[FM24] Following in Footsteps - Ankara Keçiörengücü [Turkey]

Introduction & Explanation

This save is directly linked to 'Stranded - Zeb's African & European Adventure' and is based around the career of a second manager in that same save. The second manager is my fictional daughter as explained in my main career thread. The intention right now, is that in a currently undecided number of years, I will retire as a manager and my second manager will take over as the primary one, until that point, they will both run side by side with some possible interaction but given the teams used, that is likely to be fairly minimal.

The Second Manager

Ava Isabela Cossa Spencer, born in 2024 in Pemba, Mozambique. She starts out in March 2044, unemployed and as a former semi-pro footballer with the national C qualification. Ava has British dual nationality and supports Baía de Pemba with a strong affinity towards Ferroviário de Maputo, Benfica and Crystal Palace. Unlike with how my save started out, she will have no restrictions on her movement around Africa and Europe.

Loaded Nations

As this save is the same one as in my main career posts, it obviously uses the same loaded nations but to save having to check elsewhere, this is the map of countries where Ava can move about as her career progresses.

Finally

Subsequent posts in this career thread will be from the perspective of Ava but there will also be posts relating to Ava from my perspective in the main 'Stranded - Zeb's African & European Adventure' career as well. The main reason for not having them all in one thread is simply to keep track of seasons and trophies without them all counting under the same manager on this site.

As a native of Pemba and a former member of the Baía de Pemba women's team, when I suffered the injury that ended my playing career, it had been my goal to move into coaching with the short to medium term aim of becoming the manager of my home-town team and leading them to glory. The team itself has seen better days, the year I was born, they were one division higher than they are today, my father was their manager for a time and on his second attempt, managed to gain promotion by finishing second in the league and then progressing through the playoffs. 

The thing with my father, he never seemed to stick around for long, whether that was at a club he was managing, or in my life, not that it was exactly his fault as my mother never told him about me, but regardless he was and perhaps still is, a man of ambition and Baía de Pemba were not likely to remain in the Moçambola. My father left to join Ferroviário de Maputo, leaving his replacement to try and survive in the highest tier of football in Mozambique, he failed and the team fell back down. Over the subsequent years, they managed to gain promotion a few more times but each time, came back down, then one year they didn't go back up and then the rot set in, they became entrenched in their mediocrity and then one day, they went down again, down to the third tier.
 

For all their flaws, Baía de Pemba are my team and this year their manager departed and I felt it was my time, I applied for the job, but I don't know if they simply weren't interested, or whether it was a simple clerical error, but they never replied to my application and I just sat at home waiting to hear from them. As time passed, I decided I couldn't just sit about waiting and so I applied for a few other jobs. 

Months passed and I thought I would never become a manager, despite even having my first coaching qualification under my belt, which I funded myself, thanks to a couple of part-time jobs, eventually I received a message from the chairman of Desportivo de Maputo, a reputable team from the second tier. The major downside to taking a job with Desportivo de Maputo is that they are rivals to my father's second team in the country, and a team I do follow myself, albeit casually, but taking the job will give me my first opportunity to show off what I can do and perhaps, give me the springboard I need to really get my career going.

After talking with the board and specifically the chairman, I accepted the job. By the time I joined, the season was already at the mid-point, but with plenty of games left to play, and sufficient points available, I had high hopes that I could help lift the team out of the relegation zone and then, either to survival, or, should fortune permit it, to the promotion playoffs.

Check back soon to see how we did.

A great start to my tenure at Desportivo de Maputo, quickly rising out of the relegation zone and up to fourth place. 

With the transfer window already closed, we couldn't sign any players, at least none that could be registered for the league, we did bring in one player for the senior team but he can only play in the cup, at least for as long as we remain in it. A second player joined us but he will go into the youth team for now. Without the means to really improve this side, we have to make the most with what we already have, but despite the previous poor performance, we seem to have a fairly talented squad, as demonstrated on the field for our first few games since I joined.

With only a short time left of the season, it's going to be a close call, whether we can secure promotion, the top two teams are still a good way off in the distance, though if we can keep winning, we still have a chance, that said, third place is entirely achievable and so that is going to be the next aim and if we can go beyond that, amazing, though just keeping the team in this division is the main goal for this season.

Whatever happens this season, it's next season when we really go for it, if we remain in the division, we will make a concerted effort to shape the team into a promotion challenger, but if we do somehow managed to get promoted, then it will be really exciting, the gulf in class between us and the division above should mean that we have to significantly improve the squad, I would suggest even that we might need a whole new squad to play at the top level and even then, that is likely only to be good enough to maybe survive in the division above.

Now look at that, what an ending to the season, we managed to keep winning up until the second to last game, which we drew with GD Incomáti, leaving us with a must win final game, which, GD Incomáti also had to lose. A great man once said, ‘I love it when a plan comes together’ and it really did come together for us in the end. We went into the final game knowing we had to do a job and we did just that, winning 4-1 against one of our local rivals. GD Incomáti however, went and lost their game to bottom of the league Gaza, leaving us to sneak into second place via goal difference.

By finishing second, we qualify for the playoffs, where we will face the other second place teams. We qualify from the north division but there is also a central and a south division, of the three teams, we had the lowest points total and so go into the semi-final against the second best of the three teams. Now I have no idea why it works this way, but the winner of the semi-final goes up and the loser goes to the final, in the final, the winner there goes up as well, meaning that by being in the semi-final, we have two chances of going up, where as the team that did the best out of the three teams, only gets one chance… crazy really, I'm pretty sure somebody was drunk when they came up with that system, but hey, do we care that we have two chances of going up… no we do not, we are however going to use them.

As this was my first time playing our opponents, I didn't really know what to expect here, I suspected a tough match against a similar level team, but as it turned out, we were the team to really show up and give it our all. We took the match to our opponents and came away victorious, taking us up to the Moçambola for the first time since 2036.

Once we go up to the Moçambola, it might be tough, especially as we have been an established team in the second tier for some time now, but this team is also a six time Moçambola champion and maybe one day, it can be again, though that will take time and some considerable effort, will it be me to do it? That I do not know, but what I do know, is that I am going to be here next season to give it a shot (surviving in the league more likely than winning the league).

After a successful half season at Desportivo de Maputo last year, we had a nice long break and plenty of time to think about our plans for the forthcoming season. Having gained promotion to the Moçambola, I knew we needed to improve the side somewhat, in order to give ourselves the best chance of having another good year, so during the off-season I've done just that, bringing in something like fourteen players (including some who were already on loan to us last season) will it be enough though? That is the question, and the answer to which, we will we'll find out once the pre-season friendlies are out of the way and the new season kicks off for real, right now though, the transfer window has now closed and all we can do is try and shape what we have into a side that is capable of meeting our goals.

Based off how the media see us right now, we are predicted to finish nineth out of twelve teams, but eighth and lower are all relegated, so we need to be looking to finish in at least seventh place just to survive, could it happen? Sure, will it? Maybe, who knows. I think if we stick with the same tactics as last season, perhaps adjusted slightly to take into account the talents our our new signings, we should be able to do well, relatively speaking, I'm confident we can beat other recently promoted teams but if we can also pick up points against the bigger teams, we might be in for a good year.

Below are our transfers for the season along with the profiles of our four highest rated signings.

After a long pre-season, I'm starting to feel like our squad is coming together nicely, out of eleven friendly matches played, we won eight of them, drawing two and losing one. Right now, we are only a few days away from the start of the season and once that whistle blows, we will see if all our practice has paid off and whether all our signings have made the difference as we fight to stay in this division.

There we have it, our season is complete and we managed to survive, finishing in 5th place in the Moçambola in our first season in the division for quite some time. While I should be delighted by the result, we actually dropped a place on the final day of the season, and for several weeks at the start of the season, we lead the table, so only finishing fifth, is, in some ways, a bit of a let down.

I think we started off the season really well, winning our fist six games, perhaps a result of teams underestimating us to begin with, but once our form dropped, we struggled to regain it and only picked up occasional wins for the remainder of the season. I think once the transfer window opens up once more, we can try to strengthen the side and look to establish ourselves in this division and perhaps challenge for the title down the line, but that might be a season or two away right now.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks as far as the team goes, is the lack of financial backing, we simply don't have enough money, and while we don't need much in the way of a transfer budget, as most of the players we're interested in are likely to be free transfers anyway, the lack of a decent wage budget hampers our ability to significantly bolster the squad without losing players.

When I joined the team, we were already in debt, and thanks to the promotion last season, becoming professional has increased our expenditure, though income has also increased due to better attendances and playing (very briefly) in the Champions League (which we shouldn't have actually been in as we didn't win anything last season) so I've not made things worse, though because of the poor financial state, I've been unable to continue my studies towards gaining a higher coaching qualification. Managing this side has given me vital experience but I do also need to keep working on my studies, so I think before too long, I'm going to have to move on. I did apply for a job at Green Buffaloes in Zambia but maybe that was a bit ambitious.
 

Over the coming pre-season period, I am going to keep an eye on the job market, maybe I can join a better team here in Mozambique but I am open to moving aboard for work.

In light of the financial troubles at Desportivo de Maputo and following a successful interview, I decided today to make the switch to become manager of Ferroviário da Beira.

My new team plays in the same division as my former employer, and while they did finish lower down in the table last season, they represents a step up in both reputation and in terms of quality, and hopefully under my management, the players will perform to a standard that the previous manager was unable to reach, but which should be entirely possible with the right leadership.

Last season I managed to take a newly promoted side to survival and for a while, we looked like we might be able to mount a title challenge, and while that wasn't to be, this time around I should have the means to do just that, with one or two key signings, I think we have every chance of doing better than the seventh place this team managed last year, or the fifth place my former team managed. I think we should be looking to try and win the league, but a top three place is also a realistic target this time around, and maybe the season after, we should be looking just to win the league outright, but in football, things can change quickly, so how things actually turn out is anybody's guess, whatever happens, I'm looking forward to giving it my all and hopefully, come the end of the season, we have something to show for the effort.

After being confirmed as the new manager of Ferroviário da Beira, I wanted to make my mark on the team immediately, to bring in some new players to strengthen the side and hopefully, move us closer to the level of the top teams in the division. Last season this team only just managed to remain in the division, though despite finishing lower than my previous employers, the group of players I have here are of a much higher standard, or at least they should be if given the right direction and sufficient motivation, and I believe I have sufficient ability in that regard to push these players, along with the latest signings, to not only remain in the division, but to challenge for the title.

While winning the league might be the goal this time around, even with my signings, I know it might not be enough, but if we can finish inside the top three, that would be a perfectly reasonable finish to the season and would give us a decent platform to mount another challenge next season.

Below are the profiles of our incoming players, hopefully they all turn out to be inspired signings.

What a season, we actually managed to win the league on the final day.

We kicked off the league in style and lead for some time, a minor hiccup saw Black Bulls take the top spot for a while, and it did look like they might go on to win the league, but late in the season, we retook our position at the top of the table and went into the final game, just needing to get the same or a better result than our rivals. While Black Bulls would go on to draw what would turn out to be a crazy 5-5 game, we picked up a comfortable 3-0 win to secure the trophy and the first for this team since 2016. What makes this victory all the more impressive is that Black Bulls are to Mozambique, what Man Utd were in the 90s in England, an absolutely dominant force, winning the league every year in the 2030s.

With our hard work this season having paid off, now we have to regroup and plan for next season, we can't rest on our laurels, we need to build upon what we have achieved, new players will be needed to strengthen this side, hopefully we can turn this team into a real force that can go on to dominate Mozambique like Black Bulls have all these years, or at the very least, stop them from winning all the time.

My father once won the league with Ferroviário de Maputo, but when he left, that team never managed to repeat the feat, putting in a few decent performances here and there but never really capitalising on their success, hopefully I can do one better and win the league again but failing that, I would would like to put the building blocks in place that this team is able to challenge consistently, even after I'm gone.

Thinking about my father, who has recently become the manager of England after his successes last season, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, he was never a man to stick around in one place for two long, he spent a few years here in Mozambique but then he left, I wonder whether it would be a good idea if I saw a little more of the world myself. Right now I'm quite happy here in Beira, but perhaps in a year or two, perhaps once my contract is up, I might look to move on, though as to where, I have no idea. I thought about following in my father's footsteps but do I really want to just live out a carbon copy of his life? No, I do not, I have my own dreams and ambitions and I will follow my own path, whether I manage in the same countries as my father, who knows, but one thing I will hope to copy, is his success.

Success at home but disappointment away; as the new season kicks off with my Ferroviário da Beira side lifting the Supertaça Mário Esteves Coluna, we exit from the CAF Champions League at the group stage, having reached it in the latter part of last season. Despite finishing bottom of Group A, I'm not too displeased, we managed to win at least one game and our losses were fairly respectable, considering the strength of the opposition in our group, I feel like we did as expected and the board were simply happy that we even reached the group stage at all.

Not many incoming players but we did end up spending to improve our squad a little, signing a new left back from Black Bulls, while also loaning one of their young strikers. Most of our outgoing players so far have been young players going out on loan and a couple of fringe or unhappy players leaving on a free transfer, right now we have a fairly large squad and I hope to reduce our numbers across both the senior and youth teams to keep things to a more manageable level and lower our spending on wages, not that we necessarily need to, but I like to keep things sensible.

The start of the season was a bit of a mixed bag, we felt the disappointment of getting knocked out of the CAF Champions League after finishing last in our group, but then we tasted success by winning the Supertaça Mário Esteves Coluna. 

As we moved onto the regular season, we didn't bring many new faces into the side, but I didn't feel the need to make large changes to the side, we had the right people in place behind the scenes, so the players we already possessed, were able to develop nicely over last season and again this time around, leaving us with a highly capable side that could challenge any side in the division.

The result of our hard work, we came away not only with the Supertaça, but also our second league title in a row and our first Taça Moçambique since 2040.

In light of my success leading this team, I have begun to attract the attention of two South African sides, that has given me food for thought as I ponder my next steps over the upcoming pre-season. As far as my contract goes, I have one more year left to go, but with interest in my services from elsewhere, I will have to seriously consider whether I wish to remain at the club or even in Mozambique. The idea of managing abroad does interest me, I've not thought too much about where I would like to manage, but the prospect of emulating my father and one day managing a top side in Europe does appeal to me, though saying that, my father never lead a club side to success in the CAF Champions League or the CAF Confederation Cup, so perhaps I could look to join a bigger team on the continent and try and do something my father never did.

Hearing rumours that several clubs from South Africa were interested in my services got me excited, the realisation struck that my achievements in Mozambique had not gone unnoticed to the outside world, it made me wonder, had I done enough to manage in one of the top leagues in Africa?

Right now, the Moçambola is ranked as the 22nd best league in Africa, currently up from its previous 30th place rank, meanwhile, the South African DStv Premiership is ranked 4th as it attempts to compete with the top North African leagues from Morocco, that is a decent step, but it also had me wondering, where else might I be able to go when I eventually take the next step in my career?

I looked to the job listings in various countries, eager to see what my options might include, and three different South African teams ended up offering me interviews, sensing that I had a good chance of moving up in the world, I made the bold decision to resign from my position, it feels a little sad to be leaving Beira behind, but at the same time, with possibilities across the continent and beyond, seemingly aplenty, I felt confident of landing on my feet.
 

When I notified the board of my intention to leave the club, they didn't protest too much, for the most part, they accepted the inevitable and simply thanked me for the hard work I had put in over the last two seasons, what I didn't realise at the time, was that the next step on my journey, was not to head south, but instead north, a long way north.

While I did attend interviews with the clubs in South Africa and two did come back with firm offers, I actually had more appealing offers from elsewhere in Africa, with several teams from Algeria, Egypt and Morocco all willing to consider my applications, but not only that, but also two teams in Turkey and one in Italy, prepared to consider me for their respective roles. The teams from Morocco and Egypt would have been perfectly reasonable options for me, but out of all the African options, two clubs from the City of Oran in Algeria presented me with the most interesting possibilities, though with offers on the table from Siena in Italy along with Gaziantep F.K. and Ankara Keçiörengücü from Turkey, I knew I was facing a great opportunity, a chance to manage in Europe and one I could hardly turn down.

Looking at the three teams in Europe, Siena would see me battling against relegation in Serie C, the third tier of Italian football, Gaziantep F.K. were also fighting for their survival, though in the 1.Lig, the Turkish second tier, but the most appealing of three opportunities was with Ankara Keçiörengücü, a team hoping to remain in the Turkish Süper Lig, currently rated as the 10th best league in Europe.

If I chose to move to Europe, whichever team I joined, the battle was going to be to survive, but given the levels that the teams were competing at, it made sense to go for the biggest and that was exactly what I did.

 

Upon signing on the dotted line, I knew my life was about to change in a big way, I was no longer in Mozambique anymore, and I was about to find out if I have what it takes to survive at the top level of Turkish football without having any knowledge of the language or the culture.

When I made the move to Turkey, joining Ankara Keçiörengücü mid-season, in their first season up in the Süper Lig after finishing as runners-up in the 1. Lig, the team were just about managing to keep their heads above the water as they fought for survival in the league. My job, for the remainder of the 2047/2048 season, would be to try and turn around their fortunes.

At the time of joining, money was pretty tight, so options for strengthening the side were fairly limited, without the funds to make large changes, we  had to make use of loan deals to bolster our squad. Thanks to my father being the manager of Liverpool, I was able to bring in a few of their youth players until the end of the season on fairly favourable terms, adding two centre-backs and an attacking midfielder to the side, along with a right-winger on loan from Aris in Greece.

The problem with the team, from what I could see, was that there were a lot of players in the senior side and many of them were more suited to the level below the Süper Lig, as such I felt it would be prudent to begin offloading some of them, making the team leaner and freeing up room in the budget ready for the end of the season when I would look to make further improvements.

When it came to tactics, I initially adopted what had worked well for me in Mozambique and it saw success immediately, helping us to win a friendly I had arranged prior to our first competitive game with me as manager. Despite the friendly victory, I could see that the tactics were not perfectly aligned with the players we had, but over the course of our first few competitive games under my management, I began to adapt to suite the style of play in Turkey and the players I now had in my squad, giving us what we needed to turn around our fortunes.

After taking over the club at the point that they were hovering just above the relegation zone, it is pleasing to end the season in the top half, just missing out on European football. If I can improve the squad over the coming pre-season, could we qualify for Europe next time around? It will be exciting to see if we can, though ultimately, as long as we can keep building and avoid the bottom half, I will be happy.