[FM26] An Argentine's Journey

066: Lucky #7?

After resigning from his post at BFC Daugavpils in November 2039, Diego Correa would go in search of what he hoped would be a successful job number seven.

Across the next year, Diego Correa intended to take at least a few months away from the game, though did keep his phone off silent just in case an interesting opportunity arose early. The Argentine would receive interest across Lithuania and Latvia from Džiugas (not for the first time), Šiauliai and Auda, though none of those jobs tickled his fancy. Fast forward to December 2040 and another interview arrived from Latvia…

Valmiera, a team that has consistently been fighting for a UEFA Conference League qualifying round place for many years now, wanted to speak to the Argentine, who happily attended. Mikus Šmitiņš and Diego Correa had an harmonious meeting and, despite the media favouring fellow interviewee Rihards Ozoliņš (who Correa managed at BFC Daugavpils, a team who would subsequently approach Ozoliņš), the desired job offer was forthcoming.

After one season away, Diego Correa returns to Latvian football in December 2040. Valmiera have given him a two-year contract, which is set to keep the Argentine at the club until November 2042.

Valmiera Football Club 🇱🇻 were founded in 1996. They are situated in the northeastern city of the same name, which is one of the oldest cities in Latvia. After winning promotion from the second tier at the first time of asking, the club took part in Virslīga for the first time in 1997. They would finish either 7th, 6th or 5th across the subsequent seven campaigns (in a division made up of nine or, mostly, eight teams), with relegation eventually coming their way in 2003. Valmiera's stay in the second tier would last fourteen seasons, as they placed either mid-table or slightly below.

2013 would see improvement in tier two, as VFC became a side that would punch upwards instead of down. After placing 3rd twice and 4th & 2nd once, Valmiera eventually gained promotion back to the top-flight in 2017 after finishing top by going unbeaten across 22 fixtures. They did finish bottom in 2018 but were reprieved from the drop due to league restructuring. The next four campaigns would see Valmiera gradually improve to become one of the Virslīga's top teams, finishing 4th in 2019, 3rd in 2020 and 2nd in 2021. The upwards curve was maintained in 2022 as VFC became champions of Latvia for the first time!

In the save so far, Valmeira have built firmly on that first piece of success. They've added three more league titles (2028, 2030, 2031) as well as three Latvian Cups (2026, 2027, 2029) and two Super Cups (2027, 2032). The 2034 season, however, would see them narrowly avoid relegation via the play-offs and, although they have improved since then to regularly challenge for top five or, more recently, third place, haven't been able to get back to the top to challenge Riga and RFS. In the just completed 2040 campaign, Valmiera placed 3rd (by 17pts) so will have UEFA Conference League qualifying to come in July 2041. They also reached the cup final, losing on PKs to RFS.

Elsewhere in 2040, Riga won their first league title since 2037 after hitting 100 points whilst going undefeated. Liepāja got the other European place, Correa's old team BFC Daugavpils placed 6th, while Jelgava were relegated as Tukums survived a play-off versus Riga Mariners.

Valmiera continue to play their football at the Jānis Daliņš Stadium (capacity: 1,200) in Valmiera, Latvia.

According to the staff, the best players at the club are Raitis Sidorovs, Olegs Afanasjevs and Jurijs Pētersons. Though Mr. Correa knows Jonathan Veiga is apparently excellent, given the latter's record of scoring versus BFC.

This job marks the first time in Diego Correa's career that he hasn't worked under a director of football, with Valmiera making no audible intentions to snap one up.

Thanks for reading! Next Update: Pre-Season.

The Save So Far:

Six months later… the save resumes. Apologies for said break, but I'm like that with Football Manager - it's a love/hate sorta thing. When I (unintentionally) stopped playing back on 20 December 2025, I had only mentioned three days prior that I was fully into the game. Quite the kiss of death!

I'm not expecting - or un(?)-expecting - anything in regards to future posts so who knows if I'll drop out again, but I can honestly say that I've been feeling the urge to play the game in recent weeks and after getting through pre-season I am eager to get the season proper started. No doubt that eagerness will disappear when I get FM'd on matchday one, but alas... 😁

----

067: Back to Latvia!

Diego Correa departed BFC Daugavpils in November 2039. Fast-forward to December 2040 and the Argentine has sealed his return to Latvian football with Valmiera, a team that has finished third in the past two seasons; admittedly trailing the dominant forces of Riga and RFS by a fair distance. After solid, mid-table placements at BFC, Correa is looking forward to being in charge of ‘the next cab off the rank’, so to speak. Here's how 54-year-old got on across his first pre-season with VFC.

First things first, the transfers…

Rojs Bušs (32, M) was the opening arrival. This marks the second time that he has been signed by Diego Correa, who paid £40k for the then-29yo for his first transaction as BFC Daugavpils boss back in early 2037. A reunion! He'll be squad depth on this occasion. The other early incoming was Aleksandrs Sergejevs, a right winger who makes for much needed strength in that area; though unfortunately he did pick up a light but time-consuming injury in pre-season.

The next two newbies were both goalkeepers, a department that Valmiera were severely lacking in due to the pre-planned departure of the club's prior first-choice Vladimirs Puhovs to Jelgava. Olegs Pērkons was the most notable, as the 21yo was snapped up for a relatively hefty £49k (£115k with add-ons, potentially). The market was not bountiful (at all) and the position issue needed resolving, given his age it could/should be a very fine investment.

In case Pērkons isn't quite ready yet (he has only been playing for RFS's reserves), then Andrew Akinfenwa (no relation to the former Wycombe Wanderer, who interestingly did play next door in Lithuania) was brought in too. The Nigerian is actually the same age as Pērkons, though has had first-team experience with Riga; mostly only a couple of appearances, though did play 13 times in 2039. The last signing was Sergejs Dūmiņš, an 18yo sizeable potential right-back who will serve as back-up to Edgars Putniņš.

As for departures post-Correa's appointment, there hasn't been any. Which is great, especially as two players received major and many bids from Riga and RFS. Juris Balodis (a highly-rated 16-year-old centre-back) was the main saga, as Riga kept coming in with offer after offer; even dropping as much as £120k (£195k possibly), which would've smashed their most expensive signing record of 85k. Balodis, however, explicitly stated he had no desire to join Riga, which was music to the ears of Valmiera who intended to keep him and use him as back-up for this upcoming campaign. The other was 30-year-old, star left-back Raitis Sidorovs, who garnered £75k (£105k) bids from RFS.

The pre-season action actually begun with a testimonial for the aforementioned Raitis Sidorovs, as second tier Riga Mariners were dispatched 3-0 thanks to strikes from Jurijs Pētersons, Artjoms Ulmis and Jonathan Veiga.

Then came a morale-boosting 10-0 thrashing of lowly Gulbene. Jurijs Pētersons and Mārtiņš Romānovs hit trebles, with Benjamin Ouédraogo and Kaspars Cvetkovs adding to Danny Anisjko's brace.

A short exhibition period concluded with a win over tier two's Jelgava. Marks Stankus converted a late spot-kick, though the win was already secured with Jonathan Veiga and Jurijs Pētersons - two players who should be vital parts of the team in 2041 - on the scoresheet.

The 2041 Virslīga season starts soon! Diego Correa's debut as Valmiera manager does entail a tough match with 2040 runners-up RFS, though more favourable fixtures follow versus Metta, Ogre United, Auda and Tukums. They don't face champions Riga until the end of April, which comes two games after Correa's return to Esplanāde to meet former team BFC Daugavpils. Elsewhere, there will be cup and UEFA Conference League qualifiers to come later in the year.

Thanks for reading! Next Update: March + April.

The Save So Far:

Look who's back! Good luck with the new team!

Happy to be back. I always tend to take random, long breaks from FM, annoyingly. I honestly think subconsciously my brain forces me to do so every now and then just so I can keep my sanity with FM.😆

Here's hoping I'm back around for a little while, at least. I've just got through the first two months of the new season, so that's a good sign.

Nice to see yourself still contributing a story too.🤝

068: 2041!

With pre-season done and dusted, Diego Correa heads into 2041 with Valmiera of Latvia's Virslīga.

The campaign started with a tough match at home to 2040 runners-up RFS. Correa's maiden match with Valmiera would, however, begin with a positive 2-2 draw. Tidiane Mané and Andrei Sprinsean twice put the visitors in front, but Artjoms Ulmis and Mārtiņš Romanovs found equalisers both times. A credible result, that.

Gameday 2 saw a five-goal thriller play out on the road at Metta. Jonathan Veiga notched his opening goals of the season in the first half, either side of a Olivers Avdejevs leveller for the hosts. Raivo Laizāns would net for Metta on 57 minutes, though by that point an own-goal from Vitalijs Jagodinskis had put Valmiera two goals ahead.

In match three, Mārtiņš Romanovs was sent off after 41 minutes, but a second half strike from Jonathan Veiga made sure that Valmiera came away with all three points against promoted Ogre United.

Then came a splendid 4-1 thriumph at Auda, as Valmiera found themselves 3-0 up after 29 minutes via centre-back Pablo and a brace from talisman Jonathan Veiga. Kaspars Cvetkovs got on the scoresheet from midfield on 67 minutes for four. The hope of a clean sheet was, sadly, scuppered soon after thanks to Janis Bērziņš.

Another 4-1 win occurred next time out, as Jonathan Veiga popped up with an excellent hat-trick (having also missed a spot-kick) on home turf versus Tukums. Before he sealed that treble in minute 90, Artjoms Ulmis and Genrihs Makoveckis had bagged a goal apiece for each side.

4-1 again? Why not! Super Nova were put to the sword this time, as Jonathan Veiga continued his scintillating goalscoring form with a second consecutive hat-trick. Diego Correa has worked with a number of terrific strikers in his managerial career thus far (see: Valerijs Lizunovs and Amoros Nshimirimana, for example) and it looks like he may have come across another. Superb! Like versus Tukums, another teammate got a goal (left winger Danny Anisjko) and the oppo also netted (Roberts Belovs) too. This result took Correa's boys top of the table, albeit only for this matchday.

The much awaited return to BFC Daugavpils followed for Diego Correa on 10 April 2041 and his former employers held Valmiera to a goalless draw at Esplanāde.

Liepāja were up next. Jonathan Veiga just keeps scoring, the 30yo Spaniard grabbed a first half brace (one pen.) at the Jānis Daliņš Stadium. Artjoms Kokins hit a penalty of his own at the end of half one, with half two seeing a 3-1 scoreline secured via Raitis Sidorovs.

Riga brought Valmiera & Co. firmly back down to Earth in April's penultimate encounter, as the reigning league champions battered their guests 3-0. Maksims Gaismiņš, Zakaria Ben Seghir and Óscar Soto got the goals, of which there could've been more in truth. Valmiera's cause wasn't helped by Mārtiņš Romānovs picking up his second red card of the season on 55 minutes.

Diego Correa's team subsequently came up with the perfect response to that Riga hammering, as goals from Pablo, Jonathan Veiga, Jurijs Pētersons and Artjoms Ulmis gave them a very comfortable 4-0 success at home to Metta.

With 10 matches played, Valmiera sit an impressive 2nd. RFS are already running off into the distance, though Diego Correa's bunch do sit a point clear of title holders Riga. More importantly, a six-point gap has already opened up between them and 4th. 3rd is most certainly the aim for this campaign.

RFS await to open May, a month that sees a busy schedule with eight matches set. June, conversely, has just four to play at the moment.

Thanks for reading! Next Update: March + April.

The Save So Far:

069: Too early to call it a title charge?

Ten games down, Diego Correa's Valmiera sit 2nd following a starting run of 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat. A title race is a totally fanciful concept due to the might of Riga and RFS, with third place the unequivocal goal and expected ceiling for a team like Valmiera. However, a further two months of this form - which would take the completed amount of matches to over 60% - and then those early whispers might just be taken more seriously. Let's take a look to see if said form did indeed continue.

May's opener showed promise, as league leaders RFS were held to a 2-2 draw on their own turf - and were even two goals ahead. Andrejs Andersons and - as, seemingly, always - Tidiane Mané gave them a half-time advantage. In the second half, however, the Valmiera squad showed outstanding fight as they dragged themselves back to take a point. Benjamin Ouédraogo and Jurijs Pētersons were the heros at the Valdas Dambrauskas Arena. The 5pt gap to top spot was maintained.

Next time out, Jonathan Veiga scored the only goal of the game as Ogre United were narrowly beaten.

Jonathan Veiga netted again in May's third encounter, with Kaspars Cvetkovs joining him on the scoresheet as they won 2-0 at home to Auda; who had Jurijs Lazarevs sent off. Olegs Afanasjevs had also missed a penalty kick for Valmiera, frustratingly.

A disappointing result would follow, as Tukums held Valmiera to a 2-2 tie; though, in fairness, did most certainly merit a point. Jonathan Veiga found equalisers to host goals from Ralfs Kalniņš and Fróði Danielsen.

A superb response was found, however, as Valmiera thrashed Super Nova 5-0 in mid-May. Jonathan Veiga hit another brace, with Artjoms Ulmis, Kaspars Cvetkovs and Edgars Putniņš also converting.

The second reunion with BFC Daugavpils then arrived and this time, unlike in April, Diego Correa would defeat his old side. Artjoms Ulmis opened the scoring, with Mārtiņš Romānovs following suit on 72 minutes; 20 minutes after Jurijs Pētersons had received his marching orders. Red cards have been an issue for VFC but it has, as yet, not been properly detrimental. Igors Ostrovskis would pull a goal back for BFC but no further developments occurred.

Another fixture, another red card as Artjoms Ulmis got senf off on this occasion away to Liepāja. Yet again, though, three points would still arrive. Valmiera were 2-1 ahead at that point thanks to goals from Ulmis himself and Danny Anisjko, with Daniels Jakovlevs initially equalising for the home team. Benjamin Ouédraogo confirmed the victory on 81 minutes for 3-1.

What a result that is! To conclude the year's fifth month, Valmiera secured a fantastic triumph at home to Riga. The reigning champions would net on 88 minutes through Zakaria Ben Seghir, but Diego Correa's outfit were already two goals to the good via Jonathan Veiga and Jurijs Pētersons.

To makes things even better, the Argentine received the Manager of the Month award in the days that followed. That's just the second award of his entire managerial career thus far, having last won one of those back in October 2033 (!) with Europa in Gibraltar.

Back on the pitch, Valmiera made it five wins in a row by defeating Metta 2-0. Jonathan Veiga and Artjoms Ulmis - the two big performers of this team - got the goals.

Then came a big match-up with Virslīga leaders RFS, where a win may just have thrown Valmiera right into the title race mix. Sadly, RFS secured a narrow road victory thanks to - yep, you've guessed it - Tidiane Mané, what a player that fella is.

As has always been the case this campaign, whenever this Valmiera team receive a bad result they always seem to make it right in the subsequent match - and this was no different. They eased past Ogre United with a 4-1 success as Jonathan Veiga and Mārtiņš Romānovs hit doubles. Jevgeņijs Olijars' goal back for 2-1 ended up meaning little for Ogre.

How about that? The season's most dominant performance arrived in the final match of June 2041, as Valmiera annihilated Auda at Skonto Stadium. Not only was it 6-0 at the final whistle, it was incredibly 5-0 after 41 minutes; despite being 0-0 sixteen minutes prior. Remarkable! Pablo netted first on 26mins, before Jonathan Veiga smashed home a 14-minute hat-trick; his third treble of 2041. Mārtiņš Romānovs and Artjoms Ulmis, the latter seven minutes into half two, took it to six. By which point, Diego Correa had taken off all his star players - without that, the scoreine could've been far greater.

Well, Valmiera head into July in the same position as they were coming into May. 2nd and 5pts off leaders RFS. Riga are four points adrift in third place, with fourth place BFC Daugavpils a massive 14pts away. They won't be counting their chickens yet, but Valmiera really ought to have secured a top three finish already with ‘only’ 14 games to play. As expected, the title race is more than likely out of reach but it has been some effort from Valmiera & Co. to be largely keeping up with the division's big boys.

July and August has just six league matches scheduled, largely due to the reintroduction of Latvian Cup (R4) and UEFA Conference League (1QR) action to the calendar. Valmiera will face lower league Smiltene in the former and Lithuanian neighbours Panevėžys in the latter. Exciting times!

Thanks for reading! Next Update: July + August.

The Save So Far: