DP91's European Glory

Gonna make a record in the month of May


An Arcade Fire inspired title this month which sum's up a month of records of a different kind. So much actually occurs during May that I think it's best to separate the month into two posts.

May
We started the month with a league fixture against Saint-Ettiene whom we quickly dispatched off starting with a 6th minute David Luiz strike after hitting the woodwork courtesy of star striker Ortega. It was the Argentine who doubled the lead just on the stroke of half time and the game was latter wrapped up by David Luiz once more making it 3-0 before a late consolation goal from Saint-Ettiene making it 3-1 on the night. Elsewhere PSG won with a 4-0 win meaning we remained behind in the league table with 3 games remaining.

Champions League - Semi Final - 1st Leg
The third fixture of the month was our very unexpected Champions League semi final and the return of an earlier opponent in the competition this season, Real Madrid. We both lost 2-1 and won 2-1 in the earlier stages of the competition with the sides technically being un-seperable which really add's some spice to this fixture which will determine the better of the two clubs this season. We drew Real Madrid away in the first leg to my delight, meaning we could play the second leg at home in front of the fans knowing exactly what is required of us. The first leg brought a similar result to the fixtures already contested by the two clubs this season and once more favouring the home side.

This familiar result between to two sides also once more saw Cristiano Ronaldo score against us meaning he has now done so in every fixture this season against Monaco which doesn't bode well for us as we will face him once more in 6 days time.

Our second Ligue 1 fixture was against Bastia where the opposition took an early lead before we struck right back and later in the first half made it 2-1. We controlled the majority of the game and found ourselves with 2 disallowed goals before a late surge from Bastia in the last 15 minutes lead to an 85th minute equaliser which I thought ensured the Ligue 1 title would not be on it's way to Monaco this season. PSG's opposition Troyes however had other plans and managed to comeback from a 1-0 deficit to win the match 2-1!

Of course if you've been following though you know that this does little for us other than rub salt into the wound as it now means were second to PSG thanks to goal difference one more, unbelievable scenes!

In the month of May, In the month of May


Champions League - Semi Final - 2nd Leg
The 2nd leg would prove to once more be a tight affair between the two clubs with Real Madrid dominating the early stages before a quick counter attack from a corner saw Tom Brown put Monaco one goal to the good after 12 minutes. The game teetered out somewhat until half time. A few words of encouragement to a side playing well and on the verge of qualification should things stay the same and on we went.
At the 60 minute mark I thought we had taken a further step towards the Champions League final as Ortega broke the defensive line to slot the ball home but the goal was ruled offside. 15 minutes later Ronaldo broke through the Monaco defence this time and drove the ball home! As I had my head in my hands I glanced up to see that the goal had been ruled offside and we remained in the driving seat as Real Madrid turned up the heat once more.
Chances at both ends in the remaining 10 minutes with little actually happening in terms of shots on target as the game came to a close without big threats to the Monaco goal meaning come the full time whistle it would be Monaco prevailing on aggregate and into the Champions League final!!!!!

After 4 games the teams were not separated bar the aggregate away goal rule! Had I been on the wrong end of this one I'd have been cursing my luck but to have managed to overcome Juventus Man City & Real Madrid over two leg's to reach the final was an incredible achievement

You couldn't write this script though. Our opponents in the final, my opponents from last season with Man City, the side I had never lost to in the competition and faced by far the most times of any club in the competition. The side who we have maintained an undefeated season against this season however sat behind them on goal difference in Ligue 1 PSG The setting, France, The Stade Velodrome, where we last month defeated them 3-1 in the Coupe de la Ligue final. Someone here is playing me I'm sure of it. Unbelievable!


Back to Ligue 1 action for our final two league games of the season. The first game was against Lyon no easy affair in the past but for Monaco now a fixture which brings goals with a 3-2 win away at Lyon coming earlier in the year. A similar result this time as well as we ran out 4-2 victors which would now mean there was no chance of making up the huge goal difference we were behind rivals PSG and as far as I was concerned once again, the end to our title push.

Our final game of the season came against bottom of the table Dijon away from home whilst PSG faced lowly Le Havre also away from home. I played out the game in a quick fashion looking forward to our finals against Toulouse in the Coupe de France and Champions League final against PSG and didn't bother checking the score. Prior to the match I had spoke to the journalists and written off the chances we had as PSG would wrap up the title with ease against Le Havre.
As the final whistle went the players started celebrating what I had believed to be victory in our last game of the season. Progressing out of the post-match team talks up pops a steam achievement. Eh!?

You what PSG!?!?

We've only gone and bloody done it! Ridiculous! Lost for words on this one, how crazy this season has been that on the last day PSG finally slip up and hand the league right into our hands. Could this month get anymore insane!

Records & Awards
With the above Ligue 1 points record came a flurry of additional records for Monaco and more particularly one man.





Ligue 1 - Season 2020/21 - Round Up


Coupe de France
Finally for domestic action this season we faced Toulouse in the cup final. Having smashed Toulouse on every occasion this season I walked into this match with complete confidence of turning them over once more and I'll just leave it with a summary of our run in fixtures.


Juan Pablo Ortega 29 goals in 29 Ligue 1 appearances, overall 50 goals in 50 games. How about that?! Not quite Messi but not far off either, France or not, probably the best player record for a season on FM I've seen before.


Next Post
The Champions League final & without blowing my own trumpet too much, the chance to not become the first club to retain the Champions League of course but maybe a step up even that ladder and an opportunity to become the first coach to retain the Champions League but with different clubs! Suddenly I feel pressure!
Can we achieve European Glory once more and on the back of two debut seasons!

The Battle of Two Armies


For the second season in a row PSG are competing in the Champions League final and for the second time in a row they will be facing me I'm sure they must actually wish I'd just disappear quietly and leave them to it but I'm afraid I'm not done just yet and the chance to retain the Champions League with 2 different clubs could well be my greatest FM achievement should we accomplish victory in the final and claim European Glory for Monaco and for myself for a 3rd time.


When I took charge at Man City I planned on building a dominant force with the financial backing available to me expecting it to take a season or two. A year later we had won the Champions League and I genuinely couldn't believe it, now to be on the verge of the feat again in a debut season but furthermore, the first season after taking over at Monaco whom I decided I would build from a younger basis of talent is just ridiculous.

Champions League Final
The first half produced few key highlights other than a couple of chances for star striker Ortega who decided that tonight would be the night he would fail to perform as he failed to score both chances which if this were any other player you wouldn't be surprised about to be fair but this kid isn't human, at least I thought not until tonights fixture.
Half time 0-0

The second half showed a quick change of pace and star midfielder David Luiz stepped up to the plate firing home a bullet shot from inside the box after 51 minutes. The lad has scored some beauties this season but tonight he did it from only 6 yards but I couldn't care less! I thought initially this goal may even be the difference but former player Gabriel Barbosa who also scored against Man City in last years final was at it again, firing home from 6 yards after 71 minutes. This goal came from a clearance from Geis who struck the ball right at a team-mate to which it's path lead right to Barbosa unmarked inside the area.

A few chances later and a break away for Monaco lead to a David Luiz shot which the keeper palmed away to Tom Brown who managed to get in front of the defender to poke it away, 2-1! Just a moment later a counter attack lead to Ricardo Rodriguez whom I sold to PSG from Man City a couple of seasons ago bringing down a Monaco star, I believe might have been Sinan Kurt in the area before the same player stepped up and fired home to make it 3-1 after 89 minutes!!!!!

Gabriel Barbosa wasn't quite done yet though as right from kick off PSG pulled one back to make it 3-2 after a move of around 20 passes involving near every player on the pitch was finished by Gabriel Barbosa from a few yards away. Suddenly I felt a little sick and quickly enforced a defensive tactic in desperate bid to ensure we could hold out. Monaco did in fact almost grab another late on as we headed right into the hands of Sirigu but it didn't matter as the full time whistle went!!!!! 3 goals in the last 3 minutes as a dramatic end to the game went in our favour and we've done it! European Glory once more!







With this achievement I think it's time for a bit more of a challenge. Shakhtar was a real achievement for me, Roma was a frustrating period of the career where we fell short in our time there, Man City & Monaco have been absolutely insane and completely unexpected. On the back of the ridiculous successes in the past two seasons I think it's time to make thing's hard on myself once more but not before we return to unfinished business should it be available at Roma. If not I will look for the next best thing, that being European Glory for an Italian club.

Unfinished Business


Sadly for me Roma managed to win the Serie A this season by quite a margin meaning that my replacement those seasons ago, Luis Fernando Tena was still in charge and going strong. Due to the now very attractive Monaco position becoming available though there was some movement in the managers merry-go-round meaning an opportunity to return to the Nation I was unable to achieve European Glory before became available. The club I in fact turned down after departing Shakhtar in order to manage Roma, rivals Napoli.



An in depth look at my new club Napoli including the inherited squad





So a 4th placed finish and winning the Europa League last year for Napoli was not a bad performance for the club at all and some European Glory in itself. Expectations will be high.

I've Created A Monster


So another club and another transfer window. This is technically the most I have been given for a summer transfer window also believe it or not. Seem's like I developed a bit of a reputation for spending a fair bit as well and not surprisingly I may have helped myself once more all to be revealed at the end of August. Of course some players will be revealed in the report of our opening fixture against would you believe it Monaco in the European Super Cup which unbelievable will be followed by our game in the Italian Super Cup against Roma.

Monaco Dominate

So the European Super Cup saw complete domination for my former club who were actually 5-0 up within 31 minutes Thankfully the team upped the game slightly in the second half and we managed two late consolation goals. The team we had to field was made up of plenty of new signings and plenty signings were also missing due to international duties and such but it was all the same an embarrassing debut game for me.

Serie A - Title Odds


Finally a little look into the upcoming transfers. Of course as hinted, I couldn't help myself again in the transfer window with Napoli but I did have some pretty frustrating times in the market also. Surprisingly Tom Brown was listed for loan after his incredible debut season for me last year but rejected the chance to join me on loan. Worse still, I had agreed a fee and deal to sign star striker Ortega for a pretty low fee given his record last season only to realise a rule I never had opportunity whilst at Roma last time around in Italy due to poor finances.



Having already signed two midfielders who weren't of EU nationality I now would have to miss out on signing the best striker I've seen. What made it worse is Monaco actually decided to sign a striker from Arsenal meaning they had made Ortega available for a loan deal. You what? 29 in 29, 50 from 50 and you decided to list this guy as available for a loan deal having nearly almost sold him for only £32m!


This game is seriously messed up

Take Two


So last night on the back of the 5-2 defeat to Monaco I played the Italian Super Cup fixture against my old club Roma, crazy right, two games in and I've played 2 of the 4 clubs I'd previously managed. We played Roma and won 5-2, poetic justice at it's finest, anyway, yet again I had a crash as 'FM quit unexpectedly' and lost 14 days worth of game time. Not much usually but during a transfer window that's suddenly a lot of data lost.

So take two on the fixtures and a complete change of fortune in both games.



In hindsight at both times we won one and lost one and on both occasions scored as many as we conceded so not a lot of change.

Next Up - Transfer & August Updates

Napoli Transfers 2021/22


Obviously being this far into the career now the majority of players involved during transfer windows are regens and so instead of listing the names and such as I have done throughout I thought it's now time to give you some player profiles of my signings although transfers out I will leave as there's always plenty and nobody will really care for players that leave the clubs!

The foreign player rule killed me having scouted over 180 players to find the elite 11 players I wanted to sign who were all young prospects with incredible / wonderkid like potential, 7 of the 11 were classed as foreign meaning I've missed out for now on signing the majority.

GK - Joshua Snijders
Napoli still had keeper Rafael at the club running down his contract and was therefore released by the club. Second keeper Neto, in real life plays for Fiorentina was signed a few years back and had replaced Rafael as the #1. He however was declining rapidly and I decided a new keeper was required after last years success with young regen Hewitt at Monaco. A fee of £17.5m from PSV was required to sign him but a fee I felt was great value for a 4 star keeper at 22!


CM - Paulo Freitas
Although Napoli already had a fair few CM's at the club I wanted to sign some young talent to replace the likes of Hamsik who was still at the club at 33, captain and to be honest still a boss! This lad Freitas was available for an insane bargain still playing for Corinthians in Brazil and was therefore a player I just had to sign. £2.8m to sign this beast!


DM - Johan Tortensson
Being forced to miss out on one of my DM targets I replaced him with the young lad I had scouted from Malmo FF after their impressive consistent appearances in the Champions League. The best thing about this lad, bar being only 21 years of age was the fee we paid to acquire him, £2.5m. A potential 5 star player still going through the paces but already quality all the same. Call me Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter!


DM - Martin Velazquez
The second of my foreign signings for the season was another young talent arriving this time from Boca in Argentina. Another bargain at £4.2m and the rotational option to Tortensson in DM. Only 20 years old and another cheap addition to the wage budget which was rapidly falling, as was our average squad age as Bruno Fernandes playing for Udinese in real life departed at the age of 28 for £19m to Roma.


CB - Pavel Kolar
A youngster I originally signed for Man City arrived at the club having developed well at Man City but had seen little first team action. A £13m fee was needed to capture his signature and perhaps a slight risk in taking a young option for a starting CB with little first team experience but as with the idea behind my transfers this season, youth & potential he was a perfect signing. Leaving the club was Luca Antei of Sassualo in real life at the age of 28 to Watford for a £14.5m fee.


RB - Karel Valenta
Another signing from Man City who I initially brought to Manchester. This young wing back has ridiculous potential at 5 stars and already shows great ability. A Czech teammate for Kolar as well meant that for a £17m fee I was willing to bring him in without having any doubts. Leaving the club was experienced Negatomo of Inter in real life I believe and his crazy 100k wage for only a transfer fee of 100k which I was more than happy to get off of the books. He joined Modena.


AML - Regulo Battala
This young Columbian star signed for a £22m fee from Chelsea with a 4 star rating and 4 1/2 potential. Leaving the club was Ruben Garcia of Levante in real life to Real Madrid for £28m so we actually made a nice profit in the exchange although 6 years of experience the difference was also leaving the club in year another risky move.


AMR - Vivaldy N'Goma
The Belgian star signed for a £14.25m fee from Wolfsburg with plenty of potential at 4 stars. Having played a decent amount of games last season recording good stats I felt that he was worth the fee with his potential although slightly off the pace at present times. Another player leaving the club was real life Torino star Marco Benassi to Arsenal for £16m, a CM.


There were additional transfers arriving that weren't mentioned individually: Lammers (Regen) (LB), Christensen (Chelsea) (RB/CB), Jairo Riedewald (Ajax) (CB), Chris Rae (Regen) (LB/CB), Javairo Dilrosun (Ajax) (AMR) (Loan), Raphael Guerreiro (Lorient) (AML).


A total fee received from transfers was £109m with a total spent totalling £119m leaving a fair amount spare for future transfers also although a good squad to attempt our bid for 'European Glory'.

Slow & Steady


So a decent start to the campaign with Napoli after our success in the European Supercup and defeat in the Italian Supercup at the second time of asking. We were draw specialists early on but have gained some successes in recent games and remain undefeated in Serie A, here is the league table after the August and September fixtures.


Champions League - Group Stage

A group which puts us up against Spanish champions Barcelona, Dutch champions Feyenoord and Czech champions Viktoria Plzen. A group which should see us progress although I have slight concerns for my record of having topped every group stage so far. Barcelona are the competitions favourite this season and should make tough opposition to beat.

Leaving our fixtures for the opening months of the season being revealed.


And finally a very interesting start to the Champions League campaign after the very disappointing defeat against Feyenoord at home as they went on to also defeat Barcelona 2-0 at home. Our next two games in the competition against Barcelona could now actually result in us staring elimination in the face, crucial times in Europe.

New Found Form For Napoli


October was a fantastic month for Napoli after a less than impressive start drawing 4 of the first 6 fixtures! Come October though was a whole different story for us as we went from strength to strength and picked up a perfect month of wins including an away victory over Barcelona to put us back in contention for the latter stages of the competition when I had started to doubt our chances this season. Not only was it a good month of wins but 5 successive clean sheets for the month as well as the defence with an average age of 20.25 at times proved they were up to the task I had asked of them.
October Fixtures


Better still was the fact we had closed the gap in the league to Roma down to only 2 points as Roma were set to face Juventus in the coming month which could present an opportunity for us to take the leap into top spot.

League Table

Thanks gents, appreciate your comments as always! Was a good month and indeed both an unexpected and impressive win over Barca.

New Heights for Napoli


November was another progressive month for the club as we ascended to new heights in the league despite dropping a few points. In Europe we had our return fixture against Barcelona at home and having pulled off an impressive win over the competitions favourites away from home I had high hopes of taking the step towards qualification. This time around we however were not so impressive and Barca capitalised on our below average performance, picking up the win and putting our qualification once again in jeopardy.

The second of our European fixtures this month was a must win fixture against the groups surprising runaway leaders Feyenoord. Having lost at home to the Dutch side to need to go away needing a win at a ground where they defeated Barcelona with ease was not going to be an easy task.

November Fixtures


So with the brilliant performance and result over Feyenoord we now only required a win over Viktoria Plzen in the group to progress whilst Barcelona would host Feyenoord needing a win and slight turn in goal difference to progress in a group which the Dutch side had done so well in the early stages. It could be a harsh end to the campaign for them but it does also mean we have an opportunity to top the group and maintain my record in Europe of topping the group stage on every occasion.