 which suited us a lot more and things started to blossom for us. If only I had adopted this tactic when I started, but NO, I had to try something different didn't I?

In the final 8 games of the season, we only lost the once in a 3-2 defeat to Deportes Antofagasta. It was a last-minute goal which was a killer for us. It didn't matter really though, as we had started to score goals for fun and we had started to win games and pick up points consistently. The best result was probably the 3-2 victory over Santiago Morning who were flying high in the league at that time.

Was our end-of-season form enough to secure a top 8 finish though and qualify for the Promotion Playoffs?

Not quite! We fell short by a singular point so I only had myself to blame really. If I had got the tactic right from the start then we would have easily qualified in my eyes. There is absolutely plenty of positives to take forward into next season and who knows what this club can do. Do we charge for the title or do we just try and secure Playoff football?

A 9th-placed finish for me in my first season in charge, and finished on 41 points. The only positive goal difference in the bottom 9 teams. Go us.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Copa Chile:

My first outing in the Copa Chile was a fantastic 4-2 victory over Municipal Salamanca which saw us run out 4-2 victors. We were expected to win but by that margin was a good performance. Off into the 3rd Round.

The next round was against fellow league side San Felipe. They were below us at that stage so I expected a win, but a tough game. This was in the time when I played the stupid useless formation. I wish it was in the later months and we would've won this one. A disappointing 1-0 defeat saw us exit the competition in the 3rd Round.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Mathis Pinto (ST) | 9
2. Cesar Gonzalez (AMR/L) | 8
3. Edson Puch (AMR/L/C) | 7

Assists:
1. Leandro Navarro (DM/CM) | 9
2. Cesar Gonzalez (AMR/L), Diego Orellana (DM/CM), Edson Puch (AMR/L) | 3
3. Jose Delgado (AMC), Hans Salinas (WBL), Paulo Magalhaes (WBR) | 2

Average Rating:
1. Alvaro Delgado (AMR/L) | 7.05
2. Leandro Navarro (DM/CM) | 6.96
3. Cesar Gonazalez (AMR/L/C) | 6.90

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Season Stats (Career)

Campeonato Acenso Bettson | 9th
Copa Chile | 3rd Round

GP | 17 | GW | 8 GD | 4 GL | 5

GS | 34 GA | 25

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Next Post | End of 2024 Season Round Up

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

22 Oct 2023 11:29:15

2023/2024 | Deportes Iquique | Chile

Welcome back to 'Tongey Travels', the stupid challenge I attempt every year and never get near to completing! This year I've started in the Americas, and in particular South America. My first club is Deportes Iquique, known as the ‘Sky Blue Dragons'. I've been here for a season and a half now after taking control midway through the 2023 season after they sacked their manager.

In terms of my personal manager news, I've completed 2 coaching qualifications in the past season and now sit happily with the ‘National B License’ to my name. The board have been stingy with me and won't let me attempt to get my ‘National A License’ just yet as they don't want me to use the club as a stepping stone (which is ultimately what I want to do). I'll get them to cave in anyway.

Here's the Round-Up of the 2024 Season with Deportes Iquique in the Campeonato Acsenso Bettson.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Squad Overview:

I underwent a massive transformation of the squad in the off-season, letting no less than 14 first-teamers leave the club as their contracts expired. I was caught out last season when I was docked 6 points at the end of the season for failing to follow league rules regarding U21 playing time. I was putting that right this year. We ad a very old squad last year and the focus of my recruitment was youngsters who could still do a job. It was no mean feat, but I think I did a good enough job.

I've also noted if the player is a transfer/loan so that it should make it easier to see the players brought in.

Here's the squad that I employed this season. As always just click on the player's name and it'll take you to their profile.
(I'd recommend right clicking and opening in a new tab to save time)

Goalkeepers:
Jorge Deschamps | GK | 40
Raul Olivares | GK | 36 NEW
Patricio Pachecho | GK | 17 NEWGEN

Defenders:
Miguel Arreola | LB | 26 NEW

Hans Salinas | LB | 34
Matias Blazquez | CB | 33
Juan Musacchio | LB | 22 NEW
Mario Pardo | CB | 36
Luciano Meza | CB | 21 NEW
Abel Hidalgo | CB | 26
Luciano Meneses | CB | 28 NEW
Juan Pablo Reyes | RB | 19 NEW

Midfielders:
David Nunez | CM | 23 - NEW
Juan David Bacca | DM | 19
Santiago Marcel | DM/CM | 22 NEW
Martin Fernandez | CM | 23 NEW

Attacking Midfielders/Wingers:
Alexis Villarroel | AML/C | 24
Martin Araya | AMR | 19 NEW
Jose Delgado |AMC | 23
Carlos Montano | AMC | 22
Rodrigo Cisterna | AMC | 22 NEW
Johan Castillo | AMR | 25

Strikers:
Steffan Pino | ST | 30
Francisco Sagardia | ST | 22 NEW
Diego Machado | ST | 21

__________________________________________________________________________________________

League Campaign | Campeonato Ascenso Betsson

After a tricky opening last season when I took charge, and a dodgy tactic I tried to implement, things took a turn for the better when I put inn the classic 4-2-31 formation and the good old fashion ‘Gegenpress’. We ended the season on a high winning a good portion of our final ¼ of games and finished a singular point outside of the Promotion Playoffs. The aim this season was to challenge for the title, which the board said was their objective too.

The first half of the season laid the foundations for our second-half assault on the title. We were picking up points relatively frequently all season long, and even had some fantastic wins along the way, against; Audax (A), Santiago Morning (H), & Barnechea (H). The first ¼ of the season went by pretty fast and we were consistently in the top 5 of the league.

Our form dipped slightly as we went through to the halfway stage, only picking up 12 points from a possible 27 on offer throughout that period. I was concerned that the tactic was starting to fail and teams were starting to figure out how to play against us. A 4-1 defeat to Deportes Iberia was a bitter pill to swallow as I gave it the big guns before this game. I had to eat my words and admit they were the better team.

After the halfway stage we were impeccable and saw us only drop 4 points in total. A rare defeat to Universidad de Concepcion, and a draw on the final day of the season against Puerto Montt. We had a winning run of 9 games in the crucial stage of the season which put us right amongst it at the top. Fantastic wins against title challengers Audax, Cobreloa & D Antofagasta showed them we weren't here to mess around. We wanted that title and we would fight tooth and nail for it.

How did this mean we got on in the final standings though?

We only went and won the league in our first full season! We'll be playing Campeonato Betsson football next season, and be back amongst the big boys of Chilean football. It's where we belong!

It all came down to the final game of the season where both ourselves & Audax had a chance to win the league title. They played first and could't get a win therefore handing us the title without us having to play! Zero pressure on the last game saw us draw it and celebrate the title in front of our travelling contingent.

We ended up finishing on top of the pile with 63 total points and a gap of 3 points back to Audax who finished in 2nd. They ultimately went on to win the Promotion Playoffs and will join us in the top flight next season. Only losing 5 games all season is pretty good and I'm just glad we did what the board wanted us to do!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Copa Chile Easy

The Copa Chile is the domestic cup here in Chile. It's the only domestic cup where all teams are entered so it's a bit like the FA Cup here in England. I used a bit of rotation in the first round which saw us run out 3-0 winners against low league side Quintero Unido. We then beat fellow league side Cobresol 2-0 in the 2nd Round.

In the 3rd round we had a tricky tie agianst Deportes Copiapo which saw us a very late goal (last kick of the game) win us the tie and see us into the 4th Round. Sagardia the hero in that one. A good win.

In the 4th Round which is the furthest I've been in this competition, we faced off against top league side La Calera. It was a fantastic game full of action and goals. Unfortunately we couldn't come back for a 3rd time and draw ourselves level, but we did ourselves proud and exited from the cup after a 4-3 loss.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Franisco Sagardia (ST) | 24
2. Rodrigo Cisterna (AMC) | 11
3. Hans Salinas (LB) | 11

Assists:
1. Hans Salinas (LB) | 8
2. Juan David Bacca (DM) | 7
3. Juan Pablo Reyes (RB) | 6

Average Rating:
1. Franisco Sagardia (ST)| 7.19
2. Rodrigo Cisterna (AMC) | 7.13
3. Martin Fernandez (CM) | 7.11

Manager of the Year - Tongey
Top League Goalscorer - Fransisco Sagardia (21)

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Season Stats (Career)

Campeonato Acsenso Betsson | 1st (Champions)
Copa Chile | 4th Round

GP | 34 GW | 22 GD | 6 GL | 6

GS | 82 GA | 49

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Next Post | End of 2025 Season Round Up

Steve Robbins

10 years ago

10 months ago

96

22 Oct 2023 11:42:26

Amazing season mate, well done! You play quicker than me!

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

22 Oct 2023 22:08:28

@Steve Robbins - Thanks so much for commenting man! When I'm enjoying a save, I seem to play through quickly! They'll be times that I play slow, but now is not one of them!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

2025 | Deportes Iquique | Chile

I'm back again with another update for you all. I'm loving this save at the moment, and long may that continue. Last time I updated you, we had just won the Campeonato Acsenso Betsson, and were on our way to play in the Campeonato Betsson here in Chile. It's the first time I've played in the top league here and I had no idea what to expect.

I set about with the same tactic that had served me well in the previous season. The 4-2-3-1 Gegenpress which utilises an IW & an IF on the flanks. It seems to work well, so why change it? New signings were sought after, and were only signed if they fit a position on the tactic. They also had to be young so I didn't fall foul of that stupid U21 rule once again.

In club news, we had a takeover this season which seems to have cleared our debts! They didn't particularly throw money at the club, but we've been making money ever since (probably because of the increased gates in this higher league. It's been a bit of a blessing in disguise. I've also been able to complete a few coaching qualifications over the season, and now have the Continental C License. I'm also working towards the B license now but it's not complete yet.

Time to introduce you to the squad I had this season. I'll put NEW next to their name if they were transferred into the squad at some point in the season.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Squad Overview:

Goalkeepers:
Raul Olivares | GK | 37
Leandro Canete | GK | 30 NEW
Christian Fuentes | GK | 26 NEW

Defenders:
Kevin Egana | WBL | 29 NEW
Alan Moreno | WBR | 30 NEW LOAN
Juan Musacchio | LB | 23
Alejandro Henriquez | LB | 24 NEW
Luciano Meza | CB | 23
Abel Hidalgo | CB | 27
Luciano Meneses | CB | 29
Juan Pablo Reyes | RB | 20 LOAN

Midfielders:
Felipe Gonzalez | DM/CM | 20 NEW
Bastian Arias | DM/CM | 20 NEW
Juan David Bacca | DM/CM/AMC | 21
Santiago Marcel | DM/CM | 22
Martin Fernandez | DM/CM | 24 NEW

Attackers/Wingers:
Sebastian Parada | AMR/L | 25 NEW
Alexis Villaroel | AML/C | 25
Martin Araya | AMR | 20 LOAN
Santiago Diaz | AMR/ST | 22 NEW
Francisco Arancibia | AMR/L | 29
Jose Delgado | AMC | 24
Rodrigo Cisterna | AMC | 23
Johan Castillo | AMR/L | 26

Strikers:
Diego Machado | ST | 23
Francisco Sagardia | ST | 23

__________________________________________________________________________________________

League Campaign | Campeonato Betsson

Our first season in the Campeonato Betsson was meant to be a consoldation season, where we tried to hang on and avoid relegation by any means necessary. I can tell you that it was anything but that. The new lads seemed to gel straight away and we performed well above everyones expectations, including my own!

Does anyone else feel that when you get promoted, things just seem to go better than expected? Or, it may just be my absolute managerial genius! Ha! I seriously doubt that, but I'll take what happened this season, every year if I can. Continued improvement year upon year.

The form at the start of the season, once again get us a foundation to really kick on without to much danger of relegation. I didn't know what to expect early on, but we had impressive wins against O'Higgins & Huachipato, and also a massive 7-2 victory over La Serena. We had the expected loss to Colo Colo (Last years Champions) in there but a pleasing start that's for sure.

We were picking up points pretty easily, but we did it in pockets of results. 3 good wins in a row, followed by a few defeats. We couldn't keep our good form going for a long period, until the second half of the season that was.

As the second half of the season started, we went on a run of 7 wins out of 9 games. That's title winning form if I do say so myself, and at one point in that run, we were sitting at the top of the tree. I couldn't quite believe my eyes, but I wasn't going to second guess it. I did get excited and a little carried away, but it wasn't to last. In that run, we beat Colo Colo 2-1, and beat Audax convincingly.

With the title in our grasp, we just needed a good end to the season, but form dropped. We needed to keep winning over the last 5 games, but 3 defeats in a row to Universidad Catolica, Universidad Espanola & Everton. (maybe I just don't like Education), left us with no chance. We dropped when it mattered the most, but I can't be too harsh on the lads. We've been excellent.

We ended the season on a high, and secured our continental football for next season, as we're playing in the Copa Libertadores for the first time. I'm so excited, but I'll definitely need more depth moving forward to manage the increase in games!

In my first season in the top flight, we managed to finish in 3rd position! That's incredible considering we were meant to be cannon fodder, and teams were meant to put goal after goal past us! In the end, we finished 3 points off the title, so plenty to take a positive for next season! Colo Colo just have that know-how and experiece. We'll come back after them for revenge that's for sure!

Audax go straight back down which is sad to see. I'd have liked to have seen them stay up, so that we could continue our rivalry next season.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Copa Chile Easy

Oh my! I thought we had it in us this year! We were excellent over the first three rounds! Up first was a tie against local rivals SM de Arica who we sent packing after a 5-1 victory! Easy as you like in that one.

We then face Union Companias and saw them off thanks to a 5-0 drubbing! Sebastian Diaz making the most of his starts in the cups, making me question my choice up top. We then managed to just fight off Coquimbo in the 3rd round thanks to a penalty from Alexis Villarroel.

In the Fourth Round, a last second goal saw Antofagasta send us out of the competition. If we'd have won that we would have had a favourable matchup in the Semi-FInal. Not to be though, but I can see us winning this very soon.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Alexis Villarroel (AML/C) | 22
2. Santiago Diaz (AMR/ST) | 19
3. Martin Araya (AMR) | 13

Assists:
1. Martin Araya (AMR) | 11
2. Alexis Villarroel (AML/C) | 8
3. Santiago Diaz (AMR/ST) | 7

Average Rating:
1. Alexis Villarroel (AML/C) | 7.45
2. Martin Araya (AMR) | 7.31
3. Juan David Bacca (DM/CM) | 7.27

Manager of the Year - Tongey
Young Player of the Year - Martin Araya (AMR)

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Season Stats

Campeonato Betsson | 3rd
Copa Chile | 4th Round

GP | 34 GW | 20 GD | 4 GL | 9

GS | 94 GA | 56

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Next Post | End of 2026 Season Round Up

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

24 Oct 2023 18:06:46

2026 | Deportes Iquique | Chile

Life is good for ‘Tongey’ in Chile, having cemented himself/myself as part of the furniture at Deportes Iquique. It's been a remarkable first 3 ½ years in charge of the ‘Blue Dragons’ and I've managed to revamp the team from an ageing club for players remembering the good times, into a youthful exciting side for many years to come! I believe I've laid the foundations for a very long successful future for the club.

In terms of my Manager Profile, I've completed a few more coaching qualifications and now occupy the Continental B License and I'm in the process of securing the Continental A License. My stock will continue to grow as these qualifications continue. It's a good time to be me at the moment.

Anyway, the 2026 season has flown by and included us making our/my debut in the Copa Libertadores as well as playing in the Campeonato Betsson & Copa Chile Easy. Could a famous treble be on the cards? Probably not as the Chilean sides don't tend to fare that well in the Copa Libertadores but we'll always try our hardest.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Squad Overview:

Goalkeepers:

What a start to the league we had. We didn't lose for the first 6 games. Infact, we only dropped points the once in those first 6. Those points were dropped when we played last years Champions Colo Colo, so not a totally bad result altogether. We weren't blowing teams away but we were getting the job done which was the main thing.

Our first defeat came at the hands of Cobresal in a 2-1 defeat. They deserved it so nothing to complain about. It did spark a little fall in form, but we bounced back pretty well and had a winning month of April including a god win against Everton.

We didn't quite get our form together for a few games after the half way stage but I knew we were onto something when we smashed current holders Colo Colo 5-1! It was a hell of a performance and probably my best result to date.

Unfortunately, after that big result we went on a slump and failed to win in 5 games! In that period we only picked up 3 points out of 15, which were 3 1-1 draws against Universidad Espanola, Coquimbo & Cobresal. We dropped from 1st - 3rd in that time so I was getting worried.

I needn't be worried though, as we didn't lose from that point onwards til the end of the season! We only conceded 5 goals in 7 games to end it so we definitely did something right! Big win against fellow title challengers Everton and a draw on the final day against University de Chile.

An amazing end to the season, but was it enough?

OF COURSE IT WAS! CAMPEONATO BETSSON CHAMPIONS 2026!
I never expected to say that as quickly as the 2026 season! 3 1\2 seasons it took to get from bottom to the top! That's a hell of a quick rise and I think the main part f it was making the squad a younger more athletic team! You can't win anything with kids eh?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Copa Chile Easy

The domestic cup journey is always a fun distraction! It's especially important to the fans who placed a huge amount of prestige on these competitions! The previous couple of attempts, I've been knocked out in the Fourth Round! This time, we managed to make it all the way to the Final!

A 2-0 win in the 1st Round against La Calera saw us get into the 2nd Round, where we had another 2-0 victory, this time against La Serena. 2 comfortable results that were never in doubt. The 3rd Round though was a different story, and in all honesty, we should've been eliminated! We were 1-0 down before Sebastian Parada netted an 80th minute equaliser before we managed to beat them in a penalty shootout.

In the Fourth Round, we smashed Deportes Copiapo 7-1 in a game where everything just went right! It was simply brilliant! This meant we had a Semi-Final match up against fellow title challengers Everton.

It wasn't a tough game in all honesty, and we came through in sublime fashion! A 4-1 victory with braces from Francisco Arancibiia & Santiago Diaz! Into our first cup final we go…

An incredibly nervous and tight affair was the order of the day! The fans were excited but you could tell that they were nervous as well. We went behind early to a back post volley into the bottom corner! We then took control and the confidence started flowing. The nerves eased and Araya cut inside and drilled an effort into the bottom corner to level it up!

We had more chances, but couldn't convert any of them, which meant it went straight to penalties for some reason!

Magallanes | Missed, Scored, Scored, Scored, Scored
Deportes Iquique | Scored, Scored, Scored, Scored, Scored

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Copa Libertadores

Our debut season in the Copa Libertadores meant a qualifying round trip to Sao Paolo where we'd face one of the most famous teams in South America and the World. Could we do the unthinkable and knock them out? They've won this competition 3 times!

A huge upset happened in the 1st leg! We went to Brazil and came away with a 5-4 victory! Insane that we scored 5 goals against this giant of a team! It did take a last second header from Santiago Diaz to do that, but I'll take any win if they happen.

I actually felt quite confident going into the home leg, but they turned it on and put us to the sword. They didn't take kindly to the 1st leg defeat and definitely weren't going to go down without a fight. We ended up losing the tie 9-7 on aggregate. A valiant performance from the ‘Blue Dragons’!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Alexis Villarroel (AML/C/ST) | 19
2. Santiago Diaz (AMR/ST) | 17
3. Francisco Arancibia (AMR/L) | 14

Assists:
1. Alexis Villarroel (AML/C/ST) | 12
2. Francisco Arancibia (AMR/L) | 9
3. Bastian Arias (DM/CM) | 8

Average Rating:
1. Alexis Villarroel (AML/C/ST) | 7.42
2. Francisco Arancibia (AMR/L) | 7.19
3. Martin Araya (AMR) | 7.13

Player of the Year - Alexis Villarroel
Manager of the Year - Tongey (3rd time in a row)

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Season Stats

Campeonato Betsson | 1st (CHAMPIONS)
Copa Chile | Winners
Copa Libertadores | 1st Qualifying Round

GP | 38 GW | 24 GD | 8 GL | 6

GS | 84 GA | 46

__________________________________________________________________________________________

BONUS CONTENT!

Supercopa Chile
As we were the winners of the Campeonato Betsson & Copa Chile we were drawn to play in the Supercopa Chile. As we won both competitions, it went to the runners-up in the league who were Everton! A showpiece event awaited us at the start of the 2027 season…

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Next Post | End of Season (at a new club)

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

25 Oct 2023 18:57:01

2027 | LA Galaxy | USA

It wan't long from the moment I left the training ground at Deportes Iquique that I found myself back in management. I'd say I had around 4 months out of the game when I had a spell of three interviews back to back. I had interviews at:
- CF Montreal (USA)
- LA Galaxy (USA)
- Cienciano (Peru)

The frontrunner was always LA Galaxy and when they offered me the role of the manager, I accepted without hesitating! In hindsight, it was probably the worst move of the 3 at this stage. The salary cap confused me and I had messed that situation up in no time at all. I had to release a player because I signed one and it all went tits up.

Anyway, I won't beat around the bush too much, so let's get straight into the update.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Squad Overview:

The squad is in a dismal state. Absolutely no balance, too many players on big wages that aren't performing. Only 2 central midfielders in the squad and only 1 full back. Absolutely abysmal squad building from the previous manager. No wonder the team is in a dire position…

Goalkeepers:

Alex Martinez | GK | 19
Kenneth Mendez | GK | 25

Defenders:

I had employed the same 4-2-3-1 Gegenpress tactic that I was using so successful at Deportes Iquique, but this time it wasn't quite as effective. To be honest, it may be because I lacked the players to play it in the middle of the park. That one may be on me, but I'll never admit that to the whole world.

Things didn't start well for me in the MLS as we lost 4 of the first 7 games I took charge in. Our only win was an absolute battering of Cincinatti. It was a result that was totally out of the blue. The defeats were mostly close games but we didn't really deserve to win any of them. We weren't good.

Our next win came against St Louis CITY but we were brought right back down to Earth quickly as we lost to them in the very next game. Crazy world football eh? We did go on a mini kind of resurgence as we got 7 points form the next 5 games which was our best run of the season. It was then that the board turned on me…

I had not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven, not even eight, but NINE! NINE meetings with the board about my performance. I pushed them back each and every time and they bought my excuses but they then tried to make me get 12 points from the next 15 available.

I told them where to go and resigned from my position. That is an unreachable amount I'm afraid and I wasn't having that. I'd rather not be sacked.

We are that far down in the table in the Supporters Shield that I couldn't get the top 3 places in this screenshot! We were 27th when I resigned from my position and not on a good run of form. Nothing to be worried about, but it was time to leave…

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Leagues Cup

They have a competition in North America where teams from the United States & Mexico take part. It's called the Leagues Cup and we actually did something in it! We managed to win both Group games including a 4-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City, and a penalty shootout win over Toluca from Mexico. This set up a ¼ final tie against MLS side DC United.

It wasn't to be, as we went down to a 1-0 defeat. We actually played well and probably should've won this one. Nevermind, as success probably wasn't on the cards in this one.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Cristian Arango (ST) | 15

2. Moussa Djitte (AMR/L) | 8

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Season Stats

MLS Western Conference | 13th
MLS Supporters Shield | 27th
Leagues Cup | ¼ Final

GP | 23 GW | 5 GD | 6 GL | 12

GS | 38 GA | 46

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Next Update | End of Season Update 2028 (at a New Club)

bigmattb28

11 years ago

11 minutes ago

1,557

26 Oct 2023 12:13:33

By tongey 19 October 2023 - 13:56 PM UTC

I'm on board just from this graphics mate!

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

26 Oct 2023 16:50:16

By bigmattb28 26 October 2023 - 12:13 PM UTC

I'm on board just from this graphics mate!

Always good to have you on board Matt! Big praise from someone like yourself! Will we be seeing something from yourself soon?

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

26 Oct 2023 20:54:21

2028 | Halifax Wanderers | Canada

I think it's fair to say that my time in the USA wasn't very successful, but I hadn't damaged my reputation too much as there were plenty of suitors who were interested in me becoming their next manager. I ultimately chose to head north of the border and into Canada. Welcome to Halifax Wanderers.

I chose them for two reasons. The first being that they were a good prospect team with players who could play the positions I wanted in my tactic, and the second being that the logo is one of my favourites ever. A good enough reason eh?

It's time to bring you up to date with how the 2028 season went.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Things started really well, as we flew off to a hot start in the league! 4 wins and a draw out of our first 5 games! That's not bad considering we were meant to finish around 5th in the league tables final standings. We beat league favourites Valour FC in a thrilling 2-1 close encounter. What was evident is that we are free scoring and the goals were being spread out amongst a lot of players. Exciting times were ahead.

We then lost our next game to Forge FC before going on a mini revival and winning 5 of the next 6 games with that one loss being against Forge FC once again. They seem to have the better of us.

June came around and we only went and had an unbeaten month with 5 of those 6 games returning maximum points. A huge win against Valour FC and a tight encounter with Forge that we ended up on the right side of for the first time showed us exactly where we were in the league! We're a bloody good team and it's showing!

Our form started to get a little patchy as we entered the crunch stages of the league. 2 wins, 2 defeats and a draw in the next five, but we bounced back quickly and ended the season unbeaten over the last 4 games. At this point we were top of the league and sitting pretty. The top 5 teams qualified for the knockouts with the top team going straight to the Semi-Finals. A great season all around so far.

Semi-Final:

We easily saw league runners-up Pacific FC off in the Semi-Final thanks to a 4-2 victory and goals from Callum Watson, Wesley Timoteo & a brace from Benjamin Sanchez. We were excellent and were in control for the whole game. I never once doubted that we would get the result! Onto the final we go…

Final:

For some reason, Pacific FC managed to get through to the Final after winning a playoff after losing to us in the first semi-final. Weird little system but I'm not complaining. We were brilliant again and once again showed why we are the best team in the league. Not quite as in control but like the semi, I never doubted it. Wesley Timoteo put us ahead from the spot in the 23rd, before Massim Ferrin headed home a second. They did get one back but they never troubled us after that.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Canadian Championship

One of the continental competitions in North America, is the Canadian Championship. It's only continental because the Canadian teams from the MLS take part along with the Canadian Premier League sides. It's been won by one of the MLS sides every year so I don't really think there is any chance of us stopping that from happening this year.

We never even made it into the proper rounds of the competition after being knocked out by Vancouver FC. They were underperforming in the league campaign but showed they are a good team when they want to be. A thrilling second leg ended 4-4 and meant we lost 7-6 on aggregate. Not to be. An MLS team went on to win it. Shock.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Wesley Timoteo (AMR/L) | 17

2. Callum Watson (AMC) | 9

3. Fidel Barajas (AMR/L) | 6

Assists:
1. Callum Watson (AMC) | 9

2. Fidel Barajas (AMR/L) | 9

3. Wesley Timoteo (AMR/L) | 8

Average Rating:
1. Wesley TImoteo (AMR/L) | 7.31

2. Callum Watson (AMC) | 7.31

3. Fidel Barajas (AMR/L) | 7.19

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Season Stats

Canadian Premier League | 1st (Winners)
Canadian Championship | 1st Qualifying Round

GP | 32 GW | 20 GD | 7 GL | 5

GS | 80 GA | 49

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Next Update | End of Season Update 2029 (at a New Club)

bigmattb28

11 years ago

11 minutes ago

1,557

27 Oct 2023 06:51:08

By tongey 26 October 2023 - 16:50 PM UTC

Always good to have you on board Matt! Big praise from someone like yourself! Will we be seeing something from yourself soon?

😁😁 I'm toying with the idea of 24 and what to do in it or to stick to an older FM, but will definitely be getting something else soon mate

Hard lines with Galaxy, I always struggled in the MLS that bloody salary cap and DP players is confusing as hell. But what a good start in Canada though. Do you think you'll have a crack at the CONCACAF Champs league, if Canadian teams can get into it?

bigmattb28

11 years ago

11 minutes ago

1,557

27 Oct 2023 06:53:29

I've just noticed you've got a striker called Canada, who's from Canada and plays in Canada WTF

Zebramanii

14 years ago

1 day ago

186

28 Oct 2023 20:18:22

Some good work there in Chile, shame about the MLS but a nice rebound in Canada. Are you planning to give the MLS another go at some point in this save? I think it would be cool to go back there after a year or two in Canada.

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

03 Nov 2023 14:47:05

@bigmattb28 - The MLS is always a struggle. You either do well, or you don't. I never have any middle ground there. I'll be back to get my revenge anyway. Canada didn't really play for me, but always funny to have a name like that! When the shoe fits eh?

@Zebramanii - Chile was a really enjoyable place to start my Career. I'll look back on it with fondness for sure. I'll definitely be going back to the MLS. I need to tick it off to complete the save one day (If I get near). For now though, it's pastures new…

__________________________________________________________________________________________

2028/2029 | CF Atlante | Mexico

Another country ticked off, so it's off to another club and country with the hopes of building something special there. This time, I've left the cold Canadian shores and I've moved to a warmer climate. Hello Mexico! I'm not sure why I never manage in Mexico when playing FM, as it sounds like it would be my favourite place to visit. Who doesn't like the sound of tequila, margaritas and a bountiful amount of tacos! I certainly wouldn't turn that down anyway.

I've taken charge of CF Atlante who play in the Liga BBVA Expansion MX. That's the second tier here in Mexico so it'll be another little build up of a club which it's time for. You can't always win it all in the first season. I'm aiming to be here for a little while. When I took over, we had already finished the ‘Opening Stage’ of the league campaign and were just about to start the ‘Closing Stage’. The two winners of those stages go head to head to try and win the El Champions Trophy. It's a strange way of operating a league, but always interesting to see how different leagues work.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

League Campaign | Liga BBVA Expansion MX (Closing Stage)

This results page screams ‘MEDIOCRITY’ to me, although we seemed to get our S**T together towards the back end of it. Luckily in this league, the top 10 qualify for the Knockout Rounds, just at different stages. That's doable for most teams in the league so we just have to be good enough, and then become unbeatable in the knockouts.

As you can see from above, we had a mixed opening month as we won 2, drew 1 and lost 2. We weren't scoring many but only having 1 clean sheet in that time frame hurt us. We needed to sure ourselves up at the back, which is wy I brought in a new goalkeeper. It didn't immediately work but we definitely looked better once Omar Rodriguez came in as the new number one. Our two wins were against good sides in Mineros & UdeG but we got our asses handed to us by Alebrijes.

February was good to us, as we brought in 6/9 points on offer. Two absolutely huge wins against Morelia & Tapatio followed a bad result against Celaya. It's nice to see us start winning games by big scorelines. We look very good going forward which is a usual sign of our tactic working well!

March was a hit and miss month for us, losing twice, but also winning twice. Both wins were 2-0 victories against Tlaxcala & Cimarrones respectively. The loss onn the opening day of the month was an absolute spectacle for the fans. We kept going behind but we kept bringing it back. We just couldn't get that equaliser one more time to secure us a valuable point.

The final month was very, very good as we secured maximum points against top side Altenos Tepa and relegation threatened Cancun. Two wildly different sides but two very good performances and results!

This meant that we had qualified for the Quarter-Finals having done well enough to skip the first round. A points total of 25 was very good, and we only finished 2 points behind the winners Venados. Close league as only 15 points separated 1st from 14th. Insanely close so any points could've moved us a few positions.

How did we do in the Knockout Competition?

Not good I'm afraid. We drew a team we hadn't beaten all season, but we had finished above in this stage. By a single point may I add. I thought we had a good chance as we were playing some good football at the time. The first leg was at home and didn't go well. We lost 4-1 which put us in a terrible situation to get anything from this tie.

We got absolutely nothing right in the return leg either and could only just manage a draw thanks to an own goal. We'll move on quickly and hopefully I can put together a team that's capable of winning the league next season?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Jose Peralta (AMR) |10

2. Jonathan Ciprian (ST) | 7
3. Ronaldo Gonzalez (AMR/L/C) | 6

Assists:
1. Ronaldo Gonzalez (AMR/L/C) |6

2. Jose Peralta (AMR) | 5
3. Ulises Torres (LB) |5

Average Rating:
1. Aristeo Carballo (CM/AMC) | 7.24

2. Jose Peralta (AMR) | 7.16

3. Ulises Torres (LB) | 6.99

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Season Stats

Liga BBVA Expansion MX (Closing Stage) | 3rd
Knockout Rounds | Quarter-Final

GP | 16 GW | 8 GD | 2 GL | 6

GS | 29 GA | 27

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Next Update | End of Season Update 2029/2030

Michael cox

6 years ago

1 month ago

15

Premium

03 Nov 2023 15:06:01

Love it

Steve Robbins

10 years ago

10 months ago

96

04 Nov 2023 17:08:56

A really good closing stage mate bar the quarter final! Sure next season you will smash it

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

05 Nov 2023 11:07:36

@Michael cox, thanks for taking the time to comment mate! Keeps me engaged and motivated!

@Steve Robbins, I think your prediction may come true. Considering I had only just taken over, I was delighted to at least qualify for the Knockout Rounds last year. A building block for sure.

2029/2030 | CF Atlante | Mexico

Here we are, still in Mexico in charge of the wonderful CF Atlante. I've been gorging myself on tacos 3 times a day so the weight I've put on whilst managing here is incredible. Enough about that though and on with an important piece of information. I was doing some research about the league and found out that the Mexican FA put a stop on promotions/relegations to and from the top league: Liga BBVA MX. This was after Covid so that teams didn't lose a spot after losing out on money throughout those dreadful years.

It was meant to be for 6 seasons, but I'm not sure if that is put in to the Football Manager world, so I set my eyes on winning this league, and finding a new club once it was done. No issues created, it just means adding another club to the save which isn't a major thing to me. I'll be at plenty of clubs come the end of this behemoth.

Here comes the 2029/2030 season….

__________________________________________________________________________________________

League Campaign | Liga BBVA Expansion MX (Opening Stage)

Look at that form! We didn't lose a game until the penultimate match in the Opening Stage! That's some form if I do say so myself. Things just kept getting better and better as the team I've assembled seemed to gel quickly and with the addition of new striker Estaban Lozano goals just flowed. We scored 3 or more in 8 of the 14 games which is some statement.

OUR MOTTO: WE WILL SCORE MORE THAN YOU WILL!

We secured big wins against last years winners Celaya as we beat them 5-1, and also enjoyed revenge against the team who knocked us out of the Knockout Rounds: Alebrijes. A stunning 5-2 victory saw them leave with their tails between their legs. An absolute belter of a game on the last day against Cimarrones, which ultimately saw us secure top spot thanks to a 93rd minute goal in our game, and in a game that involved the other team vying for top spot. What a game, which ended 5-4!

Our only defeat in this stage was a surprising 1-0 loss to Tapatio on the penultimate match day. We were in such good form and it did surprise me when they scored and we couldn't find the back of the net from our many, many chances. We are usually lethal in front of goal, but not on this occasion.

The league table ended up with us in top spot on 31 points, with Dorados the only team who could keep up with us on 30 points. They were leading into the final matchday, and fell to a 2-2 draw with a 93rd minute goal meaning they dropped below us when we scored our winner. An epic last few seconds of the league. It did mean we qualified straight into the Quarter-Finals once again, but could we do better?

Quarter-Final:

Easy as you like in the Quarter-Finals. We got our scoring boots back on and secured a 5-2 victory in the first leg away from home. Lozano once again the man who created the magic. This meant that we had very little to do in the return leg, but got the job done professionally! A 2-0 victory at home secured our passage into the Semi-Finals after a 7-2 aggregate win.

Semi-Final:

A Semi-Final draw against the only side to beat us in the regular league season Tapatio. We put them to the sword and avenged our demons from the league performance. A 4-1 bettering put us in a strong position as we headed back to our ground to play the second leg. A rare defeat saw them push us close. A Tim Frahm goal ultimately saw us win the tie 5-4 on aggregate, but two late goals from Tapatio saw my blood pressure rise, and my heart rate increase dramatically! This was closer than I wanted.

Final:

The fans were shown two close, close games full of action in the Final! In the first leg away from home, Aristeo Carballo found the net late on in the game to give us a slender lead going into the return leg. It was a smash and grab really and a draw would've been a fair result, but I wasn't complaining.
In the return leg we got off to an absolute flyer with a 3-0 lead within 20 minutes! That meant we were up 4-0 in the tie. 2 goals midway through the second half from Dorados saw them claw themselves back into the tie, but the job was done. I think we had stunned them early doors.

Liga BBVA Expansion MX (Opening Stage) Champions!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

League Campaign | Liga BBVA Expansion MX (Closing Stage)

After being crowned champions of the Opening Stage, we set about trying to recreate the feat in the Closing Stage. Our form continued over and we set off on a ridiculous unbeaten run that last until the penultimate game once again. We weren't quite as free scoring as previously, but we did our job professionally and kept on picking up points. In most games, it was all 3 points.

In fact, we only drew one game all season, that game being a 1-1 draw against Cancun. A slightly surprising result but you can't win them all. We did have very good wins against Altenos Tepa, Mineros & Dorados. It's always nice to beat good teams, and Dorados are just that. They pushed us close in both competitions, but we bettered them both times.

This campaign, we did lose two games (rather than just the one). They came back to back at the end of the season. Once again we lost to Tapatio in a 2-0 defeat. Not good enough, and we followed that up with a 2-1 defeat to Cimarrones. A bad way to end the season and enter the Knockout Rounds, out of form…

Quarter-Final:

In the opening stage, we cruised through the Quarter-Finals, but it was much closer this time around. A 3-2 victory against UdeG in the first leg saw us gain the advantage in a tightly contested tie. We then scraped through the return leg 1-0, meaning we were through to the Semi-Finals. This tie could've gone either way on the day, but we just about edged it.

Semi-Final:

A more comfortable tie awaited us in the Semi-Final! We were up against Celaya who actually won a stage last season so there are definitely no slouches. We eased past them in the 1st leg winning 3-1, before Esteban Lozano decided he wanted it to be all about him in the return leg. 4 goals in the 4-1 rout meant that we were through to the Final once again.

Final:

Well, we faced Dorados once again in the Final, and this time they managed to sneak a victory in the first leg. A 2-1 defeat for us saw us head into the return leg with all the work to do. A late Jose Peralta goal gave us a way back in and some confidence heading into that return fixture.

WOW. What a performance in the return leg. We absolutely blasted them away with a 6-1 victory! Esteban Lozano was on a mission and obviously didn't like not scoring in the first leg. It's all about that man once again. With that, we wrapped up the Closing Stage title as well!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

El Champions Trophy

Usually the winners from the Opening Stage go head to head with the winners from the Closing Stage in a trophy called the El Champions Trophy! It's one of the competitions I need to win, and apparently we've just done that!

In the case that the two stages are won by the same time (like we have), then the El Champions Trophy is awarded to that club without a match having to be played! Excellent news!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Esteban Lozano (ST) | 42
2. Oswaldo Cruzalta (AML) | 12
3. Carlos Garza (AMC) | 12

Assists:
1. Oswaldo Cruzalta (AML) | 23

2. Jose Peralta (AMR) | 13
3. Carlos Garza (AMC) | 12

Average Rating:
1. Oswaldo Cruzalta (AML) | 7.62

2. Esteban Lozano (ST) | 7.58

3. Carlos Garza (AMC) | 7.32

Awards:

Player of the Season | Esteban Lozano (ST)

__________________________________________________________________________________________

GS | 106 GA | 47

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Next Update | End of Season Update 2030/2031 (at a new club)

Steve Robbins

10 years ago

10 months ago

96

05 Nov 2023 11:15:47

Fantastic season mate. Looking forward to seeing where you head off to next

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

08 Nov 2023 19:48:36

Thanks @Steve Robbins, the journey continues, and it's back to a familiar yet harrowing place for me…

2030/2031 | St Louis City SC | USA

Half of Mexico ticked off, and it was my aim to stay in Mexico, but try and get a job at a team in the top flight which could challenge fairly quickly so we could tick off another country. It didn't turn out that way, and the MLS seemed desperate to get me back in the league. I've had job interview offers from about 10 MLS teams since I left there, and I thought now was the right time to go back. I'm now the manager of St Louis City.

What I didn't realise when I took over was that St Louis City have a rule that they can't sign international players to their roster. They cannot register international players in the MLS squad list, so it's Americans, and Americans only. Time to believe in my youth team and master the draft I guess.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

League Campaign | MLS

Here it is, my MLS redemption journey. You can see that we actually got some good results and were fairly consistent with picking up points. Yea we had our bad days but the good days outnumbered them. We didn't manage a win for the first two games but when we did get our first win, it came in style.

A huge 8-2 victory over Toronto FC. It was insane that pretty much everything went right, and at one point we had scored 5 goals from 5 shots. Great finishing from the lads. Anyway, we had a bad result not long after when we lost 6-2 to Chicago. Substitute Nick Lee managed to get us a win after going behind with 2 late goals against Atlanta United and a run of 4 games unbeaten was to follow.

An absolute classic against Cincinatti was a great game to be part of. A 4-4 draw which saw them equalised in the last second of the game but I can't be too disappointed. Things weren't amazing, but we were pretty good througout the campaign. The aim was to just consolidate our position in the league and see how high we could finish. How high was that I hear you ask?

We had qualified from the Western Conference for the MLS Finals, and had qualified in 4th place which meant we got to skip a round for doing so. This meant that we had qualified for the next round at my first time of asking! We were hovering around the bottom of this qualifying group for the most part this year so progress was made. A total of 52 points meant we were 1 point behind FC Dallas and only lost out to Sporting KC on goals scored. Madness.

Western Conference Finals First Round:

An absolute stinker of a first leg against San Jose saw us lose the tie 3-1 with Jeff Brierley getting our goal on the stroke of half time. We were poor but the scoreline flattered them slightly. It was more of a 2-1 kind of game, where we didn't take our chances when they came. We needed to as we didn't create much.

The Second leg ended with drama as Carlos Gomez headed home in the 95th minute to give us an important win and send us to a decider (no aggregate wins in the MLS, it's the American system over here). We played much better in this leg and just about shaded the result!

The decider was a tight contest which ended in penalty shootout heartbreak! A late Montero strike drew us level, and sent us to the dreaded penalties. They missed the first one and I thought we were on our way, but we didn't remain calm and skyed one penalty before their keeper saved the 4th. We ended up losing and that was our MLS Conference Finals journey this year.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

MLS Supporters Shield:

In the MLS there is a seperate competition called the Supporters Shield which is a combination of the Eastern & Western Conferences. It's no extra games and just takes into account the regular season games. We finished in 10th overall which isn't too bad, but we'll have to be better over the whole season to compete for this title! I'm hoping it won't take too long to topple New York Red Bulls for this title.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Leagues Cup

Our performance in the MLS last season meant that the club had qualified for the Leagues Cup. Now I think this competition takes place between the better teams in Mexico & the MLS. We were drawn against LA Galaxy in the Quarter-Final and ended up smashing them 5-2. We were brilliant, every single man was better than our opponents. A great start to the competition that could give us confidence moving forward.

Atlanta United awaited us in the Semi-Final and once again we were brilliant. We probably didn't deserve to win 3-1, but we definitely deserved to win this tie so I'm glad we got our rewards. Atlanta are no slouches either so a great win against a fellow MLS side.

Our first Mexican opponents came in the Leagues Cup South Final, where we fell to Necaxa. We played well but they showed their quality and just took their chances. They didn't create much but neither did we. It was a game that could've gone either way but it didn't swing our way unfortunately. A great performance overall in the Leagues Cup! We'll be back for this one.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Campeones Cup

This was a lovely little surprise when the draw came through to my inbox! I had no idea we were in the Final of the Campeones Cup when I took over. It turned our we had qualified last season and we were to face Club America in this one. A fantastic game followed where we took the lead through Brooklyn Raines before they equalised. They took the lead early in the second half, before Carlos Gomez netted a fine finish from the edge of the area to level things up. Brooklyn Raines was the match winner in the 75th minute as he powered a header home to send the St Louis fanatics into bedlam.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Eddie Montero (ST) | 17

2. Carlos Gomez (AMR/L) | 11
3. Jeff Brierley (CM/AMC) | 7

Assists:
3. Jeff Brierley (CM/AMC) | 7

2. Brooklyn Raines (DM/CM) | 7
2. Carlos Gomez (AMR/L) | 7

Average Rating:
2. Carlos Gomez (AMR/L) | 7.30

2. Owen Otasowie (DM) | 7.26

3. Caleb Wiley (AML) | 7.16

Awards:

Fair Play Award | St Louis City SC

__________________________________________________________________________________________

GS | 33 GA | 14

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Next Update | End of Season Update 2031 / 2032

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

11 Nov 2023 10:17:11

2031 | St Louis City SC | USA

After seeing out the remaining half of last season with pretty much zero idea of how the MLS actually works, I've come back for another season with the mighty St Louis City and I'm going to try my best to make it work without signing an International player. For those of you that haven't remembered, for some reason one of my rules at the club is not to sign international players as I can't register them. In the MLS that is a huge disadvantage as the best players are often from other shores. A fun season awaits ahead…

Here comes the team news!
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Squad Overview:

Goalkeepers:

We knew that we were going to be force this season, due to our strengths up front. The ‘Gegenpress, 4-2-3-1’ tactic always produces goals, but isn't always the best at the back, but looking at this results view, it's worked pretty darn well this year.

March proved out to be a fantastic start to the season and exactly what we needed! We launched ourselves to the top of the tree and stayed there for the majority of the time. Solid wins against New York Red Bulls, Portland Timbers & Chicago Fire without conceding set us on our way. We then lost a tight one to Colorado Rapids before starting a new winning run of 3 games against San Jose, Orlando City & Portland Timbers.

April saw us drop a few more points than March but I'm not too worried about that. We only lost the once this month, against NYCFC but the majority of games were good wins. We scored 14 goals in 7 games which is pretty good. Wins came against Portland TImbers, DC United, New England, & CF Montreal, whereas we drew with Vancouver & Minnesota. A fantastic month.

May continued the form, and we only lost once more. This was a poor performance against Seattle. The other 5 games saw us gain maximum points and continue to score plenty of goals whilst being pretty solid at the back. A 5-0 battering of LAFC was a particular highlight. We are becoming a real force this season.

The second half of the season was here, and we continued to dominate. In June we followed our trend, and only lost one game against Sporting KC. We had a fantastic few wins against Atlanta United, Sporting KC & Toronto FC. I can't actually believe how many goals we're scoring. The strikers are on fire, and the wingers are chipping in aswell. This is all when our main striker Eddie Montero is our for the season as well.

July & August saw us collect maximum points, 12 in total and continue our assault on the top spot. We were easily top of the Western Conference, but the Supporters Shield was closer. At this stage we only needed a couple of wins to secure it, but a bad patch started. We lost 3 on the trot against Houstan, Real Salt Lake & San Jose. I don't know if the pressure was getting to the lads, but we bounced back on the last two matchdays and gianed 6 points against Cincinatti & Austin FC to round the season out.

As you can see, we absolutely dominated the Western Conference and managed to secure top spot by a whopping 12 points. We finished on 77 points from our 34 points with San Jose securing 2nd on 65. The gap between themselves and 3rd placed Sporting KC was 13 point. We were the better two team in this conference. The West not looking strong going into the playoffs.

I'll be posting the MLS Playoffs a little bit underneath here.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

MLS Supporters Shield

The MLS Supporters Shield combines both the Western & Eastern conferences together and produces one big league table. We ended up being top of the pile and have been crowned CHAMPIONS! Another trophy to be added to the list of successes. Despite our little blip in the last month we managed to claim the title by 6 points, no doubt down to our early season form!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

MLS Western Conference Finals

First Round | Houston:

A favourable match up saw us draw Houston in the first round. For some reason it's a two legged affair, but only in this round. The first leg saw us come out with a 2-0 victory thanks to Leandro Soria. He's been a game changer since his arrival mid way through the season. He didn't want us to lose this one and scored two fantastic solo goals.

The second leg was a fantastic game for the neutral. Not so much for my heart rate. A 4-4 draw with many lead changes, and a last second strike from Soria saw us go to penalties. A loss would give us a deciding game, and a win would send us through. Fortunately we didn't miss a single spot kick, and Carrera managed to pull out a good stop to send us through.

Semi-Final | Portland Timbers

Another favourable tie, this time against Portland Timber. In fact, most match ups are favourable in the West as we are such a dominant force. We came through this one pretty easily and ended up winning 5-2. Aziel Jackson showed his quality down the left netting twice, with Leandro Soria doing the same, but from the right hand side. Cultured defensive midfielder Otasowie hit a thunderbolt before the half to add to our lead. Into our first Western Conference Finals we go…

Final | FC Dallas:

Once again, we played a team that we've beaten in the season. The usual goalscorers weren't on show, but backup striker Nick Lee who has performed brilliantly in the absence of Eddie Montero got us ahead, and Gerardo Ramirez added to the lead to make it a difficult comeback for Dallas. We held on through a barrage of attacks from them, to see us lift the Western Conference title high into the sky, before heading to the MLS Cup Finals (Superbowl equivalent).

__________________________________________________________________________________________

MLS Cup | Atlanta United

The title holders of the Western Conference & the Eastern Conference met on a lovely sunny day in St Louis. Atlanta United were the visitors and they were coming in on a high after claiming the East. They were no match for us again, as we raced out to a 2-0 lead thanks to Leandro Soria & Nick Lee. It wasn't until the second half that Jacksona added a 3rd to our lead, before they hit back with 2 late goals to put the pressure on. I was a nervous wreck at this point, but Lee scored his second of the game to put it on ice. Queue the chaos from the stands. I may or may not have pulled out a knee slide down the touchline…

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Aziel Jackson (AML) | 18

2. Nick Lee (ST) | 17
3. Leandro Soria (AMR/ST) | 15

Assists:
1. Gerardo Ramirez (AML) | 19

2. Caleb Wiley (AML) | 12
3. Brooklyn Raines (CM) | 10

Average Rating:
1. Aziel Jackson (AML)) | 7.40

2. Gerardo Ramirez (AML) | 7.38

3. Leandro Soria (AMR/ST) | 7.37

Awards:

Comeback Player of the Year | Owen Otasowie

Most Valuable Player | Aziel Jackson

Coach of the Year | Tongey

I also managed to enter the North American Hall of Fame with the famous treble win this season.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Season Stats

MLS Western Conference | 1st
Western Conference Finals | Winners
Supporters Shield | Winners
Leagues Cup | 4th Place

GP | 46 GW | 34 GD | 2 GL | 10

GS | 132 GA | 68

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Next Update | End of Season Update 2032

Steve Robbins

10 years ago

10 months ago

96

11 Nov 2023 12:22:41

What a season! I always knew you were good at FM but to actually complete a season in the MLS AND do well is insane! Well done mate, you're a bigger man than me!

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

12 Nov 2023 16:32:53

@Steve Robbins - Always love receiving these types of comments! Very kind words. They do say that if at first you don't succeed, try and try again. I did just that and it's seemed to pay off.

2032 | St Louis City SC | USA

With the MLS ticked off last season along with the MLS All-Star Game, all we had left to tick off realistically in the USA is the US Open Cup! This is exactly the competition that I'll be trying to win this season without having the pressure of trying to win the league once more. It would be a lovely bonus if we did though.

Once again, I had to navigate the weird off-season in the USA, which includes multiple types of drafts with the main one being the MLS Superdraft which is where you can get your hands on one of the best young players coming out of the college system. It's always a pot luck system to be honest, but I once again seem to have pulled a few gems out of the bag as for the second straight year, we were the highest graded Draft Class: A+ the grade.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Chase Gasper | LB | 36

I won't bore you too much with this one, as we've already ticked the competition off the to do list! All I can say is that we had a ridiculous start to the season, going a massive 17 league games unbeaten. In that 17 game run, we managed 15 Wins and only 2 Draws. That's pretty darn impressive, even if we are the reigning champions of the MLS. I think it's clear we are the best side domestically, but can't quite compete on a Continental Stage just yet. Mexico dominates that stage.

Anyway, back to the league, We continued our good form which put us in a fantastic position to retain our league title when it came down to it. We did go on a little bit of a drab run of form later on in the season, where we couldn't get a win in 4 games, where we lost to FC Dallas, Charlotte FC & LA Galaxy and drew with Austin FC. What was noticeable was that we couldn't score. We had a lot of injuries at this stage, but that's no excuse. We have good depth so that shouldn't have been a problem.

We bounced back with a nice 6 game run to end the season. A fantastic 5-0 win on the final day set us up for the playoffs nicely.

Supporters Shield:

Our league form, meant that we managed to win back to back MLS Supporters Shield trophies. It wasn't exactly close either, with ourselves ending the league with 78 points. Inter Miami who finished as runners-up, could only manage 61 points. A staggering 17 point gap between ourselves. Like I said above, we are the best team in the MLS right now.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

MLS Final: Western Conference:

I won't bore you with a detailed play by play of each round, but you can see from our schedule above that we managed to WIN THE WEST! We didn't have it all our own way though, as LAFC made it difficult for us in the First Round as they managed to secure a win in the second leg to force a decider. We decided to show up in the decider and dispatched them easily from the competition.

Into the MLS Cup Final we go for a second straight year. Can the West remain on top?

MLS Cup Final:

Once again, we are crowned MLS Cup Champions! That's back to back Supporters Shield & MLS Cup's for us. The board and the fans love me! A lovely 3-0 victory in this one over a poor Philadelphia side. I was surprised to see them in the Final to be honest. Superhuman Leandro Soria the MOM, with Raines getting the other goal.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Campeones Cup

For the 2nd time in 3 seasons, we have been crowned the Campeones Cup Champions! I think this is the league winners from Mexico against the league winners from America. I'm surprised we have won this one twice, as the Mexican sides always seem stronger. Eddie Montero scored a screamer to secure the trophy!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Leagues Cup

It wasn't to be in the Leagues Cup, which I wasn't too surprised with to be honest. Again, the Mexican sides dominate this one. We did qualify straight to the Quarter-Final because we won the league last year.

We sent Club America packing as we have the upper hand against them seemingly. A lovely 3-1 victory with 3 different scorers. A dominating performance. It wasn't to last a we were sent unceremoniously out of the competition after a 4-1 defeat againt Tigres. I think they knocked us out last year as well. Not to be, but I'm not too disheartened. This will be one to tick off when I'm in Mexico later in the career.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

US Cup

The US Cup is the that we were looking for this year, and I'm delighted to have ticked it off the list! It never looked in doubt to be honest, as we had a pretty easy route to the trophy!

In the 4th & 5th Rounds, we had an easy win against DC United and sent Chicago Fire out convincingly after a 3-0 victory! No troubles in the early rounds, and that continued into the Quarter-Final. A 4-2 victory over USFL side San Antonio saw a brace apiece for Jackson & Montero. Montero keeping up his record of scoring in every round so far.

The Semi-Final brought our toughest match up to date, but again, we weren't troubled as a 4-2 victory followed. Joe Apples netted a beauty in this one on the way to the Final.

In the Final, we faced USFL side Sacramento who had knocked out so many MLS sides on their way to the final. They were a real feel good story in this years edition of the cup, but I wasn't going to let that distract me from winning it. A comfortable 2-0 victory on the night thanks to Montero & Soria saw us raise the trophy high into the St Louis skyline!

United States Complete!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Eddie Montero (ST) | 28

2. Leandro Soria (AMR/ST) | 21
3. Gerardo Ramirez (AML) | 19

Assists:
1. Leandro Soria (AMR/ST) | 24

2. Carlos Gomez (AMR/L) | 19
3. Mark Cheston (DM) | 12

Average Rating:
1. Carlos Gomez (AMR/L) | 7.56

2. Leandro Soria (AMR/ST) | 7.42

3. Gerardo Ramirez (AML) | 7.35

__________________________________________________________________________________________

GS | 128 GA | 56

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Next Update: End of 2033 Season Update | New Team

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

15 Nov 2023 21:01:46

2033 | CF Monterrey | Mexico

VIVA LA MEXICO! We're back in the land of bountiful tacos and tequila, and it feels oh so good to say that! I really do love Mexico it seems. I've already ticked off half of the countries trophies, but I'm here for the top league and cup, as well as trying to tick the continental competitions as well which should be easier with a Mexican side.

I took over half way through the season so the Apetura (Opening) stage has finished. We finished 6th in the league stage, and then were knocked out in the Quarter-Final by Pachuca. Not where the club needs or wants to be but definitely something for me to build upon now I'm in charge.

Here's the squad I inherited.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Squad Overview:

Goalkeepers:
Rodrigo Formento | GK | 33
Hugo | GK | 25

Defenders:
Thiago Prado | CB | 24
Felix Diaz | CB | 25
Jose Prieto | RB/LB | 20
Bernardo Zurita | CB | 25
Jose Gutierrez | CB | 20
Julian Araujo | RB/LB | 31
Alonso Aceves | LB | 32

Midfielders:
Frederico Navarro | DM | 33
Leandro Barboza | DM | 23
Patricio Tanda | CM | 31

Wingers/Attackers:
Bryan Diez | AML | 24
Oscar Luis del Real | AML | 20
Jose Pablo Castro | AMR | 24
Nestor Rodriguez | AMR | 23
Matheus Goncalves | AMR | 27
Israel Acevedo | AMC | 22
Biel | AML/AMC | 32
Jonathan David | AMR/L/C/ST | 33

Strikers:
Luciano | ST | 26
Juan Pablo Barrios | ST | 24
Eric Teran | ST | 22
Carlos Arana | ST | 18

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Liga BBVA MX | Clausura (Closing Stage)

As I mentioned above, the Apetura Stage had already been and gone, so I was taking charge of the team for the first time in the Liga MX Clausura. 17 games in this stage, and we weren't the best over the campaign. We had good stages, but we also had bad stages including a 3 game losing run at the end of the season.

We actually took charge just before the Pumas game, so the absolute hammering 7-1 victory was my first game in charge! I thought we were in for a hell of a campaign and for us to be challenging at the top of the tree, but that wasn't to be the case unfortunately. We followed that huge win up with another 2-0 victory over Queretaro.

A poor March probably laid an end to the title hopes, as we only managed one win this month. A 3-1 win over Santos Laguna with Jonathan David the cultured Canadian grabbing 2 goals. The other two games ended in defeat against title hopefuls Tigres & Toluca. Not to be this month.

If I thought March was poor, then we were in for a shocking April. I lost 3 of the 4 games and only won 3 points from the 12 on offer. A lovely 3-1 victory over Chivas. Then came the 3 match losing streak which put an end to the playoff qualification as well. As we headed into the last game we were just about qualifying for the knockouts, but the final day defeat saw us fall out of the qualification spots and into 11th.

You'll soon see, we had bigger fish to fry, and an 11th placed finish probably isn't as bad as it seems. I'll be back for this next year.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

CONCACAF Scotiabank Champions League

The Champions League was a lovely little surprise to walk into. We faced off against San Jose Earthquakes in the 2nd Round. My eyes lit up when we were drawn against an MLS side. As a Mexican side, we definitely have more quality and without the cap limit, we can strengthen easier. We dispatched them 6-2 on aggregate to make our way into the ¼ Final.

MLS side Orlando City awaited us, and once again we easily sent them packing from the competition with a 5-2 aggregate victory. 2-1 in the first leg and 3-1 in the return leg. Nothing to worry about yet, and no real challenges in difficulty. Easy as you like and into the Semi-Final.

Our first Mexican tie came against Tijuana. This was a much closer encounter, but we managed to somehow sneak through into my first continental final. An absolutely fantastic first leg ended 4-4 with a last second equaliser for ourselves. We can count ourselves lucky that we didn't lose that one. In the return leg a Goncaleves strike gave us the win and sent us on our way!

The final came around pretty quickly and WOW, I don't think I've been more nervous throughout a game. A Jonathan David missed penalty set us on our way and I thought that was the day we were in for. No luck at all. We rode our luck a bit in the first half wit a couple of chances for Tigres but nothing of too much note. A quickfire double in the second half through Goncalves & Diez gave us a 2-0 lead which turned out to be unassailable. A bit of a flukey goal for Tigres gave them a way back in but we held on and lifted my first Continental Trophy of the save!!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Jonathan David (ST) | 20

2. Matheus Goncalves (AMR) | 13
3. Bryan Diez (AML) | 9

Assists:
1. Israel Acevedo (AMC) | 14

2. Frederico Navarro (DM) | 14
3. Matheus Goncalves (AMR) | 10

Average Rating:
1. Matheus Goncalves (AMR) | 7.46

2. Leandro Barboza (DM) | 7.22

3. Alonso Aceves (LB) | 7.08

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Season Stats

Liga BBVA MX (Clausura) | 11th
CONCACAF Scotiabank Champions League | Winners

GP | 17 GW | 11 GD | 1 GL | 5

GS | 42 GA | 27

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Next Update: End of 2034 Season Update

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

15 Nov 2023 21:02:05

.

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

15 Nov 2023 21:02:23

.

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

15 Nov 2023 21:02:58

.

bigmattb28

11 years ago

11 minutes ago

1,557

16 Nov 2023 08:02:57

Got caught up on here, since I last logged in you've gone from MLS, to Mexico, back to MLS and now back to Mexico. Maybe you'll get your head round the MLS rules eventually hahah

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

19 Nov 2023 16:04:54

2033/2034 | CF Monterrey | Mexico

I've been a little bit sneaky here. I haven't posted an update at the end of last season so I'm going to squeeze my Leagues Cup from the 2034/2035 season in here at the end, as a little bonus content. Exciting huh! At the end of last season, we had managed to somehow win the CONCACAF Champions League whilst failing miserably in the league after taking over. A definite season of mixed fortunes, but I'll take a Champions League win any day of the week!

This season we had 2 aims: The first being to win the LIGA BBVA MX and the second was to win the Leagues Cup. If we manage to win the league, then we'll be entered in the Campeon de Campeones as well which is a sort of Charity Shield type competition. Plenty to aim for, but could we manage any of them?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Squad Overview

Goalkeepers:

Diego Kochen | GK | 28

Defenders:
Thiago Prado | CB | 25
Felix Diaz | CB | 26
Marko Obrenovic | CB | 26
Jose Prieto | RB | 21
Bernardo Zurita | CB | 27
Jose Gutierrez | CB/CM | 22
Alonso Aceves | LB | 33
Jose Salazar | RB | 23
Nestor Rodriguez | RB/LB | 24

Midfielders:
Martin Zolorza | DM | 26
Leandro Barboza | DM | 25
Daniel Gustavo Nelly | DM | 20
Luigy Arellano | CM | 23

Attackers/Wingers:
Matheus Goncalves | AMR | 29
Ivan Rodriguez | AMC | 22
Franco Gomez | AML | 25
Israel Acevedo | AMC | 24
Oscar Luis del Real | AML | 21
Luis San Roman | AMC | 16
Tomas Garcia | AMC | 26

Strikers:
Luciano | ST | 27
Juan Pablo Barrios | ST | 26
Lisandro Machado | ST | 22

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Liga BBVA MX | Apertura

A fantastic set of results for my first time managing in the Apertura stage of the Liga BBVA MX. We had a casual 14-game unbeaten run which included 11 wins and 3 draws. What a ridiculous start that really put us in control of the league table. Most notable, was the 6-2 victory over Queretaro, and a 4-0 victory over Club America.

We had a fantastic tight game with Pachuca where we just about came out victors in a 5-4 victory! A great game, but a nervy one at that. One thing that I did notice, was that we weren't recording many clean sheets. It's a good job we were lethal in attack as at the back, we weren't that great. I guess it doesn't matter when you get the victory secured.

We hit a little rocky patch towards the end, but even that suggests that we were poor. We weren't. We lost 2 in a row, against Mazatlan & Pumas. Truth be told, I rested key players in most to ensure we were fit and healthy for the Knockout Rounds. We did end the season on a real positive when we ran out 5-0 winner over Puebla. A fantastic season all in all. Now for the playoffs…

17 games, 12 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses. We ended on 39 points with Atlas securing second place on 34. A solid gap between us two, and meant that we had secured our space in the playoff competition to crown the eventual League Winner.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Liga MX Apertura | Knockout Rounds

Look at that! A crazy run of games where things didn't always go our way. In the Quarter-Final we nearly blew our chances straight away as we lost the first leg 3-1 against Club America. In the return leg, I have absolutely no idea what happened. I stood in shock as every shot seemed to find the back of the net. 10 [TEN] - 0 was the final result and meant we went through to the Semi-Finals. I also think that may be my biggest-ever win.

The Semi-Finals were also a close-fought tie. We were up against Tijuana, just south of the American border. A 2-1 victory in the second leg with the winner coming late on thanks to Julian Araujo, was enough to see us through after the first leg ended in a 0-0 stalemate. I breathed a sigh of relief after this one.

The final was against probably the best team in Mexican football history: Tigres. Once again we didn't start the tie off in a great way, losing 2-1 away from home. Not a great position to be in going into the return leg. We did have our fans on our side in the decider though. We left it late, but a lucky own goal got us level in the tie, and then up stepped Bernardo Zurita in the 87th minute to slam a loose ball home and earn us the trophy! A great comeback!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Liga BBVA MX | Clausura

Going into the Clausura phase as Champions obviously didn't help us in the league stage! Comparing the two stages, this one was definitely a tougher slog. I did sell a few players in between the stages so that may have played a part.

We started off really well, with a lovely 4-match winning run against Atletic San Luis, FC Jaurez, Chivas & Santos Laguna. Form then started to get a little patchy as defeats and draws started to seep in. A humiliating 6-3 defeat to Pachuca, was a real disappointment.

The bad run consisted of 8 games where we only managed one win against Toluca. We lost 3 times and drew 4 times! It wasn't pretty and saw us slide considerably down the table into around 6th position! Top 10 qualify so we weren't in a dire position, but it just wasn't pleasing to see.

We ended the season on better terms, as we battered Mazatlan 6-2 before losing to Pumas and securing a lovely 4-1 win over Puebla on the last day! A good end to the season.

We had qualified for the Knockouts once again, but were down in 6th. Not ideal, but at least we had qualified. That's the main thing.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Liga MX Clausura | Knockout Rounds

Compared to the Apertura knockout rounds, this one was a lot easier. We eased through the Quarter Final against Cruz Azul with a massive 9-4 aggregate victory. The first leg ensured we had wrapped this one up at the earliest opportunity.

The Semi-Finals followed a similar script. Ensure we had done enough in the first leg then ret a few players and ease on through with no injuries. In this case, we secured a huge 4-0 victory over Queretaro in the first leg where a Gonvalves hat trick was the headline! Excellent individual play from the young man! We actually lost the return leg 1-0, but the job had already been done.

The Final was again, against our old rivals Tigres. The first leg was at home this time, and we did a fantastic job of neutralising them as best as we could. Twice times we came back from being behind, and then we turned it on in the final 20. A late Acevedo goal gave us a 2-goal cushion and secured the victory!
The return leg was a much calmer affair. A 2-2 draw and game we managed from start to finish! We never gave them a chance to get ahead properly and challenge our first-leg lead.

This mean that we had won both the Apertura & Clausura trophies, which meant that we had secured another trophy whilst doing so.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Leagues Cup | 2033/2034

My first attempt at trying to secure the Leagues Cup with a Mexican side! It's never been doable when managing with an MLS side so I was looking forward to trying to get further than I've ever been. It wasn't the case.

We came through our group fairly easily, dispatching Columbus & Sporting KC and finishing top. In the Central Quarter-Final, we managed to grind out a 2-1 victory against fellow Mexican side Atlas. It was a great game but we got a little lucky.

It meant that we had a Central Semi-Final against Pachuca to look forward to. It was nothing near enjoyable as we were unceremoniously dumped out of the competition after a disappoining 3-0 defeat. We didn't show up and deserved what we got. Another year in Mexico it is then…

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Leagues Cup | 2034/2035

This was a much easier run in the Cup. Since we had won the league title the season before, it meant that we went straight into the Quarter-Final.

We were drawn against FC Dallas and comfortably beat them 2-0 in a dominating performance. Nothing special, but we got the job done! Simple as that. Into the South Semi-Final we went, and we faced off against another MLS side: Sporting KC. We played very, very well and came away with a 4-1 victory! Dominated from start to finish.

The South Final was a much tougher game, as I expected it to be, playing against another Mexican side. We were playing Atlas who we've done well against in the past. What a game this was. A 4-4 draw in regulation time, with a late equaliser from ourselves thanks to Franco Gomez. It was enough to earn us a chance at a penalty shootout. My nerves were shot, but my players were immense. They held their nerves and scored all 5 of the spot kicks, with Kochen the hero saving their final effort. Into the main Playoffs we were.

Santos Laguna were our first opponent, in the Semi-Final of the whole competition. It was a much simpler game than against Atlas in the previous round. We dictated play, kept the ball well and secured a 4-2 victory meaning we were on our way to the Leagues Cup Final for the first time in my career. We were up against Club America who I've got a very good record against.

The good record continued, as we secured a 4-1 victory that earned me my final trophy in Mexico. What a performance this was. Easy as you like, no nerves, and jus pure excitement. The lads deserve all the success they get as they executed our gameplan to perfection!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Next Update: End of 2034/2035 Season Update (NEW TEAM)

tongey

15 years ago

1 month ago

1,101

23 Nov 2023 21:02:45

2035 | Sarmiento (Junin) | Argentina

Welcome to Argentina! Yes, we've hopped south of the borders and gone as far as I could! When I left Monterrey, I had two options: head back to the MLS to try and tick off the Canadian Championship with one of the three big Canadian MLS sides. The second option is heading into South America and ticking off some trophies down there. I remained open to either, but when the Sarmiento (Junin) job came up, it was a no-brainer.

Sarmiento is a side that plays in the second tier of Argentinian football. They were a team that did well last season, but as one of the favourites to go up, they come with hefty expectations as well. It's a team that shouted at me straight away and I'm delighted to be here. Not to mention, I love red wine, and I love a good steak so I'm in heaven over here. Argentina, you rock.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Team Overview:

Goalkeepers:

Denilson Vera | GK |28

Yanina Abasse | GK | 34

Defenders:
Lucas Silva | CB | 22
Moissi Mze Issa | RB/CB/LB | 33
David Garcia | RB | 30
Todd Lorenzon | RB | 33
Hernan Silvero | CB | 27

Midfielders:
Luis Duarte | DM | 22
Vladimiro Meneses | DM | 34
Aaron Brauer | DM | 29
Ezequiel Echeverria | DM/CM | 19
Ahmed Mori | CM | 33
Assoumani Pellegrino | CM | 29

Wingers/Attackers:
Loutdi Longo | AMC | 30
Juan Bisanz | AMR | 34
Franco Espindola | AML | 19
Craig Milo | AMR | 35

Strikers:
Mateo Peralta | ST | 28
Tauya Ozuna | ST | 32
Todd Leguizamon | ST | 29

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Primera Nacional

When you lose only 4 times in a single league campaign, you're definitely doing something right! I think this may be the longest season I've had in terms of league games. 36 in total. Things just went very well for us from the start and they kept on rolling.

The league is split into 2 groups of 19 teams. The two winners of the leagues then face off against each other to determine who wins the league. The loser then goes into the playoffs where the top teams compete to earn a promotion spot. It's a bit chaotic but works nicely once you get a grip of it.

I won't go through month by month, but I'll pick out some key results that set us on our way. Back-to-back 4-0 victories at the beginning against Defensor de Belgrano & Agropecuario Argentino really saw us start in a positive fashion.
We had my biggest defeat ever when we lost 7-3 to Racing (CB). A crazy game that I wanted to forget as soon as possible.

The middle portion of the league was very successful, as it saw us pick up 33 points from a possible 45 on offer! A very good return from the middle stint.
In that stint, we had a 6-0 followed by a 5-0 victory against Deportes Maipu & Deportes Madryn. Two decent teams but we showed them who was boss!

A lovely 4-1 victory on the Final day, against Mitre (SdE) meant nothing in terms of league position as we had already secured the top spot, but it's nice to give us confidence heading into the Champions Playoff.

We had easily secured the top spot, and left the rest for dead! They were no match for us as we stormed to a 9-point lead over 2nd place Defensor de Belgrano. It's crazy that we had 10 draws this season, if we had turned some of those into wins, we'd have walked the league by an even bigger margin! All if's and buts though eh?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Champions Playoff

We were drawn at home against Aldosivi who had romped to the Group A title by an even bigger margin than ours. The two best sides were meeting in this game, that's for sure!

David Garcia placed a lovely finish into the bottom corner to put us ahead in the 28th, but it wasn't long after that they equalised. It stayed 1-1 at the half, but Todd Leguizamon headed home in the 47th to put us back ahead. We kept the lead for longer but rode our luck slightly as they missed a couple of big chances after. They did finally draw themselves level in the 68th, but we made a big push, went attacking and got our reward through Leguizamon once again. He dribbled past 2 and fired a low shot past the keeper to make it 3-2. They had a guilt-edged chance in the last second but the header went over the bar! Crazy as it was free from 4 yards out!

PREMERA NACIONAL CHAMPIONS 2035!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Copa Argentina

Well, let's be honest success wasn't going to be on the cards in the Copa Argentina this year really. We are a second-tier team playing in the big boy competition, so to get to the 6th Round will do me nicely.

We managed to beat Central Norte in the 5th Round, after a classy 2-0 victory! Easy as you like, and no issues in this one.

The 6th Round was against Argentinian big boys Independiente (a team I loved growing up). We held our own to be honest, but fell to a 2-1 defeat after Todd Leguizamon had got us a goal back after going 2-0 down early doors. I'm happy with the performance, but we exited the competition at this stage.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Loutfi Longo (AMC) | 20

2. Todd Leguizamon (ST) | 19
3. Juan Bisannz (AMR) | 11

Assists:
1. Loutfi Longo (AMC) | 15

2. FJuan Bisannz (AMR) | 8
3. Todd Leguizamon (ST) | 7

Average Rating:
1. Loutfi Longo (AMC) | 7.70

2. Assoumani Pellegrino (CM) | 7.63

3. Hernan Silvero (CB) | 7.36

Argentine Second Division Player of the Year | Loutfi Longo (1st), Ray Guzman (2nd, former player), Hernan Silvero (3rd)

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Season Stats

Primera Nacional | 1st (Winners)
Copa Argentina | 6th Round

GP | 37 GW | 22 GD | 10 GL | 5

GS | 96 GA | 46

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Next Update: End of 2036 Season Update

Flag	Nation	Competitions	Completed?
	Argentina	2/5	NO
	Canada	1/1	YES
	Chile	4/4	YES
	Mexico	4/4	YES
	USA	4/4	YES

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Team

League

Nation

2023/2024 | Deportes Iquique | Chile

2023/2024 | Deportes Iquique | Chile

2025 | Deportes Iquique | Chile

2026 | Deportes Iquique | Chile

2027 | LA Galaxy | USA

2028 | Halifax Wanderers | Canada

2028/2029 | CF Atlante | Mexico

2029/2030 | CF Atlante | Mexico

2030/2031 | St Louis City SC | USA

2031 | St Louis City SC | USA

2032 | St Louis City SC | USA

2033 | CF Monterrey | Mexico

2033/2034 | CF Monterrey | Mexico

2035 | Sarmiento (Junin) | Argentina

24/25 Season Update

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