Deleted User #151676 - Comments

The 2017 Clausura drew to a underwhelming close as, as expected Libertad lifted the championship and we had to make do with the paucity honour of second place.

The defeat to 3 de Febrero was of a particularly sour flavour as they are the only side we failed to best at least once this season, our encounters with 3dF have resulted in three defeats and one draw. A wretched run that I shall do everything in my power to put an end to in 2018.


As you have probably already ascertained from the above, I will be staying on as head coach of Club Nacional, my big move to Penarol failed to materialise as the Uruguayans decided to rehire a former manager of theirs, Jorge da Silva who has lifted the Torneo Uruguayo twice, once with Defensor Sporting in 2008 and then Penarol in 2012.

It was disappointing to miss out on such an exciting opportunity, however there are reasons that another year with La Academia could be a good thing for me, The opportunity to participate in Copa Libertadores and test my wits against some of the finest coaches on the Continent is something I'm looking forward to, as is trying to collect another Apertura and/or Clausura crown to add to my CV and hopefully catch the attention of South America's big guns for a future move.

To do that, this guy is absolutely imperative to my plans;

The award is for the best player currently based in South America, and to have him playing for me in a relatively lowly league when you consider the quality of the players in the Brazilian, Argentine and Colombian leagues is fantastic, so you can imagine my delight when we had not one, but two players in the South American team of the season;

Those bastards Libertad also got a player selected which rankled a little, but I suppose having three Paraguayans selected can only be a good thing for the country as there haven't been any in the previous four seasons.

I don't think I need to spend much of that £800k budget, I'm happy with my squad which has been on top of it's game this season, and should be again next year as I don't have anyone who is knocking on in age, or leaving the club this summer. Winger Franco Cristaldo is the only member of the squad who will need replacing as his loan deal from Boca is ending.

My hopes of ending my time in Paraguay by collecting both Apertura and Clausura championships have been dashed after we came up short against Diego Maradona's Libertad in our crucial title clash;

Although it's mathematically possible for us to still pull the rug from beneath Libertad's feet, I just can't see El Diego's side losing both of their remaining games against Sol de America and Cerro Porteno, as well as us making up the thirteen goals we need to close the goal difference against 3dF and Sol de America.

The defeat brings to an end a five game winning run and a six game unbeaten streak, during this time I have blooded a couple of youngsters who have climbed the ladder here at La Academia;

I had to switch to 4-4-1-1 for Guarani game to counter some specific threats, meaning I needed to use full backs for the first time in quite a while, the man who would have been my first choice Roman Coronal is out on loan as he wasn't getting much first team action, so this presented 17 year old Cristian with a golden opportunity to step and impress, which he definitely did, earning a 7.7 rating and the honor of holding his place in my first XI for the subsequent match with Sportivo, he played 64 minutes in that one before a being substituted in a tactical change. He certainly looks a good prospect for the future.


Jorge has been my backup keeper since the departure since Rafael Magrao's departure for Brazil in the break between the opening and closing stages, he has waited patiently on the bench for his chance, and with us 4-1 up at half time against Guarani I thought why not give him a go? Jorge wasn't called into action much but looked reliable on the few occasions he was tested, he could do nothing about Guarani's late consolation goal, he stopped the initial shot well but was powerless to prevent the rebound attempt going in. Admittedly I would be worried if I had to put Jorge in for a big game, he's not ready yet, however when we are well in control there is no harm in giving him some time.

I have renewed all of the first team players and staff's contracts to ensure the club's short term future after I leave at the end of the campaign, the temptation to leave all their contracts unprotected to enable me to snap them up for free at wherever I go next was there of course, however I have enjoyed CN and want them to do well even after I've gone.
I currently have an application in for the Penarol job in Uruguay, I've yet to be invited for an interview, though I'm hopeful I will get this, one of the biggest jobs in South America, probably the biggest outside of Argentina and Brazil.
I've been doing some ground work by sending my scouts to Penarol and other Uruguayan teams in order to know the squad and possible transfer targets before hand, a touch of reconnaissance work if you will.

Sunderland for me, there are no shortage of WH stories around here.

Harper Lee has announced a sequel novel to To kill a mockingbird, 55 years after its release.

Another book to add to my 'must get around to' shelf.

That ones been doing the rounds on FB this morning, bit corny but it still me laugh a sad laugh.

As the 2017 season meanders towards it's conclusion, our form has remained somewhat unpredictable as we remain within striking distance of the Primeira Liga summit but have failed to re-establish the sort of dominant consistency that saw us go win the Apertura;

The result against neighbours Cerro Porteno was immensely frustrating as we had been leading 3-2 up until the 88th minute when Cerro mounted a dramatic snatch and grab to deny us a win that would have lifted us back to the top of the Clausura table, I was livid at the final whistle and didn't hold back in telling my team what I though of them throwing away three points in that manner. Young defender Miguel Jacquet in particular came in for stick as he had been directly responsible for two of the goals.

We again threw away a winning position against Olimpia in the following game, having lead 2-0 we only managed to come away with a point in a game we had very much been the better side in, however sloppy defending from set pieces cost us again, much to my frustration. Thankfully we recovered from these set-backs to take six points from games against Sportivo Trinidense and Deportivo Capiata to remain within three points of the leaders with seven games remaining;

Julio Santa Cruz has seemingly got himself back on track, scoring eight times in these five games, taking his season tally to thirty goals in twenty-eight games, as well as having eight assists. not bad for a Blackburn Rovers cast off!

Our next game will see us visit my old club Sport Colombia before what should be relatively straightforward games against Guarani and Sportivo Luqueno, after that we enter squeaky bum time as our final three games see us take on both Libertad at home and 3 de Febrero away either side of a home game against General , the title should be decided in that period, it's up to us to take the initiative and claim it.

I think I have made up my mind to leave Nacional at the end of the season regardless of how the title race pans out, I declined talks regarding and new contract recently and I'm being linked with a host of clubs in Uruguay at the moment, including the very reputable Penarol who have won the Copa Libertadores five times. I will miss Nacional, and Paraguay as a whole as I've had a lot of fun here, however I want to win as many trophies as possible around the world.

Our last five games were a mixed bag of results as we beat arch-rivals Libertad and obliterated General Diaz 6-2 in a top class performance, however our unbeaten run was ended by Sportivo Luqueno;

It's a shame to have our eighteen game run brought to an end, however it had to end some time and we now have to recover and get back on track, losing to league leaders 3 de Febrero didn't give our Clausura hopes much good as we slipped beyond touching distance of the top spot, four points behind 3dF.

Still fairly confident we can get back on track and claim the closing stage, although of course with only twelve games remaining we can't afford for more slip-ups!

Julio Santa Cruz set a new record with his goal against Guarani;

His strike rate hasn't been anywhere near as impressive in the Clausura, he's scored just once in ten games in the closing stage compared with twenty in the Apatura. Thankfully we have still been banging the goals in, Brian Montenegro has carried the torch with seven strikes, including four in a single game against General Diaz.

A good opportunity for us to put some separation between ourselves and the relegation zone after all four sides below, and the one above us all lost today, not going to be easy against Arsenal though of course though.

So chuffed to see Walsall finally end the 127 year wait for a Wembley final, be even nicer to see them win it!

Walsall just half an hour away from their first ever trip to Wembley in their 127 year history, mon' you Saddlers!

As in real life, youngsters can become disillusioned and quit football early on.

Thanks guys, looks as if our form is continuing into Clausura as well.



Primera division takes a six week break between the Apertura and Clausura stages which is a welcome break in order to rest players and evaluate the squad ahead of the Clausura tournament. Nacional ar struggling financially so selling midfielder Matias Ballini to Argentine outfit Banfield was unfortunately a necessity to bring us back into the black in a deal that could eventually rise to £1.4M. The sales of Benitez, Montiel and Bogardo were more to do with they were surplus to requirements or unhappy with a lack of first team action.

I used the small amount I was allowed to retain from the Ballini sale and reinvest in the squad to strengthen my midfield;

Signed from rivals Olimpia for a deal worth £325k, Luis is a versatile midfielder who is capable of taking on both attacking and defensive duties and could be very useful as I rotate my squad.

Another signing from a divisional rival, Alvaro has been a leading star for Sol de America for a number of years now, clearly he thought the time was right for a change in search of better things, moving to the champions proves that. He set me back a very reasonable £120k.

As the Nacional are know as La Academia due to their track record of producing stars for the Paraguayan national team, I thought I should also promote a couple of the more promising youngsters to my first team and give them a chance;

With the pace and acceleration of a Cheetah, Derlis is capable of leaving even the most light footed defender trailing, his finishing needs honing, however he could be a real threat in years to come.

Has the makings of a top anchor man if he develops as my coaches envision, a high work ethic coupled with good tackling make him a formidable ball winner, of we can enhance his passing and creativity he will attract the attention of the bigger South American and European clubs.

Onto results now, as I said their a six week break in the middle of the season so I had to arrange a couple of freindlies to get the team back to match fitness before we resumed, both went well and we have picked up where we left off before the break, competing with Diego Maradona's Libertad for top spot;

We have now not lost a game since the 5th of April when we went down 1-0 to 3 de Febrero, a run of seventeen games without defeat, how much longer can this streak last? and will Libertad take us all the way?

Have to say I am really enjoying life in Paraguay, all three teams I've coached have been a lot of fun....not least because I've done well at all three! but the leagues seem very open, with lots of goals and the feeling that anybody can beat anybody. I strongly recommend South America if you've not tried management here before!

Had to use my fingers to tally it as Villa fans have forgotten how to count that high, but we scored one goal higher than one!

Wonder if we can actually score a goal against Bournemouth today? I saw some prat on Villa's facebook page saying how with Chelsea, City and half the other Prem clubs out the way the stage is set for our first FA cup since 1957...hmmm.

Seriously though, Seaford Town from the Sussex Counties league mockingingly challenged us to a game on twitter to determine the most boring team in England, they are the only side in the top ten tiers of the game to have scored fewer goals.

Copa TICO Vision Primera Division Apertura

Apologies for the lack of updates but I've been busy, anyhow I have been slowly but surely progressing through the Apertura (opening) stage of the Paraguayan Primera division and have been shocked by my success so far with Nacional;

For those who don't know, several South American leagues have a two stage format, Apertura (opening stage) and Clausura (closing stage) the two stages are treated as separate tournaments and if two different teams win each stage they will both be seen as champions rather than the one who earned the most points over both stages, so our Apertura win this season goes down in history as our twelfth title even though we haven't kicked a ball in the Clausura stage yet.

My players have been absolutely rampant so far, the 3-5-1-1 that was so successful at Sport Colombia last season for me has continued to bear fruit in this division, hence our dominance in the stats;

Julio Santa Cruz has been immense, netting twenty times and assisting seven, as well as been the highest rated player in the division, attracting the attention of some European sides including Hertha Berlin, Rapid Vienna and Sparta Prague, needless to say I want to hold onto him.


My success with Nacional and Sport Colombia has earned me some recognition;


The target now is to win the double header of Apertura and Clausura this season, in our current form it's difficult to see us not being right up there come the end of the campaign. After that we will have to see, My instinct is to move on in search of more glory, however the Apertura win has ensured qualification to the Copa Libertadores next season so I may hang around and see how far I can take Nacional in that.

Failed my driving test again, stalled at a junction, it would of been just a minor fault if i had been quicker applying the handbrake, however I let it roll back and thus was deemed to have lost control of the car.

Can't help but feel a little more man love for Andra Pirlo after he said he's trying to save Brescia, where he started his career, from bankruptcy.

Thanks Johno, yeah goals seem to flow like water in Paraguay, with Sport Colombia last season we only failed to score in one game all season, most games have at least three or four goals in them. It makes for an entertaining game for sure.

Before I get into the business of results and league tables, I will first introduce you properly to Club Nacional, founded in 1904 the club is known as La Acadamia due to their excellent track record in developing young talent, including Arsenio Enrico, who is widely regarded as the greatest Paraguyan footballer of all-time, in fact the club named their stadium after him.

C.N have won the Paraguayan Primera division nine times, my target is to make that ten within three seasons. Here's a bit of background info about the club;

And here is the squad I have to work with currently;

As you can see there is some strengthening needed, I don't like to completely overhaul a team in my first season though and prefer to fully assess the squad I have inherited before spending, although having said that we should still be strong enough to make a push for the Championship.

Ok, onto the results for the first couple of months;

Beating the mighty Boca Juniors in the final game of pre-season lifted spirits, however we were unable to follow up in what is a major derby game for us against Cerro Porteno, going down 3-1 to our rivals. Things picked up instantly against Olimpia and Sportivo as Julio Santa Cruz netted seven in three games, supurb form in front of goal for the striker who will be hoping for an International call up in the near future.

Of course the table doesn't mean an awful lot at this stage at the season, however it is of course good to see us nice and high up;

Hi everybody,

I've been away from this section of Susie for a while, after a few failed attempts to get a long term save going I gave up on story writing. However I have now completed three full seasons in my current game so I would like to give it another go.

The challenge involves collecting the titles of each nation that givemesport.com lists in their countdown of the best 25 leagues on the planet;

25. Uruguay - Primera division
= South Africa- Premier soccer league
= Scotland- SPL
= Paraguay - Primera division
23. United Arab Emirates - Pro League
= Ecuador - Serie A
20. Poland - Ekstraklasa
= Colombia - Primera A
= Australia - A-league
19. Switzerland - Super league
18. Sweden - Allsvenskan
15. Ukraine - Premier league
= Turkey - Super League
= Belgium - Pro league
14. China - Super League
13. Russia - Premier League
11. Portugal - Primera league
= Japan - J-league
10. Argentina - Primera division
9. France - Ligue 1
8. Holland - Eredivisie
7. USA - Major league soccer
6. Mexico - Liga MX
5. Brazil - Serie A
4. Italy - Serie A
3. Spain - La Liga
2. England - Premier league
1. Germany - Bundesliga

Countries with a '=' are ranked as equal stature to the country above them, so I can choose which order I move onto them, for example I began in Paraguay, but could of chosen Uruguay, Scotland or South Africa instead if I had been that way inclined due to their equal ranking, However I must complete all four of those before I can move on to UAE or Ecuador.

Sounds easy enough right?

Ps- I would be introduced to see how others get on, go on, give it a go!


I began as an unknown Englishman with a handful of leagues from five continents loaded to give me plenty of choice when it came to choosing the direction my career path would take me, in the end I ended up in landlocked South American nation Paraguay.


2013/14 - I was given my break in football by Paraguayan Division Intermedia (second tier) side Resistencia who hail from one of the poorest districts of Paraguay's capital city Asuncion. I took charge mid-way through the season with the red triangles hovering precariously over the relegation zone, I transformed the side, leading them to eleven wins from their final fifteen games, finishing a respectable seventh.
2014/15 - The revival of fortunes in the second half of last season was cause for great optimism for Resistencia supporters, however we failed to live up to expectations, finishing a disappointing eleventh. The board were willing to forgive me and offered a new contract, however I decided not to sign and left the club in the hopes that one of the better clubs in the country would remember how well I did in 2014/15 and give me a chance with a squad capable of winning things.


2015/16 - Despite the name SCFC are based in Paraguay, I arrived with a point to prove after last season with Resistencia, however I handled the step-up to one of Division Intermedia's biggest sides well, as we romped to the title with a twelve point margin between ourselves and second place Spotivo Tinidense, earning promotion to Primera division.


2016/17 - My performance with Sport last season caught the eye of one of Paraguay's elite clubs, eleven time champions Club Nacional approached me after sacking their manager Riccardo Dubrowski for finishing bottom of the Claustra stage of the 2015/16 Primera division. My job will be to turn the side into title challengers again, but one step at a time, first I need to get a good feel for the squad and go from there.

Bit of a non-event really, about 200 people turned up eight minutes late, not enough for anybody to really notice or care. As far as protests go it's a bit of a shit idea anyway, just turning up to a game a few minutes late.

Well, we continue to be shite.

We are supposedly interested in him.

Anybody know if this Carles Gil who we have just signed from Valencia is any good?

Apparently he is a creative midfielder who is good at beating players, exactly the sort of player we have lacked.

After just 11 goals in 20 games and only managing one shot on target against bottom side Leicester, I wouldn't call #LambertOut being fickle.

If Lamberk wasn't given a new three year deal just a few months ago after that bright start to the season I'm sure he would be gone by now. Unfortunately it would cost more than Lerner will likely be willing to pay to terminate that contract.

Just wait until the Champions League is on BT next season.

Happy new year bell ends. Have a good night.

Did you delete the 'fake' files before installing the Widehawk's update and the real name patch?

No, it isn't possible unfortunately.

Walsall climbing the table rapidly at the moment, stuffing MK Dons 3-0 today. Just three points off of the play-off places now.