Pentagon Challenge

Meet Ugnius Miki, a 29 year old Lithuanian born in Trakai (chosen through a random name and city generator). With a basic knowledge of English to help him complete what seemed impossible, he applied to all available Manager jobs open on 13th July 2023, totalling 132! 

After just 2 days, he had already been offered several Under 20 international jobs, as well as a high paying gig with the Qatari national team. But rumours told him there were better offers in the pipeline, so he waited another 2 days. And the rumours proved true, with several enticing offers from round the globe arriving in his inbox.

After rejecting a Welsh 2nd division club, a Japanese 3rd league team, and a bunch of others, he finally went in for an interview with Black Leopards, a team in the South African Championship. They have a solid background, a positive bank balance, and a semi-decent starting eleven.

Not before long, and the acceptance mail was in the bag! First job after just a week in the market. Following a meeting with the players, staff and media, he got to work. First up was a Head Physio, followed by Head Scout and several other backroom staff. Once that was sorted, he turned to the current batch of free transfers, of which several promising options were offered 4 week trials. Of highest priority was defenders, with the existing squad consisting of many AMC’s and strikers.

In came Emmanuel Letlotlo, a 27 year old fast striker, Cheslyn Jampies, a 33 year old solid left back, and Marco Slinger, a decent right winger due to a lack of options on the wings. Their star player was a free from AmaZulu FC, a DMC called Khumalo. A backup centre back called Monyepao came in, and another left back, who was immediately re-trained to a DR to provide cover on the right side.

Pre-season was great, with the Leopards going unbeaten in 5 matches, scoring 32 and conceding 4. First game of the season, at home to City Rovers, was expected to be a draw, but they finished with a resounding 3-0 victory, with the only downside being a three week lay-off for the right back.

The results continued astounding the critics, with the team going unbeaten until March, when they had their first blip in form.

They made it all the way to the South African Cup semis, where they lost to the leaders of the Premiership, Mamelodi. And their unbeaten league run following their mid-season slump also came to an end in the final game, where they lost 1-0 despite dominating.

Top scorer was the CB/DM Khumalo, who scored regularly from corners. Letlotlo proved an inspiration, scoring 19 and assisting 13.

However....finances were not great at all, and they had a negative balance until the prize money came in. Their ***-man was nabbed mid-season, and they couldn't afford to replace him. And...all the top players are out of contract at the end of the season as the club couldn't afford to renew their contracts earlier.

Let's see where season two takes him, now in the SA Premiership with the big guns.

Season Two:
Miki continued to confound critics and improved both the squad members and the reputation of the club.
Despite going through a difficult transfer window, some great finds were signed, and they even managed to keep the majority of the Championship winning side.
Some surprise results led to a TK Knockout Final spot in December, as well as a 6th place in the league going into the winter break.
He managed to get some new qualifications to add to his CV, alongside a increasing fame. Curacao approached him to be their manager, yet after just 4 weeks in the Carribean, Qatar came calling with a £10k per week proposition which he couldn't refuse.

Khumalo is again the leading scorer, continuing his great form from last season, followed again Letlotlo.

Up next is the (unexpected) cup final against rivals Kaizer Chiefs

Unbelievable scenes!! What was expected to be a defeat turned into a fantastic thrashing, and in turn the club's first ever cup trophy. The winter break has almost arrived, and Miki hopes that some of the income gained from this great cup run can be turned in to further signings to strengthen the squad, which desperately needs some depth for the rest of the season.

fast forwarding through to the back end of the season, Miki has done outstanding things to get the Leopards to the top of the table, and a place in the CAF Confederation Cup (African Champions League) next season!
Since the cup final, the club has yet to lose a match, with a 7-2 and an 8-2 thrashing along the way. A superb freebie from Latvia joined the first team and became captain with a month.

The boardroom was re-arranged mid season, and following an investment into the youth / training facilities which had left the club in deep debt, the new board took out a loan which stabilised the finances somewhat.

Youth intake was incredible, with 2 x 5 stars and 9 x 4 stars looking to come through the ranks!

Miki has been consistently improving his credentials and has now at least basic knowledge of 5 languages (Lithuanian from his home town, English, Sesotho (one of the many South African dialects), Russian and now Arabic from his time as Qatar manager.

The second final of the season beckons! After a fantastic humbling of Orlando Pirates, they face SuperSport who are currently 9th place in the league.

They've only gone and done the unthinkable!

League champions at the first time of asking!!
This is an incredible achievement, considering there were only 230 people watching every match when Miki joined the club.
Now for the crowning victory; their second final of the season awaits...

But heartbreak! The Leopards fell behind early on, and couldn't find the finishing required to win the cup, thanks to a MoM performance by the SuperSport keeper. Nevertheless a most successful season, with CAF Champions League football to look forward to next season, as well as a healthy bank balance thanks to prize money and careful budgeting.

Top scorer was their leading striker Letlotlo, with another free transfer from last season Phohlongo scoring plenty from AMC. However Khumalo the free-scoring DMC is wanted by top clubs in Romania, a blow to the plans for next season. Miki has extended his contract another year, and is looking forward to the challenge of meeting the top clubs in Africa in the CAF cup.

On to Season 3 they go...

Season 3 rolls on...

Miki continues dumbfounding the (reducing) critics by producing results that seem to defy logic. A loss in an early cup competition called MTN8 led the board to assume a mid-table finish, offering low expectations and low budget to match. Results, however, quickly changed their mind.

A loss to Al Ahly in the CAF Chapions League, although expected, was the only blemish on their card after that. They signed a 15 year old first team keeper on a free:

And a Nigerian striker to complement the front line; he has just been smashing them in!

And half way through Season 3, they go on to retain the cup; check out that score!!

Meanwhile, Miki has been doing his homework, with a full upgrade of the backroom staff. More qualified and variety of nationalities in the scouting department means excellent recommendations are flowing in. His qualifications are improving, as are his grasp of 5 languages.

The home leg of the Al Ahly match awaits, with a place in the later rounds of the CAF Champions League at stake…

Continuing the report of Season 3, and all the negative and pessimistic expectations have now disappeared. The Leopards are showing themselves to be a real force to be reckoned with, having taken the CAF Group stage in first place, via a very comfortable 3-0 home win against the holders (and winners of 5 of the past six versions) Al Ahly. An 11-2 thrashing of USM Alger followed, and a place in the semis awaits, against the in-form CS Sfax.

Youth intake this season was incredible, with 4 x 5 star talents and 7 x 4 stars coming through the improved academy. Miki has wisely invested the bounty gained from last season's Premiership and cup wins and boosted all the facilities across the board. The Leopards now have an average attendance of 9,400 as opposed to 235 when Miki took over. A new stadium is due to be finished by the end of next season, and things are looking really bright for the future of the Black Leopards.

A couple of super signings will be joining in close-season, and the backroom staff has been improved immensely.
Youth facilities now a 14, recruitment 17, junior coaching 17 and more improvements to follow.

A clear out of the dead-wood is planned for the end of the season. But the Leopards still have small hopes of reaching their first ever CAF Champions League final...

And for the very first time in the Leopards' history, they have lifted the CAF Champions League trophy at the very first time of asking! Incredible scenes at their home ground, as they thrashed their closest rivals Orlando Pirates 5-1 over the two legged final.

As Miki looks on with tears in his eyes, he knows that stage one of the Pentagon Challenge has been completed in just three seasons. He glances down at his phone, where prime offers from several clubs across Asia have been drawing his attention, knowing that the Leopards will always hold a cherished place in his heart.

Going to the World Cup with Qatar, plans to be an eye-opening experience. With extremely low expectations, his players can enjoy the sights and sounds without the pressure of needing to progress far into the cup.

An application from Kasimpasa, recently relegated from the Turkish top league, was turned down due to the club being in a really bad financial spot.

A fabulous return of 44 goals from the line leader Alimi, coupled with 32 assists from another free transfer Sekgota, proved what a shrewd and canny head is on the shoulders of Miki. But will he still be at the head of the Leopards come next season? Only time will tell…

Qatar dumbfounded the critics and actually got out of their group in second place, beating Colombia and The Gambia, while losing to Italy. Second round was normal fare, losing 8-2 to Cameroon. But the fans were happy, and with some surprising results across the board, it may be an interesting final.

Meanwhile, out of nowhere, considering Miki was looking at Asia and America as potential suitors for his services for the next stage of his challenge, he received an offer from Union in Belgium. Quite a small club, but in the top tier and expected to be 5th next season. A lot of restructuring needed, but this might be the step towards Legend status.

He delayed his reply for a week, as he wanted to make some free signings once the transfer window had re-opened.

This is a massive decision for him…should he make the jump into Europe or stay on the edges and keep building his reputation?

The challenge was accepted! 

A move to Union in Belgium went through, and two weeks later, following Qatar's impressive World Cup showing, Miki took over as Head coach of Uruguay following their disappointing World Cup campaign.

A deep dive into rebuilding Union, led to a large change of the backroom staff, with top of the range coaches, scouts, analysts and physios all signing up. Training schedules were reformatted, and what is now known as Miki-ball was set up as the tactic of choice. A very short pre-season didn't leave much time for Miki to prepare his squad, and the minus 2 million pounds of transfer budget didn't leave any room to maneuver new purchases. He had his eye set on Alimi, and wanted to bring him over from the Black Leopards squad, but there was not going to be any incoming transfers until the club sold some of its players. 

Miki set about getting rid of some of the dead-wood, with 6 players sold at value within a month, making a small dent on the negative budget.

This however was most worrying. With a small squad to start with, albeit with a large reserve and U-18 squad to be able to provide reserves, Miki was faced with a daunting challenge. 

An amazing first part of the season, with just 4 losses in the league, and a rather dis-appointing loss in the quarter finals of the cup, meant that Union headed into the second part of the league campaign, where the top 6 play each other, in 2nd place. January was rather quiet, but in the last week their main left winger was sold. Although that was a blow, it meant there was at least some money in the budget for some free transfers, 5 of which were quickly organised. The best of them, an Angolan with a name of “Maestro" , was a solid AMC to add depth to the tiny first team squad. Also, with an eye on next season, 7 players were snapped up when their contracts ran out at the end of July, with some excellent first team prospects amongst them. 

Then, in March, disaster struck! On the 28th of February, way out of the transfer window, their main defensive midfielder was sold (albeit for a nice 10mil). No chance of getting a replacement as the window was shut even for free transfers and loans, Miki was forced to shuffle formation and bring a couple of youngsters into the first team, for the ‘Championship Group’. 

1 win, 1 draw and 9 losses

followed, leading to Union missing out on a lucrative European place, and most of the team fell into a deep depression. 

6th place was the original expectation of the board, so they were happy, but considering they were top just before the season split, it was a disappointing finish, and Miki let his players know that in no uncertain terms during the close season Team Meeting.

Miki now had the first bump in the road of his career so far, with a team full of low morale players. The end of season couldn't come fast enough, and soon came the pre-season of 27/28, along with the new signings. 

Season 2027/28

The new signings fitted right in, and up until the very last day of the transfer window, everything was going great. Miki had reverted back to his tried and trusted Miki-ball, and Union were comfortable in 4th place. Yet again, a whopping offer of 13 million came in for their first choice centre back, and with no time left to sign a replacement, Union were really low on defensive cover. Again, with an eye on the next window, Miki set up future transfers for 1 January, and dived into the free transfer market.

The best two signings of his career so far, were found sitting around at home doing nothing…

Jhon Duran 

and Peruvian international left back Jose Bolivar

That still left Union short in defence, but with Miki's theory that attack is the best form of defence, there were plenty of goals and almost no clean sheets…

With some super transfers coming in January to spruce up the defence, the future looks good for Union…

However, the phone line rang towards the end of December, with an offer from Sparta Prague, who were top of the Czech League and had recently lost their manager to Club Brugge, one of Union's closest rivals for the title. 

In the end, the December offer from Sparta Prague was rejected by Miki, having invested too much into Union to just leave them hanging mid-season. 

The January signings fitted perfectly into the “Miki-ball” system, and the Union team went on an excellent run with only 3 losses, leaving them comfortably third in the league. This meant they went into the second part of the season, where the league split, in pole position for a shot at Europe. 

The pick of the Jan signings was a very flexible right winger called Agazzi:

Half way through the Championship Group, and Union were sitting still in third place, looking good for a spot in the UEFA League. Suddenly, Miki received a call from Watford, sitting 9th in the Championship. Their manager had just been pinched by Leeds, who were in the relegation spots in the Premier League and were looking for a good manager to help them avoid relegation. With an decent training and backroom team, Watford were only 3 points off the playoff spots with 4 games to go. After much deliberation, Miki took the plunge, having left Union in a much better situation than when he joined them.

Miki signed as Watford manager on the 10th of April, and with no expectations for the current season, he immediately set about putting his stamp on his new club. Training was refreshed, new tactics put into place, and the spirit in the team was good. 

First up was a tricky away game to Birmingham, which they came away with a creditable 1-1 draw. Still 3 points off the playoffs with 3 games to go, there was no pressure on Miki or his players, allowing them to play with much freedom. 

Then came three fantastic wins in a row, scoring 13 and conceding 5, and against all odds they scraped into the playoffs in sixth place.

Placed against an in form Derby County, they thrashed them 3-0 at home, and even though the return leg was lost 1-2, they made it to the final, where they would play Wolves.

A terrific day at Wembley, and Watford had done it! Promotion to the Premier League!

Miki was delighted, although he knew his task had just become much harder…