FM22 Save Ideas - France

So you've probably experienced the frustration of loading up a game of Football Manager and not progressing past the first screen, not even sure what leagues to load nevermind what club you might take charge of. Well in this new series we're gonna have a look at some of the stories that might tempt you to start a save in FM22. If videos are more your thing you can follow along on the FM LLama Youtube Channel instead or simply scroll down for the embedded video. Thanks alot to FM Llama for sharing this create content with us 🙂

We're going to start in France by looking at three clubs that you might fall in love with. We've restricted ourselves to three picks but there are plenty more we could have gone with so make sure you let us know down in the comments the clubs that you're thinking about taking charge of in France in FM22.

Club 1) The club that hired France's first female manager

In the north west of Saint Etienne lies the city of Clermont, home to 150 000 inhabitants this could be the backdrop to an epic Football Manager adventure. On the field “The Lancers” have had a quiet history in the dugout however Clermont made headlines in 2014 when they appointed Helena Costa as the first female coach of a french professional men's team. Costa's reign would last just one month as she resigned without taking charge of a single game. But she was succeeded by Corrine Diacra who did go on to become the first female coach to take charge of a men's professional game in France.

Diacra was at the helm for three years before going on to become head coach of France's Women's National Team. So what makes Clermont an interesting destination for fans of Football Manager? Well FM22 will see Clermont appear in Ligue 1 for the first time in their 100 year history.

After current boss Pascal Gastien guided the team to promotion last season while France's more illustrious clubs replenish their ranks with legends of the game Clermont will have one of the smallest budgets in Ligue 1 and survival will be a real achievement. If you're looking for a top flight challenge with a club that requires some significant development before they're ready to challenge for domestic honours, Clermont may well fit the bill.

Club 2) Outdo the man who managed a team for 44 years

So top flight survival with Clermont is choice number one but with choice number two we're looking at a club that experienced better times in its past. Sir Alex Ferguson's 26 years in charge of Manchester united is one of the most famous dynasties in football, however in Burgundy there lies a city for whom 26 years is the time it takes for a manager to merely settle in.

Legendary coach Guy Roux managed Auxerre during three separate spells over a 44 year period. Guy Roux took over the club when they were an amateur outfit in France's lower leagues and Roux was still in his early 20s. His first spell at the helm ended prematurely when he was drafted to complete his national service but between 1964 and 2000 Roux became one of the most revered operators in the French game.

Under Roux Auxerre rose up the leagues and by 1980 were promoted to France's top flight, a remarkable achievement for a city of just 35 000 people. Auxerre’s success was built on developing young talent such as Manchester United legend Eric Cantona, future Roma and Milan defender Philippe Mexes, Liverpool bound Djibril Cisse and Bacary Sagna of Arsenal and Manchester City fame.

Merely sustaining top flight football for a club this size would be a feat in itself but Roux also delivered trophies having lost a Coup de France Final when still a Ligue 2 club in 1979 Auxerre won the trophy four times with Roux at the helm.

However Auxerre’s greatest achievement came in the 95-96 season when they won the Ligue 1 title with future world cup winner Lauren Blanc marshalling a side that also contained future internationals such as Sabri Lamouchi.

Unfortunately life has been tougher for Auxerre since Guy Roux’s retirement after 2000 games in charge. Relegated to the second tier in 2012, last season’s six place finish is as good as they've achieved in the last decade.Restoring “The Diplomats” to Ligue 1 and building a side once more capable of challenging for honors might be the perfect Football Manager adventure.

Club 3) A founding member of Ligue 1 with left wing politics in their DNA

So Auxerre is certainly a club that require rescuing but if we drop down to the third tier of French Football we'll find a team from the capital that were a founder of Ligue 1 that might just be the perfect setting for your next FM22 adventure.

Is there a more satisfying accomplishment than depriving PSG of honours? Well just such an opportunity awaits you if you assume control of Red Star FC the oldest club from the capital and the third oldest in all of France. Red Star were founded by Jules Rimet who had later gone to serve as FIFA President but in 1897 Rimet was busy establishing a club from the capital built on anti-discrimination ideals a DNA that still resonates with Red Star supporters today.

When football in France embraced professionalism in the 1930s Red Star were one of the founder members of Ligue 1 by this time the club had already triumphed in the Coupe de France four times during the 1920s and they added a fifth cup victory in 1942.

The club is synonymous with the left-leaning politics of its passionate fan base. These values were instilled by Remet but immortalized by the legend of Rino Della Negra, Della Nega was the son of Italian migrants living in Paris and he was a member of the French resistance during the second world war. He was a youth player with Red Star but was captured by the Nazis and executed before making a first team appearance his letters to family members shortly before his death have become legendary amongst Red Star supporters due to the love he expressed for communist ideals. For Red Star FC today the club ply their trade in the third tier and placed seventh last campaign.

However one of France's oldest clubs have lofty ambitions of a return to the top flight and perhaps you are the Football Manager to take on this long-term project and return them to the promised land.

So there are three challenging saves that you could take on in France that might make the perfect Football Manager adventure. Make sure to leave us a comment with great saves you've had in France in the past and we'll see you soon when we look at another three clubs that might just tempt you to start a save.

I've been doing the Red Star thing since release. I just can't topple PSG. They're too powerful/we're too poor 3 years in Ligue 1 and a 13th, 3rd and 2nd are all I can do.

Still, maybe a 34yo Pogba can finally turn things around…